,transcriber's ,note4 ,the ,aphorisms on that which is indeed ,spiritual ,religion extend from p4 #ajb to p4 #bda4 ,they are interspersed with other material that is listed in the ,table of ,contents4 ,in addition some of the ,aphorisms are listed separately in the ,table4 ,it has been modified to clarify this4 ,biblical references have been standardised on one of the more common formats1 viz4 #a ,john iv4 #e44 ,the ,erratum has been incorporated in the text4 ,apparent typographical errors have been corrected1 although inconsistencies in hyphenation have been retained4 ,italics are indicated by underscores4 ,greek accents have been omitted though rough-breathing marks have been retained4 ,small capitals have been converted to full capitals4 ,,aids ,,to ,,reflection ,,and ,,the ,,confessions ,,of ,,an ,,inquiring ,,spirit4 ,,by ,,samuel ,,taylor ,,coleridge4 ,,to ,,which ,,are ,,added ,,his ,,essays ,,on ,,faith ,,and ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,common ,,prayer1 ,,etc4 ,,new ,,edition1 ,,revised4 ,,london3 ,,george ,,bell ,,and ,,sons1 ,,york ,,street1 ,,covent ,,garden4 #ahhd4 ,,chiswick ,,press3 ,c4 ,,whittingham ,,and ,,co41 ,,tooks ,,court1 ,,chancery ,,lane4 ,,note ,,to ,,this ,,edition4 ,the present re-print of the ',aids to ,reflection' is mainly from ,mr4 ,h4 ,n4 ,coleridge's1 or the fourth edition4 ,in some points1 however1 the earlier editions1 which have been carefully consulted throughout1 have been followed4 ,dr4 ,marsh's ,preliminary ,essay to the ',aids to ,reflection' is printed from his own second edition1 published with the ',aids' at ,burlington1 ,u4,s41 in #ahdj4 ,coleridge's posthumous ',confessions of an ,inquiring ,spirit' is from ,mr4 ,h4 ,n4 ,coleridge's text1 which was printed from the author's ,,ms4 ,the ',essay on ,faith' and ',notes on the ,book of ,common ,prayer' are re-printed from ,coleridge's ',remains1' as being1 possibly1 parts of the supplementary volume to the ',aids to ,reflection1' which the author contemplated 7vide p4 #beg7 but never published4 ,the ',nightly ,prayer' is also re-printed from ,coleridge's ',remains4' ,,contents4 ,,aids ,,to ,,reflection3 ,,page ,author's ,original ,title-page1 #ahbe ix ,mr4 ,h4 ,n4 ,coleridge's ,advertisement to the ,fourth ,edition xi ,author's ,address to the ,reader xiii ,author's ,preface and ,advertisement xv ,dr4 ,marsh's ,preliminary ,essay xxiii ,introductory ,aphorisms #a ,on ,sensibility #bb ,prudential ,aphorisms #bg ,moral and ,religious ,aphorisms #ce ,elements of ,religious ,philosophy #hh ,aphorisms on ,spiritual ,religion #if ,aphorisms on that which is indeed ,spiritual ,religion #ajb ,on the ,difference in kind of ,reason and the ,understanding 7after ,aphorism ,,viii47 #adc ,on ,instinct in ,connection with the ,understanding 7in ,comment on ,aphorism ,,ix47 #afb ,on ,original ,sin 7,aphorism ,x47 #agb ,paley not a ,moralist 7,aphorism ,,xii47 #aif ,on ,redemption 7in ,comment on ,aphorism ,,xix47 #bbc ,on ,baptism #bdb ,conclusion #beh ,appendix ,a3 ,summary of the ,argument on ,reason and the ,understanding #bgg ,appendix ,b3 ,on ,instinct2 by ,prof4 ,j4 ,h4 ,green #bgh ,,confessions ,,of ,,an ,,inquiring ,,spirit3 ,letters on the ,inspiration of the ,scriptures #bhe ,the ,pentad of ,operative ,christianity #bhh ,questions as to the ,divine ,origin of the ,bible #bhi ,letter ,i4 #bia ,letter ,,ii4 #bif ,letter ,,iii4 #cja ,letter ,,iv4 #cjh ,letter ,v4 #cba ,letter ,,vi4 #cbb ,letter ,,vii4 #ccc ,,essay ,,on ,,faith #cda ,,notes ,,on ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,common ,,prayer #cej ,a ,,nightly ,,prayer #cfj ,,index #cfc ,,original ,,title-,,page1 #ahbe4 ,,aids ,,to ,,reflection ,,in ,,the ,,formation ,,of ,a ,,manly ,,character1 ,,on ,,the ,,several ,,grounds ,,of ,,prudence1 ,,morality1 ,,and ,,religion4 ,,illustrated ,,by ,,select ,,passages ,,from ,,our ,,elder ,,divines1 ,,especially ,,from ,,archbishop ,,leighton4 ,by ,s4 ,t4 ,,coleridge4 ,this makes1 that whatsoever here befalls1 ,you in the region of yourself remain1 ,neighb'ring on ,heaven3 and that no foreign land4 ,,daniel4 ,,advertisement ,,to ,,the ,,fourth ,,edition4 ,,by ,,henry ,,nelson ,,coleridge4 ,this corrected ,edition of the ,aids to ,reflection is commended to ,christian readers1 in the hope and the trust that the power which the book has already exercised over hundreds1 it may1 by ,god's furtherance1 hereafter exercise over thousands4 ,no age1 since ,christianity had a name1 has more pointedly needed the mental discipline taught in this work than that in which we now live2 when1 in the ,author's own words1 all the great ideas or verities of religion seem in danger of being condensed into idols1 or evaporated into metaphors4 ,between the encroachments1 on the one hand1 of those who so magnify means that they practically impeach the supremacy of the ends which those means were meant to subserve2 and of those1 on the other hand1 who1 engrossed in the contemplation of the great ,redemptive ,act1 rashly disregard or depreciate the appointed ordinances of grace2--between those who1 confounding the sensuous ,understanding1 varying in every individual1 with the universal ,reason1 the image of ,god1 the same in all men1 inculcate a so-called faith1 having no demonstrated harmony with the attributes of ,god1 or the essential laws of humanity1 and being sometimes inconsistent with both2 and those again who requiring a logical proof of that which1 though not contradicting1 does in its very kind1 transcend1 our reason1 virtually deny the existence of true faith altogether2--between these almost equal enemies of the truth1 ,coleridge1--in all his works1 but pre-eminently in this--has kindled an inextinguishable beacon of warning and of guidance4 ,in so doing1 he has taken his stand on the sure word of ,scripture1 and is supported by the authority of almost every one of our great divines1 before the prevalence of that system of philosophy1 7,locke's17 which no consistent reasoner can possibly reconcile with the undoubted meaning of the ,articles and ,formularies of the ,english ,church3-- ,in causaque valet1 causamque juvantibus armis4 ,the ,editor had intended to offer to the reader a few words by way of introduction to some of the leading points of philosophy contained in this ,volume4 ,but he has been delighted to find the work already done to his hand1 in a manner superior to anything he could have hoped to accomplish himself1 by an affectionate disciple of ,coleridge on the other side of the ,atlantic4 ,the following ,essay was written by the ,rev4 ,james ,marsh1 ,president of the ,university of ,vermont1 ,united ,states of ,america1 and prefixed by him to his ,edition of the ,aids to ,reflection1 published at ,burlington in #ahbi4 ,the ,editor has printed this ,essay entire2#a--;as well out of respect for its author1 as believing that the few paragraphs in it having a more special reference to the state of opinion in ,america1 will not be altogether without an interest of their own to the attentive observers of the progress of ,truth in this or any other country4 ,lincoln's ,inn1 #beth ,april1 #ahci4 #a ,see pp4 xxiii-lxxvi4 ,mr4 ,h4 ,n4 ,coleridge gave the first edition of ,dr4 ,marsh's ,essay4 ,the reader has in the present volume the essay as it appeared in its second and revised edition1 #ahdj4--;,,ed4 ,,the ,,author',s ,,address ,,to ,,the ,,reader4 ,fellow-,christian6 the wish to be admired as a fine writer held a very subordinate place in my thoughts and feelings in the composition of this volume4 ,let then its comparative merits and demerits1 in respect of style and stimulancy1 possess a proportional weight1 and no more1 in determining your judgment for or against its contents4 ,read it through3 then compare the state of your mind1 with the state in which your mind was1 when you first opened the book4 ,has it led you to reflect8 ,has it supplied or suggested fresh subjects for reflection8 ,has it given you any new information8 ,has it removed any obstacle to a lively conviction of your responsibility as a moral agent8 ,has it solved any difficulties1 which had impeded your faith as a ,christian8 ,lastly1 has it increased your power of thinking connectedly8 ,especially on the ,scheme and purpose of the ,redemption by ,christ8 ,if it have done none of these things1 condemn it aloud as worthless3 and strive to compensate for your own loss of time1 by preventing others from wasting theirs4 ,but if your conscience dictates an affirmative answer to all or any of the preceding questions1 declare this too aloud1 and endeavour to extend my utility4#b #b ,in the place of this ,address the first edition1 #ahbe1 had the ,advertisement which we now print at the end of the ,author's ,preface1 p4 xix4--,,ed4 1 1 1 4 ,,marinus4 ,omnis divin atque human eruditionis elementa tria1 ,nosse1 ,velle1 ,posse2 quorum principium unum ,mens2 cujus oculus ,ratio2 cui lumen 99 99 prbet ,deus4 ,,vico4 ,naturam hominis hanc ,deus ipse voluit1 ut duarum rerum cupidus et appetens esset1 religionis et sapienti4 ,sed homines ideo falluntur1 quod aut religionem suscipiunt omissa sapientia2 aut sapienti soli student omissa religione2 cum alterum sine altero esse non possit verum4 ,,lactantius4 ,,the ,,author',s ,,preface4 ,an ,author has three points to settle3 to what sort his work belongs1 for what description of readers it is intended1 and the specific end1 or object1 which it is to answer4 ,there is indeed a preliminary question respecting the end which the writer himself has in view1 whether the number of purchasers1 or the benefit of the readers4 ,but this may be safely passed by2 since where the book itself or the known principles of the writer do not supersede the question1 there will seldom be sufficient strength of character for good or for evil1 to afford much chance of its being either distinctly put or fairly answered4 ,i shall proceed therefore to state as briefly as possible the intentions of the present volume in reference to the three first-mentioned points1 viz4 ,what8 ,for ,whom8 and ,for what8 ,i4 ,,what8 ,the answer is contained in the title-page4#c ,it belongs to the class of didactic works4 ,consequently1 those who neither wish instruction for themselves1 nor assistance in instructing others1 have no interest in its contents4 ,sis sus1 sis ,divus3 sum caltha1 et non tibi spiro4 ,,ii4 ,,for ,,whom8 ,generally1 for as many in all classes as wish for aid in disciplining their minds to habits of reflection--for all who1 desirous of building up a manly character in the light of distinct consciousness1 are content to study the principles of moral architecture on the several grounds of prudence1 morality1 and religion4 ,and lastly1 for all who feel an interest in the ,position1 ,i have undertaken to defend--this1 namely1 that the ,,christian ,,faith 7in which ,i include every article of belief and doctrine professed by the first ,reformers in common7#d ,,is ,,the ,,perfection ,,of ,,human ,,intelligence1--an interest sufficiently strong to insure a patient attention to the arguments brought in its support4 ,but if ,i am to mention any particular class or description of readers1 that were prominent in my thought during the composition of the volume1 my reply must be2 that it was especially designed for the studious ,young at the close of their education or on their first entrance into the duties of manhood and the rights of self-government4 ,and of these1 again1 in thought and wish ,i destined the work 7the latter and larger portion1 at least7 yet more particularly to ,students intended for the ,ministry2 first1 as in duty bound1 to the members of our two ,universities3 secondly1 7but only in respect of this mental precedency second7 to all alike of whatever name1 who have dedicated their future lives to the cultivation of their race1 as ,pastors1 ,preachers1 ,missionaries1 or ,instructors of ,youth4 ,,iii4 ,,for ,,what8 ,the worth of an author is estimated by the ends1 the attainment of which he proposed to himself by the particular work2 while the value of the work depends on its fitness1 as the ,means4 ,the objects of the present volume are the following1 arranged in the order of their comparative importance4 #a4 ,to direct the reader's attention to the value of the ,science of ,words1 their use and abuse 7see ,note1 p4 #e7 and the incalculable advantages attached to the habit of using them appropriately1 and with a distinct knowledge of their primary1 derivative1 and metaphorical senses4 ,and in furtherance of this ,object ,i have neglected no occasion of enforcing the maxim1 that to expose a sophism and to detect the equivocal or double meaning of a word is1 in the great majority of cases1 one and the same thing4 ,horne ,tooke entitled his celebrated work1 1 ,winged ,words3 or ,language1 not only the ,vehicle of ,thought but the ,wheels4 ,with my convictions and views1 for ,i should substitute 1 that is1 ,words select and determinate1 and for 1 that is1 living ,words4 ,the ,wheels of the ,intellect ,i admit them to be2 but such as ,ezekiel beheld in the visions of ,god as he sate among the captives by the river of ,chebar4 ,whithersoever the ,spirit was to go1 the wheels went1 and thither was their ,spirit to go3 for the ,spirit of the living creature was in the wheels also4 #b4 ,to establish the distinct characters of ,prudence1 ,morality1 and ,religion3 and to impress the conviction1 that though the second requires the first1 and the third contains and supposes both the former2 yet still ,moral ,goodness is other and more than ,prudence1 or the ,principle of ,expediency2 and ,religion more and higher than ,morality4 ,for this distinction the better schools even of ,pagan ,philosophy contended4 7,see pp4 #bj1 #ba47 #c4 ,to substantiate and set forth at large the momentous distinction between ,reason and ,understanding4 ,whatever is achievable by the ,understanding for the purposes of worldly interest1 private or public1 has in the present age been pursued with an activity and a success beyond all former experience1 and to an extent which equally demands my admiration and excites my wonder4 ,but likewise it is1 and long has been1 my conviction1 that in no age since the first dawning of ,science and ,philosophy in this island have the truths1 interests1 and studies that especially belong to the ,reason1 contemplative or practical1 sunk into such utter neglect1 not to say contempt1 as during the last century4 ,it is therefore one main object of this volume to establish the position1 that whoever transfers to the ,understanding the primacy due to the ,reason1 loses the one and spoils the other4 #d4 ,to exhibit a full and consistent ,scheme of the ,christian ,dispensation1 and more largely of all the peculiar doctrines of the ,christian ,faith2 and to answer all the objections to the same1 which do not originate in a corrupt ,will rather than an erring ,judgment2 and to do this in a manner intelligible for all who1 possessing the ordinary advantages of education1 do in good earnest desire to form their religious creed in the light of their own convictions1 and to have a reason for the faith which they profess4 ,there are indeed ,mysteries1 in evidence of which no reasons can be brought4 ,but it has been my endeavour to show1 that the true solution of this problem is1 that these ,mysteries are ,reason1 ,reason in its highest form of ,self-affirmation4 ,such are the special ,objects of these ,aids to ,reflection4 ,concerning the general character of the work1 let me be permitted to add the few following sentences4 ,st4 ,augustine1 in one of his ,sermons1 discoursing on a high point of theology1 tells his auditors--,sic accipite1 ut mereamini intelligere4 ,fides enim debet prcedere intellectum1 ut sit intellectus fidei prmium4 ,now without a certain portion of gratuitous and 7as it were7 experimentative faith in the writer1 a reader will scarcely give that degree of continued attention1 without which no didactic work worth reading can be read to any wise or profitable purpose4 ,in this sense1 therefore1 and to this extent1 every author1 who is competent to the office he has undertaken1 may without arrogance repeat ,st4 ,augustine's words in his own right1 and advance a similar claim on similar grounds4 ,but ,i venture no further than to imitate the sentiment at a humble distance1 by avowing my belief that he who seeks instruction in the following pages1 will not fail to find entertainment likewise2 but that whoever seeks entertainment only will find neither4 ,,reader6--,you have been bred in a land abounding with men1 able in arts1 learning1 and knowledges manifold1 this man in one1 this in another1 few in many1 none in all4 ,but there is one art1 of which every man should be master1 the art of ,,reflection4 ,if you are not a thinking man1 to what purpose are you a man at all8 ,in like manner1 there is one knowledge1 which it is every man's interest and duty to acquire1 namely1 ,,self-,,knowledge3 or to what end was man alone1 of all animals1 endued by the ,creator with the faculty of self-consciousness8 ,truly said the ,pagan moralist1 e clo descendit1 4 ,but you are likewise born in a ,,christian land3 and ,revelation has provided for you new subjects for reflection1 and new treasures of knowledge1 never to be unlocked by him who remains self-ignorant4 ,self-knowledge is the key to this casket2 and by reflection alone can it be obtained4 ,reflect on your own thoughts1 actions1 circumstances1 and--which will be of especial aid to you in forming a habit of reflection1--accustom yourself to reflect on the words you use1 hear1 or read1 their birth1 derivation and history4 ,for if words are not ,,things1 they are ,,living ,,powers1 by which the things of most importance to mankind are actuated1 combined1 and humanized4 ,finally1 by reflection you may draw from the fleeting facts of your worldly trade1 art1 or profession1 a science permanent as your immortal soul2 and make even these subsidiary and preparative to the reception of spiritual truth1 doing as the dyers do1 who having first dipt their silks in colours of less value1 then give them the last tincture of crimson in grain4 ,,advertisement4#e--;,in the bodies of several species of animals there are found certain parts of which neither the office1 the functions1 nor the relations could be ascertained by the ,comparative ,anatomist till he had become acquainted with the state of the animal before birth4 ,something sufficiently like this 7for the purpose of an illustration at least7 applies to the work here offered to the public4 ,in the introductory portion there occur several passages1 which the reader will be puzzled to decipher1 without some information respecting the original design of the volume1 and the changes it has undergone during its immature and embryonic state4 ,on this account only1 ,i think myself bound to make it known1 that the work was begun as a mere selection from the ,writings of ,archbishop ,leighton1 under the usual title of ,the ,beauties of ,archbishop ,leighton1 with a few notes and a biographical preface by the ,selector4 ,hence the term ,editor1 subscribed to the notes1 and prefixed1 alone or conjointly to the ,aphorisms1 according as the passage was written entirely by myself1 or only modified and 7avowedly7 interpolated4#f ,i continued the use of the word on the plea of uniformity2 though1 like most other deviations from propriety of language1 it would1 probably1 have been a wiser choice to have omitted or exchanged it4 ,the various ,reflections1 however1 that pressed on me while ,i was considering the motives for selecting this or that passage2 the desire for enforcing1 and as it were entegrating1 the truths contained in the original author1 by adding those which the words suggested or recalled to my own mind2 the conversations with men of eminence in the literary and religious circles1 occasioned by the objects which ,i had in view2 and1 lastly1 the increasing disproportion of the ,commentary to the ,text1 and the too marked difference in the frame1 character1 and colours of the two styles2 soon induced me to recognize and adopt a revolution in my plan and object1 which had in fact actually taken place without my intention1 and almost unawares4 ,it would indeed be more correct to say1 that the present volume owed its accidental origin to the intention of compiling one of a different description than to speak of it as the same work4 ,it is not a change in the child1 but a changeling4 ,still1 however1 the selections from ,leighton1 which will be found in the ,prudential and ,moral sections of this work1 and which ,i could retain consistently with its present form and matter1 will both from the intrinsic excellence and from the characteristic beauty of the passages1 suffice to answer two prominent purposes of the original plan1 that of placing in a clear light the principle which pervades all ,leighton's writings--his sublime view1 ,i mean1 of ,religion and ,morality as the means of reforming the human ,soul in the ,divine ,image 7,idea72 and that of exciting an interest in the works1 and an affectionate reverence for the name and memory of this severely tried and truly primitive ,churchman4 ,s4 ,t4 ,c4 #c ,coleridge's original title-page1 viz41 that to the #ahbe edition1 is given at p4 ix4 ,that edition bore the imprint of ,taylor and ,hessey1 #ic1 ,fleet ,street1 and #ac1 ,waterloo ,place1 ,pall ,mall4--,,ed4 #d ,this parenthesis was in editions one to three1 but was dropped out of the fourth4--,,ed4 #e ,coleridge's advertisement to the first edition1 #ahbe4 ,it has been omitted since1 until now4--,,ed4 #f ,in the first edition the ,aphorisms were superscribed ,leighton1 c41 when selected1 and ,editor when by ,coleridge himself4 ,some later editions excluded these useful headings4 ,we revert to the author's first plan1 substituting the name ,coleridge for ,editor4--,,ed4 ,,preliminary ,,essay4 ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,,james ,,marsh4#g ,whether the present state of religions feeling1 and the prevailing topics of theological inquiry among us1 are particularly favourable to the success of the ,work herewith offered to the ,public can be determined only by the result4 ,the question1 however1 has not been left unconsidered2 and however that may be1 it is not a work1 the value of which depends essentially upon its relation to the passing controversies of the day4 ,unless ,i distrust my own feelings and convictions altogether1 ,i must suppose1 that for some1 ,i hope for many1 minds1 it will have a deep and enduring interest4 ,of those classes1 for whose use it is more especially designated in the ,author's ,preface1 ,i trust there are many also in this country1 who will justly appreciate the objects at which it aims1 and avail themselves of its instruction and assistance4 ,i could wish it might be received1 by all who concern themselves in religious inquiries and instruction especially1 in the spirit which seems to me to have animated its great and admirable author2 and ,i hesitate not to say1 that to all of every class1 who shall so receive it1 and peruse it with the attention and thoughtfulness1 which it demands and deserves1 it will be found by experience to furnish1 what its title imports1 ,,aids ,,to ,,reflection on subjects1 upon which every man is bound to reflect deeply and in earnest4 ,what the specific objects of the ,work are1 and for whom it is written1 may be learned in a few words from the ,preface of the ,author4 ,from this1 too1 it will be seen to be professedly didactic4 ,it is designed to aid those who wish for instruction1 or assistance in the instruction of others4 ,the plan and composition of the ,work will to most readers probably appear somewhat anomalous2 but reflection upon the nature of the objects aimed at1 and some little experience of its results1 may convince them that the method adopted is not without its advantages4 ,it is important to observe1 that it is designed1 as its general characteristic1 to aid ,,reflection1 and for the most part upon subjects which can be learned and understood only by the exercise of reflection in the strict and proper sense of that term4 ,it was not so much to teach a speculative system of doctrines built upon established premises1 for which a different method would have been obviously preferable1 as to turn the mind continually back upon the premises themselves--upon the inherent grounds of truth and error in its own being4 ,the only way in which it is possible for any one to learn the science of words1 which is one of the objects to be sought in the present ,work1 and the true import of those words especially1 which most concern us as rational and accountable beings1 is by reflecting upon and bringing forth into distinct consciousness1 those mental acts which the words are intended to designate4 ,we must discover and distinctly apprehend different meanings1 before we can appropriate to each a several word1 or understand the words so appropriated by others4 ,now it is not too much to say1 that most men1 and even a large proportion of educated men1 do not reflect sufficiently upon their own inward being1 upon the constituent laws of their own understanding1 upon the mysterious powers and agencies of reason1 and conscience1 and will1 to apprehend with much distinctness the objects to be named1 or of course to refer the names with correctness to their several objects4 ,hence the necessity of associating the study of words with the study of morals and religion2 and that is the most effectual method of instruction1 which enables the teacher most successfully to fix the attention upon a definite meaning1 that is1 in these studies1 upon a particular act1 or process1 or law of the mind--to call it into distinct consciousness1 and assign to it its proper name1 so that the name shall thenceforth have for the learner a distinct1 definite1 and intelligible sense4 ,to impress upon the reader the importance of this1 and to exemplify it in the particular subjects taken up in the ,work1 is a leading aim of the ,author throughout2 and it is obviously the only possible way by which we can arrive at any satisfactory and conclusive results on subjects of philosophy1 morals1 and religion4 ,the first principles1 the ultimate grounds1 of these1 so far as they are possible objects of knowledge for us1 must be sought and found in the laws of our being1 or they are not found at all4 ,the knowledge of these1 terminates in the knowledge of ourselves1 of our rational and personal being1 of our proper and distinctive humanity1 and of that ,divine ,being1 in whose image we are created4 ,we must retire inward1 says ,st4 ,bernard1 if we would ascend upward4 ,it is by self-inspection1 by reflecting upon the mysterious grounds of our own being1 that we can alone arrive at any rational knowledge of the central and absolute ground of all being4 ,it is by this only1 that we can discover that principle of unity and consistency1 which reason instinctively seeks after1 which shall reduce to an harmonious system all our views of truth and of being1 and destitute of which all the knowledge that comes to us from without is fragmentary1 and in its relation to our highest interests as rational beings but the patch-work of vanity4 ,now1 of necessity1 the only method1 by which another can aid our efforts in the work of reflection1 is by first reflecting himself1 and so pointing out the process and marking the result by words1 that we can repeat it1 and try the conclusions by our own consciousness4 ,if he have reflected aright1 if he have excluded all causes of self-deception1 and directed his thoughts by those principles of truth and reason1 and by those laws of the understanding1 which belong in common to all men1 his conclusions must be true for all4 ,we have only to repeat the process1 impartially to reflect ourselves1 unbiassed by received opinions1 and undeceived by the idols of our own understandings1 and we shall find the same truths in the depths of our own self-consciousness4 ,i am persuaded that such1 for the most part1 will be found to be the case with regard to the principles developed in the present ,work1 and that those who1 with serious reflection and an unbiassed love of truth1 will refer them to the laws of thought in their own minds1 to the requirements of their own reason1 will find there a witness to their truth4 ,viewing the ,work in this manner1 therefore1 as an instructive and safe guide to the knowledge of what it concerns all men to know1 ,i cannot but consider it in itself as a work of great and permanent value to any ,christian community4 ,whatever indeed tends to awaken and cherish the power1 and to form the habit1 of reflection upon the great constituent principles of our own permanent being and proper humanity1 and upon the abiding laws of truth and duty1 as revealed in our reason and conscience1 cannot but promote our highest interests as moral and rational beings4 ,even if the particular conclusions1 to which the ,author has arrived1 should prove erroneous1 the evil is comparatively of little importance1 if he have at the same time communicated to our minds such powers of thought1 as will enable us to detect his errors1 and attain by our own efforts to a more perfect knowledge of the truth4 ,that some of his views may not be erroneous1 or that they are to be received on his authority1 the ,author1 ,i presume1 would be the last to affirm2 and although in the nature of the case it was impossible for him to aid reflection without anticipating1 and in some measure influencing1 the results1 yet the primary tendency and design of the ,work is1 not to establish this or that system1 but to cultivate in every mind the power and the will to seek earnestly and steadfastly for the truth in the only direction1 in which it can ever be found4 ,the work is no further controversial1 than every work must be1 that is writ with freedom and reason upon subjects of the same kind2 and if it be found at variance with existing opinions and modes of philosophizing1 it is not necessarily to be considered the fault of the writer4 ,in republishing the ,work in this country1 ,i could wish that it might be received by all1 for whose instruction it was designed1 simply as a didactic work1 on its own merits1 and without controversy4 ,i must not1 however1 be supposed ignorant of its bearing upon those questions1 which have so often been1 and still are1 the prevailing topics of theological controversy among us4 ,it was indeed incumbent on me1 before inviting the attention of the religious community to the ,work1 to consider its relation to existing opinions1 and its probable influence on the progress of truth4 ,this ,i have done with as severe thought as ,i am capable of bestowing upon any subject1 and ,i trust too with no want of deference and conscientious regard to the feelings and opinions of others4 ,i have not attempted to disguise from myself1 nor do ,i wish to disguise from the readers of the ,work1 the inconsistency of some of its leading principles with much that is taught and received in our theological circles4 ,should it gain much of the public attention in any way1 it will become1 as it ought to do1 an object of special and deep interest to all1 who would contend for the truth1 and labour to establish it upon a permanent basis4 ,i venture to assure such1 even those of them who are most capable of comprehending the philosophical grounds of truth in our speculative systems of theology1 that in its relation to this whole subject they will find it to be a ,work of great depth and power1 and1 whether right or wrong1 eminently deserving their attention4 ,it is not to be supposed that all who read1 or even all who comprehend it1 will be convinced of the soundness of its views1 or be prepared to abandon those which they have long considered essential to the truth4 ,to those1 whose understandings by long habit have become limited in their powers of apprehension1 and as it were identified with certain schemes of doctrine1 certain modes of contemplating all that pertains to religious truth1 it may appear novel1 strange1 and unintelligible1 or even dangerous in its tendency1 and be to them an occasion of offence4 ,but ,i have no fear that any earnest and single-hearted lover of the truth as it is in ,jesus1 who will free his mind from the idols of preconceived opinion1 and give himself time and opportunity to understand the ,work by such reflection as the nature of the subject renders unavoidable1 will find in it any cause of offence1 or any source of alarm4 ,if the ,work become the occasion of controversy at all1 ,i should expect it from those1 who1 instead of reflecting deeply upon the first principles of truth in their own reason and conscience and in the word of ,god1 are more accustomed to speculate--that is1 from premises given or assumed1 but considered unquestionable1 as the constituted point of observation1 to look abroad upon the whole field of their intellectual vision1 and thence to decide upon the true form and dimensions of all which meets their view4 ,to such ,i would say with deference1 that the merits of this ,work cannot be determined by the merely relative aspect of its doctrines1 as seen from the high ground of any prevailing metaphysical or theological system4 ,those on the contrary who will seek to comprehend it by reflection1 to learn the true meaning of the whole and of all its parts1 by retiring into their own minds and finding there the true point of observation for each1 will not be in haste to question the truth or the tendency of its principles4 ,i make these remarks because ,i am anxious1 as far as may be1 to anticipate the causeless fears of all1 who earnestly pray and labour for the promotion of the truth1 and to preclude that unprofitable controversy1 which might arise from hasty or prejudiced views of a ,work like this4 ,at the same time ,i should be far from deprecating any discussion which might tend to unfold more fully the principles which it teaches1 or to exhibit more distinctly its true bearing upon the interests of theological science and of spiritual religion4 ,it is to promote this object1 indeed1 that ,i am induced in the remarks which follow to offer some of my own thoughts on these subjects1 imperfect ,i am well aware1 and such as1 for that reason1 as well as others1 worldly prudence might require me to suppress4 ,if1 however1 ,i may induce reflecting men1 and those who are engaged in theological inquiries especially1 to indulge a suspicion that all truth1 which it is important for them to know1 is not contained in the systems of doctrine usually taught1 and that this ,work may be worthy of their serious and reflecting perusal1 my chief object will be accomplished4 ,i shall of course not need to anticipate in detail the contents of the ,work itself1 but shall aim simply to point out what ,i consider its distinguishing and essential character and tendency1 and then direct the attention of my readers to some of those general feelings and views on the subjects of religious truth1 and of those particulars in the prevailing philosophy of the age1 which seem to me to be exerting an injurious influence on the cause of theological science and of spiritual religion1 and not only to furnish a fit occasion1 but to create an imperious demand1 for a ,work like that which is here offered to the public4 ,in regard then to the distinguishing character and tendency of the ,work itself1 it has already been stated to be didactic1 and designed to aid reflection on the principles and grounds of truth in our own being2 but in another point of view1 and with reference to my present object1 it might rather be denominated ,a ,,philosophical ,,statement ,,and ,,vindication ,,of ,,the ,,distinctively ,,spiritual ,,and ,,peculiar ,,doctrines ,,of ,,the ,,christian ,,system4 ,in order to understand more clearly the import of this statement1 and the relation of the ,author's views to those exhibited in other systems1 the reader is requested to examine in the first place1 what he considers the peculiar doctrines of ,christianity1 and what he means by the terms spirit and spiritual4 ,a synoptical view of what he considers peculiar to ,christianity as a revelation is given in ,aphorism ,,vii41 on ,spiritual ,religion1 and1 if ,i mistake not1 will be found essentially to coincide1 though not perhaps in the language employed1 with what among us are termed the ,evangelical doctrines of religion4 ,those who are anxious to examine further into the orthodoxy of the ,work in connection with this statement1 may consult the articles on ,,original ,,sin and ,,redemption1#h though ,i must forewarn them that it will require much study in connection with the other parts of the ,work1 before one unaccustomed to the ,author's language1 and unacquainted with his views1 can fully appreciate the merit of what may be peculiar in his mode of treating those subjects4 ,with regard to the term spiritual1 it may be sufficient to remark here1 that he regards it as having a specific import1 and maintains that in the sense of the ,new ,testament1 spiritual and natural are contradistinguished1 so that what is spiritual is different in kind from that which is natural1 and is in fact super-natural4 ,so1 too1 while morality is something more than prudence1 religion1 the spiritual life1 is something more than morality4 ,in vindicating the peculiar doctrines of the ,christian system so stated1 and a faith in the reality of agencies and modes of being essentially spiritual or supernatural1 he aims to show their consistency with reason and with the true principles of philosophy1 and that indeed1 so far from being irrational1 ,,christian ,,faith ,,is ,,the ,,perfection ,,of ,,human ,,reason4 ,by reflection upon the subjective grounds of knowledge and faith in the human mind itself1 and by an analysis of its faculties1 he developes the distinguishing characteristics and necessary relations of the natural and the spiritual in our modes of being and knowing1 and the all-important fact1 that although the former does not comprehend the latter1 yet neither does it preclude its existence4 ,he proves1 that the scheme of ,christianity1 99 99 99 though not discoverable by human reason1 is yet in accordance with it2 that link follows link by necessary consequence2 that ,religion passes out of the ken of ,reason only where the eye of ,reason has reached its own horizon--and that ,faith is then but its continuation4#i ,instead of adopting1 like the popular metaphysicians of the day1 a system of philosophy at war with religion1 and which tends inevitably to undermine our belief in the reality of any thing spiritual in the only proper sense of that word1 and then coldly and ambiguously referring us for the support of our faith to the authority of ,revelation1 he boldly asserts the reality of something distinctively spiritual in man1 and the futility of all those modes of philosophizing1 in which this is not recognized1 or which are incompatible with it4 ,he considers it the highest and most rational purpose of any system of philosophy1 at least of one professing to be ,christian1 to investigate those higher and peculiar attributes1 which distinguish us from the brutes that perish--which are the image of ,god in us1 and constitute our proper humanity4 ,it is in his view the proper business and the duty of the ,christian philosopher to remove all appearance of contradiction between the several manifestations of the one ,divine ,word1 to reconcile reason with revelation1 and thus to justify the ways of ,god to man4 ,the methods by which he accomplishes this1 either in regard to the terms in which he enunciates the great doctrines of the ,gospel1 or the peculiar views of philosophy by which he reconciles them with the subjective grounds of faith in the universal reason of man1 need not be stated here4 ,i will merely observe1 that the key to his system will be found in the distinctions1 which he makes and illustrates between nature and free-will1 and between the understanding and reason4 ,it may meet the prejudices of some to remark farther1 that in philosophizing on the grounds of our faith he does not profess or aim to solve all mysteries1 and to bring all truth within the comprehension of the understanding4 ,a truth may be mysterious1 and the primary ground of all truth and reality must be so4 ,but though we may believe what passeth all understanding1 we cannot believe what is absurd1 or contradictory to reason4 ,whether the ,work be well executed1 according to the idea of it1 as now given1 or whether the ,author have accomplished his purpose1 must be determined by those who are capable of judging1 when they shall have examined and reflected upon the whole as it deserves4 ,the inquiry which ,i have now to propose to my readers is1 whether the idea itself be a rational one1 and whether the purpose of the ,author be one which a wise man and a ,christian ought to aim at1 or which in the present state of our religious interests1 and of our theological science1 specially needs to be accomplished4 ,no one1 who has had occasion to observe the general feelings and views of our religious community for a few years past1 can be ignorant1 that a strong prejudice exists against the introduction of philosophy1 in any form1 in the discussion of theological subjects4 ,the terms philosophy and metaphysics1 even reason and rational1 seem1 in the minds of those most devoted to the support of religious truth1 to have forfeited their original1 and to have acquired a new import1 especially in their relation to matters of faith4 ,by a philosophical view of religious truth would generally be understood a view1 not only varying from the religion of the ,bible in the form and manner of presenting it1 but at war with it2 and a rational religion is supposed to be of course something diverse from revealed religion4 ,a philosophical and rational system of religious truth would by most readers among us1 if ,i mistake not1 be supposed a system deriving its doctrines not from revelation1 but from the speculative reason of men1 or at least relying on that only for their credibility4 ,that these terms have been used to designate such systems1 and that the prejudice against reason and philosophy so employed is not1 therefore1 without cause1 ,i need not deny2 nor would any friend of revealed truth be less disposed to give credence to such systems1 than the ,author of the ,work before us4 ,but1 on the other hand1 a moment's reflection only can be necessary to convince any man1 attentive to the use of language1 that we do at the same time employ these terms in relation to truth generally in a better and much higher sense4 ,rational1 as contradistinguished from irrational and absurd1 certainly denotes a quality1 which every man would be disposed to claim1 not only for himself1 but for his religious opinions4 ,now1 the adjective reasonable having acquired a different use and signification1 the word rational is the adjective corresponding in sense to the substantive reason1 and signifies what is conformed to reason4 ,in one sense1 then1 all men would appeal to reason in behalf of their religious faith2 they would deny that it was irrational or absurd4 ,if we do not in this sense adhere to reason1 we forfeit our prerogative as rational beings1 and our faith is no better than the bewildered dream of a man who has lost his reason4 ,nay1 ,i maintain that when we use the term in this higher sense1 it is impossible for us to believe on any authority what is directly contradictory to reason and seen to be so4 ,no evidence from another source1 and no authority could convince us1 that a proposition in geometry1 for example1 is false1 which our reason intuitively discovers to be true4 ,now if we suppose 7and we may at least suppose this17 that reason has the same power of intuitive insight in relation to certain moral and spiritual truths1 as in relation to the truths of geometry1 then it would be equally impossible to divest us of our belief of those truths4 ,furthermore1 we are not only unable to believe the same proposition to be false1 which our reason sees to be true1 but we cannot believe another proposition1 which by the exercise of the same rational faculty we see to be incompatible with the former1 or to contradict it4 ,we may1 and probably often do1 receive with a certain kind and degree of credence opinions1 which reflection would show to be incompatible4 ,but when we have reflected1 and discovered the inconsistency1 we cannot retain both4 ,we cannot believe two contradictory propositions knowing them to be such4 ,it would be irrational to do so4 ,again1 we cannot conceive it possible1 that what by the same power of intuition we see to be universally and necessarily true should appear otherwise to any other rational being4 ,we cannot1 for example1 but consider the propositions of geometry as necessarily true for all rational beings4 ,so1 too1 a little reflection1 ,i think1 will convince any one1 that we attribute the same necessity of reason to the principles of moral rectitude4 ,what in the clear daylight of our reason1 and after mature reflection1 we see to be right1 we cannot believe to be wrong in the view of other rational beings in the distinct exercise of their reason4 ,nay1 in regard to those truths1 which are clearly submitted to the view of our reason1 and which we behold with distinct and steadfast intuitions1 we necessarily attribute to the ,supreme ,reason1 to the ,divine ,mind1 views the same1 or coincident1 with those of our own reason4 ,we cannot1 7,i say it with reverence and ,i trust with some apprehension of the importance of the assertion17 we cannot believe that to be right in the view of the ,supreme ,reason1 which is clearly and decidedly wrong in the view of our own4 ,it would be contradictory to reason1 it would be irrational1 to believe it1 and therefore we cannot do so1 till we lose our reason1 or cease to exercise it4 ,i would ask1 now1 whether this be not an authorized use of the words reason and rational1 and whether so used they do not mean something4 ,if it be so--and ,i appeal to the mind of every man capable of reflection1 and of under standing the use of language1 if it be not--then there is meaning in the terms universal reason1 and unity of reason1 as used in this ,work4 ,there is1 and can be1 in this highest sense of the word but one reason1 and whatever contradicts that reason1 being seen to do so1 cannot be received as matter either of knowledge or faith4 ,to reconcile religion with reason used in this sense1 therefore1 and to justify the ways of ,god to man1 or in the view of reason1 is so far from being irrational that reason imperatively demands it of us4 ,we cannot1 as rational beings1 believe a proposition on the grounds of reason1 and deny it on the authority of revelation4 ,we cannot believe a proposition in philosophy1 and deny the same proposition in theology2 nor can we believe two incompatible propositions on the different grounds of reason and revelation4 ,so far as we compare our thoughts1 the objects of our knowledge and faith1 and by reflection refer them to their common measure in the universal laws of reason1 so far the instinct of reason impels us to reject whatever is contradictory and absurd1 and to bring unity and consistency into all our views of truth4 ,thus1 in the language of the ,author of this ,work1 though the word rational has been strangely abused of late times1 this must not disincline us to the weighty consideration1 that thoughtfulness1 and a desire to rest all our convictions on grounds of right reason1 are inseparable from the character of a ,christian4#aj ,but ,i beg the reader to observe1 that in relation to the doctrines of spiritual religion--to all that he considers the peculiar doctrines of the ,christian revelation1 the ,author assigns to reason only a negative validity4 ,it does not teach us what those doctrines are1 or what they are not1 except that they are not1 and cannot be1 such as contradict the clear convictions of right reason4 ,but his views on this point are fully stated in the ,work4#aa ,if then it be our prerogative1 as rational beings1 and our duty as ,christians1 to think1 as well as to act1 rationally1--to see that our convictions of truth rest on the grounds of right reason2 and if it be one of the clearest dictates of reason1 that we should endeavour to shun1 and on discovery should reject1 whatever is contradictory to the universal laws of thought1 or to doctrines already established1 ,i know not by what means we are to avoid the application of philosophy1 at least to some extent1 in the study of theology4 ,for to determine what are the grounds of right reason1 what are those ultimate truths1 and those universal laws of thought1 which we cannot rationally contradict1 and by reflection to compare with these whatever is proposed for our belief1 is in fact to philosophize2 and whoever does this to a greater or less extent1 is so far a philosopher in the best and highest sense of the word4 ,to this extent we are bound to philosophize in theology1 as well as in every other science4 ,for what is not rational in theology1 is1 of course1 irrational1 and cannot be of the household of faith2 and to determine whether it be rational in the sense already explained or not1 is the province of philosophy4 ,it is in this sense that the ,work before us is to be considered a philosophical work1 namely1 that it proves the doctrines of the ,christian ,faith to be rational1 and exhibits philosophical grounds for the possibility of a truly spiritual religion4 ,the reality of those experiences1 or states of being1 which constitute experimental or spiritual religion1 rests on other grounds4 ,it is incumbent on the philosopher to free them from the contradictions of reason1 and nothing more2 and who will deny1 that to do this is a purpose worthy of the ablest philosopher and the most devoted ,christian8 ,is it not desirable to convince all men that the doctrines1 which we affirm to be revealed in the ,gospel1 are not contradictory to the requirements of reason and conscience8 ,is it not1 on the other hand1 vastly important to the cause of religious truth1 and even to the practical influence of religion on our own minds1 and the minds of the community at large1 that we should attain and exhibit views of philosophy and doctrines in metaphysics1 which are at least compatible with1 if they do not specially favour1 those views of religion1 which1 on other grounds1 we find it our duty to believe and maintain8 ,for1 ,i beg it may be observed1 as a point of great moment1 that it is not the method of the genuine philosopher to separate his philosophy and religion1 and adopting his principles independently in each1 to leave them to be reconciled or not1 as the case may be4 ,he has1 and can have1 rationally but one system1 in which his philosophy becomes religious1 and his religion philosophical4 ,nor am ,i disposed in compliance with public opinion to limit the application of this remark1 as is usually done1 to the mere external evidences of revelation4 ,the philosophy which we adopt will and must influence not only our decision of the question1 whether a book be of divine authority1 but our views also of its meaning4 ,but this is a subject1 on which1 if possible1 ,i would avoid being misunderstood1 and must1 therefore1 exhibit it more fully1 even at the risk of repeating what was said before1 or is elsewhere found in the ,work4 ,it has been already1 ,i believe1 distinctly enough stated1 that reason and philosophy ought to prevent our reception of doctrines claiming the authority of revelation only so far as the very necessities of our rational being require4 ,however mysterious the thing affirmed may be1 though it passeth all understanding1 if it cannot be shown to contradict the unchangeable principles of right reason1 its being incomprehensible to our understandings is not an obstacle to our faith4 ,if it contradict reason1 we cannot believe it1 but must conclude1 either that the writing is not of divine authority1 or that the language has been misinterpreted4 ,so far it seems to me1 that our philosophy ought to modify our views of theological doctrines1 and our mode of interpreting the language of an inspired writer4 ,but then we must be cautious1 that we philosophize rightly1 and do not call that reason which is not so4 ,otherwise we may be led by the supposed requirements of reason to interpret metaphorically1 what ought to be received literally1 and evacuate the ,scriptures of their most important doctrines4 ,but what ,i mean to say here is1 that we cannot avoid the application of our philosophy in the interpretation of the language of ,scripture1 and in the explanation of the doctrines of religion generally4 ,we cannot avoid incurring the danger just alluded to of philosophizing erroneously1 even to the extent of rejecting as irrational that which tends to the perfection of reason itself4 ,and hence ,i maintain1 that instead of pretending to exclude philosophy from our religious inquiries1 it is very important that we philosophize in earnest--that we should endeavour by profound reflection to learn the real requirements of reason1 and attain a true knowledge of ourselves4 ,if any dispute the necessity of thus combining the study of philosophy with that of religion1 ,i would beg them to point out the age since that of the ,apostles1 in which the prevailing metaphysical opinions have not distinctly manifested themselves in the prevailing views of religion2 and if1 as ,i fully believe will be the case1 they fail to discover a single system of theology1 a single volume on the subject of the ,christian religion1 in which the author's views are not modified by the metaphysical opinions of the age or of the individual1 it would be desirable to ascertain1 whether this influence be accidental or necessary4 ,the metaphysician analyzes the faculties and operations of the human mind1 and teaches us to arrange1 to classify1 and to name them1 according to his views of their various distinctions4 ,the language of the ,scriptures1 at least to a great extent1 speaks of subjects that can be understood only by a reference to those same powers and processes of thought and feeling1 which we have learned to think of1 and to name1 according to our particular system of metaphysics4 ,how is it possible then to avoid interpreting the one by the other8 ,let us suppose1 for example1 that a man has studied and adopted the philosophy of ,brown1 is it possible for him to interpret the #hth chapter of ,romans1 without having his views of its meaning influenced by his philosophy8 ,would he not unavoidably interpret the language and explain the doctrines1 which it contains1 differently from one1 who should have adopted such views of the human mind as are taught in this ,work8 ,i know it is customary to disclaim the influence of philosophy in the business of interpretation1 and every writer now-a-days on such subjects will assure us1 that he has nothing to do with metaphysics1 but is guided only by common sense and the laws of interpretation4 ,but ,i should like to know how a man comes by any common sense in relation to the movements and laws of his intellectual and moral being without metaphysics4 ,what is the common sense of a ,hottentot on subjects of this sort8 ,i have no hesitation in saying1 that from the very nature of the case1 it is nearly1 if not quite1 impossible for any man entirely to separate his philosophical views of the human mind from his reflections on religious subjects4 ,probably no man has endeavoured more faithfully to do this1 perhaps no one has succeeded better in giving the truth of ,scripture free from the glosses of metaphysics1 than ,professor ,stuart4 ,yet1 ,i should risk little in saying that a reader deeply versed in the language of metaphysics1 extensively acquainted with the philosophy of different ages1 and the peculiar phraseology of different schools1 might ascertain his metaphysical system from many a passage of his ,commentary on the ,epistle to the ,hebrews4 ,what then1 let me ask1 is the possible use to the cause of truth and of religion1 from thus perpetually decrying philosophy in theological inquiries1 when we cannot avoid it if we would8 ,every man1 who has reflected at all1 has his metaphysics2 and if he reads on religious subjects1 he interprets and understands the language which he employs1 by the help of his metaphysics4 ,he cannot do otherwise4--,and the proper inquiry is1 not whether we admit our philosophy into our theological and religious investigations1 but whether our philosophy be right and true4 ,for myself1 ,i am fully convinced that we can have no right views of theology1 till we have right views of the human mind2 and that these are to be acquired only by laborious and persevering reflection4 ,my belief is1 that the distinctions unfolded in this ,work will place us in the way to truth1 and relieve us from numerous perplexities1 in which we are involved by the philosophy which we have so long taken for our guide4 ,for we are greatly deceived1 if we suppose for a moment that the systems of theology which have been received among us1 or even the theoretical views which are now most popular1 are free from the entanglements of worldly wisdom4 ,the readers of this ,work will be able to see1 ,i think1 more clearly the import of this remark1 and the true bearing of the received views of philosophy on our theological inquiries4 ,those who study the ,work without prejudice1 and adopt its principles to any considerable extent1 will understand too how deeply an age may be ensnared in the metaphysical webs of its own weaving1 or entangled in the net which the speculations of a former generation have thrown over it1 and yet suppose itself blessed with a perfect immunity from the dreaded evils of metaphysics4 ,but before ,i proceed to remark on those particulars1 in which our prevailing philosophy seems to be dangerous in its tendency1 and unfriendly to the cause of spiritual religion1 ,i must beg leave to guard myself and the ,work from misapprehension on another point of great importance in its relation to the whole subject4 ,while it is maintained that reason and philosophy1 in their true character1 ought to have a certain degree and extent of influence in the formation of our religious system1 and that our metaphysical opinions1 whatever they may be1 will almost unavoidably1 modify more or less our theoretical views of religious truth generally1 it is yet a special object of the ,author of the ,work to show that the spiritual life1 or what among us is termed experimental religion1 is1 in itself1 and in its own proper growth and development1 essentially distinct from the forms and processes of the understanding2 and that1 although a true faith cannot contradict any universal principle of speculative reason1 it is yet in a certain sense independent of the discursions of philosophy1 and in its proper nature beyond the reach of positive science and theoretical insight4 ,christianity is not a theory or a speculation2 but a life4 ,not a philosophy of life1 but a life and a living process4 ,it is not1 therefore1 so properly a species of knowledge1 as a form of being4 ,and although the theoretical views of the understanding1 and the motives of prudence which it presents1 may be1 to a certain extent1 connected with the development of the spiritual principle of religious life in the ,christian1 yet a true and living faith is not incompatible with at least some degree of speculative error4 ,as the acquisition of merely speculative knowledge cannot of itself communicate the principle of spiritual life1 so neither does that principle1 and the living process of its growth1 depend wholly1 at least1 upon the degree of speculative knowledge with which it co-exists4 ,that religion1 of which our blessed ,saviour is himself the essential ,form and the living ,word1 and to which he imparts the actuating ,spirit1 has a principle of unity and consistency in itself distinct from the unity and consistency of our theoretical views4 ,of this we have evidence in every day's observation of ,christian character2 for how often do we see and acknowledge the power of religion1 and the growth of a spiritual life in minds but little gifted with speculative knowledge1 and little versed in the forms of logic or philosophy6 ,how obviously1 too1 does the living principle of religion manifest the same specific character1 the same essential form1 amidst all the diversities of condition1 of talents1 of education1 and natural disposition1 with which it is associated2 every where rising above nature1 and the powers of the natural man1 and unlimited in its goings on by the forms in which the understanding seeks to comprehend and confine its spiritual energies4 ,there are diversities of gifts1 but the same ,spirit3 and it is no less true now than in the age of the ,apostles1 that in all lands1 and in every variety of circumstances1 the manifestations of spiritual life are essentially the same2 and all who truly believe in heart1 however diverse in natural condition1 in the character of their understandings1 and even in their theoretical views of truth1 are one in ,christ ,jesus4 ,the essential faith is not to be found in the understanding or the speculative theory1 but the life1 the substance1 the hope1 the love--in one word1 the faith--these are derivatives from the practical1 moral1 and spiritual nature and being of man4 ,speculative systems of theology indeed have often had little connection with the essential spirit of religion1 and are usually little more than schemes resulting from the strivings of the finite understanding to comprehend and exhibit under its own forms and conditions a mode of being and spiritual truths essentially diverse from their proper objects1 and with which they are incommensurate4 ,this ,i am aware is an imperfect1 and ,i fear may be an unintelligible1 view of a subject exceedingly difficult of apprehension at the best4 ,if so1 ,i must beg the reader's indulgence1 and request him to suspend his judgment1 as to the absolute intelligibility of it1 till he becomes acquainted with the language and sentiments of the ,work itself4 ,it will1 however1 ,i hope1 be so far understood1 at least1 as to answer the purpose for which it was introduced--of precluding the supposition that1 in the remarks which preceded1 or in those which follow1 any suspicion was intended to be expressed1 with regard to the religious principles or the essential faith of those who hold the opinions in question4 ,according to this view of the inherent and essential nature of ,spiritual ,religion1 as existing in the practical reason of man1 we may not only admit1 but can better understand the possibility of what every charitable ,christian will acknowledge to be a fact1 so far as human observation can determine facts of this sort--that a man may be truly religious1 and essentially a believer at heart1 while his understanding is sadly bewildered with the attempt to comprehend and express philosophically1 what yet he feels and knows spiritually4 ,it is indeed impossible for us to tell1 how far the understanding may impose upon itself by partial views and false disguises1 without perverting the will1 or estranging it from the laws and the authority of reason and the divine word4 ,we cannot say to what extent a false system of philosophy and metaphysical opinions1 which in their natural and uncounteracted tendency would go to destroy all religion1 may be received in a ,christian community1 and yet the power of spiritual religion retain its hold and its efficacy in the hearts of the people4 ,we may perhaps believe that in opposition to all the might of false philosophy1 so long as the great body of the people have the ,bible in their hands1 and are taught to reverence and receive its heavenly instructions1 though the ,church may suffer injury from unwise and unfruitful speculations1 it will yet be preserved2 and that the spiritual seed of the divine word1 though mingled with many tares of worldly wisdom and philosophy falsely so called1 will yet spring up1 and bear fruit unto everlasting life4 ,but though we may hope and believe this1 we cannot avoid believing1 at the same time1 that injury must result from an unsuspecting confidence in metaphysical opinions1 which are essentially at variance with the doctrines of ,revelation4 ,especially must the effect be injurious1 where those opinions lead gradually to alter our views of religion itself and of all that is peculiar in the ,christian system4 ,the great mass of the community1 who know little of metaphysics1 and whose faith in ,revelation is not so readily influenced by speculations not immediately connected with it1 may1 indeed1 for a time1 escape the evil1 and continue to receive with meekness the ingrafted word4 ,but in the minds of the better educated1 especially those who think and follow out their conclusions with resolute independence of thought1 the result must be either a loss of confidence in the opinions themselves1 or a rejection of all those parts of the ,christian system which are at variance with them4 ,under particular circumstances1 indeed1 where both the metaphysical errors1 and the great doctrines of the ,christian ,faith1 have a strong hold upon the minds of a community1 a protracted struggle may take place1 and earnest and long-continued efforts may be made to reconcile opinions which we are resolved to maintain1 with a faith which our consciences will not permit us to abandon4 ,but so long as the effort continues and such opinions retain their hold upon our confidence1 it must be by some diminution of the fulness and simplicity of our faith4 ,to a greater or less degree1 according to the education and habits of thought in different individuals1 the word of ,god is received with doubt1 or with such glozing modifications as enervate its power4 ,thus the light from heaven is intercepted1 and we are left to a shadow-fight of metaphysical schemes and metaphorical interpretations4 ,while one party1 with conscientious and earnest endeavours1 and at great expense of talent and ingenuity1 contends for the ,faith1 and among the possible shapings of the received metaphysical system1 seeks that which will best comport with the simplicity of the ,gospel1--another more boldly interprets the language of the ,gospel itself in conformity with those views of religion to which their philosophy seems obviously to conduct them4 ,the substantial being and the living energy of the ,,word1 which is not only the light but the life of men1 is either misapprehended or denied by all parties3 and even those who contend for what they conceive the literal import of the ,gospel1 do it--as they must1 to avoid too glaring absurdity--with such explanations of its import as make it to become1 in no small degree1 the words of man's wisdom1 rather than a simple demonstration of the ,spirit1 and of power4 ,hence1 although such as have experienced the spiritual and life-giving power of the ,divine ,word1 may be able1 through the promised aids of the ,spirit1 to overcome the natural tendency of speculative error1 and1 by the law of the ,spirit of life which is in them1 may at length be made free from the law of sin and death1 yet who can tell how much they may lose of the blessings of the ,gospel1 and be retarded in their spiritual growth when they are but too often fed with the lifeless and starveling products of the human understanding1 instead of that living bread which came down from heaven8 ,who can tell1 moreover1 how many1 through the prevalence of such philosophical errors as lead to misconceptions of the truth or create a prejudice against it1 and thus tend to intercept the light from heaven1 may continue in their ignorance1 alienated from the life of ,god1 and groping in the darkness of their own understandings8 ,but however that may be1 enlightened ,christians1 and especially ,christian instructors1 know it to be their duty1 as far as possible1 to prepare the way for the full and unobstructed influence of the ,gospel1 to do all in their power to remove those natural prejudices1 and those errors of the understanding1 which are obstacles to the truth1 that the word of ,god may find access to the heart1 and conscience1 and reason of every man1 that it may have free course1 and run1 and be glorified4 ,my own belief1 that such obstacles to the influence of truth exist in the speculative and metaphysical opinions generally adopted in this country1 and that the present ,work is in some measure at least calculated to remove them1 is pretty clearly indicated by the remarks which ,i have already made4 ,but1 to be perfectly explicit on the subject ,i do not hesitate to express my conviction1 that the natural tendency of some of the leading principles of our prevailing system of metaphysics1 and those which must unavoidably have more or less influence on our theoretical views of religion1 are of an injurious and dangerous tendency1 and that so long as we retain them1 however we may profess to exclude their influence from our theological inquiries1 and from the interpretation of ,scripture1 we can maintain no consistent system of ,scriptural theology1 nor clearly and distinctly apprehend the spiritual import of the ,scripture language4 ,the grounds of this conviction ,i shall proceed to exhibit1 though only in a partial manner1 as ,i could not do more without anticipating the contents of the ,work itself1 instead of merely preparing the reader to peruse them with attention4 ,i am aware1 too1 that some of the language1 which ,i have already employed1 and shall be obliged to employ1 will not convey its full import to the reader1 till he becomes acquainted with some of the leading principles and distinctions unfolded in the ,work4 ,but this also is an evil which ,i saw no means of avoiding without incurring a greater1 and writing a book instead of a brief essay4 ,let it be understood1 then1 without further preface1 that by the prevailing system of metaphysics1 ,i mean the system1 of which in modern times ,locke is the reputed author1 and the leading principles of which1 with various modifications1 more or less important1 but not altering its essential character1 have been almost universally received in this country4 ,it should be observed1 too1 that the causes enumerated by the ,author1 as having elevated it to its pride of place in ,europe1 have been aided by other favouring circumstances here4 ,in the minds of our religious community1 especially1 some of its most important doctrines have become associated with names justly loved and revered among ourselves1 and so connected with all our theoretical views of religion1 that a man can hardly hope to question their validity without hazarding his reputation1 not only for orthodoxy1 but even for common sense4 ,to controvert1 for example1 the prevailing doctrines with regard to the freedom of the will1 the sources of our knowledge1 the nature of the understanding as containing the controlling principles of our whole being1 and the universality of the law of cause and effect1 even in connection with the argument and the authority of the most powerful intellect of the age1 may even now be worse than in vain4 ,yet ,i have reasons for believing there are some among us1 and that their number is fast increasing1 who are willing to revise their opinions on these subjects1 and who will contemplate the views presented in this ,work with a liberal1 and something of a prepared feeling1 of curiosity4 ,the difficulties in which men find themselves involved by the received doctrines on these subjects1 in their most anxious efforts to explain and defend the peculiar doctrines of spiritual religion1 have led many to suspect that there must be some lurking error in the premises4 ,it is not that these principles lead us to mysteries which we cannot comprehend2 they are found1 or believed at least by many1 to involve us in absurdities which we can comprehend4 ,it is necessary indeed only to form some notion of the distinctive and appropriate import of the term spiritual1 as opposed to natural in the ,new ,testament1 and then to look at the writings1 or hear the discussions1 in which the doctrines of the ,spirit and of spiritual influences are taught and defended1 to see the insurmountable nature of the obstacles1 which these metaphysical dogmas throw in the way of the most powerful minds4 ,to those who shall read this ,work with any degree of reflection1 it must1 ,i think1 be obvious1 that something more is implied in the continual opposition of these terms in the ,new ,testament1 than can be explained consistently with the prevailing opinions on the subjects above enumerated2 and that through their influence our highest notions of that distinction have been rendered confused1 contradictory1 and inadequate4 ,i have already directed the attention of the reader to those parts of the ,work1 where this distinction is unfolded2 and had ,i no other grounds than the arguments and views there exhibited1 ,i should be convinced that so long as we hold the doctrines of ,locke and the ,scotch metaphysicians respecting power1 cause and effect1 motives1 and the freedom of the will1 we not only can make and defend no essential distinction between that which is natural1 and that which is spiritual1 but we cannot even find rational grounds for the feeling of moral obligation1 and the distinction between regret and remorse4 ,according to the system of these authors1 as nearly and distinctly as my limits will permit me to state it1 the same law of cause and effect is the law of the universe4 ,it extends to the moral and spiritual--if in courtesy these terms may still be used--no less than to the properly natural powers and agencies of our being4 ,the acts of the free-will are pre-determined by a cause out of the will1 according to the same law of cause and effect which controls the changes in the physical world4 ,we have no notion of power but uniformity of antecedent and consequent4 ,the notion of a power in the will to act freely is therefore nothing more than an inherent capacity of being acted upon1 agreeably to its nature1 and according to a fixed law1 by the motives which are present in the understanding4 ,i feel authorized to take this statement partly from ,brown's ,philosophy1 because that work has been decidedly approved by our highest theological authorities2 and indeed it would not be essentially varied1 if expressed in the precise terms used by any of the writers most usually quoted in reference to these subjects4 ,i am aware that variations may be found in the mode of stating these doctrines1 but ,i think every candid reader1 who is acquainted with the metaphysics and theology of this country1 will admit the above to be a fair representation of the form in which they are generally received4 ,i am aware1 too1 that much has been said and written to make out1 consistently with these general principles1 a distinction between natural and moral causes1 natural and moral ability1 and inability1 and the like4 ,but ,i beg all lovers of sound and rational philosophy to look carefully at the general principles1 and see whether there be1 in fact1 ground left for any such distinctions of this kind as are worth contending for4 ,my first step in arguing with a defender of these principles1 and of the distinctions in question1 as connected with them1 would be to ask for his definition of nature and natural4 ,and when he had arrived at a distinctive general notion of the import of these1 it would appear1 if ,i mistake not1 that he had first subjected our whole being to the law of nature1 and then contended for the existence of something which is not nature4 ,for in their relation to the law of moral rectitude1 and to the feeling of moral responsibility1 what difference is there1 and what difference can there be1 between what are called natural and those which are called moral powers and affections1 if they are all under the control of the same universal law of cause and effect8 ,if it still be a mere nature1 and the determinations of our will be controlled by causes out of the will1 according to our nature1 then ,i maintain that a moral nature has no more to do with the feeling of responsibility than any other nature4 ,perhaps the difficulty may be made more obvious in this way4 ,it will be admitted that brutes are possessed of various natures1 some innocent or useful1 otherwise noxious1 but all alike irresponsible in a moral point of view4 ,but why8 ,simply because they act in accordance with their natures4 ,they possess1 each according to its proper nature1 certain appetites and susceptibilities which are stimulated and acted upon by their appropriate objects in the world of the senses2 and the relation--the law of action and reaction--subsisting between these specific susceptibilities and their corresponding outward objects1 constitutes their nature4 ,they have a power of selecting and choosing in the world of sense the objects appropriate to the wants of their nature2 but that nature is the sole law of their being4 ,their power of choice is but a part of it1 instrumental in accomplishing its ends1 but not capable of rising above it1 of controlling its impulses1 and of determining itself with reference to a purely ideal law1 distinct from their nature4 ,they act in accordance with the law of cause and effect1 which constitutes their several natures1 and cannot do otherwise4 ,they are1 therefore not responsible--not capable of guilt1 or of remorse4 ,now let us suppose another being1 possessing1 in addition to the susceptibilities of the brute1 certain other specific susceptibilities with their correlative objects1 either in the sensible world1 or in a future world1 but that these are subjected1 like the other1 to the same binding and inalienable law of cause and effect4 ,what1 ,i ask1 is the amount of the difference thus supposed between this being and the brute8 ,the supposed addition1 it is to be understood1 is merely an addition to its nature2 and the only power of will belonging to it is1 as in the case of the brute1 only a capacity of choosing and acting uniformly in accordance with its nature4 ,these additional susceptibilities still act but as they are acted upon2 and the will is determined accordingly4 ,what advantage is gained in this case by calling these supposed additions moral affections1 and their correlative stimulants moral causes8 ,do we thereby find any rational ground for the feeling of moral responsibility1 for conscience1 for remorse8 ,the being acts according to its nature1 and why is it blameworthy more than the brute8 ,if the moral law existing out of the will be a power or cause which1 in its relation to the specific susceptibility of the moral being1 produces under the same circumstances uniformly the same result1 according to the law of cause and effect2 if the acts of the will be subject to the same law1 as mere links in the chain of antecedents and consequents1 and thus a part of our nature1 what is gained1 ,i ask again1 by the distinction of a moral and a physical nature8 ,it is still only a nature under the law of cause and effect1 and the liberty of the moral being is under the same condition with the liberty of the brute4 ,both are free to follow and fulfil the law of their nature1 and both are alike bound by that law1 as by an adamantine chain4 ,the very conditions of the law preclude the possibility of a power to act otherwise than according to their nature4 ,they preclude the very idea of a free-will1 and render the feeling of moral responsibility not an enigma merely1 not a mystery1 but a self-contradiction and an absurdity4 ,turn the matter as we will--call these correlatives1 namely1 the inherent susceptibilities and the causes acting on them from without1 natural1 or moral1 or spiritual--so long as their action and reaction1 or the law of reciprocity1 which constitutes their specific natures1 is considered as the controlling law of our whole being1 so long as we refuse to admit the existence in the will of a power capable of rising above this law1 and controlling its operation by an act of absolute self-determination1 so long we shall be involved in perplexities both in morals and religion4 ,at all events1 the only method of avoiding them will be to adopt the creed of the ,necessitarians entire1 to give man over to an irresponsible nature as a better sort of animal1 and resolve the will of the ,supreme ,reason into a blind and irrational ,fate4 ,i am well aware of the objections that will be made to this statement1 and especially the demonstrated incomprehensibleness of a self-determining power4 ,to this ,i may be permitted to answer1 that1 admitting the power to originate an act or state of mind may be beyond the capacity of our understandings to comprehend1 it is still not contradictory to reason2 and that ,i find it more easy to believe the existence of that which is simply incomprehensible to my understanding1 than of that which involves an absurdity for my reason4 ,i venture to affirm1 moreover1 that however we may bring our understandings into bondage to the more comprehensible doctrine1 simply because it is comprehensible under the forms of the understanding1 every man does1 in fact1 believe himself possessed of freedom in the higher sense of self-determination4 ,every man's conscience commands him to believe it1 as the only rational ground of moral responsibility4 ,every man's conscience1 too1 betrays the fact that he does believe it1 whenever for a moment he indulges the feeling either of moral self-approbation1 or of remorse4 ,nor can we on any other grounds justify the ways of ,god to man upon the supposition that he inflicts or will inflict any other punishment than that which is simply remedial or disciplinary4 ,but this subject will be found more fully explained in the course of the ,work4 ,my present object is merely to show the necessity of some system in relation to these subjects different from the received one4 ,it may perhaps be thought1 that the language used above is too strong and too positive4 ,but ,i venture to ask every candid man1 at least every one who has not committed himself by writing and publishing on the subject1 whether in considering the great questions connected with moral accountability and the doctrine of rewards and punishments1 he has not felt himself pressed with such difficulties as those above stated2 and whether he has ever been able fully to satisfy his reason1 that there was not a lurking contradiction in the idea of a being created and placed under the law of its nature1 and possessing at the same time a feeling of moral obligation to fulfil a law above its nature4 ,that many have been in this state of mind ,i know4 ,i know1 too1 that some whose moral and religious feelings had led them to a full belief in the doctrines of spiritual religion1 but who at the same time had been taught to receive the prevailing opinions in metaphysics1 have found these opinions carrying them unavoidably1 if they would be consequent in their reasonings1 and not do violence to their reason1 to adopt a system of religion which does not profess to be spiritual1 and thus have been compelled to choose between their philosophy and their religion4 ,in most cases indeed1 where men reflect at all1 ,i am satisfied that it requires all the force of authority1 and all the influence of education1 to carry the mind over these difficulties2 and that then it is only by a vague belief that1 though we cannot see how1 there must be some method of reconciling what seems to be so contradictory4 ,if examples were wanting to prove that serious and trying difficulties are felt to exist here1 enough may be found1 as it has appeared to me1 in the controversy respecting the nature and origin of sin1 which is at this moment interesting the public mind4 ,let any impartial observer trace the progress of that discussion1 and after examining the distinctions which are made or attempted to be made1 decide whether the subject1 as there presented1 be not involved in difficulties1 which cannot be solved on the principles to which1 hitherto1 both parties have adhered2 whether1 holding as they do the same premises in regard to the freedom of the will1 they can avoid coming to the same conclusion in regard to the nature and origin of sin2 whether in fact the distinctions aimed at must not prove merely verbal distinctions1 and the controversy a fruitless one4 ,but in the ,september number of the ,christian ,spectator for #ahbi1ab the reader will find remarks on this subject1 to which ,i beg leave to refer him1 and which ,i could wish him attentively to consider in connection with the remarks which ,i have made4 ,i allude to the correspondence with the editors near the end of the number4 ,the letter there inserted is said to be1 and obviously is1 from the pen of a very learned and able writer2 and ,i confess it has been no small gratification and encouragement to me1 while labouring to bring this ,work and this subject before the public1 to find such a state of feeling expressed1 concerning the great question at issue1 by such a writer4 ,it will be seen by reference to p4 #ede of the ,c4 ,s41 that he places the nucleus of the dispute just where it is placed in this ,work and in the above remarks4 ,it will be seen1 too1 that by throwing authorities aside1 and studying his own mind1 he has come seriously to doubt1 whether the received opinions with regard to motives1 the law of cause and effect1 and the freedom of the will1 may not be erroneous4 ,they appear to him to be bordering on fatalism1 if not actually embracing it4 ,he doubts whether the mind may not have within itself the adequate cause of its own acts2 whether indeed it have not a self-determining power1 for the power in question involves the idea of originating volition4 ,less than this it cannot be conceived to involve1 and yet be free agency4 ,now1 this is just the view offered in the present ,work2 and1 as it seems to me1 these are just the doubts and conclusions which every one will entertain1 who lays aside authority1 and reflects upon the goings-on of his own mind1 and the dictates of his own reason and conscience4 ,but let us look for a moment at the remarks of the editors in reply to the letter above quoted4 ,they maintain1 in relation to original sin and the perversion of the will1 that from either the original or the acquired strength of certain natural appetites1 principles of self-love1 c41 left to themselves1 the corruption of the heart will certainly follow4 ,in every instance the will does1 in fact1 yield to the demands of these4 ,but whenever it thus yielded1 there was power to the contrary2 otherwise there could be no freedom of moral action4 ,now ,i beg leave to place my finger on the phrase in italics1 and ask the editors what they mean by it4 ,if they hold the common doctrines with regard to the relation of cause and effect1 and with regard to power as connected with that relation1 and apply these to the acts of the will1 ,i can see no more possibility of conceiving a power to the contrary in this case1 than of conceiving such a power in the current of a river4 ,but if they mean to assert the existence in the will of an actual power to rise above the demands of appetite1 c41 above the law of nature and to decide arbitrarily1 whether to yield or not to yield1 then they admit that the will is not determined absolutely by the extraneous cause1 but is in fact self-determined4 ,they agree with the letter-writer2 and the question for them is at rest4 ,thus1 whatever distinctions may be attempted here1 there can be no real distinction but between an irresponsible nature and a will that is self-determined4 ,i cannot but be aware1 that the views of the ,will here exhibited will meet with strong prejudices in a large portion1 at least1 of our religious community4 ,i could wish that all such would carefully distinguish between the ,author's views of the doctrines of religion and the philosophical grounds on which he supposes those doctrines are to be defended4 ,if no one disputes1 and ,i trust no one will dispute1 the substantial orthodoxy of the ,work1 without first carefully examining what has been the orthodoxy of the church in general1 and of the great body of the ,reformers1 then ,i should hope it may be wisely considered1 whether1 as a question of philosophy1 the metaphysical principles of this ,work are not in themselves more in accordance with the doctrines of a spiritual religion1 and better suited to their explanation and defence1 than those above treated of4 ,if on examination it cannot be disputed that they are1 then1 if not before1 ,i trust the two systems may be compared without undue partiality1 and the simple question of the truth of each may be determined by that calm and persevering reflection1 which alone can determine questions of this sort4 ,if the system here taught be true1 then it will follow1 not1 be it observed1 that our religion is necessarily wrong1 or our essential faith erroneous1 but that the philosophical grounds1 on which we are accustomed to defend our faith1 are unsafe1 and that their natural tendency is to error4 ,if the spirit of the ,gospel still exert its influence2 if a truly spiritual religion be maintained1 it is in opposition to our philosophy1 and not at all by its aid4 ,i know it will be said1 that the practical results of our peculiar forms of doctrine are at variance with these remarks4 ,but this ,i am not prepared to admit4 ,true1 religion and religious institutions have flourished2 the ,gospel1 in many parts of our country1 has been affectionately and faithfully preached by great and good men2 the word and the ,spirit of ,god have been communicated to us in rich abundance2 and ,i rejoice with heartfelt joy and thanksgiving1 in the belief1 that thereby multitudes have been regenerated to a new and spiritual life4 ,but so were equal or greater effects produced under the preaching of ,baxter1 and ,howe1 and other good and faithful men of the same age1 with none of the peculiarities of our theological systems4 ,neither reason nor experience indeed furnish any ground for believing that the living and life-giving power of the ,divine ,word has ever derived any portion of its efficacy1 in the conversion of the heart to ,god1 from the forms of metaphysical theology1 with which the human understanding has invested it4 ,it requires1 moreover1 but little knowledge of the history of philosophy1 and of the writings of the #afth and #agth centuries to know1 that the opinions of the ,reformers1 and of all the great divines of that period1 on subjects of this sort1 were far different from those of ,mr4 ,locke and his followers1 and were in fact essentially the same with those taught in this ,work4 ,this last remark applies not only to the views entertained by the eminent philosophers and divines of that period on the particular subject above discussed1 but to the distinctions made1 and the language employed1 by them with reference to other points of no less importance in the constitution of our being4 ,it must have been observed by the reader of the foregoing pages1 that ,i have used several words1 especially understanding and reason1 in a sense somewhat diverse from their present acceptation2 and the occasion of this ,i suppose would be partly understood from my having already directed the attention of the reader to the distinction exhibited between these words in the ,work1 and from the remarks made on the ambiguity of the word reason in its common use4 ,i now proceed to remark1 that the ambiguity spoken of1 and the consequent perplexity in regard to the use and authority of reason1 have arisen from the habit of using1 since the time of ,locke1 the terms understanding and reason indiscriminately1 and thus confounding a distinction clearly marked in the philosophy and in the language of the older writers4 ,alas6 had the terms only been confounded1 or had we suffered only an inconvenient ambiguity of language1 there would be comparatively little cause for earnestness upon the subject2 or had our views of the things signified by these terms been only partially confused1 and had we still retained correct notions of our prerogative1 as rational and spiritual beings1 the consequences might have been less deplorable4 ,but the misfortune is1 that the powers of understanding and reason have not merely been blended and confounded in the view of our philosophy1 the higher and far more characteristic1 as an essential constituent of our proper humanity1 has been as it were obscured and hidden from our observation in the inferior power1 which belongs to us in common with the brutes which perish4 ,according to the old1 the more spiritual1 and genuine philosophy1 the distinguishing attributes of our humanity--that image of ,god in which man alone was created of all the dwellers upon earth1 and in virtue of which he was placed at the head of this lower world1 was said to be found in the reason and free-will4 ,but understanding these in their strict and proper sense1 and according to the true ideas of them1 as contemplated by the older metaphysicians1 we have literally1 if the system of ,locke and the popular philosophy of the day be true1 neither the one nor the other of these--neither reason nor free-will4 ,what they esteemed the image of ,god in the soul1 and considered as distinguishing us specifically1 and so vastly too1 above each and all of the irrational animals1 is found1 according to this system1 to have in fact no real existence4 ,the reality neither of the free-will1 nor of any of those laws or ideas1 which spring from1 or rather constitute reason1 can be authenticated by the sort of proof which is demanded1 and we must therefore relinquish our prerogative1 and take our place with becoming humility among our more unpretending companions4 ,in the ascending series of powers1 enumerated by ,milton1 with so much philosophical truth1 as well as beauty of language1 in the fifth book of ,paradise ,lost1 he mentions ,fancy and understanding1 whence the soul ,,reason receives4 ,and reason is her being1 ,discursive or intuitive4 ,but the highest power here1 that which is the being of the soul1 considered as any thing differing in kind from the understanding1 has no place in our popular metaphysics4 ,thus we have only the understanding1 the faculty judging according to sense1 a faculty of abstracting and generalizing1 of contrivance and forecast1 as the highest of our intellectual powers2 and this1 we are expressly taught1 belongs to us in common with brutes4 ,nay1 these views of our essential being1 consequences and all1 are adopted by men1 whom one would suppose religion1 if not philosophy1 should have taught their utter inadequateness to the true and essential constituents of our humanity4 ,dr4 ,paley tells us in his ,natural ,theology1 that only ,,contrivance1 a power obviously and confessedly belonging to brutes1 is necessary to constitute personality4 ,his whole system both of theology and morals neither teaches1 nor implies1 the existence of any specific difference either between the understanding and reason1 or between nature and the will4 ,it does not imply the existence of any power in man1 which does not obviously belong1 in a greater or less degree1 to irrational animals4 ,dr4 ,fleming1 another reverend prelate in the ,english ,church1 in his ,philosophy of ,zoology1 maintains in express terms that we have no faculties differing in kind from those which belong to brutes4 ,how many other learned1 and reverend1 and wise men adopt the same opinions1 ,i know not3 though these are obviously not the peculiar views of the individuals1 but conclusions resulting from the essential principles of their system4 ,if1 then1 there is no better system1 if this be the genuine philosophy1 and founded in the nature of things1 there is no help for us1 and we must believe it--if we can4 ,but most certainly it will follow1 that we ought1 as fast as the prejudices of education will permit1 to rid ourselves of certain notions of prerogative1 and certain feelings of our own superiority1 which somehow have been strangely prevalent among our race4 ,for though we have indeed1 according to this system1 a little more understanding than other animals--can abstract and generalize and forecast events1 and the consequences of our actions1 and compare motives more skilfully than they3 though we have thus more knowledge and can circumvent them2 though we have more power and can subdue them2 yet1 as to any distinctive and peculiar characteristic--as to any inherent and essential worth1 we are after all but little better--though we may be better off--than our dogs and horses4 ,there is no essential difference1 and we may rationally doubt--at least we might do so1 if by the supposition we were rational beings--whether our fellow animals of the kennel and the stall are not unjustly deprived of certain personal rights1 and whether a dog charged with trespass may not rationally claim to be tried by a jury of his peers4 ,now however trifling and ridiculous this may appear1 ,i would ask in truth and soberness1 if it be not a fair and legitimate inference from the premises1 and whether the absurdity of the one does not demonstrate the utter falsity of the other4 ,and where1 ,i would beg to know1 shall we look1 according to the popular system of philosophy1 for that image of ,god in which we are created8 ,is it a thing of degrees8 ,and is it simply because we have something more of the same faculties which belong to brutes1 that we become the objects of ,god's special and fatherly care1 the distinguished objects of his ,providence1 and the sole objects of his ,grace8--,doth ,god take care for oxen8 ,but why not8 ,i assure my readers1 that ,i have no desire to treat with disrespect and contumely the opinions of great or good men2 but the distinction in question1 and the assertion and exhibition of the higher prerogatives of reason1 as an essential constituent of our being1 are so vitally important1 in my apprehension1 to the formation and support of any rational system of philosophy1 and--no less than the distinction before treated of--so pregnant of consequences to the interests of truth1 in morals1 and religion1 and indeed of all truth1 that mere opinion and the authority of names may well be disregarded4 ,the discussion1 moreover1 relates to facts1 and to such facts1 too1 as are not to be learned from the instruction1 or received on the authority1 of any man4 ,they must be ascertained by every man for himself1 by reflection upon the processes and laws of his own inward being1 or they are not learned at all to any valuable purpose4 ,we do indeed find in ourselves then1 as no one will deny1 certain powers of intelligence1 which we have abundant reason to believe the brutes possess in common with us in a greater or less degree4 ,the functions of the understanding1 as treated of in the popular systems of metaphysics1 its faculties of attention1 of abstraction1 of generalization1 the power of forethought and contrivance1 of adapting means to ends1 and the law of association1 may be1 so far as we can judge1 severally represented more or less adequately in the instinctive intelligence of the higher orders of brutes4 ,but1 not to anticipate too far a topic treated of in the ,work1 do these1 or any and all the faculties which we discover in irrational animals1 satisfactorily account to a reflecting mind for all the phenomena which are presented to our observation in our own consciousness8 ,would any supposable addition to the degree merely of those powers which we ascribe to brutes1 render them rational beings1 and remove the sacred distinction1 which law and reason have sanctioned1 between things and persons8 ,will any such addition account for our having--what the brute is not supposed to have--the pure ideas of the geometrician1 the power of ideal construction1 the intuition of geometrical or other necessary and universal truths8 ,would it give rise1 in irrational animals1 to a law of moral rectitude and to conscience--to the feelings of moral responsibility and remorse8 ,would it awaken them to a reflective self-consciousness1 and lead them to form and contemplate the ideas of the soul1 of free-will1 of immortality1 and of ,god4 ,it seems to me1 that we have only to reflect for a serious hour upon what we mean by these1 and then to compare them with our notion of what belongs to a brute1 its inherent powers and their correlative objects1 to feel that they are utterly incompatible--that in the possession of these we enjoy a prerogative which we cannot disclaim without a violation of reason1 and a voluntary abasement of ourselves--and that we must therefore be possessed of some peculiar powers--of some source of ideas distinct from the understanding1 differing in kind from any and all of those which belong to us in common with inferior and irrational animals4 ,but what these powers are1 or what is the precise nature of the distinction between the understanding and reason1 it is not my province1 nor have ,i undertaken1 to show4 ,my object is merely to illustrate its necessity1 and the palpable obscurity1 vagueness1 and deficiency1 in this respect1 of the mode of philosophizing1 which is held in so high honour among us4 ,the distinction itself will be found illustrated with some of its important bearings in the ,work1 and in the notes attached to it2 and cannot be too carefully studied--in connection with that between nature and the will--by the student who would acquire distinct and intelligible notions of what constitutes the truly spiritual in our being1 or find rational grounds for the possibility of a truly spiritual religion4 ,indeed1 could ,i succeed in fixing the attention of the reader upon this distinction1 in such a way as to secure his candid and reflecting perusal of the ,work1 ,i should consider any personal effort or sacrifice abundantly recompensed4 ,nor am ,i alone in this view of its importance4 ,a literary friend1 whose opinion on this subject would be valued by all who knew the soundness of his scholarship1 says in a letter just now received1--if you can once get the attention of thinking men fixed on his distinction between the reason and the understanding1 you will have done enough to reward the labour of a life4 ,as prominent a place as it holds in the writings of ,coleridge1 he seems to me far enough from making too much of it4 ,no person of serious and philosophical mind1 ,i am confident1 can reflect upon the subject1 enough to understand it in its various aspects1 without arriving at the same views of the importance of the distinction1 whatever may be his conviction with regard to its truth4 ,but1 indeed1 the only grounds which ,i find1 to apprehend that the reality of the distinction and the importance of the consequence resulting from it1 will be much longer denied and rejected among us1 is in the overweening assurance which prevails with regard to the adequateness and perfection of the system of philosophy which is already received4 ,it is taken for granted1 as a fact undisputed and indisputable1 that this is the most enlightened age of the world1 not only with regard to the more general diffusion of certain points of practical knowledge2 in which1 probably1 it may be so1 but in all respects2 that our whole system of the philosophy of mind as derived from ,lord ,bacon1 especially1 is the only one1 which has any claims to common sense2 and that all distinctions not recognized in that are consequently unworthy of our regard4 ,what those ,reformers1 to whose transcendant powers of mind1 and to whose characters as truly spiritual divines1 we are accustomed to look with feelings of so much general regard1 might find to say in favour of their philosophy1 few take the pains to inquire4 ,neither they nor the great philosophers with whom they held communion on subjects of this sort can appear among us to speak in their own defence3 and even the huge folios and quartos1 in which1 though dead1 they yet speak--and ought to be heard--have seldom strayed to this side of the ,atlantic4 ,all our information respecting their philosophical opinions1 and the grounds on which they defended them1 has been received from writers1 who were confessedly advocating a system of recent growth1 at open war with every thing more ancient1 and who1 in the great abundance of their self-complacency1 have represented their own discoveries as containing the sum and substance of all philosophy1 and the accumulated treasures of ancient wisdom as unworthy the attention of this enlightened age4 ,be it so--yet the foolishness of antiquity1 if it be of ,god1 may prove wiser than men4 ,it may be found that the philosophy of the ,reformers and their religion are essentially connected1 and must stand or fall together4 ,it may at length be discovered that a system of religion essentially spiritual1 and a system of philosophy which excludes the very idea of all spiritual power and agency1 in their only distinctive and proper character1 cannot be consistently associated together4 ,it is our peculiar misfortune in this country that1 while the philosophy of ,locke and the ,scottish writers has been received in full faith1 as the only rational system1 and its leading principles especially passed off as unquestionable1 the strong attachment to religion1 and the fondness for speculation1 by both of which we are strongly characterized1 have led us to combine and associate these principles1 such as they are1 with our religious interests and opinions1 so variously and so intimately1 that by most persons they are considered as necessary parts of the same system2 and from being so long contemplated together1 the rejection of one seems impossible without doing violence to the other4 ,yet how much evidence might not an impartial observer find in examining the theological discussions which have prevailed1 the speculative systems which have been formed and arrayed against each other1 for the last seventy years1 to convince him that there must be some discordance in the elements1 some principle of secret but irreconcilable hostility between a philosophy and a religion1 which1 under every ingenious variety of form and shaping1 still stand aloof from each other and refuse to cohere4 ,for is it not a fact1 that in regard to every speculative system which has been formed on these philosophical principles1--to every new shaping of theory which has been devised and has gained adherents among us1--is it not a fact1 ,i ask1 that1 to all1 except those adherents1 the system--the philosophical theory--has seemed dangerous in its tendency1 and at war with orthodox views of religion--perhaps even with the attributes of ,god8 ,nay1 to bring the matter still nearer and more plainly to view1 ,i ask1 whether at this moment the organs and particular friends of our leading theological seminaries in ,new ,england1 both devotedly attached to an orthodox and spiritual system of religion1 and expressing mutual confidence as to the essentials of their mutual faith1 do not each consider the other as holding a philosophical theory subversive of orthodoxy8 ,if ,i am not misinformed1 this is the simple fact4 ,now1 if these things be so1 ,i would ask again with all earnestness1 and out of regard to the interests of truth alone1 whether serious and reflecting men may not be permitted1 without the charge of heresy in ,,religion1 to stand in doubt of this ,,philosophy altogether2 whether these facts which will not be disputed1 do not furnish just grounds for suspicion1 that the principles of our philosophy may be erroneous1 or at least induce us to look with candour and impartiality at the claims of another and a different system8 ,what are the claims of the system1 to which the attention of the public is invited in this ,work1 can be understood fully1 only by a careful and reflecting examination of its principles in connection with the conscious wants of our own inward being--the requirements of our own reason and consciences4 ,its purpose and tendency1 ,i have endeavoured in some measure to exhibit2 and if the influence of authority1 which the prevailing system furnishes against it1 can and must be counteracted by anything of a like kind--7and whatever professions we may make1 the influence of authority produces at least a predisposing effect upon our minds7--the remarks which ,i have made1 will show1 that the principles here taught are not wholly unauthorized by men1 whom we have been taught to reverence among the great and good4 ,i cannot but add1 as a matter of simple justice to the question1 that however our prevailing system of philosophizing may have appealed to the authority of ,lord ,bacon1 it needs but a candid examination of his writings1 especially the first part of his ,novum ,organum1 to be convinced that such an appeal is without grounds2 and that in fact the fundamental principles of his philosophy are the same with those taught in this work4 ,the great distinction especially1 between the understanding and the reason1 is clearly and fully recognized2 and as a philosopher he would be far more properly associated with ,plato1 or even ,aristotle1 than with the modern philosophers1 who have miscalled their systems by his name4 ,in our own times1 moreover1 there is abundant evidence1 whatever may be thought of the principles of this ,work here1 that the same general views of philosophy are regaining their ascendancy elsewhere4 ,in ,great ,britain there are not few1 who begin to believe that the deep-toned and sublime eloquence of ,coleridge on these great subjects may have something to claim their attention besides a few peculiarities of language4 ,in ,paris1 the doctrines of a rational and spiritual system of philosophy are taught to listening and admiring thousands by one of the most learned and eloquent philosophers of the age2 and in ,germany1 if ,i mistake not1 the same general views are adopted by the serious friends of religious truth among her great and learned men4 ,such--as ,i have no doubt--must be the case1 wherever thinking men can be brought distinctly and impartially to examine their claims2 and indeed to those who shall study and comprehend the general history of philosophy1 it must always be matter of special wonder1 that in a ,christian community1 anxiously striving to explain and defend the doctrines of ,christianity in their spiritual sense1 there should have been a long-continued and tenacious adherence to philosophical principles1 so subversive of their faith in everything distinctively spiritual2 while those of an opposite tendency1 and claiming a near relationship and correspondence with the truly spiritual in the ,christian system1 and the mysteries of its sublime faith1 were looked upon with suspicion and jealousy1 as unintelligible or dangerous metaphysics4 ,and here ,i must be allowed to add a few remarks with regard to the popular objections against the system of philosophy1 the claims of which ,i am urging1 especially against the writings of the ,author1 under whose name it appears in the present ,work4 ,these are various and often contradictory1 but usually have reference either to his peculiarities of language1 or to the depth--whether apparent or real1--and the unintelligibleness1 of his thoughts4 ,to the first of these it seems to me a sufficient answer1 for a mind that would deal honestly and frankly by itself1 to suggest that in the very nature of things it is impossible for a writer to express by a single word any truth1 or to mark any distinction1 not recognized in the language of his day1 unless he adopts a word entirely new1 or gives to one already in use a new and more peculiar sense4 ,now in communicating truths1 which the writer deems of great and fundamental importance1 shall he thus appropriate a single word old or new1 or trust to the vagueness of perpetual circumlocution8 ,admitting for example1 the existence of the important distinction1 for which this writer contends1 between the understanding and reason1 and that this distinction when recognized at all1 is confounded in the common use of language by employing the words indiscriminately1 shall he still use these words indiscriminately1 and either invent a new word1 or mark the distinction by descriptive circumlocutions1 or shall he assign a more distinctive and precise meaning to the words already used8 ,it seems to me obviously more in accordance with the laws and genius of language to take the course which he has adopted4 ,but in this case and in many others1 where his language seems peculiar1 it cannot be denied that the words had already been employed in the same sense1 and the same distinctions recognized1 by the older and many of the most distinguished writers in the language4 ,with regard to the more important objection1 that the thoughts of ,coleridge are unintelligible1 if it be intended to imply1 that his language is not in itself expressive of an intelligible meaning1 or that he affects the appearance of depth and mystery1 while his thoughts are common-place1 it is an objection1 which no one who has read his ,works attentively1 and acquired a feeling of interest for them1 will treat their ,author with so much disrespect as to answer at all4 ,every such reader knows that he uses words uniformly with astonishing precision1 and that language becomes1 in his use of it--in a degree1 of which few writers can give us a conception--a living power1 consubstantial with the power of thought1 that gave birth to it1 and awakening and calling into action a corresponding energy in our own minds4 ,there is little encouragement1 moreover1 to answer the objections of any man1 who will permit himself to be incurably prejudiced against an ,author by a few peculiarities of language1 or an apparent difficulty of being understood1 and without inquiring into the cause of that difficulty1 where at the same time he cannot but see and acknowledge the presence of great intellectual and moral power4 ,but if it be intended by the objection to say simply1 that the thoughts of the ,author are often difficult to be apprehended--that he makes large demands not only upon the attention1 but upon the reflecting and thinking powers1 of his readers1 the fact is not1 and need not be1 denied2 and it will only remain to be decided1 whether the instruction offered1 as the reward1 will repay us for the expenditure of thought required1 or can be obtained for less4 ,i know it is customary in this country1 as well as in ,great ,britain--and that too among men from whom different language might be expected--to affect either contempt or modesty1 in regard to all that is more than common-place in philosophy1 and especially ,coleridge's ,metaphysics1 as too deep for them4 ,now it may not be every man's duty1 or in every man's power1 to devote to such studies the time and thought necessary to understand the deep things of philosophy4 ,but for one who professes to be a scholar1 and to cherish a manly love of truth for the truth's sake1 to object to a system of metaphysics because it is too deep for him1 must be either a disingenuous insinuation1 that its depths are not worth exploring--which is more than the objector knows--or a confession1 that--with all his professed love of truth and knowledge--he prefers to sleep after dinner4 ,the misfortune is1 that men have been cheated into a belief1 that all philosophy and metaphysics worth knowing are contained in a few volumes1 which can be understood with little expense of thought2 and that they may very well spare themselves the vexation of trying to comprehend the depths of ,coleridge's ,metaphysics4 ,according to the popular notions of the day1 it is a very easy matter to understand the philosophy of mind4 ,a new work on philosophy is as easy to read as the last new novel2 and superficial1 would-be scholars1 who have a very sensible horror at the thought of studying ,algebra1 or the doctrine of fluxions1 can yet go through a course of moral sciences1 and know all about the philosophy of the mind4 ,now why will not men of sense1 and men who have any just pretensions to scholarship1 see that there must of necessity be gross sophistry somewhere in any system of metaphysics1 which pretends to give us an adequate and scientific self-knowledge--to render comprehensible to us the mysterious laws of our own inward being1 with less manly and persevering effort of thought on our part1 than is confessedly required to comprehend the simplest of those sciences1 all of which are but some of the phnomena from which the laws in question are to be inferred8--,why will they not see and acknowledge--what one would suppose a moment's reflection would teach them--that to attain true self-knowledge by reflection upon the objects of our inward consciousness--not merely to understand the motives of our conduct as conscientious ,christians1 but to know ourselves scientifically as philosophers--must1 of necessity1 be the most deep and difficult of all our attainments in knowledge8 ,i trust that what ,i have already said will be sufficient to expose the absurdity of objections against metaphysics in general1 and do something towards showing1 that we are in actual and urgent need of a system somewhat deeper than those1 the contradictions of which have not without reason made the name of philosophy a terror to the friends of truth and of religion4 ,false metaphysics can be effectually counteracted by true metaphysics alone2 and if the reasoning be clear1 solid1 and pertinent1 the truth deduced can never be the less valuable on account of the depth from which it may have been drawn4 ,it is a fact1 too1 of great importance to be kept in mind1 in relation to this subject1 that in the study of ourselves--in attaining a knowledge of our own being1--there are truths of vast concernment1 and lying at a great depth1 which yet no man can draw for another4 ,however the depth may have been fathomed1 and the same truth brought up by others1 for a light and a joy to their own minds1 it must still remain1 and be sought for by us1 each for himself1 at the bottom of the well4 ,the system of philosophy here taught does not profess to make men philosophers1 or--which ought to mean the same thing--to guide them to the knowledge of themselves1 without the labour both of attention and of severe thinking4 ,if it did so1 it would have1 like the more popular works of philosophy1 far less affinity than it now has1 with the mysteries of religion1 and those profound truths concerning our spiritual being and destiny1 which are revealed in the things hard to be understood of ,st4 ,paul and of the beloved disciple4 ,for ,i cannot but remind my readers again1 that the ,author does not undertake to teach us the philosophy of the human mind1 with the exclusion of the truths and influences of religion4 ,he would not undertake to philosophize respecting the being and character of man1 and at the same time exclude from his view the very principle which constitutes his proper humanity3 he would not1 in teaching the doctrine of the solar system1 omit to mention the sun1 and the law of gravitation4 ,he professes to investigate and unfold the being of man as man1 in his higher1 his peculiar1 and distinguishing attributes4 ,these it is1 which are hard to be understood1 and to apprehend which requires the exercise of deep reflection and exhausting thought4 ,nor in aiming at this object would he consider it very philosophical to reject the aid and instruction of eminent writers on the subject of religion1 or even of the volume of ,revelation itself4 ,he would consider ,st4 ,augustine as none the less a philosopher1 because he became a ,christian4 ,the ,apostles ,john and ,paul were1 in the view of this system of philosophy1 the most rational of all writers1 and the ,new ,testament the most philosophical of all books4 ,they are so because they unfold more fully1 than any other1 the true and essential principles of our being2 because they give us a clearer and deeper insight into those constituent laws of our humanity1 which as men1 and therefore as philosophers1 we are most concerned to know4 ,not only to those1 who seek the practical self-knowledge of the humble1 spiritually-minded ,christian1 but to those also1 who are impelled by the heaven descended to study themselves as philosophers1 and to make self-knowledge a science1 the truths of ,scripture are a light and a revelation4 ,the more earnestly we reflect upon these and refer them1 whether as ,christians or as philosophers1 to the movements of our inward being--to the laws which reveal themselves in our own consciousness1 the more fully shall we understand1 not only the language of ,scripture1 but all that most demands and excites the curiosity of the genuine philosopher in the mysterious character of man4 ,it is by this guiding light1 that we can best search into and apprehend the constitution of that marvellous microcosm1 which1 the more it has been known1 has awakened more deeply the wonder and admiration of the true philosopher in every age4 ,nor would the ,author of this ,work1 or those who have imbibed the spirit of his system1 join with the philosophers of the day in throwing aside and treating with a contempt1 as ignorant as it is arrogant1 the treasures of ancient wisdom4 ,he1 says the son of ,sirach1 that giveth his mind to the law of the ,most ,high1 and is occupied in the meditation thereof1 will seek out the wisdom of all the ancient4 ,in the estimation of the true philosopher1 the case should not be greatly altered in the present day2 and now that two thousand years have added such rich and manifold abundance to those ancient sayings of the wise1 he will still approach them with reverence1 and receive their instruction with gladness of heart4 ,in seeking to explore and unfold these deeper and more solemn mysteries of our being1 which inspire us with awe1 while they baffle our comprehension1 he will especially beware of trusting to his own understanding1 or of contradicting1 in compliance with the self-flattering inventions of a single age1 the universal faith and consciousness of the human race4 ,on such subjects1 though he would call no man master1 yet neither would he willingly forego the aids to be derived1 in the search after truth1 from those great oracles of human wisdom--those giants in intellectual power who from generation to generation were admired and venerated by the great and good4 ,much less could he think it becoming1 or consistent with his duty to hazard the publication of his own thoughts on subjects of the deepest concernment1 and on which minds of greatest depth and power had been occupied in former ages1 while confessedly ignorant alike of their doctrines and of the arguments by which they are sustained4 ,it is in this spirit1 that the ,author of the work here offered to the public has prepared himself to deserve the candid and even confiding attention of his readers1 with reference to the great subject of which he treats4 ,and although the claims of the ,work upon our attention1 as of every other work1 must depend more upon its inherent and essential character1 than upon the worth and authority of its ,author1 it may yet be of service to the reader to know1 that he is no hasty or unfurnished adventurer in the department of authorship to which the ,work belongs4 ,the discriminating reader of this ,work cannot fail to discover his profound knowledge of the philosophy of language1 the principles of its construction1 and the laws of its interpretation4 ,in others of his works1 perhaps more fully than in this1 there is evidence of an unrivalled mastery over all that pertains both to logic and philology4 ,it has been already intimated1 that he is no contemner of the great writers of antiquity and of their wise sentences2 and probably few ,english scholars1 even in those days when there were giants of learning in ,great ,britain1 had minds more richly furnished with the treasures of ancient lore4 ,but especially will the reader of this ,work observe with admiration the profoundness of his philosophical attainments1 and his thorough and intimate knowledge1 not only of the works and systems of ,plato and ,aristotle1 and of the celebrated philosophers of modern times1 but of those too much neglected writings of the ,greek and ,roman ,fathers1 and of the great leaders of the ,reformation1 which more particularly qualified him for discussing the subjects of the present ,work4 ,if these qualifications1 and--with all these1 and above all--a disposition professed and made evident seriously to value them1 chiefly as they enable him more fully and clearly to apprehend and illustrate the truths of the ,christian system1--if these1 ,i say1 can give an ,author a claim to serious and thoughtful attention1 then may the ,work here offered urge its claim upon the reader4 ,my own regard for the cause of truth1 for the interests of philosophy1 of reason1 and of religion1 lead me to hope that they may not be urged in vain4 ,of his general claims to our regard1 whether from exalted personal and moral worth1 or from the magnificence of his intellectual powers1 and the vast extent and variety of his accumulated stores of knowledge1 ,i shall not venture to speak4 ,if it be true indeed that a really great mind can be worthily commended only by those who adequately both appreciate and comprehend its greatness1 there are few who should undertake to estimate1 and set forth in appropriate terms1 the intellectual power and moral worth of ,samuel ,taylor ,coleridge4 ,neither he1 nor the public1 would be benefited by such commendations as ,i could bestow4 ,the few among us who have read his works with the attention which they deserve1 are at no loss what rank to assign him among the writers of the present age2 to those who have not1 any language which ,i might use would appear hyperbolical and extravagant4 ,the character and influence of his principles as a philosopher1 a moralist1 and a ,christian1 and of the writings by which he is enforcing them1 do not ultimately depend upon the estimation in which they may now be held2 and to posterity he may safely entrust those productive ideas and living words--those ---- truths that wake1 ,to perish never1 the possession of which will be for their benefit1 and connected with which1 in the language of the ,son of ,sirach1--,his own memorial shall not depart away1 and his name shall live from generation to generation4 ,j4 ,m4#ac #g ,president of the ,university of ,vermont1 ,united ,states1 where his ,essay was first published with ,dr4 ,marsh's edition of the ',aids1' #ahbi4 ,see ,mr4 ,h4 ,n4 ,coleridge's ,advertisement to the ,fourth ,edition1 ante1 p4 xii4--,,ed4 #h ,see pp4 #agb1 #bjh1 #bbc1 c4--,,ed4 #i ,coleridge's ',biographia ,literaria1' p4 #cja1 ,bohn's edition4--,,ed4 #aj ,introductory ,aphorisms1 ,,xvi41 p4 #h4--;,,ed4 #aa ,also in ,appendix ,b of the ',statesman's ,manual1 ,bohn's edition p1 #ccg4--;,,ed4 #ab ,the ',quarterly ,christian ,spectator1' of ,new ,haven1 ,u4,s4 ,the letter referred to is signed ,pacificus1 and appeared in answer to a review of ,taylor and ,harvey 7,american divines71 ,on ,human ,depravity1 which had appeared in the previous number of the ,q4,c4,s4--,,ed4 #ac ,dr4 ,marsh's signature to the ,advertisement published with the above essay in its revised ,american edition was dated ,burlington1 ,dec4 #bf1 #ahci4--;,,ed4 ,,aids ,,to ,,reflection4 ,,introductory ,,aphorisms4 ,,aphorism ,i4 ,in philosophy equally as in poetry1 it is the highest and most useful prerogative of genius to produce the strongest impressions of novelty1 while it rescues admitted truths from the neglect caused by the very circumstance of their universal admission4 ,extremes meet4 ,truths1 of all others the most awful and interesting1 are too often considered as so true1 that they lose all the power of truth1 and lie bed-ridden in the dormitory of the soul1 side by side with the most despised and exploded errors4 ,,aphorism ,,ii4 ,there is one sure way of giving freshness and importance to the most common-place maxims--that of reflecting on them in direct reference to our own state and conduct1 to our own past and future being4 ,,aphorism ,,iii4 ,to restore a common-place truth to its first uncommon lustre1 you need only translate it into action4 ,but to do this1 you must have reflected on its truth4 ,,aphorism ,,iv4 ,,leighton ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,it is the advice of the wise man1 ',dwell at home1' or1 with yourself2 and though there are very few that do this1 yet it is surprising that the greatest part of mankind cannot be prevailed upon1 at least to visit themselves sometimes2 but1 according to the saying of the wise ,solomon1 ,the eyes of the fool are in the ends of the earth4 ,a reflecting mind1 says an ancient writer1 is the spring and source of every good thing4 7',omnis boni principium intellectus cogitabundus4'7 ,it is at once the disgrace and the misery of men1 that they live without fore-thought4 ,suppose yourself fronting a mirror4 ,now what the objects behind you are to their images at the same apparent distance before you1 such is ,reflection to ,fore-thought4 ,as a man without ,fore-thought scarcely deserves the name of a man1 so ,fore-thought without ,reflection is but a metaphorical phrase for the instinct of a beast4 ,,aphorism ,v4 ,as a fruit-tree is more valuable than any one of its fruits singly1 or even than all its fruits of a single season1 so the noblest object of reflection is the mind itself1 by which we reflect3 ,and as the blossoms1 the green1 and the ripe1 fruit1 of an orange-tree are more beautiful to behold when on the tree and seen as one with it1 than the same growth detached and seen successively1 after their importation into another country and different clime2 so is it with the manifold objects of reflection1 when they are considered principally in reference to the reflective power1 and as part and parcel of the same4 ,no object1 of whatever value our passions may represent it1 but becomes foreign to us1 as soon as it is altogether unconnected with our intellectual1 moral1 and spiritual life4 ,to be ours1 it must be referred to the mind either as motive1 or consequence1 or symptom4 ,,aphorism ,,vi4 ,,leighton4 ,he who teaches men the principles and precepts of spiritual wisdom1 before their minds are called off from foreign objects1 and turned inward upon themselves1 might as well write his instructions1 as the ,sibyl wrote her prophecies1 on the loose leaves of trees1 and commit them to the mercy of the inconstant winds4 ,,aphorism ,,vii4 ,in order to learn we must attend3 in order to profit by what we have learnt1 we must think--i4e4 reflect4 ,he only thinks who reflects4#ad #ad ,the indisposition1 nay1 the angry aversion to think1 even in persons who are most willing to attend1 and on the subjects to which they are giving studious attention--as ,political ,economy1 ,biblical ,theology1 ,classical ,antiquities1 and the like1--is the phenomenon that forces itself on my notice afresh1 every time ,i enter into the society of persons in the higher ranks4 ,to assign a feeling and a determination of will1 as a satisfactory reason for embracing or rejecting this or that opinion or belief1 is of ordinary occurrence1 and sure to obtain the sympathy and the suffrages of the company4 ,and yet to me1 this seems little less irrational than to apply the nose to a picture1 and to decide on its genuineness by the sense of smell4 ,,aphorism ,,viii4 ,,leighton ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,it is a matter of great difficulty1 and requires no ordinary skill and address1 to fix the attention of men on the world within them1 to induce them to study the processes and superintend the works which they are themselves carrying on in their own minds2 in short1 to awaken in them both the faculty of thought#ae and the inclination to exercise it4 ,for alas6 the largest part of mankind are nowhere greater strangers than at home4 #ae ,distinction between ,thought and ,attention4--,by ,,thought is here meant the voluntary reproduction in our own minds of those states of consciousness1 or 7to use a phrase more familiar to the religious reader7 of those inward experiences1 to which1 as to his best and most authentic documents1 the teacher of moral or religious truth refers us4 ,in ,,attention1 we keep the mind passive3 in ,,thought we rouse it into activity4 ,in the former1 we submit to an impression--we keep the mind steady in order to receive the stamp4 ,in the latter1 we seek to imitate the artist1 while we ourselves make a copy or duplicate of his work4 ,we may learn arithmetic1 or the elements of geometry1 by continued attention alone2 but self-knowledge1 or an insight into the laws and constitutions of the human mind1 and the grounds of religion and true morality1 in addition to the effort of attention requires the energy of ,,thought4 ,,aphorism ,,ix4 ,life is the one universal soul1 which1 by virtue of the enlivening ,,breath1 and the informing ,,word1 all organized bodies have in common1 each after its kind4 ,this1 therefore1 all animals possess1 and man as an animal4 ,but1 in addition to this1 ,god transfused into man a higher gift1 and specially imbreathed3--even a living 7that is1 self-subsisting7 soul1 a soul having its life in itself4 ,and man became a living soul4 ,he did not merely possess it1 he became it4 ,it was his proper being1 his truest self1 the man in the man4 ,none then1 not one of human kind1 so poor and destitute1 but there is provided for him1 even in his present state1 a house not built with hands4 ,aye1 and spite of the philosophy 7falsely so called7 which mistakes the causes1 the conditions1 and the occasions of our becoming conscious of certain truths and realities for the truths and realities themselves--a house gloriously furnished4 ,nothing is wanted but the eye1 which is the light of this house1 the light which is the eye of this soul4 ,this seeing light1 this enlightening eye1 is ,reflection4#af ,it is more1 indeed1 than is ordinarily meant by that word2 but it is what a ,christian ought to mean by it1 and to know too1 whence it first came1 and still continues to come--of what light even this light is but a reflection4 ,this1 too1 is ,,thought2 and all thought is but unthinking that does not flow out of this1 or tend towards it4 #af ,the dianoia of #a ,john v4 #bj1 inaccurately rendered understanding in our translation4 ,to exhibit the full force of the ,greek word1 we must say1 a power of discernment by ,reason4 ,,aphorism ,x4 ,self-superintendence6 that anything should overlook itself6 ,is not this a paradox1 and hard to understand8 ,it is1 indeed1 difficult1 and to the imbruted sensualist a direct contradiction3 and yet most truly does the poet exclaim1 ---- ,unless above himself he can ,erect himself1 how mean a thing is man6 ,,aphorism ,,xi4 ,an hour of solitude passed in sincere and earnest prayer1 or the conflict with1 and conquest over1 a single passion or subtle bosom sin1 will teach us more of thought1 will more effectually awaken the faculty1 and form the habit1 of reflection1 than a year's study in the schools without them4 ,,aphorism ,,xii4 ,in a world1 the opinions of which are drawn from outside shows1 many things may be paradoxical1 7that is1 contrary to the common notion7 and nevertheless true3 nay1 because they are true4 ,how should it be otherwise1 as long as the imagination of the ,worldling is wholly occupied by surfaces1 while the ,christian's thoughts are fixed on the substance1 that which is and abides1 and which1 because it is the substance1#ag the outward senses cannot recognize4 ,tertullian had good reason for his assertion1 that the simplest ,christian 7if indeed a ,christian7 knows more than the most accomplished irreligious philosopher4 ,,comment4 ,let it not1 however1 be forgotten1 that the powers of the understanding and the intellectual graces are precious gifts of ,god2 and that every ,christian1 according to the opportunities vouchsafed to him1 is bound to cultivate the one and to acquire the other4 ,indeed1 he is scarcely a ,christian who wilfully neglects so to do4 ,what says the apostle8 ,add to your faith knowledge1 and to knowledge manly energy3 for this is the proper rendering of 1 and not virtue1 at least in the present and ordinary acceptation of the word4#ah #ag ,quod stat subtus1 that which stands beneath1 and 7as it were7 supports1 the appearance4 ,in a language like ours1 where so many words are derived from other languages1 there are few modes of instruction more useful or more amusing than that of accustoming young people to seek for the etymology1 or primary meaning1 of the words they use4 ,there are cases1 in which more knowledge of more value may be conveyed by the history of a word1 than by the history of a campaign4 #ah ,i am not ashamed to confess that ,i dislike the frequent use of the word virtue1 instead of righteousness1 in the pulpit3 and that in prayer or preaching before a ,christian community1 it sounds too much like ,pagan philosophy4 ,the passage in ,st4 ,peter's epistle is the only scripture authority that can be pretended for its use1 and ,i think it right1 therefore1 to notice that it rests either on an oversight of the translators1 or on a change in the meaning of the word since their time4 ,,aphorism ,,xiii4 ,never yet did there exist a full faith in the ,divine ,word 7by whom light1 as well as immortality1 was brought into the world71 which did not expand the intellect1 while it purified the heart2--which did not multiply the aims and objects of the understanding1 while it fixed and simplified those of the desires and passions4#ai ,,comment4 ,if acquiescence without insight2 if warmth without light2 if an immunity from doubt1 given and guaranteed by a resolute ignorance2 if the habit of taking for granted the words of a catechism1 remembered or forgotten2 if a mere sensation of positiveness substituted--,i will not say1 for the sense of certainty2 but--for that calm assurance1 the very means and conditions of which it supersedes2 if a belief that seeks the darkness1 and yet strikes no root1 immovable as the limpet from the rock1 and like the limpet1 fixed there by mere force of adhesion2 if these suffice to make men ,christians1 in what sense could the apostle affirm that believers receive1 not indeed worldly wisdom1 that comes to nought1 but the wisdom of ,god1 that we might know and comprehend the things that are freely given to us of ,god8 ,on what grounds could he denounce the sincerest fervour of spirit as defective1 where it does not likewise bring forth fruits in the ,,understanding8 #ai ,the effects of a zealous ministry on the intellects and acquirements of the labouring classes are not only attested by ,baxter1 and the ,presbyterian divines1 but admitted by ,bishop ,burnet1 who1 during his mission in the west of ,scotland1 was amazed to find a poor commonalty so able to argue1 c4 ,but we need not go to a sister church for proof or example4 ,the diffusion of light and knowledge through this kingdom1 by the exertions of the ,bishops and clergy1 by ,episcopalians and ,puritans1 from ,edward ,,vi4 to the ,restoration1 was as wonderful as it is praiseworthy1 and may be justly placed among the most remarkable facts of history4 ,,aphorism ,,xiv4 ,in our present state1 it is little less than impossible that the affections should be kept constant to an object which gives no employment to the understanding1 and yet cannot be made manifest to the senses4 ,the exercise of the reasoning and reflecting powers1 increasing insight1 and enlarging views1 are requisite to keep alive the substantial faith in the heart4 ,,aphorism ,,xv4 ,in the state of perfection1 perhaps1 all other faculties may be swallowed up in love1 or superseded by immediate vision2 but it is on the wings of the ,,cherubim1 that is1 7according to the interpretation of the ancient ,hebrew doctors7 the intellectual powers and energies1 that we must first be borne up to the pure empyrean4 ,it must be seraphs1 and not the hearts of imperfect mortals1 that can burn unfuelled and self-fed4 ,give me understanding 7is the prayer of the ,royal ,psalmist71 and ,i shall observe thy law with my whole heart4#bj--,thy law is exceeding broad--that is1 comprehensive1 pregnant1 containing far more than the apparent import of the words on a first perusal4 ,it is my meditation all the day4#ba ,,comment4 ,it is worthy of especial observation1 that the ,scriptures are distinguished from all other writings pretending to inspiration1 by the strong and frequent recommendations of knowledge1 and a spirit of inquiry4 ,without reflection1 it is evident that neither the one can be acquired nor the other exercised4 #bj ,ps4 cxix4 #cd4--;,,ed4 #ba ,ps4 cxix4 #ig4--;,,ed4 ,,aphorism ,,xvi4 ,the word rational has been strangely abused of late times4 ,this must not1 however1 disincline us to the weighty consideration1 that thoughtfulness1 and a desire to rest all our convictions on grounds of right reasoning1 are inseparable from the character of a ,christian4 ,,aphorism ,,xvii4 ,a reflecting mind is not a flower that grows wild1 or comes up of its own accord4 ,the difficulty is indeed greater than many1 who mistake quick recollection for thought1 are disposed to admit2 but how much less than it would be1 had we not been born and bred in a ,christian and ,protestant land1 few of us are sufficiently aware4 ,truly may we1 and thankfully ought we to1 exclaim with the ,psalmist3 ,the entrance of thy words giveth light2 it giveth understanding unto the simple4#bb #bb ,ps4 cxix4 #acj4--;,,ed4 ,,aphorism ,,xviii4 ,examine the journals of our zealous missionaries1 ,i will not say among the ,hottentots or ,esquimaux1 but in the highly civilized1 though fearfully uncultivated1 inhabitants of ancient ,india4 ,how often1 and how feelingly1 do they describe the difficulty of rendering the simplest chain of thought intelligible to the ordinary natives1 the rapid exhaustion of their whole power of attention1 and with what distressful effort it is exerted while it lasts6 ,yet it is among these that the hideous practices of self-torture chiefly prevail4 ,o1 if folly were no easier than wisdom1 it being often so very much more grievous1 how certainly might these unhappy slaves of superstition be converted to ,christianity6 ,but1 alas6 to swing by hooks passed through the back1 or to walk in shoes with nails of iron pointed upwards through the soles--all this is so much less difficult1 demands so much less exertion of the will than to reflect1 and by reflection to gain knowledge and tranquillity6 ,,comment4 ,it is not true1 that ignorant persons have no notion of the advantages of truth and knowledge4 ,they confess1 they see and bear witness to these advantages in the conduct1 the immunities1 and the superior powers of the possessors4 ,were they attainable by pilgrimages the most toilsome1 or penances the most painful1 we should assuredly have as many pilgrims and self-tormentors in the service of true religion1 as now exist under the tyranny of ,papal or ,brahman superstition4 ,,aphorism ,,xix4 ,in countries enlightened by the gospel1 however1 the most formidable and 7it is to be feared7 the most frequent impediment to men's turning the mind inward upon themselves1 is that they are afraid of what they shall find there4 ,there is an aching hollowness in the bosom1 a dark cold speck at the heart1 an obscure and boding sense of somewhat1 that must be kept out of sight of the conscience2 some secret lodger1 whom they can neither resolve to eject or retain4#bc ,,comment4 ,few are so obdurate1 few have sufficient strength of character1 to be able to draw forth an evil tendency or immoral practice into distinct consciousness1 without bringing it in the same moment before an awaking conscience4 ,but for this very reason it becomes a duty of conscience to form the mind to a habit of distinct consciousness4 ,an unreflecting ,christian walks in twilight among snares and pitfalls6 ,he entreats the heavenly ,father not to lead him into temptation1 and yet places himself on the very edge of it1 because he will not kindle the torch which his ,father had given into his hands1 as a means of prevention1 and lest he should pray too late4 #bc ,the following sonnet was extracted by me from ,herbert's ',temple1' in a work long since out of print1 for the purity of the language and the fulness of the sense4 ,but ,i shall be excused1 ,i trust1 in repeating it here for higher merits and with higher purposes1 as a forcible comment on the words in the text4 ,graces vouchsafed in a ,christian land4 ,lord6 with what care hast thou begirt us round6 ,parents first season us4 ,then schoolmasters ,deliver us to laws4 ,they send us bound ,to rules of reason4 ,holy messengers2 ,pulpits and ,sundays2 sorrow dogging sin2 ,afflictions sorted2 anguish of all sizes2 ,fine nets and stratagems to catch us in6 ,bibles laid open2 millions of surprizes2 ,blessings beforehand2 ties of gratefulness2 ,the sound of glory ringing in our ears3 ,without1 our shame2 within1 our consciences2 ,angels and grace2 eternal hopes and fears6 ,yet all these fences1 and their whole array1 ,one cunning ,,bosom-,,sin blows quite away4 ,,aphorism ,,xx4 ,among the various undertakings of men1 can there be mentioned one more important1 can there be conceived one more sublime1 than an intention to form the human mind anew after the ,,divine ,,image8 ,the very intention1 if it be sincere1 is a ray of its dawning4 ,the requisites for the execution of this high intent may be comprised under three heads2 the prudential1 the moral1 and the spiritual4 ,,aphorism ,,xxi4 ,first1 ,,religious ,,prudence4--,what this is1 will be best explained by its effects and operations4 ,,prudence in the service of ,,religion consists in the prevention or abatement of hindrances and distractions2 and consequently in avoiding1 or removing1 all such circumstances as1 by diverting the attention of the workman1 retard the progress and hazard the safety of the work4 ,it is likewise 7,i deny not7 a part of this unworldly prudence1 to place ourselves as much and as often as it is in our power so to do1 in circumstances directly favourable to our great design2 and to avail ourselves of all the positive helps and furtherances which these circumstances afford4 ,but neither dare we1 as ,christians1 forget whose and under what dominion the things are1 qu nos circumstant1 that is1 which stand around us4 ,we are to remember1 that it is the world that constitutes our outward circumstances2 that in the form of the world1 which is evermore at variance with the ,divine form 7or idea7 they are cast and moulded2 and that of the means and measures which the same prudence requires in the forming anew of the ,divine ,image in the soul1 the far greater number suppose the world at enmity with our design4 ,we are to avoid its snares1 to repel its attacks1 to suspect its aids and succours1 and even when compelled to receive them as allies within our trenches1 we are to commit the outworks alone to their charge1 and to keep them at a jealous distance from the citadel4 ,the powers of the world are often christened1 but seldom christianized4 ,they are but proselytes of the outer gate2 or like the ,saxons of old1 enter the land as auxiliaries1 and remain in it as conquerors and lords4 ,,aphorism ,,xxii4 ,the rules of prudence in general1 like the laws of the stone tables1 are for the most part prohibitive4 ,thou shalt not is their characteristic formula3 and it is an especial part of ,christian prudence that it should be so4 ,nor would it be difficult to bring under this head1 all the social obligations that arise out of the relations of the present life1 which the sensual understanding 7 1 ,romans viii4 #f47 is of itself able to discover1 and the performance of which1 under favourable circumstances1 the merest worldly self-interest1 without love or faith1 is sufficient to enforce2 but which ,christian ,prudence enlivens by a higher principle1 and renders symbolic and sacramental4 7,ephesians v4 #cb47 ,,comment4 ,this then1 under the appellation of prudential requisites1 comes first under consideration3 and may be regarded as the shrine and frame-work for the ,divine image1 into which the worldly human is to be transformed4 ,we are next to bring out the ,divine ,portrait itself1 the distinct features of its countenance1 as a sojourner among men2 its benign aspect turned towards its fellow-pilgrims1 the extended arm1 and the hand that blesseth and healeth4 ,,aphorism ,,xxiii4 ,the outward service 7#bd7 of ancient religion1 the rites1 ceremonies and ceremonial vestments of the old law1 had morality for their substance4 ,they were the letter1 of which morality was the spirit2 the enigma1 of which morality was the meaning4 ,but morality itself is the service and ceremonial 7cultus exterior1 7 of the ,christian religion4 ,the scheme of grace and truth that became#be through ,jesus ,christ1 the faith that looks#bf down into the perfect law of liberty1 has light for its garment3 its very robe is righteousness4 ,,comment4 ,herein the apostle places the pre-eminence1 the peculiar and distinguishing excellence1 of the ,christian religion4 ,the ritual is of the same kind1 77 though not of the same order1 with the religion itself--not arbitrary or conventional1 as types and hieroglyphics are in relation to the things expressed by them2 but inseparable1 consubstantiated 7as it were71 and partaking therefore of the same life1 permanence1 and intrinsic worth with its spirit and principle4 #bd ,see the epistle of ,st4 ,james1 i4 #bf1 #bg1 where1 in the authorized version1 the ,greek word is falsely rendered religion2 whether by mistake of the translator1 or from the intended sense having become obsolete1 ,i cannot decide4 ,at all events1 for the ,english reader of our times it has the effect of an erroneous translation4 ,it not only obscures the connexion of the passage1 and weakens the peculiar force and sublimity of the thought1 rendering it comparatively flat and trivial1 almost indeed tautological1 but has occasioned this particular verse to be perverted into a support of a very dangerous error2 and the whole epistle to be considered as a set-off against the epistles and declarations of ,st4 ,paul1 instead of 7what in fact it is7 a masterly comment and confirmation of the same4 ,i need not inform the religious reader1 that ,james i4 #bg1 is the favourite text and most boasted authority of those divines who represent the ,redeemer of the world as little more than a moral reformer1 and the ,christian faith as a code of ethics1 differing from the moral system of ,moses and the prophets by an additional motive2 or rather1 by the additional strength and clearness which the historical fact of the resurrection has given to the same motive4 #be ,the ,greek word 1 unites in itself the two senses of began to exist and was made to exist4 ,it exemplifies the force of the middle voice1 in distinction from the verb reflex4 ,in answer to a note on ,john i4 #b41 in the ,unitarian version of the ,new ,testament1 ,i think it worth noticing1 that the same word is used in the very same sense by ,aristophanes in that famous parody on the cosmogonies of the ,mythic poets1 or the creation of the finite1 as delivered1 or supposed to be delivered1 in the ,cabiric or ,samothracian mysteries1 in the ,comedy of the ,birds4 ---- 1 4 #bf ,james i4 #be4 4 ,the ,greek word1 parakupsas1 signifies the incurvation or bending of the body in the act of looking down into2 as1 for instance1 in the endeavour to see the reflected image of a star in the water at the bottom of a well4 ,a more happy or forcible word could not have been chosen to express the nature and ultimate object of reflection1 and to enforce the necessity of it1 in order to discover the living fountain and spring-head of the evidence of the ,christian faith in the believer himself1 and at the same time to point out the seat and region1 where alone it is to be found4 ,quantum sumus1 scimus4 ,that which we find within ourselves1 which is more than ourselves1 and yet the ground of whatever is good and permanent therein1 is the substance and life of all other knowledge4 ,n4,b4 ,the ,familists of the sixteenth century1 and similar enthusiasts of later date1 overlooked the essential point1 that it was a law1 and a law that involved its own end 771 a perfect law 77 or law that perfects or completes itself2 and therefore1 its obligations are called1 in reference to human statutes1 imperfect duties1 i4e4 incoercible from without4 ,they overlooked that it was a law that portions out 7 from to allot1 or make division of7 to each man the sphere and limits within which it is to be exercised--which as ,st4 ,peter notices of certain profound passages in the writings of ,st4 ,paul1 7#b ,pet4 iii4 #af47--o 1 1 4 ,,aphorism ,,xxiv4 ,morality is the body1 of which the faith in ,christ is the soul--so far indeed its earthly body1 as it is adapted to its state of warfare on earth1 and the appointed form and instrument of its communion with the present world2 yet not terrestrial1 nor of the world1 but a celestial body1 and capable of being transfigured from glory to glory1 in accordance with the varying circumstances and outward relations of its moving and informing spirit4 ,,aphorism ,,xxv4 ,woe to the man1 who will believe neither power1 freedom1 nor morality2 because he nowhere finds either entire1 or unmixed with sin1 thraldom and infirmity4 ,in the natural and intellectual realms1 we distinguish what we cannot separate2 and in the moral world1 we must distinguish in order to separate4 ,yea1 in the clear distinction of good from evil the process of separation commences4 ,,comment4 ,it was customary with religious men in former times1 to make a rule of taking every morning some text1 or aphorism1#bg for their occasional meditation during the day1 and thus to fill up the intervals of their attention to business4 ,i do not point it out for imitation1 as knowing too well1 how apt these self-imposed rules are to degenerate into superstition or hollowness2 otherwise ,i would have recommended the following as the first exercise4 #bg ,in accordance with a preceding remark1 on the use of etymology in disciplining the youthful mind to thoughtful habits1 and as consistent with the title of this work1 ',aids to ,reflection1' ,i shall offer no apology for the following and similar notes3 ,aphorism1 determinate position1 from the ,greek1 ap1 from2 and horizein1 to bound or limit2 whence our horizon4--,in order to get the full sense of a word1 we should first present to our minds the visual image that forms its primary meaning4 ,draw lines of different colours round the different counties of ,england1 and then cut out each separately1 as in the common play-maps that children take to pieces and put together--so that each district can be contemplated apart from the rest1 as a whole in itself4 ,this twofold act of circumscribing1 and detaching1 when it is exerted by the mind on subjects of reflection and reason1 is to aphorize1 and the result an aphorism4 ,,aphorism ,,xxvi4 ,it is a dull and obtuse mind1 that must divide in order to distinguish2 but it is a still worse1 that distinguishes in order to divide4 ,in the former1 we may contemplate the source of superstition and idolatry2#bh in the latter1 of schism1 heresy1#bi and a seditious and sectarian spirit4#cj #bh 4--,damasc4 de ,myst4 ,egypt2 that is1 ,they divided the intelligible into many and several individualities4 #bi ,from 4 ,though well aware of its formal and apparent derivation from haireo1 ,i am inclined to refer both words to airo1 as the primitive term1 containing the primary visual image1 and therefore should explain hresis1 as a wilful raising into public notice1 an uplifting 7for display7 of any particular opinion differing from the established belief of the church at large1 and making it a ground of schism1 that is1 division4 #cj ,i mean these words in their large and philosophic sense in relation to the spirit1 or originating temper and tendency1 and not to any one mode under which1 or to any one class1 in or by which it may be displayed4 ,a seditious spirit may 7it is possible1 though not probable7 exist in the council-chamber of a palace as strongly as in a mob in ,palace-,yard2 and a sectarian spirit in a cathedral1 no less than in a conventicle4 ,,aphorism ,,xxvii4 ,exclusive of the abstract sciences1 the largest and worthiest portion of our knowledge consists of aphorisms3 and the greatest and best of men is but an aphorism4 ,,aphorism ,,xxviii4 ,on the prudential influence which the fear or foresight of the consequences of his actions1 in respect of his own loss or gain1 may exert on a newly-converted ,believer4 ,,precautionary ,,remark4--,i meddle not with the dispute respecting conversion1 whether1 and in what sense1 necessary in all ,christians4 ,it is sufficient for my purpose1 that a very large number of men1 even in ,christian countries1 need to be converted1 and that not a few1 ,i trust1 have been4 ,the tenet becomes fanatical and dangerous1 only when rare and extraordinary exceptions are made to be the general rule2--when what was vouchsafed to the apostle of the ,gentiles by especial grace1 and for an especial purpose1 namely1 a conversion#ca begun and completed in the same moment1 is demanded or expected of all men1 as a necessary sign and pledge of their election4 ,late observations have shown1 that under many circumstances the magnetic needle1 even after the disturbing influence has been removed1 will keep wavering1 and require many days before it points aright1 and remains steady to the pole4 ,so is it ordinarily with the soul1 after it has begun to free itself from the disturbing forces of the flesh and the world1 and to convert#cb itself towards ,god4 #ca ,whereas ,christ's other disciples had a breeding under him1 ,st4 ,paul was born an apostle2 not carved out1 as the rest1 by degrees and in course of time1 but a fusile apostle1 an apostle poured out and cast in a mould4 ,as ,adam was a perfect man in an instant1 so was ,st4 ,paul a perfect ,christian4 ,the same spirit was the lightning that melted1 and the mould that received and shaped him4--,donne's ,sermons--quoted from memory4 #cb ,from the ,latin1 convertere--that is1 by an act of the ,,will to turn towards the true pole1 at the same time 7for this is the force of the prepositive con7 that the understanding is convinced and made aware of its existence and direction4 ,,aphorism ,,xxix4 ,awakened by the cock-crow1 7a sermon1 a calamity1 a sick bed1 or a providential escape7 the ,christian pilgrim sets out in the morning twilight1 while yet the truth 7the 7 is below the horizon4 ,certain necessary consequences of his past life and his present undertaking will be seen by the refraction of its light3 more will be apprehended and conjectured4 ,the phantasms1 that had predominated during the hours of darkness1 are still busy4 ,though they no longer present themselves as distinct forms1 they yet remain as formative motions in the pilgrim's soul1 unconscious of its own activity and overmastered by its own workmanship4 ,things take the signature of thought4 ,the shapes of the recent dream become a mould for the objects in the distance2 and these again give an outwardness and a sensation of reality to the shapings of the dream4 ,the bodings inspired by the long habit of selfishness1 and self-seeking cunning1 though they are now commencing the process of their purification into that fear which is the beginning of wisdom1 and which1 as such1 is ordained to be our guide and safeguard1 till the sun of love1 the perfect law of liberty1 is fully arisen--these bodings will set the fancy at work1 and haply1 for a time1 transform the mists of dim and imperfect knowledge into determinate superstitions4 ,but in either case1 whether seen clearly or dimly1 whether beholden or only imagined1 the consequences1 contemplated in their bearings on the individual's inherent#cc desire of happiness and dread of pain1 become motives3 and 7unless all distinction in the words be done away with1 and either prudence or virtue be reduced to a superfluous synonyme1 a redundancy in all the languages of the civilized world71 these motives1 and the acts and forbearances directly proceeding from them1 fall under the head of ,,prudence1 as belonging to one or other of its four very distinct species4 ,i4 ,it may be a prudence1 that stands in opposition to a higher moral life1 and tends to preclude it1 and to prevent the soul from ever arriving at the hatred of sin for its own exceeding sinfulness 7,rom4 vii4 #ac73 and this is an ,,evil ,,prudence4 ,,ii4 ,or it may be a neutral prudence1 not incompatible with spiritual growth3 and to this we may1 with especial propriety1 apply the words of our ,lord1 ,what is not against us is for us4 ,it is therefore an innocent1 and 7being such7 a proper1 and ,,commendable ,,prudence4 ,,iii4 ,or it may lead and be subservient to a higher principle than itself4 ,the mind and conscience of the individual may be reconciled to it1 in the foreknowledge of the higher principle1 and with a yearning towards it that implies a foretaste of future freedom4 ,the enfeebled convalescent is reconciled to his crutches1 and thankfully makes use of them1 not only because they are necessary for his immediate support1 but likewise1 because they are the means and conditions of ,,exercise2 and by exercise1 of establishing1 gradatim paulatim1 that strength1 flexibility1 and almost spontaneous obedience of the muscles1 which the idea and cheering presentiment of health hold out to him4 ,he finds their value in their present necessity1 and their worth as they are the instruments of finally superseding it4 ,this is a faithful1 a ,,wise ,,prudence1 having indeed1 its birth-place in the world1 and the wisdom of this world for its father2 but naturalized in a better land1 and having the wisdom from above for its sponsor and spiritual parent4 ,to steal a dropt feather from the spicy nest of the ,phnix1 7the fond humour1 ,i mean1 of the mystic divines and allegorizers of ,holy ,writ17 it is the son of ,terah from ,ur of the ,chaldees1 who gives a tithe of all to the ,king of ,righteousness1 without father1 without mother1 without descent1 7 71 and receives a blessing on the remainder4 ,,iv4 ,lastly1 there is a prudence that co-exists with morality1 as morality co-exists with the spiritual life3 a prudence that is the organ of both1 as the understanding is to the reason and the will1 or as the lungs are to the heart and brain4 ,this is ,a ,,holy ,,prudence1 the steward faithful and discreet1 7 1 ,luke xii4 #db71 the eldest servant in the family of faith1 born in the house1 and made the ruler over his lord's household4 ,let not1 then1 ,i entreat you1 my purpose be misunderstood2 as if1 in distinguishing virtue from prudence1 ,i wished to divide the one from the other4 ,true morality is hostile to that prudence only1 which is preclusive of true morality4 ,the teacher1 who subordinates prudence to virtue1 cannot be supposed to dispense with it2 and he who teaches the proper connexion of the one with the other1 does not depreciate the lower in any sense2 while by making it a link of the same chain with the higher1 and receiving the same influence1 he raises it4 ,in general1 ,morality may be compared to the consonant1 ,prudence to the vowel4 ,the former cannot be uttered 7reduced to practice7 but by means of the latter4 #cc ,the following extract from ,leighton's ',theological ,lectures1' sect4 ,,ii4 may serve as a comment on this sentence3 ,the human mind1 however stunned and weakened by the fall1 still retains some faint idea of the good it has lost2 a kind of languid sense of its misery and indigence1 with affections suitable to these obscure notions4 ,this at least is beyond all doubt and indisputable1 that all men wish well to themselves2 nor can the mind divest itself of this propensity1 without divesting itself of its being4 ,this is what the schoolmen mean1 when in their manner of expression they say1 that 'the will 7voluntas1 not arbitrium7 is carried towards happiness not simply as will1 but as nature4 ,i venture to remark that this position1 if not more certainly would be more evidently true1 if instead of beatitudo1 the word indolentia 7that is1 freedom from pain1 negative happiness7 had been used4 ,but this depends on the exact meaning attached to the term self1 of which more in another place4 ,one conclusion1 however1 follows inevitably from the preceding position1 namely1 that this propensity can never be legitimately made the principle of morality1 even because it is no part or appurtenance of the moral will2 and because the proper object of the moral principle is to limit and control this propensity1 and to determine in what it may be1 and in what it ought to be gratified2 while it is the business of philosophy to instruct the understanding1 and the office of religion to convince the whole man1 that otherwise than as a regulated1 and of course therefore a subordinate1 end1 this propensity1 innate and inalienable though it be1 can never be realized or fulfilled4 ,,aphorism ,,xxx4 ,what the duties of ,,morality are1 the apostle instructs the believer in full1 comprising them under the two heads of negative and positive2 negative1 to keep himself pure from the world2 and positive1 beneficence from loving-kindness1 that is1 love of his fellow-men 7his kind7 as himself4 ,,aphorism ,,xxxi4 ,last and highest1 come the spiritual1 comprising all the truths1 acts1 and duties that have an especial reference to the ,timeless1 the ,permanent1 the ,eternal3 to the sincere love of the ,true1 as truth2 of the ,good1 as good3 and of ,god as both in one4 ,it comprehends the whole ascent from uprightness 7morality1 virtue1 inward rectitude7 to godlikeness1 with all the acts1 exercises1 and disciplines of mind1 will1 and affection1 that are requisite or conducive to the great design of our ,redemption from the form of the evil one1 and of our second creation or birth in the divine image4#cd #cd ,it is worthy of observation1 and may furnish a fruitful subject for future reflection1 how nearly this scriptural division coincides with the ,platonic1 which1 commencing with the prudential1 or the habit of act and purpose proceeding from enlightened self-interest1 qui animi imperio1 corporis servitio1 rerum auxilio1 in proprium sui commodum et sibi providus utitur1 hunc esse prudentem statuimus ascends to the moral1 that is1 to the purifying and remedial virtues2 and seeks its summit in the imitation of the ,divine nature4 ,in this last division1 answering to that which we have called the ,spiritual1 ,plato includes all those inward acts and aspirations1 waitings1 and watchings1 which have a growth in godlikeness for their immediate purpose1 and the union of the human soul with the ,supreme ,good as their ultimate object4 ,nor was it altogether without grounds that several of the ,fathers ventured to believe that ,plato had some dim conception of the necessity of a ,divine ,mediator1 whether through some indistinct echo of the patriarchal faith1 or some rays of light refracted from the ,hebrew prophets through a ,phoenician medium1 7to which he may possibly have referred in his phrase1 1 the wisdom delivered from ,god71 or by his own sense of the mysterious contradiction in human nature between the will and the reason1 the natural appetences and the not less innate law of conscience 7,romans ii4 #ad1 #ae471 we shall in vain attempt to determine4 ,it is not impossible that all three may have co-operated in partially unveiling these awful truths to this plank from the wreck of paradise thrown on the shores of idolatrous ,greece1 to this ,divine ,philosopher1 ,che 'n quella schiera and pi presso al segno ,al qual aggiunge1 a chi dal cielo dato4 ,petrarch3 ,del ,trionfo della ,fama1 ,cap4 ,,iii4 #e1 #f4 ,,aphorism ,,xxxii4 ,it may be an additional aid to reflection1 to distinguish the three kinds severally1 according to the faculty to which each corresponds1 the part of our human nature which is more particularly its organ4 ,thus3 the prudential corresponds to the sense and the understanding2 the moral to the heart and the conscience2 the spiritual to the will and the reason1 that is1 to the finite will reduced to harmony with1 and in subordination to1 the reason1 as a ray from that true light which is both reason and will1 universal reason1 and will absolute4 ,,reflections1 ,,introductory ,,to ,,moral ,,and ,,religious ,,aphorisms4 ,,on ,,sensibility4 ,if ,prudence1 though practically inseparable from ,morality1 is not to be confounded with the ,moral ,principle2 still less may ,sensibility1 that is1 a constitutional quickness of ,sympathy with ,pain and ,pleasure1 and a keen sense of the gratifications that accompany social intercourse1 mutual endearments1 and reciprocal preferences1 be mistaken1 or deemed a ,substitute for either4 ,sensibility is not even a sure pledge of a ,,good ,,heart1 though among the most common meanings of that many-meaning and too commonly misapplied expression4 ,so far from being either ,morality1 or one with the ,moral ,principle1 it ought not even to be placed in the same rank with ,prudence4 ,for ,prudence is at least an offspring of the ,understanding2 but ,sensibility 7the ,sensibility1 ,i mean1 here spoken of71 is for the greater part a quality of the nerves1 and a result of individual bodily temperament4 ,prudence is an active ,principle1 and implies a sacrifice of ,self1 though only to the same ,self projected1 as it were1 to a distance4 ,but the very term ,sensibility1 marks its passive nature2 and in its mere self1 apart from ,choice and ,reflection1 it proves little more than the coincidence or contagion of pleasurable or painful ,sensations in different persons4 ,alas6 how many are there in this over-stimulated age1 in which the occurrence of excessive and unhealthy sensitiveness is so frequent1 as even to have reversed the current meaning of the word1 nervous4 ,how many are#ce there whose sensibility prompts them to remove those evils alone1 which by hideous spectacle or clamorous outcry are present to their senses and disturb their selfish enjoyments4 ,provided the dunghill is not before their parlour window1 they are contented to know that it exists1 and perhaps as the hotbed on which their own luxuries are reared4 ,sensibility is not necessarily ,benevolence4 ,nay1 by rendering us tremblingly alive to trifling misfortunes1 it frequently prevents it1 and induces an effeminate ,selfishness instead1 ---- pampering the coward heart1 ,with feelings all too delicate for use4 ,sweet are the ,tears1 that from a ,howard's eye ,drop on the cheek of one1 he lifts from earth3 ,and he1 who works me good with unmoved face1 ,does it but half4 ,he chills me1 while he aids1 ,my ,benefactor1 not my ,brother ,man4 ,but even this1 this cold benevolence1 ,seems ,worth1 seems ,manhood1 when there rise before me1 ,the sluggard ,pity's vision-weaving tribe1 ,who sigh for wretchedness yet shun the wretched1 ,nursing in some delicious solitude1 ,their slothful ,loves and dainty ,sympathies4#cf ,lastly1 where ,virtue is1 ,sensibility is the ornament and becoming ,attire of ,virtue4 ,on certain occasions it may almost be said to become#cg ,virtue4 ,but ,sensibility and all the amiable qualities may likewise become1 and too often have become1 the panders of ,vice and the instruments of ,seduction4 ,so must it needs be with all qualities that have their rise only in parts and fragments of our nature4 ,a man of warm passions may sacrifice half his estate to rescue a friend from prison2 for he is naturally sympathetic1 and the more social part of his nature happened to be uppermost4 ,the same man shall afterwards exhibit the same disregard of money in an attempt to seduce that friend's wife or daughter4 ,all the evil achieved by ,hobbes1 and the whole ,school of ,materialists will appear inconsiderable1 if it be compared with the mischief effected and occasioned by the sentimental ,philosophy of ,,sterne1 and his numerous imitators4 ,the vilest appetites and the most remorseless inconstancy towards their objects1 acquired the titles of the ,heart1 the irresistible ,feelings1 the too tender ,sensibility2 and if the ,frosts of ,prudence1 the icy chains of ,human ,law thawed and vanished at the genial warmth of ,human ,nature1 who could help it8 ,it was an amiable ,weakness6 ,about this time1 too1 the profanation of the word ,love1 rose to its height4 ,the ,french ,naturalists1 ,buffon and others1 borrowed it from the sentimental ,novelists3 the ,swedish and ,english ,philosophers took the contagion2 and the ,muse of ,science condescended to seek admission into the ,saloons of ,fashion and ,frivolity1 rouged like a harlot1 and with the harlot's wanton leer4 ,i know not how the ,annals of ,guilt could be better forced into the service of ,virtue1 than by such a ,comment on the present paragraph1 as would be afforded by a selection from the sentimental correspondence produced in ,courts of ,justice within the last thirty years1 fairly translated into the true meaning of the words1 and the actual ,object and ,purpose of the infamous writers4 ,do you in good earnest aim at ,dignity of ,character8 ,by all the treasures of a peaceful mind1 by all the charms of an open countenance1 ,i conjure you1 ,o youth6 turn away from those who live in the ,twilight between ,vice and ,virtue4 ,are not ,reason1 ,discrimination1 ,law1 and deliberate ,choice1 the distinguishing ,characters of ,humanity8 ,can aught1 then1 worthy of a human ,being1 proceed from a ,habit of ,soul1 which would exclude all these and 7to borrow a metaphor from ,paganism7 prefer the den of ,trophonius to the ,temple and ,oracles of the ,god of ,light8 ,can any thing manly1 ,i say1 proceed from those1 who for ,law and ,light would substitute shapeless feelings1 sentiments1 impulses1 which as far as they differ from the vital workings in the brute animals1 owe the difference to their former connexion with the proper ,virtues of ,humanity2 as dendrites derive the outlines1 that constitute their value above other clay-stones1 from the casual neighbourhood and pressure of the plants1 the names of which they assume8 ,remember1 that ,love itself in its highest earthly ,bearing1 as the ground of the marriage union1#ch becomes ,love by an inward ,,fiat of the ,will1 by a completing and sealing ,act of ,moral ,election1 and lays claim to permanence only under the form of ,,duty4 #ce ,this paragraph is abridged from the ,watchman1 ,no4 ,,iv4 ,march #be1 #agif2 respecting which the inquisitive ,reader may consult my ',literary ,life4'--,author's note in editions #a 7#ahbe7 and #ahcf1 since suppressed4--,,ed4 #cf ,coleridge's ',reflections ,on ,having ,left a ,place of ,retirement1' l4 #dh1 c4 7',sibylline ,leaves1' #agig74--;,,ed4 #cg ,there sometimes occurs an apparent play on words1 which not only to the ,moralizer1 but even to the philosophical ,etymologist1 appears more than a mere ,play4 ,thus in the double sense of the word1 become4 ,i have known persons so anxious to have their dress become them1 as to convert it at length into their proper self1 and thus actually to become the dress4 ,such a one1 7safeliest spoken of by the neuter pronoun71 ,i consider as but a suit of live finery4 ,it is indifferent whether we say--,it becomes he1 or1 he becomes it4 #ch ,it might be a mean of preventing many unhappy marriages1 if the youth of both sexes had it early impressed on their minds1 that ,marriage contracted between ,christians is a true and perfect ,symbol or ,mystery2 that is1 the actualizing ,faith being supposed to exist in the ,receivers1 it is an outward ,sign co-essential with that which it signifies1 or a living ,part of that1 the whole of which it represents4 ,marriage1 therefore1 in the ,christian sense 7,ephesians v4 #bb-cc71 as symbolical of the union of the ,soul with ,christ the ,mediator1 and with ,god through ,christ1 is perfectly a sacramental ordinance1 and not retained by the ,reformed ,churches as one of ,,the ,sacraments1 for two reasons2 first1 that the ,sign is not distinctive of the ,church of ,christ1 and the ,ordinance not peculiar nor owing its origin to the ,gospel ,dispensation2 secondly1 it is not of universal obligation1 not a means of ,grace enjoined on all ,christians4 ,in other and plainer words1 ,marriage does not contain in itself an open ,profession of ,christ1 and it is not a ,sacrament of the ,church1 but only of certain ,individual ,members of the ,church4 ,it is evident1 however1 that neither of these reasons affect or diminish the religious nature and dedicative force of the marriage ,vow1 or detract from the solemnity in the ,apostolic ,declaration3 ,,this ,,is ,a ,,great ,,mystery4 ,the interest which the state has in the appropriation of one woman to one man1 and the civil obligations therefrom resulting1 form an altogether distinct consideration4 ,when ,i meditate on the words of the ,apostle1 confirmed and illustrated as they are1 by so many harmonies in the ,spiritual ,structure of our proper ,humanity1 7in the image of ,god1 male and female created he the man71 and then reflect how little claim so large a number of legal cohabitations have to the name of ,christian marriages--,i feel inclined to doubt whether the plan of celebrating marriages universally by the ,civil ,magistrate1 in the first instance1 and leaving the religious ,covenant and sacramental ,pledge to the election of the parties themselves1 adopted during the ,republic in ,england1 and in our own times by the ,french ,legislature1 was not in fact1 whatever it might be in intention1 reverential to ,christianity4 ,at all events1 it was their own act and choice1 if the parties made bad worse by the profanation of a ,gospel ,mystery4 ,,prudential ,,aphorisms4 ,,aphorism ,i4 ,,leighton ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,with respect to any final aim or end1 the greater part of mankind live at hazard4 ,they have no certain harbour in view1 nor direct their course by any fixed star4 ,but to him that knoweth not the port to which he is bound1 no wind can be favourable2 neither can he who has not yet determined at what mark he is to shoot1 direct his arrow aright4 ,it is not1 however1 the less true1 that there is a proper object to aim at2 and if this object be meant by the term happiness1 7though ,i think that not the most appropriate term for a state1 the perfection of which consists in the exclusion of all hap 7that is1 chance771 ,i assert that there is such a thing as human happiness1 as summum bonum1 or ultimate good4 ,what this is1 the ,bible alone shows clearly and certainly1 and points out the way that leads to the attainment of it4 ,this is that which prevailed with ,st4 ,augustine to study the ,scriptures1 and engaged his affection to them4 ,in ,cicero1 and ,plato1 and other such writers1 says he1 ,i meet with many things acutely said1 and things that excite a certain warmth of emotion1 but in none of them do ,i find these words1 ,come unto me1 all ye that labour1 and are heavy laden1 and ,i will give you rest4#ci ,,comment4 ,felicity1 in its proper sense1 is but another word for fortunateness1 or happiness2 and ,i can see no advantage in the improper use of words1 when proper terms are to be found1 but1 on the contrary1 much mischief4 ,for1 by familiarizing the mind to equivocal expressions1 that is1 such as may be taken in two or more different meanings1 we introduce confusion of thought1 and furnish the sophist with his best and handiest tools4 ,for the juggle of sophistry consists1 for the greater part1 in using a word in one sense in the premise1 and in another sense in the conclusion4 ,we should accustom ourselves to think1 and reason1 in precise and stedfast terms2 even when custom1 or the deficiency1 or the corruption of the language will not permit the same strictness in speaking4 ,the mathematician finds this so necessary to the truths which he is seeking1 that his science begins with1 and is founded on1 the definition of his terms4 ,the botanist1 the chemist1 the anatomist1 c41 feel and submit to this necessity at all costs1 even at the risk of exposing their several pursuits to the ridicule of the many1 by technical terms1 hard to be remembered1 and alike quarrelsome to the ear and the tongue4 ,in the business of moral and religious reflection1 in the acquisition of clear and distinct conceptions of our duties1 and of the relations in which we stand to ,god1 our neighbour1 and ourselves1 no such difficulties occur4 ,at the utmost we have only to rescue words1 already existing and familiar1 from the false or vague meanings imposed on them by carelessness1 or by the clipping and debasing misusage of the market4 ,and surely happiness1 duty1 faith1 truth1 and final blessedness1 are matters of deeper and dearer interest for all men1 than circles to the geometrician1 or the characters of plants to the botanist1 or the affinities and combining principle of the elements of bodies to the chemist1 or even than the mechanism 7fearful and wonderful though it be67 of the perishable ,tabernacle of the ,soul can be to the anatomist4 ,among the aids to reflection1 place the following maxim prominent3 let distinctness in expression advance side by side with distinction in thought4 ,for one useless subtlety in our elder divines and moralists1 ,i will produce ten sophisms of equivocation in the writings of our modern preceptors3 and for one error resulting from excess in distinguishing the indifferent1 ,i would show ten mischievous delusions from the habit of confounding the diverse4 ,whether you are reflecting for yourself1 or reasoning with another1 make it a rule to ask yourself the precise meaning of the word1 on which the point in question appears to turn2 and if it may be 7that is1 by writers of authority has been7 used in several senses1 then ask which of these the word is at present intended to convey4 ,by this mean1 and scarcely without it1 you will at length acquire a facility in detecting the quid pro quo4 ,and believe me1 in so doing you will enable yourself to disarm and expose four-fifths of the main arguments of our most renowned irreligious philosophers1 ancient and modern4 ,for the quid pro quo is at once the rock and quarry1 on and with which the strong-holds of disbelief1 materialism1 and 7more pernicious still7 epicurean morality are built4 #ci ,apud ,ciceronem et ,platonem1 aliosque ejusmodi scriptores1 multa sunt acute dicta1 et leniter calentia1 sed in iis omnibus hoc non invenio1 ,venite ad me1 c4 ,matt4 xii4 #bh4 ,,aphorism ,,ii4 ,,leighton4 ,if we seriously consider what religion is1 we shall find the saying of the wise king ,solomon to be unexceptionably true3 ,her ways are ways of pleasantness1 and all her paths are peace4#dj ,doth religion require anything of us more than that we live soberly1 righteously1 and godly in this present world8 ,now what1 ,i pray1 can be more pleasant or peaceable than these8 ,temperance is always at leisure1 luxury always in a hurry3 the latter weakens the body and pollutes the soul2 the former is the sanctity1 purity1 and sound state of both4 ,it is one of ,epicurus's fixed maxims1 ,that life can never be pleasant without virtue4 ,,comment4 ,in the works of moralists1 both ,christian and ,pagan1 it is often asserted 7indeed there are few common-places of more frequent recurrence7 that the happiness even of this life consists solely1 or principally1 in virtue2 that virtue is the only happiness of this life2 that virtue is the truest pleasure1 c4 ,i doubt not that the meaning1 which the writers intended to convey by these and the like expressions1 was true and wise4 ,but ,i deem it safer to say1 that in all the outward relations of this life1 in all our outward conduct and actions1 both in what we should do1 and in what we should abstain from1 the dictates of virtue are the very same with those of self-interest1 tending to1 though they do not proceed from1 the same point4 ,for the outward object of virtue being the greatest producible sum of happiness of all men1 it must needs include the object of an intelligent self-love1 which is the greatest possible happiness of one individual2 for what is true of all1 must be true of each4 ,hence1 you cannot become better 7that is1 more virtuous71 but you will become happier3 and you cannot become worse 7that is1 more vicious71 without an increase of misery 7or at the best a proportional loss of enjoyment7 as the consequence4 ,if the thing were not inconsistent with our well-being1 and known to be so1 it would not have been classed as a vice4 ,thus what in an enfeebled and disordered mind is called prudence1 is the voice of nature in a healthful state3 as is proved by the known fact1 that the prudential duties1 7that is1 those actions which are commanded by virtue because they are prescribed by prudence71 the animals fulfil by natural instinct4 ,the pleasure that accompanies or depends on a healthy and vigorous body will be the consequence and reward of a temperate life and habits of active industry1 whether this pleasure were or were not the chief or only determining motive thereto4 ,virtue may1 possibly1 add to the pleasure a good of another kind1 a higher good1 perhaps1 than the worldly mind is capable of understanding1 a spiritual complacency1 of which in your present sensualized state you can form no idea4 ,it may add1 ,i say1 but it cannot detract from it4 ,thus the reflected rays of the sun that gave light1 distinction1 and endless multiformity to the mind1 afford at the same time the pleasurable sensation of warmth to the body4 ,if then the time has not yet come for any thing higher1 act on the maxim of seeking the most pleasure with the least pain3 and1 if only you do not seek where you yourself know it will not be found1 this very pleasure and this freedom from the disquietude of pain may produce in you a state of being directly and indirectly favourable to the germination and up-spring of a nobler seed4 ,if it be true1 that men are miserable because they are wicked1 it is likewise true1 that many men are wicked because they are miserable4 ,health1 cheerfulness1 and easy circumstances1 the ordinary consequence of ,temperance and ,industry1 will at least leave the field clear and open1 will tend to preserve the scales of the judgment even3 while the consciousness of possessing the esteem1 respect1 and sympathy of your neighbours1 and the sense of your own increasing power and influence1 can scarcely fail to give a tone of dignity to your mind1 and incline you to hope nobly of your own ,being4 ,and thus they may prepare and predispose you to the sense and acknowledgment of a principle1 differing not merely in degree but in kind from the faculties and instincts of the higher and more intelligent species of animals1 7the ant1 the beaver1 the elephant71 and which principle is therefore your proper humanity4 ,and on this account and with this view alone may certain modes of pleasurable or agreeable sensation1 without confusion of terms1 be honoured with the title of refined1 intellectual1 ennobling pleasures4 ,for ,pleasure 7and happiness in its proper sense is but the continuity and sum-total of the pleasure which is allotted or happens to a man1 and hence by the ,greeks called 1 that is1 good-hap1 or more religiously 1 that is1 favourable providence7--pleasure1 ,i say1 consists in the harmony between the specific excitability of a living creature1 and the exciting causes correspondent thereto4 ,considered therefore exclusively in and for itself1 the only question is1 quantum1 not quale8 ,how much on the whole8 the contrary1 that is1 the painful and disagreeable having been subtracted4 ,the quality is a matter of taste3 et de gustibus non est disputandum4 ,no man can judge for another4 ,this1 ,i repeat1 appears to me a safer language than the sentences quoted above1 7that virtue alone is happiness2 that happiness consists in virtue1 c47 sayings which ,i find it hard to reconcile with other positions of still more frequent occurrence in the same divines1 or with the declaration of ,st4 ,paul3 ,if in this life only we have hope1 we are of all men most miserable4 ,at all events1 ,i should rely far more confidently on the converse1 namely1 that to be vicious is to be miserable4 ,few men are so utterly reprobate1 so imbruted by their vices1 as not to have some lucid1 or at least quiet and sober1 intervals2 and in such a moment1 dum desviunt ir1 few can stand up unshaken against the appeal to their own experience--what have been the wages of sin8 what has the devil done for you8 ,what sort of master have you found him8 ,then let us in befitting detail1 and by a series of questions that ask no loud1 and are secure against any false1 answer1 urge home the proof of the position1 that to be vicious is to be wretched3 adding the fearful corollary1 that if even in the body1 which as long as life is in it can never be wholly bereaved of pleasurable sensations1 vice is found to be misery1 what must it not be in the world to come8 ,there1 where even the crime is no longer possible1 much less the gratifications that once attended it--where nothing of vice remains but its guilt and its misery--vice must be misery itself1 all and utter misery4--,so best1 if ,i err not1 may the motives of prudence be held forth1 and the impulses of self-love be awakened1 in alliance with truth1 and free from the danger of confounding things 7the ,laws of ,duty1 ,i mean1 and the ,maxims of ,interest7 which it deeply concerns us to keep distinct1 inasmuch as this distinction and the faith therein are essential to our moral nature1 and this again the ground-work and pre-condition of the spiritual state1 in which the ,humanity strives after ,godliness1 and1 in the name and power1 and through the prevenient and assisting grace1 of the ,mediator1 will not strive in vain4 ,the advantages of a life passed in conformity with the precepts of virtue and religion1 and in how many and various respects they recommend virtue and religion1 even on grounds of prudence1 form a delightful subject of meditation1 and a source of refreshing thought to good and pious men4 ,nor is it strange if1 transported with the view1 such persons should sometimes discourse on the charms of forms and colours to men whose eyes are not yet couched2 or that they occasionally seem to invert the relations of cause and effect1 and forget that there are acts and determinations of the will and affections1 the consequences of which may be plainly foreseen1 and yet cannot be made our proper and primary motives for such acts and determinations1 without destroying or entirely altering the distinct nature and character of the latter4 ,sophron is well informed that wealth and extensive patronage will be the consequence of his obtaining the love and esteem of ,constantia4 ,but if the foreknowledge of this consequence were1 and were found out to be1 ,sophron's main and determining motive for seeking this love and esteem2 and if ,constantia were a woman that merited1 or was capable of feeling1 either the one or the other2 would not ,sophron find 7and deservedly too7 aversion and contempt in their stead8 ,wherein1 if not in this1 differs the friendship of worldlings from true friendship8 ,without kind offices and useful services1 wherever the power and opportunity occur1 love would be a hollow pretence4 ,yet what noble mind would not be offended1 if he were thought to value the love for the sake of the services1 and not rather the services for the sake of the love8 #dj ,proverbs iii4 #ag4--;,,ed4 ,,aphorism ,,iii4 ,though prudence in itself is neither virtue nor spiritual holiness1 yet without prudence1 or in opposition to it1 neither virtue nor holiness can exist4 ,,aphorism ,,iv4 ,art thou under the tyranny of sin8 a slave to vicious habits8 at enmity with ,god1 and a skulking fugitive from thy own conscience8 ,o1 how idle the dispute1 whether the listening to the dictates of prudence from prudential and self-interested motives be virtue or merit1 when the not listening is guilt1 misery1 madness1 and despair6 ,the best1 the most ,christianlike pity thou canst show1 is to take pity on thy own soul4 ,the best and most acceptable service thou canst render1 is to do justice and show mercy to thyself4 ,,moral ,,and ,,religious ,,aphorisms4 ,,aphorism ,i4 ,,leighton4 ,what the ,apostles were in an extraordinary way1 befitting the first annunciation of a ,religion for all ,mankind1 this all ,teachers of ,moral ,truth1 who aim to prepare for its reception by calling the attention of men to the ,law in their own hearts1 may1 without presumption1 consider themselves to be1 under ordinary gifts and circumstances2 namely1 ,ambassadors for the ,greatest of ,kings1 and upon no mean employment1 the great ,treaty of ,peace and ,reconcilement betwixt him and ,mankind4 ,,aphorism ,,ii4 ,on the ,feelings ,natural to ,ingenuous ,minds towards those who have first led them to ,reflect4 ,,leighton4 ,though ,divine ,truths are to be received equally from every ,minister alike1 yet it must be acknowledged that there is something 7we know not what to call it7 of a more acceptable reception of those which at first were the means of bringing men to ,god1 than of others2 like the opinion some have of physicians1 whom they love4 ,,aphorism ,,iii4 ,,leighton ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,the worth and value of ,knowledge is in proportion to the worth and value of its object4 ,what1 then1 is the best knowledge8 ,the exactest knowledge of things1 is1 to know them in their causes2 it is then an excellent thing1 and worthy of their endeavours who are most desirous of knowledge1 to know the best things in their highest causes2 and the happiest way of attaining to this knowledge1 is1 to possess those things1 and to know them in experience4 ,,aphorism ,,iv4 ,,leighton4 ,it is one main point of happiness1 that he that is happy doth know and judge himself to be so4 ,this being the peculiar good of a reasonable creature1 it is to be enjoyed in a reasonable way4 ,it is not as the dull resting of a stone1 or any other natural body in its natural place2 but the knowledge and consideration of it is the fruition of it1 the very relishing and tasting of its sweetness4 ,,remark4 ,as in a ,christian land we receive the lessons of ,morality in connexion with the ,doctrines of ,revealed ,religion1 we cannot too early free the mind from prejudices widely spread1 in part through the abuse1 but far more from ignorance1 of the true meaning of doctrinal ,terms1 which1 however they may have been perverted to the purposes of ,fanaticism1 are not only scriptural1 but of too frequent occurrence in ,scripture to be overlooked or passed by in silence4 ,the following extract1 therefore1 deserves attention1 as clearing the doctrine of ,salvation1 in connexion with the divine ,foreknowledge1 from all objections on the score of ,morality1 by the just and impressive view which the ,archbishop here gives of those occasional revolutionary moments1 that ,turn of the ,tide in the mind and character of certain ,individuals1 which 7taking a religious course1 and referred immediately to the ,author of all ,good7 were in his day1 more generally than at present1 entitled ,,effectual ,,calling4 ,the theological interpretation and the philosophic validity of this ,apostolic ,triad1 ,election1 ,salvation1 and ,effectual ,calling1 7the latter being the intermediate71 will be found among the ,comments on the ,aphorisms of ,spiritual ,import4 ,for our present purpose it will be sufficient if only ,i prove1 that the ,doctrines are in themselves innocuous1 and may be both holden and taught without any practical ill-consequences1 and without detriment to the moral frame4 ,,aphorism ,v4 ,,leighton4 ,two ,links of the ,chain 7namely1 ,election and ,salvation7 are up in heaven in ,god's own hand2 but this middle one 7that is1 ,effectual ,calling7 is let down to earth1 into the hearts of his children1 and they laying hold on it have sure hold on the other two3 for no power can sever them4 ,if1 therefore1 they can read the characters of ,god's image in their own souls1 those are the counterpart of the golden characters of his love1 in which their names are written in the book of life4 ,their believing writes their names under the promises of the revealed book of life 7the ,scriptures7 and thus ascertains them1 that the same names are in the secret book of life which ,god hath by himself from eternity4 ,so that finding the stream of grace in their hearts1 though they see not the fountain whence it flows1 nor the ocean into which it returns1 yet they know that it hath its source in their eternal election1 and shall empty itself into the ocean of their eternal salvation4 ,if election1 effectual calling1 and salvation be inseparably linked together1 then1 by any one of them a man may lay hold upon all the rest1 and may know that his hold is sure2 and this is the way wherein we may attain and ought to seek1 the comfortable assurance of the love of ,god4 ,therefore make your calling sure1 and by that your election2 for that being done1 this follows of itself4 ,we are not to pry immediately into the decree1 but to read it in the performance4 ,though the mariner sees not the pole-star1 yet the needle of the compass which points to it1 tells him which way he sails3 thus the heart that is touched with the loadstone of divine love1 trembling with godly fear1 and yet still looking towards ,god by fixed believing1 interprets the fear by the love in the fear1 and tells the soul that its course is heavenward1 towards the haven of eternal rest4 ,he that loves may be sure he was loved first2 and he that chooses ,god for his delight and portion1 may conclude confidently1 that ,god has chosen him to be one of those that shall enjoy him1 and be happy in him for ever2 for that our love and electing of him is but the return and repercussion of the beams of his love shining upon us4 ,although from present unsanctification1 a man cannot infer that he is not elected2 for the decree may1 for part of a man's life1 run 7as it were7 underground2 yet this is sure1 that that estate leads to death1 and unless it be broken1 will prove the black line of reprobation4 ,a man hath no portion amongst the children of ,god1 nor can read one word of comfort in all the promises that belong to them1 while he remains unholy4 ,,remark4 ,in addition to the preceding1 ,i select the following paragraphs1 as having nowhere seen the terms1 ,spirit1 the ,gifts of the ,spirit1 and the like1 so effectually vindicated from the sneers of the ,sciolist on the one hand1 and protected from the perversions of the ,fanatic on the other4 ,in these paragraphs the ,archbishop at once shatters and precipitates the only draw-bridge between the fanatical and the orthodox doctrine of ,grace1 and the ,gifts of the ,spirit4 ,in ,scripture the term ,spirit1 as a power or property seated in the human soul1 never stands singly1 but is always specified by a genitive case following2 this being a ,hebraism instead of the adjective which the writer would have used if he had thought1 as well as written1 in ,greek4 ,it is the ,spirit of ,meekness 7a meek ,spirit71 or the ,spirit of ,chastity1 and the like4 ,the moral ,result1 the specific ,form and ,character in which the ,spirit manifests its presence1 is the only sure pledge and token of its presence2 which is to be1 and which safely may be1 inferred from its practical effects1 but of which an immediate knowledge or consciousness is impossible2 and every pretence to such knowledge is either hypocrisy or fanatical delusion4 ,,aphorism ,,vi4 ,,leighton4 ,if any pretend that they have the ,spirit1 and so turn away from the straight rule of the ,holy ,scriptures1 they have a spirit indeed1 but it is a fanatical spirit1 the spirit of delusion and giddiness2 but the ,spirit of ,god1 that leads his children in the way of truth1 and is for that purpose sent them from ,heaven to guide them thither1 squares their thoughts and ways to that rule whereof it is author1 and that word which was inspired by it1 and sanctifies them to obedience4 ,he that saith ,i know him1 and keepeth not his commandments1 is a liar1 and the truth is not in him4 7#a ,john ii4 #d47 ,now this ,spirit which sanctifieth1 and sanctifieth to obedience1 is within us the evidence of our election1 and the earnest of our salvation4 ,and whoso are not sanctified and led by this ,spirit1 the ,apostle tells us what is their condition3 ,if any man have not the ,spirit of ,christ1 he is none of his4#da ,the stones which are appointed for that glorious temple above1 are hewn1 and polished1 and prepared for it here2 as the stones were wrought and prepared in the mountains1 for building the temple at ,jerusalem4 ,,comment4 ,there are many serious and sincere ,christians who have not attained to a fulness of knowledge and insight1 but are well and judiciously employed in preparing for it4 ,even these may study the master-works of our elder ,divines with safety and advantage1 if they will accustom themselves to translate the theological terms into their moral equivalents2 saying to themselves--,this may not be all that is meant1 but this is meant1 and it is that portion of the meaning1 which belongs to me in the present stage of my progress4 ,for example3 render the words1 sanctification of the ,spirit1 or the sanctifying influences of the ,spirit1 by ,purity in ,life and ,action from a pure ,principle4 ,we need only reflect on our own experience to be convinced1 that the man makes the motive1 and not the motive the man4 ,what is a strong motive to one man1 is no motive at all to another4 ,if1 then1 the man determines the motive1 what determines the man--to a good and worthy act1 we will say1 or a virtuous ,course of ,conduct8 ,the intelligent ,will1 or the self-determining ,power8 ,true1 in part it is2 and therefore the ,will is pre-eminently the spiritual ,constituent in our ,being4 ,but will any reflecting man admit1 that his own ,will is the only and sufficient determinant of all he is1 and all he does8 ,is nothing to be attributed to the harmony of the system to which he belongs1 and to the pre-established ,fitness of the ,objects and ,agents1 known and unknown1 that surround him1 as acting on the will1 though1 doubtless1 with it likewise8 a process1 which the co-instantaneous yet reciprocal action of the air and the vital energy of the lungs in breathing may help to render intelligible4 ,again3 in the world we see every where evidences of a ,unity1 which the component parts are so far from explaining1 that they necessarily pre-suppose it as the cause and condition of their existing as those parts2 or even of their existing at all4 ,this antecedent ,unity1 or ,cause and ,principle of each ,union1 it has since the time of ,bacon and ,kepler been customary to call a law4 ,this crocus1 for instance3 or any other flower the reader may have in sight or choose to bring before his fancy4 ,that the root1 stem1 leaves1 petals1 c4 cohere to one plant1 is owing to an antecedent ,power or ,principle in the ,seed1 which existed before a single particle of the matters that constitute the size and visibility of the crocus1 had been attracted from the surrounding soil1 air1 and moisture4 ,shall we turn to the seed8 ,here too the same necessity meets us4 ,an antecedent ,unity 7,i speak not of the parent plant1 but of an agency antecedent in the order of operance1 yet remaining present as the conservative and reproductive ,power7 must here too be supposed4 ,analyze the seed with the finest tools1 and let the ,solar ,microscope come in aid of your senses1 what do you find8 ,means and instruments1 a wondrous ,fairy-tale of ,nature1 magazines of food1 stores of various sorts1 pipes1 spiracles1 defences--a house of many chambers1 and the owner and inhabitant invisible6 ,reflect further on the countless millions of seeds of the same name1 each more than numerically differenced from every other3 and further yet1 reflect on the requisite harmony of all surrounding things1 each of which necessitates the same process of thought1 and the coherence of all of which to a ,system1 a ,world1 demands its own adequate ,antecedent ,unity1 which must therefore of necessity be present to all and in all1 yet in no wise excluding or suspending the individual ,law or ,principle of ,union in each4 ,now will ,reason1 will common ,sense1 endure the assumption1 that in the material and visible system1 it is highly reasonable to believe a ,universal ,power1 as the cause and pre-condition of the harmony of all particular ,wholes1 each of which involves the working ,principle of its own ,union--that it is reasonable1 ,i say1 to believe this respecting the ,aggregate of ,objects1 which without a ,subject 7that is1 a sentient and intelligent ,existence7 would be purposeless2 and yet unreasonable and even superstitious or enthusiastic to entertain a similar ,belief in relation to the ,system of intelligent and self-conscious ,beings1 to the moral and personal ,world8 ,but if in this too1 in the great ,community of ,persons1 it is rational to infer a ,one universal ,presence1 a ,one present to all and in all1 is it not most irrational to suppose that a finite ,will can exclude it8 ,whenever1 therefore1 the man is determined 7that is1 impelled and directed7 to act in harmony of inter-communion1 must not something be attributed to this all-present power as acting in the ,will8 and by what fitter names can we call this than the ,,law1 as empowering2 ,,the ,,word1 as informing2 and ,,the ,,spirit1 as actuating8 ,what has been here said amounts 7,i am aware7 only to a negative conception2 but this is all that is required for a mind at that period of its growth which we are now supposing1 and as long as ,religion is contemplated under the form of ,morality4 ,a positive insight belongs to a more advanced stage2 for spiritual truths can only spiritually be discerned4 ,this we know from ,revelation1 and 7the existence of spiritual truths being granted7 ,philosophy is compelled to draw the same conclusion4 ,but though merely negative1 it is sufficient to render the union of ,religion and ,morality conceivable2 sufficient to satisfy an unprejudiced inquirer1 that the spiritual ,doctrines of the ,christian ,religion are not at war with the reasoning ,faculty1 and that if they do not run on the same ,line 7or ,radius7 with the ,understanding1 yet neither do they cut or cross it4 ,it is sufficient1 in short1 to prove1 that some distinct and consistent meaning may be attached to the assertion of the learned and philosophic ,apostle1 that the ,spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit#db--that is1 with the ,will1 as the supernatural in man and the ,principle of our ,personality--of that1 ,i mean1 by which we are responsible ,agents2 ,persons1 and not merely living ,things4#dc ,it will suffice to satisfy a reflecting mind1 that even at the porch and threshold of ,revealed ,truth there is a great and worthy sense in which we may believe the ,apostle's assurance1 that not only doth the ,spirit aid our infirmities2#dd that is1 act on the ,will by a predisposing influence from without1 as it were1 though in a spiritual manner1 and without suspending or destroying its freedom 7the possibility of which is proved to us in the influences of education1 of providential occurrences1 and1 above all1 of example7 but that in regenerate souls it may act in the will2 that uniting and becoming one#de with our will or spirit1 it may make intercession for us2#df nay1 in this intimate union taking upon itself the form of our infirmities1 may intercede for us with groanings that cannot be uttered4 ,nor is there any danger of ,fanaticism or ,enthusiasm as the consequence of such a belief1 if only the attention be carefully and earnestly drawn to the concluding words of the sentence 7,romans viii4 #bf72 if only the due force and full import be given to the term unutterable or incommunicable1 in ,st4 ,paul's use of it4 ,in this1 the strictest and most proper use of the term1 it signifies1 that the subject1 of which it is predicated1 is something which ,i cannot1 which from the nature of the thing it is impossible that ,i should1 communicate to any human mind 7even of a person under the same conditions with myself7 so as to make it in itself the object of his direct and immediate consciousness4 ,it cannot be the object of my own direct and immediate ,consciousness2 but must be inferred4 ,inferred it may be from its workings2 it cannot be perceived in them4 ,and1 thanks to ,god6 in all points in which the knowledge is of high and necessary concern to our moral and religious welfare1 from the ,effects it may safely be inferred by us1 from the ,workings it may be assuredly known2 and the ,scriptures furnish the clear and unfailing ,rules for directing the inquiry1 and for drawing the conclusion4 ,if any reflecting mind be surprised that the aids of the ,divine ,spirit should be deeper than our ,consciousness can reach1 it must arise from the not having attended sufficiently to the nature and necessary limits of human ,consciousness4 ,for the same impossibility exists as to the first acts and movements of our own will--the farthest distance our recollection can follow back the traces1 never leads us to the first foot-mark--the lowest depth that the light of our ,consciousness can visit even with a doubtful glimmering1 is still at an unknown distance from the ground3 and so1 indeed1 must it be with all ,truths1 and all modes of ,being that can neither be counted1 coloured1 or delineated4 ,before and ,after1 when applied to such ,subjects1 are but allegories1 which the ,sense or ,imagination supplies to the ,understanding4 ,the ,position of the ,aristotelians1 nihil in intellectu quod non prius in sensu1 on which ,mr4 ,locke's ,essay is grounded1 is irrefragable3 ,locke erred only in taking half the ,truth for a whole ,truth4 ,conception is consequent on ,perception4 ,what we cannot imagine1 we cannot1 in the proper sense of the word1 conceive4 ,i have already given one definition of ,nature4 ,another1 and differing from the former in words only1 is this3 ,whatever is representable in the forms of ,time and ,space1 is ,nature4 ,but whatever is comprehended in ,time and ,space1 is included in the ,mechanism of ,cause and ,effect4 ,and conversely1 whatever1 by whatever means1 has its principle in itself1 so far as to originate its actions1 cannot be contemplated in any of the forms of ,space and ,time2 it must1 therefore1 be considered as ,spirit or ,spiritual by a mind in that stage of its developement which is here supposed1 and which we have agreed to understand under the name of ,morality1 or the ,moral ,state3 for in this stage we are concerned only with the forming of negative conceptions1 negative convictions2 and by spiritual ,i do not pretend to determine what the ,will is1 but what it is not--namely1 that it is not ,nature4 ,and as no man who admits a ,will at all1 7for we may safely presume that no man not meaning to speak figuratively1 would call the shifting current of a stream the ,,will#dg of the river71 will suppose it below ,nature1 we may safely add1 that it is super-natural2 and this without the least pretence to any positive ,notion or ,insight4 ,now ,morality accompanied with ,convictions like these1 ,i have ventured to call ,religious ,morality4 ,of the importance ,i attach to the state of mind implied in these convictions1 for its own sake1 and as the natural preparation for a yet higher state and a more substantive knowledge1 proof more than sufficient1 perhaps1 has been given in the length and minuteness of this introductory ,discussion1 and in the foreseen risk which ,i run of exposing the volume at large to the censure which every work1 or rather which every writer1 must be prepared to undergo1 who1 treating of subjects that cannot be seen1 touched1 or in any other way made matters of outward sense1 is yet anxious both to attach to1 and to convey a distinct meaning by1 the words he makes use of--the censure of being dry1 abstract1 and 7of all qualities most scaring and opprobrious to the ears of the present generation7 metaphysical2 though how it is possible that a work not physical1 that is1 employed on objects known or believed on the evidence of the senses1 should be other than metaphysical1 that is1 treating on ,subjects1 the evidence of which is not derived from the senses1 is a problem which critics of this order find it convenient to leave unsolved4 ,the author of the present volume will1 indeed1 have reason to think himself fortunate1 if this be all the charge6--,how many smart quotations1 which 7duly cemented by personal allusions to the author's supposed pursuits1 attachments1 and infirmities71 would of themselves make up a review of the volume1 might be supplied from the works of ,butler1 ,swift1 and ,warburton4 ,for instance3 ,it may not be amiss to inform the ,public1 that the ,compiler of the ,aids to ,reflection1 and ,commenter on a ,scotch ,bishop's ,platonico-,calvinistic commentary on ,st4 ,peter1 belongs to the sect of the olists1 whose fruitful imaginations lead them into certain notions1 which1 although in appearance very unaccountable1 are not without their mysteries and their meanings2 furnishing plenty of matter for such1 whose converting ,imaginations dispose them to reduce all things into ,,types2 who can make ,,shadows1 no thanks to the ,sun2 and then mould them into ,,substances1 no thanks to ,philosophy3 whose peculiar ,talent lies in fixing ,,tropes and ,,allegories to the ,,letter1 and refining what is ,,literal into ,,figure and ,,mystery4--,tale of the ,tub1 ,sect4 xi4 ,and would it were my lot to meet with a ,critic1 who1 in the might of his own ,convictions1 and with arms of equal point and efficiency from his own forge1 would come forth as my assailant2 or who1 as a friend to my purpose1 would set forth the objections to the matter and pervading ,spirit of these ,aphorisms1 and the accompanying ,elucidations4 ,were it my task to form the mind of a young man of talent1 desirous to establish his opinions and belief on solid principles1 and in the light of distinct understanding1--,i would commence his theological studies1 or1 at least1 that most important part of them respecting the aids which ,religion promises in our attempts to realize the ideas of ,morality1 by bringing together all the passages scattered throughout the writings of ,swift and ,butler1 that bear on ,enthusiasm1 ,spiritual ,operations1 and pretences to the ,gifts of the ,spirit1 with the whole train of ,new ,lights1 ,raptures1 ,experiences1 and the like4 ,for all that the richest ,wit1 in intimate union with profound ,sense and steady ,observation1 can supply on these topics1 is to be found in the works of these satirists2 though unhappily alloyed with much that can only tend to pollute the imagination4 ,without stopping to estimate the degree of caricature in the portraits sketched by these bold masters1 and without attempting to determine in how many of the ,enthusiasts1 brought forward by them in proof of the influence of false ,doctrines1 a constitutional ,insanity that would probably have shown itself in some other form1 would be the truer solution1 ,i would direct my pupil's attention to one feature common to the whole group--the pretence1 namely1 of possessing1 or a ,belief and ,expectation grounded on other men's assurances of their possessing1 an immediate ,consciousness1 a sensible ,experience1 of the ,spirit in and during its operation on the soul4 ,it is not enough that you grant them a consciousness of the ,gifts and ,graces infused1 or an assurance of the ,spiritual ,origin of the same1 grounded on their correspondence to the ,scripture promises1 and their conformity with the idea of the ,divine ,giver4 ,no6 they all alike1 it will be found1 lay claim 7or at least look forward71 to an inward perception of the ,spirit itself and of its operating4 ,whatever must be misrepresented in order to be ridiculed1 is in fact not ridiculed2 but the thing substituted for it4 ,it is a satire on something else1 coupled with a lie on the part of the satirist1 who knowing1 or having the means of knowing the truth1 chose to call one thing by the name of another4 ,the ,pretensions to the ,supernatural1 pilloried by ,butler1 sent to ,bedlam by ,swift1 and 7on their re-appearance in public7 gibbetted by ,warburton1 and anatomized by ,bishop ,lavington1 one and all have this for their essential character1 that the ,spirit is made the immediate ,object of ,sense or ,sensation4 ,whether the spiritual ,presence and ,agency are supposed cognizable by indescribable ,feeling or unimaginable ,vision by some specific visual energy2 whether seen1 or heard1 or touched1 smelt and tasted--for in those vast ,store-houses of fanatical assertion1 the volumes of ,ecclesiastical ,history and religious ,auto-biography1 instances are not wanting even of the three latter extravagancies2--this variety in the mode may render the several pretensions more or less offensive to the taste2 but with the same absurdity for the reason1 this being derived from a contradiction in terms common and radical to them all alike1--the assumption of a something essentially supersensual1 that is nevertheless the object of ,sense1 that is1 not supersensual4 ,well then6--for let me be allowed still to suppose the ,reader present to me1 and that ,i am addressing him in the character of ,companion and ,guide--the positions recommended for your examination not only do not involve1 but they exclude1 this inconsistency4 ,and for aught that hitherto appears1 we may see with complacency the arrows of satire feathered with ,wit1 weighted with ,sense1 and discharged by a strong arm1 fly home to their mark4 ,our conceptions of a possible ,spiritual ,communion1 though they are but negative and only preparatory to a faith in its actual existence1 stand neither in the level or in the direction of the shafts4 ,if it be objected1 that ,swift and ,warburton did not choose openly to set up the interpretations of later and more rational divines against the decisions of their own ,church1 and from prudential considerations did not attack the doctrine in toto3 that is their concern 7,i would answer71 and it is more charitable to think otherwise4 ,but we are in the silent school of ,reflection1 in the secret confessional of ,thought4 ,should we lie for ,god1 and that to our own thoughts8 ,they1 indeed1 who dare do the one1 will soon be able to do the other4--,so did the ,comforters of ,job3 and to the divines1 who resemble ,job's ,comforters1 we will leave both attempts4 ,but1 7it may be said71 a possible ,conception is not necessarily a true one2 nor even a probable one1 where the ,facts can be otherwise explained4 ,in the name of the supposed pupil ,i would reply--,that is the very question ,i am preparing myself to examine2 and am now seeking the ,vantage-ground where ,i may best command the ,facts4 ,in my own person1 ,i would ask the ,objector1 whether he counted the ,declarations of ,scripture among the ,facts to be explained4 ,but both for myself and my pupil1 and in behalf of all rational inquiry1 ,i would demand that the decision should not be such1 in itself or in its effects1 as would prevent our becoming acquainted with the most important of these ,facts2 nay1 such as would1 for the mind of the decider1 preclude their very existence4--,unless ye believe1 says the prophet1 ye cannot understand4 ,suppose 7what is at least possible7 that the facts should be consequent on the belief1 it is clear that without the belief the materials1 on which the understanding is to exert itself1 would be wanting4 ,the reflections that naturally arise out of this last remark1 are those that best suit the stage at which we last halted1 and from which we now recommence our progress--the state of a ,moral ,man1 who has already welcomed certain truths of ,religion1 and is inquiring after other and more special doctrines3 still however as a ,moralist1 desirous indeed to receive them into combination with ,morality1 but to receive them as its ,aid1 not as its ,substitute4 ,now1 to such a man ,i say2 ,before you reject the ,opinions and ,doctrines asserted and enforced in the following extract from ,leighton1 and before you give way to the ,emotions of ,distaste or ,ridicule1 which the ,prejudices of the circle in which you move1 or your own familiarity with the mad perversions of the doctrine by fanatics in all ages1 have connected with the very words1 ,spirit1 ,grace1 ,gifts1 ,operations1 c41 re-examine the arguments advanced in the first pages of this ,introductory ,comment1 and the simple and sober view of the doctrine1 contemplated in the first instance as a mere idea of the reason1 flowing naturally from the admission of an infinite omnipresent ,mind as the ,ground of the ,universe4 ,reflect again and again1 and be sure that you understand the doctrine before you determine on rejecting it4 ,that no false judgments1 no extravagant conceits1 no practical ill-consequences need arise out of the ,belief of the ,spirit1 and its possible communion with the ,spiritual ,principle in man1 can arise out of the right ,belief1 or are compatible with the doctrine truly and scripturally explained1 ,leighton1 and almost every single period in the passage here transcribed from him1 will suffice to convince you4 ,on the other hand1 reflect on the consequences of rejecting it4 ,for surely it is not the act of a reflecting mind1 nor the part of a man of sense to disown and cast out one tenet1 and yet persevere in admitting and clinging to another that has neither sense nor purpose1 that does not suppose and rest on the truth and reality of the former6 ,if you have resolved that all belief of a divine ,comforter present to our inmost ,being and aiding our infirmities1 is fond and fanatical--if the ,scriptures promising and asserting such communion are to be explained away into the action of circumstances1 and the necessary movements of the vast machine1 in one of the circulating chains of which the human ,will is a petty ,link--in what better light can ,prayer appear to you1 than the groans of a wounded lion in his solitary den1 or the howl of a dog with his eyes on the moon8 ,at the best1 you can regard it only as a transient bewilderment of the ,social ,instinct1 as a social ,habit misapplied6 ,unless indeed you should adopt the theory which ,i remember to have read in the writings of the late ,dr4 ,jebb1 and for some supposed beneficial re-action of praying on the prayer's own mind1 should practise it as a species of ,animal-,magnetism to be brought about by a wilful eclipse of the reason1 and a temporary make-believe on the part of the self-magnetizer6 ,at all events1 do not pre-judge a ,doctrine1 the utter rejection of which must oppose a formidable obstacle to your acceptance of ,christianity itself1 when the books1 from which alone we can learn what ,christianity is and what it teaches1 are so strangely written1 that in a series of the most concerning points1 including 7historical facts excepted7 all the peculiar ,tenets of the ,religion1 the plain and obvious meaning of the words1 that in which they were understood by learned and simple1 for at least sixteen centuries1 during the far larger part of which the language was a living language1 is no sufficient guide to their actual sense or to the writer's own meaning6 ,and this1 too1 where the literal and received ,sense involves nothing impossible1 or immoral1 or contrary to reason4 ,with such a persuasion1 ,deism would be a more consistent creed4 ,but1 alas6 even this will fail you4 ,the utter rejection of all present and living communion with the ,universal ,spirit impoverishes ,deism itself1 and renders it as cheerless as ,atheism1 from which indeed it would differ only by an obscure impersonation of what the ,atheist receives unpersonified1 under the name of ,fate or ,nature4 #da ,romans viii4 #i4--;,,ed4 #db ,romans viii4 #af4--;,,ed4 #dc ,whatever is comprised in the ,chain and ,mechanism of ,cause and ,effect1 of course necessitated1 and having its necessity in some other thing1 antecedent or concurrent--this is said to be ,natural2 and the ,aggregate and ,system of all such things is ,,nature4 ,it is1 therefore1 a contradiction in terms to include in this the ,free-will1 of which the verbal definition is--that which originates an act or state of ,being4 ,in this sense1 therefore1 which is the sense of ,st4 ,paul1 and indeed of the ,new ,testament throughout1 ,spiritual and ,supernatural are synonymous4 #dd ,romans viii4 #bf4--;,,ed4 #de ,some distant and faint similitude of this1 that merely as a similitude may be innocently used to quiet the ,fancy1 provided it be not imposed on the understanding as an analogous fact or as identical in kind1 is presented to us in the power of the ,magnet to awaken and strengthen the magnetic power in a bar of ,iron1 and 7in the instance of the compound ,magnet7 acting in and with the latter4 #df ,romans viii4 #bf4--;,,ed4 #dg ,the river windeth#dh at his own sweet will4 ,wordsworth's exquisite ,sonnet on ,westminster-bridge at ,sun-rise4 ,but who does not see that here the poetic charm arises from the known and felt impropriety of the expression1 in the technical sense of the word impropriety1 among grammarians8 #dh ,the latest editions of ,wordsworth have glideth for windeth4--,,ed4 ,,aphorism ,,vii4 ,,leighton ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,the proper and natural ,effect1 and in the absence of all disturbing or intercepting forces1 the certain and sensible accompaniment of ,peace1 7or ,reconcilement7 with ,god1 is our own inward ,peace1 a calm and quiet temper of mind4 ,and where there is a consciousness of earnestly desiring1 and of having sincerely striven after the former1 the latter may be considered as a ,sense of its presence4 ,in this case1 ,i say1 and for a soul watchful1 and under the discipline of the ,gospel1 the ,peace with a man's self may be the medium or organ through which the assurance of his ,peace with ,god is conveyed4 ,we will not therefore condemn this mode of speaking1 though we dare not greatly recommend it4 ,be it1 that there is1 truly and in sobriety of speech1 enough of just analogy in the subjects meant1 to make this use of the words1 if less than proper1 yet something more than metaphorical2 still we must be cautious not to transfer to the ,object the defects or the deficiency of the ,organ1 which must needs partake of the imperfections of the imperfect beings to whom it belongs4 ,not without the co-assurance of other senses and of the same sense in other men1 dare we affirm that what our eye beholds1 is verily there to be beholden4 ,much less may we conclude negatively1 and from the inadequacy1 or the suspension1 or from any other affection of sight infer the non-existence1 or departure1 or changes of the thing itself4 ,the chameleon darkens in the shade of him who bends over it to ascertain its colours4 ,in like manner1 but with yet greater caution1 ought we to think respecting a tranquil habit of inward life1 considered as a spiritual sense1 as the medial ,organ in and by which our ,peace with ,god1 and the lively ,working of his ,grace on our ,spirit1 are perceived by us4 ,this ,peace which we have with ,god in ,christ1 is inviolable2 but because the sense and persuasion of it may be interrupted1 the soul that is truly at peace with ,god may for a time be disquieted in itself1 through weakness of faith1 or the strength of temptation1 or the darkness of desertion1 losing sight of that grace1 that love and light of ,god's countenance1 on which its tranquillity and joy depend4 ,thou didst hide thy face1 saith ,david1 and ,i was troubled4#di ,but when these eclipses are over1 the soul is revived with new consolation1 as the face of the earth is renewed and made to smile with the return of the sun in the spring2 and this ought always to uphold ,christians in the saddest times1 namely1 that the grace and love of ,god towards them depend not on their sense1 nor upon anything in them1 but is still in itself1 incapable of the smallest alteration4 ,a holy heart that gladly entertains grace1 shall find that it and peace cannot dwell asunder2 while an ungodly man may sleep to death in the lethargy of carnal presumption and impenitency2 but a true1 lively1 solid peace1 he cannot have4 ,there is no peace to the wicked1 saith my ,god4 ,isa4 lvii4 #ba4 #di ,psalm xxx4 #g4--;,,ed4 ,,aphorism ,,viii4 ,worldly ,hopes4 ,,leighton4 ,worldly hopes are not living1 but lying hopes2 they die often before us1 and we live to bury them1 and see our own folly and infelicity in trusting to them2 but at the utmost1 they die with us when we die1 and can accompany us no further4 ,but the lively ,hope1 which is the ,christian's ,portion1 answers expectation to the full1 and much beyond it1 and deceives no way but in that happy way of far exceeding it4 ,a living hope1 living in death itself6 ,the world dares say no more for its device1 than ,dum spiro spero3 but the children of ,god can add1 by virtue of this living hope1 ,dum exspiro spero4 ,,aphorism ,,ix4 ,the ,worldling's ,fear4 ,,leighton4 ,it is a fearful thing when a man and all his hopes die together4 ,thus saith ,solomon of the wicked1 ,prov4 xi4 #g4--,when he dieth1 then die his hopes2 7many of them before1 but at the utmost then1 all of them27 but the righteous hath hope in his death1 ,prov4 xiv4 #cb4ej #ej ,one of the numerous proofs against those who with a strange inconsistency hold the ,old ,testament to have been inspired throughout1 and yet deny that the doctrine of a future state is taught therein4 ,,aphorism ,x4 ,worldly ,mirth4 ,,leighton ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,as he that taketh away a garment in cold weather1 and as vinegar upon nitre1 so is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart1 ,prov4 xxv4 #bj4 ,worldly mirth is so far from curing spiritual grief1 that even worldly grief1 where it is great and takes deep root1 is not allayed but increased by it4 ,a man who is full of inward heaviness1 the more he is encompassed about with mirth1 it exasperates and enrages his grief the more2 like ineffectual weak physic1 which removes not the humour1 but stirs it and makes it more unquiet4 ,but spiritual joy is seasonable for all estates3 in prosperity1 it is pertinent to crown and sanctify all other enjoyments1 with this which so far surpasses them2 and in distress1 it is the only ,nepenthe1 the cordial of fainting spirits3 so1 ,psal4 iv4 #g4 ,he hath put joy into my heart4 ,this mirth makes way for itself1 which other mirth cannot do4 ,these songs are sweetest in the night of distress4 ,there is something exquisitely beautiful and touching in the first of these similes3 and the second1 though less pleasing to the imagination1 has the charm of propriety1 and expresses the transition with equal force and liveliness4 ,a grief of recent birth is a sick infant that must have its medicine administered in its milk1 and sad thoughts are the sorrowful heart's natural food4 ,this is a complaint that is not to be cured by opposites1 which for the most part only reverse the symptoms while they exasperate the disease--or like a rock in the mid-channel of a river swoln by a sudden rain-flush from the mountains1 which only detains the excess of waters from their proper outlet1 and makes them foam1 roar1 and eddy4 ,the soul in her desolation hugs the sorrow close to her1 as her sole remaining garment3 and this must be drawn off so gradually1 and the garment to be put in its stead so gradually slipt on and feel so like the former1 that the sufferer shall be sensible of the change only by the refreshment4--,the true ,spirit of ,consolation is well content to detain the tear in the eye1 and finds a surer pledge of its success1 in the smile of ,resignation that dawns through that1 than in the liveliest shows of a forced and alien exhilaration4 ,,aphorism ,,xi4 ,plotinus thanked ,god1 that his soul was not tied to an immortal body4 ,,aphorism ,,xii4 ,,leighton ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,what a full ,confession do we make of our dissatisfaction with the ,objects of our bodily senses1 that in our attempts to express what we conceive the ,best of ,beings1 and the ,greatest of ,felicities to be1 we describe by the exact ,contraries of all1 that we experience here--the one as ,infinite1 ,incomprehensible1 ,immutable1 c41 the other as incorruptible1 undefiled1 and that passeth not away4 ,at all events1 this ,coincidence1 say rather1 ,identity of ,attributes1 is sufficient to apprize us1 that to be inheritors of bliss we must become the children of ,god4 ,this remark of ,leighton's is ingenious and startling4 ,another1 and more fruitful1 perhaps more solid inference from the fact would be1 that there is something in the human mind which makes it know 7as soon as it is sufficiently awakened to reflect on its own thoughts and notices71 that in all finite ,quantity there is an ,infinite1 in all measures of ,time an ,eternal2 that the latter are the basis1 the substance1 the true and abiding reality of the former2 and that as we truly are1 only as far as ,god is with us1 so neither can we truly possess 7that is1 enjoy7 our ,being or any other real ,good1 but by living in the sense of his holy presence4 ,a life of wickedness is a life of lies2 and an evil being1 or the being of evil1 the last and darkest mystery4 ,,aphorism ,,xiii4 ,the ,wisest ,use of the ,imagination4 ,,leighton4 ,it is not altogether unprofitable2 yea1 it is great wisdom in ,christians to be arming themselves against such temptations as may befal them hereafter1 though they have not as yet met with them2 to labour to overcome them beforehand1 to suppose the hardest things that may be incident to them1 and to put on the strongest resolutions they can attain unto4 ,yet all that is but an imaginary effort2 and therefore there is no assurance that the victory is any more than imaginary too1 till it come to action1 and then1 they that have spoken and thought very confidently1 may prove but 7as one said of the ,athenians7 fortes in tabula1 patient and courageous in picture or fancy2 and1 notwithstanding all their arms1 and dexterity in handling them by way of exercise1 may be foully defeated when they are to fight in earnest4 ,,aphorism ,,xiv4 ,the ,language of ,scripture4 ,the ,word of ,god speaks to men1 and therefore it speaks the language of the ,children of ,men4 ,this just and pregnant thought was suggested to ,leighton by ,gen4 xxii4 #ab4 ,the same text has led me to unfold and expand the remark4--,on moral subjects1 the ,scriptures speak in the language of the affections which they excite in us2 on sensible objects1 neither metaphysically1 as they are known by superior intelligences2 nor theoretically1 as they would be seen by us were we placed in the sun2 but as they are represented by our human senses in our present relative position4 ,lastly1 from no vain1 or worse than vain1 ambition of seeming to walk on the sea of ,mystery in my way to ,truth1 but in the hope of removing a difficulty that presses heavily on the minds of many who in heart and desire are believers1 and which long pressed on my own mind1 ,i venture to add3 that on spiritual things1 and allusively to the mysterious union or conspiration of the ,divine with the ,human in the ,spirits of the ,just1 spoken of in ,romans viii4 #bg1 the word of ,god attributes the language of the ,spirit sanctified to the ,holy ,one1 the ,sanctifier4 ,now the ,spirit in ,man 7that is1 the ,will7 knows its own ,state in and by its ,acts alone3 even as in geometrical reasoning the ,mind knows its constructive faculty in the act of constructing1 and contemplates the act in the product 7that is1 the mental figure or diagram7 which is inseparable from the act and co-instaneous4 ,let the reader join these two positions3 first1 that the ,divine ,spirit acting in the ,human ,will is described as one with the ,will so filled and actuated3 secondly1 that our actions are the means1 by which alone the ,will becomes assured of its own state2 and he will understand1 though he may not perhaps adopt my suggestion1 that the verse1 in which ,god speaking of himself1 says to ,abraham1 ,now ,i know that thou fearest ,god1 seeing thou hast not withheld thy son1 thy only son1 from me#ea--may be more than merely figurative4 ,an accommodation ,i grant2 but in the thing expressed1 and not altogether in the ,expressions4 ,in arguing with infidels1 or with the weak in faith1 it is a part of religious ,prudence1 no less than of religious ,morality1 to avoid whatever looks like an evasion4 ,to retain the literal sense1 wherever the harmony of ,scripture permits1 and reason does not forbid1 is ever the honester1 and1 nine times in ten1 the more rational and pregnant interpretation4 ,the contrary plan is an easy and approved way of getting rid of a difficulty2 but nine times in ten a bad way of solving it4 ,but alas6 there have been too many ,commentators who are content not to understand a text themselves1 if only they can make the reader believe that they do4 ,of the figures of speech in the sacred volume1 that are only figures of speech1 the one of most frequent occurrence is that which describes an effect by the name of its most usual and best known cause3 the passages1 for instance1 in which grief1 fury1 repentance1 c41 are attributed to the ,deity4--,but these are far enough from justifying the 7,i had almost said1 dishonest7 fashion of metaphorical glosses1 in as well as out of the ,church2 and which our fashionable divines have carried to such an extent1 as in the doctrinal part of their creed1 to leave little else but metaphors4 ,but the reader who wishes to find this latter subject1 and that of the ,aphorism1 treated more at large1 is referred to ,mr4 ,southey's ',omniana1' ,vol4 ,,ii4 p4 #g-ab2 and to the ,note in p4 #fb-fg1 of the author's second ',lay-,sermon4'#eb #ea ,gen4 xxii4 #ab4--;,,ed4 #eb ,an edition of the ',lay ,sermons' is published with ,bohn's edition of ,coleridge's ',biographia ,literaria4' ,the corresponding pages to those referred to would be pp4 #dji-aj4 ,the passages in ',omniana' referred to are in ,coleridge's own contributions to that work1 and are reprinted in his ',remains' 7#ahcf1 v4 #a1 pp4 #cba-ccj71 under the heads ,pelagianism and ,the ,soul and its ,organs of ,sense4--,,ed4 ,,aphorism ,,xv4 ,the ,christian no ,stoic4 ,,leighton ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,seek not altogether to dry up the stream of ,sorrow1 but to bound it1 and keep it within its banks4 ,religion doth not destroy the life of nature1 but adds to it a life more excellent2 yea1 it doth not only permit1 but requires some feeling of afflictions4 ,instead of patience1 there is in some men an affected pride of spirit suitable only to the doctrine of the ,stoics as it is usually taken4 ,they strive not to feel at all the afflictions that are on them2 but where there is no feeling at all1 there can be no patience4 ,of the sects of ancient philosophy the ,stoic is1 perhaps1 the nearest to ,christianity4 ,yet even to this sect ,christianity is fundamentally opposite4 ,for the ,stoic attaches the highest honour 7or rather1 attaches honour solely7 to the person that acts virtuously in spite of his feelings1 or who has raised himself above the conflict by their extinction2 while ,christianity instructs us to place small reliance on a virtue that does not begin by bringing the ,feelings to a conformity with the commands of the ,conscience4 ,its especial aim1 its characteristic operation1 is to moralize the affections4 ,the ,feelings1 that oppose a right act1 must be wrong feelings4 ,the act1 indeed1 whatever the agent's feelings might be1 ,christianity would command2 and under certain circumstances would both command and commend it--commend it1 as a healthful symptom in a sick patient2 and command it1 as one of the ways and means of changing the feelings1 or displacing them by calling up the opposite4 ,,corollaries ,,to ,,aphorism ,,xv4 ,i4 ,the more consciousness in our ,thoughts and ,words1 and the less in our ,impulses and general ,actions1 the better and more healthful the state both of head and heart4 ,as the flowers from an orange tree in its time of blossoming1 that burgeon forth1 expand1 fall and are momently replaced1 such is the sequence of hourly and momently charities in a pure and gracious soul4 ,the modern fiction which depictures the son of ,cytherea with a bandage round his eyes1 is not without a spiritual meaning4 ,there is a sweet and holy blindness in ,christian ,,love1 even as there is a blindness of ,life1 yea and of ,genius too1 in the moment of productive ,energy4 ,,ii4 ,motives are symptoms of weakness1 and supplements for the deficient ,energy of the living ,,principle1 the ,,law within us4 ,let them then be reserved for those momentous ,acts and ,duties1 in which the strongest and best balanced natures must feel themselves deficient1 and where ,humility1 no less than ,prudence1 prescribes ,deliberation4 ,we find a similitude of this1 ,i had almost said a remote analogy1 in organized bodies4 ,the lowest class of animals or protozoa1 the polypi for instance1 have neither brain nor nerves4 ,their motive powers are all from without4 ,the sun1 light1 the warmth1 the air are their nerves and brain4 ,as life ascends1 nerves appear2 but still only as the conductors of an external influence2 next are seen the knots or ganglions1 as so many foci of instinctive agency1 that imperfectly imitate the yet wanting centre4--,and now the promise and token of a true ,individuality are disclosed2 both the reservoir of ,sensibility and the imitative power that actuates the organs of ,motion 7the muscles7 with the net-work of conductors1 are all taken inward and appropriated2 the ,spontaneous rises into the ,voluntary1 and finally after various steps and a long ascent1 the ,material and ,animal ,means and ,conditions are prepared for the manifestations of a ,free ,will1 having its ,law within itself and its motive in the ,law--and thus bound to originate its own ,acts1 not only without1 but even against1 alien ,stimulants4 ,that in our present state we have only the ,dawning of this inward ,sun 7the perfect ,law of ,liberty7 will sufficiently limit and qualify the preceding position if only it have been allowed to produce its twofold consequence--the excitement of ,hope and the repression of ,vanity4#ec #ec ,see ,prof4 ,j4 ,h4 ,green's ',vital ,dynamics1' #ahdj4--;,,ed4 ,,aphorism ,,xvi4 ,,leighton4 ,as excessive eating or drinking both makes the body sickly and lazy1 fit for nothing but sleep1 and besots the mind1 as it clogs up with crudities the way through which the spirits should pass1#ed bemiring them1 and making them move heavily1 as a coach in a deep way2 thus doth all immoderate use of the world and its delights wrong the soul in its spiritual condition1 makes it sickly and feeble1 full of spiritual distempers and inactivity1 benumbs the graces of the ,spirit1 and fills the soul with sleepy vapours1 makes it grow secure and heavy in spiritual exercises1 and obstructs the way and motion of the ,spirit of ,god1 in the soul4 ,therefore1 if you would be spiritual1 healthful1 and vigorous1 and enjoy much of the consolations of ,heaven1 be sparing and sober in those of the earth1 and what you abate of the one1 shall be certainly made up in the other4 #ed ,technical phrases of an obsolete ,system will yet retain their places1 nay1 acquire universal currency1 and become sterling in the language1 when they at once represent the feelings1 and give an apparent solution of them by visual images easily managed by the fancy4 ,such are many terms and phrases from the ,humoral ,physiology long exploded1 but which are far more popular then any description would be from the theory that has taken its place4 ,,aphorism ,,xvii4 ,inconsistency4 ,,leighton ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,it is a most unseemly and unpleasant thing1 to see a man's life full of ups and downs1 one step like a ,christian1 and another like a worldling2 it cannot choose but both pain himself and mar the edification of others4 ,the same sentiment1 only with a special application to the maxims and measures of our ,cabinet and ,statesmen1 has been finely expressed by a sage ,poet of the preceding generation1 in lines which1 no generation will find inapplicable or superannuated4 ,god and the ,world we worship both together1 ,draw not our ,laws to ,him1 but ,his to ours2 ,untrue to both1 so prosperous in neither1 ,the imperfect ,will brings forth but barren ,flowers6 ,unwise as all distracted ,interests be1 ,strangers to ,god1 ,fools in ,humanity3 ,too good for great things1 and too great for good1 ,while still ,i dare not waits upon ,i wou'd4 ,,aphorism ,,xvii4 ,,continued4 ,the ,ordinary ,motive to ,inconsistency4 ,,leighton4 ,what though the polite man count thy fashion a little odd and too precise1 it is because he knows nothing above that model of goodness which he hath set himself1 and therefore approves of nothing beyond it3 he knows not ,god1 and therefore doth not discern and esteem what is most like ,him4 ,when courtiers come down into the country1 the common home-bred people possibly think their habit strange2 but they care not for that1 it is the fashion at court4 ,what need1 then1 that ,christians should be so tender-foreheaded1 as to be put out of countenance because the world looks on holiness as a singularity8 ,it is the only fashion in the highest court1 yea1 of the ,king of ,kings himself4 ,,aphorism ,,xviii4 ,superficial ,reconciliations1 and ,self-deceit in ,forgiving4 ,,leighton4 ,when1 after variances1 men are brought to an agreement1 they are much subject to this1 rather to cover their remaining malices with superficial verbal forgiveness1 than to dislodge them1 and free the heart of them4 ,this is a poor self-deceit4 ,as the philosopher said to him1 who being ashamed that he was espied by him in a tavern in the outer room1 withdrew himself to the inner1 he called after him1 ,that is not the way out1 the more you go that way1 you will be the further in6 ,so when hatreds are upon admonition not thrown out1 but retire inward to hide themselves1 they grow deeper and stronger than before2 and those constrained semblances of reconcilement are but a false healing1 do but skin the wound over1 and therefore it usually breaks forth worse again4 ,,aphorism ,,xix4 ,of the ,worth and the ,duties of the ,preacher4 ,,leighton4 ,the stream of custom and our profession bring us to the ,preaching of the ,word1 and we sit out our hour under the sound2 but how few consider and prize it as the great ordinance of ,god for the salvation of souls1 the beginner and the sustainer of the ,divine life of grace within us6 ,and certainly1 until we have these thoughts of it1 and seek to feel it thus ourselves1 although we hear it most frequently1 and let slip no occasion1 yea1 hear it with attention and some present delight1 yet still we miss the right use of it1 and turn it from its true end1 while we take it not as that ingrafted word which is able to save our souls 7,james i4 #ba74 ,thus ought they who preach to speak the word2 to endeavour their utmost to accommodate it to this end1 that sinners may be converted1 begotten again1 and believers nourished and strengthened in their spiritual life2 to regard no lower end1 but aim steadily at that mark4 ,their hearts and tongues ought to be set on fire with holy zeal for ,god and love to souls1 kindled by the ,holy ,ghost1 that came down on the apostles in the shape of fiery tongues4 ,and those that hear1 should remember this as the end of their hearing1 that they may receive spiritual life and strength by the word4 ,for though it seems a poor despicable business1 that a frail sinful man like yourselves should speak a few words in your hearing1 yet1 look upon it as the way wherein ,god communicates happiness to those who believe1 and works that believing unto happiness1 alters the whole frame of the soul1 and makes a new creation1 as it begets it again to the inheritance of glory4 ,consider it thus1 which is its true notion2 and then1 what can be so precious8 ,,aphorism ,,xx4 ,,leighton4 ,the difference is great in our natural life1 in some persons especially2 that they who in infancy were so feeble1 and wrapped up as others in swaddling clothes1 yet1 afterwards come to excel in wisdom and in the knowledge of sciences1 or to be commanders of great armies1 or to be kings3 but the distance is far greater and more admirable1 betwixt the small beginnings of grace1 and our after perfection1 that fulness of knowledge that we look for1 and that crown of immortality which all they are born to who are born of ,god4 ,but as in the faces or actions of some children1 characters and presages of their after-greatness have appeared 7as a singular beauty in ,moses's face1 as they write of him1 and as ,cyrus was made king among the shepherds' children with whom he was brought up1 c47 so also1 certainly1 in these children of ,god1 there be some characters and evidences that they are born for ,heaven by their new birth4 ,that holiness and meekness1 that patience and faith which shine in the actions and sufferings of the saints1 are characters of their ,father's image1 and show their high original1 and foretell their glory to come2 such a glory as doth not only surpass the world's thoughts1 but the thoughts of the children of ,god themselves4 #a ,john iii4 #b4 ,,comment4 ,on an ,intermediate ,state1 or ,state of ,transition from ,morality to ,spiritual ,religion4 ,this ,aphorism would1 it may seem1 have been placed more fitly in the ,chapter following4 ,in placing it here1 ,i have been determined by the following convictions3 #a4 ,every state1 and consequently that which we have described as the state of ,religious ,morality1 which is not progressive1 is dead1 or retrograde4 #b4 ,as a pledge of this progression1 or1 at least1 as the form in which the propulsive tendency shows itself1 there are certain ,hopes1 ,aspirations1 ,yearnings1 that1 with more or less of consciousness1 rise and stir in the ,heart of true ,morality as naturally as the sap in the full-formed stem of a rose flows towards the bud1 within which the flower is maturing4 #c4 ,no one1 whose own experience authorizes him to confirm the truth of this statement1 can have been conversant with the volumes of religious biography1 can have perused 7for instance7 the lives of ,cranmer1 ,ridley1 ,latimer1 ,wishart1 ,sir ,thomas ,more1 ,bernard ,gilpin1 ,bishop ,bedel1 or of ,egede1 ,swartz1 and the missionaries of the frozen world1 without an occasional conviction1 that these men lived under extraordinary influences1 which in each instance and in all ages of the ,christian ra bear the same characters1 and both in the accompaniments and the results evidently refer to a common origin4 ,and what can this be8 is the question that must needs force itself on the mind in the first moment of reflection on a phenomenon so interesting and apparently so anomalous4 ,the answer is as necessarily contained in one or the other of two assumptions4 ,these influences are either the ,product of ,delusion 7insania amabilis1 and the re-action of disordered nerves71 or they argue the existence of a relation to some real agency1 distinct from what is experienced or acknowledged by the world at large1 for which as not merely natural on the one hand1 and yet not assumed to be miraculous#ee on the other1 we have no apter name than spiritual4 ,now if neither analogy justifies nor the moral feelings permit the former assumption1 and we decide therefore in favour of the reality of a ,state other and higher than the mere ,moral ,man1 whose ,religion#ef consists in ,morality1 has attained under these convictions1 can the existence of a transitional state appear other than probable8 or that these very convictions1 when accompanied by correspondent dispositions and stirrings of the heart1 are among the marks and indications of such a state8 ,and thinking it not unlikely that among the readers of this volume1 there may be found some ,individuals1 whose inward state1 though disquieted by doubts and oftener still perhaps by blank misgivings1 may1 nevertheless1 betoken the commencement of a ,transition from a not irreligious ,morality to a ,spiritual ,religion1 with a view to their interests ,i placed this ,aphorism under the present head4 #ee ,in check of fanatical pretensions1 it is expedient to confine the term miraculous1 to cases where the senses are appealed to in proof of something that transcends1 or can be a part of the ,experience derived from the senses4 #ef ,for let it not be forgotten1 that ,morality1 as distinguished from ,prudence1 implying 7it matters not under what name1 whether of ,honour1 or ,duty1 or ,conscience1 still1 ,i say1 implying71 and being grounded in1 an awe of the ,invisible and a ,confidence therein beyond 7nay1 occasionally in apparent contradiction to7 the inductions of outward ,experience1 is essentially religious4 ,,aphorism ,,xxi4 ,,leighton4 ,the most approved teachers of wisdom1 in a human way1 have required of their scholars1 that to the end their minds might be capable of it1 they should be purified from vice and wickedness4 ,and it was ,socrates' custom1 when any one asked him a question1 seeking to be informed by him1 before he would answer them1 he asked them concerning their own qualities and course of life4 ,,aphorism ,,xxii4 ,knowledge not the ultimate ,end of ,religious ,pursuits4 ,,leighton ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,the ,hearing and ,reading of the ,word1 under which ,i comprise theological studies generally1 are alike defective when pursued without increase of ,knowledge1 and when pursued chiefly for increase of ,knowledge4 ,to seek no more than a present delight1 that evanisheth with the sound of the words that die in the air1 is not to desire the ,word as meat1 but as music1 as ,god tells the prophet ,ezekiel of his people1 ,ezek4 xxxiii4 #cb4 ,and lo1 thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice1 and can play well upon an instrument2 for they hear thy words1 and they do them not4 ,to desire the word for the increase of knowledge1 although this is necessary and commendable1 and1 being rightly qualified1 is a part of spiritual accretion1 yet1 take it as going no further1 it is not the true end of the ,word4 ,nor is the venting of that knowledge in speech and frequent discourse of the ,word and the divine truths that are in it2 which1 where it is governed with ,christian prudence1 is not to be despised1 but commended2 yet1 certainly1 the highest knowledge1 and the most frequent and skilful speaking of the ,word1 severed from the growth here mentioned1 misses the true end of the ,word4 ,if any one's head or tongue should grow apace1 and all the rest stand at a stay1 it would certainly make him a monster2 and they are no other1 who are knowing and discoursing ,christians1 and grow daily in that respect1 but not at all in holiness of heart1 and life1 which is the proper growth of the children of ,god4 ,apposite to their case is ,epictetus's comparison of the sheep2 they return not what they eat in grass1 but in wool4 ,,aphorism ,,xxiii4 ,the sum of ,church ,history4 ,,leighton4 ,in times of peace1 the ,church may dilate more1 and build as it were into breadth1 but in times of trouble1 it arises more in height2 it is then built upwards2 as in cities where men are straitened1 they build usually higher than in the country4 ,,aphorism ,,xxiv4 ,worthy to be framed and hung up in the ,library of every ,theological ,student4 ,,leighton ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,when there is a great deal of smoke1 and no clear flame1 it argues much moisture in the matter1 yet it witnesseth certainly that there is fire there2 and therefore dubious questioning is a much better evidence1 than that senseless deadness which most take for believing4 ,men that know nothing in sciences1 have no doubts4 ,he never truly believed1 who was not made first sensible and convinced of unbelief4 ,never be afraid to doubt1 if only you have the disposition to believe1 and doubt in order that you may end in believing the ,truth4 ,i will venture to add in my own name and from my own conviction the following3 ,,aphorism ,,xxv4 ,he1 who begins by loving ,christianity better than ,truth1 will proceed by loving his own ,sect or ,church better than ,christianity1 and end in loving himself better than all4 ,,aphorism ,,xxvi4 ,the ,absence of ,disputes1 and a general ,aversion to ,religious ,controversies1 no proof of ,true ,unanimity4 ,,leighton ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,the boasted peaceableness about questions of ,faith too often proceeds from a superficial temper1 and not seldom from a supercilious disdain of whatever has no marketable use or value1 and from indifference to religion itself4 ,toleration is a herb of spontaneous growth in the ,soil of ,indifference2 but the weed has none of the virtues of the medicinal plant1 reared by ,humility in the ,garden of ,zeal4 ,those1 who regard religions as matters of taste1 may consistently include all religious differences in the old adage1 ,de gustibus non est disputandum4 ,and many there be among these of ,gallio's temper1 who care for none of these things1 and who account all questions in religion1 as he did1 but matter of words and names4 ,and by this all religions may agree together4 ,but that were not a natural union produced by the active heat of the spirit1 but a confusion rather1 arising from the want of it2 not a knitting together1 but a freezing together1 as cold congregates all bodies1 how heterogeneous soever1 sticks1 stones1 and water2 but heat makes first a separation of different things1 and then unites those that are of the same nature4 ,much of our common union of minds1 ,i fear1 proceeds from no other than the afore-mentioned causes1 want of knowledge1 and want of affection to religion4 ,you that boast you live conformably to the appointments of the ,church1 and that no one hears of your noise1 we may thank the ignorance of your minds for that kind of quietness4 ,the preceding extract is particularly entitled to our serious reflections1 as in a tenfold degree more applicable to the present times than to the age in which it was written4 ,we all know1 that ,lovers are apt to take offence and wrangle on occasions that perhaps are but trifles1 and which assuredly would appear such to those who regard ,love itself as folly4 ,these quarrels may1 indeed1 be no proof of wisdom2 but still1 in the imperfect state of our nature the entire absence of the same1 and this too on far more serious provocations1 would excite a strong suspicion of a comparative indifference in the parties who can love so coolly where they profess to love so well4 ,i shall believe our present religious tolerancy to proceed from the abundance of our charity and good sense1 when ,i see proofs that we are equally cool and forbearing as litigants and political partizans4 ,,aphorism ,,xxvii4 ,the ,influence of ,worldly ,views 7or what are called a ,man's ,prospects in ,life71 the ,bane of the ,christian ,ministry4 ,,leighton ,it is a base1 poor thing for a man to seek himself2 far below that royal dignity that is here put upon ,christians1 and that priesthood joined with it4 ,under the ,law1 those who were squint-eyed were incapable of the priesthood3 truly1 this squinting toward our own interest1 the looking aside to that1 in ,god's affairs especially1 so deforms the face of the soul1 that it makes it altogether unworthy the honour of this spiritual priesthood4 ,oh6 this is a large task1 an infinite task4 ,the several creatures bear their part in this2 the sun says somewhat1 and moon and stars1 yea1 the lowest have some share in it2 the very plants and herbs of the field speak of ,god2 and yet1 the very highest and best1 yea all of them together1 the whole concert of ,heaven and earth1 cannot show forth all ,his praise to the full4 ,no1 it is but a part1 the smallest part of that glory1 which they can reach4 ,,aphorism ,,xxviii4 ,despise none3 ,despair of none4 ,,leighton4 ,the ,jews would not willingly tread upon the smallest piece of paper in their way1 but took it up2 for possibly1 said they1 the name of ,god may be on it4 ,though there was a little superstition in this1 yet truly there is nothing but good religion in it1 if we apply it to men4 ,trample not on any2 there may be some work of grace there1 that thou knowest not of4 ,the name of ,god may be written upon that soul thou treadest on2 it may be a soul that ,christ thought so much of1 as to give ,his precious blood for it2 therefore despise it not4 ,,aphorism ,,xxix4 ,men of ,least ,merit most apt to be ,contemptuous1 ,because most ,ignorant and most ,overweening of ,themselves4 ,,leighton4 ,too many take the ready course to deceive themselves2 for they look with both eyes on the failings and defects of others1 and scarcely give their good qualities half an eye1 while on the contrary1 in themselves1 they study to the full their own advantages1 and their weaknesses and defects1 7as one says71 they skip over1 as children do their hard words in their lesson1 that are troublesome to read2 and making this uneven parallel1 what wonder if the result be a gross mistake of themselves6 ,,aphorism ,,xxx4 ,vanity may strut in rags1 and ,humility be arrayed in purple and fine linen4 ,,leighton4 ,it is not impossible that there may be in some an affected pride in the meanness of apparel1 and in others1 under either neat or rich attire1 a very humble unaffected mind3 using it upon some of the afore-mentioned engagements1 or such like1 and yet the heart not at all upon it4 ,magnus qui fictilibus ubitur tanquam argento1 nec ille minor qui argento tanquam fictilibus1 says ,seneca3 ,great is he who enjoys his earthenware as if it were plate1 and not less great is the man to whom all his plate is no more than earthenware4 ,,aphorism ,,xxxi4 ,of the ,detraction among ,religious ,professors4 ,,leighton ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,they who have attained to a self-pleasing pitch of civility or formal religion1 have usually that point of presumption with it1 that they make their own size the model and rule to examine all by4 ,what is below it1 they condemn indeed as profane2 but what is beyond it1 they account needless and affected preciseness2 and therefore are as ready as others to let fly invectives or bitter taunts against it1 which are the keen and poisoned shafts of the tongue1 and a persecution that shall be called to a strict account4 ,the slanders1 perchance1 may not be altogether forged or untrue2 they may be the implements1 not the inventions1 of ,malice4 ,but they do not on this account escape the guilt of detraction4 ,rather1 it is characteristic of the evil spirit in question1 to work by the advantage of real faults2 but these stretched and aggravated to the utmost4 ,,it ,,is ,,not ,,expressible ,,how ,,deep ,a ,,wound ,a ,,tongue ,,sharpened ,,to ,,this ,,work ,,will ,,give1 ,,with ,,no ,,noise ,,and ,a ,,very ,,little ,,word4 ,this is the true white gunpowder1 which the dreaming ,projectors of silent ,mischiefs and insensible ,poisons sought for in the ,laboratories of ,art and ,nature1 in a ,world of ,good2 but which was to be found1 in its most destructive form1 in the ,world of ,evil1 the ,tongue4 ,,aphorism ,,xxxii4 ,the ,remedy4 ,,leighton4 ,all true remedy must begin at the heart2 otherwise it will be but a mountebank cure1 a false imagined conquest4 ,the weights and wheels are there1 and the clock strikes according to their motion4 ,even he that speaks contrary to what is within him1 guilefully contrary to his inward conviction and knowledge1 yet speaks conformably to what is within him in the temper and frame of his heart1 which is double1 a heart and a heart1 as the ,psalmist hath it3 ,psalm xii4 #b4 ,,aphorism ,,xxxiii4 ,,leighton ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,it is an argument of a candid ingenuous mind1 to delight in the good name and commendations of others2 to pass by their defects1 and take notice of their virtues2 and to speak and hear of those willingly1 and not endure either to speak or hear of the other2 for in this indeed you may be little less guilty than the evil speaker1 in taking pleasure in it1 though you speak it not4 ,he that willingly drinks in tales and calumnies1 will1 from the delight he hath in evil hearing1 slide insensibly into the humour of evil speaking4 ,it is strange how most persons dispense with themselves in this point1 and that in scarcely any societies shall we find a hatred of this ill1 but rather some tokens of taking pleasure in it2 and until a ,christian sets himself to an inward watchfulness over his heart1 not suffering in it any thought that is uncharitable1 or vain self-esteem1 upon the sight of others' frailties1 he will still be subject to somewhat of this1 in the tongue or ear at least4 ,so1 then1 as for the evil of guile in the tongue1 a sincere heart1 truth in the inward parts1 powerfully redresses it2 therefore it is expressed1 ,psal4 xv4 #b1 ,that speaketh the truth from his heart2 thence it flows4 ,seek much after this1 to speak nothing with ,god1 nor men1 but what is the sense of a single unfeigned heart4 ,o sweet truth6 excellent but rare sincerity6 he that loves that truth within1 and who is himself at once ,,the ,,truth and ,,the ,,life1 ,he alone can work it there6 ,seek it of him4 ,it is characteristic of the ,roman dignity and sobriety1 that1 in the ,latin1 to favour with the tongue 7favere lingua7 means to be silent4 ,we say1 ,hold your tongue6 as if it were an injunction1 that could not be carried into effect but by manual force1 or the pincers of the ,forefinger and ,thumb6 ,and verily--,i blush to say it--it is not ,women and ,frenchmen only that would rather have their tongues bitten than bitted1 and feel their souls in a strait-waistcoat1 when they are obliged to remain silent4 ,,aphorism ,,xxxiv4 ,on the ,passion for ,new and ,striking ,thoughts4 ,,leighton4 ,in conversation seek not so much either to vent thy knowledge1 or to increase it1 as to know more spiritually and effectually what thou dost know4 ,and in this way those mean despised truths1 that everyone thinks he is sufficiently seen in1 will have a new sweetness and use in them1 which thou didst not so well perceive before 7for these flowers cannot be sucked dry71 and in this humble sincere way thou shalt grow in grace and in knowledge too4 ,,aphorism ,,xxxv4 ,the ,radical ,difference between the ,good ,man and the ,vicious ,man4 ,,leighton ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,the godly man hates the evil he possibly by temptation hath been drawn to do1 and loves the good he is frustrated of1 and1 having intended1 hath not attained to do4 ,the sinner1 who hath his denomination from sin as his course1 hates the good which sometimes he is forced to do1 and loves that sin which many times he does not1 either wanting occasion and means1 so that he cannot do it1 or through the check of an enlightened conscience possibly dares not do2 and though so bound up from the act1 as a dog in a chain1 yet the habit1 the natural inclination and desire in him1 is still the same1 the strength of his affection is carried to sin4 ,so in the weakest sincere ,christian1 there is that predominant sincerity and desire of holy walking1 according to which he is called a righteous person1 the ,lord is pleased to give him that name1 and account him so1 being upright in heart1 though often failing4 ,leighton adds1 ,there is a ,righteousness of a higher strain4 ,i do not ask the reader's full assent to this position3 ,i do not suppose him as yet prepared to yield it4 ,but thus much he will readily admit1 that here1 if any where1 we are to seek the fine ,line which1 like stripes of ,light in ,light1 distinguishes1 not divides1 the summit of religious ,morality from ,spiritual ,religion4 ,a ,righteousness 7,leighton continues7 that is not in him1 but upon him4 ,he is clothed with it4 ,this1 reader6 is the controverted ,doctrine1 so warmly asserted and so bitterly decried under the name of ,,imputed ,,righteousness4 ,our learned ,archbishop1 you see1 adopts it2 and it is on this account principally1 that by many of our leading ,churchmen his orthodoxy has been more than questioned1 and his name put in the list of proscribed divines1 as a ,calvinist4 ,that ,leighton attached a definite sense to the words above quoted1 it would be uncandid to doubt2 and the general spirit of his writings leads me to presume that it was compatible with the eternal distinction between things and persons1 and therefore opposed to modern ,calvinism4 ,but what it was1 ,i have not 7,i own7 been able to discover4 ,the sense1 however1 in which ,i think he might have received this doctrine1 and in which ,i avow myself a believer in it1 ,i shall have an opportunity of showing in another place4 ,my present object is to open out the road by the removal of prejudices1 so far at least as to throw some disturbing doubts on the secure taking-for-granted1 that the peculiar ,tenets of the ,christian ,faith asserted in the articles and homilies of our ,national ,church are in contradiction to the common sense of mankind4 ,and with this view1 7and not in the arrogant expectation or wish1 that a mere ipse dixit should be received for argument7 ,i here avow my conviction1 that the doctrine of ,,imputed ,righteousness1 rightly and scripturally interpreted1 is so far from being either irrational or immoral1 that ,reason itself prescribes the idea in order to give a meaning and an ultimate object to ,morality2 and that the ,moral ,law in the ,conscience demands its reception in order to give reality and substantive existence to the idea presented by the ,reason4 ,,aphorism ,,xxxvi4 ,,leighton4 ,your blessedness is not1--no1 believe it1 it is not where most of you seek it1 in things below you4 ,how can that be8 ,it must be a higher good to make you happy4 ,,comment4 ,every rank of creatures1 as it ascends in the scale of creation1 leaves death behind it or under it4 ,the metal at its height of being seems a mute prophecy of the coming vegetation1 into a mimic semblance of which it crystallizes4 ,the blossom and flower1 the acme of vegetable life1 divides into correspondent organs with reciprocal functions1 and by instinctive motions and approximations seems impatient of that fixure1 by which it is differenced in kind from the flower-shaped ,psyche1 that flutters with free wing above it4 ,and wonderfully in the insect realm doth the ,irritability1 the proper seat of ,instinct1 while yet the nascent ,sensibility is subordinated thereto--most wonderfully1 ,i say1 doth the muscular life in the insect1 and the musculo-arterial in the bird1 imitate and typically rehearse the adaptive ,understanding1 yea1 and the moral affections and charities1 of man4 ,let us carry ourselves back1 in spirit1 to the mysterious ,week1 the teeming ,work-days of the ,creator3 as they rose in vision before the eye of the inspired historian of the ,generations of the ,heaven and the ,earth1 in the days that the ,lord ,god made the ,earth and the ,heavens4#eg ,and who that hath watched their ways with an understanding heart1 could1 as the vision evolving1 still advanced towards him1 contemplate the filial and loyal bee2 the home-building1 wedded1 and divorceless swallow2 and above all the manifoldly intelligent#eh ant tribes1 with their ,commonwealths and ,confederacies1 their warriors and miners1 the husbandfolk1 that fold in their tiny flocks on the honeyed leaf1 and the virgin sisters1 with the holy instincts of maternal love1 detached and in selfless purity--and not say to himself1 ,behold the ,shadow of approaching ,humanity1 the ,sun rising from behind1 in the kindling ,morn of ,creation6 ,thus all lower ,natures find their highest ,good in semblances and seekings of that which is higher and better4 ,all things strive to ascend1 and ascend in their striving4 ,and shall man alone stoop8 ,shall his pursuits and desires1 the reflections of his inward life1 be like the reflected image of a tree on the edge of a pool1 that grows downward1 and seeks a mock heaven in the unstable element beneath it1 in neighbourhood with the slim water-weeds and oozy bottom-grass that are yet better than itself and more noble1 in as far as ,substances that appear as ,shadows are preferable to ,shadows mistaken for ,substance6 ,no6 it must be a higher good to make you happy4 ,while you labour for any thing below your proper ,humanity1 you seek a happy ,life in the region of ,death4 ,well saith the moral poet-- ,unless above himself he can ,erect himself1 how mean a thing is man6#ei #eg ,gen4 ii4 #d4--;,,ed4 #eh ,see ,hber on ,bees1 and on ,ants4 #ei ,samuel ,daniel1 #aefb-afai3-- ,unless above himself he can ,erect himself1 how poor a thing is man6 ,to the ,countess of ,cumberland1 stanza #ab4--;,,ed4 ,,aphorism ,,xxxvii4 ,,leighton4 ,there is an imitation of men that is impious and wicked1 which consists in taking a copy of their sins4 ,again1 there is an imitation which though not so grossly evil1 yet is poor and servile1 being in mean things1 yea1 sometimes descending to imitate the very imperfections of others1 as fancying some comeliness in them3 as some of ,basil's scholars1 who imitated his slow speaking1 which he had a little in the extreme1 and could not help4 ,but this is always laudable1 and worthy of the best minds1 to be imitators of that which is good1 wheresoever they find it2 for that stays not in any man's person1 as the ultimate pattern1 but rises to the highest grace1 being man's nearest likeness to ,god1 ,his image and resemblance1 bearing his stamp and superscription1 and belonging peculiarly to ,him1 in what hand soever it be found1 as carrying the mark of no other owner than ,him4 ,,aphorism ,,xxxviii4 ,,leighton4 ,those who think themselves high-spirited1 and will bear least1 as they speak1 are often1 even by that1 forced to bow most1 or to burst under it2 while humility and meekness escape many a burden1 and many a blow1 always keeping peace within1 and often without too4 ,,aphorism ,,xxxix4 ,,leighton4 ,our condition is universally exposed to fears and troubles1 and no man is so stupid but he studies and projects for some fence against them1 some bulwark to break the incursion of evils1 and so to bring his mind to some ease1 ridding it of the fear of them4 ,thus men seek safety in the greatness1 or multitude1 or supposed faithfulness of friends2 they seek by any means to be strongly underset this way2 to have many1 and powerful1 and trust-worthy friends4 ,but wiser men1 perceiving the unsafety and vanity of these and all external things1 have cast about for some higher course4 ,they see a necessity of withdrawing a man from externals1 which do nothing but mock and deceive those most who trust most to them2 but they cannot tell whither to direct him4 ,the best of them bring him into himself1 and think to quiet him so2 but the truth is1 he finds as little to support him there2 there is nothing truly strong enough within him1 to hold out against the many sorrows and fears which still from without do assault him4 ,so then1 though it is well done1 to call off a man from outward things1 as moving sands1 that he build not on them1 yet1 this is not enough2 for his own spirit is as unsettled a piece as is in all the world1 and must have some higher strength than its own1 to fortify and fix it4 ,this is the way that is here taught1 ,fear not their fear1 but sanctify the ,lord your ,god in your hearts2 and if you can attain this latter1 the former will follow of itself4 ,,aphorism ,,xl4 ,worldly ,troubles ,idols4 ,,leighton4 ,the too ardent love or self-willed desire of power1 or wealth1 or credit in the world1 is 7an ,apostle has assured us7 ,idolatry4 ,now among the words or synonimes for idols1 in the ,hebrew language1 there is one that in its primary sense signifies troubles 7tegirim71 other two that signify terrors 7miphletzeth and emim74 ,and so it is certainly4 ,all our idols prove so to us4 ,they fill us with nothing but anguish and troubles1 with cares and fears1 that are good for nothing but to be fit punishments of the folly1 out of which they arise4 ,,aphorism ,,xli4 ,on the right ,treatment of ,infidels4 ,,leighton ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,a regardless contempt of infidel writings is usually the fittest answer2 ,spreta vilescerent4 ,but where the holy profession of ,christians is likely to receive either the main or the indirect blow1 and a word of defence may do any thing to ward it off1 there we ought not to spare to do it4 ,christian prudence goes a great way in the regulating of this4 ,some are not capable of receiving rational answers1 especially in ,divine things2 they were not only lost upon them1 but religion dishonoured by the contest4 ,of this sort are the vulgar railers at religion1 the foul-mouthed beliers of the ,christian faith and history4 ,impudently false and slanderous assertions can be met only by assertions of their impudent and slanderous falsehood3 and ,christians will not1 must not1 condescend to this4 ,how can mere railing be answered by them who are forbidden to return a railing answer8 ,whether1 or on what provocations1 such offenders may be punished or coerced on the score of incivility1 and ill-neighbourhood1 and for abatement of a nuisance1 as in the case of other scolds and endangerers of the public peace1 must be trusted to the discretion of the civil magistrate4 ,even then1 there is danger of giving them importance1 and flattering their vanity1 by attracting attention to their works1 if the punishment be slight2 and if severe1 of spreading far and wide their reputation as martyrs1 as the smell of a dead dog at a distance is said to change into that of musk4 ,experience hitherto seems to favour the plan of treating these btes puantes and enfans de diable1 as their four-footed brethren1 the skink and squash1 are treated#fj by the ,american woodmen1 who turn their backs upon the fetid intruder1 and make appear not to see him1 even at the cost of suffering him to regale on the favourite viand of these animals1 the brains of a stray goose or crested thraso of the dunghill4 ,at all events1 it is degrading to the majesty1 and injurious to the character of ,religion1 to make its safety the plea for their punishment1 or at all to connect the name of ,christianity with the castigation of indecencies that properly belong to the beadle1 and the perpetrators of which would have equally deserved his lash1 though the religion of their fellow-citizens1 thus assailed by them1 had been that of ,fo or ,juggernaut4 ,on the other hand1 we are to answer every one that inquires a reason1 or an account2 which supposes something receptive of it4 ,we ought to judge ourselves engaged to give it1 be it an enemy1 if he will hear2 if it gain him not1 it may in part convince and cool him2 much more1 should it be one who ingenuously inquires for satisfaction1 and possibly inclines to receive the truth1 but has been1 prejudiced by misrepresentations of it4 #fj ,about the end of the same year 7says ,kalm71 another of these ,animals 7,mephitis ,americana7 crept into our cellar2 but did not exhale the smallest scent1 because it was not disturbed4 ,a foolish old woman1 however1 who perceived it at night1 by the shining1 and thought1 ,i suppose1 that it would set the world on fire1 killed it3 and at that moment its stench began to spread4 ,we recommend this anecdote to the consideration of sundry old women1 on this side of the ,atlantic1 who1 though they do not wear the appropriate garment1 are worthy to sit in their committee-room1 like ,bickerstaff in the ,tatler1 under the canopy of their grandam's hoop-petticoat4 ,,aphorism ,,xlii4 ,passion no ,friend to ,truth4 ,,leighton4 ,truth needs not the service of passion2 yea1 nothing so disserves it1 as passion when set to serve it4 ,the ,spirit of truth is withal the ,spirit of meekness4 ,the ,dove that rested on that great champion of truth1 who is ,the ,truth itself1 is from ,him derived to the lovers of truth1 and they ought to seek the participation of it4 ,imprudence makes some kind of ,christians lose much of their labour1 in speaking for religion1 and drive those further off1 whom they would draw into it4 ,the confidence that attends a ,christian's belief makes the believer not fear men1 to whom he answers1 but still he fears his ,god1 for whom he answers1 and whose interest is chief in those things he speaks of4 ,the soul that hath the deepest sense of spiritual things1 and the truest knowledge of ,god1 is most afraid to miscarry in speaking of ,him1 most tender and wary how to acquit itself when engaged to speak of and for ,god4#fa #fa ,to the same purpose are the two following sentences from ,hilary3 ,etiam qu pro ,religione dicimus1 cum grandi motu et disciplina dicere debemus4--,hilarius de ,trinit4 ,lib4 #g4 ,non relictus est hominum eloquiis de ,dei rebus alius quam ,dei sermo4--,idem4 ,the latter1 however1 must be taken with certain qualifications and exceptions2 as when any two or more texts are in apparent contradiction1 and it is required to state a ,truth that comprehends and reconciles both1 and which1 of course1 cannot be expressed in the words of either1--for example1 the filial subordination 7,my ,father is greater than ,i71 in the equal ,deity 7,my ,father and ,i are one74 ,,aphorism ,,xliii4 ,on the ,conscience4 ,,leighton4 ,it is a fruitless verbal debate1 whether ,conscience be a ,faculty or a ,habit4 ,when all is examined1 ,conscience will be found to be no other than the mind of a man1 under the notion of a particular reference to himself and his own actions4 ,,comment4 ,what ,conscience is1 and that it is the ground and antecedent of human 7or self-7 consciousness1 and not any modification of the latter1 ,i have shown at large in a work announced for the press1 and described in the ,chapter following4#fb ,i have selected the preceding extract as an ,exercise for ,reflection2 and because ,i think that in too closely following ,thomas ,kempis1 the ,archbishop has strayed from his own judgment4 ,the definition1 for instance1 seems to say all1 and in fact says nothing2 for if ,i asked1 ,how do you define the human mind8 the answer must at least contain1 if not consist of1 the words1 a mind capable of ,conscience4 ,for ,conscience is no synonime of ,consciousness1 nor any mere expression of the same as modified by the particular ,object4 ,on the contrary1 a ,consciousness properly human 7that is1 ,self-consciousness71 with the sense of moral responsibility1 presupposes the ,conscience1 as its antecedent condition and ground4 ,lastly1 the sentence1 ,it is a fruitless verbal debate1 is an assertion of the same complexion with the contemptuous sneers1 at verbal criticism by the contemporaries of ,bentley4 ,in questions of ,philosophy or ,divinity1 that have occupied the learned and been the subjects of many successive controversies1 for one instance of mere logomachy ,i could bring ten instances of logoddaly1 or verbal legerdemain1 which have perilously confirmed prejudices1 and withstood the advancement of truth in consequence of the neglect of verbal debate1 that is1 strict discussion of terms4 ,in whatever sense1 however1 the term ,conscience may be used1 the following ,aphorism is equally true and important4 ,it is worth noticing1 likewise1 that ,leighton himself in a following page 7vol4 ii4 p4 #ig71 tells us that a good ,conscience is the root of a good ,conversation3 and then quotes from ,st4 ,paul a text1 ,titus i4 #ae1 in which the ,mind and the ,conscience are expressly distinguished4 #fb ,see ,aphorisms on ,spiritual ,religion1 p4 #ajc4--;,,ed4 ,,aphorism ,,xliv4 ,the ,light of ,knowledge a necessary accompaniment of a ,good ,conscience4 ,,leighton4 ,if you would have a good conscience1 you must by all means have so much light1 so much knowledge of the will of ,god1 as may regulate you1 and show you your way1 may teach you how to do1 and speak1 and think1 as in ,his presence4 ,,aphorism ,,xlv4 ,yet the ,knowledge of the ,rule1 though ,accompanied by an endeavour to accommodate our conduct to this ,rule1 will not of itself form a ,good ,conscience4 ,,leighton4 ,to set the outward actions right1 though with an honest intention1 and not so to regard and find out the inward disorder of the heart1 whence that in the actions flows1 is but to be still putting the index of a clock right with your finger1 while it is foul1 or out of order within1 which is a continual business1 and does no good4 ,oh6 but a purified conscience1 a soul renewed and refined in its temper and affections1 will make things go right without1 in all the duties and acts of our calling4 ,,aphorism ,,xlvi4 ,the ,depth of the ,conscience4 ,how deeply seated the conscience is in the human soul is seen in the effect which sudden calamities produce on guilty men1 even when unaided by any determinate notion or fears of punishment after death4 ,the wretched ,criminal1 as one rudely awakened from a long sleep1 bewildered with the new light1 and half recollecting1 half striving to recollect1 a fearful something1 he knows not what1 but which he will recognize as soon as he hears the name1 already interprets the calamities into judgments1 executions of a sentence passed by an invisible ,judge2 as if the vast pyre of the ,last ,judgment were already kindled in an unknown distance1 and some flashes of it1 darting forth at intervals beyond the rest1 were flying and lighting upon the face of his soul4 ,the calamity may consist in loss of fortune1 or character1 or reputation2 but you hear no regrets from him4 ,remorse extinguishes all ,regret2 and ,remorse is the implicit ,creed of the ,guilty4 ,,aphorism ,,xlvii4 ,,leighton ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,god hath suited every creature ,he hath made with a convenient good to which it tends1 and in the obtainment of which it rests and is satisfied4 ,natural bodies have all their own natural place1 whither1 if not hindered1 they move incessantly till they be in it2 and they declare1 by resting there1 that they are 7as ,i may say7 where they would be4 ,sensitive creatures are carried to seek a sensitive good1 as agreeable to their rank in being1 and1 attaining that1 aim no further4 ,now1 in this is the excellency of ,man1 that he is made capable of a communion with his ,maker1 and1 because capable of it1 is unsatisfied without it3 the soul1 being cut out 7so to speak7 to that largeness1 cannot be filled with less4 ,though he is fallen from his right to that good1 and from all right desire of it1 yet1 not from a capacity of it1 no1 nor from a necessity of it1 for the answering and filling of his capacity4 ,though the heart once gone from ,god turns continually further away from ,him1 and moves not towards ,him till it be renewed1 yet1 even in that wandering1 it retains that natural relation to ,god1 as its centre1 that it hath no true rest elsewhere1 nor can by any means find it4 ,it is made for ,him1 and is therefore still restless till it meet with ,him4 ,it is true1 the natural man takes much pains to quiet his heart by other things1 and digests many vexations with hopes of contentment in the end and accomplishment of some design he hath2 but still the heart misgives4 ,many times he attains not the thing he seeks2 but if he do1 yet he never attains the satisfaction he seeks and expects in it1 but only learns from that to desire something further1 and still hunts on after a fancy1 drives his own shadow before him1 and never overtakes it2 and if he did1 yet it is but a shadow4 ,and so1 in running from ,god1 besides the sad end1 he carries an interwoven punishment with his sin1 the natural disquiet and vexation of his spirit1 fluttering to and fro1 and finding no rest for the sole of his foot2 the waters of inconstancy and vanity covering the whole face of the earth4 ,these things are too gross and heavy4 ,the soul1 the immortal soul1 descended from heaven1 must either be more happy1 or remain miserable4 ,the ,highest1 the ,increated ,spirit1 is the proper good1 the ,father of ,spirits1 that pure and full good which raises the soul above itself2 whereas all other things draw it down below itself4 ,so1 then1 it is never well with the soul but when it is near unto ,god1 yea1 in its union with ,him1 married to ,him3 mismatching itself elsewhere1 it hath never anything but shame and sorrow4 ,all that forsake ,thee shall be ashamed1 says the ,prophet1 ,jer4 xvii4 #ac2 and the ,psalmist1 ,they that are far off from thee shall perish1 ,psalm lxxiii4 #bg4 ,and this is indeed our natural miserable condition1 and it is often expressed this way1 by estrangedness and distance from ,god4 ,the same sentiments are to be found in the works of ,pagan philosophers and moralists4 ,well then may they be made a subject of ,reflection in our days4 ,and well may the pious deist1 if such a character now exists1 reflect that ,christianity alone both teaches the way1 and provides the means1 of fulfilling the obscure promises of this great ,instinct for all men1 which the ,philosophy of boldest pretensions confined to the sacred few4 ,,aphorism ,,xlviii4 ,a contracted ,sphere1 or what is called ,retiring from the ,business of the ,world1 no ,security from the ,spirit of the ,world4 ,,leighton4 ,the heart may be engaged in a little business1 as much1 if thou watch it not1 as in many and great affairs4 ,a man may drown in a little brook or pool1 as well as in a great river1 if he be down and plunge himself into it1 and put his head under water4 ,some care thou must have1 that thou mayest not care4 ,those things that are thorns indeed1 thou must make a hedge of them1 to keep out those temptations that accompany sloth1 and extreme want that waits on it2 but let them be the hedge2 suffer them not to grow within the garden4 ,,aphorism ,,xlix4 ,on ,church-going1 as a part of ,religious ,morality1 when not in reference to a ,spiritual ,religion4 ,,leighton4 ,it is a strange folly in multitudes of us1 to set ourselves no mark1 to propound no end in the hearing of the ,gospel4--,the merchant sails not merely that he may sail1 but for traffic1 and traffics that he may be rich4 ,the husbandman plows not merely to keep himself busy1 with no further end1 but plows that he may sow1 and sows that he may reap with advantage4 ,and shall we do the most excellent and fruitful work fruitlessly1--hear only to hear1 and look no further8 ,this is indeed a great vanity1 and a great misery1 to lose that labour1 and gain nothing by it1 which1 duly used1 would be of all others most advantageous and gainful3 and yet all meetings are full of this6 ,,aphorism ,l4 ,on the ,hopes and ,self-,satisfaction of a religious ,moralist1 independent of a ,spiritual ,faith--on what are they grounded8 ,,leighton4 ,there have been great disputes one way or another1 about the merit of good works2 but ,i truly think they who have laboriously engaged in them have been very idly1 though very eagerly1 employed about nothing1 since the more sober of the schoolmen themselves acknowledge there can be no such thing as meriting from the blessed ,god1 in the human1 or1 to speak more accurately1 in any created nature whatsoever3 nay1 so far from any possibility of merit1 there can be no room for reward any otherwise than of the sovereign pleasure and gracious kindness of ,god2 and the more ancient writers1 when they use the word merit1 mean nothing by it but a certain correlate to that reward which ,god both promises and bestows of mere grace and benignity4 ,otherwise1 in order to constitute what is properly called merit1 many things must concur1 which no man in his senses will presume to attribute to human works1 though ever so excellent2 particularly1 that the thing done must not previously be matter of debt1 and that it be entire1 or our own act1 unassisted by foreign aid2 it must also be perfectly good1 and it must bear an adequate proportion to the reward claimed in consequence of it4 ,if all these things do not concur1 the act cannot possibly amount to merit4 ,whereas ,i think no one will venture to assert1 that any one of these can take place in any human action whatever4 ,but why should ,i enlarge here1 when one single circumstance overthrows all those titles3 the most righteous of mankind would not be able to stand1 if his works were weighed in the balance of strict justice2 how much less then could they deserve that immense glory which is now in question6 ,nor is this to be denied only concerning the unbeliever and the sinner1 but concerning the righteous and pious believer1 who is not only free from all the guilt of his former impenitence and rebellion1 but endowed with the gift of the ,spirit4 ,for the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of ,god3 and if it first begin at us1 what shall the end be of them that obey not the ,gospel of ,god8 ,and if the righteous scarcely be saved1 where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear8 #a ,peter iv4 #ag1 #ah4 ,the ,apostle's interrogation expresses the most vehement negation1 and signifies that no mortal1 in whatever degree he is placed1 if he be called to the strict examination of ,divine ,justice1 without daily and repeated forgiveness1 could be able to keep his standing1 and much less could he arise to that glorious height4 ,that merit1 says ,bernard1 on which my hope relies1 consists in these three things2 the love of adoption1 the truth of the promise1 and the power of its performance4 ,this is the threefold cord which cannot be broken4 ,,comment4 ,often have ,i heard it said by advocates for the ,socinian scheme--,true6 we are all sinners2 but even in the ,old ,testament ,god has promised forgiveness on repentance4 ,one of the ,fathers 7,i forget which7 supplies the retort--,true6 ,god has promised pardon on penitence3 but has he promised penitence on sin8--,he that repenteth shall be forgiven3 but where is it said1 ,he that sinneth shall repent8 ,but repentance1 perhaps1 the repentance required in ,scripture1 the ,passing into a new mind1 into a new and contrary ,principle of ,action1 this ,,metanoia1#fc is in the sinner's own power8 at his own liking8 ,he has but to open his eyes to the sin1 and the tears are close at hand to wash it away6--,verily1 the exploded tenet of ,transubstantiation is scarcely at greater variance with the common sense and experience of mankind1 or borders more closely on a contradiction in terms1 than this volunteer ,transmentation1 this ,self-change1 as the easy#fd means of ,self-salvation6 ,but the reflections of our evangelical author on this subject will appropriately commence the ,aphorisms relating to ,spiritual ,religion4 #fc 1 the ,new ,testament word which we render by ,repentance1 compounded of 1 trans1 and 1 mens1 the ,spirit1 or practical ,reason4 #fd ,may ,i without offence be permitted to record the very appropriate title1 with which a stern ,humorist lettered a collection of ,unitarian ,tracts8--,salvation made easy2 or1 ,every ,man his own ,redeemer4 ,,elements ,,of ,,religious ,,philosophy1 ,,preliminary ,,to ,,the ,,aphorisms ,,on ,,spiritual ,,religion4 ,philip saith unto him3 ,lord1 show us the ,father1 and it sufficeth us4 ,jesus saith unto him1 ,he that hath seen me hath seen the ,father2 and how sayest thou then1 ,show us the ,father8 ,believest thou not1 that ,i am in the ,father1 and the ,father in me8 ,and ,i will pray the ,father and he shall give you another ,comforter1 even the ,spirit of ,truth3 whom the world cannot receive1 because it seeth him not1 neither knoweth him4 ,but ye know him1 for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you4 ,and in that day ye shall know that ,i am in my ,father1 and ye in me1 and ,i in you4 ,john xiv4 #h1 #i1 #aj1 #af1 #ag1 #bj4 ,,preliminary4 ,if there be aught ,spiritual in ,man1 the ,will must be such4 ,if there be a ,will1 there must be a ,spirituality in ,man4 ,i suppose both positions granted4 ,the ,reader admits the reality of the power1 agency1 or mode of ,being expressed in the term1 ,spirit2 and the actual existence of a ,will4 ,he sees clearly1 that the idea of the former is necessary to the conceivability of the latter2 and that1 vice vers1 in asserting the fact of the latter he presumes and instances the truth of the former--just as in our common and received ,systems of ,natural ,philosophy1 the ,being of imponderable ,matter is assumed to render the lode-stone intelligible1 and the ,fact of the lode-stone adduced to prove the reality of imponderable ,matter4 ,in short1 ,i suppose the reader1 whom ,i now invite to the third and last division of the work1 already disposed to reject for himself and his human brethren the insidious title of ,nature's noblest animal1 or to retort it as the unconscious irony of the ,epicurean poet on the animalizing tendency of his own philosophy4 ,i suppose him convinced1 that there is more in man than can be rationally referred to the life of ,nature and the mechanism of ,organization2 that he has a will not included in this mechanism2 and that the ,will is in an especial and pre-eminent sense the spiritual part of our ,humanity4 ,unless1 then1 we have some distinct notion of the ,will1 and some acquaintance with the prevalent errors respecting the same1 an insight into the nature of ,spiritual ,religion is scarcely possible2 and our reflections on the particular truths and evidences of a ,spiritual ,state will remain obscure1 perplexed1 and unsafe4 ,to place my reader on this requisite vantage-ground1 is the purpose of the following exposition4 ,we have begun1 as in geometry1 with defining our ,terms2 and we proceed1 like the ,geometricians1 with stating our ,,postulates2 the difference being1 that the postulates of ,geometry no man can deny1 those of ,moral ,science are such as no good man will deny4 ,for it is not in our power to disclaim our nature1 as sentient beings2 but it is in our power to disclaim our nature as moral beings4#fe ,it is possible 7barely possible1 ,i admit7 that a man may have remained ignorant or unconscious of the ,moral ,law within him3 and a man need only persist in disobeying the ,law of ,conscience to make it possible for himself to deny its existence1 or to reject or repel it as a phantom of ,superstition4 ,were it otherwise1 the ,creed would stand in the same relation to ,morality as the multiplication table4 ,this then is the distinction of ,moral ,philosophy--not that ,i begin with one or more assumptions3 for this is common to all science2 but--that ,i assume a something1 the proof of which no man can give to another1 yet every man may find for himself4 ,if any man assert1 that he can not find it1 ,i am bound to disbelieve him4 ,i cannot do otherwise without unsettling the very foundations of my own moral nature4 ,for ,i either find it as an essential of the ,humanity common to him and me3 or ,i have not found it at all1 except as an hypochondriast finds glass legs4 ,if1 on the other hand1 he will not find it1 he excommunicates himself4 ,he forfeits his personal rights1 and becomes a ,thing3 that is1 one who may rightfully be employed1 or used as#ff means to an end1 against his will1 and without regard to his interest4 ,all the significant objections of the ,materialist and ,necessitarian are contained in the term1 ,morality1 all the objections of the infidel in the term1 ,religion4 ,the very terms1 ,i say1 imply a something granted1 which the ,objection supposes not granted4 ,the term presumes what the objection denies1 and in denying presumes the contrary4 ,for it is most important to observe1 that the reasoners on both sides commence by taking something for granted1 our assent to which they ask or demand3 that is1 both set off with an ,assumption in the form of a ,postulate4 ,but the ,epicurean assumes what according to himself he neither is nor can be under any obligation to assume1 and demands what he can have no right to demand3 for he denies the reality of all moral ,obligation1 the existence of any ,right4 ,if he use the words1 ,right and ,obligation1 he does it deceptively1 and means only ,power and ,compulsion4 ,to overthrow the ,faith in aught higher or other than ,nature and physical ,necessity1 is the very purpose of his argument4 ,he desires you only to take for granted1 that all reality is included in ,nature1 and he may then safely defy you to ward off his conclusion--that nothing is excluded6 ,but as he cannot morally demand1 neither can he rationally expect1 your assent to this premiss3 for he cannot be ignorant1 that the best and greatest of men have devoted their lives to the enforcement of the contrary1 that the vast majority of the human race in all ages and in all nations have believed in the contrary2 and there is not a language on earth1 in which he could argue1 for ten minutes1 in support of his scheme1 without sliding into words and phrases1 that imply the contrary4 ,it has been said1 that the ,arabic has a thousand names for a lion2 but this would be a trifle compared with the number of superfluous words and useless synonyms that would be found in an ,index ,expurgatorius of any ,european dictionary constructed on the principles of a consistent and strictly consequential ,materialism4 ,the ,christian likewise grounds his philosophy on assertions2 but with the best of all reasons for making them--namely1 that he ought so to do4 ,he asserts what he can neither prove1 nor account for1 nor himself comprehend2 but with the strongest inducements1 that of understanding thereby whatever else it most concerns him to understand aright4 ,and yet his assertions have nothing in them of theory or hypothesis2 but are in immediate reference to three ultimate facts2 namely1 the ,reality of the ,,law ,,of ,,conscience2 the existence of a ,,responsible ,,will1 as the subject of that law2 and lastly1 the existence of ,,evil--of ,evil essentially such1 not by accident of outward circumstances1 not derived from its physical consequences1 nor from any cause1 out of itself4 ,the first is a ,fact of ,consciousness2 the second a ,fact of ,reason necessarily concluded from the first2 and the third a ,fact of ,history interpreted by both4 ,omnia exeunt in mysterium1 says a schoolman2 that is1 ,there is nothing1 the absolute ground of which is not a ,mystery4 ,the contrary were indeed a contradiction in terms3 for how can that1 which is to explain all things1 be susceptible of an explanation8 ,it would be to suppose the same thing first and second at the same time4 ,if ,i rested here1 ,i should merely have placed my ,creed in direct opposition to that of the ,necessitarians1 who assume 7for observe both ,parties begin in an ,assumption1 and cannot do otherwise7 that motives act on the ,will1 as bodies act on bodies2 and that whether mind and matter are essentially the same1 or essentially different1 they are both alike under one and the same law of compulsory ,causation4 ,but this is far from exhausting my intention4 ,i mean at the same time to oppose the disciples of ,,shaftesbury and those who1 substituting one ,faith for another1 have been well called the pious ,deists of the last century1 in order to distinguish them from the ,infidels of the present age1 who persuade themselves1 7for the thing itself is not possible7 that they reject all ,faith4 ,i declare my dissent from these too1 because they imposed upon themselves an idea for a fact3 a most sublime idea indeed1 and so necessary to human nature1 that without it no virtue is conceivable3 but still an idea4 ,in contradiction to their splendid but delusory tenets1 ,i profess a deep conviction that man was and is a fallen creature1 not by accidents of bodily constitution1 or any other cause1 which human wisdom in a course of ages might be supposed capable of removing2 but as diseased in his ,will1 in that ,will which is the true and only strict synonime of the word1 ,i1 or the intelligent ,self4 ,thus at each of these two opposite roads 7the philosophy of ,hobbes and that of ,shaftesbury71 ,i have placed a directing post1 informing my fellow-travellers1 that on neither of these roads can they see the ,truths to which ,i would direct their attention4 ,but the place of starting was at the meeting of four roads1 and one only was the right road4 ,i proceed1 therefore1 to preclude the opinion of those likewise1 who indeed agree with me as to the moral ,responsibility of man in opposition to ,hobbes and the ,anti-,moralists1 and that he is a fallen creature1 essentially diseased1 in opposition to ,shaftesbury and the misinterpreters of ,plato2 but who differ from me in exaggerating the diseased weakness of the ,will into an absolute privation of all ,freedom1 thereby making moral responsibility1 not a mystery above comprehension1 but a direct contradiction1 of which we do distinctly comprehend the absurdity4 ,among the consequences of this doctrine1 is that direful one of swallowing up all the attributes of the ,supreme ,being in the one ,attribute of infinite ,power1 and thence deducing that things are good and wise because they were created1 and not created through ,wisdom and ,goodness4 ,thence too the awful ,attribute of ,justice is explained away into a mere right of absolute ,property2 the sacred distinction between things and persons is erased2 and the selection of persons for virtue and vice in this life1 and for eternal happiness or misery in the next1 is represented as the result of a mere ,will1 acting in the blindness and solitude of its own ,infinity4 ,the title of a work written by the great and pious ,boyle is ,of the ,awe1 which the human ,mind owes to the ,supreme ,reason4 ,this1 in the language of these gloomy doctors1 must be translated into--,the horror1 which a ,being capable of eternal ,pleasure or ,pain is compelled to feel at the idea of an ,infinite ,power1 about to inflict the latter on an immense majority of human ,souls1 without any power on their part either to prevent it or the actions which are 7not indeed its causes but7 its assigned signals1 and preceding links of the same iron chain6 ,against these tenets ,i maintain1 that a ,will conceived separately from ,intelligence is a ,non-entity and a mere phantasm of abstraction2 and that a ,will1 the state of which does in no sense originate in its own act1 is an absolute contradiction4 ,it might be an ,instinct1 an ,impulse1 a plastic ,power1 and1 if accompanied with consciousness1 a ,desire2 but a ,will it could not be4 ,and this every human being knows with equal clearness1 though different minds may reflect on it with different degrees of distinctness2 for who would not smile at the notion of a rose willing to put forth its buds and expand them into flowers8 ,that such a phrase would be deemed a poetic licence proves the difference in the things3 for all metaphors are grounded on an apparent likeness of things essentially different4 ,i utterly disclaim the notion1 that any human ,intelligence1 with whatever power it might manifest itself1 is alone adequate to the office of restoring health to the ,will3 but at the same time ,i deem it impious and absurd to hold1 that the ,creator would have given us the faculty of ,reason1 or that the ,redeemer would in so many varied forms of argument and persuasion have appealed to it1 if it had been either totally useless or wholly impotent4 ,lastly1 ,i find all these several ,truths reconciled and united in the belief1 that the imperfect human understanding can be effectually exerted only in subordination to1 and in a dependent alliance with1 the means and aidances supplied by the ,all-perfect and ,supreme ,reason2 but that under these conditions it is not only an admissible1 but a necessary1 instrument of bettering both ourselves and others4 99 99 99 99 99 ,we may now proceed to our reflections on the ,spirit of ,religion4 ,the first three or four ,aphorisms ,i have selected from the ,theological ,works of ,dr4 ,henry ,more1 a contemporary of ,archbishop ,leighton1 and like him1 holden in suspicion by the ,calvinists of that time as a ,latitudinarian and ,platonizing ,divine1 and who probably1 like him1 would have been arraigned as a ,calvinist by the ,latitudinarians 7,i cannot say1 ,platonists7 of this day1 had the suspicion been equally groundless4 ,one or two ,i have ventured to add from my own ,reflections4 ,the purpose1 however1 is the same in all--that of declaring1 in the first place1 what ,spiritual ,religion is not1 what is not a ,religious ,spirit1 and what are not to be deemed influences of the ,spirit4 ,if after these declaimers ,i shall without proof be charged by any with renewing or favouring the errors of the ,familists1 ,vanists1 ,seekers1 ,behmenists1 or by whatever other names ,church ,history records the poor bewildered ,enthusiasts1 who in the swarming time of our ,republic turned the facts of the ,gospel into allegories1 and superseded the written ordinances of ,christ by a pretended ,teaching and sensible ,presence of the ,spirit1 ,i appeal against them to their own consciences1 as wilful slanderers4 ,but if with proof1 ,i have in these ,aphorisms signed and sealed my own condemnation4 ,these things ,i could not forbear to write4 ,for the ,light within me1 that is1 my ,reason and ,conscience1 does assure me1 that the ,ancient and ,apostolic ,faith according to the historical meaning thereof1 and in the literal sense of the ,creed1 is solid and true3 and that ,familism#fg in its fairest form and under whatever disguise1 is a smooth tale to seduce the simple from their ,allegiance to ,christ4 ,,henry ,,more4#fh #fe ,in a leaf of corrections to the text of the first edition ,coleridge directed that prerogative as moral beings should be read here4 ,the correction seems to have been overlooked by ,coleridge's editors4--,,ed4 #ff ,on this principle alone is it possible to justify capital1 or ignominious punishments 7or indeed any punishment not having the reformation of the ,criminal1 as one of its objects74 ,such punishments1 like those inflicted on ,suicides1 must be regarded as posthumous3 the wilful extinction of the moral and personal life being1 for the purposes of punitive ,justice1 equivalent to a wilful destruction of the natural life4 ,if the speech of ,judge ,burnet to the horse-stealer 7,you are not hanged for stealing a horse2 but1 that horses may not be stolen7 can be vindicated at all1 it must be on this principle2 and not on the all-unsettling scheme of ,expedience1 which is the anarchy of ,morals4 #fg ,the religion of the ,dutch sect called the ,family of ,love1 originated by ,henry ,nicholas about #aedj4--;,,ed4 #fh ,more's ',mystery of ,godliness4'--,,ed4 ,,aphorisms ,,on ,,spiritual ,,religion4 ,and here it will not be impertinent to observe1 that what the eldest ,greek ,philosophy entitled the ,reason 77 and ,ideas1 the philosophic ,apostle names the ,spirit and ,truths spiritually discerned3 while to those who in the pride of learning or in the over-weening meanness of modern metaphysics decry the doctrine of the ,spirit in ,man and its possible communion with the ,holy ,spirit1 as vulgar enthusiasm1 ,i submit the following sentences from a ,pagan philosopher1 a nobleman and a minister of state--,ita dico1 ,lucili6 ,,sacer ,,intra ,,nos ,,spiritus ,,sedet1 malorum bonorumque nostrorum observator et custos4 ,hic prout a nobis tractatus est1 ita nos ipse tractat4 ,,bonus ,,vir ,,sine ,,deo ,,nemo ,,est4 ,,seneca1 ,epist4 xli4 ,,aphorism ,i4 ,h4 ,,more4 ,every one is to give a reason of his faith2 but ,priests and ,ministers more punctually than any1 their province being to make good every sentence of the ,bible to a rational inquirer into the truth of these ,oracles4 ,enthusiasts find it an easy thing to heat the fancies of unlearned and unreflecting hearers2 but when a sober man would be satisfied of the grounds from whence they speak1 he shall not have one syllable or the least tittle of a pertinent answer4 ,only they will talk big of ,,the ,,spirit1 and inveigh against ,reason with bitter reproaches1 calling it carnal or fleshly1 though it be indeed no soft flesh1 but enduring and penetrant steel1 even the sword of the ,spirit1 and such as pierces to the heart4 ,,aphorism ,,ii4 ,h4 ,,more4 ,there are two very bad things in this resolving of men's ,faith and ,practice into the immediate suggestion of a ,spirit not acting on our understandings1 or rather into the illumination of such a ,spirit as they can give no account of1 such as does not enlighten their reason or enable them to render their doctrine intelligible to others4 ,first1 it defaces and makes useless that part of the ,image of ,god in us1 which we call ,,reason2 and secondly1 it takes away that advantage1 which raises ,christianity above all other religions1 that she dare appeal to so solid a faculty4 ,,aphorism ,,iii4 ,it is the glory of the ,gospel ,charter and the ,christian ,constitution1 that its ,author and ,head is the ,spirit of ,truth1 ,essential ,reason as well as ,absolute and ,incomprehensible ,will4 ,like a just ,monarch1 he refers even his own causes to the ,judgment of his high ,courts4 ,he has his ,king's ,bench in the ,reason1 his ,court of ,equity in the ,conscience3 that the ,representative of his majesty and universal justice1 this the nearest to the ,king's heart1 and the dispenser of his particular decrees4 ,he has likewise his ,court of ,common ,pleas in the ,understanding1 his ,court of ,exchequer in the ,prudence4 ,the ,laws are his ,laws4 ,and though by ,signs and ,miracles he has mercifully condescended to interline here and there with his own hand the great ,statute-book1 which he had dictated to his ,amanuensis1 ,nature2 yet has he been graciously pleased to forbid our receiving as the ,king's ,mandates aught that is not stamped with the ,great ,seal of the ,conscience1 and countersigned by the ,reason4 ,,aphorism ,,iv4 ,on an ,unlearned ,ministry1 under pretence of a ,call of the ,spirit1 and inward ,graces superseding ,outward helps4 ,h4 ,,more4 ,tell me1 ,ye high-flown ,perfectionists1 ye boasters of the ,light within you1 could the highest perfection of your inward ,light ever show to you the history of past ages1 the state of the world at present1 the knowledge of arts and tongues1 without books or teachers8 ,how then can you understand the ,providence of ,god1 or the age1 the purpose1 the fulfilment of ,prophecies1 or distinguish such as have been fulfilled from those to the fulfilment of which we are to look forward8 ,how can you judge concerning the authenticity and uncorruptedness of the ,gospels1 and the other sacred ,scriptures8 ,and how without this knowledge can you support the truth of ,christianity8 ,how can you either have1 or give a reason for the faith which you profess8 ,this ,light within1 that loves darkness1 and would exclude those excellent ,gifts of ,god to ,mankind1 ,knowledge and ,understanding1 what is it but a sullen self-sufficiency within you1 engendering contempt of superiors1 pride and a spirit of division1 and inducing you to reject for yourselves and to undervalue in others the helps without1 which the ,grace of ,god has provided and appointed for his ,church--nay1 to make them grounds or pretexts of your dislike or suspicion of ,christ's ,ministers who have fruitfully availed themselves of the ,helps afforded them8 ,,aphorism ,v4 ,h4 ,,more4 ,there are wanderers1 whom neither pride nor a perverse humour have led astray2 and whose condition is such1 that ,i think few more worthy of a man's best directions4 ,for the more imperious sects having put such unhandsome vizards on ,christianity1 and the sincere milk of the ,word having been every where so sophisticated by the humours and inventions of men1 it has driven these anxious melancholists to seek for a teacher that cannot deceive1 the voice of the eternal ,word within them2 to which if they be faithful1 they assure themselves it will be faithful to them in return4 ,nor would this be a groundless presumption1 if they had sought this voice in the ,reason and the ,conscience1 with the ,scripture articulating the same1 instead of giving heed to their fancy and mistaking bodily disturbances1 and the vapours resulting therefrom1 for inspiration and the teaching of the ,spirit4 ,,aphorism ,,vi4 ,,bishop ,,hacket4 ,when every man is his own end1 all things will come to a bad end4 ,blessed were those days1 when every man thought himself rich and fortunate by good success of the public wealth and glory4 ,we want public souls1 we want them4 ,i speak it with compassion3 there is no sin and abuse in the world that affects my thought so much4 ,every man thinks1 that he is a whole ,commonwealth in his private family4 ,omnes qu sua sunt qurunt4 ,all seek their own4#fi ,,comment4 ,selfishness is common to all ages and countries4 ,in all ages ,self-seeking is the ,rule1 and ,self-sacrifice the ,exception4 ,but if to seek our private advantage in harmony with1 and by the furtherance of1 the public prosperity1 and to derive a portion of our happiness from sympathy with the prosperity of our fellow-men--if this be ,public ,spirit1 it would be morose and querulous to pretend that there is any want of it in this country and at the present time4 ,on the contrary1 the number of public souls and the general readiness to contribute to the public good1 in science and in religion1 in patriotism and in philanthropy1 stand prominent#gj among the characteristics of this and the preceding generation4 ,the habit of referring actions and opinions to fixed laws2 convictions rooted in principles2 thought1 insight1 system2--these1 had the good ,bishop lived in our times1 would have been his desiderata1 and the theme of his complaints4--,we want thinking ,souls1 we want them4 ,this and the three preceding extracts will suffice as precautionary ,aphorisms4 ,and here again1 the reader may exemplify the great advantages to be obtained from the habit of tracing the proper meaning and history of words4 ,we need only recollect the common and idiomatic phrases in which the word spirit occurs in a physical or material sense 7as1 fruit has lost its spirit and flavour71 to be convinced that its property is to improve1 enliven1 actuate some other thing1 not to constitute a thing in its own name4 ,the enthusiast may find one exception to this where the material itself is called ,spirit4 ,and when he calls to mind1 how this spirit acts when taken alone by the unhappy persons who in their first exultation will boast that it is meat1 drink1 fire1 and clothing to them1 all in one--when he reflects1 that its properties are to inflame1 intoxicate1 madden1 with exhaustion1 lethargy1 and atrophy for the sequels--well for him1 if in some lucid interval he should fairly put the question to his own mind1 how far this is analogous to his own case1 and whether the exception does not confirm the rule4 ,the ,letter without the ,spirit killeth2 but does it follow1 that the ,spirit is to kill the ,letter8 ,to kill that which it is its appropriate office to enliven8 ,however1 where the ,ministry is not invaded1 and the plain sense of the ,scriptures is left undisturbed1 and the ,believer looks for the suggestions of the ,spirit only or chiefly in applying particular passages to his own individual case and exigences2 though in this there may be much weakness1 some delusion and imminent danger of more1 ,i cannot but join with ,henry ,more in avowing1 that ,i feel knit to such a man in the bonds of a common faith far more closely1 than to those who receive neither the ,letter nor the ,spirit1 turning the one into metaphor1 and oriental hyperbole1 in order to explain away the other into the influence of motives suggested by their own understandings1 and realized by their own strength4 #fi ,hacket's ,sermons1 p4 #ddi4--;,,ed4 #gj ,the very marked positive as well as comparative1 magnitude and prominence of the bump1 entitled ,,benevolence 7see ,spurzheim's ,map of the ,human ,skull7 on the head of the late ,mr4 ,john ,thurtel1 has woefully unsettled the faith of many ardent ,phrenologists1 and strengthened the previous doubts of a still greater number into utter disbelief4 ,on ,,my mind this fact 7for a fact it is7 produced the directly contrary effect2 and inclined me to suspect1 for the first time1 that there may be some truth in the ,spurzheimian ,scheme4 ,whether future ,craniologists may not see cause to new-name this and one or two other of these convex gnomons1 is quite a different question4 ,at present1 and according to the present use of words1 any such change would be premature2 and we must be content to say1 that ,mr4 ,thurtel's ,benevolence was insufficiently modified by the unprotrusive and unindicated convolutes of the brain1 that secrete honesty and common-sense4 ,the organ of ,destructiveness was indirectly potentiated by the absence or imperfect development of the glands of ,reason and ,conscience in this1 unfortunate ,gentleman6 ,,aphorisms ,,on ,,that ,,which ,,is ,,indeed ,,spiritual ,,religion4 ,in the selection of the extracts that form the remainder of this volume and of the comments affixed1 ,i had the following objects principally in view3--first1 to exhibit the true and scriptural meaning and intent of several ,articles of ,faith1 that are rightly classed among the ,mysteries and peculiar ,doctrines of ,christianity3--secondly1 to show the perfect rationality of these ,doctrines1 and their freedom from all just objection when examined by their proper organs1 the ,reason and ,conscience of ,man3--lastly1 to exhibit from the works of ,leighton1 who perhaps of all our learned ,protestant ,theologians best deserves the title of a ,spiritual ,divine1 an instructive and affecting picture of the contemplations1 reflections1 conflicts1 consolations and monitory experiences of a philosophic and richly-gifted mind1 amply stored with all the knowledge that books and long intercourse with men of the most discordant characters could give1 under the convictions1 impressions1 and habits of a ,spiritual ,religion4 ,to obviate a possible disappointment in any of my readers1 who may chance to be engaged in theological studies1 it may be well to notice1 that in vindicating the peculiar tenets of our ,faith1 ,i have not entered on the ,doctrine of the ,trinity1 or the still profounder ,mystery of the ,origin of ,moral ,evil--and this for the reasons following4 #a4 ,these ,doctrines are not 7strictly speaking7 subjects of ,reflection1 in the proper sense of this word3 and both of them demand a power and persistency of ,abstraction1 and a previous discipline in the highest forms of human thought1 which it would be unwise1 if not presumptuous1 to expect from any1 who require ,aids to ,reflection1 or would be likely to seek them in the present work4 #b4 ,in my intercourse with men of various ranks and ages1 ,i have found the far larger number of serious and inquiring persons little1 if at all1 disquieted by doubts respecting ,articles of ,faith1 that are simply above their comprehension4 ,it is only where the belief required of them jars with their moral feelings2 where a doctrine in the sense1 in which they have been taught to receive it1 appears to contradict their clear notions of right and wrong1 or to be at variance with the divine attributes of goodness and justice2 that these men are surprised1 perplexed1 and alas6 not seldom offended and alienated4 ,such are the ,doctrines of ,arbitrary ,election and ,reprobation2 the ,sentence to everlasting ,torment by an eternal and necessitating decree2 vicarious ,atonement1 and the necessity of the ,abasement1 ,agony and ignominious ,death of a most holy and meritorious ,person1 to appease the wrath of ,god4 ,now it is more especially for such persons1 unwilling sceptics1 who believing earnestly ask help for their unbelief1 that this volume was compiled1 and the comments written3 and therefore to the ,scripture ,doctrines1 intended by the above-mentioned1 my principal attention has been directed4 ,but lastly1 the whole ,scheme of the ,christian ,faith1 including all the ,articles of ,belief common to the ,greek and ,latin1 the ,roman1 and the ,protestant ,churches1 with the threefold proof1 that it is ideally1 morally1 and historically true1 will be found exhibited and vindicated in a proportionally larger work1 the principal labour of my life since manhood1 and which ,i am now preparing for the press under the title1 ',assertion of ,religion1 as necessarily involving ,revelation2 and of ,christianity1 as the only ,revelation of permanent and universal validity4'#ga #ga ,a work left incomplete by ,coleridge1 and not yet given to the world4--,,ed4 ,,aphorism ,i4 ,,leighton4 ,where1 if not in ,christ1 is the ,power that can persuade a ,sinner to return1 that can bring home a heart to ,god8 ,common mercies of ,god1 though they have a leading faculty to repentance1 7,rom4 ii4 #d47 yet1 the rebellious heart will not be led by them4 ,the judgments of ,god1 public or personal1 though they ought to drive us to ,god1 yet the heart1 unchanged1 runs the further from ,god4 ,do we not see it by ourselves and other sinners about us8 ,they look not at all towards ,him who smites1 much less do they return2 or if any more serious thoughts of returning arise upon the surprise of an affliction1 how soon vanish they1 either the stroke abating1 or the heart1 by time1 growing hard and senseless under it6 ,leave ,christ out1 ,i say1 and all other means work not this way2 neither the works nor the word of ,god sounding daily in his ear1 ,return return4 ,let the noise of the rod speak it too1 and both join together to make the cry the louder1 yet the wicked will do wickedly3 ,dan4 xii4 #aj4 ,,comment4 ,by the phrase in ,christ1 ,i understand all the supernatural aids vouchsafed and conditionally promised in the ,christian dispensation2 and among them the ,spirit of ,truth1 which the world cannot receive1 were it only that the knowledge of spiritual ,truth is of necessity immediate and intuitive3 and the ,world or ,natural ,man possesses no higher intuitions than those of the pure ,sense1 which are the subjects of mathematical science4 ,but aids1 observe6 ,therefore1 not by ,will of man alone2 but neither without the ,will4 ,the doctrine of modern ,calvinism as laid down by ,jonathan ,edwards and the late ,dr4 ,williams1 which represents a ,will absolutely passive1 clay in the hands of a potter1 destroys all ,will1 takes away its essence and definition1 as effectually as in saying3 ,this circle is square--,i should deny the figure to be a circle at all4 ,it was in strict consistency therefore1 that these writers supported the ,necessitarian scheme1 and made the relation of ,cause and ,effect the ,law of the ,universe1 subjecting to its mechanism the moral ,world no less than the material or physical4 ,it follows1 that all is ,nature4 ,thus1 though few writers use the term ,spirit more frequently1 they in effect deny its existence1 and evacuate the term of all its proper meaning4 ,with such a system not the wit of man nor all the ,theodicies ever framed by human ingenuity before and since the attempt of the celebrated ,leibnitz1 can reconcile the ,sense of ,responsibility1 nor the fact of the difference in kind between ,,regret ,,and ,,remorse4 ,the same compulsion of consequence drove the ,fathers of ,modern 7or ,pseudo-7 ,calvinism to the origination of ,holiness in power1 of ,justice in right of ,property1 and whatever other outrages on the common sense and moral feelings of mankind they have sought to cover1 under the fair name of ,sovereign ,grace4 ,i will not take on me to defend sundry harsh and inconvenient expressions in the works of ,calvin4 ,phrases equally strong and assertions not less rash and startling are no rarities in the writings of ,luther2 for catachresis was the favourite figure of speech in that age4 ,but let not the opinions of either on this most fundamental subject be confounded with the ,new ,england ,system1 now entitled ,calvinistic4 ,the fact is simply this4 ,luther considered the pretensions to ,free-will boastful1 and better suited to the budge doctors of the ,stoic ,fur1 than to the preachers of the ,gospel1 whose great theme is the ,redemption of the ,will from ,slavery2 the restoration of the ,will to perfect ,freedom being the end and consummation of the redemptive process1 and the same with the entrance of the ,soul into ,glory1 that is1 its union with ,christ3 ,,glory 7,john xvii4 #e47 being one of the names or tokens or symbols of the ,spiritual ,messiah4 ,prospectively to this we are to understand the words of our ,lord4 ,at that day ye shall know that ,i am in my ,father1 and ye in me1 ,john xiv4 #bj3 the freedom of a finite will being possible under this condition only1 that it has become one with the will of ,god4 ,now as the difference of a captive and enslaved ,will1 and no ,will at all1 such is the difference between the ,lutheranism of ,calvin and the ,calvinism of ,jonathan ,edwards4 ,,aphorism ,,ii4 ,,leighton4 ,there is nothing in religion farther out of ,nature's reach1 and more remote from the natural man's liking and believing1 than the doctrine of ,redemption by a ,saviour1 and by a crucified ,saviour4 ,it is comparatively easy to persuade men of the necessity of an amendment of conduct2 it is more difficult to make them see the necessity of ,repentance in the ,gospel sense1 the necessity of a change in the principle of action2 but to convince men of the necessity of the ,death of ,christ is the most difficult of all4 ,and yet the first is but varnish and white-wash without the second2 and the second but a barren notion without the last4 ,alas6 of those who admit the doctrine in words1 how large a number evade it in fact1 and empty it of all its substance and efficacy1 making the effect the efficient cause1 or attributing their election to ,salvation to a supposed ,foresight of their ,faith and ,obedience4--,but it is most vain to imagine a faith in such and such men1 which being foreseen by ,god1 determined him to elect them for salvation3 were it only that nothing at all is future1 or can have this imagined futurition1 but as it is decreed1 and because it is decreed by ,god so to be4 ,,comment4 ,no impartial person1 competently acquainted with the history of the ,reformation1 and the works of the earlier ,protestant ,divines1 at home and abroad1 even to the close of ,elizabeth's reign1 will deny that the doctrines of ,calvin on ,redemption and the natural state of fallen man1 are in all essential points the same as those of ,luther1 ,zuinglius1 and the first ,reformers collectively4 ,these ,doctrines have1 however1 since the re-establishment of the ,episcopal ,church at the return of ,charles ,,ii41 been as generally #gb exchanged for what is commonly entitled ,arminianism1 but which1 taken as a complete and explicit ,scheme of ,belief1 it would be both historically and theologically more accurate to call ,grotianism1 or ,christianity according to ,grotius4 ,the change was not1 we may readily believe1 effected without a struggle4 ,in the ,romish ,church this latitudinarian system1 patronized by the ,jesuits1 was manfully resisted by ,jansenius1 ,arnauld1 and ,pascal2 in our own ,church by the ,bishops ,davenant1 ,sanderson1 ,hall1 and the ,archbishops ,usher and ,leighton3 and in the latter half of the preceding ,aphorism the reader has a specimen of the reasonings by which ,leighton strove to invalidate or counterpoise the reasonings of the innovators4 ,passages of this sort are1 however1 of rare occurrence in ,leighton's works4 ,happily for thousands1 he was more usefully employed in making his readers feel that the doctrines in question1 scripturally treated1 and taken as co-organized parts of a great organic whole1 need no such reasonings4 ,and better still would it have been1 had he left them altogether for those1 who severally detaching the great features of ,revelation from the living context of ,scripture1 do by that very act destroy their life and purpose4 ,and then1 like the eyes of the ,indian spider1#gc they become clouded microscopes1 to exaggerate and distort all the other parts and proportions4--,no offence then will be occasioned1 ,i trust1 by the frank avowal that ,i have given to the preceding passage a place among the ,spiritual ,aphorisms for the sake of the ,comment3 the following ,remarks having been the first marginal note ,i had pencilled on ,leighton's pages1 and thus 7remotely1 at least7 the occasion of the present work4 ,leighton1 ,i observed1 throughout his inestimable work1 avoids all metaphysical views of ,election1 relatively to ,god1 and confines himself to the doctrine in its relation to ,man3 and in that sense too1 in which every ,christian may judge of it who strives to be sincere with his own heart4 ,the following may1 ,i think1 be taken as a safe and useful ,rule in religious inquiries4 ,ideas1 that derive their origin and substance from the ,moral ,being1 and to the reception of which as true objectively 7that is1 as corresponding to a reality out of the human mind7 we are determined by a practical interest exclusively1 may not1 like theoretical or speculative ,positions1 be pressed onward into all their possible logical consequences4#gd ,the ,law of ,conscience1 and not the ,canons of discursive ,reasoning1 must decide in such cases4 ,at least1 the latter have no validity1 which the single veto of the former is not sufficient to nullify4 ,the most pious conclusion is here the most legitimate4 ,it is too seldom considered though most worthy of consideration1 how far even those ,ideas or ,theories of pure ,speculation1 that bear the same name with the ,objects of ,religious ,faith1 are indeed the same4 ,out of the principles necessarily presumed in all discursive thinking1 and which being1 in the first place universal1 and secondly1 antecedent to every particular exercise of the understanding1 are therefore referred to the reason1 the human mind 7wherever its powers are sufficiently developed1 and its attention strongly directed to speculative or theoretical inquiries17 forms certain essences1 to which for its own purposes it gives a sort of notional subsistence4 ,hence they are called entia rationalia3 the conversion of which into entia realia1 or real objects1 by aid of the imagination1 has in all times been the fruitful stock of empty theories1 and mischievous superstitions1 of surreptitious premises and extravagant conclusions4 ,for as these substantiated notions were in many instances expressed by the same terms1 as the objects of religious ,faith2 as in most instances they were applied1 though deceptively1 to the explanation of real experiences2 and lastly1 from the gratifications1 which the pride and ambition of man received from the supposed extension of his knowledge and insight2 it was too easily forgotten or overlooked1 that the stablest and most indispensable of these notional beings were but the necessary forms of thinking1 taken abstractedly3 and that like the breadthless lines1 depthless surfaces1 and perfect circles of geometry1 they subsist wholly and solely in and for the mind1 that contemplates them4 ,where the evidence of the senses fails us1 and beyond the precincts of sensible experience1 there is no reality attributable to any notion1 but what is given to it by ,revelation1 or the ,law of ,conscience1 or the necessary interests of ,morality4 ,take an instance3 ,it is the office1 and1 as it were1 the instinct of ,reason to bring a unity into all our conceptions and several knowledges4 ,on this all system depends2 and without this we could reflect connectedly neither on nature nor our own minds4 ,now this is possible only on the assumption or hypothesis of a ,,one as the ground and cause of the ,universe1 and which in all succession and through changes is the subject neither of ,time nor ,change4 ,the ,,one must be contemplated as ,eternal and ,immutable4 ,well6 the ,idea1 which is the basis of ,religion1 commanded by the ,conscience and required by ,morality1 contains the same truths1 or at least truths that can be expressed in no other terms2 but this idea presents itself to our mind with additional attributes1 and these too not formed by mere ,abstraction and ,negation--with the attributes of ,holiness1 ,providence1 ,love1 ,justice1 and ,mercy4 ,it comprehends1 moreover1 the independent 7extra-mundane7 existence and personality of the supreme ,,one1 as our ,creator1 ,lord1 and ,judge4 ,the hypothesis of a one ,ground and ,principle of the ,universe 7necessary as an hypothesis2 but having only a logical and conditional necessity7 is thus raised into the ,idea of the ,,living ,,god1 the supreme ,object of our ,faith1 ,love1 ,fear1 and ,adoration4 ,religion and ,morality do indeed constrain us to declare him ,eternal and ,immutable4 ,but if from the ,eternity of the ,supreme ,being a ,reasoner should deduce the impossibility of a ,creation2 or conclude with ,aristotle1 that the ,creation was co-eternal2 or1 like the latter ,platonists1 should turn ,creation into ,emanation1 and make the universe proceed from ,deity1 as the ,sunbeams from the ,solar ,orb2--or if from the divine ,immutability he should infer1 that all prayer and supplication must be vain and superstitious3 then however evident and logically necessary such conclusions may appear1 it is scarcely worth our while to examine1 whether they are so or not4 ,the positions themselves must be false4 ,for were they true1 the ,idea would lose the sole ground of its reality4 ,it would be no longer the ,idea intended by the ,believer in his premise--in the premise1 with which alone ,religion and ,morality are concerned4 ,the very subject of the discussion would be changed4 ,it would no longer be the ,god in whom we believe2 but a stoical ,,fate1 or the superessential ,,one of ,plotinus1 to whom neither ,intelligence1 nor ,self-consciousness1 nor ,life1 nor even ,being can be attributed2 nor lastly1 the world itself1 the indivisible one and only substance 7substantia una et unica7 of ,spinoza1 of which all phnomena1 all particular and individual things1 lives1 minds1 thoughts1 and actions are but modifications4 ,let the believer never be alarmed by objections wholly speculative1 however plausible on speculative grounds such objections may appear1 if he can but satisfy himself1 that the result is repugnant to the dictates of conscience1 and irreconcilable with the interests of morality4 ,for to baffle the objector we have only to demand of him1 by what right and under what authority he converts a thought into a substance1 or asserts the existence of a real somewhat corresponding to a notion not derived from the experience of his senses4 ,it will be of no purpose for him to answer1 that it is a legitimate notion4 ,the notion may have its mould in the understanding2 but its realization must be the work of the ,,fancy4 ,a reflecting reader will easily apply these remarks to the subject of ,election1 one of the stumbling stones in the ordinary conceptions of the ,christian ,faith1 to which the infidel points in scorn1 and which far better men pass by in silent perplexity4 ,yet surely1 from mistaken conceptions of the doctrine1 ,i suppose the person1 with whom ,i am arguing1 already so far a believer1 as to have convinced himself1 both that a state of enduring bliss is attainable under certain conditions2 and that these conditions consist in his compliance with the directions given and rules prescribed in the ,christian ,scriptures4 ,these rules he likewise admits to be such1 that1 by the very law and constitution of the human mind1 a full and faithful compliance with them cannot but have consequences1 of some sort or other4 ,but these consequences are moreover distinctly described1 enumerated1 and promised in the same ,scriptures1 in which the conditions are recorded2 and though some of them may be apparent to ,god only1 yet the greater number of them are of such a nature that they cannot exist unknown to the individual1 in and for whom they exist4 ,as little possible is it1 that he should find these consequences in himself1 and not find in them the sure marks and the safe pledges1 that he is at the time in the right road to the ,life promised under these conditions4 ,now ,i dare assert1 that no such man1 however fervent his charity1 and however deep his humility may be1 can peruse the records of ,history with a reflecting spirit1 or look round the world with an observant eye1 and not find himself compelled to admit1 that all men are not on the right road4 ,he cannot help judging1 that even in ,christian countries1 many1 a fearful many6 have not their faces turned toward it4 ,this then is a mere matter of fact4 ,now comes the question4 ,shall the believer1 who thus hopes on the appointed grounds of hope1 attribute this distinction exclusively to his own resolves and strivings8 or if not exclusively1 yet primarily and principally8 ,shall he refer the first movements and preparations to his own ,will and ,understanding1 and bottom his claim to the promises on his own comparative excellence8 ,if not1 if no man dare take this honour to himself1 to whom shall he assign it1 if not to that ,being in whom the promise originated1 and on whom its fulfilment depends8 ,if he stop here1 who shall blame him8 ,by what argument shall his reasoning be invalidated1 that might not be urged with equal force against any essential difference between obedient and disobedient1 ,christian and worldling8 that would not imply that both sorts alike are1 in the sight of ,god1 the ,sons of ,god by adoption8 ,if he stop here1 ,i say1 who shall drive him from his position8 ,for thus far he is practically concerned--this the ,conscience requires1 this the highest interests of ,morality demand4 ,it is a question of facts1 of the will and the deed1 to argue against which on the abstract notions and possibilities of the speculative reason1 is as unreasonable1 as an attempt to decide a question of colours by pure ,geometry1 or to unsettle the classes and specific characters of ,natural ,history by the ,doctrine of ,fluxions4 ,but if the self-examinant will abandon this position1 and exchange the safe circle of ,religion and practical ,reason for the shifting sand-wastes and mirages of ,speculative ,theology2 if instead of seeking after the marks of ,election in himself he undertakes to determine the ground and origin1 the possibility and mode of election itself in relation to ,god2--in this case1 and whether he does it for the satisfaction of curiosity1 or from the ambition of answering those1 who would call ,god himself to account1 why and by what right certain souls were born in ,africa instead of ,england3--or why 7seeing that it is against all reason and goodness to choose a worse1 when being omnipotent ,he could have created a better7 ,god did not create beasts men1 and men angels3--or why ,god created any men but with fore-knowledge of their obedience1 and left any occasion for ,election8--in this case1 ,i say1 we can only regret1 that the inquirer had not been better instructed in the nature1 the bounds1 the true purposes and proper objects of his intellectual faculties1 and that he had not previously asked himself1 by what appropriate sense1 or organ of knowledge1 he hoped to secure an insight into a ,nature which was neither an object of his senses1 nor a part of his self-consciousness2 and so leave him to ward off shadowy spears with the shadow of a shield1 and to retaliate the nonsense of blasphemy with the abracadabra of presumption4 ,he that will fly without wings must fly in his dreams3 and till he awakes1 will not find out1 that to fly in a dream is but to dream of flying4 ,thus then the doctrine of ,election is in itself a necessary inference from an undeniable fact--necessary at least for all who hold that the best of men are what they are through the grace of ,god4 ,in relation to the believer it is a hope1 which if it spring out of ,christian principles1 be examined by the tests and nourished by the means prescribed in ,scripture1 will become a lively1 an assured hope1 but which cannot in this life pass into knowledge1 much less certainty of fore-knowledge4 ,the contrary belief does indeed make the article of ,election both tool and parcel of a mad and mischievous fanaticism4 ,but with what force and clearness does not the ,apostle confute1 disclaim1 and prohibit the pretence1 treating it as a downright contradiction in terms6 ,see ,romans viii4 #bd4 ,but though ,i hold the doctrine handled as ,leighton handles it 7that is practically1 morally1 humanly7 rational1 safe1 and of essential importance1 ,i see many#ge reasons resulting from the peculiar circumstances1 under which ,st4 ,paul preached and wrote1 why a discreet minister of the ,gospel should avoid the frequent use of the term1 and express the meaning in other words perfectly equivalent and equally ,scriptural2 lest in saying truth he may convey error4 ,had my purpose been confined to one particular tenet1 an apology might be required for so long a ,comment4 ,but the reader will1 ,i trust1 have already perceived1 that my object has been to establish a general rule of interpretation and vindication applicable to all doctrinal tenets1 and especially to the 7so called7 mysteries of the ,christian ,faith3 to provide a ,safety-lamp for religious inquirers4 ,now this ,i find in the principle1 that all ,revealed ,truths are to be judged of by us1 as far as they are possible subjects of human conception1 or grounds of practice1 or in some way connected with our moral and spiritual interests4 ,in order to have a reason for forming a judgment on any given article1 we must be sure that we possess a reason1 by and according to which a judgment may be formed4 ,now in respect of all ,truths1 to which a real independent existence is assigned1 and which yet are not contained in1 or to be imagined under1 any form of space or time1 it is strictly demonstrable1 that the human reason1 considered abstractly1 as the source of positive science and theoretical insight1 is not such a reason4 ,at the utmost1 it has only a negative voice4 ,in other words1 nothing can be allowed as true for the human mind1 which directly contradicts this reason4 ,but even here1 before we admit the existence of any such contradiction1 we must be careful to ascertain1 that there is no equivocation in play1 that two different subjects are not confounded under one and the same word4 ,a striking instance of this has been adduced in the difference between the notional ,,one of the ,ontologists1 and the idea of the ,living ,god4 ,but if not the abstract or speculative reason1 and yet a reason there must be in order to a rational belief--then it must be the practical reason of man1 comprehending the ,will1 the ,conscience1 the ,moral ,being with its inseparable ,interests and ,affections--that ,reason1 namely1 which is the ,organ of ,wisdom1 and 7as far as man is concerned7 the source of living and actual ,truths4 ,from these premises we may further deduce1 that every doctrine is to be interpreted in reference to those1 to whom it has been revealed1 or who have or have had the means of knowing or hearing the same4 ,for instance3 the ,doctrine that there is no name under ,heaven1 by which a man can be saved1 but the name of ,jesus4 ,if the word here rendered name1 may be understood 7as it well may1 and as in other texts it must be7 as meaning the ,power1 or originating ,cause1 ,i see no objection on the part of the practical reason to our belief of the declaration in its whole extent4 ,it is true universally or not true at all4 ,if there be any redemptive ,power not contained in the ,power of ,jesus1 then ,jesus is not the ,redeemer3 not the ,redeemer of the ,world1 not the ,jesus 7i4e4 ,saviour7 of mankind4 ,but if with ,tertullian and ,augustine we make the ,text assert the condemnation and misery of all who are not ,christians by ,baptism and explicit belief in the ,revelation of the ,new ,covenant--then ,i say1 the doctrine is true to all intents and purposes4 ,it is true1 in every respect1 in which any practical1 moral1 or spiritual interest or end can be connected with its truth4 ,it is true in respect to every man who has had1 or who might have had1 the ,gospel preached to him4 ,it is true and obligatory for every ,christian community and for every individual believer1 wherever the opportunity is afforded of spreading the ,light of the ,gospel1 and making known the name of the only ,saviour and ,redeemer4 ,for even though the uninformed ,heathens should not perish1 the guilt of their perishing will attach to those who not only had no certainty of their safety1 but who are commanded to act on the supposition of the contrary4 ,but if1 on the other hand1 a theological dogmatist should attempt to persuade me1 that this text was intended to give us an historical knowledge of ,god's future actions and dealings--and for the gratification of our curiosity to inform us1 that ,socrates and ,phocion1 together with all the savages in the woods and wilds of ,africa and ,america1 will be sent to keep company with the devil and his angels in everlasting torments--,i should remind him1 that the purpose of ,scripture was to teach us our duty1 not to enable us to sit in judgment on the souls of our fellow creatures4 ,one other instance will1 ,i trust1 prevent all misconception of my meaning4 ,i am clearly convinced1 that the scriptural and only true#gf ,idea of ,god will1 in its development1 be found to involve the ,idea of the ,tri-unity4 ,but ,i am likewise convinced1 that previously to the promulgation of the ,gospel the doctrine had no claim on the faith of mankind2 though it might have been a legitimate contemplation for a speculative philosopher1 a theorem in metaphysics valid in the ,schools4 ,i form a certain notion in my mind1 and say3--,this is what ,i understand by the term1 ,god4 ,from books and conversation ,i find1 that the learned generally connect the same notion with the same word4 ,i then apply the rules1 laid down by the masters of logic1 for the involution and evolution of terms1 and prove 7to as many as agree with me in my premises7 that the notion1 ,god1 involves the notion1 ,trinity4 ,i now pass out of the ,schools1 and enter into discourse with some friend or neighbour1 unversed in the formal sciences1 unused to the process of abstraction1 neither ,logician nor ,metaphysician2 but sensible and single-minded1 an ,israelite indeed1 trusting in the ,lord ,god of his ,fathers1 even the ,god of ,abraham1 of ,isaac1 and of ,jacob4 ,if ,i speak of ,god to him1 what will he understand me to be speaking of8 ,what does he mean1 and suppose me to mean1 by the word8 ,an accident or product of the reasoning faculty1 or an abstraction which the human mind forms by reflecting on its own thoughts and forms of thinking8 ,no4 ,by ,god he understands me to mean an existing and self-subsisting reality1#gg a real and personal ,being--even the ,person1 the ,i ,,am1 who sent ,moses to his forefathers in ,egypt4 ,of the actual existence of the divine ,being he has the same historical assurance as of theirs2 confirmed indeed by the ,book of ,nature1 as soon and as far as that stronger and better light has taught him to read and construe it--confirmed by it1 ,i say1 but not derived from it4 ,now by what right can ,i require this man 7and of such men the great majority of serious believers consisted1 previously to the light of the ,gospel7 to receive a notion of mine1 wholly alien from his habits of thinking1 because it may be logically deduced from another notion1 with which he was almost as little acquainted1 and not at all concerned8 ,grant for a moment1 that the latter 7that is1 the notion1 with which ,i first set out7 as soon as it is combined with the assurance of a corresponding ,reality becomes identical with the true and effective ,idea of ,god6 ,grant1 that in thus realizing the notion ,i am warranted by ,revelation1 the ,law of ,conscience1 and the interests and necessities of my ,moral ,being6 ,yet by what authority1 by what inducement1 am ,i entitled to attach the same reality to a second notion1 a notion drawn from a notion8 ,it is evident1 that if ,i have the same right1 it must be on the same grounds4 ,revelation must have assured it1 my ,conscience required it--or in some way or other ,i must have an interest in this belief4 ,it must concern me1 as a moral and responsible ,being4 ,now these grounds were first given in the ,redemption of ,mankind by ,christ1 the ,saviour and ,mediator3 and by the utter incompatibility of these offices with a mere creature4 ,on the doctrine of ,redemption depends the ,faith1 the ,duty1 of believing in the ,divinity of our ,lord4 ,and this again is the strongest ,ground for the reality of that ,idea1 in which alone this ,divinity can be received without breach of the faith in the unity of the ,godhead4 ,but such is the ,idea of the ,trinity4 ,strong as the motives are that induce me to defer the full discussion of this great ,article of the ,christian creed1 ,i cannot withstand the request of several divines1 whose situation and extensive services entitle them to the utmost deference1 that ,i should so far deviate from my first intention as at least to indicate the point on which ,i stand1 and to prevent the misconception of my purpose3 as if ,i held the doctrine of the ,trinity for a truth which ,men could be called on to believe by mere force of reasoning1 independently of any positive ,revelation4 ,in short1 it had been reported in certain circles1 that ,i considered this doctrine as a demonstrable part of the ,religion of ,nature4 ,now though it might be sufficient to say1 that ,i regard the very phrase ,revealed ,religion as a pleonasm1 inasmuch as a religion not revealed is1 in my judgment1 no religion at all2 ,i have no objection to announce more particularly and distinctly what ,i do and what ,i do not maintain on this point3 provided that in the following paragraph1 with this view inserted1 the reader will look for nothing more than a plain statement of my opinions4 ,the grounds on which they rest1 and the arguments by which they are to be vindicated1 are for another place4 ,i hold then1 it is true1 that all the 7so called7 demonstrations of a ,god either prove too little1 as that from the order and apparent purpose in ,nature2 or too much1 namely1 that the ,world is itself ,god3 or they clandestinely involve the conclusion in the premises1 passing off the mere analysis or explication of an ,assertion for the ,proof of it1--a species of logical legerdemain not unlike that of the jugglers at a fair1 who putting into their mouths what seems to be a walnut1 draw out a score yards of ribbon--as in the ,postulate of a ,first ,cause4 ,and lastly1 in all these demonstrations the demonstrators presuppose the ,idea or ,conception of a ,god without being able to authenticate it1 that is1 to give an account whence they obtained it4 ,for it is clear1 that the proof first mentioned and the most natural and convincing of all 7the ,cosmological ,i mean1 or that from the ,order in ,nature7 presupposes the ,ontological--that is1 the proof of a ,god from the necessity and necessary ,objectivity of the ,idea4 ,if the latter can assure us of a ,god as an existing ,reality1 the former will go far to prove his power1 wisdom1 and benevolence4 ,all this ,i hold4 ,but ,i also hold1 that this truth1 the hardest to demonstrate1 is the one which of all others least needs to be demonstrated2 that though there may be no conclusive demonstrations of a good1 wise1 living1 and personal ,god1 there are so many convincing reasons for it1 within and without--a grain of sand sufficing1 and a whole universe at hand to echo the decision6--that for every mind not devoid of all reason1 and desperately conscience-proof1 the ,truth which it is the least possible to prove1 it is little less than impossible not to believe6 only indeed just so much short of impossible1 as to leave some room for the will and the moral election1 and thereby to keep it a truth of ,religion1 and the possible subject of a ,commandment4#hj ,on this account ,i do not demand of a ,deist1 that he should adopt the doctrine of the ,trinity4 ,for he might very well be justified in replying1 that he rejected the doctrine1 not because it could not be demonstrated1 nor yet on the score of any incomprehensibilities and seeming contradictions that might be objected to it1 as knowing that these might be1 and in fact had been1 urged with equal force against a personal ,god under any form capable of love and veneration2 but because he had not the same theoretical necessity1 the same interests and instincts of reason for the one hypothesis as for the other4 ,it is not enough1 the ,deist might justly say1 that there is no cogent reason why ,i should not believe the ,trinity2 you must show me some cogent reason why ,i should4 ,but the case is quite different with a ,christian1 who accepts the ,scriptures as the ,word of ,god1 yet refuses his assent to the plainest declarations of these ,scriptures1 and explains away the most express texts into metaphor and hyperbole1 because the literal and obvious interpretation is 7according to his notions7 absurd and contrary to reason4 ,he is bound to show1 that it is so in any sense1 not equally applicable to the texts asserting the ,being1 ,infinity1 and ,personality of ,god the ,father1 the ,eternal and ,omnipresent ,,one1 who created the ,heaven and the ,earth4 ,and the more is he bound to do this1 and the greater is my right to demand it of him1 because the doctrine of ,redemption from sin supplies the ,christian with motives and reasons for the divinity of the ,redeemer far more concerning and coercive subjectively1 that is1 in the economy of his own soul1 than are all the inducements that can influence the ,deist objectively1 that is1 in the interpretation of ,nature4 ,do ,i then utterly exclude the speculative ,reason from ,theology8 ,no6 ,it is its office and rightful privilege to determine on the negative truth of whatever we are required to believe4 ,the ,doctrine must not contradict any universal principle3 for this would be a ,doctrine that contradicted itself4 ,or ,philosophy8 ,no4 ,it may be and has been the servant and pioneer of ,faith by convincing the mind1 that a doctrine is cogitable1 that the soul can present the ,idea to itself2 and that if we determine to contemplate1 or think of1 the subject at all1 so and in no other form can this be effected4 ,so far are both logic and philosophy to be received and trusted4 ,but the duty1 and in some cases and for some persons even the right1 of thinking on subjects beyond the bounds of sensible experience2 the grounds of the real truth2 the life1 the substance1 the hope1 the love1 in one word1 the ,faith3 these are ,derivatives from the practical1 moral1 and spiritual ,nature and ,being of ,man4 #gb ,at a period1 in which ,doctors ,marsh and ,wordsworth have1 by the ,zealous on one side1 being charged with ,popish principles on account of their ,anti-bibliolatry1 and the sturdy adherents of the doctrines common to ,luther and ,calvin1 and the literal interpreters of the ,articles and ,homilies1 are1 7,i wish ,i could say1 altogether without any fault of their own7 regarded by the ,clergy generally as virtual ,schismatics1 dividers of1 though not from1 the ,church1 it is serving the cause of charity to assist in circulating the following instructive passage from the ,life of ,bishop ,hackett respecting the dispute between the ,augustinians1 or ,luthero-,calvinistic divines and the ,grotians of his age3 in which ,controversy 7says his biographer7 he1 ,hackett1 was ever very moderate4 ,but having been bred under ,bishop ,davenant and ,dr4 ,ward in ,cambridge1 he was addicted to their sentiments4 ,archbishop ,usher would say1 that ,davenant understood those controversies better than ever any man did since ,st4 ,augustine4 ,but he 7,bishop ,hackett7 used to say1 that he was sure he had three excellent men of his mind in this controversy3 #a4 ,padre ,paolo 7,father ,paul7 whose letter is extant in ,heinsius1 anno #afjd3 #b4 ,thomas ,aquinas3 #c4 ,st4 ,augustine4 ,but besides and above them all1 he believed in his ,conscience that ,st4 ,paul was of the same mind likewise4 ,yet at the same time he would profess1 that he disliked no ,arminians1 but such as revile and defame every one who is not so3 and he would often commend ,arminius himself for his excellent wit and parts1 but only tax his want of reading and knowledge in ,antiquity4 ,and he ever held1 it was the foolishest thing in the world to say the ,arminians were ,popishly inclined1 when so many ,dominicians and ,jansenists were rigid followers of ,augustine in these points3 and no less foolish to say that the ,anti-,arminians were ,puritans or ,presbyterians1 when ,ward1 and ,davenant1 and ,prideaux1 and ,brownrig1 those stout champions for ,episcopacy1 were decided ,anti-,arminians2 while ,arminius himself was ever a ,presbyterian4 ,therefore he greatly commended the moderation of our ,church1 which extended equal ,communion to both4 #gc ,aranea prodigiosa4 ,see ,baker's ,microscopic ,experiments4 #gd ,may not this ,rule be expressed more intelligibly 7to a mathematician at least7 thus3--,reasoning from finite to finite1 on a basis of truth1 also1 reasoning from infinite to infinite1 on a basis of truth1 will always lead to truth1 as intelligibly as the basis on which such truths respectively rest4--,while1 reasoning from finite to infinite1 or from infinite to finite1 will lead to apparent absurdity1 although the basis be true3 and is not such apparent absurdity1 another expression for truth unintelligible by a finite mind8 #ge ,for example3 at the date of ,st4 ,paul's ,epistles1 the 7,roman7 world may be resembled to a mass in the furnace in the first moment of fusion1 here a speck and there a spot of the melted metal shining pure and brilliant amid the scum and dross4 ,to have received the name of ,christian was a privilege1 a high and distinguished favour4 ,no wonder therefore1 that in ,st4 ,paul's writings the words1 elect1 and election1 often1 nay1 most often1 mean the same as eccalumeni1 ecclesia1 that is1 those who have been called out of the world3 and it is a dangerous perversion of the ,apostle's word to interpret it in the sense1 in which it was used by our ,lord1 viz4 in opposition to the called4 7,many are called but few chosen47 ,in ,st4 ,paul's sense and at that time the believers collectively formed a small and select number2 and every ,christian real or nominal1 was one of the ,elect4 ,add too1 that this ambiguity is increased by the accidental circumstance1 that the kyriak1 des ,dominic1 ,lord's ,house1 kirk2 and ecclesia1 the sum total of the eccalumeni1 evocati1 called out2 are both rendered by the same word ,church4 #gf ,or 7,i may add7 any ,idea which does not either identify the ,creator with the ,creaton2 or else represent the ,supreme ,being as a mere impersonal ,law or ordo ordinans1 differing from the ,law of ,gravitation only by its universality4 #gg ,i have elsewhere remarked on the assistance which those that labour after distinct conceptions would receive from the re-introduction of the terms objective1 and subjective1 objective and subjective reality1 and the like1 as substitutes for real and notional1 and to the exclusion of the false antithesis between real and ideal4 ,for the ,student in that noblest of the sciences1 the scire teipsum1 the advantage would be especially great4#gh ,the few sentences that follow1 in illustration of the terms here advocated1 will not1 ,i trust1 be a waste of the reader's time4 ,the celebrated ,euler having demonstrated certain properties of arches1 adds3 ,all experience is in contradiction to this2 but this is no reason for doubting its truth4 ,the words sound paradoxical2 but mean no more than this--that the mathematical properties of figure and space are not less certainly the properties of figure and space because they can never be perfectly realized in wood1 stone1 or iron4 ,now this assertion of ,euler's might be expressed at once1 briefly and simply1 by saying1 that the properties in question were subjectively true1 though not objectively--or that the mathematical arch possessed a subjective reality though incapable of being realized objectively4 ,in like manner if ,i had to express my conviction1 that space was not itself a thing1 but a mode or form of perceiving1 or the inward ground and condition in the percipient1 in consequence of which things are seen as outward and co-existing1 ,i convey this at once by the words1 space is subjective1 or space is real in and for the subject alone4 ,if ,i am asked1 ,why not say in and for the mind1 which every one would understand8 ,i reply3 we know indeed1 that all minds are ,subjects2 but are by no means certain1 that all subjects are minds4 ,for a mind is a subject that knows itself1 or a subject that is its own object4 ,the inward principle of ,growth and individual ,form in every seed and plant is a subject1 and without any exertion of poetic privilege poets may speak of the soul of the flower4 ,but the man would be a dreamer1 who otherwise than poetically should speak of roses and lilies as self-conscious subjects4 ,lastly1 by the assistance of the terms1 ,object and ,subject1 thus used as correspondent opposites1 or as negative and positive in physics 7for example1 negative and positive electricity7 we may arrive at the distinct import and proper use of the strangely misused word1 idea4 ,and as the forms of logic are all borrowed from geometry 7,ratiocinatio discursiva formas suas sive canonas recipit ab intuitu7 ,i may be permitted to elucidate my present meaning4 ,every line may be1 and by the ancient ,geometricians was1 considered as a point produced1 the two extremes being its poles1 while the point itself remains in1 or is at least represented by1 the midpoint1 the indifference of the two poles or correlative opposites4 ,logically applied1 the two extremes or poles are named ,thesis and ,antithesis3 thus in the line ,i ,t-----------------------,a we have ,t ,thesis1 ,a ,antithesis1 and ,i ,punctum ,indifferens sive amphotericum1 which latter is to be conceived as both in as far as it may be either of the two former4 ,observe3 not both at the same time in the same relation2 for this would be the identity of ,t and ,a1 not the indifference3--but so1 that relatively to ,a1 ,i is equal to ,t1 and relatively to ,t it becomes ,a4 ,for the purposes of the universal ,noetic1 in which we require terms of most comprehension and least specific import1 might not the ,noetic ,pentad be1-- #a4 ,prothesis4 #b4 ,thesis4 #d4 ,mesothesis4 #c4 ,antithesis4 #e4 ,synthesis4 ,prothesis4 ,sum4 ,thesis4 ,methosesis4 ,antithesis4 ,res4 ,agere4 ,ago1 ,patior4 ,synthesis4 ,agens4 #a4 ,verb ,substantive ,prothesis1 as expressing the identity or coinherence of ,act and ,being4 #b4 ,substantive ,thesis1 expressing ,being4 #c4 ,verb ,antithesis1 expressing1 ,act4 #d4 ,infinite ,mesothesis1 as being either ,substantive or ,verb1 or both at once1 only in different relations4 #e4 ,participle ,synthesis4 ,thus in ,chemistry ,sulphuretted ,hydrogen is an ,acid relatively to the more powerful ,alkalis1 and an ,alkali relatively to a powerful ,acid4 ,yet one other remark1 and ,i pass to the question4 ,in order to render the constructions of pure ,mathematics applicable to ,philosophy1 the ,pythagoreans1 ,i imagine1 represented the ,line as generated1 or1 as it were1 radiated1 by a ,point not contained in the ,line but independent1 and 7in the language of that ,school7 transcendent to all production1 which it caused but did not partake in4 ,facit1 non patitur4 ,this was the punctum invisible1 et presuppositum3 and in this way the ,pythagoreans guarded against the error of ,pantheism1 into which the later schools fell4 ,the assumption of this ,point ,i call the logical ,,prothesis4 ,we have now therefore four ,relations of ,thought expressed3 #a4 ,prothesis1 or the ,identity of ,t and ,a1 which is neither1 because in it1 as the transcendent of both1 both are contained and exist as one4 ,taken absolutely1 this finds its application in the ,supreme ,being alone1 the ,pythagorean ,,tetractys2 the ,,ineffable ,,name1 to which no ,image can be attached2 the ,point1 which has no 7real7 ,opposite or ,counter-point4 ,but relatively taken and inadequately1 the germinal power of every seed#gi might be generalized under the relation of ,identity4 #b4 ,thesis1 or position4 #c4 ,antithesis1 or ,opposition4 #d4 ,indifference4 ,to which when we add the ,synthesis or ,composition1 in its several forms of ,equilibrium1 as in quiescent ,electricity2 of ,neutralization1 as of ,oxygen and ,hydrogen in water2 and of ,predominance1 as of ,hydrogen and ,carbon with ,hydrogen1 predominant1 in pure alcohol2 or of ,carbon and ,hydrogen1 with the comparative predominance of the ,carbon1 in ,oil2 we complete the five most general ,forms or ,preconceptions of ,constructive ,logic4 ,and now for the answer to the question4 ,what is an ,,idea1 if it mean neither an ,impression on the ,senses1 nor a definite ,conception1 nor an abstract ,notion8 7,and if it does mean either of these1 the word is superfluous3 and while it remains undetermined which of these is meant by the word1 or whether it is not which you please1 it is worse than superfluous4 ,see the ',statesman's ,manual1' ,appendix ad finem47 ,but supposing the word to have a meaning of its own1 what does it mean8--,what is an ,,idea8--,in answer to this ,i commence with the absolutely ,real as the ,,prothesis2 the subjectively ,real as the ,,thesis2 the objectively ,real as the ,,antithesis3 and ,i affirm1 that ,idea is the ,,indifference of the two--so namely1 that if it be conceived as in the ,subject1 the ,idea is an ,object1 and possesses ,objective ,truth2 but if in an ,object1 it is then a ,subject and is necessarily thought of as exercising the powers of a ,subject4 ,thus an ,,idea conceived as subsisting in an ,object becomes a ,,law2 and a ,law contemplated subjectively 7in a mind7 is an ,idea4 #gh ,see the ',selection from ,mr4 ,coleridge's ,literary ,correspondence' in ,blackwood's ,magazine1 #ahba1 ,letter ,,ii4--,,ed4 #gi ,see ,comment on ,moral and ,religious ,aphorism ,,vi41 p4 #dj4--;,,ed4 #hj ,in a letter to a friend on the mathematical atheists of the ,french ,revolution1 ,la ,lande and others1 or rather on a young man of distinguished abilities1 but an avowed and proselyting partizan of their tenets1 ,i concluded with these words3 ,the man who will believe nothing but by force of demonstrative evidence 7even though it is strictly demonstrable that the demonstrability required would countervene all the purposes of the truth in question1 all that render the belief of the same desirable or obligatory7 is not in a state of mind to be reasoned with on any subject4 ,but if he further denies the fact of the ,law of ,conscience1 and the essential difference between right and wrong1 ,i confess1 he puzzles me4 ,i cannot without gross inconsistency appeal to his ,conscience and ,moral ,sense1 or ,i should admonish him that1 as an honest man1 he ought to advertize himself1 with a ,cavete omnes6 ,scelus sum4 ,and as an honest man myself1 ,i dare not advise him on prudential grounds to keep his opinions secret1 lest ,i should make myself his accomplice1 and be helping him on with a wrap-rascal4 ,,aphorism ,,iii4 ,,burnet ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,that ,religion is designed to improve the nature and faculties of man1 in order to the right governing of our actions1 to the securing the peace and progress1 external and internal1 of individuals and of communities1 and lastly1 to the rendering us capable of a more perfect state1 entitled the kingdom of ,god1 to which the present life is probationary--this is a ,truth1 which all who have truth only in view1 will receive on its own evidence4 ,if such then be the main end of religion altogether 7the improvement namely of our nature and faculties71 it is plain1 that every part of religion is to be judged by its relation to this main end4 ,and since the ,christian scheme is religion in its most perfect and effective form1 a revealed religion1 and therefore1 in a special sense proceeding from that ,being who made us and knows what we are1 of course therefore adapted to the needs and capabilities of human nature2 nothing can be a part of this holy faith that is not duly proportioned to this end4#ha ,,comment4 ,this ,aphorism should be borne in mind1 whenever a theological ,resolve is proposed to us as an article of ,faith4 ,take1 for instance1 the determinations passed at the ,synod of ,dort1 concerning the ,absolute ,decrees of ,god in connection with his ,omniscience and ,fore-knowledge4 ,or take the decision in the ,council of ,trent on the difference between the two kinds of ,transubstantiation1 the one in which both the substance and the accidents are changed1 the same matter remaining--as in the conversion of water to wine at ,cana3 the other1 in which the matter and the substance are changed1 the accidents remaining unaltered1 as in the ,eucharist--this latter being ,transubstantiation par eminence6 ,or rather take the still more tremendous dogma1 that it is indispensable to a saving faith carefully to distinguish the one kind from the other1 and to believe both1 and to believe the necessity of believing both in order to ,salvation6 ,for each or either of these extra-scriptural ,articles of ,faith the preceding ,aphorism supplies a safe criterion4 ,will the belief tend to the improvement of any of my moral or intellectual faculties8 ,but before ,i can be convinced that a faculty will be improved1 ,i must be assured that it exists4 ,on all these dark sayings1 therefore1 of ,dort or ,trent1 it is quite sufficient to ask1 by what faculty1 organ1 or inlet of knowledge1 we are to assure ourselves that the words mean any thing1 or correspond to any object out of our own mind or even in it3 unless indeed the mere craving and striving to think on1 after all the materials for thinking have been exhausted1 can be called an object4 ,when a number of trust-worthy persons assure me1 that a portion of fluid which they saw to be water1 by some change in the fluid itself or in their senses1 suddenly acquired the colour1 taste1 smell1 and exhilarating property of wine1 ,i perfectly understand what they tell me1 and likewise by what faculties they might have come to the knowledge of the fact4 ,but if any one of the number not satisfied with my acquiescence in the fact1 should insist on my believing1 that the matter remained the same1 the substance and the accidents having been removed in order to make way for a different substance with different accidents1 ,i must entreat his permission to wait till ,i can discover in myself any faculty1 by which there can be presented to me a matter distinguishable from accidents1 and a substance that is different from both4 ,it is true1 ,i have a faculty of articulation2 but ,i do not see that it can be improved by my using it for the formation of words without meaning1 or at best1 for the utterance of thoughts1 that mean only the act of so thinking1 or of trying so to think4 ,but the end of ,religion is the improvement of our ,nature and ,faculties4 ,ergo1 c4 ,i sum up the whole in one great practical ,maxim4 ,the ,object of religious ,contemplation1 and of a truly ,spiritual ,faith1 is ,,the ,,ways ,,of ,,god ,,to ,,man4 ,of the ,workings of the ,godhead1 ,god himself has told us1 ,my ,ways are not as your ,ways1 nor my ,thoughts as your ,thoughts4 #ha ,slightly altered from ,burnet's ,preface to ,part ii4 of his ',history of the ,reformation4' ,see pp4 #bf1 #bg1 v4 ii4 ,clarendon ,press edition1 #ahfe4--;,,ed4 ,,aphorism ,,iv4 ,the characteristic ,difference between the ,discipline of the ,ancient ,philosophers and the ,dispensation of the ,gospel4 ,by undeceiving1 enlarging1 and informing the ,intellect1 ,philosophy sought to purify1 and to elevate the ,moral ,character4 ,of course1 those alone could receive the latter and incomparably greater benefit1 who by natural capacity and favourable contingencies of fortune were fit recipients of the former4 ,how small the number1 we scarcely need the evidence of history to assure us4 ,across the night of ,paganism1 ,philosophy flitted on1 like the lantern-fly of the ,tropics1 a light to itself1 and an ornament1 but alas6 no more than an ornament of the surrounding darkness4 ,christianity reversed the order4 ,by means accessible to all1 by inducements operative on all1 and by convictions1 the grounds and materials of which all men might find in themselves1 her first step was to cleanse the heart4 ,but the benefit did not stop here4 ,in preventing the rank vapours that steam up from the corrupt heart1 ,christianity restores the intellect likewise to its natural clearness4 ,by relieving the mind from the distractions and importunities of the unruly passions1 she improves the quality of the ,understanding3 while at the same time she presents for its contemplations1 objects so great and so bright as cannot but enlarge the organ1 by which they are contemplated4 ,the fears1 the hopes1 the remembrances1 the anticipations1 the inward and outward ,experience1 the belief and the ,faith1 of a ,christian1 form of themselves a philosophy and a ,sum of ,knowledge1 which a life spent in the ,grove of ,academus1 or the painted ,porch1 could not have attained or collected4 ,the result is contained in the fact of a wide and still widening ,,christendom4 ,yet ,i dare not say1 that the effects have been proportionate to the divine wisdom of the scheme4 ,too soon did the ,doctors of the ,church forget that the heart1 the moral nature1 was the beginning and the end2 and that truth1 knowledge1 and insight were comprehended in its expansion4 ,this was the true and first apostasy--when in council and synod the ,divine ,humanities of the ,gospel gave way to speculative ,systems1 and ,religion became a ,science of ,shadows under the name of ,theology1 or at best a bare ,skeleton of ,truth1 without life or interest1 alike inaccessible and unintelligible to the majority of ,christians4 ,for these therefore there remained only rites and ceremonies and spectacles1 shows and semblances4 ,thus among the learned the substance of things hoped for 7,heb4 xi4 #a47 passed off into ,notions2 and for the unlearned the ,surfaces of things became#hb ,substance4 ,the ,christian world was for centuries divided into the ,many1 that did not think at all1 and the ,few who did nothing but think--both alike unreflecting1 the one from defect of the act1 the other from the absence of an object4 #hb ,virium et proprietatum1 qu non nisi de substantibus predicari possunt1 formis superstantibus attributio1 est ,,superstitio4 ,,aphorism ,v4 ,there is small chance of ,truth at the goal where there is not a child-like ,humility at the starting-post4 ,,comment4 ,humility is the safest ,ground of ,docility3 and ,docility the surest ,promise of ,docibility4 ,where there is no working of self-love in the heart that secures a leaning before-hand2 where the great magnet of the planet is not overwhelmed or obscured by partial masses of ,iron in close neighbourhood to the compass of the judgment1 though hidden or unnoticed2 there will this great desideratum be found of a child-like ,humility4 ,do ,i then say1 that ,i am to be influenced by no interest8 ,far from it6 ,there is an ,interest of ,truth3 or how could there be a ,love of ,truth8 ,and that a love of truth for its own sake1 and merely as truth1 is possible1 my soul bears witness to itself in its inmost recesses4 ,but there are other interests--those of goodness1 of beauty1 of utility4 ,it would be a sorry proof of the humility ,i am extolling1 were ,i to ask for angel's wings to overfly my own human nature4 ,i exclude none of these4 ,it is enough if the lene clinamen1 the gentle bias1 be given by no interest that concerns myself other than as ,i am a man1 and included in the great family of mankind2 but which does therefore especially concern me1 because being a common interest of all men it must needs concern the very essentials of my being1 and because these essentials1 as existing in me1 are especially intrusted to my particular charge4 ,widely different from this social and truth-attracted bias1 different both in its nature and its effects1 is the interest connected with the desire of distinguishing yourself from other men1 in order to be distinguished by them4 ,hoc revera est inter te et veritatem4 ,this ,interest does indeed stand between thee and truth4 ,i might add between thee and thy own soul4 ,it is scarcely more at variance with the love of truth than it is unfriendly to the attainment that deserves that name4 ,by your own act you have appointed the ,many as your judges and appraisers3 for the anxiety to be admired is a loveless passion1 ever strongest with regard to those by whom we are least known and least cared for1 loud on the hustings1 gay in the ball-room1 mute and sullen at the family fireside4 ,what you have acquired by patient thought and cautious discrimination1 demands a portion of the same effort in those who are to receive it from you4 ,but applause and preference are things of barter2 and if you trade in them1 ,experience will soon teach you that there are easier and less unsuitable ways to win golden judgments than by at once taxing the patience and humiliating the self-opinion of your judges4 ,to obtain your end1 your words must be as indefinite as their thoughts3 and how vague and general these are even on objects of sense1 the few who at a mature age have seriously set about the discipline of their faculties1 and have honestly taken stock1 best know by recollection of their own state4 ,to be admired you must make your auditors believe at least that they understand what you say2 which1 be assured1 they never will1 under such circumstances1 if it be worth understanding1 or if you understand your own soul4 ,but while your prevailing motive is to be compared and appreciated1 is it credible1 is it possible1 that you should in earnest seek for a knowledge which is and must remain a hidden light1 a secret treasure8 ,have you children1 or have you lived among children1 and do you not know1 that in all things1 in food1 in medicine1 in all their doings and abstainings they must believe in order to acquire a reason for their belief8 ,but so is it with religious truths for all men4 ,these we must all learn as children4 ,the ground of the prevailing error on this point is the ignorance1 that in spiritual concernments to believe and to understand are not diverse things1 but the same thing in different periods of its growth4 ,belief is the seed1 received into the will1 of which the ,understanding or ,knowledge is the ,flower1 and the thing believed is the fruit4 ,unless ye believe ye cannot understand3 and unless ye be humble as children1 ye not only will not1 but ye cannot believe4 ,of such therefore is the ,kingdom of ,heaven4 ,yea1 blessed is the calamity that makes us humble3 though so repugnant thereto is our nature1 in our present state1 that after a while1 it is to be feared1 a second and sharper calamity would be wanted to cure us of our pride in having become so humble4 ,lastly1 there are among us1 though fewer and less in fashion than among our ancestors1 persons who1 like ,shaftesbury1 do not belong to the herd of ,epicurus1 yet prefer a philosophic ,paganism to the morality of the ,gospel4 ,now it would conduce1 methinks1 to the child-like humility1 we have been discoursing of1 if the use of the term1 ,virtue1 in that high1 comprehensive1 and notional sense in which it was used by the ancient ,stoics1 were abandoned1 as a relic of ,paganism1 to these modern ,pagans3 and if ,christians restoring the word to its original import1 namely1 ,manhood or ,manliness1 used it exclusively to express the quality of ,fortitude2 ,strength of ,character in relation to the resistance opposed by ,nature and the irrational ,passions to the ,dictates of ,reason2 ,energy of ,will in preserving the ,line of ,rectitude tense and firm against the warping forces and treacheries of temptation4 ,surely1 it were far less unseemly to value ourselves on this moral strength than on strength of body1 or even strength of intellect4 ,but we will rather value it for ourselves3 and bearing in mind the old adage1 ,quis custodiet ipsum custodem8--we will value it the more1 yea1 then only will we allow it true spiritual worth1 when we possess it as a gift of grace1 a boon of mercy undeserved1 a fulfilment of a free promise 7#a ,corinth4 x4 #ac474 ,what more is meant in this last paragraph1 let the venerable ,,hooker say for me in the following4 ,,aphorism ,,vi4 ,,hooker4 ,what is virtue but a medicine1 and vice but a wound8--,yea1 we have so often deeply wounded ourselves with medicine1 that ,god hath been fain to make wounds medicinable2 to cure by vice where virtue hath stricken2 to suffer the just man to fall1 that being raised he may be taught what power it was which upheld him standing4 ,i am not afraid to affirm it boldly with ,st4 ,augustine1 that men puffed up through a proud opinion of their own sanctity and holiness receive a benefit at the hands of ,god1 and are assisted with his grace when with his grace they are not assisted1 but permitted 7and that grievously7 to transgress4 ,whereby1 as they were through over-great liking of themselves supplanted 7tripped up71 so the dislike of that which did supplant them may establish them afterwards the surer4 ,ask the very soul of ,peter1 and it shall undoubtedly itself make you this answer3 ,my eager protestations made in the glory of my spiritual strength ,i am ashamed of4 ,but my shame and the tears1 with which my presumption and my weakness were bewailed1 recur in the songs of my thanksgiving4 ,my ,strength had been my ruin1 my ,fall hath proved my stay4#hc #hc ,hooker ',on the ,nature of ,pride1' ,works1 p4 #eba4--;,,ed4 ,,aphorism ,,vii4 ,the ,being and ,providence of ,one ,living ,god1 holy1 gracious1 merciful1 the creator and preserver of all things1 and a father of the righteous2 the ,moral ,law in its#hd utmost height1 breadth1 and purity1 a ,state of ,retribution after ,death2 the#he ,resurrection of the ,dead2 and a ,day of ,judgment--all these were known and received by the ,jewish people1 as established articles of the national faith1 at or before the proclaiming of ,christ by the ,baptist4 ,they are the ground-work of ,christianity1 and essentials in the ,christian ,faith1 but not its characteristic and peculiar ,doctrines3 except indeed as they are confirmed1 enlivened1 realized and brought home to the whole being of man1 head1 heart1 and spirit1 by the truths and influences of the ,gospel4 99 99 99 99 99 ,peculiar to ,christianity are3 ,i4 ,the belief that a ,means of ,salvation has been effected and provided for the human race by the incarnation of the ,son of ,god in the person of ,jesus ,christ2 and that his life on earth1 his sufferings1 death1 and resurrection1 are not only proofs and manifestations1 but likewise essential and effective parts of the great redemptive ,act1 whereby also the ,obstacle from the corruption of our ,nature is rendered no longer insurmountable4 ,,ii4 ,the belief in the possible appropriation of this benefit by ,repentance and ,faith1 including the aids that render an effective faith and repentance themselves possible4 ,,iii4 ,the belief in the reception 7by as many as shall be heirs of salvation7 of a living and spiritual principle1 a seed of life capable of surviving this natural life1 and of existing in a divine and immortal state4 ,,iv4 ,the belief in the awakening of the spirit#hf in them that truly believe1 and in the communion of the spirit1 thus awakened1 with the ,holy ,spirit4 ,v4 ,the belief in the accompanying and consequent gifts1 graces1 comforts1 and privileges of the ,spirit1 which acting primarily on the heart and will1 cannot but manifest themselves in suitable works of love and obedience1 that is1 in right acts with right affections1 from right principles4 ,,vi4 ,further1 as ,christians we are taught1 that these ,,works are the appointed signs and evidences of our ,,faith2 and that1 under limitation of the power1 the means1 and the opportunities afforded us individually1 they are the rule and measure1 by which we are bound and enabled to judge1 of what spirit we are4 ,,vii4 ,all these1 together with the doctrine of the ,fathers re-proclaimed in the everlasting ,gospel1 we receive in the full assurance1 that ,god beholds and will finally judge us with a merciful consideration of our infirmities1 a gracious acceptance of our sincere though imperfect strivings1 a forgiveness of our defects through the mediation1 and a completion of our deficiencies by the perfect righteousness1 of the ,man ,christ ,jesus1 even the ,word that was in the beginning with ,god1 and who1 being ,god1 became ,man for the redemption of ,mankind4 ,,comment4 ,i earnestly entreat the reader to pause awhile1 and to join with me in reflecting on the preceding ,aphorism4 ,it has been my aim throughout this work to enforce two points3 #a4 ,that ,,morality arising out of the ,reason and ,conscience of ,men1 and ,,prudence1 which in like manner flows out of the ,understanding and the natural ,wants and ,desires of the ,individual1 are two distinct things4 #b4 ,that ,morality with ,prudence as its instrument has1 considered abstractedly1 not only a value but a worth in itself4 ,now the question is 7and it is a question which every man must answer for himself7--,from what you know of yourself2 of your own heart and strength2 and from what history and personal experience have led you to conclude of mankind generally2 dare you trust to it8 ,dare you trust to it8 ,to it1 and to it alone8 ,if so1 well6 ,it is at your own risk4 ,i judge you not4 ,before ,him1 who cannot be mocked1 you stand or fall4 ,but if not1 if you have had too good reason to know1 that your heart is deceitful and your strength weakness3 if you are disposed to exclaim with ,paul--the ,law indeed is holy1 just1 good1 spiritual2 but ,i am carnal1 sold under sin3 for that which ,i do1 ,i allow not2 and what ,i would1 that ,i do not6--in this case1 there is a voice that says1 ,come unto me3 and ,i will give you rest4 ,this is the ,voice of ,christ3 and the conditions1 under which the promise was given by him1 are that you believe in him1 and believe his words4 ,and he has further assured you1 that if you do so1 you will obey him4 ,you are1 in short1 to embrace the ,christian ,faith as your ,religion--those ,truths which ,st4 ,paul believed after his conversion1 and not those only which he believed no less undoubtingly while he was persecuting ,christ1 and an enemy of the ,christian ,religion4 ,with what consistency could ,i offer you this volume as ,aids to ,reflection1 if ,i did not call on you to ascertain in the first instance what these truths are8 ,but these ,i could not lay before you without first enumerating certain other points of belief1 which though truths1 indispensable truths1 and truths comprehended or rather presupposed in the ,christian scheme1 are yet not these truths4 7,john i4 #ag47 ,while doing this1 ,i was aware that the ,positions1 in the first paragraph of the preceding ,aphorism1 to which the numerical marks are affixed1 will startle some of my ,readers4 ,let the following sentences serve for the notes corresponding to the marks3 #a ,be you holy3 even as ,god is holy4--,what more does he require of thee1 ,o man6 than to do justice1 love mercy1 and walk humbly with the ,lord thy ,god8#hg ,to these summary passages from ,moses and the ,prophets 7the first exhibiting the closed1 the second the expanded1 ,hand of the ,moral ,law7 ,i might add the ,authorities of ,grotius and other more orthodox and not less learned ,divines1 for the opinion that the ,lord's ,prayer was a selection1 and the famous passage ,the hour is now coming1 c41 ,john v4 #bh1 #bi4 a citation by our ,lord from the liturgy of the ,jewish ,church4 ,but it will be sufficient to remind the reader1 that the apparent difference between the prominent moral truths of the ,old and those of the ,new ,testament results from the latter having been written in ,greek2 while the conversations recorded by the ,evangelists took place in ,hebrew or ,syro-,chaldaic or ,aramaic4--,hence it happened that where our ,lord cited the original text1 his biographers substituted the ,septuagint version1 while our ,english version is in both instances immediate and literal--in the ,old ,testament from the ,hebrew ,original1 in the ,new ,testament from the freer ,greek translation4 ,the text1 ,i give you a new commandment1 has no connection with the present subject4 #b ,there is a current mistake on this point likewise1 though this article of the ,jewish ,belief is not only asserted by ,st4 ,paul1 but is elsewhere spoken of as common to the ,twelve ,tribes4 ,the mistake consists in supposing the ,pharisees to have been a distinct sect1 and in strangely over-rating the number of the ,sadducees4 ,the former were distinguished not by holding1 as matters of religious belief1 articles different from the ,jewish ,church at large2 but by their pretences to a more rigid orthodoxy1 a more scrupulous performance4 ,they were1 in short 7if ,i may dare use a phrase which ,i dislike as profane1 and denounce as uncharitable71 the ,evangelicals and strict professors of the day4 ,the latter1 the ,sadducees1 whose opinions much more nearly resembled those of the ,stoics than the ,epicureans 7a remark that will appear paradoxical to those only who have abstracted their notions of the ,stoic ,philosophy from ,epictetus1 ,mark ,antonine1 and certain brilliant inconsistencies of ,seneca71 were a handful of rich men1 ,romanized ,jews1 not more numerous than infidels among us1 and holden by the ,people at large in at least equal abhorrence4 ,their great argument was3 that the belief of a future state of rewards and punishments injured or destroyed the purity of the ,moral ,law for the more enlightened classes1 and weakened the influence of the ,laws of the ,land for the people1 the vulgar multitude4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i will now suppose the reader to have thoughtfully re-perused the paragraph containing the tenets peculiar to ,christianity1 and if he have his religious principles yet to form1 ,i should expect to overhear a troubled murmur3 ,how can ,i comprehend this8 ,how is this to be proved8 ,to the first question ,i should answer3 ,christianity is not a ,theory1 or a ,speculation2 but a ,life2--not a ,philosophy of ,life1 but a ,life and a living ,process4 ,to the second3 ,,try ,,it4 ,it has been eighteen hundred years in existence3 and has one individual left a record1 like the following8 ,i tried it2 and it did not answer4 ,i made the experiment faithfully according to the directions2 and the result has been1 a conviction of my own credulity4 ,have you1 in your own experience1 met with any one in whose words you could place full confidence1 and who has seriously affirmed3--,i have given ,christianity a fair trial4 ,i was aware1 that its promises were made only conditionally4 ,but my heart bears me witness1 that ,i have to the utmost of my power complied with these conditions4 ,both outwardly and in the discipline of my inward acts and affections1 ,i have performed the duties which it enjoins1 and ,i have used the means1 which it prescribes4 ,yet my assurance of its truth has received no increase4 ,its promises have not been fulfilled3 and ,i repent me of my delusion6 ,if neither your own experience nor the ,history of almost two thousand years has presented a single testimony to this purport2 and if you have read and heard of many who have lived and died bearing witness to the contrary3 and if you have yourself met with some one1 in whom on any other point you would place unqualified trust1 who has on his own experience made report to you1 that ,he is faithful who promised1 and what he promised ,he has proved ,himself able to perform2 is it bigotry1 if ,i fear that the ,unbelief1 which prejudges and prevents the experiment1 has its source elsewhere than in the uncorrupted judgment2 that not the strong free mind1 but the enslaved will1 is the true original infidel in this instance8 ,it would not be the first time1 that a treacherous bosom-sin had suborned the understandings of men to bear false witness against its avowed enemy1 the right though unreceived owner of the house1 who had long warned it out1 and waited only for its ejection to enter and take possession of the same4 ,i have elsewhere in the present work explained the difference between the ,understanding and the ,reason1 by reason meaning exclusively the speculative or scientific power so called1 the or mens of the ancients4 ,and wider still is the distinction between the ,understanding and the ,spiritual ,mind4 ,but no gift of ,god does or can contradict any other gift1 except by misuse or misdirection4 ,most readily therefore do ,i admit1 that there can be no contrariety between ,revelation and the ,understanding2 unless you call the fact1 that the skin1 though sensible of the warmth of the sun1 can convey no notion of its figure or its joyous light1 or of the colours1 which it impresses on the clouds1 a contrariety between the skin and the eye2 or infer that the cutaneous and the optic nerves contradict each other4 ,but we have grounds to believe1 that there are yet other rays or effluences from the sun1 which neither feeling nor sight can apprehend1 but which are to be inferred from the effects4 ,and were it even so with regard to the ,spiritual ,sun1 how would this contradict the ,understanding or the ,reason8 ,it is a sufficient proof of the contrary1 that the mysteries in question are not in the direction of the understanding or the 7speculative7 reason4 ,they do not move on the same line or plane with them1 and therefore cannot contradict them4 ,but besides this1 in the mystery that most immediately concerns the believer1 that of the birth into a new and spiritual life1 the common sense and experience of mankind come in aid of their faith4 ,the analogous facts1 which we know to be true1 not only facilitate the apprehension of the facts promised to us1 and expressed by the same words in conjunction with a distinctive epithet2 but being confessedly not less incomprehensible1 the certain knowledge of the one disposes us to the belief of the other4 ,it removes at least all objections to the truth of the doctrine derived from the mysteriousness of its subject4 ,the life1 we seek after1 is a mystery2 but so both in itself and in its origin is the life we have4 ,in order to meet this question1 however1 with minds duly prepared1 there are two preliminary inquiries to be decided2 the first respecting the purport1 the second respecting the language of the ,gospel4 ,first then of the purport1 namely1 what the ,gospel does not1 and what it does profess to be4 ,the ,gospel is not a system of ,theology1 nor a syntagma of theoretical propositions and conclusions for the enlargement of speculative knowledge1 ethical or metaphysical4 ,but it is a history1 a series of facts and events related or announced4 ,these do indeed involve1 or rather ,i should say they at the same time are1 most important doctrinal ,truths2 but still ,facts and ,declaration of ,facts4 ,secondly of the language4 ,this is a wide subject4 ,but the point1 to which ,i chiefly advert1 is the necessity of thoroughly understanding the distinction between analogous1 and metaphorical language4 ,analogies are used in aid of ,conviction3 ,metaphors1 as means of ,illustration4 ,the language is analogous1 wherever a thing1 power1 or principle in a higher dignity is expressed by the same thing1 power1 or principle in a lower but more known form4 ,such1 for instance1 is the language of ,john iii4 #f4 ,that which is born of the flesh1 is flesh2 that which is born of the ,spirit1 is ,spirit4 ,the latter half of the verse contains the fact asserted2 the former half the analogous fact1 by which it is rendered intelligible4 ,if any man choose to call this metaphorical or figurative1 ,i ask him whether with ,hobbes and ,bolingbroke he applies the same rule to the moral attributes of the ,deity8 ,whether he regards the divine ,justice1 for instance1 as a metaphorical term1 a mere figure of speech8 ,if he disclaims this1 then ,i answer1 neither do ,i regard the words1 born again1 or spiritual life1 as figures or metaphors4 ,i have only to add1 that these analogies are the material1 or 7to speak chemically7 the base1 of ,symbols and symbolical expressions2 the nature of which is always tautegorical1 that is1 expressing the same subject but with a difference1 in contra-distinction from metaphors and similitudes1 that are always allegorical1 that is1 expressing a different subject but with a resemblance4 ,of metaphorical language1 on the other hand1 let the following be taken as instance and illustration4 ,i am speaking1 we will suppose1 of an act1 which in its own nature1 and as a producing and efficient cause1 is transcendent2 but which produces sundry effects1 each of which is the same in kind with an effect produced by a cause well known and of ordinary occurrence4 ,now when ,i characterize or designate this transcendent act1 in exclusive reference to these its effects1 by a succession of names borrowed from their ordinary causes2 not for the purpose of rendering the act itself1 or the manner of the agency1 conceivable1 but in order to show the nature and magnitude of the benefits received from it1 and thus to excite the due admiration1 gratitude1 and love in the receivers2 in this case ,i should be rightly described as speaking metaphorically4 ,and in this case to confound the similarity1 in respect of the effects relatively to the recipients1 with an identity in respect of the causes or modes of causation relatively to the transcendent act or the ,divine ,agent1 is a confusion of metaphor with analogy1 and of figurative with literal2 and has been and continues to be a fruitful source of superstition or enthusiasm in believers1 and of objections and prejudices to infidels and sceptics4 ,but each of these points is worthy of a separate consideration3 and apt occasions will be found of reverting to them severally in the following ,aphorisms1 or the comments thereto attached4 #hd and #he ,these reference marks are the author's own1 for which1 however1 he supplied no notes here2 but further on1 in the ,comment1 at pp4 #acb-c1 he gives them in the text4--,,ed4 #hf ,see ,comment on ,moral and ,religious ,aphorism ,,vi41 p4 #de4--;,,ed4 #hg ,lev4 xix4 #b1 and ,micah vi4 #h4--;,,ed4 ,,aphorism ,,viii4 ,,leighton4 ,,faith elevates the soul not only above sense and sensible things1 but above reason itself4 ,as reason corrects the errors which sense might occasion1 so supernatural faith corrects the errors of natural reason judging according to sense4 ,,comment4 ,my remarks on this ,aphorism from ,leighton cannot be better introduced1 or their purport more distinctly announced1 than by the following sentence from ,harrington1 with no other change than was necessary to make the words express1 without aid of the context1 what from the context it is evident was the writer's meaning4 ,the definition and proper character of ,man--that1 namely1 which should contra-distinguish him from the ,animals--is to be taken from his reason rather than from his understanding3 in regard that in other creatures there may be something of understanding1 but there is nothing of reason4#hh ,sir ,thomas ,browne1 in his ,religio ,medici1 complains1 that there are not impossibilities enough in ,religion for his active faith2 and adopts by choice and in free preference1 such interpretations of certain texts and declarations of ,holy ,writ1 as place them in irreconcilable contradiction to the demonstrations of science and the experience of mankind1 because 7says he7 ,i love to lose myself in a mystery1 and 'tis my solitary recreation to pose my apprehension with those involved enigmas and riddles of the ,trinity and ,incarnation2--and because he delights 7as thinking it no vulgar part of faith7 to believe a thing not only above but contrary to reason1 and against the evidence of our proper senses4 ,for the worthy knight could answer all the objections of the devil and reason with the odd resolution he had learnt of ,tertullian3 ,certum est quia impossibile est4 ,it is certainly true because it is quite impossible6 ,now this ,i call ,,ultrafidianism4#hi ,again1 there is a scheme constructed on the principle of retaining the social sympathies1 that attend on the name of ,believer1 at the least possible expenditure of ,belief2 a scheme of picking and choosing ,scripture texts for the support of doctrines1 that had been learned beforehand from the higher oracle of ,common ,sense2 which1 as applied to the truths of ,religion1 means the popular part of the philosophy in fashion4 ,of course1 the scheme differs at different times and in different individuals in the number of articles excluded2 but1 it may always be recognized by this permanent character1 that its object is to draw religion down to the believer's intellect1 instead of raising his intellect up to religion4 ,and this extreme ,i call ,,minimifidianism4 ,now if there be one preventive of both these extremes more efficacious than another1 and preliminary to all the rest1 it is the being made fully aware of the diversity of ,reason and ,understanding4 ,and this is the more expedient1 because though there is no want of authorities ancient and modern for the distinction of the faculties1 and the distinct appropriation of the terms1 yet our best writers too often confound the one with the other4 ,even ,lord ,bacon himself1 who in his ,novum ,organum has so incomparably set forth the nature of the difference1 and the unfitness of the latter faculty for the objects of the former1 does nevertheless in sundry places use the term ,reason where he means the ,understanding1 and sometimes1 though less frequently1 ,understanding for ,reason4#ic ,in consequence of thus confounding the two terms1 or rather of wasting both words for the expression of one and the same faculty1 he left himself no appropriate term for the other and higher gift of ,reason1 and was thus under the necessity of adopting fantastical and mystical phrases1 for example1 the dry light 7lumen siccum71 the lucific vision1 and the like1 meaning thereby nothing more than ,reason in contra-distinction from the ,understanding4 ,thus too in the preceding ,aphorism1 by ,reason ,leighton means the human ,understanding1 the explanation annexed to it being 7by a noticeable coincidence71 word for word1 the very definition which the founder of the ,critical ,philosophy gives of the ,understanding--namely1 the faculty judging according to sense4 #hh ,see ',the ,friend1' vol4 i41 p4 #bfc2 or p4 #ie in ,bohn's one vol4 edition2 and ',the ,statesman's ,manual1' ,appendix 7,note ,c474--,,ed4 #hi ,there is this advantage in the occasional use of a newly minted term or title1 expressing the doctrinal schemes of particular sects or parties1 that it avoids the inconvenience that presses on either side1 whether we adopt the name which the party itself has taken up by which to express its peculiar tenets1 or that by which the same party is designated by its opponents4 ,if we take the latter1 it most often happens that either the persons are invidiously aimed at in the designation of the principles1 or that the name implies some consequence or occasional accompaniment of the principles denied by the parties themselves1 as applicable to them collectively4 ,on the other hand1 convinced as ,i am1 that current appellations are never wholly indifferent or inert2 and that1 when employed to express the characteristic belief or object of a religious confederacy1 they exert on the many a great and constant1 though insensible1 influence2 ,i cannot but fear that in adopting the former ,i may be sacrificing the interests of ,truth beyond what the duties of courtesy can demand or justify4 ,i have elsewhere stated my objections to the word ,unitarians3 as a name which in its proper sense can belong only to the maintainers of the truth impugned by the persons1 who have chosen it as their designation4 ,for ,unity or ,unition1 and indistinguishable ,unicity or ,sameness1 are incompatible terms4 ,we never speak of the unity of attraction1 or the unity of repulsion2 but of the unity of attraction and repulsion in each corpuscle4 ,indeed1 the essential diversity of the conceptions1 ,unity and ,sameness1 was among the elementary principles of the old logicians2 and ,leibnitz1 in his critique on ,wissowatius1 has ably exposed the sophisms grounded on the confusion of the two terms4 ,but in the exclusive sense1 in which the name1 ,unitarian1 is appropriated by the sect1 and in which they mean it to be understood1 it is a presumptuous boast1 and an uncharitable calumny4 ,no one of the ,churches to which they on this article of the ,christian ,faith stand opposed1 ,greek or ,latin1 ever adopted the term1 ,trini--or ,tri-uni-tarians as their ordinary and proper name3 and had it been otherwise1 yet ,unity is assuredly no logical ,opposite to ,tri-unity1 which expressly includes it4 ,the triple alliance is a fortiori alliance4 ,the true designation of their characteristic ,tenet1 and which would simply and inoffensively express a fact admitted on all sides1 is ,psilanthropism1 or the assertion of the mere humanity of ,christ4#ij ,i dare not hesitate to avow my regret1 that any scheme of doctrines or tenets should be the subject of penal law3 though ,i can easily conceive1 that any scheme1 however excellent in itself1 may be propagated1 and however false or injurious1 may be assailed1 in a manner and by means that would make the advocate or assailant justly punishable4 ,but then it is the manner1 the means1 that constitute the crime4 ,the merit or demerit of the opinions themselves depends on their originating and determining causes1 which may differ in every different believer1 and are certainly known to ,him alone1 who commanded us1 ,judge not1 lest ye be judged4 ,at all events1 in the present state of the law1 ,i do not see where we can begin1 or where we can stop1 without inconsistency and consequent hardship4 ,judging by all that we can pretend to know or are entitled to infer1 who among us will take on himself to deny that the late ,dr4 ,priestley was a good and benevolent man1 as sincere in his love1 as he was intrepid and indefatigable in his pursuit1 of truth8 ,now let us construct three parallel tables1 the first containing the ,articles of ,belief1 moral and theological1 maintained by the venerable ,hooker1 as the representative of the ,established ,church1 each article being distinctly lined and numbered2 the second the ,tenets and ,persuasions of ,lord ,herbert1 as the representative of the platonizing ,deists2 and the third1 those of ,dr4 ,priestley4 ,let the points1 in which the second and third agree with or differ from the first1 be considered as to the comparative number modified by the comparative weight and importance of the several points--and let any competent and upright man be appointed the arbiter1 to decide according to his best judgment1 without any reference to the truth of the opinions1 which of the two differed from the first the more widely4 ,i say this1 well aware that it would be abundantly more prudent to leave it unsaid4 ,but ,i say it in the conviction1 that the liberality in the adoption of admitted misnomers in the naming of doctrinal systems1 if only they have been negatively legalized1 is but an equivocal proof of liberality towards the persons who dissent from us4 ,on the contrary1 ,i more than suspect that the former liberality does in too many men arise from a latent pre-disposition to transfer their reprobation and intolerance from the doctrines to the doctors1 from the belief to the believers4 ,indecency1 abuse1 scoffing on subjects dear and awful to a multitude of our fellow-citizens1 appeals to the vanity1 appetites1 and malignant passions of ignorant and incompetent judges--these are flagrant overt-acts1 condemned by the law written in the heart of every honest man1 ,jew1 ,turk1 and ,christian4 ,these are points respecting which the humblest honest man feels it his duty to hold himself infallible1 and dares not hesitate in giving utterance to the verdict of his conscience1 in the jury-box as fearlessly as by his fireside4 ,it is far otherwise with respect to matters of faith and inward conviction3 and with respect to these ,i say--,tolerate no ,belief1 that you judge false and of injurious tendency3 and arraign no ,believer4 ,the ,man is more and other than his ,belief3 and ,god only knows1 how small or how large a part of him the ,belief in question may be1 for good or for evil4 ,resist every false doctrine3 and call no man heretic4 ,the false doctrine does not necessarily make the man a heretic2 but an evil heart can make any doctrine heretical4 ,actuated by these principles1 ,i have objected to a false and deceptive designation in the case of one ,system4 ,persuaded that the doctrines1 enumerated in pp4 #acj-acb1 are not only essential to the ,christian ,religion1 but those which contra-distinguish the religion as ,christian1 ,i merely repeat this persuasion in another form1 when ,i assert1 that 7in my sense of the word1 ,christian7 ,unitarianism is not ,christianity4 ,but do ,i say1 that those1 who call themselves ,unitarians1 are not ,christians8 ,god forbid6 ,i would not think1 much less promulgate1 a judgment at once so presumptuous and so uncharitable4#ia ,let a friendly antagonist retort on my scheme of faith1 in the like manner3 ,i shall respect him all the more for his consistency as a reasoner1 and not confide the less in his kindness towards me as his neighbour and fellow-,christian4 ,this latter and most endearing name ,i scarcely know how to withhold even from my friend1 ,,hyman ,,hurwitz1 as often as ,i read what every ,reverer of ,holy ,writ and of the ,english ,bible ought to read1 his admirable ,,vindici ,,hebraic6 ,it has trembled on the verge1 as it were1 of my lips1 every time ,i have conversed with that pious1 learned1 strong-minded1 and single-hearted ,jew1 an ,israelite indeed1 and without guile1-- ,cujus cura1 sequi naturam1 legibus uti1 ,et mentem vitiis1 ora negare dolis2 ,virtutes opibus1 verum prponere falso ,nil vacuum sensu dicere1 nil facere4 ,post obitum vivam#ib secum1 secum requiescam1 ,nec fiat melior sors mea sorte su6 ,from a poem of ,hildebert on his ,master1 the persecuted ,berengarius4 ,under the same feelings ,i conclude this ,aid to ,reflection by applying the principle to another misnomer not less inappropriate and far more influential4 ,of those whom ,i have found most reason to respect and value1 many have been members of the ,church of ,rome3 and certainly ,i did not honour those the least1 who scrupled even in common parlance to call our ,church a reformed ,church4 ,a similar scruple would not1 methinks1 disgrace a ,protestant as to the use of the words1 ,catholic or ,roman ,catholic2 and if 7tacitly at least1 and in thought7 he remembered that the ,romish ,anti-catholic ,church would more truly express the fact4--,romish1 to mark that the corruptions in discipline1 doctrine1 and practice do1 for the larger part1 owe both their origin and perpetuation to the ,romish ,court1 and the local ,tribunals of the ,city of ,rome2 and neither are or ever have been ,catholic1 that is1 universal1 throughout the ,roman ,empire1 or even in the whole ,latin or ,western ,church--and ,anti-catholic1 because no other ,church acts on so narrow and excommunicative a principle1 or is characterized by such a jealous spirit of monopoly4 ,instead of a ,catholic 7universal7 spirit1 it may be truly described as a spirit of ,particularism counterfeiting ,catholicity by a negative totality and heretical self-circumscription--in the first instances cutting off1 and since then cutting herself off from1 all the other members of ,christ's body4 ,for the rest1 ,i think as that man of true catholic spirit and apostolic zeal1 ,richard ,baxter1 thought2 and my readers will thank me for conveying my reflections in his own words1 in the following golden passage from his ,life1 faithfully published from his own original ,,mss4 by ,matthew ,silvester1 #afif4 ,my censures of the ,papists do much differ from what they were at first4 ,i then thought that their errors in the doctrines of faith were their most dangerous mistakes4 ,but now ,i am assured that their misexpressions and misunderstanding us1 with our mistakings of them and inconvenient expressing of our own opinions1 have made the difference in most points appear much greater than it is2 and that in some it is next to none at all4 ,but the great and unreconcileable differences lie in their ,church ,tyranny2 in the usurpations of their ,hierarchy1 and ,priesthood1 under the name of spiritual authority exercising a temporal ,lordship2 in their corruptions and abasement of ,god's ,worship2 but above all their systematic befriending of ,ignorance and ,vice4 ,at first ,i thought that ,mr4 ,perkins well proved1 that a ,papist cannot go beyond a reprobate2 but now ,i doubt not that ,god hath many sanctified ones among them1 who have received the true doctrine of ,christianity so practically1 that their contradictory errors prevail not against them1 to hinder their love of ,god and their salvation3 but that their errors are like a conquerable dose of poison1 which a healthful nature doth overcome4 ,and ,i can never believe that a man may not be saved by that religion1 which doth but bring him to the true ,love of ,god and to a heavenly mind and life2 nor that ,god will ever cast a ,soul into hell1 that truly loveth him4 ,also at first it would disgrace any doctrine with me1 if ,i did but hear it called ,popery and ,anti-,christian2 but ,i have long learned to be more impartial1 and to know that ,satan can use even the names of ,popery and ,antichrist1 to bring a truth into suspicion and discredit4--,baxter's ,life1 part ,i4 p4 #aca4 #ij ,see the second ',lay ,sermon1' ,bohn's edition1 pp4 #djf-g4--;,,ed4 #ia ,see ,coleridge's ',table ,talk1' ,april #d1 #ahcb1 ,on ,unitarianism4--,,ed4 #ib ,i do not answer for the corrupt ,latin4 #ic ,see ',the ,friend1' ,bohn's edition1 pp4 #ie-ajj1 and #cai-bg4--;,,ed4 ,,on ,,the ,,difference ,,in ,,kind ,,of ,,reason ,,and ,,the ,,understanding4 ,,scheme ,,of ,,the ,,argument4 ,on the contrary1 ,reason is the ,power of ,universal and necessary ,convictions1 the ,source and ,substance of ,truths above ,sense1 and having their evidence in themselves4 ,its presence is always marked by the necessity of the position affirmed3 this necessity being conditional1 when a truth of ,reason is applied to ,facts of ,experience1 or to the rules and maxims of the ,understanding2 but absolute1 when the subject matter is itself the growth or offspring of the ,reason4 ,hence arises a distinction in the ,reason itself1 derived from the different mode of applying it1 and from the objects to which it is directed3 accordingly as we consider one and the same gift1 now as the ground of formal principles1 and now as the origin of ideas4 ,contemplated distinctively in reference to formal 7or abstract7 truth1 it is the speculative reason2 but in reference to actual 7or moral7 truth1 as the fountain of ideas1 and the light of the conscience1 we name it the practical reason4 ,whenever by self-subjection to this universal light1 the will of the individual1 the particular will1 has become a will of reason1 the man is regenerate3 and reason is then the spirit of the regenerated man1 whereby the person is capable of a quickening inter-communion with the ,divine ,spirit4 ,and herein consists the mystery of ,redemption1 that this has been rendered possible for us4 ,and so it is written3 the first man ,adam1 was made a living soul1 the last ,adam a quickening ,spirit4 7#a ,cor4 xv4 #de47 ,we need only compare the passages in the writings of the ,apostles ,paul and ,john1 concerning the spirit and spiritual ,gifts1 with those in the ,proverbs and in the ,wisdom of ,solomon respecting reason1 to be convinced that the terms are synonymous4#id ,in this at once most comprehensive and most appropriate acceptation of the word1 reason is pre-eminently spiritual1 and a spirit1 even our spirit1 through an effluence of the same grace by which we are privileged to say ,our ,father6 ,on the other hand1 the ,judgments of the ,understanding are binding only in relation to the objects of our ,senses1 which we reflect under the forms of the ,understanding4 ,it is1 as ,leighton rightly defines it1 the faculty judging according to sense4 ,hence we add the epithet human1 without tautology3 and speak of the human understanding1 in disjunction from that of beings higher or lower than man4 ,but there is1 in this sense1 no human reason4 ,there neither is nor can be but one reason1 one and the same3 even the light that lighteth every man's individual ,understanding 7,discursus71 and thus maketh it a reasonable understanding1 discourse of reason--one only1 yet manifold3 it goeth through all understanding1 and remaining in itself regenerateth all other powers4 ,the same writer calls it likewise an influence from the ,glory of the ,almighty1 this being one of the names of the ,messiah1 as the ,logos1 or co-eternal ,filial ,word4 ,and most noticeable for its coincidence is a fragment of ,heraclitus1 as ,i have indeed already noticed elsewhere2--,to discourse rationally it behoves us to derive strength from that which is common to all men3 for all human ,understandings are nourished by the one ,,divine ,,word4 ,beasts1 we have said1 partake of understanding4 ,if any man deny this1 there is a ready way of settling the question4 ,let him give a careful perusal to ,hber's two small volumes1 on bees and ants 7especially the latter71 and to ,kirby and ,spence's ,introduction to ,entomology2 and one or other of two things must follow4 ,he will either change his opinion as irreconcilable with the facts2 or he must deny the facts1 which yet ,i cannot suppose1 inasmuch as the denial would be tantamount to the no less extravagant than uncharitable assertion1 that ,hber1 and the several eminent naturalists1 ,french and ,english1 ,swiss1 ,german1 and ,italian1 by whom ,hber's observations and experiments have been repeated and confirmed1 had all conspired to impose a series of falsehoods and fairy-tales on the world4 ,i see no way at least1 by which he can get out of this dilemma1 but by over-leaping the admitted rules and fences of all legitimate discussion1 and either transferring to the word1 ,understanding1 the definition already appropriated to ,reason1 or defining ,understanding in genere by the specific and accessional perfections which the human understanding derives from its co-existence with reason and free-will in the same individual person2 in plainer words1 from its being exercised by a self-conscious and responsible creature4 ,and1 after all1 the supporter of ,harrington's position would have a right to ask him1 by what other name he would designate the faculty in the instances referred to8 ,if it be not ,understanding1 what is it8 ,in no former part of this volume has the author felt the same anxiety to obtain a patient attention4 ,for he does not hesitate to avow1 that on his success in establishing the validity and importance of the distinction between ,reason and ,understanding1 he rests his hopes of carrying the reader along with him through all that is to follow4 ,let the student but clearly see and comprehend the diversity in the things themselves1 the expediency of a correspondent distinction and appropriation of the words will follow of itself4 ,turn back for a moment to the ,aphorism1 and having re-perused the first paragraph of this ,comment thereon1 regard the two following narratives as the illustration4 ,i do not say proof3 for ,i take these from a multitude of facts equally striking for the one only purpose of placing my meaning out of all doubt4 ,i4 ,hber put a dozen bumble-bees under a bell-glass along with a comb of about ten silken cocoons so unequal in height as not to be capable of standing steadily4 ,to remedy this two or three of the bumble-bees got upon the comb1 stretched themselves over its edge1 and with their heads downwards fixed their fore-feet on the table on which the comb stood1 and so with their hind-feet kept the comb from falling4 ,when these were weary1 others took their places4 ,in this constrained and painful posture1 fresh bees relieving their comrades at intervals1 and each working in its turn1 did these affectionate little insects support the comb for nearly three days3 at the end of which they had prepared sufficient wax to build pillars with4 ,but these pillars having accidentally got displaced1 the bees had recourse again to the same manuvre till ,hber1 pitying their hard case1 c4 ,,ii4 ,i shall at present describe the operations of a single ant that ,i observed sufficiently long to satisfy my curiosity4 ,one rainy day1 ,i observed a labourer digging the ground near the aperture which gave entrance to the ant-hill4 ,it placed in a heap the several fragments it had scraped up1 and formed them into small pellets1 which it deposited here and there upon the nest4 ,it returned constantly to the same place1 and appeared to have a marked design1 for it laboured with ardour and perseverance4 ,i remarked a slight furrow1 excavated in the ground in a straight line1 representing the plan of a path or gallery4 ,the ,labourer1 the whole of whose movements fell under my immediate observation1 gave it greater depth and breadth1 and cleared out its borders3 and ,i saw at length1 in which ,i could not be deceived1 that it had the intention of establishing an avenue which was to lead from one of the stories to the underground chambers4 ,this path1 which was about two or three inches in length1 and formed by a single ant1 was opened above and bordered on each side by a buttress of earth2 its concavity en forme de gouttire was of the most perfect regularity1 for the architect had not left an atom too much4 ,the work of this ant was so well followed and understood1 that ,i could almost to a certainty guess its next proceeding1 and the very fragment it was about to remove4 ,at the side of the opening where this path terminated1 was a second opening to which it was necessary to arrive by some road4 ,the same ant engaged in and executed alone this undertaking4 ,it furrowed out and opened another path1 parallel to the first1 leaving between each a little wall of three or four lines in height4 ,those ants who lay the foundation of a wall1 chamber1 or gallery1 from working separately1 occasion now and then a want of coincidence in the parts of the same or different objects4 ,such examples are of no unfrequent occurrence1 but they by no means embarrass them4 ,what follows proves that the workman1 on discovering his error1 knew how to rectify it4 ,a wall had been erected with the view of sustaining a vaulted ceiling1 still incomplete1 that had been projected from the wall of the opposite chamber4 ,the workman who began constructing it1 had given it too little elevation to meet the opposite partition upon which it was to rest4 ,had it been continued on the original plan1 it must infallibly have met the wall at about one half of its height1 and this it was necessary to avoid4 ,this state of things very forcibly claimed my attention1 when one of the ants arriving at the place1 and visiting the works1 appeared to be struck by the difficulty which presented itself2 but this it as soon obviated1 by taking down the ceiling and raising the wall upon which it reposed4 ,it then1 in my presence1 constructed a new ceiling with the fragments of the former one4--,hber's ,natural ,history of ,ants1 p4 #ch-da4 ,now ,i assert1 that the faculty manifested in the acts here narrated does not differ in kind from ,understanding1 and that it does so differ from ,reason4 ,what ,i conceive the former to be1 physiologically considered1 will be shown hereafter4 ,in this place ,i take the understanding as it exists in men1 and in exclusive reference to its intelligential functions2 and it is in this sense of the word that ,i am to prove the necessity of contra-distinguishing it from reason4 ,premising then1 that two or more subjects having the same essential characters are said to fall under the same general definition1 ,i lay it down1 as a self-evident truth1--7it is1 in fact1 an identical proposition7 that whatever subjects fall under one and the same general definition are of one and the same kind3 consequently1 that which does not fall under this definition1 must differ in kind from each and all of those that do4 ,difference in degree does indeed suppose sameness in kind2 and difference in kind precludes distinction from difference of degree4 ,heterogenea non comparari1 ergo nec distingui1 possunt4 ,the inattention to this rule gives rise to the numerous sophisms comprised by ,aristotle under the head of 1 that is1 transition into a new kind1 or the falsely applying to ,x what had been truly asserted of ,a1 and might have been true of ,x1 had it differed from ,a in its degree only4 ,the sophistry consists in the omission to notice what not being noticed will be supposed not to exist2 and where the silence respecting the difference in kind is tantamount to an assertion that the difference is merely in degree4 ,but the fraud is especially gross1 where the heterogeneous subject1 thus clandestinely slipt in1 is in its own nature insusceptible of degree3 such as1 for instance1 ,certainty1 or ,circularity1 contrasted with ,strength1 or ,magnitude4 ,to apply these remarks for our present purpose1 we have only to describe ,understanding and ,reason1 each by its characteristic qualities4 ,the comparison will show the difference4 ,,understanding4 ,,reason4 #a4 ,understanding is discursive4 #a4 ,reason is fixed4 #b4 ,the ,understanding in #b4 ,the ,reason in all its decisions all its judgments refers to appeals to itself1 as the ground some other ,faculty as its and substance of their truth4 ultimate ,authority4 7,hebrews vi4 #ac47 #c4 ,understanding is the #c4 ,reason of ,contemplation4 ,faculty of ,reflection4 ,reason indeed is much nearer to ,,sense than to ,understanding3 for ,reason 7says our great ,,hooker7 is a direct aspect of ,truth1 an inward ,beholding1 having a similar relation to the ,intelligible or ,spiritual1 as ,,sense has to the ,material or ,phenomenal4 ,the ,result is3 that neither falls under the definition of the other4 ,they differ in kind3 and had my object been confined to the establishment of this fact1 the preceding columns would have superseded all further disquisition4 ,but ,i have ever in view the especial interest of my youthful readers1 whose reflective power is to be cultivated1 as well as their particular reflections to be called forth and guided4 ,now the main chance of their reflecting on religious subjects aright1 and of their attaining to the contemplation of spiritual truths at all1 rests on their insight into the nature of this disparity still more than on their conviction of its existence4 ,i now1 therefore1 proceed to a brief analysis of the ,understanding1 in elucidation of the definitions already given4 ,the ,understanding then 7considered exclusively as an organ of human intelligence17 is the faculty by which we reflect and generalize4 ,take1 for instance1 any objects consisting of many parts1 a house1 or a group of houses3 and if it be contemplated1 as a ,whole1 that is1 as many constituting a one1 it forms what in the technical language of ,psychology1 is called a total impression4 ,among the various component parts of this1 we direct our attention especially to such as we recollect to have noticed in other total impressions4 ,then1 by a voluntary act1 we withhold our attention from all the rest to reflect exclusively on these2 and these we henceforward use as common characters1 by virtue of which the several objects are referred to one and the same sort4#ie ,thus1 the whole process may be reduced to three acts1 all depending on and supposing a previous impression on the senses3 first1 the appropriation of our ,attention2 second1 7and in order to the continuance of the first7 ,abstraction1 or the voluntary withholding of the ,attention2 and third1 ,generalization4 ,and these are the proper ,functions of the ,understanding3 and the power of so doing1 is what we mean1 when we say we possess ,understanding1 or are created with the faculty of ,understanding4 ,it is obvious1 that the third function includes the act of comparing one object with another4 ,in a note 7for1 not to interrupt the argument1 ,i avail myself of this most useful contrivance17 ,i have shown1 that the act of comparing supposes in the comparing faculty1 certain inherent forms1 that is1 modes of reflecting not referable to the objects reflected on1 but pre-determined by the constitution and 7as it were7 mechanism of the ,understanding itself4 ,and under some one or other of these forms1#if the resemblances and differences must be subsumed in order to be conceivable1 and a fortiori therefore in order to be comparable4 ,the senses do not compare1 but merely furnish the materials for comparison4 ,but this the reader will find explained in the note2 and will now cast his eye back to the sentence immediately preceding this parenthesis4 ,now when a person speaking to us of any particular ,object or ,appearance refers it by means of some common character to a known class 7which he does in giving it a ,name71 we say1 that we understand him2 that is1 we understand his words4 ,the ,name of a thing1 in the original sense of the word ,name1 7nomen1 1 intelligible1 id quod intelligitur7 expresses that which is understood in an appearance1 that which we place 7or make to stand7 under it1 as the condition of its real existence1 and in proof that it is not an accident of the senses1 or affection of the individual1 not a phantom or apparition1 that is1 an appearance that is only an appearance4 7,see ,gen4 ii4 #ai1 #bj1 and in ,psalm xx4 #a1 and in many other places of the ,bible1 the identity of nomen with numen1 that is1 invisible power and presence1 the nomen substantivum of all real objects1 and the ground of their reality1 independently of the affections of sense in the percipient74 ,in like manner1 in a connected succession of names1 as the speaker passes from the one to the other1 we say that we can understand his discourse 7discursio intellects1 discursus1 his passing rapidly from one thing to another74 ,thus1 in all instances1 it is words1 names1 or1 if images1 yet images used as words or names1 that are the only and exclusive subjects of ,understanding4 ,in no instance do we understand a thing in itself2 but only the name to which it is referred4 ,sometimes indeed1 when several classes are recalled conjointly1 we identify the words with the object--though by courtesy of idiom rather than in strict propriety of language4 ,thus we may say that we understand a rainbow1 when recalling successively the several ,names for the several sorts of colours1 we know that they are to be applied to one and the same phenomenon1 at once distinctly and simultaneously2 but even in common speech we should not say this of a single colour4 ,no one would say he understands red or blue4 ,he sees the colour1 and had seen it before in a vast number and variety of objects2 and he understands the word red1 as referring his fancy or memory to this his collective experience4 ,if this be so1 and so it most assuredly is--if the proper functions of the ,understanding be that of generalizing the notices received from the senses in order to the construction of names3 of referring particular notices 7that is1 impressions or sensations7 to their proper names2 and1 vice vers1 names to their correspondent class or kind of notices--then it follows of necessity1 that the ,understanding is truly and accurately defined in the words of ,leighton and ,kant1 a faculty judging according to sense4 ,now whether in defining the speculative ,reason 7that is1 the ,reason considered abstractedly as an intellective power7 we call it the source of necessary and universal principles1 according to which the notices of the senses are either affirmed or denied2 or describe it as the power by which we are enabled to draw from particular and contingent appearances universal and necessary conclusions3#ig it is equally evident that the two definitions differ in their essential characters1 and consequently the subjects differ in kind4 ,the dependence of the ,understanding on the representations of the senses1 and its consequent posteriority thereto1 as contrasted with the independence and antecedency of ,reason1 are strikingly exemplified in the ,ptolemaic ,system 7that truly wonderful product and highest boast of the faculty1 judging according to the senses67 compared with the ,newtonian1 as the offspring of a yet higher power1 arranging1 correcting1 and annulling the representations of the senses according to its own inherent laws and constitutive ideas4 #id ,see ,wisd4 of ,sol4 vii4 #bb1 #bc1 #bg4--;,h4 ,n4 ,c4 #ie ,accordingly as we attend more or less to the differences1 the sort becomes1 of course1 more or less comprehensive4 ,hence there arises for the systematic naturalist1 the necessity of subdividing the sorts into orders1 classes1 families1 c43 all which1 however1 resolve themselves for the mere logician into the conception of genus and species1 i4e4 the comprehending and the comprehended4 #if ,were it not so1 how could the first comparison have been possible8--,it would involve the absurdity of measuring a thing by itself4 ,but if we think on some one thing1 the length of our own foot1 or of our hand and arm from the elbow joint1 it is evident that in order to do this1 we must have the conception of measure4 ,now these antecedent and most general conceptions are what is meant by the constituent forms of the ,understanding3 we call them constituent because they are not acquired by the ,understanding1 but are implied in its constitution4 ,as rationally might a circle be said to acquire a centre and circumference1 as the ,understanding to acquire these1 its inherent forms1 or ways of conceiving4 ,this is what ,leibnitz meant1 when to the old adage of the ,peripatetics1 ,nihil in intellectu quod non prius in sensu 7,there is nothing in the ,understanding not derived from the ,senses1 or--,there is nothing conceived that was not previously perceived27 he replied--prter intellectum ipsum 7except the ,understanding itself74 ,and here let me remark for once and all3 whoever would reflect to any purpose--whoever is in earnest in his pursuit of ,self-knowledge1 and of one of the principal means to this1 an insight into the meaning of the words he uses1 and the different meanings properly or improperly conveyed by one and the same word1 accordingly as it is used in the schools or the market1 accordingly as the kind or a high degree is intended 7for example1 heat1 weight1 and the like1 as employed scientifically1 compared with the same word used popularly7--whoever1 ,i say1 seriously proposes this as his object1 must so far overcome his dislike of pedantry1 and his dread of being sneered at as a pedant1 as not to quarrel with an uncouth word or phrase1 till he is quite sure that some other and more familiar one would not only have expressed the precise meaning with equal clearness1 but have been as likely to draw attention to this meaning exclusively4 ,the ordinary language of a ,philosopher in conversation or popular writings1 compared with the language he uses in strict reasoning1 is as his watch compared with the chronometer in his observatory4 ,he sets the former by the ,town-clock1 or even1 perhaps1 by the ,dutch clock in his kitchen1 not because he believes it right1 but because his neighbours and his cook go by it4 ,to afford the reader an opportunity for exercising the forbearance here recommended1 ,i turn back to the phrase1 most general conceptions1 and observe1 that in strict and severe propriety of language ,i should have said generalific or generific rather than general1 and concipiences or conceptive acts rather than conceptions4 ,it is an old complaint1 that a man of genius no sooner appears1 but the host of dunces are up in arms to repel the invading alien4 ,this observation would have made more converts to its truth1 ,i suspect1 had it been worded more dispassionately1 and with a less contemptuous antithesis4 ,for dunces1 let us substitute the many1 or the 7this world7 of the ,apostle1 and we shall perhaps find no great difficulty in accounting for the fact4 ,to arrive at the root1 indeed1 and last ground of the problem1 it would be necessary to investigate the nature and effects of the sense of difference on the human mind where it is not holden in check by reason and reflection4 ,we need not go to the savage tribes of ,north ,america1 or the yet ruder natives of the ,indian ,isles1 to learn1 how slight a degree of difference will1 in uncultivated minds1 call up a sense of diversity1 and inward perplexity and contradiction1 as if the strangers were1 and yet were not1 of the same kind with themselves4 ,who has not had occasion to observe the effect which the gesticulations and nasal tones of a ,frenchman produce on our own vulgar8 ,here we may see the origin and primary import of our unkindness4 ,it is a sense of unkind1 and not the mere negation but the positive ,opposite of the sense of kind4 ,alienation1 aggravated now by fear1 now by contempt1 and not seldom by a mixture of both1 aversion1 hatred1 enmity1 are so many successive shapes of its growth and metamorphosis4--,in application to the present case1 it is sufficient to say1 that ,pindar's remark on sweet music holds equally true of genius3 as many as are not delighted by it are disturbed1 perplexed1 irritated4 ,the beholder either recognizes it as a projected form of his own ,being1 that moves before him with a ,glory round its head1 or recoils from it as from a ,spectre4 ,but this speculation would lead me too far2 ,i must be content with having referred to it as the ultimate ground of the fact1 and pass to the more obvious and proximate causes4 ,and as the first1 ,i would rank the person's not understanding what yet he expects to understand1 and as if he had a right to do so4 ,an original mathematical work1 or any other that requires peculiar and 7so to say7 technical marks and symbols1 will excite no uneasy feelings--not in the mind of a competent reader1 for he understands it2 and not with others1 because they neither expect nor are expected to understand it4 ,the second place we may assign to the misunderstanding1 which is almost sure to follow in cases where the incompetent person1 finding no outward marks 7diagrams1 arbitrary signs1 and the like7 to inform him at first sight1 that the subject is one which he does not pretend to understand1 and to be ignorant of which does not detract from his estimation as a man of abilities generally1 will attach some meaning to what he hears or reads2 and as he is out of humour with the author1 it will most often be such a meaning as he can quarrel with and exhibit in a ridiculous or offensive point of view4 ,but above all1 the whole world almost of minds1 as far as we regard intellectual efforts1 may be divided into two classes of the ,busy-indolent and ,lazy-indolent4 ,to both alike all ,thinking is painful1 and all attempts to rouse them to think1 whether in the re-examination of their existing convictions1 or for the reception of new light1 are irritating4 ,it may all be very deep and clever2 but really one ought to be quite sure of it before one wrenches one's brain to find out what it is4 ,i take up a ,book as a ,companion1 with whom ,i can have an easy cheerful chit-chat on what we both know beforehand1 or else matters of fact4 ,in our leisure hours we have a right to relaxation and amusement4 ,well6 but in their studious hours1 when their bow is to be bent1 when they are apud ,musas1 or amidst the ,muses8 ,alas6 it is just the same6 ,the same craving for amusement1 that is1 to be away from the ,muses6 for relaxation1 that is1 the unbending of a bow which in fact had never been strung6 ,there are two ways of obtaining their applause4 ,the first is3 ,enable them to reconcile in one and the same occupation the love of ,sloth and the hatred of ,vacancy6 ,gratify indolence1 and yet save them from ennui--in plain ,english1 from themselves6 ,for1 spite of their antipathy to dry reading1 the keeping company with themselves is1 after all1 the insufferable annoyance3 and the true secret of their dislike to a work of thought and inquiry lies in its tendency to make them acquainted with their own permanent ,being4 ,the other road to their favour is1 to introduce to them their own thoughts and predilections1 tricked out in the fine language1 in which it would gratify their vanity to express them in their own conversation1 and with which they can imagine themselves showing off3 and this 7as has been elsewhere remarked7 is the characteristic difference between the second-rate writers of the last two or three generations1 and the same class under ,elizabeth and the ,stuarts4 ,in the latter we find the most far-fetched and singular thoughts in the simplest and most native language2 in the former1 the most obvious and common-place thoughts in the most far-fetched and motley language4 ,but lastly1 and as the sine qu non of their patronage1 a sufficient arc must be left for the ,reader's mind to oscillate in--freedom of choice1 ,to make the shifting cloud be what you please1 save only where the attraction of curiosity determines the line of motion4 ,the attention must not be fastened down3 and this every work of genius1 not simply narrative1 must do before it can be justly appreciated4 ,in former times a popular work meant one that adapted the results of studious meditation or scientific research to the capacity of the people1 presenting in the concrete1 by instances and examples1 what had been ascertained in the abstract and by discovery of the ,law4 ,now1 on the other hand1 that is a popular work which gives back to the people their own errors and prejudices1 and flatters the many by creating them1 under the title of ,,the ,,public1 into a supreme and inappellable ,tribunal of intellectual ,excellence4 ,p4,s4 ,in a continuous work1 the frequent insertion and length of ,notes would need an ,apology3 in a book like this of ,aphorisms and detached ,comments none is necessary1 it being understood beforehand1 that the sauce and the garnish are to occupy the greater part of the dish4 #ig ,take a familiar illustration4 ,my sight and touch convey to me a certain impression1 to which my ,understanding applies its pre-conceptions 7conceptus antecedentes et generalissimi7 of quantity and relation1 and thus refers it to the class and name of three-cornered bodies--we will suppose it the iron of a turf-spade4 ,it compares the sides1 and finds that any two measured as one are greater than the third2 and according to a law of the imagination1 there arises a presumption that in all other bodies of the same figure 7that is1 three-cornered and equilateral7 the same proportion exists4 ,after this1 the senses have been directed successively to a number of three-cornered bodies of unequal sides--and in these too the same proportion has been found without exception1 till at length it becomes a fact of experience1 that in all triangles hitherto seen1 the two sides together are greater than the third3 and there will exist no ground or analogy for anticipating an exception to a rule1 generalized from so vast a number of particular instances4 ,so far and no farther could the ,understanding carry us3 and as far as this the faculty1 judging according to sense1 conducts many of the inferior animals1 if not in the same1 yet in instances analogous and fully equivalent4 ,the ,reason supersedes the whole process1 and on the first conception presented by the ,understanding in consequence of the first sight of a tri-angular figure1 of whatever sort it might chance to be1 it affirms with an assurance incapable of future increase1 with a perfect certainty1 that in all possible triangles any two of the inclosing lines will and must be greater than the third4 ,in short1 ,understanding in its highest form of experience remains commensurate with the experimental notices of the senses from which it is generalized4 ,reason1 on the other hand1 either predetermines ,experience1 or avails itself of a past ,experience to supersede its necessity in all future time2 and affirms truths which no sense could perceive1 nor experiment verify1 nor experience confirm4 ,yea1 this is the test and character of a truth so affirmed1 that in its own proper form it is inconceivable4 ,for to conceive is a function of the ,understanding1 which can be exercised only on subjects subordinate thereto4 ,and yet to the forms of the ,understanding all truth must be reduced1 that is to be fixed as an object of reflection1 and to be rendered expressible4 ,and here we have a second test and sign of a truth so affirmed1 that it can come forth out of the moulds of the ,understanding only in the disguise of two contradictory conceptions1 each of which is partially true1 and the conjunction of both conceptions becomes the representative or expression 7the exponent7 of a truth beyond conception and inexpressible4 ,examples3 ,before ,abraham was1 ,i am4--,god is a ,circle1 the centre of which is everywhere1 and circumference nowhere4 ,the soul is all in every part4 ,if this appear extravagant1 it is an extravagance which no man can indeed learn from another1 but which1 7were this possible17 ,i might have learnt from ,plato1 ,kepler1 and ,bacon2 from ,luther1 ,hooker1 ,pascal1 ,leibnitz1 and ,fnlon4 ,but in this last paragraph ,i have1 ,i see1 unwittingly overstepped my purpose1 according to which we were to take ,reason as a simply intellectual power4 ,yet even as such1 and with all the disadvantage of a technical and arbitrary ,abstraction1 it has been made evident--#a4 that there is an ,intuition or immediate ,beholding1 accompanied by a conviction of the necessity and universality of the truth so beholden not derived from the senses1 which intuition1 when it is construed by pure sense1 gives birth to the ,science of ,mathematics1 and when applied to objects supersensuous or spiritual is the organ of ,theology and ,philosophy3--and #b4 that there is likewise a reflective and discursive faculty1 or mediate ,apprehension which1 taken by itself and uninfluenced by the former1 depends on the senses for the materials1 on which it is exercised1 and is contained within the sphere of the senses4 ,and this faculty it is1 which in generalizing the notices of the senses constitutes ,sensible ,experience1 and gives rise to ,maxims or ,rules which may become more and more general1 but can never be raised into universal ,verities1 or beget a consciousness of absolute ,certainty2 though they may be sufficient to extinguish all doubt4 7,putting ,revelation out of view1 take our first progenitor in the #ejth or #ajjth year of his existence4 ,his experience would probably have freed him from all doubt1 as the sun sank in the horizon that it would re-appear the next morning4 ,but compare this state of assurance with that which the same man would have had of the #cgth ,proposition of ,euclid1 supposing him1 like ,pythagoras1 to have discovered the ,demonstration47 ,now is it expedient1 ,i ask1 or conformable to the laws and purposes of language1 to call two so altogether disparate subjects by one and the same name8 ,or1 having two names in our language1 should we call each of the two diverse subjects by both--that is1 by either name1 as caprice might dictate8 ,if not1 then1 as we have the two words1 ,reason and ,understanding 7as indeed what language of cultivated man has not87 what should prevent us from appropriating the former to the ,power distinctive of humanity8 ,we need only place the derivatives from the two terms in opposition 7for example1 ,a and ,b are both rational beings2 but there is no comparison between them in point of intelligence2 or ,she always concludes rationally1 though not a woman of much understanding7 to see that we cannot reverse the order--i4e4 call the higher gift ,understanding1 and the lower ,reason4 ,what should prevent us8 ,i asked4 ,alas6 that which has prevented us--the cause of this confusion in the terms--is only too obvious2 namely1 inattention to the momentous distinction in the things1 and 7generally7 to the duty and habit recommended in the fifth ,introductory ,aphorism of this volume1 7see p4 #b74 ,but the cause of this1 and of all its lamentable effects and subcauses1 false doctrine1 blindness of heart and contempt of the word1 is best declared by the philosophic ,apostle3 they did not like to retain ,god in their knowledge1 7,rom4 i4#bh17 and though they could not extinguish the light that lighteth every man1 and which shone in the darkness2 yet because the darkness could not comprehend the light1 they refused to bear witness of the light1 and worshipped1 instead1 the shaping mist1 which the light had drawn upward from the ground 7that is1 from the mere animal nature and instinct71 and which that light alone had made visible1 that is1 by superinducing on the animal instinct the principle of ,self-consciousness4 ,,aphorism ,,ix4 ,in ,wonder all ,philosophy began3 in ,wonder it ends3 and ,admiration fills up the interspace4 ,but the first ,wonder is the offspring of ,ignorance3 the last is the parent of ,adoration4 ,the first is the birth-throe of our knowledge3 the last is its euthanasy and apotheosis4 ,sequel3 or ,thoughts suggested by the preceding ,aphorism4 ,as in respect of the first wonder we are all on the same level1 how comes it that the philosophic mind should1 in all ages1 be the privilege of a few8 ,the most obvious reason is this3 ,the wonder takes place before the period of reflection1 and 7with the great mass of mankind7 long before the individual is capable of directing his attention freely and consciously to the feeling1 or even to its exciting causes4 ,surprise 7the form and dress which the ,wonder of ,ignorance usually puts on7 is worn away1 if not precluded1 by custom and familiarity4 ,so is it with the objects of the senses1 and the ways and fashions of the world around us2 even as with the beat of our own hearts1 which we notice only in moments of fear and perturbation4 ,but with regard to the concerns of our inward being1 there is yet another cause that acts in concert with the power in custom to prevent a fair and equal exertion of reflective thought4 ,the great fundamental truths and doctrines of religion1 the existence and attributes of ,god1 and the life after death1 are in ,christian countries taught so early1 under such circumstances1 and in such close and vital association with whatever makes or marks reality for our infant minds1 that the words ever after represent sensations1 feelings1 vital assurances1 sense of reality--rather than thoughts1 or any distinct conception4 ,associated1 ,i had almost said identified1 with the parental voice1 look1 touch1 with the living warmth and pressure of the ,mother1 on whose lap the child is first made to kneel1 within whose palms its little hands are folded1 and the motion of whose eyes its eyes follow and imitate--7yea1 what the blue sky is to the mother1 the mother's upraised eyes and brow are to the child1 the ,type and ,symbol of an invisible ,heaven67--from within and without1 these great ,first ,truths1 these good and gracious ,tidings1 these holy and humanizing ,spells1 in the preconformity to which our very humanity may be said to consist1 are so infused1 that it were but a tame and inadequate expression to say1 we all take them for granted4 ,at a later period1 in youth or early manhood1 most of us1 indeed1 7in the higher and middle classes at least7 read or hear certain ,,proofs of these truths--which we commonly listen to1 when we listen at all1 with much the same feelings as a popular ,prince on his ,coronation ,day1 in the centre of a fond and rejoicing nation1 may be supposed to hear the ,champion's challenge to all the non-existents1 that deny or dispute his ,rights and ,royalty4 ,in fact1 the order of ,proof is most often reversed or transposed4 ,as far1 at least as ,i dare judge from the goings on in my own mind1 when with keen delight ,i first read the works of ,derham1 ,nieuwentiet1 and ,lyonet1 ,i should say1 that the full and life-like conviction of a gracious ,creator is the ,proof 7at all events1 performs the office and answers all the purpose of a ,proof7 of the wisdom and benevolence in the construction of the ,creature4 ,do ,i blame this8 ,do ,i wish it to be otherwise8 ,god forbid6 ,it is only one of its accidental1 but too frequent consequences1 of which ,i complain1 and against which ,i protest4 ,i regret nothing that tends to make the ,light become the ,life of men1 even as the ,life in the eternal ,word is their only and single true light4 ,but ,i do regret1 that in after years--when by occasion of some new dispute on some old heresy1 or any other accident1 the attention has for the first time been distinctly attracted to the super-structure raised on these fundamental truths1 or to truths of later revelation supplemental of these and not less important--all the doubts and difficulties1 that cannot but arise where the ,understanding1 the mind of the flesh1 is made the measure of spiritual things2 all the sense of strangeness and seeming contradiction in terms2 all the marvel and the mystery1 that belong equally to both1 are first thought of and applied in objection exclusively to the latter4 ,i would disturb no man's faith in the great articles of the 7falsely so called7 ,religion of ,nature4 ,but before the man rejects1 and calls on other men to reject1 the revelations of the ,gospel and the ,religion of all ,christendom1 ,i would have him place himself in the state and under all the privations of a ,simonides1 when in the fortieth day of his meditation the sage and philosophic poet abandoned the problem in despair4 ,ever and anon he seemed to have hold of the truth2 but when he asked himself what he meant by it1 it escaped from him1 or resolved itself into meanings1 that destroyed each other4 ,i would have the sceptic1 while yet a sceptic only1 seriously consider whether a doctrine1 of the truth of which a ,socrates could obtain no other assurance than what he derived from his strong wish that it should be true2 and which ,plato found a mystery hard to discover1 and when discovered1 communicable only to the fewest of men2 can1 consonantly with history or common sense1 be classed among the articles1 the belief of which is ensured to all men by their mere common sense8 ,whether1 without gross outrage to fact1 they can be said to constitute a ,religion of ,nature1 or a ,natural ,theology antecedent to ,revelation1 or superseding its necessity8 ,yes6 in prevention 7for there is little chance1 ,i fear1 of a cure7 of the pugnacious dogmatism of partial reflection1 ,i would prescribe to every man1 who feels a commencing alienation from the ,catholic ,faith1 and whose studies and attainments authorise him to argue on the subject at all1 a patient and thoughtful perusal of the arguments and representations which ,bayle supposes to have passed through the mind of ,simonides4 ,or ,i should be fully satisfied if ,i could induce these eschewers of mystery to give a patient1 manly1 and impartial perusal to the single ,treatise of ,pomponatius1 ,de ,fato4#ih ,when they have fairly and satisfactorily overthrown the objections and cleared away the difficulties urged by this sharp-witted ,italian against the doctrines which they profess to retain1 then let them commence their attack on those which they reject4 ,as far as the supposed irrationality of the latter is the ground of argument1 ,i am much deceived if1 on reviewing their forces1 they would not find the ranks woefully thinned by the success of their own fire in the preceding engagement--unless1 indeed1 by pure heat of controversy1 and to storm the lines of their antagonists1 they can bring to life again the arguments which they had themselves killed off in the defence of their own positions4 ,in vain shall we seek for any other mode of meeting the broad facts of the scientific ,epicurean1 or the requisitions and queries of the all-analysing ,pyrrhonist1 than by challenging the tribunal to which they appeal1 as incompetent to try the question4 ,in order to non-suit the infidel plaintiff1 we must remove the cause from the faculty1 that judges according to sense1 and whose judgments1 therefore1 are valid only on objects of sense1 to the ,superior ,courts of ,conscience and intuitive ,reason6 ,the words ,i speak unto you1 are ,spirit1 and such only are life1 that is1 have an inward and actual power abiding in them4 ,but the same truth is at once shield and bow4 ,the shaft of ,atheism glances aside from it to strike and pierce the breast-plate of the heretic4 ,well for the latter1 if plucking the weapon from the wound he recognizes an arrow from his own quiver1 and abandons a cause that connects him with such confederates6 ,without further rhetoric1 the sum and substance of the argument is this3--an insight into the proper functions and subaltern rank of the ,understanding may not1 indeed1 disarm the ,psilanthropist of his metaphorical glosses1 or of his versions fresh from the forge1 and with no other stamp than the private mark of the individual manufacturer2 but it will deprive him of the only rational pretext for having recourse to tools so liable to abuse1 and of such perilous example4 ,,comment4 ,since the preceding pages were composed1 and during an interim of depression and disqualification1 ,i heard with a delight and an interest1 that ,i might without hyperbole call medicinal1 that the contra-distinction of ,understanding from ,reason1 for which during twenty years ,i have been contending1 casting my bread upon the waters with a perseverance1 which in the existing state of the public taste nothing but the deepest conviction of its importance could have inspired--has been lately adopted and sanctioned by the present distinguished ,professor of ,anatomy1 in the ,course of ,lectures given by him at the ,royal ,college of ,surgeons1 on the zoological part of ,natural ,history2 and1 if ,i am rightly informed1 in one of the eloquent and impressive introductory ,discourses4#ii ,in explaining the ,nature of ,instinct1 as deduced from the actions and tendencies of animals successively presented to the observation of the comparative physiologist in the ascending scale of organic life--or rather1 ,i should have said1 in an attempt to determine that precise import of the term1 which is required by the facts#ajj--the ,professor explained the nature of what ,i have elsewhere called the adaptive power1 that is1 the faculty of adapting means to proximate ends4 ,n4 ,b4 ,i mean here a relative end--that which relatively to one thing is an end1 though relatively to some other it is in itself a mean4 ,it is to be regretted1 that we have no single word to express those ends1 that are not the end3 for the distinction between those and an end in the proper sense of the term is an important one4 ,the ,professor1 ,i say1 not only explained1 first1 the nature of the adaptive power in genere1 and1 secondly1 the distinct character of the same power as it exists specifically and exclusively in the human being1 and acquires the name of ,understanding2 but he did it in a way which gave the whole sum and substance of my convictions1 of all ,i had so long wished1 and so often1 but with such imperfect success1 attempted to convey1 free from all semblance of paradoxy1 and from all occasion of offence--omnem offendiculi#aja ansam prcidens4 ,it is1 indeed1 for the fragmentary reader only that ,i have any scruple4 ,in those who have had the patience to accompany me so far on the up-hill road to manly principles1 ,i can have no reason to guard against that disposition to hasty offence from anticipation of consequences1--that faithless and loveless spirit of fear which plunged ,galileo into a prison#ajb--;a spirit most unworthy of an educated man1 who ought to have learnt that the mistakes of scientific men have never injured ,christianity1 while every new truth discovered by them has either added to its evidence1 or prepared the mind for its reception4 ,on ,instinct in ,connection with the ,understanding4 ,it is evident1 that the definition of a ,genus or class is an adequate definition only of the lowest species of that ,genus3 for each higher species is distinguished from the lower by some additional character1 while the general definition includes only the characters common to all the species4 ,consequently it describes the lowest only4 ,now ,i distinguish a genus or kind of ,powers under the name of ,adaptive power1 and give as its generic definition--the power of selecting1 and adapting means to proximate ends2 and as an instance of the lowest species of this genus1 ,i take the stomach of a caterpillar4 ,i ask myself1 under what words ,i can generalize the action of this organ2 and ,i see1 that it selects and adapts the appropriate means 7that is1 the assimilable part of the vegetable congesta7 to the proximate end1 that is1 the growth or reproduction of the insect's body4 ,this we call ,,vital ,,power1 or vita propria of the stomach2 and this being the lowest species1 its definition is the same with the definition of the kind4 ,well6 from the power of the stomach1 ,i pass to the power exerted by the whole animal4 ,i trace it wandering from spot to spot1 and plant to plant1 till it finds the appropriate vegetable2 and again on this chosen vegetable1 ,i mark it seeking out and fixing on the part of the plant1 bark1 leaf1 or petal1 suited to its nourishment3 or 7should the animal have assumed the butterfly form71 to the deposition of its eggs1 and the sustentation of the future larva4 ,here ,i see a power of selecting and adapting means to proximate ends according to circumstances3 and this higher species of ,adaptive ,power we call ,,instinct4 ,lastly1 ,i reflect on the facts narrated and described in the preceding extracts from ,hber1 and see a power of selecting and adapting the proper means to the proximate ends1 according to varying circumstances4 ,and what shall we call this yet higher species8 ,we name the former1 ,instinct3 we must call this ,,instinctive ,,intelligence4 ,here then we have three ,powers of the same kind2 ,life1 ,instinct1 and instinctive ,intelligence3 the essential characters that define the genus existing equally in all three4 ,but in addition to these1 ,i find one other character common to the highest and lowest3 namely1 that the purposes are all manifestly predetermined by the peculiar organization of the animals2 and though it may not be possible to discover any such immediate dependency in all the actions1 yet the actions being determined by the purposes1 the result is equivalent3 and both the actions and the purposes are all in a necessitated reference to the preservation and continuance of the particular animal or the progeny4 ,there is selection1 but not choice3 volition rather than will4 ,the possible knowledge of a thing1 or the desire to have that thing representable by a distinct correspondent thought1 does not1 in the animal1 suffice to render the thing an object1 or the ground of a purpose4 ,i select and adapt the proper means to the separation of a stone from a rock1 which ,i neither can1 or desire to make use of1 for food1 shelter1 or ornament3 because1 perhaps1 ,i wish to measure the angles of its primary crystals1 or1 perhaps1 for no better reason than the apparent difficulty of loosening the stone--sit pro ratione voluntas--and thus make a motive out of the absence of all motive1 and a reason out of the arbitrary will to act without any reason4 ,now what is the conclusion from these premises8 ,evidently this3 that if ,i suppose the ,adaptive ,power in its highest species1 or form of ,instinctive ,intelligence1 to co-exist with ,reason1 ,free will1 and ,self-consciousness1 it instantly becomes ,,understanding3 in other words1 that ,understanding differs indeed from the noblest form of ,instinct1 but not in itself or in its own essential properties1 but in consequence of its co-existence with far higher ,powers of a diverse kind in one and the same subject4 ,,instinct in a rational1 responsible1 and self-conscious ,animal1 is ,understanding4 ,such ,i apprehend to have been the ,professor's view and ,exposition of ,instinct--and in confirmation of its truth1 ,i would merely request my readers1 from the numerous well-authenticated instances on record1 to recall some one of the extraordinary actions of dogs for the preservation of their masters' lives1 and even for the avenging of their deaths4 ,in these instances we have the third species of the ,adaptive ,power1 in connexion with an apparently moral end--with an end in the proper sense of the word4 ,here the ,adaptive ,power co-exists with a purpose apparently voluntary1 and the action seems neither pre-determined by the organization of the animal1 nor in any direct reference to his own preservation1 or to the continuance of his race4 ,it is united with an imposing semblance of gratitude1 fidelity1 and disinterested love4 ,we not only value the faithful brute3 we attribute worth to him4 ,this1 ,i admit1 is a problem1 of which ,i have no solution to offer4 ,one of the wisest of uninspired men has not hesitated to declare the dog a great mystery1 on account of this dawning of a moral nature unaccompanied by any the least evidence of reason1 in whichever of the two senses we interpret the word--whether as the practical reason1 that is1 the power of proposing an ultimate end1 the determinability of the ,will by ,,ideas2 or as the sciential reason1 that is1 the faculty of concluding universal and necessary truths from particular and contingent appearances4 ,but in a question respecting the possession of reason1 the absence of all truth is tantamount to a proof of the contrary4 ,it is1 however1 by no means equally clear to me1 that the dog may not possess an analogon of ,,words1 which ,i have elsewhere shown to be the proper objects of the faculty1 judging according to sense4 ,but to return to my purpose3 ,i intreat the reader to reflect on any one fact of this kind1 whether occurring in his own experience1 or selected from the numerous anecdotes of the dog preserved in the writings of zoologists4 ,i will then confidently appeal to him1 whether it is in his power not to consider the faculty displayed in these actions as the same in kind with the ,understanding1 however inferior in degree4--,or should he even in these instances prefer calling it ,instinct1 and this in contra-distinction from ,understanding1 ,i call on him to point out the boundary between the two1 the chasm or partition-wall that divides or separates the one from the other4 ,if he can1 he will have done what none before him have been able to do1 though many and eminent men have tried hard for it3 and my recantation shall be among the first trophies of his success4 ,if he cannot1 ,i must infer that he is controlled by his dread of the consequences1 by an apprehension of some injury resulting to ,religion or ,morality from this opinion2 and ,i shall console myself with the hope1 that in the sequel of this work he will find proofs of the directly contrary tendency4--,not only is this view of the ,understanding1 as differing in degree from ,instinct and in kind from ,reason1 innocent in its possible influences on the religious character1 but it is an indispensable preliminary to the removal of the most formidable obstacles to an intelligent ,belief of the peculiar doctrines of the ,gospel1 of the characteristic ,articles of the ,christian ,faith1 with which the ,advocates of the truth in ,christ have to contend2--the evil heart of ,unbelief alone excepted4 #ih ,the philosopher1 whom the ,inquisition would have burnt alive as an atheist1 had not ,leo ,x4 and ,cardinal ,bembo decided that the work might be formidable to those semi-pagan ,christians who regarded ,revelation as a mere make-weight to their boasted ,religion of ,nature2 but contained nothing dangerous to the ,catholic ,church or offensive to a true believer4 ,he was born in #adfb1 and died in #aebe4--;,h4 ,n4 ,c4 #ii ,a discourse by ,prof4 ,j4 ,h4 ,green4 ,this1 ,on ,instinct1 was afterwards printed by ,prof4 ,green with his ',vital ,dynamics1' #ahdj4 ,we give it as so published in the ,appendix to the present edition2 though1 of course1 the report1 apparently verbal1 on which ,coleridge's remarks of #ahbe are founded1 may have differed somewhat from the ,professor's text as published in #ahdj4--;,,ed4 #ajj ,the word1 ,instinct1 brings together a number of facts into one class by the assertion of a common ground1 the nature of which ground it determines negatively only--that is1 the word does not explain what this common ground is2 but simply indicates that there is such a ground1 and that it is different in kind from that in which the responsible and consciously voluntary actions of men originate4 ,thus1 in its true and primary import1 ,instinct stands in antithesis to ,reason2 and the perplexity and contradictory statements into which so many meritorious naturalists1 and popular writers on natural history 7,priscilla ,wakefield1 ,kirby1 ,spence1 ,hber1 and even ,reimarus7 have fallen on this subject1 arise wholly from their taking the word in opposition to ,understanding4 ,i notice this1 because ,i would not lose any opportunity of impressing on the mind of my youthful readers the important truth that language 7as the embodied and articulated ,spirit of the ,race1 as the growth and emanation of a ,people1 and not the work of any individual wit or will7 is often inadequate1 sometimes deficient1 but never false or delusive4 ,we have only to master the true origin and original import of any native and abiding word1 to find in it1 if not the solution of the facts expressed by it1 yet a finger-mark pointing to the road on which this solution is to be sought4 #aja ,neque quiquam addubito1 quin ea candidis omnibus faciat satis4 ,quid autem facias istis qui vel ob ingenii pertinaciam sibi satisfieri nolint1 vel stupidiores sint quam ut satisfactionem intelligant8 ,nam quemadmodum ,simonides dixit1 ,thessalos hebetiores esse quam ut possint a se decipi1 ita quosdam videas stupidiores quam ut placari queant4 ,adhuc non mirum est invenire quod calumnietur qui nihil aliud qurit nisi quod calumnietur4 7,erasmi ,epist4 ad ,dorpium47 ,at all events1 the paragraph passing through the medium of my own prepossessions1 if any fault be found with it1 the fault probably1 and the blame certainly1 belongs to the reporter4 #ajb ,and which 7,i may add7 in a more enlightened age1 and in a ,protestant country1 impelled more than one ,german ,university to anathematize ,fr4 ,hoffman's discovery of carbonic acid gas1 and of its effects on animal life1 as hostile to religion1 and tending to atheism6 ,three or four students at the university of ,jena1 in the attempt to raise a spirit for the discovery of a supposed hidden treasure1 were strangled or poisoned by the fumes of the charcoal they had been burning in a close garden-house of a vineyard near ,jena1 while employed in their magic fumigations and charms4 ,one only was restored to life3 and from his account of the noises and spectres 7in his ears and eyes7 as he was losing his senses1 it was taken for granted that the bad spirit had destroyed them4 ,frederic ,hoffman admitted that it was a very bad spirit that had tempted them1 the ,spirit of ,avarice and ,folly2 and that a very noxious ,spirit 7gas1 or geist17 was the immediate cause of their death4 ,but he contended that this latter spirit was the spirit of charcoal1 which would have produced the same effect1 had the young men been chaunting psalms instead of incantations3 and acquitted the devil of all direct concern in the business4 ,the ,theological ,faculty took the alarm3 even physicians pretended to be horror-stricken at ,hoffman's audacity4 ,the controversy and its appendages embittered several years of this great and good man's life4 ,reflections ,introductory to ,aphorism ,x4 ,the most momentous question a man can ask is1 ,have ,i a ,saviour8 ,and yet as far as the individual querist is concerned1 it is premature and to no purpose1 unless another question has been previously put and answered1 7alas6 too generally put after the wounded conscience has already given the answer67 namely1 ,have ,i any need of a ,saviour8 ,for him who needs none1 7,o bitter irony of the evil ,spirit1 whose whispers the proud ,soul takes for its own thoughts1 and knows not how the ,tempter is scoffing the while67 there is none1 as long as he feels no need4 ,on the other hand1 it is scarcely possible to have answered this question in the affirmative1 and not ask--first1 in what the necessity consists8 secondly1 whence it proceeded8 and1 thirdly1 how far the answer to this second question is or is not contained in the answer to the first8 ,i intreat the intelligent reader1 who has taken me as his temporary guide on the straight1 but yet1 from the number of cross roads1 difficult way of religious ,inquiry1 to halt a moment1 and consider the main points1 that1 in this last division of my work1 have been already offered for his reflection4 ,i have attempted then to fix the proper meaning of the words1 ,nature and ,spirit1 the one being the antithesis to the other3 so that the most general and negative definition of ,nature is1 ,whatever is not ,spirit2 and vice vers of ,spirit1 ,that which is not comprehended in ,nature3 or in the language of our elder divines1 that which transcends ,nature4 ,but nature is the term in which we comprehend all things that are representable in the forms of time and space1 and subjected to the relations of cause and effect3 and the cause of the existence of which1 therefore1 is to be sought for perpetually in something antecedent4 ,the word itself expresses this in the strongest manner possible3 ,natura1 that which is about to be born1 that which is always becoming4 ,it follows1 therefore1 that whatever originates its own acts1 or in any sense contains in itself the cause of its own state1 must be spiritual1 and consequently super-natural3 yet not on that account necessarily miraculous4 ,and such must the responsible ,,will in us be1 if it be at all4 ,a prior step had been to remove all misconceptions from the subject2 to show the reasonableness of a belief in the reality and real influence of a universal and divine ,spirit2 the compatibility and possible communion of such a ,spirit with the ,spiritual principle in individuals2 and the analogy offered by the most undeniable truths of ,natural ,philosophy4#ajc ,these views of the ,spirit1 and of the ,will as ,spiritual1 form the ground-work of my scheme4 ,among the numerous corollaries or appendents1 the first that presented itself respects the question1 ,whether there is any faculty in man by which a knowledge of spiritual truths1 or of any truths not abstracted from nature1 is rendered possible8 and an ,answer is attempted in the ,comment on ,aphorism ,,viii4 ,and here ,i beg leave to remark1 that in this comment the only novelty1 and1 if there be merit1 the only merit is--that there being two very different ,meanings1 and two different ,words1 ,i have here and in former ,works appropriated one meaning to one of the ,words1 and the other to the other--instead of using the words indifferently and by haphazard3 a confusion1 the ill effects of which in this instance are so great and of such frequent occurrence in the works of our ablest philosophers and divines1 that ,i should select it before all others in proof of ,hobbes's ,maxim3--that it is a short1 downhill passage from errors in words to errors in things4 ,the difference of the ,reason from the ,understanding1 and the imperfection and limited sphere of the latter1 have been asserted by many both before and since ,lord ,bacon2#ajd but still the habit of using ,reason and ,understanding as synonyms1 acted as a disturbing force4 ,some it led into mysticism1 others it set on explaining away a clear difference in kind into a mere superiority in degree3 and it partially eclipsed the truth for all4 ,in close connexion with this1 and therefore forming the ,comment on the ,aphorism next following1 is the subject of the legitimate exercise of the ,understanding and its limitation to ,objects of ,sense2 with the errors both of unbelief and of misbelief1 which result from its extension beyond the sphere of possible ,experience4 ,wherever the forms of reasoning appropriate only to the natural world are applied to spiritual realities1 it may be truly said1 that the more strictly logical the reasoning is in all its parts1 the more irrational it is as a whole4 ,to the reader thus armed and prepared1 ,i now venture to present the so called mysteries of ,faith1 that is1 the peculiar tenets and especial constituents of ,christianity1 or ,religion in spirit and in truth4 ,in right order ,i must have commenced with the ,articles of the ,trinity and ,apostacy1 including the question respecting the ,origin of ,evil1 and the ,incarnation of the ,,word4 ,and could ,i have followed this order1 some difficulties that now press on me would have been obviated4--,but 7as has already been explained7 the limits of the present volume rendered it alike impracticable and inexpedient2 for the necessity of my argument would have called forth certain hard though most true sayings1 respecting the hollowness and tricksy sophistry of the so called ,natural ,theology1 ,religion of ,nature1 ,light of ,nature1 and the like1 which a brief exposition could not save from innocent misconceptions1 much less protect against plausible misinterpretation4--,and yet both ,reason and ,experience have convinced me1 that in the greater number of our ,,alogi1 who feed on the husks of ,christianity1 the disbelief of the ,trinity1 the ,divinity of ,christ included1 has its origin and support in the assumed self-evidence of this ,natural ,theology1 and in their ignorance of the insurmountable difficulties which 7on the same mode of reasoning7 press upon the fundamental articles of their own ,remnant of a ,creed4 ,but arguments1 which would prove the falsehood of a known truth1 must themselves be false1 and can prove the falsehood of no other position in eodem genere4 ,this hint ,i have thrown out as a spark that may perhaps fall where it will kindle4 ,and worthily might the wisest of men make inquisition into the three momentous points here spoken of1 for the purposes of speculative insight1 and for the formation of enlarged and systematic views of the destination of man1 and the dispensation of ,god4 ,but the practical ,inquirer 7,i speak not of those who inquire for the gratification of curiosity1 and still less of those who labour as students only to shine as disputants2 but of one1 who seeks the truth1 because he feels the want of it17 the practical ,inquirer1 ,i say1 hath already placed his foot on the rock1 if he have satisfied himself that whoever needs not a ,redeemer is more than human4 ,remove for him the difficulties and objections1 that oppose or perplex his belief of a crucified ,saviour2 convince him of the reality of sin1 which is impossible without a knowledge of its true nature and inevitable consequences2 and then satisfy him as to the fact historically1 and as to the truth spiritually1 of a redemption therefrom by ,christ2 do this for him1 and there is little fear that he will permit either logical quirks or metaphysical puzzles to contravene the plain dictate of his common sense1 that the ,sinless ,one that redeemed mankind from sin1 must have been more than man2 and that ,he who brought ,light and ,immortality into the world1 could not in his own nature have been an inheritor of ,death and ,darkness4 ,it is morally impossible that a man with these convictions should suffer the objection of ,incomprehensibility 7and this on a subject of ,faith7 to overbalance the manifest absurdity and contradiction in the notion of a mediator between ,god and the human race1 at the same infinite distance from ,god as the race for whom he mediates4 ,the origin of evil1 meanwhile1 is a question interesting only to the metaphysician1 and in a system of moral and religious philosophy4 ,the man of sober mind1 who seeks for truths that possess a moral and practical interest1 is content to be certain1 first1 that evil must have had a beginning1 since otherwise it must either be ,god1 or a co-eternal and co-equal rival of ,god2 both impious notions1 and the latter foolish to boot3--secondly1 that it could not originate in ,god2 for if so1 it would be at once evil and not evil1 or ,god would be at once ,god 7that is1 infinite ,goodness7 and not ,god--both alike impossible positions4 ,instead therefore of troubling himself with this barren controversy1 he more profitably turns his inquiries to that evil which most concerns himself1 and of which he may find the origin4 ,the entire ,scheme of necessary ,faith may be reduced to two heads2--first1 the object and occasion1 and1 secondly1 the fact and effect1--of our redemption by ,christ3 and to this view does the order of the following ,comments correspond4 ,i have begun with ,,original ,,sin1 and proceeded in the following ,aphorism to the doctrine of ,redemption4 ,the ,comments on the remaining ,aphorisms are all subsidiary to these1 or written in the hope of making the minor tenets of general belief be believed in a spirit worthy of these4 ,they are1 in short1 intended to supply a febrifuge against aguish scruples and horrors1 the hectic of the soul2--and for servile and thrall-like fear to substitute that adoptive and cheerful boldness1 which our new alliance with ,god requires of us as ,christians4 7,milton47 ,,not the ,origin of ,evil1 ,,not the ,chronology of ,sin1 or the chronicles of the original ,sinner2 but ,sin originant1 underived from without1 and no passive link in the adamantine chain of ,effects1 each of which is in its turn an instrument of ,causation1 but no one of them a ,cause2--,,not with ,sin inflicted1 which would be a ,calamity2--,,not with ,sin 7that is1 an evil tendency7 implanted1 for which let the planter be responsible2 but ,i begin with ,original ,sin4 ,and for this purpose ,i have selected the ,aphorism from the ablest and most formidable antagonist of this doctrine1 ,bishop ,,jeremy ,,taylor1 and from the most eloquent work of this most eloquent of divines4#ajf ,had ,i said1 of men1 ,cicero would forgive me1 and ,demosthenes nod assent6#ajg ,,aphorism ,x4 ,on ,original ,sin4 ,,jeremy ,,taylor4 ,is there any such thing8 ,that is not the question4 ,for it is a fact acknowledged on all hands almost3 and even those who will not confess it in words1 confess it in their complaints4 ,for my part ,i cannot but confess that to be1 which ,i feel and groan under1 and by which all the world is miserable4 ,adam turned his back on the sun1 and dwelt in the dark and the shadow4 ,he sinned1 and brought evil into his supernatural endowments1 and lost the ,sacrament and ,instrument of ,immortality1 the ,tree of ,life in the centre of the garden4#ajh ,he then fell under the evils of a sickly body1 and a passionate and ignorant soul4 ,his sin made him sickly1 his sickness made him peevish3 his sin left him ignorant1 his ignorance made him foolish and unreasonable4 ,his sin left him to his nature3 and by nature1 whoever was to be born at all1 was to be born a child1 and to do before he could understand1 and to be bred under laws to which he was always bound1 but which could not always be exacted2 and he was to choose when he could not reason1 and had passions most strong when he had his understanding most weak2 and the more need he had of a curb1 the less strength he had to use it6 ,and this being the case of all the world1 what was every man's evil became all men's greater evil2 and though alone it was very bad1 yet when they came together it was made much worse4 ,like ships in a storm1 every one alone hath enough to do to outride it2 but when they meet1 besides the evils of the storm1 they find the intolerable calamity of their mutual concussion2 and every ship that is ready to be oppressed with the tempest1 is a worse tempest to every vessel against which it is violently dashed4 ,so it is in mankind4 ,every man hath evil enough of his own1 and it is hard for a man to live up to the rule of his own reason and conscience4 ,but when he hath parents and children1 friends and enemies1 buyers and sellers1 lawyers and clients1 a family and a neighbourhood--then it is that every man dashes against another1 and one relation requires what another denies2 and when one speaks another will contradict him2 and that which is well spoken is sometimes innocently mistaken2 and that upon a good cause produces an evil effect2 and by these1 and ten thousand other concurrent causes1 man is made more than most miserable4#aji ,,comment4 ,the first question we should put to ourselves1 when we have to read a passage that perplexes us in a work of authority1 is2 ,what does the writer mean by all this8 ,and the second question should be1 ,what does he intend by all this8 ,in the passage before us1 ,taylor's meaning is not quite clear4 ,a sin is an evil which has its ground or origin in the agent1 and not in the compulsion of circumstances4 ,circumstances are compulsory from the absence of a power to resist or control them3 and if this absence likewise be the effect of ,circumstance 7that is1 if it have been neither directly nor indirectly caused by the agent himself7 the evil derives from the circumstances2 and therefore 7in the ,apostle's sense of the word1 sin1 when he speaks of the exceeding sinfulness of sin7 such evil is not sin2 and the person who suffers it1 or who is the compelled instrument of its infliction on others1 may feel regret1 but cannot feel remorse4 ,so likewise of the word origin1 original1 or originant4 ,the reader cannot too early be warned that it is not applicable1 and1 without abuse of language1 can never be applied1 to a mere link in a chain of effects1 where each1 indeed1 stands in the relation of a cause to those that follow1 but is at the same time the effect of all that precede4 ,for in these cases a cause amounts to little more than an antecedent4 ,at the utmost it means only a conductor of the causative influence2 and the old axiom1 causa caus causa causati1 applies1 with a never-ending regress to each several link1 up the whole chain of nature4 ,but this is ,nature3 and no natural thing or act can be called originant1 or be truly said to have an origin#aaj in any other4 ,the moment we assume an origin in nature1 a true beginning1 an actual first--that moment we rise above nature1 and are compelled to assume a supernatural power4 7,gen4 i4 #a47 ,it will be an equal convenience to myself and to my readers1 to let it be agreed between us1 that we will generalize the word ,circumstance1 so as to understand by it1 as often as it occurs in this ,comment1 all and every thing not connected with the ,will1 past or present1 of a ,free ,agent4 ,even though it were the blood in the chambers of his heart1 or his own inmost sensations1 we will regard them as circumstantial1 extrinsic1 or from without4 ,in this sense of the word ,original1 and in the sense before given of ,sin1 it is evident that the phrase1 original sin1 is a pleonasm1 the epithet not adding to the thought1 but only enforcing it4 ,for if it be sin1 it must be original2 and a state or act1 that has not its origin in the will1 may be calamity1 deformity1 disease1 or mischief2 but a sin it cannot be4 ,it is not enough that the act appears voluntary1 or that it is intentional2 or that it has the most hateful passions or debasing appetite for its proximate cause and accompaniment4 ,all these may be found in a mad-house1 where neither law nor humanity permit us to condemn the actor of sin4 ,the reason of law declares the maniac not a free-agent2 and the verdict follows of course--,not guilty4 ,now mania1 as distinguished from idiocy1 frenzy1 delirium1 hypochondria1 and derangement 7the last term used specifically to express a suspension or disordered state of the understanding or adaptive power7 is the occultation or eclipse of reason1 as the power of ultimate ends4 ,the maniac1 it is well known1 is often found clever and inventive in the selection and adaptation of means to his ends2 but his ends are madness4 ,he has lost his reason4 ,for though ,reason1 in finite ,beings1 is not the ,will--or how could the ,will be opposed to the ,reason8--yet it is the condition1 the sine qua non of a ,free-will4 ,we will now return to the extract from ,jeremy ,taylor on a theme of deep interest in itself1 and trebly important from its bearings4 ,for without just and distinct views respecting the ,article of ,original ,sin1 it is impossible to understand aright any one of the peculiar doctrines of ,christianity4 ,now my first complaint is1 that the eloquent ,bishop1 while he admits the fact as established beyond controversy by universal experience1 yet leaves us wholly in the dark as to the main point1 supplies us with no answer to the principal question--why he names it ,original ,sin4 ,it cannot be said1 ,we know what the ,bishop means1 and what matters the name8 for the nature of the fact1 and in what light it should be regarded by us1 depends on the nature of our answer to the question1 whether ,original ,sin is or is not the right and proper designation4 ,i can imagine the same quantum of sufferings1 and yet if ,i had reason to regard them as symptoms of a commencing change1 as pains of growth1 the temporary deformity and misproportions of immaturity1 or 7as in the final sloughing of the caterpillar7 the throes and struggles of the waxing or evolving ,,psyche1 ,i should think it no ,stoical flight to doubt1 how far ,i was authorized to declare the ,circumstance an evil at all4 ,most assuredly ,i would not express or describe the fact as an evil having an origin in the sufferers themselves or as sin4 ,let us1 however1 waive this objection4 ,let it be supposed that the ,bishop uses the word in a different and more comprehensive sense1 and that by sin he understands evil of all kind connected with or resulting from actions--though ,i do not see how we can represent the properties even of inanimate bodies 7of poisonous substances for instance7 except as acts resulting from the constitution of such bodies4 ,or if this sense1 though not unknown to the ,mystic divines1 should be too comprehensive and remote1 we will suppose the ,bishop to comprise under the term sin1 the evil accompanying or consequent on human actions and purposes3--though here too1 ,i have a right to be informed1 for what reason and on what grounds ,sin is thus limited to human agency8 ,and truly1 ,i should be at no loss to assign the reason4 ,but then this reason would instantly bring me back to my first definition2 and any other reason1 than that the human agent is endowed with ,reason1 and with a ,will which can place itself either in subjection or in opposition to his ,reason--in other words1 that man is alone of all known animals a responsible creature--,i neither know nor can imagine4 ,thus1 then1 the sense which ,taylor--and with him the antagonists generally of this ,article as propounded by the first ,reformers--attaches to the words1 ,original ,sin1 needs only be carried on into its next consequence1 and it will be found to imply the sense which ,i have given--namely1 that ,sin is ,evil having an ,origin4 ,but inasmuch as it is evil1 in ,god it cannot originate3 and yet in some ,spirit 7that is1 in some supernatural power7 it must4 ,for in ,nature there is no origin4 ,sin therefore is spiritual ,evil3 but the spiritual in man is the ,will4 ,now when we do not refer to any particular sins1 but to that state and constitution of the ,will1 which is the ground1 condition1 and common ,cause of all ,sins2 and when we would further express the truth1 that this corrupt nature of the ,will must in some sense or other be considered as its own act1 that the corruption must have been self-originated2--in this case and for this purpose we may1 with no less propriety than force1 entitle this dire spiritual evil and source of all evil1 that is absolutely such1 ,original ,sin4 ,i have said1 the corrupt nature of the ,will4 ,i might add1 that the admission of a nature into a spiritual essence by its own act is a corruption4 ,such1 ,i repeat1 would be the inevitable conclusion1 if ,taylor's sense of the term were carried on into its immediate consequences4 ,but the whole of his most eloquent ,treatise makes it certain that ,taylor did not carry it on3 and consequently ,original ,sin1 according to his conception1 is a calamity which being common to all men must be supposed to result from their common nature3 in other words1 the universal ,calamity of ,human ,nature4 ,can we wonder1 then1 that a mind1 a heart like ,taylor's should reject1 that he should strain his faculties to explain away1 the belief that this calamity1 so dire in itself1 should appear to the ,all-merciful ,god a rightful cause and motive for inflicting on the wretched sufferers a calamity infinitely more tremendous2 nay1 that it should be incompatible with ,divine ,justice not to punish it by everlasting torment8 ,or need we be surprised if he found nothing that could reconcile his mind to such a belief1 in the circumstance that the acts now consequent on this calamity and either directly or indirectly effects of the same1 were1 five or six thousand years ago in the instance of a certain individual and his accomplice1 anterior to the calamity1 and the ,cause or ,occasion of the same2--that what in all other men is disease1 in these two persons was guilt2--that what in us is hereditary1 and consequently nature1 in them was original1 and consequently sin8 ,lastly1 might it not be presumed1 that so enlightened1 and at the same time so affectionate1 a divine1 would even fervently disclaim and reject the pretended justifications of ,god grounded on flimsy analogies drawn from the imperfections of human ordinances and human justice-courts--some of very doubtful character even as human institutes1 and all of them just only as far as they are necessary1 and rendered necessary chiefly by the weakness and wickedness1 the limited powers and corrupt passions1 of mankind8 ,the more confidently might this be presumed of so acute and practised a logician1 as ,taylor1 in addition to his other extraordinary gifts1 is known to have been1 when it is demonstrable that the most current of these justifications rests on a palpable equivocation3 namely1 the gross misuse of the word right4#aaa ,an instance will explain my meaning4 ,in as far as1 from the known frequency of dishonest or mischievious persons1 it may have been found necessary1 in so far is the law justifiable in giving landowners the right of proceeding against a neighbour or fellow-citizen for even a slight trespass on that which the law has made their property3--nay1 of proceeding in sundry instances criminally and even capitally4 ,but surely1 either there is no religion in the world1 and nothing obligatory in the precepts of the ,gospel1 or there are occasions in which it would be very wrong in the proprietor to exercise the right1 which yet it may be highly expedient that he should possess4 ,on this ground it is1 that ,religion is the sustaining opposite of ,law4 ,that ,taylor1 therefore1 should have striven fervently against the ,article so interpreted and so vindicated1 is1 7for me1 at least7 a subject neither of surprise nor of complaint4 ,it is the doctrine which he substitutes1 it is the weakness and inconsistency betrayed in the defence of this substitute2 it is the unfairness with which he blackens the established ,article--for to give it1 as it has been caricatured by a few ,ultra-,calvinists during the fever of the 7so called7 ,quinquarticular controversy1 was in effect to blacken it--and then imposes another scheme1 to which the same objections apply with even increased force1 a scheme which seems to differ from the former only by adding fraud and mockery to injustice2 these are the things that excite my wonder2 it is of these that ,i complain4 ,for what does the ,bishop's scheme amount to8--,god1 he tells us1 required of ,adam a perfect obedience1 and made it possible by endowing him with perfect rectitudes and super-natural heights of grace proportionate to the obedience which he required4 ,as a consequence of his disobedience1 ,adam lost this rectitude1 this perfect sanity and proportionateness of his intellectual1 moral and corporeal state1 powers and impulses2 and as the penalty of his crime1 he was deprived of all super-natural aids and graces4 ,the death1 with whatever is comprised in the ,scriptural sense of the word1 death1 began from that moment to work in him1 and this consequence he conveyed to his offspring1 and through them to all his posterity1 that is1 to all mankind4 ,they were born diseased in mind1 body and will4 ,for what less than disease can we call a necessity of error and a predisposition to sin and sickness8 ,taylor1 indeed1 asserts1 that though perfect obedience became incomparably more difficult1 it was not1 however1 absolutely impossible4 ,yet he himself admits that the contrary was universal2 that of the countless millions of ,adam's posterity1 not a single individual ever realized1 or approached to the realization of1 this possibility2 and 7if my memory#aac does not deceive me7 ,taylor himself has elsewhere exposed--and if he has not1 yet ,common ,sense will do it for him--the sophistry in asserting of a whole what may be true of the whole1 but--is in fact true only1 of each of its component parts4 ,any one may snap a horse-hair3 therefore1 any one may perform the same feat with the horse's tail4 ,on a level floor 7on the hardened sand1 for instance1 of a sea-beach7 ,i chalk two parallel straight lines1 with a width of eight inches4 ,it is possible for a man1 with a bandage over his eyes1 to keep within the path for two or three paces3 therefore1 it is possible for him to walk blindfold for two or three leagues without a single deviation6 ,and this possibility would suffice to acquit me of injustice1 though ,i had placed man-traps within an inch of one line1 and knew that there were pit-falls and deep wells beside the other6 ,this assertion1 therefore1 without adverting to its discordance with1 if not direct contradiction to1 the tenth and thirteenth ,articles of our ,church1 ,i shall not1 ,i trust1 be thought to rate below its true value1 if ,i treat it as an infinitesimal possibility that may be safely dropped in the calculation3--and so proceed with the argument4 ,the consequence then of ,adam's crime was1 by a natural necessity1 inherited by persons who could not 7the ,bishop affirms7 in any sense have been accomplices in the crime or partakers in the guilt3 and yet consistently with the divine holiness1 it was not possible that the same perfect obedience should not be required of them4 ,now what would the idea of equity1 what would the law inscribed by the ,creator in the heart of man1 seem to dictate in this case8 ,surely1 that the supplementary aids1 the super-natural graces correspondent to a law above nature1 should be increased in proportion to the diminished strength of the agents1 and the increased resistance to be overcome by them4 ,but no6 not only the consequence of ,adam's act1 but the penalty due to his crime1 was perpetuated4 ,his descendants were despoiled or left destitute of these aids and graces1 while the obligation to perfect obedience was continued2 an obligation too1 the non-fulfilment of which brought with it death and the unutterable woe that cleaves to an immortal soul for ever alienated from its ,creator4 ,observe1 that all these results of ,adam's fall enter into ,bishop ,taylor's scheme of ,original ,sin equally as into that of the first ,reformers4 ,in this respect the ,bishop's doctrine is the same with that laid down in the ,articles and ,homilies of the ,established ,church4 ,the only difference that has hitherto appeared1 consists in the aforesaid mathematical possibility of fulfilling the whole law1 which in the ,bishop's scheme is affirmed to remain still in human nature1 or 7as it is elsewhere expressed7 in the nature of the human ,will4#aad ,but though it were possible to grant this existence of a power in all men1 which in no man was ever exemplified1 and where the non-actualization of such power is1 a priori1 so certain1 that the belief or imagination of the contrary in any individual is expressly given us by the ,holy ,spirit as a test1 whereby it may be known that the truth is not in him1 as an infallible sign of imposture or self-delusion6 ,though it were possible to grant this1 which1 consistently with ,scripture and the principles of reasoning which we apply in all other cases1 it is not possible to grant2--and though it were possible likewise to overlook the glaring sophistry of concluding in relation to a series of indeterminate length1 that whoever can do any one1 can therefore do all2 a conclusion1 the futility of which must force itself on the common-sense of every man who understands the proposition2--still the question will arise--,why1 and on what principle of equity1 were the unoffending sentenced to be born with so fearful a disproportion of their powers to their duties8 ,why were they subjected to a law1 the fulfilment of which was all but impossible1 yet the penalty on the failure tremendous8 ,admit that for those who had never enjoyed a happier lot1 it was no punishment to be made to inhabit a ground which the ,creator had cursed1 and to have been born with a body prone to sickness1 and a soul surrounded with temptation1 and having the worst temptation within itself in its own temptibility2--to have the duties of a spirit with the wants and appetites of an animal6 ,yet on such imperfect ,creatures1 with means so scanty and impediments so numerous1 to impose the same task-work that had been required of a ,creature with a pure and entire nature1 and provided with super-natural aids--if this be not to inflict a penalty2--yet to be placed under a law1 the difficulty of obeying which is infinite1 and to have momently to struggle with this difficulty1 and to live momently in hazard of these consequences--if this be no punishment2--words have no correspondence with thoughts1 and thoughts are but shadows of each other1 shadows that own no substance for their anti-type6 ,of such an outrage on common-sense1 ,taylor was incapable4 ,he himself calls it a penalty2 he admits that in effect it is a punishment3 nor does he seek to suppress the question that so naturally arises out of this admission2--on what principle of equity were the innocent offspring of ,adam punished at all8 ,he meets it1 and puts-in an answer4 ,he states the problem1 and gives his solution--namely1 that ,god on ,adam's account was so exasperated with mankind1 that being angry he would still continue the punishment6 ,the case 7says the ,bishop7 is this3 ,jonathan and ,michal were ,saul's children4 ,it came to pass1 that seven of ,saul's issue were to be hanged3 all equally innocent1 equally culpable4 ,before ,i quote further1 ,i feel myself called on to remind the reader1 that these two last words were added by ,jeremy ,taylor without the least grounds in ,scripture1 according to which1 7#b ,samuel1 xxi47 no crime was laid to their charge1 no blame imputed to them4 ,without any pretence of culpable conduct on their part1 they were arraigned as children of ,saul1 and sacrificed to a point of state-expedience4 ,in recommencing the quotation1 therefore1 the reader ought to let the sentence conclude with the words-- all equally innocent4 ,david took the five sons of ,michal1 for she had left him unhandsomely4 ,jonathan was his friend3 and therefore he spared his son1 ,mephibosheth4 ,here it was indifferent as to the guilt of the persons 7,bear in mind1 reader1 that no guilt was attached to either of them67 whether ,david should take the sons of ,michal or of ,jonathan2 but it is likely that as upon the kindness that ,david had to ,jonathan1 he spared his son2 so upon the just provocation of ,michal1 he made that evil fall upon them1 which1 it may be1 they should not have suffered1 if their mother had been kind4 ,adam was to ,god1 as ,michal to ,david4#aae ,this answer1 this solution proceeding too from a divine so pre-eminently gifted1 and occurring 7with other passages not less startling7 in a vehement refutation of the received doctrine on the express ground of its opposition to the clearest conceptions and best feelings of mankind--this it is that surprises me6 ,it is of this that ,i complain6 ,the ,almighty ,father exasperated with those1 whom the ,bishop has himself in the same treatise described as innocent and most unfortunate--the two things best fitted to conciliate love and pity6 ,or though they did not remain innocent1 yet those whose abandonment to a mere nature1 while they were left amenable to a law above nature1 he affirms to be the irresistible cause1 that they one and all did sin6 ,and this decree illustrated and justified by its analogy to one of the worst actions of an imperfect mortal6 ,from such of my readers as will give a thoughtful perusal to these works of ,taylor1 ,i dare anticipate a concurrence with the judgment which ,i here transcribe from the blank space at the end of the ,deus ,justificatus in my own copy2 and which1 though twenty years#aaf have elapsed since it was written1 ,i have never seen reason to recant or modify4 ,this most eloquent ,treatise may be compared to a statue of ,janus1 with the one face1 which we must suppose fronting the ,calvinistic tenet1 entire and fresh1 as from the master's hand3 beaming with life and force1 witty scorn on the lip1 and a brow at once bright and weighty with satisfying reason3--the other1 looking toward the something to be put in its place1 maimed1 featureless1 and weather-bitten into an almost visionary confusion and indistinctness4#aag ,with these expositions ,i hasten to contrast the ,scriptural article respecting ,original ,sin1 or the corrupt and sinful ,nature of the ,human ,will1 and the belief which alone is required of us1 as ,christians4 ,and here the first thing to be considered1 and which will at once remove a world of error1 is2 that this is no tenet first introduced or imposed by ,christianity1 and which1 should a man see reason to disclaim the authority of the ,gospel1 would no longer have any claim on his attention4 ,it is no perplexity that a man may get rid of by ceasing to be a ,christian1 and which has no existence for a philosophic ,deist4 ,it is a ,,fact1 affirmed1 indeed1 in the ,christian ,scriptures alone with the force and frequency proportioned to its consummate importance2 but a fact acknowledged in every religion that retains the least glimmering of the patriarchal faith in a ,god infinite1 yet personal--a ,fact assumed or implied as the basis of every religion1 of which any relics remain of earlier date than the last and total apostacy of the ,pagan world1 when the faith in the great ,i ,,am1 the ,creator1 was extinguished in the sensual ,polytheism1 which is inevitably the final result of ,pantheism or the worship of nature2 and the only form under which the ,pantheistic scheme--that1 according to which the world is ,god1 and the material universe itself the one only absolute ,being--can exist for a people1 or become the popular creed4 ,thus in the most ancient books of the ,brahmins1 the deep sense of this ,fact1 and the doctrines grounded on obscure traditions of the promised remedy1 are seen struggling1 and now gleaming1 now flashing1 through the mist of ,pantheism1 and producing the incongruities and gross contradictions of the ,brahmin ,mythology3 while in the rival sect--in that most strange phnomenon1 the religious atheism of the ,buddhists3 with whom ,god is only universal matter considered abstractedly from all particular forms--the ,fact is placed among the delusions natural to man1 which1 together with other superstitions grounded on a supposed essential difference between right and wrong1 the sage is to decompose and precipitate from the menstruum of his more refined apprehensions6 ,thus in denying the ,fact1 they virtually acknowledge it4 ,from the remote ,east turn to the mythology of ,lesser ,asia1 to the descendants of ,javan who dwelt in the tents of ,shem1 and possessed the ,isles4 ,here again1 and in the usual form of an historic solution we find the same ,fact1 and as characteristic of the human race1 stated in that earliest and most venerable mythus 7or symbolic parable7 of ,prometheus--that truly wonderful ,fable1 in which the characters of the rebellious ,spirit and of the ,divine ,friend of ,mankind 7 7 are united in the same person2 and thus in the most striking manner noting the forced amalgamation of the ,patriarchal tradition with the incongruous scheme of ,pantheism4 ,this and the connected tale of ,io1 which is but the sequel of the ,prometheus1 stand alone in the ,greek ,mythology1 in which elsewhere both gods and men are mere powers and products of nature4 ,and most noticeable it is1 that soon after the promulgation and spread of the ,gospel had awakened the moral sense1 and had opened the eyes even of its wiser enemies to the necessity of providing some solution of this great problem of the ,moral ,world1 the beautiful ,parable of ,cupid and ,psyche was brought forward as a rival ,,fall ,,of ,,man3 and the fact of a moral corruption connatural with the human race was again recognized4 ,in the assertion of ,,original ,,sin the ,greek ,mythology rose and set4 ,but not only was the fact acknowledged of a law in the nature of man resisting the law of ,god2 7and whatever is placed in active and direct oppugnancy to the good is1 ipso facto1 positive evil27 it was likewise an acknowledged ,,mystery1 and one which by the nature of the subject must ever remain such--a problem1 of which any other solution1 than the statement of the ,fact itself1 was demonstrably impossible4 ,that it is so1 the least reflection will suffice to convince every man1 who has previously satisfied himself that he is a responsible being4 ,it follows necessarily from the postulate of a responsible ,will4 ,refuse to grant this1 and ,i have not a word to say4 ,concede this and you concede all4 ,for this is the essential attribute of a ,will1 and contained in the very idea1 that whatever determines the ,will acquires this power from a previous determination of the ,will itself4 ,the ,will is ultimately self-determined1 or it is no longer a ,will under the law of perfect freedom1 but a nature under the mechanism of cause and effect4 ,and if by an act1 to which it had determined itself1 it has subjected itself to the determination of nature 7in the language of ,st4 ,paul1 to the law of the flesh71 it receives a nature into itself1 and so far it becomes a nature3 and this is a corruption of the ,will and a corrupt nature4 ,it is also a ,fall of ,man1 inasmuch as his ,will is the condition of his personality2 the ground and condition of the attribute which constitutes him man4 ,and the ground work of personal ,being is a capacity of acknowledging the ,moral ,law 7the ,law of the ,spirit1 the ,law of ,freedom1 the ,divine ,will7 as that which should1 of itself1 suffice to determine the ,will to a free obedience of the law1 the law working therein by its own exceeding lawfulness4#aah ,this1 and this alone1 is positive ,good2 good in itself1 and independent of all relations4 ,whatever resists1 and1 as a positive force1 opposes this in the ,will is therefore evil4 ,but an evil in the ,will is an evil ,will2 and as all moral evil 7that is1 all evil that is evil without reference to its contingent physical consequences7 is of the ,will1 this evil ,will must have its source in the ,will4 ,and thus we might go back from act to act1 from evil to evil1 ad infinitum1 without advancing a step4 ,we call an individual a bad man1 not because an action is contrary to the law1 but because it has led us to conclude from it some ,principle opposed to the law1 some private maxim1 or by-law in the ,will contrary to the universal law of right reason in the conscience1 as the ground of the action4 ,but this evil principle again must be grounded in some other principle which has been made determinant of the ,will by the ,will's own self-determination4 ,for if not1 it must have its ground in some necessity of nature1 in some instinct or propensity imposed1 not acquired1 another's work not our own4 ,consequently1 neither act nor principle could be imputed2 and relatively to the agent1 not original1 not sin4 ,now let the grounds on which the fact of an evil inherent in the ,will is affirmable in the instance of any one man1 be supposed equally applicable in every instance1 and concerning all men3 so that the fact is asserted of the individual1 not1 because he has committed this or that crime1 or because he has shown himself to be this or that man1 but simply because he is a man4 ,let the evil be supposed such as to imply the impossibility of an individual's referring to any particular time at which it might be conceived to have commenced1 or to any period of his existence at which it was not existing4 ,let it be supposed1 in short1 that the subject stands in no relation whatever to time1 can neither be called in time nor out of time2 but that all relations of time are as alien and heterogeneous in this question1 as the relations and attributes of space 7north or south1 round or square1 thick or thin7 are to our affections and moral feelings4 ,let the reader suppose this1 and he will have before him the precise import of the ,scriptural doctrine of ,original ,sin2 or rather of the ,fact acknowledged in all ages1 and recognized but not originating1 in the ,christian ,scriptures4 ,in addition to this it will be well to remind the inquirer1 that the stedfast conviction of the existence1 personality1 and moral attributes of ,god1 is presupposed in the acceptance of the ,gospel1 or required as its indispensable preliminary4 ,it is taken for granted as a point which the hearer had already decided for himself1 a point finally settled and put at rest3 not by the removal of all difficulties1 or by any such increase of insight as enabled him to meet every objection of the ,epicurean or the sceptic with a full and precise answer2 but because he had convinced himself that it was folly as well as presumption in so imperfect a creature to expect it2 and because these difficulties and doubts disappeared at the beam1 when tried against the weight and convictive power of the reasons in the other scale4 ,it is1 therefore1 most unfair to attack ,christianity1 or any article which the ,church has declared a ,christian doctrine1 by arguments1 which1 if valid1 are valid against all religion4 ,is there a disputant who scorns a mere postulate1 as the basis of any argument in support of the ,faith2 who is too high-minded to beg his ground1 and will take it by a strong hand8 ,let him fight it out with the ,atheists1 or the ,manichans2 but not stoop to pick up their arrows1 and then run away to discharge them at ,christianity or the ,church6 ,the only true way is to state the doctrine1 believed as well by ,saul of ,tarsus1 yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the ,church of ,christ1 as by ,paul the ,apostle fully preaching the ,gospel of ,christ4 ,a moral ,evil is an evil that has its origin in a ,will4 ,an evil common to all must have a ground common to all4 ,but the actual existence of moral evil we are bound in conscience to admit2 and that there is an evil common to all is a fact2 and this evil must therefore have a common ground4 ,now this evil ground cannot originate in the ,divine ,will3 it must therefore be referred to the will of man4 ,and this evil ground we call ,original ,sin4 ,it is a mystery1 that is1 a fact1 which we see1 but cannot explain2 and the doctrine a truth which we apprehend1 but can neither comprehend nor communicate4 ,and such by the quality of the subject 7namely1 a responsible ,will7 it must be1 if it be truth at all4 ,a sick man1 whose complaint was as obscure as his sufferings were severe and notorious1 was thus addressed by a humane stranger3 ,my poor ,friend6 ,i find you dangerously ill1 and on this account only1 and having certain information of your being so1 and that you have not wherewithal to pay for a physician1 ,i have come to you4 ,respecting your disease1 indeed1 ,i can tell you nothing1 that you are capable of understanding1 more than you know already1 or can only be taught by reflection on your own experience4 ,but ,i have rendered the disease no longer irremediable4 ,i have brought the remedy with me3 and ,i now offer you the means of immediate relief1 with the assurance of gradual convalescence1 and a final perfect cure2 nothing more being required on your part1 but your best endeavours to follow the prescriptions ,i shall leave with you4 ,it is1 indeed1 too probable1 from the nature of your disease1 that you will occasionally neglect or transgress them4 ,but even this has been calculated on in the plan of your cure1 and the remedies provided1 if only you are sincere and in right earnest with yourself1 and have your heart in the work4 ,ask me not how such a disease can be conceived possible4 ,enough for the present that you know it to be real3 and ,i come to cure the disease not to explain it4 ,now1 what if the patient or some of his neighbours should charge this good ,samaritan1 with having given rise to the mischievous notion of an inexplicable disease1 involving the honour of the ,king of the country2--should inveigh against him as the author and first introducer of the notion1 though of the numerous medical works composed ages before his arrival1 and by physicians of the most venerable authority1 it was scarcely possible to open a single volume without finding some description of the disease1 or some lamentation of its malignant and epidemic character3--and1 lastly1 what if certain pretended friends of this good ,samaritan1 in their zeal to vindicate him against this absurd charge1 should assert that he was a perfect stranger to this disease1 and boldly deny that he had ever said or done any thing connected with it1 or that implied its existence8 ,in this ,apologue or imaginary case1 reader1 you have the true bearings of ,christianity on the fact and doctrine of ,original ,sin4 ,the doctrine 7that is1 the confession of a known fact7 ,christianity has only in common with every religion1 and with every philosophy1 in which the reality of a responsible ,will and the essential difference between good and evil have been recognised4 ,peculiar to the ,christian religion are the remedy and 7for all purposes but those of a merely speculative curiosity7 the solution4 ,by the annunciation of the remedy it affords all the solution which our moral interests require2 and even in that which remains1 and must remain1 unfathomable1 the ,christian finds a new motive to walk humbly with the ,lord his ,god4 ,should a professed ,believer ask you whether that1 which is the ground of responsible action in your will1 could in any way be responsibly present in the ,will of ,adam1--answer him in these words3 ,you1 ,sir6 can no more demonstrate the negative1 than ,i can conceive the affirmative4 ,the corruption of my will may very warrantably be spoken of as a consequence of ,adam's fall1 even as my birth of ,adam's existence2 as a consequence1 a link in the historic chain of instances1 whereof ,adam is the first4 ,but that it is on account of ,adam2 or that this evil principle was1 a priori1 inserted or infused into my ,will by the will of another--which is indeed a contradiction in terms1 my ,will in such case being no ,will--this is nowhere asserted in ,scripture explicitly or by implication4 ,it belongs to the very essence of the doctrine1 that in respect of ,original ,sin every man is the adequate representative of all men4 ,what wonder1 then1 that where no inward ground of preference existed1 the choice should be determined by outward relations1 and that the first in time should be taken as the diagram8 ,even in ,genesis the word1 ,adam1 is distinguished from a proper name by an ,article before it4 ,it is the ,adam1 so as to express the genus1 not the individual--or rather1 perhaps1 ,i should say1 as well as the individual4 ,but that the word with its equivalent1 the old man1 is used symbolically and universally by ,st4 ,paul1 7#a ,cor4 xv4 #bb1 #de4 ,eph4 iv4 #bb4 ,col4 iii4 #i4 ,rom4 vi4 #f47 is too evident to need any proof4 ,i conclude with this remark4 ,the doctrine of ,original ,sin concerns all men4 ,but it concerns ,christians in particular no otherwise than by its connexion with the doctrine of ,redemption2 and with the ,divinity and ,divine ,humanity of the ,redeemer as a corollary or necessary inference from both mysteries4 ,,beware ,,of ,,arguments ,,against ,,christianity1 ,,which ,,cannot ,,stop ,,there1 ,,and ,,consequently ,,ought ,,not ,,to ,,have ,,commenced ,,there4 ,something ,i might have added to the clearness of the preceding views1 if the limits of the work had permitted me to clear away the several delusive and fanciful assertions respecting the state#aai of our first parents1 their wisdom1 science1 and angelic faculties1 assertions without the slightest ground in ,scripture3--,or1 if consistently with the wants and preparatory studies of those for whose use the volume was especially intended1 ,i could have entered into the momentous subject of a ,spiritual ,fall or ,apostacy antecedent to the formation of man--a belief1 the scriptural grounds of which are few and of diverse interpretation1 but which has been almost universal in the ,christian ,church4 ,enough1 however1 has been given1 ,i trust1 for the ,reader to see and 7as far as the subject is capable of being understood7 to understand this long controverted ,article1 in the sense in which alone it is binding on his faith4 ,supposing him therefore1 to know the meaning of original sin1 and to have decided for himself on the fact of its actual existence1 as the antecedent ground and occasion of ,christianity1 we may now proceed to ,christianity itself1 as the ,edifice raised on this ground1 that is1 to the great ,constituent ,article of the ,faith in ,christ1 as the ,remedy of the ,disease--,the ,doctrine of ,redemption4 ,but before ,i proceed to this momentous doctrine let me briefly remind the young and friendly pupil1 to whom ,i would still be supposed to address myself1 that in the following ,aphorism the word science is used in its strict and narrowest sense4 ,by a ,science ,i here mean any chain of truths which are either absolutely certain1 or necessarily true for the human mind1 from the laws and constitution of the mind itself4 ,in neither case is our conviction derived1 or capable of receiving any addition1 from outward experience1 or empirical data--that is1 matters of fact given to us through the medium of the senses--though these data may have been the occasion1 or may even be an indispensable condition1 of our reflecting on the former1 and thereby becoming conscious of the same4 ,on the other hand1 a connected series of conclusions grounded on empirical data1 in contra-distinction from science1 ,i beg leave 7no better term occurring7 in this place and for this purpose1 to denominate a scheme4 #ajc ,it has in its consequences proved no trifling evil to the ,christian world1 that ,aristotle's ,definitions of ,nature are all grounded on the petty and rather rhetorical than philosophical ,antithesis of ,nature to ,art--a conception inadequate to the demands even of his philosophy4 ,hence in the progress of his reasoning1 he confounds the natura naturata 7that is1 the sum total of the facts and phnomena of the ,senses7 with an hypothetical natura naturans1 a ,goddess ,nature1 that has no better claim to a place in any sober system of ,natural ,philosophy than the ,goddess ,multitudo2 yet to which ,aristotle not rarely gives the name and attributes of the ,supreme ,being4 ,the result was1 that the idea of ,god thus identified with this hypothetical ,nature becomes itself but an hypothesis1 or at best but a precarious inference from incommensurate premises and on disputable principles3 while in other passages1 ,god is confounded with 7and every where1 in ,aristotle's genuine works1 included in7 the ,universe3 which most grievous error it is the great and characteristic merit of ,plato to have avoided and denounced4 #ajd ,take one passage among many from the posthumous ,tracts 7#affj7 of ,john ,smith1#aje not the least star in that bright constellation of ,cambridge men1 the contemporaries of ,jeremy ,taylor4 ,while we reflect on our idea of ,reason1 we know that our ,souls are not it1 but only partake of it2 and that we have it and not 4 ,neither can it be called a ,faculty1 but far rather a ,light1 which we enjoy1 but the ,source of which is not in ourselves1 nor rightly by any individual to be denominated mine4 ,this pure1 intelligence he then proceeds to contrast with the ,discursive ,faculty1 that is1 the ,understanding4 #aje ,there is a ,note on ,john ,smith and his ',select ,discourses' in ,coleridge's ',literary ,remains1' #ahch1 v4 iii4 pp4 #dae-ai4--;,,ed4 #ajf ,see ,coleridge on ,jeremy ,taylor3 ',literary ,remains1' #ahch1 v4 iii4 pp4 #bie-ccd1 c4--,,ed4 #ajg ,we have the assurance of ,bishop ,horsley1 that the ,church of ,england does not demand the literal understanding of the document contained in the second 7from verse #h7 and third ,chapters of ,genesis as a point of faith1 or regard a different interpretation as affecting the orthodoxy of the interpreter2 divines of the most unimpeachable orthodoxy1 and the most averse to the allegorizing of ,scripture history in general1 having from the earliest ages of the ,christian ,church adopted or permitted it in this instance4 ,and indeed no unprejudiced man can pretend to doubt1 that if in any other work of ,eastern origin he met with ,trees of ,life and of ,knowledge2 talking and conversable snakes3 ,inque rei signum serpentem serpere jussum2 he would want no other proofs that it was an allegory he was reading1 and intended to be understood as such4 ,nor1 if we suppose him conversant with ,oriental works of any thing like the same antiquity1 could it surprise him to find events of true history in connexion with1 or historical personages among the actors and interlocutors of1 the parable4 ,in the temple-language of ,egypt the serpent was the symbol of the understanding in its twofold function1 namely as the faculty of means to proximate or medial1 ends1 analogous to the instinct of the more intelligent animals1 ant1 bee1 beaver1 and the like1 and opposed to the practical reason1 as the determinant of the ultimate end2 and again1 it typifies the understanding as the discursive and logical faculty possessed individually by each individual--the 1 in distinction from the 1 that is1 intuitive reason1 the source of ideas and ,,absolute ,truths1 and the principle of the necessary and the universal in our affirmations and conclusions4 ,without or in contra-vention to the reason 7i4e4 the spiritual mind of ,st4 ,paul1 and the light that lighteth every man of ,st4 ,john7 this understanding 7 1 or carnal mind7 becomes the sophistic principle1 the wily tempter to evil by counterfeit good2 the pander and advocate of the passions and appetites2 ever in league with1 and always first applying to1 the ,desire1 as the inferior nature in man1 the woman in our humanity2 and through the ,,desire prevailing on the ,,will 7the ,man-hood1 ,virtus7 against the command of the universal reason1 and against the light of reason in the ,,will itself4 ,this essential inherence of an intelligential principle 7 7 in the ,will 7 7 or rather the ,will itself thus considered1 the ,greeks expressed by an appropriate word 4 ,this1 but little differing from ,origen's interpretation or hypothesis1 is supported and confirmed by the very old tradition of the homo androgynus1 that is1 that the original man1 the individual first created1 was bi-sexual3 a chimra1 of which and of many other mythological traditions the most probable explanation is1 that they were originally symbolical glyphs or sculptures1 and afterwards translated into words1 yet literally1 that is into the common names of the several figures and images composing the symbol1 while the symbolic meaning was left to be deciphered as before1 and sacred to the initiate4 ,as to the abstruseness and subtlety of the conceptions1 this is so far from being an objection to this oldest gloss on this venerable relic of ,semitic1 not impossibly ante-diluvian1 philosophy1 that to those who have carried their researches farthest back into ,greek1 ,egyptian1 ,persian1 and ,indian antiquity1 it will seem a strong confirmation4 ,or if ,i chose to address the sceptic in the language of the day1 ,i might remind him1 that as alchemy went before chemistry1 and astrology before astronomy1 so in all countries of civilized man have metaphysics outrun common sense4 ,fortunately for us that they have so6 ,for from all we know of the unmetaphysical tribes of ,new ,holland and elsewhere1 a common sense not preceded by metaphysics is no very enviable possession4 ,o be not cheated1 my youthful reader1 by this shallow prate6 ,the creed of true common sense is composed of the results of scientific meditation1 observation1 and experiment1 as far as they are generally intelligible4 ,it differs therefore in different countries and in every different age of the same country4 ,the common sense of a people is the moveable index of its average judgment and information4 ,without metaphysics science could have had no language1 and common sense no materials4 ,but to return to my subject4 ,it cannot be denied1 that the ,mosaic ,narrative thus interpreted gives a just and faithful exposition of the birth and parentage and successive moments of phnomenal sin 7peccatum phnomenon2 crimen primarium et commune71 that is1 of sin as it reveals itself in time1 and is an immediate object of consciousness4 ,and in this sense most truly does the ,apostle assert1 that in ,adam we all fell4 ,the first human sinner is the adequate representative of all his successors4 ,and with no less truth may it be said1 that it is the same ,adam that falls in every man1 and from the same reluctance to abandon the too dear and undivorceable ,eve3 and the same ,,eve tempted by the same serpentine and perverted understanding1 which1 framed originally to be the interpreter of the reason and the ministering angel of the ,spirit1 is henceforth sentenced and bound over to the service of the ,animal ,nature1 its needs and its cravings1 dependent on the senses for all its materials1 with the ,world of ,sense for its appointed sphere3 ,upon thy belly shalt thou go1 and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life4 ,i have shown elsewhere1 that as the ,instinct of the mere intelligence differs in degree not in kind1 and circumstantially1 not essentially1 from the vis vit1 or vital power in the assimilative and digestive functions of the stomach and other organs of nutrition1 even so the ,understanding1 in itself and distinct from the ,reason and ,conscience1 differs in degree only from the ,instinct in the animal4 ,it is still but a beast of the field1 though more subtle than any beast of the field1 and therefore in its corruption and perversion cursed above any--a pregnant word6 of which1 if the reader wants an exposition or paraphrase1 he may find one more than two thousand years old among the fragments of the poet ,menander4 7,see ,cumberland's ,observer1 ,no4 ,,cl4 vol4 iii4 p4 #bhi1 #bij47 ,this is the ,understanding which in its every thought is to be brought under obedience to ,faith2 which it can scarcely fail to be1 if only it be first subjected to the ,reason1 of which spiritual ,faith is even the blossoming and the fructifying process4 ,for it is indifferent whether ,i say that ,faith is the interpenetration of the ,reason and the ,will1 or that it is at once the ,assurance and the ,commencement of the approaching ,union between the ,reason and the intelligible realities1 the living and substantial truths1 that are even in this life its most proper objects4 ,i have thus put the reader in possession of my own opinions respecting the narrative in ,gen4 ii4 and iii4 1 1 1 1 1 4 ,or ,i might ask with ,augustine1 ,why not both8 ,why not at once symbol and history8 or rather how should it be otherwise8 ,must not of necessity the ,,first ,,man be a ,,symbol of ,mankind1 in the fullest force of the word1 ,symbol1 rightly defined--that is1 a sign included in the idea1 which it represents2--an actual part chosen to represent the whole1 as a lip with a chin prominent is a symbol of man2 or a lower form or species used as the representative of a higher in the same kind3 thus ,magnetism is the ,symbol of ,vegetation1 and of the vegetative and reproductive power in animals2 the ,instinct of the ant-tribe1 or the bee1 is a symbol of the human understanding4 ,and this definition of the word is of great practical importance1 inasmuch as the symbolical is hereby distinguished toto genere from the allegoric and metaphorical4 ,but1 perhaps1 parables1 allegories1 and allegorical or typical applications1 are incompatible with inspired ,scripture6 ,the writings of ,st4 ,paul are sufficient proof of the contrary4 ,yet ,i readily acknowledge1 that allegorical applications are one thing1 and allegorical interpretation another3 and that where there is no ground for supposing such a sense to have entered into the intent and purpose of the sacred penman1 they are not to be commended4 ,so far1 indeed1 am ,i from entertaining any predilection for them1 or any favourable opinion of the ,rabbinical commentators and traditionists1 from whom the fashion was derived1 that in carrying it as far as our own ,church has carried it1 ,i follow her judgment1 not my own4 ,but in the first place1 ,i know but one other part of the ,scriptures not universally held to be parabolical1 which1 not without the sanction of great authorities1 ,i am disposed to regard as an ,apologue or ,parable1 namely1 the book of ,jonah2 the reasons for believing the ,jewish nation collectively to be therein impersonated1 seeming to me unanswerable4 ,secondly1 as to the ,chapters now in question--that such interpretation is at least tolerated by our ,church1 ,i have the word of one of her most zealous champions4 ,and lastly it is my deliberate and conscientious conviction1 that the proofs of such having been the intention of the inspired writer or compiler of the book of ,genesis1 lie on the face of the narrative itself4 #ajh ,rom4 v4 #ad4 ,who were they1 who had not sinned after the similitude of ,adam's transgression2 and over whom1 notwithstanding1 death reigned8 #aji ,slightly altered from ,jeremy ,taylor's ',deus ,justificatus2 or a ,vindication of the ,glory of the ,divine ,attributes in the ,question of ,original ,sin1 ,against the ,presbyterian way of ,understanding it4' ,see ,heber's edition of ,taylor's works1 #ahbb1 v4 ix4 pp4 #cae-af4--;,,ed4 #aaj ,this sense of the word is implied even in its metaphorical or figurative use4 ,thus we may say of a river that it originates in such or such a fountain2 but the water of a canal is derived from such or such a river4 ,the ,power which we call ,nature1 may be thus defined3 ,a ,power subject to the ,law of ,continuity 7lex continui2 nam in natur non datur saltus7 which law the human understanding1 by a necessity arising out of its own constitution1 can conceive only under the form of ,cause and ,effect4 ,that this form 7or law7 of ,cause and ,effect is 7relatively to the world without1 or to things as they subsist independently of our perceptions7 only a form or mode of thinking2 that it is a law inherent in the ,understanding itself 7just as the symmetry of the miscellaneous objects seen by the kaleidoscope inheres in1 or results from1 the mechanism of the kaleidoscope itself7--this becomes evident as soon as we attempt to apply the pre-conception directly to any operation of nature4 ,for in this case we are forced to represent the cause as being at the same instant the effect1 and vice vers the effect as being the cause--a relation which we seek to express by the terms ,action and ,re-action2 but for which the term ,reciprocal ,action or the law of ,reciprocity 7,wechselwirkung7 would be both more accurate and more expressive4 ,these are truths which can scarcely be too frequently impressed on the mind that is in earnest in the wish to reflect aright4 ,nature is a line in constant and continuous evolution4 ,its beginning is lost in the super-natural3 and for our understanding1 therefore1 it must appear as a continuous line without beginning or end4 ,but where there is no discontinuity there can be no origination1 and every appearance of origination in nature is but a shadow of our own casting4 ,it is a reflection from our own ,will or ,spirit4 ,herein1 indeed1 the ,will consists4 ,this is the essential character by which ,,will is opposed to ,nature1 as ,spirit1 and raised above ,nature1 as self-determining ,spirit--this namely1 that it is a power of originating an act or state4 ,a young friend or1 as he was pleased to describe himself1 a pupil of mine1 who is beginning to learn to think1 asked me to explain by an instance what is meant by originating an act or state4 ,my answer was--,this morning ,i awoke with a dull pain1 which ,i knew from experience the getting up would remove2 and yet by adding to the drowsiness and by weakening or depressing the volition 7voluntas sensorialis seu mechanica7 the very pain seemed to hold me back1 to fix me 7as it were7 to the bed4 ,after a peevish ineffectual quarrel with this painful disinclination1 ,i said to myself3 ,let me count twenty1 and the moment ,i come to nineteen ,i will leap out of bed4 ,so said1 and so done4 ,now should you ever find yourself in the same or in a similar state1 and should attend to the goings-on within you1 you will learn what ,i mean by originating an act4 ,at the same time you will see that it belongs exclusively to the ,will 7arbitrium72 that there is nothing analogous to it in outward experiences2 and that ,i had1 therefore1 no way of explaining it but by referring you to an act of your own1 and to the peculiar self-consciousness preceding and accompanying it4 ,as we know what ,life is by ,being1 so we know what ,will is by ,acting4 ,that in willing 7replied my young friend7 we appear to ourselves to constitute an actual ,beginning and that this seems unique1 and without any example in our sensible experience1 or in the phnomena of nature1 is an undeniable fact4 ,but may it not be an illusion arising from our ignorance of the antecedent causes8 ,you may suppose this 7,i rejoined73--that the soul of every man should impose a ,lie on itself2 and that this ,lie1 and the acting on the faith of its being the most important of all truths and the most real of all realities1 should form the main contra-distinctive character of ,humanity1 and the only basis of that distinction between ,things and ,persons on which our whole moral and criminal ,law is grounded2--you may suppose this2 ,i cannot1 as ,i could in the case of an arithmetical or geometrical proposition1 render it impossible for you to suppose it4 ,whether you can reconcile such a supposition with the belief of an all-wise ,creator1 is another question4 ,but1 taken singly1 it is doubtless in your power to suppose this4 ,were it not1 the belief of the contrary would be no subject of a command1 no part of a moral or religious duty4 ,you would not1 however1 suppose it without a reason4 ,but all the pretexts that ever have been or ever can be offered for this supposition1 are built on certain notions of the ,understanding that have been generalized from conceptions2 which conceptions1 again1 are themselves generalized or abstracted from objects of sense4 ,neither the one nor the other1 therefore1 have any force except in application to objects of sense and within the sphere of sensible ,experience4 ,what but absurdity can follow1 if you decide on ,spirit by the laws of ,matter8 if you judge that which1 if it be at all1 must be super-sensual1 by that faculty of your mind1 the very definition of which is the faculty judging according to sense8 ,these then are unworthy the name of reasons3 they are only pretexts4 ,but without reason to contradict your own consciousness in defiance of your own conscience1 is contrary to reason4 ,such and such writers1 you say1 have made a great sensation4 ,if so1 ,i am sorry for it2 but the fact ,i take to be this4 ,from a variety of causes the more austere ,sciences have fallen into discredit1 and impostors have taken advantage of the general ignorance to give a sort of mysterious and terrific importance to a parcel of trashy sophistry1 the authors of which would not have employed themselves more irrationally in submitting the works of ,raffaelle or ,titian to canons of criticism deduced from the sense of smell4 ,nay1 less so4 ,for here the objects and the organs are only disparate3 while in the other case they are absolutely diverse4 ,i conclude this note by reminding the reader1 that my first object is to make myself understood4 ,when he is in full possession of my meaning1 then let him consider whether it deserves to be received as the truth4 ,had it been my immediate purpose to make him believe me as well as understand me1 ,i should have thought it necessary to warn him that a finite ,will does indeed originate an act1 and may originate a state of being2 but yet only in and for the ,agent himself4 ,a finite ,will constitutes a true ,beginning2 but with regard to the series of motions and chants by which the free act is manifested and made effectual1 the finite ,will gives a beginning only by co-incidence with that absolute ,,will1 which is at the same time ,infinite ,,power6 ,such is the language of ,religion1 and of ,philosophy too in the last instance4 ,but ,i express the same truth in ordinary language when ,i say1 that a finite ,will1 or the ,will of a finite free-agent1 acts outwardly by confluence with the laws of nature4 #aaa ,it may conduce to the readier comprehension of this point if ,i say1 that the equivoque consists in confounding the almost technical sense of the noun substantive1 right1 7a sense most often determined by the genitive case following1 as the right of property1 the right of husbands to chastise their wives1 and so forth7 with the popular sense of the adjective1 right3 though this likewise has1 if not a double sense1 yet a double application2--the first1 when it is used to express the fitness of a mean to a relative end1 for example1 the right way to obtain the right distance at which a picture should be examined1 and the like2 and the other1 when it expresses a perfect conformity and commensurateness with the immutable idea of equity1 or perfect rectitude4 ,hence the close connexion between the words righteousness and godliness1 that is1 godlikeness4 ,i should be tempted to subjoin a few words on a predominating doctrine closely connected with the present argument--the ,paleyan principle of ,,general ,,consequences2 but the inadequacy of this ,principle as a criterion of ,right and ,wrong1 and above all its utter unfitness as a ,moral ,guide have been elsewhere so fully stated 7',the ,friend1' vol4 ii4 ,essay xi4#aab71 that even in again referring to the subject1 ,i must shelter myself under ,seneca's rule1 that what we cannot too frequently think of1 we cannot too often be made to recollect4 ,it is1 however1 of immediate importance to the point in discussion1 that the reader should be made to see how altogether incompatible the principle of judging by ,general ,consequences is with the ,idea of an ,eternal1 ,omnipresent1 and ,omniscient ,being2--that he should be made aware of the absurdity of attributing any form of ,generalization to the ,all-perfect ,mind4 ,to generalize is a faculty and function of the human understanding1 and from the imperfection and limitation of the understanding are the use and the necessity of generalizing derived4 ,generalization is a ,substitute for ,intuition1 for the power of intuitive 7that is1 immediate7 knowledge4 ,as a substitute1 it is a gift of inestimable value to a finite intelligence1 such as man in his present state is endowed with and capable of exercising2 but yet a substitute only1 and an imperfect one to boot4 ,to attribute it to ,god is the grossest anthropomorphism3 and grosser instances of anthropomorphism than are to be found in the controversial writings on ,original ,sin and ,vicarious ,satisfaction1 the records of superstition do not supply4 #aab ,essay xv4 p4 #bjd1 ,bohn's edition4--,,ed4 #aac ,i have since this page was written1 met with several passages in the ,treatise on ,repentance1 the ,holy ,living and ,dying1 and the ,worthy ,communicant1 in which the ,bishop asserts without scruple the impossibility of total obedience2 and on the same grounds as ,i have given4 ,see ,taylor's ',doctrine and ,practice of ,repentance1' c4 ,i4 sec4 ii41 ,on the ,possibility or ,impossibility of ,keeping the ,precepts of the ,gospel2 ,heber's ed4 of the ',works1' v4 #h1 p4 #bfe4--;,,ed4 #aad ,availing himself of the equivocal sense and 7,i most readily admit7 the injudicious use1 of the word free in the--even on this account--faulty phrase1 free only to sin1 ,taylor treats the notion of a power in the ,will of determining itself to evil without an equal power of determining itself to good1 as a foolery4 ,i would this had been the only instance in his ,deus ,justificatus of that inconsiderate contempt so frequent in the polemic treatises of minor divines1 who will have ideas of reason1 spiritual truths that can only be spiritually discerned1 translated for them into adequate conceptions of the understanding4 ,the great articles of ,corruption and ,redemption are propounded to us as spiritual mysteries2 and every interpretation1 that pretends to explain them into comprehensible notions1 does by its very success furnish presumptive proof of its failure4 ,the acuteness and logical dexterity1 with which ,taylor has brought out the falsehood or semblance of falsehood in the ,calvinistic scheme1 are truly admirable4 ,had he next concentered his thoughts in tranquil meditation1 and asked himself3 ,what then is the truth8 ,if a ,will be at all1 what must a will be8--he might1 ,i think1 have seen that a nature in a ,will implies already a corruption of that ,will2 that a nature is as inconsistent with freedom as free choice with an incapacity of choosing aught but evil4 ,and lastly1 a free power in a nature to fulfil a law above nature6--,i1 who love and honour this good and great man with all the reverence that can dwell on this side idolatry1 dare not retort on this assertion the charge of foolery2 but ,i find it a paradox as startling to my reason as any of the hard sayings of the ,dort divines were to his understanding4 #aae ,vol4 ix4 pp4 #e1 #f1 ,heber's edit4 ',doctrine and ,practice of ,repentance1' c4 vi4 sec4 ,i4--,,ed4 #aaf ,this passage appears as here in the first edition of the ',aids1' #ahbe4--;,,ed4 #aag ,the same1 slightly different1 appears in ,coleridge's ',literary ,remains1' #ahch1 v4 iii41 p4 #cbh4--;,,ed4 #aah ,if the ,law worked on the ,will1 it would be the working of an extrinsic and alien force1 and1 as ,st4 ,paul profoundly argues1 would prove the ,will sinful4 #aai ,for a specimen of these ,rabbinical dotages ,i refer1 not to the writings of mystics and enthusiasts1 but to the shrewd and witty ,dr4 ,south1 one of whose most elaborate sermons stands prominent among the many splendid extravaganzas on this subject4 ,,aphorism ,,xi4 ,in whatever age and country it is the prevailing mind and character of the nation to regard the present life as subordinate to a life to come1 and to mark the present state1 the ,world of their ,senses1 by signs1 instruments1 and mementos of its connexion with a future state and a spiritual world2--where the ,mysteries of ,faith are brought within the hold of the people at large1 not by being explained away in the vain hope of accommodating them to the average of their understanding1 but by being made the objects of love by their combination with events and epochs of history1 with national traditions1 with the monuments and dedications of ancestral faith and zeal1 with memorial and symbolical observances1 with the realizing influences of social devotion1 and above all1 by early and habitual association with ,acts of the ,will1 there ,religion is4 ,there1 however obscured by the hay and straw of human ,will-work1 the foundation is safe4 ,in that country1 and under the predominance of such maxims the ,national ,church is no mere ,state-,institute4 ,it is the ,state itself in its intensest federal union2 yet at the same moment the ,guardian and ,representative of all personal ,individuality4 ,for the ,church is the ,shrine of ,morality2 and in ,morality alone the citizen asserts and reclaims his personal independence1 his integrity4 ,our outward acts are efficient1 and most often possible1 only by coalition4 ,as an efficient power1 the agent1 is but a fraction of unity3 he becomes an integer only in the recognition and performance of the ,moral ,law4 ,nevertheless it is most true 7and a truth which cannot with safety be overlooked7 that morality as morality1 has no existence for a people4 ,it is either absorbed and lost in the quicksands of prudential calculus1 or it is taken up and transfigured into the duties and mysteries of religion4 ,and no wonder3 since morality 7including the personal being1 the ,i ,,am1 as its subject7 is itself a mystery1 and the ground and suppositum of all other mysteries1 relatively to man4 ,,aphorism ,,xii4 ,paley not a ,moralist4 ,schemes of conduct1 grounded on calculations of self-interest2 or on the average consequences of actions1 supposing them general2 form a branch of ,political ,economy1 to which let all due honour be given4 ,their utility is not here questioned4 ,but however estimable within their own sphere1 such schemes1 or any one of them in particular1 may be1 they do not belong to ,moral ,science1 to which both in kind and purpose1 they are in all cases foreign1 and1 when substituted for it1 hostile4 ,ethics1 or the ,science of ,morality1 does indeed in no wise exclude the consideration of action2 but it contemplates the same in its originating spiritual source1 without reference to space or time or sensible existence4 ,whatever springs out of the perfect law of freedom1 which exists only by its unity with the will of ,god1 its inherence in the ,word of ,god1 and its communion with the ,spirit of ,god--that 7according to the principles of ,moral ,science7 is ,,good--it is light and righteousness and very truth4 ,whatever seeks to separate itself from the ,divine ,principle1 and proceeds from a false centre in the agent's particular will1 is ,,evil--a work of darkness and contradiction4 ,it is sin and essential falsehood4 ,not the outward deed1 constructive1 destructive1 or neutral1--not the deed as a possible object of the senses1--is the object of ,ethical ,science4 ,for this is no compost1 collectorium or inventory of single duties2 nor does it seek in the multitudinous sea1 in the pre-determined waves1 and tides and currents of nature that freedom1 which is exclusively an attribute of spirit4 ,like all other pure sciences1 whatever it enunciates1 and whatever it concludes1 it enunciates and concludes absolutely4 ,strictness is its essential character3 and its first ,proposition is1 ,whosoever shall keep the whole law1 and yet offend in one point1 he is guilty of all4 ,for as the ,will or ,spirit1 the ,source and ,substance of ,moral ,good1 is one and all in every part2 so must it be the totality1 the whole articulated series of single acts1 taken as unity1 that can alone1 in the severity of science1 be recognised as the proper counterpart and adequate representative of a good ,will4 ,is it in this or that limb1 or not rather in the whole body1 the entire organismus that the law of life reflects itself8--,much less1 then1 can the law of the ,spirit work in fragments4 ,,aphorism ,,xiii4 ,wherever there exists a permanent#abj learned class1 having authority and possessing the respect and confidence of the country2 and wherever the ,science of ,ethics is acknowledged1 and taught in this class as a regular part of a learned education1 to its future members generally1 but as the special study and indispensable ground-work of such as are intended for holy orders2--there the ,article of ,original ,sin will be an ,,axiom of ,faith in all classes4 ,among the learned an undisputed truth1 and with the people a fact1 which no man imagines it possible to deny3 and the doctrine1 thus inwoven in the faith of all1 and coeval with the consciousness of each1 will for each and all1 possess a reality1 subjective indeed1 yet virtually equivalent to that which we intuitively give to the objects of our senses4 ,with the learned this will be the case1 because the ,article is the first--,i had almost said1 spontaneous--product of the application of moral science to history1 of which it is the interpreter4 ,a mystery in its own right1 and by the necessity and essential character of its subject--7for the ,will1 like the ,life1 in every act and product pre-supposes to itself1 a ,past always present1 a ,present that evermore resolves itself into a ,past7--the doctrine of ,original ,sin gives to all the other mysteries of religion a common basis1 a connection of dependency1 an intelligibility of relation1 and total harmony1 that supersede extrinsic proof4 ,there is here that same proof from unity of purpose1 that same evidence of symmetry1 which1 in the contemplation of a human skeleton1 flashed conviction on the mind of ,galen1 and kindled meditation into a hymn of praise4 ,meanwhile the ,people1 not goaded into doubt by the lessons and examples of their teachers and superiors2 not drawn away from the fixed stars of heaven1 the form and magnitude of which are the same for the naked eye of the shepherd as for the telescope of the sage--from the immediate truths1 ,i mean1 of ,reason and ,conscience to an exercise to which they have not been trained1--of a faculty which has been imperfectly developed1--on a subject not within the sphere of the faculty1 nor in any way amenable to its judgment2--the ,,people will need no arguments to receive a doctrine confirmed by their own experience from within and from without1 and intimately blended with the most venerable traditions common to all races1 and the traces of which linger in the latest twilight of civilization4 ,among the revulsions consequent on the brute bewilderments of a ,godless revolution1 a great and active zeal for the interests of religion may be one4 ,i dare not trust it1 till ,i have seen what it is that gives religion this interest1 till ,i am satisfied that it is not the interests of this world2 necessary and laudable interests1 perhaps1 but which may1 ,i dare believe1 be secured as effectually and more suitably by the prudence of this world1 and by this world's powers and motives4 ,at all events1 ,i find nothing in the fashion of the day to deter me from adding1 that the reverse of the preceding--that where religion is valued and patronized as a supplement of law1 or an aid extraordinary of police2 where ,moral ,,science is exploded as the mystic jargon of dark ages2 where a lax ,system of ,consequences1 by which every iniquity on earth may be 7and how many have been67 denounced and defended with equal plausibility1 is publicly and authoritatively taught as ,moral ,philosophy2 where the mysteries of religion1 and truths supersensual1 are either cut and squared for the comprehension of the understanding1 the faculty judging according to sense1 or desperately torn asunder from the reason1 nay1 fanatically opposed to it2 lastly1 where ,private#aba ,interpretation is every thing and the ,church nothing--there the mystery of ,original ,sin will be either rejected1 or evaded1 or perverted into the monstrous fiction of ,hereditary ,sin1--guilt inherited2 in the mystery of ,redemption metaphors will be obtruded for the reality2 and in the mysterious appurtenants and symbols of ,redemption 7,regeneration1 ,grace1 the ,eucharist1 and ,spiritual ,communion7 the realities will be evaporated into metaphors4 #abj ,a learned order must be supposed to consist of three classes4 ,first1 those who are employed in adding to the existing sum of power and knowledge4 ,second1 and most numerous class1 those whose office it is to diffuse through the community at large the practical ,results of science1 and that kind and degree of knowledge and cultivation1 which for all is requisite or clearly useful4 ,third1 the formers and instructors of the second--in schools1 halls1 and universities1 or through the medium of the press4 ,the second class includes not only the parochial clergy1 and all others duly ordained to the ministerial office2 but likewise all the members of the legal and medical professions1 who have received a learned education under accredited and responsible teachers4 ,see ',the ,church and ,state1' p4 #de1 c41 third edition--,h4 ,n4 ,c4 #aba ,the author of ',the ,statesman's ,manual' must be the most inconsistent of men1 if he can be justly suspected of a leaning to the ,romish ,church2 or if it be necessary for him to repeat his fervent ,amen to the wish and prayer of our late good old ,king1 that every adult in the ,british ,empire should be able to read his ,bible1 and have a ,bible to read6 ,nevertheless1 it may not be superfluous to declare1 that in thus protesting against the license of private interpretation1 ,i do not mean to condemn the exercise or deny the right of individual judgment4 ,i condemn only the pretended right of every individual1 competent and incompetent1 to interpret ,scripture in a sense of his own1 in opposition to the judgment of the ,church1 without knowledge of the originals or of the languages1 the history1 the customs1 opinions1 and controversies of the age and country in which they were written2 and where the interpreter judges in ignorance or contempt of uninterrupted tradition1 the unanimous consent of ,fathers and ,councils1 and the universal ,faith of the ,church in all ages4 ,it is not the attempt to form a judgment1 which is here called in question2 but the grounds1 or rather the no-grounds on which the judgment is formed and relied on4 ,my fixed principle is3 that ,a ,,christianity ,,without ,a ,,church ,,exercising ,,spiritual ,,authority ,,is ,,vanity ,,and ,,dissolution4 ,and my belief is1 that when ,popery is rushing in on us like an inundation1 the nation will find it to be so4 ,i say ,popery2 for this too ,i hold for a delusion1 that ,romanism or ,roman ,catholicism is separable from ,popery4 ,almost as readily could ,i suppose a circle without a centre4 ,,aphorism ,,xiv4 ,,leighton4 ,as in great maps or pictures you will see the border decorated with meadows1 fountains1 flowers1 and the like1 represented in it1 but in the middle you have the main design3 so amongst the works of ,god is it with the foreordained ,redemption of ,man4 ,all his other works in the world1 all the beauty of the creatures1 the succession of ages1 and the things that come to pass in them1 are but as the border to this as the mainpiece4 ,but as a foolish unskilful beholder1 not discerning the excellency of the principal piece in such maps or pictures1 gazes only on the fair border1 and goes no farther--thus do the greatest part of us as to this great ,work of ,god1 the redemption of our personal ,being1 and the re-union of the ,human with the ,divine1 by and through the ,divine ,humanity of the ,incarnate ,word4 ,,aphorism ,,xv4 ,,luther4 ,it is a hard matter1 yea1 an impossible thing for thy human strength1 whosoever thou art 7without ,god's assistance71 at such a time when ,moses setteth on thee with the ,law 7see ,aphorism ,,xii471--when the holy ,law written in thy heart accuseth and condemneth thee1 forcing thee to a comparison of thy heart therewith1 and convicting thee of the incompatibleness of thy will and nature with ,heaven and holiness and an immediate ,god--that then thou shouldest be able to be of such a mind as if no ,law nor sin had ever been6 ,i say it is in a manner impossible that a human creature1 when he feeleth himself assaulted with trials and temptations1 and the conscience hath to do with ,god1 and the tempted man knoweth that the root of temptation is within him1 should obtain such mastery over his thoughts as then to think no otherwise than that from everlasting nothing hath been but only and alone ,christ1 altogether ,grace and ,deliverance6 ,,comment4 ,in irrational agents1 namely1 the brute animals1 the will is hidden or absorbed in the law4 ,the law is their nature4 ,in the original purity of a rational agent the uncorrupted will is identical with the law4 ,nay1 inasmuch as a ,will perfectly identical with the ,law is one with the divine ,will1 we may say1 that in the unfallen rational agent the ,will constitutes the ,law4#abb ,but it is evident that the holy and spiritual power and light1 which by a prolepsis or anticipation we have named law1 is a grace1 an inward perfection1 and without the commanding1 binding and menacing character which belongs to a law1 acting as a master or sovereign distinct from1 and existing1 as it were1 externally for1 the agent who is bound to obey it4 ,now this is ,st4 ,paul's sense of the word2 and on this he grounds his whole reasoning4 ,and hence too arises the obscurity and apparent paradoxy of several texts4 ,that the ,law is a ,law for you2 that it acts on the ,will not in it2 that it exercises an agency from without1 by fear and coercion2 proves the corruption of your ,will1 and presupposes it4 ,sin in this sense came by the law3 for it has its essence1 as sin1 in that counter-position of the holy principle to the will1 which occasions this principle to be a ,,law4 ,exactly 7as in all other points7 consonant with the ,pauline doctrine is the assertion of ,john1 when speaking of the re-adoption of the redeemed to be sons of ,god1 and the consequent resumption 7,i had almost said re-absorption7 of the ,law into the ,will 7 1 ,james i4 #be417--;he says--,for the law was given by ,moses1 but ,grace and ,truth came by ,jesus ,christ4 ,that by the ,law ,st4 ,paul meant only the ceremonial law1 is a notion that could originate only in utter inattention to the whole strain and bent of the ,apostle's argument4 #abb ,in fewer words thus3 ,for the brute animals1 their nature is their law2--for what other third law can be imagined1 in addition to the law of nature1 and the law of reason8 ,therefore3 in irrational agents the law constitutes the will4 ,in moral and rational agents the will constitutes1 or ought to constitute1 the law3 ,i speak of moral agents1 unfallen4 ,for the personal ,will comprehends the idea1 as a ,reason1 and it gives causative force to the ,idea1 as a practical ,reason4 ,but ,idea with the power of realizing the same is a ,law2 or say3--the ,spirit comprehends the ,moral ,idea1 by virtue of its rationality1 and it gives to the ,idea causative ,power1 as a ,will3 ,in every sense therefore1 it constitutes the ,law1 supplying both the ,elements of which it consists--namely1 the ,idea1 and the realizing ,power4 ,,aphorism ,,xvi4 ,,leighton ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,christ's death was both voluntary and violent4 ,there was external violence3 and that was the accompaniment1 or at most the occasion1 of his death4 ,but there was internal willingness1 the spiritual ,will1 the ,will of the ,spirit1 and this was the proper cause4 ,by this ,spirit he was restored from death3 neither indeed was it possible for him to be holden of it2 being put to death in the flesh1 but quickened by the ,spirit1 says ,st4 ,peter4 ,but he is likewise declared elsewhere to have died by that same ,spirit1 which here1 in opposition to the violence1 is said to quicken him4 ,thus ,hebrews ix4 #ad4 ,through the eternal ,spirit he offered himself4 ,and even from ,peter's words1 and without the epithet1 eternal1 to aid the interpretation1 it is evident that the ,spirit1 here opposed to the flesh1 body or animal life1 is of a higher nature and power than the individual soul1 which cannot of itself return to re-inhabit or quicken the body4 ,if these points were niceties1 and an over-refining in doctrine1 is it to be believed that the ,apostles1 ,john1 ,peter and ,paul1 with the author of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 would have laid so great stress on them8 ,but the true life of ,christians is to eye ,christ in every step of his life--not only as their ,rule but as their ,strength3 looking to him as their ,pattern both in doing and in suffering1 and drawing power from him for going through both3 being without him able for nothing4 ,take comfort then1 thou that believest6 ,it is he that lifts up the ,soul from the ,gates of ,death3 and he hath said1 ,i will raise thee up at the last day4 ,thou that believest in him1 believe him and take comfort4 ,yea1 when thou art most sunk in thy sad apprehensions1 and he far off to thy thinking1 then is he nearest to raise and comfort thee3 as sometimes it grows darkest immediately before day4 ,,aphorism ,,xvii4 ,,leighton ,,and ,,coleridge4 ,would any of you be cured of that common disease1 the fear of death8 ,yet this is not the right name of the disease1 as a mere reference to our armies and navies is sufficient to prove3 nor can the fear of death1 either as loss of life or pain of dying1 be justly held a common disease4 ,but would you be cured of the fear and fearful questionings connected with the approach of death8 ,look this way1 and you shall find more than you seek4 ,christ1 the ,word that was from the beginning and was made flesh and dwelt among men1 died4 ,and he1 who dying conquered death in his own person1 conquered ,sin1 and ,death which is the ,wages of ,sin1 for thee4 ,and of this thou mayest be assured1 if only thou believe in him1 and love him4 ,i need not add1 keep his commandments3 since where ,faith and ,love are1 ,obedience in its threefold character1 as ,effect1 ,reward1 and ,criterion1 follows by that moral necessity which is the highest form of freedom4 ,the ,grave is thy bed of rest1 and no longer the cold bed3 for thy ,saviour has warmed it1 and made it fragrant4 ,if then it be health and comfort to the ,faithful that ,christ descended into the grave1 with especial confidence may we meditate on his return from thence1 quickened by the ,spirit3 this being to those who are in him the certain pledge1 yea1 the effectual cause of that blessed resurrection1 for which they themselves hope4 ,there is that union betwixt them and their ,redeemer1 that they shall rise by the communication and virtue of his rising3 not simply by his power--for so the wicked likewise to their grief shall be raised3 but they by his life as their life4 ,,comment4 ,on the three ,preceding ,aphorisms4 ,to the reader1 who has consented to submit his mind to my temporary guidance1 and who permits me to regard him as my pupil1 or junior fellow-student1 ,i continue to address myself4 ,should he exist only in my imagination1 let the bread float on the waters6 ,if it be the ,bread of ,life1 it will not have been utterly cast away4 ,let us pause a moment1 and review the road we have passed over since the transit from ,religious ,morality to ,spiritual ,religion4 ,my first attempt was to satisfy you1 that there is a ,spiritual principle in ,man1#abc and to expose the sophistry of the arguments in support of the contrary4 ,our next step was to clear the road of all counterfeits1 by showing what is not the ,spirit1 what is not ,spiritual ,religion4#abd ,and this was followed by an attempt to establish a difference in kind between religious truths and the deductions of speculative science2 yet so as to prove1 that the former are not only equally rational with the latter1 but that they alone appeal to reason in the fulness and living reality of their power4 ,this and the state of mind requisite for the formation of right convictions respecting spiritual truths1 afterwards employed our attention4 ,having then enumerated the ,articles of the ,christian ,faith peculiar to ,christianity1 ,i entered on the great object of the present work2 namely1 the removal of all valid objections to these articles on grounds of right reason or conscience4 ,but to render this practicable it was necessary1 first1 to present each article in its true ,scriptural purity1 by exposure of the caricatures of misinterpreters2 and this1 again1 could not be satisfactorily done till we were agreed respecting the faculty entitled to sit in judgment on such questions4 ,i early foresaw1 that my best chance 7,i will not say1 of giving an insight into the surpassing worth and transcendent reasonableness of the ,christian scheme1 but7 of rendering the very question intelligible1 depended on my success in determining the true nature and limits of the human ,,understanding1 and in evincing its diversity from ,,reason4 ,in pursuing this momentous subject1 ,i was tempted in two or three instances into disquisitions1 which if not beyond the comprehension1 were yet unsuited to the taste1 of the persons for whom the work was principally intended4 ,these1 however1 ,i have separated from the running text1 and compressed into notes4 ,the reader will at worst1 ,i hope1 pass them by as a leaf or two of waste paper1 willingly given by him to those for whom it may not be paper wasted4 ,nevertheless1 ,i cannot conceal1 that the subject itself supposes1 on the part of the reader1 a steadiness in self-questioning1 a pleasure in referring to his own inward experience for the facts asserted by the author1 which can only be expected from a person who has fairly set his heart on arriving at clear and fixed conclusions in matters of ,faith4 ,but where this interest is felt1 nothing more than a common capacity1 with the ordinary advantages of education1 is required for the complete comprehension both of the argument and the result4 ,let but one thoughtful hour be devoted to the pages #adc-afe4 ,in all that follows1 the reader will find no difficulty in understanding the author's meaning1 whatever he may have in adopting it4 ,the two great moments of the ,christian ,religion are1 ,original ,sin and ,redemption2 that the ,ground1 this the ,superstructure of our faith4 ,the former ,i have exhibited1 first1 according to the scheme of the ,westminster ,divines and the ,synod of ,dort2 then1 according to the#abe scheme of a contemporary ,arminian divine2 and lastly1 in contrast with both schemes1 ,i have placed what ,i firmly believe to be the ,scriptural sense of this article1 and vindicated its entire conformity with reason and experience4 ,i now proceed to the other momentous article--from the necessitating ,occasion of the ,christian ,dispensation to ,christianity itself4 ,for ,christianity and ,redemption are equivalent terms4 ,and here my ,comment will be comprised in a few sentences3 for ,i confine my views to the one object of clearing this awful mystery from those too current misrepresentations of its nature and import that have laid it open to scruples and objections1 not to such as shoot forth from an unbelieving heart--7against these a sick bed will be a more effectual antidote than all the argument in the world7--but to such scruples as have their birth-place in the reason and moral sense4 ,not that it is a mystery--not that it passeth all understanding2--if the doctrine be more than an hyperbolical phrase1 it must do so2--but that it is at variance with the ,law revealed in the conscience2 that it contradicts our moral instincts and intuitions--this is the difficulty1 which alone is worthy of an answer4 ,and what better way is there of correcting the misconceptions than by laying open the source and occasion of them8 ,what surer way of removing the scruples and prejudices1 to which these misconceptions have given rise1 than by propounding the mystery itself--namely ,,the ,,redemptive ,,act1 as the transcendent ,cause of ,salvation--in the express and definite words1 in which it was enunciated by the ,redeemer himself8 ,but here1 in addition to the three ,aphorisms preceding1 ,i interpose a view of redemption as appropriated by faith1 coincident with ,leighton's1 though for the greater part expressed in my own words4 ,this ,i propose as the right view4 ,then follow a few sentences transcribed from ,field 7an excellent divine of the reign of ,james ,i41 of whose work on the ,church it would be difficult to speak too highly7#abg containing the questions to be solved1 and which is numbered1 as an ,aphorism1 rather to preserve the uniformity of appearance1 than as being strictly such4 ,then follows the ,comment3 as part and commencement of which the ,reader will consider the two paragraphs of pp4 #ace1 #acf1 written for this purpose and in the foresight of the present inquiry3 and ,i entreat him therefore to begin the ,comment by re-perusing these4 #abc ,elements of ,religious ,philosophy1 ante1 p4 #hh--;,,ed4 #abd ,see ante1 pp4 #if-aja4--;,,ed4 #abe ,to escape the consequences of this scheme1 some ,arminian divines have asserted that the penalty inflicted on ,adam1 and continued in his posterity1 was simply the loss of immortality1 ,death as the utter extinction of personal ,being3 immortality being regarded by them 7and not1 ,i think1 without good reason7 as a supernatural attribute1 and its loss therefore involved in the forfeiture of supernatural graces4 ,this theory has its golden side2 and as a private opinion1 is said to have the countenance of more than one dignitary of our ,church1 whose general orthodoxy is beyond impeachment4 ,for here the penalty resolves itself into the consequence1 and this the natural and naturally inevitable consequence of ,adam's crime4 ,for ,adam1 indeed1 it was a positive punishment3 a punishment of his guilt1 the justice of which who could have dared arraign8 ,while for the ,offspring of ,adam it was simply a not super-adding to their nature the privilege by which the original man was contra-distinguished from the brute creation--a mere negation1 of which they had no more right to complain than any other species of animals4 ,god in this view appears only in his attribute of mercy1 as averting by supernatural interposition a consequence naturally inevitable4 ,this is the golden side of the theory4 ,but if we approach to it from the opposite direction1 it first excites a just scruple1 from the countenance it seems to give to the doctrine of ,materialism4 ,the supporters of this scheme do not1 ,i presume1 contend1 that ,adam's offspring would not have been born men1 but have formed a new species of beasts6 ,and if not1 the notion of a rational1 and self-conscious soul1 perishing utterly with the dissolution of the organized body1 seems to require1 nay1 almost involves1 the opinion that the soul is a quality or accident of the body--a mere harmony resulting from organization4 ,but let this pass unquestioned4 ,whatever else the descendants of ,adam might have been without the intercession of ,christ1 yet 7this intercession having been effectually made7 they are now endowed with souls that are not extinguished together with the material body4 ,now unless these divines teach likewise the ,romish figment of ,purgatory1 and to an extent in which the ,church of ,rome herself would denounce the doctrine as an impious heresy3 unless they hold1 that a punishment temporary and remedial is the worst evil that the impenitent have to apprehend in a future state2 and that the spiritual ,death declared and foretold by ,christ1 the death eternal where the worm never dies1 is neither ,death nor eternal1 but a certain quantum of suffering in a state of faith1 hope1 and progressive amendment--unless they go these lengths 7and the divines here intended are orthodox ,churchmen1 men who would not knowingly advance even a step on the road towards them7--then ,i fear1 that any advantage their theory might possess over the ,calvinistic scheme in the article of ,original ,sin1 would be dearly purchased by increased difficulties1 and an ultra-,calvinistic narrowness in the article of ,redemption4 ,i at least find it impossible1 with my present human feelings1 not to imagine otherwise than that even in heaven it would be a fearful thing to know1 that in order to my elevation to a lot infinitely more desirable than by nature it would have been1 the lot of so vast a multitude had been rendered infinitely more calamitous2 and that my felicity had been purchased by the everlasting misery of the majority of my fellow-men1 who if no redemption had been provided1 after inheriting the pains and pleasures of earthly existence during the numbered hours1 and the few and evil--evil yet few--days of the years of their mortal life1 would have fallen asleep to wake no more1--would have sunk into the dreamless sleep of the grave1 and have been as the murmur and the plaint1 and the exulting swell and the sharp scream1 which the unequal gust of yesterday snatched from the strings of a wind-harp6 ,in another place ,i have ventured to question the spirit and tendency of ,taylor's work on ,repentance4#abf ,but ,i ought to have added1 that to discover and keep the true medium in expounding and applying the ,efficacy of ,christ's ,cross and ,passion1 is beyond comparison the most difficult and delicate point of practical divinity--and that which especially needs a guidance from above4 #abf ,perhaps in his ,unum ,necessarium2 or the ,doctrine and ,practice of ,repentance1 part of his ,notes on ,jeremy ,taylor1 pp4 #bie-cbe1 v4 iii41 of the ',remains1' #ahch4--;,,ed4 #abg ,see also ,notes on ,field on the ,church 7#afbh71 in ,coleridge's ',remains1' #ahch1 v4 iii41 pp4 #eg-ib4--;,,ed4 ,,aphorism ,,xviii4 ,stedfast by ,faith4 ,this is absolutely necessary for resistance to the ,evil ,principle4 ,there is no standing out without some firm ground to stand on3 and this ,faith alone supplies4 ,by ,faith in the ,love of ,christ the power of ,god becomes ours4 ,when the soul is beleaguered by enemies1 weakness on the walls1 treachery at the gates1 and corruption in the citadel1 then by ,faith she says--,lamb of ,god1 slain from the foundation of the ,world6 thou art my strength6 ,i look to thee for deliverance6 ,and thus she overcomes4 ,the pollution 7miasma7 of sin is precipitated by his blood1 the power of sin is conquered by his ,spirit4 ,the ,apostle says not--stedfast by your own resolutions and purposes2 but--stedfast by faith4 ,nor yet stedfast in your ,will1 but stedfast in the faith4 ,we are not to be looking to1 or brooding over ourselves1 either for accusation or for confidence1 or 7by a deep yet too frequent self-delusion7 to obtain the latter by making a merit to ourselves of the former4 ,but we are to look to ,,christ and him crucified4 ,the ,law that is very nigh to thee1 even in thy heart2 the ,law that condemneth and hath no promise2 that stoppeth the guilty ,,past in its swift flight1 and maketh it disown its name2 the ,law will accuse thee enough4 ,linger not in the ,justice-court1 listening to thy indictment6 ,loiter not in waiting to hear the ,sentence6 ,no6 ,anticipate the verdict6 ,appeal to ,csar6 ,haste to the ,king for a pardon6 ,struggle thitherward1 though in fetters2 and cry aloud1 and collect the whole remaining strength of thy ,will in the outcry--,i believe6 ,lord6 help my unbelief6 ,disclaim all right of property in thy fetters4 ,say1 that they belong to the old man1 and that thou dost but carry them to the ,grave1 to be buried with their owner6 ,fix thy thought on what ,christ did1 what ,christ suffered1 what ,christ is--as if thou wouldst fill the hollowness of thy ,soul with ,christ6 ,if he emptied himself of glory to become sin for thy salvation1 must not thou be emptied of thy sinful ,self to become ,righteousness in and through his agony and the effective merits of his ,cross8 #abh ,by what other means1 in what other form1 is it possible for thee to stand in the presence of the ,holy ,one8 ,with what mind wouldst thou come before ,god1 if not with the mind of ,him1 in whom alone ,god loveth the world8 ,with good advice1 perhaps1 and a little assistance1 thou wouldst rather cleanse and patch up a mind of thy own1 and offer it as thy admission-right1 thy qualification1 to ,him who charged his angels with folly6#abi ,oh6 take counsel of thy ,reason6 ,it will show thee how impossible it is1 that even a world should merit the love of ,eternal ,wisdom and all sufficing ,beatitude1 otherwise than as it is contained in that all-perfect ,idea1 in which the ,supreme ,spirit contemplateth itself and the plenitude of its infinity--the ,only-,begotten before all ages6 the beloved ,son1 in whom the ,father is indeed well pleased6 ,and as the ,mind1 so the ,body with which it is to be clothed6 as the ,indweller1 so the ,house in which it is to be the ,abiding-place6#acj ,there is but one wedding-garment1 in which we can sit down at the marriage-feast of ,heaven3 and that is the ,bridegroom's own gift1 when he gave himself for us that we might live in him and he in us4 ,there is but one robe of ,righteousnes1 even the ,spiritual ,body1 formed by the assimilative power of faith for whoever eateth the flesh of the ,son of ,man and drinketh his blood4 ,did ,christ come from ,heaven1 did the ,son of ,god leave the glory which he had with his ,father before the world began1 only to show us a way to life1 to teach truths1 to tell us of a resurrection8 ,or saith he not1 ,i am the way--,i am the truth--,i am the ,resurrection and the ,life8 #abh ,god manifested in the flesh is ,eternity in the form of ,time4 ,but ,eternity in relation to ,time is the absolute to the conditional1 or the real to the apparent1 and ,redemption must partake of both2--always perfected1 for it is a ,fiat of the ,eternal2--continuous1 for it is a process in relation to man2 the former1 the alone objectively1 and therefore universally1 true4 ,that ,redemption in an opus perfectum1 a finished work1 the claim to which is conferred in ,baptism2 that a ,christian cannot speak or think as if his ,redemption by the blood1 and his ,justification by the ,righteousness of ,christ alone1 were future or contingent events1 but must both say and think1 ,i have been redeemed1 ,i am justified2 lastly1 that for as many as are received into his ,church by baptism1 ,christ has condemned sin in the flesh1 has made it dead in law1 that is1 no longer imputable as guilt1 has destroyed the objective reality of sin3--these are truths1 which all the ,reformed ,churches1 ,swedish1 ,danish1 ,evangelical1 7or ,lutheran17 the ,reformed 7the ,calvinistic in mid-,germany1 ,france1 and ,geneva1 so called17 lastly1 the ,church of ,england1 and the ,church of ,scotland--nay1 the best and most learned divines of the ,roman ,catholic ,church have united in upholding as most certain and necessary articles of faith1 and the effectual preaching of which ,luther declares to be the appropriate criterion1 stantis vel cadentis ,ecclesi4 ,the ,church is standing or falling1 according as this doctrine is supported1 or overlooked1 or countervened4 ,nor has the contrary doctrine1 according to which the baptized are yet1 each individually1 to be called1 converted1 and chosen1 with all the corollaries from this assumption1 the watching for signs and sensible assurances1 the frames1 and the states1 and the feelings1 and the sudden conversions1 the contagious fever-boils1 of the 7most unfitly1 so called7 ,evangelicals1 and ,arminian ,methodists of the day1 been in any age taught or countenanced by any known and accredited ,christian ,church1 or by any body and succession of learned divines4 ,on the other hand it has rarely happened1 that the ,church has not been troubled by pharisaic and fanatical individuals1 who have sought1 by working on the fears and feelings of the weak and unsteady that celebrity1 which they could not obtain by learning and orthodoxy3 and alas6 so subtle is the poison1 and so malignant in its operation1 that it is almost hopeless to attempt the cure of any person1 once infected1 more particularly when1 as most often happens1 the patient is a woman4 ,nor does ,luther in his numerous and admirable discourses on this point1 conceal or palliate the difficulties1 which the carnal mind1 that works under many and different disguises1 throws in the way to prevent the laying firm hold of the truth4 ,one most mischievous and very popular mis-belief must be cleared away in the first instance--the presumption1 ,i mean1 that whatever is not quite simple1 and what any plain body can understand at the first hearing1 cannot be of necessary belief1 or among the fundamental articles or essentials of ,christian faith4 ,a docile1 child-like mind1 a deference to the authority of the ,churches1 a presumption of the truth of doctrines that have been received and taught as true by the whole ,church in all times2 reliance on the positive declarations of the ,apostle--in short1 all the convictions of the truth of a doctrine that are previous to a perfect insight into its truth1 because these convictions1 with the affections and dispositions accompanying them1 are the very means and conditions of attaining to that insight--and study of1 and quiet meditation on1 them1 with a gradual growth of spiritual knowledge1 and earnest prayer for its increase2 all these1 to each and all of which the young ,christian is so repeatedly and fervently exhorted by ,st4 ,paul1 are to be superseded1 because1 forsooth1 truths needful for all men1 must be quite simple and easy1 and adapted to the capacity of all1 even of the plainest and dullest understanding6 ,what cannot be poured all at once on a man1 can only be supererogatory drops from the emptied shower-bath of religious instruction6 ,but surely1 the more rational inference would be1 that the faith1 which is to save the whole man1 must have its roots and justifying grounds in the very depths of our being4 ,and he who can read the ,writings of the ,apostles1 ,john and ,paul1 without finding in almost every page a confirmation of this1 must have looked at them1 as at the sun in an eclipse1 through blackened glasses4 #abi ,job4 iv4 #ah4--;,,ed4 #acj ,st4 ,paul blends both forms of expression1 and asserts the same doctrine when speaking of the celestial body provided for the new man in the spiritual flesh and blood1 7that is1 the informing power and vivific life of the incarnate ,word3 for the ,blood is the ,life1 and the ,flesh the ,power7--when speaking1 ,i say1 of this celestial body1 as a house not made with hands1 eternal in the heavens1 yet brought down to us1 made appropriable by faith1 and ours--he adds1 for in this earthly house 7that is1 this mortal life1 as the inward principle or energy of our ,tabernacle1 or outward and sensible body7 we groan1 earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven3 not that we would be unclothed1 but clothed upon1 that mortality might be swallowed up of life4 #b ,cor4 v4 #a-d4 ,the four last words of the first verse 7eternal in the heavens7 compared with the conclusion of v4 #b1 7which is from heaven7 present a coincidence with ,john iii4 #ac1 ,and no man hath ascended up to heaven1 but he that came down from heaven1 even the ,son of ,man1 which is in heaven4 ,would not the coincidence be more apparent1 if the words of ,john had been rendered word for word1 even to a disregard of the ,english idiom1 and with what would be servile and superstitious fidelity in the translation of a common classic8 ,i can see no reason why the 1 so frequent in ,st4 ,john1 should not be rendered literally1 no one2 and there may be a reason why it should4 ,i have some doubt likewise respecting the omission of the definite articles 1 1 --and a greater1 as to the 1 both in this place and in ,john i4 #ah1 being adequately rendered by our which is4 ,what sense some of the ,greek ,fathers attached to1 or inferred from1 ,st4 ,paul's in the ,heavens1 the theological student 7and to theologians is this note principally addressed7 may find in ,waterland's ,letters to a ,country ,clergyman--a divine1 whose judgment and strong sound sense are as unquestionable as his learning and orthodoxy4 ,a clergyman in full orders1 who has never read the works of ,bull and ,waterland1 has a duty yet to perform4 ,let it not be objected1 that1 forgetful of my own professed aversion to allegorical interpretations1 ,i have1 in this note1 fallen into the fond humour of the mystic divines1 and allegorizers of ,holy ,writ4#aca ,there is1 believe me1 a wide difference between symbolical and allegorical4 ,if ,i say that the flesh and blood 7corpus noumenon7 of the ,incarnate ,word are power and life1 ,i say likewise that this mysterious power and life are verily and actually the flesh and blood of ,christ4 ,they are the allegorizers1 who turn the #fth chapter of the ,gospel according to ,st4 ,john1--the hard saying1--who can hear it8--after which time many of ,christ's disciples1 who had been eye-witnesses of his mighty miracles1 who had heard the sublime morality of his ,sermon on the ,mount1 had glorified ,god for the wisdom which they had heard1 and had been prepared to acknowledge1 ,this is indeed the ,christ1--went back and walked no more with him6--the hard sayings1 which even ,,the ,,twelve were not yet competent to understand farther than that they were to be spiritually understood2 and which the chief of the ,apostles was content to receive with an implicit and anticipative faith6--they1 ,i repeat1 are the allegorizers who moralize these hard sayings1 these high words of mystery1 into a hyperbolical metaphor per catachresin1 which only means a belief of the doctrine which ,paul believed1 an obedience to the law1 respecting which ,paul was blameless1 before the voice called him on the road to ,damascus6 ,what every parent1 every humane preceptor1 would do when a child had misunderstood a metaphor or apologue in a literal sense1 we all know4 ,but the meek and merciful ,jesus suffered many of ,,his disciples to fall off from eternal life1 when1 to retain them1 he had only to say1--,o ye simple-ones6 why are ye offended8 ,my words1 indeed1 sound strange2 but ,i mean no more than what you have often and often heard from me before1 with delight and entire acquiescence6--,credat ,judus6 ,non ego4 ,it is sufficient for me to know that ,i have used the language of ,paul and ,john1 as it was understood and interpreted by ,justin ,martyr4 ,tertullian1 ,irenus1 and 7if he does not err7 by the whole ,christian ,church then existing4 #aca ,see ,introductory ,aphorisms1 xxix41 p4 #ai4--;,,ed4 ,,aphorism ,,xix4 ,,field4 ,the ,romanists teach that sins committed after baptism 7that is1 for the immense majority of ,christians having ,christian parents1 all their sins from the cradle to the grave7 are not so remitted for ,christ's sake1 but that we must suffer that extremity of punishment which they deserve3 and therefore either we must afflict ourselves in such sort and degree of extremity as may answer the demerit of our sins1 or be punished by ,god1 here or in the world to come1 in such degree and sort that his ,justice may be satisfied4 ,as the encysted venom1 or poison-bag1 beneath the ,adder's fang1 so does this doctrine lie beneath the tremendous power of the ,romish ,hierarchy4 ,the demoralizing influence of this dogma1 and that it curdled the very life-blood in the veins of ,christendom1 it was given to ,luther beyond all men since ,paul to see1 feel1 and promulgate4 ,and yet in his large ,treatise on ,repentance1 how near to the spirit of this doctrine--even to the very walls and gates of ,babylon--was ,jeremy ,taylor driven1 in recoiling from the fanatical extremes of the opposite error6 ,but they that are orthodox1 teach that it is injustice to require the payment of one debt twice4 99 99 99 ,it is no less absurd to say1 as the ,papists do1 that our satisfaction is required as a condition1 without which ,christ's satisfaction is not applicable unto us1 than to say1 ,peter hath paid the debt of ,john1 and ,he1 to whom it was due1 accepteth of the same payment on the condition that ,john pay it himself also4 99 99 99 ,the satisfaction of ,christ is communicated and applied unto us without suffering the punishment that sin deserveth1 and essentially involveth1 upon the condition of our faith and repentance4 ,to which ,i would add3 ,without faith there is no power of repentance3 without a commencing repentance no power to faith3 and that it is in the power of the will either to repent or to have faith in the ,gospel sense of the words1 is itself a consequence of the redemption of mankind1 a free gift of the ,redeemer3 the guilt of its rejection1 the refusing to avail ourselves of the power1 being all that we can consider as exclusively attributable to our own act4#acb ,,comment4 7,containing an ,application of the ,principles laid down in pp4 #ace1 #acf47 ,forgiveness of sin1 the abolition of guilt1 through the redemptive power of ,christ's love1 and of his perfect obedience during his voluntary assumption of humanity1 is expressed1 on account of the resemblance of the consequences in both cases1 by the payment of a debt for another1 which debt the payer had not himself incurred4 ,now the impropriation of this metaphor--7that is1 the taking it literally7 by transferring the sameness from the consequents to the antecedents1 or inferring the identity of the causes from a resemblance in the effects--this is the point on which ,i am at issue3 and the view or scheme of redemption grounded on this confusion ,i believe to be altogether un-,scriptural4 ,indeed1 ,i know not in what other instance ,i could better exemplify the species of sophistry noticed in p4 #adg1 as the ,aristotelean 1 or clandestine passing over into a diverse kind4 ,the purpose of a metaphor is to illustrate a something less known by a partial identification of it with some other thing better understood1 or at least more familiar4 ,now the article of ,redemption may be considered in a two-fold relation--in relation to the antecedent1 that is1 the ,redeemer's act as the efficient cause and condition of redemption2 and in relation to the consequent1 that is1 the effects in and for the ,redeemed4 ,now it is the latter relation1 in which the subject is treated of1 set forth1 expanded1 and enforced by ,st4 ,paul4 ,the mysterious act1 the operative cause is transcendent4 ,factum est3 and beyond the information contained in the enunciation of the ,fact1 it can be characterized only by the consequences4 ,it is the consequences of the ,act of ,redemption1 which the zealous ,apostle would bring home to the minds and affections both of ,jews and ,gentiles4 ,now the ,apostle's opponents and gainsayers were principally of the former class4 ,they were ,jews3 not only ,jews unconverted1 but such as had partially received the ,gospel1 and who1 sheltering their national prejudices under the pretended authority of ,christ's original apostles and the ,church in ,jerusalem1 set themselves up against ,paul as followers of ,cephas4 ,add too1 that ,paul himself was a ,hebrew of the ,hebrews2 intimately versed in the ,jews' religion above many1 his equals1 in his own nation1 and above measure zealous of the traditions of his fathers4 ,it might1 therefore1 have been anticipated1 that his reasoning would receive its outward forms and language1 that it would take its predominant colours1 from his own past1 and his opponents' present1 habits of thinking2 and that his figures1 images1 analogies1 and references would be taken preferably from objects1 opinions1 events1 and ritual observances ever uppermost in the imaginations of his own countrymen4 ,and such we find them2--yet so judiciously selected1 that the prominent forms1 the figures of most frequent recurrence1 are drawn from points of belief and practice1 forms1 laws1 rites and customs1 that then prevailed through the whole ,roman world1 and were common to ,jew and ,gentile4 ,now it would be difficult if not impossible to select points better suited to this purpose1 as being equally familiar to all1 and yet having a special interest for the ,jewish converts1 than those are from which the learned ,apostle has drawn the four principal metaphors1 by which he illustrates the blessed consequences of ,christ's redemption of mankind4 ,these are3 #a4 ,sin-offerings1 sacrificial expiation4 #b4 ,reconciliation1 atonement1 4#acc #c4 ,ransom from slavery1 ,redemption1 the buying back again1 or being bought back4 #d4 ,satisfaction of a creditor's claims by a payment of the debt4 ,to one or other of these four heads all the numerous forms and exponents of ,christ's mediation in ,st4 ,paul's writings may be referred4 ,and the very number and variety of the words or periphrases used by him to express one and the same thing furnish the strongest presumptive proof1 that all alike were used metaphorically4 ,in the following notation1 let the small letters represent the effects or consequences1 and the capitals the efficient causes or antecedents4 ,whether by causes we mean acts or agents1 is indifferent4 ,now let ,x signify a transcendent1 that is1 a cause beyond our comprehension and not within the sphere of sensible experience2 and on the other hand1 let ,a1 ,b1 ,c1 and ,d represent each some one known and familiar cause1 in reference to some single and characteristic effect3 namely1 ,a in reference to k1 ,b to l1 ,c to m1 and ,d to n4 ,then ,i say ,x k l m n is in different places expressed by ,a k2 ,b l2 ,c m2 ,d n4--,and these ,i should call metaphorical exponents of ,x4 ,now ,john1 the beloved ,disciple1 who leaned on the ,lord's bosom1 the ,evangelist 1 that is1 according to the ,spirit1 the inner and substantial truth of the ,christian creed--,john1 recording the ,redeemer's own words1 enunciates the fact itself1 to the full extent in which it is enunciable for the human mind1 simply and without any metaphor1 by identifying it in kind with a fact of hourly occurrence--expressing it1 ,i say1 by a familiar fact the same in kind with that intended1 though of a far lower dignity2--by a fact of every man's experience1 known to all1 yet not better understood than the fact described by it4 ,in the ,redeemed it is a re-generation1 a birth1 a spiritual seed impregnated and evolved1 the germinal principle of a higher and enduring life1 of a spiritual life--that is1 a life the actuality of which is not dependent on the material body1 or limited by the circumstances and processes indispensable to its organization and subsistence4 ,briefly1 it is the differential of immortality1 of which the assimilative power of faith and love is the integrant1 and the life in ,christ the integration4 ,but even this would be an imperfect statement1 if we omitted the awful truth1 that besides that dissolution of our earthly tabernacle which we call death1 there is another death1 not the mere negation of life1 but its positive opposite4 ,and as there is a mystery of life and an assimilation to the principle of life1 even to him who is the ,life2 so is there a mystery of death and an assimilation to the principle of evil2 a fructifying of the corrupt seed1 of which death is the germination4 ,thus the regeneration to spiritual life is at the same time a redemption from the spiritual death4 ,respecting the redemptive act itself1 and the ,divine ,agent1 we know from revelation that he was made a quickening 71 life-making7 spirit3 and that in order to this it was necessary1 that ,god should be manifested in the flesh1 that the ,eternal ,word1 through whom and by whom the world 71 the order1 beauty1 and sustaining law of visible natures7 was and is1 should be made flesh1 assume our humanity personally1 fulfil all righteousness1 and so suffer and so die for us as in dying to conquer death for as many as should receive him4 ,more than this1 the mode1 the possibility1 we are not competent to know4 ,it is1 as hath been already observed concerning the primal act of apostacy1 a mystery by the necessity of the subject--a mystery1 which at all events it will be time enough for us to seek and expect to understand1 when we understand the mystery of our natural life1 and its conjunction with mind and will and personal identity4 ,even the truths that are given to us to know1 we can know only through faith in the spirit4 ,they are spiritual things which must be spiritually discerned4 ,such1 however1 being the means and the effects of our ,redemption1 well might the fervent ,apostle associate it with whatever was eminently dear and precious to erring and afflicted mortals1 and 7where no expression could be commensurate1 no single title be other than imperfect7 seek from similitude of effect to describe the superlative boon by successively transferring to it1 as by a superior claim1 the name of each several act and ordinance1 habitually connected in the minds of all his hearers with feelings of joy1 confidence1 and gratitude4 ,do you rejoice when the atonement made by the priest has removed the civil stain from your name1 restored you to your privileges as a son of ,abraham1 and replaced you in the respect of your brethren8--,here is an atonement which takes away a deeper and worse stain1 an eating canker-spot in the very heart of your personal being4 ,this1 to as many as receive it1 gives the privilege to become sons of ,god 7,john i4 #ab72 this will admit you to the society of angels1 and insure to you the rights of brotherhood with spirits made perfect4--7,heb4 xii4 #bb47 ,here is a sacrifice1 a sin-offering for the whole world3 and a ,high ,priest1 who is indeed a ,mediator1 who not in type or shadow but in very truth and in his own right stands in the place of ,man to ,god1 and of ,god to ,man2 and who receives as a ,judge what he offered as an ,advocate4 ,would you be grateful to one who had ransomed you from slavery under a bitter foe1 or who brought you out of captivity8 ,here is redemption from a far direr slavery1 the slavery of sin unto death2 and he1 who gave himself for the ransom1 has taken captivity captive4 ,had you by your own fault alienated yourself from your best1 your only sure friend2--had you1 like a prodigal1 cast yourself out of your father's house2--would you not love the good ,samaritan1 who should reconcile you to your friend8 ,would you not prize above all price the intercession1 which had brought you back from husks1 and the tending of swine1 and restored you to your father's arms1 and seated you at your father's table8 ,had you involved yourself in a heavy ,,debt for certain gew-gaws1 for high seasoned meats1 and intoxicating drinks1 and glistering apparel1 and in default of payment had made yourself over as a bondsman to a hard creditor1 who it was foreknown1 would enforce the bond of judgment to the last tittle2--with what emotions would you not receive the glad tidings1 that a stranger1 or a friend whom in the days of your wantonness you had neglected and reviled1 had paid the ,,debt for you1 had made ,,satisfaction to your creditor8 ,but you have incurred a debt of ,death to the ,,evil ,,nature6 you have sold yourself over to ,,sin6 and relatively to you1 and to all your means and resources1 the seal on the bond is the seal of necessity6 ,its stamp is the nature of evil4 ,but the stranger has appeared1 the forgiving friend has come1 even the ,son of ,god from heaven3 and to as many as have faith in his name1 ,i say--the ,debt is paid for you4 ,the ,satisfaction has been made4 ,now to simplify the argument and at the same time to bring the question to the test1 we will confine our attention to the figure last mentioned1 viz4 the satisfaction of a debt4 ,passing by our modern ,alogi who find nothing but metaphors in either ,apostle1 let us suppose for a moment with certain divines1 that our ,lord's words1 recorded by ,john1 and which in all places repeat and assert the same analogy1 are to be regarded as metaphorical2 and that it is the varied expressions of ,st4 ,paul that are to be literally interpreted3--for example1 that sin is1 or involves1 an infinite debt1 7in the proper and law-court sense of the word debt7--a debt owing by us to the vindictive justice of ,god the ,father1 which can only be liquidated by the everlasting misery of ,adam and all his posterity1 or by a sum of suffering equal to this4 ,likewise1 that ,god the ,father by his absolute decree1 or 7as some divines teach7 through the necessity of his unchangeable justice1 had determined to exact the full sum2 which must1 therefore1 be paid either by ourselves or by some other in our name and behalf4 ,but besides the debt which all mankind contracted in and through ,adam1 as a homo publicus1 even as a nation is bound by the acts of its head or its plenipotentiary1 every man 7say these divines7 is an insolvent debtor on his own score4 ,in this fearful predicament the ,son of ,god took compassion on mankind1 and resolved to pay the debt for us1 and to satisfy the divine justice by a perfect equivalent4 ,accordingly1 by a strange yet strict consequence1 it has been holden by more than one of these divines1 that the agonies suffered by ,christ were equal in amount to the sum total of the torments of all mankind here and hereafter1 or to the infinite debt1 which in an endless succession of instalments we should have been paying to the divine justice1 had it not been paid in full by the ,son of ,god incarnate6 ,it is easy to say--,o but ,i do not hold this1 or we do not make this an article of our belief6 ,the true question is3 ,do you take any part of it3 and can you reject the rest without being inconsequent8 ,are debt1 satisfaction1 payment in full1 creditor's rights1 and the like1 nomina propria1 by which the very nature of ,redemption and its occasion is expressed2--or are they1 with several others1 figures of speech for the purpose of illustrating the nature and extent of the consequences and effects of the redemptive ,act1 and to excite in the receivers a due sense of the magnitude and manifold operation of the ,boon1 and of the ,love and gratitude due to the ,redeemer8 ,if still you reply1 the former3 then1 as your whole theory is grounded on a notion of justice1 ,i ask you--,is this justice a moral attribute8 ,but morality commences with1 and begins in1 the sacred distinction between thing and person3 on this distinction all law human and divine is grounded3 consequently1 the law of justice4 ,if you attach any meaning to the term justice1 as applied to ,god1 it must be the same to which you refer when you affirm or deny it of any other personal agent--save only1 that in its attribution to ,god1 you speak of it as unmixed and perfect4 ,for if not1 what do you mean8 ,and why do you call it by the same name8 ,i may1 therefore1 with all right and reason1 put the case as between man and man4 ,for should it be found irreconcilable with the justice1 which the light of reason1 made law in the conscience1 dictates to man1 how much more must it be incongruous with the all-perfect justice of ,god6 ,whatever case ,i should imagine would be felt by the reader as below the dignity of the subject1 and in some measure jarring with his feelings2 and in other respects the more familiar the case1 the better suited to the present purpose4 ,a sum of #a1jjj is owing from ,james to ,peter1 for which ,james has given a bond4 ,he is insolvent1 and the bond is on the point of being put in suit against him1 to ,james's utter ruin4 ,at this moment ,matthew steps in1 pays ,peter the thousand pounds and discharges the bond4 ,in this case1 no man would hesitate to admit1 that a complete satisfaction had been made to ,peter4 ,matthew's #a1jjj is a perfect equivalent for the sum which ,james was bound to have paid1 and which ,peter had lent4 ,it is the same thing3 and this is altogether a question of things4 ,now instead of ,james's being indebted to ,peter for a sum of money1 which 7he having become insolvent7 ,matthew pays for him1 we will put the case1 that ,james had been guilty of the basest and most hard-hearted ingratitude to a most worthy and affectionate mother1 who had not only performed all the duties and tender offices of a mother1 but whose whole heart was bound up in this her only child--who had foregone all the pleasures and amusements of life in watching over his sickly childhood1 had sacrificed her health and the far greater part of her resources to rescue him from the consequences of his follies and excesses during his youth and early manhood2 and to procure for him the means of his present rank and affluence--all which he had repaid by neglect1 desertion1 and open profligacy4 ,here the mother stands in the relation of the creditor3 and here too ,i will suppose the same generous friend to interfere1 and to perform with the greatest tenderness and constancy all those duties of a grateful and affectionate son1 which ,james ought to have performed4 ,will this satisfy the ,mother's claims on ,james1 or entitle him to her esteem1 approbation1 and blessing8 ,or what if ,matthew1 the vicarious son1 should at length address her in words to this purpose3--,now1 ,i trust1 you are appeased1 and will be henceforward reconciled to ,james4 ,i have satisfied all your claims on him4 ,i have paid his debt in full3 and you are too just to require the same debt to be paid twice over4 ,you will therefore regard him with the same complacency1 and receive him into your presence with the same love1 as if there had been no difference between him and you4 ,for ,i have made it up4 ,what other reply could the swelling heart of the mother dictate than this8 ,o misery6 and is it possible that you are in league with my unnatural child to insult me8 ,must not the very necessity of your abandonment of your proper sphere form an additional evidence of his guilt8 ,must not the sense of your goodness teach me more fully to comprehend1 more vividly to feel1 the evil in him8 ,must not the contrast of your merits magnify his demerit in his mother's eye1 and at once recall and embitter the conviction of the canker-worm in his soul8 ,if indeed by the force of ,matthew's example1 by persuasion or by additional and more mysterious influences1 or by an inward co-agency1 compatible with the existence of a personal will1 ,james should be led to repent2 if through admiration and love of this great goodness gradually assimilating his mind to the mind of his benefactor1 he should in his own person become a grateful and dutiful child--then doubtless the mother would be wholly satisfied6 ,but then the case is no longer a question of things1 or a matter of debt payable by another4 ,nevertheless1 the effect1--and the reader will remember1 that it is the effects and consequences of ,christ's mediation1 on which ,st4 ,paul is dilating--the effect to ,james is similar in both cases1 that is1 in the case of ,james the debtor1 and of ,james the undutiful son4 ,in both cases1 ,james is liberated from a grievous burthen2 and in both cases he has to attribute his liberation to the act and free grace of another4 ,the only difference is1 that in the former case 7namely1 the payment of the debt7 the beneficial act is singly1 and without requiring any re-action or co-agency on the part of ,james1 the efficient cause of his liberation3 while in the latter case 7namely1 that of ,redemption7 the beneficial act is the first1 the indispensable condition1 and then the coefficient4 ,the professional student of theology will1 perhaps1 understand the different positions asserted in the preceding argument more readily if they are presented synoptically1 that is1 brought at once within his view1 in the form of answers to four questions1 comprising the constituent parts of the ,scriptural ,doctrine of ,redemption4 ,and ,i trust that my lay readers of both sexes will not allow themselves to be scared from the perusal of the following short catechism by half a dozen ,latin words1 or rather words with ,latin endings1 that translate themselves into ,english1 when ,i dare assure them1 that they will encounter no other obstacle to their full and easy comprehension of the contents4 ,synopsis of the ,constituent ,points in the ,doctrine of ,redemption1 in ,four ,questions1 with ,correspondent ,answers4 ,questions4 #a4 ,agens ,causator8 ,who 7or ,what7 is the #b4 ,actus ,causativus8 #c4 ,effectum ,causatum8 #d4 ,consequentia ab ,effecto8 ,answers4 ,i4 ,the ,agent and ,personal ,cause of the ,redemption of ,mankind is--the co-eternal ,word and only begotten ,son of the ,living ,god1 incarnate1 tempted1 agonizing 7agonistes 71 crucified1 submitting to death1 resurgent1 communicant of his ,spirit1 ascendent1 and obtaining for his ,church the ,descent1 and ,communion of the ,holy ,spirit1 the ,comforter4 ,,ii4 ,the causative act is--a spiritual and transcendent ,mystery1 that passeth all understanding4 ,,iii4 ,the ,effect caused is--the being born anew3 as before in the flesh to the world1 so now born in the spirit to ,christ4 ,,iv4 ,the ,consequences from the ,effect are--,sanctification from ,sin1 and ,liberation from the inherent and penal consequences of ,sin in the ,world to come1 with all the means and processes of ,sanctification by the ,word and the ,spirit3 these ,consequents being the same for the ,sinner relatively to ,god and his own ,soul1 as the satisfaction of a debt for a debtor relatively to his creditor2 as the sacrificial atonement made by the priest for the transgressor of the ,mosaic ,law2 as the reconciliation to an alienated parent for a son who had estranged himself from his father's house and presence2 and as a redemptive ransom for a slave or captive4 ,now ,i complain that this metaphorical naming of the transcendent causative act through the medium of its proper effects from actions and causes of familiar occurrence connected with the former by similarity of result1 has been mistaken for an intended designation of the essential character of the causative act itself2 and that thus divines have interpreted de omni what was spoken de singulo1 and magnified a partial equation into a total identity4 ,i will merely hint1 to my more learned readers1 and to the professional students of theology1 that the origin of this error is to be sought for in the discussions of the ,greek ,fathers1 and 7at a later period7 of the ,schoolmen1 on the obscure and abysmal subject of the divine ,a-seity1 and the distinction between the and the 1 that is1 the ,absolute ,will1 as the universal ground of all ,being1 and the election and purpose of ,god in the personal idea1 as the ,father4 ,and this view would have allowed me to express what ,i believe to be the true import and scriptural idea of ,redemption in terms much more nearly resembling those used ordinarily by the ,calvinistic divines1 and with a conciliative show of coincidence4 ,but this motive was outweighed by the reflection1 that ,i could not rationally have expected to be understood by those to whom ,i most wish to be intelligible3 et si non vis intelligi1 cur vis legi8 ,not to countervene the purpose of a ,synopsis1 ,i have detached the confirmative or explanatory remarks from the ,answers to ,questions ,,ii4 and ,,iii41 and place them below as scholia4 ,a single glance of the eye will enable the reader to re-connect each with the sentence it is supposed to follow4 ,,scholium ,,to ,,answer ,,ii4 ,nevertheless1 the fact or actual truth having been assured to us by ,revelation1 it is not impossible1 by stedfast meditation on the idea and super-natural character of a personal ,,will1 for a mind spiritually disciplined to satisfy itself1 that the redemptive act supposes 7and that our redemption is even negatively conceivable only on the supposition of7 an agent who can at once act on the ,will as an exciting cause1 quasi ab extra2 and in the ,will1 as the condition of its potential1 and the ground of its actual1 being4 ,,scholium ,,to ,,answer ,,iii4 ,where two subjects1 that stand to each other in the relation of antithesis or contradistinction1 are connected by a middle term common to both1 the sense of this middle term is indifferently determinable by either2 the preferability of the one or the other in any given case being decided by the circumstance of our more frequent experience of1 or greater familiarity with1 the ,term1 in this connexion4 ,thus1 if ,i put hydrogen and oxygen gas1 as opposite poles1 the term gas is common to both2 and it is a matter of indifference1 by which of the two bodies ,i ascertain the sense of the term4 ,but if for the conjoint purposes of connexion and contrast1 ,i oppose transparent crystallized alumen to opaque derb1 or uncrystallized alumen2--it may easily happen to be far more convenient for me to show the sense of the middle term1 that is1 alumen1 by a piece of pipe-clay than by a sapphire or ruby2 especially if ,i should be describing the beauty and preciousness of the latter to a peasant woman1 or in a district where a ruby was a rarity which the fewest only had an opportunity of seeing4 ,this is a plain rule of common logic directed in its application by common sense4 ,now let us apply this to the case in hand4 ,the two opposites here are ,flesh and ,spirit1 this in relation to ,christ1 that in relation to the ,world2 and these two opposites are connected by the middle term1 ,birth1 which is of course common to both4 ,but for the same reason1 as in the instance last mentioned1 the interpretation of the common term is to be ascertained from its known sense1 in the more familiar connexion--birth1 namely1 in relation to our natural life and to the organized body1 by which we belong to the present world4--,whatever the word signifies in this connexion1 the same essentially 7in kind though not in dignity and value7 must be its signification in the other4 ,how else could it be 7what yet in this text it undeniably is71 the punctum indifferens1 or nota communis1 of the thesis1 ,flesh2 or the ,world1 and the antithesis ,spirit2 or ,christ8 ,we might therefore1 upon the supposition of a writer having been speaking of river-water in distinction from rain-water1 as rationally pretend that in the latter phrase the term1 water1 was to be understood metaphorically1 as that the word1 birth1 is a metaphor1 and means only so and so1 in the ,gospel according to ,st4 ,john4 ,there is1 ,i am aware1 a numerous and powerful party in our ,church1 so numerous and powerful as not seldom to be entitled the ,church1 who hold and publicly teach1 that ,regeneration is only ,baptism4 ,nay1 the writer of the article on the ,lives of ,scott and ,newton in our ablest and most respectable ,review#acd is but one among many who do not hesitate to brand the contrary opinion as heterodoxy1 and schismatical superstition4 ,i trust1 that ,i think as seriously as most men1 of the evil of schism2 but with every disposition to pay the utmost deference to an acknowledged majority including1 it is said1 a very large proportion of the present dignitaries of our ,church1 ,i cannot but think it a sufficient reply1 that if ,regeneration means ,baptism1 ,baptism must mean ,regeneration2 and this too1 as ,christ himself has declared1 a ,regeneration in the ,spirit4 ,now ,i would ask these divines this simple question3 ,do they believingly suppose a spiritual regenerative power and agency inhering in or accompanying the sprinkling a few drops of water on an infant's face8 ,they cannot evade the question by saying that ,baptism is a type or sign4 ,for this would be to supplant their own assertion1 that ,regeneration means ,baptism1 by the contradictory admission1 that ,regeneration is the significatum1 of which ,baptism is the significant4 ,unless1 indeed1 they would incur the absurdity of saying1 that ,regeneration is a type of ,regeneration1 and ,baptism a type of itself--or that ,baptism only means ,baptism6 ,and this indeed is the plain consequence to which they might be driven1 should they answer the above question in the negative4 ,but if their answer be1 ,yes6 we do suppose and believe this efficiency in the ,baptismal act--,i have not another word to say4 ,only1 perhaps1 ,i might be permitted to express a hope1 that for consistency's sake they would speak less slightingly of the insufflation1 and extreme unction1 used in the ,romish ,church2 notwithstanding the not easily to be answered arguments of our ,christian ,mercury1 the all-eloquent ,jeremy ,taylor1 respecting the latter1 which1 since it is used when the man is above half dead1 when he can exercise no act of understanding1 it must needs be nothing2 for no rational man can think that any ceremony can make a spiritual change without a spiritual act of him that is to be changed2 nor work by way of nature1 or by charm1 but morally and after the manner of reasonable creatures4#ace ,it is too obvious to require suggestion1 that these words here quoted apply with yet greater force and propriety to the point in question3 as the babe is an unconscious subject1 which the dying man need not be supposed to be4 ,my avowed convictions respecting ,regeneration with the spiritual ,baptism1 as its condition and initiative 7,luke iii4 #af2 ,matt4 i4 #g2 ,matt4 iii4 #aa71 and of which the sacramental rite1 the ,baptism of ,john1 was appointed by ,christ to remain as the sign and figure2 and still more1 perhaps1 my belief respecting the ,mystery of the ,eucharist1 7concerning which ,i hold the same opinions as ,bucer1#acf ,peter ,martyr1 and presumably ,cranmer himself7--these convictions and this belief will1 ,i doubt not1 be deemed by the ,orthodox de more ,grotii1 who improve the letter of ,arminius with the spirit of ,socinus1 sufficient data to bring me in guilty of irrational and ,superstitious ,mysticism4 ,but ,i abide by a maxim1 which ,i learnt at an early period of my theological studies1 from ,benedict ,spinoza3--,where the alternative lies between the ,absurd and the ,incomprehensible1 no wise man can be at a loss which of the two to prefer4 ,to be called irrational1 is a trifle2 to be so1 and in matters of religion1 is far otherwise3 and whether the irrationality consists in men's believing 7that is1 in having persuaded themselves that they believe7 against reason1 or without reason1 ,i have been early instructed to consider it as a sad and serious evil1 pregnant with mischiefs1 political and moral4 ,and by none of my numerous instructors so impressively1 as by that great and shining light of our ,church in the ra of our intellectual splendour1 ,bishop ,jeremy ,taylor3 from one of whose works1 and that of especial authority for the safety as well as for the importance of the principle1 inasmuch as it was written expressly ad populum1 ,i will now1 both for its own intrinsic worth1 and to relieve the attention1 wearied1 perhaps1 by the length and argumentative character of the preceding discussion1 interpose the following ,aphorism4#acg #acb ,dr4 ,richard ,field's ,of the ,church1 folio ed41 ,oxford1 #afbh1 p4 #eh4--;,,ed4 #acc ,this word occurs but once in the ,new ,testament1 ,romans v4 #aa1 the marginal rendering being reconciliation4 ,the personal noun1 1 is still in use with the modern ,greeks for a money-changer1 or one who takes the debased currency1 so general in countries under a despotic or other dishonest government1 in exchange for sterling coin or bullion2 the purchaser paying the catallage1 that is1 the difference4 ,in the elder ,greek writers1 the verb means to exchange for an opposite1 as1 4--,he exchanged within himself enmity for friendship1 7that is1 he reconciled himself7 with his party2--or1 as we say1 made it up with them1 an idiom which 7with whatever loss of dignity7 gives the exact force of the word4 ,he made up the difference4 ,the ,hebrew word of very frequent occurrence in the ,pentateuch1 which we render by the substantive1 atonement1 has its radical or visual image1 in copher1 pitch4 ,gen4 vi4 #ad3 ,thou shalt pitch it within and without with pitch4 ,hence to unite1 to fill up a breach1 or leak1 the word expressing both the act1 namely1 the bringing together what had been previously separated1 and the means1 or material1 by which the re-union is effected1 as in our ,english verbs1 to caulk1 to solder1 to poy or pay 7from poix1 pitch71 and the ,french suiver4 ,thence1 metaphorically1 expiation1 the piacula having the same root1 and being grounded on another property or use of gums and resins1 the supposed cleansing powers of their fumigation4 ,numbers viii4 #ba3 made atonement for the ,levites to cleanse them4--,lastly 7or if we are to believe the ,hebrew ,lexicons1 properly and most frequently7 it means ransom4 ,but if by proper the ,interpreters mean primary and radical1 the assertion does not need a confutation3 all radicals belonging to one or other of three classes4 #a4 ,interjections1 or sounds expressing sensations or passions4 #b4 ,imitations of sounds1 as splash1 roar1 whiz1 c4 #c4 and principally1 visual images1 objects of sight4 ,but as to frequency1 in all the numerous 7fifty1 ,i believe17 instances of the word in the ,old ,testament1 ,i have not found one in which it can1 or at least need1 be rendered by ransom3 though beyond all doubt ransom is used in the ,epistle to ,timothy1 as an equivalent term4 #acd ,review of the ,memoirs of the ,rev4 ,j4 ,scott and ,rev4 ,j4 ,newton1 ',quarterly ,review1' ,april1 #ahbd4--;,,ed4 #ace ,dedication to ,taylor's ',holy ,dying1' p4 #bie1 ,bohn's ,standard ,library edition4--,,ed4 #acf ,appendix to ,strype's ',life of ,cranmer4'--,,ed4 #acg ,slightly altered from the ',worthy ,communicant1' chap4 iii4 sect4 v42 p4 #ebc1 vol4 xv4 of ,heber's edition of ,jeremy ,taylor's works4--,,ed4 ,,aphorism ,,xx4 ,,jeremy ,,taylor4 ,whatever is against right reason1 that no faith can oblige us to believe4 ,for though reason is not the positive and affirmative measure of our faith1 and our faith ought to be larger than our speculative reason1 and take something into her heart1 that reason can never take into her eye2 yet in all our creed there can be nothing against reason4 ,if reason justly contradicts an article1 it is not of the household of ,faith4 ,in this there is no difficulty1 but that in practice we take care that we do not call that reason1 which is not so 7see p4 #abb74 ,for although reason is a right judge1#ach yet it ought not to pass sentence in an inquiry of faith1 until all the information be brought in2 all that is within1 and all that is without1 all that is above1 and all that is below2 all that concerns it in experience1 and all that concerns it in act3 whatsoever is of pertinent observation and whatsoever is revealed4 ,for else reason may argue very well and yet conclude falsely4 ,it may conclude well in logic1 and yet infer a false proposition in theology 7p4 #aae74 ,but when our judge is fully and truly informed in all that whence she is to make her judgment1 we may safely follow her whithersoever she invites us4 #ach ,which it could not be1 in respect of spiritual truths and objects super-sensuous1 if it were the same with1 and merely another name for the faculty judging according to sense--that is1 the ,understanding1 or 7as ,taylor most often calls it in distinction from ,reason7 ,discourse 7discursus seu facultas discursiva vel discursoria74 ,the ,reason1 so instructed and so actuated as ,taylor requires in the sentences immediately following1 is what ,i have called the ,spirit4 ,see also note near the end of ,aphorism ,,viii4--,,ed4 ,,aphorism ,,xxi4 ,,jeremy ,,taylor4 ,he that speaks against his own reason1 speaks against his own conscience3 and therefore it is certain1 no man serves ,god with a good conscience1 who serves him against his reason4 ,,aphorism ,,xxii4 ,,jeremy ,,taylor4 ,by the eye of reason through the telescope of faith1 that is1 ,revelation1 we may see what without this telescope we could never have known to exist4 ,but as one that shuts the eye hard1 and with violence curls the eye-lid1 forces a fantastic fire from the crystalline humour1 and espies a light that never shines1 and sees thousands of little fires that never burn2 so is he that blinds the eye of reason1 and pretends to see by an eye of faith4 ,he makes little images of notions1 and some atoms dance before him2 but he is not guided by the light1 nor instructed by the proposition1 but sees like a man in his sleep4 ,,in ,,no ,,case ,,can ,,true ,,reason ,,and ,a ,,right ,,faith ,,oppose ,,each ,,other4 ,,note ,,prefatory ,,to ,,aphorism ,,xxiii4--,less on my own account1 than in the hope of fore-arming my youthful friends1 ,i add one other transcript from ,bishop ,taylor1 as from a writer to whose name no taint or suspicion of ,calvinistic or schismatical tenets can attach1 and for the purpose of softening the offence which1 ,i cannot but foresee1 will be taken at the positions asserted in paragraph the first of ,aphorism ,,vii41 and the documental proofs of the same in the next pages2 and this by a formidable party composed of men ostensibly of the most dissimilar creeds1 regular ,church-divines1 voted orthodox by a great majority of suffrages1 and the so-called ,free-thinking ,christians1 and ,unitarian divines4 ,it is the former class alone that ,i wish to conciliate3 so far at least as it may be done by removing the aggravation of novelty from the offensive article4 ,and surely the simple re-assertion of one of the two great things1 which ,bishop ,taylor could assert as a fact1--which1 he took for granted1 that no ,christian would think of controverting1--should at least be controverted without bitterness by his successors in the ,church4 ,that which was perfectly safe and orthodox in #afeg1 in the judgment of a devoted ,royalist and ,episcopalian1 ought to be at most but a venial heterodoxy in #ahbe4 ,for the rest1 ,i am prepared to hear in answer--what has already been so often1 and with such theatrical effect dropped1 as an extinguisher1 on my arguments--the famous concluding period of one of the chapters in ,paley's ,moral and ,political ,philosophy1 declared by ,dr4 ,parr to be the finest prose passage in ,english literature4#aci ,be it so4 ,i bow to so great an authority4 ,but if the learned ,doctor would impose it on me as the truest as well as the finest1 or expect me to admire the logic equally with the rhetoric----,i start off6 ,as ,i have been un-,english enough to find in ,pope's tomb-epigram on ,sir ,isaac ,newton nothing better than a gross and wrongful falsehood1 conveyed in an enormous and irreverent hyperbole2 so with regard to this passage in question1 free as it is from all faults of taste1 ,i have yet the hardihood to confess1 that in the sense in which the words discover and prove1 are here used and intended1 ,i am not convinced of the truth of the principle1 7that he alone discovers who proves71 and ,i question the correctness of the particular case1 brought as instance and confirmation4 ,i doubt the validity of the assertion as a general rule2 and ,i deny it1 as applied to matters of faith1 to the verities of religion1 in the belief of which there must always be somewhat of moral election1 an act of the ,will in it as well as of the ,understanding1 as much love in it as discursive power4 ,true ,christian ,faith must have in it something of in-evidence1 something that must be made up by duty and by obedience4#adj ,but most readily do ,i admit1 and most fervently do ,i contend1 that the miracles worked by ,christ1 both as miracles and as fulfilments of prophecy1 both as signs and as wonders1 made plain discovery1 and gave unquestionable proof1 of his divine character and authority2 that they were to the whole ,jewish nation true and appropriate evidences1 that ,,he was indeed come who had promised and declared to their forefathers1 ,behold your ,god will come with vengeance1 even ,god with a recompense4 ,he will come and save you4#ada ,i receive them as proofs1 therefore1 of the truth of every word1 which he taught who was himself ,,the ,,word3 and as sure evidences of the final victory over death and of the life to come1 in that they were manifestations of ,,him1 who said3 ,i am the resurrection and the ,life6 ,the obvious inference from the passage in question1 if not its express import1 is3 ,miracula experimenta crucis esse1 quibus solis probandum erat1 homines non1 pecudum instar1 omnino perituros esse4 ,now this doctrine ,i hold to be altogether alien from the spirit1 and without authority in the letter1 of ,scripture4 ,i can recall nothing in the history of human belief1 that should induce me1 ,i find nothing in my own moral being that enables me1 to understand it4 ,i can1 however1 perfectly well understand1 the readiness of those divines in hoc ,paleii dictum ore pleno jurare1 qui nihil aliud in toto ,evangelio invenire posse profitentur4 ,the most unqualified admiration of this superlative passage ,i find perfectly in character for those1 who while ,socinianism and ,ultra-,socinianism are spreading like the roots of an elm1 on and just below the surface1 through the whole land1 and here and there at least have even dipped under the garden-fence of the ,church1 and blunted the edge of the labourer's spade in the gayest parterres of our ,baal-hamon1 who1--while heresies1 to which the framers and compilers of our ,liturgy1 ,homilies1 and ,articles would have refused the very name of ,christianity1 meet their eyes on the list of religious denominations for every city and large town throughout the kingdom--can yet congratulate themselves with ,dr4 ,paley1 in his book on the ,evidences1 that the rent has not reached the foundation#adb--that is1 that the corruption of man's will2 that the responsibility of man in any sense in which it is not equally predicable of dogs and horses2 that the divinity of our ,lord1 and even his pre-existence2 that sin1 and redemption through the merits of ,christ2 and grace2 and the especial aids of the ,spirit2 and the efficacy of prayer2 and the subsistency of the ,holy ,ghost2 may all be extruded without breach or rent in the essentials of ,christian ,faith2--that a man may deny and renounce them all1 and remain a fundamental ,christian1 notwithstanding4 ,but there are many who cannot keep up with ,latitudinarians of such a stride2 and ,i trust that the majority of serious believers are in this predicament4 ,now for all these it would seem more in character to be of ,bishop ,taylor's opinion1 that the belief in question is presupposed in a convert to the ,truth in ,christ--but at all events not to circulate in the great whispering gallery of the religious public suspicions and hard thoughts of those who1 like myself1 are of this opinion2 who do not dare decry the religious instincts of humanity as a baseless dream2 who hold1 that to excavate the ground under the faith of all mankind1 is a very questionable method of building up our faith1 as ,christians2 who fear1 that instead of adding to1 they should detract from1 the honour of the ,incarnate ,word by disparaging the light of the ,word1 that was in the beginning1 and which lighteth every man2 and who1 under these convictions1 can tranquilly leave it to be disputed1 in some new ,dialogues in the shades1 between the fathers of the ,unitarian ,church on the one side1 and ,maimonides1 ,moses ,mendelssohn1 and ,lessing on the other1 whether the famous passage in ,paley does or does not contain the three dialectic flaws1 petitio principii1 argumentum in circulo1 and argumentum contra rem a premisso rem ipsam includente4 ,yes6 fervently do ,i contend1 that to satisfy the understanding1 that there is a future state1 was not the specific ,object of the ,christian ,dispensation2 and that neither the belief of a future state1 nor the rationality of this belief1 is the exclusive attribute of the ,christian religion4 ,an essential1 a fundamental1 article of all religion it is1 and therefore of the ,christian2 but otherwise than as in connexion with the salvation of mankind from the terrors of that state among the essential articles peculiar to the ,gospel ,creed 7those1 for instance1 by which it is contra-distinguished from the creed of a religious ,jew7 ,i do not place it4 ,and before sentence is passed against me1 as heterodox1 on this ground1 let not my judges forget1 who it was that assured us1 that if a man did not believe in a state of retribution after death1 previously and on other grounds1 neither would he believe1 though a man should be raised from the dead4 ,again1 ,i am questioned as to my proofs of a future state by men who are so far1 and only so far1 professed believers1 that they admit a ,god1 and the existence of a ,law from ,god3 ,i give them3 and the questioners turn from me with a scoff or incredulous smile4 ,now should others of a less scanty ,creed infer the weakness of the reasons assigned by me from their failure in convincing these men2 may ,i not remind them1 ,,who it was1 to whom a similar question was proposed by men of the same class8 ,but at all events it will be enough for my own support to remember it2 and to know that ,,he held such questioners1 who could not find a sufficing proof of this great all-concerning verity in the words1 ,the ,god of ,abraham1 the ,god of ,isaac1 and the ,god of ,jacob unworthy of any other answer--men not to be satisfied by any proof--by any such proofs1 at least1 as are compatible with the ends and purposes of all religious conviction2 by any proofs1 that would not destroy the faith they were intended to confirm1 and reverse the whole character and quality of its effects and influences4 ,but if1 notwithstanding all here offered in defence of my opinion1 ,i must still be adjudged heterodox and in error1--what can ,i say1 but that malo cum ,platone errare1 and take refuge behind the ample shield of ,,bishop ,,jeremy ,,taylor4 ,,aphorism ,,xxiii4 ,,jeremy ,,taylor4 ,in order to his own glory1 and for the manifestation of his goodness1 and that the accidents of this world might not overmuch trouble those good men who suffered evil things1 ,god was pleased to do ,,two ,,great ,,things4 ,the one was3 that he sent his ,son into the world to take upon him our nature1 that every man might submit to a necessity1 from which ,god's own ,son was not exempt1 when it behoved even ,christ to suffer1 and so to enter into glory4 ,the other great thing was3 that ,god did not only by ,revelation and the ,sermons of the ,prophets to his ,church1 but even to ,,all ,,mankind competently teach1 and effectively persuade1 that the soul of man does not die2 that though things were ill here1 yet to the good who usually feel most of the evils of this life1 they should end in honour and advantages4 ,and therefore ,cicero had reason on his side to conclude1 that there is a time and place after this life1 wherein the wicked shall be punished1 and the virtuous rewarded2 when he considered that ,orpheus and ,socrates1 and many others1 just men and benefactors of mankind1 were either slain or oppressed to death by evil men4 ,and all these received not the promise4 ,but when virtue made men poor2 and free speaking of brave truths made the wise to lose their liberty2 when an excellent life hastened an opprobrious death1 and the obeying ,reason and our ,conscience lost us our lives1 or at least all the means and conditions of enjoying them3 it was but time to look about for another state of things1 where justice should rule1 and virtue find her own portion4 ,and therefore men cast out every line1 and turned every stone1 and tried every argument3 and sometimes proved it well1 and when they did not1 yet they believed strongly2 and ,,they ,,were ,,sure ,,of ,,the ,,thing1 ,,when ,,they ,,were ,,not ,,sure ,,of ,,the ,,argument4#adc ,,comment4 ,a fact may be truly stated1 and yet the ,cause or ,reason assigned for it mistaken2 or inadequate2 or pars pro toto--one only or few of many that might or should have been adduced4 ,the preceding ,aphorism is an instance in point4 ,the phenomenon here brought forward by the ,bishop1 as the ground and occasion of men's belief of a future state--viz4 the frequent1 not to say ordinary1 disproportion between moral worth and worldly prosperity--must1 indeed1 at all times and in all countries of the civilized world have led the observant and reflecting few1 the men of meditative habits and strong feelings of natural equity1 to a nicer consideration of the current belief1 whether instinctive or traditional4 ,by forcing the ,soul in upon herself1 this enigma of saint and sage1 from ,job1 ,david and ,solomon to ,claudian and ,boetius1--this perplexing disparity of success and desert1 has1 ,i doubt not1 with such men been the occasion of a steadier and more distinct consciousness of a something in man different in kind1 and which not merely distinguishes but contra-distinguishes1 him from brute animals--at the same time that it has brought into closer view an enigma of yet harder solution--the fact1 ,i mean1 of a contradiction in the human being1 of which no traces are observable elsewhere1 in animated or inanimate nature4 ,a struggle of jarring impulses2 a mysterious diversity between the injunctions of the mind and the elections of the will2 and 7last not least7 the utter incommensurateness and the unsatisfying qualities of the things around us1 that yet are the only objects which our senses discover1 or our appetites require us to pursue3--hence for the finer and more contemplative spirits the ever-strengthening suspicion1 that the two phenomena must in some way or other stand in close connexion with each other1 and that the ,riddle of ,fortune and ,circumstance is but a form or effluence of the ,riddle of ,man3--and hence again1 the persuasion1 that the solution of both problems is to be sought for--hence the presentiment1 that this solution will be found--in the contra-distinctive constituent of humanity1 in the something of human nature which is exclusively human2--and--as the objects discoverable by the senses1 as all the bodies and substances that we can touch1 measure1 and weigh1 are either mere totals1 the unity of which results from the parts1 and is of course only apparent2 or substances1 the unity of action of which is owing to the nature or arrangement of the partible bodies which they actuate or set in motion1 7steam for instance1 in a steam-engine72 as on the one hand the conditions and known or conceivable properties of all the objects which perish and utterly cease to be1 together with all the properties which we ourselves have in common with these perishable things1 differ in kind from the acts and properties peculiar to our humanity1 so that the former cannot even be conceived1 cannot without a contradiction in terms be predicated1 of the proper and immediate subject of the latter--7for who would not smile at an ounce of ,truth1 or a square foot of ,honour87--and as1 on the other hand1 whatever things in visible nature have the character of ,permanence1 and endure amid continual flux unchanged like a rainbow in a fast-flying shower1 7for example1 ,beauty1 ,order1 ,harmony1 ,finality1 ,law17 are all akin to the peculia of humanity1 are all congenera of ,mind and ,will1 without which indeed they would not only exist in vain1 as pictures for moles1 but actually not exist at all2--hence1 finally1 the conclusion1 that the soul of man1 as the subject of ,mind and ,will1 must likewise possess a principle of permanence1 and be destined to endure4 ,and were these grounds lighter than they are1 yet as a small weight will make a scale descend1 where there is nothing in the opposite scale1 or painted weights1 which have only an illusive relief or prominence2 so in the scale of immortality slight reasons are in effect weighty1 and sufficient to determine the judgment1 there being no counter-weight1 no reasons against them1 and no facts in proof of the contrary1 that would not prove equally well the cessation of the eye on the removal or diffraction of the eye-glass1 and the dissolution or incapacity of the musician on the fracture of his instrument or its strings4 ,but though ,i agree with ,taylor so far1 as not to doubt that the misallotment of worldly goods and fortunes was one principal occasion1 exciting well-disposed and spiritually-awakened natures by reflections and reasonings1 such as ,i have here supposed1 to mature the presentiment of immortality into full consciousness1 into a principle of action and a well-spring of strength and consolation2 ,i cannot concede to this circumstance any thing like the importance and extent of efficacy which he in this passage attributes to it4 ,i am persuaded1 that as the belief of all mankind1 of all#add tribes1 and nations1 and languages1 in all ages1 and in all states of social union1 it must be referred to far deeper grounds1 common to man as man2 and that its fibres are to be traced to the tap-root of humanity4 ,i have long entertained1 and do not hesitate to avow1 the conviction1 that the argument1 from ,universality of belief1 urged by ,barrow and others in proof of the first article of the ,creed1 is neither in point of fact--for two very different objects may be intended1 and two1 or more1 diverse and even contradictory conceptions may be expressed1 by the same name--nor in legitimacy of conclusion as strong and unexceptionable1 as the argument from the same ground for the continuance of our personal being after death4 ,the bull-calf butts with smooth and unarmed brow4 ,throughout animated nature1 of each characteristic organ and faculty there exists a pre-assurance1 an instinctive and practical anticipation2 and no pre-assurance common to a whole species does in any instance prove delusive4#ade ,all other prophecies of nature have their exact fulfilment--in every other ingrafted word of promise1 nature is found true to her word2 and is it in her noblest creature1 that she tells her first lie8--7,the reader will1 of course1 understand1 that ,i am here speaking in the assumed character of a mere naturalist1 to whom no light of revelation had been vouchsafed2 one1 who ---- with gentle heart ,had worshipp'd ,nature in the hill and valley1 ,not knowing what he loved1 but loved it all67 ,whether1 however1 the introductory part of the ,bishop's argument is to be received with more or less qualification1 the fact itself1 as stated in the concluding sentence of the ,aphorism1 remains unaffected1 and is beyond exception true4 ,if other argument and yet higher authority were required1 ,i might refer to ,st4 ,paul's ,epistle to the ,romans1 and to the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 which whether written by ,paul or1 as ,luther conjectured1 by ,apollos1 is out of all doubt the work of an ,apostolic man filled with the ,holy ,spirit1 and composed while the ,temple and the glories of the ,temple worship were yet in existence4 ,several of the ,jewish and still ,judaizing converts had begun to vacillate in their faith1 and to stumble at the stumbling-stone of the contrast between the pomp and splendour of the old ,law and the simplicity and humility of the ,christian ,church4 ,to break this sensual charm1 to unfascinate these bedazzled brethren1 the writer to the ,hebrews institutes a comparison between the two religions1 and demonstrates the superior spiritual grandeur1 the greater intrinsic worth and dignity of the religion of ,christ4 ,on the other hand1 at ,rome where the ,jews formed a numerous1 powerful1 and privileged class 7many of them1 too1 by their proselyting zeal and frequent disputations with the priests and philosophers trained and exercised polemics7 the recently-founded ,christian ,church was1 it appears1 in greater danger from the reasonings of the ,jewish doctors and even of its own ,judaizing members1 respecting the use of the new revelation4 ,thus the object of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews was to prove the superiority of the ,christian ,religion2 the object of the ,epistle to the ,romans to prove its necessity4 ,now there was one argument extremely well calculated to stagger a faith newly transplanted and still loose at its roots1 and which1 if allowed1 seemed to preclude the possibility of the ,christian religion1 as an especial and immediate revelation from ,god--on the high grounds1 at least1 on which the ,apostle of the ,gentiles placed it1 and with the exclusive rights and superseding character1 which he claimed for it4 ,you admit 7said they7 the divine origin and authority of the ,law given to ,moses1 proclaimed with thunders and lightnings and the voice of the ,most ,high heard by all the people from ,mount ,sinai1 and introduced1 enforced1 and perpetuated by a series of the most stupendous miracles4 ,our religion then was given by ,god3 and can ,god give a perishable imperfect religion8 ,if not perishable1 how can it have a successor8 ,if perfect1 how can it need to be superseded8--,the entire argument is indeed comprised in the latter attribute of our ,law4 ,we know1 from an authority which you yourselves acknowledge for divine1 that our religion is perfect4 ,he is the ,rock1 and his ,work is perfect4 7,deuter4 xxxii4 #d47 ,if then the religion revealed by ,god himself to our forefathers is perfect1 what need have we of another8--,this objection1 both from its importance and from its extreme plausibility1 for the persons at least1 to whom it was addressed1 required an answer in both ,epistles4 ,and accordingly1 the answer is included in the one 7that to the ,hebrews7 and it is the especial purpose and main subject of the other4 ,and how does the ,apostle answer it8 ,suppose--and the case is not impossible#adf--;a man of sense1 who had studied the evidences of ,priestley and ,paley with ,warburton's ,divine ,legation1 but who should be a perfect stranger to the ,writings of ,st4 ,paul3 and that ,i put this question to him3--,what do you think1 will ,st4 ,paul's answer be8 ,nothing1 he would reply1 can be more obvious4 ,it is in vain1 the ,apostle will urge1 that you bring your notions of probability and inferences from the arbitrary interpretation of a word in an absolute rather than a relative sense1 to invalidate a known fact4 ,it is a fact1 that your ,religion is 7in your sense of the word7 not perfect3 for it is deficient in one of the two essential constituents of all true religion1 the belief of a future state on solid and sufficient grounds4 ,had the doctrine indeed been revealed1 the stupendous miracles1 which you most truly affirm to have accompanied and attested the first promulgation of your religion1 would have supplied the requisite proof4 ,but the doctrine was not revealed2 and your belief of a future state rests on no solid grounds4 ,you believe it 7as far as you believe it1 and as many of you as profess this belief7 without revelation1 and without the only proper and sufficient evidence of its truth4 ,your religion1 therefore1 though of divine ,origin is1 7if taken in disjunction from the new revelation1 which ,i am commissioned to proclaim7 but a religio dimidiata2 and the main purpose1 the proper character1 and the paramount object of ,christ's mission and miracles1 is to supply the missing half by a clear discovery of a future state2--and 7since he alone discovers who proves7 by proving the truth of the doctrine1 now for the first time declared with the requisite authority1 by the requisite1 appropriate1 and alone satisfactory evidences4 ,but is this the ,apostle's answer to the ,jewish oppugners1 and the ,judaizing false brethren1 of the ,church of ,christ8--,it is not the answer1 it does not resemble the answer returned by the ,apostle4 ,it is neither parallel nor corradial with the line of argument in either of the two ,epistles1 or with any one line2 but it is a chord that traverses them all1 and only touches where it cuts across4 ,in the ,epistle to the ,hebrews the directly contrary position is repeatedly asserted3 and in the ,epistle to the ,romans it is every where supposed4 ,the death to which the ,law sentenced all sinners 7and which even the ,gentiles without the revealed ,law had announced to them by their consciences1 the judgment of ,god having been made known even to them7 must be the same death1 from which they were saved by the faith of the ,son of ,god2 or the ,apostle's reasoning would be senseless1 his antithesis a mere equivoque1 a play on a word1 quod idem sonat1 aliud vult4 ,christ redeemed mankind from the curse of the ,law3 and we all know1 that it was not from temporal death1 or the penalties and afflictions of the present life1 that believers have been redeemed4 ,the ,law1 of which the inspired sage of ,tarsus is speaking1 from which no man can plead excuse2 the ,law miraculously delivered in thunders from ,mount ,sinai1 which was inscribed on tables of stone for the ,jews1 and written in the hearts of all men 7,rom4 ii4 #ae47--the ,law holy and spiritual6 what was the great point1 of which this ,law1 in its own name1 offered no solution8 the mystery1 which it left behind the veil1 or in the cloudy tabernacle of types and figurative sacrifices8 ,whether there was a judgment to come1 and souls to suffer the dread sentence8 ,or was it not far rather--what are the means of escape2 where may grace be found1 and redemption8 ,st4 ,paul says1 the latter4 ,the ,law brings condemnation3 but the conscience-sentenced transgressor's question1 ,what shall ,i do to be saved8 ,who will intercede for me8 she dismisses as beyond the jurisdiction of her court1 and takes no cognizance thereof1 save in prophetic murmurs or mute outshadowings of mystic ordinances and sacrificial types4--,not1 therefore1 that there is a ,life to come1 and a future state2 but what each individual ,soul may hope for itself therein2 and on what grounds2 and that this state has been rendered an object of aspiration and fervent desire1 and a source of thanksgiving and exceeding great joy2 and by whom1 and through whom1 and for whom1 and by what means and under what conditions--these are the peculiar and distinguishing fundamentals of the ,christian ,faith6 ,these are the revealed ,lights and obtained ,privileges of the ,christian ,dispensation6 ,not alone the knowledge of the boon1 but the precious inestimable ,boon itself1 is the ,grace and ,truth that came by ,jesus ,christ6 ,i believe ,moses1 ,i believe ,paul2 but ,i believe in ,christ4 #aci ,coleridge quotes this passage in his ,conclusion4--,,ed4 #adj ,j4 ,taylor's ',worthy ,communicant4'--,h4,n4,c4 #ada ,isaiah xxxiv4 compared with ,matt4 x4 #cd1 and ,luke xii4 #di4--;,h4,n4,c4 #adb ,conclusion1 ,part ,,iii4 ch4 #h4--;,h4,n4,c4 #adc ,sermon at the ,funeral of ,sir ,george ,dalston4--,h4,n4,c4 #add ,i say1 all3 for the accounts of one or two travelling ,french philosophers1 professed atheists and partizans of infidelity1 respecting one or two ,african hordes1 ,caffres1 and poor outlawed ,boschmen1 hunted out of their humanity1 ought not to be regarded as exceptions4 ,and as to ,hearne's assertion respecting the non-existence and rejection of the belief among the ,copper-,indians1 it is not only hazarded on very weak and insufficient grounds1 but he himself1 in another part of his work1 unconsciously supplies data1 from whence the contrary may safely be concluded4 ,hearne1 perhaps1 put down his friend ,motannabbi's ,fort-philosophy for the opinion of his tribe2 and from his high appreciation of the moral character of this murderous gymnosophist1 it might1 ,i fear1 be inferred1 that ,hearne himself was not the very person one would1 of all others1 have chosen for the purpose of instituting the inquiry4 #ade ,see ,baron ,field's ,letters from ,new ,south ,wales4 ,the poor natives1 the lowest in the scale of humanity1 evince no symptom of any religion1 or the belief of any superior power as the maker of the world2 but yet have no doubt that the spirits of their ancestors survive in the form of porpoises1 and mindful of their descendants with imperishable affection1 drive the whales ashore for them to feast on4 #adf ,the case here supposed actually occurred in my own experience in the person of a ,spanish refugee1 of ,english parents1 but from his tenth year resident in ,spain1 and bred in a family of wealthy1 but ignorant and bigoted1 ,roman ,catholics4 ,in mature manhood he returned to ,england1 disgusted with the conduct of the priests and monks1 which had indeed for some years produced on his mind its so common effect among the better-informed natives of the ,south of ,europe--a tendency to ,deism4 ,the results1 however1 of the infidel system in ,france1 with his opportunities of observing the effects of irreligion on the ,french officers in ,spain1 on the one hand2 and the undeniable moral and intellectual superiority of ,protestant ,britain on the other2 had not been lost on him3 and here he began to think for himself and resolved to study the subject4 ,he had gone through ,bishop ,warburton's ,divine ,legation1 and ,paley's ,evidences2 but had never read the ,new ,testament consecutively1 and the ,epistles not at all4 ,,aphorism4 ,,on ,,baptism4 ,,leighton4 ,in those days came ,john the ,baptist1 preaching4--,it will suffice for our present purpose1 if by these#adg words we direct the attention to the origin1 or at least first ,scriptural record1 of ,,baptism1 and to the combinement of ,,preaching therewith2 their aspect each to the other1 and their concurrence to one excellent end3 the ,word unfolding the ,sacrament1 and the ,sacrament sealing the ,word2 the ,word as a ,light1 informing and clearing the sense of the ,seal2 and this again1 as a ,seal1 confirming and ratifying the truth of the ,word2 as you see some significant seals1 or engraven signets1 have a word about them expressing their sense4 ,but truly the word is a light and the sacraments have in them of the same light illuminating them4 ,this sacrament of ,baptism1 the ancients do particularly express by light4 ,yet are they both nothing but darkness to us1 till the same light shine in our hearts2 for till then we are nothing but darkness ourselves1 and therefore the most luminous things are so to us4 ,noonday is as midnight to a blind man4 ,and we see these ordinances1 the word and the sacrament1 without profit or comfort for the most part1 because we have not of that ,divine ,light within us4 ,and we have it not1 because we ask it not4 ,,comment4 ,or an ,aid to ,reflection in the forming of a sound ,judgment respecting the purport and purpose of the ,baptismal ,rite1 and a just appreciation of its value and importance4 ,a born and bred ,baptist1 and paternally descended from the old orthodox ,non-conformists1 and both in his own and in his father's right a very dear friend of mine1 had married a member of the ,national ,church4 ,in consequence of an anxious wish expressed by his lady for the baptism of their first child1 he solicited me to put him in possession of my ,views respecting this controversy2 though principally as to the degree of importance which ,i attached to it4 ,for as to the point itself1 his natural prepossession in favour of the persuasion in which he was born1 had been confirmed by a conscientious examination of the arguments on both sides4 ,as the ,comment on the preceding ,aphorism1 or rather as an expansion of its subject matter1 ,i will give the substance of the conversation3 and amply shall ,i have been remunerated1 should it be read with the interest and satisfaction with which it was heard4 ,more particularly1 should any of my readers find themselves under the same or similar circumstances4 ,our discussion is rendered shorter and more easy by our perfect agreement in certain preliminary points4 ,we both disclaim alike every attempt to explain any thing into ,scripture1 and every attempt to explain any thing out of ,scripture4 ,or if we regard either with a livelier aversion1 it is the latter1 as being the more fashionable and prevalent4 ,i mean the practice of both high and low ,grotian ,divines to explain away positive assertions of ,scripture on the pretext1 that the literal sense is not agreeable to reason1 that is1 ,,their particular reason4 ,and inasmuch as 7in the only right sense of the word71 there is no such thing as a particular reason1 they must1 and in fact they do1 mean1 that the literal sense is not accordant to their understanding1 that is1 to the notions which their understandings have been taught and accustomed to form in their school of philosophy4 ,thus a ,platonist who should become a ,christian1 would at once1 even in texts susceptible of a different interpretation1 recognize1 because he would expect to find1 several doctrines which the disciple of the ,epicurean or mechanic school will not receive on the most positive declarations of the ,divine ,word4 ,and as we agree in the opinion1 that the ,minimi-fidian party#adh err grievously in the latter point1 so ,i must concede to you1 that too many ,pdo-baptists 7assertors of ,infant ,baptism7 have erred1 though less grossly1 in the former4 ,i have1 ,i confess1 no eye for these smoke-like wreaths of inference1 this ever widening spiral ergo from the narrow aperture of perhaps a single text2 or rather an interpretation forced into it by construing an idiomatic phrase in an artless narrative with the same absoluteness1 as if it had formed part of a mathematical problem4 ,i start back from these inverted ,pyramids1 where the apex is the base4 ,if ,i should inform any one that ,i had called at a friend's house1 but had found nobody at home1 the family having all gone to the play2 and if he on the strength of this information1 should take occasion to asperse my friend's wife for unmotherly conduct in taking an infant1 six months old1 to a crowded theatre2 would you allow him to press on the words nobody and all the family1 in justification of the slander8 ,would you not tell him1 that the words were to be interpreted by the nature of the subject1 the purpose of the speaker1 and their ordinary acceptation2 and that he must1 or might have known1 that infants of that age would not be admitted into the theatre8 ,exactly so1 with regard to the words1 he and all his household4 ,had ,baptism of infants at that early period of the ,gospel been a known practice1 or had this been previously demonstrated1--then indeed the argument1 that in all probability there were one or more infants or young children in so large a family1 would be no otherwise objectionable than as being superfluous1 and a sort of anticlimax in logic4 ,but if the words are cited as the proof1 it would be a clear petitio principii1 though there had been nothing else against it4 ,but when we turn back to the ,scriptures preceding the narrative1 and find repentance and belief demanded as the terms and indispensable conditions of ,baptism--then the case above imagined applies in its full force4 ,equally vain is the pretended analogy from ,circumcision1 which was no ,sacrament at all2 but the means and mark of national distinction4 ,in the first instance it was1 doubtless1 a privilege or mark of superior rank conferred on the descendants of ,abraham4 ,in the ,patriarchal times this rite was confined 7the first governments being ,theocracies7 to the priesthood1 who were set apart to that office from their birth4 ,at a later period this token of the premier class was extended to ,kings4 ,and thus1 when it was re-ordained by ,moses for the whole ,jewish nation1 it was at the same time said--,ye are all ,priests and ,kings2 ye are a consecrated ,people4 ,in addition to this1 or rather in aid of this1 ,circumcision was intended to distinguish the ,jews by some indelible sign3 and it was no less necessary1 that ,jewish children should be recognizable as ,jews1 than ,jewish adults--not to mention the greater safety of the rite in infancy4 ,nor was it ever pretended that any ,grace was conferred with it1 or that the rite was significant of any inward or spiritual operation4 ,in short1 an unprejudiced and competent reader need only peruse the first thirty-three paragraphs of the eighteenth section of ,taylor's ,liberty of ,prophesying2 and then compare with these the remainder of the ,section added by him after the ,restoration3 those1 namely1 in which he attempts to overthrow his own arguments4 ,i had almost said1 affects3 for such is the feebleness1 and so palpable the sophistry of his answers1 that ,i find it difficult to imagine1 that ,taylor himself could have been satisfied with them4 ,the only plausible arguments apply with equal force to ,baptist and ,pdo-baptist2 and would prove1 if they proved any thing1 that both were wrong1 and the ,quakers only in the right4 ,now1 in the first place1 it is obvious1 that nothing conclusive can be drawn from the silence of the ,new ,testament respecting a practice1 which1 if we suppose it already in use1 must yet1 from the character of the first converts1 have been of comparatively rare occurrence2 and which from the predominant1 and more concerning1 objects and functions of the ,apostolic writers 7#a ,corinth4 i4 #ag47 was not likely to have been mentioned otherwise than incidentally1 and very probably therefore might not have occurred to them to mention at all4 ,but1 secondly1 admitting that the practice was introduced at a later period than that in which the ,acts of the ,apostles and the ,epistles were composed3 ,i should yet be fully satisfied1 that the ,church exercised herein a sound#adi discretion4 ,on either supposition1 therefore1 it is never without regret that ,i see a divine of our ,church attempting to erect forts on a position so evidently commanded by the strong-hold of his antagonists4 ,i dread the use which the ,socinians may make of their example1 and the ,papists of their failure4 ,let me not1 however1 deceive you4 7,the reader understands1 that ,i suppose myself conversing with a ,baptist47 ,i am of opinion1 that the divines on your side are chargeable with a far more grievous mistake1 that of giving a carnal and ,judaizing interpretation to the various ,gospel texts in which the terms1 baptism and baptize1 occur1 contrary to the express and earnest admonitions of the ,apostle ,paul4 ,and this ,i say1 without in the least retracting my former concession1 that the texts appealed to1 as commanding or authorizing ,infant ,baptism1 are all without exception made to bear a sense neither contained nor deducible3 and likewise that 7historically considered7 there exists no sufficient positive evidence1 that the ,baptism of infants was instituted by the ,apostles in the practice of the ,apostolic age4#aej ,lastly1 we both coincide in the full conviction1 that it is neither the outward ceremony of ,baptism1 under any form or circumstances1 nor any other ceremony1 but such a faith in ,christ as tends to produce a conformity to his holy doctrines and example in heart and life1 and which faith is itself a declared mean and condition of our partaking of his spiritual body1 and of being clothed upon with his righteousness1--that properly makes us ,christians1 and can alone be enjoined as an ,article of ,faith necessary to ,salvation1 so that the denial thereof may be denounced as a damnable heresy4 ,in the strictest sense of essential1 this alone is the essential in ,christianity1 that the same spirit should be growing in us which was in the fulness of all perfection in ,christ ,jesus4 ,whatever else is named essential is such because1 and only as far as1 it is instrumental to this1 or evidently implied herein4 ,if the ,baptists hold the visible rite to be indispensable to salvation1 with what terror must they not regard every disease that befalls their children between youth and infancy6 ,but if they are saved by the faith of the parent1 then the outward rite is not essential to salvation1 otherwise than as the omission should arise from a spirit of disobedience3 and in this case it is the cause1 not the effect1 the wilful and unbaptized heart1 not the unbaptizing hand1 that perils it4 ,and surely it looks very like an inconsistency to admit the vicarious faith of the parents and the therein implied promise1 that the child shall be ,christianly bred up1 and as much as in them lies prepared for the communion of saints--to admit this1 as safe and sufficient in their own instance1 and yet to denounce the same belief and practice as hazardous and unavailing in the ,church--the same1 ,i say1 essentially1 and only differing from their own by the presence of two or three ,christian friends as additional securities1 and by the promise being expressed6 ,but you1 my filial friend6 have studied ,christ under a better teacher--the ,spirit of ,adoption1 even the spirit that was in ,paul1 and which still speaks to us out of his writings4 ,you remember and admire the saying of an old divine1 that a ceremony duly instituted was a ,chain of ,gold round the ,neck of ,faith2 but if in the wish to make it co-essential and consubstantial1 you draw it closer and closer1 it may strangle the ,faith it was meant to deck and designate4 ,you are not so unretentive a scholar as to have forgotten the pateris et auro of your ,virgil3 or if you were1 you are not so inconsistent a reasoner1 as to translate the ,hebraism1 spirit and fire in one place by spiritual fire1 and yet to refuse to translate water and spirit by spiritual water in another place3 or if1 as ,i myself think1 the different position marks a different sense1 yet that the former must be ejusdem generis with the latter--the ,water of ,repentance1 reformation in conduct2 and the ,spirit that which purifies the inmost principle of action1 as fire purges the metal substantially and not cleansing the surface only6 ,but in this instance1 it will be said1 the ceremony1 the outward and visible sign1 is a ,scripture ordinance4 ,i will not reply1 that the ,romish priest says the same of the anointing of the sick with oil and the imposition of hands4 ,no1 my answer is3 that this is a very sufficient reason for the continued observance of a ceremonial rite so derived and sanctioned1 even though its own beauty1 simplicity1 and natural significancy had pleaded less strongly in its behalf4 ,but it is no reason why the ,church should forget1 that the perpetuation of a thing does not alter the nature of the thing1 and that a ceremony to be perpetuated is to be perpetuated as a ceremony4 ,it is no reason why1 knowing and experiencing even in the majority of her own members the proneness of the human mind to#aea superstition1 the ,church might not rightfully and piously adopt the measures best calculated to check this tendency1 and to correct the abuse1 to which it had led in any particular rite4 ,but of superstitious notions respecting the baptismal ceremony1 and of abuse resulting1 the instances were flagrant and notorious4 ,such1 for instance1 was the frequent deferring of the baptismal rite to a late period of life1 and even to the death-bed1 in the belief that the mystic water would cleanse the baptized person from all sin and 7if he died immediately after the performance of the ceremony7 send him pure and spotless into the other world4 ,nor is this all4 ,the preventive remedy applied by the ,church is legitimated as well as additionally recommended by the following consideration4 ,where a ceremony answered and was intended to answer several purposes1 which purposes at its first institution were blended in respect of the time1 but which afterwards1 by change of circumstances 7as when1 for instance1 a large and ever-increasing proportion of the members of the ,church1 or those who at least bore the ,christian name1 were of ,christian parents71 were necessarily dis-united--then either the ,church has no power or authority delegated to her 7which is shifting the ground of controversy7--or she must be authorized to choose and determine1 to which of the several purposes the ceremony should be attached4--,now one of the purposes of ,baptism was--the making it publicly manifest1 first1 what individuals were to be regarded by the world 7,phil4 ii4 #ae47 as belonging to the visible communion of ,christians3 inasmuch as by their demeanour and apparent condition1 the general estimation of the city set on a hill and not to be hid 7,matth4 v4 #ad47 could not but be affected--the city that even in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation was bound not only to give no cause1 but by all innocent means to prevent every occasion1 of rebuke4 ,secondly1 to mark out1 for the ,church itself1 those that were entitled to that especial dearness1 that watchful and disciplinary love and loving-kindness1 which over and above the affections and duties of philanthropy and universal charity1 ,christ himself had enjoined1 and with an emphasis and in a form significant of its great and especial importance1--,a ,new ,commandment ,i give unto you1 that ye love one another4 ,by a charity wide as sunshine1 and comprehending the whole human race1 the body of ,christians was to be placed in contrast with the proverbial misanthropy and bigotry of the ,jewish ,church and people3 while yet they were to be distinguished and known to all men1 by the peculiar love and affection displayed by them towards the members of their own community2 thus exhibiting the intensity of sectarian attachment1 yet by the no less notorious and exemplary practice of the duties of universal benevolence1 secured from the charge so commonly brought against it1 of being narrow and exclusive4 ,how kind these ,christians are to the poor and afflicted1 without distinction of religion or country2 but how they love each other6 ,now combine with this the consideration before urged--the duty1 ,i mean1 and necessity of checking the superstitious abuse of the baptismal rite3 and ,i then ask1 with confidence1 in what way could the ,church have exercised a sound discretion more wisely1 piously1 or effectively1 than by fixing1 from among the several ends and purposes of ,baptism1 the outward ceremony to the purposes here mentioned8 ,how could the great body of ,christians be more plainly instructed as to the true nature of all outward ordinances8 ,what can be conceived better calculated to prevent the ceremony from being regarded as other and more than a ceremony1 if not the administration of the same on an object1 7yea1 a dear and precious object7 of spiritual duties1 though the conscious subject of spiritual operations and graces only by anticipation and in hope2--a subject unconscious as a flower of the dew falling on it1 or the early rain1 and thus emblematic of the myriads who 7as in our ,indian empire1 and henceforward1 ,i trust1 in ,africa7 are temporally and even morally benefited by the outward existence of ,christianity1 though as yet ignorant of its saving truth6 ,and yet1 on the other hand1 what more reverential than the application of this1 the common initiatory rite of the ,east sanctioned and appropriated by ,christ--its application1 ,i say1 to the very subjects1 whom he himself commanded to be brought to him--the children in arms1 respecting whom ,jesus was much displeased with his disciples1 who had rebuked those that brought them6 ,what more expressive of the true character of that originant yet generic stain1 from which the ,son of ,god1 by his mysterious incarnation and agony and death and resurrection1 and by the ,baptism of the ,spirit1 came to cleanse the children of ,adam1 than the exhibition of the outward element to infants free from and incapable of crime1 in whom the evil principle was present only as potential being1 and whose outward semblance represented the kingdom of ,heaven8 ,and can it--to a man1 who would hold himself deserving of anathema maranatha 7#a ,cor4 xvi4 #bb47 if he did not love the ,lord ,jesus--can it be nothing to such a man1 that the introduction and commendation of a new inmate1 a new spiritual ward1 to the assembled brethren in ,christ 7--and this1 as ,i have shown above1 was one purpose of the baptismal ceremony7 does in the baptism of an infant recall our ,lord's own presentation in the ,temple on the eighth day after his birth8 ,add to all these considerations the known fact of the frequent exposure and the general light regard of infants1 at the time when ,infant ,baptism is by the ,baptists supposed to have been first ruled by the ,catholic ,church1 not overlooking the humane and charitable motives1 that influenced ,cyprian's decision in its favour4 ,and then make present to your imagination1 and meditatively contemplate the still continuing tendency1 the profitable1 the beautiful effects1 of this ordinance now and for so many centuries back1 on the great mass of the population throughout ,christendom--the softening1 elevating exercise of faith and the conquest over the senses1 while in the form of a helpless crying babe the presence1 and the unutterable worth and value1 of an immortal being made capable of everlasting bliss are solemnly proclaimed and carried home to the mind and heart of the hearers and beholders6 ,nor will you forget the probable influence on the future education of the child1 the opportunity of instructing and impressing the friends1 relatives1 and parents in their best and most docile mood4 ,these are1 indeed1 the mollia tempora fandi4 ,it is true1 that by an unforeseen accident1 and through the propensity of all zealots to caricature partial truth into total falsehood--it is too true1 that a tree the very contrary in quality of that shown to ,moses 7,exod4 xv4 #be47 was afterwards cast into the sweet waters from this fountain1 and made them like the waters of ,marah1 too bitter to be drunk4 ,i allude to the ,pelagian controversy1 the perversion of the article of ,original ,sin by ,augustine1 and the frightful conclusions which this durus pater infantum drew from the article thus perverted4 ,it is not1 however1 to the predecessors of this ,african1 whoever they were that authorized ,pdo-baptism1 and at whatever period it first became general--it is not to the ,church at the time being1 that these consequences are justly imputable4 ,she had done her best to preclude every superstition1 by allowing in urgent cases any and every adult1 man and woman1 to administer the ceremonial part1 the outward rite1 of baptism3 but reserving to the highest functionary of the ,church 7even to the exclusion of the co-presbyters7 the more proper and spiritual purpose1 namely1 the declaration of repentance and belief1 the free ,choice of ,christ1 as his ,lord1 and the open profession of the ,christian title by an individual in his own name and by his own deliberate act4 ,this office of religion1 the essentially moral and spiritual nature of which could not be mistaken1 this most solemn office the ,bishop alone was to perform4 ,thus--as soon as the purposes of the ceremonial rite were by change of circumstances divided1 that is1 took place at different periods of the believer's life--to the outward purposes1 where the effect was to be produced on the consciousness of others1 the ,church continued to affix the outward rite2 while to the substantial and spiritual purpose1 where the effect was to be produced on the individual's own mind1 she gave its beseeming dignity by an ordinance not figurative1 but standing in the direct cause and relation of means to the end4 ,in fine1 there are two great purposes to be answered1 each having its own subordinate purposes1 and desirable consequences4 ,the ,church answers both1 the ,baptists one only4 ,if1 nevertheless1 you would still prefer the union of the ,baptismal rite with the ,confirmation1 and that the ,presentation of ,infants to the assembled ,church had formed a separate institution1 avowedly prospective--,i answer3 first1 that such for a long time and to a late period was my own judgment4 ,but even then it seemed to me a point1 as to which an indifference would be less inconsistent in a lover of truth1 than a zeal to separation in a professed lover of peace4 ,and secondly1 ,i would revert to the history of the ,reformation1 and the calamitous accident of the ,peasants' ,war3 when the poor ignorant multitude1 driven frantic by the intolerable oppressions of their feudal lords1 rehearsed all the outrages that were acted in our own times by the ,parisian populace headed by ,danton1 ,marat1 and ,robespierre2 and on the same outrageous principles1 and in assertion of the same ,,rights ,,of ,,brutes to the subversion of all the ,,duties ,,of ,,men4 ,in our times1 most fortunately for the interest of religion and morality1 or of their prudential substitutes at least1 the name of ,jacobin was every where associated with that of ,atheist and ,infidel4 ,or rather1 ,jacobinism and ,infidelity were the two heads of the ,revolutionary ,geryon--connatural misgrowths of the same monster-trunk4 ,in the ,german ,convulsion1 on the contrary1 by a mere but most unfortunate accident1 the same code of ,caliban jurisprudence1 the same sensual and murderous excesses1 were connected with the name of ,anabaptist4 ,the abolition of magistracy1 community of goods1 the right of plunder1 polygamy1 and whatever else was fanatical were comprised in the word1 ,anabaptism4 ,it is not to be imagined1 that the ,fathers of the ,reformation could1 without a miraculous influence1 have taken up the question of ,infant ,baptism with the requisite calmness and freedom of spirit4 ,it is not to be wished1 that they should have entered on the discussion4 ,nay1 ,i will go farther4 ,unless the abolition of ,infant ,baptism can be shown to be involved in some fundamental article of faith1 unless the practice could be proved fatal or imminently perilous to salvation1 the ,reformers would not have been justified in exposing the yet tender and struggling cause of ,protestantism to such certain and violent prejudices as this innovation would have excited4 ,nothing less than the whole substance and efficacy of the ,gospel faith was the prize1 which they had wrestled for and won2 but won from enemies still in the field1 and on the watch to retake1 at all costs1 the sacred treasure1 and consign it once again to darkness and oblivion4 ,if there be a time for all things1 this was not the time for an innovation1 that would and must have been followed by the triumph of the enemies of ,scriptural ,christianity1 and the alienation of the governments1 that had espoused and protected it4 ,remember1 ,i say this on the supposition of the question's not being what you do not pretend it to be1 an essential of the ,faith1 by which we are saved4 ,but should it likewise be conceded1 that it is a disputable point--and that in point of fact it is and has been disputed by divines1 whom no pious ,christian of any denomination will deny to have been faithful and eminent servants of ,christ2 should it1 ,i say1 be likewise conceded that the question of ,infant ,baptism is a point1 on which two ,christians1 who perhaps differ on this point only1 may differ without giving just ground for impeaching the piety or competence of either--in this case ,i am obliged to infer1 that the person who at any time can regard this difference as singly warranting a separation from a religious ,community1 must think of schism under another point of view1 than that in which ,i have been taught to contemplate it by ,st4 ,paul in his ,epistles to the ,corinthians4 ,let me add a few words on a diversity of doctrine closely connected with this3 the opinions of ,doctors ,mant and ,d',oyly as opposed to those of the 7so called7 ,evangelical clergy4 ,the ,church of ,england 7says ,wall7#aeb does not require assent and consent to either opinion in order to lay communion4 ,but ,i will suppose the person a minister3 but minister of a ,church which has expressly disclaimed all pretence to infallibility2 a ,church which in the construction of its ,liturgy and ,articles is known to have worded certain passages for the purpose of rendering them subscribable by both ,a and ,z--that is1 the opposite parties as to the points in controversy4 ,i suppose this person's convictions those of ,z1 and that out of five passages there are three1 the more natural and obvious sense of which is in his favour2 and two of which1 though not absolutely precluding a different sense1 yet the more probable interpretation is in favour of ,a1 that is1 of those who do not consider the ,baptism of an ,infant as prospective1 but hold it to be an opus operans et in prsenti4 ,then ,i say1 that if such a person regards these two sentences or single passages as obliging or warranting him to abandon the flock entrusted to his charge1 and either to join such1 as are the avowed ,enemies of the ,church on the double ground of its particular ,constitution and of its being an ,establishment1 or to set up a separate ,church for himself--,i cannot avoid the conclusion1 that either his conscience is morbidly sensitive in one speck to the exhaustion of the sensibility in a far larger portion2 or that he must have discovered some mode1 beyond the reach of my conjectural powers1 of interpreting the ,scriptures enumerated in the following excerpt from the popular tract before cited1 in which the writer expresses an opinion1 to which ,i assent with my whole heart3 namely1 ,that all ,christians in the world that hold the same fundamentals ought to make one ,church1 though differing in lesser opinions2 and that the sin1 the mischief1 and danger to the souls of men1 that divide into those many sects and parties among us1 does 7for the most of them7 consist not so much in the opinions themselves1 as in their dividing and separating for them4 ,and in support of this tenet1 ,i will refer you to some plain places of ,scripture1 which if you please now to peruse1 ,i will be silent the while4 ,see what our ,saviour himself says1 ,john x4 #af4 ,john xvii4 #aa4 ,and what the primitive ,christians practised1 ,acts ii4 #df1 and iv4 #cb4 ,and what ,st4 ,paul says1 #a ,cor4 i4 #aj1 #aa1 #ab1 and #b1 #c1 #d2 also the whole #abth chapter3 ,eph4 ii4 #ah1 c4 to the end4 ,where the ,jewish and ,gentile ,christians are showed to be one body1 one household1 one temple fitly framed together3 and yet these were of different opinions in several matters4--,likewise chap4 iii4 #f1 iv4 #a-ac4 ,phil4 ii4 #a1 #b1 where he uses the most solemn adjurations to this purpose4 ,but ,i would more especially recommend to you the reading of ,gal4 v4 #bj1 #ba4 ,phil4 iii4 #ae1 #af1 the #adth chapter to the ,romans1 and part of the #aeth1 to verse #g1 and also ,rom4 xv4 #ag4 ,are not these passages plain1 full1 and earnest8 ,do you find any of the controverted points to be determined by ,scripture in words nigh so plain or pathetic8 ,marginal ,note written 7in #ahaf7 by the ,author in his own copy of ,wall's work4 ,this and the two following pages are excellent4 ,if ,i addressed the ministers recently seceded1 ,i would first prove from ,scripture and ,reason the justness of their doctrines concerning ,baptism and ,conversion4 #b4 ,i would show1 that even in respect of the ,prayer-book1 ,homilies1 c4 of the ,church of ,england1 taken as a whole1 their opponents were comparatively as ill off as themselves1 if not worse4 #c4 ,that the few mistakes or inconvenient phrases of the ,baptismal ,service did not impose on the conscience the necessity of resigning the pastoral office4 #d4 ,that even if they did1 this would by no means justify schism from ,lay-membership3 or else there could be no schism except from an immaculate and infallible ,church4 ,now1 as our ,articles have declared that no ,church is or ever was such1 it would follow that there is no such sin as that of ,schism--that is1 that ,st4 ,paul wrote falsely or idly4 #e4 ,that the escape through the channel of ,dissent is from the frying-pan to the fire--or1 to use a less worn and vulgar simile1 the escape of a leech from a glass-jar of water into the naked and open air4 ,but never1 never1 would ,i in one breath allow my ,church to be fallible1 and in the next contend for her absolute freedom from all error--never confine inspiration and perfect truth to the ,scriptures1 and then scold for the perfect truth of each and every word in the ,prayer-book4 ,enough for me1 if in my heart of hearts1 free from all fear of man and all lust of preferment1 ,i believe 7as ,i do7 the ,church of ,england to be the most ,apostolic ,church2 that its doctrines and ceremonies contain nothing dangerous to ,righteousness or ,salvation2 and that the imperfections in its ,liturgy are spots indeed1 but spots on the sun1 which impede neither its light nor its heat1 so as to prevent the good seed from growing in a good soil and producing fruits of ,redemption4#aed 99 99 99 ,the author had written and intended to insert a similar exposition on the ,eucharist4 ,but as the leading view has been given in the ,comment on ,redemption1 its length induces him to defer it1 together with the ,articles on ,faith and the philosophy of ,prayer1 to a small supplementary volume4#aee #adg ,by certain ,biblical philologists of the ,teutonic school 7men distinguished by learning1 but still more characteristically by hardihood in conjecture1 and who suppose the ,gospels to have undergone several successive revisions and enlargements by1 or under the authority of1 the sacred historians7 these words are contended to have been1 in the first delivery1 the common commencement of all the ,gospels 7that is1 according to the flesh71 in distinction from ,st4 ,john's or the ,gospel 7that is1 according to the ,spirit74 #adh ,see ,comment to ,aphorism ,,viii41 par4 #c4--;,,ed4 #adi ,that every the least permissible form and ordinance1 which at different times it might be expedient for the ,church to enact1 are pre-enacted in the ,new ,testament2 and that whatever is not to be found there1 ought to be allowed no where--this has been asserted4 ,but that it has been proved1 or that the tenet is not to be placed among the revulsionary results of the ,scripture-slighting ,will-worship of the ,romish ,church2 it will be more sincere to say1 ,i disbelieve1 than that ,i doubt4 ,it was chiefly1 if not exclusively1 in reference to the extravagances built on this tenet1 that the great ,selden ventured to declare1 that the words1 ,scrutamini ,scripturas1 had set the world in an uproar4 ,extremes appear to generate each other2 but if we look steadily1 there will most often be found some common error1 that produces both as its positive and negative poles4 ,thus superstitions go by pairs1 like the two ,hungarian sisters1 always quarrelling and inveterately averse1 but yet joined at the trunk4 #aej ,more than this ,i do not consider as necessary for the argument4 ,and as to ,robinson's assertions in his ,history of ,baptism1 that infant ,baptism did not commence till the time of ,cyprian1 who condemning it as a general practice1 allowed it in particular cases by a dispensation of charity2 and that it did not actually become the ordinary rule of the ,church1 till ,augustine in the fever of his ,anti-,pelagian dispute had introduced the ,calvinistic interpretation of ,original ,sin1 and the dire state of ,infants dying unbaptized--,i am so far from acceding to them1 that ,i reject the whole statement as rash1 and not only unwarranted by the authorities he cites1 but unanswerably confuted by ,baxter1 ,wall1 and many other learned ,pdo-baptists before and since the publication of his work4 ,i confine myself to the assertion--not that ,infant ,baptism was not2 but--that there exist no sufficient proofs that it was the practice of the ,apostolic age4 #aea ,let me be permitted to repeat and apply the note in a former page4 ,superstition may be defined as superstantium 7cujusmodi sunt ceremoni et signa externa qu1 nisi in significando nihili sunt et pne nihil7 substantiatio4 #aeb ,conference between ,two ,men that had ,doubts about ,infant ,baptism4 ,by ,w4 ,wall1 ,author of the ,history of ,infant ,baptism1 and ,vicar of ,shoreham in ,kent4 ,a very sensible little tract1 and written in an excellent spirit3 but it failed1 ,i confess1 in satisfying my mind as to the existence of any decisive proofs or documents of ,infant ,baptism having been an ,apostolic usage1 or specially intended in any part of the ,new ,testament3 though deducible generally from many passages1 and in perfect accordance with the spirit of the whole4 ,a mighty wrestler in the cause of ,spiritual ,religion and ,gospel morality1 in whom more than in any other contemporary ,i seem to see the spirit of ,luther revived1 expressed to me his doubts whether we have a right to deny that an infant is capable of a spiritual influence4 ,to such a man ,i could not feel justified in returning an answer ex tempore1 or without having first submitted my convictions to a fresh revisal4 ,i owe him1 however1 a deliberate answer2 and take this opportunity of discharging the debt4 ,the objection supposes and assumes the very point which is denied1 or at least disputed--namely1 that ,infant ,baptism is specially injoined in the ,scriptures4 ,if an express passage to this purport had existed in the ,new ,testament--the other passages1 which evidently imply a spiritual operation under the condition of a preceding spiritual act on the part of the person baptized1 remaining as now--then indeed1 as the only way of removing the apparent contradiction1 it might be allowable to call on the ,anti-pdobaptist to prove the negative--namely1 that an infant a week old is not a subject capable or susceptible of spiritual agency4 ,and1 vice versa1 should it be made known to us1 that infants are not without reflection and self-consciousness--then1 doubtless1 we should be entitled to infer that they were capable of a spiritual operation1 and consequently of that which is signified in the baptismal rite administered to adults4 ,but what does this prove for those1 who 7as ,d4 ,d4 ,mant and ,d',oyly7 not only cannot show1 but who do not themselves profess to believe1 the self-consciousness of a new-born babe1 but who rest the defence of ,infant ,baptism on the assertion1 that ,god was pleased to affix the performance of this rite to his offer of ,salvation1 as the indispensable1 though arbitrary1 condition of the infant's salvability8--,as ,kings in former ages1 when they conferred lands in perpetuity1 would sometimes1 as the condition of the tenure1 exact from the beneficiary a hawk1 or some trifling ceremony1 as the putting on or off of their sandals1 or whatever else royal caprice or the whim of the moment might suggest4 ,but you1 honoured ,,irving1 are as little disposed1 as myself1 to favour such doctrine6 ,friend1 pure of heart and fervent6 we have learnt ,a different lore6 ,we may not thus profane ,the ,idea and ,name of ,him whose absolute ,will ,is ,reason--,truth ,supreme6--,essential ,order6#aec #aec ,for a further opinion upon ,edward ,irving see note at pp4 #aec-d of the #ahci edition of ,coleridge's ',church and ,state4'--,,ed4 #aed ,here the editor of the #ahdc edition was able to give two pages of additional matter by the author1 tending1 as ,coleridge said1 to the clearing up of the chapter on ,baptism1 and the proving the substantial accordance of my scheme with that of our ,church4 ,the addition is from ,coleridge's ,,ms4 ,note-books1 and bears date ,may #h1 #ahbh4--;,,ed4 #aee ,this note appeared in the early editions only4 ,the supplementary volume was never published1 though the ,essay on ,faith1 at p4 #dbe1 v4 #d1 of ,coleridge's ,remains 7#ahch71 and ,notes on the ,book of ,common ,prayer 7p4 #e1 v4 #c1 the same71 may be the parts here mentioned as written to appear in it4 ,we republish these two fragments at the end of the present volume1 pp4 #cda and #cej4--;,,ed4 ,,conclusion4 ,i am not so ignorant of the temper and tendency of the age in which ,i live1 as either to be unprepared for the sort of remarks which the literal interpretation of the ,evangelist will call forth1 or to attempt an answer to them4 ,visionary ravings1 obsolete whimsies1 transcendental trash1 and the like1 ,i leave to pass at the price current among those who are willing to receive abusive phrases as substitutes for argument4 ,should any suborner of anonymous criticism have engaged some literary bravo or buffoon beforehand1 to vilify this work1 as in former instances1 ,i would give a friendly hint to the operative critic that he may compile an excellent article for the occasion1 and with very little trouble1 out of ,warburton's tract on ,grace and the ,spirit1 and the ,preface to the same4 ,there is1 however1 one objection which will so often be heard from men1 whose talents and reputed moderation must give a weight to their words1 that ,i owe it both to my own character and to the interests of my readers1 not to leave it unnoticed4 ,the charge will probably be worded in this way3--,there is nothing new in all this6 7as if novelty were any merit in questions of ,revealed ,religion67 ,it is ,mysticism1 all taken out of ,william ,law1 after he had lost his senses1 poor man6 in brooding over the visions of a delirious ,german cobbler1 ,jacob ,behmen4 ,of poor ,jacob ,behmen ,i have delivered my sentiments at large in another work4 ,those who have condescended to look into his writings must know1 that his characteristic errors are2 first1 the mistaking the accidents and peculiarities of his own over-wrought mind for realities and modes of thinking common to all minds3 and secondly1 the confusion of nature1 that is1 the active powers communicated to matter1 with ,god the ,creator4 ,and if the same persons have done more than merely looked into the present volume1 they must have seen1 that to eradicate1 and1 if possible1 to preclude both the one and the other stands prominent among its avowed objects4#aef ,of ,william ,law's works ,i am acquainted with the ,serious ,call2 and besides this ,i remember to have read a small tract on ,prayer1 if ,i mistake not1 as ,i easily may1 it being at least six-and-twenty years#aeg since ,i saw it4 ,he may in this or in other tracts have quoted the same passages from the fourth ,gospel as ,i have done4 ,but surely this affords no presumption that my conclusions are the same with his2 still less1 that they are drawn from the same premisses3 and least of all1 that they were adopted from his writings4 ,whether ,law has used the phrase1 assimilation by faith1 ,i know not2 but ,i know that ,i should expose myself to a just charge of an idle parade of my reading1 if ,i recapitulated the tenth part of the authors1 ancient1 and modern1 ,romish and ,reformed1 from ,law to ,clemens ,alexandrinus and ,irenus1 in whose works the same phrase occurs in the same sense4 ,and after all1 on such a subject how worse than childish is the whole dispute6 ,is the fourth ,gospel authentic8 ,and is the interpretation ,i have given1 true or false8 ,these are the only questions which a wise man would put1 or a ,christian be anxious to answer4 ,i not only believe it to be the true sense of the texts2 but ,i assert that it is the only true1 rational1 and even tolerable sense4 ,and this position alone ,i conceive myself interested in defending4 ,i have studied with an open and fearless spirit the attempts of sundry learned critics of the ,continent1 to invalidate the authenticity of this ,gospel1 before and since ,eichhorn's ,vindication4 ,the result has been a clearer assurance and 7as far as this was possible7 a yet deeper conviction of the genuineness of all the writings1 which the ,church has attributed to this ,apostle4 ,that those1 who have formed an opposite conclusion1 should object to the use of expressions which they had ranked among the most obvious marks of spuriousness1 follows as a matter of course4 ,but that men1 who with a clear and cloudless assent receive the sixth chapter of this ,gospel as a faithful1 nay1 inspired record of an actual discourse1 should take offence at the repetition of words which the ,redeemer himself1 in the perfect foreknowledge that they would confirm the disbelieving1 alienate the unsteadfast1 and transcend the present capacity even of his own ,elect1 had chosen as the most appropriate2 and which1 after the most decisive proofs1 that they were misinterpreted by the greater number of his hearers1 and not understood by any1 he nevertheless repeated with stronger emphasis and without comment as the only appropriate symbols of the great truth he was declaring1 and to realize which 2#aeh--that in their own discourses these men should hang back from all express reference to these words1 as if they were afraid or ashamed of them1 though the earliest recorded ceremonies and liturgical forms of the primitive ,church are absolutely inexplicable1 except in connexion with this discourse1 and with the mysterious and spiritual1 not allegorical and merely ethical1 import of the same2 and though this import is solemnly and in the most unequivocal terms asserted and taught by their own ,church1 even in her ,catechism1 or compendium of doctrines necessary for all her members2--this ,i may1 perhaps1 understand2 but this ,i am not able to vindicate or excuse4 ,there is1 however1 one opprobrious phrase which it may be profitable for my younger readers that ,i should explain1 namely1 ,mysticism4 ,and for this purpose ,i will quote a sentence or two from a ,dialogue which1 had my prescribed limits permitted1 ,i should have attached to the present work2 but which with an ,essay on the ,church1 as instituted by ,christ1 and as an establishment of the ,state1 and a series of letters on the right and the superstitious use and estimation of the ,bible1 will appear in a small volume by themselves1 should the reception given to the present volume encourage or permit the publication4#aei ,,mystics ,,and ,,mysticism4 ,antinus4--,what do you call ,mysticism8 ,and do you use the word in a good or a bad sense8 ,nus4--,in the latter only2 as far1 at least1 as we are now concerned with it4 ,when a man refers to inward feelings and experiences1 of which mankind at large are not conscious1 as evidences of the truth of any opinion--such a man ,i call a ,mystic3 and the grounding of any theory or belief on accidents and anomalies of individual sensations or fancies1 and the use of peculiar terms invented1 or perverted from their ordinary significations1 for the purpose of expressing these idiosyncrasies and pretended facts of interior consciousness1 ,i name ,mysticism4 ,where the error consists simply in the ,mystic's attaching to these anomalies of his individual temperament the character of reality1 and in receiving them as permanent truths1 having a subsistence in the ,divine ,mind1 though revealed to himself alone2 but entertains this persuasion without demanding or expecting the same faith in his neighbours--,i should regard it as a species of enthusiasm1 always indeed to be deprecated1 but yet capable of co-existing with many excellent qualities both of head and heart4 ,but when the ,mystic by ambition or still meaner passions1 or 7as sometimes is the case7 by an uneasy and self-doubting state of mind which seeks confirmation in outward sympathy1 is led to impose his faith1 as a duty1 on mankind generally3 and when with such views he asserts that the same experiences would be vouchsafed1 the same truths revealed1 to every man but for his secret wickedness and unholy will--such a ,mystic is a ,fanatic1 and in certain states of the public mind a dangerous member of society4 ,and most so in those ages and countries in which ,fanatics of elder standing are allowed to persecute the fresh competitor4 ,for under these predicaments1 ,mysticism1 though originating in the singularities of an individual nature1 and therefore essentially anomalous1 is nevertheless highly contagious4 ,it is apt to collect a swarm and cluster circum fana1 around the new fane3 and therefore merits the name of ,fanaticism1 or as the ,germans say1 ,schwrmerey1 that is1 swarm-making4 99 99 99 99 99 ,we will return to the harmless species--the enthusiastic ,mystics2--a species that may again be subdivided into two ranks4 ,and it will not be other than germane to the subject1 if ,i endeavour to describe them in a sort of allegory1 or parable4 ,let us imagine a poor pilgrim benighted in a wilderness or desert1 and pursuing his way in the starless dark with a lantern in his hand4 ,chance or his happy genius leads him to an ,oasis or natural ,garden1 such as in the creations of my youthful fancy ,i supposed ,enos#afj the ,child of ,cain to have found4 ,and here1 hungry and thirsty1 the way-wearied man rests at a fountain2 and the taper of his lantern throws its light on an over-shadowing tree1 a boss of snow-white blossoms1 through which the green and growing fruits peeped1 and the ripe golden fruitage glowed4 ,deep1 vivid1 and faithful are the impressions1 which the lovely ,imagery comprised within the scanty circle of light1 makes and leaves on his memory6 ,but scarcely has he eaten of the fruits and drunk of the fountain1 ere scared by the roar and howl from the desart he hurries forward3 and as he passes with hasty steps through grove and glade1 shadows and imperfect beholdings and vivid fragments of things distinctly seen blend with the past and present shapings of his brain4 ,fancy modifies sight4 ,his dreams transfer their forms to real objects2 and these lend a substance and an outness to his dreams4 ,apparitions greet him2 and when at a distance from this enchanted land1 and on a different track1 the dawn of day discloses to him a caravan1 a troop of his fellow-men1 his memory1 which is itself half fancy1 is interpolated afresh by every attempt to recall1 connect1 and piece out his recollections4 ,his narration is received as a madman's tale4 ,he shrinks from the rude laugh and contemptuous sneer1 and retires into himself4 ,yet the craving for sympathy1 strong in proportion to the intensity of his convictions1 impels him to unbosom himself to abstract auditors2 and the poor ,quietist becomes a ,penman1 and1 all too poorly stocked for the writer's trade1 he borrows his phrases and figures from the only writings to which he has had access1 the sacred books of his religion4 ,and thus ,i shadow out the enthusiast ,mystic of the first sort2 at the head of which stands the illuminated ,teutonic theosopher and shoemaker1 honest ,jacob ,behmen1 born near ,gorlitz1 in ,upper ,lusatia1 in the #agth of our ,elizabeth's reign1 and who died in the #bbnd of her successor's4 ,to delineate a ,mystic of the second and higher order1 we need only endow our pilgrim with equal gifts of nature1 but these developed and displayed by all the aids and arts of education and favourable fortune4 ,he is on his way to the ,mecca of his ancestral and national faith1 with a well-guarded and numerous procession of merchants and fellow-pilgrims1 on the established track4 ,at the close of day the caravan has halted3 the full moon rises on the desert3 and he strays forth alone1 out of sight but to no unsafe distance2 and chance leads him too1 to the same oasis or ,islet of ,verdure on the ,sea of ,sand4 ,he wanders at leisure in its maze of beauty and sweetness1 and thrids his way through the odorous and flowering thickets into open spots of greenery1 and discovers statues and memorial characters1 grottos1 and refreshing caves4 ,but the moonshine1 the imaginative poesy of nature1 spreads its soft shadowy charm over all1 conceals distances1 and magnifies heights1 and modifies relations3 and fills up vacuities with its own whiteness1 counterfeiting substance2 and where the dense shadows lie1 makes solidity imitate hollowness2 and gives to all objects a tender visionary hue and softening4 ,interpret the moonlight and the shadows as the peculiar genius and sensibility of the individual's own spirit3 and here you have the other sort3 a ,mystic1 an ,enthusiast of a nobler breed--a ,fenelon4 ,but the residentiary1 or the frequent visitor of the favoured spot1 who has scanned its beauties by steady day-light1 and mastered its true proportions and lineaments1 he will discover that both pilgrims have indeed been there4 ,he will know1 that the delightful dream1 which the latter tells1 is a dream of truth2 and that even in the bewildered tale of the former there is truth mingled with the dream4 ,but the ,source1 the ,spring-head1 of the ,charges which ,i anticipate1 lies deep4 ,materialism1 conscious and avowed ,materialism1 is in ill repute3 and a confessed ,materialist therefore a rare character4 ,but if the faith be ascertained by the fruits3 if the predominant1 though most often unsuspected1 persuasion is to be learnt from the influences1 under which the thoughts and affections of the man move and take their direction2 ,i must reverse the position4 ,,only ,,not ,,all ,,are ,,materialists4 ,except a few individuals1 and those for the most part of a single sect3 every one1 who calls himself a ,christian1 holds himself to have a soul as well as a body4 ,he distinguishes mind from matter1 the subject of his consciousness from the objects of the same4 ,the former is his mind3 and he says1 it is immaterial4 ,but though subject and substance are words of kindred roots1 nay1 little less than equivalent terms1 yet nevertheless it is exclusively to sensible objects1 to bodies1 to modifications of matter1 that he habitually attaches the attributes of reality1 of substance4 ,real and tangible1 substantial and material1 are synonyms for him4 ,he never indeed asks himself1 what he means by ,mind8 ,but if he did1 and tasked himself to return an honest answer--as to what1 at least1 he had hitherto meant by it--he would find1 that he had described it by negatives1 as the opposite of bodies1 for example1 as a somewhat opposed to solidity1 to visibility1 and the like1 as if you could abstract the capacity of a vessel1 and conceive of it as a somewhat by itself1 and then give to the emptiness the properties of containing1 holding1 being entered1 and so forth4 ,in short1 though the proposition would perhaps be angrily denied in words1 yet in fact he thinks of his mind1 as a property1 or accident of a something else1 that he calls a soul or spirit3 though the very same difficulties must recur1 the moment he should attempt to establish the difference4 ,for either this soul or spirit is nothing but a thinner body1 a finer mass of matter3 or the attribute of self-subsistency vanishes from the soul on the same grounds1 on which it is refused to the mind4 ,i am persuaded1 however1 that the dogmatism of the ,corpuscular ,school1 though it still exerts an influence on men's notions and phrases1 has received a mortal blow from the increasingly dynamic spirit of the physical sciences now highest in public estimation4 ,and it may safely be predicted that the results will extend beyond the intention of those1 who are gradually effecting this revolution4 ,it is not chemistry alone that will be indebted to the genius of ,davy1 ,oersted1 and their compeers3 and not as the founder of physiology and philosophic anatomy alone1 will mankind love and revere the name of ,john ,hunter4 ,these men have not only taught1 they have compelled us to admit1 that the immediate objects of our senses1 or rather the grounds of the visibility and tangibility of all objects of sense1 bear the same relation and similar proportion to the intelligible object--that is1 to the object which we actually mean when we say1 ,it is such or such a thing1 or ,i have seen this or that1--as the paper1 ink1 and differently combined straight and curved lines of an edition of ,homer bear to what we understand by the words ,iliad and ,odyssey4 ,nay1 nothing would be more easy than so to construct the paper1 ink1 painted capitals1 and the like1 of a printed disquisition on the eye1 or the muscles and cellular texture 7the flesh7 of the human body1 as to bring together every one of the sensible and ponderable stuffs or elements1 that are sensuously perceived in the eye itself1 or in the flesh itself4 ,carbon and nitrogen1 oxygen and hydrogen1 sulphur1 phosphorus1 and one or two metals and metallic bases1 constitute the whole4 ,it cannot be these1 therefore1 that we mean by an eye1 by our body4 ,but perhaps it may be a particular combination of these8 ,but here comes a question3 ,in this term do you or do you not include the principle1 the operating cause1 of the combination8 ,if not1 then detach this eye from the body4 ,look steadily at it--as it might lie on the marble slab of a dissecting room4 ,say it were the eye of a murderer1 a ,bellingham3 or the eye of a murdered patriot1 a ,sidney6--,behold it1 handle it1 with its various accompaniments or constituent parts1 of tendon1 ligament1 membrane1 blood-vessel1 gland1 humours2 its nerves of sense1 of sensation1 and of motion4 ,alas6 all these names like that of the organ itself1 are so many ,anachronisms1 figures of speech to express that which has been3 as when the ,guide points with his finger to a heap of stones1 and tells the traveller1 ,that is ,babylon1 or ,persepolis4--,is this cold jelly the light of the body8 ,is this the ,micranthropos in the marvellous microcosm8 ,is this what you mean when you well define the eye as the telescope and the mirror of the soul1 the seat and agent of an almost magical power8 ,pursue the same inquisition with every other part of the body1 whether integral or simply ingredient2 and let a ,berzelius or a ,hatchett be your interpreter1 and demonstrate to you what it is that in each actually meets your senses4 ,and when you have heard the scanty catalogue1 ask yourself if these are indeed the living flesh1 the blood of life8 ,or not far rather--,i speak of what1 as a man of common sense1 you really do1 not what1 as a philosopher1 you ought to believe--is it not1 ,i say1 far rather the distinct and individualized agency that by the given combinations utters and bespeaks its presence8 ,justly and with strictest propriety of language may ,i say1 speaks4 ,it is to the coarseness of our senses1 or rather to the defect and limitation of our percipient faculty1 that the visible object appears the same even for a moment4 ,the characters1 which ,i am now shaping on this paper1 abide4 ,not only the forms remain the same1 but the particles of the colouring stuff are fixed1 and1 for an indefinite period at least1 remain the same4 ,but the particles that constitute the size1 the visibility of an organic structure#afb are in perpetual flux4 ,they are to the combining and constitutive power as the pulses of air to the voice of a discourser2 or of one who sings a roundelay4 ,the same words may be repeated2 but in each second of time the articulated air hath passed away1 and each act of articulation appropriates and gives momentary form to a new and other portion4 ,as the column of blue smoke from a cottage chimney in the breathless summer noon1 or the steadfast-seeming cloud on the edge-point of a hill in the driving air-current1 which momently condensed and recomposed is the common phantom of a thousand successors2--such is the flesh1 which our bodily eyes transmit to us2 which our palates taste2 which our hands touch4 ,but perhaps the material particles possess this combining power by inherent reciprocal attractions1 repulsions1 and elective affinities2 and are themselves the joint artists of their own combinations8 ,i will not reply1 though well ,i might1 that this would be to solve one problem by another1 and merely to shift the mystery4 ,it will be sufficient to remind the thoughtful querist1 that ever herein consists the essential difference1 the contra-distinction1 of an organ from a machine2 that not only the characteristic shape is evolved from the invisible central power1 but the material mass itself is acquired by assimilation4 ,the germinal power of the plant transmutes the fixed air and the elementary base of water into grass or leaves2 and on these the organific principle in the ox or the elephant exercises an alchemy still more stupendous4 ,as the unseen agency weaves its magic eddies1 the foliage becomes indifferently the bone and its marrow1 the pulpy brain1 or the solid ivory4 ,that what you see is blood1 is flesh1 is itself the work1 or shall ,i say1 the translucence1 of the invisible ,energy1 which soon surrenders or abandons them to inferior powers 7for there is no pause nor chasm in the activities of ,nature71 which repeat a similar metamorphosis according to their kind2--these are not fancies1 conjectures1 or even hypotheses1 but facts2 to deny which is impossible1 not to reflect on which is ignominious4 ,and we need only reflect on them with a calm and silent spirit to learn the utter emptiness and unmeaningness of the vaunted ,mechanico-corpuscular ,philosophy1 with both its twins1 ,materialism on the one hand1 and ,idealism1 rightlier named ,subjective ,idolism1 on the other3 the one obtruding on us a ,world of ,spectres and ,apparitions2 the other a mazy ,dream6 ,let the ,mechanic or ,corpuscular ,scheme1 which in its absoluteness and strict consistency was first introduced by ,des ,cartes1 be judged by the results4 ,by its fruits shall it be known4 ,in order to submit the various phenomena of moving bodies to geometrical construction1 we are under the necessity of abstracting from corporeal substance all its positive properties1 and obliged to consider bodies as differing from equal portions of space#afc only by figure and mobility4 ,and as a fiction of science1 it would be difficult to overvalue this invention4 ,it possesses the same merits in relation to ,geometry that the atomic theory has in relation to algebraic calculus4 ,but in contempt of common sense1 and in direct opposition to the express declarations of the inspired historian 7,genesis i47 and to the tone and spirit of the ,scriptures throughout1 ,des ,cartes propounded it as truth of fact3 and instead of a ,world created and filled with productive forces by the ,almighty ,fiat1 left a lifeless ,machine whirled about by the dust of its own ,grinding3 as if ,death could come from the living ,fountain of ,life2 ,nothingness and ,phantom from the ,plenitude of ,reality6 the ,absoluteness of ,creative ,will6 ,holy6 ,holy6 ,holy6 let me be deemed mad by all men1 if such be thy ordinance3 but1 ,o6 from such madness save and preserve me1 my ,god6 ,when1 however1 after a short interval1 the genius of ,kepler1 expanded and organized in the soul of ,newton1 and there 7if ,i may hazard so bold an expression7 refining itself into an almost celestial clearness1 had expelled the ,cartesian vortices2#afd then the necessity of an active power1 of positive forces present in the material universe1 forced itself on the conviction4 ,for as a ,law without a ,law-giver is a mere abstraction2 so a ,law without an ,agent to realize it1 a ,constitution without an abiding ,executive1 is1 in fact1 not a ,law but an ,idea4 ,in the profound emblem of the great tragic poet1 it is the powerless ,prometheus fixed on a barren ,rock4 ,and what was the result8 ,how was this necessity provided for8 ,god himself--my hand trembles as ,i write6 ,rather1 then1 let me employ the word1 which the religious feeling1 in its perplexity suggested as the substitute--the ,deity itself was declared to be the real agent1 the actual gravitating power6 ,the law and the law-giver were identified4 ,god 7says ,dr4 ,priestley7 not only does1 but is every thing4 ,jupiter est quodcunque vides4 ,and thus a system1 which commenced by excluding all life and immanent activity from the visible universe and evacuating the natural world of all nature1 ended by substituting the ,deity1 and reducing the ,creator to a mere anima mundi3 a scheme that has no advantage over ,spinosism but its inconsistency1 which does indeed make it suit a certain ,order of intellects1 who1 like the pleuronect 7or flat fish7 in ichthyology which have both eyes on the same side1 never see but half of a subject at one time1 and forgetting the one before they get to the other are sure not to detect any inconsistency between them4 ,and what has been the consequence8 ,an increasing unwillingness to contemplate the ,supreme ,being in his personal attributes3 and thence a distaste to all the peculiar doctrines of the ,christian ,faith1 the ,trinity1 the ,incarnation of the ,son of ,god1 and ,redemption4 ,the young and ardent1 ever too apt to mistake the inward triumph in the detection of error for a positive love of truth1 are among the first and most frequent victims to this epidemic fastidium4 ,alas6 even the sincerest seekers after light are not safe from the contagion4 ,some have ,i known1 constitutionally religious--,i speak feelingly2 for ,i speak of that which for a brief period was my own state--who under this unhealthful influence have been so estranged from the heavenly ,father1 the ,living ,god1 as even to shrink from the personal pronouns as applied to the ,deity4 ,but many do ,i know1 and yearly meet with1 in whom a false and sickly taste co-operates with the prevailing fashion3 many1 who find the ,god of ,abraham1 ,isaac1 and ,jacob1 far too real1 too substantial2 who feel it more in harmony with their indefinite sensations ,to worship ,nature in the hill and valley1 ,not knowing what they love3-- and 7to use the language1 but not the sense or purpose of the great poet of our age7 would fain substitute for the ,jehovah of their ,bible ,a sense sublime ,of something far more deeply interfused1 ,whose dwelling is the light of setting suns1 ,and the round ocean and the living air2 ,a motion and a spirit1 that impels ,all thinking things1 all objects of all thought1 ,and rolls through all things6 ,,wordsworth4 ,and this from having been educated to understand the ,divine ,omnipresence in any sense rather than the alone safe and legitimate one1 the presence of all things to ,god6 ,be it1 however1 that the number of such men is comparatively small6 ,and be it 7as in fact it often is7 but a brief stage1 a transitional state1 in the process of intellectual ,growth6 ,yet among a numerous and increasing class of the higher and middle ranks1 there is an inward withdrawing from the ,life and ,personal ,being of ,god1 a turning of the thoughts exclusively to the so-called physical attributes1 to the ,omnipresence in the counterfeit form of ubiquity1 to the ,immensity1 the ,infinity1 the ,immutability2--the attributes of space with a notion of ,power as their substratum1 a ,,fate1 in short1 not a ,moral ,creator and ,governor6 ,let intelligence be imagined1 and wherein does the conception of ,god differ essentially from that of ,gravitation 7conceived as the cause of ,gravity7 in the understanding of those1 who represent the ,deity not only as a necessary but as a necessitated ,being2 those1 for whom justice is but a scheme of general laws2 and holiness1 and the divine hatred of sin1 yea and sin itself1 are words without meaning or accommodations to a rude and barbarous race8 ,hence1 ,i more than fear1 the prevailing taste for books of ,natural ,theology1 ,physico-,theology1 ,demonstrations of ,god from ,nature1 ,evidences of ,christianity1 and the like4 ,evidences of ,christianity6 ,i am weary of the word4 ,make a man feel the want of it2 rouse him1 if you can1 to the self-knowledge of his need only the express declaration of ,christ himself3 ,no man cometh to me1 unless the ,father leadeth him4 ,whatever more is desirable--,i speak now with reference to ,christians generally1 and not to professed students of theology--may1 in my judgment1 be far more safely and profitably taught1 without controversy or the supposition of infidel antagonists1 in the form of ,ecclesiastical history4 ,the last fruit of the mechanico-corpuscular philosophy1 say rather of the mode and direction of feeling and thinking produced by it on the educated class of society2 or that result1 which as more immediately connected with my present theme ,i have reserved for the last--is the habit of attaching all our conceptions and feelings1 and of applying all the words and phrases expressing reality1 to the objects of the senses3 more accurately speaking1 to the images and sensations by which their presence is made known to us4 ,now ,i do not hesitate to assert1 that it was one of the great purposes of ,christianity1 and included in the process of our ,redemption1 to rouse and emancipate the soul from this debasing slavery to the outward senses1 to awaken the mind to the true criteria of reality1 namely1 ,permanence1 ,power1 ,will manifested in ,act1 and ,truth operating as ,life4 ,my words1 said ,christ1 are spirit3 and they 7that is1 the spiritual powers expressed by them7 are truth2 that is1 very ,being4 ,for this end our ,lord1 who came from heaven to take captivity captive1 chose the words and names1 that designate the familiar yet most important objects of sense1 the nearest and most concerning things and incidents of corporeal nature3--,water1 ,flesh1 ,blood1 ,birth1 ,bread6 ,but he used them in senses1 that could not without absurdity be supposed to respect the mere phnomena1 water1 flesh1 and the like1 in senses that by no possibility could apply to the colour1 figure1 specific mode of touch or taste produced on ourselves1 and by which we are made aware of the presence of the things1 and understand them--res1 qu sub apparitionibus istis statuend sunt4 ,and this awful recalling of the drowsed soul from the dreams and phantom world of sensuality to actual reality1--how has it been evaded6 ,these words1 that were ,spirit6 these ,mysteries1 which even the ,apostles must wait for the ,paraclete1 in order to comprehend1--these spiritual things which can only be spiritually discerned1--were mere metaphors1 figures of speech1 oriental hyperboles6 ,all this means only ,morality6 ,ah6 how far nearer to the truth would these men have been1 had they said that ,morality means all this6 ,the effect1 however1 has been most injurious to the best interests of our ,universities1 to our incomparably constituted ,church1 and even to our national character4 ,the few who have read my two ,lay ,sermons are no strangers to my opinions on this head2 and in my ,treatise on the ,church and ,churches1 ,i shall1 if ,providence vouchsafe1 submit them to the ,public1 with their grounds and historic evidences in a more systematic form4 ,i have1 ,i am aware1 in this present work furnished occasion for a charge of having expressed myself with slight and irreverence of celebrated ,names1 especially of the late ,dr4 ,paley4 ,o1 if ,i were fond and ambitious of literary honour1 of public applause1 how well content should ,i be to excite but one third of the admiration which1 in my inmost being1 ,i feel for the head and heart of ,paley6 ,and how gladly would ,i surrender all hope of contemporary praise1 could ,i even approach to the incomparable grace1 propriety1 and persuasive facility of his writings6 ,but on this very account ,i believe myself bound in conscience to throw the whole force of my intellect in the way of this triumphal car1 on which the tutelary genius of modern ,idolatry is borne1 even at the risk of being crushed under the wheels6 ,i have at this moment before my eyes the eighteenth of his ,posthumous ,discourses3 the amount of which is briefly this1--that all the words and passages in the ,new ,testament which express and contain the peculiar doctrines of ,christianity1 the paramount objects of the ,christian ,revelation1 all those which speak so strongly of the value1 benefit1 and efficacy1 of the death of ,christ1 assuredly mean something2 but what they mean1 nobody1 it seems can tell6 ,but doubtless we shall discover it1 and be convinced that there is a substantial sense belonging to these words--in a future state6 ,is there an enigma1 or an absurdity1 in the ,koran or the ,vedas which might not be defended on the same pretence8 ,a similar impression1 ,i confess1 was left on my mind by ,dr4 ,magee's statement or exposition 7ad normam ,grotianam7 of the doctrine of ,redemption2 and deeply did it disappoint the high expectations1 sadly did it chill the fervid sympathy1 which his introductory chapter1 his manly and masterly disquisition on the sacrificial rites of ,paganism1 had raised in my mind4 ,and yet ,i cannot read the pages of ,paley1 here referred to1 aloud1 without the liveliest sense1 how plausible and popular they will sound to the great majority of readers4 ,thousands of sober1 and in their way pious1 ,christians1 will echo the words1 together with ,magee's kindred interpretation of the death of ,christ1 and adopt the doctrine for their ,make-faith2 and why8 ,it is feeble4 ,and whatever is feeble is always plausible3 for it favours mental indolence4 ,it is feeble3 and feebleness1 in the disguise of confessing and condescending strength1 is always popular4 ,it flatters the reader by removing the apprehended distance between him and the superior author2 and it flatters him still more by enabling him to transfer to himself1 and to appropriate1 this superiority2 and thus to make his very weakness the mark and evidence of his strength4 ,ay1 quoth the rational ,christian--or with a sighing1 self-soothing sound between an ,ay and an ,ah6--,i am content to think1 with the great ,dr4 ,paley1 and the learned ,archbishop of ,dublin---- ,man of ,sense6 ,dr4 ,paley was a great man1 and ,dr4 ,magee is a learned and exemplary prelate2 but ,,you do not think at all6 ,with regard to the convictions avowed and enforced in my own ,work1 ,i will continue my address to the man of sense in the words of an old philosopher3--,tu vero crassis auribus et obstinato corde respuis qu forsitan vere perhibeantur4 ,minus hercule calles1 pravissimis opinionibus ea putari mendacia1 qu vel auditu nova1 vel visu rudia1 vel certe supra captum cogitationis 7extemporane tu7 ardua videantur3 qu si paulo accuratius exploraris1 non modo compertu evidentia1 sed etiam factu facilia1 senties4#afe 99 99 99 99 99 ,in compliance with the suggestion of a judicious friend1 the celebrated conclusion of the fourth ,book of ,paley's ,moral and ,political ,philosophy1 referred to in p4 #bcj of this volume1 is here transprinted for the convenience of the reader3-- ,had ,jesus ,christ delivered no other declaration than the following--',the hour is coming1 in the which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice1 and shall come forth3 they that have done good1 unto the resurrection of life1 and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation3'--he had pronounced a message of inestimable importance1 and well worthy of that splendid apparatus of prophecy and miracles with which his mission was introduced and attested3 a message in which the wisest of mankind would rejoice to find an answer to their doubts1 and rest to their inquiries4--,it is idle to say1 that a future state had been discovered already3--it had been discovered as the ,copernican system was2--it was one guess among many4 ,he alone discovers1 who proves2 and no man can prove this point1 but the teacher who testifies by miracles that his doctrine comes from ,god4 ,pdianus says of ,virgil1--,usque adeo expers invidi1 ut siquid erudite dictum inspiceret alterius1 non minus gauderet ac si suum esset4 ,my own heart assures me1 that this is less than the truth3 that ,virgil would have read a beautiful passage in the work of another with a higher and purer delight than in a work of his own1 because free from the apprehension of his judgment being warped by self-love1 and without that repressive modesty akin to shame1 which in a delicate mind holds in check a man's own secret thoughts and feelings1 when they respect himself4 ,the cordial admiration with which ,i peruse the preceding passage1 as a master-piece of composition1 would1 could ,i convey it1 serve as a measure of the vital importance ,i attach to the convictions which impelled me to animadvert on the same passage as doctrine4 #aef ,see ,preliminary to ,aphorisms on ,spiritual ,religion1 c4--,,ed4 #aeg ,so in first edition1 #ahbe4--;,,ed4 #aeh ,of which our he was made flesh1 is an inadequate translation4--,the ,church of ,england in this as in other doctrinal points1 has preserved the golden mean between the superstitious reverence of the ,romanists1 and the avowed contempt of the ,sectarians1 for the writings of the ,fathers1 and the authority and unimpeached traditions of the ,church during the first three or four centuries4 ,and how1 consistently with this honourable characteristic of our ,church1 a minister of the same could1 on the ,sacramentary scheme now in fashion1 return even a plausible answer to ,arnauld's great work on ,transubstantiation 7not without reason the boast of the ,romish ,church71 exceeds my powers of conjecture4 #aei ,these were the afterwards published ',on the ,church and ,state1 according to the ,idea of ,each1' #ahcj1 and ',confessions of an ,inquiring ,spirit1' #ahdj4 ,the latter we republish in the present volume2 see p4 #bhe4--;,,ed4 #afj ,will the reader forgive me if ,i attempt at once to illustrate and relieve the subject by annexing the first stanza of the poem composed in the same year in which ,i wrote the ,ancient ,mariner and the first book of ,christabel8 ,encinctur'd with a twine of leaves1 ,that leafy twine his only dress6 ,a lovely boy was plucking fruits ,in a moonlight wilderness4#afa ,the moon was bright1 the air was free1 ,and fruits and flowers together grew ,on many a shrub and many a tree3 ,and all put on a gentle hue1 ,hanging in the shadowy air ,like a picture rich and rare4 ,it was a climate where1 they say1 ,the night is more belov'd than day4 ,but who that beauteous boy beguil'd1 ,that beauteous boy to linger here8 ,alone1 by night1 a little child1 ,in place so silent and so wild-- ,has he no friend1 no loving mother near8 ,,wanderings ,,of ,,cain4 #afa ,by moonlight1 in a wilderness4--',poetical ,works1' edit4 #ahfc4--;,,ed4 #afb ,see p4 #dj4--;,,ed4 #afc ,such is the conception of body in ,des ,cartes' own system1 body is every where confounded with matter1 and might in the ,cartesian sense be defined1 ,space or ,extension1 with the attribute of ,visibility4 ,as ,des ,cartes at the same time zealously asserted the existence of intelligential beings1 the reality and independent ,self-subsidence of the soul1 ,berkeleyanism or ,spinosism was the immediate and necessary consequence4 ,assume a plurality of self-subsisting souls1 and we have ,berkeleyanism2 assume one only 7unam et unicam substantiam71 and you have ,spinosism1 that is1 the assertion of one infinite self-subsistent1 with the two attributes of thinking and appearing4 ,cogitatio infinita sine centro1 et omniformis apparitio4 ,how far the ,newtonian vis inerti 7interpreted any otherwise than as an arbitrary term x y z1 to represent the unknown but necessary supplement or integration of the ,cartesian notion of body7 has patched up the flaw1 ,i leave for more competent judges to decide4 ,but should any one of my ,readers feel an interest in the speculative principles of ,natural ,philosophy1 and should be master of the ,german language1 ,i warmly recommend for his perusal the earliest known publication of the great founder of the ,critical ,philosophy 7written in the twenty-second year of his age671 on the then eager controversy between the ,leibnitzian and the ,french and ,english ,mathematicians1 respecting the living forces--,gedanken von der wahren ,schtzung der lebendigen ,krfte3 #agdg--;in which ,kant demonstrates the right reasoning to be with the latter2 but the ,truth of ,fact1 the evidence of ,experience1 with the former2 and gives the explanation1 namely3 ,body1 or ,corporeal ,nature1 is something else and more than geometrical extension1 even with the addition of a vis inerti4 ,and ,leibnitz1 with the ,bernouillis1 erred in the attempt to demonstrate geometrically a problem not susceptible of geometrical construction4--,the tract1 with the succeeding ,himmels-system1 may with propriety be placed1 after the ,principia of ,newton1 among the striking instances of early ,genius2 and as the first product of the ,dynamic ,philosophy in the ,physical ,sciences1 from the time1 at least1 of ,giordano ,bruno1 whom the idolaters burnt for an ,atheist1 at ,rome1 in the year #afjj4 ,see the ',friend1' pp4 #aea-ee4 ,or pp4 #fi1 #gj1 ,bohn's edition4--,,ed4 #afd ,for ,newton's own doubtfully suggested ether1 or most subtle fluid1 as the ground and immediate ,agent in the phenomena of universal gravitation1 was either not adopted or soon abandoned by his disciples2 not only as introducing1 against his own canons of right reasoning1 an ens imaginarium into physical science1 a suffiction in the place of a legitimate supposition2 but because the substance 7assuming it to exist7 must itself form part of the problem1 it was meant to solve4 ,meantime ,leibnitz's pre-established harmony1 which originated in ,spinosa1 found no acceptance2 and1 lastly1 the notion of a corpuscular substance1 with properties put into it1 like a pincushion hidden by the pins1 could pass with the unthinking only for any thing more than a confession of ignorance1 or technical terms expressing a hiatus of scientific insight4 #afe ,apul4 ,metam4 #a4--;,h4 ,n4 ,c4 ,,appendix ,a4 ,a ,,synoptical ,,summary ,,of ,,the ,,scheme ,,of ,,the ,,argument ,,to ,,prove ,,the ,,diversity ,,in ,,kind#aff ,,of ,,the ,,reason ,,and ,,the ,,understanding4 ,,see ,p4 #adc4 ,the ,position to be proved is the difference in kind of the ,understanding from the ,reason4 ,the ,axiom1 on which the ,proof rests1 is3 ,subjects1 which require essentially different ,general ,definitions1 differ in kind and not merely in degree4 ,for difference in degree forms the ground of specific definitions1 but not of generic or general4 ,now ,reason is considered either in relation to the ,will and ,moral ,being1 when it is termed the#afg ,practical ,reason ,a3 or relatively1 to the intellective and ,sciential ,faculties1 when it is termed ,theoretic or ,speculative ,reason a4 ,in order therefore to be compared with the ,reason2 the ,understanding must in like manner be distinguished into the ,understanding as a ,principle of ,action1 in which relation ,i call it the ,adaptive ,power1 or the faculty of selecting and adapting ,means and ,medial of proximate ends ,b3 and the ,understanding1 as a mode and faculty of thought1 when it is called ,reflection b4 ,accordingly1 ,i give the ,general ,definitions of these four3 that is1 ,i describe each severally by its essential characters3 and ,i find1 that the definition of ,a differs toto genere from that of ,b1 and the definition of a from that of b4 ,now subjects that require essentially different definitions do themselves differ in kind4 ,but ,understanding and ,reason require essentially different definitions4 ,therefore ,understanding and ,reason differ in kind4 #aff ,this summary did not appear in the first edition4--,,ed4 #afg ,n4 ,b4 ,the ,practical ,reason alone is ,reason in the full and substantive sense4 ,it is reason in its own sphere of perfect freedom2 as the source of ,,ideas1 which ,ideas1 in their conversion to the responsible ,will1 become ,ultimate ,ends4 ,on the other hand1 ,theoretic ,reason1 as the ground of the ,universal and ,absolute in all logical conclusion is rather the ,light of ,reason in the ,understanding1 and known to be such by its contrast with the contingency and particularity which characterize all the proper and indigenous growths of the ,understanding4 ,,appendix ,b4 ,,on ,,instinct3 ,,by ,,professor ,j4 ,h4 ,,green4 ,this is the discourse an early report of which was the foundation of ,coleridge's remarks upon instinct1 c41 which appear at pp4 #afj-afd4 ,it was first added as an ,appendix to the ,aids to ,reflection1 in the edition of #ahdc2 being extracted from an ,appendix to ,professor ,green's ,vital ,dynamics#afh #ahdj1 where it appears at pp4 #hh-if4 ,it was then given without the ,professor's introductory words1 which we now add4--,,ed4 ,the following remarks on the import of instinct are those to which ,coleridge refers in the ,aids to ,reflection 7p4 #agg1 last edition#afi7 as in accordance with his view of the understanding1 differing in degree from instinct1 and in kind from reason2 and whatever merit they possess must have been derived from his instructive conversation4 ,they are here inserted in the hope that they may interest the reader in connexion both with the passages of the preceding discourse1 and with the writings of ,coleridge on this important subject4 ,what is ,instinct8 ,as ,i am not quite of ,bonnet's opinion that philosophers will in vain torment themselves to define instinct1 until they have spent some time in the head of the animal without actually being that animal1 ,i shall endeavour to explain the use of the term4 ,i shall not think it necessary to controvert the opinions which have been offered on this subject1 whether the ancient doctrine of ,descartes1 who supposed that animals were mere machines2 or the modern one of ,lamarck1 who attributes instincts to habits impressed upon the organs of animals1 by the constant efflux of the nervous fluid to these organs1 to which it has been determined in their efforts to perform certain actions1 to which their necessities have given birth4 ,and it will be here premature to offer any refutation of the opinions of those who contend for the identity of this faculty with reason1 and maintain that all the actions of animals are the result of invention and experience2--an opinion maintained with considerable plausibility by ,dr4 ,darwin4 ,perhaps the most ready and certain mode of coming to a conclusion in this intricate enquiry will be by the apparently circuitous route of determining first1 what we do not mean by the word4 ,now we certainly do not mean1 in the use of the term1 any act of the vital power in the production or maintenance of an organ3 nobody thinks of saying that the teeth grow by instinct1 or that when the muscles are increased in vigour and size in consequence of exercise1 it is from such a cause or principle4 ,neither do we attribute instinct to the direct functions of the organs in providing for the continuance and sustentation of the whole co-organized body4 ,no one talks of the liver secreting bile1 or of the heart acting for the propulsion of the blood1 by instinct4 ,some1 indeed1 have maintained that breathing1 even voiding the excrement and urine1 are instinctive operations2 but surely these1 as well as the former1 are automatic1 or at least are the necessary result of the organization of the parts in and by which the actions are produced4 ,these instances seem to be1 if ,i may so say1 below instinct4 ,but again1 we do not attribute instinct to any actions preceded by a will conscious of its whole purpose1 calculating its effects1 and predetermining its consequences1 nor to any exercise of the intellectual powers1 of which the whole scope1 aim1 and end are intellectual4 ,in other terms1 no man1 who values his words1 will talk of the instinct of a ,howard1 or of the instinctive operations of a ,newton or ,leibnitz1 in those sublime efforts1 which ennoble and cast a lustre1 not less on the individuals than on the whole human race4 ,to what kind or mode of action shall we then look for the legitimate application of the term8 ,in answer to this query1 we may1 ,i think1 without fear of the consequences1 put the following cases as exemplifying and justifying the use of the term ,instinct in an appropriate sense4 ,first3 when there appears an action1 not included either in the mere functions of life1 acting within the sphere of its own organismus2 nor yet an action attributable to the intelligent will or reason2 yet1 at the same time1 not referable to any particular organ1--we then declare the presence of an ,instinct4 ,we might illustrate this in the instance of a bull-calf butting before he has horns1 in which the action can have no reference to its internal economy1 to the presence of a particular organ1 or to an intelligent will4 ,secondly1 likewise 7if it be not indeed included in the first71 we attribute ,instinct where the organ is present2 if only the act is equally anterior to all possible experience on the part of the individual agent1 as for instance1 when the beaver employs its tail for the construction of its dwelling2 the tailor-bird its bill for the formation of its pensile habitation2 the spider its spinning organ for fabricating its artfully woven nets1 or the viper its poison fang for its defence4 ,and lastly1 generally1 where there is an act of the whole body as one animal1 not referable to a will conscious of its purpose1 nor to its mechanism1 nor to a habit derived from experience1 nor previous frequent use4 ,here with most satisfaction1 and without doubt of the propriety of the word1 we declare an ,instinct2 as examples of which1 we may adduce the migratory habits of birds2 the social instincts of the bees1 the construction of their habitations1 composed of cells formed with geometrical precision1 adapted in capacity to different orders of the society1 and forming storehouses for containing a supply of provisions2--not to mention similar instances in wasps1 ants1 termites2 and the endless contrivances for protecting the future progeny4 ,but if it be admitted that we have rightly stated the application of the term1 what1 we may ask1 is contained in the examples adduced1 or what inferences are we to make as to the nature of ,instinct itself1 as a source and principle of action8 ,we shall1 perhaps1 best aid ourselves in the enquiry by an example1 and let us take a very familiar one of a caterpillar taking its food4 ,the caterpillar seeks at once the plant which furnishes the appropriate aliment1 and this even as soon as it creeps from the ovum2 and the food being taken into the stomach1 the nutritious part is separated from the innutritious1 and is disposed of for the support of the animal4 ,the question then is1 what is contained in this instance of instinct8 ,in the first place what does the vital power in the stomach do1 if we generalize the account of the process1 or express it in its most general terms8 ,manifestly it selects and applies appropriate means to an immediate end1 prescribed by the constitution2--first1 of the particular organ1 and then of the whole body or organismus4 ,this we have admitted is not instinct4 ,but what does the caterpillar do8 ,does it not also select and apply appropriate means to an immediate end1 prescribed by its particular organization and constitution8 ,but there is something more2 it does this according to circumstances2--and this we call ,instinct4 ,but may there not be still something more involved8 ,what shall we say of ,hber's humble-bees8 ,a dozen of these were put under a bell glass along with a comb of about ten silken cocoons1 so unequal in height as not to be capable of standing steadily4 ,to remedy this1 two or three of the humble-bees got upon the comb1 stretched themselves over its edge1 and with their heads downwards1 fixed their forefeet on the table on which the comb stood1 and so with their hindfeet kept the comb from falling4 ,when these were weary others took their places4 ,in this constrained and painful posture1 fresh bees relieving their comrades at intervals1 and each working in its turn1 did these affectionate little insects support the comb for nearly three days2 at the end of which time they had prepared sufficient wax to build pillars with it4 ,and what is still further curious1 the first pillars having got displaced1 the bees had again recourse to the same manuvre4 ,what then is involved in this case8 ,evidently the same selection and appropriation of means to an immediate end as before2 but observe6 according to varying circumstances4 ,and here we are puzzled2--for this becomes ,understanding4 ,at least no naturalist1 however predetermined to contrast and oppose ,instinct to ,understanding1 but ends at last in facts in which he himself can make out no difference4 ,but are we hence to conclude that the instinct is the same1 and identical with the human understanding8 ,certainly not2--though the difference is not in the essential of the definition1 but in an addition to1 or modification of1 that which is essentially the same in both4 ,in such cases1 namely1 as that which we have last adduced1 in which instinct assumes the semblance of understanding1 the act indicative of instinct is not clearly prescribed by the constitution or laws of the animal's peculiar organization1 but arises out of the constitution and previous circumstances of the animal1 and those habits1 wants1 and that predetermined sphere of action and operation which belong to the race1 and beyond the limits of which it does not pass4 ,if this be the case1 ,i may venture to assert that ,i have determined an appropriate sense for instinct3----namely1 that it is a ,power of selecting and applying appropriate means to an immediate end1 according to circumstances1 and the changes of circumstances1 these being variable and varying2 but yet so as to be referable to the general habits1 arising out of the constitution and previous circumstances of the animal considered not as an individual1 but as a race4 ,we may here1 perhaps1 most fitly explain the error of those who contend for the identity of ,reason and ,instinct1 and believe that the actions of animals are the result of invention and experience4 ,they have1 no doubt1 been deceived1 in their investigation of ,instinct1 by an efficient cause simulating a final cause2 and the defect in their reasoning has arisen in consequence of observing in the instinctive operations of animals the adaptation of means to a relative end1 from the assumption of a deliberate purpose4 ,to this freedom or choice in action and purpose1 instinct1 in any appropriate sense of the word1 cannot apply1 and to justify and explain its introduction1 we must have recourse to other and higher faculties than any manifested in the operations of instinct4 ,it is evident1 namely1 in turning our attention to the distinguishing character of human actions1 that there is1 as in the inferior animals1 a selection and appropriation of means to ends--but it is 7not only according to circumstances1 not only according to varying circumstances1 but it is7 according to varying ,purposes4 ,but this is an attribute of the intelligent will1 and no longer even mere understanding4 ,and here let me observe that the difficulty and delicacy of this investigation are greatly increased by our not considering the understanding 7even our own7 in itself1 and as it would be were it not accompanied with1 and modified by1 the co-operation of the will1 the moral feeling1 and that faculty1 perhaps best distinguished by the name of ,reason1 of determining that which is universal and necessary1 of fixing laws and principles whether speculative or practical1 and of contemplating a final purpose or end4 ,this intelligent will1--having a self-conscious purpose1 under the guidance and light of the reason1 by which its acts are made to bear as a whole upon some end in and for itself1 and to which the understanding is subservient as an organ or the faculty of selecting and appropriating the means--seems best to account for that progressiveness of the human race1 which so evidently marks an insurmountable distinction and impassable barrier between man and the inferior animals2 but which would be inexplicable were there no other difference than in the degree of their intellectual faculties4 ,man doubtless has his instincts1 even in common with the inferior animals1 and many of these are the germs of some of the best feelings of his nature4 ,what1 amongst many1 might ,i present as a better illustration1 or more beautiful instance1 than the storg or maternal instinct8 ,but man's instincts are elevated and ennobled by the moral ends and purposes of his being4 ,he is not destined to be the slave of blind impulses1 a vessel purposeless1 unmeant4 ,he is constituted by his moral and intelligent will1 to be the first freed being1 the master-work and the end of nature2 but this freedom and high office can only co-exist with fealty and devotion to the service of truth and virtue4 ,and though we may even be permitted to use the term ,instinct1 in order to designate those high impulses1 which in the minority of man's rational being1 shape his acts unconsciously to ultimate ends1 and which in constituting the very character and impress of the humanity reveal the guidance of ,providence2 yet the convenience of the phrase1 and the want of any other distinctive appellation for an influence de supra1 working unconsciously in and on the whole human race1 should not induce us to forget that the term instinct is only strictly applicable to the ,adaptive ,power1 as the faculty1 even in its highest proper form1 of selecting and adapting appropriate means to proximate ends according to varying circumstances1--a faculty which however1 only differs from human understanding in consequence of the latter being enlightened by reason1--and that the principles which actuate man as ultimate ends1 and are designed for his conscious possession and guidance1 are best and most properly named ,ideas4 #afh ',vital ,dynamics3 ,the ,hunterian ,oration before the ,royal ,college of ,surgeons in ,london1 #adth ,february1 #ahdj2 by ,joseph ,henry ,green1 ,f4,r4,s41 ,late ,professor of ,anatomy to the ,college3 ,professor of ,anatomy to the ,royal ,academy3 ,one of the ,surgeons to ,st4 ,thomas's ,hospital4' #hvo4 ,william ,pickering1 #ahdj4--;,,ed4 #afi ,this must have been the #dth edition1 #ahci1 the latest corrected by the author1 and that which supplies our text in the main4 ,coleridge's reference is at pp4 #aff-agj of the present edition4--,,ed4 ,,confessions ,,of ,,an ,,inquiring ,,spirit4 7,letters on the ,inspiration of the ,scriptures47 ,,by ,,samuel ,,taylor ,,coleridge4 ,,advertisement ,,to ,,the ,,first ,,edition4 ,the following ,letters on the ,inspiration of the ,scriptures were left by ,mr4 ,coleridge in ,,ms4 at his death4 ,the ,reader will find in them a key to most of the ,biblical criticism scattered throughout the ,author's own writings1 and an affectionate1 pious1 and1 as the ,editor humbly believes1 a profoundly wise attempt to place the study of the ,written ,word on its only sure foundation1--a deep sense of ,god's holiness and truth1 and a consequent reverence for that ,light--the image of ,himself--which ,he has kindled in every one of his rational creatures4--,,henry ,,nelson ,,coleridge4 ,,lincoln',s ,,inn1 ,september #bb1 #ahdj4 ,being persuaded of nothing more than of this1 that whether it be matter of speculation or of practice1 no untruth can possibly avail the patron and defender long1 and that things most truly are likewise most behovefully spoken4--,hooker4 ,any thing will be pretended rather than admit the necessity of internal evidence1 or acknowledge1 among the external proofs1 the convictions and experiences of ,believers1 though they should be common to all the faithful in every age of the ,church4 ,but in all superstition there is a heart of unbelief2 and1 vice vers1 where a man's belief is but a superficial acquiescence1 credulity is the natural result and accompaniment1 if only he be not required to sink into the depths of his being1 where the sensual man can no longer draw breath4--,,coleridge',s ,literary ,remains4 ,faith subsists in the synthesis of the ,reason and the individual ,will4 ,by virtue of the latter1 therefore1 it must be an energy1 and1 inasmuch as it relates to the whole moral man1 it must be exerted in each and all of his constituents or incidents1 faculties and tendencies3--it must be a total1 not a partial--a continuous1 not a desultory or occasional--energy4 ,and by virtue of the former1 that is1 ,reason1 ,faith must be a ,light1 a form of knowing1 a beholding of ,truth4 ,in the incomparable words of the ,evangelist1 therefore1--,faith must be a ,light originating in the ,logos1 or the substantial ,reason1 which is co-eternal and one with the ,holy ,will1 and which ,light is at the same time the ,life of men4 ,now1 as ,life is here the sum or collective of all moral and spiritual acts1 in suffering1 doing1 and being1 so is ,faith the source and the sum1 the energy and the principle of the fidelity of ,man to ,god1 by the subordination of his human ,will1 in all provinces of his nature1 to his ,reason1 as the sum of spiritual ,truth1 representing and manifesting the ,will ,divine4--,,coleridge',s ,essay on ,faith3 ,literary ,remains1 vol4 iv4 page #dcg4 ,we reprint the entire essay at the end of the present volume4 ,see p4 #cci4--;,,ed4 ,,the ,,pentad ,,of ,,operative ,,christianity ,prothesis ,christ1 the ,word4 ,thesis ,mesothesis1 ,antithesis or the ,indifference1 ,the ,scriptures4 ,the ,holy ,spirit4 ,the ,church4 ,synthesis ,the ,preacher4#agj ,the ,scriptures1 the ,spirit1 and the ,church1 are co-ordinate2 the indispensable conditions and the working causes of the perpetuity1 and continued renascence and spiritual life of ,christ still militant4 ,the ,eternal ,word1 ,christ from everlasting1 is the ,prothesis1 or identity2--the ,scriptures and the ,church are the two poles1 or ,thesis and ,antithesis2 and the ,preacher in direct line under the ,spirit1 but likewise the point of junction of the ,written ,word and the ,church1 is the ,synthesis4 ,this is ,god's ,hand in the ,world4 #agj ,coleridge gives this same ,pentad in his ,notes on ,donne1 ,literary ,remains1 v4 iii4 pp4 #ib-aec4--;,,ed4 ,seven ,letters to a ,friend concerning the bounds between the right1 and the superstitious1 use and estimation of the ,sacred ,canon2 in which the ,writer submissively discloses his own private judgment on the following ,questions3-- ,i4 ,is it necessary1 or expedient1 to insist on the belief of the divine origin and authority of all1 and every part of the ,canonical ,books as the ,condition1 or first principle1 of ,christian ,faith8-- ,,ii4 ,or1 may not the due appreciation of the ,scriptures collectively be more safely relied on as the result and consequence of the belief in ,christ2 the gradual increase--in respect of particular passages--of our spiritual discernment of their truth and authority supplying a test and measure of our own growth and progress as individual believers1 without the servile fear that prevents or overclouds the free honour which cometh from love8 #a ,john iv4 #ah4 ,,letters ,,on ,,the ,,inspiration ,,of ,,the ,,scriptures4 ,,letter ,i4 ,,my ,,dear ,,friend1 ,i employed the compelled and most unwelcome leisure of severe indisposition in reading ,the ,confessions of a fair ,saint in ,mr4 ,carlyle's recent translation of the ,wilhelm ,meister1 which might1 ,i think1 have been better rendered literally ,the ,confessions of a ,beautiful ,soul4#aga ,this1 acting in conjunction with the concluding sentences of your ,letter1 threw my thoughts inward on my own religious experience1 and gave the immediate occasion to the following ,confessions of one1 who is neither fair nor saintly1 but who--groaning under a deep sense of infirmity and manifold imperfection--feels the want1 the necessity1 of religious support2--who cannot afford to lose any the smallest buttress1 but who not only loves ,truth even for itself1 and when it reveals itself aloof from all interest1 but who loves it with an indescribable awe1 which too often withdraws the genial sap of his activity from the columnar trunk1 the sheltering leaves1 the bright and fragrant flower1 and the foodful or medicinal fruitage1 to the deep root1 ramifying in obscurity and labyrinthine way-winning-- ,in darkness there to house unknown1 ,far underground1 ,pierc'd by no sound ,save such as live in ,fancy's ear alone4 ,that listens for the uptorn mandrake's parting groan6 ,i should1 perhaps1 be a happier--at all events a more useful--man if my mind were otherwise constituted4 ,but so it is3 and even with regard to ,christianity itself1 like certain plants1 ,i creep towards the light1 even though it draw me away from the more nourishing warmth4 ,yea1 ,i should do so1 even if the light had made its way through a rent in the wall of the ,temple4 ,glad1 indeed1 and grateful am ,i1 that not in the ,temple itself1 but only in one or two of the side chapels--not essential to the edifice1 and probably not coeval with it--have ,i found the light absent1 and that the rent in the wall has but admitted the free light of the ,temple itself4 ,i shall best communicate the state of my faith by taking the creed1 or system of credenda1 common to all the ,fathers of the ,reformation--overlooking1 as non-essential1 the differences between the several ,reformed ,churches--according to the five main classes or sections into which the aggregate distributes itself to my apprehension4 ,i have then only to state the effect produced on my mind by each1 of these1 or the quantum of recipiency and coincidence in myself relatively thereto1 in order to complete my ,confession of ,faith4 ,i4 ,the ,absolute2 the innominable et ,causa ,sui1 in whose transcendant ,i ,,am1 as the ,ground1 is whatever verily is3--the ,triune ,god1 by whose ,word and ,spirit1 as the transcendant ,cause1 exists whatever substantially exists3--,god ,almighty--,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,ghost1 undivided1 unconfounded1 co-eternal4 ,this class ,i designate by the word1 4 ,,ii4 ,the ,eternal ,possibilities2 the actuality of which hath not its origin in ,god3 ,chaos spirituale3--4 ,,iii4 ,the ,creation and ,formation of the heaven and earth by the ,redemptive ,word3--,the ,apostasy of ,man3--,the ,redemption of ,man3--the ,incarnation of the ,word in the ,son of ,man3--the ,crucifixion and ,resurrection of the ,son of ,man3--the ,descent of the ,comforter3--,repentance 773--,regeneration3--,faith3--,prayer3-- ,grace3 ,communion with the ,spirit3 ,conflict3 ,self-abasement3 ,assurance through the righteousness of ,christ3 ,spiritual ,growth3 ,love3 ,discipline3 ,perseverance3 ,hope in death3----4 ,,iv4 ,but these offers1 gifts1 and graces are not for one1 or for a few4 ,they are offered to all4 ,even when the ,gospel is preached to a single individual1 it is offered to him as to one of a great ,household4 ,not only ,man1 but1 says ,st4 ,paul1 the whole ,creation is included in the consequences of the ,fall-- --2 so also in those of the ,change at the ,redemption-- 1 4 ,we too shall be raised in the ,body4 ,christianity is fact no less than truth4 ,it is spiritual1 yet so as to be historical2 and between these two poles there must likewise be a midpoint1 in which the historical and spiritual meet4 ,christianity must have its history--a history of itself1 and likewise the history of its introduction1 its spread1 and its outward-becoming2 and1 as the midpoint above-mentioned1 a portion of these facts must be miraculous1 that is1 phnomena in nature that are beyond nature4 ,furthermore1 the history of all historical nations must in some sense be its history2--in other words1 all history must be providential1 and this a providence1 a preparation1 and a looking forward to ,christ4 ,here1 then1 we have four out of the five classes4 ,and in all these the sky of my belief is serene1 unclouded by a doubt4 ,would to ,god that my faith1 that faith which works on the whole man1 confirming and conforming1 were but in just proportion to my belief1 to the full acquiescence of my intellect1 and the deep consent of my conscience6 ,the very difficulties argue the truth of the whole scheme and system for my understanding1 since ,i see plainly that so must the truth appear1 if it be the truth4 ,v4 ,but there is a ,book1 of two parts1--each part consisting of several books4 ,the first part--7,i speak in the character of an uninterested critic or philologist7--contains the reliques of the literature of the ,hebrew people1 while the ,hebrew was still the living language4 ,the second part comprises the writings1 and1 with one or two inconsiderable and doubtful exceptions1 all the writings of the followers of ,christ within the space of ninety years from the date of the ,resurrection4 ,i do not myself think that any of these writings were composed as late as ,a4,d4 #abj2 but ,i wish to preclude all dispute4 ,this ,book ,i resume1 as read1 and yet unread1--read and familiar to my mind in all parts1 but which is yet to be perused as a whole2--or rather1 a work1 cujus particulas et sententiolas omnes et singulas recogniturus sum1 but the component integers of which1 and their conspiration1 ,i have yet to study4 ,i take up this work with the purpose to read it for the first time as ,i should read any other work1--as far at least as ,i can or dare4 ,for ,i neither can1 nor dare1 throw off a strong and awful prepossession in its favour--certain as ,i am that a large part of the light and life1 in and by which ,i see1 love1 and embrace the truths and the strengths co-organized into a living body of faith and knowledge in the four preceding classes1 has been directly or indirectly derived to me from this sacred volume1--and unable to determine what ,i do not owe to its influences4 ,but even on this account1 and because it has these inalienable claims on my reverence and gratitude1 ,i will not leave it in the power of unbelievers to say1 that the ,bible is for me only what the ,koran is for the deaf ,turk1 and the ,vedas for the feeble and acquiescent ,hindoo4 ,no2 ,i will retire up into the mountain1 and hold secret commune with my ,bible above the contagious blastments of prejudice1 and the fog-blight of selfish superstition4 ,for fear hath torment4 ,and what though my reason be to the power and splendour of the ,scriptures but as the reflected and secondary shine of the moon compared with the solar radiance3--yet the sun endures the occasional co-presence of the unsteady orb1 and leaving it visible seems to sanction the comparison4 ,there is a ,light higher than all1 even the ,word that was in the beginning2--the ,light1 of which light itself is but the shechinah and cloudy tabernacle2--the ,word that is light for every man1 and life for as many as give heed to it4 ,if between this ,word and the written ,letter ,i shall any where seem to myself to find a discrepance1 ,i will not conclude that such there actually is2 nor on the other hand will ,i fall under the condemnation of them that would lie for ,god1 but seek as ,i may1 be thankful for what ,i have--and wait4 ,with such purposes1 with such feelings1 have ,i perused the books of the ,old and ,new ,testaments1--each book as a whole1 and also as an integral part4 ,and need ,i say that ,i have met every where more or less copious sources of truth1 and power1 and purifying impulses2--that ,i have found words for my inmost thoughts1 songs for my joy1 utterances for my hidden griefs1 and pleadings for my shame and my feebleness8 ,in short whatever finds me1 bears witness for itself that it has proceeded from a ,holy ,spirit1 even from the same ,spirit1 which remaining in itself1 yet regenerateth all other powers1 and in all ages entering into holy souls maketh them friends of ,god1 and prophets4 7,wisd4 vii47 ,and here1 perhaps1 ,i might have been content to rest1 if ,i had not learned that1 as a ,christian1 ,i cannot1--must not--stand alone2 or if ,i had not known that more than this was holden and required by the ,fathers of the ,reformation1 and by the ,churches collectively1 since the ,council of ,nice at latest2--the only exceptions being that doubtful one of the corrupt ,romish ,church implied1 though not avowed1 in its equalization of the ,apocryphal ,books with those of the ,hebrew ,canon1#agb and the irrelevant one of the few and obscure ,sects who acknowledge no historical ,christianity4 ,this somewhat more1 in which ,jerome1 ,augustine1 ,luther1 and ,hooker1 were of one and the same judgment1 and less than which not one of them would have tolerated--would it fall within the scope of my present doubts and objections8 ,i hope it would not4 ,let only their general expressions be interpreted by their treatment of the ,scriptures in detail1 and ,i dare confidently trust that it would not4 ,for ,i can no more reconcile the ,doctrine which startles my belief with the practice and particular declarations of these great men1 than with the convictions of my own understanding and conscience4 ,at all events--and ,i cannot too early or too earnestly guard against any misapprehension of my meaning and purpose--let it be distinctly understood that my arguments and objections apply exclusively to the following ,doctrine or ,dogma4 ,to the opinions which individual divines have advanced in lieu of this doctrine1 my only objection1 as far as ,i object1 is--that ,i do not understand them4 ,the precise enunciation of this doctrine ,i defer to the commencement of the next ,letter4 ,farewell4 #aga ,bekenntnisse einer schnen ,seele4--,h4 ,n4 ,c4 #agb ,si quis--7,esdr primum et secundum1 ,tobiam1 ,judith1 ,esther1 c47--pro sacris et canonicis non susceperit1 444 anathema sit4 ,conc4 ,trid4 ,decr4 ,sess4 ,,iv4--,h4 ,n4 ,c4 ,,letter ,,ii4 ,,my ,,dear ,,friend1 ,in my last ,letter ,i said that in the ,bible there is more that finds me than ,i have experienced in all other books put together2 that the words of the ,bible find me at greater depths of my being2 and that whatever finds me brings with it an irresistible evidence of its having proceeded from the ,holy ,spirit4 ,but the ,doctrine in question requires me to believe1 that not only what finds me1 but that all that exists in the sacred volume1 and which ,i am bound to find therein1 was--not alone inspired by1 that is1 composed by1 men under the actuating influence of the ,holy ,spirit1 but likewise--dictated by an ,infallible ,intelligence2--that the writers1 each and all1 were divinely informed as well as inspired4 ,now here all evasion1 all excuse1 is cut off4 ,an ,infallible ,intelligence extends to all things1 physical no less than spiritual4 ,it may convey the truth in any one of the three possible languages1--that of ,sense1 as objects appear to the beholder on this earth2 or that of ,science1 which supposes the beholder placed in the centre2--or that of ,philosophy1 which resolves both into a supersensual reality4 ,but whichever be chosen--and it is obvious that the incompatibility exists only between the first and second1 both of them being indifferent and of equal value to the third--it must be employed consistently2 for an ,infallible ,intelligence must intend to be intelligible1 and not to deceive4 ,and1 moreover1 whichever of these three languages be chosen1 it must be translatable into ,truth4 ,for this is the very essence of the ,doctrine1 that one and the same ,intelligence is speaking in the unity of a ,person2 which unity is no more broken by the diversity of the pipes through which it makes itself audible1 than is a tune by the different instruments on which it is played by a consummate musician1 equally perfect in all4 ,one instrument may be more capacious than another1 but as far as its compass extends1 and in what it sounds forth1 it will be true to the conception of the master4 ,i can conceive no softening here which would not nullify the ,doctrine1 and convert it to a cloud for each man's fancy to shift and shape at will4 ,and this ,doctrine1 ,i confess1 plants the vineyard of the ,word with thorns for me1 and places snares in its pathways4 ,these may be delusions of an evil spirit2 but ere ,i so harshly question the seeming angel of light--my reason1 ,i mean1 and moral sense in conjunction with my clearest knowledge--,i must inquire on what authority this ,doctrine rests4 ,and what other authority dares a truly catholic ,christian admit as coercive in the final decision1 but the declarations of the ,book itself1--though ,i should not1 without struggles and a trembling reluctance1 gainsay even a universal tradition8 ,i return to the ,book4 ,with a full persuasion of soul respecting all the articles of the ,christian ,faith1 as contained in the first four ,classes1 ,i receive willingly also the truth of the history1 namely1 that the ,word of the ,lord did come to ,samuel1 to ,isaiah1 to others2--and that the words which gave utterance to the same are faithfully recorded4 ,but though the origin of the words1 even as of the miraculous acts1 be supernatural--yet the former once uttered--the latter once having taken their place among the phnomena of the senses1 the faithful recording of the same does not of itself imply1 or seem to require1 any supernatural working1 other than as all truth and goodness are such4 ,in the books of ,moses1 and once or twice in the prophecy of ,jeremiah1 ,i find it indeed asserted that not only the words were given1 but the recording of the same enjoined by the special command of ,god1 and doubtless executed under the special guidance of the ,divine ,spirit4 ,as to all such passages1 therefore1 there can be no dispute2 and all others in which the words are by the sacred historian declared to have been the ,word of the ,lord supernaturally communicated1 ,i receive as such with a degree of confidence proportioned to the confidence required of me by the writer himself1 and to the claims he himself makes on my belief4 ,let us1 therefore1 remove all such passages1 and take each ,book by itself2 and ,i repeat that ,i believe the writer in whatever he himself relates of his own authority1 and of its origin4 ,but ,i cannot find any such claim1 as the ,doctrine in question supposes1 made by these writers1 explicitly or by implication4 ,on the contrary1 they refer to other documents1 and in all points express themselves as sober minded and veracious writers under ordinary circumstances are known to do4 ,but1 perhaps1 they bear testimony1 the successor to his predecessor8--,or some one of the number has left it on record1 that by especial inspiration he was commanded to declare the plenary inspiration of all the rest8--,the passages1 which can without violence be appealed to as substantiating the latter position1 are so few1 and these so incidental1#agc--the conclusion drawn from them involving likewise so obviously a petitio principii1 namely1 the supernatural dictation1 word by word1 of the book in which the question is found2 7for until this is established1 the utmost that such a text can prove1 is the current belief of the writer's age and country concerning the character of the books1 then called the ,scriptures27--that it cannot but seem strange1 and assuredly is against all analogy of ,gospel ,revelation1 that such a ,doctrine--which1 if true1 must be an article of faith1 and a most important1 yea1 essential article of faith1--should be left thus faintly1 thus obscurely1 and1 if ,i may so say1 obitaneously1 declared and enjoined4 ,the time of the formation and closing of the ,canon unknown2--the selectors and compilers unknown1 or recorded by known fabulists2--and 7more perplexing still17 the belief of the ,jewish ,church--the belief1 ,i mean1 common to the ,jews of ,palestine and their more cultivated brethren in ,alexandria1 7no reprehension of which is to be found in the ,new ,testament7--concerning the nature and import of the attributed to the precious remains of their ,temple ,library2--these circumstances are such1 especially the last1 as in effect to evacuate the ,tenet1 of which ,i am speaking1 of the only meaning in which it practically means any thing at all1 tangible1 steadfast1 or obligatory4 ,in infallibility there are no degrees4 ,the power of the ,high and ,holy ,one is one and the same1 whether the sphere1 which it fills1 be larger or smaller2--the area traversed by a comet1 or the oracle of the house1 the holy place beneath the wings of the ,cherubim2--the ,pentateuch of the ,legislator1 who drew near to the thick darkness where ,god was1 and who spake in the cloud whence the thunderings and lightnings came1 and whom ,god answered by a voice2--or but a ,letter of thirteen verses from the affectionate ,elder to the elect lady and her children1 whom he loved in the truth4 ,but at no period was this the judgment of the ,jewish ,church respecting all the canonical books4 ,to ,moses alone--to ,moses in the recording no less than in the receiving of the ,law--and to all and every part of the five books1 called the ,books of ,moses1 the ,jewish ,doctors of the generation before1 and coeval with1 the ,apostles assigned that unmodified and absolute theopneusty1 which our divines1 in words at least1 attribute to the ,canon collectively4 ,in fact it was from the ,jewish ,rabbis1--who1 in opposition to the ,christian scheme1 contended for a perfection in the ,revelation by ,moses1 which neither required nor endured any addition1 and who strained their fancies in expressing the transcendency of the books of ,moses in aid of their opinion1--that the founders of the ,doctrine borrowed their notions and phrases respecting the ,bible throughout4 ,remove the metaphorical drapery from the doctrine of the ,cabbalists1 and it will be found to contain the only intelligible and consistent idea of that plenary inspiration1 which later divines extend to all the canonical books2 as thus3--,the ,pentateuch is but one ,word1 even the ,word of ,god2 and the letters and articulate sounds1 by which this ,word is communicated to our human apprehensions1 are likewise divinely communicated4 ,now1 for ',pentateuch' substitute ',old and ,new ,testament1' and then ,i say that this is the doctrine which ,i reject as superstitious and unscriptural4 ,and yet as long as the conceptions of the ,revealing ,word and the ,inspiring ,spirit are identified and confounded1 ,i assert that whatever says less than this1 says little more than nothing4 ,for how can absolute infallibility be blended with fallibility8 ,where is the infallible criterion8 ,how can infallible truth be infallibly conveyed in defective and fallible expressions8 ,the ,jewish teachers confined this miraculous character to the ,pentateuch4 ,between the ,mosaic and the ,prophetic inspiration they asserted such a difference as amounts to a diversity2 and between both the one and the other1 and the remaining books comprised under the title of ,hagiographa1 the interval was still wider1 and the inferiority in kind1 and not only in degree1 was unequivocally expressed4 ,if we take into account the habit1 universal with the ,hebrew ,doctors1 of referring all excellent or extraordinary things to the great ,first ,cause1 without mention of the proximate and instrumental causes1--a striking illustration of which may be obtained by comparing the narratives of the same event in the ,psalms and in the ,historical ,books2 and if we further reflect that the distinction of the ,providential and the ,miraculous did not enter into their forms of thinking1--at all events not into their mode of conveying their thoughts1--the language of the ,jews respecting the ,hagiographa will be found to differ little1 if at all1 from that of religious persons among ourselves1 when speaking of an author abounding in gifts1 stirred up by the ,holy ,spirit1 writing under the influence of special grace1 and the like4 ,but it forms no part of my present purpose to discuss the point historically1 or to speculate on the formation of either ,canon4 ,rather1 such inquiries are altogether alien from the great object of my pursuits and studies1 which is1 to convince myself and others1 that the ,bible and ,christianity are their own sufficient evidence4 ,but it concerns both my character and my peace of mind to satisfy unprejudiced judges1 that if my present convictions should in all other respects be found consistent with the faith and feelings of a ,christian1--and if in many and those important points they tend to secure that faith and to deepen those feelings--the words of the ,apostle1#agd rightly interpreted1 do not require their condemnation4 ,enough1 if what has been stated above respecting the general doctrine of the ,hebrew ,masters1 under whom the ,apostle was bred1 shall remove any misconceptions that might prevent the right interpretation of his words4 ,farewell4 #agc ,with only one seeming exception1 the texts in question refer to the ,old ,testament alone4 ,that exception is #b ,peter iii4 #af4 ,the word 77 is1 perhaps1 not necessarily so to be interpreted2 and this very text formed one of the objections to the ,apostolic antiquity of the ,epistle itself4 #agd #b ,tim4 iii4 #af4 ,,letter ,,iii4 ,,my ,,dear ,,friend1 ,having in the former two ,letters defined the doctrine which ,i reject1 ,i am now to communicate the views that ,i would propose to substitute in its place4 ,before1 however1 ,i attempt to lay down on the theological chart the road-place1 to which my bark has drifted1 and to mark the spot and circumscribe the space1 within which ,i swing at anchor1 let me1 first1 thank you for1 and then attempt to answer1 the objections1--or at least the questions1--which you have urged upon me4 ,the present ,bible is the ,canon1 to which ,christ and the ,apostles referred8 ,doubtless4 ,and in terms which a ,christian must tremble to tamper with8 ,yea4 ,the expressions are as direct as strong2 and a true believer will neither attempt to divert nor dilute their strength4 ,the doctrine which is considered as the orthodox view seems the obvious and most natural interpretation of the text in question8 ,yea1 and ,nay4 ,to those whose minds are prepossessed by the ,doctrine itself1--who from earliest childhood have always meant this doctrine by the very word1 ,bible1--the doctrine being but its exposition and paraphrase--,yea4 ,in such minds the words of our ,lord and the declarations of ,st4 ,paul can awaken no other sense4 ,to those on the other hand1 who find the doctrine senseless and self-confuting1 and who take up the ,bible as they do other books1 and apply to it the same rules of interpretation1--,nay4 ,and1 lastly1 he who1 like myself1 recognizes in neither of the two the state of his own mind1--who cannot rest in the former1 and feels1 or fears1 a presumptuous spirit in the negative dogmatism of the latter1--he has his answer to seek4 ,but so far ,i dare hazard a reply to the question1--,in what other sense can the words be interpreted8--beseeching you1 however1 to take what ,i am about to offer but as an attempt to delineate an arc of oscillation1--that the eulogy of ,st4 ,paul is in no wise contravened by the opinion1 to which ,i incline1 who fully believe the ,old ,testament collectively1 both in the composition and in its preservation1 a great and precious gift of ,providence2--who find in it all that the ,apostle describes1 and who more than believe that all which the ,apostle spoke of was of divine inspiration1 and a blessing intended for as many as are in communion with the ,spirit through all ages4 ,and ,i freely confess that my whole heart would turn away with an angry impatience from the cold and captious mortal1 who1 the moment ,i had been pouring out the love and gladness of my soul1--while book after book1 ,law1 and ,truth1 and ,example1 ,oracle and lovely ,hymn1 and choral ,song of ten thousand thousands1 and accepted ,prayers of ,saints and ,prophets1 sent back1 as it were1 from ,heaven1 like doves1 to be let loose again with a new freight of spiritual joys and griefs and necessities1 were passing across my memory1--at the first pause of my voice1 and whilst my countenance was still speaking--should ask me1 whether ,i was thinking of the ,book of ,esther1 or meant particularly to include the first six chapters of ,daniel1 or verses #f-bj of the #ajith ,psalm1 or the last verse of the #acgth ,psalm8 ,would any conclusion of this sort be drawn in any other analogous case8 ,in the course of my ,lectures on ,dramatic ,poetry1 ,i1 in half a score instances1 referred my auditors to the precious volume before me--,shakspeare--and spoke enthusiastically1 both in general and with detail of particular beauties1 of the plays of ,shakspeare1 as in all their kinds1 and in relation to the purposes of the writer1 excellent4 ,would it have been fair1 or according to the common usage and understanding of men1 to have inferred an intention on my part to decide the question respecting ,titus ,andronicus1 or the larger portion of the three parts of ,henry ,,vi48 ,would not every genial mind understand by ,shakspeare that unity or total impression comprising1 and resulting from1 the thousandfold several and particular emotions of delight1 admiration1 gratitude excited by his works8 ,but if it be answered1 ,aye6 but we must not interpret ,st4 ,paul as we may and should interpret any other honest and intelligent writer or speaker1--then1 ,i say1 this is the very petitio principii of which ,i complain4 ,still less do the words of our ,lord#age apply against my view4 ,have ,i not declared--do ,i not begin by declaring--that whatever is referred by the sacred ,penman to a direct communication from ,god1 and wherever it is recorded that the ,subject of the history had asserted himself to have received this or that command1 this or that information or assurance1 from a superhuman ,intelligence1 or where the writer in his own person1 and in the character of an historian1 relates that the ,word of the ,lord came unto priest1 prophet1 chieftain1 or other individual--have ,i not declared that ,i receive the same with full belief1 and admit its inappellable authority8 ,who more convinced than ,i am--who more anxious to impress that conviction on the minds of others--that the ,law and the ,prophets speak throughout of ,christ8 ,that all the intermediate applications and realizations of the words are but types and repetitions--translations1 as it were1 from the language of letters and articulate sounds into the language of events and symbolical persons8 ,and here again let me recur to the aid of analogy4 ,suppose a ,life of ,sir ,thomas ,more by his son-in-law1 or a ,life of ,lord ,bacon by his chaplain2 that a part of the records of the ,court of ,chancery belonging to these periods were lost2 that in ,roper's or in ,bawley's biographical work there were preserved a series of dicta and judgments attributed to these illustrious ,chancellors1 many and important specimens of their table discourses1 with large extracts from works written by them1 and from some that are no longer extant4 ,let it be supposed1 too1 that there are no grounds1 internal or external1 to doubt either the moral1 intellectual1 or circumstantial competence of the biographers4 ,suppose1 moreover1 that wherever the opportunity existed of collating their documents and quotations with the records and works still preserved1 the former were found substantially correct and faithful1 the few differences in no wise altering or disturbing the spirit and purpose of the paragraphs in which they were found1 and that of what was not collatable1 and to which no test ab extra could be applied1 the far larger part bore witness in itself of the same spirit and origin2 and that not only by its characteristic features1 but by its surpassing excellence1 it rendered the chances of its having had any other author than the giant-mind1 to whom the biographer ascribes it1 small indeed6 ,now1 from the nature and objects of my pursuits1 ,i have1 we will suppose1 frequent occasion to refer to one or other of these works2 for example1 to ,bawley's ,dicta et ,facta ,francisci de ,verulam4 ,at one time ,i might refer to the work in some such words as1--,remember what ,francis of ,verulam said or judged2 or1--,if you believe not me1 yet believe ,lord ,bacon4 ,at another time ,i might take the running title of the volume1 and at another1 the name of the biographer2--,turn to your ,rawley6 ,he will set you right2 or1--,there you will find a depth1 which no research will ever exhaust2 or whatever other strong expression my sense of ,bacon's greatness and of the intrinsic worth and the value of the proofs and specimens of that greatness1 contained and preserved in that volume1 would excite and justify4 ,but let my expressions be as vivid and unqualified as the most sanguine temperament ever inspired1 would any man of sense conclude from them that ,i meant--and meant to make others believe--that not only each and all of these anecdotes1 adages1 decisions1 extracts1 incidents had been dictated1 word by word1 by ,lord ,bacon2 and that all ,rawley's own observations and inferences1 all the connectives and disjunctives1 all the recollections of time1 place1 and circumstance1 together with the order and succession of the narrative1 were in like manner dictated and revised by the spirit of the deceased ,chancellor8 ,the answer will be--must be2--,no man in his senses6 ,no man in his senses--in this instance2 but in that of the ,bible it is quite otherwise2--for 7,i take it as an admitted point that7 it is quite otherwise6 ,and here ,i renounce any advantage ,i might obtain for my argument by restricting the application of our ,lord's and the ,apostle's words to the ,hebrew ,canon4 ,i admit the justice--,i have long felt the full force--of the remark'',we have all that the occasion allowed4 ,and if the same awful authority does not apply so directly to the ,evangelical and ,apostolical writings as to the ,hebrew ,canon1 yet the analogy of faith justifies the transfer4 ,if the doctrine be less decisively ,scriptural in its application to the ,new ,testament or the ,christian ,canon1 the temptation to doubt it is likewise less4 ,so at least we are led to infer2 since in point of fact it is the apparent or imagined contrast1 the diversity of spirit which sundry individuals have believed themselves to find in the ,old ,testament and in the ,gospel1 that has given occasion to the doubt2--and1 in the heart of thousands who yield a faith of acquiescence to the contrary1 and find rest in their humility1--supplies fuel to a fearful wish that it were permitted to make a distinction4 ,but1 lastly1 you object1 that--even granting that no coercive1 positive1 reasons for the belief--no direct and not inferred assertions1--of the plenary inspiration of the ,old and ,new ,testament1 in the generally received import of the term1 could be adduced1 yet1--in behalf of a doctrine so catholic1 and during so long a succession of ages affirmed and acted on by ,jew and ,christian1 ,greek1 ,romish1 and ,protestant1 you need no other answer than2--,tell me1 first1 why it should not be received6 ,why should ,i not believe the ,scriptures throughout dictated1 in word and thought1 by an infallible ,intelligence8--,i admit the fairness of the retort2 and eagerly and earnestly do ,i answer3 ,for every reason that makes me prize and revere these ,scriptures2--prize them1 love them1 revere them1 beyond all other books6 ,why should ,i not8 ,because the ,doctrine in question petrifies at once the whole body of ,holy ,writ with1 all its harmonies and symmetrical gradations1--the flexile and the rigid1--the supporting hard and the clothing soft1--the blood which is the life1--the intelligencing nerves1 and the rudely woven1 but soft and springy1 cellular substance1 in which all are imbedded and lightly bound together4 ,this breathing organism1 this glorious panharmonicon1 which ,i had seen stand on its feet as a man1 and with a man's voice given to it1 the ,doctrine in question turns at once into a colossal ,memnon's head1 a hollow passage for a voice1 a voice that mocks the voices of many men1 and speaks in their names1 and yet is but one voice1 and the same2--and no man uttered it1 and never in a human heart was it conceived4 ,why should ,i not8--,because the ,doctrine evacuates of all sense and efficacy the sure and constant tradition1 that all the several books bound up together in our precious family ,bible were composed in different and widely distant ages1 under the greatest diversity of circumstances1 and degrees of light and information1 and yet that the composers1 whether as uttering or as recording what was uttered and what was done1 were all actuated by a pure and holy ,spirit1 one and the same--7for is there any spirit pure and holy1 and yet not proceeding from ,god--and yet not proceeding in and with the ,holy ,spirit87--one ,spirit1 working diversly1#agf now awakening strength1 and now glorifying itself in weakness1 now giving power and direction to knowledge1 and now taking away the sting from error6 ,ere the summer and the months of ripening had arrived for the heart of the race2 while the whole sap of the tree was crude1 and each and every fruit lived in the harsh and bitter principle2 even then this ,spirit withdrew its chosen ministers from the false and guilt-making centre of ,self4 ,it converted the wrath into a form and an organ of love1 and on the passing storm-cloud impressed the fair rainbow of promise to all generations4 ,put the lust of ,self in the forked lightning1 and would it not be a ,spirit of ,moloch8 ,but ,god maketh the lightnings his ministers1 fire and hail1 vapours and stormy winds fulfilling his word4 ,curse ye ,meroz1 said the angel of the ,lord2 curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof--sang ,deborah4 ,was it that she called to mind any personal wrongs--rapine or insult--that she or the house of ,lapidoth had received from ,jabin or ,sisera8 ,no2 she had dwelt under her palm tree in the depth of the mountain4 ,but she was a mother in ,israel2 and with a mother's heart1 and with the vehemency of a mother's and a patriot's love1 she had shot the light of love from her eyes1 and poured the blessings of love from her lips1 on the people that had jeoparded their lives unto the death against the oppressors2 and the bitterness1 awakened and borne aloft by the same love1 she precipitated in curses on the selfish and coward recreants who came not to the help of the ,lord1 to the help of the ,lord1 against the mighty4 ,as long as ,i have the image of ,deborah before my eyes1 and while ,i throw myself back into the age1 country1 circumstances1 of this ,hebrew ,bonduca in the not yet tamed chaos of the spiritual creation2--as long as ,i contemplate the impassioned1 high-souled1 heroic woman in all the prominence and individuality of will and character1--,i feel as if ,i were among the first ferments of the great affections--the proplastic waves of the microcosmic chaos1 swelling up against--and yet towards--the outspread wings of the ,dove that lies brooding on the troubled waters4 ,so long all is well1--all replete with instruction and example4 ,in the fierce and inordinate ,i am made to know and be grateful for the clearer and purer radiance which shines on a ,christian's paths1 neither blunted by the preparatory veil1 nor crimsoned in its struggle through the all-enwrapping mist of the world's ignorance3 whilst in the self-oblivion of these heroes of the ,old ,testament1 their elevation above all low and individual interests1--above all1 in the entire and vehement devotion of their total being to the service of their divine ,master1 ,i find a lesson of humility1 a ground of humiliation1 and a shaming1 yet rousing1 example of faith and fealty4 ,but let me once be persuaded that all these heart-awakening utterances of human hearts--of men of like faculties and passions with myself1 mourning1 rejoicing1 suffering1 triumphing--are but as a ,divina ,commedia of a superhuman--,o bear with me1 if ,i say--,ventriloquist2--that the royal ,harper1 to whom ,i have so often submitted myself as a many-stringed instrument for his fire-tipt fingers to traverse1 while every several nerve of emotion1 passion1 thought1 that thrids the flesh-and-blood of our common humanity1 responded to the touch1--that this sweet ,psalmist of ,israel was himself as mere an instrument as his harp1 an automaton poet1 mourner1 and supplicant2--all is gone1--all sympathy1 at least1 and all example4 ,i listen in awe and fear1 but likewise in perplexity and confusion of spirit4 ,yet one other instance1 and let this be the crucial test of the ,doctrine4 ,say that the ,book of ,job throughout was dictated by an infallible ,intelligence4 ,then re-peruse the book1 and still1 as you proceed1 try to apply the tenet3 try if you can even attach any sense or semblance of meaning to the speeches which you are reading4 ,what6 were the hollow truisms1 the unsufficing half-truths1 the false assumptions and malignant insinuations of the supercilious bigots1 who corruptly defended the truth3--were the impressive facts1 the piercing outcries1 the pathetic appeals1 and the close and powerful reasoning with which the poor sufferer--smarting at once from his wounds1 and from the oil of vitriol which the orthodox liars for ,god were dropping into them--impatiently1 but uprightly and holily1 controverted this truth1 while in will and in spirit he clung to it2--were both dictated by an infallible ,intelligence8--,alas6 if ,i may judge from the manner in which both indiscriminately1 are recited1 quoted1 appealed to1 preached upon1 by the routiniers of desk and pulpit1 ,i cannot doubt that they think so1--or rather1 without thinking1 take for granted that so they are to think2--the more readily1 perhaps1 because the so thinking supersedes the necessity of all after-thought4 ,farewell4 #age ,john v4 #ci4 #agf ,i use the adverb diversly from the adjective divers in order to distinguish the ,scriptural and ,pauline sense of the word--the sense in which ,i here use it--from the logical usage of the term diversely1 from diverse1 that is1 different in kind1 heterogeneous4 ,the same ,spirit may act and impel diversly1 but1 being a good ,spirit1 it cannot act diversely4 ,,letter ,,iv4 ,,my ,,dear ,,friend1 ,you reply to the conclusion of my ,letter3 ,what have we to do with routiniers8 ,quid mihi cum homunculis putata putide reputantibus8 ,let nothings count for nothing1 and the dead bury the dead6 ,who but such ever understood the ,tenet in this sense8-- ,in what sense then1 ,i rejoin1 do others understand it8 ,if1 with exception of the passages already excepted1 namely1 the recorded words of ,god--concerning which no ,christian can have doubt or scruple1--the ,tenet in this sense be inapplicable to the ,scripture1 destructive of its noblest purposes1 and contradictory to its own express declarations1--again and again ,i ask3--,what am ,i to substitute8 ,what other sense is conceivable that does not destroy the doctrine which it professes to interpret--that does not convert it into its own negative8 ,as if a geometrician should name a sugar loaf an ellipse1 adding--,by which term ,i here mean a cone2--and then justify the misnomer on the pretext that the ellipse is among the conic sections6 ,and yet--notwithstanding the repugnancy of the ,doctrine1 in its unqualified sense1 to ,scripture1 ,reason1 and ,common ,sense theoretically1 while to all practical uses it is intractable1 unmalleable1 and altogether unprofitable--notwithstanding its irrationality1 and in the face of your expostulation1 grounded on the palpableness of its irrationality1--,i must still avow my belief that1 however flittingly and unsteadily1 as through a mist1 it is the ,doctrine which the generality of our popular divines receive as orthodox1 and this the sense which they attach to the words4 ,for on what other ground can ,i account for the whimsical subintelligiturs of our numerous harmonists1--for the curiously inferred facts1 the inventive circumstantial detail1 the complemental and supplemental history which1 in the utter silence of all historians and absence of all historical documents1 they bring to light by mere force of logic8--,and all to do away some half score apparent discrepancies in the chronicles and memoirs of the ,old and ,new ,testaments2--discrepancies so analogous to what is found in all other narratives of the same story by several narrators1--so analogous to what is found in all other known and trusted histories by contemporary historians1 when they are collated with each other 7nay1 not seldom when either historian is compared with himself71 as to form in the eyes of all competent judges a characteristic mark of the genuineness1 independency1 and 7if ,i may apply the word to a book17 the veraciousness of each several document2 a mark the absence of which would warrant a suspicion of collusion1 invention1 or at best of servile transcription2--discrepancies so trifling in circumstance and import1 that1 although in some instances it is highly probable1 and in all instances1 perhaps1 possible that they are only apparent and reconcilable1 no wise man would care a straw whether they were real or apparent1 reconciled or left in harmless and friendly variance4 ,what1 ,i ask1 could have induced learned and intelligent divines to adopt or sanction subterfuges1 which1 neutralizing the ordinary criteria of full or defective evidence in historical documents1 would1 taken as a general rule1 render all collation and cross-examination of written records ineffective1 and obliterate the main character by which authentic histories are distinguished from those traditional tales1 which each successive reporter enlarges and fashions to his own fancy and purpose1 and every different edition1 of which more or less contradicts the other8 ,allow me to create chasms ad libitum1 and ad libitum to fill them up with imagined facts and incidents1 and ,i would almost undertake to harmonise ,falstaff's account of the rogues in buckram into a coherent and consistent narrative4 ,what1 ,i say1 could have tempted grave and pious men thus to disturb the foundation of the ,temple1 in order to repair a petty breach or rat-hole in the wall1 or fasten a loose stone or two in the outer court1 if not an assumed necessity arising out of the peculiar character of ,bible history8 ,the substance of the syllogism1 by which their procedure was justified to their own minds1 can be no other than this4 ,that1 without which two assertions--both of which must be alike true and correct--would contradict each other1 and consequently be1 one or both1 false or incorrect1 must itself be true4 ,but every word and syllable existing in the original text of the ,canonical ,books1 from the ,cherethi and ,phelethi#agg of ,david to the name in the copy of a family register1 the site of a town1 or the course of a river1 were dictated to the sacred amanuensis by an infallible ,intelligence4 ,here there can be neither more or less4 ,important or unimportant gives no ground of difference2 and the number of the writers as little4 ,the secretaries may have been many1--the historian was one and the same1 and he infallible4 ,this is the minor of the syllogism2 and if it could be proved1 the conclusion would be at least plausible2 and there would be but one objection to the procedure1 namely1 its uselessness4 ,for if it have been proved already1 what need of proving it over again1 and by means--the removal1 namely1 of apparent contradictions--which the infallible ,author did not think good to employ8 ,but if it have not been proved1 what becomes of the argument which derives its whole force and legitimacy from the assumption8 ,in fact1 it is clear that the harmonists and their admirers held and understood the ,doctrine literally4 ,and must not that divine likewise have so understood it1 who1 in answer to a question concerning the transcendant blessedness of ,jael1 and the righteousness of the act1 in which she inhospitably1 treacherously1 perfidiously1 murdered sleep1 the confiding sleep1 closed the controversy by observing that he wanted no better morality than that of the ,bible1 and no other proof of an action's being praiseworthy than that the ,bible had declared it worthy to be praised8--an observation1 as applied in this instance1 so slanderous to the morality and moral spirit of the ,bible as to be inexplicable1 except as a consequence of the ,doctrine in dispute4--,but let a man be once fully persuaded that there is no difference between the two positions--,the ,bible contains the religion revealed by ,god--and ,whatever is contained in the ,bible is religion1 and was revealed by ,god1--and that whatever can be said of the ,bible1 collectively taken1 may and must be said of each and every sentence of the ,bible1 taken for and by itself1--and ,i no longer wonder at these paradoxes4 ,i only object to the inconsistency of those who profess the same belief1 and yet affect to look down with a contemptuous or compassionate smile on ,john ,wesley for rejecting the ,copernican system as incompatible therewith2 or who exclaim ,wonderful6 when they hear that ,sir ,matthew ,hale sent a crazy old woman to the gallows in honour of the ,witch of ,endor4#agh ,in the latter instance it might1 ,i admit1 have been an erroneous 7though even at this day the all but universally received7 interpretation of the word1 which we have rendered by witch2--but ,i challenge these divines and their adherents to establish the compatibility of a belief in the modern astronomy and natural philosophy with their and ,wesley's doctrine respecting the inspired ,scriptures1 without reducing the ,doctrine itself to a plaything of wax2--or rather to a half-inflated bladder1 which1 when the contents are rarefied in the heat of rhetorical generalities1 swells out round1 and without a crease or wrinkle2 but bring it into the cool temperature of particulars1 and you may press1 and as it were except1 what part you like--so it be but one part at a time--between your thumb and finger4 ,now1 ,i pray you1 which is the more honest1 nay1 which the more reverential1 proceeding1--to play at fast and loose in this way2 or to say at once1 ,see here in these several writings one and the same ,holy ,spirit1 now sanctifying a chosen vessel1 and fitting it for the reception of heavenly truths proceeding immediately from the mouth of ,god1 and elsewhere working in frail and fallible men like ourselves1 and like ourselves instructed by ,god's word and laws8--,the first ,christian martyr had the form and features of an ordinary man1 nor are we taught to believe that these features were miraculously transfigured into superhuman symmetry2 but he being filled with the ,holy ,ghost1 they that looked steadfastly on him1 saw his face as it had been the face of an angel4 ,even so has it ever been1 and so it ever will be1 with all who with humble hearts and a rightly disposed spirit scan the ,sacred ,volume4 ,and they who read it with an evil heart of unbelief1 and an alien spirit--what boots for them the assertion that every sentence was miraculously communicated to the nominal author by ,god himself8 ,will it not rather present additional temptations to the unhappy scoffers1 and furnish them with a pretext of self-justification8 ,when1 in my third ,letter1 ,i first echoed the question1 ,why should ,i not8--the answers came crowding on my mind4 ,i am well content1 however1 to have merely suggested the main points1 in proof of the positive harm which1 both historically and spiritually1 our religion sustains from this ,doctrine4 ,of minor importance1 yet not to be overlooked1 are the forced and fantastic interpretations1 the arbitrary allegories and mystic expansions of proper names1 to which this indiscriminate ,bibliolatry furnished fuel1 spark1 and wind4 ,a still greater evil1 and less attributable to the visionary humour and weak judgment of the individual expositors1 is the literal rendering of ,scripture in passages1 which the number and variety of images employed in different places1 to express one and the same verity1 plainly mark out for figurative4 ,and1 lastly1 add to all these the strange--in all other writings unexampled--practice of bringing together into logical dependency detached sentences from books composed at the distance of centuries1 nay1 sometimes a millennium1 from each other1 under different dispensations1 and for different objects4 ,accommodations of elder ,scriptural phrases--that favourite ornament and garnish of ,jewish eloquence--incidental allusions to popular notions1 traditions1 apologues--7for example1 the dispute between the ,devil and the ,archangel ,michael about the body of ,moses4 ,jude #i71--;fancies and anachronisms imported from the synagogue of ,alexandria into ,palestine by1 or together with1 the ,septuagint ,version1 and applied as mere argumenta ad homines--7for example1 the delivery of the ,law by the disposition of ,angels1 ,acts vii4 #ec1 ,gal4 iii4 #ai1 ,heb4 ii4 #b7--these1 detached from their context1 and1 contrary to the intention of the sacred writer1 first raised into independent theses1 and then brought together to produce or sanction some new credendum1 for which neither separately could have furnished a pretence6 ,by this strange mosaic1 ,scripture texts have been worked up into passable likenesses of ,purgatory1 ,popery1 the ,inquisition1 and other monstrous abuses4 ,but would you have a ,protestant instance of the superstitious use of ,scripture arising out of this dogma8 ,passing by the ,cabbala of the ,hutchinsonian ,school as the dotage of a few weak-minded individuals1 ,i refer you to ,bishop ,hacket's ,sermons on the ,incarnation4 ,and if you have read the same author's ,life of ,archbishop ,williams1 and have seen and felt 7as every reader of this latter work must see and feel17 his talent1 learning1 acuteness1 and robust good sense1 you will have no difficulty in determining the quality and character of a dogma1 which could engraft such fruits on such a tree4#agi ,it will perhaps appear a paradox1 if1 after all these reasons1 ,i should avow that they weigh less in my mind against the ,doctrine1 than the motives usually assigned for maintaining and enjoining it4 ,such1 for instance1 are the arguments drawn from the anticipated loss and damage that would result from its abandonment2 as that it would deprive the ,christian world of its only infallible arbiter in questions of ,faith and ,duty1 suppress the only common and inappellable tribunal2 that the ,bible is the only religious bond of union and ground of unity among ,protestants1 and the like4 ,for the confutation of this whole reasoning it might be sufficient to ask3--,has it produced these effects8 ,would not the contrary statement be nearer to the fact8 ,what did the ,churches of the first four centuries hold on this point8 ,to what did they attribute the rise and multiplication of heresies8 ,can any learned and candid ,protestant affirm that there existed and exists no ground for the charges of ,bossuet and other eminent ,romish divines8 ,it is no easy matter to know how to handle a party maxim1 so framed that1 with the exception of a single word1 it expresses an important truth1 but which by means of that word is made to convey a most dangerous error4 ,the ,bible is the appointed conservatory1 an indispensable criterion1 and a continual source and support of true ,belief4 ,but that the ,bible is the sole source2 that it not only contains1 but constitutes1 the ,christian ,religion2 that it is1 in short1 a ,creed1 consisting wholly of articles of ,faith2 that consequently we need no rule1 help1 or guide1 spiritual or historical1 to teach us what parts are and what are not articles of ,faith--all being such1--and the difference between the ,bible and the ,creed being this1 that the clauses of the latter are all unconditionally necessary to salvation1 but those of the former conditionally so1 that is1 as soon as the words are known to exist in any one of the canonical ,books2 and that1 under this limitation1 the belief is of the same necessity in both1 and not at all affected by the greater or lesser importance of the matter to be believed2--this scheme differs widely from the preceding1 though its adherents often make use of the same words in expressing their belief4 ,and this latter scheme1 ,i assert1 was brought into currency by and in favour of those by whom the operation of grace1 the aids of the ,spirit1 the necessity of regeneration1 the corruption of our nature1 in short1 all the peculiar and spiritual mysteries of the ,gospel were explained and diluted away4 ,and how have these men treated this very ,bible8--,i1 who indeed prize and reverence this sacred library1 as of all outward means and conservatives of ,christian faith and practice the surest and the most reflective of the inward ,word2--,i1 who hold that the ,bible contains the religion of ,christians1 but who dare not say that whatever is contained in the ,bible is the ,christian religion1 and who shrink from all question respecting the comparative worth and efficacy of the written ,word as weighed against the preaching of the ,gospel1 the discipline of the ,churches1 the continued succession of the ,ministry1 and the communion of ,saints1 lest by comparing ,i should seem to detach them2--,i tremble at the processes1 which the ,grotian divines without scruple carry on in their treatment of the sacred ,writers1 as soon as any texts declaring the peculiar tenets of our ,faith are cited against them1--even tenets and mysteries which the believer at his baptism receives as the title-writ and bosom-roll of his adoption2 and which1 according to my scheme1 every ,christian born in ,church-membership ought to bring with him to the study of the sacred ,scriptures as the master-key of interpretation4 ,whatever the doctrine of infallible dictation may be in itself1 in their hands it is to the last degree nugatory1 and to be paralleled only by the ,romish tenet of ,infallibility1--in the existence of which all agree1 but where1 and in whom1 it exists stat adhuc sub lite4 ,every sentence found in a canonical ,book1 rightly interpreted1 contains the dictum of an infallible ,mind2--but what the right interpretation is1--or whether the very words now extant are corrupt or genuine--must be determined by the industry and understanding of fallible1 and alas6 more or less prejudiced theologians4 ,and yet ,i am told that this ,doctrine must not be resisted or called in question1 because of its fitness to preserve unity of faith1 and for the prevention of schism and sectarian byways6--,let the man who holds this language trace the history of ,protestantism1 and the growth of sectarian divisions1 ending with ,dr4 ,hawker's ultra-,calvinistic ,tracts1 and ,mr4 ,belsham's ,new ,version of the ,testament4 ,and then let him tell me that for the prevention of an evil which already exists1 and which the boasted preventive itself might rather seem to have occasioned1 ,i must submit to be silenced by the first learned infidel1 who throws in my face the blessing of ,deborah1 or the cursings of ,david1 or the ,grecisms and heavier difficulties in the biographical chapters of the ,book of ,daniel1 or the hydrography and natural philosophy of the ,patriarchal ages4--,i must forego the means of silencing1 and the prospect of convincing1 an alienated brother1 because ,i must not thus answer3--,my ,brother6 ,what has all this to do with the truth and the worth of ,christianity8 ,if you reject priori all communion with the ,holy ,spirit1 there is indeed a chasm between us1 over which we cannot even make our voices intelligible to each other4 ,but if--though but with the faith of a ,seneca or an ,antonine--you admit the co-operation of a divine ,spirit in souls desirous of good1 even as the breath of heaven works variously in each several plant according to its kind1 character1 period of growth1 and circumstance of soil1 clime1 and aspect2--on what ground can you assume that its presence is incompatible with all imperfection in the subject1--even with such imperfection as is the natural accompaniment of the unripe season8 ,if you call your gardener or husbandman to account for the plants or crops he is raising1 would you not regard the special purpose in each1 and judge of each by that which it was tending to8 ,thorns are not flowers1 nor is the husk serviceable4 ,but it was not for its thorns1 but for its sweet and medicinal flowers that the rose was cultivated2 and he who cannot separate the husk from the grain1 wants the power because sloth or malice has prevented the will4 ,i demand for the ,bible only the justice which you grant to other books of grave authority1 and to other proved and acknowledged benefactors of mankind4 ,will you deny a spirit of wisdom in ,lord ,bacon1 because in particular facts he did not possess perfect science1 or an entire immunity from the positive errors which result from imperfect insight8 ,a ,davy will not so judge his great predecessor4 ,for he recognizes the spirit that is now working in himself1 and which under similar defects of light and obstacles of error had been his guide and guardian in the morning twilight of his own genius4 ,must not the kindly warmth awaken and vivify the seed1 in order that the stem may spring up and rejoice in the light8 ,as the genial warmth to the informing light1 even so is the predisposing ,spirit to the revealing ,word4 ,if ,i should reason thus--but why do ,i say if8--,i have reasoned thus with more than one serious and well-disposed ,sceptic2 and what was the answer8--,you speak rationally1 but seem to forget the subject4 ,i have frequently attended meetings of the ,british and ,foreign ,bible ,society1 where ,i have heard speakers of every denomination1 ,calvinist and ,arminian1 ,quaker and ,methodist1 ,dissenting ,ministers and ,clergymen1 nay1 dignitaries of the ,established ,church1--and still have ,i heard the same doctrine1--that the ,bible was not to be regarded or reasoned about in the way that other good books are or may be2--that the ,bible was different in kind1 and stood by itself4 ,by some indeed this doctrine was rather implied than expressed1but yet evidently implied4 ,but by far the greater number of the speakers it was asserted in the strongest and most unqualified words that language could supply4 ,what is more1 their principal arguments were grounded on the position1 that the ,bible throughout was dictated by ,omniscience1 and therefore in all its parts infallibly true and obligatory1 and that the men1 whose names are prefixed to the several books or chapters1 were in fact but as different pens in the hand of one and the same ,writer1 and the words the words of ,god himself2--and that on this account all notes and comments were superfluous1 nay1 presumptuous1--a profane mixing of human with divine1 the notions of fallible creatures with the oracles of ,infallibility1--as if ,god's meaning could be so clearly or fitly expressed in man's as in ,god's own words6 ,but how often you yourself must have heard the same language from the pulpit6-- ,what could ,i reply to this8--,i could neither deny the fact1 nor evade the conclusion1--namely1 that such is at present the popular belief4 ,yes--,i at length rejoined--,i have heard this language from the pulpit1 and more than once from men who in any other place would explain it away into something so very different from the literal sense of their words as closely to resemble the contrary4 ,and this1 indeed1 is the peculiar character of the doctrine1 that you cannot diminish or qualify but you reverse it4 ,i have heard this language from men1 who knew as well as myself that the best and most orthodox divines have in effect disclaimed the doctrine1 inasmuch as they confess it cannot be extended to the words of the sacred ,writers1 or the particular import1--that therefore the ,doctrine does not mean all that the usual wording of it expresses1 though what it does mean1 and why they continue to sanction this hyperbolical wording1 ,i have sought to learn from them in vain4 ,but let a thousand orators blazon it at public meetings1 and let as many pulpits echo it1 surely it behoves you to inquire whether you cannot be a ,christian on your own faith2 and it cannot but be beneath a wise man to be an ,infidel on the score of what other men think fit to include in their ,christianity6 ,now suppose--and1 believe me1 the supposition will vary little from the fact--that in consequence of these views the ,sceptic's mind had gradually opened to the reception of all the truths enumerated in my first ,letter4 ,suppose that the ,scriptures themselves from this time had continued to rise in his esteem and affection--the better understood1 the more dear2 as in the countenance of one1 whom through a cloud of prejudices we have at least learned to love and value above all others1 new beauties dawn on us from day to day1 till at length we wonder how we could at any time have thought it other than most beautiful4 ,studying the sacred volume in the light and in the freedom of a faith already secured1 at every fresh meeting my ,sceptic friend has to tell me of some new passage1 formerly viewed by him as a dry stick on a rotten branch1 which has budded and1 like the rod of ,aaron1 brought forth buds and bloomed blossoms1 and yielded almonds4 ,let these results1 ,i say1 be supposed1--and shall ,i still be told that my friend is nevertheless an alien in the household of ,faith8 ,scrupulously orthodox as ,i know you to be1 will you tell me that ,i ought to have left this ,sceptic as ,i found him1 rather than attempt his conversion by such means2 or that ,i was deceiving him1 when ,i said to him3-- ,friend6 ,the truth revealed through ,christ has its evidence in itself1 and the proof of its divine authority in its fitness to our nature and needs2--the clearness and cogency of this proof being proportionate to the degree of self-knowledge in each individual hearer4 ,christianity has likewise its historical evidences1 and these as strong as is compatible with the nature of history1 and with the aims and objects of a religious dispensation4 ,and to all these ,christianity itself1 as an existing ,power in the world1 and ,christendom as an existing ,fact1 with the no less evident fact of a progressive expansion1 give a force of moral demonstration that almost supersedes particular testimony4 ,these proofs and evidences would remain unshaken1 even though the sum of our religion were to be drawn from the theologians of each successive century1 on the principle of receiving that only as divine which should be found in all1--quod semper1 quod ubique1 quod ab omnibus4 ,be only1 my ,friend6 as orthodox a believer as you would have abundant reason to be1 though from some accident of birth1 country1 or education1 the precious boon of the ,bible1 with its additional evidence1 had up to this moment been concealed from you2--and then read its contents with only the same piety which you freely accord on other occasions to the writings of men1 considered the best and wisest of their several ages6 ,what you find therein coincident with your pre-established convictions1 you will of course recognize as the ,revealed ,word1 while1 as you read the recorded workings of the ,word and the ,spirit in the minds1 lives1 and hearts of spiritual men1 the influence of the same ,spirit on your own being1 and the conflicts of grace and infirmity in your own soul1 will enable you to discern and to know in and by what spirit they spake and acted1--as far at least as shall be needful for you1 and in the times of your need4 ,thenceforward1 therefore1 your doubts will be confined to such parts or passages of the received ,canon1 as seem to you irreconcilable with known truths1 and at variance with the tests given in the ,scriptures themselves1 and as shall continue so to appear after you have examined each in reference to the circumstances of the ,writer or ,speaker1 the dispensation under which he lived1 the purpose of the particular passage1 and the intent and object of the ,scriptures at large4 ,respecting these1 decide for yourself3 and fear not for the result4 ,i venture to tell it you beforehand4 ,the result will be1 a confidence in the judgment and fidelity of the compilers of the ,canon increased by the apparent exceptions4 ,for they will be found neither more nor greater than may well be supposed requisite1 on the one hand1 to prevent us from sinking into a habit of slothful1 undiscriminating acquiescence1 and on the other to provide a check against those presumptuous fanatics1 who would rend the ,urim and ,thummim from the breastplate of judgment1 and frame oracles by private divination from each letter of each disjointed gem1 uninterpreted by the ,priest1 and deserted by the ,spirit1 which shines in the parts only as it pervades and irradiates the whole4 ,such is the language in which ,i have addressed a halting friend1--halting1 yet with his face toward the right path4 ,if ,i have erred1 enable me to see my error4 ,correct1 me1 or confirm me4 ,farewell4 #agg #b ,sam4 xx4 #bc2 #a ,chron4 xviii4 #ag4--;,h4 ,n4 ,c4 #agh ,he sent two2 nor does it appear that the poor creatures were at all crazy4 ,rose ,cullender and ,amy ,duny1 widows1 of ,lowestoft1 ,suffolk1 were tried for witchcraft1 on the #ajth of ,march1 #affe1 at ,bury ,st4 ,edmunds4 ,sir ,m4 ,hale told the jury1 that he would not repeat the evidence unto them1 lest by so doing he should wrong the evidence on the one side or on the other4 ,only this he acquainted them1 that they had two things to enquire after3 first1 whether or no these children were bewitched2 secondly1 whether the prisoners at the bar were guilty of it4 ,that there were such creatures as witches1 he made no doubt at all4 ,for1 first1 the ,scriptures had affirmed so much4 ,secondly1 the wisdom of all nations had provided laws against such persons1 which is an argument of their confidence of such a crime4 ,and such hath been the judgment of this kingdom1 as appears by that ,act of ,parliament1 which hath provided punishments proportionable to the quality of the offence4 ,and desired them strictly to observe their evidence2 and desired the great ,god of heaven to direct their hearts in the weighty thing they had in hand4 ,for to condemn the innocent1 and to let the guilty go free were both an abomination to the ,lord4 ,they were found guilty on thirteen indictments4 ,the bewitched got well of all their pains within less than half an hour after the conviction 7so ,mr4 ,pacy did affirm--,mr4 ,pacy being the father of one of the bewitched72 only ,susan ,chandler felt a pain like pricking of pins in her stomach4444 ,the ,judge and all the ,court were fully satisfied with the verdict1 and thereupon gave judgment against the witches that they should be hanged4 ,they were much urged to confess1 but would not4444 ,they were executed on ,monday1 the #agth of ,march following1 but they confessed nothing4--,state ,trials1 vi4 p4 #gjj4--;,h4 ,n4 ,c4 #agi ,did not the life of ,archbishop ,williams prove otherwise1 ,i should have inferred from these ,sermons that ,hacket from his first boyhood had been used to make themes1 epigrams1 copies of verses1 and the like on all the ,sunday feasts and festivals of the ,church2 had found abundant nourishment for this humour of points1 quirks1 and quiddities1 in the study of the ,fathers and glossers2 and remained a junior soph all his life long4 444 ,let any competent judge read ,hacket's ,life of ,archbishop ,williams1 and then these ,sermons1 and so measure the stultifying1 nugifying effect of a blind and uncritical study of the ,fathers1 and the exclusive prepossession in favour of their authority in the minds of many of our ,church dignitaries in the reign of ,charles ,i4--,lit4 ,remains1 ,,iii4 pp4 #age and #ahc1 ,notes on the ,life of ,bishop ,hacket4--,h4 ,n4 ,c4--,see also the ',aids1' ante1 pp4 #ii and #ajg4--;,,ed4 ,,letter ,v4 ,yes6 my dear ,friend1 it is my conviction that in all ordinary cases the knowledge and belief of the ,christian ,religion should precede the study of the ,hebrew ,canon4 ,indeed1 with regard to both ,testaments1 ,i consider oral and catechismal instruction as the preparative provided by ,christ himself in the establishment of a visible ,church4 ,and to make the ,bible1 apart from the truths1 doctrines1 and spiritual experiences contained therein1 the subject of a special article of faith1 ,i hold an unnecessary and useless abstraction1 which in too many instances has the effect of substituting a barren acquiescence in the letter for the lively faith that cometh by hearing2 even as the hearing is productive of this faith1 because it is the word of ,god that is heard and preached4 7,rom4 x4 #h1 #ag47 ,and here ,i mean the written word preserved in the armoury of the ,church to be the sword of faith out of the mouth of the preacher1 as ,christ's ambassador and representative 7,rev4 i4 #af71 and out of the heart of the believer1 from generation to generation4 ,who shall dare dissolve or loosen this holy bond1 this divine reciprocality1 of ,faith and ,scripture8 ,who shall dare enjoin aught else as an object of saving faith1 beside the truths that appertain to salvation8 ,the imposers take on themselves a heavy responsibility1 however defensible the opinion itself1 as an opinion1 may be4 ,for by imposing it1 they counteract their own purposes4 ,they antedate questions1 and thus in all cases aggravate the difficulty of answering them satisfactorily4 ,and not seldom they create difficulties that might never have occurred4 ,but1 worst of all1 they convert things trifling or indifferent into mischievous pretexts for the wanton1 fearful1 difficulties for the weak1 and formidable objections for the inquiring4 ,for what man fearing ,god dares think any the least point indifferent1 which he is required to receive as ,god's own immediate word miraculously infused1 miraculously recorded1 and by a succession of miracles preserved unblended and without change8--,through all the pages of a large and multifold volume1 at each successive period1 at every sentence1 must the question recur3--,dare ,i believe--do ,i in my heart believe--these words to have been dictated by an infallible reason1 and the immediate utterance of ,almighty ,god8--,no6 ,it is due to ,christian charity that a question so awful should not be put unnecessarily1 and should not be put out of time4 ,the necessity ,i deny4 ,and out of time the question must be put1 if after enumerating the several articles of the ,catholic ,faith ,i am bound to add3--and further you are to believe with equal faith1 as having the same immediate and miraculous derivation from ,god1 whatever else you shall hereafter read in any of the sixty-six books collected in the ,old and ,new ,testaments4 ,i would never say this4 ,yet let me not be misjudged as if ,i treated the ,scriptures as a matter of indifference4 ,i would not say this3 but where ,i saw a desire to believe1 and a beginning love of ,christ1 ,i would there say3--,there are likewise sacred ,writings1 which1 taken in connection with the institution and perpetuity of a visible ,church1 all believers revere as the most precious boon of ,god1 next to ,christianity itself1 and attribute both their communication and preservation to an especial ,providence4 ,in them you will find all the revealed truths1 which have been set forth and offered to you1 clearly and circumstantially recorded2 and1 in addition to these1 examples of obedience and disobedience both in states and individuals1 the lives and actions of men eminent under each dispensation1 their sentiments1 maxims1 hymns1 and prayers1--their affections1 emotions1 and conflicts2--in all which you will recognize the influence of the ,holy ,spirit1 with a conviction increasing with the growth of your own faith and spiritual experience4 ,farewell4 ,,letter ,,vi4 ,,my ,,dear ,,friend1 ,in my last two ,letters ,i have given the state of the argument1 as it would stand between a ,christian thinking as ,i do1 and a serious well-disposed ,deist4 ,i will now endeavour to state the argument1 as between the former and the advocates for the popular belief1--such of them1 ,i mean1 as are competent to deliver a dispassionate judgment in the cause4 ,and again1 more particularly1 ,i mean the learned and reflecting part of them1 who are influenced to the retention of the prevailing dogma by the supposed consequences of a different view1 and1 especially1 by their dread of conceding to all alike1 simple and learned1 the privilege of picking and choosing the ,scriptures that are to be received as binding on their consciences4 ,between these persons and myself the controversy#ahj may be reduced to a single question3-- ,is it safer for the ,individual1 and more conducive to the interests of the ,church of ,christ1 in its twofold character of pastoral and militant1 to conclude thus3--,the ,bible is the ,word of ,god1 and therefore1 true1 holy1 and in all parts unquestionable2--or thus1--,the ,bible1 considered in reference to its declared ends and purposes1 is true and holy1 and for all who seek truth with humble spirits an unquestionable guide1 and therefore it is the ,word of ,god8 ,in every generation1 and wherever the light of ,revelation has shone1 men of all ranks1 conditions1 and states of mind have found in this ,volume a correspondent for every movement toward the ,better felt in their own hearts4 ,the needy soul has found supply1 the feeble a help1 the sorrowful a comfort2 yea1 be the recipiency the least that can consist with moral life1 there is an answering grace ready to enter4 ,the ,bible has been found a spiritual ,world1--spiritual1 and yet at the same time outward and common to all4 ,you in one place1 ,i in another1 all men somewhere or at some time1 meet with an assurance that the hopes and fears1 the thoughts and yearnings that proceed from1 or tend to1 a right spirit in us1 are not dreams or fleeting singularities1 no voices heard in sleep1 or spectres which the eye suffers but not perceives4 ,as if on some dark night a pilgrim1 suddenly beholding a bright star moving before him1 should stop in fear and perplexity4 ,but lo6 traveller after traveller passes by him1 and each1 being questioned whither he is going1 makes answer1 ,i am following yon guiding ,star6 ,the pilgrim quickens his own steps1 and presses onward in confidence4 ,more confident still will he be1 if by the way side he should find1 here and there1 ancient monuments1 each with its votive lamp1 and on each the name of some former pilgrim1 and a record that there he had first seen or begun to follow the benignant ,star6 ,no otherwise is it with the varied contents of the ,sacred ,volume4 ,the hungry have found food1 the thirsty a living spring1 the feeble a staff1 and the victorious warfarer songs of welcome and strains of music2 and as long as each man asks on account of his wants1 and asks what he wants1 no man will discover aught amiss or deficient in the vast and many-chambered storehouse4 ,but if instead of this1 an idler or a scoffer should wander through the rooms1 peering and peeping1 and either detects1 or fancies he has detected1 here a rusted sword or pointless shaft1 there a tool of rude construction1 and superseded by later improvements 7and preserved1 perhaps1 to make us more grateful for them72--which of two things will a sober-minded man1--who from his childhood upward had been fed1 clothed1 armed1 and furnished with the means of instruction from this very magazine1--think the fitter plan8--,will he insist that the rust is not rust1 or that it is a rust sui generis1 intentionally formed on the steel for some mysterious virtue in it1 and that the staff and astrolabe of a shepherd-astronomer are identical with1 or equivalent to1 the quadrant and telescope of ,newton or ,herschel8--,or will he not rather give the curious inquisitor joy of his mighty discoveries1 and the credit of them for his reward8-- ,or lastly1 put the matter thus4 ,for more than a thousand years the ,bible1 collectively taken1 has gone hand in hand with civilization1 science1 law1--in short1 with the moral and intellectual cultivation of the species1 always supporting1 and often leading the way4 ,its very presence1 as a believed ,book1 has rendered the nations emphatically a chosen race1 and this too in exact proportion as it is more or less generally known and studied4 ,of those nations1 which in the highest degree enjoy its influences1 it is not too much to affirm1 that the differences public and private1 physical1 moral and intellectual1 are only less than what might be expected from a diversity in species4 ,good and holy men1 and the best and wisest of mankind1 the kingly spirits of history1 enthroned in the hearts of mighty nations1 have borne witness to its influences1 have declared it to be beyond compare the most perfect instrument1 the only adequate organ1 of ,humanity2--the organ and instrument of all the gifts1 powers1 and tendencies1 by which the individual is privileged to rise above himself--to leave behind1 and lose his dividual phantom self1 in order to find his true ,self in that ,distinctness where no division can be1--in the ,eternal ,i ,,am1 the ,ever-living ,,word1 of whom all the elect from the archangel before the throne to the poor wrestler with the ,spirit until the breaking of day are but the fainter and still fainter echoes4 ,and are all these testimonies and lights of experience to lose their value and efficiency1 because ,i feel no warrant of history1 or ,holy ,writ1 or of my own heart for denying1 that in the framework and outward case of this instrument a few parts may be discovered of less costly materials and of meaner workmanship8 ,is it not a fact that the ,books of the ,new ,testament were tried by their consonance with the rule1 and according to the analogy1 of ,faith8 ,does not the universally admitted canon--that each part of ,scripture must be interpreted by the spirit of the whole--lead to the same practical conclusion as that for which ,i am now contending2 namely1 that it is the spirit of the ,bible1 and not the detached words and sentences1 that is infallible and absolute8--,practical1 ,i say1 and spiritual too2--and what knowledge not practical or spiritual are we entitled to seek in our ,bibles8 ,is the grace of ,god so confined1--are the evidences of the present and actuating ,spirit so dim and doubtful1--that to be assured of the same we must first take for granted that all the life and co-agency of our humanity is miraculously suspended8 ,whatever is spiritual1 is eo nomine supernatural2 but must it be always and of necessity miraculous8 ,miracles could open the eyes of the body2 and he that was born blind beheld his ,redeemer4 ,but miracles1 even those of the ,redeemer himself1 could not open the eyes of the self-blinded1 of the ,sadducean sensualist or the self-righteous ,pharisee2--while to have said1 ,i saw thee under the fig tree1 sufficed to make a ,nathanael believe4 ,to assert and to demand miracles without necessity was the vice of the unbelieving ,jews of old2 and from the ,rabbis and ,talmudists the infection has spread4 ,and would ,i could say that the symptoms of the disease are confined to the ,churches of the ,apostasy6 ,but all the miracles1 which the legends of ,monk or ,rabbi contain1 can scarcely be put in competition1 on the score of complication1 inexplicableness1 the absence of all intelligible use or purpose1 and of circuitous self-frustration1 with those that must be assumed by the maintainers of this doctrine1 in order to give effect to the series of miracles1 by which all the nominal composers of the ,hebrew nation before the time of ,ezra1 of whom there are any remains1 were successively transformed into automaton compositors1--so that the original text should be in sentiment1 image1 word1 syntax1 and composition an exact impression of the divine copy6 ,in common consistency the theologians1 who impose this belief on their fellow ,christians1 ought to insist equally on the superhuman origin and authority of the ,masora1 and to use more respectful terms1 than has been their wont of late1 in speaking of the false ,aristeas's legend concerning the ,septuagint4 ,and why the miracle should stop at the ,greek ,version1 and not include the ,vulgate1 ,i can discover no ground in reason4 ,or if it be an objection to the latter1 that this belief is actually enjoined by the ,papal ,church1 yet the number of ,christians who read the ,lutheran1 the ,genevan1 or our own authorized1 ,bible1 and are ignorant of the dead languages1 greatly exceeds the number of those who have access to the ,septuagint4 ,why refuse the writ of consecration to these1 or to the one at least appointed by the assertors' own ,church8 ,i find much more consistency in the opposition made under pretext of this doctrine to the proposals and publications of ,kennicot1 ,mill1 ,bentley1 and ,archbishop ,newcome4 ,but ,i am weary of discussing a tenet1 which the generality of divines and the leaders of the ,religious ,public have ceased to defend1 and yet continue to assert or imply4 ,the tendency manifested in this conduct1 the spirit of this and the preceding century1 on which1 not indeed the tenet itself1 but the obstinate adherence to it against the clearest light of reason and experience1 is grounded1--this it is which1 according to my conviction1 gives the venom to the error1 and justifies the attempt to substitute a juster view4 ,as long as it was the common and effective belief of all the ,reformed ,churches1 7and by none was it more sedulously or more emphatically enjoined than by the great ,reformers of our ,church71 that by the good ,spirit were the spirits tried1 and that the light1 which beams forth from the written ,word1 was its own evidence for the children of light2--as long as ,christians considered their ,bible as a plenteous entertainment1 where every guest1 duly called and attired1 found the food needful and fitting for him1 and where each--instead of troubling himself about the covers not within his reach--beholding all around him glad and satisfied1 praised the banquet and thankfully glorified the ,master of the feast1--so long did the ,tenet--that the ,scriptures were written under the special impulse of the ,holy ,ghost remain safe and profitable4 ,nay1 in the sense1 and with the feelings1 in which it was asserted1 it was a truth--a truth to which every spiritual believer now and in all times will bear witness by virtue of his own experience4 ,and if in the overflow of love and gratitude they confounded the power and presence of the ,holy ,spirit1 working alike in weakness and in strength1 in the morning mists and in the clearness of the full day2--if they confounded this communion and co-agency of divine grace1 attributable to the ,scripture generally1 with those express1 and expressly recorded1 communications and messages of the ,most ,high1 which form so large and prominent a portion of the same ,scriptures2--if1 in short1 they did not always duly distinguish the inspiration1 the imbreathment1 of the predisposing and assisting ,,spirit from the revelation of the informing ,,word1--it was at worst a harmless hyperbole4 ,it was holden by all1 that if the power of the ,spirit from without furnished the text1 the grace of the same ,spirit from within must supply the comment4 ,in the sacred ,volume they saw and reverenced the bounden wheat-sheaf that stood upright and had obeisance from all the other sheaves--7the writings1 ,i mean1 of the ,fathers and ,doctors of the ,church7--sheaves depreciated indeed1 more or less1 with tares1 and furrow-weeds1 ,darnel and many an idle flower that grew ,mid the sustaining corn2 yet sheaves of the same harvest1 the sheaves of brethren6 ,nor did it occur to them1 that1 in yielding the more full and absolute honour to the sheaf of the highly favoured of their ,father1 they should be supposed to attribute the same worth and quality to the straw-bands which held it together4 ,the bread of life was there4 ,and this in an especial sense was bread from heaven2 for no where had the same been found wild2 no soil or climate dared claim it for its natural growth4 ,in simplicity of heart they received the ,bible as the precious gift of ,god1 providential alike in origin1 preservation1 and distribution1 without asking the nice question1 whether all and every part were likewise miraculous4 ,the distinction between the providential and the miraculous1 between the divine ,will working with the agency of natural causes1 and the same ,will supplying their place by a special fiat--this distinction has1 ,i doubt not1 many uses in speculative divinity4 ,but its weightiest practical application is shown1 when it is employed to free the souls of the unwary and weak in faith from the nets and snares1 the insidious queries and captious objections1 of the ,infidel by calming the flutter of their spirits4 ,they must be quieted1 before we can commence the means necessary for their disentanglement4 ,and in no way can this be better effected than when the frightened captives are made to see in how many points the disentangling itself is a work of expedience rather than of necessity2--so easily and at so little loss might the web be cut or brushed away6 ,first1 let their attention be fixed on the history of ,christianity as learnt from universal tradition1 and the writers of each successive generation4 ,draw their minds to the fact of the progressive and still continuing fulfilment of the assurance of a few fishermen1 that both their own religion1 though of divine origin1 and the religion of their conquerors1 which included or recognized all other religions of the known world1 should be superseded by the faith in a man recently and ignominiously executed4 ,then induce them to meditate on the universals of ,christian ,faith1--on ,christianity1 taken as the sum of belief common to ,greek and ,latin1 to ,romanist and ,protestant4 ,show them that this and only this is the ordo traditionis1 quam tradiderunt ,apostoli iis quibus committebant ecclesias1 and which we should have been bound to follow1 says ,irenus1 si neque ,apostoli quidem ,scripturas reliquissent4 ,this is that regula fidei1 that sacramentum symboli memori mandatum1 of which ,st4 ,augustine says2--noveritis hoc esse ,fidei ,catholic fundamentum super quod edificium surrexit ,ecclesi4 ,this is the norma ,catholici et ,ecclesiastici sensus1 determined and explicated1 but not augmented1 by the ,nicene ,fathers1 as ,waterland has irrefragably shown2--a norm or model of ,faith grounded on the solemn affirmations of the ,bishops collected from all parts of the ,roman ,empire1 that this was the essential and unalterable ,gospel received by them from their predecessors in all the churches as the 1 cui1 says ,irenus1 assentiunt mult gentes eorum qui in ,christum credunt sine charta et atramento1 scriptam habentes per ,spiritum in cordibus suis salutem1 et veterum traditionem diligenter custodientes4 ,let the attention of such as have been shaken by the assaults of ,infidelity be thus directed1 and then tell me wherein a spiritual physician would be blameworthy1 if he carried on the cure by addressing his patient in this manner3-- ,all men of learning1 even learned unbelievers1 admit that the greater part of the objections1 urged in the popular works of ,infidelity1 to this or that verse or chapter of the ,bible1 prove only the ignorance or dishonesty of the objectors4 ,but let it be supposed for a moment that a few remain hitherto unanswered1--nay1 that to your judgment and feelings they appear unanswerable4 ,what follows8 ,that the ,apostles' and ,nicene ,creed is not credible1 the ,ten ,commandments not to be obeyed1 the clauses of the ,lord's ,prayer not to be desired1 or the ,sermon on the ,mount not to be practised8--,see how the logic would look4 ,david cruelly tortured the inhabitants of ,rabbah 7#b ,sam4 xii4 #ca2 #a ,chron4 xx4 #c71 and in several of the ,psalms he invokes the bitterest curses on his enemies2 therefore it is not to be believed that the love of ,god toward us was manifested in sending his only begotten ,son into the world1 that we might live through ,him 7#a ,john iv4 #i74 ,or3 ,abijah is said to have collected an army of #djj1jjj men1 and ,jeroboam to have met him with an army of #hjj1jjj1 each army consisting of chosen men 7#b ,chron4 xiii4 #c71 and making together a host of #a1bjj1jjj1 and ,abijah to have slain #ejj1jjj out of the #hjj1jjj3 therefore1 the words which admonish us that if ,god so loved us1 we ought also to love one another 7#a ,john iv4 #aa71 even our enemies1 yea1 to bless them that curse us1 and to do good to them that hate us 7,matt4 v4 #dd71 cannot proceed from the ,holy ,spirit4 ,or3 ,the first six chapters of the ,book of ,daniel contain several words and phrases irreconcilable with the commonly received dates1 and those chapters and the ,book of ,esther have a traditional and legendary character unlike that of the other historical books of the ,old ,testament2 therefore1 those other books1 by contrast with which the former appear suspicious1 and the historical document1 #a ,cor4 xv4 #a-h1 are not to be credited6 ,we assuredly believe that the ,bible contains all truths necessary to salvation1 and that therein is preserved the undoubted ,word of ,god4 ,we assert likewise that1 besides these express oracles and immediate revelations1 there are ,scriptures which to the soul and conscience of every ,christian man bear irresistible evidence of the ,divine ,spirit assisting and actuating the authors2 and that both these and the former are such as to render it morally impossible that any passage of the small inconsiderable portion1 not included in one or other of these1 can supply either ground or occasion of any error in faith1 practice1 or affection1 except to those who wickedly and wilfully seek a pretext for their unbelief4 ,and if in that small portion of the ,bible which stands in no necessary connection with the known and especial ends and purposes of the ,scriptures1 there should be a few apparent errors resulting from the state of knowledge then existing--errors which the best and holiest men might entertain uninjured1 and which without a miracle those men must have entertained2 if ,i find no such miraculous prevention asserted1 and see no reason for supposing it--may ,i not1 to ease the scruples of a perplexed inquirer1 venture to say to him3 ,be it so4 ,what then8 ,the absolute infallibility even of the inspired writers in matters altogether incidental and foreign to the objects and purposes of their inspiration is no part of my ,creed2 and even if a professed divine should follow the doctrine of the ,jewish ,church so far as not to attribute to the ,hagiographa1 in every word and sentence1 the same height and fulness of inspiration as to the ,law and the ,prophets1 ,i feel no warrant to brand him as a heretic for an opinion1 the admission of which disarms the ,infidel without endangering a single article of the ,catholic ,faith4--,if to an unlearned but earnest and thoughtful neighbour1 ,i give the advice2--,use the ,old ,testament to express the affections excited1 and to confirm the faith and morals taught you1 in the ,new1 and leave all the rest to the students and professors of theology and ,church history6 ,you profess only to be a ,christian3--am ,i misleading my brother in ,christ8 ,this ,i believe by my own dear experience1--that the more tranquilly an inquirer takes up the ,bible as he would any other body of ancient writings1 the livelier and steadier will be his impressions of its superiority to all other books1 till at length all other books and all other knowledge will be valuable in his eyes in proportion as they help him to a better understanding of his ,bible4 ,difficulty after difficulty has been overcome from the time that ,i began to study the ,scriptures with free and unboding spirit1 under the conviction that my faith in the ,incarnate ,word and his ,gospel was secure1 whatever the result might be2--the difficulties that still remain being so few and insignificant in my own estimation1 that ,i have less personal interest in the question than many of those who will most dogmatically condemn me for presuming to make a question of it4 ,so much for scholars--for men of like education and pursuits as myself4 ,with respect to ,christians generally1 ,i object to the consequence drawn from the ,doctrine rather than to the ,doctrine itself2--a consequence not only deducible from the premises1 but actually and imperiously deduced2 according to which every man that can but read is to sit down to the consecutive and connected perusal of the ,bible under the expectation and assurance that the whole is within his comprehension1 and that1 unaided by note or comment1 catechism or liturgical preparation1 he is to find out for himself what he is bound to believe and practise1 and that whatever he conscientiously understands by what he reads1 is to be his religion4 ,for he has found it in his ,bible1 and the ,bible is the ,religion of ,protestants6 ,would ,i then withhold the ,bible from the ,cottager and the ,artisan8--,heaven forfend6 ,the fairest flower that ever clomb up a cottage window is not so fair a sight to my eyes1 as the ,bible gleaming through the lower panes4 ,let it but be read as by such men it used to be read2 when they came to it as to a ground covered with manna1 even the bread which the ,lord had given for his people to eat2 where he that gathered much had nothing over1 and he that gathered little had no lack4 ,they gathered every man according to his eating4 ,they came to it as to a treasure-house of ,scriptures2 each visitant taking what was precious and leaving as precious for others2--,yea1 more1 says our worthy old ,church-historian1 ,fuller1 where the same man at several times may in his apprehension prefer several ,scriptures as best1 formerly most affected with one place1 for the present more delighted with another1 and afterwards1 conceiving comfort therein not so clear1 choose other places as more pregnant and pertinent to his purpose4 ,thus ,god orders it1 that divers men1 7and perhaps the same man at divers times7 make use of all his gifts1 gleaning and gathering comfort1 as it is scattered through the whole field of the ,scripture4 ,farewell4 #ahj ,it is remarkable that both parties might appeal to the same text of ,st4 ,paul1-- 1 4 4 7#b ,tim4 iii4 #af71 which favours the one or the other opinion accordingly as the words are construed2 and which1 again1 is the more probable construction1 depends in great measure on the preference given to one or other of two different readings1 the one having and the other omitting the conjunction copulative 4 ,the ,english version is3--,all ,scripture is given by inspiration of ,god1 and is profitable1 c4 ,and in this rendering of the original the ,english is countenanced by the established ,version of the ,dutch ,reformed ,church3--,alle de ,schrift is van ,godt ingegeven1 ende is nuttigh1 c4 ,and by ,diodati3--,tutta la ,scrittura divinamente inspirata1 e utile1 c4 ,and by ,martin3--,toute l',ecriture est divinement inspire1 et profitable1 c4 ,and by ,beza3--,tota ,scriptura divinitus est inspirata1 et utilis1 c4 ,the other rendering is supported by the ,vulgate3--,omnis ,scriptura1 divinitus inspirata1 utilis est ad1 c4 ,by ,luther3--,denn alle ,schrift von ,gott eingegeben1 ist ntse zur1 c4 ,and by ,calmet3--,toute l',ecriture1 qui est inspire de ,dieu1 est utile1 c4 ,and by the common ,spanish translation3--,toda ,escritura1 divinamente inspirada1 es util para ensear1 c4 ,this is also the rendering of the ,syriac 7,pesch47 and two ,arabic ,versions1 and is followed by ,clement of ,alexandria1 ,origen1 and most of the ,fathers4 ,see the note in ,griesbach4 ,tertullian represents the sense thus3--,legimus1 ,omnem ,scripturam1 dificationi habilem1 divinitus inspirari4 ,de ,habit4 ,mul4 c4 iii4 ,origen has it several times1 1 1 and once as in the received text4--,h4 ,n4 ,c4 ,,letter ,,vii4 ,you are now1 my dear ,friend1 in possession of my whole mind on this point1--one thing only excepted which has weighed with me more than all the rest1 and which ,i have therefore reserved for my concluding ,letter4 ,this is the impelling principle1 or way of thinking1 which ,i have in most instances noticed in the assertors of what ,i have ventured to call ,bibliolatry1 and which ,i believe to be the main ground of its prevalence at this time1 and among men whose religious views are any thing rather than enthusiastic4 ,and ,i here take occasion to declare1 that my conviction of the danger and injury of this principle was and is my chief motive for bringing the ,doctrine itself into question2--the main error of which consists in the confounding of two distinct conceptions1 revelation by the ,eternal ,word1 and actuation of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,the former indeed is not always or necessarily united with the latter--the prophecy of ,balaam is an instance of the contrary1--but yet being ordinarily1 and only not always1 so united1 the term1 ,inspiration1 has acquired a double sense4 ,first1 the term is used in the sense of ,information miraculously communicated by voice or vision2 and secondly1 where without any sensible addition or infusion1 the writer or speaker uses and applies his existing gifts of power and knowledge under the predisposing1 aiding1 and directing actuation of ,god's ,holy ,spirit4 ,now--between the first sense1 that is1 inspired revelation1 and the highest degree of that grace and communion with the ,spirit1 which the ,church under all circumstances1 and every regenerate member of the ,church of ,christ1 is permitted to hope1 and instructed to pray1 for--there is a positive difference of kind1--a chasm1 the pretended overleaping of which constitutes imposture1 or betrays insanity4 ,of the first kind are the ,law and the ,prophets1 no jot or tittle of which can pass unfulfilled1 and the substance and last interpretation of which passes not away2 for they wrote of ,christ1 and shadowed out the everlasting ,gospel4 ,but with regard to the second1 neither the holy writers--the so called ,hagiographi--themselves1 nor any fair interpretations of ,scripture1 assert any such absolute diversity1 or enjoin the belief of any greater difference of degree1 than the experience of the ,christian ,world1 grounded on1 and growing with1 the comparison of these ,scriptures with other works holden in honour by the ,churches1 has established4 ,and this difference ,i admit2 and doubt not that it has in every generation been rendered evident to as many as read these ,scriptures under the gracious influence of the spirit in which they were written4 ,but alas6 this is not sufficient2 this cannot but be vague and unsufficing to those1 with whom the ,christian religion is wholly objective1 to the exclusion of all its correspondent subjective4 ,it must appear vague1 ,i say1 to those whose ,christianity1 as matter of belief1 is wholly external1 and1 like the objects of sense1 common to all alike2--altogether historical1 an opus operatum1--its existing and present operancy in no respect differing from any other fact of history1 and not at all modified by the supernatural principle in which it had its origin in time4 ,divines of this persuasion are actually1 though without their own knowledge1 in a state not dissimilar to that1 into which the ,latin ,church sank deeper and deeper from the sixth to the fourteenth century2 during which time religion was likewise merely objective and superstitious1--a letter proudly emblazoned and illuminated1 but yet a dead letter that was to be read by its own outward glories without the light of the ,spirit in the mind of the believer4 ,the consequence was too glaring not to be anticipated1 and1 if possible1 prevented4 ,without that spirit in each true believer1 whereby we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error in all things appertaining to salvation1 the consequence must be--,so many men1 so many minds6--,and what was the antidote which the ,priests and ,rabbis of this purely objective ,faith opposed to this peril8--,why1 an objective1 outward ,infallibility2 concerning which1 however1 the differences were scarcely less or fewer than those which it was to heal2--an ,infallibility1 which1 taken literally and unqualified1 became the source of perplexity to the well-disposed1 of unbelief to the wavering1 and of scoff and triumph to the common enemy2--and which was1 therefore1 to be qualified and limited1 and then it meant so much and so little1 that to men of plain understandings and single hearts it meant nothing at all4 ,it resided here4 ,no6 there4 ,no6 but in a third subject4 ,nay6 neither here1 nor there1 nor in the third1 but in all three conjointly6 ,but even this failed to satisfy2 and what was the final resource1--the doctrine of those who would not be called a ,protestant ,church1 but in which doctrine the ,fathers of ,protestantism in ,england would have found little other fault1 than that it might be affirmed as truly of the decisions of any other ,bishop as of the ,bishop of ,rome8 ,the final resource was to restore what ought never to have been removed--the correspondent subjective1 that is1 the assent and confirmation of the ,spirit promised to all true believers1 as proved and manifested in the reception of such decision by the ,church ,universal in all its rightful members4 ,i comprise and conclude the sum of my conviction in this one sentence4 ,revealed ,religion 7and ,i know of no religion not revealed7 is in its highest contemplation the unity1 that is1 the identity or co-inherence1 of ,subjective and ,objective4 ,it is in itself1 and irrelatively1 at once inward ,life and ,truth1 and outward ,fact and ,luminary4 ,but as all ,power manifests itself in the harmony of correspondent ,opposites1 each supposing and supporting the other1--so has religion its objective1 or historic and ecclesiastical pole1 and its subjective1 or spiritual and individual pole4 ,in the miracles1 and miraculous parts of religion--both in the first communication of divine truths1 and in the promulgation of the truths thus communicated--we have the union of the two1 that is1 the subjective and supernatural displayed objectively--outwardly and phenomenally--as subjective and supernatural4 ,lastly1 in the ,scriptures1 as far as they are not included in the above as miracles1 and in the mind of the believing and regenerate ,reader and ,meditater1 there is proved to us the reciprocity1 or reciprocation1 of the ,spirit as subjective and objective1 which in conformity with the ,scheme proposed by me1 in aid of distinct conception and easy recollection1 ,i have named the ,indifference4#aha ,what ,i mean by this1 a familiar acquaintance with the more popular parts of ,luther's ,works1 especially his ,commentaries1 and the delightful volume of his ,table ,talk1 would interpret for me better than ,i can do for myself4 ,but ,i do my best1 when ,i say that no ,christian probationer1 who is earnestly working out his salvation1 and experiences the conflict of the spirit with the evil and the infirmity within him and around him1 can find his own state brought before him and1 as it were1 antedated1 in writings reverend even for their antiquity and enduring permanence1 and far more1 and more abundantly1 consecrated by the reverence1 love1 and grateful testimonies of good men through the long succession of ages1 in every generation1 and under all states of minds and circumstances of fortune1--that no man1 ,i say1 can recognize his own inward experiences in such ,writings1 and not find an objectiveness1 a confirming and assuring outwardness1 and all the main characters of reality1 reflected therefrom on the spirit1 working in himself and in his own thoughts1 emotions1 and aspirations--warring against sin1 and the motions of sin4 ,the unsubstantial1 insulated ,self passes away as a stream2 but these are the shadows and reflections of the ,rock of ,ages1 and of the ,tree of ,life that starts forth from its side4 ,on the other hand1 as much of reality1 as much of objective truth1 as the ,scriptures communicate to the subjective experiences of the ,believer1 so much of present life1 of living and effective import1 do these experiences give to the letter of these ,scriptures4 ,in the one the ,spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit1 that we have received the spirit of adoption2 in the other our spirit bears witness to the power of the ,word1 that it is indeed the ,spirit that proceedeth from ,god4 ,if in the holy men thus actuated all imperfection of knowledge1 all participation in the mistakes and limits of their several ages had been excluded1 how could these ,writings be or become the history and example1 the echo and more lustrous image of the work and warfare of the sanctifying ,principle in us8--,if after all this1 and in spite of all this1 some captious litigator should lay hold of a text here or there--,st4 ,paul's cloak left at ,troas with ,carpus1 or a verse from the ,canticles1 and ask3 ,of what spiritual use is this8--the answer is ready3--,it proves to us that nothing can be so trifling as not to supply an evil heart with a pretext for unbelief4 ,archbishop ,leighton has observed that the ,church has its extensive and intensive states1 and that they seldom fall together4 ,certain it is1 that since kings have been her nursing fathers1 and queens her nursing mothers1 our theologians seem to act in the spirit of fear rather than in that of faith2 and too often instead of inquiring after the ,truth in the confidence1 that whatever is truth must be fruitful of good to all who are in ,him that is true1 they seek with vain precautions to guard against the possible inferences which perverse and distempered minds may pretend1 whose whole ,christianity1--do what we will--is and will remain nothing but a ,pretence4 ,you have now my entire mind on this momentous ,question1 the grounds on which it rests1 and the motives which induce me to make it known2 and ,i now conclude by repeating my request--,correct me1 or confirm me4 ,farewell4#ahb #aha ,the ,papacy elevated the ,church to the virtual exclusion or suppression of the ,scriptures2 the modern ,church of ,england1 since ,chillingworth1 has so raised up the ,scriptures as to annul the ,church2 both alike have quenched the ,holy ,spirit1 as the mesothesis or indifference of the two1 and substituted an alien compound for the genuine ,preacher1 who should be the synthesis of the ,scriptures and the ,church1 and the sensible voice of the ,holy ,spirit4--,lit4 ,rem4 v4 iii4 p4 #ic1 ,notes on ,donne4--,h4 ,n4 ,c4 ,see also p4 #bhh1 ante4--,,ed4 #ahb ,mr4 ,h4 ,n4 ,coleridge had the following note on ,coleridge's liking for proselytizing1 in the first edition of the ',table ,talk'1 #ahce1 under the date ,april #ad1 #ahcj3--,mr4 ,c4 once told me that he had for a long time been amusing himself with a clandestine attempt upon the faith of three or four persons1 whom he was in the habit of seeing occasionally4 ,i think he was undermining1 at the time he mentioned this to me1 a ,jew1 a ,swedenborgian1 a ,roman ,catholic1 and a ,new ,jerusalemite1 or whatsoever other name the members of that somewhat small1 but very respectable1 church1 planted in the neighbourhood of ,lincoln's ,inn ,fields1 delight to be known4 ,he said he had made most way with the disciple of ,swedenborg1 who might be considered as a convert1 that he had perplexed the ,jew1 and had put the ,roman ,catholic into a bad humour2 but that upon the ,new ,jerusalemite he had made no more impression than if he had been arguing with the man in the moon4 ,this note was suppressed by the after-coming editors1 ,sarah and ,derwent ,coleridge4--,,ed4 ,,an ,,essay ,,on ,,faith2 ,,notes ,,on ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,common ,,prayer2 ,,and ,a ,,nightly ,,prayer4 ,,by ,,samuel ,,taylor ,,coleridge4 7,,reprinted ,,from ,,his ,,literary ,,remains47 ,the following ',essay on ,faith' and ',notes on the ,book of ,common ,prayer' are reprinted from the ',literary ,remains1' edited by ,henry ,nelson ,coleridge1 and published in #ahch-i as possibly being portions of the uncompleted ,supplementary volume to ',aids to ,reflection' spoken of by ,s4 ,t4 ,coleridge in the latter work3 see p4 #beg ante4 ,they are otherwise fairly supplementary of the two works which constitute the bulk of the present volume4 ,the beautiful ',nightly ,prayer' is added 7also from the ',literary ,remains'7 as a suitable conclusion to a volume so much devoted to setting forth the author's faith in1 and views concerning1 ,religion1 the ,bible1 and ,christianity4 ,in the latter connexion1 too1 the dates appended by the author 7apparently7 to the ',notes on the ,book of ,common ,prayer1' in two places1 pp4 #ceb1 #ceh1 and to the ',nightly ,prayer1' p4 #cei1 have considerable biographical interest4--,,ed4 ,,essay ,,on ,,faith ,faith may be defined as fidelity to our own being--so far as such being is not and cannot become an object of the senses2 and hence1 by clear inference or implication1 to being generally1 as far as the same is not the object of the senses3 and again to whatever is affirmed or understood as the condition1 or concomitant1 or consequence of the same4 ,this will be best explained by an instance or example4 ,that ,i am conscious of something within me peremptorily commanding me to do unto others as ,i would they should do unto me2--in other words1 a categorical 7that is1 primary and unconditional7 imperative2--that the maxim 7regula maxima1 or supreme rule7 of my actions1 both inward and outward1 should be such as ,i could1 without any contradiction arising therefrom1 will to be the law of all moral and rational beings2--this1 ,i say1 is a fact of which ,i am no less conscious 7though in a different way71 nor less assured1 than ,i am of any appearance presented by my outward senses4 ,nor is this all2 but in the very act of being conscious of this in my own nature1 ,i know that it is a fact of which all men either are or ought to be conscious2--a fact1 the ignorance of which constitutes either the non-personality of the ignorant1 or the guilt1 in which latter case the ignorance is equivalent to knowledge wilfully darkened4 ,i know that ,i possess this knowledge as a man1 and not as ,samuel ,taylor ,coleridge2 hence1 knowing that consciousness of this fact is the root of all other consciousness1 and the only practical contradistinction of man from the brutes1 we name it the conscience2 by the natural absence or presumed presence of which1 the law1 both divine and human1 determines whether ,x ,y ,z be a thing or a person3--the conscience being that which never to have had places the objects in the same order of things as the brutes1 for example1 idiots2 and to have lost which implies either insanity or apostasy4 ,well1 this we have affirmed is a fact of which every honest man is as fully assured as of his seeing1 hearing1 or smelling4 ,but though the former assurance does not differ from the latter in the degree1 it is altogether diverse in the kind2 the senses being morally passive1 while the conscience is essentially connected with the will1 though not always1 nor1 indeed1 in any case1 except after frequent attempts and aversions of will1 dependent on the choice4 ,thence we call the presentations of the senses impressions1 those of the conscience commands or dictates4 ,in the senses we find our receptivity1 and as far as our personal being is concerned1 we are passive2--but in the fact of the conscience we are not only agents1 but it is by this alone that we know ourselves to be such2 nay1 that our very passiveness in this latter is an act of passiveness1 and that we are patient 7patientes7--not1 as in the other case1 simply passive4 ,the result is1 the consciousness of responsibility2 and the proof is afforded by the inward experience of the diversity between regret and remorse4 ,if ,i have sound ears1 and my companion speaks to me with a due proportion of voice1 ,i may persuade him that ,i did not hear1 but cannot deceive myself4 ,but when my conscience speaks to me1 ,i can1 by repeated efforts1 render myself finally insensible2 to which add this other difference1 namely1 that to make myself deaf is one and the same thing with making my conscience dumb1 till at length ,i became unconscious of my conscience4 ,frequent are the instances in which it is suspended1 and1 as it were1 drowned in the inundation of the appetites1 passions1 and imaginations1 to which ,i have resigned myself1 making use of my will in order to abandon my free-will2 and there are not1 ,i fear1 examples wanting of the conscience being utterly destroyed1 or of the passage of wickedness into madness2--that species of madness1 namely1 in which the reason is lost4 ,for so long as the reason continues1 so long must the conscience exist1 either as a good conscience or as a bad conscience4 ,it appears then1 that even the very first step1 that the initiation of the process1 the becoming conscious of a conscience1 partakes of the nature of an act4 ,it is an act in and by which we take upon ourselves an allegiance1 and consequently the obligation of fealty2 and this fealty or fidelity implying the power of being unfaithful1 it is the first and fundamental sense of ,faith4 ,it is likewise the commencement of experience1 and the result of all other experience4 ,in other words1 conscience1 in this its simplest form1 must be supposed in order to consciousness1 that is1 to human consciousness4 ,brutes may be1 and are1 scious1 but those beings only1 who have an ,i1 scire possunt hoc vel illud una cum seipsis2 that is1 conscire vel scire aliquid mecum1 or to know a thing in relation to myself1 and in the act of knowing myself as acted upon by that something4 ,now the third person could never have been distinguished from the first but by means of the second4 ,there can be no ,he without a previous ,thou4 ,much less could an ,i exist for us1 except as it exists during the suspension of the will1 as in dreams2 and the nature of brutes may be best understood by considering them as somnambulists4 ,this is a deep meditation1 though the position is capable of the strictest proof1--namely1 that there can be no ,i without a ,thou1 and that a ,thou is only possible by an equation in which ,i is taken as equal to ,thou1 and yet not the same4 ,and this1 again1 is only possible by putting them in opposition as correspondent opposites1 or correlatives4 ,in order to this1 a something must be affirmed in the one1 which is rejected in the other1 and this something is the will4 ,i do not will to consider myself as equal to myself1 for in the very act of constructing myself ,i1 ,i take it as the same1 and therefore as incapable of comparison1 that is1 of any application of the will4 ,if then1 ,i minus the will be the thesis2#ahc ,thou plus will must be the antithesis1 but the equation of ,thou with ,i1 by means of a free act1 negativing the sameness in order to establish the equality1 is the true definition of conscience4 ,but as without a ,thou there can be no ,you1 so without a ,you no ,they1 ,these1 or ,those2 and as all these conjointly form the materials and subjects of consciousness1 and the conditions of experience1 it is evident that conscience is the root of all consciousness1-- fortiori1 the precondition of all experience1--and that the conscience cannot have been in its first revelation deduced from experience4 ,soon1 however1 experience comes into play4 ,we learn that there are other impulses beside the dictates of conscience2 that there are powers within us and without us ready to usurp the throne of conscience1 and busy in tempting us to transfer our allegiance4 ,we learn that there are many things contrary to conscience1 and therefore to be rejected and utterly excluded1 and many that can coexist with its supremacy only by being subjugated1 as beasts of burthen2 and others1 again1 as1 for instance1 the social tendernesses and affections1 and the faculties and excitations of the intellect1 which must be at least subordinated4 ,the preservation of our loyalty and fealty under these trials1 and against these rivals1 constitutes the second sense of ,faith2 and we shall need but one more point of view to complete its full import4 ,this is the consideration of what is presupposed in the human conscience4 ,the answer is ready4 ,as in the equation of the correlative ,i and ,thou1 one of the twin constituents is to be taken as plus will1 the other as minus will1 so is it here3 and it is obvious that the reason or super-individual of each man1 whereby he is a man1 is the factor we are to take as minus will2 and that the individual will or personalizing principle of free agency 7arbitrement is ,milton's word7 is the factor marked plus will2--and1 again1 that as the identity or coinherence of the absolute will and the reason1 is the peculiar character of ,god2 so is the synthesis of the individual will and the common reason1 by the subordination of the former to the latter1 the only possible likeness or image of the prothesis1 or identity1 and therefore the required proper character of man4 ,conscience1 then1 is a witness respecting the identity of the will and the reason effected by the self-subordination of the will1 or self1 to the reason1 as equal to1 or representing1 the will of ,god4 ,but the personal will is a factor in other moral syntheses2 for example1 appetite plus personal will sensuality2 lust of power1 plus personal will1 ambition1 and so on1 equally as in the synthesis1 on which the conscience is grounded4 ,not this1 therefore1 but the other synthesis1 must supply the specific character of the conscience2 and we must enter into an analysis of reason4 ,such as the nature and objects of the reason are1 such must be the functions and objects of the conscience4 ,and the former we shall best learn by recapitulating those constituents of the total man which are either contrary to1 or disparate from1 the reason4 ,i4 ,reason1 and the proper objects of reason1 are wholly alien from sensation4 ,reason is supersensual1 and its antagonist is appetite1 and the objects of appetite the lust of the flesh4 ,,ii4 ,reason and its objects do not appertain to the world of the senses1 inward or outward2 that is1 they partake not of sense or fancy4 ,reason is super-sensuous1 and here its antagonist is the lust of the eye4 ,,iii4 ,reason and its objects are not things of reflection1 association1 discursion1 discourse in the old sense of the word as opposed to intuition2 discursive or intuitive1 as ,milton has it4 ,reason does not indeed necessarily exclude the finite1 either in time or in space1 but it includes them eminenter4 ,thus the prime mover of the material universe is affirmed to contain all motion as its cause1 but not to be1 or to suffer1 motion in itself4 ,reason is not the faculty of the finite4 ,but here ,i must premise the following4 ,the faculty of the finite is that which reduces the confused impressions of sense to their essential forms1--quantity1 quality1 relation1 and in these action and reaction1 cause and effect1 and the like2 thus raises the materials furnished by the senses and sensations into objects of reflection1 and so makes experience possible4 ,without it1 man's representative powers would be a delirium1 a chaos1 a scudding cloudage of shapes2 and it is therefore most appropriately called the understanding1 or substantiative faculty4 ,our elder metaphysicians1 down to ,hobbes inclusively1 called this likewise discourse1 discursus1 discursio1 from its mode of action as not staying at any one object1 but running1 as it were1 to and fro to abstract1 generalize1 and classify4 ,now when this faculty is employed in the service of the pure reason1 it brings out the necessary and universal truths contained in the infinite into distinct contemplation by the pure act of the sensuous imagination1 that is1 in the production of the forms of space and time abstracted from all corporeity1 and likewise of the inherent forms of the understanding itself abstractedly from the consideration of particulars1 as in the case of geometry1 numeral mathematics1 universal logic1 and pure metaphysics4 ,the discursive faculty then becomes what our ,shakespeare1 with happy precision1 calls discourse of reason4 ,we will now take up our reasoning again from the words motion in itself4 ,it is evident1 then1 that the reason as the irradiative power1 and the representative of the infinite1 judges the understanding as the faculty of the finite1 and cannot without error be judged by it4 ,when this is attempted1 or when the understanding in its synthesis with the personal will1 usurps the supremacy of the reason1 or affects to supersede the reason1 it is then what ,st4 ,paul calls the mind of the flesh 7 71 or the wisdom of this world4 ,the result is1 that the reason is super-finite2 and in this relation1 its antagonist is the insubordinate understanding1 or mind of the flesh4 ,,iv4 ,reason1 as one with the absolute will 7,in the beginning was the ,logos1 and the ,logos was with ,god1 and the ,logos was ,god71 and therefore for man the certain representative of the will of ,god1 is above the will of man as an individual will4 ,we have seen in ,,iii4 that it stands in antagonism to all mere particulars2 but here it stands in antagonism to all mere individual interests as so many selves1 to the personal will as seeking its objects in the manifestation of itself for itself--sit pro ratione voluntas2--whether this be realized with adjuncts1 as in the lust of the flesh1 and in the lust of the eye2 or without adjuncts1 as in the thirst and pride of power1 despotism1 egoistic ambition4 ,the fourth antagonist1 then1 of reason1 is the lust of the will4 ,corollary4 ,unlike a million of tigers1 a million of men is very different from a million times one man4 ,each man in a numerous society is not only coexistent with1 but virtually organized into1 the multitude of which he is an integral part4 ,his idem is modified by the alter4 ,and there arise impulses and objects from this synthesis of the alter et idem1 myself and my neighbour4 ,this1 again1 is strictly analogous to what takes places in the vital organization of the individual man4 ,the cerebral system of the nerves has its correspondent antithesis in the abdominal system3 but hence arises a synthesis of the two in the pectoral system as the intermediate1 and1 like a drawbridge1 at once conductor and boundary4 ,in the latter1 as objectized by the former1 arise the emotions1 affections1 and1 in one word1 the passions1 as distinguished from the cognitions and appetites4 ,now1 the reason has been shown to be super-individual1 generally1 and therefore not less so when the form of an individualization subsists in the alter1 than when it is confined to the idem2 not less when the emotions have their conscious or believed object in another1 than when their subject is the individual personal self4 ,for though these emotions1 affections1 attachments1 and the like1 are the prepared ladder by which the lower nature is taken up into1 and made to partake of1 the highest room1--as we are taught to give a feeling of reality to the higher per medium commune with the lower1 and thus gradually to see the reality of the higher 7namely1 the objects of reason71 and finally to know that the latter are indeed1 and pre-eminently real1 as if you love your earthly parents whom you see1 by these means you will learn to love your ,heavenly ,father who is invisible2--yet this holds good only so far as the reason is the president1 and its objects the ultimate aim2 and cases may arise in which the ,christ as the ,logos1 or ,redemptive ,reason1 declares1 ,he that loves father or mother more than me1 is not worthy of me2 nay1 he that can permit his emotions to rise to an equality with the universal reason1 is in enmity with that reason4 ,here1 then1 reason appears as the love of ,god2 and its antagonist is the attachment to individuals wherever it exists in diminution of1 or in competition with1 the love which is reason4 ,in these five paragraphs ,i have enumerated and explained the several powers or forces belonging or incidental to human nature1 which in all matters of reason the man is bound either to subjugate or subordinate to reason4 ,the application to ,faith follows of its own accord4 ,the first or most indefinite sense of faith is fidelity3 then fidelity under previous contract or particular moral obligation4 ,in this sense faith is fealty to a rightful superior3 faith is the duty of a faithful subject to a rightful governor4 ,then it is allegiance in active service2 fidelity to the liege lord under circumstances1 and amid the temptations of usurpation1 rebellion1 and intestine discord4 ,next we seek for that rightful superior on our duties to whom all our duties to all other superiors1 on our faithfulness to whom all our bounden relations to all other objects of fidelity1 are founded4 ,we must inquire after that duty in which all others find their several degrees and dignities1 and from which they derive their obligative force4 ,we are to find a superior1 whose rights1 including our duties1 are presented to the mind in the very idea of that ,supreme ,being1 whose sovereign prerogatives are predicates implied in the subjects1 as the essential properties of a circle are co-assumed in the first assumption of a circle1 consequently underived1 unconditional1 and as rationally unsusceptible1 so probably prohibitive1 of all further question4 ,in this sense1 then1 faith is fidelity1 fealty1 allegiance of the moral nature to ,god1 in opposition to all usurpation1 and in resistance to all temptation to the placing any other claim above or equal with our fidelity to ,god4 ,the will of ,god is the last ground and final aim of all our duties1 and to that the whole man is to be harmonized by subordination1 subjugation1 or suppression alike in commission and omission4 ,but the will of ,god1 which is one with the supreme intelligence1 is revealed to man through the conscience4 ,but the conscience1 which consists in an inappellable bearing-witness to the truth and reality of our reason1 may legitimately be construed with the term reason1 so far as the conscience is prescriptive2 while as approving or condemning1 it is the consciousness of the subordination or insubordination1 the harmony or discord1 of the personal will of man to and with the representative of the will of ,god4 ,this brings me to the last and fullest sense of ,faith1 that is1 the obedience of the individual will to the reason1 in the lust of the flesh as opposed to the supersensual2 in the lust of the eye as opposed to the supersensuous2 in the pride of the understanding as opposed to the infinite2 in the in contrariety to the spiritual truth2 in the lust of the personal will as opposed to the absolute and universal2 and in the love of the creature1 as far as it is opposed to the love which is one with the reason1 namely1 the love of ,god4 ,thus1 then1 to conclude4 ,faith subsists in the synthesis of the ,reason and the individual ,will4 ,by virtue of the latter1 therefore1 it must be an energy1 and1 inasmuch as it relates to the whole moral man1 it must be exerted in each and all of his constituents or incidents1 faculties and tendencies2--it must be a total1 not a partial--a continuous1 not a desultory or occasional--energy4 ,and by virtue of the former1 that is1 ,reason1 ,faith must be a ,light1 a form of knowing1 a beholding of ,truth4 ,in the incomparable words of the ,evangelist1 therefore1--,faith must be a ,light originating in the ,logos1 or the substantial ,reason1 which is co-eternal and one with the ,holy ,will1 and which ,light is at the same time the ,life of men4 ,now1 as ,life is here the sum or collective of all moral and spiritual acts1 in suffering1 doing1 and being1 so is ,faith the source and the sum1 the energy and the principle of the fidelity of ,man to ,god1 by the subordination of his human ,will1 in all provinces of his nature1 to his ,reason1 as the sum of spiritual ,truth1 representing and manifesting the ,will ,divine4 #ahc ,there are four kinds of ,theses1 1 puttings or placings4 #a4 ,prothesis4 #b4 ,thesis4 #c4 ,antithesis4 #d4 ,synthesis4 ,a and ,b are said to be thesis and antithesis1 when if ,a be the thesis1 ,b is the antithesis to ,a1 and if ,b be made the thesis1 then ,a becomes the antithesis4 ,thus making me the thesis1 you are thou to me1 but making you the thesis1 ,i become thou to you4 ,synthesis is a putting together of the two1 so that a third something is generated4 ,thus the synthesis of hydrogen and oxygen is water1 a third something1 neither hydrogen nor oxygen4 ,but the blade of a knife and its handle when put together do not form a synthesis1 but still remain a blade and a handle4 ,and as a synthesis is a unity that results from the union of two things1 so a prothesis is a primary unity that gives itself forth into two things4 ,,notes ,,on ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,common ,,prayer4 ,,prayer4 ,a man may pray night and day1 and yet deceive himself2 but no man can be assured of his sincerity1 who does not pray4 ,prayer is faith passing into act2 a union of the will and the intellect realizing in an intellectual act4 ,it is the whole man that prays4 ,less than this is wishing1 or lip-work2 a charm or a mummery4 ,pray always1 says the ,apostle2--that is1 have the habit of prayer1 turning your thoughts into acts by connecting them with the idea of the redeeming ,god1 and even so reconverting your actions into thoughts4 ,,the ,,sacrament ,,of ,,the ,,eucharist4 ,the best preparation for taking this sacrament1 better than any or all of the books or tracts composed for this end1 is1 to read over and over again1 and often on your knees--at all events with a kneeling and praying heart--the ,gospel according to ,st4 ,john1 till your mind is familiarized to the contemplation of ,christ1 the ,redeemer and ,mediator of mankind1 yea1 of every creature1 as the living and self-subsisting ,word1 the very truth of all true being1 and the very being of all enduring truth2 the reality1 which is the substance and unity of all reality2 the light which lighteth every man1 so that what we call reason1 is itself a light from that light1 lumen a luce1 as the ,latin more distinctly expresses this fact4 ,but it is not merely light1 but therein is life2 and it is the life of ,christ1 the co-eternal ,son of ,god1 that is the only true life-giving light of men4 ,we are assured1 and we believe1 that ,christ is ,god2 ,god manifested in the flesh4 ,as ,god1 he must be present entire in every creature2--7for how can ,god1 or indeed any spirit1 exist in parts87--but he is said to dwell in the regenerate1 to come to them who receive him by faith in his name1 that is1 in his power and influence2 for this is the meaning of the word name in ,scripture when applied to ,god or his ,christ4 ,where true belief exists1 ,christ is not only present with or among us2--for so he is in every man1 even the most wicked2--but to us and for us4 ,that was the true light1 which lighteth every man that cometh into the world4 ,he was in the world1 and the world was made by him1 and the world knew him not4 ,but as many as received him1 to them gave he power to become the sons of ,god1 even to them that believe in his name2 which were born1 not of blood1 nor of the will of the flesh1 nor of the will of man1 but of ,god4 ,and the ,word was made flesh1 and dwelt among us4 ,john i4 #i-ad4 ,again--,we will come unto him1 and make our abode with him4 ,john xiv4 #bc4 ,as truly and as really as your soul resides constitutively in your living body1 personally1 and substantially does ,christ dwell in every regenerate man4 ,after this course of study1 you may then take up and peruse sentence by sentence the communion service1 the best of all comments on the ,scriptures appertaining to this mystery4 ,and this is the preparation which will prove1 with ,god's grace1 the surest preventive of1 or antidote against1 the freezing poison1 the lethargizing hemlock1 of the doctrine of the ,sacramentaries1 according to whom the ,eucharist is a mere practical metaphor1 in which things are employed instead of articulated sounds for the exclusive purpose of recalling to our minds the historical fact of our ,lord's crucifixion2 in short--7the profaneness is with them1 not with me7--just the same as when ,protestants drink a glass of wine to the glorious memory of ,william ,,iii46 ,true it is1 that the remembrance is one end of the sacrament2 but it is1 ,do this in remembrance of me1--of all that ,christ was and is1 hath done and is still doing for fallen mankind1 and1 of course1 of his crucifixion inclusively1 but not of his crucifixion alone4 #ad ,december1 #ahbg4 ,,companion ,,to ,,the ,,altar4 ,first1 then1 that we may come to this heavenly feast holy1 and adorned with the wedding garment1 ,matt4 xxii4 #aa1 we must search our hearts1 and examine our consciences1 not only till we see our sins1 but until we hate them4 ,but what if a man1 seeing his sin1 earnestly desire to hate it8 ,shall he not at the altar offer up at once his desire1 and the yet lingering sin1 and seek for strength8 ,is not this sacrament medicine as well as food8 ,is it an end only1 and not likewise the means8 ,is it merely the triumphal feast2 or is it not even more truly a blessed refreshment for and during the conflict8 ,this confession of sins must not be in general terms only1 that we are sinners with the rest of mankind1 but it must be a special declaration to ,god of all our most heinous sins in thought1 word1 and deed4 ,luther was of a different judgment4 ,he would have us feel and groan under our sinfulness and utter incapability of redeeming ourselves from the bondage1 rather than hazard the pollution of our imaginations by a recapitulation and renewing of sins and their images in detail4 ,do not1 he says1 stand picking the flaws out one by one1 but plunge into the river1 and drown them6--,i venture to be of ,luther's doctrine4 ,,communion ,,service4 ,in the first ,exhortation1 before the words meritorious ,cross and ,passion1 ,i should propose to insert his assumption of humanity1 his incarnation1 and4 ,likewise1 a little lower down1 after the word sustenance1 ,i would insert as4 ,for not in that sacrament exclusively1 but in all the acts of assimilative faith1 of which the ,eucharist is a solemn1 eminent1 and representative instance1 an instance and the symbol1 ,christ is our spiritual food and sustenance4 ,,marriage ,,service4 ,marriage1 simply as marriage1 is not the means for the procreation of children1 but for the humanization of the offspring procreated4 ,therefore1 in the ,declaration at the beginning1 after the words1 procreation of children1 ,i would insert1 and as the means of securing to the children procreated enduring care1 and that they may be1 c4 ,,communion ,,of ,,the ,,sick4 ,third rubric at the end4 ,but if a man1 either by reason of extremity of sickness1 c4 ,i think this rubric1 in what ,i conceive to be its true meaning1 a precious doctrine1 as fully acquitting our church of all ,romish superstition1 respecting the nature of the ,eucharist1 in relation to the whole scheme of man's redemption4 ,but the latter part of it--he doth eat and drink the ,body and ,blood of our ,saviour ,christ profitably to his soul's health1 although he do not receive the sacrament with his mouth--seems to me very incautiously expressed1 and scarcely to be reconciled with the ,church's own definition of a sacrament in general4 ,for in such a case1 where is the outward and visible sign of the inward and spiritual grace given8#ahd ,,xi4 ,,sunday ,,after ,,trinity4 ,epistle4--#a ,cor4 xv4 #a4 ,brethren1 ,i declare unto you the ,gospel which ,i preached unto you4 ,why should the obsolete1 though faithful1 ,saxon translation of be retained8 ,why not good tidings8 ,why thus change a most appropriate and intelligible designation of the matter into a mere conventional name of a particular book8 ,ib4 ---- how that ,christ died for our sins4 ,but the meaning of is1 that ,christ died through the sins1 and for the sinners4 ,he died through our sins1 and we live through his righteousness4 ,gospel4--,luke xviii4 #ad4 ,this man went down to his house justified rather than the other4 ,not simply justified1 observe2 but justified rather than the other1 1--that is less remote from salvation4 ,,xxv4 ,,sunday ,,after ,,trinity4 ,collect4 ---- that they1 plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works1 may of thee be plenteously rewarded4 ,rather--that with that enlarged capacity1 which without thee we cannot acquire1 there may likewise be an increase of the gift1 which from thee alone we can wholly receive4 ,,ps4 ,,viii4 ,v4 #b4 ,out of the mouth of very babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength1 because of thine enemies2 that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger4 ,to the dispensations of the twilight dawn1 to the first messengers of the redeeming word1 the yet lisping utterers of light and life1 a strength and power were given because of the enemies1 greater and of more immediate influence1 than to the seers and proclaimers of a clearer day3--even as the first re-appearing crescent of the eclipsed moon shines for men with a keener brilliance than the following larger segments1 previously to its total emersion4 ,ib4 v4 #e4 ,thou madest him lower than the angels1 to crown him with glory and worship4 ,power idea angel4 ,idea - power man1 or ,prometheus4 ,,ps4 ,,lxviii4 ,v4 #cd4 ,ascribe ye the power to ,god over ,israel3 his worship and strength is in the clouds4 ,the clouds1 in the symbolical language of the ,scriptures1 mean the events and course of things1 seemingly effects of human will or chance1 but overruled by ,providence4 ,,ps4 ,,lxxii4 ,this psalm admits no other interpretation but of ,christ1 as the ,jehovah incarnate4 ,in any other sense it would be a specimen of more than ,persian or ,moghul hyperbole and bombast1 of which there is no other instance in ,scripture1 and which no ,christian would dare to attribute to an inspired writer4 ,we know1 too1 that the elder ,jewish ,church ranked it among the ,messianic ,psalms4 ,n4,b4 ,the ,word in ,st4 ,john and the ,name of the ,most ,high in the ,psalms are equivalent terms4 ,v4 #a4 ,give the king thy judgments1 ,o ,god2 and thy righteousness unto the king's son4 ,god of ,god1 ,light of ,light1 very ,god of very ,god1 the only begotten1 the ,son of ,god and ,god1 ,king of ,kings1 and the ,son of the ,king of ,kings6 ,,ps4 ,,lxxiv4 ,v4 #b4 ,o think upon thy congregation1 whom thou hast purchased and redeemed of old4 ,the ,lamb sacrificed from the beginning of the world1 the ,god-,man1 the ,judge1 the self-promised ,redeemer to ,adam in the garden6 ,v4 #ae4 ,thou smotest the heads of the ,leviathan in pieces2 and gavest him to be meat for the people in the wilderness4 ,does this allude to any real tradition8#ahe ,the ,psalm appears to have been composed shortly before the captivity of ,judah4 ,,ps4 ,,lxxxii4 ,,vv4 #f-g4 ,the reference which our ,lord made to these mysterious verses1 gives them an especial interest4 ,the first apostasy1 the fall of the angels1 is1 perhaps1 intimated4 ,,ps4 ,,lxxxvii4 ,i would fain understand this ,psalm2 but first ,i must collate it word by word with the original ,hebrew4 ,it seems clearly ,messianic4 ,,ps4 ,,lxxxviii4 ,vv4 #aj-ab4 ,dost thou show wonders among the dead1 or shall the dead rise up again and praise thee8 c4 ,compare ,ezekiel1 xxxvii4 ,,ps4 ,,civ4 ,i think the ,bible version might with advantage be substituted for this1 which in some parts is scarcely intelligible4 ,v4 #f--the waters stand in the hills4 ,no2 stood above the mountains4 ,the reference is to the ,deluge4 ,,ps4 ,,cv4 ,v4 #c4 ,let the heart of them rejoice that seek the ,lord4 ,if even to seek the ,lord be joy1 what will it be to find him8 ,seek me1 ,o ,lord1 that ,i may be found by thee6 ,,ps4 ,,cx4 ,v4 #b4 ,the ,lord shall send the rod of thy power out of ,sion2 7saying7 ,rule1 c4 ,v4 #c4 ,understand--,thy people shall offer themselves willingly in the day of conflict in holy clothing1 in their best array1 in their best arms and accoutrements4 ,as the dew from the womb of the morning1 in number and brightness like dew-drops2 so shall be thy youth1 or the youth of thee1 the young volunteer warriors4 ,v4 #e4 ,he shall shake1 concuss1 concutiet reges die ir su4 ,v4 #f4 ,for smite in sunder1 or wound the heads2 some word answering to the ,latin conquassare4 ,v4 #g4 ,for therefore1 translate then shall he lift up his head again2 that is1 as a man languid and sinking from thirst and fatigue after refreshment4 ,n4,b4--,i see no poetic discrepancy between vv4 #a and #e4 ,,ps4 ,,cxviii4 ,to be interpreted of ,christ's ,church4 ,,ps4 ,,cxxvi4 ,v4 #e4 ,as the rivers in the south4 ,does this allude to the periodical rains8#ahf ,as a transparency on some night of public rejoicing1 seen by common day1 with the lamps from within removed--even such would the ,psalms be to me uninterpreted by the ,gospel4 ,o honoured ,mr4 ,hurwitz6#ahg ,could ,i but make you feel what grandeur1 what magnificence1 what an everlasting significance and import ,christianity gives to every fact of your national history--to every page of your sacred records6 ,,articles ,,of ,,religion4 ,,xx4 ,it is mournful to think how many recent writers have criminated our ,church in consequence of their ignorance and inadvertence in not knowing1 or not noticing1 the contra-distinction here meant between power and authority4 ,rites and ceremonies the ,church may ordain jure proprio3 on matters of faith her judgment is to be received with reverence1 and not gainsayed but after repeated inquiries1 and on weighty grounds4 ,,xxxvii4 ,it is lawful for ,christian men1 at the commandment of the magistrate1 to wear weapons1 and to serve in wars4 ,this is a very good instance of an unseemly matter neatly wrapped up4 ,the good men recoiled from the plain words--,it is lawful for ,christian men at the command of a king to slaughter as many ,christians as they can6 ,well6 ,i could most sincerely subscribe to all these articles4 ,september1 #ahca4 #ahd ,should it occur to any one that the doctrine blamed in the text is but in accordance with that of the ,church of ,england1 in her rubric concerning spiritual communion1 annexed to the ,office for ,communion of the ,sick1 he may consider1 whether that rubric1 explained 7as1 if possible1 it must be7 in consistency with the definition of a sacrament in the ,catechism1 can be meant for any but rare and extraordinary cases2 cases as strong in regard of the ,eucharist1 as that of martyrdom1 or the premature death of a well-disposed catechumen1 in regard of ,baptism4 ,keble's ,preface to ,hooker1 p4 #he1 n4 #gj4--;,h4 ,n4 ,c4 ,it should be mentioned that the doctrine blamed in the text1 which ,keble comments upon1 is not the doctrine blamed in ,coleridge's text1 above1--or1 rather1 the text alluded to is not the text above4 ,the text alluded to by ,keble is that with which he was then dealing1 viz41 the text of ,hooker4 ,keble's edition of ,hooker's works was published in #ahcf1 two years before ,coleridge's ,literary ,remains were first published4--,,ed4 #ahe ,according to ,bishop ,home1 the allusion is to the destruction of ,pharaoh and his host in the ,red ,sea4--,h4 ,n4 ,c4 #ahf ,see ,horne in loc4 note4--,h4 ,n4 ,c4 #ahg ,see p4 #adj1 ante4 ,in addition to the ',vindiciae ,hebraicae1' there alluded to1 ,mr4 ,hyman ,hurwitz was the author of ',elements of the ,hebrew ,language1' which reached a fourth edition in #ahdh1 and other works4 ,he was ,professor of ,hebrew at the ,university of ,london1 and master of the ,hebrew ,academy at ,highgate4 ,our author's intimacy with him is indicated by the fact that on ,hurwitz publishing his ',dirge ,chaunted in the ,great ,synagogue1 ,st4 ,james's ,place1 ,aldgate1 on the ,day of the ,funeral of the ,princess ,charlotte1' #ahag1 ,coleridge added a translation in ,english4 ,the translation appears in late editions of ,coleridge's poems with the title ',israel's ,lament1' c4 ,the following also testifies to the friendship1 and likewise to ,coleridge's proficiency in ,hebrew4 ,in ,hurwitz's preface to his collection of ',hebrew ,tales1' #ahbf1 he says3--,excepting the three moral tales originally published in that valuable work1 ',the ,friend1' ',whoso ,hath ,found a ,virtuous ,wife1' c41 ',the ,lord ,helpeth ,man and ,beast1' and ',conversation of a ,philosopher with a ,rabbi3' see ,standard ,library edition1 #ahff1 pp4 #bdf-h1 so admirably translated by my friend ,mr4 ,s4 ,t4 ,coleridge1 and which are by his kind permission inserted in this collection1 c41 c4 ,see also ,h4 ,n4 ,coleridge's note to the ',table ,talk' of ,april #ad1 #ahcj4--;,,ed4 ,a ,,nightly ,,prayer4 #ahca4 ,almighty ,god1 by thy eternal ,word my ,creator ,redeemer and ,preserver6 who hast in thy free communicative goodness glorified me with the capability of knowing thee1 the one only absolute ,good1 the eternal ,i ,am1 as the author of my being1 and of desiring and seeking thee as its ultimate end2--who1 when ,i fell from thee into the mystery of the false and evil will1 didst not abandon me1 poor self-lost creature1 but in thy condescending mercy didst provide an access and a return to thyself1 even to thee the ,holy ,one1 in thine only begotten ,son1 the way and the truth from everlasting1 and who took on himself humanity1 yea1 became flesh1 even the man ,christ ,jesus1 that for man he might be the life and the resurrection6--,o ,giver of all good gifts1 who art thyself the one only absolute ,good1 from whom ,i have received whatever good ,i have1 whatever capability of good there is in me1 and from thee good alone1--from myself and my own corrupted will all evil and the consequents of evil1--with inward prostration of will1 mind1 and affections ,i adore thy infinite majesty2 ,i aspire to love thy transcendant goodness6--,in a deep sense of my unworthiness1 and my unfitness to present myself before thee1 of eyes too pure to behold iniquity1 and whose light1 the beatitude of spirits conformed to thy will1 is a consuming fire to all vanity and corruption2--but in the name of the ,lord ,jesus1 of the dear ,son of thy love1 in whose perfect obedience thou deignest to behold as many as have received the seed of ,christ into the body of this death2--,i offer this1 my bounden nightly sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving1 in humble trust1 that the fragrance of my ,saviour's righteousness may remove from it the taint of my mortal corruption4 ,thy mercies have followed me through all the hours and moments of my life2 and now ,i lift up my heart in awe and thankfulness for the preservation of my life through the past day1 for the alleviation of my bodily sufferings and languors1 for the manifold comforts which thou hast reserved for me1 yea1 in thy fatherly compassion hast rescued from the wreck of my own sins or sinful infirmities2--for the kind and affectionate friends thou hast raised up for me1 especially for those of this household1 for the mother and mistress of this family1 whose love to me hath been great and faithful1 and for the dear friend1 the supporter and sharer of my studies and researches2 but1 above all1 for the heavenly ,friend1 the crucified ,saviour1 the glorified ,mediator1 ,christ ,jesus1 and for the heavenly ,comforter1 source of all abiding comforts1 thy ,holy ,spirit6 ,o grant me the aid of thy ,spirit1 that ,i may with a deeper faith1 a more enkindled love1 bless thee1 who through thy ,son hast privileged me to call thee ,abba1 ,father6 ,o1 thou1 who has revealed thyself in thy holy word as a ,god that hearest prayer2 before whose infinitude all differences cease of great and small2 who like a tender parent foreknowest all our wants1 yet listeneth well-pleased to the humble petitions of thy children2 who hast not alone permitted1 but taught us1 to call on thee in all our needs1--earnestly ,i implore the continuance of thy free mercy1 of thy protecting providence1 through the coming night4 ,thou hearest every prayer offered to thee believingly with a penitent and sincere heart4 ,for thou in withholding grantest1 healest in inflicting the wound1 yea1 turnest all to good for as many as truly seek thee through ,christ1 the ,mediator6 ,thy will be done6 ,but if it be according to thy wise and righteous ordinances1 ,o shield me this night from the assaults of disease1 grant me refreshment of sleep unvexed by evil and distempered dreams2 and if the purpose and aspiration of my heart be upright before thee who alone knowest the heart of man1 ,o in thy mercy vouchsafe me yet in this my decay of life an interval of ease and strength2 if so 7thy grace disposing and assisting7 ,i may make compensation to thy church for the unused talents them hast entrusted to me1 for the neglected opportunities1 which thy loving-kindness had provided4 ,o let me be found a labourer in the vineyard1 though of the late hour1 when the ,lord and ,heir of the vintage1 ,christ ,jesus1 calleth for his servant4 ,our ,father1 c4 ,to thee1 great omnipresent ,spirit1 whose mercy is over all thy works1 who now beholdest me1 who hearest me1 who hast framed my heart to seek and to trust in thee1 in the name of my ,lord and ,saviour ,christ ,jesus1 ,i humbly commit and commend my body1 soul1 and spirit4 ,glory be to thee1 ,o ,god6 ,,erratum4 ,at p4 #adj1 line #bc of the foot-note1 for p4 #abc1 #abd1 read pp4 #acj-acb4 ,,index4 ,absolute ,will1 the1 #bbd1 #bbe4 ,absurd1 the1 xxxii1 #bbg4 ,act1 originating an1 #agf-g4 ,adam1 the word1 in ,genesis1 and as used by ,st4 ,paul1 #aid4 ---- and his posterity1 ,god's anger against1 #ahf4 ---- possible ,spiritual ,fall antecedent to him1 #aie4 ---- and ,eve1 assertions respecting their state1 #aid4 ,adam's ,fall1 #agb4 ---- sin1 its penalty1 death1 #ahc4 ,admiration1 love of1 #abg4 olists1 the1 #de4 ',aids to ,reflection1' the author's aims in the work1 ix1 xi1 xiii1 xv1 xix1 xxiii1 lxvi1 #ajb1 #ajc1 #bje4 ,republication of it in ,america1 xii1 xxvii4 ,importance of the work1 xxvi1 xl4 ,doctrines propounded in it1 xxvii4 ,its orthodoxy1 xxi1 lvi4 ,objections to it answered1 lxviii4 ,criticism of it anticipated1 #de1 #beh4 ,its origin1 xx1 #ajh4 ,its first edition1 ix1 xv1 xix4 ,dr4 ,marsh's essay on it1 xii1 xxiii4 ,break in the work through the author's illness1 #afj4 ,its plan1 #bjd4 ,the notes to it1 #aeb1 #bje4 ,purposed supplement to it1 #beg4 ,see also under ,reason and ,understanding1 the ,will1 c4 ,alcohol1 #ajj4 ,allegory and ,symbol in ,scripture ,interpretation1 #bab4 ,alogi1 the modern1 #bai4 ,altar1 ,companion to the1 #ceb4 ,america1 ,dr4 ,jas4 ,marsh1 a disciple of ,coleridge there1 xii4 ,amusements1 the care for1 and the neglect of study1 #aea4 ,anabaptism1 #bec4 ,analogy in the ,new ,testament1 #acf4 ,anathema ,maranatha1 #bea4 ,anatomy1 ,comparative1 xx4 ,ancient wisdom1 the treasures of1 lxxiii2 ,coleridge no contemner of them1 ib41 lxxiv4 ,animal development in the polypi1 c41 #eh4 ---- life typical of the understanding and the moral affections1 #gd4 ,antinos and ,nos1 their ,dialogue on ,mystics and ,mysticism1 #bfa4 ,antithesis1 #bbe4 ,ants and bees1 intelligence of1 ,hber1 c41 on1 #ade-adg4 ,aphorisms1 #ae4 ,apocrypha1 the1 #bie4 ,apostasy1 #cdb4 ---- possible1 antecedent to ,adam1 #aie4 ,apostolic ,church1 the1 #beg4 ,arbitrement1 the word1 #cdd4 ,argument and ,belief1 #bcd4 ,aristotle and ,locke1 #dd4 ---- and ,plato1 ideas of ,god1 #afg4 ,their philosophy and that of ,bacon1 lxvii4 ,arminianism1 or ,grotianism1 #ajg4 ,arminius1 ,bp4 ,hacket on1 #ajg4 ,arnauld's work on ,transubstantiation1 #bfj4 ,art1 ,nature and1 #afg4 ,arts1 trades1 c41 and thinking1 xix4 ,articles of the ,church of ,england1 #ceh4 ,they show the ,church as not infallible1 #beg4 ,locke's philosophy opposed to them1 xii4 ,aseity1 the divine1 #bbd4 ,astronomy1 modern1 and the ,bible1 #cab4 ,atheists1 the1 of the ,french ,revolution1 #aba4 ,atonement1 #bae1 #baf4 ---- vicarious1 #ajc4 ,attention1 thought and1 #c4 ,augustine and ,original ,sin and ,infant ,baptism1 #bdg1 #beb4 ,on ,faith and ,understanding1 xviii4 ,augustinians1 the1 #ajg4 ,authority and power1 distinction between1 #ceh4 ,author1 an1 and his readers1 xv1 xviii4 ,the worth of an author1 xvi4 ,author's1 an1 view of his own work1 #bge4 ,autobiography1 religious1 #di4 ,bacon1 ,lord1 #cag1 #cjd4 ---- his philosophy that of the divines of the ,reformation1 and opposed to that of ,locke1 lxiv1 lxvii1 while agreeing with that of ,coleridge1 lxvii4 ---- his philosophy and that of ,plato and ,aristotle1 lxvii4 ---- on ,reason and the ,understanding1 lxvii1 #adc4 ,baptism1 on1 #bdb1 #bdc1 et sq41 #bej4 ,baxter on1 #bdg4 ,differences on no ground for schism1 #bed1 #beg4 ,d',oyly and ,mant and the ,evangelicals on1 #bed4 ,edward ,irving on1 #bed-e4 ,coleridge's answer to ,irving1 ib4 ,robinson's ,history of1 #bdf4 ,wall on1 #bdg1 #bed4 ,superstitions respecting1 #bdi4 ---- of infants1 origin of1 #bdf1 #bea4 ,argument for1 #bej4 ---- and ,preaching1 #bdb4 ---- and ,redemption1 #bji4 ---- and ,regeneration1 #acf4 ---- not ,regeneration1 #bbf4 ,baptism1 ,see also ,anabaptism4 ,baptist1 conversation with a1 on infant and adult baptism1 #bdc1 et sq4 ,basil and his scholars1 #ge4 ,baxter1 on ,baptism1 #bdg4 ---- his censures of the ,papists1 quoted1 #ada4 ---- and ,howe1 religious teaching of their times1 liii4 ,beasts1 understanding in1 #add4 ,bee1 the1 #gd4 ,bees and ants1 intelligence of1 ,hber1 c41 on1 #ade-adg1 #bha4 ---- and instinct1 #bha4 ,behmen1 ,jacob1 #beh1 #bfc4 ,behmenists1 c41 #id4 ,belief1 xxxvi1 #ff1 #abb1 #abg4 ---- ground of1 xxxi1 xxxii4 ,belief1 the1 of children1 #abh4 ---- of the absurd1 impossible1 xxxii4 ---- and argument1 #bcd4 ---- and superstition1 #bhg4 ---- and truth1 #bic4 ,belsham's version of the ,testament1 #caf4 ,berkleyanism1 #bfh4 ,bernard1 ,st41 xxv4 ,bernouillis1 #bfi4 ,bible1 the1 #bic1 #bif4 ,its divine origin1 #bhi4 ,a source of true belief1 but not itself a creed1 #cae4 ,george ,,iii4 on1 #bjj4 ,historical discrepancies in1 #cji4 ,inspiration of1 #eb4 ,reading it1 #fe4 ,see also under ,new ,testament1 ,psalms1 ,scripture1 ,inspiration1 c4 ---- the1 and ,christian ,faith1 #bhi4 ,biblical criticism1 ,coleridge's1 #bhe1 #bhi4 ,bibliolatry1 and mis-interpretation of the ,bible1 #ajg1 #cac4 ,birth1 the word as used by ,christ1 #bgb4 ,blood1 the word as used by ,christ1 #bg4 ,bonnet's view of instinct1 #bgi4 ,book-making1 #aeb4 ,books for the indolent1 #aea4 ,books1 popular1 ib4 ,bosom-sin1 #aj4 ,bread1 the word as used by ,christ1 #bgb4 ,breath1 the enlivening1 #d4 ,brown's ,philosophy1 xxxix1 xlix4 ,browne1 ,sir ,t41 and his strong faith1 #acg4 ,brutes and man1 #b1 #cda1 #cdc2 ,paley1 ,fleming1 and others on1 lx4 ---- and the will1 #bja4 ,bruno1 ,giordano1 #bfi4 ,bucer1 #bbg4 ,buffon1 #bd4 ,bull and ,waterland1 their works1 #baa-ab4 ,burnet1 extract from1 #abc4 ,butler1 ,s41 #de4 ,cabbala1 the1 of the ,hutchinsonians1 #cad4 ,cabbalists1 the1 #bii4 ,calling1 effectual1 doctrine of1 #cg4 ,calumny1 #gj4 ,calvin1 the works of1 #aje4 ,calvinism1 modern1 #gc1 #ajd4 ,that of ,jonathan ,edwards1 #aje4 ,that of ,new ,england1 #aje4 ,calvinists1 the1 of ,leighton's day1 #id4 ,capital punishment1 #ij4 ,carbonic-acid gas1 ,hoffman's discovery of1 #afb4 ,carlyle's translation of ',wilhelm ,meister1' #bia4 ,cartesian and ,newtonian philosophies1 the1 #bfh4 ,catholic1 and ,roman ,catholic1 the terms1 #ada4 ,cause1 an ,omnipresent1 #dj4 ---- and effect1 xlviii1 #db1 #dd1 #age4 ,cephas1 and the ,jews who followed him1 #bae4 ,ceremonies1 #ab1 #ac4 ,ceremony and ,faith1 #bdh4 ,cherubim1 #g4 ,children1 the belief of1 #abh4 ---- ,jesus and the1 #bej4 ,christ1 #bcd1 #cej1 #cfj4 ,his agony and death1 #ajc4 ,his ,cross and ,passion1 #bjg4 ,his hard sayings1 #bab4 ,his ,new commandment1 #bdi4 ,his death1 #bjb4 ,christ1 the ,christian's pattern1 #bjc4 ---- contemplation of1 #cej4 ---- faith in1 #bjh4 ---- present in every creature1 #cea4 ---- the ,redeemer of every creature1 #cej4 ---- the ,word1 #bhh4 ---- and ,his ,apostles1 #bab4 ---- and the children1 #bej4 ---- ,paul and ,moses1 #bda4 ---- ,redemption by1 #ajf4 ,christ1 ,in1 the phrase1 #ajd4 ,christ's aids to the sinner1 #ajd4 ---- use of the words1 water1 flesh1 blood1 birth1 and bread1 #bgb4 ,christian1 the1 no ,stoic1 #eg4 ---- ,dispensation1 the1 xviii2 and the ,law of ,moses1 #bdj4 ,christian ,faith1 xvi1 xviii1 #bcb4 ,a vindication of its whole scheme promised by the author1 #ajc4 ---- ,faith and the ,bible1 #bhi4 ---- love1 #eh4 ---- ministry1 the1 #ce1 #fh1 #if4 ---- ,philosophy1 #ia4 ---- ,religion1 the1 #abc4 ,christian ,spectator1 #ahbi1 ,controversy there on the ,origin of ,sin1 liv4 ,christians1 early1 and the ,jews1 #bae4 ---- and war1 #ceh4 ---- should be united in one ,church 7extract from ,wall71 #bef4 ,christianity1 #bgb4 ,arguments against1 #aid4 ,is a vanity without a ,church1 #bjj4 ,coleridge's views on1 xxx4 ,the essentials of1 #bdg4 ,the ,evidences of1 #acd1 #bgb1 #cai4 ,the doctrines peculiar to1 #aa1 #gc1 #acj4 ,the knowledge required by1 #e1 #g4 ,not to be preferred to truth1 #ff4 ,not a theory but a ,life1 #acd4 ,operative1 the ,pentad of1 #bhh4 ,,try ,,it6 #acd4 ---- and ,mythology1 #ahh4 ---- and the old philosophy1 #hd4 ,church1 the word1 #aad4 ,church1 ,christianity a vanity without a ,church #bjj4 ---- a ,national1 #aif4 ---- the1 #bhh4 ,field's work on1 #bjh4 ---- the most ,apostolic1 #beg4 ---- of ,england1 the1 #gc4 ,see also ,articles1 c4 ---- divines1 orthodox1 #bcj4 ---- going1 #hd4 ,undue love of ,church1 or sect1 #ff4 ---- ,history1 the sum of1 #ff4 ---- ordinances and the ,new ,testament1 #bdf4 ',church and ,state1' ,coleridge's1 #aih1 #bfa1 #bgc4 ,circumcision1 #bde4 ,circumstance and the ,will1 #agg4 ,coleridge1 ,s4 ,t4--,personal4-- ,to a friend halting in his belief of ,christianity1 #cbj4 ,c4's ,baptist friend1 #bdc4 ,c4's convictions1 #cjj1 #cja4 ,his conversation1 c41 #bgh4 ,his defence of his work1 #bgd4 ,his editors1 #ccg4 ,they remiss1 #ajc1 #ccg4 ,his friends1 #cfa4 ,his proficiency in ,hebrew1 and friendship with ,hyman ,hurwitz1 #ceh4 ,his language and style1 xxx1 lxix4 ,his alleged unintelligibility1 lxix4 ,his philosophical and philological attainments1 intellectual powers1 and moral worth1 lxxiv4 ,his attempts at proselytizing1 #ccg4 ,his religious experiences1 #bia4 ,he was not at war with religion1 xxxi4 ,his twenty years of contention for the contra-distinction of ,reason and the ,understanding1 #afj4 ,his love of truth1 #bia4 ,coleridge1 ,s4 ,t4--,his works4-- ,his lengthy notes to the ',aids to ,reflection'1 #aec1 #bje4 ,criticism of the ',aids' anticipated1 #de4 ',the ,ancient ,mariner' referred to1 #bfb4 ,his promised ',assertion of ,religion1' c41 #ajc4 ',christabel' alluded to1 #bfb4 ',church and ,state' referred to1 #bgc4 ,his correspondent in the ',confessions of an ,inquiring ,spirit1' #cja4 ',the ,friend' referred to1 #aha4 ,the ,hebrew ,tales in ',the ,friend1' #ceh4 ',israel's ,lament1' ib4 ,the ',lay ,sermons' referred to1 #ef1 #bgc4 ,his ',lectures on ,shakspere1' c41 referred to1 #cjb4 ,his ',literary ,correspondence' in ,blackwood's ,magazine1 referred to1 #aag4 ,his ',literary ,remains1' #ahh1 #cad1 #cdj4 ,his ,,ms4 ,note-,books1 #beg4 ,his ',nightly ,prayer1' #cdj1 #cfj4 ,his ',wanderings of ,cain' alluded to1 and quoted1 #bfb4 ,tendency of his works1 xi4 ,his ,watchman1 #bc4 ,see also under ',aids to ,reflection1' ',confessions1' c4 ,coleridge4 ,s4 ,t4--,his ,views4-- ,he was no contemner of the ancient wisdom1 lxxiii4 ,his views those of ,bacon1 lxiii2 and of the ,reformers of the #afth and #agth centuries1 lxiv4 ,early views on ,baptism1 #beb4 ,his ,biblical criticism1 #bhe4 ,he repudiates sympathy with the ideas of the ,behmenists1 c41 #id4 ,his view of ,christianity1 xxx1 xxxvi2 an ,evangelical view1 xxx4 ,his ,confession of ,faith1 #bib4 ,on ,edward ,irving1 #bed-e4 ,opposed to ,locke1 lvii4 ,the philosophy of the ',aids1' lxvii4 ,coleridge's ,metaphysics1 lxx4 ,views on the relations of prudence and morality1 xxxi4 ,on ,redemption1 ib41 #bjh4 ,on ,religion1 or the ,spiritual life1 xxxi1 xxxvi1 #cci4 ,his transitional state of religious belief1 #bga4 ,his view of reason in relation to spiritual religion1 xxxvi4 ,the key to his system1 the distinctions between nature and free-will and between understanding and reason1 xxxii1 lxiii4 ,his views on ,original ,sin1 xxx4 ,on the terms spiritual and natural1 ib4 ,coleridge1 ,s4 ,t4--,criticism of1 c4-- ,c4 termed un-,english1 #bcj4 ,arguments for extinguishing him1 ib4 ,c4 and his critics1 #beh4 ,his alleged ,mysticism1 ib4 ,coleridge1 ,h4 ,n41 on the ',aids'1 xi2 on the tendency of ,coleridge's works1 ib42 on the ',confessions of an ,inquiring ,spirit1' #bhe2 on ,locke's philosophy and the ,church1 xii2 on ,dr4 ,marsh's ,essay1 ib42 on reason and the understanding1 xi4 ,commandment1 the ,new1 given by ,christ1 #bdi4 ,commonplace truths1 #a4 ,common ,prayer1 ,book of4 ,see ,prayer4 ,common-sense1 #agb4 ,commonwealth1 religion of that time1 #id4 ,communion ,service1 proposed emendations of1 #ceb4 ,communion of the ,sick1 #cec4 ,confession of sins1 #ceb4 ,luther on1 ib4 ',confessions of a ,fair ,saint1' ,goethe's1 #bia4 ',confessions of an ,inquiring ,spirit1' v1 #bfa1 #bhd4 ,is a key to ,coleridge's ,biblical criticism1 #bhf4 ,h4 ,n4 ,coleridge's advertisement to1 ib4 ,author's advertisement to1 #bhi4 ,conscience1 the1 #hj4 ,is the only practical contradistinction between man and the brutes1 #cda4 ,things opposed to it1 #cdd4 ---- and reason1 #bbi1 #cde4 ---- and the senses1 #cdb4 ---- and the will1 ib4 ,consciousness1 #eh4 ,consequences1 ,general1 ,paley's principle of1 #aha4 ,contemplation1 religious1 #abd4 ,contempt1 #fh1 #fi4 ,content1 #fi4 ,controversies1 religious1 #fg4 ,conversation1 #gb4 ,conversion1 #af4 ,corpuscular philosophy1 the1 #bfe4 ,corruption and ,redemption1 #ahe4 ,cranmer1 #bbg4 ,creation1 the week of1 #gd4 ,creed1 the1 of the ,reformed ,churches1 #bib4 ,criticism of the ',aids' anticipated1 #de4 ---- anonymous1 c41 #beh4 ,critics replied to1 #beh4 ,cupid and ,psyche1 and the ,fall of ,man1 #ahi4 ,cyprian1 and infant baptism1 #bea4 ,cyrus1 #fb4 ,daniel1 the ,book of1 #cjb4 ,daniel1 ,s41 quoted1 ix1 #ge4 ,danton1 #bec4 ,darkest before day1 #bjc4 ,darwin 7,e47 on instinct1 #bgi4 ,david and the sons of ,michal1 #ahf4 ,davy1 ,sir ,h41 #bfe1 #cag4 ,death1 the penalty of ,adam's sin1 #ahc4 ,the debt of1 #bai4 ,fear of1 #bjc4 ,death the loss of immortality1 and death eternal1 #bjf4 ,spiritual death1 #bag4 ---- and the ,resurrection1 #bjd4 ,deborah1 #cjf4 ,deceit1 self1 #fa4 ,demonstrations of a ,god1 c41 #abj4 ,des ,cartes1 #bfh4 ,his theory of instinct1 #bgi4 ,despair of none1 #fh4 ,despise none1 and despair of none1 #fh4 ,detraction1 #fi1 #gj4 ,devil1 the4 ,see ,tempter4 ,discourse ,understanding1 #bbh4 ---- and ,shakspere's discourse of reason1 #cdf4 ,disputes in ,religious ,communities1 #fg4 ,dissent and the ,church1 #beg4 ,diversely and diversly1 the words1 #cjf4 ,divines1 our elder1 #dj4 ,docility is grounded in humility1 #abf4 ,doctrinal terms1 #cf4 ,dog1 the1 its species of moral nature1 #afd4 ,donne1 quoted4 #af4 ,doubt4 #ff4 ,earthenware1 enjoy your1 as if it were plate1 and think your plate no more than earthenware4 #fi4 ,ecclesiastical history1 #dg1 #bgb4 ,education of the young1 xvi4 ,edwards1 ,jonathan1 his ,calvinism1 #aje4 ,election1 the doctrine of1 #cg1 #ajh1 #aaa4 ,the word in ,st4 ,paul's writings #aac4 ---- arbitrary1 and ,reprobation1 the doctrines of1 #ajc4 ,england1 xix4 ,entertainment and instruction1 xviii4 ,enthusiasm1 #bfa4 ,satire and1 #df4 ,enthusiasts1 the1 of our ,commonwealth time #id4 ,equivocation #bi4 ,error1 intellectual effect of1 xlii1 xlvii1 lviii4 ,esther1 the ,book of1 #cjb4 ,eternal death1 #bjf4 ,eternal life1 the promise of1 #bcd4 ,eternity and ,time1 #bji4 ,ethics1 or the ,science of ,morality1 #aig4 ,eucharist1 the1 #bjj1 #bbg1 #beg1 #cej4 ,keble on ,hooker's view of it1 #cec4 ,evangelical1 ,coleridge an1 xxx4 ---- clergy1 the1 on ,baptism1 #bed4 ,evangelicals1 the1 #acc1 #baj4 ,eve1 the ,serpent and1 #aga4 ,everlasting torment1 #ajc4 ,evil1 the origin of1 liv1 #ajb1 #agj4 ---- and good1 #aig4 ---- resistance to1 #bjh4 ,examination1 self1 #aa4 ,expedience is the anarchy of morals1 #ij4 ,expediency1 xvii4 ,experience1 #aed4 ,expiation and pay1 the words1 #baf4 ,extreme unction1 the ,romish doctrine of1 #bbg4 ,extremes1 #bdf4 ,eye1 the1 the body1 c41 #bff4 ,ezekiel1 xvii1 #cef4 ,faith1 ,essay on1 #cci4 ---- xxxi1 #g1 #ac1 #acg1 #bhg4 ,the articles of1 assimilation by1 #bei4 ,christian ,faith1 #bcb4 ,faith defined1 #cda4 ,st4 ,augustine on it1 xviii4 ,the essay on it1 #beg4 ,the kinds of it1 #cdh4 ,its mysteries1 #afh4 ,faith necessary1 ib4 ,spiritual ,faith1 #he4 ,the strong faith of ,sir ,t4 ,browne1 #acg4 ,faith and ,ceremony1 #bdh4 ---- and ,duty1 #cad4 ---- and right reason1 #bbh1 #bbi4 ---- ,steadfast by1 #bjh4 ,fall1 the1 #ahi1 #bic4 ---- a ,spiritual1 possible before ,adam1 #aie4 ,falstaff1 the lying of1 #caj4 ,familists1 #ac1 #id4 ,fanatic1 when the mystic becomes one1 #bfa4 ,fashion and holiness1 #fj4 ,fatalism1 ,locke's opinions tending to1 lv4 ,fate1 #bga4 ,fathers1 the1 uncritical study of1 #cad4 ,fears1 worldly1 #eb4 ,feeble1 the1 always popular1 #bgd4 ,feelings1 #eg4 ,fenelon1 a1 #bfd4 ,fidianism1 #ach1 #adb4 ,field1 ,dr4 ,r41 and his work on the ,church1 #bjh4 ---- extract from1 #bac4 ,finds me1 that 7the utterance7 which1 #bie1 #bif4 ,finite1 the1 faculty of1 #cdf4 ,fleming1 ,dr41 on man and the brutes1 lx4 ,flesh1 the word1 as used by ,christ1 #bgb4 ---- according to the1 #bdb4 ---- manifested in the1 #bag4 ---- and ,spirit1 #bbe1 #bdb4 ,flowers1 #gd4 ,forethought1 #b4 ,forgiveness1 #hf4 ,self-deceit in1 #fa4 ,the ,socinian doctrine of1 #hf4 ,fortune and circumstance1 the riddle of1 #bce4 ,freedom1 the highest form of1 #bjd4 ,free-thinking ,christians1 #bcj4 ,free-will1 ,luther's view of it1 #aje4 ,see also ,will1 c4 ---- and nature1 xlix4 ,french ,revolution1 the1 #bec4 ,the ,atheists of it1 #aba4 ,french people1 and women1 their talkativeness1 #gb4 ',friend1 ,the1' ,coleridge's1 #bfi4 ,an essay there referred to1 #aha4 ,the ,hebrew ,tales in it1 #ceh4 ,friendship1 #cc4 ,future life1 the1 and the present1 #aie4 ---- state1 belief in1 #bcc1 #bcg4 ,the same taught in the ,old ,testament1 #eb4 ,galileo1 #afa4 ,geist gas1 #afb4 ,generalization1 #ahb4 ,genius and the dunces1 #aea4 ,genus and species1 #adi1 #afb4 ,george ,,iii41 on the ,bible1 #bjj4 ,german ,biblical philologists1 #bdb4 ,their views of the ,gospels and ,st4 ,john1 ib4 ,god1 the idea of1 #gf1 #ha1 #aaf1 #abj1 #aia1 #bee4 ,ideas of ,aristotle and ,plato1 #afg4 ,demonstrations of a ,god1 #abj4 ,god is reason1 #bee4 ,god present in every creature1 #cea4 ,his anger with ,adam and his posterity1 #ahf4 ,his communion with man1 #hb4 ,his hand in the world1 #bhh4 ,his personal attributes1 #bgj4 ,two great things given us by him1 #bcd4 ---- manifested in the flesh1 #bji4 ---- and the world1 serving1 #fj4 ,godless ,revolution1 the1 #aii4 ,goethe's ',confessions of a ,fair ,saint' 7',wilhelm ,meister'71 #bia4 ,good and evil1 #aig4 ,good men and vicious1 radical difference between1 #gb4 ,goodness more than prudence1 xvii4 ,good tidings1 #ced4 ,gospel1 hearing the1 #hd4 ,its language and purport1 #ace4 ,the word ,gospel in the ,prayer-,book1 #ced4 ,gospel1 the1 and ,philosophy1 #abb1 #abd1 #abe4 ,gospels1 the1 #bdb4 ,grace1 #bjj4 ,the doctrine of1 #ch4 ,growth in1 #aj1 #fb4 ,warburton's tract on1 #beh4 ,grammar and ,logic--parts of speech1 #aag4 ,gravity1 the law of1 #bgj4 ,green1 ,prof4 ,j4 ,h41 his essay on ,instinct1 #bgh4 ,his exposition of the difference between ,reason and the ,understanding1 #afj4 ,his ',vital ,dynamics1' referred to1 #ei2 and quoted1 #bgh4 ,his remarks upon ,coleridge's conversation1 c41 ib4 ,grief1 worldly1 #eb1 #eg4 ,grotian interpretation of the ,scriptures1 #bdc4 ,grotianism1 or ,arminianism1 #ajg4 ,gunpowder1 white1 slander so termed1 #gj4 ,hacket1 ,bishop1 #ajg1 #cad4 ,extract from1 #ii4 ,hagiographa1 the1 #cjj4 ,hale1 ,sir ,matthew1 his belief in witchcraft1 #caa4 ,happiness1 #bh1 #gd4 ,the desire of the natural heart for it1 #ag4 ,hard sayings1 the1 of ,christ1 #bab4 ,harmonists of the ,scriptures1 #cji4 ,see also ,bible1 inspiration of1 c4 ,harrington quoted1 on reason in man1 #acg4 ,hawker1 ,dr41 #caf4 ,hearne on the ,indians1 #bcg4 ,hebrew theocracy1 the1 #cjg4 ---- ,tales in ',the ,friend'1 #ceh4 ',henry ,,vi41' ,shakspere's1 #cjb4 ,herbert1 ,lord1 #aci4 ,herbert's ',temple1' quoted1 #aj4 ,hereditary sin is not original sin1 #bjj4 ,heresies1 the rise of1 #cad4 ,heresy1 #ae1 #adj4 ,hildebert1 quoted1 #ada4 ,historical discrepancies in the ,bible1 #cji4 ,hobbes1 #bd4 ,his philosophy1 #ib4 ,hoffman's discovery of carbonic-acid gas1 #afb4 ,holy ,spirit1 #cfj4 ,see also ,spirit1 c4 ,hooker1 #aci4 ,extract from1 #abi4 ,on the ,eucharist1 #cec4 ,on ,truth1 #bhg4 ,hopes1 worldly1 #eb4 ,howe and ,baxter1 the religious teaching of their times1 lvii4 ,hber on bees and ants1 #ge1 #adg4 ,the same as bearing upon instinct1 #bha4 ,humility the first requisite in the search for ,truth1 #abf4 ,the ground of docility1 #abf4 ---- and vanity1 #fi1 #gf4 ,hungarian sisters1 the1 #bdf4 ,hunter1 ,john1 #bfe4 ,hurwitz1 ,hyman1 #adj1 #ceh4 ,hutchinsonians1 the1 #cad4 ,i1 the first person4 ,see ,person4 ,i ,,am1 the1 #aif1 #cfj4 ,idealism1 ,materialism1 c41 #bfh4 ,ideas1 #bgg1 #bhd4 ,idols1 xi4 ,worldly troubles are idols1 #gg4 ,imagination1 wisest use of the1 #ed4 ,imitators and ,imitation1 #ge4 ,immortality opposed to ,death1 #bjf4 ,imprudence1 #gi4 ,incomprehensible1 the1 #bbg4 ,incomprehensibility no obstacle to belief1 xxxvi4 ,inconsistency1 #ei4 ,indians1 the1 ,hearne on1 #bcg4 ,indolent1 the busy indolent1 and the lazy indolent1 their requirements in books1 #aea4 ,infallibility1 #beg1 #bif1 #caf4 ,infants1 ,baptism of4 ,see ,baptism4 ---- the ,presentation of1 #beb4 ,infidel arguments against the ,bible1 #caf4 ,infidelity1 and how to treat it1 #gg4 ---- and ,jacobinism1 #bec4 ,infinite1 the1 and the ,finite1 #ed4 ',inquiring ,spirit1 ,confessions of an4' ,see ',confessions1'c4 ,inquisition1 the1 and the ,bible1 #cac4 ,insanity1 #cdb4 ,insects1 #gd4 ,vital power of1 c41 #afc4 ,inspiration of every word in the ,bible1 the doctrine argued against1 #bif1 #cji4 ,see also ,bible1 ,scriptures1 c4 ,instinct1 #gd1 #afj1 #afb1 #bgi4 ,its nature1 #bhj4 ,hber's bees and1 #bha4 ,prof4 ,j4 ,h4 ,green1 on1 #bgh4 ,how it is identical with understanding2 and how diverse from reason1 ib4 ,maternal instinct1 or storg1 #bhc4 ,the instinct of anticipation in all animated nature1 #bcg4 ,right use of the term1 #bgi4 ,instruction1 early1 #aef4 ,instruction and entertainment1 xviii4 ,insufflation1 ,roman ,catholic1 #bbg4 ,interpretation4 ,see ,bible1 c4 ,irrational1 the1 #bbh4 ,irritability1 #gd4 ,irving1 ,edward4 ,his view of baptism answered1 #bee4 ,jacobinism and ,infidelity1 #bec4 ,jael1 the morality of1 #caa4 ,james1 ,epistle 7i4 #ba71 #fa2 7i4 #be71 #ac1 #bjb2 7i4 #bf1 #bg71 #ab1 #ac4 ,jebb1 ,dr41 #di4 ,jesus4 ,see ,christ4 ---- the name of1 #aae4 ,jewish faith1 articles of the1 #acj1 #acb4 ---- ,church and people1 the1 #bej4 ,their canonical books1 #bih4 ---- history and sacred records1 #ceh4 ,jews and ,christians1 foundations of their religious beliefs1 #bch4 ,see also ,rabbinical4 ---- the1 and the early ,christians1 #bae1 #bch4 ,jews1 ,coleridge's attempt to convert one1 #ccg4 ,job1 the ,book of1 #cjg4 ,john 7i4 #b71 #ac4 ---- 7i4 #ah71 #bab4 ---- 7iii4 #ac71 #baa4 ---- 7v4 #ci71 #bdf4 ---- 7vi47 #bab4 ---- 7#a v4 #bj71 #d4 ,john the ,baptist1 #bdb4 ,john1 ,st41 the ,evangelist1 #bag4 ,his ,gospel1 #bdb1 #beh1 #cej4 ,his writings1 #baa4 ,see also1 for passages1 ,john 7i4 #ah71 c4 ,jonah1 the ,book of1 parabolical1 #agd4 ,kant1 #bfi4 ,keble on ,hooker quoted1 #cec4 ,kepler1 #bfi4 ,knowledge1 #cf1 #fe1 #ha4 ,the sort required for ,christianity1 #e1 #g4 ,purity requisite for its attainment1 #fd4 ,knowledge not the ultimate end of religious pursuits1 #fe4 ,knowledge1 if right1 not enough to do right1 #ha4 ,lactantius quoted1 xiv4 ,language1 #afj4 ,coleridge's precision of1 lxix4 ,strictures of1 #abg4 ,lavington1 ,bishop1 #dg4 ,law1 #ab1 #dj1 #bgj4 ---- and ,religion1 #ahf4 ---- the word1 ,st4 ,paul's and ,st4 ,john's use of1 #bjb4 ---- the1 and ,christ1 #bja4 ---- the1 of ,moses1 and the ,christian dispensation1 #bdj4 ---- ,w41 his mysticism1 ',serious ,call1' c41 #beh-i4 ,learned class1 the1 #aih4 ,leibnitz1 #bfi4 ,leighton1 ,archbishop1 extracts from1 #b1 #c1 #ag1 #bg1 #bi1 #ce1 #cf1 #cg1 #ci1 #ej1 #eb1 #ed1 #eg1 #ei1 #fj1 #fa1 #fb1 #fd1 #fe1 #ff1 #fg1 #fh1 #fi1 #gj1 #gb1 #gd1 #ge1 #gf1 #gg1 #gi1 #hj1 #ha1 #hb1 #hd1 #he1 #ajd1 #ajf1 #acg1 #bjj1 #bjb1 #bjc1 #bdb4 ---- remarks on1 xviii1 #id1 #ajb4 ,his sublime view of religion and morality1 xxi4 ,lessing1 #bcb4 ,liars for ,god1 #cjh4 ,lies1 ,falstaff's1 #caj4 ,life1 #d4 ---- prospects1 the fear of injuring1 #fh4 ,literary bravos and buffoons1 their attacks upon ,coleridge1 #beh4 ',literary ,remains1' ,coleridge's1 #ahh1 #cad1 #cdj4 ,liturgy1 spots on the1 #beg4 ,see also ,prayer ,book1 c4 ,locke1 his philosophy and that of ,coleridge and ,bacon1 lviii1 lxvi4 ,his opinions and ,fatalism1 lv4 ,dangerous tendency of his views1 xii1 xlix4 ---- and ,aristotle1 #dd4 ,logic and ,grammar--parts of speech1 #aag4 ,logoddaly and logomachy1 #ha4 ,lord's ,prayer1 the1 #acb4 ,love1 #bd4 ---- and ,christian love1 #eh4 ---- and the will1 #be4 ,love1 the ,family of1 ,dutch religious sect1 #ie4 ,lovers' quarrels1 #fg4 ,luther1 #baj1 #bac1 #bed4 ,extract from1 #bja4 ,his view of ,freewill1 #aje4 ,madness1 #bfi4 ,the passage of wickedness into madness1 #cdb4 ,magee1 ,dr41 on ,redemption1 #bgd4 ,maimonides1 #bcb4 ,man fleeing from ,god1 #hc4 ---- reason in1 #cde4 ,man a thinking animal1 xix4 ,see also ,reason1 c4 ---- and the brutes and lower creatures1 #b1 #ge1 #cda1 #cdc4 ,see also ,reason1 ,instinct1 c4 ,maniac1 #be1 #agh4 ,manifested in the flesh1 #bag4 ,mant and ,d',oyly on ,baptism1 #bed4 ,marat1 #bec4 ,marinus quoted1 xiv4 ,marriage1 #be4 ,and the marriage service1 #cec4 ,marsh1 ,dr41 #ajg4 ---- ,dr4 ,james1 of ,vermont1 ,u4,s41 and his ,essay on the ',aids1' xii1 xxiii4 ,materialism1 #ia4 ,and ,idealism1 c41 #bfe4 ,materialists1 the1 #bd4 ,avowed and unavowed1 #bfd4 ,maternal instinct1 #bhc4 ,mathematical atheists1 the1 of the ,french ,revolution1 #aba4 ,meekness1 #gi4 ,mendelssohn1 ,moses1 #bcb4 ,merit1 #he4 ,men of little merit1 #fi4 ,metanoia1 #hf4 ,metaphor1 xi1 #bad4 ,the same in the ,gospels1 #acf4 ,metaphors in ,scripture interpretation1 #bjj4 ,metaphysical opinions and the doctrines of ,revelation1 xliv4 ,metaphysics1 #de1 #aga4 ---- the objections to1 lxxi4 ,methodist fanatics1 #baj4 ,michal1 the sons of1 ,david's treatment of them1 #ahf4 ,milton on reason and the understanding1 lix4 ,milton's word arbitrement free agency1 #cdd4 ,mind1 the human1 #b1 #hj4 ,differences in1 #adi4 ,mind of the flesh1 ,st4 ,paul's1 #cdf4 ,minimifidianism1 #adb1 #bdd4 ,see also ,fidianism4 ,ministry1 the ,christian1 #b1 #ce1 #fh1 #if4 ,worldly views in1 #fh4 ,students for it addressed1 xvi4 ,an unlearned ministry incapable1 #ih4 ,miracles1 those worked by ,christ1 #bca4 ,miraculous1 the term1 #fd4 ,mirth1 #eb4 ,moral ,law1 the1 #acj1 #acb4 ---- ,philosophy1 #aii4 ---- ,science1 #hi4 ,the same and ,political ,economy1#aif4 ---- and ,religious ,aphorisms1 #ce4 ,moralist1 ,paley not a1 #aif4 ,morality1 #ab1 #ad1 #bj1 #fb1 #aca4 ,of the ,bible1 #caa4 ,morality less than religion1 xvii4 ,religious morality1 #de1 #he4 ,transition from morality to religion1 #fc4 ---- and the people1 #aif4 ,and prudence1 xvii1 xxxi1 #ai1 #fd1 #aca1 #bgc4 ,morality and religion1 xvii4 ,see also ,religion and morality4 ,morals1 ,expedience is the anarchy of1 #ij4 ,more1 ,dr4 ,h41 #id4 ,extracts from1 #ie1 #if1 #ih4 ,moses1 #fb4 ,the books of1 #bii4 ---- ,paul and ,christ1 #bda4 ,motannabbi1 his ,fort-philosophy1 #bcg4 ,motives1 xlix1 #ci1 #eh4 ,mysteries of ,religion1 xviii1 #aeh4 ,mysticism1 #bbg1 #beh1 #bfj1 #bfa4 ,mythology and ,christianity1 #ahh4 ,name1 the word1 #aeb4 ,as applied to ,god and ,christ in ,scripture1 #cea4 ,natural and ,spiritual1 the terms1 ,coleridge's view of1 xxx4 ---- ,theology1 #bgb4 ,naturalist1 a1 #bch4 ,nature1 #dd4 ,the fairy-tale of1 #da4 ,the term1 c41 #aff4 ,the ,religion of 7so called71 #aeh4 ,the worship of1 #bga4 ---- and ,art1 #afg4 ---- and ,free-will1 xxxii1 xlix1 #db1 #dd1 #afg1 #agf4 ---- and religion1 #eg4 ,necessitarians1 creed of the1 lii4 ,new ,england ,calvinism1 #aje4 ----1 religion in1 lxvi4 ,new ,jerusalemites1 and ,coleridge's attempt to convert one1 #ccg4 ,new ,testament1 the misinterpretations in1 xlviii4 ,the authorized version defective1 #ab4 ---- and the ,church1 #bdf4 ,newton1 ,pope's epigram on1 #bcj4 ,newtonian and ,cartesian philosophies1 the1 #bfh4 ,newtonian system1 the1 #aef4 ,nicholas1 ,h41 the ,familist1 #ie4 ,novelty1 #beh4 ,its use1 #a4 ,the fault of1 #bcj4 ,the passion for novelty in thought1 #gb4 ,obedience1 total1 impossible1 #ahc4 ,oersted1 #bfe4 ,old man1 the1 ,st4 ,paul's use of the term1 #aid4 ,order1 #bee4 ,origin of ,sin1 controversy on1 in the ,christian ,spectator1 #ahbi1 liv4 ,originating an act1 #agf-g4 ,original1 the word1 #age1 #agh4 ,original ,sin1 #agb4 ,apologue illustrating the bearings of ,christianity on the fact and doctrine1 #aib4 ,original sin not hereditary sin1 #bjj4 ,augustine and ,original sin1 #bdg4 ---- and ,redemption1 #bjf4 ,coleridge's view of1 xxx4 ,orthodoxy1 #gh4 ,popular orthodoxy1 #cji4 ,pagan philosophy1 xvii4 ,see also ,philosophy1 the old1 c4 ,pdo-,baptists1 #bdd4 ,paley1 ,dr41 #bci1 #bgc1 #bgd1 #bge4 ,not a moralist1 #aif4 ,his principle of ,general ,consequences1 #aha4 ,his ',evidences1' #bcb4 ,on man and the brutes1 lx4 ,a passage in his ,moral and ,political ,philosophy criticized1 #bcj4 ,papists1 ,baxter's censures of the1 #ada4 ,paradox1 #e4 ,parr1 ,dr41 on ,paley1 #bcj4 ,passion no friend to ,truth1 #gi4 ,paul1 ,st1 #af1 #bab4 ,his use of the names ,adam1 and the old man1 #aid4 ,the word election in his writings1 #aac4 ,his ,epistles to the ,romans1 and to the ,hebrews1 #bch4 ,his use of the word ,law1 #bjb4 ,on the remission of sin1 #bac1 #bae4 ,his view of schism1 #bed4 ,his writings1 #baa4 ,for ,st4 ,paul's writings1 see also under ,romans1 c4 ,paul1 ,moses1 and ,christ1 #bda4 ,pay and expiation1 the words1 #baf4 ,peace 7or ,reconcilement71 #ej4 ,peasants' ,war1 the1 and other revolutionary outbreaks1 #bec4 ,pelagianism1 #eg1 #bdg1 #beb4 ,pentad1 the1 of ,operative ,christianity1 #bhh4 ,pentateuch1 the1 #bii4 ,see also ,bible1 c4 ,people1 the1 and the ministry1 #f4 ---- the1 and morality1 #aif4 ,perfectionists1 #ih4 ,person1 the first--,no ,i possible without a ,thou1 #cdc4 ,peter ,martyr1 #bbg4 ,peter1 ,st41 ,epistle ,,ii41 #bih4 ,petrarch quoted1 #ba4 ,pharaoh1 destruction of1 #cef4 ,pharisees and ,sadducees1 the1 #acc4 ,philosophic ,paganism1 modern1 #abh4 ,philosophy1 prejudice against in religious communities1 xxxiii4 ,modern philosophy1 xlvii1 lx1 #aef4 ,the ,scottish1 xlix1 lxv4 ---- and religion1 necessity of combining their study1 xxxix4 ---- the old1 and ,christianity1 #hd4 ---- and the ,gospel1 #abb1 #abd4 ,phrenology1 #ajj4 ,physico-,theology1 #bgb4 ,pity1 #bc1 #cd4 ,plato1 the misinterpreters of1 #ib4 ---- and ,aristotle1 ideas of ,god1 #afg4 ,platonic philosophy1 lxvii4 ,platonic view of the ,spiritual1 #bj4 ,pleasure1 #cj4 ,plotinus on the soul1 #ec4 ,political ,economy and ,moral ,science1 #aif4 ,polypi1 c41 development in1 #eh4 ,pomponatus1 and his ,de ,fato1 #aei4 ,pope's epigram on ,newton1 #bcj4 ,popery and the ,bible1 #cac4 ---- ,see ,roman ,catholicism1 c4 ,popular ,theology1 #bgd4 ,power1 xlix4 ---- and authority1 distinction between1 #ceh4 ,prayer1 #cej1 #cfa4 ,the philosophy of1 #beg4 ---- ,the ,lord's1 #acb4 ---- ,a ,nightly1 #cdj1 #cfj4 ---- ,book of ,common1 ,notes on1 #beg1 #ccg1 #cch1 #cej4 ,proposed alterations in1 #ceb1 et sq4 ,preacher1 the1 #bhh4 ,preaching1 #fa4 ,baptism and preaching1 #bdb4 ,pride1 #fi1 #gf4 ---- and humility1 #ge4 ,priestley1 ,dr41 #aci1 #bci1 #bgj4 ,principle1 #dj4 ,prometheus1 #ahi1 #bgj4 ,promise1 the ingrafted word of1 #bcg4 ,proselytizing1 ,coleridge's attempts at1 #ccg4 ,prospects in life1 fear of injuring1 #fh4 ,protestantism and schism1 #caf4 ,prothesis1 ,thesis1 c41 forms of ,logic1 #aah1 #cdc4 ,prudence1 #aa1 #ag1 #ah1 #bb1 #cc1 #cd1 #aca4 ,prudence distinct from ,morality1 xvii1 #aca4 ---- and ,morality1 ,coleridge's views of their relations1 xxxi1 #fd4 ,prudential ,aphorisms1 #bg4 ,psalms1 the1 #cjb4 ,see also ,prayer ,book4 ,psilanthropism1 #aci1 #afj4 ,psilanthropists1 #ach4 ,ptolemaic system1 the1 #aef4 ,public1 pampering the1 #aeb4 ,public ,good1 the3 ,we want public souls1 #ih4 ,pulpit1 insincerity in the1 #cah4 ,pulpit routiniers1 #cjh4 ,purgatory1 #bjf4 ,and the ,bible1 #cac4 ,purity requisite to the attainment of knowledge1 #fd4 ,quarterly ,review1 the1 on ,baptism and ,regeneration1 #bbf4 ,rabbinical and other dotages on the ,scriptures1 #aid4 ,railers at religion1 #gh4 ,ransom1 the word1 #baf4 ,rational ,christian1 the1 #bgd4 ,rational interpretation of the ,scriptures1 xxxviii4 ---- and reason1 the words in relation to religion1 xxxiii1 #h4 ,readers and authors1 xv1 xviii4 ,reason ,in man1 #acg4 ,neglect of studies belonging to it1 xvii4 ,discernment by1 #d4 ,reason not the faculty of finite1 #cde4 ,god is reason1 #bee4 ,practical reason1 #ig1 #aae1 #afd1 #bgg1 #bhc4 ,right reason and ,faith1 #bbh1 #bbi4 ,reason is super-individual1 #cdf4 ---- and its antagonists in man1 #cde4 ,and the conscience1 #bbi1 #cde4 ,reason and rational1 use of the words in relation to religion1 xxxiii4 ,reason and the ,spirit1 #if2 and ,spiritual religion1 xxxvi4 ---- the1 and the ,understanding1 xi1 #ace1 #adb1 #adc1 #aga4 ,their difference in kind1 #adc1 #adh4 ,coleridge's twenty years of contention for this distinction1 #afj4 ,the distinction a key to ,coleridge's system1 xxxii4 ,prof4 ,j4 ,h4 ,green's view1 #bgh4 ,milton's view1 lix4 ,summary of the scheme of the argument1 #bgg4 ,for this argument see also ,understanding1 c41 the ',aids' throughout1 passim1 and the ',confessions' in part4 ,reason and the will1 #cdd4 ,see also ,will4 ,reasoning in religion1 rule for1 #ajh4 ,reconcilement1 #ej4 ,reconciliation1 #fa1 #bae4 ,the word and its connection with money-changing1 #bae4 ,redeemer1 the1 #ac4 ,see also ,christ1 c ---- every man his own1 #hg4 ,redemption1 #adc1 #bjj1 #beg1 #bic4 ,coleridge's view of1 #bjh4 ,the doctrine of1 xiii1 #ajf1 #aie1 #bbc4 ,dr4 ,magee on1 #bgd4 ,its mystery1 #bjh4 ---- and ,baptism1 #bji4 ---- and corruption1 #ahe4 ---- and ,original ,sin1 #aid1 #bjf4 ,reflection1 xxv1 xxvi1 #a1 #b1 #d4 ,art of1 xiii1 xix4 ,need of1 xiii1 xix4 ,reformation1 the1 ,bacon and1 lxiv4 ,reformed churches1 the creed of the1 #bib4 ,religion in ,new ,england1 lxvi4 ,railers at religion1 #gh2 and satirical critics of it1 #de4 ,speculative systems of religion1 #abf4 ,the spiritual in religion1 #bj1 #fa4 ,the three kinds of religion corresponding with the faculties in man1 #ba4 ,where religion is1 #aif4 ,see also ,spiritual religion1 c4 ,reformers1 the1 of the #afth and #agth centuries1 lvi1 lvii4 ,regeneration1 #bjj1 #bag4 ---- and ,baptism1 #acf4 ,the doctrine that ,regeneration is only ,baptism refuted1 #bbf4 ,regret and remorse1 #aje1 #cdb4 ,religion1 #bi1 #aef1 #aeh4 ,advantages of1 #cb4 ,coleridge's views on1 xxx1 xxxii4 ,the mysteries of religion1 xviii1 #aeh4 ,natural religion1 #abj1 #aeg4 ,the ,religion of ,nature1 c41 #aeh4 ,rule for reasoning in religion1 #ajh4 ,the word in ,james 7i4 #bf1 #bg71 #ab4 ---- and ,law1 #aij4 ---- and ,morality1 xvii1 xxi1 #bgc4 ',lay ,sermons' referred to1 #bgc4 ---- and ,nature1 #eg4 ---- and philosophy1 necessity of combining their study1 xxxiii1 xxxix4 ---- and science1 #afb4 ',religion1 ,assertion of1' c41 ,coleridge's unpublished work1 #ajc4 ,religious amalgamation1 #fg4 ---- ,aphorisms1 ,moral and1 #ce4 ---- autobiography1 #di4 ---- communities1 disputes in1 #fg4 ,their prejudice against philosophy1 xxxiii4 ,religious contemplation1 #abd4 ---- controversies1 #fg4 ---- experiences1 #bia4 ---- morality1 #de4 ---- philosophy1 elements of1 #hh4 ---- professors1 detraction among1 #gj4 ---- pursuits1 #fe4 ---- teaching of the time1 and of that of ,baxter and ,howe1 lvii4 ---- toleration1 the limitations of1 #aci4 ---- truths and speculative science1 #bje4 ---- unions1 #fg4 ,remorse1 #hb4 ,remorse and regret1 #aje1 #cdb4 ,repentance1 #he4 ,jeremy ,taylor's work on1 #bjg1 #bac4 ---- and forgiveness1 #hf4 ,reprobation1 doctrine of1 #ajc4 ,responsibility1 #cdb4 ,resurrection1 death and the1 #bjd4 ,revelation1 the doctrines of1 and metaphysical opinions1 xliv4 ,revolution1 the ,godless1 #aii4 ,revolutionary1 ,geryon1 the1 #bec4 ,ridicule1 #dg4 ,right1 a knowledge of the right not enough for doing right1 #ha4 ---- misuse of the word1 #aha4 ---- and wrong1 #ha1 #aha4 ,righteousness1 imputed1 #gc4 ---- and virtue1 #f4 ,rites and ceremonies1 #ab1 #ceh4 ,robespierre1 #bec4 ,robinson1 ,wall1 and ,baxter on ,baptism1 #bdg4 ,robinson's ',history of ,baptism1' #bdf4 ,roman ,catholic1 and ,catholic1 the terms1 #ada4 ---- ,catholic ,church4 ,see also ,romish ,church1 c4 ---- ,catholics1 #ada4 ,coleridge's attempts to convert1 #ccg4 ,their doctrine of the punishment of sin1 #bac4 ---- ,catholicism1 #bci1 ,is inseparable from ,popery1 #bjj4 ,insufflation and extreme unction in1 #bbg4 ,romans1 ,epistles1 quoted1 c4 xxxix1 #ci1 #db1 #dc1 #aac1 #agd4 ,romish ,church1 the1 #aii1 #bdf4 ,see also ,roman ,catholic1 c4 ---- hierarchy1 source of their power1 #bac4 ---- superstition respecting the ,eucharist1 #cec4 ,sacrament1 doctrine of the1 #bfj4 ,sacrament of the ,eucharist1 and the best preparation for it1 #cej4 ,sacramentaries1 the freezing poison of their doctrine of the ,eucharist1 #cea4 ,sadducees and ,pharisees1 the1 #acc4 ,saint1 and ,st4 ,see the names of the ,saints1 as ,john1 ,paul1 c4 ,salvation1 the doctrine of1 #cf4 ,satire and enthusiasm1 #df4 ,satirical critics of religion1 #de4 ,savages1 their belief in a future life1 #bcg4 ,saviour1 ,the1 #afe1 #afi4 ,scepticism1 origin of1 #bi4 ,sceptics1 unwilling1 #ajc4 ,scheme1 a1 not a science1 #aie4 ,schism1 and ,st4 ,paul's view of it1 #bed1 #bef1 #beg4 ---- and ,protestantism1 #caf4 ,science and religion1 #afb1 #bje4 ---- what is1 and what is merely a scheme1 #aie4 ,scottish philosophy at fault1 xlix1 lxv4 ,scripture1 #h1 #bhh4 ,figure of speech in1 #ef1 #cac4 ,its language1 #ee4 ,its literal sense the safer1 #ef4 ,see also ,bible1 ,inspiration1 c4 ---- interpretation1 #aja1 #aid1 #bje1 #bdc4 ,private interpretation denounced1 #aii4 ,rational interpretation1 xxxix4 ,see also ,allegory1 ,metaphor1 ,bible1 c4 ,scriptures1 ,letters on the ,inspiration of the4 ,see ',confessions of an ,inquiring ,spirit4' ,search ye1 c41 #bdf4 ,scrutamini ,scripturas1 ,selden on1 #bdf4 ,sect1 or ,church1 lovers1 aphorism for1 #ff4 ,seed analyzed1 #da4 ,seekers1 the1 #id4 ,selden on ,scrutamini ,scripturas1 #bdf4 ,self1 #cjf4 ,self-deceit1 #fa4 ,self-interest1 prudent1 #cd4 ,self-knowledge1 xix1 lxxi4 ,selfishness1 #ii4 ,self-questioning1 #bje4 ,seneca quoted on spiritual truths1 #if4 ,senses1 conscience and the1 #cdb4 ,sensibility1 #bb4 ,serpent1 the1 and ,eve1 #aga4 ,shaftesbury1 #abh4 ,his philosophy1 #ib4 ,shakspere1 and his doubtful works1 #cjb4 ,his discourse of reason1 #cdf4 ,his ,falstaff1 #caj4 ---- ,coleridge's ',lectures' on1 referred to1 #cjb4 ,sick bed1 a1 #bjg4 ,silence1 the virtue of1 #ga4 ,sin1--,the subtle bosom sin11 #e1 #aj4 ,original ,sin1 #agb4 ,roman ,catholic doctrine of the punishment of sin1 #bac4 ,the remedy for sin1 #gj4 ,the tyranny of sin1 #cd4 ,see also ,origin of ,sin1 ,original ,sin1 c4 ,sins1 confession of4 ,see ,confession4 ,imitating sins1 #ge4 ,skink1 the1 #gh4 ,slander1 #gj4 ,smith1 ,john1 his ,tracts 7#affj71 quoted1 #afg4 ,socinian doctrine of forgiveness1 #hf4 ,socinianism1 #bca4 ,socrates1 #fd4 ,sophisms1 exposing1 xvii4 ,sorrow1 #eg4 ,soul1 the1 #hc4 ,its different faculties assigned to parts of ,religion1 #ba4 ,its immortality1 #bcf4 ,its organs of sense1 #eg4 ,plotinus on the soul1 #ec4 ,soul and ,spirit1 #bjc4 ,see also ,spirit1 c4 ,south1 ,dr41 and his speculations upon the state of ,adam and ,eve1 #aid4 ,southey's ',omniana' referred to1 #ee4 ,space1 #aaf4 ,spanish refugee1 a1 on ,christianity and ,protestantism1 #bci4 ,species and genus1 #adi4 ,speculative reason and ,theology1 #abb4 ,spinoza1 #bbg4 ,spinozism1 #bfh4 ,spirit1 #dc1 #ii4 ,the ,holy ,spirit1 #ci1 #ej1 #ef1 #if1 #aja1 #bhh1 #cfa4 ,how the ,holy ,spirit's presence is known1 #ci4 ,pretended call of the ,spirit1 #ih4 ,the term ,spirit1 #ch1 #ajj4 ,the ,spirit in man is the ,will1 #ee1 #hh4 ,spirit1 according to the1 #bdb4 ---- body1 soul and1 #cfa4 ---- and flesh1 #bbe1 #bdb4 ---- and reason1 #if4 ---- and soul1 #bjc4 ---- and the will1 #afg4 ---- and the ,word1 #cag4 ,spiritual1 the1 ,platonic view of1 #bj4 ,the ,spiritual in man1 #hh1 #bjd4 ,in religion1 #bj1 #fa4 ---- and natural1 the terms1 xxx4 ,misinterpretation of the terms in the ,new ,testament1 xlviii4 ---- ,communion1 #bjj4 ---- influences1 rational1 #ci1 #ej4 ---- life and spiritual death1 #bag4 ---- religion1 xxxvi1 xlii1 #bgb4 ,that which is it indeed1 #ajb4 ,aphorisms on1 #hh1 #if4 ,the transition from morality to spiritual religion1 #fc4 ,squash1 the1 #gh4 ,st41 and ,saint4 ,see the names of the ,saints1 as ,john1 ,paul1 c4 ',statesman's ,manual1' ,coleridge's referred to1 #aii4 ,sterne1 #bd4 ,stoic1 the1 #eg4 ,storg1 or maternal instinct1 #bhc4 ,stuart1 ,prof4 78 ,moses71 and his ,commentary on the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 xl4 ,student1 the ,theological1 an aphorism for him1 #ff4 ,students for the ministry addressed1 xvi4 ,study neglected for amusement1 #aea4 ,subjective and ,objective1 #aag4 ,success and desert1 #bce4 ,superstition1 #abf1 #bdh4 ---- and belief1 #bhg4 ,superstitions go in pairs1 #bdf4 ,superstitions respecting ,baptism1 #bdi4 ,swallow1 the1 #gd4 ,swedenborgian1 ,coleridge's1 alleged conversion of a1 #ccg4 ,swift1 #de4 ,symbol1 #agc4 ,symbolical and allegorical1 difference between1 #bab4 ',table ,talk1' ,coleridge's1 editions of1 #ccg4 ,talkativeness of women and ,frenchmen1 #gb4 ,taylor1 ,jeremy1 #agj1 #bbh1 #bcj4 ,extracts from his works1 #agb1 #ahg1 #bbh1 #bbi1 #bcd4 ,his ',deus ,justificatus1' #agb1 #ahg4 ,his ',liberty of ,prophesying1' and his alteration of it1 #bde4 ,his work on ,repentance1 #bjg1 #bac4 ,technical phrases1 #ei4 ,temperance inculcated1 #ei4 ,temple1 the light of the1 #bib4 ,temptation1 #ahf4 ,tempter1 the1 #aff4 ,terms1 ,doctrinal1 #cf4 ,technical1 #ei4 ,see also ,words4 ,testament1 ,new4 ,see ,new ,testament4 ---- ,old4 ,see ,bible4 ---- the ,old and the ,new1 #acc4 ,theological student1 aphorism for the1 #ff4 ,theology1 ,natural1 so called #afh1 #bgb4 ,theology1 ,physico1 #bgb4 ---- popular1 #bgd4 ---- speculative1 and reason1 #abb4 ,theses1 kinds of1 ,prothesis1 ,thesis1 c41 #aah1 #cdc4 ,thinking man1 the1 xix4 ,thinking souls1 we want1 #ajj4 ,thought1 the faculty of1 #c4 ,the passion for novelty in1 #gb4 ,thought and attention1 #c4 ,thurtel1 the murderer1 his bump of benevolence1 #ajj4 ,time and ,eternity1 #bji4 ',titus ,andronicus1' ,shakspere's1 #cjb4 ,toleration1 #fg1 #fh4 ,tongue1 the1 and detraction1 #gj1 #ga4 ,the phrase ,hold your tongue6 ib4 ,tooke1 ,home1 his ,winged words1 xv4 ,torment1 everlasting1 #ajc4 ,trades1 arts1 c41 and thinking1 xix4 ,transfiguration1 the1 #cab4 ,transgressions1 the saving power of1 #abi4 ,transubstantiation1 #hg1 #abc4 ,arnauld's work on1 #bfj4 ,trinity1 ,the1 #aaf1 #aba4 ,the doctrine of1 #ajb4 ,troubles1 refuge from1 #gf4 ,worldly troubles1 #gg4 ,truth1 #ga4 ,christianity is not better than truth1 #ff4 ,hooker on1 #bhg4 ,truth must be sought in humility1 #abf4 ,love of truth1 #bia4 ,truth ,supreme61 #bee4 ---- and belief1 #bic4 ---- partial1 zealots of1 #bea4 ,truths1 the most useful1 #a4 ,ultrafidianism1 #ach4 ,understanding discourse1 #bbh4 ,how modified in man1 #bhc4 ,st4 ,augustine on1 xviii4 ,the word in ,st4 ,john1 #d4 ---- and instinct1 #afb4 ---- and reason1 #ace1 #cdf4 ,the distinction between1 xxxii1 #bje4 ,confusion of the terms1 lviii1 lxi1 #afg4 ,see also ,reason and ,understanding4 ,unicity1 #ach4 ,unions1 ,religious1 #fg4 ,unitarian1 the word1 #ach4 ,unitarianism not ,christianity1 #adj4 ,its doctrine of self-salvation1 #hg4 ,see also ,psilanthropism1 c4 ,unitarians1 #bcj1 #bcb4 ,they should be called ,psilanthropists1 #ach4 ,unity1 #dj4 ---- and the ,unitarians1 #ach4 ,unkindness1 #aea4 ,vanists1 the1 #id4 ,vanity and humility1 #fi4 ,vice a wound1 #abi4 ---- and virtue1 the twilight between1 #bd4 ,vico1 ,g4 ,b41 quoted1 xiv4 ,vicious men and good1 #gb4 ,virgil1 #bge4 ,virtue1 #cj1 #abh4 ,virtue a medicine and vice a wound1 #abi4 ,virtue and righteousness1 #f4 ',vital ,dynamics1' ,prof4 ,green's1 referred to1 #ei2 quoted1 #bgh4 ,vital power of insects1 c41 #afc4 ,wall1 ,w41 his tract on ,baptism1 #bed1 #bee4 ,on the ,church1 and unity among ,christians1 #bef-eg4 ,warburton1 #de1 #bci4 ,his tract on ,grace1 #beh4 ,wars and ,christian men1 #ceh4 ,water1 the word as used by ,christ1 #bgb4 ,waterland and ,bull1 their works1 #baa-ab4 ,watchman1 the1 ,coleridge's1 #bc4 ,wesley1 ,john1 and the ,bible1 #caa4 ,wickedness1 #ed4 ,when it passes into madness1 #cdb4 ,will1 #agf4 ,the ,absolute ,will1 #bbd1 #bee4 ,a good will1 #aig4 ,when will constitutes law1 #bja4 ,the will of the ,spirit1 #bjc4 ,the will the spirit in man1 #hh4 ,jeremy ,taylor on the will1 #bca4 ,see also ,original ,sin1 c4 ---- and the brute animals1 #bja4 ,will and ,free-will1 #cdb4 ---- and the judgment1 xviii4 ---- and love1 #be4 ---- and reason1 #cdd4 ---- ,free1 xlix1 #ci1 #dj1 #db1 #ef1 #ajd1 #afc1 #agf1 #ahe1 #aij4 ,wind-harp1 a1 #bjg4 ,witch of ,endor1 the1 and misinterpretation of the word witch1 #caa4 ,witchcraft1 and ,sir ,m4 ,hale1 #caa4 ,women and ,frenchmen1 talkativeness of1 #gb4 ---- and religious fanaticism1 #baj4 ,wonder1 #aef4 ,word1 the1 that was in the beginning1 #bid4 ,the ,divine ,word1 #f4 ,the informing ,word1 #d4 ,the ,word as a ,light1 #bdb4 ,the ,word and the ,spirit1 #cag4 ,words1 xvi4 ,their force as used by ,coleridge1 lxix4 ,hobbes on1 #afg4 ,importance of a knowledge of words1 #e4 ,legerdemain with words1 #bc1 #ha4 ,meaning and history of words1 #ae1 #ajj4 ,the science of words1 xvi4 ,the use of words1 #aej4 ,see also ,terms1 and some words under their several names4 ,wordsworth1 #dd1 #bga4 ,works1 ,good1 #he4 ,world1 the1 its unsatisfying nature1 #ed1 #gf1 #hb1 #bce4 ,retiring from the world1 #hd4 ,worldliness and ,godliness1 #ef1 #fj4 ,worldly activity1 xvii2 hopes and fears1 #eb4 ,worldly views1 influence of1 #fh4 ,wrapped up1 unseemly matter1 #ceh4 ,wrap-rascal1 a1 #aba4 ,young1 the1 education of1 xvi4 ,zealots of partial truth1 #bea4 ,,chiswick ,,press3--,c4 ,,whittingham ,,and ,,co41 ,,tooks ,,court1 ,,chancery ,,lane4