®fje Ht&rarp 
 
 of tije 
 
 WLnitev&itv ofi^ortfj Carolina 
 
 ©fjte book toag presenteb 
 
 y 
 
UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 ^ - 
 
 00022245964 
 
 i^£ 
 
 ip 
 
 £* J-&7 *£*-* ^^* 
 
 'f 
 
 S 
 
 '??>s4ls 
 
;' 
 
HL !i 
 
 ^MmBm®miS& 'mk 
 
PETER PARLEY'S 
 
 '*r**- 
 
 FAREWELL 
 
 Z& Gnsv • » 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 S. COLMAN, 8 ASTOR HOUSE 
 
 MDCCCXL. 
 
I - 
 
 Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1839, 
 
 BY S. G. GOODRICH, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 
 
 
 STEREOTYPED BY 
 
 GEO. A. & J. CURTIS, 
 
 NEW-ENGLAND TYPE AND STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY, 
 BOSTON. 
 
IP IB 3S IF A© So 
 
 The author of this volume is under great obligations to 
 the public, for the kindness with which his humble produc- 
 tions, under the fiction of Peter Parley, have been received: 
 they have had a much larger share of attention than, as 
 literary performances, they could claim ; for even excellence 
 in this species of composition — to which he lays no claim — 
 demands less of genius than discipline. 
 
 The writer for children must make children, not men, his 
 critics ; he must be indifferent to the sneers of the scholar, 
 and turn his back upon that species of ambition which ani- 
 mates the common arena of the world. He must descend 
 r* from that "exceeding high mountain" to which the tempter 
 l? would elevate him, and bidding adieu to its dazzling land- 
 - scapes, sit down in humble companionship with childhood — 
 
 A 
 
11 PREFACE. 
 
 and that too under a conviction that " of such is the king- 
 dom of heaven." 
 
 Though this pursuit is regarded as a humble, and often a 
 mean, vocation, yet it is not without the means of vindica- 
 tion, even in the light of philosophy. If a man can look to 
 results, and be satisfied with benefits done to his race, he 
 may find compensation for the sacrifices he is called upon to 
 make, in devoting his life to the moral and intellectual cul- 
 ture of children. These open a field of prolific soil, which 
 may be successfully cultivated, even by very humble abili- 
 ties. The oak defies the efforts of a giant to change its 
 form, but the pigmy may shape the sapling as he will. 
 Genius may therefore waste a life in vain efforts upon hard- 
 ened manhood, while youth, yielding to the slightest touch, 
 may be moulded, in hundreds and thousands, by a far infe- 
 rior hand, into the image of God. It may seem that bene- 
 fitting the rising generation is like setting out trees for 
 posterity, whose fruit or shade we cannot share ; but this 
 suggestion leaves out of view the satisfaction which flows 
 from the ever-springing fountain of conscious benevolence. 
 
PREFACE. Ill 
 
 How far such views may have influenced the writer of 
 these pages, cannot be of the slightest consequence to the 
 public ; yet he may be permitted to say, that if he has 
 missed the compensation here suggested, he feels that Peter 
 Parley's Tales have been written in vain. 
 
 In England, these works have been extensively repub- 
 lished, but the violated contract of a leading publisher has 
 left the author without return. Nor is this the only source 
 of annoyance, for books which he never wrote have been 
 palmed upon the public, with the name of Peter Parley in 
 the title-page ; and thus he is made responsible for works, 
 some of which are sullied with passages incompatible alike 
 with good manners and good morals. 
 
 But while these foreign pirates have pursued their system 
 of plunder, the author has the satisfaction to know that his 
 rights have been generally respected in his own country. It 
 is true that "Parley's Magazine" has been four years con- 
 tinued without the participation, in any manner whatever, 
 of the subscriber ; yet it came into the hands of its present 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 publishers under circumstances which, perhaps, forbid com- 
 plaint on his part. 
 
 In taking a final leave of the public, in the character 
 of Peter Parley, I have therefore but to offer my grateful 
 acknowledgments to my countrymen, and to say one word 
 respecting these farewell pages. They are not written for 
 infancy, but for youth, and are designed to make the argu- 
 ments for the Christian Religion, accessible to those who 
 have no means of education beyond the precincts of the 
 fireside and the common school. 
 
 Author of Peter Parley's Tales. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PART I. 
 
 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 Page 
 
 Chap. I. Curious contrivance by which the ears of wheat are protected. About 
 the seeds of peas, beans, and cotton ; ingenious means by which they 
 are guarded. About other seeds. Great design in the care taken of 
 seeds, viz. to provide food for animals and to disseminate and per- 
 petuate plants, 9 
 
 Chap. II. Plants do not think, how then can they contrive ? They do not con- 
 trive, but some one contrives for them. Who is it? Plants prove 
 the existence of a thinking, designing, contriving Being, infinitely 
 superior to man in wisdom and power, whom we call God. The 
 ends answered by seeds, the supplying of food and the perpetuation 
 of the races of plants, prove the existence of a designing Being — a 
 God, 14 
 
 Chap. III. The Wild Daisy, 18 
 
 Chap. IV. Man cannot make a seed, and if he could it would not grow. God 
 only can make a thing grow. The artificial bird. Use of the word 
 Nature. Its true meaning. No such thing as nature acting and 
 producing, independent of God, 20 
 
 Chap. V. The partridge's feather. Who made it ? Man cannot make a feather, 
 much less a wing. Story of a man who tried to make wings and 
 fly. Who makes eggs ? Who makes birds ? Birds do not make 
 eggs, or birds. Man cannot make eggs, or birds. The existence of 
 birds proves a God, 26 
 
 Chap. VI. Birds produce eggs, but do not make them. Ingenuity displayed in 
 the construction of an egg. It surpasses the ingenuity of man. Thus 
 eggs prove the existence of God, 28 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 Chap. VII. Every thing proves the existence of God. About Insects. The 
 
 housefly. Its structure. This proves clearly the existence of God. 
 
 All nature a book, showing forth the existence of God, ... 32 
 
 Chap. VIII. Of fishes. Description of the perch. Wonderful ingenuity dis- 
 played in the structure of fishes. Fishes prove the existence of a 
 God, 36 
 
 Chap. IX. About reptiles. The frog, lizards, alligator, crocodile. The leviathan 
 of the Scriptures. Other reptiles. None but a superior being could 
 have made them, 37 
 
 Chap. X. The existence of a Deity proved by the structure of quadrupeds. The 
 elephant. His frame. His tusks— his short neck — and the proboscis 
 to compensate the defect. Ingenuity of the proboscis. Man could 
 not make elephants. None but a Superior Being could create 
 them, 41. 
 
 Chap. XI. Existence of God proved by the structure of man's body, . . 46 
 
 Chap. XII. Proofs of the existence of God from the marks of arrangement and 
 
 design in the structure of the earth, 48 
 
 Chap. XIII. Proofs of a Deity afforded by Astronomy, 52 
 
 Chap. XIV. God made all things, 54 
 
 Chap. XV. Review of the argument. Existence of God proved. His personality 
 
 proved. A doubt started, 56 
 
 Chap. XVI. The unity of God proved from the unity of design observable 
 
 throughout the universe, 60 
 
 Chap. XVII. Skill of the Creator illustrated from the mechanical structure of 
 
 the human body: the heart and spine; the circulation of the blood, . 65 
 
 Chap. XVIII. The wisdom of the Creator shown by the peculiar and yet suitable 
 
 organization of certain animals, 70 
 
 Chap. XIX. Wisdom of the Deity proved from the preparations beforehand for 
 the wants of animals, found in the contrivances of Nature : also by 
 the fitness and adaptation of some parts of animals to other parts, . 78 
 
 Chap. XX. Wisdom of the Creator proved by the means adopted to compensate 
 
 for defects in animal organization, 82 
 
 Chap. XXI. The argument continued, 85 
 
 Chap. XXII. Proofs of the Wisdom of the Creator furnished by the relation of 
 
 the structure of animals to inanimate Nature, .... 86 
 
 Chap. XXIII. The wisdom and power of God proved from the instinct of ani- 
 mals, 90 
 
 Chap. XXrV. Instinct continued. Quadrupeds. The Beaver. Ants, . . 97 
 
CONTENTS. Vll 
 
 Page 
 
 Chap. XXV. Instinct,— continued. The Honey-Bee, 107 
 
 Chap. XXVI. Instinct continued. The Spider. Conclusion of this topic, . 121 
 Chap. XXVII. Wisdom and power of God proved by animal life, and by the 
 
 mind of man, 130 
 
 Chap. XXVIII. The wisdom and power of God displayed by the sun, moon, and 
 
 stars, 132 
 
 Chap. XXIX. Wisdom and power of God, as seen by considering him as the Cre- 
 ator and Sustainer of all things, 137 
 
 Chap. XXX. Difficulties removed, 142 
 
 Chap. XXXI. The benevolence of the Deity, displayed by the happiness of his 
 
 creatures, 146 
 
 Chap. XXXII. Benevolence of the Deity— Continued, 152 
 
 Chap. XXXIII. Benevolence of the Deity— Continued, 155 
 
 Chap. XXXIV. Benevolence of the Deity— Continued, 160 
 
 Chap. XXXV. Difficulties answered, . 166 
 
 Chap. XXXVI. Difficulties— Continued, » 4 . 173 
 
 Chap. XXXVII. Difficulties— Continued, . 177 
 
 Chap. XXXVIII. Review of the preceding chapters, 183 
 
 PART II. 
 
 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 Chap. I. The works of Creation adapted to fulfil the design of their Creator. 
 Man is an immortal being, a moral being. To qualify man to fulfil 
 his duty as such, a full revelation of God's will as to man's duty and 
 destiny, seems to be required. Has such a revelation been fur- 
 nished? 186 
 
 Chap. II. The several works which claim to be revelations from God. Mahomet 
 and the Koran. The sacred books of the Hindoos. Various heathen 
 creeds. The Bible, 196 
 
 Chap. III. History of the Bible, 200 
 
 Chap. IV. The various kinds of proof which may be brought to show the authen- 
 ticity of the Scriptures, 204 
 
 Chap. V. The New Testament. The accounts set forth by the Gospels. The 
 design of Christ's mission and death : the object of the preaching of 
 his Apostles. The period of these events. Political, social, and re- 
 ligious state of society at this time, 205 
 
Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Chap. VI. Unbelief of the Jewish nation in Christ's mission. Unbelief of the 
 
 ancient heathen nations. Modern infidelity. The Bible to be tested 
 
 likejother books, 212 
 
 Chap. VII. Testimony of Tacitus, a Roman writer, to the fact that Christ died 
 
 for his religion ; and that this was rapidly extended after his death, 215 
 Chap. VIII. Christ's religion did originate, and the New-Testament account of 
 its origin explains its rapid extension. Moreover, there is no other 
 history of this matter set up by heathen writers ; on the contrary, 
 so far as they go, they confirm it. The inference in favor of the truth 
 
 of the New Testament is very strong, 220 
 
 Chap. IX. All the Christian writers, from the earliest to the latest times, speak 
 as if the New-Testament account of Christ and his religion was the 
 
 true one, and the only one, 223 
 
 Chap. X. Proofs that the books of the New Testament were written by their re- 
 puted authors, 230 
 
 Chap. XI. Internal evidences of the truth of the New Testament. Candor of the 
 writers. Passages unlikely to be the work of impostors. Natural- 
 ness of some passages, 241 
 
 Chap. XII. Consistency and unity of the character of Christ, as drawn by the 
 several Evangelists. Harmony of the Gospel history, in dates, 
 events and allusions to manners and customs, with other histories, 246 
 
 Chap. XIII. Morality of the Gospel, • 255 
 
 Chap. XIV. The purity of Christ's character, 266 
 
 Chap. XV. Miracles of Christ. The rapid extension of his religion. Inferences, . 273 
 
 Chap. XVI. Prophecies concerning Christ, 281 
 
 Chap. XVII. Review of the arguments respecting the New Testament, . . 289 
 
 Chap. XVIII. Inspiration of the New-Testament books, 294 
 
 Chap. XIX. The Old Testament. Its inspiration. Referred to by Christ and his 
 
 apostles as inspired. Homer compared with Isaiah, . . . 296 
 
 Chap. XX. The prophet Habakkuk, 303 
 
 Chap. XXI. The Old Testament continued. Prophecies. Babylon. The 
 
 Arabs. Jews. Other prophecies, 305 
 
 Chap. XXII. Review of the argument for the truth and inspiration of the Old 
 
 Testament, 309 
 
 Chap. XXIII. The Bible then is true : it has approved itself to the minds of 
 millions, as a divine revelation ; and all the discoveries of modern 
 
 science but confirm its veracity, 312 
 
 Chap. XXIV. Difficulties answered. — Conclusion, 315 
 
 FAREWELL. 320 
 
PART I. 
 
 NATURAL RELIGION 
 
 Chapter I. 
 
 Curious contrivance by which the ears of wheat are protected. 
 About the seeds of peas, beans and cotton ; ingenious means by which 
 they are guarded. About other seeds. Great design in the care 
 taken of seeds; viz. to provide food for animals and to disseminate and 
 perpetuate plants. 
 
 It was a pleasant day in May, When I 
 chanced to be passing through a field of wheat 
 with my two young friends, Jane and James. 
 The wheat was already grown to the height of 
 several inches, and the heads or ears were 
 some of them formed. But they were yet too 
 tender to be exposed to the cold weather of 
 spring, to the rain, and sun, and wind, and 
 therefore the leaves were gathered over the 
 heads of the ears to shelter them. 
 
 James, who is an inquisitive, observing boy, 
 noticed this, and called my attention to the 
 fact. Jane came up and observed that every 
 
10 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 stalk seemed to wrap up the head of wheat 
 with its leaves, taking as much care of it as a 
 mother does of an infant. Upon this we fell 
 into the following dialogue. 
 
 James. You say Mr. Parley, that the head 
 of wheat is too tender now to be exposed to 
 the weather, and therefore the leaves wrap it 
 up, as blankets are put around an infant to 
 keep it warm and comfortable ; and you say 
 that when the head of wheat is tough enough 
 to bear the weather, the leaves will open and 
 expose it to the sun, and that then the warm 
 weather will ripen it. 
 
 Parley. Yes, I did say so, and all this is 
 true. 
 
 James. Then it seems as if the great object 
 of the wheat stalk was to take care of the head 
 of wheat, and ripen it, and bring it to perfec- 
 tion. 
 
 Parley. Yes, and the reason of this is obvi- 
 ous. The head of wheat contains the seed, 
 and the seed are what the stalks shoot from. 
 Without seeds, wheat cannot be produced. In 
 order that the crop of wheat should continue 
 and increase, wheat seeds must be produced 
 and multiplied. Therefore it is that the wheat 
 
parley's farewell. 11 
 
 stalks take so much care of the heads: it 
 is that the means of continuing and increas- 
 ing the crop of wheat may be secured. If 
 the tender heads of wheat were not thus 
 protected, they would be blasted by early 
 frosts, or by the rain or the sun, and wheat would 
 cease to grow. But now, by the care taken 
 of its head, by the stalk, it increases, and be- 
 comes food for man and for birds and beasts. 
 
 James. And is it the same with rye and 
 oats ? 
 
 Parley. Certainly, and with many other 
 plants. And in some plants, there are still 
 more ingenious modes resorted to, to protect 
 the seeds. Thus the seeds of peas are enclosed 
 in a pod, as smooth and almost as tough as 
 parchment. And there is a very curious con- 
 trivance about these pea-pods, which seems to 
 me very interesting. When they are very 
 young and tender, they are sheltered within 
 the flower, and this is so shaped, that when the 
 wind blows, it turns its back to it, and the 
 young pod is thus kept safe from the blast. 
 
 James. This is more and more wonderful. 
 
 Parley. But it is not all. In some plants, 
 as in beans, the seeds are enclosed in pods, all 
 
12 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 lined with a membrane as soft as silk. In 
 others, as in cotton plants, the seeds are em- 
 bedded in fine wool, and are thus as carefully 
 provided for, as the children of the richwho sleep 
 on beds of down ! And if you look to other 
 plants, you will every where find the same 
 careful arrangements for preserving the seeds, 
 and thus sustaining the races of trees, and 
 flowers, and plants. In the pine, the seed 
 is defended by the hard compact scales of a 
 cone : in the artichoke, it is barricadoed by 
 spikes or prickles ; in the mushroom, it is shel- 
 tered in a sort of penthouse. Thus, the design 
 of preserving the seeds seems to be displayed 
 throughout the vegetable kingdom, and the 
 contrivances by which it is accomplished are 
 ingenious and diversified. Shells, pods, husks, 
 pulps, skins, scales, all are resorted to, to de- 
 fend the seeds. 
 
 Nor are there contrivances, for defence a- 
 gainst the weather, alone. Some are designed 
 to keep them from the birds and squirrels and 
 other animals, till they are ripened, when they 
 are opened of themselves. Thus the chesnut, 
 is enclosed in a prickly burr, but when ripe, 
 this burr parts and the chesnut falls out. So 
 
parley's farewell. 13 
 
 the walnut is cased in a bitter rind, but when 
 ripe, this opens and leaves the nut free. 
 
 A similar design is exhibited in respect to 
 all plants. While young and tender, the seeds 
 are carefully protected. They are not only en- 
 closed and defended, but they adhere closely 
 and tenaciously to the parent stems. But 
 when ripe, the pod or husk, or shell, or burr, 
 opens, and they are also released from the 
 stem. 
 
 Thus, two great objects are accomplished ; 
 a vast amount of food is provided for man, 
 and for the birds and beasts, and, at the same 
 time, the means are secured by which all the 
 races of plants may be perpetuated. Some of 
 the seeds fall upon the ground, and spring up 
 at the root of its parent stalk ; some are 
 scattered by the winds, and strew the distant 
 fields with vegetation ; some are carried by 
 birds to distant lands ; and thus the produc- 
 tions of the earth are diversified, extended and 
 increased. 
 
14 NATURAL RELIGION, 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 Plants do not think, how then can they contrive ? They do not 
 contrive, but some one contrives for them. Who is it ? Plants 
 prove the existence of a thinking, designing, contriving Being, in- 
 finitely superior to man in wisdom and power, whom we call God. 
 The ends answered by seeds, the supplying of food and the perpetua- 
 tion of the races of plants, prove the existence of a designing Being — 
 a God. 
 
 While we continued our walk, the conver- 
 sation between me and my pleasant little friends 
 went on as follows. 
 
 Jane. Well Mr. Parley, I presume what 
 you tell us is all true, for you would not de- 
 ceive us ; besides, we see that the wheat stalks 
 do take care of the tender ears, and we know 
 that the pea seeds are enclosed in pods. But 
 then, the wheat stalks, and the pea stalks, and 
 the bean stalks, and the cotton stalks do not 
 think ; how then can they contrive such in- 
 genious modes of taking care of their seeds. 
 
 Parley. It is true that the plants do not think ; 
 and what does not think, cannot contrive. 
 Therefore, these plants do not contrive these 
 ingenious modes of taking care of their seeds. 
 
 Jane, Who contrives for them, then ? 
 
parley's farewell. 15 
 
 Parley. Cannot you tell me Jane ? 
 
 Jane. I have heard it said that Nature does 
 all these things. 
 
 Parley. And what is Nature ? 
 
 Jane. I do not exactly know, but I sup- 
 posed it to be that power which produces all 
 things. 
 
 Parley. Nature is a word which we often 
 use without attaching to it a precise meaning : 
 but if it be that power which produces all 
 things, it must be a thinking power, else how 
 could it contrive all these wonderful things ? 
 
 James. It appears to me that by Nature, 
 Jane means God. 
 
 Parley. I think she does, and then her 
 answer would be correct. It is God who con- 
 trives for the wheat, and the peas, and the beans, 
 and the cotton, the means of taking care of their 
 seeds. These things display great and inge- 
 nious contrivances, yet they do not themselves 
 think ; they do not feel ; they do not know 
 any thing : they have no intelligence. They 
 cannot, of themselves even move ; how then can 
 they set about planning, devising and contriv- 
 ing ingenious schemes of protection and defence 
 for their seeds. 
 
16 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 It is clear that some thinking, contriving, 
 intelligent Being must be at work in producing 
 plants. Insects, cannot produce plants, nor 
 can animals, nor can man, the most knowing 
 and ingenious inhabitant of the earth. He 
 may plant a seed and it may grow, but he does 
 not make it grow. Nor can man make a seed 
 of any kind. He may make a watch, but if 
 you plant it, it will not grow. He cannot 
 make even a blade of grass, or a tree, or a 
 shrub. Some being superior to man, infinitely 
 more wise, ingenious and powerful than man, 
 must be the creator, contriver and supporter 
 of plants. That being we call God. The 
 plants prove his existence as clearly as if we 
 saw him ; for they could not have existed, it 
 not produced by such a being ; and if not sus- 
 tained and continued by such a being, they 
 would cease. 
 
 The great ends answered by seeds, are the 
 supplying of food to man and animals, and the 
 perpetuation of the races of plants. These 
 show the work of a great and intelligent De- 
 signer. They show that one who thinks, and 
 knows, one who intends to produce results, 
 one whose plans are vast as this wide world, 
 
parley's farewell. 17 
 
 and extend to every tree and shrub and plant, 
 and include all animals, presides over the 
 world. They show that he is a Being whose 
 power is equal to his designs, for all the plants 
 and trees and flowers, whether in America, or 
 Europe, or Africa, or Asia, rise out of the 
 ground at his bidding, grow in the various 
 forms he has provided, take care of their 
 seeds as he has directed, and come to maturity 
 as he has commanded. If it be remembered 
 that a plant cannot grow of itself, that it will 
 perish if not sustained and carried forward by 
 some power out of itself, we shall see that the 
 great Author and contriver and sustainer of 
 plants must watch over every one, direct its 
 growth, guide and develope its powers, shape 
 each leaf and flower, and form every seed. 
 Plants prove that such a Being does exist, and 
 that Beinsr we call God. 
 
 2 
 
18 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 The Wild Daisy. * 
 
 Parley. The following lines are designed to 
 show that a single wild daisy, found in the 
 woods early in the spring, clearly proves the 
 existence of a God, for how could it spring up 
 and put forth its bloom, if God did not cause 
 it to do so ? If it is answered that nature 
 caused it to do so, then nature must be a think- 
 ing being ; a being that is capable of contriv- 
 ing all the delicate mechanism of a plant, and 
 of adapting the means to produce the result. 
 
 Nature must, according to this, be not only 
 a thinking Being, but a very ingenious and 
 powerful one. Nature must be, therefore, pre- 
 cisely that Being we call God. To say then 
 that nature causes a daisy to grow, is the 
 same thing as saying that God caused it to 
 grow ; for in either case, the growth of the 
 flower is made to depend on the existence of 
 a thinking and designing Being, possessed of 
 ingenuity and power infinitely superior to that 
 of man. 
 
parley's farewell. 19 
 
 to a wild daisy in march. 
 
 My pretty flower, how cam'st thou there? 
 Around thee all is sad and sere ; 
 The brown leaves tell of winter's breath, 
 And all but thee of doom and death. 
 
 The naked forest shivering sighs. 
 On yonder hill the snow-wreath lies, 
 And all is bleak ; — then say, sweet flower, 
 How cam'st thou here in such an hour? 
 
 No tree unfolds its timid bud, 
 Chill pours the hill-side's lurid flood, 
 The tuneless forest all is dumb; — 
 How then, fair violet, didst thou come? 
 
 Spring hath not scattered yet her flowers, 
 But lingers still in southern bowers; 
 No gardener's art hath cherished thee, 
 For wild and lone thou springest free. 
 
 Thou springest here to man unknown, 
 Waked into life by God alone ! 
 Sweet flower, thou tellest well thy birth, — 
 Thou cam'st from heaven, though soiled in earth. 
 
 Thou tell'st of Him whose boundless power 
 Speaks into birth a world or flower ; 
 And dost a God as clearly prove 
 As all the orbs in heaven that move. 
 
20 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 Man cannot make a seed, and if he could it would not grow. God 
 only can make a thing grow. The artificial bird. Use of the word 
 Nature. Its true meaning. JVo such thing as nature acting and 
 producing, independent of God. 
 
 When I had recited these lines to my 
 young pupils, the following dialogue occurred 
 between us. 
 
 Jane. Mr. Parley, I think it is quite true, 
 as you have told us, that the existence of plants 
 prove the existence of a God. Since you 
 spoke to us about the seeds of beans and peas, 
 and other plants, James and I have talked a 
 good deal on the subject. James said he could 
 make a pea with his penknife and so he got a 
 pea to examine it — but when he broke it open, 
 he found that it consisted of several parts all 
 nicely packed together ; and he found that he 
 could not imitate it. 
 
 James. That is all true, and if I could have 
 made a pea, I could not have made the pod. 
 
 Parley. Nor could any man : and if you 
 could make a pea, it would only be a cheat, 
 for put it in the ground, and it would not grow. 
 No peas but those made by God will grow ; 
 
parley's farewell. 21 
 
 for it is He alone that can put into a seed the 
 principle of vegetable life. 
 
 I have seen a little box at Bonfanti's shop 
 in New York, which, when wound up like a 
 watch, would open at the top, and a little bird 
 would come up, flutter his wings, jerk his tail, 
 turn his head and sing a song, and then he 
 would disappear into the box again. But this 
 was not a real bird ; it was only an ingenious 
 contrivance, by which little pieces of brass and 
 silver, in the shape of a bird, were made to 
 imitate the manners and song of a bird. It 
 was a mere piece of mechanism. The man 
 who made this, might make a thing like a pea, 
 but neither he nor the most ingenious man that 
 ever lived, could make a real pea, that would 
 grow. 
 
 Kings have commanded their subjects to 
 build vast pyramids, and they have been obeyed, 
 but if they were to require them to make a 
 pea — or a real seed, of any kind — even a single 
 grain of mustard seed, one that would grow, 
 they would ask what could not be done by 
 man. No man has ever lived that had the 
 power to make a real seed, or a real blade of 
 grass, or a real flower. Man may make imi- 
 
22 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 tations, but they lack life — they are wanting in 
 the power of growing. That is what man cannot 
 give. The growing of plants, then, shows that 
 there is at work a Being superior to man, and 
 that Being is God. 
 
 Jane. If it is God that makes plants grow, 
 why do people talk so much about nature ? I 
 have heard it often said that nature does this 
 and does that. I asked my father the other 
 day what it was that made a tree grow, and he 
 said it was nature. Now what do people mean 
 by nature ? 
 
 Parley. By nature, people generally mean 
 only those laws which God has laid down for 
 the government of the Universe. His mode of 
 working is very different from that of man. If 
 a man speaks to a stone or a mass of earth, it 
 will not mind him. Bat such is the power of 
 God, that even inert, unthinking matter obeys 
 his commands. Instead therefore of being 
 obliged to use hands to work with, he pervades 
 all space with his will, and every thing con- 
 forms to it. He lays down general rules, and 
 these remain fixed from age to age. He has 
 ordained winter and summer, and accordingly, 
 there is a season when things grow, and a sea- 
 
parley's farewell. 23 
 
 son in which they perish. He has made it one 
 of his laws that if a seed is put into the earth, 
 it shall grow and produce a plant. He has 
 made it a law that each plant shall take care 
 of its seed, so that it may come to perfection, 
 and the plants obey Him. 
 
 Thus, all things are under the regulation of 
 certain established rules ; these we call the 
 laws of nature, or sometimes we call the laws 
 themselves, nature. When we see a plant 
 growing, obedient to the law God has establish- 
 ed, we say nature makes it grow. It was in this 
 sense James's father used the word; by which 
 he meant that the laws of God make the trees 
 grow. The true meaning of the word, is, the 
 system of laws by which God works. To say 
 that nature does a thing, is only to say that it 
 is done according to the laws prescribed by the 
 Creator and Governor of the world. 
 
 The idea that some ignorant people seem to 
 have, that Nature is an active, efficient power, 
 independent of God, is utterly absurd. Nothing 
 can act that has not a power of motion in itself. 
 Nothing can exercise powers to form and accom- 
 plish any plan or design, unless it is a thinking 
 being. Those who suppose that nature is a thing 
 
24* NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 which acts in a manner to do any thing, to ac- 
 complish any design, must suppose it to possess 
 the power of motion and a mind. If nature is 
 supposed to produce plants, it must be supposed 
 to possess a mind of infinite wisdom, and in- 
 genuity and power; and such a Being is God. 
 Those who speak of nature, as itself, doing what 
 man with all his ingenuity cannot do, speak of a 
 Being superior to man, and his proper title is 
 God. There is no such thing as nature inde- 
 pendent of God : nature is only that system of 
 laws, by which God carries on his plans, and 
 performs his works. 
 
 I ought however to say, that the earth, with 
 all its array of fields, and plants, rivers and 
 lakes, is sometimes called nature. The word, in 
 this sense, however, only means the elements of 
 earth, air and water, and the various forms they 
 assume. These are incapable of any action of 
 themselves ; of themselves they are mere dead 
 matter; all the active power they possess, is 
 derived from God. A grain of sand, a mass 
 of earth, a mote of air, a stream of water, 
 cannot move, but by the impulse of some 
 power external to itself. If there were no God, 
 these would remain forever as they are. Those 
 
Page 25. 
 
parley's farewell. 25 
 
 who suppose that there is in the earth or the 
 air or the water, a power, called nature, which 
 produces plants, which makes things grow — 
 must suppose that it is an intelligent, thinking, 
 contriving power ; one that is infinitely superior 
 to man. The proper title of such a being is 
 God. 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 The partridge's feather. Who made it? Man cannot make a feather, 
 much less a wing. Story of a man who tried to make wings and fly. Who 
 makes eggs ? Who makes birds 1 Birds do not make eggs, or birds. 
 Man cannot make eggs, or birds. The existence of birds proves a God. 
 
 A few days after the preceding conversation, I 
 was walking with my young companions, when 
 James picked up the feather of a partridge. We 
 all admired it very much ; and after a little 
 conversation the following dialogue took place. 
 
 Jane. Pray, Mr. Parley, who made this 
 beautiful feather? 
 
 Parley. It grew on the wing of a partridge. 
 
 Jane. Did the partridge make it then? 
 
 Parley. Do you make the hair that grows 
 on your head? 
 
26 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 Jane. No, surely not : and the partridge 
 could not make a feather. Who then did 
 make it? 
 
 Parley. Here ! James, look at this feather ! 
 see how ingeniously it is contrived, how beau- 
 tifully it is painted ! Do you think you could 
 make a feather? 
 
 James. No indeed. Could any man make 
 a feather? 
 
 Parley. No. The ingenuity displayed in 
 this feather is quite beyond the reach of human 
 imitation. But if man could make a single 
 feather, could he make the wing of a bird, with 
 its hundred feathers? Could he make all its 
 joints, and muscles, and adapt it so that a bird 
 could fly with it? Surely not. Ingenious 
 men have often tried to make wings, and have 
 never succeeded. 
 
 I once heard of a very ingenious man, who 
 made a pair of things which he called wings, 
 and he really thought he could fly with them. 
 So he mounted upon the roof of a house, spread 
 his wings, and expected to fly up into the air. 
 Instead of this, he fell to the ground, and 
 bruised himself sadly. One of his neighbors 
 then asked him if he still thought he could fly : 
 
parley's farewell. 27 
 
 14 Yes" said the man, " but it is very hard 
 'lighting. " 
 
 If man can neither make a feather, nor a 
 wing, he certainly cannot make a bird. He 
 can as well make a whole bird as a part ; but 
 as he cannot make a part, he cannot make a 
 whole. 
 
 James. But Mr. Parley, birds are hatched 
 from eggs, and then they grow up. That 's 
 the way birds are made. 
 
 Parley. True my boy — but are you satis- 
 fied with that answer? Who makes the eggs 
 of the bird ? Who contrived eggs, from which 
 birds are hatched ? 
 
 James. Don't the birds make the eggs ? 
 
 Parley. Surely not. The eggs grow in the 
 birds and they lay them in the nest. This is 
 all the birds do, in producing eggs. And then 
 they sit upon them for two or three weeks, and 
 the young birds break the shell, and come out 
 of the eggs. But have birds ingenuity enough 
 to contrive eggs? Can they do what the most 
 ingenious man that ever lived, could not do? 
 And if they could contrive eggs, could they 
 put into them that principle which would make 
 the yolk and white turn into feathers and 
 
28 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 claws, and bones and flesh, and endow the body 
 thus formed with a power of life which should 
 enable the creature to move, to eat, to sleep, to 
 sing, and to produce other eggs ? 
 
 It is absurd to suppose that a bird devises, 
 contrives, or makes an egg. It is absurd to 
 suppose that one bird makes another bird. 
 Whoever makes an egg, must be infinitely 
 superior to man for he does that which puts 
 mans ingenuitv to shame. Whoever makes a 
 bird, must be the maker of the egg. Some 
 being of wonderful skill in contriving and 
 designing — some thinking intelligent power, 
 must exist, else birds could not exist. That 
 Being is God. The existence of birds then 
 proves the existence of a Being of wonderful 
 ingenuity in design and power in execution : 
 and therefore proves the existence of God. 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 Birds produce eggs, but do not make them. Ingenuity displayed in 
 the construction of an egg. It surpasses even the ingenuity of man. 
 Thus eggs prove the existence of God. 
 
 A few days after the conversation about birds, 
 James and Jane came to see me. By this time, 
 
Skeleton of a Bird, p. 28. 
 
parley's farewell. 29 
 
 they had become deeply interested in the sub- 
 ject of our several dialogues. They began 
 now to look upon every object around them as 
 proofs of the existence of God, and they began 
 to examine them carefully as the means of 
 becoming acquainted with His wisdom, good- 
 ness and power. But now, a difficulty had 
 crossed James' mind, and bringing his sister 
 with him, he came to talk with me about it. 
 Accordingly, the following conversation took 
 place. 
 
 James. I have no doubt Mr. Parley, that 
 what you have told us is true; but I have been 
 so long accustomed to think that one bird has 
 the power of producing another that I can 
 hardly get over the impression. We say that 
 a bird lays an egg, and then she sits upon it, 
 and produces the young birds, and we say that 
 she hatches them; now, all this seems to imply 
 that the old bird makes the young birds. 
 
 Parley. This language is accurate enough 
 for common uses, but it is not strictly true. 
 The old bird produces the eggs, and by the 
 heat of her body, she hatches them; but she 
 does not make the egg. Consider, a moment, 
 what an egg is. It consists of a delicate shell. 
 
30 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 polished without and lined with a soft, silky 
 pellicle. It is filled with a glutinous matter, 
 the outer part of which is called the white, and 
 the inner part the yolk ; yet this fluid is so won- 
 derfully mixed and consists of such elements 
 that by being kept warm for two or three weeks, 
 it is converted into a living bird, with claws, 
 legs, wings, tail, neck, head, bill, and all the 
 means for eating and digesting its food. It has 
 also a principle of life, by which it moves, 
 breathes, eats, drinks, flies, sings and produces 
 eggs, which eggs produce other birds. 
 
 Such is the wonderful ingenuity displayed in 
 the construction of an egg. It surpasses in 
 ingenuity of contrivance every thing that man 
 can do. A man can make a watch, but it 
 cannot breathe, or eat, or drink. It has no 
 principle of life. When the spring that keeps 
 it in motion, is expanded, the watch runs down 
 and ceases to move. Nor can one watch pro- 
 duce another watch. How infinitely superior 
 then is an egg to the most ingenious of man's 
 contrivances. It produces a bird, which in 
 every part surpasses man's invention. Man 
 cannot even make a single feather, yet an egg 
 produces a bird with hundreds of feathers. It 
 
parley's farewell. 31 
 
 also produces a bird that can produce other 
 eggs, and these eggs will produce other birds. 
 
 Can a bird then make an egg — a thing which 
 puts to shame the boasted ingenuity of man, 
 and excites our utmost wonder? Certainly not. 
 An egg must be the work of One infinitely 
 superior to man in ingenuity. It must be one 
 who can not only command and mould the 
 elements of earth, air, heat and water, but one 
 who can endow his works with that mysterious 
 power which we call life. It must, therefore, 
 be the work of one whose skill in contrivance 
 and whose power in execution infinitely sur- 
 passes, not birds only, but man himself. 
 
 But it is important here to observe one thing, 
 and it will easily explain James' difficulty. In 
 executing his various works, God employs cer- 
 tain tools or instruments, and proceeds accord- 
 ing to certain rules. Thus, he uses a bird, as 
 the instrument or tool, by which an egg is pro- 
 duced. You have seen a carpenter build a 
 house. He has, in the first place, a plan, and 
 then he has tools and instruments to work with, 
 such as planes, chisels, saws, axes, &c.: and 
 by means of these tools, the carpenter pro- 
 duces a house. But would it not be silly to 
 
32 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 say that the tools of the carpenter, the planes, 
 chisels, saws, and axes made the house? Cer- 
 tainly it would, and it would be equally silly 
 to say that birds make eggs, while they are 
 only the tools or instruments, by which the 
 creator makes them. 
 
 But let us suppose, for a moment, that a bird 
 has the power of making an egg — a real one 
 that may be hatched. Who then made the first 
 bird, for there must have been a beginning to 
 the race of birds? 
 
 Jane. It might have been hatched from an 
 
 egg- 
 Parley. Who then made that eggl 
 
 Jane and James, (both at once,) It must 
 have been God — there must be a God! 
 
 Parley. Yes my dear children, there must 
 be— there is, a God ! 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 Every thing proves the existence of God. About Insects. The 
 housefly. Its structure. This proves clearly the existence of God. 
 All nature a book, showing forth the existence of God. 
 
 James. It appears to me, Mr. Parley, that 
 every thing proves the existence of God ; the 
 
parley's farewell. 33 
 
 insects, the animals, the fishes, the reptiles. 
 These do not make themselves, and none but 
 God can make them. 
 
 Parley, You are quite right my boy; all 
 these things do prove the existence of God. 
 But to impress our minds with the certainty of 
 this great and glorious truth, let us take a glance 
 at some other departments of God's works. For 
 the present, let us turn our attention to in- 
 sects. 
 
 This great family of living things, includes 
 the flies, gnats, wasps, bees, butterflies, hornets, 
 ants, spiders, &c. They are divided into a 
 great many kinds, and their number is beyond 
 human conception. But let us take one of 
 them — the common house fly. Who made this 
 little creature? Look at its structure, and see 
 the wonderful ingenuity displayed in it ! 
 
 In the first place, his body is separated into 
 two parts, with a joint in the middle. As he has 
 no bones, like those of birds, quadrupeds and 
 fishes, his body consists of several horny plates 
 or scales, nicely attached to each other. His 
 wings are finer than any human fabric, but his 
 eyes are the most curious part of his formation. 
 These, when examined through a powerful mag- 
 3 
 
34 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 nifying glass, are each found to contain 4000 
 minute lenses. This is wonderful indeed, but 
 you must consider one thing farther, and that 
 is that the maker of the fly has put life into 
 this little creature by which the body can move, 
 by which the little wings are made to vibrate 
 so swiftly as to become invisible, and by which 
 the 4000 lenses of the eye are used for the 
 purpose of seeing every minute object that may 
 be near. 
 
 Such is the wonderful structure of the common 
 house fly, and now, let us ask who made it? 
 Like other insects, the fly is hatched from an 
 Ggg, but who makes the egg? 
 
 James. Really, Mr. Parley, it seems to me 
 that this subject grows more and more interest- 
 ing at every step, and I am very glad you have 
 brought it to our notice. I had no idea, that a fly 
 was so very curious a thing, but it seems to me a 
 more wonderful contrivance even than a bird; 
 and I think it proves the existence of a God 
 more strongly than any thing else you have 
 mentioned. 
 
 Jane. I am sure I shall always think of a 
 fly very differently now from what I did before. 
 I used to think a fly was an insignificant little 
 
Pauley's farewell. 35 
 
 thing, but I shall never see one hereafter, without 
 thinking of its wonderful structure. It will 
 always appear to me as one of the wonderful 
 works of God and as clearly proving his ex- 
 istence. 
 
 Parley. I am very glad to hear you say 
 these things, my little friends, for they show that 
 you take a just view of the subject. The 
 works of nature, the plants, insects, animals, 
 are placed around us, and we have within a 
 principle of curiosity which inclines us to ex- 
 amine them. But when once we make them 
 the objects of careful and patient study, as 
 proving the existence of a superior Being and 
 as displaying the wisdom, goodness and power 
 of that Being, then every tree and plant and 
 bird and insect, becomes to us a subject of the 
 deepest interest. Every thing around seems 
 then to speak of God. All nature is a book, 
 every page of which declares the existence of 
 God. The earth, the air, the sea, the heavens 
 are full of his glory, and all show forth his 
 handy work. 
 
36 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 Of fishes. Description of the perch. Wonderful ingenuity dis- 
 played in the structure of fishes. Fishes prove the existence of a God. 
 
 Parley. Let us now turn our attention to 
 fishes. These inhabit the seas, lakes and rivers; 
 they are of various sizes from the whale to the 
 minow, and of forms as diversified as the very 
 flowers of the field. But examine the most 
 common of them all, and you will see occasion 
 to admire the skill displayed in its contrivance. 
 Let us take the perch of our own ponds, with 
 which every school boy is familiar. It is 
 covered with a tough skin, to which, a series 
 of scales are nicely fitted and all of which are 
 set on hinges which yield to the motions of the 
 fish. What human ingenuity can match this 
 contrivance? Then look at the fins — thin as 
 silk, and spread on delicate frames made of 
 bone, and all so nicely adjusted as to be to the 
 fish what wings are to the bird. By means of 
 these fins, the fish pushes himself through the 
 water almost as swiftly as an arrow flies through 
 the air, and these enable him to turn hither and 
 thither at his pleasure. If he wishes to rise 
 
parley's farewell. 37 
 
 or sink in the water, he is furnished with an 
 air bladder, which enables him to do it as 
 easily as we draw a breath. 
 
 This description will apply to many other 
 fishes, but while some are without scales and 
 are only defended by a slippery skin, others 
 have the protection of shells. Some are more 
 curious than others, but they all exhibit proofs 
 of masterly skill in their Creator. They are all 
 beyond the power of man's invention or execu- 
 tion. The little minow of an inch in length, 
 as well as the whale of eighty feet, surpasses the 
 boldest efforts of human genius. We shall 
 look in vain among the inhabitants of the earth 
 for the maker of the humblest of fishes. One 
 and all assure us that a superior Being, one of 
 intelligence and ingenuity infinitely beyond man, 
 must have been the Architect of fishes. 
 
 Chapter IX, 
 
 About reptiles. The frog, lizards, alligator, crocodile. The le- 
 viathan of the Scriptures. Other reptiles. JYone but a superior 
 being could have made them. 
 
 Parley. There is a class of animals called 
 reptiles, including frogs, toads, lizards, tor- 
 
38 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 toises, serpents, &x. These are divided into a 
 vast variety of species, and are endowed with 
 many different properties. They are all in- 
 teresting subjects of inquiry, and as proving 
 the existence of a superior Being, are equally 
 entitled to attention. 
 
 Let us take the common frog ; at first, it is 
 an egg, but after about twenty days, a tail 
 peeps out. In a short time, it acquires the 
 tadpole form, and is then called pollyivog by 
 the schoolboys. In three days after assuming 
 this shape, two little fringes which serve as fins, 
 grow out from beneath the head. Thus they 
 move about, and live upon pond weed. 
 
 When they are 92 days old, two small feet 
 begin to sprout near the tail, and in a very 
 short time, the hinder legs are formed. In two 
 days more, the arms are completely produced. 
 After a little while, the tail drops off, and the 
 frog, the finest of all four-legged swimmers, is 
 complete ! Now he disdains the pond weed, 
 and lives upon worms and insects. What 
 human ingenuity can rival this wonderful piece 
 of mechanism, endowed with life and motion 
 and the art of getting a living. Who but 
 God could produce this humblest and com- 
 
The Crocodile, p. 39. 
 
parley's farewell. 39 
 
 monest of reptiles from an egg, carry it through 
 all its wonderful transformations, and at last, 
 bring it to the perfection of its race? 
 
 The lizards are still more wonderful than the 
 frogs. The crocodile, which inhabits the rivers 
 of Asia and Africa, and the alligator which is 
 found in the rivers, bays and lagoons of America, 
 belong to this family. The former is sometimes 
 thirty feet in length, and the latter, twenty. 
 These creatures are destined to make the larger 
 animals their prey, and they are wonderfully 
 fitted for the life they are designed to lead. 
 The crocodile is covered with large scales, 
 from the shoulders to the extremity of the tail. 
 These are of a square form, disposed like 
 parellel girdles, and they are so adjusted, 
 as not to obstruct the motions of the animal. 
 Beside all this, the creature is covered over with 
 a skinny coat of armor. 
 
 Such are the defensive equipments of this for- 
 midable reptile. He is also provided with short, 
 thick legs, and is armed with powerful claws, 
 and a tail of extraordinary strength and flexi- 
 bility. This latter is its chief instrument of 
 destruction. With this it has often been known 
 to overturn a boat or canoe, and seize upon its 
 conductor. 
 
40 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 Such is the crocodile, which under the name 
 of leviathan is thus spoken of in the forty-first 
 chapter of Job. 
 
 " In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow 
 is turned into joy before him. 
 
 The flakes of his flesh are joined together; 
 they are firm in themselves ; they cannot be 
 moved. 
 
 His heart is as firm as stone, yea, as hard as 
 a piece of the nether millstone. 
 
 The sword of him that layeth at him cannot 
 hold — the spear, the dart, nor the halcyon. 
 
 He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as 
 rotten wood. 
 
 The arrow cannot make him flee; sling 
 stones are turned with him into stubble. 
 
 Darts are counted as stubble; he laugheth 
 at the shaking of a spear. 
 
 Sharp stones are under him; he spreadeth 
 sharp-pointed things upon the mire. 
 
 He maketh the deep to boil like a pot ; he 
 maketh the sea like a pot of ointment." 
 
 It is pleasant to find in the Bible so minute 
 and accurate a description of an animal well 
 known in our own day, and this passage is 
 particularly interesting for the beauty and force 
 
parley's farewell. 41 
 
 of the language. How strongly does it make 
 us feel that the leviathan could only have been 
 made by God ! 
 
 It would be pleasant to follow out this train 
 of observation, in respect to other reptiles ; 
 for they all serve to set forth and confirm the 
 undeniable fact of a Creator. The humble 
 and familiar toad, the creeping toirtoise, the 
 sliding serpent, the changeful chamelion — one 
 and all are beyond the utmost stretch of human 
 invention, and bespeak a designing, contriv- 
 ing, creative power. 
 
 Chapter X. 
 
 The existence of a Deity, proved by the structure of quadrupeds. 
 The elephant. His frame. His tusks — his short neck — and the pro- 
 boscis to compensate the defect. Ingenuity of the proboscis. Man 
 could not make elephants. None but a Superior Being could create 
 them. 
 
 Some days now elapsed before I had an op- 
 portunity to pursue this subject with my pupils. 
 At length, they paid me a visit, and at their 
 request, I proceeded to speak of the evidence 
 furnished by quadrupeds of the existence of a 
 Deity, in substance as follows. 
 
42 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 Parley. This class of animals are superior 
 in intelligence to the birds, the fishes, the rep- 
 tiles and the insects. They are clearly a higher 
 order of beings ; their organization is more 
 curious and perfect, and their faculties are of 
 a superior grade. 
 
 The elephant is generally regarded as the 
 most intelligent of mere animals, but it appears 
 to me that the dog is not in this respect his in- 
 ferior. But I shall have occasion to speak 
 more particularly of the intelligence of animals 
 by and by. My deeign has been hitherto, and 
 now is, rather to direct your attention to the 
 mechanical structure of animals and deduce 
 from the ingenuity displayed in this, evidence 
 of the existence of a Being superior to man 
 and all other inhabitants of the earth. 
 
 Perhaps this evidence is furnished as well 
 by the structure of one animal as another. 
 The house iiy shows a skill of workmanship 
 surpassing that of man as truly as the structure 
 of an elephant. But there is something in the 
 magnitude of this animal that impresses the 
 imagination and sways even the judgment. It 
 may be well therefore to consider its formation, 
 with reference to this question. 
 
The Elephant, p. 43, 
 
parley's farewell. 43 
 
 In many respects, the skeleton or frame of the 
 elephant resembles that of other quadrupeds. 
 This frame consists of a series of bones extend- 
 ing along the back, carefully fitted together, call- 
 ed the vertebra?. To this, ribs are attached, and 
 the bones for the legs. Upon this frame-work, 
 the flesh of the animal is formed, and over the 
 whole is a coating of skin. Within are a heart 
 and lungs, and tubes called arteries, and veins 
 for the conveyance of blood. Beside these, 
 there are the various organs for receiving, con- 
 ducting, and digesting the food, as well as a 
 great variety of muscles, veins, and fibres. 
 
 This description applies to most quadrupeds, 
 and I wish you to think of it a moment, as a 
 mere piece of mechanism. Consider the animal 
 when walking, leaping, or running about, and 
 think that all these motions are produced by 
 the contraction of the muscles, just as the sails 
 and yards of a ship are taken up and taken 
 down, by means of ropes. Consider too that 
 all the joints in the body of the animal, of 
 which there are perhaps a hundred, must be 
 constantly moving, and think how smoothly 
 they must turn upon each other. 
 
 Nor must you stop here, for you have only 
 
44 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 considered the bones and muscles of the ani- 
 mal. Look now at the heart, and see it con- 
 stantly beating and at every stroke, spreading 
 the blood by a thousand channels to every part 
 of the body ! 
 
 But let us turn our attention particularly to 
 the elephant. When he is full grown, he has 
 two enormous tusks, proceeding from his upper 
 jaw. These are necessary to the animal for 
 defence, but they are so heavy that he would 
 be unable to carry them, if his neck were as 
 long in proportion to his size as that of other 
 animals. The neck is accordingly made very 
 short. In consequence of the shortness of the 
 neck, the creature is unable to get its head to 
 the ground. To remedy this defect, it is pro- 
 vided with a tube or trunk extending from the 
 nose to the length of three or four feet. 
 
 To this I wish particularly to call your atten- 
 tion. It consists of several thousand small 
 muscles, crossing and interlacing each other 
 in the most ingenious manner. These muscles 
 are extremely flexible, and are endowed with 
 the most exquisite sensibility. The trunk is 
 terminated with an appendage, resembling a 
 finger. To the elephant, the trunk answers all 
 
parley's farewell. 45 
 
 the purposes of a hand. He turns it this way 
 and that, with the utmost ease, coils it up, or 
 stretches it out ; with this, he strikes a blow, 
 seizes upon whatever he wishes to carry to his 
 mouth, sucks up water, and turns it down his 
 throat. 
 
 Now, who can take into consideration all 
 these facts and not be struck with the skilful 
 contrivance and wonderful power of execution, 
 in the creator of the elephant? What work of 
 man can compare in ingenuity with the ele- 
 phant's trunk? What human construction does 
 not sink into insignificance when compared 
 with the moving elephant? 
 
 And here again I must ask, who made this 
 creature? Like most quadrupeds, the young 
 elephant is brought forth alive, but can it be 
 said with any propriety that one elephant is 
 the creator of another. Does not the structure 
 of an elephant show design, calculation, con- 
 trivance and skill? Certainly, and it proves 
 thought, intelligence and mind in its author. 
 It shows intelligence, and mind and workman- 
 ship, infinitely superior to those of man. And 
 is the brute elephant this Superior Being? The 
 idea is too absurd to be entertained for a 
 
46 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 moment. The elephant must have had a maker 
 of supreme intelligence and power — and that 
 Being we call God. 
 
 The same strain of argument may be deriv- 
 ed from an examination of other quadrupeds. 
 The lion shows skilful contrivance and adapta- 
 tion to produce activity united to power; the 
 deer to produce speed ; the squirrel to produce 
 agility ; the horse to produce a combination of 
 strength and swiftness — each and all show the 
 same master workmanship, and lead us to the 
 conclusion that none of them could have exist- 
 ed, had they not been created by some being 
 possessing the intelligence and power which 
 we attribute to the Deity. 
 
 Chapter XI. 
 
 Existence of God proved in the structure of '/nan's body. 
 
 But my young friends, there is still another 
 proof of the existence of the Deity, perhaps 
 more striking and more calculated to affect the 
 mind than any other; this is deduced from a 
 consideration of our own structure. 
 
 Look at the hand ! What a curious piece of 
 
Skeleton of Man. 
 
 Bones of the Arm and Hand, p. 47. 
 
parley's farewell. 47 
 
 mechanism ! It consists of bones and muscles, 
 and flesh and skin, but how admirably are these 
 all adapted to their purpose. Where can you 
 find among the devices and contrivances of 
 man, any thing so wonderful ? 
 
 Look at the foot — how ingeniously is this 
 contrived ! Look at the arm : what piece of 
 mechanism can compare with it? But of all 
 parts of the body, the eye is perhaps the most 
 wonderful. It has in it, a lens, like that of a 
 telescope, through which the rays of light 
 pass ; and at the back of the eye a little picture 
 of whatever comes before the eye, is formed. 
 This picture falls upon a nerve which lines the 
 interior of the eye, and thus it is we see. All 
 this contrivance is very ingenious. And ob- 
 serve how the eye itself is placed in the head. 
 See how easily it turns this way and that ! 
 Consider these things and tell me, who but a 
 Superior Being, one who contrives, one who 
 thinks, could have made man. 
 
 Here the argument with James and Jane end- 
 ed, but before we parted, it was agreed that they 
 should come again soon, and hear what morel 
 had to say on the subject. The very next day, 
 they paid me a visit and the dialogue took place 
 which is recorded in the following pages. 
 
48 NATURAL RELIGION, 
 
 Chapter XL 
 
 Proofs of the existence of God from the marks of arrangement and 
 in the structure of the earth. 
 
 James. Well Mr. Parley, you have remark- 
 ed that all the works of nature prove the exis- 
 tence of God, because each appears to be made 
 for a certain object, and is ingeniously contriv- 
 ed to attain it. But I think you must except 
 the Earth, from this remark. This seems to 
 be made by chance, for its surface is thrown 
 into a thousand forms of hill and valley, and 
 the stones and soils, appear to be composed 
 without design of any kind. 
 
 Parley. Be not too hasty my boy. Before 
 you come to a conclusion, be certain that your 
 facts are right. Is it true that the substances 
 of which the earth is composed, are all jumbled 
 together in such confusion, as to show no marks 
 of plan or design? Did you never hear of the 
 Giant's Causeway in Ireland? That is a vast 
 ledge, along the border of the sea, composed 
 of stone pillars, of six, seven, eight, and nine 
 sides and cut as regularly as the blocks of wood, 
 used for paving the streets of New York and 
 Boston. 
 
parley's farewell. 49 
 
 I have been to this place, and seen whole 
 acres covered with these stones. They are 
 set one upon the top of another, and are 
 from one to three feet long. They are so 
 closely and neatly fitted together that you can 
 hardly run a knife blade between them. You 
 can see them extending a great distance under 
 the sea, and there is little doubt that they con- 
 tinue for two or three hundred miles, for at an 
 island on the border of Scotland, called Staffa, 
 you see the rocks, formed in the same way. 
 There is a vast cave there called Fingals cave, 
 the rock of which is supported by these columns 
 of stone. 
 
 Nor are such columns, which are called 
 basaltic, very uncommon. They are found in 
 many parts of the world. And are these made 
 by chance? Could stones, thrown together, 
 be thus regularly formed by accident? Cer- 
 tainly not. They show design, plan, con- 
 trivance. They show that an intelligent, think- 
 ing being was concerned in their arrangement, 
 for a being that did not think, or plan, or con- 
 trive, could not have formed them thus. 
 
 But these basaltic rocks are by no means the 
 only parts of the earth which show regularity 
 4 
 
50 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 of plan. There are vast beds of stone, of sand, 
 and clay, formed in regular layers, one repos- 
 ing above the other, and fitted to each other like 
 the several coats of an onion. The slates you 
 use at school, are formed in this way, one thin 
 piece lying above another, forming together a 
 mountain of slate, all divided into layers. The 
 slates with which houses are roofed are of the 
 same kind. These are found in Vermont, and 
 many other parts of the world. 
 
 The flagging stones obtained in Connecticut, 
 and used in many of our cities, are taken from 
 vast quarries, where the rocks are found regu- 
 larly in layers. The sandstone, marble, gran- 
 ite, and many others, used in building, are 
 taken from similar beds, where the stones are 
 found in layers arranged one above the other. 
 
 The truth is, the entire structure of the earth, 
 when examined on a large scale, seems to be 
 marked with plan and design, in the arrange- 
 ment of its stones and soils. And the stones 
 themselves, when broken to pieces, are most 
 of them put together with the most undeviating 
 regularity. They consist of small particles, 
 and these are arranged in rows, as nicely as the 
 platoons of an army. And what is indeed 
 
parley's farewell. 51 
 
 wonderful, the stones of the same kind, whether 
 in Asia, or Africa, or Europe, or America, 
 though found thousands of miles apart, have 
 their interior particles arranged on precisely 
 the same plan, and in the same order. This 
 fact of the regular arrangement of the particles 
 of stones, is easily proved hy examining them 
 with a magnifying glass, and is well understood 
 among scientific men. 
 
 James. I see Mr. Parley that I was mis- 
 taken, and I shall remember hereafter, before 
 I speak with confidence, to be sure of the 
 accuracy of what I state, 
 
 Parley. You are quite right. I do not 
 blame you for your ignorance, for many per- 
 sons older than yourself, fall into worse mis- 
 takes than yours ; and I have remarked that 
 there are no persons, who make more confident 
 assertions than the ignorant. 
 
 Jane. It appears to me, that a person who 
 fails to see proofs of the existence of a good, 
 wise and great God, in the works of nature, 
 must be very ignorant. 
 
 Parley. I think so too, unless indeed he 
 is very wicked, and resists the truth that is 
 set before him. Truth is like light, and a 
 
52 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 person may shut his eyes to it and not see it. 
 So a person with the evidence of God's exist- 
 ence before his eyes, may refuse to look at it, 
 and he may continue in a state of voluntary 
 darkness and blindness. Such a man may say 
 there is no God, and he may perhaps so far 
 abuse his reason as to quench the light of 
 truth, and in his self-made blindness, he may 
 almost believe there is no God. Alas ! how 
 miserable is the condition of such a man ! 
 
 Chapter XIII. 
 
 Proofs of a Deity afforded by Astronomy 
 
 James. It has just struck me Mr. Parley, 
 that Astronomy, the science of the sun, moon, 
 and stars, affords very striking proofs of the 
 existence of a Deity, of great intelligence and 
 power. 
 
 Parley. I think so too. 
 
 Jane. Will you explain this to me Mr. Par- 
 ley, for I know very little about Astronomy. 
 
 Parley. I will explain it with pleasure. I 
 suppose, Jane, you know that the Earth is a 
 vast globe or ball, and that it turns round on 
 
parley's farewell. 53 
 
 its axis every twenty-four hours, and that this 
 makes day and night. 
 
 Jane. Yes, I see that. 
 
 Parley. Well, now, the Sun is also a vast 
 ball, many thousand times larger than this 
 earth, and it is placed at the distance of many 
 millions of miles from the earth. The earth 
 wheels around the Sun, once every year, 
 making a vast circuit in its course. 
 
 Beside this earth, there are several other 
 planets, as Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mars, Her- 
 schel, and others, which are all the time per- 
 forming their journies around the sun. Some 
 of them are constantly attended by little worlds, 
 like our moon, called satellites. Jupiter has 
 four of them, and you can easily see them 
 through a telescope. Saturn is attended by a 
 luminous ring extending entirely around it, and 
 besides this, it has seven moons. 
 
 Now, Jane, think of this vast system of 
 worlds, wheeling day and night through the 
 heavens — and continuing from age to age, to 
 follow their destined paths, without stoppage, 
 delay, or deviation. Who swung these worlds 
 in the air?. Who bid them take up their line 
 of march? Who sustains them in their course? 
 
54. NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 Who made them? What manner of Being- 
 must it be, that speaks and even worlds obey 
 him? 
 
 James. This reminds me of what I heard 
 mother read from a book of poetry — " the un- 
 devout astronomer is mad." It seems to me 
 that an astronomer, one who studies the heav- 
 enly bodies, must be constantly filled with the 
 idea of God. 
 
 Parley. And so he should be, and so 
 should we all be, for every thing, from the 
 head of wheat to the worlds on high, shows 
 forth his handy work. I have recently met 
 with some verses which set forth the fact that 
 God made all things, in a manner likely to 
 make an impression upon your mind. They 
 are as follows. 
 
 Chapter XIV. 
 
 God made all things. 
 
 Seest thou the spider, weaving now his net, 
 So nicely made and all so nicely set ? 
 
 Who made it ? 
 
 Hearest thou the cricket, singing in the ground, 
 When evening comes and all is still around .- 
 
 Who made it ? 
 
parley's farewell. 55 
 
 Seest thou the insect, dancing in the air 
 Of joyous summer, free from every care? 
 
 Who made it ? 
 
 Seest thou the violet, springing from the earth, 
 Waked like a blooming infant into birth ? 
 
 Who made it ? 
 
 Seest thou the bud, on yonder bending bower, 
 Opening its leaves and putting forth its flower ? 
 
 Who made it ? 
 
 Seest thou the squirrel, on yon tall oak tree, 
 Gnawing his nut or sporting merrily ? 
 
 Who made it ? 
 
 Seest thou the bird, that swings on yonder spray, 
 Or cleaves the air, singing some roundelay ? 
 
 Who made it ? 
 
 Seest thou the mountain, lifting high its head, 
 And with a glorious robe of azure spread ? 
 
 Who made it ? 
 
 Seest thou yon river, dashing down the height, 
 Its waters breaking into waves of light ? 
 
 Who made it ? 
 
 Seest thou yon ocean, with its breast of green, 
 Its depths unfathomed, and its shores unseen? 
 
 Who made it ? 
 
 Seest thou yon orb of fire, that brings the morn, 
 And, parting, leaves us wrapped in night forlorn ? 
 
 Who made it ? 
 
56 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 Seest thou yon sky, a seeming- sea of night, 
 Where stars are set and planets wheel their flight ? 
 
 Who made it ? 
 
 Who made these things, and all this rolling earth? 
 'T was God alone that brought them into birth; 
 He, who the spider and the insect made, 
 Reared the blue violet, and the flower arrayed; 
 Poured the swift river clown its rocky bed, 
 Heaped up the mountain, and the ocean spread 
 Who built the world and gave it day and night 
 He is the God of earth and heaven, of life and light ! 
 
 Chapter XY. 
 
 Review of the argument. Existence of God proved. His personality 
 proved. A doubt started. 
 
 Some days after the preceding dialogue oc- 
 curred, Jane and James paid me a visit, agree- 
 ably to my request, and I reviewed the ground 
 over which I had proceeded, somewhat as fol- 
 lows. 
 
 Parley. You will remark my young friends, 
 that I have hitherto confined myself chiefly to 
 the proofs of the existence of a Deity, derived 
 from an examination of the works of nature. 
 My object has been to show that every where 
 we find the marks of plan, design, con- 
 
parley's farewell. 57 
 
 trivance and ingenuity. The trees, plants, flow- 
 rs, the whole vegetable kingdom, is full of proofs 
 that these are the work of a Being who forms 
 plans, and who knows how to execute them. 
 The animal kingdom attests the same truth. 
 Even the stars are witnesses to the mighty 
 revelation, and the worlds on high set their 
 eternal seal to its veracity. 
 
 Here then is conclusive proof — proof that no 
 honest and enlightened mind can resist, that 
 there is a God and that he has a personal 
 existence as much as any one of us. We have 
 proved that God thinks, designs and executes ; 
 and whoever thinks, designs and acts, must 
 have individual, personal existence. But we 
 may carry our investigation further. We have 
 indeed settled the reality of God's existence, 
 and we have determined his personality : but 
 having learned thus much, we desire to know 
 more. We desire to know his character ; 
 whether he is a wise being, a good being, a 
 powerful being ; and though these points have 
 been occasionally touched upon, it may be in- 
 teresting to study into his works, and see what 
 further light these may throw upon this and 
 other important topics connected with the study 
 of God's character. 
 
58 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 James. I shall be very glad to hear you, 
 Mr. Parley : but will you allow me to men- 
 tion a doubt as to the existence of a God, 
 which another boy mentioned to me 7 
 
 Parley. Surely ; go on. 
 
 James. Well, I had been talking with 
 Thomas Doubty. I had told him, as well as 
 I could, all you had said about the proofs of 
 God's existence. He then told me that his 
 father did not believe in a God, because he had 
 never seen him, and Thomas said he could not 
 believe in any thing that could not be seen. 
 
 Jane. Yes, and James told Thomas that 
 he could not believe in the existence of the wind, 
 then, because he could not see it. 
 
 Parley. And what did Thomas say to that? 
 
 James. He said we could see the trees 
 move, and that was proof that the wind blew. 
 
 Paisley. And the trees grow, and their 
 growth proves the existence of God, as much 
 as their motion proves the existence of wind. 
 If a person will believe the existence of no 
 power which cannot be seen, then he cannot be- 
 lieve in electricity, which causes the lightning, 
 but which is itself invisible. He cannot be- 
 lieve in that great principle of gravitation, 
 
parley's farewell. 59 
 
 which pervades all material bodies, which 
 holds the earth together, and which keeps us 
 on its surface. 
 
 The fact that we do not see God, is no proof 
 that he does not exist — it is no proof that he is 
 not constantly by and around us. The princi- 
 ple of gravitation is ever present with us ; we 
 cannot for a moment escape from it. If we 
 jump up into the air, it pulls us instantly back 
 to the earth. Go where we may, it is within 
 and around us. Yet we have no eye that ena- 
 bles us to see it. It is an active power, and 
 it lays upon us its imperative influence ; but it 
 is still invisible. So it is with God. He is an 
 active and powerful being ; but he is a spirit, 
 and our eye is not fitted to perceive and appreci- 
 ate his presence. 
 
 How absurd, then, it is, to doubt the exist- 
 ence of God, because we cannot see him ? For 
 the same reason, the blind child might deny the 
 existence of his father, for he cannot see him. 
 
 It is sufficient for us that the proofs of God's 
 existence are as clear as they could be, if he 
 was manifest to our senses. The visible world 
 speaks of God through the organs of sight ; the 
 voices of birds and the harmonies of nature are 
 
60 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 eloquent of him to the ear ; millions of flowers 
 testify of him by their exquisite perfume. Taste 
 and touch add their testimony to his wonderful 
 works. The very senses are addressed by all 
 things around us, and made to lend their aid 
 in proof of the existence of a Deity. 
 
 Chapter XVI. 
 
 The unity of God proved from the unity of design observable through- 
 out the universe.* 
 
 James. Before you proceed, Mr. Parley, 
 to show how the works of nature prove the 
 wisdom and power of God, may I ask one 
 question? 
 
 Parley. Certainly... 
 
 James. Well ; what I desire to know is, 
 whether there may not be several Gods ; one 
 for instance who made the plants, one who 
 made the quadrupeds, one who made the in- 
 sects, one who made the birds, one who made 
 the mountains and rivers and seas, and one who 
 made the human race? 
 
 * It is proper to say that the substance of this and several of the 
 succeeding chapters, is taken from Paley. 
 
parley's farewell. 61 
 
 Parley. This question, James, has entered 
 into many wise heads. All the ancient nations 
 of Europe and Asia appear to have believed in 
 the existence of many Gods. In ancient Grece, 
 a deity was supposed to preside over every 
 river and hill and mountain. Almost every 
 object in nature and almost every human pas- 
 sion had its deity. But over all these, there 
 was one called Jupiter who was supposed to be 
 the supreme governor of the Universe. 
 
 Nearly the same belief is entertained at the 
 present day in Japan, and in some parts of 
 Asia ; but a little reflection will satisfy us that 
 there cannot be a multiplicity of Gods. In 
 the first place, we ought to adopt no belief for 
 which we can produce no evidence, and there 
 is none whatever to prove that there is more 
 than one deity. On the contrary, all nature 
 seems to assure us that there is but one God. 
 
 'This appears from the unifromityof plan ob- 
 servable in the universe, which is itself a sys- 
 tem, each part depending upon other parts. One 
 principle of gravitation causes a stone to drop 
 towards the earth, and the moon to wheel 
 round it. One law of attraction carries all the 
 planets round the sun. They all experience 
 
62 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 the vicissitudes of day and night, and the chan- 
 ges of the seasons. The light from a fixed star 
 affects our eyes in the same manner, and is re- 
 fracted and reflected according to the same laws 
 as the light of a candle. The velocity of the 
 light of the fixed stars, is also the same as the 
 velocity of the light of the sun, reflected from the 
 satellites of Jupiter. The heat of the sun, in 
 kind, differs nothing from the heat of a common 
 fire. 
 
 In our own globe, unity of design is still 
 more manifest. New countries are continually 
 discovered, but the old laws of nature are al- 
 ways found in them ; new plants, perhaps, or 
 animals are found, but always in company with 
 plants and animals which we already know, 
 and always possessing the same general proper- 
 ties. We never get among such original, or 
 totally different modes of existence, as to indi- 
 cate that we are come into the province of a 
 different Creator, or under the direction of a 
 different Will. In truth, the same order of 
 things attends us wherever we go. The ele- 
 ments act upon one another, electricity oper- 
 ates, the tides rise and fall, the magnetic nee- 
 dle takes its position in one region of the earth 
 
parley's farewell. 63 
 
 as well as another. One atmosphere invests 
 all parts of the globe ; one sun illuminates, and 
 one moon exerts its specific attraction upon all 
 parts. 
 
 The inspection and comparison of living 
 forms, add to this argument, and examples are 
 at hand without number. Of all land animals, 
 the structure is very much alike ; the senses 
 are nearly the same ; their natural functions 
 and passions nearly the same ; digestion, nutri- 
 tion, circulation go on in a similar manner in all. 
 The great circulating fluid is the same ; for I 
 think no difference has been discovered in the 
 properties of blood, from whatever animal it 
 may be drawn. It has been shown that the blood 
 of one animal will serve for another. The skel- 
 etons of the larger land animals show particu- 
 lar varieties, but they still have a great general 
 affinity. The resemblance is somewhat less, 
 yet sufficiently evident between quadrupeds and 
 birds. 
 
 In fishes, which belong to another depart- 
 ment of nature, the points of comparison be- 
 come fewer. But we never lose sight of an 
 analogy ; we still meet with a stomach, a liver, 
 a spine; with bile and blood ; with teeth, with 
 
64 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 eyes. The provinces also of earth and water, 
 are connected by a species of animals that in- 
 habit both, and also, by a large tribe of aquatic 
 animals, which closely resemble the terrestrial 
 in their structure — I mean the cetacious tribe, 
 such as seals, porpoises and whales, which have 
 hot blood, respiring lungs, and other essential 
 parts like those of land animals. This simili- 
 tude, surely, bespeaks the same creation and 
 the same Creator. 
 
 Insects and shellfish appear to differ from 
 other classes of animals the most widely of 
 any. Yet even here, there exists a general re- 
 lation of a peculiar kind. In other animals, 
 the bones to which the muscles are attached, 
 lie within the body, in insects and shellfish, 
 they lie on the outside of it. The shell of a 
 lobster performs to the animal the office of a 
 bone. The crust of an insect is its shell, and 
 answers the like purpose. The shell also of 
 an oyster stands in the place of a bone ; the 
 muscles being fixed to it, in the same manner, 
 as, in other animals they are fixed to the bones : 
 all this, under wonderful varieties, indeed, 
 confesses an imitation, a remembrance, a carry- 
 ing on, of the same plan. 
 
parley's farewell. 65 
 
 The observations here made are equally ap- 
 plicable to plants, but it is unnecessary to pur- 
 sue the investigation further. I have said 
 enough to show that there is a harmony of de- 
 sign and plan throughout the universe, which 
 is utterly incompatible with the idea of seper- 
 ate and independent Creators. Were there 
 such, the world would exhibit contradictions 
 and inconsistencies. One part would be at 
 variance with another ; one design would 
 thwart another ; but as all unite harmoniously 
 to constitute a consistent system, we may safe- 
 ly and certainly conclude that all created things 
 are the result of one Mind — one God. 
 
 Chapter XVII. 
 
 Skill of the Creator illustrated from the mechanical structure of 
 the human body : the heart and spine ; the circulation of the blood. 
 
 James. I am very much obliged to you, 
 Mr. Parley, for having answered my question. 
 You have fully satisfied me that there is but 
 one God. I shall be glad now to hear you 
 speak of his wisdom and power as shown by 
 his works. 
 
 5 
 
66 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 Parky. I shall do it with pleasure, but I 
 must remind you that in proving the existence 
 of God, I have already spoken of many things 
 which displayed wonderful ingenuity of contri- 
 vance, and that at the same time that these 
 prove God's existence, they also attest his 
 wisdom and his power. In every department 
 of nature, the mineral, vegetable and animal, 
 there are contrivances which no human art can 
 rival. It has been before said, that man may 
 make imitations, but he can do no more. 
 
 But in order to render this superior skill of the 
 Creator more palpable, let us examine one or two 
 mechanical contrivances in the structure of an- 
 imals. We will select as our first instance the 
 human spine or back-bone. This consists of 
 twenty-four bones, joined and compacted to- 
 gether in the most wonderful manner. It is so 
 contrived that while it is firm and enables the 
 body to support an erect position, it is at the 
 same time flexible, so as to bend in all direc- 
 tions. No human art has ever been able to 
 contrive a chain, that can perform these double 
 offices. Here we see that in mere mechanical 
 contrivance, the works of God defv competition 
 from man. 
 
The Human Spine and Ribs, page (37. 
 
67 
 
 But this is not all. The spine has still an- 
 other office to perform. In the centre of 
 this chain of twenty-four bones, and passing 
 through them all, is a tube containing the spi- 
 nal nerve. This extends from the brain through 
 the back, and communicates with every part of 
 the body by a thousand small pipes which have 
 the name of nerves. 
 
 Beside all this, the spine is to be so adjusted 
 that the ribs may be fastened to it, as well as 
 the legs and arms ; and finally ; to this the va- 
 rious muscles which enable the limbs and body 
 to move, are to be fastened. 
 
 Now suppose that an ingenious mechanic 
 were to undertake to construct an artificial 
 skeleton in imitation of that which belongs to 
 man, would it not be impossible for him to 
 accomplish the task ; and would he not be com- 
 pelled to give it up in despair ? Let us con- 
 sider, that we only ask of the human archi- 
 tect an imitation, and that even this is beyond 
 his ability. How great then must be the wis- 
 dom and power of that Superior Architect, who 
 not only made, but designed and contrived his 
 works, and not only designed and contrived them, 
 but furnished the very materials from his own 
 
68 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 manufactory — the bones, the muscles, the 
 nerves and the fluids necessary for his purpose! 
 
 Let us take another illustration of the wis- 
 dom and power of God, as displayed in animal 
 mechanism. It is the design of the Creator 
 that the blood shall be distributed throughout 
 the body, and that this shall be essential to 
 life. The body is therefore provided with two 
 systems of blood vessels — arteries and veins ; 
 the first to carry the blood out from the heart, 
 and the latter to bring it back. 
 
 These tubes are wonderfully contrived and 
 distributed over the body, and the blood which 
 is to pass through them, is furnished by means 
 equally ingenious and wonderful. But what 
 machinery can be devised to receive the blood 
 from the veins and force it through the arteries 
 and throughout the system? The heart is des- 
 tined to perform this work. This is a hollow 
 muscle in the centre of the body, surrounded 
 with spiral fibres, running in both directions, the 
 layers crossing and interlacing each other. By 
 a contraction of these spiral fibres, the hollow 
 muscle is compressed, and whatever fluid may 
 be in it, is squeezed out from the cavity within. 
 By a relaxation of the spiral fibres, the cavities 
 in the hollow muscle are prepared to admit any 
 
Veins of the Human Body. Arteries of the Human Body, p 63. 
 
The Human Heart. 
 
 R V y Right cavity or ventricle ; L V, the left ventricle ; r I, 
 right lungs ; I Z, left lungs ; a, aorta ; V t large veins which bring 
 the blood to the heart. 
 
parley's farewell. 69 
 
 fluid that may be poured into it. Into these 
 cavities the great trunks or pipes of the arteries 
 and veins are inserted — the one to carry out 
 the blood, and the other to return it. 
 
 Every time that the heart beats, a contrac- 
 tion of the spiral fibres takes place, and the 
 blood is sent through the arteries, by the force 
 of the stroke, as water gushes through a syr- 
 inge ; and exactly at the same time, an equal 
 proportion is received from the veins. Thus, 
 at every pulse, about two spoons full of blood 
 are sent out from the human heart, through the 
 arteries, and the same quantity is received from 
 the veins. It is said that each ventricle of the 
 heart will contain an ounce of blood. The 
 heart contracts 4000 times in an hour, from 
 which it appears that 4000 ounces, or 250 
 pounds of blood pass through the heart every 
 hour. 
 
 The whole mass of blood in the body of a 
 grown person is about twenty five pounds, so 
 that a quantity equal to the whole mass, passes 
 through the heart twelve times in an hour, 
 which is about once every six minutes. Such is 
 the operation of the heart in the human body ; 
 but consider what it must be in the larger ani- 
 
70 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 mals, as the elephant or the whale. In the 
 latter, the tube through which the blood is 
 forced into the arteries, called the aorta, is a 
 foot in diameter, and ten or fifteen gallons ot 
 blood are thrown out of the heart, at every 
 stroke, and it rushes with a velocity like that 
 of water through the sluice of a mill. The 
 whole idea fills the mind with wonder, and we 
 cannot but look up with awe to that Being 
 whose works display such evidence of wisdom 
 and power. 
 
 Chapter XVIII. 
 
 The wisdom of the Creator shown by the peculiar and yet suitable or- 
 ganization of certain animals. 
 
 Along each side of the neck of larger quad- 
 rupeds is a stiff strong ligament, which butchers 
 call the pax wax. We often see it in a piece 
 of roast beef. It is a powerful tape, braced 
 from the head to the back, and its office is to 
 support the weight of the head, which it is ex- 
 actly suited to fulfil. 
 
 The head of an ox is a heavy weight act- 
 ing at the end of a long lever, and but for this 
 
parley's farewell. 71 
 
 support, would be very difficult and tedious to 
 carry. But by this brace, it is supported with 
 ease. No similar organ is found in man, for his 
 erect position renders such a provision unneces- 
 sary. This peculiar organization is limited to 
 quadrupeds ; and it shows that the Creator sees 
 and knows and provides for, with admirable in- 
 genuity, the wants of his creatures. 
 
 The oil with which birds preserve their feath- 
 ers, and the organ which supplies it, are pe- 
 culiar provisions of the Deity for the feather- 
 ed creation. On each side of the rump of 
 birds, is observed a small protuberance, yielding 
 a substance resembling butter, which runs out 
 when the bird presses it with its bill. With 
 this ointment the bird dresses its coat, as often 
 as any part of its feathers may require it. Noth- 
 ing similar to this oil is found upon unfeather- 
 ed animals. If this provision were accidental 
 in birds, why should it not also be found in 
 beasts ? 
 
 The airbladder of a fish affords another strik- 
 ing instance of contrivance. The use of the 
 organ is to sustain, and also to elevate or de- 
 press the body of the fish, in the water. This 
 is done in the following manner. When the 
 
12 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 bladder contained in the body of the fish is con- 
 tracted, the bulk of the fish is also contracted 
 and becomes heavier as compared with the wa- 
 ter, and accordingly, it descends. On the con- 
 trary, when the bladder is expanded, the bulk 
 of the fish is greater and comparatively lighter, 
 and the fish rises. This power has been prov- 
 ed by observing that when the bladder is burst, 
 the fish grovels at the bottom ; and also that 
 flounders, soles and skates, which have no air 
 bladder, seldom rise in the water, and if they 
 do, it costs them a great effort. We do not 
 see by what method an animal, which lives con- 
 stantly in the water, is able to supply a repos- 
 itory of air, but the Creator of fishes has accom- 
 plished this object, though we cannot tell the 
 means. 
 
 These examples show the attention paid 
 by the Creator to three departments of animal 
 nature. The next example of his contrivance, 
 belonging to a large tribe of animals, is the 
 poisonous tooth of serpents. The fang of the 
 viper is a clear and curious example of me- 
 chanical ingenuity. It is a perforated tooth, 
 loose at the root ; in its quiet state, lying flat 
 upon the jaw, but furnished with a muscle, 
 
parley's farewell. 73 
 
 which, with a jerk as it were of a string, sud- 
 denly erects it at the pleasure of the animal. 
 Under the tooth, close to its root, and commu- 
 nicating with the hole made for the purpose, 
 lies a small bag, containing the venom. When 
 the fang is raised, the jaw closes, and presses 
 against the bag ; and this forces out the fluid 
 through the tube in the middle of the tooth. 
 What better apparatus could be devised for the 
 double purpose of inflicting the wound, and 
 throwing in the poison ? Yet although lodged 
 in the mouth of the animal, it is so constituted, 
 as not to interfere with the animal's office of 
 seeking its food. None of the harmless ser- 
 pents have these fangs, but their teeth are all 
 of an equal length, and fixed firmly in the jaw. 
 The bag of the oppossum is another curious 
 contrivance. A false skin under the body of 
 the female oppossum forms a pouch in which 
 the young are received when they are born ; 
 here they are fed and nursed ; in this they are 
 transported by the mother from place to place, 
 at liberty to run in and out, and find a refuge 
 there from surprise or danger. It is their cra- 
 dle, their conveyance and their asylum. This 
 pouch is provided with muscles to open and 
 
74 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 shut the aperture, which is done in the most 
 exact manner. Could this peculiar organ have 
 been constructed in any way but by the design 
 of the Creator ? 
 
 The black skimmer of the seas, is a kind of 
 gull, who gets his living from the deep, in a 
 most curious manner. He has immense pow- 
 ers of flight, and seems to be capable of sus- 
 taining himself on the wing, for hours and per- 
 haps for days. He skims along over the deep, 
 keeping his lower jaw or mandible in the water, 
 with which he occasionally scoops up a fish 
 that happens to come in his way. To fit him 
 for this peculiar mode of getting a livelihood, 
 his under jaw. is shaped like a paper cutter, and 
 is more than an inch longer than the upper 
 one. When a fish is taken, it is slipped along 
 toward the throat, and there held in the bill till 
 the bird has time to devour it. What a curi- 
 ous adaptation do we here find, of tools to the 
 work that is to be done ? This bird is to get 
 his food by skimming the seas, and he has a 
 peculiar tool for the purpose ; and to accommo- 
 date him, a departure from the structure of all 
 other birds is adopted, and the lower mandible, 
 usually the shortest, is here made the longest. 
 
Black Skimmer of the Seas, p. 74. 
 
parley's farewell. 75 
 
 In the owl, we observe a remarkable adapta- 
 tion of structure to vocation. This bird is 
 made to lead the life of a thief, and to steal 
 upon its prey in the darkness and the stillness 
 of night. His eyes are therefore so con- 
 structed that, while he can hardly see by day, 
 he can see distinctly at night. But there is 
 another peculiar, yet suitable contrivance, less 
 obvious, but even more curious. The plumage 
 of the owl is remarkably soft, full, and downy. 
 Every part of the body, and even the head and 
 legs, are covered with long, yielding feathers. 
 And why is this 1 So that the bird may winnow 
 the air on a silent wing, and approach its vic- 
 tim not unseen only, but unheard. How dif- 
 ferent is the noiseless, stealthy flight of an owl 
 from the whistling rush of a pigeon, or the 
 whirring of a partridge ; and how admirably 
 does this peculiarity qualify the bird to follow 
 its trade ! 
 
 Wilson, the American ornithologist, remarks 
 that the females of most species of birds are 
 less gaudily dressed than the males ; and that 
 we here see a wise provision of the Creator, as 
 by this means, the females, who are peculiarly 
 destined to watch over the young, are less 
 
76 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 likely to be objects of pursuit to the hawk and 
 the sportsman. Being of more sober hues, 
 they are less conspicuous, and may more easily 
 shelter themselves from attack amid the leaves 
 and bushes. 
 
 Certain birds have a particular structure in 
 the claw, which fits them for their peculiar 
 mode of life. The middle claw of the heron 
 and cormorant, is toothed and notched like a 
 saw. These birds are great fishers, and these 
 notches assist them in holding their slippery 
 prey. The use and design of this is evident. 
 Some birds that live on fish have these notches 
 in their bills, and for the same purpose. The 
 gannet, or soland goose, has the edges of its bill 
 irregularly jagged, that it may hold its prey 
 the firmer. Now this structure cannot surely 
 arise from the manner of employing the part, as 
 the smooth surfaces and soft flesh of fish is less 
 likely to notch the bills of birds than the hard 
 substances upon which many other species feed. 
 This shows then, the formation of the bill in these 
 cases, to be matter of design and not accident. 
 
 The stomach of the camel is well known to 
 retain large quantities of water, unchanged for 
 a considerable length of time. This quality fits 
 
parley's farewell. 77 
 
 it for living in the desert, where there is no 
 water, and where, were it not for this provision, 
 the animal could not live. A number of bags, 
 sometimes thirty, are contained in the second 
 stomach, which, after the animal has drank a 
 large quantity of water, are filled ; and these 
 bags are afterwards squeezed by a set of mus- 
 cles made for the purpose, and the contents 
 carried into the stomach, whenever thirst impels 
 the animal to put the muscles in motion ! 
 
 The tongue of the woodpecker is a very sin- 
 gular contrivance. It is a particular instru- 
 ment for a particular use ; and what else but 
 design could ever produce it ? The wood- 
 pecker lives chiefly upon insects, lodged in 
 the bodies of decaying trees. For the purpose 
 of boring into wood, it is furnished with a straight, 
 hard, sharp bill. When by means of this 
 piercer, it has reached the cells of the insects, 
 then comes the office of the tongue. This is 
 three or four inches long, tipped with a stiff, 
 sharp, bony thorn, and what is most remarka- 
 ble, this tip is jagged on each side, like the barb 
 of a hook. The bird having exposed the 
 retreats of the insects by the assistance of its 
 bill, with amotion inconceivably quick, launches 
 
78 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 this long tongue at them, runs them through 
 with the barbed needle upon the end, and thus 
 draws its prey within its mouth. If this be not 
 mechanism, what is 1 How did the tongue 
 get its barb and its hard tip ? They are decid- 
 edly proofs of mechanical organization, and of 
 the skill in the Creator in providing for his 
 creatures. 
 
 Chapter XIX. 
 
 Wisdom of the Deity proved from the preparations hefore hand for the 
 wants of animals, found in the contrivances of Nature : also by the fitness and 
 adaptation of some parts of animals to other pj arts. 
 
 The wisdom of the Creator is clearly shown 
 in that foresight by which provision is made for 
 such wants of his creatures, as may arise from 
 their peculiar condition. The human teeth 
 afford a striking instance of this. The infant 
 is to live by milk taken from its mother, and it 
 can take its nourishment in, without teeth, much 
 more conveniently to itself and its nurse, than 
 with them. Accordingly it has no teeth — nor 
 do they come till about the time that it takes 
 other food that may require teeth. We see 
 
parley's farewell. 79 
 
 the same careful foresight in providing that 
 the horns of calves and lambs do not grow till 
 they have done sucking, as they would be in 
 the way, in performing that operation. 
 
 But in regard to the human teeth, a still fur- 
 ther prospective contrivance is made, at the yery 
 beginning. The jaw of a grown person is 
 much larger than that of an infant, and the first 
 teeth are therefore entirely too small to fill the 
 jaw of an adult. It is accordingly provided, 
 that at the age of eight or ten years, the first set 
 of teeth shall be shed, and larger ones come in 
 their place. And the preparation for them is 
 made at the outset, a row of teeth being 
 actually set in below the first, ready to grow 
 when these are gone ! 
 
 The providing of milk for young animals is 
 another admirable proof of the designing wis- 
 dom of the Creator. Milk is a fluid of a very 
 nutritious quality, and no art of man can make 
 it. As soon as the young are produced, the 
 milk is ready for it, and not before. And how 
 wonderful, how ingenious, is the whole contri- 
 vance by which young animals are provided with 
 food, in a manner the most curious, and of a 
 kind the most suitable ! 
 
80 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 The wisdom of the Creator is also shown by 
 the relation which the structure of animals 
 bears to their mode of life. 
 
 The instances of this kind are numerous. 
 There is a curious resemblance between the 
 stomach of a hen and a corn mill ; the crop 
 answering to the hopper, and the gizzard to 
 the stones which crush the corn. But the most 
 interesting point of resemblance is this : to pre- 
 vent too much corn from going into the stones 
 at once, a receiver is placed between them and 
 the hopper, so that it may be dribbled out just 
 as fast as is required. The same process takes 
 place in the hen, for though the crop may be 
 filled, its food only enters the gizzard gradu- 
 ally, and as fast as that is able to digest it. 
 
 Another instance of obvious fitness and adap- 
 tation of one part to another, is furnished in 
 birds of prey. Owls, hawks, eagles, &c, by 
 their talons and beaks, are qualified to seize and 
 devour other birds and quadrupeds ; and ac- 
 cordingly the gastric juice in the stomach of 
 these birds, will act upon or digest flesh, but 
 it will not digest seeds or grasses, or vegetables 
 of any kind. On the other hand, the mouth of 
 the ox and sheep is suited to the cropping of 
 
parley's farewell. 81 
 
 herbage ; and accordingly we find the gastric 
 juices of their stomachs will digest vegetable 
 food, and not flesh ! 
 
 There is another instance of strong fitness 
 in a provision of nature, which marks the intel- 
 ligence of the Creator, and that is, that the 
 eyes of all animals are placed in front, in the 
 direction in which the legs move, and the 
 hands work ; and therefore where they are 
 most useful. How awkward would it be for us, 
 if our eyes were in the back of the head ! How 
 comparatively useless would the eyes of quad- 
 rupeds be, if placed behind ! 
 
 Nature is full of such instances as these I 
 have mentioned, all setting forth the intelligence 
 and wisdom of the Creator ; and not only dis- 
 playing the marks of a designing and intelli- 
 gent Mind, but intelligence in contriving and 
 power in executing, which know no bounds. 
 No obstacle seems to be presented that is not 
 surmounted, and no contrivance to accomplish 
 an object seems to be adopted, that is not, all 
 things considered, the best that could be de- 
 vised. 
 
 6 
 
82 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 Chapter XX. 
 
 Wisdom of the Creator proved by the means adopted to compensate for 
 defects in animal organization. 
 
 Another fertile and interesting source of evi- 
 dence of the wisdom of God, is found in the 
 contrivances resorted to by the Creator, to com- 
 pensate his creatures for certain defects in their 
 organization. Thus the short neck of the ele- 
 phant is compensated by the admirable device 
 of a proboscis, one of the most complicated and 
 ingenious, but successful expedients of nature. 
 
 The bat has a clumsy foot and leg, but to 
 compensate for this, he is supplied with a hook 
 on his wing, by which he suspends himself to a 
 beam, or to the sides of rocks, and in this way 
 he usually obtains his sleep. The crane, the 
 heron, the bittern are destined to live upon fish, 
 yet they cannot swim. To make up for this 
 deficiency they are provided with long legs for 
 wading, or long bills for groping, and some- 
 times with both. 
 
 The common parrot would have an inconven- 
 ience in the very hooked shape of its upper jaw, 
 
Bats, p. 82. 
 
parley's farewell. 83 
 
 or mandible, if like that of other birds, it was 
 stationary, for in this case it could hardly open 
 its mouth to take its food. But this hook being 
 wanted by the parrot to climb and suspend it- 
 self with, to remedy the evil above mentioned, 
 this upper mandible is capable of being ele- 
 vated or depressed at pleasure. 
 
 There is a grub called the glow worm, that 
 gives out a phosphoric light in the darkness. 
 Why is this ? That her mate may find her, 
 for while she is a worm, he is a fly ; while she 
 is on the earth, he is in the air. They would 
 not be likely to meet therefore, if some extra- 
 ordinary means of uniting them was not re- 
 sorted to ; but this, Nature has foreseen and 
 provided for. 
 
 The spider's web is a compensating contri- 
 vance, of a very ingenious character. This 
 creature is made to feed on flies ; yet how was 
 it to catch them, for it had no wings ? This 
 might seem to be a case of difficulty, but the 
 web is a net, and the spider is not only taught 
 how to weave it, but his body furnishes the 
 thread ! How ingenious, how wonderful, how 
 multiplied, are the resources of the God of 
 Nature ! 
 
84 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 In many species of insects, the eye is fixed, 
 and cannot be turned in its socket. To sup- 
 ply this great defect, the eye is a multiplying 
 glass, with a lens looking in every direction, and 
 showing every object that may be near. Thus, 
 what seemed at first a privation, by this curious 
 and interesting expedient, is made to be an 
 advantage, as an eye thus constructed seems 
 better adapted to the wants of these creatures 
 than any other. The common fly is said to 
 have four thousand lenses in each eye, and the 
 butterfly thirty thousand ! 
 
 The neck of the chameleon is stiff, and can- 
 not be turned ; how then is he to look about 
 himself ? It would puzzle most of us to con- 
 trive a remedy for this difficulty ; but Nature 
 seems never at a loss. The eye ball stands out 
 so far that more than half of it projects from 
 the head ; and the muscles operate so curiously 
 that the pupil can be turned in any direction. 
 Thus the chameleon, who cannot bend his neck, 
 can do with facility what is difficult for most 
 other animals — he can look backwards even 
 without turning his body ! 
 
parley's farewell. 85 
 
 Chapter XXI. 
 
 The argument continued. 
 
 If we were to look upon a snail, and observe 
 that it has neither wings nor feet, it would 
 seem to be destitute of the common advantages 
 bestowed upon creatures of this class. But its 
 Creator has made up its deficiency in a very 
 surprising manner. It is endowed with a vis- 
 cid or sticky humor, which adheres to the 
 stones, leaves, plants and fruits, and enables it 
 to climb wherever it desires to go. 
 
 A mussel, which might seem to be at the 
 mercy of every wave, has the power of spinning 
 long threads, by which it moors itself to a rock 
 or timber, as safely as a ship at anchor. 
 
 Birds have no teeth. What then are the fowls 
 that feed on grain — liens, turkeys, ducks, geese, 
 pigeons &c. to do ? for they surely must have 
 some means of grinding their food. All these are 
 supplied by a peculiar and powerful muscle, 
 called the gizzard ; the inner coats of this are 
 furnished with rough plates, which break and 
 grind the food, as effectually as a coffee-mill 
 would do. Let the reader reflect upon this ; 
 
86 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 no animal has a gizzard that has teeth, for then 
 it is not wanted ; but those which have not 
 teeth and require grinding machinery for their 
 food, are supplied with it ! Recollect, too, that 
 birds of prey that live on flesh, have no gizzard, 
 for their food does not require to be ground in 
 a mill ! 
 
 Many animals, such as worms, are entirely 
 without feet. How is this destitution to be com- 
 pensated? These creatures are enabled to creep 
 forward by means of rings strung together by 
 muscles which contract and expand, or are drawn 
 up and stretched out at the pleasure of the animal. 
 Thus the meanest creature is a collection of 
 wonders, and demonstrates as clearly as the 
 highest of Nature's works, the wisdom, power 
 and resources of the Creator. 
 
 Chapter XXII. 
 
 Proofs of the Wisdom of the Creator furnished by the relation of the 
 structure of animals to inanimate Nature. 
 
 One of the first proofs of this kind that strikes 
 us, is in the adaptation of the wings of birds, 
 
parley's farewell. 87 
 
 to flying in the air ; of fishes to swimming in 
 the water, and of other animals to dwell upon 
 the earth. What knowledge of the several ele- 
 ments, does this adaptation display, and what 
 admirable skill is shown in the several con- 
 trivances which fit the various tribes of liv- 
 ing things to their peculiar process and modes 
 of life ! 
 
 How wonderfully fitted for its purpose, is the 
 ear ! It has within, a hollow space over 
 which is a tight membrane, called the drum. 
 When the air shakes or vibrates, this membrane 
 vibrates also, and communicates a sense of 
 sound to the brain. Its use depends entirely 
 on the tendency of the air to vibration ; and its 
 structure therefore shows that he who made 
 the ear, understood the philosophy of the atmos- 
 phere perfectly ; and why should He not, for it 
 is His work ? 
 
 The organs of the voice also show a complete 
 knowledge of the nature of air ; for they are so 
 contrived as to produce a vibration of it, and 
 thus communicate sounds to the ears of others. 
 Is not this a most surpassingly ingenious de- 
 vice ? You wish to communicate ideas to 
 another person, and God has given you organs 
 
88 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 by which these can be committed to the air ; 
 or in other words, your voice has the power of 
 producing such an infinite variety of vibrations 
 of the air, as that all your ideas may be carried 
 to another by means of the air ! How wonder- 
 ful, how admirable is this ! what wisdom, what 
 knowledge, what skill and power of workman- 
 ship does this display ! what adaptation of one 
 part of the works of creation to another ; and 
 what consistency of plan, what unity of purpose, 
 are here unfolded ! 
 
 The happy proportioning of one thing to 
 another, shows also the wisdom of the Creator. 
 Man, for instance, is adapted to the size and 
 strength of a horse. If men were giants, they 
 could not ride horses. If men were either pig- 
 mies or giants, they could not milk cows, mow 
 grass, reap corn, train vines, or shear sheep, 
 with any thing like the conveniency they do 
 now. If men were pigmies, they would be lost 
 in the grass and rushes, and their children 
 would be carried off by birds of prey. Every 
 one can see, that other things being as they 
 are, man would suffer by being either much 
 larger or smaller than he is. 
 
 The wisdom of God is also displayed in the 
 correspondence of the power and faculties of 
 
parley's farewell. 89 
 
 animals, with the earth they live in. It is a 
 part of the plan of the Creator, that sleep shall 
 be necessary to most animals ; and, accord- 
 ingly night is provided, in which every thing 
 becomes still and quiet, and adapted to repose. 
 And consider that night, thus essential to ani- 
 mals, is produced by the revolution of the earth, 
 and this revolution is but an obedience to the 
 attraction which impels the planets in their 
 courses. How remote then is the cause of 
 night ; how vast are the effects produced by 
 that cause, for all the worlds belonging to the 
 solar system, are governed by it ; and perhaps 
 millions of other worlds are under its influence. 
 And yet night, which thus has its origin in the 
 very foundation of the universe, is made for the 
 chicken upon its roost and the child on its pil- 
 low. What a connection is here shown, be- 
 tween the humblest animals and the very stars 
 of the sky ! How wonderful is the adaptation 
 of the different parts of God's works to one an- 
 other ! How clear is the evidence of one all- 
 designing Mind, one all-working hand in the 
 universe ! 
 
90 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 Chapter XXIII. 
 
 The wisdom and power of God proved from the instinct of animals. 
 
 We see a young quail or partridge, in a few 
 hours after it is hatched, run about and pick 
 seeds and eat them. It distinguishes, as well 
 as an old bird, between what is suitable food, 
 and what is not. Before it is two days old, it 
 will immediately hide itself in the leaves and 
 bushes if a hawk is seen, or if danger of any 
 kind approaches. 
 
 A young duck that has been hatched by a 
 hen, and that for the first time sees the water, 
 immediately runs to it, and, launches himself 
 upon it without fear, and with a perfect know- 
 ledge of the art of swimming, glides over its sur- 
 face. In these cases, as well as many others, 
 it is obvious that these creatures have some- 
 thing prior to experience and independent of 
 instruction, and that this guides them into these 
 habits which, by their formation they are fitted 
 to follow T . The young duck can have had no 
 lesson from the hen, teaching it to seek the 
 water and to ride upon its bosom, nor can it 
 have had any experience to show it that it is 
 
Pauley's farewell. 91 
 
 fitted for such an exercise. Yet it goes to the 
 brook as soon as it sees it, and as soon as it 
 is on the wave it pushes itself forward with 
 its paddling feet ! Now this property of the 
 duck, and which we see is independent of teach- 
 ing and experience, is called instinct. It seems 
 to pervade all animated nature, and is the great 
 principle by which animals are guided in pro- 
 pagating their several species, and in obtaining 
 the means of subsistence. It is a curious sub- 
 ject of inquiry, and I shall collect several in- 
 stances, in different animals, to illustrate it. 
 
 The means resorted to by insects and birds 
 to secure the hatching of their eggs, display 
 wonderful powers of instinct. The gad-fly 
 lays an egg, which first hatches a worm, and 
 this afterwards becomes the fly. But the eggs 
 are to be hatched and nourished in the intes- 
 tines of a horse : how then are they to be laid ? 
 Flying round the animal, the female fly cu- 
 riously poises her body in the air, while she de- 
 posites her eggs on the hairs of his skin, and 
 when the horse licks himself, he swallows the 
 eggs. But the most curious part of the story 
 is, that these eggs are usually deposited on the 
 knees and shoulders, and parts of the body that 
 the horse most frequently licks ! 
 
92 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 The eggs or spawn of the salmon and the 
 shad must be deposited near the sources of riv- 
 ers. These fishes, therefore, leave the ocean, 
 and with incredible perseverance proceed up the 
 streams, leaping over falls and shooting up the 
 cataracts. Having, after proceeding hundreds 
 of miles, found a proper place, they depo- 
 site their eggs, and, leaving them to the course 
 of nature, return to their home in the ocean. 
 
 The eggs of the violet crab, which lives in 
 the mountains of the West Indies, are hatched 
 in the sea. To deposite them in their proper 
 place, the crab makes a fatiguing journey of 
 several months, deposites its eggs in the wave, 
 and then retracing its steps, goes back to its 
 home in the mountains. 
 
 In all these cases, it is plain that these crea- 
 tures act neither upon experience or instruction. 
 The young, of these several species, adopt the 
 means usually resorted to by their kind, as rea- 
 dily as others. Nor can they be guided by love 
 for their offspring, for they never see or know 
 them. It is obvious, therefore, that they are 
 governed by that inward monitor which we call 
 instinct, and which impels them to act as they 
 do, without foreseeing consequences. It is 
 
Sociable Weavers, p. 93. 
 
parley's farewell. 93 
 
 equally clear, that birds, in constructing their 
 nests, are governed by the same principle. Ca- 
 nary birds hatched in a cage, proceed to build 
 nests in the same manner as the wild birds. 
 They set upon the eggs also in the same way. 
 Having had no experience, and no communica- 
 tion with other birds of their kind, they must be 
 influenced to act only as they do, by instinct. 
 
 The extent of this power of instinct is re- 
 markably displayed by birds in the ingenuity 
 with which many of them build their nests. 
 The sociable weavers of Southern Africa some- 
 times unite in hundreds, and build a vast cov- 
 ering to a tree, like an umbrella. Under this 
 each bird builds his own nest ; and thus a 
 whole city of weavers is united together in one 
 common dwelling, each having his separate 
 room or nest. 
 
 In the Philippine isles, there is another kind 
 of weaver bird, w 7 hose nest is shaped somewhat 
 like an inverted oil flask, the entrance being 
 from beneath and through the neck. This is 
 suspended from the branches of a tree. There 
 is a similar species in Africa that hangs its nest 
 with vast labor and skill to the pendent branches 
 of the palm trees ; and our own Baltimore 
 
94 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 oriole, or fiery hang-bird, has a nest scarcely 
 less curious, suspended to the extremities of 
 the elm, and other large trees of our country. 
 How often have we seen them, amidst the rush 
 of the gale, swinging securely and in peace 
 in their grassy hammocks ! 
 
 The fantail warbler, found in Spain, Italy, 
 and other southern parts of Europe, is only 
 about four inches in length, yet its nest is a 
 master piece of art. With great neatness a 
 number of blades of grass are drawn together, 
 and sewed by a kind of cotton thread, manufac- 
 tured by the bird itself. Between the stalks of 
 grass, a long barrel-shaped nest is found, raised 
 several inches from the ground, and composed 
 of a cotton-like material. The whole contri- 
 vance is very ingenious, and admirably adapted 
 to concealment of the nest. 
 
 The reed wren is a bird spread all over Eu- 
 rope, where marshes are found. This too builds 
 its nest in a most ingenious manner, to some 
 stalk of a reed, or tall blade of coarse sedge. 
 It is made of grasses, and curiously bound or 
 hooped together by the fibres of tough thread- 
 like vegetation. 
 
 The tailor bird, as his name imports, is a 
 
Fantail Warbler, p. 94. 
 
Nest of the Tailor Bird, p. 95. 
 
parley's farewell. 95 
 
 skilful mechanic. He is found in IXindostan 
 and Ceylon, where monkies and serpents climb 
 the trees in quest of food or prey. To be secure 
 from them, the tailor bird suspends his nest on 
 the outward twigs of tall trees, where even the 
 dexterous climbing of its enemies does not en- 
 ble them to go. The bird is but three inches in 
 length, yet it actually sews several leaves togeth- 
 er with grass or hair, and makes a nest between 
 them. Sometimes the nest is composed of one 
 leaf, curled up, and the edges sewed together, 
 this being secured by other leaves, and these 
 also united by thread-like grass. 
 
 The nest of the golden crested wren, an 
 European species, is scarcely less curious. 
 While the bird is but three inches long, the 
 nest is eleven in circumference ; it is also very 
 finely matted and woven together, usually be- 
 neath the extreme branches of a larch or pine. 
 The nest of our own little ruby throated hum- 
 ming bird, the fairy of the feathered tribe, is 
 one of the most delicate and ingenious species 
 of art that can be found. It consists of a neat 
 cup, lined with the finest down of plants, and 
 coated with moss in exact imitation of the 
 branch of the tree to which it is attached. This 
 
96 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 last device makes it appear like a knot or ex- 
 crescence of the tree, and is usually an effectual 
 guard against discovery. I have passed a hun- 
 dred times within a few feet of a humming bird's 
 nest, in plain sight, without discovering it. 
 
 Nor is this wonderful care and skill of birds 
 in building their nests, the whole extent of that 
 instinct with which they are endowed. Having 
 laid the eggs, the female begins to sit upon 
 them, sometimes, for a short space, giving place 
 to the male. This severe restraint is submit- 
 ted to for two or three weeks, during which the 
 bird is often wasted away to mere skin and 
 bone. What is it that induces the bird to do 
 this? She does not, she cannot know that young 
 birds are to come from these eggs, for she will 
 set as well upon pieces of chalk, as upon her 
 own eggs. She is guided in this by no know- 
 ledge of what is to happen. She is only 
 influenced by that monitor within, which has 
 made it a part of her nature. " For myself," 
 says Dr. Paley, " I never see a bird sitting to 
 hatch her eggs, but I see an invisible hand, de- 
 taining the contented prisoner from her fields 
 and her groves, for a purpose, as the event 
 
Nest of the Golden Crested Wren, p. 96. 
 
parley's farewell. 97 
 
 proves, the most worthy of the sacrifice, the 
 most important, the most beneficial." 
 
 Chapter XXIV. 
 
 Instinct continued. Quadrupeds : The Beavers : Ants. 
 
 The instinct of quadrupeds is remarkable in 
 many things. By means of it, the beaver is 
 taught to gnaw down trees, taking care to have 
 them fall into the water, with which it forms 
 the frame of a house, and afterwards covers it 
 over with mortar, using his tail as a trowel. 
 
 But the lower tribes of animal existences, 
 perhaps display the most remarkable powers of 
 instinct. Among the ants we shall find that it 
 seems almost to rival human reason, in the ex- 
 tent of its operations. The habitations of our 
 common ants are only little hills on the outside, 
 yet within are numerous halls, passages and 
 chambers. 
 
 The earth they use is moistened with rain or 
 dew, and their mode of building is to scrape a 
 little grain from the ground with their teeth, 
 and then to knead and mould it, patting it down 
 with their feet. An ant-hill contains some- 
 7 
 
98 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 times twenty stories above ground, and as ma- 
 ny under ground ; each divided into apartments 
 of different sizes, with arched ceilings, sup- 
 ported by little walls or pillars. When the 
 sun renders the upper part too hot, they carry 
 their young to the bottom of the ant-hill, and 
 in rainy weather, when the ground-floor is unfit 
 to live in, they all remove to the higher stories. 
 One kind, called toood-ants, cover their nests 
 with a roof like thatch ; it is made of stems of 
 withered grass and straws. In the morning 
 they take down part of this, so as to make 
 openings to go in and out at ; and every night 
 they shut and bar them up, as we do the doors 
 and windows of our houses. Some ants live in 
 trees, where they form rooms and passages, by 
 gnawing out the wood. 
 
 In New South Wales there is a species of 
 ants, whose habitation is within the branches 
 of trees ; they work out the pith even to the 
 end of the smallest twig ; and though nothing 
 is to be seen outside, yet within, the tree is 
 completely filled with insects ; and if a little 
 place is broken, swarms of ants rush out imme- 
 diately. You may think that it would be very 
 amusing to see this, but I can assure you, you 
 
parley's farewell. 99 
 
 would not wish to try the experiment a second 
 time, for the angry little creatures sting very 
 sharply. 
 
 A kind of ants found in South America, con- 
 struct their nest of green leaves, and place it on 
 the trunk between the branches of the tree. 
 Some of these nests are as big as a hogshead. 
 This is their habitation during the wet season ; 
 when it is dry, they leave their nests, and swarm 
 all over the woods, and, on their return, each 
 brings a piece of green leaf, so large that the in- 
 sect itself is quite hidden under its burden. 
 Yet they march steadily along, and it is a pret- 
 ty sight to see so many pressing forward to- 
 gether, the path looks quite green with them. 
 In some places these ants are called parasol- 
 ants, from their carrying these round, green 
 pieces of leaf. Great paths, three or four 
 inches broad, are made by them, and they will 
 sometimes strip a whole tree of its leaves in one 
 night. 
 
 Ants of all kinds live in families ; all how- 
 ever that are born in a nest do not remain in it. 
 Vast swarms may be seen in the summer, fur- 
 nished with wings, and assembling, in order to 
 leave their home for ever. They are some- 
 
100 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 times so numerous as to look like a dark cloud 
 floating in the air, and if many did not perish, 
 they would become very troublesome to us. 
 The greater part of these flying ants, are either 
 eaten up by birds, or fall into the water, and be- 
 come the prey of fishes. Those which escape 
 through all these dangers, build themselves 
 each a small house, which is soon filled and 
 enlarged by their offspring, until in time it 
 grows into a populous city. And what do you 
 think becomes of the wings with which I told 
 you each of these ants was furnished ? They 
 were intended by Providence only to serve the 
 purpose we have mentioned, and as soon as 
 they have carried her to a convenient place, in 
 which to found her colony, the ant pulls them 
 off herself, and thus is secured from all temp- 
 tation to wander from her home. These ample 
 wings were her chief ornament, but they would 
 be a hindrance in the great work she has to per- 
 form, and they are sacrificed without a mo- 
 ment's hesitation. 
 
 The chief portion of the ants in a nest are 
 workers, and they perform all the labor ; they 
 have never any wings ; and like the working-bees 
 are never parents themselves, but serve as nurses 
 
parley's farewell. 101 
 
 to the offspring of others. The mode of bring- 
 ing up the young ants, renders their task still 
 more fatiguing than that of the bees and wasps. 
 As soon as the sun's first rays begin to shine 
 upon the nest, the ants that are at the top go 
 down, in great haste, to wake their compan- 
 ions ; and all the young brood are then carried 
 and laid in the sun, for a quarter of an hour. 
 After this, they require to be placed in other 
 apartments, where they may be warm without 
 being scorched ; and every evening, an hour 
 before sunset, they must all be carried down 
 into the lower cells, to be safe from the cold. 
 There are seven or eight thousand of these 
 young grubs, in a large nest, so you may im- 
 agine that it requires much diligence to do this, 
 besides licking them with their tongues as a cat 
 does her kittens, to keep them clean, feeding 
 them, collecting food, and repairing the nest 
 which is so easily injured. 
 
 There is one most extraordinary circumstance 
 respecting some ants, which I must now tell you. 
 You will smile at the idea of their having cows, 
 yet it is quite true that they keep certain insects, 
 from which they draw a sweet liquid, in the 
 same manner as we obtain milk from cows ; 
 
102 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 and they even make a property of them. If 
 any stranger ants attempt to climb the branch 
 of a tree, or the stalk of a plant, where they 
 keep their herds, those who consider them- 
 selves the rightful owners drive them away, 
 and may be seen running about in a great 
 bustle. Sometimes they build a little wall 
 round the place where these cattle are, and 
 so keep them safe in a kind of pen. Some 
 kinds, choosing to have them still more within 
 reach, carry large herds of these insect-cows to 
 their nest, and let them feed on the grass and 
 stalks round which it is built. They take as 
 much care of these creatures' eggs as of their 
 own, put them in a place of safety when the 
 nest is attacked, and carry them in the same 
 manner into the sun ; that by their being hatch- 
 ed early, there may be a good supply of their 
 nourishing food. 
 
 Ants are remarkable for courage. Though 
 so small, they never fear to face any danger, but 
 immediately turn round and prepare to bite, 
 and to shoot their poison into the wound. 
 They sometimes fix themselves so obstinately 
 to the object of their attack, that they will 
 sooner be torn limb from limb than let go their 
 
parley's farewell. 103 
 
 hold ; and man himself strikes no terror into 
 them. 
 
 These tiny nations, so well armed and cour- 
 ageous, are not always at peace with their 
 neighbors. A square foot of earth is to them 
 a kingdom ; their droves of insect-cattle are as 
 valuable to them as our flocks and herds are to 
 us ; and the body of a fly or a beetle, is a most 
 valuable possession. No wonder then if wars 
 and quarrels arise. Myriads may sometimes 
 be seen pouring forth from two rival cities, and 
 meeting halfway between their respective hab- 
 itations, equalling in numbers the armies of two 
 mighty empires. Though they do not cover a 
 space larger than two or three square feet, yet 
 they present a spectacle exactly like that of a 
 field of battle where men are the combatants. 
 Thousands are to be seen struggling together, 
 shooting poison at one another, which fills the 
 air with a strong odor, and is as destructive to 
 them as gunpowder is to us. Thousands of 
 the dead and mangled strew the ground, while 
 others are led away as prisoners ; and crowds 
 are seen hastening to reinforce the contending 
 armies. 
 
 How the ants know those of their own party, 
 
104 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 it is impossible to say, as they are generally of 
 the same kind, and appear to us to be all alike 
 in make, color, and scent. They are not dis- 
 tinguished as human soldiers are, by different 
 colored uniforms, yet it very rarely happens that 
 two of one side attack each other ; and if, by 
 chance, they do, the mistake is presently found 
 out, and they make friends directly. When 
 night comes on, each party returns to its own 
 city, but the next morning the battle is resum- 
 ed with fresh fury, until at length a rainy sea- 
 son separates them, and the quarrel is for- 
 gotten. 
 
 Ants not only fight pitched battles, as we 
 have seen above, but they also besiege neigh- 
 boring cities, and take them by storm. The 
 object they have in view is a most extraordina- 
 ny one, and could hardly have been believed, 
 if it had not been observed, and related, by so 
 many people. The ants we are now going to 
 speak of are warlike and powerful, but not in- 
 dustrious like most other kinds. In order that 
 they may have slaves to do their work for them, 
 they attack the nest of a dark colored kind, 
 called negro ants, and carry off their young. To 
 these, when they are grown up, all the labor is 
 
parley's farewell. 105 
 
 left ; they build and repair the common dwelling, 
 collect food, attend to the young, and even feed 
 their masters, and carry them about the nest. 
 Every year, the light colored ants add to the 
 number of their slaves. At the season when 
 there is a proper supply of workers in the negro 
 ant-hills, they send out spies into the neighbor- 
 hood, and prepare for marching. On the return 
 of these spies the signal is made, by touching- 
 one another with their antennae, and they then 
 set out to attack the negro city. Their way of 
 marching is singular ; eight or ten ants inarch 
 first, and these continually wheel round and 
 join the rest of the army, while others succeed 
 to their station. 
 
 As soon as the guards of the city perceive 
 the enemy coming, they dart upon them with 
 the utmost fury, and crowds pour forth to assist ; 
 but the besieging party rush on, and drive them 
 back, until they retreat into the lowest story. 
 Numbers enter with them at the gates ; while 
 others make a breach in the walls, through 
 which the conquerers march in. Presently 
 they all come out, each carrying a young ant, 
 which has been seized in spite of its anxious 
 guardians ; and thus they return in triumph 
 
106 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 with their spoil. It is a curious sight to behold 
 their slaves coming out of the nest to meet 
 them, conducting the young prisoners in, bring- 
 ing food to the warriors, and caressing them, 
 as if they rejoiced at their return. These on 
 their part, are much attached to their faithful 
 servants, and when the nest is attacked by other 
 ants, their first care is to carry them into a place 
 of safety. Having been taken when they were 
 quite young, they do not feel the change, and 
 are quite as happy as they would have been 
 among their own nation, where they would 
 have had the same tasks to perform. 
 
 In Africa and the Indies there is a species of 
 ants called the White Ants or Termites. 
 These insects are a quarter of an inch high, and 
 devour every thing they can get at ; but wood 
 is their favorite food. They will sometimes 
 destroy all the wood work in a room in one 
 night. Their habitations are very wonderful, 
 being sometimes twenty feet high, made of clay, 
 and resembling sugar loaves. They are so hard, 
 that you may walk upon them without any dan- 
 ger of breaking them. 
 
parley's farewell. 107 
 
 Chapter XXV. 
 
 Instinct — Continued. The Honey-Bee. 
 
 Of all insects the honey-bee is, on many 
 accounts, the most interesting. It has been an 
 object of careful observation, and therefore its 
 history and habits are all ascertained. I shall 
 give you a full account of it, as it seems to me 
 to display the extent of instinct in the most re- 
 markable manner. 
 
 The honey-bees of a hive are divided, as you 
 know, into the queen-bee, the drones, and the 
 workers. You have doubtless not only tasted 
 honey, but seen the comb. Do you not think 
 it very wonderful, that small insects should be 
 able to make wax and honey, neither of which 
 men have the power of making ? How much 
 labor too must it cost to build and fill the nu- 
 merous cells ! Let us follow a colony of bees 
 through the various tasks they have to perform, 
 and we shall see with what surprising instincts 
 they are endowed. 
 
 Many countries abound with ivild bees, and 
 these form their own nests ; but I suppose you 
 have only seen them under artificial coverings, 
 
108 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 called hives, and which are made of wood or 
 straw. These hives have a little opening on 
 one side, for the bees to go in and out at ; they 
 generally stand upon a wooden bench, and in 
 cold weather are placed under some sort of 
 shed. 
 
 A swarm of bees on entering a new hive, im- 
 mediately want cells, or little chambers, in 
 which to store up their honey, and bring up the 
 young. These cells cannot be made without 
 wax ; the first business therefore is to obtain that 
 substance. You probably suppose that the 
 bees collect it from flowers, and that they will 
 go out and fetch home a store. But no, they 
 seem to be quite idle, and hang in long rows, 
 like garlands, or strings of beads ; one at each 
 end taking hold of the roof, the rest clinging to 
 each other's legs, and so they remain for four 
 and twenty hours without moving. 
 
 This does not proceed from laziness however, 
 nor are they waiting to think what must be 
 done ; you will never guess why they hang thus ; 
 so I must tell you. Wax, instead of being 
 found in flowers, as some people imagine, is 
 formed in thin cakes, under the scales which 
 case the bee's body. It appears that it is best 
 
parley's farewell. 109 
 
 made while they are quite quiet ; and this is 
 their way of taking rest. While they are clus- 
 tering, the wax is forming, and when they have 
 hung a number of hours it may be seen under 
 their scales, which then appear edged with 
 white. 
 
 And now, at last, a bee comes out from the 
 crowd, clears about an inch, by driving away 
 the others with his head, and settling in the 
 middle of this space, begins to lay the founda- 
 tion of a comb, which is a flat piece of wax 
 composed of a great number of cells. These 
 cells are joined to each other's sides, and placed 
 in a double row, end to end, so that each side 
 of the comb is full of holes, fit for containing 
 eggs or honey. The bee we have just men- 
 tioned pulls out the little cakes one by one from 
 its wax-pockets, holds them in a pair of pincers, 
 with which its legs are furnished, and works 
 them about with its tongue, which is as useful 
 as a trowel. When these are fixed to the roof 
 of the hive, it disappears among its compan- 
 ions. 
 
 Other bees follow this example, adding their 
 little store of wax, until a lump is formed large 
 enough to work upon. The cells are then 
 
110 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 shaped by another set of laborers ; and a third 
 party finish and polish the work, by drawing 
 their mouths, their feet, and their whole bodies 
 over it again and again, until it is quite smooth. 
 Some in the mean time collect food, and bring 
 it to those which are working at the .cells, that 
 they may not be hindered. When a laborer 
 is hungry, he bends down his trunk before the 
 bee which is to feed him ; this trunk is a mov- 
 able mouth, like what you must often have seen 
 in the fly ; a few small particles of honey are 
 poured into it, by his companion, and he then 
 goes on with his work. Though there are 
 many thousand laborers in a hive, they do not 
 begin in several places at once, but wait until 
 a single bee has laid the foundation, as I have 
 just described to you. Each bee has only a 
 certain quantity of wax, so they must make it 
 go as far as possible. If the cells were made 
 round, a great deal would be wasted in filling 
 up the spaces between ; as you may see your- 
 selves, if you lay a number of marbles together. 
 If they were square, they would not suit the 
 form of the young bees which are to be placed 
 in them. They are therefore made with six 
 sides, so as to join together exactly, and are 
 
parley's farewell. Ill 
 
 very convenient, besides consuming the least 
 wax, and filling the least space possible. Now, 
 the most learned men might have spent years in 
 discovering this admirable plan ; but taught by 
 God himself, the little insect, without study or 
 contrivance, has adopted it from the hour of its 
 creation ! 
 
 When some rows of cells are finished in the 
 first comb, two other foundation walls are 
 begun, for other combs, one on each side of the 
 first, and exactly the third of an inch apart 
 from it ; so that a sort of street is left between, 
 wide enough for two bees to pass each other 
 without difficulty. Several more combs are 
 afterwards built beyond these, but all at the 
 same distance, and all hanging from the roof. 
 As the combs are placed in this manner, that 
 is perpendicularly, or up and down, the cells, 
 whose openings are, as we have seen, on both 
 sides of the combs, must of course lie along 
 instead of standing up. You might imagine, 
 therefore, that the honey would run out, but 
 the bees seem to find no inconvenience in this 
 arrangement, and when the cells are quite full, 
 they are sealed up with a little lid of wax. In 
 order to make their work still firmer, the bees 
 
112 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 collect a sort of resin or gum, from the buds of 
 trees, and with this they stop up all cracks, as 
 it keeps out the weather better than wax. 
 
 I must here mention the way in which the 
 bee carries what it wishes to bring to the hive. 
 You will be ready to smile if I say that it takes 
 little baskets out, in which to fetch home its 
 stores ; yet something very like this is really 
 the case. You must have seen its legs laden 
 with heaps of a yellow substance, gathered 
 from the flowers ; but how do you think this 
 dust is kept from falling off, as the little busy 
 creature flies about ? Providence, in forming 
 the bee, has supplied it with the most conven- 
 ient means of carrying the fruits of its industry. 
 There is a hollow, like a basket, in each of its 
 hind legs, and in these it places what it collects. 
 The foremost feet serve for hands to fill them 
 with, and there is a fringe of long hairs, all 
 round the edge of the baskets, to prevent any- 
 thing from falling out, even when heaped up 
 quite high ! 
 
 As to honey, this is made of a sweet juice 
 which is sucked by the bees out of flowers, and 
 swallowed, and in their honey-bag it is formed 
 into the sweet substance, which we call by that 
 
parley's farewell. 113 
 
 name. When a bee has filled its bag with 
 honey, it rolls itself round and round in a flower, 
 till the yellow dust sticks to the feathered hairs 
 with which it is covered. The last joint but 
 one of each leg is just like a brush, and these 
 little brushes it passes all over its body, till the 
 dust is collected into two heaps, which are 
 kneaded, and pressed into the baskets already 
 mentioned. When a bee thus laden arrives at 
 the hive, others come and help it off with its 
 load. The honey is poured out of its mouth 
 into the cells prepared to contain it, and the 
 yellow dust, or pollen as it is called, is kneaded 
 into bee-bread. Each bee goes out several 
 times in the course of the day, and a calcula- 
 tion has been made, that upwards of a pound 
 of this substance, is often made by the inhabi- 
 tants of one hive in that time, and as much as 
 an hundred pounds in the course of the year. 
 
 When their combs are finished, the bees do 
 not sit down in idleness. Though they are so 
 many in number, each finds enough to do. You 
 have seen how much labor they have in collect- 
 ing honey and bee-bread ; the queen is also to 
 be waited upon ; the young are to be nursed ; 
 the hive is to be cleared out ; watch is to be 
 8 
 
114 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 kept continually at the door, lest any enemy 
 should get in ; and new apartments are to be 
 added as the family increases ; so that you see 
 the expression, "as busy as a bee, 5, is not with- 
 out a meaning. Besides all this, they have to 
 keep the hive cool, by continual fanning. I am 
 not going to tell you that they have fans, 
 exactly like those with which ladies cool them- 
 selves ; but their wings are made use of just in 
 the same manner. The bees who undertake 
 the office of fanners, are placed in rows as sol- 
 diers are ; they then join their wings to those 
 of their neighbors, by some little hooks which 
 grow at their edges, and flapping them up and 
 down, make a great deal of wind. There are 
 seldom more than twenty fanners at work at 
 once, and as the same bees would be tired with 
 always performing this fatiguing office, they 
 take it by turns, and relieve one another. 
 
 I spoke just now of nursing the young ; this 
 is a very laborious part of their employment. 
 The queen begins to lay eggs as soon as the 
 cells are ready, an egg in each cell ; and before 
 any honey is collected, the careful bees lay in 
 a store of bee-bread, with which to feed the 
 young ones. In a day or two, a little worm is 
 
parley's farewell. 115 
 
 hatched from each egg, looking like a maggot 
 rolled up in the form of a ring. The bees are 
 very attentive to these poor little helpless things, 
 and run about from one to another, thrusting 
 their heads into the cells, to see whether any- 
 thing is wanted, and feeding them with bee- 
 bread softened down into a kind of white jelly. 
 After about ten days the worm is full grown, 
 and its kind nurses, knowing that it will require 
 no more food, close up its cell with a waxen 
 door ; it then begins to spin like a caterpillar 
 a soft web, and is changed into a chrysalis. 
 
 Perhaps you do not know what this hard name 
 means ; but surely you must sometimes have 
 seen an insect lying enclosed in a hard case like 
 a coffin, quite stiff, and unable to move ; it is 
 during this state that it is called a chrysalis. 
 Well, after a deep sleep of about ten days, the 
 little creature breaks open its prison, and 
 comes forth a perfect bee. The silken lining 
 is left in the cell, and serves to make it stronger. 
 No sooner is one young bee out of this cradle, 
 than another egg is laid in it, so that there are 
 always a number to be nursed. But the patient 
 bees are never tired, and as soon as they can 
 fly, the young ones take their share of labor, 
 and do not waste their time in idleness. 
 
116 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 The queen-bee has already been mentioned. 
 She is so called because she governs the hive ; 
 she is also the mother of all the young that are 
 born in it. Her subjects are much attached to 
 her, and treat her with the greatest attention. 
 
 The conduct of bees when a queen is lost, 
 shows that they have means of making one 
 another understand. Those which first find out 
 what has happened, run about the hive in a fu- 
 rious manner, touching every companion they 
 meet with their little horns or feelers, which 
 are called antennce. These in their turn run 
 about in the same manner, and inform others of 
 the sad event until the whole hive is in confu- 
 sion. This agitation lasts four or five hours, 
 after which the bees begin to take measures for 
 repairing their loss. Nothing can be more ex- 
 traordinary than the way in which they pro- 
 ceed. They build several royal cells, which 
 are much larger than the common ones, and of 
 a different form. Having removed one of the 
 worker-worms into each of these, they feed it 
 with a particular kind of food, and in a few 
 days it grows larger, and at length comes out 
 a queen. 
 
 If bees lose their sovereign, and have no cells 
 
parley's farewell. 117 
 
 with young in them to supply her place, they 
 leave off working, and die in a few days. But 
 if in the midst of their agitation, their lost queen 
 should be restored, they are quiet immediately, 
 for they instantly remember and distinguish her 
 from all others. If a new queen were to be 
 placed in the hive too soon after the loss of the 
 other, no attention would be paid her, and she 
 would be starved to death or smothered in the 
 crowd. But when four-and-twenty hours have 
 passed, and the first grief is over, a stranger- 
 queen is well received, and reigns immediately. 
 The bees crowd about her, touch her by turns 
 with their antennae, for so, as I have before 
 said, their little horns are called, give her 
 honey, range themselves round her in a circle, 
 and follow her as a guard when she moves. 
 
 The way in which they behave, if another 
 queen comes into the hive, while their own is in 
 it, deserves to be mentioned. The entrance 
 being guarded night and day by sentinels, noth- 
 ing can go in or out unperceived. The moment 
 a stranger-queen is seen to enter, she is sur- 
 rounded by a circle of bees, so that she cannot 
 move ; and another set of workers flock around 
 the original queen in the same manner. This 
 
118 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 is done to oblige them to fight. If they try to 
 get away they are stopped, but if either shows 
 the least inclination to move towards the other, 
 the workers make way ; a desperate battle 
 ensues between them, and one is stung to death. 
 
 The offspring of one queen alone, is too nu- 
 merous for a hive to hold. She will sometimes 
 lay, in one season, sixty or seventy thousand 
 eggs, so you may easily suppose, that it would 
 never do to have more queens than one. Yet 
 as no swarms would leave their home to seek 
 another, without a sovereign to lead them, some 
 of the eggs laid every year, turn to young 
 queens, the rest producing drones and workers. 
 There are some drones in every hive ; they are 
 rather larger than the working bees, and do 
 not collect honey or help to build the cells, but 
 are turned out of the hive before winter, that 
 they may not eat what the industrious have 
 collected. Idle people are often compared to 
 drones. 
 
 It is the nature of queen-bees to be very 
 jealous of one another, and this is an instinct 
 given them, to prevent more than one remain- 
 ing in the hive. When the young queens are 
 ready to leave their cradles, and to become 
 
parley's farewell. 119 
 
 perfect insects, their mother grows furious, 
 tears open the cells, and stings them to death, 
 before they are capable of self-defence. The 
 guards, which are always placed about them, 
 make way, and allow her to do what she 
 pleases. But as the royal cells are much thicker 
 than those of common bees, she is tired after 
 opening one or two, and gnaws in vain at a 
 third. Still agitated at the sight, she runs 
 about the hive in a fury. By little blows with 
 her antenna?, she communicates the same feel- 
 ing to the workers, and they run about in all 
 directions, until they are so heated by their 
 violent exercise, and make the air of the hive 
 so hot that they can stay in it no longer. A 
 great number then rush out in a swarm with 
 their old queen, to seek another home ! 
 
 After she is gone, the bees watch the royal 
 cells, and as soon as a young queen comes 
 forth she begins to attack the others, which are 
 not yet full grown. But the guards do not al- 
 low her to kill any of them, as her mother did. 
 When she is resisted she stands upright, and 
 utters a shrill, piercing cry. On hearing this 
 the bees hang down their heads, and seem quite 
 stupified ; but as soon as she begins again to 
 
120 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 gnaw the wax she is silent, and they recover 
 themselves, and drive her away. After run- 
 ning in vain from one to another, and meeting 
 with the same treatment, she rages about the 
 hive, until with a number of workers she quits 
 it, as the former queen did. The same thing 
 happens, again and again, with other young 
 queens as they come forth, until several swarms 
 have issued from the hive. 
 
 The bees on all other occasions are most re- 
 spectful to their monarch, but they know that 
 several leaders are necessary, and that too 
 many must not be destroyed. When only one 
 queen is wanted, they encourage them to fight, 
 as we have already seen ; but it sometimes hap- 
 pens in the swarming season, that three or four 
 are ready to leave their cells at the same time, 
 before the birth of a sufficient number of work- 
 ers. In this case the bees keep them prisoners 
 for some days, and shut up the cells with wax, 
 as fast as the young queens try to bite their 
 way out. When they call for food, and thrust 
 their trunk through a hole, made just large 
 enough for the purpose, a nurse-bee, standing 
 by, immediately gives them some honey. When 
 fresh swarms are ready to go with them, they 
 
parley's farewell. 121 
 
 are let out, and thus new colonies are formed, 
 and we are supplied with plenty of these use- 
 ful little creatures. 
 
 Chapter XXVI. 
 
 Instinct continued. The Spider. Conclusion of this topic. 
 
 The spider has not a very pleasant charac- 
 ter, but his ways are too curious, and his 
 instincts too wonderful, to be passed by. 
 
 Though formed for purposes of destruction, 
 the spider's web is more delicate and beautiful 
 than the work of any other insect. No one, 
 who has ever been out on a bright summer 
 morning, can have failed to admire the fine 
 lace- work of silvery threads which adorns every 
 bush, and almost every blade of grass. How 
 beautifully do the long rows of dew-drops, 
 which hang on these webs, tremble with every 
 breeze, and sparkle in the beams of the newly 
 risen sun ! It is no wonder that the victims 
 for whom the snares are spread, fly into them so 
 readily, and fear no danger. Were they to 
 see their terrible enemy herself, they would 
 
122 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 avoid her, but she is very cunning, and gene- 
 rally keeps out of sight. 
 
 There are many kinds of spiders, of very dif- 
 ferent sizes ; some are at least two inches long, 
 and able to devour little birds ; but all are much 
 smaller in this country. They are generally of 
 a dirty brown color, though some field-spiders 
 are prettily marked with green, and black and 
 white stripes. This insect has eight eyes, 
 which it cannot shut or move, but as some are 
 placed in front of the head, some at the back, 
 and some on the sides, it can see every thing 
 that passes around. Its head is armed with 
 two stings, which have rough edges like saws, 
 and end in a nail, like the claw of a cat. 
 When not wanted for use, this nail is bent down 
 like a knife upon its handle, and near the point 
 is a small opening, through which a liquid poi- 
 son is forced out. With these fearful weapons 
 the spider soon destroys any creature it can 
 seize, and wo to the unlucky animal that falls 
 into its power ! Each of its eight legs is fur- 
 nished with three movable claws ; one is small, 
 like the spur of a bird, and placed on the side ; 
 the two others are longer, and with these it can 
 fix itself wherever it pleases, and move in every 
 
parley's farewell. 123 
 
 direction. Besides these eight legs, the spider 
 has two other limbs, in the fore part of its body, 
 which may be called arms, as they are only 
 used for turning and holding its prey. You 
 would scarcely imagine that such a dreadful 
 creature should require nets to catch the insects 
 upon which it feeds ; but if you remember that 
 they have wings, and it has none, you will see 
 that it could not easily overtake them, and that 
 these snares are very useful to entrap them as 
 they fly. 
 
 For the purpose of forming its web, the spi- 
 der has a most curious spinning-machine, much 
 less simple than that of the caterpillar. It 
 consists of four little knobs, which we will call 
 spinners, enclosed by a ring, and pierced with 
 a multitude of holes, so numerous, and so ex- 
 tremely fine, that there are above a thousand in 
 each of these four divisions, a space itself not 
 bigger than the point of a pin. From every 
 one of the holes a thread proceeds, so that the 
 very finest part of a web, which we can scarcely 
 see, is not a single line, but a cord, composed 
 of at least four thousand strands, as a rope- 
 maker would call them. If you examine 
 closely, you may see, with your own eyes, that 
 
124} NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 these threads are not single, but the number of 
 their parts cannot be counted without the assis- 
 tance of a microscope. 
 
 How far are all the contrivances of human 
 skill excelled by the machine with which this 
 little insect is provided, for weaving its delicate 
 web ! Were there no other proof that the 
 world, with every thing in it, was formed by 
 an Almighty Being, this alone should be suffi- 
 cient to convince us. When you find all this 
 curious machinery contained in a space so 
 small, that your senses can scarcely perceive 
 its various parts ; when your imagination can- 
 not even form an idea of their extreme fineness ; 
 does not this make you feel as David did, when 
 he had been meditating upon the works of cre- 
 ation, and exclaimed, " Lord, what is man that 
 thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that 
 thou visitest him ? " 
 
 You perhaps wonder why such curious con- 
 trivance is bestowed on these threads, instead 
 of their being quite simple. The great Maker 
 of all things does nothing in vain, and always 
 makes use of the means best suited to the pur- 
 pose. Their being so many times double, adds 
 much to their strength, for it is well known in 
 
parley's farewell. 125 
 
 manufactures, particularly in rope-spinning, 
 that cords formed of many smaller ones are 
 much stronger than those which are spun at 
 once. 
 
 You must have observed that there is a great 
 variety in the appearance of spiders' webs. 
 Those which are generally found in houses, 
 look only like a piece of gauze or thin muslin. 
 Some have the addition of a number of single 
 threads, fastened to their edge, joining and 
 crossing each other in every direction, and car- 
 ried up often to the height of several feet. 
 These lines are very much like the tackling of 
 a ship, and insects can scarcely avoid flying 
 across thein. Striking against these ropes they 
 become entangled, and in struggling to get 
 free generally fall into the net spread under- 
 neath to receive them. That she may keep 
 quite out of sight, and not frighten away her 
 victims, the spider often adds a little silken 
 apartment, below the web, and in order to know 
 when anything is caught, she spins several 
 threads from the edge of the net to that of her 
 hole ; these, by moving, give notice of what 
 has happened, and serve as a bridge upon 
 
126 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 which she may run in a moment to secure her 
 prey. 
 
 But the most beautiful webs, by far, are those 
 so often found on shrubs and hedges, formed 
 with regular rays like the spokes of a wheel, 
 and with a number of circles one within another. 
 The spiders which form them are called geomet- 
 rical spiders. It is most interesting to watch 
 the weaving of one of them, and you may have 
 opportunities of seeing it for yourselves, if you 
 choose. 
 
 When a spider has completed her snares, she 
 hides herself, as you have already heard, and 
 the moment an unfortunate fly, or other insect, 
 touches the net, feeling the lines move, she 
 rushes out and seizes it with her fangs. If it 
 be small, she carries it off at once to her hid- 
 ing-place, which serves also for a slaughter- 
 house, and having sucked out the juices, throws 
 away the carcass. Sometimes a wasp or large 
 bee is caught, which is so strong that the spi- 
 der knows it is more than a match for her ; in 
 this case, she often assists its escape, by break- 
 ing the part of the net to which it hangs, glad 
 to get rid of so dangerous a guest, even at this 
 price. In general, however, she wraps the lar- 
 
parley's farewell. 127 
 
 ger insects round with threads, in a most skil- 
 ful manner, until their legs and wings being 
 fastened, they can no longer struggle, but may 
 be carried off without resistance to her den. 
 
 The bodies of spiders being hairy, would 
 always be covered with fragments of their gum- 
 my threads, if great care were not taken to pre- 
 vent it. They may often be seen slowly comb- 
 ing off the flue, and tossing it away, and when 
 they let themselves down by a line, they coil it 
 up into a little ball, on ascending again, and 
 throw it away. Two of the claws belonging 
 to spiders are toothed like a comb, and are 
 equally fitted for the above purpose, and for 
 running along their lines. But this formation 
 does not enable them to walk, as flies do, upon 
 any upright polished substance, such as glass ; 
 they have however the means of constructing a 
 rope-ladder. This is done by raising the spin- 
 ners as high as possible, and pressing them 
 against the surface. A step is thus formed, 
 upon which the insect stands to form a second, 
 in the same manner, and so on, as any one may 
 see by putting a spider at the bottom of a very 
 clean wine-glass. 
 
 These insects can also make bridges, by 
 
128 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 which they may cross brooks or ditches, and 
 transport themselves from one tree to another. 
 For this purpose they fix a thread to the spot 
 where they may be, and wait until the other end 
 of it is blown by the wind to some neighboring 
 tree, or other object, and by its natural gummi- 
 ness has stuck to it. They try whether it is 
 firmly fixed by pulling at it repeatedly with 
 their feet, and finding it so, trust themselves to 
 this slight bridge, and pass safely across, draw- 
 ing a second line after them, as a security, in 
 case the first should give way. 
 
 You will be surprised to hear that some spi- 
 ders are able to float in the air, in the same 
 manner as you would fly a kite, and sometimes 
 to such an astonishing height, that people, 
 standing on the top of a very high church stee- 
 ple, have seen these gossamer spiders, as they 
 are called, above them. Their way of flying- 
 is this ; they climb to the top of a gate, a blade 
 of grass, or anything else which will raise them 
 a little above the ground. When their thread 
 is drawn out, by the current of air, into fine 
 lines several feet in length, they know that it 
 will enable them to float ; they then quit their 
 hold of the object on which they stood, and 
 begin their journey aloft. 
 
parley's farewell. 129 
 
 Such are a few of the facts in the natural his- 
 tory of the spider. It would be easy to extend 
 the instances in which remarkable powers of 
 instinct are displayed ; but this is unnecessary 
 to our present purpose. I have entered already 
 into pretty full details, for I was desirous to 
 show how abundant and how astonishing the 
 proofs are, even in the inferior works of crea- 
 tion, that an intelligent Being and powerful 
 Creator presides over the universe. These 
 proofs are found everywhere, on a minute in- 
 spection of the works of nature. I know of 
 nothing which makes all this more clear, than 
 to see spiders, bees, and ants, performing their 
 various tasks, and displaying their several kinds 
 and degrees of skill. These little creatures, 
 which have but two or three senses, which have 
 no experience and no instruction, are still quali- 
 fied to execute works which rival, nay, in some 
 cases surpass the nicest productions of human 
 skill. And what does all this show 1 — the 
 boundless skill of their Creator — of Him who 
 has loaned to them for a short time, and during 
 their brief existence, a spark of that Intelli- 
 gence which is infinite! 
 9 
 
130 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 Chapter XXVII. 
 
 Wisdom and power of God proved by animal life, and by the mind of mart. 
 
 Let us suppose that we could account for the 
 creation of the bodies of animals, and for ani- 
 mal instincts ; who then is the author of animal 
 life ? The bodies of animals are composed of 
 bones and muscles and flesh, &c; these consist 
 only of matter, and matter of itself cannot move. 
 You place any piece of matter on the ground, 
 as a stone, a bone, or a piece of flesh, and there 
 it will rest forever, unless something that has 
 the power to move it, comes to act upon it. 
 
 Yet an animal has in his material body a 
 power which we call life, and which can cause 
 the muscles to act, and compel the body to 
 move. This power is distinct from the mate- 
 rial body, but it causes the heart to beat, the 
 blood to circulate, the muscles to move, the 
 body to act ; for as soon as life leaves the 
 body, though its material form remains perfect, 
 it ceases to move, and is dead. Now who put 
 into the body this life ? Who invented, who 
 constructed and adapted to the body, this mys- 
 
parley's farewell. 131 
 
 terious power, that can exercise such influence 
 over mere matter ? 
 
 We can only reply that He whose works are 
 above and beyond the wisdom and power of 
 man, is the Author of life. It is he alone who 
 has put into the insect, the fish, the bird, the 
 quadruped, and into man, this principle or gift, 
 which makes a mere organized mass of earth 
 live, breathe, walk, run, eat, drink, see, smell, 
 taste and feel. Who but God can make a 
 piece of clay do all these things ? Can we 
 account for the existence of animated beings, 
 beings which live, move, and do all the things 
 we have mentioned, but by referring their exis- 
 tence to God ? And do we not see that God, 
 in the creation of such beings, has set before 
 us a most wonderful display of his wisdom in 
 designing, and his power in executing ? 
 
 Let us carry this inquiry one step farther. 
 Who made the Mind of man 1 Here is a power 
 still higher than animal life ; a power that can 
 reason, that can contrive and design ; a power 
 that can appreciate truth ; that can love and 
 hate, hope and fear ; and now who made it ? 
 Man did not and could not make his own body, 
 much less that high gift, the mind. Consider 
 
132 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 the power of the mind. It has memory, which 
 retains the past ; it has judgment, which esti- 
 mates the past and present ; it puts, as it were, 
 a girdle around the earth and measures its 
 mighty circumference ; it climbs to the skies, 
 and passing from star to star, becomes familiar 
 with the sublime architecture of the Almighty. 
 The mind has imagination, which can form the 
 loftiest conceptions ; it has conscience, which is 
 a guide in the pursuit of virtue ; it has taste, 
 which makes it feel the force of beauty and sub- 
 limity ; it has invention, which has enabled man 
 to build cities, to construct steamboats and rail- 
 roads ; to make ships that plough the deep ; to 
 devise language and write books ; to record his- 
 tory, to enact laws, to establish government. 
 All these are the attributes of the human mind ; 
 and who but a God of infinite power and wis- 
 dom could be its author ? 
 
 Chapter XXVIII. 
 
 The wisdom and power of God displayed by the sun, moon, and stars. 
 
 We have now examined the various works of 
 creation, to be found upon the surface of this 
 earth, and they all testify to the existence of a 
 
parley's farewell. 133 
 
 God, of infinite skill and power. We find in 
 plants, insects, animals and man, contrivances 
 which show a Designing Mind and a Work- 
 ing Hand, combining wisdom and ability, infi- 
 nitely beyond those of any earthly being, and we 
 are therefore compelled to refer their existence 
 to a God, all-wise and all-powerful. 
 
 But even if we could account for the ingen- 
 ious structure of plants and animals — if we 
 could show that they made themselves — still, 
 who furnished the materials ? Who made the 
 elements, earth, air, fire, and water ? If man 
 made himself, who gave him the bone, the flesh, 
 the blood, or the substances out of which to 
 shape them ? Who made the earth on which 
 we stand, the air we breathe, and the sun 
 whose light we share ? We can only answer 
 these questions by referring their existence to 
 the creative power of God. If you go forth 
 inquiring of the several objects of Nature who 
 made ye ? — each blade of grass, each leaf and 
 flower and tree, answers, " God!" the insect, 
 the reptile, the bird, the quadruped, answers, 
 God! — man answers, God! instinct life and 
 mind answer, God ! the very elements answer, 
 God ! the mute stone answers, God ! 
 
134 
 
 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 But let us step in imagination for one mo- 
 ment beyond the surface of this earth, and con- 
 template the solar system. With this, we are 
 but imperfectly acquainted, but we know the 
 size of the sun, and of the several planets which 
 revolve around it. We know their motions and 
 their several velocities. Let us take a view 
 of this wonderful mechanism. 
 
 There are eleven planets which belong to 
 our solar system. The following tables give 
 their several distances from the sun ; their 
 diameter ; the periods in which they make their 
 circuits around the sun ; as well as the diame- 
 ter and diurnal rotation of the sun itself. 
 
 Names of the Distance from the sun in 
 Planets. millions of miles. 
 
 Sun 
 
 Mercury 
 
 Venus 
 
 Earth 
 
 Mars 
 
 Vesta 
 
 Juno 
 
 Ceres 
 
 Pallas 
 
 Jupiter 
 
 Saturn 
 
 Uranus 
 
 37,000,000 
 
 68,000,000 
 
 95,000,000 
 
 144,000,000 
 
 225,000,000 
 
 252,000,000 
 
 263,000,000 
 
 265,000,000 
 
 490,000,000 
 
 900,000,000 
 
 1,800,000,000 
 
 Length of 
 years in days. 
 
 Diameter in 
 miles. 
 
 88 
 
 225 
 
 365.5 
 
 687 
 
 1,326 
 
 1,593 
 
 1,681 
 
 1,686 
 
 4,333 
 
 10,759 
 
 30,687 
 
 8S3,000 
 3,224 
 7,687 
 7,911 
 4,189 
 
 
 
 89,170 
 79,042 
 35,112 
 
 Diurnal rotation. 
 
 Days. Hours. Minutes. 
 
 25 14 8 
 
 15 — — 
 
 — 23 21 
 
 — 24 
 
 — 24 39 
 
 — 9 56 
 
 — 10 16 
 Unknown. 
 
parley's farewell. 135 
 
 Thus it appears that our Earth is seven 
 thousand nine hundred and eleven miles in 
 diameter, and therefore it is about twenty-four 
 thousand miles around it. What an incon- 
 ceivable bulk! And now let us compare the 
 strength of man with that of God. A man can 
 lift a stone half as large as his own body ; but 
 God can lift this earth, with all its stones and 
 rocks and mountains and rivers and seas and 
 continents. He can not only lift it, but he can 
 do more. This Earth turns round every twenty- 
 four hours, and as it is twenty-four thousand 
 miles around it, every tree and house and man 
 and animal goes with it at the rate of one thou- 
 sand miles an hour ! Nay, more, this earth, with 
 all its lands and waters and inhabitants, goes 
 round the sun once a year. Its distance from 
 the sun is 95 millions of miles. The whole 
 distance it travels in a year is about 570 mill- 
 ions of miles. This is about one million six 
 hundred and sixteen thousand miles every day, 
 sixty-seven thousand two hundred miles every 
 hour, one thousand one hundred and twenty 
 miles every minute, nineteen miles every time 
 your pulse beats ! 
 
 Man then can lift a stone half as large as his 
 
138 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 body, but Go€l lifts a world twenty-four thou- 
 sand miles in circumference ; nay, more, he 
 tosses it into the air, and whirling it through 
 the heavens, it goes at the rate of one thousand 
 one hundred and twenty miles a minute ! Nor 
 does it stop in its progress. Age after age it 
 continues, and after centuries have passed, still 
 it pauses not in its flight ! 
 
 But what will you say when I tell you that 
 the sun is as large as three hundred and thirty- 
 seven thousands of our worlds ? that Jupiter 
 is as large as one thousand two hundred and 
 eighty-one of our worlds 1 that Mercury flies 
 along in its path at the rate of three hundred 
 and fifteen miles in a second ? and that Uranus 
 is seventeen times as large as our world, one 
 billion eight hundred millions of miles from the 
 sun, and flies along at the rate of two hundred 
 and forty miles every minute ! 
 
 Here then is the power of God ! A world, 
 with all its mountains and oceans and kingdoms, 
 is but a pebble in the hands of the Almighty. 
 Our solar system alone has eleven such worlds, 
 beside the numerous moons that revolve around 
 them, and beside the comets, those strange, mys- 
 terious, wandering worlds, some of whose tails 
 
parley's farewell. 137 
 
 are twelve millions of miles in length, and 
 whose velocity outstrips even the speed of the 
 swiftest planets. 
 
 But these worlds of our system are but eleven 
 of those thousand stars that glitter in the sky ; 
 and far beyond those we can see, is an endless 
 path, familiar to the footsteps of God, glittering 
 with stars whose very light has not yet travelled 
 down to man. And these, no doubt, are suns, 
 around which other worlds revolve ; and He 
 who made the insect is the Maker of them all ! 
 
 Chapter XXIX, 
 
 Wisdom and power of God, as seen by considering him as the Creator 
 and Sustainer of all things. 
 
 Yes, my young friends, He who made this 
 little violet that I hold in my hand, made the sun, 
 which is three hundred and thirty-seven thou- 
 sand times larger than our earth. He who made 
 the butterfly that is dancing in the breeze, made 
 that planet Mercury, which flies three hundred 
 and fifteen miles every time your heart beats. 
 He who made the little sparrow on yonder rose 
 bush, made that great planet Jupiter, which is 
 
138 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 one thousand two hundred and eighty-one times 
 as large as this earth. He who made the squir- 
 rel leaping from bough to bough on yonder tree, 
 made the comets which sweep through the 
 heavens with fiery trains, millions of miles in 
 length. He who made man, built the ocean 
 and the land, and strewed the vault of heaven 
 with stars, as the sea with pearls ! 
 
 And now let us contemplate these things as 
 all the work of one Being ; and let us consider 
 that they are not only made by Him, but that 
 every moment they call upon him to sustain 
 them. Let us remember that God has not only 
 made plants and animals, but that if not con- 
 tinued, supported and carried forward by Him, 
 they would instantly perish ; let us remember 
 that but for Him the rivers would cease to flow, 
 the air would be still, the planets would halt, 
 the stars would be quenched from the sky. It 
 is God who gives to all, life and motion. Let 
 him take his power from them, and the king- 
 doms of Nature would be shrouded with ever- 
 lasting forgetfulness. 
 
 God, then, is the maker and sustainer of all 
 things. Let us consider him as such. We 
 take the vegetable kingdom. Every leaf and 
 
parley's farewell. 139 
 
 stem and fibre is made by him ; each blade 
 of grass is woven by His fingers. Day by day, 
 hour by hour, he must be there to attend to the 
 process of their manufacture. And he must at 
 the same moment attend to every blade of grass 
 throughout the world, in the same way. In 
 the same way, he must shape every leaf, unfold 
 every flower, and braid every stalk and stem. 
 Think of the myriads of plants in a single field, 
 and consider that God is attending every mo- 
 ment to every one of them, and not to them 
 only, but to all others that are in the universe! 
 To each of these he is every moment giving 
 heat and light and moisture, and to each of these 
 he is attending, more carefully than a nurse to 
 an infant. 
 
 Let us consider the insects. There are forty 
 thousand species of these, and countless myri- 
 ads of each species. The air, the land, the 
 very depths of the sea are filled with them, and 
 the Creator must attend to each one of them 
 every moment. Where there is life and motion, 
 there must He be, to sustain it. There He must 
 be to mould the eggs, to endow them with life, 
 to frame all the nice mechanism of the young, 
 and to preserve that of the old. And beside, 
 
140 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 they must all be endowed with their several 
 instincts. Every bee must be taught the won- 
 derful art of making and storing honey ; every 
 ant must be instructed in the political economy 
 of the hill ; each spider must be enabled to spin 
 his thread of four thousand strands. 
 
 The birds of the air claim the attention of 
 their Maker. He must construct every feather, 
 and mark it with the hues of its kind ; he must 
 preside over the nice machinery of every wing 
 — the whole internal structure must be his. 
 Every egg must derive the principle of vitality 
 from his touch. Think of the myriads of the 
 feathered tribes, that are scattered over the 
 earth, in vale and meadow and mountain and 
 marsh, along the pebbly shore of the deep — upon 
 the lonely seaward isles — upon the bosom of 
 the ocean — and consider that every wing that 
 winnows the air, every downy breast that 
 divides the wave, must call upon God every mo- 
 ment for support. Think, too, that each and all 
 of them are to be supplied by Him with that 
 teaching which alone enables them to support 
 existence, or to perpetuate their several races ! 
 
 And the myriad fishes of the sea — these too 
 depend upon God. He must measure and fit 
 
parley's farewell. 141 
 
 the scales of the perch, he must construct the 
 delicate bony frame-work of the fins and cover 
 them over with their silky film. The little min- 
 now — nay, the minute eel of transparent water 
 — invisible to the naked eye and only to be dis- 
 cerned by a microscope, must receive from God 
 every bone and muscle and nerve. And while 
 he attends to these, he is called upon to preside 
 over the whale, to measure out the beatings 
 of its heart, and impel the cataract of blood 
 through its mighty veins and arteries ! 
 
 And quadrupeds, too, depend upon God. 
 Every one of them must have his frame built 
 by the divine Architect ; every one of them 
 calls upon God for his devising skill, his cre- 
 ative power, his sustaining care ; for while He 
 watches over the squirrel of our forest, He must 
 bestow his care upon the elephant and rhino- 
 ceros of Asia and Africa ! 
 
 And man too calls upon God every moment, 
 for his attention and care. There are eight 
 hundred millions of people in the world. In 
 each there is a spine of twenty-four joints, with 
 other nice machinery ; in each, there is a heart, 
 and veins and arteries ; in each, that heart is 
 beating at the rate of seventy strokes in a min- 
 
142 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 ute ; in each, the whole blood of the body is 
 changed every four minutes ; and all this is 
 the work of One God. 
 
 And remember that while every blade of 
 grass, every insect, every fruit, every quadru- 
 ped, every living being throughout the uni- 
 verse, is receiving the care of the Almighty, 
 He is heaving the planets along in their courses, 
 and turning the mighty crank which keeps the 
 whirling spheres in motion. Remember too 
 that in each of these worlds there are probably 
 races of beings like those on earth, claiming 
 the care of their Creator ! 
 
 Chapter XXX. 
 
 Difficulties removed. 
 
 I had proceeded thus far, in addressing my 
 attentive listeners upon the wisdom and power 
 of God, as displayed in his works, when James 
 seemed impatient to ask a question. I there- 
 fore paused, and he spoke as follows. 
 
 James. What you say, Mr. Parley, fills my 
 mind with wonder ; but I am almost lost in 
 the greatness of the subject. You seem to re- 
 present the way in which God works, in a very 
 
parley's farewell. 143 
 
 different manner from which I had supposed. 
 He is always spoken of as having established 
 certain laws, and I thought he left these laws 
 to perform all the detail of nature's works. 
 
 Parley. Tell me exactly how you supposed 
 that these laws operated. 
 
 James. Well — in respect to plants, I thought 
 God had ordained the seasons, the sun, and 
 rain, and created certain kinds of plants, and 
 put into each of them a certain principle, or 
 power, which would proceed to act in a cer- 
 tain way, established in the very nature of these 
 things. Thus I thought all the works of na- 
 ture went on by the command of God, but 
 without his personal attention. 
 
 Parley. You supposed then that the laws of 
 God, or the laws of nature, as they are general- 
 ly called, made the plants grow, and caused the 
 races of animals to continue. But the laws of 
 God, or the laws of nature, are only the ways 
 in which God is observed to work. We see 
 that plants grow from seeds, and we say it is 
 a law of nature that plants shall grow from 
 seeds ; but a seed is not of itself a creating 
 power. A seed is dead matter, and unless it 
 is made to put forth its shoots, by some creative 
 
144 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 power, it will remain as it is forever. And a law 
 — what is it? Is it a being 1 Can a law think ? 
 Can a law devise and contrive ? Can a law cre- 
 ate ? A law can do none of these things, and 
 when we speak of the laws of nature, as exert- 
 ing any efficient power in carrying on the works 
 of nature, we use language without meaning. 
 Although God works according to certain laws, 
 he must give these laws efficacy, he must be 
 ever present to sustain them and carry them 
 into effect. 
 
 James. But does not God have spiritual 
 beings to assist him in performing his vast 
 works ? 
 
 Parley. That may be, but even if he does, 
 those beings must be created by hirn, and be 
 dependent upon him for support. God has given 
 you an arm to work with, and you can hoe the 
 ground and make the plants grow ; but he sup- 
 plies the strength to your arm, and thus dis- 
 plays as great power, as if he had done the 
 work directly. So if he employs beings infe- 
 rior to himself, as agents to assist in attending 
 to the vast concerns of his universe, he must 
 endow them all with the requisite faculties and 
 sustain them ; and thus he will exert the same 
 
parley's farewell. 145 
 
 extent of power as if he gave personal atten- 
 tion to every operation of nature. 
 
 James. But, Mr. Parley, if God gives us 
 all our faculties, does he not control us, and are 
 we not made to act just as he pleases? And 
 if so, how can he punish us for any of our con- 
 duct? 
 
 Parley. You must make one distinction, 
 James, between mankind and all other crea- 
 tures. Man has mind and soul given to him. 
 He has reason given to him, which enables him 
 to choose between good and evil. He is there- 
 fore left to his own free will, to act as he 
 pleases. All other animated beings are guided 
 by instinct, which is not mind, but innate 
 intelligence loaned by God to animals, to teach 
 them to live happily during their short and 
 fleeting existence. To these creatures instinct 
 is a law, and they obey it. To us reason is 
 given, as a lamp in darkness, to show us the 
 way ; and the condition upon which this high 
 endowment is bestowed, is this — that if we 
 obey the dictates of reason we shall be happy, 
 if not we must be miserable. These are the 
 terms, and we are free to choose between good 
 and evil. 
 
 10 
 
146 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 Thus while our bodies and minds are created 
 by God, and while they are sustained by Him, 
 we are free agents, forming our own characters, 
 and shaping our own destinies for good or ill. 
 
 There is, however, one consoling reflection 
 in this view of the pervading power of God, and 
 that is, that his care is universal. Jesus Christ 
 said that a sparrow falls not to the ground un- 
 noticed, and that the very hairs of the head are 
 numbered. How pleasant is it to think, that 
 He who sustains the planets is also the God of 
 children ; and that He who makes their little 
 hearts to beat, has balanced the machinery of 
 the stars. He who will not forget the concerns 
 of a world, will not forget one of his children. 
 If we commit ourselves to Him, and seek his 
 favor, we are safe. 
 
 Chapter XXXI. 
 
 The benevolence of the Deity, displayed by the happiness of his creatures. 
 
 Parley. If God, then, is the creator of all 
 things — and if such is His wisdom and power, 
 as proved by his works — it becomes a matter of 
 the deepest interest to inquire into his disposi- 
 
FAREWELL. 147 
 
 tion, with a view to discover whether he is a 
 kind and benevolent being, or a cruel and ma- 
 lignant one. 
 
 James. Surely, Mr. Parley, no man can 
 think God a cruel or malevolent being. 
 
 Parley. Well, but can you prove that he is 
 benevolent ? 
 
 James. Really I cannot tell, only that I al- 
 ways feel as if God were a kind being. 
 
 Parley. And you feel rightly, but it is well 
 to know the ground on which such feelings 
 rest. And in the first place, let us con- 
 sider how we form an opinion of a person. Is 
 it not by his conduct ? If we find a person 
 who is trying to make all around him happy, 
 we call him kind and benevolent. If we see one 
 who takes pleasure in making others miserable, 
 in injuring their bodies or wounding their feel- 
 ings, we say he is cruel and malevolent. It is 
 in the same way we must form our opinion of 
 God, by his works. 
 
 Let us look abroad and see whether the 
 creatures God has made be happy or not. 
 And here we are to take into consideration only 
 the things that feel, for earth, stones and plants, 
 are mere matter, and are neither happy nor 
 
14S NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 miserable. And what do we see among the 
 multitude of animated and sentient beings 
 around us 1 " The air, the earth, the water,'' 
 says Paley, "teem with delighted existence. 
 In a spring noon, or a summer evening, on 
 whichever side I turn my eyes, myriads of 
 happy beings crowd upon my view. The in- 
 sect youth are on the wing. Swarms of new- 
 born flies are trying their pinions in the air. 
 Their sportive motions, their wanton mazes, 
 their gratuitous activity, their continual change 
 of place without use or purpose, testify their 
 joy, and the exultation which they feel in their 
 lately discovered faculties. A bee amongst 
 the flowers in spring is one of the most cheer- 
 ful objects that can be looked upon. Its life 
 appears to be all enjoyment, so busy and so 
 pleased ; yet it is only a specimen of insect 
 life, with which, by reason of the animal being 
 half domesticated, we happen to be better ac- 
 quainted than we are with that of others. The 
 whole winged insect tribe, it is probable, are 
 equally intent upon their proper employments, 
 and, under every variety of constitution, grati- 
 fied, and perhaps equally gratified by the offices 
 which the Author of their nature has assigned 
 to them. 
 
parley's farewell. 149 
 
 " But the atmosphere is not the only scene 
 for enjoyment for the insect race. Plants are 
 covered with insects called aphides, greedily 
 sucking their juices, and constantly, as it should 
 seem, in the act of sucking. It cannot be 
 doubted but that this is a state of gratification. 
 What else should fix them so close to the ope- 
 ration and so long? Other species are running 
 about with an alacrity in their motion which 
 carries with it every mark of pleasure. Large 
 patches of ground are sometimes covered with 
 these brisk and sprightly natures. 
 
 "If we look to what the waters produce, 
 shoals of the fry offish frequent the margins of 
 rivers, of lakes, and of the sea itself. These 
 are so happy that they know not what to do 
 with themselves. Their attitudes, their viva- 
 city, their leaps out of the water, which I have 
 noticed a thousand times with equal attention 
 and amusement, all conduce to show their ex- 
 cess of spirits, and are simply the effects of that 
 excess. 
 
 " Walking by the sea-side in a calm evening, 
 upon a sandy shore, and with an ebbing tide, I 
 have frequently remarked the appearance of a 
 dark cloud, or rather very thick mist, hanging 
 
150 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 over the edge of the water to the height perhaps 
 of half a yard, and of the breadth of two or 
 three yards, stretching along the coast, as far 
 as the eye could reach, and always retiring 
 with the water. When this cloud came to be 
 examined, it proved to be nothing else than so 
 much space filled with young shrimps, in the 
 act of bounding into the air, from the shallow 
 margin of the water, or from the wet sand. If 
 any motion of a mute animal could express de- 
 light, it was this ; if they had meant to make 
 signs of their happiness, they could not have 
 done it more intelligibly. Suppose, then, 
 what I have no doubt of, each individual of this 
 number to be in a state of actual enjoyment, 
 what a sum, collectively, of gratification and 
 pleasure have we here before our view ! 
 
 " The young of all animals appear to me to 
 receive pleasure simply from the exercise of their 
 limbs and bodily faculties, without reference 
 to any end to be obtained, or any use to be an- 
 swered by the exertion. A child, without know- 
 ing any thing of the use of language, is in a 
 high degree delighted with being able to speak. 
 His incessant repetition of the few articu- 
 late sounds, or perhaps of the single word 
 
parley's farewell. 151 
 
 he has learnt to pronounce, proves this point 
 clearly. 
 
 " Nor is it less pleased with its first successful 
 endeavors to walk, or rather to run, although 
 entirely ignorant of the importance of the at- 
 tainment to its future life, and even without 
 applying it to any present purpose. A child is 
 delighted with speaking without having any 
 thing to say ; and with walking, without know- 
 ing where to go. And prior to both these, I am 
 inclined to believe that the waking hours of 
 infancy are agreeably taken up with the exer- 
 cise of vision, or perhaps, more properly speak- 
 ing, with learning to see. 
 
 " But it is not for youth alone that the Great 
 Parent of creation has provided. Happiness is 
 found with the purring cat no less than with 
 the playful kitten ; in the arm-chair of dozing 
 age, as well as in either the sprightliness of the 
 dance, or the animation of the chase." 
 
152 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 Chapter XXXII. 
 
 Benevolence of the Deity — Continued. 
 
 If then the creatures God has made are hap- 
 py, let us consider the extent of that goodness, 
 as set forth by considering the extent of the 
 animal creation. We must not now confine 
 our attention to man, but we must take into 
 view the entire inhabitants of the globe. 
 
 " Every part of the world is filled with living 
 things. There are extensive marshes, impene- 
 trable forests, deep caverns, and the more ele- 
 vated parts of lofty mountains, where human 
 feet have never trod. There is a vast body of 
 water which covers more than two thirds of the 
 surface of the globe, and the greater part of the 
 atmosphere which surrounds the earth, which 
 men cannot occupy as permanent abodes ; yet 
 these regions of our world are not left destitute 
 of inhabitants. Numerous tribes of animals 
 range through the uncultivated deserts, and 
 find ample accommodation, suited to their na- 
 ture, in rocks and mountains, in dens and caves 
 of the earth. 
 
parley's farewell. 153 
 
 " The regions of the air are filled with winged 
 creatures of every kind, from the ostrich and 
 the eagle to the numerous tribes of flying in- 
 sects almost invisible to the unassisted eye. 
 The ocean teems with myriads of inhabitants 
 which no man can number, of every form and 
 size, from the mighty whale to the numerous 
 tribes of mednsce, of which several thousands 
 of billions are contained in one cubical mile of 
 water. Every sea, lake and river is peopled 
 with inhabitants ; every mountain and marsh, 
 every wilderness and wood is plentifully stocked 
 with birds and beasts and numerous species of 
 insects, all of which find ample accommodation, 
 and every thing necessary for their comfort and 
 subsistence. 
 
 " In short, every part of matter appears to 
 be peopled ; almost every green leaf and every 
 particle of dust has its peculiar inhabitants. 
 Not only are the larger parts of nature occupied 
 with living beings, but even the most minute 
 portions of matter teem with animated exist- 
 ence. Every plant and shrub, and almost every 
 drop of water, contains its respective inhab- 
 itants. Their number, in some instances, is so 
 great, and their minuteness so astonishing, that 
 
154 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 thousands of them are contained within a space 
 not larger than a grain of sand. In some 
 small pools, covered with a greenish scum, of 
 only a few yards in extent, there are more liv- 
 ing creatures than there are human beings on 
 the face of the earth. 
 
 " Multitudes of animated beings are found in 
 situations and circumstances where we never 
 should have expected to perceive the principle 
 of life. The juices of animals and plants, cor- 
 rupted matter, smoke, dry wood, the bark and 
 roots of trees, the bodies of other animals, the 
 dirty puddle, and even the hardest stones and 
 rocks, serve to lodge, and in some measure to 
 feed numerous tribes of living beings. The 
 number of such creatures exceeds all human 
 calculation and conception. There may be 
 reckoned more than a hundred thousand spe- 
 cies of animated beings ; many of these several 
 species containing individuals to the amount of 
 several hundreds of times the number of the hu- 
 man inhabitants of our globe. It is supposed by 
 some, that the tremulous motion observed in the 
 air during summer, may be produced by millions 
 of insects swarming in the atmosphere ; and it 
 has been found that the light which is seen on 
 
parley's farewell. 155 
 
 the surface of the ocean during the nights of 
 summer is owing to an innumerable multitude 
 of small luminous worms or insects sporting in 
 the water !" 
 
 Chapter XXXIII. 
 
 Benevolence of the Deity — Continued. 
 
 Such is the amazing extent and diversity of 
 the animal creation of this earth ; it is a sub- 
 ject which exceeds the utmost stretch of ima- 
 gination. And these things are all created for 
 enjoyment, and they fulfil the design of their 
 Creator. Consider then the unbounded scale 
 of magnificence, upon which God's benevolence 
 is conducted! 
 
 To gain a still more striking view of this 
 subject, let me direct your attention to the sun. 
 I wish to have you consider for a moment its 
 magnitude. I have before said that it is 337,- 
 000 times as large as our world. It is more than 
 300 times as large as all the planets and com- 
 ets of our solar system. It is 883,000 miles in 
 diameter, and about 2,700,000 miles around it. 
 
156 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 If a railroad car were to travel at the rate of 
 20 miles an hour, it would require about 18 
 years to go once around it. 
 
 You have heard perhaps of Mount Etna, 
 in the island of Sicily. It is very lofty, and a 
 person may climb to the top of it. When there, 
 you look down upon the whole island of Sicily, 
 as upon a map. You see numerous islands, some 
 of them volcanic, and pouring forth their col- 
 umns of smoke. You see vast tracts of the 
 ocean, seeming to stretch out and mingle in 
 the distance, with the sky. Yet this glorious 
 prospect is included within a space 240 miles 
 across, or 754 miles in circumference ; and the 
 surface of the sun contains 53,776,000 land- 
 scapes as extensive as this ! If you were to 
 look all over the sun, bestowing two hours upon 
 each of these views of 240 miles' diameter, it 
 would employ you 24,554 years to accomplish 
 the task ! 
 
 Such is the magnitude of the sun. And let 
 us consider that this revolves on its axis, once 
 in twenty-five days and a half. Let us consi- 
 der too what vast operations are going on upon 
 its surface. It is now generally supposed to 
 be a solid body, surrounded by a brilliant at- 
 
parley's farewell. 157 
 
 mosphere of clouds, which send light and heat 
 to the other planets. Yet this curious cover- 
 ing is continually changing, and dark spots are 
 often seen, consisting of openings or rents in it, 
 some of which are more than 50,000 miles 
 across. These openings are often formed with 
 great rapidity, and it has been observed that 
 the edges of the clouds sometimes fly at the 
 rate of a thousand miles in an hour. Besides 
 all this, there is very little doubt that the sun is 
 travelling along through the boundless regions 
 of space, at a rate which outstrips conception. 
 
 And with such views of the vastness of the 
 sun's bulk, and the stupendous nature of its mo- 
 tions, and of the operations upon its surface, let 
 us consider the purposes which it was designed 
 to answer in this, our world. Almost all the 
 benign energies which are going forward in the 
 atmosphere, the waters and the earth, derive 
 their origin from the sun. Its light is diffused 
 over every region, and produces all the pleasure 
 which is received from sight, all the beauty 
 which belongs to color. 
 
 " By its action, vegetables are formed from 
 dead and inorganic matter ; by its influence, the 
 sap ascends through their myriads of vessels, the 
 
158 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 flowers glow with the richest hues, the fruits 
 of autumn are matured, and become, in their 
 turn, the support of animals and of man. By 
 its heat, the waters of the rivers and the ocean 
 are attenuated and carried to the higher re- 
 gions of the atmosphere, where they circulate 
 in the form of vapor, till they descend again in 
 showers, to supply the sources of the rivers, 
 and to fertilize the soil. By the same agency, 
 all winds are produced which purify the atmos- 
 phere by keeping it in perpetual motion, which 
 propel our ships across the ocean, dispel nox- 
 ious vapors, prevent pestilential effluvia, and 
 rid our inhabitants of a thousand nuisances. 
 By its attractive energy, the tides of the ocean 
 are modified and regulated, the earth conduct- 
 ed in its annual course, and the moon sustained 
 and guided in her motions ! 
 
 " Its influence descends even to the mineral 
 kingdom, and is felt in the chemical composi- 
 tions and decompositions of the elements of 
 nature. The disturbances in the electric bal- 
 ance of the atmosphere, which produce the 
 phenomena of thunder, lightning and rain, and 
 the varieties of terrestrial magnetism ; the slow 
 degradation of the solid constituents of the 
 
parley's farewell. 159 
 
 globe, and their diffusion among the waters of 
 the ocean, may all be traced, directly or indi- 
 rectly, to the agency of the sun. It illumi- 
 nates and cheers all the inhabitants of the earth, 
 from the polar regions to the torrid zone. 
 When its rays gild the eastern horizon after the 
 darkness of the night, it seems to produce a new 
 creation. The landscape is adorned with a 
 thousand shades and colors ; millions of insects 
 awake and bask in its rays ; the birds start 
 from their slumbers, and fill the groves with 
 their melody ; the flocks and herds express 
 their joy in hoarser acclamations ; ' man goeth 
 forth to his work and to his labor;' all nature 
 smiles, and 'the hills rejoice on every side. 5 
 
 " Without the influence of this august lumi- 
 nary, a universal gloom would ensue, and sur- 
 rounding worlds, with all their trains of satel- 
 lites, would be shrouded in perpetual darkness. 
 This earth would become a lifeless mass, a 
 dreary waste, a rude lump of inactive matter, 
 without beauty or order. No longer should 
 we behold meadows clothed with verdure, the 
 flowers shedding their perfumes, or < the valleys 
 covered with corn.' The feathered songsters 
 would no longer chant their melodious notes ; all 
 
160 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 human activity would cease, universal silence 
 would reign undisturbed, and this huge globe 
 of land and water would return to its original 
 chaos." 
 
 It appears to me that the very statement of 
 these facts is not only sufficient to prove the 
 benevolence of God, but to prove that his bene- 
 volence surpasses the utmost bounds of human 
 thought. He created the earth, and all the 
 creatures upon it ; and he created the sun, 
 making it precisely what it should be, to be- 
 stow happiness upon the myriad inhabitants of 
 the earth. Here is evidently a grand design 
 of benevolence, and adequate power success- 
 fully exerted to carry it into effect. Who but 
 an Omnipotent Being could have made the 
 sun ; who but a good, and kind, and merciful 
 Being would have made such a sun to produce 
 such results? 
 
 Chapter XXXIV. 
 
 Benevolence of the Deity — Continued. 
 
 But this view of the benevolence of God, 
 grand as it is, becomes enlarged and amplified 
 
parley's farewell. 161 
 
 by considering that this world is probably not 
 the only inhabited globe. There is no reason 
 to doubt that all the stars and planets in the 
 sky are inhabited worlds, and some of them are 
 known to be vastly larger than our earth. If 
 the sun were inhabited as thickly as some parts, 
 of our earth, with human beings, it would con- 
 tain S50,000 times as many people as the earth. 
 If it had the same proportion of other animated 
 beings, how immensely vast would be the num- 
 ber of its living things ! And on all these, we 
 have a right to infer that God's goodness is be- 
 stowed, and that they are happy— and not on 
 these only, but on the myriad inhabitants of 
 all the other countless worlds. 
 
 Nor must we confine our view to the pleas- 
 ures of mere animal life. Let us consider the 
 faculties of man, and see how manv and how 
 exquisite the pleasures are which we derive from 
 them. What enjoyment do parents find in the 
 love and care they bestow upon their children ! 
 How sweet and blissful the affection which 
 children return to parents ! How pleasant is 
 the love of brothers and sisters — of relations 
 and friends ! 
 
 And then, let us reflect upon the beauty that 
 11 
 
162 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 is spread over the face of nature. Why are 
 flowers so beautiful, and so infinitely varied, if 
 not to bestow pleasure upon man? Why, if 
 God is not benevolent, has he made hills and 
 valleys and mountains, and rolling waves, and 
 rushing waters, so beautiful? Why has he 
 made the forms and motions of birds so charm- 
 ing, if not to give pleasure? If the Creator 
 did not intend to delight us, why did he make 
 our little ruby-throated humming-bird, and 
 polish him over like burnished steel? Why did 
 he create the crested humming-bird of Brazil, 
 covered with all the sparkling tints of precious 
 stones? 
 
 If he is not a benevolent Being, why did he 
 spread sublimity over the mountains, and teach 
 man to feel it? Why did he robe the heavens 
 in azure, and make a myriad race of beings to 
 feel their mingled majesty and beauty? Why 
 did he clothe all vegetable nature in green, and 
 make human beings with eyes to relish it above 
 all other hues? Why did he teach the birds 
 to sing, the waters to murmur forth melody, 
 the trees to bend in beauty and grace to the 
 pressure of the breeze? Why, if God is not a 
 beneficent Being, did he make this world so 
 
-o^Ci 
 
 Crested Humming Bird, p. 62. 
 
parley's farewell. 163 
 
 pleasant — endow it with light, and color, and 
 music, and perfumes, and place beings here 
 adapted to the appreciation and enjoyment of 
 these things? 
 
 And how wide and varied is the field which 
 the gift of imagination bestows. This is like a 
 spyglass, which enables us to look all over the 
 world, and even into the wide and fanciful re- 
 gions of fiction, and contemplate all that may 
 be there. The story of Robinson Crusoe is 
 almost wholly a work of imagination, but how 
 much pleasure has been derived from the read- 
 ing. Think of the thousand amusing works 
 of fiction, some of which have been read bv 
 millions, and consider the vast amount of en- 
 joyment that has been gained from them. 
 
 And then think of the pleasure of acquiring 
 knowledge. Every new idea is like a bright 
 guinea to a child. How often do we see chil- 
 dren sitting quietly, but listening intently, by 
 the side of persons who are talking over some 
 piece of news, or carrying on some discussion, 
 and at such times how do their eyes glisten, 
 and what interest is depicted in their counte- 
 nances ! 
 
 And then consider how much pleasure there 
 
164 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 is, as we advance to maturity, in entering 
 upon and pursuing the more serious plans and 
 duties of life. Even difficulties themselves are 
 sources of pleasure. A man in journeying often 
 looks back upon a hill that he has surmounted 
 and passed, with a degree of delight, which 
 more than compensates him for the anxiety and 
 discouragement with which he began to ascend 
 it. It is precisely so in the journey which we 
 all pursue — we meet with obstacles, and for a 
 time they appall and disturb us, but we per- 
 severe, and perseverance turns them into inex- 
 haustible sources of pleasant reflection. 
 
 These are some of the pleasures which spring 
 from the moral and intellectual faculties of 
 man. They are perhaps but little remarked 
 by us, when we are computing the treasures of 
 this world. We are apt to look upon wealth, 
 and other substantial possessions, as our best 
 sources of happiness. But this is a great mis- 
 take. The mind of man is the highest portion 
 of his nature, and affords the most abundant 
 and the richest harvest of joys. 
 
 Nor are we at liberty to suppose that the 
 human race is the only class of intellectual be- 
 ings in the universe. Analogy teaches us that 
 
parley's farewell. 165 
 
 other worlds are peopled with beings who pos- 
 sess mind as well as we ; and probably their 
 numbers are proportioned to the worlds they 
 inhabit. If this be so, how many millions of 
 people must there be in the sun ; in Saturn and 
 its seven moons ; in Jupiter and its four moons, 
 and in all the other orbs attached to our solar 
 system. And finally, how many intelligences 
 must there be in the myriads of worlds attach- 
 ed to the starry suns which glitter in the firma- 
 ment ; and of those too which shine far beyond 
 the utmost reach of our telescopes ! 
 
 It is impossible to pursue contemplations 
 like these, and not be impressed with the good- 
 ness of God. Every where, we see that hap- 
 piness is enjoyed ; every where, we see that 
 happiness is the great end and design of crea- 
 tion. We see an infinite variety of living 
 things, endowed with feeling, and of course 
 competent to enjoy ; and we see the most mag- 
 nificent worlds fitted up, and the most wonder- 
 ful contrivances resorted to, and all evidently 
 to make these creatures happy. Every where 
 we see things which would be utterly useless 
 and aimless, were they not designed for happi- 
 ness ; for while they produce this, they accom- 
 
166 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 plish no other object that might not have been 
 as well attained without it. Is not the De- 
 signer, the Contriver, and the Creator of all 
 these things a Beneficent Being? 
 
 Chapter XXXV. 
 
 Difficulties answered. 
 
 Having spoken to my little friends, as re- 
 corded in the preceding chapters, we parted, 
 and I did not see them for several days. But, 
 at length, they came, and told me that they had 
 been thinking a great deal of what I had said 
 to them. The conversation then proceeded as 
 follows. 
 
 James. I do not doubt, Mr. Parley, at all, 
 that God is a good and kind Being ; but after I 
 went from here the other day, I had the tooth- 
 ache, very hard. Then a little child that I 
 saw fell down and hurt its nose very badly ; 
 and I began to think that there was a great 
 deal of misery in the world ; and now I wish to 
 know if God does not cause this misery, and if 
 he does, how can he be a good Being? 
 
parley's farewell. 167 
 
 Parley. These are questions, James, which 
 have puzzled a great many wise people ; but I 
 think I can give you an answer that ought to 
 be satisfactory. I have had occasion frequent- 
 ly to remark that God works according to cer- 
 tain rules, or laws, and that in pursuing his 
 plans he employs certain instruments. 
 
 Now, in making the human frame, it was not 
 his intention to make it absolutely perfect, so 
 that it should be superior to accident, injury, 
 or decay. He made our bodies that they 
 might be hurt, or become sick, if not constantly 
 taken care of. And what is the instrument he 
 adopted to induce us constantly to take care of 
 our bodies, so as to prevent their becoming sick 
 or injured? The instrument is pain. If you 
 stub your toe against the ground, or pinch your 
 finger, or cut your flesh, or break or bruise any 
 part of your frame, you suffer acute pain, 
 and this makes you careful not to do so again. 
 In other words, the fear of pain induces you 
 constantly to take care of your body. 
 
 Pain, then, is an ever wakeful sentinel, 
 placed by God within the body, to watch over 
 and guard it. And you will observe that this 
 watch is most careful where most needed ; 
 
168 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 you will see that at those points which are 
 most weak, or most exposed, the sentinel is pe- 
 culiarly active, and ready to punish an assault 
 with peculiar vigor. The eye is a very deli- 
 cate organ, and therefore needs peculiar care. 
 If it is injured, the pain is very sharp, and 
 therefore we are taught to proportion our 
 care to the delicacy of the organ. The nose is 
 prominent, and from its position particularly 
 exposed to injury ; the sentinel pain is there- 
 fore made to guard it with peculiar care ; for 
 every one has found that a very slight blow 
 upon the nose causes keen suffering, and there- 
 fore every one takes good care of it. I observe 
 that you smile at this, but is it not true? Do 
 we not see that the Creator of man has foreseen 
 and provided for all things ? and do we not see 
 that even pain, which would at first seem to be 
 unmitigated and unalloyed evil, is made to per- 
 form an office of real kindness? 
 
 James. Well, Mr. Parley, I must confess 
 you have given me a better answer than I sup- 
 posed you could. But it seems to me you 
 make it out that pain is really a good thing. 
 
 Parley. It appears to me, James, that pain 
 actually produces in this world infinitely more 
 
parley's farewell. 169 
 
 good than evil, for it certainly operates to in- 
 duce that care, caution and watchfulness which 
 seem to be necessary to preserve our bodies 
 from injury and keep them in a sound state. 
 But we must look a little farther into the sub- 
 ject. It is obvious that the plan of the Crea- 
 tor was to produce a succession of generations, 
 and that in order to accomplish this, one gene- 
 ration must die to give place to another ; 
 because, if the several races were to go on 
 increasing, and none were to perish, the earth 
 would soon be so full of inhabitants that they 
 could not all find support. 
 
 Death, then, is the doom of all, and this may 
 come from disease, from accident, or from old 
 age. Now let us consider a moment the sub- 
 ject of death, and see how wisely and how 
 beneficently even this is managed. 
 
 Death may take place from disease, or acci- 
 dent, or a want of air, or food or warmth ; but 
 it was the intention of our Maker to protect us 
 against death until we should have arrived at 
 old age. Accordingly, he made all the causes 
 of death, whether immediate or remote, pain- 
 ful. If we have not air to breathe, we suffo- 
 cate and die ; it is therefore provided that suf- 
 
170 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 focation shall be yery painful, so that we may 
 take care to avoid it. We must have warmth, 
 or we shall perish. Cold therefore makes us 
 suffer, and compels us to obtain heat. We 
 must have food, or we die. Hunger, therefore, 
 forces us to seek it. And it should be remarked 
 that in all these cases of air, warmth and food, 
 the point of comfort is the point of health , and 
 thus God has induced us to take care of our 
 health and prolong our lives, by making that 
 which is destructive, painful, and that which is 
 healthful, pleasant. And one thing farther is to 
 be considered, that the fear of death is a natu- 
 ral instinct which makes us shrink from it, un- 
 til old age or sickness brings us to the period 
 when we must die, and then this instinctive 
 dread usually vanishes. We see that even 
 here there is wisdom and beneficence ; for if it 
 were not for the dread of death, how often 
 would wicked men, in some fit of passion, dis- 
 appointment, or despair, take their own lives ! 
 
 James. But, Mr. Parley, I thought wicked 
 men dreaded death because their consciences 
 troubled them. 
 
 Paisley. And you thought right ; but that 
 is another species of fear, arising from a man's 
 
parley's farewell. 171 
 
 reflections upon his own bad conduct. This is 
 a species of anxiety and fear which pursues 
 the evildoer, and which is intended to warn 
 men against bringing moral disease upon their 
 souls ; but I shall perhaps have occasion to 
 speak to you on this subject at another time. 
 
 James. If I understand you, then, Mr. Par- 
 ley, your argument is this. It is the design of 
 God that man shall live to old age, but as death 
 may come at any time, through accident or dis- 
 ease, God has made these painful, and thus in- 
 duced mankind to take all the care and use all 
 the means necessary to prolong life. 
 
 Parley. Yes, that is my idea, exactly : and 
 I wish you to notice one thing farther ; which 
 is, that all these means are pleasant and bestow 
 gratification. It is pleasant to eat, to drink, 
 to breathe the fresh air, to feel the genial 
 warmth of a fire in winter ; and all these 
 are means of health, and tend to long life. 
 Now if God had been a cruel and malignant 
 being, he might have made these things, which 
 are now sources of enjoyment, sources of dis- 
 tress. He might have surrounded us with 
 misery, and strewed every path of life with 
 thorns ; and if he had been an evil spirit, he 
 
172 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 would have done so. His having taken a con- 
 trary course, and made the means of preserving 
 life and perfecting health, agreeable, is proof 
 that He is a benignant Being. 
 
 James. But, Mr. Parley, if God is good, 
 and kind, and benevolent, why does he permit 
 death, and accident, and disease? 
 
 Parley. That is a shrewd question, my boy, 
 and shows that you think and reflect upon what 
 I tell you. But I must frankly confess that I 
 cannot tell you why God does permit disease, 
 and accident and death: all we know is, that 
 his design manifestly is not to make man's 
 existence here a state of perfect happiness. 
 The wisdom of making such a world as 
 this, is a subject too vast for the compass of 
 human judgment. . But God having planned 
 such a world, we can see that he has executed 
 it with amazing skill and power ; and that 
 while he even permits evil, the great design 
 and tendency of all things, of all his laws and 
 modes of action in the various kingdoms of na- 
 ture, is to produce happiness : and we see that, 
 although there is much misery and much evil, 
 still the amount of good and the sum of en- 
 joyment infinitely overbalances these. 
 
parley's farewell. 173 
 
 Chapter XXXVI. 
 
 Difficulties — Continued. 
 
 James. But, Mr. Parley, could not God 
 have made all the good of this world without 
 the evil? 
 
 Parley. Certainly not, for many of our 
 choicest pleasures are derived from the exist- 
 ence of evil. 
 
 James. I really cannot understand that. 
 
 Parley. I will endeavor to make you under- 
 stand my meaning. Do you recollect that the 
 other day your sister Jane had a slight fever, 
 and that you was very anxious lest she should 
 be very sick ; and do you remember, when the 
 doctor said, one morning, that she was much 
 better, and would be well in a day or two, how 
 you capered about the room from very joy? 
 
 James. I remember it very well, and I was 
 so happy because I was relieved from the fear 
 I had that she was going to be Very sick. 
 
 Parley. Yes, and thus fear was the real ori- 
 gin of your happiness, and happiness too of the 
 most exquisite ldnd. I think this shows you 
 that all the good of this world could not have 
 been obtained without the existence of evil. 
 
174 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 James. That's very odd — I did not think of 
 that. It really seems to me, Mr. Parley, that 
 you pick up something good everywhere ; and 
 you remind me of the bee that is said to get 
 pure honey from poisonous flowers. 
 
 Parley. I am much obliged to you, James, 
 for the compliment, but I do not wish to push 
 the argument beyond the truth. You see that 
 fear, then, is a source of happiness ; and fear 
 is founded upon the uncertainty of all earthly 
 things. If there were no accident, no pain, no 
 sickness, no death, there could be no fear ; 
 and that exquisite delight you experienced 
 when you were assured that Jane was to get 
 well, soon, could never have been enjoyed. 
 
 Hope, too, is the offspring of fear ; for if 
 there were nothing to fear, there would be 
 nothing to hope. And how many are the 
 beautiful and pleasant emotions, which come 
 to the heart from hope ! Are you not every 
 day hoping for something pleasant to-morrow, 
 or at least in the future ; and do you not enjoy 
 almost as much in hoping as you could in real- 
 izing your wishes? And yet, this inexhausti- 
 ble source of pleasure would be dried up if 
 there were no evils in life. If everything was 
 
parley's farewell. 175 
 
 sure to be good, there would be no doubt, no 
 contingency, and no expectation, which are the 
 very basis of hope. 
 
 James. Really, Mr. Parley, you would al- 
 most make it out that evils are benefits. 
 
 Parley. I am indeed ready to adopt the 
 opinion that many of the apparent evils of life 
 are not real ones. But what I mean to say 
 is this, that sickness and pain are not as 
 great evils as they are often thought to be. I 
 maintain that they bring in their train many 
 mitigations and compensations, and that in 
 striking the balance between the happiness and 
 misery of life, we should consider that many of 
 its apparent evils are reduced to almost nothing, 
 by deducting from them the good that attends 
 them. I am now laying out of view the moral 
 benefits we derive from the discipline of care, 
 toil, disappointment and sorrow ; I am not con- 
 sidering the good account to which the Chris- 
 tian is taught to turn the evils of life. These 
 views belong rather to a treatise on Christian 
 Morals than a discussion of Natural Religion ; 
 for this permits us only to consider the light 
 furnished by nature, to illustrate the character 
 of the Deity. And having no other light than 
 
176 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 this, we see that the evils in this world are no 
 sound argument against the goodness of God ; 
 for they come to us half in the guise of bles- 
 sings ; and even admitting that they diminish 
 the value of existence, life is still a great and 
 good possession. There is not one person in a 
 thousand who does not experience ten enjoy- 
 ments to one misery. 
 
 Death being the termination of life, would 
 seem to be in itself an evil, but, as I have said 
 before, the design of God being to make this 
 earth the theatre of a succession of genera- 
 tions, it became necessary that one should die 
 to give place to another. But death, even if 
 there were not a future state, would furnish no 
 argument against the goodness of God ; for all 
 it could prove would be that he had taken 
 away a boon from one to bestow it upon ano- 
 ther. The earth is kept full of happiness, as it 
 is, and this is all that could be done if the same 
 generations were endowed with a perpetual ex- 
 istence. 
 
 And if death, with the pain which attends 
 it, be considered evils belonging to the present 
 system, we are by no means sure that these are 
 not fully compensated by the joy that springs 
 
parley's farewell. 177 
 
 from youth, and the pleasures which attend a 
 progressive existence ; and more than all, by the 
 bliss which flows from the relation of protecting 
 parents and confiding children ; a state of things 
 which, of course, can never exist among immor- 
 tal beings. If then it were the design of the Cre- 
 ator to make this earth yield the greatest balance 
 of happiness, no one can prove that the wisest 
 course has not been taken to secure this object. 
 And however this may be, we can see clearly 
 that it was the design of the Creator to make a 
 happy world, even while he permitted its hap- 
 piness to be limited, and that this design has 
 been fulfilled. The proof, therefore, that God 
 is a benevolent Being, is complete. 
 
 Chapter XXXVII. 
 
 Difficulties — Continued. 
 
 James. I do not see, Mr. Parley, but what 
 
 you have entirely answered my difficulty, so 
 
 far as relates to mankind. But we see that 
 
 the mere animal creation suffer pain, disease, 
 
 12 
 
178 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 and death. How can this be reconciled with 
 the benevolence of the Creator? 
 
 Parley. By taking a general view of the ani- 
 mal races. These are almost universally hap- 
 py. They are subject to few diseases and few 
 casualties of a painful nature. If they are beset 
 with sickness, it is usually short in its duration, 
 either being speedily cured, or soon terminating 
 in death. If an animal is wounded, it is gene- 
 rally healed in a very short period if it does not 
 end fatally. Beside, the suffering of animals is 
 probably not as acute as that of human beings. 
 This, however, can- furnish no excuse for our 
 inflicting unnecessary pain upon them, for they 
 certainly feel, and a person who wantonly tor- 
 ments them, is guilty of an odious crime. 
 
 Jam 25. But, Mr. Parley, why, if God is a 
 good Being, does he make animals to suffer 
 at all? 
 
 Parley. I am not sure that I can fully an- 
 swer your question, but by considering that the 
 plan of the Creator contemplated a succession of 
 generations on this earth, and that some means 
 must be provided for terminating the existence 
 of every living thing. And in respect to the mere 
 animal creation, the same system is pursued as 
 
parley's farewell. 179 
 
 in respect to man. Life may be terminated at 
 any time, by accident or disease, and at all 
 events, when the limit assigned to the duration 
 of life shall be reached. 
 
 Now, although we may not be able to say 
 why God has permitted disease and accident to 
 inflict pain upon animals, we are still able to 
 see that, on tiie whole, they were created for 
 happiness ; that, on the whole, they enjoy hap- 
 piness. If we take into view all the insects, 
 birds, reptiles, fishes, and quadrupeds that are 
 created, it would seem probable that not one in 
 a thousand meets with casualty or sickness of 
 any kind, from the beginning of life to its close. 
 By far the greater proportion go on from the 
 morning to the sunset of existence, in a perpet- 
 ual series of enjoyments. The amount then of 
 good over the evil in animal existence, is vast 
 beyond our comprehension, and stands as an 
 imperishable monument attesting the benefi- 
 cence of the Creator. 
 
 James. But, Mr. Parley, there is one thing, 
 still, that troubles me, and that is, that through- 
 out the world, we see the stronger animals 
 preying upon the weaker ones. The spider 
 feasts upon the fly ; the hawk upon the lesser 
 
180 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 birds ; the eagle upon the rabbit and the hare ; 
 the fox upon such birds and quadrupeds as he 
 can master ; the wolf upon the fawn and the 
 deer ; the lion upon the antelope ; and man up- 
 on whatever may please his appetite. How is 
 such a system as this, compatible with the 
 goodness of God? 
 
 Parley. I think this question may be an- 
 swered to your satisfaction, but I must beg 
 your particular attention to what I have to say 
 on the subject. You will remark that it is a 
 provision of nature that every element, and 
 almost every part of every element, shall be 
 provided with inhabitants. To accomplish 
 this, there is every where a principle of fertil- 
 ity, by which most animals increase with great 
 rapidity, if not checked. The codfish pro- 
 duces more eggs each year than there are 
 people in the whole United States ; and we 
 might say nearly the same with respect to 
 many other creatures. 
 
 The result of this plan of nature is, that all 
 parts of creation are filled with living beings ; 
 and as life generally gives happiness, this se- 
 cures a great good : but it is necessary that some 
 scheme be devised for checking the growth of 
 
parley's farewell. 181 
 
 these several races, so that they shall not people 
 the earth beyond its power of furnishing subsist- 
 ence. To provide this check, one animal is 
 made to prey upon another, and thus a suitable 
 balance of nature is secured. 
 
 And as a striking proof of the wisdom with 
 which this balance has been adjusted, we may 
 remark, that while a butterfly produces 600 
 eggs in a season, the elephant has but a single 
 calf; birds of prey seldom produce more than 
 two eggs a year, while the sparrow, the duck, 
 and other harmless birds, produce from five to 
 twelve. In rivers, we find a thousand minnows 
 for one pike ; in the sea, a million of herrings 
 for a single shark. These facts show that 
 while provision is made for the peopling of the 
 whole earth, care is taken to keep the strong 
 animals from extirpating the weaker ones, by a 
 slower principle of multiplication in the former. 
 Thus the weakness of certain kinds is compen- 
 sated by their fruitfulness, and the power of 
 others is limited by their slow increase; so a 
 due proportion is sustained between them. 
 
 Now, in this great system we can see a wise 
 and beneficent plan ; all nature is filled with 
 happy beings ; and as one race must give way 
 
182 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 to another, one race is made to sustain another. 
 If the animals which become the prey of others 
 suffer from fear, or in the pangs of a violent 
 death, we must consider that these are tran- 
 sient and trifling, compared to the amount of 
 enjoyment which these creatures derive from 
 existence. 
 
 James-. Your idea then is, that even this 
 system of destroying one another, which we see 
 among animals, is, after all, a scheme for in- 
 creasing the actual amount of happiness in the 
 world? 
 
 Parley. Yes — and I suppose this to be 
 proved by considering that this system prevents 
 the world from being so overstocked with in- 
 habitants that all would be miserable from an 
 inadequate supply of food. 
 
 But even supposing we cannot fully compre- 
 hend this part of the providence of nature, and 
 cannot see how it directly promotes the happi- 
 ness of God's creatures, still, as we observe 
 incontestable proofs of his benevolence in the 
 great system of the universe, we are bound to 
 conclude that even in this respect, he is also 
 beneficent. 
 
parley's farewell. 183 
 
 Chapter XXXVIII. 
 
 Review of the preceding chapters. 
 
 James. Well, Mr. Parley, I am greatly 
 obliged to you for the kind manner in which 
 you have attempted to instruct Jane and my- 
 self, and I shall try to remember all you have 
 told us. 
 
 Jane. And I am very much obliged too, 
 Mr. Parley; but I wish you would just repeat 
 what you have said, in a few words, to refresh 
 our minds and make us recollect all you have 
 said. 
 
 Parley. I will do it with pleasure. In the 
 first place, I directed your attention to the 
 plants, and showed that in these there were 
 marks of contrivance and design ; I also showed 
 you, that in the various animal races there 
 were marks of design. I showed that in all 
 these, there was a display of power and inge- 
 nuity infinitely beyond man, or any other earth- 
 ly creature. In this way, I proved that some 
 Superior Being must exist, else these wonder- 
 fully ingenious contrivances could not exist. 
 
 Having thus proved the existence of a Supe- 
 
184 NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 rior Being, I attempted to prove tnat he was 
 also wise and powerful, from considering the 
 vastness, variety, and perfection of his works ; 
 from considering that his creative skill and his 
 sustaining power embraced all existences, from 
 the insect to the solar system — nay, to the 
 fixed stars. I then attempted to prove the 
 unity of God from the harmony of his works — 
 and his beneficence, from the happiness which 
 seems to be the end for which they are created. 
 Who that reflects upon the birds that are 
 made to cleave the air, and the fishes that swim 
 the wave, can doubt the existence of a great De- 
 signer ? Who that inspects the mechanism of 
 nature, from the gnat that dances in the sun- 
 shine, to the planets balanced in the heavens, 
 can doubt His skill or His power ? Who that 
 sees the harmony of the universe can doubt his 
 unity? Who that looks on the beauty of 
 flowers and enjoys their perfume ; who that 
 feels the loveliness of nature's landscapes ; who 
 that listens to music ; who that looks on 
 the feathered tribes ; who that sees the enjoy- 
 ment of living creation ; who that feels the 
 delight of flying on fancy's wing ; who that 
 tastes the bliss of love and friendship, can 
 
parley's farewell. 185 
 
 doubt the goodness of the Author of all these 
 sources of happiness? 
 
 And now, my young friends, I have been 
 speaking to you of what is called Natural Re- 
 ligion ; by which is meant the religion taught 
 by a study of the works of nature. Thus we 
 see, that without looking into the Bible or any 
 other book, and only regarding this earth and 
 the creatures it contains, there is clear and 
 conclusive proof that a wise, powerful and good 
 God, has made all things and upholds all things 
 and governs all things. 
 
 If you will come and see me again, I will 
 tell you about what is called Revealed Re- 
 ligion. Farewell for the present. 
 
185 
 PART II. 
 
 REVEALED RELIGION 
 
 Chapter I. 
 
 The works of Creation adapted to fulfil the design of their Creator. Man 
 is an immortal being] a moral being. To qualify man to fulfil his duty 
 as such, a full revelation of God's will as to man's duty and dtstiny, seems 
 to be required. Has such a revelation been furnished ? 
 
 It was not long after the promise given to 
 my intelligent young friends, James and Jane, 
 to follow up my remarks upon Natural Reli- 
 gion with some observations upon Revealed 
 Religion, that they came to claim its fulfilment; 
 and thereupon I proceeded pretty nearly in the 
 following manner. 
 
 By investigating the works of nature, we find 
 that every thing seems adapted to fulfil the de- 
 sign of the Creator. The bird is made to fly 
 through the air, and accordingly it has wings, 
 admirably contrived for the purpose. The fish 
 is made to live in the water, and so it has fins, 
 
parley's farewell. 187 
 
 and all the other contrivances suited to its des- 
 tination. 
 
 We perceive the same adaptation and pro- 
 vision throughout the whole range of nature ; 
 and how is it with man? He is a being of a 
 higher order, and is of course made for a higher 
 destiny. He has a mind, which is a thinking 
 power. Man not only eats, drinks, sleeps, and 
 feels, as animals do, but he puts many ideas to- 
 gether, and reasons upon them, as animals do 
 not. 
 
 This reasoning part of man is evidently the 
 principal part of his nature, for the body is but 
 little more than the instrument of the mind. 
 Man, then, is an intellectual being, as the bird 
 is a flying one, or the fish a swimming one ; 
 and as we see that these are supplied with every 
 thing necessary to the ends they are designed 
 to fulfil, we may reasonably suppose, from anal- 
 ogy, that man, too, is provided with all that is 
 needed to enable him to fulfil his destiny as an 
 intellectual being. 
 
 Now, one of the chief traits in man is a 
 desire of happiness. This seems to lie at the 
 very foundation of his character. He always 
 acts upon it. He never for a moment forgets 
 
188 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 it. It is as much fixed in his nature, as attrac- 
 tion or gravitation in matter. 
 
 The desire of happiness reaches to immor- 
 tality. It is one of the great distinctions be- 
 tween man and animals, that the former looks 
 forward to futurity ; the latter, never. Antici- 
 pation is one of the leading characteristics of 
 man, but it dwells not in animals : it is a faculty 
 that belongs alone to mind. And man, of course, 
 not only wishes for happiness, but for happi- 
 ness forever. The idea that his soul shall be 
 annihilated — shall die, and cease to think and 
 feel, is full of horror. 
 
 And man not only wishes to continue to 
 exist, and to think, to act, but while he knows 
 that the body will die, he has a presentiment, 
 almost amounting to assurance, that his soul 
 will live. He seems to feel within, the wing 
 of a spirit that will fly to another world, when 
 his limbs shall sink into the grave. 
 
 Now if you approach a young bird in his 
 nest upon a tree, when he is nearly ready to 
 fly, he will leap from the nest, spread his 
 wings, and throw himself upon the air ; and 
 though he never tried his wings before, he will 
 fly with considerable success. It is instinct 
 
parley's farewell. 189 
 
 that tells this hird he was made to fly, and as- 
 sures him that he has a wing to fulfil his des- 
 tiny ; and if it be not instinct, it cannot be an 
 inferior principle that tells man he has an im- 
 mortal soul. It is, in point of fact, an almost 
 universal belief, among all nations, that the 
 spirit of man will still live, when the body is 
 dead. 
 
 Is man then made with a desire for immor- 
 tality — a confidence in a future state — to be 
 disappointed? Has God made man a thinking 
 being — one that desires happiness and con- 
 tinued existence from the very necessity of 
 his nature, and made him so that he expects 
 such existence, only that he may lie down 
 and die with the brutes that perish? If God 
 has done this, then he has not acted in that 
 good faith toward man, which he has shown 
 to his other creatures. For having made the 
 bird to soar aloft in the sky, God furnished it 
 with the wings suited to his design ; intending 
 the fish to occupy the water, he supplied it with 
 paddles fitted for its element ; having made 
 man to hope for immortality, and to expect 
 immortality, if he destroys his spirit, and makes 
 a mockery of both hope and expectation, he 
 
190 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 has acted with an inconsistency not to be 
 traced in any part of his conduct to the mere 
 animal tribes. 
 
 It is true that, with all our study, we cannot 
 pretend folly to understand the designs of the 
 Creator, even in the works of nature which 
 come under our observation. But there are 
 so many instances in which we see contriv- 
 ances answering good and useful purposes, that 
 whenever we remark any peculiarity of struc- 
 ture, or any peculiar faculty, we justly infer 
 that it is meant for some good end, which it is 
 fitted to accomplish. If, then, man's spirit is 
 not immortal, to what good end, for what good 
 and useful purpose, is this principle of his na- 
 ture, running through all races of every age, 
 and leading him to feel assured of surviving 
 the grave of the body? If man is to perish in 
 the grave, to what end has nature inculcated 
 this universal falsehood upon man? Can we 
 doubt that this general belief in a future state, 
 corresponds to the truth ; and that it is de- 
 signed to elevate the mind, to make it triumph 
 over the body, and qualify it to enter upon its 
 destined immortality ? 
 
 There is another principle in man, and which 
 
parley's farewell. 191 
 
 appears to be as extensive as the race. It is a 
 feeling of obligation to do what is right. There 
 are few persons, even among the most degraded 
 savage tribes, in whom this feeling cannot be 
 traced. If an individual has done wrong, there 
 is something within which upbraids him for it 
 — something which seems to sit in judgment 
 upon his conduct, and bring in a verdict of 
 guilty. 
 
 This inward monitor is called conscience, 
 and it distinguishes man from the mere animal 
 creation. While animals are only governed by 
 their interests, by their desires and appetites, 
 man is made capable of acting from a sense of 
 duty, and from a regard to the good of his fel- 
 low-men. He is made the subject of moral 
 government. He can appreciate truth, kind- 
 ness, charity, justice, candor, patience, benev- 
 olence, and other virtues ; and he can perceive 
 the deformity of falsehood and other vices. 
 
 Man then is an immortal being, and a moral 
 being. There is something within his very 
 nature which tells him to expect an existence 
 beyond this world. He is so constituted as 
 necessarily to desire happiness, and a voice 
 within assures him that happiness depends upon 
 
192 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 his conduct. Now, as we observe that God 
 has made provision suited to the various capa- 
 cities of his other creatures and the lives they 
 are destined to lead, might we not expect that 
 he would give to man some revelation of his will, 
 suited to man's character as an immortal and 
 moral being — something beyond the mere light 
 of nature, to give assurance to his hopes of im- 
 mortality, to make plain the path of life ; to 
 unfold the character of God, and point out the 
 duty and destiny of man? 
 
 I have before said that the young bird feels 
 that he is destined to fly, and that before he has 
 ever tried to fly, he throws himself upon the 
 air, and finds that he has a wing to support 
 himself with. Instinct tells him that he is 
 made to fly, and the fact conforms to the teach- 
 ing of instinct. The young duck that has 
 never tried the water rushes into it without 
 fear, for instinct tells him that he is made to 
 swim, and accordingly he finds that he floats 
 on the surface, and that he is provided with 
 paddles to push himself along. Here, again, 
 instinct is the voice of truth. The philosopher 
 Galen once took a young kid, and before it 
 had tasted any food brought it into a room 
 
parley's farewell. 193 
 
 where there were many vessels, some filled with 
 milk, some with water, some with various other 
 liquors, and some with grain and fruit. After 
 a while the kid had strength enough to get up- 
 on its feet ; and it was with sentiments of strong 
 admiration that the spectators saw it approach 
 the liquors, grain and fruit placed around the 
 room, and having smelt all of them, at last be- 
 gin to sup the milk ! Here instinct told the 
 kid that he was made to eat milk ; that milk 
 was his proper food ; and instinct did not lie. 
 Instinct bids the migratory birds set forth 
 upon long voyages in the air, often stretching 
 across portions of the sea, assuring them that, 
 without chart or compass, they shall go in safety 
 and find a favored land ; and instinct tells them 
 the truth. Such is the wonderful revelation of 
 God to birds. 
 
 Some principle similar to this teaches man 
 that he is immortal, and the subject of moral 
 government, and may we not feel sure that the 
 fact conforms to this instinct ? The human 
 race, from the earliest ages to the present day, 
 have been impressed with a belief in the im- 
 mortality and responsibility of man. If this 
 impression is false, then, as before remarked, 
 13 
 
194 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 God has made man with an inward teacher that 
 whispers falsehood to him. He has made the 
 whole race and implanted in them a false in- 
 stinct. He has placed within them a principle 
 which does not conform to truth and fact. He 
 has therefore dealt with man as he has not 
 dealt with any other of his works ; for we can- 
 not find, throughout the whole range of crea- 
 tion, another instance in which universal instinct 
 teaches universal falsehood. We may conclude, 
 therefore, that this general impression of man- 
 kind as to the immortality and responsibility of 
 the human race, is founded upon immutable 
 truth ; for has God been true to the birds, and 
 all his other creatures, and false to man? 
 Certainly not. 
 
 Having then made man an immortal and 
 moral being, might we not expect that he 
 would support his hopes and expectations, as 
 such, by clear and distinct revelation? With- 
 out such a provision, would it not seem that 
 something was wanting ; that there was an in- 
 completeness in the provisions of Providence 
 for man, at variance with that general care 
 by which the Creator has provided for the 
 wants of all other living things? As the ani- 
 
parley's farewell. 195 
 
 mals without instinct would need something to 
 enable them to fulfil their destiny, so, without 
 a revelation, would not man be deficient in 
 something essential to an immortal and moral 
 being? 
 
 God, then, has granted a revelation to in- 
 sects, to birds, to fishes, to quadrupeds. And 
 this revelation is often most wonderful, for it 
 gives the uninstructed insect the use of know- 
 ledge which human reason finds out with labor 
 and difficulty ; it bestows, at once, upon the 
 feathered voyagers the geographical results of 
 the mariner's compass and the discoveries of 
 Columbus ! All the knowledge they ask for, 
 is given to the unreasoning brutes. And man, 
 who looks up to Heaven with a thousand anx- 
 ious inquiries — is there no answer to these? 
 Is man the only creature that walks the earth 
 in mystery? Is man the only living thing that 
 asks for revelation, and cannot find an ear to 
 answer his request? Surely man has reason 
 to expect a revelation, which may dispel the 
 fears, and doubts, and anxieties, to which na- 
 ture, alone, would leave him. 
 
 From this view of the subject, it would seem 
 highly probable, beforehand, that God would 
 
196 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 give some revelation of his will to man, other 
 than the mere light of nature. The question 
 which I now propose to discuss, is, whether he 
 has furnished such a revelation. 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 The several works which claim to be revelations from God. Mahomet and 
 the Koran. The sacred books of the Hindoos. Various heathen creeds. 
 The Bible. 
 
 We enter, then, upon the inquiry whether 
 God has given us a revelation of his will, other 
 than that which nature affords, with a strong 
 probability on the affirmative side of the ques- 
 tion. 
 
 In looking over the world, we shall find sev- 
 eral works claiming to be revelations from 
 God. One of them is the Koran or Alcoran, 
 which was written by Mahomet, an Arabian, 
 about 1200 years ago. This person pretended 
 to be a prophet, and to have communication 
 with Heaven. The Koran consists of what he 
 pretended to have been instructed by God to 
 write. 
 
 The Arabians were an ignorant and super- 
 
parley's farewell. 197 
 
 stitious people, and Mahomet easily persuaded 
 them that he was, in fact, a prophet — that he 
 had intercourse with Heaven — that he was a 
 man of exalted and sacred character, and that 
 his pretended revelations were true. 
 
 Mahomet soon found himself surrounded 
 with followers, and he determined to use the 
 power thus placed in his hands for his own 
 selfish purposes. Accordingly, he raised an 
 army from among his disciples, and made war 
 upon those who denied his pretensions. Being 
 a bold and skilful man, he soon made his name 
 feared by all around him ; and thus the sword 
 compelled men to submit to the lofty claims of 
 the pretended prophet. 
 
 In this way he laid the foundation of a reli- 
 gious faith, and in order to secure its observ- 
 ance and extension, he established an empire, 
 in all the dominions of which, submission to 
 this faith was required. When he died, his 
 successors continued to propagate his faith, 
 and it thus became extended over a considera- 
 ble part of Asia. From that day to this, it 
 has been the creed of a considerable portion 
 of mankind. At the present day, it prevails 
 among the Turks of Europe, and among many 
 of the nations of Asia and Africa. 
 
198 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 It is not a difficult question for us to decide 
 whether the Koran is a true revelation from 
 God or not. There are several tests which 
 we may apply to such a work, in order to de- 
 termine its truth, and all which, we shall see, 
 concur in condemning Mahomet as a deceiver, 
 and his work as an imposition. 
 
 In the first place, Mahomet pretended to 
 work miracles in order to prove that God had 
 given him power over the laws of nature, so that 
 he might command the respect and confidence 
 of mankind. But, on investigation, it appears 
 that these miracles were mere tricks and de- 
 ceptions. 
 
 In the next place, Mahomet was a man of 
 bad character, and he used the power he ac- 
 quired for selfish purposes ; and finally, the 
 Koran itself is filled with absurdities. Thus 
 the book and its author are condemned for the 
 want of evidence to support their pretensions, 
 from the selfish origin of the former, from the 
 inconsistency of the character of Mahomet with 
 his pretensions, and from the monstrous doc- 
 trines contained in his revelation. 
 
 Among the inhabitants of Hindostan, there 
 are several books which are called sacred, and 
 
parley's farewell. 199 
 
 which, for many ages, have been regarded by 
 the people as divine revelations. But these too 
 are unsupported by any proof from history that 
 they came from God ; and though they abound 
 in sublime truths, yet they are marred with 
 passages of the grossest folly and absurdity. 
 
 There are also in China, in Japan, in Thi- 
 bet, and other countries, pretended revelations, 
 either written and preserved in books, or hand- 
 ed down by tradition, and propagated by the 
 priests. But none of these can bear the test 
 of rational examination — they are all the off- 
 spring of human invention, illuminated by pas- 
 sages borrowed from the light of nature, or the 
 early revelations of God to man, or from our 
 own sacred scriptures. 
 
 There is but one work which can for a mo- 
 ment claim the confidence of an enlightened 
 mind as a divine revelation, and this is the 
 book which we call the Bible. If this does 
 not contain a revelation of God's will, then 
 there is none other than the light which nature 
 affords. If this is not true, then man is left by 
 his Maker without a lamp to guide him in his 
 way through the labyrinths of life, uncertain 
 of what he is, and doubtful of his duty and his 
 destiny. 
 
200 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 History of the Bible. 
 
 The Bible consists of various books, written 
 by different persons at different times. Some of 
 these record historical events ; some repeat the 
 words of prophets ; some express the feelings of 
 pious men ; some relate chiefly, to Christ and his 
 apostles ; others inculcate points of doctrine. 
 
 The Bible consists of two portions, called the 
 Old and New Testament. The former were 
 the sacred books of the Jews, and derived the 
 name of testament from being understood to set 
 forth a covenant between God and his chosen 
 people, the Jews. The New Testament is so 
 called from its being understood to set forth a 
 new covenant between God and all mankind, 
 which covenant, however, is regarded as but a 
 completion of that made with the Jews. 
 
 The five first books of the Old Testament 
 are said to have been written by Moses, about 
 3280 years ago. These consist of Genesis, 
 Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteron- 
 omy. They contain the history of the creation 
 of the world, of the origin of the human race, 
 
parley's farewell. 201 
 
 of their increase, their great wickedness, and 
 their destruction by the Deluge, with the ex- 
 ception of Noah and his family. They also 
 contain the history of Abraham, of Isaac and 
 Jacob, of the bondage of the Jews in Egypt, 
 of their deliverance, and their wanderings in the 
 wilderness. 
 
 The other books of the Old Testament were 
 written by various authors ; some of them are 
 historical ; some prophetic ; and some poet- 
 ical. These books appear to have been held 
 in the highest reverence by the Jews from very 
 early times. The books of Moses were depos- 
 ited, according to the Bible, after his death, in 
 the tabernacle, near the ark ; the other sacred 
 writings, it is said, were successively deposited 
 in the same place, as they were written. Af- 
 ter the building of the temple, they were re- 
 moved by Solomon to that edifice. On the 
 capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, in 
 the year 606 B. C, the original writings pro- 
 bably perished, but numerous copies were 
 preserved. 
 
 The Jews returned from their captivity 536 
 B. C, and having rebuilt their temple and re- 
 stored their religion, it is said that the prophet 
 
202 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 Ezra, in connection with other learned men, 
 collected all the copies of the sacred writings 
 that could he found, and made out a new 
 and correct edition, to which he is supposed 
 to have made certain additions, as for instance 
 the last chapter of Deuteronomy, which re- 
 cords the death of Moses. This revised and 
 corrected copy, with the books of Ezra, 
 Malachi, and Nehemiah, which were added 
 by Simon the Just, constituted the complete 
 Jewish scriptures of the Old Testament, and 
 are regarded as sacred by the Jews to the 
 present day. These were all first written in 
 the Hebrew language. 
 
 The New Testament also consists of several 
 books written by different authors. The four 
 Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, 
 record the life and death of Jesus Christ, and 
 were severally written by the disciples whose 
 names they bear. The Acts were written by 
 Luke. 
 
 The Jews reject the New Testament, all the 
 books of which were originally written in 
 Greek ; but the present acknowledged books 
 were received by the early Christians, and 
 copies of them were soon made in many Ian- 
 
parley's farewell. 203 
 
 guages. In modern times, the greatest pains 
 have been taken to render the editions of the 
 New and Old Testament correct ; and in order 
 to accomplish this, hundreds of copies in differ- 
 ent languages have been compared, line by line 
 and letter by letter. 
 
 The several books of the Bible were ori- 
 ginally written continuously, without division 
 and without punctuation. They were formed 
 into chapters and verses from the 13th to the 
 1 5th centuries. The punctuation is also of 
 modern date. 
 
 The English translation of the Bible in com- 
 mon use was made by the command of King 
 James I., of England, and forty-seven learned 
 persons were charged with the task. It was 
 most elaborately and carefully prepared, and 
 was first printed in 1611. Various attempts 
 have been made to improve this English version 
 of the sacred writings, but none has met with 
 approbation at the hands of the Christian pub- 
 lic. 
 
204} REVEALED RELIGION, 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 The various kinds of proof which may be brought to show the authenticity 
 of the Scriptures. 
 
 Such is a brief history of the Bible, and the 
 question we are to consider is, whether that 
 book is true. Most of the writers, both in the 
 Old and New Testament, claim to have been 
 inspired by God, and Christians hold that these 
 books contain a genuine Revelation of God's 
 will to man. Are these claims well founded? 
 
 There are several kinds of proof which may 
 be brought to bear upon the question of the 
 truth of the Bible. The first is historical proof, 
 by which we may show that these books are of 
 great antiquity ; that they were actually written 
 by the persons who profess to have written them ; 
 that they have been held in reverence and re- 
 garded as true for ages, by those best quali- 
 fied to judge of their authenticity, and that 
 they truly record real events. 
 
 Another kind of proof is derived from tracing 
 a harmony between the several parts of the 
 representation, as well as an agreement with 
 known and established historical dates and 
 
parley's farewell. 205 
 
 events ; a suitableness of style, and the devel- 
 opment of great and sublime conceptions. 
 
 Another kind of proof is that derived from 
 miracles, and another, that deduced from pro- 
 phecy, by which it may be shown that some of 
 the scripture characters have foretold events 
 which have actually come to pass. Another 
 kind is negative proof, which is the want of 
 evidence against the claims of the Bible. 
 
 Now I propose to apply these several tests 
 to the scriptures, and I shall endeavor to do it 
 in such a manner that you may easily under- 
 stand the force of my arguments. 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 The New Testament. The accounts set forth by the Gospels. The de- 
 sign of Christ's mission and death : the object of the preaching of his Apos- 
 tles. The period of these events. Political, social, and religious state of 
 society at this time. 
 
 Let us first direct our attention to the New 
 Testament, which consists of 28 books. The 
 first four, called the Gospels, purport to have 
 been written by four of Christ's disciples, Mat- 
 thew, Mark, Luke and John : the Acts of the 
 
206 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 Apostles are supposed to have been written by 
 Luke. The Epistles to the Romans, Corin- 
 thians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Co- 
 lossians, Thessalonians, to Timothy, Titus, 
 Philemon, and to the Hebrews, are supposed to 
 have been written by Paul. The other Epistles 
 bear the names of their several reputed authors. 
 The Book of Revelation claims to have been 
 written by John, the author of the Gospel. 
 
 The Gospels, as before remarked, are chiefly 
 occupied in detailing the circumstances which 
 attended the birth, the life and death of Je- 
 sus Christ. They relate that he was born 
 in humble circumstances, that he was without 
 education, and was chiefly occupied as a car- 
 penter, till about thirty years of age. He then 
 entered upon his ministry, and began to teach 
 doctrines entirely new to the people and to the 
 world. His life was blameless, and his man- 
 ners were marked with a humility and meek- 
 ness never known before. He claimed to be 
 sent by divine authority to communicate impor- 
 tant truths to mankind, and to prove the justice 
 of these pretensions, he wrought several mira- 
 cles which were witnessed by thousands. He 
 chose twelve persons from humble life to be his 
 
parley's farewell. 207 
 
 followers, and to them he taught his religion. 
 He spent a great part of his time in Jerusalem, 
 but made occasional visits to neighboring vil- 
 lages, and other places, especially his native 
 province of Galilee. 
 
 Wherever he went, he healed the sick, com- 
 forted the distressed, preached his doctrines, 
 and wrought miracles to give efficacy to his 
 creed. At length, agreeably to his own predic- 
 tion, he was seized by the public authorities at 
 Jerusalem, and patiently submitting, was abus- 
 ed, reviled, and finally nailed to a cross, where 
 he died in extreme agony. He was put into a 
 stone coffin, where his lifeless body lay for three 
 days, when he arose from the dead. For forty 
 days he now showed himself to his apostles, and 
 spoke fully to them of the " things pertaining 
 to the kingdom of God." 
 
 " He commanded them that they should not 
 depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the prom- 
 ise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have 
 heard of me. 
 
 " For John truly baptized with water ; but 
 ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not 
 many days hence. 
 
 " When they therefore were come together, 
 
208 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at 
 this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 
 
 " And he said unto them, It is not for you 
 to know the times or the seasons which the 
 Father hath put in his own power. 
 
 4 'But ye shall receive power after that the 
 Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall he 
 witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all 
 Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost 
 part of the earth. 
 
 " And when he had spoken these things, 
 while they beheld, he was taken up ; and a 
 cloud received him out of their sight. 
 
 " And while they looked steadfastly toward 
 heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood 
 by them in white apparel ; 
 
 " Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why 
 stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same 
 Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, 
 shall so come in like manner as ye have seen 
 him go into heaven. 
 
 tC Then returned they unto Jerusalem, from 
 the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusa- 
 lem a Sabbath-day's journey. " 
 
 Such is the memoir of Christ, handed down 
 to us in the Gospels. The great end and de- 
 
parley's farewell. 209 
 
 sign of his preaching is there represented to be 
 to announce a new, peculiar, and most impor- 
 tant revelation from God ; his miracles were 
 intended to sanction the faith he thus taught ; 
 his death was designed, in part, as a seal to the 
 truth and divinity of his mission. His apostles 
 were sent forth to inculcate the "good news," 
 the " glad tidings," to all mankind, which Christ 
 had published to the people of Judea. They 
 were, in short, to propagate a new religion, 
 which in its very nature held all other religions 
 to be false, wicked and delusive. 
 
 The period of these events, was about 1800 
 years ago. At that time the whole of Judea 
 was reduced to a Roman province. Rome had 
 then extended her sway over nearly the whole 
 civilized world. Her authority was generally 
 well settled, and around the entire borders of 
 the Mediterranean sea, easy and frequent com- 
 munication was had between the several coun- 
 tries and the city of Rome, where Tiberius 
 Cesar, then the emperor, resided. 
 
 The art of printing was then unknown, and 
 education was not diffused among the people. 
 Writing on parchment was, however, a com- 
 mon practice, and many books were written. 
 14 
 
210 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 There were many learned men at Rome, and 
 the military and civil officers in the different 
 provinces were mostly well educated, and made 
 frequent written communications to the gov- 
 ernment at the capital. It was by no means a 
 dark age, as it respected the means of reading 
 and disseminating facts ; but was, on the con- 
 trary, near the precise period when Roman 
 literature had reached its highest pitch of 
 glory. 
 
 The people of Rome had early adopted the 
 fanciful mythology of the Greeks, with its 
 numberless deities ; and wherever Rome had 
 carried her conquests, she had transplanted this 
 religion, The Jews still kept their sacred 
 books, and maintained the forms of their pe- 
 culiar religion ; but the spirit of the patriarchs 
 and the prophets, which had dwelt with the 
 people in former ages, had now departed. 
 Many of the Jews were in fact idolaters, and 
 most of those who held to the faith of their fa- 
 thers, had adopted the selfish and corrupt prac- 
 tical philosophy of the heathen around them. 
 
 The fashionable religion — the religion of the 
 government — of the office-holders — of the rich, 
 the learned, the fortunate and the powerful, and 
 
parley's farewell. 211 
 
 indeed of nearly the whole mass of the people 
 throughout the Roman empire, then including 
 nearly all Europe, a large part of Africa, and 
 the greater portion of Asia — was the religion 
 of many gods, and involved the worship of 
 a great number of deities. To these, beauti- 
 ful images and superb temples were every 
 where erected. Their peculiar rites and cere- 
 monies were attended by multitudes of priests, 
 and set forth with all the pomp and circum- 
 stance calculated to lead captive the imagina- 
 tion of a superstitious age. The priests, too, 
 were generally the agents and tools of the gov- 
 ernment, and as they sustained the ruling pow- 
 ers by all the influence they acquired over the 
 minds of their followers, so the government in 
 return felt interested in giving their support to 
 the idolatries of the priests. 
 
 Such was the political condition of the world 
 — such the state of society — such the fortified 
 position of paganism, at the time when it is 
 said that Jesus Christ appeared to propound 
 a new faith to mankind, and when, dying 
 himself to attest its truth, he rose from the 
 dead to assure his apostles, and to send them 
 forth on their perilous errand of converting 
 
212 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 a world from their loved idolatries to a pure, 
 self-denying creed. Let us now inquire whe- 
 ther the books that give an account of these 
 events, are genuine and true. 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 Unbelief of the Jewish nation in Christ- s mission. Unbelief of the an- 
 cient heathen nations. Modern infidelity. The Bible to be tested like other 
 books. 
 
 My young friends may perhaps be shocked 
 to hear that there are persons who disbelieve 
 the Bible. But this has been the fact from the 
 earliest ages. The Jews had been accustomed 
 to read their sacred books, which constitute the 
 Old Testament, and they perceived that the 
 prophets spoke of a Messiah, who was to ap- 
 pear among them, and establish a great and 
 mighty kingdom. They understood this in a 
 literal sense, and eagerly expected the appear- 
 ance of some conqueror, who should deliver 
 them from the Roman bondage, and raise the 
 Jewish nation to its former pitch of wealth, 
 power and dominion. 
 
 When Christ appeared, and claimed to be 
 
parley's farewell. 213 
 
 the Messiah, the disappointed and irritated 
 Jews, combining with the provincial govern- 
 ment, caused Jesus to be put to death. Hav- 
 ing taken this step, it was but natural that the 
 Jewish nation should follow up their murder of 
 Christ by the persecution of his followers, To 
 justify these measures, they would of course 
 represent Christ as an impostor, and his apos- 
 tles as either cheats or fanatics. 
 
 Such in fact was the conduct of the greater 
 part of the Jewish nation, for though many be- 
 lieved in Christ even during his lifetime, and 
 thousands followed his apostles, still, the more 
 learned Jews, and particularly those who were 
 connected with the government, or had an in- 
 terest in supporting the ceremonial worship of 
 the Jews, rejected the new faith with scorn and 
 indignation. These views and feelings were 
 communicated by the priests and learned men 
 of the Jews to succeeding generations, and 
 from that time to the present day, the Jewish 
 nation have continued to deny the New Tes- 
 tament, and the divinity of Christ's mission. 
 
 The religion of Christ could hardly expect a 
 more favorable reception from the heathen na- 
 tions wedded to idolatrous worship, which had 
 
214 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 been sanctioned by the usage of ages, which 
 was supported by the whole weight of the im- 
 perial government of Rome, countenanced by 
 the learned men, and fortified by the habits, 
 prejudices and passions of the people. It was 
 hardly to be expected that a new faith, aiming 
 at the entire overthrow of a religion so strongly 
 founded, could fail to beget active and bitter 
 opposition. 
 
 Such opposition was indeed excited, and 
 though thousands believed, tens of thousands 
 eagerly engaged in mockery or persecution of 
 the Christians. Their characters were misrep- 
 resented, their doctrines perverted, their whole 
 religion treated as a fable and a falsehood. 
 These views were communicated to after ages, 
 and even in our own time we find persons who 
 regard the whole New-Testament history as an 
 imposition, and the Gospel as the deceptive 
 contrivance of priestcraft. 
 
 The truth of the New Testament being de- 
 nied, we are thus obliged to come to the ques- 
 tion of its authenticity and veracity, as if 
 its pages were divested of their sacred char- 
 acter, and to be tested by the same evidence 
 as other writings. 
 
parley's farewell. 215 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 Testimony of Tacitus, a Roman writer, to the fact that Christ died for 
 his religion; and that this was rapidly extended after his death. 
 
 There was a celebrated Roman historian 
 named Tacitus, who wrote about seventy years 
 after the death of Christ. A part of his works 
 are preserved, and as they are universally re- 
 garded as authentic, they have ever received 
 great respect. In speaking of an infamous 
 Roman Emperor, named Nero, who was sus- 
 pected of having caused the city of Rome to be 
 set on fire, this writer holds the following lan- 
 guage. 
 
 "But neither these exertions, nor his lar- 
 gesses to the people, nor his offerings to the 
 gods, did away the infamous imputation under 
 which Nero lay, of having ordered the city to 
 be set on fire. To put an end, therefore, to 
 this report, he laid the guilt, and inflicted the 
 most cruel punishments, upon a set of people 
 who were holden in abhorrence for their crimes, 
 and called by the vulgar, Christians. The 
 founder of that name was Christ, who suffered 
 
216 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 death in the reign of Tiberius, under his pro- 
 curator Pontius Pilate. 
 
 " This pernicious superstition, thus checked 
 for a while, broke out again ; and spread not 
 only over Judea, where the evil originated, but 
 through Rome also, whither every thing bad 
 upon the earth finds its way, and is practised. 
 Some, who confessed their sect, were seized, 
 and afterward, by their information, a vast 
 multitude were apprehended, who were con- 
 victed, not so much of the crime of burning 
 Home, as of hatred to mankind. Their suffer- 
 ings at their execution were aggravated by 
 insult and mockery ; for some were disguised 
 in the skins of wild beasts, and worried to death 
 by dogs ; some were crucified ; and others 
 were wrapped in pitch shirts, and set on fire 
 when the day closed, that they might serve as 
 lights to illuminate the night. 
 
 " Nero lent his own gardens for these execu- 
 tions, and exhibited at the same time a mock Cir- 
 censian entertainment ; being a spectator of the 
 whole, in the dress of a charioteer, sometimes 
 mingling with the crowd on foot, and some- 
 times viewing the spectacle from his car. This 
 conduct made the sufferers pitied ; and though 
 
parley's farewell. 217 
 
 they were criminals, and deserving the severest 
 punishments, yet they were considered as sacri- 
 ficed, not so much out of a regard to the public 
 good, as to gratify the cruelty of one man." 
 
 Now we must consider that Tacitus views 
 the Christians with all the prejudices of an idol- 
 ater. His opinions, of course, upon such a 
 topic are entitled to no regard. But his testi- 
 mony to facts should be received with implicit 
 credit, and these facts are of the utmost impor- 
 tance to our investigation. We have here the 
 evidence of one who despised and hated the 
 Christians, confirming the most material facts 
 in the Gospel history, viz., that Christ was the 
 founder of a new religion ; that he appeared in 
 Judea ; and that he there suffered death at the 
 very point of time recorded in the New Tes- 
 tament. 
 
 It should be remembered that Tacitus is 
 speaking of events that occurred only about 34 
 years after the death of Christ. In this short 
 space of time, the new religion had reached 
 Rome, a distance of about 1500 miles, and had 
 already become so extensive there, as to attract 
 the attention of government ; and this, too, in 
 the face of the most cruel persecution that 
 the world has witnessed. 
 
218 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 Can we believe that a religion whicn spread 
 so rapidly, and in spite of such opposition, 
 with all the means at hand for investigating its 
 origin, could have been founded in imposition? 
 Taking the fact that Christ suffered death for 
 the sake of his religion, and that within thirty- 
 four years this religion was so extended as to 
 have numerous followers in a city 1500 miles 
 distant who suffered torments of every kind 
 rather than renounce their faith, can we doubt 
 that there was something in the character of 
 Christ, something so remarkable in his life and 
 his doctrines, and that these were so clearly 
 and unquestionably proved, as to claim the re- 
 spect of mankind? Does not this view of the 
 case forbid the supposition that Christ was an 
 impostor? for how could men willing to die for 
 what they believed to be the truth, be so indif- 
 ferent to truth as to embrace a falsehood and 
 become the dupes of a deceiver? How indeed 
 could so many persons have been so grossly 
 deceived, in an enlightened age, when the means 
 of gaining and communicating facts were abun- 
 dant ; and relative also to a matter so palpable 
 in its nature, and of so recent occurrence that 
 it must have taken place in the lifetime of 
 many of these converts? 
 
PARLEY'S FAREWELL. 219 
 
 Now as no one pretends to doubt the facts 
 stated by Tacitus, viz., that Christ suffered 
 death for the sake of his religion, and that 
 this spread far and wide with astonishing rapid- 
 ity, and that his followers were so convinced 
 of the truth of their belief, that they suffered 
 every species of torment, and the most horrible 
 kinds of death, rather than renounce it ; can we 
 fail to see that this establishes beyond a doubt 
 the main facts related in the Gospels, and lends 
 the strongest probability to their entire truth 
 and accuracy? 
 
 To confirm this view of the matter, it may 
 be stated, that several writers cotemporary 
 with Tacitus, and others somewhat later, but 
 still at a period near the death of Christ, tes- 
 tify to the great and rapid extension of Chris- 
 tianity among the people, to the persecutions 
 they endured from the government, and to the 
 fortitude with which they suffered and died in 
 attestation of their sincerity. 
 
220 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 Christ s religion did originate, and the Testament account of its origin ex- 
 plains its rapid extension. Moreover, there is no other history of this matter 
 set up by heathen writers ; on the contrary, so far as they go, they confirm 
 it. The inference in favor of the truth of the New Testament is very 
 strong. 
 
 But there is still more conclusive proof of 
 the authenticity of the books of the New Tes- 
 tament. Christ died, and his religion was em- 
 braced. There is no dispute about this ; so 
 much is certain. And another fact is also cer- 
 tain, that no account of the history of Christ 
 and the foundation of his religion is given that 
 is not in perfect harmony with that furnished 
 by the New Testament. " There is not a docu- 
 ment,'' says Dr. Paley, " or scrap of account, 
 either contemporary with the commencement 
 of Christianity, or extant within many ages af- 
 ter that commencement, which assigns a history 
 substantially differing from ours. The remote, 
 brief, and incidental notices of the affair, which 
 are found in heathen writers, so far as they do 
 go, go along with us. They bear testimony 
 to these facts : — that the institution originated 
 from Jesus ; that the Founder was put to 
 
parley's farewell. 221 
 
 death, as a malefactor, at Jerusalem, by the 
 authority of the Roman governor, Pontius Pi- 
 late ; that the religion nevertheless spread in 
 that city and throughout Judea ; and that it 
 was propagated thence to distant countries ; 
 that the converts were numerous ; that they 
 suffered great hardships and injuries for their 
 profession ; and that all this took place in the 
 age of the world which our books have as- 
 signed. 
 
 " They go on farther, to describe the manners 
 of Christians, in terms perfectly conformable to 
 the accounts extant in our books ; that they 
 were wont to assemble on a certain day ; that 
 they sang hymns to .Christ as to a god; that 
 they bound themselves by an oath not to com- 
 mit any crime, and to adhere strictly to their pro- 
 mises, and not to deny money deposited in their 
 hands ; that they worshipped him who was cru- 
 cified in Palestine ; that this their first lawgiver 
 had taught them that they were all brethren; 
 that they had a great contempt for the things of 
 this world, and looked upon them as common ; 
 that they flew to one another's relief; that they 
 cherished strong hopes of immortality ; that 
 they despised death, and surrendered them- 
 selves to sufferings. 
 
222 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 cc The same may be observed of the very few 
 Jewish writers, of that and the adjoining peri- 
 od, which have come down to us. Whatever 
 they omit, or whatever difficulties we may find 
 in explaining the omission, they advance no 
 other history of the transaction than that which 
 we acknowledge. Josephus, who wrote his 
 Antiquities or History of the Jews about sixty 
 years after the commencement of Christianity, in 
 a passage generally admitted as genuine, makes 
 mention of John, under the name of John the 
 Baptist, and says that he was a preacher of vir- 
 tue ; that he baptized his proselytes ; that he 
 was well received by the people ; that he was 
 imprisoned and put to death by Herod ; and that 
 Herod lived with Herodias, his brother's wife. 
 
 " In another passage, extant in every copy that 
 remains of Josephus's History, but the authen- 
 ticity of which has nevertheless been disputed, 
 we have an explicit testimony to the substance 
 of our history in these words : — c At that time 
 lived Jesus, a wise man, if he may be called a 
 man, for he performed many wonderful works. 
 He was a teacher of such men as received the 
 truth with pleasure. He drew over to him 
 many Jews and Gentiles. This was the Christ ; 
 
parley's farewell. 223 
 
 and when Pilate, at the instigation of the chief 
 men among us, had condemned him to the 
 cross, they who before had conceived an affec- 
 tion for him, did not cease to adhere to him : 
 for, on the third day, he appeared to them 
 alive again ; the divine prophets having fore- 
 told these and many wonderful things concern- 
 ing him. And the sect of the Christians, so 
 called from him, subsist to this time.'" 
 
 Now let it be considered that Christ's reli- 
 gion must have had an origin ; that the origin 
 assigned to it by the books of the New Testa- 
 ment coincides with, and accounts for, its rapid 
 extension ; that no history inconsistent with 
 this is given, even by the enemies and persecutors 
 of the Christians ; and we shall see that there 
 is the strongest reason to receive the New-Tes- 
 tament history as true. 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 All the Christian writers, from the earliest to the latest times, speak as if 
 the New Testament account of Christ and his religion was the true one, and 
 the only one. 
 
 I shall here quote again from Dr. Paley. 
 " The whole series of Christian writers, from 
 
224 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 the first age of the institution down to the pres- 
 ent, in their discussions, apologies, arguments, 
 and controversies, proceed upon the general 
 story which our Scriptures contain, and upon 
 no other. The main facts, the principal agents, 
 are alike in all. This argument will appear to 
 be of great force, when it is known that we are 
 able to trace back the series of writers to a 
 contact with the historical books of the New 
 Testament, and to the age of the first emissa- 
 ries of the religion ; and to deduce it, by an un- 
 broken continuation, from that end of the train 
 to the present. 
 
 " The remaining letters of the apostles, (and 
 what more original than their letters can we 
 have?) though written without the remotest 
 design of transmitting the history of Christ or 
 of Christianity to future ages, or even of mak- 
 ing it known to their contemporaries, inciden- 
 tally disclose to us the following circumstances : 
 — Christ's descent and family ; his innocence ; 
 the meekness and gentleness of his character 
 (a recognition which goes to the whole Gospel 
 history) ; his exalted nature ; his circumcision ; 
 his transfiguration ; his life of opposition and 
 suffering ; his patience and resignation ; the 
 
parley's farewell. 225 
 
 appointment of the eucharist, and the manner 
 of it ; bis agony ; bis confession before Pontius 
 Pilate ; his stripes, crucifixion, and burial ; 
 his resurrection ; bis appearance after it, first 
 to Peter, then to the rest of the apostles ; 
 his ascension into heaven, and his designation 
 to be the future judge of mankind ; the stated 
 residence of the apostles at Jerusalem ; the 
 working of miracles by the first preachers of 
 the gospel, who were also the hearers of Christ ; 
 — the successful propagation of the religion ; 
 the persecution of its followers ; the miraculous 
 conversion of Paul ; miracles wrought by him- 
 self, and alleged in his controversies with his ad- 
 versaries, and in letters to the persons amongst 
 whom they were wrought ; finally, that mira- 
 cles were the signs of an apostle. 
 
 " In an epistle bearing the name of Barna- 
 bas, the companion of Paul, probably genu- 
 ine, certainly belonging to that age, we have 
 the sufferings of Christ, his choice of apostles 
 and their number, his passion, the scarlet robe, 
 the vinegar and gall, the mocking and piercing, 
 the casting lots for his coat, his resurrection on 
 the eighth (i. e. the first) day of the week, and 
 the commemorative distinction of that day, his 
 15 
 
226 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 manifestation after his resurrection, and, lastly, 
 his ascension. We have also his miracles gen- 
 erally but positively referred to in the following 
 words : e Finally, teaching the people of Israel, 
 and doing many wonders and signs among them, 
 he preached to them, and showed the exceeding 
 great love which he bare towards them/ 
 
 " In an epistle of Clement, a hearer of Saint 
 Paul, although written for a purpose remotely 
 connected with the Christian history, we have 
 the resurrection of Christ, and the subsequent 
 mission of the apostles, recorded in these satis- 
 factory terms : ' The apostles have preached to 
 us from our Lord Jesus Christ, from God : — 
 for, having received their command, and being 
 thoroughly assured by the resurrection of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, they went abroad publish- 
 ing that the kingdom of God was at hand.' 
 We find noticed, also, the humility, yet the 
 power of Christ, his descent from Abraham, 
 his crucifixion. We have Peter and Paul rep- 
 resented as faithful and righteous pillars of the 
 church ; the numerous sufferings of Peter ; the 
 bonds, stripes, and stoning of Paul, and, more 
 particularly, his extensive and unwearied trav- 
 els. 
 
PARLEY'S FAREWELL. 227 
 
 " In an epistle of Poly carp, a disciple of 
 Saint John, though only a brief hortatory let- 
 ter, we have the humility, patience, sufferings, 
 resurrection, and ascension, of Christ, together 
 with the apostolic character of Saint Paul, dis- 
 tinctly recognised. Of this same father we are 
 also assured by Irenseus that he (Irenseus) had 
 heard him relate, ' what he had received from 
 eye-witnesses concerning the Lord, both con- 
 cerning his miracles and his doctrine/ 
 
 " In the remaining works of Ignatius, the 
 contemporary of Polycarp, the occasional allu- 
 sions are more numerous. The descent of 
 Christ from David, his mother Mary, his mirac- 
 ulous conception, the star at his birth, his bap- 
 tism by John, the reason assigned for it, his 
 appeal to the prophets, the ointment poured on 
 his head, his sufferings under Pontius Pilate 
 and Herod the tetrarch, his resurrection, the 
 Lord's day called and kept in commemoration 
 of it, and the eucharist, in both its parts — are 
 unequivocally referred to. Upon the resurrec- 
 tion, this writer is even circumstantial. He 
 mentions the apostles' eating and drinking with 
 Christ after he had risen, their feeling and their 
 handling him ; from which last circumstance 
 
228 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 Ignatius raises this just reflection : — c They be- 
 lieved, being convinced both by his flesh and 
 spirit ; for this cause, they despised death, and 
 were found to be above it. 
 
 " duadratus, of the same age with Ignatius, 
 has left us the following noble testimony : 
 c The works of our Savior were always con- 
 spicuous, for they were real ; both those that 
 were healed, and those that were raised from 
 the dead ; who were seen not only when they 
 were healed or raised, but for a long time af- 
 terward ; not only whilst he dwelled on this 
 earth, but also after his departure, and for a 
 good while after it, insomuch that some of them 
 have reached to our times.' 
 
 " Justin Martyr came little more than thirty 
 years after Q,uadratus. From Justin's works, 
 which are still extant, might be collected a tol- 
 erably complete account of Christ's life, in all 
 points agreeing with that which is delivered in 
 our Scriptures ; taken indeed, in a great meas- 
 ure, from those Scriptures, but still proving 
 that this account, and no other, was the ac- 
 count known and extant in that age. The 
 miracles, in particular, which form the part of 
 Christ's history most material to be traced, 
 
parley's farewell. 229 
 
 stand fully and distinctly recognised in the fol- 
 lowing passage : — ' lie healed those who had 
 been blind, and deaf, and lame, from their 
 birth ; causing, by his word, one to leap, an- 
 other to hear, and a third to see : and by rais- 
 ing the dead, and making them to live, he in- 
 duced, by his works, the men of that age to 
 know him.' 
 
 " It is unnecessary to carry these citations 
 lower, because the history, after this time, oc- 
 curs in ancient Christian writings as familiarly 
 as it is wont to do in modern sermons ; occurs 
 always the same in substance, and it is always 
 that which our evangelists represent." 
 
 Thus it appears, not only that the main facts 
 of the New-Testament history are confirmed 
 by heathen writers, while the opposers of 
 Christianity set up no other historical account 
 of Christ and his religion ; but that all the 
 early Christian writers agree in, and confirm, 
 the very details of that history. What clearer 
 or stronger evidence can we ask, to prove the 
 historical truth of the New-Testament books? 
 
230 REVEALED RELIGION, 
 
 Chapter X. 
 
 Proofs that the books of the New Testament were written by their reputed 
 authors. 
 
 Thus far I have spoken rather of the veracity 
 of the New Testament — let me now enforce 
 the same point hy showing that there is the 
 best reason to believe that the books of the 
 New Testament were genuine, and written by 
 the persons to whom they are attributed. " We 
 are able to produce a great number of ancient 
 manuscript copies, found indifferent countries, 
 and in countries widely distant from each other, 
 all of them anterior to the art of printing, some 
 certainly seven or eight hundred years old, and 
 some which have been preserved probably 
 above a thousand years. We have also many 
 ancient versions of these books, and some of 
 them in languages which are not at present, 
 nor for many ages have been, spoken in any 
 part of the world. The existence of these 
 manuscripts and versions proves that these 
 Scriptures were not the production of any 
 modern contrivance. 
 
 " An argument of great weight with those 
 
parley's farewell. 231 
 
 who are judges of the proofs upon which it 
 is founded, and capable., through their testi- 
 mony, of being addressed to every understand- 
 ing, is that which arises from the style and 
 language of the New Testament. It is just 
 such a language as might be expected from the 
 apostles, from persons of their age and in their 
 situation, and from no other persons. It is the 
 style neither of classic authors, nor of the an- 
 cient Christian fathers, but Greek coming from 
 men of Hebrew origin ; abounding, that is, with 
 Hebraic and Syriac idioms, and such as would 
 naturally be found in the writings of men who 
 used a language spoken indeed where they 
 lived, but not the common dialect of the coun- 
 try. This striking peculiarity is a strong proof 
 of the genuineness of these writings : for who 
 should forge them? The Christian fathers 
 were for the most part totally ignorant of He- 
 brew, and therefore were not likely to insert 
 Hebraisms and Syriasms into their writings. 
 
 " Christian writers and Christian churches 
 appear to have soon arrived at a very gene- 
 ral agreement upon the subject, and that with- 
 out the interposition of any public authority. 
 When the diversity of opinion which prevailed 
 
232 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 and prevails among Christians in other points, 
 is considered, their concurrence in the canon 
 of Scripture is remarkable, and of great weight, 
 especially as it seems to have been the result of 
 private and free inquiry. We have no knowl- 
 edge of any interference of authority in the 
 question, before the council of Laodicea, in the 
 year 363." 
 
 The strongest argument respecting the gen- 
 uineness of ancient writings is to be derived 
 from ancient testimony. This is full and com- 
 plete as it regards the Gospels and the Acts of 
 the Apostles ; for these are quoted or alluded 
 to as genuine by a series of Christian writers, 
 from the time of the apostles down to the pres- 
 ent day. 1 will select a few among the multi- 
 tude of proofs of this kind, and commend them 
 to the special attention of the reader. 
 
 " There is extant an epistle ascribed to Bar- 
 nabas, the companion of Paul. It is quoted as 
 the Epistle of Barnabas, by Clement of Alex- 
 andria, a. d. 194; by Origen, a. d. 230. It 
 is mentioned by Eusebius, a. d. 315, and by 
 Jerome, a. d. 392, as an ancient work in their 
 time, bearing the name of Barnabas, and as well 
 known and read amongst Christians, though 
 
parley's farewell. 233 
 
 not accounted a part of Scripture. It purports 
 to have been written soon after the destruction 
 of Jerusalem, during the calamities which fol- 
 lowed that disaster ; and it bears the character 
 of the age to which it professes to belong. 
 
 " In this epistle appears the following re- 
 markable passage : — c Let us, therefore, beware 
 lest it come upon us, as it is written ; there are 
 many called, few chosen.' From the expres- 
 sion, 'as it is written,' we infer with certainty, 
 that, at the time when the author of this epistle 
 lived, there was a book extant, well known to 
 Christians, and of authority amongst them, 
 containing these words : — ' Many are called, few 
 chosen.' Such a book is our present Gospel 
 of Saint Matthew, in which this text is twice 
 found, and is found in no other book now known. 
 
 " We are in possession of an epistle 
 written by Clement, bishop of Rome, whom 
 ancient writers, without any doubt or scruple, 
 assert to have been the Clement whom Saint 
 Paul mentions, Phil. iv. 3. ; ' with Clement 
 also, and other my fellow-laborers, whose names 
 are in the book of life.' This epistle is spoken 
 of by the ancients as an epistle acknowledged 
 by all ; and, as Irenoeus well represents its 
 
234 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 value, ' written by Clement, who had seen the 
 blessed apostles, and conversed with them ; who 
 had the preaching of the apostles still sounding 
 in his ears, and their traditions before his eyes.' 
 It is addressed to the church of Corinth ; and 
 what alone may seem almost decisive of its au- 
 thenticity, Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, about 
 the year 170, i. e. about eighty or ninety years 
 after the epistle was written, bears witness, 
 4 that it had been wont to be read in that church 
 from ancient times/ 
 
 " This epistle affords, amongst others, the 
 following valuable passages : — ' Especially re- 
 membering the words of the Lord Jesus which 
 he spake, teaching gentleness and long-suffering : 
 for thus he said : " Be ye merciful, that ye may 
 obtain mercy ; forgive, that it may be forgiven 
 unto you ; as you do, so shall it be done unto 
 you ; as you give, so shall it be given unto 
 you ; as ye judge, so shall ye be judged ; as 
 ye show kindness, so shall kindness be shown 
 unto you ; with what measure ye mete, with 
 the same shall it be measured to you." By 
 this command and by these rules, let us estab- 
 lish ourselves, that ye may always walk obedi- 
 ently to his holy words.' 
 
PARLEYS FAREWELL. 235 
 
 "Again ; ' Remember the words of the Lord 
 Jesus, for he said, " Woe to that man by whom 
 offences come ; it were better for him that he 
 had not been born, than that he should offend 
 one of my elect ; it were better for him that a 
 millstone should be tied about his neck, and 
 that he should be drowned in the sea, than that 
 he should offend one of my little ones."' 
 
 " In both these passages, we perceive the 
 high respect paid to the words of Christ as re- 
 corded by the evangelists ; ' Remember the 
 words of the Lord Jesus ; — by this command, 
 and by these rules, let us establish ourselves, 
 that we may always walk obediently to his holy 
 words/ We perceive also in Clement a total 
 unconsciousness of doubt, whether these were 
 the real words of Christ, which are read as 
 such in the Gospels. 
 
 " Ignatius, as it is testified by ancient Chris- 
 tian writers, became bishop of Antioch about 
 thirty-seven years after Christ's ascension ; 
 and therefore, from his time, and place, and 
 station, it is probable that he had known and 
 conversed with many of the apostles. Epis- 
 tles of Ignatius are referred to by Polycarp, 
 his contemporary. Passages found in the epis- 
 
236 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 ties now extant under his name, are quoted 
 by Irenaeus, a. d. 178 ; by Qrigen, a. d. 230 ; 
 and the occasion of writing the epistles is given 
 at large by Eusebius and Jerome. What are 
 called the smaller epistles of Ignatius, are gen- 
 erally deemed to be those which were read by 
 Ireneeus, Origen, and Eusebius. 
 
 " Polycarp had been taught by the apostles; 
 had conversed with many who had seen Christ ; 
 was also by the apostles appointed bishop of 
 Smyrna. This testimony concerning Poly- 
 carp is given by Irenseus, who in his youth had 
 seen him : — ' I can tell the place (saith Irenae- 
 us) in which the blessed Polycarp sat and 
 taught, and his going out and coming in, and 
 the manner of his life, and the form of his per- 
 son, and the discourses he made to the people, 
 and how he related his conversation with John, 
 and others who had seen the Lord, and how he 
 related their sayings, and what he had heard 
 concerning the Lord, both concerning his 
 miracles and his doctrine, as he had received 
 them from the eye-witnesses of the Word of 
 life ; all which Polycarp related agreeable to the 
 Scriptures/ 
 
 " Of Polycarn, whose proximity to the age 
 
parley's farewell. 237 
 
 and country and persons of the apostles is thus 
 attested, we have one undoubted epistle remain- 
 ing. And this, though a short letter, contains 
 nearly forty clear allusions to the books of the 
 New Testament ; which is strong evidence of 
 the respect which Christians of that age bore 
 for these books. 
 
 " Amongst these, although the writings of 
 Saint Paul are more frequently used by Poly- 
 carp than any other parts of Scripture, there 
 are copious allusions to the Gospel of Saint 
 Matthew, some to passages found in the Gos- 
 pels both of Matthew and Luke, and some 
 which more nearly resemble the words in 
 Luke. 
 
 " I select the following, as fixing the autho- 
 rity of the Lord's prayer, and the use of it 
 amongst the primitive Christians : ' If there- 
 fore we pray the Lord that he will forgive us, 
 we ought also to forgive.' 
 
 " ' With supplication beseeching the all-see- 
 ing God not to lead us into temptation.' 
 
 " The writers hitherto alleged, had all lived 
 and conversed with some of the apostles. The 
 works of theirs which remain, are in general 
 very short pieces, yet rendered extremely valu- 
 
238 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 able by their antiquity ; and none, short as 
 they are, but what contain some important tes- 
 timony to our historical Scriptures. " 
 
 It is hardly necessary to accumulate this kind 
 of evidence. It is sufficient to observe that ref- 
 erences to the historical books of the New Tes- 
 tament, similar to these, are scattered through 
 the writings of various authors of every age, 
 from the day of the apostles to the present time. 
 I will add, however, a single reference to Eu- 
 sebius, bishop of Cesarea, who wrote about 
 the year 315. He was a learned and diligent 
 scholar, and composed a history of the affairs 
 of Christianity, from its origin to his own time. 
 In this work, he speaks of the occasion " of 
 writing the four Gospels, and of the order in 
 which they were written. The title of the 
 chapter is, ' Of the Order of the Gospels ;' and 
 it begins thus : ' Let us observe the writings 
 of this apostle John, which are not contradicted 
 by any : and, first of all, must be mentioned, 
 as acknowledged by all, the Gospel according 
 to him, well known to all the churches under 
 heaven ; and that it has been justly placed by 
 the ancients the fourth in order, and after the 
 other three, may be made evident in this man- 
 
parley's farewell. 239 
 
 ner.' — Eusebius then proceeds to show that 
 John wrote the last of the four, and that his Gos- 
 pel was intended to supply the omissions of the 
 others ; especially in the part of our Lord's 
 ministry which took place before the imprison- 
 ment of John the Baptist. He observes, ' that 
 the apostles of Christ were not studious of the 
 ornaments of composition, nor indeed forward 
 to write at all, being wholly occupied with 
 their ministry.'" 
 
 It appears to me that the evidence is now 
 complete to show that the four Gospels and the 
 Acts of the Apostles were written by those to 
 whom they are attributed, and that they are 
 therefore authentic. In confirmation of this 
 conclusion, Dr. Paley states and proves the 
 following propositions : 
 
 " That when the books of the New Testa- 
 ment are quoted, or alluded to, by the early wri- 
 ters, they are quoted or alluded to with peculiar 
 respect, as possessing an authority which be- 
 longed to no other books, and as conclusive in 
 all questions and controversies amongst Chris- 
 tians. 
 
 " That they were, in very early times, col- 
 lected into a distinct volume. 
 
240 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 " That they were distinguished by appropri- 
 ate names and titles of respect. 
 
 " That they were publicly read and expound- 
 ed in the religious assemblies of the early 
 Christians. 
 
 " That commentaries were written upon 
 them, harmonies formed out of them, different 
 copies carefully collated, and versions of them 
 made into different languages. 
 
 Ci That they were received by Christians of 
 different sects, and usually appealed to by both 
 sides in the controversies which arose in those 
 days. 
 
 " That the four Gospels, the Acts of the 
 Apostles, thirteen Epistles of Saint Paul, the 
 first Epistle of John, and the first of Peter, 
 were received, without doubt, by those who 
 doubted concerning the other books which are 
 included in our present canon. 
 
 " That the Gospels were attacked by the 
 early adversaries of Christianity, as books con- 
 taining the accounts upon which the religion 
 was founded. 
 
 " That formal catalogues of authentic Scrip- 
 tures were published ; in all which our present 
 sacred histories were included." 
 
parley's farewell. 241 
 
 Chapter XI. 
 
 Internal evidences of the truth of the Scriptures. Candor of the writers. 
 Passages unlikely to be the n-ork of impostors. Naturalness of some pas- 
 sages. 
 
 The external or historical proof of the truth 
 and genuineness of the books of the New Tes- 
 tament, or at least of the most of them, which 
 has been adduced, seems to me to place the 
 question at issue beyond reasonable dispute. 
 But on a subject of such vital interest, it is 
 desirable to strengthen our confidence by all 
 the arguments which may fairly be urged in fa- 
 vor of the position we assume. Let me there- 
 fore present some of the internal evidences of 
 the truth of the New Testament. 
 
 It may be proper to remark, in the first place, 
 that if the New-Testament books are not true, 
 they must have been written by impostors. 
 Now it appears to me that the candor of the wri- 
 ters of these, forbids such a supposition. From 
 among a multitude of passages which display 
 this mark of integrity, let me select a few. 
 
 " There are some instances in which the 
 evangelists honestly relate what, they must 
 have perceived, would make against them. 
 16 
 
24)2 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 " Of this kind is John the Baptist's mes- 
 sage, preserved by Saint Matthew, (xi. 2.) and 
 Saint Luke (vii. 18.) : ' Now when John had 
 heard in prison the works of Christ, he sent 
 two of his disciples, and said unto him, Art 
 thou he that should come, or look we for an- 
 other?' To confess, still more to state, that 
 John the Baptist had his doubts concerning the 
 character of Jesus, could not but afford a han- 
 dle to cavil and objection. But truth, like 
 honesty, neglects appearances. 
 
 " John vi. 66. ' From that time, many of his 
 disciples went back, and walked no more with 
 him/ Was it the part of a writer, who dealt 
 in suppression and disguise, to put down this 
 anecdote? 
 
 " Where do we discern a stronger mark of 
 candor, or less disposition to extol and magnify, 
 than in the conclusion of the history in which 
 the evangelist, after relating that Paul, on his 
 first arrival at Rome, preached to the Jews 
 from morning until evening, adds, 'And some 
 believed the things which were spoken, and 
 some believed not V " 
 
 These passages show the candor of the wri- 
 ters of the New Testament ; there are others 
 
parley's farewell. 243 
 
 that do not seem likely to have occurred to a 
 forger or an impostor. The following are in- 
 stances : 
 
 " Luke ix. 59. ' And he said unto another, 
 Follow me : but he said, Lord, suffer me first 
 to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto 
 him, Let the dead bury their dead, but go thou 
 and preach the kingdom of God.' This an- 
 swer, though very expressive of the transcend- 
 ent importance of religious concerns, was ap- 
 parently harsh and repulsive ; and such as 
 would not have been made for Christ, if he had 
 not really used it. At least some other in- 
 stances would have been chosen. 
 
 " The following passage, for the same rea- 
 son, I think impossible to have been the pro- 
 duction of artifice, or of a cold forgery : — ' But 
 I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with 
 his brother without a cause shall be in danger 
 of the judgment ; and whosoever shall say to 
 his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the 
 council ; but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, 
 shall be in danger of hell-fire, (Gehennce). 9 
 Matt. v. 22. It is emphatic, cogent, and well 
 calculated for the purpose of impression ; but 
 is inconsistent with the supposition of art or 
 wariness on the part of the relater. 
 
244 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 " Christ's taking a young child, and placing 
 it in the midst of his contentious disciples, 
 (Matt, xviii. 2.) though as decisive a proof as 
 could be of the benignity of his temper, and 
 very expressive of the character of the religion 
 which he wished to inculcate, was not by any 
 means an obvious thought. Nor am I ac- 
 quainted with any thing in any ancient writing 
 which resembles it." 
 
 There are other passages which are so natu- 
 ral, as to compel the mind to believe that the 
 writers were telling the plain unvarnished truth. 
 
 " Mark ix. 23. ' Jesus said unto him, If 
 thou canst believe, ail things are possible to him 
 that believeth. And straightway the father of 
 the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, 
 I believe ; help thou mine unbelief.' The 
 struggle in the father's heart, between solici- 
 tude for the preservation of his child, and a kind 
 of involuntary distrust of Christ's power to 
 heal him, is here expressed with an air of real- 
 ity, which could hardly be counterfeited. 
 
 " Again, (Matt. xxi. 9.) the eagerness of the 
 people to introduce Christ into Jerusalem, and 
 their demand, a short time afterward, of his cru- 
 cifixion, when he did not turn out what they 
 
parley's farewell. 24)5 
 
 expected him to be, so far from affording mat- 
 ter of objection, represents popular favor in 
 exact agreement with nature and with experi- 
 ence, as the flux and reflux of a wave. 
 
 " The rulers and Pharisees rejecting Christ, 
 whilst many of the common people received 
 him, was the effect which, in the then state of 
 Jewish prejudices, I should have expected. 
 And the reason with which they who rejected 
 Christ's mission kept themselves in counte- 
 nance, and with which also they answered the 
 arguments of those who favored it, is precisely 
 the reason which such men usually give : — 
 c Have any of the scribes or Pharisees believed 
 on him?' (John vii. 48.) 
 
 " In our Lord's conversation at the well, 
 (John iv. 29.) Christ had surprised the Samar- 
 itan woman with an allusion to a single partic- 
 ular in her domestic situation, ' Thou hast had 
 five husbands ; and he whom thou now hast is 
 not thy husband.' The woman, soon after this, 
 ran back to the city, and called out to her 
 neighbors, c Come, see a man which told me 
 all things that ever I did.' This exaggeration 
 appears to me very natural ; especially in the 
 hurried state of spirits into which the woman 
 may be supposed to have been thrown. 
 
246 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 " The consistency of Saint Paul's character 
 throughout the whole of his history (viz. the 
 warmth and activity of his zeal, first against, 
 and then for Christianity), carries with it very 
 much the appearance of truth. " 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 
 Consistency and unity of the character of Christ, as drawn by the several 
 Evangelists. Harmony of the Gospel history, in dates, events and allusions 
 to manners and customs, with other histories. 
 
 Two things should be kept in mind, that the 
 four evangelists were all of them ordinary men, 
 of little learning, and entirely unskilled as wri- 
 ters ; while they are describing one of the most 
 extraordinary characters that ever lived : and 
 moreover, it seems that they wrote without 
 concert, or agreement between each other. 
 Yet it appears, on careful examination, that in 
 delineating the character of Jesus, they are per- 
 fectly harmonious. How could this wonderful 
 unity happen, if these men were not merely de- 
 scribing a character that they had seen? Could 
 such harmony have been attained, under these 
 
parley's farewell. 247 
 
 circumstances, if these men were fabricating a 
 falsehood? 
 
 There is a series of strong and convincing 
 proofs of the truth of the Gospel narratives, to be 
 derived from comparing the historical facts and 
 events, stated by the New-Testament writers, 
 with facts and events relating to the same peri- 
 od, as stated by other writers. The following 
 are instances. 
 
 "Matt. ii. 22. 'When he (Joseph) heard 
 that Archelaus did reign in Judea, in the room 
 of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither : 
 notwithstanding, being warned of God in a 
 dream, he turned aside into the parts of Gali- 
 lee.' 
 
 " In this passage it is asserted, that Arche- 
 laus succeeded Herod in Judea ; and it is im- 
 plied that his power did not extend to Galilee. 
 Now we learn from Josephus, that Herod the 
 Great, whose dominion included all the land of 
 Israel, appointed Archelaus his successor in 
 Judea, and assigned the rest of his domin- 
 ions to other sons ; and that this disposition was 
 ratified, as to the main parts of it, by the Ro- 
 man emperor. 
 
 " Saint Matthew says, that Archelaus reign- 
 
248 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 ed, was king in Judea. Agreeably to this, we 
 are informed by Josephus, not only that Herod 
 appointed Archelaus his successor in Judea, 
 but that he also appointed him with the title of 
 King; and the Greek verb which the evan- 
 gelist uses to denote the government and rank 
 of Archelaus, is used likewise by Josephus. 
 
 " Luke iii. 1. 'In the fifteenth year of the 
 reign of Tiberius Caesar, — Herod being te- 
 trarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip te- 
 trarch of Iturea and of the region of Trachoni- 
 tis, — the word of God came unto John.' 
 
 "Mark vi. 17. 'Herod had sent forth, and 
 laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison, 
 for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife ; 
 for he had married her.' 
 
 " With this compare Joseph. Antiq. 1. xviii. 
 6. sect. 1. — ' He (Herod the tetrarch) made a 
 visit to Herod his brother. — Here, falling in 
 love with Herodias, the wife of the said Herod, 
 he ventured to make her proposals of marriage.' 
 
 " Again, Mark vi. 22. c And when the daugh- 
 ter of the said Herodias came in and danced — .' 
 
 " With this also compare Joseph. Antiq. 1. 
 xviii. c. 6. sect. 4. ' Herodias was married to 
 Herod, son of Herod the Great. They had a 
 
parley's farewell. 249 
 
 daughter, whose name was Salome ; aftei 
 whose birth, Herodias, in utter violation of the 
 laws of her country, left her husband, then liv- 
 ing, and married Herod the tetrarch of Galilee, 
 her husband's brother by the father's side/ 
 
 " Acts xii. 1. ' Now, about that time, Herod 
 the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain 
 of the church.' In the conclusion of the same 
 chapter, Herod's death is represented to have 
 taken place soon after this persecution. The 
 accuracy of our historian, or, rather, the un- 
 meditated coincidence, which truth of its own 
 accord produces, is in this instance remarka- 
 ble. There was no portion of time, for thirty 
 years before, nor ever afterward, in which there 
 was a king at Jerusalem, a person exercising 
 that authority in Judea, or to whom that title 
 could be applied, except the three last years 
 of this Herod's life, within which period the 
 transaction recorded in the Acts is stated to 
 have taken place. 
 
 "Acts xii. 19—23. ' And he (Herod) went 
 down from Judea to Cesarea, and there abode. 
 — And on a set day, Herod, arrayed in royal 
 apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an ora- 
 tion unto them ; and the people gave a shout, 
 
250 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of 
 a man ; and immediately the angel of the Lord 
 smote him, because he gave not God the glory : 
 and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the 
 ghost.' 
 
 " Joseph. Antiq. lib. xix. c. 8. sect. 2. ' He 
 went to the city of Cesarea. Here he celebra- 
 ted shows in honor of Caesar. On the second 
 day of the shows, early in the morning, he 
 came into the theatre, dressed in a robe of sil- 
 ver, of most curious workmanship. The rays 
 of the rising sun, reflected from such a splendid 
 garb, gave him a majestic and awful appear- 
 ance. They called him a god ; and entreated 
 him to be propitious to them, saying, Hitherto 
 we have respected you as a man ; but now we 
 acknowledge you to be more than mortal. The 
 king neither reproved these persons, nor reject- 
 ed the impious flattery. — Immediately after 
 this, he was seized with pains in his bowels, ex- 
 tremely violent at the very first. He was car- 
 ried therefore with all haste to his palace. 
 These pains continually tormenting him, he ex- 
 pired in five days' time/ 
 
 " The reader will perceive the accordancy 
 of these accounts in various particulars. The 
 
parley's farewell. 251 
 
 place (Cesarea), the set day, the gorgeous 
 dress, the acclamations of the assembly, the 
 peculiar turn of the flattery, the reception of it, 
 the sudden and critical incursion of the disease, 
 are circumstances noticed in both narratives. 
 The worms, mentioned by Saint Luke, are not 
 remarked by Josephus ; but the appearance of 
 these is a symptom, not unusually, I believe, 
 attending the diseases which Josephus de- 
 scribes, viz. violent affections of the bowels. 
 
 " Acts xxiv. 24. 'And after certain days, 
 when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which 
 was a Jewess, he sent for Paul/ 
 
 " Joseph. Antiq. lib. xx. c. 6. sect. 1, 2. 
 ' Agrippa gave his sister Drusilla in marriage 
 to Azizus, king of the Emesenes, when he had 
 consented to be circumcised. — But this mar- 
 riage of Drusilla with Azizus was dissolved in 
 a short time after this manner : — When Felix 
 was procurator of Judea, having had a sight of 
 her, he was mightily taken with her. — She was 
 induced to transgress the laws of her country, 
 and marry Felix/ 
 
 " Here the public station of Felix, the name 
 of his wife, and the singular circumstance of 
 her religion, all appear in perfect conformity 
 with the evangelist. 
 
252 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 "Acts xxi. 30. 'And they took Paul, and 
 drew him out of the temple ; and forthwith the 
 doors were shut. And as they went about to 
 kill him, tidings came to the chief captain of 
 the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. 
 Then the chief captain came near and command- 
 ed him to be bound with two chains, and demand- 
 ed who he was, and what he had done ; and some 
 cried one thing, and some another, among the 
 multitude: and, when he could not know the 
 certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to 
 be carried into the castle. And when he came 
 upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne 
 of the soldiers for the violence of the people.' 
 
 " In this quotation we have the band of Ro- 
 man soldiers at Jerusalem, their office (to sup- 
 press tumults), the castle, the stairs, both, as it 
 should seem, adjoining to the temple. Let us 
 inquire whether we can find these particulars in 
 any other record of that age and place. 
 
 " Joseph, lib. v. c. 5. sect. 8. ' Antonia was 
 situated at the angle of the western and north- 
 ern porticos of the outer temple. It was built 
 upon a rock fifty cubits high, steep on all sides. 
 On that side where it joined to the porticos of 
 the temple, there were stairs reaching to each 
 
parley's farewell. 253 
 
 portico, by which the guard descended ; for 
 there was always lodged here a Roman legion, 
 and posting themselves in their armor in seve- 
 ral places in the porticos, they kept a watch on 
 the people on the feast-days to prevent all dis- 
 orders ; for as the temple was a guard to the 
 city, so was Antonia to the temple.' 
 
 "John iv. 20. 'Our fathers,' said the Sa- 
 maritan woman, ' worshipped in this mountain; 
 and ye say, that Jerusalem is the place where 
 men ought to worship.' 
 
 "Joseph. Antiq. lib. xviii. c. 5. sect. 1. 
 ' Commanding them to meet him at mount 
 Gerizim, which is by them (the Samaritans) 
 esteemed the most sacred of all mountains.' 
 
 " Acts iii. 1. ' Now Peter and John went up 
 together into the temple, at the hour of prayer, 
 being the ninth hour.' 
 
 "Joseph. Antiq. lib. xv. c. 7. sect. 8. ' Twice 
 every day, in the morning and at the ninth hour, 
 the priests perform their duty at the altar.' 
 
 "Acts xv. 21. 'For Moses, of old time, 
 hath, in every city, them that preach him, 
 being read in the synagogues every sabbath- 
 day.' 
 
 " Joseph, contra Ap. 1. ii. c He (Moses) 
 
254* REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 gave us the law ; the most excellent of all in- 
 stitutions ; nor did he appoint that it should be 
 heard once only, or twice, or often, but that, 
 laying aside all other works, we should meet 
 together every week to hear it read, and gain a 
 perfect understanding of it.' 
 
 "Acts xxi. 23. 'We have four men which 
 have a vow on them ; them take, and purify 
 thyself with them, that they may shave their 
 heads. 1 
 
 "Joseph, de Bell. 1. xi. c. 15. 'It is cus- 
 tomary for those who have been afflicted with 
 some distemper, or have labored under any 
 other difficulties, to make a vow thirty days 
 before they offer sacrifices, to abstain from 
 wine, and shave the hair of their heads.' " 
 
 Now these are only a few of the coincidences 
 which Dr. Paley has pointed out between the 
 writers of the New Testament and other histo- 
 rians of the time and country. Can any man 
 say or believe that it is possible for a person, 
 much less for several persons, to sit down and 
 form a tissue of falsehoods, in which the histor- 
 ical dates and events, and the allusions to man- 
 ners and customs, shall be all accurate? Why, 
 if these are minutely true, shall we doubt the 
 
parley's farewell. 255 
 
 rest of the story? Does not accuracy in these 
 particulars confirm the accuracy of the whole 
 narrative? 
 
 Chapter XIII. 
 
 Morality of the Gospel. 
 
 Keeping in view the character of the evan- 
 gelists, let us consider the doctrines which they 
 say Christ taught, as well as the manner of his 
 teaching, and ask ourselves whether ignorant, 
 unlettered men could have invented these 
 things. 
 
 " There are two opposite descriptions of 
 character under which mankind may generally 
 be classed. The one possesses vigor, firmness, 
 resolution ; is daring and active, quick in its 
 sensibilities, jealous of its fame, eager in its 
 attachments, inflexible in its purpose, violent in 
 its resentments. 
 
 " The other is meek, yielding, complying, 
 forgiving ; not prompt to act, but willing to 
 suffer ; silent and gentle under rudeness and 
 insult, suing for reconciliation where others 
 
256 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 would demand satisfaction, giving way to the 
 pushes of impudence, conceding and indulgent 
 to the prejudices, the wrongheadedness, the 
 intractability, of those with whom it has to deal. 
 
 " The former of these characters is, and 
 ever hath been, the favorite of the world. It 
 is the character of great men. There is a dig- 
 nity in it which universally commands respect. 
 
 " The latter is esteemed by the world poor- 
 spirited, tame, and abject. Yet so it hath hap- 
 pened, that, with the Founder of Christianity, 
 this latter is the subject of his commenda- 
 tion, his precepts, his examples ; and that the 
 former is so in no part of its composition. 
 This, and nothing else, is the character design- 
 ed in the following remarkable passages : c Re- 
 sist not evil ; but whosoever shall smite thee on 
 the right cheek, turn to him the other also : 
 and if any man will sue thee at the law, and 
 take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also : 
 and whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, 
 go with him twain : love your enemies, bless 
 them that curse you, do good to them that hate 
 you, and pray for them which despitefully use 
 you and persecute you.' This certainly is not 
 common-place morality. It is very original. 
 
parley's farewell. 257 
 
 It shows at least (and it is for this purpose we 
 produce it) that no two things can be more dif- 
 ferent than the Heroic and the Christian char- 
 acter. 
 
 " Now Christ, as reported in the New Testa- 
 ment, has not only marked this difference more 
 strongly than any preceding writer, but has 
 proved, in contradiction to first impressions, to 
 popular opinion, to the encomiums of orators 
 and poets, and even to the suffrages of histori- 
 ans and moralists, that the latter character pos- 
 sesses the most of true worth. 
 
 " It was his love of the same character 
 which our Savior displayed in his repeated 
 correction of the ambition of his disciples ; 
 his frequent admonitions, that greatness with 
 them was to consist in humility ; his censure 
 of that love of distinction, and greediness of 
 superiority, which the chief persons amongst 
 his countrymen were wont, on all occasions, 
 great and little, to betray. { They/ (the scribes 
 and Pharisees), says he, ' love the uppermost 
 rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the syn- 
 agogues, and greetings in the markets, and 
 to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be 
 not ye called Rabbi, for one is your Master, 
 17 
 
258 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 even Christ, and all ye are brethren ; and call 
 no man your father upon the earth, for one is 
 your Father, which is in heaven ; neither be ye 
 called masters, for one is your Master, even 
 Christ ; but he that is greatest among you, 
 shall be your servant ; and whosoever shall ex- 
 alt himself, shall be abased ; and he that shall 
 humble himself, shall be exalted. '" 
 
 All this displays an originality, as well as a 
 wisdom, quite beyond the invention of such 
 men as the evangelists. But let us look at 
 other proofs of a similar kind. Matthew attri- 
 butes the following words to Christ : 
 
 " 4 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, 
 hypocrites ! for ye make clean the outside of 
 the cup and of the platter, but within they are 
 full of extortion and excess. — Ye are like unto 
 whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beau- 
 tiful outward, but are within full of dead men's 
 bones, and of all uncleanness ; even so ye also 
 outwardly appear righteous unto men, but with- 
 in ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.' " 
 
 " ' Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, 
 murders,' Sec. — c These are the things which 
 defile a man.' " — Matthew xv. 19. 
 
 Now, most moralists fix upon the external 
 
parley's farewell. 259 
 
 conduct of men as the thing to be regulated : 
 they very seldom go beyond this. But Christ 
 goes to the very origin of our actions. He seeks 
 to make the fountain pure, for his wisdom discov- 
 ered this to be the only way to make the streams 
 pure. He saw that the best defence against 
 vice was to exclude evil thoughts ; that the 
 surest, nay, the only way to promote virtue was 
 to make the heart virtuous. Nothing can bet- 
 ter prove his superior sagacity and his perfect 
 knowledge of human nature, than such preach- 
 ing as this. If the evangelists were weaving a 
 fiction, how could they conceive and represent 
 a character in whom such greatness of thought 
 appeared? Is not this incredible? Would it 
 not be as difficult to believe, as any miracle, 
 that ignorant and common men could do this? 
 
 Again, let us consider the rule of conduct 
 prescribed by our Savior toward our fellow- 
 men. 
 
 " ' Then one of them, which was a lawyer, 
 asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 
 Master, which is the great commandment in the 
 law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love 
 the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with 
 all thy soul, and with all thy mind ; this is the 
 
260 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 first and great commandment. And the second 
 is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as 
 thyself. On these two commandments hang all 
 the law and the prophets/ — Matt. xxii. 35 — 40. 
 
 " The second precept occurs in Saint Mat- 
 thew (xix. 16.) on another occasion similar to 
 this ; and both of them on a third similar occa- 
 sion, in Luke (x. 27.) In these two latter in- 
 stances, the question proposed was, ' What 
 shall I do to inherit eternal life?' " 
 
 This sentiment of Christ appears to have 
 been established by his followers. Saint Paul 
 says : 
 
 " ' If there be any other commandment, it is 
 briefly comprehended in this saying, Thou shalt 
 love thy neighbor as thyself;' and again, ' For 
 all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, 
 thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' 
 
 " Saint John, in like manner, says, ' This 
 commandment have we from him, that he who 
 loveth God love his brother also.' 
 
 " Saint Peter says : c Seeing that ye have 
 purified your souls in obeying the truth, 
 through the Spirit, unto unfeigned love of the 
 brethren, see that ye love one another with a 
 pure heart fervently.' 
 
parley's farewell. 261 
 
 " And it is so well known as to require no 
 citations to verify it, that this love, or charity, 
 or, in other words, regard to the welfare of 
 others, runs in various forms through all the 
 preceptive parts of the apostolic writings. It 
 is the theme of all their exhortations, that with 
 which their morality begins and ends, from 
 which all their details and enumerations set out, 
 and into which they return. 
 
 " And that this temper, for some time at 
 least, descended in its purity to succeeding 
 Christians, is attested by one of the earliest 
 and best of the remaining writings of the apos- 
 tolical fathers, the epistle of the Roman Clem- 
 ent. The meekness of the Christian character 
 reigns throughout the whole of that excellent 
 piece. 
 
 " This sacred principle, this earnest recom- 
 mendation of forbearance, lenity and forgive- 
 ness, mixes with all the writings of that age. 
 There are more quotations in the apostolical 
 fathers, of texts which relate to these points, 
 than of any other. Christ's sayings had struck 
 them. ' Not rendering,' said Polycarp, the 
 disciple of John, ' evil for evil, or railing 
 for railing, or striking for striking, or curs- 
 
262 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 ing for cursing/ Again, speaking of some 
 whose behavior had given great offence, ' Be 
 ye moderate/ says he, c on this occasion, and 
 look not upon such as enemies, but call 
 them back as suffering and erring members, 
 that ye save your whole body.' 
 
 " c Be ye mild at their anger,' saith Ignatius, 
 the companion of Polycarp, ' humble at their 
 boastings, to their blasphemies return your 
 prayers, to their error your firmness in the faith ; 
 when they are cruel, be ye gentle ; not endeav- 
 oring to imitate their ways, let us be their 
 brethren in all kindness and moderation ; but 
 let us be followers of the Lord; for who was 
 ever more unjustly used, more destitute, more 
 despised?' 
 
 " Another quality, by which the morality of 
 the Gospel is distinguished, is the exclusion of 
 regard to fame and reputation. 
 
 " ' Take heed that ye do not your alms be- 
 fore men, to be seen of them, otherwise ye have 
 no reward of your Father which is in heaven.' 
 
 " ' When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, 
 and when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy 
 Father which is in secret ; and thy Father, 
 which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.' 
 
parley's farewell. 263 
 
 "And the rule, by similarity of reasoning, is 
 extended to all other virtues. 
 
 " Next to what our Savior taught, may be 
 considered the manner of his teaching : which 
 was extremely peculiar, yet, I think, precisely 
 adapted to the peculiarity of his character and 
 situation. His lessons did not consist of dis- 
 quisitions ; of any thing like moral essays, or 
 like sermons, or like set treatises upon the sev- 
 eral points which he mentioned. When he de- 
 livered a precept, it was seldom that he added 
 any proof or argument ; still more seldom that 
 he accompanied it with, what all precepts re- 
 quire, limitations and distinctions. His in- 
 structions were conceived in short, emphatic, 
 sententious rules, in occasional reflections, or 
 in round maxims. 
 
 " I do not think that this was a natural, or 
 would have been a proper method for a phi 
 losopher or a moralist ; or that it is a method 
 which can be successfully imitated by us. But 
 I contend that it was suitable to the character 
 which Christ assumed, and to the situation in 
 which, as a teacher, he was placed. He pro- 
 duced himself as a messenger from God. He 
 put the truth of what he taught upon authority. 
 
264 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 In the choice, therefore, of his mode of teach- 
 ing, the purpose by him to be consulted was 
 impression: because conviction, which forms 
 the principal end of our discourses, was to arise 
 in the minds of his followers from a different 
 source, from their respect to his person and 
 authority. Now, for the purpose of impres- 
 sion singly and exclusively, I know nothing 
 which would have so great force as strong and 
 weighty maxims, frequently urged, and often 
 brought back to the thoughts of the hearers. 
 I know nothing that could in this view be said 
 better than ' Do unto others as ye would that 
 others should do unto you.' ' The first and 
 great commandment is, Thou shalt love the 
 Lord thy God ; and the second is like unto it, 
 Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself/ 
 
 " The parables of the New Testament are, 
 many of them, such as would have done honor 
 to any book in the world ; I do not mean in 
 style and diction, but in the choice of the sub- 
 jects, in the structure of the narratives, in the 
 aptness, propriety and force of the circum- 
 stances woven into them ; and in some, as that 
 of the good Samaritan, the prodigal son, the 
 Pharisee and the publican, in a union of pathos 
 
parley's farewell. 265 
 
 and simplicity, which, in the best productions 
 of human genius, is the fruit only of a much 
 exercised and well cultivated judgment. 
 
 " The Lord's prayer, for a succession of 
 solemn thoughts, for fixing the attention upon a 
 few great points, for suitableness to every con- 
 dition, for sufficiency, for conciseness without 
 obscurity, for the weight and real importance 
 of its petitions, is without an equal or a rival. V 
 
 Now let us ask, whence did these things 
 come ? Did the evangelists invent them '] 
 Could such men surpass all ages before and 
 after, in the delineation of greatness of charac- 
 ter, in sublimity of moral conception, in ex- 
 cellence of composition? To suppose this is 
 to suppose something more than a miracle, for 
 it involves the idea that impostors did what was 
 beyond their capacity, and acted in contradic- 
 tion to all the motives which can be supposed 
 to influence such persons. 
 
 The only conclusion to which a sound judg- 
 ment can possibly come is, that such a being 
 as Christ appeared, that the evangelists saw 
 and heard him, and that they faithfully reported 
 what they saw and heard. Considering this 
 as clearly proved, let us now consider a little 
 more attentively the character of Christ. 
 
266 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 Chapter XIV. 
 
 The purity of Chris? 's character. 
 
 The character of Jesus Christ is without 
 a blot. As represented by his friends and 
 enemies, he is never charged with any vice. 
 "Not a reflection upon his moral character, 
 not an imputation or suspicion of any offence 
 against perfect purity, appears for five hundred 
 years after his birth. This faultlessness is 
 more peculiar than we are apt to imagine. 
 Some stain pollutes the morals or the morality 
 of almost every other teacher, and of every 
 other lawgiver. Zeno the stoic, and Diogenes 
 the cynic, fell into the foulest impurities ; of 
 which also Socrates himself was more than sus- 
 pected. Solon forbade unnatural crimes to 
 slaves ; Lycurgus tolerated theft as a part of 
 education. Aristotle maintained the general 
 right of making war upon barbarians. The 
 elder Cato was remarkable for the ill usage of 
 his slaves. One loose principle is found in al- 
 most all the Pagan moralists ; and is distinctly 
 
parley's farewell. 267 
 
 perceived in the writings of Plato, Xenophon, 
 Cicero, Seneca, Epictetus ; and that is, the 
 allowing, and even the recommending to their 
 disciples, a compliance with the religion, and 
 with the religious rites, of every country into 
 which they came. In speaking of the founders 
 of new institutions, we cannot forget Maho- 
 met. His licentious transgressions of his own 
 licentious rules ; his abuse of the character 
 which he assumed, and of the power which he 
 had acquired, for the purpose of personal and 
 privileged indulgence ; his avowed claim of a 
 special permission from heaven of unlimited 
 sensuality, is known to every reader, as it is 
 confessed by every writer, of the Moslem story. 
 
 " In the histories which are left us of Jesus 
 Christ, although very short, and although deal- 
 ing in narrative, and not in observation or pan- 
 egyric, we perceive, beside the absence of every 
 appearance of vice, traces of devotion, humili- 
 ty, benignity, mildness, patience, and prudence. 
 
 " Thus we see the devoutness of his mind, 
 in his frequent retirement to solitary prayer ; l 
 in his habitual giving of thanks ; 2 in his refer- 
 
 1 Matt. xiv. 23. Luke ix. 28. Matt. xxvi. 36. 2 Matt. xi. 25. 
 Mark viii. 6. John vi. 23. Luke xxii. 17. 
 
268 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 ence of the beauties and operations of nature to 
 the bounty of Providence; 1 in his earnest ad- 
 dresses to his Father, more particularly that 
 short but solemn one before the raising of Laz- 
 arus from the dead ; 2 and in the deep piety of 
 his behavior in the garden, on the last eve- 
 ning of his life : 3 his humility, in his constant 
 reproof of contentions for superiority : 4 the be- 
 nignity and affectionateness of his temper, in 
 his kindness to children ; 5 in the tears which he 
 shed over his falling country, 6 and upon the 
 death of his friend ; 7 in his noticing of the wid- 
 ow's mite ; 8 in his parables of the good Sama- 
 ritan, of the ungrateful servant, and of the Phar- 
 isee and publican, of which parables no one 
 but a man of humanity could have been the 
 author : the mildness and lenity of his charac- 
 ter as discovered in his rebuke of the forward 
 zeal of his disciples at the Samaritan village ; 9 
 in his expostulation with Pilate; 10 in his prayer 
 for his enemies at the moment of his suffering, 11 
 which, though it has been since very properly 
 and frequently imitated, was then, I apprehend, 
 altogether new. 
 
 1 Matt. vi. 26—28. 2 John xi. 41. sMatt. xxvi. 36—47. 
 *Mark ix. 33. 5 Mark x. 16. 6 Luke xix. 41. r John xi. 35. 
 8 Mark xii. 42. 9 Luke ix. 55. 10 John xix. 11. n Luke xxiii. 34. 
 
parley's farewell. 269 
 
 " His prudence is discerned, where prudence 
 is most wanted, in his conduct on trying occa- 
 sions, and in answers to artful questions. Of 
 these, the following are examples : — His with- 
 drawing, in various instances, from the first 
 symptoms of tumult, 1 and with the express care, 
 as appears from Saint Matthew, 2 of carrying on 
 his ministry in quietness; his declining every 
 species of interference with the civil affairs of 
 the country, which disposition is manifested by 
 his behavior in the case of the woman caught 
 in adultery, 3 and in his repulse of the applica- 
 tion which was made to him to interpose his 
 decision about a disputed inheritance : 4 his ju- 
 dicious, yet, as it should seem, unprepared an- 
 swers, will be confessed in the case of the Ro- 
 man tribute ; 5 in the difficulty concerning the 
 interfering relations of a future state, as pro- 
 posed to him in the instance of a woman who 
 had married seven brethren ; 6 and, more espe- 
 cially, in his reply to those who demanded 
 from him an explanation of the authority by 
 which he acted, which reply consisted in pro- 
 lan, xiv. 22. Luke v. 15, 16. John v. 13. ri. 15. 2 Chap. 
 xii. 19. 3 John viii. 1. 4 Luke xii. 14. 5 Matt. xxii. 19. 6 Matt. 
 xxii. 28. 
 
270 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 pounding a question to them, situated between 
 the very difficulties into which they were insid- 
 iously endeavoring to draw him. 1 
 
 " Our Savior's lessons, besides what has 
 already been remarked in them, touch, and that 
 oftentimes by very affecting representations, 
 upon some of the most interesting topics of hu- 
 man duty and of human meditation : upon the 
 principles by which the decisions of the last 
 day will be regulated ; 2 upon the superior, or 
 rather the supreme, importance of religion ; 3 
 upon penitence, by the most pressing calls and 
 the most encouraging invitations ; 4 upon self- 
 denial, 3 watchfulness, 6 placability, 7 confidence in 
 God, the value of spiritual, that is, of mental 
 worship, 9 the necessity of moral obedience, and 
 the directing of that obedience to the spirit and 
 principle of the law, instead of seeking for eva- 
 sions in a technical construction of its terms. 10 
 
 "If we extend our argument to other parts 
 of the New Testament, we may offer, as 
 
 iMatt. xxL 23, &c. 2 Matt. xxv. 31, fee. s Mark viii. 35. 
 Matt. vi. 31—33. Luke xii. 4, 5. 16—21. 4 Luke xv. 5 Matt. v. 
 29. 6 Mark xiii. 37. Matt. xxiv. 42.— xxv. 13. . 7 Luke xvii. 4. 
 Matt, xviii. 33. &c. 8 Matt. vi. 25—30. 9 John iv. 23, 24. 
 
 10 Matt. v. 21. 
 
parley's farewell. 271 
 
 amongst tne best and shortest rules of life, or, 
 which is the same thing, descriptions of virtue, 
 that have ever been delivered, the following 
 passages : 
 
 " ' Pure religion, and undefiled, before God 
 and the Father, is this ; to visit the fatherless 
 and widows in their affliction, and to keep him- 
 self unspotted from the world.' 1 
 
 " ' Now the end of the commandment is, 
 charity, out of a pure heart and a good con- 
 science, and faith unfeigned.' 2 
 
 " ' For the grace of God, that bringeth salva- 
 tion, hath appeared to all men, teaching us, 
 that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we 
 should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in 
 this present world.' 3 
 
 " Enumerations of virtues and vices, and 
 those sufficiently accurate, and unquestionably 
 just, are given by Saint Paul to his converts 
 in three several epistles. 4 
 
 " The relative duties of husbands and wives, 
 of parents and children, of masters and ser- 
 vants, of Christian teachers and their flocks, of 
 governors and their subjects, are set forth by 
 
 1 James i. 27. 2 1 Tim. i. 5. 3 Tit. ii. 11, 12. 4 Gal. v. 19. 
 Col. iii. 12. 1 Cor. xiii. . 
 
272 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 the same writer, 1 not indeed with the copious- 
 ness, the detail, or the distinctness, of a moral- 
 ist, who should, in these days, sit down to 
 write chapters upon the subject, but with the 
 leading rules and principles in each ; and, 
 above all, with truth, and with authority. 
 
 " Lastly, the whole volume of the New Tes- 
 tament is replete with piety; with, what were 
 almost unknown to heathen moralists, devotion- 
 al virtues, the most profound veneration of the 
 Deity, an habitual sense of his bounty and pro- 
 tection, a firm confidence in the final result of 
 his counsels and dispensations, a disposition to 
 resort, upon all occasions, to his mercy, for the 
 supply of human wants, for assistance in dan- 
 ger, for relief from pain, for the pardon of sin." 
 
 Now, let any man reflect upon these things 
 well ; let him consider that at the time Christ 
 preached, such doctrines as his were unknown ; 
 such a character as his had never appeared ; 
 and since his time, amid all the inventions and 
 improvements of more enlightened ages, nothing 
 equal to his character for purity and piety, no- 
 thing equal to his morality, has appeared among 
 mankind. And was this individual an impos- 
 
 ^ph. v. 33. vi. 1, 5. 2 Cor. vi. 6, 7. Rom. xiii. 
 
parley's farewell. 273 
 
 tor? Was he a mere enthusiast? Let com- 
 mon sense give the answer. 
 
 Chapter XV. 
 
 Miracles of Christ. Tlie rapid extension of his religion. Inferences. 
 
 It has been proved that the New Testament 
 histories of Christ are genuine and authentic ; 
 that they are moreover faithful histories of what 
 the evangelists really saw, and are therefore 
 true. No reasonable doubt can therefore exist 
 that Christ really performed the miracles at- 
 tributed to him. 
 
 These were performed in the presence of 
 hundreds of witnesses. There could have been 
 no trick, no sleight of hand, no juggling. 
 These things were seen by the apostles. 
 They believed them. They proved this by 
 going forth to the world to proclaim Christ and 
 his doctrines. They encountered every obsta- 
 cle, suffered every privation and danger, and 
 some of them died, to attest the sincerity of 
 their convictions, and the truth of Christ's 
 miracles. These men could not have been de- 
 ceived. 
 
 18 
 
274 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 The apostles set forth the miracles of Christ, 
 immediately after his death, at Jerusalem, 
 where, if they were fictitious, they must have 
 been met by contradiction, and overwhelmed 
 with confusion. They also preached the resur- 
 rection of Christ. If this too were a falsehood, 
 why did the Jews not produce the body of 
 Christ, and thus put to shame the propa- 
 gators of what they contended to be a false- 
 hood? Their failing to do this, is conclu- 
 sive against them. The government officers, 
 who superintended Christ's execution, had 
 charge of his body, and if it did not disap- 
 pear as related, they must have had it in their 
 keeping, and could easily have brought it for- 
 ward to refute the story of his resurrection. 
 But they did not do this, and no reason can be 
 assigned for it, but that of Christ's resurrection, 
 which put his body beyond their power. And 
 consider that at Jerusalem, where the best pos- 
 sible means existed for testing the truth of 
 what the apostles asserted, Christianity com- 
 menced, and was there first propagated, and 
 there had the most sudden and pervading suc- 
 cess. Let us see how it began and progressed. 
 
 " The first assembly which we meet with of 
 
parley's farewell. 275 
 
 Christ's disciples, and that a few days after his 
 removal from the world, consisted of ' one hun- 
 dred and twenty.' About a week after this, 
 'three thousand were added in one day;' and 
 the number of Christians publicly baptized, and 
 publicly associating together, was very soon 
 increased to ' five thousand.' ' Multitudes, both 
 of men and women, continued to be added ;' 
 ' disciples multiplied greatly,' and ' many of the 
 Jewish priesthood, as well as others, became 
 obedient to the faith ;' and this within a space 
 of less than two years from the commencement 
 of the institution. 
 
 " By reason of a persecution raised against 
 the church at Jerusalem, the converts were 
 driven from that city, and dispersed throughout 
 the regions of Judea and Samaria. Wherever 
 they came, they brought their religion with 
 them ; for our historian informs us that ' they 
 that were scattered abroad, went every where 
 preaching the word.' 
 
 "Hitherto the preaching of the Gospel had 
 been confined to Jews, to Jewish proselytes, and 
 to Samaritans. And I cannot forbear from 
 setting down in this place an observation of 
 Mr. Bryant, which appears to me to be perfectly 
 
276 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 well founded : — c The Jews still remain ; but 
 how seldom is it that we can make a single pros- 
 elyte ! There is reason to think, that there 
 were more converted by the apostles in one day, 
 than have since been won over in the last thou- 
 sand years/ 
 
 " It was not yet known to the apostles that 
 they were at liberty to propose the religion to 
 mankind at large. That ' mystery,' as Saint 
 Paul calls it, and as it then was, was revealed 
 to Peter by an especial miracle. It appears to 
 have been about seven years after Christ's as- 
 cension, that the Gospel was preached to the 
 Gentiles of Cesarea. A year after this, a great 
 multitude of Gentiles were converted at Anti- 
 och in Syria. The expressions employed by 
 the historian are these : — ' A great number be- 
 lieved, and turned to the Lord ;' ' much people 
 was added unto the Lord ;' ' the apostles Bar- 
 nabas and Paul taught much people.' Upon 
 Herod's death, which happened in the next 
 year, it is observed, that 'the word of God 
 grew and multiplied.' Three years from this 
 time, upon the preaching of Paul at Iconium, 
 the metropolis of Lycaonia, c a great multitude 
 both of Jews and Greeks believed ;' and after- 
 
parley's farewell. 277 
 
 ward, in the course of this very progress, he is 
 represented as ' making man}' disciples' at 
 Derbe, a principal city in the same district. 
 
 " Three years after this, which brings us to 
 sixteen after the ascension, the apostles wrote 
 a public letter from Jerusalem to the Gentile 
 converts in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, with 
 which letter Paul travelled through these coun- 
 tries, and found the churches ' established in 
 the faith, and increasing in number daily.' 
 From Asia, the apostle proceeded into Greece, 
 where, soon after his arrival in Macedonia, we 
 find him at Thessalonica ; in which city, ' some 
 of the Jews believed, and of the devout Greeks 
 a great multitude.' We meet also here with an 
 accidental hint of the general progress of the 
 Christian mission, in the exclamation of the tu- 
 multuous Jews of Thessalonica, 'that they, who 
 had turned the world upside down, were come 
 thither also.' At Berea, the next city at which 
 Paul arrives, the historian, who was present, 
 informs us that ' many of the Jews believed.' 
 
 " The next year and a half of Saint Paul's 
 ministry was spent at Corinth. Of his success 
 in that city, we receive the following intima- 
 tions : ' that many of the Corinthians believed 
 
278 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 and were baptized ;' and ' that it was revealed 
 to the apostle by Christ, that he had much peo- 
 ple in that city/ Within less than a year after 
 
 his departure from Corinth, and twenty-five 
 years after the ascension, Saint Paul fixed his 
 station at Ephesus," for the space of two years 
 and something more. The effect of his minis- 
 try in that city and neighborhood drew from the 
 historian a reflection, how ' mightily grew the 
 word of God and prevailed/ And at the con- 
 clusion of this period, we find Demetrius at the 
 head of a party, who were alarmed by the pro- 
 gress of the religion, complaining, that c not only 
 at Ephesus, but also throughout all Asia (i. e. 
 the province of Lydia, and the country ad- 
 joining to Ephesus), this Paul hath persuaded 
 and turned away much people/ Beside these 
 accounts, there occurs, incidentally, mention 
 of converts at Rome, Alexandria, Athens, 
 Cyprus, Cyrene, Macedonia, Philippi. 
 
 " This is the third period in the propagation 
 of Christianity, setting off in the seventh year 
 after the ascension, and ending at the twenty- 
 eighth. Now lay these three periods together, 
 and observe how the progress of the religion by 
 these accounts is represented. The institution, 
 
parley's farewell. 279 
 
 which properly began only after its author's re- 
 moval from the world, before the end of thirty 
 years had spread itself through Judea, Galilee, 
 and Samaria, almost all the numerous districts 
 of the Lesser Asia, through Greece, and the 
 islands of the iEgean Sea, the sea-coast of Af- 
 rica, and had extended itself to Rome, and 
 into Italy. At Antioch in Syria, at Joppa, 
 Ephesus, Corinth, Thessalonica, Berea, Iconi- 
 um, Derbe, Antioch in Pisidia, at Lydda, Sa- 
 roii, the number of converts is intimated by the 
 expressions, ' a great number/ ' great multi- 
 tude,' ' much people.' Converts are men- 
 tioned, without any designation of their num- 
 ber, at Tyre, Cesarea, Troas, Athens, Philippi, 
 Lystra, Damascus. During all this time, Je- 
 rusalem continued not only the centre of the 
 mission, but a principal seat of the religion." 
 
 We need not pursue this subject, for we 
 know that Christianity continued to increase, 
 till in these countries it overturned the pagan 
 idolatry and became the religion of the Roman 
 court. But let us consider the amazing ex- 
 tent of its increase, in the face of opposition and 
 persecution, within 30 years ; and that, too, 
 in the very place of its origin, where the best 
 
280 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 means existed for testing the truth of the state- 
 ments upon which it rested. The subject was 
 of course discussed ; the learning, and power, 
 and talent, were on the side of opposition ; 
 yet Christianity prevailed. 1 Is it possible to 
 believe that it was established by falsehood, by 
 trick, by fanaticism ? Could these produce 
 such amazing results? Is it not more philo- 
 sophic, more consonant to reason and common 
 sense, to see in all this the fruits of the mira- 
 cles, preaching, death and resurrection of 
 
 ! It may be said that the prevalence of a religion does not neces- 
 sarily prove its truth, for Mahometanism prevailed, though it is 
 an imposition. But Mahometanism was not founded upon mir- 
 acles. Mahomet himself laid little stress upon real miracles; and 
 it is certain that his followers were not Avon over by any such 
 belief. Mahomet was rich, and conducted his schemes with 
 all the art of a politician. The Arabians were already believers 
 in the Bible, and Mahomet took full advantage of this belief. 
 He made all his followers soldiers, and his early proselytes were 
 rewarded with riches, honor and power. He also addressed 
 the imagination in a manner to captivate the fancy of a luxu- 
 rious people. While he threatened the most dreadful torments 
 to unbelievers, he promised a paradise of voluptuous bliss to 
 his faithful followers, But his highest heaven he assigned to 
 them that fought his battles. In this way, and by the aid of 
 great abilities, he founded his religion, which, however, has never 
 prevailed but with ignorant nations. Christianity, on the con- 
 trary, has prevailed in the most civilized countries, and flourished 
 most in the most intelligent ages. Its history, therefore, is as 
 different from Mahometanism as its origin. 
 
parley's farewell. 2S1 
 
 Christ, established by the testimony of thou- 
 sands of witnesses to his ministry, and all aided 
 by the Spirit of God? 
 
 Chapter XVI. 
 
 Prophecies concerning Christ. 
 
 In the 52d and 53d chapters of Isaiah, are 
 the following passages : 
 
 " Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, 
 he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very 
 high. 
 
 " As many as were astonished at thee ; (his 
 visage was so marred more than any man, and 
 his form more than the sons of men :) 
 
 " So shall he sprinkle many nations ; the 
 kings shall shut their mouths at him : for that 
 which had not been told them shall they see ; 
 and that which they had not heard shall they 
 consider. 
 
 " Who hath believed our report? and to 
 whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? 
 
 " For he shall grow up before us as a tender 
 plant, and as a root out of a dry ground : he 
 
282 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 hath no form nor comeliness ; and when we 
 shall see him, there is no beauty that we should 
 desire him. 
 
 "He is despised and rejected of men; a 
 man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and 
 we hid as it were our faces from him ; he was 
 despised, and we esteemed him not. 
 
 " Surely he hath borne our griefs, and car- 
 ried our sorrows : yet we did esteem him strick- 
 en, smitten of God, and afflicted. 
 
 " But he was wounded for our transgres- 
 sions, he was bruised for our iniquities ; the 
 chastisement of our peace was upon him ; and 
 with his stripes we are healed. 
 
 " All we like sheep have gone astray ; we 
 have turned every one to his own way ; and 
 the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 
 
 " He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet 
 he opened not his month : he is brought as a lamb 
 to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her 
 shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. 
 
 " He was taken from prison and from judg- 
 ment : and who shall declare his generation? 
 for he was cut off out of the land of the living : 
 for the transgression of my people was he 
 stricken. 
 
parley's farewell. 283 
 
 " And he made his grave with the wicked, 
 and with the rich in his death ; because he had 
 done no violence, neither was any deceit in his 
 mouth. 
 
 " Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him ; he 
 hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make 
 his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his 
 seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleas- 
 ure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 
 
 " He shall see of the travail of his soul, and 
 shall be satisfied : by his knowledge shall my 
 righteous servant justify many ; for he shall 
 bear their iniquities. 
 
 " Therefore will I divide him a portion with 
 the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the 
 strong ; because he hath poured out his soul 
 unto death : and he was numbered with the 
 transgressors ; and he bare the sin of many, 
 and made intercession for the transgressors/' 
 
 " These words are extant in a book purport- 
 ing to contain the predictions of a writer who 
 lived seven centuries before the Christian era. 
 
 " That material part of every argument from 
 prophecy, namely, that the words alleged were 
 actually spoken or written before the fact to 
 which they are applied took place, or could 
 
284 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 by any natural means be foreseen, is, in the 
 present instance, incontestable. The record 
 comes out of the custody of adversaries. The 
 Jews, as an ancient father well observed, are 
 our librarians. The passage is in their copies, 
 as well as in ours. With many attempts to ex- 
 plain it away, none has ever been made by 
 them to discredit its authenticity. 
 
 " The application of the prophecy to Christ 
 and the Gospel history is plain and appropriate. 
 Here is no double sense ; no figurative lan- 
 guage, but what is sufficiently intelligible to 
 every reader of every country. 
 
 " There are other prophecies of the Old 
 Testament, interpreted by Christians to relate 
 to the Gospel history, which are deserving both 
 of great regard, and of a very attentive consid- 
 eration. 
 
 " Another argument from prophecy is found- 
 ed upon our Lord's predictions concerning the 
 destruction of Jerusalem, recorded by three 
 out of the four evangelists. 
 
 " Luke xxi. 5 — 25. 'And as some spake 
 of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly 
 stones and gifts, he said, As for these things 
 which ye behold, the days will come in which 
 
PARLEY'S FAREWELL. 285 
 
 there shall not be left one stone upon another, 
 that shall not be thrown down. And they 
 asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these 
 things be? and what sign will there be when 
 these things shall come to pass? And he said, 
 Take heed that ye be not deceived, for many 
 shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ ; 
 and the time draweth near : go ye therefore 
 not after them. But when ye shall hear of 
 wars and commotions, be not terrified : for 
 these things must first come to pass ; but the 
 end is not by-and-by. 
 
 " ' Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise 
 against nation, and kingdom against kingdom ; 
 and great earthquakes shall be in divers places, 
 ,and famines and pestilences ; and fearful sights, 
 and great signs shall there be from heaven. 
 But before all these, they shall lay their hands 
 on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to 
 the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought 
 before kings and rulers for my name's sake. 
 And it shall turn to you for a testimony. Set- 
 tle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate 
 before what ye shall answer : for I will give 
 you a mouth and wisdom, which all your ad- 
 versaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. 
 
286 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 And ye shall be betrayed, both by parents, and 
 brethren, and kinsfolk, and friends ; and some 
 of you shall they cause to be put to death. 
 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's 
 sake. But there shall not a hair of your head 
 perish. In your patience possess ye your souls. 
 
 " 'And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed 
 with armies, then know that the desolation there- 
 of is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea 
 flee to the mountains ; and let them which are 
 in the midst of it depart out ; and let not them 
 that are in the countries enter thereinto. For 
 these be the days of vengeance, that all things 
 which are written may be fulfilled. But woe 
 unto them that are with child, and to them that 
 give suck, in those days : for there shall be 
 great distress in the land, and wrath upon this 
 people. And they shall fall by the edge of the 
 sword, and shall be led away captive into all 
 nations : and Jerusalem shall be trodden down 
 of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles 
 be fulfilled/ 
 
 " In terms nearly similar, this discourse is 
 related in the twenty-fourth chapter of Mat- 
 thew, and the thirteenth of Mark. The pros- 
 pect of the same evils drew from our Savior, 
 
parley's farewell. 287 
 
 on another occasion, the following affecting ex- 
 pressions of concern, which are preserved by 
 Saint Luke (xix. 41 — 44.) : c And when he was 
 come near, he beheld the city and wept over it, 
 saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at 
 least in this thy day, the things which belong 
 unto thy peace ! but now they are hid from 
 thine eyes. For the days shall come upon 
 thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench 
 about thee, and compass thee round, and keep 
 thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even 
 with the ground, and thy children within thee ; 
 and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon 
 another ; because thou knewest not the time of 
 thy visitation.' 
 
 " These passages are direct and explicit pre- 
 dictions. References to the same event, some 
 plain, some parabolical, or otherwise figura- 
 tive, are found in divers other discourses of 
 our Lord. 
 
 " The general agreement of the description 
 with the event, viz. with the ruin of the Jewish 
 nation, and the capture of Jerusalem under Ves- 
 pasian, thirty-six years after Christ's death, is 
 most evident ; and the accordancy in various ar- 
 ticles of detail and circumstances has been shown 
 
288 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 by many learned writers. It is also an advan- 
 tage to the inquiry, and to the argument built 
 upon it, that we have received a copious ac- 
 count of the transaction from Josephus, a Jew- 
 ish and contemporary historian, whose descrip- 
 tion agrees with Christ's prophecy. This part 
 of the case is perfectly free from doubt. The 
 only question which, in my opinion, can be 
 raised upon the subject, is whether the prophe- 
 cy was really delivered before the event. In 
 regard to this it may be remarked, that the 
 judgment of antiquity, though varying in the 
 precise year of the publication of the three Gos- 
 pels, concurs in assigning them a date prior to 
 the destruction of Jerusalem." 
 
 Who that reads the prophecies of Isaiah 
 and others respecting the Messiah, and sees 
 their fulfilment in Jesus Christ ; who that 
 reads his prediction of the destruction of Jeru- 
 salem, and finds the event to follow the prophe- 
 cy, can doubt the divinitv of his character and 
 mission? 
 
parley's farewell. 289 
 
 Chapter XVII. 
 
 Review of the arguments respecting the New Testament. 
 
 Let us now review the arguments we have 
 brought forward, and see what a weight of evi- 
 dence there is in favor of the authenticity and 
 veracity of the New Testament, and how 
 clearly the divine origin of Christianity is de- 
 monstrated. 
 
 In the first place it was shown that a revela- 
 tion of God's will, more full than is made mani- 
 fest by the light of nature, was needed by man, 
 and it was inferred from analogy that it was 
 reasonable to expect such a revelation. 
 
 We have seen that Tacitus, an accredited 
 Roman historian, states the fact that Christ 
 was executed in Judea for his religion, and that 
 the Christian faith rapidly increased and ex- 
 tended itself to other countries. Here is a 
 confirmation of a material portion of the New- 
 Testament history, furnished by an unbeliever. 
 
 We have seen that the only plausible account 
 of Christ and the commencement of Christianity, 
 that has been set up, is that of the New Testa- 
 ment ; for no other is brought forward by friend 
 19 
 
290 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 or foe. As Christianity did originate, as Christ 
 lived and died for his religion, and as there is 
 no credible rival story of these things, how can 
 we reject that of the New Testament? 
 
 In confirmation of this, we find that all the 
 Christian writers, from those who were com- 
 panions of the apostles to the latest times, 
 speak as if the New-Testament account was 
 the true one, and the only one. 
 
 To prove that the books of the New Testa- 
 ment are genuine and authentic, that is, writ- 
 ten by those to whom they are attributed, we 
 have shown that there were, in very early times, 
 multitudes of copies, in countries widely sepa- 
 rated ; and that they were found in many lan- 
 guages. The style is also appropriate to their 
 reputed authors. Christian writers and church- 
 es very early came to an agreement upon the sub- 
 ject. They are quoted by early writers, as of 
 the highest authority ; they were early collect- 
 ed into a volume ; they were publicly read and 
 expounded in the assemblies of the early Chris- 
 tians ; they were received by different sects of 
 Christians, were appealed to by them, and 
 were attacked by their enemies, as containing 
 the creed of the Christians. All these circum- 
 
parley's farewell. 291 
 
 stances seem to afford conclusive evidence of 
 their authenticity — for all those who had the 
 best opportunity to judge, concur in one opin- 
 ion on this point. 
 
 In proof of the truth or veracity of the New- 
 Testament history, we have adduced the candor 
 of the writers ; the naturalness of their mode of 
 writing ; the wonderful unity or harmony of 
 Christ's character ; the remarkable accuracy 
 of the historical details and allusions to man- 
 ners and customs, when compared with Jewish 
 writers ; the originality, wisdom and elevation 
 of Christ's doctrine, entirely beyond the capa- 
 city of the evangelists to invent ; the purity 
 and exaltation of Christ's character, the great- 
 est ever conceived, and above all human inven- 
 tion ; the rapid extension of Christianity in Je- 
 rusalem and Judea, where the best possible 
 means for investigating its claims existed, and 
 where conviction, founded upon evidence, must 
 have been, in part, the means of propagating it. 
 
 To prove the divine mission of Christ, we 
 might refer to his morality ; to the originality 
 and sublimity of his doctrines ; to the purity of 
 his character, surpassing every human example ; 
 to his incontestable miracles ; to the prophecies 
 
292 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 of the Old Testament, uttered before he came, 
 and literally fulfilled in him ; to his own re- 
 markable prophecy of the destruction of Je- 
 rusalem, which afterwards came to pass as he 
 had predicted ; to the success and final tri- 
 umph of his religion, aided by no wealth, or 
 power, or artifice, — yet opposed by interested 
 governments, potentates, priests, by established 
 prejudices, and the suggestions of the selfish 
 human heart. 
 
 Is it possible for all these signs and evi- 
 dences of truth to fail? If a person embraces 
 the belief that the New Testament is a fable 
 and Christ an impostor, does he not take the 
 improbable and incredible side of the question? 
 Let a person consider how difficult it is for a 
 rogue to fabricate a story without exposing 
 himself to certain detection, and he will see the 
 force of demonstration which belongs to this 
 accumulated evidence, in favor of the truth of 
 the New Testament. 
 
 How difficult is it for a counterfeiter even of 
 bank notes to escape exposure ! How nearly im- 
 possible for a murderer to secure himself from 
 discovery ! How easily all the artifices and 
 disguises of thieves, robbers and pickpock- 
 
parley's farewell. 293 
 
 ets, in framing their stories, are frustrated ! And 
 yet the Gospel has stood to this day, defying 
 every charge of inconsistency, every refutation 
 of fact, every contradiction from history ! 
 Every engine of wit, malice, ridicule, logic, 
 criticism, eloquence, learning, and ingenuity, 
 has been brought to bear upon it, without avail. 
 It has stood the test of time, the sifting of 
 ages. Is such a work now to be set down as 
 only a cunningly devised fable? A man who 
 wishes to escape receiving the greatest of mir- 
 acles, must believe the story of the evangelists ; 
 for never has such a weight of evidence been 
 accumulated in favor of a falsehood, as prophe- 
 cy, history, analogy, and human events have 
 heaped up in favor of the truth of the New 
 Testament, and the divinity of Christ's mis- 
 sion. If these evidences lie, then a miracle 
 has been performed to which human history 
 furnishes no parallel ; then human reason is a 
 misguiding light, and the acknowledged tests 
 of truth are but evidences of falsehood. 
 
294) REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 Chapter XYIII. 
 
 Inspiration of the New- Testament books. 
 
 Having come to the conclusion that the 
 books of the New Testament are historically 
 true, and that Christ was a divine messenger, 
 we come now to consider whether the writers 
 of these works were inspired by the Spirit of 
 God, and whether the doctrines therein con- 
 tained lay just claim to the belief and obser- 
 vance of mankind. 
 
 The divine authority of Christ is proved by 
 the prophecies concerning him ; by the mira- 
 cles he wrought ; by the sublimity and ori- 
 ginality of his doctrines, his morality and his 
 character. We cannot doubt then that he was 
 sent of God. And for what purpose was he 
 sent ? Unquestionably to reveal truth ; for 
 God would not grant such power as Christ 
 possessed and exercised to an impostor or a fa- 
 natic. God would not have bestowed the gift of 
 prophecy upon Isaiah and others to predict the 
 coming of Christ, and persuade mankind to 
 believe in him, if he was to be a deceiver or 
 a cheat. 
 
parley's farewell. 295 
 
 We are bound then to consider Christ as 
 delivering the word of God : but the question 
 now before us is, did the evangelists accu- 
 rately represent what Christ said? We have the 
 best reason to believe that they did, and that 
 in writing their histories they were aided by 
 the Spirit of God, and thus preserved from 
 essential error. This is the view taken of the 
 Gospels by the early Christians, those who had 
 communion with the apostles, and who had the 
 best possible means of knowing the truth. Be- 
 sides, the general harmony of the Gospels in 
 every material respect ; the simplicity and 
 beauty of the narratives ; the unity with which 
 Christ's doctrines are represented, and the 
 power with which his exalted character is 
 delineated ; the remarkable preservation of 
 these books ; their efficacy in elevating and 
 purifying the heart, attested by Christians of 
 all ages ; — these are considered incontestable 
 evidences that the Spirit of God has ever 
 watched over these writings — inspiring them 
 in the first instance, and guarding them from 
 destruction or essential mutation in after times. 
 
 Some of the same arguments apply to the 
 Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles ; besides 
 
298 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 duced philosophers and poets — who even now 
 challenge the admiration of mankind, — were 
 groping in religious and moral darkness, una- 
 ble to discover even a ray of that glorious 
 light, which all this time was shining in the 
 books of the Old Testament among the ob- 
 scure, illiterate, despised Jews ? 
 
 Let us make a comparison. Homer is ad- 
 mitted to have been a man of great genius. 
 He is usually regarded as the greatest and 
 most sublime poet that ever lived. His works 
 have come down to us, nearly perfect. They 
 indeed display a vigor of fancy, a power of in- 
 vention, a knowledge of human nature, fully 
 entitling him to the great name that is assigned 
 to him. 
 
 A considerable portion of his works are de- 
 voted to religious topics. His system of the- 
 ology is, that there are a multitude of gods 
 and goddesses, over whom there is one great 
 presiding deity. These he has portrayed with 
 all the force of his inimitable pencil. And yet 
 what are they ? The sublimest conceptions 
 of this master-poet represent the best and 
 greatest of these deities as filled with the vil- 
 
parley's farewell. 299 
 
 est of human passions, and tarnished with the 
 coarsest and grossest of human vices. 
 
 In religion, then, Homer is a child ; with 
 the powerful wing of genius, he cannot rise 
 above the vulgar theology of his day and gen- 
 eration ; his noblest conception of God is Ju- 
 piter, who would, on earth, be a very bad, un- 
 principled and despicable man. 
 
 Homer is reputed to have lived about 900 
 years before Christ, and to have been brought 
 up among a people more civilized and farther 
 advanced in knowledge than the Jews at the 
 same period of time. He appears also to have 
 been a man of considerable learning, and has 
 been thought to have travelled in Egypt, then 
 the great centre of civilization and philosophy. 
 
 About the same age, or perhaps 100 years af- 
 ter, Isaiah, the prophet of the Jews, flourished. 
 He was not a man of genius ; he had no ad- 
 vantages of general instruction ; he was infe- 
 rior to Homer in knowledge and learning ; he 
 had had no advantages from travel, or inter- 
 course with enlightened people. In every thing 
 belonging to education, he was far below the 
 children in our common schools, for they are 
 taught a vast deal that Isaiah never knew. 
 
300 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 And yet Isaiah, in his conceptions of the De- 
 ity, not only put Homer to the blush, but no 
 after age has been able to rival his pages. He 
 not only conceived the grand idea of ONE 
 GOD, the truth of which subsequent ages 
 have demonstrated, but he delineated God's 
 character with a beauty, power and sublimity, 
 that has never been equalled. Let us quote a 
 few passages. 
 
 " Thus saith God the Lord, he that creat- 
 ed the heavens, and stretched them out ; he 
 that spread forth the earth, and that which 
 cometh out of it ; he that giveth breath unto 
 the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk 
 therein : I the Lord have called thee in right- 
 eousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep 
 thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, 
 for a light of the Gentiles : to open the blind 
 eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the pris- 
 on, and them that sit in darkness out of the 
 prison-house. I am the Lord : that is my 
 name : and my glory will I not give to another, 
 neither my praise to graven images/ • — Isaiah, 
 ch. xlii. 
 
 " I am the Lord, and there is none else, 
 there is no God besides me : I girded thee, 
 
parley's farewell. 301 
 
 though thou hast not known me : that they 
 may know from the rising of the sun, and from 
 the west, that there is none besides me. I am 
 the Lord, and there is none else. I form the 
 light, and create darkness : I make peace and 
 create evil : I the Lord do all these things. 
 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let 
 the skies pour down righteousness : let the 
 earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, 
 and let righteousness spring up together ; I the 
 Lord have created it." " For thus saith the 
 Lord that created the heavens ; God himself 
 that formed the earth and made it ; he hath 
 established it, he created it not in vain, he 
 formed it to be inhabited : I am the Lord ; 
 and there is none else. I have not spoken 
 in secret, in a dark place of the earth : I said 
 not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in 
 vain : I the Lord speak righteousness, I de- 
 clare things that are right." 
 
 " Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the 
 ends of the earth : for I am God, and there 
 is none else. I have sworn by myself, the 
 word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, 
 and shall not return, That unto me every knee 
 
302 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 shall bow, every tongue shall swear."— 
 Isaiah, ch. xlv. 
 
 " For the Lord shall comfort Zion : he will 
 comfort all her waste places ; and he will 
 make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert 
 like the garden of the Lord ; joy and gladness 
 shall he found therein, thanksgiving, and the 
 voice of melody. 
 
 " Hearken unto me, my people ; and give ear 
 unto me, O my nation : for a law shall proceed 
 from me, and I will make my judgment to rest 
 for a light of the people. My righteousness 
 is near ; my salvation is gone forth, and mine 
 arms shall judge the people ; the isles shall 
 wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they 
 trust. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and 
 look upon the earth beneath : for the heavens 
 shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth 
 shall wax old like a garment, and they that 
 dwell therein shall die in like manner : but my 
 salvation shall be for ever, and my righteous- 
 ness shall not be abolished." — Isaiah, ch. li. 
 
 Now let any one read these verses and com- 
 pare them with all that heathen antiquity has 
 produced respecting the Deity, and let him 
 say how an ignorant man, in an unlettered age 
 
parley's farewell. 303 
 
 and among an unenlightened people, could 
 have risen to conceptions, so lofty in them- 
 selves, and so superior to all that his cotempo- 
 raries produced, but by the aid of inspiration. 
 What could have made Isaiah so much greater 
 than Homer, but this ? 
 
 Chapter XX. 
 
 The prophet Habaklcuk. 
 
 Let me make a few extracts from the pro- 
 phet Habakkuk, who flourished about a cen- 
 tury after Isaiah. I will give them according 
 to the translation of Archbishop Newcombe. 
 They are from the third chapter. 
 
 " God came from Teman, 
 And the Holy One from Mount Paran : 
 His glory covered the heavens, 
 And the earth was full of his praise. 
 His brightness was as the light : 
 Rays streamed from his hand ; 
 And there was the hiding-place of his power. 
 Before him went the pestilence, 
 And flashes of fire went forth after him. 
 He stood and measured the earth ; 
 He beheld, and drove asunder the nations. 
 
304 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 And the everlasting mountains were scattered, 
 
 The perpetual hills bowed down, 
 
 The eternal paths were trodden by him. 
 
 # m m # # 
 The mountains saw thee, and were troubled ; 
 The overflowing of waters passed away : 
 The deep uttered its voice, 
 It lifted up its hands on high. 
 
 The sun and the moon stood still in their habitation 
 
 In the light of thine arrows they vanished, 
 
 In the brightness of the lightning of thy spear ! 
 
 In indignation thou didst march through the land, 
 
 In wrath thou didst thresh the heathen. 
 
 Thou wentest forth for the deliverance of thy people, 
 
 Even for the deliverance of thine anointed. 
 
 •AA. *&&. •&£' -&£• -AA. 
 
 -7f- -7? W •TP vf- 
 
 Although the fig- tree shall not nourish, 
 
 And there be no produce in the vines ; 
 
 The fruit of the ojive shall fail, 
 
 And the fields shall yield no food ; 
 
 The flocks shall be cut off from the fold, 
 
 And there be no herd in the stalls ; 
 
 Yet will I rejoice in Jehovah, 
 
 I will exult in the God of my salvation. 
 
 The Lord Jehovah is my strength. 
 
 He will make my feet like hind's feet, 
 
 He will cause me to tread on mine high places." 
 
 These are the words of another Jewish pro- 
 phet ; and what is there in any ancient heathen 
 writer that gives us such sublime ideas of God? 
 
parley's farewell. 305 
 
 And how was this obscure man able to sur- 
 pass the boasted genius of Greece and Rome ; 
 how did he transcend all that the human mind 
 has since been able to produce, but through 
 the gift of inspiration ? 
 
 Chapter XXI. 
 
 The Old Testament continued. Prophecies. Babylon. The Arabs. 
 Jews. Other prophecies. 
 
 Another proof of the inspiration of the books 
 of the Old Testament is derived from prophe- 
 cies, afterwards fulfilled. I have introduced 
 an example in Isaiah's prophecy, respecting our 
 Savior, which I have shown to have been 
 literally fulfilled ; and might quote other pas- 
 sages from the same prophet, and from others, 
 applicable to Christ, and as clearly verified. 
 But I will select one or two other instances, 
 where the incontestable proof of fulfilment 
 exists in our own day. 
 
 In the time of Isaiah, Babylon, situated 
 upon the river Euphrates, was a city of the 
 greatest magnificence. It was about forty- 
 eight miles in circumference, and was de- 
 20 
 
306 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 fended by walls of vast height and thickness. 
 It was the capital of the great empire of 
 Assyria, and was enriched by her emperors 
 with the spoils of the East. It was indeed 
 a great and proud city, and rejoiced in its 
 splendor. Nothing could seem more impro- 
 bable than that this metropolis should be de- 
 stroyed, and the very place where it stood 
 become a scene of desolation ; yet the prophet 
 lifted up his voice and pronounced its doom, 
 in the following remarkable passages : 
 
 " The noise of a multitude hi the mountains, 
 like as of a great people ; a tumultuous noise 
 of the kingdoms of nations gathered together : 
 the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the 
 battle. They come from a far country, from 
 the end of heaven, even the Lord, and the 
 weapons of his indignation, to destroy the 
 whole land. 
 
 " Howl ye ; for the day of the Lord is at 
 hand ; it shall come as a destruction from the 
 Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be 
 faint, and every man's heart shall melt ; and 
 they shall be afraid ; pangs and sorrows shall 
 take hold of them ; they shall be in pain as a 
 woman that travaileth : they shall be amazed 
 
parley's farewell. 307 
 
 one at another ; their faces shall be as flames. 
 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel 
 both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the 
 land desolate : and he shall destroy the sin- 
 ners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven 
 and the constellations thereof shall not give their 
 light : the sun shall be darkened in his going 
 forth, and the moon shall not cause her light 
 to shine. And I will punish the world for 
 their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity ; 
 and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to 
 cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the 
 terrible." 
 
 " And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the 
 beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as 
 when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 
 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be 
 dwelt in from generation to generation : nei- 
 ther shall the Arabian pitch tent there ; neither 
 shall the shepherds make their fold there : 
 but wild beasts of the desert shall lie there ; 
 and their houses shall be full of doleful crea- 
 tures ; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs 
 shall dance there. And the wild beasts of 
 the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, 
 and dragons in their pleasant palaces : and her 
 
308 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 time is near to come, and her days shall not 
 be prolonged." — Isaiah, ch. xiii. 
 
 About a hundred years after this prediction, 
 Babylon was taken by Cyrus, king of Persia, 
 and from that time it continued to decline. It 
 gradually sunk into insignificance, and, in spite 
 of attempts to revive its former splendor, it 
 at last became a heap of ruins. Modern tra- 
 vellers have frequently visited the spot, and 
 they tell us that the scene corresponds literally 
 with the preceding predictions. In the deso- 
 lation which now marks the site of the ancient 
 city there are numerous caves, where even the 
 identical birds and animals mentioned by 
 Isaiah are found to have taken up their abode. 
 Here, then, is an existing witness to the literal 
 truth and exact fulfilment of prophecy, that 
 cannot be resisted. 
 
 To this I could easily add other instances 
 equally striking. It was predicted by one of 
 the prophets, of Ishmael's descendants, that 
 " their hand should be against every man, and 
 every man's hand against them." The Arabs 
 are the posterity of Ishmael, a wild and wan- 
 dering race, living apart from the rest of the 
 world, and robbing those they meet. This is 
 
parley's farewell. 309 
 
 their character, and it has been so for ages. 
 Could any thing be more descriptive of this 
 peculiar people than this prophecy, uttered of 
 them thousands of years ago ? 
 
 The Jews, too, afford a wonderful proof of 
 the truth of ancient predictions. It was said 
 that " they should be plucked from off their 
 own land, and removed into all the kingdoms 
 of the earth," and behold it is done. It was 
 said that they should " be led away captive 
 into all nations, and Jerusalem be trodden 
 down of the Gentiles ;" and this is literally 
 accomplished. Other passages speak of their 
 final restoration to Jerusalem, the land of their 
 fathers ; and scattered as they are, they are 
 still a distinct people, and seem to stand ready 
 for the appointed time to fulfil this prediction. 
 
 Chapter XXII. 
 
 Review of the argument for the truth and inspiration of the Old 
 Testament. 
 
 The claim of the Old-Testament books, to 
 be regarded as " given by inspiration," rests 
 then upon very strong grounds. This claim 
 
310 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 had been maintained by the Jews for ages, and 
 Christ, with his apostles, expressly sanctioned 
 it. The testimony of witnesses, shown to have 
 been sent of God, ought to be conclusive. 
 
 But the argument is strongly fortified by 
 other considerations. These books contained 
 ideas entirely above the ages in which they 
 were produced. If we do not refer their origin 
 to inspiration, it is impossible to account for 
 them. While all other nations were in total 
 religious darkness, a light is kindled in the 
 midst of one of the most ignorant and unen- 
 lightened of all nations, by obscure and illite- 
 rate men, which gathers brightness as time 
 advances, and at length, rising to the sky, be- 
 comes the sun of even our enlightened age ! 
 Could such a light be created by ignorance 
 and weakness, among a people remarkable for 
 their intellectual degradation ? It would seem 
 that one might positively answer in the nega- 
 tive. The most rational supposition surely is, 
 that God supplied the fire, by which his min- 
 isters kindled the light of truth, and which 
 since, aided by a clearer revelation, has illumi- 
 nated the world. It was inspiration, then, that 
 gave Isaiah the advantage over Homer, and 
 
parley^ farewell. 311 
 
 Enabled a man of common mould to surpass 
 the greatest human genius, as much as a 
 giant's strength is superior to an infant's ; that 
 bestowed on the minstrelsy of Habakkuk, a 
 sublimity which no earth-strung lyre can rival. 
 It was the books of the Old Testament that 
 elevated the minds of the Jews to the one true 
 God, while the learned Egyptians were wor- 
 shippers of serpents and monkeys, and while 
 the polished Greeks and magnificent Romans, 
 were led captive by the polluted and polluting 
 rites of imaginary divinities. 
 
 To this satisfactory argument, we add the 
 proofs derived from prophecy. We have 
 shown that the power of foretelling events was 
 actually given to the Jewish prophets : we 
 know that their predictions were uttered thou- 
 sands of years ago, and we have before us 
 enduring witnesses to their literal fulfilment. 
 What higher evidence can be given of divine 
 inspiration, than a power which enables man 
 to penetrate the depths of the future, and re- 
 veal what is to come to pass ? This is the 
 attribute of God alone, and he who possesses 
 it, comes to us with God's seal set to his com- 
 mission. 
 
312 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 Thus the proofs of the divine origin of the 
 Old Testament are threefold — consisting of 
 the testimonies of Christ and his apostles ; the 
 sublimity of its doctrines and its superiority to 
 all cotemporary human productions, or human 
 productions of any age ; and the gift of pro- 
 phecy, possessed by many of its writers. These 
 three strands, like those which are twisted 
 together in a cable, render the argument so 
 strong, that the human understanding may 
 safely attach to it its anchor of faith, fearing 
 not that the tempest shall ever prevail against it. 
 
 Chapter XXIII. 
 
 The Bible then is true : it has approved itself to the minds of millions, as 
 a divine revelation; and all the discoveries of modern science but confirm its 
 veracity. 
 
 The Bible then is true : it is the word of 
 God. It is so received, by the mass of man- 
 kind, among the most highly educated nations 
 of the world. It has been attacked, but it has 
 come off triumphant in every trial. Investiga- 
 tion has only served to multiply the proofs of 
 its veracity. Time, which tests the validity of 
 
parley's farewell. 313 
 
 every institution, and which has exploded a 
 multitude of errors once entertained by man- 
 kind, has sanctioned the scriptures, and is con- 
 tinually adding to the evidences of their di- 
 vine origin. 
 
 It is now more than seventeen centuries 
 since the Bible was completed. From that 
 time it has been received as a revelation from 
 Heaven, by all Christians. And how many 
 millions of individuals have found it to be all 
 they could hope or desire in a revelation of 
 God's will! How many millions have found 
 in its sacred pages consolations and joys 
 which the world could neither give nor take 
 away ! We have the testimony of millions 
 of former ages, and of millions now on the 
 earth, that the Bible has proved itself to them, 
 in their own experience, to be possessed of a 
 power beyond all other writings, a power 
 which elevates them above the fears or hopes, 
 the joys or sorrows, of this life. 
 
 There is another evidence, of a negative kind, 
 unfolded by time, which is, however, very strong 
 in favor of the scriptures. These were all 
 written long ago, when science was in its in- 
 fancy. Astronomy, Geography, Natural His- 
 
314 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 tory, Geology, now so well understood even by 
 schoolboys, were then but partially compre- 
 hended. Even in the time of Christ, not one 
 third part of the surface of the globe had been 
 traversed by man ; the shape of this earth was 
 unknown ; the solar system and its revolutions 
 were not reached even by conjecture. The 
 animal races had not been scientifically investi- 
 gated, and the structure of the earth, as unfold- 
 ed by modern geology, had not been the subject 
 of inquiry. 
 
 Yet in respect to most of these topics, we 
 find numerous passages in the Old and New 
 Testament. How is it to be accounted for, 
 that these writers have been preserved from 
 running into fatal mistakes, when they were 
 discoursing upon things of which they, with the 
 age, were ignorant, but which modern science 
 has unfolded? To my mind this argument is 
 of great weight. I do not see how it is possible 
 to resist the obvious inference that God's 
 Spirit has presided over every page of the 
 Bible and protected it from fatal error. If the 
 Bible had been a mere human production, the 
 work as it is of about thirty different persons, it 
 seems to me certain that it must have contained 
 
parley's farewell. 315 
 
 statements that would have been flatly contra- 
 dicted by facts resulting from modern dis- 
 covery. 
 
 Chapter XXIV. 
 
 Difficulties answered. — Conclusion. 
 
 If the evidence in favor of the Bible is thus 
 so strong, why should any person reject it? I 
 know it is said there are difficulties. There are 
 some passages in one part of the Bible which 
 at first sight seem to contradict others ; some 
 parts, also, are obscure and of doubtful inter- 
 pretation. Beside, Christians, who believe the 
 Bible, do not conform fully to its precepts ; Chris- 
 tians too are divided as to its meaning in cer- 
 tain important respects. Christian nations, 
 like others, engage in war, and are marked 
 with prevalent vices. Miracles are objected to 
 as hard to be believed. 
 
 These, and other difficulties, have often been 
 urged against the scriptures. I am willing to 
 admit that they are difficulties ; but there are 
 four obvious answers to be made, and they 
 ought to be satisfactory. 
 
316 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 The first is, that all these allegations against 
 the Bible have been fully and fairly investiga- 
 ted, both by ministers of religion and by lay- 
 men, and have been satisfactorily reconciled 
 with the substantial truth of the sacred scrip- 
 tures. 
 
 The second is, that the difficulties suggested 
 are rather apparent than real ; and there is 
 abundant evidence that, to a candid and well- 
 disposed mind, they are by no means insupera- 
 ble. A person who sits down to the reading 
 of the scriptures, with a perfect willingness to 
 receive the truth and abide by the result, is 
 never driven by these difficulties to infidelity. 
 In religion, God may deal with man as in 
 nature. To gain the good things of life, we 
 must sow, and toil, and cultivate, else we can- 
 not enjoy the harvest. God has not, in this, 
 taken away the necessity of exertion to man, 
 for man's constitution requires exertion. So 
 in religion God has not taken away man's free 
 agency. He has not revealed his will in such 
 a manner as to compel belief, so that in belief 
 there is no exercise of the will, and therefore 
 no virtue. But God has given to man good and 
 satisfactory proofs that in the Bible he has 
 
parley's farewell. 317 
 
 bestowed a revelation of his will, and if man 
 will, as in nature, cultivate these proofs with a 
 willingness to reap the harvest, he will surely 
 be blest with success. Beside, we may believe 
 that the difficulties in religion have led to in- 
 vestigation, and to an excitement of men's 
 minds, favorable to an increase of interest in 
 the subject. Discussion, like the autumn 
 winds which scatter the seeds of summer, has 
 undoubtedly extended the knowledge and mul- 
 tiplied the fruits of religion. 
 
 The third answer to the difficulties suggest- 
 ed, is, that if they are permitted to sweep 
 away the Bible as a fable and a falsehood, we 
 permit the weak to prevail against the strong, 
 and trample down with mere doubts, a mass 
 of wisdom never yet accumulated in favor of a 
 lie. We contradict the acknowledged principles 
 of human reason, which require us to let our 
 belief go with the scale in which the weight of 
 evidence preponderates. We deal with the Bi- 
 ble as we do not with any other ancient writings ; 
 we believe in Tacitus, and Homer, and the 
 shadowy forms of profane antiquity ; but we 
 distrust the prophets, and the evangelists, and 
 Christ, and Paul ! We listen to the voice of 
 
318 REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 tradition, when it tells us of battles and gar- 
 ments rolled in blood, but we turn an ear of 
 incredulity to the Christian fathers, to the 
 companions of the apostles, to martyrs who 
 sealed their faith in triumph over tortures and 
 death. 
 
 The fourth answer is, that if the Bible is not 
 true, then man has no other revelation of God's 
 will than the dim light of nature ; man is a mys- 
 tery to himself, and all around him is mystery. 
 If the Bible is false, God has not dealt with 
 man as with his other creatures. To the ani- 
 mal creation he has given a clear and decisive 
 revelation. Instinct is to them a guide, and it 
 answers all the purposes for which it was intend- 
 ed. It comes fully up to the wants of these 
 creatures. Various kinds of water birds, as we 
 all know, are under the necessity of making 
 long migrations, and often are obliged to cross 
 broad sheets of water. 
 
 " Who bade the stork, Columbus-like, explore 
 Heavens not his own, and worlds unknown before ? 
 Who calls the council, states the certain day, 
 Who forms the phalanx, and who points the way ? " 
 
 God has done all that is necessary for these 
 
parley's farewell. 319 
 
 feathered voyagers ; and yet, if the Bible is 
 false, he has elevated man to a higher flight, 
 and left him without chart or compass, to wan- 
 der in hopeless doubt and unappeasable anxi- 
 ety. Is such a supposition consistent with the 
 analogy of nature? If God has not made pro- 
 vision to guide the mind of man, when he has 
 filled it with hopes, expectations, and anticipa- 
 tions of immortality, has he not dealt by the stork 
 as he has not by man ; has he not revealed 
 himself to the feathered tribes, and shut him- 
 self from the spirit of man? Has he not made 
 all things clear to the animal world ; and all 
 things mysterious to man? 
 
 The difficulties, then, in the way of receiving 
 the scriptures as the word of God, if permitted 
 to overpower our judgment, only run us into other 
 and more formidable difficulties. It ought to 
 be proof to us, if they unsettle our faith, of a 
 want of proper balance in our minds, and should 
 be regarded as a just ground of alarm. The 
 subject is too serious for mistake. If the Bi- 
 ble is true, God is with us, and shall we listen? 
 shall we obey? The true happiness of life, 
 the bliss of eternity, are involved in the ques- 
 tion. Interests of indescribable value are 
 
320 FAREWELL. 
 
 at stake. Shall we believe and be saved, or 
 take the risk of the alternative presented by 
 Christ and his apostles 1 
 
 FAREWELL 
 
 I have now finished what I intended to say 
 upon these two great topics of Natural and 
 Revealed Religion. The Bible being proved 
 to be the word of God, I need not say how 
 reverently and how earnestly it should be read, 
 with a view to ascertain what truths it con- 
 tains. We are created with a capacity for 
 happiness and misery ; the former we desire, 
 the latter we dread. This Book is our only 
 true and infallible guide ; this alone can teach 
 man how to be happy here and hereafter. It 
 is the only map of life, which lays down the 
 safe and sure roads to the country we all seek. 
 
 Make the Bible then your constant compan- 
 ion : look at it day by day, as the traveller 
 consults his guide-book. But bear in mind 
 one thing : the Bible is to be read with a spirit 
 
parley's farewell. 321 
 
 of obedience ; with a single desire to ascertain 
 its true meaning, and a willingness to submit 
 implicitly to its injunctions. Permit not your- 
 self to alter its sense — to qualify or doubt its 
 passages. Beware of dwelling upon difficulties, 
 or if these disturb you, consult some pious 
 friend. Make the Bible your counsellor ; seek 
 truth ; live in the society of the virtuous ; hold 
 no communion with the wicked ; eschew vicious 
 books. These are the last injunctions of your 
 old friend, Peter Parley. 
 
 And now a few words of farewell. It is 
 just ten years since I wrote a book entitled 
 Peter Parley's Tales about America. It was 
 kindly received, and I was induced to write 
 others. These, too, met with favor at the hands 
 of the young public. 
 
 But when I began my literary labors, I was 
 11 " "^ 4nd now mv life has 
 
322 FAREWELL. 
 
 My dear young friends, you to whom I have 
 been speaking in my little books — you who 
 have so kindly listened to me, you deserve the 
 last thoughts of poor old Peter Parley. Life 
 has ceased to be a source of happiness to me, 
 and I am willing to depart : but to say farewell 
 to those I have loved — those who have treated 
 me so kindly — and to know that I shall see 
 their bright faces and hear their glad voices 
 no more, has indeed something in it hard to 
 bear ; and if my old eyes were not too dry for 
 tears, I could weep to think of it. But it is 
 idle to mourn for what cannot be avoided ; so, 
 with a cheerful heart, I have been preparing to 
 take leave of my little friends. This book is 
 my farewell. It is the last I shall ever write. 
 Take it, with my best wishes for your happi- 
 ness ! Take it, with the last request of vonr 
 old friend — wbich is fV> °* ~ - 
 
parley's farewell. 323 
 
 mere worldly knowledge, than in teaching you 
 that higher and better wisdom, which, in ensur- 
 ing happiness here, leads to happiness hereaf- 
 ter. I have told you of this earth — how it swings 
 like a mighty ball in the air — how its surface 
 is figured over with seas and continents and 
 islands ; and how different nations dwell upon 
 it. I have told you the story of the great hu- 
 man family ; and I have not failed occasion- 
 ally to direct your thoughts to that good and 
 great Being who rules over all things. 
 
 But it appeared to me that I had failed to 
 make religion sufficiently the subject of my 
 addresses to you ; and I was anxious to sup- 
 ply this omission. I was the more anxious, 
 from the apprehension that such topics are 
 thought to be dull, tedious and uninteresting, 
 by most young people. I was solicitous to 
 make an effort to remove an error which ap- 
 pears to me so great and so mischievous. There 
 is no subject so full of interest, even for young 
 persons, as religion, if they will sit down and 
 study it aright. It is like a never-failing spring, 
 bubbling up every moment with bright, refresh- 
 ing and beautiful ideas. Those who refuse to 
 -drink at this heaven-fed fountain must slake 
 
324 
 
 FAREWELL. 
 
 their thirst at the disturbed and muddy streams 
 of earth — streams, which, imperfect as they are, 
 often vanish at our utmost need, by some un- 
 seen subterraneous channel, or sink into the 
 fathomless bosom of a quicksand. 
 
 Farewell. 
 
 Peter Parley. 
 
A 
 
,-<p' 
 
- .