deal with men according to their works; and yet will not judge them for impiety or ingratitude to him, nor for unkindness and injustice to each other, and has no concern with the good or evil done by man—that all religions are alike, and that it is no matter what religion a man embraces. LORD BOLINGBROKE says, power and wisdom are the only attributes of God, yet ascribes every other perfection to him—that God does not concern himself with human affairs at all-that divines are to be censured for saying that he made men to be happy, yet asserts himself that God made them to be happythat the religion of nature is clear to all mankind, and yet that the greatest part of mankind are ignorant of it-that self-love is the great law of nature, and yet that universal benevolence is the great law of nature-that. there is no conscience in man, except artificially—and that it is more natural to believe in many gods, than to believe in one. As to morality, he affirms, that ambition, avarice, sensuality, &c, may be lawfully gratified, if safely—that man is only a superior animal—that the chief end of man is to gratify the appetites and inclinations of the flesh,--that polygamy is the religion of nature that adultery is no violation of it, and that there no wrong except in the most brutal lewdness. The celebrated, the shrewd, the philosophical HUME asserts that there is no reason to believe that the universe had a cause; and yet that it is universally allowed, that nothing exists without a cause--that there are no sound arguments in proof of a God, and yet that it would be unreasonable to believe God wise and good—that what we call perfections in God, may be defects; that is to say, that justice, goodness, truth, &c, may be divine de

is

fects. In his private correspondence he affirms, that self-denial and humility are not virtues, but are absolutely injurious-that pride, self-esteem, ingenuity, &c, are virtues, that adultery must be practised, if men would gain all the advantages of life, and if generally practised would in time cease to be scandalous, and if secretly and frequently practised, would soon be thought no crime! VOLTAIRE and HELVETIUs advocated the unrestrained indulgence of sensual appetites; and Helvetius affirms that it is impolitic to regard adultery as a vice, and moreover, that it is useful; while Voltaire practised it to a shameless and beastly extent, as his private life fully shows. The hypocrisy, treachery, cruelty and profligacy of this last are too foul to be repeated.*

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11. Such then are the precepts, doctrines, and morals of these oracles of modern infidelity, these worshippers of Reason; and we see in the picture how far the light of nature has served to guide them in the path of truth, of morality, and right. No excuse can be offered for them they were not ignorant, but professed themselves philosophers: they had the experience of the past, and all the concentrated light of the present; and yet how widely, how fearfully have they erred, and that upon points of the utmost importance to the interests and happiness of man, and to the virtue and well-being of society! The principles and precepts mentioned, are of such a character as to startle even the boldest minds, and we cannot but feel that if this be the light of nature, it is surely not the light of truth or duty.

* For the materials of this paragraph, we are indebted to "Leland's View of Deistical writers," London, 1757. Boston Atheneum. Also to Horne, who copied from him, and to Priestley's Institutes, Part II.

the

12. We have now finished our examination. In progress of it, we have considered, 1st, the tribes and people who are in a savage or barbarous state2d, the philosophers of Egypt, Greece, and Rome— and 3d, the philosophers of our own day; and we have found in the belief, the doctrines and practices of these separate divisions, and of the whole, proof irrefutable that the light of nature is utterly insufficient to meet the intellectual, moral, and religious wants of man. And here we must be permitted to add, in confirmation of this result the testimony of the celebrated Mr Volney. He says, in his work on that subject, that the law, or light of nature is "evident and palpable," consisting entirely of "facts always present to the senses" -that it is " rational, just, pacific, and tolerant"-that it is "equally beneficent to all men, teaching them the true means of becoming better and happier," and is "alone sufficient to render them happier and better."* Now, if we turn to a passage in the Ruins, we shall see this beautiful theory all prostrated in the dust by solemn facts. "We shall find," says he, "in the most celebrated of ancient states, enormous vices and cruel abuses, the true causes of their decay; we shall find in general that the principles of government were atrocious; that insolent robberies, barbarous wars, and implacable hatreds were raging from nation to nation; that natural right was unknown; that morality was perverted by senseless fanaticism and deplorable superstition; that a dream, a vision, an oracle were constantly the causes of vast commotions." And yet these nations had ever † Ruins, c. xiii.

*Law of Nature, c. ii.

before them and around them, the "pacific and tolerant" light of nature, which was "alone sufficient to render them happier and better!" This testimony, then, coming from Mr Volney, an enemy to revelation, and a follower of the light of nature, sets the seal to all that we have said, and writes upon the very forehead of modern scepticism the sentence of everlasting condemnation. 13. Here then is the conclusion of the matter as far as we have proceeded. 1st. There is a God. 2d. From the character of God, from the ignorance of man, and the insufficiency of the light of nature as a guide, a revelation is both reasonable and probable. In the next chapter we shall attempt to show the necessity of the Christian, or a similar revelation, at the time this professes to have been made, by a consideration of the then existing state of the moral and religious world.

CHAPTER IV.

NECESSITY OF A REVELATION PROVED FROM THE RELIGIOUS AND MORAL STATE OF THE HEATHEN WORLD PREVIOUS TO THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY. IS THAT NECESSITY ANSWERED BY CHRISTIANITY?

SECTION I.

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS.

1. THE Conclusion at which we arrived in the preceding chapter with regard to a revelation, was, that it was reasonable and probable; which conclusion was drawn from an examination of facts. In the present chapter we shall attempt, pursuing the same course, to demonstrate the necessity of a revelation. In doing this, we shall call up in review the religious opinions and moral practices of the heathen world prior to Christ's appearance upon earth. It will be our object to show, that at that time its condition in these respects was such as to call loudly, so to speak, for a reform; to show that men universally, the learned and unlearned, the wise man and the fool, the philosopher, and the peasant, were all reduced to a common level, had all become so bewildered, and blinded, and corrupted, that they were inca.