,,studies ,,of ,,christianity3    ,,or1 
,,timely ,,thoughts ,,for ,,religious   
,,thinkers4    ,a ,,series ,,of         
,,papers1  ,,by  ,,james ,,martineau4   
,,edited ,,by  ,,william ,r4 ,,alger4   
99       99       99       99       99  
,,boston3  ,,american ,,unitarian       
,,association1  #ba ,,bromfield         
,,street4  #aheh4        ,,cambridge3   
,,electrotyped ,,and ,,printed ,,by     
,,metcalf ,,and ,,company4              
,,contents4                             
,,page      ,,introductory ,,thoughts1  
,,from ,,mr4 ,,martineau',s ,,writings  
v      ,,distinctive ,,types ,,of       
,,christianity                          
#a      ,,christianity ,,without        
,,priest ,,and ,,without ,,ritual       
#ce      ,,inconsistency ,,of ,,the     
,,scheme ,,of ,,vicarious ,,redemption  
#hc      ,,mediatorial ,,religion       
#adg      ,,five ,,points ,,of          
,,christian ,,faith                     
#agg      ,,creed ,,and ,,heresies ,,of 
,,early ,,christianity                  

#bja      ,,the ,,creed ,,of            
,,christendom                           
#bff      ,,the ,,ethics ,,of           
,,christendom                           
#bii      ,,the ,,restoration ,,of      
,,belief                                
#cef      ,,one ,,gospel ,,in ,,many    
,,dialects                              
#cii      ,,st4 ,,paul ,,and ,,his      
,,modern ,,students                     
#dad      ,,sin3 ,,what ,,it ,,is1      
,,what ,,it ,,is ,,not                  
#dff      ,,the ,,duties ,,of           
,,christians ,,in ,,an ,,age ,,of       
,,controversy         #dgh              
,,introductory ,,thoughts1    ,,from    
,,mr4 ,,martineau',s ,,writings4        
,,introduction4      ,the ,american     
,unitarian ,association in #ahce        
reprinted from the ,english  edition1   
among their ,tracts1 a ,sermon on ,the  
,existing ,state of ,theology  as an    
,intellectual ,pursuit and of ,religion1
 as a ,moral ,influence4 ,its  rare     
merits elicited great praise4 ,its      

author was the ,rev4 ,james  ,martineau1
 then a settled minister in ,liverpool4 
,since that time1 his  occasional       
publications from year to year have been
 winning a wider  audience1 and         
awakening a deeper admiration4 ,the     
history of his mind has  been a         
broadening track of light4 ,and now the 
,association feel that they  cannot do a
 greater favor to the reading public1 or
 better aid that  cause of ,liberal     
,christianity whose servants they are1  
than by printing  a collection of the   
later writings of this gifted man1 whom 
they first  introduced to ,american     
,unitarians a quarter of a century ago4 
,the list of works prefixed to the      
article here entitled ,distinctive      
,types of ,christianity1 as it appeared 
in the ,westminster ,review1 and  the   
opening sentence referring to them1 have
 been accidentally omitted4  ,two or    
three of the papers belong to the       
author's earlier years1 but are         
inserted here equally on account of     

their eminent ability1 their  special   
timeliness1 and their striking          
adaptation to the general purpose  of   
the work2 namely1 to throw light on the 
true nature of ,christianity4  ,they    
will also be new to most of those whom  
they now reach4 ,the last  paper in the 
volume is one of the first its writer   
published1 in his  comparative youth4   
,we shall be disappointed if the        
benignant wisdom and  moral fidelity of 
its catholic lessons do not secure a    
sympathetic  response in many a quarter 
once closed against such appeals4    ,in
 selecting from ,mr4 ,martineau's       
numerous invaluable articles1 not       
already published in book-form1 the     
contents of the present work1 the  rule 
has not been so much to choose the      
ablest productions1 as to take  those   
best fitted to meet the wants of the    
time1 by diffusing among  ministers1    
students of divinity1 and the cultivated
 laity a knowledge  of the most advanced
 theological and religious thought yet  

attained4  ,we regret that the necessary
 limits of the volume exclude several of
  the author's most instructive and     
inspiring essays2 particularly the      
magnificent one in the ,national ,review
 upon ,newman1 ,coleridge1 and          
,carlyle2 also the one upon ,lessing as 
a ,theologian4    ,we have called this  
volume ,studies of ,christianity1 simply
 as a  convenient indication of the     
general character of its contents4 ,in  
justice to the author1 it should be     
borne in mind that the separate  papers 
were prepared to meet various occasions1
 without a suspicion that  they would   
ever be brought together to form a book4
 ,of course they do  not express his    
complete views of the mighty subject    
which they  fragmentarily treat4 ,the   
relative order and rank of his          
convictions1 the  interpretation of     
,christianity from its inner side1      
appear much better  in his ,endeavors   
after the ,christian ,life1--by far the 
richest and  noblest series of sermons  

in the ,english language4 ,still1 a kind
 of  unity pervades the different pieces
 composing this collection4 ,one        
,christ-like strain of sentiment        
breathes through them all4 ,the same    
consecrating fealty to truth presides   
over them all4 ,the same grand  outline 
of principles and unvarying standard of 
judgment are constantly  evident4 ,the  
same marvellous acumen1 breadth of      
learning1 and exquisite  culture1       
everywhere appear4 ,each article is more
 or less directly an  illustration of   
,christianity1 as something moral1      
spiritual1 vital1  dynamic1 to be       
practically assimilated by the soul1 in 
distinction from  the common exposition 
of it1 as something sacerdotal1         
dogmatic1 formal1  forensic1 once       
enacted and now to be mimetically       
observed4 ,the energetic  patience of   
labor1 the detersive intellect1 the     
unalloyed devoutness of  spirit1 the    
telescopic range both of faculty and    
equipment1 revealed  even in these      

wayside products1 awaken in us an       
unappeasable desire for  a more purposed
 and systematic work from the same mind1
 now in its  fullest maturity4 ,in the  
mean time we will express our grateful  
appreciation of the contributions       
already furnished1 by giving them       
further circulation1 assured that no    
truly pious and intelligent person1     
free from bigotry and shackles1 can     
peruse them without receiving equal     
measures of delight and profit4    ,mr4 
,martineau is so thoroughly acquainted  
with the processes and  results of      
spiritual experience1 with the sciences 
of nature1 and with  the whole realm of 
metaphysical philosophy1 and his own    
wealthy  faculties are so tenacious in  
their activity and freshness1 that every
  subject he touches receives novelty1  
light1 and ornament4 ,he is             
emphatically a teacher for the          
teachers1--a greater guide and master   
for the common guides and masters4      
,traversing the whole domain of  human  

contemplation with the defining lines of
 analysis1 clothing the  severe         
materials of science with the colors of 
sthetic art1 he sheds  on every theme   
the illumination of intellectual genius1
 and transfuses  every thought with the 
distinctive sentiments of piety4 ,thus  
is  afforded that rarest of all         
spectacles1--and the one now most needed
  by the cultivated religious world1--of
 a man who is greatly endowed at  once  
as philosopher1 poet1 and ,christian1   
and who with simultaneous  earnestness  
in each capacity is devoted1 by the     
whole labors of his  life1 to the       
instruction of mankind4    ,for these   
reasons1 we feel it a duty to attract as
 much attention as  possible to ,mr4    
,martineau's past and expected          
publications4 ,the  peerless            
intelligence1 the bracing fidelity1 the 
essential nobleness  and catholicity1   
the tender beauty and reverence1 of his 
utterances1  his consummate mastery of  
the great topics he handles1 seem to us 

fitted in a solitary degree to meet the 
highest wants of the age1--to  do divine
 service in the conflict of scepticism1 
sensuality1 and decay  against all that 
is truest and purest in the religious   
faith and moral  life of ,christendom4  
,therefore1 to persons who1 unacquainted
 with the  author's previous works1 may 
read the papers here collected1 we would
  recommend as the best books for       
educated and earnest ,christian         
thinkers1 ,mr4 ,martineau's ,rationale  
of ,religious ,inquiry1 the volume  of  
his ,miscellanies edited by the ,rev4   
,t4 ,s4 ,king1 and the two  series of   
,endeavors after the ,christian ,life   
recently republished in  one volume by  
,messrs4 ,munroe and ,company4    ,we   
shall make up the rest of this          
introductory paper by quoting from  some
 of ,mr4 ,martineau's articles1 not     
generally accessible1 a few  specimens  
of those thoughts which1 if freely      
received in these times  of theological 
doubt and turmoil1 would lead many a    

religious thinker  towards the truth and
 peace he covets4    ,how clearly the   
following passage shows the true        
,,relation ,,between ,,natural ,,and    
,,revealed ,,religion4    ,the contempt 
with which it is the frequent practice  
of divines to treat  the grounds of     
natural religion1 betrays an ignorance  
both of the true  office of revelation  
and of the true wants of the human      
heart4 ,it cannot  be justified1 except 
on the supposition that there is some   
contradiction  between the teachings of 
creation and those of ,christ1 with some
 decided  preponderance of proof in     
favor of the latter4 ,even if the       
,gospel  furnished a series of perfectly
 new truths1 of which nature had been   
profoundly silent1 it would be neither  
reasonable nor safe to fix  exclusive   
attention on these recent and historical
 acquisitions1 and  prohibit all        
reference to those elder oracles of     
,god1 by which his  ,spirit1 enshrined  
in the glories of his universe1 taught  

the fathers of  our race4 ,and if it be 
the function of ,christianity not to    
administer  truth entirely new1 but to  
corroborate by fresh evidence1 and      
invest  with new beauty1 and publish to 
the millions with a voice of power1 a   
faith latent already in the hearts of   
many1 and scattered through the         
speculations of the wise and noble      
few1--to erect into realities the       
dreams which had visited a half-inspired
 philosophy1 interpreting the  life and 
lot of man2--then there is a relation   
between the religion of  nature and that
 of ,christ1--a relation of original and
  supplement1--which renders the one    
essential to the apprehension of the    
other4 ,revelation1 you say1 has given  
us the clew by which to thread the      
labyrinth of creation1 and extricate    
ourselves from its passages of  mystery 
and gloom4 ,be it so2 still1 there1 in  
the scene thus cleared  of its          
perplexity1 must our worship be paid1   
and the manifestations of  ,deity be    

sought4 ,if the use of revelation be to 
explain the perplexities  of ,providence
 and life1 it would be a strange use to 
make of the  explanation were we to turn
 away from the thing explained4 ,we hold
 the  key of heaven in our hands4 ,what 
folly to be for ever extolling and      
venerating it1 whilst we prohibit all   
approach to the temple whose gates  it  
is destined to unlock4    ,one would    
search long to find a finer illustration
 than is here given  of the real        
,,nature ,,of ,,devotion4    ,in        
,devotion there is this great           
peculiarity1--that it is neither the    
work nor the play of our nature1 but is 
something higher than  either1--more    
ideal than the one1 more real than the  
other4 ,all human  activities besides   
are one of these two things1--either the
 mere aim  at an external end1 or the   
mere outcome of an inner feeling4 ,on   
the  one hand1 we plough and sow1 we    
build and navigate1 that we may win  the
 adornments and securities of life2 on  

the other hand1 we sing and  dance1 we  
carve and paint1 that we may put forth  
the pressure of  harmony and joy and    
beauty breaking from within4 ,mechanical
 ,toil  terminates in a solid product2  
graceful ,art is content with simple    
expression2 but ,religion is degraded   
when it is reduced to either  character4
 ,it is not a labor of utility2 and he  
who looks to it as a  means of safety1  
to ingratiate himself with an awful     
,god1 and bespeak  an interest in a     
hidden ,future1 is an utter stranger to 
its essence2  his habits and words may  
be cast in its mould1 but the spark of  
its  life is not kindled in his heart4  
,when fed by the fuel of prudence1  the 
fire is all spent in fusing it into     
form2 and the finished product  is a    
cold and metal mimicry1 that neither    
moves nor glows4 ,nor is  ,religion a   
simple gesture of passion2 and to class 
it with mere  natural language1 to treat
 it as the rhythmical delirium of the   
soul  working off an irrepressible      

enthusiasm1 is to empty it of its real  
meaning and contents1 and sink it from a
 divine attraction to a human           
excitement4 ,the postures and movements 
and tones which simply  manifest the    
impassioned mind are content to go off  
into space1 and  pass away2 they direct 
themselves nowhither2 they have no more 
object than a convulsion2 they ask only 
leave to be the last shape  of a feeling
 that must have way2 and be the         
inspiration what it may1  they close and
 consummate its history4 ,but he who    
prays is at the  beginning of           
aspiration1 not at the evaporating end  
of impulse2 he is  drawn1 not driven2 he
 is not painting himself upon vacancy1  
but is  surrendering himself to a       
,presence real and everlasting4 ,if he  
flings  out his arms1 it is not in blind
 paroxysm1 but that he may embrace and  
be embraced2 if he cries aloud1 it is   
that he may be heard2 if he  makes      
melody of the silent heart1 it is no    
soliloquy flung into  emptiness1 but the

 low-breathing love of spirit to        
,spirit4 ,devotion is  not the play even
 of the highest faculties1 but their    
deep earnest4 ,it  is no doubt the      
culminating point of reverence2 but     
reverence is  impossible without an     
object1 and could never culminate at    
all1 or  pass into the ,infinite1 unless
 its object did so too4 ,in every case  
we  find that the faculties and         
susceptibilities of a being tell true1  
and  are the exact measure of the outer 
life it has to live2 and just as  many  
and as large proportions as it has1 to  
just so many and so great  objects does 
it stand related2 so that from the axis 
of its nature you  may always draw the  
curve of its existence4 ,human worship1 
therefore1  turning to the living ,god  
as the infant's eye to light1 is itself 
a  witness to ,him whom it feels after  
and adores2 it is the image and  shadow 
of heavenly things1 the parallel chamber
 in our nature with  that ,holy of      
,holies whither its incense ever        

ascends4    ,in a similar strain is this
 argument to show that      ,,devotion  
,,is ,,not ,a ,,mistake4    ,be assured1
 all visible greatness of mind grows in 
looking at an  invisible that is        
greater4 ,and since it is inconceivable 
that what is  most sublime in humanity  
should spring from vision of a thing    
that is  not1 that what is most real and
 commanding with us should come of      
stretching the soul into the unreal and 
empty1 that historic  durability should 
be the gift of spectral fancies1 we must
 hold these  devout natures to be at one
 with everlasting ,fact1--to feel truly 
that  the august forms of ,justice and  
,holiness are at home in heaven1 the    
object there of clearer insight and more
 perfect veneration4 ,there are  those  
who please themselves with the idea that
 the world will outgrow  its habits of  
worship2 that the newspaper will        
supersede the preacher  and prophet2    
that the apprehension of scientific laws
 will replace the  fervor of moral      

inspirations2 that this sphere of being 
will then be  perfectly administered    
when no reference to another distracts  
attention4 ,but1 for my own part1 ,i am 
persuaded1 that life would soon  become 
intolerable on earth1 were it copied    
from nothing in the  heavens2 that its  
deeper affections would pine away and   
its lights of  purest thought grow pale1
 if it lay shrouded in no ,holy ,spirit1
 but  only in the wilderness of space4  
,the most sagacious secular voice       
leaves1 after all1 a chord untouched in 
the human heart3 listening too  long to 
its didactic monotone1 we begin to sigh 
for the rich music of  hope and faith4  
,the dry glare of noonday knowledge     
hurts the eye by  plying it for use and 
denying it beauty2 and we long to be    
screened  behind a cloud or two of      
moisture and of mystery1 that shall     
mellow  the glory and cool the air4     
,never can the world be less to us1 than
  when we make it all in all4    ,our   
author makes a striking reply to the    

common assertion that      ,,theology   
,,is ,,not ,a ,,progressive ,,science4  
,it may1 however1 be retrogressive2 and 
it is sure to repay flippant  neglect by
 lending its empty space to mean        
delusions4 ,to its great  problems some 
answer will always be attempted2 and    
there is much to  choose between the    
solutions1 however imperfect1 found by  
reverential  wisdom1 and the degrading  
falsehoods tendered in reply by the     
indifferent and superficial4 ,even in   
their failures1 there is a vast         
difference between the explorings of the
 seeing and the blind4 ,we deny1        
however1 that ,christian theology can   
assume any aspect of failure1  except to
 those who use a false measure of       
success4 ,it is not in the  nature of   
religion1 of poetry1 of art1 to exhibit 
the kind of progress  that belongs to   
physical science4 ,they differ from it  
in seeking1 not  the phenomena of the   
universe1 but its essence1--not its laws
 of  change1 but its eternal            

meanings1--not outward nature1 in short1
 except  as expressive of the inner     
thought of ,god2 and being thus intent  
upon  the enduring spirit and very      
ground of things1 they cannot grow by   
numerical accretion of facts and exacter
 registration of successions4  ,they are
 the product1 not of the patient sense  
and comparing  intelligence which are   
always at hand1 but of a deeper and     
finer  insight1 changing with the       
atmosphere of the affections and will4  
,instead of looking1 therefore1 for     
perpetual advance of discovery in       
theology1 we should naturally expect an 
ebb and flow of light1 answering  to the
 moral condition of men's minds2 and may
 be content if the divine  truth1 lost  
in the dulness of a material age1 clears
 itself into fresh  forms with the      
returning breath of a better time4      
,most readers will find suggestions of  
great freshness in the passage  next    
cited3--      ,,the ,,heart ,,of        
,,christianity4    ,to lose sight of    

this principle in estimating            
,christianity1 and to  insist on judging
 it1 not by its matured character in    
,christendom1 not  by the unconscious   
spirit of its founders1 but by their    
personal  views and purposes1 is to     
overlook the divine in it in order to   
fasten  on the human2 to seek the winged
 creature of the air in the throbbing   
chrysalis2 and is like judging the place
 of the ,hebrews in history by  the     
court and the proverbs of ,solomon1 or  
the value of ,puritanism by  the sermon 
of a hill-preacher before the civil war4
 ,the primitive  ,christianity was      
certainly different from that of other  
ages2 but  there is no reason for       
believing that it was better4 ,the      
representation often made of the early  
,church1 as having only truth1  and     
feeling only love1 and living in simple 
sanctity1 is contradicted  by every page
 of the ,christian records4 ,the        
,epistles are entirely  occupied in     
driving back guilt and passion1 or in   

correcting errors of  belief2 nor is it 
always possible to approve of the temper
 in which  they perform the one task1 or
 to assent to the methods by which they 
attempt the other4 ,principles and      
affections were indeed secreted in  the 
heart of the first disciples1 which were
 to have a great future1  and to become 
the highest truth of the world4 ,but it 
was precisely of  these that they rarely
 thought at all4 ,the ,apostles         
themselves speak  slightingly of them1  
as baby's food2 and the great faith in  
,god1 the  need of repentant purity of  
heart1 with the trust in                
immortality1--the  very doctrines which 
we should name as the permanent essence 
of  ,christian faith1--are expressly    
declared by them to be the childish     
rudiments of belief1 on which the       
attention of the grown ,christian  will 
disdain to dwell4 ,and what did they    
prefer to these sublime  truths1 as the 
nutriment of their life and the pride of
 their wisdom8  ,allegories about ,isaac

 and ,ishmael1 parallels between ,christ
 and  ,melchisedec1 new readings of     
history and prophecy to suit the events 
in ,palestine1 and a constant outlook   
for the end of all things4 ,these  were 
the grand topics on which their minds   
eagerly worked1 and on  which they      
labored to construct a consistent       
theory4 ,these give the  form to their  
doctrine1 the matter to their spirit4   
,these are what you  will get1 if you go
 indiscriminately to their writings for 
a creed3  and these are no more         
,christianity than the pretensions of   
,hildebrand  or the visions of          
,swedenborg4 ,the true religion lies    
elsewhere1 just  in the things that were
 ever present with them1 but never      
esteemed4  ,just as your friend may     
spend his anxiety on his station1 his   
usefulness1 his appearance and repute1  
and fear lest he should show  nothing   
deserving your regard1 while all the    
time you love him for the  pure graces1 
the native wild-flowers1 of his heart2  

so do the  choicest servants of ,god    
ever think one thing of themselves1     
while  they are dear to him and revered 
by us for quite another4 ,the weak      
things in the ,church not less than in  
the world hath he chosen to  confound   
the mighty2 the simple1 to strike dumb  
the wise2 and things  that are not1 to  
supersede the things that are4    ,in   
rude ages1 and amid feudal customs1 it  
has perhaps been no unhappy  thing that 
this image of servitude has been        
transmitted into the  conceptions of    
faith3 it may have touched with some    
sanctity an  inevitable submission1 and 
mingled a sentiment of loyalty with     
religion4 ,but the external relation of 
serf and lord is no type of  the        
internal relation of spirit to spirit1  
which alone constitutes  religion to us4
 ,to ,god himself1 with all his         
infinitude1 we are not  slaves2 we are  
not his property1 but his children2 he  
regards us1  not as things1 but as      
persons2 he does not so much command us1

 as  appeal to us2 and in our obedience1
 it is not his bidding that we  serve1  
but that divine ,law of ,right of which 
he makes us conscious as  the rule of   
,his nature only more perfectly than of 
ours4 ,to obey him  as slaves1 in fear1 
and with an eye upon his power1 is1 with
 all our  punctuality and anxiety1      
simply and entirely to disobey him2 nor 
is  anything precious in his sight1     
except the free consent of heart with   
which we apprehend what is holy to his  
thought and embrace what is in  harmony 
with his perfection4 ,still less can we 
be slaves to ,christ1  who is no        
autocrat to us1 but our freely followed 
leader towards ,god2  the guide of our  
pilgrim troop in quest of a holy land2  
who gives us  no law from the mandates  
of his will1 but only interprets for us1
 and  makes burn within us1 in          
characters of fire1 the law of our own  
hearts2 who has no power over us1 except
 through the affections he  awakens and 
the aspirations he sets upon the watch4 

,we have emerged  from the ,religion of 
,law1 whose only sentiment is that of   
obedience  to sovereignty2 we have      
passed from the religion of ,salvation1 
whose life consists in gratitude to a   
,deliverer2 and we are capable  only of 
a religion of reverence1 which bows     
before the authority of  ,goodness4 ,and
 in the infinite ranks of excellence1   
from the highest  to the lowest1 there  
are no lords and slaves2 the dependence 
is ever  that of internal charm1 not of 
external bond2 the authority is but     
represented and impersonated in another 
and a better soul1 but has its  living  
seat within our own2 and in this true   
and elevating worship1  the more we are 
disposed of by another1 the more do we  
feel that we  are our own4 ,this is a   
relation which the political terms of   
the  expected theocracy are ill adapted 
to express2 and if we have required     
many centuries to grope our way to this 
clearest glory of religion1 to          
disengage it from the impure admixture  

of servile fear and revolting           
presumption2 if it has taken long for us
 to melt away in our  imagination the   
images of thrones and tribunals1 of     
prize-givings and  prisons1 of a police 
and assizes of the universe2 if only at 
the  eleventh hour of our faith1 the    
cloud has passed away1 and shown us  the
 true angel-ladder that springs from    
earth to heaven1 the pure  climax of    
souls whereon each below looks up and   
rises1 yet each above  bends down and   
helps2--the discovery which brings such 
peace and  freedom to the heart1 has    
been delayed by the mistaken            
identification  of the entire creed of  
the first age with the essence of       
,christianity4  ,now that ,god has shown
 us so much more1 has tried the divine  
seed of  the ,gospel on so various a    
soil of history1 and enabled us to      
distinguish its fairest blossoms and its
 choicest fruits1 a much  larger meaning
 than was possible at first must be     
given to the purpose  of his revelation4

 ,even to ,paul1 ,christ was mainly the 
great  representative of a theocratic   
idea2 and was in no other sense an      
object of spiritual belief1 than that he
 was not on earth and  mortal1 but in   
heaven and immortal4 ,that faith in     
,christ1 which then  prominently denoted
 belief in his appointed return1 and    
allegiance  to him as ,god's viceroy in 
this world1 is now transferred into     
quite a  different thing4 ,it is        
altogether a moral and affectionate     
sentiment3  an acknowledgment of him as 
the highest impersonation of divine     
excellence and inspired insight yet     
given to the world2 a trust in him  as  
the only realized type of perfection    
that can mediate for us  between        
ourselves and ,god2 a faithfulness to   
him1 as making us  conscious of what we 
are and what ,god and our conscience    
would have us  to be4 ,it is vain to    
pretend that revelation is a fixed and  
stereotyped thing4 ,it was born1 as the 
divinest things must be1 among  human   

conditions2 and into it ever since human
 conditions have  perpetually flowed4   
,the elements of ,hebrew thought        
surrounded the  sacred centre at first1 
and have been erroneously identified    
with it  by all ,unitarian churches in  
every age4 ,the ,hellenic intellect     
afterwards streamed towards the fresh   
point of life and faith1 and  gathered  
around it the metaphysical system of    
,trinitarian dogma in  which orthodox   
communions of all times have1 with      
parallel error1  sought the essence of  
the ,gospel4 ,the true principle of the 
religion  has been secreted in both1 and
 consisted in neither3 it has lain      
unnoticed in the midst1 in the silent   
chamber of the heart1 around  which the 
clamor of the disputatious intellect    
whirls without  entrance4 ,the agency of
 ,christ's mind as the expression of    
,god's moral  nature and providence1 and
 as the realized ideal of beauty and    
excellence1--this is the power of ,god  
and the wisdom of ,god1 which has  made 

vain the counsels of the world1 and     
baffled the foolishness of  the ,church4
 ,this is the ,gospel's centre of       
stability1--,jesus ,christ1  the same   
yesterday1 to-day1 and for ever4    ,few
 persons can be insensible to the       
sublimity of this expression upon  the  
relation between      ,,christ1         
,,nature1 ,,providence1 ,,and ,,god4    
,in conclusion1 then1 ,i revert1 with   
freshened persuasion1 to the  statement 
with which ,i commenced4 ,jesus ,christ 
of ,nazareth1 ,god hath  presented to us
 simply in his inspired humanity4 ,him  
we accept1 not  indeed as very ,god1 but
 as the true image of ,god1 commissioned
 to show  what no written doctrinal     
record could declare1 the entire moral  
perfections of ,deity4 ,we accept1 not  
indeed his body1 not the  struggles of  
his sensitive nature1 not the travail of
 his soul1 but  his purity1 his         
tenderness1 his absolute devotion to the
 great idea of  right1 his patient and  
compassionate warfare against misery and

 guilt1  as the most distinct and       
beautiful expression of the ,divine     
mind4 ,the  peculiar office of ,christ  
is to supply a new moral image of       
,providence2 and everything1 therefore1 
except the moral complexion  of his     
mind1 we leave behind as human and      
historical merely1 and apply  to no     
religious use4 ,i have already stated in
 what way nature and the  ,gospel       
combine to bring before us the great    
object of our trust and  worship4 ,the  
universe gives us the scale of ,god1 and
 ,christ1 his  ,spirit4 ,we climb to the
 infinitude of his nature by the awful  
pathway  of the stars1 where whole      
forests of worlds silently quiver here  
and  there1 like a small leaf of light4 
,we dive into his eternity1 through  the
 ocean waves of time1 that roll and     
solemnly break on the  imagination1 as  
we trace the wrecks of departed things  
upon our  present globe4 ,the scope of  
his intellect1 and the majesty of his   
rule1 are seen in the tranquil order and

 everlasting silence that  reign through
 the fields of his volition4 ,and the   
spirit that animates  the whole is like 
that of the ,prophet of ,nazareth2 the  
thoughts that  fly upon the swift light 
throughout creation1 charged with fates 
unnumbered1 are like the healing mercies
 of ,one that passed no sorrow  by4 ,the
 government of this world1 its          
mysterious allotments of good  and ill1 
its successions of birth and death1 its 
hopes of progress and  of peace1 each   
life of individual or nation1 is under  
the  administration of ,one1 of whose   
rectitude and benevolence1 whose        
sympathy with all the holiest           
aspirations of our virtue and our love1 
,christ is the appointed emblem4 ,a     
faith that spreads around and within    
the mind a ,deity thus sublime and holy1
 feeds the light of every pure          
affection1 and presses with omnipotent  
power on the conscience2 and  our only  
prayer is1 that we may walk as children 
of such light4    ,it seems as if no one

 capable of understanding could resist  
the  convincing cogency of the following
 exhibition of      ,,the ,,idea ,,of   
,,vicarious ,,justice4    ,it is only   
natural that the parable of the         
,prodigal ,son should be no  favorite   
with those who deny the unconditional   
mercy of ,god4 ,the place  which this   
divine tale occupies in the ,unitarian  
theology appears to  be filled1 in the  
orthodox scheme1 by the story of        
,zaleucus1 king of  the ,locrians2 which
 has been appealed to in the present    
controversy by  both the lecturers on   
the ,atonement1 and seems to be the only
  endurable illustration presented1 even
 by ,pagan history1 of the  execution of
 vicarious punishment4 ,this monarch had
 passed a law  condemning adulterers to 
the loss of both eyes4 ,his own son was 
convicted of the crime2 and1 to satisfy 
at once the claims of law and  of       
clemency1 the royal parent commanded one
 of his own eyes to be  pulled out1 and 
one of his son's4 ,is it too bold a     

heresy to confess  that there seems to  
me something heathenish in this example1
 and that1  as an exponent of the       
,divine character1 ,i more willingly    
revere the  ,father of the prodigal than
 the father of the adulterer8           
,without entering1 however1 into any    
comparison between the ,locrian and  the
 ,galilean parable1 ,i would observe1   
that the vicarious theory  receives no  
illustration from this fragment of      
ancient history4 ,there  is no analogy  
between the cases1 except in the        
violation of truth and  wisdom which    
both exhibit2 and whatever we are       
instructed to admire in  ,zaleucus1 will
 be found on close inspection to be     
absent from the  orthodox representation
 of ,god4 ,we pity the ,grecian king1   
who had made  a law without foresight of
 its application1 and so sympathize with
 his  desire to evade it1 that any      
quibble which legal ingenuity can devise
  for this purpose passes with slight   
condemnation2 casuistry refuses to  be  

severe with a man implicated in such a  
difficulty4 ,but the ,creator  and      
,legislator of the human race1 having   
perfect knowledge of the  future1 can   
never be surprised into a similar       
perplexity2 or ever pass  a law at one  
time which at another he desires to     
evade4 ,even were it  so1 there would   
seem to be less that is unworthy of his 
moral  perfection in saying plainly1    
with the ancient ,hebrews1 that he      
repented of the evil he thought to do1  
and said1 ,it shall not be1  than in    
ascribing to him a device for preserving
 consistency1 in which  no one capable  
of appreciating veracity can pretend to 
discern any  sincere fulfilment of the  
law4 ,however barbarous the idea of     
,divine  repentance1 it is at least     
ingenuous4 ,nor does this incident of   
,zaleucus and his son present any       
parallel to the alleged relation        
between the ,divine ,father who         
receives1 and the ,divine ,son who      
gives1  the satisfaction for human      

guilt4 ,the ,locrian king took a part of
 the  penalty himself1 and left the     
remainder where it was due2 but the     
,sovereign ,lawgiver of ,calvinism puts 
the whole upon another4 ,to  sustain the
 analogy1 ,zaleucus should have         
permitted an innocent son to  have both 
his eyes put out1 and the convicted     
adulterer to escape4    ,the doctrine of
 ,atonement has introduced among        
,trinitarians a mode of  speaking       
respecting ,god1 which grates most      
painfully against the  reverential      
affections due to him4 ,his nature is   
dismembered into a  number of           
attributes1 foreign to each other1 and  
preferring rival  claims2 the ,divine   
tranquillity appears as the equilibrium 
of opposing  pressures1--the ,divine    
administration as a resultant from the  
collision of hostile forces4 ,goodness  
pleads for that which holiness  forbids2
 and the ,paternal ,god would do many a 
mercy1 did the ,sovereign  ,god allow4  
,the idea of a conflict or embarrassment

 in the ,supreme ,mind  being thus      
introduced1 and the believer being      
haunted by the feeling  of some         
tremendous difficulty affecting the     
,infinite government1 the  vicarious    
economy is brought forward as the       
relief1 the solution of  the whole      
perplexity2 the union1 by a blessed     
compromise1 of  attributes that could   
never combine in any scheme before4 ,the
 main  business of theology is made to  
consist in stating the conditions and   
expounding the solution of this         
imaginary problem4 ,the cardinal        
difficulty is thought to be the         
reconciliation of justice and mercy2    
and1 as the one is represented under the
 image of a ,sovereign1 the  other under
 that of a ,father1 the question assumes
 this form3 ,how can  the same being at 
every moment possess both these         
characters1 without  abandoning any     
function or feeling appropriate to      
either8 how1  especially1 can the ,judge
 remit8--it is beyond his power2 yet how

 can  the ,parent punish to the         
uttermost8--it is contrary to his       
nature4    ,all this difficulty is      
merely fictitious1 arising out of the   
determination to make out that ,god is  
both wholly ,judge and wholly  ,father2 
from an anxiety1 that is1 to adhere to  
two metaphors1 as  applicable1 in every 
particular1 to the ,divine ,being4 ,it  
is evident that  both must be1 to a     
great extent1 inappropriate2 and in     
nothing1 surely1  is the impropriety    
more manifest1 than in the assertion    
that1 as  sovereign1 ,god is naturally  
bound to execute laws which1            
nevertheless1  it would be desirable to 
remit1 or change in their operation4    
,whatever  painful necessities the      
imperfection of human legislation and   
judicial  procedure may impose1 the     
,omniscient ,ruler can make no law which
 he will  not to all eternity1 and with 
entire consent of his whole nature1 deem
  it well to execute4 ,this is the      
,unitarian answer to the constant       

question1 ,how can ,god forgive in      
defiance of his own law8 ,it is not in  
defiance of his laws3 every one of which
 will be fulfilled to the  uttermost1 in
 conformity with his first intent2 but  
nowhere has he  declared that he would  
not forgive4 ,all justice consists in   
treating  moral agents according to     
their character2 the inexorability of   
human  law arises solely from the       
imperfection with which it can attain   
this  end1 and is not the essence1 but  
the alloy1 of equity2 but ,god1 who     
searches and controls the heart1        
exercises that perfect justice1 which   
permits the penal suffering to depart   
only with the moral guilt2 and  pardons1
 not by cancelling any sentence1 but by 
obeying his eternal  purpose to meet the
 wanderer returning homeward1 and give  
his blessing  to the restored4 ,only by 
such restoration can any past guilt be  
effaced4  ,the thoughts1 emotions1 and  
sufferings of sin1 once committed1 are  
woven  into the fabric of the soul2 and 

are as incapable of being absolutely    
obliterated thence and put back into    
non-existence1 as moments of being      
struck from the past1 or the parts of   
space from infinitude4 ,herein we       
behold alike the goodness and the       
severity of ,god2 and adore in him1  not
 the balance of contrary tendencies1 but
 the harmony of consentaneous           
perfections4 ,how plainly does          
experience show that1 if his personal   
unity be given up1 his moral unity      
cannot be preserved6    ,the author     
himself is the best exemplification of  
the man described in  this account of   
the      ,,difference ,,between         
,,apprehension ,,and ,,interpretation4  
,the difference between the ordinary    
visual gaze upon the external  universe1
 and the interpreting glance of science1
 is felt by every  cultivated           
understanding to be immeasurable2--and  
the contrast is not  less between that  
dull sense of what passes within him1   
which is forced  upon a man by mere     

practical experience1 and the exact     
consciousness1  the discriminative      
perception1 the easy comprehension of   
his own 7and1  so far as they are       
expressed by faithful symbols1 of       
others'7 states and  affections1        
possessed by the patient analyst of     
thought and emotion1 and  careful       
collector of their laws4 ,the mighty    
mass of human achievement  and human    
failure1 in intellectual research1 in   
moral endeavor1 in  social economy and  
government1 lapses into order before    
him1 and  distributes itself among the  
provinces of determinate laws4 ,the     
structure of a child's perplexity1 and  
the fallacies of the most  ambitious    
hypothesis1 lie open to him as readily1 
as to the artisan a  flaw in the fabric 
of his own craft4 ,the creations of art 
fall before  him into their elements2   
and1 dissolving away their constituent  
matter1 which is an accident of their   
age1 leave upon his mind their          
permanent form of beauty1 as his guide  

to a true and noble criticism4  ,the    
progress and the aberrations of human   
reason1 in its quest of truth1  are as  
clearly appreciated by him1 as the      
passages of happy skill or  ignorant    
roving in some voyage of discovery1 when
 the outlines and  relations of the     
sphere on which it is made become fully 
known4  ,discerning distinctly the      
different kinds of evidence appropriate 
to  different departments of truth1 and 
weighing the scientific value of  every 
idea and method of thought1 he is not at
 the mercy of each  superficial         
impression and obtrusive phase presented
 to him by the  subjects of his         
contemplation2 but he attains a certain 
rational tact  and graduated feeling of 
certainty in abstract matters of        
opinion1 by  which he escapes alike the 
miseries of undefined doubt1 and the    
passions  of unqualified dogmatism4 ,in 
short1 the great idea of ,science is    
applied  by him to the complicated      
workings of the mind of man2 interprets 

the  activities of his nature1 and gives
 laws to the administration of his      
life2 and1 with wonderful analysis1     
investigates the properties1 and        
establishes the equation1 of their most 
labyrinthine curves4    ,what a rebuke  
upon dogmatic sciolists1 what a glorious
 invitation to  study1 are conveyed in  
the genial1 broad1 mental hospitality of
 the  succeeding paragraph6             
,,necessity ,,of ,,learning ,,in        
,,philosophy4    ,if there is one       
department of knowledge more than       
another in which a  contemptuous        
disregard of the meditations and        
theories of distant  periods and nations
 is misplaced1 it is in the philosophy  
of  man1--which can have no adequate    
breadth of basis till it reposes on  the
 consciousness and covers the mental    
experience of the universal  race2 and  
to construct which out of purely        
personal materials1 is like  attempting 
to lay down the curves and finish the   
theory of terrestrial  magnetism on the 

strength of a few closet experiments4   
,no man1 however  large-thoughted and   
composite his mind1 can accept of       
himself as the  type of universal human 
nature4 ,it will even be a great and    
rare  endowment1 if1 with every aid of  
exact learning and unwearying  patience1
 he is able to penetrate the atmosphere 
of others'  understanding1 and to       
observe the forms and colors which the  
objects  of contemplation assume1 when  
beheld through this peculiar medium4    
,simply to avail one's self of the      
experience of mankind1 and know what  it
 has really been1 demands no little     
scope of imagination and  versatility of
 intellectual sympathy4 ,when these     
qualities are so  deficient in a thinker
 that he cannot well achieve this       
knowledge1 it  is a great misfortune to 
his philosophy2 when the want is such   
that he  does not even desire it1 it    
amounts to an absolute disqualification4
  ,without1 therefore1 pledging         
ourselves to the eclectic principles    

which prevail in the present school of  
philosophy in ,france1 we must  beware  
of the intolerant dogmatism of ,bentham 
in ,england1 sanctioned1  as we have    
seen1 by one of the masters of the      
antagonist metaphysics  in ,germany4    
,indeed1 it will be a chief purpose of  
all my lectures to  enable you to profit
 by the light of other minds2 in every  
province of  the vast region which we   
shall explore together1 to indicate the 
paths  which they have traversed before1
 nor ever to turn away from their       
points of discovery1 without raising    
some rude monument at least of  honest  
and commemorative praise4 ,to introduce 
you to the works1 to  interpret the     
difficulties1 to do honor to the labors1
 to review the  opinions1 of the great  
masters of speculative thought in every 
age and  in many lands1 will be an      
indispensable portion of my duty2--a    
task  most arduous indeed1 but than     
which none can be more grateful to one  
who loves to trace1 through all their   

affinities1 the indestructible  types of
 truth and beauty in the human mind2 and
 to mark the natural  laws1 connecting  
together the most opposite continents   
and climes of  thought1 as parts1       
successively colonized and cultivated1  
of one great  intellectual world4 ,but  
in addition to the study of the several 
classes of psychological and moral      
doctrine as they present themselves  in 
the order of science1 it will be        
important to spread out the  literature 
of philosophy before us in the order of 
time2 to gain an  insight into the      
natural development of successive modes 
of thought on  speculative subjects2 to 
notice the action and reaction of       
philosophy  and practical life2 to      
ascertain whether opinion on these      
abstract  matters really advances into  
knowledge and has any determinate       
progression1 or whether it oscillates   
for ever on either side of some  fixed  
idea1 or line of mental gravitation4 ,in
 short1 having surveyed  our subject    

systematically1 we shall go over it     
again chronologically2  and call upon   
philosophy1 when it has recited its     
creed1 and revealed  its wisdom1 to     
finish all by writing its history4      
,the hints given in ,mr4 ,martineau's   
frequent references to the bearing  of  
scientific knowledge and laws upon      
theological speculations are  very      
important4 ,we adduce a single example4 
,,physical ,,science ,,and ,,religion4  
,an accomplished and thoughtful observer
 of nature--,hugh ,miller1 the          
geologist--has somewhere remarked1 that 
religion has lost its  dependence on    
metaphysical theories1 and must         
henceforth maintain  itself upon the    
domain of physical science4 ,he         
accordingly exhorts the  guardians of   
sacred truth to prepare themselves for  
the approaching  crisis in its history1 
by exchanging the study of thoughts for 
the  apprehension of things1 and        
carefully cultivating the habit of      
inductive research4 ,the advice is      

excellent1 and proceeds from one  whose 
own example has amply proved its worth2 
and unless the clergy  qualify          
themselves to take part in the          
discussions which open  themselves with 
the advance of natural knowledge1 they  
will assuredly  be neither secure in    
their personal convictions nor faithful 
to their  public trust4 ,the only fault 
to be found with this counsel is1 that  
in  recommending one kind of knowledge  
it disparages another1 and betrays  that
 limited intellectual sympathy which is 
the bane of all noble  culture4         
,geology1 astronomy1 chemistry1 so far  
from succeeding to the  inheritance of  
metaphysics1 do but enrich its problems 
with new  conceptions and give a larger 
outline to its range2 and should they1  
in the wantonness of their young        
ascendency1 persuade men to its         
neglect1 they will pay the penalties of 
their contempt by the  appearance of    
confusion in their own doctrine4 ,the   
advance of any one  line of human       

thought demands--especially for the     
security of  faith--the parallel        
movement of all the rest2 and the       
attempt to  substitute one intellectual 
reliance for another1 mistakes for      
progress of knowledge what may be only  
an exchange of ignorance4 ,in           
particular1 the study of external nature
 must proceed pari passu  with the study
 of the human mind2 and the errors of an
 age too  exclusively reflective will   
not be remedied1 but only reversed1 by  
mere reaction into sciences of outward  
fact and observation4 ,these  physical  
pursuits1 followed into their further   
haunts1 rapidly run up  into a series of
 notions common to them all1--expressed 
by such words  as ,law1 ,cause1         
,force1--which at once transfer the     
jurisdiction  from the provincial courts
 of the special sciences to the high    
chancery of universal philosophy4 ,to   
conduct the pleadings--still more  to   
pronounce the judgment--there1 other    
habits of mind are needed than  are     

required in the museum and the          
observatory2 and the history of         
knowledge1 past and present1 abounds    
with instances of men who1 with  the    
highest merit in particular walks of    
science1 have combined a  curious       
incompetency of survey over the whole4  
,hence1 very few natural  philosophers1 
however eminent for great discoveries   
and dreaded by the  priesthood of their 
day1 have made any deep and durable     
impression on  the religious conception 
of the universe1 as the product and     
expression of an ,infinite ,mind2 and in
 tracing the eras of human  faith1 the  
deep thinker comes more prominently into
 view than the  skilful interrogator of 
nature4 ,in the history of religion1    
,plato is a  greater figure than        
,archimedes2 ,spinoza than ,newton2     
,hume and ,kant  than ,volta and ,la    
,place2 even ,thomas ,carlyle than      
,justus ,liebig4 ,our  picture indeed of
 the system of things is immensely      
enlarged1 both in  space and duration1  

by the progress of descriptive science2 
and the  grouping of its objects and    
events is materially changed4 ,but the  
altered scene carries with it the same  
expression to the soul2 speaks  the same
 language as to its origin2 renews its  
ancient glance with an  auguster beauty2
 and1 in spite of all dynamic theories1 
reproduces the  very modes of faith and 
doubt which belonged to the age both of 
the  old ,organon and of the new4       
,the ultimate problem of all philosophy 
and all religion is this3 ,how  are we  
to conceive aright the origin and first 
principle of things8  ,the answers1 it  
has been contended by a living author of
 distinguished  merit1 are necessarily  
reducible to two1 between which all     
systems are  divided1 and on the        
decision of whose controversy1 all      
antagonist  speculations would lay down 
their arms4 ,in the beginning was       
,,force1  says one class of thinkers2   
force1 singular or plural1 splitting    
into  opposites1 standing off into      

polarities1 ramifying into attractions  
and repulsions1 heat and magnetism1 and 
climbing through the stages of          
physical1 vital1 animal1 to the mental  
life itself4 ,on the  contrary1 says the
 other class1 in the beginning was      
,,thought2 and  only in the necessary   
evolution of its eternal ideas into     
expression  does force                  
arise1--self-realizing thought declaring
 itself in the  types of being and the  
laws of phenomena4 ,we need hardly say1 
that  the former of these two notions   
coalesces with the creed of ,atheism1   
and is most frequently met with upon the
 path of the physical  sciences1 while  
the latter is favored by the            
mathematical and  metaphysical1 and     
gives the essence of ,pantheism4 ,each  
of them has  insurmountable             
difficulties1 with which it is          
successfully taunted by  the other4     
,start from blind force2 and how1 by any
 spinning from that  solitary centre1   
are we ever to arrive at the seeing     

intellect8 ,can  the lower create the   
higher1 and the unconscious enable us to
 think8  ,start from pure thinking1 and 
how then can you get any force for the  
production of objective effects8 ,how   
metamorphose a passage of dialect  into 
the power of gravitation1 and a silent  
corollary into a flash of  lightning8   
,in taking the intellect as the type of 
,god1 this difficulty  must always be   
felt4 ,we are well aware that it is not 
in this  endowment that our dynamic     
energy resides4 ,the activity which we  
ascribe to our intellect is not a power 
going out into external  efficiency1 but
 a mere passage across the internal     
field of successive  thoughts as        
spontaneous phenomena4 ,nor have we1 as 
thinking beings  only1 any option with  
respect to the thoughts thus streaming  
over  the theatre of rational           
consciousness2 our constitution         
legislates for  us in this particular1  
and the order of suggestion is          
determined by  laws having their seat in

 us4 ,finally1 we are not1 by mere      
thinking  capacity1 constituted persons1
 any more than a sleeper who should     
never wake1 yet always be engaged with  
rational and scientific dreams1  would  
be a person4 ,without some further      
endowment1 we should only be a  logical 
life and development4 ,all these        
characters are imported into  the       
conception of ,god1 when he is          
represented as conforming to the  type  
of reason4 ,the activity of intellect   
being wholly internal1 the  phenomena of
 the ,universe could not be referred to 
,him as a thinking  being1 were they not
 gathered up into the interior of his   
nature1 and  conceived1 not as objective
 effects of his power1 but as purely    
subjective successions within the       
theatre of his infinitude4 ,intellect   
again having no option1 the ,god of this
 theory is without freedom1 and  is     
represented as the eternal necessity of 
reason4 ,and lastly1 in  fidelity to the
 same analogy1 ,he is not a divine      

,person1 but rather  a ,thinking ,thing1
 or the thinking function of the        
universe2 we may  say1 universal science
 in a state of self-consciousness4 ,the 
necessity under which ,pantheism lies1  
of fetching all that is to be  referred 
to ,god into the interior of his being1 
and dealing with it  as not less a      
necessary manifestation of his mental   
essence than are  our ideas of the mind 
that has them1 explains the             
unwillingness of  this system to allow  
any motives to ,god1 any field of       
objective  operation1 any special       
relation to individuals1 any revealing  
interposition1 any supernatural agency4 
,is it however true1 that human belief  
can only choose between these  two      
extremes1 and must oscillate eternally  
between the ,atheistic  homage to       
,force1 and the ,pantheistic to         
,thought8 ,far from it2 and it  is      
curiously indicative of the state of the
 philosophic atmosphere in  ,germany1   
that one of her most discerning and     

wide-seeing authors  should find no     
third possibility within the sphere of  
vision4 ,in any  latitude except one in 
which moral science has altogether      
melted away  in the universal solvent of
 metaphysics1 it would occur as one of  
the  most obvious suggestions1 that the 
intellect is not the only element  of   
human nature which may be taken as type 
of the ,divine1 and as  furnishing a    
possible solution to the problem of     
origination4 ,quitting  the two poles of
 extreme philosophy1 confessedly        
incompetent in their  separation1 we    
submit that ,,will presents the middle  
point which takes  up into itself       
,thought on the one hand and ,force on  
the other2 and  which yet1 so far from  
appearing to us as a compound arising   
out of  them as an effect1 is more      
easily conceived than either as the     
originating prefix of all phenomena4 ,it
 has none of the  disqualifications     
which we have remarked as flowing from  
the others  into their respective       

systems of doctrine4 ,it carries with   
it1 in its  very idea1 the co-presence  
of ,thought1 as the necessary element   
within  whose sphere it has to manifest 
itself4 ,its phenomena cannot exist     
alone2 it acts on preconceptions1 which 
stand related to it1  however1 not as   
its source1 but as its conditions1 and  
are its  co-ordinates in the effect     
rather than its generating antecedents4 
,if  therefore all things are issued by 
,will1 there is ,mind at the            
fountain-head1 and the absurdity is     
avoided of deriving intelligence  from  
unintelligence4 ,while it thus escapes  
the difficulty of passing  from mere    
,force to ,thought1 it is equally clear 
of the opposite  difficulty of making   
mere ,thought supply any ,force4 ,the   
activity of  ,will is not1 like that of 
,intellect1 a subjective transit of     
regimented ideas1 but an objective power
 going out for the  production of       
effects2 nay1 it is a free power1       
exercising  preference among data       

furnished by internal or external       
conditions  present in its field2 and it
 thus constitutes proper ,causality1    
which always implies control over an    
alternative4 ,we need hardly add1  that 
all the requisites are thus complete for
 the true idea of a  ,person2 and an    
,infinite ,being contemplated under this
 type is  neither a fateful nor a       
logical principle of necessity1 but a   
living  ,god1 out of whose purposed     
legislation has sprung whatever         
necessity  there is1 except the         
self-existent beauty of his holiness4   
,thus1  between the ,force of the       
physical ,atheist1 and the ,thought of  
the  metaphysical ,pantheist1 we fix    
upon the fulcrum of ,will as the true   
balance-point of a moral ,theism4    ,it
 would be impossible1 perhaps1 to find  
anywhere a finer instance of            
perspicuity in condensation1 than is    
given in the following reference to     
,,lessing',s ,,theological              
,,conclusions4    ,lessing refused to   

surrender ,christianity1 on proof of    
error in its  first teachers1           
uncertainty in its reported miracles1   
contradictions  in its early literature1
 misapplication of ,messianic           
prophecies4 ,all  these he regards as   
but the external accidents1 the         
transitory media1  of the religion1     
constituting1 it may be1 its support in 
one age and  its weakness in another4   
,they do not belong to its inner        
essence1 in  which alone the real       
evidence of spiritual truth is found2   
and he who  detects anything amiss with 
them may even render a service by       
driving  men from sham-proofs1 that     
really persuade no one1 to true ones    
that  lie at the heart of things4       
,religious doctrine cannot be deduced   
from  mere historical facts without a   
vitiating the  whole process4 ,facts    
indeed may become the proper ground of  
moral  and spiritual faith2 but then    
they must be facts which come over again
  and again1 and betray an element that 

is permanent and eternal2 which  form   
part of the experience and consciousness
 of humanity2 and ally  themselves with 
the ,divine by not losing their presence
 in the  world4 ,but unrepeated facts1  
which limit themselves to a moment1     
which are the incidents of a single     
personality1 and are left behind  quite 
insulated in the past1 show--were it    
only by your not expecting  them        
again--that they are detached from the  
persistent and essential  life of the   
universe and humanity4 ,they are but    
once and away2 and  least of all1       
therefore1 can testify of the           
untransitory and  ever-living4 ,the real
 can teach us only so far as it has an  
ideal  kernel1 redeeming it from the    
character of a solitary phenomenon4     
,among the various expositions and      
applications of this favorite theme  of 
,lessing's1 we select the following     
sentences from his ,axiomata4    #a4    
,the ,bible evidently contains more than
 belongs to ,religion4    #b4 ,that in  

this 'more' the ,bible is still         
infallible1 is mere  hypothesis4    #c4 
,the letter is not the spirit1 and the  
,bible is not the ,religion4    #d4 ,the
 objections therefore against the letter
 and against the ,bible1  are not on    
that account objections against the     
spirit and against the  ,religion4      
#e4 ,moreover there was a religion ere  
there was a ,bible4    #f4 ,christianity
 was in being before ,evangelists and   
,apostles had  written4 ,some time      
elapsed before the first of them wrote1 
and a very  considerable time before the
 whole canon was constituted4    #g4    
,however much1 therefore1 may depend on 
these writings1 it is  impossible that  
the whole truth of the ,christian       
religion can rest  upon them4    #h4 ,if
 there was a period during which1       
diffused as the ,christian  religion    
already was1 and many as were the souls 
filled already with  its power1 still   
not a letter had yet been written of the
 records  which have come down to us2   

then it must be also possible for all   
the  writings of ,evangelists and       
,apostles to perish1 yet the religion   
taught by them still to subsist4    #i4 
,the religion is not true because       
,evangelists and ,apostles taught  it2  
but they taught it because it is true4  
#aj4 ,its interior truth must furnish   
the interpretation of the  writings it  
has handed down2 and no writings handed 
down can give it  interior truth1 if it 
has none4    ,in his controversy with   
,gze1 he illustrates this distinction   
between  the essence and the historical 
form of ,christianity1 by a parable to  
the following effect4 ,a wise king of a 
great realm built a palace of  immense  
size and very peculiar architecture4    
,about this structure1  there came from 
the very first a foolish strife to be   
carried on1  especially among reputed   
connoisseurs1 people1 that is1 who had  
least  looked into the interior4 ,this  
strife was not about the palace itself1 
but about various old ground-plans of   

it1 and drawings of the same1  very     
difficult to make out4 ,once1 when the  
watchmen cried out ,fire1  these        
connoisseurs1 instead of running to     
help1 snatched up their  plans1 and1    
instead of putting out the fire on the  
spot1 kept standing  with their plans in
 hand1 making a hubbub all the while1   
and  squabbling about whether this was  
the spot on fire1 and that the place  to
 put it out4 ,happily1 the safety of the
 palace did not depend on  these busy   
wranglers1 for it was not on fire at    
all2 the watchmen had  been frightened  
by the ,northern lights1 and mistaken   
them for fire4 ,it  is impossible to    
convey by a clearer image ,lessing's    
feeling1 that a  ,christianity once     
incorporated in the very substance of   
history and  civilization1 seated deep  
in human sentiment and thought1 and     
developed into literature1 law1 and     
life1 subsists independently of         
critical questions1 and is with us1 not 
as the contingent vapor that a  wind may

 rise to blow away1 but as the cloud    
that has dropped its rain  and mingled  
with the roots of things4    ,in        
immediate contrast with the foregoing   
application of a critical  method to the
 historic documents of ,christianity1 it
 is beautiful to  see the same genius   
turned with eager joy to a practical    
recommendation of the experimental life 
of ,christianity4      ,,the ,,redeeming
 ,,law ,,of ,,sympathy4    ,it is quite 
true1 that self-cure is of all things   
the most arduous2  but that which is    
impossible to the man within us1 may be 
altogether  possible to the ,god4 ,in   
truth1 the denial of such changes1 under
 the  affectation of great knowledge of 
man1 shows an incredible ignorance  of  
men4 ,why1 the history of every great   
religious revolution1 such as  the      
spread of ,methodism1 is made up of     
nothing else2 the instances  occurring  
in such number and variety1 as to       
transform the character of  whole       
districts and vast populations1 and to  

put all scepticism at  utter defiance4  
,and if some more philosophic authority 
is needed for  the fact1 we may be      
content with the sanction of ,lord      
,bacon1 who  observed that a man reforms
 his habits either altogether or not at 
all4 ,deterioration of mind is indeed   
always gradual2 recovery usually        
sudden2 for ,god1 by a mystery of mercy1
 has established this  distinction in   
our secret nature1--that1 while we      
cannot1 by one dark  plunge1 sympathize 
with guilt far beneath us1 but gaze at  
it with  recoil till intermediate shades
 have rendered the degradation          
tolerable1 we are yet capable of        
sympathizing with moral excellence  and 
beauty infinitely above us2 so that1    
while the debased may shudder  and      
sicken at even the true picture of      
themselves1 they can feel the  silent   
majesty of self-denying and             
disinterested duty4 ,with a demon  can  
no man feel complacency1 though the     
demon be himself2 but ,god can  all     

spirits reverence1 though his holiness  
be an infinite deep4 ,and  thus the     
soul1 privately uneasy at its insincere 
state1 is prepared1  when vividly       
presented with some sublime object      
veiled before1 to be  pierced1 as by a  
flash from heaven1 with an instant      
veneration1  sometimes intense enough to
 fuse the fetters of habit1 and drop    
them  to the earth whence they were     
forged4 ,the mind is ready1 like a      
liquid  on the eve of crystallization1  
to yield up its state on the touch of   
the first sharp point1 and dart1 over   
its surface and in its depths1  into    
brilliant and beautiful forms1 and from 
being turbid and weak as  water1 to     
become clear as crystal1 and solid as   
the rock4    ,one of the most elaborate 
and valuable productions from ,mr4      
,martineau's pen1 an article closely    
allied in all respects to the  ensuing  
,studies of ,christianity1 is the one of
 some portions of which  we herewith    
present an epitome4      ,,the          

,,christian ,,view ,,of ,,moral ,,evil4 
,the ,divine sentiments towards right   
and wrong every man naturally  believes 
to be a reflection of whatever is most  
pure and solemn in his  own4 ,we cannot 
be sincerely persuaded1 that ,god looks 
with aversion on  dispositions which we 
revere as good and noble2 or that he    
regards with  lax indifference the      
selfish and criminal passions which     
awaken our own  disgust4 ,we may well   
suppose1 indeed1 his scrutiny more      
searching1 his  estimate more severely  
true1 his rebuking look more awful1 than
 our  self-examination and remorse can  
fitly represent2 but we cannot doubt    
that our moral emotions1 as far as they 
go1 are in sympathy with his2  that we  
know1 by our own consciousness1 the     
general direction of his  approval and  
displeasure2 and that1 in proportion as 
our perceptions of  duty are rendered   
clear1 our judgment more nearly         
approaches the  precision of the        
,omniscient award4 ,our own conscience  

is the window of  heaven through which  
we gaze on ,god2 and1 as its colors     
perpetually  change1 his aspect changes 
too2--if they are bright and fair1 he   
dwells  as in the warm light of a       
rejoicing love2 if they are dark and    
turbid1  he hides himself in robes of   
cloud and storm4 ,when you have lost    
your  self-respect1 you have never      
thought yourself an object of ,divine   
complacency4 ,in moments fresh from sin1
 flushed with the shame of an  insulted 
mind1 when you have broken another      
resolve1 or turned your back  upon a    
noble toil1 or succumbed to a mean      
passion1 or lapsed into the  sickness of
 self-indulgence1 could you ever turn a 
clear and open face  to ,god1 nor think 
it terrible to meet his eye8 ,could you 
imagine  yourself in congeniality with  
him1 when you gave yourself up to the   
voluble sophistry of self-excuse1 and   
the loose hurry of forgetfulness8  ,or  
did you not discern him rather in your  
own accusing heart1 and meet  him in the

 silent anguish of full confession1 and 
find in the  recognition of your        
alienation the first hope of return8 ,to
 all  unperverted minds1 the verdict of 
conscience sounds with a  preternatural 
voice2 it is not the homely talk of     
their own poor  judgment1 but an oracle 
of the sanctuary4 ,there is something of
  anticipation in our remorse1 as well  
as of retrospect2 and we feel that  it  
is not the mere survey of a gloomy past 
with the slow lamp of our               
understanding1 but a momentary piercing 
of the future with the vivid  lightning 
of the skies4 ,our moral nature1 left to
 itself1 intuitively  believes that     
guilt is an estrangement from ,god1--an 
unqualified  opposition to his will1--a 
literal service of the enemy2 that he   
abhors  it1 and will give it no rest    
till it is driven from his presence1    
that  is1 into annihilation2 that no    
part of our mind belongs to him but the 
pure1 and just1 and disinterested       
affections which he fosters1 the        

faithful will which he strengthens1 the 
virtue1 often damped1 whose  smoking    
flax he will not quench1 and the good   
resolves1 ever frail1  whose bruised    
reed he will not break2 and that he has 
no relation but of  displeasure1 no     
contact but of resistance1 with our     
selfishness and sin4  ,in the simple    
faith of the conscience it is no figure 
of speech to say1  that ,god is angry   
with the wicked every day1 and is of    
purer eyes  than to behold iniquity4 ,so
 long as the natural religion of the    
heart  is undisturbed1 to sin is1 in the
 plainest and most positive sense1 to   
set up against ,heaven1 and frustrate   
its will4    ,soon1 however1 the        
understanding disturbs the tranquillity 
of this  belief1 and constructs a rival 
creed4 ,the primitive conception of ,god
  is acquired1 ,i believe1 without      
reasoning1 and emerges from the         
affections2 it is a transcript of our   
own emotions1--an investiture of  them  
with external personality and infinite  

magnitude4 ,but a secondary  idea of    
,deity arises in the intellect1 from its
 reasonings about  causation4 ,curiosity
 is felt respecting the origin of       
things2 and the  order1 beauty1 and     
mechanism of external nature are too    
conspicuous  not to force upon the      
observation the conviction of a great   
,architect  of the universe1 from whose 
designing reason its forces and its laws
  mysteriously sprung4 ,hence the       
intellectual conception of ,god the     
,creator1 which comes into inevitable   
collision with the moral  notion of ,god
 the holy watch of virtue4 ,for if the  
system of  creation is the production of
 his ,omniscience2 if he has constituted
  human nature as it is1 and placed it  
in the scene whereon it acts2 if  the   
arrangements by which happiness is      
allotted1 and character is  formed1 are 
the contrivance of his thought and the  
work of his  hand1--then the sufferings 
and the guilt of every being were       
objects  of his original contemplation1 

and the productions of his own design4  
,the deed of crime must1 in this case1  
be as much an integral part of  his     
,providence1 as the efforts and         
sacrifices of virtue2 and the  monsters 
of licentiousness and tyranny1 whose    
images deform the  scenery of history1  
are no less truly his appointed         
instruments1 than  the martyr and the   
sage4 ,and though we remain convinced   
that he does  not make choice of evil in
 his government for its own sake1 but   
only  for ultimate ends worthy of his   
perfections1 still we can no longer  see
 how he can truly hate that which he    
employs for the production of  good4    
,that which is his chosen instrument    
cannot be sincerely regarded  as his    
everlasting enemy2 and only figuratively
 can he be said to  repudiate a power   
which he continually wields4 ,there must
 be some  sense in which it appears1 in 
the eye of ,omniscience1 to be eligible2
  some point of view at which its       
horrors vanish2 and where the moral     

distinctions1 which we feel ourselves   
impelled to venerate1 disappear  from   
the regards of ,god4    ,here1 then1 is 
a fearful contradiction between the     
religion of  conscience and the religion
 of the understanding2 the one          
pronouncing  evil to be the antagonist1 
the other to be the agent1 of the       
,divine  will4 ,in every age has this   
difficulty laid a heavy weight upon the 
human heart2 in every age has it pointed
 the sarcasm of the blasphemer1  mingled
 an occasional sadness with the hopes of
 benevolence1 and tinged  the devotion  
of the thoughtful with a somewhat       
melancholy trust4 ,the  whole history of
 speculative religion is one prolonged  
effort of the  human mind to destroy    
this contrariety2 system after system   
has been  born in the struggle to cast  
the oppression off1--with what result1  
it  will be my object at present to     
explain4 ,the question which we have to 
consider is this1 ,how should a         
,christian think of the origin and      

existence of evil8 ,i propose to advert1
 first1 to the speculative2  secondly1  
to the scriptural2 thirdly1 to the moral
 relations of the  subject2 to inquire  
what relief we can obtain from          
philosophical  schemes1 from biblical   
doctrine1 and from practical            
,christianity4           99       99    
99       99       99    ,let us then1   
for final decision1 consult the         
practical spirit of  ,christianity1 and 
ascertain to what view of the origin of 
sin it  awards the preference4 ,is it   
well for the consciences and characters 
of men1 to consider ,god--either        
directly or through his dependant1      
,satan1 either by his general laws or by
 vitiating the constitution of  our     
first parents--as the primary source of 
moral evil8 or1 on the  contrary1 to    
regard it as in no sense whatever willed
 by the ,supreme  ,mind1 and absolutely 
inimical to his ,providence8 ,are we    
most in  harmony with the characteristic
 spirit of the ,gospel when we call sin 

his instrument1 or when we call it his  
enemy8 ,for myself1 ,i can never  sit at
 the feet of ,jesus1 and yield up a     
reverential heart to his  great lessons1
 without casting myself on the          
persuasion1 that ,god and  evil are     
everlasting foes2 that never1 and for no
 end1 did he create  it2 that his will  
is utterly against it1 nor ever touches 
it1 but with  annihilating force4 ,any  
other view appears to be injurious to   
the  characteristic sentiments1 and at  
variance with the distinguishing        
genius1 of ,christian morality4    7#a47
 ,christianity is distinguished by the  
profound sentiment of  individual       
responsibility which pervades it4 ,all  
the arbitrary forms1  and sacerdotal    
interpositions1 and hereditary rights1  
through which  other systems seek the   
,divine favor1 are disowned by it4 ,it  
is a  religion eminently personal2      
establishing the most intimate and      
solitary dealings between ,god and every
 human soul4 ,it is a religion          

eminently natural2 eradicating no       
indigenous affection of our mind1       
distorting no primitive moral sentiment2
 but simply consecrating the            
obligations proper to our nature1 and   
taking up with a divine voice the       
whispers1 scarce articulate before1 of  
the conscience within us4 ,in this  deep
 harmony with our inmost consciousness  
of duty resides the true  power of our  
religion4 ,it subdues and governs our   
hearts1 as a wise  conqueror rules the  
empire he has won2 not by imposing a    
system of  strange laws1 but by arming  
with higher authority1 and administering
  with more resolute precision1 the laws
 already recognized and revered4    ,to 
trifle in any way with this plain and   
solemn principle1 to invent  forms of   
speech tending to conceal it1 to apply  
to moral good and ill  language which   
assimilates them to physical objects and
 exchangeable  property1 implies        
frivolous and irreverent ideas of sin   
and  excellence4 ,the whole weight of   

this charge evidently falls on the      
scheme which speaks of human guilt as an
 hereditary entail2 a scheme  which     
shocks and confounds our primary notion 
of right and wrong1 and1  by rendering  
them impersonal qualities1 reduces them 
to empty names4  ,no construction can be
 given to the system1 which does not    
pass this  insult on the conscience4 ,in
 what sense do we share the guilt of our
  progenitor8 ,his concession to        
temptation did not occur within our     
mind1 or belong in any way to our       
history4 ,and if1 without  participation
 in the act of wrong1 we are to have its
 penalties1  crimes in the planet       
,saturn may be expected to shower curses
 on the  earth2 for why may not justice 
go astray in space1 as reasonably as in 
time8 ,if nothing more be meant1 than   
that from our first parents we  inherit 
a constitution liable to intellectual   
error and moral  transgression1--still  
it is evident that1 until this liability
 takes  actual effect1 no sin exists1   

but only its possibility2 and when it   
takes effect1 there is just so much     
guilt1 and no more1 than might be       
committed by the individual's will3 so  
that where there is no  volition1 as in 
infancy1 cruelty only could inflict     
punishment2 and  where there is pure    
volition1 as in many a good passage of  
the  foulest life1 equity itself could  
not withhold approval4    7#b47 ,i      
submit as a second distinguishing       
feature of practical  ,christianity1    
that it makes no great1 certainly no    
exclusive1 appeal  to the prudential    
feelings1 as instruments of duty2 treats
 them as  morally incapable of so sacred
 a work2 and relies1 chiefly and        
characteristically1 on affections of the
 heart1 which no motives of  reward and 
punishment can have the smallest        
tendency to excite4    ,the ,gospel1    
indeed1 like all things divine1 is      
unsystematic and  unbound by technical  
distinctions1 and makes no metaphysical 
separation between the will and the     

affections4 ,it is too profoundly       
adapted to our nature1 not to address   
itself copiously to both4 ,the  doctrine
 of retribution1 being a solemn truth1  
appears with all its  native force in   
the teachings of ,christ1 and arms many 
of his appeals  with a persuasion just  
and terrible4 ,but never was there a    
religion  7containing these motives at  
all7 so frugal in the use of them2 so   
able1 on fit occasions1 to dispense with
 them2 so rich in those  inimitable     
touches of moral beauty1 and tones that 
penetrate the  conscience1 and generous 
trust in the better sympathies1 which   
distinguish a morality of the           
affections4 ,in ,christ himself1 where  
is  there a trace of the obedience of   
pious self-interest1 computing its      
everlasting gains1 and making out a case
 for compensation1 by  submitting to    
infinite wisdom8 ,in his character1     
which is the  impersonation of his      
religion1 we surely have a perfect image
 of  spontaneous goodness1 unhaunted by 

the idea of personal enjoyment1  and1   
like that of ,god1 unbidden but by the  
intuitions of conscience  and the       
impulses of love4 ,and what teacher less
 divine ever made such  high and bold   
demands on our disinterestedness8 ,to   
lend out our virtue  upon interest1 to  
love them only who love us1 he          
pronounced to be  the sinners' morality2
 nor was the feeling of duty ever       
reached1 but  by those who could do     
good1 hoping for nothing again1 except  
that  greatest of rewards to a true and 
faithful heart1 to be the children  of  
the ,highest1 who is kind unto the      
unthankful and the evil4 ,in  the view  
of ,jesus1 all dealings between ,god and
 men were not of  bargain1 but of       
affection4 ,we must surrender ourselves 
to him without  terms2 must be ashamed  
to doubt him who feeds the birds of the 
air1  and1 like the lily of the field1  
look up to him with a bright and  loving
 eye2 and he1 for our much love1 will   
pity and forgive us4 ,in  his own       

ministry1 how much less did our ,lord   
rely for disciples on the  cogency of   
mere proof1 and the inducements of hope 
and fear1 than on  the power of moral   
sympathy1 by which every one that was of
 ,god  naturally loved him and heard his
 words2 by which the good shepherd  knew
 his sheep1 and they listened to his    
voice1 and followed him2 and  without   
which no man could come unto him1 for no
 spirit of the ,father  drew him4 ,no   
condition of discipleship did ,christ   
impose1 save that of  faith in him2     
absolute trust in the spirit of his     
mind2 a desire of  self-abandonment to a
 love and fidelity like his1 without    
tampering  with expediency1 or hesitancy
 in peril1 or shrinking from death4     
,there is1 then1 a wide variance between
 the genius of ,christianity1  and that 
philosophy which teaches that all men   
must be bought over to  the side of     
goodness and of ,god1 by a price suited 
to their particular  form of selfishness
 and appetite for pleasure4 ,our        

religion is  remarkable for the large   
confidence it reposes on the            
disinterested  affections1 and the vast 
proportion of the work of life it       
consigns to  them4 ,and in thus seeking 
to subordinate and tranquillize the     
prudential feelings1 ,christ manifested 
how well he knew what was in  man4 ,he  
recognized the truth1 which all         
experience declares1 that in  these     
emotions is nothing great1 nothing      
lovable1 nothing powerful2  that their  
energy is perpetually found incapable of
 withstanding the  impetuosity of       
passion2 and that all transcendent      
virtues1 all that  brings us to tremble 
or to kneel1 all the enterprises and    
conflicts  which dignify history1 and   
have stamped any new feature on human   
life1  have had their origin in the     
disinterested region of the mind1--in   
affections unconsciously entranced by   
some object sanctifying and  divine4 ,he
 knew1 for it was his special mission to
 make all men feel1  that it is the     

office of true religion to cleanse the  
sanctuary of the  secret affections1 and
 effect a regeneration of the heart4    
,and this is  a task which no direct    
nisus of the will can possibly          
accomplish1  and to which1 therefore1   
all offers of reward and punishment1    
operating only on the will1 are quite   
inapplicable4 ,the single  function of  
volition is to act2 over the executive  
part of our  nature it is supreme1 over 
the emotional it is powerless2 and all  
the  wrestlings of desire for self-cure 
and self-elevation1 are like the        
struggles of a child to lift himself4   
,he who is anxious to be a              
philanthropist1 is admiring benevolence1
 instead of loving men2 and  whoever is 
laboring to warm his devotions1 yearns  
after piety1 not  after ,god4 ,the mind 
can by no spasmodic bound seize on a new
 height of  emotion1 or change the light
 in which objects appear before its     
view4  ,persuade the judgment1 bribe the
 self-interests1 terrify the            

expectations1 as you will1 you can      
neither dislodge a favorite1 nor        
enthrone a stranger1 in the heart4 ,show
 me a child that flings an  affectionate
 arm around a parent1 and lights up his 
eyes beneath her  face1 and ,i know that
 there have been no lectures there upon 
filial  love2 but that the mother1 being
 lovable1 has of necessity been  loved2 
for to genial minds it is as impossible 
to withhold a pure  affection1 when its 
object is presented1 as for the flower  
to sulk  within the mould1 and clasp    
itself tight within the bud1 when the   
gentle force of spring invites its      
petals to curl out into the warm  light4
 ,as you reverence all good affections  
of our nature1 and desire  to awaken    
them1 never call them duties1 though    
they be so2 for so  doing1 you address  
yourself to the will2 and by hard trying
 no  attachment ever entered the heart4 
,never preach on their great            
desirableness and propriety2 for so     
doing1 you ask audience of the          

judgment2 and by way of the             
understanding no glow of noble passion  
ever came4 ,never1 above all1 reckon up 
their balance of good and ill2  for so  
doing1 you exhort self-interest2 and by 
that soiled way no true  love will      
consent to pass4 ,nay1 never talk of    
them1 nor even gaze  curiously at them2 
for if they be of any worth and         
delicacy1 they will  be instantly looked
 out of countenance and fly4 ,nothing   
worthy of  human veneration will        
condescend to be embraced1 but for its  
own sake3  grasp it for its excellent   
results1--make but the faintest offer to
  use it as a tool1 and it slips away at
 the very conception of such  insult4   
,the functions of a healthy body go on1 
not by knowledge of  physiology1 but by 
the instinctive vigor of nature2 and you
 will no  more brace the spiritual      
faculties to noble energy and true life 
by  study of the uses of every feeling1 
than you can train an athlete for  the  
race by lectures on every muscle of     

every limb4 ,the mind is not            
voluntarily active in the acquisition of
 any great idea1 any new  inspiration of
 faith2 but passive1 fixed on the object
 which has  dawned upon it1 and filled  
it with fresh light4    ,if this be     
true1 and if it be the object of        
practical ,christianity1  not only to   
direct our hands aright1 but to inspire 
our hearts1 then  can its ends never be 
achieved by the mere force of reward and
  punishment2 then no system can prove  
its sufficiency by showing that  it     
retains the doctrine of retribution1 and
 must even be held  convicted of moral  
incompetency1 if it trusts the          
conscience mainly to  the prudential    
feelings1 without due provision for     
enlisting the  co-operation of many a   
disinterested affection4    ,we cannot  
refrain from affording those into whose 
hands this volume  will go1 the pleasure
 and the lofty encouragement which they 
must  derive from the perusal of an     
extract on      ,,the ,,transmission    

,,of ,,superior ,,thoughts4    ,it is a 
law of ,providence in communities1 that 
ideas shall be  propagated downwards    
through the several gradations of minds4
 ,they  have their origin in the        
suggestions of genius1 and the          
meditations of  philosophy2 they are    
assimilated by those who can admire what
 is great  and true1 but cannot         
originate2 and thence they are slowly   
infused  into the popular mind4 ,the    
rapidity of the process may vary in     
different times1 with the facilities for
 the transmission of thought1  but its  
order is constant4 ,temporary causes may
 shield the inferior  ranks of          
intelligence from the influence of the  
superior2 fanaticism  may interpose for 
a while with success2 a want of the true
 spirit of  sympathy between the        
instructors and the instructed may check
 by a  moral repulsion the natural      
radiation of intellect2--but1 in the    
end1  ,providence will re-assert its    
rule2 and the conceptions born in the   

quiet heights of contemplation will     
precipitate themselves on the busy      
multitudes below4 ,this principle       
interprets history and presages         
futurity4 ,it shows us in the popular   
feeling and traditions of one  age1 a   
reflection from the philosophy of a     
preceding2 and from the  prevailing     
style of sentiment and speculation among
 the cultivated  classes now1 it enables
 us to foresee the spirit of a coming   
age4 ,nor  only to foresee it1 but to   
exercise over it a power1 in the use of 
which there is a grave responsibility4  
,if we are far-sighted in our  views of 
improvement2 if we are ambitious less of
 immediate and  superficial effects than
 of the final and deep-seated agency of 
generous and holy principles2 if our    
love of opinions is a genuine           
expression of the disinterested love of 
truth2--we shall remember who  are the  
teachers of futurity2 we shall appeal to
 those1 within whose  closets ,god is   
already computing the destinies of      

remote  generations1--men at once       
erudite and free1 men who have the      
materials  of knowledge with which to   
determine the great problems of morals  
and  religion1 and the genius to think  
and imagine and feel1 without let or    
hinderance of hope or fear4    ,we      
linger over the pages from which the    
preceding selections have been  made1   
unwilling to end our grateful task of   
love4 ,but one quotation  more must be  
the last4 ,with it we commend these     
,studies of  ,christianity1 these timely
 thoughts for religious thinkers1 to the
  candid and affectionate inquirers     
within all sects1 confident that1 so    
far as the work obtains a fit reception1
 it will exert that purifying1          
liberalizing1 and sanctifying power     
which is the genuine influence of       
,christ4      ,,christianity ,,and      
,,sectarian ,,theology4    ,the         
sectarian state of theology in this     
country cannot but be regarded  as      
eminently unnatural4 ,its cold and hard 

ministrations are entirely  alien to the
 wants of the popular mind1 which1      
except under the  discipline of         
artificial influences1 is always most   
awake to generous  impressions4 ,its    
malignant exclusiveness is a perversion 
of the natural  veneration of the human 
heart1 which1 except where it is        
interfered with  by narrow and selfish  
systems1 pours itself out1 not in hatred
 towards  anything that lives1 but in   
love to the invisible objects of trust  
and  hope4 ,its disputatious trifling is
 an insult to the sanctity of           
conscience1 which1 except where it is   
betrayed into oblivion of its  delicate 
and holy office1 supplicates of         
religion1 not a new ferocity of         
dogmatism1 but an enlargement and       
refinement of its sense of right4 ,it   
is the temper of sectarianism to seize  
on every deformity of every  creed1 and 
exhibit this caricature to the world's  
gaze and aversion4 ,it  is the spirit of
 the soul's natural piety to alight on  

whatever is  beautiful and touching in  
every faith1 and take there its secret  
draught  of pure and fresh emotion4 ,it 
is the passages of poetry and pathos in 
a  system1 which alone can lay a strong 
hold on the general mind and give  them 
permanence2 and even the wild fictions  
which have endeared ,romanism  to the   
hearts of so many centuries1 possess    
their elements of tenderness  and       
magnificence4 ,the fundamental principle
 of one who would administer  religion  
to the minds of his fellow-men should   
be1 that all that has  ever been        
extensively venerated must possess      
ingredients that are  venerable4 ,if1 in
 the spirit of sectarianism1 he sees    
nothing in it but  absurdity1 it only   
proves that he does not see it all2 it  
must have an  aspect1 which he has not  
yet caught1 that awes the imagination1  
or  touches the affections1 or moves the
 conscience2 and those who receive  it  
neither will nor should abandon it1 till
 something is substituted1  not only    

more consonant with the reason1 but more
 awakening to these  higher faculties of
 soul4 ,hence1 a rigid accuracy and     
logical  penetration of mind1 the power 
of detecting and exposing error1 are not
  the only qualities needed by the      
religious reformer2 and in a deep and   
reverential sympathy with human         
feelings1 a quick perception of the     
great and beautiful1 a promptitude to   
cast himself into the minds of  others1 
and gaze through their eyes at the      
objects which they love1 he  will find  
the instrument of the sublimest         
intellectual power4 ,the  precise       
logician may sit eternally in the centre
 of his own circle of  correct ideas1   
and preach demonstrably the folly of the
 world's  superstitions2 yet he will    
never affect the thoughts of any but    
marble-minded beings like himself4 ,he  
disregards the fine tissue of  emotions 
that clings round the objects which he  
so harshly handles2 and  has yet to     
learn the art of preserving its fabric  

unimpaired1 while he  enfolds within it 
something more worthy for it to foster  
and adore4    ,as1 then1 it is to the   
moral and imaginative powers of the     
human mind  that religion chiefly       
attaches itself1 as it is by these that 
the want  of it is most strongly felt1  
so is it to these that its ministrations
  should be1 for the most part1         
addressed4 ,while theologians are       
discussing the evidences of creeds1 let 
teachers be conducting them to  their   
applications4 ,let their respective     
resources of feeling and  conception be 
unfolded before the soul of mankind2 let
 it be tried  what mental energy they   
can inspire1 what purity of moral       
perception  infuse1 what dignity of     
principle erect1 what toils of          
philanthropy  sustain4 ,thus would arise
 a new criterion of judgment between    
differing systems2 for that system must 
possess most truth which  creates the   
most intelligence and virtue4 ,thus     
would the deeper  devotional wants of   

society be no longer mocked by the      
privilege of  choice among a few        
captious1 verbal1 and precise forms of  
belief4  ,thus1 too1 would the          
alienation which repels sect from sect  
give place  to an incipient and growing 
sympathy2 for when high intellect and   
excellence approach and stand in meek   
homage beneath the cross1 how  soon are 
the jarring voices of disputants hushed 
in the stillness of  reverence6 ,who    
does not feel the refreshment1 when some
 stream of  pure poetry1 like ,heber's1 
winds into the desert of theology6 when 
some flash of genius1 like that of      
,chalmers1 darts through its dull       
atmosphere6 some strains of eloquence1  
like those of ,channing1 float  from a  
distance on its heavy silence6    ,such1
 then1 are the objects which should be  
contemplated by those who1  in the      
present times1 aim at the reformation of
 religious  sentiment2--first1 the      
elevation of theology as an intellectual
  pursuit2 secondly1 the better         

application of religion as a moral      
influence4 ,both these objects are      
directly or indirectly promoted by  the 
,association whose cause ,i am          
privileged to advocate4 ,it aids the    
first1 by the distribution of many a    
work1 the production of such  minds as  
must redeem theology from contempt4 ,it 
advances the second1  by establishing   
union and sympathy among those whose    
first principles  are in direct         
contradiction to all that is sectarian1 
and who desire  only to emancipate the  
understanding from all that enfeebles1  
and the  heart from all that narrows it4
 ,the triumph of its doctrines would be1
  not the ascendency of one sect1 but   
the harmony of all4 ,let but the        
diversities which separate ,christians  
retire1 and the truths which  they all  
profess to love advance to prominence1  
and1 whatever may  become of party      
names1 our aims are fulfilled1 and our  
satisfaction is  complete4 ,when faith  
in the paternity of ,god shall have     

kindled an  affectionate and lofty      
devotion2 when the vision of            
immortality1  imparted by ,christ's     
resurrection1 shall have created that   
spirit of  duty which was the holiest   
inspiration of his life2 when the       
sincere  recognition of human           
brotherhood shall have supplanted all   
exclusive  institutions1 and banded     
society together under the vow of mutual
 aid  and the hope of everlasting       
progress1 our work will be done1 our    
reward before us1 and our little        
community of reformers lost in the  wide
 fraternity of enlightened and          
benevolent men4    ,the day is yet      
distant1 and can be won only by the toil
 of earnest and  faithful minds4 ,in the
 mean while1 it is no light solace to   
see that  the tendencies of ,providence 
are towards its accelerated approach4   
,and  however dispiriting may sometimes 
be the variety and conflicts of  human  
sentiment1--however remote the          
dissonance of controversy from  that    

harmony of will which would seem        
essential to perfected society1  it is  
through this very process that the great
 ends of improvement are  to be         
attained4 ,hereafter it will be seen1   
much more clearly than we  can see it   
now1 that opinion generates knowledge4  
,like the ethereal  waves1 whose        
inconceivable rapidity and number are   
said to impart the  sensation of vision1
 the undulations of opinion are speeding
 on to  produce the perception of truth4
 ,they are the infinitely complex and   
delicate movements of that universal    
,human ,mind1 whose quiescence is       
darkness1--whose agitation1 light4      
,to the fit and numerous readers whom we
 trust they will find1 these  papers are
 now submitted1 in the earnest hope that
 the author will at  no distant day     
follow them with some more systematic   
and rounded  survey of the same great   
subject1--the components and            
developments of  ,christianity4         
,w4 ,r4 ,a4          ,,studies ,,of     

,,christianity4          ,,distinctive  
,,types ,,of ,,christianity4      ,if   
unity be the character of truth1 no     
generation was ever so far gone  in     
errors as our own3 nor is the weariness 
surprising1 with which  statesmen and   
philosophers turn away from the ,babel  
of ,divinity1 and1 in  despair of       
scaling the heavens1 apply themselves to
 found and adorn the  politics of this  
world4 ,but the confusion of tongues is 
too positive and  obtrusive a fact to be
 escaped by mere retreat3 it bids       
defiance to  polite evasion3 it pursues 
life into every public place and private
  haunt2 invades the home1 the school1  
the college1 the court1 the             
legislature2 and1 besides the problems  
which it fails to solve1  constitutes in
 itself a new one1 not undeserving the  
closest study and  reflection4 ,to the  
believers in doctrinal finality1 who    
imagine the  whole sacred economy to be 
settled by a documentary revelation1 the
  reopening of every question1 down to  

the very basis of religious faith1  must
 be an appalling phenomenon1 charging   
either failure on the presumed  designs 
of ,god or a traitorous perversity on   
even the most gifted and  upright of    
men4 ,and not a whit better is the      
conclusion of a conceited  illuminism1  
which1 either boldly recalling the human
 mind to the  sciences of induction1    
despises all faith as false alike2 or1  
conscious  at least of its own          
incompetency1 pleases itself with a more
 indulgent  scepticism1 and accepts them
 all as true4 ,if no better revenge can 
be  taken on pious dogmatism than by    
falling into the cant of an eclectic    
neutrality or an impious despair1 there 
is little encouragement for any         
high-minded man to take part against the
 bigotries of the present on  behalf of 
sickly negations in the future4 ,the    
world is better left in  the hands of   
the poorest interpreter of ,paul1 and   
most degenerate heirs  of ,augustine and
 ,pascal1 than transferred to the       

dialectic of ,proclus or  the           
materialism of the living ,fondateur de 
la ,religion de  l',humanit4#a ,there   
are those1 however1 who deny that we are
 left to  any such alternative2 who     
cannot conceive that human aspirations  
after  divine reality shall for ever    
pine and sigh in vain2 who contend that 
objective truth in reference to morals  
and religion is attainable1 and  has    
been largely attained2--and who1        
accordingly1 despairing of neither      
philosophy nor ,christianity1 require   
only the free intercommunion of the  two
 to appreciate the contradictions of the
 present without foregoing  the hope of 
greater unity in the future4 ,the       
controversies of the hour  are but ill  
understood by one who remains enclosed  
within them1 and  judges them only on   
their own assumptions4 ,like a village  
brawl1 which1  with only the sound of   
vulgar noise1 may be the ripe fruit of  
oppression  and the germ of revolution1 
they have an assigned place in the      

unfolding  of modern civilization2 and  
not till their place is computed in the 
life  of the human race1 and the law    
which brings them up in our age is      
observed1 can their real significance be
 apprehended1 and all anger at  their   
clamorous littleness be lost in hope of 
their ulterior issues4  ,regarded from  
this higher point1 the surface of       
religious belief in  ,england1 at first 
sight a mere troubled fermentation of   
struggling  elements1 betrays some      
organic principle of order1 and many    
salient  points of promise4    ,we      
hazard no theory of religion in saying  
that there is a natural  correspondence 
between the genius of a people and the  
form of their  belief4 ,each mood of    
mind brings its own wants and           
aspirations1 colors  its own ideal1 and 
interprets best that part of life and   
the universe  with which it is in       
sympathy4 ,john ,knox would have been   
misplaced in  ,athens1 and ,tanler could
 not have lived on the moralism of      

,kant4 ,no  doubt the ultimate seat of  
human faith lies deep down below the    
special  propensities of individuals or 
tribes1--in a consciousness and faculty 
common to the race4 ,but ere it comes to
 the surface1 and disengages  itself in 
a concrete shape1 its type and color    
will be affected by the  strata of      
thought and feeling through which it    
emerges into the light4  ,without       
pretending to an exhaustive             
classification1 we find four chief      
temperaments of mind expressed in the   
theologies and scepticisms of  civilized
 ,europe3 the quest of physical order1  
the sense of right1  the instinct of    
beauty1 and the consciousness of        
tempestuous  impulses carrying the will 
off its feet4 ,variously blended in the 
characters of average persons1 these    
tendencies are liable to separate  their
 intensities1 and severally dominate    
almost alone in minds of great  force   
and periods of special action or        
reaction4 ,were each left to  itself to 

form its own unaided creed1 the doctrine
 of mere ,science would  be atheistic2  
of ,conscience1 theistic2 of ,art1      
pantheistic2 of  ,passion1 sacrificial4 
,the evidence of this distribution of   
tendencies  is equally conclusive1      
whether we look to its rational ground  
or to its  historical exemplification2  
and a few words on each head will       
suffice to  clear and justify it4       
,notwithstanding some occasional        
attempts to exhibit natural theology as 
a necessary extension of natural        
philosophy1 it is plain that the        
maxims1 which are ultimate for physical 
,science1 stop short of contact  with   
,religion2 that the final appeal of the 
two is carried to different  faculties2 
and that the scope and sphere of the one
 may be complete  without borrowing any 
conception from the other4 ,the         
assumption1 for  instance1 that we can  
know nothing but phenomena1 directly    
excludes  all permanent and eternal     
,being as the possible object of        

rational  thought4 ,and as phenomena are
 apprehensible only by the observing    
faculties1 whatever refuses to put in an
 appearance in their court is  nonsuited
 as an unreality4 ,and again1 physical  
knowledge has  accomplished its aim1 as 
soon as it can predict all the          
successions that  lie within its field  
of time and space2 and nowhere in this  
system of  series1 nor in the calculated
 forces which yield it to the view1 does
  any divine ,person look in upon the   
mind4 ,whoever1 by the restraints of  a 
hypothetical necessity1 detains his     
intellect within nature1 debars  himself
 ipso facto from any faith that         
transcends nature1 and  recognizes no   
reserve of supernatural possibilities1  
hidden in a ,mind  of which the actual  
universe is but the finite expression4  
,we do not1 of  course1 intend to affirm
 that scientific culture cannot coexist 
with  religious belief2--so preposterous
 an assertion would be confuted by a    
manifold experience2--but only that1    

where the canons of inductive  knowledge
 are invested with unconditional        
universality1 and are  logically carried
 out as valid for all thought1 they shut
 the door upon  the sources of faith4   
,it is the old battle1 of which history 
supplies  such abundant illustration2   
which brought ,parmenides and           
,protagoras upon  the lists at opposite 
ends on the field of philosophy2 which  
,bacon  profoundly avoided by assigning 
separate empires1 without common        
boundary1 to science and religion2 but  
which his modern disciples have  rashly 
renewed1 by invading the realm left     
sacred by him4 ,uneasy  relations have  
always subsisted in ,christendom between
 the investigators  of nature and the   
trustees of the faith3 the men of       
science rarely  quitting1 unless for    
signs of unequivocal aversion1 the      
attitude of  polite indifference to the 
,church2 and in their turn watched with 
the  jealous eye of sacerdotal          
vigilance4 ,it is no untrue instinct    

that has  hitherto maintained them in   
this posture of mutual suspicion3 to    
exchange which for a hearty and         
intelligent reverence for each other is 
an achievement reserved for a higher    
philosophy than we yet possess4    ,as  
,science pays homage to the force of    
nature1 so ,conscience  enthrones the   
law of right4 ,the conscious subject of 
moral  obligation feels himself under a 
rule neither self-imposed and           
fictitious1 nor foreign and             
coercive2--neither a home invention nor 
an  outward necessity2--a rule          
invisible1 authoritative1 awful2        
carrying  with it an alternative        
irreducible to the linear dynamics of   
the  physical world2 incapable of being 
felt but by a free mind1 or of  being   
given but by another4 ,he is aware that 
his will follows a call  of duty not at 
all as his body adapts itself to the    
force of  gravitation2 and as within him
 the conscientious obedience wholly     
differs from the corporeal1 so in the   

universe of realities beyond him  does  
the moral legislation differ from the   
natural1 and express the  will of a     
person1 not a mere constitution of      
things4 ,no ethical  conceptions are    
possible at all1--except as floating    
shreds of  unattached thought1--without 
a religious background2 and the sense of
  responsibility1 the agony of shame1   
the inner reverence for justice1  first 
find their meaning and vindication in a 
supreme holiness that  rules the world4 
,nor can any one be penetrated with the 
distinction  between right and wrong1   
without recognizing it as valid for all 
free  beings1 and incapable of local or 
arbitrary change4 ,his feeling  insists 
on its permanent recognition and        
omnipresent sway2 and this  unity in the
 ,moral ,law carries him to the unity of
 the ,divine  ,legislator4 ,theism is   
thus the indispensable postulate of     
conscience1--its objective counterpart  
and justification1 without  which its   
inspirations would be illusions1 and its

 veracities  themselves a lie4 ,to      
adduce historical proofs of this        
conjunction is  at once difficult and   
superfluous in a world whose theism is  
almost  all of one stock4 ,but it will  
not be forgotten that ,socrates1 in whom
  ,greek religion culminated1 avowedly  
based his reform on the  substitution of
 moral for physical studies4 ,it is     
undeniable too that1  in spite of their 
fatalism1 the monotheistic ,mohammedans 
have been  surpassed by few nations in  
their sense of truth and fidelity2 and  
that wherever the same type of belief   
has been approached by ,christian       
sects1 the heresy has been said to arise
 from an exaggerated estimate  of the   
moral law4    ,art1 we have said1 is    
pantheistic4 ,its aim1 often            
unconsciously  present1 is to read off  
the expressiveness of things1 and find  
what  it is which they would speak with 
their silent look4 ,to its  perceptions1
 form1 color1 sound1 motion1 have a soul
 within them whose  life and activity   

they represent3 and even language1 by   
flinging  itself into the mould of      
rhythm and music1 acquires1 beyond its  
logical significance1 a second meaning  
for the affections4 ,as if waked  up and
 tingling beneath the artist's loving   
gaze1 matter lies dull  and dead no     
more2 opens on him a responding eye2    
communes with him  from its steadfast   
brow2 and becomes instinct with grace or
 majesty4  ,instead of being the        
drag-weight and opposite of spiritual   
energies1  it becomes to him their      
pliant medium1 the docile clay for the  
shapes  of finest thought1 the brilliant
 palette for the spread of inmost       
feeling4 ,he melts the barrier away that
 hides from mere sense and  intellect   
the interior sentiment--the formative   
idea--of all visible  things2 and his   
glance of sympathy changes them not less
 than a burst  of amber sunrise changes 
a leaden landscape and picks out the    
freshest  smiles4 ,thus he finds himself
 in a living universe1 ever striving to 

show him a divine beauty that lurks     
within and presses to the surface2  and 
he stands before a curtain only half    
opaque1 watching the lights  and shadows
 thrown on it from behind by the        
ceaseless play of infinite  thought4    
,not that the interpretation is by any  
means self-evident1 or  accessible      
except to the apprehensive instinct of  
sympathy4 ,for it  seems as though no   
form of being1 no object in creation1   
could ever  represent completely its own
 type3 something is lost from its       
perfection in the realization2 and the  
actual1 falling short of the  ideal1 can
 give it only to one for whom a hint    
suffices4 ,this  conception of the world
 as an incarnate divineness does not1 we
 are  well aware1 amount to pantheism1  
unless it become all-comprehensive1  so 
as to take in not simply physical       
nature1 but the human life and  will2   
and there are numbers who are saved from
 this extreme1 either by  knowing where 
to draw the lines of philosophical      

distinction1 or by  the natural force of
 moral conviction restraining the       
absolutism of  imagination4 ,but so far 
forth as the tendency operates1 it      
substitutes  for the theistic reverence 
for a ,holy ,will the pantheistic       
recognition of a ,creative ,beauty1 and 
presents ,god to the mind less  as the  
prototype of ,conscience than as the    
apotheosis of ,genius4 ,the  spontaneity
 of poetic action is supposed to        
illustrate ,his procedure  better than  
the preferential decisions of the moral 
sentiment2 and the  genesis of whatever 
is good and fair is referred not so much
 to  deliberate plan as to the eternal  
interfusion and circulation1  through   
the great whole1 of a ,divine ,essence1 
which flings off the  universe and its  
history as a mere natural language4     
,that this is the  religion of art1 is  
proved by the literature of every       
creative period1  ,greek1 ,italian1 or  
,teutonic2 and negatively by the        
comparative absence  of artistic feeling

 and production in ages and nations that
 have most  intensified at once the     
,unity and the ,personality of ,god4    
,beauty was  the ,bible of ,athens2 and 
,plato1 its devoutest and most          
comprehensive  expounder1 shows         
everywhere1 in his metaphysics1 his     
morals1 and his  myths1 the mould into  
which its faith inevitably falls4    ,in
 passionate and impulsive natures there 
is a self-contradiction  which makes    
their religious tendency peculiarly     
difficult to describe4  ,they are not   
less conscious than others of moral     
distinctions1 and own  the sacred       
authority of the better invitation over 
the worse4 ,indeed1  when surprised into
 a fall1 their remorse shares the       
vehemence of all  their emotions1 and   
from the black shadow in which they sit1
 the  sanctity of the law which they    
have violated looks ineffably bright2   
and they speak of its holy requirements1
 and of the infinite purity of  the     
,divine ,legislator1 in such fervid     

tone1 that whatever else they  may      
endanger1 the perfection of ,god's      
character1 you feel assured1 and  the   
obligations of human morality1 are      
secure of reverential  maintenance4 ,yet
 the truth is precisely the reverse4 ,at
 the very  moment that the law of duty  
is thus loftily extolled1 it is on the  
point of total subversion2 lifted to a  
height precarious and unreal1  it       
overbalances on the other side and      
disappears4 ,for the very same  stormy  
intensity which makes these men strong  
to feel the claim of  good1 makes them  
weak to obey it4 ,their personality     
wants solidity2  and an atmosphere of   
tempestuous affections sweeps over it   
like a  hurricane on water4 ,they can do
 nothing from out of their own          
resolves1 and are for ever drawn or     
driven from the fortress they were  not 
to surrender4 ,what remains for them1   
solicited thus by forces  which are an  
overmatch for their just self-reliance8 
,is it surprising  that they no sooner  

confess how they ought to obey1 than    
they  declare that they cannot obey8    
,the thing is a contradiction2 but it   
all the better for this expresses what  
they are3 with their centre  of gravity 
in the wrong place1 they cannot but hold
 the truth in  unstable equilibrium4    
,repose on contradiction is1 however1   
impossible2  and the necessary result of
 these co-existent feelings of          
obligation  and incapacity is a         
substitute for obedience4 ,the resort to
  sacrifice which thus arose expressed  
no more1 prior to the ,christian  era1  
than the sentiment1 ,take this1 ,o      
,lord1 't is all ,i have to  give2 and  
afforded but a fictitious relief to the 
laboring spirit4 ,it  acknowledged and  
attested the incompetency of the will1  
but made no  use of the excess of the   
emotions4 ,it was the ,pauline doctrine 
of  faith which first turned this great 
power to account2 and virtually  said1  
,are you in slavery because you cannot  
manage your affections8  turn their     

trust and enthusiasm on ,christ in      
heaven1 and let them  manage you1 and   
you shall be free4 ,the soul that falls 
in love with  immortal goodness rises   
above the region of ineffectual strife1 
and  spontaneously offers what could    
never be extorted from the will by the  
lash of self-mortifying resolve4 ,this  
is the truth which underlies the        
sacrificial doctrine in ,christian      
times1--the emancipating power of  great
 trusts and high inspirations2 and its  
very nature indicates its  birth from   
impassioned temperaments1 and its       
affinity with their  special wants4 ,the
 vicarious sacrifice is a mere plea1 an 
ideal point  of attraction1 for a       
profound allegiance of heart2 which     
minds of this  class would hardly yield 
without an intense appeal to their      
gratitude2 but which1 if really awakened
 by a clear and tranquil  moral         
reverence1 would no less triumph over   
the gravitation of self4  ,the one      
needful condition for the redemption of 

these natures is the  objective presence
 and action upon them of a divine person
 to lift  them clear out of themselves1 
and render back on the healing breath of
  trust the strength that only pants    
itself away in feverish effort4  ,every 
doctrine of sacrifice necessarily       
contradicts its own premises2  because  
for guilt1 which is personal and        
inalienable1 it offers a  compensation  
which is foreign1 and meets a moral ill 
with an unmoral  remedy4 ,true and sound
 as a mere confession of weakness1 it   
runs off  from that point into mere     
confusion and morbidness4 ,but add to it
 the  doctrine of faith1 and it acquires
 its proper complement2 balances its    
human disclaimer with a divine resource2
 and instead of sending its  captive    
through dark labyrinths of vain         
experiment1 opens a direct way  from the
 chambers of humiliation to the         
prophet's watch-tower of  prayer and    
vision4 ,without this complement1 the   
doctrine created  priesthoods2 with it1 

destroys them4 ,without it1 men are     
caught up in  their moments of          
helplessness1 and handed over to ritual 
quackeries2  with it1 they are seized in
 their hour of inspiration1 and flung   
into  the arms of ,god4 ,the            
susceptibility for either treatment     
depends on  the predominance of impulse 
and passion over breadth of imagination 
and strength of will4 ,in short1 there  
are minds whose power is shed1  if we   
may say so1 in protension1 precipitated 
forwards in narrow  channels with       
impetuous torrent4 ,there are others    
whose affluence is  in extension1 and   
spreads out like a still lake to drink  
in light  from the open sky1 and reflect
 the look of wide-encircling hills4 ,and
  there are others yet again1 whose     
character is intension1 and that  move  
on in full volume1 and with steady      
stream of tendency1 rising and  falling 
little with the seasons1 and holding to 
the limits within  which they are to go4
 ,the faith of the first is sacrificial2

 of the  second1 pantheistic2 of the    
third1 theistic4    ,of the four        
cardinal tendencies we have named1 the  
scientific has  never been provided for 
within the interior of ,christianity2   
whose  organic life and structure are   
complete without it4 ,it remains1       
therefore1 sullenly on the outside1     
without renouncing at present its       
atheistic propensions3 and the part it  
has played1 however important1  has been
 that of external check and antagonism1 
in the assertion of  neglected rights of
 knowledge1 and slighted interests of   
mankind4 ,this  cannot possibly continue
 for ever2 nor is it at all consistent  
with  experience to suppose1 that either
 of the opponent influences will  obtain
 a victory over the other4 ,their       
reconcilement1 through the  mediation   
and within the compass of some third and
 more comprehensive  conception1 is a   
task remaining for the philosophy and   
charity of the  future4 ,we feel no     
doubt that it will be accomplished2 and 

will spare us  that revolutionary       
extermination of theology and           
metaphysics which is  proclaimed1 on    
behalf of positive science1 by the      
self-appointed  ,committee of the       
,rpublique ,occidentale4 ,the other     
three tendencies  early worked their way
 into the ,christian religion1 and      
vindicated a  place within its organism4
 ,indeed1 the historical genesis of the 
,catholic ,church consists of little    
else1 on the inner side of dogma and    
ethics1 than the successive and         
successful self-assertion of each of    
these principles2 and1 on the outer side
 of ecclesiastical polity1 than  the    
construction of a social framework which
 held them in co-existence  till the    
sixteenth century4 ,the genius of three 
distinct peoples  conspired to fill up  
the measure of the early faith2 and each
 brought  with it a separate            
constituent4 ,the ,hebrew believer      
contributed his  theistic conscience2   
the ,hellenic1 his pantheistic          

speculation2 the  ,romanic1 his         
passionate appropriation of redemption  
by faith4 ,the  elements were1 from the 
first1 mixed and struggling together2 so
 that  the phenomena of no period1      
probably of no place1 serve to show them
  disengaged from one another and       
insulated4 ,but the ,ebionitish period1 
with its rigorous monachism1 its        
historical and human ,christ1 its       
scrupulous asceticism1 its sternness    
against wealth1 represents the  ethical 
principle in its excess4 ,the ,logos    
idea1 and indeed the whole  development 
of the ,trinitarian doctrine1 exhibits  
the effort of the  ,greek thought to    
obtain recognition1 and qualify the     
,judaic4 ,and the  ,augustinian         
theology1 pleading the wants of fervid  
natures1 on whose  surface the web of   
moral doctrines alights only to be      
shrivelled and  disappear1 completes the
 triad of agencies from whose confluence
 the  faith of ,christendom arose4 ,in  
the ,catholic system the three          

ingredients  unite in one composite     
result2 and hence the tenacity with     
which that  system keeps possession of  
the most various types of human         
character1  and1 baffled by the spirit  
of one age1 returns with the reaction of
  another4 ,the ethical feeling finds   
satisfaction in its theory of human     
nature2 the pantheistic1 in its scheme  
of supernatural grace2 the  sacrificial1
 in its conditions of redemption4       
,through the realism of  the medival    
schools1 its eucharistic doctrine1 which
 is only the  theological side of that  
philosophical conception1 becomes a     
direct  transfusion of ,hellenic        
influence into the ,church4 ,and its    
faith in  perpetual inspiration1 in the 
unbroken chain of physical miracle1 in  
the  ceaseless mingling of sacramental  
mystery with the very substance of  this
 world1 so far softens and diffuses the 
concentrated personality of  the ,divine
 ,essence1 as to indulge the free fancy 
of art4 ,nor can we deny  the same      

capacity of beauty to its hierarchy of  
holy natures1--from the  village saint1 
through the heavenly angels1 to the ,son
 of ,god1--all  blended in living       
sympathies that cross and recross the   
barriers of  worlds4 ,this comprehensive
 adaptation to the exigencies of mankind
 is a  reasonable object of admiration4 
,but nothing can be more absurd than the
  appeal to it in proof either of       
preternatural guidance1 or of human     
artifice1 in the constitutive process of
 the ,roman ,church4 ,there is  nothing 
very surprising in the fact1 that a     
system which is the product  of three   
factors should contain them all4 ,no    
doubt if these factors are1  as we      
contend1 primary and indestructible     
features of our unperverted  nature1 no 
religion can be divine and completely   
true which refuses to  take any of them 
up2 and this one condition of the future
 faith we may  learn from the           
,christendom of the past4 ,the          
condition1 however1 must be  satisfied  

otherwise than by the strange congeries 
of profound truths and  puerile fancies 
which is dignified by the name of       
,catholic doctrine4    ,for1 be it      
observed1 this system has no intrinsic  
and necessary unity1  which would hold  
it together when abandoned to the free  
action of the  mind1 whose requirements 
it is said to meet4 ,it has something   
for  conscience1 something for art1     
something for passion1 each in its      
turn2 but it is not a whole that can    
satisfy all together4 ,its  contents1   
gathered by successive experiences1     
cohere through the  external grasp of a 
sacerdotal corporation2 and if that hand
 be  paralyzed or relaxed1 it becomes   
evident at once how little they have    
grown together4 ,hence the phenomena of 
the sixteenth century1 whose  revolt was
 the expression1 not of theological     
dissent1 but of  ecclesiastical disgust2
 and in which doctrine only accidentally
 fell  to pieces1 because the authority 
that guarded and wielded it became  too 

rotten to be believed in4 ,the secondary
 revolution1 however1 was  incomparably 
more momentous than the primary4 ,the   
treasured seeds that  dropped from the  
shattered casket of the ,church had to  
germinate again  in the fresh soil of   
the richer ,european mind2 and the great
 year of  their development is still    
upon its round4 ,the outward dictation  
of  the ,apostolic ,see being discarded1
 it became necessary to find another    
clew to divine truth2 and the inner     
wants of the human soul and the  passing
 age came into play1 with no restraint  
within the ample scope  of ,scripture4  
,a reconstitution of ,christianity      
began1--on the basis1  no doubt1 of     
materials already accumulated1--more    
eclectic1 therefore1  and less creative1
 than in the infancy of the religion2   
but  proceeding1 nevertheless1 by the   
same law1 and commencing a similar      
cycle4 ,the order of development in this
 second life of ,christendom  has not   
been the same as in the first2 but the  

stages1 though  transposed1 do not      
differ taken one by one4 ,it is only    
this1--that  whilst in the formation of 
the faith the dominant influences were  
,conscience1 ,art1 and ,passion1 in its 
,re-formation they are ,passion1        
,conscience1 ,art4 ,at the moment when  
,luther shattered the fabric of         
pretended unity1 and compelled the husk 
to shed its kernels1 the  season and the
 field were unfavorable to two out of   
the three1 and  they lay dormant till   
more genial times4 ,the moral element   
had been  discredited by the casuistry  
of the confessional1 the treasure of the
  ,church1 and the trade in meritorious 
works2 and1 decked in these vile        
trappings1 was flung away in generous   
disgust4 ,the sthetic element  had      
become so paganized in ,italy1 and was  
so identified with the  reproduction of 
the very tastes and vices1 the thought  
and style1 nay1  even the mythology     
itself1 which the primitive religion had
 expelled  as the work of demons1 that  

the new piety shrank from it1 and let it
  alone4 ,in an age when episcopates    
were won by an ear for hexameters or  a 
,ciceronian ,latinity1 when priests     
defended materialism in ,tusculan       
disputations1 when popes frequented the 
comic theatre and ,plautus was  acted in
 the ,vatican1 when the proceeds of a   
purgatorial traffic were  spent in      
destroying ancient basilicas and raising
 heathenish temples  over the sepulchres
 of saints1 it was inevitable that      
beauty should  become suspected by      
sanctity4 ,there remained1 yet unspoiled
 by the  adoption of a corrupt          
generation1 the impetuous devotion and  
tremendous theory of ,augustine2 and    
this1 accordingly1 was the  direction in
 which the whole early ,reformation     
advanced4 ,it was not  the accident that
 ,luther was an ,augustinian monk1 which
 determined the  character of his       
movement4 ,the sickened soul of ,europe 
could breathe  no other air4 ,emaciated 
with the mockery of spiritual aliment1  

revolting at the chopped straw and      
apples of ,sodom that had been given    
for fruit from the tree of life1 it     
sighed for escape from this  choking    
discipline into some region fresh with  
the mountain breath of  faith and love1 
and not quite barren of angels' food4   
,the burdened  moral sense1 so long     
deluded and abused1 reduced to          
self-conscious  dotage by vain penances 
and vainer promises1 flung away all     
belief in  itself1 asked leave to lay   
its freedom down1 and went into         
captivity  to ,christ4 ,so exclusively  
did the feeling of the time flow into   
this  channel1 that no doctrine which   
had an ethical groundwork1 or  attempted
 to soften in the least the implacable  
hostility of nature  and grace1 obtained
 any success2 while every enthusiastic  
excess of  the anti-catholic ideas      
spread like wildfire4 ,the              
irreproachable  innocence and piety of  
the ,salzburg ,grtner-brder did nothing 
to  save them from quick martyrdom to   

their ,ebionitish faith2 while the      
atrocities and ravings of the           
,anabaptists of ,mnster scarcely        
sufficed  to stop the triumph of their  
hideous kingdom of the saints4 ,the     
movement of the brave ,zwingli1 earlier 
and more moderate than either  ,luther's
 or ,calvin's1 was easily restrained by 
them within the  narrowest range1 whilst
 the ,genevan ,reformer1 cautious and   
ungenial1  had but to collect his       
logical fuel1 and kindle the terrible   
fire of  his dogma1 and it spread from  
the icy chambers of his own nature and  
wrapt whole kingdoms in its flames4     
,that men without passion or  pathos    
themselves1 who do their work by force  
of intellect and will1  should be       
successful disseminators of a doctrine  
that can live in no  cool air1 only     
shows how wide was the preparation of   
mind1 and how the  coming of this time  
fulfilled the long desire of nations4   
,the first stage1 then1 of the new      
development of ,christianity was its    

,puritan period4 ,the natural perdition 
of man1 the radical corruption  of his  
will1 the religious indifference of all 
his states and actions1  and the        
consequent worthlessness of his         
morality1 except for civil  uses and    
social police1 constitute the           
fundamental assumptions of the  system4 
,from this basis of despair its doctrine
 of atonement comes to  the rescue4 ,the
 obedience of ,christ is accepted in    
place of that which  men cannot render1 
and his sacrifice instead of the penalty
 they  deserve4 ,not1 however1 for all1 
but for those alone who may  appropriate
 the deliverance by an act of faith1 and
 present the merits  of ,christ as their
 offering to ,god1 with full assurance  
of their  sufficiency4 ,nothing but a   
divine and involuntary conversion can   
generate this faith1 which follows no   
predisposition from the  antecedent     
life1 but the inscrutable decree of     
,heaven4 ,once  transferred from the    
state of nature into that of grace1 the 

disciple  becomes1 through the ,holy    
,spirit1 a new creature2 is conscious of
 a  sacred revolution in his tastes and 
affections2 gives evidence of this  by  
good works1 which1 now purified in their
 principle1 are no longer  unacceptable 
to ,god2 and knows that1 though he is   
still liable to the  sins1 he is        
redeemed from the penalties1 of a son of
 ,adam4 ,the ,church  is the body of the
 converted1 and while the ,sacrament of 
,baptism  initiates the candidate1 and  
provisionally secures him1 the          
,communion  seals his adoption          
afterwards2 the efficacy of both being  
conditional  on the inner faith of the  
participant4 ,the intense and unmediated
  antithesis of nature and grace1 and   
the gulf1 impassable except by  miracle1
 between their two spheres1 may be      
regarded as the most  characteristic    
feature of this scheme4 ,its text-book  
contains the  ,pauline ,epistles1 and   
opens most readily at the ,romans or    
,galatians2  and its favorite writers   

are ,augustine1 ,luther1 ,calvin1 and   
,edwards4  ,with vast internal          
differences in their particular         
conceptions of  ,christian truth and of 
ecclesiastical government1 the so-called
  ,evangelical sects retain the impress 
of their common origin in the  dearth of
 any ethical or sthetic element in their
 religion4    ,from this alone must have
 resulted the fact which a plurality of 
causes has concurred in producing2 viz4 
that the ,reformation soon  7within a   
century and a half7 reached its apparent
 limit of extent1  and propagated itself
 only internally by further evolutions  
of  thought4 ,it had taken up and       
exhausted the class of minds to which it
  was specially adapted2 and after      
appropriating these1 found itself       
arrested4 ,under the impulse of a       
newly-awakened piety men are disposed   
to feel that they cannot attribute too  
much to ,god2 and there will  always be 
large numbers who1 from the absorbing   
intensity of religious  sentiment1 or   

the dominance of predestinarian theory1 
or the ill  balance of partial          
cultivation1 abdicate all personal power
 of good in  favor of irreversible      
decrees4 ,but as the tension relaxes or 
the  culture enlarges1 the moral        
instincts reassert their existence2 and 
the monstrous distortions incident to   
any theory which denies their  authority
 become too repulsive to be borne4      
,hence a reaction1 in which  the natural
 conscience takes the lead1 and insists 
on obtaining that  reconciliation with  
,god which has already been conquered   
for the  affections4 ,men in whom the   
sense of right and wrong is deep cannot 
divest themselves of reverence for it as
 authoritative and divine2 nor  can they
 truly profess that it is to them an    
empty voice1 which1  venerable as it    
sounds1 they are never able to obey4    
,they know what a  difference it makes  
to them1 in the whole peace and power of
 their  being1 whether they are faithful
 or whether they are false2 that this   

difference belongs alike to their state 
of nature and their state of  grace2    
that it is as little possible to        
withhold admiration from the            
magnanimity of the ,pagan ,socrates as  
from that of the ,christian ,paul2  and 
that the sentiment which compels homage 
to both is the same that  looks up with 
trust and worship to the justice and    
holiness of ,god3  how1 then1 can they  
consent to draw an unreal line of       
impassable  separation between ethical  
qualities before conversion and the very
  same qualities after1 and abrogate in 
the one case the moral  distinctions    
which become valid in the other8 ,the   
two lives1--of earth  and heaven2 the   
two minds1--human and divine2 the two   
states1--nature  and grace2 which it is 
the impulse of enthusiasm to contrast1  
it is  the necessity of conscience to   
unite4 ,when ,luther first blew up the  
sacerdotal bridge which had given a path
 across to the steps of  centuries1 the 
boldness of the deed and the inspiration

 of the time  lightened the feet of men1
 and enabled them to spring over with   
him on  the wing of faith4 ,but when the
 van had passed1 and the more equable   
and disciplined ranks of another        
generation were brought to the brink1   
there seemed a needless rashness in the 
attempt1 and foundations were           
discovered for a structure based on the 
rock of nature1 and making one  province
 of both worlds4 ,even ,melancthon1 long
 as he yielded to his  leader's more    
powerful will1 could not permanently    
acquiesce in the  complete extinction of
 human responsibility2 and vindicated   
for the  soul a voluntary co-operation  
with divine grace4 ,this semi-,pelagian 
example rapidly spread2 first among the 
later ,lutherans1 especially of         
,brunswick and ,hanover2 next into the  
school of ,leyden2 and finally  into the
 ,church and universities of ,england4  
,quick to seize the  reaction in the    
temper of the times1 the ,jesuits put   
themselves at the  head of the same     

tendency in their own communion2        
defended against the  ,jansenists a     
doctrine of free-will beyond even the   
limits of ,catholic  orthodoxy2 upheld  
,molina against ,augustine1 as among the
 ,protestants  ,episcopius was gaining  
upon ,calvin4 ,among patriotic          
theologians the  authority of the ,latin
 ,church gave way in favor of the early 
,christian  apologists and ,greek       
,fathers1 who knew nothing of the scheme
 of  decrees4 ,divinity1 under the      
guidance of ,more and ,cudworth1 no     
longer  disdained to replenish her oil  
and revive her flame from the lamp of   
,athenian philosophy4 ,and the          
conception of a universal natural law   
was  elaborately worked out by ,grotius4
 ,as the sixteenth century was the      
period of dogmatic theology1 the        
seventeenth was that of ethical         
philosophy2 the whole modern history of 
which lies mainly within that  limit and
 half a century lower2 and conclusively 
attests the decline  of a scheme of     

belief incompatible with the very       
existence of such a  science4 ,when the 
,protestantism which had produced a     
,farel1 a ,beza1  and a ,whitgift1      
offered as its representatives ,locke   
and ,limborch1  ,tillotson and ,butler1 
the nature of the change which had come 
over it  declares itself4 ,it was the   
revolt of moral sentiment against a     
doctrine that outraged it1--the         
re-development1 under new conditions1   
of the ethical principle which had      
fallen neglected from the broken        
seed-vessel of the ,catholic faith4     
,the second season of the ,reformation1 
though treated now with  unmerited      
disparagement1 was not less worthy of   
admiration than the  first4             
,high-,churchmen may be ashamed of an   
archbishop who proposed a  scheme of    
comprehension2 ,evangelicals1 of a      
preacher who applauded the  ,socinians2 
and ,coleridgians1 of a theologian who  
was no deeper in  metaphysics than the  
,grotian divines2 but neither the       

,erastianism1  the charity1 nor the     
common sense of a ,tillotson would be at
 all  unsuitable at this moment to a    
church openly torn by dissensions and   
really held together only by dependence 
on the state4 ,it has been a  current   
opinion1 perseveringly propagated by    
adherents of the ,geneva  theology1 that
 the spread of ,arminian sentiments was 
equivalent to a  religious decline1 and 
concurrent with the growth of a worldly 
laxity  and selfish indifference of     
character4 ,the allegation is absolutely
  false4 ,in literature1 in personal    
characteristics1 and in public life1    
the ,latitude-men and their associates  
in belief bear honorable  comparison    
with their more rigorous forerunners4   
,there is not only  less of passionate  
intolerance1 but a nobler freedom from  
an equivocal  prudence1 in the great    
writers of the second period1 than in   
the  ,reformers of the first3 and there 
is more to touch the springs of         
disinterestedness and elevation of mind 

in ,cudworth and ,clarke than in        
,calvin and ,beza4 ,nor did the return  
of ethical theory weaken the  sources of
 religious action4 ,the very enterprises
 in which evangelical  zeal most        
rejoices1--missions to the heathen1 and 
the diffusion of  the ,scriptures1--were
 not only prosecuted but set on foot in 
new  directions and with more powerful  
instrumentalities1 in the very midst  of
 this period1 and by the very labors of 
its most distinguished  philosophers4   
,the ,society for the ,diffusion of     
,christian ,knowledge1  and the ,society
 for the ,propagation of the ,gospel in 
,foreign ,parts1  were both born with   
the eighteenth century2 and while the   
latter  addressed itself to the natives 
and slaves of the ,american provinces1  
the former first made the ,scriptures   
known on the ,coromandel coast4 ,it  was
 ,boyle who1 of all men of his age1     
displayed the most generous zeal  for   
the multiplication of the sacred        
writings1 himself procuring their       

translation into four or five languages4
 ,for thirty years he was  governor of a
 missionary corporation4 ,yet the       
complexion of his  theology is          
sufficiently indicated by the fact that 
he bought up  ,pococke's ,arabic        
translation of ,grotius 7,de ,veritate  
,christian  ,religionis71 and was at the
 cost of its wide distribution in the   
,east4  ,and who that has ever read it  
can forget ,swift's letter to the ,irish
  viceroy 7,lord ,carteret71 introducing
 ,bishop ,berkeley 7then ,dean of       
,derry71 and his project for resigning  
his preferment at home in order  that1  
on a stipend of #ajj a year1 he might   
devote himself to the  conversion of the
 ,american ,indians8 ,the imperturbable 
patience with  which the good ,dean     
prosecuted his object1 the self-devotion
 with  which he embarked in it his      
property and life1 the gratefulness with
  which he accepted from the government 
the promise of a grant1 and the         
treachery which broke the promise1 and  

after seven years compelled his  return1
 make up a story unrivalled for its     
contrast of saintly  simplicity and     
ministerial bad faith4 ,these and       
similar features of  the time           
superfluously refute the arbitrary and  
arrogant assumption1  that no piety can 
be living and profound except that which
 disbelieves  all natural religion1 no  
gospel holy which does not renounce the 
moral  law1 no faith prolific in works  
unless it begins with despising them4   
,there was1 however1 still a defect in  
this gospel of conscience4  ,regarding  
the world and life as the object of a   
divine administration1  and seeking to  
interpret them by a scheme of final     
causes1 it was wholly  occupied with the
 conception of ,god as proposing to     
himself certain  ends1 and arranging the
 means for their accomplishment4 ,in    
this light ,he  is a ,being with moral  
preconceptions and an economy for       
bringing them to  pass4 ,everything is  
for a purpose1 and subsists for the sake

 of what is  ulterior1 and forms part of
 a mechanism working out a prescribed   
problem4 ,the tendency of this way of   
thinking will inevitably be1 to  hunt   
for providences4 ,these the narrow mind 
will place in the incidents  of         
individual life2 the comprehensive      
intellect1 in the laws and  relations of
 the universe2 not perhaps in either    
case without some  danger from human    
egotism of referring too much to the    
good and ill  which is relative to man4 
,the infinite perfections of ,god will  
be  concentrated1 so to speak1 too much 
in the notion of ,his ,,will1 and the   
powers which subserve its designs2 and  
will in consequence be as much          
misapprehended as would be our own      
nature by an observer assuming that  we 
put forth all its life and phenomena on 
purpose4 ,indeed1 the  exclusive and    
unbalanced ascendency of the moral      
faculty tempts a man to  fancy this sort
 of existence the only right one for    
himself2 to suspect  every flow of      

unwatched feeling1 and call himself to  
account for the  burst of ringing       
laughter1 or the surprise of sudden     
tears1 and aim at  an autocratic command
 of his own soul4 ,it is not wonderful  
that his  ideal of human character      
should reappear in his representation of
 the  ,divine4 ,the error deforms his   
faith as much as it tends to stiffen and
  constrict his life4 ,leading him      
always to ask what a thing is for1 it   
hinders him from seeing what it is2 in  
search of the motive1 he  misses the    
look2 and his interest in it being      
transitive1 he sinks  into it with no   
sympathy on its own account4 ,this is   
only to say1 in  other words1 that his  
prepossession detains him from the      
artistic  contemplation of objects and  
events2 for while it is the business of 
science to inquire their origination1   
and of morals to follow their  drift1 it
 remains for art to appreciate their    
nature4 ,to feel the  type of thought   
which they express1 to recognize the    

idea which they  invest with form1 the  
mind must rest upon them1 not as        
products or as  instruments1 but as     
realities2 and their significance must  
not be  imposed upon them1 but read off 
from them4 ,the meaning which art       
detects  in life and the world is not a 
purpose1 but a sentiment2 in its view   
the  present attitudes and development  
of things are rather the out-coming of  
an inner feeling than the tools of a    
remoter end4 ,to find room for this     
mode of conception something must be    
added to the ethical representation  of 
,god4 ,he must be regarded as not always
 and throughout engaged in  processes of
 intention and volition1 but as having1 
around this moral  centre1 an infinite  
atmosphere of creative thought and      
affection1 which1  like the native      
inspirations of a pure and sublime human
 soul1  spontaneously flow out in forms 
of beauty1 and movements of rhythm1 and 
a thousand aspects of divine expression4
 ,religion demands the admission  of    

this free element3 and without it1 will 
cease to speak home to men of           
susceptible genius and poetic nature1   
and must limit itself more and  more to 
the fanatical minds that have too little
 regulation1 and the  moral that have   
too much4 ,a ,god who offers terms of   
communion only to  the passionate and to
 the conscientious1 will not touch the  
springs of  worship in perceptive and   
meditative men4 ,their prayer is less to
 know  the published rules than to      
overhear the lonely whispers of the     
,eternal  ,mind1 to be at one with ,his 
immediate life in the universe1 and to  
shape  or sing into articulate utterance
 the silent inspirations of which all   
existence is full4 ,their peculiar      
faculties supply them with other        
interests than about their sins1 their  
salvation1 and their conscience2  they  
feel neither sufficiently guilty1 nor   
sufficiently anxious to be  good1 to    
make a religion out of the one          
consciousness or the other2 but  if1    

indeed1 it be ,god that flashes on them 
in so many lights of solemn  beauty from
 the face of common things1 that wipes  
off sometimes the  steams of custom from
 the window of the soul1 and surprises  
it with a  presence of tenderness and   
mystery1--if the tension of creative    
thought  in themselves1 which can rest  
in nothing imperfect1 yet realize       
nothing  perfect1 be an unconscious     
aspiration towards ,him1--then there is 
a way  of access to their inner faith1  
and a temple pavement on which they will
  consent to kneel4 ,it is1 we believe1 
the inability of ,protestantism1 in     
either of its previous forms1 to meet   
this order of wants1 that has  reduced  
it to its state of weakness and         
discredit2 and the struggle of  thought1
 characteristic of the present century1 
is an unconscious  attempt to supply the
 defect1 and to vindicate1 for the third
 element of  ,catholic ,christianity1   
the possibility of development in the   
open air of  ,protestant belief4 ,the   

change began1 like both of the earlier  
ones1 in  ,germany2 and it was from     
,plato that ,schleiermacher learned     
where the  weakness of ,christian dogma 
lay1 and in what field of thought he    
might  create a diversion from the      
disastrous assaults of ,french          
materialism1  and restore the balance of
 the fight4 ,an ,hellenic spirit was    
infused  into the scientific theology of
 the ,continent1 and has never ceased to
  prevail there1 though ,aristotle has  
long succeeded to ,plato as the  channel
 of influence4 ,when ,hegel1 long the   
rival of ,schleiermacher1  triumphed    
over him1 not only in the coteries of   
,berlin1 but in the  schools of         
,germany1 he no doubt turned the        
philosophy which had been  invoked to   
preserve the faith into a dialectic1 at 
whose magic touch it  deliquesced2 and  
no one who has followed the application 
of his  principles to history and dogma 
can be surprised at the antipathy they  
awaken in the ,church4 ,but it would be 

a mistake to suppose that the step  into
 ,pantheism was made by ,hegel1 and that
 the opposing theologians  raised up by 
the great preacher of ,berlin occupy in 
this respect any  different ground4     
,since the time of ,jacobi theism proper
 has not been  heard of in ,germany3 the
 very writers who mean to defend it1    
surrender  it in the disguise of their  
definition of personality2 and so       
steeped is  the whole national mind in  
the colors of ,hellenic thought1 that   
from  ,neander to ,strauss can be found1
 in our deliberate judgment1 only       
different shades of the same pantheistic
 conception4 ,what does this  denote but
 a universal sigh after a ,god1 who     
shall be neither a ,jehovah1  a ,judaic 
1 nor a redeeming ,deus ex machin1      
supervening upon  the theatre of        
history1 but a living and energizing    
,spirit1 quickening  the very heart of  
to-day1 and whispering round the dome of
 ,herschel's  sky not less than in the  
third story of ,paul's heaven8 ,in some 

this  feeling breaks out in devilish    
defiance1 as in the unhappy ,heinrich   
,heine's saying1 ,i am no child1 ,i do  
not want a ,heavenly ,father any  more3 
in others it breathes out1 as with      
,novalis1 in a tender  mysticism1 and is
 traceable by the reverent footfall and 
uncovered head  with which they pace1 as
 in a cathedral1 the solemn aisles of   
life and  nature4 ,the expression of    
this tendency has passed into the       
literature  of our own language1 and    
every year is tinging it more and more  
with its  characteristic hues4 ,emerson 
affords the purest and most unmixed     
example2 but perhaps the earlier        
writings of ,carlyle1--before the divine
  thirst had advanced so much into a    
human rabies1--and more especially  his 
,sartor ,resartus1 may be taken as the  
real gospel of this  sentiment4 ,the    
intense operation of these essays1 so   
entirely alien to  the traditions of    
,english thought and taste1 is an       
evidence of something  more than the    

genius of their authors3 it is proof of 
a certain  combustible state of the     
,english mind1 prepared by drought and  
deadness  to burst into the flame of    
this new worship4 ,this feeling1        
diffused  through the very air of the   
time1 has unmistakably evinced its      
essential  identity with the instinct of
 art2 in part1 by a direct affluence and
  excellence of production unknown to   
the preceding age1 but still more1  in  
the wide extension of an appreciating   
love for the creations of  artistic     
genius4 ,the melancholy prophets who see
 in this spreading  susceptibility only 
a morbid symptom of decadent            
civilization1 are  misled1 we hope1 by  
imperfect historical parallels4 ,the    
flower1 no  doubt1 both of ,athenian and
 of ,italian culture1 was most brilliant
 just  before it drooped4 ,but the soil 
which bore it1 and the elements that    
surrounded it1 had no essential         
resemblance to the conditions of modern 
,english society1 in which1 above all1  

there are the unexhausted juices  of a  
moral faith and a strenuous habit1 not  
stimulant perhaps of hasty  growth1 but 
giving hardihood against the open air   
and the natural  seasons4    ,by the    
rules of technical theology1 it may     
appear strange to reckon  the turn from 
theism to pantheism as a third stage of 
the  ,reformation2 as if it could be at 
all included in the interior  history of
 ,christianity1 instead of being treated
 as a direct  apostasy4 ,and it is in   
reality a very serious question1        
whether1  without unfaithfulness to its 
essential character1 the ,christian     
religion can domesticate within it this 
new action of thought1 or must  from the
 first visit it with unqualified        
excommunication4 ,on the one  hand1     
nothing can be more absurd than to      
suppose that a faith of  ,hebrew origin1
 a faith whose very hypothesis is sin1  
and whose  aspiration is moral          
perfectness1 can ever be reconciled with
 a  thorough-going pantheism4 ,on the   

other hand1 nothing can be more         
gratuitous than to assume that the      
feeling which1 on getting the whole     
mind to itself1 generates a pantheistic 
scheme1 has no legitimate  exercise1 and
 gains its indulgence altogether at the 
expense of  ,christian truth4 ,if we    
mistake not1 the pith of the matter lies
 in a  small compass4 ,let ,christian   
,theism keep ,morals1 and ,pantheism may
  have ,nature4 ,this rule is no mere   
compromise or coalition of  incongruous 
elements1 but is founded1 we are        
convinced1 on  distinctions real and    
eternal4 ,so long as a holy will is left
 to ,god1  and a power committed to man1
 free to sustain relations of trust and 
responsibility1 room remains for all the
 conditions of ,christianity1  and the  
field beyond may be open to the range of
 mystic perception1  and railed off for 
the sacrament of beauty4 ,but whether   
this or any  other be the just partition
 of territory between the two claimants1
  partition there must be1 for the real 

truth of things must correspond1  not to
 the hypothesis of any single human     
faculty1 but to harmonized  postulates  
of all4 ,it is not surprising that1 on  
its first re-birth1  the gospel of      
nature should deny the gospel of duty1  
or so take it up  into its own fine     
essence as to volatilize all its        
substance away4  ,this is but the       
natural revenge taken for past neglect1 
and the  needful challenge to future    
attention4 ,each one of the three       
developments has in its turn run out    
beyond the limits of the  ,christian    
faith1 and yet1 hitherto1 each has      
established a place  within it4 ,the    
,hegelian1 or ,emersonian1 type of the  
third period is  but the corresponding  
phenomenon to the ,antinomianism of the 
first1  and the ,deism of the second4   
,and as these have passed away1 after   
surrendering into the custody of        
,christendom the principles that gave   
them strength1 so will the ,pantheism of
 to-day1 when it has provided  for the  

safe-keeping of its charge1 and seen the
 ,church complete its  triad of ,faith1 
,holiness1 and ,beauty4    ,this        
question1 however1 will be asked3 ,if   
the ,reformation only  repeats1 with    
some transposition1 the cycle of the    
primitive  development1 how are we the  
better for having thus to do our work   
again8 ,are we to end where the         
sixteenth century began1 and to         
reproduce the ,catholicism which was    
then resolved into its elements8  ,and  
does some fatal necessity doom us to    
this wearisome periodicity8  ,not in the
 least4 ,however little the seeds may be
 able to transgress  the limits of      
species1 and may remain                 
indistinguishable from  millennium to   
millennium1 the conditions of growth are
 so different as  practically to cancel 
the identity in the result4 ,taken even 
one by  one1 the modern forms of        
doctrine are far nobler than their early
  prototypes4 ,the narrow ,ebionitism of
 the original ,church is not            

comparable1 as an expression of the     
conscience1 with the moral  philosophy  
of ,butler2 and the ,greek element of   
thought1 flowing by  ,berlin1 has       
entered the ,church in deeper channels  
than when  infiltrating through the     
theosophy of ,alexandria4 ,it is only in
  relation to the passionate element    
that the doubt can be raised1  whether  
we have gained in truth and grandeur by 
passing the religion  of ,augustine     
through the minds of the modern         
reformers2 and whether  the ,jansenists 
within the ,church do not exhibit a     
higher phase of  character than the     
,huguenots without it4 ,but at any rate1
 the modern  development1 taken as a    
whole1 is secure of an inner unity and  
completeness which before has been      
unattained4 ,it is an obvious1 yet      
little noticed1 consequence of the      
invention of printing1 that no one  mood
 of feeling or school of thought can    
tyrannize over a generation  of mankind1
 and sweep all before it1 as of old2 and

 then again1 with  change in the        
intellectual season1 rot utterly away1  
and give place to  a successor no less  
absolute4 ,generations and ages now live
 in  presence of each other2 the impulse
 of the present is restrained by  the   
counsels of the past1 and1 in fighting  
for the throne of the human  mind1 finds
 it not only strong in living           
prepossession1 but guarded by  shadowy  
sentinels1 encircled by a band of       
immortals4 ,hence the history  of ideas 
can never be again so wayward and fitful
 as it was in the  first centuries of   
our era2 losing all interest at one     
period in the  questions which had      
maddened the preceding2 for a time      
covered all  over with the pale haze of 
,byzantine metaphysics1 and then        
suffused  with red heats of ,african    
enthusiasm4 ,new truth can no longer    
forget  the old1 and thrive wholly at   
its expense1 or even make a compact with
  it to take turn and turn about1 but   
must find an organic relation with  it1 

so as to be its enlargement rather than 
its rival4 ,the modern  moralist already
 understands ,augustine better than did 
the old  ,pelagians2 ,evangelical       
teachers begin to insist on ,christian  
ethics2  and the increasing disposition1
 even in heterodox persons1 to dwell on 
the ,incarnation as the central point of
 faith1 shows how credible and  welcome 
becomes the notion of the union of human
 with divine1 and of  the moral         
manifestation of ,god in the life and   
soul of man4 ,the time1  we trust1 is   
gone1 for the merely linear advancement 
of the ,european  mind1 with all its    
action and reaction propagated          
downwards1 and  wasting centuries on    
phenomena that might co-exist4          
,henceforth it may  open out in all     
dimensions at once1 and fill1 as its own
 for ever1 the  whole space of true     
thought into which its past increments  
have borne  it4 ,sects1 no doubt1 and   
schools1 will continue to arise on the  
outskirts of the intellectual realm1    

possessed by partial  inspirations2 but 
the world's centre of gravity will be   
more and more  occupied by minds that   
can at once balance and retain these    
marginal  excesses1 that can round off  
the sphere by inner force of reason1    
and1  dispensing with the outer mould of
 sacerdotal compression1 let the  tides 
flow free1 and the winds blow strong1   
without alarm for the  eternal harmony4 
,this is the form in which nature will  
restore1 and  ,god approve1 a ,catholic 
consent4    ,the idea we have endeavored
 to give of the genesis of ,christian   
doctrine1 and the law of its            
vicissitudes1 is offered only as        
conveniently distributing the subjective
 sources of faith4 ,it cannot  be       
applied to the phenomena of particular  
countries apart from ample  historical  
knowledge of the concurrent social and  
political  conditions1 without which the
 most accurate clews to the natural     
history of thought can only mislead as  
the interpreter of concrete  events4    

,when1 for instance1 we look around us  
at home1 and seek for  the ,english     
representatives of the several          
tendencies explained above1  we may1 no 
doubt1 find them here and there1 but    
they are so far from  exhausting the    
facts of our time1 that some of the most
 conspicuous  parties--as the           
,anglicans--seem provided with no place 
at all4 ,the  obscurity first begins to 
clear away when we remember that in     
,england  ,schism went before           
,reformation4 ,the aim of ,henry ,,viii4
 was simply to  detach and nationalize  
the ,church in his dominions2 to give it
 insular  integrity instead of          
provincial dependence2 and could this   
have been  done without meddling with   
the system of ,catholic doctrine at all1
 the  scheme of faith would have been   
preserved entire4 ,while ,luther and the
  ,continental opponents of ,rome were  
faithful to the idea of the unity  of   
,christendom1 and were calling out for a
 general council to restore  it by a    

verdict on doubtful points of faith1 the
 ,english monarch1  undisturbed by doubt
 or scruple1 broke off from ,rome1 and  
destroyed  the traditions of            
centralization by taking the            
ecclesiastic  jurisdiction into his own 
hands and stopping its passage of the   
seas4  ,in the new movement of the time1
 ,england tended to become a petty      
papacy1 still unreformed2 ,europe sought
 a universal church reformed4  ,neither 
aim admitted of realization4 ,to        
repudiate the supreme pontiff1  and     
substitute a civil head1 involved a     
fatal breach in the sacerdotal  system1 
and carried with it inevitable          
departures from the integrity  of       
,catholic dogma2 so that reformation was
 found inseparable from  schism4 ,and   
when no council1 acknowledged as        
universal1 was called to  give          
authoritative settlement1 arrangements  
ad interim became  consolidated1        
provisional rights grew into            
prescriptive2 with the  spectacle of    

variety1 and the taste of freedom1 the  
idea of unity  faded away1 till the     
co-existence of two churches within one 
land and  one ,christendom passed into a
 necessity1 and reformation proved      
impossible without a schism4 ,but1      
notwithstanding this partial            
approximation of the ,english and the   
,continental movements1 the traces      
remain indelible that their point of    
departure was from opposite ends4  ,in  
its origin and earliest traditions1 in  
the basis of its  constitution and      
worship1 the ,church of ,england has    
nothing whatever  to do with            
,protestantism2 it is but the           
,westminster ,catholic ,church  instead 
of the ,roman ,catholic ,church4        
,authoritative doctrine1  sacramental   
grace1 sacerdotal mediation1 are all    
retained2 and  throughout the whole of  
,henry's reign1 while the new laws were 
working  themselves into habits1 the    
seven sacraments1 the communion in one  
kind1 the ,ave ,maria1 the invocation of

 saints1 with the doctrines of          
transubstantiation and purgatory1       
remained within the circle of           
recognized orthodoxy4 ,the impelling and
 regulative idea of the whole  change   
was that of a nationalization of        
,catholicism4 ,this original  ascendency
 of the national over the theological   
feeling was never  lost2 and though     
channels were more and more opened1     
through the  sympathies of exiles and   
the intercourse of scholars1 for the    
infusion  of ,continental notions1 yet  
the form given to the ,church rendered  
it  not very susceptible to the new     
learning2 whose admission1 so far as  it
 took place1 was rather induced by      
political conception than made in  the  
interests of universal truth4 ,the      
present ,anglicans represent the  first 
type of the ,english schism2 and the    
,high ,church in general  embodies the  
distinguishing national sentiment of the
 ,reformation in  this country1 as      
compared with the cosmopolitan character

 of the  ,continental religious change4 
,doctrine is universal1 administration  
and jurisdiction are local4 ,where the  
former becomes the bond of  sympathy1 as
 among the ,evangelic ,protestants1 it  
unites men together  by ties that are   
irrespective of the limits of country1  
and  subordinates special patriotisms to
 the interests of a more  comprehensive 
fraternity4 ,where the latter become the
 objects of  zeal1 a flavor of the soil 
mingles itself with the sentiments of   
honor1 and a peculiar loyalty           
concentrates itself on the inner circles
  of duty1 often with the narrowest     
capacity of diffusion beyond4 ,hence    
the intensely ,english feeling which has
 always prevailed among the             
parochial--especially the rural--clergy 
of the ,establishment1 and the  people  
who form their congregations4 ,they     
constitute the very core of  our insular
 society1 and the retaining centre of   
our historical  characteristics4 ,their 
admirations1 their prejudices1 their    

virtues1  their ambitions1 are all      
national4 ,their interest in dogma is   
not  intellectually active1 or          
provocative of any proselyting zeal1 and
 is  subservient to the practical aim of
 giving territorial action to the       
religious institutions under their      
charge4 ,their dealings are less  with  
the individual's solitary soul1 than    
with the several social  classes in     
their mutual relations2 and to mediate  
between the gentry  and the poor1 to    
keep in order the school1 the workhouse1
 and the  village charities1--not       
forgetting the obligation to ward off   
,methodists and                         
voluntaries1#b--;constitute the approved
 circle of  clerical duties4 ,their very
 antipathies1 unlike those of           
,protestant  zealots1 are less          
theological than political2 they hate   
,roman  ,catholics chiefly as a sort of 
foreigners1 who have no proper  business
 here1 and ,dissenters as a sort of     
rebels1 who create  disturbance with    

their discontents2 and were old ,england
 well rid of  them both1 the heart of   
her citizenship1 they believe1 would be 
sounder4 ,they stand1 indeed1 in a      
curious position1 pledged to hold a     
proud ,anglican isolation between two   
cosmopolitan interests1--the  ,popish   
theocracy and the ,evangelical          
dogma1--refusing obedience to  ,rome1   
yet declining the alliance of foreign   
,protestants4 ,their enmity  to the     
,papal system is quite a different      
sentiment from that which  animates     
,exeter ,hall2 they do not deny the     
absolute legitimacy of the  elder       
corporation in general1 but only its    
relative legitimacy here2  and ,scottish
 ravings against it as ,babylon and     
,antichrist offend  them more than the  
confessional and the mass4 ,twice in    
their  history--under the ,stuarts and  
in our own day--have they seemed to     
forget their destiny1 and make overtures
 to the ,vatican2 in both  instances it 
was when ,puritanism had threatened to  

take possession of  the ,church1 and    
reduce it to a federal member of an     
,evangelical  alliance2 and if its      
separate integrity were in peril1 they  
had rather  fling it back into the      
,apostolic monarchy1 than enroll it in  
the  ,genevan league4 ,but the first    
real sight of danger from the ,papal    
side  has dissipated this reactionary   
inclination1 and rekindled the  instinct
 of local independence4 ,thus1 in our   
,church1 ideal interests  and purely    
religious conceptions have held the     
second place to a  predominating        
nationalism4 ,the ,church has embodied  
and handed down the  leading sentiment  
of the ,tudor times2 and though not     
guiltless of  share in many a ,stuart   
treachery1 and often cruel to the       
stiff-necked  recusant1 has1 on the     
whole1 been true to the ,english        
feeling1 that  the ,pope was too great a
 priest1 and ,calvin too long a         
preacher4    ,the reason then is evident
 why the ,church of ,england cannot be  

referred to any of the heads of         
classification we have given2 neither   
coinciding with ,romanism1 nor          
exemplifying distinctively any of the   
tendencies springing successively out of
 the disintegration of  ,catholic dogma4
 ,it arose out of an ecclesiastical     
revolt2 other  communions1 out of a     
theological aspiration4 ,its original   
conception  involved no serious         
modification of belief1 no invention or 
recovery  of strange usages1 but a mere 
separation of the island branch from the
  ,roman stem1 that it might strike root
 and be as a native tree of life4  ,the 
first alterations in doctrine were      
slight1 and merely incidental  to this  
primary end3 and the whole amount of    
change1 instead of being  determined by 
the intellectual dictatorship of a      
,luther or a ,calvin1  was the illogical
 result of social forces1 seeking the   
equilibrium of  practical compromise4   
,the phenomenon therefore which we      
observed in  the elder ,church is       

repeated in this younger offshoot3 the  
several  elements of faith co-exist     
7though in greatly spoiled proportions7 
without unity or natural coherence2 and 
the ,english ,church1 as the  depository
 of a creed1 occupies no place in the   
history of the human  mind3 its         
individual great men must be put here or
 there in the  records of thought1      
without regard to the accident of their 
ecclesiastical position4 ,the one real  
idea which has permanently  inspired its
 clergy and supporters is that of       
nationalism in  religion4 ,to the time  
of the ,restoration they attempted1     
since then  they have pretended1 to     
represent the nation in its faith and   
worship4 ,once1 their aim appeared to be
 a noble possibility1  struggling still 
and unrealized1 but unrefuted4 ,now1    
thousands of  ,non-conformist chapels   
proclaim its meaning gone1 and its      
language an  affectation and an         
insolence4 ,the ,english ,church has    
become an outer  reality without an     

inner idea4    ,in contrast with the    
insular feeling predominant in the      
,english  schism1 we have placed the    
cosmopolitan zeal of the foreign        
,puritanism4 ,with this1 however1 was   
combined the very opposite pole  of     
sentiment1--a certain egoism and        
loneliness in religion1 from  which have
 flowed some of the most important      
characteristics of  ,protestantism4     
,having flung away1 as miserable        
quackeries1 the  hierarchical           
prescriptions for souls oppressed with  
sin1 ,luther fell  back upon an act of  
subjective faith in place of the        
,church's  objective works4 ,for the    
corporation he substituted the          
individual3  whom he put in immediate1  
instead of mediate1 relation with       
,christ and  ,god4 ,the ,catholic's     
unbloody sacrifice had no efficacy1 no  
existence1  without the priest2 the     
,lutheran's bloody sacrifice was a      
realized  historical fact1 to be        
appropriated separately by every        

believer's  personal trust4 ,it was not1
 therefore1 the ,church which1 in its   
corporate capacity1 occupied the prior  
place1 and held the deposit of  divine  
grace for distribution to its members2  
but it was the private  person that     
constituted the sacred unit1 and a      
plurality of believers  supplied the    
factors of the ,church4 ,the grace which
 before could not  reach the individual 
except by transit through accredited    
officials1  now became directly         
accessible to each soul3 and only after 
it had  been received by a sufficient   
number to form a society1 did the       
conditions of spiritual office and      
organization exist4 ,this essential     
dependence of the whole upon the parts1 
instead of the parts upon the  whole1 is
 the most radical and powerful          
peculiarity of ,protestantism4  ,a      
system which raises the individual to   
the primary place of religious          
importance1 places him nearest to the   
supernatural energy of ,god1 and  makes 

him the living stone without which      
temple and altar cannot be  built1      
naturally draws to it minds of marked   
vigor1 and trains men in                
self-subsisting habits4 ,by giving scope
 to the forces of private  character1 it
 sets in action the real springs of     
healthy progress1 and  happily with such
 intensity as to defy the checks it     
often seeks to  impose in later moods of
 repentant alarm4 ,this emancipation of 
the  personal life from theocratic      
control1 at first achieved in connection
  with the doctrine of justification1   
was sure to present itself in  other    
forms4 ,in its spiritual application    
,protestant egoism assumes  the shape of
 reliance on inner faith2 in its        
political1 of  voluntaryism2 in its     
intellectual1 of free inquiry and       
private  judgment4 ,these several       
directions may be taken separately or   
together1 but where1 as in the ,church  
of ,england1 not one of them is         
unambiguously marked1 the very principle

 of reformed ,christianity is           
unsecured1 and ,protestantism is        
present1 not by charter1 but by social  
accident4 ,puritanism                   
everywhere--conforming or nonconforming1
 ,english  or ,continental--exhibits the
 first direction2 ,evangelical          
,dissenters  add the second2 while      
,unitarians occupy the third1--not      
perhaps  completely1 and not altogether 
exclusively1 but characteristically     
nevertheless4 ,for it is impossible to  
unite the orthodox with the             
intellectual egoism4 ,so long as the    
inner faith1 which is the  presumed     
condition of justification1 includes a  
controverted doctrine1  like the scheme 
of ,atonement1 the need of faith imposes
 a limit on the  right of judgment3 and 
you are only free to think till you show
  symptoms of thinking wrong4 ,but when 
the sacrificial ,christianity has       
passed into the ethical1 and no other   
condition of harmony with ,god is  laid 
down than purity of affection and       

fidelity of will1 then honest  thought  
can peril no salvation1 and the devotion
 of the intellect to  truth and the     
heart to grace is a divided allegiance  
no more4    ,it was for some time       
doubtful how far this ,protestant egoism
 was  likely to go4 ,luther was clear   
and positive that it was faith that     
justified2 and fetching this doctrine   
out of a deep personal  experience1 he  
paid little respect to any one who      
contradicted it1 and  regulated by it   
his first choice of religious           
authorities4 ,led by this  clew1 he     
arrived at results strangely at variance
 with modern canons4  ,he neither       
accepted as a standard the whole ,bible1
 nor at first  rejected the whole       
tradition of the ,church2 loosely       
attempting to  reserve the ,augustinian 
authorities1 and to repudiate the       
,dominican4  ,when he had renounced     
altogether the appeal to councils and   
patristic  lore1 it was in favor1 not of
 the external ,scriptures1              

unconditionally  taken as the rule of   
faith1 but of the private spirit of the 
,christian  reader1 who was himself made
 king and priest1 and could not only    
find the meaning1 but pronounce upon the
 relative worth1 of the  canonical      
books4 ,accordingly1 the ,reformer made 
very free with  portions of the ,old    
,testament1 and with the more ,judaic   
elements of  the ,new1--the ,epistle to 
the ,hebrews1 that of ,james1 and the   
,apocalypse2 and avowedly did this      
because he disliked the flavor of  their
 doctrine1 and felt its variance from   
the ,pauline gospel4 ,he thus  tampered 
with his court before he brought forward
 his cause1 and  incapacitated the      
judges whose verdict he feared4 ,in     
short1 the  religious life of his own   
soul was too intense and powerful to be 
prevailed over by any written word3 he  
appropriated what was  congenial1 and   
threw away the rest4 ,uneasy relations  
were thus  established between the      
subjective rule of faith found in the   

believer's own mind1 and the objective  
standard of a documentary  revelation3  
they were soon constituted1 and have    
ever since remained  rival authorities1 
commanding the allegiance of different  
orders of  minds4 ,the vast majority of 
,protestants1 of less profound and      
tumultuous inner life than ,luther1 and 
less knowing how to see their  way      
through it1 subsided into exclusive     
recognition of the sacred  writings2    
denying alike the regulative authority  
either of church  councils or of the    
private soul4 ,in every branch and      
derivative of the  ,genevan             
,reformation1 throughout the whole range
 of both the ,puritan  and the ,arminian
 ,churches1 a rigorous ,scripturalism   
prevails2 and the  ,bible is used as a  
code or legislative text-book1 which    
yields1 on  mere interpretation1        
verdicts without appeal on every        
subject1 whether  doctrine or duty1 of  
which it speaks4 ,but ,luther's         
spiritual  enthusiasm kindled a fire    

that he scarce could quench2 and while  
he  himself1 flung into perpetual       
conflicts with opponents1 was obliged   
more and more to refer to evidence      
external to his personality1 others  had
 learned from him to look upon their own
 souls as the theatre of  conscious     
strife between heaven and hell1 and to  
recognize the voice  of inspiration     
there4 ,carlstadt was the first to catch
 the flame of  his teacher's burning    
experience1 and1 touched by prophetic   
consciousness1 to set the ,spirit above 
the ,word4 ,luther1 so often  recalled  
from the tendencies of his own turbulent
 teaching by seeing  their mischiefs    
realized in other men1 instantly turned 
on ,carlstadt  with his overwhelming    
scorn3 ,the spirit of our new prophet   
flies very  high indeed3 't is an       
audacious spirit1 that would eat up the 
,holy  ,ghost1 feathers and all4 ',the  
,bible8'--sneer these fellows1--',bibel1
  ,bubel1 ,babel6' ,and not only do they
 reject the ,bible thus  contemptuously1

 but they say they would reject ,god    
too1 if he were not  to visit them as he
 did his prophets4 ,carlstadt had got   
hold of a  doctrine that was too much   
for his ill-balanced mind1 and ,luther  
easily destroyed his repute4 ,but a     
principle had been started which  has   
never been dormant since2 the very      
principle which afterwards  constituted 
the ,society of ,friends1 and finds its 
best exposition in  the writings of     
their admirable apologist1 ,barclay2 and
 which in our  times reappears in more  
philosophic guise1 and fights its old   
battles  again as the doctrine of       
religious intuition4 ,no period of      
awakened  faith and sentiment has been  
without some increasing tincture of this
  persuasion2 and under modified forms1 
with more or less admixture of  the     
ordinary ,puritan elements1 it has      
played a great part among the           
,quietists in ,france1 the ,moravians in
 ,germany1 and the ,methodists in       
,england4 ,in all these1 far as they are

 from being committed to the  notion of 
an inner light1 spiritualism has        
predominated over  ,scripturalism1 and  
permanent life in the ,spirit has       
engaged the  affections more than the   
transition into the adoption of faith4  
,in this endeavor to lay out the        
ground-plan of modern ,christian        
development1 and trace upon it the chief
 lines both of psychological and  of    
historical distinction1 our design is to
 prepare the way for a series  of       
sketches exhibiting the sects and types 
of religion in ,england4 ,it is         
scarcely possible to notice the         
phenomena present here and to-day       
without referring to their antecedents  
in a prior age1 their  counterparts in  
other lands1 and their permanent        
principles in human  nature2 and if our 
chart be tolerably correct1 our future  
course will be  rendered less           
indeterminate by the relations and      
points of comparison  which have been   
established4 ,the age1 and even the     

hour1 is teeming with  new interests and
 pregnant auguries in relation to the   
highest element  of human well-being4   
,from a desire to approach these in a   
temper of just  and reverential         
appreciation1 we have abstained from    
recording the first  impression of them1
 and sought rather1 by a preliminary    
discipline1 to  detect some criteria by 
which prejudices may be checked1        
tendencies be  estimated1 and criticism 
acquire a clew4    ,,footnotes3    #a   
,the title which ,auguste ,comte gives  
himself in his ,catechisme              
,positiviste4--,preface1 p4 xl4    #b   
,the zest with which this ecclesiastical
 garrison-duty is sometimes  performed1 
hardly comports with the traditional    
dignity of the ,anglican  gentleman and 
scholar4 ,we remember an incident which 
occurred in a  village situated among   
the hills of one of our northern        
dioceses4 ,on a  fine summer evening we 
had gone1 at the close of the afternoon 
service1  for a stroll through the      

fields overlooking the valley4 ,when we 
had  walked half a mile or so1 an       
extraordinary din arose from the        
direction  of the village1 sounding like
 nothing human or instrumental1 larynx1 
catgut1 or brass1 though occasionally   
mingled with an undeniable note  from   
some shouting ,stentor4 ,it was evident1
 through the trees1 that a  crowd was   
collected on the village green2 and not 
less so1 that a farmer  and his wife1   
who were looking on from a stile hard   
by1 understood the  meaning of the scene
 below4 ,on asking what all the hubbub  
was about1 we  were told by the good    
woman3 ,it's all of our parson1 that's  
banging out  the ,methody wi' the       
tae-board4 ,being curious in            
ecclesiastical  researches1 we hastened 
down the hill1 in spite of the repulsion
 of  increasing noise4 ,on one side of  
the green was a deal table1 from which  
a field-preacher was holding forth with 
passionate but fruitless energy2  for on
 the other side1 and at the back of the 

crowd1 was the parochial  man of ,god1  
who had issued from his parsonage1 armed
 with its largest  tea-tray and the     
hall-door key1 and was battering off the
 ,japan in the  service of orthodoxy4   
,no military music could more           
effectually  neutralize the shrieks of  
battle4 ,the more the evangelist        
bellowed1 the  faster went the parish   
gong4 ,it was impossible to confute such
 a drum  ecclesiastic4 ,the man was not 
easily put down2 but the triumph was    
complete2 and the ,methody's brass was  
fairly beaten out of the field  by the  
,churchman's tin4                       
,,christianity ,,without ,,priest ,,and 
,,without ,,ritual4        ,to whom     
coming1 as unto a living stone1         
disallowed indeed of men1      but      
chosen of ,god1 and precious2 ye also1  
as lively stones1 are      built up a   
spiritual house1 a holy priesthood1 to  
offer up spiritual      sacrifices1     
acceptable to ,god by ,jesus            
,christ4--#a ,peter ii4 #d1 #e4         

,the formation of human society1 and the
 institution of priesthood1  must be    
referred to the same causes and the same
 date4 ,the earliest  communities of the
 world appear to have had their origin  
and their  cement1 not in any gregarious
 instinct1 nor in mere social           
affections1  much less in any prudential
 regard to the advantages of            
co-operation1  but in a binding         
religious sentiment1 submitting to the  
same guidance1  and expressing itself in
 the same worship4 ,as no tie can be    
more  strong1 so is none more primitive1
 than this agreement respecting what  is
 holy and divine4 ,in simple and        
patriarchal ages1 indeed1 when the      
feelings of veneration had not been set 
aside by analysis into a  little corner 
of the character1 but spread themselves 
over the whole  of life1 and mixed it up
 with daily wonder1 this bond comprised 
all  the forces that can suppress the   
selfish and disorganizing passions1  and
 compact a multitude of men together4   

,it was not1 as at present1 to  have    
simply the same opinions 7things of     
quite modern growth1 the  brood of      
scepticism72 but to have the same       
fathers1 the same  tradition1 the same  
speech1 the same land1 the same foes1   
the same  priest1 the same ,god4        
,nothing did man fear1 or trust1 or     
love1 or  desire1 that did not belong1  
by some affinity1 to his faith4 ,nor had
  he any book to keep the precious      
deposit for him2 and if he had1 he      
would never have thought of so frail a  
vehicle for so great a  treasure4 ,it   
was more natural to put it into         
structures hollowed in  the fast        
mountain1 or built of transplanted rocks
 which only a giant  age could stir2 and
 to tenant these with mighty            
hierarchies1 who  should guard their    
sanctity1 and1 by an undying memory1    
make their  mysteries eternal4 ,hence1  
the first humanizer of men was their    
worship2 the first leaders of nations1  
the sacerdotal caste2 the first  triumph

 of art1 the colossal temple2 the first 
effort to preserve an  idea produced a  
record of something sacred2 and the     
first civilization  was1 as the last    
will be1 the birth of religion4    ,the 
primitive aim of worship undoubtedly    
was1 to act upon the  sentiments of     
,god2 at first1 by such natural and     
intelligible means as  produce favorable
 impressions on the mind of a           
fellow-man1--by  presents and           
persuasion1 and whatever is expressive  
of grateful and  reverential affections4
 ,abel1 the first shepherd1 offered the 
produce  of his flock2 ,cain1 the first 
farmer1 the fruits of his land2 and     
while devotion was so simple in its     
modes1 every one would be his own       
pontiff1 and have his own altar4 ,but   
soon1 the parent would inevitably       
officiate for his family2 the patriarch1
 for his tribe4 ,with the  natural forms
 dictated by present feelings1          
traditional methods would  mingle their 
contributions from the past2 postures   

and times1 gestures  and localities1    
once indifferent1 would become          
consecrated by  venerable habit2 and so 
long as their origin was unforgotten1   
they  would add to the significance1    
while they lessened the simplicity1 of  
worship4 ,custom1 however1 being the    
growth of time1 tends to a  tyrannous   
and bewildering complexity3 forms1      
originally natural1 then  symbolical1   
end in being arbitrary2 suggestive of   
nothing1 except to  the initiated2 yet1 
if connected with religion1 so          
sanctified by the  association1 that it 
appears sacrilege to desist from their  
employment2 and when their meaning is   
lost1 they assume their place1  not     
among empty gesticulations1 but among   
the mystical signs by which  earth      
communes with heaven4 ,the vivid        
picture-writing of the early  worship1  
filled with living attitudes1 and       
sketched in the freshest  colors of     
emotion1 explained itself to every eye1 
and was open to  every hand4 ,to this   

succeeded a piety1 which expressed      
itself in  symbolical figures1 veiling  
it utterly from strangers1 but          
intelligible and impressive still to the
 soul of national tradition4  ,this1    
however1 passed again into a language of
 arbitrary characters1  in which the    
herd of men saw sacredness without      
meaning2 and the use  of which must be  
consigned to a class separated for its  
study4 ,hence  the origin of the priest 
and his profession2 the conservator of a
  worship no longer natural1 but        
legendary and mystical2 skilful enactor 
of rites that spake with silent         
gesticulation to the heavens2           
interpreter of the wants of men into the
 divine language of the gods4  ,not till
 the powers above had ceased to hold    
familiar converse with  the earth1 and  
in their distance had become deaf and   
dumb to the  common tongue of men1 did  
the mediating priest arise2--needed then
 to  conduct the finger-speech of       
ceremony1 whereby the desire of the     

creature took shape before the eye of   
the ,creator4    ,observe1 then1 the    
true idea of ,,priest and ,,ritual4 ,the
 ,priest is the  representative of men  
before ,god2 commissioned on behalf of  
human  nature to intercede with the     
divine4 ,he bears a message upwards1    
from earth to heaven2 his people being  
below1 his influence above4 ,he  takes  
the fears of the weak1 and the cries of 
the perishing1 and sets  them with      
availing supplication before ,him that  
is able to help4 ,he  takes the sins and
 remorse of the guilty1 and leaves them 
with  expiating tribute at the feet of  
the averted ,deity4 ,he guards the      
avenues that lead from the mortal to the
 immortal1 and without his              
interposition the creature is cut off   
from his ,creator4 ,without his         
mediation no transaction between them   
can take place1 and the spirit  of a man
 must live as an outlaw from the world  
invisible and holy4  ,there are means of
 propitiation which he alone has        

authority to  employ2 powers of         
persuasion conceded to no other2 a      
mystic access to  the springs of divine 
benignity1 by outward rites which his   
manipulation must consecrate1 or forms  
of speech which his lips must           
recommend4 ,these ceremonies are the    
implements of his office and the        
sources of his power2 the magic by which
 he is thought to gain  admission to the
 will above1 and really wins rule over  
human counsels  below4 ,as they are     
supposed to change the relation of ,god 
to man1 not  by visible or natural      
operation1 not 7for example7 by         
suggestion of  new thoughts1 and        
excitement of new dispositions in the   
worshipper1  but by secret and          
mysterious agency1 they are simply      
spells of a  dignified order4 ,were we  
then to speak with severe exactitude1 we
  should say1 a ,ritual is a system of  
consecrated charms2 and the  ,priest1   
the great magician who dispenses them4  
,so long as any idea is retained of     

mystically efficacious rites1  consigned
 solely and authoritatively to certain  
hands1 this definition  cannot be       
escaped4 ,the ceremonies may have       
rational instruction and  natural       
worship appended to them2 and these     
additional elements may  give them a    
title to true respect4 ,the order of men
 appointed to  administer them may have 
other offices and nobler duties to      
perform1  rendering them1 if faithful1  
worthy of a just and reverential        
attachment4 ,but in so far as1 by an    
exclusive and unnatural  efficacy1 they 
bring about a changed relation between  
,god and man1 the  ,ritual is an        
incantation1 and the ,priest is an      
enchanter4    ,to this sacerdotal       
devotion there necessarily attach       
certain  characteristic sentiments1 both
 moral and religious1 which give it a   
distinctive influence on human          
character1 and adapt it to particular   
stages of civilization4 ,it clearly     
severs the worshippers by one remove    

from ,god4 ,he is a ,being1 external to 
them1 distant from them1 personally     
unapproachable by them2 their thought   
must travel to reach the  ,almighty2    
they must look afar for the ,most ,holy2
 they dwell themselves  within the      
finite1 and must ask a foreign          
introduction to the ,infinite4  ,he is  
not with them as a private guide1 but in
 the remoter watch-towers  of creation1 
as the public inspector of their life2  
not present for  perpetual communion1   
but to be visited in absence by stated  
messages of  form and prayer4 ,and that 
,god dwells in this cold and royal      
separation  induces the feeling1 that   
man is too mean to touch him2 that a    
consecrated intervention is required1 in
 order to part ,deity from the  defiling
 contact of humanity4 ,why else am ,i   
restricted from unlimited  personal     
access to my ,creator1 and driven to    
another in my transactions  with him8   
,and so1 in this system1 our nature     
appears in contrast1 not in  alliance1  

with the divine1 and those views of it  
are favored which make  the opposition  
strong2 its puny dimensions1 its swift  
decadence1 its  poor self-flatteries1   
its degenerate virtues1 its giant guilt1
 become  familiar to the thought and    
lips2 and life1 cut off from sympathy   
with  the godlike1 falls towards the    
level of melancholy1 or the sink of     
epicurism1 or the abjectness of         
vicarious reliance on the priest4       
,worship1 too1 must have for its chief  
aim1 to throw off the load of ill2  to  
rid the mind of sin and shame1 and the  
lot of hardship and sorrow2  for        
principally to these disburdening       
offices do priests and rituals  profess 
themselves adapted2--and who1 indeed1   
could pour forth the  privacy of love1  
and peace1 and trust1 through the       
cumbrousness of  ceremonies1 and the    
pompousness of a sacred officer8 ,the   
piety of such a  religion is thus a     
refuge for the weakness1 not an         
outpouring of the  strength1 of the     

soul3 it takes away the incubus of      
darkness1 without  shedding the light of
 heaven2 lifts off the nightmare horrors
 of earth  and hell1 without opening the
 vision of angels and of ,god4 ,nay1 for
 the  spiritual bonds which connect men 
with the ,father above1 it substitutes  
material ties1 a genealogy of sacred    
fires1 a succession of hallowed         
buildings1 or of priests having         
consecration by pedigree or by manual   
transmission2 so that qualities         
belonging to the soul alone are likened 
to forces mechanical or chemical2       
sanctity becomes a physical property2   
divine acceptance comes by bodily       
catenation2 regeneration is degraded    
into a species of electric shock1 which 
one only method of experiment1  and the 
links of but one conductor1 can convey4 
,and1 in fine1 a priestly  system ever  
abjures all aim at any higher           
perfection2 boasts of being  immutable  
and unimprovable2 encourages no         
ambition1 breathes no desire4  ,it holds

 the appointed methods of influencing   
,heaven1 on which none may  presume to  
innovate2 and its functions are ever the
 same1 to employ and  preserve the      
ancient forms and legendary spells      
committed to its trust4  ,hence all its 
veneration is antiquarian1 not          
sympathetic or prospective2  it turns   
its back upon the living1 and looks     
straight into departed  ages1 bowing the
 head and bending the knee2 as if all   
objects of love  and devotion were      
there1 not here2 in history1 not in     
life2 as if its  ,god were dead1 or     
otherwise imprisoned in the ,past1 and  
had bequeathed  to its keeping such     
relics as might yield a perpetual       
benediction4 ,thus  does the            
administration of religion1 in          
proportion as it possesses a  sacerdotal
 character1 involve a distant ,deity1 a 
mean humanity1 a  servile worship1 a    
physical sanctity1 and a retrospective  
reverence4    ,let no one1 however1     
imagine that there is no other idea or  

administration of religion than this2   
that the priest is the only  person     
among men to whom it is given to stand  
between heaven and  earth4 ,even the    
,hebrew ,scriptures introduce us to     
another class of  quite different order2
 to whom1 indeed1 those ,scriptures owe 
their own  truth and power1 and         
perpetuity of beauty3 ,i mean the       
,,prophets2 whom  we shall very         
imperfectly understand1 if we suppose   
them mere  historians1 for whom ,god had
 turned time round the other way1 so    
that  they spoke of things future as if 
past1 and grew so dizzy in their use  of
 tenses1 as greatly to incommode learned
 grammarians2 or if we treat  their     
writings as scrap-books of ,providence1 
with miscellaneous  contributions from  
various parts of duration1 sketches     
taken  indifferently from any point of  
view within eternity1 and put together  
at random and without mark1 on adjacent 
pages1 for theological  memories to     
identify2 first1 a picture of an        

,assyrian battle1 next1 a  holy family2 
now1 of the captives sitting by         
,euphrates1 then1 of ,paul  preaching to
 the ,gentiles2 here1 a flight of       
devouring locusts1 and  there1 the      
escape of the ,christians from the      
destruction of ,jerusalem2  a portrait  
of ,hezekiah1 and a view of ,calvary2 a 
march through the  desert1 and ,john the
 ,baptist by the ,jordan2 the day of    
,pentecost1 and  the ,french            
,revolution2 ,nebuchadnezzar and        
,mahomet2 ,caligula and the             
,pope1--following each other with       
picturesque neglect of every relation   
of time and place4 ,no1 the ,prophet and
 his work always indeed belong  to the  
future2 but far otherwise than thus4    
,meanwhile1 let us notice  how1 in      
,israel1 as elsewhere1 he takes his     
natural station above the  priest4 ,it  
was ,moses the prophet who even made    
,aaron the priest4 ,and  who cares now  
for the sacerdotal books of the ,old    
,testament1 compared  with the rest8    

,who1 having the strains of ,david1     
would pore over  ,leviticus1 or would   
weary himself with ,chronicles1 when he 
might catch  the inspiration of ,isaiah8
 ,it was no priest that wrote1 ,thou    
desirest  not sacrifice1 else would ,i  
give it2 thou delightest not in         
burnt-offering3 the sacrifices of ,god  
are a broken spirit2 a broken  and a    
contrite heart1 ,o ,god1 thou wilt not  
despise4 ,it was no  pontifical spirit  
that exclaimed1 ,bring no more vain     
oblations2  incense is an abomination to
 me2 the new moons and sabbaths1 the    
calling of assemblies1 ,i cannot away   
with2 it is iniquity1 even the  solemn  
meeting3 your new moons and your        
appointed feasts my soul  hateth2 they  
are a trouble unto me2 ,i am weary to   
bear them4 ,wash  you1 make you clean4  
,whatever in these venerable ,scriptures
 awes us  by its grandeur and pierces us
 by its truth1 comes of the prophets1   
not the priests2 and from that part of  
their writings1 too1 in which  they are 

not concerned with historical           
prediction1 but with some  utterance    
deeper and greater4 ,i do not deny them 
this gift of  occasional intellectual   
foresight of events4 ,and doubtless it  
was an  honor to be permitted to speak  
thus to a portion of the future1 and of 
local occurrences unrevealed to seers   
less privileged4 ,but it is a  glory far
 higher to speak that which belongs to  
all time1 and finds  its interpretation 
in every place2 to penetrate to the     
everlasting  realities of things2 to    
disclose1 not when this or that man will
  appear1 but how and wherefore all men 
appear and quickly disappear2 to  make  
it felt1 not in what nook of duration   
such an incident will  happen1 but from 
what all-embracing eternity the images  
of history  emerge and are swallowed up4
 ,in this highest faculty the ,hebrew   
seers  belong to a class scattered over 
every nation and every period2 which    
,providence keeps ever extant for human 
good1 and especially to furnish  an     

administration of religion quite        
anti-sacerdotal4 ,this class we  must   
proceed to characterize4    ,the        
,prophet is the representative of ,god  
before men1 commissioned from  the      
,divine nature to sanctify the human4   
,he bears a message  downwards1 from    
heaven to earth2 his inspirer being     
above1 his  influence below4 ,he takes  
of the holiness of ,god1 enters with it 
into  the souls of men1 and heals       
therewith the wounds1 and purifies the  
taint1 of sin4 ,he is charged with the  
peace of ,god1 and gives from it  rest  
to the weariness and solace to the      
griefs of men4 ,instead of  carrying the
 foulness of life to be cleansed in     
heaven1 he brings the  purity of heaven 
to make life divine4 ,instead of        
interposing himself  and his mediation  
between humanity and ,deity1 he destroys
 the whole  distance between them2 and  
only fulfils his mission1 when he brings
  the finite mind and the infinite into 
immediate and thrilling contact1  and   

leaves the creature consciously alone   
with the ,creator4 ,he is one  to whom  
the primitive and everlasting relations 
between ,god and man  have revealed     
themselves1 stripped of every disguise1 
and bared of all  that is conventional2 
who is possessed by their simplicity1   
mastered  by their solemnity2 who has   
found the secret of meeting the ,holy   
,spirit within1 rather than without2 and
 knows1 but cannot tell1 how1  in the   
strife of genuine duty1 or in moments of
 true meditation1 the  ,divine immensity
 and love have touched and filled his   
naked soul2 and  taught him by what     
fathomless ,godhead he is folded round1 
and on what  adamantine manhood he must 
take his stand4 ,so far from separating 
others from the heavenly communion      
vouchsafed to himself1 he  necessarily  
believes that all may have the same     
godlike consciousness2  burns to impart 
it to them2 and by the vivid light of   
his own faith  speedily creates it in   
those who feel his influence1 drawing   

out and  freshening the faded colors of 
the ,divine image in their souls1 till  
they too become visibly the seers and   
the sons of ,god4 ,his  instruments1    
like the objects of his mission1 are    
human2 not  mysteries1 and mummeries1   
and such arbitrary things1 by which     
others  may pretend to be talking with  
the skies2 but the natural language     
which interprets itself at once to every
 genuine man1 and goes direct  to the   
living point of every heart4 ,an earnest
 speech1 a brave and  holy life1 truth  
of sympathy1 severity of conscience1    
freshness and  loftiness of             
faith1--these natural sanctities are his
 implements of  power2 and if heaven be 
pleased to add any other gifts1 still   
are they  weapons all1--not the mere    
tinsel of tradition and custom1--but    
forged  in the inner workshop of our    
nature1 where the fire glows beneath the
  breath of ,god1 framing things of     
ethereal temper4 ,thus armed1 he lays   
undoubting siege to the world's         

conscience2 tears down every outwork  of
 pretence2 forces its strong-holds of   
delusion2 humbles the vanities  at its  
centre1 and proclaims it the citadel of 
,god4 ,the true prophet  of every age is
 no believer in the temple1 but in the  
temple's ,deity2  trusts1 not rites and 
institutions1 but the heart and soul    
that fill  or ought to fill them2 if    
they speak the truth1 no one so reveres 
them2 if a lie1 they meet with no       
contempt like his4 ,he sees no          
indestructible sanctuary but the mind   
itself1 wherein the ,divine  ,spirit    
ever loves to dwell2 and whence it will 
be sure to go forth and  build such     
outward temple as may suit the season of
 ,providence4 ,he is  conscious that    
there is no devotion like that which    
comes  spontaneously from the secret    
places of our humanity1 no orisons so   
true as those which rise from the common
 platform of our life4 ,he  desires only
 to throw himself in faith on the       
natural piety of the  heart4 ,give him  

but that1 and he will find for man an   
everlasting  worship1 and raise for ,god
 a cathedral worthy of his infinitude4  
,it is evident that one thoroughly      
possessed with this spirit could never  
be1 and could never make1 a priest2 nor 
frame a ritual for priests  already     
made4 ,he is destitute of the ideas out 
of which alone these  things can be     
created4 ,his mission is in the opposite
 direction3 he  interprets and reveals  
,god to men1 instead of interceding for 
men with  ,god4 ,in this office         
sacerdotal rites have no function and no
 place4 ,i do  not say that he must     
necessarily disapprove and abjure them1 
or deny  that he may directly sanction  
them4 ,if he does1 however1 it is not in
  his capacity of prophet1 but in       
conformity with feelings which his      
proper office has left untouched4 ,his  
tendency will be against  ceremonialism2
 and on his age and position will depend
 the extent to  which this tendency     
takes effect4 ,usually he will construct

 nothing  ritual1 will destroy much1 and
 leave behind great and growing ideas1  
destructive of much more4 ,but ere we   
quit our general conception of a        
prophet1 let us notice some             
characteristic sentiments1 moral and    
religious1 which naturally connect      
themselves with his faith2 comparing    
them with those which belong to the     
sacerdotal influence4    ,in this faith1
 ,god is separated by nothing from his  
worshippers4 ,he is  not simply in      
contact with them1 but truly in the     
interior of their  nature2 so that they 
may not only meet him in the outward    
providences  of life1 but bear his      
spirit with them1 when they go to toil  
and  conflict1 and find it still1 when  
they sit alone to think and pray4 ,he   
is not the far observer1 but the very   
present help1 of the faithful  will4 ,no
 structure made with hands1 nay1 not    
even his own architecture  of the heaven
 of heavens1 contains and confines his  
presence3 were  there any dark recess   

whence these were hid1 the blessed      
access would  be without hinderance     
still2 and the soul would discern him   
near as  its own identity4 ,no mean and 
ignoble conception can be entertained of
  a mind which is thus the residence of 
,deity2--the shrine of the  ,infinite   
must have somewhat that is infinite     
itself4 ,thus1 in this  system1 does our
 nature appear in alliance with the     
,divine1 not in  contrast with it2      
inspired with a portion of its holiness1
 and free to  help forward the best     
issues of its providence4 ,human life1  
blessed by  this spirit1 becomes a      
miniature of the work of the great      
,ruler3 its  responsibilities1 its      
difficulties1 its temptations1 become   
dignified  as the glorious theatre      
whereon we strive1 by and with the good 
,spirit  of ,god1 for the mastery over  
evil4 ,worship1 issuing from a nature   
and  existence thus consecrated1 is not 
the casting off of guilt and  terror1   
but the glad unburdening of love1 and   

trust1 and aspiration1  the simple      
speaking forth1 as duty is the acting   
forth1 of the divine  within us2 not the
 prostration of the slave1 but the      
embrace of the  child2 not the plaint of
 the abject1 but the anthem of the free4
 ,is it  not private1 individual8 ,and  
may it not by silence say what it will1 
and intimate the precise thing1 and that
 only1 which is at  heart8--whence there
 grows insensibly that firm root of     
excellence1  truth with one's own self4 
,the priestly fancy of an hereditary or 
lineal sacredness can have no place     
here4 ,the soul and ,god stand  directly
 related1 mind with mind1 spirit with   
spirit3 from our moral  fidelity to this
 relation1 from the jealousy with which 
we guard it  from insult or neglect1    
does the only sanctity arise2 and herein
 there  is none to help us1 or give a   
vicarious consecration4 ,and1 finally1  
the spirit of ,god's true prophet is    
earnestly prospective2 more filled  with
 the conception of what the ,creator    

will make his world1 than of  what he   
has already made it3 detecting great    
capacities1 it glows  with great hopes2 
knowing that ,god lives1 and will live1 
it turns from  the past1 venerable as   
that may be1 and reverences rather the  
promise  of the present1 and the glories
 of the future4 ,it esteems nothing     
unimprovable1 is replete with vast      
desires2 and amid the shadows and       
across the wilds of existence chases1   
not vainly1 a bright image of           
perfection4 ,the golden age1 which      
priests with their tradition put  into  
the past1 the prophet1 with his faith   
and truth1 transfers into  the future2  
and while the former pines and muses1   
the latter toils and  prays4 ,thus does 
the administration of religion1 in      
proportion as it  partakes of the       
prophetic or anti-sacerdotal character1 
involve the  ideas of an interior       
,deity1 a noble humanity1 a loving      
worship1 an  individual holiness1 and a 
prospective veneration4    ,we have     

found1 then1 two opposite views of      
religion3 that of the  ,priest with his 
,ritual1 and that of the ,prophet with  
his ,faith4 ,i  propose to show that the
 ,church of ,england1 in its doctrine of
  sacraments1 coincides with the former 
of these1 and sanctions all its         
objectionable sentiments2 and that      
,christianity1 in every relation1  even 
with respect to its reputed rites1      
coincides with the latter4    ,the      
general conformity of the ,church of    
,england with the ritual  conception of 
religion will not be denied by her own  
members4 ,their  denial will be limited 
to one point3 they will protest that her
 formulas  of doctrine do not ascribe a 
charmed efficacy1 or any operation upon 
,god1 to the two sacraments4 ,to avoid  
verbal disputes1 let us consider  what  
we are to understand by a spell or      
charm4 ,the name1 ,i apprehend1  denotes
 any material object or outward act1 the
 possession or use of  which is thought 
to confer safety or blessing1 not by    

natural operation1  but by occult       
virtues inherent in it1 or mystical     
effects appended to  it4 ,a mere        
commemorative sign1 therefore1 is not a 
charm1 nor need there  be any           
superstition in its employment3 it      
simply stands for certain  ideas and    
memories in our minds2 re-excites and   
freshens them1 not  otherwise than      
speech audibly records them1 except that
 it summons them  before us by sight and
 touch1 instead of sound4 ,the effect1  
whatever it  may be1 is purely natural1 
by sequence of thought on thought1 till 
the  complexion of the mind is changed1 
and haply suffused with a noble glow4   
,but in truth it is not fit to speak of 
commemorations1 as things having        
efficacy at all2 as desirable           
observances1 under whose action we      
should  put ourselves1 in order to get  
up certain good dispositions in the     
heart4 ,as soon as we see them          
acquiesced in1 with this dutiful        
submission to a kind of spiritual       

operation1 we may be sure they are      
already empty and dead4 ,an expedient   
commemoration1 deliberately  maintained 
on utilitarian principles1 for the sake 
of warming cold  affections by          
artificial heat1 is one of the foolish  
conceptions of this  mechanical and     
sceptical age4 ,it is quite true1 that  
such influence is  found to belong to   
rites of remembrance2 but only so long  
as it is not  privately looked into1 or 
greedily contemplated by the staring eye
 of  prudence1 but simply and           
unconsciously received4 ,no2            
commemorations must  be the spontaneous 
fruit and outburst of a love already    
kindled in the  soul1 not the factitious
 contrivance for forcing it into        
existence4 ,they  are not the lighted   
match applied to the fuel on an altar   
cold2 but the  shapes in which the      
living flame aspires1 or the fretted    
lights thrown  by that central love on  
the dark temple-walls of this material  
life4    ,it is not pretended that the  

sacraments are mere commemorative rites4
  ,and nothing1 ,i submit1 remains1 but 
that they should be pronounced  charms4 
,it is of little purpose to urge1 in    
denial of this1 that the  ,church       
insists upon the necessity of faith on  
the part of the  recipient1 without     
which no benefit1 but rather peril1 will
 accrue4  ,this only limits the use of  
the charm to a certain class1 and       
establishes a prerequisite to its proper
 efficacy4 ,it simply conjoins  the     
outward form with a certain state of    
mind1 and gives to each of  these a     
participation in the effect4 ,if the    
faith be insufficient  without the      
ceremony1 then some efficacy is due to  
the rite2 and  this1 being neither the  
natural operation of the material       
elements1  nor a simple suggestion of   
ideas and feelings to the mind1 but     
mystical and preternatural1 is no other 
than a charmed efficacy4    ,nor will   
the statement1 that the effect is not   
upon ,god1 but upon man1  bear          

examination4 ,it is very true1 that the 
ultimate benefit of these  rites is a   
result reputed to fall upon the         
worshipper2--regeneration1 in  the case 
of baptism2 participation in the        
atonement1 in the case of the  ,lord's  
,supper4 ,but by what steps do these    
blessings descend8 ,not by  those of    
visible or perceived causation2 but     
through an express and  extraordinary   
volition of ,god1 induced by the        
ceremonial form1 or taking  occasion    
from it4 ,the sacerdotal economy1       
therefore1 is so arranged1  that1       
whenever the priest dispenses the water 
at the font1 the ,holy  ,spirit follows1
 as in instantaneous compliance with a  
suggestion2 and  whenever he spreads his
 hands over the elements at the         
communion1 ,god  immediately establishes
 a preternatural relation1 not          
subsisting the  moment before1 between  
the substances on the table and the     
souls of the  faithful communicants3 so 
that every partaker receives1 either    

directly  or through supernatural       
increase of faith1 some new share in the
 merits  of the cross4 ,whatever        
subtleties of language then may be      
employed1 it  is evidently conceived    
that the first consequence of these     
forms takes  place in heaven2 and that  
on this depends whatever benediction    
they may  bring3 nor can a plain        
understanding frame any other idea of   
them than  this2 first1 they act        
upwards1 and suggest something to the   
mind of ,god1  who then sends down an   
influence on the mind of the believer4  
,from this  conception no figures of    
speech1 no ingenious analogies1 can     
deliver us4  ,do you call the sacraments
 pledges of grace8 ,a pledge means a    
promise2  and how a voluntary act of    
ours1 or the priest's1 can be a promise 
made  to us by the ,divine ,being1 it is
 not easy to understand4 ,do you call   
them seals of ,god's covenant1--the     
instrument by which he engages to  make 
over its blessings to the ,christian1   

like the signature and  completion of a 
deed conveying an estate8 ,it still     
perplexes us to think  of a service of  
our own as an assurance received by us  
from ,heaven4 ,and  one would imagine   
that the ,divine promise1 once given1   
were enough1  without this incessant    
binding by periodical legalities4 ,if it
 be said1  ,the renewal of the          
obligation is needful for us1 and not   
for him2 then  call the rites at once   
and simply1 our service of              
self-dedication1 the  solemn memorial of
 our vows4 ,and in spite of all         
metaphors1 the question  recurs1 ,does  
the covenant stand without these seals1 
or are they  essential to give          
possession of the privileges conveyed8  
,are they1 by  means preternatural1     
procurers of salvation8 ,have they a    
mystical action  towards this end8 ,if  
so1 we return to the same point2 they   
have a  charmed efficacy on the human   
soul4    ,in order to establish this1   
nothing more is requisite than a brief  

reference to the language of the        
,articles and ,liturgical services of   
the ,church respecting ,baptism and the 
,communion4    ,baptism is regarded1    
throughout the ,book of ,common ,prayer1
 as the  instrument of regeneration3 not
 simply as its sign1 of which the       
actual descent of the ,holy ,spirit is  
independent2 but as itself and          
essentially the means or indispensable  
occasion of the washing away of  sin4   
,that this is regarded as a mystical and
 magical1 not a natural  and spiritual  
effect1 is evident from the alleged fact
 of its  occurrence in infants1 to whom 
the rite can suggest nothing1 and on    
whom1 in the course of nature1 it can   
leave no impression4 ,yet it is         
declared of the infant1 after the use of
 the water1 ,seeing now1  dearly beloved
 brethren1 that this child is           
regenerate1 c43 at the  commencement of 
the service its aim is said to be that  
,god may grant  to this child that thing
 which by nature he cannot have1--would 

wash  him and sanctify him with the     
,holy ,ghost1 that he may be delivered  
from ,god's wrath4 ,nothing1 indeed1 is 
so striking in this office of  the      
national ,church1 as its audacious      
trifling with solemn names1  denoting   
qualities of the soul and will2 the     
ascription of spiritual  and moral      
attributes1 not only to the child in    
whom they can yet have  no development1 
but even to material substances2 the    
frivolity with  which engagements with  
,god are made by deputy1 and without the
 consent  or even existence of the      
engaging will4 ,water is said to possess
  sanctity1 for the mystical washing    
away of sin4 ,infants1 destitute  of any
 idea of duty or obligation to be       
resisted or obeyed1 are said  to obtain 
remission of their sins2--to renounce   
the ,devil and all  his works1 the vain 
pomp and glory of the world2 steadfastly
 to  believe in the ,apostles' ,creed1  
and to be desirous of baptism into  this
 faith4 ,belief1 desire1 resolve1 are   

acts of some one's mind3 the  language  
of this service attributes them to the  
personality of the  infant 7,i renounce1
 ,i believe1 ,i desire72 yet there they 
cannot  possibly exist4 ,if they are to 
be understood as affirmed by the        
godfathers and godmothers of themselves1
 the case is not improved3 for  how can 
one person's state of faith and         
conscience be made the  condition of the
 regeneration of another8 ,what         
intelligible meaning  can be attached to
 these phrases of sanctity applied to an
 age not  responsible8 ,in what sense1  
and by what indication1 are these       
children  holier than others8 ,and with 
what reason1 if all this be             
,christianity1 can we blame the ,pope   
for sprinkling holy water on the        
horses8 ,the service appears little     
better than a profane sacerdotal        
jugglery1 by which material things are  
impregnated with divine  virtues1 moral 
and spiritual qualities of the mind are 
sported with1  the holy spirit of ,god  

is turned into a physical mystery1 and  
the  solemnity of personal              
responsibility is insulted4    ,that a  
superstitious value is attributed to the
 details of the  baptismal form1 in the 
,church of ,england1 appears from       
certain parts  of the service for the   
private ministration of the rite4 ,if a 
child  has been baptized by any other   
lawful minister than the minister of    
the parish1 strict inquiries are to be  
instituted by the latter  respecting the
 correctness with which the ceremony has
 been performed2  and should the        
prescribed rules have been neglected1   
the baptism is  invalid1 and must be    
repeated4 ,yet great solicitude is      
manifested1  lest danger should be      
incurred by an unnecessary repetition of
 the  sacrament3 to guard against which1
 the minister is to give the  following 
conditional invitation to the ,holy     
,spirit2 saying1 in his  address to the 
child1 ,if thou art not already         
baptized1 ,i baptize  thee1 c4 ,it is   

worthy of remark1 that the ,church      
mentions as one of  the essentials of   
the service1 the omission of which      
necessitates  its repetition1 the use of
 the formula1 ,in the name of the       
,father1  and of the ,son1 and of the   
,holy ,ghost4 ,by this rule1 every one  
of the  apostolic baptisms recorded in  
,scripture must be pronounced invalid2  
and the ,church of ,england1 were it    
possible1 would perform them again3  for
 in no instance does it appear that the 
,apostles employed either  this or even 
any equivalent form of words4    ,that  
this sacrament is regarded as an        
indispensable channel of grace1  and    
positively necessary to salvation1 is   
clear from the provision of  a short and
 private form1 to be used in cases of   
extreme danger4 ,the  prayers1 and      
faith1 and obedience1 and patient love1 
of parents and  friends1--the dedication
 and heart-felt surrender of their child
 to  ,god1 the profound application of  
their anxieties and grief to their      

conscience and inward life1--all this1  
we are told1 will be of no  avail1      
without the water and the priest4       
,archbishop ,laud says3 ,that  baptism  
is necessary to the salvation of infants
 7in the ordinary way  of the ,church1  
without binding ,god to the use and     
means of that  sacrament1 to which he   
hath bound us71 is expressed in ,st4    
,john iii41  ',except a man be born of  
water1' c4 ,so1 no baptism1 no entrance2
 nor  can infants creep in1 any other   
ordinary way4#c ,bishop ,bramhall  says3
 ,wilful neglect of baptism we          
acknowledge to be a damnable sin2  and1 
without repentance and ,god's           
extraordinary mercy1 to exclude a  man  
from all hope of salvation4 ,but yet1 if
 such a person1 before his  death1 shall
 repent and deplore his neglect of the  
means of grace1  from his heart1 and    
desire with all his soul to be baptized1
 but is  debarred from it invincibly1 we
 do not1 we dare not1 pass sentence of  
condemnation upon him2 not yet the      

,roman ,catholics themselves4 ,the      
question then is1 whether the want of   
baptism1 upon invincible  necessity1 do 
evermore infallibly exclude from        
heaven4#d ,singular  struggle here1     
between the merciless ritual of the     
priest1 and the  relenting spirit of the
 man6    ,the office of ,communion      
contains even stronger marks of the same
  sacerdotal superstitions2 and1        
notwithstanding the ,protestant horror  
entertained of the mass1 approaches it  
so nearly1 that no ingenuity  can       
exhibit them in contrast4 ,near         
doctrines1 however1 like near           
neighbors1 are known to quarrel most4   
,the idea of a physical sanctity1       
residing in solid and liquid            
substances1 is encouraged by this       
service4 ,the priest consecrates  the   
elements1 by laying his hand upon all   
the bread1 and upon every  flagon       
containing the wine about to be         
dispensed4 ,if an additional  quantity  
is required1 this too must be           

consecrated before its  distribution4   
,and the sacredness thus imparted is    
represented as  surviving the           
celebration of the ,supper1 and residing
 in the  substances as a permanent      
quality3 for in the disposal of the     
bread  and wine that may remain at the  
close of the sacramental feast1 a       
distinction is made between the         
consecrated and the unconsecrated       
portion of the elements2 the former is  
not permitted to quit the  altar1 but is
 to be reverently consumed by the priest
 and the  communicants2 the latter is   
given to the curate4 ,what the          
particular  change may be1 which the    
prayer and manipulation of the minister 
are  thought to induce1 it is by no     
means easy to determine2 nor would the  
discovery1 perhaps1 reward our pains4   
,it is certainly conceived1 that  they  
cease to be any longer mere bread and   
wine1 and that with them  thenceforth   
co-exist1 really and substantially1 the 
body and blood of  ,christ4 ,respecting 

this ,real ,presence with the elements1 
there is no  dispute between the ,romish
 and the ,english ,church2 both         
unequivocally  maintain it3 and the only
 question is1 respecting the ,real      
,absence  of the original and culinary  
bread and wine2 the ,roman ,catholic    
believing that these substantially      
vanish1 and are replaced by the  body   
and blood of ,christ2 the ,english      
,protestant conceiving that they        
remain1 but are united with the latter4 
,the ,lutheran1 no less than the        
,british ,reformed ,church1 has clung   
tenaciously to the doctrine of the  real
 presence in the ,eucharist1 ,luther    
himself declares3 ,i would  rather      
retain1 with the ,romanists1 only the   
body and blood1 than  adopt1 with the   
,swiss1 the bread and wine1 without the 
real body and  blood of ,christ4 ,the   
catechism of our ,church affirms that   
the body  and blood of ,christ are      
verily and indeed taken and received by 
the  faithful in the ,lord's ,supper4   

,and this was not intended to be        
figuratively understood1 of the         
spiritual use and appropriation to      
which the faith and piety of the        
receiver would mentally convert the     
elements3 for although here the body of 
,christ is only said to be  taken       
7making it the act of the communicant71 
yet one of the  ,articles speaks of it  
as given 7making it the act of the      
officiating priest71 and implying the   
real presence before  participation4    
,however anxious1 indeed1 the clergy of 
the  ,evangelical school may be to      
disguise the fact1 it cannot be  doubted
 that their ,church has always          
maintained a supernatural change  in the
 elements themselves1 as well as in the 
mind of the receiver4  ,cosin1 ,bishop  
of ,durham1 says1 ,we own the union     
between the body and  blood of ,christ1 
and the elements1 whose use and office  
we hold to be  changed from what it was 
before2 we confess the necessity of a   
supernatural and heavenly change1 and   

that the signs cannot become  sacraments
 but by the infinite power of ,god4#e   
,in consistency with this preparatory   
change1 a charmed efficacy is           
attributed to the subsequent            
participation in the elements4 ,even the
  body of the communicant is said to be 
under their influence3 ,grant  us to eat
 the flesh of thy dear ,son1 and drink  
his blood1 that our  sinful bodies may  
be made clean through his body1 and our 
souls  washed through his most precious 
blood2 and the unworthy recipients  are 
said to provoke ,god to plague them with
 divers diseases and  sundry kinds of   
death4 ,lest the worshipper1 by         
presenting himself in  an unqualified   
state1 should do nothing else than      
increase his  damnation1 the unquiet    
conscience is directed to resort to the 
priest1 and receive the benefit of      
absolution before communicating4  ,can  
we deny to the ,oxford divines the merit
 7whatever it may be7 of  consistency   
with the theology of their ,church1 when

 they applaud and  recommend1 as they   
do1 the administration of the ,eucharist
 to infants1  and to persons dying and  
insensible8 ,indeed1 it is difficult to 
discover why infant ,communion should be
 thought more irrational than  infant   
,baptism4 ,if1 as ,i have endeavored to 
show1 the primary action  of these      
ceremonies is conceived to be on ,god1  
not on the mind of  their object1 why   
should not the ,divine blessing be      
induced upon the  young and the         
unconscious1 as well as on the mature   
and capable soul8  ,and were any further
 evidence required than ,i have hitherto
 adduced1  to show on whom the          
,communion is conceived to operate in   
the first  instance1 it would surely be 
afforded by this clause in the ,service3
  by not partaking1 ,consider how great 
an injury ye do unto ,god4    ,the only 
thing wanted to complete this sacerdotal
 system1 is to obtain  for a certain    
class of men the corporate possession1  
and exclusive  administration1 of these 

essential and holy mysteries4 ,this our 
,church  accomplishes by its doctrine of
 ,apostolical ,succession2 claiming for 
its ministers a lineal official descent 
from the ,apostles1 which  invests them1
 and them alone within this realm1 with 
divine authority  to pronounce          
absolution or excommunication1 and to   
administer the  ,sacraments4 ,they are  
thus the sole guardians of the channels 
of the  ,divine ,spirit and its grace1  
and interpose themselves between a      
nation  and its ,god4 ,receive the ,holy
 ,ghost1 says the ,service for          
,ordination  of ,priests1 for the office
 and work of a priest in the ,church of 
,god1  now committed unto thee by the   
imposition of hands4 ,whose sins thou   
dost forgive1 they are forgiven2 and    
whose sins thou dost retain1 they  are  
retained4 ,they only1 says the present  
,bishop of ,exeter1 can  claim to rule  
over the ,lord's household1 whom he has 
himself placed  over it2 they only are  
able to minister the means of           

grace1--above  all1 to present the great
 commemorative sacrifice1--whom ,christ 
has  appointed1 and whom he has in all  
generations appointed in unbroken       
succession from those1 and through      
those1 whom he first ordained4          
',ambassadors from ,christ' must1 by the
 very force of the term1 receive        
credentials from ,christ3 'stewards of  
the mysteries of ,god' must be          
intrusted with those mysteries by him4  
,remind your people1 that in the        
,church only is the promise of          
forgiveness of sins2 and though1 to all 
who truly repent1 and sincerely believe1
 ,christ mercifully grants  forgiveness1
 yet he has1 in an especial manner1     
empowered his  ministers to declare and 
pronounce to his people the absolution  
and  remission of their sins3           
',whosesoever sins ye remit1 they are   
remitted  unto them2 and whosesoever    
sins ye retain1 they are retained4'     
,this  was the awful authority given to 
his first ministers1 and in them1 and   

through them1 to all their successors4  
,this is the awful authority we  have   
received1 and that we must never be     
ashamed nor afraid to tell  the people  
that we have received4    ,having shown 
to the people your commission1 show to  
them how our own  ,church has framed its
 services in accordance with that       
commission4  ,show this to them not only
 in the ,ordinal1 but also in the       
,collects1  in the ,communion ,service1 
in the ,office of the ,visitation of the
 ,sick2  show it1 especially1 in that   
which continually presents itself to    
their notice1 but is commonly little    
regarded by them2 show it in the  very  
commencement of ,morning and ,evening   
,prayer1 and make them  understand the  
full blessedness of that service1 in    
which the ,church  thus calls on them to
 join4 ,let them see that there the     
minister  authoritatively pronounces    
,god's pardon and absolution to all them
  that truly repent1 and unfeignedly    
believe ,christ's holy ,gospel2 that  he

 does this1 even as the ,apostles did1  
with the authority and by the           
appointment of our ,lord himself1 who1  
in commissioning his ,apostles1  gave   
this to be the never-failing assurance  
of his co-operation in  their ministry3 
',lo1 ,i am with you always1 even unto  
the end of the  world'2 a promise which1
 of its very nature1 was not to be      
fulfilled  to the persons of those whom 
he addressed1 but to their office1 to   
their successors therefore in that      
office1 'even unto the end of the       
world4' ,lastly1 remind and warn them of
 the awful sanction with which  our     
,lord accompanied his mission1 even of  
the second order of the  ministers whom 
he appointed3 ',he that heareth you1    
heareth me2 and he  that despiseth you1 
despiseth me2 and he that despiseth me1 
despiseth  him that sent me4' ,that this
 high dignity may be clearly understood 
to belong in this country only to the   
,church of ,england1 the ,bishop        
proposes the question1 ,what1 then1     

becomes of those who are not1 or        
continue not1 members of that 7visible7 
,church8 and replies to it by  saying1  
that though he judges not them that are 
without1 yet he who  wilfully and in    
despite of due warning1 or through      
recklessness and  worldly-mindedness1   
sets at naught its ordinances1 and      
despises its  ministers1 has no right to
 promise to himself any share in the    
grace  which they are appointed to      
convey4#f ,why1 says one of the ,oxford 
divines1 who here undeniably speaks the 
genuine doctrine of his  ,church1--,why 
should we talk so much of an            
,establishment1 and so  little of an    
,,apostolic ,,succession8 ,why should we
 not seriously  endeavor to impress our 
people with this plain truth1 that1 by  
separating themselves from our          
communion1 they separate themselves not 
only from a decent1 orderly1 useful     
society1 but from ,,the ,,only ,,church 
,,in ,,this ,,realm ,,which ,,has ,a    
,,right ,,to ,,be ,,quite ,,sure ,,that 

,,she ,,has ,,the  ,,lord',s ,,body ,,to
 ,,give ,,to ,,his ,,people8#g    ,of   
course this divine authority has been   
received through the ,church  of ,rome1 
so abominable in the eyes of all        
,evangelical clergymen2 and  through    
many an unworthy link in the broken     
chain4 ,the ,holy ,spirit1 it  is       
acknowledged1 has passed through many1  
on whom1 apparently1 it  was not pleased
 to rest2 and the right to forgive sins 
been conferred  by those who seemed     
themselves to need forgiveness4 ,a      
writer in the  ,oxford ,tracts observes3
 ,nor even though we may admit that many
 of  those who formed the connecting    
links of this holy chain were           
themselves unworthy of the high charge  
reposed in them1 can this  furnish us   
with any solid ground for doubting or   
denying their power  to exercise that   
legitimate authority with which they    
were duly  invested1 of transmitting the
 sacred gift to worthier followers4#h   
,in its doctrine of ,sacraments1 then1  

and in that of ecclesiastical  authority
 and succession1 the ,church of ,england
 is thoroughly imbued  with the         
sacerdotal character4 ,it doubtless     
contains far better elements  and nobler
 conceptions than those which it has    
been my duty to exhibit  now2 and       
solemnly insists on faith of heart1 and 
truth of conscience1  and ,christian    
devotedness of life1 as well as on the  
observance of its  ritual2 with the     
external it unites the internal         
condition of  sanctification4 ,but      
insisting on the theory of a mystic     
efficacy in the  ,christian rites1 it   
necessarily fails to reconcile these    
with each  other3 and hence the opposite
 parties within its pale2 the one       
magnifying faith and personal           
spirituality1 the other exalting the    
sacraments and ecclesiastical communion4
 ,they represent respectively the  two  
constituent and clashing powers1 which  
met at the formation of the  ,english   
,church1 and of which it effected the   

mere compromise1 not the                
reconciliation2 ,i mean1 the            
priestliness of ,rome1 and the prophetic
  spirit of the ,reformers4 ,never1     
since apostolic days1 did ,heaven bless 
us with truer prophet than ,martin      
,luther4 ,it was his mission 7no modern 
man had ever greater7 to substitute the 
idea of personal faith for  that of     
sacerdotal reliance4 ,and gloriously1   
with bravery and truth of  soul amid a  
thousand hinderances1 did he achieve it4
 ,but though1 ever  since1 the priests  
have been down1 and faith has been up1  
yet did the  hierarchy unavoidably      
remain1 and insisted that something     
should be  made of it1 and at least some
 colorable terms proposed4 ,hence1 every
  reformed church exhibits a coalition  
between the new and the old ideas3  and 
combined views of religion1 which must  
ultimately prove incompatible  with each
 other2 the formal with the spiritual2  
the idea of worship as a  means of      
propitiating ,god1 with the conception  

of it as an expression of  love in man2 
the notion of ,church authority with    
that of individual  freedom2 the        
admission of a license to think1 with a 
prohibition of  thinking wrong4 ,in our 
national ,church the old spirit was     
ascendant over  the new1 though long    
forced into quiescence by the temper of 
modern  times4 ,now it is attempting to 
reassert its power1 not without         
strenuous  resistance4 ,indeed1 the     
present age seems destined to end the   
compromise  between the two principles1 
from the union of which ,protestantism  
assumed its established forms4 ,the     
truce seems everywhere breaking up3 a   
general disintegration of churches is   
visible2 tradition is ransacking  the   
past for claims and dignities1 and      
canvassing present timidity for  fresh  
authority1 to withstand the wild forces 
born at the ,reformation1  and hurrying 
us fast into an unknown future4    ,let 
us now turn to the primitive            
,christianity2 which1 ,i submit1 is     

throughout wholly anti-sacerdotal4      
,surely it must be admitted that the    
general spirit of our ,lord's  personal 
life and ministry was that of the       
,prophet1 not of the ,priest2  tending  
directly to the disparagement of        
whatever priesthood existed  in his     
country1 without visibly preparing the  
substitution of anything  at all        
analogous to it4 ,the sacerdotal order  
felt it so2 and1 with the  infallible   
instinct of self-preservation1 they     
watched1 they hated1  they seized1 they 
murdered him4 ,the priest in every age  
has a natural  antipathy to the prophet1
 dreads him as kings dread revolution1  
and is  the first to detect his         
existence4 ,the solemn moment and the   
gracious  words of ,christ's first      
preaching in ,nazareth1 struck with fate
 the  temple in ,jerusalem4 ,to the old 
men of the village1 to the neighbors    
who knew his childhood1 and companions  
who had shared its rambles and  its     
sports1 he said1 with the quiet flush of

 inspiration3 ,the ,spirit  of the ,lord
 is upon me1 because he hath anointed me
 to preach the  ,gospel to the poor3 he 
hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted1
 to  preach deliverance to the captives1
 and recovering of sight to the  blind2 
to set at liberty them that are bruised1
 to preach the  acceptable year of the  
,lord4 ,the ,spirit of the ,lord in     
,galilee6  speaking with the peasantry1 
dwelling in villages1 and wandering     
loose  and where it listeth among the   
hills6 ,this would never do1 thought the
  white-robed ,levites of the ,holy     
,city2 it would be as a train of        
wildfire in the temple4 ,and were they  
not right8 ,when it was revealed  that  
sanctity is no thing of place and time1 
that a way is open from  earth to       
heaven1 from every field or mountain    
trod by human feet1 and  through every  
roof that shelters a human head2 that1  
amid the crowd  and crush of life1 each 
soul is in personal solitude with ,god1 
and by  speech or silence 7be they but  

true and loving7 may tell its cares and 
find its peace2 that a divine allegiance
 might cost nothing1 but the  strife of 
a dutiful will and the patience of a    
filial heart1--how  could any priesthood
 hope to stand8 ,see how ,jesus himself1
 when the  temple was close at hand1 and
 the sunshine dressed it in its         
splendor1  yet withdrew his prayers to  
the midnight of ,mount ,olivet4 ,he     
entered  those courts to teach1 rather  
than to worship2 and when there1 he is  
felt to take no consecration1 but to    
give it2 to bring with him the  living  
spirit of ,god1 and spread it throughout
 all the place4 ,when  evening closes   
his teachings1 and he returns late over 
the ,mount to  ,bethany1 did he not feel
 that there was more of ,god in the     
night-breeze on his brow1 and the heaven
 above him1 and the sad love  within    
him1 than in the place called ,holy     
which he had left8 ,and  when he had    
knocked at the gate of ,lazarus the     
risen and become his  guest1--when1     

after the labors of the day1 he         
unburdened his spirit to  the affections
 of that family1 and spake of things    
divine to the  sisters listening at his 
feet1--did they not feel1 as they       
retired at  length1 that the whole house
 was full of ,god1 and that there is no 
sanctuary like the shrine1 not made with
 hands1 within us all8 ,in  childhood1  
he had once preferred the temple and its
 teachings to his  parents' home3 now1  
to his deeper experience1 the temple has
 lost its  truth2 while the cottage and 
the walks of ,nazareth1 the daily voices
  and constant duties of this life1 seem
 covered with the purest  consecration4 
,true1 he vindicated the sanctity of the
 temple1 when he  heard within its      
enclosure the hum of traffic and the    
chink of gain1  and would not have the  
house of prayer turned into a place of  
merchandise3 because in this there was  
imposture and a lie1 and ,mammon  and   
the ,lord must ever dwell apart4 ,in    
nothing must there be mockery  and      

falsehood2 and while the temple stands1 
it must be a temple true4    ,our       
,lord's whole ministry1 then1 7to which 
we may add that of his  ,apostles17 was 
conceived in a spirit quite opposite to 
that of  priesthood4 ,a missionary life1
 without fixed locality1 without form1  
without rites2 with teaching free1      
occasional1 and various1 with           
sympathies ever with the people1 and a  
strain of speech never marked  by       
invective1 except against the ruling    
sacerdotal influence2--all  these       
characters proclaim him1 purely and     
emphatically1 the ,prophet  of the      
,lord4 ,it deserves notice that1 unless 
as the name of his  enemies1 the word   
,,priest 77 never occurs in either the  
historical or epistolary writings of the
 ,new ,testament1 except in the         
,epistle to the ,hebrews4 ,and there its
 application is not a little            
remarkable4 ,it is applied to ,christ   
alone2 it is declared to belong to  him 
only after his ascension2 it is said    

that1 while on earth1 he  neither was1  
nor could be1 a priest2 and if it is    
admitted that he  holds the office in   
heaven1 this is only to satisfy the     
demand of the  ,hebrew ,christians for  
some sacerdotal ideas in their religion1
 and to  reconcile them to having no    
priest on earth4 ,the writer            
acknowledges  one great pontiff in the  
world above1 that the whole race may be 
superseded in the world below2 and      
banishes priesthood into  invisibility1 
that men may never see its shadow more4 
,all the terms of  office which are     
given to the first preachers of the     
,gospel and  superintendents of         
churches1--as ,deacon1 ,elder or        
,presbyter1 ,overseer  or ,bishop1--are 
lay terms1 belonging previously1 not to 
ecclesiastical1 but to civil life2 an   
indication1 surely1 that no  analogy was
 thought to exist between the ,apostolic
 and the ,sacerdotal  relations4#i ,i   
shall1 no doubt1 be reminded of the     
words1 in which  our ,lord is supposed  

to have given their commission to his   
first  representatives3 ,whatsoever ye  
bind on earth shall be bound in  heaven2
 and whatsoever ye loose on earth shall 
be loosed in heaven2  and shall be asked
 whether this does not convey to them   
and their  successors an official       
authority to forgive sins1 and dispense 
the  decrees of the unseen world4 ,i    
reply briefly3--    #ast4 ,that the     
power here granted does not relate to   
the dispensations  of the future life1  
but solely to what would be termed1 in  
modern  language1 the allotment of      
church-membership4 ,the previous verse  
proves this1 furnishing as it does a    
particular case of the general          
authority here assigned4 ,it directs the
 ,apostles under what  circumstances    
they are to remove an offender from a   
,christian society1  and treat him as an
 unconverted man1 as a heathen man and a
 publican4  ,having given them their    
rule1 he freely trusts the application  
of it  to them3 and being about to      

retire erelong from personal            
intervention  in the affairs of his     
kingdom1 he assures them that their     
decisions  shall be his1 and that he may
 be considered as adopting in heaven    
their determinations upon earth4 ,he    
simply consigns to his ,apostles        
discretionary power to direct the       
affairs of his ,church1 and  superintend
 the diffusion of the glad tidings3 they
 may bind and  loose1 that is1 open and 
shut the door of admission to their     
community1 as their judgment may        
determine2 employing or rejecting       
applicants for the missionary office2   
dissociating from their  assemblies     
obstinate delinquents2 receiving with   
openness1 or  dismissing with suspicion1
 each candidate for instruction1        
according  to their estimate of his     
qualifications and motives4    #b;dly4  
,it is to be observed1 that there is no 
appearance of any one  being in the     
contemplation of our ,lord1 beyond the  
persons immediately  addressed4 ,not a  

word is said of any official successor  
or any distant  age4 ,no indication is  
afforded1 that any idea of futurity was 
present  to the mind of ,jesus3 and a   
title of perpetual office1 an instrument
  creating and endowing an endless      
priesthood1 ought1 it will be  admitted1
 to be somewhat more explicit than this4
 ,but where the power  has been         
successfully claimed1 the title is      
seldom difficult to prove4    ,the      
alleged ,,ritual of ,christianity1      
consisting of the sacraments of         
,baptism and the ,communion1 will be    
found no less destitute of sanction     
from the ,scriptures4 ,the former we    
shall see reason to regard as  simply an
 initiatory form1 applicable only to    
,christian converts1 and  limited       
therefore to adults2 the latter as      
purely a commemoration3  neither        
therefore having any sacramental or     
mystical efficacy4    ,for baptism it is
 impossible to establish any            
supernatural origin4 ,it is  admitted to

 have existed before the ,christian era2
 and to have been  employed by the ,jews
 on the admission of proselytes to their
 religion4  ,it is certain that it is   
not an enjoined rite in the ,mosaic     
dispensation2 and1 though prevalent     
before the period of the ,new           
,testament1 is nowhere enforced or      
recognized in the writings of the ,old4 
,it arose therefore in the interval     
between the only two systems which      
,christians acknowledged to be          
supernatural2 and must be considered as 
of  natural and human origin1 invested1 
thus far1 with no higher authority  than
 its own appropriateness may confer4    
,there seem to have been two  modes of  
construing the symbol3 the one founded  
on the cleansing effect  of the water on
 the person of the baptized himself2 the
 other1 on the  appearance of his       
immersion 7which was complete7 to the   
eye of a  spectator4 ,the former was an 
image of the heathen convert's          
purification  from a foul idolatry1 and 

his transition to a stainless condition 
under  a divine and justifying law4 ,the
 latter represented him1 when he        
vanished in the stream1 as interred to  
this world1 sunk utterly from its       
sight2 and when he reappeared1 as       
emerging or born again to a better      
state2 the old man was buried in        
baptism1 and when he rose again1  he had
 altogether become new4#aj ,the ceremony
 then was appropriately  used in any    
case of transition from a depressed and 
corrupt state of  existence to a hopeful
 and blessed one2 from a false or       
imperfect  religion to one true and     
heavenly4    ,but it will be said1      
whatever the origin of baptism1 it was  
employed and  sanctioned by our ,lord1  
who commissioned his ,apostles to go and
 baptize  all nations4 ,true2 but is    
there no difference between the adoption
 of a  practice already extant1--of a   
practice which was as much the mere     
institutional dress of the ,apostles'   
nation1 as the sandals whose dust  they 

were to shake off against the faithless 
were the customary clothing  of the     
,apostles' feet1--and the authoritative 
appointment of a  sacrament8 ,they were 
going forth to make converts3 and why   
should they  not have recourse to the   
form familiarly associated with the act8
  ,familiar association recommended its 
adoption in that age and clime2 and  the
 absence of such association elsewhere  
and in other times may be  thought to   
justify its disuse4 ,at all events1 a   
ceremony thus taken up  must be presumed
 to retain its acquired sense and its   
established extent  of application3 and 
if so1 baptism must be strictly limited 
to the  admission of proselytes from    
other faiths4 ,this accords with the    
known  practice of the ,apostles1 who   
cannot be shown to have baptized any but
  those whom they had personally1 or by 
their missionaries1 persuaded to  become
 ,christians4 ,not a single case of the 
use of the rite with  children can be   
adduced from ,scripture2 and the only   

argument by which  such employment of it
 is ever justified is this3 that a      
household is  said to have been         
baptized1 and all nations were to       
receive the offer  of it2 and that the  
household may1 the nations must1 have   
contained  children4 ,it is evident that
 such reasoning could never have been   
propounded1 unless the practice had     
existed first1 and the defence had  been
 found afterwards4    ,with the system  
of infant baptism vanish almost all the 
ideas which the  prevalent theology has 
put into the rite2 and it becomes as    
intelligible  and expressive to one who 
believes in the good capacities of human
  nature1 as to those who esteem it     
originally depraved4 ,how unmeaning1    
say our ,orthodox opponents1 is this    
ceremony in ,unitarian hands1  denying1 
as they do1 the doctrines which it      
represents6 ,of what  regeneration can  
they possibly suppose it the symbol1 if 
not of the  washing away of that        
hereditary sin which they refuse to     

acknowledge8  for when the infant is    
brought to the font1 he can as yet have 
no other  guilt than this4 ,i reply1 the
 objection has no force except against  
the  use of infant baptism in our       
churches1--which ,i am not anxious to   
defend2 but of course those ,unitarians 
who employ it conceive it to be  the    
token1 not of any sentiments which they 
reject1 but of truths and  feelings     
which they hold dear4 ,for myself1 ,i   
believe1 with our  opponents1 that the  
doctrine of original sin and the        
practice of  infant baptism do belong to
 each other1 and must stand or fall     
together2 and therefore deem it a fact  
very significant of the ,apostles'      
theology1 that no infant can be shown   
ever to have been brought to the  font  
by these first true missionaries of     
,christianity4 ,and as to the  new birth
 which baptism 7i4 e4 recent and genuine
 discipleship to  ,jesus7 may give to   
the maturely convinced ,christian1 he   
must have a  great deal to learn1 not   

only of the ,hebrew conceptions and     
language in  relation to the ,messiah1  
but of the spirituality of the ,gospel1 
and of  the fresh creations of character
 which it calls up1 who can be much     
puzzled about its meaning4    ,in       
,christian baptism1 then1 we have no    
sacrament with mystic power2  but an    
initiatory form1 possibly of            
consuetudinary obligation only2  but if 
enjoined1 applicable exclusively to     
proselytes1 and misemployed  in the case
 of infants2 a sign of conversion1 not a
 means of  salvation2 confided to no    
sacerdotal order1 but open to every man 
fitted to give it an appropriate use4   
,i turn to the ,lord's ,supper2 with    
design to show what it is not1 and  what
 it is4 ,it is not a mystery1 or a      
sacrament1 any more than it is  an      
expiatory sacrifice4 ,to persuade us    
that it has a ritual character1  we are 
first assured that it is clearly the    
successor in the ,gospel to  the        
,passover under the ,law4 ,well1 even if

 it were so1 it would still  be simply  
commemorative1 and without any other    
efficacy than a  festival1 filled with  
great remembrances1 and inspired with   
religious  joy4 ,such was the ,paschal  
,feast in ,jerusalem2 the annual        
gathering of  families and kindred1 a   
sacred carnival under the spring sky and
 in  sight of unreaped fields1 when the 
memory was recalled of national         
deliverance1 and the tale was told of   
traditional glories1 and the  thoughts  
brought back of bondage reversed1 of the
 desert pilgrimage  ended1 of the       
promised land possessed4 ,the ,jewish   
festival was no more  than this2 unless1
 with ,archbishop ,magee and others1 we 
erroneously  conceive it to be a proper 
sacrifice4 ,so that those who would     
interpret the ,lord's ,supper by the    
,passover have their choice between  two
 views3 that it is a simple             
commemoration2 or that it is an         
expiatory sacrifice3 in the former case 
they quit the ,church of  ,england2 in  

the latter1 they fall into the ,church  
of ,rome4    ,but1 in truth1 there is no
 propriety in applying the name         
,christian  ,passover to the ,communion4
 ,the notion rests entirely on this     
circumstance3 that the first three      
,evangelists describe the last  ,supper 
as the ,paschal ,supper4 ,but the       
institutional part of that  meal was    
over before the cup was distributed1 and
 the repetition of  the act enjoined4   
,nor is there the slightest trace1      
either in the  subsequent ,scriptures1  
or in the earliest history of the       
,church1 that  the ,communion was       
thought to bear relation to the         
,passover4 ,the time1  the frequency1   
the mode1 of the two were altogether    
different4 ,indeed1  when we observe    
that not one of these particulars is    
prescribed and  determined by our ,lord 
at all1 when we notice the slight and   
transient  manner in which he drops his 
wish that they would do this in         
remembrance of him1 when we compare     

these features of the account  with the 
elaborate precision of ,moses respecting
 hours1 and materials1  and dates1 and  
places1 and modes in the establishment  
of the ,hebrew  festivals1 it is        
scarcely possible to avoid the          
impression1 that we  are reading        
narrative1 not law2 an utterance of     
personal affection1  rather than the    
legislative enactment of an everlasting 
institution4  ,however this may be1 no  
importance can be attached to the       
reported  coincidence in the time of    
that meal with the day of ,passover2 for
 the  ,apostle ,john1 who gives by far  
the fullest account of what happened at 
that table 7yet never mentions the      
institution of the ,supper71 states     
that this was not the paschal meal at   
all1 which did not occur1 he  says1 till
 the following day of crucifixion4      
,but1 it will be said1 the ,gospels are 
not the only parts of ,scripture  whence
 the nature of the ,eucharist may be    
learned4 ,language is employed  by ,st4 

,paul in reference to it1 which cannot  
be understood of a mere  memorial1 and  
implies that awful consequences hung on 
the worthy or  unworthy participation in
 the rite4 ,does he not even say1 that a
 man may  'eat and drink damnation to   
himself1 not discerning the ,lord's     
body'8    ,the passage whence these     
words are cited certainly throws great  
light on  the institution of which we   
treat2 but there must be a total        
disregard  to the whole context and the 
general course of the ,apostle's        
reasoning  before it can be made to     
yield any argument for the mystical     
character  of the rite4 ,it would appear
 that the ,corinthian church was in the 
habit  of celebrating the ,lord's       
,supper in a way which1 even if it had  
never  been disgraced by any indecorum1 
must have struck a modern ,christian    
with wonder at its singularity4 ,the    
members met together in one room or     
church1 each bringing his own supper1 of
 such quantity and quality as  his      

opulence or poverty might allow4 ,to    
this the ,apostle does not  object1 but 
apparently considers it a part of the   
established  arrangement4 ,but these    
,christians were divided into factions1 
and had  not learned the true uniting   
spirit of their faith2 nor do they seem 
to  have acquired that sobriety of habit
 and sanctity of mind which their       
profession ought to have induced4 ,when 
they entered the place of  meeting1 they
 broke up into groups and parties1 class
 apart from class1  and rich deserting  
poor3 each set began its separate meal1 
some  indulging in luxury and excess1   
others with scarce the means of keeping 
the commemoration at all2 and1 infamous 
to tell1 the blessed ,supper of  the    
,lord was sunk into a tavern meal4 ,so  
gross and habitual had the  abuse       
become1 that the excesses had affected  
the health and life of  these guilty and
 unworthy partakers4 ,they had made no  
distinction  between the ,communion and 
an ordinary repast1 had lost all        

perception of  the memorial significance
 of their meeting1 had not discriminated
 or  discerned the ,lord's body2 and so 
they had eaten and drunk judgment       
7improperly rendered damnation in the   
,english ,version7 to  themselves2 and  
many were weak and sickly among them1   
and many even  slept4 ,well would it be1
 if they would look on this as a        
chastening of  the ,lord2 in which case 
they might take warning1 and escape     
being cast  out of the ,church1 and     
driven to take their chance with the    
unbelieving  and heathen world4 ,when we
 are judged1 we are chastened of the    
,lord1  that we should not be condemned 
with the world4    ,in order to remedy  
all this corruption1 ,st4 ,paul reminds 
them1 that to  eat and drink under the  
same roof1 in the church1 does not      
constitute  proper ,communion2 that1 to 
this end1 they must not break up into   
sections1 and retain their property in  
the food1 but all participate  seriously
 together4 ,he directs that an absolute 

separation shall be  made between the   
occasions for satisfying hunger and     
thirst1 and those  for observing this   
commemorative rite1 discriminating      
carefully the  memorial of the ,lord's  
body from everything else4 ,he refers   
them all  to the original model of the  
institution1 the parting meal of ,christ
  before his betrayal2 and by this      
example1 as a criterion1 he would  have 
every man examine himself1 and after    
that pattern eat of the  bread and drink
 of the cup4 ,hence it appears1--       
,that the unworthy partaker was the     
riotous ,corinthian1 who made no        
distinction between the sacred          
,communion and a vulgar meal3    ,that  
the judgment or damnation which such    
brought on themselves1 was  sickliness1 
weakness1 and premature but natural     
death3    ,that the self-examination    
which the ,apostle recommends to the    
communicant is a comparison of his mode 
of keeping the rite with the  original  
model of the last ,supper3    ,that in  

the ,corinthian church there was no     
,priest1 or officiating  dispenser of   
the elements2 and that ,st4 ,paul did   
not contemplate or  recommend the       
appointment of any such person4    ,the 
,lord's ,supper1 then1 ,i conclude1 was 
and is a simple  commemoration4 ,am ,i  
asked3 ,of what8 ,why1 according to     
,unitarian  views1 the death on the     
cross merits the memorial more than the 
remaining features of our ,lord's       
history1--more even than the death of   
many a noble martyr1 who has sealed his 
testimony to truth by like              
self-sacrifice8 ,the answer will be     
found at length in the ,lecture on  the 
,atonement1 where the ,scriptural       
conceptions of ,christ's death are      
expounded in detail4 ,meanwhile1 it is  
sufficient to recall an idea1  which has
 more than once been thrown out during  
this course2 that1 if  ,jesus had taken 
up his ,messianic power without death1  
he would have  remained a ,hebrew1 and  
been limited to the people amid whom he 

was  born4 ,he quitted his mortal       
personality1 he left this fleshly       
tabernacle of existence1 and became     
immortal1 that his nationality  might be
 destroyed1 and all men drawn in as     
subjects of his reign4 ,it  was the     
cross that opened to the nations the    
blessed ways of life1 and  put us all in
 relations1 not of law1 but of love1 to 
him and ,god4  ,hence the memorial of   
his death celebrates the universality   
and  spirituality of the ,gospel2       
declares the brotherhood of men1 the    
fatherhood of providence1 the personal  
affinity of every soul with  ,god4 ,that
 is no empty rite which overflows with  
these conceptions4    ,christianity1    
then1 ,i maintain1 is without ,priest   
and without ,ritual4  ,it altogether    
coalesces with the prophetic idea of    
religion1 and  repudiates the           
sacerdotal4 ,christ himself was         
transcendently ,,the  ,,prophet4 ,he    
brought down ,god to this our life1 and 
left his spirit  amid its scenes4 ,the  

,apostles were prophets2 they carried   
that spirit  abroad1 revealing          
everywhere to men the sanctity of their 
nature1 and  the proximity of their     
heaven4 ,nor am ,i even unwilling to    
admit an  apostolic succession1 never   
yet extinct1 and never more to be       
extinguished4 ,but then it is by no     
means a rectilinear regiment of         
incessant priests2 but a broken1        
scattered1 yet glorious race of         
prophets2 the genealogy of great and    
,christian souls1 through whom the      
primitive conceptions of ,jesus have    
propagated themselves from age to  age2 
mind producing mind1 courage giving     
birth to courage1 truth  developing     
truth1 and love ever nurturing love1 so 
long as one good  and noble spirit shall
 act upon another4 ,luther surely was   
the child  of ,paul2 and what a noble   
offspring has risen to manhood from     
,luther's  soul1 whom to enumerate were 
to tell the best triumphs of the modern 
world4 ,these are ,christ's true        

ambassadors2 and never did he mean any  
follower of his to be called a priest4  
,he has his genuine messenger1          
wherever1 in the ,church or in the      
world1 there toils any one of the  real 
prophets of our race2 any one who can   
create the good and great  in other     
souls1 whether by truth of word or deed1
 by the inspiration  of genuine speech1 
or the better power of a life merciful  
and holy4           99       99       99
       99       99    ,and here1 my     
friends1 with my subject might my       
,lecture close1 were it  not that we are
 assembled now to terminate this        
controversy2 and that  a few remarks in 
reference to its whole course and spirit
 seem to be  required4    ,that the     
recent aggression upon the principles of
 ,unitarian  ,christianity was prompted 
by no unworthy motive1 individual or    
political1 but by a zeal1 ,christian so 
far as its spirit is  disinterested1 and
 unchristian only so far as it is       
exclusive1 has  never been doubted or   

denied by my brother ministers or       
myself4 ,that  much personal            
consideration and courtesy have been    
evinced towards us  during the          
controversy1 it is so grateful to us to 
acknowledge1 that  we must only regret  
the theological obstructions in the way 
of that  mutual knowledge which softens 
the prejudices and corrects the errors  
of the closet4 ,from such errors1 the   
lot of our fallible nature1 we  are     
deeply aware that we cannot be exempt1  
and profoundly wish that1  by others'   
aid or by our own1 we could discover    
them4 ,meanwhile1 we do  not feel that  
our opponents have been successful in   
the offer which  they have made1 of help
 towards this end4 ,they are too little 
acquainted with our history and         
character1 and have far too great a     
horror of us1 to succeed in a design    
demanding rather the benevolence  of    
sympathy and trust than that of         
antipathy and fear4 ,hence have  arisen 
certain complaints and charges against  

our system and its  tendencies1 which1  
having been reiterated again and again  
in the  ,christ ,church ,lectures1 and  
scarcely noticed in our own1 claim a    
concluding observation or two now4      
#a4 ,we are said to be infidels in      
disguise1 and our system to be  drifting
 fast towards utter unbelief4 ,at all   
events1 it is said we  make great       
advances that way4    ,it is by no means
 unusual to dismiss this charge on a    
whirlwind of  declamation1 designed to  
send it and the infidel to the greatest 
possible distance4 ,my friend who       
delivered the first ,lecture noticed  it
 in a far different spirit2 and in a    
discussion where truth and  wisdom had  
any chance1 his reply would have        
prevented any recurrence  to the        
statement4 ,let me try to imitate him in
 the testimony which ,i  desire to add  
upon this point4    ,every one1 ,i      
presume1 who disbelieves anything1 is1  
with respect to  that thing1 an infidel4
 ,departure from any prevalent and      

established  ideas is inevitably an     
approach to infidelity2 the extent of   
the  departure1 not the reasonableness  
or propriety of it1 is the sole  measure
 of the nearness of that approach2      
which1 however wise and  sober1 when    
estimated by a true and independent     
criterion1 will  appear1 to persons     
strongly possessed by the ascendant     
notions1  nothing less than alarming1   
amazing1 awful4 ,in short1 the average  
popular creed of the day is the mental  
standard1 from which the stadia  are    
measured off towards that invisible1    
remote1 nay1 even imaginary  place1     
lodged somewhere within chaos1 called   
utter unbelief4  ,christianity at first 
was blank infidelity2 and disciples1    
being of  course the atheists of their  
day1 were thought a fit prey for the    
wild beasts of the amphitheatre4 ,every 
rejection of tradition1 again1  is      
unbelief with respect to it2 and to     
those who hold its authority1  it is the
 denial of an essential4 ,it is too     

evident to need proof1  that the average
 popular belief cannot be assumed1 by   
any considerate  person1 as a standard  
of truth4 ,to make it an objection      
against any  class of men1 that they    
depart from it1 is to prove no error    
against  them2 and no one1 who is not   
willing to call in the passions of the  
multitude in suffrage on the            
controversies of the few1 will          
condescend  to enforce the charge4      
,but only observe how1 in the present   
instance1 the matter stands4 ,in  the   
popular religion we discern1 mixed up   
together1 two constituent  portions3    
certain peculiar doctrines which        
characterize the common  ,orthodoxy2 and
 certain universal ,christian truths    
remaining1 when  these are subtracted4  
,the infidel throws away both of these2 
we throw  away the former only2 and thus
 far1 no doubt1 we partially agree with 
him4 ,but on what grounds do we         
severally justify this rejection8 ,in   
answer to this question1 compare the    

views1 with respect both to the         
authority and to the interpretation of  
,scripture1 held by the  three parties1 
the ,trinitarian1 the ,unbeliever1 the  
,unitarian4 ,the  ,unbeliever does not  
usually find fault with the ,orthodox   
interpretation of the ,bible1 but allows
 it to pass1 as probably the  real      
meaning of the book1 only he altogether 
denies the divine  character and        
authority of the whole religion2 he     
therefore agrees  with the ,trinitarian 
respecting interpretation1 disagrees    
with him  respecting authority4 ,the    
,unitarian1 again1 admits the divine    
character of ,christianity1 but         
understands it differently from the     
,trinitarian2 he therefore reverses the 
former case1 agrees with the  ,orthodox 
on the authority1 disagrees respecting  
interpretation4 ,it  follows1 that with 
the ,unbeliever he agrees in neither1   
and is  therefore farther from him than 
his ,trinitarian accuser4    ,i have    
given this explanation from regard      

simply to logical truth4 ,i  have no    
desire to join in the outcry against    
even the deliberate  unbeliever in the  
,gospel1 as if he must necessarily be a 
fiend4  ,profoundly loving and trusting 
,christianity myself1 ,i yet feel       
indignant  at the persecution which     
theology1 policy1 and law inflict on the
 many  who1 with undeniable exercise of 
conscientiousness and patience of       
research1 are yet unable to satisfy     
themselves respecting its evidence4     
,the very word infidel1 implying not    
simply an intellectual judgment1  but   
bad moral qualities1 conveys an         
unmerited insult1 and ought to be       
repudiated by every generous disputant4 
,the more deeply we trust               
,christianity1 the more should we       
protest against its being defended by a 
body-guard of passions1 willing to do   
for it precisely the services  which    
they might equally render to the        
vulgarest imposture4    #b4 ,we were    
recently accused1 amid acknowledgments  

of our honesty1  with want of anxiety   
about spiritual truth2 and the following
  justification of the charge was       
offered3 ,the word of ,god has informed 
us1 that they who seek the truth shall  
find it2 that they who ask for  holy    
wisdom shall receive it2 but it must be 
a really anxious  inquiry1--a heart-felt
 desire for the blessing4 ',if thou     
seekest her  as silver1 and searchest   
for her as for hid treasures1 then shalt
 thou  understand the fear of the ,lord1
 and find the knowledge of ,god4' ,such 
promises are express1--they cannot be   
broken1--,god will give the  blessing to
 the sincere1 anxious inquirer4 ,but the
 two qualities  must go together4 ,a man
 may be sincere in his ignorance and    
spiritual  torpor2 but let the full     
desire for ,god's favor1 his pardoning  
mercy1  and his enlightening grace      
spring up in the heart1 and we may rest 
assured that the desire will soon be    
accomplished4 ,admitting1 then1  the    
sincerity of ,unitarians1 we doubt their

 anxiety1 for we are well  persuaded    
from ,god's promises1 that1 if they     
possessed both1 they  would be delivered
 from their miserable system1 and be    
brought to the  knowledge of the        
truth4#aa    ,the praise of our         
sincerity1 conveyed in these bland      
sentences1 we  are anxious to decline3  
not that we undervalue the quality2 but 
because we find1 on near inspection1    
that it has all been emptied out  of the
 word before its presentation1 and the  
term comes to us hollow  and worthless4 
,it affords a specimen of the mode in   
which alone our  opponents appear able  
to give any credit to heretics3 many    
phrases of  approbation they freely     
apply to us2 but they take care to draw 
off  the whole meaning first4 ,we must  
reject these ,greek presents2 and we    
are concerned that any ,christian divine
 can so torture and desecrate  the names
 of virtue1 as to make them instruments 
of disparagement and  injury4 ,this play
 with words1 which every conscience     

should hold  sacred1 and every lip      
pronounce with reverence1--this careless
 and  unmeaning application of them in  
discourse1--indicates a loose  adhesion 
to the mind of the ideas denoted by     
them1 which we regard  with unfeigned   
astonishment and grief4 ,what1 let me   
ask1 can be the  sincerity of an        
inquirer1 who is not anxious about the  
truth8 ,how can he be sincerely         
persuaded that he sees1 who  voluntarily
 shuts his eyes8 ,unless this word is to
 be degraded into a  synonyme for       
indolence and self-complacency1 no      
professed seeker of  truth must have the
 praise of sincerity1 who does not      
abandon all  worship of his own state of
 mind as already perfect1 who is not    
ready  to listen to every calm doubt as 
to the voice of heaven1--to undertake   
with gratitude the labor of reaching new
 knowledge1--to maintain his  faith and 
his profession in scrupulous accordance 
with his perception  of evidence2 and1  
at any moment of awakening1 to spring   

from his most  brilliant dreams into    
,god's own morning light1 with a matin  
hymn upon  his lips for his new birth   
from darkness and from sleep4 ,the      
earnestness implied in this state of    
mind is perhaps not precisely the  same 
as that with which our ,trinitarian     
opponents seem to be familiar4  ,the    
anxiety which they appear to feel for   
themselves is1 to keep  their existing  
state of belief3 the anxiety which they 
feel for us  is1 that we should have it4
 ,we are to hold ourselves ready for a  
change2 they are not to be expected to  
desire it4 ,if a doubt of our  opinions 
should occur to us1 we are to foster it 
carefully1 and  follow it out as a      
beckoning of the ,holy ,spirit3 if a    
doubt of their  sentiments should occur 
to them1 they are to crush it on the    
spot1  as a reptile-thought sent of     
,satan to tempt them4 ,our aim1 says the
  concluding ,lecturer again1 has been  
to beget a deep spirit of  inquiry2#ab  
and so has ours1 ,i would reply3 only   

you and we have  severally prosecuted   
this aim in different ways4 ,we have    
personally  listened1 and personally    
inquired1 and earnestly recommended all 
whom  our influence could reach1 to do  
the same3 and few indeed will be the    
,unitarian libraries containing one of  
these series of ,lectures that  will not
 exhibit the other by its side4 ,you    
have entered this  controversy1         
evidently strange to our literature and 
history2 and any  deficiency in such    
reading before1 has not been compensated
 by anxiety  to listen now4 ,your people
 have been warned against us1 and are   
taught  to regard the study of our      
publications as blasphemy at second     
hand2  and were they really so simple as
 to act upon your avowed wish to  beget 
a deep spirit of inquiry1 and plunge    
into the investigation of  ,unitarian   
authors1 and judge for themselves of    
,unitarian worship1 they  would speedily
 hear the word of recall1 and discover  
that they were  practically             

disappointing the whole object of this  
controversy4    ,having said thus much  
respecting the unmeaning use of language
 in the  ,lecturer's disparaging        
estimate of ,unitarian anxiety1 we may  
profitably direct a moment's attention  
to the reasoning which it  involves4 ,it
 presents us with the standing fallacy  
of intolerance1  which is sufficiently  
rebuked by being simply exhibited4 ,our 
opponents  reason thus3--               
,god will not permit the really anxious 
fatally to err3                   ,the  
,unitarians do fatally err3             
,therefore1 ,the ,unitarians are not    
really anxious4    ,now it is clear that
 we must conceive our opponents to be no
 less  mistaken than they suppose us to 
be4 ,they are as far from us1 as we     
from them2 and from either point1 taken 
as a standard1 the measure of  error    
must be the same4 ,moreover1 we cannot  
but eagerly assent to the  principle of 
the ,lecturer's first premise1 that ,god
 will never let the  truly anxious      

fatally miss their way4 ,so that there  
is nothing1 in the  nature of the case1 
to prevent our turning this same        
syllogism1 with a  change in the names  
of the parties1 against our opponents4  
,yet we  should shrink1 with severe     
self-reproach1 from drawing any such    
unfavorable conclusion respecting them1 
as they deduce of us4  ,accordingly1 we 
manage our reasoning thus3--            
,god will not permit the really anxious 
fatally to err3                   ,the  
,trinitarians show themselves to be     
really anxious3        ,therefore1 ,the 
,trinitarians do not fatally err4       
,our opponents are more sure that their 
judgment is in the right1 than  that    
their neighbors' conscience is in       
earnest4 ,they sacrifice other  men's   
characters to their own self-confidence3
 we would rather distrust  our          
self-confidence1 and rely on the visible
 signs of a good and careful  mind4 ,we 
honor other men's hearts1 rather than   
our own heads4 ,how can it  be just1 to 

make the agreement between an opponent's
 opinion and our own  the criterion of  
his proper conduct of the inquiry8      
,every man feels the  injury the moment 
the rule is turned against himself2 and 
every good man  should be ashamed to    
direct it against his brother4    #c4   
,our reverend opponents affect to have  
labored under a great  disadvantage1    
from the absence of any recognized      
standard of ,unitarian  belief4 ,we give
 you1 they say1 our ,articles and       
,creeds1 which we  unanimously undertake
 to defend1 and which expose a definite 
object to  all heretical attacks4 ,in   
return1 you can furnish us with no      
authorized exposition of your system1   
but leave us to gather our  knowledge of
 it from individual writers1 for whose  
opinions you refuse  to be responsible1 
and whose reasonings1 when refuted by   
us1 you can  conveniently disown4       
,plausible as this complaint may appear1
 ,i venture to affirm1 that it  is      
vastly easier to ascertain the common   

belief of ,unitarians1 than  that of the
 members of the ,established ,church2   
and for this plain  reason1 that with us
 there really is such a thing as a      
common faith1  though defined in no     
confession2 in the ,anglican ,church    
there is not1  though articles and      
creeds profess it4 ,the characteristic  
tenets of  ,unitarian ,christianity are 
so simple and unambiguous1 that little  
scope exists for variety in their       
interpretation3 to the propositions     
expressing them all their professors    
attach distinct and the same  ideas2--so
 far1 at least1 as such accordance is   
possible in relation  to subjects       
inaccessible both to demonstration and  
to experience4 ,but  the ,trinitarian   
hypothesis1 venturing with presumptuous 
analysis far  into the ,divine          
psychology1 presents us with ideas      
confessedly  inapprehensible2 propounded
 in language which1 if used in its      
ordinary  sense1 is self-contradictory1 
and if not1 is unmeaning1 and ready in  

its emptiness to be filled by any       
arbitrary interpretation2--and  actually
 understood so variously by those who   
subscribe to them1 that  the ,calvinist 
and the ,arminian1 the ,tritheist and   
the ,sabellian1 unite  to praise them4  
,indeed1 in the history of the ,english 
,church1 so  visible is the sweep of the
 centre of ,orthodoxy over the whole    
space  from the confines of ,romanism to
 the verge of ,unitarianism1 that our   
ecclesiastical chronology is measured by
 its oscillations4 ,our  respected      
opponents know full well1 that it is not
 necessary to search  beyond the clergy 
of this town1 or even beyond the morning
 and  afternoon preaching in one and the
 same church1 in order to encounter     
greater contrasts in theology1 than     
could be found in a whole library  of   
,unitarian divinity4 ,what mockery1     
then1 to refer us to these  articles as 
expositions of clerical belief1 when the
 moment we pass  beyond the words1 and  
address ourselves to the sense1 every   

shade of  contrariety appears2 and no   
one definite conception can be adopted  
of  such a doctrine as that of the      
,trinity1 without some church expositor 
or other starting up to rebuke it as a  
misrepresentation6 ,how poor the  pride 
of uniformity1 which contents itself    
with lip-service to the  symbol1 in the 
midst of heart-burnings about the       
reality6    ,in order to test the force 
of the objection to which ,i am         
referring1  let us advert1 in detail1 to
 the topics which exhibit the ,unitarian
  and ,trinitarian theology in most     
direct opposition4 ,it will appear  that
 the advantage of unity lies1 in this   
instance1 on the side of  heresy2 and   
that1 if multiformity be a prime        
characteristic of error1  there is a    
wide difference between orthodoxy and   
truth4 ,there are four  great subjects  
comprised in the controversy between the
 ,church and  ourselves3 the nature of  
,god2 of ,christ2 of sin2 of punishment4
 ,on  these several points 7which1      

considered as involving on our part     
denials of previous ideas1 may be       
regarded as containing the  negative    
elements of our belief7 all our modern  
writers1 without  material variation or 
exception1 maintain the following       
doctrines3--      ,,unitarian           
,,doctrines1 opposed to ,,church        
,,doctrines4      #a4 ,the ,personal    
,unity of ,god4     #a4 ,the ,trinity in
 ,unity4      #b4 ,the ,simplicity of   
,nature in    #b4 ,two ,distinct        
,natures in       ,christ4              
,christ4      #c4 ,the ,personal ,origin
 and        #c4 ,the ,transferable      
,nature       ,identity of ,sin4        
and ,vicarious ,removal                 
of ,sin4      #d4 ,the ,finite ,duration
 of ,future  #d4 ,the ,eternity of ,hell
       ,suffering4                      
,torments4    ,now no one at all        
familiar with polemical literature can  
deny that the  modes and ambiguities of 
doctrine comprised in this ,trinitarian 
list  are more numerous than can be     

detected in the parallel heresies4 ,i   
am willing1 indeed1 to admit an         
exception in respect to the last of  the
 topics1 and to allow that the belief in
 the finite duration of  future         
punishment has opposed itself1 in two   
forms1 to the single  doctrine of       
everlasting torments4 ,but when the     
systems are compared at  their other    
corresponding points1 the boast of      
orthodox uniformity  instantly vanishes4
 ,since the primitive jealousy between  
the ,jewish  and ,gentile ,christianity1
 the rivalry between the ,monarchy and  
the  ,economy1 the believers in the     
personal unity of ,god1 though often    
severed by ages from each other1 have   
held that majestic truth in one         
unvaried form4 ,never was there an idea 
so often lost and recovered1  yet so    
absolutely unchanged3 a sublime but     
occasional visitant of the  human mind1 
assuring us of the perpetual oneness of 
our own nature1 as  well as the ,divine4
 ,we can point to no unbroken continuity

 of our  great doctrine3 and if we      
could1 we should appeal with no         
confidence  to the evidence of so       
dubious a phenomenon2 for if a system of
 ideas  once gains possession of        
society1 and attracts to itself         
complicated  interests and feelings1    
many causes may suffice to insure its   
indefinite preservation4 ,but we can    
point to a greater phenomenon3 to  the  
long and repeated extinction of our     
favorite belief1 to its  submersion     
beneath a dark and restless fanaticism2 
and its invariable  resurrection1 like a
 necessary intuition of the soul1 in    
times of  purer light1 with its features
 still the same2 stamped with           
imperishable identity of truth1 and1    
like him to whom it refers1  without    
variableness or shadow of a turning4    
,meanwhile1 who will  undertake to      
enumerate and define the succession of  
,trinities by which  this doctrine has  
been bewildered and banished8 ,passing  
by the  ,aristotelian1 the ,platonic1   

the ,ciceronian1 the ,cartesian         
,trinity1--quitting the stormy disputes 
and contradictory decisions of  the     
early councils1 shall we find among even
 the modern fathers of our  ,national   
,church any approach to unanimity8 ,am  
,i to be content with the  doctrine of  
,bishop ,bull1 and subordinate the ,son 
to the ,father as the  sole fountain of 
divinity8 ,or must ,i rise to the       
,tritheism of  ,waterland and ,sherlock8
 or1 accepting the famous decision of   
the  ,university of ,oxford1 descend1   
with ,archbishop ,whately1 to the modal 
,trinity of ,south and ,wallis8 ,are we 
to understand the phrase1 three         
persons1 to mean three beings united by 
perichoresis1 three mutual              
inexistences1 three modes1 three        
differences1 three  contemplations1 or  
three somewhats2 or1 being told that    
this is  but a vain prying into a       
mystery1 shall we be satisfied to leave 
the  phrase without idea at all8 ,it is 
to the last degree astonishing to  hear 

from ,trinitarian divines the praises of
 uniformity of belief2  seeing that it  
is one of the chief labors of           
ecclesiastical history to  record the   
incessant effort1 vain to the present   
day1 to give some  stability of meaning 
to the fundamental doctrines of their   
faith4    ,the same remark applies1 with
 little modification1 to the opposite   
views  respecting the person of the     
,saviour4 ,it is true1 that ,unitarians1
  agreed respecting the singleness of   
nature in ,christ1 differ respecting    
the natural rank of that nature1 whether
 his soul were human or angelic4  ,but1 
for this solitary variety among these   
heretics1 how many doctrines  of the    
,logos and the ,incarnation does        
,orthodox literature contain8 ,can  any 
one affirm1 that1 when the ,council of  
,ephesus had arbitrated between  the    
,eutychian doctrine of absorption1 and  
the ,nestorian doctrine of  separation1 
all doubt and ambiguity was removed by  
the magic phrase  hypostatic union8     

,since the monophysite contest was at   
its height1 has  the ,virgin ,mary been 
left in undisputed possession of her    
title as  ,mother of ,god8 ,has the     
,eternal ,generation of the ,son        
encountered no  orthodox suspicions1 and
 the ,indwelling scheme received no     
orthodox  support8 ,and if we ask these 
questions3 ,what respectively happened  
to  the two natures on the cross8 what  
has become of ,christ's human soul  now8
 is it separate from the ,godhead1 like 
any other immortal spirit1 or  is it    
added to the ,deity1 so as to introduce 
into his nature a new and  fourth       
element8 shall we receive from the many 
voices of the ,church but  one accordant
 answer8 ,nay1 do the authors of this   
controversy suppose  that1 during its   
short continuance1 they have been able  
to maintain  their unanimity8 ,if they  
do1 ,i believe that any reader who      
thinks it  worth while to register the  
varieties of error1 would be able to    
undeceive them4 ,if the diversities of  

doctrine cannot easily and often  be    
shown to amount to palpable             
inconsistencies1 this must be ascribed1 
,i  believe1 to the mystic and technical
 phraseology1 the substitute rather     
than the expression for precise         
ideas1--which has become the vernacular 
dialect of orthodox divinity4 ,the      
jargon of theology affords a field  too 
barren to bear so vigorous a weed as an 
undisputed contradiction4    ,it is     
needless to dwell on the numerous forms 
under which the doctrine  of ,atonement 
has been held by those who subscribe the
 articles of our  ,national ,church2    
while its ,unitarian opponents have     
taken their fixed  station on the       
personal character and untransferable   
nature of sin4 ,one  writer tells us    
that only the human nature perished on  
the cross2  another1 that ,god himself  
expired3 some say1 that ,christ suffered
 no  more intensely1 but only more      
meritoriously1 than many a martyr2      
others1 that he endured the whole       

quantity of torment due to the wicked   
whom he redeemed3 some1 that it is the  
spotlessness of his manhood that  is    
imputed to believers2 others1 that it is
 the holiness of his ,deity4  ,from the 
high doctrine of satisfaction to the    
very verge of ,unitarian  heresy1 every 
variety of interpretation has been given
 to the language  of the established    
formularies respecting ,christian       
redemption4 ,nor is  it yet determined  
whether1 in the lottery of opinion1 the 
name of ,owen1  ,sykes1 or ,magee shall 
be drawn for the prize of orthodoxy4    
,and if1 from those parts of our belief 
to which the accidents of their         
historical origin have given a negative 
character1 we turn to those  which are  
positive1 not the slightest reason will 
appear for charging  them with          
uncertainty and fluctuation4 ,all       
,unitarian writers maintain  the ,moral 
,perfection and ,fatherly ,providence of
 the ,infinite ,ruler2 the  ,messiahship
 of ,jesus ,christ1 in whose person and 

spirit there is a  ,revelation of ,god  
and a ,sanctification for ,man2 the     
,responsibility and  ,retributive       
,immortality of men2 and the need of a  
pure and devout heart  of ,faith1 as the
 source of all outward goodness and     
inward communion  with ,god4 ,these     
great and self-luminous points1 bound   
together by  natural affinity1          
constitute the fixed centre of our      
religion4 ,and on  subjects beyond this 
centre we have no wider divergences than
 are found  among those who attach      
themselves to an opposite system4 ,for  
example1  the relations between         
,scripture and ,reason1 as evidences and
 guides in  questions of doctrine1 are  
not more unsettled among us1 than are   
the  relations between ,scripture and   
,tradition in the ,church4 ,nor is the  
perpetual authority of the ,christian   
rites so much in debate among our       
ministers1 as the efficacy of the       
sacraments among the clergy4 ,in truth1 
our diversities of sentiment affect far 

less what we believe1 than the  question
 why we believe it4 ,different modes of 
reasoning1 and  different results of    
interpretation1 are no doubt to be found
 among our  several authors4 ,we all    
make our appeal to the records of       
,christianity2  but we have voted no    
particular commentator into the seat of 
authority4  ,and is not this equally    
true of our opponents' ,church8 ,their  
articles  and creeds furnish no textual 
expositions of ,scripture1 but only     
results  and deductions from its study4 
,and so variously have these results    
been  elicited from the sacred writings1
 that scarcely a text can be adduced  in
 defence of the ,trinitarian scheme1    
which some witness unexceptionably      
orthodox may not be summoned to prove   
inapplicable4 ,in fine1 we have no      
greater variety of critical and         
exegetical opinion than the divines from
  whom we dissent2 while the system of  
,christianity in which our  ,scriptural 
labors have issued1 has its leading     

characteristics better  determined and  
more apprehensible than the scheme which
 the articles and  creeds have vainly   
labored to define4    ,the refusal to   
embody our sentiments in any            
authoritative formula  appears to strike
 observers as a whimsical exception to  
the general  practice of churches4 ,the 
peculiarity has had its origin in       
hereditary  and historical associations2
 but it has its defence in the noblest  
principles of religious freedom and     
,christian communion4 ,at present1  it  
must suffice to say1 that our societies 
are dedicated1 not to  theological      
opinions1 but to religious worship2 that
 they have  maintained the unity of the 
spirit1 without insisting on any unity  
of  doctrine2 that ,christian liberty1  
love1 and piety are their essentials  in
 perpetuity1 but their ,unitarianism an 
accident of a few or many               
generations1--which has arisen1 and     
might vanish1 without the loss of  their
 identity4 ,we believe in the mutability

 of religious systems1 but  the         
imperishable character of the religious 
affections2--in the  progressiveness of 
opinion within1 as well as without1 the 
limits of  ,christianity4 ,our          
forefathers cherished the same          
conviction2 and so1  not having been    
born intellectual bondsmen1 we desire to
 leave our  successors free4 ,convinced 
that uniformity of doctrine can never   
prevail1 we seek to attain its only     
good--peace on earth and communion  with
 ,heaven--without it4 ,we aim to make a 
true ,christendom1--a  commonwealth of  
the faithful1--by the binding force1 not
 of  ecclesiastical creeds1 but of      
spiritual wants and ,christian          
sympathies2 and indulge the vision of a 
,church that in the latter  days shall  
arise1 like the mountain of the ,lord1  
bearing on its  ascent the blossoms of  
thought proper to every intellectual    
clime1 and  withal massively rooted in  
the deep places of our humanity1 and    
gladly  rising to meet the sunshine from

 on high4    ,and now1 friends and      
brethren1 let us say a glad farewell to 
the  fretfulness of controversy1 and    
retreat again1 with thanksgiving1 into  
the interior of our own venerated truth4
 ,having come forth1 at the  severer    
call of duty1 to do battle for it1 with 
such force as ,god  vouchsafes to the   
sincere1 let us go in to live and       
worship beneath  its shelter4 ,they tell
 you it is not the true faith4 ,perhaps 
not2 but  then you think it so2 and that
 is enough to make your duty clear1 and 
to draw from it1 as from nothing else1  
the very peace of ,god4 ,may be1  we are
 on our way to something better1        
unexistent and unseen as yet1  which may
 penetrate our souls with nobler        
affection1 and give a fresh  spontaneity
 of love to ,god and all immortal       
things4 ,perhaps there  cannot be the   
truest life of faith1 except in         
scattered individuals1  till this age of
 conflicting doubt and dogmatism shall  
have passed  away4 ,dark and leaden     

clouds of materialism hide the heaven   
from us2  red gleams of fanaticism      
pierce through1 vainly striving to      
reveal it2  and not till the weight is  
heaved from off the air1 and the        
thunders  roll down the horizon1 will   
the serene light of ,god flow upon us1  
and  the blue infinite embrace us again4
 ,meanwhile we must reverently love  the
 faith we have2 to quit it for one that 
we have not1 were to lose  the breath of
 life and die4    ,,footnotes3    #c    
,conference with ,fisher1  #ae2 quoted  
in ,tracts for the ,times1 ,no4  #gf4   
,catena ,patrum1 ,no4 ,,ii4 p4 #ah4     
#d ,of ,persons dying without ,baptism1 
p4 #igi2 quoted in loc4 cit4  pp4 #ai1  
#bj4    #e ,history of ,popish          
,transubstantiation1 ,chap4 ,,iv42      
printed in the  ,tracts for the ,times1 
,no4 ,,xxvii4 pp4 #ad1 #ae4    #f       
,bishop of ,exeter's ,charge1 delivered 
at his ,triennial ,visitation  in       
,august1 ,september1 and ,october1      
#ahcf1 pp4 #dd-dg4    #g ,tracts for the

 ,times1 ,no4 ,,iv4 p4 #e4    #h ,ibid41
 ,no4 ,v4 pp4 #i1 #aj4    #i ,archbishop
 ,whately1 speaking of the word  and its
 meaning1  says3 ,this is an office     
assigned to none under the ,gospel      
scheme1  except the ,,one great         
,high-,priest1 of whom the ,jewish      
priests were  types4 7,elements of      
,logic4 ,appendix3 ,note on the word    
,priest47 ,of the  ,gospel scheme this  
is quite true2 of the                   
,church-of-,england scheme  it is not4  
,there lies before me ,duport's ,greek  
version of the  ,prayer-,book and       
,offices of the ,anglican ,church3 and  
turning to the  ,communion ,service1 ,i 
find the officiating clergyman called   
throughout4 ,the absence of this word   
from the records of the primitive       
,gospel1 and its presence in the        
,prayer-,book1 is perfectly expressive  
of the difference in the spirit of the  
two systems2--the difference  between   
the ,church with1 and the ,christianity 
without ,priest4    #aj ,see ,rom4 vi4  

#b-d3 ,how shall we1 that are dead to   
sin1 live any  longer therein8 ,know ye 
not1 that so many of us as were baptized
 into  ,jesus ,christ were baptized into
 his death8 ,therefore we are buried    
with  him by baptism into death2 that1  
like as ,christ was raised up from the  
dead by the glory of the ,father1 even  
so we also should walk in newness  of   
life4 ,mr4 ,locke observes of ,st4      
,paul's argument1 that it is to  show in
 what state of life we ought to be      
raised out of baptism1 in  similitude   
and conformity to that state of life    
,christ was raised into  from the grave4
 ,see also ,col4 ii4 #ab3 ,ye are 444   
buried with him in  baptism1 wherein    
also ye are risen with him through the  
faith of the  operation of ,god1 who    
hath raised him from the dead4 ,the     
force of the  image clearly depends on  
the sinking and rising in the water4    
#aa ,mr4 ,dalton's ,lecture on the      
,eternity of ,future ,rewards and       
,punishments1 p4 #gfj4    #ab ,mr4      

,dalton's ,lecture1 p4 #gfj4            
,,inconsistency ,,of ,,the ,,scheme ,,of
 ,,vicarious ,,redemption4              
,neither is there salvation in any      
other2 for there is none other      name
 under heaven given among men1 whereby  
we must be      saved4--,acts iv4 #ab4  
,the scene which we have this evening to
 visit and explore1 is separated  from  
us by the space of eighteen centuries2  
yet of nothing on this earth  has       
,providence left1 within the shadows of 
the past1 so vivid and divine  an image4
 ,gently rising above the mighty field  
of the world1 ,calvary's  mournful hill 
appears1 covered with silence now1 but  
distinctly showing  the heavenly light  
that struggled there through the        
stormiest elements  of guilt4 ,nor need 
we only gaze1 as on a motionless picture
 that closes  the vista of ,christian   
ages4 ,permitting history to take us by 
the hand1  we may pace back in          
pilgrimage to the hour1 till its groups 
stand around  us1 and pass by us1 and   

its voices of passion and of grief mock 
and wail  upon our ear4 ,as we mingle   
with the crowd which1 amid noise and    
dust1  follows the condemned prisoners  
to the place of execution1 and fix our  
eye on the faint and panting figure of  
one that bears his cross1 could  we but 
whisper to the sleek priests close by1  
how might we startle them1  by telling  
them the future fate of this brief      
tragedy1--brief in act1 in  blessing    
everlasting2 that this ,galilean convict
 shall be the world's  confessed        
deliverer1 while they that have brought 
him to this shall be  the scorn and     
by-word of the nations2 that that vile  
instrument of  torture1 now so abject   
that it makes the dying slave more      
servile1  shall be made1 by this victim 
and this hour1 the symbol of whatever is
  holy and sublime2 the emblem of hope  
and love2 pressed to the lips of  ages2 
consecrated by a veneration which makes 
the sceptre seem trivial  as an infant's
 toy4 ,meanwhile1 the sacerdotal        

hypocrites1 unconscious of  the part    
they play1 watch to the end the public  
murder which they have  privately       
suborned2 stealing a phrase from        
,scripture1 that they may mock  with    
holy lips2 and leaving to the plebeian  
soldiers the mutual jest and  brutal    
laugh1 that serve to beguile the hired  
but hated work of agony1  and that draw 
forth from the sufferer that burst of   
forgiving prayer1  which sunk at least  
into their centurion's heart4 ,one there
 is1 who  should have been spared the   
hearing of these scoffs2 and perhaps she
  heard them not2 for before his nature 
was exhausted more1 his eye  detects and
 his voice addresses her1 and twines    
round her the filial arm  of that       
disciple1 who had been ever the most    
loving as well as most  beloved4 ,she at
 least lost the religion of that hour in
 its humanity1  and beheld not the      
prophet1 but the son3--had not her own  
hands wrought  that seamless robe for   
which the soldiers' lot is cast2 and her

 own lips  taught him that strain of    
sacred poetry1 ,my ,god1 my ,god1 why   
hast thou  forsaken me8 but never had   
she thought to hear it thus4 ,as the    
cries  become fainter and fainter1      
scarcely do they reach ,peter standing  
afar  off4 ,the last notice of him had  
been the rebuking look that sent him to 
weep bitterly2 and now the voice that   
alone can tell him his forgiveness  will
 soon be gone6 ,broken hardly less1     
though without remorse1 is the  youthful
 ,john1 to see that head1 lately resting
 on his bosom1 drooping  passively in   
death2 and to hear the involuntary      
shriek of ,mary1 as the  spear struck   
upon the lifeless body1 moving now only 
as it is  moved2--whence he alone1 on   
whom she leaned1 records the fact4 ,well
  might the ,galilean friends stand at a
 distance gazing2 unable to depart1  yet
 not daring to approach2 well might the 
multitudes that had cried  ,crucify him6
 in the morning1 shudder at the thought 
of that clamor ere  night2 beholding the

 things that had come to pass1 they     
smote their  breasts and returned4      
,this is the scene of which we have to  
seek the interpretation4 ,our  first    
natural impression is1 that it requires 
no interpretation1 but  speaks for      
itself2 that it has no mystery1 except  
that which belongs  to the triumphs of  
deep guilt1 and the sanctities of       
disinterested  love4 ,to raise our eye  
to that serene countenance1 to listen to
 that  submissive voice1 to note the    
subjects of its utterance1 would give us
  no idea of any mystic horror concealed
 behind the human features of  the      
scene2 of any invisible contortions1 as 
from the lash of demons1  in the soul of
 that holy victim2 of any sympathetic   
connection of that  cross with the      
bottomless pit on the one hand1 and the 
highest heaven  on the other2 of any    
moral revolution throughout our portion 
of the  universe1 of which this public  
execution is but the outward signal4    
,the historians drop no hint that its   

sufferings1 its affections1 its         
relations1 were other than              
human1--raised indeed to distinction by 
miraculous accompaniments2 but          
intrinsically1 however signally1 human4 
,they mention1 as if bearing some       
appreciable proportion to the whole     
series of incidents1 particulars so     
slight1 as to vanish before any  other  
than the obvious historical view of the 
transaction2 the thirst1  the sponge1   
the rent clothes1 the mingled drink4    
,they ascribe no  sentiment to the      
crucified1 except such as might be      
expressed by one  of like nature with   
ourselves1 in the consciousness of a    
finished work  of duty1 and a fidelity  
never broken under the strain of        
heaviest  trial4 ,the narrative is      
clearly the production of minds filled1 
not  with theological anticipations1 but
 with historical recollections4    ,with
 this view of ,christ's death1 which is 
such as might be  entertained by any of 
the primitive churches1 having one of   

the  ,gospels only1 without any of the  
,epistles1 we are content4 ,i conceive  
of it1 then1 as manifesting the last    
degree of moral perfection in the  ,holy
 ,one of ,god2 and believe that1 in thus
 being an expression of  character1 it  
has its primary and everlasting value4  
,i conceive of it  as the needful       
preliminary to his resurrection and     
ascension1 by which  the severest       
difficulties in the theory of           
,providence1 life1 and duty  are        
alleviated or solved4 ,i conceive of it 
as immediately procuring  the           
universality and spirituality of the    
,gospel2 by dissolving those  corporeal 
ties which gave nationality to ,jesus1  
and making him1 in his  heavenly and    
immortal form1 the ,messiah of humanity2
 blessing1  sanctifying1 regenerating1  
not a people from the centre of         
,jerusalem1  but a world from his       
station in the heavens4 ,and these      
views1 under  unimportant modifications1
 ,i submit1 are the only ones of which  

,scripture contains a trace4    ,all    
this1 however1 we are assured1 is the   
mere outside aspect of the  crucifixion2
 and wholly insignificant compared with 
the invisible  character and relations  
of the scene2 which1 localized only on  
earth1  has its chief effect in hell2   
and1 though presenting itself among the 
occurrences of time1 is a repeal of the 
decretals of ,eternity4 ,the being  who 
hangs upon that cross is not man alone2 
but also the everlasting  ,god1 who     
created and upholds all things1 even the
 sun that now darkens  its face upon    
him1 and the murderers who are waiting  
for his expiring  cry4 ,the anguish he  
endures is not chiefly that which falls 
so  poignantly on the eye and ear of the
 spectator2 the injured human           
affections1 the dreadful momentary      
doubt2 the pulses of physical  torture1 
doubling on him with full or broken     
wave1 till driven back by  the          
overwhelming power of love disinterested
 and divine4 ,but he is  judicially     

abandoned by the ,infinite ,father2 who 
expends on him the  immeasurable wrath  
due to an apostate race1 gathers up into
 an hour the  lightnings of ,eternity1  
and lets them loose upon that bended    
head4 ,it is  the moment of retributive 
justice2 the expiation of all human     
guilt3  that open brow hides beneath it 
the despair of millions of men2 and to  
the intensity of agony there1 no human  
wail could give expression4  ,meanwhile1
 the future brightens on the elect2 the 
tempests that hung  over their horizon  
are spent4 ,the vengeance of the        
lawgiver having had  its way1 the       
sunshine of a ,father's grace breaks    
forth1 and lights up1  with hope and    
beauty1 the earth1 which had been a     
desert of despair and  sin4 ,according  
to this theory1 ,christ1 in his death1  
was a proper  expiatory sacrifice2 he   
turned aside1 by enduring it for them1  
the  infinite punishment of sin from all
 past or future believers in this       
efficacy of the cross2 and transferred  

to them the natural rewards of  his own 
righteousness4 ,an acceptance of this   
doctrine is declared to be  the prime   
condition of the ,divine forgiveness2   
for no one who does not  see the pardon 
can have it4 ,and this pardon1 again1   
this clear score  for the past1 is a    
necessary preliminary to all            
sanctification2 to all  practical       
opening of a disinterested heart towards
 our ,creator and man4  ,pardon1 and the
 perception of it1 are the needful      
preludes to that  conforming love to    
,god and men1 which is the true         
,christian salvation4    ,the evidence  
in support of this theory is derived    
partly from natural  appearances1 partly
 from ,scriptural announcements4        
,involving1 as it  does1 statements     
respecting the actual condition of human
 nature1 and  the world in which we     
live1 some appeal to experience1 and to 
the  rational interpretation of life and
 ,providence1 is inevitable2 and hence  
certain propositions1 affecting to be of

 a philosophical character1 are  laid   
down as fundamental by the advocates of 
this system4 ,yet it is  admitted1 that 
direct revelation only could have       
acquainted us1 either  with our lost    
condition1 or our vicarious recovery2   
and that all we can  expect to          
accomplish with nature1 is to harmonize 
what we observe there  with what we read
 in the written records of ,god's will2 
so that the main  stress of the argument
 rests on the interpretation of         
,scripture4 ,the  principles deduced    
from the nature of things1 and laid down
 as a basis  for this doctrine1 may be  
thus represented3--    ,that man needs a
 ,redeemer2 having obviously fallen1 by 
some disaster1  into a state of misery  
and guilt1 from which the worst penal   
consequences must be apprehended2 and   
were it not for the probability  of such
 lapse from the condition in which it   
was fashioned1 it would  be impossible  
to reconcile the phenomena of the world 
with the justice  and benevolence of its

 ,creator4    ,that ,deity only can     
redeem2 since1 to preserve veracity1 the
 penalty  of sin must be inflicted2 and 
the diversion only1 not the annihilation
  of it1 is possible4 ,to let it fall on
 angels would fail of the desired  end2 
because human sin1 having been directed 
against an ,infinite  ,being1 has       
incurred an infinitude of punishment2   
which on no created  beings could be    
exhausted in any period short of        
eternity4 ,only a  nature strictly      
infinite can compress within itself1 in 
the compass of  an hour1 the woes       
distributed over the immortality of     
mankind4 ,hence1  were ,god personally  
,one1 like man1 no redemption could be  
effected2  for there would be no ,deity 
to suffer1 except the very ,one who must
  punish4 ,but the triplicity of the    
,godhead relieves all difficulty2  for1 
while one ,infinite inflicts1 another   
,infinite endures2 and  resources are   
furnished for the atonement4    ,amid a 
great variety of forms in which the     

theory of atonement exists1  ,i have    
selected the foregoing2 which1 if ,i    
understand aright1 is that  which is    
vindicated in the present controversy4  
,i am not aware that ,i  have added     
anything to the language in which it is 
stated by its  powerful advocate1 unless
 it be a few phrases1 leaving its       
essential  meaning the same1 but needful
 to render it compact and clear4    ,the
 ,scriptural evidence is found          
principally in certain of the           
,apostolical ,epistles2 and this        
circumstance will render it necessary   
to conduct a separate search into the   
historical writings of the ,new         
,testament1 that we may ascertain how   
they express the corresponding  set of  
ideas4 ,taking up successively these two
 branches of the  subject1 the natural  
and the ,biblical1 ,i propose to show1  
first1 that  this doctrine is           
inconsistent with itself2 secondly1 that
 it is  inconsistent with the ,christian
 idea of salvation4    ,i4 ,it is       

inconsistent with itself4    7#a47 ,in  
its manner of treating the principles of
 natural religion4    ,our faith in the 
infinite benevolence of ,god is         
represented as  destitute of adequate   
support from the testimony of nature4   
,it  requires1 we are assured1 the      
suppression of a mass of appearances1   
that would scare it away in an instant1 
were it to venture into their  presence2
 and is a dream of sickly and effeminate
 minds1 whose belief  is the inward     
growth of amiable sentimentality1 rather
 than a genuine  production from ,god's 
own facts4 ,the appeal to the order and 
magnificence of creation1 to the        
structures and relations of the         
inorganic1 the vegetable1 the animal1   
the spiritual forms1 that fill  the     
ascending ranks of this visible and     
conscious universe2--to the             
arrangements which make it a blessing to
 be born1 far more than a  suffering to 
die1--which enable us to extract the    
relish of life from  its toils1 the     

affections of our nature from its       
sufferings1 the  triumphs of goodness   
from its temptations2--to the seeming   
plan of  general progress1 which elicits
 truth by the self-destruction of       
error1 and by the extinction of         
generations gives perpetual             
rejuvenescence to the world2--this      
appeal1 which is another name for  the  
scheme of natural religion1 is dismissed
 with scorn2 and sin and  sorrow and    
death are flung in defiance across our  
path1--barriers  which we must remove1  
ere we can reach the presence of a      
benignant  ,god4 ,come with us1 it is   
said1 and listen to the wail of the sick
  infant2 look into the dingy haunts    
where poverty moans its life away2  bend
 down your ear to the accursed hum that 
strays from the busy hives  of guilt2   
spy into the hold of the slave-ship2    
from the factory follow  the wasted     
child to the gin-shop first1 and then to
 the cellar called  its home2 or look   
even at your own tempted and sin-bound  

souls1 and  your own perishing race1    
snatched off into the dark by handfuls  
through the activity of a destroying    
,god2 and tell us1 did our  benevolent  
,creator make a creature and a world    
like this8 ,a ,calvinist  who puts this 
question is playing with fire4 ,but ,i  
answer the question  explicitly3 ,all   
these things we have met steadily1 and  
face to face2  in full view of them1 we 
have taken up our faith in the goodness 
of  ,god2 and in full view of them we   
will hold fast that faith4 ,nor is it   
just or true to affirm1 that our system 
hides these evils1 or that our  practice
 refuses to grapple with them4 ,and if  
you confess that these  ills of life    
would be too much for your natural      
piety1 if you declare1  that these      
rugged foundations and tempestuous      
elements of ,providence  would starve   
and crush your confidence in ,god1 while
 ours strikes its  roots in the rock1   
and throws out its branches to brave the
 storm1 are  you entitled to taunt us   

with a faith of puny growth8 ,meanwhile1
 we  willingly assent to the principle  
which this appeal to evil is  designed  
to establish2 that1 with much apparent  
order1 there is some  apparent disorder 
in the phenomena of the world2 that from
 the latter1  by itself1 we should be   
unable to infer any goodness and        
benevolence  in ,god2 and that1 were not
 the former clearly the predominant     
result  of natural laws1 the character  
of the ,great ,cause of all things would
  be involved in agonizing gloom4 ,the  
mass of physical and moral evil we  do  
not profess fully to explain2 we think  
that in no system whatever  is there any
 approach to an explanation2 and we are 
accustomed to  touch on that dread      
subject with the humility of filial     
trust1 not  with the confidence of      
dogmatic elucidation4    ,surely the    
fall of our first parents1 ,i shall be  
reminded1 gives the  requisite solution4
 ,the disaster which then befell the    
human race has  changed the primeval    

constitution of things2 introduced      
mortality and  all the infirmities of   
which it is the result2 introduced sin1 
and all  the seeds of vile affections   
which it compels us to inherit2         
introduced  also the penalties of sin1  
visible in part on this scene of life1  
and  developing themselves in another in
 anguish everlasting4 ,fresh from the   
hand of his ,creator1 man was innocent1 
happy1 and holy2 and he it is1  not     
,god1 who has deformed the world with   
guilt and grief4    ,now1 as a statement
 of fact1 all this may or may not be    
true4 ,of this  ,i say nothing4 ,but who
 does not see that1 as an explanation1  
it is  inconsistent with itself1 partial
 in its application1 and leaves matters 
incomparably worse than it found them8  
,it is inconsistent with itself2  for   
,adam1 perfectly pure and holy as he is 
reputed to have been1 gave  the only    
proof that could exist of his being     
neither1 by succumbing to  the first    
temptation that came in his way2 and    

though finding no  enjoyment but in the 
contemplation of ,god1 gave himself up  
to the first  advances of the ,devil4   
,never surely was a reputation for      
sanctity so  cheaply won4 ,the          
canonizations of the ,romish ,calendar  
have been  curiously bestowed on beings 
sufficiently remote from just ideas of  
excellence2 but usually there is        
something to be affirmed of them1       
legendary or otherwise1 which1 if true1 
might justify a momentary  admiration4  
,but our first parent was not laid even 
under this necessity1  to obtain a glory
 greater than canonization2 he had      
simply to do  nothing1 except to fall1  
in order to be esteemed the most        
perfectly holy  of created minds4 ,most 
partial1 too1 is this theory in its     
application2  for disease and hardship1 
and death unmerited as the infant's1    
afflict  the lower animal creation4 ,is 
this1 too1 the result of the fall8 ,if  
so1  it is an unredeemed effect2 if not1
 it presses on the benevolence of  the  

,maker1 and1 by the physical analogies  
which connect man with the  inferior    
creatures1 forces on us the impression1 
that his corporeal  sufferings have an  
original source not dissimilar from     
theirs4 ,and  again1 this explanation   
only serves to make matters worse than  
before4  ,for how puerile is it to      
suppose that men will rest satisfied    
with  tracing back their ills to ,adam1 
and refrain from asking who was ,adam's 
cause6 ,and then comes upon us at once  
the ancient dilemma about evil2  was it 
a mistake1 or was it malignity1 that    
created so poor a creature  as our      
progenitor1 and staked on so precarious 
a will the blessedness of  a race and   
the well-being of a world8 ,so far1 this
 theory1 falsely and  injuriously       
ascribed to ,christianity1 would leave  
us where we were3 but  it carries us    
into deeper and gratuitous difficulties1
 of which natural  religion knows       
nothing1 by appending eternal           
consequences to ,adam's  transgression2 

a large portion of which1 after the most
 sanguine  extension of the efficacy of 
the atonement1 must remain unredeemed4  
,so  that if1 under the eye of          
naturalism1 the world1 with its         
generations  dropping into the grave1   
must appear 7as we heard it recently    
described#ac7 like the populous         
precincts of some castle1 whose         
governor called his servants1 after a   
brief indulgence of liberty and  peace1 
into a dark and inscrutable dungeon1    
never to return or be seen  again1 the  
only new feature which this theory      
introduces into the  prospect is this3  
that the interior of that cavernous     
prison-house is  disclosed2 and while a 
few of the departed are seen to have    
emerged into  a fairer light1 and to be 
traversing greener fields1 and sharing a
 more  blessed liberty than they knew   
before1 the vast multitude are discerned
  in the gripe of everlasting chains and
 the twist of unimaginable  torture4    
,and all this infliction is a penal     

consequence of a first  ancestor's      
transgression6 ,singular spectacle to be
 offered in  vindication of the         
character of ,god6    ,we are warned1   
however1 not to start back from this    
representation1 or  to indulge in any   
rash expression at the view which it    
gives of the  justice of the ,most      
,high2 for that1 beyond all doubt1      
parallel instances  occur in the        
operations of nature2 and that1 if the  
system deduced from  ,scripture accords 
with that which is in action in the     
creation1 there  arises a strong        
presumption that both are from the same 
,author4 ,the  arrangement which is the 
prime subject of objection in the       
foregoing  theory1 viz4 the vicarious   
transmission of consequences from acts  
of  vice and virtue1 is said to be      
familiar to our observation as a fact2  
and ought1 therefore1 to present no     
difficulties in the way of the          
admission of a doctrine4 ,is it not     
obvious1 for example1 that the  guilt of

 a parent may entail disease and        
premature death on his child1  or even  
remoter descendants8 ,and if it be      
consistent with the ,divine  perfections
 that the innocent should suffer for    
others' sins at the  distance of one    
generation1 why not at the distance of a
 thousand8 ,the  guiltless victim is not
 more completely severed from identity  
with ,adam1  than he is from identity   
with his own father4 ,my reply is brief3
 ,i admit  both the fact and the        
analogy2 but the fact is of the         
exceptional kind1  from which1 by       
itself1 ,i could not infer the justice  
or the benevolence  of the ,creator2 and
 which1 were it of large and prevalent  
amount1 ,i  could not even reconcile    
with these perfections4 ,if then you    
take it  out of the list of exceptions  
and difficulties1 and erect it into a   
cardinal rule1 if you interpret by it   
the whole invisible portion of  ,god's  
government1 you turn the scale at once  
against the character of  the ,supreme1 

and plant creation under a tyrant's     
sway4 ,and this is the  fatal principle 
pervading all analogical arguments in   
defence of  ,trinitarian ,christianity4 
,no resemblances to the system can be   
found in  the universe1 except in those 
anomalies and seeming deformities which 
perplex the student of ,providence1 and 
which would undermine his faith1  were  
they not lost in the vast spectacle of  
beauty and of good4 ,these  disorders   
are selected and spread out to view1 as 
specimens of the  ,divine government of 
nature2 the mysteries and horrors which 
offend us  in the popular theology are  
extended by their side2 the comparison  
is  made1 point by point1 till the      
similitude is undeniably made out2 and  
when the argument is closed it amounts  
to this3 ,do you doubt whether ,god     
could break men's limbs8 ,you mistake   
his strength of character2 only see  how
 he puts out their eyes6 ,what kind of  
impression this reasoning may  have1    
seems to me doubtful even to agony4     

,both ,trinitarian theology and  nature1
 it is triumphantly urged1 must proceed 
from the same ,author2 ay1  but what    
sort of author is that8 ,you have led   
me1 in your quest after  analogies1     
through the great infirmary of ,god's   
creation2 and so haunted  am ,i by the  
sights and sounds of the lazar-house1   
that scarce can ,i  believe in anything 
but pestilence2 so sick of soul have ,i 
become1 that  the mountain breeze has   
lost its scent of health2 and you say1  
it is all  the same in the other world1 
and wherever the same rule extends3 then
 ,i  know my fate1 that in this universe
 ,justice has no throne4 ,and thus1 my  
friends1 it comes to pass1 that these   
reasoners often gain indeed their       
victory2 but it is known only to the    
,searcher of ,hearts1 whether it is a   
victory against natural religion1 or in 
favor of revealed4 ,for this  reason ,i 
consider the ,analogy of ,bishop ,butler
 7one of the profoundest  of thinkers1  
and on purely moral subjects one of the 

justest too7 as  containing1 with a     
design directly contrary1 the most      
terrible  persuasives to ,atheism that  
have ever been produced4 ,the essential 
error  consists in selecting the        
difficulties1--which are the rare1      
exceptional  phenomena of nature1--as   
the basis of analogy and argument4 ,in  
the  comprehensive and generous study of
 ,providence1 the mind may1 indeed1     
already have overcome the difficulties1 
and1 with the lights recently  gained   
from the harmony1 design1 and order of  
creation1 have made those  shadows pass 
imperceptibly away2 but when forced     
again into their very  centre1 compelled
 to adopt them as a fixed station and   
point of mental  vision1 they deepen    
round the heart again1 and1 instead of  
illustrating  anything1 become solid    
darkness themselves4    ,i cannot quit  
this topic without observing1 however1  
that there  appears to be nothing in    
nature and life at all analogous to the 
vicarious principle attributed to ,god  

in the ,trinitarian scheme of           
,redemption4 ,there is nowhere to be    
found any proper transfer or  exchange1 
either of the qualities1 or of the      
consequences1 of vice and  virtue4 ,the 
good and evil acts of men do indeed     
affect others as  well as themselves2   
the innocent suffer with the guilty1 as 
in the  case before adduced1 of a child 
suffering in health by the excesses of  
a parent4 ,but there is here no         
endurance for another1 similar to       
,christ's alleged endurance in the place
 of men2 the infliction on the  child is
 not deducted from the parent2 it does  
nothing to lighten his  load1 or make it
 less than it would have been1 had he   
been without  descendants2 nor does any 
one suppose his guilt alleviated by the 
existence of this innocent              
fellow-sufferer4 ,there is a nearer     
approach  to analogy in those cases of  
crime1 where the perpetrator seems to   
escape1 and to leave the consequences of
 his act to descend on others2  as when 

the successful cheat eludes pursuit1 and
 from the stolen gains  of neighbors    
constructs a life of luxury for himself2
 or when a  spendthrift government1     
forgetful of its high trust1 turning the
  professions of patriotism into a lie1 
is permitted to run a prosperous  career
 for one generation1 and is personally  
gone before the popular  retribution    
falls1 in the next1 on innocent         
successors4 ,here1 no  doubt1 the       
harmless suffer by the guilty1 in a     
certain sense in  the place of the      
guilty3 but not in the sense which the  
analogy  requires4 ,for there is still  
no substitution2 the distress of the    
unoffending party is not struck out of  
the offender's punishment2 does  not    
lessen1 but rather aggravates1 his      
guilt2 and1 instead of fitting  him for 
pardon1 tempts the natural sentiments of
 justice to follow him  with severer    
condemnation4 ,nor does the scheme      
receive any better  illustration from   
the fact1 that whoever attempts the cure

 of misery  must himself suffer2 must   
have the shadows of ill cast upon his   
spirit  from every sadness he           
alleviates2 and interpose himself to    
stay the  plague which1 in a world      
diseased1 threatens to pass to the      
living  from the dead4 ,the parallel    
fails1 because there is still no        
transference3 the appropriate sufferings
 of sin are not given to the            
philanthropist2 and the noble pains of  
goodness in him1 the glorious  strife of
 his self-sacrifice1 are no part of the 
penal consequences of  others' guilt2   
they do not cancel one iota of those    
consequences1 or  make the crimes which 
have demanded them1 in any way1 more    
ready for  forgiveness4 ,indeed1 it is  
not in the good man's sufferings1       
considered as such1 that any efficacy   
resides2 but in his efforts1  which may 
be made with great sacrifice or without 
it1 as the case may  be4 ,nor1 at best1 
is there any proper annihilation of     
consequences at  all accruing from his  

toils2 the past acts of wrong which call
 up his  resisting energies are         
irrevocable1 the guilt incurred1 the    
penalty  indestructible2 the series of  
effects1 foreign to the mind of the     
perpetrator1 may be abbreviated2        
prevention applied to new ills which    
threaten to arise2 but by all this the  
personal fitness of the  delinquent for 
forgiveness is wholly unaffected2 the   
volition of sin  has gone forth1 and on 
it flies1 as surely as sound on a       
vibration of  the air1 the verdict of   
judgment4    ,those who are affected by 
slight and failing analogies like these1
  would do well to consider one1        
sufficiently obvious1 which seems to    
throw doubt upon their scheme4 ,the     
atonement is thought to be1 in  respect 
to all believers1 a reversal of the     
fall3 the effects of the  fall are      
partly visible and temporal1 partly     
invisible and eternal2  linked1 however1
 together as inseparable portions of the
 same penal  system4 ,now it is evident1

 that the supposed redemption on the    
cross  has left precisely where they    
were all the visible effects of the     
first transgression3 sorrow and toil are
 the lot of all1 as they have  been from
 of old2 the baptized infant utters a   
cry as sad as the  unbaptized2 and      
between the holiness of the true        
believer and the  worth of the devout   
heretic1 there is not discernible such a
  difference as there must have been    
between ,adam pure and perfect and      
,adam lapsed and lost4 ,and is it       
presumptuous to reason from the seen  to
 the unseen1 from the part which we     
experience to that which we can  only   
conceive8 ,if the known effects are     
unredeemed1 the suspicion is  not       
unnatural1 that so are the unknown4     
,i sum up1 then1 this part of my subject
 by observing1 that1 besides  many      
inconclusive appeals to nature1 the     
advocates of the vicarious  scheme are  
chargeable with this fundamental        
inconsistency4 ,they appear  to deny    

that the justice and benevolence of ,god
 can be reconciled with  the phenomena  
of nature2 and say that the evidence    
must be helped out  by resort to their  
interpretation of ,scripture4 ,when1    
having heard  this auxiliary system1 we 
protest that it renders the case sadder 
than  before1 they assure us that it is 
all benevolent and just1 because it  has
 its parallel in creation4 ,they        
renounce and adopt1 in the same  breath1
 the religious appeal to the universe of
 ,god4    7#b47 ,another inconsistency  
appears1 in the view which this theory  
gives of the character of ,god4    ,it  
is assumed that1 at the era of creation1
 the ,maker of mankind had  announced   
the infinite penalties which must follow
 the violation of  his law2 and that    
their amount did not exceed the measure 
which his  abhorrence of wrong required4
 ,and that which he saith1 he would not 
be ,god if he did not perform3 that     
which he perceived right1 he would  be  
unworthy of our trust1 did he not       

fulfil4 ,his veracity and justice1      
therefore1 were pledged to adhere to the
 word that had gone forth2 and  excluded
 the possibility of any free and        
unconditional forgiveness4  ,now ,i     
would note1 in passing1 that this       
announcement to ,adam of an  eternal    
punishment impending over his first sin1
 is simply a fiction2  for the warning  
to him is stated thus3 ,in the day that 
thou eatest  thereof1 thou shalt surely 
die2 from which our progenitor must have
  been ingenious as a theologian1 to    
extract the idea of endless life in     
hell4 ,but to say no more of this1 what 
notions of veracity have we  here8 ,when
 a sentence is proclaimed against crime1
 is it indifferent  to judicial truth   
upon whom it falls8 ,personally         
addressed to the  guilty1 may it descend
 without a lie upon the guiltless8      
,provided  there is the suffering1 is it
 no matter where8 ,is this the sense in 
which ,god is no respecter of persons8  
,o what deplorable reflection of  human 

artifice is this1 that ,heaven is too   
veracious to abandon its  proclamation  
of menace against transgressors1 yet is 
content to vent  it on goodness the most
 perfect6 ,no darker deed can be        
imagined1 than  is thus ascribed to the 
,source of all perfection1 under the    
insulted  names of truth and holiness4  
,what reliance could we have on the     
faithfulness of such a ,being8 ,if it be
 consistent with his nature to  punish  
by substitution1 what security is there 
that he will not  reward vicariously8   
,all must be loose and unsettled1 the   
sentiments  of reverence confused1 the  
perceptions of conscience indistinct1   
where  the terms expressive of those    
great moral qualities which render ,god 
himself most venerable are thus sported 
with and profaned4    ,the same         
extraordinary departure from all        
intelligible meaning of  words is       
apparent1 when our charge of            
vindictiveness against the  doctrine of 
sacrifice is repelled as a slander4 ,if 

the rigorous  refusal of pardon till the
 whole penalty has been inflicted1      
7when1  indeed1 it is no pardon at all17
 be not vindictive1 we may ask to be    
furnished with some better definition4  
,and though it is said1 that  ,god's    
love was manifested to us by the gift of
 his ,son1 this does but  change the    
object on which this quality is         
exercised1 without removing  the quality
 itself2 putting us indeed into the     
sunshine of his  grace1 but the ,saviour
 into the tempest of his wrath4 ,did we 
desire  to sketch the most dreadful form
 of character1 what more emphatic       
combination could we invent than        
this1--rigor in the exaction of penal   
suffering1 and indifference as to the   
person on whom it falls8    ,but in     
truth this system1 in its delineations  
of the ,great ,ruler of  creation1 bids 
defiance to all the analogies by which  
,christ and the  ,christian heart have  
delighted to illustrate his nature4 ,a  
,god who  could accept the spontaneously

 returning sinner1 and restore him by   
corrective discipline1 is pronounced not
 worth serving1 and an object  of       
contempt4#ad ,if so1 ,jesus sketched an 
object of contempt when he  drew the    
father of the prodigal son1 opening his 
arms to the poor  penitent1 and needing 
only the sight of his misery to fall on 
his neck  with the kiss of welcome home4
 ,let the assertions be true1 that      
sacrifice and satisfaction are needful  
preliminaries to pardon1 that  to pay   
any attention to repentance without     
these is mere weakness1 and  that it is 
a perilous deception to teach the       
doctrine of mercy apart  from the       
atonement1 and this parable of our      
,saviour's becomes the most  pernicious 
instrument of delusion1--a statement1   
absolute and  unqualified1 of a feeble  
and sentimental heresy4 ,who does not   
see what  follows from this scornful    
exclusion of corrective punishment8     
,suppose  the infliction not to be      
corrective1 that is1 not to be designed 

for  any good1 what then remains as the 
cause of the ,divine retribution8  ,the 
sense of insult offered to a law4 ,and  
thus we are virtually told1  that ,god  
must be regarded with a mixture of      
contempt1 unless he be  susceptible of  
personal affront4    7#c47 ,the last    
inconsistency with itself1 which ,i     
shall point out in  this doctrine1 will 
be found in the view which it gives of  
the work of  ,christ4 ,sin1 we are      
assured1 is necessarily infinite4 ,its  
infinitude  arises from its reference to
 an ,infinite ,being1 and involves as a 
consequence the necessity of redemption 
by ,deity himself4    ,the position1    
that guilt is to be estimated1 not by   
its amount or its  motive1 but by the   
dignity of the being against whom it is 
directed1  is illustrated by the case of
 an insubordinate soldier1 whose        
punishment is increased according as his
 rebellion assails an equal  or any of  
the many grades amongst his superiors4  
,it is evident1  however1 that it is not

 the dignity of the person1 but the     
magnitude  of the effect1 which         
determines the severity of the sanction 
by which1  in such an instance1 law     
enforces order4 ,insult to a monarch is 
more  sternly treated than injury to a  
subject1 because it incurs the risk  of 
wider and more disastrous consequences1 
and superadds to the  personal injury a 
peril to an official power which1 not   
resting on  individual superiority1 but 
on conventional arrangement1 is always  
precarious4 ,it is not indeed easy to   
form a distinct notion of an  infinite  
act in a finite agent2 and still less is
 it easy to evade the  inference1 that1 
if an immoral deed against ,god be an   
infinite  demerit1 a moral deed towards 
him must be an infinite merit4          
,passing by an assertion so unmeaning1  
and conceding it for the sake of        
progress in our argument1 ,i would      
inquire what is intended by that  other 
statement1 that only ,deity can redeem1 
and that by ,deity the  sacrifice was   

made8 ,the union of the divine and human
 natures in  ,christ is said to have    
made his sufferings meritorious in an   
infinite  degree4 ,yet we are repeatedly
 assured1 that it was in his manhood    
only  that he endured and died4 ,if the 
divine nature in our ,lord had a joint  
consciousness with the human1 then did  
,god suffer and perish2 if not1  then   
did the man only die1 ,deity being no   
more affected by his  anguish1 than by  
that of the malefactors on either side4 
,in the one  case the perfections of    
,god1 in the other the reality of the   
atonement1 must be relinquished4 ,no    
doubt1 the popular belief is1 that  the 
,creator literally expired2 the hymns in
 common use declare it2 the  language of
 pulpits sanctions it2 the consistency  
of creeds requires  it2 but professed   
theologians repudiate the idea with     
indignation4 ,yet  by silence or        
ambiguous speech1 they encourage1 in    
those whom they are  bound to enlighten1
 this degrading humanization of ,deity2 

which  renders it impossible for common 
minds to avoid ascribing to him         
emotions and infirmities totally        
irreconcilable with the serene          
perfections of the ,universal ,mind4 ,in
 his influence on the  worshipper1 ,he  
is no ,spirit1 who can be invoked by his
 agony and  bloody sweat1 his cross and 
passion4 ,and the piety that is thus    
taught  to bring its incense1 however   
sincere1 before the mental image of a   
being with convulsed features and       
expiring cry1 has little left of  that  
which makes ,christian devotion         
characteristically venerable4    ,,ii4  
,i proceed to notice the inconsistency  
of the doctrine under review  with the  
,christian idea of salvation4    ,there 
is one significant ,scriptural fact1    
which suggests to us the  best mode of  
treating this part of our subject4 ,it  
is this3 that the  language supposed to 
teach the atoning efficacy of the cross 
does not  appear in the ,new ,testament 
till the ,gentile controversy commences1

  nor ever occurs apart from the        
treatment of that subject1 under some   
of its relations4 ,the cause of this    
phenomenon will presently appear2       
meanwhile ,i state it1 in the place of  
an assertion sometimes  incorrectly     
made1 viz4 that the phraseology in      
question is confined to  the ,epistles4 
,even this mechanical limitation of     
sacrificial passages  is indeed nearly  
true1 as not above three or four have   
strayed beyond  the epistolary boundary 
into the ,gospels and the book of ,acts2
 but the  restriction in respect of     
subject1 which ,i have stated1 will be  
found1  ,i believe1 to be absolutely    
exact1 and to furnish the real          
interpretation to the whole system of   
language4    7#a47 ,let us then first   
test the vicarious scheme by reference  
to the  sentiments of ,scripture        
generally1 and of our ,lord and his     
,apostles  especially1 where this       
controversy is out of the way4 ,are     
their ideas  respecting human character1

 the forgiveness of sin1 the terms of   
everlasting life1 accordant with the    
cardinal notions of a believer in  the  
atonement8 ,do they1 or do they not1    
insist on the necessity of a  sacrifice 
for human sin1 as a preliminary to      
pardon1 to  sanctification1 to the love 
of ,god8 ,do they1 or do they not1      
direct a  marked and almost exclusive   
attention to the cross1 as the object to
  which1 far more than to the life and  
resurrection of our ,lord1 all  faithful
 eyes should be directed8    7a47 ,now  
to the fundamental assertion of the     
vicarious system1 that  the ,deity      
cannot1 without inconsistency and       
imperfection1 pardon on  simple         
repentance1 the whole tenor of the      
,bible is one protracted and            
unequivocal contradiction4 ,so copious  
is its testimony on this head1  that if 
the passages containing it were removed1
 scarcely a shred of  ,scripture        
relating to the subject would remain4   
,pardon1 ,i beseech  thee1 said ,moses1 

pleading for the ,israelites1 the       
iniquity of this  people1 according to  
the greatness of thy mercy1 and as thou 
hast  forgiven this people from ,egypt  
even until now4 ,and the ,lord said1 ,i 
have pardoned according to thy word4    
,will it be affirmed1 that this  chosen 
people had their eyes perpetually fixed 
in faith on the great  propitiation1    
which was to close their dispensation1  
and of which  their own ceremonial was a
 type8--that whenever penitence and     
pardon  are named amongst them1 this    
reference is implied1 and that as this  
faith was called to mind and expressed  
in the shedding of blood at the  altar1 
such sacrificial offerings take the     
place1 in ,judaism1 of the  atoning     
trust in ,christianity8 ,well1 then1 let
 us quit the chosen  nation altogether1 
and go to a heathen people1 who were    
aliens to  their laws1 their blood1     
their hopes1 and their religion2 to whom
 no  sacrifice was appointed1 and no    
,messiah promised4 ,if we can discover  

the dealings of ,god with such a people1
 the case1 ,i presume1 must be  deemed  
conclusive4 ,hear1 then1 what happened  
on the banks of the  ,tigris4 ,jonah    
began to enter into the city1           
7,nineveh17 and he cried  and said1 yet 
forty days and ,nineveh shall be        
overthrown4 ,so the  people of ,nineveh 
believed ,god1 and proclaimed a fast1   
and put on  sackcloth1 from the greatest
 of them even unto the least of them4   
,who can tell1 7said the decree of the  
king ordaining the fast17 if  ,god will 
turn and repent1 and turn away from his 
fierce anger1 that we  perish not8 ,and 
,god saw their works1 that they turned  
from their evil  way2 and ,god repented 
of the evil that he had said he would do
 unto  them2 and he did it not4 ,and    
when the prophet was offended1 first at 
this clemency to ,nineveh1 and          
afterwards that the canker was sent to  
destroy his own favorite plant1 beneath 
whose shadow he sat1 what did  ,jehovah 
say8 ,thou hast had pity on the gourd1  

for which thou hast not  labored1       
neither madest it grow2 which came up in
 a night and perished  in a night2 and  
should not ,i spare ,nineveh1 that great
 city1 wherein  are more than sixscore  
thousand persons that cannot discern    
between  their right hand and their left
 hand8--and who are not likely1 one     
would think1 to have discerned the      
future merits of the ,redeemer4    ,in  
truth1 if even the ,israelites had any  
such prospective views to  ,calvary1 if 
their sacrifices conveyed the idea of   
the cross erected  there1 and were      
established for this purpose1 the fact  
must have been  privately revealed to   
modern theologians2 for not a trace of  
it can be  found in the ,hebrew         
writings4 ,it must be thought strange1  
that a  prophetic reference so habitual 
should be always a secret reference2    
that a faith so fundamental should be so
 mysteriously suppressed2 that  the     
uppermost idea of a nation's mind should
 never have found its way to  lips or   

pen4 ,but if it were not so1 we are     
reminded1 if the ,jewish  ritual        
prefigured nothing ulterior1 it was     
revolting1 trifling1 savage2  its       
worship a butchery1 and the temple      
courts no better than a                 
slaughter-house4 ,and were they not     
equally so1 though the theory of  types 
be true8 ,if neither priest nor people  
could see at the time the  very thing   
which the ceremonial was constructed to 
reveal1 what  advantage is it that      
divines can see it now8 ,and even if the
 notion  was conveyed to the ,jewish    
mind1 7which the whole history shows not
 to  have been the fact17 was it        
necessary that hecatombs should be      
slain1  age after age1 to intimate      
obscurely an idea1 which one brief      
sentence  might have lucidly expressed8 
,the idea1 however1 it is evident1      
slipped  through after all2 for when    
,messiah actually came1 the one great   
thing  which the ,jews did not know and 
believe about him was1 that he could    

die at all4 ,so much for the preparatory
 discipline of fifteen centuries6       
,there is no reason1 then1 why anything 
should be supplied in our  thoughts1 to 
alter the plain meaning of the          
announcements of prophets  and holy men1
 of ,god's unconditional forgiveness on 
repentance4 ,thou  desirest not         
sacrifice1 else would ,i give it2 thou  
delightest not in  burnt-offering2 the  
sacrifices of ,god are a broken spirit2 
a broken  and a contrite heart1 ,o ,god1
 thou wilt not despise4 ,wash you1 make 
you clean1 says the prophet ,isaiah in  
the name of the ,lord2 put away  the    
evil of your doings from before mine    
eyes1 cease to do evil1 learn  to do    
well2 seek judgment1 relieve the        
oppressed1 judge the  fatherless1 plead 
for the widow4 ,come now1 and let us    
reason together1  saith the ,lord2      
though your sins be as scarlet1 they    
shall be white as  snow2 though they be 
red like crimson1 they shall be as wool4
 ,once  more1 ,when ,i say unto the     

wicked1 thou shalt surely die2 if he    
turn  from his sin1 and do that which is
 lawful and right2 if the wicked        
restore the pledge1 give again that he  
hath robbed1 walk in the  statutes of   
life without committing iniquity2 he    
shall surely live1 he  shall not die4   
,nor are the teachings of the ,gospel at
 all less  explicit4 ,our ,lord treats  
largely and expressly on the doctrine of
  forgiveness in several parables1 and  
especially that of the prodigal  son2   
and omits all allusion to the           
propitiation for the past4 ,he          
furnishes an express definition of the  
terms of eternal life3 ,good  master1   
what good thing shall ,i do1 that ,i may
 have eternal life8 ,and  he said unto  
him1 ,why callest thou me good8 there is
 none good save  one1 that is ,god2 but 
if thou wilt enter into life1 keep the  
commandments4 ,and ,jesus adds1 ,if thou
 wilt be perfect1 go and sell  that thou
 hast1 and give to the poor1 and thou   
shalt have treasure in  heaven2 and     

come1 follow me4 ,this silence on the   
prime condition of  pardon cannot be    
explained by the fact1 that the         
crucifixion had not  yet taken place1   
and could not safely be alluded to1     
before the course  of events had brought
 it into prominent notice4 ,for we have 
the  preaching of the ,apostles1 after  
the ascension1 recorded at great        
length1 and under very various          
circumstances1 in the book of ,acts4 ,we
  have the very words whereby1 according
 to the testimony of an angel1          
,cornelius and all his house shall be   
saved2 these1 one would think1  would be
 worth hearing in this cause3 ,god      
anointed ,jesus of ,nazareth  with the  
,holy ,ghost1 and with power2 who went  
about doing good1 and  healing all that 
were oppressed of the ,devil1 for ,god  
was with him4  ,and we are witnesses of 
all things which he did1 both in the    
land of  the ,jews and in ,jerusalem2   
whom they slew and hanged on a tree4    
,him  ,god raised up the third day1 and 

showed openly2 not to all the people1   
but unto witnesses chosen before of     
,god1 even to us1 who did eat and  drink
 with him after he rose from the dead4  
,and he commanded us to  preach unto the
 people1 and to testify that it is he   
who was ordained  of ,god to be the     
judge of quick and dead4 ,to him give   
all the prophets  witness1 that through 
his name whosoever believeth in him     
shall  receive remission of sins4 ,did  
an ,evangelical missionary dare to      
preach in this style now1 he would be   
immediately disowned by his  employers1 
and dismissed as a disguised ,socinian1 
who kept back all  the peculiar         
doctrines of the ,gospel4    7b47 ,the  
emphatic mention of the resurrection by 
the ,apostle ,peter in  this address1 is
 only a particular instance of a system 
which pervades  the whole preaching of  
the first missionaries of ,christ4      
,this1 and  not the cross1 with its     
supposed effects1 is the grand object to
 which  they call the attention and the 

faith of their hearers4 ,i cannot quote 
to you the whole book of ,acts2 but     
every reader knows1 that ,jesus and  the
 resurrection constitutes the leading   
theme1 the central  combination of ideas
 in all its discourses4 ,this truth was 
shed1 from  ,peter's tongue of fire1 on 
the multitudes that heard amazed the    
inspiration of the day of ,pentecost4   
,again1 it was his text1 when1  passing 
beneath the beautiful gate1 he made the 
cripple leap for joy2  and then1 with   
the flush of this deed still fresh upon 
him1 leaned  against a pillar in        
,solomon's porch1 and spake in          
explanation to the  awe-struck people1  
thronging in at the hour of prayer4     
,before priests  and rulers1 before     
,sanhedrim and populace1 the same tale  
is told  again1 to the utter exclusion1 
be it observed1 of the essential        
doctrine of the cross4 ,the authorities 
of the temple1 we are told1  were galled
 and terrified at the ,apostle's        
preaching2 naturally  enough1 it will be

 said1 since1 the real sacrifice having 
been  offered1 their vocation1 which was
 to make the prefatory and typical      
oblation1 was threatened with           
destruction4 ,but no1 this is not the   
reason given3 ,they were grieved because
 they preached1 through ,jesus1  the    
resurrection from the dead4 ,paul1 too1 
while his preaching was  spontaneous and
 free1 and until he had to argue certain
 controversies  which have long ago     
become obsolete1 manifested a no less   
remarkable  predilection for this topic4
 ,before ,felix1 he declares what was   
the  grand indictment of his countrymen 
against him3 ,touching the  resurrection
 of the dead1 ,i am called in question  
of you this day4  ,follow him far away  
from his own land2 and1 with foreigners1
 he harps  upon the same subject1 as if 
he were a man of one idea2 which1       
indeed1  according to our opponents'    
scheme1 he ought to have been1 only it  
should have been another idea4 ,seldom1 
however1 can we meet with a  more       

exuberant mind than ,paul's2 yet the    
resurrection obviously haunts  him      
wherever he goes3 in the synagogue of   
,antioch you hear him  dwelling on it   
with all the energy of his inspiration2 
and1 at ,athens1  it was this on which  
the scepticism of ,epicureans and       
,stoics fastened  for a scoff4 ,in his  
,epistles1 too1 where he enlarges so    
much on  justification by faith1 when we
 inquire what precisely is this faith1  
and what the object it is to contemplate
 and embrace1 this remarkable  fact     
presents itself3 that the one only      
important thing respecting  ,christ1    
which is never once mentioned as the    
object of justifying  faith1 is his     
death1 and blood1 and cross4 ,faith by  
itself1  the faith of ,jesus ,christ1   
faith of the ,gospel1 faith of the ,son 
of ,god1 are expressions of constant    
occurrence2 and wherever this  general  
description is replaced by a more       
specific account of this  justifying    
state of mind1 it is faith in the       

resurrection on which  attention is     
fastened4 ,it is ,christ that died1 yea1
 rather1 that is  risen again4 ,he was  
delivered for our offences1 and raised  
again  for our justification4 ,faith    
shall be imputed to us for              
righteousness1 if we believe on him that
 raised up ,jesus our ,lord  from the   
dead4 ,hear1 too1 the ,apostle's        
definition of saving faith3  ,if thou   
shalt confess with thy mouth the ,lord  
,jesus1 and shalt  believe in thy heart 
that ,god hath raised him from the dead1
 thou  shalt be saved4 ,the only        
instance in which the writings of ,st4  
,paul  appear to associate the word     
faith with the death of ,christ1 is the 
following text3 ,whom ,god hath set     
forth to be a propitiation through      
faith in his blood2 and in this case the
 ,apostle's meaning would1 ,i  conceive1
 be more faithfully given by destroying 
this conjunction1 and  disposing the    
words thus3 ,whom ,god hath set forth to
 be a  propitiation by his blood1       

through faith4 ,the idea of his blood1  
or  death1 belongs to the word          
propitiation1 not to the word faith4 ,to
  this translation no ,trinitarian      
scholar1 ,i am persuaded1 can           
object2#ae and when the true meaning of 
the writer's sacrificial  language is   
explained1 the distinction will appear  
to be not  unimportant4 ,at present ,i  
am concerned only with the defence of my
  position1 that the death of ,christ is
 never mentioned as the object of       
saving faith2 but that his resurrection 
unquestionably is4 ,this  phenomenon in 
,scripture phraseology is so            
extraordinary1 so utterly  repugnant to 
everything which a hearer of orthodox   
preaching would  expect1 that ,i hardly 
expect my affirmation of it to be       
believed4 ,the  two ideas of faith1 and 
of our ,lord's death1 are so naturally  
and  perpetually united in the mind of  
every believer in the atonement1  that  
it must appear to him incredible that   
they should never fall  together in the 

writings of the ,apostles4 ,however1 ,i 
have stated my  fact2 and it is for you 
to bring it to the test of ,scripture4  
7c47 ,independently of all written      
testimony1 moral reasons1 we are        
assured1 exist1 which render an absolute
 remission for the past  essential to a 
regenerated life for the future4 ,our   
human nature is said  to be so          
constituted1 that the burden of sin1 on 
the conscience once  awakened1 is       
intolerable2 our spirit cries aloud for 
mercy2 yet is so  straitened by the     
bands of sin1 so conscious of the sad   
alliance  lingering still1 so full of   
hesitancy and shame when seeking the    
relief  of prayer1 so blinded by its    
tears when scanning the heavens for an  
opening of light and hope1 that there is
 no freedom1 no unrestrained and  happy 
love to ,god2 but a pinched and anxious 
mind1 bereft of power1  striving to work
 with bandaged or paralytic will1       
instead of trusting  itself to loosened 
and self-oblivious affections4 ,hence it

 is thought1  that the sin of the past  
must be cancelled1 before the holiness  
of the  future can be commenced2 that it
 is a false order to represent          
repentance as leading to pardon1 because
 to be forgiven is the  prerequisite to 
love4 ,we cannot forget1 however1 how   
distinctly and  emphatically he who1    
after ,god1 best knew what is in man1   
has  contradicted this sentiment2 for   
when that sinful woman1 whose presence  
in the house shocked the sanctimonious  
,pharisee1 stood at his feet as he      
reclined1 washing them with her tears1  
and kissing them with reverential  lips1
 ,jesus turned to her and said1 ,her    
sins1 which are many1 are  forgiven2 for
 she loved much4 ,from him1 then1 we    
learn1 what our own  hearts would almost
 teach1 that love may be the prelude to 
forgiveness1  as well as forgiveness the
 preparative for love4    ,at the same  
time let me acknowledge1 that this      
statement respecting  the moral effects 
of conscious pardon1 to which ,i have   

invoked ,jesus  to reply1 is by no means
 an unmixed error4 ,it touches upon a   
very  profound and important truth2 and 
,i can never bring myself to regard     
that assurance of ,divine forgiveness1  
which the doctrine of atonement         
imparts1 as a demoralizing state of     
mind1 encouraging laxity of  conscience 
and a continuance in sin4 ,the sense of 
pardon1 doubtless1  reaches the secret  
springs of gratitude1 presents the soul 
with an  object1 strange before1 of new 
and divine affection1 and binds the     
child of redemption1 by all generous and
 filial obligations1 to serve  with free
 and willing heart the ,god who hath    
gone forth to meet him4  ,that the      
motives of self-interest are diminished 
in such a case1 is a  trifle that need  
occasion small anxiety4 ,for the human  
heart is no  laborer for hire2 and1     
where there is opportunity afforded for 
true  and noble love1 will thrust away  
the proffered wages1 and toil rather  in
 a free and thankful spirit4 ,if we are 

to compare1 as a source of  duty1 the   
grateful with the merely prudential     
temper1 rather may we  trust the first1 
as not the worthier only1 but the       
stronger too2 and  till we obtain       
emancipation from the latter1--forget   
the computations  of hope and fear1 and 
precipitate ourselves for better or for 
worse on  some object of divine love and
 trust1--our nature will be puny and    
weak1 our wills will turn in sickness   
from their duty1 and our  affections    
shrink in aversion from their heaven4   
,but though personal  gratitude is      
better than prudence1 there is a higher 
service still4 ,a  more disinterested   
love may spring from the contemplation  
of what ,god  is in himself1 than from  
the recollection of what he has done for
 us2  and when this mingles most largely
 as an element among our springs of     
action2 when1 humbled indeed by a       
knowledge of dangers that await us1  and
 thankful1 too1 for the blessings spread
 around us1 we yet desire  chiefly to be

 fitting children of the everlasting    
,father and the holy  ,god2 when we     
venerate him for the graciousness1 and  
purity1 and  majesty of his spirit1     
impersonated in ,jesus1 and resolve to  
serve him  truly1 before he has granted 
the desire of our heart1 and because he 
is of a nature so sublime and merciful  
and good2--then are we in the  condition
 of her who bent over the feet of       
,christ2 and we are  forgiven1 because  
we have loved much4    7#b47 ,let us    
now1 in conclusion1 turn our attention  
to those portions  of the ,new          
,testament which speak of the death of  
,christ as the means  of redemption4    
,i have said1 that these are to be found
 exclusively in passages of the  sacred 
writings which treat of the ,gentile    
controversy1 or of topics  immediately  
connected with it4 ,this controversy    
arose naturally out of  the design of   
,providence to make the narrow1         
exclusive1 ceremonial  system of        
,judaism give birth to the universal and

 spiritual religion of  the ,gospel2    
from ,god's method of expanding the     
,hebrew ,messiah into the  ,saviour of  
humanity4 ,for this the nation was not  
prepared2 to this even  the ,hebrew     
,christians could not easily conform    
their faith2 and in the  achievement of 
this1 or in persuading the world that it
 was achieved1  did ,paul spend his     
noble life1 and write his astonishing   
,epistles4 ,the  ,jews knew that the    
,deliverer was to be of their peculiar  
stock1 and  their royal lineage2 they   
believed that he would gather upon      
himself all  the singularities of their 
race1 and be a ,hebrew to intensity2    
that he  would literally restore the    
kingdom to ,israel2 ay1 and extend it   
too1  immeasurably beyond the bounds of 
its former greatness2 till1 in fact1  it
 swallowed up all existing              
principalities1 and powers1 and thrones1
  and dominions1 and became coextensive 
with the earth4 ,then in ,jerusalem1  as
 the centre of the vanquished nations1  

before the temple1 as the altar  of a   
humbled world1 did they expect the      
,messiah to erect his throne2 and  when 
he had taken the seat of judgment1 to   
summon all the tribes before  his       
tribunal1 and pass on the ,gentiles1    
excepting the few who might  submit to  
the law1 a sentence of perpetual        
exclusion from his realm2  while his own
 people would be invited to the seats of
 honor1 occupy the  place of authority1 
and sit down with him 7the greatest at  
his right  hand and his left7 at his    
table in his kingdom4 ,the holy men of  
old were  to come on earth again to see 
this day4 ,and many thought that every  
part  of the realm thus constituted1 and
 all its inhabitants1 would never die3  
but1 like the ,messiah himself1 and the 
patriarchs whom he was to call to  life1
 would be invested with immortality4    
,none were to be admitted to  these     
golden days except themselves2 all else 
to be left in outer  darkness from this 
region of light1 and there to perish and

 be seen no  more4 ,the grand title to  
admission was conformity with the       
,mosaic law2  the most ritually         
scrupulous were the most secure2 and the
 careless  ,israelite1 who forgot or    
omitted an offering1 a tithe1 a ,sabbath
 duty1  might incur the penalty of      
exclusion and death3 the law prescribed 
such  mortal punishment for the smallest
 offence2 and no one1 therefore1 could  
feel himself ready with his claim1 if he
 had not yielded a perfect  obedience4  
,if ,god were to admit him on any other 
plea1 it would be of  pure grace and    
goodness1 and not in fulfilment of any  
promise4    ,the ,jews1 being scattered 
over the civilized world1 and having    
synagogues in every city1 came into     
perpetual contact with other  people4   
,nor was it possible that the ,gentiles1
 among whom they lived1  should notice  
the singular purity and simplicity of   
the ,israelitish  ,theism1 without some 
of them being struck with its spirit1   
attracted  by its sublime principles1   

and disposed to place themselves in     
religious relations with that singular  
people4 ,having been led into           
admiration1 and even profession1 of the 
nation's theology1 they could  not but  
desire to share their hopes2 which      
indeed were an integral  part of their  
religion1 and1 at the ,christian era1   
the one element in  it to which they    
were most passionately attached4 ,but   
this was a  stretch of charity too great
 for any ,hebrew2 or1 at all events1 if 
such admission were ever to be thought  
of1 it must be only on  condition of    
absolute submission to the requirements 
of the law4 ,the  ,gentile would        
naturally plead1 that1 as ,god had not  
made him of the  chosen nation1 he had  
given him no law1 except that of        
conscience2  that1 being without the    
law1 he must be a law unto himself2 and 
that1  if he had lived according to his 
light1 he could not be justly  excluded 
on the ground of accidental             
disqualification4 ,possibly1 in  the    

provocation of dispute1 the ,gentile    
might sometimes become froward  and     
insolent in his assertion of claim2 and1
 in the pride of his  heart1 demand as a
 right that which1 at most1 could only  
be humbly  hoped for as a privilege and 
a free gift4    ,thus were the parties  
mutually placed to whom the ,deliverer  
came4 ,thus  dense and complicated was  
the web of prejudice which clung round  
the  early steps of the ,gospel2 and    
which must be burst or disentangled ere 
the glad tidings could have free course 
and be glorified4 ,how did  ,providence 
develop from such elements the divine   
and everlasting  truth8 ,not by         
neglecting them1 and speaking to mankind
 as if they had  no such ideas2 not by  
forbidding his messengers and teachers  
to have  any patience with them2 but1 on
 the contrary1 by using these very      
notions as temporary means to his       
everlasting ends2 by touching this  and 
that with light before the eyes of      
,apostles1 as if to say1 there  are good

 capabilities in these2 the truth may be
 educed from them so  gently and so     
wisely1 that the world will find itself 
in light1  without perceiving how it has
 been quitting the darkness4    ,so long
 as ,christ remained on earth1 he       
necessarily confined his  ministry to   
his nation4 ,he would not have been the 
,messiah had he done  otherwise4 ,by    
birth1 by lineage1 by locality1 by      
habit1 he was  altogether theirs4       
,whoever1 then1 of his own people1      
during his mortal  life1 believed in him
 and followed him1 became a subject of  
the  ,messiah2 ready1 it was supposed1  
even by the ,apostles themselves1 to    
enter the glory of his kingdom1 whenever
 it should please him to  assume it2    
qualified at once1 by the combination of
 pedigree and of  belief1 to enter into 
life1 to become a member of the kingdom 
of ,god1  to take a place among the     
elect2 for by all these phrases was     
described the admission to the expected 
realm4 ,if1 then1 ,jesus had  never     

suffered and died1 if he had never      
retired from this world1 but  stayed to 
fulfil the anticipations of his first   
followers1 his  ,messianic kingdom might
 have included all the converts of the  
,israelitish stock4 ,from the exclusion 
which fell on others1 they would  have  
obtained salvation4 ,hence1 it is never 
in connection with the  first ,jewish   
,christians that the death of ,christ is
 mentioned4    ,it was otherwise1       
however1 with the ,gentiles4 ,they could
 not become his  followers in his mortal
 lifetime2 and had a ,messianic reign   
then been  set up1 they must have been  
excluded2 no missionary would have been 
justified in addressing them with       
invitation2 they could not1 as it was   
said1 have entered into life4 ,the      
,messiah must cease to be ,jewish1      
before he could become universal2 and   
this implied his death1 by which  alone 
the personal relations1 which made him  
the property of a nation1  could be     
annihilated4 ,to this he submitted2 he  

disrobed himself of his  corporeality1  
he became an immortal spirit2 thereby   
instantly burst his  religion open to   
the dimensions of the world2 and1 as he 
ascended to the  skies1 sent it forth to
 scatter the seeds of blessing over the 
field of  the world1 long ploughed with 
cares1 and moist with griefs1 and       
softened  now to nourish in its bosom   
the tree of ,life4    ,now1 how would   
the effect of this great revolution be  
described to the  proselyte ,gentiles1  
so long vainly praying for admission to 
the  ,israelitish hope4 ,at once it     
destroyed their exclusion2 put away as  
valueless the ,jewish claims of         
circumcision and law2 nailed the        
handwriting of ordinances to the cross2 
reconciled them that had been  afar off2
 redeemed them to ,god by his blood1 out
 of every tongue1 and  kindred1 and     
people1 and nation2 washed them in his  
blood2 justified  them by his           
resurrection and ascension2 an          
expression1 ,i would  remark1 unmeaning 

on any other explanation4    ,even      
during our ,lord's personal ministry his
 approaching death is  mentioned as the 
means of introducing the ,gentiles into 
his ,messianic  kingdom4 ,he adverts    
repeatedly to his cross1 as designed to 
widen1 by  their admission1 the extent  
of his sway2 and1 according to          
,scripture  phrase1 to yield to him much
 fruit4 ,he was already on his last     
fatal  visit to ,jerusalem1 when1 taking
 the hint from the visit of some        
,greeks to him1 he exclaimed3 ,the hour 
is come1 that the ,son of man  should be
 glorified4 ,verily1 verily1 ,i say unto
 you1 except a grain of  wheat fall into
 the ground and die1 it abideth alone3  
but if it die1  it bringeth forth much  
fruit4 ,he adds1 in allusion to the     
death he  should die3 ,and ,i1 if ,i be 
lifted up from the earth1 will draw all 
men unto me4 ,it is for this end that he
 resigns for a while his  life1--that he
 may bring in the wanderers who are not 
of the  commonwealth of ,israel3 ,other 

sheep ,i have1 which are not of this    
fold3 them also ,i must bring1 and they 
shall hear my voice2 and there  shall be
 one fold and one shepherd3 therefore   
doth my ,father love me1  because ,i lay
 down my life1 that ,i may take it      
again4 ,many a parable  did ,jesus      
utter1 proclaiming his ,father's        
intended mercy to the  uncovenanted     
nations3 but for himself personally he  
declared1 ,i am  not sent1 but to the   
lost sheep of the house of ,israel4 ,his
 advent  was a promise of their economy2
 his office1 the traditionary hope of   
their fathers2 his birth1 his life1 his 
person1 were under the ,law1  and       
excluded him from relations to those who
 were beyond its  obligations4 ,on the  
cross1 all the connate peculiarities of 
the  ,nazarene ceased to exist3 when the
 seal of the sepulchre gave way1 the    
seal of the law was broken too2 the     
nationality of his person passed  away2 
for how can an immortal be a ,jew8      
,this1 then1 was the time to  open wide 

the scope of his mission1 and to invite 
to ,god's acceptance  those that fear   
him in every nation4 ,though1 before1   
the disciple  might have known ,christ  
after the flesh1 and followed his steps 
as  the ,hebrew ,messiah1 yet now       
henceforth was he to know him so no     
more2 these old things had passed away1 
since he had died for  all1--died to    
become universal1--to drop all exclusive
 relations1 and  reconcile the world1   
the ,gentile world1 to ,god4 ,observe to
 whom this  ministry of reconciliation  
is especially confided4 ,as if to show  
that it is exclusively the risen ,christ
 who belongs to all men1 and  that his  
death was the instrument of the         
,gentiles' admission1 their  great      
,apostle was one ,paul1 who had not     
known the ,saviour in his  mortal life2 
who never listened to his voice till it 
spake from  heaven2 who himself was the 
convert of his ascension2 and bore to   
him  the relation1 not of subject to the
 person of a ,hebrew king1 but of       

spirit to spirit1 unembarrassed by      
anything earthly1 legal1 or  historical4
 ,well did ,paul understand the freedom 
and the sanctity of  this relation2 and 
around the idea of the ,heavenly        
,messiah gathered  all his conceptions  
of the spirituality of the ,gospel1 of  
its power  over the unconscious         
affections1 rather than a reluctant     
will4 ,his  believing countrymen were   
afraid to disregard the observances of  
the  law1 lest it should be a disloyalty
 to ,god1 and disqualify them for  the  
,messiah's welcome1 when he came to take
 his power and reign4 ,paul  tells them1
 that1 while their ,lord remained in    
this mortal state1 they  were right2 as 
representative of the law1 and filling  
an office  created by the religion of   
,judaism1 he could not but have held    
them  then to its obligations2 nor could
 they1 without infidelity1 have         
neglected its claims1 any more than a   
wife can innocently separate  herself   
from a living husband4 ,but as the death

 of the man sets the  woman free1 and   
makes null the law of their union1 so   
the decease of  ,christ's body          
emancipates his followers from all legal
 relations to  him2 and they are at     
liberty to wed themselves anew to the   
risen  ,christ1 who dwells where no     
ordinance is needful1 no tie permitted  
but  of the spirit1 and all are as the  
angels of ,god4 ,surely1 then1 this     
mode of conception explains why the     
death of ,jesus constitutes a great     
date in the ,christian economy1         
especially as expounded by the friend   
and ,apostle of those who were not ,jews
 by nature1 but sinners of the          
,gentiles4 ,had he never died1 they must
 have remained aliens from his  sway2   
the enemies against whom his power must 
be directed2 without  hope in the day of
 his might2 strangers to ,god and his   
vicegerent4    ,but1 while thus they    
were yet without strength1 ,christ died 
for these  ungodly2 died to put himself 
into connection with them1 else         

impossible2 and1 rising from death1 drew
 them after him into spiritual          
existence on earth1 analogous to that   
which he passed in heaven4 ,you1  says  
their ,apostle1 being dead in your sins 
and the uncircumcision of  your flesh1  
hath he quickened together with him2    
giving you1 as risen  with him1 a life  
above the world and its law of          
exclusion1--a life not  subject to      
ordinances1 but of secret love and      
heavenly faith1 hid  with ,christ in    
,god2 blotting out the handwriting of   
ordinances that  was against us1 which  
was contrary to us1 and taking it out of
 the way1  nailing it to his cross4 ,god
 had never intended to perpetuate the   
division between ,israel and the world1 
receiving the one as the sons1  and     
shutting out the other as the slaves of 
his household4 ,if there had  been an   
appearance of such partiality1 he had   
always designed to set  these bondmen   
free1 and to make them heirs of ,god    
through ,christ2 in  whom they had      

redemption through his blood from their 
servile state1  the forgiveness of      
disqualifying sins1 according to the    
riches of his  grace4 ,though the       
,hebrews boasted that theirs was the    
adoption1 and  till ,messiah's death had
 boasted truly2 yet in that event ,god1 
before  the foundation of the world1 had
 blessed us 7,gentiles7 with all        
spiritual blessings in heavenly places2 
having predestinated us unto  the       
adoption of children1 by ,jesus ,christ1
 according 7not indeed to any  right or 
promise1 but7 to the good pleasure of   
his will1 and when we  were enemies1    
having reconciled us1 by the death of   
his ,son2 that in  the fulness of times 
he might gather together in one all     
things in  ,christ2 by whom we          
7,gentiles7 have now received this      
atonement  7reconciliation72 that he    
might have no partial empire1 but that  
in him  might all fulness dwell4        
,wherefore1 says their ,apostle1        
remember  that ye1 ,gentiles in the     

flesh1 were in time past without        
,messiah1  being aliens from the        
commonwealth of ,israel1 and strangers  
from the  covenant of promise1 having no
 hope1 and without ,god in the world2   
but  now in ,christ ,jesus1 ye1 who     
sometime were afar off1 are made nigh by
  the blood of ,christ4 ,for he is our  
peace1 who hath made both one1 and  hath
 broken down the middle wall of         
partition between us 7not between  ,god 
and man1 but between ,jew and ,gentile72
 having abolished in his  flesh the     
enmity1 even the law of commandments1   
contained in ordinances2  for to make in
 himself1 of twain1 one new man1 so     
making peace2 and  that he might        
reconcile both unto ,god1 in one body1  
by the cross1 having  slain the enmity  
thereby2 and came and preached peace to 
you who were  afar off1 as well as to   
them that were nigh4 ,for through him we
 both  have an access by one spirit unto
 the ,father4    ,the way1 then1 is     
clear and intelligible1 in which the    

death and  ascension of the ,messiah    
rendered him universal1 by giving       
spirituality  to his rule2 and1 on the  
simple condition of faith1 added the    
uncovenanted nations to his dominion1 so
 far as they were willing to  receive   
him4 ,this idea1 and this only1 will be 
found in almost every  passage of the   
,new ,testament 7excepting the ,epistle 
to the ,hebrews7  usually adduced to    
prove the doctrine of the ,atonement4   
,some of the  strongest of these ,i have
 already quoted2 and my readers must    
judge  whether they have received a     
satisfactory meaning4 ,there are others1
 in  which the ,gentiles are not so     
distinctly stated to be the sole objects
  of the redemption of the cross2 but   
with scarcely an exception1 so far  as  
,i can discover1 this limitation is     
implied1 and either creeps out  through 
some adjacent expression in the context1
 or betrays itself1 when  we recur to   
the general course of the ,apostle's    
argument1 or to the  character and      

circumstances of his correspondents4    
,thus ,paul says1 that  ,christ gave    
himself a ransom for all1 to be         
testified in due time2 the  next verse  
shows what is in his mind1 when he adds1
 whereunto ,i am  ordained a preacher1  
and an ,apostle1 a teacher of ,,the     
,,gentiles in faith  and verity2 and the
 whole sentiment of the context is the  
,universality  of the ,gospel1 and the  
duty of praying for ,gentile kings and  
people1 as  not abandoned to a foreign  
,god and another ,mediator2 for since   
,messiah's  death1 to us all there is   
but ,one ,god1 and ,one ,mediator       
between ,god  and men1 the man ,christ  
,jesus3 wherefore the ,apostle wills1   
that for  all men pray everywhere1      
lifting up holy hands1 without wrath and
  doubting1--without wrath at their     
admission1 or doubt of their  adoption4 
,and wherever emphasis is laid on the   
vast number benefited  by the cross1 a  
contrast is implied with the few 7only  
the ,jews7 who  could have been his     

subjects had he not died3 and when it is
 said1 he  gave his life a ransom for   
many2 his blood was shed for many1 for  
the remission of sins2 thou wast slain1 
and hast redeemed us by thy  blood1 out 
of every kindred1 and tongue1 and       
people1 and nation1 and  hast made us   
unto our ,god kings and priests1 and we 
shall reign on the  earth2 behold the   
,lamb of ,god that taketh away the sin  
of the  world2#af--;by all these        
expressions is still denoted the        
efficacy of  ,christ's death in removing
 the ,gentile disqualification1 and     
making his  dispensation spiritual as   
his celestial existence1 and universal  
as the  ,fatherhood of ,god4 ,does ,paul
 exhort certain of his disciples to feed
  the church of the ,lord1 which he hath
 purchased with his own blood8#ag  ,we  
find that he is speaking of the ,gentile
 church of ,ephesus1 whose  elders he is
 instructing in the management of their 
charge1 and to which  he afterwards     
wrote the well-known ,epistle1 on their 

,gentile freedom and  adoption obtained 
by the ,messiah's death4 ,when ,peter   
says1 ,ye know that  ye were not        
redeemed with corruptible things1 as    
silver and gold1 from  your vain        
conversation1 received by tradition from
 your fathers2 but  with the precious   
blood of ,christ1 as of a lamb without  
blemish and  without spot1--we must     
inquire to whom he is addressing these  
words4  ,if it be to the ,jews1 the     
interpretation which ,i have hitherto   
given of  such language will not apply1 
and we must seek an explanation         
altogether  different4 ,but the whole   
manner of this ,epistle1 the complexion 
of its  phraseology throughout1         
convinces me that it was addressed      
especially to  the ,gentile converts of 
,asia ,minor2 and that the redemption of
 which  it speaks is no other than that 
which is the frequent theme of their own
  ,apostle4    ,in the passage just     
quoted1 the form of expression itself   
suggests the  idea1 that ,peter is      

addressing a class which did not include
 himself3  ,,ye were not redeemed1 c42  
farther on1 in the same ,epistle1 the   
same  sentiment occurs1 however1 without
 any such visible restriction4          
,exhorting to patient suffering for     
conscience' sake1 he appeals to the     
example of ,christ2 who1 when he        
suffered1 threatened not1 but  committed
 himself to ,him that judgeth           
righteously2 who1 his own self1  bare   
our sins in his own body on the tree1   
that we1 being dead to  sins1 should    
live unto righteousness3 yet1 with      
instant change in the  expression1      
revealing his correspondents to us1 the 
,apostle adds1 by  whose stripes ,,ye   
were healed4 ,for ye were as sheep going
 astray2 but  are now returned unto the 
,shepherd and ,bishop of your souls4    
,with the  instinct of a gentle and     
generous heart1 the writer1 treating in 
plain  terms of the former sins of those
 whom he addresses1 puts himself in     
with them2 and avoids every appearance  

of that spiritual pride by  which the   
,jew constantly rendered himself        
offensive to the ,gentile4    ,again1 in
 this letter1 he recommends the duty of 
patient endurance1 by  appeal to the    
same consideration of ,christ's         
disinterested  self-sacrifice4 ,it is   
better1 if the will of ,god be so1 that 
ye suffer  for well-doing than for      
evil-doing3 for ,christ also hath once  
suffered  for sins1 the just for the    
unjust1 that he might bring us to ,god4 
,and  who are these unjust that are thus
 brought to ,god8 ,the ,apostle         
instantly explains1 by describing how   
the ,jews by nature lost  possession of 
,messiah by the death of his person1 and
 sinners of the  ,gentiles gained him by
 the resurrection of his immortal       
nature2 being  put to death in flesh1   
but quickened in spirit2 and thereby he 
went and  preached unto the spirits in  
prison1 who formerly were without faith4
  ,this is clearly a description of the 
heathen world1 ere it was brought  into 

relation to the ,messianic promises4    
,still further confirmation1  however1  
follows4 ,the ,apostle adds3 ,forasmuch1
 then1 as ,christ hath  suffered for us 
in the flesh1 arm yourselves likewise   
with the same  mind2 for the time past  
of our life may suffice us to have      
wrought the  will of the ,gentiles2 when
 we walked in lasciviousness1 lusts1    
excess of wine1 revellings1 banquetings1
 and abominable idolatries4  ,if we     
cannot admit this to be a just          
description of the holy ,apostle's      
former life1 we must perceive that1     
writing to ,pagans of whom it was  all  
true1 he beautifully withholds from his 
language every trace of  invidious      
distinction1 puts himself for the moment
 into the same class1  and seems to take
 his share of the distressing           
recollection4    ,the habitual delicacy 
with which ,paul1 likewise1 classed     
himself with  every order of persons in 
turn1 to whom he had anything painful to
  say1 is known to every intelligent    

reader of his ,epistles4 ,hence1 in  his
 writings too1 we have often to consider
 with whom it is that  he is holding his
 dialogue1 and to make our              
interpretation dependent  on the answer4
 ,when1 for example1 he says1 that      
,jesus was delivered  for our offences1 
and was raised again for our            
justification2 ,i  ask1 ,for whose8--was
 it for everybody's8--or for the ,jews'1
 since  ,paul was a ,hebrew8 ,on looking
 closely into the argument1 ,i find it  
beyond doubt that neither of these      
answers is correct2 and that the        
,apostle1 in conformity with his        
frequent practice1 is certainly         
identifying himself1 ,israelite though  
he was1 with the ,gentiles1 to  whom1 at
 that moment1 his reasoning applies     
itself4 ,the neighboring  verses have   
expressions which clearly enough declare
 this3 when we  were yet without        
strength1 and while we were yet sinners1
  ,christ died for us4 ,it is to the    
,gentile church at ,corinth1 and  while 

expatiating on their privileges and     
relations as such1 that ,paul  speaks of
 the disqualifications and legal        
unholiness of the heathen1  as vanishing
 in the death of the ,messiah2 as the   
recovered leper's  uncleanness was      
removed1 and his banishment reversed1   
and his  exclusion from the temple      
ended1 when the lamb without blemish1   
which  the law prescribed as his        
sin-offering1 bled beneath the knife1 so
 did  ,god provide in ,jesus a lamb     
without blemish for the exiled and      
unsanctified ,gentiles1 to bring them   
from their far dwelling in the  leprous 
haunts of this world's wilderness1 and  
admit them to the  sanctuary of         
spiritual health and worship3 ,he hath  
made him to be a  sin-offering for us   
7,gentiles71 who knew no sin2 that we   
might be made  the justified of ,god in 
him2 entering1 under the ,messiah1 the  
community of saints4 ,that1 in this     
sacrificial allusion1 the ,gentile      
adoption is still the ,apostle's only   

theme1 is evident hence3 that  twice in 
this very passage he declares that he is
 speaking of that  peculiar             
reconciliation1 the word and ministry of
 which have been  committed to himself2 
he is dwelling on the topic most natural
 to one  who magnified his office1 as   
,apostle of the ,gentiles4    ,to the   
same parties was ,paul writing1 when he 
said1 ,christ1 our  passover1 is        
sacrificed for us4 ,frequently as this  
sentence is cited  in evidence of the   
doctrine of ,atonement1 there is hardly 
a verse in  ,scripture more utterly     
inapplicable2 nor1 if the doctrine were 
true1  could anything be more inept than
 an allusion to it in this place4 ,i  do
 not dwell on the fact that the paschal 
lamb was neither  sin-offering nor      
proper sacrifice at all3 for the        
elucidation of the  death of ,jesus by  
sacrificial analogies is as easy and    
welcome as any  other mode of           
representing it4 ,but ,i turn to the    
whole context1 and  seek for its leading

 idea1 before multiplying inferences    
from a  subordinate illustration4 ,i    
find the author treating1 not of the    
deliverance of believers from curse or  
exclusion1 but of their duty  to keep   
the churches cleansed1 by the expulsion 
of notoriously  profligate members4     
,such persons they are to cast from     
them1 as the  ,jews1 at the passover1   
swept from their houses all the leaven  
they  contained2 and as for eight days1 
at that season1 only pure unleavened    
bread was allowed for use1 so the       
,church must keep the ,gospel festival  
free from the ferment of malice and     
wickedness1 and tasting nothing  but    
sincerity and truth4 ,this comparison is
 the primary sentiment of  the whole    
passage2 under cover of which the       
,apostle is urging the  ,corinthians to 
expel a certain licentious offender3 and
 only because  the feast of unleavened  
bread1 on which his fancy has alighted1 
set in  with the day of passover1 does  
he allude to this in completion of the  

figure4 ,as his correspondents were     
,gentiles1 their ,christianity          
commenced with the death of ,christ2    
with him1 as an immortal1 their         
spiritual relations commenced2 when he  
rose1 they rose with him1 as by  a      
divine attraction1 from an earthly to a 
heavenly state2 their old  and corrupt  
man had been buried together with him1  
and1 with the human  infirmities of his 
person1 left behind for ever in his     
sepulchre2 and  it became them to seek  
those things which are above1 and to    
yield  themselves to ,god1 as those that
 are alive from the dead4 ,this period  
of the ,lord's sequestration in the     
heavens ,paul represents as a  festival 
of purity to the disciples on earth1    
ushered in by the  self-sacrifice of    
,christ4 ,the time is come1 he says2    
cast away the  leaven1 for the passover 
is slain1 blessed bread of heaven to    
them  that taste it6 let nothing now be 
seen in all the household of the        
,church1 but the unleavened cake of     

simplicity and love4    ,paul again     
appears as the advocate of the          
,gentiles1 when he protests  that now   
between them and the ,jews there is no  
difference1 since all  have sinned and  
come short of the glory of ,god2 that   
the ,hebrew has  lost all claim to the  
,messianic adoption1 and can have no    
hope but in  that free grace of ,god1   
which has a sovereign right to embrace  
the  heathen too2 and which1 in fact1   
has compassed the ,gentiles within its  
redemption1 by causing ,jesus the       
,messiah to die2 by whose blood ,god    
hath set forth a propitiation1 through  
faith2 to evince his justice1  while    
overlooking1 with the forbearance of    
,god1 transgressions  past2--to evince  
his justice in the arrangements of the  
present  crisis2 which preserve his     
justice 7to the ,israelite71 yet justify
 on  mere discipleship to ,jesus4 ,the  
great question which the ,apostle       
discusses throughout this ,epistle is   
this3 ,on what terms is a man now       

admitted as a subject to the ,messiah1  
so as to be acknowledged by him1  when  
he comes to erect his kingdom8 ,he must 
be one of the  circumcised1 to whom     
alone the holy law and promises are     
given1 says  the ,jew4 ,that is well1   
replies ,paul2 only the promises1 you   
remember1 are conditional on obedience2 
and he who claims by the law  must stand
 the judgment of the law4 ,can your     
nation abide this test1  and will you   
stake your hopes upon the issue8 ,or is 
there on record  against you a violation
 of every condition of your boasted     
covenant1--wholesale and national       
transgression1 which your favorite  code
 itself menaces with 'cutting off'8     
,have you even rejected and  crucified  
the very ,messiah1 who was tendered to  
you in due fulfilment  of the promises8 
,take your trial by the principles of   
your law1 and  you must be cast off1 and
 perish1 as certainly as the heathen    
whom you  despise2 and whose rebellion  
against the natural law1 gross as it is1

  does not surpass your own offences    
against the tables of ,moses4 ,you  must
 abandon the claim of right1 the high   
talk of ,god's justice and  plighted    
faith2--which are alike ill suited to   
you both4 ,the rules of  law are out of 
the question1 and would admit nobody2   
and we must  ascend again to the        
sovereign will and free mercy of ,him   
who is the  source of law2 and who1 to  
bestow a blessing which its resources   
cannot confer1 may devise new methods of
 beneficence4 ,god has violated  no     
pledge4 ,messiah came to ,israel1 and   
never went beyond its bounds2  the      
uncircumcised had no part in him2 and   
every ,hebrew who desired it  was       
received as his subject4 ,but when the  
people would not have him1  and threw   
away their ancient title1 was ,god      
either to abandon his  vicegerent1 or to
 force him on the unwilling8 ,no3 rather
 did it befit  him to say3 ',if they    
will reject and crucify my              
servant1--why1 let him  die1 and then he

 is ,israelite no more2 ,i will raise   
him1 and take him  apart in his         
immortality2 where his blood of ,david  
is lost2 and the  holiness of his       
humanity is glorified2 and all shall be 
his1 who will  believe1 and love him1 as
 he there exists1 spiritually and       
truly4'  ,thus1 according to ,paul1 does
 ,god provide a new method of adoption  
or  justification1 without violating any
 promises of the old4 ,thus he  makes   
,faith in ,jesus--a moral act1 instead  
of a genealogical  accident--the single 
condition of reception into the ,divine 
kingdom  upon earth4 ,thus1 after the   
passage of ,christ from this world to   
another1 ,jew and ,gentile are on an    
equality in relation to the  ,messiah2  
the one gaining nothing by his past     
privileges2 the other1  not visited with
 exclusion for past idolatry and sins1  
but assured1 in  ,messiah's death1 that 
these are to be overlooked1 and treated 
as if  cleansed away4 ,he finds himself 
invited into the very penetralia of     

that sanctuary of pure faith and hope1  
from which before he had been  repelled 
as an unclean thing2 as if its ark of   
mercy had been purified  for ever from  
his unworthy touch1 or he himself had   
been sprinkled by  some sudden          
consecration4 ,and all this was the     
inevitable and instant  effect of that  
death on ,calvary1 which took ,messiah  
from the ,jews and  gave him to the     
world4    ,with emphasis1 not less      
earnest than that of ,paul1 does the    
,apostle ,john  repudiate the notion of 
any claim on the ,divine admission by   
law or  righteousness2 and insist on    
humble and unqualified acceptance of    
,god's  free grace and remission for the
 past1 as the sole avenue of entrance to
  the kingdom4 ,this avenue was open1   
however1 to all who confessed that      
,jesus the ,messiah had come in the     
flesh2 in other words1 that1 during  his
 mortal life1 ,jesus had been indicated 
as this future ,prince2 and  that his   
ministry was the ,messiah's preliminary 

visit to that earth on  which shortly he
 would reappear to reign4 ,the great    
object of that visit  was to prepare the
 world for his real coming2 for as yet  
it was very  unfit for so great a       
crisis2 and especially to open1 by his  
death1 a way  of admission for the      
,gentiles1 and frame1 on their behalf1  
an act of  oblivion for the past4 ,if1  
says the ,apostle to them1 we walk in   
the  light1 as he is in the light 7of   
love and heaven71 we have  fellowship   
one with another1 and the blood of      
,jesus ,christ his ,son  cleanseth us   
from all sin3 the ,israelite will       
embrace the ,gentiles in  fraternal     
relations1 knowing that the cross has   
removed their past  unholiness4 ,nor let
 the ,hebrew rely on anything now but   
the ,divine  forbearance2 to appeal to  
rights will serve no longer3 ,if we say 
we  have no sin1 we deceive ourselves1  
and the truth is not in us4 ,nor let    
any one despair of a reception1 or even 
a restoration1 because he has  been an  

idolater and sinner3 ,jesus ,christ the 
righteous is an  advocate with the      
,father for admitting all who are       
willing to be his2  and he is the       
propitiation for our sins2 and not for  
ours only 7not  merely for our small    
portion of ,gentiles1 already           
converted72 but also  for the whole     
world1 if they will but accept him4 ,he 
died to become  universal2 to make all  
his own2 to spread an oblivion1 wide as 
the  earth1 over all that had           
embarrassed the relations to the        
,messiah1 and  made men aliens1 instead 
of ,sons of ,god4 ,yet did no           
spontaneous movement  of their good     
affections solicit this change4 ,it was 
not that we  7,gentiles7 loved ,god2 but
 that he loved us1 and sent his ,son1   
the  propitiation for our sins2 he sent 
his only-begotten ,son into the  world1 
that we might live through him4 ,that   
this ,epistle was addressed  to         
,gentiles1 and is therefore occupied    
with the same leading idea  respecting  

the cross which pervades the writings of
 ,paul1 is rendered  probable by its    
concluding words1 which could hardly be 
appropriate to  ,jews3 ,keep yourselves 
from idols4 ,how little the ,apostle    
associated  any vicarious idea even with
 a form of phrase most constantly       
employed  by modern theology to express 
it1 is evident from the parallel which  
he  draws1 in the following words1      
between the death of our ,lord and that 
of  the ,christian martyrs3 ,hereby     
perceive we love1 because ,christ laid  
down his life for us2 and we ought to   
lay down our lives for the  brethren4   
,are1 then1 the ,gentiles alone         
beneficially affected by the death of   
,christ8 and is no wider efficacy ever  
assigned to it in ,scripture8 ,the      
great number of passages to which ,i    
have already applied this single        
interpretation will show that ,i        
consider it as comprising the great     
leading idea of the ,apostolic theology 
on this subject2 nor do ,i think  that  

there is 7out of the ,epistle to the    
,hebrews1 which ,i shall soon  notice7 a
 single doctrinal allusion to the cross1
 from which this  conception is wholly  
absent4 ,at the same time1 ,i am not    
prepared to  maintain1 that this is the 
only view of the crucifixion and        
resurrection ever present to the mind of
 the ,apostles4 ,jews themselves1  they 
naturally inquired1 how ,israel1 in     
particular1 stood affected by  the      
unanticipated death of its ,messiah2 in 
what way its relations were  changed1   
when the offered ,prince became the     
executed victim2 and how far  matters   
would have been different1 if1 as had   
been expected1 the  ,anointed had       
assumed his rights and taken his power  
at once2 and1  instead of making his    
first advent a mere preliminary and     
warning visit  in the flesh1 had set up 
the kingdom forthwith1 and gathered with
 him  his few followers to reign on the 
earth4 ,had this--instead of  submission
 to death1 removal1 and delay--been his 

adopted course1 what  would have become 
of his own nation1 who had rejected     
him1--who must  have been tried by that 
law which was their boast1 and under    
which he  came1--who had long been      
notorious offenders against its         
conditions1 and  now brought down its   
final curse by despising the claims of  
the  accredited ,messiah8 ,they must    
have been utterly cut off1 and cast out 
among the aliens from the commonwealth  
of ,israel1 without ,messiah1  without  
hope1 without ,god2 for while           
circumcision profiteth1 if  thou keep   
the law2 yet if thou be a breaker of the
 law1 thy  circumcision is made         
uncircumcision4 ,had he come then to be 
glorified in his saints1 and to be      
admired in all them that  believe1--had 
he then been revealed with his mighty   
angels 7whom he  might have summoned by 
legions71--it must have been in flaming 
fire1  taking vengeance on them that    
knew not ,god1 nor obeyed the glad      
tidings  of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ2 to

 punish with everlasting destruction    
from  the presence of the ,lord and the 
glory of his power4 ,the sins and       
prospects of ,israel being thus         
terrible1 and its rejection imminent    
7for  ,messiah was already in the midst 
of them71 he withheld his hand2 refused 
to precipitate their just fate2 and     
said1 ,let us give them time1 and  wait2
 ,i will go apart into the heavens1 and 
peradventure they will  repent2 only    
they must receive me then spiritually1  
and by hearty faith1  not by carnal     
right1 admitting thus the willing       
,gentile with  themselves4 ,and so he   
prepared to die and retire2 he did not  
permit  them to be cut off1 but was cut 
off himself instead2 he restrained the  
curse of their own law from falling on  
them1 and rather perished himself  by a 
foul and accursed lot1 which that same  
law pronounces to be the  vilest and    
most polluted of deaths4 ,thus says ,st4
 ,paul to the ,jews3 ,he  hath redeemed 
us from the curse of the law1 being made

 a curse for us2  for it is written1    
',cursed is every one that hangeth on a 
tree4'#ah ,in  this way1 but for the    
death of the ,messiah1 ,israel too must 
have been  lost2 and by that event they 
received time for repentance1 and a way 
for  remission of sins2 found a means of
 reconciliation still2 saw their        
providence1 which had been lowering for 
judgment1 opening over them in          
propitiation once more2 the just had    
died for the unjust1 to bring them  to  
,god4 ,what was this delay1--this       
suspension of judgment1--this           
opportunity of return and faith1--but an
 instance of the long-suffering  of     
,god1 with which he endures the vessels 
of wrath 7,jews7 fitted to  destruction1
 and makes known the riches of his glory
 on the vessels of  mercy1 which he had 
afore prepared unto glory8 ,if ,christ  
had not  withdrawn awhile1 if his power 
had been taken up at once1 and wielded  
in  stern and legal justice1 a deluge of
 judgment must have overwhelmed the     

earth1 and swept away both ,jew and     
,gentile1 leaving but a remnant safe4   
,but in mercy was the mortal life of    
,jesus turned into a preluding  message 
of notice and warning1 like the tidings 
which ,noah received of  the flood2 and 
as the growing frame of the ark gave    
signal to the world  of the coming      
calamity1 afforded an interval for      
repentance1 and made  the patriarch1 as 
he built1 a constant preacher of        
righteousness2 so  the increasing body  
of the ,church1 since the warning       
retreat of ,christ  to heaven1 proclaims
 the approaching day of the ,lord1      
admonishes that  all should come to     
repentance1 and fly betimes to that     
faith and  baptism which ,messiah's     
death and resurrection have left as an  
ark of  safety4 ,once1 in the days of   
,noah1 the long-suffering of ,god waited
  while the ark was preparing1 wherein  
few1 that is1 eight souls1 were  saved  
by water3 a representation1 this1 of the
 way in which baptism  7not1 of course1 

carnal washing1 but the engagement of a 
good conscience  with ,god7 saves us    
now1 by the resurrection of ,jesus      
,christ2 who is  gone into heaven1 and  
is on the right hand of ,god2 angels1   
and  authorities1 and powers1 being made
 subject to him4 ,yet the time is       
short1 and must be redeemed2 it is the  
last hour2 the ,lord1 the  coming of the
 ,lord1 the end of all things1 are at   
hand4    ,i have described one aspect1  
which the death of the ,messiah         
presented to the ,jews2 and1 in this1 we
 have found another primary  conception1
 explanatory of the ,scriptural language
 respecting the  cross4 ,of the two     
relations in which this event appeared  
7the ,gentile  and the ,israelitish71 ,i
 believe the former to be by far the    
most  familiar to the ,new ,testament   
authors1 and to furnish the true        
interpretation of almost all their      
phraseology on the subject4 ,but1 as  my
 readers may have noticed1 many passages
 receive illustration by  reference to  

either notion2 and some may have a      
meaning compounded of  both4 ,i must not
 pause to make any minute adjustment of 
these claims1  on the part of the two   
interpreting ideas3 it is enough that1  
either  separately or in union1 they    
have now been taken round the whole     
circle of apostolic language respecting 
the cross1 and detected in  every       
difficult passage the presence of sense 
and truth1 and the  absence of all hint 
of vicarious atonement4    ,it was on   
the unbelieving portion of the ,jewish  
people that the  death of their ,messiah
 conferred the national blessings and   
opportunities to which ,i have adverted4
 ,but to the converts who had  been     
received by him during his mortal life1 
and who would have been  heirs of his   
glory1 had he assumed it at once1 it was
 less easy to  point out any personal   
benefits from the cross4 ,that the      
,christ had  retired from this world was
 but a disappointing postponement of    
their  hopes2 that he had perished as a 

felon was shocking to their pride1  and 
turned their ancient boast into a       
present scorn2 that he had  become      
spiritual and immortal made him no      
longer theirs as concerning  the flesh1 
and1 by admitting ,gentiles with        
themselves1 set aside  their favorite   
law4 ,so offensive to them was this     
unexpected slight on  the institutions  
of ,moses1 immemorially reverenced as   
the ordinances  of ,god1 that it became 
important to give some turn to the death
 of  ,jesus1 by which that event might  
be harmonized with the national  system1
 and be shown to effect the abrogation  
of the law1 on  principles strictly     
legal4 ,this was the object of the      
writer of the  ,epistle to the ,hebrews2
 who thus gives us a third idea of the  
relations of the cross1--bearing1       
indeed1 an essential resemblance to     
,st4 ,paul's ,gentile view1 but         
illustrated in a manner altogether      
different4 ,no trace is to be observed  
here of ,paul's noble glorying in  the  

cross3 so studiously is every allusion  
to the crucifixion avoided1  till all   
the argumentative part of the ,epistle  
has been completed1  that a reader finds
 the conclusion already in sight1       
without having  gained any notion of the
 mode of the ,lord's death1 whether even
 it  was natural or violent1--a literal 
human sacrifice1 or a voluntary         
self-immolation4 ,its ignominy and its  
agonies are wholly unmentioned2  and his
 mortal infirmities and sufferings are  
explained1 not as the  spontaneous      
adoptions of previous compassion in him1
 but as ,god's  fitting discipline for  
rendering him a merciful and faithful   
high-priest4 ,they are referred to in   
the tone of apology1 not of  pride2 as  
needing rather to be reconciled with his
 office1 than to be  boldly expounded as
 its grand essential4 ,the object of the
 author  clearly is1 to find a place for
 the death of ,jesus among the          
,messianic  functions2 and he persuades 
the ,hebrew ,christians that it is 7not 

a  satisfaction for moral guilt1 but7 a 
commutation for the ,mosaic ,law4  ,in  
order to understand his argument1 we    
must advert for a moment to  the        
prejudices which it was designed to     
conciliate and correct4    ,it is not   
easy for us to realize the feelings with
 which the ,israelite1  in the yet palmy
 days of the ,levitical worship1 would  
hear of an  abrogation of the ,law2--the
 anger and contempt with which the mere 
bigot  would repudiate the              
suggestion2--the terror with which the  
new convert  would make trial of his    
freedom2--the blank and infidel feeling 
with  which he would look round1 and    
find himself drifted away from his      
anchorage of ceremony2--the sinking     
heart with which he would hear the      
reproaches of his countrymen against his
 apostasy4 ,every authoritative  ritual 
draws towards itself an attachment too  
strong for reason and the  sense of     
right2 and transfers the feeling of     
obligation from realities  to symbols4  

,among the ,hebrews this effect was the 
more marked and the  more pernicious1   
because their ceremonies were in many   
instances only  remotely connected with 
any important truth or excellent end2   
they were  separated by several removes 
from any spiritual utility4 ,rites were 
enacted to sustain other rites2         
institution lay beneath institution1    
through so many successive steps1 that  
the crowning principle at the  summit   
easily passed out of sight4 ,to keep    
alive the grand truth of the  ,divine   
,unity1 there was a gorgeous temple     
worship2 to perform this  worship there 
was a priesthood2 to support the        
priesthood there were  7among other     
sources of income7 dues paid in the form
 of sacrifice2 to  provide against the  
non-payment of dues there were          
penalties2 to prevent  an injurious     
pressure of these penalties1 there were 
exemptions1 as in  cases of sickness2   
and to put a check on trivial claims of 
exemption1 it  must be purchased by     

submission to a fee1 under name of an   
atonement4  ,wherever such a system is  
received as divine1 and based on the    
same  authority with the great law of   
duty1 it will always1 by its            
definiteness and precision1 attract     
attention from graver moral             
obligations4 ,its materiality renders it
 calculable3 its account with the       
conscience can be exactly ascertained3  
as it has little obvious utility  to    
men1 it appears the more directly paid  
to ,god3 it is regarded as the  special 
means of pleasing him1 of placating his 
anger1 and purchasing  his promises4    
,hence it may often happen1 that the    
more the offences  against the spirit of
 duty1 the more are rites multiplied in 
propitiation2 and the harvest of        
ceremonies and that of crimes ripen     
together4    ,at a state not far from   
this had the ,jews arrived when         
,christianity was  preached4 ,their     
moral sentiments were so far perverted1 
that they valued  nothing in themselves1

 in comparison with their legal         
exactitude1 and  hated all beyond       
themselves for their want of this4 ,they
 were eagerly  expecting the            
,deliverer's kingdom1 nursing up their  
ambition for his  triumphs2 curling the 
lip1 as the lash of oppression fell upon
 them1 in  suppressed anticipation of   
vengeance2 satiating a temper1 at once  
fierce  and servile1 with dreams of     
,messiah's coming judgment1 when the    
blood of  the patriarchs should be the  
title of the world's nobles1 and the    
everlasting reign should begin in       
,jerusalem4 ,why was the hour delayed8  
they impatiently asked themselves4 ,was 
it that they had offended  ,jehovah1 and
 secretly sinned against some           
requirement of his law8 ,and  then they 
set themselves to a renewed precision1 a
 more slavish  punctiliousness than     
before4 ,ascribing their continued      
depression to  their imperfect legal    
obedience1 they strained their          
ceremonialism  tighter than ever2 and   

hoped to be soon justified from their   
past sins1  and ready for the mighty    
prince and the latter days4    ,what1   
then1 must have been the feeling of the 
,hebrew1 when told that  all his        
punctualities had been thrown           
away1--that1 at the advent1  faith in   
,jesus1 not obedience to the law1 was to
 be the title to  admission1--and that  
the redeemed at that day would be1 not  
the  scrupulous ,pharisee1 whose dead   
works would be of no avail1 but all     
who1 with the heart1 have worthily      
confessed the name of the ,lord  ,jesus8
 ,what doctrine could be more unwelcome 
to the haughty ,israelite8  it dashed   
his pride of ancestry to the ground4 ,it
 brought to the same  level with himself
 the polluted ,gentile1--whose presence 
would alone  render all unclean in the  
,messiah's kingdom4 ,it proved his past 
ritual  anxieties to have been all      
wasted4 ,it cast aside for the future   
the  venerated law2 left it in neglect  
to die2 and made all the apparatus  of  

,providence for its maintenance end in  
absolutely nothing4 ,was then  the      
,messiah to supersede1 and not to       
vindicate1 the law8 ,how different  this
 from the picture which prophets had    
drawn of his golden age1 when           
,jerusalem was to be the pride of the   
earth1 and her temple the praise  of    
nations1 sought by the feet of countless
 pilgrims1 and decked with  the splendor
 of their gifts6 ,how could a true      
,hebrew be justified in a  life without 
law8 ,how think himself safe in a       
profession1 which was  without temple1  
without priest1 without altar1 without  
victim8    ,not unnaturally1 then1 did  
the ,hebrews regard with reluctance two 
of the  leading features of             
,christianity2 the death of the         
,messiah1 and the  freedom from the law4
 ,the ,epistle addressed to them was    
designed to  soothe their uneasiness1   
and to show that1 if the ,mosaic        
institutions  were superseded1 it was in
 conformity with principles and         

analogies  contained within themselves4 
,with great address1 the writer links   
the  two difficulties together1 and     
makes the one explain the other4 ,he    
finds  a ready means of effecting this1 
in the sacrificial ideas familiar to    
every ,hebrew2 for by representing the  
death of ,jesus as a commutation  for   
legal observances1 he is only ascribing 
to it an operation  acknowledged to have
 place in the death of every lamb slain 
as a  sin-offering at the altar4 ,these 
offerings were a distinct recognition1  
on the part of the ,levitical code1 of a
 principle of equivalents for  its      
ordinances2 a proof that1 under certain 
conditions1 they might  yield3 nothing  
more1 therefore1 was necessary1 than to 
show that the  death of ,christ         
established those conditions4 ,and such 
a method of  argument was attended by   
this advantage1 that1 while the         
practical end  would be obtained of     
terminating all ceremonial observance1  
the law was  yet treated as in theory   

perpetual2 not as ignominiously         
abrogated1  but as legitimately         
commuted4 ,just as the ,israelite1 in   
paying his  offering at the altar to    
compensate for ritual omissions1        
recognized  thereby the claims of the   
law1 while he obtained impunity for its 
neglect2 so1 if ,providence could be    
shown to have provided a legal          
substitute for the system1 its authority
 was acknowledged at the moment  that   
its abolition was secured4    ,let us   
advert1 then1 to the functions of the   
,mosaic sin-offerings1 to  which the    
writer has recourse to illustrate his   
main position4 ,they  were of the nature
 of a mulct or acknowledgment rendered  
for  unconscious or inevitable disregard
 of ceremonial liabilities1 and         
contraction of ceremonial uncleanness4  
,such uncleanness might be  incurred    
from various causes2 and1 while         
unremoved by the appointed  methods of  
purification1 disqualified from         
attendance at the  sanctuary1 and cut   

off the guilty from among the           
congregation4  ,to touch a dead body1 to
 enter a tent where a corpse lay1       
rendered a  person unclean for seven    
days2 to come in contact with a         
forbidden  animal1 a bone1 a grave1 to  
be next to any one struck with sudden   
death1 to be afflicted with certain     
kinds of bodily disease and  infirmity1 
unwittingly to lay a finger on a person 
unclean1 occasioned  defilement1 and    
necessitated a purification or an       
atonement4  ,independently of these     
offences1 enforced upon the ,israelite  
by the  accidents of life1 it was not   
easy for even the most cautious         
worshipper to keep pace with the        
complicated series of petty debts  which
 the law of ordinances was always       
running up against him4 ,if his         
offering had an invisible blemish2 if he
 omitted a tithe1 because he  wist it   
not2 or inadvertently fell into arrear1 
by a single day1 with  respect to a     
known liability2 if absent from disease1

 he was compelled  to let his ritual    
account accumulate2 though it be hidden 
from him1  he must be guilty1 and bear  
his iniquity1 and bring his victim4 ,on 
the birth of a child1 the mother1 after 
the lapse of a prescribed  period1 made 
her pilgrimage to the temple1 presented 
her sin-offering1  and the priest made  
atonement for her4 ,the poor leper1 long
 banished  from the face of men1 and    
unclean by the nature of his disease1   
became  a debtor to the sanctuary1 and  
on return from his tedious quarantine   
brought his lamb of atonement1 and      
departed thence1 clear from  neglected  
obligations to his law4 ,it was         
impossible1 however1 to  provide by     
specific enactment for every case of    
ritual transgression  and impurity1     
arising from inadvertence or necessity4 
,scarcely could  it be expected that the
 courts of worship themselves would     
escape  defilement1 from imperfections  
in the offerings1 or unconscious        
disqualification in people or in priest4

 ,to clear off the whole  invisible     
residue of such sins1 an annual day of  
atonement was  appointed2 the people    
thronged the avenues and approaches of  
the  tabernacle2 in their presence a kid
 was slain for their own                
transgressions1 and for the high-priest 
the more dignified expiation  of a      
heifer2 charged with the blood of each  
successively1 he sprinkled  not only the
 exterior altar open to the sky1 but1   
passing through the  first and holy     
chamber into the ,holy of ,holies 7never
 entered else71  he touched1 with finger
 dipped in blood1 the sacred lid 7the   
,mercy-seat7 and foreground of the ,ark4
 ,at that moment1 while he yet  lingers 
behind the veil1 the purification is    
complete2 on no  worshipper of ,israel  
does any legal unholiness rest2 and were
 it  possible for the high-priest to    
remain in that interior retreat of      
,jehovah1 still protracting the         
expiatory act1 so long would this       
national purity continue1 and the debt  

of ordinances be effaced as it  arose4  
,but he must return2 the sanctifying    
rite must end2 the people  be dismissed2
 the priests resume the daily           
ministrations2 the law open  its stern  
account afresh2 and in the mixture of   
national exactitude  and neglects1      
defilements multiply again till the     
recurring  anniversary lifts off the    
burden once more4 ,every year1 then1 the
  necessity comes round of making       
atonement for the holy sanctuary1  for  
the tabernacle1 for the altar1 for the  
priests1 and for all  the people of the 
congregation4 ,yet1 though requiring    
periodical  renewal1 the rite1 so far as
 it went1 had an efficacy which no      
,hebrew  could deny2 for ceremonial     
sins1 unconscious or inevitable 7to     
which  all atonement was limited#ai71 it
 was accepted as an indemnity2 and  put 
it beyond doubt that ,mosaic obedience  
was commutable4    ,such was the system 
of ideas1 by availing himself of which  
the author  of the ,epistle to the      

,hebrews would persuade his             
correspondents to  forsake their legal  
observances4 ,you can look without      
uneasiness1 he  suggests1 on your ritual
 omissions1 when the blood of some      
victim  has been presented instead1 and 
the penetralia of your sanctuary have   
been sprinkled with the offering3 well1 
on no other terms would ,i  soothe your 
anxiety2 precisely such equivalent      
sacrifice does  ,christianity exhibit1  
only of so peculiar a nature1 that1 for 
all  ceremonial neglects1 intentional no
 less than inadvertent1 you may  rely   
upon indemnity4 ,the ,jews entertained a
 belief respecting their  temple1 which 
enabled the writer to give a singular   
force and  precision to his analogy4    
,they conceived that the tabernacle of  
their  worship was but the copy of a    
divine structure1 devised by ,god       
himself1 made by no created hand1 and   
preserved eternally in heaven3  this was
 the true tabernacle1 which the ,lord   
pitched1 and not man2  which no mortal  

had beheld1 except ,moses in the mount1 
that he might  make all things according
 to that pattern2 within whose ,holy of 
,holies dwelt no emblem or emanation of 
,god's presence1 but his own  immediate 
,spirit2 and the celestial furniture of 
which required1 in  proportion to its   
dignity1 the purification of a nobler   
sacrifice1 and  the ministrations of a  
diviner priest1 than befitted the       
worldly  sanctuary below4 ,and who then 
can mistake the meaning of ,christ's    
departure from this world1 or doubt what
 office he conducts above8 ,he  is      
called by his ascension to the          
pontificate of heaven2 consecrated1  not
 after the law of any carnal            
commandment1 but after the power of  an 
endless life2 he drew aside the veil of 
his mortality1 and passed  into the     
inmost court of ,god3 and as he must    
needs have somewhat to  offer1 he takes 
the only blood he had ever shed1--which 
was his  own1--and1 like the            
,high-,priest before the ,mercy-seat1   

sanctifies  therewith the people that   
stand without1 redeeming the            
transgressions which the first covenant 
of rites entailed4 ,and he  has not     
returned2 still is he hid within that   
holiest place2 and still  the multitude 
he serves turn thither a silent and     
expectant gaze2 he  prolongs the        
purification still2 and while he appears
 not1 no other  rites can be resumed1   
nor any legal defilement be contracted4 
,thus1  meanwhile1 ordinances cease     
their obligation1 and the sin against   
them  has lost its power4 ,how different
 this from the offerings of  ,jerusalem1
 whose temple was but the symbol and    
shadow of that  sanctuary above4 ,in the
 ,hebrew sacrifices there was a         
remembrance  again made of sins every   
year2 the high-priest annually entered  
the  holy place2 being but a mortal1 he 
could not go in with his own blood  and 
remain1 but must take that of other     
creatures and return2 and  hence it     
became not possible that the blood of   

bulls and of goats  should take away    
sins1 for instantly they began to       
accumulate  again4 ,but to the very     
nature of ,christ's offering a          
perpetuity of  efficacy belongs2 bearing
 no other than his own blood1 he was    
immortal when his ministration began1   
and ever liveth to make his             
intercession2 he could not offer himself
 often1 for then must he  often have    
suffered since the foundation of the    
world1--and it is  appointed unto men   
only once to die2 so that once for all  
he  entered into the holy place1 and    
obtained a redemption that is           
perpetual2 once in the end of the world 
hath he appeared1 and by  sacrificing   
himself hath absolutely put away sin2   
this man1 after  he had offered one     
sacrifice for sins1 for ever sat down on
 the right  hand of ,god1 for by one    
offering he hath perfected for ever them
  that are sanctified4 ,the ceremonial1 
then1 with its periodical               
transgressions and atonements1 is       

suspended2 the services of the outer    
tabernacle cease1 for the holiest of all
 is made manifest2 one who is  priest   
for ever dwells therein2--one           
consecrated for evermore1  holy1        
harmless1 undefiled1 in his celestial   
dwelling quite separate  from sinners2  
who needeth not daily1 as those         
high-priests1 to offer  up sacrifice1   
first for his own sins1 and then for the
 people's2 for  this he did once for all
 when he offered up himself4#bj    ,nor 
is it in its perpetuity alone that the  
efficacy of the ,christian  sacrifice   
transcends the atonements of the law2 it
 removes a higher  order of ritual      
transgressions4 ,it cannot be supposed1 
indeed1 that  ,messiah's life is no     
nobler offering than that of a creature 
from the  herd or flock1 and will confer
 no more immunity4 ,accordingly1 it goes
  beyond those sins of ignorance1 those 
ceremonial inadvertences1  for which    
alone there was remission in ,israel2   
and reaches to  voluntary neglects of   

the sacerdotal ordinances2 insuring     
indemnity  for legal omissions1 when    
incurred not simply by the accidents of 
the  flesh1 but even by intention of the
 conscience4 ,this is no greater  boon  
than the dignity of the sacrifice       
requires2 and does but give to  his     
people below that living relation of    
soul to ,god which he himself  sustains 
above4 ,if the blood of bulls and of    
goats 444 sanctifieth to  the purifying 
of the flesh1 how much more shall the   
blood of ,christ1  who through the      
eternal ,spirit offered himself without 
spot to ,god1  purify 7even7 your       
conscience from dead works 7ritual      
observances7 to  serve the living ,god6 
,let then the ordinances go1 and the    
,lord put  his laws into the mind1 and  
write them in the heart2 and let all    
have boldness to enter into the holiest 
by the blood of ,jesus1 by  this new and
 living way which he hath consecrated   
for us2 provoking  each other to love   
and to good works4    ,see1 then1 in    

brief1 the objection of the ,hebrews to 
the ,gospel2 and the  reply of their    
instructor4 ,they said3 ,what a blank is
 this2 you have no  temple1 no priest1  
no ritual6 ,how is it that1 in his      
ancient covenant1  ,god is so strict    
about ceremonial service1 and permits no
 neglect1  however incidental1 without  
atonement2 yet in this new economy      
throws  the whole system away1 letting  
us run up an everlasting debt to a law  
confessedly unrepealed1 without         
redemption of it or atonement for it8   
,not without redemption and atonement1  
replies their evangelical  teacher2     
temple1 sacrifice1 priest1 remain to us 
also1 only glorified  into proportions  
worthy of a heavenly dispensation2 our  
temple1 in the  skies2 our sacrifice1   
,messiah's mortal person2 our priest1   
his  ever-living spirit4 ,how poor the  
efficacy of your former offerings6  year
 after year1 your ritual debt began     
again3 for the blood dried and  vanished
 from the tabernacle which it purified2 

the priest returned  from the inner     
shrine2 and when there1 he stood1 with  
the interceding  blood1 before the      
emblem1 not the reality1 of ,god4 ,but  
,christ1 not at  the end of a year1 but 
at the end of the great world-era of the
 ,lord1  has come to offer up           
himself1--no lamb so unblemished as he2 
his  voluntary and immortal spirit1 than
 which was nothing ever more  divinely  
consecrate1 becomes officiating priest1 
and strikes his own  person with        
immolating blow2 it falls and bleeds on 
earth1 as on the  outer altar1 standing 
on the threshold of the sanctuary of    
heaven3  thither he ascends with the    
memorials of his death1 vanishes into   
the  ,holy of ,holies of the skies1     
presents himself before the very living 
,god1 and sanctifies the temple there   
and worshippers here2 saying to  us1    
',drop now for ever the legal burdens   
that weigh you down2 doubt  not that you
 are free1 as my glorified spirit here1 
from the  defilements you are wont to   

dread2 ,i stay behind this veil of      
visible  things1 to clear you of all    
such taint1 and put away such sin       
eternally4 ,trust1 then1 in me1 and take
 up the freedom of your souls3  burst   
the dead works1 that cling round your   
conscience like cerements  of the grave2
 and rise to me1 by the living power of 
duty1 and a  loving allegiance to ,god4'
    ,so far1 then1 as the death of      
,christ is treated in ,scripture        
dogmatically1 rather than historically1 
its effects are viewed in  contrast with
 the different order of things which    
must have been  expected1 had he1 as    
,messiah1 not died4 ,and thus regarded1 
it  presented itself to the minds of the
 ,apostles in three relations3--        
,first1 to the ,gentiles1 whom it drew  
in to be subjects of the ,messiah1  by  
breaking down the barriers of his       
,hebrew personality1 and  rendering him 
spiritual as well as immortal4          
,secondly1 to the unbelieving ,jews2    
whom his retirement from this world     

delivered from the judgment due to them1
 on the principles of their own  law1   
both for their general violation of the 
conditions of their  covenant1 and for  
their positive rejection of him4 ,his   
absence reopened  their opportunities2  
and to tender them this act of          
long-suffering1 he  took on himself the 
death which had been incurred by them4  
,thirdly1 to the believing ,jews2 the   
terms of whose discipleship the         
,messiah's death had changed1 destroying
 all the benefits of their  lineage1 and
 substituting an act of the mind1 the   
simpler claim of  faith4 ,it was        
therefore a commutation for the ,ritual 
,law1 and gave  them impunity and       
atonement for all its violations4       
,with the last two of these relations1  
beyond their remarkable  historical     
interest1 we have no personal concern4  
,the first remains1  and ever will      
remain1 worthy of the glorious joy with 
which ,paul  regarded and expounded it4 
,god has committed the rule of this     

world to  no exclusive prince1 and no   
sacerdotal power1 and no earthly        
majesty2  but to one whose spirit1 too  
divine to be limited to place and time1 
broke through clouds of sorrow into the 
clearest heaven2 and thither  has since 
been drawing our human love1 though for 
ages now he has been  unseen and        
immortal4 ,an impartial ,god1 a holy and
 spiritual law1 an  infinite hope for   
all men1 are given to us by that        
generous cross4    ,it is evident that  
all three of the relations which ,i have
 described  belonged to the death of    
,jesus1 in his capacity of ,messiah2 and
 could  have had no existence if he had 
not borne this character1 but had been  
simply a private martyr to his          
convictions4 ,the foregoing exposition  
gives a direct answer to the inquiry1   
pressed without the slightest           
pertinence upon the ,unitarian1 why the 
phraseology of the cross is never  found
 applied to ,paul or ,peter1 or any     
other noble confessor1 who died  in     

attestation of the truth2 why no record 
is given that we are  justified by the  
blood of ,stephen2 or that he bare our  
sins in his own  body1 and made         
reconciliation for us4#bb ,i know not   
why such a  question should be submitted
 to us2 we have assuredly no concern    
with  it2 having never dreamt that the  
,apostles could have written as they did
  respecting the death on ,calvary1 if  
they had thought of it only as a  scene 
of martyrdom4 ,we have passed under     
review the whole language of  the ,new  
,testament on this subject2 and in the  
interpretation of it have  not even once
 had recourse to this1 which is said to 
be our only view  of the cross4 ,we have
 seen the ,apostles justly announcing   
their ,lord's  death as a proper        
propitiation2 because it placed whole   
classes of  men1 without any meritorious
 change in their character1 in saving   
relations3 declaring it a strict        
substitute for others' punishment2 on   
the ground that there were those who    

must have perished1 if he had not2  and 
that he died and retired1 that they     
might remain and live3  describing it as
 a sacrifice which put away sin2 because
 it did that  for ever1 which the       
,levitical atonements achieved for a    
day3 but we have  not found them ever   
appealing to it either as a satisfaction
 to the  justice of ,god1 or an example 
of martyrdom to men4 ,the ,trinitarians 
have  one idea of this event themselves2
 and their fancy provides their         
opponents with one idea of it2 of the   
former not a trace exists1 on any  page 
of ,scripture2 and of the latter the    
,unitarian need not avail  himself at   
all1 in explaining the language whereof 
it is said to be his  solitary key4     
,nowhere1 then1 in ,scripture do we meet
 with anything corresponding  with the  
prevailing notions of vicarious         
redemption2 everywhere1 and  most       
emphatically in the personal            
instructions of our ,lord1 do we find  a
 doctrine of forgiveness1 and an idea of

 salvation1 utterly  inconsistent with  
it4 ,he spake often of the unqualified  
clemency of  ,god to his returning      
children2 never once of the satisfaction
 demanded  by his justice4 ,he spake of 
the joy in heaven over one sinner that  
repenteth2 but was silent on the        
sacrificial faith1 without which        
penitence is said to be unavailing4 ,nor
 did he1 like his modern  disciples1    
teach that there are two separate       
salvations1 which must  follow each     
other in a fixed order3 first1          
redemption from the  penalty1 secondly1 
from the spirit1 of sin2 pardon for the 
past1  before sanctification in the     
present2 a removal of the hinderance in 
,god1 previous to its annihilation in   
ourselves4 ,if indeed there were  in    
,christianity two deliverances1         
discriminated and successive1 it  would 
be more in accordance with its spirit to
 invert this order2--to  recall from    
alienation first1 and announce          
forgiveness afterwards2 to  restore from

 guilt1 before cancelling the penalty2  
and permit the  healing to anticipate   
the pardoning love4 ,at least1 there    
would  seem1 in such arrangement1 to be 
a greater jealousy for the holiness  of 
the divine law1 a severer reservation of
 ,god's complacency for  those who have 
broken from the service of sin1 than in 
the system  which proclaims impunity to 
the rebel will1 ere yet its estrangement
  is renounced4 ,if the outward         
remission precedes the inward           
sanctification1 then does ,god admit to 
favor the yet unsanctified2  guilt keeps
 us in no exile from him3 and though the
 ,holy ,spirit is to  follow afterwards1
 it becomes the peculiar office of the  
cross to lift  us as we are1 with every 
stain upon the soul and every vile habit
  unretraced1 from the brink of         
perdition to the assurance of glory3 the
  divine lot is given to us1 before the 
divine love is awakened in us2  and the 
heirs of heaven have yet to become the  
children of holiness4  ,with what       

consistency can the advocates of such an
 economy accuse its  opponents of       
dealing lightly with sin1 of deluding   
men into a false  trust1 and            
administering seductive flatteries to   
human nature8#bc  ,what6 shall we1 who  
plant in every soul of sin a hell1      
whence no  foreign force1 no external   
,god1 can pluck us1 any more than they  
can  tear us from our identity1--we1 who
 hide the fires of torment in no        
viewless gulf1 but make them ubiquitous 
as guilt1--we1 who suffer no  outward   
agent from ,eden1 or the ,abyss1 or     
,calvary1 to encroach upon  the solitude
 of man's responsibility1 and confuse   
the simplicity of  conscience1--we1 who 
teach that ,god will not1 and even      
cannot1 spare  the froward1 till they be
 froward no more1 but must permit the   
burning  lash to fall1 till they cry    
aloud for mercy1 and throw themselves   
freely into his embrace2--shall we be   
rebuked for a lax administration  of    
peace1 by those who think that a moment 

may turn the alien into the  elect8 ,it 
is no flattery of our nature1 to        
reverence deeply its moral  capacities3 
we only discern in them the more solemn 
trust1 and see in  their abuse the      
fouler shame4 ,and it is not of what men
 are1 but of  what they might be1 that  
we encourage noble and cheerful         
thoughts4  ,doubtless1 we think         
exaggeration possible 7which our        
opponents  apparently do not7 even in   
the portraiture of their actual         
character3  and perhaps we are not the  
less likely to awaken true convictions  
of  sin1 that we strive to speak of it  
with the voice of discriminative        
justice1 instead of the monotonous      
thunders of vengeance2 and to draw  its 
image in the natural tints provided by  
the conscience1 rather than  in the     
preternatural flame-color mingled in the
 crucibles of hell4    ,in making penal 
redemption and moral redemption separate
 and  successive1 the vicarious scheme1 
we submit1 is inconsistent with the     

,christian idea of salvation4 ,not that 
we take the second1 and reject  the     
first1 as our ,trinitarian friends      
imagine2 nor that we invert  their      
order4 ,we accept them both2 putting    
them1 however1 not in  succession1 but  
in super-position1 so that they         
coalesce4 ,the power  and the punishment
 of sin perish together2 and together   
begin the  holiness and the bliss of    
heaven4 ,whatever extracts the poison   
cools  the sting3 nor can the divine    
vigor of spiritual health enter1 without
  its freedom and its joy4 ,that there  
can be any separate dealings with  our  
past guilt and with our present         
character1 is not a truth of ,god1  but 
a fiction of the schools4 ,the          
sanctification of the one is the        
redemption of the other4 ,the mind given
 up to passion1 or chained to  self1 or 
anyhow alienated from the love and life 
divine1 dwells1  whatever be its faith1 
in the dark and terrible abyss2 while   
he1 and  he only1 that1 in the freedom  

and tranquillity of great affections1   
communes with ,god and toils for men1   
understands the meaning1 and wins  the  
promises1 of heaven4 ,am ,i asked3      
,what1 then1 is to persuade the  sinful 
heart thus to draw near to ,god2--what1 
but a proclamation of  absolute pardon1 
can break down the secret distrust1     
which keeps our  nature back1 wrapped in
 the reserve of conscious guilt8 ,i     
reply2  however much these fears and    
hesitations might cling round us1 and   
restrain us from the mystic ,deity of   
,nature1 they can have no place in  our 
intercourse with the ,father whom ,jesus
 represents4 ,it needs only  that       
,christ be truly his image1 to know that
 the hinderance is not  with him1 but   
entirely in ourselves2#bd to see that   
there is no  anger in his look2 to feel 
that he invites us to unreserved        
confession1 and accepts our             
self-abandonment to him1--that he lifts 
the repentant1 prostrate at his feet1   
and speaks the words of severe1  but    

truest hope4 ,am ,i told1 that only the 
gratitude excited by  personal rescue   
from tremendous danger1 by an           
unconditional and entire  deliverance1  
is capable of winning our reluctant     
nature1 of opening  the soul to the     
access of the ,divine ,spirit1 and      
bringing it to the  service of the      
,everlasting ,will8 ,i rejoice to       
acknowledge1 that  some such            
disinterested power must be awakened1   
some mighty forces  of the heart be     
called out1 ere the regeneration can    
take place that  renders us children of 
the ,highest2 ere we can break1 with    
true new  birth1 from the shell of self1
 and try and train our wings in the     
atmosphere of ,god4 ,the permanent work 
of duty must be wrought by the          
affections2 not by the constraint1      
however solemn1 of hope and fear2  no   
self-perfectionating process1 elaborated
 by an anxious will1 has  warmth enough 
to ripen the soul's diviner fruits2 the 
walks of outward  morality1 and the     

slopes of deliberate meditation1 it may 
keep smooth  and trim2 but cannot make  
the true life-blossoms set1 as in a     
garden  of the ,lord1 and the foliage   
wave as with the voice of ,god among the
  trees4 ,i gladly admit that1 to a     
believer in the vicarious sacrifice1    
the sense of pardon1 the love of the    
,great ,deliverer1 may well fulfil  this
 blessed office1 of carrying him out of 
himself in genuine  allegiance to a     
being most benign and holy4 ,and        
perceiving that1 if  this doctrine were 
removed1 there is not1 in the system of 
which it  forms a part1 and which else  
would be all terror1 anything that could
  perform the same generous part1 ,i can
 understand why it seems to its         
advocates an essential power in the     
renovation of the character4 ,but  great
 as it may be1 within the limits of its 
own narrow scheme1 ideas  possessed of  
higher moral efficacy are not wanting1  
when we pass into  a region of nobler   
and more ,christian thought4 ,shall we  

say that the  view of the ,infinite     
,ruler1 given in the spoken wisdom or   
the living  spirit of ,christ1 has no   
sanctifying power8 ,yet where is there  
any  trace in it of the                 
satisfactionist's redemption8 ,when we  
sit at  ,messiah's feet1 that           
transforming gratitude for an           
extinguished  penalty1 on which the     
prevailing theology insists1 as its     
central  emotion1 becomes replaced by a 
similar and profounder sentiment        
towards the ,eternal ,father4 ,if to    
rescue men from a dreadful fate in  the 
future be a just title to our reverence1
 never to have designed  that fate      
claims an affection yet more devoted2 if
 there be a divine  mercy in            
annihilating an awful curse1 in shedding
 only blessing there  is surely a       
diviner still4 ,shall the love restored 
to us after long  delay1 and in         
consideration of an equivalent1 work    
mightily on the  heart1--and shall that 
which asked no purchase1 which has been 

veiled  by no cloud1 which has enfolded 
us always in its tranquillity1 nor can  
ever quit the soul opened to receive it1
 fail to penetrate the  conscience1 and 
dissolve the frosts of our self-love by 
some holier  flame8 ,never shall it be  
found true1 that ,god must threaten us  
with  vengeance1 ere we can feel the    
shelter of his grace6    ,in truth1 the 
,christian idea of salvation cannot be  
better  illustrated1 than by the doubt  
which has been entertained respecting   
the proper translation of my text4      
,some1 referring it to spiritual        
redemption1 adhere to the common        
version2 others1 seeing that the        
,apostle ,peter is explaining by what   
power or by what name he had  cured the 
lame man at the temple gate1 refer the  
words to this miracle  of deliverance1  
and render them thus3 ,neither is there 
healing in  any other2 for there is none
 other name under heaven given among    
men1  whereby we can be healed4 ,it     
matters little which it is2 for  whether

 we speak of body or of mind1 ,jesus    
saves us by making us  whole2 by putting
 forth upon us a divine and healing     
power1 by which  past suffering and     
present decrepitude disappear together2 
which  supplies the defective elements  
of our nature1 cools the burning of     
inward fever1 or calls into being new   
senses and perceptions1 opening  a      
diviner universe to our experience4 ,the
 deformed and crooked will1  bowed by   
,satan1 lo6 these many years1 and nowise
 able to lift up  itself1 he loosens and
 makes straight in uprightness4 ,the    
moral  paralytic1 collapsed and         
prostrate amid the stir of life1 and    
incapably gazing on the moving waters in
 which others find their  health1 has   
often started up at the summons of that 
voice1 though  perchance he wist not who
 it was2 and1 going his way1 has found  
it  to be the sabbath1 and owned the    
work of one who is in the spirit  of the
 ,father4 ,from the eye long dark and   
blind to duty and to ,god1  he has      

caused the film to pass away2 and shown 
the solemn look of life  beneath a      
heaven so tranquil and sublime4 ,even   
the dead of soul1 close  wrapped in     
bandages of selfishness1--that greediest
 of graves1--have  been quickened by his
 piercing call1 and have come forth1 to 
learn1  when risen1 that only in the    
meekness that can obey is there the     
power to command1 only in the love that 
serves is there the life of  heart-felt 
liberty4 ,to call1 then1 on the name and
 trust in the spirit  of ,christ1 is to 
invoke the restoring power of ,god2 to  
give symmetry  and speed to our lame    
affections1 and the vigor of an athlete 
to our  limping wills4 ,there is not any
 ,christian salvation that is not thus  
identical with ,christian perfection3   
nor any other name under  heaven given  
among men1 whereby we may be 7thus7 made
 whole4 ,let  all that would be perfect 
be thus minded2 seek the measure of the 
stature of the fulness of ,christ2 and  
they shall find in him a power  to      

become the sons of ,god4    ,,footnotes3
    #ac ,see ,rev4 ,,ii4 ,m',neile's    
,lecture1 ,the ,proper ,deity of our    
,lord the  only ,ground of ,consistency 
in the ,work of ,redemption1 pp4 #cci1  
#cdj4    #ad ,either he 7the ,deity of  
the ,unitarians7 must show no mercy1  in
 order to continue true2 or he must show
 no truth1 in order to  exercise mercy4 
,if he overlook man's guilt1 admit him  
to the  enjoyment of his favor1 and     
proceed by corrective discipline to     
restore his character1 he unsettles the 
foundations of all equitable            
government1 obliterates the everlasting 
distinctions between right and  wrong1  
spreads consternation in heaven1 and    
proclaims impunity in  hell4 ,such a    
,god would not be worth serving4 ,such  
tenderness1  instead of inspiring filial
 affection1 would lead only to reckless 
contempt4--,mr4 ,m',neile's ,lecture1 p4
 #cac4    ,surely this is a description1
 not of the ,unitarian1 but of the      
,lecturer's own creed4 ,it certainly is 

no part of his opponents'  belief1 that 
,god first admits the guilty to his     
favor1 and then  proceeds to restore his
 character4 ,this arrangement1 by which 
pardon precedes moral restoration1 is   
that feature in the ,orthodox  theory of
 the ,divine dealings against which     
,unitarians protest1 and  which ,mr4    
,m',neile himself insists upon as       
essential throughout his  ,lecture4 ,we 
think1 he says1 that before man can be  
introduced to  the only true process of 
improvement1 he must first have         
forgiveness  of his guilt4 ,what is this
 first step1 of pardon1 but an          
overlooking of man's guilt2 and what is 
the second1 of  sanctification1 but a   
restoring of character2 whether we say  
by  corrective discipline1 or the       
influence of the ,holy ,spirit1  matters
 not4 ,is it said that the guilt is not 
overlooked1 if ,christ  endured its     
penalty8 ,i ask1 again1 whether justice 
regards only the  infliction of         
suffering1 or its quantity1 without     

caring about its  direction8 ,was it    
impossible for the stern righteousness  
of ,god  freely to forgive the penitent8
 ,and how was the injustice of          
liberating the guilty mended by the     
torments of the innocent8 ,here is  the 
verdict against sin3 ,the soul that     
sinneth1 it shall die4 ,and  how is this
 verdict executed8 ,the soul that had   
sinned does not die2  and one that knew 
no sin dies instead4 ,and this is called
 a divine  union of truth and mercy2    
being the most precise negation of both1
  of which any conception can be formed4
 ,first1 to hang the destinies of  all  
mankind upon a solitary volition of     
their first parents1 and then  let loose
 a diabolic power on that volition to   
break it down2 to  vitiate the human    
constitution in punishment for the fall1
 and yet  continue to demand obedience  
to the original and perfect moral law2  
to  assert the absolute inflexibility of
 that holy law1 yet all the while  have 
in view for the offenders a method of   

escape1 which violates  every one of its
 provisions1 and makes it all a solemn  
pretence2 to  forgive that which is in  
itself unpardonable1 on condition of the
  suicide of a ,god1 is to shock and    
confound all notions of rectitude1      
without affording even the sublimity of 
a savage grandeur4 ,this will  be called
 blasphemy2 and it is so2 but the       
blasphemy is not in the  words1 but in  
the thing4    ,unitarians are falsely   
accused of representing ,god as         
overlooking  man's guilt4 ,they hold1   
that no guilt is overlooked till it is  
eradicated from the soul2 and that      
pardon proceeds pari passu with         
sanctification4    #ae ,mr4 ,buddicom   
has the following note1 intimating his  
approbation  of this rendering3 ,some of
 the best commentators have connected   
1 not with   1 but with  and1           
accordingly1 ,bishop ,bull renders the  
passage1 ',quem proposuit ,deus         
placamentum in sanguine suo per         
fidem4'--,lecture on ,atonement1 p4     

#dif4    #af ,john i4 #bi4 ,for an      
example of the use of the word world to 
denote the ,gentiles1 see ,rom4 xi4     
#ab-ae2 where ,st4 ,paul1 speaking of   
the rejection of the ,messiah by the    
,jews1 declares that it is only         
temporary2 and as it has given occasion 
for the adoption of the  ,gentiles1 so  
will this lead1 by ultimate reaction1 to
 the readmission  of ,israel2 a         
consummation in which the ,gentiles     
should rejoice without  boasting or     
high-mindedness4 ,if1 he says1 the fall 
of them 7the  ,israelites7 be the riches
 of the world 7the ,gentiles71 and the  
diminishing of them the riches of the   
,gentiles1 how much more their  fulness6
 ,for ,i speak to you ,gentiles1        
inasmuch as ,i am the ,apostle of  the  
,gentiles1 ,i magnify my office2 if1 by 
any means1 ,i may provoke to  emulation 
them which are my flesh 7the ,jews71 and
 save some of them2  for if the casting 
away of them be the reconciling of the  
world1  what shall the receiving of them

 be but life from the dead8    #ag ,acts
 xx4 #bh4 ,it is hardly necessary to    
say1 that the reading of  our common    
version1 church of ,god1 wants the      
support of the best  authorities2 and   
that1 with the general consent of the   
most competent  critics1 ,griesbach     
reads church of the ,lord4    #ah ,gal4 
iii4 #ac4 ,even here the ,apostle cannot
 refrain from adverting  to his ,gentile
 interpretation of the cross2 for he    
adds1--that the  blessing of ,abraham   
might come on the ,gentiles1 through    
,jesus ,christ4    #ai ,in three or four
 instances1 it is true1 a sin-offering  
is  demanded from the perpetrator of    
some act of moral wrong4 ,but in all    
these cases a suitable punishment was   
ordained also2 a circumstance           
inconsistent with the idea1 that the    
expiation procured remission of  guilt4 
,the sacrifice appended to the penal    
infliction indicates  the twofold       
character of the act1--at once a        
ceremonial defilement  and a crime2 and 

requiring1 to remedy the one1 an atoning
 rite1--to  chastise the other1 a       
judicial penalty4 ,see an excellent     
tract by ,rev4  ,edward ,higginson1 of  
,hull1 entitled1 ,the ,sacrifice of     
,christ  scripturally and rationally    
interpreted1 particularly pp4 #cj-cd4   
#bj ,heb4 vii4 #bg4 ,let the reader look
 carefully again into the verbal  and   
logical structure of this verse2 and    
then ask himself whether it  is not as  
plain as words can make it1 that ,christ
 once for all  offered up a sacrifice   
first for ,,his ,,own ,,sins1 and then  
for the  people's4 ,the argument surely 
is this3 ,he need not do the daily      
thing1 for he has done it once for all2 
the never-finished work of  other       
pontiffs1 a single act of his achieved4 
,the sentiment loses its  meaning1      
unless that which he did once is the    
selfsame thing which  they did always3  
and what was that8--the offering by the 
high-priest  of a sacrifice first for   
his own sins1 and then for the people's4

 ,with  what propriety1 then1 can ,mr4  
,buddicom ask us this question3 ,why is 
he said to have excelled the ,jewish    
high-priest in not offering a  sacrifice
 for himself8 ,i submit1 that no such   
thing is said2 but  that1 on the        
contrary1 it is positively affirmed that
 ,christ did  offer sacrifice for his   
own sins4 ,so plain indeed is this1 that
  ,trinitarian commentators are forced  
to slip in a restraining word and  an   
additional sentiment into the last      
clause of the verse4 ,thus  ,pierce3    
,who has no need1 like the priests under
 the law1 from time to  time to offer up
 sacrifice first for his own sins1 and  
after that for  the people's4 ,for this 
latter he did once for all when he      
offered up  himself2 and as to the      
former1 he had no occasion to do it at  
all4  ,and no doubt the writer of the   
,epistle ought to have said just this1  
if he intended to draw the kind of      
contrast which orthodox theology        
requires1 between ,jesus and the ,hebrew

 priests4 ,he limits the  opposition    
between them to one particular2--the    
,son of ,aaron made  offering           
daily1--the ,son of ,god once for all4  
,divines must add  another              
particular2--that the ,jewish priest    
atoned for two classes  of sins1 his own
 and the people's1--,christ for the     
people's only4  ,suppose for a moment   
that this was the author's design2 that 
the word  this1 instead of having its   
proper grammatical antecedent1 may be   
restrained1 as in the commentary cited  
above1 to the sacrifice for  the        
people's sins2 then the word daily may  
be left out1 without  disturbance to the
 other substantive particular of the    
contrast3 the  verse will then stand    
thus3 ,who needeth not1 as those        
high-priests1  to offer up sacrifice for
 his own sins2 for he offered up        
sacrifice  for the people's sins1 when  
he offered up himself4 ,here1 all the   
reasoning is obviously gone1 and the    
sentence becomes a mere inanity3  to    

make sense1 we want1 instead of the     
latter clause1 the sentiment of         
,pierce1--for he had no occasion to do  
this at all4 ,this1 however1  is an     
invention of the expositor1 more jealous
 for his author's  orthodoxy than for   
his composition4 ,i think it necessary  
to add1 that1  by leaving out the most  
emphatic word in this verse 7the word   
once7  ,mr4 ,buddicom has suppressed the
 author's antithesis1 and favored the   
suggestion of his own4 ,i have no doubt 
that this was unconsciously  done2 but  
it shows how system rubs off the angles 
of ,scriptural  difficulties4--,i       
subjoin a part of the note of ,john     
,crell on the  passage3 ,de pontifice   
,christo loquitur4 ,quid ver fecit semel
  ,christus8 quid aliud1 quam quod      
,pontifex antiquus stat die             
quotannis#ba faciebat8 ,principaliter   
autem hic non de oblatione pro  peccatis
 populi2 sed de oblatione pro ipsius    
,pontificis peccatis agi1  ex           
superioribus1 ipsoque rationum contextu 

manifestum est4    ,the sins which his  
sacrifice cancelled must have been of   
the same  order in the people and in    
himself2 certainly therefore not moral  
in  their character1 but ceremonial4    
,his death was1 for himself no less     
than for his ,hebrew disciples1 a       
commutation for the ,mosaic  ordinances4
 ,had he not died1 he must have         
continued under their power2  were he on
 earth1 he would not be a priest1 or    
have obtained that  more excellent      
ministry1 by which he clears away1 in   
the courts  above1 all possibilities of 
ritual sin below1 and himself emerges   
from  legal to spiritual relations4     
#ba ,this is obviously the meaning of   
in this passage2  from time to time1 and
 in the case alluded to1 yearly2 not1 as
 in  the common version1 daily4    #bb  
,mr4 ,buddicom's ,lecture on the        
,atonement1 p4 #dga4    #bc ,see ,mr4   
,m',neile's ,lecture1 pp4 #cjb1 #caa1   
#cbh1 #cdj1 #cda4    #bd ,mr4           
,m',neile's ,lecture1 p4 #cch4          

,,mediatorial ,,religion4        ,the   
,nature of the ,atonement1 and its      
,relation to ,remission of      ,sins   
and ,eternal ,life4 ,by ,,john ,m',,leod
 ,,campbell4 ,cambridge3      ,macmillan
  ,co4 #ahef4      ,this is a strange   
book4 ,a ,greek would have hated it4 ,a 
,puritan would  have found it savory1   
even where it was unsound4 ,rosenkranz1 
who has  written on the sthetik des     
,hsslichen1 would have been thankful for
  such a fund of illustration4          
,cumbrous1 tiresome1 monotonous1 it has 
few attractions for the natural man1 who
 may have a weakness in favor  of pure  
,english and nice grammar4 ,it despises 
the graces of carnal  literature1 and   
treats all the color and music of       
language as the  ,roundheads treated a  
cathedral1 silencing the box of whistles
 and  smashing the mighty big angels in 
glass4 ,and yet1 if you can get  over   
its grating way of delivering itself1   
you will find it no  barbaric product1  
but the utterance of a deep and         

practised thinker1  charged with the    
richest experiences of the ,christian   
life1 and  resolute to clear them from  
every tangle of fiction or pretence4    
,beneath the uncouth form there is not  
only severe truth1 but great  tenderness
 and beauty1--a fine apprehension of the
 real inner strife  of tempted men1 and 
an intense faith in an open way of      
escape from it1  without compromise of  
any sanctity4 ,the author1 though not   
tuneful in  his speech1 has the gifts of
 a true prophet2 and often enables one  
to  fancy what ,isaiah might have been  
if he had heard nothing but the         
bagpipe1 and had set his burdens to its 
drone4 ,whether ,mr4  ,campbell's style 
has been formed north of the ,tweed1 we 
know not4 ,in  any case1 it is trained  
in the school of ,calvinism2 is         
untouched  therefore by any feeling for 
art2 and runs on with a sort of         
extemporaneous habit1 insufficiently    
relieved by occasional flashes of       
grotesque and forcible expression4 ,it  

is only in exterior aspect1  however1   
that he presents the features of the    
rugged old ,calvinism3  and though the  
first-born of that system and its       
younger sons are  distinguished like    
,isaac's children1 ,esau is a hairy man1
 and ,jacob  is a smooth man1 yet no    
true patriarch of the school can be so  
blind  as not to see beneath our        
author's goat-skin dress1 and know that 
he  is other than the heir4 ,in fact1   
the peculiarity of this work as a       
theological phenomenon is1 that it is a 
destruction of ,calvinism  without any  
revolt from it1--an escape from it      
through its own  interior4 ,its         
postulates are not denied4 ,its         
phraseology is not  rejected4 ,its      
statement of the problem of redemption  
is in the main  accepted4 ,its provision
 for the solution1--the ,incarnation of 
the  ,son1--is sacredly preserved4 ,yet 
these elements are put into such play   
as to make it checkmate itself on its   
own area4 ,its definitions are  shown to

 be suicidal2 and its sharp-edged logic 
is used to cut through  the ligaments   
that constrain and shape it4    ,we have
 spoken first of the style of this book1
 because it strikes  the reader at the  
outset1 and is not unlikely to repel him
 if he is  not warned4 ,of one other    
feature1 derived from the same school1  
we  must say a word1 to qualify the     
admiration and gratitude which we  shall
 then ungrudgingly tender to the author4
 ,in common with all the  great masters 
of the ,evangelical school1 he is too   
much at home with  the ,divine economy2 
knows too well how the same thing       
appears from the  finite and the        
infinite point of view2 can tell too    
surely how a mixed  nature1 both divine 
and human1 would feel on looking from   
both ends at  once2 and altogether goes 
with too close a search to the secret   
place  of the ,most ,high4 ,not that he 
speaks unworthily on these high themes2 
we have nothing truer to suggest1 except
 more silence4 ,but we must  confess    

that when a teacher lays down the       
conditions of divine  possibility1      
expatiates psychologically on the       
sentiments of the  ,father and the ,son1
 and seems as though he had been allowed
 a peep  into the autobiography of ,god1
 we shrink from the sharp outlines1 and 
feel that we shall believe more if we   
are shown less4 ,with so many  soundings
 taken1 and so many channels buoyed1 the
 sense of the  shoreless sea is gone1   
and we find only a port of traffic1 with
  coast-lights instead of stars4 ,the   
temptation to this theological          
map-making has always proved peculiarly 
strong among the disciples of  ,geneva3 
and the reason is to be found in the    
very nature of the  problem they have   
attempted to resolve4 ,religion has two 
foci to  determine1--the divine nature  
and the human4 ,athanasius and the      
,greek  influence fixed the doctrine of 
the ,godhead3 ,augustine and the ,latin 
,church defined the spiritual state of  
man4 ,the one1 it has been said1        

produced a theology2 the other1 an      
anthropology4 ,in the construction  of  
the former1 it is obvious that the      
appeal could be made only to  positive  
authority1 whether of ,scripture or the 
,church4 ,on the ,nicene  question no   
one could pretend to have personal      
insight or scientific  data3 it must be 
decided by arbitrary vote on impressions
 of  testimony4 ,but for establishing a 
doctrine of humanity1 the living        
resources of consciousness and          
experience were present with perpetual  
witness2 every proposition advanced     
could be confronted with its            
corresponding reality3 the disciple     
could not help carrying the dogma       
inward to the test of his               
self-knowledge4 ,the scheme of the      
,trinity  partook of the nature of a    
,gnosis1 which dwelt apart from the stir
  of phenomena1 and1 having once set and
 crystallized1 could only be  hung up   
for preservation4 ,the dogmas of human  
depravity and  helplessness partook of  

the nature of a ,science1 coming in     
contact  with the facts of life and     
character at every point4 ,moral        
experience  had something to say to     
them3 and unless they could keep good   
terms  with it1 they could not hope to  
hold their ground4 ,hence the           
,augustinian divines have been          
constrained to seek a philosophy of     
religion1 and to collate the text of    
their ,scriptural system with the       
running paraphrase of actual life4 ,no  
writers have contributed so much  to lay
 bare the inmost springs of human action
 and emotion2 have  tracked with so much
 subtilty the windings of guilty        
self-deception1  or so found the secret 
sorrow that lies at the core of every   
unconsecrated joy4 ,if we must concede  
to the ,roman ,catholic casuists  and   
the problems of the confessional the    
merit of creating an ethical  ,art      
embodied in systems of rules1 we owe to 
the deeper ,evangelical  spirit1 whether
 in its action or its reaction1 the     

ground-lines of an  ethical             
,philosophy2--or1 if you deny that such 
a thing as yet exists1  at least the    
true idea and undying quest of it4 ,the 
disciples of  ,augustine1 belonging to  
an anthropological school1 have been    
naturally  distinguished by a reflective
 and psychologic habit4    ,if it was   
the function of the ,greek period to    
settle the doctrine of  ,god1 and of its
 ,latin successor to define the nature  
of man1 it was the  aim of the          
,reformation1 leaving these two extremes
 undisturbed1 to  find the way of       
mediation between them4 ,so long as the 
great sacerdotal  ,church1 living       
continuator of ,christ's presence1 was  
intrusted with the  business1 private   
,christians wanted no theory on the     
subject2 all nice  questions went into  
the ecclesiastical closet and           
disappeared4 ,but as  soon as ever the  
hierarchy fell out of this position1    
there was an  immense void left to be   
filled4 ,on the one hand1 ,infinite     

,holiness1  quite alienated2 on the     
other1 ,human ,pravity1 quite helpless3 
how was  any approximation to be        
rendered conceivable8 ,true1 the great  
original  ,mediation on ,calvary1 which 
the papal priesthood pretended to       
prolong1  remained2 for it was fixed in 
history4 ,but it lay a great way off1 a 
fact in the old past2 and its           
intervention was required to-day by     
,melancthon1 and ,carlstadt1 and a whole
 generation quite remote from it4  ,how 
was its power to be fetched into the    
present8 how applied to men  walking    
about in ,wittenberg or ,zrich8 ,this   
was the problem which flew  open by the 
cancelling of the ,romish credentials3  
and the various  answers to it          
constitute the body of ,protestant      
theology4 ,in one point  they all agree1
 that1 to replace the priestly media    
that are thrust out1  ,personal ,faith  
is the element that must be brought in4 
,in what way  this subjective state of  
the individual mind draws or            

appropriates the  efficacy of the       
,incarnation2 in what order the         
redeeming process runs  among the three 
given terms1--the alienated ,father1 the
 mediating ,son1  the believing         
disciple2 whether any part of the       
process is moral and  real1 or all is   
legal and virtual2--these are questions 
which the  ,reformation has found it    
easier to open than to close4 ,but      
answer them  as you will1 they entangle 
your thoughts in the mutual relations   
and  sentiments of three persons2 and   
cannot be discussed without             
establishing some principles of moral   
psychology1 as the common grounds  of   
intercommunion between minds finite and 
infinite1 and dealing with  hypothetical
 problems of divine as well as human    
casuistry4 ,hence the  inevitable       
tendency of the doctrine of ,mediation  
to venture on a natural  history of the 
,divine ,mind1--to construct a drama of 
,providence and  ,grace1 with plot too  
artfully wrought for the free hand of   

,heaven1 and  traits too specific and   
minute for reverent contemplation4      
,it is deeply instructive to observe the
 pulsation of religious thought  in men4
 ,revealed religion is ever passing into
 natural1 and natural  returning to     
re-interpret the revealed4 ,we can      
almost see the steps by  which sacred   
history was converted into dogma2 while 
dogma1 assumed in  turn as the          
starting-point1 is ever producing new   
readings of the  history4 ,this world   
may be regarded as a human theatre1     
where the  ,wills of men perform the    
parts2 or as the stage of ,divine       
agency1  using the visible actors as the
 executants of an invisible thought4    
,its vicissitudes1 presented in the     
former aspect1 yield only history2  in  
the latter1 give rise to doctrine4      
,noticed by ,tacitus1 the life of       
,christ is a provincial incident of     
,tiberius's reign1 and his death a      
judicial act of ,pontius ,pilate's      
government4 ,in the three first         

,gospels and the book of ,acts1 the     
crucifixion is still the act of  wicked 
or misguided men1 inflicted on an       
expostulating victim2 not1  however1    
without being foreseen as the appointed 
precursor of a  resurrection4 ,the event
 is thus in the main simply historical2 
but  with a divine comment which gives  
it an incipient theological             
significance4 ,it appears under another 
aspect in the ,gospel of ,john2  there1 
,christ not only foresaw1 but determined
 his own death3 his  life no man taketh 
it from him1 but he lays it down of     
himself2 he  is not merely the          
submissive medium1 but the spontaneous  
co-agent of a  ,divine intent4 ,finally1
 in ,st4 ,paul1--to whom the person and 
ministry  of ,christ were unfamiliar1   
who1 as a disciple of his heavenly life1
  looked back upon them from a higher   
point1--the historical aspect  almost   
wholly disappears in the ideal2 and the 
cross becomes the  ,gospel1 the wisdom  
of ,god and the power of ,god1 the      

self-sacrifice of  the ,son the         
reconciling way to the ,father1 the very
 focus and symbol  of all the mystery   
and mercy comprised in humanity4 ,the   
movement of  thought through these      
successive stages is obvious4 ,an event 
is at  first accepted as it arises4 ,but
 in proportion as its concrete          
impression retires1 the need becomes    
more urgent to find its function3       
instinctive search is made for all those
 elements1 accessories1 and  effects of 
it1 which promise to bring out its      
meaning and idea1 until  at last its    
doctrine absorbs itself1 and enters the 
human mind as a  permanent factor of    
positive religion4 ,it is thus that the 
great  antitheses1 of ,law and ,gospel1 
of the ,natural and the ,spiritual man1 
of dead ,works and living ,faith1 of    
self-seeking enmity and                 
self-surrendering reconciliation with   
,god1 have settled upon the             
consciousness of ,christendom1 and grown
 into the very substance of its         

experience4 ,they have become part of   
its natural religion4 ,but in this      
character they may1 conversely1 be taken
 as the initiative of a new  version of 
the history whence they sprung4 ,they   
could not be born into  unmixed and     
formed existence at once2 but1 like all 
new affections1  must feel their way out
 of an early indeterminate state1 into  
clear  self-apprehension and settled    
purity4 ,the testimony of the ,christian
  conscience needs time to become       
articulate and collected4 ,the shadow   
of human guilt may lie so dark upon the 
mind1 the dawn of the divine  holiness  
may so dazzle the inward vision1 that   
blindness in part may  linger for a     
while2 and the eye1 in very opening to  
,christ's healing  touch1 may fail to   
see4 ,once accustomed to the new light  
of life1 men  are no longer occupied    
with it alone1 but find in it a medium  
for  truer discernment of objects       
around4 ,the special sentiments awakened
  by the ,gospel test themselves afresh1

 like any other theory1 by being  fully 
lived out1 and tried as experiments upon
 the soul4 ,the type of  character1--the
 edition of human nature1--in which they
 take  embodiment1 becomes a distinct   
object of critical appreciation2 and    
while all its deep expressive traits    
speak for the inner truth whence  they  
are moulded1 every mixture of disharmony
 or defect calls for some  revision of  
idea4 ,in the thirsty spiritual state to
 which men were  reduced on the eve of  
the ,reformation1 they drank up with    
intense  eagerness the most turbid      
supplies of evangelical doctrine4 ,with 
purer  health and finer perception they 
become aware that not all was water  of 
life2 and that coarse notions of the    
nature of justice1 the  conditions of   
mercy1 and the measurement of sin1 were 
intermixed and  must become mere        
sediment4 ,cleared of these1 the theory 
is taken back  to the facts of          
revelation1 and so washed through them1 
that they may  also emerge as from a    

sprinkling of regeneration4 ,through    
such  re-baptism does our author1       
furnished with a purified conception of 
atonement1 pass the history of ,christ4 
,in looking for the whereabouts of the  
atonement1 we are guided1 as in  search 
for the pole-star1 by two pointers whose
 indications we are to  follow4 ,its    
function was double1--to cancel a guilty
 past1 to make a  holy future3 and it   
must be of such a nature as to          
disappoint neither  of these conditions4
 ,in determining its form1 the great    
anxiety of  theologians hitherto has    
been to fit it for its retrospective    
action1 and disembarrass the problem of 
salvation of the burden of  accumulated 
sin4 ,it is ,mr4 ,campbell's distinction
 that he lays the  superior stress on   
its prospective action1 and requires    
that it  shall positively heal the      
sickness of our nature1 and evolve      
thence a  real and living righteousness4
 ,god's moral perfectness could be      
satisfied with nothing less4 ,if1       

indeed1 ,he looked on our guilt  merely 
as an obstacle to our salvation1 and    
desired to remove it as  a hinderance   
out of the way1--if ,he rather sought a 
pretext for making  us happy than a     
provision for drawing us to             
goodness1--then the work  of ,christ    
might be so devised as simply to tear   
out the defiled page  of the past1 and  
register an infinite credit not our own1
 without  inherent care for ulterior    
personal holiness4 ,but were it so1 the 
divine love would amount only to an     
unrighteous desire for our  happiness1  
and the divine righteousness to an      
unloving repulsion  from our sin4 ,such 
spurious analysis corresponds with no   
reality2 and  in the truth of things    
there can be no heavenly affection that 
is not  holy1 nor any holiness that is  
not affectionate4    ,while in reference
 to the not uncommon way of regarding   
this subject  which represents          
righteousness and holiness as opposed to
 the sinner's  salvation1 and mercy and 

love as on his side1 ,i freely concede  
that  all the ,divine attributes were1  
in one view1 against the sinner1 in     
that they called for the due expression 
of ,god's wrath against sin in  the     
history of redemption3 ,i believe1 on   
the other hand1 that the  justice1 the  
righteousness1 the holiness of ,god1    
have an aspect  according to which they1
 as well as his mercy1 appear as        
intercessors  for man1 and crave his    
salvation4 ,justice may be contemplated 
as  according to sin its due2 and there 
is in righteousness1 as we are          
conscious to it1 what testifies that sin
 should be miserable4 ,but  justice1    
looking at the sinner not simply as the 
fit subject of  punishment1 but as      
existing in a moral condition of        
unrighteousness1  and so its own        
opposite1 must desire that the sinner   
should cease to  be in that condition2  
should cease to be unrighteous1 should  
become  righteous3 righteousness in ,god
 craving for righteousness in man1 with 

a craving which the realization of      
righteousness in man alone can  satisfy4
 ,so also of holiness4 ,in one view it  
repels the sinner1 and  would banish him
 to outer darkness1 because of its      
repugnance to sin4  ,in another1 it is  
pained by the continued existence of sin
 and  unholiness1 and must desire that  
the sinner should cease to be sinful4   
,so that the sinner1 conceived of as    
awakening to the consciousness of  his  
own evil state1 and saying to himself1  
',by sin ,i have destroyed  myself4 ,is 
there yet hope for me in ,god8'--should 
hear an encouraging  answer1 not only   
from the love and mercy of ,god1 but    
also from his  very righteousness and   
holiness4 ,we must not forget1 in       
considering  the response that is in    
conscience to the charge of sin and     
guilt1  that1 though the fears which    
accompany that response are partly the  
effect of a dawning of light1 they also 
in part arise from remaining  darkness4 
,he who is able to interpret the voice  

of ,god within him  truly1 and with full
 spiritual intelligence will be found   
saying1 not  only1 ',there is to me     
cause for fear in the righteousness and 
holiness  of ,god1' but also1 ',there is
 room for hope for me in the ,divine    
righteousness and holiness4' ,and when  
gathering consolation from the          
meditation of the name of the ,lord1    
that consolation will be not only1      
',surely the ,divine mercy desires to   
see me happy rather than  miserable1'   
but also1 ',surely the ,divine          
righteousness desires to see  me        
righteous1--the ,divine holiness desires
 to see me holy1--my  continuing        
unrighteous and unholy is as grieving to
 ,god's  righteousness and holiness as  
my misery through sin is to his pity and
  love4' ',good and righteous is the    
,lord1 therefore will he teach  sinners 
the way which they should choose4' ',a  
just ,god and a ,saviour'2  not as the  
harmony of a seeming opposition1 but 'a 
,saviour1 because  a just ,god4'--p4    

#bi4    ,from this justly-conceived     
passage the characteristics of ,mr4     
,campbell's theory may already be       
divined4 ,he sets his faith on a        
concrete1 living1 indivisible ,god1 whom
 you can never understand by  laying out
 ,his abstract attributes one by one1   
with their separate  requirements1 and  
then putting them together again to     
compute the  resultant4 ,he insists on  
the absolute dominance of a moral and   
spiritual idea throughout the revealed  
economy3 of this nature is the  evil to 
be met1--sin and estrangement2 of this  
nature is the good to  be               
reached1--righteousness and             
reconciliation2 and only of this nature 
can be the mediation which effects the  
change2 related upward to the  ,father  
and downward to men1 in a way accordant 
with the laws of  conscience1 and       
intelligible by its self-light4 ,he     
craves1 therefore1  a natural juncture1 
a real causal nexus1 between the several
 parts of  the process1 to the exclusion

 of all forensic fictions and arbitrary 
scene-shifting and sovereign            
tours-de-force4 ,in short1 he will have 
no tricks passed off1 no                
quasi-transformations upon the          
conscience2  he feels the moral world to
 be above the range of mere miracle2 any
  change in it irreducible to its solemn
 laws would ipso facto fall  out of it  
and become a mere dynamical surprise4   
,of physical miracle  our author avails 
himself to the full amount2 the         
incarnation of the  ,son of ,god being1 
with him1 as with others1 the central   
fact and  essential medium of ,christian
 redemption4 ,but the august power thus 
supernaturally set up--the ,person at   
once divine and human--works  out his   
great problem naturally1 without        
requiring the suspension of  one rule of
 right1 or holding any magical dealings 
with the character  of ,god or man4 ,his
 problem1 therefore1 is to show how the 
life and  death of ,christ--considered  
as ,god in humanity--were fitted1 and   

alone  fitted1 to blot out the sins of  
the world before ,god1 and to introduce 
among men a new state of real           
righteousness and eternal life4    ,the 
common ,evangelical scheme of redemption
 so far affects to be  deduced from     
certain general principles1 and to      
render the way of  redemption           
conceivable1 that it is stigmatized as  
rationalistic by  ,catholics and        
,anglicans4 ,it is so1 however1 only in 
the sense of  hanging well together1 and
 serving the purpose of a theological   
,mnemonic to those who want a religion  
ready more than deep4 ,in the  higher   
sense1 of occupying any natural ground  
of reason1 it does not  earn its        
reproach4 ,the propositions which it    
lays down1 as to the  inability of a    
holy nature to forgive unless           
circuitously and with  compensation1 and
 as to the commutability of either penal
 liabilities  or moral attributes1 are  
without any support from our primary    
sentiments of right and wrong1 and could

 be carried out by no sane man  in the  
conduct of life4 ,the doctrine is taught
 in two principal  forms2--the earlier  
and more exact scheme of ,satisfaction1 
elaborated by ,anselm of ,canterbury1   
and perfected by ,owen and  ,edwards2   
and the modern theory of ,public        
,justice1 maintained in  the writings of
 ,dr4 ,pye ,smith and ,dr4 ,payne1 and  
prevailing wherever  the first decadence
 from the old ,calvinism is going on4   
,the first of  these prepares its ground
 by laying down these principles as     
fundamental2--that the connection       
between sin and suffering is  inviolably
 secured on the veracity of ,god2 that  
when we have done  all1 we are          
unprofitable servants1 and have only    
rendered our strict  due2 that1 far from
 doing all1 we have done and can do     
nothing1  except accumulate guilt1      
which1 measure it as you will1--by the  
majesty of the authority defied1 or the 
multitude of the offenders and  their   
sins1--is practically of infinite       

amount4 ,here1 then1 is a case  of utter
 despair3 infinite debt2 nothing to pay2
 remission impossible2  punishment      
eternal2 death unattainable4 ,but we are
 brought into the  labyrinth on one     
side1 to emerge from it on the other4   
,while men can  only multiply demerit1  
there are natures conceivable to which  
merit is  possible4 ,a ,divine ,person1 
laying aside a blessedness inherently   
his1  and assuming sorrow not his own1  
and doing this out of a pure love1      
fulfils the conditions2 and when the    
,son takes on him our humanity1  the    
act1 carried out unto the end1 has a    
merit in it which in amount  is a full  
set-off against the guilt of men4       
,still1 this only leaves us  with two   
opposite funds--of infinite good desert 
and infinite ill  desert--which sit     
apart and unrelated4 ,in due course1 the
 one ought to  have a boundless reward1 
the other a boundless punishment4 ,but  
to  render his affluence available for  
our debt1 the ,son consummates his      

self-sacrifice1 substitutes himself for 
us as the object of  retribution1 and   
dies once for all1--one infinite death  
for many  finite hereafters of woe4 ,the
 ,father's justice is satisfied2 the    
allotment of suffering to sin has been  
accurately observed2 ,his desire  to    
pardon is released from its restraint4  
,having dealt with the person  of the   
,son as if it were mankind1 ,he may deal
 with mankind as if they  were the ,son1
 and look upon them as clothed with a   
perfect obedience4    ,the wholly       
artificial structure of this scheme1    
which is its greatest  condemnation1 has
 been its chief security4 ,it is by     
approaching within  conducting-distance 
of reality1 that a doctrine elicits     
resistance and  meets the stroke of     
natural objection2 and if it only keeps 
far enough  aloft in the metaphysic     
atmosphere1 it may float along          
unarrested from  zone to zone of time4  
,men know not what to make of           
propositions so  much out of their      

sphere1 so evasive of any real encounter
 with their  consciousness1 and are apt 
to let them pass for their very         
strangeness' sake4 ,but surely we are   
bound to demand for them some  response 
of conscience1 and1 with ,mr4 ,campbell1
 to demur to such of  them as will not  
bear this test4 ,limiting ourselves to  
the  mediatorial part of the theory1 we 
will assume the problem of moral  evil  
to be correctly stated1 and only ask    
whether1 from the supposed  case of     
despair1 the offered solution affords   
any real exit of relief4  ,nor do we    
assume this for argument's sake alone4  
,we can perfectly  understand any       
remorseful sense1 however deep1 of human
 unworthiness2  any appreciative        
reverence1 however intense1 of ,christ's
  self-sacrifice4 ,set the one under the
 shadow of the ,father's infinite       
disapproval1 the other in the light of  
,his infinite complacency2 so  far we   
go2 there let them lie4 ,but what next8 
,here1 on the left hand1  is ,sin with  

its need of punishment2 there1 on the   
right1 a perfect  ,holiness with its    
merits4 ,while they are thus spread     
beneath the  ,father's eye1 they break  
up their inviolable alliances2 each     
moral  cause crosses over and takes the 
opposite effect4 ,if such change took   
place1 the seat of the fact must be     
sought partly in the  consciousness of  
,christ1 partly in the ,father's view of
 things4 ,in  reference to the first1   
must we say that the ,crucified felt    
himself  under ,divine wrath and        
punishment1 and esteemed that wrath to  
be  just1--the fitting expression of his
 own inward remorse8 ,if so1  can we    
affirm that his consciousness was       
veracious8 or did he not  feel1 in      
regard to others' sins1 sentiments and  
experiences that are  false except in   
relation to one's own8 ,and1 ascending  
to the other  point of view1 shall we   
affirm that the ,father saw sin in the  
,son  and was angry with him2 so that1  
in the hour of sublimest obedience1  the

 words ceased to be true1 ,thou art my  
beloved ,son1 in whom ,i am  well       
pleased8 ,and on the other hand1 what is
 meant when it is said  that beneath the
 ,divine eye men in their guilt are seen
 clothed with  a perfect righteousness8 
,is such an aspect of them true8 or is  
it  akin to an ocular deception8 ,we    
seem to be reduced to this              
dilemma2--the change of apparent moral  
place implied in imputation  is either a
 faithful representation1 or a          
quasi-representation1 of  the reality of
 things4 ,if the latter1 then the       
,divine consciousness is  illusory1 and 
the world is administered on a fiction2 
if the former1  then the moral law1 in  
assuring us of the personal and         
inalienable  nature of sin1 gives a     
false report1 and there is nothing to   
prevent a  circulating medium of merit  
from passing current through the        
universe4  ,mr4 ,campbell's deference   
for the great advocates of this         
marvellous  doctrine does not obstruct  

his perception of its difficulties4     
,i freely confess1 he says1 that to my  
own mind it is a relief1 not  only      
intellectually1 but also morally and    
spiritually1 to see that there  is no   
foundation for the conceptions that when
 ,christ suffered for us1  the just for 
the unjust1 he suffered either 'as by   
imputation unjust1'  or 'as if he were  
unjust4' ,i admit that intellectually it
 is a relief  not to be called to       
conceive to myself a double             
consciousness1 both in  the ,father and 
in the ,son1 such as seems implied in   
the ,father's seeing  the ,son at one   
and the same time1 though it were but   
for a moment1 as  the well-beloved ,son1
 to whom infinite favor should go forth1
 and also  as worthy1 in respect of the 
imputation of our sins to him1 of being 
the  object of infinite wrath1 he being 
the object of such wrath accordingly2   
and in the ,son's knowing himself the   
well-beloved of the ,father1 and yet    
having the consciousness of being       

personally1 through imputation of our   
sin1 the object of the ,father's wrath4 
,i feel it intellectually a relief      
neither to be called to conceive this1  
nor to assume it as an  unconceived     
mystery4 ,still more do ,i feel it      
morally and spiritually  a relief1 not  
to be required to recognize legal       
fictions as having a  place in this high
 region1 in which the awful realities of
 sin and  holiness1 spiritual death and 
spiritual life1 are the objects of a    
transaction between the ,father and the 
,son in the ,eternal ,spirit4--p4  #caj4
    ,the second form of mediatorial     
doctrine1 to which we have referred as  
the modern type of ,calvinism1 has      
arisen from the endeavor to evade some  
of these perplexities4 ,the riddle that 
haunts its teachers is still the        
same1--how it can become possible to    
show mercy to sinners2 but the          
difficulty in the way is differently    
conceived1 and therefore met by a       
different expedient4 ,it is not an      

obstacle in ,god1 arising from his      
personal sentiment of equity1 which must
 be satisfied2 but springs out  of the  
necessity of consistent rectitude1 and  
adherence to law in his  administrative 
government4 ,the ,father himself1 it is 
intimated1 would be  quite willing to   
forgive1 were there nothing to consult  
except his own  disposition4 ,but it    
would never do to play fast and loose   
with the  criminal law of the universe1 
and1 notwithstanding the most solemn    
enactments1 let off delinquents on mere 
repentance1 as if nothing were  the     
matter beyond a personal affront4       
,something more is due to ,public       
,justice4 ,if the due course of         
retribution is to be turned aside1 it   
must be in such a way and at such a cost
 as to proclaim aloud the  awfulness of 
the guilt remitted4 ,this1 we are told1 
is accomplished by  the sufferings and  
death of the ,son of ,god1 which were   
substituted for  our threatened         
punishment1 not as its quantitative     

equal paid to the  ,father1 but as a    
moral equivalent in the eyes of men4    
,their validity is  thus conceived to   
depend by no means on their particular  
measure1 but on  the meritorious        
obedience of love which was their       
sustaining and  animating soul1 and     
which1 being on the scale of a ,divine  
nature1 gave  infinite value to the     
smallest sorrow4 ,within the casket of  
his grief  was held such a priceless    
righteousness1 that1 on beholding it1   
the  ,father might regard it as an      
adequate plea for acts of mercy to      
sinners4  ,he does not indeed impute to 
them the actual moral perfectness of    
,christ1 so as to see them invested with
 it1 any more than he imputed to        
,christ their guilt1 and frowned on     
,calvary4 ,it is the effects only of    
that holiness which he imputes2 he      
offers to men the benefits of it1       
without reckoning it as really theirs1  
and giving them the legal  standing     
which its possession would bestow4      

,no doubt this scheme gets rid of the   
penal mensuration and moral             
conveyancing of the older ,calvinism4   
,it shifts also the bar to free  mercy  
away from the inner personality of ,god1
 and sets it in his outer  government4  
,but when we again attempt to seize the 
mediatorial  expedient1 what is it8 ,it 
is said to be a display of the enormity 
of  that guilt which needs to be        
redeemed at such a cost4 ,but is that   
need  real8 ,have we not been told that 
it has no place in ,god8 ,does he  then 
hang out a profession that is not true  
to the kernel of things1  but only a    
show-off for impression's sake8 ,if     
,eternal ,justice in its  inner essence 
does not require the expiation provided1
 why in its  outer manifestation pretend
 that it does8 ,as nothing can become   
right for the sake of good example that 
is not right in itself1 so  is ,public  
,justice1 unsustained by the sincere    
heart of reality1 a  mere dramatic      
imposture4 ,mr4 ,campbell has supplied  

us with a forcible  statement of this   
truth3--    ,surely rectoral or public  
justice1 if it is to have any moral     
basis1--any basis other than            
expediency1--must rest upon1 and refer  
to1 distributive or absolute justice4   
,in other words1 unless there be  a     
rightness in connecting sin with misery1
 and righteousness with  blessedness1   
looking at individual cases simply in   
themselves1 ,i  cannot see that there is
 a rightness in connecting them as a    
rule of  moral government4 ',an ,english
 judge once said to a criminal before   
him3 ,you are condemned to be           
transported1 not because you have stolen
  these goods1 but that goods may not be
 stolen4' 7,jenkyns1 #age1 #agf47  ,this
 is quoted in illustration of the       
position1 that 'the death of  ,christ is
 an honorable ground for remitting      
punishment1' because 'his  sufferings   
answer the same ends as the punishment  
of the sinner4' ,i do  not recognize any
 harmony between this sentiment of the  

,english judge  and the voice of an     
awakened conscience on the subject of   
sin4 ,it is  just because he has sinned 
and deserves punishment1 and not because
 he  says to himself that ,god is a     
moral governor1 and must punish him to  
deter others1 that the wrath of ,god    
against sin seems so  terrible1--and as 
just as terrible4--p4 #gi4    ,even were
 the expression backed up by reality1 we
 cannot but ask about  the fitness of   
the medium for the thought to be        
conveyed4 ,god's horror  at guilt is    
publicly proclaimed by the most awful   
crime in human  history6 ,to explain the
 difficulty of letting off the offender1
 he  exhibits the anguish of the        
innocent6 ,the spectacle would seem in  
danger of suggesting the wrong lesson to
 the terrified observer1--of  raising to
 intensity the doubt whether1 in a world
 that gives its  silver to a ,judas1 its
 judgment-seat to a ,pilate1 and the    
cross to the  ,son of ,god1 any         
,providence can care for rectitude at   

all4 ,even when  the death of ,christ is
 contemplated exclusively as a          
self-sacrifice1  without remembering the
 guilt which compassed it1 we are at a  
loss to  understand how it could be an  
honorable ground for remitting          
punishment4 ,what difference did it make
 in the previous reasons of  the ,divine
 government1 so that penalties right    
before should be less  right afterwards8
 ,if ,catiline were undergoing his just 
retribution at  the date of the ,last   
,supper1 what plea was there for        
releasing him at  or before the date of 
the resurrection8 ,that obedience       
rendered and  suffering endured by one  
soul should dispense with the           
liabilities of  another1 is a           
supposition at variance with the        
personal and  inalienable nature of all 
sin2 and to say that ,god imputes the   
effects of ,christ's holiness to those  
who are not partakers in the  cause1 is 
to accuse the ,divine government of     
total disregard to  character and       

evasion of moral reality4 ,the old      
,calvinism represents  the ,father as   
having an illusory perception of men1 as
 if they  were clad in a divine         
righteousness4 ,the new ,calvinism      
represents him  as having indeed a true 
perception of their unrighteousness1    
but1  notwithstanding this1 falsifying  
the truth in action1 and proceeding  as 
if the facts were quite other than they 
are4 ,inasmuch as  unveracious vision is
 intellectual1 while unveracious        
practice is  moral1 the younger doctrine
 appears to us a positive degradation of
  the elder1 not only in logical        
completeness1 but in religious worth4   
,both of them make the redeeming economy
 proceed upon a fiction2 but  there is  
all the difference between unconscious  
and conscious fiction2  between an inner
 satisfaction brought about by an       
optical  displacement of merit1 and an  
outward exhibition set up for the sake  
of impression4 ,the theory of ,owen1    
stern as it is1 bears the stamp of      

resolute meaning consistently carried   
through into the inmost recess  of the  
,divine nature4 ,the newer doctrine is  
the production of a  platform age1 which
 obtrudes considerations of effect even 
into its  thoughts of ,god and his      
government1 and can scarce refrain from 
turning the universe itself into pathos 
and ad captandum display4    ,with good 
reason1 therefore1 does our author feel 
that this whole  subject is in need of  
reconsideration4 ,his own doctrine      
diverges from  its predecessors at a    
very early point1 and is seen at its    
source in  the following proposition of 
,edwards1 as cited by ,mr4 ,campbell3-- 
,in contending that sin must be punished
 with an infinite punishment1           
,president ,edwards says1 'that ,god    
could not be just to himself without    
this vindication1 unless there could be 
such a thing as a repentance1           
humiliation1 and sorrow for this 7viz4  
sin7 proportionable to the  greatness of
 the ,majesty despised1'--for that there

 must needs be  'either an equivalent   
punishment1 or an equivalent sorrow and 
repentance'2 'so1' he proceeds1 'sin    
must be punished with an infinite       
punishment'2 thus assuming that the     
alternative of 'an equivalent  sorrow   
and repentance' was out of the question4
 ,but1 upon the  assumption of that     
identification of himself with those    
whom he came  to save1 on the part of   
the ,saviour1 which is the foundation of
  ,edwards's whole system1 it may at the
 least be said1 that the ,mediator  had 
the two alternatives open to his        
choice1--either to endure for  sinners  
an equivalent punishment1 or to         
experience in reference to  their sin1  
and present to ,god on their behalf1 an 
adequate sorrow and  repentance4 ,either
 of these courses should be regarded by 
,edwards as  equally securing the       
vindication of the majesty and justice  
of ,god in  pardoning sin4--p4 #acf4    
,the side of the alternative which      
,edwards abandoned1 our author takes  up

 and follows out4 ,the work of ,christ1 
as a ground of remission1  consisted in 
the offering on behalf of humanity of an
 adequate  repentance4 ,adequate it     
could not have been but for his ,divine 
nature2  which attaches to his holy     
sorrow an infinite moral value1 to      
balance  the infinite heinousness of the
 sin deplored4 ,the only reason why     
human penitence does not in itself avail
 to restore1 lies in its  imperfect     
purity and depth4 ,through the cloud of 
evil1 and with the  eye of self1 we are 
disqualified for true discernment of sin
 as it is3  both the limits of a finite 
nature1 and the delusions of a tempted  
and  fallen one1 hinder us from         
appreciating the measure of our guilt   
and  misery4 ,even when our better mind 
reasserts itself1 our very  compunction 
carries in it many a speck of ill1 and  
our repentance  needs to be repented of4
 ,but were it not for this1 there would 
be  more atoning worth in one tear of   
the true and perfect sorrow which  the  

memory of the past would awaken1 than in
 endless ages of penal  woe4 ,it is not 
the inefficacy1 but the impossibility1  
of due  penitence that constitutes our  
fatal disability2 to be relieved from   
which we need to be taken out of        
ourselves1 to be identified with a      
perfect spirit2 our humanity must cease 
to be human1 and become one  with the   
,divine nature4 ,this is precisely the  
condition which realized  itself in     
,christ4 ,as ,god in humanity1 he had   
perfect sympathy with the  holiness of  
one sphere1 and the infirmities of the  
other2 he saw the  whole amount of the  
world's moral estrangement1 not only    
with infinite  pity for its misery1 but 
with infinite horror at its guilt4 ,he  
could  both make a plenary confession   
for us1 and respond unreservedly to the 
,father's righteous judgment2 could bear
 our burden on his heart before  heaven1
 and utter the ,miserere of holy sorrow1
 which our most  plaintive cry can never
 approach4 ,this is the true nature of  

his  sufferings4 ,he made his soul an   
offering for sin1 yielded it up to  be  
filled with a sense of our real aspect  
beneath the ,omniscient eye1  and an    
,amen to its condemning look4 ,hence his
 sorrows had nothing  penal in them1 any
 more than the tears of a devout parent 
over a  prodigal child are penal4 ,they 
are incident to that attitude of soul   
which a perfect nature cannot but have  
in the presence of a brother's  sin4    
,they are altogether moral and          
spiritual2 and their efficacy as an     
expiation is that of true repentance2   
expressing at once our entire           
confession1 acceptance of the ,father's 
just displeasure1 and sympathy  with his
 compassionate grieving at our          
alienation4    ,at the same time1 this  
mere retrospective confession would not 
of itself  avail1 were there no better  
hope for the future of mankind4 ,but our
  ,mediator's own experience in         
humanity1 his consciousness of intimate 
peace and communion with the ,father1   

opened to him the other side of our     
nature1 assured him of its secret       
capacity for good1 and filled him with  
hope in the very moment of contrition4  
,as his sympathy could have  fellowship 
with our temptations1 so could ours have
 fellowship with his  righteousness2 and
 the light of ,divine love that rested  
actually on  himself was thereby a      
possibility for the universal human     
soul1 and was  already hovering round   
with longing to descend4 ,it was on the 
strength  of this assurance that his    
intercession on our behalf was          
presented2 it  would never have pleaded 
for indemnity in relation to the past1  
but as  the prelude to a real           
righteousness1 a true partnership in his
 life of  filial harmony with ,god4 ,the
 validity of his transaction on our     
behalf  consisted in its perfect seizure
 of the whole reality1 its entire       
response to the mind of the ,father in  
relation to men2 sorrow for  their      
estrangement1 conviction of their       

possible return1 and desire to  draw    
them into the spirit of genuine         
,sonship4    ,it was needful1 then1--so 
we conceive our author's meaning1--that 
the  sentiments of ,god towards the     
world's sin and misery should quit their
  absolute position1 and should come and
 take their station in humanity2  and   
from that field should turn their gaze  
and expression upward to meet  the      
,father's downward and accordant look4  
,as this ,amen of the ,son to  the mind 
of the ,father constitutes the essence  
of the atonement on the  ,divine side1  
so does it consist on the human side in 
the ,amen of each  individual soul to   
the ,amen of the ,son4 ,the reproduction
 in us of the  filial spirit of         
,christ1--his confession1 his pleading1 
his trust1--is  our fellowship with him 
and reconciliation with ,god4    ,this  
is saving faith1--true                  
righteousness1--being the living action1
  and true and right movement of the    
spirit of the individual man in the     

light of eternal life4 ,and the         
certainty that ,god has accepted that   
perfect and divine ,amen as uttered by  
,christ in humanity is necessarily      
accompanied by the peaceful assurance   
that1 in uttering1 in whatever          
feebleness1 a true ,amen to that high   
,amen1 the individual who is  yielding  
himself to the spirit of ,christ to have
 it uttered in him is  accepted of ,god4
 ,this ,amen in man is the due response 
to that word1 ',be  ye reconciled to    
,god'2 for the gracious and ,gospel     
character of which  word1 as the        
tenderest pleading that can be addressed
 to the most  sin-burdened spirit1 ,i   
have contended above4 ,this ,amen is    
sonship2 for  the ,gospel call1 ',be ye 
reconciled to ,god1' when heard in the  
light of  the knowledge that ',god made 
him to be sin for us who knew no sin1   
that  we might be made the righteousness
 of ,god in him1' is understood to be   
the call to each one of us on the part  
of the ,father of our spirits1 ',my     

son1 give me thine heart1' addressed to 
us on the ground of that work by  which 
the ,son had declared the ,father's     
name1 that the love wherewith  the      
,father hath loved him may be in us1 and
 he in us4 ,in the light  itself of that
 ,amen to the mind of the ,father in    
relation to man which  shines to us in  
the atonement1 we see the righteousness 
of ,god in  accepting the atonement1 and
 in that same light the ,amen of the    
individual human spirit to that divine  
,amen of the ,son of ,god is seen to  be
 what the ,divine righteousness will    
necessarily acknowledge as the  end of  
the atonement accomplished4--p4 #bbe4   
,in this view1 it is not the rescue from
 punishment1 not any favorable  change  
in our legal standing1 not any imputed  
righteousness1 that  ,christ's mediation
 obtains1 but a real transformation of  
soul and  character through the divine  
infection and infusion of his own filial
  spirit4 ,only in so far as his mind   
thus spreads to us are we united to     

him1 or in any way partakers of his gift
 of life4 ,personal alienation  can have
 no reversal but in personal return2 nor
 can anything  extraneous to the nature 
of the ,divine will itself1 to which we 
are  to be reconciled1 have part in     
reconciling us to that will4 ,the fear  
of hell is not repentance2 the assurance
 of heaven is not salvation2  nor under 
any modification can the desire of      
safety1 or the  consciousness of its    
attainment1 constitute the least        
approach to  holiness4 ,the good alone  
can touch the springs of goodness2 and  
the  divine and trustful life of ,christ
 must speak to us on its own  account1  
and win us by its own power1 or not at  
all4 ,not that it acts  on us merely in 
the way of example4 ,we do not so stand 
apart from  him in our independent      
individuality1 that by an external      
imitation we  can copy him1 and become1 
as it were1 each another ,christ1       
repeating  in ourselves his offering of 
propitiation4 ,he is the ,vine1 of which

 we  are the branches4 ,the sap is from 
him1 drawn through the eternal root  of 
righteousness1 and does but flow as a   
derived life into us4 ,the ,son  of ,god
 is not a mere historical personage1 to 
be contemplated at a  distance in the   
past1 but ever with us in the power of  
an endless  life2 still succoring us    
when we are tempted1 and ministering to 
conscience a present help and peace4 ,it
 is not1 therefore1 by  following him1  
but by abiding in him1 that we have our 
fellowship  in his harmony with ,god4   
,the essence1 then1 of the scheme of    
redemption1 in the view of our  author1 
seems to be this3 that the ,divine      
nature entered humanity to  open the    
,fatherliness of ,god by living the life
 of perfect ,sonship2 and  that1 having 
awakened that life in us by this its    
visible realization1  he sustains it by 
the inner presence of his ,spirit4 ,it  
is one of the  obvious consequences of  
this doctrine1 that no exclusive or     
exceptional  value is to be ascribed to 

the death of ,christ4 ,it is simply the 
final  and crowning expression of the   
same filial mind which is the continuous
  essence of his whole existence upon   
earth4 ,nor does the theory attach      
importance to any sufferings of ,christ1
 as such2 but only as media and         
measures of moral expression4 ,had men  
sinned as spirits1 his  reconciling work
 would not have involved death at all3  
but since in our  constitution mortality
 is the wages of sin1 his response to   
the  ,divine mind in regard to sin would
 have been incomplete1 had he not       
honored this law and tasted its         
realization4 ,not to lose sight of the  
main features of the doctrine in pursuit
 of details1 we must pass  without      
notice many curious and subtle thoughts 
of our author on this  part of his      
subject4 ,indeed1 everywhere the reader 
who has patience with  the entangled    
style will find deep hints and delicate 
turns of  reflection4 ,but we must      
withdraw to a little distance from his  

system1  and endeavor to look at it as a
 whole2 fixing attention especially on  
the central point of all1--the          
mediatorial provision1 which replaces   
the penal satisfaction of the elder     
,calvinism1 and the exhibition of       
rectoral justice of the modern divines4 
,instead of an infinite punishment      
endured or represented1 the theory      
offers us an infinite repentance        
performed4 ,repentance for  what8--for  
human sin4 ,repentance by whom8--by ,him
 who knew no sin4  ,is this a thing that
 can be8 ,is vicarious contrition at all
 more  conceivable than vicarious       
retribution8 ,it is surely one and the  
same  difficulty that meets them both4  
,on what ground is the transfer of      
either moral qualities or their effects 
regarded by our author as               
impossible8--because at variance with   
our consciousness of the  personal and  
inalienable nature of sin4 ,but not less
 is this truth  contradicted when we say
 that the guilt may be incurred by one  

person1  and the availing repentance    
take place in another4 ,nor can any     
imagination of ,christ's state of mind  
identify it with penitence4 ,mr4        
,campbell himself describes it 7p4 #ace7
 as having all the elements of  a       
perfect repentance in humanity for all  
the sin of man--a perfect  sorrow--a    
perfect contrition1--all the elements of
 such a repentance1  and that in        
absolute perfection--all--excepting the 
personal  consciousness of sin4 ,this   
exception1 however1 contains just the   
essential element of the whole4         
,penitence without any personal         
consciousness of sin is a contradiction 
in terms2 and the requisition  of the   
,divine law is1 that the sinner shall   
turn from the evil of  his heart1 not   
that the righteous shall make confession
 for him4 ,the  entire moral value of   
contrition belongs to it as the sign of 
inner  change of character from prior   
evil to succeeding good2 and it admits  
of no transplantation from the identical

 personality which has been  the seat of
 the evil and is the candidate for the  
good4    ,further1 it seems a paradox to
 say1 with our author1 that true        
repentance is impossible to man1 who    
alone needs it2 and can be  realized    
only by the ,son of ,god1 in whom there 
is no room for it4 ,it  would indeed be 
a hopeless realm to live in1 which      
should annex to all  sins both an       
imperative demand and an absolute       
disqualification for  adequate          
contrition1 and first open the fountain 
of availing tears in  holy natures that 
have none to shed4 ,it is1 in truth1 of 
the very  essence of repentance to have 
its seat in mixed and imperfect moral   
beings3 and our author lays upon it     
quite an arbitrary requisition1  when he
 insists that1 to pass as adequate1 it  
must contain a perfect  appreciation of 
the sin deplored1--a view of it         
coincident with that  of ,god4 ,under   
such an aspect as this it could never   
have appeared to  us1 though we had     

remained guiltless of it1 and recoiled  
from it3 and  we can hardly be required 
to reach1 in the rebound of recovery1 a 
point beyond the station which would    
have prevented the fall4 ,many  errors  
in theology arise from applying absolute
 conceptions to  relative conditions1   
and forgetting that religion1 as        
realized in us1  is a life1 a movement1 
a progress1 and not an ultimate limit of
  perfection4 ,repentance is a          
transitional state1 to which it is      
absurd  to apply an infinite criterion3 
it is a change from the worse to the    
better mind1 and cannot need the        
resources or belong to the experience   
of the best4 ,to pronounce it impossible
 to the wandering and fallen1  and make 
it the exclusive function of the        
,all-holy1 implies the  strangest       
metamorphosis of its meaning4    ,but   
how1 it may be asked1 could a paradox so
 violent find favor with  an author     
everywhere intent on the exclusion of   
fiction from ,christian  theology8 ,to  

refer a moral act to the wrong          
personality1 to toss  about a solemn    
change like penitence between guilty and
 innocent1 as  if its particular seat   
were a matter of indifference1 is so    
serious an  error1 that it could never  
enter a mind like ,mr4 ,campbell's1     
unless  under some plausible disguise4  
,can we find the shape under which it   
has recommended itself to his approval8 
,the sentiment ascribed to the ,son of  
,god in regard to sin1--wanting as  it  
does the essential penitential element  
of personal compunction1--is  simple    
sorrow for others' guilt1 founded on    
perfect apprehension of  its nature4    
,but this attitude of soul in him       
awakens the conscience of  his          
disciples1 and is reproduced in them by 
fellowship4 ,spread into  their         
consciousness1 it is no longer clear of 
the immediate presence  of sin1 but1    
falling in with it1 assumes the missing 
element1 and  becomes repentance4 ,when 
the ,christian sense of evil1 which ever

  partakes of true contrition1 is thus  
contemplated as a transmigration  of the
 ,mediator's own spirit into the soul1  
the two are so identified  in thought1  
that what is true only of the human     
effect is referred to  the ,divine      
cause2 and the moral sorrow of ,christ  
is regarded as  potentially equivalent  
to repentance1 because that is actually 
the  form of the corresponding          
phenomenon in us4 ,if this1 however1    
explains our author's position1 it      
hardly justifies it4  ,intercession for 
others in their guilt may move them to  
remorse for  their own1 but is a fact of
 quite different nature4 ,as attributes 
and  expressions of character1 the two  
phenomena are not to be confounded2  and
 as affecting our relation to ,god1     
there is the obvious and  admitted      
distinction1 that intercession avails   
not for those who  remain impenitent1   
and would not be needed for the         
spontaneously  penitent4 ,the sorrowful 
expostulations of the ,son of ,god have 

only so  far a reconciling effect as    
they become the medium1 in the hearts of
  men1 of an awakened contrition1       
aspiration1 and faith4 ,we cannot       
conceive them to have immediately       
altered--as repentance does--the        
personal relation between ,god and the  
transgressors of ,his will2 else  the   
change would be a change in the ,divine 
sentiment whilst its  objects still     
remained unchanged4 ,the effect waits   
for its  development in souls melted and
 renewed4 ,and thus the atoning sorrow  
of ,christ becomes simply a provision   
for a healing penitence in men4    ,the 
ascription of repentance to ,christ is  
curious in another point of  view4 ,it  
arises from a blending together of his  
consciousness and his  disciples'2 from 
slurring the lines of personality       
between them2 from  regarding their     
spiritual state as an organic extension 
of his1 and his  as the vital root of   
theirs4 ,in his endeavor to recommend it
 to us1 our  author instinctively runs  

into abstract expressions in speaking of
  mankind2 fusing down concrete men into
 humanity2 referring to the  ,mediator  
as ,god in humanity2 and so1 dealing    
with our nature as if  it were a single 
existence1 carrying or turning up all   
its individuals  as partial phenomena of
 one essence4 ,on the other hand1 in our
 endeavor  to correct his doctrine1 we  
have had to lay stress on the           
inalienable  and separate character of  
all particular persons1 taken one by    
one2 to  insist on the solitude of each 
responsible agent1 and the impassable   
barriers which forbid the transference  
of moral attributes from mind to  mind4 
,which of these two modes of conception 
is the truer8 ,for according  as we     
incline to the one or the               
other1--according as we treat humanity  
as the organic unit of which individual 
samples of mankind are numerical        
accidents1 or take each man as an       
integer1 of which the race is a         
multiple1--shall we lean towards        

mediatorial or towards direct religion4 
,we are firmly convinced that no        
doctrine of mediation--in the strict    
sense implying transactions with ,god on
 behalf of men1 as well as in  the      
opposite direction--can be harmonized   
with the modern  individualism2 and that
 it is precisely in the attempt to unite
 these  incompatibles1 that the forensic
 fictions to which ,mr4 ,campbell       
objects1  and the moral fiction in his  
own theory to which we object1 have had 
their origin4 ,they are mere artificial 
devices to compensate the loss of  that 
realistic mode of conception in which   
alone a true atoning doctrine  can rest 
in peace4 ,so long as you contemplate   
the ,redeemer as a detached  person1 not
 less insulated in his integrity of     
being than angel from  archangel or from
 man1 the difficulty will remain        
insuperable of making  his moral acts   
avail for other human individuals1      
unless by a  fictitious transference1   
against which conscience protests4      

,punishment  by substitute1             
righteousness by deputy1 vicarious      
repentance1 are  notions at variance    
with the fundamental postulates of the  
,moral ,sense3  and in the attempt to   
defend them we are liable to lose the   
solemn1  living1 face-to-face reality of
 the strife within us1 and to weave     
around us a web of legal and formal     
relations1 as little like any           
heart-felt veracity as a chancery decree
 to a law of nature4 ,in  proportion as 
the soul is pierced with a sharper      
contrition1 and attains  a deeper and   
clearer insight into her own unfaithful 
disorder1 will the  inherent            
impossibility of any foreign exchange of
 righteousness become  apparent1 and the
 desire to be shielded from punishment  
will pass away3  nor is the conscience  
truly awakened which does not rather    
rush into the  arms of its just anguish 
than start back and fly away4 ,and the  
more you  hold up to view the holiness  
of ,christ1 the darker will the personal

  past appear to grow2 for self-reproach
 will say3 ,yes1 ,i see him as the  holy
 ,son of ,god2 the guiltier am ,i that  
the vision did not keep me from  my sin4
 ,talk to such a one of ,christ's       
transactions on our behalf1 as  federal 
head of a redeemed people2 and his      
misery will take no  notice of the cold 
pretence1 unless to think1 ,whatever    
engagements he  made for me1 ,i have    
broken them all4 ,in short1 while       
,christ is regarded  simply as an       
historical individual1 with the chasm of
 an incommunicable  personality between 
him and us1 no ingenuity can construct1 
except from  the ruins of moral law1 any
 other bridge of mediation than the     
suasion  of natural reverence1 by which 
his image passes into the heart of      
faith4    ,it is otherwise when we break
 through the restraints of the modern   
individualism1 and strive to enter into 
that literal identification of  ,christ 
with ,christians which is so frequent   
with ,st4 ,paul4 ,if1 instead  of saying

 that ,christ had our human nature1 we  
could put our thought  into this        
form1--,he was 7and is7 our human       
nature1--if we could  suppose our type  
of being not merely represented in him  
as a sample1 but  concentrated in him as
 a whole1--we should read its essentials
 and  destination in his biography3 his 
predicates would be its predicates3  and
 in his sorrows and sanctity it might   
undergo purification4 ,humanity  thus   
made into a person would then be the    
corresponding fact to ,deity  embodied  
in a person3 both would be              
,incarnations1--essential ,manhood  and 
essential ,godhead1--co-present in the  
same manifested life4 ,in the  ordinary 
conception of the doctrine of two       
natures1 ,christ is  represented1 we    
believe1 as a man2 in the mode of       
thought to which we  now refer1 he      
appears as ,man4 ,the difficulties which
 arise in the  attempt to carry out this
 form of thinking are evident enough1   
even to  those who know nothing of the  

,parmenides of ,plato4 ,indeed1 they are
  rendered so obtrusive by our modern   
habits of mind1 that even a  momentary  
seizure1 for mere purposes of           
interpretation1 of that older           
intellectual posture1 scarcely remains  
possible to us4 ,the apprehension  of   
it1 however1 is indispensable to one who
 would appreciate the  mediatorial      
theology of ,christendom1--a theology   
which never could have  sprung up if our
 present conceptualist and nominalist   
notions had always  prevailed1 and      
which1 ever since their ascendency in   
,europe1 has been  driven to deplorable 
shifts of self-justification4 ,the      
parallel between  the first and second  
,adam1 the fall and the restoration1 the
 death  incurred and the life recovered1
 acquire new meaning for those who thus 
think1--that as the incidents of ,adam's
 existence become generic by  descent1  
so the incidents of ,christ's existence 
are generic by  diffusion2 that if in   
the one we see humanity at head-quarters

 in  time1 in the other we see it at    
head-quarters in comprehension2 so      
that1 like an atmosphere which1 purified
 at nucleus1 has the taint drawn  off   
from its margin1 our nature is freed    
from its sickliness in him4 ,it  becomes
 intelligible to us in what sense we are
 to take refuge in him as  our including
 term1 to find in him an epitome of our 
true existence1 to  die 7even to have   
died7 with him1 to suffer with him1 to  
be risen with  him1 to dwell above in   
him4 ,on the assumption of such a union1
 his life  ceases to be an individual   
biography2 what is manifested in him    
personally1 becomes true of us          
universally2 and it is as if we were    
all--like special examples in a general 
rule1 or undeveloped truths in a  parent
 principle--virtually present in his    
dealings with evil and with  ,god4 ,it  
is evident1 that in this view his       
mediation has no chasm to  cross1 no    
foreign region to enter1 but is an      
inseparable predicate of  his own       

personal acts4 ,the facility of         
conception afforded by this  method is  
betrayed by ,mr4 ,campbell's resort to  
an analogous hypothesis  as a mere      
illustrative help to the mind4 ,witness 
the following striking  passage3--      
,that we may fully realize what manner  
of equivalent to the dishonor  done to  
the law and name of ,god by sin an      
adequate repentance and  sorrow for sin 
must be1 and how far more truly than any
 penal  infliction such repentance and  
confession must satisfy ,divine justice1
  let us suppose that all the sin of    
humanity has been committed by one      
human spirit1 on whom is accumulated    
this immeasurable amount of  guilt2 and 
let us suppose this spirit1 loaded with 
all this guilt1 to  pass out of sin into
 holiness1 and to become filled with the
 light of  ,god1 becoming perfectly     
righteous with ,god's own               
righteousness1--such  a change1 were    
such a change possible1 would imply in  
the spirit so  changed a perfect        

condemnation of the past of its own     
existence1 and  an absolute and perfect 
repentance1 a confession of its sin     
commensurate with its evil4 ,if the     
sense of personal identity  remained1 it
 must be so4 ,now1 let us contemplate   
this repentance with  reference to the  
guilt of such a spirit1 and the question
 of pardon  for its past sin and        
admission now to the light of ,god's    
favor4 ,shall  this repentance be       
accepted as an atonement1 and1 the past 
sin being  thus confessed1 shall the    
,divine favor flow out on that present  
perfect righteousness which thus        
condemns the past1 or shall that        
repentance be declared inadequate8      
,shall the present perfect              
righteousness be rejected on account of 
the past sin1 so absolutely  and        
perfectly repented of8 and shall ,divine
 justice still demand  adequate         
punishment for the past sin1 and refuse 
to the present  righteousness adequate  
acknowledgment1--the favor which1 in    

respect of  its own nature1 belongs to  
it8 ,it appears to me impossible to give
 any  but one answer to these questions4
 ,we feel that such a repentance as  we 
are supposing would1 in such a case1 be 
the true and proper  satisfaction to    
offended justice4 ,now1 with the        
difference of  personal identity1 the   
case ,i have supposed is the actual case
 of  ,christ1 the holy one of ,god1     
bearing the sins of all men on his      
spirit1--in ,luther's words1 'the one   
sinner1'--and meeting the cry of  these 
sins for judgment1 and the wrath due to 
them1 absorbing and  exhausting that    
,divine wrath in that adequate          
confession and perfect  response on the 
part of man which was possible only to  
the infinite  and eternal righteousness 
in humanity4--p4 #adc4    ,the case     
which our author here presents as an aid
 to the imagination  was to ,luther the 
literal reality2 to whom1 accordingly1  
,christ was  the one sinner1 without the
 difference of personal identity1  which

 is here so innocently slipped in1 as if
 it were of no  consequence4 ,christ1 in
 the ,reformer's view1 was humanity1 our
  humanity2 and the grand function and  
triumph of faith is to feel  ourselves  
included in him1 to merge our           
individuality1 sins and all1  in his    
comprehending manhood and atoning       
obedience4 ,hence the stress  which     
,luther lays on the well-applying the   
pronoun our1 in the  phrase1 who gave   
himself for our sins2 that this one     
syllable being  believed may swallow up 
all thy sins4 ,the effect of this       
realism on  the theology of ,luther has 
not been sufficiently remarked4 ,we     
believe  it to be the key to much that  
is obscure in his writings1 and the     
secret source of his antipathy to the   
,calvinistic type of the  ,reformation4 
,absorption of ,manhood into            
,christ1--distribution of  ,godhead into
 humanity1--these were the correlative  
parts of his  objective                 
belief1--,atonement and ,eucharistic    

,real ,presence3 and  neither in        
themselves nor in their correspondence  
can they be  appreciated1 without       
standing with him at the point of view  
which we  have endeavored to indicate4  
,whether mediatorial religion shall     
continue to include in its scheme  some 
provision for dealing with ,god on      
behalf of men1 will mainly  depend on   
the successful revival or the final     
abandonment of the old  realistic modes 
of thought4 ,mr4 ,campbell's compromise 
with them1  taking refuge with them for 
illustration while disowning them in    
substance1 answers no logical or        
theological purpose at all4 ,if he      
follows out the natural tendencies and  
affinities of his faith1 he  must rest  
exclusively at last in the other half of
 the doctrine1 which  exhibits the      
dealing with man on behalf of ,god4 ,in 
this best sense  mediatorial religion is
 imperishable1 and imperishably         
identified with  ,christianity4 ,the    
,son of ,god1 at once above our life and

 in our life1  morally divine and       
circumstantially human1 mediates for us 
between the  self so hard to escape1 and
 the ,infinite so hopeless to reach2 and
  draws us out of our mournful darkness 
without losing us in excess of  light4  
,he opens to us the moral and spiritual 
mysteries of our  existence1 appealing  
to a consciousness in us that was asleep
 before4  ,and though he leaves whole   
worlds of thought approachable only by  
silent wonder1 yet his own walk of      
heavenly communion1 his words of  grace 
and works of power1 his strife of divine
 sorrow1 his cross of  self-sacrifice1  
his reappearance behind the veil of life
 eternal1 fix  on him such holy trust   
and love1 that1 where we are denied the 
assurance of knowledge1 we attain the   
repose of faith4          ,,five        
,,points ,,of ,,christian ,,faith4      
,it is at all times difficult1 even for 
the wisest1 to describe aright  the     
tendencies of the age in which they     
live1 and lay down its  bearings on the 

great chart of human affairs4 ,our own  
sensations can  give us no notice       
whither we are going2 and the infinite  
life-stream  on which we ride1 restless 
as it is with the surface-waves of      
innumerable events1 reports nothing of  
the mighty current that sweeps  us on1  
except by faint and silent intimations  
legible only to the  skilled interpreter
 of heaven4 ,it is something1 however1  
to have the  feeling that we are moving1
 and to be awake and looking out2 and   
perhaps there never was a period in     
which this consciousness was more       
diffused throughout society than in our 
own4 ,no one can look up and  around at 
the religious and social phenomena of   
,christendom1 without  the persuasion   
that we are entering a new hemisphere of
 the world's  history1--a persuasion    
corroborated even by those who disclaim 
it1 and  who insist on still steering by
 lights of tradition now sinking into   
the mists of the receding horizon4      
,wherever we turn our eye1 we  discover 

some symptom of an impending revolution 
in the forms of  ,christian faith4 ,the 
gross materialism and absolute unbelief 
diffused  for the first time among vast 
masses of our population2 the           
fast-spreading 7and1 as it appears to   
us1 morbid7 dislike to look  steadily at
 anything miraculous2 the extensive     
renunciation1 even  among the religious 
classes on the ,continent1 of historical
  ,christianity2 the schisms and        
ever-new peculiarities which are        
weakening all sects1 and1 like seedlings
 of the ,reformation1 are  obscuring the
 species1 by multiplying the varieties1 
of opinion2 the  revived controversies1 
penetrating all the great political     
questions  of the age1 between the      
ecclesiastical and civil powers1--are   
not the  only indications of approaching
 theological change4 ,that very         
conservatism and recoil upon the high   
doctrine of an elder time1 which  is    
manifest in every section of the        
,christian world1 is a confession  by   

contrast of the same thing4 ,for opinion
 does not turn round and  retreat into  
the past1 till it has lost its natural  
shelter in the  present1 and dreads some
 merciless storm in the future4 ,the    
outward  strength which the older       
churches of our country seem to be      
acquiring  arises from the rallying of  
alarm and the herding together of       
trembling sympathies2 and though fear   
may unite men against external  assaults
 upon institutions1 it cannot stop the  
decay of inward doubt4  ,it would seem  
as if ,christianity was threatened by   
the mental activity  which it has itself
 created2 as if the intellectual weapons
 which have  been forged and tempered by
 its skill were treacherously turned    
against its life4 ,it is vain1 however1 
to strike a power that is  immortal2    
nothing will fall but the bodily form   
cast for a season  around the           
imperishable spirit4    ,protestantism1 
with all its blessings1 has after all   
greatly  disfigured ,christianity1 by   

constructing it into a rigid            
metaphysical  form1 and setting it up on
 a narrow pedestal of antiquarian       
proof2--by  destroying its infinite     
character through definitions1 and      
developing  it dogmatically rather than 
spiritually2--by treating it1 not as an 
ideal glory around the life of man1 but 
a logical incision into the  psychology 
of ,god4 ,the wreck of systems framed   
under this false  conception will but   
leave the pure spirit of our religion in
 the  enjoyment of a more sacred        
homage2--you may dash the image1 but you
  cannot touch the god4    ,in the      
following remarks we shall seek to make 
this evident2--to show  what principles 
of religion in general1 and of          
,christianity in  particular1 may be    
pronounced safe from the shocks of      
doubt4 ,in times  of consternation and  
uncertainty1 it behooves each one to    
look within  him for the heart of       
courage1 and around him for the place of
 shelter1  and to single out1 amid      

countless points of danger1 some refuge 
immutable and eternal4 ,with this view1 
we propose to trace an outline  of      
,christian truths which we consider     
secure and durable as our very          
nature2--a chain of granite points      
rising1 like the rock of ages1  above   
the shifting seas of human opinion4 ,in 
doing so1 we shall be  simply           
delineating ,unitarian ,christianity1   
according to our conception  of         
it2--expounding it1 not as a barren     
negation1 but as a scheme of  positive  
religion2 exhibiting both its           
characteristic faiths1 and  something of
 the modes of thought by which they are 
reached4           99       99       99 
99       99    ,i4 ,in the first place1 
,,we ,,have ,,faith in the ,moral       
,perceptions of  ,man4 ,the conscience  
with which he is endowed enables him to 
appreciate the distinction between right
 and wrong2 to understand the  meaning  
of ought1 and ought not2 to love and    
revere whatever  is great and excellent 

in character1 to abhor the mean and     
base2 and  to feel that in the contrast 
between these we have the highest order 
of differences by which mind can be     
separated from mind4 ,and on this       
consciousness1--the basis of our whole  
responsible existence1--no  suspicion is
 to be cast2 no lamentation over its    
fallibility1 no hint  of possible       
delusion1 is to pass unrebuked2 it is   
worthy of absolute  reliance as the     
authoritative oracle of our nature1     
supreme over all  its                   
faculties1--entitled to use sense1      
memory1 understanding1 to  register its 
decrees1 without a moment's license to  
dispute them4 ,that  ,justice1 ,mercy1  
and ,truth are good and venerable1 is no
 matter of  doubtful opinion1 in which  
peradventure an error may be hid2--is   
not  even a thing of certain inference1 
recommended to us by the force of       
evidence2--is not an empirical judgment1
 depending on the  pleasurableness of   
these qualities1 and capable of         

reversal1 if1 under  some tyrant sway1  
they were to be rendered sources of     
misery4 ,the  approval which we award to
 them is quite distinct from assent to a
  scientific probability2 the excellence
 which we ascribe to them is not        
identical with their command of         
happiness1 but altogether transcends    
this1 precedes it1 and survives it2 the 
obligation they lay upon us is  not the 
consequence of positive law1 human or   
divine1 or in any way  the creature of  
superior will2 for all free-will must   
itself possess a  moral quality1--can   
never stir without exercising it1--and  
cannot  therefore give rise to that     
which is a prior condition of its own   
activity4 ,and if 7to pursue the thought
 suggested above7 we could be  snatched 
away to some distant world1 some        
out-province of the  universe1 abandoned
 by ,god's blessed sway to the          
absolutism of demons1  where selfishness
 and sensuality1 and hate and falsehood1
 were  protected and enjoined by public 

law1 it is clear that1 by such          
emigration1 our interests only1 and not 
our duties1 would be reversed2  and that
 to rebel and perish were nobler than to
 comply and live4 ,the  discernment of  
moral distinctions1 then1 belongs to the
 very highest  order of certainties2 it 
has its seat in our deepest reason1     
among the  primitive strata of thought1 
on which the depositions of knowledge1  
and the accumulations of judgment1 and  
the surface growths of opinion1  all    
repose4 ,as experience in the past has  
not taught it1 experience in  the future
 cannot unteach it4 ,the difference     
between good and evil  we cannot        
conceive to be merely relative1 and     
incidental to our point  of             
view1--variable with the locality and   
the class in which a being  happens to  
rest1--an optical caprice of the        
atmosphere in which we  live2--but      
rather a property of the very light     
itself1 found  everywhere out of the    
region of absolute night2 or1 at least1 

a  natural impression1 belonging to that
 perceptive eye of the soul1  through   
which alone we can look out1 as through 
a glass1 upon all  beings and all       
worlds2 and if any one will say that the
 glass is  colored1 it is1 at all       
events1 the tint of nature1 shed on it  
by the  ineffaceable art of the         
,creator4 ,the modes in which we think  
of moral  qualities are not terrestrial 
peculiarities of idea1 like foreign     
prejudices2 the terms in which we speak 
of them are not untranslatable          
provincial idioms1 vulgarities of our   
planetary dialect1 but are  familiar1   
like the symbols of a divine science1 to
 every tribe of  souls1 belonging to the
 language of the universe1 and standing 
defined in the vocabulary of ,god4 ,the 
laws of right are more  necessarily     
universal than the physical laws of     
force2 and if the same  agency of       
gravitation that governs the rain-drop  
determines the  evolutions of the sky1  
and the ,principia of ,newton would be  

no less  intelligible and true on the   
ring of ,saturn than in the libraries of
  this earth1--yet more certain is it   
that the principles of moral            
excellence1 truly expounded for the     
smallest sphere of responsibility1  hold
 good1 by mere extension1 for the       
largest1 and that those  sentiments of  
conscience which may give order and     
beauty to the life  of a child1         
constitute the blessedness of immortals1
 and penetrate the  administration of   
,god4 ,this is what we intend1 when we  
insist on  implicit faith in the moral  
perceptions of man4 ,they are to be     
assumed  by us as the fixed station1 the
 grand heliocentric position1 whence    
our survey of the spiritual universe    
must be made1 and our system of         
religion constructed4 ,whatever else may
 move1 here1 as in creation's  centre of
 gravity1 we take our everlasting stand4
 ,whatever else be  doubtful1 these are 
to be simply trusted4 ,the force of     
certainty by  which nature and ,god give

 them to the conscience exceeds any by  
which1  either through the understanding
 or through external supernatural       
communication1 they might seem to be    
drawn away4 ,no revelation could        
persuade me that what ,i revere as just1
 and good1 and holy1 is not  venerable1 
any more than it could convince me that 
the midnight  heavens are not sublime4  
,there is nothing to move us from this  
position1 in the objection1 that        
different men have different ideas of   
right and wrong1 and that the  heroic   
deeds of one latitude are regarded as   
the crimes of another4 ,this  moral     
discrepancy is1 in the first place1     
infinitely small in proportion  to the  
moral agreement of mankind1 so that it  
is even difficult to find  many striking
 examples of it2 and when the subject is
 mentioned1  everybody expects to hear  
the self-immolation of the ,indian      
widow1 and  other superstitions of the  
,ganges1 adduced as the standing        
illustrations4 ,what1 after all1 are    

these eccentricities of the moral       
sense1 compared with the scale of its   
common consent8 ,as well might you  deny
 the existence of an atmosphere1 because
 you have found the air  exhausted from 
a pump6 ,where is the nation or the     
individual1 without  the rudiments1     
however imperfectly unfolded1 of the    
same great ideas of  duty which we      
possess ourselves8--where the language1 
in which there are  no terms to denote  
good and evil1--the just1 the brave1 the
  merciful8--where the tribe so         
barbarous as not to listen1 with earnest
  eye1 to the story of the good         
,samaritan8 ,and if such there were1    
should  we not call them a people but   
little human 7inhuman71 and deem them1  
not the specimens1 but the outlaws of   
our nature8 ,moreover1 the  variances of
 moral judgment are usually only        
apparent and external4 ,the  action     
which one man pronounces wrong and      
another right1 is not the  same1 except 
upon the lips3 enter the minds of the   

two disputants1 and  you will find that 
it is only half taken into the view of  
each1 and  presents to them its opposite
 hemispheres2 no wonder that it shows   
the  darkness of guilt to the one1 and  
the sunshine of virtue to the other4    
,and accordingly1 these differences     
actually vanish as the faculty of       
conscience unfolds itself1 and the scope
 of the mind is enlarged4 ,like  the    
discrepancies in the ideas which men    
have of beauty1 they exist  principally 
between the uncultivated and the        
refined3 and the  well-developed        
perceptions of the best in all ages and 
countries visibly  agree4 ,nay1 while   
yet the discordance lasts1 it introduces
 no real  doubt3 for heaven has         
established a moral subordination among 
men1 which  reveals the real truth of   
our own nature4 ,do we not always see1  
that the  lower conscience bows before  
the higher2--that the heart1 without    
light  or heat itself1 may be pierced1  
as with a flash1 by a sentiment darted  

from a loftier soul1 and own it to be   
from above2--that1 simply by this       
natural allegiance of the lesser to the 
nobler1 classes and nations and  sects  
are raised in dignity and moral         
greatness2--that they1 and they  only1  
have had any grand and sublime existence
 in the history of the  world1 who have 
been gifted with power to create a new  
religion1--a  fresh development of what 
is holy and divine2--and that every one 
so  endowed has always gathered around  
him the multitudes ever praying to  be  
lifted above the level of their life1   
and blessing the benefactor who  wakes  
up the consciousness of their higher    
nature8 ,and if so1 the  general        
direction of the moral sentiment is the 
same1 however its  intensity may vary3  
and the irregular indications which it  
gives are not  due to any inherent      
vacillation1 but to the disturbing      
causes which  deflect it from the       
celestial line of simplicity and truth4 
,we keep our foot1 then1 on this        

primitive foundation1--faith in the     
moral perceptions of man4 ,we say1 that 
we know what we mean1 when we  affirm   
that a being is just1 pure1             
disinterested1 merciful2 that these     
terms describe one particular kind of   
character1 and one only2 that  they have
 the same sense to whomsoever they are  
applied1 and are not  to be juggled     
with1 so as to denote quite opposite    
forms of action and  disposition1       
according as our discourse may be of    
heaven or of earth2  that whenever they 
lose their ordinary and intelligible    
signification1  they become senseless2  
and that what would be wrong and odious 
in any  one moral agent1 can be1 under  
similar relations1 right and lovely in  
no other4 ,these positions1 which we    
take to be fundamental1 are in  direct  
contradiction to the theological maxims 
with which most  churches begin2--viz4  
that human nature is so depraved that   
its  conscience has lost its            
discernment1 sees everything through a  

corrupted medium1 and deserves no trust2
 that it may surrender its  convictions 
to anything which can bring fair        
historical evidence of  its being a     
revelation2--in other words1 that it may
 be right to throw  away our ideas of   
right1 and1 in obedience to antiquarian 
witnesses1  suppose it holy in ,god to  
design and execute a scheme which it    
would  be a crime in man to imitate4    
,these principles are defended by the   
assertion1 that the relations of the    
,divine and the human being are so      
different as to destroy all the         
analogies of character between them4    
,the only tendency1 both of this defence
 and of the principles  themselves1 is  
to absolute scepticism2--to atheistical 
scepticism1  inasmuch as our            
propositions respecting ,god1 if not    
true in the plain  human sense1 are to  
us true in no other1 and represent      
nothing2 to  moral scepticism1 inasmuch 
as1 the sentiments of conscience being  
exposed to distrust1 and all its        

language rendered unsettled1 the very   
ground on which human character must    
plant itself is loosened2 the  rock of  
duty melts into water beneath our feet1 
and we are cast into  the waves of      
impulse and caprice4           99       
99       99       99       99    ,,ii4  
,we have ,faith in the ,moral           
,perfection of ,god4 ,this indeed is a  
plain consequence of our reliance on the
 natural sentiments of duty4  ,for it is
 not1 we apprehend1 by our logical1 but 
by our moral faculty1  that we have our 
knowledge of ,god2 and he who most      
confides in the  instructor will learn  
the sacred lesson best4 ,that one whom  
we may  call the ,holiest rules the     
universe1 is no discovery made by the   
intellect in its excursions1 but a      
revelation found by the conscience  on  
retiring into itself2 and though we may 
reason in defence of this  great truth1 
and these reasonings1 when constructed1 
may look  convincing enough1 they are   
not1 we conceive1 the source1 but rather

  the effect1 of our belief1--not the   
forethought which actually  precedes and
 introduces the ,faith1 but the         
afterthought by which ,faith  seeks to  
make a friend and an intimate of the    
understanding4 ,does any  one hesitate  
to admit this1 and think that our       
conceptions of the  ,divine character   
are inferences regularly drawn from     
observation1--not  indeed observation on
 the mere physical arrangements1 but on 
the moral  phenomena1 of our            
world1--from the traces of a regard to  
character in  the administration of     
human life8 ,we will not at present     
dispute the  conclusion2 but1 observing 
that the premises which furnish it are  
certain moral experiences1 we remark    
that the very power of  receiving and   
appreciating these1 of knowing what they
 are worth1  belongs not to our         
scientific faculty1 but to our sense of 
justice and  of right4 ,on a being      
destitute of this they would make no    
impression2  and in precise proportion  

to the intensity of this feeling will be
 the  vividness and force of their      
persuasion4 ,and is it not plain in     
fact1 that it is far from being the     
clear and acute intellect1 but  rather  
the pure and transparent heart1 that    
best discerns ,god8 ,how  many strong   
and sagacious judgments1 of coolest     
capacity for the just  estimate of      
argument1 never attain to any deep      
conviction of a perfect  ,deity6 ,nay1  
how much does scepticism on this great  
matter seem to be  proportioned1 not to 
the obtuseness1 but rather to the       
subtlety and  searchingness of the mere 
understanding8 ,but when was it ever    
known  that the singularly pure and     
simple heart1 the earnest and aspiring  
conscience1 the lofty and disinterested 
soul1 had no faith in the  ,first fair  
and the ,first good8 ,philosophy at its 
ease1 apart from  the real              
responsibilities and strong battle of   
life1 loses its diviner  sympathies1 and
 lapses into the scrupulosity of doubt1 

and from the  centre of comfort weeps   
over the miseries of earth1 and the     
questionable benevolence of heaven2     
while the practically tried and         
struggling1 with moral force growing    
beneath the pressure of crushing  toil1 
look up with a refreshing trust1 and    
with worn and bleeding feet  pant       
happily along to the abodes of          
everlasting love4 ,the moral  victor1   
flushed with triumph over temptation1   
feels that ,god is on his  side1 and    
that the spirit of the universe is in   
sympathy with his joy4  ,never did any  
one spend himself in the service of man1
 and yet despair  of the benignity of   
,god4 ,our faith1 then1 in the ,divine  
perfection1  forms and disengages itself
 from the deeps of conscience3 and the  
,holiest that broods over us solemnly   
rises--the awful spirit of              
eternity--from the ocean of our moral   
nature4    ,it is in conformity with    
this doctrine of the moral origin of our
  belief in the first principles of     

religion1 that to every man his ,god  is
 his best and highest1 the embodiment of
 that which the believer  himself       
conceives to be the greatest4 ,the image
 which he forms of that  ,being may     
indeed be gross and terrible2 and others
 may be shocked1 and  exclaim that he   
trusts1 not in a ,divinity1 but in a    
,fiend3 but will  the worshipper himself
 perceive and acknowledge this8--will he
 not  indignantly deny it8--will he not 
eagerly vindicate the perfection of  the
 ,deity he serves8 ,he can do no        
otherwise2 for he discerns nothing  more
 sublime1 and cannot be convinced that  
that is low which stands  at the summit 
of his thoughts4 ,this uniform          
phenomenon in the history  of religion  
could not exist1 if human faith were an 
inference of  intellectual origin4      
,there would be nothing then to prevent 
some  men1 in their reasonings on the   
probable character of ,god1 from        
assigning to that character a place     
beneath their own conceptions of  what  

is most excellent2 and amid the infinite
 varieties of  speculation1 many forms  
of this opinion would undoubtedly arise4
 ,let  any one1 then1 who dissents from 
the account which we have given1 ask    
himself this question3 ,why is it1 that 
to discover a blemish in a  divinity is 
the same thing as to renounce faith in  
him2 and that1 even  in pagan times1 to 
assail the character of the gods was the
 constant  mark of an unbelieving age8  
,is it not clear that1 by a constraining
  necessity of our being1 we are        
compelled to regard the godlike and the 
perfect as identical1 and to look to    
heaven through the eye of our  moral    
nature8 ,the ,intellect alone1 like the 
telescope waiting for an  observer1 is  
quite blind to the celestial things     
above it1--a dead  mechanism dipped in  
night1--ready to serve as the dioptric  
glass1  spreading the images of light   
from the ,infinite on the tender and    
living retina of ,conscience4    ,if1   
then1 there is no discernment of ,deity 

except through our moral  sense1 the    
importance of confiding in the          
perceptions of that  sense1--of         
rendering our consciousness of them     
vivid and  distinct1--and the           
corresponding mischief of distrusting   
and  repudiating these our appointed    
instructors1--become evident4 ,faith in 
the human conscience is necessary to    
faith in the ,divine perfection3  and   
this again is the needful prelude to the
 belief in any special  revelation4     
,for1 unless we are first assured of the
 truth and  excellence of ,god1 we      
cannot tell that his communications may 
not  deceive us1 giving us false notices
 of things1 and agitating us with       
illusory hopes and fears4 ,this might be
 apprehended from a ,being of           
undetermined benevolence and integrity3 
and that this idea of a  mendacious     
revelation has never seriously entered  
the minds of men1  is a strong proof of 
their natural and necessary faith in the
  rectitude and goodness of the ,divine 

,administrator of creation4 ,this       
,moral ,perfection of ,god being assumed
 as a postulate in the very idea  of a  
,revelation1 no system of religion which
 contradicts it can be  admitted as     
credible on any terms4    ,now the whole
 scheme of ,redemption1 as it is        
represented in the popular  theology1   
appears to us to fall under this        
condemnation4 ,under the  names of      
,justice1 ,sanctity1 ,mercy1 it ascribes
 to the ,all-perfect a  course of       
sentiment and of practice which--it is  
undeniable--no other  moral agent1      
placed in analogous relations1 could    
adopt without the  deepest guilt4 ,the  
,holiness of ,god1 so often adduced to  
justify the  severities of this scheme1 
we would yield to no one in earnestly   
maintaining2 believing1 as we do1 that  
his abhorrence of moral evil is         
absolute and everlasting1 his resistance
 to it real and true1 and his  love of  
excellence simply infinite as his       
nature4 ,but purity of mind  does not   

express itself by implacable vengeance  
against the impure1 or  oblige its      
possessor to engage himself in          
physically smiting them1--much  less    
limit him through all eternity to this  
mode of administration4  ,rather does it
 incline away from a treatment which too
 often adds only  torment1 and removes  
no guilt1--which makes no advance       
towards the  blessed dispositions it    
loves1--which fevers and parches instead
 of  cooling and melting the passions of
 a culprit nature4 ,it is a coarse and  
wretched error to suppose that anguish  
is a specific for sin1 to the  incessant
 infliction of which the ,sinless is    
bound4 ,god never departs  indeed from  
his devotion to the laws of goodness1   
and his design of  calling wider and    
wider virtue into existence3 but he     
pursues them with  the fertility of his 
infinite free-will2--now by the         
severities of his  displeasure1--now by 
the openness of his forgiveness1--now by
 the  solicitations of his love4 ,his   

purpose1 as one whose perfection is not 
merely spotless1 but active and         
productive1 cannot be1 as some          
,christians seem to say1 the penal      
publication of his personal offence     
against the insulters of his law1 but   
the spread and cultivation  throughout  
his spiritual universe of pure and high 
affections3 and  whenever the new germs 
of these appear in the garden of the    
,lord1 no  vernal sunshine or summer    
dews can more gently cherish the        
bursting  flower1 than does his mercy   
foster the fair and early growth4 ,the  
assertion that ,god cannot pardon and   
recall to goodness till he has  expended
 his tortures upon the evil1 seems to us
 a plain denial of his  moral           
excellence4 ,theologians speak as if    
there were some crime1 or at  least some
 weakness1 in the clemency which freely 
receives a repentant  creature into     
favor2 as if the mercy which exacts no  
penalty1 when  penalty is no longer     
needed1 were an amiable imbecility of   

human nature1  which only a             
loose-principled and unholy being can   
exercise6 as if  absolute unforgiveness 
were the perfection of sanctity6 ,true1 
this is  disclaimed in words2 and the   
,eternal ,father is called merciful1 for
  remitting the sinner's doom and       
transferring the burden of his guilt to 
a victim divine and pure4 ,but surely   
this disclaimer is more insulting  to   
our moral sense than the accusation4    
,for1 either this transference of       
righteousness and guilt is a mere figure
 of speech1 denoting only that1  from   
the death on ,calvary1 ,god took        
chronological occasion to pass his  own 
spontaneous pardon1 and set up the cross
 to mark the date of his  volition2 or  
else1 if the vicariousness be not this  
mere pretence1 it  describes an outrage 
upon the first principles of rectitude1 
a reckless  disregard of all moral      
considerations1 from the thought of     
which we are  astonished that all good  
men do not recoil4    ,we press once    

more the question which has never been  
answered3 ,how is  the alleged          
immorality of letting off the sinner    
mended by the added  crime of penally   
crushing the ,sinless8 ,of what man--of 
what  angel--could such a thing be      
reported1 without raising a cry of      
indignant shame from the universal human
 heart8 ,what should we think  of a     
judge who should discharge the felons   
from the prisons of a city1  because    
some noble and generous citizen offered 
himself to the  executioner instead8    
,and if this would be barbarity below1  
it cannot  be holiness above4 ,moral    
excellence and beauty1 we repeat1 are no
  local growths1 changing their species 
with every clime2 nor are the  poisonous
 weeds of this outer region the chosen  
adornments of  paradise4 ,the principles
 of ,justice and ,right embrace all     
beings and  all times1 and1 like the    
indestructible conception of space1     
attach  themselves to our contemplation 
of objects within the remotest          

infinitude4 ,it is no more possible that
 what would be evil in man  should be   
good in ,god1 than that a circle on     
earth should be a square  in heaven4    
,having faith1 then1 in the absolute    
perfection of our  ,creator1 we dare    
ascribe to ,him nothing which revolts   
the secret  conscience ,he has given us4
           99       99       99       99
       99    ,,iii4 ,the relation which 
thus subsists between the human         
conscience and  the ,divine excellence  
leads us to avow1 in the next place1 a  
,,faith in  the strictly ,divine and    
,inspired ,character of our own highest 
,desires  and best ,affections4 ,we do  
not mean by this1 that these affections 
are of miraculous origin2 that their    
appearance breaks through any  regular  
law2 or that they do not belong to our  
own nature so as to  form an integrant  
part of its history2 or that they do not
 arise  spontaneously within it1 but    
require to be precipitated upon it from 
without4 ,they are as much properties of

 our own minds1 as our  selfishness and 
sin3 we are conscious of them1 and so   
they cannot  but be parts of our        
personality4#be ,but in admitting them  
to be  human1 ,i do not deny that they  
are divine3 in regarding them as        
indigenous to our created spirit1 ,i do 
not treat them as foreign to  the       
,creator's2 nor is there any            
inconsistency in believing them to be   
simultaneously domesticated with both4  
,that which is included within  the mind
 of man1 is not therefore excluded from 
the mind of ,god2  much less is it true 
that occurrences agreeable to the order 
of nature  are1 by that circumstance1   
disqualified from being held the        
immediate  products of the ,heavenly    
,will4 ,the ,supreme ,cause1 so far from
 being  shut out by his own secondary   
causes and natural laws1 has now at     
least no residence1 no activity1 no     
existence1 except within them2 ,he      
covers1 penetrates1 fills them2 thinks1 
speaks1 executes1 through  them1 as the 

media of his volition3 and ,his energy  
and theirs not  only may coincide1 but  
even must coalesce4 ,he is not to be    
brought  down from his universal        
dominion to the rank of one of the      
physical  causes active in creation1    
doing that only which the others have   
left  undone4 ,will any one stand with  
me by the midnight sea1 and1 because    
the tides in the deep below hang upon   
the moon in the heavens above1  forbid  
me to hear in their sweep the very voice
 of ,god1 and tell me  that1 while they 
roll untired on1 ,he sleeps through the 
silent vault  around me8 ,it is by the  
law of gravitation that the planets find
 an  unerring track in the desert space2
 and is it false1 then1 that ,he        
leadeth them forth with his finger1 and 
bids us note1 in pledge of  his         
punctuality1 that not one faileth8 ,is  
there any error in  ascribing the very  
same event at one time to gravitation1  
at another  to ,god8 ,certainly not2 for
 this is but one of the forms of his    

personal activity4 ,and it is the same  
in the world of ,mind2 its  natural laws
 do not exclude1 but1 on the contrary1  
include1 the direct  ,divine agency3 and
 though my thought1 or hope1 or love1   
cannot be  yours1 they may yet be       
,god's2 not emanations from the ,god    
without  us1 but inspirations of the    
,god within4 ,why should we start to    
think  that there is a part of us which 
is divine8--why image to ourselves a    
distant1 external1 contemplative ,god1  
seeing all things and touching  nothing1
 gazing on the unconscious evolutions of
 things1 as the  retired ,mechanist of  
nature8--why enthrone ,him in the       
inertness of  dead space1 without even a
 sacred function there1 and exclude ,him
 from  the tried1 and tempted1 and      
ever-trembling soul of ,man8 ,if we     
found  ,him not at home in the secret   
places of strife and sorrow1 vainly     
should we wander to seek ,him in the    
colder regions of nature abroad4  ,we   
have no sympathy with any system which  

denies the doctrine of a  ,holy ,spirit2
 which discerns nothing divine in the   
higher experiences  of human nature2    
which owns no black abyss and no        
heavenly heights in  the soul of man1   
but only a flat1 common1 midway region1 
neither very  foul nor very fair1--well 
enough for the streets of traffic1 but  
without a mount of vision and of prayer4
 ,nothing noble1 nothing great1  has    
ever come from a faith which did not    
deeply reverence the soul1  and stand in
 awe of it as the seat of ,god's own    
dwelling1 the  presence-chamber of his  
sanctity1--the focus of that infinite   
whispering-gallery which the universe   
spreads around us4    ,nor can we doubt 
at what point of our own nature we must 
stand1 in  order to hear the voice and  
feel the inspiration of the ,eternal4   
,the  pure in heart--each in proportion 
to his purity--see ,him4 ,our           
,conscience1 our ,moral ,perceptions1 as
 we have seen1 are our only  revealers  
of ,god4 ,in proportion to their        

clearness do we discern ,him2  and      
behind the clouds that obscure them1 ,he
 becomes dim1 and vanishes  away4 ,the  
aspirations of duty1 the love of        
excellence1 the  disinterested and holy 
affections1 of which every good heart is
  conscious1 constitute our affinity    
with ,him1--by which we know ,him1 as   
like knows like3 they are the expression
 of his mind1 the pencil of  rays by    
which ,he paints his image on our       
spiritual nature4 ,god is  related to   
our soul1 like the sun in a stormy sky  
to the windowed  cells in which mortals 
live2 and as we sit at our work in the  
chamber  of conscience or of love1 the  
burst of brilliancy or the sudden gloom 
within reports to us the clear-shining  
or the cloud of the heaven  without4    
,nor can any philosophy1 falsely so     
called1 permanently expel  this         
conviction from the ,christian heart4   
,every devout and earnest  mind         
naturally feels that its selfishness and
 sin are of the earth1  earthy1--the    

most offensive of all attitudes to      
,god1--the infatuated  turning of the   
back to ,him3 and1 on the other hand1   
welcomes the fresh  glow of pure        
,resolve1 the heart-felt sob of         
,penitence1 the glorious  ,courage that 
slays ,temptation at his feet1--each as 
the gracious gift  of a divine strength1
 and the authentic voice of the         
,inspirer1 ,god4 ,by  this natural faith
 7natural1 however1 only to the         
,christian mind7 we  are prepared to    
abide2 and1 with the ,apostle ,paul1 to 
own ourselves1  not without deep awe1   
the very temple of the ,holiest4        
99       99       99       99       99  
,,iv4 ,we have said1 that in the        
,conscience and ,moral ,affections we   
have  our only revealers of ,god4 ,let  
it be understood that we mean our  only 
internal revealers of ,him2 the only    
faculty of our nature  capable of       
furnishing us with the idea and belief  
of ,him1 with any  perception of his    
character1 and allegiance to his will4  

,we mean to  state that1 without this   
faculty1 the bare intellect1 the mere   
scientific and reasoning power1 could   
make no way towards the  knowledge of   
divine realities2 could never1 by any   
system of helps  whatsoever1 be trained 
or guided into this knowledge1 any more 
than1  in the absence of the proper     
sense1 the ear of the blind can be      
taught to see2 and that nature1 life1   
history1 miracle1  notwithstanding their
 most sedulous discipline1 would leave  
us utterly  in the dark about religion1 
except so far as they addressed         
themselves  to our consciousness of what
 is holy1 just1 beautiful1 and great4   
,but  we do not mean to state that the  
,moral ,sense can stand alone1  dispense
 with all outward instruction1 and      
supply a man with a natural  religion   
ready made4 ,nor do we mean that the    
every-day experience of  man1 and the   
ordinary providence of ,god1 are enough1
 without special  revelation1 to lead us
 to heavenly truth4 ,and we are         

therefore  prepared to advance another  
step1 and to say1 that1 while regarding 
the human conscience as the only inward 
revealer of ,god1 we have ,,faith  in   
,,christ as his perfect and transcendent
 outward revelation4 ,we  conceive that 
,jesus of ,nazareth lived and died1 not 
to persuade the  ,father1 not to appease
 the ,father1 not to make a sanguinary  
purchase from the ,father1 but simply to
 show us the ,father2 to  leave upon the
 human heart a new1 deep1 vivid         
impression of what ,god  is in himself1 
and of what he designs for his creature1
 man2 to  become1 in short1 the accepted
 interpreter of heaven and life4 ,and   
this he achieved1 in the only way of    
which we can conceive as  practicable1  
by a new disclosure in his own person of
 all that is holy  and godlike in       
character1--startling the human soul    
with the sudden  apparition of a being  
diviner far than it had yet beheld1 and 
lifting  its faith at once into quite   
another and purer region4 ,if it be     

true1  as we have ventured to affirm1   
that to every man his ,god is his  best1
 you can by no means give to his faith a
 higher ,god1 till you  have given to   
his heart a better best1--till you have 
touched him  with a profounder sense of 
sanctity and excellence1 and purified   
and  enlarged the perceptions of his    
conscience4 ,nor can you do this1       
except by presenting him with nobler    
models1 with the living form of a       
fairer and sublimer goodness1 visibly   
transcending every object of his        
previous reverence4 ,no verbal teaching1
 no didactic rules1 can  transform any  
man's moral taste1 and place before his 
mental view a  lovelier and truer image 
of perfection3 as well might you hope1  
by  definition1 and precept1 and        
book-wisdom1 to train an artist with a  
soul like ,raffaelle1 or an eye like    
,claude4 ,but only give the glorious    
model to the mind1 produce the most     
finished excellence and harmony1  and   
our instinctive sympathy with goodness  

feels and discerns it  instantly1 and1  
though unable to conceive it inventively
 beforehand1  recognizes it reverently  
afterwards4 ,and so ,christ1 standing in
  solitary greatness1 and invested with 
unapproachable sanctity1 opens  at once 
the eye of conscience to perceive and   
know the pure and holy  ,god1 the       
,father that dwelt in him and made him  
so full of truth and  grace4 ,him that  
rules in heaven we can in no wise       
believe to be less  perfect than that   
which is most divine on earth2 of       
anything more  perfect than the meek yet
 majestic ,jesus1 no heart can ever     
dream4  ,and1 accordingly1 ever since he
 visited our earth with blessing1 the   
soul of ,christendom has worshipped a   
,god resembling him1--a ,god of  whom he
 was the image and impersonation2--and1 
therefore1 not the  ,god of which       
philosophy dreams1--a mere ,infinite    
physical ,force1  without spirituality1 
without love1 chiefly engaged in        
whirling the  fly-wheel of nature1 and  

sustaining the material order of the    
heavens1  and weaving in the secret     
workshop of creation new textures of    
life  and beauty2 not the ,god of which 
natural theology speaks1 the mere  chief
 of ingenious mechanicians1 more        
optical1 and dynamical1 and             
architectural1 than our most skilful    
engineers1--a cold intellectual  ,being1
 in the severe immensity and            
immutability of whose mind all warm     
emotions are absorbed and dissolved2 not
 the ,god of ,calvinism1  creating a    
race with certain foresight of the      
eternal damnation of the  many1 and     
against the few refusing to relax his   
frown except at the  spectacle of       
blood2--but the ,infinite ,spirit1 so   
holy1 so  affectionate1 so pitiful1 whom
 ,jesus felt to be in him as his        
,inspirer2 who passes by no wounds of   
sin or sorrow2 who stills the  winds and
 waves of terror1 to the perishing that 
call on him in faith2  who stops the    
procession of our grief1 and bids       

bereaved affection  weep no more1 but   
wait upon the voice that even the dead  
obey2 who  scathes the hypocrite with   
the lightning of conviction1 and permits
  the penitent to wash his feet with    
tears2 who reckons most his own the     
gentlest follower1 that rests the head  
and turns up the trustful eye  on him2  
and bends that look of piercing love    
upon the guilty which  best rebukes the 
guilt4 ,jesus has given us a faith never
 held before1  and still too much       
obscured1 in the affectionateness of the
 ,great  ,ruler2 has made ,him our own  
domestic ,god1 whose ample home         
encircles  all1 leaving not the         
solitary1 the sinner1 or the sad without
 a place  in the mansions of his house2 
has wrapped us in the ,divine immensity 
without fear1 and bid us claim the warm 
sun in heaven as our ,paternal  hearth1 
and the vault of the pure sky as our    
protecting roof4    ,we have spoken of  
,christ's personal representation1 in   
his own character  and practical life1  

of the spirit of the ,divine ,mind1 and 
have explained  how in this way we      
believe that he has shown us the        
,father4 ,this1  however1 is not all4   
,his direct teachings1 perfectly in     
harmony with  his life1 confirm and     
extend its lessons2 and we listen1 with 
venerating  faith1 to his inimitable    
exposition of all divine truth4 ,purity 
of soul  makes the most wonderful       
discoveries in heavenly things1 and is  
indeed  the pellucid atmosphere through 
which the remoter lights of ,god are    
spiritually discerned4 ,as we have said1
 the knowledge of him which any  mind   
7be it of man or of angel7 may possess1 
is just proportioned to its  sanctity3  
and our ,messiah1 having the very       
highest sanctity1 was enabled  to speak 
with the highest and most authoritative 
knowledge1 and was  inspired to be our  
infallible guide1 not perhaps in trivial
 questions of  literary interpretation1 
or scientific fact1 or historical       
expectation1  but in all the deep and   

solemn relations on which our           
sanctification and  immortal blessedness
 depend4 ,and both to his person and to 
his teachings  do the miracles of his   
life1 the tragedy of his crucifixion1   
and the  glory of his resurrection1     
articulately call the attention of all  
ages1  as with the voice of ,god4 ,in   
every way we discern in ,christ the     
transcendent revelation of the ,most    
,high4 ,we are told1 that this is to    
dishonor ,christ4 ,we think it1 however1
 a more glorious honor to him1  to be   
thus indissolubly folded within the     
intimacy of the ,father's love1  than to
 be blasted by the tempest of his wrath2
 nor could we ever trust  and venerate a
 ,god who--like the barbarians in the   
judgment-hall--could  smite that meek   
lamb of heaven with one rude blow of    
vengeance4           99       99        
99       99       99    ,v4 ,but we     
hasten to observe1 finally1 that ,,we   
,,have ,,faith in ,,human               
,,immortality1 as exemplified in the    

heavenly life to which ,jesus  ascended4
 ,to assure us of this great truth1 it  
were enough that ,jesus  assumed and    
taught it2 that it was his great        
postulate1 essential to  the development
 of his own character1 and to all his   
views of the  purposes of life1--an     
integrant part of his insight into human
  responsibility and his version of     
human duty4 ,for if he did not  teach   
the reality of ,god in this matter1 sure
 we are that none else  has ever done   
so2 and most of all1 that the sceptics  
who doubt the  heavenly futurity have no
 claim to take his place as our         
instructors4  ,for if this hope were a  
delusion1 who would the mistaken be8    
,will  any one tell me1 that the        
voluptuary1 who1 from abandonment to the
  body1 cannot imagine the perpetuity of
 the spirit2--that the selfish1  who1   
looking at the meanness of his own      
nature1 sees nothing worth              
immortalizing2--that the contented      
,epicurean1 who1 in prudent quietude  of

 sense and sympathy1 finds adequate     
satisfaction in this mortal  life2--that
 the cold speculator1 who looks at the  
fouler side of human  nature1 and1      
showing us on its features the pallor of
 sensualism or  the hard lines of guilt1
 deems it less fit for the duration of  
the  angel than for the extinction of   
the brute2--that these men are  right2  
while ,christ1 who walked without       
despair through the deepest  haunts of  
sin1 with faith that succumbed not to   
wretchedness and  wrong1 but stood up   
and conquered them2 who embraced our    
whole nature  in his love1 and displayed
 it in its perfectness2 who lived and   
died  in its utmost service1 with       
prayers and tears and blood2 to whom our
  most binding affections cling almost  
with worship as the holiest glory  of   
our world2--that he could be under a    
delusion here8--that when1  sinking in  
trustful death1 he laid his meek head to
 rest on the bosom  of the ,father1 he  
was cast off1 and dropped on the cold   

clod8--that he  sobbed into the         
,infinite by night with a vain love that
 met no  answer8--that ,god rather takes
 part in his providence with the        
mean-souled1 the cynic1 the morbid1 the 
selfish8 ,there is no greater           
impossibility than this1 on which       
evidence can fall back4 ,nay1 we        
confess that1 even apart from his       
doctrine1 the mere mortal history of    
,christ would have settled with us the  
question of futurity4 ,for the  great   
essential to this belief is a           
sufficiently elevated estimate of  human
 nature3 no man will ever deny its      
immortality who has a deep  impression  
of its capacity for so great a destiny4 
,and this impression  is so vividly     
given by the life of ,jesus1--he        
presents an image of the  soul so grand1
 so divine1--as utterly to dwarf all the
 dimensions of  its present career1 and 
to necessitate a heaven for its         
reception4 ,at  all events1 it is       
allowable to feel this1 when we see that

 this  natural sequel was actually and  
perceptibly appended2 that this ,holy   
,one of ,god could not see corruption1  
but rose1 above the reach of  mortal    
ill1 to the world where now he welcomes 
the souls of the  sainted dead4 ,that   
other life we take to be a scene for the
 mind's  ampler and ampler development1 
apart from those animal and selfish     
elements which now deform and degrade it
 by their excess4 ,and this  alone1 if  
there were nothing else1 would render it
 a life of awful  retribution4 ,for to  
the wicked1 what is this loss of the    
natural  man1 but total bereavement and 
utter death of joy8--what to the good1  
but a glad and sacred birth8--to the    
one1 a ,promethean exile on a  mid-rock 
in the ocean of night1 under the bite of
 a remorse that gnaws  impalpably1 felt 
always1 but never seen1--to the other1 a
 welcome to  the loving homes of the    
blest1 amid the sunshine of the         
everlasting  hills8 ,yet precisely      
because we believe in ,retribution1 do  

we trust in  ,restoration4 ,the very    
abhorrence with which a man's better    
mind ever  looks upon his worse1 while  
it inflicts his punishment1 begins his  
cure3 and we can never allow that ,god  
will suspend this natural law  impressed
 by himself on our spiritual            
constitution1 merely in order to  stop  
the process of moral recovery1 and      
specially enable him to  maintain the   
eternity of torment and of sin4 ,and so1
 beyond the dark  close of life rise    
before us the awful contrasts of        
retribution2 and  in the farther        
distance1 the dim but glorious vision of
 a purified1  redeemed1 and progressive 
universe of souls4           99       99
       99       99       99    ,here1   
then1 are our ,five ,points of          
,christianity1 considered as a  system  
of positive religious doctrine1         
viz43--#ast4 ,the truth of the  ,moral  
,perceptions in man1--not1 as the       
degenerate churches of our day  teach1  
their pravity and blindness2 #b;dly4    

,the ,moral ,perfection of the          
character of ,god1--in opposition to the
 doctrine of his ,arbitrary  ,decrees   
and ,absolute ,self-will2 #c;dly4 ,the  
,natural awakening of the  ,divine      
,spirit within us1--rather than its     
,preternatural communication  from      
without2 #dthly4 ,christ1 the pure      
,image and highest ,revelation of  the  
,eternal ,father1--not his ,victim and  
his ,contrast2 #ethly4 ,a  universal    
,immortality after the model of         
,christ's heavenly life2 an  immortality
 not of capricious and select salvation1
 with unimaginable  torment as the      
general lot1 but1 for all1 a life of    
spiritual  development1 of retribution1 
of restoration4    ,to the ,moral       
doctrine which1 in our view1 the ,gospel
 conjoins with  this religious system1  
it is impossible for us at present to   
advert4  ,suffice to say that1 with     
,paul1 we exclaim1 not ,law1 but        
,love3--love to ,god1 to ,christ1 not   
simply for what they have done  for us1 

but chiefly for what they are in        
themselves2--nothing like the           
narrow-hearted gratitude for an         
exclusive salvation1 but a moral        
affection awakened by their holiness1   
rectitude1 truth1 and mercy1--by  the   
sublimity and spirituality of their     
designs1 and the sanctity and  fidelity 
of their execution3 love also to man1   
looking to him not  merely as a sentient
 being who is to be made happy1 but as a
 child  of ,god1 who is to be raised    
into some likeness to the ,divine image2
 as  a brother spirit1 noble in nature1 
even though sinful in fact1  glorious as
 an immortal in the eye of ,god1 though 
disfigured by this  world's hardship or 
contempt4    ,does any one ask1 where we
 get our system of faith and morals8    
,what  are the principles of reasoning  
which we apply to nature and ,scripture 
to extract it thence8 ,the reply would  
require a volume of exposition4         
,suffice it to say1 that we think we    
have full warrant for this belief  from 

the ,scriptures of the ,new ,testament1 
with which alone we conceive  that      
,christians have any practical concern2 
that1 in interpreting these             
,scriptures1 we follow the same rules   
which we should apply to any other      
books2 that not even could their        
instructions make us false to that      
sense of right and wrong which ,god has 
breathed into us2 that if they  taught  
respecting him anything unjust or       
unholy1 we should not accept  it1 but   
reject them2 and that1 as to the points 
of faith on which we  have dwelt1 some  
receive these truths because they were  
taught by  ,christ2 others receive      
,christ because he taught these truths4 
,on this faith we desire to take our    
stand1 with the firmness1 but  without  
the ferocity1 of the first ,reformers4  
,opposing churches tell  us1 we are so  
frigid6 ,why1 it is the very thing our  
own hearts had  often said to us2 for   
there is nothing that so promptly       
rebukes the  coldness of our nature as  

the warmth of our faith4 ,we do not1    
however1  much admire this mutual       
criticism of each other's temperature2  
and  strongly suspect the reality of    
that earnestness which prides itself  on
 its own intensity4 ,we must not propose
 to assume any artificial  heats1 in    
order to spite and disprove this        
frequent accusation2 but be  resolved1  
in an age diseased with pretence1 to    
remain realities1 to  profess nothing   
which we do not believe1 to withhold    
nothing whereon  we doubt1 to affect    
nothing which we do not feel1 to promise
 nothing  which we will not do2 holding1
 with ,paul1 that simplicity and        
sincerity are truly the godliest of     
things4 ,with ,heaven's good help1  may 
we bear our testimony thus2 deeming it a
 small thing to be judged  by man's     
judgment2 and1 with such light and heat 
as ,god shall put into  our hearts1     
delivering over our portion of truth to 
generations that  will give it a more   
genial welcome4 ,there is greatness in a

 faith1  when it can win a wide success 
or make rapid conquest over submissive  
minds4 ,there is a higher greatness in a
 faith that1 when ,god ordains1  can    
stand up and do without                 
success2--unmoved amid the pitiless     
storms  of a fanatic age2 with foot upon
 the rock of its own fidelity1 and      
heart in the serene ,infinite above the 
canopy of cloud and tempest4            
,,footnote3    #be ,perhaps we should   
rather say1 they cannot be alien to our 
nature4 ,the word personality is used by
 philosophical writers to  denote that  
which is peculiar1 as well as essential1
 to our  individual self4 ,in this      
strict sense the moral and spiritual    
affections are impersonal1 according to 
the doctrine of the context1  which     
treats them as constituting a           
participation in the ,divine  nature4   
,the metaphysical reader will perhaps   
perceive here a  resemblance to the     
theory of ,victor ,cousin1 who maintains
 that the  will--the free and voluntary 

activity--of the human being is the     
specific faculty in which alone consists
 his personality2 and that  the         
intuitive reason by which we have       
knowledge of the unlimited and  absolute
 ,cause1 as well as of ourselves and the
 universe as related  effects1 is       
independent and impersonal1--a faculty  
not peculiar to the  subject1 but from  
the bosom of consciousness extending to 
the  ,infinite1 and reaching to the     
,being of beings4 ,reason1 observes     
this philosopher1 is intimately         
connected with personality and          
sensibility1 but it is neither the one  
nor the other3 and precisely  because it
 is neither the one nor the other1      
because it is in us  without being      
ourselves1 does it reveal to us that    
which is not  ourselves1--objects beside
 the subject itself1 and which lie      
beyond  its sphere4 ,at the opposite    
pole to this doctrine1 which makes the  
perceptions of ,reason a part of the    
activity of ,god1 lies the system  of   

,kant and ,fichte1 which represents ,god
 as an ideal formation1--it  may be1    
therefore1 a fiction1--arising from the 
activity of the  ,reason4 ,this faculty 
is treated by these ,german philosophers
 as  merely subjective and personal2 its
 perceptions1 even when they seem  to go
 beyond itself1 are known only as       
internal conditions and results  of     
self-activity2 its beliefs1 though      
inevitable to itself1 are simply        
relative1 and have no objective         
validity4 ,the faiths and affections    
which this system regards as purely     
human1 are considered by the other  as  
divine4 ,the doctrine maintained above1 
though resembling that of  ,kant in one 
or two of its phrases1 far more nearly  
approaches that of  ,cousin in its      
spirit4 ,it is scarcely necessary to    
observe that1 in  this note1 the word   
,reason is used1 not as equivalent to   
,understanding1 but in the ,german sense
 so long rendered familiar to  the      
,english reader by the writings of ,mr4 

,coleridge4 ,it includes1  therefore1   
7in its two senses of ,speculative and  
,practical17  the ,moral ,perceptions   
and ,primitive ,faiths of the           
,conscience1  spoken of in the text4    
,,creed ,,and ,,heresies ,,of ,,early   
,,christianity4        #a4       4      
,origenis ,philosophumena sive omnium   
hresium refutatio4 ,e codice            
,parisino nunc primum edidit ,emmanuel  
,miller4 ,oxonii3 e      ,typographeo   
,academico4 #ahea4        #b4           
,hippolytus and his ,age2 or the        
,doctrine and ,practice of the          
,church of ,rome under ,commodus and    
,alexander ,severus2 and ,ancient       
and ,modern ,christianity and ,divinity 
compared4 ,by ,,christian      ,,charles
 ,,josias ,,bunsen1 ,d4,c4,l4 ,in ,four 
,volumes4 ,london4 #aheb4      ,when a  
stranger knocks at the gate of the      
,clarendon ,printing-house1  and        
presents his petition for aid1 the      
,university of ,oxford maintains  its   
national character for good-natured     

opulence1--gives its money and  signs   
its name1 without very close inquiry    
into the case4 ,the  documents are      
really so respectable that there cannot 
be much amiss2  and a venerable         
institution1 well known to be fond of   
the house1  cannot be expected to go    
trudging through the back-lanes of      
history1  and exposing its nostrils in  
the purlieus of heresy1 in order to     
identify a literary petitioner1         
evidently above all common imposture4   
,so it supplies all his wants upon the  
spot1 dresses him handsomely1  and sends
 him out into the world as its worthy   
7though eccentric7  friend1 the         
catechist of ,alexandria4 ,the          
introduction1 being left at  the        
,prussian ,legation1 falls into the     
hands of no stay-at-home  benefactor1   
but of one who knows the by-ways of     
human life1 and has an  ear for the     
dialects of many a place4 ,m4           
,bunsen--as ,oxford might have          
remembered--is not unacquainted with    

,egypt2 and no sooner does he  raise his
 eyes from the credentials to the person
 of the stranger1  than he discovers him
 to be no disciple of the ,alexandrine  
,clement2  recognizes the accent of the 
,west2 is reminded of the voice of      
,irenus2 and1 finally1 being even more  
familiar with the ,tiber than  the      
,nile1 detects a ,roman beneath the mask
 of ,origen4 ,we do not in the  least   
grudge the friend of ,niebuhr the honor 
of a discovery which no  one could turn 
to more effectual account2 but every    
,english scholar  must feel mortified   
that the ,imprimatur of our great       
,ecclesiastical  ,university should     
appear on a title-page manifestly false2
 that the  first reader should see at a 
glance what the learned proprietors had 
missed2 and that their ,editio ,princeps
 of a recovered monument of  ,church    
antiquity should be superseded within a 
year or two of its  publication4 ,they  
are not principals1 it is true1 but only
 secondaries  to the ,editor1 in the    

commission of this error3 still1 a lay  
bibliographer might reasonably expect1  
in resorting for aid to so  renowned and
 reverend a body1 that his own judgment 
would be kept in  check2 and their very 
consent to issue the work implies some  
critical opinion of its value1 as       
derived from age and authorship4        
,whether they are called upon to adopt  
at once ,m4 ,bunsen's proposed          
title-page1 and substitute the name of  
,hippolytus for that of ,origen1  we    
will not say2 but that the present title
 gives the book to the  wrong author1   
seems placed beyond the reach of doubt4 
,m4 ,emmanuel ,miller1 one of the       
curators of the ,national ,library in   
,paris1 was the first to make himself   
acquainted with the contents of  this   
work1 and to appreciate their           
importance4 ,among the manuscripts      
under his care was one on cotton paper  
of the fourteenth century1  which had   
been brought from ,mount ,athos in      
#ahdb1 by ,m4 ,mynodes ,mynas1  a ,greek

 agent employed by the ,french          
government to search the  neglected     
treasures of that celebrated spot4 ,the 
superscription1 ,on  all ,heresies1 was 
not inviting2 but on turning over the   
leaves1 some  lines1 unknown before1 of 
,pindar and of another lyric poet1 were 
found  and copied2 and the value of     
these excerpts being ascertained1 ,m4   
,miller's attention was directed to the 
body of the treatise containing  them4  
,the treatise had already been          
described1 in the ,moniteur of  the #eth
 of ,january1 #ahdd1 as a ,refutation of
 all ,heresies1 in ten  books1 but with 
the first three missing1 as well as the 
conclusion of  the whole2 and he soon   
became aware1 that1 of the three missing
 books1  the first already existed1 and 
had been printed under the name of      
,philosophumena1 in the editions of     
,origen's works4 ,its very title is     
found in the manuscript at the end of   
the fourth book1 and denotes  that the  
portion of the work there concluded     

completes the sketch of  philosophical  
systems1 which the author prefixes to   
his account of  ecclesiastical          
aberrations2 and there are mutual       
references1 backwards  and forwards1    
between the printed book and the        
manuscript1 which leave  no doubt that  
the latter is a sequel to the former4   
,the ,editor1  therefore1 has very      
properly reprinted the ,philosophumena  
as the  commencement of the newly       
recovered work2 which thus exhibits a   
regular plan1 and consists of two parts1
 viz43 first1 four books1--of  which the
 second and third are lost1--expounding 
the ,pagan  philosophies1 especially the
 ,greek1 from which1 the author         
contends1  the various heresies of      
,christendom are mere plagiarisms2 then 
six  books1 containing an account1 in an
 order prevailingly historical1 of      
thirty or thirty-two heresies1 supported
 by extracts from their  standard       
writings1 and wound up in the           
recapitulary book at the end by  the    

writer's own profession of faith4 ,now  
who is the author8    ,not ,origen2 for1
 as ,huet had already remarked          
respecting the  ,philosophumena1 the    
writer speaks of himself in terms       
implying an  episcopal position2 and1 in
 the ninth book1 he gives an account of 
transactions in ,rome1 extending over   
many years1 in which he was  evidently  
an eyewitness and an actor4 ,while the  
scene is thus laid at  a distance from  
,origen's sphere1 and the date also of  
the personal  matter runs back into his 
boyhood1 the cast of the theological    
doctrine is wholly different from his2  
for instance1 in a certain  ,treatise on
 the ,universe1 to which the author     
refers as his own1 and  of which a      
fragment is preserved1 the penal        
condition of the wicked  after death is 
said to be immutable2#bf but ,origen1 it
 is well known1  taught a doctrine of   
final restoration4 ,add to this1 that no
 such work  as the present is attributed
 to ,origen by any ancient witness1 and 

the  case against his name may be       
regarded as complete4    ,the evidence  
which disappoints this claim narrows    
also our choice of  others4 ,the        
personal transactions to which we have  
referred took place  at ,rome1 while    
,zephyrinus and his successor1          
,callistus1 presided over  the          
,christian community there1 that is1    
during the first twenty years  of the   
third century4 ,we must1 therefore1 look
 for our author among  the metropolitan 
clergymen of that period4 ,still closer 
is the circle  drawn by the fact1 that  
the writer largely borrows from the     
treatise  of ,irenus on the same        
subject2 and1 though vastly improving on
 that  foolish production1 and copiously
 contributing fresh materials1  betrays 
the general affinity of thought which   
unites the stronger  disciple with the  
feebler master4    ,the problem then    
being to find a pupil of the ,bishop of 
,lyons among  the ecclesiastics of      
,rome1 at the beginning of the third    

century1 two  names are given in as     
answering the conditions1--those of     
,hippolytus1  a suburban clergyman1 and 
of ,caius1 whose charge lay within the  
city  itself4 ,in order to vindicate the
 claim of the first1 it has been        
necessary for ,m4 ,bunsen to prove that 
his locality is right2 and that  the    
,portus ,rom1 of which he was bishop1   
was not1 as ,le ,moyne and  ,cave had   
groundlessly supposed1 the ,arabian     
,portus ,romanus of the  district of    
,aden1 but the new harbor made1 or at   
least enlarged1 by  ,trajan1 on the     
northern bank of the ,tiber1 immediately
 opposite to  ,ostia4 ,that he suffered 
martyrdom there1 and was buried in a    
cemetery  on the ,tiburtine road1 is    
generally admitted1 on the evidence of  
,prudentius1 who has left a poem        
describing his memorial chapel on that  
spot1 and of a statue of him1 seated in 
a cathedra1 which was dug up  there     
three hundred years ago1 and now stands 
in the library of the  ,vatican4 ,it is 

certainly perplexing to find ,jerome    
avowing ignorance  of the see over which
 he presided1 if1 for a quarter of a    
century1 he  was active at the centre of
 the ,christian world2 and not less so  
to  discover in ,rome itself1 nay1 in a 
,pope1 or his transcriber1 at the  end  
of the fifth century1 the impression    
that his scene of labor had  been in    
,arabia2 and under the influence of     
these facts it has been  supposed that  
though1 coming to ,italy1 he had fallen 
among the martyrs  of the ,west1 he     
ought to be reckoned among the bishops  
of the ,east4 ,on  the whole1 however1  
the reasons preponderate in favor of his
  residence1 as ,episcopus ,portuensis1 
within the presbytery of ,rome4  ,the   
title itself is an old one1 still always
 assigned to some  dignitary of the     
curia1 and1 no doubt1 deriving its      
origin from the  time when the ,northern
 ,harbor of the ,tiber--of which in the 
ninth  century1 scarce a trace was      
left--was a flourishing emporium4 ,the  

name  of ,hippolytus is associated by   
tradition with the spot2 it is given1   
our author assures us1 to a certain     
tower1 near ,fiumicino2 and in the      
eighth and ninth centuries1 a basilica  
of ,st4 ,hippolytus was restored  at    
,portus by ,leo ,,iii4 and ,,iv4 ,an    
episcopal palace still remains4 ,by     
acute and skilful combinations1 effected
 with evidence scanty as a  whole1 and  
suspicious in every part1 ,m4 ,bunsen   
has endeavored to  reproduce the        
historical image of ,hippolytus4 ,his   
office of bishop  implied simply the    
charge of the single congregation at    
,portus2 the  members of that           
congregation were the plebs committed to
 his  supervision2 the city or village  
in which they lived was his diocese4    
,his vicinity to the great capital drew 
him1 however1 into a wider  circle of   
duties4 ,for while ,rome itself was     
divided into several  ecclesiastical    
districts1 each of which had its own    
clergyman and lay  deacons1 the suburban

 bishops were associated with these     
officers to  form a committee of        
management1 or presbytery1 presided over
 by the  metropolitan4 ,by his seat at  
this board1 he was kept in living       
contact  with all the most stirring     
interests of ,christendom1 which1       
wherever  their origin might be1 found  
their way to the imperial city1 and more
  and more sought their equilibrium     
there4 ,at a commercial seaport1 his    
own congregation would largely consist  
of temporary settlers and  mercantile   
agents1 ,greek brokers1 ,jewish bankers1
 ,african importers1  to whom ,italy was
 a lodging-house rather than a home2 and
 by the  continual influx of foreigners 
he would hear tidings of the remotest   
churches1 and carry to the clerical     
meetings in the city the newest  gossip 
of all the heresies4 ,possibly this     
position1 with its  opportunities of    
various intercourse1 may have           
contributed to form in  him the         
agreeable address1 and faculty of       

eloquent speech1 which  tradition       
ascribes to him2 and induced him to     
commence the practice of  writing with  
studious care the homilies which were to
 be delivered in  the congregation4 ,at 
all events he is the first of whom we   
distinctly  hear as a great preacher4   
,his period extends1 it is supposed1    
from the  reign of ,commodus 7#ahj-aic7 
to the first year of ,maximin 7#bce-f72 
and  so brought him into the same       
presbytery-room with five               
popes1--,victor  7#ahg-aih72 ,zephyrinus
 7#bja-bah72 ,callistus 7#bai-bbb72     
,urbanus  7#bbc-bcj72 and ,pontianus    
7#bcj-bce72 with the last of whom he    
shared1  in the last year of his life1 a
 cruel exile to ,sardinia1 and returned 
only to fall a victim to fresh          
informations1 and suffer martyrdom by   
drowning in a canal4 ,it cannot be      
denied that1 in order to recover  this  
picture of ,hippolytus1 and still more  
in order to fix his  literary position1 
the materials of evidence have to be    

dealt with in  somewhat arbitrary       
fashion1 and their lacun to be filled by
  conjecture4 ,prudentius1 for instance1
 is called as an historical  witness1   
yet convicted of fable in much of what  
he says4 ,his poem  declares that at one
 time ,hippolytus had supported ,novatus
 in his  attempt to close the gates of  
repentance against the ,lapsi1 but had  
been reconciled to the catholic doctrine
 before he died4 ,he must in  this case 
have joined in the opposition raised by 
,novatianus 7in #bea7  to the election  
of ,cornelius to the papacy1 and have   
died in the  ,decian persecution1 which 
continued till the year #beg4 ,moreover1
 the  painting seen by the ,spanish     
versifier on the walls of the memorial  
chapel introduces us to so ridiculous a 
story1 as only to show how  completely  
the martyrological legends had already  
escaped all the  restraints of history4 
,in this fresco the mythical fate of    
,hippolytus1  the son of ,theseus1 is   
transferred to the ,roman presbyter3 he 

is  represented as torn to pieces by    
horses2 while the faithful follow to    
pick up his limbs and hair1 and sponge  
away the blood upon the ground4  ,if the
 sanctuary exhibiting this scene        
received the martyr's remains  from     
their original resting-place as early as
 the time of  ,constantine1--and such is
 our author's opinion1--into what a     
state of  degradation had the history of
 ,hippolytus sunk in three quarters of a
  century6 ,and if already memorial     
painting could thus impudently lie1  how
 can we better trust the statue1        
admitted to be later still8 ,yet  this  
statue1 on whose side is a list of the  
writings of ,hippolytus1 is  appealed to
 in determining the martyr's written    
productions1 as the  painted chapel in  
evidence of facts in his personal       
career4 ,we fully  admit the success of 
,m4 ,bunsen in eliciting a possible     
result from a  mass of intricate and    
tangled conditions1 and presenting us   
with a  highly interesting personage4   

,but perhaps1 as the venerable image of 
the good bishop has grown in clearness  
before his eye1 and attracted  his      
affection more and more1 the very       
vividness of the conception may  have   
rendered him insensible to the          
precariousness of the proof4            
,ecclesiastical fancy1 in its           
unrestrained career1 has torn his       
personality to pieces1 and left the     
disjecta membra so rudely  scattered on 
the strand of history1 that we almost   
doubt the power of  any critical        
sculapius to restore him to the world   
again4    ,at the same board of church  
councillors with ,hippolytus sat another
   1#bg the presbyter ,caius2 and as an 
urban clergyman1 he  would be more      
constantly there than his suburban      
brother1 separated by a  distance of    
eighteen miles4 ,to form any living     
image of him from the  scanty notices of
 him which begin with ,eusebius and end 
with ,photius1 is  quite impossible4 ,in
 one respect only do the personal       

characteristics  attributed to him      
distinguish him from the bishop of      
,portus4 ,he was a  strenuous opponent  
of the peculiarities favored by the     
,christians of  ,lesser ,asia1 and      
especially of the claims to prophetic   
gifts1 and the  appeal to clairvoyant   
skill1 by ,montanus and his followers4  
,with one of  these1 by name ,proclus1  
he held a disputation2 from which       
,eusebius has  preserved a passage or   
two1 showing1 in conjunction with the   
title1 not  very intelligibly assigned  
to him1 of ,bishop of the ,gentiles1    
that he  belonged to the most advanced  
anti-,jewish party in the ,church1      
lamented  the grossness of the popular  
millenarian dreams1 vindicated the      
apostolic dignity of the ,roman against 
the pretensions of the ,eastern         
,christianity1 and disowned the ,epistle
 to the ,hebrews4 ,this feature in  the 
figure of ,caius1 though constituting   
the distinction1 does not1  however1    
necessarily oppose him to ,hippolytus1  

whose attitude towards  the ,montanists 
may not have been very different1 but   
only less  positively marked4 ,still the
 suspicions directed against the two men
 are  of an opposite kind3 with         
,hippolytus1 the difficulty is to set   
him clear  of sympathy with             
,montanism2#bh with ,caius1 to prevent  
his being classed  with its unmeasured  
opponents1 the ,alogi4#bi ,and a report 
even reaches  us1 that among the        
,chaldean ,christians there exists1 or  
did exist in the  fourteenth century1 a 
controversial treatise of ,hippolytus   
against  ,caius4#cj    ,between these   
two men1 so similar in position1 and    
not1 perhaps1 unused  to sharp argument 
face to face1 springs up1 at the end of 
all these  ages1 a rival claim to       
property in the ,refutation of all the  
,heresies4  ,the chief counsel for      
,hippolytus1 besides our author1 are the
 eminent  ,professors ,jacobi1 ,duncker1
 and ,schneidewin1--all1 we believe1    
belonging  to the ,neander school of    

theology2 and as the last two are about 
to edit  the work anew1 and probably to 
give it its final form1 their opinion of
  its authorship may be expected to     
prevail4 ,the other side1 however1      
advocated by ,dr4 ,fessler1 is sustained
 by perhaps the greatest of living      
historical critics1 ,f4 ,c4 ,baur1      
representative of the much-abused       
,tbingen school4 ,into so intricate a   
question we might be excused for        
inviting our readers1 had we anything   
fresh to offer towards its  solution2   
but the chief impression we have brought
 from its study is one  of astonishment 
at the extreme positiveness with which  
the learned men  on either side affirm  
their own conclusion4 ,a more equal     
balance of  evidence we never remember  
to have met with in any similar         
research2 and  the faint and slender    
preponderance which alone the scale can 
ever  exhibit1 amusingly contrasts with 
the triumphant assertion1 of both sets  
of disputants1 that not a reasonable    

doubt remains4 ,the leading points  of  
,m4 ,bunsen's case are these4 ,a work   
,on all ,heresies is attributed to      
,hippolytus1 and in no instance to      
,caius1 by ,eusebius1 ,jerome1          
,epiphanius1 and ,peter of ,alexandria1 
at the beginning of the fourth  century4
 ,such a book was still extant in the   
ninth century2 for ,photius1  the       
celebrated patriarch of ,constantinople1
 has given us an account of  its        
contents in the journal and epitome of  
his studies which he has left  us4 ,on  
comparing his report with the newly     
discovered book1 the identity  of the   
two works is established in some        
important respects3 the number  and     
concluding term of the series of        
heresies are the same2 they both  of    
them include materials taken from       
,irenus1 while reversing his order  of  
treatment4 ,further1 in the newly found 
treatise reference is made by  the      
author to other works of his1 in which  
he has discussed certain  points of     

early ,hebrew chronology in proving the 
antiquity of the  ,abrahamic race4 ,now1
 ,eusebius was acquainted with a certain
 ,chronicle  of ,hippolytus1 brought    
down to the first year of ,alexander    
,severus2 and  such a chronicle1 in a   
,latin translation1 is found in         
,fabricius's  edition of ,hippolytus1   
only that its list of ,roman emperors   
terminates1  not with the beginning1 but
 with the end1 of ,severus's reign4 ,it 
has1  however1 in common with our work1 
a peculiar number of tribes1--viz4      
seventy-two1 derived from ,noah4 ,thus1 
the author of the ,heresies and  of the 
,chronicle would appear to be the same1 
and1 according to  ,eusebius1 to be     
,hippolytus4 ,lastly1 both in our new   
work1 and also in a  book called the    
,labyrinth1 written against some        
,unitarians of the  second century1     
reference is made to a treatise ,on the 
,universe1 which  the author mentions as
 his own production4 ,by printing a     
fragment of  this last in his edition of

 ,hippolytus1 ,fabricius has shown to   
what  name all three should1 in his     
judgment1 be set down2 and that they    
cannot be given to ,caius is rendered   
evident by the occurrence1 in the       
fragment1 of certain ,apocalyptic       
fictions inconsistent with his          
rejection of the ,book of ,revelations4 
,moreover1 the list of works on the     
statue of ,hippolytus includes a        
disquisition ,against the ,greeks and   
against ,plato1 or ,respecting the      
,universe4    ,what can be said to      
weaken so strong a case8 ,two doubts at 
once arise  upon it1 which we find it by
 no means easy to set aside4 ,granted1  
,hippolytus wrote a book ,on all        
,heresies2 is it the same which is now  
delivered into our hands8 ,one medium of
 comparison we possess1  enabling us to 
place the original and the present book1
 for a short  space1 side by side4 ,the 
very ,peter of ,alexandria who is one of
 the  early witnesses called on         
,hippolytus's behalf has handed down to 

us a  passage or two 7preserved in the  
,paschal ,chronicle7 from the book      
which he attests1 with a distinct       
reference to the place where they  are  
to be found4 ,we turn to the right      
chapter1 and the passages are  not      
there4 ,nor is it a mere want of verbal 
agreement which we have  to regret2 the 
same topic--the controversy about the   
time of  ,easter--is treated2 the same  
side--that of the ,western ,church--is  
taken1 in both instances2 but the       
arguments are different1 and so far     
irreconcilable1 that no one who had     
command of that which ,peter gives      
would ever resort to the feebler one    
which our work contains4 ,with the      
dauntless ingenuity of ,german criticism
 ,m4 ,bunsen makes a virtue of          
necessity1 and endeavors to convert this
 unfortunate discrepancy into  a fresh  
proof of identity4 ,he thinks that1 in  
this and some other  parts1 our work is 
but a clumsy abstract of ,hippolytus's  
original1  which the citations of ,peter

 enable us to recover and complete4     
,this1  however1 is a plea which1 it    
strikes us1 damages his case as much by 
success as it could by failure4 ,for if 
the book presented to us by the         
,clarendon ,press reflects the original 
no better than would appear from  this  
only sample which it is in our power to 
test1 it may indeed be a  degenerate    
descendant from the pen of ,hippolytus2 
but all reliable  identity is lost1 and 
the traces of his hand are no longer    
recoverable4 ,the second doubt is       
this3--,is the work which ,photius read 
the same that has now been rescued8 ,of 
the few descriptive marks  supplied by  
the patriarch1 there are as many absent 
from our work as  present in it4 ,the   
treatise which he read was a little book
 or  tract1 as ,lardner calls it 771 a  
word which can  scarcely apply to a     
volume extending 7as ours would1 if     
complete7 to  four hundred and twenty   
octavo pages4 ,m4 ,bunsen cuts down this
 number  to two hundred and fifty1 by   

supposing ,photius to have only the last
  six books1 containing the historical  
survey1 without the groundwork of  the  
philosophical deduction1 of the         
heresies4 ,the curtailment1 if          
conceded1 seems scarcely adequate to its
 purpose1 and appears to us a  very     
questionable conjecture4 ,the           
manuscript1 stripped of the first  four 
books1 would want the very basis of the 
whole argument2 and1 if  such a         
mutilation were conceivable1 it is      
impossible that ,photius  should fail to
 observe and mention it2 for the fifth  
book opens1 not  like an independent    
treatise1 but with a summary statement  
of what has  been accomplished in the   
four books preceding this4 ,again1      
,photius  mentions the ,dositheans as   
the first set of heretics discussed2    
whereas their name does not occur at    
all1 if we remember right1 in our  work1
 and their place is occupied by the     
,ophites4 ,m4 ,bunsen treats  this as a 
mere inaccuracy of expression on the    

part of ,photius1 who  meant1 by the    
name ,dositheans1 to indicate the same  
earliest  ,judaizing schools that are   
better described as ,ophites4 ,the name1
  however1 is so unsuitable to this     
purpose1 that it would be a strange     
wilfulness in the learned patriarch to  
substitute it for the language  of the  
author he describes4 ,he could not be   
ignorant that ,dositheus1  ,simon1      
,menander1 were the three founders of   
the ,samaritan sect1  exponents of the  
same doctrine1 if not even reputed      
avatars of the  same divine essence2#ca 
and if he had applied the name          
,dositheans  to any of the heretics     
enumerated in our work1 it would        
assuredly have  been to the followers of
 ,simon1 who stand fourth in the series 
of  thirty-two1 and not to ,phrygian    
serpent-worshippers1 who commence the   
list4 ,further1 the author whom ,photius
 read stated that his book was a        
synopsis of the ,lectures of ,irenus4   
,in our work no such statement  occurs2 

and the use made of ,irenus does not    
agree1 either in quantity  or character1
 with the substance of the assertion4   
,and1 lastly1 the  patriarch's          
,hippolytus said some things which are  
not quite correct2  for instance1 that  
the ,epistle to the ,hebrews is not by  
the ,apostle  ,paul4 ,in our work there 
is no such assertion2 and when ,m4      
,bunsen  suggests that perhaps its place
 might be in the lost books1 he forgets 
that1 according to his own conjecture1  
these books were no more in  ,photius's 
hands than in ours1 and that he cannot  
first cut them off in  order to make a 1
 and then restore them1 to provide a    
locus  for a missing criticism on the   
,epistle to the ,hebrews4 ,the identity 
of  our ,philosophumena with the        
treatise which ,photius read and        
,hippolytus wrote1 appears1 therefore1  
to be extremely problematical4    ,one  
fixed point1 however1 is gained in the  
course of the argument1 and  gives an   
acknowledged position from which the    

opposite opinions are  willing to set   
out4 ,whoever wrote the disquisition ,on
 the ,universe  wrote also our work4    
,this fact rests on the assertion of the
 author  himself2 yet1 if the author be 
,hippolytus1 and our ,philosophumena be 
his ,refutation of all ,heresies1 it is 
strange that no list of his  writings   
mentions both books3 the catalogues of  
,eusebius and ,jerome  naming the       
,heresies without the essay ,on the     
,universe2 and the  engraving on the    
statue giving the essay ,on the         
,universe without the  ,heresies4 ,how  
can we explain it1 that these           
ecclesiastical writers1 in  knowing our 
work1 did not know what is contained in 
it about the  authorship of the other   
book2 and that this book should have    
wandered  anonymously about down to the 
ninth century1 side by side with an     
acknowledged writing of ,hippolytus1    
which all the while was proclaiming  the
 solution of the question8 ,we should   
certainly expect that the book  of      

avowed authorship would convey the name 
of ,hippolytus to the  companion        
production for which it claims the same 
paternity2 but1  instead of this1 it not
 only leaves its associate anonymous for
 six  hundred years1 but afterward      
assumes the modest fit1 and becomes     
anonymous itself4 ,even if no previous  
reader had sense enough to put the  two 
things together1 and pick out the       
testimony of the one book to the  origin
 of the other1 are we to charge the same
 stupidity on the erudite  ,photius1 who
 had both books in his hand1 and has    
given his report of  both8 ,in his      
account of ,hippolytus's treatise1 he   
nowhere tells us that  it contains a    
reference to the essay ,on the          
,universe1 as being from  the same pen2 
and that he found no such reference is  
certain2 for he  actually discusses the 
question1 ,who wrote the essay on the   
,universe8  without ever mentioning     
,hippolytus at all4 ,just such a        
reference1  however1 as he did not find 

in ,hippolytus1 he did find in another  
work1 of which he speaks under the title
 of ,the ,labyrinth2 and1  strange to   
say1 it was at the end of the work1#cb  
precisely where it  stands in our       
,philosophumena4 ,who can resist the    
suspicion1 that the  anonymous          
,labyrinth of ,photius is no other than 
our anonymous  ,philosophumena8 ,this   
conviction forced itself upon us on     
first  weighing the evidence collected  
by ,m4 ,bunsen1 in support of his       
different conclusion2 and we observe    
that it is the opinion sustained by  the
 great authority of ,baur1#cc who even  
finds a trace in our work of  the very  
title given by ,photius2 the writer     
observing1 at the  beginning of the     
tenth book1 ,the ,labyrinth of ,heresies
 we have not  broken through by         
violence1 but have resolved by          
refutation alone with  the force of     
truth2 and now we come to the positive  
exposition of the  truth4 ,at all       
events1 the difference of title in the  

case of a work  having probably more    
names than one1 is of no weight in      
disproof of  identity4 ,with this new   
designation in our possession1 we may   
return to  search for our book in the   
records of ecclesiastical antiquity2 and
 we  have not far to go1 before we      
alight on traces affording hopes of a   
result4 ,no ,labyrinth1 indeed1 turns up
 in the literary history of  earlier    
centuries than ,photius2 but a ,little  
,labyrinth is mentioned  by             
,theodoret1#cd as sometimes ascribed to 
,origen1 but as evidently not  his2 and 
from his account of it1 confirmed by the
 matter which he  borrows from it1 we   
learn that it was a controversial book1 
against a  set of ,unitarians in ,rome1 
followers of ,theodotus4 ,it so happens 
that  the very passage from this tract  
which ,theodoret has used appears also1 
with others from the same source1 in    
,eusebius1 only quoted under another    
title1--the book being called a ,work   
against the ,heresy of ,artemon  7who   

was another teacher of the same school  
in the same age74 ,the  extracts thus   
preserved to us are not found in our    
work2 which1  therefore1 if it be the   
,labyrinth1 is a distinct production    
from the  ,little ,labyrinth2 but they  
are so manifestly from the same pen1    
occupied in the same task1 as to render 
it perfectly conceivable that  the two  
books might receive the same name1 with 
only a diminutive  epithet to           
distinguish the lesser from the greater4
 ,nor are we left1 as  ,baur has shown1 
without a distinct assertion by our     
great unknown1  that he had already     
composed a smaller treatise on the same 
subject2  for1 in the introduction to   
the ,philosophumena1 he says of the     
heretics1 ,we have before given a brief 
exposition of their opinions1  refuting 
them in the gross1 without presenting   
them in detail4 ,this  shorter work     
would naturally treat of the particular 
forms of error most  immediately present
 and mischievous before the author's    

eyes2 and if he  dwelt especially on the
 doctrines of ,theodotus and ,artemon1  
it is just  what we should expect from  
an orthodox ,roman4 ,this essay1 on a   
limited  range of heresy1 would         
naturally be issued at first with the   
special  title by which ,eusebius refers
 to it4 ,but if it led the author to    
execute afterwards a much enlarged      
design1 to which1 from its intricate    
extent1 he gave1 on its completion1 the 
fanciful designation of ,the            
,labyrinth1 he might naturally carry the
 name back to the earlier  production1  
and1 to mark the relation between the   
two1 issue this in  future as ,the      
,little ,labyrinth4 ,photius speaks of  
the tract against  the heresy of        
,artemon as a separate work from ,the   
,labyrinth1#ce and  says the same thing 
of the latter#cf that ,theodoret had    
remarked of the  former1 that by some it
 was ascribed to ,origen4 ,the result to
 which we  are thus led is the          
following4 ,our newly found work is not 

,hippolytus's   ,on all ,heresies1 but  
the book known to ,photius as ,the      
,labyrinth2 the author of which had     
previously produced two other works1    
viz4 ,the ,little ,labyrinth mentioned  
by ,theodoret1 and quoted under  another
 name by ,eusebius1 and the ,treatise on
 the ,universe1 whose  contents ,photius
 reports4 ,whatever1 therefore1 fixes   
the authorship of  any of these1 fixes  
the authorship of all4                  
,notwithstanding1 however1 our threefold
 chance1 we have only a  solitary       
evidence on this point4 ,attached to    
,photius's copy of the  ,treatise on the
 ,universe was a note1 to the effect    
that the book was  not 7as had been     
imagined7 by ,josephus1 but by ,caius1  
the ,roman  presbyter1 who also composed
 the ,labyrinth4#cg ,in the absence of  
other external testimony1 this judgment 
appears entitled to stand1  unless the  
books themselves disclose some features 
at variance with  the known character of
 ,caius4    ,but1 it is said1 such      

variance we do actually find4 ,for while
 our work  expressly appeals to the     
,apocalypse as the production of ,john1 
we know  from ,eusebius that ,caius     
ascribed it to ,cerinthus1 and1 in      
opposing  himself to ,montanism1        
rejected the millenarian doctrine which 
is taught  in the ,revelations4 ,this   
argument1 we admit1 would be decisive if
 its  allegations were indisputable4 ,it
 is curious1 however1 that the one      
locus classicus1#ch from which is       
inferred the presbyter's  repudiation of
 the ,apocalypse1 is confessedly        
ambiguous2 and the charge  it prefers   
against ,cerinthus may amount to either 
of these two  propositions2 that he had 
composed the ,book of ,revelations and  
palmed it  on the world as the          
production of the ,apostle ,john2 or1   
that he had  given himself the air of a 
great ,apostle1 and published           
accordingly some  revelations affecting 
to be imparted1 like those of ,john1 by 
angels4  ,according to this last        

interpretation1 the work of ,cerinthus  
would be a  book distinct from our      
,apocalypse1 written in imitation of it1
 and  seeking to share its authority4   
,the contents of the production are     
briefly described by ,caius2 but they   
present such a mixture of agreement  and
 disagreement with our canonical book1  
as to leave the ambiguity  unresolved4  
,they affirm1 that after the            
resurrection will follow an  earthly    
kingdom of ,christ1 in which the lower  
nature of man will1 in  ,jerusalem1 be  
again in servitude to passion and       
pleasure2 and that the  number of a     
thousand years are to be spent in the   
indulgence of sense4  ,so far as the    
place and the duration of the kingdom   
are concerned1  our ,apocalypse might   
here be referred to2 but it has nothing 
answering  to the description of a gross
 and luxurious millennium4 ,taking the  
passage in conjunction with the similar 
statement of ,theodoret1 that           
,cerinthus invented certain revelations1

 pretending that they were given  in    
vision to himself1 we think it unlikely 
that our ,apocalypse can be  meant2 and 
conceive the indictment to be1 that     
,cerinthus had put forth a  set of      
apocryphal visions1 in which he abused  
the style and corrupted  the teachings  
of a great ,apostle to the purposes of a
 sensual  fanaticism4 ,this is a charge 
which ,caius might bring1 in consistency
  with the fullest acceptance of the    
,apocalypse as authentic and true4 ,it  
was not the doctrine of a reign of      
,christ on earth1 not the millenarian   
period assigned to it1 to which he      
objected in ,cerinthus2 but the coarse  
and demoralizing picture given of its   
employments and delights4 ,in           
proportion to his respect for the real  
,apocalypse and its teachings1  would he
 be likely to resent such a miserable   
parody on its lofty  theocratic visions4
 ,his opposition to the ,montanists in  
no way pledged  him to renounce the     
eschatological expectations which they  

were  distinguished from other          
,christians not by entertaining1 but by 
exaggerating4 ,if our work1 in its      
notice of their heresy1 passes by in    
silence this particular element of the  
system1 and treats their claim to       
special gifts of prophecy with less     
contemptuous emphasis than might be     
looked for in the antagonist of         
,proclus1 there is nothing that ought   
really to surprise us in this4 ,it does 
not follow that1 because in our  scanty 
knowledge we have only one idea about an
 historical personage1  the man himself 
never had another4 ,caius did not live  
in a perpetual  platform disputation    
with ,proclus2 and either before that   
controversy  had waked him up1 or after 
it was well got over1 he might naturally
  enough dismiss the ,montanists with   
very cursory notice2 in the one case1   
because they had not yet adequately     
provoked his antipathy2 in the  other1  
because they had already had enough of  
it4#ci    ,nothing therefore presents   

itself in our work which should deter us
 from  attributing it to ,caius2 and the
 more we ponder the evidence1 the more  
do we incline to believe it his4 ,this  
result is to us an unwelcome one2  both 
because we know how strong the          
presumption must be against a  critical 
judgment condemned by the masterly      
genius of ,m4 ,bunsen1 and  because he  
has really made us in love with his     
ecclesiastical hero1--has  put such an  
innocent and venerable life into that   
old effigy1 that after  wandering with  
him about the quays of ,portus1 and     
entering with  listening fancy into the 
,basilica#dj where he preached1 it is   
hard to  return him into stone1 and     
think of him only as a dead bishop who  
made a  bad almanac4 ,should our readers
 have contracted no such ideal          
attachment1 we fear that this discussion
 of authorship may appear as  trivial as
 it is tedious4 ,somebody wrote the     
,philosophumena1 and  whether we call   
him ,hippolytus or ,caius1 whether we   

lodge him on the  ,tiber within sight of
 the ,pharos1 or of the ,milliarium     
,aureum1 may  seem a thing indifferent1 
so long as the elements of the personal 
image  do not materially change4 ,this  
utilitarian impression is by no means   
just1 and indeed is at variance with all
 true historical feeling4 ,but it  is   
time that we should give it its fair    
rights1 and turn from the name  upon our
 new book to its substances and         
significance4    ,many sensible persons 
are at a loss1 we believe1 to understand
 why this  refutation of thirty-two     
extinct heresies should be regarded with
 so  much interest4 ,is it so well done1
 then8 they ask4 ,far from it3 better   
books are brought out every year2 and   
such a controversial argument  offered  
in manuscript to ,mr4 ,longman or ,mr4  
,parker to-morrow1 would  hardly be     
deemed worth the cost of printing4 ,does
 it add materially to  our knowledge of 
the early heresies8 ,something of this  
kind it certainly  contributes2 but the 

gain is not large1 and will make no     
essential  change in the conclusions of 
any competent historical inquirer4 ,is  
any  light thrown by it on the          
authenticity of our canonical books8    
,this can  hardly be expected from a    
production of the third century2 and ,m4
  ,bunsen's application of it to this   
purpose appears to us1 for reasons      
which we shall assign1 extremely        
precarious4 ,perhaps it supplies the    
want which every student of that period 
must have felt1 and organically  joins  
ecclesiastical to civil history1 so that
 they no longer remain  apart1--the one 
as the stage for saints and martyrs1    
bishops and books1  the other for       
soldiers and senators1 emperors and     
paramours1--but mingle  in the common   
life of humanity4 ,when we think how the
 author was placed1  it is impossible   
not to go to him with an eager hope of  
this nature4 ,he  lived at the centre of
 the vast ,roman world1 and felt all the
 pulsations  and paroxysms of that      

mighty heart4 ,he witnessed the ominous 
decline of  every traditional maxim and 
national reverence in favor of imported 
superstitions and degenerate            
barbarities4 ,under ,commodus he saw the
  ancient ,mars superseded by the       
,grecian ,hercules1 and ,hercules       
represented by an emperor who sunk into 
a prize-fighter1 and the  administration
 of the empire in the wanton hands of a 
,phrygian slave1  who was only less     
brutal than his master4 ,in the midst of
 pestilence1  which had become chronic  
in ,italy from the time of ,m4          
,antoninus1 and of  which a ,christian  
bishop could not but know more than     
others1 the city  was still adding to   
its semblance of splendor and salubrity2
 and the  magnificent baths and grounds 
that were opened to the public service  
at  the ,porta ,capena1 with the        
multiplied festivities and donatives1   
attested how little mere physical       
attention to the people can arrest the  
miseries of a moral degradation4 ,nor   

could the ,christians of that age be    
wholly without insight into the habits  
of the highest class in ,rome1  for1 in 
that great colluvies of heterogeneous   
faiths1 the caprice of  taste1 if not   
some better impulse1 determined now and 
then an inmate of  the palace to favor  
the religion of ,christ2 and the        
favorite mistress of  ,commodus1 who    
ruled him while she could1 and then had 
him drugged and  strangled in his sleep1
 is the very ,marcia whom our presbyter 
describes  as  and at whose intervention
 the ,christian exiles were released    
from their banishment in ,sardinia4 ,if 
he was at home when the excellent       
,pertinax was murdered1 and cared to    
know what tyrant was to have the  world 
instead1 he was perhaps in the throng   
that ran to the ,quirinal1  and heard   
the ,prtorians shout from their ramparts
 that the empire was  for sale1 and saw 
the bargain with the foolish senator    
below1 who bought  it with his money1   
and paid for it with his head4 ,caius   

and his people  had reason to tremble   
when they saw in ,septimius ,severus not
 only the  implacable conqueror who     
suffered no political opponent to live1 
but the  worshipper of demons1 the      
gloomy and fitful devotee of astrology  
and  magic1 pliant only to sacerdotal   
hate2 and when the young ,origen came to
  be their guest awhile1 and told of the
 terror in ,alexandria which had  joined
 his father to the band of martyrs1 the 
post that just then  brought the news of
 the ,emperor's death in ,britain would 
seem to take  off a weight of fear2     
especially as one son at least of the   
two  inheritors of the empire had in    
childhood been committed to a ,christian
  nurse1 and been said to shrink and    
turn away from the savage spectacles  of
 the amphitheatre4 ,they were doomed to 
be disappointed1 if they had  placed any
 hope in ,caracalla1 and to find that   
what they had taken in  the boy for the 
nobleness of grace1 was but the timidity
 of nature2 the  murder1 before his     

mother's face1 of his only brother1 and 
then of his  best counsellor1 for       
refusing to justify the fratricide1     
would soon make  them ashamed of        
remembering that he had ever heard the  
name of ,christ4  ,it would be curious  
to know how the ,christians comported   
themselves when  the ,priest of the ,sun
 became monarch of the world1 and seemed
 intent on  dethroning every divinity to
 enrich the homage to his own4 ,the     
grand  temple on the ,palatine1 which he
 built for the god of ,emesa1 every     
passer-by must have seen as it rose from
 its foundations4 ,and when the  black  
stone was paraded on its chariot through
 the streets1 and the  elder deities    
were compelled to leave their shrines   
and attend in escort  to the ,eastern   
idol1 or when the nuptials were         
celebrated between the  ,syrian divinity
 and the goddess of ,carthage1 and      
,baal-peor and ,astarte  succeeded to   
the honors of ,jove1 no ,christian      
presbyter could fail to  witness the    

gorgeous and humiliating                
procession1--renewed as it was year  by 
year1--or to ask himself into what      
deeper abomination the city of  the     
,scipios must sink1 ere the catastrophe 
of judgment made a sudden  end4 ,the    
orgies of ,helagabalus were more        
insulting to the elder ,paganism  of    
,rome than injurious to the new faith1  
which equally detested both2  and the   
offended moral feeling of the city      
reacted perhaps in favor of  the        
,christian cause1 and prepared the way  
for that more public teaching  of the   
religion1 in buildings avowedly         
dedicated to the purpose1 which  was    
first permitted in the succeeding reign4
 ,the natural recoil in the  imperial   
family itself from the degradation of   
the court tended1  perhaps1 in the same 
direction1 and drove the astute ,mama to
 seek1 amid  the universal corruption1  
for some school of discipline which     
might save  the young ,alexander        
,severus from the ignominy of her       

sister's son4  ,whether from this       
motive1 or from suspicion of the growing
 force of  ,christianity as a social    
power1 she had sent for ,origen1 and had
 an  interview with him at ,antioch2 and
 the ,roman disciples had reason to     
rejoice that her intellectual           
impressions of their system should have 
been derived from such a man1 and her   
political estimate of it formed in  the 
,east1 where the crisis of conflict     
between the dying and the living  faiths
 was more advanced than in the ,west1   
and afforded a less disguised  augury of
 the result4 ,from their                
fellow-believers trading with the       
,levant1 or arriving thence1 the pastors
 of the metropolis would learn  the     
propitious temper of the young ,csar and
 his mother2 and would feel  no         
surprise1 when he succeeded to the      
palace of his cousin1 that he not  only 
swept out the ministers of lust and     
luxury1 but in his private  oratory     
enshrined1 among the busts of ,pagan    

benefactors1 the images also  of        
,abraham and of ,christ4 ,they could    
not1 however1 but observe how  little   
the morals of the court and the wisdom  
of the government could  now avail to   
arrest the progress of decay1 and reach 
in detail the vices  and miseries of a  
degenerate state4 ,when they passed the 
door of the  palace1 they heard the     
public crier's voice proclaim1 ,let only
 purity  and innocence enter here2 they 
visited a ,christian tradesman in a     
neighboring street1 and found him just  
seized by a nobleman whom he had  dunned
 for an outstanding debt1 charged with  
magic or poisoning1 doomed  to pine in  
prison till he gave release1 and no     
redress or justice to be  had4 ,the     
,emperor who1 gazing in his chapel on   
the features of ,christ1  recognized a  
religion human and universal1 was the   
first under whom a  visible badge was   
put upon the slave1 and a distinctive   
servile dress  adopted2 the slave       
markets were still in consecrated spots1

 the temple  of ,castor and the ,via    
,sacra2 and if ever some captive        
,onesimus1  recommended by letters from 
the ,east to the brethren in ,rome1 was 
brought to the metropolis for sale1     
thither must the deacon or the  pastor  
go to find how the auction disposes of  
their charge1 and learn  which among the
 chalked feet it is that are shod with  
the preparation  of the ,gospel of      
peace4 ,the commonwealth had never      
boasted of so many  great jurists as in 
the age of ,papinian and ,paulus2 but as
 the science  of ,law was perfected1 the
 power of ,law declined2 and ,alexander 
,severus1  the justest of emperors1 was 
unable to protect ,ulpian1 the greatest 
of  civilians1 from military            
assassination in the palace itself1 or  
to  punish the perpetrators of this     
outrage on popular feeling as well as   
public right4 ,the three days' tumult1  
in which this master of  jurisprudence  
fell the victim of ,prtorian            
licentiousness1 our presbyter  ,caius   

must have witnessed2 and countless other
 momentous scenes1 during  a generation 
painfully affluent in vicissitude1 must 
have passed before  his eyes2 and had he
 but known of what value his reports    
would be to  this age of ours1 he would 
have said more of the life he saw1 and  
less  of the speculations he denounced4 
,to us it would have been worth         
anything to know just what was too close
 to him to catch his eye2--how  the     
,christians lived in such a world2 what 
thoughts stirred in them as  they walked
 the streets and heard the news2 what   
happened and was said  when they met    
together1 and how this could adjust     
itself with the real  facts of an       
inconsistent and tyrannical present2 and
 how1 as the  corrupted ,state became   
ever more incapable of vindicating moral
 ends1  the rising ,church undertook the
 secret governance of life1 and         
penetrated with its authority into      
recesses beyond the reach1 not of the   
arm of administration only1 but of the  

definitions of the widest code4  ,but in
 this respect also our author fails to  
realize our hopes4 ,he gives  us a book 
of fancies rather than of facts1 and    
instead of painting  existence1 which is
 transient1 and must be caught as it    
flies1 occupies  himself in describing  
nonsense1 which is always to be had4    
,the  enormities of ,helagabalus1 though
 staring him in the face1 are nothing   
to him in comparison with heresy in     
,lesser ,asia1 which keeps ,easter on a 
wrong day4 ,he is shut up within the    
interior circle of the community of     
believers1 and gives but a single       
glimpse beyond2 and builds for us no    
bridge to abolish the mysterious        
separation of ecclesiastical and ideal  
from civil and real existence in the    
early ages of our faith4 ,he is not     
peculiar in this defect4 ,we all of us  
live in the midst of history  without   
knowing it1 and ourselves make history  
without feeling it2 and  that which will
 most clearly paint us in the thought of

 other times1  which will seem our power
 to them1 our romance and nobleness1    
with  which1 therefore1 they will most  
crave to satiate their eye1 is          
precisely what is least consciously     
present to us1--the natural spirit  and 
daily spring of our common being1       
through which not the will of man1  but 
the providence of ,god1 works its       
appointed ends4 ,at all events1 the     
insight which we should be best pleased 
to gain into the life of the  third     
century is not given even incidentally1 
except in the scantiest  measure1 by the
 ,philosophumena1 which we must rank1 in
 this respect1  below the ,apologies1   
and with the writings of ,irenus and    
,epiphanius4  ,the book is dogmatic and 
controversial1 and the interest attached
 to it  arises entirely from its being a
 register of opinion1 a new witness to  
the thoughts about divine things1 which 
the ,christianity of its period  owned  
and disowned4 ,for those who care at all
 to know the state of  belief a century 

before the ,council of ,nice1 the work  
possesses a high  value4 ,but the worth 
of this sort of information is itself a 
thing  disputed1 at least its religious 
worth2 and will be very differently     
estimated1 according to the             
preconception which occupies us as to   
the  nature of ,divine ,revelation1 and 
the sources open to us for the          
attainment of sacred truth4 ,here it is 
that we find ,m4 ,bunsen's great  and   
peculiar strength4 ,his religious       
philosophy1 taken by itself1 brings  us 
occasionally to a pause of doubt4 ,his  
historical criticism is not  always     
convincing4 ,but his doctrine of the    
relation between religion  and history1 
of the mingling of divine and human     
elements in the theatre  of time1 and of
 the special agency of ,christianity in 
the spiritual  education of mankind1    
appears to us profoundly true and       
beautiful4 ,this  it is that makes him  
attach so much importance to the creed  
of the  second and third centuries1 and 

to the new light now thrown upon it2 an 
importance which1 from every ordinary   
point of view1 can scarcely fail  to    
appear fanciful and exaggerated4    ,the
 ,roman ,catholic1 for instance1        
entertains a conception about what      
sacred truth is1 and how it is to be    
had1 which1 leaving nothing to  depend  
on new discoveries1 discharges all the  
richest interest from  any fresh        
knowledge we may gain of religion in the
 past4 ,with him  divine truth1 so far  
as it is special to ,christendom1 is    
something  wholly foreign to the human  
mind1 intrinsically unrelated to any    
faculty we have4 ,in being supernatural1
 it belongs to another sphere  than that
 to which our thought is restricted1 and
 is totally withdrawn  from all the     
movements of our nature4 ,it consists1  
indeed1 in a set of  objective facts    
from which we are absent1 and which no  
ratiocination  of ours can seize1 any   
more than our ear can tell whether there
 be  music on ,saturn's ring4 ,there is 

no human consciousness answering to  it2
 and to resort thither for it is like   
asking the dreamer or the  blindfold to 
describe the scene in which he stands1  
or consulting your  own feelings to     
learn what is going on in ,pekin or     
,japan4 ,on this  theory1 the objects of
 faith are conceived of as objects of   
perception1 only by senses otherwise    
constituted than ours2 we can  have no  
surmise about them1 till they are       
announced to us by qualified            
percipients1 and no comprehension of    
them even then1 but only  reception of  
them as facts imported for us from      
abroad4 ,the bearing of  this doctrine  
of invisible realism on the treatment of
 ecclesiastical  history is manifest4   
,the inaccessible facts are deposited   
with the  sacerdotal corporation2 with  
whom alone is vested the duty and the   
power of stating and defining them4     
,they are not indeed all stated and     
defined in their last amplitude at once2
 for definition is always an  enclosure 

of the true by exclusion of the false2  
and it is only in  proportion as the    
dreaming perversity of men throws forth 
one delusive  fancy after another1 that 
the ,church draws line after line to    
shut the  intrusion out4 ,if the creeds 
seem to enlarge as the centuries pass1  
it  is not that they have more truth to 
give1 but only more error to  remove4   
,the divine facts were conceived aright 
and conceived complete  in the minds of 
,apostles and ,evangelists1 but they    
were not  contemplated then as against  
the follies and contradictions opposed  
to them in later times2 but as soon as  
the hour came for this  antagonism to be
 felt1 the infallible perception secured
 in perpetuity  to the living hierarchy 
supplied the due verdict of rejection4  
,to the  ,catholic1 therefore1          
,christianity was made up and finished1 
its  treasury was full1 in the first    
generation2 its power of development  is
 only the refusal of deviation2 and its 
intellectual life is tame as  the story 

of some perfect hero1 who does nothing  
but stand still and  repel temptations4 
,the history of doctrines thus becomes a
 history of  heresies2 the primitive    
stock of tradition and ,scripture must1 
on the  one hand1 be maintained entire  
in the face of all possible exposures   
by critical research2 and1 on the other1
 remain in eternal barrenness  and      
produce no more4 ,natural knowledge1    
whether of the world or of  humanity1   
may grow continually1 but the new       
thoughts it may lead us to  entertain of
 ,god are either not new1 or not true2  
and every  pretended enrichment of truth
 is nothing but evolution of falsehood4 
,this removal of all variety from       
religion1 this expulsion of life and    
change into the negative region of      
aberration and denial1 eviscerates  the 
past of its devout interest1 rests the  
study of it on contempt  instead of     
reverence for man2 with all its pious   
air1 it simply  betrays history with a  
kiss1 and delivers it over for scribes  

to  buffet and chief priests to crucify4
 ,short work is made in this way of  any
 fresh witness1 like the author of our  
book1 who turns up  unexpectedly from an
 early age4 ,does he speak in agreement 
with the  hierarchical standards8 ,he   
only flings another voice into the      
consensus of obedient believers4 ,does  
he say anything at variance  with the   
regula fidei8 ,then have we only to see 
in what class of  heretics he stands4   
,his testimony is either superfluous or 
misleading4    ,the ,protestant1 of the 
approved ,english type1 arrives1 under  
guidance  of a different thought1 at the
 same flat and indifferent result4      
,though he gives a more subjective      
character to divine truth than the      
,roman ,catholic1 and brings both the   
want and the supply of it more  within  
the attestation of consciousness1 he    
puts its discovery equally  beyond the  
reach of our ruined faculties1 and      
equally cuts it off from  all relation  
to philosophy and the natural living    

exercise of reason  and conscience4 ,he 
further agrees that his foreign gift of 
revelation  was imported all at once1   
and all complete1 into our world1 within
 the  ,apostolic age2 that the          
conceptions of that time are an         
authoritative  rule for all succeeding  
centuries2 and that every newer doctrine
 is to  be regarded as a false          
accretion1 to be flung off into the     
incompetent  and barren spaces of human 
speculation4 ,he denies1 however1 the   
twofold vehicle of this precious gift2  
and1 cancelling altogether the  oral    
tradition and indeterminate ,christian  
consciousness of the early  ,church1    
shuts up the whole contents of religion 
within the canonical  ,scriptures4 ,the 
guardianship of unwritten tradition     
being abolished1  and the canon         
requiring no guardianship at all1 the   
trust deposited  with the hierarchy     
disappears2 and no permanent            
inspiration1 no  authoritative judicial 
function1 in matters of faith1 remains4 

,whatever ,holy ,spirit continues in the
 ,church is not a progressively         
teaching spirit1 which can ever impart  
thoughts or experiences unknown  to the 
first believers2 but a personally       
comforting and animating  spirit1 whose 
highest climax of enlightenment is the  
exact  reproduction of the primitive    
state of mind4 ,the apprehension of     
,divine truth is thus reduced to an     
affair of verbal interpretation of      
documents2 and though in this process   
there is room for the largest  play of  
subjective feeling1 so that different   
minds1 different  nations1 different    
ages1 will unconsciously evolve very    
various  results2 these are not to be   
regarded as possible ,divine enrichments
  of the faith1 but to be brought       
rigidly to the standard of the  earliest
 ,church1 and disowned wherever they    
include what was absent  there4 ,this   
view is less mischievous than the ,roman
 ,catholic1 only  because it is more    
inconsequent and confused4 ,the canon   

which you take  as sacred was selected  
and set in authority by the unwritten   
consciousness and tradition which you   
reject as profane4 ,the ,church  existed
 before its records2 expressed its life 
in ways spreading  indefinitely beyond  
them2 and neither was exempt from human 
elements  till they were finished1 nor  
lost the ,divine spirit when they were  
done4 ,so arbitrary a doctrine corrupts 
the beauty of ,scripture1 and  deadens  
the noblest interest of history4 ,if the
 ,new ,testament is to  serve as an     
infallible standard1 it is thus         
committed to perfect unity  and         
self-consistency2 and you are obliged to
 contend that the various  types of     
doctrine found within its compass--the  
,messianic conceptions  of ,matthew and 
,john1 the ,faith of ,paul and ,james1  
the eucharistic  conceptions of the     
first ,evangelists and the last1 the    
eschatology of  the ,apocalypse and the 
,epistles--are only different sides of  
one and  the same belief1 colored with  

the tints and shadings of several minds4
  ,how utterly inadequate such an       
hypothesis is to the explanation of the 
,scriptural phenomena1 what a distorted 
and absurd representation it  gives of  
the sacred writers1 and their mode of   
thought1 is best known  to those who    
have honestly tried to deal with the    
fourth ,gospel1 for  instance1 as       
historically the supplement of the      
others1 and  dogmatically of the ,book  
of ,revelation2 to suppose the          
,logos-doctrine  tacitly present in the 
speeches of ,peter2 to detect the       
pre-existence  in ,mark1 or remove it   
from ,john2 or to identify the          
,paraclete with the  gifts of           
,pentecost4 ,all feeling of living      
reality is lost from our  picture of the
 ,apostolic time1 when its outlines are 
thus blurred1 its  contrasts destroyed1 
its grouped figures effaced1 and the    
whole melted  away by the persevering   
drizzle of a watery criticism into a    
muddy  glory round the place where      

,christ should be4 ,if1 moreover1 we are
 to  find everything in the first age1  
then the second1 and the third1 and  all
 others1 must be worse1 just in so far  
as they differ from it2 and  the whole  
course of succeeding thought1 the       
widening and deepening of  the          
,christian faith and feeling1 the       
swelling of its stream by the  lapse    
into it of ,oriental ,gnosis and        
,hellenic ,platonism and the  ,western  
,conscience1 must be a ceaseless        
degeneracy4 ,thus to the  ,bibliolater  
as to the ,romanist1 ,divine truth has  
no history among  men1 unless it be the 
history of decline1 or of recovery      
purchased by  decline4 ,he also will    
accordingly care nothing about what the 
people  of ,caius or ,hippolytus        
thought4 ,is it in the ,bible8 ,if so1  
he knew it  before4 ,is it not in the   
,bible8 ,then he has nothing to do with 
it but  throw it away4 ,by a fitting    
retribution1 this moping worship of the 
letter of a book and the creed of a     

generation brings it to pass that  both 
are lost to the mind in a dismal haze of
 ignorance and  misconception2 and if   
the ,evangelical believer could be      
transported  suddenly from ,exeter ,hall
 into the company of the twelve in      
,jerusalem1  or the ,proseucha which    
,paul enters on the banks of the        
,strymon1 or the  room where the ,agape 
is prepared at ,rome1 we are persuaded  
that he  would find a scene newer to his
 expectations than by any other         
migration into a known time and place4  
,but now let us abolish this isolation  
from the rest of human existence  of the
 incunabula of our faith1 and throw open
 that time to free  relation with the   
whole providence of humanity4 ,suppose  
,christianity  to be the influence upon 
the world of a ,divine ,person1--in     
quality  divine1 in quantity            
human1--whose ,epiphany was determined  
at a crisis  of ripe conditions for the 
rescue1 the evolution1 the spread of    
holy  and sanctifying truth4 ,what are  

those conditions8 ,they consist mainly  
in the co-presence1 within the embrace  
of one vast state1 of two  opposite     
races or types of men1 both having a    
partial gift of divine  apprehension1   
and holding in charge an indispensable  
element of truth2  both with their      
spiritual life verging to exhaustion and
 capable of no  separate effort more2   
and each unconsciously pining away for  
want of  the complement of thought which
 the other only could supply4 ,the      
,hebrew brought his intense feeling of  
the ,personality of ,god2  conceiving   
this in so concentrated a form as to    
exclude the proper  notion of           
infinitude1 and render ,him only the    
most powerful ,being in  the ,universe1 
its ,monarch1--wielding the creatures as
 his  puppets1--acting historically upon
 its scenes as objective to ,him1 and   
by the annals of his past agency        
supplying to the ,abrahamic family a    
religion of archives and documents4 ,the
 sovereignty of ,jehovah raised  him to 

an immeasurable height above his        
creation2 dwarfed all other  existence2 
placed him by nature at a distance from 
men1 and only by  condescension allowing
 of approximation4 ,and hence his       
worshippers1  in proportion as they     
adored his greatness1 felt the          
littleness of all  else2 acquired a     
temper towards their fellow-men1 if not 
severe and  scornful1 at least not      
reverent and tender2 and regarded them  
as  separate in kind from ,him1 mere    
dust on the balance or locusts in the   
field4 ,the religion of the ,hellenic   
race began at the other  end1--from the 
midst of human life1 its mysteries1 its 
struggles1 its  nobleness1 its mixture  
of heroic ,free-will and awful ,destiny2
 and  their deepest reverence1 their    
quickest recognition of the ,divine1 was
  directed towards the soul of a man    
vindicating its grandeur1 though it     
should be against superhuman powers4 ,in
 proportion as men were great1          
beautiful1 and good1 did they appear to 

be as lesser gods1 and earth  and heaven
 to be filled with the same race4       
,thought1 conscience1  admiration in the
 human mind were not personal accidents 
separately  originating in each         
individual2 but the sympathetic response
 of our  common intellect1 standing in  
front of ,nature1 to the kindred life of
  the ,divine intellect behind ,nature1 
and ever passing into expression        
through it4 ,when this feeling of the   
,hellenic race became reflective1  and  
organized itself into philosophy1 it    
represented the universe as  the eternal
 assumption of form by the ,divine      
thought1 which we were  enabled to read 
off by our essential identity of nature4
 ,hence a whole  series of conceptions  
quite different from the ,hebrew        
representations2  instead of ,creation1 
,evolution of being2 instead of         
,interposition  from without1           
,incarnation operating from within2     
instead of ,omnipotent  ,will1          
,universal ,thought2 assigning as the   

ideal of man's perfection1  not so much 
obedience to ,law1 as similitude of     
,mind to ,god2 and  tending             
predominantly not to strength in        
,morals1 but to beauty in ,art4  ,these 
two opposite tendencies had run their   
separate course1 and  expended their    
proper history2 and were talking wildly1
 as in the  approaching delirium of     
death4 ,but they are the two factors of 
all  religious truth3 and to fuse them  
together1 to make it impossible that    
either should perish or should remain   
alone1 the ,christ was given to  the    
world1 so singularly balanced between   
them1 that neither could  resist his    
power1 but both were drawn into it for  
the regeneration of  mankind4 ,in the   
accidents of his lot given to the one   
race1 and only  baffling the visions of 
prophets to transcend them2 in the      
essence of  his nature1 so august and   
attractive to the other that the faith  
in  ,incarnation was irresistible2      
presented to the ,hebrews by his mortal 

birth1 and snatched from them by his    
immortal2 stopping by his  holiness the 
mouth of ,law1 and carrying it up into  
the higher region  of ,faith and ,love2 
in the ,temple wishing the ,temple gone1
 that there  might be open communion1   
,spirit with ,spirit2 translating       
sacrifice  into self-sacrifice2--he had 
every requisite for conciliating and    
blending the separated elements of truth
 which1 for so many ages1 had  been     
converging towards him4 ,but if this was
 the function  providentially assigned  
to him1 and for which the divine and    
human  were so blended in him1 it is a  
function which could not be             
accomplished in a moment1 in a          
generation1 in a century4 ,it is an     
historical function1 freely demanding   
time for its theatre2 and as  the       
separate factors had occupied ages in   
attaining their ripeness for            
combination1 so must their fusion       
consume many a lifetime of  effervescing
 thought1 ere the homogeneous truth     

appeared4 ,the words of  ,christ are not
 in this view the end in which          
,revelation terminates2  but the means  
given to us of knowing himself1         
contributions to the  picture we form of
 his personality4 ,nor are the          
sentiments of his  immediate followers  
about his office and position in the    
scheme of  ,providence anything more    
authoritative to us than the incipient  
attempts made1 when his influence was   
fresh1 to grasp the whole of his        
relations while only a part was to be   
seen4 ,the records of the great  crisis 
are no doubt of superlative value1 as   
the vehicles by which  alone we         
understand and feel its power2 but their
 value is lost if  they are to dictate  
truth to our passive acceptance1 instead
 of  quickening our reason and          
conscience to find it3 they stop in this
 way  the very development which they   
were to lead1 and disappoint ,christ of 
the very work he came to achieve4 ,human
 elements were inevitably and  fully    

present in the first age and its        
,scriptures1 as in every other2  and the
 transitory ingredients they have left1 
it is a duty to detach  from the eternal
 truth4 ,and as conditions of finite    
imperfection  cannot be banished from   
the central era1 neither can the        
guidance of  the ,infinite ,spirit be   
denied1 whether among the ,hebrew1 the  
,hellenic1  or the ,christian people1 in
 the ages before and after4 ,in that new
  development of human consciousness and
 knowledge in regard to ,god1  which we 
call ,christianity1 all the requisite   
conditions--viz4 the  factors taken up1 
the ,person who blends them1 and the    
continuous  product they evolve--include
 ,divine ,inspiration as well as ,human 
,reflection1--the living presence and   
communion of the ,eternal with the      
,transitory ,mind1 of the perfectly     
,good with the good in the ,imperfect4  
,to disengage the one from the other1 to
 treasure up the true and holy  that is 
born of ,god1 and let fall the false and

 wrong that is infused  by man1 is      
possible only to ,reason and            
,conscience1 is indeed the  perpetual   
work in which they live2 the denial of  
which is not merely  ,atheism1 but      
,devil-worship1--not the bare negation1 
but the positive  reversal1 of          
religion1--the virtual affirmation that 
,god indeed  exists1 but exists as      
,un-reason and ,un-good4 ,no mechanical1
 no  chronological separation can be    
effected of the ,divine from the ,human1
  the ,revealed from the ,unrevealed1 in
 faith2 there is no person1 no  book1 no
 age1 no ,church1 in which both do not  
meet1 and require to be  disentangled   
the one from the other2 but the         
perseverance of ,god's  living and      
self-harmonious ,spirit throughout the  
discordant errors of  dying generations 
enables the men most apt and faithful to
 his voice  to know more and more what  
his reality is1 and drop the semblances 
by  which it is disguised4 ,the effect  
of this view on our estimate of         

ecclesiastical literature is evident4   
,as1 according to it1 the  ,apostolic   
period is not exempted from critical    
judgment1 so neither  are succeeding    
times to be without their claim on      
religious reverence4  ,the canonical    
books of the ,new ,testament fall back  
into the general  mass of literature    
recording the earliest knowledge and    
consciousness  of the disciples1 neither
 detached1 as a mysterious whole1 from  
other  productions of their time1 nor   
excluding the greatest diversities of   
value among themselves4 ,they exhibit   
the first struggling efforts--not       
always concurrent in their direction--of
 an awakening spiritual life1  to       
interpret a recent ,divine              
manifestation1 and to solve by it the   
problem of the world's ,providence4     
,their very freshness and proximity  to 
the great figure of ,christ was by no   
means an unmixed advantage to  these    
efforts2 and they were not so complete  
and successful as to  supersede their   

continuance in the next and following   
generations1  which lay under no        
incompetency for their prosecution1 and 
are as  likely1 so far as antecedent    
probability goes1 to have enriched and  
improved1 as to have impoverished and   
spoiled1 the earlier doctrine of        
,christ's relation to ,god and to       
mankind4 ,the chasm thus disappears     
between the ,apostolic age and its      
successor2 the products of the first    
are not to be accepted simply because   
they are there1 nor those of the  second
 rejected because they are absent from  
the first2 nor is  everything to be     
admitted on showing that it stands in   
both1 and even  had a tenure long enough
 to become the prescriptive occupant of 
the  ,church4 ,the ,catholic is right in
 clinging to the continuous thread of   
,divine ,inspiration binding the        
centuries of ,christendom together2 and 
in maintaining that the expression of   
true doctrine grows fuller with  time4  
,he is wrong in making the ,spirit over 

to an hierarchical  corporation2 and in 
treating the ostensible growth of       
doctrine as the  mere negation of       
heresies4 ,the ,protestant is right in  
rescuing from  the haze of uncertain    
tradition the real historical ground of 
his  religion1 and setting it in the    
focus of an intense reverence2 and in   
rejecting whatever cannot be adjusted   
with the clear facts and  essential     
,spirit of that primitive ,gospel4 ,he  
is wrong in his  insulation of that time
 as a sole authoritative age of golden  
days1 in  which the faith had neither   
error nor defect1 and from which it must
  be copied1 with daguerreotype         
exactitude1 into every disciple's mind4 
,keep the positive elements1 destroy the
 negative limitations of both  these    
systems1 and the true conception of     
,christianity emerges4 ,as a  system of 
self-conscious doctrine1 it is a        
religious ,philosophy1  starting from   
the historical appearance of ,christ as 
an expression of  ,god in human life1   

and always detained around this one     
object as its  centre2 and in its       
development consulting not the          
idiosyncrasies and  conceits of private 
and personal reflection1 but the devout 
consciousness and spiritual consensus of
 all ,christian ages and all  holy men4 
,all religion is the product of an      
action of the ,infinite  mind upon the  
finite3 in the ,christian religion that 
action takes  place upon souls engaged  
in the contemplation of ,christ as the  
manifestation of ,god's moral nature4   
,this given object remaining the  same1 
there is room for indefinite expansion  
and variety2 and every  developed form  
is to be tried1 not by its date1 but by 
the tests of  truth relevant to         
religious philosophy4    ,how far ,m4   
,bunsen would recognize his own doctrine
 in this exposition  we cannot say2 but 
without intending in the least to make  
him  responsible for it1 we think it    
does not essentially deviate from his   
scheme of thought4 ,the philosophical   

aphorisms in which he has  embodied his 
speculative faith follow an order which 
we should have  spoiled1 had we1 for our
 present purpose1 so brought them       
together as  to make them speak for     
themselves4 ,and though they display the
 same  astonishing command of our       
language1 in which the author never     
fails1  the cast of the thoughts is so  
,teutonic1 that few ,english readers1 it
  is to be feared1 will appreciate their
 depth and richness4 ,the  complaint1   
which we have heard and seen1 that they 
are wholly  unintelligible1 is indeed   
purely ridiculous1 except that it sadly 
illustrates the extent to which         
reflection1 and even feeling1 on such   
subjects has ceased in ,england4 ,m4    
,bunsen1 we can assure our readers1     
knows what he means1 and lucidly states 
what he means2 and those who  miss his  
meaning have for the most part no slight
 loss4 ,the following  sentences1 which 
the greatest sufferer from philosophobia
 may drink in  without convulsions1 will

 explain his idea of ,revelation1 in its
  bearing upon the use of written       
records4 ,the mere ,natural ,religion   
of the ,deist1 he observes1 was--       
,the negative reaction against the      
equally untenable1 unphilosophical1  and
 irrational notion1 that revelation was 
nothing but an external  historical act4
 ,such a notion entirely loses sight of 
the infinite or  eternal factor of      
revelation1 founded both in the nature  
of the  infinite and that of the finite 
mind1 of ,god and man4    ,this         
heterodox notion became still more      
obnoxious1 by its imagining  something  
higher in the manifestation of ,god's   
will and being than the  human mind1    
which is the divinely-appointed organ of
 divine  manifestation1 and in a double 
manner2 ideally in mankind1 as object1  
historically in the individual man1 as  
instrument4    ,the notion of a merely  
historical revelation by written records
 is as  unhistorical as it is           
unintellectual and materialistic4 ,it   

necessarily  leads to untruth in        
philosophy1 to unreality in religious   
thought1 and  to ,fetichism in worship4 
,it misunderstands the process          
necessarily  implied in every historical
 representation4 ,the form of expressing
 the  manifestation of ,god in the mind1
 as if ,god was himself using human     
speech to man1 and was thus himself     
finite and a man1 is a form  inherent in
 the nature of human thought as embodied
 in language1 its  own rational         
expression4 ,it was originally never    
meant to be  understood                 
materialistically1 because the religious
 consciousness  which produced it was   
essentially spiritual2 and1 indeed1 it  
can only  be thus misunderstood by those
 who make it a rule and criterion of    
faith1 never to connect any thought     
whatever with what they are  expected to
 believe as divinely true4    ,every    
religion is positive4 ,it is1 therefore1
 justly called a  religion 'made        
manifest' 7offenbart71 or1 as the       

,english term has  it1 revealed2 that is
 to say1 it supposes an action of the   
infinite  mind1 or ,god1 upon the finite
 mind1 or man1 by which ,god1 in his    
relation to man1 becomes manifest or    
visible4 ,this can be mediate1  through 
the manifestation of ,god in the        
,universe of ,nature2 or a  direct1     
immediate action1 through the religious 
consciousness4    ,this second action is
 called revealed1 in the strictest      
sense4 ,the  more a religion manifests  
of the real substance and nature of     
,god1 and  of his relation to the       
universe and to man1 the more it        
deserves the  name of a divine          
manifestation1 or of ,revelation4 ,but  
no religion  which exists could exist   
without something of truth1 revealed to 
man1  through the creation1 and through 
his mind4    ,such a direct             
communication of the ,divine mind as is 
called  ,revelation has necessarily two 
factors1 which are unitedly working in  
producing it4 ,the one is the infinite  

factor1 or the direct  manifestation of 
eternal truth to the mind1 by the power 
which that  mind has of perceiving it2  
for human perception is the correlate of
  divine manifestation4 ,there could be 
no revelation of ,god if there was  not 
the corresponding faculty in the human  
mind to receive it1 as  there is no     
manifestation of light where there is no
 eye to see it4    ,this infinite factor
 is1 of course1 not historical2 it is   
inherent in  every individual soul1 only
 with an immense difference in the      
degree4    ,the action of the ,infinite 
upon the mind1 is the miracle of history
  and of religion1 equal to the miracle 
of creation4    ,miracle1 in its highest
 sense1 is therefore essentially and    
undoubtedly an operation of the ,divine 
mind upon the human mind4 ,by  that     
action the human mind becomes inspired  
with a new life1 which  cannot be       
explained by any precedent of the       
selfish 7natural7 life1  but is its     
absolute contrary4 ,this miracle        

requires no proof2 the  existence and   
action of religious life is its proof1  
as the world is  the proof of creation4 
,the second factor of revelation is the 
finite or external4 ,this  means of     
divine manifestation is1 in the first   
place1 a universal one1  the ,universe  
or ,nature4 ,but1 in a more special     
sense1 it is a  historical manifestation
 of divine truth through the life and   
teaching  of higher minds among men4    
,these men of ,god are eminent          
individuals1  who communicate something 
of eternal truth to their brethren2 and1
 as  far as they themselves are true1   
they have in them the conviction1  that 
what they say and teach of things divine
 is an objective truth4  ,they therefore
 firmly believe that it is independent  
of their  individual personal opinion   
and impression1 and will last1 and not  
perish1 as their personal existence upon
 earth must4    ,the difference between 
,christ and other men of ,god is        
analogous to  that between the          

manifestation of a part1 and of the     
totality and  substance1 of the divine  
mind4--,vol4 ,,ii4 p4 #fj1 seq4    ,the 
newly-found work1 like other productions
 of the same period1 can  have only a   
disturbing interest for the ,roman      
,catholic and ,orthodox  ,protestant4   
,for1 in conjunction with previous      
evidence1 it shows that  the unbroken   
unity of teaching is altogether a       
fiction2 that what  afterwards became   
heresy was1 in the latter part of the   
second  century1 held in the church of  
the primacy itself1 and by successors   
of ,st4 ,peter2 that the clergy of      
,rome1 so far from owning the  apostolic
 authority of their chief1 could resist 
him as heterodox2 and  that the contents
 of the ,catholic system1 far from      
appearing as an  invariable whole from  
the first1 were a gradual synthesis of  
elements  flowing in from new channels  
of influence brought into connection    
with  the faith2 and as against the     
approved type of ,protestant1 it shows  

that his favorite scheme of dogma was   
still in a very unripe state1  and that 
further back it had been still more so2 
so that if he binds  himself to the     
earliest creed1 he may probably have to 
accept a  profession which he hardly    
regards as ,christian at all4 ,but from 
the  third point of view1 which assumes 
that development is an inherent         
necessity in a revelation1 and may add  
to its truth1 instead of  subtracting   
from it1 the monuments of ,christian    
literature from the  secondary period   
have a positive interest1 free from all 
uneasiness  and alarm4 ,they arrest for 
us1 in the midst1 the advance of        
theological belief towards the form     
ultimately recognized in the  ,church1  
and expressed in the established creeds2
 they render visible  the beautiful     
features and expanded look of the faith1
 when its ,judaic  blood had been cooled
 by the waters of an ,hellenic baptism2 
and though  they leave many undetermined
 problems as to the successive steps by 

which the original ,hebrew type of the  
,gospel in ,jerusalem was  metamorphosed
 into the ,nicene and hierarchical      
,christianity1 they fix  some           
intermediate points1 and make us        
profoundly conscious of the  greatness  
of the change4    ,the author of the    
,philosophumena1 for instance1 would be 
stopped at  the threshold of every sect 
in our own country1 and excluded as     
heterodox4 ,he crosses the lines of our 
theological definitions1 and  trespasses
 on forbidden ground1 in every possible 
doctrinal direction4  ,cardinal ,wiseman
 would have nothing to say to him2 for  
he is  insubordinate to the ,vicar of   
,christ1 and profanely insists that a   
pope may be deposed by his own council  
of presbyters4 ,the ,bishop of  ,exeter 
would refuse him institution2 for his   
,trinity is imperfect1 and  he allows no
 ,personality to the ,holy ,ghost4 ,the 
,archbishop of ,dublin  might probably  
think him a little hard upon ,sabellius2
 but1 if he  would quietly sign the     

,articles1 7which1 however1 he could by 
no means  do17 might abstain from       
retaliation1 and let him pass4 ,at      
,manchester1  ,canon ,stowell would keep
 him in hot water for his respectable   
opinion  of human nature1 and his lofty 
doctrine of free-will4 ,in ,edinburgh1  
,dr4 ,candlish would not listen to a man
 who had nothing to say of  reliance on 
the imputed merits of ,christ4 ,the     
sapient board at ,new  ,college1 ,st4   
,john's ,wood1 would expel him for his  
loose notions of  ,inspiration4 ,and the
 ,unitarians would find him too         
transcendental1  make no common sense   
out of his notions of ,incarnation1 and 
recommend  him to try ,germany4 ,this   
fact1 that a bishop of the second and   
third  centuries would be               
ecclesiastically not a stranger only1   
but an  outcast among us1 is most       
startling2 and ought surely to open the 
eyes  of modern ,christians to the false
 and dangerous position into which      
their churches have been brought by     

narrow-heartedness and  insincerity4 ,it
 will not be ,m4 ,bunsen's fault if our 
,churchmen remain  insensible to the    
national peril and disgrace of          
maintaining  unreformed a system long   
known to have no heart of modern        
reality1 and  now seen to have as little
 ground of ancient authority4 ,again and
  again he raises his voice of earnest  
and affectionate warning4 ,as a         
foreigner domesticated among us1 as a   
scholar of wide historical view1  as a  
philosophical statesman who1 amid the   
diplomacy of the hour1  descends to the 
springs of perennial life in nations1 as
 a ,christian  who profoundly trusts the
 reality of religion1 and cannot be     
dazzled  by the pretence1 he sees1 with 
a rare clearness and breadth1 both the  
capabilities and the dangers of our     
social and spiritual condition4 ,he     
sees that ,god has given to the ,english
 people a moral massiveness and         
veracity of character which presents the
 grandest basis of noble  faith2 while  

learned selfishness and aristocratic    
apathy uphold in the  ,church creeds    
which only stupidity can sign without   
mental  reservations1--a ,liturgy that  
catches the scruple of the intellectual 
without touching the enthusiasm of the  
popular heart1--a laity without         
function1--a clergy without unity1--and 
a hierarchy without power4 ,he  sees    
that our insular position has imparted  
to us a distinctive  nationality of     
feeling1 supplying copious elements for 
coalescence in  a common religion2 while
 obstinate conservatism has permitted   
our  ,christianity to become our great  
divisive power1 and to disintegrate  us 
through and through4 ,he respects our   
free institutions1 which  sustain the   
health of our political life2 but beside
 them he finds an  ecclesiastical system
 either imposed by a dead and inflexible
  necessity1 or left unguided to a      
whimsical voluntaryism1 which  separates
 the combinations of faith from the     
relations of  neighborhood1 of          

municipality1 of country4 ,with noble   
and  richly-endowed universities at the 
exclusive disposal of the ,church1  he  
finds the theological and philosophical 
sciences so shamefully  neglected1 that 
,christian faith notoriously does not   
hold its  intellectual ground1 and in   
its retreat does nothing to reach a     
firmer position2 but only protests its  
resolution to stand still1 and  raise a 
din against the critic or metaphysic    
host that drives it back4  ,is there no 
one in this great and honest country    
that has trust enough  in ,god and      
truth1 foresight enough of ruin from    
falsehood and  pretence1 to lay the     
first hand to the work of renovation8   
,is  statesmanship so infected with     
negligent contempt of mankind1 that no  
high-minded politician can be found to  
care for the highest discipline  of the 
people1 and reorganize the institutions 
in which their  conscience1 their       
reason1 their upward aspirations1 should
 find life8  ,has the ,church no prophet

 with faith enough to fling aside creed 
and  college1 and fire within him to    
burn away medival pedantries1 and       
demand an altar of veracity1 that may   
bring us together for common  work and  
common prayer8 ,or is it to be left to  
the strong men1  exulting in their      
strength1 and storming with the furor of
 honest  discontent1 to settle these    
matters with the sledge-hammer of their 
indignation8 ,miserable hypocrisy6 to   
open the lips and lift the eyes  to     
heaven1 while beckoning with the finger 
of apathy to these pioneers  of         
,necessity6 ,would that some might be   
found to lay to heart our  author's     
warning and counsel in the following    
sentences3--    ,while we exclude all   
suggestions of despair1 as being equally
  unworthy of a man and of a ,christian1
 we establish two safe  principles4 ,the
 first is1 that1 in all congregational  
and  ecclesiastical institutions1       
,christian freedom1 within limits       
conformable to ,scripture1 constitutes  

the first requisite for a vital         
restoration4 ,the second fundamental    
principle is1 that every ,church  must  
hold fast what she already possesses1 in
 so far as it presents  itself to her   
consciousness as true and efficacious4  
,in virtue of the  first condition1 she 
will combine ,reason and ,scripture in  
due  proportions2 by virtue of the      
second1 she will distinguish between    
,spirit and ,letter1 between ,idea and  
,form4 ,no external clerical forms  and 
medival reflexes of bygone social and   
intellectual conditions can  save us1   
nor can sectarian schisms and isolation 
from national life4  ,neither can       
learned speculations1 and still less the
 incomparably more  arrogant dreams of  
the unlearned4 ,scientific consciousness
 must dive  into real life1 and refresh 
itself in the feelings of the people1   
and  that no one will be able to do     
without having made himself thoroughly  
conversant with the sufferings and the  
sorrows of the lowest classes  of       

society4 ,for out of the feeling of     
these sufferings and sorrows1 as  being 
to a great degree the most extensive and
 most deep-seated  product of           
evil1--that is1 of selfishness1--arose1 
eighteen hundred  years ago1 the divine 
birth of ,christianity4 ,the new birth1 
however1  requires new pangs of labor1  
and not only on the part of individuals1
  but of the whole nation1 in so far as 
she bears within her the germs  of      
future life1 and possesses the strength 
to bring forth4 ,every  nation must set 
about the work herself1 not1 indeed1 as 
her own  especial exclusive concern1 but
 as the interest of all mankind4 ,every 
people has the vocation to coin for     
itself the divine form of  ,humanity1 in
 the ,church as well as in the ,state2  
its life depends on  this being done1   
not its reputation merely2 it is the    
condition of  existence1 not merely of  
prosperity4    ,is it not time1 in      
truth1 to withdraw the veil from our    
misery8 to  point to the clouds which   

rise from all quarters1 to the noxious  
vapors  which have already well-nigh    
suffocated us8 to tear off the mask from
  hypocrisy1 and destroy that sham which
 is undermining all real ground  beneath
 our feet8 to point out the dangers     
which surround1 nay1 threaten  already  
to engulf us8 ,is the state of things   
satisfactory in a ,christian  sense1    
where so much that is unchristian       
predominates1 and where  ,christianity  
has scarcely begun here and there to    
penetrate the surface  of the common    
life8 ,shall we be satisfied with the   
increased outward  respect paid to      
,christianity and the ,church8 ,shall we
 take it as a sign  of renewed life1    
that the names of ,god and ,christ have 
become the  fashion1 and are used as a  
party badge8 ,can a society be said to  
be in a  healthy condition1 in which    
material and selfish interests in       
individuals1 as well as in the masses1  
gain every day more and more the  upper 
hand8 in which so many thinking and     

educated men are attached to            
,christianity only by outward forms1    
maintained either by despotic power1  or
 by a not less despotic1                
half-superstitious1 half-hypocritical   
custom8 when so many churches are empty1
 and satisfy but few1 or display  more  
and more outward ceremonials and        
vicarious rites8 when a godless  schism 
has sprung up between spirit and form1  
or has even been preached  up as a means
 of rescue8 when gross ignorance or     
confused knowledge1  cold indifference  
or the fanaticism of superstition1      
prevails as to the  understanding of    
,holy ,scripture1 as to the history1    
nay1 the fundamental  ideas of          
,christianity8 when force invokes       
religion in order to command1  and      
demagogues appeal to the religious      
element in order to destroy8  when1     
after all their severe chastisements and
 bloody lessons1 most  statesmen base   
their wisdom only on the contempt of    
mankind8 and when  the prophets of the  

people preach a liberty1 the basis of   
which is  selfishness1 the object       
libertinism1 and the wages are vice8    
,and this in  an age the events of which
 show more and more fatal symptoms1 and 
in  which a cry of ardent longing       
pervades the people1 re-echoed by a     
thousand voices6--,,iii4 ,,xv4          
,sorry1 however1 as we should be to see 
our ,roman presbyter  disconsolately    
wandering from fold to fold in modern   
,england1 and  dismissed as a black     
sheep from all1 we should not like to   
find him  metamorphosed into chief      
shepherd either1 and invested with the  
guidance of our ecclesiastical affairs4 
,though he is above imitating  the      
feeble railing of ,irenus at the        
heresies1 he deals with them in  the    
true clerical style2 often missing their
 real meaning1 he does not  spare them  
his bad word2 and fancies he has killed 
them before he has  even caught them4   
,he has an evident relish also for a    
tale of scandal1  as a make-weight      

against a theological opponent4 ,in the 
,little  ,labyrinth1 he had told us a   
story about a ,unitarian minister1 who1 
for accepting his schismatical office1  
had been horsewhipped by angels  all    
night2 so that he crawled in the morning
 to the metropolitan1 and  gave in his  
penitential recantation4 ,and now1 in   
the larger work1 the  author flies at   
higher game1 and makes out that ,pope   
,callistus was an  incorrigible scamp2  
originally a slave in the household of a
 wealthy  ,christian master1            
,carpophorus1 whose confidence he abused
 in every  possible way4 ,first1 having 
been intrusted with the management of a 
bank in the ,piscina publica1 he        
swindled and ruined the depositors1  and
 decamped1 with the intention of sailing
 from ,portus1 but was found  on board  
ship2 and1 though he jumped into the sea
 to avoid capture1  was picked up1 and  
condemned by his master to the          
hand-mill4 ,next1  being allowed to go  
out1 on the plea of collecting some     

debts which  would enable him to pay a  
dividend to the depositors1 he created a
  riot in a ,jews' synagogue1 and1 being
 brought before the prefect1 was        
sentenced to be flogged and transported 
to ,sardinia4 ,thence he escaped  by    
passing himself off among a number of   
,christians1 released from  their exile 
through the influence of the ,emperor's 
concubine1 ,marcia1  and on the         
recommendation of ,victor1 the ,pope4   
,as he was not included  in the list of 
pardons1 he no sooner made his          
appearance in ,rome than  his master    
sent him off to live on a monthly       
allowance at ,antium4 ,on  the death of 
,carpophorus1 he seems to have attained 
his freedom by  bequest2 and his        
fertility of resource having made him   
useful to the  new ,pope ,zephyrinus1 he
 acquired influence enough to succeed   
him in  the ,primacy4 ,we must confess  
that the evident gusto with which our   
presbyter tells this scandal1 the animus
 with which he accuses  ,zephyrinus also

 of stupidity and venality1 and the     
predominance in his  narrative of       
theological antipathy over moral        
disgust1 leave a painful  impression on 
the reader respecting the spirit then at
 work in the  ,apostolic ,see4 ,and     
though his scheme of belief1 especially 
in relation  to the person of ,christ1  
was more rational than the definitions  
of  more modern creeds1 yet we fear that
 he would be not less nice about  its   
shape1 and intolerant of those who move 
about in freer folds of  thought1 than a
 divine of the ,canterbury cloisters or 
the ,edinburgh  platform4 ,his quarrel  
with the two popes whom he abuses shows 
pretty  clearly the stage of development
 which the ,christian theology had then 
reached4 ,on this matter we must say a  
few words4    ,whatever may have been   
the precise order of combination which  
brought  the ,hebrew and ,hellenic ideas
 of ,god into union1 there can be no    
doubt about the two termini of the      
process4 ,it started from the           

monarchical conception of ,jehovah1 as a
 ,unity without plurality2 and  it      
issued in the ,athanasian ,trinity1 with
 its three hypostases in one  essence4  
,of these1 the ,father expressed the    
,absolute existence1 the  ,son the      
,objective manifestation1 the ,holy     
,spirit the ,subjective  revelation of  
,god4 ,in the presbyter's creed1 the    
third term was not  yet incorporated1   
but still floated freely1 diffused and  
impersonal4  ,leaving this out of view1 
we may observe1 in the remaining part of
 the  doctrine1 two principal           
difficulties to be surmounted1 arising  
from  the double medium of divine       
objective manifestation1--,nature1      
always  proceeding1--and ,christ1       
historically transient4 ,the first      
problem is1  ,how to pass at all out of 
the ,infinite existence into ,finite    
phenomena1 and conceive the relation    
between the ,father and the ,son2  the  
second1 ,how to pass from ,eternal      
manifestation through all  phenomena    

into temporary appearance in an         
,individual1 so as to  conceive the     
relation between the ,son and the       
,galilean ,christ4 ,thus1  excluding all
 reference to the ,holy ,spirit1 there  
were1 in fact1  four objects of thought1
 whose relations to one another were to 
be  adjusted2 viz4 the ,father1 the ,son
 evolving all things1 the ,christ or    
divine individualization in the ,gospel1
 and ,jesus of ,nazareth1 the  human    
being with whose life this              
individualization concurred4 ,among  all
 these there were1 so to speak1 two     
clearly distinct ,wills to  dispose of2 
that of the man ,jesus at the lowest    
extremity1 and that of  the ,supreme    
,god1 which the ,jew1 at least1 would   
fix at the upper4  ,these two ,wills    
act1 in the whole development of        
doctrine on this  subject1 as the secret
 centres of ,personality2 and the       
remaining  elements obtain or miss a    
hypostatic character according as they  
are  drawn or not into coalescence with 

the one or the other4 ,the  volitional  
point of the ,divine ,agency being once 
determined1 it may be  regarded as      
enclosed between the ,thought1 or       
intellectual essence  out of which it   
comes1 and the ,execution by which it is
 realized2 or  it may be left           
undistinguished from these1 and may be  
made to coincide  with either4          
,according to these variable conditions 
arise the several  modes of doctrine in 
reference to the ,divine element in     
,god's  ,objective manifestation4 ,the  
differences1 for instance1 between our  
presbyter's doctrine and ,origen's1 will
 be found to depend on the  different   
points which they seize as the seat of  
divine volition1 and  the germ of their 
logical development4 ,our author1       
exemplifying the  ,hebrew tendency1     
seeks his initiative up at the          
fountain-head1 and  puts himself back   
before the first act of creation2 he    
starts from the  ,one ,god1 with whom   
nothing was co-present1 and fixes in    

,him the seat  of the primeval ,will4   
,there1 however1 it would remain1 a mere
  potentiality1 did not the ,eternal    
,mind1 by reflection in itself1 pass    
into self-consciousness1 and give       
objectivity to its own thought4 ,this   
primary expression of his essence1 in   
which it enters into relation1  but     
relation only to itself1 is the ,logos1 
or ,son of ,god1 the  agent in the      
production of all things4 ,the          
potentiality is thus  reserved to the   
,father2 the effectuation is given to   
the ,son2 who1  coming in at a point    
lower down than the seat of ,will1 and  
simply  bridging over the interval that 
leads to accomplishment1 is felt        
without the essential condition of a    
numerically distinct subsistence2  and  
has either the instrumental and         
subordinate personality of a  dependent 
being1 or is imperfectly                
hypostatized4#da ,in this  impersonal   
character does the ,logos manifest the  
,divine thought in the  visible         

universe2 in the minds of godly men1    
which are the source of  law2 in the    
glance of prophets1 which catches and   
interprets the  divine significance of  
all times2 and first assumes a full     
personality  in the ,incarnation4       
,having left the primary ,will behind in
 the  ,father's essence1 the ,logos     
remains but an inchoate hypostasis1 till
  alighting1 in the human nature1 on    
another centre of volition4 ,as if  our 
author were half conscious1 in reaching 
this point1 of relief from  an          
antecedent uneasiness1 he now holds fast
 to the personality which  has been     
realized1 represents it as not dissolved
 by the death on the  cross1 but taken  
up into heaven1 and abiding for ever4   
,it is1 in this  view1 the two extreme  
terms that supply the hypostatizing     
power2 of  the others1 the ,logos has no
 personality but by looking back to the 
,father2 nor the ,christ1 but by going  
forward to the ,son of ,mary4 ,this     
shows the yet powerful influence of the 

,judaic ,monarchianism1 and the         
embarrassment of a mind1 setting out    
from that type of faith1 to  provide any
 plurality within the essence of ,god4  
,origen1 on the other  hand1 yielded to 
the ,hellenic feeling1 and1 instead of  
going back to  any absolute             
commencement1 looked for his ,divine    
centre and  starting-point further down2
 and took thence whatever upward glance 
was needful to complete his view4 ,as   
the ,greek reverence was not  touched   
but by the ,divine embodied in concrete 
life and form1 so the  ,alexandrine     
catechist instinctively fixed upon the  
,,son1 the objective  ,thought of ,god1 
proceeding1 not once upon a time or ever
 first1 but  eternally1 from ,him1 as   
the initiative position for his         
doctrine4  ,here was placed the clearest
 and intensest focus of ,will2 and only 
in  this ever-evolving efficient were   
the full conditions of personality      
realized4 ,the ,father was conceived    
more pantheistically1 as the  universal 

1 the intellectual background1 whence   
issued the acting  nature of the ,son4  
,in meditating on them in their         
conjunction1 ,origen  would think of the
 relation between thought and volition2 
our  author1 of that between volition   
and execution4 ,both doctrines  show the
 imperfect fusion of ,hebrew and        
,hellenic elements1 and  illustrate the 
characteristic effect of an excessive   
proportion of  each4 ,where the ,hebrew 
element prevails1 the personality of the
 ,son is  endangered2 where the         
,hellenic1 the personality of the       
,father4 ,even  our presbyter's doctrine
 of the ,son1 however1 gave too strong  
an  impersonation to ,him for the party 
in ,rome who sided with ,zephyrinus  and
 ,callistus4 ,these popes accused him1  
it seems1 of being a  ,ditheist2 and    
themselves maintained that the terms    
,father and ,son  denoted only different
 sides and relations of one and the same
  ,being1--nay1 not only of the same    
,being1 but of the same 2 and  that the 

spirit that dwelt in ,christ was the    
,father1 of whom all  things are full4  
,for this opinion the two popes are     
angrily dealt with  by our author1 and  
charged with being half ,sabellian1 half
  humanitarian4 ,his rancor justifies   
the suspicion1 that1 though he          
represents the party which triumphed at 
,rome1 his opponents had been  numerous 
and powerful1 as1 indeed1 their election
 to the primacy would  of itself show1  
and that even his own imperfect dogma   
was  superinduced1 not without a        
protracted struggle1 upon an earlier    
faith  yet remote from the ,nicene      
standard4    ,and this brings us at once
 to a question of historical research1  
which1 though far too intricate and     
extensive to be discussed here1 we  feel
 bound to notice1 as far as it is       
affected by the newly discovered  work4 
,how long did it take for the ,christian
 faith to assume the  leading features  
of its orthodox and catholic form1 and  
especially to  work itself clear of     

,judaism8 ,it is an acknowledged fact1  
that the  earliest disciples1 including 
at the lowest estimate all the converts 
of the first seven years from the       
ascension1 not only were born  ,hebrews1
 but did not regard their baptism as in 
any way withdrawing  them from the pale 
of their national religion2 that1 on the
 contrary1  they claimed to be the only 
true ,jews1 differing from others simply
 by  their belief in a personally       
appointed1 instead of a vaguely promised
  ,messiah2 that they aimed at no more  
than to bring over their own race  to   
this conviction1 and persuade them that 
the national destinies were  about to be
 consummated1 and1 so far from relaxing 
the obligations of  their ,law1 adhered 
with peculiar rigor to its ritual and   
its  exclusiveness4 ,so long as none but
 the twelve ,apostles had charge of  its
 diffusion1 ,christianity was only a    
particular mode of ,judaism1 and  its   
whole discussion a   4 ,it is further   
admitted1  that the first inroad upon   

this narrowness was made by ,st4 ,paul1 
who  insisted on the universality of    
,christ's function1 and the abrogation  
of the ,mosaic ,law in favor of inward  
faith1 as the condition of union  with  
,god4 ,nor1 again1 is it denied that    
this freer view met with great          
resistance1 and that its conflict with  
the other1 apparent throughout  the     
,pauline ,epistles1 formed the most     
animating feature of the  ,apostolic    
age4 ,during that period1 two distinct  
parties1 and two  separate lines of     
development and growth1 may be traced2  
one following  out in morals the legal  
idea into asceticism1 voluntary poverty1
 and  physical purity1 and in faith the 
monarchian idea into theocratic  and    
millenarian expectations2 the other1    
proceeding from the notion of  faith to 
substitute an ideal ,christ for the     
historical1 a new  religion for an old  
law1 the free embrace of divine         
reconciliation for  the anxious strain  
of self-mortifying obedience4 ,but how  

long did this  struggle and separation  
continue8 ,according to the prevalent   
belief1  it was all over in a few years2
 and1 by the happy harmony and          
concurrence of the ,apostles1 was       
determined in favor of the generous     
,pauline doctrine2 so that ,st4 ,john   
lived to see the ,hebrew ,christians    
sink into a mere ,ebionitish sect       
outside the pale1 and their stiff       
,unitarian theology disowned in favor of
 the higher teachings of his  ,gospel4  
,against this assumption of so easy a   
victory over the ,jewish  tendency1     
several striking testimonies have often 
been urged4  ,tertullian1 in a          
well-known passage of his treatise      
against ,praxeas1  describes the dislike
 with which the unlearned majority of   
believers  regard the ,trinitarian      
distinctions in the ,godhead1 and the   
zeal with  which they cry out for       
holding to the ,monarchy4#db ,in the    
time of  ,pope ,zephyrinus1 as we learn 
from ,eusebius1 a body of ,unitarians in

  ,rome1 followers of ,artemon1 defended
 their doctrine by the  conservative    
plea of antiquity and general consent2  
affirming that it  was no other than the
 uninterrupted creed of the ,roman      
,church down to  the time of ,victor1   
the preceding pope2 and that the higher 
doctrine  of the ,person of ,christ was 
quite a recent innovation4#dc ,nor are  
we  without ecclesiastical literature1  
of even a later date1 that by its       
theological tone gives witness to the   
same effect4 ,the ,clementine           
,recognitions1 written somewhere between
 #bab and #bcj1 occupy a  dogmatic      
position1 higher indeed than the        
disciples of ,artemon1 but  only in the 
direction of ,arius1 and1 to save the   
,unity of ,god1 deny  the ,deity of     
,christ4#dd ,relying on such evidence as
 this1 ,priestley1  in his ,history of  
,early ,opinions1 and his controversy   
with ,bishop  ,horsley1 maintained that 
the creed of the ,church for the first  
two  centuries was ,unitarian4 ,but this

 position was attended with many        
difficulties1 so long as the present    
canonical ,scriptures were allowed  to  
have been in the hands of the           
,christians of that period1 and         
recognized as authorities2 for the      
narratives of the miraculous            
conception1 the writings of ,paul1 and  
the ,gospel of ,john1 are               
irreconcilable with the schemes of      
belief attributed to the early          
,unitarians4 ,moreover1 if for two      
centuries the ,church had interpreted   
its authoritative documents in one way1 
and formed on this its  services and    
expositions1 it is not easy to conceive 
the rapid  revolution into another4     
,during a period of free and floating   
tradition1 there is manifest room for   
the growth of essentially  different    
modes of faith2 but after the reception 
of a definite set of  sacred books1 the 
scope for change is much contracted4 ,to
 treat the  doctrine of the ,logos as an
 innovation1 yet ascribe the fourth     

,gospel  to the beloved disciple2 to    
suppose that justification by works was 
the generally received notion among     
people who guided themselves by  the    
authority of ,paul1--involves us in     
irremediable contradictions4  ,avoiding 
these at least1 possibly not without the
 risk of others1 the  celebrated        
theologians of ,tbingen have maintained 
a bolder thesis  than that of           
,priestley1 including it indeed1 but    
with it also a vast  deal more4 ,their  
theory runs as follows4 ,the opposition 
which ,st4  ,paul's teaching excited1   
and of which his letters preserve so    
many  traces1 was neither so            
insignificant nor so short-lived as is  
commonly  supposed2 but was encouraged  
and led by the other ,apostles1         
especially  ,james and ,john and ,peter1
 who never heartily recognized the      
volunteer  ,apostle2 and was so         
completely successful1 that he died     
without having  made any considerable   
impression on the ,judaic ,christianity 

sanctioned  from ,jerusalem4            
,accordingly1 the earliest ,christian   
literature was  ,ebionitish2 and no     
production was in higher esteem than the
 ,gospel  of the ,hebrews1 which1 after 
being long current1 with several        
variations of form1 at last settled down
 into our ,gospel of ,matthew4  ,in     
almost all the writings known to us1    
even in ,roman circles of the  second   
century1--the ,shepherd of ,hermas1 the 
,memorials of ,hegesippus1  the works of
 ,justin1--some character or other of   
,ebionitism is  present1--millenarian   
doctrine1 admiration of celibacy and of 
abstinence from meat and wine1          
denunciation of riches1 emphatic        
assertion of the ,messiahship of ,jesus1
 and treatment of the  miraculous       
conception as at least an open question4
 ,the labors of  ,paul1 however1 had    
left a seed which had been buried1 but  
not killed2  and from the first1 a small
 party had cherished his freer          
principles1  and sought to win          

acceptance for them2 and as the progress
 of time  increased the proportion of   
provincial and ,gentile converts1 and   
the  ,jewish wars of ,titus and ,hadrian
 destroyed the possibility of ,mosaic   
obedience and the reasonableness of     
,hebrew hopes1 the ,pauline element     
rose in magnitude and importance4 ,thus 
the two courses of opposite  development
 ran parallel with each other1 and      
gradually found their  interest in      
mutual recognition and concession4      
,hence1 a series of  writings proceeding
 from either side1 first of conciliatory
  approximation only1 next of complete  
neutrality and equipoise1 in  which     
sometimes the figures of ,peter and     
,paul themselves are presented  with    
studiously balanced honor1 at others    
their characteristic ideas  are adjusted
 by compromise4 ,the ,clementine        
,homilies1 the ,apostolic               
,constitutions1 the ,epistle of ,james1 
the ,second ,epistle of ,clement1  the  
,gospel of ,mark1 the ,recognitions1 the

 ,second ,epistle of ,peter1  constitute
 the series proceeding from the         
,ebionitish side2 while from  the       
,pauline came the ,first ,epistle of    
,peter1 the ,preaching of ,peter1  the  
writings of ,luke1 the ,first ,epistle  
of ,clement1 the ,epistle to the        
,philippians1 the ,pastoral ,epistles1  
,polycarp's1 and the ,ignatians4  ,these
 productions1 however1 springing from   
the practical instinct of  the ,west1   
deal with the ecclesiastical more than  
with the doctrinal  phase of antagonism 
between the two directions2 and end with
  establishing in ,rome a ,catholic     
,church1 founded on the united          
sepulchres of ,peter and ,paul1 and     
combining the sacerdotalism of the  ,old
 ,testament with the universality of the
 ,new ,gentile ,gospel4  ,meanwhile1 a  
similar course1 with local              
modifications1 was run by the  ,church  
of ,asia ,minor4 ,rome1 with its        
political aptitude1 having taken  in    
hand the questions of discipline and    

organization1 the speculative  genius of
 the ,asiatic ,greek addressed itself   
simultaneously to the  development and  
determination of doctrine4 ,here the    
,epistle to the  ,galatians marks1 as a 
starting-point1 the same original       
struggle  between the contrasted        
elements which the ,epistle to the      
,romans  betrays in ,italy2 while the   
,gospel of ,john closes the dogmatic    
strife  of development with an accepted 
,trinity for faith1 just as the         
,ignatian ,epistles wind up the contests
 of the ,west with a recognized         
hierarchy for government4 ,and between  
these extremes the ,east presents  to   
us1 first1 the intensely ,judaical      
,apocalypse2 next1 with increasing      
reaction in the ,pauline direction1 the 
rudiments of the ,logos idea in  the    
,epistles to the ,hebrews1 ,colossians1 
and ,ephesians2 and as  ,montanism1 in  
the midst of which these arose1 had     
already made  familiar the conception of
 the ,paraclete1 all the conditions were

  present for combination into the      
,johannine doctrine of the ,trinity2    
and then it was1 in the second quarter  
of the second century1 that the  fourth 
,gospel appeared4 ,the speculative      
theology thus native to ,lesser  ,asia  
was adopted for shelter and growth by   
the kindred ,hellenism of  ,egypt1 and  
gave rise to the school of ,alexandria4 
,in the whole of this  theory great use 
is made of ,montanism3 it spans1 as it  
were1 the  interval between the parallel
 movements of ,italy and ,asia2 and is  
the  common medium of thought in which  
they both take place4 ,singularly       
uniting in itself the rigor1 the        
narrowness1 the ascetic superstitions   
of its ,hebrew basis1 with a ,phrygian  
prophetic enthusiasm and an  ,hellenic  
theosophy1 it imported the latter into  
the doctrine1 the  former into the      
discipline1 of the ,church4 ,the ,roman 
,catholic system  betrays its ,jewish or
 ,montanist origin in its legalism1 its 
penances1  its celibacy1 its monachism1 

its ecstatic phenomena1 its physical    
supernaturalism1 its exaggerated        
appreciation of martyrdom4    ,such1 in 
barest outline1 is the theory which ,m4 
,bunsen characterizes as  the ,tbingen  
romance4 ,its leading principle is1 that
 the antagonism  between the ,petrine   
and ,pauline1 the ,hebrew and the       
,hellenic ,gospel1  which has its origin
 and authentic expression in the        
,epistles to the  ,galatians1 ,romans1  
and ,corinthians1 continued into the    
second century2  determined the         
evolution of doctrine and usage2 stamped
 itself upon the  ecclesiastical        
literature2 and ended in the compromise 
and  reconciliation of the ,catholic    
,church4 ,it is evident that1 in the    
working out of this principle1 the ,new 
,testament canon is made to give  way4  
,with the exception of the greater      
,pauline ,epistles and the  ,apocalypse1
 both of which are held fast as genuine 
productions of the  ,apostles whose     
names they bear1 and the first ,gospel1 

which is allowed  to have at least the  
groundwork in the primitive tradition1  
the received  books are all set loose   
from the dates and names usually        
assigned to  them1 and arranged1 in     
common with other products of the time1 
according  to the relation they bear to 
the ,ebionitish or to the ,pauline      
school1  and the particular stage they  
seem to mark in the history of either4  
,this proceeding1 however1 is not an    
original violence resorted to for  the  
exigencies of the theory2 but1 for the  
most part1 a mere  appropriation to its 
use of conclusions reached by antecedent
  theologians on independent grounds4   
,the ,epistle to the ,philippians is    
the only work1 if we mistake not1 on the
 authenticity of which doubt has  been  
thrown for the first time1--in our      
opinion1 on very inadequate  grounds4   
,in this1 as in many other details of   
the hypothetical history1  there is not 
a little of that straining of real      
evidence and subtle  fabrication of     

unreal1 which ,german criticism seems   
unable to avoid4 ,but  the acerbity     
displayed by the ,north ,german         
theologians towards the  ,tbingen       
critics appears to us unwarranted and   
humiliating2 and we  certainly wish that
 ,m4 ,bunsen1 whose prompt admiration of
 excellence so  nobly distinguishes him 
from ,ewald1 could have expressed his   
dissent  from ,baur and ,schwegler in a 
tone still further removed from the     
,gttingen pitch4 ,at least1 we do not   
find the positive assertion that  the   
,tbingen theory is finally demolished by
 the ,philosophumena at  all borne out  
by the evidence2 and are inclined to    
think that the case  is very little     
altered by the new elements now         
contributed to its  discussion4 ,the    
critical offence which he thinks is now 
detected and  exposed1 is the ascription
 of a late origin to the fourth         
,gospel1#de  and the treatment of it as 
the perfected product1 instead of the   
misused  source1 of the ,montanist      

conceptions of the ,logos and the       
,paraclete4 ,it  cannot1 however1 be    
denied1 that1 in the previous absence of
 any  external testimony to the         
existence of this ,gospel earlier than  
the year  #agj1df the internal          
difficulties are sufficiently serious to
 redeem  the doubt of its authenticity  
from the character of rashness or       
perversity4 ,the irreconcilable         
opposition between its whole mode of    
thought and that of the ,apocalypse is  
confessed by ,m4 ,bunsen himself1  when 
he suggests that the proem on the ,logos
 was directed against  ,cerinthus1--the 
very person whose sentiments the        
,apocalypse was supposed  to express1   
and to whom1 accordingly1 it was        
ascribed by those who  rejected it4 ,one
 of the two books must resign1 then1 the
 name of the  beloved disciple2 and1 of 
the two1 we need hardly say that the    
,apocalypse is incomparably the better  
authenticated4 ,moreover1 the           
traditions which unite the names of     

,james and ,john1 as the authorities    
followed by the ,church of ,lesser      
,asia1 render it hard to conceive that  
their doctrines can have taken precisely
 opposite directions2 and that1  while  
,james represented the ,judaic          
,christianity of the deepest dye1  ,john
 can have produced the standard and     
conclusive work on the other  side4 ,in 
particular1 the well-known fact1 that   
the ,asiatic ,christians  justified     
their ,jewish mode of keeping ,easter by
 the double plea1 7#a47  that ,james and
 ,john always did so1 7#b47 that ,christ
 himself had done so  before he         
suffered1 seems incompatible with any   
knowledge of the fourth  ,gospel1 which 
denies that ,jesus ate the passover     
before he suffered1 and  makes his own  
death to be the passover4 ,how could    
this ,quartodeciman  controversy live a 
day among a people possessing and       
acknowledging  ,john's ,gospel1 which so
 bears upon it as to give a distinct    
contradiction to the view of the other  

,gospels1 and to pronounce in ,asia     
,minor itself an unambiguous verdict in 
favor of the ,west8 ,these are  grave   
difficulties1 which1 after all the      
ingenuity1 even of ,bleek1  remain1 we  
fear1 unrelieved2 and in their presence 
we cannot feel the  justice of ,m4      
,bunsen's sentence1 that ,baur's opinion
 is the most  unhappy of philological   
conjectures4 ,everything conjectural1   
however1  must give way before real     
historical testimony2 and1 if new       
evidence is  actually contained in the  
,philosophumena1 every true critic1 of  
,tbingen or elsewhere1 will be thankful 
for light to dissipate the  doubt4 ,now1
 it is said that our ,roman bishop1 in  
treating of the heresy  of ,basilides1  
supplies passages from the writings of  
this heresiarch  which include          
quotations from the fourth ,gospel2 and 
thus prove its  existence as early as   
the year #acj4 ,this argument1 as stated
 by ,m4  ,bunsen1 appeared to us quite  
conclusive1 and we hoped1 that a decided

  step had been gained towards the      
settlement of the question4 ,great was  
our disappointment1 on reading the      
account in the original1 to find no     
evidence that any extract from          
,basilides was before us at all4 ,a     
general  description of the system      
bearing his name is given2 but with no  
mention  of any work of his1 no         
profession that the words are his1 and  
even so  little individual reference to 
him1 that the exposition is introduced  
as  being a report of what ,basilides   
and ,isidorus1 and the whole troop of   
these people1 falsely say 71 sing474    
,then follows the  account of the dogmas
 of the sect1 with the word  inserted   
from  time to time1 to indicate that the
 writer is still reporting the          
sentiments of others4 ,the singular form
 of this word implies nothing  at all2  
it occurs immediately after the word 1  
and has the  same avowedly plural       
subject4 ,the statement1 therefore1     
within which are  contained the         

,scripture citations1 is a merely       
general one of the  opinions of a sect  
which continued to subsist till a much  
later time  than the lowest date ever   
assigned for the composition of the     
fourth  ,gospel4 ,if the actual words of
 any writings current among these       
heretics  are given1 they are the words 
of an author or authors wholly unknown1 
and to refer them to ,basilides in      
particular is a mere arbitrary act of   
will4 ,the change from the singular to  
the plural forms of citation in  the    
midst of one and the same sentence1 and 
the disregard of concord  between verb  
and subject1 show that no inference can 
be drawn from so  loose a system of     
grammatical usage4 ,all that can be     
affirmed is1 that  our author had in his
 hand some production of the ,basilidian
 1 in  which the fourth ,gospel was     
quoted2 but this affords no             
chronological  datum that can be of the 
smallest use4#dg ,the same remark       
applies to  the use of ,john's ,gospel  

by the ,ophites4 ,that they did use it  
is  evident2 that they existed as far   
back as the time of ,peter and ,paul is 
certainly probable2 yet it does not     
follow that the fourth ,gospel was  then
 extant4 ,for they continued in         
existence through two or three          
centuries1 dating1 as ,baur has shown1  
from a time anterior not only to  the   
,christian heresies1 but to             
,christianity itself1 and extending down
  to ,origen's time2 and to what part of
 this long period the writings  belonged
 which the author of the ,philosophumena
 employed1 we are  absolutely unable to 
determine4 ,we do not know why ,m4      
,bunsen has not  appealed also to a     
quotation from the ,gospel which occurs 
7p4 #aid7 in an  account of the         
,valentinian system4 ,if1 as he affirms 
7,i4 #fc71 this  account were really in 
,valentinus's own words1 the citation   
would be  of particular value in the    
controversy4 ,for it has always been    
urged by  the ,tbingen critics as a     

highly significant fact1 that while the 
followers of ,valentinus showed an      
especial eagerness to appeal to the     
,gospel of ,john1 and one of the        
earliest1 ,heracleon1 wrote a commentary
  upon it1 no trace could be found of   
its use by the heresiarch himself4      
,from this circumstance1 they have      
inferred that the ,gospel was not       
available for him1 and first appeared   
after his time4 ,a single clause  cited 
by him from the ,gospel would demolish  
this argument at once4 ,but  the        
assertion that we have here full eight  
pages of ,valentinus's own  words       
appears to us quite groundless4 ,no such
 thing is affirmed by the  writer of the
 eight pages4 ,he promises to tell us   
how the strict  adherents to the        
original principle of the sect expounded
 their doctrine  7  72 and then passes  
over1 as usual1 to the singular  1      
returning1 however1 from time to time1  
to the plural  forms1--1 1 c41--and thus
 leaving no pretext for the  assumption 

that ,valentinus is before us in person4
 ,the later ,gnostics  indisputably     
resorted to the ,gospel of ,john with   
especial zeal and  preference2 and if   
their predecessors1 ,basilides and      
,valentinus1 were  acquainted with the  
book1 it is surprising that no trace of 
their  familiarity with it has been     
found2 and that the former should have  
sought to authenticate the secret       
doctrine he professed to have received  
by the name of ,matthew or ,matthias    
instead of ,john4 ,it deserves remark1  
that the citations preserved by our     
author are made1 like those of  ,justin 
,martyr1 as from an anonymous writing1  
without mentioning the name  of the     
,evangelist2 a circumstance less        
surprising in reference to the          
,synoptics alone1 which present only    
varieties of the same fundamental       
tradition1 than when the fourth ,gospel1
 so evidently the independent           
production of a single mind1 is thrown  
into the group4 ,the ,epistles of  ,paul

 and the books of the ,old ,testament   
are frequently quoted by name2  and why 
this practice should invariably cease   
whenever the historical  work of an     
,apostle was in the hand1 it is not easy
 to explain4 ,the  ,apocalypse is       
mentioned not without his name4#dh      
,for these reasons we are of opinion    
that the question about the date and    
authenticity of the fourth ,gospel is   
wholly unaffected by the                
newly-discovered work4 ,on this side1 no
 new facilities are gained for          
confuting the ,tbingen theory4 ,the most
 positive and startling fact  against it
 is presented from another direction4   
,we know that the system  of ,theodotus1
 which was ,unitarian1 was condemned by 
,victor in the last  decade of the      
second century4#di ,now ,victor was the 
very pope to the  end of whose period1  
according to the followers of ,artemon1 
their  monarchian faith was upheld in   
the ,roman ,church1 and in the time of  
whose successor was the first           

importation of the higher doctrine of   
the  ,logos4 ,on this complaint of the  
,artemonites1 ,baur and ,schwegler lay  
great stress2 but is it not refuted by  
,victor's orthodox act of  expelling a  
,unitarian8 ,undoubtedly it would be so1
 if ,theodotus were  excommunicated     
precisely for his belief in the         
uni-personality of ,god4  ,but his      
scheme included many articles2 and we   
know nothing of the  ground taken in the
 proceedings against him4 ,there was one
 question1  however1 which1 however     
indifferent to us1 was evidently very   
near to  the feelings of the early      
,church1 and on which ,theodotus        
separated  himself from the prevailing  
conceptions of his time1--viz4 ,at what 
date  did the ,christ1 the ,divine      
principle1 become united with ,jesus1   
the  human being8 ,at his baptism1      
replied ,theodotus4#ej ,before his      
birth1 said the general voice of the    
,christians4 ,we are disposed to  think 
this was the obnoxious tenet which      

,victor construed into heresy2  and if  
so1 the strife had no bearing upon the  
doctrine of the  personality of the     
,logos1 which the pope and the heretic  
might both have  rejected4 ,of the      
,unitarianism of that time1 it was no   
essential feature  to postpone till the 
baptism the heavenly element in ,christ4
 ,we remember  no reason for supposing  
that the ,artemonites did so1 though    
,theodotus  did2 and if they knew that  
the objection which had been fatal to   
him did  not apply to them1 their claim 
of ancient and orthodox sanction for    
what  they held in common with him was  
not answered by pointing to his         
condemnation for what was special to    
himself4 ,but is there1 it will be      
asked1 any evidence that the ,roman     
,church attached importance to this     
particular ingredient of the ,theodotian
 scheme1 so that their bishop  might    
feel impelled to visit it with          
ecclesiastical censure8 ,we believe     
there is1 and that too in the           

,philosophumena4 ,in the author's       
confession of faith occurs a passage    
which produces at first a strange       
impression upon a modern reader1 and    
appears like a violence done to the     
,gospel history4 ,it affirms that       
,christ passed through every stage of   
human life1 that he might serve as the  
model to all4 ,nor is this idea a       
personal whim of the writer2 but is     
borrowed from his master1 ,irenus1  who 
gives it in more detail1 and winds it up
 with the assertion1 that  ,christ lived
 to be fifty years old4#ea ,irenus thus 
falsifies the  history to make good the 
moral2 our presbyter1 by respecting the 
history1 apparently invalidates the     
moral3 for it can scarcely be said  of a
 life closed after thirty-one or        
thirty-two years1 that it supplies  a   
rule  2 at least it would seem more     
natural to apologize for  its premature 
termination1 than to lay stress on its  
absolute  completeness4 ,the truth is1  
there was a certain1 obnoxious tenet    

behind1  which these writers were       
anxious to contradict1 and which their  
assertion exactly meets1--viz4 the very 
tenet of ,theodotus1 that the  ,divine  
nature did not unite itself with the    
,saviour till his baptism4  ,irenus and 
his pupil could not endure this         
limitation of what was  highest in      
,christ to the interval between his     
first public preaching and  his         
crucifixion4 ,they thought that in this 
way it was reduced to a mere  official  
investiture1 not integral to his being1 
but externally  superinduced2 and that  
such a conception deprived it of all its
 moral  significance4 ,the union of the 
,logos with our nature was not a        
provision  for temporary inspiration or 
a forensic redemption2 but was intended 
to  mould a life and shape a personal   
existence1 according to the immaculate  
ideal of humanity4 ,to accomplish this  
intention it was necessary that  the    
,logos should never be absent from any  
part of his earthly being2 but  should  

have claimed his person from the first1 
and by preoccupation have  neutralized  
the action of the natural 7or psychic7  
element1 throughout  all the years of   
his continuance among men4 ,the anxiety 
of ,irenus's  school to put this        
interpretation on the manifestation of  
the ,logos1  their determination to     
distinguish it1 on the one hand1 from   
the  mediate communication of prophets  
as an immediate presentation  7 71 and1 
on the other1 from the transient        
occupancy  of a ready-made man1 as a    
permanent and thorough-going incarnation
  7 in opposition to  or 71 is apparent 
in their  whole language on this        
subject4 ,in the ,son1 we are carried to
 the fresh  fountain-head of every kind 
of perfection1 and find the unspoiled   
ideal  of heavenly and terrestrial      
natures4 ,in one of the fragments of    
,hippolytus1 published by ,mai1 and     
noticed in ,m4 ,bunsen's ,appendix1 this
  notion is conveyed by the remark1 that
 ,he is first-born of ,god's own        

essence1 that he may have precedence of 
angels2 first-born of a virgin1  that he
 may be a fresh-created ,adam2          
first-born of death1 that he might      
become the first fruits of our          
resurrection4#eb ,this doctrine it is1  
we  apprehend1 which amplifies itself   
into the ,irenan statement1 that the    
divine and ideal function of ,christ    
coalesced with the historical           
throughout1 so that to infants he was a 
consecrating infant2 to little          
children1 a consecrating child2 to      
youth1 a consecrating model of youth2   
and to elders1 a still consecrating     
rule1 not only by disclosure of  truth1 
but by exhibiting the true type of their
 perfection4#ec ,the  teaching of       
,theodotus1 that the heavenly  remained 
at a distance  till the baptism1 was    
directly contradictory of this favorite 
notion2  and might well produce hostile 
excitement1 and provoke condemnation1 in
  a church where the ,irenan influence  
is known to have been powerful4 ,the    

attitude that ,victor assumed towards   
the ,theodotians is thus perfectly      
compatible with ,monarchian opinions1   
and with an attitude equally  hostile1  
in the opposite direction1 towards the  
advancing ,trinitarian  claims of a     
distinct personality for the ,logos4    
,though only the one  hostility is      
recorded of ,victor1 the other is       
ascribed1 as we have seen1  to his      
immediate successors1 ,zephyrinus and   
,callistus1 who maintained  that it was 
no other person than the ,father that   
dwelt as the ,logos in  the ,son4 ,the  
facts taken together1 and spreading as  
they do over the  periods of three      
popes1 afford undeniable traces of a    
struggle at the  turn of the second     
century1 between a prevalent but        
threatened  ,monarchianism1 and a new   
doctrine of the ,divine ,personality of 
the ,son4    ,after all1 why is ,m4     
,bunsen so anxious to disprove the late 
appearance  of the fourth ,gospel8 ,did 
he value it chiefly as a biographical   

sketch1  and depend upon it for concrete
 facts1 a first-hand authentication of  
its contents would be of primary moment4
 ,but his interest in it is  evidently  
speculative rather than historical1 and 
centres upon its  doctrinal thought1 not
 on its narrative attestation2 and      
especially  singles out the proem as a  
condensed and perfect expression of     
,christian  ontology4 ,the book speaks  
to him1 and finds him1 out of its mystic
  spiritual depths2 sanctifies his own  
philosophy2 glorifies with an ideal     
haze the greatest reality of history2   
blends with melting tints the           
tenderness of the human1 and the        
sublimity of the divine life2 and       
presents the ,holy ,spirit as immanent  
in the souls of the faithful and  the   
destinies of humanity4 ,but its         
enunciation of great truths1 its        
penetration to the still sanctuary of   
devout consciousness1 will not  cease to
 be facts1 or become doubtful as merits1
 or be changed in their  endearing      

power1 by an alteration in the          
superscription or the date4  ,these     
religious and philosophical features    
converse directly with ,reason  and     
,conscience1 and have the same          
significance1 whatever their critical   
history may be2 and are not the less    
rich as inspirations from having  passed
 for interpretation through more minds  
than one4 ,there is neither  common     
sense nor piety1 as ,m4 ,bunsen himself1
 we feel certain1 will  allow1 in the   
assumption that ,revelation is          
necessarily most perfect at  its source1
 and can only grow earthy and turbid as 
it flows4 ,were it  something entirely  
foreign to the mind1 capable of holding 
no thought in  solution1 but inevitably 
spoiled by every abrasion it effects of 
philosophy and feeling1 this mechanical 
view would be correct4 ,but if it  be   
the intenser presence1 the quickened    
perception of a ,being absent  from     
none2 if it be the infinite original of 
which philosophy is the  finite         

reflection2 if thus it speaks1 not in   
the unknown tongue of  isolated ecstasy1
 but in the expressive music of our     
common  consciousness and secret        
prayer2--then is it so little unnatural1
 so  related to the constitution of our 
faculties1 that the mind's continuous   
reaction on it may bring it more clearly
 out2 and1 after being detained  at     
first amid sluggish levels and          
unwholesome growths which mar its       
divine transparency1 it may percolate   
through finer media1 drop its           
accidental admixtures1 and take up in   
each stratum of thought some  elements  
given it by native affinity1 and become 
more purely the spring  of life in its  
descent than in its source4 ,if1 before 
the fourth ,gospel  was written1 the    
figure of ,christ1 less close to the    
eye1 was seen more  in its relations to 
humanity and to ,god2 if his deep hints1
 working in  the experience of more than
 one generation1 had expanded their     
marvellous contents2 if1 in a prolonged 

contact of his religion with            
,hellenism1 elements had disclosed      
themselves of irresistible sympathy1    
and the first sharp boundary drawn by   
,jewish hands had melted away2 if  his  
concrete history itself was now         
subordinate to its ideal                
interpretation2--the book will present  
us still with a ,christianity1 not      
impoverished1 but enriched4 ,in         
proportion as its thoughts speak for    
themselves by their depth and beauty1   
may all anxiety cease about their       
external legitimation2 their credentials
 become eternal instead of  individual2 
and where the ,father himself thus      
beareth witness1 ,christ  needeth not   
the testimony of man4 ,it cannot be1    
therefore1 any religious  issue that    
depends on the date of this ,christian  
record2 it cannot  make truth1 it can   
only awaken the mind to discern it2 and 
whether it  has this power or not1 the  
mind can only report according to its   
consciousness of quickening light or    

stagnant darkness4 ,the interest of     
this question cannot surely be more than
 a critical interest1 to one  who can   
feel and speak in this noble strain3--  
,no divine authority is given to any set
 of men to make truth for  mankind4 ,the
 supreme judge is the ,spirit in the    
,church1 that is to  say1 in the        
universal body of men professing        
,christ4 ,the universal  conscience is  
,god's highest interpreter4 ,if ,christ 
speaks truth1 his  words must speak to  
the human reason and conscience1        
whenever and  wherever they are         
preached3 let them1 therefore1 be       
preached4 ,if the  ,gospels contained   
inspired wisdom1 they must themselves   
inspire with  heavenly thoughts the     
conscientious inquirer and the serious  
thinker3  let them1 therefore1 freely be
 made the object of inquiry and of      
thought4 ,scripture1 to be believed true
 with full conviction1 must be  at one  
with reason3 let it1 therefore1 be      
treated rationally4 ,by  taking this    

course1 we shall not lose strength2 but 
we shall gain a  strength which no      
church ever had4 ,there is strength in  
,christian  discipline1 if freely       
accepted by those who are to submit to  
it2 there  is strength in spiritual     
authority1 if freely acknowledged by    
those  who care for ,christ2 there is   
strength unto death in the enthusiasm of
  an unenlightened people1 if sincere1  
and connected with lofty moral  ideas4  
,but there is no strength to be compared
 with that of a faith  which identifies 
moral and intellectual conviction with  
religious  belief1 with that of an      
authority instituted by such a faith1   
and of a  ,christian life based upon it1
 and striving to ,christianize this     
world  of ours1 for which ,christianity 
was proclaimed4 ,let those who are      
sincere1 but timid1 look into their     
conscience1 and ask themselves  whether 
their timidity proceeds from faith1 or  
whether it does not  rather betray a    
want of faith4 ,europe is in a critical 

state1  politically1 ecclesiastically1  
socially4 ,where is the power able to   
reclaim a world1 which1 if it be        
faithless1 is become so under  untenable
 and ineffective ordinances1--which1 if 
it is in a state of  confusion1 has     
become confused by those who have       
spiritually guided  it8 ,armies may     
subdue liberty2 but armies cannot       
conquer ideas3 much  less can ,jesuits  
and ,jesuitical principles restore      
religion1 or  superstition revive faith4
 ,i deny the prevalence of a destructive
 and  irreligious spirit in the hearts  
of the immense majority of the  people4 
,i believe that the world wants1 not    
less1 but more religion4  ,but however  
this be1 ,i am firmly convinced that    
,god governs the world1  and that he    
governs it by the eternal ideas of truth
 and justice  engraved on our conscience
 and reason2 and ,i am sure that        
nations1 who  have conquered1 or are    
conquering1 civil liberty for           
themselves1 will  sooner or later as    

certainly demand liberty of religious   
thought1 and  that those whose fathers  
have victoriously acquired religious    
liberty  will not fail to demand civil  
and political liberty also4 ,with these 
ideas1 and with the present irresistible
 power of communicating ideas1  what can
 save us except religion1 and therefore 
,christianity8 ,but then  it must be a  
,christianity based upon that which is  
eternally ,god's  own1 and is as        
indestructible and as invincible as he  
is himself3 it  must be based upon      
,reason and ,conscience1 ,i mean reason 
spontaneously  embracing the faith in   
,christ1 and ,christian faith feeling   
itself at  one with reason and with the 
history of the world4 ,civilized        
,europe1  as it is at present1 will     
fall2 or it will be pacified by this    
liberty1 this reason1 this faith4 ,to   
prove that the cause of  ,protestantism 
in the nineteenth century is identical  
with the cause of  ,christianity1 it is 
only necessary to attend to this fact2  

that they  both must sink and fall1     
until they stand upon their             
indestructible  ground1 which1 in my    
inmost conviction1 is the real1 genuine1
 original  ground upon which ,christ    
placed it4 ,let us1 then1 give up all   
notions  of finding any other basis1 all
 attempts to prop up faith by effete    
forms and outward things3 let us cease  
to combat reason1 whenever it           
contradicts conventional forms and      
formularies4 ,we must take the  ground  
pointed out by the ,gospel1 as well as  
by the history of  ,christianity4 ,we   
may then hope to realize what ,christ   
died for1 to see  the ,church fulfil the
 high destinies of ,christianity1 and   
,god's will  manifested by ,christ to   
mankind1 so as to make the kingdoms of  
this  earth the kingdoms of the ,most   
,high4--p4 #agb4    ,we have given our  
readers no conception of the variety and
 richness of  ,m4 ,bunsen's work2 having
 scarcely passed beyond the limits of   
the  first volume4 ,it was impossible to

 pass by1 without examination1 the      
recovered monument of early             
,christianity1 whence his materials and 
suggestions are primarily drawn2 and it 
is equally impossible to pass  beyond   
it1 without entering on a field too wide
 to be surveyed4 ,we can  only record   
that1 in the remaining volumes1 which   
are1 in fact1 a  series of separate     
productions1 the early doctrine of the  
,eucharist is  investigated1 and the    
progress of its corruptions strikingly  
traced2  the primitive system of        
ecclesiastical rules or canons1 and the 
,church-and-,house ,book1 or manual of  
instruction and piety in use  among the 
ante-,nicene ,christians1 are carefully 
and laboriously  restored2 and genuine  
,liturgies of the first centuries are   
reproduced4  ,in this arduous work of   
recovery1 there is necessarily much need
 of  critical tact1 not to say much room
 for critical conjecture4 ,but the  one 
our author exercises with great         
felicity2 and the other he takes  all   

possible pains to reduce to its lowest  
amount by careful  comparison of        
,syrian1 ,coptic1 and ,abyssinian texts4
 ,the general result  is a truly        
interesting set of sketches for a       
picture of the early  ,church2 which    
rises before us with no priestly        
pretensions1 no  scholastic creeds1 no  
bibliolatry1 dry and dead2 but certainly
 with an  aspect of genuine piety and   
affection1 and with an air of mild      
authority over the whole of life1 which 
are the more winning from the  frightful
 corruption and dissolving civilization 
of the ,old ,world  around4 ,that our   
author should be fascinated with the    
image he has  re-created1 and long to   
see it brought to life1 in place of that
 body  of death on which we hang the    
pomps and titles of our nominal         
,christianity1 is not astonishing4 ,but 
a greater change is  needed--though a   
far less will be denied--than a return  
to the type of  faith and worship in the
 second century4 ,to destroy the fatal  

chasm  between profession and           
conviction1 and bring men to live fresh 
out of  a real reverence instead of     
against a pretended or a fancied one1 a 
greater latitude and flexibility must be
 given to the forms of  spiritual       
culture than was needed in the ancient  
world4 ,the unity of  system which was  
once possible is unseasonable amid our  
growing  varieties of condition and     
culture2 and the methods which were     
natural  among a people closely thrown  
together and constructing their life    
around the ,church as a centre1 would be
 highly artificial in a state  of       
society in which the family is the real 
unit1 and the congregation  a precarious
 aggregate1 of existence4 ,nothing1     
however1 can be finer  or more generous 
than the spirit of our author's         
suggestions of  reform2 and we earnestly
 thank him for a profusion of pregnant  
thoughts and faithful warnings1 the     
application of one half of which  would 
change the fate of our churches1--the   

destiny of our  nation1--the courses of 
the world4    ,,footnotes3    #bf       
1           4          1    1   1   1   
4    1   1      1     4 ,s4  ,hippol4   
adv4 ,grcos4 ,fabricii ,hipp4 ,op4 p4   
#bbb4    #bg ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e41 ,,vi4 #bj4
    #bh ,attributed to him by ,neander1 
,kirch4 ,geschichte1 ,i4 iii4 #aaej2    
and ,schwegler1 ,montanismus1 p4 #bbd4  
#bi ,storr places him at their head1    
,zweck der ,evang4 ,geschichte1 p4 #fc2 
and ,eichhorn associates him with them1 
,einleitung in das ,n4 ,t41 ,,ii4 #dad4 
#cj ,see the notice of the ,nestorian   
,ebed ,jesu1 in ,asseman's ,bibl4       
,orient4 ,,iii4 i4 ap4 ,gieseler1 k4 #i1
  #fc4    #ca ,on their relation1 and   
the doctrine connected with their names1
  see ,baur's ,christl4 ,gnosis1 p4     
#caj4    #cb ,phot4 ,biblioth41 cod4    
#dh4    7i4 e4 7       1          4     
#cc ,theologische ,jahrbcher1 #ab;er    
,band1 ,i4 #ahec1 p4 #aed4    #cd ,hret4
 ,fab4 ,,ii4 c4 #e4        1            
4    #ce ,he also describes its exact   

relation to the other1 when he calls  it
 a special work 7    7 in comparison    
with ,the ,labyrinth as  a general one3 
4 ,cod4 #dh4    #cf ,ibid4       4      
#cg ,biblioth4 cod4 #dh2 ,lardner's     
,credibility1 ,part ,,ii4 ch4 xxxii42   
,bunsen's ,hippolytus1 ,i4 p4 #aej4     
#ch ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e41 ,,iii4 #bh4   1    
1 1          1            4             
4 ,the passage1 preserving its          
obscurities1 seems to run thus3         
,cerinthus too1 through the medium of   
revelations written as if by a  great   
,apostle1 has palmed off upon us        
marvellous accounts1 pretending to  have
 been shown him by angels2 to the effect
 that1 after the  resurrection1 the     
kingdom of ,christ will be an earthly   
one1 and that the  flesh will again be  
at the head of affairs1 and serve in    
,jerusalem the  lusts and pleasures of  
sense4 ,and with wilful misguidance he  
says1  setting himself in opposition to 
the ,scriptures of ,god1 that a period  
of  a thousand years will be spent in   

nuptial festivities4 ,on this           
much-controverted passage1 ,lardner     
7,cred41 ,p4 ,,ii4 ch4 xxxii47 suspends 
his judgment1 rather inclining to doubt 
whether our ,apocalypse is  referred to2
 ,hug 7,einl4  #agf71 ,paulus 7,hist4   
,cerinth41 ,p4 ,i4  #cj71  with ,twells 
and ,hartwig 7whose criticisms we have  
not seen71 deny that  the ,apocalypse is
 meant2 while ,eichhorn 7,einl4 in das  
,n4 ,t41 ,,vi4 v4   #aid4 #b71 ,de      
,wette 7,lehrbuch der ,einl4 in d4 ,n4  
,t41  #aib a71 ,lcke  7,commentar b4 d4 
,schriften des ,ev4 ,johannes1 ,offenb4 
#cc71 and  ,schwegler 7,das nachapost4  
,zeitalter1 #b;er ,b4 p4 #bah71 take the
 other  side4 ,it must be confessed     
also1 that1 till the rise of the present
  discussion about the ,philosophoumena1
 ,baur agreed with these last  writers4 
7,see his ,christl4 ,lehre v4 d4        
,dreieinigkeit1 #a;er ,b4 p4 #bhc47 ,he 
now urges1 however1 that1 in a case     
already so doubtful1 the discovery  of a
 lost book1 which we have good reason to

 ascribe to ,caius1  necessarily brings 
in new evidence1 and may turn the scale 
between two  balanced interpretations4  
7,theol4 ,jahrb41 p4 #aeg47    #ci ,baur
 explains the slight treatment of the   
,montanist heresy in the                
,philosophumena by the intention which  
,caius already had of writing a  special
 book against them3 and contends that   
this intention is  announced expressly  
in the words 7p4 #bgf71                4
 ,these words1 however1 do not refer1 as
 the connection  evidently shows1 to the
 ,montanists generally2 but only to a   
certain  class of them who fell in with 
the patripassian doctrine of ,noctus4   
,the ,noctian scheme ,caius was going to
 discuss further on in this very  book3 
and it is evidently to this later       
chapter1 not to any separate  work      
against ,montanism1 that he alludes4    
#dj ,the word is perhaps not allowable  
in speaking of the earliest  time 7the  
reign of ,alexander ,severus7 assignable
 for the erection of  separate buildings

 appropriate to ,christian worship4     
#da ,to ,hippolytus and the writers of  
his period1 ,dorner ascribes the        
latter1 preponderantly over the former1 
side of this alternative2  while ,hnell 
charges their view with ,sabellianism4  
,see ,dorner's  ,entwickelungsgeschichte
 der ,lehre von der ,person ,christi1   
,i4 p4 #faa1  seq4    #db ,tert4 adv4   
,prax41 c4 #c4    #dc ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e41  
,v4 #bh4    #dd ,see ,adolph            
,schliemann's ,clementinen1 nebst den   
verwandten  ,schriften und der          
,ebionitismus1 ,cap4 ,,iii4 ii4  #h1 #i4
    #de ,m4 ,bunsen must have some      
authority which has escaped our memory  
for  attributing to the whole school of 
,tbingen the opinion that the  fourth   
,gospel was written about the year #afe 
or #agj4 7,i4 v47 ,we cannot  call to   
mind any criticism which assigns so late
 a date4 ,schwegler uses  various       
expressions to mark the time to which he
 refers2 e4 g4 about  the middle of the 
second century 7,nachapost4 ,zeitalter1 

,,ii4 #ced1 and  ,montanismus1 p4 #bad72
 intermediate between the ,apologists   
and ,irenus  7,,ii4 #cfi72 previous to  
the last third of the second century    
7,,ii4 #cdh72  in the second quarter of 
the second century 7,,ii4 #cde74 ,zeller
 also  fixes on the year #aej as the    
time when the ,gospel may probably have 
first appeared4 7,zeller's ,jahrb41     
#ahde1 p4 #fdf47    #df ,the earliest   
testimony is that of ,apollinaris1 of   
,hierapolis in  ,phrygia1 preserved in  
the ,paschal ,chronicle1 probably about 
,a4 ,d4  #agj-age4    #dg ,we will give1
 from this very section on ,basilides1  
and its  subsequent recapitulation1     
three examples of the irregular mode of 
citation to which we refer3 7a7 of the  
singular verb with plural  subject      
expressed2 7b7 of plural verb with      
singular subject expressed2  7c7 of the 
mixture of singular and plural subjects 
in the same  sentence1 so that the      
affirmation belongs indeterminately to  
either4    7a7              1     1     

4 1 1   1 4 4 4--p4 #bcj4    7b7        
1      1 444             1        1 4 4 
4--p4 #cbj4    7c7            444  1 1  
1         1    1  1   4 1  1   2 444 1 1
        1      1  1 1       4     1     
4--p4 #bcb4 ,now can any one decide     
whether this comment on the ,let there  
be light1 and there was light1  with its
 applications to ,john i4 #i1 proceeds  
from ,basilides or from  these men8     
#dh ,page #ebh4    #di ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e41 
,v4 #bh4    #ej ,philosophumena1 p4     
#beh4    #ea ,iren4 ,lib4 ,,ii4 c4 #ci4 
#eb ,i4 p4 #cda4    #ec ,the words of   
the author of the ,philosophumena are   
these3                1      1          
1           4--p4 #ccg4          ,,the  
,,creed ,,of ,,christendom4        #a4  
,the ,creed of ,christendom2 its        
,foundations and ,superstructure4       
,by ,,william ,,rathbone ,,greg4        
,london3 ,chapman4 #ahea4        #b4    
,st4 ,paul's ,epistles to the           
,corinthians2 an ,attempt to convey     
their ,spirit and ,significance4 ,by    

,,john ,,hamilton ,,thom4 ,london3      
,chapman4 #ahea4      ,these two books  
are placed together without the least   
intention to  intimate a resemblance    
between them1 or to represent either    
author as  sharing in the conclusions of
 the other4 ,they are1 indeed1 concerned
  with opposite sides of the same       
subject2 viewed1 moreover1 from the     
separate stations of the layman and the 
divine2 and are the expression  of      
strongly contrasted modes of thought4   
,mr4 ,greg deals principally  with the  
external vehicle of the primitive       
,christianity2 ,mr4 ,thom with  its     
internal essence4 ,the one seeks in vain
 for any outward title in  the records  
to suppress the operations of natural   
reason2 the other  clears away from the 
interior every interference with the    
free action  of conscience and          
affection4 ,the one1 in the name of     
science1  demolishes the outworks of    
ecclesiastical logic with which the     
shrine  of faith has been dangerously   

guarded3 the other1 in the name of      
,christ1 expels both priest and dogma   
from the sanctuary itself4 ,the  one1   
selecting deep truths from the words of 
,jesus1 would construct  religion into a
 philosophy2 the other1 with eye upon   
,his person as an  image of perfect     
goodness1 would develop it from a       
sentiment4 ,as all  opposites1 however1 
are embraced in the circumference of the
 same  circle1 so are these works       
complements of each other4 ,mr4 ,greg1  
in  common with the ,catholics and the  
,unitarians1 evidently looks for the    
strength of ,christianity in the        
,gospels2 ,mr4 ,thom1 with the majority 
of ,protestants1 in the ,epistles4 ,for 
want of some mediating harmony  between 
the two1 each perhaps requires some     
correction3 the historical  picture of  
,christ saved by the former is but a    
pale and meagre  outline2 while the     
,pauline ideal presented by the latter  
is a glow of  rich but undefined        
coloring4 ,mr4 ,greg1 who1 in spite of  

particular  errors1 manifests a large   
knowledge and a masterly judgment in his
  criticism of the ,evangelists1 appears
 to have1 in his own sympathies1  no way
 of access to a mind like that of ,paul1
 and to be much at fault  in estimating 
the place of the ,apostle both as a     
witness and a power  in the organization
 of ,christian tradition and doctrine4  
,had the  acuteness and severity of his 
understanding been a little more        
qualified by such reflective depth and  
moral tenderness as ,mr4 ,thom  brings  
to the work of interpretation1 his      
religion1 we fancy1 would  have retained
 a less slender remnant of the primitive
 ,christianity4    ,measured by the     
standard of common ,protestantism1 there
 can be no  doubt that the second of    
these books would be condemned for      
heresy1  and the first for unbelief4    
,these ugly words1 however1 have been   
too  often applied to what is fullest of
 truth and faith1 to express more  than 
a departure1 which weak men feel to be  

irritating1 from a  favorite type of    
thought4 ,they have lost their effect on
 all who are  competent to meditate on  
the great problems of religion1 and are 
fast  taking their place in the         
scandalous vocabulary of professional   
polemics4 ,it is a thing offensive to   
just men when divines1 who have         
succeeded in smothering1 or been too    
dull to entertain1 doubts which  rend   
the soul of genius and faithfulness1 and
 insist on a veracious  answer1 meet    
them1 not with sympathy1 still less with
 mastery1 but  with the commonplaces of 
incompetent pity and holy malediction4  
,and  the offence is doubled in the eyes
 of instructed men1 who know the  state 
to which ,biblical criticism has brought
 the theology of the  ,reformation4 ,it 
is notorious that1 in the revolt from   
,rome1 the  ,scriptures--like a dictator
 suddenly created for the perils of a   
crisis--were forced into a position     
where it was impossible for them        
permanently to repose2 that they cannot 

be treated as infallible  oracles of    
either fact or doctrine1 and were never 
meant to bear the  weight of such       
unnatural claims2 that the authority    
once concentrated  in them1 and held    
even against the reason and conscience1 
must now  be distributed1 and ask their 
concurrence4 ,these are not questionable
  positions1 but so irresistibly        
established1 that learning of the       
highest order would no more listen to an
 argument against them1 than  ,herschel 
or ,airy to a disquisition against the  
rotation of the earth4  ,when a         
clergyman1 therefore1 treats them with  
horror1 and denounces  them as          
infidelity1 he produces no conviction1  
except that he himself  is either       
ill-informed or insincere4 ,professional
 reproaches against a  book so manly and
 modest1 so evidently truth-loving1 so  
high-minded  and devout1 as this of ,mr4
 ,greg's1 are but a melancholy          
imbecility4 ,we  may hold to many things
 which he resigns2 we may think him     

wrong in  the date of a ,gospel or the  
construction of a miracle2 we may even  
dissent from his estimate of the grounds
 of immortal hope and the ways  of      
eternal ,providence3 but we do not envy1
 and cannot understand1 the  religion   
which can feel no thankful communion    
with thought so  elevated1 and trust so 
sound and real4 ,no candid reader of the
 ,creed  of ,christendom can close the  
book without the secret acknowledgment  
that it is a model of honest            
investigation and clear exposition2 that
  it is conceived in the true spirit of 
serious and faithful research2  and that
 whatever the author wants of being an  
ecclesiastical  ,christian is plainly   
not essential to the noble guidance of  
life1 and  the devout earnestness of the
 affections4    ,it is highly honorable 
to an ,english layman1 amid the pressure
 of  affairs1 to take up a class of     
critical inquiries1 which the clergy    
seem  to have abandoned for a narrower  
and more passionate polemic4 ,it is a   

remarkable characteristic of the present
 age1 that1 when the most  startling    
attacks are made upon the very          
foundations of existing  churches1      
nobody repels them4 ,nothing is offered 
to break their effect1  except the      
inertia of the mass that rests upon the 
base assailed4 ,for  every great        
sceptical work of the last century there
 was some score of  reputable answers2  
but half a dozen books of the same      
tendency have  appeared within a few    
years1 all of which have been copiously 
reviewed1  have spread excitement over a
 wide surface1 and set an immense amount
 of  theological hair on end1 but not   
one of which has received any adequate  
reply4 ,yet the slightest of these      
productions would favorably compare1  in
 all the requisites for successful      
persuasion1--in learning1 in  temper1 in
 acuteness1--with the best of the last  
age1 excepting only the  philosophical  
disquisitions of ,hume and the          
ecclesiastical chapters of  ,gibbon4    

,the first in time1--,hennell's ,inquiry
 into the ,origin of                    
,christianity1--though the most open to 
refutation1 was permitted to  pass      
through an unmolested existence2 and its
 influence1 considerable in  itself1 and
 increased by the sweet and truthful    
character of the author1  is still      
traceable in the pages of ,mr4 ,greg4   
,to the effect of ,strauss's            
extraordinary work1 the good ,neander's 
,leben ,jesu offers but a mild          
resistance1 and is itself1 through the  
extent of its concessions1 an  open     
proclamation that the problems of       
theology can never be restored to  the  
state in which all churches assume them 
to be4 ,parker was  excommunicated by   
his sect2 but his ,discourse of ,matters
 pertaining to  ,religion has walked the
 course unchallenged1 and displayed the 
splendor  of its gifts1 within the      
entire lines of the ,english language4  
,newman1  ,foxton1 and ,greg have since 
entered their names on the index        

expurgatorius of ,orthodoxy2 but they   
also will be simply excluded from  the  
sacred circle of readers bound over not 
to think2 and1 beyond this1  will make  
their converts undisturbed1 and         
accumulate fresh charges of  threatening
 power in the intellectual atmosphere   
which surrounds the  ,church4 ,whence   
this pusillanimous apathy8 ,is it       
forgotten that creeds  always assailed  
and never defended are sure to perish8  
,or is it felt  that the defence1 to be 
sound and strong1 must be so partial--so
 limited  to points of detail--as to    
promise a mere diversion1 instead of a  
repulse1 and be more dangerous than the 
attitude of passiveness8 ,or does  the  
,church resignedly give up her hold on  
the class of earnest1  intellectual men 
who cannot degrade religion into a      
second-hand  tradition1 but must know   
what they worship8 ,certain it is that  
her  whole activity has long abandoned  
this class1 and addressed itself        
exclusively to the narrower and lower   

order of mind1 whose vision is  bounded 
by the periphery of a given creed1 and  
whose life is satisfied  with the       
squabbles and the gossip of articles    
forced into neighborhood1  but no longer
 on speaking terms4 ,if the efficacy of 
holy orders is  called in question1     
streams of sacerdotal refutation flow   
from the  press2 but if the inspiration 
of the twelve ,apostles is denied1 it is
 a  thing that neither bishop nor priest
 will care to vindicate4 ,if a word  of 
mistake is uttered about the drops of   
water on the face of a baptized  baby1  
it conjures up a storm that rolls from  
diocese to diocese2 but if  you say that
 pure religion has no rite or sacrament 
at all1 the  ecclesiastic atmosphere    
remains still as a ,quaker's silent     
meeting4 ,the  deepest interest is felt 
about the origin of liturgies1 and the  
history  of articles1 but nobody heeds  
the most staggering evidence that three 
of  the ,gospels are second-hand        
aggregations of hearsay reports1 and the

  fourth of questionable authenticity4  
,you deny the self-consistency of  the  
,church of ,england and call it a       
compromise2 and the sudden rustle of    
gowns and sleeves proclaims a great     
sensation4 ,you analyze the accounts  of
 ,christ's resurrection2 you ask whether
 they are not discrepant2 you  point out
 that1 apparently1 the oldest record    
7,mark's7 contained1 in its  original   
form1 no account of the event at all1   
and that the others bear  seeming traces
 of distinct and incompatible           
traditions4 ,you cry aloud  for help in 
this perplexity1 and hold yourselves    
ready to follow any  vestiges of truth2 
and1 except that the creeds are still   
muttered every  ,sunday1 all the oracles
 are dumb4 ,if you want to find the true
 magic  pass into heaven1 scores of     
rival professors press round you with   
obtrusive supply3 if you ask in your    
sorrow1 ,who can tell me whether  there 
be a heaven at all8 every soul will keep
 aloof and leave you  alone4 ,all men   

that bring from ,god a fresh1 deep      
nature1 all in whom  religious wants    
live with eager power1 and who yet are  
too clear of soul  to unthink a thought 
and falsify a truth1 receive in these   
days no help  and no response4 ,the     
,church feels its interest1 as an       
educated  corporation1 to consist in    
overlaying and covering up the          
foundations of  faith with huge piles of
 curious learning1 history1 and art1    
which1 by  affording endless occupation1
 may detain men from search after the   
living rock1 or notice of the           
undermining flood4 ,and1 as an          
established corporation1 she relies on  
the lazy conservatism of mental         
possession2 on the dislike felt by the  
comfortable classes towards the  trouble
 of thought and the disturbance of      
feeling1 and their usual  willingness to
 hand over these operations to the      
prayer-book and the  priest4 ,we are    
grateful to ,mr4 ,greg for shaking this 
ignoble and  precarious reliance1 which 

he notices in these admirable sentences4
    ,a more genuine and important       
objection to the consequences of our    
views is felt by indolent minds on their
 own account4 ,they shrink from  the    
toil of working out truth for themselves
 out of the materials  which ,providence
 has placed before them4 ,they long for 
the precious  metal1 but loathe the rude
 ore out of which it has to be          
extricated by  the laborious alchemy of 
thought4 ,a ready-made creed is the     
paradise  of their lazy dreams4 ,a      
string of authoritative1 dogmatic       
propositions  comprises the whole mental
 wealth which they desire4 ,the volume  
of  nature--the volume of history--the  
volume of life--appall and terrify      
them4 ,such men are the materials out of
 whom good catholics of all  sects are  
made4 ,they form the uninquiring and    
submissive flocks which  rejoice the    
hearts of all priesthoods4 ,let such    
cling to the faith of  their            
forefathers1 if they can4 ,but men whose

 minds are cast in a  nobler mould1 and 
are instinct with a diviner life1--who  
love truth  more than rest1 and the     
peace of ,heaven rather than the peace  
of  ,eden1--to whom 'a loftier being    
brings severer cares1'--          ',who 
know man does not live by joy alone1    
,but by the presence of the power of    
,god1'--    such must cast behind them  
the hope of any repose or tranquillity1 
save that which is the last reward of   
long agonies of thought2 they  must     
relinquish all prospect of any heaven1  
save that of which  tribulation is the  
avenue and portal2 they must gird up    
their loins  and trim their lamp for a  
work which cannot be put by1 and which  
must  not be negligently done4 ',he1'   
says ,zschokke1 'who does not like      
living in the furnished lodgings of     
tradition1 must build his own  house1   
his own system of thought and faith for 
himself4'--p4 #bdb4    ,the work of ,mr4
 ,greg derives its interest1 not from   
anything in it  that will be new to the 

studious theologian1 but from the       
freshness  and force with which it      
presents the results of the author's    
reading  and reflection on both the     
claims and the contents of ,scripture4  
,adopting the ordinary notion of        
inspiration1 as equivalent to a         
supernaturally provided infallibility1  
he reviews and condemns the  reasonings 
by which this attribute has been        
associated with the ,bible2  and decides
 that the mere discovery of a statement 
in the ,scriptures  is no sufficient    
reason for our implicit reception of it4
 ,having  cleared away this obstacle to 
all intelligent criticism1 he pursues   
his way1 chiefly under the guidance of  
,de ,wette1 through the earlier         
literature of the ,hebrews2 and adds    
another to the many exposures of  the   
humiliating attempts1 on the part of    
,english divines1 to reconcile  the     
cosmogony of ,genesis with modern       
science2 attempts which we should  call 
obsolete1 did we not remember that      

,buckland and ,whewell are both  living1
 and have not yet attained the episcopal
 bench4 ,mr4 ,greg adopts  the views of 
which ,baur is the best known recent    
expositor1 but which  ,lessing long ago 
traced out1 as to the gradual formation 
of the ,hebrew  monotheism2 and shows   
the striking contrast between the family
 ,jehovah  of the ,patriarchs and the   
universal ,god of the later ,prophets4  
,whatever be the origin of the doctrine 
of a ,messiah1 and under  whatever      
varieties it appeared1 it never pointed1
 the author  conceives1 to such a person
 as ,jesus of ,nazareth1 or such a      
product as  the ,christian ,church2 and 
it is only by perverse interpretations1 
unendurable out of the field of         
theology1 that any passages in the ,old 
,testament can be made out to prefigure 
the events in the ,new4 ,in the         
argument1 therefore1 between the early  
missionaries of the ,gospel and  the    
unconvinced ,jews1 ,mr4 ,greg maintains 
that the latter were the more  faithful 

to their sacred books4 ,the phenomena of
 the first three  ,gospels are next     
examined sufficiently to explain the    
several  hypotheses respecting the order
 and materials of their composition4    
,the author rests on ,schleiermacher's  
conclusion1 that a number of            
fragmentary records of incident and     
discourse formed the groundwork1  partly
 common1 partly exclusive1 of the triple
 ,evangile4 ,he thus  removes us1 in    
this portion of the ,scriptures1 from   
first-hand  testimony altogether2 and   
throws upon internal criticism the task 
of  discriminating between the original 
and reliable elements on the one  hand1 
and those on the other which did not    
escape the accidents of  floating       
tradition and the coloring of later     
ideas4 ,this delicate task  the author  
attempts2 and manifests throughout an   
acquaintance with the  methods and      
models of the higher criticism1 fully   
qualifying him to  form the independent 
judgment which he sums up in these      

words3--    ,in conclusion1 then1 it    
appears certain that in all the         
synoptical  ,gospels we have events     
related that did not really occur1 and  
words  ascribed to ,jesus which ,jesus  
did not utter2 and that many of these   
words and events are of great           
significance4 ,in the great majority of 
these instances1 however1 this          
incorrectness does not imply any want   
of honesty on the part of the           
,evangelists1 but merely indicates that 
they adopted and embodied1 without much 
scrutiny or critical acumen1  whatever  
probable and honorable narratives they  
found current in the  ,christian        
community4--p4 #acg4    ,the            
peculiarities of the fourth ,gospel are 
next dealt with3 its apparent  polemic  
reference to the gnosis of the first and
 second centuries2 its  absence of      
demoniacs and parables2 the length1 the 
mysticism1 the dogma  of its discourses1
 and their uniformity of complexion with
 the  historian's own narrative and     

reflections2 the narrowness of its      
charity1 and the apocryphal appearance  
of its first miracle4 ,without          
questioning the probability that within 
the contents of this ,gospel is         
secreted a nucleus of facts1 ,mr4 ,greg 
thinks the book so clearly imbued       
throughout with the writer's            
idiosyncrasy1 as to be inferior in      
historical value to the ,synoptics2 and 
the discourses of ,jesus1 in            
particular1 must be regarded as free    
compositions by the ,evangelist4 ,in    
our author's management of this subject 
there seems to us to be an  unfavorable 
change4 ,the style of thought peculiar  
to ,john1 as well as  that              
characteristic of ,paul1 lies out of the
 latitude native to him2 and  with every
 intention to be just in his            
appreciation1 he fails1 we think1  to   
reach the point of sympathy from which  
the fourth ,gospel should be  judged4   
,the realism of his mind makes him a    
better critic of the hard  ,judaical    

element of the ,christian ,scriptures1  
with its objective  distinctness and its
 moral beauty1 than of the more ideal   
,gentile  ingredients1 where a          
subjective dialectic traces forms of    
thought in the  intense fires of        
spiritual consciousness4    ,in a       
separate discussion of the question of  
miracles they are restored  to the      
subordinate position1 as compared with  
moral evidence1 assigned  to them by the
 early ,protestant divines4 ,adopting   
the position of  ,locke1 that the       
miracles are to be judged by the        
doctrines1 and not  the doctrines by the
 miracles1 he can admit with the less   
pain his  conviction1 that1 even in the 
instance of the resurrection of ,jesus1 
the historical evidence is too          
conflicting and uncertain to bear the   
supernatural weight imposed upon it4 ,he
 admits1 indeed1 that ,jesus  may have  
risen from the dead2 the ,apostles      
manifestly believed it2  and that the   
marked change in their character and    

conduct1 from  despair to triumph1      
affords the strongest evidence of the   
sustaining  energy of this belief4 ,but1
 in our ignorance of the grounds of this
  belief1 7the ,gospels and book of     
,acts containing no correct or          
first-hand report of the facts17 it is  
impossible1 he conceives1 to  form any  
rational estimate of their adequacy4 ,in
 ,mr4 ,greg's decision  on this         
important point1 we see the effect of   
his entrance on the  problem of         
,christianity from the historical end4  
,if1 instead of  addressing himself     
first to the ,gospels which lie most    
remote from the  source of the religion1
 and represent the latest and most      
constituted  form of the primitive      
tradition1 he had begun with the        
earliest  remains of ,christian         
literature1 and traced the doctrine of  
the  resurrection from the ,epistles of 
,paul into the story of the             
,evangelists1 we think he would have    
arrived at a different conclusion4  ,in 

dismissing the testimony of ,paul as of 
little weight1 he throws  away the main 
evidence of the whole case4 ,we can     
understand the critic  who1 having put  
the miraculous entirely aside1 as       
logically  inadmissible1 makes light of 
the ,pauline statements on this matter1 
and appeals to their writer's openness  
to impressions of the  supernatural in  
proof of a certain vitiating unsoundness
 of mind4 ,but  one who1 like our       
author1 regards this  priori incredulity
 as an  unphilosophical prejudice1 and  
upon whose list of real causes1 never   
precluded from possible action1         
supernatural power finds a place1       
cannot consistently condemn another for 
believing in concrete  instances what he
 himself allows in the general2 and put 
the ,apostle  out of court1 on the plea 
that we have no evidence but his        
assertion  of his intercourse with the  
risen ,christ4 ,is not his assertion the
  only evidence possible of a subjective
 miracle8 and is there any  ground for  

restricting supernatural agency to an   
objective direction8  ,no doubt1 facts  
presented to external perception have   
the advantage of  being open to more    
witnesses than one2 and if it be        
deliberately laid  down as a canon1 that
 in no case can any anomalous event be  
admitted  on one man's declaration1 we  
allow the consistency of refusing a     
hearing to the ,apostle4 ,but such a    
rule would only be an example of  the   
futility of all attempts to reduce moral
 evidence to mathematical  expression4  
,facts of the most extraordinary nature 
have always been1  and will always be1  
received on solitary attestation2 and if
 so1 it  makes no logical difference    
whether they be called objective1 or    
subjective4 ,a man has faculties for    
apprehending what passes within  him1 as
 well as what passes without2 nor do we 
know any ground for  trusting the latter
 which does not hold equally good for   
the former4  ,if it be said that the    
reporter of a miracle not only announces

 what  he sees or feels1--which we may  
accept on his veracity1--but proclaims  
its supernatural source1--which we may  
repudiate from distrust of his          
judgment1--the remark is perfectly just1
 only that it applies alike to  all     
testimony1 and not exclusively to       
miraculous reports4 ,our  disposition to
 receive the evidence of a witness      
assumed to be  veracious1 depends on our
 having the same preconceptions of      
causation  with himself4 ,in the        
ordinary affairs of life1 this common   
ground is  sure to exist1 and therefore 
remains a mere latent condition of      
belief4 ,but the slowness to admit a    
miracle arises from the failure of  this
 common ground2 and if the hearer       
reserved in the background of  his mind1
 and in equal readiness for action1 the 
same supernatural  power to which the   
witness's assertion refers1 he would    
feel no more  temptation to incredulity 
than in listening to some matter of     
course4  ,the reluctance to believe1 is 

proof that his store of causation is    
limited to the natural sphere2 and every
 phenomenon irreducible to  this drops  
away from all hold upon his mind4 ,as   
there is no such thing  as a fact       
perceived without a judgment formed1 so 
is there no belief  in the attestation  
of a fact without reliance on the       
soundness of a  judgment2 and that      
reliance depends on the hearer having   
the same list  of causes in his mind as 
the witness4 ,if1 then1 ,mr4 ,greg      
holds1 with  ,paul1 that the power      
exists whence a subjective miracle might
 issue1  and if from the nature of the  
case such miracle must remain a matter  
of personal consciousness1 why reject   
the ,apostle's report of his            
experience8 ,in choosing from among the 
causes which both parties  admit1 it    
cannot be denied that ,paul alights upon
 that which1 if  there1 gives the       
easiest and most certain explanation2   
and to find a  satisfactory origin for  
his impressions and conduct in natural  

agencies is so difficult1 that critics  
would never attempt it1 but to  escape  
the acknowledgment of miracle4 ,on his  
own principles we do not  see how our   
author could excuse himself to the      
,apostle for rejecting  his testimony2  
which does but communicate1 in the only 
conceivable  way1 that which is allowed 
to be possible enough1 and which best   
clears up the mystery of an astonishing 
revolution in personal  character1 and  
in the convictions of an earnest and    
powerful mind4    ,the whole question of
 miracles1 however1 loses its anxious   
importance  with those who1 like our    
author1 would still1 amid their constant
  occurrence1 look to other sources for 
the credentials of moral and  religious 
truth4 ,if anything is positively and   
incontrovertibly known  respecting the  
,apostles1--and in proportion as we     
trust the synoptical  ,gospels must we  
allow ,mr4 ,greg to extend the remark to
 their  ,master1--it is this3 that      
whatever powers they exercised1 and     

whatever  communications they received1 
were inadequate to preserve them from   
serious error2 and from delivering to   
the world1 as a substantive part  of    
their message1 a most solemn expectation
 which was not to be  fulfilled4 ,this  
fact1 no longer denied by any reputable 
theologian1  alone shows that1 even in  
the presence of the highest ,christian  
authority1 the natural criteria of      
reason and conscience cannot be         
dispensed with4 ,in the application of  
these to the teachings and life  of     
,christ1 our author finds1 if not any   
truths of supernatural  dictation1 at   
least the highest object of veneration  
and affection yet  given to this world4 
,now on this subject1 he says1 we hope  
our confession of faith will  be        
acceptable to all save the narrowly     
orthodox4 ,it is difficult1  without    
exhausting superlatives1 even to        
unexpressive and wearisome  satiety1 to 
do justice to our intense love1         
reverence1 and admiration  for the      

character and teachings of ,jesus4 ,we  
regard him1 not as the  perfection of   
the intellectual or philosophic mind1   
but as the  perfection of the spiritual 
character1--as surpassing all men of all
  times in the closeness and depth of   
his communion with the ,father4 ,in     
reading his sayings1 we feel that we are
 holding converse with the  wisest1     
purest1 noblest ,being that ever clothed
 thought in the poor  language of       
humanity4 ,in studying his life1 we feel
 that we are  following the footsteps of
 the highest ideal yet presented to us  
upon  earth4 ',blessed be ,god that so  
much manliness has been lived out1 and  
stands there yet1 a lasting monument to 
mark how high the tides of  divine life 
have risen in the world of man6'--p4    
#bbg4    ,we differ altogether from our 
author in his notion of inspiration1 and
  his reduction of ,christianity within 
the limits of human resource4 ,but  we  
must say1 that while there is such an   
estimate as this of what  ,jesus ,christ

 was1 it is a matter of subordinate     
moment what is  thought about the mode  
in which he became so4    ,by a process 
of ,christian ,eclecticism1 ,mr4 ,greg  
draws forth from the  ,gospels the      
elements which he regards as            
characteristic of the  religion of      
,jesus2 distinguishing those which make 
it the purest of  faiths from others    
which appear to him irreconcilable with 
a just  philosophy4 ,the doctrine of a  
future life is reserved for a separate  
discussion2 the general result of which 
we know not how to describe1  otherwise 
than by saying that the author discards 
all the evidence and  yet retains the   
conclusion4 ,all the arguments1         
metaphysical and moral1  for human      
immortality1 he condemns as absolutely  
worthless2 he  confesses that he has no 
new ones to propose2 he affirms that all
  appearances1 without exception1       
proclaim the permanence of death1 the   
absence of any spiritual essence in man1
 and the absolute sway of the  laws of  

organization2 yet1 on the report of that
 very soul within  him1 whose existence 
nature disowns1 he holds the doctrine of
 a future  existence by the irresistible
 tenure of a first truth4 ,we do not    
wonder that the rigor with which ,mr4   
,greg has pushed his principles  through
 other subjects of thought should relent
 at this point1 and  refuse to cast the 
sublimest of human hopes over the brink 
of  darkness4 ,we respect1 as a holy    
abstinence1 his refusal to silence the  
pleadings of the inner voice4 ,but we   
admire his faith more than his          
philosophy2 and are astonished that he  
does not suspect the soundness  of a    
scientific method which lands him in    
results he cannot hold4 ,no  scepticism 
is so fatal1--for none has so wide a    
sweep1--as that which  despairs of the  
self-reconciliation of human nature2    
which flings  among our faculties the   
reproach of irretrievable contradiction2
 which  sets up first truths against    
deductions1 conscience against science1 

faith against logic4 ,ever since ,kant  
balanced his ,antinomies1 and  employed 
the gravitation of ,practical reason to 
turn the irresolute  scales of the      
,speculative1 this unwholesome practice 
has been  spreading1 of assuming an     
ultimate discordance between co-existing
  powers of the mind4 ,in the language  
of rhetoric or poetry1 in the           
discussion of popular notions on morals 
and religion1 it would be  hypercritical
 to complain of the antitheses of       
understanding and  feeling1--sense and  
soul4 ,but to an exact thinker it must  
be apparent  that an ambidextrous       
intellect is no intellect at all2 and   
that1 were  this all our endowment1 the 
life of the wisest would be but a chase 
after mocking shadows of thought4 ,the  
following words of our author1  with all
 their tranquil appearance1 describe a  
state of things which1  were it real1   
might well strike us with dismay3--     
,there are three points especially of   
religious belief1 regarding  which      

intuition 7or instinct7 and logic are at
 variance1--the efficacy  of prayer1    
man's free-will1 and a future existence4
 ,if believed1 they  must be believed1  
the last without the countenance1 the   
two former in  spite of the hostility of
 logic4--p4 #cjc4    ,this is absolute  
,pyrrhonism1 and though said in the     
interest of  religion1 is subversive    
alike of knowledge and of faith4 ,the   
pretended  logic can be good for very   
little1 which comes out with so suicidal
 an  achievement as the disproof of     
first truths4 ,the condition under which
  alone logic can exist as a science is 
the unity in the human mind of the  laws
 of belief1--a condition which would be 
violated if any first truth             
contradicted another in itself1 or in   
its deductions4 ,the moment1  therefore1
 such a contradiction turns up1 a       
consistent thinker will  either regard  
it as a mere semblance1 and proceed to  
re-examine his  premises1 and test his  
reasoning2 or he will treat it as real2 

and then  it throws contempt on logic   
altogether1 and relegates it into       
impossibility4 ,in neither case can his 
reliance incline to the logical  side4  
,mr4 ,greg1 however1 sticks to his logic
 whenever1 as in the two  cases         
mentioned in the foregoing extract1 it  
loudly negatives a point  of religious  
belief2 and abandons it only where it   
restricts itself to  cold and dumb      
discouragement4 ,a bolder distrust of   
his logic1 and a  firmer faith in the   
logic of nature1 would perhaps have     
harmonized the  differing voices of the 
intellect and the soul1 blending them in
 a faith  neither afraid to think nor   
ashamed to pray4    ,had our author been
 as familiar with the ,catholic and     
,arminian  divines1 as with the         
literature of inductive science and     
,calvinistic  theology1 he would have   
known that there is a philosophy from   
which  the religious intuitions         
encounter no repugnance2 and would1 at  
least1  have noticed its offer of       

mediation between ,faith and ,reason4   
,he is1  however1 entirely shut up      
within the formulas of a different      
school1  which press with their         
resistance on his religious feeling in  
every  direction1 and produce a conflict
 which he can neither appease nor       
terminate4 ,with an intellect entirely  
overridden by the ideas of ,law  and    
,necessity1 no man can escape the force 
of the common objections to  any        
doctrine of prayer1 or of forgiveness of
 sin2 and if those ideas  possess       
universal validity1 the very discussion 
of such doctrines is1  in the last      
degree1 idle and absurd4 ,but what if   
some medival  schoolman1 or some        
impugner of the ,baconian orthodoxy1    
were to suggest  that1 though ,law is   
coextensive with outward nature1 ,nature
 is not  coextensive with ,god1 and that
 beyond the range where his agency is   
bound by the pledge of predetermined    
rules lies an infinite margin1  where   
his spirit is free8 ,and what if1 in    

aggravation of his heresy1  he were to  
contend that ,man also1 as counterpart  
of ,god1 belongs not  wholly to the     
realm of nature1 but transcends it by a 
certain  endowment of free power in his 
spirit8 ,having made these assumptions1 
on the ground that they were more       
agreeable to intuitive feeling1  and not
 less so to external evidence1 than the 
one-sidedness of their  opposites1 might
 he not suggest that room is now found  
for a doctrine  of prayer8 ,not that any
 event bespoken and planted in the      
sphere of  nature can be turned aside by
 the urgency of desire and devotion2 not
  that the slightest swerving is to be  
expected from the usages of  creation1  
or of the mind2 wherever law is         
established--without us or  within      
us--there let it be absolute as the     
everlasting faithfulness4  ,but ,god has
 not spent himself wholly in the courses
 of custom1 and  mortgaged his infinite 
resources to nature2 nor has he closed  
up with  rules every avenue through     

which his fresh energy might find       
entrance  into life2 but has left in the
 human soul a theatre whose scenery is  
not all pre-arranged1 and whose drama is
 ever open to new  developments4        
,between the free centre of the soul in 
man1 and the free  margin of the        
activity of ,god1 what hinders the      
existence of a real  and living         
communion1 the interchange of look and  
answer1 of thought  and counterthought8 
,if1 in response to human aspiration1 a 
higher mood  is infused into the mind2  
if1 in consolation of penitence or      
sorrow1 a  gleam of gentle hope steals  
in2 and if these should be themselves   
the  vivifying touch of divine sympathy 
and pity1 what law is prejudiced8  what 
faith is broken8 what province of nature
 has any title to  complain8 ,and so1   
too1 7might our medival friend          
continue17 with  respect to the doctrine
 of forgiveness4 ,if men are under moral
  obligation1 and ,god is a being of    
moral perfection1 he must regard  their 

unfaithfulness with disapproval4 ,of his
 sentiments1 the clear  trace will be   
found in the various sufferings which   
constitute the  natural punishment of   
wrong4 ,these are incorporated in the   
very  structure of the world and the    
constitution of life2 and to            
persistence in their infliction1 the    
,supreme ,ruler is committed by the     
assurance of his constancy4 ,they fasten
 on the guilty a chain which no  pardon 
will strike off1 but which he will drag 
till it is worn away4  ,not all the     
divine sentiment1 however1 is embodied  
in the physical  consequences4 ,besides 
this determinate expression of his      
thought1  written out on the finite     
world1 there is an unexpressed element  
remaining behind1 in his infinite       
nature3 on the visible side of the  veil
 is the suggestive manifestation2 on the
 invisible1 is the very  affection      
manifested4 ,there is a personal        
alienation1 a forfeiture of  approach   
and sympathy1 which would survive though

 creation were to  perish and carry its 
punishments away2 and would still cast  
its black  shadow into empty space4     
,this reserved sentiment1 and this      
alone1 is  affected by repentance4 ,but 
it is no small thing for the heart of   
shame to know this4 ,the estrangement   
lasts no longer than the guilty  temper 
and the unsoftened conscience2 and when1
 through its sorrow1  the mind is clear 
and pure1 the sunshine of divine        
affection will  burst it again4 ,in this
 the free ,spirit of ,god is different  
from his  bound action in nature4 ,long 
after he himself has forgiven and       
embraced again1 necessity--the creature 
of his legislation--will  continue to   
wield the lash1 and measure out with no 
relenting the  remainder of the penalty 
incurred2 and he that yet drags his     
burden  and visibly limps upon his sin1 
may all the while have a heart at rest  
with ,god4 ,and thus is retribution--the
 reaping as we have sown--in no         
contradiction with forgiveness1--the    

personal restoration4    ,how far such  
modes of thought as these would help to 
reconcile the  conflicting claims1--and 
how they would stand related to ,mr4    
,greg's  terrible friend1 ,logic1 we do 
not pretend to decide4 ,we refer to     
them only as possible means of          
escaping--at least of postponing--his   
desolating doctrine1 that intuitions may
 tell lies2 and in support of  our      
statement1 that his theoretic view lies 
entirely within the circle  of a        
particular school1--a school1 moreover1 
so little able to satisfy  his          
aspirations1 that he is obliged to patch
 up a compromise between  his nature and
 his culture4 ,the curious amalgamation 
which has taken  place in ,england1 of  
the metaphysics of ,calvin with the     
physics of  ,bacon1 has produced1 in a  
large class1 a philosophical tendency1  
with  which the distinctive sentiments  
of ,christianity very uneasily  combine4
 ,the effacing of all lines separating  
the natural and moral1  the limitation  

of ,god to the realm of nature1 and the 
subjugation of  all things to           
predestination1 are among the chief     
features of this  tendency1 and the     
chief obstacles to any concurrence      
between the  intellectual and the       
spiritual religion of the age4    ,if   
some of the elements in the early       
,christianity are too hastily  cancelled
 by our author1 there is one sentiment  
whose inapplicability  to the present   
day he exposes with an irresistible     
force2--that  depreciating estimate of  
life which1 however natural to ,apostles
  impressed with the conviction that the
 world was falling to pieces1  is wholly
 misplaced among those for whose office 
and work this earthly  scene is the     
appointed place4 ,the exhortations of   
the ,apostles1  granting the premises1  
were natural and wise4    ,but for      
divines in this day--when the profession
 of ,christianity is  attended with no  
peril1 when its practice1 even1 demands 
no sacrifice1  save that preference of  

duty to enjoyment which is the first law
 of  cultivated humanity--to repeat the 
language1 profess the feelings1         
inculcate the notions1 of men who lived 
in daily dread of such awful  martyrdom1
 and under the excitement of such a     
mighty misconception2 to  cry down the  
world1 with its profound beauty1 its    
thrilling interests1  its glorious      
works1 its noble and holy affections2 to
 exhort their  hearers1 ,sunday after   
,sunday1 to detach their heart from the 
earthly  life1 as inane1 fleeting1 and  
unworthy1 and fix it upon heaven1 as the
  only sphere deserving the love of the 
loving or the meditation of the         
wise1--appears to us1 we confess1       
frightful insincerity1 the enactment  of
 a wicked and gigantic lie4 ,the        
exhortation is delivered and listened   
to as a thing of course2 and an hour    
afterwards the preacher1 who has  thus  
usurped and profaned the language of an 
,apostle who wrote with the  fagot and  
the cross full in view1 is sitting      

comfortably with his hearer  over his   
claret2 they are fondling their         
children1 discussing public  affairs or 
private plans in life1 with passionate  
interest1 and yet can  look at each     
other without a smile or a blush for the
 sad and  meaningless farce they have   
been acting6444 ,everything tends to    
prove  that this life is1 not perhaps1  
not probably1 our only sphere1 but still
  an integral one1 and the one with     
which we are here meant to be           
concerned4 ,the present is our scene of 
action1--the future is for  speculation 
and for trust4 ,we firmly believe that  
man was sent upon the  earth to live in 
it1 to enjoy it1 to study it1 to love   
it1 to embellish  it1--to make the most 
of it1 in short4 ,it is his country1 on 
which he  should lavish his affections  
and his efforts4 ,spartam nactus        
es--hanc  exorna4 ,it should be to him a
 house1 not a tent1--a home1 not only a 
school4 ,if1 when this house and this   
home are taken from him1  ,providence1  

in its wisdom and its bounty1 provides  
him with another1 let  him be deeply    
grateful for the gift1--let him transfer
 to that future1  when it has become his
 present1 his exertions1 his researches1
 and his  love4 ,but let him rest       
assured that he is sent into this world1
 not to  be constantly hankering after1 
dreaming of1 preparing for1 another1    
which may or may not be in store for    
him1 but to do his duty and fulfil  his 
destiny on earth1--to do all that lies  
in his power to improve it1  to render  
it a scene of elevated happiness to     
himself1 to those around  him1 to those 
who are to come after him4 ,so will he  
avoid those  tormenting contests with   
nature1--those struggles to suppress    
affections  which ,god has implanted1   
sanctioned1 and endowed with            
irresistible  supremacy1--those agonies 
of remorse when he finds that ,god is   
too  strong for him1--which now embitter
 the lives of so many earnest and       
sincere souls2 so will he best prepare  

for that future which we hope  for1 if  
it come2 so will he best have occupied  
the present1 if the  present be his all4
 ,to demand that we love heaven more    
than earth1 that  the unseen should hold
 a higher place in our affections than  
the seen  and familiar1 is to ask that  
which cannot be obtained without        
subduing  nature1 and inducing a morbid 
condition of the soul4 ,the very law of 
our  being is love of life1 and all its 
interests and adornments4--pp4 #bga1    
#bgb4    ,with all that is admirable in 
our author's book1 he contemplates the  
whole subject from a point of view which
 exhibits it in very imperfect  lights4 
,he professes to treat of ,the ,creed of
 ,christendom4 ,yet1 in  examining only 
the canonical ,scriptures and the       
primitive belief1 he  totally ignores   
the ,creed of the greater part of       
,christendom1  namely1 of the ,catholic 
,church4 ,for it is only ,protestants   
that  identify ,christianity with the   
letter of the ,new ,testament1 and      

settle  everything by appeal to its     
contents4 ,according to the older       
doctrine1 ,christianity is not a ,divine
 ,philosophy recorded in certain  books1
 but a ,divine ,institution committed to
 certain men4 ,the  ,christian          
,scriptures are not its source1 but its 
first product2  not its charter and     
definition1 but its earliest act and the
  expression of its incipient thought4  
,they exhibit the young attempts  of the
 new agency1 as it was getting to work  
upon the minds of men and  trying to    
penetrate the resisting mass of         
terrestrial affairs4 ,they  are thus but
 the beginning of a record which is     
prolonged through all  subsequent times1
 the opening page in the proceedings of 
a ,church in  perpetuity2 and are not   
separated from the continuous sacred    
literature of ,christendom1 as insulated
 fragments of ,divine authority4  ,the  
supernatural element which they contain 
did not die out with their  generation1 
but has never ceased to flow through    

succeeding centuries4  ,nor did the     
heavenly purpose--precipitated upon     
earthly materials and  media--disclose  
itself most conspicuously at first2 but 
rather cleared  itself as it advanced   
and enriched its energy with better     
instruments4  ,the sublimest things     
would even lie secreted in the          
unconscious heart  of the new influence1
 and only with the slowness of noble    
growths push  towards the light2 for the
 noise and obtrusiveness of the human is
  ever apt to overwhelm the retiring    
silence of the divine4 ,the  disciples1 
who1 when events were before their eyes1
 and great words  fell upon their ears1 
understood not these things at the time1
 are  types of all men and all ages2    
whose religion1 coming out in the       
event1 is known to others better than to
 themselves4 ,a faith1  therefore1      
should be judged less by its first form 
than by its last2  and at all events be 
studied1 not as it once appeared1 but in
 the  entire retrospect of its          

existence4    ,no doubt this doctrine of
 development is made subservient1 in the
  ,romish system1 to monstrous          
sacerdotal claims4 ,a priestly hierarchy
  pretends to the exclusive custody1 and
 the gradual unfolding1 of ,god's       
sacred gift4 ,but sweep away this holy  
corporation2 throw its treasury  open1  
and let its vested right1 of paying out 
the truth1 be flung into  the free air  
of history2 gather together no ,sacred  
,college but the  collected ages2 appeal
 to no high ,pontiff but the ,providence
 of  ,god2--and there remains a far     
juster and sublimer view of the place   
and function of a pure ,gospel in the   
world1 than the narrow ,protestant      
conception4 ,christianity becomes thus1 
not the ,creed of its ,founders1  but   
the ,religion of ,christendom1 to be    
estimated only in comparison  with the  
faiths of other groups of the great     
human family2 and the  superhuman in it 
will consist in this1--the providential 
introduction  among the affairs of this 

world of a divine influence1 which shall
  gradually reach to untried depths in  
the hearts of men1 and become the       
organizing centre of a new moral and    
spiritual life4 ,it is a power          
appointed--an inspiration given--to     
fetch by reverence a true religion  out 
of man1 and not1 by dictation1 to put   
one into him4    ,for this end1 it would
 not even be necessary that the bearers 
of the  divine element should be        
personally initiated into the counsels  
whose  ministers they are4 ,philosophy  
must know what it teaches2 but          
,inspiration1 in giving the intensest   
light to others1 may have a  dark side  
turned towards itself4 ,there is no     
irreverence in saying  this1 and no     
novelty3 on the contrary1 the idea has  
ever been familiar  to the most fervent 
men and ages1 of ,prophets who prepared 
a future  veiled from their own eyes1   
and saintly servants of heaven1 who drew
  to themselves a trust1 and wielded a  
power1 which their ever-upward  look    

never permitted them to guess4 ,nay1 to 
no one was this conception  less        
strange1 than to the very man who1 in   
his turn1 must now have it  applied to  
himself4 ,with the ,apostle ,paul it was
 a favorite notion1  that the entire    
plan of the ,divine government had been 
a profound  secret during the ages of   
its progress1 and was opening into clear
  view only at the hour of its          
catastrophe4 ,not only was there more in
  it than had been surmised1 but        
something utterly at variance with  all 
expectation4 ,its whole conception had  
remained unsuspected from  first to     
last2 undiscerned by the vision of      
seers1 and unapproached by  the guesses 
of the wise4 ,never absent from the mind
 of ,god1 and never  pausing in its     
course of execution1 it had yet evaded  
the notice of  all observers2 and       
winding its way through the throng of   
nations and  the labyrinth of centuries1
 the great ,thought had passed in       
disguise1  using all men and known of   

none4 ,nor was it only the pagan eye    
that1  for want of special revelation1  
had been detained in darkness1 or       
beguiled with the scenery of dreams4    
,the very people whose life was  the    
main channel of the ,divine purpose did 
not feel the tide of  tendency which    
they conveyed2 the patriarchs who fed   
their flocks near  its fountains1 the   
lawgiver who founded a state upon its   
banks1 the  priests whose temple poured 
blood into its waters1 and the prophets 
at  whose prayer the clouds of heaven   
dropped fresh purity into the           
stream1--all were unconscious of its    
course2 assigning it to regions  it     
should never visit1 and missing the     
point where it should be lost  in the   
sea4 ,nay1 ,paul seems to bring down    
this edge of darkness to a  later time2 
to include within it even the ministry  
of ,christ and the  ,galilean ,apostles2
 to imply that even they were           
unconscious  instruments of a scheme    
beyond the range of their immediate     

thought2  and that not till ,jesus had  
passed into the light of heaven did the 
time come for revealing1 through the man
 of ,tarsus1 the significance  of       
,messiah's earthly visit1 and its place 
in the great scheme of  things4 ,paul1  
in claiming this as his own special     
function1 certainly  implies that1      
previous to his call1 no one was in     
condition to  interpret the secret      
counsels of ,god in the historic        
development of  his providence4 ,he     
feels this to be no reflection on his   
predecessors1  no cause of elevation in 
himself2 steward as he is of a mighty   
mystery1 he is less than the least of   
all saints4 ,he simply stands at  the   
crisis when a conception is permitted to
 the world1 which even  the angels have 
vainly desired to look into2 and though 
he may see  more1 he is infinitely less 
than the ,prophets and the ,messiah     
whose  place it is given him to explain4
 ,he is but the interpreter1 they are   
the grand agencies interpreted4 ,he is  

but the discerning eye1 they are  the   
glorious objects on which it is fixed4  
,in seeking1 therefore1 for the divine  
element in older  dispensations1 the    
,apostle would assuredly not consult the
 projects  and beliefs of their founders
 and ministers4 ,in his view1 the very  
scheme of ,god was to work through these
 without their knowing what  they were  
about2 to let them aim at one thing     
while he was directing  them to another2
 to pour through their life and soul an 
energy which  should indeed fire their  
will and flow from their lips in their  
own  best purposes1 but steal quietly   
behind them for his2 so that what  was  
primary with them was perhaps evanescent
 with him2 while that  which was        
incidental1 and dropped from them       
unawares1 was the seed of  an eternal   
good4 ,what ,moses planned1 what ,david 
sung1 what ,isaiah led  the people to   
expect1 was not what ,heaven had at     
heart to execute4  ,even in quest of    
,god's thought in the ,christian        

dispensation1 ,paul  does not refer to  
the doctrines1 the precepts1 the        
miracles of ,jesus  during his ministry 
in ,palestine1--to the memorials of his 
life1 or  the testimony of his          
companions4 ,he assumes that1 at so     
early a date1  the time had not yet come
 for the truth to appear1 and that it   
was  vain to look for it in the         
preconceptions of the uncrucified and   
unexalted ,christ2 who was the religion1
 not in revelation1 but in  disguise4   
,if1 therefore1 any one had argued      
against the ,apostle thus3  ,why tell us
 to discard the law8 your ,master said  
he came to fulfil  it4 ,how do you      
venture to preach to the ,gentiles1 when
 ,jesus declared  his mission limited to
 the lost sheep of the house of ,israel8
 ,no  vestiges of your doctrine of free 
grace can be found in the parables1  or 
of redeeming faith in the ,sermon on the
 ,mount2--he would have  boldly replied1
 that this proves nothing against truths
 that are newer  than the life1 because 

expounded by the death1 of ,christ2 that
 ,god  reveals by action1 not by        
teaching2 that no servant of his can    
understand his own office till it is    
past2 and that only those who  look back
 upon it through the interpretation of  
events1 can read  aright the divine idea
 which it enfolds4    ,this view it was 
that made the ,apostle so bold an       
innovator1 and  filled his ,epistles    
with a system so different from that of 
the  synoptical ,gospels as almost to   
constitute a different religion4 ,he    
had seized the profound and sublime idea
 that1 when men are inspired1  the      
inspiration occupies1 not their         
conscious thought and will1 but  their  
unconscious nature2 laying a silent     
beauty on their affections1  secreting a
 holy wisdom in their life1 and1 through
 the sorrows of  faithfulness1 tempting 
their steps to some surprise of glory4  
,that  which they deliberately think1   
that which they anxiously elaborate1    
that which they propose to do1 is ever  

the product of their human  reason and  
volition1 and cannot escape the         
admixture of personal  fallibility4 ,but
 their free spontaneous nature speaks   
unawares1 like a  sweet murmuring from  
angels' dreams4 ,what they think without
 knowing  it1 what they say without     
thinking it1 what they do without saying
 it1  all the native pressures of their 
love and aspiration1 these are the      
hiding-place of ,god1 wherein abiding1  
he leaves their simplicity pure  and    
their liberty untouched4 ,the current of
 their reasoning and action  is         
determined by human conditions and      
material resistances2 but the  fountain 
in the living rock has waters that are  
divine4 ,if this be  true1 then must we 
search for the heavenly element in the  
latencies  rather than the prominencies 
of their life2 in what they were1       
rather than in what they thought to do2 
in the beliefs they felt  without       
announcing2 in the objects they         
accomplished1 but never  planned4 ,we   

must wait for their agency in history1  
and from the fruit  return to find the  
seed4    ,it is not peculiar to ,mr4    
,greg that1 in estimating ,christianity1
 he has  neglected1 and even reversed1  
this principle4 ,all who have treated of
 it  from the ,protestant point of view 
have done the same4 ,they have assumed  
that the religion was to be most clearly
 discerned at its commencement2  that   
the divine thought it contained would   
be1 not evolved1 but obscured  by time1 
and might be better detected in ideal   
shape at the beginning of  the ages1    
than realized at the end2 that its      
agents and inaugurators  must have been 
fully cognizant of its whole scope and  
contents1 and set  them in the open     
ground of their speech and practical    
career4 ,in the  minds of all           
,protestants the ,christian religion is 
identified  exclusively with the ideas  
of the first century1 with the creed of 
the  ,apostles1 with the teachings of   
,christ4 ,the ,new ,testament is its    

sole  depository1 in whose books there  
is nothing for which it is not          
answerable4 ,the consequence is a       
perpetual struggle between untenable    
dogma and unprofitable scepticism4 ,the 
whole structure of faith becomes        
precarious4 ,if ,luke and ,matthew      
should disagree about a date or a       
pedigree2 if ,mark should report a      
questionable miracle2 if ,john should   
mingle with his tenderness and depth    
some words of passionate  intolerance2  
if ,peter should misapply a psalm1 and  
,paul indite mistaken  prophecies2 above
 all1 if ,jesus should appear to believe
 in demonology1  and not to have        
foreseen the futurities of his          
,church1--these detected  specks are    
felt like a total eclipse2 affrighted   
faith hides its face  from them and     
shrieks2 and he who points them out1    
though only to show  how pure the orb   
that spreads behind1 is denounced as a  
prophet of evil4  ,the peaceful and holy
 centre of religion is shaken by storms 

of angry  erudition4 ,devout ingenuity  
or indevout acuteness spend themselves  
in  vitiating the impartial course of   
historical criticism2 neither of them   
reflecting1 that1 if the topics in      
dispute are open to reasonable doubt1   
they cannot be matter of revelation1 and
 may be calmly looked at as  objects of 
natural thought4 ,it is a thing alike   
dangerous and unbecoming  that religion 
should be narrowed to a miserable       
literary partisanship1  bound up with a 
disputed set of critical conclusions1   
unable to deliver  its title-deeds from 
a court of perpetual chancery1 whose    
decisions are  never final4 ,the time   
seems to have arrived for freeing the   
,protestant  ,christianity from its     
superstitious adhesion to the mere      
letter of the  ,gospel1 and trusting    
more generously to that permanent       
inspiration1  those ever-living sources 
of truth within the soul1 of which      
,gospel and  ,epistle1 the speeches of  
,apostles and the insight of ,christ1   

are the  pre-eminent1 rather than the   
lonely1 examples4 ,the primitive ,gospel
 is  not in its form1 but only in its   
spirit1 the everlasting ,gospel4 ,it is 
concerned1 and1 if we look to quantity  
alone1 chiefly concerned1  with         
questions that have ceased to exist1 and
 interests that no longer  agitate4 ,it 
often reasons from principles we do not 
own1 and is tinged  with feelings which 
we cannot share4 ,often do the most     
docile and open  hearts resort to it    
with reverent hopes which it does not   
realize1 and  close it with a sigh of   
self-reproach or disappointment4 ,with  
the deep  secrets of the conscience1 the
 sublime hopes1 the tender fears1 the   
infinite wonderings of the religious    
life1 it deals less altogether than  had
 been desired2 and in touching them does
 not always glorify and  satisfy the    
heart4 ,we are apt to long for some     
nearer reflection1 some  more immediate 
help1 of our existence in this present  
hour and this  ,english land1 where our 

enemies are not ,pharisees and          
,sadducees1 or our  controversies about 
,beelzebub and his demons2 but where we 
would fain  know how to train our       
children1 to subdue our sins1 to ennoble
 our lot1  to think truly of our dead4  
,the merchant1 the scholar1 the         
statesman1  the heads of a family1 the  
owner of an estate1 occupy a moral      
sphere1  the problems and anxieties of  
which1 it must be owned1 ,evangelists   
and  ,apostles do not approach4         
,scarcely can it be said that general   
rules are  given1 which include these   
particular cases4 ,for the ,christian   
,scriptures are singularly sparing of   
general rules4 ,they are eminently      
personal1 national1 local4 ,they tell us
 of ,martha and ,mary1 of ,nicodemus    
and ,nathaniel1 but give few maxims of  
human nature1 or large formulas of      
human life3 so that their spiritual     
guidance first becomes available  when  
its essence has been translated from the
 special to the universal1  and again   

brought down from the universal to the  
modern application4  ,they are felt to  
be an inadequate measure of our living  
,christianity1  and to leave untouched  
many earnest thoughts that aspire and   
pray within  the mind4 ,one divine gift1
 indeed1 they impart to us1--the        
gracious and  holy image of ,christ     
himself4 ,yet1 somehow1 even that sacred
 form  appears with more disencumbered  
beauty1 and in clearer light1 when      
regarded at a little distance in the    
pure spaces of our thought1 than  when  
seen close at hand on the historic      
canvas4 ,it is not that the ideal       
figure is a subjective fiction of our   
own1 more perfect than the real4  ,every
 lineament1 every gesture1 all the      
simple majesty1 all the deep            
expressiveness1 we conceive to be       
justified and demanded by the actual    
portraiture3 our least hesitating       
veneration sees nothing that is not     
there4 ,but the original artists'       
sympathy we feel to have been somewhat  

different from ours4 ,they have labored 
to exhibit aspects that move us  little2
 and only faintly marked the traces that
 to us are most divine4  ,the view is   
often broken1 the official dress turned 
into a disguise4 ,the  local groups are 
in the way2 the possessed and the       
perverse obtrude  themselves in front   
with too much noise2 and the refracting 
cloud of  prophecy and tradition is     
continually thrown between4 ,so that the
 image  has a distincter glory to the   
meditating mind than to the reading eye4
    ,all this1 oftener perhaps felt than
 confessed1 is perfectly natural  and   
innocent4 ,it betrays the instinctive   
analysis by which our own  affections   
separate the divine from the human4     
,paul was right in his  principle1 that 
in history the divine element lies hid2 
is missed at  the time1 even by those   
who are its vehicle2 and does not parade
  itself in what they consciously       
design1 but lurks in what they          
unconsciously execute4 ,it comes forth  

at the end of the ages1--the  retrospect
 of fifty generations instead of the    
foresight of one4 ,this  doctrine is    
true of individuals1 in proportion as   
they are great and  good4 ,they labor at
 what is most difficult to them1 and    
make it their  end2 but their appointed 
power lies in what is easiest4 ,they    
chiefly  prize the beliefs and the      
virtues most painfully won2 but their   
highest truth dwells in the trusts they 
cannot help1 and their purest  influence
 in the graces they never willed1 or    
knew to be their own4  ,and it is true  
in history2 ,paul himself signally      
illustrating the rule  which he had     
applied to earlier times4 ,he had found1
 as he supposed1  the ,providence of the
 ,past1 which all had missed1 from      
,moses to  ,christ2 but in his turn he  
missed1 as we perceive1 the ,providence 
of  the ,future1 from himself to us4    
,the kind of agency which he            
anticipated for ,christ bears no        
resemblance to that which his religion  

has actually exercised4 ,the only fault 
we can find with ,mr4 ,thom's  admirable
 exposition is1 that he attributes to   
the ,apostle too  distinct an           
apprehension of ,christ as an           
impersonation of moral  perfection2 and 
supposes the purpose of the ,pauline    
,christianity to  have been the         
establishment1 as sole condition of     
discipleship1 of  reverential sympathy  
with the type of character realized in  
the  ,galilean life of ,jesus4 ,he      
says3--    ,in contrast with such       
teachers 7the ,ritual and the           
,dogmatic71 ,st4  ,paul1 in our present 
chapter 7#a ,corinthians ii471 refers   
both to the  matter and the manner of   
his own ministration of the ,gospel4 ,he
  did not teach it as a ,rhetorician1 to
 attract admiration to himself1  and    
give more lively impressions of ,paul   
the ,orator than of ,christ the         
,redeemer from sin1 nor as a            
,philosopher1 to raise doubtful         
questions  on metaphysical subjects1 and

 become the leader of a speculative     
school2 but as the ,apostle of ,jesus   
,christ1 he proclaimed to the  hearts of
 men the practical and life-giving      
,gospel1 that ',god was in  ,christ     
reconciling the world unto himself'2    
that by the universal  ,saviour all     
distinctions were for ever destroyed1   
and the whole family  of ,god to grow   
into the common likeness of that        
well-beloved ,son1--for  that now       
neither circumcision availeth anything1 
nor uncircumcision1  but the renewal of 
the affections after the image of the   
,lord4 ,where  could an entrance be     
found for party divisions in a doctrine 
that  professed nothing1 that aimed at  
nothing1 except to awaken the           
consciousness of sin within the heart1  
and1 through trust in the ,god  of      
holiness and love revealed in ,jesus1 to
 lead it to repentance and  life8 ,all  
who felt this love of ,christ           
constraining them1 cleansing  their     
souls by the divine image that had taken

 possession of their  affections1 and1  
through the mercy it proclaimed1        
encouraging their  penitence to look for
 pardon from their ,god1 must1 of       
necessity1 be  one communion2 for this  
,gospel sentiment and hope could create 
no  divisions amongst those who had     
it1--and those who had it not were      
outside the ,christian pale1 and1 so    
far1 could make no schisms within  it4  
,now1 whence comes this ,gospel         
sentiment1 this new principle of  life8 
,were there any who had the exclusive   
power of communicating it8  ,did it     
require to be introduced by any         
intricate reasonings1 by any  subtle    
dialectics1 which only the ,masters in  
philosophy had at their  command8 ,not  
so1 says ,st4 ,paul2--it is a spiritual 
feeling1 excited  by moral sympathy1 as 
soon as ,christ is offered to the hearts
 that are  susceptible of the           
sentiment2--and in whatever bosom there 
is not  enough of the ,spirit of ,god to
 cause that moral attraction to take    

place1 neither philosophy nor outward   
forms1 nor aught else but the  divine   
image of goodness kept before the heart1
 can awaken the  slumbering             
sensibilities which are the very        
faculties of spiritual  apprehension1   
and which1 as soon as they are alive1   
behold in ,christ  the solution of their
 own struggling and imperfect existence1
 their  ideal and their rest4 ,in regard
 to a sentiment so spiritual1 a         
sympathy with the image of ,god1 where  
is the possibility of  introducing party
 divisions1 and violating ,christian    
unity8 ,there can  be but two           
parties1--those that have the sentiment1
 and those that  have it not4 ,all      
,christians constitute the one1--and as 
for the other1  in relation to          
,christian unity1 they are not in       
question4 ,such is the  argument of ,st4
 ,paul in this second chapter4--p4 #cj4 
,it may be quite true that the essential
 power of ,christianity resides  in the 
image1 ever present to the heart of     

,christendom1 of a ,god  resembling     
,christ1 and loving those who aspire to 
approach him through  the same          
resemblance4 ,but we cannot find any    
traces of such a  conception in the     
writings of ,paul4 ,the faith on which  
he  exclusively insisted would be very  
incorrectly defined1 we conceive1  as a 
reverence of ,christ's character as     
morally like ,god4 ,if we may  judge    
from the negative evidence of his       
letters1 he appears to have  had no     
insight into the interior of his        
,master's earthly life1 and no  great   
concern about it4 ,there is an entire   
absence of any moral  picture of ,jesus1
 who is presented in the ,apostolic     
writings as an  object1 not of          
retrospective veneration1 but of        
expectant reliance2  not of admiring    
trust for personal qualities realized in
 a past  career1 but of hope grounded on
 his official destiny in the future4    
,one beauty of his character is1 indeed1
 appealed to in the ,pauline  writings1 

viz4 his humility and                   
self-renunciation2#ed but even this  is 
recognized1 not on historical1 but on   
theocratic grounds2 it is  illustrated1 
not by anything in his life1 but by the 
fact of his  death1 conceived as a      
voluntary postponement of his theocratic
  prerogatives1 and an abrogation of his
 exclusive nationality4 ,he was a       
spiritual object to the ,apostle of the 
,gentiles1 not from perception  of the  
inner marks and graces of his spirit1   
but from his being  invisible and       
immortal1 reserved in heaven under      
external escape from  the conditions of 
earthly life4 ,mr4 ,thom's doctrine is a
 happy  development of modern truth from
 ancient error2 but regarded as a mere  
interpretation1 it perhaps sets down to 
the ,apostle's account a just  moral    
appreciation of the past1 instead of an 
erroneous conception of  the ,providence
 of the future4 ,the religion of ,christ
 has assuredly  turned out a very       
different phenomenon from anything that 

was  anticipated at its origin4 ,it was 
announced as a ,kingdom2 as the king    
did not come1 it became a ,republic4 ,it
 was conceived as a ,state2 it  grew up 
into a ,faith4 ,it was proclaimed as the
 world's end2 it proved  to be a fresh  
beginning4 ,it was to consummate the    
,law and the  ,prophets2 and it         
confounded both4 ,it was to cover ,pagan
 nations with  shame and destruction2 it
 embalmed their literature1 and was     
transformed by their philosophy4 ,it was
 to deliver over the earth to  the pure 
and severe ,monotheism of the ,hebrews2 
which1 however1 it so  relaxed as to    
provoke ,islam into existence to        
proclaim again the  monarchy of ,god4   
,its subjects were to be gathered from  
the ,jews and  half-castes of the       
,eastern ,synagogue2 and its most signal
 glories have  been among the ,teutonic 
nations1 and the then unsuspected       
continents  of the ,west4 ,in every     
element of its internal power1 in every 
direction of its external action1 it has

 burst all the proportions1  left behind
 all the expectations1 with which it was
 born2 and how can  we continue to try  
it by the standard of its origin8 ,are  
we to say1  that1 having promised one   
thing and become another1 it is not of  
,god8  ,that might be well1 if it had   
fallen short of its own                 
professions1--disappointed us of dreams 
it had awakened of glory and  delight4  
,but if it has been far better than its 
word2 if1 instead of  winding up the    
world's affairs1 it has given them a new
 career2 if  for ,messiah's tame        
millennium we have the grand and        
struggling life of  ,christendom1 and   
for his closed books of judgment the yet
 open page of  human history2 if for the
 earthly throne and sceptre of ,christ1 
sweeping away the treasures of past     
civilization1 we have his heavenly      
image and spirit1 presiding over the    
re-birth of art1 the awakening of       
thought1 the direction of law1 and the  
organism of nations2 if from  the       

dignity of outward sovereignty he has   
been raised to that of ,lord  of the    
living conscience1 not superseding the  
soul1 but exercising it  with sorrow and
 aspiration2 then1 surely1 in so        
outstripping itself1  the religion      
should win a more exceeding measure of  
trust and  affection4 ,had it only      
realized its first assurances1 we should
 have  thought it divine2 since it has  
so much surpassed them1 we must esteem  
it diviner4 ,there is no reason for the 
common assumption that a  religion must 
be purest in its infancy4 ,it is no less
 surrounded then1  than at each         
subsequent time1 with human conditions1 
and transmitted  through human          
faculties2 and when delivered to the    
world1 embodied in  action or in speech1
 necessarily presents itself as a mixed 
product of  divine insight and of human 
thought1--of the living present and the 
decaying past2 a flash of heavenly fire 
on the outspread fuel upon the  altar of
 tradition4 ,so it is with the          

,scriptures of the ,new ,testament2     
which are not the heavenly source1 but  
the first earthly result and  expression
 of ,christianity1 and which present the
 perishable  conditions as well as the  
indestructible life of the religion4    
,only by  the course of time and        
,providence can these be disengaged from
 one  another1 and the accidents of     
place and nation fall away4 ,if there   
dwell in the midst a divine productive  
element1 the further it passes  from the
 moment of its nativity1 the clearer and
 more august will it  appear4 ,it is    
like the seed dropped at first on an    
unprepared and  unexpectant ground2     
which in its earliest development yields
 but a  struggling and scanty growth1   
but each season1 as another generation  
of leaves falls from the boughs1 becomes
 the source1 through richer  nutriment1 
of fuller forms2 till at length1 when it
 has spread the  foliage of ages1 making
 its own soil1 and deepening the        
luxuriance of  its own roots1 a forest  

in all its glory covers the land1 and   
waves in  magnificence over continents  
once bare of life and beauty4 ,so is it 
with the germ of divine truth cast upon 
the inhospitable conditions of  history2
 it is small and feeble in its earlier  
day2 but when it has  provided the      
aliment of its own growth1 and shed its 
reproductive  treasures on the congenial
 mind of generations and races1 it      
starts  into the proportions of a       
,christendom1 and becomes the shade and 
shelter of a world4    ,much1 therefore1
 as we value all attempts to illustrate 
the first  records of ,christianity1 and
 to detach what was purely human and    
transient in its original form1 we think
 that the religion itself  cannot       
acknowledge the competency of such      
investigations to decide  upon its      
claims4 ,from a verdict on its first    
works1 it has a right  to appeal for    
judgment upon the whole4 ,it is the     
religion1 not of  ,john and ,paul alone1
 but of ,christendom2 without a         

comparative  estimate of whose moral and
 social genius1 it can by no means be   
appreciated4 ,the weakness and          
inadequacy of all narrower methods of   
defence will in the end drive the clergy
 to occupy this larger basis  of        
operations4 ,and the change will be not 
more favorable to the logic  of their   
cause than to the charity of their      
disposition4 ,so long as  the           
,scriptures alone are taken as the      
standard1 no more than one  creed1 at   
most1 can be regarded as concurrent with
 the ,christian  faith4 ,but when the   
entire existence of the religion through
 eighteen  centuries is adopted as the  
measure1 the very interests of advocacy 
themselves require that the best        
construction rather than the worst be   
put upon the errors and eccentricities  
of all churches within the  compass of  
,christendom4 ,the evidences would1 in  
that case1 be  destroyed by             
exclusiveness1 and widened in their     
foundations by  comprehensiveness of    

temper2 and the firmness of every       
disciple's  faith and the energy of his 
zeal would become assurances1 not of his
  limitation of mind1 but of his        
largeness of heart4 ,instead of endless 
divisions1 multiplied in the search     
after unity1 we might hope to see  the  
lines of separation become ever fainter2
 and every test of  ,christianity       
withdrawn except that of moral sympathy 
with the spirit  of ,christ2 a test     
which1 as ,god alone can apply it1 man  
cannot abuse2  and according to which   
many that1 in the ecclesiastic roll1    
have been  first1 shall be last1 and the
 last first4    ,,footnote3    #ed ,see 
,philippians ii4 #e-aa4          ,,the  
,,ethics ,,of ,,christendom4        ,the
 ,temporal ,benefits of ,christianity   
exemplified in its      ,influence on   
the ,social1 ,intellectual1 ,civil1 and 
,political      ,condition of ,mankind1 
from its first ,promulgation to the     
present      ,day4 ,by ,,robert         
,,blakey4 ,london4 #ahdi4        ,small 

,books on ,great ,subjects4 ,edited by a
 few ,well-,wishers to      ,knowledge4 
,no4 #ai4 ,on the ,state of ,man        
subsequent to the      ,promulgation of 
,christianity4 ,london4 #ahea4          
,the ,connection of ,morality with      
,religion2 a ,sermon1 preached in       
the ,cathedral of ,st4 ,patrick1 at an  
,ordination held by the ,lord           
,archbishop of ,dublin1 ,sunday1        
,september #ba1 #ahea4 ,by ,,william    
,,fitzgerald1 ,a4,m41 ,vicar of ,st4    
,ann's1 and ,professor of ,moral        
,philosophy in the ,university of       
,dublin4 ,london4 #ahea4      ,of these 
works1 the third treats theoretically1  
the others practically1  of the relation
 of ,christianity to human nature4 ,the 
preacher seeks in  the natural          
conscience for the moral ground and     
receptacle of  revelation2 while the    
historians trace its moral operation in 
society  and life4 ,were both tasks     
perfectly performed1 we should be       
furnished  with a complete image of the 

religion at once in its idea and its    
expression2 should be able definitely to
 compare its promise with its           
achievements and to submit it1 as a     
whole1 to philosophical  appreciation4  
,but the two halves of the subject are  
exhibited with very  unequal success4   
,it is much easier to show the intended 
than the actual  influence of the       
,christian faith upon the character of  
its  disciples1--to determine by a      
priori methods what it must be1 than  by
 an a posteriori induction to estimate  
what it has been1 and is4  ,mr4         
,fitzgerald1 as becomes a professor of  
ethical science1 has well  contended    
that the religion which he recommends   
from the pulpit is  neither indifferent 
nor supercilious towards the morals     
which he teaches  from the ,university  
chair1--but assumes their obligation1   
appeals to  their authority1 and1 in its
 mode of reconciling the human will with
 the  ,divine1 raises them into eternal 
sanctities4 ,it addresses itself to man 

as a being already conscious of         
responsibility2 and simply proposes to  
restore reason and conscience to that   
supremacy in fact which of  right they  
can never lose4 ,how far has this aim   
been visibly realized8  ,are the traces 
of a ,divine renovation clear upon the  
face of  ,christendom8 ,is there the    
difference between ancient ,greece and  
modern  ,england1 or between the empire 
and the papacy of ,rome1 which might be 
expected between an unregenerate world  
and a regenerate8 ,the historical       
answer to these questions is attempted  
by ,mr4 ,blakey1 with perhaps  adequate 
resources of knowledge1 but with so     
imperfect an apprehension  of the       
requisites of his argument1 that his    
book1 though often  instructive in      
detail1 is altogether ineffective as a  
whole4 ,he is  content to select and    
enumerate the most salient and favorable
 points in  the transition from ancient 
to modern civilization1 and to set them 
down  to the credit of ,christianity2   

without care to disengage the action of 
concurrent causes1 or to balance the    
account by reference to more            
questionable effects4 ,a much finer     
analysis is needed1 in order to draw    
from history its real testimony on this 
great matter2 and nothing can  well be  
more arbitrary1 than to stroll through  
some fifteen centuries1  and1 gathering 
up none but the most picturesque and    
beneficent  phenomena1 weave them into a
 glory to crown the faith with which    
they  co-exist4 ,in ,christendom1 all   
the great and good things that are done 
at  all will of course be done by       
,christians1 and will contain such share
 of  the religious element as may belong
 to the character of the actor or the   
age2 but before you can avail yourself  
of them in ,christian  ,apologetics1 it 
must be shown that1 under any other     
faith1 no social  causes would have     
remained adequate either to produce them
 or to provide  any worthy equivalent4  
,because ,charlemagne1 after baptizing  

the ,saxons  in their own blood1        
displayed a better zeal by establishing 
cathedral  and conventual schools1      
therefore to put the horn-book of the   
liberal  arts into the hand of his      
religion1 while leaving the wet sword to
 stain  his own2 because chivalry       
blended in its vow fear of ,god with    
love  of the ladies1 therefore to trace 
all loyalty and courtesy to the         
doctrine of the ,church2 because the    
medival schoolmen imported into  every  
science the canons of ,divinity1 and    
decided between ,realism and            
,nominalism on eucharistic principles1  
therefore to give the priesthood  all   
the honors of modern philosophy and     
intellectual liberty1--is1 to  say the  
least1 very vulnerable logic and very   
superficial history4 ,of a  far superior
 order is the little book ,on the ,state
 of ,man subsequent to  the             
,promulgation of ,christianity4 ,in a   
previous treatise1 ,on the ,state  of   
,man before the ,promulgation of        

,christianity1 the author had passed    
under rapid review the ancient systems  
of civilization1--stationary1           
progressive1 aggressive2 and having     
seized on their characteristic          
features1 he now brings with him        
determinate points of comparison into   
his survey of the post-,apostolic times4
 ,the view which he spreads  beneath    
your eye of the world1 as it lay ready  
to afford a channel for  the ,christian 
faith1 is remarkable for breadth and    
truth4 ,conducting  you1 with the wide  
picture in your mind1 to the pure       
head-spring in  ,galilee1 and keeping   
close to the stream as it descends and  
opens from  these sequestered heights1  
he enables you to see1 reach by reach1  
where  it fertilizes and where it       
destroys2 the new fields of life it     
enters1  the old landmarks of habit it  
overwhelms4 ,the author is not more     
familiar with the ,christian ,apologists
 and ,fathers1 than with the later      
,latin and revived ,greek literature    

from ,trajan to ,aurelian2 and by       
skilfully noting the moments when ,pagan
 and ,christian life not only  stood in 
silent co-presence1 but came into active
 contact1 he brings out  into clear     
relief the new type of character which  
formed itself within  the communities of
 disciples4 ,that type is so strikingly 
original1 its  features so conspicuously
 express an order of passions and ideas 
strange  alike to the ,hellenic and the 
,italian races1 as to betray the        
creative  action of some vast moral     
power unborrowed from the established   
civilization4 ,when the free ,roman     
breaks the bread of communion with      
slaves1--when the slippery ,syrian      
forswears lying and theft1--when the    
heedless ,greek changes his eagerness of
 the moment into a living for           
eternity1--when a people ignorant of    
,stoic maxims display a contempt of     
torture and death sublimer than the     
ideal of the ,porch1--an influence is   
plainly at work which has penetrated to 

hitherto unawakened depths of  the human
 soul4 ,the phenomenon is the more      
impressive1 when regard is  had to the  
materials from which the early          
,christian communities were  gathered4  
,it cannot be imagined that they were   
composed of elements  particularly      
choice2 and1 indeed1 amid the universal 
corruption of  morals and exhaustion of 
wholesome life1 it is difficult to      
conceive  how1 if the ,christian        
doctrine had enforced a rigorous        
selection1  instead of indiscriminately 
inviting innocence and guilt1 any decent
  elements could have been collected4   
,without adopting ,gibbon's             
contemptuous estimate of the body of    
primitive believers1 we cannot  doubt   
that it comprised very mixed            
ingredients2 we know that it  contained 
great numbers of the servile class1 and 
very few whose station  and culture gave
 them access to the higher ideas        
familiar to the schools  of philosophy3 
yet from these unpromising sources arose

 a society1  which1 in severity of      
morals1 in intensity of affection1 in   
heroism of  endurance1 reversed the     
habits of the world to which they       
belonged4 ,it  seems to us an idle      
question for sceptical criticism to     
raise1 whether  the religion of ,christ 
comprised in its teachings any ethical  
element  absolutely new4 ,if genius had 
conceived it all before1 life had not   
produced it till now2 and the more you  
affirm the philosophers'  competency to 
think it1 the more do you convict them  
of inability to  realize it4 ,but in    
morals scarcely can there be clear      
intellectual  conception of principles  
not yet embodied in living character4   
,as in the  highest works of art1 the   
thing seen is far other than the thing  
imagined and described2 not doctrines1  
but persons1 are here the only          
expression of the truth2 and till they  
appear1 ethical forms are but as  the   
human clay without the vital fire4 ,in  
the statement of thought1  the early    

,christians1 not excepting the          
,scripture writers1 are rude and        
unskilled2 and a taste formed from the  
study of ,plato and ,seneca may be      
offended by the rusticity of ,mark1 and 
the abruptness of ,paul4 ,but  whoever  
can rise above the level of a merely    
intellectual critique1 and  embrace1    
with our anonymous author1 the whole    
phenomenon of the first  centuries of   
our era1 will see a glow of self-denying
 faith1 and a deep  movement of         
conscience1 affording manifest          
announcement of a new edition  of human 
nature4    ,that edition has now been   
extant for many centuries2 and is       
variously  legible in the literature1   
the institutions1 the private manners of
  ,christendom4 ,the ,christian ideal of
 human life lies as an open book  before
 us2 yet as a book so various in its    
versions1 and so overlaid  with         
comments1 that the fresh flavor of its  
language1 and even the finer  essence of
 its thought1 are in danger of being    

lost4 ,the actual  ,christianity of each
 successive age1 and each contemporary  
nation1 is  the express result1 not only
 in its dogma1 but in its life1 of two  
component terms1--a given matter1 and a 
given faculty of faith4  ,however full  
and constant the former may be in       
itself1 the latter is  perpetually      
variable with the knowledge and passions
 of the time1 and  the special genius of
 individual leaders2 nor can this       
variation of  insight in the mind fail  
to neutralize some portion of truth1 and
 to  give disproportionate magnitude to 
others4 ,the data supplied by           
inspiration itself form no exception to 
this rule4 ,delivered into the  charge  
of the human soul1 they fall into the   
moulds of its recipient  nature1 take   
their immediate form from the laws of   
its life1 and are  reacted on from its  
independent activity4 ,the immutable    
custody of  anything by a finite        
thinking subject1 involves the most     
evident  contradiction2 the very contact

 with human intelligence reduces        
universal truth to partial1 the         
permanent to the variable1 the secure to
  the contingent4 ,it is only in the    
essential ,unity of ,reason and         
,conscience in every age1 that we find  
the means of correcting the  aberrations
 and verifying the insight of all       
particular men4 ,not that we  are to    
conceive of the human race collectively 
as one large person1 of  which          
individual minds are vital organs1 and  
which has a necessary  growth and       
development1 entitling each century to  
boast of advance  beyond its            
predecessors4 ,we know of no spiritual  
units1 of no  personalities1 except each
 single and separate will2 nor do we    
find  anything in their mutual relation 
which necessarily determines them to    
uninterrupted improvement1 and excludes 
the encroachment of degeneracy  and     
falsehood4 ,indeed1 no sorrier product  
is there of human conceit and  ignorance
 than the cant of progress1 which       

assumes that every newest  phase of     
thought is wisest4 ,but if all men are  
endowed with radically  the same        
faculties1 however various in their     
intensities and  proportions1 there is a
 court of appeal in permanent sitting1  
where the  normal laws of intellectual  
and moral apprehension are administered 
against all provincial prejudices and   
transient verdicts of error4 ,in  the   
long run1 the healthy perceptions of    
good eyes will outvote the  discoloring 
effects of all ophthalmic epidemics1 how
 obstinate and wide  soever they may be4
 ,and the moral vision of mankind will  
no less  vindicate its natural rights1  
by returning again and again into clear 
discernments1 and settled admirations1  
and discharging the illusory  forms and 
false tints of each separate age4 ,to   
deny the ethical  competency of the mind
 for this office1--to say that there is 
no power  given for deciding what1 among
 the claimants on reverence1 is really  
noble1 true1 and good1--is1 with all its

 pietistic pretences1 an act of  the    
profoundest scepticism1 washing away1 as
 a quicksand1 the only rock  on which   
any faith can be built4 ,it is to treat 
the durable source of  truth as         
evanescent and uncertain1 and shut out  
the possibility of all  religion4 ,on   
the other hand1 to set up and idolize   
the life and thought  of any one time as
 an unquestionable rule for all times1  
and stereotype  it for unmodified       
reproduction1 is to treat the evanescent
 as the  durable1 and build on whatever 
stands above the water1 heedless whether
  it be the quicksand or the rock4 ,yet1
 strange to say1 this particular        
superstition1 and that general          
unbelief1--an apparent antithesis of    
error1--usually meet in the same mind1  
and constitute together the chief       
theology of most visible churches4      
,having deposed and insulted the        
eternal sanctities1 they coax and       
flatter the letter of ,scripture to     
accept the vacant throne1 and exchange  

the holy modesty of its  administration 
for a universal empire of pretence4     
,they drain off the  springs of         
inspiration at their fountain-head1 and 
turn all history into  a plain of sand1 
that they may magnify their ,hebrew     
reservoir as the  world's sole supply2  
forgetting that1 when cut off from the  
running  waters1 the choicest store     
loses its fresh virtues1 and the fairest
  lake1 shut up without exit1 turns into
 a ,dead ,sea4 ,in contradiction of     
both errors1 we shall assume that       
transitory elements cannot fail to mix  
themselves with the expression of the   
purest inspiration1--the horizon  of    
human relations and expressible things  
around even the divinest soul  being    
limited2 and that1 as the inspiration   
tries itself upon age after  age1       
bringing into distinct consciousness now
 one side of truth and now  another1 it 
becomes more and more possible to find  
its essence and  eliminate its          
accidents1 to save its catholic beauties

 apart from its  sectional distortions4 
,the ,christian ideal of life is not to 
be looked  for in what is special to the
 ,crusader or the ,quaker1--to ,puritan 
or  ,cavalier1--to ,platonists of the   
second century or ,aristotelians of the 
twelfth1--to ,aquinas or ,luther1--to   
,john or ,paul2 but in such sentiment   
as was common to them all1 and attached 
to them as citizens of  ,christendom4   
,when this element is disengaged from   
all that encumbers it1  it will be found
 pervading and animating still whatever 
is noblest in  our modern life2 while   
all that is narrow1 and weak1 and       
unworthy in the  moral doctrine of our  
age1 springs from a forced attempt to   
perpetuate  the accidental modes of the 
,apostolic period4    ,every one is     
sensible of a change in the whole       
climate of thought and  feeling1 the    
moment he crosses any part of the       
boundary which divides  ,christian      
civilization from ,heathendom2 yet of   
nothing is it more  difficult to render 

any compendious account4 ,it is easy to 
enumerate in  detail the phenomena which
 are modified or disappear2 just as on  
entering a new physical region the      
travelling naturalist may register  the 
new species of plants and animals1 that1
 one after another1 present  themselves 
to his research4 ,but these do not paint
 the scene before even  the learned eye2
 they are the separate out-comings of a 
great  life-thrill1 into whose current  
their roots penetrate2 the landscape1 as
  a whole1 speaks differently to the    
mind1 and the whole heaven and earth    
seem pregnant with a thought unfelt     
before4 ,to read off that thought1      
requires an apprehension the converse of
 the analytic vision of science4  ,the  
same difficulty occurs when we endeavor 
to seize the latent  principle of a     
natural realm of history4 ,such         
principle1 however1 there  must be4     
,beneath all the moving tides of        
,christian thought there lie  still     
depths that supply them all1 and a      

centre of equilibrium around  which they
 sweep4 ,we believe that the fundamental
 idea of ,christendom  may be described 
to be the ascent through ,conscience    
into communion  with ,god4 ,other       
religions have lent their sanctions to  
morality1 and  announced the ,divine    
commands to the human will2 but only as 
the laws of  an outward monarch within  
whose sovereignty we lie1 and who1      
ruling in  virtue of his almightiness1  
has a right to obedience1 ordain as he  
will4  ,other religions1 again1 have    
aimed at a union with ,god4 ,but the    
conditions of this union1 dictated by   
misleading conceptions of the  ,divine  
nature1 have missed on every side the   
true level of human dignity  and peace4 
,manichism1 deifying the antithesis of  
matter1 takes the path  of ascetic      
suppression of the body4 ,the ,indian   
,pantheist1 imagining the  ,divine      
,abyss as the realm of night and        
infinite negation1 strives to  hold in  
the breath and sink into self-annulment4

 ,plato1 seeing in ,god  the essence of 
thought1 demands science and beauty1 not
 less than  goodness1 as the needful    
notes of harmony with him1 and appoints 
the  approach to heaven by academic     
ways4 ,the modern ,quietists1           
worshipping a  ,being too much the      
reflection of their own tenderness1 have
 lost  themselves in soft affections1   
relaxing to the nerves of duty1 and     
unseemly in the face of eternal law4    
,christianity alone has neither  crushed
 the soul by mere submission1 like      
,mohammedanism2 nor melted it  away in  
the tides of infinite being1 like       
,pantheistic faiths2 but has  saved the 
good of both1 by establishing the union 
with ,god through a  free act of the    
individual soul4 ,assigning to him a    
transcendent moral  nature1 sensitive to
 the same distinctions1 conservative of 
the same  solemnities1 which awe and    
kindle us1 it singles out the conscience
 as  the field where we are to meet     
him1--where the bridge will be found of 

transit between the human and the       
divine4 ,no fear or servility remains   
with an obedience consisting1 not in    
mystic acts and artificial habits1  but 
in the free play of natural goodness2   
and rendered1 not in homage to  a       
,supreme ,autocrat1 but in sympathy with
 a ,mind itself the infinite            
impersonation of all the sanctities4    
,nor are any dizzy and perilous  flights
 incurred by a devotion which meets its 
great ,inspirer in no  foreign heaven1  
but in the higher walks of this home    
life1 and misses  him only in what is   
mean and low4 ,the place assigned in    
,christianity to  the moral sentiments  
and affections has no parallel in any   
other  religion4 ,the whole faith is as 
an unutterable sigh after an ideal      
perfection4 ,holiness eternal in heaven1
 incarnate on earth1 and to be  realized
 in men1--this is the circle of         
conceptions in which it moves4  ,its    
very name for the ,inspiration which    
mediates all its work1 expresses  the   

same thing4 ,it is not simply an 1--not 
1--not  1--but the  4 ,the ,dmon of     
,socrates--the least  heathenish of     
heathen men--was but an intellectual    
guide1 and checked  his erring judgment2
 the ,holy ,spirit guards the vigils of 
duty1 and  succors the disciple's       
tempted will4 ,this profound sense of   
interior  amity with ,god through       
faithfulness to our highest possibility1
 appears  in the ,christian ,scriptures 
under two forms1--the positive and the  
negative1--each the complement of the   
other4 ,in the ,gospel1 ,jesus  himself1
 as befits the saintly mind lifted above
 the strife of passion1  describes the  
aspiration after goodness as the native 
guidance of the  soul to her source and 
refuge4 ,in the ,epistles1 ,paul1       
pouring forth the  confessions of a     
fiery nature1 proclaims the sense of sin
 to be the  contracted hinderance that  
bars the ascent1 and against which the  
wings  of the struggling will beat only 
to grow faint4 ,these representations   

are evidently but the two sides of the  
same doctrine seen from the  heavenly   
and from the earthly position4 ,whether 
we are told what the  good heart will   
find1 or what the guilty must lose1 the 
lesson equally  recognizes the ,divine  
authority of conscience4 ,the           
benediction and the  curse are but the  
bright and the dark hemisphere of one   
perfect truth4  ,the ,apostle1 standing 
in the shadow of the world's night1 and 
regarding  its averted face1 dwells on  
the gloom of alienation1--the foolish   
heart  that is darkened1--the reprobate 
mind from which ,god is hid4 ,christ1   
conscious of the holy light1 and knowing
 how it penetrates the folds of  willing
 natures1 and wakes what else would     
sleep1 speaks rather of the  glory that 
is not denied1 and utters that deepest  
of blessings1--,the  pure in heart shall
 see ,god4 ,to this bright side also the
 ,pauline view  in the end comes round4 
,for though in him we miss that         
recognition of a  natural human goodness

 which gives such grace and sweetness to
 many of  the parables2 though in his   
scheme the human will has not only      
betrayed  its trust1 but hopelessly     
crippled its powers2 yet he does not    
leave it  in the collapse of paralysis1 
with the hard saying that it can in no  
wise lift up itself1 but points to a    
hope that bends over it from above4     
,the soul that is too far gone to act1  
may still be capable of love2 if  unable
 to trust itself1 it may trust another2 
if it cannot command its  volitions1 it 
may surrender its affections2 can       
reverence1 can aspire1  can yield its   
hand1 like a child1 to an angel of      
deliverance4 ,beyond the  precincts of  
this world is an ,image of divine       
excellence and  beauty1--one recently   
withdrawn from human history1 and soon  
to have a  more august return4 ,it is   
but to turn the eye and give the heart  
to that  ideal and immortal perfection1 
and in the light of so pure a love1 the 
clouds will clear from the conscience1  

and lift themselves as a  nightmare     
away2 the lame will1 forgetting its     
infirmities1 will spring  up and walk2  
and the restoration1 impossible by      
flight from deformity  and ill1 will    
come through the attraction of a ,divine
 sanctity and  goodness4 ,thus does the 
,apostle snatch the disciple at last    
into the  right perceptions which       
,christ assumes to be possible at first2
 and in  both its primitive developments
 the ,christian religion implies the    
communion of man with ,god through      
purity of heart4    ,to this sentiment1 
conveyed with living realization in the 
person of  ,jesus ,christ1 may be       
referred whatever is distinctively great
 in  ,christian ethics4 ,proposing1 as  
an end within their reach1 the ascent of
  the soul to a divine life1 and as the 
means1 a simple surrender to its  own   
highest intimations1 they have melted   
away the interval between  earthly and  
heavenly natures1--not by humanizing    
,god1 but by  consecrating man4 ,in     

treating the lower desires of sense and 
self as the  steams that intercept1 the 
tender reverences as the clear air that 
transmits1 the light of lights1 they    
have struck the deepest truth of  human 
consciousness4 ,hence the temper of     
aspiration1--the earnest  ideality1--the
 sense of infinite want1 with faith in  
infinite  possibilities1--the sorrowful 
unrest in the present1 with             
irrepressible  struggle for a better    
future1--which are impressed on the     
poetry1 the  art1 the social life of    
,christendom4 ,unlike the expression of 
the  ,hellenic mind1 they are rather a  
prayer for what might be1 than a joy in 
what is4 ,hence1 too1 the predominance  
of the psychological and  subjective    
element in the philosophy of modern     
times1 and the conversion  of the       
ancient metaphysics into the form of    
mental science4 ,man  would never have  
ceased to be merged in nature1 and      
registered merely as  a part of its     
contents2 his self-knowledge would not  

have vindicated its  independent rights2
 his mind would not have been recognized
 as the court  of record for the moral  
legislation of the universe1--had not   
his  religion taken him deep into       
himself1 and from a new point shown him 
his  relation to all else2 kindling his 
own consciousness to a point of  intense
 brilliancy1 in correspondence with a   
divine centre1 which must  be sought on 
the same axis of being1--like the two   
determining foci of  an infinite curve1 
that find each other out1 while the     
realm of  determined nature lies around1
 as the configured area1 or the bounding
  curve4 ,of the external world1 indeed1
 too little account has been made  in   
the faith of ,christians4 ,they have not
 cared to recognize it as the  shrine of
 immanent ,deity2--have stood in uneasy 
relations to it2 often  inimical to it2 
sometimes trying to get rid of it as an 
illusion2  usually regarding it as a    
foreign object1 like a great statue on  
the  stage of being1 with only stony    

eyes and ears for the real play of      
passions that whirl around4 ,existence1 
in its essence1 has been felt as  an    
interview between man and ,god1 at which
 space and nature have been             
collaterally present1 but in which it   
was not apparent what they had to  do4  
,physical science and the plastic arts  
may have reason to complain of  the     
depressing influence of this imperfect  
view1 and of the hard  necessity under  
which it places them of pursuing their  
ends with only  scanty and grudging     
recognition from religion4 ,but1 for the
 philosophic  knowledge of human nature1
 and the practical regulation of human  
society1 this isolation of the soul     
within its own consciousness1--this     
concentrated personality1--this vivid   
interchange of life with ,god  without  
diffusion through benumbing media1--must
 be held eminently  ennobling4    ,if1  
from the fundamental ,christian         
sentiment1 we descend to the scheme  of 
,applied ,morals which it organized and 

inspired1 the principle  still          
vindicates itself in its results4 ,the  
great problems of life are  supplied    
from two sources1--the ,persons that may
 engage our  affections1 and the        
,pursuits that may invite our will4 ,the
 light in  which the personal relations 
are presented before the eye of         
,christendom is undeniably benign and   
true4 ,it has never been obscured       
without the social spread of injustice  
and discontent2 nor ever  cleared again1
 but as the precursor of reformation4   
,that every human  soul has its sacred  
concerns and its divine communion1 is   
the simplest  of thoughts2 but so deep  
and moving1 that1 where it is received  
and  acknowledged1 it calls up angelic  
virtues2 where it is insulted and       
denied1 it lets slip avenging fiends4   
,wherever it is sincerely held1  it     
secures that reverential feeling towards
 others1 beneath whose  spell the       
selfish passions sleep1 and without     
which the precept of  courtesy and the  

definition of rights are an ineffectual 
form4 ,power  loses its insolence1 and  
dependence its sting1 where their mutual
  relation does not carry the whole     
individuality with it1 but stops  with  
the limits of social and political      
convenience1 and lies under  the        
restraining protection of a supreme     
equality before ,god4 ,the  ,fraternity 
that is the offspring of political      
theories1 and aims to  neutralize by    
fellow-citizenship the diversities and  
antipathies of  nature1 is often the    
watchword of envy and egotism1 shouted  
by the  voice of hatred1 and announcing 
the deed of violence4 ,it is for want   
of faith in that highest brotherhood of 
worship and responsibility  which       
,christianity assumes1 that impatient   
schemes are formed for  artificially    
equalizing the weak and the strong1 and 
abolishing the  relations of necessary  
dependence4 ,nor1 where that faith is   
absent1  can they ever be answered so as
 to satisfy the feeling from which  they

 spring4 ,they may be shown to be       
impracticable1 and crushed by the       
relentless argument of fact2 but the    
fact will be protested against as       
unnatural1 and the impossibility will   
seem a cruelty4 ,how differently  is    
this topic handled by the logic of      
science and the sentiment of  religion6 
,how much less justly does the former   
draw the line between  natural          
subordination among men and tyrannous   
oppression1 than the  latter6 ,aristotle
 undertakes the defence of slavery on   
grounds both of  philosophy and of      
experience4 ,nature1 he contends1       
pursuing a definite  end in every act of
 creation1 assigns to some things1 from 
their very  origin1 a destiny to rule1  
while imposing on others a necessity of 
being ruled4 ,wherever a plurality of   
parts concur to form a general  whole1  
dominant and subordinate elements       
present themselves4 ,even  within the   
inanimate realm this is apparent1 as in 
the case of harmony  in music4 ,but it  

is chiefly conspicuous in the sphere of 
animal  existence2 the body being1 by   
nature1 servitor1 of which the soul is  
lord4 ,in the highest stage of animate  
being1 the constitution of              
well-organized men1 this law comes into 
the clearest light2 for here  the soul  
sways the body with absolute command1   
while reason exercises  over the        
passions the prerogatives of a royal and
 constitutional  power2 and were        
equality to be substituted for these    
modes of  subjection1 mischief would    
ensue on all sides4 ,not less evidently 
does  ,nature announce the dependence of
 inferior on superior in the rank       
allotted to the brutes in relation to   
man2 and again1 in the case of  the two 
sexes1 of which the male1 as the more   
distinguished1 is  rendered dominant4   
,the same necessary law adjusts the     
positions of  mankind inter se4 ,all    
those who are as intrinsically inferior 
to  their neighbors as the body to the  
soul1 or the brute to the  man1--7and   

this is precisely the case of the mere  
manual  laborer17--are slaves by nature2
 and for them1 as for the body and the  
brutes1 it is better to be servile than 
to be free4 ,any man who can be  made   
property of by another1 and who is      
competent to understand a  master's     
intelligence without a spontaneous stock
 of his own1 is  naturally a slave4     
,such a one performs functions in the   
world not  essentially distinguished    
from those of the domestic animals2 the 
destiny of both is to contribute their  
corporeal energies to the  service of   
society2 and creatures fit for this     
alone are brought into  the slave-market
 by ,nature herself4 ,consistently with 
this conception  of the laborer as a    
living tool 7  71 ,aristotle  lays it   
down that the relation of master and    
slave admits no rights1  and excludes   
friendship4 ,to our modern worshippers  
of strength1 this  will appear          
commendable doctrine1 very much because 
they have  themselves relapsed into the 

old ,hellenic way of studying the       
problems  of the universe2 descending1  
in the ,pantheistic method1 from the    
whole  upon the parts2 fetching rules   
from the wider sphere 7therefore the    
lower7 to import into the narrower2     
entering the human world from the       
physical1--the  from the 2 approaching  
society as a  specialty superinduced on 
a groundwork of nomadic barbarism2 and  
determining the functions of the        
individual as member of the vital       
organism of the state4 ,so long as this 
logical strategy is allowed1  the       
,titans will always conquer the gods2   
the ground-forces of the  lowest nature 
will propagate themselves1 pulse after  
pulse1 from the  abysses to the skies2  
and right will exist only on sufferance 
from  might4 ,but there is a heaven1    
after all1 which the most trenchant     
giant cannot storm1 and where justice   
and sanctity reserve a quiet  throne4   
,without disputing the inequality of    
gifts and consequent law  of natural    

ranks1 religion qualifies it by an      
addition which  overarches and absorbs  
it4 ,were man only the choicest1 most   
intelligent1 most gregarious of the     
mammalia1--were the theory of his       
affairs a mere extension of natural     
history1--we might reasonably  discuss1 
in ,aristotle's way1 the conditions     
under which he may fitly  be put in     
harness4 ,but there is in him an element
 that takes him  beyond the range of a  
,pliny or a ,cuvier1 that lifts him out 
of the  kingdom of nature and gives him 
kindred with the preternatural and      
divine4 ,he is not simply an instrument 
for achieving a given fraction  of a    
universal end1 but has a sacred trust   
which1 on its own account1  he is       
empowered and commissioned to discharge4
 ,he is watched by the  eyes of infinite
 ,pity and ,affection1 braced for his   
faithful work1  succored in his fierce  
temptations4 ,the conditions of dutiful1
 loving1  noble life must be preserved  
to him4 ,let his task1 indeed1 be suited

  to his powers2 and if he cannot rule1 
by all means let him serve2 but  still  
with a margin and play of spiritual     
freedom secure from  encroachment and   
contempt4 ,those on whom ,heaven lays   
the burden of  duty no power on earth   
may strip of rights4 ,the conscience    
with which  the ,highest can commune1   
the spirit which is not too mean for    
,his  abode1 can be no object of slight 
and scorn from men4 ,by law and usage   
you may have the disposal of another's  
lot and labor2 but in the  reality of   
things the lord of a province may be    
less than the  conqueror of a           
temptation4 ,you may be ,greek1 and he  
barbarian2 but in  the heraldry of the  
universe1 the blood of ,agamemnon is    
less noble  than the spirit of a saint4 
,in thus snatching the individual1 as   
bearer of a holy trust1 from the crush  
of nature and the world1  ,christianity 
became the first human religion1--that  
absolutely took  no notice of race and  
sex and class4 ,it created a new order  

of  inalienable rights1 neither the     
heritage of birth1 nor the franchise  of
 a state1 but inherent in the moral     
capabilities of a man4 ,the free        
opening of sanctity and immortality to  
every willing heart could not  fail to  
exercise an intense influence on the    
better portion of a  world1 like the    
declining empire of ,rome1 sickened with
 corruption and  confused with          
unmanageable oppressions4 ,that it did  
so1 is proved by  the whole tenor of the
 early ,christian literature2 and the   
effect is  well described and accounted 
for by the writer ,on the ,state of ,man
  subsequent to the ,promulgation of    
,christianity4    ,the mockery of       
adoring as gods the licentious tyrants  
who had  occupied the imperial throne1  
seems to have put an end to everything  
like religious feeling among the nations
 under the sway of ,rome4 ,the  free    
satire of ,lucianus shows how completely
 it had faded away1 for it  introduces  
the gods of ,olympus complaining that   

they were starving for  lack of         
offerings2 not altogether because       
,christian or philosophic  doctrines    
prevailed widely1 but rather on account 
of the total  indifference of the people
 to their ancient mythology2 for even if
 it  ever had symbolized the truth1 its 
meaning was now forgotten2 and1  even so
 far back as the time of ,cicero1 had   
become totally  unintelligible to the   
learned1 as well as to the multitude4   
,it was  useless1 therefore1 and wanted 
but a slight impulse from without to    
overthrow it4 ,but to the philosopher   
who was in earnest in his pursuit  of   
this truth1 buried under the rubbish of 
time1 the doctrine of  ,christ afforded 
it2 there he found all that the master  
minds whom he  honored had taught and   
hoped2 but he found it simplified1      
purified1  and confirmed by sanctions   
such as ,plato had wished for1 but      
scarcely  dared to expect2--to the      
,roman patrician1 if any there were who 
still  looked back with fond memory to  

the purer morals and stern courage of   
his forefathers1 the ,christian         
simplicity of manners and firm          
endurance of torture and death was the  
realization of what he had  heard of and
 admired1 but scarcely seen till        
then2--to the slave1  sighing under     
oppression and condemned to homeless    
bondage1 the  doctrine of the ,gospel   
gave all that was valuable in life2 the 
,christian slave was the friend of his  
,christian master1 partook of the  same 
holy feast1 shared the same painful but 
glorious martyrdom2 he  was raised at   
once to all his intellectual rank1 found
 freedom beyond  the grave1 and lived   
already in a happy immortality2--to the 
woman1  degraded in her own eyes no less
 than in those of the tyrant to whose   
lusts she was the slave1 it offered a   
restoration to all that is most  dear to
 the human race2 it offered intellectual
 dignity1 equality  before ,god1 purity1
 holiness4 ,the ,christian woman could  
die2 she could  not1 therefore1 unless  

consenting to it1 be again enslaved to  
the vile  passions of men2 before ,god  
she was free1 and with ,him she trusted 
to  find shelter when the hard world    
left her none4 ,can we wonder1 then1    
that ,christianity found votaries       
wherever a mind existed that sighed     
after better things8 for the preacher of
 ,nazareth had at last  expressed the   
thought which had been brooding in the  
minds of so many1  who had found        
themselves unable to give it            
utterance4--p4 #ee4    ,nor was it      
merely within the pale of the ,christian
 fraternity that  relations of mutual   
reverence and tenderness attested the   
power of an  ennobling faith4 ,intensity
 of internal combination is often       
balanced1  in religious brotherhoods1 by
 vehemence of external repugnance2 and  
were we to accept the fiery declamation 
of ,tertullian as fairly  expressing the
 spirit of his fellow-believers1 we     
could ill defend  them from the charge  
of fierce antipathy to the persons as   

well as the  creed of their ,pagan      
neighbors4 ,but many silent mercies     
appear which  contradict this loud      
intolerance4 ,when the ,decian          
persecution and its  attendant          
tumultuary movements had filled         
,alexandria with such  slaughter as to  
breed pestilence from the bodies of the 
dead1 the  ,christians1 instead of      
sullenly permitting the physical        
calamity to  avenge their cause1 assumed
 the duties of public nurses1 and       
performed  the loathsome tasks from     
which priests and magistrates had fled4 
,referring to this occasion1 the author 
just cited says3--    ,the plague made  
its appearance with tremendous violence1
 and  desolated the city1 so that1 as   
,dionysius1 the ,christian bishop1      
writes1 there were not so many          
inhabitants left of all ages1 as        
heretofore could be numbered between    
forty and seventy4 ,in this  emergency  
the persecuted ,christians forgot all   
but their ,lord's  precept1 and were    

unwearied in their attendance on the    
sick2 many  perishing in the performance
 of this duty by taking the infection4  
',in  this way1' says the bishop1 with  
touching simplicity1 'the best of the   
brethren departed this life2 some       
ministers1 and some deacons1' the       
heathens having abandoned their friends 
and relations to the care of  the very  
persons whom they had been accustomed to
 call ',men-haters4' ,a  like noble     
self-devotion was shown at ,carthage    
when the pestilence  which had desolated
 ,alexandria made its appearance in that
 city1 and1  ,i quote the words of a    
contemporary1 ',all fled in horror from 
the  contagion1 abandoning their        
relations and friends as if they thought
  that by avoiding the plague any one   
might also exclude death  altogether4   
,meanwhile the city was strewed with the
 bodies1 or rather  carcasses of the    
dead1 which seemed to call for pity from
 the  passers-by1 who might themselves  
so soon share the same fate2 but no  one

 cared for anything but miserable pelf2 
no one trembled at the  consideration of
 what might so soon befall him in his   
turn2 no one did  for another what he   
would have wished others to do for him4 
,the bishop  hereupon called together   
his flock1 and setting before them the  
example and teaching of their ,lord1    
called on them to act up to it4 ,he     
said1 that if they took care only of    
their own people1 they did but  what the
 commonest feeling would dictate2 the   
servant of ,christ must  do more2 he    
must love his enemies1 and pray for his 
persecutors2 for  ,god made his sun to  
rise and his rain to fall on all alike1 
and he who  would be the child of ,god  
must imitate his ,father4' ,the people  
responded to his appeal2 they formed    
themselves into classes1 and  those     
whose poverty prevented them from doing 
more gave their personal  attendance1   
while those who had property aided yet  
further4 ,no one  quitted his post but  
with his life4--p4 #afb4    ,this       

self-devotion in times of distress1     
strangely contrasting with  habits and  
temper apparently unsocial1 has too     
steadily reappeared in  every earnest   
church not to be accepted as a          
,christian characteristic4  ,during the 
fatal famine and epidemic which         
desolated ,antioch in the  third        
century1 the ,pagan governor1 when urged
 by the inhabitants to  make            
authoritative arrangements for relieving
 the sufferings of a  perishing         
populace1 replied that ,the gods hated  
the poor2 while the  ,christians1       
prevailingly poor themselves1 plunged   
into the centre of  the danger1 and     
carried into the recesses of fever and  
despair the  quiet presence of help and 
hope4 ,if disciples have thus freely    
rendered to those without services which
 ,pagans refused to one  another1 it is 
not simply in stiff obedience to a      
precept of love to  their enemies1 but  
from a heart-felt sentiment of honor for
 human  nature and consequent tenderness

 of human life4 ,there was no man who1  
though he might be a persecutor to-day1 
might not be a comrade  to-morrow2 he   
had a soul susceptible of consecration2 
and day and  night the gates of the     
,church were ready to fly open to the   
touch of  penitence2 and whether he     
throws off the mask of delusion or not1 
he  must be treated as a brother in     
disguise4 ,only by reference to this    
conception of all men as possible       
subjects of sanctifying change1 can  the
 fact be explained1 that even where the 
creed has opened an  infinite gulf      
between believer and unbeliever1 the    
active charities  have detained in      
lingering embrace the persons whom the  
theoretic  fancy has flung into the     
ultimate horrors4 ,a religion that is   
superior  to the external distinctions  
of lineage and class1 and draws its     
lines  only by the invisible coloring of
 souls1 must ever be a religion open  to
 hope1 and therefore apt to love4 ,even 
where the severest doctrine  of         

exclusion has prevailed1 the fundamental
 sentiment of ,christian  faith has     
saved the heart from the most withering 
of all  passions1--the blight of scorn4 
,human nature may appear beneath the    
eye of an austere believer in an awful1 
but never in a  contemptible light4 ,the
 very crisis in which it is suspended   
can  belong to no mean existence4 ,what 
it has lost is too great a glory1  what 
it has incurred is too deep a terror1 to
 be conceivable except of  a being on a 
grand scale4 ,he is no worm for whom the
 eternal abysses  are built as a dungeon
 and the lightnings are brandished as a 
scourge4  ,accordingly1 the very        
alienations of intolerance itself have  
acquired  a higher and more respectful  
character than in ancient faiths4 ,the  
sort of feeling with which the ,jew     
spurned the ,gentile dog is  sanctioned 
by piety no more4 ,the ,oriental curl of
 the lip is scarcely  traceable on the  
features of ,christendom2 and is        
replaced by an  expression of tragic    

sorrow and earnestness1 where lights of 
admiring  pity flash through the darkest
 clouds4    ,it seems1 then1 that the   
essential sentiment of all ,christian   
faith--the  communion through conscience
 with ,god--carries with it1 not only   
noble  personal aspirations1 but also1  
towards others1 affections of singular  
generosity and depth2 affections which  
demand for every man a position  in     
which he may work out the moral problem 
of life1 which dignify every  lot where 
this is possible1 and which soften even 
actual alienations  with possible       
reverence and hope4 ,the sphere of      
action which these  feelings may shape  
for themselves1 the particular          
enterprises they may  undertake1 the    
external pursuits they may assume1 will 
necessarily  depend on many foreign and 
accidental conditions4 ,the work which  
it  would fall to the hands of the same 
faithful man to do1 if he lived on      
through the changes of the world1 would 
greatly vary from age to age4  ,the work

 which contemporary men1 of equal and   
similar fidelity1 will set  themselves  
to accomplish1 will vary with their     
several positions4 ,the  same act1 or   
even habit1 which is innocent 7though   
possibly not  innocuous7 in one place1  
may assume quite an altered significance
 in  another4 ,it would be absurd1 for  
instance1 to set down the double        
marriages of patriarchal times in the   
same moral rank with modern cases  of   
bigamy4 ,and the doctrine of ,plato's   
,republic respecting marriage1          
startling as a comment on the manners of
 his age1 by no means expresses  the    
odious state of mind which would be     
implied in its substitution now  for the
 sanctities of private life4 ,the       
devotion to studious and  peaceful acts 
which may usually be either blameless or
 laudable1 may  become a guilt like     
treason in an hour when the interests of
 public  liberty claim every citizen for
 the council or the field4 ,indeed1 the 
conduct in such contrasted instances is 

in no proper sense the same2  it has    
only an external identity2 it is a      
physical self-repetition1  with a moral 
contrariety2 and unless1 in speaking of 
a human action1  we mean to shut out the
 soul which makes it human1 and to      
denote only  the muscular flourish and  
spasm of limb1 the sameness is but a    
semblance  with a reality of difference4
 ,the moral values of actions1 taken in 
this  narrowest sense1 are inevitably   
variable2 and any code that should      
present a list of them as obligatory in 
perpetuity1 without regard to  the      
changes of their meaning to the mind1   
would mistake the very nature  of human 
duty4 ,not that we deny the existence of
 permanent grounds for  the adoption of 
some habits and the avoidance of others4
 ,there are  reasons1 unchangeable as   
the corporeal frame of man1 why opium   
should  not be taken as an article of   
food1 and why cousins should not        
intermarry4 ,but the grounds of         
prohibition in these cases are          

rational1 not moral2 they are found in  
the outward effects1 not in  the inward 
sources1 of conduct2 and only when its  
outward effects are  known to the agent1
 so as to enter among its inward sources
 and modify  its meaning1 does he pass  
from unwise to immoral4 ,external       
action1  in short1 stands as an         
indifferent phenomenon1 between the mind
 that  issues it and the world into     
which it goes4 ,the thought and         
affection  whence it springs in the     
former give its moral1 the results to   
which  it tends in the latter its       
rational value4 ,whoever makes a correct
  estimate of the several affections and
 impulses which stir the will1 and      
throughout their scale reveres the      
better and disapproves the worse1       
possesses moral truth4 ,whoever         
perceives and computes the real         
consequences of voluntary conduct1      
possesses rational discernment in  human
 affairs4 ,the former--an interpretation
 of the conscience and its  sacred      

contents--is the permanent essence of   
ethical and root of  religious wisdom4  
,the latter--an apprehension of physical
 laws and  historical tendencies--is    
conditioned by the progress of science  
and the  facilities for social          
vaticination4 ,errors in this are       
inevitable to  the limitations of human 
intellect4 ,perfection in that is       
possible  only to the highest divine    
insight in the soul4 ,the fallible      
judgment  respecting outward relations  
affects only the accidents of morals1   
though the essence of scientific truth4 
,where the inner apprehension is  deep  
and true1 the outward judgment contains 
a principle of  self-correction2 the    
miscalculation of one age is checked by 
that of a  succeeding2 opposite errors  
cancel each other2 and the spirit of a  
pure  faith1 like a just feeling of     
beauty and greatness in art1 works      
itself  clear of the false data of usage
 amid which its inspiration arose1 and  
transmigrates into ever-improving forms4

 ,if1 however1 the reverence due  to the
 inspiration should become a traditional
 affair1 losing its living  eye and     
spiritual tact1 it will extend itself as
 a moping idolatry to  the imperfect    
media and rude materials through which  
the new glory first  gleamed2 an        
incapable era of renaissance will       
appear2 the very works  which were given
 as the spring of ever-fresh creation   
will be used to  stifle it2 in servile  
imitation of an original period1 its    
whole  character will be lost1 and the  
moment of exactest reproduction will be 
that of intensest contrast4    ,this is 
precisely the way in which the spiritual
 life of the primitive  ,christians has 
been dealt with4 ,the thought and       
meaning that lay at its  heart are      
little apprehended2 its applied morals1 
in which these are  mixed up with the   
errors incident to their point of view1 
are distorted  into a rigid code of     
obligation1 in which the original idea  
is often  entirely reversed4 ,if it be  

really true that the ,apostolic age was 
impressed with the belief of a speedy   
end of the world1 such an outlook  must 
undeniably have affected the disciples' 
whole estimate of the value  of human   
pursuits4 ,the plan of life commendable 
in a passage-ship may be  questionable  
in a settled home2 and the proceedings  
of an army on the  eve of battle are not
 like the habits of the same people     
tilling their  fields and sitting at    
their hearths4 ,to apply to a           
permanently  constituted planet the     
rules promulgated to preserve discipline
 amid a  general breaking-up1 is surely 
an eccentric kind of legislation4 ,yet  
by  just such a process have modern     
churches derived a number of ethical    
extravagances offensive to the eye of   
chastened conscience1 and  condemned by 
their impracticability to the insincere 
existence of  perpetual talk4 ,the      
manner in which ,english divines conduct
 themselves  towards this error of the  
first century appears to us not simple  

and  ingenuous4 ,some still affect to   
deny it1 and to treat its reiterated    
assertion as a mere perverseness and    
impudence of heresy2 yet they leave  the
 statement without serious refutation1  
though well aware that the  weight of   
critical authority is altogether in its 
favor1 and though  avowing their own    
theory of revelation absolutely to      
require that it be  false4 ,others      
incidentally and grudgingly admit it1   
and then pass on as  if nothing had     
happened2 immediately relapsing into the
 same  authoritative appeal to          
,scripture1 the same direct and         
mechanical use of  its precepts1 the    
same assumption of it as an instrument  
yielding on  interpretation nothing but 
truth1 which had been habitual with them
  before their eyes were opened4 ,now1  
if anything be certain on such a        
matter1 it is that to suppose one's self
 in the world's last year1--the         
admission paid to the panorama of       
judgment and the spectacle only  waiting

 to begin1--is no small and sleepy idea1
 which might  ineffectually turn up now 
and then1 and sink back below the       
surface  without further trace4 ,a man  
who could live in presence of such a    
vision1 and not carry its crimsoned     
light upon every object that fixed  his 
eye1 could be no apostle of truth or    
preacher of earnestness2 nor do  we know
 that anything more contemptuous could  
be said of him than that1  no doubt1 he 
held such an expectation1 but it was of 
no consequence4 ,to  convert the author 
of the ,pauline ,epistles into a        
dilettante believer of  the pattern of  
the nineteenth century1 and say of his  
most tremendous  gleams of thought that 
they were but transitory fireworks which
 meant  nothing1 is no less an offence  
against his character than a            
misunderstanding of his writings2 and we
 conceive that1 in affirming the  deep  
penetration of his mistaken world-view  
into the substance of his  monitory     
teaching1 we shall be vindicating the   

fundamental veracity and  noble         
clearness of his soul4    ,to exhibit   
the ,christology of the ,apostles with  
the fulness necessary  for tracing      
pseudo-,christian morality to its       
origin1 would require a  volume4 ,we can
 only advert to one or two points1      
indicating the  direction which such an 
inquiry would take4 ,it is admitted on  
all  hands1 that a second advent of     
,christ is announced in almost every    
book  of the ,new ,testament2 that1 if  
we except the ,gospel of ,john1 it is   
spoken of invariably as a real1 personal
 return1 an objective and scenic  event1
 to be seen1 heard1 and felt2 and cannot
 be explained away into a  spiritual    
access to the world1 or a subjective    
drama in the soul of  disciples4 ,it is 
further admitted1 that with this advent 
are integrally  connected many incidents
 which1 however difficult to group into 
a  complete picture1 constitute1 under  
every variety of possible  arrangement1 
a final consummation of human affairs4  

,indeed1 the article  in the ,creed     
which declares that ,christ shall come  
to judge the quick  and the dead1 and at
 his coming all men shall rise again    
with their  bodies and shall give       
account for their own works1 shows how  
the ,church  understands the doctrine1  
and conjoins the end of the world with  
the  advent4 ,the nature of the event   
being so far undisputed1 the question   
which separates the mass of scientific  
interpreters from the popular           
expounder1 refers only to its date4 ,the
 ,apostle ,paul1 it is urged by  the    
critics1 writes to his ,thessalonian    
converts1 in answer to a  distressing   
doubt which could have no existence but 
in minds on the  watch for the return of
 ,christ2 and his answer1 far from      
checking this  outlook1 raised it to    
such intensity that1 to soothe their    
excitement1  he wrote to them again to  
remove the event from the immediate     
foreground  of their imagination2 yet   
even then detained it quite within the  

limits  of their natural lives1 and1    
simply interposing one or two signals of
  its approach that had not yet         
appeared1 counselled them not to lose   
their composure1 but maintain a patient 
waiting for ,christ4 ,the  original     
doubt which had disturbed them seems to 
have been one  instructively            
characteristic of the early theocratic  
faith4 ,some member  of the community   
had died2 his friends1 in addition to   
their natural  sorrow1 were apparently  
taken by surprise1 that1 after enrolment
 among  the citizens of the approaching 
kingdom1 he was taken from their side1  
and would not be with them when they    
hailed the arrival of ,christ4 ,what    
would become of him8 ,they thought he   
would have to remain in his sleep  till 
,messiah should exercise his function of
 raising the dead1 which was  not to be 
at first2 and so1 during the great      
crisis1 and for an  uncertain           
continuance beyond1 he would linger     
behind the privilege which  they        

enjoyed4 ,this seems1 at first sight1 a 
strange subject of distress4  ,that the 
second advent should take place in the  
presence of the living  only1 and should
 leave the dead without part or lot in  
the matter1 is so  completely at        
variance with the picture which has     
become fixed in the  common ,christian  
imagination1 that scruples may readily  
be felt about  attributing so mutilated 
a conception to the ,thessalonian       
church4 ,the  commonly received picture1
 however1 is made up of elements        
incongruously  brought together from    
several ,scripture writers1 to whom the 
expected  event presented itself under  
different aspects2 and nowhere can they 
be  found combined into such a whole as 
the ecclesiastical faith represents4    
,to understand and account for the      
,thessalonian state of mind1 we have    
only to read over the #bdth and #beth   
chapters of ,st4 ,matthew1 and to       
surrender ourselves to the images there 
presented1 without adding  anything of  

our own4 ,these chapters contain the    
fullest description of  the advent1 the 
last judgment1 and the end of the world1
 that can be  found in ,scripture2 yet  
the dead are not brought upon the scene 
at all1  nor is any resurrection found  
among its elements4 ,the whole idea is  
evidently of a return of the ,son of    
,man1 within the limits of a            
generation1 to take account1 in his     
theocratic capacity1 of the very        
persons who had known him in his        
,galilean humiliation and disguise1--of 
those who1 having joined him in his days
 of trial1 had been intrusted by  him   
with the administration in the interval 
of his heavenly  absence1--and of those 
who1 after rejecting him personally1 had
 hardened  themselves no less against   
the preaching and overtures of his      
subsequent  ambassadors4 ,the nations   
gathered before him are furnished from  
the  surviving population of the earth2 
and the ground of their admittance or   
rejection is the reception they have    

given to ,messiah in the persons of  his
 missionaries and representatives4 ,in  
supposing the dead to have lost  their  
chance of participating in this scene1  
the ,thessalonians did but  paint it to 
themselves as ,christ1 according to the 
first ,gospel1 had  described it to his 
hearers4 ,their misgiving plainly       
assumes that the  advent was sure for   
the living and was lost for the dead4   
,the ,apostle  answers by denying the   
distinction1 and putting both classes   
into the  same condition ere the great  
hour strikes3 but what condition8 ,does 
he  say that the living will die first8 
,no2 but that the dead will live  first3
 so that the departed companion will    
come back at the right moment  for      
mingling with the troop of friends that 
shall go to meet the ,lord  in the air4 
,the same order of events is given in   
the sublime1 but  little understood1    
chapter on the resurrection in the      
,first ,epistle to  the ,corinthians1   
where the ,apostle places himself1 at   

the advent1 not  among the dead that    
shall be raised incorruptible1 but among
 the  survivors that shall be changed   
into immortals without ever quitting    
life4 ,it is a topic of praise to the   
disciples at ,corinth that they are     
waiting for the coming of ,our ,lord    
,jesus ,christ1 who shall also confirm  
you unto the end1 that ye may be        
blameless in the day of our ,lord ,jesus
  ,christ4 ,he assures his ,philippian  
friends that the ,lord is at hand1  and 
prays that they may be sincere and      
without offence till the day of         
,christ4 ,having come out safe from his 
examination and hearing at ,rome1  he   
avows his persuasion that he will be    
similarly delivered from every  evil    
work1 and preserved unto ,christ's      
heavenly kingdom4 ,though amid  his     
toils and weariness he earnestly desired
 to be endowed with his  immortal       
frame1--to be invested1 as he expresses 
it1 with his house from  above2 yet he  
was unwilling to put off the            

corruptible1 till he could  put on the  
incorruptible2 he would have his        
mortality swallowed up of  life2 he did 
not wish the great hour to find him     
naked1 but clothed1  not1 that is1 a    
disembodied spirit1 but a living man4   
,he stands at the  era on which the end 
of the world has come2 and begs his     
correspondents to let certain existing  
disputes lie over1 and to judge  nothing
 before the time until the ,lord come4  
,not less explicit evidence  is afforded
 in the writings of other ,apostles4    
,james says1 ,the coming  of the ,lord  
draweth nigh2 444 behold1 the ,judge    
standeth before the  door4 ,peter1 ,the 
end of all things is at hand4 ,john1    
,children1 it is  the last time2 and as 
ye have heard that ,antichrist shall    
come1 even now  are there many          
,antichrists2 whereby we know that it is
 the last time4  ,if the author of      
,christianity did not himself entertain 
the same  expectation of an early return
 to assume his ,messianic prerogatives1 

he  has been greatly misrepresented by  
his biographers4 ,for though one of     
them represents him as disclaiming a    
knowledge of the specific day  and hour 
appointed for his coming in the clouds  
with great power and  glory1 the        
disclaimer follows immediately on his   
announcement1 that at  all events it    
will take place within the existing     
generation4 ,does any  reader doubt     
whether this coming in the clouds really
 describes the  judgment8 or whether    
this generation denotes the natural term
 of human  life8 ,both questions are    
answered at once in ,matthew's report of
 a  single sentence1 which              
simultaneously defines the event and its
 date3  ,for the ,son of ,man shall come
 in the glory of his ,father1 with his  
angels2 and then he shall reward every  
man according to his works4  ,verily ,i 
say unto you1 there be some standing    
here which shall not  taste of death1   
till they see the ,son of ,man coming in
 his kingdom4 ,it  is certainly possible

 enough that the discourses in which    
these  expressions occur may be         
incorrectly reported1 and have acquired 
from  the writer's state of mind a      
definiteness not belonging to the       
original  production4 ,but1 at any rate1
 they reveal the historian's conception 
of  what was in ,jesus's thought2 and   
the false coloring of expectation which 
they threw over his prophecies could not
 fail to extend in their reports  to his
 preceptive discourses1 and thus to have
 almost the same influence  on the      
recorded ,christian ethics1 as if the   
error were his as well as  theirs4      
,the evidence on this point is so       
positive and overwhelming1 that  critics
 such as ,olshausen1 whose testimony is 
undoubtedly reluctant1  no longer think 
of resisting it4 ,nothing1 indeed1 can  
be opposed to it  but a kind of         
interpretation which is the opprobrium  
of ,english  theology2 and whose problem
 is1 not simply to gather an author's   
thought from his words1 but from among  

all true thoughts to find  the one that 
will sit the least uneasily under his   
words4 ,thus the  end of all things is  
explained away into the founding of the 
,christian ,church2 the coming of the   
,son of ,man on the clouds of  heaven1  
into the ,jewish war under ,titus2 the  
last judgment1 which  rewards every man 
according to his works1 into the escape 
of the  ,christians and the slaughter of
 the ,jewish zealots at the destruction 
of ,jerusalem4 ,no doubt1 many good and 
well-instructed men have  persuaded     
themselves that by such exegetical      
sleight of hand they  could save        
,apostolic and other infallibility4 ,we 
can only say1 that  when piety supplies 
the motive1 and learning the means1 for 
bewildering veracity of apprehension1   
two rich and noble endowments  are spent
 in corrupting a nobler1 which is the   
life of them both4    ,to the moral     
sentiments which should occupy the soul1
 it may make  little difference how long
 the world is to last4 ,but to the      

course of  action which should engage   
the hand1 it is a matter of primary     
moment4 ,all human occupations rest on  
the assumption of permanence in  the    
constitution of things2 nor is it less  
true of a planet than of a  farm1 that  
mere tenants at will1 unsecured by lease
 and even served  already with notice to
 quit1 will undertake no improvements1  
and will  suffer the culture to decline 
to the lowest point4 ,what profession   
could remain respectable if society had 
no future8 ,what interest would  attach 
to the administration of law1 on behalf 
of property which was  not worth six    
months' purchase1 and life which1       
stripped of  survivorship1 had lost all 
sacredness to the affections8 ,who would
 sit  down to study the ,pharmacopia on 
board a sinking ship8 ,what zeal  could 
be felt by the statesman or general in  
repelling from his  country an injury   
that could never be repeated1 or        
removing a  grievance on the point of   
supernatural death8 ,the fields would   

scarce  be tilled which the angels with 
flaming sword might come to reap2 or    
the vineyards be dressed in sight of him
 who treadeth the wine-press  alone4    
,all the crafts of industry1 all the    
adventures of commerce1  are held       
together by a given element of time2    
and1 when deprived of  this1 fall away  
into inanity4 ,no one would build a     
house on ice  melting with hidden fires2
 or freight ships over an ocean which   
earthquakes were to drain away2 or      
fabricate silks and patent-leather  for 
appearance at the last tribunal4 ,and   
the loosened hold of these  pursuits    
upon human zeal1 so far from implying   
their exchange for  anything higher and 
more spiritual1 involves the direct     
reverse4 ,they  cannot be abandoned2 the
 stern punctuality of hunger1 the       
peremptoriness of instinctive or        
habitual want1 compel their             
continuance2 and ,paul himself made     
sail-cloth for a world on its last      
voyage4 ,but they are kept up only      

because there is no help for it2  they  
sink into mere bread-trades2 and are    
thrown back many stages from  the       
tranquil human towards the grim cannibal
 level4 ,all work in this  world1 no    
doubt1 rests at bottom on the elementary
 animal requirements  of our nature2 but
 it is then most worthily performed1 not
 when these  requirements are most      
obtrusive1 but when they are most       
withdrawn4 ,it  is the specific moral   
benefit which social organization       
confers upon  man1 that it enables him  
to retreat from the constant presence of
  sheer necessity1 and stand at a       
sufficient distance from it to allow    
other and higher feelings to connect    
themselves with his industry4 ,it  is a 
lower thing to consult for the natural  
wants of primitive  appetite1 than for  
the artificial love of order1 neatness1 
security1  and beauty2 and a craftsman  
works in a better spirit when earning   
some  unnecessary gift for his wife or  
child1 than when toiling for the  bitter

 loaf that staves off starvation4 ,an   
art prosecuted without  pride in its    
ingenuity1 without intellectual         
enlistment in its methods  of skill1 is 
degraded from an instrument of          
discipline into a prowling  for         
food1--from a mode of life into a       
makeshift against death4 ,to take  away 
the future1 therefore1 from secular     
pursuits1 is simply to draw  off from   
them whatever redeems them from         
meanness2 to plant them in  greedy      
isolation1 as mere personal necessities2
 and cut them off from  the great human 
system which lends to them a color of   
nobleness and  dignity4 ,among the early
 ,christians this tendency was greatly  
checked  by the fresh aims and          
employments which their religion        
created2 and in  devotion to which the  
more enthusiastic spirits found ample   
scope for  their affections4 ,the       
,church1 subsisting like an intrenched  
camp in a  hostile land1 had to make    
sallies in all directions for rescue of 

the  wandering1 and for captives to the 
faith4 ,an aggressive activity of       
compassion and conviction found tasks   
for the energies disengaged from        
secular pursuits2 and the new relations 
into which their religious  profession  
threw them towards the synagogue1 the   
magistrate1 the ,pagan  worshipper1     
supplied them with continual problems of
 conscience1  severe1 but wholesome to  
the mind4 ,so peculiar1 indeed1 was     
their  position1 that1 even if they had 
reckoned on a continuance of human      
affairs1 they could hardly1 perhaps1    
have mingled much with a world  that    
drew them with such slender sympathies4 
,separated in ideas and  affections1    
they must in any case have created a new
 and detached  centre of social life4   
,still it is undeniable that their      
isolation was  favored and exaggerated  
by their faith in an approaching end of 
all  things2 and that they withdrew from
 human interests1 not simply  because   
honorable contact with them was         

impossible1 but because they  were      
taught entire indifference to them as   
elements of a perishing  system4 ,not   
only is no recognition given to the     
pursuit of art and  letters1 and the    
citizen's duty presented only on the    
passive side2  but even the relations of
 domestic life are discouraged1 and the 
slave  is dissuaded from care about his 
liberty1 on the express ground that  it 
is not worth while1 on the brink of a   
great catastrophe1 to assume  any new   
position1 or commit the heart by new    
ties4 ,the time is too  short1 the      
crisis too near1 for the career of a    
free life1 or the  building of a human  
home4 ,it is better for every one to    
continue as he  is2 and instead of      
waiting to have the world perish from   
him1 to  regard himself as already dead 
to the world4 ,to stand impassive and   
alone1 neutral to joy or sorrow1 with   
soul intent on the future1 and          
disengaged from impediments of the past1
 earnest to keep bright on its          

watch-tower the beacon of faith1 but    
resolute to descend no more into  the   
plain below1 appeared to the ,apostle   
,paul the highest wisdom4 ,and  how     
could it be otherwise8 ,seen from his   
point of view1 all temporal  claims sank
 into negation4 ,the constitutions1 the 
arts1 the culture1  of civilized nations
 were about to be superseded2 and the   
,christians  who had already retired    
from them needed no new ones to take    
their  place1 except such provisional   
arrangements as might serve during the  
world's brief respite4 ,equally natural 
and suitable to their conceived         
position were the non-resistance        
principles of the early disciples4      
,what right could be worth contending   
for on the dawn of a great day of       
redress1 when every wrong would be      
brought to its account8 ,who would      
carry a cause before ,dikast or         
,proconsul to-day1 when ,eternal        
,justice  was pledged to hear it        
to-morrow8 ,who refuse to resign to     

human  coercion what a retributive      
,omnipotence would soon restore8 ,when  
the  great assizes of the universe are  
about to be opened1 it were a poor      
thing for the suitors to begin fighting 
in the vestibule4 ,in all these         
respects the practical code of the      
,apostolic age was inevitably           
influenced by the mistaken world-view   
prevalent in the ,church4 ,for the      
plaintiff1 the hour was fixed when his  
suit would be called2 for the  slave1   
the emancipation-day was declared2 and  
from him that bound  himself in heart to
 the past1 the past was about to be     
snatched away4  ,the rules of action    
dictated by these notions are mere      
accidents of  the first age1--correct   
deductions from a misconceived system of
  external relations4 ,they are wholly  
dependent on this misconception1  and   
have no necessary connection with the   
interior spirit1 the  characteristic    
sentiments and affections which         
distinguish  ,christianity as a         

religion4 ,if the ,apostles had lived on
 till their  mistake had worn itself    
out1 and they had discovered the        
permanence of  the world1--had they     
postponed all writing of ,scripture till
 this  lesson of experience had been    
learned1--we apprehend that their scheme
  of applied morals would have been very
 different2 a more genial  recognition  
would have been given to natural human  
relations2 the  social facts of property
 and government1 the private concerns of
  education and self-culture1 the       
personal responsibilities of genius  and
 intellect1 would have been less        
slightingly dismissed1 and reduced  to  
clear moral order2 and the sentences    
would have been greatly  modified which 
now support the delusions of the        
improvident1 the  ascetic1 the          
exclusive1 and the non-resisting4       
,unhappily1 ,apostles do  not live for  
ever1 so that we are denied that chance2
 and successors  of ,apostles1 though   
seldom scarce1 are not a helpful race1  

being  chiefly marks of an absent       
inspiration4 ,the task1 therefore1 of   
applying the essential ,christian       
sentiments to a permanent               
world1--though avowedly undertaken by   
the ,roman ,catholic  ,church1--remains 
unperformed2 and instead of it we have1 
in the common  ,protestantism1 a violent
 misapplication to human nature and all 
time  of the accidents and errors of the
 first age1 resulting1 we fear1 in a    
caricature injurious alike to that first
 age itself1 and to all true            
apprehension of the nature and          
proportions of human duty4              
,expressions abound in the literature of
 modern ,christendom implying an        
antithesis between temporal and         
spiritual things1 between morality and  
religion1 between the world and ,god4   
,no one can fail to observe that  this  
antithesis1 whether founded in reality  
or not1 has become a social  fact4      
,there are two standards of judgment    
extant for the estimate of  character   

and life2 one set up in the pulpit1 the 
other recognized in  the forum and the  
street4 ,the former gives the order in  
which we  pretend1 and perhaps          
ineffectually try1 to admire men and    
things2 the  latter1 that in which we do
 admire them4 ,under the influence of   
the one1  the merchant or the country   
gentleman is professedly in love with   
the  innocent improvidence of the ravens
 and the lilies2 relapsing into the     
other1 he sells all his cotton in       
expectation of a fall1 or drains his    
farms for a rise of rent4 ,on the       
,sunday1 he applauds it as a saintly    
thing to present the patient cheek to   
the smiter2 on the ,monday1 he  listens 
with rapture to ,kossuth's curse upon   
the house of ,hapsburg1 and  the ,magyar
 vow of resistance to the death4 ,he    
assents when the ,apostle  ,john is held
 up to his veneration as the beloved    
disciple1 but1 if the  truth were known1
 the ,duke of ,wellington is rather more
 to his mind4  ,supposing it all true   

that is said about the vanity of earthly
 pleasures  and ostentations1 he        
nevertheless lets his daughters send out
 next day  invitations to a grand ball1 
and makes his house busy with           
dress-makers  and cooks4 ,he is         
accustomed to confess that in him there 
is no good  thing1 and that all his     
thoughts and works are only evil        
continually2  yet he is pleased with    
himself that he has provided for the    
family of  his gardener who was killed  
on the railway last week4 ,in these and 
a  thousand other forms may be noticed  
the competition between two  coexisting 
and unreconciled standards1 the         
relations between which are  altogether 
confused and uneasy4 ,whoever is        
interested in following up  the         
genealogy of ideas1 and would search for
 the origin of this mixed  and          
mischievous state of mind1 must look    
first to the influence of  ,luther1 and 
thence to the ,pauline doctrine1 which  
he improperly  generalized and          

exaggerated4 ,we will endeavor to trace 
the development  of the sentiment in the
 opposite direction1 from the ancient   
germ to the  modern fruit4    ,paul the 
,apostle proclaimed ,faith to be the    
condition of  regeneration and          
acceptance4 ,to appreciate this message 
of his1 we  must remember two           
things2--namely1 7#a47 what it was from 
which men  were to be rescued on these  
terms2 7#b47 what other conditions had  
been  elsewhere insisted on instead of  
this1 and were put aside by ,paul in    
favor of this4 ,now enough has been said
 to show that what he feared  for the   
world which he labored to convert was1  
primarily1 exclusion  from the          
theocratic empire which ,messiah would  
return to erect2 nor is  it clear what  
ulterior consequences1 if any1 he       
conceived this  exclusion to carry with 
it4 ,this banishment was the negative of
 that  salvation to which the disciples 
were called2 and which consisted in     
their registration as qualified citizens

 of the kingdom for which the  earth was
 about to be claimed4 ,the picture      
before his mind was so far  altogether  
,jewish2 not at all the modern idea of  
heaven and  hell1--spiritual regions to 
which individuals1 one by one1 pass     
after  death for moral retribution2 but 
a terrestrial scene1 the winding up  of 
history1 affecting men in masses1 and   
completing the purpose for  which ,god  
had created this world4 ,while1 however1
 the thought of the  ,apostle's mind was
 national1 the compass of his heart was 
human2 and  as the hour drew nigh1 he   
felt that the future could not be closed
  upon the great ,gentile world2 that   
his own people were not so sublime  a   
race as to have the issues of           
,providence all to themselves2 that he  
must get rid of their conceited         
pedigrees1 and let the ,divine plan1    
which for a while had narrowed its      
original universality within the        
current of ,hebrew history1 flow out at 
its end into the full breadth  of its   

first scope4 ,but if so1 a new          
qualification must be found2 one  open  
alike to ,hebrew and to alien1 yet      
nursing the pride of neither4  ,these   
requisites are fulfilled in simple      
,faith1 which1 as a catholic            
possibility of every human heart1 ,paul 
substitutes for prescriptive  rights and
 untenable merits4 ,it was the only     
condition which there was  time to      
realize4 ,to insist instead on a mere   
moral fitness1 on a  character of mind  
suitable to meet the eye of infinite    
purity1 would  be a mockery in a state  
of society at once decrepit and corrupt4
 ,the  hour pressed3 it was not the case
 of a young and fresh generation1  that 
might be brought back1 by heedful       
training1 to the sanctities of  nature  
and conscience2 but an old and callous  
world1 that could do  little for itself1
 had to be got ready in hot haste4 ,a   
kindled  enthusiasm1 a new allegiance1 a
 resurrection of sleeping reverences1   
is the only hope4 ,once fix the gaze of 

faith1 the simplicity of trust1  on the 
,divine ,human ,being1 who1 having been 
clad in the sorrows of  this earth1     
waits to bring in its everlasting peace2
 and this  affection alone1             
comprehending in it every lesser purity1
 will soften  even arid natures1 and    
enrich them with forgotten fertility and
 grace4  ,preach your moral gymnastics  
to a school of young heroes1 whose soul 
is noble and whose limbs are free2 but  
at the baths of ,bai1 amid  paralytics  
that drag the foot1 and cripples with   
worn-out bodies and  halting wills1 if  
you cannot touch the spring of faith1   
you may spare  your pedantic rules of   
exercise4 ,thus the ,apostle's demand of
 faith  was a generous stimulant of hope
 and recovery to an invalided world1    
whose natural forces were broken1 and   
which had but little time for           
restoration4 ,it was a provision for    
pouring a mountain-breath of  healing   
reverence upon the sickly souls and     
languid levels of this  world4 ,it was  

an attempt to meet a quick emergency1   
and1 by an  intense action1 condense the
 powers of preparation4 ,it was         
therefore  an expression1 not of the    
narrowness1 but of the universality of  
the  ,gospel4 ,it shows the great heart 
of the religion bursting bounds1 and    
the strong hand of its noblest servant  
tugging at the gates to get  them open1 
grinding off the rust of tradition and  
crushing the  scrupulous gravel of      
obstruction4    ,the doctrine1 however1 
assumes quite a different significance  
when  snatched by ,luther out of its    
historical connection1 and held valid as
  a sufficient theory of human nature1  
and its only possibility of  religion4  
,the palsy of will1 the incapacity of   
self-cure1 the hopeless  moral          
prostration into which long corruption  
had brought the world1 as  it lay       
beneath the eye of ,paul1 ,luther       
assumes as the normal condition  of the 
soul1 and treats as a congenital        
incompetency of faculty1  instead of a  

contracted depravity of state4 ,not that
 he disowns the  human will as an       
executive power1 or denies it a sphere  
of operation4  ,it can go forth         
variously into action1--can do what1 in 
the view of  mankind1 is better or      
worse1--can commit a murder or can      
rescue from  it2 but in these outward   
doings1 however differently they affect 
men1  there is no real good or evil2 in 
the supreme view they are neutral       
automatic exhibitions1 simply physical  
as a flash of lightning or a  fall of   
rain2 their real character all lies in  
the inner spiritual  springs from which 
they issue in the soul3 on these alone  
is the  infinite gaze fixed2 and these  
are turbid all through1 and all alike1  
with the taint and poison of a ruined   
nature4 ,as all natural actions  derive 
an equal guilt from the impurity of     
their source1 so1 when the  source is   
purified1 is the guilt equally removed  
from all2 whilst  nothing which the     
unconverted may do can please ,god1     

nothing that is  performed in faith can 
come amiss to him4 ,be it what men call 
crime or  what they praise as virtue1 it
 makes no difference if only it be done 
in faith4 ,furnished with this          
supernatural charm1 the believer may    
pass through any mire and come out      
clean4    ,a ,christian cannot1 if he   
will1 lose his salvation by any         
multitude  or magnitude of sins1 unless 
he ceases to believe4 ,for no sins can  
damn him1 but unbelief alone4           
,everything else1 provided his faith    
returns or stands fast in the ,divine   
promise given in baptism1 is  absorbed  
in a moment by that faith4#ee    ,here  
is a conception of faith altogether     
distinct from ,paul's4 ,it is  here no  
act of reverential enthusiasm and       
affection1 no kindred movement  of the  
soul towards an object beautiful and    
holy1 but a mere willingness  to trust a
 verbal assurance of atonement1--a      
willingness1 moreover1  itself foreign  
to the mind1 and superinduced as an     

unnatural state by  special gift4 ,nor  
is its efficacy to be sought in its     
transforming power  on man1 but in its  
persuasiveness with ,god4 ,it does not  
ennoble anything  that is the           
worshipper's own1 but simply hangs on to
 it externally the  compensating        
sanctity of another2 it is1 indeed1     
described by ,luther as  the mere vessel
 put into the hands of the believer1 and
 charged with the  treasures of         
,christ's obedience1--treasures so      
acceptable that they  charm away the    
foulness1 and prevent the rejection1 of 
anything that  accompanies them4 ,thus  
the effect of faith on the disciple is  
not to  inspire him with a ,god-like    
mind1 but to prevent his corruptions    
being  any damage to him4 ,by this      
strange theory1 both sin and sanctity   
are  made entirely impersonal to man2   
sin1 by being a transmitted  inability2 
sanctity1 by being a foreign donation2  
and his individual  character sits in   
the midst1 at a point of spiritual      

indifference1  neither chargeable with  
the dark hue native to its complexion1  
nor  etherealized by the veil of        
borrowed light which it wears as a robe4
 ,no  room is found1 either in the child
 of ,adam1 or in the redeemed of        
,christ1 for any responsibility1 any    
personal guilt or goodness  whatsoever4 
,the misery and deformity in which the  
,gospel finds him is  un-moral1--the    
mere scrofula of inheritance2 the       
redemption into which  it lifts him is  
un-moral1--the mere usufruct of an alien
 purity3 and  thus the whole business of
 religion begins and ends without       
approaching1 and without improving1 any 
law of conscience at all2  morality     
remains absolutely cut off from its     
contact1 unaffected by it  except in    
being disowned and degraded1 and losing 
the prestige of a  ,divine authority4   
,this consequence of his doctrine is not
 in the least  disguised by ,luther1    
whose impetuous audacity never tires of 
forging  phrases of opposite stamp1 by  

which he may put the brand of insult    
upon  ,morals1 and burn characters of   
glory into the brow of ,religion4 ,the  
latter1 he again and again insists1 is  
to be set in the heavenly realm2  the   
former1 on the other hand1 detained upon
 the ground2 the two being  kept as     
absolutely apart as the sky from the    
earth1 regarded as not less  incapable  
of a common function than light and     
darkness1 day and night4  ,do we speak  
of faith and our relations to ,god8 then
 we have nothing to  do with morals1 and
 must leave them behind lying on the    
earth4 ,do we  speak of conduct and our 
relations with men8 then we stop upon   
the  ground1 and get no nearer to heaven
 and its lights4 ,the protests of our   
better nature against our own           
shortcomings1 the sadness of repentance1
  and the alarms of guilt1 so far from  
being confirmed by true religion1  are  
shown to be mere delusion and idle      
self-torture2 and the conscience  that  
can feel such compunctions is a stupid  

ass struggling in the dust  and flats of
 this world beneath a servile burden it 
need never bear4 ,to  trouble the heart 
with any moral anxieties or aspirations 
is the most  fatal act of unbelief1--a  
downright plunge from heaven over the   
precipice of hell4 ,the moral law may   
rule the body and its members1 but  has 
no right to any allegiance from the     
soul4#ef ,in any personal and           
historical estimate of ,luther there    
would be much to say in palliation  of  
these monstrous positions2 it would be  
easy to show their connection  with some
 of the noblest characteristics of his  
genius1 and their  antagonism to some of
 the worst features of his times4 ,but  
regarded in  their influence on         
,christendom1 when detached from their  
living origin1  and made the ground of a
 theory for the governance of life1 they
 can  only be lamented as an explosion  
of mischievous extravagance4 ,for in    
what light do they present ,morality to 
us1 after stripping it of all           

sacredness8 ,what ground is left on     
which its obligation may repose1 and    
what end is given for its aim8 ,it      
exists1 as ,luther himself declares1    
only as a provision for social order and
 external peace4 ,it is not  concerned  
with the perfection of the individual1  
but with the  organization of the world2
 and is nothing but the system of rules 
and  customs requisite for the safe     
coexistence of many persons on the same 
field4 ,it is thus reduced from an      
inspiration of conscience to an affair  
of police2 the private sentiment of     
duty1 operating in the hidden recess  of
 life1 keeping vigils over the temper of
 the mind and habits of the  home1 is a 
mere substitute for public opinion1 and 
no representative of  the eye of ,god4  
,in this way1 moral usages are first    
voted into existence  as matters of     
convenience1 and imposed by the general 
voice1 yielding as  their product in the
 individual an artificial sense of      
obligation2 and  it is a delusion to    

invert this order1 and say that the     
natural sense of  obligation1 inherent  
in each individual1 creates by sympathy 
and  concurrence the moral usages of    
mankind4 ,this extreme secularization of
  morals places ,luther in curious      
company with ,hobbes2 and the followers 
of both have not been altogether        
unfaithful to the original affinity of  
their ethical ideas4 ,both schools have 
withheld from their conception of       
morality any touch and color of         
religion2 both have been jealous of its 
mingling itself much with sentiment and 
feeling2 both have applied to it  purely
 objective criteria1 and regarded it as 
a statutory affair1  susceptible of     
codification1 and then needing only a   
logical  interpreter4 ,this singular    
alliance between sects regarding each   
other  with the greatest antipathy1     
exhibits the irresistible tendency of a 
wholly super-natural religion to produce
 an infra-natural morality4    ,the     
result of this sharp separation of the  

ethical from the spiritual  province of 
life is1 that both are deprived of      
elements indispensable  to their proper 
culture4 ,our devout people are not     
remarkable for  either clear notions or 
nice feelings on moral questions2 while 
the  conscientious class are apt to be  
dry and cold precisians1 truthful1      
trustworthy1 and humane1 but so little  
genial1 so devoid of ideality  and      
depth1 that poet or prophet is struck   
dumb before their face4 ,till  the two  
classes had discovered their mutual     
alienation and collected  themselves    
round distinct standards1--evangelical  
and worldly1--the  evil was             
inconspicuous4 ,for some time after the 
,reformation1 both  coexisted1 without  
articulate repulsion1 in every church1  
and each  silently qualified the other  
extreme4 ,besides1 in spite of ,lutheran
 or  other dogma1 deep personal faith1  
grateful trust in such a one as         
,christ1 could not be awakened in a     
people into whom ,god1 whatever they    

might say of themselves1 had actually   
put a conscience1 without  carrying the 
moralities with it4 ,it might take the  
liberty of calling  them stupid ass1 but
 would nevertheless object to have the  
ass  abused4 ,in truth1 no sooner was   
the law of ,duty driven from            
,christianity1 than the claim of ,honor 
was invoked to take its place2  and the 
believer was exhorted not to take       
unworthy advantage of his  redemption   
from legal liability1 but to render in  
thank-offering the  service exacted by  
penalty no more2 worthless as it was1 it
 was all he  had to give4 ,such appeal  
touches a spring powerful in noble      
hearts1  and is1 in fact1 only the      
awakening of a higher order of moral    
feelings than before1--a fetching back1 
under the disguise of  transfiguration1 
of that very sense of duty which had    
been professedly  expelled4 ,in the     
first enthusiasm of faith1 while men's  
souls1 having  just flung off the       
sacerdotal incubus of centuries1 were   

burning to  breathe freely1 and felt the
 healthy throb of a new joy1 this appeal
  would meet a full response4 ,the      
doctrine of faith was but the  appointed
 way of bursting through the miserable  
scrupulosities1 the  life of petty debts
 and casuistic book-keeping1 by which a 
priesthood  had maintained a balance    
against the world1--of seizing a ,divine
  indemnity and recovering the wholesome
 existence of devout instinct4  ,if the 
inspiration of the sixteenth century    
could be permanently  maintained1 if all
 men were equally susceptible of being  
snatched up  by a whirlwind of          
heavenward affection1 if the surprise at
 finding  that the soul had wings of its
 own could last for ever1 the principle 
of gratitude and pious honor might      
answer every end1 and human duty be  all
 the better done by taking no security  
for it2 for you may hurl as  a missile1 
in hot blood1 a weight which otherwise  
you will scarce drag  upon the ground4  
,but the fire of an age of ,reformation 

cannot be  permanent2 nor is gratitude  
an affection on whose tension life can  
be  securely built2--you cannot educate 
people by the force of perpetual        
surprise4 ,there is a large natural     
order of minds1 little susceptible  of a
 self-abandoning fervor1 for whom you   
vainly bring the chariot of  fire and   
horses of fire by which prophets fly to 
heaven1 and who are  content with the   
humble mantle of the humanities thrown  
aside by more  daring spirits in their  
ascent4 ,quiet1 reflective1             
self-balanced  persons are not to be    
taken by storm1 and brought to betray   
the solid  citadel of this world1 and   
say ugly things of the moralities with  
which they have lived in friendly       
neighborhood4 ,they are capable of      
being led by reverence for what is      
better1 but not of being kindled  by the
 rays of what is intenser4 ,if they are 
ever to be lifted into  a life beyond   
conscience1 where reluctance and        
resistance are felt  no more1 and the   

instincts of affection may flow of their
 own pure  will1 it must be by beginning
 at the other end1--by the religious    
discipline of conscience1 by pious      
consecration of this earth and its      
instant work1 by faithful and frugal    
care of the smaller elements of  duty1  
as of the sacred crumbs of eucharistic  
bread1 not without a ,real  ,presence in
 them4 ,this class1 whose religion1 by a
 decree of their  nature1 can only exist
 under ethical conditions1 are wholly   
unprovided  for in the ,protestant      
system4 ,in the ,lutheran view they     
belong to the  school of worldly        
unbelief2 and though their number1 as   
must be the  case in quiet times1 has   
been increasing for a century and a     
half1 and  constitutes the vast majority
 of educated people in this country1    
they  are without any recognized        
religion2 either veraciously            
disbelieving  and waiting for something 
nobly credible1 or uneasily subsisting1 
suspected by clergymen1 in the midst of 

churches whose theory of life  has      
ceased to be a reality to them4 ,with a 
faith traditionally shy of  morals1 and 
morals not yet elevated into faith1 we  
have two separate  codes of life        
standing in presence of each other1--one
 religious1 the  other secular1--and    
neither of them with any true foundation
 in human  nature as a whole2 the       
secular1 an accidental congeries of     
mixed  customs and inherited opinions2  
the religious1 the product of an        
arbitrary spiritualism1 lax and ascetic 
by turns4    ,it is the peculiarity of  
modern ,christianity that these two     
codes  coexist within the same social   
body1 and even rule over different parts
  of each individual4 ,the ,pauline     
antithesis between the world and the    
,church was not less sharp than ours2   
but it was a distinction of persons  and
 classes1 and nobody could occupy both  
the opposite ends of it4 ,once  within a
 society of disciples1 he was out of the
 world1 and belonged to  the assembly of

 the saints2 and the whole realm of     
heathendom beyond  constituted the      
contrasted term4 ,he did not stand and  
move with one leg  on holy ground and   
the other on the common earth2 whatever 
were the  principles of the community he
 had joined1 they served him all        
through1  and did no violence to the    
unity of his nature4 ,praying or dining1
  weeping or laughing1 in the workshop  
or the prison1 he was the same man  in  
the same sphere4 ,as the circle of the  
,church enlarged1 we should  therefore  
expect the world to be driven to a      
distance1 till it was  absent from whole
 countries and continents4 ,but a new   
world has been  discovered1 not only    
within the ,church1 but within the      
person of every  disciple2 his body and 
limbs1 his business and pleasures1 being
 under  the law of a morality quite     
secular2 his soul and its eternal       
affairs  sitting apart in a love quite  
spiritual4 ,who shall draw the line     
between  the provinces1 and know        

practically1 hour by hour1 where he     
stands8  ,living confusedly in both1 a  
man is apt to acquire a sort of double  
consciousness1 and fluctuate            
distractedly between ,csar and ,god4 ,he
  believes1 perhaps1 that the kingdoms  
of nature and of grace are destined     
always to remain side by side1 neither  
absorbing the other till the day  of    
doom4 ,in that case1 he will let other  
men create all the secular  usages1 the 
moralities of trade1 the maxims of      
politics2 standing aloof  from them as  
not belonging to his realm1 and falling 
in with them  freely in his own case4   
,they may be of questionable veracity   
and  justice2 but they belong to the    
,devil's world1 and are as good rules as
  can be expected from legislators      
sitting in the synagogue of ,satan4 ,why
  should he decline to profit by them1  
now that they are there8 ,when ,eve  has
 plucked the apple1 it is too late for  
,adam not to taste the fruit4  ,the     
pious broker comes on ',change as into a

 foreign world1 on which he  is pushed  
by humiliating necessities1 and in which
 he feels an interest  derived from them
 alone3 he has his citizenship          
elsewhere2 he disdains  naturalization2 
he is but a temporary settler2 he wants 
no vote about  the laws2 but1 taking    
them as they are1 cuts his crop and     
retires4 ,the  coolness with which      
people who live above the world         
sometimes avail  themselves of its      
lowest verge of usage is truly amazing4 
,an affluent  gentleman of high         
religious profession1 subscriber to     
,gospel schools1  believer in prevenient
 grace1 and otherwise the pride of the  
,evangelical  heart1 found himself not  
insensible to the approaches of the     
,hudson  mania1 speculated far beyond   
the resources of his fortune1 declined  
to  take up his bad bargains1 and thus1 
at the expense of utter ruin to his     
agent1 escaped with comparatively easy  
loss to himself4 ,the agent1 being  but 
an honorable sinner of the worldly      

class1 was struck down by the  blow into
 great depression4 ,his employer was    
enabled to take a more  cheerful view1  
and1 on meeting his poor victim1 rallied
 him on his  dejected looks and hopeless
 thoughts1 so different from his own    
resigned  and comfortable state of      
mind3--,but ah6 ,i forgot1 he added with
 a  sigh1 you are not blessed with my   
religious consolations6 ,where no  such 
positively odious results as these are  
produced1 there is still  often         
observable the negative selfishness of  
indifference to political  welfare and  
political morals1--an affected          
withdrawal from temporal  interests in  
the neighborhood or the ,state1 and an  
insensibility to  public injustice      
strangely disproportioned to the zeal   
displayed against  innocent amusements  
and the nervousness on behalf of        
invisible  subtilties of creed4    ,the 
false opposition1 however1 between the  
world and the ,church is  not always    
thus passive and quiescent4 ,it is not  

always recognized by  those who hold it1
 as being a permanent fact to be merely 
sighed over  and let alone4 ,many men   
are too earnest and truthful to settle  
down  and pitch their tent upon a ground
 rocking with contradiction2 to live    
two lives wholly unreconciled1 one in   
the shame of nature1 the other  in the  
confidence of grace2 or to belong to two
 societies1--one  political1 the other  
spiritual1--conducted on principles at  
incurable  variance with each other4    
,that a rule of action should be        
secularly  good and religiously         
hateful1--that a sentiment should be    
fitly  applauded in ,parliament and     
groaned over in the conventicle1--is to 
them an intolerable unreality1 like the 
celebrated verdict of the  ,university  
of ,paris1 that a doctrine might be true
 in philosophy and  false in theology4  
,in their hands1 accordingly1 the       
antithesis between  the human and the   
divine is not a quiescent1 but a        
conflicting  dualism1 in which their    

religious ideas become aggressive1 and  
assume  a commission to drive back and  
humble the world4 ,they claim the earth 
for ,god1 and think the surrender       
incomplete while anything natural       
remains2--while any instinct is         
uncrushed1 any laughter unstifled1 any  
genius1 however pure1 a law unto itself4
 ,the crusade against temporal          
interests and pursuits1 consequent upon 
this state of mind1 changes  its form   
with the culture and habits of the age4 
,in the early years of  the             
,reformation1 when the whole ,bible was 
spread open beneath the  thirsting eye  
of an undistinguishing enthusiasm1 the  
effect threatened  at one time to be    
more terrible than glorious4 ,the full  
thunder-cloud  of the ,hebrew prophets1 
stealing over a world in negative       
stagnation1  waked the sleeping         
lightnings of the soul1 and for a while 
streaked  the atmosphere of history with
 fearful portents4 ,everything that had 
been written of the chosen people1 their

 exodus1 their law1 their  poetry1 their
 passions1--everything except the       
relentings of their  nature and the     
unsteadiness of their faith1--became    
consecrated alike4  ,the military clang 
of their early history1 the harp of     
their sweet  singer1 the choral pomp of 
their priestly rule1 the mystic voices  
of  their lonely men of ,god1--all were 
,divine music alike1 often more         
exciting than the ,sermon on the ,mount1
 and not less piercing than the  anguish
 in ,gethsemane4 ,such was the sequence 
and connection of the  ,divine          
dispensations supposed to be1 that      
,christianity was simply the  ,jewish   
theocracy1 only let loose out of        
,palestine to make a promised  land of  
the whole world4 ,the downtrodden serfs 
of ,franconia had not  long heard the   
glad tidings from ,wittenberg1 ere they 
began to draw  parallels between        
themselves and the old ,israel when the 
desert had  been passed4 ,they had been 
brought to the brink of new hope1 and   

looked1 as across ,jordan1 to an        
inheritance verdant and tempting to     
their eye4 ,the earth was the ,lord's1  
and the army of the saints was  come to 
take it2 the bannered princes1 the      
ungodly priests1 the men  with spurs    
upon their heels1 all the carnal who    
peopled this ,canaan  and perched their 
eagle's nests on every height1 must be  
smitten and  cleared off4 ,the time of  
jubilee was come1 when every believer   
should  have his field of heritage2 nay1
 the birds in the forest1 the fish in   
the stream1 the fruits of the ground1   
whatever has the sacred seal of  ,god's 
creative power1 should be free to all1  
and the noble should eat  the peasant's 
bread or die4 ,the lawyers should take  
their heathenish  courts away1 and men  
of ,god should sit and judge the people1
 according  to the spirit and the word4 
,the harvest was ripe1 when the tares   
must  be burned in the fire and the pure
 wheat be garnered for the ,lord4       
,these were the ideas which thousands of

 armed men1 with a clouted shoe  and a  
cart-wheel for their standards1 and a   
leader who signed himself  the sword of 
,gideon1 preached as their ,gospel      
through the forests of  ,thuringia and  
beneath the citadel of ,wrzburg4 ,nor   
was the ripest  learning1 much less the 
most generous spirit of the time1 any   
security  against the adoption of their 
doctrine4 ,it was not ,mnzer alone who  
breathed the fierce inspiration1        
exhorting his swarthy miners to lay     
,nimrod on the anvil1 and let it ring   
bravely with their strokes2 but  the    
honest ,carlstadt1 too1 scholar1        
preacher1 dialectician as he is1  lays  
aside his broadcloth1 and appears in    
white felt hat and rustic  coat at the  
cross of ,rothenburg1 to preach         
encouragement to the  people and bring  
fresh sorrow on himself4 ,throughout the
 great  movement which in the third     
decade of the sixteenth century spread  
insurrection from the ,breisgau to      
,saxony1 the peasants were animated     

with the belief that the ,gospel1 armed 
with the sword of ,joshua1 was  to      
subjugate the world1 and that all the   
conditions of property1 of  law1 of     
civil administration1 under which       
secular communities exist1  were to be  
superseded by institutions conformed to 
a divine model4 ,the  leading           
,reformers1 terrified by the religious  
socialism which they had  raised1 were  
ready enough to denounce and crush it4  
,but in truth their  own idea differed  
from this insurgent faith more in form  
than in  essence2 lodging the power in  
different hands1 and prescribing to it a
  different method1 but assigning to it 
a similar trust for the same  ultimate  
ends4 ,the kingdoms of this world were  
to be made the kingdom  of the ,lord and
 of his ,christ2 and the temporal power 
was everywhere  to assume a spiritual   
function1 and make aggression on        
whatever  opposed itself to the severity
 and sanctity of the ,divine ,word4 ,the
  converts of ,knox1 the troopers of    

,cromwell1 the town-councillors of      
,geneva1 acting on this doctrine1       
claimed the whole of human life as      
their domain1 and pushed the            
inquisitions of police into private     
habits1 and even the secret inclinations
 of personal belief4  ,playing-cards and
 song-books were denounced and seized1  
as if they  came from the ,devil's      
printing-press2 dancing prohibited1 as a
 profane  escape of the natural members 
into mirthful agitation2 concerts       
silenced1 as enslaving immortal souls to
 the delusive sweetness of  strings and 
wind2 the caps of women and the coats of
 men shaped to  evangelic type2 and1 as 
if the world were a great school1 the   
gates of  cities1 and even the doors of 
houses1 were closed at temperate hours  
by vesper bell or signal gun4           
,asceticism grasped the sceptre and the 
sword1 and demanded the capitulation of 
the world4 ,how vain and  dangerous this
 tyrannous repression of nature is1 the 
reaction during  the seventeenth century

 into reckless and fatal license        
emphatically  declares2 and the contrast
 shows the necessity of finding some    
mediating term1 some reconciling wisdom1
 by which the antagonism may  cease     
between the world and heaven1 between   
natural morals and  ,christian          
aspiration4 ,yet under a change of form 
the struggle is still  continued2 and   
with those who most prominently assume  
to represent the  aims of ,christianity1
 the present life1 the temporal world1  
has no  adequate recognition of its     
rights4 ,they have no trust in human    
nature  as divinely constituted1 and as 
having no part or passion without some  
fitting range4 ,they dare not leave it  
out of sight for an instant3  they must 
draw up a dietary for it1 of sufficing  
vegetables and water2  they must watch  
its temper1 and see that it behaves with
 winning  sweetness to all rascality2   
they must guard its purse1 and teach it 
that to live cheaply1 spending nothing  
for ornament and beauty1  nothing for   

honor and right1 but only for           
subsistence and charity1 is  the great  
wisdom of man2 they must stifle its     
indignations1 lest it  should cease to  
hold out its cheek to ,russia1 and1     
having gone one  shameful mile with the 
nephew of my uncle1 should refuse to go 
with  him another4 ,both the ascetic    
doctrine and the extreme peace          
principles of the present day1 as well  
as its tendency to renounce all         
retributory punishment1 betray1 in our  
opinion1 a morbidly scrupulous          
apprehension of evil1 quite blinding to 
the healthy eye for good1--a  crouching 
of moral fear1 singularly at variance   
with the free and  noble bearing of the 
,apostle1 who found that to the pure all
 things  are pure4 ,as for the          
non-resistance principle1 we have shown 
that it  meant no more in the early     
,church than that the disciples were not
 to  anticipate the hour1 fast          
approaching1 of ,messiah's descent to   
claim  his throne4 ,but when that hour  

struck1 there was to be no want of      
physical force1 no shrinking from       
retribution as either unjust or         
undivine4 ,the flaming fire1 the sudden 
destruction1 the mighty  angels1 the    
tribulation and anguish1 were to form   
the retinue of  ,christ and the pioneers
 of the kingdom of ,god4 ,it was not    
that  coercion was deemed unholy1 and   
regarded as the agency appropriate to   
lower natures and left behind in        
ascending towards heaven2 it was  simply
 that natural coercion was not to       
fritter itself away1 but leave  the     
field open for the supernatural4 ,the   
new reign was to come with  force2 and  
on nothing else1 in the last resort1 was
 there any  reliance2 only the army was 
to arrive from heaven before the earthly
  recruits were taken up4 ,nothing1     
indeed1 can well be further from the    
sentiment of ,scripture than the extreme
 horror of force1 as a penal  and       
disciplinary instrument1 which is       
inculcated in modern times4 ,my         

kingdom1 said ,jesus1 is not of this    
world2 else would my servants           
fight2--an expression which implies that
 no kingdom of this world can  dispense 
with arms1 and that he himself1 were he 
the head of a human  polity1 would not  
forbid the sword2 but while legions of  
angels  stood ready for his word1 and   
only waited till the ,scripture was     
fulfilled and the hour of darkness was  
passed1 to obey the signal of  heavenly 
invasion1 the weapon of earthly temper  
might remain within  the sheath4 ,the   
infant ,church1 subsisting in the heart 
of a military  empire1 and expecting    
from on high a military rescue1 was not 
itself  to fight2 not1 however1 because 
force was in all cases brutal and       
heathenish1 but because1 in this case1  
it was to be angelic and  celestial4 ,it
 is evident that precepts given under   
the influence of  these ideas can have  
no just application to the actual duties
 of  citizens and states1 whose problems
 of conduct1 whose very existence1  they

 never contemplated2 and that to urge   
them upon modern society as  political  
canons is to introduce a doctrine which1
 under cover of  their form1 violently  
outrages their spirit4    ,the mistaken 
antithesis between temporal and         
spiritual things runs  into the greatest
 excess1 wherever the inherent pravity  
of human  nature is most exaggerated4   
,there are churches1 however1--the      
,catholic  and the ,arminian1--in whose 
doctrines the natural condition of man  
is  painted in colors far removed from  
the deepest shade2 and which deem  him  
not so much incapable of right moral    
discernment1 as weakened for  faithful  
moral execution4 ,in this view1 the     
function of ,christianity  is not to    
supersede and cancel1 but to supplement 
and guide1 the  native energies of the  
soul2 not to raise it from a mad trance1
 in  which all thought and feeling are  
themselves but a false glare1 but  to   
apply a tonic and healing power1        
enabling it to do the right which  it   

has already light enough to see4        
,professor ,fitzgerald is an  adherent  
to this doctrine1 and justly contends   
that no lower estimate  of human nature 
can consist with responsibility at all4 
,i am not to be ranked1 he says1 amongst
 those who assume that human  corruption
 has not affected the natural power of  
the moral sense4 ,i  think it has4 ,no  
doubt sinful depravity1 wherever it is  
indulged1 is1  as ,aristotle long ago   
remarked1   1--it tends to  weaken or   
deprave the sentiment of moral censure1 
and to blunt the  perception of moral   
evil4    ,an eloquent but superficial   
,french moralist has compared the       
conscience to a table-rock in the ocean1
 its surface1 just above the  ripple1   
bearing an inscription graven in the    
stone1 which a genius1  hovering over   
it1 reads aloud4 ,at times the waves    
arise and sweep over  the tablet1       
concealing the mystic characters4 ,then 
the reader is  compelled to pause4 ,but 
after a while the wind is lulled1 the   

waves  sink back to their accustomed    
level1 the inscription stands out clear 
and legible1 and the genius resumes his 
interrupted task4    ,this comparison   
might gain something in correctness if  
we imagine the  inscription traced upon 
a softer substance4 ,for the stormy     
waves of  passion not only conceal1     
while they prevail1 the sacred          
characters of  virtue1 but1 as billow   
after billow passes over the tablet1    
they tend  to obliterate the lines4     
,but in making these large concessions1 
7which ,i do very willingly17 ,i  do not
 feel that ,i am surrendering the cause4
 ,it is one thing to say  that the      
discriminating power of the moral       
judgment is affected and  impaired by   
human corruption1 and quite another to  
say that it is  destroyed4 ,it is one   
thing to say that it sometimes goes     
wrong1 and  another that we can never   
depend on its decisions4 ,most men's    
experience has often brought them       
acquainted with persons who had         

impaired1 in some way or other1 their   
natural powers of perceiving truth  or  
excellence in some respects1 without    
losing either sound principles  of      
reason or sound principles of honesty in
 others4 ,and the way to  correct such  
obliquities of intellectual or moral    
judgment is1 not to  tell men that they 
should distrust their natural faculties 
altogether1  but to avail ourselves of  
so much as remains sound to discover the
  mistake or imperfection which we seek 
to remedy or supply4 ,the appeal1  in   
such cases1 is from the reason or       
conscience perverted or impaired1  to   
the same faculties in what physicians   
would call their normal  state4 ,when   
the effaced portions of the inscription 
are to be restored1  the evidence of the
 correction results from its harmonizing
 with the  part which has not been      
obliterated2 and an interpolation may be
  detected by its disturbing the        
coherence of the context1--an omission  
by  leaving it imperfect or             

unintelligible4--p4 #bf4    ,on this    
principle alone1 unhappily but little   
congenial with the  spirit and          
traditions of ,protestant churches1 can 
,christianity coexist  with natural     
ethics4 ,faith adopts morals1 purifies  
and sublimes them1  and especially      
changes the character of their          
force2--for a law of  compulsion from   
below1 substituting a love of ,god      
above4 ,the enmity  ceases between the  
world and heaven2 the physical earth is 
not more  certainly afloat in space1 and
 on the muster-roll of stars1 than the  
present life is plunged in eternity1 and
 not behind its chiefest  sanctities4   
,there is nothing to be ashamed of1     
nothing to be slurred  over as an       
unmanageable necessity1 in the natural  
constitution and  relations of men2     
whatever acts they prescribe1 whatever  
combinations  they require1 are within  
the scope and consecration of religion4 
,the  whole compass of the world and its
 affairs1 all the gifts and  activities 

of men1 are brought within moral        
jurisdiction1 and included  in the      
embrace of a genial reverence4 ,no      
narrow interpretation is  longer        
possible of the province of human piety1
 and the true type of a  noble goodness2
 as though they demanded a definite set 
of actions1  rather than a certain style
 of soul1 and denied a place to any     
affection or pursuit which can adorn and
 glorify existence4 ,divine  things are 
not put away into foreign realms of     
being1 and future  reaches of time1     
attainable by no path of toil1 no spring
 of effort1  only by miraculous         
transport2 but are met with every day1  
shining  through the substance of life  
and hid amid its hours4 ,whatever       
original endowments1 whatever acquired  
virtues1 enrich and elevate our         
immediate sphere1--the ,thought which   
finds its truth1 the ,genius that       
evolves its beauty1 the ,honor that     
guards its nobleness1 the ,love  which  
lightens the burden of its sorrows1--are

 not mere temporal  embellishments      
indifferent to its sacredness1 but      
attributes that  bring men nearer to the
 sympathy and similitude of ,god4 ,art1 
literature1 politics1 employing the     
highest human activities1 and           
constituting the very blossom and fruit 
of all our culture1 are  recognized as  
having an earnest root1 and not being   
the light growth  of secular gayety and 
selfishness4 ,we have no sympathy with  
the  sentimental and immoral propensity1
 which corrupts the newest  ,continental
 philosophy1 to recognize whatever comes
 into existence as  ipso facto divine4  
,but we do believe that the great change
 for which  the secret religiousness of 
this age pines1 and which it is sorely  
straitened till it can accomplish1 is   
the deliberate adoption into  heavenly  
places of this world1 its faculties and 
affairs1 just as  ,god has made them1   
and man's unfaithfulness has not yet    
spoiled them4  ,the products of human   
baseness1 hypocrisy1 and ambition1--let 

them  remain hateful1 eternally contrary
 to ,god1 things scarce safe to pity2   
but believe not that they have got this 
planet entirely to themselves1  and have
 snatched it as their peculium quite out
 of the ,supreme  ,hand4 ,men are tired 
of straining their thought along the    
diameter of  the universe to seek for a 
,holy of ,holies in whatever is opposite
 to  their life2 they find a worship    
possible1 even irresistible1 at home1   
and on the road-side a place as fit to  
kneel as on the pavement of the  ,milky 
,way4 ,the old antagonism between the   
world that now is1 and any  other that  
has been or is to come1 has been        
modified for them1 or has  even entirely
 ceased4 ,the earth is no place of      
diabolic exile1 which  the prince of the
 power of the air ever fans and darkens 
with his  wing2 and were it even1 as was
 once believed1 appointed to perish1    
this would be not because its failure   
was complete1 but because its  task was 
done4 ,no vengeance burns in the        

sunshine which mellows its  fruits and  
paints its grass2 no threatenings flash 
from the starry  eyes that watch over it
 by night4 ,it is not only the home of  
each  man's personal affections1 but the
 native country of his very soul2  where
 first he found in what a life he lives1
 and to what heaven he  tends2 where he 
has met the touch of spirits higher than
 his own1 and  of ,him that is highest  
of all4 ,it is the abode of every       
ennobling  relation1 the scene of every 
worthy toil2--the altar of his vows1 the
  observatory of his knowledge1 the     
temple of his worship4 ,whatever        
succeeds to it will be its sequel1 not  
its opposite1 will resume the  tale     
wherever silence overtakes it1 and be   
blended into one life by  sameness of   
persons and continuity of plan4 ,he is  
set here to live1  not as an alien1     
passing in disguise through an enemy's  
camp1 where no  allegiance is due1 and  
no worthy love is possible1 but as a    
citizen  fixed on an historic soil1     

pledged by honorable memories to nurse  
yet  nobler hopes4 ,here is the spot1   
now is the time1 for the most  devoted  
service of ,god4 ,no strains of heaven  
will wake him into  prayer1 if the      
common music of humanity stirs him not4 
,the saintly  company of spirits will   
throng around him in vain1 if he finds  
no  angels of duty and affection in his 
children1 neighbors1 and friends4  ,if  
no heavenly voices wander around him in 
the present1 the future  will be but the
 dumb change of the shadow on the dial4 
,in short1  higher stages of existence  
are not the refuge from this1 but the   
complement to it2 and it is the proper  
wisdom of the affections1 not  to escape
 the one in order to seek the other1 but
 to flow forth in  purifying copiousness
 on both4    ,we have said that men are 
tired of having their earthly and their 
heavenly relations set up in sharp      
opposition to each other1 and are  eager
 to live here in a consecrated world4   
,this tendency has already  found       

expression in two remarkable and        
apparently dissimilar  phenomena1--the  
partial success of the ,anglican and    
,catholic reaction1  and the vast       
influence on ,english society of the    
late ,dr4 ,arnold's  character4 ,both   
were virtual protests against that      
removal of ,god out  of the common human
 life1 that unreconciled condition of   
,law and  ,gospel1 which had made the   
evangelical theology sickening and      
unreal4  ,a path had to be opened for   
the re-introduction of a divine presence
  into the sphere of temporal things4   
,newman resorted to the  supernatural   
channel of ,church miracle2 ,arnold to  
the natural course  of human affairs1   
and the permanent sacredness of human   
obligation4  ,both restored to us a     
solemn mystery of immediate             
,incarnation2 the one  putting life1 in 
order to its consecration1 into contact 
with the  sacraments2 the other         
spreading a sacramental veneration over 
the  whole of life4 ,arnold1 especially1

 saw the great moral evils which  have  
arisen from the evangelical depreciation
 of the profane world4  ,the secular1 he
 was well aware1 has become too secular1
 the  spiritual too merely spiritual4   
,human nature is permitted to have  play
 with unchecked wilfulness in the one1  
and is allowed no place at  all in the  
other4 ,the obligations of natural law  
are held in light  esteem1 as if1 in    
being social1 they fell short of being  
sacred4 ,the  exercises of intellect1 in
 the survey of nature or the            
interpretation  of history1 are often   
stigmatized as a mere earthly curiosity1
  permissible to reason1 but neutral to 
the soul4 ,the worst of it is1  that    
these notions1 once become habitual1    
fulfil their own  predictions4 ,as there
 is nothing which the heart cannot      
sanctify1 so  is there nothing which it 
may not secularize4 ,tell men that in   
their  natural affections there is      
nothing holy1 and their homes will soon 
be  nests of common instinct4 ,assure   

them that in their business it is the   
unregenerate will1 and the animal       
necessity1 that labor for the bread     
which perisheth1 and soon enough will an
 irreverent greediness and a  cankered  
anxiety usurp the place4 ,persuade them 
that to study the  order of creation or 
the records of past ages is but a carnal
  pursuit1 and the student's prayer for 
light will become a mere  ambition for  
distinction1 the meditations of wonder  
be stifled in the  dust of mental       
day-labor1 and the tears of admiration  
drop no more on  the page of ancient    
wisdom4 ,this was what ,arnold could not
 abide2 to  see religion flying off on  
wings of pompous pretence to other      
worlds1  and leaving no heavenly glory  
upon the earth1 but letting her very    
fields be paved into a street4 ,there   
was no attempt to save a spot  for any  
earnest reality1 except the poor little 
enclosure behind the  altar rail4 ,the  
,church will consecrate a graveyard for 
the dead1 but  leaves the market of the 

living still unblessed3 you may dissolve
 away  in benediction1 when your years  
are over of toil and sweat beneath the  
curse4 ,to one who acknowledges a       
natural conscience and a natural        
element in faith1 there is a religion in
 little in every part of  life2 it gives
 at least a note in the chords and      
melody of worship4  ,hence ,arnold's    
curious doctrine of the ,church as      
covering all human  relations           
whatsoever1 and including the whole     
organism of the ,state4  ,he would have 
nothing which the laws of this universe 
imposed on the  will of man done without
 a clear and pious recognition2 it was  
not to  be illicitly smuggled in1 as if 
run ashore in a gale of confusion that  
could not be helped1 but must be        
steadily accounted for and stored in    
open day4 ,ethically1 this doctrine1    
though1 from its adaptation to a        
permanent world1 it is the least        
,apostolic in appearance1 is1 of all    
interpretations of ,christianity1 the   

most true2 and if it were not for       
clinging ideas of extra-moral dogma and 
special priesthood1 as  limiting the    
conception of the ,church1 would go far 
to repeat for  our age the work of      
,socrates for his1 and bring down our   
divine  philosophy from heaven to earth4
 ,it gets rid entirely of the false     
spiritualism which has either withheld  
religious men from political  affairs1  
or induced them to urge on statesmen    
rules applicable only  where government 
can be dispensed with altogether4 ,it   
rescues  ,christianity from the         
degradation of being hypocritically     
flattered as  the great persuasive to   
peace by rulers whom it does not        
restrain from  going to war1 and        
relieves it of an oppressive weight of  
false  expectation1 as though it broke  
its promise to the world every time a   
new case of strife appeared4 ,nothing   
can well be more damaging to a          
religion1 than to commit it to          
unqualified disapprobation of anything  

which must exist while human nature     
lasts1 and to set it frowning with      
ineffectual sublimity on the passions   
and events which determine the  whole   
course of history4 ,the amiable         
enthusiasts who propose to  conduct the 
affairs of nations on principles of     
brotherly love1 and  who1 till that     
consummation is reached1 can only stand 
by and protest1  do but weaken their    
country for purposes of justice and     
bring their  faith into merited         
commiseration4 ,it is commonly said that
 they are a  harmless class1 who may    
even form a useful counterpoise to the  
warlike  susceptibilities of less       
scrupulous men4 ,we have no belief1     
however1  in the efficacy of falsehood  
and exaggeration1 or in the attainment  
of  truth and moderation by the         
neutralizing action of opposite         
extravagances4 ,the reverence for human 
life is carried to an immoral  idolatry1
 when it is held more sacred than       
justice and right1 and when  the        

spectacle of blood becomes more horrible
 than the sight of  desolating tyrannies
 and triumphant hypocrisies4 ,life1     
indeed1 is just  the one thing--the     
reserved capital1 the rest1 the ultimate
  security--on whose disposability in   
the last resort1 and on the free        
control over which1 the very existence  
of society depends4 ,the first  and     
highest social bond is no doubt to be   
found in a religious  sentiment1 a      
common veneration for the same things as
 right and  intrinsically binding on men
 that live side by side2 and the        
worship1  with its institutions1 of     
every community1 is its instinctive     
attempt  to get these things            
spontaneously done by the force of      
reverence4  ,could this point be really 
carried1 nothing would remain to be     
accomplished2 religion would complete   
and perfect the incorporation of  mutual
 loyalty which it had begun4 ,but there 
are some in whom the  sentiment of      
common reverence fails1 and for whose   

fidelity to the  moral ends of the      
social union there is therefore no      
natural guaranty4  ,to reach these      
cases1 society has no resource but      
coercive methods1  actual or threatened2
 the threat is ,law2 the actuality is   
,punishment2 the power to which both are
 committed is a ,government2  the       
commonwealth on whose behalf they exist 
is a ,state4 ,the very  constitution of 
a state thus presupposes the possible   
violation of  moral right1 the partial  
failure of religion to secure its       
observance1 and the determination to    
enforce on the reluctant an  obedience  
refused of free will4 ,force1 however1  
is applicable only to  men's bodies2 it 
is a restraint and pressure on the      
functions of  their life2 and if that   
life be sacred from infringement1 the   
political existence of nations is itself
 an offence against the law of  ,god4   
,all law1 all polity1 is a proclamation 
that justice is better  than life1 and1 
if need be1 shall override it and all   

the possessions  it includes2 and       
nothing can be weaker or more suicidal  
than for men  who are citizens of a     
commonwealth to announce1 that1 for     
their part1  they mean to hold life in  
higher esteem than justice4 ,moreover1  
there  is a low-minded egotism often    
disguised in this doctrine of passive   
meekness4 ,as an inducement to quiet    
endurance of wrong1 we are  reminded of 
the duty of mutual forgiveness4 ,is all 
the wickedness1  then1 that ,i am doomed
 to witness1 nothing but a personal     
affront8  ,when a rascal threatens to   
blow out my neighbor's brains1 or to    
blast  his character by infamous        
accusations1 am ,i in a position to     
forbear  and pardon8 ,must ,i not own   
myself under a solemn trust1 to see the 
right done and the guilty punished8     
,nay1 would not the injured man  himself
 greatly mistake the nature of the      
crime1 and measure it by a  paltry      
standard1 if he took it for a mere      
private offence which it was  his       

prerogative to punish or to overlook8   
,who is this that forgiveth  sins also8 
,the eternal laws of justice are not of 
our enacting2 and  no will of ours has  
title to suspend or to repeal them4 ,the
 real and  only demand of ,christian    
magnanimity is1 that we visit them with 
no  vengeance1 but merely with moral    
retribution2--that is1 with no more     
severity when directed against          
ourselves1 than when we see them at an  
impersonal distance4 ,but to regard and 
treat the guilty as if he were  an      
innocent1--that is given to no man1 and 
is even inconceivable of  ,god4 ,rulers1
 at all events1 as trustees of rights   
other than their  own1--and each        
generation of a people1 as charged with 
the interests  of successors in         
perpetuity1--have but a limited         
privilege of  forbearance2 the meekness 
of the saint would in them be treason to
 the  world4 ,even in international     
disputes1 where each party may have a   
conviction of right1 the controversy1   

but for the possibility of  force1 could
 have no end4 ,it is a delusion to rely 
on courts as a  substitute for armies1  
and to suppose that judicial decision   
can  supersede military4 ,the judge     
would be of small avail without the     
constable2 and the arbitrator between   
nations would need a ,european  army to 
enforce his decrees4 ,where the stake is
 large and the feeling  strong1 it is   
notorious that the private disputant    
rarely acquiesces  in an arbitration    
that goes against him2 but carries his  
case to the  last appeal1 where it is   
stopped by a barrier of impassable      
force4 ,you  might as well pull down    
your jails in preparation for the       
assizes1 as  destroy your fleets and    
arsenals in quest of international      
arbitration4 ,we speak only of the      
ultimate theory of this matter1 and     
simply affirm1 that wherever law and    
government exist1 somewhere in  the     
background force must lurk4 ,it may1 no 
doubt1 be provided in  excess1 and      

paraded without need2 and with the      
progress of a civilized  order1 the     
circle may be ever widened within which 
the idea of  coercion1 with the habits  
it creates1 may be substituted for the  
obtrusive reality2 till possibly a      
family of nations may be gathered1  like
 a group of counties1 into a common     
jurisdiction4 ,but this only  shifts the
 camp without disbanding it2 and1 after 
all1 the tipstaffs  of your supreme     
court could be no other than the legions
 of a grand  army4 ,we have1 therefore1 
no more doubt that a war may be right1  
than  that a policeman may be a security
 for justice1 and we object to a        
fortress as little as to a handcuff4 ,a 
religion which does not include  the    
whole moral law2 a moral law which does 
not embrace all the  problems of a      
commonwealth2 a commonwealth which      
regards the life of  man more than the  
equities of ,god1--appear to us         
unfaithful to their  functions1 and     
unworthy interpreters of the divine     

scheme of the  world4 ,quaker histories1
 written with omission of all the wars1 
are  not less morbid as moral mistakes1 
than a doctrine of ,providence1  leaving
 out the whole realm of heathendom1 is  
narrow as a religious  theory2 and the  
misuse of ,scripture which has led to   
both1 is most  dangerous to its         
authority in an age remarkable for the  
breadth of its  historical survey and   
the variety of its ethnological         
sympathies4    ,in other ways than those
 which we have indicated has a          
mischievous  direction been given to    
modern thought and feeling1 by          
perverting the  accidental and transient
 form of the primitive ,christianity    
into  essential and permanent doctrine4 
,but our exposition must proceed no     
further4 ,the alternation of ascetic    
spiritualism and worldly laxity1  the   
indifference to natural affections and  
relations1 the  exclusiveness at once   
devout and selfish1 the jealous denial  
of their  rights to intellect and art1  

the false apprehension of the true      
dignity of law and true life of states1 
have been the more earnestly  dwelt upon
 from the conviction that these ethical 
infirmities are  producing a perilous   
reaction1--a distrust of all ethical    
laws  whatsoever1 a disposition to hold 
everything divine that finds  strength  
to realize itself1--a worship of what   
is1 in place of an  aspiration to what  
ought to be4 ,to this we cannot consent4
 ,we cannot  look on all forms of human 
life and character with the neutral eye 
of  an equal admiration1 as alike       
suitable products of formative nature4  
,we cannot forego the right of          
judgment1--of embracing with reverence  
or spurning with abhorrence2 or part    
with the ideal type of a perfect  soul1 
to which all others rise as they        
approach4 ,neither do we believe  with  
,luther1 that human nature is a mere    
devilish anarchy1 reducible  only by    
supernatural irruption2 nor with the    
newest school1 that it is  a divine     

anarchy1 equally uncontrollable from    
within1 and to be  accepted as a wild   
fact2 but that it is a hierarchy of     
powers1 each  having and knowing its    
rightful place1 and appealing to us to  
maintain  it there4 ,to listen to that  
appeal1 and1 in answer to it1 strive to 
harmonize the de facto with the de jure 
administration of the  soul1 destroying 
the usurpation of mean errors1 and      
restoring the sway  of kingly truth1 is 
the aim of morals in action and in      
philosophy4    ,,footnotes3    #ee      
,luther de ,captivitate1 ,bab4 ii4 #bfd4
 ,comp4 ,dispu4 i4 #ebc4 ,si in  fide   
fieri posset adulterium1 peccatum non   
esset4 ,other and yet more  revolting   
assertions of the same principle are    
cited by ,mhle1 in his  ,symbolik1 ,i4  
iii4  #af1 whence these passages are    
taken4    #ef ,see ,luther's ,commentary
 on the ,epistle to the ,galatians1     
passim4          ,,the ,,restoration    
,,of ,,belief4        ,the ,restoration 
of ,belief4 ,no4 ,i4 ,christianity in   

,relation to its      ,ancient and      
,modern ,antagonists4 ,cambridge3       
,macmillan  ,co4 #aheb4      ,we have   
heard it quoted as the remark of a      
distinguished foreigner1  conversant    
with the choicest society in several of 
the capitals of  ,europe1 that nowhere  
is the alienation of the higher and     
professional  classes from all religious
 faith so widespread and complete as in 
,england4 ,that the masses at the other 
end of the social scale are  indifferent
 or disaffected to the institutions     
which visibly embody the  ,christianity 
of our age1 can be no secret to any     
observant inhabitant of  a large        
,english town4 ,it is on the middle     
class alone that the various  forms of  
,protestant worship have any real hold4 
,removed alike from the  passionate     
temptations of the homeless artisan1 and
 from the mental  activity of the       
statesman or man of letters1 the rural  
gentry and the  urban tradespeople are  
detained under traditional influences1  

partly by  the wholesome conservatism of
 moral habit1 partly by helpless        
accommodation to conventional standards4
 ,men of this class1 if once  really    
touched and possessed by earnest        
conviction1 are the best  defenders of a
 religion from political assault4 ,but a
 faith exposed to  an intellectual      
struggle finds among them but a         
precarious shelter2  especially if their
 attachment to it is less a living      
persuasion than a  fear of the blank    
which its removal would create4         
,persecuted by the  magistrate1 they    
know how to defend their worship from   
the oppression of  law4 ,assailed by the
 critic1 they can offer but the         
resistance of a dumb  impenetrability2  
they cannot bring their sterling        
personal qualities to  bear upon the    
contest2 they are obliged1 for all      
active conduct in the  strife1 to trust 
to a body of literary ,swiss1 engaged to
 protect the  ,vatican of their faith1  
and accustomed never to report defeat4  

,in  proportion as the methods of       
sceptical aggression become more        
formidable1 and its temper more earnest1
 it is found necessary to  improve the  
training of the band of ,church         
defenders2--a measure at once           
indispensable and fatal2 for it lifts   
them into an intellectual  position1    
which spoils the blind singleness of    
their allegiance1  discloses the        
hopelessness of the task expected from  
them1 and often  destroys their         
antipathy to the noble revolutionary    
foe4 ,it is the  vainest of hopes1 that 
a body of clergy1 brought up to the     
culture of  the nineteenth century1 can 
abide by the ,christianity of the       
sixteenth  or of the second2 if they may
 not preserve its essence by translation
  into other forms of thought1 they will
 abandon it1 in proportion as they  are 
clear-sighted and veracious1 as a       
dialect grown obsolete4 ,the number     
accordingly is constantly increasing1 in
 every college capable of  training a   

rich intellect1 of candidates for the   
ministry forced by  their doubts into   
lay professions1 and carrying thither   
the powerful  influence1 in the same    
direction1 of learning and              
accomplishment4 ,the  higher offices of 
education are1 to no slight extent1 in  
the hands of  these deserters of the    
,church2 and through the tutor in the   
family1 or  the master in the school1 or
 the professor in the lecture-room1     
contact  and sympathy are established   
between the best portions of the new    
generation1 and a kind of thought and   
culture with which the authorized       
theology cannot co-exist4 ,college      
friendships1 foreign travel1 current    
literature1 familiarize all educated    
young men with the phenomenon of        
scepticism1 and in a way most likely to 
disenchant it of its terrors4  ,thus by 
innumerable channels it enters the      
middle class at the  intellectual end of
 their life1 assuming in general the    
form of historic  and critical doubt2   

while from below1 from the classes born 
and bred  amid the whirl of machinery1  
and shaped in their very imagination by 
the  tyranny of the power-loom1 it      
pushes up in the ruder form of material 
fatalism4 ,the intermediate enclosure1  
safe in the dull innocence of an        
unsuspected creed1 is growing narrower  
every day2 and1 though reserved  to the 
last for its hour of temptation1 will be
 the least prepared to  win its victory4
    ,no one who appreciates the real    
sources of a healthy national life1  and
 knows what to expect from the          
dissolution of ancient faiths1 can  look
 without anxiety at a prospect like     
this2 especially in a country  whose    
religious institutions1 rigid with      
usage1 overloaded with  interests1      
charged with the bequests of the past1  
are manifestly  unequal to the crisis1  
and1 in their attempt to train the      
affections  of the ,future1 wield every 
power but the right one1 and are indeed 
already regarded1 like the ,court of    

,chancery with its wards1 as a dry      
nursery for grown babies4 ,a people that
 reverences nothing--nothing at  least  
that stretches a common heaven over     
all--has lost its natural  unity4       
,incipient decay is spreading through   
the secret cement of its  civilization1 
which1 far from bearing the weight of   
further growth1  precariously holds its 
existing mass together4 ,so far we are  
entirely  at one with those who see     
something to deplore in the ,eclipse of 
,faith1 and something to desire in the  
,restoration of ,belief4 ,they  do not  
overrate the evils of a state of society
 in which1 if you think  with the wise1 
you must cease to believe with the      
vulgar4 ,we would  join with them1 heart
 and hand1 in the effort to terminate   
this fatal  discrepancy1 and find some  
language of devotion and aspiration1    
veracious alike from the lips of the    
richest knowledge and the most          
primitive simplicity4 ,but when1 like   
the author whose publication is  before 

us1 they would abolish the discrepancy  
by simply reinstating  the taught in the
 creed of the untaught2 when they insist
 on the  surrender without terms of     
modern philosophy and criticism to the  
unabated authority of the ,bible2 when  
they pretend to wipe out from           
calculation all the theological         
researches of the last half-century1  as
 if they were mere ciphers made in sport
 on the tablet of history1  and had no  
effect on our computed place at all1--we
 separate  sorrowfully from them1       
largely sympathizing with their wish1   
but  wholly despairing of their method4 
,the received theory of the origin  of  
,christianity from agencies exclusively 
divine1 and of the  infallible character
 of the canonical books1 can no more be 
restored1 than ,roman history can be put
 back to its state before  ,niebuhr's   
time1 or ,greek mythology be treated as 
if ,heyne and ,ottfried  ,mller had     
never lived4 ,the present age is not    
more distinguished by  its advance in   

the material arts1 than by its          
astonishing progress in  the            
interpretation and true painting of the 
past2 a ,boeckh or a ,grote  carries in 
his mind a picture of ,athenian life in 
the days of ,pericles  more perfect1 it 
is probable1 than could be formed by    
,plutarch or  ,longinus2 and it would be
 strange if the ,christian              
era--certainly the  object of the most  
elaborated study--were the only one to  
escape the  work of reconstruction1 or  
to undergo it without considerable      
change4  ,the limits of that change are 
at present definable by no consentient  
estimate2 but that they are such as to  
remove the old lines of  ,christian     
defence1 and require the choice of more 
open ground1 can no  longer be denied1  
except by the astute consistency of a   
,romanist  hierarchy1 and the innocent  
unconsciousness of ,english sects4 ,when
 the  time shall come for a             
dispassionate history of the first two  
centuries1--a history which1 resolving  

the canon back into the general  mass of
 early ,christian literature1 shall find
 an original clew for  tradition1       
instead of accepting one from its       
posthumous hand1--which  shall detect   
opinions before they were heretic or    
orthodox1 and trace  the several streams
 of tributary thought to their          
confluence in a  determinate            
,christianity1--the narrowness of our   
present polemic will  be apparent of    
itself2 its fears and triumphs be       
regarded with a  smile2 and many1 both  
of its positive and negative results1   
will  vanish from the interests of      
religion1 and be absorbed in a higher   
view of the relation between the ,divine
 and ,human in this world4    ,we had   
hoped at first that the author of ,the  
,restoration of ,belief was  about to   
take up the problem of ,christianity    
with a real appreciation of  its altered
 conditions1 and with unaffected justice
 towards those who  cannot solve it like
 himself4 ,his present essay is but the 

commencement  of a series1 designed to  
arrest the progress of educated         
scepticism1 to  expose the sophistries  
of modern criticism1 and re-establish   
the plenary  authority1 as oracles of   
faith1 of the ,hebrew and the ,christian
  ,scriptures4 ,it would perhaps be     
unreasonable to complain that his       
argument does not march very far in this
 first movement2 and engages us  rather 
by the stateliness of its step1 than by 
the clearness of its  direction4        
,nevertheless1 we do think that the     
discursive license of  introductory     
exposition is carried by him to an      
extreme which promises  ill for the     
exactitude of his method4 ,at the outset
 he declares that the  difficulties     
which embarrass modern faith go down to 
the very depths of  philosophy1 and can 
be resolved only by reaching the        
ultimate roots of  thought4 ,yet he     
remains on the upper surface of history1
 and1 without  once hinting how this is 
to lead him to the pith of the          

controversy1  dwells only on facts which
 are undisputed1 and his conception of  
which  might be as readily gathered from
 ,gibbon as from ,neander4 ,like many   
writers whose eye is caught by grandeur 
of effect1 and whose imagination  is    
sensitive to wonder1 he is fascinated by
 the moment in human affairs  when the  
,roman ,empire was exactly poised       
between the forces of external  unity   
and of internal decay1 and the political
 organism of the ,past1 so  august in   
its mass and its proportions1 held no   
soul but the young  spirit of the       
,future4 ,of this crisis1 assigned to   
the reign of ,alexander  ,severus1 our  
author presents an impressive and1 we   
believe1 a faithful  sketch4 ,amid the  
splendor1 the misery1 the decay of      
belief and hope1 the  universal         
incertitude of that period1 there       
emerges into notice the  beautiful and  
beneficent phenomenon of a real         
,faith1--a ,faith that can  live1 a     
,faith that can die4 ,the inevitable    

conflict between this new  power and the
 ,pagan prerogatives of the ,csars is   
well brought out by  the essayist2 and  
the victory of ,christianity is justly  
ascribed to the  peculiar character of  
the religion1 as a feeling directed to a
 ,,person  rather than the simple assent
 to an ,,idea4 ,it was the force of this
  personal feeling which first awakened 
in men the sentiment of obligation  in  
regard to religious truth1 and          
substituted faithful veracity for       
indifferentism and laxity of profession4
 ,the author thus sums up the  positions
 which he regards the present essay as  
establishing3--    ,that the ,christian 
communities did1 during the period that 
we have had  in view1 make and maintain 
a protest against the idol-worship of   
the  times1 which protest1 severe as it 
was in its conditions1 at length won  a 
place in the world for a purer theology1
 and set the civilized races  free from 
the degrading superstitions of the      
,greek ,mythology4    ,that in the      

course of this arduous struggle1 and as 
an unobserved yet  inevitable           
consequence of it1 a ,new ,principle    
came to be recognized1  and a ,new      
,feeling came to govern the minds of    
men1 which principle and  feeling       
conferred upon the individual man1      
however low his rank1  socially or      
intellectually1 a dignity unknown to    
classical antiquity2  and which yet must
 be the basis of every moral advancement
 we can  desire1 or think of as         
possible4    ,that the struggle whence  
resulted these two momentous            
consequences1  affecting the welfare of 
men for ever1 was entered upon and      
maintained  on the ground of a definite 
persuasion1 or ,belief1 of which a      
,,person  was the object4    ,that this 
belief toward a person embraced         
attributes1 not only of  superhuman     
excellence and wisdom1 but also of      
superhuman ,,power and  ,,authority4 ,if
 we take the materials before us as our 
guide1 it will  not be possible to      

disengage the history from these ideas  
of  superhuman dignity4--p4 #ajf4       
,these positions we certainly conceive  
to be unassailable4 ,but they lie  so   
completely out of the field of modern   
doubt and controversy1 that  we are at a
 loss to imagine what possible use the  
author can make of  them4 ,the general  
features of the ,christian faith1 and   
the character  of the ,church1 had      
assumed in the third century a          
determinate form1  about which there is 
no important question between believer  
and  unbeliever4 ,who would deny that   
the disciples for whom ,clement of      
,alexandria and ,origen wrote1 whom     
,tertullian and ,minucius ,felix        
defended1 and to whose institutes       
,cyprian was a convert1 believed in     
,jesus ,christ as a person at once      
historical and divine1 and were         
strengthened by that belief to the      
endurance of martyrdom8 ,the real  and  
only difficulties lie higher up1 in the 
attempt to trace the  sources and       

earlier varieties of this belief2 and if
 our author can  show that1 in winding  
its way through two centuries1 and      
traversing  several distinct regions of 
thought1 it dropped or rounded off no   
primitive facts1 and became mingled with
 no foreign ideas1--if he can  establish
 the essential constancy and uniformity1
 from the first1 of  the tradition and  
doctrine which obtained ascendency at   
last1--he will  indeed reduce legitimate
 scepticism within very narrow limits1  
and  deserve a niche in the ,valhalla of
 critical renown4 ,but if he            
contemplates clearing these centuries by
 an argumentative leap2 if1  from the   
martyr faith of an age later than the   
,antonines1 he means to  conclude the   
certainty of the ,incarnation two       
hundred years  before1--then we must    
say1 he attempts a logical feat which   
puts to  shame the cautious steps of    
such reasoners as ,paley1 ,marsh1 and   
,whately4 ,the catena of well-linked    
testimonies1 with its bridge of  safe   

footing1 which they have endeavored to  
sling across the chasm of  the          
post-apostolic age1 is but a paltry     
cowardice of ecclesiastic  engineering  
to one who can pass the gulf upon the   
wing of inference4  ,an advocate is     
intelligible1 and proceeds upon admitted
 rules of  evidence1 who says with these
 earlier divines3 ,here are the writings
  of ,paul1 of ,john1 of ,matthew1 and  
of other men who were present at the    
events they relate or assume2 whose     
lives were turned into a new  channel by
 their influence2 and who went to prison
 and to death rather  than deny them4   
,they positively declare that they      
witnessed the most  stupendous miracles1
 and1 after their ,master had been      
visibly taken up  through the clouds1   
themselves habitually exercised the same
  supernatural power4 ,you must admit   
that the guaranties of testimony  can go
 no further3 surrender yourself         
therefore to the ,gospel4 ,this  is an  
argument which accomplishes all that is 

possible with historical  evidence in   
such a case2 and were its allegations of
 fact sustainable1  it would still be   
the best form into which the reasoning  
could be  thrown4 ,unfortunately1 we can
 no longer feel assured that any        
first-hand testimony exists1 as a       
distinguishable element1 in the         
narrative books of the ,new ,testament2 
so that we can regard them only  as     
monuments of the state of ,christian    
tradition during a secondary  period4   
,still1 this flaw is not repaired by    
striking into the course  of belief     
three or four generations lower down1   
and substituting the  ,martyr literature
 of the third century for the           
,evangelist memorials  of the second or 
the first4 ,and when our author         
transfers to ,clement  and ,origen the  
praise of unaffected simplicity usually 
awarded to the  ,apostolic writers1 and 
actually presents it as sufficient proof
 of  divine attributes in ,christ1 we   
can only suppose that1 in his opinion1  

some truths are too good to have any bad
 way to them4 ,what else can be  said of
 the following mode of inference8       
,much do we meet with in these writers  
that indicates infirmity of  judgment or
 a false taste2 yet does there pervade  
them a marked  simplicity1 a grave      
sincerity1 a quietness of tone1 when    
,,he is spoken  of whom they acknowledge
 as ,,lord4 ,if there be one            
characteristic of  these ancient        
writings that is uniform1 it is the     
calm1  affectionate1 and reverential    
tone in which the ,martyr ,church speaks
  of ,,the ,,saviour ,,christ6    ,i am 
perfectly sure that1 if you could       
absolutely banish from your  mind all   
thought of the inferences and the       
consequences resulting from  your       
admissions1 you would not1 after        
perusing this body of ,martyr           
literature1 fall into the enormity of   
attributing the notions  entertained of 
,,christ1 as invested with ,divine      
attributes1 to any such  source as      

'exaggeration1' or 'extravagance1' or to
 ',orientalism1' or  'enlarged          
,platonism4' ,exaggeration and inflation
 have their own style3  it is not       
difficult to recognize it4 ,no          
characteristic of thought or  language  
is more obvious4 ,you will fail in your 
endeavor to show that  this             
characteristic does attach to the       
writings in question2 and  why should   
you make such an attempt8 ,there can be 
no inducement to do  so1 unless it      
appears to be the only means of escaping
 from some  consequence which we        
dislike4--p4 #ajg4    ,our author       
professedly opposes ,ancient            
,christianity to modern  scepticism1    
because ,history1 as he observes1 is    
solid ground1 and no  region of         
atmospheric phantasms1 births from the  
refracted rays of  metaphysic light4    
,history1 however1 is solid ground only 
so far as it is  really explored2 and   
the trending of the land and curving of 
the shore  in one latitude of time no   

more enables us to lay down the map of  
another1 than an anchorage at the       
,ganges' mouth would enable us to paint 
the gorges of the ,himalayas1 and       
distinguish the real from the fabulous  
sources of the sacred stream4 ,to take  
us into the basilicas and show us  how  
,christians worshipped in the days of   
,alexander ,severus1 to introduce  us to
 the ,proconsul's court and bid us      
witness their refusal of divine  homage 
to ,csar's image1 and then ask us       
whether a faith like this  could have   
had any origin but ,,one1--this is not  
history1 but the  mere evasion of       
history4 ,we want to know1 not what must
 have been  the source1 but what was the
 source1 of the great moral power that  
rose upon the world as ,rome declined4  
,whoever wishes to shut out human  ideas
 and natural agencies from participation
 in the matter1 must go  patiently      
through the entire remains of the early 
,christian literature2  must trace the  
conflict between the ,hebrew and the    

,pauline ,gospel2 find  a place for the 
peculiar version of the religion given  
by the ,evangelist  ,john2 fix the      
limits of ,ebionitism1 of ,chiliasm1 of 
,docetism2 and show  that these modes   
and varieties of doctrine stop short of 
the substance  of the early faith1 and  
do not enter the canonical ,scriptures  
with any  disturbance of their historic 
certainty4 ,nothing of this kind do we  
expect from our author4 ,for he         
entertains a conception1 respecting the 
logic of ,christian evidence1 which1    
however prevalent among ,english        
divines1 betrays in our judgment a mind 
not at all at home with the  present    
conditions of the problem4 ,he seems to 
think that we can first  prove the      
historic truth of the ,scriptures in    
general2 and then get  rid of the       
difficulties in particular2 and requires
 us1 in obedience  to this pedantic law 
of logical etiquette1 to carry into our 
investigation of every successive       
perplexity the rigid assumption that    

the writings with which we deal are     
inspired1 and their contents of  ,divine
 authority4    ,when a collection of    
historic materials1 bearing upon a      
particular  series of events1 is brought
 forward1 it will follow1 upon the      
supposition that those events have1 on  
the whole1 been truly reported1  that   
any hypothesis1 the object of which is  
to make it seem probable  that no such  
events did take place1 must involve     
absurdities which  will be more or less 
glaring4 ,but then1 after the truth of  
the  history has been established1 and  
when the trustworthiness of the         
materials has been admitted1 as we      
proceed to apply a rigid criticism  to  
ambiguous passages1 we shall undoubtedly
 encounter a crowd of  perplexing       
disagreements2 and we shall find        
employment enough for all  our acumen1  
and trial enough of our patience1 in    
clearing our path4  ,and yet no amount  
of discouragements1 such as these1 will 
warrant our  falling back upon a        

supposition which we have already       
discarded as  incoherent and absurd4--p4
 #aaj4    ,we cannot call this a vicious
 canon of historical criticism2 for it  
simply excludes historical criticism    
altogether4 ,the critic's work is  not a
 process which can go on generically1   
without addressing itself to  any       
particular matters at all1 and vindicate
 comprehensive conclusions  in blindness
 towards the cases they comprise4 ,the  
judgment that1 on the  whole1 a certain 
book contains a true report of events1  
can only be a  provisional assumption1  
founded on natural and childlike trust1 
and can  claim no scientific character1 
till it comes out as a collective       
inference from an investigation in      
detail of the narrative's contents4  ,no
 doubt1 the bare fact of the existence  
of ,christianity as a great  social     
phenomenon in the age of the ,antonines1
 may afford evidence  enough that ,jesus
 of ,nazareth was no imaginary being2   
the genius of the  religion1 and the    

traditional picture of its author1 may  
indicate the  cast of his mind and the  
intensity of his influence2 the         
institutions  of the ,church may betray 
its origin in ,palestine1 and the       
approximate  date of its birth4 ,but    
these conclusions1 founded entirely on  
reasonings  from human causation1 can   
never carry us into the superhuman2 or  
enable  us to say more respecting the   
memorials of the life of ,jesus1 than   
that  they may be true1 and do not      
forfeit1 ab initio1 their title to      
examination by fundamental anachronism1 
misplacement1 and moral  incongruity4   
,how far the existence of this prim     
facie case falls  short of establishing 
the truth of the history1 and the       
trustworthiness of the materials1 we    
need not point out to any one           
accustomed to deal with questions of    
evidence4 ,and as for the great         
proposition1 that the ,gospel of ,christ
 is a supernaturally  authenticated     
gift1 we cannot imagine how it is to be 

proved in  general1 without research    
into a single miracle4 ,is it           
indifferent to  the fact of the         
,incarnation1 that the only two accounts
 of the birth and  infancy of ,jesus are
 hopelessly at variance with each other8
 ,is the  evidence of the ,resurrection 
unaffected by the discrepancies on which
  harmonists have spent a fruitless     
ingenuity8 ,are we as sure that1 in     
reading the ,apostles' works1 we have to
 do with inspired writers1 as  if they  
had not made any false announcements    
about the end of the  world8 ,what does 
our author mean by admitting these      
things as  difficulties1 yet denying    
them any just influence in abatement of 
our  confidence8 ,he may form one       
estimate of their weight1 and his       
opponent  another2 but in neither case  
can they be postponed for treatment in a
  mere appendix to the discussion of    
,christian evidence3 they are of the    
very pith of the whole question1 and1 so
 long as they lie in reserve as         

quantities of unknown magnitude and     
direction of influence1 render          
historical belief and unbelief alike    
irrational4    ,nor can we for a moment 
allow that the failure of ever so many  
,german  theories to give a satisfactory
 account of the origin of               
,christianity1 is any good reason for   
contented acquiescence in the  received 
doctrine4 ,our author insists1 that we  
must make our  definitive choice between
 some modern hypothesis and the         
,evangelical  tradition2 and either take
 the facts as they are handed down to   
us1 or  else replace them by some better
 representation4 ,by what right does he 
impose on us such an alternative        
necessity8 ,is the critic disqualified  
for detecting false history1 because he 
cannot1 at his distance1 write  the     
true8 ,is it a thing unknown1 as a      
product of scholarship1 that  fabulous  
elements disclose themselves amid the   
memorials of fact8 and  is it not an    
acknowledged gain to part with an error1

 though only in  favor of an ignorance8 
,if a modern hypothesis as to the mode  
in which  the religion arose may break  
down by mere internal incoherence and   
improbability1 why may not the ancient  
account1 if it should be  chargeable    
with similar imperfections1 be liable to
 the same fate8 ,it  is surely          
conceivable that all the finished       
representations we  possess1--,hebrew   
and ,alexandrine1 as well as            
,german1--furnish1 more or  less1 an    
ideal and conjectural history of the    
infancy of ,christendom2  and that the  
reproduction of that time may not only  
be now  impossible1 but have already    
become so ere a hundred years were gone4
  ,the baffling of one solution implies 
therefore no triumph of another2  and if
 the tradition on which we stand be     
insecure1 our position is  not improved 
by clipping the wings of every          
adventurous hypothesis on  which we had 
thought to escape the common ground4    
,our author cannot then change the venue

 of the great ,christian cause  from the
 first century to the third1 and1 on the
 evidence present there1  give even     
preliminary judgment4 ,the conflict     
between the new religion  and the old   
which characterized that period1 he     
paints with striking and  truthful      
effect2 and1 contrasting the severe and 
holy veracity of  martyred disciples    
with the careless indifference of       
,paganism to  religious truth1 he       
rightly refers the superiority of the   
,christians to  their faith in a        
,person1 instead of mere assent to an   
,opinion4 ,is  it1 however1 correct to  
regard this as original and exclusive to
 the  ,gospel1 and to set it on the     
forehead of the ,church as the very mark
 of  her distinctive divinity8 ,we think
 not4 ,the same feature is manifest in  
,judaism1 to which again it belongs1 not
 as a peculiarity1 but in common  with  
every faith whose ,only ,god is the     
apotheosis of humanity4 ,it is the  one 
grand moral characteristic of genuine   

,theism1 as opposed to  ,pantheism2     
rendering it more than the enthusiasm of
 poetry1 the  earnestness of philosophy1
 the inspiration of genius1 and         
constituting  it1 in the deepest sense1 
,religion4 ,nor is the ground of the    
distinction  far to seek4 ,religion1 in 
its ultimate essence1 is a sentiment of 
,reverence for a ,higher than ourselves4
 ,higher than ourselves1 however1  can  
none be1 that have not what is most     
august among our endowments2  none1     
therefore1 by reason of size1 of        
strength1 of duration2 none  simply by  
beauty or by skill2 none even by        
largeness of discerning  thought1 but   
only by free and realizing preference of
 the most ,just and  ,good4 ,a ,being of
 living ,will can alone be nobler than  
myself1 lift me  above the level of my  
actual mind by looking at my latent     
nature1 and  emancipate me into the     
captivity of worship4 ,in other words1  
reverence  can attach itself exclusively
 to a ,person2 it cannot direct itself  

on  what is impersonal1--on physical    
facts1 on unconscious laws1 on          
necessary forces1 on inanimate objects  
and their relations1 on space1  though  
it be infinite1 on duration1 though it  
be eternal4 ,these all1  even when they 
rule us1 are lower than ourselves2 they 
may evade our  knowledge1 defy our      
power1 overwhelm our imagination1 but   
never rise to  be our equals1 or        
conspire to furnish even the symbol of  
our ,god4 ,the  mere deification of     
,nature1 the recognition of oneness     
pervading her  variety1 the sense of an 
absolute ground abiding behind her      
transient  phenomena1 may supply a faith
 adequate to the awakening of wonder and
  the apprehension of ideal beauty1 but 
not to the practical consecration  of   
life2 glorifying the universe as a      
temple of ,art1 but railing off  within 
it no oratory of ,conscience4 ,in order 
to extract anything like a  religion of 
conduct from this type of belief1 its   
hierophants are  obliged to approach as 

near as they can to the language of     
proper  ,theism1 and not even despise   
typographical aid for pushing           
personification to the verge of         
personality2 uttering various warnings  
not to neglect the intentions of        
,nature1 or insult the ,relentless      
,veracities1 and inviting sundry        
offenders to blush before the  ,eternal 
,powers4 ,the whole force of such       
expressions is evidently due to  the    
false semblance of living thought and   
will with which they clothe  the        
conceptions of mere abstract relations  
or physical tendencies4 ,these  rich    
tints are no self-color1 but a borrowed 
light reflected from a  grander         
,presence studiously withdrawn from     
view2 and when their gloss is  gone1 no 
positive residuum is found1 but a       
doctrine of hope and fear1  without any 
element of ,duty4 ,it were a mockery1 an
 inanity1 to bid a man  spend his       
affections on hypostatized laws that    
neither know nor answer  him4 ,in his   

crimes1 it is not the heavy irons of his
 prison1 but the  deep eye of his judge1
 from which he shrinks2 and in his      
repentance he  weeps1 not upon the lap  
of ,nature1 but at the feet of ,god4 ,in
 his  allegiance1 his vow is made1 not  
to the certainty of facts1 but to the   
majesty of ,right1 and the authority of 
an ,infinitely ,just2 and his acts  of  
trust are directed by no means to the   
steadiness of creation's ways1  but to  
the faithfulness of a perfect ,mind4 ,in
 short1 all the sentiments              
characteristic of religion presuppose a 
,personal ,object1 and assert  their    
power only where ,manhood is the type of
 ,godhead4 ,this condition  was         
imported1 or rather continued1 from the 
,hebrew to the ,christian  system2 and  
brought with it the devout loyalty of   
heart1 the singleness  of service1 the  
incorruptible heroism of endurance1     
which had  encountered ,antiochus       
,epiphanes at ,jerusalem1 as it now met 
,pliny in  ,bithynia1 and ,quadratus at 

,smyrna4 ,the ,paganism of the ,empire1 
on the  other hand1 failed entirely of  
this condition4 ,it was a mere          
nature-worship1 expressive of the       
political dynamics by which1 through    
the award of a mysterious necessity1    
,rome had become the centre of the      
world4 ,if1 among the deities whose     
congress was now assembled on the       
,tiber1 there were any which once1 in   
their indigenous seats1 had  commanded  
the full moral faith1 and touched the   
true theistic devotion1  of a people1   
that time had passed2 and the conquered 
tribes suffered a  more fatal loss when 
the victorious city adopted their       
religion1 than  when she crushed their  
liberty4 ,removed to ,rome1 the rites of
 a  provincial worship expressed nothing
 except that its gods were gods no      
more1 but had descended from divine     
monarchic rights to a place among a     
pensioned hierarchy4 ,vanquished        
divinities inevitably become delegated  
powers of nature1 and resign their      

sceptre to the sovereign they are       
compelled to own4 ,as the administration
 of the ,empire embraced a  congeries of
 checked nationalities1 so did its      
pantheon include a  collection of       
extinguished religions4 ,while as       
,imperator the head of the  state was   
the embodiment of its unity by natural  
force1 as ,divus he  represented its    
unity by preternatural sanction2 and the
 divine honors  paid to him were the    
acknowledgment of a necessity more than 
human in  the culminating majesty of    
,rome4 ,these honors would be freely    
rendered  to him by those who looked on 
all realized existence1 on everything   
charged with force enough to come up and
 be1 as equally decreed by the  ,eternal
 ,powers1--equally divine4 ,such homage 
would appear to them the  mere          
expression of a fact1 and a graceful    
owning of mysterious fates in  its      
production2 and no scruple could        
withhold them from an act which         
contradicted nothing in their mind1 and 

did but fling a breath of pious  incense
 around the thing that veritably was4   
,it were absurd to expect  the protest  
of a martyr from a man whose religion   
you cannot contradict2  who will see a  
,god wherever you ask him2 and whose    
worship asserts  nothing but that1 a    
phenomenon being there1 an occult power 
is behind  it4 ,a faith of this sort is 
deficient1 as an ,hegelian would say1 in
 the  moment of negation2 it is all     
unobstructed affirmation1 and can       
strike no light because it thus finds   
nothing to dash itself against4  ,but   
let the divine element in the universe  
cease to be impersonal and  impartially 
coalescent with the whole1 let it live  
an ,individual ,mind1  and the requisite
 antagonism immediately appears4 ,to the
 ,jew1 the  worship of ,csar would be no
 other than high treason to ,jehovah1   
whose  tool1 whose whip of lightning1   
and whose cup of consolation the ,pagan 
,emperor might become2 but whose emblem 
and incarnation he could so  little be1 

that he rather stood defiantly at the   
head of the opposing  realm1 and1 even  
when forced to be the organ1 did not    
cease to be the  competitor of ,god4    
,for opposing realm there must be1      
wherever proper  ,theism exists4 ,man   
feels that his personal attributes1 his 
will1 his  character1 his conscience1   
demand conflict for their condition1 and
  without the possibility of ill could  
never be2 and when he carries them  out 
into the infinite region1 to serve as   
his image of the ,highest1 they  bear   
with them the inseparable shadow of     
evil1 and give it place in the          
universe1 as the darkness in whose      
absence light would want its            
distinction1 the privative without which
 the beauty of holiness were  nothing   
positive4 ,hence1 expressed or          
unexpressed1 a dualism mingles  with all
 genuine theistic faith4 ,all is not    
divine for it4 ,it has a  devil's       
province somewhere4 ,face to face1 as   
,ebal to ,gerizim1 the frown  of        

blighted rock to the smile of verdant   
heights1--hostile as the priest  of     
falsehood to the true prophet1--there   
stand contrasted in this creed  two     
domains of the world1--one surrendered  
to insurgent powers1 the  other reserved
 as the nursing ground from which right 
and truth shall be  spread4 ,to the     
,hebrew1 the ,pagan world was given over
 to a false  allegiance1 and inspired   
with diabolical delusions4 ,for him to  
sacrifice  to the genius of ,csar1 would
 have been1 therefore1 a desertion to   
the  enemies of ,god1 forbidden by every
 claim of faithfulness and veracity4    
,thus we conceive that the moral        
conditions of the martyrs' protest      
against idol-worships were complete     
within the limits of ,judaism before    
the mission of ,christ2 and that the    
essence of it lies1 not in the          
exclusive characteristics of the        
,gospel1 but in the difference between  
,theistic reverence for a ,personal     
,being1 and the ,pantheistic            

acknowledgment of an impersonal         
divineness4 ,the peculiar function of   
,christianity in this respect was to    
become missionary to the world of  this 
heroic fidelity transmitted from the    
parent faith1 and hitherto  bounded by  
its limits2 and to find a place in the  
universal conscience  of civilized      
nations for the duty of bearing         
testimony1 though with  tortures and    
death1 to the pricelessness of truth and
 the sanctity of  conviction4 ,true it  
is that the ,gospel was qualified for   
this office by  directing human faith   
upon a ,person2 and would have exercised
 no such  power1 had it been a mere     
philosophy presenting propositions for  
assent1  instead of a ,living ,mind for 
trust and reverence4 ,but this condition
  would have been attained by the simple
 extension of the ,jewish ,theism4  ,the
 ,personality1 which is needed as a     
centre of intense fealty and  affection1
 is found in the ,god of ,hebrew        
tradition1 and1 for its effects  in     

kindling a martyr courage and constancy1
 did not require to be sought  in the   
historical ,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,he1 no 
doubt1 as the mediate  expression of the
 ,supreme ,will1 as the ,being with whom
 the ,church stood  in direct contact1  
as the presence of the ,divine in the   
,human1 was the  object of the          
disciples' actual allegiance4 ,we do not
 in the least  question this as a fact1 
but only as a necessity1 ere we can     
account  for the moral features of a    
martyr age4    ,in singling out1 as one 
of the grandest practical results of    
,christianity1 the recognition it has   
obtained for the obligations of         
religious truth1 our author has rightly 
seized a characteristic  distinction of 
modern from ancient society4 ,the       
principle is a real  agency of the first
 order in history2 we do not accuse him 
of  overrating its importance1 but of   
mistaking its genealogy4 ,and now we    
must add1 that if we differ from him as 
to the source whence it comes1  we      

differ still more as to the issues      
whither it conducts4 ,so                
inconsiderately does he allow himself to
 be borne away by his  evangelical zeal1
 that he claims for the ,gospel1 not    
only the glory of  first revealing1 but 
the exclusive right of ever practising1 
the  duties of religious veracity4 ,none
 but historical believers have the      
least title to attach any sacredness to 
their convictions1 or to feel  any      
hesitation about denying them4 ,what    
business have the authors of  the       
,phases of ,faith1 and the ,creed of    
,christendom1 to any better  morality of
 belief than ,gallio or ,lucian8 ,if    
they have not fallen back  into the     
,pagan indifferentism1 they ought to    
have done so1 and our  author will      
continue very indignant till they do4   
,he is offended with  ,mr4 ,newman for  
asking judgment on his argument and     
himself1 as before  the bar of ,god2 and
 with ,mr4 ,greg for saying that1 in the
 process of  changing cherished beliefs1

 the pursuit of truth is a daily        
martyrdom1 and for giving honor to those
 who encounter it1 saddened1  weeping1  
trembling1 but unflinching still6 ,and  
he is not ashamed to  declare that the  
guileless veracity which in himself     
would be a  martyr's constancy1 would be
 in another an overweening conceit4 ,so 
astonishing1 logically and ethically1   
are his statements on this  subject1 and
 so curiously do they determine his     
intellectual position1  that we must    
present them in his own words3--    ,we 
,christian men of this age1 along with  
our venerated martyr  brethren of the   
ancient ,church1 in making this         
profession1--that we  may not lie to    
,god1 nor deny before men our inward    
conviction in  matters of religion2 we  
7as they did7 affirm that which is      
consistent  within itself1 and which1 in
 the whole extent of its meaning1 is    
certain and is reasonable1 grant us only
 our initial postulate1 that            
,christianity is from heaven4    ,but   

how is it1 when this same solemn        
averment comes from the lips of  those  
who deny that postulate1 and who scorn  
to recognize the voice of  ,god in the  
,,book8 ,it is just thus2 and those whom
 it concerns so to do1  owe it to the   
world and to themselves to make the     
ingenuous avowal4    ,in the first      
place1 the style and the very terms     
employed by these  writers in enouncing 
the fact of the martyrdom they are      
undergoing1  are all a flagrant         
plagiarism1 and nothing better6 ,a      
claim1 in behalf  of the ,gospel1 must  
be made of what is its own1 and which   
these  writers1 without leave asked1    
have appropriated4 ,as to every word and
  phrase upon which the significance of 
this their profession turns1 it  must be
 given up1 leaving them in possession of
 so much only of the  meaning of such   
phrases as would have been intelligible 
to ,,plutarch1  to ,,porphyry1 and to   
,m4 ,,aurelius4 ,a surrender must be    
made of the words  ,,conscience1 and    

,,truth1 and ,,righteousness1 and ,,sin2
 and1 alas6 modern  unbelievers must be 
challenged to give me back that ,,one   
awe-fraught  ,,name which they 7must ,i 
not plainly say so87 have stolen out of 
the  ,,book2 when they have frankly made
 this large surrender1 we may return  to
 them the   of classical antiquity4     
,yet this plagiarism1 as to terms1 is   
the smaller part of that invasion  of   
rights with which the same persons are  
chargeable4 ,it is reasonable1  and it  
is what a good man must do1 to suffer   
anything rather than deny  a persuasion1
 which is such that he could not1 if he 
would1 cast it off4  ,so it was with the
 early ,christian martyrs2 their        
persuasion of the  truth of the ,gospel 
had become part of themselves2 it was   
faith  absolute1 in the fullest sense of
 the word4 ,the same degree of          
irresistible persuasion attaches to the 
conclusions of mathematical or  physical
 science2 but it can never belong to an 
opinion1 or to an  undefined abstract   

belief4 ,a man may indeed choose to die 
rather than  contradict his personal    
persuasion of the truth of an opinion2  
but in  doing so he has no right to take
 to himself the martyr's style4 ,so to  
speak is to exhibit1 not constancy1 but 
opinionativeness1 or an  overweening    
confidence in his own reasoning faculty4
    ,polycarp could not have refused to 
die when the only alternative was  to   
blaspheme ,,christ1 his ,lord2 but      
,plutarch could not have been  required 
to suffer in attestation of his         
opinion1--good as it  was1--that the    
poets have done ill in attributing the  
passions and the  perturbations of human
 nature to the immortal gods2 nor       
,seneca1 in  behalf of those            
astronomical and meteorological theories
 with which he  entertains himself and  
his friend ,lucilius4    ,when those    
who1 after rejecting ,christianity1 talk
 of suffering for the  'truth of ,god1' 
and speak as if they were               
conscience-bound 'toward ,god1'  they   

must know that they not only borrow a   
language which they are not  entitled to
 avail themselves of1 but that they     
invade a ground of  religious belief    
whereon they can establish for          
themselves no right of  standing4 ,they 
may indeed profess what opinion they    
please as to the  ,divine attributes2   
but they cannot need to be told that    
which the  misgivings of their own      
hearts so often whisper to them1 that   
all such  opinions are1 at the very     
best1 open to debate1 and must always be
  indeterminate1 and that at this time  
their own possession of the opinion     
which just now they happen to cling to1 
is1 in the last degree1  precarious4    
,how then can martyrdom be transacted   
among those whose  treading is upon the 
fleecy clouds of undemonstrable         
religious  feeling8--pp4 #ib-id    ,if1 
being orthodox1 you die at the stake1   
you are a martyr2 if1 being             
heretic1--why1 then you are a man       
burnt2--a doctrine which ,robert ,hall  

compressed within the narrowest compass1
 when he said1 ,it is the  saint which  
makes the martyr1 not the martyr the    
saint4 ,this is the  very ,gospel of    
intolerance2 and whoever preaches it may
 feel assured  that he can lend no help 
in any worthy ,restoration of ,belief2  
for he  is himself infected with the    
most profound and penetrating of        
scepticisms1--scepticisms of moral      
realities4 ,the rule1 that we may  not  
lie to ,god1 nor deny before men our    
inward conviction in matters  of        
religion1 is1 in our author's view1 the 
gift and glory of  ,christianity4 ,be it
 so4 ,this rule either holds for all men
 at all  times1 or it does not2 if there
 be persons who1 notwithstanding it1    
may lie to ,god1 and deny their inward  
conviction1 then the  ,scriptures1 in   
communicating it1 have revealed no      
universal principle  of duty1 no        
obligation having its seat in the nature
 of things and the  constitution of the 
human soul1 but a mere sectional by-law1

 an  arbitrary precept for the security 
and good ordering of one exclusive      
community4 ,then must we talk of it no  
more so exceedingly proudly1 as  if it  
were a hidden truth revealed1 a latent  
beauty opened2 it is no  part of the    
holy legislation of the universe1 but a 
statutory  enactment under which we     
fall1 or from which we escape1 as we    
pass in  or out at the door of a certain
 historical belief4 ,need we say that   
this side of the alternative strips     
,christianity of every pretension  to be
 a moral revelation at all8 ,if1 to take
 the other side1 the rule  in question  
does hold for all men1 then it is no    
less binding on ,mr4  ,newman and ,mr4  
,greg than on our author2 and in bowing 
to its authority  and owning its        
sanctity1 they render a homage as       
devoutly true as his1  only different in
 this1 that1 while they feel no         
disturbance from his  kneeling in the   
sanctuary at their side1 he cannot be at
 peace till he  has sprung to his feet  

and hurled them from the place4 ,they   
are guilty  of plagiarism forsooth6 ,and
 in what8 ,in knowing their duty1       
without  knowing where they learned it6 
,o shame upon this greediness1 that     
would turn moral truth itself1 and      
struggling aspiration1 into a  property6
 ,as if ,christ were one to stand upon  
the copyright of  revelation1 and1      
unless his name were in the title-page1 
would suffer  neither thought nor prayer
 to dedicate itself to ,god6 ,our       
author1 as  public prosecutor in the    
,supreme ,court1 demands that the       
defendants  shall empty themselves out  
of every earnest sentiment1 and         
surrender  back the words ,,conscience1 
and ,,truth1 and ,,righteousness1 and   
,,sin1 and  ,,god1 as stolen from the   
,,book6 ,what then was the ,book given  
for1  but that it might freely furnish  
these8--and how better can it fulfil    
its end1 than by opening for them a     
sacred welcome wherever the  things are 
which they disclose8 ,let their spirit  

breathe where it  listeth2 it will not  
be less a ,holy ,spirit that we know not
 whence it  cometh3 nor let it be forgot
 how old a feature of evangelic blessing
  it is1 that he that was healed wist   
not who it was4 ,as the ,book  does not1
 by its presence1 create the facts which
 it reveals1 so  neither does its       
absence or rejection destroy them4      
,conscience1 as  an element of human    
nature1 does not come or go1--,god1 as  
reality in  the universe1 does not live 
or perish1--according as the ,bible is  
kept  in the pocket or laid upon the    
shelf2 even if their first witness  were
 in ,scripture1 they themselves are in  
the world1--as active1 as  near1 as     
certain1 in the transactions of to-day1 
as in the affairs of  distant history4  
,scientific truth1 once well            
ascertained1 can take  care of itself1  
without being everywhere attended by the
 report of its  first discovery2 it is  
in the safe keeping of the objects on   
which it  writes a new meaning1 and the 

phenomena amid which it introduces a    
fresh symmetry4 ,and moral truth1 when  
once embodied and revealed1 is  not less
 independent of its earliest expression2
 it finds its response  in human        
consciousness1 its reflection from human
 life1 and weaves  itself up into the   
very fabric of many souls1 whose pattern
 bears no  motto of its origin4 ,thus   
revelation--just in proportion as it is 
revelation1 and tells us what is cognate
 to ourselves1 and bound up  with the   
realities around us--passes of necessity
 into natural  religion2 and precisely  
according to the measure in which it    
does so1  will it acquire strength and  
permanence1 and dispense with evidence  
by  merging into self-evidence4 ,did it 
awaken in us no confirming  experience1 
did it nowhere link itself with the     
visible system of  things1--then1       
solving nothing1 glorifying nothing1    
missed by all the  moving indices of    
nature and ,providence1 it would sit    
apart1 and  become incredible4 ,that    

could hardly be a truth at all1 which1  
after  roaming the world and searching  
the soul for eighteen centuries1 has    
found no natural ground on which to     
rest1 and must wander as an  ipse dixit 
still4 ,and if natural ground it has    
acquired1 that is  surely a proper basis
 for its present support2 it may        
innocently cease  to be held on mere    
authority2 the very plagiarism so       
vehemently  denounced is rather the     
fulfilment than the destruction of the  
faith1  for it is only that men no      
longer resort to an oracle for things   
which  the oracle has enabled them to   
see for themselves4    ,our ,christian  
advocate1 however1 is not content with  
reserving to his  side the sole power of
 discerning the duty of religious       
veracity2 he  further claims the sole   
right to practise it4 ,he teaches that  
it is  not binding on all men at all    
times2 and that its obligation is in    
any case conditional on the initial     
postulate1 that ,christianity is  from  

heaven4 ,he thinks1 apparently1 that the
 duty is not so much  revealed as       
constituted by the ,gospel1 so as to    
have no existence  beyond the pale4 ,we 
can collect from his words two          
considerations1  under whose influence  
he seems to pronounce this strange      
judgment4 ,he  evidently assumes that   
the duty of veracious profession is     
contingent  partly on the object-matter 
of belief2 partly on the degree of      
evidence4 ,if my faith is directed      
towards a ,person1 then1 he  implies1   
there is treachery1 even blasphemy1 in  
denying it2 but if  not1 my disclaimer  
gives no one any title to complain1 and 
,i cannot be  expected to die on behalf 
of a proposition4 ,polycarp must not    
renounce  ,christ1 his ,lord2 but       
,plutarch might very properly recant1   
without at  all altering1 his judgment  
against the poets1 for ascribing        
passions  to the gods4 ,is it so1       
indeed8 ,then there is no harm in a lie1
 unless  some one is betrayed or        

insulted by it besides the hearers whom 
we  deceive1--and we may report as      
falsely as we please our persuasion     
about things1 provided we are true to   
our sentiments about  persons8 ,with    
full recollection of the questionable   
verdicts1 on  problems of veracity1     
which are given by ,xenophon and ,plato1
 ,aristotle  and ,cicero1 we doubt      
whether any ,pagan moralist can be      
quoted in favor  of a doctrine so       
unworthy as this4 ,the author seems to  
imagine that  the obligation to speak   
the truth is a mere duty of personal    
affection2 and that in the absence of   
this element1 its claims  altogether    
disappear4 ,identifying falsehood with  
detraction and  ingratitude1 he         
concludes that1 since an abstract theory
 is insensible  to what people say about
 it1 and can have no services owing to  
it1 it  may be blamelessly repudiated by
 those who really believe it4 ,this is  
tantamount to an expunging of veracity  
from the list of human duties           

altogether2 for it gives importance to  
what is purely accidental1 and  slights 
what is alone essential to it4 ,the     
conditions of a lie1 in all  its        
full-blown wickedness1 are quite        
complete1 when there is a person  to    
speak it1 a person to hear it1 and a    
social state to be the theatre  of the  
deception2 should there be also a person
 spoken of1 that is a  circumstance in  
no way requisite to constitute the      
guilt1 but a  supplementary condition1  
flinging in a new element of pravity1   
and  turning falsehood into             
faithlessness4 ,the introduction of this
  additional person into the case may   
doubtless render the offence much  more 
flagrant1 especially if he be one who   
has acknowledged claims on  gratitude   
and reverence4 ,calumny and perfidy are 
justly held in deeper  abhorrence than  
equivocation unstained with malignity4  
,but to be  unaffected by the           
criminality till it kindles with this   
diabolical  glare1 and not even to      

believe in it unless it smells          
sulphurous and  burns red1 betrays a    
perception too much accustomed to       
melodramatic  contrasts of              
representation to appreciate the more   
delicate tints and  finer moral lights  
of the real and open day4 ,and so far   
from the glory  of martyrdom being      
heightened by the presence of deep      
personal  affection as its inspiration1 
this very circumstance renders the act a
  less arduous sacrifice2 just as to    
fall in the hot blood of battle may     
need less heroism of will1 than to die  
under the knife upon the  surgeon's     
table4 ,in proportion as the denial of  
,christ in the hour of  trial would be  
the more intolerable blasphemy1 must the
 temptation to  it be less overwhelming1
 and the merit of a good confession less
  amazing4 ,and those who1 in matters   
touching no such deep affection1  can   
yet be true1--those who1 in simple      
clearness of conscience1 can  dispense1 
if need be1 with the help of enthusiasm1

 and so shut their  lips against a lie1 
that not the searing iron can open      
them1--those  who do not want a grand   
occasion1 but just as certainly use the 
smallest1 to fling back the thing that  
is not1--have assuredly a soul  of      
higher prowess and more severely proved 
fidelity to ,god4 ,and it is  a         
heartless thing to turn round upon these
 men1 and taunt them with  having no one
 at whose feet to lay their offering1   
and no popular  sympathy to redeem their
 uprightness from the imputation of     
conceit4    ,there is1 however1 another 
consideration which weighs with our     
author in  granting to modern           
unbelievers a dispensation from the duty
 of  religious veracity4 ,they have only
 a personal persuasion resting on       
precarious grounds1 and not the         
certitude attaching to the conclusions  
of mathematical and physical science2   
and it would be folly to suffer  on     
behalf of undemonstrable religious      
feeling6 ,are we then to lay it  down as

 a canon in ethics1 that intensity of   
assurance is the measure of  our        
obligation to speak the truth1--so that 
we are to state our  certainties        
correctly1 but may tell lies about our  
doubts8 ,if so1  scrupulous fidelity is 
incumbent on us only within the limits  
of  deductive science and of immediate  
personal observation2 and in the  great 
sphere of human affairs1 in matters of  
historical1 moral1 and  political       
judgment1 nay1 in the incipient stage of
 all knowledge1 we may  say and unsay1  
may play fast and loose with our        
convictions1 according  as the favor or 
the fear of men hangs over us4 ,newton  
was bound to stand  by his ,principia2  
but ,locke might have renounced his     
treatise on  ,government and taken his  
oath to the divine rights of kings6     
,were he  indeed to refuse so easy a    
compliance1 it would be a great         
reflection  upon his modesty2 for if a  
man1 on being threatened with death1    
will not  belie his own persuasion of   

probable truth1 he is chargeable with   
overweening confidence in his own       
reasoning faculty6 ,it is happy for  the
 world that it does not always except   
the morals of the ,church1 but  brings  
an unperverted feeling to correct the   
twisted logic of belief4  ,opinion1 a   
wise man has said1 is but knowledge in  
the making2 and  how little knowledge   
would get made1 if opinion were emptied 
of its  conscience1 and looked on itself
 as an egotism rather than a trust6 ,if 
there is one fruit of intellectual      
culture which more than another         
dignifies and ennobles it1 it is the    
scrupulous reverence it trains for  the 
smallest reality1 its watchfulness for  
the earliest promise of  truth1 its     
tender care of every stamen in the      
blossoming of thought1  from whose      
flower-dust the seed of a richer        
futurity may grow4 ,to cut  against this
 fine veracious sense with the weapons  
of unappreciating  sarcasm1 and crush   
its objects into the ground as weeds    

with the heel of  orthodox scorn1 is a  
feat which can advance the step of      
,christian  evidence only by betraying  
the ,christian ethics4 ,our author has  
entangled himself in the metaphor       
indicated by the word martyrdom2  he    
thinks of the confessor as bearing      
witness to something1--which is  indeed 
quite true2 and supposes that the things
 to which he bears  witness must be the 
facts or doctrines held by him2 and this
 is not  true at all4 ,for that which we
 attest in the hour of persecution is   
simply our own state of mind2 our       
belief1 and not the object believed4    
,we are required to utter words1 or to  
perform acts1 that shall give  report of
 our persuasion2 this persuasion is a   
fact in our personal  psychology about  
which there is no ambiguity2 which1 as a
 presence in  our consciousness1 is     
wholly unaffected by the question how it
 got  there1 and by what logical tenure 
it holds its seat4 ,whether we have     
demonstrated it into the mind or fetched

 it thither in a dream1 whether  we had 
it yesterday or shall continue to have  
it to-morrow1 are matters  in no way    
altering the fact that it is there2 and 
if we say ,no to it1  while conscious of
 a ,yes1 the sin is neither greater when
 the belief  concerns the properties of 
a geometric solid1 nor less when it     
touches  some indeterminate problem of  
metaphysics4 ,the logical ground of our 
judgments is various without            
end1--perception1 testimony1 reasoning1 
in  every possible combination4 ,but the
 persuasion1 once attained1 is a  simple
 phenomenon1 whose affirmation1 or      
denial1 being always positively  true1  
cannot change its moral complexion with 
every shade in the  evidence now left   
behind4 ,it is plain that1 in our       
author's favorite  case of martyrdom1 no
 testimony could be borne by the        
,christian to  anything but his own     
conviction4 ,polycarp and ,cyprian could
 only answer  in the face of death1 that
 they were ,christians2 it was not on   

behalf  of any outward fact1 but simply 
because they would not belie their      
inward belief1 that they laid down their
 lives4 ,and had ,plutarch been  dragged
 before some anthropomorphist           
inquisition1 and been called on         
publicly to declare his belief that the 
immortal gods were well and  truly      
painted by the poets as having passions 
like mankind1 the lie to  which he was  
tempted would have been precisely of the
 same kind2 and had  it passed his lips1
 would have made him despicable as an   
apostate4 ,he  had no power1 nor had the
 ,church confessor1 over the truth or   
evidence  of his opinion2 neither of    
them had any witness1 in the strict     
sense1  to bear2 but both might         
veraciously scorn to deny a fact        
unambiguously  present to their         
self-knowledge4 ,if the heathen's       
firmness is an example  of overweening  
confidence in his own reasoning faculty1
 by what  favoring difference does the  
,christian's escape the same imputation8

  ,that his faith is absolute1 his      
persuasion irresistible1 so far from    
furnishing a vindication1 only avows the
 fact that his confidence is  intense2  
whether it be overweening too1 must     
depend on the proportion  between the   
certitude he feels and the grounds of   
just assurance he  possesses4 ,but at   
all events it is a confidence--in this  
case as in the  other--undeniably       
reposed in his own reasoning faculty4   
,how else  could any belief--except a   
groundless belief--reach the convert's  
mind  at all8 ,it is vain to pretend    
that the receivers of an historic       
doctrine  plant their reliance piously  
on ,god1 while its rejecters proudly    
trust  themselves4 ,there is no less    
subjective action of the mind on the    
positive side than on the negative2 and 
on the soundness of that action  does   
the worth of the result in either       
instance depend4 ,the evidence on  both 
sides comes into the same court of      
criticism2 and pleading and             

counter-pleading must ask a hearing from
 the same judicial intelligence4  ,if   
our author refers the ,gospels to the   
first century1 and his opponents  to the
 second2 if he finds a miracle in the   
gift of tongues1 they a  delusion2 if he
 thinks that the reasoning out of the   
,old ,testament in  the ,new is         
exegetically and logically sound1 they  
that it is in both  respects            
unsound2--is he not concerned with the  
same topics1 conducting  the same       
processes1 liable to the same mistaken  
estimates1 as they8 ,how  then can he   
flatter himself that the same thing is  
believed on one  tenure1 and disbelieved
 on quite another8 ,how affect1 even    
while playing  the advocate1 to be      
raised above the contingencies of the   
reasoning  faculty1 and entitled to     
rebuke its pride8 ,how renounce it for  
himself1  appeal to it for your assent1 
abuse it for your dissent1 in the       
wayward course of two or three pages8   
,our author stands1 therefore1 in spite 

of every effort to escape it1  on the   
same logical ground as his opponents2   
and they1 notwithstanding  his objection
 to their companionship1 are on the same
 footing of  religious obligation with  
himself4 ,he is offended to find such a 
one  as ,mr4 ,newman on the same sacred 
pavement1 and to overhear from          
unbelieving lips the genuine tones of   
prayer2 and1 thanking ,god1  apprises   
men that he is not as this publican4 ,he
 prosecutes for  trespass all who1 after
 rejecting his ,christianity1 can dare  
to  profess allegiance to the truth of  
,god1 and speak as if they were         
conscience-bound towards ,god4 ,are they
 then not so bound8 ,has no  one a      
conscience except the approved          
historical believer8 ,is it not in      
others also a ,divine voice1--a ,holy   
,spirit1--which to resist and  stifle   
were the true and only ,infidelity8     
,surely the faith in ,god1  and the     
earnest acceptance of the laws of duty  
as the expression of  his authority1 are

 not forbidden to men who cannot assume 
the  disciple's style4 ,these           
sentiments1 so far from waiting on      
revelation  for their possibility1 are  
the pre-requisite conditions of all     
revelation1 the state of mind to which  
it speaks1 the secret power by  which it
 finds us out2 and if men cannot be     
conscience-bound towards  ,god before   
and without ,christianity1 never can    
they become so  after it and with it4   
,it does not take us up as atheists and 
brutes1  and supply us with the         
faculties as well as the substance of   
faith2  else were there no medium of    
suasion across the boundary of          
unbelief2--but it appeals to us as      
knowing much and aspiring to  more1--as 
already before the face1 only shrinking 
from the clear look  of ,god1--as       
feeling the divine restraint upon us of 
justice1 purity1  and truth1 but unable1
 without some emancipating power1 to    
turn it  into freedom and joy4 ,this    
spirit of profound sympathy1 not of     

arrogant insult1 towards the highest    
faiths and affections of our  nature1 we
 recognize in the portraiture and       
teachings of ,jesus ,christ2  and when  
we find one who1 like our author1       
instead of rejoicing that  the sacred   
embers of nature are yet warm1 instead  
of kneeling over  them to fan them with 
a breath of reverence into a flame1     
flings them  with scattering scorn on   
the damp ground of his own moral        
scepticism  to show how little they will
 burn1--we see reversed in the ,restorer
  of ,belief the divine temper of the   
,author of ,faith4 ,such a teacher  will
 vainly endeavor to recover by severity 
of warning the influence  he forfeits by
 want of sympathy4 ,he cannot frighten  
men like ,parker1  ,newman1 ,greg1 by   
appealing to fancied misgivings of their
 own hearts  respecting the             
precariousness of their convictions1 and
 uttering  dismal prophecies about      
yawning gulfs2 which1 however alarming  
as a  shudder of rhetoric1 can disturb  

no quiet trust in reality4 ,let us  hear
 the words1 however3--    ,educated men 
should not wait to be reminded that     
those who1 after  abandoning a          
peremptory historic belief1 endeavor to 
retain ,faith and  ,piety for their     
comfort1 stand upon a slope that has no 
ledges3  ,atheism in its simplest form  
yawns to receive those who there stand2 
and they know themselves to be          
gravitating towards it4    ,it would be 
far more reasonable for a man to die as 
a martyr for  ,atheism1--a stage beyond 
which no further progress is            
possible1--than  to do so at any point  
short of that terminus1 knowing as he   
does that  every day is bringing him    
nearer to the gulf4 ,the stronger the   
mind  is1 and the more it has of        
intellectual massiveness1 the more rapid
  will be its descent upon this         
declivity4 ,minds of little density1 and
  of much airy sentiment1 may stay long 
where they are1 just as gnats  and flies
 walk to and fro upon the honeyed sides 

of a china vase2 they  do not go down1  
but never again will they fly4--p4 #id4 
,this is one of the conventional        
minatory arguments which betray the     
absence of security and repose from the 
heart of the received  theology2 whose  
teachers could never propound it1 except
 from a  position of conscious danger4  
,they must imagine in their own case    
that1 if they were to find the ,gospels 
no longer oracular1 they would  plunge  
at once into endless depths of negation2
 and that1 unless they  can refute an   
interpretation of ,de ,wette's1 or      
correct a date of  ,baur's1 there will  
be eternal night in heaven4 ,they feel  
the universe1  and life1 and love1 and  
sorrow1 and the history of times and    
races  unbaptized1 to be all atheistic  
through and through1--profane to the    
core1--untraced by a vestige1           
untransfigured by a color1 of divine    
significance4 ,what they can think of a 
,being who creates all reality  and     
lives in it on these blindfold terms1 we

 will not attempt to  decide2 but it is 
no wonder that1 having once brought     
themselves to  believe in ,him1 they    
feel how a single move would overset    
them into  disbelief4 ,this thing1      
however1 is true of their own state of  
mind  alone2 whose spaces1 dark         
throughout with scepticism but for one  
distant lamp1 might easily be left      
without a ray4 ,it is consistent        
neither with reason nor with experience 
to threaten with this rule men  who have
 opened their souls to something else   
than documentary  authority4 ,it is     
notoriously false that the career of    
historic doubt  usually terminates in   
the loss of all faith in ,god2 nor do we
 suppose  that our author would have    
awarded to the atheist1 for actually    
reaching this point1 the praise of      
intellectual massiveness1 had he  not   
wanted a heavy weight to slide down his 
metaphorical inclined  plane1#eg and    
outstrip the slippery believers who try 
to stop  half-way4 ,the accusation      

against ,theism1 of being possible to   
the  light-minded and superficial1--a   
mere sweet-bait to entrap the silly     
insects of the intellectual world1--is  
confuted by the whole history  of       
philosophy and human culture2 all whose 
grandest names have  connected          
themselves with the recognition of a    
religion indigenous or  accessible to   
the faculties of the soul4 ,let our     
author collect on one  side of his      
library all the giants and heroes of    
utter disbelief1 and  on the other the  
literature of natural faith2 nay1 let   
him ransack for  fresh names and        
forgotten suffrages ,lalande's          
,dictionnaire des  ,athes2 and if1      
having weighed the various merits of    
,leucippus and  ,lucretius1 of ,baron   
d',holbach and ,la ,mettrie1 of ,robert 
,owen and  ,atkinson1 he thinks them of 
more sterling mass than the pure gold of
  thought and life accumulated by       
,socrates1 ,plato1 ,antoninus1--by      
,anselm  and ,abelard1 ,descartes and   

,arnaud1--by the authors of the         
,theodice1  the ,essay on the ,human    
,understanding1 and the ,principles of  
,human  ,knowledge1--by ,kant and       
,cousin1--by ,butler and ,paley and     
,arnold1--we  can only profess a dissent
 from his intellectual taste1 not less  
than  from his moral judgment4    ,the  
few pages on which we have been         
commenting were the first--though  they 
are near the end of the treatise--that  
fully opened our eyes to  the author's  
theological animus4 ,for a while1 his   
large professions1  and1 no doubt1      
sincere purpose of fairness1--his       
apparent breadth of  view1 and his free 
hand in putting down his subject on the 
canvas1--secured our admiring           
confidence1 and made us feel that here  
at length justice1 earnestness1 and     
accomplishment will go together4  ,one  
feature1 indeed1 we noticed as giving a 
suspicious appearance to  his equity of 
temper2 it displays itself more in      
censoriousness  towards his friends1    

than in large-heartedness towards his   
antagonists4 ,he readily allows faults  
in the advocates of his own  side1 but  
is never carried away into even a       
momentary appreciation of  the other4   
,this particular form of impartiality1  
which consists in  detracting from the  
merits of allies1 instead of delighting 
in those  of opponents1 is the          
ecclesiastic counterfeit of candor1--the
  half-shekel1 which is alone payable in
 the temple-service1 but which  nowhere1
 save at the sacred money-table1 is     
deemed equivalent to the  good ,roman   
coin of common life4 ,much as we dislike
 the chink of this  consecrated metal1  
we hoped that it would only ring for a  
passing  instant on the ear4 ,but alas6 
it is an indication seldom deceptive2   
and we feel constrained to report that  
there are1 in this tract1  quotations   
from both ,mr4 ,newman and ,mr4 ,greg1  
which1 if we were in the  court of      
veracity1 and not of theology1 we would 
say are  unconscientiously made4 ,the   

quotations are made anonymously as well 
as  unfaithfully1 so that the reader1   
unless haunted by the checking          
impressions of memory1 cannot correct   
the injustice of the writer4 ,the       
,phases of ,faith describes1 it will be 
remembered1 the gradual course  of ,mr4 
,newman's defections from his original  
orthodoxy4 ,his first  movements of     
doubt were naturally timid and          
inconsiderable1 bringing  him only to   
the conclusion1 that the genealogy in   
the first chapter of  ,matthew was      
copied wrong1 and counted wrong1 from   
the ,old ,testament4  ,on this step     
followed a second1 and a third1 each    
more important than  the preceding1 and 
necessitating a next more momentous than
 itself4  ,the latter stages of his     
progress included an inquiry into the   
evidence of the ,resurrection1 the      
miraculous gifts ascribed to the  early 
,church1 the claims to credit of the    
,apostle ,paul1 and other  topics1      
undeniably affecting the very essence of

 ,christian evidence4  ,having traced   
the successive advances of his doubts1  
,mr4 ,newman1 in a  recapitulary        
,conclusion1 makes a solemn appeal to   
his readers1 to  say at what point he   
could have stopped1 and to lay a finger 
distinctly on the place at which the    
guilt of his scepticism began4  ,one by 
one he counts out the steps by which he 
had proceeded1 and  asks1 ,was this the 
sinful one8 ,the whole effect of the    
appeal is  certainly an impression that 
the series1 if not an inevitable        
sequence1 is very difficult to break2   
and that1 small as the  beginnings were1
 they linked themselves1 by close       
connection1 with  very momentous        
results4 ,from this chapter our author  
cites a sentence  or two1 but in such a 
way as immediately to conjoin the small 
initial  steps of doubt with the great  
ultimate conclusion1 and to make it     
appear that ,mr4 ,newman renounced      
,christianity because he could not  make
 out the pedigree of ,jesus to his      

satisfaction4 ,the genealogical         
difficulty is the only one which he     
quotes1 and as to which ,mr4 ,newman  is
 permitted to speak for himself4        
,presenting this as a specimen1 and     
suppressing all the rest1 he says that  
he could have shown this  writer a      
course far better than1 on account of   
difficulties such as  these1 to renounce
 ,christianity6 ,his citation from ,mr4 
,greg is  introduced as follows3--      
,let another witness be heard2 and in   
hearing him one might think that  his   
words are an echo that has come softly  
travelling down1 through  sixteen       
centuries1 from some field of blood1 or 
some forum1 or some  amphitheatre1 where
 ,christian men were witnessing a good  
confession in  the midst of their mortal
 agonies6 ,this witness is one who      
assures  us that 'he can believe no     
longer1 he can worship no longer2 he has
  discovered that the creed of his early
 days is baseless1 or  fallacious4' ,yet
 he too takes up the ,,martyr ,,truth1  

that we must not  lie to ,god4--p4 #ia4 
,here1 then1 ,mr4 ,greg 7with           
concealment of his name7 is represented 
as  one who1 by his own confession1 can 
neither believe nor worship any  more4  
,turning to the preface of ,the ,creed  
of ,christendom1 we find  the following 
original to this quotation3--    ,the   
pursuit of truth is easy to a man who   
has no human sympathies1  whose vision  
is impaired by no fond partialities1    
whose heart is torn by  no divided      
allegiance4 ,to him the renunciation of 
error presents few  difficulties2 for   
the moment it is recognized as error1   
its charm  ceases4 ,but the case is very
 different with the ,searcher whose     
affections are strong1 whose            
associations are quick1 whose hold upon 
the  ,past is clinging and tenacious4   
,he may love ,truth with an earnest and 
paramount devotion2 but he loves much   
else also4 ,he loves errors1 which  were
 once the cherished convictions of his  
soul4 ,he loves dogmas which  were once 

full of strength and beauty to his      
thoughts1 though now  perceived to be   
baseless or fallacious4 ,he loves the   
,church where he  worshipped in his     
happy childhood2 where his friends and  
his family  worship still2 where his    
gray-haired parents await the           
resurrection of  the ,just2 but where he
 can worship and await no more4 ,he     
loves the  simple old creed1 which was  
the creed of his earlier and brighter   
days2  which is the creed of his wife   
and children still2 but which inquiry   
has  compelled him to abandon4 ,the past
 and the familiar have chains and       
talismans which hold him back in his    
career1 till every fresh step  forward  
becomes an effort and an agony2 every   
fresh error discovered is  a fresh bond 
snapped asunder2 every new glimpse of   
light is like a fresh  flood of pain    
poured in upon the soul4 ,to such a man 
the pursuit of  ,truth is a daily       
martyrdom1--how hard and bitter let the 
martyr tell4  ,shame to those who make  

it doubly so2 honor to those who        
encounter it  saddened1 weeping1        
trembling1 but unflinching still4--p4   
xvi4    ,our author would snatch from   
,mr4 ,greg the right to say1 we must not
 lie  to ,god4 ,which has the better    
right to say1 ,thou shalt not lie to    
men8    ,the more ingenuously the modern
 ,orthodoxy lays bare its essence1 the  
more evident is it that a profound      
scepticism not only mingles with it1    
but constitutes its very inspiration4   
,the dread of losing ,god1 the          
impression that there is but one patent 
way1 not of duty1 but of  thought1 of   
meeting him1 haunt the minds of men1    
driving some to  ,anglicanism to        
compensate defect of faith by excess of 
sacrament1 some  to ,rome in quest of   
the ,lord's body1 and prompting others  
to  conservative efforts of             
,bibliolatry1 conducted with            
ever-decreasing  reason and declining   
hope4 ,we have seen1 however1 no such   
exemplification of this radical distrust

 as in the treatise before us4  ,already
 has the writer declared that the moral 
side of the universe  sends in1 with    
regard to religion1 an empty report4    
,and now he hastens  to tell us that1 on
 the physical side1 the watchmen from   
every  observatory of nature cry out1   
,no ,god4 ,he represents the natural    
sciences as a huge ,titanic1 resistless 
mass of knowledge1 perfectly            
demonstrable1 and completely            
irreligious2 descending1 like a glacier1
  from the upper valleys of frozen      
thought2 sure to scrape away the wild   
pine woods and the green fields of      
natural religion1 yet considerate       
enough1 for some reason unexplained1 to 
spare the foundations of the  village   
church4 ,designating every faith except 
his own by such phrases  as theosophic  
fancies1 and pietistic notions1 he      
assures us that  they will all be put   
right out of existence by our modern    
physical  sciences2 and he borrows from 
the ,positive ,philosophy 7apparently by

  unconscious sympathy7 the following   
maxim to justify his prediction3--      
,in any case1 when that which on any    
ground of proof takes full hold  of the 
understanding1 7such1 for example1 are  
the most certain of the  conclusions of 
,geology17 stands contiguous to that    
which1 in a logical  sense1 is of       
inferior quality1 and is indeterminate1 
and fluctuating1  and liable to         
retrogression1--in any such case there  
is always going  on a silent            
encroachment of the more solid mass upon
 the ground of  that which is less      
solid4 ,what is ,,sure will be pressing 
upon what is  uncertain1 whether or not 
the two are designedly brought into     
collision or comparison4 ,what is well  
defined weighs upon1 and  against1 what 
is ill defined4 ,nothing stops the      
continuous involuntary  operation of    
,,science in dislodging ,,opinion from  
the minds of those who  are conversant  
with both4    ,a very small matter that 
is indeed determinate1 will be able to  

keep  a place for itself against this   
incessantly encroaching movement2 but   
nothing else can do so4 ,as to any of   
those theosophic fancies which we  may  
wish to cling to1 after we have thrown  
away the ,bible1 we might as  well      
suppose that they will resist the impact
 of the mathematical and  physical      
sciences1 as imagine that the lichens of
 an ,alpine gorge will  stay the slow   
descent of a glacier4--p4 #ig4    ,here 
it is alleged that ,science and ,opinion
 cannot coexist1--that the  demonstrable
 will banish the probable4 ,and be it   
observed1 this is to  take place1 not   
simply where contradiction arises       
between the two orders  of belief1 but  
in all cases1 from the mere distaste    
which  quantitative studies produce     
towards everything which evades their   
rules4 ,in this allegation there is1 we 
believe1 with much exaggeration1  a     
certain small amount of truth1--a truth1
 however1 which1 so far from  supporting
 our author's plea against natural      

religion1 offers it a  conclusive       
refutation4 ,it may be admitted that the
 exact and mixed  sciences do disincline
 their votary to put trust in the       
processes by  which judgments of        
probability are formed1 and alienate him
 from  thinkers who read off the meaning
 of the universe by another key than    
his4 ,accustomed to deal with ,number   
and ,space1 with ,motion and ,force     
alone1--to reason upon them by a        
,calculus which is helpless beyond their
  range1--to exercise ,faculties        
involving nothing beyond the            
interpretation of mensurative signs and 
the conception of relative              
magnitudes1--he owes it to something    
else than his peculiar discipline1  if  
he has either the instruments or the    
aptitudes for moral and  philosophical  
reflection4 ,he carries into the world1 
as his sole means  of representing and  
solving its phenomena1 the notion of    
physical  necessity and linear sequence1
 secretly defining the universe to      

himself  as ,leibnitz defined an        
organized being1--a machine1 whose      
smallest  parts are also machines1--and 
naturally grows impatient when he finds 
himself in fields of thought over which 
this narrow imagination opens no  track4
 ,with respect1 therefore1 to a certain 
class of minds1 rendered  perhaps       
increasingly numerous by the long       
neglect of the moral sciences  in       
,england1 it may be quite true1 that a  
spirit of utter disbelief  towards      
everything beyond the range of necessary
 matter may more and  more prevail4 ,let
 us further grant to our author1 for the
 moment1 three  things assumed by him1  
all of them1 however1 false3--#a4 ,that 
this  tendency of the demonstrable      
sciences is their only one having a     
bearing on theosophic systems4 #b4 ,that
 it is so new1 at least in  degree1 as  
to give opinion a worse chance for the  
future than it has  had in the past4 #c4
 ,that it is a good tendency1 favorable 
to human  knowledge and character4      

,still we must ask1 ,how is the oracular
  authority of the ,bible to escape the 
fate predicted for all  probabilities8  
,our author assures us that it will     
escape2 but he gives  no faintest hint  
of a reason for so singular an exception
 to his own  canon4 ,it cannot be       
contended that the evidences of         
,christianity and  ,judaism belong to   
any of the demonstrable or physical     
sciences4 ,it  cannot be denied that    
they lie wholly within the limits of    
contingent  knowledge1 and terminate    
only in probabilities2 that the         
authorship1  for instance1 of the fourth
 ,gospel1 the credibility of the        
introductory  chapters of ,matthew1 the 
correctness of the prophecies about the 
second  advent1 are matters which1      
standing contiguous to the laws of      
refracted and reflected light1 occupy   
the position of the less sure in        
relation to the more sure2 that the     
relative chronology of the  ,scripture  
books is more indeterminate than that of

 the geologic strata1  and their actual 
dates more uncertain than those of the  
eclipses fatal  to ,nicias and to       
,perseus4 ,what1 then1 is to exempt     
these judgments of  verisimilitude from 
being pushed right out of existence by  
the silent  encroachment of the more    
solid mass of knowledge beside it8      
,nothing can  be plainer than that all  
testimonial knowledge whatsoever1 all   
history1  criticism1 and art1 the whole 
system of moral and political sciences1 
must fall under our author's fatal      
sentence2 and how the propositions      
which sustain the infallible authority  
of the canonical books are to  hold     
their ground against the huge glacier on
 which ,herschel1 ,airy and  ,de        
,morgan1 ,comte and ,leverrier1         
triumphantly ride1 it is not easy to    
conceive4 ,amid the universal crash of  
probabilities1 may not the ,mosaic      
tables of stone1 broken once1 be        
pulverized at last8 ,with the abrasion  
of all the alluvial soil in which the   

growths of wonder strike their  roots1  
will the garden of ,eden1 will the      
blighted fig-tree1 remain to  mark a    
verdant and a barren spot in history8   
,will these riding  philosophers from   
their cold observatory find ,paul's     
third heaven8 ,may  not their icy       
mountain slip into the abyss whence all 
the demons came1  and fill it up8 ,these
 questions1 indeed1 are answered for us 
in  experience4 ,it is notorious that1  
whenever an unbounded devotion to       
science has produced a prevalent        
tendency to disbelief1 ,revelation1 so  
far from being spared1 has been usually 
the first object of attack2 and1  both  
at the origin of modern science in the  
sixteenth century1 and  during its      
accelerated advance towards the close of
 the eighteenth1 the  widening          
conception of determinate ,law was found
 to threaten nothing so  decisively as  
the faith in supernatural dispensations4
 ,the greater  scepticism includes the  
less2 and the habit of mind which lets  

slip all  beliefs not legitimated by the
 canons of natural science1 cannot      
possibly retain ,christianity4    ,but  
our author has only half described the  
mental effect of studies  purely        
scientific4 ,they do not1 in the nature 
of things they cannot1  simply push out 
of the mind all contingent judgments4   
,human life and  action are one         
continuous texture of such judgments1   
with some  interweaving1 no doubt1 of   
mathematic forms1 which could not be    
picked  out without spoiling the        
symmetry of its pattern2 but were you to
  withdraw the threads of probable      
opinion1 still more1 to cut the warp  of
 primitive assumptions that stretches   
through it1 the web would  simply fall  
to pieces4 ,no youth can decide on a    
profession1 no man  appoint an agent in 
his business1 no physician prescribe for
 a  patient1 no judge pronounce a       
sentence1 no statesman answer a         
despatch1 without a constant resort to  
surmises1 a reliance on  slender        

indications1 often even a deliberate    
adoption of very doubtful  hypotheses4  
,all men are driven from hour to hour   
into positions  demanding combinations  
of thought which can be borrowed from no
  natural science2 where not the laws of
 matter and motion1 not the  equilibrium
 of forces1 not the properties of       
things1 are chiefly  concerned1 but the 
feelings and faculties of persons1 the  
action and  reaction of human affairs4  
,mathematicians and natural             
philosophers1  being in no way exempt   
from these conditions1 are obliged to   
have just  as many opinions and guesses 
as other men2 they cannot1 if they  are 
to keep their footing on this world at  
all1 have a smaller stock  than their   
neighbors of this logically inferior    
order of  persuasions4 ,they are unable 
to abdicate the necessity of having     
these  persuasions2 and their only      
peculiarity is1 that they sometimes     
import  into contingent affairs the     
methods with which habit has rendered   

them  familiar in another sphere1 and so
 find the conditions of belief          
unsatisfied2 and at others1 from        
consciousness that their own clew  will 
not serve1 yet inaptitude for seizing a 
better1 surrender  themselves to the    
fortuitous guidance of ill-balanced     
faculties and  external solicitations4  
,hence their judgments are frequently   
fantastic1 frequently sceptical1--not   
less liable to be too easy from  one    
cause than to be too reluctant from     
another2 and were a history to  be      
written of the most remarkable          
extravagances1 positive as well as      
negative1 by which religion and         
philosophy have sprung aside from the   
centre of common sense and feeling1 it  
would contain more names of  great      
repute in the exact sciences than from  
any other intellectual  class whatever4 
,from ,pythagoras to ,swedenborg1 the   
eccentricities of  mathematical and     
physical imagination have been the chief
 disturbers  of a natural and healthy   

faith4 ,harmonic theories of the        
universe1  ,ideal ,numbers1 ,geometric  
,ethics1 ,rosicrucian fraternities1     
,vortices  and ,monads1 ,apocalyptic    
studies1 ,new ,jerusalems1 and          
,electrobiological  ,metaphysics1 have  
all borne testimony to the aberrant     
fancy of eminent  proficients in the    
sciences4 ,it is1 therefore1 far from   
being  universally true1 that disputable
 theosophies and conjectural systems  of
 the universe are distasteful to minds  
schooled in the demonstrable  sciences4 
,if to men of this order we owe the     
successive dislodgement  of one such    
hypothesis after another1 to them also  
do we owe their  continual reproduction4
 ,whether the unsoundness of judgment   
which is  contracted in the absence of  
historical1 moral1 and metaphysical     
studies shall show itself in an         
excessive slowness or an excessive      
facility of belief1 will depend on      
accidents of personal character and     
social position4 ,but of this we may be 

sure2--if the sceptical  temper be the  
direction taken1 the ,bible will not be 
spared2 if the  credulous1 theosophic   
fancies will be copiously saved4    ,can
 there1 after all1 be a more paradoxical
 spectacle than that of a  religious    
writer allying himself with the         
sceptical propensities of  science1 in  
order to get rid of gainsayers of the   
,bible8 ,it is the  counterpart in logic
 of the ,italian game in politics1--the 
,pope  appealing to ,parisian swords to 
drive out the ,republic1 and save the   
head of ,christendom4 ,is it possible   
that our author can approve the  agency 
which he thus invokes8 that he can      
really wish to see it in the            
intellectual ascendant1 and garrisoning 
every sacred fortress of the  world8    
,does he remember what are the          
fundamental canons of its  logic1--that 
we know nothing but ,phenomena1--that   
,causation is nothing  but phenomenal   
priority1--or else1 that ,force is the  
prior datum of  which ,thought is a     

particular and posterior development8   
,and what1 on  the other hand1 are the  
theosophic fancies against which he     
would  plant this barbaric artillery of 
,fate8 ,they are such as these1--that   
our  faculties give us trustworthy      
reports1 not of phenomena only1 but of  
their abiding ground1--,soul within1    
,god without2--that the moral ,law of   
,obligation in the one is the expression
 of ,holy ,will in the other2--that     
faithfulness in the ,human mind to its  
highest aspirations1 brings it  into    
communion with the ,divine2--that as the
 ,soul is the free ,image1 so  is       
,nature the determinate ,handiwork of   
,god4 ,if these doctrines1 spurned  by  
our author with so rude a flippancy1    
were to surrender to the  hostility on  
which he relies1 is he unaware of the   
character the  conflict would assume1   
and of the dynasty of thought which     
would reign  undisputed at the close8   
,fighting by the side of such allies    
against  theosophic fancies1 he may     

skirmish with the fancies1 but they     
will bear right down upon the ,theism in
 the centre2 and when the day  is over1 
the standard they will plant upon the   
conquered towers will  be1 not the      
sacred dove he took into the field1 and 
lost to the defeated  foe1 but their own
 blind black eagle of necessity4 ,how   
strange is the  perversion of           
instinctive sympathies1 when a          
theologian disparages the  sciences of  
reflection and self-knowledge1 and takes
 his stand on the  evidence of sense and
 measurement alone6--when he proposes to
 sweep out  beliefs that trouble him    
with their neighborhood1 by a general   
crusade  against all probabilities1--and
 when1 with this design1 he violates the
  just balance of power among the       
kingdoms of human knowledge1 and        
flatters1 as if it were a virtue1 the   
pretensions of a mental habit1  which1  
out of its own province1 is one of the  
most incapacitating1 yet  destructive1  
of intellectual vices6 ,there is1       

however1 a certain secret  affinity of  
feeling between a ,religion which       
exaggerates the functions  and          
overstrains the validity of an external 
authority1 and a ,science  which deals  
only with objective facts1 perceived or 
imagined4 ,the point  of sympathy is    
found in a common distrust of everything
 internal1 even  of the very faculties  
7as soon as they are contemplated as    
such7 by  which the external is         
apprehended and received4 ,and between  
this sort of  faith and the mathematics 
there is another analogy1 which may     
explain so  curious a mutual            
understanding4 ,both rest upon          
hypotheses1 which it is  beyond their   
province to look into1 but after the    
assumption of which1  all room for      
opinion is shut out by a rigid          
necessity4 ,once get your  infallible   
book1 and 7supposing the meaning        
unambiguous7 it settles  every matter on
 which it pronounces2 and once allow the
 first principles  and definitions in   

geometry to express truths and          
realities1 and you can  deny nothing    
afterwards4 ,it is the business of      
philosophy to go below  the mathematics1
 and determine whether they are more    
than hypothetical  science1--whether    
their assumptions are a mere play of    
subjective  necessity1 or are           
objectively trustworthy4 ,it is the     
business of both  reflective philosophy 
and historical criticism to go below the
 ,,book1  and determine whether it has  
more than hypothetical                  
infallibility1--whether the conditions1 
inner and outer1 of such a  claim1 are  
or are not satisfied4 ,if even the      
,mathematics1 which have  little to fear
 from the investigation of their basis1 
have not been on  the best terms with   
,metaphysics1 it is hardly surprising   
that a ,religion  of mere external      
authority should feel antipathy for the 
studies which  pry into its foundations1
 with the inevitable effect of showing  
that  what is certainty above ground is 

opinion below4 ,nor is it wonderful     
that both sets of beliefs are fond of   
forgetting their hypothetical  origin1  
contemplating only their acquired       
semblance of security1 and  speaking as 
if they disowned contingency altogether1
 and despised the  detractors who could 
suspect such a taint in their blood4    
,hence the  fellow-feeling which        
occasionally unites a rigid theology1   
and an  exclusive physical and          
mathematical science4 ,it is founded on 
their  joint antipathy to the sources of
 moral knowledge1--their common         
blindness to one half of human culture4 
,like all alliances resting on          
antipathy alone1 it is neither honorable
 nor durable4 ,it is the function  of   
,religion to occupy a tranquil seat     
above the contests of partial  pursuits 
and narrow interests2 as1 in the world  
of action1 to hold the  balance of      
,right1 so1 in the world of intellect1  
to preserve the  equities and the       
equilibrium of ,truth2 and her trust is 

betrayed by any  one who flings himself1
 as her representative1 into the civil  
wars of  the sciences1 and in her name  
signs away whole provinces of thought1  
and  abandons them to outrage and       
confiscation as conquered lands4 ,human 
faith has nothing to fear from the unity
 and perfection of all the  sciences2   
but much from the blind ambition of each
 one4 ,it is from this  persuasion      
alone1 and not from any defective       
appreciation of physical  studies1 that 
we have spoken freely of their tendency1
 when the mind is  entirely enclosed    
within them4 ,the undoubted source of   
inestimable  blessings to mankind1 and  
an indispensable element of culture to  
the  individual1 they are mischievous   
only when they grow dizzy with success1 
and propound schemes of universal       
empire4 ,the moment they undertake      
either to create or destroy a religion1 
the sign is unmistakable that  this     
intoxicated ambition has begun to work4 
,the relation of ,religion to ,history  

our author appears to us to  conceive   
much more correctly than its relation to
 ,science4 ,on this  great topic1       
however1 our limits forbid us to enter4 
,one remark only  we will make4 ,the    
author misconceives the objection of    
,theodore ,parker  and others to the    
ordinary doctrine of historical         
revelation4 ,they do  not1 as he        
affirms1 disjoin religion from history1 
or in the least  decline the travelling 
back to ages past on its account4 ,it is
 not  the presence of ,god in antiquity1
 but his presence only  there1--not his 
inspiration in ,palestine1 but his      
withdrawal from  every spot             
besides1--not even his supreme and      
unique expression in  ,jesus of         
,nazareth1 but his absence from every   
other human  medium1--against which     
these writers protest4 ,they feel that  
the usual  ,christian advocate has      
adopted a narrow and even irreligious   
ground2  that he has not found a        
satisfactory place in the ,divine scheme

 of  human affairs for the great ,pagan 
world2 that he has presumptuously       
branded all history but one as profane2 
that he has not only read it  without   
sympathy and reverence1 but has used it 
chiefly as a foil to  show off the      
beauty of evangelic truth and holiness1 
and so has dwelt  only on the inadequacy
 of its philosophy1 the deformities of  
its  morals1 the degenerate features of 
its social life2 that he has  forgotten 
the ,divine infinitude when he assumes  
that ,christ's  plenitude of the ,spirit
 implies the emptiness of ,socrates4 ,in
 their  view1 he has rashly undertaken  
to prove1 not one positive fact1--a     
revelation of divine truth in           
,galilee1--but an infinite              
negative1--no inspiration anywhere else4
 ,to this negation1 and to  this alone1 
is their remonstrance addressed4 ,they  
do not deny a  theophany in the gift of 
,christianity2 but they deny two very   
different things1 viz43--#a4 ,that this 
is the only theophany2 and1 #b4  ,that  

this is theophany alone2--that is1 they 
look for some divine  elements          
elsewhere2 and they look for some human 
here4 ,it is not  therefore a smaller1  
but a larger1 religious obligation to   
history1  which they are anxious to     
establish2 and they remain in company   
with  the ,christian advocate1 so long  
as his devout and gentle mood           
continues2 and only quit him when he    
enters on his sceptical  antipathies4   
,this1 in spite of every resistance from
 the rigor of the  older theology1 is an
 inevitable consequence of the modern   
historical  criticism4 ,its large and   
genial apprehension opens for us new    
admirations1 new sympathies1 clearer    
insight into human realities1           
throughout the nations and ages of the  
past4 ,it melts away from our  ancient  
moral geography the ideal contrasts of  
coloring which made the  world the scene
 of an unnatural dualism1 and reinstates
 the great  families of man in unity4   
,it is doing for our conception of the  

moral  world what science has already   
done for our conception of the natural3 
it is expanding our notion of ,divine   
agency within it4 ,as1 in  reference to 
physical nature1 we have learned to     
think that ,god did  not enact creation 
but once1 and cease2 so are we beginning
 to  perceive1 in relation to the human 
mind and life1 that he did not  enter   
history only once1 and quite            
exceptionally4 ,whoever opens his  heart
 to this great thought will find in it1 
not the uneasiness of  doubt1 but the   
repose of faith4 ,he will no longer     
fancy that1 in order  to keep           
,christianity as the divinest of all1 he
 must fear to feel  aught else divine4  
,he will worship still at the same      
altar1 and sing  his hymn to the same   
strain2 only with a richer chorus of    
consentient  voices1 and in a wider     
communion of faithful souls4            
,,footnote3    #eg ,the question has    
been raised1 whether the author of ,the 
,restoration of ,belief1 who presents   

himself to us through the  ,cambridge   
publisher1 is really a ,university man8 
,to those who are  curious about such   
critical problems1 we would suggest this
  consideration1 as having some bearing 
on the case3 ,could a person who  had   
studied the laws of accelerated motion  
at the authoritative school  of ,english
 science have so forgotten his formulas 
as to make his  heaviest man on that    
account his quickest8 ,the authorship1  
however1 is not less evident than if the
 book had been published by  ,messrs4   
,longmans1 or by ,holdsworth and ,ball4 
,,one ,,gospel ,,in ,,many ,,dialects4  
,and they were all filled with the ,holy
 ,spirit1 and began to speak      in    
other tongues1 according as the ,spirit 
gave them utterance4 ,and      there    
were sojourning at ,jerusalem ,jews1    
devout men1 out of every      nation    
under heaven4 ,now when this was noised 
abroad1 the      multitude came         
together2 and they were confounded      
because every      one heard them       

speaking in his own language4--,acts ii4
 #d-f4      ,in that marvellous scene1  
the anniversary of which coincides on   
this  ,whitsunday with our ,centenary1 a
 question long pending between the      
,rabbis and the ,holy ,spirit came to an
 open issue4 ,they were ,araman         
scholars1 and had their ,kingdom of     
,heaven set forth in the best  ,hebrew1 
which1 true enough1 was of no great     
human currency1 and not  strictly a     
living tongue at all2 but then had been 
distinguished by  ,divine use from the  
earliest time4 ,was it not in this that 
the ,call  had come to ,abram8 and the  
promises been repeated to the           
,patriarchs8  and the music been flung  
from the harp of ,david8 and the burdens
 of  inspiration been treasured on the  
,prophet's scroll8 ,who could quote a   
word that ,god had ever spoken in any   
other language8 ,it was the one  sacred 
idiom1 from which all others are        
divergent corruptions1 and to  which1   
when the world's confusion is over1 they

 must again return4  ,however few in    
these decadent ages might understand it 
still1 it was  intrinsically fitted to  
be universal4 ,and who could call that  
speech  provincial1 at whose sound the  
heavens and earth arose8 or esteem it   
temporary1 when it persevered through   
the dispersion at ,babel1 and  was      
present on the world before the ,flood8 
,so there must be nothing  else allowed 
in the liturgies of the ,synagogue1 in  
the reading of  ,scripture1 or in any   
intercourse between man and ,god4 ,only 
when men  began to converse with one    
another1 to compare their human         
thoughts1  and descend from prophetic to
 didactic gifts1 might they resort to   
the  media of profaner life4 ,the       
language of ,worship was but one2 though
  the jargons of ,opinion were many4    
,and so the ,scribes and the ,rabbis of 
the written ,word supposed themselves to
 hold the only key of life4    ,but the 
,holy ,spirit goes into no one's        
keeping1 and is no respecter of         

tongues4 ,free as the wind to blow where
 it listeth1 it sweeps wherever  souls  
are genial to its breath1 and will yield
 to it their gifts1 of  love1 of lips1  
of life4 ,it seemed to have had enough  
of ,hebrew1 ever  since it had gone into
 the hands of the philologists1 and been
 made a  sacred language1 and begun to  
drone4 ,it had long been feeling its way
 in  other directions1 tempting men to  
pray out of the fresh heart1 and never  
mind the words1 till now at last the    
secret broke1 that on any native  tongue
 by which souls most freely flow        
together1 may all pass out to  ,god2    
that the home-sounds are the devoutest  
too2 that the speech into  which men are
 born1 and which has become to them as a
 stringed  instrument answering to the  
faintest touch of their affections1 is  
the  true vehicle by which the ,spirit  
giveth utterance4 ,the prayer of  faith1
 ascending in the idioms of every       
latitude1 converges into one in  heaven4
 ,and ,god's truth1 descending to this  

world1 breaks into all the  moulds of   
expression native to our various race4  
,one ,gospel in many dialects1--that is 
the great ,pentecost lesson1  construe  
the miracle as we may4 ,and there are   
dialects of ,thought as  well as        
speech1--natural differences of         
temperament and character1--to  which   
the ,gospel1 still without prejudice to 
its unity1 adapts itself  with the same 
divine flexibility4 ,what private       
observer--still more  what student of   
history--can doubt that we are not all  
made in the  same mould1--that the      
proportions of our humanity are         
variously  mixed1--that not only do we  
individually differ in moral            
susceptibility and spiritual depth1 but 
fall into permanent groups  marked by   
distinct and ineradicable characters1   
and reproducing the  same religious     
tendencies from age to age8 ,transpose  
the souls of  ,plato and ,pascal into   
the right place and time1 and do you    
suppose  they would turn up as          

,latitudinarian ,divines8 ,deal as you  
will with  the lot of ,priestley and    
,belsham1 and could you ever enroll them
 among  the ,christian ,mystics8 ,close 
in the fires of ,augustine's nature with
  what damps you may1 and could you ever
 find him peace in a ,gospel of  ,good  
,works8 ,no2 we touch here on           
differences deeper than accident1  and  
irremovable by culture1--differences    
that vindicate their reality  by        
crossing the lines of dissimilar        
religions and reappearing in all  times4
 ,they necessarily give us differing    
wants and experiences2 they  set into   
differing shapes of faith2 and on souls 
equally faithful they  fix very         
differing expressions4 ,they are so many
 vernacular idioms of  the inner mind3  
all have divine right to be3 no one of  
them is  entitled to call itself the    
sacred language alone intelligible      
between  man and ,god2 and the          
pretension of any to supersede the rest1
 and  reign alone1 is not less vain than

 the complaints of ignorance against    
foreign dialects1 and the ambition to   
exchange the many running waters  of    
local literature into the huge tank of a
 universal language4 ,they  may not be  
able to understand each other1 or even  
with the key of  outward comparison     
always bear translation into idioms     
other than  their own4 ,but let them    
speak in their own way1 and pray their  
own  prayer4 ,not only are they all     
clear to ,him that readeth the heart2   
there will thus be more heart for ,him  
to read3 for faith and love1  large as  
they may be1 are ever deepest in their  
special tones2 and the  prayer1 the     
hymn1 which is touched with the spirit's
 local coloring1  comes to us like the  
aroma of native fields1 and assuages our
 thirst  like the sweet waters of some  
well given to our fathers and made      
sacred by a ,saviour's noonday rest4    
,on this principle1--that different     
types of natural genius in men  cannot  
but throw their ,christianity into      

different forms1--we may not  only      
justify the divisions of ,christendom1  
but even cease to wish that  they should
 disappear4 ,unity no doubt there must  
be3 ,god is one2 ,truth  is one2 the    
,gospel is one2 and a mind that could   
take in the whole1  and spread its      
insight and affections in all dimensions
 at once1 would  reach the ,divine      
equilibrium1 in which nothing partial   
preponderates4  ,but from our           
watch-tower we can look through only one
 window at once2  the blind walls of our
 mental chamber shut out all the rest2  
and as we  kneel1 like ,daniel1 at the  
open light1 the breeze upon our face    
seems  sacred1 because it comes from our
 ,jerusalem4 ,the question is not1      
whether there is such a thing as truth1 
rounded off1 self-balanced1  and        
complete2 in the mind of ,god1--the     
final seat of reality1--of  course there
 is4 ,nor is it a question1 whether each
 individual man can  attain a faith     
consistent in its parts1 agreeable to   

fact1 and  adequate to his nature4 ,this
 also is possible4 ,but when he has     
attained it1 on what terms is it to     
co-exist with other faiths  presenting  
parallel pretensions8 ,is he in his     
heart to identify his  own with the     
absolute truth1 sufficient for all as   
for himself8 ,is  he to expect them to  
come round to it1 and altogether throw  
away their  own8 ,or is he to confess to
 himself his own limitations1 to suspect
  that he may have his blind sides1 and 
reverently to seek something he  has    
missed in that which others persist in  
seeing8 ,in which direction  is he to   
seek unity8 ,by antipathy to all beliefs
 save one8--or by  inviting all of them 
to live their life and show their place 
in human  nature8 ,it is the genius of  
,romanism to seek unity by suppression2 
of ,protestantism1 by free              
development2--of the former1 to protect 
the consistency it has2 of the latter1  
to press forward to one that it  has    
not4 ,are we taunted with our           

,protestant variations8 ,why1 the  more 
they are1 the richer is our field of    
experience1 the finer our  points of    
comparison2 provided1 however1 that we  
hold fast to the  noble trust in a      
,gospel of identity at bottom1 and seek 
it rather in  the religious heart of all
 the churches1 than in the theologic    
wisdom  of our own4 ,no man can proclaim
 the principle of ,one ,gospel in many  
dialects1 unless he is prepared to admit
 that his own faith is one  of the      
dialects1 and nothing more2 to presume a
 meaning in the  others1 however hid    
from him2 and while they remain to him a
 mere  inarticulate jargon1 to ascribe  
it sooner to his own incapacity than  to
 their insignificance4 ,when ,god's     
truth1 refracted on its entrance  into  
our nature1 shall emerge into the white 
light again1 not one of  these tinted   
beams can be spared4 ,let us for a      
moment arrest and  examine them4 ,let us
 look at the chief varieties which      
,christianity  assumes as it penetrates 

the soul2 at once recognizing our own   
place1  and appreciating that of others4
    ,there are three great types of     
natural mind on which the ,spirit of    
,christ may fall2 and each1 touched and 
awakened by him1 utters the  wonderful  
works of ,god in a language of its own4 
7#a47 ,there is the ,ethical mind1 calm1
 level1 and clear2 chiefly  intent on   
the good-ordering of this life2 judging 
all things by their  tendency to this   
end2 and impatient of every oscillation 
of our nature  that swings beyond it4   
,there is nothing low or unworthy in the
  attachment which keeps this spirit    
close to the present world1 and         
watchful for its affairs4 ,it is not a  
selfish feeling1 but often one          
intensely social and humane2 not any    
mean fascination with mere  material    
interests1 but a devotion to justice and
 right1 and an  assertion of the sacred 
authority of human duties and           
affections4 ,a  man thus tempered deals 
chiefly with this visible life and his  

comrades in it1 because1 as nearest to  
him1 they are the better known4  ,he    
plants his standard on the present1 as  
on a vantage-ground1 where  he can      
survey his field1 and manuvre all his   
force1 and compute the  battle he is to 
fight4 ,whatever his bearing towards    
fervors beyond his  range1 he has no    
insensibility to the claims that fall   
within his  acknowledged province1 and  
that appeal to him in the native speech 
of  his humanity4 ,he so reverences     
veracity1 honor1 and good faith1 as to  
expect them like the daylight1 and hear 
of their violation with a  flush of     
scorn4 ,his word is a rock1 and he      
expects that yours will not  be a       
quicksand4 ,if you are lax1 you cannot  
hope for his trust2 but if  you are in  
trouble1 you easily move his pity4 ,and 
the sight of a real  oppression1 though 
the sufferer be no ornamental hero1 but 
black1  unsightly1 and disreputable1    
suffices perhaps to set him to work for 
life1 that he may expunge the disgrace  

from the records of mankind4  ,such men 
as he constitute for our world its moral
 centre of gravity2  and whoever would  
compute the path of improvement that has
 brought it  thus far on its way1 or    
trace its sweep into a brighter future1 
must  take account of their steady mass4
    ,the effect of this style of thought
 and taste on the religion of its       
possessor is not difficult to trace4 ,it
 may1 no doubt1 stop short of  avowed   
and conscious religion altogether2 its  
basis being simply  moral1 and its scene
 temporal1 its conditions may be        
imagined as  complete1 without any      
acknowledgment of higher relations4     
,but1  practically1 this is an          
exceptional case4 ,a deep and           
reverential sense  of ,moral ,authority 
passes irresistibly into ,faith in a    
,moral ,governor2  and ,conscience1 as  
it rises1 culminates in ,worship4 ,and  
to such  natural religion1 the hearty   
reception of the revealed ,gospel is so 
congenial a sequel1 that ,christianity  

has enlisted its chief  body-guard--its 
band of ,immortals--from the writers of 
this school4 ,in  the form which they   
give to the faith1 they are true to     
themselves1  still keeping close to the 
human1 and1 except to sanction and      
glorify  this1 not apt to dwell upon the
 ,divine4 ,the second table of          
commandment has more reality to them    
than the first2 and the whole of        
religion presents itself to their mind  
under the idea of ,law4 ,god in  ,christ
 teaches us his ,will2 publishes the    
punishment and the reward2  and requires
 our obedience2 aiding us in it by the  
perfect example of  ,christ1 and        
reassuring us under failure by the offer
 of pardon on  repentance4 ,now this is 
a true ,gospel2 not a proposition of it 
can be  gainsaid2 and whoever from his  
heart can repeat this creed2--,god is   
holy2 morality1 divine2 penitence1      
availing2 goodness1 immortal2  guilt1   
secure of retribution2 and ,christ1 our 
pattern for both  lives1--is not far    

from the kingdom of ,heaven1 and has a  
faith as much  beyond the practice1 as  
it is short of the professions1 of the  
great  mass of ,christians4 ,if he has  
an equable1 rational1 and balanced      
nature2 if he can depend on himself1 and
 reduce his will to the  discipline of  
rules2 if he have affections temperate  
enough to follow  reason instead of lead
 it1 and to love ,god by sense of       
fitness and  word of command2 if moral  
prudence is so strong in him that he can
  bear the idea of doing good for the   
sake of everlasting happiness2  if no   
wing ever beats in his soul that takes  
him off his feet2--his  wants are       
provided2 he has guidance for the       
problems that will meet  him on his     
way1--indications of duty1--grounds of  
trust1--and a path  traced through every
 ,gethsemane and ,calvary of this world1
 to the  saintly peace of another4      
,but while this is a true ,gospel1 is it
 the whole ,gospel8 ,not so2  unless the
 voice of the ,saviour is to reach only 

a part of our  humanity1 and in response
 draw but a little flock4 ,for not many 
of  our race are made of this even and  
unfermenting clay4 ,who can deny  that  
there abound1--and among the greatest   
names of ,christian  history1--    7#b47
 ,passionate natures1 that cannot thus  
work out their own  salvation1 but ever 
pray to be taken whither of themselves  
they cannot  go8 ,it is not that they   
are necessarily weak of will1 deficient 
in  self-control1 and unequal to the    
human moralities4 ,rather is it1 that   
they get through all these1 and yet can 
find no peace4 ,duty1 as men  measure   
it1 may be satisfied2 but still the face
 of ,god does not lift up  its light4   
,for want of that answering look1 it is 
all as the tillage of  the black desert2
 digging by night without a heaven      
above1 and sowing in  sands which no dew
 shall fertilize4 ,intense and          
effectuating resolve was  certainly not 
wanting in ,luther2 what his young      
conscience imposed1 his  will           

achieved1--wasting asceticism1          
persevering devotion1 humble  charities2
 yet the shadow of death brooded around 
his irreproachable  obedience4 ,is it   
not that the same sorrow which1 in more 
level minds1 is  brought by a fall of   
the will1 arises in these men from the  
ascent of  their aspirations8 ,haunted  
by the image of ,god's ,holiness1 drawn 
to  it1 yet fluttering helplessly at    
immeasurable depths below it1 they      
strain after an obedience they cannot   
reach1 and never lose the sense of      
infinite failure4 ,measured by their    
aims1 their power is nothing4 ,did  the 
law of ,christ require nothing but works
 which the hand could do1 its           
conditions would be finite1 and might be
 satisfied4 ,but its claims sweep       
through the affections of the soul2 and 
who can make himself love  where he is  
cold8 who set himself behind his own    
thoughts1 and keep  guilty intruders    
outside the door of his nature8         
,impossible6 the inner  life1 which is  

the special seat of our divine concerns1
 evades our  laboring prudence1 and     
tortures conscience without obeying it4 
,how then  do these sufferers find their
 emancipation8 ,they have a ,gospel1    
according to which ,christ is not given 
as the ,teacher of ,law1 but set up  as 
the personal object of pure ,trust and  
,love4 ,god sent his ,son in the        
likeness of sinful flesh1 to mitigate   
the ,divine into gentleness1 to  elevate
 the ,human into holiness1 and show how 
there is one moral  perfection for both2
 surrendered him to humiliation and     
self-sacrifice2  placed him in heaven2  
and offered to accept pure faith and    
love towards  him as the reconciling    
term for the human soul1--as the        
substitute for  an unattainable ideal of
 obedience4 ,here then is the salvation 
of these  passionate natures4 ,this     
simple trust1 this intense affection1 is
  precisely what they have to give4     
,they cannot direct themselves2 but     
only fix their love1 and you may lead   

them as a child4 ,self-discipline  is   
impossible2 self-escape triumphant4 ,try
 from within to hold the  struggling    
winds of their nature with iron bands of
 law1 and you do but  stir the sleeping 
storms4 ,set in the heavens without an  
orb of divine  attraction1--a new star  
in the ,east1--and you carry their whole
  atmosphere away4 ,engage their faith2 
and for the first time they will        
prevail over their work4 ,let there be  
an appeal of ,grace to their            
enthusiasm1--a whispered word1 ,lovest  
thou me8--and the very burden  that was 
too heavy to be borne loses all its     
weight2 and the drudging  mill of habit1
 that seemed so servile once1 they pace 
with songs and  joy4 ,there are men who 
so need to be thus carried out of       
themselves1  that without it their      
nature runs to waste1 or burns away with
  self-consuming fires4 ,they are like  
one who1 in a dream1 should set  himself
 to climb a far-off mountain-top2 if he 
tries to run1 he cannot  even creep1 and

 only wakes himself to find that he lies
 still on the bed  of nature4 ,but if   
the thought of his mind should be1 that 
an  overmastering power--chariot of fire
 and horses of fire--lifts him away1  he
 floats through the clear space1 till1  
without effort1 his feet stand  upon the
 visionary hills4    ,here then1        
again1--in this doctrine of ,faith1--we 
have a true ,gospel1  speaking to many  
hearts impenetrable by the doctrine of  
,works4 ,but  have we even yet the whole
 ,gospel8 ,has the ,good ,shepherd1 in  
these  two words1 made his voice known  
to all that are his8 ,or are there      
other sheep still to be gathered that   
are not of these folds8 ,i  believe     
there are4 ,for thus far we have looked 
only at the moral  side of ,christian   
doctrine1--at its different answers to  
the problem  of ,sin1--at the conditions
 of ultimate acceptance with ,god1      
notwithstanding deep unworthiness4      
,whether you say1 ,patiently obey1  and 
you shall grow into perfection of faith 

and love2 or1 ,fling  yourself on faith 
and love1 and you will find grace for   
patient  obedience2--in either case you 
are prescribing terms of salvation2 you 
have the future life specially in mind1 
and are anxious to make  ready the soul 
there to meet her ,god4 ,but there are  
persons who  cannot fix any particular  
solicitude upon that crisis1 as if all  
before were probation1 and all after    
were judgment1--as if here were  only   
faith in an absent1 and there sight of a
 present ,god2--who cannot  dramatically
 divide existence into a two-act piece1 
first ,time1 then  ,eternity1 and wait  
for the ,infinite ,presence1 till the   
curtain rises  between them2 but are    
haunted by the feeling that1 as ,time is
 in  ,eternity1 so is ,man already shut 
up in ,god4 ,this is the indigenous     
sentiment of another natural type of    
mind1 which may be called1--    7#c47   
,the ,spiritual4 ,god is a ,spirit2 man 
has a spirit2 both1 ,now2  both1 ,here2 
and shall they never meet8 shall they   

remain without  exchange of looks8 shall
 nothing break the seal of eternal      
silence8 is  there really love between  
them1 and thought1 and purpose1 and yet 
all  recognition dumb8 ,why tell us of  
,god's ,omniscience1 if it only sleeps  
around us like dead space1 or at most   
lies watching1 like a sentinel  of the  
universe1 not free to stir8 ,who could  
ever pray to this  motionless           
,immensity8 who weep his griefs to rest 
on a ,pity so secret  and reserved8     
,surely if ,he is a ,living ,mind1 he   
not merely remains  over from a ,divine 
,past to appear again in a ,divine      
,future1 but moves  through the         
immediate hours1 and awakens a thousand 
sanctities to-day4  ,urged by such      
questionings as these1 men of meditative
 piety have  thirsted for conscious     
communion with the ,all-holy2--communion
 both  ways3 appeal and response2 a     
crossing line of light from eye to eye2 
a quiet walk with ,god1 where all the   
dust of life turns1 at his  approach1   

into the green meadow1 and its flat     
pools into the gliding  waters4 ,they   
have retired within to meet him2 have   
believed that all  is not ours that it  
is ours to feel2 that there is ,grace of
 his  mingling with the inner fibres of 
our nature1 and flinging in1 across  the
 constant warp of our personality1      
flying tints of deeper beauty1  and     
hints of a pattern more divine4 ,and all
 have agreed1 that1 in  order to reach  
this ,holy ,spirit1 and through its     
vivifying touch be  born again1 the one 
thing needful is a stripping off of     
self1 an  abandonment of personal desire
 and will1 a return to simplicity1 and a
  docile listening to the whispers      
spontaneous from ,god4 ,they find all   
sin to be a rising up of self2 all      
return to holiness and peace a  sinking 
down from self1 a free surrender of the 
soul1--that asks  nothing1 possesses    
nothing1 that relaxes every rigid       
strain1 and is  pliant to go whither the
 highest ,will may lead4 ,nature1 of her

 own  foolishness1 ever goes astray in  
her quest of divine things2 wandering   
away in flights of laboring ,reason to  
find her ,god2 panting with  over-plied 
resolve to do her work2 scheming rules1 
and artifices1 and  bonds of union for  
forming her individuals into a ,church4 
,reverse all  this1 and fall back on the
 centre of the ,spirit1 instead of      
pressing  out in all radii of your own4 
,let ,intellect droop her ambitious     
wing1  and come home2 there1 in the     
inmost room of conscience1 ,god seeks   
you  all the while4 ,lash your wearied  
strength no more2 sit low and weak  upon
 the ground1 with loving readiness      
hitherward or thitherward1 and  you     
shall be taken through your work with a 
sevenfold strength that  has no effort  
in it4 ,leave yourself awhile in utter  
solitude1 shut out  all thoughts of     
other men1 yield up whatever intervenes1
 though it be  the thinnest film1       
between your soul and ,god2 and in this 
absolute  loneliness1 the germ of a holy

 society will of itself appear1 a temper
  of sympathy and mercy1 trustful and   
gentle1 suffuses itself through  the    
whole mind3 though you have seen no one1
 you have met all2 and are  girt for any
 errand of service that love may find4  
,so then1 if there  were twenty or a    
thousand in this case1 their wills would
 flow  together of their own accord1 and
 find themselves in brotherhood  without
 a plan at all4    ,so speaks this      
doctrine of the ,spirit4 ,it matters not
 now under which of  its many theologic 
forms we conceive it2 simplest perhaps1 
that the  ,indwelling ,god1 who in      
,christ was the ,word1 is in us the     
,comforter4 ,but  surely1 this also is  
not altogether a false ,gospel4 ,it     
rescues the  conception of direct       
communion between the human spirit and  
the  ,divine1--a conception essential to
 the ,christian life1--which an ,ethical
  ,gospel does not adequately secure3   
for communion must be between like  and 
like1 while obedience may be from slave 

to lord1 nay1 in some sense1  from      
machine to maker4 ,nor is it a slight   
thing to take the scales from  our eyes 
that hide from us the sanctities of our 
immediate life2 to  abolish the         
postponement of eternity2 and1 wayfarers
 as we are1 make us  feel1 as we rise   
from our stony pillow and pass on1 that 
here is the  abode of ,god1 and here    
does the angel-ladder touch the ground6 
,yet this  too is not the whole ,gospel4
 ,it absorbs too much in ,god4 ,it      
scarcely  saves human personality and   
responsibility4 ,it does no justice to  
nature1 which it regards as the negative
 of ,god4 ,it melts away ,law in  ,love1
 and hides the rocky structure of this  
moral world in a sunny haze  that       
confuses earth and air4    ,what1 then1 
shall we say of these three types of    
,christian faith8 ,do  you doubt their  
reality8 ,it is demonstrated within the 
century which  we close this day4 ,for  
while our forefathers were dedicating   
this  house of prayer to the first1 the 

,gospel of ,christian ,duty1 ,wesley    
had already become the prophet of the   
last1--the new birth of the  ,spirit2   
and erelong ,evangelicism started up1   
and proclaimed the  second1--the        
,salvation by ,faith4 ,do you doubt     
their durability and  permanence8 ,it is
 proved by eighteen centuries'          
experience1 for the  ,new ,testament is 
not older4 ,there1 within the group of  
sacred books  themselves1 do they all   
lie2 the ,jewish ,gospels represent the 
first2  the ,gentile ,apostle's letters1
 the second2 the writings of the beloved
  disciple1 the third4 ,matthew1 as     
every reader must remark1 is for the    
,law2 ,paul1 for ,faith2 and ,john1 for 
the ,spirit4 ,and1 in every age1 the    
great mass of ,christian tendencies     
break themselves into these three       
forms3--,ebionite1 ,pauline1 and        
contemplative ,gnostic2 ,pelagian1      
,augustinian1 and ,mystic2 ,jesuit1     
,jansenist1 and ,quietist2 ,arminian1   
,lutheran1 and ,quaker2 all proclaim the

 perseverance of the same  essential    
types1 wherever the spirit of ,christ   
alights upon the  various heart of man4 
,is ,christ then divided8 ,is he not    
equal to the whole of our  humanity8    
,rather let us say1 that we are small   
and weak for the  measure of his        
heavenly wisdom4 ,doubtless1 if we take 
what we can  hold1 and put it to        
faithful application1 we have grace     
enough for  every personal exigency4    
,but there is1 surely1 an evil          
inseparable  from all partial           
developments of religion1 which only    
satisfy the  immediate cravings of the  
mind1 and leave parts of our            
nature--asleep  perhaps at the          
moment--liable to wake and thirst again4
 ,such separate  growths run out their  
resources and exhaust themselves in a   
few  generations4 ,at first1 they answer
 to some felt want2 they collect a      
congenial multitude1 and open to them a 
spiritual refuge that ends  their       
wanderings4 ,but the sentiment1 once    

brought into a contented  state1 ceases 
to be importunate and prominent2 and by 
its abatement  gives opportunity for    
other feelings to vindicate their       
existence4  ,when the wound is bound up 
and has lost its smart1 the natural     
hunger  begins to tell4 ,the children   
grow up other than the fathers1 perhaps 
quite as limited1 only in different     
ways1--with affections pressing  into   
just the vacant places of an earlier    
age4 ,meanwhile1 the  imperfection of   
the original basis has provoked         
reactions equally of  narrow            
scope1--equally incapable of permanently
 filling the capacities  of the         
,christian mind4 ,hence the danger1 if  
the separate veins of  thought be still 
worked on as they thin away1 that the   
sects should  degenerate into poor      
theological egotisms1 and wear          
themselves  insensibly out4 ,it cannot  
be denied that all the three religious  
movements of the last                   
century--represented by ,taylor1 by     

,wesley1 by  ,cowper--exhibit the       
symptoms of spent strength1 and are     
little likely  to play again the part   
they have played before4    ,yet every  
one of their ,gospels is true at heart2 
and the tree that  holds that pith is a 
tree of life1 which the ,eternal        
husbandman hath  planted2 and if he     
prune it1 it is only that it may bear   
more fruit4  ,the weakness of these     
faiths is in their isolation2 and if    
their sap  could but mingle1 if no      
element were lost which they can draw   
from the  root of the vine1 a young     
frondescent life would show itself      
again4  ,those who think that the future
 can only repeat the past1 will deem    
this impossible2 though least of all    
should it appear so to us who  profess  
ourselves ,christians and only          
,christians1 pledged to  nothing but to 
lie open to all ,god's truth4 ,for      
myself ,i indulge a  joyful hope that   
the next century of ,christendom will be
 nobler than  the last2 that the great  

,faiths which have struggled separately 
into  the light of the one1 will flow   
together on the broader and less  broken
 surface of the other4 ,if1 however1    
this is to be1 it will arise  from no   
mere intellectual scrutiny1 whose       
function will ever be to  distinguish1  
and not to unite1 and1 in proportion as 
it dominates  alone1 to trace ever-new  
lines of critical divergency4 ,when the 
problem of ,christendom is1 to deliver  
the individual mind from the  operation 
of an overwhelming social power1 then it
 is seasonable to  insist on the        
principle of free inquiry2 because then 
you have a dead  mass to disintegrate1  
ere any young and living force can urge 
its way4  ,but when you have won this   
victory1 and when individualism ceases  
to  be devout and tends to party        
self-will1 the hour comes to proclaim   
the converse lesson1 and break up the   
vain reliance on mere liberty  of       
thought4 ,depend upon it1 ,unity lies in
 profounder strata of our  nature than  

any tillage of the mere intellect can   
reach4 ,sink deeply  into the inmost    
life of any ,christian faith1 and you   
will touch the  ground of all4 ,did we  
do nothing with our religion except live
 by  it2 did we forget the presence of  
doubt and contradiction2 did it  cease  
to be a creed about ,god and become     
simply an existence in ,god2  did we    
exchange self-assertion before men for  
self-surrender to  him2--we should find 
ourselves side by side with unexpected  
friends1  should be astonished at our   
petulant divisions1 and replace the poor
  charity of mutual forbearance by the  
free consciousness of inward  sympathy4 
,for us especially1 who feel the        
temptations of an  exceptional position1
 is it the prime duty to live and move  
and have  our being in the divine       
sanctities that hold us1 in that which  
we have  not been obliged to throw away2
 else might our ,gospel be no           
fruit-bearing branch1 drinking from the 
root of the vine1 but a dead  residuum1 

withered and hopeless4 ,remember that1  
if ,sin be not  original1 all the more  
must it be actual1 and the deeper should
  its shadow lie upon the ,conscience1  
and touch us with the mood of           
faithfulness and prayer4 ,if1 in        
reconciling man with ,god1 there is no  
vicarious sacrifice possible1 so much   
the more remains over for               
self-sacrifice1 as the only path of     
communion and peace4 ,if you will  have 
it that ,christ is only human1 so much  
the more ,divine is your  humanity to   
be2 you cannot assume that as the type  
of your nature1  without at least owning
 that its essence lies1 and its glory is
 found1  not in the natural man1 but in 
the spiritual man2 and by this very     
confession1 you renounce the low aims of
 the worldly mind1 and take on  yourself
 the vows of the saintly4 ,let believers
 only be true to the  grace they have1  
and more will be given2 and enter where 
they may the  many-gated sanctuary of   
the ,christian life1 they will tend ever

  inwards to the same centre1 and meet  
at last in the holiest of all4  ,keeping
 a reverent eye fixed on the person and 
spirit of ,christ1 they  cannot but find
 their partial apprehensions corrected  
and enlarged2  for his divine image is  
complete in its revelation1 and rebukes 
every  narrower ,gospel4 ,moral         
perfectness1 divine communion1 free     
self-sacrifice1--all blend in           
him1--indistinguishable elements of one 
expression4 ,in that august and holy    
presence1 our divisions sink  abashed1  
and hear1 as of old1 the word of recall1
 ,ye know not what  spirit ye are of4   
,or if1 through our infirmities1 that   
gracious form1  appearing in the midst  
as we discourse among ourselves and are 
perplexed and sad1 do not suffice to    
open our eyes and make us less  slow of 
heart to one another and to him1 at     
least in that higher  world1 whither our
 forerunners are gone1 his living look  
will perfect  the communion of saints4  
,there at length the guests of his      

bounty will  find that1 though at       
separate tables1 they have all been fed 
by the  same bread of life1 and touched 
their lips with the same wine of        
remembrance3 there1 the voices of the   
wise1 often discordant here1--of        
,taylor and ,wesley1 of ,enfield and    
,cowper1 of ,heber and ,channing1--will 
blend in harmony2--and the notes of the 
last age will not be the least  in that 
mighty chorus which crowds the steps of 
eighteen centuries1  and1 converging to 
their immortal ,head1 sings the solemn  
strain1  ,great and marvellous are thy  
works1 ,lord ,god ,almighty6 ,just and  
true  are all thy ways1 thou ,king of   
,saints6          ,,st4 ,,paul ,,and    
,,his ,,modern ,,students4        ,the  
,life and ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul4 ,by  
the ,rev4 ,w4 ,j4 ,,conybeare1          
,m4,a41 late ,fellow of ,trinity        
,college1 ,cambridge2 and the ,rev4 ,j4 
,s4 ,,howson1 ,m4,a41 ,principal of the 
,collegiate ,institution1               
,liverpool4 #b vols4 #dto4 ,longmans4   

#aheb4        ,the ,epistles of ,st4    
,paul to the ,corinthians3 with         
,critical ,notes      and               
,dissertations4 ,by ,,arthur ,,penrhyn  
,,stanley1 ,m4,a41 ,canon of            
,canterbury1 late ,fellow and ,tutor of 
,university ,college1 ,oxford1      c4  
#b vols4 #hvo4 ,murray4 #ahee4          
,the ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul to the     
,thessalonians1 ,galatians1 ,romans3    
with ,critical ,notes and               
,dissertations4 ,by ,,benjamin ,,jowett1
 ,m4,a41      ,fellow and ,tutor of     
,balliol ,college1 ,oxford4 #b vols4    
#hvo4 ,murray4      #ahee4      ,these  
treatises1 bearing on their title-pages 
the names of our two  ecclesiastical    
,universities1 give happy signs of a new
 era in ,english  theology4 ,they show  
how effectually we have escaped from the
 morbid  religious phenomena represented
 by ,simeon at ,cambridge1 and the      
counter-irritants applied by ,john      
,henry ,newman at ,oxford2 and come as  
the returning breath of nature to those 

who have witnessed the fevers  of       
,evangelical conversion or the          
consumptive asceticism of  ,anglican    
piety4 ,on looking back1 from the       
position now attained1 it  seems        
wonderful that we could ever1 with ,st4 
,paul's writings in our  hands1 have    
been betrayed into either of these      
opposite extravagances3  for anything   
more absolutely foreign to his breadth  
and universality  than the ,genevan     
dogma1 or more at variance with his free
 spirituality  than the sacramental     
system1 it is impossible to conceive4   
,but it is  the peculiar fate of sacred 
writings1 that the last thing elicited  
from them is their own real meaning4    
,the very greatness of their  authority 
puts the reader's faculties into a false
 attitude2 creates  an eagerness1--an   
inflexible intensity1--that defeats its 
own end2  and1 in particular1 gives     
undue ascendency to the uppermost want  
and  feeling that may be craving        
satisfaction4 ,hence the tendency of    

,scriptural interpretation to proceed by
 action and reaction2 an easy  ethical  
,arminianism being succeeded by a severe
 ,calvinism1 and the  reliance on       
individual grace giving way before the  
advance of  sacerdotal and ,church      
ideas4 ,when the opposite errors have   
spent  themselves1 the requisite repose 
of mind will be recovered for reading   
just the thought that lies upon the     
page3 here and there an eye will  be    
found1 neither strained with            
pre-occupying visions1 not scared by    
sceptic shadows1 but clear for the      
apprehension of reality1 as ,god has    
shaped it for our perception4 ,at length
 we have reached this crisis of         
promise2 and critics are found who1     
instead of interrogating ,st4 ,paul  on 
all sorts of modern questions1 listen to
 him on his own2 and draw  from him1 not
 a fancied verdict on the sixteenth     
century1 but a  faithful picture of the 
first4    ,and for this historical      
purpose1 the writings of the great      

,gentile  ,apostle are of paramount     
value1 and justly occupy the inquirer's 
first  researches4 ,the most            
considerable of them are of             
unimpeachable  authenticity4 ,they are  
the very earliest ,christian writings we
  possess4 ,they are the productions of 
a man more clearly known to us  than any
 of the first missionaries of the       
,gospel4 ,they are letters3  abounding  
in disclosures of personal feelings1 of 
biographical  incident1 of changing     
moods of thought1 of outward and inward 
conflict4 ,they are addressed to young  
communities1 scattered over a  vast     
area1 and composed of differing         
elements2 and exhibit the whole         
fermentation of their new life1 the     
scruples1 the heart-burnings1 the  noble
 inspirations1 the grievous factions1 of
 the ,apostolic age4 ,the  ,gospels and 
the ,book of ,acts treat no doubt of a  
prior period1 but  proceed from a       
posterior1 of whose state of mind1 whose
  retrospective theories concerning the 

ministry of ,christ1 it is of  primary  
importance to the criticism of the      
,evangelists that we should  be         
informed2 and on these points the       
,pauline ,epistles are the              
indispensable groundwork of all our     
knowledge or conjecture4 ,in them  we   
catch the ,christian doctrine and       
tradition at an earlier stage than  any 
other canonical book represents         
throughout4 ,although the  narratives of
 the ,new ,testament doubtless abound in
 material drawn  faithfully from a more 
primitive time1 they are certainly not  
free  from the touch and tincture of the
 post-,pauline age4 ,how powerful an    
instrument the ,apostle's letters may   
become for either confirming or         
checking the historical records1 may be 
readily conceived by every  reader of   
,paley's ,hor ,paulin4 ,in fine1 if it  
be a just principle1  in historical     
criticism1 to proceed from the more     
known to the less  known1--to begin from
 a date that yields contemporary        

documents1 and  work thence into the    
subjacent and superjacent strata of     
events1--the  elucidation of ,christian 
antiquity must take its commencement    
from the  ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul4      
,except in its general similarity of    
subject1 the first of the three  works  
mentioned at the head of this article   
admits of no comparison  with the other 
two4 ,it is rather an illustrated       
guide-book to the  ,apostle's world of  
place and time1 than a personal         
introduction to  himself4 ,the authors  
are highly accomplished and scholarly   
men1 and  could not fail1 in dealing    
with an historical theme1 to bring      
together  and group with conscientious  
skill a vast store of archological and  
topographical detail2 to weigh          
chronological difficulties with patient 
care2 to translate with philological    
precision1 and due aim at  accuracy of  
text4 ,they have accordingly produced a 
truly interesting  and instructive book3
 so instructive1 indeed1 that by far the

  greater part of its information would1
 probably1 have been quite new  to ,st4 
,paul himself4 ,his life seems to us to 
be injudiciously overlaid  with what is 
wholly foreign to it1 and for the sake  
of picturesque  effect to be set upon a 
stage quite invisible to him4 ,he was   
not  ,principal of a ,collegiate        
,institution1 accustomed to examine boys
 in  ,attic or ,latian geography2 was   
not familiar with ,thucydides or ,grote2
  was indifferent to the ,amphictyonic  
,council2 and1 in the vicinity of       
,salamis and ,marathon1 probably read   
the past no more than a ,brahmin  would 
in travelling over ,edgehill or ,marston
 ,moor4 ,the world of each  man must be 
measured from his own spiritual centre1 
and will take in  much less in one      
direction1 much more in another1 than is
 spread  beneath his eye4 ,he cannot be 
reached by geographical approaches4 ,you
  may determine the elements of his     
orbit1 and yet miss him after all4  ,it 
is an illusory process to paint the     

ancient world as it would look  to an   
,hellenic gentleman then1 or a          
university scholar now2 and then  think 
how ,st4 ,paul would feel in passing    
through it to convert it4 ,the  indirect
 influence of this kind of conception   
seems to us apparent  both in ,mr4      
,conybeare's translation and ,mr4       
,howson's narrative and  descriptions4  
,the outward scene and conditions of the
 ,apostle's career  are elaborately     
displayed2 but more with the modern     
academic than with  the old ,hebrew tone
 of coloring2 and the ,english version1 
scrupulous  and delicate as it is1 has1 
to our taste1 a general flavor quite    
different from the original ,greek4     
,unconsciously entangled in the         
classifications and symbols of the      
,protestant theology1 the authors  are  
detained outside the real genius and    
feeling of the ,apostle4    ,of a far   
higher order are the other two          
works1--produced1 we infer  from their  
numerous correspondences of both form   

and substance1 not  without concert     
between the authors4 ,indeed1 the same  
explanation of  the merits of           
,lachmann's text 7printed without       
translation by ,mr4  ,stanley1 and with 
the adapted authorized version by ,mr4  
,jowett7 is  made to serve for both4 ,so
 clearly and compendiously is this      
explanation drawn1 that1 in the next    
edition of ,lachmann1 ,mr4 ,jowett's    
introduction might usefully be annexed  
to the great critic's rather  tangled   
and awkward preface4 ,of the superior   
fidelity of this  recension1 we think no
 habitual reader of the ,greek          
,scriptures can  reasonably doubt2 and  
the recognition of its authority fulfils
 a prior  condition of all scientific   
theology4 ,the text being chosen on     
grounds  purely critical1 the notes are 
written in a spirit purely exegetical2  
they aim1 simply and with rare          
self-abnegation1 to bring out1 by every 
happy change of light and turn of       
reflective sympathy1 the great          

,apostle's real thought and feeling4    
,how very far this faithful  historic   
purpose in itself raises the interpreter
 above the crowd of  erudite and        
commenting divines1 can scarcely be     
understood till it has  formed a new    
generation1 and fixed itself as a       
distinct intellectual  type4 ,it is not1
 however1 an affair of mere will and    
disposition2 but1  like most of the     
higher exercises of veracity1 comes into
 operation  only as the last result of  
mental tact and affluence4 ,with the    
most  honest intentions towards ,st4    
,paul1 a critic without psychological   
insight and dialectic pliancy1 without  
power of melting down his  modern       
abstractions and redistributing them in 
the moulds of the old  realistic        
thought1--a critic without entrance into
 the passionate  depths of human        
nature1--a critic pre-occupied by       
,catholic or  ,protestant assumptions1  
and untrained to imagine the questions  
and  interests of the first age1--cannot

 surrender himself to the natural       
impression of the ,apostle's language4  
,the disciple and the master are1  in   
such case1 at cross-purposes with one   
another2 the questions put  are not the 
questions answered2 the interlocutors do
 not really meet1  but wind in a maze   
about each other's loci1 not to end till
 the  unconscious interpreter has set   
his fantasies within the shadow of      
inspiration4 ,no such blind chase is    
possible to our authors4 ,they have     
achieved the conditions of fidelity2 and
 bring to a task1 in which the  truthful
 and sagacious spirit of ,locke had     
already fixed the standard  high1 the   
ampler resources of modern learning1 and
 more practised  habit of historic      
combination4 ,in the distribution of    
their work1 the  difference of natural  
genius between the two authors has      
perhaps been  consulted1 and is1 at all 
events1 distinctly expressed4 ,mr4      
,stanley's  aptitude for reproducing the
 image of the past1 his apprehensive    

sympathy with the concrete and          
individual elements of the world1 fitly 
engage themselves with the composite    
forms of ,corinthian society1 and  the  
most personal1 various1 and objective of
 the ,apostle's letters4  ,for the more 
speculative ,epistles to the ,galatians 
and the ,romans1  there was need of ,mr4
 ,jowett's philosophical depth and      
subtilty4 ,the  strictness with which he
 restrains these seductive gifts to the 
proper  business of the interpreter1 is 
not less admirable than their           
occasional happy application4 ,instead  
of being employed to force upon  the    
,apostle a logical precision foreign to 
his habit1 they are chiefly  engaged in 
detecting and wiping out false niceties 
of distinction  drawn by later theology1
 and throwing back each doctrinal       
statement  into its original degree of  
indeterminateness4 ,it is not in the    
notes1--which are wholly occupied in    
recovering ,st4 ,paul's own             
thought1--but in the interposed         

disquisitions1 which avowedly deal  with
 the theology of to-day1 that a certain 
breadth and balance of  statement1 and  
delicate ease in manuvring the forms and
 antitheses  of abstract thought1 and   
fine appreciation of human experience1  
make  us feel the double presence of    
metaphysical power and historical tact4 
,the author1 accordingly1 appears to us1
 not only to have seized the  great     
,apostle's attitude of mind more happily
 than any preceding  ,english critic1   
but also to have separated the essence  
from the  accidents of the ,pauline     
,christianity1 and disengaged its divine
  elements for transfusion into the     
organism of our immediate life4 ,mr4    
,stanley appears to have more difficulty
 in unreservedly adhering to  the purely
 historical view1 and clerically        
flutters1 without clear  occasion1 on   
the outskirts of edification2--the      
critic in his notes1  the preacher in   
his paraphrase2 conceding in act more   
readily than in  name1 and apologizing  

for finding human ingredients in the    
,apostles  and their doctrines1 as if it
 were he1 and not ,god1 that would have 
them there4 ,this tendency to blur the  
lines which he himself draws  between   
the temporary and the permanent in the  
,scriptures with which  he deals1 is the
 only fault we can find with ,mr4       
,stanley2 whose  associate1 clinging    
less to the past1 in effect preserves   
more for the  present4 ,to learn the    
external scene of the ,apostle's career1
 we would  refer our readers to ,messrs4
 ,conybeare and ,howson2 to appreciate  
his  moral surroundings1 and the        
problems it presented1 especially on the
  ethnic side1 they may take ,mr4       
,stanley as their guide2 but for insight
  into the ,apostle himself1 and outlook
 on the world as it seemed to  him1 they
 must resort to ,mr4 ,jowett4    ,the   
,pauline ,epistles are interesting1     
apart from all assumption of  inspired  
authority1 because the elements are seen
 fermenting there of  the greatest known

 revolution both in the history of the  
world and in  the spiritual             
consciousness of individual man4        
,judaism was the narrowest  7that is1   
the most special7 of religions2         
,christianity1 the most human  and      
comprehensive4 ,within a few years1 the 
latter was evolved out of the  former2  
taking all its intensity and durability1
 without resort to any  of its          
limitations4 ,this marvellous expansion 
of the national into the  universal was 
not achieved without a process and a    
conflict4 ,divine  though the work was1 
it had to be wrought upon men1 and      
through men1  whose character1          
interests1 convictions1 habits1 and     
institutions  furnished the data        
conditioning the problem1 and whose     
remodelled  affections and will supplied
 the instruments for its solution4 ,the 
laws  of human nature1 therefore1 and   
the action of human events1 necessarily 
enter into the study of this great      
revolution2 and it cannot be detained   

out of the hands of the historian by any
 exclusive rights of the divine4  ,when 
we endeavor to trace the successive     
steps of faith from ,mount ,zion  to the
 ,vatican1 many parts of the progress   
appear to have left but  scanty vestige4
 ,we know the beginning1 in the doctrine
 of the ,hebrew  ,messiah2 we know the  
end1 in the recognition of a ,saviour of
 the world4  ,we know the intermediate  
fact1--that ,judaism did not surrender  
its own  without a struggle1 or readily 
give away the keys of its enclosure just
  when it was passing from a prison of  
affliction into a palace of the         
kingdom4 ,but within this general fact  
lies a world of mysterious              
detail1--nay1 almost the whole life of  
the early ,church4 ,who began the  open 
breach between ,messiah and the ,law8   
how1 and to what extent1 did  the       
parties divide8 what was their relative 
magnitude at different times  and in    
different places8 and by what process   
was the difference  terminated1 and the 

two extremes--,marcion on the one hand  
and the  ,ebionites on the              
other--removed outside as heretics8 ,the
 ,christianity of  the third century is 
so little like the doctrine of          
,matthew's ,gospel as  to perplex our   
sense of identity4 ,no one can bring the
 two into direct  comparison1 without   
feeling how much must have happened to  
shape the  earlier into the form of the 
later4 ,could we trace the flow and     
estimate  the sources of this change1   
the most wonderful of the world's       
experiences would be resolved4 ,the     
continuity1 however1 of visible         
causation is often broken2 there are    
everywhere many missing links in  the   
chain1 and a chasm extending through a  
large part of the second  century4 ,but 
a generation earlier we meet with       
materials of the richest  value in the  
,epistles of ,st4 ,paul2 and by their   
aid the general  direction may be found 
by which thought and events must have   
advanced4  ,otherwise1 the change would 

seem as violent and inconceivable as a  
convulsion that should mingle the       
,jordan and the ,tiber4    ,no doubt1   
the germ of the ,gospel's universality  
is to be found in the  personal         
characteristics of its ,author1--in the 
whole spirit of his  life1 and the      
direct tendency of his teachings4 ,he   
who found in the  love of ,god and love 
of man the very springs of eternal life2
 who  measured good and evil1 not by the
 act1 but by the affection whence  they 
come2 who placed his ideal for man in   
likeness to the perfection  of          
,god1--had already proclaimed a religion
 transcending all local  limits4 ,nay1  
if he opposed the true worship to the   
services at  ,gerizim and ,jerusalem1   
and could wish the ,temple away1 that   
obstructed  his direct dealing with the 
human soul and suppressed the inner     
shrine  not made with hands1 he must    
even have placed himself in an attitude 
of open alienation towards the ritual of
 his people4 ,at the same time1  his    

words seem to have left not unfrequently
 an opposite impression4  ,he comes1 not
 to destroy the ,law and the prophets1  
but to fulfil  them2 not a jot or a     
tittle is to fail4 ,his most spiritual  
truths  and sentiments1 instead of being
 announced as novelties grounding       
themselves on his personal authority1   
are drawn out of the old ,hebrew        
,scriptures2 and even the life beyond   
death he finds lurking in  patriarchal  
idioms and phrases heard at the burning 
bush4 ,his  intensest polemic against   
the sacerdotal party goes on within the 
limits of the system which they         
represent and yet corrupt2 and his      
bitterest reproach against them is that 
there is no reverence for it  in their  
hearts1 since they hugely violate and   
trivially obey it4 ,far  from ever      
launching out against law as law1 or    
setting up faith as a  rival principle  
excluding it1 he extends precept to the 
last heights  of religion1 enjoins the  
divinest affections1 as if there also   

obedience was possible1 and duty and    
volition had their place4 ,it was  not  
in a nature holy and harmonious as      
his1--type of heavenly peace  rather    
than of earthly conflict1--that the     
schism would be exhibited  between ,will
 and ,love2 where both are at their     
height1 there is no  rent between them4 
,nor was there need1 in that meek1      
reverential soul1  to break with the    
past1 in order to find a sanctity for   
the present1  and leave an inspiration  
for the future4 ,some things1 once given
 for  the hardness of men's hearts1     
might be dropped1 and fall behind2 but  
,god had ever lived1 and left the trace 
of his perfectness upon the  elder times
 as on the newest manifestations of the 
hour4 ,there was  enough in the ,law1 if
 only its fruitful seeds were warmed    
into life1  to furnish forth the        
,gospel4 ,and so ,christ presents       
himself as the  disciple of ,moses1 and 
in the ,sermon on the ,mount does but   
open out  the tables of ,sinai4 ,it was 

not1 therefore1 without honest ground   
that  his immediate disciples could     
defend him from the charge of being     
unfaithful to the religion of his native
 land4 ,and yet the instinct of  the    
priests and rabbis told them truly that 
he and they could not  co-exist1 that   
his doctrine reduced their work to      
naught1 and that1  whencesoever he might
 draw it1 there was no doubt whither he 
must  carry it4 ,the witnesses were not 
altogether false which they  brought to 
show his inner hostility to the altar   
ceremonial2 and  perhaps his enemies1   
with apprehension sharpened by fear1    
more  correctly interpreted his tendency
 in this direction than his  followers1 
entangled in the cloud of a ,judaic     
love4 ,it was quite  natural that the   
real antithesis between the ,law and the
 ,gospel should  thus be first felt by  
his antagonists1 whilst as yet it slept 
undeveloped in the minds of his         
followers and in the habitual           
expression of his own thought2 and that 

its earliest proclamation  should be    
their act1 their defiance1 the cross on 
,calvary6    ,this terrible challenge1  
fiercely protesting that the ,law would 
hold  no parley with the ,gospel1 the   
,apostles1 however1 refused to accept4  
,they still denied their ,lord's        
apostasy or their own2 they had always  
been1 and with his encouragement1 the   
best of ,jews3 nor did they             
contemplate1 so far1 any change4 ,the   
crucifixion was a ,jewish mistake1      
meant for the nation's enemy1 but       
alighting on its representative2 a      
mistake1 however1 which ,god had        
counteracted by a glorious rescue1 in   
the resurrection of the crucified4 ,the 
mischief being thus undone1 the  day of 
,hebrew opportunity was resumed2 the    
ministry of ,jesus was not  closed2 he  
yet lived and preached to them as       
before2--no longer1  indeed1 in person  
till their better mind should re-assert 
itself1 but  by faithful witnesses2--no 
longer too in tentative disguise1 but   

now  identified as ,messiah by his      
exaltation above this world4 ,whatever  
conflicts of mind the disciples suffered
 in the mysterious period  following the
 crucifixion1 the operation of the      
resurrection and the  ,spirit was at    
first simply to reinstate them in their 
prior  faith1--that the kingdom would   
soon be restored to ,israel1 and be     
brought in by no other than their       
,master1 already waiting for the  crisis
 in a higher world till ,god's hour     
should come4 ,there is no  evidence to  
show that1 on the transference of their 
,lord's life from  earth to heaven1 they
 were carried into any greater          
comprehensiveness  or spirituality of   
faith3 their convictions were more      
intense1 but  held on in the same       
direction1 being all included in one    
great  theme1--the speedy coming of     
,messiah's kingdom and the end of the   
world4 ,nay1 of so little consequence1  
in comparison with this  general picture
 of expectation1 was even the appearance

 in it of the  person of ,jesus as its  
central figure1 that ,apollos1 more than
 twenty  years afterwards1 was making   
and baptizing converts1 without having  
ever heard of any later prophet than    
,john the ,baptist2 and these  people   
are already recognized as disciples1 and
 then informed1 as  needful complement  
to their faith1 that1 besides the crisis
 being  near1 the person is             
appointed4#eh ,here had evidently been1 
for some  quarter of a century1 two     
independent streams of ,messianic faith1
 one  from a rather earlier source than 
the other1 but pursuing their own       
separate way1 till thus partially       
confluent at ,ephesus4 ,and what is  the
 relation between them8 ,one of them    
baptizes into an impersonal and         
anonymous hope1 the other into the same 
hope with the name attached4  ,and when 
these two states of mind are set side by
 side1 they are  regarded as the same in
 their essence1 and differing only in   
completeness4 ,nor is there anything in 

their mutual feeling to hinder  their   
instant coalescence4 ,this fact defines 
in the clearest way the  position of the
 early ,church2 the ordinary ,jew       
believed that ,messiah  would some time 
come1 and bring in the last days2       
,apollos1 that he  would come erelong2  
the ,christians1 that already the person
 was  indicated1 and would prove to be  
,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,all three         
co-existed within the ,hebrew pale1 and 
the two last fall under the  common     
category of disciples4    ,it was       
impossible1 however1 that the           
contemplation of a ,messiah risen  and  
reserved in heaven should affect all the
 believers in a precisely  similar      
manner4 ,his personal attendants it     
would take up just where  the           
crucifixion had let them down2 would    
give new force to their  previous       
impressions1 new sacredness to their    
recollections1 new  significance to his 
words and example1 new reluctance to    
venture where  he had not led4 ,the     

whole effect would be conservative1 and 
tend to  fix them1 with an inspired     
rigor1 within the limits of the         
,master's  lot and life4 ,quite         
otherwise was it with the new disciples1
 who had  no such restraining memories  
of the human ,teacher4 ,they began with 
,christ above1 and were tied down by no 
concrete biographical images1  no       
scruples of tender retrospect4 ,they    
were free to ask themselves1  ,what     
meant this surprising way of revealing  
,messiah 'in heavenly  places1' and     
letting his disguise first fall off in  
his escape from  local relations8 ,the  
scene from which he looked down1--was it
 the mere  upper chamber of ,juda1 or   
did it overarch the human world8 ,who   
could  claim him1 now that he was there8
 ,was it for him to examine pedigrees   
to test 'the children of the kingdom'2  
or would he1 as ,son of ,david1  even   
come emblazoned with his own8 ,the mere 
conception of an ascended  and immortal 
being1 assessor to the ,lord of all1    

seemed to dwarf and  shame all          
provincial restrictions1 and sanction   
the distaste for  binding forms and     
ceremonial exclusiveness4 ,the          
withdrawal of ,christ  to a holier      
sphere accorded well with all that was  
most spiritual in  his teachings and in 
himself2 and could not fail to reflect a
 strong  light back on this aspect of   
his life1 and give a more significant   
emphasis to the tradition of his deepest
 words4 ,in the mind of many a  disciple
 this tendency would be favored by a    
weariness towards the  outer worship of 
the temple1 and a secret aspiration     
after purer and  more intimate communion
 with ,god4 ,especially was the foreign 
,jew  obliged to confess such a feeling 
to himself4 ,the very speaking of       
,greek spoiled him for thinking as a    
,hebrew2 for language is the  channel of
 the soul1 and according as the organism
 is open1 the sap  will flow4           
,accustomed to the simple piety of the  
,proseucha1 where ,god  was sought      

without priest or sacrifice1 and        
adequately found in  poetry1 and        
prophecy1 and prayer1 the ,hellenist    
acquired a tone of  sentiment on which  
the material pomps and puerilities of   
,mount ,moriah  painfully jarred4 ,nor  
could he enclose himself contentedly1   
like the  ,palestine ,jew1 within the   
sacred boundary that admitted the most  
worthless son of ,abraham1 and shut the 
noblest ,gentile out4 ,living in        
heathen cities1 dealing with heathen    
men1 touched at times with the  sorrow  
or the goodness of heathen neighbors1   
his moral feeling fell  into            
contradiction with his inherited        
exclusiveness1 and inwardly  demanded   
some other providential classification  
of mankind4  ,accordingly1 it was the   
,hellenist ,stephen who first saw1 in   
the  heavenly ,christ1 a principle of   
universal religion and a proclamation   
of spiritual worship4 ,when accused of  
defaming ,moses and the ,law and  the   
holy place1 and setting up ,jesus to    

supersede them1 he boldly  reflects on  
the stone ,temple1 rooted to one spot1  
as at variance with  ,his nature who    
said1 ,heaven is my throne1 and earth my
 footstool1  and points to the earlier  
tabernacle1 movable from place to place1
  following the steps of wandering      
humanity1 as truer emblem of a faith    
that takes every winding of history1 and
 a ,god who goes where we go1  and stays
 where we stay4#ei ,this noble doctrine 
doubtless expressed a  feeling common   
among the foreign ,jews of liberal      
culture and fervid  piety2 and when     
consecrated by ,stephen's martyrdom1 it 
would assume a  distinctness unknown    
before1 and become the admitted type of 
belief  among the ,christian            
,hellenists4 ,that it was confined to   
them is  evident from the partial effect
 of the persecution in which ,stephen   
fell4 ,his friends1--perhaps we may say 
his party1--hunted from  house to house1
 fled from ,jerusalem2 but the ,jewish  
,apostles remained  where they were1#fj 

apparently unmenaced and undisturbed4   
,the  hostility of the city drew        
therefore a distinction between such    
,hebrew  ,christians as the twelve1 and 
the freer ,grecians who proclaimed a    
,spirit above the ,temple and the ,law4 
,the former1 constituting an inner  sect
 of ,judaism1 might hold their ground   
unmolested2 the latter were  treated as 
apostates1 and scattered abroad4 ,the   
essential1 but  hitherto dormant1       
antithesis between the ,gospel and the  
,law1 had thus  burst into expression1  
and embodied itself in two sections of  
the  ,church that grew ever more        
distinct2 the ,hebrew party concentrated
 in  ,jerusalem1 and remaining intensely
 national2 the ,hellenistic1  spreading 
itself on the outskirts of ,palestine1  
and erelong fixing its  head-quarters at
 ,antioch4 ,within this freer circle1   
first as  persecutor1 soon as disciple1 
appears ,saul of ,tarsus4 ,so congenial 
are  its tendencies and aspirations with
 his nature and his antecedent          

position1 that his hostile attitude     
towards it might well strike him1  on   
looking back1 as a monstrous            
self-contradiction4 ,a foreigner to     
,palestine1 a citizen of no mean city1  
familiar with a trade that  bought from 
the shepherds of ,mount ,taurus1 and    
sold to the ,greek  skippers of the     
,levant1 he knew the human side of the  
,gentile world  too well to rest in a   
narrow ,judaism4 ,we cannot imagine his 
fervid1  free-moving mind1 content to   
live within the enclosure of ,rabbinical
  niceties1 or able to find1 in the     
materialism of the ,temple rites1 his   
ideal of true worship4 ,with sympathies 
essentially cosmopolitan1 he  could     
scarcely fail to be disappointed1 not to
 say repelled1 by  ,jerusalem1--so      
different from the dream of his young   
romance4 ,some  higher1 fresher         
communion between earth and heaven1 some
 wider  monarchy for ,god than over a   
mere clan1 would be to him natural      
objects of aspiration4 ,hence his first 

persecuting attitude towards  the       
,christian ,hellenists was permanently  
untenable2 and as he went  amongst them1
 words were sure to fall upon his ear1  
and holy looks to  meet his eye1 that   
would smite him with a kindred          
affection4 ,whether  the death of       
,stephen left on his mind images which  
he could not  banish1 and commenced a   
reaction which no plunge into fresh     
violences  could arrest1 it is vain to  
conjecture4 ,that it should be so1 would
 be  only human2 for in the life of     
passion1 triumph and humiliation are    
near neighbors1 and often the last note 
in the song of exultation dies  down    
into the plaint of compunction4 ,certain
 it is1 that shortly  afterwards it     
pleased ,god to reveal his ,son in him2 
that1 with the  suddenness              
characteristic of impassioned natures1  
he came to himself1  and found his      
proper work1 to which he had been set   
apart from his  mother's womb2 and that 
his new convictions were of the very    

same  type and tendency with ,stephen's1
 and strongly discriminated from the    
,messianic doctrine of the twelve at    
,jerusalem4 ,the incipient breach       
between ,law and ,gospel1 latent in the 
,master1 denied by the twelve1  bursting
 forth among the ,hellenists1 finally   
realized and defined  itself in ,paul2  
whose intense impulses were too great   
for the custody  of his will2 whose soul
 had wings to fly1 but not feet to plod2
 who  felt himself the theatre of living
 powers not his own1 and could find  no 
peace till1 by communion with the       
heavenly ,son of ,god1 he  discovered a 
providential love universal as human    
life1 and a way of  reconciliation quick
 and open as human trust and reverence4 
,it is  easier to speak of the effects  
than of the nature of his conversion4   
,his writings exhibit its results1 but  
only vaguely allude to its  occurrence1 
and never in terms at all resembling the
 recitals in the  ,book of ,acts1 or    
abating their discrepancies4 ,of these  

narratives  7,acts ix4 #a-i1 xxii4      
#f-ab1 xxvi4 #ab-ah7 ,mr4 ,jowett       
remarks1 ,there is  no use in attempting
 any forced reconcilement4 7,i4 #bbi47  
,on the one  hand1 ,there is no fact in 
history more certain or undisputed than 
that1 in some way or other1 by an inward
 vision or revelation of the  ,lord1 or 
by an outward miraculous appearance as  
he was going to  ,damascus1 the ,apostle
 was suddenly converted from being a    
persecutor  to become a preacher of the 
,gospel4 7,i4 #bbg47 ,on the other1 ,if 
we  submit the narrative of the ,acts to
 the ordinary rules of evidence1 we     
shall scarcely find ourselves able to   
determine whether any outward  fact was 
intended by it or not4 ,this1 however1  
is of the less moment1  because it is   
evident from the language of the        
,epistle to the  ,galatians 7,gal4 i4   
#ae1 #af7 that1--    ,whether the       
conversion of ,st4 ,paul was an outward 
or an inward fact1  it was not          
principally the outward appearance in   

the heavens1 but the  inward effect1    
that the ,apostle would have regarded4  
,compare ,eph4 iii4  #c3 ',how that by  
revelation he made known unto me the    
mystery 7as ,i  wrote afore in few      
words74'    ,it has been often remarked1
 that miracles are not appealed to      
singly in  ,scripture as evidences of   
religion1 in the same way that they have
 been  used by modern writers4          
,especially does this remark apply to   
the  conversion of ,st4 ,paul4 ,not a   
hint is found in his writings1 that he  
regarded 'the heavenly vision' as an    
objective evidence of  ,christianity4   
,the evidence to him was the sudden     
change of heart2 what  he terms1 in the 
case of his converts1 the reception of  
the ,spirit2 what  he had known1 and    
what he felt2 the fact that one instant 
he was a  persecutor1 and the second a  
preacher of the ,gospel4 ,the last      
inquiry  that he would have thought of  
making1 would be that of modern         
theologians3 ',how1 without some outward

 sign1 he could be assured of the       
reality of what he had seen and heard4' 
,no outward sign could1 as such1  have  
convinced the mind of a man who fell to 
the ground amazed1 unless  it were      
certain that his companions had seen the
 light and heard the  voice4 ,nor unless
 they had distinctly been partakers of  
the supernatural  vision could he ever  
have been satisfied that what they saw  
was anything  but a meteor1 or          
lightning1 or that the voice they heard 
was more than  the sound of thunder4 ,no
 evidence of theirs would have been an  
answer to  the language of some of the  
rationalist divines3 ',st4 ,paul was    
overtaken  by a storm of thunder and    
lightning in the neighborhood of        
,damascus4'  ,such difficulties are     
insuperable2 at best we can only raise  
probabilities in answer to them1 based  
on the general tone of the  narrative in
 ,acts ix4 ,but we may remember that the
 belief in some  outward fact was not   
the essential point in ,st4 ,paul's     

faith1 and  therefore we need not make  
it the essential point in our own4      
99       99       99       99       99  
,it is not upon the testimony of any    
single person1 even were it far  more   
distinct than in the present instance1  
we can venture to peril  the truth of   
the ,christian religion4 ,weak defences 
of comparatively  unimportant points1   
undermine more than they support4 ,he   
who has the  ,spirit of ,christ and his 
,apostles1 has the witness in himself2  
he who  leads the life of ,paul1 has    
already set his seal that his words are 
true4 ,were the other view supported by 
the most irrefragable  historical       
evidence1--had the sign in the clouds   
been beheld by whole  multitudes of     
,jews and ,gentiles1 believers and      
unbelievers1--it is to  the internal    
aspect of the event we should be more   
inclined to turn1  both as the more     
religious one1 and the one which more   
closely links  the ,apostle with        
ourselves4--,vol4 ,i4 p4 #bcj4    ,with 

the essentially inward character of this
 crisis1 the substance of  the          
revelation involved in it strikingly    
corresponds4    ,it was spiritual rather
 than historical2 a revelation of       
,christ in him1  not external           
information brought to him4 ,it was the 
ever-growing sense  of union with       
,christ1 imparted1 not in one           
revelation1 but many2 not  only by      
special revelation1 but as the inward   
experience of a long life1  from which  
his union in ,christ with all mankind1  
and his mission to  preach the ,gospel  
to the ,gentiles1 were from the         
beginning inseparable2  as a part of    
which the image of the meekness and     
gentleness of ,christ  formed itself in 
him1 not without the remembrance that he
 had 'seen' ,him  who was now passed    
into the heavens4--,jowett1 ,vol4 ,i4 p4
 #baf4    ,since the ,apostle nowhere   
speaks of any special truths or         
doctrines  as imparted to himself 7,i4  
#gb72 since he never dwells on the life 

of  ,christ1 the miracles1 the parables1
 so that it is even doubtful what  he   
knew of them2 and since his whole appeal
 is either1 7#a47 to the  witness of the
 ,hebrew ,scriptures1 or 7#b47 to       
historical testimony1 or  7#c47 to the  
assurance of the living ,spirit1--it is 
evident that his  conversion chiefly    
gave him that inward image of ,christ   
crucified and  risen1 which attended him
 through all his years1 and so lived in 
him  as to take the place of his        
personality1 and coalesce with his      
spiritual affections1 and do the work of
 his will4    ,of the ,apostle's mode of
 thought when fresh from his conversion 
no  memorial exists2 his earliest extant
 writing being of a date fourteen  or   
fifteen years later1 and the report in  
the ,book of ,acts not being  altogether
 reliable--as ,mr4 ,jowett has          
shown#fa--;for historical  accuracy4    
,but we learn from his own remarkable   
statement to the  ,galatians1 that he   
kept aloof from the churches in ,juda1  

and was  unknown to them by face2 that  
it was three years before he entered    
,jerusalem1 or saw an ,apostle2 that he 
then made acquaintance with  ,peter1 and
 met ,james1 but without its affecting  
his independent  course1 which ran      
through eleven years more ere it brought
 him to  ,jerusalem again2 that his     
errand1 on this second visit1 was to    
take  security against being thwarted by
 ,jewish jealousies sanctioned at       
head-quarters2 that from ,james1        
,cephas1 and ,john--the seeming  pillars
 of the ,church--he learnt nothing that 
he cared to hear2 that  they1 on the    
other hand1 could not gainsay the       
independent rights of  so fruitful an   
apostleship1 and agreed with him not to 
cross his path1  if he would leave them 
theirs4 ,the emphasis with which1 in    
this  animated passage1 ,st4 ,paul      
dwells on the separate sources of his   
own  faith1 and disowns any obligation  
to the prior ,apostles1 renders it      
certain that the biography1 the         

discourses1 the human personality of    
,jesus1 were indifferent to him2 and    
that with only the cross and the        
resurrection 7contained as data in the  
vision of conversion7 he could          
construct his scheme4 ,the unmistakable 
sarcasm of the expressions1   1--  --   
1--betrays a  state of mind1 in regard  
to the twelve1 out of all sympathy with 
the  grounds of their authority4 ,and   
the necessity1 in order to agreement1   
of marking out for each1 not a separate 
geographical beat1 but a  distinct      
religious and ethnologic ground1 shows  
that1 with external  mutual toleration1 
there is yet wanting the inner unity of 
an identic  faith4 ,only in the absence 
of a common ,gospel would each party    
have  to take its own1 and spare the    
other4 ,indeed1 the difference was so   
fundamental as to involve everything    
that ,st4 ,paul then1 and  ,christians  
now1 would deem characteristic of their 
religion4    ,the question was          
this1--,how might a born ,gentile become

 a  ,christian8--,by becoming a ,jew    
first1 and then accepting ,jesus as     
appointed to be the ,jews' ,messiah1 was
 the answer at ,jerusalem4 ,by          
believing in ,jesus straightway1 was the
 reply of ,paul4 ,with  irresistible    
force he contended that1 according to   
his opponents'  view1 the ,gospel opened
 no door at all1 and was simply         
nugatory4 ,for  it had always been      
possible for a ,gentile to become a     
,jew2 and if1  without this step1 faith 
in ,christ was unavailing1 the real     
efficacy  must lie in what the ,jew     
brought to ,christ1 not in what he      
received  from him2 so that it was hard 
to say what good there could be in      
passing on from ,moses at all1 or what  
essential difference between the        
unconverted and the converted ,hebrew4  
,and1 in truth1 they were not  strongly 
contrasted in ,jerusalem2 and in habit1 
thought1 and feeling1  the twelve were  
probably much nearer to ,gamaliel than  
to ,paul4 ,the  altercation between     

,peter and ,paul at ,antioch is full of 
instruction  on this point2 proving1 as 
it does1 that the intensest form of     
ritual  exclusiveness--the refusal to   
partake at table with the               
uncircumcised--was retained in the      
parent church1 and enforced with        
jealous vigilance4 ,in the ,syrian      
capital the ,gentile disciples were     
numerous1 the ,pauline comprehensiveness
 prevailed1 and the  intercourses of    
life were unhindered by ceremonial      
scruples4 ,peter1  thrown amongst them  
on a visit1 yields to the local         
impression1 and1  as long as he can do  
so unobserved1 falls in with their free 
ways2  feeling all the while1 no doubt1 
like the ,quaker from home tempted  into
 a ball-dress or regimentals4 ,soon1    
however1 the strict brethren  at        
,jerusalem send to look after him or the
 ,antiochians1 and instantly  his       
liberality is gone2 he is the prim ,jew 
again1 and the ,gentile  dishes are all 
unclean4 ,and who then are these new    

witnesses1 that he  should fear their   
report8 ,they are deputies from ,james1 
the brother  of the ,lord1 who1 on      
account of this affinity1#fb was the    
recognized head of the ,judan           
,christians2 and of whose ascetic       
abstinences1 and constant devotions on  
the temple pavement1 till  his knees    
were become like the knees of a camel1  
,hegesippus  preserved the tradition4#fc
 ,it was clear1 therefore1 that ,peter's
  association with the ,gentile         
,christians was exceptional1--a         
violation  of his professed rule1 and of
 the allowed usage of the ,apostolic    
,church4 ,to own brotherhood with the   
uncircumcised believer1 was a           
forfeiture of character1 probably an    
outrage on his own conscience1 to  the  
,christian ,apostle6 ,this was the      
result1 among his first disciples1  of  
nearly twenty years' belief of ,christ  
in heaven4 ,there could be no  real     
sympathy between such an evangile and   
,paul's4 ,it let him make  converts1 but

 would not acknowledge them when made4  
,it could not  resist the fact of his   
success1 but treated his children in the
  faith as in a doubtful case1 left to  
,heaven's uncovenanted mercies1  and    
needing to be put in a securer state1 as
 soon as his back was  turned1 and      
teachers could be sent to complete the  
task4 ,hence the  opposition that       
tracked the steps1 and so much marred   
the work of the  ,apostle1 wherever he  
went2 and in repelling which he wrote   
his chief  ,epistles1 and matured the   
form of his great theology4 ,mr4        
,jowett1  whilst allowing that this     
opposition was systematic and           
persistent1  and in some degree connived
 at by the twelve1 is yet anxious to lay
 it  mainly to the charge of their      
followers1 and defines the relation of  
the two sections thus3 ,separation1 not 
opposition2 antagonism of the  followers
 rather than of the leaders2 personal   
antipathy of the  ,judaizers to ,st4    
,paul1 rather than of ,st4 ,paul to the 

twelve4 7,i4  #cbf47 ,these are fine    
distinctions1 and for this very reason  
likely1 we  fear1 in the rough movement 
of human passions1 to be more ideal than
  real4 ,true1 the feeling of a leader  
is ever apt to run into  exaggeration   
among the followers2 nor probably was   
,apostolic control  over the mass of    
believers so complete as to exclude this
 danger4 ,but  the ,epistle to the      
,galatians is written by one leader1 and
 speaks of  the others2 and the         
impression it conveys is surely one of  
very  decided antagonism1 and that1 too1
 not accidental1 but depending on       
permanent differences of principle1     
which discussion did not smooth  away1  
and which penetrated into the very      
organism of daily life4 ,in  the        
altercation with ,peter1 what was the   
point of ,paul's rebuke8 ,did  he simply
 censure his moral weakness and         
inconsistency8 ,not so1 or he  would    
have exhorted him to take whichever     
course he approved1 and  stick to it4   

,did he find fault with his exceptional 
act1 of eating  with the ,gentile       
,christians8 ,not so1 for he did the    
same himself4 ,the  thing he blamed was 
nothing less than the rule and usage by 
which  ,peter habitually lived1 and     
which1 it is declared1 virtually made   
,christ of none effect4 ,here was a     
collision of irreconcilable  principles1
 and every subsequent occasion of       
personal contact1 under  like           
conditions1 would be as liable to       
produce it as the first4 ,nor  have we1 
in fact1 any reason to suppose a closer 
approximation at a  later part of the   
,apostolic age4 ,that ,paul looked with 
any particular  respect on the other    
,apostles1 is surely not proved1 as ,mr4
 ,jowett  imagines1 by his appeal 7#a   
,cor4 xv4 #e7 to their testimony        
respecting  the fact of their ,lord's   
resurrection1 or by his claiming 7#a    
,cor4  ix4 #e7 to stand on a like       
footing of privilege with them4#fd ,to  
produce the spectators of an event as   

its proper witnesses1 is no  expression 
of feeling towards them at all2 and to  
say1 ,are the other  ,apostles to have  
the right of taking their wives with    
them at the cost  of the ,church1 and   
may not ,i take or decline my mere      
personal  maintenance as ,i think       
proper8 institutes a comparison in which
 it  is difficult to discover any strong
 sentiment of respect4 ,nor do the      
doctrinal agreements1 of which1 as well 
as of the personal relations  of        
fellowship1 our author makes the most1  
amount to any substantial  concurrence1 
when we penetrate to the essence from   
the form4 ,on both  sides1 says ,mr4    
,jowett1 the disciples were baptized    
into the same  name4 7,i4 #cdj47 ,yes2  
but how different the object named as   
present  to their thought2 in the one   
case1 the human life in its detail1 with
  the resurrection as its crown2 in the 
other1 the cross of ,christ that  stands
 between them1 and his life in heaven   
that passes beyond them6  ,both         

sections1 it is again said1 find their  
ground in the ,old  ,testament4 7,i4    
#cda47 ,true3 but the one on ,moses1 the
 tables1 and the  holy place2 the other1
 on ,adam's nature1 and the patriarchs' 
freedom1  and the prophets' insight2 the
 one1 moreover1 using the ground to     
intrench the ,law for ever2 the other1  
to drive the ploughshare over  its      
ruins1 and make it a fruitful field4    
,once more1 it is said that on  both    
sides there was a looking for the day of
 the ,lord1 an  expectation of ,christ's
 return to end the world within that    
generation4 7,i4 #cda47 ,assuredly1 but 
with such differences in the  vision1   
that1 in the apocalyptic picture of the 
one1 ,paul is not among  the ,apostles1 
or his followers among the white-robed  
and crowned 7,rev4  xxi4 #ad1 and ii4   
#b1 #ad1 #bj72 while in that of the     
other1 the advent  will but perfect and 
perpetuate a union with ,christ1 already
 present  to their consciousness1 and   
open to all who live with him in the    

,spirit4 ,in short1 twenty years after  
the death of ,christ1 the two  elements 
that were harmonized in him1 but are    
ever apt to part in our  imperfect      
minds1 the ethical and the mystical1 the
 historical and  spiritual1 ascetic     
concentration and outspreading trust1   
fell into  determinate antithesis1      
realizing their conflict in the         
immediate  question of ,jew and         
,gentile1 and finding their respective  
representatives in the twelve and ,st4  
,paul4    ,whether1 besides and beyond  
this general development of the         
,christian  system1 there was also a    
special development of doctrine into    
higher  degrees of spirituality within  
the mind of ,st4 ,paul himself1 is a    
question of less interest and more      
difficulty4 ,both ,mr4 ,stanley and ,mr4
  ,jowett find traces of such a change  
in the modified sentiment of his  later 
writings1 and even make the ,apostle    
himself depose to his own  enlargement  
of view4 ,we must confess that this     

speculation1 though  excluded by no     
antecedent improbability1 appears to us 
less well  supported than anything in   
these volumes4 ,it is ingeniously       
presented  and argued by ,mr4 ,jowett in
 his introduction to the ,thessalonian  
,epistles2 and by means of it he        
explains the marked absence from these  
letters of ,st4 ,paul's usual topics and
 manner1 and gets rid of the  objection 
urged on this ground to their           
authenticity4 ,applied at the  other end
 of the ,apostle's career1 the          
hypothesis accounts for the  prominence1
 in the ,epistles to the ,ephesians1    
,philippians1 and  ,colossians1 of      
certain conceptions1 doubtfully         
traceable elsewhere1 of  the place of   
,christ in the hierarchy of the         
universe1 and of his union  with his    
disciples as his body4 ,the pastorals   
may be left out of  consideration1 as   
their mixed phenomena cannot be much    
used in the  service of this theory4    
,the broad facts are undoubted1--that   

the four  great central ,epistles       
7,galatians1 ,corinthians1 ,romans7 must
 be taken as  our foci of authority for 
the characteristics of ,st4 ,paul2 that1
 in the  earlier ,thessalonians1 these  
characteristics are overshadowed by the 
more ,judaic doctrine of the day of the 
,lord1 and in the later  ,ephesians1 c41
 by the more ,gnostic conception of a   
spiritual hierarchy  and pleroma4 ,but  
these facts are quite overworked when   
set to prove our  author's thesis4 ,in  
order to establish a process of personal
  development1 they ought to exhibit    
certain natural links of  psychological 
and moral succession1 and not mere      
abrupt and unrelated  contrasts of      
subject4 ,to look for such organic      
indications in the sparse  productions  
of the ,apostle's pen1 is to ask too    
much from a few  incidental letters1    
bearing to his whole life the proportion
 of a dozen  pages of random excerpts to
 a cyclopdia4 ,if only the matters      
treated be  different1 the whole group  

of writings may very well express1 in   
its  several parts and aspects1 one     
simultaneous state of mind4 ,if the     
types  of thought be such as could      
scarcely co-exist1 the cause may be     
sought  as reasonably in a plurality of 
authors as in a succession of beliefs in
  the same author2 and only a most      
delicate combination of symptoms can    
rescue the problem from this            
indeterminate state of double solution4 
,nor  ought we to forget1 in weighing   
the probabilities1 that the whole set of
  ,epistles comprising the phenomena of 
difference were written within nine     
years2 and that1 ere the first of them  
was produced1 ,st4 ,paul had been a     
convert fifteen years1 and had reached  
the age of fifty4 ,the earlier and      
longer of these periods is a more       
natural seat of mental change than the  
later and shorter2 especially of a      
change not apparent so much in          
particular judgments and opinions1 as in
 the whole complexion of  spiritual     

feeling and idea4    ,but1 we are       
assured1 the ,apostle directly testifies
 to his own  progress in doctrine2 and  
intimates 7#b ,cor4 v4 #af7 that there  
was a  time when he had known ,christ   
according to the flesh1--had preached   
him in a more ,jewish and less spiritual
 manner1--though henceforth  he would   
know him so no more4 ,mr4 ,stanley1     
explaining this  much-disputed phrase1  
says3--    ,probably1 he must be here   
alluding to those who laid stress on    
their  having seen ,christ in           
,palestine1 or on their connection with 
him or  with 'the brothers of the ,lord'
 by actual descent2 and if so1 they     
were probably of the party 'of ,christ4'
 ,but the words lead us to  infer that  
something of this kind had once been his
 own state of mind1  not only in the    
time before his conversion 7which he    
would have  condemned more strongly71   
but since4 ,if so1 it is 7like ,phil4   
iii4  #ac-ae7 a remarkable confession of
 former weakness and error1 and of      

conscious progress in religious         
knowledge4--,vol4 ,,ii4 p4 #ajf4    ,did
 ,st4 ,paul then ever lay stress on     
having seen ,christ in ,palestine8  or  
on actual blood-connection with him8 or 
on something of this kind8  ,to personal
 relations with ,jesus in his ministry  
or family he had no  pretensions2 and   
the spirit with which he had always     
treated  everything of this kind1 is so 
apparent from his narrative to the      
,galatians as to contradict ,mr4        
,stanley's inference4 ,mr4 ,jowett gives
 the  phrase a different turn4 ,finding 
7,gal4 v4 #aa7 the ,apostle charged with
  at one time preaching circumcision1 he
 accepts this as synonymous with        
knowing ,christ according to the flesh  
7i4 #ab74 ,this1 however1 would  imply  
that he was originally no ,apostle to   
the ,gentiles1 but insisted  on mediate 
conversion into the ,gospel through the 
law4 ,feeling the  irreconcilable       
variance of such an hypothesis with the 
autobiographical  notices in the        

,epistles1 ,mr4 ,jowett lowers his      
phraseology1 and  attributes to ,st4    
,paul's early teaching only such        
sentiments as might  be thought to make 
him a preacher of the circumcision4 ,and
 so we  lose ourselves again in         
something of the kind4 ,yet at last1 in 
the  following passage1 we find the     
critic's finger distinctly laid on the  
doctrine which he proposes to id entify 
with the ,apostle's knowing  ,christ    
according to the flesh4    ,that such a 
change 7in the ,apostle's teaching7 is  
capable of being  traced1 has been      
already intimated4 ,both ,epistles to   
the ,thessalonians1  with the exception 
of a few practical precepts1 are the    
expansion and  repetition of a single   
thought1--'the coming of ,christ4' ,it  
was the  absorbing thought of the       
,apostle and his converts1 quickened in 
both by  the persecutions which they had
 suffered4 ,not that with this          
expectation  of ,christ's kingdom there 
mingled any vision of a temporal rule   

over the  kingdoms of the earth4 ,that  
was far from the ,apostle4 ,but there   
was that  in it which fell short of the 
more perfect truth4 ,it was not1 ',the  
kingdom of ,god is within you'2 but1    
',lo here1 and lo there4' ,it was       
defined by time1 and was to take place  
within the ,apostle's own life4  ,the   
images in which it clothed itself were  
traditional among the ,jews2  they were 
outward and visible1 liable to the      
misconstruction of the  enemies of the  
faith1 and to the misapprehension of the
 first  converts1--imperfectly1 as the  
,apostle saw afterwards1 conveying the  
inward and spiritual meaning4 ,the      
kingdom which they described was not    
eternal and heavenly1 but very near and 
present1 ready to burst forth           
everywhere1 and by its very nearness in 
point of time seeming to touch  our     
actual human state4 ,afterwards the     
kingdom of ,god appeared to remove      
itself within1 to withdraw into the     
unseen world4 ,the earthen vessel  must 

be broken first1 the unbeliever         
unclothed that he might be clothed      
upon1 that mortality may be swallowed up
 of life4 ,he was no longer  'waiting   
for the ,son from heaven'2 but 'desirous
 to depart and be with  ,christ' 7,phil4
 i4 #bc74 ,such is the change1 not so   
much in the ,apostle's  belief as in his
 mode of conception2 a change natural to
 the human mind  itself1 and above all  
to the ,jewish mind2 a change which1    
after it had  taken place1 left the     
vestiges of the prior state in the      
,montanism of  the second century1 which
 may not improperly be regarded as the  
spirit  of the first century overliving 
itself4 ,old things had passed away1    
and1  behold1 all things became new4    
,and yet the former things--the material
  vision of ,christ's kingdom--have ever
 been prone to return2 not only in  the 
first and second century1 but in every  
age of enthusiasm1 men have  been apt to
 walk by sight and not by faith4 ,in the
 hour of trouble and  perplexity1 when  

darkness spreads itself over the earth1 
and ,antichrist  is already come1 they  
have lifted up their eyes to the        
heavens1 looking  for the sign of the   
,son of man4--,vol4 ,i4 p4 #aj4    ,if  
to announce the coming of ,christ is to 
know him according to the  flesh1 ,st4  
,paul assuredly did not keep his resolve
 henceforth to know  him no more4 ,for  
the expectation reappears1 without any  
perceptible  change1 in his later       
,epistles2 as in ,rom4 xiii4 #aa1 #ab3  
,do this the  rather1 knowing the       
time1--that now is the time to awake out
 of sleep3  for our salvation is nearer 
now than when we first believed3 the    
night  is far spent2 the day is at      
hand2--and in ,phil4 iv4 #e3 ,the ,lord 
is at  hand4#fe ,moreover1 it is utterly
 impossible that this element of his    
teaching could be adduced in proof of   
his preaching circumcision4 ,it  had    
nothing to do with the question of ,jew 
and ,gentile2 with the most  opposite   
solutions of which it is equally        

compatible4    ,in truth1 our author has
 here combined two passages1 which throw
 no  light on one another1 and has      
extracted from each what neither is able
  to yield4 ,the words 7in ,gal4 v4 #aa7
 if ,i still preach circumcision1  do   
not really imply that the ,apostle once 
did so preach2 though in an  accurate   
writer this sense might be insisted on4 
,he is not thinking of  his own former  
notions1 but of other people's1         
continuing unaltered  after they ought  
to have changed4 ,there were persons    
who1 in spite of  the dispensation of   
the ,spirit1 still preached circumcision
 after its  significance was gone4 ,this
 did not ,paul2 but he was charged with 
doing  so3 and he says1 ,well1 if so1 ,i
 am a ,judaizer like you1 and ,i cannot 
be  also chargeable with teaching that  
the cross of ,christ supersedes the     
,law4 ,the true sense is1 therefore1    
given by the rendering1 ,if ,i preach   
circumcision still1--that is1 as still  
necessary2 and no tale is  told of the  

,apostle's earlier teaching4    ,the    
other passage 7#b ,cor4 v4 #af7 does    
undoubtedly refer to a former  state of 
the writer's own mind1 when he          
recognized ,christ according to  the    
flesh4 ,but he alludes1 we apprehend1 to
 the period when he was a  ,hebrew of   
the ,hebrews2 and had no conception as  
yet of a suffering1  dying1 and heavenly
 ,christ2--when he was full of the      
thoughts still  occupying the twelve1   
who did not take in the significance of 
the cross1  but carried past it their   
old ,messianic notions4 ,there may have 
been a  time1 he means to say1 when ,i  
thought only of a national1             
,israelitish1  historical ,messiah1     
bound by the law of his fathers1 and    
binding to it4  ,had this been the true 
conception of him1 then would it have   
been a  matter of privilege and pride to
 be near his person1 to stand in natural
  relations with him1 and be mixed up   
with the incidents of his local  career4
 ,but ever since ,i understood the      

cross1 and saw that ,messiah's  life    
began in death1 a far other truth has   
dawned upon me4 ,when he gave  up the   
ghost1 all the accidents of his         
humanity--his lineage1 his  nationality1
 his earthly manifestation--were left   
behind and died away2  and they must    
carry with them into extinction whatever
 feelings had  collected round          
them1--family pride1 ,jewish            
exclusiveness1 and the  memories of     
personal companionship4 ,from that      
moment1 clear of earthly  entanglements1
 ,christ in the spirit draws to him a   
community of human  spirits1--one with  
him in self-abnegation1 dying to the    
earthly past2  one with him in re-birth1
 living to heavenly union with ,god4    
,thus1 if  any one be in ,christ1 it    
amounts to a new creation2 his old self 
has  passed away2 behold1 all things    
have become new4 ,the ,apostle1         
therefore1 sets up the death of ,christ1
 as cutting off1 for all  disciples1 the
 prior time from the subsequent2 as     

flinging the former1  with all the human
 conceptions that cling to it1 into     
eclipse and  annihilation1 and beginning
 a new and luminous existence in the    
latter2  as breaking the very identity  
of the believer1 and delivering him from
  the thraldom of nature into the       
freedom of the ,spirit4 ,the cross had  
already done its work ere ,st4 ,paul    
became a disciple4 ,he had never known  
his ,lord but in the spirit2 and the    
,christ1 whom he had known  according to
 the flesh1 was the ,jewish ,messiah of 
his previous and  unconverted           
conception4 ,mr4 ,stanley's objection1  
that the ,apostle could  hardly have    
spoken of his unconverted state without 
stronger  condemnation1 might perhaps   
hold1 were the allusions to his fit of  
persecuting violence against the        
,church4 ,but there was no occasion for 
self-reproach in describing the picture 
of a national ,messiah1 on which1  in   
common with his countrymen1 he had      
permitted his imagination to  dwell4#ff 

,neither1 then1 from his own direct     
assertion1 nor from comparison of  his  
several writings1 inter se1 do we learn 
anything of the alleged  development of 
the ,apostle's doctrine4 ,there is no   
element in it1  that1 from inability to 
co-exist with the rest1 requires to be  
assigned to a date of its own4 ,the     
breach with ,judaism1 especially1 we    
conceive to have been complete from the 
first1 and unsusceptible of  degrees2   
nay1 to have been the initial principle 
of his conversion1  the secretly        
prepared condition or tendency of mind  
that rendered him  accessible to the    
,divine call1 and open to sudden change 
in the  direction of his character4     
,when first released from the formulas  
of a  ,jewish ,christology1 and         
communing in spirit with a heavenly and 
universal ,lord1 his mind would         
doubtless be met by a multitude of new  
problems1 and would work freely towards 
their resolution1 with the  quickening  
consciousness of new light streaming in1

 and a grander  landscape of ,providence
 opening before him4 ,the very intensity
 of this  inward action1 however1--the  
thirst it sustains for its own          
completion1--forbids us to attribute to 
it a life-long duration2 ere  fifteen   
years were passed1 its force would be   
spent by having realized  its work1 and 
attained the equilibrium of a holy      
peace4 ,whatever  subsequent changes    
occurred would be of a different nature1
 enforced  by the turn of the world's   
affairs2 a mere remoulding or           
reproportioning of inward faiths1 in    
adaptation to the altered  pressures of 
the hour4 ,of such modifications1 such  
retreat towards the  background of once 
favorite ideas1 and advance of dim      
suggestions into  strong light1 there   
are doubtless examples in ,st4 ,paul4   
,the  expectation of ,christ's speedy   
coming to close the world's affairs1    
and realize the kingdom1 could not but  
dominate at first1 and pale  every other
 interest and belief by the terror and  

glory of its light4  ,but there is a    
limit beyond which the strain of longing
 cannot be  sustained2 as it subsides1  
the present and actual recovers power1  
and  pushes its problems forward1 and   
gains once more the eye that had  looked
 beyond them4 ,and so1 after a while1   
spring up questions of  ,christian order
 that will not bear to be put off2--how 
to live in a  world that1 however near  
its doom1 entangles the disciple still  
in a  web of difficult relations2 how to
 touch the skirt of its idolatries1  and
 not be tainted2 how to behave to wife  
and child in this last  generation of   
human affairs2 how to seal up the       
passions that ought  to die within the  
saints1 but were not dead2 how to       
prevent the gifts  of the ,spirit from  
overbalancing themselves1 on the heights
 of a  dizzied mind1 into outrages on   
nature2 how to preserve to the woman    
and the slave1 in their exulting        
reaction from degraded life1 the  sense 
of modest reverence1 and the            

appreciation of faithful service4  ,day 
by day questions of this kind insisted  
on attention1 and brought  out a fresh  
type of sentiments proper for their     
determination1 and  offering to view a  
new side of the ,christian thought and  
life4 ,nor1  again1 could many years    
elapse1 before the ,jew and ,gentile    
difficulty  changed its whole aspect1   
and expanded1 from a petty scruple      
compromised at ,jerusalem1 into a       
world-wide theology1 regulative of  all 
future history4 ,when it became evident 
that it was no question  about a small  
sprinkling of ethnic converts1--mere    
hangers-on of  ,hebrew families and     
synagogues2 when the delay of ,messiah1 
and the  energy of ,paul1 gave occasion 
for thousands to pour in2 when it seemed
  imminent that ,palestine should be    
outvoted and overpowered by the  growth 
of the foreign ,gospel1 the alarm of the
 ,judaic ,christians  became great4     
,they tracked ,paul's steps2 their      
emissaries were  everywhere2 their      

arguments and doctrine became more      
constricted1 and  his more wide and     
free2 and as the clouds visibly lowered 
over ,israel1  touching him as well as  
them with gloom1 all the more did he see
 the  sunshine flood the lands beyond2  
and his national trust assumed this     
form1--that1 maybe1 the outlying        
heavenly light may creep back as the    
dark hour passes1 and again set the     
shadows moving on the hills it has  so  
long glorified4 ,the ,apostle died      
before the question settled  itself by  
the mere force of the facts1--by the    
utter breaking up of  the ,jewish       
nation1 and the inpouring ,gentile      
numbers4 ,others waited to  be driven   
into catholicity by events2 it is his   
glory to have  surrendered himself to   
the inspiration that implanted in him   
its  principle from the first4 ,he      
lived1 however1 to see a mighty growth1 
though not the final fruit2 and the     
grand scale on which he conducts  the   
controversy1 in his ,epistle to the     

,romans1 by converging  reasonings      
fetched from afar out of history1 and   
aloft out of the  perfections of ,god1  
and deep out of human nature1 shows how 
his  thought expands with the exigencies
 of experience1 and advances to  fill   
the whole greatness of his              
opportunities4    ,there can be no doubt
 that the earliest ,apostolic           
,christianity consisted  mainly in the  
faith of ,christ's coming again1 to-day1
 or to-morrow1 or  the third day4 ,this 
event1 with its effect on the living1   
was the one  only point1 ,mr4 ,stanley  
conceives1 on which ,st4 ,paul1 in his  
great  chapter on the ,resurrection1    
professed to have a distinct            
revelation3--    ,on one point only he  
professes to have a distinct revelation1
 and  that not with regard to the dead1 
but to the living4 ,so firmly was the   
first generation of ,christians         
possessed of the belief that they       
should live to see the second coming1   
that it is here assumed as a  matter of 

course2 and their fate1 as near and     
immediate1 is used to  illustrate the   
darker and more mysterious subject of   
the fate of those  already dead4 ,that  
vision of 'the last man1' which now     
seems so remote  as to live only in     
poetic fiction1 was to the ,apostle an  
awful  reality2 but it is brought       
forward only to express the certainty   
that1  even here1 a change must take    
place1 the greatest that imagination can
  conceive4--,vol4 ,i4 p4 #cih4    ,that
 this belief1 where held at all1 should 
be paramount and absorbing1  follows    
from its very nature4 ,accordingly1 ,st4
 ,paul1 as ,mr4 ,jowett  remarks1 makes 
even the essence of the ,gospel to      
consist in it3--    ,it appears         
remarkable1 that ,st4 ,paul should make 
the essence of the  ,gospel consist1 not
 in the belief in ,christ1 or in taking 
up the  cross of ,christ1 but in the    
hope of his coming again4 ,such1        
however1  was the faith of the          
,thessalonian ,church2 such is the tone 

and spirit  of the ,epistle4 ,neither in
 the ,apostolic times1 nor in our own1  
can we  reduce all to the same type4    
,one aspect of the ,gospel is more      
outward1  another more inward2 one seems
 to connect with the life of ,christ1   
another with his death2 one with his    
birth into the world1 another  with his 
coming again4 ,if we will not insist on 
determining the times  and the seasons1 
or on knowing the manner how1 all these 
different  ways may lead us within the  
veil4 ,the faith of modern times        
embraces  many parts and truths2 yet we 
allow men1 according to their individual
  character1 to dwell on this truth or  
that1 as more peculiarly  appropriate to
 their nature4 ,the faith of the early  
,church was simpler  and more           
progressive1 pausing in the same way on 
a particular truth1  which the          
circumstances of the world or the       
,church brought before  them4--,vol4 ,i4
 p4 #df4    ,only it is not on a        
particular truth1 but on a particular   

error1  that the pause of faith was here
 made2--an error found or implied1  as  
our author observes1 in almost every    
book of the ,new ,testament2 in  the    
discourses of our ,lord himself1 as well
 as in the ,acts of the  ,apostles2 in  
the ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul1 no less    
than in the ,book of the  ,revelation4  
,mr4 ,jowett does not evade the         
difficulty4 ,in an admirable  essay on  
this special subject1 he frankly states 
the facts1 traces  their influence on   
the early ,church1 accepts them as among
 the limits  which human conditions     
impose on ,divine revelation1 and shows 
from  them1 how1 even in ,god's highest 
teachings1 he leaves much truth to be   
drawn forth from time and experience4   
,it is a subject1 he says1 from which   
the interpreter of ,scripture  would    
gladly turn aside4 ,for it seems as if  
he were compelled to say  at the outset1
 'that ,st4 ,paul was mistaken1 and that
 in support of his  mistake he could    
appeal to the words of ,christ himself4'

 ,nothing can  be plainer than the      
meaning of those words1 and yet they    
seem to be  contradicted by the very    
fact1 that1 after eighteen centuries1   
the  world is as it was4 ,in the words  
which are attributed1 in the ,epistle   
of ,st4 ,peter1 to the unbelievers of   
that day1 we might truly say that1      
since the fathers have fallen asleep1   
all things remain the same from  the    
beginning4 ,not only do 'all things     
remain the same1' but the very  belief  
itself 7in the sense in which it was    
held by the first  ,christians7 has been
 ready to vanish away4--,vol4 ,i4 p4    
#if4    ,it is the infirmity of human   
nature--an infirmity irremovable by     
inspiration--to translate eternal truth 
into forms of time1 to throw  color into
 the invisible till it can be seen1 and 
look into any given  infinity till      
finite shapes appear within it1 and it  
is felt as infinite  no more4 ,the soul 
tries1 as it were1 every apparent path1 
from spiritual  apprehension to         

scientific knowledge1 from deep insight 
to clear  foresight1 from perception of 
what ,god is to vaticination of what he 
does2 and abides alone with the ,holy   
,presence1 that will not tell ,his      
counsels1 but is ever there himself4    
,from the world of ,divine reality  into
 that of transient phenomena1 there is  
no bridge found as yet2 and  only ,he1  
whose footsteps need no ground1 can pass
 across4 ,we know  somewhat on both     
sides2 but the chasm between vindicates 
its perpetuity  against all invasion4   
,vision for faith2 prevision for        
science3--this  seems to be the         
inviolable allotment of gifts by the    
,father of lights4  ,and whoever        
overlooks this rule1 and1 inspired with 
discernment of what  absolutely is1     
ventures to pronounce what relatively   
will be1 embodies  his truth in a form  
whence it must again be disengaged4 ,the
 deepest  spiritual insight is          
ineffectual to teach past history2 it is
 equally  so to teach future history4   

,the moment you lose sight of this fact1
  and expect the sons of ,god to predict
 for you1 you confound  inspiration with
 divination1 and will pay the double    
penalty of missing  the truth they have1
 and being disappointed at that which   
they have not4  ,it is not always much  
otherwise with themselves2 the light    
which they  are1 they do not see2 and   
that which shapes itself before them1   
and  becomes the object of their minds1 
is but the shadow of human things1      
deepened and sharpened1 perhaps also    
misplaced1 by the preternatural         
intensity4 ,by its very inwardness and  
closeness to the soul's centre1  ,god's 
,spirit may express itself chiefly in   
the unconscious attitudes and           
manifestations of the mind2 especially  
as it is these that often leave  the    
most ineffaceable impressions of        
character upon others1 and may1         
therefore1 be the vehicle of a more     
life-giving power than any purposed     
teaching or more conscious authority4   

,the disappointment of an avowed        
prediction1 or the error of an          
elaborated doctrine1 no more affects the
  ,divine inspiration at the heart of   
,christianity1 than the  miscalculations
 and failure of the ,crusades disprove  
their ,providential  function in the    
historical education of mankind4 ,mr4   
,jowett takes up the  question from     
another side1 and shows how the faith in
 a future life1  though not directly    
given1 necessarily disengaged itself in 
the end  from the expectation of the    
coming of ,christ4    ,we naturally ask1
 why a future life1 as distinct from    
this1 was not  made a part of the first 
preaching of the ,gospel8--why1 in other
  words1 the faith of the first         
,christians did not exactly coincide    
with  our own8 ,there are many ways in  
which the answer to this question may   
be expressed4 ,the philosopher will say1
 that the difference in the  mode of    
thought of that age and our own rendered
 it impossible1  humanly speaking1 that 

the veil of sense should be altogether  
removed4  ,the theologian will admit    
that ,providence does not teach men that
  which they can teach themselves4      
,while there are lessons which it       
immediately communicates1 there is much 
which it leaves to be drawn  forth by   
time and events4 ,experience may often  
enlarge faith2 it may  also correct it4 
,no one can doubt that the faith and    
practice of the  early ,church1         
respecting the admission of the         
,gentiles1 were greatly  altered by the 
fact that the ,gentiles themselves      
flocked in2 'the  kingdom of heaven     
suffered violence1 and the violent took 
it by  force4' ,in like manner1 the     
faith respecting the coming of ,christ  
was  modified by the continuance of the 
world itself4 ,common sense suggests    
that those who were in the first ecstasy
 of conversion1 and those who  after the
 lapse of years saw the world unchanged 
and the fabric of  the ,church on earth 
rising around them1 could not regard the

 day of  the ,lord with the same        
feeling4 ,while to the one it seemed    
near and  present1 at any moment ready  
to burst forth1 to the other it was a   
long way off1 separated by time1 and as 
it were by place1 a world  beyond the   
stars1 yet1 strangely enough1 also      
having its dwelling in  the heart of    
man1 as it were the atmosphere in which 
he lived1 the  mental world by which he 
was surrounded4 ,not at once1 but       
gradually1  did the cloud clear up1 and 
the one mode of faith take the place of 
the other4 ,apart from the prophets1    
though then beyond them1 springing  up  
in a new and living way in the soul of  
man1 corrected by long  experience1 as  
the 'fathers one by one fell asleep1' as
 the hopes of  the ,jewish race         
declined1 as ecstatic gifts ceased1 as a
 regular  hierarchy was established in  
the ,church1 the belief in the coming of
  ,christ was transformed from being    
outward to becoming inward1 from  being 
national to becoming individual and     

universal1--from being  ,jewish to      
becoming ,christian4--,vol4 ,i4 p4 #ii4 
,with the ,apostle ,paul1 however1 the  
coming of ,christ occupies the  place of
 our future life2 the living mass of    
disciples1 waiting  till then for the   
redemption of their bodies1 fill the    
foreground  and largest space in the    
scene2 the rising of the dead is the    
subsidiary fact1 needful to the         
completeness of the gift of life in     
,christ4 ,on this crisis1 supposed to be
 so near1 his eye was  exclusively fixed
 whenever he spoke of the ,christian's  
salvation2  and could he have been told 
that no such crisis would come1 that1   
for  fifty generations1 the present     
order of the world would vindicate its  
stability1 we cannot imagine what shape 
his faith would have assumed2  whether  
he would have made light of all these   
centuries1 said that  with the ,eternal 
a thousand years are but as one day1 and
 still  opposed to one another the   and
 the  2 or whether  he would have found 

that the distinction was evanescent1 and
 the  kingdom of ,god was to be not sent
 hither1 but to be created here2 or     
how1 in either case1 he would have      
represented to himself the state  of the
 innumerable dead4 ,these are questions 
which did not arise for  him2 and it    
were vain to conjecture his solution4   
,he is engaged with  other              
problems2--all1 indeed1 having reference
 to that never doubted  crisis1 and     
arising out of its manifold relations1  
yet so treated by  him as to detach them
 unawares from their origin1 and give   
them a  permanent place in the religious
 consciousness of men4 ,who were to  be 
the subjects of that salvation8 ,how    
were they qualified8 ,by what  act of   
,god's1 and what temper of their own1 to
 reach the blessing8  ,what present     
assurance had they of this approaching  
good8 ,it is in  dealing with these     
questions that ,st4 ,paul darts from his
 objective  theology into the deepest   
recesses of human experience1 and       

fetches  into expression spiritual      
truths that transcend their incidental  
occasion1 and will remain valid while   
there is a soul in man4    ,in the      
,apostle's habit of thought there is a  
certain antique realism  which renders  
many of his doctrines and reasonings    
almost  unpresentable before a modern   
imagination4 ,with our sharp notions of 
personality1 of the entire insulation of
 each mind as an individual  entity1 of 
the antithesis of inner self to the     
outer everything1 we  are quite out of  
,st4 ,paul's latitude1 and shall be     
perpetually taking  for figures and     
personification what had a literal      
earnestness for  him4 ,the universe is  
with him full of ,agents that for us are
 only  ,attributes1--the theatre of     
certain real principles 7i4 e4          
principles having existence independent 
of us71 that carry out their  tendencies
 and history among themselves1 and upon 
and through  individual men1 as organs  
or media of their activity4 ,thus1 ,sin 

is  neither the mere voluntary          
unfaithfulness of the transgressor1 nor 
the  person of the tempter2 but both of 
these2 and that not apart from  one     
another or alternately1 but blended     
together under the conception  of a     
universal element of evil1 having its   
objective focus in ,satan  and its      
subjective manifestation in man4 ,in    
like manner its opposite1               
,righteousness 7,justification71 is not 
exclusively human rectitude1  or the    
,divine justice1 or quasi-goodness      
substituted for genuine2  but less      
ethical than the first1 less forensic   
than the last1 and  more ontological    
than either2 that element1 we may say1  
in the  essence of ,god which sets man  
at one with ,him1 and is the common     
ground of their harmonious relation4    
,around these two contrasted            
principles1 others1 equally conceived as
 real elements1 and  misunderstood as   
mere attributes or phenomena1 group     
themselves on  either side4 ,with the   

former is ,death1--the pair being       
gemini1 not  simply joined by decree of 
,god in time1 but inseparable in rerum  
natura1 co-ordinates by physical        
necessity2 and ,flesh1 the material  or 
medium that furnishes the endowments of 
sense1 and instinct1 and  the natural   
will1 and affords to ,sin its seat and  
hold upon us2 and  ,law1 the            
discriminating light that parts the     
mixture of good and  evil1 and1 on      
entering into us1 brings the slumbering 
evil into the  conscious state1 and so  
makes it sin relatively to us1 and      
simultaneously shows us the good without
 adding to the force for  producing it4 
,with the latter--,righteousness--are   
enjoined ,life1 the  positive opposite  
of ,death1 and1 like it1 a function of  
the moral as  well as the natural       
constitution1 the immortal energy       
inherent in  sinless being2 and ,spirit1
 the absolute essence of ,god1 present  
as  the vivifying source of whatever    
transcends nature1--a faint             

susceptibility1 felt only to be         
overmastered1 in the sons of ,adam1--a  
conquering power1 coalescing with the   
personality itself1 in ,christ  and his 
disciples1--and a spontaneous flow of   
higher life seizing on  converted men as
 organs of its charismata2 and          
,faith1--the opposite  of ,law1--the    
passing out of ourselves to embrace     
unseen relations1 to  make conscious    
appropriation of the ,spirit1 and thus  
enter into union  with ,christ and ,god4
 ,even this most subjective of all the  
great  principles of the ,apostle's     
theology1 is more than a mere private   
and  personal act4 ,as common to all the
 disciples1--the simultaneous gaze  that
 connects them as a whole with          
,christ1--its single threads pass  out  
and become a converging web4 ,as        
something other than the act 7of        
obedience7 which men were under bond to 
render1 it is a new institute  of ,god1 
and1 relatively to them1 reads itself   
off as ,grace4 ,as  opposed to ,law1 in 

which there is a delivery of the ,divine
 will into  men1 it involves a drawing  
by ,divine love of an affection out of  
men4 ,and under all these aspects it    
acquires something of that              
indeterminate character1 subjective and 
objective at once1 which the  associated
 elements possess in a much higher      
degree4 ,the same mode of  thought is   
traceable in another form4 ,the ,apostle
 exhibits the  providential scheme of   
the human race by distributing them into
 two  successive gentes1--the earthy or 
natural1 the heavenly or  spiritual2 and
 lays down all the predicates of each   
direct from the  personal history of    
their respective heads1 ,adam and       
,christ4 ,whatever  is true of the      
founder is considered as known of the   
followers2 the  phenomena of his being  
spread themselves inclusively to theirs4
 ,he is  regarded1 not simply as a      
representative individual1 while they   
are  the represented individuals2 but as
 a type of being within which  they are 

contained1 and which in its history and 
vicissitudes carries  them hither and   
thither4 ,condemnation and redemption   
take place by  ,kinds1 and fall on      
particular persons in virtue of their   
partaking  of these kinds4 ,settle the  
attributes of the species1 as found in  
its  archetype1 and you know what to say
 of individuals4 ,it is not  difficult  
to understand this way of thinking so   
long as the ,apostle  applies it1 as a  
naturalist might1 to the ,adamic gens2  
and argues1  that1 being made of earthy 
materials 771 and having the focus of   
personality in 1 with no adequate       
counterpoise of 1 it is  the seat of sin
 and death4 ,but it is less easy to     
follow the ,apostle's  meaning when he  
similarly identifies ,christians with   
,christ1 and  transfers1 or rather      
extends1 to them all the great          
characteristics of  his existence4 ,they
 are crucified to the world4 ,they are  
all dead  with him2 they are buried with
 him in baptism2 they are risen with    

him2 their life is hid with him in ,god4
 ,and while this is true of  living     
disciples1 he is no less the            
first-fruits of them that  sleep2 his   
resurrection is but the first pulsation 
of an act that  next proceeds to theirs1
 and then completes the transformation  
of the  living4 ,all this is meant for  
more than rhetorical analogy4 ,with     
,christ1 and in ,christ1 took place a   
re-constitution of humanity4 ,of  the   
new man1 he was the ideal and archetype2
 inverting the  proportions of  and 1   
and having his essence and personality  
in the latter1 so as to render sin an   
unrealized possibility and death  a     
transitory accident4 ,the spirit in him 
which evinced its life-giving  power in 
raising him from the dead1 is no more   
limited to his  individuality1 than     
flesh and blood were the attributes of  
,adam only4  ,it spreads to the whole   
family of souls1 springing up into his  
kindred2 it flows into them as they look
 up to him in faith1 and are  reborn to 

him2 it repeats in them the fruits it   
produced in him1--the  sacrifice of     
self1--the dying away of passion and    
pride1--the heavenly  love that darts   
upon the wing whither the bleeding feet 
of conscience  fail to climb1--together 
with many a gift less excellent1 of     
healing  and of tongues4 ,the           
consciousness of this new heart1 set    
free with  ,divine affections1 is       
immediate evidence of their union with  
,christ1  of the ,real ,presence of his 
,spirit within them1 of their           
substantive  incorporation into his     
essence1 and therefore of a restored    
harmony  and even oneness with ,god4 ,to
 what extent the ,apostle conceived that
  this transformation of nature1 by     
partnership in the properties of the    
heavenly ,christ1 might be carried in   
the living disciple1 it is not  possible
 to say4 ,it amounted to a new creation2
 and among the old  things that had     
already passed away1 he probably        
included more than  the moral habits and

 feelings of the unconverted state2 and 
conceived  that the same spirit by which
 these died out was purifying also the  
bodily organism of the believer1 and    
leavening it with antiseptic            
preparation for its final investiture   
with immortality4 ,that last  change1   
like the resurrection itself1 is not    
regarded as an external  miracle1       
suddenly forced on an uncongenial       
material by mere  ,almightiness2 but as 
the last and crowning stage of an       
internal  development1 whose principle  
had long been active1--the emergence    
from  all entanglement with flesh and   
blood of that spiritual element  which  
in ,jesus could not be holden of death1 
and which1 dwelling in  his disciples1  
already deadened and damped the vitality
 of the 1  and would at last quicken the
  with imperishable life4 ,thus it is   
that ,christ is not to ,st4 ,paul an    
historical individual1 but a  generic   
nature1--the archetype of a spiritual   
species1 sharing his  attributes and    

repeating his experience4    ,cleared as
 a stage for these contending           
principles1 the universe  witnesses     
their co-existence and antagonism from  
the beginning to the  end of time4      
,the great drama has two main acts1 and 
the cross of ,christ divides them4      
,the first is a descending period1      
accumulating the force of evil to a     
pitch of frightful triumph4 ,the second 
is an ascending period1 at  whose goal  
the last enemy is gone4    ,in the      
opening scene of the first1 extending   
from ,adam to ,moses1 both  ,flesh and  
,spirit were there2 not yet1 however1 in
 conflict2 but the  latter sleeping as a
 mere susceptibility1 and the former    
having its own  way in the instinctive  
life of man4 ,the state was not one     
which1 had the  comparison been made1   
would have accorded with the ,divine    
will4 ,it was  therefore really1 though 
unconsciously1 a reign of ,sin1 as was  
proved by  the presence of ,sin's       
inseparable sign1--the generations died4

    ,the next scene was marked by the   
introduction of ,law4 ,the effects      
were1 to bring into full consciousness  
the sin before unmarked1 and so  make it
 exceedingly sinful2 to set man at      
variance with himself by  giving him    
discernment1 and quickening his longing 
and his fear1  without any new spring of
 force2 and actually to multiply        
transgressions by enumerating and       
suggesting them4    ,hence1 at the close
 of the period1 an utter rotting away of
 human  society1 and a confirmed moral  
incapacity of the widest sweep4 ,the    
spontaneous law of nature and the       
written law of ,moses being equally  set
 at naught by ,gentile and by ,jew1 any 
promises ,god might have given  fell    
through1 from human breach of the       
conditions4 ,this was the moment  seized
 for instituting a new creation2 the    
promised ,messiah of the  ,jews being   
the vehicle of its accomplishment1 and  
the link of  connection between the old 
and the new4    ,all the ,messianic     

conditions were fulfilled1--the right   
tribe1 the  right family1 the right     
personal marks and characteristics4 ,but
 they  were also transcended4 ,along    
with the human infirmities and          
liabilities was present1 in this        
archetype of a new race1 the ,spirit  in
 such full measure as to constitute his 
proper self1 or at least win  that      
centre by complete victory over nature  
and temptation and  surrender of all he 
had and was to a ,divine ,love4 ,as he  
had baffled  and held off ,sin1 ,death  
had so far no business with him4 ,yet   
what was  to be done8 for there were    
conflicting claims upon him4 ,sinless in
  himself1 he was of a sin-doomed type1 
the likeness of sinful flesh  7  71 and 
therefore liable to the incidents of    
such a race4 ,this was at least his     
property by nature4 ,at the same  time1 
he was internally and essentially of the
 opposite type2 the  image of ,god 7  71
 and so1 foreign to the mortal fate1 at 
once imperishable and life-giving4 ,in  

the person of this double  nature1 the  
contest between the antagonists must    
come to an issue2 and  while both gain  
their due1 it is the last triumph of    
evil1 the first  opening of eternal     
good4 ,sin1 recognizing in his suffering
 and mortal  frame its own physical     
counterpart and shadow1 strikes him with
 death1  exerting for that end its own  
strength and instrument1 the ,law4  ,but
 in thus carrying its course upon the   
guiltless1 it overreached and  spent    
itself2 and the ,law1 lending itself to 
such an act1 fell into                  
self-contradiction1 and disappeared in  
suicide4 ,he died1 therefore1 in  virtue
 of what was really foreign to him1 as  
representative of a ,sin  which was not 
his1 but which yet involved him1 as     
human1 in sorrow and  mortality4 ,but no
 sooner had this happened1 than his     
,righteousness  vindicated its power4   
,he came out of death1 which could not  
keep one  so holy2 and now1 escaped from
 nationality1 and placed aloft as the   

ideal of the new humanity1 his vivifying
 spirit penetrates the heart  of men    
below1 and1 taking them on the side of  
faith and love instead  of will1 kindles
 a divine fire that burns up the dead   
elements of the  old man1 and wraps the 
heavenly places and the earthly in a    
common blaze4 ,by spiritual affiliation 
with him1 his disciples enter  the      
essence of all holy and immortal        
natures4 ,and so it comes to pass1      
that1 through the incidence of sorrow   
and death in the wrong place1 an        
objective power of righteousness is set 
free1 that reconciles  mankind with     
,god1 and restores them to sanctity and 
life4 ,the past and  the future of      
humanity were concentrated1 just at the 
turning point  between them1 in one     
person2 the natural element1 bearing the
 burden  of the past1 perished and fell 
away2 the spiritual and divine          
principle1 containing the germ of the   
future1 asserted its  inextinguishable  
life2 and from heaven evinced its       

self-multiplying  power1 making him only
 the first-born of many brethren4       
,thus was the second act initiated1     
which also presented two successive     
scenes4 ,during the first1 the ,christ  
was still in heaven2 and his ,spirit  on
 earth1 having the community of         
disciples for its organ or body1  stood 
in presence still of the opposing       
powers4 ,in the world1 it  encroached   
upon the province of evil continually1  
and reclaimed a  citadel here and there4
 ,in the ,church1 if it infused as yet  
no perfect  grace1 it left its earnest  
everywhere2--ecstatic gifts and mystic  
insights2 hearts set free from pride and
 scorn1 and brought to the  meekness and
 gentleness of ,christ2 the self-seeking
 will surrendered2  the anxious         
conscience led to trust2 the tangles of 
thought smoothed out  by a wisdom not   
its own2 and outward distinctions       
reduced to naught by  faith1 and hope1  
and charity4 ,nevertheless1 ,satan      
disturbed the   still2 and even the     

children of the ,spirit were but        
prisoners yet1 and  felt the tent of    
nature but a poor abode4 ,they had yet  
to wait for their  full adoption2 when  
the tabernacle in which they groaned    
being  dissolved1 they should be        
invested with an unwasting frame4       
,this was reserved for the final scene1 
the coming and the reign of  ,christ4   
,at this culminating crisis1 the        
antagonism which in ,adam was as  yet   
unfelt from the ascendency of nature1   
was to die out and cease on  the        
absolute triumph of the ,spirit4        
,physically1 death was to disappear2    
the departed being finally reinstated in
 life1 and the living clothed  upon with
 their new garment ere yet they were    
stripped of the old4  ,morally1 the     
remnant of inner strife and temptation1 
that even the faith  of saints might    
leave unappeased1 would pass away1      
aspiration be  harmonized with achieving
 power1 and in conscious presence of the
  objects of deepest affection and      

reverence the sighs of separation would 
cease4 ,as soon as resistance was over1 
and there was nothing to subdue1  the   
separate function of ,god's redeeming   
and sanctifying ,spirit would  find no  
work2 the kingdom would be resigned to  
the ,father2 the ,son  would be subject2
 and the ,trinity would cease4          
,whether the ,apostle's vision of trust 
was really of universal success1  and   
included even those who should still be 
found astray at last1 is a  question    
difficult of direct determination2 but  
not very doubtful when  tried by the    
general scope of his doctrine4 ,mr4     
,jowett's judgment1  given in the       
following passage1 truly seizes1 we     
think1 the feeling of  ,st4 ,paul4 ,the 
author is commenting on the parallel    
drawn between ,adam  and ,christ1       
especially on the words1 ,as by one     
man's transgression  sin entered into   
the world1 and death by sin1 and has    
shown that they  do not teach any       
imputation of ,adam's sin4    ,it is    

hardly necessary to ask the further     
question1 what meaning we  can attach to
 the imputation of sin and guilt which  
are not our own1  and of which we are   
unconscious4 ,god can never see us other
 than we  really are1 or judge us       
without reference to all our            
circumstances and  antecedents4 ,if we  
can hardly suppose that he would allow a
 fiction of  mercy to be interposed     
between ourselves and him1 still less   
can we  imagine that he would interpose 
a fiction of vengeance4 ,if he requires 
holiness before he will save1 much more1
 may we say in the ,apostle's  form of  
speech1 will he require sin before he   
dooms us to perdition4  ,nor can        
anything be in spirit more contrary to  
the living  consciousness of sin of     
which the ,apostle everywhere speaks1   
than the  conception of sin as dead1    
unconscious evil1 originating in the act
 of  an individual man1 in the world    
before the flood4    ,on the whole1     
then1 we are led to infer that in the   

,augustinian  interpretation of this    
passage1 even if it agree with the      
letter of  the text1 too little regard  
has been paid to the extent to which    
,st4  ,paul uses figurative language1   
and to the manner of his age in         
interpretations of the ,old ,testament4 
,the difficulty of supposing him  to be 
allegorizing the narrative of ,genesis  
is slight1 in comparison  with the      
difficulty of supposing him to          
countenance a doctrine at  variance with
 our first notions of the moral nature  
of ,god4    ,but when the figure is     
dropped1 and allowance is made for the  
manner  of the age1 the question once   
more returns upon us1--',what is the    
,apostle's meaning8' ,he is arguing1 we 
see1  1 and taking  his stand on the    
received opinions of his time4 ,do we   
imagine that his  object is no other    
than to set the seal of his authority on
 these  traditional beliefs8 ,the whole 
analogy1 not merely of the writings of  
,st4 ,paul1 but of the entire ,new      

,testament1 would lead us to suppose    
that his object was not to reassert     
them1 but to teach1 through them1  a new
 and nobler lesson4 ,the ,jewish ,rabbis
 would have spoken of the  first and    
second ,adam2 but which of them would   
have made the  application of the figure
 to all mankind8 ,a figure of speech it 
remains still1 an allegory after the    
manner of that age and country1  but yet
 with no uncertain or ambiguous         
interpretation4 ,it means that  ',god   
hath made of one blood all the nations  
of the earth'2 that 'he  hath concluded 
all under sin1 that he may have mercy   
upon all'2 that  life answers to death1 
the times before to the times after the 
revelation of ,jesus ,christ4 ,it means 
that we are one in a common  sinful     
nature1 which1 even if it be not derived
 from the sin of ,adam1  exists as      
really as if it were4 ,it means that we 
shall be made one in  ,christ by the    
grace of ,god1 in a measure here1 more  
fully and  perfectly in another world4  

,more than this it also means1 and more 
than language can express1 but not the  
weak and beggarly elements of           
,rabbinical tradition4 ,we may not      
encumber ,st4 ,paul with the things     
which he 'destroyed4' ,what it means    
further is not to be attained by        
theological distinctions1 but by putting
 off the old man and putting  on the new
 man4--,vol4 ,,ii4 p4 #aff4    ,on      
surveying the picture of time and the   
history of humanity that lay  beneath   
,st4 ,paul's eye1 the question naturally
 arises1 ,what is its  significance and 
value for us8 ,manifestly not those of  
an absolute guide  through the          
labyrinthine depths of the ,divine      
counsels4 ,we can scarcely  imagine what
 would have been the feeling of ,st4    
,paul1 could he have  foreseen that     
later ages would look not to the faith  
of ,abraham in the  ,law1 but to the    
,epistle to the ,romans1 as the highest 
authority on the  doctrine of           
justification by faith2 or1 that they   

would have regarded  the allegory of    
,hagar and ,sarah1 in the ,galatians1 as
 a difficulty to be  resolved by the    
inspiration of the ,apostle4#fg ,we     
cannot say of him  less than ,mr4       
,jowett says of a greater than ,paul1   
that in many places  his teaching is on 
a level with the modes of thought of his
 age4 7,i4  #ig47 ,the ultimate point   
towards which all the lines of his      
expectations  converged1 and all the    
history of the past appeared to gaze1 we
 know to  have had no existence where he
 placed it2 and as the whole scheme was 
laid out to lead up to this1 it might   
seem to disappear as the fabric of  a   
dream4 ,yet it is not so2 and the very  
fear implies that we look in the  wrong 
place for the permanent amid the        
evanescent in the ,gospel4              
,religion--revealed or unrevealed--is no
 production of the systematizing        
intellect1--inspired or uninspired4 ,the
 workings of constructive thought       
follow1 not lead it4 ,their function is 

not creative1 but simply  adaptive2--to 
find a settlement and orderly method of 
being and growing  for some new         
principle of divine life1 or for some   
old principle in an  altered scene2 to  
ward off from it uncongenial elements1  
remove dead  matter that chokes it1 and 
surround it with conditions whence it   
may  weave its organism around it and   
send deep roots into the mellowed soil  
of humanity4 ,divine truth is the coming
 of ,god to man1 pathless and           
traceless3 theologic thought is the     
retrogressive search of man after  ,god1
 not by ,his ways which are past finding
 out1 and invisible as  night1 but      
necessarily by such tracks as the age   
has opened and another  age may close or
 change4    ,the manifestation of       
supernatural realities to the human soul
 involves  so much which is mysterious  
and unique1 that only under great       
qualification can we compare it with the
 known mental processes4 ,but  were we  
to conceive of it less by the analogy of

 scientific discovery1  and more by that
 of artistic apprehension1 many an      
embarrassment would  be saved4 ,in a    
work of high art1 you give a ,phidias or
 a ,raffaelle  his subject2 he          
necessarily takes it from that which    
stirs the heart  of his time1 and has a 
solemnity for his own and you do not    
find fault  that there is mythology in  
the group1 or ,mariolatry in the        
picture4  ,through the conceptions of   
one time there speaks a feeling for all2
  and the representation may be         
immortal1 when the thing represented has
  long been historical4 ,nor is it that 
it only reflects honor on its  author's 
name4 ,it springs from an inner harmony 
with the very heart of  things1 and it  
gives a new expressiveness to life and  
nature1 and  leaves behind a            
self-luminous spot in the world1 where  
there was  gross darkness before4 ,hence
 it looks into the eyes1 and finds the  
soul of one generation after another2   
and1 amid the change of  materials and  

the succession of schools1 keeps alive  
the very sense by  which alone materials
 can be wielded and schools exist4 ,with
 just  the same result do the accidental
 and temporary media fall away from     
early ,christianity2 disengaging a      
residuary spirit that takes up the  life
 of all times1 touches a consciousness  
else unreached1 and  breathes upon the  
face of things1 till the meanings writ  
there with  invisible ink come into     
clearness before the eye4 ,if it pleases
 ,god1  instead of spreading at our feet
 the things to be seen1 rather to       
quicken our vision till we see them     
where they are1 it is revelation  all   
the same1 only deeper and more various2 
not an incident of  position1 but a     
power that can migrate in place and     
time1 and read the  ,providential       
perspective everywhere4 ,this profounder
 insight into  divine relations it has  
been the especial office of ,st4 ,paul  
to  awaken2 and none the less that the  
flashes by which he gives it are        

incidental1 and do not proceed from the 
,rabbinic lamp which he holds  up to his
 apocalyptic pictures4 ,indeed1 it is   
he1 in great measure1  that has carried 
,christendom into regions other than his
 own4 ,his  thought is everywhere       
penetrated with an intense heat1        
leavened with  lightning1 that fuses the
 mass containing it1 and runs off alive 
for  other media to hold it4 ,the       
revelation to him of ,christ in heaven  
set  in action all the resources of his 
nature1 and gave them a  preternatural  
tension4 ,the sentiments which found    
satisfaction1 the  intimations which    
came into expression1 in his form of    
doctrine1 are  now for ever human1 fixed
 in the self-knowledge of men by his    
faithful words1 and sure to transmigrate
 into other forms1 when their  first    
embodiment will hold them no more4 ,and 
so much is the ,apostle's  later        
exposition of his hope divested of what 
is special to himself1  that to all ages
 since it has struck upon the ear of    

mourners along  with the very toll of   
the funeral bell2 and though often      
indistinct to  their mind1 it has jarred
 with no falsehood on their heart1 but  
sounded like an anthem in the           
dark1--great music and dim words4 ,it   
needed only time and events to transmute
 the doctrine into that of a  future    
life4 ,for it included--in order to meet
 the case of those who  had fallen      
asleep--the conception of a path1       
through death before  the time1 to      
depart and be with ,christ2 only that   
this was the minor  provision1 the      
by-path of the early few4 ,reopened1    
however1 as it  always was when a       
disciple passed away1 it became an      
evermore familiar  track2 and experience
 had but to negative the opposite       
direction by  leaving it untraced1 in   
order that the upward track should      
become the  via sacra of human faith4   
,and can any one doubt what the         
justification by faith means1 when      
construed into the language of          

universal experience8 ,it means that    
,god wants more from us1 and also  less1
 than the anxious will can do2 more1    
because he wants ourselves2  less1      
because he does not want our niceties of
 work4 ,it means that we  are called to 
spiritual heights we strive in vain to  
climb2 that the  most patient feet1 step
 after step upon the ground1 will but   
stand  upon the earthly mountains after 
all2 and it is the fiery chariot of     
love and trust that must bear us into   
heaven4 ,it means that there is  an     
affectionateness in ,god that looks to  
what we are1 rather than what  we do1   
and more readily speaks to us of        
communion than of obedience4  ,true1    
this is but another way of saying what  
our religion elsewhere  more ethically  
expresses1 that ,god requires our       
perfect service1 and  yet has           
forgiveness for what is imperfect4 ,but 
this statement1 though  it means also   
that heaven is open to the pure1 intent1
 and single  heart1 touches a spring    

less deep and strong4 ,it divides the   
integral  and living fact1 even in      
regard to ,god1 by describing it as a   
demand  of the whole1 and then a        
subtraction of a part2 and so exhibiting
 it  rather as a dissolution of justice1
 than as truth and wholeness of  love4  
,and the ,pauline doctrine appeals with 
far more immediate power  to human      
consciousness1 especially to that third 
of mankind whom a  fervid enthusiastic  
mind renders little accessible to the   
cold  solemnities of duty4 ,and1        
finally1 if we are insensible to the    
grandeur of ,st4 ,paul's teaching as to 
the universality of the ,gospel1  it is 
not more because it is entangled with   
the question of ,jew and  ,gentile1 than
 because the sentiment has become the   
common atmosphere  of ,christendom1 and 
we feel not its freshness1 because it   
blows not on  us as a breeze1 but only  
as our breath of life4 ,let ,mr4 ,jowett
  remove from us the spell of our       
indifference4    ,let us turn aside for 

a moment to consider how great this     
thought was  in that age and country2 a 
thought which the wisest of men had     
never  before uttered1 which even at the
 present hour we imperfectly realize1   
which is still leavening the world1 and 
shall do so until the whole is          
leavened1 and the differences of races1 
of nations1 of castes1 of  religions1 of
 languages1 are fully done away4        
,nothing could seem a  less natural or  
obvious lesson in the then state of the 
world2 nothing  could be more at        
variance with experience1 or more       
difficult to carry  out into practice4  
,even to us it is hard to imagine that  
the islander  of the ,south ,seas1 the  
pariah of ,india1 the ,african in his   
worst  estate1 is equally with ourselves
 ,god's creature4 ,but in the age of    
,st4 ,paul1 how great must have been the
 difficulty of conceiving  barbarian and
 ,scythian1 bond and free1--all colors1 
forms1 races1 and  languages1--alike and
 equal in the presence of ,god who made 

them6 ,the  origin of the human race was
 veiled in a deeper mystery to the      
ancient  world1 and the lines which     
separated mankind were harder and       
stronger2  yet the 'love of ,christ     
constraining' bound together in its     
cords  those most separated by time or  
distance2 those who were the types of   
the most extreme differences of which   
the human race is capable4    ,the      
thought of this brotherhood of all      
mankind1 the great family on  earth1 not
 only implies that all men have certain 
rights and claims at  our hands2 it is  
also a thought of peace and comfort4    
,first1 it leads  us to rest in ,god1   
not as selecting us because he had a    
favor unto us1  but as infinitely just  
to all mankind4 ,to think of ourselves1 
or our  ,church1 or our age1 as the     
particular exceptions of his mercy1 is  
not  a thought of comfort1 but of       
perplexity4 ,secondly1 it links our     
fortunes with those of men in general1  
and gives us the same support  in       

reference to our eternal destiny1 that  
we receive from each other  in a narrow 
sphere in the concerns of daily life4   
,thirdly1 it relieves  us from all      
anxiety about the condition of other    
men1 of friends  departed1 of those     
ignorant of the ,gospel1 of those of a  
different  form of faith from our own1  
knowing that ,god1 who has thus far     
lifted  up the veil1 'will justify the  
circumcision through faith1 and the     
uncircumcision by faith'2 the ,jew who  
fulfils the law1 and the ,gentile  who  
does by nature the things contained in  
the law4--,vol4 ,,ii4 p4 #abf4    ,what 
the doctrine of universality in the     
,divine government was to that  age1--as
 new and transporting1--is in our own   
the clear perception of  the moral      
nature of ,god1 and of his infinite     
truth and justice4 ,this  is one of the 
many deep sayings1 sad and wise1 quietly
 dropped by our  author in a series of  
disquisitions1 that show1 among other   
things1  how well he understands its    

scope4 ,everywhere his care is to       
disengage  ,christianity from the       
theological conceptions fastened on it  
by a  coarser age2 and1 having restored 
the purity of its moral vision1 to      
enlarge its horizon to the whole extent 
of modern knowledge and  experience4    
,penetrating beneath the figures natural
 to ,st4 ,paul1 the  very changes of    
which show them to be figures1 he finds 
that nothing  can be more abhorrent from
 the ,apostle's thought than the        
doctrine of  satisfaction1 which is     
hunted down1 in every form1 with        
exhaustive  and indignant logic2 that   
even the analogy of sacrifice rather    
shows  us what the death of ,christ was 
not1 than what it was2 and that to  draw
 us into union with ,christ1 to fix our 
eye on his pure  self-renunciation as   
the greatest moral act ever done in this
 world1  to keep us in a mood that      
harmonizes our trust in ,god with our   
distrust of ourselves1 and to suggest   
more than it can explain of hope  and   

peace to a reconciled world1 are the    
real functions1 as of his  death1 so of 
all the stages of his existence4 ,this  
pure type of faith  emerges1 we venture 
to affirm1 without straining the rights 
of the  interpreter4 ,the rest and      
freedom it gives to the mind is         
singularly  evident in the fine essay on
 ,natural ,religion4 ,the author sets   
forth  from the ,christian centre1 and1 
consciously marking where he passes  the
 boundary of the apostolic view1 surveys
 and brings to its  religious place the 
whole outlying realm of nature1 history1
 and life1  that was unknown to         
,scripture1 but is fact to us4 ,the     
great ,gentile  religions1 now          
discriminated and interpreted1 and      
ascertained to  follow certain laws of  
development2 the breadth in             
philosophies1 purer  and brighter as    
history passed on2 the ,natural         
,religion1 which is the  counterpart of 
these in ,christian times1 and holds its
 place by the  side of revelation2 and  

the ordinary state of character in      
morally  good but unspiritual persons1  
7state of nature rather than of         
grace17--are reviewed and estimated with
 a breadth of observation  and a        
delicacy of reflection singularly       
impressive4 ,indeed1 the  literature of 
religious philosophy affords few nobler 
productions than  this essay4 ,with how 
true a hand and bright a touch is the   
following  picture drawn6 ,we will but  
hang it up in our reader's imagination1 
and  leave him to commune with it alone4
    ,it is impossible not to observe    
that innumerable persons1--may we not   
say the majority of mankind8--who have a
 belief in ,god and immortality1  have  
nevertheless hardly any consciousness of
 the peculiar doctrines of  the ,gospel4
 ,they seem to live aloof from them in  
the routine of business  or of pleasure1
 'the common life of all men1' not      
without a sense of  right1 and a rule of
 truth and honesty1 yet insensible to   
what our  ,saviour meant by taking up   

the cross and following him1 or what    
,st4 ,paul  meant by 'being one with    
,christ4' ,they die without any great   
fear or  lively hope2 to the last more  
interested about the least concerns of  
this world than about the greatest of   
another4 ,they have never in their      
whole lives experienced the love of     
,god1 or the sense of sin1 or the  need 
of forgiveness4 ,often they are         
remarkable for the purity of their      
morals2 many of them have strong and    
disinterested attachments1 and  quick   
human sympathies2 sometimes a stoical   
feeling of uprightness1 or a  peculiar  
sensitiveness to dishonor4 ,it would be 
a mistake to say they  are without      
religion4 ,they join in its public acts2
 they are offended at  profaneness or   
impiety2 they are thankful for the      
blessings of life1 and  do not rebel    
against its misfortunes4 ,such men meet 
us at every turn4  ,they are those whom 
we know and associate with2 honest in   
their  dealings1 respectable in their   

lives1 decent in their conversation4    
,the  ,scripture speaks to us of two    
classes1 represented by the ,church and 
the  world1 the wheat and the tares1 the
 sheep and the goats1 the friends and   
enemies of ,god4 ,we cannot say in which
 of the two divisions we should  find a 
place for them4    ,the picture is a    
true one1 and1 if we change the light by
 which we look  at it1 may be a         
resemblance of ourselves no less than of
 other men4  ,others will include most  
of us in the same circle in which we are
  including them4 ,what shall we say to 
such a state1 common as it is to  both  
us and them8 ,the fact that we are      
considering is not the evil of  the     
world1 but the neutrality of the world1 
the indifference of the  world1 the     
inertness of the world4 ,there are      
multitudes of men and women  everywhere 
who have no peculiarly ,christian       
feelings1 to whom1 except  for the      
indirect influence of ,christian        
institutions1 the fact that  ,christ    

died on the cross for their sins has    
made no difference2 and who  have1      
nevertheless1 the common sense of truth 
and right almost equally  with true     
,christians4 ,you cannot say of them1   
',there is none that doeth  good2 no1   
not one4' ,the other tone of ,st4 ,paul 
is more suitable3 ',when  the ,gentiles 
that know not the law do by nature the  
things contained in  the law1 these not 
knowing the law are a law unto          
themselves4' ,so of  what we commonly   
term the world1 as opposed to those who 
make a  profession of ,christianity1 we 
must not shrink from saying1 ',when men 
of  the world do by nature whatsoever   
things are honest1 whatsoever things    
are lovely1 whatsoever things are of    
good report1 these1 not being  conscious
 of the grace of ,god1 do by nature what
 can only be done by his  grace4' ,why  
should we make them out worse than they 
are8 ,we must cease  to speak evil of   
them ere they will judge fairly of the  
characters of  religious men4 ,that1    

with so little recognition of ,his      
personal relation  to them1 ,god has not
 cast them off1 is a ground of hope     
rather than of  fear1--of thankfulness1 
not of regret4--,vol4 ,,ii4 p4 #daf4    
,,footnotes3    #eh ,acts xviii4 #bd2   
xix4 #g4    #ei ,acts vii4 #dd-di4      
#fj ,acts viii4 #a4    #fa ,see         
especially the ,notes on ,paley's ,hor  
,paulin1 ,vol4 ,i4 pp4  #cdi1 #beb4 ,we 
subjoin in this connection a just and   
striking remark of  ,mr4 ,jowett's4 ,in 
inquiries of this sort1 it is often     
supposed that1 if  the evidence of the  
genuineness of a single book of         
,scripture be  weakened1 or the credit  
of a single chapter shaken1 a deep and  
irreparable injury is inflicted on      
,christian truth1 and may afford a  rest
 to the mind to consider that1 if but   
one discourse of ,christ1 one  ,epistle 
of ,paul1 had come down to us1 still    
more than half would have  been         
preserved4 ,coleridge has remarked1 that
 out of a single play of  ,shakespeare  

the whole of ,english literature might  
be restored4 ,much  more true is it that
 in short portions or single verses of  
,scripture  the whole spirit of         
,christianity is contained4 ,vol4 ,i4 p4
 #ceb4    #fb ,was it in reference to   
this mere family-title to a spiritual   
authority that ,paul says of the        
,jerusalem ,apostles1 ,whatever they    
were1 it maketh no matter to me2 ,god   
accepteth no man's person8  7,gal4 iii4 
#f47    #fc ,ap4 ,euseb4 ,hist4 ,eccles4
 ,,ii4 #bc4    #fd ,in proof of an      
essential unity of teaching1 ,mr4       
,jowett quotes  ,paul as declaring that 
what they preached against him was not  
another gospel1 for there was not1 could
 not1 be another4 7,i4  #cdj47 ,but far 
from bearing this conciliatory turn1    
which is out of  character with the     
whole context1 ,gal4 i4 #f affirms that 
what his  opponents have been preaching 
is 7#a47 another gospel2 and yet 7#b47  
not another gospel1 7not so good even as
 that17 but mere disturbance  and       

perversion1 the negation of a gospel4   
#fe ,compare also ,rom4 xiv4 #aj2 ,phil4
 i4 #f2 #b ,tim4 iv4 #a4 ,nay1 the  very
 passage in which he renounces the      
knowing of ,christ according to  the    
flesh1 contains the doctrine 7#b ,cor4  
v4 #aj74    #ff ,with a curious         
inconsistency ,mr4 ,stanley fixes at the
 ,apostle's  conversion the date after  
which he would no longer know ,christ   
according to the flesh2 yet in the very 
next note declares1 that this  state of 
mind must be referred to a more recent  
period than the  conversion4      1 from
 the time of my conversion4 ,it is to be
 presumed  that this is also ,mr4       
,stanley's interpretation of the   of   
the next clause1 which only repeats     
specifically of ,christ what has  just  
been said universally4         1 even   
though ,i have known2 granting  that ,i 
have known4 1 i4 e4  1 henceforth we    
know  him no longer4444 ,the words lead 
us to infer that something of this kind 
had once been prior1 surely1 to the     

henceforth his own state of  mind1 not  
only in the time before his conversion1 
444 but since6    ,how then can the     
henceforth serve as the terminus a quo1 
if the  same state lies on both sides of
 it8    #fg ,jowett1 ,,ii4 #adb4        
,,sin3 ,,what ,,it ,,is1 ,,what ,,it    
,,is ,,not4        ,now the end of the  
commandment is ,charity1 out of a pure  
heart1 and      of a good conscience1   
and of faith unfeigned4--#a ,timothy i4 
#e4      ,the ,apostle gives us here a  
very simple formula of ,christian       
perfection4  ,he was not fond of long   
lists of the virtues1 such as the moral 
philosophers draw up2 and though he does
 sometimes pass through a  series1 it is
 with a peculiar result4 ,look at any   
book upon human  ethics1 and you are    
astonished at the number of qualities   
that go to  make up a good man3 the     
ramifications of duty seem never to     
terminate3  you scarcely know how a soul
 like ours can hold so much3 the further
 the  author proceeds in his            

enumeration1 the less does he seem able 
to  stop1--his divisions breaking into  
subdivisions1 and the subdivisions      
opening new varieties1--till life       
appears to pulverize itself under his   
definitions1 and become an infinite     
complexity of moral detail4 ,st4        
,paul's enumerations1 on the contrary1  
instead of running down into  multitude1
 run up into unity2 each term is apt to 
be larger than its  predecessor2 he     
seems impatient of scattering his       
exhortations1 as if  each had a business
 of its own1 and rather forces them as  
he proceeds  into denser compression1   
till he flings out some term of power   
that  holds them all4 ,the graces with  
him do not present themselves apart1    
like garden plants that may be tended   
and watered one by one2 but all on  the 
same organism1 as the leaves and the    
blossoms of a single shrub4 ,he  felt   
that in reality the virtues do not add  
themselves up and subscribe  to the     
final result of a holy soul3 but the one

 simple soul lives  itself out into the 
direction of all the virtues2 and there 
is a certain  mood1 a temper1 a climate 
of the soul1 which grows everything     
beautiful  at once1 and without which1  
while one adornment is elaborately      
nursed1  the rest will be apt to droop  
and die4 ,this blessed and productive   
mood1  felt to be one thing1 ought to   
have one name3 and the ,apostle calls   
it ,charity or ,love2 and presents it   
sometimes as the greatest of  graces1   
sometimes as the unity of them all4     
,but this simple grace is to have a     
triple source4 ,in the midst of the     
garden of the ,lord the ,apostle plants 
but a solitary tree of life1--his       
divine and fruitful ,charity4 ,only it  
must be nursed by the threefold  root1  
of which should any part be wanting1 the
 beauty of the form and  the healing of 
the leaves will soon be gone4 ,charity  
out of a pure  heart1--and a good       
conscience1--and faith unfeigned4 ,the  
,heart1 the  ,conscience1 the ,faith1   

must all be right2 and it is no ,pauline
 ,charity  that is not sustained by     
concurrence of them all4 ,and1 observe  
the  order4 ,in the centre1 striking its
 fibres deepest down into the  substance
 of our world1 is the ,conscience1 the  
,moral element of  life2 and on either  
side1 held to their due balance by its  
intermediate  power1 we find the        
,heart1--the fresh human                
affections1--and the  ,faith1--the      
heavenly trust and aspirations1--of our 
nature4 ,tenderness  and pity on the one
 hand1 devotion and hope on the other1  
are to hold on  to the sense of duty in 
the midst2 and there only will a noble  
and  majestic ,love arise1 casting no   
baneful shade upon the earth1 and in its
  branches giving no shelter but to     
birds that sing the songs of heaven4 ,a 
charity1 therefore1 that flows only from
 the genial heart1 that looks  with     
kindly complacency on all things and    
persons1 and with a sort of  animal     
sympathy licks every sore of humanity   

that lies at its  gate2--this is not the
 end of the commandment2--for it has in 
it no  moral1 no religious element3 it  
condemns nothing2 it worships nothing3  
its eye neither flashes in rebuke1 nor  
lifts itself in prayer3 it is  sensitive
 to suffering1 not to sin3 and1 if it   
can but wipe out pain1  will do it even 
upon guilty terms1 and charm away a     
,god-sent remorse as  freely as it would
 an anguish of the innocent4 ,and1 on   
the other hand1 a  charity that flows   
only from the sincerity of faith1 and   
limits itself  to the fellowship of     
belief2 that feels perhaps for many1 but
 only  with a few2 whose warmest        
sympathies are little else than a       
partnership of antipathies2 that        
transfers to the infinite ,god the      
narrowness of its own consecrated       
circle1 reduces the universe to a       
temple of orthodoxy1 and turns the      
,heaven of ,immortals into the          
,may-meeting of a sect2--this also      
misses the end of the commandment3  for 

it abuses the true power of religion    
over life1 and flings in the  branch of 
faith only to embitter1 instead of      
sweeten1 the waters of  natural         
affection2 it blinds and bewilders the  
moral discernment1  overlooks undeniable
 nobleness1 and glorifies not a little  
meanness2  and1 applying its perverted  
admiration to the past as well as the   
present1 crowds the statue-gallery of   
history with ill-favored and            
questionable saints1 whose features have
 so grown to the mould and  pressure of 
a creed1 that they look like casts of an
 abstract theology1  more than emblems  
of a living humanity4 ,take away the    
wisdom of  ,conscience2 and ,charity1   
surrendered to mere affection1 will fail
 to see  sin where it is2 or1           
constricted by ,faith1 will suppose it  
where it  is not4 ,both errors will     
shape themselves into deliberate        
doctrines1  deviating on either side    
from the simple creed of our moral      
nature and  of ,christ4 ,let us look for

 a few moments at the central truth on  
this  matter2 and then glance from it at
 the lateral heresies4    ,the central  
truth may be described under the phrase1
 ,the ,personal  nature of sin4 ,in     
affirming this1 ,i mean both that each  
man is a  person1 and not a thing2 and  
that his sin is his own1 and not        
another's4 ,if there is anything within 
the compass of heaven and earth  which  
we can be said to know from ourselves1  
and to have no need that  another should
 tell us1 it is the nature of sin4      
,there is no  arrogance1--there is only 
sorrowful confession1--in protesting    
that  this is a matter on which we      
cannot be mistaken4 ,it is the nearest  
of  all things to us2 the shadow that   
follows us where we go1 and stays  with 
us when we sit2 the clinging presence   
that penetrates the very  folds of our  
nature1 and is known only from within1  
where its fibres  strike and draw their 
nutriment4 ,no external observer1 though
 he have  the divination of a prophet or

 the glance of an archangel1 can add one
  iota to our insight into this sad     
fact1 unless by sharpening our          
sensibility to feel and interpret it    
better for ourselves2 or by any         
testimony1 any miracle1 take one line   
away of the handwriting of ,god  that   
burns and flashes on the inner walls of 
the soul4 ,here at least our            
apprehensions are first-hand2 and to    
trust them1 to cast out as ,satan  what 
tampers with them or contradicts them1  
is not scepticism1 but  faith1--not     
infidelity1 but faithfulness to the     
ever-living ,word of ,god4  ,what the   
finger of ,heaven has written1 neither  
the tapestries of ancient  theology nor 
the varnish of the newest philosophy can
 permanently hide2  the light is alive1 
and will eat through1 clearing its      
everlasting  warning and consuming our  
perishable work4    ,what then does this
 first and last revelation declare human
 sin to be8  ,in the moments when we    
know it best1--when we cover our face   

because we  can hide our transgression  
no more1--when we cannot bear the placid
  silence of things1 and cry in our     
agony1 ,smite us1 ,o ,lord1 but tell us 
what we have done1--does ,he not answer 
us1 ,you have abused your trust2  ,i    
showed you a better1 and you have taken 
the worse2 ,i drew you by a  secret     
reverence to the nobler1 and you have   
sunk by inclination to the  baser2 ,i   
gave you a will in the image of my own1 
free to realize the  good1 and you have 
yielded yourself captive to the evil2   
therefore have  you a burden now to     
bear1 that none can lift off1--a burden 
which you  will feel it more faithful   
and wholesome to carry than to lose4    
,this is  surely the tone in which the  
voice of ,god's ,holy ,spirit speaks to 
us  when we have grieved it3 and if we  
believe it not1 ,i know not whither we  
should go2 it is the highest oracle of  
truth below the skies1 having  authority
 more positive even than the eye that   
assures us of the sun  above us1 and the

 feet that tell us of the earth beneath4
    ,according to this oracle1 then1 the
 essence of the sin lies in the         
conscious free choice of the worse in   
presence of a better no less  possible4 
,and to make us guilty in its commission
 three conditions  are required2--7#a47 
,our mind must be solicited by at least 
two  competing propensities2 7#b47 ,we  
must be aware that of these one is      
worthy and has a claim upon us1 and the 
other not2 7#c47 ,it must be  left to us
 to determine ourselves to either of    
these1 and we must not  be delivered    
over by foreign causes to the one or to 
the other4 ,take  away any of these     
conditions1 and guilt becomes           
impossible4 ,if the  mind has not the   
option of two propensities1 but is      
possessed of  only one1 that single     
impulse1 being its entire stock and     
constituting  its only possibility1     
affords no scope for good or ill1 and   
leaves the  being a mere creature of    
instinct4 ,or if1 while rival passions  

struggle at his heart1 he knows no      
difference among them1 or only  this1   
that some are pleasanter than others1   
then also he is  blameless1 though he   
takes only what he likes4 ,if1 finally1 
while he  is drawn by conflicting       
tendencies and taught to regard some as 
his  temptations1 and solemnly set in   
the midst to choose1 the whole          
appearance of option turns out a        
semblance and a pretence1 and the       
matter is long ago determined outside of
 him and now only performs the  ceremony
 of passing through him1--then1 as      
before1 he is  irreproachable3 the      
strife within him is the illusion of    
mimic  passions wrestling for a         
dreamer's soul2 and while the tragic    
agony  goes on within1--a dance of      
fiends1 a rescue of angels1--he is      
stretched all the while sleeping on the 
bed of nature1 and cannot wake  but to  
find remorse and responsibility a dream4
    ,accordingly1 whenever we want to   
make excuse for our wrong-doing1 the    

false plea takes the form of a denial of
 one of these conditions4  ,blame me    
not1 we say1 for ,i knew of no other    
course2 or1 ,i did  not think it        
signified which ,i did2 or1 ,i saw it   
all1 but ,i could  not help it4 ,often  
the gnawings of self-reproach are felt  
upon the  heart at the very instant that
 these excuses escape the lips4 ,but    
sometimes they are the suggestions of   
sincere self-deception1 and  proceed    
from men who are their own dupes2 and   
whenever this is the  case1 the sense of
 responsibility is entirely dissipated2 
remorse is  extinguished2 the confession
 of guilt is turned into complaint of a 
misfortune2 and the offender considers  
himself rather as the injured  of nature
 than the insurgent against ,god4 ,these
 excuses then must be  wholly excluded1 
if the sanctity of the moral life is to 
be preserved4  ,they are the various    
forms under which the personal nature of
 sin may  be denied4 ,they all assert   
that the person either did not contain  

within him the requisite conditions1 or 
was hemmed in by natural  preventives1  
of true obligation4 ,whoever offers us  
such pleas is  justly regarded as       
self-condemned1 and indeed as presenting
 a sadder  spectacle in his defence than
 in his transgression4 ,nor are they    
improved in their character when they   
are expanded from excuses of            
individuals into doctrines of churches2 
for they explain away the  essence of   
sin1 and leave us without intelligible  
faith in anything  holy in heaven or on 
earth4 ,thus3--    ,whoever maintains   
that the human heart is invariably      
wicked1 and can  think no thought and   
prompt no act1 except such as are odious
 to ,god1  mistakes the whole nature of 
moral obligation1 and virtually excludes
  it from the entire system of things4  
,confront this assertion with the  facts
 of life1 and ask what it really means4 
,do you mean1 ,i would say  to its      
defender1 that1 whenever two principles 
contend for the mastery  in a man's     

mind1 he always abandons himself to the 
lower8--that no  one1 in short1 was ever
 known to resist a temptation8 ,such a  
position  is surely too bold for the    
paradox of cynicism itself1 in a world  
where there are many in want that do not
 steal1 and in suffering that  do not   
complain2 where a ,pericles could       
administer the revenues of a  state1 yet
 die without having added to his little 
patrimony2 and a  ,socrates could live  
pure amid corruption1 and truthful amid 
lies1 and  die the martyr of injustice  
rather than offend his reverence for    
law2  where not a school nor a family   
can be found that has not its annals    
and anecdotes of conscience4 ,you allow1
 therefore1 that victors there  have    
been in many a temptation4 ,did it make 
then no difference to the  sentiments of
 ,god respecting them whether they were 
victors or  vanquished8 ,was it neutral 
to him whether they nobly held their    
post1  or basely betrayed it8 ,then you 
simply deny the holiness of ,god2 for   

you allow the greatest contrasts of     
character on earth1 with no  responsive 
feeling1 no variety of estimate1 in     
heaven2 and make our  human discernment1
 our natural admirations1 more          
susceptible as moral  barometers than   
the ,omniscient ,perception4 ,or will   
you say that1  although men differ in   
moral effort1 and withstand temptation  
in  various degrees1 and the ,infinite  
,eye sees through the whole history     
with unerring exactitude1 yet the entire
 scale of human character lies  below   
the point of ,divine acceptableness1 and
 in the view of perfect  purity is      
equivalent to mere variety of guilt8    
,then do you deny again1  only with a   
change of form1 the personal nature of  
sin2 for you try  the soul by the law of
 another nature1 and not her own1--by a 
law  beyond her ken or beyond her power2
 and while she is striving to be        
faithful to her best thought against the
 seductions of the worse1--in  which    
alone the essence of all goodness       

dwells1--you tell her that her  ,god    
despises a conflict so far down1 and    
that this people that  knoweth not his  
law1 however true to their own1 is      
cursed4 ,what is  this but to make      
,moral ,excellence something quite      
different in heaven  and on earth8--not 
veracity1 not justice1 not purity of    
thought1 not  self-sacrificing love2    
nothing that here makes our hearts burn 
within  us as we look at the dear face  
of long-tried friends or saintly        
strangers1 or leaving the ,jerusalem of 
the noisy present pace the  quiet road  
of history1 talking by the way with the 
saviours of nations  and the prophets of
 a world2--not this1 but some hidden    
charm that  finds neither place nor     
answer in our souls2 so that the ,god   
who loves  it leaves us herein without a
 point of sympathy with him1 or a       
possibility of approach4 ,in that case1 
he is a ,being without moral            
perfection2 for1 however you may apply  
to him a circle of holy  names1 the     

things you denote by them are a set of  
unknown quantities  bearing no relation 
to our types of thought4 ,or1 finally1  
do you  allege that the distinctions of 
character are not entirely different  in
 heaven and on earth2 only that through 
all their varieties in the  natural man 
there is interfused a certain invariable
 taint1 an  irremovable tinge of        
guilt1--a stain of self1 a thought of   
pride1  a want of faith8 ,even were it  
so1 still1 if this be the constant      
coloring of the soul1 pervading it by   
nature and not personally  incurred1 it 
is but a sad condition under which it is
 given us to work  out our problem1 and 
not any unfaithfulness in dealing with  
it as it  comes3 it is an inherent      
incapacity1 which1 however unlike the   
beauty  of ,god's holiness1 he can no   
more regard with penal disapproval1 than
  he can hate the deformed or persecute 
the blind4    ,again1 whoever teaches   
that men are1 through and through1 the  
creatures of circumstance1 with no more 

voice as to their character  than as to 
their birth1 but are the predestined    
products of nature1  working partly     
within them and partly without1--no less
 surely insults  all moral convictions1 
and denies the reality of duty4 ,for he 
abolishes entirely the distinction      
between a person and a thing2 and       
conceives of every man as a mere growth 
or development from the  physiology of  
the universe1 no more responsible for   
his place in the  scale of excellence1  
than the plant which1 according to its  
seed and  soil1 becomes the hyssop of   
the wall1 the lily of the field1 or the 
stately cedar of ,lebanon4 ,all moral   
ideas vanish instantly at the  touch of 
this doctrine2 and the solemn language  
on which ,law and  ,conscience have     
stamped their venerable impress1 and    
ruled among the  nations by the grace of
 ,god1 is defaced in the revolutionary  
mint of  fatalism1 and made current with
 the superscription of a pretended      
equality where all are low1 and liberty 

where none is free4 ,it is  quite clear1
 that1 if the soul has no originating   
causality1 but in  every step she takes 
is simply disposed of and bespoken by   
agencies  provided and set in train1    
without any question asked of her1 she  
can  have no duties1 she can win no     
deserts2 she can incur no guilt1  merit 
no punishment2 she is deluded in her    
remorse1 and suffers a  vain torture in 
esteeming herself an alien from ,god4   
,all that  remains is this3 that by     
natural laws there may be pain          
consequent1  and known to be consequent1
 on some of the directions which we may 
take2 and it is at our peril that we    
enter on these paths4 ,but so is  it at 
our peril if we go up in a balloon1 or  
put to sea in a small  boat to save a   
drowning crew4 ,you can get nothing out 
of this  consideration but more or less 
of ,prudence2 hope of happiness1 fear   
of suffering1 can consecrate nothing as 
a ,duty1 but only present it  as        
interest2 and if a man chooses to       

disregard his interest and risk  the    
result1 ,i know not who1 in heaven or   
earth1 can tell him with  authority that
 he has no right to do it1 or can say   
more to him than  that he is a fool in  
his folly4 ,who on these terms could    
cast himself1  in tears of penitence1   
upon the bosom of ,infinite ,mercy1 and 
sob out  his prayer that he might be    
reconciled to ,god8 ,who would ever     
tremble  beneath the lash of a fiery    
reproach1 and own1 as it quivered over  
him1 that there was justice in the      
terror of its look8 ,rather must the    
sinner feel himself the victim of a     
cruel doom2 whom it is as little        
suitable to punish1 as to chastise the  
patient in fever1 or torture  the       
cripple in the street4 ,a doctrine which
 reduces duty to interest1  retribution 
to discipline1 guilt to disease1        
holiness to symmetry and  good health1  
and ,god to the neutral source of all   
things good and  ill2--which frightens  
us with fears we may defy1 but awes us  

with no  authority we can revere2 which 
pities iniquity and smiles on goodness1 
but only in order to patronize          
enjoyment2--whose faith in human nature 
is a reliance on the ultimate docility  
of the wild animal man2 and  whose      
worship of ,god is taken1 like a morning
 walk1 for the sake of  exercise2--is so
 alien from the whole spirit of         
religion1 and such an  affront to the   
first instincts of conscience1 that it  
can only escape  indignant condemnation 
by withdrawing altogether into the      
sphere of  natural history1 and quitting
 as a foreign province the domain--whose
  language it corrupts--of ,morals and  
of ,faith4    ,finally1 those who teach 
that guilt and merit1 with their        
penalties  and rewards1 can be          
transferred1 deny in the directest way  
the  personal nature of ,sin4 ,that men 
should find a foreign remedy for  their 
perpetrated wickedness1 is not less     
shocking than that they  should trace it
 to a foreign source4 ,if they know what

 it is at all1  they feel it to be      
inalienably their own2 which none could 
give them  and which none can take away4
 ,and nothing is more amazing than that 
good ,christians1 who seem truly cast   
down in humiliation1 oppressed  with the
 sense of their short-comings1          
penetrated with the sadness of  baffled 
aspiration1--and who therefore1 one     
would think1 must really  have a        
consciousness of the personality of sin1
 and know how it is  chargeable only on 
their individual will1--can yet obtain  
relief by  flying1 as it is said1 to the
 cross1 and persuading themselves that  
the evil has been stayed and cured by   
transactions wholly outside  themselves1
 and belonging to the history of another
 being4 ,what can  possibly be meant by 
the statement that ,christ has borne the
  punishment1 some eighteen hundred     
years ago1 of your sins and  mine1--of  
people non-existent then1 and therefore 
non-sinful8 ,can the  punishment precede
 the sin8 ,can it be inflicted and gone 

through  before it is even determined   
whether the sin will be perpetrated at  
all8 ,or can merely potential sin1 which
 may never become actual1 be  dealt with
 at ages distant1 and its accounts be   
settled ere it arise8  ,if so1 what is  
the death of ,christ but the provisory  
accumulation of a  fund beforehand1     
ready to be drawn upon as the           
everlasting treasure  of the ,church1   
for the free discharge of guilty debts  
and the release  of divine obligations8 
,and in what respect does this differ   
from the  ,roman ,catholic              
doctrine1--except that the treasure is  
at the  discretion of no chartered      
sacerdotal company1 but is open on more 
popular and looser terms8    ,moral     
relations1 by their very nature1 exclude
 all vicarious agency2  you cannot fall1
 you cannot recover1 by deputy3 the ill 
that haunts  you is the insult you have 
put on the divine spirit in your heart1 
and  it is as if you were alone with    
,god4 ,an interposing medium can as     

little divert the retribution1 as it can
 intercept the complacency of  the      
,infinite and ,holy ,mind4 ,what more   
fearful charge could you bring  against 
any government1 than to say that its    
penalties may be bought  off8 ,a judge  
who accepts the voluntary sufferings of 
innocence in  acquittance of the        
liabilities of guilt1 shocks every      
sentiment of  justice1 and does that    
which the worst judicial caprice would  
never  dare to imitate4 ,a law that does
 not care whether the right persons     
feel its retribution1 provided it gets  
an equivalent suffering  elsewhere1 is  
an affront to the most elementary       
notions of right4 ,and  an offender who 
can welcome his escape by such device1  
permits his  moral perceptions to be    
blinded by personal gratitude1 and is   
content  to profit by a transaction     
which it would fill him with remorse to 
repeat upon his own children4    ,a     
,mediator may do much indeed to         
reconcile my alienated mind to ,god4    

,he may personally rise before me with a
 purity and greatness so unique  as to  
give me faith in diviner things than ,i 
had known before1 and by  his higher    
image turn my eye towards the ,highest  
of all4 ,he may show  me how1 in the    
sublimest natures1 sanctity and         
tenderness ever blend1  and so touch the
 springs of inward reverence that1 in my
 returning  sympathy with goodness1 all 
abject and deterring fears are swept    
away4  ,he may direct upon me1 from the 
hall of trial or the cross of           
self-sacrifice1 the loving look that    
prostrates the impulses of  passion and 
the power of self1 and awakens the      
repentant enthusiasm of  nobler         
affections4 ,he may renew my future2 but
 he cannot change my  past4 ,he may     
sprinkle my immediate soul with the wave
 of regeneration2  but he cannot drown  
the deeds that are gone4 ,from present  
sinfulness  he may recover me2 but the  
perpetrated sins--though he be ,god     
himself in power1 unless he be other    

than ,god in holiness--he cannot        
redeem4 ,these have become realized     
facts2 and none can cut off the  entail 
of their consequences3 whatever the     
,divine ,law has avowedly  annexed to   
them will develop itself from them with 
infallible  certainty4 ,the outward     
sufferings by which ,god has stamped    
into the  nature of things his          
disapprobation of sin1 and made it      
grievous here  and hereafter1 stand     
irrevocably fast1 clinging to guilt as  
shadow to  body1 as effect to cause4    
,this debt of natural penalty is one    
which  must be paid to the utmost       
farthing2 by penitent and impenitent1 by
  the reconciled and the unreconciled   
alike3 miracle cannot cancel1 nor       
mediator discharge it4 ,in this         
sense1--of rescue from the penal laws   
of ,god1--,i know of no remission of    
sins2 nor would ,christians have        
retained so heathenish a notion1 had    
they not frightfully exaggerated1  in   
the first instance1 the retributions of 

,god by making them an  eternal         
vengeance2 and so created a necessity   
for again rescinding  the fierce        
enactments of their fancy1 that hope and
 return might not  be quite shut out4   
,it is only in man1 however1 and not in 
,god1 thus to  do and undo4 ,his word1  
whether of warning or of promise1 is    
,yea and  ,amen2 and his great realities
 will march serenely on1 and1 heedless  
of  our passionate deprecations and     
fictitious triumphs1 rebuke our         
unbelief of their veracity4    ,but     
while the past can never be as though it
 were not1 the present may  lie in the  
shelter of reconciliation1 and the      
future in the light of  boundless hope4 
,the outer burden we have incurred we   
may still have to  bear2 but once       
brought by ,divine conversion to an     
inner sympathy with  ,god1 and seeing by
 his light rather than our own1 we can  
suffer our  wounds with a patient shame1
 and scarcely feel their anguish more4  
,the  averted face of the ,infinite has 

turned round upon us again2 and the     
pure eyes look into us with a mild and  
loving gaze1 which we can meet  with    
answering glance1 and feel that we are  
at one with the universe  and reconciled
 with ,god4          ,,peace ,,in       
,,division3 ,,the ,,duties ,,of         
,,christians ,,in ,,an ,,age ,,of       
,,controversy4        ,suppose ye that  
,i am come to give peace on earth8 ,i   
tell you1      nay1 but rather          
division4--,luke xii4 #ea4      ,such   
was the account which the ,saviour      
himself gave of a religion whose        
promise was hailed by angels as an      
occasion1 not only of glory to ,god  in 
the highest1 but of peace on earth1 and 
good-will to men4 ,the  contradiction   
between the two passages is so obviously
 merely of a  verbal nature1 that it can
 perplex only the blind interpreter who 
penetrates no further than the letter of
 the sacred volume4 ,i should  only be  
giving utterance to your own spontaneous
 reflections1 my  friends1 were ,i to   

tell you that my text speaks1 not of the
 design1 but  of the consequence1 of the
 dissemination of the ,gospel2 and that 
it  indicates no more than a prophetic  
knowledge on the part of ,christ of  the
 diversities of sentiment and feeling   
which would spring from the  diffusion  
of his religion4 ,this prophetic        
knowledge1 however1 it does  clearly    
indicate2 and this is a fact of no mean 
importance4 ,the  unbeliever objects to 
,christianity1 and the ,roman ,catholic 
to  ,protestantism1 the endless         
catalogue of discordant opinions which  
have  resulted from their prevalence2   
and to both we are furnished with one   
reply4 ,this infinite diversity         
indicates no failure in our system2 it  
is  not an unexpected effect which      
startles and alarms us2 it was foreseen 
by the ,author of our religion1 and     
announced by him as the necessary       
consequence of the genuine preaching of 
his ,apostles4 ,and though he had  this 
evil 7if such it be7 full in view1 he   

did not retreat from the  office he had 
assumed1 nor feel it at variance with   
his deep and tender  philanthropy1 to   
implant among mankind a faith that      
should break up  their united mass into 
a thousand repulsive groups4    ,he must
 then have known that his ,gospel would 
carry with it blessings  which this     
seeming disadvantage would not          
cancel1--blessings far  surpassing the  
evils of division1--a peace which no    
jarrings of  controversy could          
disturb1--a good-will that could triumph
 over the  alienations of party4 ,were  
it my object1 it would be easy to show  
that  the distribution of the ,christian
 world into sects has achieved          
incalculably more good than it has      
inflicted injury2 that the rudest       
conflicts of a militant theology are    
preferable to the hollow peace of       
universal thraldom2 that the fluctuating
 surface of human opinion1  with all its
 restless lights1 is a fairer object    
than its dark and  leaden stagnation2   

that discussion multiplies the chances  
of truth1  diffuses the thirst for      
knowledge1 leads forth reason from the  
mist1  converts prejudice into          
conviction1 and gives to a dead faith a 
moral  and operative power4 ,it would be
 easy to show that our religion1        
especially since it has issued from the 
cloister into the light of  day1 has    
accomplished a vast amount of good1 with
 which no controversy  has been able to 
interfere2 that it has imparted nobler  
sentiments of  duty1 given to conscience
 a more majestic voice1 raised the      
depressed  portions of society2 that it 
has enabled moral refinement to keep    
pace  with the intellectual advancement 
of mankind2 that it has given  modesty  
to the sublimest exercise of reason1 by 
erecting towering and  eternal truths   
beyond whose shadow reason cannot fly4  
,it would be easy  to anticipate the    
time when the benign principles of      
,christianity  shall mellow down the    
ruggedness of party feeling1 and extract

 the  lingering selfishness that poisons
 discussion with its bitterness2  when  
the unrestricted and disinterested love 
of truth shall no longer  be an empty   
fiction2 when the differences between   
mind and mind will  be but so many      
converging paths by which mankind1 with 
one heart and  one speed1 hasten to the 
same goal of certainty4 ,but it is not  
my  object to insist on the advantages  
of controversy1 or to predict its       
future triumphs2 but rather to warn     
against some of its dangers1 and  to    
suggest a few thoughts which may throw  
light on the duties of  ,christians in  
an age so controversial as ours4 ,to me1
 reflecting on  the principles of the   
,association at whose anniversary ,i    
speak1 no  topic seems more appropriate4
 ,our grand uniting principle is1 the   
rejection of all creeds and human       
formularies of faith1 and a simple      
adherence to the sacred volume1 as being
 able1 without comment or               
interpretation1 to make wise unto       

salvation4 ,we think confessions  enough
 have been tried1 and been found        
wanting2 that every such  attempt to    
produce uniformity is utterly           
chimerical1 and an impotent  rebellion  
against the laws of the human mind4     
,believing then that  unanimity is one  
of the weakest dreams of the visionary  
and the  fanatic1 we expect to see      
diversity of sentiment among            
,christians2 we  cannot be surprised1   
and ought not to be displeased1 to see  
the  religious world full of the        
activity of discussion4 ,but since we   
agree  to abandon mankind to their      
divergencies of opinion1 it is          
peculiarly  incumbent on us to consider 
what new moral aspect society assumes1  
when distributed into differing         
denominations1 and what new duties      
arise in an age of doctrinal debate4    
99       99       99       99       99  
,i4 ,it is the duty of ,christians to   
remember how many are their points  of  
union4    ,is our religion1 my friends1 

a matter of the intellect only1--a mere 
mine of inexhaustible speculation8 ,i   
grant that it is in perfect  unison with
 the dictates of enlightened reason1 and
 that it  administers the noblest       
stimulus and worthiest employment to the
  faculties of the mind4 ,but are not   
its ultimate dealings with the          
affections8 ,does it not present to us  
new objects of love1 new scenes  of     
hope1 a new system of desires8 ,does it 
not unlock the springs of  human        
feeling1 and pour the full tide of      
emotion upon the soul8 ,what  else can  
so melt in penitence1 so solemnize with 
awe1 so prostrate in  fear1 so enkindle 
with joy8 ,what else can impart such    
majestic power  to human will to trample
 in the dust peril and anguish and      
temptation1 to conquer the solicitations
 of self-love1 and pursue with  meek    
inflexibility deserted and solitary ways
 of duty8 ,for the  greatest triumphs of
 our faith we must go where it is       
matched with the  passions of the heart1

 the impulses of unregulated nature1 and
 see how  it prunes their exuberance1   
enriches their sterility1 purifies their
  pollutions1 expands their littleness1 
refines their ruggedness4 ,now  these   
influences are common to every form of  
,christianity2 its appeals  to the      
affections are not uttered in the       
vocabulary of sectarianism1  but in the 
universal language of the human heart4  
,some may prefer to  deck the form of   
our religion in the gorgeous colors of  
an imposing  ritual2 some may throw     
round it the ample folds of mystery2    
others may  love rather the grace of its
 primitive simplicity2 but beneath all  
these varieties the same living figure  
breathes1 the same radiant  features    
smile4 ,where is the system of          
,christianity that does not  present to 
our affections an ,infinite ,being1 who 
has shadowed forth  his invisible       
glories in the splendors of the         
universe1 who rolls the  silent wheels  
of time1 whose presence1 felt in other  

worlds1 is  secretly shed around each   
human home1 who traces the tear of grief
 and  lights up the smile of peace1 who 
has an eye on every heart1 and  carries 
on his parental discipline in scenes    
beyond our vision and  without an end8  
,where is the system of ,christianity   
which does not  lead us to the ,saviour 
as the image of the invisible ,god1 as  
the  bright reflection of his character1
 and the noblest assurance of his       
love1--which does not trace to ,jesus   
innumerable moral blessings1 and  call  
us to reverence him for guidance amid   
the intricacies of duty1  for light in  
the chamber of grief1 for power of      
endurance amid the  struggles of        
suffering nature1 and prospects of      
attractive grandeur  beyond the grave8  
,where is the system of ,christianity   
which does not  cast upon this state the
 shadow of an eternal tribunal1--which  
does  not associate with sin the horrors
 of the outer darkness1 and impart  an  
infinite value to every pure tendency of

 the soul1 by inviting  virtue to a     
never-ending progression replete with   
ineffable joy8 ,what  ,christian has not
 enshrined in his memory and his        
admiration the most  beautiful and      
touching portions of the volume of our  
faith8 ,is there  a ,christian parent   
that can read the invitation of the     
benevolent  ,jesus1 ,suffer little      
children to come unto me1 and forbid    
them not1  without a heart of love to   
the ,heavenly ,teacher1 without a       
purified  conception of that kingdom    
which infantine docility alone can      
enter1  without an uplifting of prayer  
that no rude world may ever brush from  
the mind of his child the morning dews  
of his innocence8 ,is there a           
,christian sister that has not blessed  
the ,divine ,teacher1 who1 himself      
touched by the sorrows that he quelled1 
restored the lost ,lazarus to  his      
weeping and defenceless home8 ,is there 
a ,christian mother who has  not        
lingered with the bereaved ,mary around 

the cross1 wondered at her  awful       
sorrows1 and thought how in the watches 
of the night memory  would bring back   
upon her ear that last appeal1 ,woman1  
behold thy  son8 ,the tears which flow  
at passages like these1 the admiration  
with  which they burden the heart1 the  
images of moral loveliness with which   
they fill the imagination1 are not the  
exclusive possession of any  sect2 they 
are the unrestricted boon of ,god to the
 human soul4 ,in  private1 then1 we all 
ponder the same book1 gather from it the
 same  refreshing influence1 the same   
impressions of duty1 the same impulses  
to prayer4 ,and on our ,christian       
,sabbath1 while we tread the threshold  
of differing temples1 are they not all  
dedicated to ,him who dwelleth  not in  
temples made with hands1 and regardeth  
not their trivial  distinctions8 ,while 
the worshipping multitudes utter a      
various  language and ill-harmonizing   
thoughts1 are they not addressing a     
,being  to whom language is but a       

breath1 and human thought but like an   
infant's dream1 and who looks only to   
that heart of love that animates  them  
both8 ,it is an exhilarating thought1   
that though on that sacred  day         
,christians may be separated by land and
 seas1 gathered around  myriads of      
sanctuaries1 and speaking in a thousand 
tongues1 their  praises blend like      
kindred fires as they rise1 and burst   
into the  courts of ,god1 one brilliant 
flame of incense from the universal     
shrine of the human heart4    ,these1 my
 fellow-,christians1 are thoughts which 
we should cherish1 to  convince us how  
much1 amid all our diversities1 we have 
in common2 to  show us that the best1   
the living portion of our faith1 is     
others' as  well as our own2 and to     
soften those strange animosities that   
embitter  our weak tempers1 and enfeeble
 the heavenly ties that encircle the    
whole family of ,god4 ,if there be any  
truth in the remark of a  philosopher1  
that the essence of friendship is to    

have the same  desires and aversions1   
how much ground have all ,christians for
 mutual  love6 ,widely as their         
speculations may diverge1 the great     
concern of  all is with ,god1 the       
,infinite ,father2 with ,christ1 the    
commissioned  prophet1 the merciful     
redeemer1 the inspired teacher1 the     
perfect  model1 the heavenly guide2 with
 eternity1 the seat of our deepest and  
most permanent interests1 the receptacle
 of our lost friends1 the  grave of     
virtuous sorrow1 the home of the tossed 
and faithful spirit4  ,no one can live  
habitually under the influence of these 
grand and  affecting objects1 and turn  
from them to condescend to the          
littleness  of a polemical temper4 ,they
 will impart their own greatness to his 
soul1 and give him that best of         
powers1--the power over himself4 ,such  
a one may use the pen of controversy    
without fear4           99       99     
99       99       99    ,,ii4 ,but ,i   
confess that the contemplation of these 

points of union  would impart little    
peace to our minds1 or serenity to our  
tempers1 if  at the same time we        
believed that the differences of our    
faith would  follow us into the eternal 
future1 and determine our condition     
there4  ,i therefore observe1 in the    
second place1 that1 amid all our        
controversies1 it is of moment that we  
should remember the moral  innocence of 
mental error4 ,this principle1 my       
friends1 seems to me to  be intimately  
connected with our right of private     
judgment4 ,we might  claim for men the  
privilege of free investigation1 and    
affix no  temporal rewards or           
punishments to any system2 yet this     
would be but a  worthless boon1 if we   
upheld over any creed the penal menace  
of  eternity4 ,we should thus only      
transfer the bribe from men's interests 
to their fears2 we should push our      
exclusion from earth1 only to give  it a
 vaster theatre in heaven4 ,as many     
,christians1 not otherwise  disposed to 

be narrow in their spirit1 have some    
lingering doubts  respecting this       
primary principle of ,christian charity1
 suffer me to  say a few words with a   
view to establish the perfect innocence 
of  mental error4 ,the exclusionist     
rests the burden of his argument on one 
text1 which1 unhappily for ,christian   
love1 has been left somewhat  elliptical
 in its expression4 ,he that believeth  
and is baptized1  shall be saved2 he    
that believeth not1 shall be damned4    
,believeth  what8 ,transubstantiation1  
says the ,catholic2 miraculous          
conversion1  says the ,wesleyan2 the    
vicarious atonement1 replies the        
,calvinist2 the  ,trinity1 says the     
,athanasian ,creed4 ,every one has an   
anathema for the  opponent of his       
favorite tenet2 and the still1 small    
voice of charity  is swept away by the  
conflicting winds of controversy1 and   
dies  unheard4 ,let us see whether our  
,heavenly ,father will not permit us to 
open those gates of mercy which others  

have so sternly closed4    ,it is not   
necessary for our present purpose to    
inquire what are the  salvation and     
condemnation of which the passage in    
question speaks4 ,it  may be conceded   
without injury to our argument1 that    
they have  reference to the destinies of
 a future world4 ,every reader of       
,scripture will acknowledge that the    
unbelief which our ,saviour  menaces1 is
 unbelief in his ,gospel1 as preached by
 his ,apostles1 and  confirmed by       
visible miracles2--it is a rejection of 
,christianity4  ,from this it would seem
 clear1 that no form under which the    
religion  of ,christ is professed1      
however erroneous it may be1 can be     
comprised  within the sentence of       
condemnation4 ,but the argument of the  
exclusionist is this3--,my own system   
is1 in my view1 the only one that  is   
identical with the ,gospel2 therefore ,i
 must believe that those who  reject my 
system are exposed to the penalties     
annexed to the rejection  of the        

,gospel4 ,it is surprising that so many 
should fail to detect the  fallacy of   
this reasoning4 ,compare the case which 
our ,saviour is  supposing with that of 
the man who1 in preferring one          
profession of  ,christianity1 rejects   
all others2 and you will find that there
 are two  most momentous points of      
distinction1--the motive of the rejecter
 is  different1 and the thing rejected  
is different4    ,what can be more      
obvious1 than that our ,saviour refers  
to the hearer's  intentional rejection  
of the ,gospel1--a rejection of his own 
,christianity1 not of his neighbor's4   
,when punishment is held forth as  the  
consequence of any act1 is it not always
 implied that the act must  be          
intentional8 ,is it not an understood   
principle of every law1 human  and      
divine1 that a deed of accident and     
inadvertence is exempted from  the      
penalties which1 were it designed1 it   
would deserve8 ,to condemn  for murder  
the man who through mistake should      

administer a poisonous  draught for a   
restorative1 would be as just as to put 
the erring  believer and the wilful     
unbeliever on the same level4 ,to charge
 this  enormous immorality on ,god1     
would be the height of impiety4 ,widely 
as  the professing ,christian may err1  
remote as his faith may be from the     
truth as it is in ,jesus1 his intent is 
to believe2 he yields his  assent1 no   
less heartily than his wiser brother1 to
 the evidence which  ,god has placed    
before him2 he only mistakes what it is 
which that  evidence proves2 he         
reverences1 no less than others1 the    
authority  which ,jesus claims2 but he  
does not discern all the truths which   
that  authority establishes4 ,strange   
would it be1 brethren1 if ,god1 who in  
all other cases looketh at the heart1   
should in this look at the              
understanding only4    ,but perhaps it  
will be urged that the same perversion  
of mind which  ,jesus condemns is       
displayed by the modern inquirer1 who   

does not  discern in the ,gospel the    
great essentials of ,christianity2 that 
his  disbelief in them1 in short1 is not
 wholly involuntary4 ,a few words to    
this objection4    ,i admit that faith  
is a compound result of the will and the
  understanding2 connected indeed most  
obviously with the latter1 but          
determined more remotely by causes      
having their seat in the former4 ,in    
the process of investigation1 the last  
step1 of weighing arguments and  making 
up the mind1 is undoubtedly involuntary4
 ,when the evidence is  once placed     
before the inquirer1 no energy of will  
can repel the  conclusion which is      
forced upon the judgment4 ,when1        
however1 we  perceive that the very same
 reasoning produces different results on
  different persons1 that one man is    
forcibly impressed by an argument  which
 to another appears weak and worthless1 
it becomes necessary to  account for    
these varieties in the effects of       
evidence4 ,and there can  be no doubt   

that the perception of truth is very    
materially influenced  by the moral     
condition of the mind4 ,how powerful are
 the arguments in  favor of the ,gospel 
derived from the moral beauty and       
symmetry of the  system1 from the       
originality and loftiness of our        
,saviour's character1  from the         
adaptation of his religion to the wants 
of the human mind  under all its        
countless varieties6 ,and yet this      
species of evidence  will be wholly     
without effect on those whose minds are 
destitute of  moral sensibility and     
refinement4 ,moreover1 it is notorious  
that the  sanguine are always apt to    
believe what they hope1 the timid what  
they  fear2 and the hopes and fears of  
conscience will exert this influence  on
 belief no less than any other4         
,prejudice which might be conquered1    
indolence which ought to be shaken off1 
passions which blind and  corrupt the   
judgment1 uneasy conscience which       
alienates the desires  from ,god1 all   

these may exercise a powerful moral sway
 over the faith2  and for the influence 
of these every man is certainly         
accountable4    ,but at the same time   
there is no reason to doubt that ,god   
has created  us with intellectual       
differences which are wholly            
involuntary1 and  which must tend to fix
 the determinations of the judgment4    
,there are  some men who1 from their    
earliest years1 seem incapable of       
admitting a  truth without double the   
evidence with which others would be     
satisfied4 ,who then among us is to     
determine what mind is most  correctly  
strung8 ,is the man who admits a        
proposition on one degree of  evidence  
to condemn his brother who requires two8
 ,and is it credible  that ,god will    
accept of none but him whom he has      
himself placed at the  only true point  
in the gradation8 ,impossible6 ,as well 
might we say  that his heaven is closed 
against the insane or the deformed4     
,it appears then1 my friends1 that      

belief flows from causes partly  moral1 
partly intellectual4 ,but can any human 
eye1 ,i ask1 discern in  what proportion
 they are mingled in any one's faith8   
,dare you say of  your differing        
brother1 that he differs from a         
prevailing depravity of  heart1 and not 
from constitutional causes8 ,if not1    
then is there no  human tribunal to     
which opinion may be called4 ,we are not
 forbidden to  love any fellow-creature1
 however remote his views from ours4 ,as
 we  are unable to discover how far     
diversities of sentiment flow from the  
will1 we are bound to treat them all as 
if they were entirely  involuntary1 and 
to leave to the ,searcher of hearts the 
award of  approbation or displeasure4   
,again1 the faith rejected in the case  
which our ,lord condemns1 is not  the   
same that is renounced by the erring    
,christian4 ,what is the  ,christianity1
 the disbelief of which is pronounced by
 ,jesus to be so  dangerous8 ,is it the 
,christianity of ,luther1 of ,calvin1 of

 ,arius1 of  ,wesley8 ,no1 but the      
,christianity of the ,apostles1 which   
they were to  preach to every creature4 
,now in this all professing ,christians 
believe2 and from it they derive those  
views which1 when once severed  from    
their origin and entering the province  
of human reason1 so  rapidly diverge    
from each other4 ,it is in vain to urge 
that all  these systems1 contradictory  
as they are1 cannot coincide with       
revelation2 and that there must1        
therefore1 be some that do not          
constitute ,christianity4 ,the ,gospel  
itself1 considered as a  revelation1    
bears the same relation to all the rival
 creeds whose  credit hangs on its      
authority2 like the beam of the balance1
 which  determines the scale neither    
way4 ,let me not be mistaken1 my        
friends4  ,i mean not to say that all   
systems of ,christian faith are equally 
true1 or equally accordant with the     
sacred writings2 but that their         
relative truth is undetermined by the   

authority of revelation1 and  dependent 
on the correctness of the reasoning by  
which they are  deduced from ,scripture4
 ,all begin with reverencing the        
,gospel2 and  this screens them from our
 ,saviour's condemnation4 ,they then    
employ  themselves in reasoning on the  
sacred writings that lie before them2   
and if they then separate from each     
other1 it is through the same           
fallibility of mind which multiplies    
opinions on other subjects1 and  for    
which assuredly ,god will bring no man  
into judgment4 ,the various  systems of 
,christian faith are but the diverging  
streams which flow  from the fountain of
 living waters3 some may take a         
straighter1 others  a more devious way2 
some may receive a scantier1 others a   
more copious  admixture from a different
 source2 some may roll over a purer1    
others  over a fouler bed2 but all      
contain the healing current which gushed
  from the smitten rock1 and all1 ,i    
doubt not1 are bearing onwards to  meet 

at last in the ocean of eternal rest4   
,why then1 my brethren1 must we be      
handling terrors which it is not  ours  
to distribute1 and sending forth into   
the dark these fearful  guesses at      
judgment8 ,why must our feeble hand be  
playing with the  lightning1 and letting
 loose the hurricane8 ,rather let us    
imitate ,god4  ,does he brand the       
heretic with his curse8 ,does he pour   
the elements in  fury around his        
dwelling8 ,does he set a mark on him1   
that any one  finding him may slay him8 
,see1 the sunshine still smiles upon his
  roof2 the shower still refreshes his  
field2 the charities and hopes of  life 
are still poured upon his heart4 ,and   
cannot we cheer with our  human love the
 creature whom our ,father disdaineth   
not to bless8 ,are  we so sinless as to 
stand apart in our holiness from the    
being with  whom the ,majesty of heaven 
can condescend to dwell1 whom ,infinite 
,purity stoops to cherish8 ,at least let
 us wait for the disclosure of  those   

secret counsels which we dare to scan4  
,it will be time enough to  hate when   
,god condemns1 to shun when ,god driveth
 away4 ,be assured1 my  brethren1 no    
soul ever perished for too much charity4
 ,be ye therefore  perfect1 as your     
,father in heaven is perfect4           
99       99       99       99       99  
,,iii4 ,it is the duty of every         
,christian in an age of controversy to  
make  an open1 undisguised statement of 
his opinions1 and of the evidence  which
 satisfies him of their truth4 ,how     
seldom do you see that union of  courage
 and charity which the spirit of the    
,gospel should impart6 ,here  you find  
one who discovers nothing in the        
religion of his brethren but  errors to 
controvert2 who cannot perceive any     
,christianity beyond the  peculiarities 
of his own creed1 and thinks that all   
the evils of  society are to be traced  
to the opinions of which he has         
discerned the  fallacy4 ,there1 on the  
other hand1 is one who1 without         

perceiving the  difference between      
discussion and wrangling1 entertains a  
foolish dread  of all controversy1 and1 
as if the mutual good-will of mankind   
depended  on their uniformity of faith1 
suppresses his own views1 and melts down
  the distinctions which separate them  
from the views of others4 ,the          
enlightened ,christian will acknowledge 
that both these are in the  extreme4    
,against the exclusive spirit of the    
former the preceding part  of this      
discourse may be a sufficient           
remonstrance2 and ,i will conclude  with
 a few remarks in reference to the      
latter4 ,it must be admitted that  the  
fear of making an open profession of    
faith is a not unnatural fruit  of the  
despotism with which society persecutes 
those who deviate from  its established 
modes of thinking4 ,a vast machinery of 
refined  intimidation is prepared1 to   
awe down every rising spirit that seeks 
to  emerge from the thraldom of         
authorized custom into the glorious     

liberty  of the sons of ,god4 ,the      
charge of singularity1 the smile of     
wonder1 the  sneer of aristocratical    
derision1 the cold recoil of suspicion1 
and the  open upbraidings of bigotry1   
are the keen weapons by which the world 
hastens to assault the conscientious    
openness which it ought to hail and     
venerate4 ,assailed by so many enemies1 
it is little wonder that the weak  and  
timid should fall into that fear of man 
which bringeth a snare2  and that this  
should often lead them to act where they
 should keep  aloof1 and to be passive  
where they should act2 to speak when    
they  should be silent1 and oftener to  
be silent when they should speak2 to    
think within the barriers of established
 rules1 or1 when more  convenient1 not  
to think at all4 ,but however natural   
may be the origin  of this accommodating
 flexibility in the intolerance of      
society1 it  receives no justification  
hence2 it is utterly incompatible with  
that  ,christian simplicity which is    

ever the same to men and to ,god1 which 
unfolds the character to the view in    
harmonious proportion1 and would  scorn 
to appear other than it is4 ,it can     
exist only in the mind that  loves the  
praise of men more than the praise of   
,god4    ,i cannot leave this concluding
 part of my subject1 without remembering
  that ,i am animadverting on a fault   
which has been peculiarly charged  on my
 own sacred profession4 ,the ministers  
of the ,gospel1 it has been  said1 the  
very men who should live under the      
constant eye of ,god1 have  ever        
afforded the most signal examples of the
 fear of man4 ,my  brethren1 ,i confess 
it with shame3 and it is a truth to     
which ,i can  never revert without      
feelings of indignant sorrow4 ,happily  
there have  been many noble exceptions1 
and in this place it is not difficult to
  bring many before the view4 ,but the  
more ,i read the past records of  the   
,church1 and the more ,i study its      
secret history at the present  day1 the 

more painfully strong is my conviction  
that the ministers of  the ,gospel have 
been the most temporizing class of men4 
,they are the  appointed investigators  
of sacred truth1 employed expressly for 
the  purpose of opening the treasuries  
of divine wisdom and knowledge2 and  yet
 from none has society gained fewer     
accessions of truth and light4  ,though 
stationed by their office between heaven
 and earth1 they have  gathered upon    
their souls more influences from below  
than from above2  though ordained to    
declare the whole counsel of ,god1 they 
have more  often studied the taste than 
the wants of their hearers2 though      
encircled in the discharge of their     
duties by an arm almighty to  uphold1   
they too have felt afraid4 ,my beloved  
friends1 ,i know not how  it appears to 
others1 but to me it seems that in the  
whole ,christian  code there is not a   
duty of more clear and paramount        
obligation than  the honest1 simple     
avowal of ,christian truth4 ,the first  

natural  dictate of the mind is to speak
 what it thinks on any subject of deep  
interest and importance2 and ,i am      
persuaded that a man must  sophisticate 
his conscience1 must fill his judgment  
with forced  reasoning and false        
excuses1 before he can come to the      
conclusion that  he had better keep     
truth to himself4 ,do you ask me1 ,what 
is truth8  ,amid the conflicting        
sentiments of mankind1 how is it        
possible with  confidence to take up any
 as exclusively just8 ,i answer1 every  
man's  own convictions to him are truth1
 to him are ,christianity2 and that to  
conceal them is to act the part of the  
wicked and slothful servant  who buried 
his master's talent in the earth4 ,it   
signifies not that men  may obtain      
acceptance with ,god without thinking as
 you think2 ,god  forbid that ,i should 
for a moment doubt that6 ,but do you    
believe that  truth is better for man   
than error8 ,do you believe that they   
are not  both alike to his mental and   

moral condition8 ,if so1 it is          
selfishness1 it is sinful exclusion1 to 
wrap yourself up in the  solitary       
enjoyment of your own convictions4 ,for 
my part1 ,i see nothing  but hypocrisy  
in the elaborate attempts which are     
sometimes put forth1  to make opinions  
look like popular creeds1 by slurring   
over grand  points of distinction1 by   
pushing forward apparent resemblances1  
by a  dexterous use of ambiguous        
phrases1 and other arts equally worthy  
of a  ,christian's scorn4 ,indeed1 my   
fellow-,christians1 we ought never to be
  content till this great principle has 
been established1--that1 in  obeying the
 noble law of ,christian openness and   
sincerity1 it is not  the business of   
the human being to calculate            
consequences at all2  that temporal     
expediency must in no degree enter into 
the  consideration4 ,god is the author  
of truth1 and he will take care of  its 
consequences2 and ,i am well satisfied  
that1 let appearances be  what they may1

 honesty will bring after it nothing but
 good4 ,even  suppose that we should be 
found to be in error3 then1 the sooner  
it is  exposed the better2 and nothing  
is so likely to lead to its exposure  as
 the undisguised publication of its     
evidence4 ,opinion in good men1  it has 
been beautifully remarked1 is but       
knowledge in the making2  and it is by  
sifting the grounds on which opinions   
rest1 by bringing  them into close      
comparison1 and setting many minds to   
work upon them1  that truth is at length
 elicited2 and he is no enlightened     
lover of  truth1 who is an enemy to the 
avowal of opinion4 ,it is to be lamented
  that the world has been so successful 
in circulating the feeling1 even  among 
the well-meaning of mankind1 that there 
can be anything to be  ashamed of in    
opinion2 for hence has arisen an        
association of fear1  and almost of     
conscious guilt1 with one of the noblest
 and first  duties of the mind1 the duty
 of thinking for itself4 ,let the       

inquirer  and the teacher keep their eye
 steadily fixed upon the ,scriptures1   
make it their single object to know and 
to communicate what they  contain2 let  
them utterly forget that there are any  
inspectors of  their conduct1 any       
listeners to their words1 except ,god   
and their own  conscience2 and ,i am    
satisfied that truth and charity will   
spread  together1 and more union be     
produced among the now widely dissevered
  portions of the ,christian world1 than
 any timid mediators1 striving to  be   
all things to all men1 will ever be able
 to effect4 ,the alarmed  reconciler of 
inconsistencies may seem for a while to 
be successful2  he may keep together in 
temporary harmony those dissimilar      
elements  which more fearless spirits   
might separate2 he may persuade men that
  they agree when they are wide as the  
poles asunder2 he may surround  himself 
by numbers1 and multiply the directions 
in which his immediate  influence       
extends4 ,on the other hand1 the        

reformer who cannot conceal1  and who   
dare not pretend1 who interprets most   
strictly the law of  ,christian         
simplicity1 may lose many supporters who
 ought to stand by  him in the hour of  
trial2 he may be looked on with         
suspicion and  avoided as dangerous2 he 
may be the centre at which a thousand   
weapons  are directed2 he may seem to   
have been imprudent and premature1 and  
to  have baffled his own cause by his   
indiscreet openness2 he may go down  to 
the evening termination of his labors1  
accompanied only by a  faithful few1 and
 cheered by no multitude of approving   
voices4 ,but  wait till a generation has
 passed away1 and then come and look    
into  the field occupied by these two   
laborers4 ,then you will find it proved 
that numbers are not always strength2   
when gathered together by the  feeble   
bond of private influence1 they are     
scattered when that  influence is       
withdrawn4 ,the timid man has left no   
permanent trace  behind him2 he has     

inspired no courage1 provided no        
security for the  future1 and the grass 
has grown over the road that leads to   
his  temple4 ,but the man who has not   
feared to tell the whole truth is       
remembered and appealed to by succeeding
 generations2 his name1  pronounced in  
his lifetime with reproach1 becomes a   
familiar term of  encouragement2 his    
thoughts1 his spirit1 long survive him1 
gather  together new and more powerful  
advocates1 and are associated with the  
records of imperishable truth4          
,finally1 the great evil of this        
disposition is1 that it constrains the  
natural action of the mind1 and produces
 a weak vacillation of  character which 
paralyzes every virtuous energy4 ,the   
grand secret of  human power1 my        
friends1 is singleness of purpose2      
before it1 perils1  opposition1 and     
difficulty melt away1 and open out a    
certain pathway  to success4 ,but alas6 
brethren1 our ,christianity has not     
taken from us  the spirit of fear1 and  

given us in its place the spirit of     
power1 and  of love1 and of a sound     
mind4 ,we still put duty to the vote4   
,we shrink  from being singular1 even in
 excellence1 forgetting how many things 
are customs in heaven which are         
eccentricities on earth4 ,we fix our    
eye1 now on the tempting treasures      
below1 then on the half-veiled  glories 
above2 we open our ears1 now to the     
welcome tones of human  praise1 then to 
the accents of ,god's approving voice2  
and in the vain  attempt to reconcile   
opposing claims1 we sacrifice our       
interest in  both worlds4 ,it is        
melancholy to think what a waste of     
human activity  has been occasioned by  
this weakness2 how many purposes which1 
if  concentrated1 might have left deep  
traces of good1 have been applied  in   
opposite directions2 how many           
well-meaning men have laid a  benumbing 
hand of timidity on their own good      
deeds1 and passed through  life without 
leaving one permanent impression of     

their character on  society4 ,it is not 
want of an ample sphere1 it is not      
poverty of  means1 it is not mediocrity 
of talent1 that makes most men so       
inefficient in the world2 it is a want  
of singleness of aim4 ,let them  keep a 
steady eye fixed on the great ends of   
existence2 let them bear  straight      
onwards1 never stepping aside to consult
 the deceitful oracle  of human opinion2
 let them heed no spectators save that  
heavenly cloud  of witnesses that stand 
gazing from above2 let them go forth    
into the  struggles of life armed with  
the assurance1 ,fear not1 for ,i am with
  you2--and each man will be equal to a 
thousand2 all will give way  before him2
 he will scatter renovating principles  
of moral health2 he  will draw forth    
from a multitude of other minds a mighty
 mass of  kindred and once latent       
energy2 and1 having imparted to others  
ennobled conceptions of the purposes of 
life1 will enter the unfolded  gates of 
immortality1 breathing already its      

spirit of sublimity and  joy4 ,brethren1
 how long shall we halt between two     
opinions8    ,,the ,,end4               
,transcriber's ,notes3    ,obvious      
punctuation and spelling errors have    
been fixed throughout4    ,inconsistent 
hyphenation is as in the original4      
,greek text is shown as in the text with
 no accent save harsh breathing4        
,page #aci3 ,inserted a starting double 
quote4 7444 evangelical teacher2        
temple1 sacrifice1 4447    ,footnote    
#bj3 ,added a closing quote4 7444 the   
people's4 ,the argument  4447