far less on that of the unthinking multitude. Where do we find, in any of the philosophical schools of Greece and Rome, a recommendation of such precepts as these, "Love your enemies; do good to them who hate you; and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you?" In opposition to such divine injunctions, we can trace, in the maxims and conduct of the ancient sages, a principle of pride insinuating itself into the train of their most virtuous actions. It has been reckoned by some a wise and a witty answer which one of the philosophers returned to his friend, who had advised him to revenge an injury he had suffered; "What, (says he) if an ass kicks me, must I needs kick him again?" Some may be disposed to consider such a reply as indicating a manly spirit, and true greatness of soul; but it carries in it a proud and supercilious contempt of human nafure, and a haughtiness of mind, which are altogether inconsistent with the mild and benevolent precepts of Him, who, in the midst of his severest sufferings from men, exclaimed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." It appears somewhat preposterous to waste our time, and the energies of our minds, in laboured metaphysical disquisitions, to ascertain the foundations of virtue, and the motives from which it is to be pursued; whether it consists in utility, in the fitness of things, or in the regulations of states and political associations, and whether it is to be prosecuted from a principle of self-love or of benevolence, when every useful question that can be started on this subject may be immediately solved by a direct application to the revelations of heaven, and an infallible rule derived for the direction of our conduct in all the circumstances and relations in which we may be placed. Even although the moral philosopher were to reject the Bible, as a revelation from God, it would form no reason why its annunciations should be altogether overlooked or rejected. As an impartial investigator of the history of man, of the moral constitution of the human mind, and of the circumstances of our present condition, he is bound to take into view every fact and every circumstance which may have a bearing on the important question which he undertakes to decide. Now, it is a fact, that such a book as the Bible actually existsthat, amidst the wreck of thousands of volumes which the stream of time has carried into oblivion, it has survived for several thousands of years that its announcements have directed the opinions and the conduct of myriads of mankind-that many of the most illustrious characters that have adorned our race have submitted to its dictates, and governed their tempers and their actions by its moral precepts-that those who have been governed by its maxims have been distinguished by uprightness of conduct, and been most earnest and successful in promot ing the happiness of mankind-that this book declares, that a moral revulsion has taken place in the constitution of man since he was placed upon this globe-and that the whole train of its moral precepts proceeds on the ground of his being considered as a depraved intelligence. These are facts which even the infidel philosopher must admit; and, instead of throwing them into the shade, or keeping them entirely out of view, he is bound, as an unbiassed inquirer, to take them all into account in his researches into the moral economy of the human race. In par ticular, he is bound to inquire into the probability of the alleged fact of the depravity of man, and to consider, whether the general train of human actions, the leading facts of history in reference to all ages and nations, and the destructive effects of several operations in the system of nature, have not a tendency to corroborate this important point. For the fact, that man is a fallen intelligence, must materially modify every system of ethics that takes it into account. Should this fact be entirely overlooked, and yet ultimately be found to rest on a solid foundation, then, all the speculations and theories of those moralists who profess to be guided solely by the dictates of unassisted reason, may prove to be nothing more than the reveries of a vain imagination, and to be built on "the baseless fabric of a vision." CHAPTER I. ON THE MORAL RELATIONS OF INTELLIGENT BEINGS TO THEIR CREATOR. SECTION I. ON THE PRIMARY OR MOST GENERAL IDEA OF MORALITY. I CONCEIVE, that the first or most general idea of morality is, ORDER,-or, that harmonious disposition and arrangement of intelligent beings, which is founded on the nature of things, and which tends to produce the greatest sum of happiness. Physical Order, or the order of the material universe, is that by which every part is made to harmonize to the other part, and all individually to the whole collectively. Thus, the adaptation of light to the eye, and of the eye to light; the adaptation of the structure of the ear and of the lungs to the constitution of the atmosphere, and its various undulations; the adaptation of the waters, the vegetable productions of the field, the minerals in the bowels of the earth, the colours produced by the solar rays, and all the other parts and agencies of external nature, to the wants and the happiness of sentient beings; the adaptation of day and night to the labour and rest appointed for man; and the regularity of the motions of the planetary bodies in their circuits round the sun-constitute the physical order, or harmony of the visible world; and it is this which constitutes its principal beauty, and which evinces the wisdom of its Almighty Author. Moral Order is the harmony of intelligent beings in respect to one another, and to their Creator, and is founded upon those relations in which they respectively stand to each other. Thus, reverence, adoration, and gratitude, from creatures, correspond or harmonize with the idea of a self-existent, omnipotent, and benevolent Being, on whom they depend, and from whom they derive every enjoyment, and love, and good will, and a desire to promote each other's happiness, harmonize with the idea of intelligences of the same species mingling together in social intercourses. For, it will at once be admitted, that affections directly opposite to these, and universally prevalent, would tend to destroy the moral harmony of the intelligent universe, and to introduce anarchy and confusion, and consequently misery, among all the rational inhabitants of the material world. The following brief illustration, by way of contrast, may, perhaps, have a tendency more particularly to impress the mind with the idea of order intended to be conveyed in the above stated definitions. Suppose the principle which unites the planetary globes in one harmonious system, to be dissolved, and the planets to run lawlessly through the sky-suppose the planet Jupiter to forsake his orbit, and in his course to the distant regions of space, to impinge against the planet Saturn, and to convulse the solid crust of that globe from its surface to its centre, to disarrange the order of its satellites, to shatter its rings into pieces, and to carry the fragments of them along with him in his lawless career,-suppose the sun to attract his nearest planets to his surface with a force that would shake them to their centres, and dissolve their present constitution,-suppose the moon to fly from her orbit, and rush towards the planet Venus,-the earth to be divested of its atmosphere, the foundations of its mountains to be overturned, and to be hurled into the plains, and into the ocean; its seas and rivers to forsake their ancient channels, and to overflow the land, and its human inhabitants swept promiscuously along with the inferior animals into dens and caves, and crevices of the earth, and into the bottom of the ocean:-in such a scene, we should have presented to our view a specimen of physical confusion and disorder; and it would form an impressive emblem of the state of rational beings, whose moral order is completely subverted. Again, suppose the rational inhabitants of our globe to be universally set against each other, in order to accomplish their misery and destruction suppose the child rising in opposition to his parents, the wife plotting the destruction of her husband, the brother insnaring his sister, and decoying her to ruin,-teachers of all descriptions inculcating the arts of deception, of revenge, and of destruction, and representing every principle and fact as contrary to what it really isfalsehoods of every description industriously forged and circulated as facts through every rank of society-rulers setting themselves in opposi tion to the populace, and plotting their destruction, while they are at the same time actuated by a principle of pride, of envy, and malice against each other-the populace setting themselves in opposition to their rulers, exterminating them from the earth, subverting every principle of law and order, gratifying, without control, every principle of revenge, avarice, lasciviousness and sensual indulgence, and enjoying a diabolical satisfaction in contemplating the scenes of misery they have created-in short, every one beholding in his neighbour the malevolence of a fiend armed with instruments of destruction, and devising schemes to secure his misery and ruin. Suppose the lower auimals, impelled by revenge, to rise up in indignation against man, and to swell the horrors of this general anarchy-suppose the superior orders of intelligences to mingle in this scene of confusion, to exert their high physical and intellectual powers in adding fuel to these malevolent principles and operations, and in attempting to drag other intelligences of a still higher order from their seats of bliss-suppose all these intelligences actuated by an implacable hatred of their Creator, combined to deface the beauties of the material creation, and then to engage in a war of universal extermination throughout the whole intelligent system in every region of the universe: such a state of things, if it could exist in the universe, would form a perfect contrast to moral order; it would present a scene in which existence could not be desirable to any intelligent mind, and in which happiness could not possibly be enjoyed by any rational being, but by Him who is eternally happy independently of his creatures. Moral order, then, is completely opposed to such a state of things as has now been represented; it consists in every being holding its proper station in the universe, acting according to the nature of that station, and using its powers and faculties for the purposes for which they were originally intended; and the grand object intended to be accomplished by this order, is, the happiness of the whole,-without which misery would reign uncontrolled throughout all the ranks of intelligent existence. This state of the moral world is most frequently designated in scripture by the term holiness. Of the ideas included under this term, and several of its kindred epithets, very vague and imperfect conceptions are frequently entertained. Its leading or generic idea, from what has been now stated, will evidently appear to be, a conformity to order, founded on the relations of intelligent beings to each other; or, in other words, it consists in a complete conformity to the law of God, (which is founded on those relations) including both the action and the principle from which it flows. In reference to created beings, holiness may, therefore, be defined to be a conformity to the moral order of the universe, and, in relation to the Creator, it is that perfection of his nature, which leads him to promote the moral order and happiness of intelligent beings, and to counteract every thing which stands in opposition to this object. That the leading ideas and definitions now stated are correct, will, perhaps, more distinctly appear in the course of the following discussions and illustrations; but should any one be disposed to call in question the statements now given in reference to the primary idea of morality, his difference of opinion on this point will not materially affect the leading train of sentiment proseeuted in the further elucidation of this subject. SECTION II. ON THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF MO RALITY. The leading idea of morality or holiness, as now stated, resolves itself into the two following principles-love to God the Creator, and love to fellow intelligences. These are the two grand springs on which the whole moral machine of the universe depends. All the diversified actions by which happiness is diffused among intelligent agents, are only so many ramifications of these two simple and sublime principles, which connect all holy beings throughout the wide empire of God, in one harmonious union. This we are not left to infer merely from the nature of things, but have the authority of the supreme Legislator, as our warrant for placing these principles as the foundation of all moral virtue among every class of moral agents. For thus saith our Saviour, "THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART, AND WITH ALL THY MIND, AND WITH ALL THY STRENGTH. This is the first and great commandment. The second is like unto it: THOU SHALT LOVE THY neighbour as THYSELF. On these two principles hang all the law and the prophets." These principles, now that they are communicated, and sanctioned by divine authority, appear quite accordant to the dictates of enlightened reason, and calculated to promote the happiness of the intelligent creation; yet we never find that the moral systems of pagan philosophers, in any country, were built on this foundation, or that they assumed them as indispensable axioms to guide them in their speculations on the subject of ethics. In elucidating this topic, I shall endeavour to show the reasonableness and the utility of these principles of moral action, from a consideration of the nature of God, and the relations in which intelligent beings stand to him as the source of their existence and felicity-from the nature of subordinate intelligences, and the relations in which they stand to one another-from the misery which must inevitably follow, where such principles are violated or reversed from the happiness that would necessarily flow from their full operation-and, lastly, that they apply to the circumstances of all created intelligences wher ever existing, throughout the boundless universe I have used the plural term principles, to ex press the foundation of moral action, because our Saviour has arranged them under two distinct heads, in the passage just now quoted; but strictly speaking, there is but one principle, namely, Love, which divides itself, as it were, into two great streams, one directing its course towards the supreme Source of all felicity, and the other towards all the subordinate intelligences He has created. First Principle-LOVE TO GOD. Love, considered in reference to the Supreme Being, may be viewed as dividing itself into a variety of streams or kindred emotions, all flowing from one source. The most prominent of these emotions are the following-Admiration, which consists in a delightful emotion, arising from a contemplation of the wonderful works of God, and of the wisdom and goodness which they unfold-Reverence, which is nearly allied to admiration, is a solemn emotion, mingled with awe and delight, excited in the mind, when it contemplates the perfections, and the grand operations of the Eternal Mind-Gratitude, which consists in affection to the Supreme Being, on account of the various benefits he has conferred upon us -Humility, which consists in a just sense of our own character and condition, especially when we compare ourselves with the purity and perfection of the divine character. To these emotions may be added Complacency and delight in the character and operations of God-Adoration of his excellencies, and an unlimited Dependence upon him in reference to our present concerns, and to our future destination. I have stated these different modifications of the first principle of morality, because, in the following illustrations, they may all occasionally be taken into account, when an allusion is made to the affections, which the character and operations of the divine Being have a tendency to excite. Love is that noble affection which is excited by amiable objects; and therefore, in order to its being rational, permanent, and delightful, it must be founded on the perception of certain amiable qualities or attributes connected with its object. In order to demonstrate the reasonableness of this affection in reference to God, it is only requisite to consider his character and perfections, and the relation in which he stands to us as the Author of our existence and enjoyments. But, as a comprehensive view of this subject would require volumes for its illustration, I shall confine myself to the illustration of only two or three lineaments of the divine character. SECTION III. ON THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. We naturally venerate and admire a character in which physical energy is combined with high 3 intellectual powers, when these powers are uniformly exerted in the counteraction of vice and misery, and in the promotion of happiness. On this ground, the Omnipotence of God is calculated to affect the mind with that particular modification of love, which is designated by the term Reverence. Were it possible that any human being could construct a machine, by means of which, in combination with his own physical powers, he could transport himself and his treasures from one region of the globe to another, at the rate of 200 miles in an hour, and were he, at the same time, to devote his treasures, and his moral and intellectual energies to the improvement and melioration of the various tribes of mankind in every clime through which he passed, such an object could not fail of exciting in our minds a sentiment of admiration and reverence. Were one of the highest orders of created intelligences to descend from his celestial mansion, and to display himself to our view in all the bright radiance of his native heavenwere he to take his station over the regions of Thibet or Hindostan, and, after having excited the attention of a wondering populace, were he to detach the huge masses of the Himalaya mountains from their foundations, and toss them into the depths of the Indian Ocean, and, in the course of a few hours, transform the barren wastes of that dreary region into a scene of beauty and luxuriant vegetation, and cause splendid cities to arise, where formerly nothing was presented to the view but a bleak and frightful wilderness-at such a display of physical power, combined with benevolent design, wo could not withhold a feeling of awe, and a sentiment of reverence, almost approaching to religious adoration. If, then, the contemplation of physical and mental energies, with which even created beings may possibly be invested, would excite our admiration and reverence, what powerful emotions of this description must the energies of the Uncreated Mind be calculated to produce, when they are contemplated by the eye of enlightened reason, and in the light of divine revelation! When this huge globe on which we dwell existed in the state of a shapeless and unformed mass; when land, and water, and air, were blended in wild confusion, and chaos and darkness extended their dominion over all its gloomy regions, at His command "light sprung out of darkness, and order out of confusion" the mountains reared their projecting summits, the valleys were depressed, the caverns of the ocean were hollowed out, and the waters retired to the places which He had appointed for them. The fields were clothed with luxuriant verdure; Eden appeared in all its beauty; the inferior tribes of animated existence took possession of the air, the waters, and the earth, and man was formed in the image of his Maker, to complete this wondrous scene. At this period, too, the earth received such a powerful impulse from the hand of its Creator, as has carried it along through the voids of space, with all its furniture and inhabitants, in the most rapid career, for six thousand years; having already moved through a space of 3,480,000,000,000 miles, and will still continue its unremitting course for thousands of years to come, till the "mystery of Providence be finished." Would we be struck with admiration and astonishment, at beholding a superior created intelligence tossing a mountain into the sea? What strong emotions of reverence and awe, then, ought to pervade our minds, when we behold the Almighty every moment producing effects infinitely more powerful and astonishing! What would be our astonishment, were we to behold, from a distance, a globe as large as the earth tossed from the hand of Omnipotence, and flying at the rate of a thousand miles every minute! Yet this is nothing more than what is every day produced by the unceasing energies of that Power which first called us into existence. That impulse which was first given to the earth at its creation is still continued, by which it is carried round every day from west to east, along with its vast population, and at the same time impelled forward through the regions of space at the rate of sixty-eight thousand miles in an hour. Nor is this among the most wonderful effects of divine power: it is only one comparatively small specimen of that omnipotent energy which resides in the Eternal Mind. When we lift our eyes towards the sky, we behold bodies a thousand times larger than this world of ours, impelled with similar velocities through the mighty expanse of the universe. We behold the planetary globes wheeling their rapid courses around the sun, with unremitting velocity-the comets returning from their long excursions in the distant regions of space, and flying towards the centre of our system with a velocity of hundreds of thousands of miles an hour-the sun himself impelled toward some distant region of space, and carrying along with him all his attendant planets and, in a word, we have the strongest reason to conclude, that all the vast systems of the universe, which are more numerous than language can express, are in rapid and incessant motion around the throne of the Eternal, carrying forward the grand designs of infinite wisdom which they are destined to accomplish.* It must, however, be admitted, that the manifestation of power, or great physical energy, abstractly considered, is not of itself calculated to produce that emotion of reverence which flows from love, unless the being in whom it resides exerts it for the purposes of benevolence. A superior being, endowed with great physical See a more comprehensive Illustration of this subject in "The Christian Philosopher," pp. 8-29. and intellectual energies, which were exerted solely for the purpose of destruction, could inspire no feelings but those of dread and alarm; and were it possible to conceive an omnipotent being divested of the attribute of benevolence, or possessed of a capricious character, he would form the most terrible object which the human mind could contemplate. But the attribute of infinite power, when conjoined with infinite wisdom and goodness, conveys an idea the most glorious and transporting. Every display of divine power to which I have now alluded, has the communication of happiness for its object. The motion of the earth around its axis every twentyfour hours, is intended to distribute light and darkness, in regular proportions, to all the inhabitants of the earth, and to correspond to the labour and rest appointed for man. It produces a variety which is highly gratifying to the ra tional mind; for, while our fellow-men on the opposite side of the globe are enjoying the splendours of the noonday sun, the shades of night, which at that time envelope our hemi sphere, are the means of disclosing to our view the magnificent glories of the starry frame. Were this motion to cease, this world and all its inhabitants would be thrown into a state of confusion and misery. While the inhabitants of one hemisphere enjoyed the splendours of perpetual day, the glories of the nocturnal heavens would be for ever veiled from their view, and the inhabitants of the other hemisphere would be enveloped in the shades of eternal night. While the one class was suffering under the scorching effects of excessive heat, the other would be frozen to death amidst the rigours of insufferable cold-vegetable nature, in both cases, would languish, and the animal tribes would be gradually extinguished. The same benevolent intention may be perceived in that exertion of power by which the earth is carried forward in its annual course around the sun. From this motion we derive all the pleasures we enjoy from the vicissitude of the seasons; without which the variety of nature that appears in the beauties of spring, the luxuriance of summer, the fruits of autumn, and the repose of winter, would be completely destroyed. And, it is worthy of notice, that all this variety is enjoyed every moment by some one tribe or other of the human family; for while it is summer in one region, it is winter in another; and while one class of our fellow-men is contemplating the opening beauties of spring, another is gathering in the fruits of harvest. The same benevolent designs, we have every reason to believe, are displayed in those more magnificent exertions of divine power which appear among all the rolling worlds on high; for, in so far as our observations extend, all the arrangements of the planetary globes appear calculated to promote the happiness of sentient and intellectual beings. |