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AUTHOR: 
 
 GODWIN, BENJAMIN 
 
 TITLE: 
 
 LECTURES ON THE 
 ATHEISTIC ... 
 
 PLACE: 
 
 LONDON 
 
 DA TE : 
 
 1834 
 
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 CUit JjW * Book GcS4" 
 
 CoKumbia College Library 
 
 Madison At. and 49th St. How Tork. 
 
 Beside the main topic this hook also treats of 
 Subject No. Oh page \ Subject No. On page 
 
 \ 
 
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 : .V: 
 

 •J 
 
 /£. l^aJ^iy^i^^^ 
 
 tl/y^l<^ytS^ LECTURERS 
 
 
 
 ON THE 
 
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 1/ ' \ 
 
 ATHEISTIC CONTROVERSY; 
 
 DELITKRBO IN TBB 
 
 MONTHS OF FEBRUARY AND MARCH, 1834, 
 
 AT SIGN CHAPEL, BRADFORD, YORKSHIRE, 
 
 FORMING TRK FIRST PART OF A COURSE OF LECTURES ON INFIDELITY. 
 
 BT THE 
 
 REV. B. GODWIN, 
 
 AUTHOR OF ^LECTURES ON BRITISH COLONIAL SLAVERY,' etc. 
 
 ** Having no hope, and without God, in the world." — Eph. ii, 12. 
 
 ** O that they were wise, that they understood this ; that they would consider 
 their latter end." — Deut. xxxii, 29. . 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PUBLISHED BT JACKSON AND WALFOBD, LONDON ; WAUGH AND INNES 
 
 EDINBURGH; AND E. KEIOHLEY, BRADFORD. 
 
 MDCCCXXXIV. 
 
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 TO THE 
 
 CHURCH AND CONGREGATION 
 
 ASSEMBLING IN SION CHAPEL, BRIDGE-STREET, 
 
 ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL. 
 
 BRADFORD, 
 
 THESE LECTURES, 
 
 WHICH ARE PUBLISHED AT THEIR ESPECIAL REQUEST, 
 
 ARE WITH AFFECTIONATE REGARD INSCRIBED, 
 
 E. Keighley, Printer, 51, Kirkgate, 
 Bradford. 
 
 BY THEIR SINCERE FRIEND 
 
 AND DEVOTED PASTOR, 
 
 B. GODWIN. 
 
 14415 
 
Mtftt 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The subject of these lectures is confessedly of the first importance, 
 and deserves the most serious and general attention ; it constitutes 
 the foundation of all religious truth, and has, therefore, not only 
 occupied the minds, bnt employed the pens of the most profound 
 philosophers, and the ablest divines. Till within a few months, 
 nothing was farther from the author's thoughts, than to add 
 another to the many volumes which have been written on this su- 
 premely interesting topic The circumstances in which this work 
 originated, and which seemed scarcely to leave an alternative, 
 must be his apology — if any apology be deemed necessary — for its 
 publication. Something more than twelve years ago. Providence 
 directed the authors steps to one of the most populous manufactur- 
 ing districts of this kingdom; he soon observed that the character 
 of the population in general, was marked by no small degree of 
 activity, and energy, and enterprise, extending to every subject 
 which engaged their attention ; that they seldom remained in- 
 different spectators, or silent observers of what was passing around 
 them, but that on all questions of trade, politics, or religion, they 
 generally took a decided part, and whether right or wrong, pur- 
 sued their object with determination and spirit. While, therefore, 
 he beheld with satisfaction the vigorous efforts which were made to 
 support most of the benevolent institutions which distinguish the 
 present day, he saw with deep regret vice assuming a great degree 
 of boldness, and perceived that a daring spirit of infidelity had, to 
 a considerable extent, not only rejected the truths of revelation, but 
 even denied or questioned the being of a God. He found that. 
 
vi 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 VU 
 
 t 
 
 besides regular meetings for discussing the favourite topics of 
 scepticism, many works of infidelity were in circulation, and that 
 the opportunities aiforded for the inculcation of its tenets, by the 
 frequent intercourse to which manufacturing employments give 
 rise, were by no means lost. He frequently wished that some 
 one qualified for the undertaking would step forward in the cause 
 of truth, and endeavour by a reference to nature, and an appeal 
 to reason, to stop the progress of errors so pernicious. To one or 
 two friends of scientific attainments, a plan of this kind was sug- 
 gested, but in vain ; while the pressure of the author's engagements, 
 and the sense of the importance of such an undertaking, deterred 
 him from making the attempt, though it still continued to occupy 
 his thoughts. 
 
 Towards the close of 1833, the following placard was posted on 
 the walls of the town and neighbourhood : — 
 
 " On Sunday last, in the Primitive Methodist Chapel, Mr. 
 Matfin, according to previous announcement, repeated a decla- 
 mation on Infideuty, which he had before delivered in the 
 surrounding villages. Its character was therefore known, and 
 prior to its repetition last Sunday evening, he received a letter^ 
 of which the following is a copy : — 
 
 *** Sir,— Asyou have taken advantage of the protection of the pulpit to misre- 
 present and abuse a certain portion of your fellow-creatures, whose only peculiarity 
 is a devotedness to truth, a refusal to profess opinions which appear to them 
 erroneous and absurd, though the reward of their honesty be the persecutions of 
 interested hypocrisy on the one hand, and of prejudice, bigotry, and superstition, 
 on the other,— as you have described such as enemies to human happiness, and 
 fit only to be hunted from society, common justice requires, that while you thus 
 endeavour to commit them to the antipathies of your hearers, you should allow 
 them to be heard in their own defence. You are, therefore, requested either to 
 permit a reply at the termination of your sermon, or otherwise offer the use of your 
 chapel for that purpose, some evening of the ensuing week. You have described 
 infidels as the most vicious and detestable beings in nature, but if you refiise them 
 the common justice here demanded, your conduct will belie your words, and will 
 prove you to be much more vicious and detestable. 
 
 *« Bradford, November Idth, lf33,» 
 
 " At the conclusion of the sermon, and while the collection 
 was progressing, Mr. M. stated, that he had received a very 
 ridiculous letter from the infidels, but he must tell them that 'if 
 
 any one attempted to read anything, or speak, or kick up a dust,' 
 they would subject themselves to a penalty of forty-one pounds, 
 and that officers were in attendance to mark them out, in order 
 that the law might be enforced. 
 
 "Here is a pretty specimen of the liberality of parsons ! They 
 will only assert the truth of Christianity where their dogmas can- 
 not be gainsaid ! If, however, they be sincere in their declaration 
 that such a doom as they assert, awaits those who differ from them 
 in opinion and belief, is it not then their duty to hear and answer 
 the reasons assigned for such difference ? They must know that 
 belief is not dependent on the will, it is the result of perception, 
 and that therefore, declamation against, and vituperation of infi- 
 delity, are quite useless. Persuasion or threatenings can be of 
 no avail to alter opinions and belief honestly entertained,— all 
 such changes must be the result of conviction from reflection, 
 reasoning, and argument They should establish the truth of 
 their creed, by exhibiting the force of its evidence, and the futility 
 of all objections. Let any one competent to this task undertake 
 it, and he may obtain the co-operation of the sceptic for the 
 eliciting of the truth." 
 
 « Bradford, November 22d, 1833." 
 
 On reading the above, the author at once felt that such an 
 appeal should be met ; and as he found that no one else was likely 
 to take up the subject, he determined on attempting to " establish 
 the truth " of what is generally believed, " by exhibiting the force 
 of its evidence, and the futility of all objections." As soon as his 
 intentions were known, those who had espoused the sentiments 
 alluded to, professed themselves highly pleased, and ofifered to 
 render any assistance to such an investigation. A public meeting 
 for discussion was suggested ; but that, on several accounts, was 
 declined, as less eligible than a course of lectures. It was also 
 requested, that permission might be given to those who held 
 sceptical opinions, to reply in the chapel to the arguments which 
 might be advanced ; but this was not admissible. The author, 
 however, went as far as he could with propriety ; he promised them 
 a syllabus of the lectures, and offered, when they should fix on 
 
 
i 
 
 
 Vlll 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 d 
 
 a time and place for replying, to announce the appointment from 
 the pulpit, and with his friends to hear what should be advanced 
 by them ; and farther, that if they should prove any statement of 
 importance to be incorrect, or any material argument unsound, he 
 would willingly acknowledge it The difficulty of obtaining a 
 suitable place was finally alleged as a reason for abandoning this 
 plan, and the author was urged to commit his lectures to the press, 
 that they might thus receive an answer. So urgent, indeed, was 
 the request, that a deputation from the body offered to print the 
 lectures at their own expense, if they should be furnished with the 
 manuscript As to publishing, no decided reply could then be 
 given ; but they were promised, at all events, copious notes. 
 
 In February and March the lectures were delivered in Sion 
 Chapel, where the author officiates as pastor. The interest felt in 
 the town and neighbourhood was far greater than the lecturer had 
 anticipated ; the place was crowded to excess, the congregation in- 
 creasing as the course proceeded, and though the pressure and heat 
 were great, a silent and unremitting attention was given to the 
 whole of the lectures, which occupied on an average, each, about 
 two hours and a quarter in delivery. Those who had embraced the 
 tenets of infidelity were general and regular in their attendance, 
 and their behaviour was marked with propriety. Indeed, it is but 
 just to say, that in all the communications the author has had with 
 the leaders of the sceptical party, he has been treated with the 
 utmost re§pect and courtesy ; in his intercourse with them he 
 has often expressed his deep concern for their welfare, and his 
 sense of the pernicious nature of their principles, which they 
 have uniformly received with kindness. It is also but just to 
 add, that though the greater part of those who are professedly 
 sceptical, deny, it appears, the existence of a Supreme and Intelli- 
 gent Creator distinct from nature, they are not, as far as the author 
 can learn, disgraced by licentious habits; many of them he believes 
 to be men of upright conduct, against whom nothing can be al- 
 leged but their principles. That such men should embrace a 
 system so contrary to the general sense of mankind, so opposed 
 to the conclusions of most of the wisest and the best of men, a 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 IX 
 
 ' 
 
 / 
 
 system so extravagant in its opinions, so barren of all that is good, 
 so unfavourable in its aspect on virtue, is a cause of surprise and 
 regret. May "the Father of lights" mercifully convince them of 
 their error— may they "know the truth," and may the truth " make 
 them free." 
 
 In addition to the frequent and urgent requests of the followers 
 of infidelity, and the great difficulty found in furnishing, according 
 to promise, such notes as would answer the purpose ; a unanimous 
 and affectionate request came from the author's own beloved 
 charge, that the lectures might be published, — he could hesitate 
 no longer. In consequence of these circumstances, they now ap- 
 pear before the public. The local interest cannot, of course, be 
 expected to be widely extended, but the author could not well 
 print for some, without publishing for all. It was felt to be a dis- 
 advantage that so many had written, and ably written on the 
 same subject, but none have written precisely in the same way ; 
 and besides, many will probably read these lectures who have not 
 time, or opportunity, or inclination to read other works. It was 
 difficult to keep clear of the ground which others had occupied, 
 but it is presumed that no candid and judicious critic will suppose 
 that complete originality was either practicable or desirable. The 
 author has, of course, read on the subject, but he has thought for 
 himself; and as it has, no doubt, happened to others, trains of 
 thought which to him were original, he has often found, subse- 
 quently, in writers already before the public. He has deemed it 
 right to avail himself of all the information which was accessible to 
 him that bears upon the subject ; he has often quoted, but never 
 he believes, copied. While the author was preparing the lectures, 
 a work was put into his hands published a few years since, by a 
 highly respectable and talented minister of the Methodist New 
 Connexion, on the same subject ;* but, as the author found on 
 inspection, that this gentleman referred principally to the work 
 whose atheistic tenets he also intended to examine, he laid it 
 aside without a perusal, lest he should be in the dilemma of either 
 appearing to copy him, or of giving up ground which might be 
 
 ♦ The Rev. T. Allin. 
 
\ 
 
 
 X PREFACE. 
 
 advantageously occupied. Perhaps, this was being unnecessarily 
 fastidious, but the author felt it the only way in which he could 
 eomfortabiy proceed. As yet, he has not had the pleasure of a 
 perusal of this work; now he will be able to enjoy it 
 
 A considerable degree of surprise has been expressed, at the 
 delay in the publication of these lectures. The author is well 
 aware that the sale of the work will suffer from it, as much of the 
 deep interest felt at the time when the lectures were delivered, 
 must have subsided ; yet, it was unavoidable, and he begs his 
 friends to accept the following reasons as an apology. For nearly 
 two months after the delivery of the lectures, the author was from 
 home ; one month, or nearly so, on business connected with the 
 institution of which he was a tutor, and a few weeks afterwards on 
 account of ill health. As the lectures before their delivery, though 
 pretty fully written, were not in a condition to meet any other eye 
 than that of their author, it was necessary that they should be 
 entirely re-written. In addition to this, every argument has been 
 re-examined, authorities re-consulted, and quotations verified. The 
 interruptions also, from official duties, corrections and revisions of 
 the press, &c., have not been few. It would have been much more 
 satisfactory to the authors own mind, if he could have had yet a 
 few months more to revise the whole, but the continued demand 
 for the appearance of the work rendered expedition desirable. He 
 wished to place the subject in the most convincing form, before 
 the minds of those whose welfare he has more particularly sought ; 
 and deeply would he regret if he should fail in his object, through 
 incapacity to do justice to so important a subject In pursuing 
 so many trains of thought, in introducing proofs and illustrations 
 of so varied a kind, in touching on so many points of a difficult 
 and delicate nature, in so many disquisitions of an abstract and 
 metaphysical kind, it would be strange indeed, if both friends and 
 opponents should not find something to which they might object; 
 but for all that is material in the great argument, the author has 
 no fear. He by no means deprecates the honourable criticism 
 of friends, nor wishes to escape the most searching investigations 
 of the unbeliever. He has no doubt but the practised eye will 
 
 PREFACE, 
 
 xi 
 
 IX 
 
 '4^ 
 
 discover marks of haste ; he hopes, however, that the inaccuracies 
 will be few, and not important The lectures are substantially 
 the same in matter and method as they were delivered; they 
 could not possibly be the same verbatim, as many of the most 
 effective appeals, as well as several of the illustrations had no 
 place in the previous notes. The style of address is preserved as 
 nearly as possible ; but the author must confess, that in preparing 
 the lectures for the press, much of the spirit that attended their 
 delivery, seems to have escaped ; to write in the study, and to 
 speak to a crowded audience whose attention is evidently and 
 deeply excited, are very different things. 
 
 No sooner was the intended publication of the lectures 
 announced, than public information was given that they would 
 receive a reply. Nor will the reply, it is believed, be long delayed ; 
 as, at the particular request of the sceptical party, the author 
 has furnished them with the sheets as each lecture passed through 
 the press. He has also to acknowledge, on their part, the readiness 
 with which they furnished the author with works which advocated 
 their sentiments, which were not in his own library. The argu- 
 ments combated, are principally, though not entirely, taken from 
 'The System of Nature,*a work which bears the name of Mirabaud, 
 though it was probably written by some other person or persons.* 
 The principal objections in Mr. Hume's ' Dialogues on Natural 
 Religion,' are also noticed, together with the arguments or objec- 
 tions of some others. The reason why the preference was given 
 to 'The System of Nature' was, that besides its containing a more 
 full and complete exhibition of the atheistic philosophy, than any 
 one work with which the author is acquainted, and its being less 
 grossly offensive in its language than most, it is considerably read in 
 his neighbourhood, and appeals are often made to it With other 
 works of a similar tendency, it is published in cheap numbere for 
 
 * The author could not procure a copy of the * System of Nature * in French, or 
 he certainly would have consulted it j but as it is the English copy which is circu- 
 lated and read in his neighbourho<j^, the references to this are more convenient. 
 The edition is the third, octavo, in two volumes. The other works of a sceptical 
 kind quoted, with the exception of Mr. Hume, are from * The Deist,' a work which 
 boldly advocates atheistical principles, published by Mr. Carlile. 
 
xu 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 more general circulation. That his townsmen, who intend to 
 animadvert on these lectures, will treat him with courtesy, the 
 author has no reason to fear; but he earnestly entreats them to 
 combat not for victory, but for truth; he affectionately and 
 solemnly begs them and others inclined to sceptical principles, 
 who may read these lectures, to give them a serious and candid 
 perusal, and in the calmness of retirement and the coolness of 
 reflection, to inquire •' what is truth - ? Whether the author wUl 
 feel it his duty to take any public notice of the intended reply, 
 will depend on its character; he has no Ume for needless contro- 
 versy, or trifling logomachy, while he would not shrink from pro- 
 perty conducted discussion, which has important truth for its 
 object. 
 
 It is hoped that the lectures now introduced to the public, may 
 not be useless to those wlio, from their connexions or circumstances, 
 are exposed to the attacks of infidelity or the seductions of " a 
 vain philosophy ; " especially those whose youthful and ardent 
 minds may be more liable to danger. Very thankful would the 
 author be, should they be the means either of prevention or cure. 
 
 It was the author's intention to follow up the present course, 
 by another on the Christian Revelation ; but what he has already 
 done, has occupied so much time, and caused the suspension of po 
 many duties, that, if he should deem it requisite to resume the 
 subject, some time must elapse before he returns to it In the 
 mean time, he earnestly implores the Divine blessing on this 
 attempt 
 
 Bowling Cottajfp, Bradford, Yorkshire, 
 
 Octaiat, laai. 
 
 I 
 
 fl 
 
 ' 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 PRELIMINARY REMARKS—THE ARGUMENT' STATED^PRESUMPTIVE 
 
 PROOFS. 
 
 Prel. Rem. _ 
 
 Introduction— Importance of the subjectr-Reasons for taking it peculiar 
 to the present time. ., i 
 
 Address on the proposed Method— to Christians— to Unbelievers . . 9 
 
 The Argument stated. 
 
 The great point of Controversy— on this Atheism cannot obtain Cer- 
 tainty—Concessions to this Effect (Note) 12 
 
 Presumptite Proofs. 
 
 General Belief unaccountable on the Principles of Atheism— whether 
 supposed to be derived from Tradition— or to arise from the Consti- 
 tution of Man— or from Reason— the Atheistic Attempt at explanation 
 examined. ., .. ,. ., ,, ,, ^^ ^^ |g 
 
 The Circumstances in which the Conviction of the Existence of a God 
 is the strongest— Failure of the Attempt to account for this. . . 23 
 
 Moral Phenomena of Atheism— Attempted Retort— French Revolution- 
 Robespierre (A^ote) — Opinions influenced by the Moral state. . . 25 
 
 Address— to Christians — ^to Unbelievers. 29 
 
 LECTURE 11. 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 Introduction— the Task which Atheism has to perform . . 
 First Hypothesis. 
 
 That Matter, &c. had a beginning without a Maker 
 
 32 
 
 37 
 
— — - — «. ^^- 
 
 xav 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Second Hypothesis. 
 
 That the whole System of Nature has existed as it now is from all 
 Eternity— Preliminary Remarks— Absurdities in which it is involved 
 —History and Science contradict it— Lucretius, Macrobius, &c.— 
 Geology — Astronomy 
 
 Third Hypothesis. 
 
 That Matter is eternal, and that the various forms of Existence sprang 
 solely from its Inherent Properties- Two Positions assumed by this 
 Hypothesis ; First, that Matter is Eternal— the Arguments for this 
 Examined — proved to rest only on gratuitous Assumptions— and to be 
 
 attended with insuperable Difficulties 
 
 Second Position of this Hypothesis, that Matter, by its own Inherent 
 Properties, has produced all things— Properties and Laws of Matter— 
 the Eternity of Motion examined — Experience — Testimony — Analogy 
 —the total Failure of the Hypothesis 
 
 P. 
 
 87 
 
 46 
 
 54 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 Introduction— Selection necessary— the Nature of the Argument— Athe- 
 istic Exceptions to it noticed— no Experience to guide us — the 
 necessary Laws of Matter— the Proofs to be adduced limited to Man 
 
 and his Relations 71 
 
 The Physical Structure of Man. 
 
 The Frame work- the Muscles— the Nerves—the Skin .. .. 78 
 
 The adaptation of parts to each other 95 
 
 The Provision made for the Preservation of the System ,, ., 96 
 
 How this Provision is distributed iQg 
 
 The Degree of Dependence which the Working of this Machinery has on 
 the Will jQQ 
 
 Recapitulation— Animadversions on some Atheistic Statements . . 118 
 
 Appeal — Conclusion ^^ ^^ ..116 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE 
 CONTINUED-OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 Introduction— Dishonourable Expedient of some Advocates of Infidelity 
 (Note.) 
 
 U8 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 XV 
 
 Man in Relation to the World which he inhabits. p. 
 
 The Argument igi 
 
 The Appetites which indicate Man's Wants, and the Provision which 
 
 Nature affords to supply them . . , , 122 
 
 The Atmosphere in which Man lives, and the Organization which has 
 
 especial Relation to it |2q 
 
 Light and the Organ of Vision j3g 
 
 Man in Connexion with Beings of his own Species 149 
 
 The Adaptation of the Instrument by which Man acts on external 
 
 Nature to the Mind which employs it 154 
 
 The Relation op the World which Man inhabits to the great 
 
 System of which it forms a part. 
 
 The Solar System 159 
 
 The relative Position of the Sun — Rotation of the Earth on its Axis — 
 Inclination of its Axis — Combination of the centripetal and centri- 
 fiigal Forces — the Harmony of the whole — apparent Irregularities - . 160 
 Rbplt to Objections. 
 
 Attempts to Account for the Formation of Man — System of Nature — 
 
 Palmer — Processes of Nature — Germs and Matrices — Lucretius 167 
 
 Progressive advance to higher Species — not supported by Facts — Egyp- 
 tian Mummies— Mr. Lyell (Note.)— that Efforts, &c. produced 
 
 Organs 175 
 
 That Parts accidentally formed led to their respective uses . . 179 
 
 That whatever exists must exist in some Form or Mode . . . . 181 
 That Matter may contain the Source or Spring of Order within itself 182 
 Natural Religion charged with Anthropomorphism . . . . 184 
 
 Concluding Address ]88 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 THE VIEWS WHICH NATITRE TEACHES US TO FORM OF THE SUPREME 
 
 BEING. 
 
 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , igo 
 
 The Nature of the Supreme Being. 
 
 Eternal — Independent — Self-existcnt — Infinite — Immutable — Omnipre- 
 sent — a Spirit — his Unity .. ., .. 192 
 
 The Character of God, 
 
 Natural Attributes — Wisdom — Power ,. .. ,, ,. 200 
 
 Moral Perfections — Justice — Benevolence . . . . . . , . 206 
 
 I 
 
iipi|ff'P'iiir'n™'''P"r 
 
 XVI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 The Government of God. ' '• 
 
 Providential Government— Universal— Particular— Two distinct Views 
 
 of this examined •• *'* 
 
 Moral Government **" 
 
 Objections Noticed. 
 
 Why so many Creatures apparently useless 221 
 
 The Amount of existing Evil .. .. 223 
 
 Concluding Address 231 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 THE ATHEISTIC PHILOSOPHY COMPARED, IN SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL 
 
 FEATURES, WITH CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 Introduction— General Remarks on " Vain and Deceitful Philosophy** 
 
 — the Comparison • • • • 233 
 
 Various Points of Contrast Noticed. 
 
 In the Character and Aspect under which the two Systems present 
 
 themselves to our Notice 239 
 
 In what they teach respectively, and the manner of their teaching 242 
 
 In their Adaptation to Human Nature 244 
 
 In the Extent of their Influence 245 
 
 Three Especial Points of Comparison. ,^^^ 
 
 Their Views of Man— his Origin—Relation— Prospects -. ..248 
 
 Their Influence on Morals— an Atheistic Comparison examined — In- 
 fluence of the two Systems to restrain Crime and promote Virtue 254 
 Their Capability of affording Happiness— Means of Enjoyment common 
 to both — Sources of Happiness peculiar to each . . . . . . 266 
 
 Concluding Address— to Atheistic Hearers — to Parents and Guardians 
 —to Professing Christians— to Youth— to Townsmen .. ..275 
 
 '4 
 
 
 /o 
 
 / 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 i 'i ''-^ 
 
 PRELIMINARY REMARKS— THE ARGUMENT STATED- 
 PRESUMPTIVE PROOFS. 
 
 rSALM C. 3.-" KNOW YE THAT THE LORD HE IS GOD; IT IS HE THAT 
 HATH MADE US, AND NOT WE OURSELVES; WE ARE HIS PEOPLE, AND 
 THE SHEEP OF HIS PASTURE.»» 
 
 It seems to be a law of our nature, given for the most 
 beneficial purposes, that we should ever be desirous of com- 
 municating our sentiments and opinions to others. A most 
 important result of this is the increase of knowledge, and the 
 general improvement of society. Were each to confine to 
 his own bosom the amount of his observation and experience, 
 knowledge could never accumulate, science could not be 
 extended, and one of the most important advantages of man's 
 social condition would be lost. But this cannot be ; we are 
 so constituted that an inward impulse is ever operating, to 
 produce a communication of our thoughts and feelings. 
 Circumstances may, indeed, exist, which may greatly modify 
 this propensity; but, generally speaking, the greater the 
 importance which we attach to any subject, and the deeper 
 the interest which we feel in it, the stronger is the desire to 
 engage the attention of others to it. When, in addition to 
 this, we have a conviction that the welfare of others is 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
 
 [Lect. r. 
 
 Lect. I.] 
 
 PRELIMINARY REMARKS, 
 
 essentially connected with the adoption of our own views 
 everj^ J>ew/^fent feeling of the heart adds its weight to the 
 motives whichlnduce us to impart these sentiments to others. 
 It IS no \^b^der, then, that the operation of religion on the 
 mind should powerfully act on this law of our nature, as 
 nothmg can equal the solemnity of its truths, the grandeur 
 of Its objects, and the influence which it has on the happi- 
 ness of man both here and hereafter. The existence of God 
 m his glorious perfections as the creator and governor of the 
 universe, is the foundation of all religious truth. It is this 
 which, deeply impressing the mind of the Psalmist, produced 
 the language which I have just read as the ground of our 
 discourse. While he devoutly admires the greatness and the 
 goodness of the ever living God, he calls on all to acknow- 
 ledge his supremacy, and to render to him "the glory due 
 unto his name." " Know ye that the Lord he is God ; it is 
 he that hath made us, and not we ourselves ; we arL the 
 people of his hand, and the sheep of his pasture." 
 
 Jehovah, usually translated Lord, is a name given to the 
 Supreme Being l)y the sacred writers of the Old Testament; 
 it is derived from a root which signifies existence, and de- 
 notes th^ existing one by way of distinction and emphasis, 
 the one who has existence in a sense peculiar to himself and 
 superior to all other beings. This awful power, of underived 
 and unchanging existence, is God ; who is the first cause, 
 the sole proprietor, and the supreme governor of all. " It is' 
 he that hath made us, and not we ourselves ;" we are there- 
 fore subject to his control, and dependent on his bounty, 
 « we are the people of his hand and the sheep of his pasture."' 
 These are the views which the devout Psalmist takes of the 
 great Jehovah ; these are the sentiments which he is desirous 
 of impressing on the minds of others ; and this is the all- 
 important theme on which, with all humility and becoming 
 solemnity, I would now enter. 
 
 As few, if any, in our congregations, deny or doubt the 
 existence of the Deity, it is very rare that any proof is 
 advanced from the pulpit on the subject, or tkit'il is treated 
 in an argumentative way. It seems unnes^essary to prove 
 what all admit, or to adduce evidence of what is conimonJy 
 received with the certainty of an axiom. But timers may be 
 circumstances which may require the exposition and defence 
 of the most undoubted principles ; and such, I am compelled 
 to believe, is the case now. When all that we hold sacred 
 is contemned ; when all the objects of our belief are attacked, 
 and our dearest hopes are treated as visionary and delusive; 
 and when, at the same time, those who throw down the 
 gauntlet, and bid defiance to every thing which bears the 
 name of religion, declare that their " only peculiarity is a 
 devotedness to truth," it is high time to show the Christian 
 that his hopes are not mere fancies, nor his faith a "cunningly 
 devised fable," and to meet the challenge of the professed 
 * inquirers after truth with such evidence as we hope will 
 satisfy them,- — as we believe must satisfy every honest and 
 unprejudiced mind. My intention is, therefore, if health 
 and strength permit, to follow up the present course wfth 
 a series of lectures on the truth of divine revelation ; but as 
 a revelation necessarily supposes the existence of a Supreme 
 Being, we shall, at present, confine ourselves to this great 
 fundamental article of all religious belief. 
 
 To be engaged in the pursuit of truth, is an employment 
 so congenial to the mind of man, and the acquisition of 
 truth is so valuable to a rational being; that he who makes 
 no endeavour after the attainment, acts a part unworthy of 
 the rank which he holds in the scale of being. " Buy the 
 truth and sell it not," is at once the dictate of reason, and 
 the injunction of revelation. All truths are not, however, of 
 equal consequence ; there are innumerable points on which 
 information would be of no conceivable importance; in 
 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
 
 [Lect. I. 
 
 many cases, the only advantage of knowledge is the pleasure 
 which it^aiTords by satisfying a rational curiosity, or the 
 ten^lncy Wlli^ it has to enlarge and strengthen the mind. 
 But the e^f is^t^ncie or non-existence of a Supreme Being, who, 
 l{^ the maker, the proprietor, and governor of all things, is at 
 the Ij^ad of the universe, is a point which is of unspeakable 
 importance to our present happiness>nd our future welfare. 
 This is not a question of temporary loss or gain, of mere 
 comfort or uneasiness, the resolution of which may be disre- 
 garded without fear of any serious injury ; but it is an 
 inquiry which involves all that is dear to man, all that is 
 important to man, through all the extent of his relations and 
 the whole duration of his existence. It is, whether there is 
 a being who pervades all space, who surveys all nature, who 
 governs all creatures ; who has unlimited power to save or 
 to destroy ; who is the perfection of all goodness, the pattern 
 of all excellence, the protector of virtue, the avenger of 
 the oppressed, the refuge of the needy, and the punisher of 
 all vice ; who will in another world crown all the exertions, 
 and reward all the sufferings of humble piety with unspeak- 
 able felicity, and render unto the wicked according to their 
 works;— or whether all this is but a fiction of the imagin- 
 ation, the invention of cunning and designing men, a false, 
 absurd, and irrational superstition, from which it is one of 
 the highest efforts of wisdom and benevolence to attempt to 
 deliver the human mind. All that excites the hopes and 
 fears, the anxieties and solicitudes of our minds, in relation 
 to this world, is nothing— absolutely nothing, when com- 
 pared to what is involved in this great question ! Is there a 
 supreme and gracious power, in whose mercy I may hope 
 when conscious of a thousand imperfections, in whose com- 
 passion I may find a refuge amidst all my sorrows and my 
 griefs, in whom I may trust when earthly help fails, and 
 who is able, after the changes of a brief mortal existence, to 
 
 Lect. I.] 
 
 PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
 
 give to my soul that enlarged happiness after which I pant, of 
 which I feel my.natureMs capable, and which wijl be an 
 ample indemnification for all the sufferings ' ^^ this pt^Ol)a- 
 tionary state !— Or is there no hope for the distressed beyoriS 
 his own resources, is there no help for him when earthl^> 
 good forsakes him — is all above him and beyond hf^n a ,d^eer- 
 less blank, or a dark and impenetrable cloud ? Is there a 
 being whose will is law to the universe, who, " glorious in 
 holiness," is " angry with the wicked every day," who sees 
 all the recesses of the guilty heart, knows all the misdeeds 
 of the transgressor, whose omnipotent power can crush the 
 haughtiest sinner in the dust, who will call all to account 
 for " the deeds done in the body," and not allow vice, how- 
 ever sheltered by rank or veiled in obscurity, to go unpun- 
 ished } — Or, is there no law superior to man's desires, no 
 omniscient eye to look on the deeds of darkness, no divine 
 power to 'fear, no accountability to be concerned for ; has 
 the guilty wretch whose life has been a scene of criminal 
 indulgence, of perfidy and cruelty to others, a torment and 
 a curse to society, no more reason to fear than the tiger of 
 the desert, which, having lived on blood and rapine, a terror 
 to every inferior beast, crawls into his den, breathes out his 
 life, and becomes nothing more than a putrid lump of 
 various elements, hastening to mingle with the earth which 
 was the scene of all his cruelties ? Such is the nature of 
 the inquiry on which we now enter; and what can equal 
 the importance of this subject.?^ All the facts of history, 
 all the discoveries of science, all the concerns of life, sink 
 into utter insignificance, when brought into comparison 
 with it 
 
 At all times, and in all circumstances, the great theme 
 which is now to engage our attention is, ai^d ought to be, 
 deeply interesting, both to those who believe and to those 
 who doubt ; but there are reasons, peculiar to the present 
 
6 
 
 PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
 
 [Lect. I. 
 
 time and circumstances, which induce me to think that an 
 examination of this all-important subject is^now particularly 
 s^a^^able."^''^^ 
 
 ;;''By ^%^^|ctpn8ion of education, by the wide diffusion of 
 IPoo^lMge^ and the great facilities which exist for the com- 
 mu:ni/;atioa,of ideas and opinions on all subjects, the thinking 
 faculty has received a most astonishing impulse, and the 
 spirit of inquiry has gone forth through all the length and 
 breadth of the land. Everything now must be subject to a 
 scrutiny. Opinions which have been held sacred for ages, 
 institutions of ' remote antiquity, political relations, civic 
 economy, ecclesiastical polity, all are now brought to the 
 test of inquiry. In such a state of things it is no matter of 
 surprise, that not only the peculiar doctrines and varying 
 forms of the several sects should be regarded as question- 
 able, but that ample j)roof should be demanded of those 
 truths on which, as its basis, all religion rests. It is^ecessary, 
 then, to show that those sacred principles which sustain the 
 hopes and cheer the spirit of man, which exert a salutary 
 influence over his life, and support him in the hour of death, 
 are founded in reason ; that they have not only the stamp of 
 antiquity but the seal of truth ;--that, far from shunning the 
 light, they solicit inquiry, and have nothing to fear from the 
 closest and most impartial examination. 
 
 The increased activity of the abettors of scepticism is also 
 a circumstance which deserves attention. As might be 
 expected, they have availed themselves of the facilities 
 which the wide diffusion of knowledge has afforded, to dis- 
 seminate their tenets. And, unhappily, the prosecutions of 
 the late government have given a notoriety to the apostles of 
 infidelity which, otherwise, they never could have obtained; 
 and have even, in the minds of many, there is great reason 
 to think, created a degree of interest, and led them to suppose 
 that there must be some truth in that for which men appeared 
 
 Lect. I.] 
 
 PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
 
 so willing to suffer : this has probably assisted the efforts 
 of those who are labouring, with no small zeal, to propagate 
 their own hostility to everything which others regard as 
 sacred. And though many who rail at religion are capable 
 of showing nothing but their hatred of all that is holy, 
 scarcely knowing "what they say, nor whereof they affirm," 
 there are, it must be acknowledged, men of ingenuity and 
 talent, who rank among the opponents of Christianity, who 
 by their writings supply others with the weapons of their 
 warfare. Now, many of our young people, and others who 
 have not had much opportunity of reading, meet with per- 
 sons and works of this description ; they are assailed at once 
 by the ingenuity of argument and the boldness of assertion, 
 and if they have no means of reply, will they not be, not 
 only staggered, but led, perhaps, to conclude, that what is so 
 plausible must be true, that what is so strongly affirmed 
 must have some evidence for its support. It seems necessary, 
 therefore, that an antidote should be provided, that those 
 who are thus assailed should be able " to give a reason of the 
 hope that is within them," that they should be able to detect 
 the error of a profane sophistry, and to see that the cause of 
 holiness is the cause of truth. 
 
 Nor must it be concealed that the disciples of infidelity 
 have latterly been considerably increasing in number. I do 
 not wonder at it Why should we be surprised that, while 
 so many have a thorough dislike to all that is pious and 
 spiritual, some should be found who openly say, " let us 
 break their bonds asunder, and cast away their cords from 
 us;" — that^peculative minds, who see no beauty in religion, 
 as freedom of opinion prevails, should throw off both the form 
 and the name of Christianity > I do expect that the number 
 of such will still increase, and that the cause of infidelity 
 will receive farther accessions, not from the ranks of piety, 
 but from a nominal Christianity, and a concealed scepti- 
 
8 
 
 PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
 
 [Lect. I. 
 
 cism,* I see no reason for any fear in the prospect of such a 
 result; nor does it appear to me as a gloomy and portentous 
 " sign of the times." If the great struggle should at last be 
 between Christianity and infidelity, what has truth to fear ? 
 It is, however, a call to the friends of religion to furbish 
 their weapons, and be found at their po^ 
 
 Another consideration, of no small weight, is, that in our 
 own town and neighbourhood, which have the most direct 
 claims on our efforts in the cause of truth and holiness, there 
 are many who openly avow the principles of infidelity, and are 
 active in disseminating them. These have publicly called for 
 evidence to establish the truth of religion, have blamed the 
 ministers of Christianity for not reasoning with them, and 
 have declared their willingness to listen to any arguments 
 which may be advanced in its favour. And should such 
 calls be disregarded ? Should errors, however revolting to 
 our minds, render us indifferent to the welfare of so many of 
 our fellow creatures, of our fellow townsmen? In such 
 circumstances, I hope it will not be deemed presumption, 
 that I come forward to plead wliat I believe to be the sacred 
 cause of truth, to perform what ought to be considered, in 
 the highest sense, a work of mercy. " Brethren, if any of 
 you do err from the truth, and one convert him, let him 
 know that he who converteth the sinner from the error of 
 his way shall save a soul from death, and hide a multitude 
 of sins." I do entertain the humble hope, I do feel the 
 strong desire that I may be able, through the blessing of God, 
 
 • That there is already much more infidelity than is apparent, no one doubts, who 
 has a general acquaintance with the present state of society. Sho^Jd the course of 
 events be such, as by any means to allow of an unrestrained expression of sceptical 
 opinions, without the fear of incurring odium, or sufiering inconvenience of some 
 kind or other, many who now in private life are hostile to religion, would become 
 its avowed opponents. There are always some who are daring enough to avow 
 their hostility to generally received and long revered opinions, at any risk ; but 
 where there is no high principle to support the mind, prudential motives will 
 generally prevail. 
 
 Lect. I.] 
 
 PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
 
 
 
 so to place the truth before the minds of such, as to show 
 the unreasonableness of their scepticism, lead them from 
 the paths of error, and guide their feet into "the way 
 of peace." And if this great object be realized in any 
 one instance, I shall not only feel amply repaid for all 
 my labour, but shall have abundant reason to rejoice, 
 and to praise him who is the giver of « every good gift and 
 every perfect gift." 
 
 Let me, then, bespeak a candid interpretation, from my 
 Christian friends, of the method which I shall pursue. Let 
 them be neither surprised nor dismayed, if I appear to state 
 hypothetically what they have long taken for granted as 
 undeniable and important truth. Let them remember that 
 the placing of any position as a question, in order to try the 
 force of the argument which affirms or denies it, is never 
 understood to imply any doubt or uncertainty in the mind 
 of him who thus states it, much less any endeavour to induce 
 others to doubt. No argument can well be conducted with- 
 out such suppositious. Nor let any who revere the authority 
 of scripture as decisive in all questions of morality and 
 religion, wonder that it is not quoted in proof of what I 
 advance. If those to whom I intend particularly to address 
 myself received the inspired writings as authority, there 
 would be no need of any reasoning; but as they do not 
 believe the scriptures, a reference to them will answer no 
 purpose. My Christian friends will bear with me, then, if I 
 attempt to prove at some length what they fully believe ; and 
 if I do not give prominency to those truths of the gospel 
 which are "the life of their spirits," let them remember that 
 the benefit of others must be sought as well as their edification; 
 it is not so much to the disciple of Christ as to the unbeliever 
 and the doubting inquirer, that I shall now address myself. 
 To those of my congregation who have joined the ranks 
 of infidelity I would say, give me your most serious attention. 
 
10 
 
 PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
 
 [Lect. I. 
 
 The subject is one which, you cannot but admit, is of para- 
 mount importance. If you are in error as to the existence 
 and character of God and your relations to him, it is an 
 error of no trifling kind, its magnitude is awful, and its 
 consequences alarming. Let me intreat you, therefore, to 
 banish from your minds everything like levity, to hear as 
 those who are listening to a topic in which their best interests 
 are involved, and to judge as reasonable men. 
 
 Let me also request your candid attention. If you have 
 any acquaintance with human nature, you must be aware of 
 the tendency of prejudice to mislead the judgment You may 
 have seen much under the Christian name adapted to give 
 very unfavourable impressions of Christianity ; but if the 
 appearance of hypocrisy has disgusted you, do not on this 
 account come to the sweeping conclusion that there is no sin- 
 cerity. If you have seen, in living instances, or in the page 
 of history, religion made subservient to mere worldly ends, 
 a means of gratifying ambition, of acquiring wealth or power, 
 beware of the unfairness of attributing to it the abuses of 
 wicked men ; and ask whether such conduct is not branded 
 with infamy, and such characters regarded with disdain, by 
 that religion which is thus insulted and dishonoured. If, 
 again, you feel hostile to religion, from an aversion to the 
 restraints which it would impose on you, or the sacrifices 
 which it would require of you, endeavour, while hearing, 
 to divest yourself of this prejudice, and inquire only,— 
 is it true ? 
 
 « Allow me also to suggest a caution. Do not hastily reject 
 the whole of the statements or reasonings which will be 
 presented to you, if you deem some particular part to be 
 unsound. It would be doing yourselves a serious injury, if, 
 because in a great variety of proofs and illustrations, you can 
 single out some that appear unconvincing or irrelevant, you 
 on that account refuse to admit the general body of evidence 
 
 Lect. I.] 
 
 PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
 
 11 
 
 adduced. It is but just to me, to the subject, and to your- 
 selves, to judge by the whole amount of proof, and not by 
 any insulated part. 
 
 On such an occasion, I should deem it a useless and in- 
 jurious fastidiousness to affect originality. The inquiry 
 should be, not what is original, but what is true ? How- 
 ever great the similarity may be in substance, yet every one 
 has his own way of stating a fact or conducting an argu- 
 ment, and, sometimes, what appears unconvincing in one point 
 of view, when exhibited in another light, or in a different 
 manner, succeeds in producing conviction. 
 
 I beg also to state, that while I cannot but consider 
 infidelity to be an error of a most pernicious kind, I hold 
 it right, in arguing with those who have embraced it, to 
 avoid all harsh and irritating expressions, and to treat them 
 as rational beings. Were I to do otherwise, I should act 
 contrary to the spirit of that holy religion of which I am an 
 humble advocate, which is itself " a reasonable service," 
 and which commands us " in meekness to instruct those who 
 are out of the way ;"— I should act contrary to the object I 
 have in view, sensible as I am that n^ man is ever converted 
 by abuse, or enlightened by irritation; — and, I may add, 
 I should act contrary to the feelings which have given rise 
 to these lectures, as I trust I can appeal to the "searcher 
 of hearts " for the benevolent, the affectionate concern, which 
 I entertain for the welfare of those whose attention I have 
 especially solicited to these lectures, and who, whatever may 
 be their mistakes, have still, as our fellow creatures and our 
 neighbours, strong claims on our sympathy and kindness. 
 
 But if I speak mildly and cautiously, I must not be 
 understood as thinking lightly of the error which I am 
 combating. Fidelity to the office which I sustain, as well as 
 concern for the best^nterests of those whom I address, oblige 
 me to state that I consider it as a n^oral poison, which must 
 
12 
 
 THE ARGUMENT STATED. 
 
 [Lbct« L 
 
 Lect. I.] 
 
 THE ARGUMENT STATED. 
 
 13 
 
 work the most serious mischiefs ; — that I view those who 
 embrace it as being in imminent danger, in a state of actual 
 rebellion against the Most High; and "fighting against 
 God;" — ^that, in a word, they are pursuing a course which, 
 if persisted in, must terminate in everlasting ruin. And 
 it is because I believe this, that I am affectionately concerned 
 to gain their attention, and to lead their minds into the way 
 of truth and peace. ^ 
 
 My respected hearers will, I trust, excuse the length to 
 which these prefatory observations have extended ; I thought 
 it right that we should have a clear understanding of our 
 object, and the manner in which we shall proceed. 
 
 Our present controversy is with atheism, the system which 
 denies or questions the being of a God. Atheistic writers, 
 indeed, sometimes speak of a " God," a " divinity," a " cause of 
 causes," but in all these cases they mean the material universe, 
 the properties which it possesses, or, a mere abstraction. 
 But this is a fallacious and deceptive use of terms ; at least, 
 whatever be the intention of the writer, it is such an em- 
 ployment of language as tends only to mislead the unwary. 
 Our dispute with atheism is not whether there is, or is not, 
 a universe of matter ; but whether there is, or is not, a 
 power distinct from the material system, which, with infinite 
 wisdom, has created all, and governs all. Neither is the 
 controversy whether the operations of nature are performed 
 by general laws, connecting natural causes and effects in a 
 way which may be perceived; but whether these laws are 
 not the arrangements of a superior and presiding power,— 
 whether there is not a cause of all these causes and effects, 
 to which, as the great first cause, all others are to be 
 referred. Consequently, when atheism has proved that all 
 the operations of nature proceed according to general laws, 
 in which we can mostly trace the connexion of cause and 
 effect — ^such as the falling of a stone by the power of gravity, 
 
 and the revolutions of the planets by the centripetal and 
 centrifugal forces — it has proved nothing but what we admit;/ 
 it has done nothing towards settling the controversy ; it has 
 not advanced one single step towards proving that there is 
 no supreme, eternal, and primitive cause of all, himself 
 alone uncreated and independent 
 
 It must also be noticed, in considering the state of the 
 argument between us, that the most successful efforts of 
 atheistic reasoning could only reduce the point in dispute to 
 uncertainty. However bold may be the assertions of the 
 non-existence of an all-creating power, no man can know 
 that there is not such a being ;— no man has ever proved, or 
 can prove that there is no Grod. The farthest point to which 
 the most daring sceptic can go, without exposing himself to 
 the charge of utter ignorance or the most presumptuous 
 rashness, is to affirm that he sees no proof of the exislmce 
 of a Deity. What atheist, who makes any pretensions to 
 reason, would venture to affirm, that the existence of an 
 eternal being, combining in his nature the attributes of 
 wisdom and power, the cause of all causes, and the source 
 of all existence, is, in the nature of things, impossible? 
 Everything is possible that does not necessarily imply a 
 contradiction. It is not possible that a past event should 
 still be future ; that what now exists, should not now exist ; 
 that two halves should make more or less than a whole ; 
 in each case there is an evident contradiction. But who will 
 dare to affirm that a palpable contradiction is involved in 
 the belief that there is an eternal being; — ^that all the 
 causes which we now see in operation resulted from one great 
 primitive cause — and that this original and uncaused being 
 possesses the attributes of mind ? Does this imply a contra- 
 diction so self-evident as to shock the reason of man, as soon 
 as it is announced ? Do we not all know and feel that the 
 very contrary is the case? Would it not require all the 
 
14 
 
 THE ARGUMENT STATED. 
 
 [Lect. I. 
 
 ingenuity of sophistry to give any show of absurdity or con- 
 tradiction to it ? If, then, the position that there is such a 
 being is not self-contradictory, his existence is not impossible ; 
 that is, it is possible. No man, therefore, can be certain of 
 the non-existence of that which is possible, as that would 
 produce the absurdity of its being possible and impossible 
 at the same time. Every atheist is, therefore, bound to 
 admit, in all fairness, that, after all his scepticism, there 
 may be a God ; that, after all his confidence, he mav still 
 be mistaken. 
 
 Who will venture to say that nothing is in being, except 
 what he perceives and knows ? How many wonderful and 
 powerful agencies in nature have modern discoveries brought 
 to light, the existence of which was never imagined by 
 past ages, and which, if announced to them, might only have 
 excited, in many cases, the smile or the contempt of 
 incredulity. With what unbounded surprise, if not utter 
 disbelief, would a philosopher of Greece or Rome have 
 received the announcement that there is a power in nature, 
 distributed through all its various departments, which is 
 more gentle in its usual course than the falling dew, and 
 more terriffic in its occasional operations than the wildest 
 hurricane ; by which the heart beats, and the thunder rolls ; 
 which can sleep quiescent in ajar, or blaze through the wide 
 canopy of heaven, involving the whole world in one sheet of 
 flame ; that without it life could not exist, while it is capable 
 in a moment of rending the solid globe, and shivering to 
 atoms the whole material structure of this world. Our 
 philosopher, in such a case, might have expressed his 
 astonishment or even his doubts, but ought he to have 
 affirmed that no such power could exist, because he had 
 not yet discovered it ? And is it not as unphilosophically 
 daring to affirm that there is not, and cannot be, any power 
 as distinct from the electric fluid as that is from mechanical 
 
 Lect. I.] 
 
 THE ARGUMENT STATED. 
 
 15 
 
 force, and as superior to it as this mysterious agent is to 
 all human energy ; that there may not be, in other words, a 
 power to which no limits can be assigned, which is dis- 
 tinguished by intelligence, to which all other powers act in 
 dependent subordination, and which is distinct from nature 
 only as its author and its source.? Have our atheistic 
 philosophers discovered every possible secret of nature, so 
 as to pronounce that she has revealed all she has to disclose } 
 Are they assured that, in no past age, there has been a con- 
 vincing exhibition of a divine power .?— Are they certain 
 that in future ages there never virill be > Can they say that, 
 if not within the reach of their own observation, the bound- 
 less range of nature supplies, in no part of the universe, such 
 proof.? Yet such is the universal knowledge assumed by 
 those who affirm " there is no God ! " ♦ 
 
 Whether, then, we can, or cannot prove that there is a 
 God, it is certain that atheism cannot prove that there is no 
 God. Its advocates may deny what we consider certain, 
 but they have nothing on this point to substitute but doubt ; 
 whatever promise of truth it may make, it can guide us only 
 to the regions of uncertainty. I beg those who are some- 
 times staggered by the tone of confidence which infidelity 
 assumes, to remember this. And I intreat those who have 
 said, either in their hearts, or with their lips, « there is no 
 
 • Concessions of extreme uncertainty as to the origin of the universe, and, 
 consequentiy, as to their favourite position, that it had no Creator, are frequently 
 made by the most determined opposers of the existence of a Deity. Mirabaud, or 
 the author of the * System of Nature,* which bears his name, who treats the 
 idea of a Creator as a « chimera," a « fancy," &c. and, with much ingenious 
 sophistry, endeavours to prove that an all-creating intelligence is a thing impossible 
 and absurd, thus writes : « If it be inquired how or for why matter exists • we 
 answer we know no^.»— Vol. I. p. 96. « But it wiU be asked, and not a little 
 triumphantly, from whence did she (nature) receive her motion. Our reply is, 
 we know not, neither do they j that we never shall, that they never will. It is* 
 a secret hidden from us, concealed from them by the most impenetrable veil."— 
 Vol. I. p. 41. «* In supposing it (matter) to be created or produced by a being 
 distinguished from it, or less known than itself, which it may be, for anything 
 that we know to the contrary, " / — Vol. I. p. 96. 
 
16 
 
 PRESUMPTIVE PROOFS. 
 
 [Lbct. I. 
 
 Lect. I.] 
 
 PRESUMPTIVE PROOFS. 
 
 17 
 
 
 ; 
 
 God," considering the acknowledged uncertainty in which 
 all their speculations must still leave the great point in dis- 
 pute, to attend with the utmost seriousness and concern to 
 the following presumptive arguments, which lie against the 
 atheistic scheme. 
 
 First : The general belief, in all ages and in all countries, 
 of the existence of a Deity, is unaccountable on the principles 
 of atheism, and is a presumption that it is not founded in 
 truth. That such has been the general belief, none, I pre- 
 sume, will be found to deny. This was the case with all the 
 ancient nations, with the Indians, the Egyptians, the As- 
 syrians, the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans; with 
 the hordes of Northern barbarians which inundated the 
 Roman empire, and which finally amalgamated with the 
 nations of Europe; and with all the tribes of the New World, 
 in the whole extent of the American continent. This belief 
 in a superior power has, indeed, as might be expected by 
 any one acquainted with human nature, been greatly modi- 
 fied by existing circumstances, according to the d^ree to 
 which civilization prevailed, and the temper and genius of 
 the people. The mythology of the Greeks was full of 
 poetry, that of our Saxon ancestors was fierce and warlike. 
 A refined people gave a polish to their religious system ; 
 and barbarous nations attributed to their divinities much of 
 their own grossness. Hence there is but little weight in the 
 objection which is sometimes made, that the gods of these 
 nations were multiplied, were absurd, gross, and vicious. 
 The idea of a divine being having gained possession of the 
 mind, it was by ignorance, passion, fancy, moulded into 
 strange shapes and uncouth forms. A single object, and 
 that the most regular and perfect, may be multiplied, dis- 
 torted out of all shape, or broken into apparent fragments, 
 and invested with colours which do not properly belong to 
 it, according to the medium through which it is viewed. 
 
 This proves nothing against the object ; though it is decisive 
 as to the unfavourable nature of the medium for giving just 
 perceptions of it. Such, we conceive, has been the effect 
 of the very different circumstances in which man has been 
 found, on this idea, which, from the earliest ages, and in 
 every part of the world, has taken possession of his mind. 
 ' Now, how is this belief of all ages and all countries to 
 be accounted for ? We find it in times and places the most 
 remote ; in nations which could not, at least for a long suc- 
 cession of ages, have any communication with each other ; 
 as deeply fixed in the minds of the savages of America as 
 in those of the European continent, or of the ancient 
 Orientals. Admit the position that there is a divine Creator, 
 such as the Bible speaks of, and all the phenomena are at 
 once explained. It is scarcely possible to suppose that a wise 
 and beneficent being should have formed such a creature as 
 man, and left him wholly ignorant of his origin. The 
 knowledge of his Maker must have been preserved for some 
 ages after man's creation ; but as the human race became 
 depraved, and, in distributing themselves over the face of the 
 earth, degenerated into ignorance and barbarism, or, in their 
 refinement, indulged in the wantonness of speculation and 
 of fancy, the simple and original idea of a Supreme Being 
 was multiplied and distorted into all the grossness of idolatry, 
 and all the poetic fictions of mythology. 
 
 But, on the atheistic hypothesis, how is this to be ex- 
 plained ? If it be supposed that the idea was handed down 
 by tradition from father to son, from time immemorial, still 
 the question arises, how did the tradition originate ? If it 
 be an idea so chimerical and repugnant to reason as the 
 advocates of this philosophy would have us to believe, how 
 came it to be as early as tife annals of man, and as wide as 
 the human race? That such a tradition should arise in a 
 thousand different parts of the globe, and with as many 
 
18 
 
 PRESUMPTIVE PROOFS. 
 
 [Lect, 1. 
 
 different tribes, or, if it be assigned to a common origin, 
 that it should have found universal acceptance, or nearly so, 
 in every succeeding generation, can only be accounted for, 
 I conceive, on the supposition that it is quite in accordance 
 with the nature of man ; and the correspondence of this 
 belief with the sense of mankind, in all circumstances and 
 in all ages, affords a strong presumption of its truth. 
 
 Or, if recourse is had, in explanation, to something in the 
 constitution of man's nature which leads him to the con- 
 ception of such an idea — ^to a kind of moral instinct which 
 prompts him to recognize and worship a superior power — 
 does not this innate propensity accord with the supposition 
 of the existence of a Creator, who, for wise and benevolent 
 purposes, wrought the feeling into the very texture of his 
 nature, rather than with that which supposes it to be a 
 universal fallacy, leading to no good, but producing debase- 
 ment and misery.* 
 
 Or, if the belief be referred to reason, and it be supposed 
 an error of the Judgment, is it not a most inexplicable and 
 unparalleled phenomenon, that nearly all men, in all times 
 and places, should, without any common consent, have 
 fallen into a similar error ? 
 
 The author of the * System of Nature ' endeavours to 
 obviate the difficulty we are noticing, not by denying the 
 fact of universal belief, but by assigning it to causes which 
 he supposes compatible with this system. According to him, 
 
 * So strong is this innate tendency to acknowledge and worship a superior power, 
 that man has, by some philosophers, been quaintly defined as a ** religious animal." 
 And if there really existed no proper object of worship, would not this be a 
 singular exception to all the capabilities and propensities of our nature ? For 
 every sense, for every faculty, for every desire or appetite, whether of the mind 
 or body, there is an appropriate object There are forms and colours for the 
 visual organs, sounds for the ears, food for the cravings of hunger, knowledge to 
 satisfy curiosity, and friends for all our 90ci#«ffections ; but, if for this innate 
 propensity, found wherever the human race exists, there were no object, — nothing 
 but a monstrous and injurious fiction, how strange would be such an anomaly, 
 such a soUtaiy exception in man*s nature ! 
 
 Lect. L] 
 
 PRESUMPTIVE PROOFS. 
 
 19 
 
 its origin is to be traced to the ignorance and fear of man, 
 while in a rude state of barbarism. « It was in the lap of 
 ignorance, in the season of alarm, that mankind ever formed 
 their first notions of the Divinity." * " If the gods of nations 
 had their birth in the bosom of alarm, it was again in that 
 of despair that each individual formed the unknown power, 
 that he made exclusively for himself." f The causes of this 
 terror, either " general or local," are stated to be " physical 
 disasters, dreadful catastrophes," such as "inundations," 
 " conflagrations," and " frightful volcanoes." $ And, in indi- 
 vidual cases, man's " diseases, his troubles, his passkns, his 
 inquietude, the painful alterations his frame underwent, 
 without his being able to fathom the true causes." The 
 author just quoted has devoted a whole chapter to an in- 
 quiry into " the origin of man's ideas of the Divinity," in 
 which, with many truths which no one questions, there is 
 mixed up a large portion of gratuitous assumption and 
 erroneous statement, the whole of which is pronounced with 
 the boldness of oracular decision. A slight examination, 
 however, will be sufficient to show that the atheistic phi- 
 losopher has not succeeded in his attempts to account for 
 the general tendency of the human mind to believe in the 
 existence of a superior power. 
 
 That the alarm produced by tempests, volcanic eruptions, 
 earthquakes, and such terrific phenomena, first or princi- 
 pally suggested the notion of a Divinity, is an assertion 
 completely destitute of proof, which, neither a reference 
 to our feelings, nor to the history of the human race, 
 will justify. Such appearances, indeed, strike us with awe, 
 and produce a feeling of human weakness and compara- 
 tive insignificance; but they are only of rare occurrence. 
 Do not the emotions of wonder, admiration, and gratitude, 
 as involuntarily and far more frequently rise in the mind, 
 
 • System of Nature.— Vol. II. p. 14. f Vol. II. p. 16, 17. + Vol. II. p. 12, 13. 
 
20 
 
 PRESUMPTIVE PROOFS. 
 
 [Lect. I. 
 
 Lbct. I.] 
 
 PRESUMPTIVE PROOFS. 
 
 21 
 
 when the more constant operations of nature are observed ? 
 Do not the sublimities, the beauties, the beneficent arrange- 
 ments, and the admirable regularity which we see around us, 
 as certainly conduct our minds to the conclusion that infinite 
 wisdom and power preside over universal nature, as any 
 occasional " physical disaster"? The annals of the human 
 race are perfectly in correspondence with this ; we find that 
 the first objects of polytheistic idolatry were the sun, the 
 moon, the stars, the powers of nature, and illustrious men ; 
 objects of beauty and splendour, or from which benefits had 
 been received or were expected. This our author subse- 
 quently admits,* and adds these causes to the "dreadful 
 catastrophes " before mentioned. It was not, then, to " alarm," 
 and "terror," and "despair," that "the first notion of a 
 Divinity," owed its origin, as, in the course of things, many 
 "benefits" must have been received,^ and much good long 
 enjoyed, before these " catastrophes " and ills could happen. 
 But to whatever origin the idea of a Divinity is to be assigned, 
 our philosopher certainly leaves the question as open and un- 
 answered as ever,— how it was that in the view of what was 
 terrific, or splendid, or regular and useful in nature, nations 
 should universally have agreed to acknowledge a power con- 
 trolling and directing all its energies. If it be replied that 
 man, beholding the operations of nature, transferred to 
 some invisible being the properties of his own mind,t this is 
 but saying, that perceiving the power of an invisible some- 
 thing within him, and its capability of producing effects 
 to a certain extent on all surrounding objects, he judged 
 that, on a larger scale, some unseen power, analogous but 
 immensely superior to his own mind, produced those stu- 
 pendous effects in nature ; that, as no orderly disposition, 
 productive of convenience or comfort, in his own little 
 economy, was effected without contrivance, so, to account 
 
 ♦ System of Natuw.— Vol. II. p. 28. f Vol. II. p. 18. 
 
 for all the marvellous exhibitions of arrangement in the 
 course of nature, on which his existence and happiness 
 depended, he concluded that there ^must be some mighty 
 agency, working with purpose and design. In this way, we 
 admit, men have reasoned, in this way they still reason; and 
 it is, we believe, a mode of reasoning which all the ingenuity 
 of infidelity will find it difficult to gainsay or resist 
 
 But the author already quoted affirms, that it is man's 
 ignorance of natural causes which leads him thus to feel and 
 reason; all the awe, the admiration, the gratitude which have 
 inspired the hjiman bosom, and prompted the recognition and 
 worship of a superior being, have their rise in ignorance. "In 
 the remote ages of the world," mankind were "savages, dis- 
 persed, erratic, thmly scattered up and down, (who) knew 
 the course of nature, either very imperfectly, or not at all."* 
 " All natural causes were mysterious to our wandering an- 
 cestors; the entire of nature was an enigma to them; all its 
 phenomena were marvellous ; every event inspired terror to 
 beings who were destitute of experience ; almost everything 
 they saw must have appeared to them strange, unusual, con- 
 trary to their idea of the order of things." * To the terror 
 and the wonder resulting from ignorance,* every thought 
 which had reference to a Deity is referred. Then the 
 conclusion naturally is, that his knowledge of "physical 
 causes " would as certainly correct the error, and lead him to 
 infer that there is no invisible, superior power. But this is 
 contrary to fact; what mind, not previously disposed to 
 infidelity, ever came to a conclusion against the being of a 
 God, from the knowledge of the wonders of nature's ope- 
 rations? Have not the most original and independent 
 thinkers, those who have been most patient, and sober, and 
 laborious, and successful, in their investigations of nature, 
 been confirmed, by th^ir enlarged views and astonishing 
 
 • System of Nature. — ^Vol. II. p. 10. 
 
23 
 
 PRESUyTlVE PROOFS. 
 
 [Lect. I. 
 
 discoveries, in the belief of a Supreme Creator of the uni- 
 Terse ? » And what is there in these new ideas of " natural 
 causes, " which contradicts the conclusion to which the mind 
 unacquainted with them has arrived? In what do the 
 philosopher and the uninformed peasant differ in their views 
 of nature ? Principally in this, that the one perceives a few 
 more links in the chain than the other, while both are 
 obliged to have recourse to a power which supports the 
 whole. The one may call thunder the voice of God, that is, 
 the immediate effect of his power ; the other traces it to the 
 electric fluid, but when he arrives at this point he finds him- 
 self in the same condition as the peasant— Whence this 
 mysterious and generally invisible power, that pervades all 
 nature, and which, even in its most terrific exhibitions, is 
 accomplishing important benefits for man,— who prescribed 
 to it those laws which harmonize it so completely with the 
 system of which it forms a part,— and who guides and con- 
 trols this mighty but unconscious agent ? He comes to the 
 same conclusion as the other, and is compelled to resolve it, 
 after all his reasonings, into the power and wisdom of a 
 great first cause. 
 
 The whole amount, then, of the attempt to account for this 
 general belief, so far from proving anything in favour of 
 atheism, is but a concession that such is the constitution of 
 man, that whatever objects he beholds in nature awful or 
 glorious, displaying power or beneficent arrangement his 
 mind is led to the conclusion that they are the works of a 
 wise, good, and powerful being ;— in other words, that there 
 exists a Grod.f 
 
 • See a most exceUent chapter in Mr. WhewelPs Bridgewater Treatise, ' On 
 Inductive Habits ; or, on the Impression produced on Men's Minds, by discovering 
 Laws of Nature.*— p. 303. 
 
 + In a subsequent chapter of the « System of Nature/ the attempt is further 
 made to evade the force of this argument. « Are not nearly aU the inhabitants of 
 the earth imbued with the idea of magic j in the habit of acknowledging occult 
 
 Lect. I.] 
 
 PRESUMPTIVE PROOFS. 
 
 23 
 
 I therefore earnestly intreat those who have listened to 
 the dictates of a sceptical philosophy, to consider whether it 
 does not afford a strong presumption against their scheme, 
 that it contradicts human nature ; that it is opposed to the 
 general sense of mankind, and has been so in all ages of 
 the world. 
 
 To which we may add, as something worthy of remark, 
 
 powers; given to divination; believers in enchantment; the slaves to omens; 
 supporters of witchcraft ; thoroughly persuaded of the existence of ghosts ! If some 
 of the most enlightened persons are cured of these follies, they still fifid very 
 zealous partisans in the greater number of mankind, who accredit them with the 
 firmest confidence. It would not, however, be concluded by men of sound sense, in 
 many instances not by the theologian himself, ( ! ) that, therefore, these chimeras 
 actually have existence, although sanctioned with the credence of the multitude." 
 — Vol. II. p. 154. But there is this important diflference between the belief in the 
 existence of a God, and in " witchcraft;" the progress of knowledge detects the fal- 
 lacies of the one, and confirms the truth of the other. " Magic," " occult powers," 
 " divination," have, in our land, long become defunct; "omens" and " witchcraft" 
 are regarded as " old wives* fables," and scarcely "aghost ** is ever heard of, except 
 in the mountains of Wales or the Highlands of Scotland ; and even from these places, 
 their last retreat, they are likely soon to be driven. While the advance of know- 
 ledge, instead of dispelling from the mind the idea of a Supreme Being, only sets it 
 in a stronger light ; and every new wonder which the extension of science discovers, 
 affords additional proof, not only to the minds of " theologians," but to those of 
 the great majority of " men of sound sense,*' that there is an all-wise, benevolent, 
 and powerful being, who presides over all nature as its great author. At the 
 same time, it is a problem which atheism will find very difficult of solution, how 
 the impression on the mind, of an invisible world, a future state, and the immor- 
 tali^ of the soul, became so general as the mistakes alluded to suppose. Again, 
 ** Before Copernicus, there was no one who did not believe the Earth was stationary, 
 that the Sun described his annual revolution round it; was, however, this universal 
 consent of man upon a principle of astronomical science, which endured for so 
 many thousand years, less an error on that account."— Vol. II. pp. 154, 155. 
 Passing over the inaccuracy of the author as to historical fact, it may again be 
 replied, that further knowledge of nature corrected this error, while increasing know- 
 ledge only strengthened the belief of a Supreme Being. But how completely 
 irrelevant is the production of such instances, and how unworthy the name of 
 philosophy ! To prove that mankind always felt and reasoned wrongly, evidence is 
 adduced of the imperfection of their sense. Because the sight is not the means of 
 judging of the true magnitude of objects, or of distinguishing between real and 
 apparent motion, therefore every moral feeling and every mode of reasoning in 
 which mankind have , in all ages, coincided, may be wrong ! Our philosopher might 
 as well say that, because all the world, for many ages, thought water to be a simple 
 element, therefore their universal consent as to the difierence between truth and 
 falsehood, right and wrong, virtue and vice, may, after all, be nothing but a blunder ! 
 
24 
 
 PRESUMPTIVE PROOFS. 
 
 [Lect. I. 
 
 \ 
 
 and at the same time incapable of contradiction, that at those 
 seasons and in those circumstances when men think most 
 soberly, the conviction of the existence of a Supreme Being, 
 and of their responsibility to him, is most powerfully felt. 
 If this impression existed only in the height of excitement, 
 if its strength were greatest when prejudice and passion had 
 their full sway ; if, on the other hand, in seasons of retire- 
 ment, if, when affliction had sobered down the passions, and 
 the prospect of quitting for ever this present scene had 
 abated, if not destroyed, the prejudices of the mind, this 
 belief were generally found to fade, or weaken into hesitancy 
 and doubt, the presumption which such a change would 
 seem to afford against the truth of this belief, would be 
 triumphantly brought forward by the advocates of infidelity. 
 But it is well known that the very reverse of this is the 
 case ; that if ever, with men in general, or with the truly 
 pious and devout, this conviction loses any of its strength or 
 influence, it is amidst the bustle of life, the collision of in- 
 terests, and the power of passion. When retired from the 
 world, when, though in the full vigour of the mental 
 powers, the great change is contemplated, generally speak- 
 ing, this feeling deepens, this conviction irresistibly takes 
 hold of the mind. When is it, on the contrary, that infidel 
 principles have their greatest sway ? Is it not in the riot of 
 dissipation, the headlong pursuit of wealth and power, the 
 strife of ambition, and the excitement produced by bold and 
 daring companions ? And does it not frequently happen 
 that in retirement, in the silence of night, in the chamber of 
 affliction, the infidel hesitates, doubts, and trembles ; and 
 that, in the prospect of death, he is glad to avail himself of 
 church services or Christian prayers ! 
 
 The advocates of infidelity feel the pressure of this diffi- 
 culty, and endeavour to extricate their system by alleging 
 the failure of the animal powers, the weakness of the brain. 
 
 — > 
 
 Lect. I.] 
 
 PRESUMPTIVE PROOFS. 
 
 25 
 
 and the decay of the intellect This is, however, but a poor 
 shift Does the retiring from bustle and tumult, does the 
 subsiding of the passions into calmness, or the sobering 
 down of the spirits so as to allow the judgment to have its 
 undisturbed operation, enfeeble the intellect, or. disqualify it 
 for the perception of truth } It is an undeniable fact, that, 
 not uncommonly, amidst considerable pain and weakness, 
 or when very near the point of dissolution, and in the full 
 apprehension of it, the mind retains its entire power, and is 
 able to think, converse, and reason, with all its accustomed 
 precision. And these are the cases and circumstances to 
 which we refer, in which infidelity is commonly seen to be 
 as destitute of truth, as it is of power to support and cheer 
 the mind, and when the aid of religion, formerly neglected 
 or despised, is invoked. We may be reminded of infidels 
 who have died as they lived, and passed out of life with 
 a bravado or a joke on their dying lips ; we speak of cases 
 which are common, and which will, I believe, be found to be 
 general, in which the solution which infidelity off*ers will 
 not apply. Is not this fact, then, enough to throw suspicion 
 on a system which not only fails in the hour of trial, but 
 which so commonly loses its hold on the mind, in proportion 
 to the seriousness and sobriety with which it is disposed to 
 view every great question ? 
 
 In this class of arguments we may rank the moral pheno- 
 mena attending the existence of atheistic principles. What 
 is the soil in which atheism delights to grow ; what is the 
 aliment on which it feeds? Is it moral rectitude— is it virtue 
 —is it purity of heart ? Are these the qualities in which 
 infidelity takes its rise, — is its power deepened in proportion 
 to their increase, and weakened as they decline .J^ Are scepti- 
 cism and virtue so closely allied, that the advancis or retreat 
 of the one may generally be ascertained by that of the other ? 
 I ask the most determined advocates of the system which I 
 
 [ 
 
 E 
 
 A 
 
26 
 
 PRESUMPTIVE PROOFS. 
 
 [Lect. L 
 
 am combating, whether their own observation has not shown 
 them that the very reverse of this is the case? What exhi- 
 bition of character has generally marked the transition to 
 and from infidelity ? And how has the standard of morals 
 been affected by it ? Is it not a well known fact, that when 
 a youth who has been brought up in habits of piety and virtue 
 embraces sentiments of this kind, a visible deterioration of 
 morals follows? Does he feel himself bound by the same 
 restraints of sobriety, chastity, and temperance as before? 
 Instead of this, do we not generally see the reins thrown on 
 the neck of indulgence and passion, as far as circumstances 
 will allow ? To whom is atheism so welcome as to the most 
 flagitious, and debauched, and unprincipled? And the 
 return from vice to virtue is as generally marked by a deeper 
 conviction of the existence and government of a Supreme 
 Intelligence, and with a belief in the retributions of a future 
 state. I do not say, however, that immorality of conduct, 
 in every case, attends the adoption of these sentiments; 
 much less would I be understood as making such an accu- 
 sation against my sceptical townsmen; many causes may 
 considerably modify and restrain the influence of opinion on 
 conduct; — ^I speak of their general tendency and result, 
 which have been such as to produce, on the minds of all who 
 have had opportunity of observing, an assurance that infi- 
 delity is, in a very high degree, unfavourable to the interests 
 of morality. 
 
 I know I shall be met here with an objection, drawn from 
 the conduct of Christians ; and I readily, though with deep 
 regret, acknowledge that the great majority of Christians in 
 name have done no honour to Christianity, that amongst 
 them may be found instances of the greatest villany and 
 the grossest vice. But does Christianity sanction the misr 
 conduct of wicked men, who are called by its name, — does 
 it not renounce them, and pronounce on them its severest 
 
 •5^1 
 
 Lect. I.] 
 
 PRESUMPTIVE PROOFS. 
 
 27 
 
 condemnation ? If men will pretend to Christianity, who 
 neither trust its promises nor obey its precepts, whose whole 
 life is at variance with its spirit, shall their insincerity be 
 charged on a religion which they insult and dishonour ? Why 
 should it thus be identified with persons whom it utterly 
 disclaims ? It has been the necessary result of national estab- 
 lishments of Christianity, that all who are born within certain 
 geographical boundaries bear the Christian name; by the 
 great majority of such persons, its principles are neither 
 appreciated nor understood ; nothing is known of it but a few 
 outward forms, a few articles of a creed but seldom thought 
 of, and a few sentences of prayers, repeated, almost me- 
 chanically, at certain seasons. The existence and perfections 
 of God, with all the solemn and glorious facts of which 
 revelation speaks, rarely occupy their minds, and still more 
 rarely influence their conduct. We do not acknowledge 
 the Christianity of such, we charge them with practical 
 infidelity, who thus " have the form of godliness, but deny 
 its power." There is, then, this important difference; 
 among nominal Christians immorality prevails, because the 
 great principles of religion are seldom thought of, and have 
 not been received with that sincerity and seriousness which 
 would render them influential ; it is not because they believe 
 that an all-seeing God has his eye continually upon them, 
 and holds them responsible for their conduct, but because 
 they lose sight of the important fact, and act in a way 
 inconsistent with its belief; but it is not because atheists 
 lose sight of the great article of their belief, or rather of 
 their disbelief, that they become vicious or immoral. The 
 immoralities of nominal Christians arise from their want of 
 Christianity; it will not, I presume, be said, that the vicious 
 conduct of atheists arises from the want of infidelity. 
 
 Atheism has seldom had an opportunity of showing all its 
 features and exerting all its power. For once, however, it 
 
 / 
 
28 
 
 PRESUMPTIVE PROOFS. 
 
 [Lect. I. 
 
 appeared in full length exhibition, and had ample scope for 
 all its energies. It arose, like man's evil genius, amidst the 
 thunders, and the storms, and the earthquakes of the French 
 revolution; its appearance was the signal for anarchy and 
 wild uproar; it let loose all the fierce and pent-up passions of 
 man*s depravity, subverted the very foundations of morality, 
 uprooted the social system, and threatened to sweep away all 
 the institutions and the virtues of society from the face of 
 the land. But the spectre was too horrible to be endured ; 
 the philosophical magicians shrunk from the spirit which 
 their own sorceries had raised; the fickle nation, satiated 
 with the riot of their own licentiousness, grew weary of the 
 frightful power under whose auspices they had run to every 
 excess ; and the infamous Robespierre came forward to lay 
 the fiend, and, in a public assembly, to compromise for the 
 past frenzy of the people, by an oration, and a grand fete in 
 honour of the Supreme Being.* 
 
 At this period, France was certainly in a state of great 
 political excitement, but the instance adduced proves, I 
 think, beyond doubt, that atheism was thought and felt 
 to be far more congenial to the unbounded licentiousness 
 of that period than any form of religion, or the mere 
 admission of the existence of a God. It is undeniably true, 
 that atheism offers an asylum from the persecutions of an 
 outraged conscience, and a complete indemnity from the 
 punishments of a future state ; it must, then, ever present 
 
 « This f(6te was held on the 20th of the month Prairial, in the second year of 
 the French Republic, that is, the 9th of June, 1794, and the ceremonies, I believe, 
 took place in the Champ de la Reunion. A discourse was pronounced by 
 Robespierre, as President of the National Convention, beginning thus — ^**The 
 auspicious day is at length arrived, which the French people consecrate to the 
 Great Supreme,*' &c. It seems that, 'after this oration, some effigy or symbol of 
 atheism was cast into the fire, and a second oration was pronounced by the 
 President, just at the time when atheism disappeared and some tepresentation of 
 Wisdom was exhibited to the people, commencing in this way, — ** The monster 
 which the genius of kings vomited on France is now annihilated ; with it may 
 the crimes and misfortunes of the world disappear," &c. 
 
 [Lect. I. 
 
 PRESUMPTIVE PROOFS. 
 
 29 
 
 r 
 
 temptations to any one who longs to be free from the 
 restraints of a Supreme Governor, and who dreads the 
 responsibilities of a life to come. All our opinions on moral 
 or religious subjects are greatly influenced by the state of the 
 heart We are seldom so completely intellectual in our 
 decisions of this kind as we may imagine; when a man 
 strongly wishes anything to be true, he is already half way 
 towards the belief of it ♦ While, therefore, a man of a weak 
 mind, but strong passions, may seek refuge from the accu- 
 sations of conscience in the rites of superstition ; he who is 
 of a speculative turn, with a bold and daring disposition, 
 and a heart reluctant to submit to -the moral government of 
 God, will be more likely at once to cut the knot, and to 
 release himself from the annoyance of conscience, by em- 
 bracing the tenets of infidelity. I do not say that it is exactly 
 and exclusively by this process that the mind always arrives 
 at such a result ; its movements are often a complete riddle ; 
 but it is a natural, and, I believe, not unfrequent process, 
 which is suflRcient to account for the existence of infidelity, 
 without the supposition of more than usual discernment, 
 and a superiority to vulgar prejudices. Is it not sufficient to 
 pervert the reason and to stifle the conscience of any man, 
 that he should feel it to be necessary to his peace to deny his 
 respoilsibility to a Supreme Being ? Such being the moral 
 phenomena attending the existence of atheism, and such the 
 means by which it may gain possession of the mind, I submit 
 to your consideration whether they are not sufficient, inde- 
 pendent of any other proof, to throw a suspicion on its truth. 
 Here, then, we close our first lecture, and, in concluding, 
 I earnestly and affectionately intreat you, my unbelieving 
 hearers, who favour the atheistic scheme, to consider, with 
 seriousness and candour, what has already been advanced. 
 
 • " Fer^ libenter homines id, quod volunt, credunt." — Caesar, de Bel. Gal. 
 lib. 3, § XVIII. 
 
 I 
 
1)^ 
 
 » F 
 
 30 
 
 PRESUMPTIVE PROOFS. 
 
 [Lect. I. 
 
 Do not say there has been no direct proof, no attempted 
 demonstration of the existence of a God ; this has not been 
 our intention in this lecture, we reserve it to a further stage 
 of the discussion. But, if I mistake not, a strong case has 
 already been made out against the system which we oppose. 
 We have shown that there is no possible source of in- 
 formation, from which ^an atheist can derive certainty that 
 there is not a Supreme Creator and Governor of the universe; 
 — that the general sense and reason of mankind have always 
 been against him, a fact which atheism can neither deny nor 
 explain ; — that in those seasons when the mind is in the most 
 favourable condition for the perception of moral truth, it is 
 generally the farthest from this form of infidelity, which, in 
 its moral bearings, is such as to make every lover of his kind 
 tremble at the very idea of its prevalence. Now, I appeal 
 to your reason, to your conscience, whether these are not 
 strong presumptions against the system which you have 
 espoused ? I most solemnly intreat you to consider well the 
 ground on which you stand, to review the steps by which 
 you have advanced, to inquire impartially whether a fondness 
 for speculation, a love of singularity, a desire to be released 
 from the restraints which the belief in a holy, omniscient, 
 and all-powerful Being imposes ; — whether, in a word, other 
 influences than a love of truth and a submission to evidence, 
 may not have led to the adoption and maintenance of senti- 
 ments, at which the most sober and rational part of the 
 community shudder. 
 
 Let us be thankful, my Christian brethren, that those 
 hopes which cheer our hearts, and light up our future 
 prospects with glory and immortality, do not rest on an 
 hypothesis which is incapable of proof; that we have all the 
 evidence which is consistent with a state of probation of 
 those sublime verities which inspire both our awe and our 
 confidence ; that in the history of the past and a view of the 
 
 Lect. I.] 
 
 PRESUMPTIVE PROOFS. 
 
 31 
 
 present, in the researches of antiquity and in the discoveries 
 of science, in the regular course of nature and in its occasional 
 and miraculous deviations, in the testimony of friends and 
 the concessions of enemies, we have undoubted assurance 
 that " the Lord he is God, it is he that hath made us, and 
 not we ourselves ; we are his people, and the sheep of his 
 pasture." Let us rejoice that, while we contemplate the 
 unbounded magnificence of his works, we can exclaim, " this 
 God is our God, for ever and ever ;" " who spoke in times 
 past to the fathers, by the prophets," but who " hath in these 
 last days spoken to us by his Son ;" — .that " life and immor- 
 tality are brought to light by the gospel," which " is the 
 power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth." 
 
 V 
 
 • 
 
 '/ 
 
LECTURE II. 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 V 
 
 JOHN XVUI. 38.-** WHAT IS TRUTH.»' 
 
 This was the language of the RomMi governor to Jesus, 
 when he was brought before him as a prisoner by the Jews. 
 What was the precise view of Pilate, in asking this question, 
 it is not easy to determine ; whether he inquired judicially 
 or philosophically. He may have meant simply, what is 
 the truth respecting the charges brought against thee? 
 Though it is more generally, I believe, supposed that, as 
 there had been many disputes concerning truth, by the 
 philosophers of that day, he wished the opinion of so 
 distinguished a teacher, on thi^point But whatever may 
 have been the particular view of Pilate, the inquiry is 
 highly interesting, when applied to any branch of know- 
 ledge connected with our well being. The governor of 
 Judea did not, however, appear to be very earnest about the 
 matter, for, having proposed the question, " he went out," 
 without waiting for an answer. This is too often the case ; 
 men's prejudices, or worldly interests, or idleness, too often 
 render them indifferent, or prevent them from taking proper 
 
 \ 
 
 Lect. IL] atheistic HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 33 
 
 measures to obtain the truth. In the inquiry on which we 
 have entered, indifference must be in the highest degree 
 criminal ; if there is any doubt in the mind as to the ex- 
 istence of a Supreme Creator and Governor of the universe, • 
 no pains can be too great, no labour excessive, which may 
 be employed in endeavouring to ascertain the truth. 
 
 In the preceding lecture we showed the unspeakable 
 importance of the subject ; and having noticed the state of 
 the great question at issue, we produced some presumptive 
 proofs which bear strongly against the truth of atheism.. We 
 now advance to another stage of the argument. Wherever 
 we look we are surrounded with wonders ; whether we view 
 the heavens above or the earth beneath, tKe sea or the dry / 
 land, things animate or inanimate. We see grandeur which . 
 awes, and beauty which delights ; masses of such a magni- 
 tude, and motions so marvellously exteiisive, that our minds 
 are overwhelmed ; and bodies and movements so exquisitely 
 fine and delicate, as to set all imitation by human skill at 
 defiance. We see the most perfect order amidst boundless 
 diversity ; and a most surprising complexity of parts, and 
 means, and agencies, each complete in itself, combining to 
 accomplish one object, as thou|:h animated by perfect intelli- 
 gence, and working out that end with the greatest precision. 
 In viewing this scene of wonders, the mind asks, whence 
 all this regularity, this adaptation, this provision? Who 
 formed and put together this machinery ? The general sense 
 of mankind refers the whole to a great First Cause, of infinite 
 power and wisdom ; the atheistic scheme resolves all into 
 nature, that is, it excludes an intelligent being from the 
 formation of the world, and affirms, that it is only by the 
 unconscious powers of the material universe, that all things 
 are made and preserved. Here, then, we join issue. 
 
 But, before we proceed farther, let one of the high priests 
 of scepticism describe in his own words the sentiments of 
 
 i/ 
 
 
34 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 [Lect. II. 
 
 Lect. II.] 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 35 
 
 4 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 naturalism, that is, of the atheistic philosophy. " He (i.e. an 
 atheist) is a thinker, who, having meditated upon matter, its 
 energies, its properties, its mode of acting, hath no occasion 
 •to invent ideal powers, to recur to imaginary systems, in 
 order to explain the phenomena of the universe, to d^velope 
 the operations of nature ; who needs not creatures of the 
 imagination, which, far from making him better understand 
 nature, do not more than render it wholly inexplicable, an 
 unintelligible. mass, useless to the happiness of mankind."* 
 He farther represents them as "men without enthusiasm; 
 who are guided by experience ; who follow the evidence of 
 their senses ; who see nothing in nature but what they find 
 actually to have existence, or that which they are capacitated 
 to know ; who neither do, nor can perceive anything but 
 matter, essentially active, moveable, diversely combined, in 
 the full enjoyment of various properties,* capable of pro- 
 ducing all the beings who display themselves to our visual 
 faculties.*** Natural philosophers, who are convinced that, 
 without recurring to chimerical causes, they can explain 
 everything, simply by the laws of motion ; by the relation 
 subsisting between beings; by their affinities; by their 
 analogies ; by their aptitude tb attraction ; by their repulsive 
 powers ; by their proportions ; by their combinations ; by 
 their decomposition." f 
 
 That the admission of an intelligent First Cause will 
 account for all the phenomena of nature, is too obvious to 
 need a remark ; and that we are compelled to have recourse 
 to this, I hope satisfactorily to prove; but here it is assumed 
 that the whole can be explained, without supposing any 
 presiding intelligence, by the known properties of matter. 
 Nothing can exceed the confidence with which these pre- 
 tensions are advanced ; it will be our business, in this lecture, 
 to subject them to the test of investigation. Let us, in lae 
 
 • System of Nature.— Vol. II. p. 608. f Vol. II. 518, 519. 
 
 first place, take a compendious view of the task which 
 atheism has to perform. 
 
 Without entering largely into the subject of an ensuing 
 lecture, the following may be considered as a brief sketch 
 of what is demanded of any hypothesis which excludes a 
 Creator. It has much to explain, with reference to the 
 human race, to show us, from the mere properties of matter, 
 how man is what he is, in his body and his mind. The 
 elements of his material structure have nothing peculiar in 
 them ; they are just the same as exist in other bodies, in 
 different proportions and combinations. The bones, the 
 muscles, the blood, may all be reduced to their primary 
 elements, and every particle of the human frame may again 
 enter into the composition of other bodies, organized or un- 
 organized. And yet these elementary particles make a 
 structure composed of a number of distinct machines, and 
 chemical apparatus, pervaded by that mysterious principle 
 which we call vital power, and all working to one end. It 
 has, then, to show how, from the earths, and acids, and alka- 
 lies, and other kindred substances which abound in nature, 
 such a being as man could be first originated; by what 
 "relations," " affinities," " analogies," such combinations ai\d 
 selections should be made as constitute each particular organ 
 or limb— an eye, an ear, or hand, for instance— and how 
 all the muscular and glandular formations, with the secretive, 
 digestive, and circulating apparatus, should happen to unite 
 in one individual, and form a system of numberless adapt- 
 ations, without the interference of any intelligent being with 
 wisdom to plan and power to execute. It has also to account 
 for the mental phenomena, exhibiting wonders as great as 
 those which external nature presents, if not surpassing them 
 all; and to show us how, from material properties, could 
 result the power of consciousness, memory, imagination; 
 the capability of soaring in thought above nature, and 
 
3d 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED, [Leci. II. 
 
 I\ 
 
 9 
 
 beyond time ; of generalizing, abstracting, and reasoning, in 
 a manner the most acute and profound. Nor is this all; it 
 has to account for the existence of a pair of human beings, 
 coeval with each other, without which there could not have 
 been a second generation. 
 
 In addition to this, the atheistic philosophy must explain, 
 without reference to thought or plan, the existence of in- 
 numerable tribes of creatures, in the air, and earth, and 
 seas ;— all possessing the most wonderful adaptation of parts, 
 and properties, and instincts, to their peculiar mode of living, 
 —and all existing by pairs ! 
 
 It must also furnish a solution to all the fitting up, and 
 furniture; all the provisions, conveniences, and embellish- 
 ments of this place of man's abode; how it came to pass so 
 marvellously, that the soils, the minerals, and the plants ;— 
 the air, the water, the sea, the tides, the dews, and rains ; 
 —that the days, the nights, the summers, and the winters, 
 are just what a wise and powerful being might have made 
 for man, though no one made these things, nor planned them, 
 — that there was no design at all in them ! 
 
 It has, moreover, to expound to us, how all the planets 
 and their secondaries came into being, and were arranged 
 into one system; how their forces were adjusted with a 
 precision so marvellous as to insure the most astonishing 
 regularity ; and how, in a word, without any design or plan, 
 ten thousand wonders of beauty, and order, and utility exist, 
 just as though they were produced by the most wise and 
 benevolent intention. This is but a very brief and slight 
 sketch of what atheism has to perform ; let us examine the 
 means by which it proposes to accomplish it 
 
 The speculations of an imaginative philosophy, to account 
 for the existence of the world and all its phenomena, have 
 been exceedingly various; ingenuity and talent have ex- 
 pended a vast amount of effort in the construction of systems 
 
 \ 
 
 •A 
 
 Lect. II.] 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 37 
 
 so to explain the origin of all things as to exclude a Creator 
 from the universe. To enumerate all the wild conjectu^, 
 the absurd and fantastic fictions of these system-makers, 
 would be a waste of time ; whatever may be the modifi- 
 cations which their hypotheses may assume, we can conceive 
 of three only by which an attempt can be made to account 
 for the phenomena of nature, without admitting the creating 
 power of a great First Cause. Either, first, that the world 
 had a beginning without a maker. Or, secondly, that it has 
 existed as it is from all eternity. Or, thirdly, that matter 
 only is eternal, and that all its forms and combinations arise 
 from the essential properties which it possesses. 
 
 That matter, with all its present modifications, had a 
 commencement without a producing cause, involves an 
 absurdity so gross and palpable, that it is doubtful whether 
 any have deliberately maintained such a position. For, if 
 there ever had been a period when nothing existed, nothing, 
 it is evident, could ever have existed. It is impossible to 
 conceive of the commencement of existence without a cause. 
 That cause could not be in itself; since that would suppose 
 its existence before it did exist, in order to produce itself, 
 which is a contradiction. It could not be in any other being, 
 since it is supposed that no other being existed. It follows, 
 then, undeniably, that something must have existed from 
 eternity. 
 
 We come, therefore, to the second hypothesis, that the 
 whole system of nature has existed as it now is, from all 
 eternity. This supposes that the motions of the planets, 
 the succession of summer and winter, of day and night, 
 of vegetables, of animals, of the race of man, have been 
 eternal.* Let me here beg attention to a few preliminary 
 
 • This was maintained by some of the ancient philosophers, and appears to have 
 been the opinion of the author of the * Answer to Dr. Priestley's Letters to a Philoso- 
 phical Unbeliever.' " We ought to argue only from experience ; and experience 
 would teach us that the species of all animals lias eternally existed,'''' — ^p. 45. 
 
 \, 
 
 / 
 
i 
 
 38 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 [Lect. II. 
 
 Lect. it.] 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 39 
 
 N 
 
 remarks, before we examine this hypothesis. Whatever 
 ej^ts, must exist either necessarily, or by some producing 
 cause. There is no medium. It must have the ground or 
 reason of its existence either in itself, or in some other being. 
 That vs^hich exists necessarily must be self-existent and 
 independent; that which exists in virtue, or by means of 
 some other being, is contingent and dependent Necessary 
 existence means that which cannot by any possibility be 
 non-existent, or otherwise than it is. That which is eternal, 
 must be self-existent, independent, uncaused, and necessary. 
 The application of these remarks will, if I mistake not, show 
 the unbounded absurdity of the hypothesis in question. 
 
 The present form and series of productions, and races 
 of living beings, never, according to this scheme, had a 
 beginning ; that is, they are all eternal, and therefore without 
 a cause, self-existent, independent, and necessary. Now 
 observe whither these premises will carry us. Trees, plants, 
 animals, are all in their respective series eternal, and con- 
 sequently necessary, self-existent, and independent. If, 
 therefore, the series be self-existent and necessary, every 
 part which goes to compose it must partake of the same 
 quality ; every individual plant, or tree, or man, must, there- 
 fore, be self.existent and necessary. But every individual 
 of each series has a cause of its existence, is produced by 
 another, and is dependent and contingent Therefore, every 
 individual is at the same time dependent and independent 
 — self-existent and produced — necessary and contingent, 
 which is absurd. If it be replied, that though each indi- 
 vidual is dependent and contingent, yet the whole series 
 may be independent and necessary, we ask, what is it which 
 gives to anything its essential qualities, but the parts of which 
 it is composed ? To suppose that any number of dependent 
 and contingent beings can make up a self-existent and inde- 
 pendent whole, is as absurd as lo say that an infinite number 
 
 
 of dead bodies would make up a living mass, or that the 
 continued addition of nothing to nothing would make some- 
 thing. To assert that every individual in a series has a 
 beginning, and yet that the series had no beginning, is an 
 insult to the understanding, which nothing but an inordinate 
 attachment to a favourite hypothesis would for a moment 
 tolerate. 
 
 And farther, that cannot be infinite which has parts. For 
 to suppose that infinite in space which is composed of parts, 
 would be to suppose it infinite and finite at the same time ; 
 since every part must have form and limit, and that in which 
 there is no part that is not limited, must also be limited. 
 In like manner, that cannot be infinite in duration which 
 is made up of parts, since every part must have some point 
 at which it commences, some point at which it ends ; here 
 then are distinctly limits to every part ; and that in which 
 there is no part that is not limited, and therefore finite, 
 cannot be otherwise than limited and finite. Now, the 
 eternal series which the atheist Supposes would, if such 
 could exist, be an infinite number of parts ; but whatever 
 consists of parts is but an aggregate, a multiplication, of such 
 parts, a continued repetition of one single part Therefore, 
 since this infinite series has no single part which is not 
 limited and finite, it must itself be limited and finite. But 
 an atheist may object that he does not apply the term infinite 
 to this series, he only says that it has had no commencement, 
 but has for ever continued to flow on in one uninterrupted 
 course. Be it so, we shall not quarrel about terms. It 
 amounts to precisely the same thing, since, whether «the 
 series is said to be infinite, or without beginning, it is still 
 composed of individual parts, can have no property but the 
 accumulated properties of its parts, yet must have every 
 property which pervades its parts. And therefore, if every 
 part has had a commencement, there can be no part that 
 
 I, 
 
 / 
 
40 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 [Lect II. 
 
 Lect. II.] ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 41 
 
 
 has not had a commencement ; and to say, that while every 
 part has had a commencement, yet the series itself has had 
 no commencement, is as revolting an absurdity as can well 
 be uttered. 
 
 Again : — ^that which is eternal can have nothing before It ; 
 there cannot be two eternities of different lengths. But if 
 "all things continue as they were," the planetary move- 
 ments, and the annual and diurnal motions of the earth 
 must be eternal. Now at no given place are the day and the 
 night simultaneous ; one must precede the other. Assign the 
 order of precedence to which you please, and every twelve 
 hours there will have been a greater number of the one 
 than of the other. Either the eternal series of days, or the 
 eternal series of nights has been the longer ; one of them, 
 therefore, cannot be eternal, unless two eternities can be of 
 different lengths, which is absurd. If ^either of the series 
 be supposed to be eternal, and not the other, it can only 
 acquire this property by the addition of one ; it would fol- 
 low, then, that one, added to a finite number, would make it 
 infinite; and that the whole quality of infinity would depend 
 on this unit The same line of argument may be applied 
 to the seasons, the lunations, the tides; and will show that it 
 is impossible that what alternates can be eternal. 
 
 There is only one point more to which I shall apply this 
 mode of reasoning; it is to the existence of the human 
 race. If the race of man has been eternal, his production 
 and dissolution must be eternal. But his production must 
 precede his dissolution ; therefore we arrive again at the 
 absurdity of two eternities of different lengths. Nor is this 
 all; for we know that all the particles which compose the 
 human body are derived from that nutrition which comes 
 prhnarily from the earth ; they must, therefore, have existed 
 as food, before they entered into the composition of his body; 
 and in the great storehouse, the earth, before they formed 
 
 those organized substances which compose his food- this 
 makes an eternity of a still different length. An hypothesis 
 which involves contradictions so palpable and numerous 
 cannot be true, and ought not to be entertained for a 
 moment* 
 
 But it is not by arguments of this kind only, that this 
 hypothesis is refuted. Should any feel a difficulty in compre- 
 hending, or a reluctance in admitting reasonings of so abstract 
 and metaphysical a nature, we refer them to history and to 
 science, for a contradiction to the supposition that the world 
 as It now is, together with the human race, is eternal. The 
 history of past ages, so far as its records have been trans- 
 mitted to us, show that whatever may have been the duration 
 of the world, the race of man, at least, is of comparatively 
 modern origin. As we become acquainted with the earliest 
 histories extant, we feel ourselves carried back towards the 
 infancy of human society. We can trace backwards the 
 progress of science, the advance of the arts, and the rise of 
 
 * This kind of reasoning has sometimes been employed in the followin- manner 
 aga,nsUhe hypothesis next examined, which, admittingLt no form or c m^fnaZ 
 
 olr « T. ' y'\r''''^-^ '''' ^''^^'^"^^ «^ ^'^ ^^^"^ «-"es of causes and 
 
 effec s. "The universe," says Mirabaud, " is an immense chain of causes and 
 
 '^1^ 89 n'^ "'-'T "t°^ ''-' ^°^ '^^"^ ^^^ other.-^System of nITc^ 
 Vol. I. p. 89. Now, IS ,t possible that there can be « a chain of causes and effects » 
 of any kind, "flowmg one from the other," without a first link* If it is con 
 tended that in this chain there is no first link, then there has* been an eternal 
 
 which, as before observed, ,s absurd. Every link hangs on something, and yet the 
 chain hangs on nothmg ! If it be replied, though we should admit a first VJl] 
 
 theLTr vT w ^"''' ^^''' '^°'' ^'"^ '^' difficulty returns, what support^ 
 the first Imk 1 We answer, that by the admission of an Eternal Being, of necLiy 
 and independent existence, no such difficulty exists. We have, then, that whic^ 
 has necessaiy and independent existence supporting that which is contingent and 
 dependent. If it be again said, the aiialogy fails, because a chain has an external 
 force, the power of gravity ever operating, rendering support necessaiy, but that 
 here is no external force ; we reply, that the cause of dependence does not in the 
 least affect the question ; an effect from the very nature of its relation, is bs much 
 dependent on the preceding cause, as any link, by the force of gravity, is dependent 
 on a preceding link. To suppose an uncaused series of things, every one of which 
 18 caused, 18 an absurdity at which every unprejudiced mind revolts. 
 
 Il 
 
42 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 [Lect. II. 
 
 Lbct. II.] ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 4 
 
 43 
 
 inventions, to a time far enough within the limits which the 
 Mosaic history assigns to the existence of man on this globe. 
 It is not difficult to refer to periods when every department 
 of knowledge which bears on the improvement of man was 
 in a rude and incipient state. Can it be imagined that this 
 would have been the case, if the race of man had existed 
 on this globe from all eternity. Let any one consider the 
 advance which has been made during the last century; or, if 
 this be considered a period too favourable to be selected, let 
 him compare the state of the world two or three thousand 
 years ago, as far as we have the means of comparison, with 
 what it is now, and ask himself whether he can believe that 
 the human mind had been working for millions and millions 
 of ages, making experiments and gathering experience, and 
 had brought society no farther on, in the march of improve- 
 ment and science, than it was when Priam reigned at 
 Troy, or the Pelasgi wandered in Greece > * If it be said, 
 that the various arts and sciences may have existed in a 
 
 • Lucretius, though he attributes the formation of the world to the Epicurean 
 atoms, introduces this argument to prove that the antiquity of the world is not great. 
 " Preterea, si nulla fuit genitalis origo 
 Terrarum et coeli, semperque aeterna fuere j" &c. 
 
 De Rerum Natura, lib. 5, v. 325. &c. 
 
 Again, I ask, if heaven and earth possess 
 Uncaused existence, and eternal are, 
 Why have not poets sung of deeds achieved 
 Before the Theban war and fall of Troy I 
 Why fell so many brave, their deeds untold, 
 Nor live immortal in the roll of fame ? 
 No, rather in its infancy is yet 
 The world, nor long ago began its course. 
 Hence ' tis that many an art but now expands, 
 £*en now progressive ; much is added still 
 To navigation ; nor have minstrels long 
 To harmony's sweet sounds attuned the lyre ; 
 While nature and her laws but late are known, 
 And I, among the first, now first am found. 
 To teach the science in our native land. 
 
 In a note on this place. Dr. Mason Good observes, ** This argument against the 
 eternity of the world, and an infinite series of successions in animal life, so 
 
 high state of improvement, together with all the inventions 
 of modern times, but that terrible catastrophes may have 
 befallen the human race, or unfavourable circumstances 
 arrested the career of improvement, and thrown it many 
 ages back ; we ask what monuments of these have been 
 left, how is it that no vestiges of such a state of society 
 have been discovered > But may not those terrific and 
 general convulsions, traces of which some have imagined 
 they have discovered in the several strata of the earth, 
 have obliterated all such remains, and left posterity in utter 
 ignorance as to the condition of former residents on this 
 globe.? We reply, if these destructive crises were but 
 partial, and left a portion of the human race remaining, 
 would not they have transmitted to their descendants a 
 considerable portion of the improvements which had pre- 
 viously existed ? If it be supposed that they were total, 
 then the present race, at least, had a beginning, the series 
 was broken, and cannot be eternal. 
 
 strenuously contended for by Aristotle, is strictly logical and impressive. Macro- 
 bius has copied and expanded it, in his book on the Dream of Scipio, 2, 10. 
 Quis non hinc existimet, mundum quandoque ca3pisse, nee longam retro hujus 
 aBtatem, &c. Who can believe otherwise than that the worid had a beginning, 
 and that, too, not long anterior to the present age, since we have no Grecian 
 narrative of anything, not even of splendid actions, and events that occurred 
 earlier than two thousand years ago ? Nothing worthy of notice, indeed, is recorded 
 in any volume prior to the reign of Ninus, who is, by some, supposed to be the father 
 of Semiramis. But if the worid had existed from the beginning, or in the language 
 of the philosophers, even before the beginning, why, through an innumemble 
 series of ages, was the present mode of life never once invented ? Why no dis- 
 covery of the use of letters, which alone eternizes the memory of things * And why 
 are some nations, even at this day, seareely initiated into the knowledge of a variety 
 of useful facts? Even the Gauls knew nothing of the cultivation of vines and 
 olives, till after Rome had acquired the full vigour of her youth ; and other people, 
 even at this moment are totally ignorant of the most common and beneficial 
 inventions among oui-selves ; arguments that seem strongly to contradict the eternity 
 of things, and compel us to believe that the worid had a definite origin, and that 
 all we are acquainted with arose progressively aftei-wards.'»— Translation of 
 Lucretius, by Dr. Mason Good, Vol. II, p. 262. Grotius has also added several 
 testimonies to the same point, from Virgil, Horace, Plinv, Seneca' Tacitus, &c.-^ 
 De vcntate Religionis Christianae, L. 1, § 7. 
 
 V 
 
/ 
 
 44 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. [Lect. II. 
 
 Modern science also confirms the fact of man's recent 
 origin. Geology, as far as it may be regarded as a science 
 IS of very modern date. Its object is to investigate the sur- 
 face of the globe, to mark the several strata which form its 
 crust or shell, to arrange and classify the organic remains of 
 the vegetable and animal kingdoms, and to ascertain the 
 changes to which, in the lapse of ages, it has been subject. 
 It has already afforded much information of a curious and 
 surprising nature, not only respecting the concentric layers 
 of rocky substance which envelope this globe, the disruptions 
 which they have apparently suffered, and the minerals of 
 which they are the depositories ; but also concerning ani- 
 mals of various kinds and sizes, which once tenanted this 
 earth, the races of which are now become extinct Now, 
 every theory which is built on geological facts assumes] 
 as one of its first principles, the commencement of the earth 
 in its present state. Geologists may differ in their specu- 
 lations concerning the primeval condition of the earth, 
 whether it was a fluid mass, or a mere expanded nebulosity ;' 
 whether the principal agent in producing the successive 
 changes which brought it to its present state was fire or 
 .water; whether these changes were more or less sudden or 
 gradual, at longer or shorter intervals, and accomplished 
 more or less by secondary causes ; but all agree in assigning 
 to It a commencement in that condition in which it could be 
 inhabited by man, and in considering that period to be not 
 very remote. « We need not dwell,'.' says one of the most 
 distinguished geologists of the present day, « on the proofs 
 of the low antiquity of our species, for it is not controverted 
 by any geologist ; indeed, the real difficulty which we expe- 
 rience, consists in tracing back the signs of man's existence 
 on the earth to that comparatively modern period when 
 species, now his contemporaries, began to predominate." • 
 
 • Lydl's Principles of Geology._v«I. I, p. 176, Snd. ed. 
 
 Lect. II.] ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 45 
 
 I 
 
 (( 
 
 Anticipating an objection that man may have previously 
 existed for an indefinite period, but that some general 
 ruin may have svtrept away all traces of him, he says, 
 "had these catastrophes been repeated through an in- 
 definite lapse of ages, the high antiquity of man would 
 have been inscribed in far more legible characters on the 
 frame work of the globe, than are the forms of the ancient 
 v^etation which once covered the isles of the northern 
 ocean, or of those gigantic reptiles which at later periods 
 peopled the seas and rivers of the northern hemisphere."* 
 " Geology," says a learned professor, « tells us, out of its 
 own records, that man has been but a few years a dweller 
 on the earth ; for the traces of himself and of his works 
 are confined to the last monuments of its history. Indepen- 
 dently of every written testimony, we therefore believe that 
 man, with all his powers and appetencies, his marvellous 
 structure, and his fitness for the world around him, was 
 called into being within a few thousand years of the days 
 in which we live."t The supposition, therefore, of the 
 eternity of the world, and of the races of living beings 
 which it contains, not only involves in it absurdities at 
 which reason recoils, but is also contradicted by the records 
 of history and the discoveries of science.! 
 
 •Lyell's Principles of Geology.— Vol. I, p. 178. 
 t Discourse on the Studies of the University, by Professor Sedgwick, p. 26, 3rd ed. 
 
 + Astronomy also furnishes an argument of a very powerful nature against the 
 eternity of the solar system. The very regularity of the planetaiy motions in their 
 immense orbits, which is so adapted to impress the mind with the conviction that 
 there is some intelligent and presiding power which directs the whole, has been ad- 
 duccd by scepticism as a proof that this system of movements never had either a 
 beginmng or a maker. But, while there is a wonderful provision for correcting all 
 those disturbing forces which would materially interfere with its regularity, there 
 are facts which militate strongly against the perpetual durability of our system. 
 Whatever light is, whether it radiates from the sun or results from the vibrations of 
 an ethereal fluid, the planetery spaces cannot, it seems, be entirely devoid of mat- 
 ter ; consequently, of what must tend, in however small a degree, to interfere with 
 the motions of these bodies. But the appearance of a comet of a very singular 
 
 / 
 
\ 
 
 46 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 [Lect II. 
 
 Lect. II.] 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 47 
 
 .1 
 
 We proceed now to the remaining hypothesis, which 
 assumes the eternity of matter only, and attributes all the 
 forms of existence, animate and inanimate, brute and ra- 
 tional, to powers inherent in matter. In this scheme there 
 are two positions taken : that matter is eternal ; and that 
 its inherent powers have produced all the beings which 
 exist ; each of these we shall now examine. 
 
 The first is that matter is uncreated and eternal. This, 
 indeed, is a necessary part of every atheistic system ; since 
 if matter had a commencement, the existence of a Creator 
 cannot be denied. The certainty of this part of the hypo- 
 thesis, however, cannot be admitted ; and I believe it may 
 be shown that it is not only incapable of proof, but is 
 attended with such difficulties as destroy its credibility. 
 There are two principles laid down by atheistic writers, 
 as possessing the property, or nearly so, of axiomatic 
 truth, by which the proof of the eternity of matter is 
 attempted. The first is, that « out of nothing, nothing is 
 
 kind, the extreme tenuity of which allowed the constellations to be seen through its 
 body, and the observations on its motions, have produced in the minds of astrono- 
 mers a strong belief that there does exist a resisting medium, which though 
 extremely rare, must yet tend to retard the motions of the planets, and in time, 
 though without the interference of a superior power it might be millions of ages, to 
 effect the destruction of the whole system. That which is destrucUble, which is 
 wearing itself out, the duration of which is lessened every moment of its 
 continuance, cannot have existed from eternity. «* We shall not dwell,** observes 
 Mr. Whewell, « upon any objections to this tenet which might be drawn from our 
 own conceptions ; or from what may be called metaphysical sources. Nor shall we 
 refer to the various considerations which history, geology, and astronomical records 
 supply, and which tend to show, not only that the past duraUon of the present 
 course of things is finite, but that it is short, compared with such periods as we 
 have had to speak of. But we may observe, that the doctrine of a resisting 
 medium once established, makes this imagination untenable ; compels us to go 
 back to the origin, not only of the present course of the worid, not only of the 
 earth, but of tlie solar system itself; and thus sets us forth upon that path of 
 research into the series of past causation, where we obtain no answer of which the 
 meaning corresponds to our questions, till we rest in the conclusion of a most pro- 
 vident and most powerful Creating Intelligence."— See Mr. Whewell's Bridgewater 
 Treatise on Astronomy and General Physio*, p. 208, and the whole of the chapter 
 on a Resisting Medium. 
 
 
 \ 
 
 made ; " * therefore, it is concluded, the creation of matter 
 is an impossibility. That if nothing exists, nothing can be 
 produced, is a truth which no one will doubt; but to say 
 that if matter did not exist, nothing existed, is completely 
 begging the question. The atheist is not permitted, by any 
 rule of reasoning, to prove that matter is eternal, by taking 
 it for granted that no God exists, and then to prove that no 
 God exists, because matter is eternal. All that a sceptical 
 philosophy is entitled to assume is, that nothing can be 
 produced without an adequate cause; and this we readily 
 admit. If there be no eternal, self-existent being, distinct 
 from matter, then it must follow that matter is uncreated, and 
 consequently eternal. But this is the very point in dispute. 
 It may be assumed as an axiom, that nothing can be produced 
 by nothing ; the mind accedes to the proposition instantly, 
 we can scarcely conceive of the possibility that any one in 
 his sober senses should deny it ; but that an eternal and 
 infinite being is not capable of producing matter, is a propo- 
 sition so far from possessing axiomatic certainty, that the 
 contrary to it has been admitted, and is admitted, by the 
 human mind, in innumerable instances, without feeling that 
 any intuitive principle of belief is shocked. The boasted 
 maxim, therefore, that out of nothing, nothing is made; can 
 be of no service to the atheistic scheme, unless it means, and 
 is capable of convincing the mind, that an infinite, eternal, 
 
 * This was a great principle of the Epicurean philosophy, which was propounded 
 by Democritus, ahd adopted by Epicurus. Lucretius enlarges on it with great 
 beauty and force, and adduces six arguments in proof of it. They, however, merely 
 go to prove, what all must admit, that nothing can be the cause of its own existence. 
 Lactantius, as quoted by Creech's annotator, very justly observes, *' Sin autem intra 
 Naturae vires contineri voluerit Epicurus, non esset cur a nobis non laudaretur. 
 Constat enim ex nihilo nihil fieri posse Naturae viribus." * If Epicurus were to 
 limit this assertion to the powers of nature, I could not blame him ; since it is 
 evident that by those powers, nothing can be produced out of nothing.' The author 
 of the * System of Nature ' lays down this maxim with great confidence. " All 
 who are not enslaved by prejudice, agree to the truth of the position : that, nothing 
 can be made of nothing". —Vol. I, p. 50. Palmer calls this " an axiom, that from 
 nothing, nothing can be made." — Principles of Nature, p. 52. 
 
48 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. [Lect. II. 
 
 all-powerful being, such as God is conceived to be, could 
 
 not produce matter. Lucretius affirms this ; ♦ and Mirabaud 
 
 strongly intimates the impossibility that an uncreated and 
 
 spiritual being should create matter or originate motion, f 
 
 But to make an assertion of this kind is to presume to such 
 
 a knowledge of what an infinite spirit is, and is capable of, 
 
 such an acquaintance with matter, of the essence of which 
 
 we know no more than we do of the essence of mind, and 
 
 such an understanding of the mysterious nature of causation, 
 
 as no human being can possibly have. It is, in fact, an 
 
 assertion which savours more of the rashness of presumption 
 
 than of the careful reasoning of philosophy. 
 
 Another principle which is confidently advanced is, that 
 as matter cannot be annihilated, it cannot have had a begin- 
 ning.J "It is easy to perceive, that that which cannot 
 cease to exist, must have always been."§ "Moreover 
 as all the world are nearly agreed, that, matter can never 
 be totally annihilated, or cease to exist, by what reasoning, 
 I would ask, do they comprehend, how understand, that 
 that which cannot cease to be, could ever have had a be- 
 gmning?"§ That we cannot annihilate matter is readily 
 admitted ; we have power over its forms only ; but it does not 
 follow, from our incapability, that no power exists which can 
 effect this, or that it is, in the nature of things, impossible. 
 There are many things which we cannot accomplish, which 
 are not in their own nature impossible. Admit the existence 
 of an infinite, eternal, omnipotent spirit, and you will find no 
 
 ♦ Nullam rem e nihilo gigni divinitus nnquam."— Dc Rer. Nat. I, v. 151. 
 
 t System of Nature.— Vol. I, p. 52. 
 
 t This is the counterpart of the Epicurean maxim before referred to, as havinir 
 onpnated with Democritus. The whole is thus stated by Diogenes Laertius, IX 44 
 Mn^f . Tov f.n oyroj o.««r6«*, f.nh n, to f^n o, (p0»^.a0«». Lucretius employs several 
 ar^ments to prove this, but they go no farther than to show that we never see 
 matter become non-existent. 
 
 § System of Nature.— Vol. I, p p. 51, 52. 
 
 Lect. fl.] 
 
 (. 
 
 f 
 
 L 
 
 i 
 
 \ 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 49 
 
 difficulty i„ believing that he ca« create and destroy th«f 
 he can both produce matter and if h. i ^' 
 
 it But not oni,. • !u ' ^^ P'^^^' annihilate 
 
 certafntt the ^ " t '^'""'^ P"°^'P'« ^^^titute of 
 
 how understand that iT^.'^ZZ IZ ZZ'^'^ti 
 ever have had a beginning." We renlv thT ' '*" ** 
 
 "comprehend " J « und'ersta^V £ ''jlZ^Z aTv" 
 thing at all exists A n^ o r j, > '^^ we can that any- 
 
 found in such a tiente Jd ^ Z "' '^'"^"'^ "^'"^ 
 What difficulty is thereTn bei* ^"^ '' ™""' '^*'""°°"- 
 
 the terms of wh rsha, .! f "^ '" ' commencing series, 
 bilitv of Z ""^'l '''^" SO on for ever, without the possi- 
 omty ot being exhausted? Has nnt fK^ ■ _i .. 
 
 man's soul been admitted „ efery aee ltd 7"^'"' °' 
 «^„„f^„ 1 , every age, and almost in everv 
 
 Er:rm„r "'"• -^ " *- --• - -■ 
 
 There is an argument of somewhat different a n»f ,. r. a 
 
 but ««o„i.s b, „„„^, ., 2:TZ'2tZt 
 
 th.t which wt do, we .hould be of opinion ,. „ f ^ 
 
 removed any of the difficulty, we have not thro 
 
 Hght on the subject, we havf ;ot adtnTd V ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 have simply laid aside a being, of which wetn^C 
 
 i 
 
 ^-v:^ 
 
50 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 [Lect. II. 
 
 Lect. II.] ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 51 
 
 \ 
 
 few of the properties, but of which we are still extremely 
 ignorant, to have recourse to a power of which it is utterly 
 impossible we can, as long as we are men, form any distinct 
 idea; of which, notwithstanding it may be a truth, we 
 cannot, by any means we possess, demonstrate the exist- 
 ence."* The sum of the reasoning here advanced is this; 
 if we find any difficulty in admitting that matter is eternal, 
 and, consequently, that it has necessary, self-existence, we 
 i-- must on the other hand suppose, that if it had a Creator, this 
 great First Cause must be necessary and self-existent, and this 
 produces a difficulty greater still. The premises here are 
 such as none will dispute; if matter be not eternal and 
 necessary, the great First Cause must have eternal and 
 necessary existence ; but on the inference we join issue. 
 
 Does not the view which we take of a supreme and in- 
 telligent First Cause, accord far better with that perfection 
 of nature which necessary, independent self-existence seems 
 to imply. The highest order of existence of which we can 
 conceive, is that which is dignified with intellect. It is this 
 which gives man so decided a superiority over all other 
 animated forms with which this world abounds. What is 
 the bulk of the whale, the strength of the elephant, the 
 fleetness of the courser, when compared with the phenomena 
 of mind ? What are all the forms which matter can assume, 
 what is this ponderous globe, what is the vast system 
 of which it forms a part, qompared with the grandeur, and 
 the power, and the beauty, which the human intellect is 
 capable of displaying.! And yet intellect, even according to 
 
 ♦ System of Nature.— Vol. I, pp. 96, 97. 
 
 f Though the following is not precisely the case ^hich I should select as an instance 
 
 of the superior elevation of the mind above all the sublimities of nature, yet it 
 
 presents, in a manner as beautiful as it is just and powerful, the inferiority of aU 
 
 that is purely material to the moral grandeur which the human intellect is capable 
 
 of displaying. 
 
 *< Mind, mind alone, (bear witness earth, and heaven !) 
 
 The living fountains in itself contains 
 
 bv 
 
 (., 
 
 r 
 
 \- • I 
 
 L 
 
 Si 
 
 the atheistic philosophy, is no essential attribute of matter, 
 is not co-extensive with the universe. If, as materialism' 
 would teach us, mind arises only from a high and perfect 
 organization, it is a mere accident that anything like intellect 
 exists ; it is only by an unintended, unforeseen, and fortunate 
 concurrence of suitable atoms, that intelligence was produced. 
 But this is no perfection belonging to matter as such; it is 
 partial and accidental. The material universe has no pro- 
 perty of intelligence; it is unconscious, it has no perception 
 of what is done or ought to be done, it has no will, no 
 choice, and is therefore incapable of directing any effort to 
 acomplish good or to avert evil. Is this the perfection of self- 
 existence? Admit the possibility of a being distinct from 
 matter and superior to it, and no atheist can philosophically 
 deny this possibility, and matter might be the passive subject 
 of ten thousand changes at his will and pleasure. Innumerable 
 are the effects which man produces on the face of the globe, 
 and on various portions of matter, by that acquaintance 
 with the capabilities of nature, that conscious power, and 
 those means of forming and executing designs which he 
 
 Of beauteous and sublime ; here, hand in hand, 
 
 Sit paramount the Graces ; here enthroned,. 
 
 Celestial Venus, with divinest airs, 
 
 Invites the soul to never-fading joy. 
 
 Look, then, abroad through nature, to the range 
 
 Of planets, suns, and adamantine spheres ^ 
 
 Wheeling unshaken through the void immeusf^ 
 
 ^nd speak, O man ! does this capacious scene 
 
 With half that kindling majesty dilate 
 
 Thy strong conception, as when Brutus rose ' 
 
 Refulgent from the stroke of Caesar's fate, 
 
 Amid the crowd of patriots ; and his arm 
 
 Aloft extending, like eternal Jove 
 
 When guilt brings down the thunder, callM aloud 
 
 On Tully's name, and shook his crimson'd steel, 
 
 And bade the father of his country, hail ! 
 
 For, lo ! the tyrant prostrate on the dust, 
 
 And Rome again is free ! " 
 
 Akenside's Pleasures of Jmagmation, h. 1, 481—500. 
 
52 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 [Lkct II. 
 
 possesses. The triumph of mind over matter is the constant 
 theme of admiration. Man is indeed limited, not by the 
 the changes of which matter is susceptible, but by his 
 own power to act upon it, which he possesses only to a 
 certain extent. It is true, that by denying the existence 
 of mmd as distinct from matter, the atheist views these 
 changes as operated by matter on itself; but still, is not the 
 mind irresistibly impressed, by all that is seen of nature, 
 with the idea that matter is capable of undergoing changes 
 by foreign influence, of being subject to extraneous power, 
 if any other being or beings exist ? And in this case, what 
 capability has matter of securing itself against the power of 
 any other being, by foreseeing any attempt or providing 
 against it .> And is this possibility of subjection, control, 
 and change, compatible with that absolute perfection which 
 eternal, independent, self-existence supposes? But in the 
 admission of an eternal, intelligent First Cause, no difficulty 
 of this kind occurs. All things are dependent on him, and 
 he is subject to none. Unbounded power, infinite wisdom, 
 and supreme benevolence mark all his works. He is an ever 
 active agent ; and never a passive subject. His will is the 
 law of the universe. All the ordinances of heaven, all the 
 arrangements of the earth, are his appointments ; the whole 
 economy of nature is under his superintendence. All power 
 is weakness, all wisdom ignorance, all glory as nothing and 
 vanity, when compared to the perfection of such a being ! 
 Now where does the greater difficulty lie? Since there must, 
 by the acknowledgment of the boldest atheist, be some 
 eternal being possessed of self-existence, is it more difficult 
 to conceive this absolute perfection of nature to belong to 
 an intelligent First Cause, or to senseless matter ? 
 
 And further, does not limitation of existence, either in 
 duration or space seem contrary to the absolute perfection 
 of a self-existing being ? What is not eternal in duration 
 
 Lect. 11.] ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 53 
 
 cannot be necessary and independent in its existence ; and 
 what IS limited in space is so far imperfect Matter cannot 
 be infinite; form is essential to matter, and what has form 
 must have limits. But the mind finds no difficulty in admit- 
 ting the infinity as well as the eternity of an intelligent, 
 se f-ex.stent. First Cause. We conceive of him as existing in 
 all duration, and in all space. This is precisely the idea 
 which we form of the existence of God ; exactly the view 
 which the Bible gives us of him. We cannot comprehend 
 eternity or infinity ; but the mind is irresistibly impressed 
 with the existence of both these attributes. Make the 
 attempt to suppose that either of these has no existence, you 
 will find It impossible. If infinity exists, it must be the 
 property of nothing, or of matter, or of a being distinct from 
 matter. To suppose it to be the property of nothing is 
 absurd ; It cannot, for the reason already stated, be the 
 property of matter ; the conclusion is inevitable, it must 
 belong to a being distinct from matter ; of whom we cannot 
 conceive matter to be independent And who or what is this 
 great being, but that eternal, self-existing one, " of whom 
 and through whom, and to whom are all things." 
 
 But it is asserted, that it is « utterly impossible as long as 
 we are men to form any distinct idea " of such a being. If by 
 " distinct idea." be meant the idea of a being distinct from 
 matter, we deny the assertion ; the idea has been formed 
 from time immemorial. If it be meant that we cannot form 
 a clear idea of the fact that such a being exists, this we deny 
 again for the same reason. But if the meaning be. that 
 while " we are men." of finite minds, we cannot form an 
 adequate idea of what is infinite, we admit it, and needed 
 not an oracle to reveal it or a philosopher to prove it 
 But to what purpose is this alleged? Does the atheist 
 believe only things of which he has ap adequate idea? Can 
 he comprehend the eternity which he admits must have 
 
 \l| 
 
54 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 [Lect. II. 
 
 existence, and with which he is desirous of investing matter.^ 
 When the mind arrives, in its reasonings, at the conception 
 of such a being as an intelligent First Cause, it feels, indeed, 
 that it cannot comprehend his eternal and necessary exist- 
 ence, and it is overwhelmed by a sense of the infinity of his 
 attributes ; but it finds an adequate cause for all other beings, 
 and an explanation of the phenomena of the universe. But 
 if we think on the eternity and self- existence of matter, in 
 addition to the impossibility of comprehending eternal and 
 necessary existence, we feel the insuperable difficulty of 
 connecting this absolute perfection of nature, with what 
 appear manifest imperfections, its unconsciousness, its pas- 
 siveness, its limited existence. The difficulty, then, is 
 thrown back on the atheistic scheme, the force of this 
 argument for the eternity of matter vanishes, and it leaves 
 the position which it was intended to strengthen without 
 support. 
 
 That it is impossible, "by any means we possess," to 
 prove the existence of an intelligent First Cause, is an 
 assertion which we hope, in our ensuing discourses, to prove 
 is as destitute of truth as the arguments which we have 
 examined are inconclusive. It only remains for us now to 
 examine the second position taken by this hypothesis, that 
 matter, by its own inherent powers, has produced all things 
 which exist. 
 
 We have shown that the supposition of the eternity of 
 matter, is not only perfectly gratuitous, but that it is attended 
 with insuperable difficulties; but even if this were conceded 
 to the atheistic philosopher, he would be far, very far from 
 having accomplished his task ; he has made scarcely any 
 advance towards proving that the present system of things 
 could have existence without a supreme and intelligent 
 Creator. The problem which his hypothesis has now to 
 solve is, given matter, an extended, moveable substance. 
 
 Lect. ll.J 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 55 
 
 to account for all the forms of beauty, and order, and 
 adaptation, which we behold. That matter possesses proper- 
 ties besides these just specified, and that to these properties, 
 acting by invariable laws, are to be traced the changes which 
 we behold in nature, is not denied. But who invested matter 
 with such properties, and who gave to this unconscious 
 being laws from which it should not depart.? Or, if this 
 form of putting the inquiry be objected to, we ask, how is 
 it that senseless matter possesses qualities so admirable, and 
 acts so uniformly.? All that we know or can know by 
 experience, is, that certain conditions of bodies are followed 
 uniformly by certain other conditions; that, for instance, 
 the sudden collision of hard substances is followed by 
 vibrations in the air, and these vibrations are followed by a 
 peculiar sense in the organ of hearing, that the impulsion of 
 a stone by the hand is succeeded by motion, and that the 
 placing of any body at liberty from obstruction, is followed 
 by its descent to the ground. The uniformity of these 
 occurrences we call laws ; but we must not forget, when we 
 speak of matter acting by certain properties, and according 
 to certain laws, that it has neither perception nor volition, 
 and that it does not, therefore, properly speaking, act 
 Judging by the results of intelligence in their own minds, 
 men in general assign these properties and laws to the com- 
 munication, or the continued action, of a being of infinite 
 wisdom and power. Atheism, however, affirms that these 
 qualities are essentially inherent in matter, and co-eternal with 
 it, and, consequently, a necessary part of its existence; and, 
 unless this be true, the hypothesis in question vanishes into 
 " airy nothing :" for, if matter did not eternally and neces- 
 sarily possess them, they must have been communicated by a 
 superior power, or be the mode in which the divine energy 
 constantly acts. This is again an assumption, a mere opinion, 
 and it might be met by an opinion which is, at least, equally 
 
66 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. [Lect. II. 
 
 valid, that an intelligent First Cause has invested matter 
 with these properties. The atheist may allege that these 
 properties and the laws of their action have, as far as we 
 know, ever operated. This is granted, as far as human 
 experience has extended ; but our knowledge is limited, the 
 utmost that can be said with safety is, that we never knew 
 matter without them, but this does not prove that matter 
 may not have received them, or that they belong to matter 
 by necessity of nature. Accustomed as we are to see the 
 uniformity of these laws, and the constancy of these pro- 
 perties, it is still possible to conceive of matter in being 
 without them, or of their existing in a very different form. 
 We can imagine the laws of mechanical powers and chemical 
 agencies to be otherwise than what they are, without such 
 difference implying the non-existence of matter, which must 
 be the case, if they were necessary and essential. But let 
 any one consider attentively the adaptation of the laws of 
 matter and motion to produce the most beneficial results; 
 the vast number and diversity of these laws ever operating 
 m the great system, and the admirable manner in which each 
 IS adapted to the other, and all completely harmonizing to- 
 gether, and he will not only perceive that they are just the 
 arrangements which an infinitely wise and powerful being 
 might have made, but will also, if free from prejudice, feel 
 It very difficult to resist the impression that these are all but 
 secondary causes, producing, indeed, in their operation, in- 
 numerably diversified results, but all subject to an intelligent 
 First Cause, and all the effects of his wisdom and power. 
 
 It is impossible to prove, and therefore ought not to be 
 assumed, that matter possesses inherently, by virtue of its 
 existence, any properties necessary and essential to its nature, 
 except extension and solidity. But if matter had possessed 
 only these, it must ever have remained an inert mass, inca- 
 pable of producing anything to all eternity, or of effecting 
 
 Lect. II.] ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 57 
 
 any change in itself. The Epicurean philosophy, and its 
 poetic expounder, the elegant and accomplished Lucretius, 
 therefore, superadded motion to its fundamental or essential 
 properties, and thus attempted to account for all the form- 
 ations of the universe. It is to this power of motion, the 
 result of what they suppose to be the inherent and essential 
 properties of matter, that modern atheists attribute all the 
 changes, the combinations, forms, and various degrees and 
 kinds of life which exist. It is necessary, then, to examine 
 the competency of this substitute for a divine power. And, 
 first, let us hear atheism speak for itself on this point « If 
 we contemplate a little the paths of nature, if for a tii^ll^ 
 trace the beings in this nature, under the different states 
 through which, by reason of their properties, they are com- 
 pelled to pass, we shall discover that it is to motion, and 
 motion only, that is to be ascribed all the changes, all the 
 combinations, all the forms, in short, all the various modifi- 
 cations of matter. That it is by motion everything that 
 exists is produced, experiences change, expands, and is de- 
 stroyed."* "It is thus motion generates, preserves for a 
 time, and successively destroys, one part of the universe, by 
 the other; whilst the sum of existence remains eternally the 
 same. Nature, by its combinations, produces suns, which 
 place themselves in the centre of so many systems ; she forms 
 planets, which, by their peculiar essence gravitate, and 
 describe their revolutions round these suns; by degrees, the 
 motion is changed altogether, and becomes eccentric ; per- 
 haps the day may arrive when these wondrous masses will 
 disperse, of which man, in the short space of his existence, 
 can only have a faint and transient glimpse." f Not only 
 are suns and systems produced, according to the atheistic 
 scheme, by motion, but even man, in his bodily frame and in 
 all the marvellous capabilities of his mind, is only the result 
 
 ♦ System of Nature.— Vol. I, p. 62. f Vol. I, p. 70. 
 
 t 
 
58 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. [Lect. II. 
 
 of motion. "It is by the aid of this interior organ, (i. e. 
 the brain,) that all those operations are performed which 
 are attributed to the soul ; it is the impulse, the motion 
 communicated to the nerve, which modifies the brain ; in 
 consequence, it ro-acts, gives play to the bodily organs, or 
 rather, it acts upon itself, and becomes capable of producing 
 within itself a great variety of motion, tchich has been 
 designated intellectual faculties:' ♦ « Such, also, is the in- 
 ternal motion that takes place in man, which is called his 
 intellectual faculties, his thoughts, his passions, his will." f 
 Thus, then, it is distinctly and boldly stated, that the origin- 
 a^of all forms, the constitution of all life, the exercise, 
 as well as the first creation of every faculty, corporeal or 
 mental, is to be attributed, entirely and solely, to motion ! 
 If, then, motion produced all things, motion must have been 
 before all things, as that which produces must be antecedent 
 to that which is produced. It must also be assumed that 
 it is eternal ; for if motion commenced at any period it 
 must have had a cause; to suppose that matter, after an 
 eternal quiescence, originated motion, is an absurdity which 
 cannot be entertained ; it must, then, if it ever commenced, 
 have had a cause extraneous to matter, and if that which pro- 
 duces all things but itself, was itself produced by a power 
 superior to matter, and controlling it at pleasure, we arrive 
 again at the idea of a supreme and eternal Creator. But the 
 eternity of motion is affirmed by this system without hesi- 
 tation. " If it be inquired, whence proceeds the motion that 
 agitates matter, the same reasoning furnishes the answer; 
 namely, that as motion is coeval with matter, it must have 
 existed from all eternity, seeing that motion is the necessary 
 consequence of its existence." { « We say this motion is a 
 manner of existence that flows necessarily out of the essence 
 of matter." 8 Motion, therefore, must be, according to this 
 
 *SystemofNaturc-.Vol.I,p.I73. tVoLI,p.33. tVoLI,p.52. §Vol.I,p.4l. 
 
 Lect. II.] 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 59 
 
 supposition, an eternal and necessary condition of matter, 
 that is, a condition as essential to matter as solidity or form, 
 and without which it would not be matter, that is, it would 
 have no existence. The whole superstructure then rests 
 on this position, which, examination will, I believe, prove to 
 be " the baseless fabric of a vision," 
 
 First, let it be noticed, that there is no possible way of 
 proving that motion is eternal ; that it is so, can be no more 
 than a conjecture, a supposition. As this hypothesis admits 
 that the human race did not always exist, it is impossible to 
 say with certainty, from any knowledge which the experience 
 of man can supply, that motion never had a beginning. It 
 is a mere assumption, at the best; and all the confidence 
 with which it is asserted, can never make it anything more. 
 
 And is our knowledge of all the possible conditions of 
 matter so universal apd complete as to warrant an assertion, 
 that matter may not exist, without those properties from 
 which its motion flows } The author just quoted states that 
 « every motion is the effect of gravitation." ♦ If this were 
 true, what should we say to the opinions of many distin- 
 guished philosophers, that there are bodies, such as the 
 electric fluid, without gravity } If this be the case, it would 
 prove by a fact that gravity is not a necessary property of 
 matter, seeing it is not universal. 
 
 Again, if motion be essential to matter, this necessary 
 condition of its existence must refer to masses, or to the 
 original individual particles of matter only. But masses of 
 matter move by the law of gravitation, by which one body 
 tends uniformly towards another. But if only one mass of 
 matter existed, it could neither attract nor be attracted by 
 another body, and, consequently, must remain immoveabla 
 Nor could any projectile motion exist, without another body 
 from which the impulse was received. If it be the individual 
 
 ♦ System of Nature.— Vol. I, p. 43. 
 
sas 
 
 60 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. [Lect II. 
 
 and original particles of matter to which this condition is 
 essential, then the existence of one particle alone, or removed 
 beyond the sphere of attraction if it have any limits, would 
 be in the nature of things impossible, as it could have no 
 motion, nor tendency to motion, without the existence and 
 influence of other matter. Then, also, it would follow that 
 every particle would be dependent for its existence on other 
 particles, a supposition which appears absurd, and repugnant 
 to that necessary and independent existence of matter which 
 this hypothesis assumes. 
 
 And farther, according to this supposition, matter could 
 no more exist without motion, than it could without form. 
 It is a contradiction to suppose matter existing without 
 extent,— extension enters necessarily into the definition of 
 matter, but is it an equal contradiction to suppose matter ex- 
 existing without motion ? Take extension from matter, and 
 you annihilate it — it is matter no longer. But suppose every 
 form and degree of motion or tendency to motion to cease; 
 suppose every modification of attraction to operate no longer, 
 — and what would be the consequence? The entire stag- 
 nation of life, but not the annihilation of one single particle 
 of matter. The eternity of motion, therefore, as a necessary 
 condition of matter, is not only a conjecture, but is a suppo- 
 sition attended with such difficulties as to render it entirely 
 inadmissible, and utterly incapable of supporting the edifice 
 which atheism seeks to raise on it. 
 
 But if we concede the eternity of motion, if we give to 
 the philosopher all his "affinities," and "analogies," his 
 "aptitude to attraction," and "repulsive power," — all the 
 supposed eternal properties from which eternal motion is 
 supposed to spring, still, with all these, he is incapable of 
 explaining the phenomena of nature, or accounting for the 
 existence of what is now in being. In the planetary world, 
 the laws of gravitation and of motion account for all the 
 
 Lect. II.] 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 61 
 
 present movements ; that is, we see all the motions of those 
 celestial spheres, whether diurnal or annual, belonging either 
 to the central body, the primary planets, or their secondaries, 
 all performing thdr revolutions in a certain uniform manner, 
 according to what we denominate laws. But the question is, 
 not merely how they now perform these movements, but 
 what originated them ? — what combined the centripetal and 
 centrifugal forces in such proportion, and at the same time 
 gave a rotary motion to all these revolving bodies ? Many 
 attempts have been made to construct a theory which should 
 exclude an intelligent Creator from these stupendous works 
 of wisdom and power ; but no theory that has ever yet been 
 formed, no supposition that has ever yet been made, by all 
 the ingenuity of fanciful speculation, or by all the philosophy 
 and general learning which infidelity has employed, can 
 satisfactorily explain the origination of these various and 
 combined movements, from any properties of matter, without 
 the intervention of some great moving cause, intimately 
 acquainted with the sublime mathematics which they involve, 
 and possessing a power to which we can assign no limits. 
 
 The same kind of reasoning will apply to any organized 
 body, either in the vegetable or animal kingdom. We see 
 around us millions of pieces of exquisite machinery, ever 
 working in a way which all may admire, but none can 
 imitate. Not all the skill and ingenuity of man, aided by the 
 most extended knowledge, the most profound calculations, 
 and the most refined analysis, can ever, with all the material 
 in view, make anything like a living animal, or one part 
 belonging to him, such as an eye, or ear, or hand ; or even 
 a lily, a rose, a leaf, or blade of grass. Supposing, then, all 
 the material existing, with all the present properties of 
 matter, how came these flowers and trees, and all the various 
 kinds of living creatures, into being.? Is there anything in* 
 our own experience, in the testimony of others, in our 
 
02 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. [Lect. II. 
 
 reasonings from analogy, that can give any support to the 
 hypothesis, that matter, by its own energies, has produced 
 the forms that exist? These appear to be all the sources 
 of information which we possess, and if they refuse their 
 support to the hypothesis in question, both philosophy and 
 common sense must concur in pronouncing it unworthy of 
 being entertained for a moment 
 
 Experience is the most satisfactory manner of obtaining a 
 knowledge of facts. The evidence of our senses we do trust, 
 and must trust; this is an intuitive principle of belief which 
 no man can resist. This is the only means we have of 
 knowing personally what passes in the world without us. 
 We know that the sun shines, that plants grow, that fire 
 burns, that food nourishes, from experience. But will this 
 assist the atheistic scheme? We have seen the powers of 
 nature, the laws of matter operating in ten thousand in- 
 stances ; but have we seen the formation of an oak from any 
 inorganic substance, a bird that sprang not from a bird, or a 
 child without a parent ? Experience tells us that, by what 
 we call the properties of matter and the laws of their 
 operation, seeds become plants, which in their turn produce 
 seeds, that eggs become birds which also produce eggs, that 
 children become adults, and then have children of their 
 own ; but it does not tell us, that by all the « affinities," 
 and « analogies," and the various motions which are their 
 result, a single seed, or egg, or infant was ever originated. 
 Experience, then, lends no aid to atheism, but, as far as it 
 goes, entirely contradicts it 
 
 Testimony, which is the experience of others communi- 
 cated to us, alike refuses its support to such a scheme. 
 Much of our knowledge must necessarily be derived from 
 others. Practical astronomers, and naturalists, and chemists, 
 are comparatively few ; but when their testimony is credible, 
 we depend on it, with almost the same confidence as we 
 
 Lect. II.J ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 63 
 
 trust our personal observations. For the facts of history 
 we must depend on the testimony of others; and in addition 
 to the credibility of the historian, and even in the absence 
 of any knowledge of him, there may be such internal evi- 
 dence of their truth, they may so harmonize with each other 
 and be so strongly corroborated by many distinct sources of 
 mformation, as to leave no doul)t whatever on the mind of 
 the certainty of these facts. But has any naturalist, in his 
 patient, constant researches into nature, and accumulated 
 knowledge of her productions in detail, ever announced to' 
 the world his discovery of a new species of tree, that sprang 
 from no organic substance, or a new kind of animal, formed 
 by the powers of matter, without a parent ? Has any chemist, 
 who has in a thousand ways put nature to the torture to 
 make her speak, wrung from her the secret how the present 
 properties and powers of matter could originate a human 
 being ? Has he,- by all the ingenious analysis and synthesis 
 by which he decomposes the various combinations of ele- 
 mentary matter, and unites them again, discovered any 
 properties that can explain the original formation of ani- 
 mals and men, and announced this process to the world > 
 Does the page of history record any fact of this kind 
 well authenticated, as having occurred in any age or any 
 climate? There is a history, unquestionably the most 
 ancient now extant, which, independently of its claims to 
 mspiration, deserves much more attention for its recorded 
 facts, than the philosophers of infidelity ever give it which 
 states that « in the beginning God created the heaven and 
 the earth."-that trees, plants, fishes, birds, beasts, men. were 
 all originated by an act of divine power; and that human 
 bemgs were created in the beginning, "male and female- 
 All the early writings of historians and poets refer to 
 the creation of man, of which evidence might be adduced 
 to almost any extent, and from the records of almost every 
 
 1 
 
 '^\ 
 
64 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 [Lect. II. 
 
 nation.* Traditions of this are extant all over the world, 
 wherever man is found. There is^ no testimoiiy, then, that 
 will lift up its voice or utter a whisper in favour of the athe- 
 istic hypothesis, but so far as any testimony can be brought 
 from ancient writings and almost universal tradition, it is 
 almost point blank against it 
 
 Analogy has been solicited to aid this scheme, but though 
 pressed into the service of atheism, an examination of the 
 ^evidence which it can give, will prove that it has nothing 
 to say in its favour. Analogy has been defined by a learned 
 professor as " a resemblance discernible by reason." To 
 reason from analogy, is to draw conclusions respecting some- 
 thing which is unknown, by a comparison which it admits 
 with something which is known. It is a mode of reasoning 
 which we often employ, and, in many cases, it is the 
 only kind of reasoning by which any conclusion can be 
 formed, or 'any degree of certainty obtained. It admits of 
 various degrees of certainty, from the slightest probability 
 to assured proof; but this depends on the reality of the 
 resemblance, the frequency of the instances in which it has 
 been noticed, and the kind and degree of connexion sub- 
 sisting between the known and unknown object. While, 
 therefore, analogy may sometimes lead to the discovery of 
 important truth, and tend strongly to corroborate a fact or 
 opinion when evidence to a certain degree already exists, 
 there is always need of care, in employing this kind of 
 reasoning, that the resemblance be not imaginary, and the 
 grounds of comparison too slight There are two cases 
 of analogical reasoning employed in the 'System of Nature,* 
 in favour of the hypothesis, that matter, by its own properties 
 and energies, originated all things. 
 
 •See Grotius, de Ver. Rel. Chr. 1. 1, § 16, where the learned author has cited a 
 large collection of writers, both Greek and Latin, who refer the creation of the 
 world and its inhabitants to a divine power. 
 
 Lect. ll.J ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 65 
 
 The first is of a more particular kind, and is derived from 
 what has been called equivocal or spontaneous generation. 
 It was formerly imagined that, by a supposed plastic poWer 
 in nature, by the heat of the sun, by moisture, and putre- 
 faction, insects and even animals were produced. Later and 
 more accurate observations, by the most eminent naturalists, 
 have, however, proved the fallacy of this opinion, and shown 
 that as wherever grass, flowers, vegetables spring up, though 
 apparently in a spontaneous manner, seed must have been 
 conveyed by the wind, or birds, or remained for a consider- 
 able length of time deposited in some material conveyed to 
 the soil, till it found^a proper pabulum ; so that animals 
 and insects have been produced from their kind; and that 
 from inorganic matter no organized body is formed. " Before 
 the invention of microscopes, the doctrine of equivocal 
 generation, both with regard to animals or to plants of 
 some kinds, was usually received, but this instrument soon 
 convinced every intelligent person, that those plants which 
 were formerly supposed to be produced by equivocal gener- 
 ation, arose from seeds ; and the animals, in like manner, 
 from male and female. But as the microscope threw light 
 on one part of nature, it left another involved in darkness ; 
 for the origin of anirmUula infusoria, or the spermatic ani- 
 mals already mentioned, remains as yet as much unknown 
 as that of many other kinds was, when the doctrine of 
 equivocal generation reigned in full force." * The manner 
 in which these microscopic insects are propagated, is not yet 
 fully known ; there are, however, certain circumstances in 
 which they make their appearance, there are certain con- 
 ditions of matter in which they are generally found ; and 
 this fact is seized on by the atheistic philosopher, to prove 
 that inorganic matter may, by its own properties, produce 
 living beings, and therefore by analogy may produce man. 
 
 ♦ Dr. Rees's Encyclopaedia.— Art. Anim. 
 
^ 
 
 66 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 [Lect II. 
 
 " If flour be wetted with water," says the advocate of atheism, 
 " and the mixture closed up, it will be found, after some 
 little lapse of time, by the aid of a microscope, to have 
 produced organized beings, that enjoy life, of which the 
 water and flour were believed incapable, it is thus that in- 
 animate matter can pass into life, or animate matter, which 
 is in itself only an assemblage of motion. Reasoning- from 
 analogy, wliich the philosophers of the present day hold 
 perfectly compatible, the production of a man, independent 
 of the ordinary means, would not be more marvellous, than 
 that of an insect with flour and water."* In this argument, 
 there is a vitiating defect, and one which pervades, more or 
 less, all the reasonings which we have hitherto examined, 
 and that is, that something is taken for granted, as the basis 
 of the argument, which is not proved, and the proof of 
 which is absolutely necessary to its validity. Here it is 
 assumed, that in the flour and water there were no eggs, or 
 sperm, or whatever may be necessary to their propagation 
 according to the usual course, of former animalcules. Be- 
 cause we have not been able to discover them, it does not 
 follow that they do not exist. We know that eggs, which 
 contain the rudiments of future organized bodies, will remain 
 for a long time without unfolding their organization, until 
 they are placed in such circumstances as are adapted to give 
 an impulse to their vitality, and that this may be the case 
 with the infusoria and other kinds of animalcules is verv 
 probable. As these creatures are so exceedingly minute 
 that millions of them would not be so large as a mite, 
 and are known to be living creatures only by their motion, 
 is it likely that we should be able to discover their eggs, 
 if such be their mode of propagation ? They are so abun- 
 dant, that water, both running and stagnant, salt and fresh, 
 actually swarms with them. "They abound in decayed 
 
 • System of Nature.— Vol. I, p. 45. 
 
 Lect. II.] ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 67 
 
 infusions of vegetable or animal matter, in decayed vinegar, 
 in the secreted fluids of animals in the living state, in all 
 stagnant waters, and in the waters of lakes and rivers. 
 They are the food of zoophytes. We have found them in 
 incalculable myriads in the water of harbours, and along 
 our coasts, and many miles distant from land, among the 
 Western islands; and they probably abound, not only in 
 the waters of the tropical seas, but in every drop of the 
 ocean."* The rudiments of a future race, therefore, may 
 exist in great abundance in the humidity of the soil, in the 
 moisture of plants and vegetables while they are growing, 
 may be floating about in the atmosphere, or in the water 
 with which the infusions or mixtures are made, and waiting 
 only a proper element or a due degree of temperature to 
 start into life. It may be objected, that the vegetables of 
 these infusions have, been boiled, the water exposed to a 
 high temperature, and even distilled, and yet these animal- 
 cules have been produced. But we are told that « they 
 possess great tenacity of life. They suffer exposure to very 
 high and very low temperatures without perishing. They 
 may be dried to hardness, and again resuscitated by the 
 application of moisture. According to the experiments 
 of Baker, Needham, and others, they may be revived by 
 moisture, after remaining many years rn a dried and ap- 
 parently lifeless state." * It is very probable, then, that 
 whatever contains the germ of the future animalcule, may 
 be secured from the heat of a boiling temperature, and may 
 escape in the vapour of distilled liquid. The provisions 
 of nature for protecting buds and seeds, and whatever con- 
 tains the elements of the future insect, are truly admirable. f 
 
 * Professor Grant, of the London University, quoted by the Edinburgh Review 
 for January, 1834. 
 
 t Some species of infusoria appear to pi-opagate their kind by a division of the 
 body of the parent. If this be the mode of reproduction with all these microscopic 
 
— ■!! 
 
 «. — — ■ 
 
 68 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 [Lect. II. 
 
 The assumption, then; that the flour or water contains the 
 organic rudiments from which, when brought into a proper 
 condition to support them, the animalcules spring, is sup- 
 ported by a far higher degree of probability than the 
 supposition that they are produced by the flour and water 
 only, without any connexion with beings of the same kind. 
 It is supported, indeed, by the whole analogy of the 
 economy of nature, so far as it is open to our inspection. 
 Plants spring from plants, insects from insects, and men 
 from men. This case of analogy, then, entirely refuses to 
 aid the hypothesis, and not even an animalcule can be found 
 to favour atheism. 
 
 There is another and more general way in which an at- 
 tempt is made to support this part of the atheistic scheme 
 by analogical reasoning, the substance of which is this. We 
 see by the properties of matter the germ^burst forth, the plant 
 shoot and grow, bear seed, and die; while other plants arise 
 and go through the same course. The progress of a human 
 being is similar, from his conception, to his infancy, 'his 
 youth, his manhood and old age. " In all this we see nothing 
 but the effect of motion, necessarily guided, modified, ac- 
 celerated, or slackened, strengthened or weakened, by reason 
 of the various properties that beings successively acquire 
 and lose; which every moment infallibly produces alterations 
 in bodies, more or less marked." * This is the sum of many 
 of the statements and reasonings employed by sceptical 
 writers. By the incessant motion of the various particles of 
 matter, according to their respective properties, all the pro- 
 cesses of nature are carried on ; therefore, we ought to assign 
 
 beings, then perhaps the parent stock, which appear in the mixtures or infusions, 
 may have existed in a very attenuated form, with a suspendetl vitality, until a 
 proper element produced their revivification, and rendered them visible to the 
 microscope. At any rate, their multiplication in this way makes directly against 
 the assumption that inorganic matter can produce organized beings, as here one 
 is produced by the other. 
 
 * System of Nature.— Vol. I, p. 64. 
 
 Lect. II.] 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 69 
 
 the first formation of every being, animate and inanimate, to 
 the same cause. But here the analogy fails, and the reason- 
 ing is at fault. This is to account for the construction of a 
 machine, by the unconscious mechanical powers that work 
 it The human machinery works by the mechanical and 
 chemical properties of matter ; but it must first have existed 
 in order to work. The plant or animal in its embryo state, 
 and in every succeeding stage, receives matter from without, 
 which enters into its orgaiiiBation,^ but there is organization 
 already existing. There is no analogy here on which to 
 found an argument We must see, in some department of 
 nature, a flower, a shrub, a bird, or beast produced, actually 
 produced by inorganic matter, working with all its " affini- 
 ties," " analogies," and " powers of motion," before we can 
 have any analogy from which we can conclude, that the 
 various forms of being and degrees of life that now exist, 
 were produced by the energy of unconscious matter. If 
 analogy cannot be forced nor allured to speak in favour of 
 the atheistic sheme, it has a voice to disprove and to condemn 
 it: no organized beings in the vegetable or animal kingdom 
 were ever known to be produced by the powers of matter, 
 therefore their production is to be referred to some higher 
 power. 
 
 We have now, with as much brevity as the subject would 
 admit, examined the various hypoth&es which exclude an 
 intelligent First Cause from the creation of the universe; 
 — we have " weighed them in the balance and found them 
 wanting." We have shown that there must have been 
 something in existence from all eternity. We have shown 
 that reason, history, science condemn the absurdity of an 
 eternal series of animals and men. We have lastly shown 
 the inadmissibility of the assumed eternity of matter, and 
 the impossibility of its explaining, even were this conceded, 
 together with all the properties which matter now possesses, ' 
 
70 
 
 ATHEISTIC HYPOTHESES EXAMINED. 
 
 [Lect. II. 
 
 the phenomena of the heavens and the existence of living 
 beings on the earth ; it follows, then, that there must exist 
 an eternal and all powerful being, distinct from nature, the 
 Creator of all things. The idea, we admit, is overwhelming, 
 but it does not involve those palpable contradictions and 
 absurdities which attend the atheistic scheme, in whatever 
 form it be presented. The admission of the existence of an 
 uncreated, eternal being, of boundless power and wisdom, 
 who formed and fills, sustains and governs all things, cannot 
 but fill the mind with awe, and show to man his own little- 
 ness and vanity. But having arrived at this point, the mind 
 finds repose; it recognizes an adequate cause for all the 
 mighty wonders, the immensely varied and splendid effects 
 which the universe exhibits. On every other supposition, 
 we are lost in a labyrinth' of endless mazes, and find ourselves 
 bewildered among innumerable conjectures, and contradic- 
 tions, and absurdities. Some of these we have now 
 endeavoured to expose; this has been the object of the 
 present lecture, not so directly to prove the existence of a 
 supreme and glorious Creator — though this is a necessary 
 consequence — as to show the fallacy of every atheistic 
 hypothesis, and its insufficiency to^the task which it has to 
 perform. If, then, the question of our text be proposed, 
 " WHAT IS TRUTH," with reference to this momentous 
 controversy, we think that from the views we have already 
 taken, we are justified in replying,^IT IS NOT ATHEISM. 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, FROM THE WORKS 
 
 OF NATURE. 
 
 .'!r 
 
 PSALM CXI. 2.-.THE WORKS OF THE LORD ARE GREAT; SOUGHT OUT OF 
 ALL THEM THAT HAVE PLEASURE THEREIN. 
 
 « 
 
 These are the words of the devout Psalmist, who, while 
 he set an inestimable value on the divine word and testi- 
 monies, was often accustomed to " look through nature up 
 to nature's God." Habitual piety, so far from rendering the 
 mind insensible to the beauties of creation, views every 
 object " in heaven above, or in the earth beneath," with 
 that additional interest which is produced by the conviction 
 that they are not the forms of random chance, or the results 
 of a blind necessity, but the works of the great Parent of 
 the universe, « the Father of lights," from whom cometh 
 "every good gift and every perfect gift." Hence, in every 
 age, men of decidedly religious principle have ranked 
 among the most distinguished admirers of nature. The 
 annals of science, in all its departments, are enriched with 
 the names of men who were known and wished to be 
 known, as firm believers in the existence of a supreme and 
 glorious Creator. No mind of sensibility and taste can view. 
 
72 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. III. 
 
 without emotion, the richly varied forms of beauty and of 
 grandeur with which we tie surrounded ; under the influence 
 of piety, this deep feeling of delighted admiration kindles the 
 glow of devotion, and sends up the incense of praise to the 
 glorious being of whose divine perfections they bear an 
 impress. How often has the full heart, while viewing with 
 bursting emotion this scene of wonders, exclaimed with a 
 poet of our own 
 
 '* These are thy glorious works, parent of good, 
 Almighty, thine this universal frame." 
 
 Nature is the only God the atheist knows ; yet the most 
 exquisite pleasure which it is capable of affording, must be 
 lost to the mind which sees in it nothing' but unconscious 
 matter, obeying laws without consent, and exhibiting beauties 
 without intention. None can enjoy nature like those who 
 view the whole fabric as the workmanship of him who, in 
 our formation, gave us a susceptibility to all its loveliness, and 
 a power to enjoy it ; who read their Maker's name inscribed 
 on every leaf, see his glory sparkle in every star, and recog- 
 nize, in all this wonderful economy, the perpetual and varied 
 manifestations of supreme benevolence. When the royal 
 Psalmist beholds the sky glowing with the refulgence of day, 
 or glittering with the gems of night, his devotion kindles, 
 he exclaims, « The heavens declare the glory of God ; and 
 the firmament sheweth his handy work." He loved in his 
 contemplations to range through nature, to mark the de- 
 scending dews, the fruitful showers, the revolving seasons, 
 and the abundant and suitable provision made for every 
 living creature. "0 Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy 
 name in all the earth ! " « The earth, O Lord, is full of thy 
 riches.*' " Thou preservest man and beast, how excellent is 
 thy loving-kindness, O God ! Therefore the children of 
 men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings." Some- 
 times, as in the 139th Psalm, the marvellous construction of 
 
 Lect. III.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 73 
 
 his own frame excites his gratitude and praise; "I will 
 praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; mar- 
 vellous are thy works, and that my soul knoweth right 
 well." This is the interesting department of inquiry into 
 which I shall now direct your minds. Christian, the God of 
 revelation is the God of nature. He who redeemed man, 
 made man ; the same wisdom that arranged the covenant of 
 grace, formed the economy of nature ; he who speaks from 
 every page of his word, speaks from every object in the 
 wide creation, « Great are the works of the Lord, sought 
 out of all them that have pleasure therein." And you who 
 live professedly « without God in the world,*' while you 
 accompany me in this excursion through some of the "paths 
 of nature," let me intreat your fixed attention to those 
 indications to which I shall point, of what appear to all 
 but yourselves, and of what I sincerely hope may appear to 
 you also, visible and impressive manifestations of a creating 
 and presiding intelligence. 
 
 We have now advanced to that stage of the argument in 
 which we shall have more directly to adduce the proofs of 
 the existence of a Supreme Creator, an intelligent First 
 Cause of all things. Our last lecture was employed in 
 hearing and examining evidence on behalf of atheism ; now 
 we shall produce witnesses who offer their testimony to 
 prove that there is a God. Our object now will be rather to 
 establish truth, than to demolish error. In doing this, we 
 have a task at once more easy and more pleasant ; it will not 
 be necessary to enter the region of metaphysics, or to require 
 any considerable effort of the understanding; we shall pre- 
 sent to you what is so plain and legible, that " he who runs 
 may read." Instead of pursuing error through the mazes of 
 a false philosophy, in which it bewilders the mind, we shall 
 exhibit some of the paths of truth, in which, I trust, we 
 shall find both pleasure and profit. 
 
74 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [LiCT. III. 
 
 The present subject opens so wide a range, that the great 
 difficulty is, not to produce instances, but to make the se- 
 lection. The fact is, that every part of the universe, so far 
 as we are acquainted with it,, is rich in manifestations of 
 creating power and wisdom. We can only touch on a few, 
 and these but slightly, in comparison of all the particular 
 points of evidence which each may afford ; yet those which 
 will be adduced, will be found, I trust, fully sufficient for 
 our purpose. 
 
 The nature of the argument on which we now enter is 
 briefly this. Every effect must have its appropriate and 
 adequate cause. Whether this should be considered an 
 intuitive principle of belief, or whether it arises from expe- 
 rience, it is a principle so fixed in the mind, and universal, 
 that we should consider the man who denies it either a 
 knave or an idiot; and if he attempted by his philosophy 
 to prove the contrary we should deem him a metaphysical 
 juggler, or, if sincere, the dupe of his own mystification. 
 The innumerable effects which are continually produced 
 within us and without us, though they arise from causes 
 exceedingly diversified, may all be ranked in two general 
 classes; those which result from the properties of matter, 
 and those which arise from the mental operations. If, be- 
 tween those phenomena which are distinctly marked as 
 belonging to the one or the other, there are some of a less 
 decided cast, so that we know not under which to place 
 them, our present argument is not affected by it ; nor are the 
 different views which may be formed of the mind itself of 
 any consequence. We all know that consciousness, and 
 volition, are as different from any of the chemical or me- 
 chanical properties of matter, as the sound of a flute is 
 from the colour of the violet, or the shape of a triangle from 
 the fragrance of a rose. With one class of properties we 
 become acquainted by observation on what passes continually 
 
 Lect. hi.] from the works of nature. 
 
 75 
 
 before us, or by experiments made for the- purpose: of the 
 other we obtain a knowledge by attention to what passes in 
 our own minds. We perceive matter*acting by attraction, 
 repulsion, collision ; but none of the materials which the 
 great storehouse of nature contains, possess intelligence or 
 employ reason. But the intelligent mind acts by perceiving, 
 comparing, judging, determining, designing. Matter has no 
 foresight, no precaution, no selection ; can anticipate no 
 evils, make provision for no difficulties. But mind, when 
 its objects are selected, chooses means, employs instruments, 
 foresees impediments, and provides for meeting them. There 
 are some results which we always ascribe to the J^nown 
 properties of matter, to its various forms of attraction, 
 repulsion, and to the laws of moving bodies ; thus all the 
 effects produced by the working of a pi^e of clock-work, 
 or mill-work, or music, however various its parts and move- 
 ments, arise, we know, from the laws by which matter acts. 
 But there are many results which we as invariably ascribe 
 to the operations of mind ; such as the bringing together 
 and adjusting the various parts of any piece of machinery, 
 the disposing of the letters of the alphabet in such an order 
 as to form syllables, and words, and sentences ; or the laying 
 of certain mineral or vegetable mixtures on canvas, in such 
 a manner as to represent a human figure or. a landscape. 
 Though in all this we see everything done by the properties 
 of matter, yet we irresistibly feel the conviction, that in 
 combining these various portions of matter, a mind has been 
 planning and selecting, in order to accomplish an end. The 
 more necessary, important, and beneficial the end, the more 
 complex and numerous the parts which unite to accomplish - 
 it ; and the more certain the result, the more deeply do we 
 feel convinced that thought has been closely applied, that 
 the mind has been careful in its selections, that a competent 
 knowledge and wisdom have guided the whole process, and 
 
76 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lkct. III. 
 
 Lect. III.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 77 
 
 * 
 
 that the design, in fact, preceded the workmanship which so 
 decidedly exhibits it^ If, therefore, we see in the objects of 
 nature indubitable marks of contrivance, skill, foresight^— a 
 simplicity of design wrought out by a complication of parts 
 and movements— especially when added to this, the end 
 thus accomplished is of essential consequence and eminently 
 beneficial, we ought to feel the same conviction; and I venture 
 to say we do feel it, always feel it, unless some strong pre- 
 possessions have warped our judgment 
 
 Should it be said, that in the construction of houses,' ma- 
 chines, books, we have experience to guide us, we know that 
 such things have been produced by the genius and power 
 of man before, and therefore, on seeing any object of this 
 kind, we come to a safe and certain conclusion ; but that for 
 the production o^ world, a tree, a man, the effects are so 
 very dissimilar, that never having seen or heard how such 
 an object was first formed, we are not competent to decide; 
 this would be only evading the argument ; since the question 
 is not how similar or dissimilar the effects are, in any point 
 but one, and that is, whether in the objects of nature, as well 
 as in those of art, there are any indications of contrivance or 
 design ; whether in the one, as well as in the other, there are 
 numerous parts, regularly disposed, accurately adjusted in 
 their proportions, nicely adapted to each other, each inde- 
 pendent in itself, and performing its own functions, but all 
 harmonizing together and working out one beneficial end ? 
 If we find an object of this kind, whether we have ever seen 
 anything like it before or not, whether it comes within the 
 limits of human power or not, design there certainly is, 
 thought has been employed, mind has been at work. Mathe- 
 matical demonstration the subject will not admit of, it is a 
 kind of proof which is inapplicable; but if we see instances 
 of indubitable foresight, precaution, intention, in any of the 
 works of nature, then we have a moral certainty, a most 
 
 assured proof, that there has been an intelligent, though 
 invisible cause operating, who is the great designer and the 
 mighty agent in their production. 
 
 Nor can this conclusion be avoided, though it is sometimes 
 attempted, by attributing all these results to the necessary 
 laws of nature, that is, to the certain and uniform connexion 
 of cause and effect. The question lies within a very narrow 
 compass; can all that we see in nature be the result of 
 chance, or are we compelled to admit design ? Were the 
 various forms of living beings produced intentionally or 
 accidentally.? There is no alternative; one or the other 
 must be admitted. To say that it was by necessity, is no 
 answer to the question, since >it may apply alike to either. 
 • A man may throw down a handful of printing types ; the * 
 portion of the letters is by chance; it may happen that a 
 and h, or any two or three consecutive letters of the alphabet 
 may be found together ; we should term this purely acci- 
 dental. Now there is a cause why every letter, in falling, 
 took the exact position which it occupies ; here, then, « the 
 necessary laws of nature " are combined with chance and 
 accident. But the same man carefully picks up the letters 
 from the heap, and so arranges them that he works off with 
 them' a fable or an ode. In every thing that is now done, 
 there is just as necessary a connexion between cause and 
 effect as before, but here the necessity is combined with 
 intention and design. In the one case the position of the 
 letters was left to the mere properties of matter, in the other 
 they were arranged under the direction of mind. When, 
 therefore, we speak of chance or accident, wa mean not an 
 occurrence without a cause, but that which excludes fore- 
 sight and intention; and when the atheist introduces his 
 necessity, it cannot touch the argument from design. We 
 have only, then, to produce cases of manifest intention and 
 design, and our argument is invincible; there must have been 
 
78 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [UcT. III. 
 
 an intelligent mind to form the intention, and to accomplish 
 the designed end. 
 
 Nor need we go far in quest of instances of this kind; 
 the world is full of them, they exist in every department 
 of nature. We shall not, however, examine the curious 
 structure and admirable physiology of plants ; we shall not 
 investigate the wonders of insect mechanism, nor those 
 exhibited by the inhabitants of the seas, the air; or the 
 forests ; the striking adaptations of various kinds, and the 
 marvQllous instincts which they exhibit; which the pro- 
 perties of matter can no more account for than they can for 
 the chronological tables of the Arundelian marbles, or the 
 hieroglyphics of the Egyptian tombs and the mummies 
 which they contain. But leaving the wide range of the 
 vegetable world, and the animal kingdom in general, I shall 
 confine myself to Man, and shall take a view of him in his 
 
 PHYSICAL STRUCTURE HIS RELATION TO THE WORLD 
 
 WHICH HE INHABITS, AND AS AFFECTED, BY THE RE- 
 LATION OF THAT WORLD, TO THE SYSTEM OF WHICH IT 
 FORMS A PART. 
 
 Let US first take a view of the structure of man's frame, 
 and see if we can find any clear indications of intelligence 
 and design in its formation. 
 
 A necessary preliminary, in any building or -piece of 
 machinery, is the construction of its frame-work, by which 
 the parts may be all firmly sustained and held together. In 
 the human body this is the skeleton. In this, its perfection 
 is, that there should be everything sufficient, and nothing 
 redundant. If there were anything deficient, weakness and 
 incompetency for the end designed would ensue ; if there 
 were more than was necessary, it would needlessly encumber 
 the working of it. In the human skeleton, there is bone 
 wherever bone is needed, but not one bone, however small, 
 nor an inch of bone, is useless. 
 
 Lect. III.] FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 79 
 
 The material must not only be in sufficient quantity, and 
 of si^h a quality as to secure solidity and strength, but also, 
 as in every construction that is to be moveable, provision 
 must be made for its being sufficiently light. A failure in 
 either case would be a serious defect. Now the substance 
 of support to our body, the human bone, exactly answers 
 these conditions. It is composed chiefly of the phosphate 
 of lime, which gives to it nearly the consistency of stone, 
 with the lightness of wood. But there is another apparent 
 contrivance founded on geometrical principles. It has been 
 demonstrated that the same quantity of material formed into 
 a tube, is much stronger than when it is perfectly solid. In 
 the long bones this formation obtains; thus, without an in- 
 crease of weight, there is a considerable addition of strength. 
 But in producing that degree of consistency which we call 
 hardness, the bone might have become brittle, and very 
 liable to be broken, or, in avoiding this, it might have been 
 too flexible, and thus incapable of supporting a weight ; but 
 it is neither the one nor the other. It has strength to 
 support, without being liable to chip or crack like porcelain. 
 But besides support, protection is requisite, and this is 
 amply afforded by the bony structure. Whatever is deli- 
 cately fine, and thus easily susceptible of injury, or whatever 
 is highly valuable, and especially whatever unites both these 
 qualities, we take much care to guard. A watch has a 
 metal covering to preserve the nice workmanship from in- 
 juries, by being crushed by external violence, or damaged 
 by the dust; a piano forte has a case; our deeds are 
 deposited in iron chests; the Tower, with all its defences, 
 secures the regalia; in all this we see prudent precaution 
 and evident design. Now, in all the means taken to prevent 
 apprehended danger, which in these or any other cases give 
 us the assurance of intelligent precaution, there is nothing, 
 can be nothing more palpably evident, than the design to 
 
 ^^'1 
 
80 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. 111. 
 
 preserve, which is manifest in the protection afforded to 
 every weak and vital part in the human frame. Th^ skin 
 may be torn, a muscle may be pierced or a part of it cut 
 away, and yet the machine may go on working ; the wound 
 may heal, and no serious injury be sustained. But if an 
 organ so precious as the brain or heart, or any vital part be 
 injured, the mischief affects the whole system, and may be 
 irreparable. See how the brain, seated, as it were, on the 
 throne of the human domains is guarded. The bones of the 
 cranium rise up around it like solid walls, and uniting into 
 an arch, spread a dome above it Within is a plate, hard 
 and brittle, which no point can easily pierce ; to prevent this 
 from being chipped or cracked, there is an exterior plate, of 
 less hardness, but of less susceptibility to injury from a blow ; 
 and over the whole is spread a soft, thick mat of hair, which 
 tends materially to break the shock arising from collision 
 with any hard^body, and thus to save the brain from con- 
 cussion, while at the same time it gives beauty to the 
 appearance. Near the brain, and in direct communication 
 with it, are the eyes, important inlets of information from 
 the external world. These organs are of exquisite work- 
 manship ; an exposed situation would be highly dangerous ; 
 they are placed, therefore, in bony caverns, which throw 
 their strong arches over them to protect them. The spinal 
 marrow is a continuation of the brain, which supplies the 
 body with nerves, how shall its safety be secured through 
 the whole length of the trunk ? For this purpose it has a 
 hollow way made through the solid bones of the back, and 
 reposes in safety in the midst of the spine. The heart and 
 lungs are ever busy, day and night their labour is performed, . 
 an obstruction from injury is certain death. Behind, the 
 spine is the central guard, while from it the ribs extend in 
 a circular form, till they join a front defence, which is the 
 breast bone. Thus room is afforded for the play of these 
 
 Lect. III.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 81 
 
 organs, and ample protection is secured. The whole of this 
 frame-work stands on two firm pillars, which rest on pedes- 
 tals, and sustain the structure. Does this evident protection, 
 in all these instances, look like chance work, or the operation 
 of the unconscious properties of matter } What could in- 
 telligence have done more } 
 
 But this was to be a moveable structure ; if the frame- 
 work had been all of one piece, it might have been as firm 
 and as solid, but it would also have been as motionless, as a 
 statue. Vegetables are fixed to one place, their nutriment 
 is ever at hand, all their wants are supplied without any 
 effort, they have neither the need nor the power to alter 
 their situation.* But man is a loco-motive machine ; he has 
 the power of self-motion, as well as the necessity of trans- 
 ferring himself from place to place. He must seek his food 
 and prepare it, he must provide himself with clothing and 
 put it on; he has a thousand offices to perform, and ten 
 thousand motions are requisite. If man's frame had been 
 made immoveable, or but of one piece, he must have perished. 
 In order, then, to admit of all these motions, the skeleton 
 is divided into a great number of parts, of such size and 
 shape, and in such positions, as to allow of motions of 
 innumerable variety. The number of distinct bones is two 
 hundred and fifty-four, all connected and combined into one 
 piece of frame-work. Now, to manage all this, so that the 
 connexion shall be at once firm, the motions easy, where 
 motion is needed, and capable of being continued for a long 
 tune together, requires no small contrivance and dexterity. 
 If we could conceive of a person without any knowledge of 
 
 • There are some few exceptions, particularly in aquatic plants, which float on 
 the surface of the water. For an account of these and many remarkable pheno- 
 mena in the vegetable world, see an interesting work entitled * The Physiology of 
 Plants,' which, though anonymous, is generally known to be the production of 
 Mr. Murray, y/hose lectures in various branches of science have profited no small 
 number of our countrymen, in different parts of the kingdom, and who is the author 
 of several publications in which science pays a willing homage to divine truth. 
 
82 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. III. 
 
 the human frame, a most ingenious mechanic, who should 
 be required to give a plan for such a piece of frame-work, 
 comprising within the dimensions of a human body, all the 
 requisites of strength, durability, firmness, lightness, pro- 
 tection, and thousands of motions, in almost every possible 
 direction, we should feel that it was a task which, if at all 
 practicable, would require the utmost knowledge, and skill, 
 and long contrivance. How, then, can we suppose that all 
 these provisions are made, and these conditions actually 
 fulfilled, by anything short of a most surprising wisdom and 
 intelligence. Let us see how all this is effected. 
 
 As the various pieces which constitute this frame-work 
 are necessarily connected together, their extremities do not 
 terminate abruptly, but are formed to fit each other with the 
 most complete adaptation. If they had been formed acci- 
 dentally, without any design to fit each other, there would 
 have been a great probability that the extremities of the 
 moveable bones might some of them have been points, or 
 that two concave or convex extremities might have met, 
 which would have rendered motion impracticable. But we' 
 see a convex always working in a concavity, a tenon in a 
 mortice, a projection in an indentation. No two parts which 
 a carpenter intends to unite are formed with a more evident 
 adaptation, the one to the other. 
 
 As the motions to be performed are many, the joints vary 
 considerably, according to their relative position, and the 
 kmd and extent of motion needed. The principal agents in 
 the movements of the body are the arms and legs ; but in 
 each of these upper and lower extremities, the bones are so 
 divided, and arranged, and articulated, as to admit of very 
 extensive, varied, and complicated movements. The hip 
 and the shoulder joints are formed by the working of a 
 globular extremity into a kind of cup, called frequently the 
 ball and socket joint. By this mode of articulation, motion 
 
 Lbct. 111.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 83 
 
 is admitted in any direction. Now this kind of joint was 
 particularly necessary just in this plate, as all the motions 
 which any part of the limb has to perform depend on this. 
 It is just the place where an ingenious mechanic would 
 have fixed a joint capable of this rotatory motion. It 
 is also worthy of remark, that at those joints where there is 
 any considerable weight or liability to pressure, the uniting 
 extremities are much larger than the other parts of the bone; 
 by this means, the weight or pressure is better supported, 
 and there is less danger of dislocation. At the elbow and 
 knee, the joints are of a different description, and consist of 
 eminences and hollows adapted to each other. In other 
 cases the bones work by sliding over a smooth surface. But 
 there are two very peculiar kinds of articulations, which, 
 though often noticed, we should not be justified in omitting. 
 The first is that which admits of the motions of the head. 
 On many accounts it was necessary that the head should 
 have a freedom and facility of motion in every direction. 
 Here are fixed four of the senses by which the mind within 
 holds intercourse with the external world. It is very ne- 
 cessary that the organs of sight and sound, of tasting and 
 smelling, should be presented with great .ease towards any 
 object. How is this to be accortiplished consistently with a 
 firm position on the bony column which supports the head ? 
 On the uppermost bone of the spine, thence called the atlas, 
 the skull-, with its important contents, rests ; and the motion 
 which this articulation admits, is that of playing up and 
 down, or forwards and backwards, in a hinge-like joint. 
 By this we can elevate or depress the head, so as to command 
 a considerable extent of view in a perpendicular direction. 
 Bat in order to allow of motion in a horizontal plane from 
 right to left, the second bone of the vertebral column, called 
 the dentatus, has a projection which fits into a corresponding 
 hollow in the atlas, or bone which rests upon it, so as to 
 
84 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. HI. 
 
 form a swivel joint In the perpendicular motion, therefore 
 Ae head moves on the atlas; in the horizontal movement! 
 bo h the head and the atlas move on the dentatus. Is it pos- 
 sible to believe that in this there was no intended provision, 
 no thought, no mind employed ? Is there any ingenious 
 contrivance to accomplish an end. in any department of 
 mechanics, that more distinctly announces design ? 
 
 Another kind of articulation which deserves notice, is that 
 which occurs in the formation of the spine. This is the 
 column which supports the upper part of the body, and is 
 fixed upon the pelvis, which extending its base, is sustained 
 by the two great pillars of the human fabric. While in 
 ^nous ways, strength, firmness, and solidity are secured to 
 this unportant pillar, its peculiar construction gives it that 
 necessary flexibility of which a single strong bone would 
 not admit It .s composed of twenty-four distinct bones, 
 the surfaces of which do not come into actual contact with 
 each other, but between them is an elastic cartilaginous 
 substance, which, by allowing the vertebra to be brought 
 nearer to each other, on any one particular edge, admits 
 of the bending of the body in that direction. By this 
 admirable contrivance, the spinal marrow, which passes 
 through the entire vertebral column, is preserved from those 
 numerous occasions of pressure, which it must otherwise 
 sustain under the circumstances of various flexion to which 
 the trunk is subject, and without which provision, the most 
 serious consequences would perpetually ensue. It possesses 
 by this means also, in connexion with its slight curvature 
 an elastic property, "without which every motion of the' 
 body would produce a jar to the delicate texture of the 
 bram, and we should suffer almost as much in alighting on 
 our feet, as in falling on our head."* Is it possible not to 
 
 the production of Si, Chas. BeH. Knowledge, which; u is understood, i. 
 
 ^g-l 
 
 Lect. III.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 85 
 
 perceive, in the curious mechanism of this solid, yet elastic 
 pillar, through which that « silver cord," the spinal marrow, 
 passes in safety amidst all the motions of the body, that the' 
 difficulties so ingeniously obviated were foreseen, and that 
 the advantages thus obtained were designed ? 
 
 We must pass over the curious mechanism of the hand, 
 with its twenty-seven bones, admitting of motions and po^ 
 sitions almost innumerable; and the no less remarkable 
 construction of the foot, with its thirty-six distinct parts, so 
 put together as not only like a pedestal to support the fabric, 
 but built also on elastic arches, to preserve the whole from' 
 sudden shocks in walking, and to give a springiness to its 
 motions. Every part of this admirable structure bears an 
 impress of designing wisdom, which the study and the skill 
 of those who have had the longest experience in mechanical 
 constructions can seldom equal. « Men proceed," says a 
 distinguished ornament of his profession, " in a slow course 
 of advancement in architectural, or mechanical, or optical 
 sciences; and when an improvement is made, it is found 
 that there are all along examples of it in the human body, 
 which ought to have been marked before, and which might 
 have suggested to us the improvement" ♦ " We undertake 
 to prove," says the same author, " that the foundation of the 
 Eddystone light-house, the perfection of human architecture 
 and ingenuity, is not formed on principles so correct, as 
 those which have directed the arrangement of the bones of 
 the foot ; that the most perfect pillar or kingpost is not ad- 
 justed with- the accuracy of the hollow bones which support 
 our weight; that the insertion of a ship's mast into the hull 
 is a clumsy contrivance, compared with the connexion of the 
 human spine and pelvis ; and that the tendons are composed 
 in a manner superior to the last patent cables of Huddart, or 
 the yet more recently improved chain cables of Bloxam." * 
 
 ♦ Animal Mechanics. — ^p. 2. 
 
 % 
 
86 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lkct. III. 
 
 Lect. III.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 87 
 
 Before we quit the skeleton of the human frame, we must 
 be permitted to make an additional remark or two respecting 
 the joints. As these are to be in play during a number of 
 years, two things are highly necessary ; that provision should 
 be made against the wearing away by friction of the joints 
 which work into each other, and against their being easily 
 displaced. To accomplish the first object, the articulating 
 surfaces are covered with a cartilage soft and smooth as the 
 best polished ivory. And to facilitate still farther, the 
 motions of the bones in the joints, and to prevent the injury 
 from friction, there are vessels which secrete an oily mucilage 
 which continually lubricates the joints. To prevent dislo- 
 cation the bones are, at these joints, firmly fastened together 
 by ligaments formed of a strong pliant substance, which while 
 they admit a freedom of motion to a certain extent, keep 
 everything in its place. If these be considered accidental 
 circumstances, they are certainly accidents of the most 
 fortunate kind, as without them all the other admirable 
 adjustments would have been worthless, or nearly so, and the 
 working of the human machine, would have been impractic- 
 aljle. Let me beg my sceptical hearers to put together these 
 notices of a few, a very few of the striking adaptations, 
 the evident provision against evils, and the curious ar- 
 rangements by which advantages are obtained, which the 
 human skeleton exhibits, and to allow, without prejudice, 
 their due force on the mind, and I can scarcely think that 
 they will resist the strong proof of intelligence which these 
 display. 
 
 We have seen that, while the support of the fabric is one 
 object attained by this bony frame-work, there is another 
 intention quite as evident in their formation ; and that is 
 motion ; and that such is the mechanical skill with which 
 they are disposed, as to admit of innumerable movements, in 
 almost every direction. The bones may, therefore, for the 
 
 most part, be considered as a system of levers. But how are 
 these levers to act in all the required directions ? To all the 
 moveable spars of a ship, we see ropes attached ; the yards, 
 the gafts, the booms, all have their cordage, to move them 
 in different directions. Hence the numerous ropes, running, 
 some horizontally, others perpendicularly, parallel to each 
 other, crossing each other, appear to a lanj^sman all inter- 
 mingled and confused, while to a sailor the use of every one 
 is known, and he sees that the place, the size, and direction 
 of every one is just what it should be. To a person un- 
 acquainted with the anatomy of the human frame, if the 
 covering were removed, he would see a number of distinct 
 layers of flesh laid on each other, and crossing each other 
 in many directions ; and, on a closer inspection, he might see 
 the attachment of the muscles to the bones ; still he might 
 view in the whole nothing but a mass of flesh without per- 
 ceiving anything like mechanical contrivance. But in this 
 the eye of the anatomist sees a fine, a beautiful, a most 
 accurately adjusted piece of machinery, with the office of 
 every part of which he is acquainted, and the ingenious 
 construction of the whole of which he admires. Let us 
 take a brief and cursory view of the muscular system, and 
 see whether we can discover any evidence of intelligence 
 and skill in its formation and its working. 
 
 The composition of a muscle is itself a very curious subject 
 of inquiry. It consists of three parts ;— the extremity of 
 its origin, where it is fixed on the bone which is to be the 
 support of its motion ; such as the insertion of the tendon of 
 the biceps flexor cubiti, that muscle which bends the fore- 
 arm, into the scapula by two heads ;— the middle, or fleshy 
 part of the muscle, which, in the instance now mentioned, 
 continues from the shoulder down to the front of the fore- 
 arm ;--|and the tendon at the other extremity, inserted into 
 the bone, which it is intended to move as a lever, which 
 
88 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. III. 
 
 insertion takes place, in the case now specified, in the radius, 
 one of the bones of the forearm, a short distance from the 
 elbow. The tendons of a muscle are white, and exceed- 
 ingly strong. They are composed of small fibres, so plaited 
 and interlaced together, as to give, on mechanical principles, 
 the greatest degree of strength. The muscle to which these 
 tendons are attached, consists of an inconceivable number of 
 fibres, laid together in small bundles, and united firmly by 
 the cellular substance. When the anatomist proceeds to 
 separate these threads, he finds each bundle inclosed in an 
 appropriate case, and this small bundle inclosing a number 
 of still smaller bundles similarly inclosed ; and, continuing 
 his researches by the aid of the microscope, he finds each of 
 these again inclosing others, till he can go no farther ; the 
 elementary thread or fibre being too fine to be traced. 
 Now, these delicate fibres, in comparison of which the 
 thread of a spider's web is a coarse rope, are laid and united 
 together with an art so admirable, and the mutual support 
 which they render is so complete, that the muscle of which 
 they are composed is capable of sustaining an enormous 
 weight, and will admit of the breaking of a bone before they 
 yield. It is on this principle that you first comb your wool, 
 to get the filaments straight and parallel, that they may be 
 in a position to give mutual support, and take care that such 
 a number of them shall be united together as' may give the 
 requisite degree of strength to the yarn.* Certainly, if con- 
 trivance had been employed with the greatest dexterity, a 
 more complete result could not have been obtained. 
 
 But how is the. motion of the bones, in all the necessary 
 directions, effected by these muscles? In a way which, if 
 devised by human ingenuity, would have been considered a 
 master-piece of skill. The whole machine is to be trans- 
 
 ♦ Perhaps it may be proper to remark, that these lectures were delivered to*a 
 manufacturing community, and these and other subsequent allusions are best 
 understood by such a class. It was not thought necessary to omit or alter them. 
 
 Lect. III.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 89 
 
 ferred from place to place, with ease and speed, by a power 
 working within it; and all its various parts must admit 
 of separate movements. For every distinct movement, one 
 muscle, at least, is provided, one end of which is fixed 
 securely to a bone which is the support of the motion, and 
 the other by its tendon to the part to be moved ; the middle 
 part, called, the belly of the muscle, contracts by a power 
 dependent on the will, and swells into a larger bulk, and 
 thus draws the moveable bone, the joint on which it turns 
 being the fulcrum, with considerable force. Of the extent 
 of this power we are sensible by our muscular action. Such, 
 indeed, is the power of the contracting muscle, that it can 
 actually afford to spare a portion of it in order to secure 
 rapidity of movement You are all aware of the great 
 principle of mechanics ; that power can only be gained at 
 the expense of time, or what is equivalent, motion; and 
 that a rapid motion can be secured only by the sacrifice of 
 power. But it is sometimes an object of considerable im- 
 portance to obtain a rapid movement, and then, as in a lever 
 of the third kind, the power is applied between the fulcrum 
 and the other end of the lever. Now this construction 
 frequently obtains in the machinery of the human frftme. 
 Take, for instance, the muscle already referred to (the 
 biceps flexor cubiti). One extremity being fixed in the 
 shoulder blade, it passes onward till it is inserted in the main 
 bone of the fore-arm. The elbow joint is the fulcrum on 
 which the lever rests, and the insertion of the muscle is 
 within a very short distance of the joint ; by this means 
 there is a great loss of power ; if the insertion had taken 
 place at any point nearer the wrist, a greater weight might 
 have been raised, but as it is, besides the great inconve- 
 nience in point of size, which an attachment lower down 
 the arm would have occasioned, the hand moves with a 
 velocity which is far more frequently needed, and more 
 
 M 
 
90 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lbct. III. 
 
 Lbct. III.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 91 
 
 generally useful, than the capability of raising a greater 
 weight The advantage of this rapid movement of the hand, 
 in protecting the person, in the use of the hammer and the 
 axe, and in a thousand manual operations of constant re- 
 currence, is unspeakable. 
 
 But what must not be overlooked, is the circumstance 
 that to every muscle which moves a bone, there is an an- 
 tagonist which acts in a different direction. How is it 
 possible that this can be accidental ? For every flexor there 
 is an extensor, for every abductor an adductor, and for a 
 pronator a supinator. A single muscle only to every bone, 
 would leave the human frame nearly as incapable of action as 
 though it had none at all. There is a muscle to straighten 
 the arm as well as to bend it, one to bring back the head to its 
 position after it has been turned, one to open the eye, as well 
 as to shut it Without this capability of antagonistic action 
 in the different muscles, it would be impossible to stand, to 
 walk, to eat, or, in fact, to maintain for any length of time 
 our existence. It must also be noticed, that whenever, in 
 obedience to the will, any particular muscle is called into 
 action, its antagonist immediately relaxes, or the action of 
 both might keep the limb at rest; a flexor and extensor 
 yield as readily and certainly to each other's movement as 
 the two scales of a balance, or as if they acted by mutual 
 consent 
 
 To perform all the requisite functions, a very large appa- 
 ratus of muscles is necessary. Those by which voluntary 
 motion is performed are four hundred and thirty-six. And 
 is it not a most astonishing instance of contrivance, that all 
 these should be so placed as not to interfere with each other's 
 motions, and yet to occupy so small a space ? They pass 
 over and under each other, they cross each other, in some 
 cases one passes through another, or they change the di- 
 rection of their power, as by a loop or pulFey, or, situiited 
 
 % 
 
 for convenience at a distance, they perform their office by 
 means of small cordage, where a large muscle could not 
 conveniently act; as the tendons which move the toes, which 
 are actually strapped down by ligaments at the instep, and 
 run in a sheath beneath those fastenings higher up the leg, 
 till they join the muscle. What cotjld the most skilful 
 contrivance have done more? Consider, then, the curious 
 construction of these muscles, their number, their variety, 
 ♦ their position, their adaptation, and their power ; without 
 which not a word could be spoken, nor a morsel of food 
 chewed, nor a finger moved ; and the exact arrangement by 
 which they are all disposed, so as to act with the greatest 
 advantage, and, without interference or disorder, to occupy 
 so small a space ; and can you hesitate to acknowledge a 
 creating intelligence ? A ship, with all its decks, and masts, 
 and rigging, does not exhibit half the mechanical contrivance 
 and ingenuity which the human frame displays ; and what 
 would you say of a man, who could suppose that ** Nature" 
 had framed this curious structure ; meaning that the various 
 particles of matter which compose its hull and its rigging, 
 had all, by the necessary laws of unconscious matter, ar- 
 ranged themselves into planks, and masts, and yards, and 
 blocks of different kinds, and sails of various shapes and 
 sizes, just fitted to their place, and ropes withal to work the 
 vessel, so as to form a fine and gallant ship of war? 
 
 But how is all this apparatus of muscles, with their 
 tendinous cords, to operate on the bony levers, so as to give 
 them motion at the proper time, and in the right direction ? 
 In your mills the power is generated by steam, and by 
 means of shafts and straps communicated to any part of the 
 machinery, at what time and in what proportions and places 
 the mind which governs all deems proper. In a ship, a 
 presiding mind governs the whole arrangement The word of 
 command is given ; and the halliards, the braces, the sheets. 
 
> 
 
 92 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lbct. III. 
 
 
 the tacks, the bowlines, are immediately put in motion by the 
 crew. The dails are hoisted, or reefed, or taken in, in order 
 to accelerate or retard the speed of the vessel, to the motion 
 of which the rudder gives the intended direction. So in the 
 human structure, there is a presiding mind, to which all the 
 machinery is subject ; its volitions are the word of com- 
 mand, which is no sooner given than one, two, or twenty 
 muscles instantly exert their force, and, by their tendons, 
 draw the bone in the required direction. And with what an 
 admirable precision this is done; there is no mistake of the 
 order given ; a foot does not move instead of a hand, the 
 arm is not depressed when the will commands its elevation, 
 and motion is not continued when the order is given to 
 stop. Not one of the four hundred and thirty-six voluntary 
 muscles moves without an order, and only just that one, 
 or that number of muscles, which are needed; without 
 any refusal to act or to be still, without any interference of 
 one class with the movements of the other, and without a 
 moment's delay, is obedience rendered. All this is per- 
 formed by means of the nerves, which are supplied to every 
 part of the human frame. We can trace all muscular motion 
 to the nerves, and these to their common centre the brain, 
 or its continuance the spinal marrow. If any of the nerves 
 communicating between the brain and any particular part 
 are severed, the power of motion and sensation is lost. But 
 here we stop, a veil which we cannot penetrate is thrown 
 over the rest, we come to something invisible; there is a 
 mysterious power which operates on the sensorium, which 
 communicates its volitions by what is termed the nervous 
 influence, which is known only by its properties and eifects; 
 and which we call THE SOUL. How the mind's volition 
 produces instantaneously the motion of a limb ; how the 
 commands of the will are propagated by means of the nerves, 
 through many limbs and intervening parts of the system, to 
 
 lect. hi.] from the works of nature. 
 
 03 
 
 the extremities, to a foot, or a finger, and that with a rapidity 
 equal to the passage of light, or the motion of the electric 
 fluid, is equally beyond the comprehension of a philosopher 
 and a child. 
 
 The nerves are cords of various size, proceeding from the 
 brain and spinal marrow ; the former supplying principally 
 the organs of sense, the latter those of motion ; they are 
 • given off" in distinct pairs, and their ramifications extend 
 over the entire corporeal structure. By them the commands 
 of the will are transmitted to every muscle which is ordered 
 into motion. And not only do they communicate the mind's 
 pleasure to every part of its dominions, they also convey 
 information to a considerable extent of whatever passes in 
 these realms, or without them, which affects its welfare. If 
 there is any mischief going on in any portion of the system, 
 if injury is received by cold or heat, obstructions or col-' 
 lisions, or by whatever may affect the well being of any 
 part, the nerves give notice to the mind, Jby the pain which is 
 felt, and thus act like sentinels at their post, whose vigilance 
 nothing can escape. 
 
 And besides this general intelligence, which it is the office 
 of the nerves to give, there are some appropriated to pe- 
 culiar functions, to give information of a specific kind. 
 Some of these give the sensations of hardness, softness, 
 smoothness, and others of jt like kind; some have the charge 
 of sounds, others of odours and tastes, and to others is 
 assigned the office of conveying to the mind ideas of form 
 and colour. These are the means by which the mind carries 
 on its intercourse with the external world, and hold's corre- 
 spondence with other living creatures. Can we, then, from 
 even this brief and cursory glance at the nervous system, 
 which has not noticed a thousandth part of its wonders, 
 resist the impression that mind has been employed in its 
 construction? Could such a telegraphic communication 
 

 94 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lkct. III. 
 
 have been established between the brain and every part 
 of the system, by which a correspondence is maintained 
 not only with every muscle but with every fibre, by mere 
 chance? Could so complete a system of guardianship be 
 constituted over every part of the frame by the " necessary 
 laws " of matter ? Could such a mode of correspondence 
 with external objects be accidental ? What is not the mind 
 capable of believing that can believe this? # 
 
 We often see very delicate machinery, or what is liable 
 to injury from exposure to the air, or contact with other 
 bodies, inclosed in a case; and thus it is with the human 
 body. The muscles and nerves, and the various vessels, 
 are of a texture too delicate to admit either of such ex- 
 posure or contact ; they are placed, therefore, in a suitable 
 covering. First, every hollow is filled up, and every in- 
 equality rendered smooth, by the cellular texture, which is 
 the general medium of connexion between the different 
 parts of the body, ;^d which contains an adipose substance, 
 which allows of their gliding smoothly over each other in 
 performing their respective functions. Over the whole is 
 drawn the skin ; the inner part of which is the cutis, or 
 true skin, full of an immense number of small vessels, con- 
 taining numerous papillae, and being spread over with 
 innumerable nervous filaments ; this is the seat of the organ 
 of touch, and is exquisitely sensible. Above this lies the 
 mucous membrane, forming the colouring matter of the 
 skin. Over all is spread a fine scarf skin, full of pores ; 
 of a thin transparent substance, capable of being easily 
 renewed if it receive an injury, covering and protecting the 
 extremely sensible true skin, itself not possessing sensibility. 
 In this case, which envelopes the human frame, we see many 
 objects accomplished. The muscles, with the vessels which 
 accompany them, have a covering of the most pliant and 
 flexible kind' sq as to admit of every motion which the 
 
 ' 
 
 LCCT. UK] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 95 
 
 body requires ; this covering forms the station where all the 
 nerves take their post, to communicate to the brain intellU 
 gence of what happens on the surface of the body ; it has 
 also a delicate and transparent veil, which, while it protects 
 what is beneath, itself suffers no pain, and which, where 
 from pressure, such as in the palms of the hands and at the 
 soles of the feet, it is more liable to be worn out, is thicker 
 than at the other parts of the surface. Do not these things 
 look very much like studied or designed arrangements ? 
 
 We have now given a brief sketch of the building of the 
 human frame, and the provisions made for the, working of 
 its machinery. Before we quit this part of the subject, there 
 is one view of the case, to which I wish especially to call 
 your attention, and that is the very evident adaptation, not 
 only of the several parts to each other, but of the several 
 systems of parts, so as to produce one object In the frame- 
 work of the structure, we have seen not only an excellent 
 selection of material, its division into a vast number of parts, 
 all exactly adjusted to each other, so as to protect all that 
 is vital and important, and to admit of movements without 
 number, and the joints in which these levers work, so con- 
 structed, and so supplied with a mucilage as to prevent 
 friction ; we have not only seen millions of millions of fibres, 
 80 laid together and disposed as to give to each muscle the 
 collective strength of the whole, and these furnished with 
 tendinous cords to fix them to their proper levers, and to 
 work either near or at a distance ; we have not only seen a 
 system of nerves in connexion with the sensorium, spreading 
 themselves through every part of the human frame, giving 
 notice to every distinct fibre when to act and when to rest, 
 and keeping open a communication between the mind within* 
 and the world without ; but we also have seen that the 
 system of bones was evidently intended to be worked by a 
 system of muscles, and that the system of muscles was as 
 
 )' 
 
f 
 
 ik«.i 
 
 »m»m 
 
 96 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lbct. III. 
 
 obviously made to work the bones, and that the system of 
 nerves was plainly made with reference both to bones and 
 muscles. Each of these systems is very complicated, and 
 each complete in itself, and yet without the combination of 
 the three systems, the human structure would have been in- 
 capable of action. If it could by any possibility be supposed 
 that random chance, or blind necessity, could have arranged 
 either one of these beautiful and complex systems, the pro- 
 bability that two other systems of equal beauty, and order, 
 and adaptation, should in the same way and at the same time 
 be formed, and combined with it, is, beyond all calculation, 
 so completely against such a supposition, that in any other 
 case, the man who should assign such effects to such causes, 
 would not be considered sane. 
 
 We shall now pass on to another interesting view of the 
 human frame, and consider the means by which it is pre- 
 served in strength and vigour, for a number of years together. 
 This will furnish us, if I mistake not, with additional proofs, 
 and those of the most striking kind, of intelligence and 
 design in the marvellous construction and working of the 
 various apparatus which combine to form the human frame. 
 In unorganized masses, such as rocks, or minerals, the same 
 particles may remain for ages ; but there is this remarkable 
 peculiarity of organized bodies, whether of the vegetable or 
 animal kingdom, that the particles which compose them are 
 never stationary, and the bodies themselves are constantly 
 the subjects of change. At no two moments of our lives 
 do our bodies contain exactly the same identical particles. 
 There is a constant motion, a perpetual waste. No part of * 
 the human frame, however solid, is exempt from this. 
 Every bone, every muscle, every nerve, every gland is 
 constantly wasting. Whether the particles of matter which 
 have passed into the composition of an animal body, are 
 incapable of sustaining the vital action beyond a given time. 
 
 Lect. III.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 97 
 
 or whether it be a law of that mysterious state of \}emg 
 which we call life,— whatever be the cause, the faqt is 
 ascertained; by organs adapted to the express purpose, 
 the refuse of organization is continually thrown off from 
 the human frame, and poured into the common reservoir 
 of matter, the great storehouse of nature. How, then, is 
 this piece of wonderful mechanism repaired and kept in 
 order ? How is all its waste of wear and tear supplied ? 
 If it is every moment losing a portion of its substance, 
 which is become unfit to be retained in the system any 
 longer, how is it so renewed as to keep up its bulk, and 
 form, and strength ? If in any of your machinery, after 
 you have taken all due precaution for its preservation, by 
 constructing it of proper materials, diminishing the friction, 
 and guarding against accident, a part wears out by con- 
 stant use, you have no means of keeping the machine in 
 proper action but by supplying a new wheel, or piston, or 
 lever, or adding a new part in place of that which has been 
 rendered unfit for use. But this is a poor contrivance, 
 compared with the admirable expedient which is adopted 
 to supply the waste of the human machine. It is by the 
 introduction of new matter from the world without us, in 
 such a manner and in such portions as are necessary, and by 
 the most astonishing contrivances for the distribution of this 
 new matter, through every part of the human frame, and to 
 every point where decay renders renovation requisite. This 
 is a process at once so wonderful, and so much to our 
 purpose, that we must beg your attention to a few particulars 
 connected with this interesting subject 
 
 We have already noticed that the supply, to recruit this 
 continued waste, must be procured from without. The 
 world in which we live is the great storehouse from which 
 all the materials are drawn. All the innumerable and di- 
 versified particles of matter, that have built up every animal 
 
 i 
 
 N 
 
I 
 
 98 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. HI. 
 
 Lbct. III.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 09 
 
 frame, and constructed every vegetable since the commence- 
 ment of their respective kinds, have been derived from this 
 great repository; and while the generations of every living 
 thing have successively perished, here are still in being the 
 same numerical particles ; all the changes and combinations 
 of the numerous bodies which have existed in the mineral, 
 vegetable, and animal kingdoms, have not destroyed a single 
 atom, nor added one to the original stock. It is not, how- 
 ever, from the earth directly that the human body receives 
 its nutrition, but from substances already organized ; from 
 seeds, fruits, herbage, and the flesh of birds, beasts, and 
 fishes. But it is remarkable that, though organized bodies 
 afford the requisite nutrition, their organization must be 
 destroyed, a complete decomposition take place, and new 
 combinations formed, before the particles which composed 
 them are competent to take their station in the human frame. 
 As this structure is composed of very different materials, 
 portions of matter corresponding with each must be fur- 
 nished ; there must be particles of a peculiar kind for the 
 bones, muscles, fat, skin, hair, nails, and many other parts. 
 The various materials for renovating all these constituents of 
 our frame are found in our food ; but with the discoveries 
 of modern chemistry, and its most refined and elaborate 
 processes, there is no possibility of extracting these sub- 
 stances from what we take as the elements of nutrition. It 
 is by a chemistry infinitely more refined than human skill 
 can boast, that this is constantly, and with the greatest 
 facility and certainty, accomplished. 
 
 The first stage of this curious and necessary process, con- 
 sists in grinding down the material of nutrition, and reducing 
 it into a pulp. I cannot conceive how any one can atten- 
 tively consider the mechanism of the mouth alone, without 
 recognizing a Divine Intelligence, in forming this apparatus 
 and adapting it to its end. First look at the teeth, can 
 
 anything be imagined more suitable to the purpose ? Their 
 position is just where they are needed ; in the very aperture 
 by which the food is received and the process commenced. 
 Their relative situation, and size, and offi?e, also look much 
 like design. Several teeth, sharp and cutting, are placed 
 in the front of the mouth, to separate a portion for masti- 
 cation ; then a number of others, broad and strong, called 
 from their office " the grinders," placed just where the jaw 
 has most power of comminution. One jaw only would be use- 
 less, there are therefore a pair, acting like the blades of a pair 
 of shears, or the upper and nether millstones. The cutting 
 and the grinding teeth are ranged just opposite each other. 
 Take notice how hard they are, and how firmly fixed, so 
 as to work for a long course of years. Look at the beautiful 
 enamel which covers them, and which is peculiar to the 
 teeth. Why should all the bones besides be covered with 
 a membrane, but these with a substance so hard as to strike 
 fire with steel ? In every one of these particulars is there 
 not the most evident design, and that of a highly bene- 
 ficial character? But all this provision would be useless, 
 without the means of moving the jaws in several directions. 
 These means, however, are not wanting; the jaws are 
 capable of six different movements, upwards and down- 
 wards, forwards and backwards, right and left, by means 
 of muscles attached to them for that purpose; some of 
 them working in a very curious way, and several acting 
 in every motion of the jaws. By the movements of which 
 the tongue is capable, the food is placed in different po- 
 sitions, to facilitate the process of mastication. But moisture 
 is necessary ; and moisture is provided. About the jaws and 
 tongue there are many glands placed, the office of which is 
 to secrete a fluid ; by the action of chewing, this moisture 
 exudes, and mixing with the food, assists the working of 
 the jaws and tongue, in bringing it into a condition fit 
 
100 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. III. 
 
 for the stomach. Now, I ask, whether there is any mill for 
 grinding corn, or malt, or any other substance, that is con^ 
 structed with an ingenuity equal to that which the apparatus 
 of the mouth dis'plays in this process ? And if we admit 
 intelligence acting with reference to an end in the less, by 
 what rule of reasoning ought we to exclude it from the 
 greater ? 
 
 The apparatus for conveying the food to the stomach is 
 not less appropriate and ingenious. The mechanism of the 
 many muscles employed, the elasticity of the tube, called 
 the aesophagus, through which it passes, the lubricated 
 state in which this tube is kept by a liquid secreted for 
 that purpose, and its action in forcing the food towards its 
 destined receptacle, are all most curious processes, on which 
 we cannot stop to particularize. We must, however, notice 
 one instance of most exquisite contrivance. At the lower 
 and back part of the head, behind the tongue, is a funnel- 
 shaped bag, called the pharynx, the wide part opening 
 towards the mouth, the pipe being the aesophagus, which 
 leads down into the stomach. Into the upper and anterior 
 portion of this bag, two holes open, by which the air passes 
 from the nostrils, through another tube called the trachea, 
 or windpipe, into the lungs. Into the same bag the food 
 also .enters, in order to pass by the aesophagus into the 
 stomach. But as the trachea is placed in front of the aeso- 
 phagus, is there not great danger of the food passing into 
 the lungs, and fatally obstructing their important function ? 
 This danger was evidently foreseen and obviated. In the very 
 act of swallowing, a cartilaginous valve, called the epiglottis 
 closes the aperture of the windpipe securely, so that the 
 food passes easily and safely into the passage which conveys 
 it to the stomach. But for this valve, death would be 
 certain, either through inanition, if, aware of the danger, 
 we abstained from food, or by instant suffocation, if we 
 
 Lect. III.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 101 
 
 attempted to swallow. Without this valve, the new-born 
 infant would perish at its mother's breast ; — ^without this 
 valve, the first morsel that the first man endeavoured to 
 swallow, would have terminated at once his being and his 
 race. Has any contrivance resulting from foresight and 
 human intelligence, ever exhibited precaution with more 
 distinctness and effect ? Who can forbear exclaiming with 
 devout admiration, " the finger of God is here '* ? 
 
 By the act of deglutition, the food so far prepared is 
 conveyed through the aesophagus into the stomach. Here 
 it undergoes another important process. Besides the mus- 
 cular action to which every part of the solid food taken into 
 the stomach is successively exposed, by being brought into 
 contact with its surface, there is in this organ a fluid se- 
 creted, of a most peculiar nature, which from its situation 
 is called the gastric juice. This,* it is found by experiments, 
 is, in different animals, adapted to the kind of food on 
 which they respectively live, — whether vegetable or animal, 
 or both. No chemistry can form anything like this extra- 
 ordinary liquid. It is apparently the mildest of all fluids; 
 and yet its power as a solvent is unequaHed. In the human 
 stomach it acts on vegetable and animal matter deprived of 
 vitality, in a manner which is truly astonishing; and yet 
 on the living "fibre, and consequently on the coats of the 
 stomach, which during life contains it, it has no power. 
 Did a chemist ever contrive a solvent with more evident 
 adaptation to the substance to which it should be applied, 
 and at the same time with a nicer adjustment, so that it 
 should accomplish no incidental mischief, but effect the 
 intended good, and that alone ? The food is thus converted 
 into a pulpy liquid called chyme. But the necessary process 
 is not completed ; the substance, thus far prepared, has to 
 pass into a kind of second stomach, called the duodenum, 
 the entrance to which is termed the pylorus. " Nothing 
 
102 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. III. 
 
 in the animal economy is more curious and wonderful, than 
 the action of that class of organs of which the pylorus 
 affords a remarkable example. If a portion of undigested 
 food presents itself at this door of the stomach, it is not 
 only not permitted to pass, but the door is closed against it 
 with additional firmness ; or, in other words, the muscular 
 fibres of the pylorus, instead of relaxing, contract with 
 more than ordinary force. In certain cases, or where the 
 digestion is morbidly slow, or when very indigestible food 
 has been taken, the mass is carried to the pylorus before 
 it has been duly acted on by the gastric juice ; then, instead 
 of inducing the pylorus to relax, in order to allow of its 
 transmission to the duodenum, it causes it to contract with 
 BO much violence as to produce pain, while the food thus 
 retained in the stomach longer than natural, disorders the 
 organ; and if the digestion cannot ultimately be performed, 
 that disorder goes on increasing until vomiting is excited, 
 by which means the load that oppressed it is expelled. The 
 pylorus is a guardian placed between the first and the 
 second stomach, in order to prevent any substance from 
 passing from the former until it is in a condition to be 
 acted on by the latter; and so faithfully does this guardian 
 perform its office, that it will often, as we have seen, force 
 the stomach to reject the offending matter by vomiting, 
 rather than allow it to pass in an unfit state ; whereas when 
 chyme, duly prepared, presents itself, it readily opens a 
 passage for it into the duodenum." * How serious would 
 have been the mischief resulting to the whole frame, if 
 some such expedient had not prevented the too early trans- 
 ference of the contents of the stomach to its next stage? 
 On this our health and strength in a great measure depend. 
 And can it be believed that so necessary and beneficial 
 an arrangement is the result of accident and undesigning 
 
 * Library of Useful Knowletlgo.— Animal Physiologt, p. 41. 
 
 Lect. III.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 103 
 
 necessity ? Is not the wisdom that built the human frame 
 apparent here ? 
 
 But the process goes on ; and as the substance now called 
 chyme moves forward, it receives other changes from pe- 
 culiar fluids, secreted just in the proper place and applied 
 just at the proper time, the principal of which appears to be 
 the bile, prepared by the liver, and exuded by a duct so as 
 to mix with the chyme in the duodenum. Another change 
 is the consequence of this ; its purest portions then separate 
 into chyle, a cream-like liquor, which passing slowly along 
 the intestines, gradually disappears, being absorbed by the 
 lacteals, an innumerable quantity of hair-like vessels, which 
 uniting, pass by a circuitous route into the thoracic duct, 
 the contents of which are poured into a large vein communi- 
 cating with the heart. The chyle thus mixes with the blood, 
 and is then prepared for circulating through the system. 
 How truly admirable are those processes, how wonderful 
 and complicated the apparatus, how exact all the arrange- 
 ments by which the food we eat, whether vegetable or 
 animal, seeds or fruits, is converted into that vital fluid 
 which ministers nutrition to the whole system, and supplies 
 its constant waste. What chemical laboratory, with its 
 furnaces, and crucibles, and alembics, all in full action, can 
 give stronger proofs of intelligence and design ? 
 
 But we must notice in the next place, though with a far 
 greater attention to brevity than the subject deserves, the 
 manner in which the preparation thus formed is distributed 
 through the system. The whole circulation of the blood 
 depends on the heart. Centrally situated in those domains, 
 every part of which it is to supply with aliment, and that 
 without intermission, it is well secured as within the walls 
 of a citadel, and is furnished with a case which protects it, 
 keeps it lubricated, and affords room for its constant play. 
 The heart is a strong muscle, of a very peculiar kind. 
 
104 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENXE OF GOD, [Lbct. III. 
 
 constructed with the most obvious design of performing the 
 important function assigned to it It is a kind of double 
 organ, consisting of two parts and sets of apparatus, which 
 perform distinct offices. These two parts, however, are not 
 like the pairs of organs and limbs which we possess, such as 
 two eyes, two ears, and two hands, each one of which is 
 completely independent of the other, and capable of per- 
 forming separately the full office of that organ or limb. But, 
 though it appears possible that the right and left portions of 
 this organ might have acted separately, yet both are abso- 
 lutely necessary, and their union probably gives strength to 
 the structure and power to its movement Each portion of 
 the heart is furnished with two cavities, an auricle and 
 ventricle; and each portion has a large artery and vein 
 communicating with it Each part also superintends a 
 circulation of its own. To the right, is assigned the circu- 
 lation of the whole mass of blood through the lungs ; and 
 to the left, its distribution through all the other parts of the 
 body. The venous blood, which, after circulating through 
 the system, becomes of a dark purplish colour, and is 
 incapable of supporting life, enters the right portion of the 
 heart by the vena cava, and is sent through the lungs by the 
 pulmonic artery ; the purified stream passes into the left 
 portion of the heart by the pulmonic veins, and is pro- 
 pelled through the aorta, and thence by the smaller arteries 
 through the whole system. The proofs of a surpassing 
 wisdom, in the construction and functions of the heart, are 
 many and striking ; we can only glance at a few. 
 
 How can it be imagined that the peculiar irritability of 
 the heart, and its alternate contraction and dilatation can be 
 an accidental thing ? Without these functions, life could 
 not be carried on ; and these peculiarities no other muscle 
 possesses. As the blood enters, the right auricle of the heart 
 expands, by its peculiar sensibility to the presence of this 
 
 Lect. III.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 105 
 
 fluid It contracts, and propels it into the right ventricle; as 
 the auricle contracts the ventricle enlarges, and excited in 
 Its turn by a sudden stroke, it sends its contents through the 
 pulmonic artery into the lungs. On the left side a similar 
 process goes on with the blood received from the lungs and 
 driven through the aorta. Who can bring himself to be- 
 lieve that, by any accidental concurrence of various particles 
 of matter, by any "affinities" or "analogies," such an 
 organ should be formed, with parts so distinct yet united, 
 and endowed with a power of alternately contracting and 
 expanding, so remarkable yet so necessary, performing its 
 motions with such a regularity and constancy, for so many 
 years, day and night, by its own power of action, altogether 
 independent of our will ? Why should it have auricles and 
 ventricles, each moving in its own due time,— why should 
 the arteries and veins be so placed as to keep the venous and 
 arterial blood in separate chambers? Why should this 
 muscle only have just such power,— and why should its 
 action, a very short suspension of which would be fatal, be 
 rendered, differently from the greater part of the muscles, 
 independent of the will ? How can we, without shutting 
 our eyes, fail to perceive those distinct marks of benevolent 
 design which all this exhibits ? 
 
 And how wisely is the venous blood prevented from 
 mixture with the arterial, when both are in the same organ 
 and that at the same time! The most injurious consequences 
 would ensue, if they were not kept distinct The cavities 
 which are the recepta'cles of this fluid, in its two different 
 conditions, are separated by a 'fleshy wall, whic'h allows of 
 no communication.* No two liquids, the mixture of which 
 
 * A case is mentioned by Richerand, of very singular conformation of the heart, 
 m which the blood was allowed to pass from the left to the right ventricle, as it 
 was found on dissection. By another peculiarity, the impure blood was not trans, 
 muted to the brain, so as to disturb its vital excitement; but the patient, when 
 brought to the hospital, "was remarkable for the lividity of his complexion, the 
 
106 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. IIF. 
 
 is undesirable, are ever kept separate with more evident 
 design and care. 
 
 What is a more evident proof of contrivance and design, 
 than when vapour or fluid is intended to pass in one direction 
 only, a valve is so placed as to permit its course freely in this 
 direction, and to close and effectually prevent its return ? 
 You are familiar with such constructions, you know by 
 daily experience that the utility of such an invention is 
 quite equal to its ingenuity ; you are aware that the whole 
 working of many an important piece of machinery depends 
 on a valve. And was there not one also who knew that all 
 the machinery of life depended on the position and efficient 
 working of a valve ? In almost all the vessels which convey 
 a liquid to any part of the human frame this expedient may 
 be found ; in the veins, the lacteals, and lymphatics ; but 
 there are none, the office of which is more important, and 
 in which the precaution of intelligence is more impressively 
 exhibited, than in the valves of the heart. When the dark 
 venous blood has reached the right ventricle of the heart, and 
 this by a sudden contraction empties itself into the pulmonic 
 artery, to send it to the lungs, what is to prevent its ex- 
 pelling a large portion of it into the auricle from which it 
 received it ? Here a valve is placed, called from its shape the 
 tricuspid valve, fastened most curiously and strongly, by fine 
 tendons, to the sides of the heart No sooner is the blood 
 forced from the ventricle than it drives back the valve and 
 closes this passage, and the only way by which this vital 
 stream can go, is the right way ; it then proceeds without 
 obstruction through the artery to the lungs. But here 
 occurs another difficulty to be provided for ; as soon as the 
 
 turgwcence af the vessels of the conjunctiva, and the thickness of his lips, which, 
 like the rest of his face, were of a dark colour, his respiration was laborious, his 
 pulse irregular, he could not utter two words in succession, without taking breath : 
 and was obliged to sleep in a sitting posture. »'-Richerand's Physiology, pp. 151, 
 i02f ed. 3d. 
 
 Lect. III.] FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. IQ? 
 
 propelling action of the right ventricle ceases, the pulmonic 
 artery, wh.ch has received the blood, acts in such a manner 
 to assist m its propulsion, as would, if no provision had 
 been made, force much of it back into the ventricle : here 
 another set of valves suddenly rise, and forbid a retrograde 
 movement, and the blood proceeds at once into the lungs. 
 Similar results are produced by the mitral valve* of the left 
 side of the heart, and the sygmoid valves of the aorta. 
 I ask, with confidence, if there is any construction of human 
 contrivance and ingenuity more evidently precautionary and 
 select, or which more demonstrably proves that a wise and 
 benevolent intelligence has been employed. 
 
 It only remains that we take a cursory glance at the pipes 
 or vessels, by which this life-maintaining fluid is circolated 
 through the system. The arteries are employed in con- 
 veying ,t from the heart. These vessels are composed of a 
 substance which is not only proportioned to the strength 
 which 18 requisite, but which possesses also an elastic and 
 muscular power to assist in propelling the blood. When 
 the first stroke of. the blood is felt in them they expand- 
 this IS followed by a re-action, which, by its contraction] 
 assists the progress of the blood. First, the main pipe, the 
 aorta, is single and large; in its ascent it throws out branches 
 to all the upper parts of the body, and descending, its 
 ramifications proceed in a similar way, multiplying in every 
 direction, till they become too minute for observation. In 
 the arterial system the following, among others, appear 
 obvious instances of intention. A branch is provided for 
 every part of the body. Not a speck of bone, not an atom 
 of flesh, not a single point in all the interior, or in the 
 whole surface of the body, is neglected. If from any one 
 part, from a finger, an eye, a tooth, the requisite supply 
 were withheld, it would become diseased and perish. Could 
 a reckless chance, or undesigning necessity have been so 
 
108 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. HI. 
 
 provident? It might happen that some of these slender 
 tubes, by the constant play of the muscles, or by some 
 violent effort, might suffer injury; what, then, would be- 
 come of the part which it should supply? What power 
 but that of the great architect would have thought of 
 causing these pipes, in their course, frequently to inosculate, 
 and to separate again, so that if the pipe which belongs 
 to any one part should be injured or destroyed, it might 
 be supplied by another? And does not the manner in 
 which these tubes are laid throughout the system, show a 
 most provident care? If any of the large arteries should be 
 injured by external violence, death would presently ensue ; 
 they are therefore laid, in general, much deeper than the 
 veins, out of the reach of common accidents, guarded 
 frequently by a depth of flesh, or a ridge of bone. 
 
 A similar arrangement, in most respects, exists for the 
 return of the blood to the heart, in just an inverted manner. 
 At the extremities these vessels first begin to appear, in rami- 
 fications of exceedingly small filaments ; they unite as they 
 proceed, bringing back all that portion of the blood which 
 was not required for immediate use, or which is now become 
 disqualified for a place in the system without further purifi- 
 cation, entering again by the venae cavae into the right auricle 
 of the heart. Now can any man believe that it was all a 
 matter of chance that the blood, when no longer capable of 
 supporting life, should find its way from every extremity, 
 upper and lower, to the heart, and precisely to that part of 
 the heart which is furnished with an apparatus for throwing 
 the blood into the lungs ? And that valves arose accident- 
 ally in the veins, to admit the course of the stream only in 
 the right direction ? 
 
 How peculiar must be the construction of that mind, or 
 rather, under what strange influence must it act, that sees 
 in the whole process of nutrition no benevolent intelligence. 
 
 Lkct. III.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 109 
 
 Tiothing but unconscious physical causes in operation ! That 
 there should be a mouth, with all its appropriate furniture, 
 as an apparatus to receive and prepare the matter from 
 without, a tube to convey it just to that place and no 
 further, where another process must be carried on ;-— that 
 there should be a stomach to receive it, with its mechanical, 
 and chemical, and vital functions ;— that there should be a 
 kind of second stomach, followed by intestines, and myriads 
 of small vessels, ready to absorb the milky fluid as it passes 
 slowly on ;— that there should be a double heart, one part 
 of it for blood which is to be prepared for circulation, the 
 other for that which is prepared, provided with a system of 
 arteries and veins;— that all these organs should exist in 
 just such an order, and possess just the properties which 
 their relative position in the nutritive system requires ; — 
 that fluids, the composition of which no art can imitate, and 
 without which the frame could not be supported— fluids, 
 too, so very dissimilar, secreted from the same blood — 
 should be found prepared and placed just where their action 
 is requisite, such as the gastric juice in the stomach, and 
 the bile in the liver, which in any other order would defeat 
 all the purposes of nutrition ; — that in every point where 
 danger or serious inconvenience was likely to occur, there 
 should be an effective provision to meet it, such as the epi- 
 glottis to render the act of swallowing safe, the pylorus 
 which guards the passage from the stomach to the duo- 
 denum, and the valves of the heart and its arteries ;— that 
 all this should have been the result of mere accident, requires, 
 certainly, a most enormous stretch of credulity to believe. 
 
 There is one more view which we beg to be allowed to 
 take, before we close this part of our subject; and that is 
 the degree of dependence which the working of this very 
 curious machinery has on the will. As the subsistence of 
 man, and all his intercourse with others, were to depend on 
 
Vi 
 
 110 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. 111. 
 
 Lect. hi.] from the works OF NATURE. 
 
 Ill 
 
 his own voluntary efforts, it was necessary that such an 
 extent of muscular action should be placed at his command, 
 as was requisite to all the motions which are necessary to 
 such a mode of living. We have seen that this is exactly 
 the case; the will has command over four hundred and 
 thirty-six distinct muscles, and the number of movements 
 thus under its control is incalculable. But even here too 
 much, is not left to the mind. Instantaneous as the move- 
 ment of a limb appears with the volition which produces it, 
 there are many processes which it includes. First, as far as 
 we can perceive, there is an action of the brain ; this is 
 propagated in some mysterious manner, along the whole 
 course of the nerve towards the part to be moved, it is 
 communicated to every fibre of the muscle to be employed, 
 that all may act in concert; then the muscle swells and 
 contracts, and the tendon acting at its extremity moves the 
 part in the required direction. But this is not all ; at the very 
 same instant, the antagonist muscle must have information 
 to relax and yield to the opposite movement. In speaking, 
 eating, walking, many muscles are brought into play at the 
 same moment, and as many yield, in just the proper time. 
 How could the mind, unless it had been very different from 
 what it is, have been capable, consistently with that attention 
 which outward objects demand, of instantly perceiving and 
 determining on which nerves to act, so that only the proper 
 muscle should be contracted.? How could it have been 
 capable of managing all the details of this complex machi- 
 nery, including so many nerves, and muscles, and bones.? 
 How few, comparatively, know anything of the internal 
 economy of the human frame, and yet how completely all 
 can manage its machinery. When would an infant be ca- 
 pable of walking, of talking, or of any one voluntary action, 
 if the whole working of the system were left to the mind ? 
 But how wise and gracious is, evidently, the arrangement 
 
 which leaves to the mind only the volition ; and that one 
 simple act, m a most marvellous and mysterious manner, like 
 touching a spring, instantly sets the machine in motion in 
 precisely the way intended. Is there not wisdom displayed 
 both in what is entrusted to the will, and what acts, not 
 directly m obedience to it, but in dependent subordination to 
 that part, whatever it be, which receives the first impulse 
 of the mind ? 
 
 There appears, also, to be equal design in the way in 
 which another muscular apparatus acts, which is but in a 
 small degree dependent on the will; that which is concerned 
 m respiration. This must go on, whatever we Are doing- 
 It 18 a vital function, which cannot be long suspended! 
 However we may be engaged with the head or the hands 
 asleep or awake, the lungs must perform their office. If the 
 whole economy had been merely a matter of chance, why 
 should the diaphragm and the muscles of the chest work on 
 continually, without being set in motion or continued in 
 action by the will, any more than those of the arm or head ? 
 But still there are many occasions when it is necessary, and 
 perhaps even essential to the safety of the body, that the 
 will should have some command over the important function 
 of respiration. If this were not the case, if the muscles 
 concerned m breathing were as independent of the will as 
 some others in the human frame, the voice would be mat^ 
 nally affected, no sound could be prolonged, no additional 
 effort could be made to detect an odour, obstructions could 
 not easily be removed from the organ of smell, or expelled 
 from the throat, a stream of polluting and noxious air could 
 not. by a temporary suspension of the breath, be prevented 
 from entering the lungs, and if, by any accident, the head 
 should be immersed in a fluid, instant suffocation would 
 ensue. J)oes not this look like a provision against accidents, 
 the probable occurrence of which was foreseen ? How can 
 
f 
 
 112 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. III. 
 
 Lbct. III.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 113 
 
 it be explained on any supposition besides that of intelligence 
 and design, how, if the muscles of respiration were made 
 capable of involuntary action, they should be in any case 
 subject to the will, or how, if the will had any command. 
 It had not the entire direction as in other cases ? Do we 
 not see wisdom in the rule, and no less wisdom in the 
 exception ? Does chance or necessity ever make such in- 
 telligent distinctions ? 
 
 But some of the most important of the vital functions are 
 quite involuntary, and it is well they are. When we have 
 once committed the food to the stomach, we have nothing 
 more to do with the many exquisite processes which are still 
 necessary to prepare it, or any selected portions of it, for 
 entering into" the composition of our bodies. Neither the 
 nervous influence, nor the muscular action, nor the gastric 
 juice of the stomach, is at our command; the pylorus does 
 not wait our bidding; the pancreas and the liver prepare 
 their respective fluids in a manner surpassing all art, without 
 our knowledge or consent ; the orifices of the lacteals know 
 nothing of our volitions, the auricles and ventricles of the 
 heart do not perform their alternate contractions according 
 to the mind's regulation. Now there is reason for all this ; 
 the cessation of these functions, night or day, but for a few 
 minutes, would be fatal to the whole system. How, then, 
 is it possible not to discern the traces of a designing wisdom, 
 in these accurate and eminently beneficial adjustments, in 
 the power which is given, and in the limits which are set, to 
 the volitions of the mind in working the corporeal ma- 
 chinery.? Where power lodged with the will is useful or 
 necessary, this arrangement obtains; where negligence or 
 inattention would be fatal, it is taken from the will and 
 lodged where it will be exercised with the greatest certainty. 
 In what way can human intelligence be employei in the 
 selection of suitable agents and in assigning to each his 
 
 proper office and exact extent of action, that shall more de- 
 cisively indicate the choice and the precautions of wisdom ? 
 Here then we pause, and conclude our view of the physical 
 STRUCTURE OF MAN, cxccpt what morc especially refers 
 
 to his RELATION TO THE EXTERNAL WORLD, which wiU 
 
 engage our attention in the next lecture. In the commence- 
 ment of this discourse, we laid down a position which few, 
 we imagine, will think of disputing, that « if cases of mani- 
 fest intention and design could be adduced, there must have 
 been an intelligent mind to form the intention and to accom- 
 plish the designed end," We proposed, therefore, to inquire 
 whether any clear indications of intelligence and design 
 could be found in the human structure. I now ask, with 
 confidence, whether we have not produced such instances ? 
 We have, indeed, noticed but a few, in comparison of what 
 might have been brought forward, and on these we have but 
 briefly glanced, but they are such as are, I trust, sufficient 
 to produce conviction in the candid and inquiring mind. 
 We have taken a view of three distinct systems in the 
 construction of the humaa frame, that of the bones, the 
 muscles, and the nerves ; each system containing a separate 
 mechanism of the most curious kind, and evidently adapted 
 to the performance of its peculiar office, each complete in 
 itself, but each useless without the others, and all combined 
 as a whole to accomplish one end. We have also noticed 
 some of the many elaborate processes by which the frame is 
 renovated, by the introduction of new matter from without ; 
 and have seen in the apparatus of the mouth, the stomach, 
 the intestines, the heart with its arteries and veins, the same 
 exhibition of many separate and distinct parts, some of them 
 of very complicated structure, all working to one end, as if 
 each were endued with intelligence. We have noticed, also, 
 the very manifest selections of forethought and wisdom in 
 those parts and processes which are under the direction of 
 
1J4 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lbct. III. 
 
 Lect. III.] 
 
 FRdk THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 115 
 
 the will, and those which are not; and here we close this part 
 of our case. And now I appeal to reason, — to candour, — 
 to justice, whether the witnesses which I have produced, 
 many and various as they have been, have not borne testi- 
 mony, the most ample and decisive, in proof of the existence 
 of a Divine Intelligence ? 
 
 With the exquisite machinery of the human frame before 
 us, in the great complexity of its parts, and the beautiful 
 harmony of its working, with the number and variety of its 
 striking adaptations, beneficial arrangements, and necessary 
 precautions, how unsatisfactory, how unmeaning, how frivo- 
 lous is the language of the atheistic philosophy. «« If again 
 it be asked what origin we give to beings of the human 
 species?— We reply that like all other beings, man is a 
 production of nature"* There is an ambiguity in this ex- 
 pression which may prevent the whole absurdity of such a 
 proposition from being instantly perceived. "Nature" is a 
 term so often employed by those who believe in a Supreme 
 Being, as a personification of the divine agency, that many may 
 feel much less shocked by such an annunciation, than they 
 would were it not for such an ambiguity. The atheist means 
 by it matter — nothing else; he says that mere unconscious, 
 unintelligent matter, by its own powers and properties, made 
 man what he is ! That is, that not one of the innumerable indi- 
 cations of contrivance and precaution which the human frame 
 presents, is the result of design. It is all just as it happened. 
 It was not intended that the bones should support the body, 
 nor that the joints should admit of motion, nor that the 
 synovial secretion should, by lubricating them, prevent their 
 friction, nor that the muscles should move the bones, nor 
 that the nerves should set the muscles in action ; it was not 
 designed that the teeth should chew, nor that the aesophagus 
 should convey food to the stomach, nor that a kind of valve 
 
 • System of Nature.— Vol. I. p. 139. 
 
 should cover the larynx, to prevent suffocation every time 
 we swallow ; it was not intended that the gastric juice should 
 have anything to do with digestion, nor the liver with the 
 formation of chyle; it was not intended, notwithstanding.all 
 the mechanism of ^the heart, that it should have anything 
 to do with the blood, that it should beat, or by its partition 
 separate the venous from the arterial blood, nor that the 
 arteries and veins should have any share in the circulation 
 of the blood ! All this, and a thousand things as contra- 
 dictory, atheism means by saying that " man is a production 
 of nature ;" that is, that all the exquisite and complicated 
 machinery of his frame came together in just such positions 
 and combinations accidentally ! Is this an explanation ? Is 
 it not the utterance of an absurdity at which reason revolts ? 
 To what purpose is it to introduce " necessity," to tell us of 
 " the necessary laws of nature " ? Does it account for any- 
 thing to say that it is so because it necessarily is so ? Does 
 not the very necessity to which atheism ascribes the arrange- 
 ment and formation of all things, suppose that every eflfect 
 must have a cause appropriate to the kind of effect produced, 
 and adequate to its production? "Necessity" it says, "is 
 the constant and infallible connection of causes with their 
 effects."* "There can be no effect without a cause." t 
 But what cause can be assigned for the effects which we 
 have instanced, that does not include the agency of an 
 intelligent being? There are no properties of matter to 
 which systematic arrangement, provisions of a precautionary 
 nature, and adaptation of means to the accomplishment of 
 an end can be assigned. It would be as reasonable to talk 
 of building a house by syllogisms, or clearing a forest with- 
 out any physical effort, by the sole agency of metaphysics. 
 For such effects as those which the physical structure of 
 man exhibits, there is no cause appropriate, there is no 
 
 * System of Nature.— Vol. I. p. 89. f Vol. I. p. 88. 
 
116 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE O^GOD, [Lkct. IH. 
 
 cause that can possibly be adequate, that does not possess 
 knowledge, foresight, and wisdom. 
 
 I appeal therefore to you, among my sceptical hearers, 
 who profess to be inquirers after truth ; to all of you who 
 are not determined to see no evidence, however clear, which 
 makes against your present opinions, and to resist proof, 
 however strong and palpable, which does not favour your 
 unbelief;—! appeal to you, whether you can bring your- 
 selves to believe that a number of particles of matter, at 
 some^ certain time should have so arranged themselves, or 
 been brought together by any "analogies," "affinities," or 
 "aptitude to attraction," as to produce the arrangement of 
 bones, and muscles, and nerves, and at the same time all the 
 digestive and circulating apparatus, so that the teeth, the 
 throat, the stomach, the liver, the pylorus, the duodenum, 
 the lacteals, the thoracic duct, the two-fold heart, with its 
 valves, and arteries, and veins, and ten thousand nice and 
 necessary adjustments, should have been made, all just of 
 the right kind, and in the right place, so as to form a living 
 human body ?— and, moreover, that just at the same time 
 and place, another set of particles, ignorant of what their 
 fellows had done, set about a similar work, and made another 
 human body as complete, except that it was a female, a 
 "helpmeet" for man?— and that they were not, at least 
 one of them, produced in the first stage of infancy, but at 
 that degree of maturity which enabled them at once to pro- 
 vide for themselves ? I cannot forbear saying that it appears 
 to me that the man who can believe all this, can believe 
 anything which a system requires ; and that there is no fable 
 of pagan mythology, no delusion of the Arabian impostor, no 
 legend of the dark ages of popery, no extravagance of modern 
 fanaticism, that can surpass the absurdity of such a belief. 
 
 Let, then, the humble Christian rejoice, whose oppor- 
 tunities of learning have been few, who may have but small 
 
 Lect. III.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 117 
 
 acquaintance with science, who is not qualified to enter into 
 the subtleties of endless disputation, that there are proofs of 
 the existence of a Supreme Being, to which he can always 
 have access. He needs not an acquaintance with the rules of 
 logic, or the abstractions of metaphysics ; let him place his 
 hand on the beating of his heart, let him bend a finger or 
 move a foot, and ask the bold denier of his Maker, to give a 
 satisfactory account of the first origin of such surprising 
 mechanism. In every sense, in every limb, in every motion, 
 let him behold with adoring gratitude, the'visible and con- 
 stant proofs of the existence of his Father and his God. 
 
 And, finally, how well adapted is the view which we have 
 taken of the human frame, to encourage the meek and lowly 
 in heart, when oppressed with a sense of the greatness of the 
 Divine Majesty, and of their own comparative insignificance. 
 He who has formed worlds, and suns, and systems,, whose 
 "greatness is unsearchable," and "his ways past finding 
 out," has employed the same power and wisdom in the con- 
 struction of every part of your frame. Can he that formed 
 you, be unmindful of you ? If you are the product of his 
 power, can you be beneath his notice ? Are not all the bene- 
 volent provisions, and beautiful arrangements, and methods 
 taken to ward off danger, and to minister to your comfort, 
 proofs of his care ? " Cast," therefore, " all your care on him 
 who careth for you." He whose ineffable glories dazzle the 
 seraphim of heaven, and awe the loftiest spirits of the ce- 
 lestial world, has shown his kindness and his care in every 
 nerve, in every muscle, in every joint of your mortal frame, 
 and cannot, after so much wisdom and power displayed in 
 your formation, forget you or disdain to notice you. If he 
 frown, it is on the proud and the haughty, and " the wicked 
 who forget God." Be assured, and triumph in the assurance, 
 that " the High and Holy One, who inhabits eternity," ever 
 dwells "with the humble and the contrite in heart." 
 
Lect. IV.] PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, &c 1 ] 9 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD FROM THE WORKS OF 
 NATURE CONTINUED.— OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 PSALM CIV. 34.-« O LORD, HOW MANIFOLD ARE THY WORKS t IN WISDOM 
 HAST THOU MADE THEM ALL." ^isiiUM 
 
 The subject of this psalm is the Creator and his works. 
 On these topics its pious author expatiates with much feeling 
 and at some length. Taking this sacred ode merely as a 
 literary composition, it possesses excellencies of the highest 
 order, which none who have a taste for the beauties of nature 
 can read without satisfaction and pleasure. The Psalmist 
 speaks of the invisible Jehovah in figures borrowed from 
 some of the most splendid and magnificent of his works. 
 His "garment" is the "light" of heaven, his "chariot" is 
 « the clouds," his going forth is on the « wings of the wind," 
 the tempest and the lightning are the messengers of his will. 
 He is the divine architect who built the earth, and made 
 its foundations sure " that it should not be moved ;" who 
 stretched out the heavens as a canopy, who covered the 
 earth with the ocean as a robe, and gave to the sea its 
 bounds, « that it should not pass over." This glorious 
 being the psalmist contemplates as presiding over the whole 
 economy of nature, pervading it by his presence, upholding 
 
 V 
 
 \ 
 
 I 
 
 it by his power, and by his unremitted energy producing 
 
 all its diversified appearances. He hears him in the roar 
 
 of the thunder and the whisper of the breeze, he sees him 
 
 in all the beauties and the splendors of creation. It is he 
 
 who pours out the sea, waters the earth with its exhalations, 
 
 bids springs rise in the vallies, and sends forth their streams 
 
 for the fowls of the heavens and the beasts of the field. 
 
 The inhabitants of the air, the earth, and the Ocean, are 
 
 dependent on his care ; all the productions of the globe are 
 
 the gifts of his bounty ; the luminaries of heaven are the 
 
 appointments of his mercy. It is after a brief survey of the 
 
 benevolence and wisdom which nature exhibits, that he 
 
 exclaims, " O Lord, how manifold are thy works ; in wisdom 
 
 hast thou made them all ; the earth is full of thy riches."* 
 
 It is from these works that we derive the argument of 
 
 ♦ Such is the God of the bible, the God of all the pious Jews of old, and of all 
 devout Christians in the present day. "To whom then will ye liken God I Or 
 what likeness wiU ye compare unto him? " asks the prophet There is no object 
 in nature that can resemble him, since he is the only Creator, and all other beings 
 are creatures ; he only is infinite, all others are finite. He is the one eternal, self- 
 existent, immutable being, who, « fills heaven and earth.*' To speak of his gloiy 
 and majesty we must employ terms, make use of figures and resemblances taken 
 from the works of his hands. Now what would any reasonable man think of a 
 person, who should select some part of a figurative representation, employed in one 
 place, and part of a metaphysical description in another place, who thus should take 
 several parts from several distinct places of the Scripture, in which the Divine 
 Being is spoken of in figurative language, and putting together litei-ally these 
 detached and incongruous parts of diflerent metaphors, should make a monster of 
 his own imagination, get it engraved, and writing under it, « The God of the Jews 
 and Christians, the Great Jehovah, or the Trinity in Unity," should exhibit and 
 circulate it as the means of support to an atheistic creed 1— Would not every man 
 possessed of the least glimmer of reason, or making any pretensions to integrity, 
 thmk such dishonesty, such palpable falsehood, such shameless absurdity, equalled 
 only by its profaneness, too glaring to catch the most simple, too dishonourable to 
 be tolerated, even by the most confirmed and inveterate opposer of Christianity. 
 Yet this has been done, and the profane caricature set in the windows of a most pubUc 
 place m the metropolis to gain attention, it has also found its way to Bradford, 
 and I doubt not to many other places. Now is there one of my fellow-townsmen, 
 whatever be his creed, is there a man living who has any sense of reason and justice, 
 who would not blush for a man, who could have recourse to such an artifice, who 
 would not be ashamed of a cause that ne^ed such support ! 
 
120 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. IV. 
 
 this and the preceding lecture, for the existence of an in- 
 telligent Creator ; they are such as can be assigned to no 
 other cause. Our object is to prove that there are such 
 manifestations of mind in the works of nature, as cannot be 
 attributed to mere physical causes, as compel us, by the 
 soundest deductions of reason, to believe in the existence 
 of an Almighty Being, distinct from matter and superior 
 to nature. « of whom, and through whom, and to whom 
 are all things." In doing this we have declined taking the 
 wide range which nature offers in the mineral, vegetable, 
 and animal kingdoms, and have confined ourselves to one 
 single department All are rich in proofs of the existence 
 of a wise, and benevolent, and all-powerful Creator, but we 
 have selected Man. 
 
 We have already, in examining his physical structure, 
 exhibited many instances, which we think every mind not 
 strongly biassed by the prejudices of a favourite system, must 
 acknowledge to be convincing proofs of the existence of 
 such a being; we shall now proceed to consider man in 
 
 RELATION TO THE WORLD WHICH HE INHABITS. And 
 
 this View will corroborate all that we have before stated of 
 evident design in the formation of man, and show also that 
 the same marks of intelligence and wisdom are to be found 
 extending to everything which has relation to his existence 
 and welfare. The nature of the argument is the same with 
 that which we have hitherto employed, but somewhat ex- 
 tended. We have already seen that in the composition of 
 our corporeal structure, there are evident and mutual adapt- 
 ations of parts to each other, combined with marvellous 
 arrangements of complex machinery, working with admir- 
 able simplicity and certamty ; we shall now endeavour to 
 show that there are arrangements in nature of a very 
 extensive kind, which exhibit the same adaptation to the 
 condition of man, and the mode of his existence. We think 
 
 Lbct. IV.] pRipM THE WORKS OF NATURE. IgJ 
 
 we can prove that there is as plain and irresistible evidence 
 of the adaptation of man to external nature, and of external 
 nature to man. as can be seen in any two separate things 
 that have ever been made for each other, and with a view and 
 design to each other, by the wisdom and ingenuity of man. 
 If we see a house capacious and elegant, the architecture 
 of which is beautiful, and its conveniences complete- if 
 we see everything in it and about it adapted to the wlnts 
 and habits of those who are to occupy it ; if we see ad- 
 joining it a garden furnished with vegetables, and fruits, and 
 flowers, a good supply of water brought within the walls 
 of the residencci and everything that can give shelter, 
 §nd safety, and comfort; we conclude immediately, that in 
 all these accommodations there was design, that the ex- 
 press object in view was to furnish a suitable residence for 
 a family ; and. moreover, that whoever built, and designed 
 and arranged the whole, was well acquainted with the wants' 
 and wishes of its future inhabitants, and with what would 
 secure them from harm, supply their needs, and afford them 
 pleasure and enjoyment. Now we think that it may be 
 made evident that the fitting up of this world, with its fur. 
 niture and accommodations, indicate much more strongly 
 the intentions of a wise and benevolent being, and prove the 
 existence of one well acquainted with the nature and consti- 
 tution of man, with all that was necessary to his safety and 
 his comfort. Who. possessing a knowledge of the laws 
 of hydrostatics and pneumatics, if he saw a ship with its 
 hollow interior, made of buoyant materials, fitted up with 
 masts and sails, could doubt for a moment, even if he had 
 never seen such an object before, that the vessel was con- 
 structed with a design that it should float on the water, be 
 impelled by the wind, and guided by the rudder? Suppose 
 a person well versed in the various branches of natural 
 philosophy, and the practical use and combination of the 
 
I2S 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, (Lbct. IV. 
 
 mechanical powers, introduced for the first time to one of 
 your mills, to inspect the whole process by which you 
 generate and apply power to the working of machinery; 
 could he hesitate for a moment in concluding, not only that 
 the boiler and the engine, with its pneumatic apparatus, its 
 tubes and valves and pistons, and the shafts and frames 
 of the mill-work, were all made expressly for each other, 
 but that the whole was fitted up by some person well 
 acquainted with the powers of mechanism, and with the 
 properties of the air and the laws of vapour, and that it was 
 constructed with especial reference to these powers and pro- 
 perties ? Now we intend in a few instances, to show that 
 such is the most accurate adaptation existing between th^ 
 furniture of this globe and the constitution of man, and that 
 in so many particulars, that it is impossible that it should be 
 accidental; that the most intimate acquaintance with the 
 powers of nature, is obvious in the structure of man, and 
 that in the various and nice adjustments between the working 
 of the human machinery and the constitution of nature, 
 the most perfect wisdom and the most evident design are 
 displayed, and that to a degree far greater than can be 
 observed in all the ingenious arrangements of human skill 
 to which I have referred. 
 
 The first instance which I shall produce is the appetites 
 which indicate marCs wants^ and the provision which nature 
 affords to supply them. We have already had occasion to 
 notice the continual renovation which the corporeal structure 
 requires, by the introduction of new matter into the system. 
 But howshall it be ascertained when this new matter should 
 be taken in, and in what quantities, and whether it should 
 be solid or liquid, or in what relative proportion ? This is 
 a problem requiring such an intimate knowledge of the 
 whole interior economy of man, that if its solution were left 
 merely to the mind, it would be extremely difficult to the 
 
 UCT. IV.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 123 
 
 ablest and most experienced physiologist, to most it would 
 be utterly impossible. And yet not only our comfort, our 
 bodily and mental vigour, depend on this, but even the con- 
 tinuance of our mortal existence. We see, therefore, the 
 same wisdom displayed in not entrusting the management of 
 so important an affair merely to the decisions of the mind, 
 as in the appropriate distribution of power to the will, or 
 to some vital principle independent of the will, in Vt^orking 
 the muscles of the human frame. One of the highest efforts 
 of ingenuity, in the construction of machinery, is to give it 
 a self-regulating power. This is precisely the case in the 
 human system, and shows the wisdom that was employed in 
 its formation. We have .internal monitors, faithful to their 
 trust and vigilant in the discharge of their office, that warn 
 us when it is necessary that aliment should be taken. At 
 first the hint is gentle, and for a time may be disregarded, 
 but the admonition is urged with greater force, the remon- 
 strance becomes so pressing that it must be complied with, 
 or great bodily suffering is the result. When solid food is 
 requisite, we feel hunger, the proximate causes of which it 
 is difficult to ascertain, but the power of which we cannot 
 long resist. Whether it arises from mechanical or chemical 
 causes, whether from a nervous influence acting directly on 
 the stomach, or the sympathy of that organ with the other 
 parts of the material fabric, we know that weakness, lassi-. 
 tude, pain, and a strong desire for food ensue; and that 
 when a sufficient quantity of food has been taken into the 
 stomach, the calls of hunger cease, to be renewed only when 
 the system again requires aliment. So great a proportion of 
 the human body consists of fluids, and so constant are the 
 processes of evaporation by insensible perspiration, and of 
 internal exhalation, that a frequent supply of liquid is abso- 
 lutely necessary. When this supply is requisite, we feel a 
 sensation which it is as difficult to explain as that of hunger^ 
 
124 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. IV. 
 
 Lbct. IV.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 125 
 
 but the meaning of which we instantly understand. The 
 £iuces become dry and parched,— we thirst ; the demands of 
 this appetite are imperious, it is at our peril to resist them, 
 liquid must be obtained or we suffer torment. Such is the pro- 
 vident wisdom by which we are constantly reminded of what 
 the system needs; and were the voice of th«se monitors but 
 duly regarded, and all intemperance in solid or liquid aliment 
 avoidecf, instead of the disease and weakness which render life 
 miserable, how much more frequently would health bloom 
 on the cheek, sparkle in the eyes, invigorate the whole frame, 
 and add years of enjoyment to our mortal existence } 
 
 As aliment is needed, so aliment is provided, ample in 
 quantity and appropriate in quality. It is remarkable that 
 such is the constitution of our bodies, that they can receive 
 nutrition so as to maintain life only from organized sub- 
 stances. All the solid aliment that we take, therefore, is of 
 this nature. Though all the elementary substances which 
 enter into the bodily structure abound through all nature, 
 yet there must be certain combinations of these, they must 
 be assimilated into the organs of some living structure, 
 before they are capable of acting as food and taking a part 
 in the human system. There is no substance in the mineral 
 kingdom on which man can live ; it furnishes condiments, 
 medicines, poisons, but aliment it cannot yield. We must 
 therefore have nutrition from animal or vegetable substances, 
 which have their elementary matter already in a state of 
 organization. Some animals are so constructed as to live 
 entirely on vegetable matter, others have organs adapted 
 only to aliment of an animal kind ; man is capable of de- 
 riving nutrition from both. But if we feed on animals, these 
 have first received their nutriment from vegetable substances, 
 hence it has been justly observed that " plants are labora- 
 tories, in which nature prepares the food of animals."* 
 
 ♦ Richcrand*s Physiology. — p. 75. 
 
 The existence of man is, then, intimately connected with 
 another class of organized beings, which are essential to its 
 continuance, and which hold a middle rank between the 
 mineral and animal kingdoms. Now look into nature, and 
 see the suitable and abundant provision which has been 
 made. All the elementary substances which are requisite 
 to repair the constant waste of the human structure, are 
 found on the surface of the globe in great abundance. Plants 
 of numerous kinds exist, endowed with an organization 
 capable of collecting and assimilating these elements, and 
 thus preparing them to take their place in a condition of still 
 higher organization. How various and abundant are the 
 grasses and herbage which the earth produces, how richly 
 diversified and suitable to promote health and give enjoy- 
 ment, are the seeds and fruits which grow for the use of 
 man, adapted to every taste and every climate. How ample 
 must have been the stock of seeds and plants which the 
 earth first received, and how admirable that wisdom which 
 not only formed these vegetable laboratories, but endowed 
 them also with the power of reproduction! How can a 
 man in his senses, when he contemplates this suitable and 
 necessary provision to meet the wants of human beings, 
 resist the impression of a designing wisdom and benevolence 
 in suQh an arrangement ? Vegetable life itself, even in its 
 lowest forms, possesses a mechanism so curious that art 
 cannot produce anything like it; and all this inimitable 
 apparatus in nature without us, is so perfectly adapted to 
 the still more complicated apparatus of our own frame, that 
 human ingenuity may be challenged to produce any instance 
 of one set of machinery made for another set, with more 
 evident design than this arrangement exhibits. 
 
 It has already been observed that the human structure 
 needs a considerable supply of moisture. Of nearly all that 
 we take as drink, water is the basis or vehicle; and without 
 
126 
 
 PROOFS OP THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lbct. IV. 
 
 LiscT IV.J 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 127 
 
 a constant and abundant supply of this, v^etation could not 
 go on. Besides the many important uses of water to refresh 
 and cleanse our persons, to purify our clothes and dwellings, 
 it is so essential -to almost all the purposes of life, that if its 
 supplies were withheld but for a short time, every living 
 thing would perish, and the whole surface of the globe be- 
 come a dreary scene of universal desolation. This essential, 
 fluid, on a sufficient supply of which everything which lives 
 on the surface of the globe is dependent, is composed of 
 hydrogen and oxygen, united in a definite and invariable 
 proportion. It is capable of existing in a state of solidity, 
 as ice, and also in the form of vapour or gas. These several 
 conditions depend on the quantity of caloric with which it 
 IS combined. If the law of its congelation were such that 
 it took more readily the solid form of ice, its utility would, 
 to say the least, be materially diminished ; if an increase 
 of temperature generated vapour with much greater facility, 
 the great and salutary purposes which it now answers could 
 not be realized. But such is the constitution of this im- 
 portant fluid, and such the laws of heat which affect its 
 changes, that it possesses the most exact and beneficial 
 adaptation to all the forms of vegetable and animal life. 
 Uncombined, neither of the elements which enter into its 
 composition would answer the purpose, though they existed 
 separately in quite as great a quantity as at present; 'and if 
 the action of other substances to which it is exposed were 
 capable of readily effecting its decomposition, the deficiency 
 thus occasioned would have a most disastrous influence on 
 every kind of life. Now is it possible that a production so 
 essential to man in so many ways, and to all organic life of 
 every kind and degree, existing in just such a form, subject 
 to just such laws, as should ensure its perpetuity in great 
 sufficiency, and possessing the m#st complete adaptation 
 to the constitution of man, could have been accidental ? 
 
 /. 
 
 «( 
 
 
 Look again at the curious process of circulation by which 
 a constant supply of this necessary article is furnished to 
 every part of the realms of nature. By the laws of heat, as 
 they affect water, evaporation is constantly going on from the 
 surface of the earth, from pools, rivers, and seas; and such 
 is the nature of the atmosphere that a considerable quantity 
 of water, in the form of vapour, can be held in suspension 
 by it. Besides the immediate uses of this fluid, held in 
 solution by the atmosphere, which are very important to 
 vegetation, by this means clouds are formed, and the re- 
 freshing dews and fertilizing showers descend. The great 
 reservoir of water is the ocean ; by the action of the sun's 
 rays on its surface, large quantities of water ascend in vapour 
 and form clouds, which, driven over the land by the aerial 
 currents, fall in rain on the earth. We see then a reason 
 why so great a portion, perhaps more than two thirds of the 
 surface of the globe, is covered with water ; a much less 
 surface would not have yielded the requisite supply. " It 
 was calculated by Dr. Halley, that five thousand two hundred 
 and eighty millions of tuns of water were evaporated from the 
 surface of the Mediterranean sea in one summer's day, and ac- 
 cording to Dr. Thompson, ninety-four thousand four hundred 
 and fifty cubic miles of water circulate annually through 
 the atmosphere."* Thus a circulation as necessary, and 
 almost as regular, as that of the blood in the human system 
 is maintained, on a scale of surprising magnitude, by a ma- 
 chinery working incessantly, with the utmost precision^ and 
 in a manner most beneficial to man, mostly without his 
 knowledge, and altogether without his interference. Con- 
 sider, then, the necessity of such a fluid to the continued 
 existence and well being of man's corporeal frame, indicated 
 by an internal monitor, which acts without his will or 
 
 • Epitome of the Elementary Principles of Natural and Experimental Phi- 
 losophy.— Part I. by J. Millington, p. 108. 
 
128 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF OOD, [Lbct. IV. 
 
 Lect. IV.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 129 
 
 consent, and which never fails to remind him when the 
 system requires liquid ; and also the absolute necessity of 
 water to the existence of every kind of food, animal or 
 vegetable, on which man, by his peculiar organization, is 
 formed to live; and moreover, look at the complex appa- 
 ratus working according to the various laws relative to heat, 
 the state of the atmosphere, the currents of air, and whatever 
 other agencies are employed, and can it be imagined that 
 there is no intended adaptation of the one to the other— 
 that there is no wisdom of an intelligent agent employed in 
 this arrangement ? Does chance evet work in this way ? Or 
 can any man conceive that an explanation of adjustments so 
 manifold, so extensive, so accurate, and so beneficial is given, 
 when he is told that in all this there is «* nothing but a suc- 
 cession of necessary causes and effects?" Might not all 
 wisdom, all design, all selection, by precisely the sanie 
 mode of reasoning, or rather by the same absurdity, be 
 excluded from all works of human ingenuity, and the same 
 solution with equal propriety be given for the existence of 
 docks, organs, and ships ? 
 
 Let us now consider the atmosphere in which man lives, 
 and the organization which has especial relation to it, and 
 see what kind of adaptation there appears of the one to the 
 other. The atmosphere is an invisible, elastic fluid, which 
 surrounds the earth to the height of some miles above its 
 surface. On every square inch its pressure is equal to fifteen 
 pounds weight, which, were it not for its mechanical pro- 
 perty of pressing equally in all directions, would be altogether 
 insupportable, it would crush and destroy every living thing;* 
 This atmosphere is the receptacle of all vapours, bears up or 
 discharges the clouds, and is charged with caloric and the 
 electric fluid, both essentially necessary to the functions of 
 
 • For ttie many important and beneficial eflects resultiBg from the pressure of 
 the atmosphere, see the ♦ Chemical Catechism,» by Parkes, eh. 2. 
 
 ) 
 
 life. But it is not to its various and important uses in these 
 respects, that we now refer, but to those qualities which 
 adapt it to the purposes of respiration. Atmospheric air is 
 a compound of two gases of a very different nature, and in 
 different proportions. It contains by measure about twenty 
 parts out of every hundred of oxygen gas, seventy-nine of 
 azotic or nitrogen gas, and one of carbonic acid gas. Ni- 
 trogen is of itself incapable of sustaining life or supporting 
 combustion ; one important use of this gas in the air we 
 breathe, appears to be to modify the properties and action of 
 the oxygen. This latter gas, though combined in atmospheric 
 air in so small a proportion, is so essential to all life, that 
 it has sometimes been called emphatically vital air. In 
 oxygen alone combustible substances burn with an unusual 
 splendour, and consume with extraordinary rapidity. When 
 inhaled into the lungs it produces great warmth, excitement, 
 and increased action of the heart Diluted in the proportion 
 we have mentioned, it is just adapted to the purposes of 
 life : with a less quantity of oxygen life would languish ; a 
 greater portion would soon wear out the system by over 
 excitement, and produce premature decay. In this salutary 
 proportion it exists all over the globe, wherever plants 
 vegetate or animals live. 
 
 That the alternate reception of air into the lungs, and its 
 discharge from the chest, are necessary to life, we all know 
 and feel; but why it is so has been a subject of very curious 
 investigation and ingenious experiment. Some of the prin- 
 cipal facts brought to light by modern science are the 
 following. When the blood, sparkling with vitality, bounds 
 through the arteries, and carries the precious treasure to 
 every part of the system, it is of a bright crimson or Ver- 
 million red ; it returns through the veins dark in its colour, 
 considerably exhausted of its energy, and charged with the 
 refuse of organization. The superfluous matter must be 
 
 R 
 
■» 'W • 
 
 130 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. IV. 
 
 Lect. IV.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 131 
 
 thrown out of the system, and new energy must be communi- 
 cated to it, before it is again fit to circulate ; if this is by any 
 means prevented, we die. This salutary change is accom- 
 plished by bringing the atmosphere into contact with the 
 blood, by which means the superfluous matter is extracted, 
 and new life and colour imparted to the vital fluid. The air 
 breathed from the lungs is found to be of a very diflerent 
 kind from that which is inspired ; a portion of its oxygen 
 has disappeared, and in its stead about an equal quantity of 
 carbonic acid is present, a gas possessing very deleterious 
 properties. Nor is the new blood, or chyle poured into 
 the common receptacle from the thoracic duct, prepared for 
 circulation till it has undergone the same process. The 
 reception of the atmosphere into the lungs is quite as ne- 
 cessary to the maintenance of life as that of food into the 
 stomach, and must be much more frequently taken into the 
 system ; the suspension of respiration for a few minutes, by 
 night or day, would be fatal. Here, then, is a most bene- 
 ficial adaptation to the constitution of man, existing in 
 exactly the form requisite, found in ample quantity, and in 
 every place. Surely this cannot be considered accidental 
 and unintentional. 
 
 But let us take a cursory view of the apparatus which 
 exists in the internal economy of man, and the manner in 
 which it works, so as to derive the requisite advantages from 
 the external atmosphere, and we shall behold one of the 
 most evident and striking adaptations of the one to the other 
 that were ever produced, or that it is possible to imagine. 
 There is, as we have already had occasion to notice, a com- 
 munication established between the lungs and the external 
 air, by means of the trachea or windpipe ; the mouth being 
 opened, affords a free passage to the air through the upper 
 extremity of this tube, called the larynx, along the course 
 of the trachea into the lungs; by the same course the air 
 
 I I 
 
 > 
 
 which is expired proceeds. But it may be necessary to 
 breathe when the mouth is closed, or employed in masti- 
 cating the food ; a passage, therefore, is provided through 
 the nostrils by two apertures which open inwards, just above 
 the top of the windpipe. The trachea passes downwards 
 into the cavity of the thorax or chest, and then branches off* 
 in two directions, to the right and left portions of the lungs. 
 Between these lies the heart, ever performing its vital func- 
 tions. The lungs are a soft spongy substance, full of air-cells 
 and blood vessels, and capable of considerable expansion 
 when fijled, and of collapsing into a much less space when 
 the vessels are emptied. The two branches of the trachea 
 throw out ramifications to every part of the lungs, which ter- 
 minate in innumerable air-cells. The blood vessels, at first 
 imperceptibly minute, unite in each portion of the lungs to 
 form the pulmonic artery and vein ; the former connecting 
 them with the righ*t and the latter with the left side of the 
 heart From the right ventricle, by its contraction, the venous 
 blood, together with the contents of the thoracic duct, are 
 thrown through the pulmonic artery into the lungs, to 
 each portion of which an arterial branch is given. By in- 
 numerable minute ramifications the blood is thus spread 
 through every part of the lungs, and coming into chemical 
 action with the air which has been inspired, the oxygen of 
 the atmosphere, uniting with the carbon of the blood, forms 
 carbonic acid gas, which at the next expiration is thrown 
 out of the system, and the blood regains its power of stimu- 
 lating the heart, and is again prepared for circulation. A 
 celebrated chemist has calculated that in twenty-four hours, 
 nineteen thousand two hundred cubic inches of carbonic acid 
 is given out, which contains more than ^ve troy ounces of 
 carbon.* By others the quantity is estimated much higher. 
 
 • History of Chemistry, by Dr. Thompson.— Vol. II. p. 321. Dr. Kidd, in his 
 Bridgewater Treatise, states the amount of carbon daily discharged from the 
 blood to be much more. " It appears," he observes, » from experiments which 
 
132 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. IV. 
 
 Lbct. IV.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 133 
 
 A considerable portion of redundant moisture is also at the 
 same time expired in the state of vapour, formed, it appears, 
 by the union of the oxygen of the air with hydrogen. And 
 by the same important and refined chemistry, heat is con- 
 tinually evolved, by which means a constant temperature is 
 maintained in the body, however variable be the surrounding 
 medium. 
 
 But by what machinery is it that the lungs are kept in 
 constant play; how is it that this pneumatic apparatus 
 works, so as from ten to twenty times in a minute to bring 
 the air into action with the deteriorated blood, and to expel 
 its superfluous carbon ? Is there anything like chance or 
 accident to be seen ? The lungs are placed on each side of 
 the heart, in a cavity called the thorax, guarded by the 
 spinal column behind, surrounded on the sides by the curva- 
 ture of the ribs, connected with a moveable bone in front 
 called the sternum or breast bone. The'floor of this cavity 
 is the diaphragm, commonly known as the midriff. In this 
 cavity there is no vacant space ; the external covering of the 
 lungs is always in contact with the internal lining of the 
 thorax. By means of the trachea, the mouth, and the 
 nostrils, the lungs have always a free communication with 
 the atmosphere, and have always a portion of air in their 
 vessels. From the known properties of air, whenever a 
 
 have been made for the purpose, that during the process of respiration in an 
 individual of ordinary size and health, about 27| cubic inches of carbonic acid 
 gas arc given off from the lungs in the course of one minute j which at the end of . 
 twenty-four hours would amount to 39,600 cubic inches, or in round numbers, 
 40,000 ; and as 100 cubic inches weigh 46f grains, 40,000 would weigh 18,532 
 grains. Then, since a quantity of carbonic acid gas weighing 100 grains, con- 
 tains 28 grains of carbon, a quantity weigning 18,532 grains, would contain 5,190 
 grains, or nearly eleven ounces, at 480 grains to an ounce ; so that a quantity of 
 carbon equalling two thirds of a pound in weight, is daily discharged from the 
 blood, by means of the simple process of respiration."--p. 131. Dr. Bostock, in 
 his * Elementary System of Physiology,' has not only given a comprehensive view 
 of the ascertained facts relating to this important function, in all its bearings, 
 but has also furnished a summary of experiments and opinions of the most dis- 
 tinguished piiysiologists, both British and foreign.— See Vol. II. ch. 7th, " Of 
 Respiration." 
 
 partial vacuum is formed the remaining air expands, and 
 occupying a larger space, becomes rarefied. By the enlarge- 
 ment of the cavity of the chest, the air within the lungs 
 dilates them to the increased dimensions, and the air being 
 thus attenuated, the external atmosphere rushes in through 
 the trachea, till the equilibrium is restored. When the chest 
 again contracts, the internal air is driven out. Now there 
 are two directions in which the thorax may be enlarged ; in 
 its horizontal diameter, by increasing the distance between 
 the spine and the sternum, and between the ribs on either 
 side; and, by increasing its perpendicular diameter from the 
 diaphragm upwards towards the trachea. The ribs are of a 
 substance and texture which admit of their bending with 
 more or less of curvature, and attached to them are muscles 
 capable of moving them. But how can any motion of the 
 ribs enlarge the cavity of the chest ? If they were fastened 
 to the back bone at right angles, any motion upwards or 
 downwards would necessarily contract the space. But they 
 are inclined downwards at an acute angle, so that when they 
 are so raised as to bring them nearer to a perpendicular with * 
 the spine, the sternum is thrown forward, and the cavity 
 by this singular contrivance enlarged. But this would not 
 give sufficient space to admit a proper quantity of air into 
 the lungs ; the capacity of the chest is increased principally 
 by enlarging it in a perpendicular direction. For this purpose 
 there is a muscle of very peculiar formation, called the dia- 
 phragm, which, while it serves as the floor of the chest, 
 dividing it from the stomach and intestines, is capable of 
 such a motion as considerably to enlarge the thorax. Differ- 
 ing from all other muscles, its tendon is in the centre, and the 
 muscle constitutes its lateral parts. The lower part of this 
 tendon is firmly fixed to the spine, it is connected laterally 
 with the ribs. The diaphragm rises upwards in the form 
 of a double arch or dome, the convex part forming the 
 
134 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. IV. 
 
 floor of the chest, and the concave being a kind of roof 
 to the abdomen. When this convex floor is flattened, of 
 course the capacity of the chest is enlarged ; and that such 
 an operation might give still greater space, the plane of the 
 diaphragm is not perpendicular to the spine, but from the 
 back slants upwards to the front ; thus possessing a larger 
 surface by its obliquity, and consequently, by its depression, 
 giving more enlargement to the chest When this muscle 
 contracts, as its tendon is fixed and cannot move, the muscle 
 instead of being arched becomes flat At this moment the 
 abdominal muscles relax, and allow the viscera to move 
 forward, which we very sensibly feel. At the same instant 
 the intercostal muscles of the ribs act, the chest enlarges, the 
 expansive force of the air in the lungs gives them a corre- 
 sponding enlargement, the external atmosphere immediately 
 passes through the trachea into the lungs, and occupies the 
 innumerable air vessels. The blood from the right side of 
 the heart distending its innumerable vessels at the same time, 
 nothing but a thin membrane separates the air and the blood ; 
 sufficiently strong to prevent the fatal consequences of an 
 escape of the blood into the air-vessels, and thence into the 
 trachea, which would produce instant suffocation, and yet 
 of sufficient tenuity to allow the chemical action by which 
 the oxygen of the aii- combines with the redundant carbon 
 of the blood. The number of these air-cells has been esti- 
 mated at upwards of one hundred and seventy-four millions, 
 and the surface which they present at more than twenty 
 thousand square inches, or better than one hundred and 
 fifty square feet* Thus " a stratum of blood several hundred 
 
 •««It has been supposed by Hales, that representing the size of each air-cell at 
 an hundredth part of an inch in diameter, the amount of surface furnished by 
 them collectively would be represented by 20,000 square inches. Keil hat esti- 
 mated the number of these cells at 174,418,615, and the surface which they 
 present at 21,906 square inches ; and Lieberkuhn has increased it to no less thaa 
 1,500 cubic feet"— Animal Physiology, p. 99. Dr. Bostock thinks that « there is 
 reason to suppose that they ( i, e. these csUmates) are, in a great measure 
 
 Lect IV.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 135 
 
 feet in surfate, is exposed to a stratum of air still more 
 extensive; and these. two strata of contiguous fluids are 
 comprehended within an organ which may easily be com- 
 pressed within the compass of a few inches. To look for 
 any parallel to this, amid the most masterly contrivances of 
 science, were vain." f A second or two are sufficient for the 
 renovating process, the capillary vessels of the pulmonic 
 veins receive the blood, and convey it to the left side of the 
 heart fit for circulation. But by this time more venous 
 blood is waiting for the same process, and it is necessary that 
 the carbonic acid gas, now formed in the air-vessels, should 
 be expelled. With as much precision as if endowed with 
 perfect intelligence, with as complete consent as if the plan 
 had been formed by mutual concert, the whole apparatus 
 puts itself in motion to accomplish these results. The 
 muscles of the chest relax, and the elasticity of the ribs 
 brings them to their former position, the diaphragm ceases 
 to contract, and now the abdominal muscles are brought into 
 action, the diaphragm is forced upwards, and the chest and 
 the abdomen are reduced each to its previous and relative 
 I dimensions; the lungs are thus necessarily compressed, the 
 condensed air rushes out through the trachea and the mouth 
 or nostrils, and pours its highly carbonated stream into the 
 atmospheric ocean, to form new combinations. Thus this 
 essential process goes on, repeated several times every 
 minute, and many thousand times in the twenty-four hours 
 is the vital fluid renovated^— and man lives. 
 
 Who, then, can soberly contemplate all the various phe- 
 nomena of respiration, without a devout admiration of the 
 surpassing wisdom and divine intelligence which they so 
 manifestly display? Who would envy the man, who could 
 
 imaginaiy," but states that the "extent of the surface of the membrane lining the 
 cavity of the air vessels must necessarily be veiy considerable.»-ElementaiT 
 System of Physiology, pp. 19, 20, ed. 2nd. 
 
 t Animal Physiology.— p. 99. 
 
136 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. IV. 
 
 view such a diversity of marvellous adaptation and bene- 
 ficial arrangements without emotion ? Who can understand 
 the constitution, the reasonings, or the bewilderment of 
 that mind that believes that all this has merely happened, 
 that there has been no design or intention in it, that all 
 these provisions and adjustments, on which the life and 
 happiness of man depend, could have resulted from the 
 operation of unintelligent, undesigning, physical causes? 
 Here are three distinct adaptations, to suppose any one of 
 which existing without a designed reference to the others, is 
 one of those enormous improbabilities that defy all reason, 
 and require the most unaccountable credulity to entertain 
 for a moment. First, here is the complete adaptation of the 
 surrounding atmosphere, in which we live and move, to that 
 state of the human blood which requires constant renovation : 
 then, the pneumatic apparatus, so admirably constructed as 
 to bring the oxygen of the atmosphere and the carbon of 
 the blood into chemical action; and further, the machinery 
 adapted to work this apparatus, so that the process may 
 constantly be going on.. Could it by any possibility have 
 been without design, that by such means the deleterious 
 carbon should be constantly disengaged, and heat as con- 
 stantly evolved to keep up the temperature ? That such an 
 atmosphere with such properties, should have existed-^that 
 such a substance should be formed as the lungs— that it 
 should have vessels so appropriate for the air and for the 
 blood— that each portion of the lungs should have its com- 
 munication. with one side of the heart, for the reception of 
 venous blood, and with the other side to return the renovated 
 fluid—that there should have been just such muscles as 
 were necessary to move the ribs, that the angle of the ribs 
 with the spine should be just that which would admit of an 
 easy enlargement of the chest— that the diaphragm should 
 have been of such a shape, and of such a power, and adapted 
 
 Lect. IV.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 137 
 
 
 work in harmonious concert with a number of other muscles, 
 and that all these should go on, repeating their motions 
 several thousand times a day, for the whole of our life ? That 
 a person should be found capable of believing this, is itself 
 among the most inexplicable phenomena that can be pre- 
 sented to our notice. 
 
 There is another very striking adaptation connected with 
 the atmosphere ; that is its capability of transmitting sounds, 
 and the curious formation of the ear. It is unnecessary to 
 show how important is the capacity which we possess of 
 hearing and distinguishing sounds, in how many cases our 
 safety is connected with it, and how much the happiness and 
 improvement of society depend on it. Sound is produced by 
 the vibrations of the particles of a body communicated to the 
 air, and by the air transmitted to an organ adapted to receive 
 them. Such is the anatomy of the internal parts of this 
 organ that it is impossible to give an adequate description in 
 mere words ; and so curious and exquisite is the construction 
 of its various parts, that the full use of some of them has 
 not yet been discovered. The external ear is a cartilaginous 
 expansion, so constructed as to receive the undulations of 
 the air, from which they pass through a tube, and come to 
 a very curious combination of cavities and membranes, and 
 bones and nervous branches, variously disposed, so as by the 
 auditory nerve to convey to the brain the particular sen- 
 sation. If any of this delicate machinery is injured, the 
 faculty of hearing is impaired if not lost To the eye of the 
 skilful and experienced anatomist it appears a structure the 
 most beautiful which the mind can contemplate.* Is not the 
 supposition preposterous, that such a formation should occiH 
 from the casual concurrence of sundry particles of matter, 
 possessing so complete an adaptation to the properties of 
 the atmosphere, with reference to the specific purpose of 
 hearing, and answering an end so eminently beneficial ? 
 
 • BclPs Anatomy.— Vol. Ill, p. 178, ed. 3rd. 
 
 « 
 8 
 
 --». 
 
 x\ 
 
138 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. IV. 
 
 Lect. IV,] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 139 
 
 The limits we have assigned ourselves will not admit of 
 our adverting to all the other senses, further than to state 
 that each contains a mechanism which sets all imitation at 
 defiance, bears the most visible impress of intended adapt- 
 ation to its peculiar function, and is of most important 
 service to man in his intercourse with the external world. 
 But there is one which, though often brought forward, is so 
 beautiful and impressive an instance of design and adaptation, 
 that I cannot persuade myself entirely to pass it by ; — it is 
 the organ of sight. Amid the innumerable wonders which 
 surround us on every hand, there is not one, perhaps, which 
 is more adapted to fix our attention, and to excite our ad- 
 miration of the divine wisdom which appears in everything 
 we contemplate, than the power of vision. Of all the senses 
 by means of which we hold converse with the external 
 world this appears to take the lead, in the extent of its 
 office and the utility and pleasure which it yields. By this 
 we become acquainted with innumerable objects, the know- 
 ledge of which is of the highest consequence to us, of which, 
 without the aid of this sense, we could not have had the 
 faintest conception. By this organ we not only have per- 
 ceptions of colour, but learn to estimate distance, form, and 
 magnitude. In an instant the glance of the eye takes in ten 
 thousand objects, and runs over all the diversified appearances 
 of an extensive landscape with that rapidity, that every indi- 
 vidual part seems at precisely the same instant the object 
 of perception, each occupying its proper size and position 
 relative to the whole. By this means we are sensible of the 
 existence and position of objects, not only at a few yards, but 
 il millions of miles distant from us ; we hav^ a perception of 
 what lives, and moves, and has its being in our immediate 
 locality on the globe which we inhabit, and of those mighty 
 orbs which sail in the boundless ether, or, at distances to 
 which millions of leagues are but a speck, illumine other 
 
 systems. Without the power of vision, if existence were 
 possible, how contracted would be our ideas, how poor our 
 enjoyments, how few our connexions and associations.* We 
 can form no estima£e of the immense difference which the 
 possession of this sense makes in the circumstances of man, 
 from viewing the infelicities of a few who are deprived of 
 this advantage, but who live in the midst of thousands who 
 possess it By the constant intercourse with others, who 
 possess this sense, they derive much of the benefit which 
 results from it ; by the kind attention of friends who have 
 sight, a large portion of the miseries of blindness is obviated, 
 and the remainder considerably mitigated. But if it could 
 have been possible for man to exist without this sense, in 
 what a deplorable condition must he have passed his life. 
 No inspirations of nature, from a view of its wonders and 
 beauties, would have kindled his delight, no countenance of 
 a friend beaming with kindness would have cheered him, 
 no art could have been cultivated, science could not have 
 existed,— exposed to accidents at every step, disasters would 
 have constantly attended him, and death must soon have 
 closed his suffering and joyless existence. But the continu- 
 ance of human life would have been impossible ; man is not 
 made to vegetate, he must provide for himself or perish ; 
 without the power of vision, therefore, superadded to all 
 
 • How feelingly has the first of English poets, in his address to light, adverted 
 to his own loss of sight. 
 
 " Thus with the year 
 Seasons return, but not to me returns 
 Day, or the sweet approach of even or mom, 
 Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose, 
 Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine ; 
 But clouds instead, apd ever-during dark 
 Surround me ! From the cheerful ways of men 
 Cut off-j and for the book of knowledge fair 
 Presented with a universal blank 
 Of nature's works, to me expung'd and razM j 
 And wisdom at one entrance quite shut out " ! 
 
 Paradise Lost, b. HI, v. 40—50. 
 
140 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lbct. IV. 
 
 Lect. IV.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 141 
 
 • 
 
 the complicated arrangements of his frame, we cannot 
 conceive of the continuance of the race of man. it is much 
 to our purpose, therefore, to notice as briefly as the subject 
 will admit, the arrangement by which this knowledge of 
 outward objects is communicated to the mind. It is by a 
 medium which exists in nature without us, and by a very 
 curious organization within us, each possessing the most 
 complete adaptation to the other, that this is accomplished. 
 This medium is light, which flowing from the visible object, 
 comes into contact with the organ of vision, and produces 
 those sensations on which our perceptions of colour and 
 form are founded. Without this medium vision is impos- 
 sible ; it is not by the objects themselves being brought into 
 contact with the eye that they are seen ; they may remain 
 at the distance of a few inches, or yards, or millions of miles ; 
 but portions of this medium streaming from them, and im- 
 pressing the appropriate organ, convey the intelHgence of 
 their existence and of their visible properties ; so that strictly 
 speaking, it is not the objects of vision, but the light pro- 
 ceeding from them that we see. 
 
 Light is one of the most mysterious, the most useful, and 
 the most beautiful appendages to the fitting up and furniture 
 of the globe that we inhabit. It is, indeed, not only beautiful, 
 but the source of all beauty in the material world. It is this 
 which reveals all other objects; and exhibits them in their 
 size, and proportion, and form. The radiance of the sky, 
 the verdure of the fields, the tints of all the flowers, the 
 lovely diversity of the landscape, and the various expression 
 of the human countenance, all depend on light 
 
 " Of all material beings, first and best ! 
 Eiflux divine ! Nature's resplendent robe ! 
 Without whose vesting beauty all were wrapped 
 In unessential gloom." * 
 
 • Thompson's Seasons.—SuMMER.— >Hymn to the Sun. 
 
 Without entering with philosophical minuteness into the 
 subject, the following are some of the most obvious pro- 
 perties of light on which vision depends. Light is either 
 direct, as when it proceeds from a luminous body; or 
 reflected, as when it is thrown back from an object on 
 which it has fallen. When the sun, the great source of 
 light, pours around the plenitude of day, every object 
 reflects, in all directions, from all points of its surface, a 
 greater or less portion of the rays which fall on it. As light 
 is composed of rays of all the primary colours, the due 
 mixture of which constitutes its bright appearance, by the 
 different kinds of bodies differently coloured rays are 
 absorbed and reflected ; when all the rays but the red or 
 blue, for instance, are absorbed by any body, and either of 
 these are reflected, we have the perception of the blue or red 
 colour. The angle at which the rays of light are reflected 
 from an illuminated object is always equal to the angle at 
 which they fall on it, as determined by a perpendicular to 
 its surface at the point of contact ; objects are thus seen 
 in the direction in which the reflected ray falls on the eye. 
 Another equally important property of light is its refrangi- 
 bility, by which, when it passes from one medium to another 
 of different density, in a direction oblique to the surface of 
 the medium into which it enters, it suffers a refraction 
 corresponding to the difference of the density of that body 
 on which it falls, and the angle which it makes with its 
 surface. By this property, the rays which fall on every 
 point of an object from a luminous body, after being re- 
 flected, may again, by passing through a properly refracting 
 medium, be brought to meet in a point called the focus ; 
 and by the re-assembling of these rays in such points in due 
 relative position an image of the object is produced. Thus, 
 if the rays of light proceeding from any object pass through 
 a convex lens placed in a proper position, they will form 
 
142 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. IV. 
 
 LiCT. IV.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 an image of the object at the focal distance of the lens. 
 This is the principle on which the camera obscura is con- 
 structed; a mirror receives the rays from surrounding 
 objects, and reflects them through a double convex lens 
 into a small apartment, which is darkened to prevent the 
 interference of other rays; the rays which pass through 
 the lens are received at its focal distance on a surface, 
 and all the external objects thus presented to the mirror' 
 the only use of which is to give the required direction to 
 the rays, are perceived in their proper colours, and relative 
 position, and size, and motions. 
 
 Now the eye is precisely such an instrument, constructed 
 on exactly the same principles, but with a perfection which 
 no human ingenuity can reach. Through a small aperture 
 the rays of light are received, which passing through a 
 double convex lens assisted by other refracting media, enter 
 a darkened chamber, and at the proper distance are received 
 on a screen where the image of the external objects are 
 correctly formed. But the construction of this curious and 
 useful organ deserves our attention. In an elevated and 
 commanding position in the human structure, in bony cavities 
 of considerable strength, are deposited two small globes, 
 cushioned on a substance soft and yielding, and so attached as 
 to admit of freedom of motion. Each of these optical globes 
 IS surrounded by an outer coat, of a very strong but flexile 
 texture, called the sclerotica ; this coat, however, does not 
 completely envelope the ball of the eye, about one fifth of 
 which is covered in the front by a transparent membrane 
 called the cornea, which is also more prominent than the 
 Other parts of the globe, forming a portion of a small sphere 
 on a larger ; and at the back part of the eye the optic nerve 
 passes through the sclerotica. This latter coat is lined with 
 the choroides, a thin membrane, the inner surface of which 
 has a layer of dark colouring matter. Within this is an 
 
 143 
 
 expansion of the optic nerve called the retina. Within 
 these coats are inclosed the refracting substances called the 
 humours of the eye. In the front, filling up the protuber- 
 ance of the cornea, is the aqueous humour, in which is placed 
 the iris, a beautiful ring of different colours surrounding 
 the pupil, that black spot in the centre of the eye which is 
 the only aperture by which the light enters. Behind this is 
 a transparent substance of greater density, forming a double 
 convex lens, and termed the crystalline humour. The re- 
 maining part of the interior, constituting more than three 
 fourths of the whole, is filled with the vitreous humour. 
 On the retina, where all the rays after their refraction are 
 brought to a focal point, a perfect image of the object to 
 which the axis of the eye is directed is formed, and by some 
 mysterious process, the steps of which we can no farther 
 trace, the information is conveyed along the nerve to the 
 brain, and from the sensation thus produced the mind ac- 
 quires its perception of external objects. 
 
 The great perfectioji of this small but invaluable piece of 
 divine mechanism cannot fail to impress the mind of every 
 attentive observer ; it is such that every approach to excel- 
 lence in optical instruments is but an imitation of it. If the 
 construction of the eye and the manner in which the image 
 of the external object is brought to the retina had been un- 
 derstood, telescopes would have been formed many centuries 
 before Galileo, and many of the later discoveries in astronomy 
 might have been anticipated. That the eye was formed by 
 a being intimately acquainted with the properties of light 
 and the laws of optics, who can deny or doubt, who knows 
 its construction, — whose reason is not distorted by the power 
 of prejudice? In every optical instrument, the substance 
 and shape of the refracting medium, and tl^distance of the 
 screen which is to receive the image, must oe adjusted with 
 the nicest accuracy, or the apparatus is useless ;— this is 
 
I 
 
 w 
 
 144 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. IV. 
 
 Lbct. IV.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 145 
 
 complete in the human eye. The inside of the telescope is 
 painted black, the interior of the camera obscura must be 
 darkened, to prevent the interference of any other rays, 
 which would render the image indistinct ;— the chamber of 
 the eye is darkened, and the image on the retina is distinct 
 and vivid. The different degrees of refrangibility which the 
 various rays which form white light possess, when passing 
 through a simple lens, give a confused colouring to the 
 outline of the image which it should not possess, and render 
 It indistinct. To obviate this imperfection was a problem 
 which for a long time exercised the ingenuity of the most 
 acute and profound philosophy. In the construction of the 
 eye the difficulty is anticipated, and the inconvenience pre- 
 vented ; by an accurate adjustment of the several refracting 
 media, the chromatic aberration is corrected. Another diffi- 
 culty which human ingenuity has had to encounter, arises 
 from the law of refraction by spherical lenses ; which bring 
 the rays which pass through their centre to a focal point 
 somewhat different from that to wbich the remoter rays 
 converge. This inconvenience, which is termed the aber- 
 ration of sphericity,^ is perfectly and in the most scientific 
 manner remedied, by the peculiar curvatures of the crys- 
 talline lens, and the concentric layers, of different density, 
 of which it is formed.* Now is it not an absurdity 
 which contradicts all reason and experience, and shocks the 
 
 • I have not here taken notice of the power of the eye to adapt itself to the 
 Tanous distances of objects. Many ingenious experiments have been made, and 
 sever^ different hypotheses have been framed to explain this power; while some 
 have doubted the existence of any apparatus for this purpose, and have been dis- 
 posed to refer it merely to attention.-See an account of these experiments and 
 opinions m *Bostock's Physiology,' Vol. Ill, pp. 102-108; and * Bell's Anatomy,* 
 Vol. Ill, pp. 95-105. Magendie says, « whatever be the distance of the object, ' 
 the eye ought, according to theory, to change its form for the object to become 
 distinct, or at leaai|the crystalline humour should be carried forwards or back- 
 wards, according to^b distances. Here experiment is in contradiction to th^iy, 
 which renders nugatory all the explanations hitherto proposed."— Elementary 
 Summary of Physiology, Vol. I, p. 43. 
 
 l^ 
 
 A 
 
 XTTiC 
 
 understanding by its enormity, to suppose or assert that all 
 these exquisite adjustments are mere casual things, without 
 any design ; that it so happened by mere accident, that such 
 an organ, with such adaptations was formed ? 
 
 But again, take notice how small is the instrument, how 
 vast is the field of view, and how great the multiplicity of 
 objects, which at a single glance it is able to take in. On 
 a circumference of the retina, not exceeding perhaps half an 
 inch in diameter, is painted distinctly the whole landscape 
 in view, including several miles of space, with all its diversity 
 of hill and dale, and groves and gardens, and corn fields and 
 pastures, with flocks and herds, and lowly cots and stately 
 mansions. How inconceivably small must be the space 
 which each single object occupies ; how minute the points 
 over which those objects in the miniature landscape travel, 
 to correspond with all the changes in position which are 
 taking place in the scene without; and what exquisite 
 sensibility must that nervous expansion possess, which is 
 thus susceptible of impressions so numerous and diversified 
 within so small a compass ! But in proportion to the delicacy 
 of any piece of mechanism is the necessity of precaution to 
 preserve it in safety. We have already noticed the bony 
 cavity in which this precious ball is deposited, the strong 
 but flexile coat in which it is enveloped, and the soft cushion 
 on which it is embedded ; but this is not all. The quantity 
 of light which we receive is ever varying, from the effulgence 
 of the summer noon to the darkness of the starless night; 
 the extreme sensibility of the organ renders some adjust- 
 ment necessary, to adapt it to the quantity of light; this 
 was evidently foreseen by the power which formed the eye, 
 and provided for in a way which has not its parallel in all 
 the contrivances of man. Observe that coloured jing which 
 surrounds the black spot in the centre of the eye, which we 
 call the pupil, and which is the only aperture by which the 
 

 i;i ••«<•« m 
 
 146 
 
 I»ROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. IV. 
 
 rays of light enter, the size of which is variable. This 
 beautiful iris is a piece of finely wrought net work, fur- 
 nished with a number of muscular fibres, in two separate 
 sets, one circular the other radial. By these it is enabled 
 to increase or diminish the breadth of the ring, and conse- 
 quently to vary the size of the aperture. This also has 
 a self-adjusting movement independent of the will. When 
 the light is too much for the delicate nerve at the back 
 of the eye, by the action of the circular muscles, the iris 
 enlarges the breadth of its ring, and so diminishes the 
 pupil that fewer rays enter; when, on the contrary, the 
 quantity of light is diminished, and it becomes necessary to 
 receive as many rays as possible from a given point, the iris, 
 true to its office, contracts the radial fibres, enlarges the 
 aperture, and exposes a greater surface to the admission of 
 the rays. Hence the uneasy sensation we feel on going 
 suddenly into a very strong light, till the iris has adjusted 
 itself; and also the difficulty we have in perceiving objects 
 when we leave a strongly illuminated place, till this admir- 
 able piece of self-regulating mechanism has enlarged the 
 pupil of the eye. Did chance with its random throws, or 
 did equally blind and unthinking necessity ever produce 
 workmanship like this, with such obvious relations to other 
 parts of a whole, and with functions so evidently referring 
 to a precise object ? 
 
 Mark also, with the same evident intention of preserving 
 from harm, how the eye-brows throw out their bushy pro- 
 tuberances, to prevent any drop of moisture or particle of 
 dust from gliding down the forehead into the eye. See how 
 the eye-lids cover the front of this organ, and instantly 
 close whenever danger is apprehended, or shut it completely 
 up when it needs rest, and by their lashes prevent any small 
 objects from approaching too near. And notice the glands, 
 which are ever secreting their soft liquid and oozing it out. 
 
 IMCT. IV.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 147 
 
 to keep the surface of the eye moist, and to furnish the lids 
 with the means of keeping it ever clean by their frequent 
 motion. 
 
 Nor is the muscular apparatus, by which the eye is turned 
 ill every direction, less admirable. Each eye is furnished 
 with six muscles, by which we can at pleasure turn its axis 
 towards any object. These are attached to the external coat, 
 and are all lodged within the orbit of the eya One of 
 these, the upper oblique muscle, exhibits a very curious 
 contrivance. "Its tendon passes through a cartilaginous 
 pulley in the margin of the orbit, and then turns back again 
 to be inserted into the eye-ball, so that the effect produced 
 by the action of the muscle is a motion in a direction exactly 
 the reverse of that in which its fibres contract" Well may 
 the author add. " This mechanism, simple as it is, affords 
 one of the most palpable instances that can be adduced of 
 express contrivance; for in no other situation could the 
 muscle have been so conveniently lodged as within the eye- 
 ball ; and in no other way c^uld its tendon have been r.iade 
 to pull in a direction contrary to that of the muscle, than 
 by the interposition of a pulley turning the tendon com- 
 pletely round."* How surprising is that mechanism which, 
 by its delicate and easy movements, directs the eye in 
 following the course of any body in motion, glances with 
 nearly the rapidity of light over the largest field of view, 
 and without a moment's pauso gives an almost imperceptible 
 and constant motion to this organ, which the liability of the 
 retina to exhaustion renders necessary. 
 
 Few and brief as these notices are, and imperfect as is the 
 sketch, who is not, with such contemplations, filled with 
 devout admiration of the divine wisdom and benevolence, 
 so strikingly manifest in the power of vision ? Who does 
 
 * Dr. Roget»s Bridgewatcr Treatise.— Animal and Vegetable Physiology, 
 Vol. II, pp. 465—466. 
 
148 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. IV, 
 
 not see in the adaptation of light to the eye, and of this 
 organ to the properties of light, the most convincing proof 
 of the existence of an intelligent being, by whose power 
 and skill man was formed ? Who will venture to say de- 
 liberately, after an attentive survey of the wonders of the 
 eye, that they are all mere accidents of matter—that the lens 
 
 and the other humours were not made to refract the rays 
 
 that it was a mere chance that there was a .nervous screen 
 to receive the rays just where they were brought to the 
 point of convergence, or that there was any nerve at ail- 
 that though there may be intention in the* construction of a 
 silken purse, which a lady knits, yet there can be none in 
 the formation of the beautiful and necessary iris— that though 
 there may be design in the use of the rope which a seaman 
 reeves through a block, to give the requisite direction to a 
 yard or sail, yet there can be none in the passing of one of the 
 tendons of the oblique muscles through a pulley, to secure 
 the necessary direction for the movement it was to effect— that 
 though things of inferior skill fequire mind, mechanism of 
 exquisite skill requires none, and that therefore, by this in- 
 verted rule of reasoning, all the adjustments and adaptations 
 of the eye, its nerves, and muscles, and coats, and lenses, 
 and glands, and all its preserving apparatus, required no 
 mind at all ? « He " says a writer in one of our leading 
 periodicals, " who explores the structure of the human eye 
 — its expressive forms— its exquisite movements— its union 
 of tenderness and strength— its magic chamber, furnished 
 with lenses and curtains— and its delicate canvass, which 
 receives the vivid pictures of external objects, and presents 
 them to the brain, while it takes back the creations of the 
 mind, and gives them an external form and locality;— he 
 who studies this master-piece of divine mechanism, and who 
 does not join in the fervid ejaculation, ' He who made the 
 eye, does He not see !' deserves to be degraded from the 
 
 Lect. IV.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 149 
 
 rank of intelligence, and placed in that small appendix to 
 human nature which the moralist only recognises — the blind 
 leaders of the blind." * 
 
 In the instances which we have already selected, we 
 have seen an organization of curious workmanship in man, 
 constructed with evident reference to the properties of 
 nature without him ; we have shown that the furniture and 
 appendages of this globe have an obvious adaptation to his 
 wants and capabilities; before we quit this part of our 
 subject, there is a class of adaptations somewhat different 
 from those which have been adduced, and whifch do not 
 perhaps come so exactly under this division of our subject, 
 yet which, as they manifest very strikingly beneficent design, 
 and exhibit arrangements which could result only from a 
 knowledge of what was necessary to man's existence and 
 happiness, and show an intention to provide for his welfare, 
 we request permission briefly to notice. Look at man, then, 
 in connexion with beings of his own species. His first 
 introduction to this world is marked by entire dependence on 
 the care of others. There is no living thing which requires 
 the hundredth part of the solicitude, the constant attention, 
 and the patience which never tires, in order to preserve and 
 rear it ; and how completely are all these secured by that 
 instinctive affection which springs up spontaneously in the 
 bosom of the parents, which waits for no acquaintance to pro- 
 duce it, which needs no argument to enforce it, no example 
 to (direct it, but which with a gush of feeling which only the 
 parent knows, hears the first cry of life, sees the helpless and 
 unconscious babe incapable of the most distant recognition, 
 and presses it to a heart which would shed its choicest blood 
 to secure this precious embryo of humanity from harm. 
 What can equal the delicacy and strength of the mother's 
 fondness, which in one moment starts into full maturity and 
 
 • Edinburgh Review, January, 1834, p. 437. 
 
150 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. IV. 
 
 power, and which continues unabated by all the toils, and 
 watching, and privations which she endures for the babe 
 which hangs upon her breast ? In the bosom of the lowliest 
 and rudest peasant a new fountain of sensibility is opened 
 when he feels that he is a father, the mother of his child 
 becomes incomparably more interesting than when he first 
 beheld her in all her virgin charms, his home is still dearer, 
 and while his toils are sweetened by the thoughts of tender- 
 ness which work within him, he looks forward with delighted 
 anticipation to the period when in his cot he shall behold the 
 mother and her lovely babe, or receive into his own sinewy 
 arms the precious treasure. Can this instinctive affection on 
 which the preservation of man depends, at that helpless 
 period when he can neither solicit aid nor even be conscious 
 of it when rendered, be the result of chance ? Is not the 
 supposition a wild extravagance, rather than sober reason ? 
 Or does the heartless attempt at explanation which atheism 
 offers account for it? What mother, whose heart has 
 throbbed with maternal tenderness, what man, through 
 whose soul the first announcement that he is a father has 
 thrilled with unspeakable emotion, can hear, without sur- 
 prise bordering on indignation, all this depth of sacred 
 feeling attributed to the physical attraction of matter, or 
 the chemical affinities of the elementary substances which 
 enter into the composition of our bodies ? * 
 
 But again, look at the helpless condition of the young 
 stranger, and the admirable provision which is made for his 
 subsistence. The new born infant has not only no sense or 
 power to provide for his sustenance, but he has no teeth to 
 masticate his food, and while much nutrition is necessary to 
 his growth, his digestive powers are very weak. Just at this 
 time a glandular apparatus which had always existed from 
 the infancy of the mother, though never before needed, 
 
 • System of Nature.— Vol. I, pp. 33, 82, 83. 
 
 Lect. IV.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 151 
 
 performs in a most active manner its functions, and secretes 
 a liquid precisely of the kind which the infant needs, 
 moderately warm, mild, and grateful to the palate, at once 
 easy of digestion and highly nutritive. No sooner is the 
 child applied to the bosom where his sustenance is already 
 provided, than his lips, and tongue, with the various muscles 
 concerned in deglutition begin, as though instructed by 
 experience, to perform most skilfully their functions. How 
 inveterate must be the atheism which can deny design in 
 this ! Was the breast of the mother formed by the mere 
 concurrence of certain particles of matter, without any 
 reference to the infant whose existence was to depetid on it ? 
 Was it by accident that such a fluid, so bland and nutritious, 
 should be formed just at the time when the infant needed it? 
 Was there no intention in placing the breasts just where the 
 arms of the mother could fold her helpless babe to her 
 bosom, while her eyes could gaze with fondness, and the 
 very look of affection assist in exciting the excretion of this 
 balmy liquid ? Was it chance that gave to the child the 
 power and the instinct of sucking as soon as he entered the 
 world ; or had this instinct no design, no reference to the 
 mother's breast ? What but infatuation the most unaccount- 
 able, or prejudice the most desperate, can deny the evidence 
 of benevolent design, and consequently of a benevolent de- 
 signer, in the provision thus made for a new born babe.^ 
 
 Every view we take of man confirms the assurance that 
 he is, not accidentally, but essentially, a social being; of 
 this his wants, his desires, his pleasures, his sympathies, all 
 give indications. It is scarcely necessary to add, that in the 
 scale of being he rises high above all other classes of living 
 creatures, which have their existence in this world. He is 
 capable not only of mere animal feeling, but of sentiments 
 the most tender, and delicate, and elevated ; his memory 
 recalls the past, his imagination gives present existence to 
 
152 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, (Lbct. IV. 
 
 things however remote in time or space ; the range of his 
 thoughts is boundless. In the means which he possesses of 
 carrying on intercourse and exchanging ideas with his fellow 
 men, we see a striking adaptation to this superiority of 
 nature. The power which animals possess of expressing 
 their wantg and desires, appears to correspond with their 
 capability of thought and feeling. Their cries and gestures 
 are sufficient for all the purposes of their intercourse. But 
 man, dignified with reason, possesses a medium of inter- 
 course worthy of the high rank which he holds in creation. 
 He, and he alone, has the power of speech. This is cer- 
 tainly one of the most surprising characteristics of man. 
 By producing certain vibrations in the air, he finds the 
 means of giving outward expression to all the innumerable 
 thoughts which pass through his own mind respecting him- 
 self or other persons, or any objects present or absent, real 
 or imaginary, and of receiving in return like communications 
 from others. All the affections and antipathies, the hopes 
 and fears, the purposes and expectations, the facte and 
 reasonings and opinions, the intreaties the admonitions and 
 the warnings, which it is thought necessary or desirable to 
 express, are thus conveyed from mind to mind, throughout 
 the whole social community ; and resulte most numerous, and 
 varied, and far more important, than all which proceed from 
 laws of matter operating on the visible world, are constantiy 
 produced by the action of mind on mind. How simple and 
 yet how astonishingly efficient is the process by which all 
 this IS carried on ; it is merely by a few elementary sounds, 
 called vowels and consonants, combined to form syllables, 
 and words, and sentences. These, however, are sufficient 
 as a vehicle for the tiioughts of all men, of all languages; 
 the powers of these combinations appear, indeed, to be 
 mexhaustible. But simple as this process seems, when we 
 consider the total dissimilarity of a sound and a thought, of 
 
 Lect. IV.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 153 
 
 an emotion of the heart and the vibration of the air, and at 
 the same time the nice distinctions, the deep abstractions, 
 the curious relations which every language exhibits, we do 
 not wonder that many should suppose the attainment to 
 have been originally beyond the reach of man, and that 
 speech and language, so eminently beneficial to man, and 
 yet so wondrously artificial, arose from a divine inspiration. 
 But considered as an acquirement dependent on reason, how 
 inexpressibly valuable it is ! — What would be the condition 
 of man or the state of society without it? Let us glance at the 
 organization which serves so important a purpose, and which 
 accords so completely with the superior faculties and varied 
 wants of man as a social being. m 
 
 The voice, which is the medium of language, depends on 
 the possession of lungs ; all animals which have these are 
 capable of some kind of voice, but " man only can articulate 
 sound, and enjoys the gift of speech."* The principal organ 
 of voice is the larynx, a cartilaginous cavity which forms 
 the upper extremity of the trachea, at the top of which is 
 the small slit of the glottis, through which the air passes. 
 This organ is furnished with a set of muscles at the com- 
 mand of the will, by which at pleasure, as the air is forced 
 through it from the lungs, a sound can be produced, varying 
 through the whole gamut of the voice, and capable of 
 
 * Richerand's Physiology, p. 424. « The particular disposition," adds this author, 
 " of the mouth, of the tongue, and lips, makes all pronunciation impossible to 
 quadrupeds. The monkey, in whom these parts have the same conformation as in 
 man, would speak like him," (that is, supposing him also to possess reason like 
 man) " if the air, as it leaves the larynx, were not diffused into the hyo-thyroid 
 cavities, which are membranous in some, cartilaginous and even bony in the howling 
 monkey, whose cry is so hoarse and melancholy. Every time that the animal would 
 utter his cry, these sacs swell, then empty themselves, so that he is not able at 
 will to supply to the different parts of his mouth the sounds they might articulate." 
 
 ** A bird," says another eminent physiologist, " pronounces words, even phrases, 
 but does not speak. Man alone is gifted with speech, which is the most powerful 
 means of expression possessed by the mind ; he alone attaches a meaning to the 
 words which he pronounces, and to the arrangement which he gives them ; without 
 his intellect he would not speak." — Magendie*s Physiology, Vol. T, p. 155. 
 
154 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. IV. 
 
 immense variety of expression. By some physiologists the 
 larynx has been considered as a wind instrument, producing 
 its sound by the vibrations of the lips of the glottis, as the 
 reed of the clarionet ; by others, the ligaments of the glottis 
 have been viewed as the chords of a stringed instrument. 
 The author just quoted observes, " It appears that we are to 
 consider the larynx as combining the advantages and exhibit- 
 ing the double mechanism of wind and stringed instruments ; 
 it is on this account that it surpasses all musical instruments, 
 by the extent, the perfection, and above all, by the inex- 
 haustible variety of its effects." » By the mouth, the lips, 
 the tojigue, and the teeth, these effects are multiplied beyond 
 any power of calculaton. Who then can view this curious 
 structure, which gives to man the power of speech, a power 
 so completely adapting him for that state of social life for 
 which all his feelings and sympathies indicate that he was 
 formed, and which so corresponds with his high superiority 
 of reason, without a reverential admiration of the divine 
 wisdom and goodness which are apparent, and without 
 perfect asto'-ishment that any persons should see nothing 
 here but chance, or what amounts to the same thing, the 
 *• necessary laws " of matter, working without consciousness 
 or design ? 
 
 The last adaptation we shall notice under this branch of 
 discourse, has not only reference to man in his social con- 
 dition, but, in the most general manner, affects his well 
 being and improvement ; and that is of the instrument by 
 which he acts on external nature to the mind which 
 employs it. Through all the gradations of animal life, 
 
 ♦ Richerand's Physiology, p. 423. In pp. Ill, 112, of "Animal Physiology," 
 one of the most valuable of the publications of the Society for Diffusing Useful 
 Knowledge, there is a curious calculation from Dr. Barclay, of the almost innumer- 
 able varieties of tone of which the human voice is capable, by which it appears 
 that millions of millions of distinct sounds may be produced, each one differing 
 from the other. 
 
 IjiCT. IV.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 155 
 
 the means of protection and preservation are possessed in 
 different degrees. Among the instruments which serve their 
 purposes we see great variety ; beaks, talons, jaws, and 
 mouths of peculiar construction, claws, tusks, horns, and 
 that singular organ the trunk of the elephant But how 
 is man to provide for himself, to protect himself, and to 
 make nature subservient to his comfort ? In point of phy- 
 IJcal capabilities, acuteness of some particular sense, and 
 the instincts which guide without reasoning, he is inferior 
 to many of the brute creation ; he has not the strength of 
 the lion, the fleetness of the stag, the eye,of the eagle, or 
 the scent of the dog ; but he has Reason and a Hand ; and 
 the possession of these give him a pre-eminence immeasur- 
 ably above all the other tenants of this globe. The perfection 
 of this instrument accords wisely with the superiority of 
 the agent which has to employ it. We have no reason to 
 believe that any animal possesses a capacity, to which a 
 more complete instrument for acting on external nature 
 would be of material service. The dog would not gain 
 much by the exchange of a hand, with a thumb and fingers, 
 for his foot; and where there is the nearest approach to the 
 powers of the human hand, what tool has been made, or 
 what new art, untaught by instinct, has ever been attempted ? 
 A hand, without the intellect to put it to the use of which 
 it is capable, would still have left man among the inferior 
 tribes of brutes, in just the state in which he was created. 
 Reason without the hand, and with a hoof or claw, could 
 not have developed itself in the manner in which it has, and 
 for want of exercise would have appeared very different from 
 what it now is ; in this case no arts could have been matured, 
 no philosophical experiment attempted, no knowledge trans- 
 mitted by means of writing and books; man would have 
 wandered naked and destitute, enjoying but little advantage 
 from society, deriving a precarious subsistence from the 
 
i 
 
 i 
 
 156 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. IV. 
 
 Lect. IV.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 157 
 
 spontaneous productions of the globe— if, indeed, in so help- 
 less a condition he could have subsisted at all,— and exposed 
 defenceless to the attacks of any beast that might seek to 
 prey on him. But with such an instrument, and such a 
 power to wield it, what wonders have been achieved! 
 Cultivation has fertilized the surface of the globe, flowers 
 and fruits have sprung up almost at his command, the forest 
 has become a garden and the wilderness teemed with citi^ 
 and villages, the ocean has been navigated, the stars counted, 
 society enriched with the treasures of art and science, and 
 man has assert^ his sovereignty over all that dwell on the 
 globe. 
 
 Let us, then, notice for a moment the mechanism of that 
 instrument by which the mind accomplishes such wonders. 
 Inserted laterally, at the upper part of the trunk, and just 
 below the head, we see on each side an arm, at the extremity 
 of which is placed the hand. First the humerus, the strong 
 bone of the shoulder, works in a socket of the scapula, in 
 such a way as to admit of motion in every direction, and of 
 course giving to all that is appended to it the advantage of 
 its freedom of motion. From this the forearm proceeds, 
 connected firmly with the humerus by means of ligaments, 
 supported by two bones, the radius and ulna, the latter of 
 which plays in a hinge joint, admitting of motion in one 
 direction only, and both articulating with the wrist The 
 eight bones of the wrist, curiously joined, form also the 
 foundation on which the five metacarpal bones of the hand 
 rest;* from these spring out the four fingers and the thumb, 
 each, Except the latter, possessing three bones and as many 
 joints. To all these joints suitable muscles with their 
 
 • " We commonly say that there are five metacarpal bones, in which reckoning 
 we count the thumb with the rest : but what is called the metacarpal of the thumb 
 is properly the first phalanx, or the first proper bone of the thumb, so that the 
 thumb, regularly described, has, like the other fingers, thi-ee joints."— Anatomy 
 and Physiology of the Human Botly, by J. and C. Bell, Vol. 1, p. 181, ed. 4th. 
 
 tendons are appended, by the operation of which the 
 movements of th^ several parts of this curious machinery 
 are innumerable. How well adapted is the hand to give a 
 sudden stroke or a delicate touch, a tenacious grasp or a 
 gentle pressure ; it can take up by the points of its fingers 
 the finest needle, or by the application of both hands 
 embrace and hold fast a circumference of several feet, and 
 all the intermediate dimensions. How fine and rapid are the 
 movements, how astonishing the accuracy with which the 
 fingers fly over the strings of a harp or the keys of a piano ; 
 and how exquisite must be working of the nerves, and 
 muscles, and tendons, and bones, and joints of the hand, this 
 " instrument of instruments ! " By means of such an instru- 
 ment, under such guidance, the power of an individual is 
 multiplied almost indefinitely; the hammer, the axe, and 
 the saw, made and employed by the human hand, produce 
 effects which would defy the strength of the lion, and to 
 which the gigantic might of the elephant would be but 
 infantile weakness. In possession of the mechanical forces, 
 and with the knowledge of chemical combinations, one 
 individual commands the power of a host. Thus before man 
 all living creatures bow, and pay to him their homage and 
 their service. The fiercest animals are subdued, the wildest 
 tamed, and whatever any of them possess that can minister 
 to the convenience or comfort of man is seized and appro- 
 priated by him. Neither the flight of the eagle, nor the 
 fleetness of the antelope, nor the vast bulk of the whale 
 amid the polar ice, gives security from the power of man — 
 of man, weak and feeble as he is, but armed with reason and 
 a hand. 
 
 Now does it look like chance, or design, that there should 
 be this adjustment of the hand to the mind, that the per- 
 fection of the instrument should be in such accordance with 
 the power of the agent which is to employ it.^ Are we to 
 
168 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. IV. 
 
 Lect. IV.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 159 
 
 1^ 
 
 be told that the power of genius, and the varied and aston- 
 ishing capabilities of the human intelleoi, are nothing but 
 the combinations, and affinities, and movements of oxygen, 
 azote, hydrogen, and carbon, accidentally happening to meet 
 in such a condition as to originate thought and all the 
 phenomena of mind? And that to match with this sen- 
 sorial organization, separate combinations of similar elements 
 happened as accidentally to form a humerus, to fit with its 
 extremity the cavity of the scapula and to work in it, and 
 also a forearm with its ulna, and radius, and hinge joint, and 
 the curious bones'of the wrist, and those of the hand, and 
 fingers, and thumb ? Did ever any romance of the wildest 
 extravagance imagine such a concurrence of fortunate ac- 
 cidents as must have happened in this case? — That all the 
 bones and joints should have fitted each other ; that the 
 shoulder should not have had the articulation of the bones 
 of the wrist, nor that of the elbow ; that the hand should 
 be divided into fingers, and these into so many joints; that 
 there should be a thumb, and of such a strength compared 
 to the fingers, and that it should not have been on a line 
 with the fingers, which would have rendered the whole 
 hand useless, or nearly so, and that not one joint should fail 
 of its ligaments, or its tendons, and muscles, not only to 
 move it in one direction, but to bring it back again to its 
 former position ; that an arm with such an hand should be 
 placed on each side, to be able to act with each other, and 
 that just under the inspection of the eye, and subject to its 
 guidance, — that these and a thousand things besides, each 
 one of which was essential to the completion of such an 
 instrument, should have happened, without any wisdom, or 
 design, or intention, to meet, so as to form the hand what 
 it is, supposes such a combination of fortunate occurrences 
 as the most exuberant imagination never brought together, 
 in the most marvellous fiction that ever made credulity stare! 
 
 We were to produce instances in man's relation to external 
 nature, of evident design, in order to prove that a wisdom as 
 well as a power to which we can assign no limits, was 
 employed in these arrangements, on which the existence 
 and well-being of the human race depend ; we think such 
 instances have been produced in such variety, and of a 
 nature so convincing, as cannot, by all the sophistry of infi- 
 delity, be explained on any other principle than that of the 
 existence of an all-wise and powerful Creator. We shall 
 now, therefore, proceed to the last view which we proposed 
 to take of man ; this will extend the adaptations of a design- 
 ing wisdom to the relation of that world which iie 
 
 INHABITS TO THE GREAT SYSTEM OF WHICH IT FORMS 
 A PART. 
 
 We have already occupied so large a portion of this 
 lecture with the last branch of discourse, that it is necessary 
 to comprise our remarks on the concluding part in as small a 
 compass as possible. We have seen some of the striking 
 adaptations indicative of design in the structure of man, in 
 the relation of the parts of his corporeal frame to each other 
 and to the whole — in the relation of man's organization to 
 the world and its furniture — and we now notice the relation 
 of this world to the whole of which it forms a part ; and 
 though the glance which we take of the great system must 
 be cursory and brief, it will, I trust, be sufficient to show 
 that the traces of a being of infinite wisdom and intelligence 
 are here also strikingly manifest 
 
 The globe which we inhabit forms part of a magnificent 
 system, which takes its name 'from the central body around 
 which the whole revolve, thence called the Solar System. 
 In this splendid and stupendous piece of celestial machinery, 
 we see a vastness which overwhelms us, and which reduces 
 all the magnitudes and distances to which we are accustomed 
 on the surface of this earth to a mere point The sun, in 
 
160 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. IV. 
 
 the centre, being between one and two million times larger 
 than this globe; and the outer circle of this immense orrery, 
 a circumference of ten thousand millions of miles. Around 
 this centre, and at different distances, revolve seven primary 
 planets, besides four which slightly vary from them, several 
 of which are attended by moons or secondary planets, the 
 whole number of which is eighteen, all of which accompany 
 the progress of their primaries. All these bodies are glo- 
 bular, all move round the sun from west to east, in nearly 
 circular orbits, and in nearly the same plane,* have a rotary 
 motion on their own axis, and a certain inclination of their 
 pojes to their ecliptics, f • All these mighty orbs, at distances 
 which the mind cannot take in, move with a regularity 
 which no clock-work can equal, from year to year, and from 
 age to age. 
 
 The first adaptation which strikes us as indicating design, 
 is the relative position of that body which is the source of 
 of light and heat to all. If we wish to place a lamp or 
 stove in such a situation that the benefits resulting from 
 either should be equally diffused through a given space, we 
 fix it in the centre. And if a Being of infinite wisdom had 
 the regulation and disposition of all the parts of this celestial 
 system, would he not select the same position for the sun ? 
 And would it not be something very singular, that chance 
 should do precisely that which the wisest foresight would 
 choose and determine ? All the purposes of the system, for 
 
 ♦ The satellites of Uranus, or the Georgium Sidus, are a remarkable exception, 
 the planes of their orbits being nearly perpendicular to the ecliptic.— See Treatise 
 on Astronomy, by Sir John F. W. Herschell, p. 299. 
 
 f Besides the primary and secondaiy planets there are comets to the amount of 
 several hundreds, which move round the sun j amidst all that is apparently irregular 
 in their movements, « the motions of comets are regulated by the same general laws 
 as those of the planets, — the difference of the cases consisting only in the extravagant 
 elongation of their ellipses, and in the absence of any limit to the inclinations of 
 their planes to that of the ecliptic, — or any general coincidence in the direction of 
 their motions from west to east, rather than from east to west, like what is observed 
 among the planets.**— Herschell 's Astronomy, p. 306. 
 
 Lect. IV.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 161 
 
 aught that we can perceive, would have been answered just 
 as well if the central body had been opaque; or jf the 
 luminous body had been one of those smaller orbs which 
 move round the centre. Had this been the case, the v^hole 
 condition of our globe would have been completely dif- 
 ferent, and neither man nor beast, neither animal nor vegetable 
 life could have existed. And is not the supposition as 
 gratuitous as it is bold and daring, that the lighting up of 
 the whole magnificent orrery by kindling this glorious orb 
 just in its centre, had no reference at all to those myriads of 
 beings who should receive perpetual benefit from it ? 
 
 There are two other arrangements which are eminently 
 beneficial, and which have no appearance whatever of chance 
 or accident. By the rotation of the earth on its axis, every 
 part of the globe shares in the benefit of the sun's rays ; 
 without this one half of it would be a dark and cheerless 
 desert, where no life could exist, and the other would be 
 parched by oppressive heat and be in a perpetual glare. The 
 inclination of the earth's axis is another means of good. 
 If the axis of the earth were perpendicular to the ecliptic, 
 the polar regions would be in constant winter ; but by the 
 inclination of the earth's axis the frozen regions of the north 
 have their summer, and the cheerless winter of the antarctic 
 climes is enlivened by the return of the sun. To this be- 
 neficent adjustment we are indebted for all the delights and 
 blessings of the change of seasons. 
 
 In the combination of those forces by which the earth 
 performs its annual revolution, we see another indication of 
 supreme wisdom and goodness. By the attraction of gravity 
 the earth is ever drawn towards the centre ; by the projectile 
 force impressed on it, it tends to move forward in a straight 
 line; and by their joint operation it moves around the sun. 
 These two forces, however, might be combined in very 
 different proportions, so as to vary almost without end the 
 
162 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lect. IV. 
 
 elliptical shape of the orbit; but to admit of animal and vege- 
 table life, the orbit must be either circular or nearly so. The 
 latter is the case with regard to the earth and the other planets. 
 If these forces had been differently combined, so as to pro- 
 duce an elliptical orbit of much greater eccentricity than that 
 which the earth now has, the seasons would have been very 
 different ; at one period cold beyond endurance would have 
 destroyed vitality in any form that we can conceive of; and at 
 another part of the year the earth would have been scorched 
 with.insupportable heat.* Now what satisfactory account can 
 atheism give of the existence of the projectile force at all? 
 This, at least, cannot be affirmed to be an essential property 
 of matter. Nothing beyond the merest conjecture can be 
 advanced on this point by infidelity. Was the exact adjust- 
 ment of these two forces, and the nearly circular orbit of the 
 earth as its result— the only case in which the earth could be 
 inhabited by the present race of beings—a matter determined 
 without foresight and wisdom? Is it philosophy or infatu- 
 ation to believe, that this most accurate adaptation of the 
 shape of the earth's orbit to the wants, and comforts, and well 
 being of the creatures that inhabit the world, is a matter of 
 chance, or which amounts to the same thing, a result of the 
 unconscious, unintentional operation of mere physical causes? 
 And lastly, look at the harmony of the whole system, and 
 the provision made for its continuance. If no intelligence 
 presided over this magnificent planetarium, combining the 
 forces by which the several bodies move, allotting to each 
 his station, and giving direction to their various movements, 
 how can we account for the exact regularity by which so many 
 bodies move, each independent of the other, but all forming 
 one connected whole ? How came it to pass, if there was no 
 design or plan to regulate these various bodies, that some of 
 them did not move from east to west, or in orbits perpen- 
 dicular to each other, or why were these orbits all so nearly 
 
 Lbct. IV.] FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 163 
 
 circular ? Who that is not under the dominion of an incurable 
 prejudice, can suppose or assert that it is without any design 
 that they are placed at just such distances, acted upon by 
 just such forces, and have just such orbits as should prevent 
 their interfering with each others movements so as to en- 
 danger the safety of the whole cr of any part of the system, 
 but that still, age after age, the mighty machine should keep 
 movmg with all its precision, and that the planets and their 
 satellites should keep on their way with undeviating accuracy 
 and perfect harmony? There are, however, some slight 
 apparent irregularities, which arise from the law of universal • 
 gravitation. Not only does the sun attract every planet, but 
 every one of these planets has an attractive force on every 
 other, which tends to disturb that simplicity and regularity 
 of movement which would take place with reference to the 
 sun and any one planet, if there were no others in existence. 
 But it has been found by a most profound mathematical . 
 calculation, that none of these disturbing forces affect the 
 permanence of the system ; but that on the contrary, they are 
 all so nicely balanced and adjusted as to correct each other, 
 and to tend to its preservation; that these irregularities partial- 
 ly considered are completely regular when the whole is taken 
 into account, and have a certain limit beyond which they 
 cannot pass, certain boundaries within which they oscillate.* 
 
 • « Many interesting questions here present themselves to our notice. Have the 
 planetary ellipses always been, and will they always be nearly circular? Among the 
 number pf the planets have any of them ever been comets, whose orbits have gradually 
 approached to the circular form by the mutual attractions of the other planets f 
 Will the obliquity of the ecliptic continually diminish, till at length it coincides 
 ^ith the equator, and the days and nights become equal on the earth throughout 
 the year? Analysis answers these questions in a most satisfactory manner. I have 
 succeeded in demonstrating that whatever be the masses of the planets, inasmuch 
 as they all move in the same direction, in orbits of small eccentricity and little 
 inclined to each other, their secular inequalities will be periodic, and contained 
 withm narrow limits, so that the planetary system will only oscillate about a mean 
 state, from which it will deviate but by a very small quantity ; the planetaiy 
 ellipses, therefore, always have been, and always will be nearly circular, from 
 whence it follows that no planet has ever been a comet, at least, if we only calculate 
 
*«B9« 
 
 164 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, [Lbct. IV. 
 
 Now think for a moment on the knowledge, the wisdom, 
 the care requisite to adjust the density, the size, the po- 
 sition, the velocity of these several bodies, so that while 
 each acts on the other every disturbance should only pro- 
 duce order, and every irregularity so balance another as to 
 preserve the most complete and beautiful harmony, without 
 which harmony no living beings could inhabit the earth, at 
 least such as are now found on it ; and can all this be the 
 result of chance ? « Surely," says an excellent author, « the 
 obvious impression that rises from this view of the subject 
 is, that the solar system, with its adjustments, is the work 
 of an Intelligence, who perceives, as self-evident, those 
 truths to which we attain painfully and slowly, and after 
 all imperfectly; who has employed in every part of the 
 creation refined contrivances, which we can only with effort 
 understand ; and who, in innumerable instances, exhibits to 
 us what we should look upon as remarkable difficulties 
 remarkably overcome, if it were not that, through the per- 
 fection of the provision, the trace of the difficulty is almost 
 obliterated.* 
 
 wpoa the mutual actions of the planetary system. The ecliptic will never coincide 
 with the equator, and the whole extent of its variaUons will not exceed three 
 degrees."— Laplace's System of the World, translated by J. Pond, F.R.S. Vol. If, 
 pp. 44, 45. Also Sir J. F. W. HerschelPs Astronomy, c. XI, " On Pertur- 
 BATiONS." See also the chapter in Mr. WhewelPs Bri^gewater Treatise, written 
 with much clearness and effect, " On the Stability of the System." When 
 speaking of the probable existence of a Resisting Medium, this author observes, 
 " But it may be objected, the effect of the medium must be, ultimately, to affect 
 the duration of the earth's revolution round the sun, and thus to derange those 
 adaptations which depend on the length of the year. And, without question, if we 
 permit ourselves to look forward to that inconceivably distant period at which the 
 effect of the medium will become sensible, this must be allowed to be true, as has 
 already been stated. Millions, and probably millions of millions of years, express 
 inadequately the distance of time at which this cause would produce a serious 
 effect That the machine of the universe is so constructed that it may answer its 
 purposes for such a period, is surely sufficient proof of the skill of its workmanship, 
 and of the reality of its purpose; and those persons, probably, who are best con- 
 vinced that it is the work of a wise and a good Creator, will be least disposed to 
 consider the system as imperfect, because in its present condition it is not fitted for 
 eternity."— pp. 205, 206. 
 
 • Whewell on Astronomy and General Physics.— p. 169. 
 
 Lect. IV.] 
 
 FROM THE WORKS OF NATURE. 
 
 165 
 
 Here, then, we close our argument from the works of 
 nature; not because we have exhausted the subject, but 
 because what we have advanced is, we conceive, amply 
 sufficient to prove our point. So abundant is evidence, 
 in every department of nature, that our task has been that of 
 selection. Of the three great divisions under which the 
 various productions of the globe are arranged, we have taken 
 only the animal kingdom ; of the numerous tribes of animals, 
 every race and every individual of which affords striking 
 instances of designing wisdom, displayed in almost endless 
 diversity, we have fixed on man ; and in considering him we 
 have chosen only some few instances to our purpose, ex- 
 hibiting, however, very obvious proofs that an intelligent 
 power was employed in his formation. Each single instance, 
 in itself considered, contains such marks of contrivance and 
 proofs of design as no atheistic hypothesis can explain, such 
 as an eye, a hand, or even a single joint ; but in the com- 
 bination of so many of these parts to accomplish one end, 
 all working separately but all uniting to effect one object, 
 we see an accumulation of evidence which very few subjects 
 will admit. Recollect for a moment the extent of proof 
 which we have advanced. We have shown in the various 
 systems of bones, muscles, and nerves, in the digestive and 
 circulating apparatus, such instances of exquisite skill and 
 undeniable adaptation as cannot be equalled by all the inge- 
 nuity of human contrivance; we have farther shown that 
 between the wants and capabilities of man and external 
 nature, there exist adaptations and adjustments so many, so 
 various, and so exquisitely curious and accurate, as could 
 not possibly be accidental; and also that these relations 
 extend to the planetary system, which, in the beautiful 
 regularity of all its stupendous machinery, and, among other 
 great purposes which may have been originally designed, 
 in the important benefits of which it is productive to the 
 
166 
 
 PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, &c. [Lect. IV. 
 
 inhabitants of this globe, is a most impressive exhibition of 
 the wisdom and the power of a beneficent Creator. And 
 with these instances in your recollection,*! ask with con- 
 fidence, whether any cause can be assigned for all these 
 effects adequate to their production, except the agency of 
 an intelligent Being of infinite wisdom and power ? How 
 extravagant must be the credulity which can believe that 
 the mere concourse of atoms, moving according to the 
 laws of matter and motion, should establish all the har- 
 monies of the planetary system, fit up a world so beautiful 
 and so commodious for its future inhabitants as this, and 
 then assemble without any design or concert, in such po- 
 sitions as to form all the machinery of the human frame, and 
 to make all the necessary provisions for the preservation and 
 continuance of the human race? To suppose that there 
 should be such a concurrence of particles of matter, forming 
 the necessary portions of stone, timber, iron, glass, and all 
 the other material, as should construct a vast manufactory, 
 with all its numerous pieces of machinery set in action by a 
 power generated by another distinct and complicated appa- 
 ratus, that the whole should be warmed by steam and lighted 
 by gas,— to suppose that all this should be accomplished by 
 the "necessary laws" of matter, without an architect to 
 plan, an engineer to design, or a workman to labour, is.calm 
 and sober reason, when compared with the boundless absur- 
 dities involved in the supposition that such a system, such a 
 world, so fitted up — with such inhabitants — each individual 
 containing within himself a far greater number of adjust- 
 ments, of surpassing accuracy and unrivalled machinery, 
 than the most ingenious production of human art, should 
 spring into being without an intelligent Maker. Does not 
 every dictate of reason reject the idea, does not every 
 sentiment of the heart, on a review of the wonders of 
 nature, respond rather to the language of our text, "O Lord, 
 
 Lect. IV.] 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 167 
 
 how manifold are thy works, in wisdom hast thou made 
 them all." 
 
 Notwithstanding the length to which this lecture has 
 already extended, I must yet claim your attention to the 
 manner in which the advocates of the atheistic hypothesis 
 have endeavoured to meet this argument, or to evade its 
 force. The author of the * System of Nature* assures us 
 that atheists have no need to recur to any such cause as we 
 have assigned, " in order to explain the phenomena of the 
 universe, to develope the operations of nature." * Atheists 
 are " natural philosophers, who are convinced that, without 
 recurring to chimerical causes, they can explain everything, 
 simply by the laws of motion, by the relation subsisting 
 between beings ; by their affmities ; by their analogies," &c.t 
 Let us hear, then, how the origin of man is explained on 
 these principles. " If again it be asked, what origin we give 
 to beings of the human species } We reply that, like all other 
 beings, man is a production of nature." f " If, then, it be 
 demanded, whence came man ? We answer our experience 
 on this head does not capacitate us to resolve the question ; 
 but that it cannot interest us, as it suffices for us to know 
 that man exists." J But he affirms that there is " no contra- 
 diction in supposing that the human race, such as it is at the 
 present day, was either produced in the course of time or 
 from all eternity." (!) § Still he is inclined to think that man 
 was formed " in the course of time." § " However it may 
 be," he continues, " if we are obliged to recur, by imagin- 
 ation, to the origin of things, to the infancy of the human 
 species, we may say that it is probable man was a necessary 
 consequence of the disentangling of our globe, or one of the 
 results of the qualities, of the properties, of the energies 
 of which it is susceptible in its present position; — that he 
 was born male and female ; — that his existence is co-ordinate 
 
 • Vol. II, p. 503. f Vol. II, p. 519. + Vol. I, p. 139. § Vol. I, p. 140. 
 
168 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 [Lect. 1Y. 
 
 with that of tlie globe in its present position." ♦ " The primi- 
 tive man did, perhaps, at first, differ more from the actual 
 man than the quadruped differs from the insect."t Now 
 observe, I entreat you, how anxious this writer appears to 
 get rid altogether of the inquiry into the origin of man ; nor 
 is this surprising; it is, we feel assured, an inquiry which 
 must, if rationally pursued, prove fatal to the atheistic 
 scheme. We are dissuaded from the unprofitable and un- 
 interesting pursuit of such a question ; " it cannot interest 
 us " to know " whence came man." Cannot interest us ! 
 Why this is a point the decision of which will determine the 
 great question at issue between us and atheism. Prove only 
 that such a being as man could be produced, « male and 
 female," by the accidental concourse of material atoms, by 
 any physical properties of matter, and we must admit that 
 the same causes might give existence to all the wonders of 
 the universe. But if we have proved that there are numerous 
 and decisive evidences of the most surpassing wisdom and. 
 benevolent intention exhibited in the formation of man, and 
 his relation to external nature, then it undeniably follows 
 that there is a supremely great and intelligent Creator. And 
 shall we be told that it cannot interest man to know whether 
 he is the offspring of chance, or the production of divine 
 power ?— whether he owes his being, with all his faculties 
 and capabilities of enjoyment, to the wisdom and beneficence 
 of an Almighty Creator ; or whether it be an idle fiction 
 to suppose the existence of such a being ? « Cannot interest 
 U8" to know whether the warmest emotions of gratitude 
 should be cherished to a being who has laid us under infinite 
 obligations to love and serve him, and who has unbounded 
 power over us, — or whether we should endeavour to repress 
 every feeling of this kind which rises in the bosom, and to 
 efface from the mind every such idea as a debasing and 
 
 • Vol. I, p. 146. fVol. I, p. 147. 
 
 L«CT. IV.] 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 160 
 
 injurious superstition! What must be the state of that 
 man's mind, what must be the moral condition of a man, 
 who has brought himself to such a point of hardened indiffer- 
 ence, of unnatural, irrational insensibility, as to treat the 
 inquiry how man came into being, and whether or not he 
 has a Maker, as an uninteresting trifle ! 
 
 Observe farther how ready this philosopher of atheism is 
 to favour any supposition, however extravagant and absurd, 
 provided it only exclude the agency of a Creator. The 
 race of man may be eternal, or of recent date, may have 
 sprung into being as it now is " male and female," " born," 
 but without parents, his only progenitors being the entangled 
 powers of the primitive globe, whose struggles to get loose 
 were the travailing pangs that gave birth to the human 
 family; — or it may have advanced from no one knows what 
 inferior condition — that of a reptile, an oyster, or an ani- 
 malcule perhaps — to his present high station in the rank of 
 being. Man may have been at his first formation anything, 
 may have come into existence anyhow, this atheistic advo- 
 cate sees nothing absurd in any one conjecture or its very 
 opposite, he will welcome as a friend and ally any hypothesis, 
 however wild and fantastic, if it only exclude intelligence 
 from the formation of man, and deny the being of a God. 
 
 And what explanation of the innumerable instances of 
 wisdom and design which are apparent in the structure of 
 man is it, to say that it resulted from " the present position" 
 of the earth. If this were the case, why are not men and 
 women now produced by the continuance of the earth in 
 that position.?* How is it that we never find springing up 
 
 ♦ Attempts have been made sometimes to neutralize the force of such remarks 9b 
 the above, by asking, on the other hand, why, if there is a Creator, does he not 
 now create new beings? But a moment's consideration will show that such a 
 question cannot restore the balance. An intelligent Creator is one who acts 
 according to his own will and choice; — the " physical causes" to which atheism 
 refers everything have nothing of this kind. An infinitely wise and powerful being 
 may determine what limits he will place to the exercise of his own power on any 
 
■ ^ , ■ ? l ii I rfj » » f^, ' t .l-» 
 
 170 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 [Lect. IV. 
 
 on our sunny banks, or green pastures, or by the river's 
 brink, some newly formed man or woman, a child, or at 
 least some rudiments of a human being. Or, if in the climate 
 of our northern isles the earth is not sufficiently prolific, why 
 have not such wonderful productions been known in the 
 tropical regions? Such discoveries, the writer well knew, 
 had never been made, but he seems to console himself with 
 the hope that some such are still in reserve. " What is it," 
 he asks, " that authorises them to believe this sterility in 
 nature? Know they if, in the various combinations which she 
 is every instant forming, nature be not occupied in producing 
 new beings, without the cognizance of these observers ? Who 
 has informed them this nature is not actually assembling, in 
 her immense elaboratory, the elements suitable to bring to 
 light generations entirely new."* 
 
 What are such fancies as these but " the baseless fabric of a 
 vision ;" and what must be the weakness of a system that can 
 lean on such props ? What answer is it to all the evidence 
 which we bring, to talk of « the disentangling of our globe," or 
 " the results of the properties, of the energies, of which it is 
 susceptible;" we ask are there any properties or energies, short 
 of infinite wisdom and boundless power, that can satisfactorily 
 account for all the wonders within us and without us ? 
 
 Another author, anxious to exclude the agency of the 
 Deity from the formation of the world, admits the difficulty 
 of accounting for the existence of man and the larger 
 animals in ** the position which the globe at present holds 
 
 occasion, or in what way and at what period it shall be employed. " Physical 
 causes" must go on without any capability of exercising more or less power, or 
 selecting any time, or of limiting for any reason their own acts. If man be the 
 product of " the properties, the energies" of which the earth "is susceptible in 
 its present position," the inquiry is perfectly relevant, why do not the same " pro- 
 perties,*' &c. in the same " position " of the globe, produce men now? If an 
 almighty and intelligent Being is his Maker, the question, why does he not continue 
 to create is qftite impertinent ; it might as well be asked, why did he create man at 
 all, or create him as he is f 
 
 ♦ System of Nature.— Vol. I. p. 14a 
 
 ^--v--A..- 
 
 Lbct. IV,] 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 171 
 
 in relation to the sun," ♦ and therefore concludes, with ad- 
 mirable logic, that the true solution of all the difficulties 
 which press on the atheistic scheme may be obtained, by 
 supposing the earth to have been in a different position with 
 regard to the sun. But can any one be imposed on by such 
 fallacies as these ? Because the earth does not now produce 
 men and animals, does it ftllow that it ever did, or ever 
 could produce them, in any position whatever? But what 
 can be expected but bare assumption, when evidence cannot 
 be obtained, and proof is impossible ? Does the atheist know 
 that the earth ever was in a position materially different from 
 that which it now occupies ? From what astronomical data 
 or geological researches, can he ascertain that the variation 
 in the size or shape of the earth's orbit was ever such as this 
 hypothesis requires? But whatever^he may suppose the 
 earth's position to have been, does wisdom of design or 
 benevolence of intention depend on the sun's rays ? We ask 
 whether it can be imagined by any man of reason and can- 
 dour, that any degree of heat or cold is sufficient to account 
 for all the marvellous contrivances and exquisite machinery 
 which the frame of man exhibits ? But the very supposition 
 carries with it its own refutation; neither the vegetable 
 productions which now cover the globe, nor the present 
 races of animals which live on it, could have maintained 
 their existence, even if brought into being, if the earth's mean 
 
 • "But the question of the greatest difficulty is that which relates to the ori^n of 
 the first and most powerful kind of animals that exist upon the earth j the position 
 which the globe at present holds in relation to the sun, does not warrant us in 
 the conclusion that either man or the larger kind of animals in brute creation 
 could have resulted from this position. The same power that formerly pro- 
 duced them would be able to produce them still, and in addition to the ordinary 
 process of reproduction, we should have a right to expect new beauties and wonders, 
 equal, at least, to the most excellent which we now behold. This, however, is not 
 the case, and the fair deduction on the ground of philosophy is, that the relative 
 position of the earth and sun must formerly have been veiy different from what it 
 is at present, and that it is upon a hypothesis of this kind that we are to seek for a 
 solution of the highest difficulties with which we are presented in the animal world." 
 — Palmer's Principles of Nature, p. 54. 
 
173 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 [Lkct. IV. 
 
 distance from the sun, or the shape of its orbit, had been 
 materially different If this hypothesis fails, the same author 
 will venture another. " There is one other idea," he remarks, 
 "of analogical weight in the discussion of this part of the 
 subject. Nature is everywhere periodical in her exertions 
 and energies; she is susceptible of fatigue and lassitude, and 
 her most powerful operations aife followed by proportionate 
 debility and inactivity. It is therefore possible, in the order 
 of nature, that the most powerful animals might have been 
 the result of an inconceivable exertion, to which nature for 
 millions of years after might have been totally incompetent."* 
 And these are the reveries which we are to take for reason- 
 ing ! We point to innumerable instances of curious structure 
 exhibiting the most consummate wisdom, and then we are 
 told in reply, that i» a paroxysm of unusual power, the 
 excitement to which had been accumulating for ages, un- 
 conscious matter became endowed with intelligence and full 
 of wisdom, and putting forth intellectual powers to which the 
 genius of Newton was but puerility, gave birth to all these 
 wondrous exhibitions of divine skill ; but that, exhausted 
 with the effort, all intelligence and wisdom again disap- 
 peared, and matter became as brute and unconscious as 
 ever, and waits a few millions of years to become as wise 
 and powerful again ! 
 
 We are frequently referred, with an air of triumph, to the 
 present curious processes of nature in the birth and growth of 
 a human being. « Man," says the writer we have frequently 
 quoted, " in his origin, is an imperceptible point, a speck, of 
 which the parts are without form," &c. f While in intimate 
 relation with the parent which gives him birth, we are told, 
 his organization is gradually developed, and afterwards his 
 growth proceeds and life is maintained by the appropriation 
 
 •Palmer's Principles of Nature.— p. 54. 
 t System of Nature.— V»l. I, p. 125 ; also pp. 64, 65. 
 
 LscT. IV.] 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS, 
 
 173 
 
 of food. Thus, " in all the phenomena man presents, from 
 the moment he quits the womb of his mother to that wherein 
 he becomes the inhabitant of the silent tomb, he perceives 
 nothing but a succession of necessary causes and effects." ♦ 
 But all this only tells us how the machine works, not how 
 it is constructed. In all the functions of life which preserve 
 the individual and continue the species, we see the working 
 of this curious apparatus; but the question still returns, 
 how came such an apparatus into being .^^ To show us the 
 gradual developement of animal life, and how, by the assimi- 
 lation of portions of external matter it proceeds to maturity, 
 and how it subsequently decays, is no answer to the inquiry 
 whence is that life, and what is the origin of that most 
 curious organization with which it is connected. The farthest 
 point to which this attempted explanation carries us back, 
 is to the commencing life of one individual ; but this one 
 proceeds from another, and this again from another, and for 
 this also there was a parent; and we ask whence was the 
 first, ahd how came this first human being, or first pair of 
 human beings, among other incomparable wonders of their 
 frame, to possess the property of giving birth to others ? 
 In all the cases to which the atheistic philosophy refers us, 
 life already exists ; and it is only from life that life is received: 
 — an organized body exists, and it is only from organization 
 already in existence that organization is produced ; — plants 
 spring from plants, birds from birds, beasts from their like, 
 and men from their own species. Can atheism show us a 
 single instance of Ihe power of unconscious matter, with all its 
 •* qualities and energies," producing an organized living being 
 from a mass of inorganic matter ? To reply to our evidences 
 of intelligence and design in the formation of man, by refer- 
 ring us to the manner in which the functions of vitality are 
 discharged by a human being already in existence, is an 
 
 * System of Nature, — Vol. I, p. 127. 
 

 174 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 [Lbct. IV. 
 
 Lect. IV.] 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS, 
 
 176 
 
 evasion so disingenuous as to be a dishonour to philosophy 
 and an insult to common sens^. 
 
 The same author, repeating the poetic dream of Lucretius 
 with slight variation, has recourse to the fiction of seminal 
 principles or germs of all things contained in the earth, and 
 hatched into being by a genial state of the atmosphere. 
 " The attentive observer," this writer remarks, " sees nature 
 full of erratic germ, some of which expand themselves, 
 whilst others wait until motion has placed them in their 
 proper situation, in suitable wombs or matrices, in the neces- 
 sary circumstances, to unfold, to increase," &c. ♦ But what 
 germs of animal or vegetable life do we see that are not pro- 
 duced from animals and vegetables ? Is there the shadow 
 of a proof that any of these embryo seeds of living beings 
 ever existed independent of some living being from which 
 they proceeded ? And where are these matrices? Have 
 any ever been known or discovered separate from the parent 
 stock, in which the young of animals or men have had their 
 organization formed, or in which a seminal principle has been 
 nurtured into full life } Where, we may confidently ask, do 
 these erratic germs and matrices exist, but in the fancies of 
 an atheistical philosophy } But if we were to suppose that 
 some such germs and matrices originally existed, what was 
 to become of the young animal, especially of the infant, 
 when thus introduced into life.? Where are the breasts to 
 suckle him, the arms to enfold him, the bosom to cherish 
 him, and the maternal care to anticipate every want and to 
 ensure to him the necessary protection } Why did not the 
 advocate of atheism carry out the pretty fiction of the poetic 
 philosopher, and make the earth open its bosom and stream 
 out milk from its pores, while the ether enfolds him, and the 
 flowers form his fragrant couch, and the birds of heaven 
 carol him to rest? 
 
 ♦ System of Nature.— Vol. I, pp. 63, 64. 
 
 But in order to lessen the difficulty of man's production 
 by mere physical causes, with all that complicated and 
 beautiful organization which he now possesses, we are some- 
 times told that he is not now what he was at his first 
 formation ; that the primitive man probably " differed more 
 from the actual man than the quadruped from the insect " 
 that something very imperfect was produced by the earth, 
 or by nature, which in the long process of ages gradually 
 improved till it became a human being.* Some modern 
 naturalists have expended no small portion of labour and 
 science to prove this imperceptible gradation. Nature, it is 
 assumed, first produced animalcules, or some rude specimens 
 of animal life, of the very lowest kind ; in process of time 
 these, by an original tendency to a higher state of being, and 
 influenced by external circumstances, put forth the rudi- 
 ments of some new part or organ, which, in the course of 
 many generations, became more perfect ; these again, con- 
 tinuing in the progress of ages to advance, improving their 
 organization at every step, formed at length the superior 
 animals which we now see inhabiting the earth ; while cir- 
 cumstances less favourable left others behind in this march 
 of improvement. It is farther assumed, that the endeavours 
 which the force of circumstances produced to exercise any 
 power, gradually formed an organization adapted to such a 
 power or faculty ; thus, in some, many efforts to swim pro- 
 duced fins where they were needed, and in others, the desire 
 and the frequent attempt to fly originated wings, and that 
 all the varied faculties and organs which any animals possess 
 were produced in the same way; thus, at lengtji, some very 
 fortunate species, of a very high ancestry, passed into the 
 condition of monkeys and apes, — and thence, by successive 
 
 • Though all who espouse this theory are not professed atheists j though some 
 may admit that this " nature " to which they assign the formation of everything, 
 is an inexplicable something produced by the Deity, yet it is a supposition of which 
 atheism gladly avails itself. 
 
• 
 
 176 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 [Lbct. IV. 
 
 gradations, acquired the form and the rationality of human 
 beings. There is, however, in this theory, the same vitiating 
 defect which pervades every attempt to account for all the 
 wonders of the human frame, without a creating Intelligence, 
 —that it wants facts to support it Nor is this all ; facts 
 are decidedly against it If the infusoria, those imperceptible 
 specks, myriads of which may be sporting in a drop of 
 water, without being detected by the clearest sight in the 
 brightest sunshine, — if these microscopic beings be selected 
 as the first efforts of nature, so far from being so very 
 deficient in organization as this system supposes, recent 
 discoveries have shown that they are possessed of a well con- 
 structed apparatus for digesting and assimilating their food, 
 and for performing all the functions of life; that each, 
 indeed, possesses an organization so exquisitely minute, and 
 yet so completely adapted to its condition, as to afford in 
 itself a strong and unanswerable argument for the existence 
 of an intelligent Creator. Nor is the gradation in the scale 
 of being so complete as this hypothesis would assume ; there 
 are so many large chasms and discrepancies as appear to 
 make strongly against it. But waving these points, we ask 
 for proofs, for well authenticated facts, as evidence of any one 
 species of animals passing from a lower to an essentially dif- 
 ferent and higher form of existence. Do the whole records 
 of history contain one credible instance of this transmu- 
 tation of species, of this advance upwards, so that completely 
 new organs are acquired ? Have all the extended researches 
 of modern travellers and scientific naturalists furnished an 
 instance of ^that intermediate state which must mark the 
 transition of a dog to an ape, or that of an ape to a man ? 
 Has the dog, domesticated as he is, in constant intercourse 
 with man, amidst all the improvements of his natural in- 
 stincts, and his acquirement of new habits, in all the 
 numerous varieties of size, and shape, and colour, in which 
 
 ;i 
 
 •• 
 
 Lbct. IV.] 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 177 
 
 he is found, and after all his successive generations, put 
 forth one new organ, or made any nearer approach in his 
 anatomical structure to the monkey tribe ? Has an orang-ou- 
 ittang ever been discovered in his intermediate stage towards 
 a human being, either in the constitution of his body, in his 
 power to utter articulate sounds, or in any of those exhi- 
 bitions of intellect which form a broad and marked line of 
 separation between man and the brute creation ? * In the 
 total absence of facts to support such a fancy, there are facts 
 which can be adduced of a kind entirely opposite. We have 
 the means of ascertaining, with an accuracy far surpassing 
 that of verbal description, what was the anatomical structure 
 of manyi^xisting races of animals three thousand years ago. 
 "* It seems,' " say the professors of the museum of Paris, " 'as 
 if the superstition of the ancient Egyptians had been inspired 
 by nature, with a view of transmitting to after ages a monu- 
 ment of her history. That extraordinary and whimsical 
 people, by embalming with so much care the brutes which 
 were the objects of their stupid adoration, have left us, in 
 their sacred grottos, cabinets of zoology almost complete. 
 The c^ate has conspired with the art of embalming to 
 preservf the bodies from corruption, and we can now assure 
 ourselves by our- own eyes what was the state of a great 
 number of species three thousand years ago. We can scarcely 
 restrain th^ transports of o||r imagination, on beholding 
 thus preserved, with their minutest bones, with the smallest 
 portjwi^df their skin, and in every particular most perfectly 
 irecognizable, many an animal, which at Thebes or Memphis, 
 tVro ;or three thousand years ago, had its own priests and 
 Did the inspection of these animals, every minute 
 was in so complete a state of preservation, 
 
 • y'^ *!^* ^°°^ nothing of the foculties of this animal which can suggest the idea 
 
 • '^IH! it rivals the elephant in intelligence, much less anything that can countenance 
 
 ^dreams of those who have fancied that it might be transmuted into the « domi- 
 ' > JS? ^^'^ "—LyelPs Geology, Vol. II, p. 48. f pp. 29. 30. 
 
 ., . vwu- ur inree 
 
 :^VHi;^pfel of which 
 
/ 
 
 y" 
 
 » 
 
 178 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 [Lect. IV. 
 
 Lbct. IV.] 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 179 
 
 justify the visionary theory to which we now refer ? On the 
 contrary, in no representative of a former race, whether wild 
 or domestic, thus examined, was any specific difference seen, 
 nor was there the slightest reason to suppose that threei 
 thousand years had in any degree altered any one species ; 
 but proof incontrovertible was afforded that no tendency 
 to improvement, however combined with external circum- 
 stances, has to this day brought up the ibis or the crocodile, 
 the cat or the dog, to any higher state of organization ap- 
 proaching towards that of a human being; and that no 
 remove at all has been made from the rank in which they 
 have been, and in which we have every reason to believe 
 they will continue as long as their respective ra(# exist* 
 An essential part of this scientific fiction is, that the func- 
 
 • Mr. Lyell has devoted several chapters to the investigation of this theory, as 
 propounded by Lamarck and others, and thus concludes his examination. " For 
 the reasons, therefore, detailed in this and the two preceding chapters, we drrfw 
 the following inferences, in regard to the reality of species in nature. 
 
 " First, That there is a capacity in all species to accommodate themselves, to a 
 certain extent, to a change of external circumstances, this extent varying greatly 
 according to the species. 
 
 " 2ndly, When the change of situation which they can endure is great, it is usually 
 attended by some modifications of the form, colour, size, structure, or other par- 
 ticulars j but the mutations thus superinduced are governed by constan^aws, and 
 the capability of so varying forms part of the permanent specific charaSer. 
 
 "3rdly, Some acquired peculiarities of form, structure, and instinct, are trans- 
 missible to the offspring ; but these consist of such qualities and attributes only as 
 are intimately related to the natural wants and propensities of the species. 
 
 "4thly, The entire variation from the original type, which any given kind of 
 change c^n produce, may usually be effecTed in a brief period of time, after which 
 no farther deviation can be obtained by continuing to alter the circumstances, 
 though ever so gradually,— indefinite divergence, either in the way of improvement 
 or deterioration, being prevented, and the least possible excess beyond tte defined 
 limits being fatal to the existence of the individual. * 
 
 "5thly, The intermixture of distinct species is guarded against by the aversion of 
 the individuals composing them to sexual union, or by the sterili^ of the mule 
 oflfepring. It does net appear that true hybrid races have ever been perpetuated 
 for several generations, even by the assistance of man j for the cases usually cited 
 relate to the crossing of mules with indivfduals of pure species, and not to the 
 intermixture of hybrid with hybrid. 
 
 "6thly, From the above considerations, it appears that species have a real exist- 
 ence in nature, and that each was endowed, at the time of its creation, with the 
 attributes and organization by which it is now distinguished.*'— Yol II, pp. 67, 68. 
 
 tions of organs, and the uses of parts, did not originally 
 spring from their structure, but that certain acts, and habits 
 and modes of living have in reality produced every peculi- 
 arity of organization. We see, indeed, in the structure of 
 animals of various kinds m'any provisions for repairing and 
 healing, and even in some cases for reproducing a part ; these 
 seem to arise from the same wise and benevolent intentions 
 which appear in innumerable instances, throughout the 
 
 ♦whole of the animal economy, as safeguards against the 
 ny accidents to which life is exposed ; in all these cases, 
 ^owever, we see no new organ or faculty which removes its 
 Subject from one species to another. But to suppose that 
 the continued desire to stand upright, and the experiment, 
 often tried, to walk erect, produced that perfection of in- 
 genious arrangement which the bones of the foot display,-- 
 that by the efforts of many generations fingers grew out of the 
 hand, furnished with all tl|ir joints, and muscLp, and tendons; 
 and that, to render it cofliete, a thumb greJup, Justin the 
 very situation and acting in the only way in which it could 
 give the hand its use and power,^to suppose that the curious 
 machii^y of the ear was formed by the long-continued at- 
 temptMk catch and distinguish the vibrations of the air;~ 
 and that all the exquisite apparatus of the eye, with its coats 
 and humours, and nerves, and muscles, and self-adjusting iris, 
 was produced by frequent attempts at seeing;^is completely 
 the romance of science; and such a romance as, certainly, 
 w.not outdone by all the wild fictions of the Arabian Nights,' 
 or the ludicrous extravagancies of Lilliput or Brobdingnag/ 
 ...The Epicurean philosophy, however, takes a position the * . 
 reverse of this, and assumes that the existence of appropriate 
 ^arts, accidentally formed, led to their respective uses.5 
 
 •See Lucretius deRer. Nat. IV, 821, 823, which passage thus concludes,- 
 Nihil ideo quoniam natum est in corpore, ut uti 
 Possemus; sed, quod natum est, id procreat usum." 
 
 DrAj^on Good, in his ^anslation of Lucretius, with notes, &c. endeavours to 
 
180 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 [UCT. IV. 
 
 So far from admitting the wisdom of a Supreme Being in the 
 production of these wonders, this system teaches that the 
 newly formed earth, strong and vigorous in those days of its 
 youth, produced men, as well as animals of every description, 
 with as much ease as it now bf ings forth flowers and corn ; 
 that in the accidental concurrence of the primary atoms, all 
 manner of shapes and forms, and monsters of every kind, 
 came into being, but that all those productions which pos- 
 sessed not parts and organs suitable to the maintenance of 
 life naturally perished ;* and that therefore the existence 
 all the beautiful and necessary mechanism to which we ha^ 
 frequently adverted, is no proof of a wise and benevole 
 design, but the mere result of such accidental formations as 
 enabled the primitive species to maintain their existence and 
 propagate their kind.t We have already pointed out the 
 absurdity of supposing that such parts and organs as exist 
 in the animal^conomy, and esoecially in man, were not 
 designed for tneir appropriate Wk, Can it be 'seriously 
 believed by any one who is not fond of paradox or enslaved 
 by prejudice, that the ear was not formed for hearing, nor 
 the eye for seeing, nor the heart, with its arteries and veins, 
 for circulating the blood, nor the chest and lungsfl^d air- 
 vessels for the office of respiration, — or that such inimitable 
 exhibitions of skilful adaptations should be the result of mere 
 
 explain this and almost all the atheistical peculiarities (or what others have con- 
 sidered Sttch) of his favourite author, in such a way as shall not be incompatible 
 with Christianity. In. this, however, the author presumes to think he has com- 
 pletely failed. The work alluded to gives ample proof of the vast extent and 
 variety of the excellent Dr.*s learning, and his great ingenuity in the application of 
 ^ it ^ but while he has successfully defended Lucretius and his great oracle Epicurus 
 firom many charges ignorantly or maliciously advanced, he has, the author of these 
 lectures ventures to think, proceeded much fieirther than truth and justice required. 
 
 ♦ De Rer. Nat. v. 835, &c. 
 f This is one mode of reply to the argument from design which Mr. Hume puts 
 into the mouth of his Philo. — Dialogues concerning Natural Religion, ed. 2nd, 
 p. 153. — " It is in vain, therefore, to insist on the uses of the parts in animals 
 or vegetables, and their curious adjustment to each other. I would fain know how 
 an animal could subsist, unless its parts were so adjuste#^" &c. ^ * 
 
 t 
 
 Lect. IV.] 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 181 
 
 chance } It would be a sufficient reply to such an hypothesis 
 to say that it is completely gratuitous ; that it has no data, 
 nothing but conjecture on which to rest But this is not all ; 
 it is conjecture which involves the greatest improbabilities. 
 Among the monstrous shapes which, it is assumed, thus 
 sprung accidentally into being, those only are supposed to 
 have become extinct that possessed not the means of main- 
 taining life or of perpetuating their species. But, on this 
 supposition, thousands of monstrous shapes, belonging to 
 every species, might have existed in a condition capable of 
 propagating races of monsters, without their defective, or 
 superfluous, or misshapen parts necessarily producing ex- 
 tinction of their kinds. In such case, might we not have 
 expected that such monsters would have been seen, and have 
 reached our own times? — that races of men would have 
 been known with one eye, or three eyes, or eyes in a less 
 convenient position, — or men with an additi<||al pair of arms, 
 or only one, and that m a different form,— or even men 
 with several heads, and an endless variety of superfluous 
 members and grotesque shapes? Instead of this we find 
 but one unvarying type of a human pair, with such varieties 
 only as different food and climates produce, or such occa^ 
 sional variations as arise from some accidental causes and 
 presently disappear. On such fantastic improbabilities argu- 
 ment is wasted. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary tq notice an attempt that has been 
 sometimes made to invalidate such proofs of design as we 
 have adduced, by alleging that whatever exists must exist 
 in some form or mode ; and that in whatever other forms or 
 combinations it might have exist^ we might with equal 
 reason have attributed it to design. Surely a fallacy so gross 
 can mislead no one. Who can conceive for a moment that 
 the necessity of matter's existing in some form and place, 
 can account for the complicated structure of a single plant 
 
 ir 
 

 r. 
 
 182 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 [Lect. IV. 
 
 Lect. IV.] 
 
 or flower, to say nothing of the innumerable wonders of the 
 human frame ? Apply this mode of reasoning to St. Paul's 
 cathedral, which contains not the thousandth part of the 
 instances of skill and intention which the corporeal structure 
 displays ;-^all the matter which composes thd stones, and 
 mortar, and brick work, and marble, and wood, must neces- 
 sarily have existed in some form, and why not in this ? 
 Would the man be deemed sane that should seriously reason 
 in this manner .J^ 
 
 A sceptical writer of considerable celebrity has endeav. 
 oured to show that, notwithstanding all the multiplied 
 instances of " order, arrangement, or the adjustment of final 
 causes," no conclusion can be drawn in favour of the existence 
 of a designing mind. « Matter may," he observes, « contain 
 the source or spring of order originally, within itself, as well 
 as mind does." * Is not this an attempt to confound things 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 which the autjji^r admits are differ|nt, in order to support 
 ceptical philosophy ? Mind Sd matter are admitted. 
 
 a sceptical philosophy 
 
 throughout the whole of the argument, to be distincr'ATd 
 what, we ask, is more essentially the characteristic of mind, 
 as distinct from matter, than the power of arranging, select- 
 mg, mtending, and adapting means to ends ? And yet this 
 author would insinuate that matter may possess these iden- 
 tical properties. He might as well have said, " for aught we 
 know a priori," thought may have dimensions, and a volition 
 be green or blue. But on what authority is such a suppo- 
 sition made? We know that mind originates order; what 
 evidence have we that arrangements and adaptations originate 
 m matter ? Yet this writer seems so pleased with this idea, 
 that he introduces his ^vourite character as saying that he 
 
 •Dialogues concerning Natural Religion, by D. Hume. E«,. p. SS. The author. 
 
 m«e tnftngf To -hat p«rpo« i, it in this argument to talk of what may or may 
 m-t be known of matter a priori, when it is constanUy before us, and we have 
 the means of ascerUumng its properties by ob^rvation and experiment! 
 
 # 
 
 t 
 
 183 
 
 esteems no system of cosmogony " more plausible than that 
 which ascribes an eternal inherent principle of order to the 
 world." ♦ Of this he speaks with the highest confidence; 
 % this at once solves all difficulties." f But what is meant 
 by this " principle of order," which, eternally inherent in 
 matter, is to account for all the exquisitely curious work- 
 manship of the human frame, together with all the wonderful 
 adaptations that we perceive throughout nature } If it means 
 anything that bears on our argument, it must mean that 
 matter has an inherent power of arranging and combining 
 its various particles so as to form adaptations of the most 
 curious and complex nature, which answer the most bene- 
 volent tflds, and that with a certainty and precision which 
 would do honour to the highest wisdom. What is this but 
 to invest matter with the attributes of mind, and to pretend 
 to account for all the marvellous adjustments which we have 
 noticed, without admitting the existence of an intelligent 
 Creator, by saying that we have only to suppose matter to 
 possess all the properties of mind, and then it could accom- 
 plish what we now see effected by mind only ! " How could 
 things have been as they are," he asks, " were there not an 
 original, inherent principle of order somewhere, in thought 
 or in matter .?" Certainly there must exist a power capable 
 of producing al|%e wise arrangements and beautiful order 
 which we every;rfliere beholfr; with this sentiment all must 
 agree. But when he adds « it is very indifferent to which 
 we give the preference," reason recoils, and we shrink from 
 the bold absurdity. "Indifferent" whether we assign all 
 the wonders of the human frame, wiilthose with which the 
 whole world is replenished, to matter or mind— to a being 
 of infinite wisdom, or to T|^at has no intelligence, no per- 
 ception, no power to will or choose, but which acts only 
 as the sport of random chance or the slave of blind necessity! 
 
 •Dialogues concerning Nat Rel. pp. 124, 125. f p. 125. 
 
 # 
 
"% 
 
 184 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 [Lect. IV, 
 
 It may have been " indiflferent " to an author, to whom un- 
 certainty on the most momentous subjects seemed delightful, 
 and doubt the highest attainment of philosophy ; but I be- 
 lieve it will be indifferent to no one who does not prefer a« 
 ingenious paradox to the decisions of common senile, or a 
 dexterous sophism to truth which every sober-minded man 
 can perceive. This writer, in justification of such an hypo- 
 thesis, affirms that there is as great difficulty, even admitting 
 the existence of an infinite mind, in supposing it to originate 
 the most exquisite arrangements, as there is in supposing 
 that they may result from mere matter ; but this position, ^ 
 when divested of the profane flippancy with which it is 
 announced, is a paradox so obviously absurd, a lltlacy so 
 gross, that it is difficult to conceive that its own author 
 believed it 
 
 When pressed with those innumerable instances of evident 
 design which, in the structure of man and through every part 
 of the economy of nature, are so strikingly exhibited, and to 
 which nothing approaching to a satisffactory answer has been 
 given by the most refined sophistry which infidelity has 
 displayed, the advocates of scepticism endeavourHo cover 
 their retreat, by perplexing us with difficulties respecting 
 the mode of existence, and perception, and action in the 
 Divine Being.* From the nature of things it is impossible 
 that we should form adequaf# conceptions of a being so 
 
 • A great portion of Mr. Home's 'Dialogues on Natural Religion* are of this r. 
 kind ; the object of which is ncft so much to prove that there is no God, as to 
 produce a complete scepticism on every momentous and practical question relating 
 to his existence and charactei^ His aim is to perplex, not to elucidate,— to pull 
 down everything, to build uplPhing,— not to elicit truth, but to throw everything 
 into uncertainty and doubt To accomplish this, Mr. Hume certainly possessed 
 requisites of a very high order ; to considerable attainments in literature he added 
 the beauties of style, a polished wit, and i»«veat metaphysical acuteness. His 
 very deficiencies were such as to heighten his qualifications as the advocate of 
 scepticism. To the moral susceptibilities of our nature he seemed as much a 
 stranger, as, it is said, he was to a taste for music, or a susceptibility to the refined 
 pleasures of conjugal love. Hence he could sport with wanton levity on subjects of 
 
 
 If 
 
 Lbci. IV.] 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 185 
 
 exalted as the Great First Cause ;-how can that which is 
 finite comprehend infinity? If we find traces of infinite 
 wisdom and power, there must be a being who possesses 
 these attributes, and no difficulty which we feel in conceiving 
 of his mode of existing or acting can at all affect the con- 
 elusion that such a Being does exist. 
 
 To refer the works of nature to design, implies, it is said. 
 a degradation of the Supreme Being.* by asserting « a re. 
 semblance between the Deity and human creatures;" this 
 the bold sceptic calls "anthropomorphism;" a heresy which 
 sprang up in the dark ages of the church, and which, assigned 
 to the Deity a human form. Is, then, this author really con- 
 cerned for the honour of the Great Supreme,— is he so anxious 
 that men should form exalted and honourable ideas of him ? 
 Throughout the whole work from which we have made 
 quotations, he hesitates not to treat him. his attributes, and 
 works, with the greatest levity; with a jocose familiarity, 
 mtolerabl e even in a confirmed sceptic. But there is another 
 object in view, which is intended to serve the purposes of 
 infidelity ; it is to show that wakiannot draw any conclusion 
 in favour of a designing mind from the works of nature, 
 without implying such "a degradation" as is utterly in- 
 compatible with our idea of a Divine Being. But what 
 degradation does it imply, to assert that the Great Supreme 
 possesses in unlimited perfection what his creatures, by his 
 own gift, possess in a limited degree ? Surely wisdom is 
 wisdom, and power is power, in whatever degree they may 
 
 «!""'•? 'T'"' '"1^1 ""'"'''' ■"" "■' " ^'I^avouring to render God and a future 
 .tate ndicu lous while he advocated the probable existence of both ; and, with much 
 that was valuable as a fncnd and companion, exhibited a specimen of ihat scepti- 
 cism could do, m teaching a man to Urn doublms—and to die joking ! 
 
 ' Dialogue on Natural Religion, by Mr. Hume, p. 57 ; and System of Nature, 
 vol. n p 181._'' We cannot form the most slender idea of the particniar nature 
 of that wisdom (.. e. that formed the world ) ; •' because if we were for an instant 
 to assimilate it to our own, weak and feeble as it is, we should be from that moment 
 in a state of contradiction." 
 
 M 
 
 'Ma JrtVifc' 
 
»■»'» » 11 n »■ 
 
 180 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 [Lect. IV. 
 
 exist, and however they may be exhibited, in all the gra- 
 dations from the feeblest creature that is capable of their 
 exercise, to the boundless perfection of the uncreated mind. 
 The objection is, therefore, frivolous, it leaves our argument 
 untouched. The only legitimate inference from a comparison 
 of the works of man with those of nature is, that an intelli- 
 gence exists inconceivably more perfect than that which man 
 possesses, and that a wisdom immeasurably surpassing all 
 that is human, must have been combined with the power 
 that created man and all the wonders of the universe. 
 
 By the professed advocates of atheism, an objection of 
 this kind is sometimes carried still farther, and attempts are 
 made to prove that there is an absurdity involved in the idea 
 of an intelligent Creator and governor of the universe. "An 
 intelligent being," says one of these, " is one who thinks, 
 who wills, who acts, to compass an end. If so, he must 
 have organs, an aim, conformable to those of man ; there- 
 fore, to say that nature is governed by intelligence, is to 
 affirm that she is governed by a being furnished with organs; 
 seeing that without this org^ic construction, he can neither 
 have sensations, perceptions, ideas, thoughts, will, plan, nor 
 self-understood action."* In the same strain objections are 
 frequently urged by this writer, with the evident design of 
 forcing those who believe in a Supreme Intelligence to the 
 dilemma of either admitting that there must be an infinite 
 and self-existing being with bodily organs, which is the 
 absurdity of anthropomorphism, or of abandoning the belief 
 in the existence of any intelligent being distinct from the 
 njaterial world. But if an intelligent being is one "who 
 thinks, who wills, who acts to compass an end," then, 
 on this writer's own showing, if we see " an end " accom- 
 plished by means which discover intended adaptation, or in 
 his own phraseology, "an end compassed," the existence of 
 
 •System of Nature.— Vol. I, p. 115. 
 
 Lbct. IV.] 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 187 
 
 an intelligent being to compass that end must be admitted, 
 whatever other consequences may follow. I appeal, then, 
 to every one who has marked the instances which we have 
 ^ adduced of contrivance, adjustment, precaution, whether 
 ' there is not, in the structure of man and in his relations to 
 external nature, overwhelming proof of ends accomplished in 
 this way, and which necessarily require in their accomplish, 
 ment properties which only an intelligent being can possess? 
 The conclusion, then, is inevitable, an intelligent being exists 
 superior to nature, and to whom all the works of nature 
 are to be referred. There is, also, in the argument this fal- 
 lacy : because the human mind thinks, and wills, and acts, 
 by means of bodily organs, therefore, no being can exist who' 
 can think, and will, and act, without such organs ; that is, if 
 there be a Creator, he must necessarily be in all respects 
 like the creature; than which, a more illogical inference 
 was never drawn. A self-existent, independent, eternal 
 being, such as the Great First Cause must necessarily be, 
 must be immeasurably superior in his nature and mode of 
 acting, to any creature which he has made. Scarcely will 
 the most confirmed materialist maintain that thought and vo- 
 lition, however they may originate, are themselves material, 
 and yet these operate on matter, and in some mysterious 
 manner move the limbs ; what, then, is there unreasonable 
 m the conclusion, that the Great Being who formed man 
 possesses all the properties of mind in the highest perfection, 
 without those corporeal organs which, while they are the 
 medium by which the mind acts, at the same time limit and 
 check its operations. We see instances of skill, spread over 
 the whole of nature, so surpassing all that human intelli- 
 gence can contrive or invent, that the conclusion is irresistible 
 there must be a contriver, a designer, infinitely superior 
 to all human beings in the attributes of mind; and this 
 conclusion cannot be invalidated by the difficulty which. 
 
188 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 [LlCT. IV. 
 
 ID the nature of things, we ever must feel in forming adequate 
 conceptions of the manner in which infhiite power and 
 intelligence put forth their energies. 
 
 Such, then, my respected auditors, are the principal ob- 
 jections which are made by atheistical writers to the line of 
 argument which, in the two last lectures, we have taken. It 
 is scarcely necessary to remind you that there is no propo* 
 sition, "however well supported by evidence, mathematical 
 demonstration only, perhaps, excepted, to which ingenuity 
 may not oppose its objections, and against which, sophistry 
 may not urge its cavils. We have, I think, fairly met these 
 objections, and allowed them all their force ; and I appeal 
 to your own understandings whether, upon a dispassionate 
 review, they do not appear, in comparison with the evidence 
 which we have adduced, " lighter than vanity." Nothing 
 that the liveliest fancy can imagine — nothing that ingenuity 
 can invent— nothing that the most brilliant talents, aided by 
 the whole circle of the sciences, can offer to our notice, cap 
 explain the innumerable wonders which surround us, but the 
 existence of an eternal, an all-wise, and infinitely powerful 
 Creator; — this accounts for all, and throws over the whole 
 frame of nature a transcendent glory, gives to it an unspeak* 
 able charm. In the assurance of this delightful truth every 
 object glows with new beauty, every department of nature 
 is invested with additional interest How comparatively 
 blank and dreary is every thing in this wide world, when 
 r^arded as the offspring of chance, or the result of uncon- 
 scious, undesigning physical causes, operating by "necessary 
 laws." But viewed as the product of infinite wisdom and 
 benevolence, the whole frame of nature forms a delightful 
 source of the purest pleasures to the contemplative mind, 
 and instead of damping his joy by the recollection that it 
 is, after all, but a " fatherless workl," it gives full scope 
 to boundless admiration, and fills the glowing heart with 
 
 Lbct. IV.] 
 
 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS. 
 
 189 
 
 cheerful gratitude. Let me indulge the hope that, while those 
 who have acknowledged and adored the great Creator feel 
 their devotion quickened by such views as we have taken of 
 his works, many who have hitherto been misled by a false 
 and dangerous philosophy will be prepared, in future, to 
 unite in the pious sentiments which one of our most illus-« 
 trious bards puts into the mouth of the newly created pair, 
 
 ** These are thy glorious works, Parent of Good ! 
 Almighty ! thine this universal frame. 
 Thus wondrous fair; thyself how wondrous then." 
 
 MiUon^a Paradise Lost, — B. v, 152^ &c 
 
mm ■* 
 
 ^■^l 
 
 ■ mj p 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 THE VIEWS WHICH NATURE TEACHES US TO FORM OF THE 
 
 SUPREME BEING. 
 
 ROMANS 1. 20.-** FOR THE INVISIBLE THINGS OF HIM, FROM THE CREATION 
 OF THE WORLD ARE CLEARLY SEEN, EVEN HIS ETERNAL POWER AND 
 GODHEAD." • 
 
 These words are extracted from an epistolary communi^ 
 cation addressed by Paul to the Christians at Rome, at that 
 time the metropolis of the world, the centre of the arts, 
 and the focus of all crime. The apostle alludes in the 
 connexion of our text, according to the opinion of some 
 commentators, to those philosophers and statesmen who, 
 though they plainly saw^the follies of polytheism, and knew 
 that there was but one true and living God, still sanctioned 
 all the absurdities and immoralities of heathen worship, and 
 "when they knew God, glorified him not as God." He 
 therefore represents them as, on this account the more inex- 
 cusable ; for he adds, « the invisible things of him, from the 
 creation of the world, are clearly seen, even his eternal 
 power and Godhead." That is, by the works of creation, 
 the glories of his nature, though invisible, are so clearly 
 apparent, being reflected as it were in a mirror, that these 
 philosophers were exceedingly criminal in not publicly recog- 
 nizing him themselves, and by their teaching and example 
 
 Lect. v.] THE VIEWS WHICH NATURE. TEACHES, ace. 191 
 
 leading others, whose debasing superstitions they rather en* 
 couraged, to " glorify him as God." 
 
 To engage in investigating the character and perfections 
 of him, "of whom, and through whom, and to whom are all 
 things," as it is the sole prerogative of man, among all terres- 
 trial beings, so it is one of the noblest exercises of human 
 reason. To neglect inquiries of this kind is unworthy a human 
 being, and is quite as irrational as it is irreligious. But it is 
 often asserted by atheistic writers, that even if the existence of 
 a Supreme First Cause as the Creator of all things be admitted, 
 it is impossible that we can know anything about him ; and 
 that every idea we form of him is not merely inadequate and 
 imperfect, but altogether chimerical and vain.* This, then, 
 is the point to which we shall now address ourselves, and 
 we hope to show that, notwithstanding the utter incompe- 
 tency of creatures whose powers are so limited as our own, 
 " to find out the Almighty to perfection," we can yet gain 
 such glimpses of his boundless glories from the works of 
 nature as should fill our minds with admiration and awe, 
 can obtain such information as is of the greatest practical 
 importance, and as should engage us in those momentous 
 inquiries which can be met only by a further revelation. 
 
 As I am now reasoning with those, principally, who do 
 not regard the authority of the sacred scriptures, it would 
 be of cotirse irrelevant to appeal to these venerated writings. 
 Yet, I am fully aware that in reasoning on the attributes of 
 the Great Supreme, vire cannot divest our minds of the infor- 
 mation which we have received from this source. We 
 cannot, whether believers or unbelievers, place ourselves 
 exactly in the circumstances of those whose views of a Su- 
 preme creating and governing Po^Ver have not been corrected 
 and expanded by the contents of this precious volume. It 
 
 • Repeated assertions to this eflect are to be found in the works of infidelity 
 already quoted ; tiiey are common in the « System of Nature,' and Mr. Hume 
 labours, with all his accustomed ingenuity to prove it 
 
i 
 
 rm 
 
 192 THE VIEWS WHICH NATURE TEACHES US (Lect. V. 
 
 IB well known that, in the opinion of many of the greatest 
 learning and research, even the pagan philosophers Were 
 indebted for some of their most exalted views of the Deity 
 to information received more or less directly from the ancient 
 writings of the Jews. But our argument will not be affected 
 by this consideration, though our inquiries may be more 
 extended, and our views of what nature teaches more en- 
 larged ; as we shall not ground any position on the authority 
 of the sacred writings. We may, indeed, be qualified, by 
 the instruction thus received, to interrogate nature with 
 advantage, we may be assisted in interpreting her language, 
 Iwit it is to " the things which are seen," the visible wonders 
 of *• the creation," that we shall make our appeal respecting 
 "the invisible" glbries of their Maker; it is on fair, legiti- 
 mate reasoning on these works, that we shall found all that 
 we shall how advance respecting their author. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to apprize my hearers that, at this 
 stage of the inquiry, proofs must not be expected of the 
 existence of God ; these have already been exhibited, I trust, 
 with ample sufficiency. I must throughout this lecture, 
 then, assume this point; the existence of a Great First Cause, 
 the Creator of all things, being admitted, our question now 
 is, what is the information which nature can supply respect- 
 ing the author of the universe ? Our present inquiries, 
 therefore, will relate to the Nature, Character, and 
 Government of the Supreme Being. 
 
 Let us, in the first place, with all reverence, inquire what 
 views we should form of the Nature of the Great Supreme. 
 The existence of an intelligent First Cause being admitted, it 
 necessarily follows that this great Parent of all existence must 
 be eternal, that is, without beginning. The first cause can have 
 no antecedent. Nothing can be admitted to have produced 
 that which itself produced all things. However mysterious 
 and difficult of conception existence without beginning may 
 
 Lect. V.] 
 
 TO FORM OF THE SUPREME BEING. 
 
 193 
 
 
 be, we are compelled to arrive at this point, and cannot avoid 
 it. To account for the present existence of the world, atheism 
 itself is forced to admit that something was eternal, and as- 
 sies that attribute to matter and motion. But we have 
 proved that matter could not have been the great originating 
 cause, and are therefore necessarily brought to the conclusion 
 that the Creator is without beginning, that is, eternal. How 
 awfully sublime is this view of him to whose existence the 
 duration of man, of ages, of empires, of worlds, is but a 
 moment 
 
 The same glorious Being must have underived, indepen- 
 dent, and necessary existence. That which is before all can 
 be derived from none ; that which is derived from no other 
 being, but on which, as the First Cause, all must be de- 
 pendent, must be independent of all, and have self-existence. 
 He whose existence is not dependent, nor has the ground or 
 reason of such existence in any other being, but has existed 
 from eternity, is not in his being contingent, but necessary ; 
 that is, he cannot but be what hejs, to suppose him non- 
 existent, is as much a contradiction as to suppose that a 
 thing is and is not in the same sense and at the same instant* 
 This is the true idea of necessary self-existence. 
 
 The Great Eternal must also b^ infinite ; we can assign to 
 him no limits, either in duration or space. Boundless as is 
 the universe to our perceptions, it must necessarily have 
 limits; form is essential to matter, and form cannot exist 
 without boundaries. But the mind cannot conceive of any 
 limits to him who gave birth to the universe. His necessary 
 existence must, as far as we can perceive, be necessary in 
 every point of space, as well as in every moment of duration. 
 As we have before had occasion to remark, we cannot resist 
 the impression that both eternity and infinity exist; we 
 
 ♦ " Although necessity of nature may express the manner in which an Eternal 
 Being exists, yet it can be no cause of any existence whatever." — Drew on the 
 Existence and Perfections of God, Vol. II, p. 154. 
 
 A A 
 
ld4 
 
 THE VIEWS WHICH NATURE TEACHtS US [Lect. V. 
 
 Lect. v.] to form of THE SUPREME BEING. 
 
 195 
 
 cannot possibly suppose limits to either duration or space; 
 and we can conceive of nothing to which such properties can 
 belong, but him who is the self-existent First Cause of all 
 things. We cannot, therefore, but consider the Eternal Beiflg 
 as also infinite. «* Great is the Lord, and his greatness is 
 unsearchable." How insignificant is the whole universe, 
 when compared to him. 
 
 From the same reasoning it follows that the Supreme 
 Being is immutable. No power exists extraneous to himself, 
 which can produce a change on him. Nor can it be supposed 
 that he would eflfect a change in his own nature. To will a 
 change to an inferior condition is impossible ; to be in a 
 superior condition is equally an impossibility. We cannot 
 conceive of any perfection which the Eternal First Cause of 
 all things does not possess ; therefore, a change for the better 
 or the worse is equally impossible. That which has ne- 
 cessary existence, that is, is what it is necessarily, cannot 
 change, since this is to suppose that it is necessary and 
 not necessar/ at the ssqpe time, which is a contradiction. 
 The face of nature may be ever changing, the life of man 
 is subject to a thousand variations generations may pass 
 away, empires rise and fall, worlds may perish, suns be 
 extinguisKed, tnd systems annihilated, while the great and 
 adorable Supreme remains «* without variableness or the 
 shadow of a turning." 
 
 The omnipresence of the Deity seems also to follow, from 
 the views which we have taken. As all things ar^ created by 
 him, and dependent on him, we cannot conceive the absence 
 ofthe supporting cause from that which it upholds. Through 
 every part of the human frame there is a mysterious and un- 
 known something which we call life, the pervading influence 
 of which is everywhere necessary, and everywhere present; 
 the instant in which it ceases in any part, or in the whole of 
 the bodily structure, disorganization commences. Though 
 
 every comparison must necessarily be inadequate to give a 
 proper idea of the dependence of all created beings on the 
 great Creator, yet in some such way we may conceive that 
 he is present with all his works, « upholding all things by 
 the word of his power." Since by the immensity of his 
 nature he fills and includes all things, and has no limits, he 
 must be everywhere. The presence of matter does not ex- 
 elude him, distance of space cannot remove us from him. 
 He is alike at the surface and ^the centre of the globe,— 
 on the land and on the sea,— within us and without us. He 
 is present to every particle of our bodies and every move- 
 ment of our minds, on every part of this globe, and at every 
 point iq the regions of boundless space. Is it any wonder 
 that a pious mind should exclaim with devout admiration, 
 « Whither shall I go from thy spirit,— or whither shall I flee 
 from thy presence ? If I ascend into heaven thou art there; 
 if I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I take 
 the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts 
 of the sea. Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right 
 hand shall hold me. If I say surely the darkness shall cover * 
 me ; even the night shall be light about me. Yea the dark- 
 ness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day; 
 the darkness and. the light are both alike to thee. Such 
 knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot 
 attain unto it"* 
 
 This great and infinite Being, we also conclude, is a spirit. 
 We cannot, we readily admit, adequately conceive of an 
 infinite spirit ; yet that such is the Divine Being, the Great 
 First Cause, we are compelled to believe. What spirit is, 
 whether finite or infinite, created or uncreated, we do not 
 attempt to explain ; we only know some of its properties. 
 And what more do we know of matter? By means of 
 our senses, we ascertain that it is something which has 
 
 ♦ Psalm cxxxix. 
 
196 
 
 THE VIEWS WHICH NATURE TEACHES US [Lbct. V: 
 
 extension, solidity, and divisibility, as its properties ; but it 
 is not extension, nor solidity, nor divisibility— not any one, 
 nor all these, or other properties which it may possess, put 
 together. What is, then, that something of which these are 
 the qualities ?— What is that substance in which these 
 properties inhere? This we know not, nor are we likely 
 in the present state ever to know. Spirit is that which per- 
 ceives, thinks, wills ; but what is its essence we know no 
 more than we do what iPthe essence of matter,— and we 
 know just as much. When, therefore, we speak of the 
 Divine Being as a spirit, we mean that he is a being who 
 perceives, wills, acts ; but that the properties of matter, such 
 as form and divisibility, do not pertain to his nature. That 
 the Great First Cause does not possess material properties 
 must follow, from the views which we have already taken. 
 Matter is ever changing; he who has necessary existence is 
 immutable, and therefore is not material. Matter has form, 
 and cannot be infinite ; he whose nature is infinite canbot be 
 ^ material. Matter is entirely an object of sense ; it is only by 
 our bodily senses that any of its properties can be perceived, 
 or its existence ascertained. It is only by our own conscious- 
 ness that we become acquainted with the existence and 
 properties of our mind or spirit ; and by the testimony of 
 others as to their consciousness, and our perception of acts 
 similar to those which attend our own mental operations, that 
 we judge of the existence of such a spirit in them. The 
 Deity is not, cannot be an object of sense, and cannot there- 
 fore be material. If, then, it be said, why should we believe 
 in the existence of a being which cannot be an object of per- 
 ception by our senses ? we reply, because we see throughout 
 nature innumerable results which none of the properties 
 of matter can account for. We see effects which only intel- 
 ligence, wisdom, design, could produce;— -we have given 
 ample proof from these that an intelligent Creator exists; 
 
 Lbct. V.] TO FORM OF THE SUPREME BEING. 
 
 107 
 
 and since there is indubitable evidence of an Intelligent 
 Existence, which yet cannot have the properties of matter, 
 we are justified in speaking of the Deity as immaterial, in 
 concluding that he is a Spirit. From the nature of the case, 
 an infinite, uncreated, self-existent Spirit, must possess pro- 
 perties very different from those of the human mind, and 
 those which such a being possesses in common with any of 
 his creatures must be inconceivably superior. There cannot, 
 of necessity, be any being altogether like him, so that, as 
 we have before remarked, to argue from the limitations and 
 defects of the human mind to the infinite and self-existing 
 Being is neither fair nor philosophical. To say that we 
 cannot conceive how an infinite Spirit can exist and act 
 without corporeal organs is one thing ; to deny the possibility 
 of it is another. If we believe in the existence of those 
 things only, the nature, and properties, and mode of existence 
 of vsrhich we can fully understand, our belief will be reduced 
 within very narrow limits. To object, therefore, to the 
 spirituality of the Divine nature, simply because we cannot 
 comprehend it, is altogether unreasonable, and is a principle 
 on which no atheist does act or can act. In a thousand in- 
 stances we do not hesitate to give our full belief to a fact 
 which yet involves many things completely incomprehensible 
 to us. All that we requite in such cases is that there should 
 be proof or evidence of the fact. If, therefore, it be proved 
 that there is a First Cause, possessing the highest attributes 
 of mind, and if it also appears that this First Cause does not 
 possess the properties of matter, both which, we conceive, 
 have been undeniably shown, then, whatever difficulties at- 
 tend our conceptions of so exalted a being, it follows that the 
 First Cause is immaterial, or in other words, that the Creator 
 of the universe is a Spirit, and " the Father of our spirits." 
 Another view to which our contemplations on the works 
 of nature seem necessarily to lead is, that this great Being 
 
198 THE VIEWS WHICH NATURE TEACHES US «,«» V. 
 
 is the only God, Having once proved the e»istence of an 
 eternal and intelligent Creator, we have a cause sufficient to 
 account for the existence of the universe, with all the beings, 
 and provisions, and arrangemente. which it contains. We 
 have no need to have recourse to any other power ; all other 
 ogency is super^uous. If, as it has often been justly re- 
 marked, any person should affirm that there is a plurality 
 of Gods, the burden of proof would lie on him. It is an 
 assumption without anything to support it Look through 
 all nature; as far as we can extend our observations, unity 
 ot design and harmony of operations are everywhere ap- 
 parent Take one single being, from any department of 
 organic nature; a flower, a tree, an insect, a quadruped, a 
 man; in each individual there is a complexity of parts and 
 organs, and functions, but all this diversity is, in the most 
 ©bvious manner, working with perfect harmony to one end. 
 Look at the relation of each individual species to others of 
 a different rank or order, and of all to external nature in 
 general, and the same idea is impressed on the mind. Look 
 indeed, through the whole system, and what other view 
 can be consistently taken? From the sun to the remotest 
 planeu, from the surface of the earth to its centre, you see 
 one law operating with undeviating uniformity-the law of 
 gravitation It is this power whiclf, nicely balanced with the 
 projectile force, maintains all the relations of the vast bodies 
 of the solar system; it is this which binds the earth into a 
 solid mass ; the operations of which are alike seen on the 
 land and on the sea, on the atmosphere which surrounds the 
 
 r :. .Vr*"' ""^'""^ """' *« ^'"•^^ 'hat blow, and the 
 rams that fall ;-m every world, and every atom, we see the 
 effecte of this great principle. No one can attentively view 
 all the arrangements which exist throughout the whole 
 economy of nature, the connexion of every part with the 
 others, and its dependence on the whole, with the wonderful 
 
 LJtCT. v.] 
 
 TO FORM OF THE SUPREME BEING. 
 
 109 
 
 harmonies which attend the working of the entire system, 
 without being struck with the unity of design which is 
 everywhere apparent, and feeling, if he is prepared to ac- 
 knowledge any Creator at all, " that there is one God, and 
 there is none beside him." The supposition that there is 
 more than one eternal, self-existent,* and independent Being, 
 is not only perfectly gratuitous, but it seems to shock the 
 mind and to repel belief; and it is much to be doubted 
 whether ever such an opinion was sincerely entertained.* 
 Among all the varieties and absurdities of ancient polytheism, 
 we never meet with such an idea. In all the pagan mytho- 
 logies, we see traces of one Supreme Being, with a number 
 of subordinate divinities; all the philosophers of antiquity, 
 who maintained the existence of any Deity, appear to have 
 considered the Eternal Being as only one. " In so great a 
 contention and variety of opinions," says a celebrated heathen 
 philosopher, " herein you shall see the law and reason of 
 every country to be harmonious and one ; that there is one 
 Ood, the King and Father of all. That the many are but 
 the servants and co-rulers unto God. That herein the Greek 
 and the barbarian say the same thing; the islander and the 
 inhabitant of the continent." f 
 
 • " For if we suppose more than one," (i. e. God)« it is plain, since the attributes 
 Df infinite power, knowledge, and goodness include all possible perfection, that they 
 must be entirely alike to each other, without the least possible variation. They 
 will, therefore, entirely coalesce in our idea, i.e. be one to us. Since they fill all 
 time and space, and are all independent, omnipotent, omniscient, and infinitdy 
 benevolent, their ideas cannot be separated, but will have a numerical, as well as a 
 generical identity. When we suppose other beings generically the same, and yet 
 numerically different, we do, at the same time, suppose that they exist in different 
 particles of time or space j which circumstances cannot have place, in respect of 
 the supposed plurality of infinite beings. We conclude, therefore, that there is 
 but one Infinite Being, or God,"— Hartley on Man, p. 341, ed. 6th. 
 
 f Maximus Tyrius, Dis. I, as quoted by Howe in his * Living Temple,' Part I, 
 «h. ii, sec. 2. Maximus Tyrius was a philosopher of considerable celebrity, who, 
 thoug^^ native of Tyre, obtained very high distinction in Rome for his learning 
 and tamRs, where he taught in the second century, during the reign of the philo- 
 ^hic emperor Marcus Aurelius. 
 
200 
 
 THE VIEWS WHICH NATURE TEACHES US [Lect. V. 
 
 LKCT. v.] TO FORM OF THE SUPREME BEING. 
 
 201 
 
 We shall now proceed to consider what information we 
 may derive from the works of nature, in addition to what 
 we have already noticed, respecting the Character of the 
 Divine Being. By the character of God, I here mean those 
 qualities which pertain to him and distinguish him, by which 
 his acts are regulated anfl determined. These have frequently 
 been denominated the attributes or perfections of Deity, and 
 have been considered as either natural or moral ; the former 
 indicating his capabilities of acting, the latter, the manner 
 in which these capabilities are employed. The term natural 
 is thus applied to the means which a rational being possesses 
 of accomplishing his will ; while the properties which mark 
 his actions as good or bad, as directed to a proper or im- 
 proper end, are designated his moral qualities. When we 
 speak of these as properties of the glorious Being who is at 
 the head of the universe, we call them his attributes, and 
 because they are conceived to dwell in him in the highest 
 perfection, we speak of them as his perfections. 
 
 The natural attributes of the Deity may, perhaps, all be 
 comprised under his Wisdom and his Power. What, then, 
 does nature teach us concerning these ? 
 
 One of the first impressions which we receive from a com- 
 prehensive survey of the works of God is, that he is infinitely 
 wise ; that is, that wisdom exists in him without any assign- 
 able limit, in its highest possible perfection. Knowledge is 
 absolutely essential to wisdom, and, indeed, forms its very 
 element Knowledge and wisdom may be separable in men ; 
 they are identified in the Supreme Being. Men may have 
 knowledge on many subjects of a speculative nature, and 
 be very deficient in what relates to human conduct; such 
 cannot be wise. Wisdom is exhibited by the selection of 
 proper ends, and of proper means by which they are to be 
 accomplished. Though wisdopi, as resulting from e)|||nsive 
 observation and long experience, may be possessed, with 
 
 ignorance of a thousand subjects, yet it always supposes 
 knowledge of those subjects to which it relates. In fact, 
 wisdom is only knowledge considered in a practical view! 
 In the Divine Being, therefore, perfect knowledge must be 
 the perfection of wisdom. He vvrho perfectly knows all 
 things in their nature, their relations, and consequences, must 
 know on every possible occasion what is best to be done, 
 and the best way in which to accomplish it. As we have 
 proved that the Great First Cause is an intelligent Being, his 
 knowledge must be universal in extent and perfect in its 
 kind, and consequently infinite wisdom, or wisdom in its 
 highest possible excellence must be his. 
 
 He who created all things must have a perfect knowledge 
 of all things, since they all received with their existence 
 their peculiar powers and properties from him. It must also 
 be apparent, from what we have already shown, that he 
 must be acquainted with everything existing at any one time, 
 since he is omnipresent. He must, therefore, intimately 
 know all beings that exist, with all their properties; all the 
 combinations of matter in suns or planets, or men, or worms, 
 and all the individual particles of matter, wherever they 
 exist; and equally all that mind is, in its innumerable di- 
 versities, and in its most secret workings. And as he has 
 ever been present with all that is past, and possesses none 
 of those defects which pertain to finite minds and bodily 
 organization, he must know everything that has transpired 
 in the great universe from its first formation. He must 
 know the size, and place, and history of every atom, in all 
 the combinations it has undergone from its first creation ; 
 together with every action and every motive, every volition 
 and every imagination, every word and every thought of 
 every individual that has lived, and spokfen, tnd acted, since 
 the formation of the first man. And all the future must be 
 known to him ; for, as he gave to matter all its properties 
 
 # 
 
 B B 
 
202 
 
 THE VIEWS WHICH NATURE TEACHES US [Lect. V. 
 
 Lbct. v.] to form of the SUPREME BEING. 
 
 • 
 
 and laws, he must know the effect which every cause will 
 produce throughout the whole course of nature, and, conse- 
 quently, all the results of the first creation. And as even 
 in the mind, with all its waywardness and apparent irregu- 
 larities, there is nothing absolutely contingent, but one 
 thought or feeling leads on to another and is linked with it, 
 and as certain states of mind, in certain circumstances, lead 
 to certain actions, he must know with equal certainty what 
 all the purposes, and thoughts, and motives, and actions of 
 every intelligent being in the universe will be. It follows 
 then, necessarily, that as the great Supreme knows always 
 what has been, and is, and will be, in the most perfect 
 manner, he knows what is the best end and what the best 
 means by which it should be effected ; what in every case 
 ought to be done, and how it should be done ; and this is 
 the highest possible wisdom. 
 
 It is unnecessary to remind you how completely these 
 reasonings are supported by our observations on the whole 
 frame of nature. How exquisite and innumerable are the 
 instances of divine skill in the human frame; how diversified 
 are the exhibitions of this divine attribute in all that flies, 
 or creeps, or swims ! In all the chemical and mechanical 
 properties of matter, in all the varied combinations of the 
 constituents of this globe, the properties peculiar to each, 
 the laws which govern them, and the purposes which they 
 serve, — in the system as a whole and in its minutest parts, 
 the contemplative mind cannot fail to behold traces of the 
 most consummate wisdom, and with sentiments of devout 
 admiration to exclaim,—" The heavens declare the glory of 
 
 God, and the firmament showeth forth his handy work.*'- 
 
 « The earth, O Lord, is full of thy riches." 
 
 That the Crfetof is a being to whose Power no bounds 
 can be assigned, is equally evident from his works. How 
 great their number, how surpassing their variety! The 
 
 203 
 
 1 1 
 
 existence of any one single species, either of the vegetable 
 or animal kingdom, is a display of power which leaves 
 everything that can be accomplished by human effort at an 
 immeasurable distance. All the energies which man can com- 
 mand, though concentrated in one single act, and aided by all 
 the resources of human art, would be as incapable of pro- 
 ducing the smallest insect as they are of removing the world 
 or of stopping the planets in their orbits. And how wonder- 
 fully varied are the tribes of living beings, rational and 
 irrational, that inhabit the forest or tenant the deep, that soar 
 m the air or creep on the ground ? And who shall number 
 all the diversities and wonders of the vegetable kingdom? 
 How astonishing and how various are the powers with which 
 the great Creator has invested the material agencies which 
 we see at work, either in the regular course of nature or in 
 Its occasional deviations ! Before these man feels his in- 
 significance, stands in awe of that omnipotent energy of 
 •whose will they are the ministers, and confesses that he is as 
 "nothing and vanity." How deep are the emotions, how 
 overpowering is the awe with which a contemplative mind 
 beholds the bosom of the ocean heaving with its tides, or 
 roaring and foaming with its mountain billows; or watches 
 the clouds of heaven in a gathering storm ; or listens to the 
 reverberations of the deafening thunder; or marks the rav- 
 ages of the wild tornado ; or trembles at the earthquake and 
 stands aghast at the awful exhibitions of volcanic power! 
 "Lo, these are parts of his ways; but how little a portion 
 IS heard of him? But the thunder of his power who can 
 understand?** 
 
 But all the wonders of this world, innumerable as they 
 
 are, form but a very small part of what we should behold 
 
 were we capable of taking in the mighty whole. The 
 
 universe is the scene of Divine operations. Our own globe 
 
 IS but a small spot in this vast field of wonders, but one 
 

 THE VIEWS WHICH NATURE TEACHES US (Lect. V. 
 
 Lkct. v.] to form of THE SUPREME BEING. 
 
 205 
 
 i 
 
 among a countless host. Who can number the stars of 
 heaven, or even imagine the untold myriads of those celestial 
 bodies which, though glimmering through the night as 
 luminous specks, or seen only by the highest magnifying 
 po\^ers of the telescope, appear to be central sources of light 
 arid heat to as many systems of worlds. 
 
 Think for a moment on the great and the minute in 
 creation, and be astonished at the exhibition of Divine 
 power. We are lost in the contemplation of either. What 
 a vast ball is this globe, about twenty-four thousand miles 
 in circumference, spinning on its axis with unceasing and 
 most uniform velocity; and at the same time flying round 
 the sun at a mean rate of about fifty-eight thousand miles 
 an hour. But yonder planet which traverses the plains of 
 ether, which we sometimes call an evening star, is one thou- 
 sand four hundred times the size of this globe ; and the sun, 
 the centre of the system, much more than a million times 
 as large. Consider, again, the mighty sweep which that* 
 stupendous orrery the Solar System takes. The earth de- 
 scribes an orbit of nearly six hundred millions of miles; 
 but far beyond this. Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the Georgian 
 planet perform their revolutions ; the latter at such a distance 
 from the centre that a cannon-ball, if it could continue its 
 speed, would be one hundred and seventy years* in passing 
 from the sun to that planet; and a flash of lightning from 
 the sun's disc would be two hours and a half before it could 
 be seen in the regions of that distant globe. And if these 
 are the distances of the parts of one system, what must 
 be the whole^I How overwhelming is the thought of such 
 immensity; how avj^ful is the idea of such a power! Look 
 now at the minute. In human efforts we seldom see delicacy 
 and energy combined. The ship-builder and the watch- 
 maker cannot work with the same tools ; the habits of each 
 
 * That is, supposing its speed to be as mucli as twenty miles in a minute. 
 
 \ \ 
 
 i' 
 
 * 
 
 would disqualify him for the employment of the other. The 
 skilful engraver, with his delicate instruments, cannot make 
 panals and aqueducts, and rail-roads and tunnels; and the 
 civil engineer, with all his apparatus for constructing bridges 
 and water-works, cannot prepare the nice adjustments of a 
 chT(mmketeT, or mark the exquisite divisions of some of 
 our ^ical instrumeiHs. The mind accustomed to the vast 
 scarcely ever excels in the minute. But in the works of the 
 Divine artist, vire see both exemplified. That power which 
 moulded the solid globe into its form, paints the wing of the 
 butterfly, and weaves, with intersecting muscles of the most 
 delicate texture, the iris of the eye. He who lights up 
 the sun, as the centre of a system of worlds, and regulates 
 the distances and motions of the planetary bodies, fits up 
 the lenses of the organ of vision, and fixes at its proper 
 distance, with the minutest accuracy, the nervous screen 
 which is to receive the rays of light In all the most 
 finished productions of the works of art the microscope 
 can detect defects, the smoothest polish is coarse and rough, 
 and the most beautiful regularity appears clumsy. In the 
 works of God we find precisely the reverse, the greater 
 the magnifying power the more beauties and wonders, 
 of exquisite skill and workmanship, we perceive. The 
 wonderful power of the Creator is equally displayed in 
 magnitude of form and compass of movement, the vastness 
 of which cannot be taken in by the mind ; and in what has 
 delicacy so fine that the unassisted eye cannot detect it. He 
 who formed the elephant, made the. mite. He who made 
 that stupendous system of worlds which at such incon- 
 ceivable distances whirl around the central sun, made the 
 blood-vessels, and nerves, and the digesting apparatus, and 
 all the fitting up and mutual adjustments of the several organs 
 and parts in the microscopic animalcule, thousands of which 
 are necessary to constitute a speck of sufficient magnitude to 
 
 \\ 
 
 
206 
 
 THB VIEWS WHICH NATURE TEACHES US [Lect. V. 
 
 be visible to the human eye. With what emphasis do all his 
 works declare that " the Almighty is excellent in power," 
 
 Let us now inquire what are the conclusions which, from 
 these views of the Divine Being, which we have already 
 taken, we are warranted to draw respecting his Moral 
 Perfections. How terrific would be the thou|M^f it 
 could be for a moment entertained, Ikat infinite po\^r and 
 wisdom might be employed in an improper manner. But 
 a few moments' consideration will convince us that this is 
 impossible. All the moral qualities of any rational being, 
 may be, perhaps, resolved into these two— Justice and 
 Benevolence. 
 
 Justice "has respect to the persons and rights of 
 others."* As this great and awful Being who is at the 
 head of the universe, who has created all things, possesses 
 power unlimited over all the works of his hands, how shall 
 we be satisfied that he will never so act as to inflict a wrong 
 on his creatures? To which momentous inquiry it may be 
 replied with confidence, that we have this security in those 
 perfections of his Divine nature which we have already 
 considered. Hjs« infinite wisdom renders mistake, on any 
 occasion, impossible. He always sees things as they are 
 in their nature and cqpsequences. Every act of injustice 
 or wrong supposes a mistake. Every crime is a practical 
 error. If a person inflicts an injury on another by with- 
 holding what is his due, or by any act of violence or 
 aggression, relating either to his property, or character, or 
 person, without knowing or intending the wrong, the action, 
 in its character, is still injurious and wrong, though he is 
 acquitted from criminal intention ; but still, if the aggressor 
 had the means and opportunity of knowing what was right, 
 and neglected to avail himself of them, he is considered 
 culpable; and much more so if his mistake in judgment 
 
 ♦ Grove's Moral Philosophy. — Vol. II, p. 329. 
 
 L»CT. v.] 
 
 TO FORM OF THE SUPREME BEING. 
 
 207 
 
 arose from the indulgence in evil passions which obscured 
 his reason, and prevented his discernment. If a man com- 
 mits an injury, knowing at the same time that he is doing 
 wrong, he is still labouring under an erroneous impression, 
 he chooses evil under the semblance of good ; he supposes 
 that it will promote his happiness, while he is evidently 
 preparing misery for himself, and thus at the same time 
 injuring two parties,— -the immediate object of his wrong 
 and himself. As, therefore, every act of injustice appears 
 to involve a mistake, and the Divine Being, who is infinitely 
 wise, cannot err, we conclude that injustice is impossible 
 with him. 
 
 And farther, his supreme glory and dominion, as the Cre- 
 ator and Proprietor of the universe, assure us that he cannot 
 be otherwise than just. The temptations and occasions of 
 committing crime, which lead men to acts of injustice, can 
 never exist in the case of this exalted Being. Even in the 
 most depraved characters we can scarcely imagine how 
 wrong can be done purely for the sake of doing wrong; 
 there is some object in view which gives occasion to the 
 misdeed. It may be the fear of losing something which he 
 possesses, or the hope of acquiring what he has not, it may 
 be the dread of punishment for what he has done, and the 
 desire of concealing what he knows to be criminal, or the 
 belief that the person whom he desires to injure is out of the 
 reach of common justice:— these and many similar things, 
 which it is needless to mention, generally form the occasions 
 of the injuries and wrongs which men inflict on others. It is 
 rarely, if ever, that acts of palpable injustice are committed 
 without some such occasions. But with the glorious Being 
 of whom we are now speaking, it is utterly impossible that 
 any such occasions can occur. He is infinitely exalted above 
 the reach of them all. There is nothing which he can fear, 
 nothing for which he can hope. There^can be no object 
 
208 
 
 THE VIEWS WHICH NATURE TEACHES US ILmci, V. 
 
 of dread to omnipotent power and independent existence ; 
 there can be no object of desire which is not possessed by 
 him who is the proprietor of the whole universe. As, there- 
 fore, nothing can appear to infinite wisdom right which is 
 wrong, and no occasion can possibly arise which could be 
 an inducement to the supreme Lord of all things to commit 
 any act of injustice, we may confidently affirm that justice 
 in the highest perfection is his ; that he is " righteous in all 
 his ^ays, and holy in all his works." 
 
 That Benevolence, in the highest degree in which it is 
 compatible with wisdom and justice, belongs to the Deity, 
 there can be no reasonable doubt. We have proofs of this 
 continually and everywhere. Volumes might be written on 
 the innumerable forms of Divine goodness which appear 
 through all his works. Delightful as is the theme, it is un- 
 necessary for us to enlarge on what must be so manifest to 
 all who observe and think. There is not a single department 
 in the economy of nature that is not pregnant with illus- 
 trations of the Divine benevolence. Do we not see it in all 
 the arrangements of the Solar System ? — in the great source 
 of light and heat that blazes in the centre, that all the 
 dependent bodies might share in those important benefits, 
 — ^in the adjustment of those forces by which the planets 
 are kept moving in their orbits, — in the inclination of the 
 earth's axis to mitigate the cold of the polar regions, — in 
 the moon and stars, by which the nightly firmament is 
 lighted up and studded with sparkling gems, — in the revo- 
 lution of the earth on its axis, in order that every part 
 should be successively turned to the sun, and enjoy the be* 
 nefit of its rays? Look at the properties of the atmosphere, 
 the arrangements made for the due supply of water, the 
 fertility of the soils, the great variety of minerals, and the 
 supply of vegetable productions, to serve for food in health 
 and medicine in sickness, observe the innumerable forms of 
 
 lbct. v.] to form of the supreme being. 
 
 209 
 
 beauty and grandeur with which the heart is delighted and 
 refreshed as we gaze on the works of nature ; observe how 
 pleasure and enjoyment are connected with every sense :— it 
 is delightful to see, to hear, to touch, to taste, to smell; there 
 is enjoyment in the very consciousness of being ; in all the 
 social affections which sweeten the domestic circle, bind man 
 to man and form th^ links of society, in all the charities of 
 the heart which are blessed in blessing, how conspicuously 
 does the diftusive benevolence of a good and gracious Being 
 shine.— But where shall we stop— the theme is boundless, 
 « How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God; therefore the 
 children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy 
 wings." " Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within 
 me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and 
 forget not all his benefits." 
 
 We shall proceed, in the third and last place, to consider 
 what views we are justified in forming of the Govern- 
 ment of God. This may be regarded in two aspects:— His 
 Providential Government, which has reference to the 
 well-being of all his creatures; and his Moral Government, 
 which relates to the conduct of rational beings. 
 
 That God does exercise a Providential government over 
 all his works ; or in other words, that he exercises a constant 
 care and unlimited controul over the objects of his creating 
 •power, seems to be a just and natural inference from the 
 premises already established. As all owe their existence 
 and the continuance of that existence to him, all creatures 
 must ever remain dependent on him, and subject to his will 
 and pleasure. It is most unreasonable to suppose that he 
 should abandon, as unworthy his regard, what by his own 
 power he had brought into being. From the nature of 
 things, every portion of matter and every living creature 
 must be constantly present to him, and we cannot imagine 
 that he who willed their existence should be indifferent to 
 
 c c 
 
 ■lAi "m^i ^t 
 
210 
 
 THE VIEWS WHICH NATURE TEACHES US [Lbct. V. 
 
 Lect. v.] to form of the SUPREME BEING. 
 
 211 
 
 their welfare. His providence, therefore, must be particular 
 as well general ; he who cares for the whole must care for 
 every part, seeing the whole is nothing but an aggregation 
 of parts. The supposition that it would be derogatory to 
 the dignity of so great and glorious a Being, to pay attention 
 to what appears to us minute and trifling, is a mistake 
 which seems to arise from a partial and superficial view 
 of the subject It is a transfer of the limitations and imper- 
 fections of our own minds to. the infinite Creator. When 
 we contemplate an aggregate we lose sight of the parts in 
 detail ; when we inspect the minute, we are obliged so to 
 concentrate our minds that we cannot at the same time take 
 in amplitude. But these limitations can have no place in 
 that infinite Being whose omnipresence fills all space, and 
 whose omniscience includes all knowledge. However insig- 
 nificant many things may seem in themselves, yet in 
 their relation to the great whole, no atom of matter, no 
 act of mind, no occurrence in any of the departments of 
 nature, can be considered trifling. In the great chain of 
 events some links appear to us great and prominent, others 
 seem almost imperceptibly small and insignificant, yet the 
 greatest depend on the least, and the absence of one of the 
 latter would produce an alteration in the whole depending 
 series. The fate of an empire may depend on the fall of a 
 pebble. To how great an extent has the condition of Europe 
 been influenced by the life of one single individual. And 
 by how many little incidents, from his infancy to the period 
 when he commenced his public career, may his very exist- 
 ence have been affected. Every such incident, then, was 
 connected with the present state of the nations of Europe, 
 and by this with the future condition of the whole world. 
 Who can imagine what would have been the present cir- 
 cumstances of the human race, if the infant Romulus had 
 perished in the waters of the Tiber ? It is reasonable, then. 
 
 
 to infer that the Great Being on whom the whole is depen- 
 dent, must exercise his superintendence over its minutest 
 fraction. And have we not proofs without end that his 
 wisdom and power have been employed in the formation of 
 all living things ;— that his benevolent designs embraced all 
 the minutiae of animal life ? Why, then, should it be sup- 
 posed that anything on which he has expended his power and 
 employed his wisdom, and in the production of which his 
 benevolence is so richly displayed, should ever be abandoned 
 by him, or be viewed with indifference? We conclude, 
 therefore, that all things in heaven or earth, however great 
 
 or minute, — that all creatures, of every rank of being, 
 
 that all events, of all kinds, are under the superintendence 
 and controul of him who is « wonderful in counsel, and 
 mighty in working." 
 
 There are two distinct views which have been taken of the 
 manner in which this superintendence is exercised by the 
 great Governor of the universe, both of which, however, 
 imply the universality of his providence. It is conceived by 
 some that the great Creator, having brought all things into 
 being, gave to universal nature laws, by which, as a machine 
 once set in motion, it goes on without any subsequent act of 
 power or interference' of its Maker, accomplishing « the good 
 pleasure of his will." In this case all things are evidently 
 subject to his controul ; inasmuch as these laws continue 
 only in such a manner and for such a time as he sees fit ; 
 consequently, whenever he pleases, he has power to alter, to 
 suspend, or abrogate these laws ; all nature, therefore, con- 
 tinues what it is, and proceeds as it does, just according to 
 his pleasure and during his pleasure. 
 
 The other view taken of this subject is, that there is an 
 immediate and constant superintendence exercised over the 
 whole creation ; in this view it is considered that all which 
 we term the laws of nature, are but the operations of divine 
 
212 
 
 THE VIEWS WHICH NATURE TEACHES US [Lect. V. 
 
 power, in a certain and uniform manner. And are there 
 not some considerations which tend strongly to favour this 
 opinion? Reflect for a moment on the universal law of 
 gravitation, according to which all matter attracts and is 
 attracted, with this remarkable condition, that its power 
 depends not on the simple ratio of the distance, but in- 
 versely on the squares of the distance. Take, now, the sun 
 and the earth, ninety-five millions of miles distant from each 
 other, and yet, according to the phenomena of gravitation, 
 every particle in the mass of each body exerts an influence 
 on every particle in the other. How can we conceive of any 
 material agency acting in this powerful manner where it is 
 not, and at a distance so immense? Describe in your 
 imagination the vast circumference which bounds the Solar 
 System, with a compass which stretches its span to one 
 thousand eight hundred millions of miles ; around the central 
 sun the primary planets are revolving at their respective 
 distances, many of which are again the centres of secondary 
 planets, which, attendant on their primaries, performing 
 their revolutions also round the sun, obey the law of gravi- 
 tation ; and to every point of this stupendous circle, every 
 particle of the sun and of every planet, primary and second- 
 ary, is sending forth a power or exerting an influence; and 
 every single atom is ever, according to the received theory, 
 acting on every other atom throughout the vast system, and 
 yet these emanations from every particle to every particle, in 
 every direction, never interfere with each other, nor obstruct 
 each other's operations. Who can have any conception of 
 the mode of such action ? The utmost philosophy can say 
 in explanation is, that the results are as though there were 
 such action. And would it not be quite as philosophical, and 
 more satisfactory, to resolve these phenomena into the con- 
 stant energy of Him who fills all space, thus exercising his 
 power continually, or in other words, willing that results 
 
 Lect. V.] 
 
 TO FORM OF THE SUPREME BEING. 
 
 213 
 
 should follow each other in such an order. Look again at 
 that mysterious something which we call life, or vital power, 
 in vegetables and animals ; that power by which the embryo 
 seed unfolds, throws out its roots, attracts to its capillary 
 tubes certain particles, and such only as it needs for its 
 further developement, assimilates these into its own substance, 
 and forms gradually the stem, the leaves, the calyx, the 
 blossom, and, finally, by the formation of a curious organ- 
 ization, brings about a reproduction of a new plant similar to 
 the parent stock. Look at animal life, mark the properties 
 which it imparts to an organization which is the subject of 
 it, to resist to a certain degree the action of physical agents, 
 such as air, moisture, and heat ; to decompose all the foreign 
 substances from which it derives nourishment when taken 
 into the stomach, and from them to form new combinations, 
 which shall supply every tissue, every vessel, and every organ, 
 and finally to produce other living beings with similar parts 
 and organs. Who, we ask, can explain these mysteries? 
 There is much of chemical action, there is much of mechan- 
 ical operation in the physiology of animals and vegetables, 
 but there is, besides, what neither chemistry, nor mechanism, 
 nor physical action of any kind can explain ; there is a vital 
 power, — that is, there is the presence of a mysterious agency 
 which none can understand or imitate. What, then, it may 
 be asked, is this mysterious agency which we call the vital 
 power (which term explains nothing) but the invisible and 
 untiring energy of Him who " lives through all life," and "by 
 whom all things consist." Does not, also, that connexion of 
 any of the phenomena of nature which we term the relation 
 of cause and effect seem inexplicable on any other principle ? 
 How can we understand in any other way why the motion 
 of any one body should be communicated to another ; or how 
 matter should act at all on matter, when, in all probability, 
 no two particles are ever in actual contact ? The presence 
 
214 
 
 THE VIEWS WHICH NATURE TEACHES US [Licr. V. 
 
 Lbct. v.] 
 
 TO FORM OF THE SUPREME BEING. 
 
 215 
 
 of an omnipotent agency, enforcing his own laws on his own 
 creation, seems at once the most simple and the only satis- 
 factory solution that can be given. 
 
 Perhaps the very uniformity and constancy of these laws, 
 the fixed connexion between causes and effects, so that like 
 causes produce like effects,— perhaps the very regularity of 
 the course of nature, is one cause why the constant agency of 
 the Divine power is not more distinqtly recognized. But the 
 uniformity with which certain effects are linked to certain 
 causes, by which one particular result is seen to follow a 
 particular condition that preceded it, is absolutely necessary 
 to our welfare, indeed to our very existence. How is it possible 
 that any course of action could have been commenced, that 
 any provision could have been made, that any precaution could 
 have been taken, if it had been a matter of uncertainty what 
 effects would follow from any given causes. If fire had some- 
 times produced heat and sometimes cold, if a stone let fall from 
 the hand had sometimes descended, and at others had moved 
 in a horizontal direction or glanced upwards, if at different 
 times the same external objects produced opposite sensations, 
 if the impressions on the organs of sense were followed by 
 very different perceptions, if there had not been fixed and 
 constant laws for the succession of the various phenomena, 
 we could have calculated on nothing, all would have been 
 uncertainty and confusion; reason would have been worth- 
 less, instinct useless, or rather neither could have existed ; 
 and the whole frame of nature would have been only a wild 
 and disordered chaos. To say the least, we can have no 
 conception how such a state of things could have been 
 compatible with the welfare of sentient and rational beings. 
 That the divine energy works throughout nature with this 
 uniformity, appears to be the result of wisdom and goodness, 
 adapting the whole to the condition of the creatures which 
 he has made. 
 
 / 
 
 With this unremitting superintendence we must not con- 
 nect the exhaustion which we feel by continued effort; 
 infinite power knows no weariness. Its exercise must be very 
 different from that of human power ;— it is not muscular 
 action, nor mechanical force, but, as far as we can understand, 
 the mere volition of his will ; perhaps more nearly resembling 
 those acts of our own will by which, without any feeling of 
 exertion, we put forth a power which is instantly obeyed by 
 any of the voluntary muscles. Such is that act of power, 
 the description of which by Moses, is quoted with admiration 
 by a heathen writer, « God said, let there be light,— and there 
 was light" 
 
 These two views, however, differ merely as to the mode of 
 action, and amount to the same thing, as far as our argument 
 is concerned : one supposing His omnipotence exerted in the 
 single act which bade creation yield obedience to fixed and 
 certain laws ; the other regarding what we term laws, as one 
 continued act, as the constant and uniform exercise, of His 
 power. Whichever view we adopt, they both lead to this 
 conclusion, that as all things were brought into being by the 
 great Creator, and received their original properties from 
 him, so all things are dependent on him and under his super- 
 intendence. 
 
 But though the whole course of nature, so far as physical 
 causes operate, be considered as under his controul, how, it 
 may be asked, can those events be subject to his direction 
 which depend on the conduct of voluntary agents ? To which 
 it may be replied, that as long as rational beings act voluntarily 
 their acts are undoubtedly their own, and they are in such 
 cases, to all intents and purposes free agents, as every person 
 must feel, who considers the workings of his own mind, with- 
 out embarrassing himself with metaphysical difficulties. But 
 still, as the condition and the conduct of rational beings de- 
 pend much on those physical agencies the laws of which are 
 
216 
 
 THE VIEWS WHICH NATURE TEACHES US [Lect. V. 
 
 the ordination of divine wisdom, and the execution of which is 
 secured by divine power ; as the manner in which the body 
 and the mind mutually affect each other is the appointment 
 of the Creator ; and as the laws of mind as well as of matter 
 originated with him who is " the Father of Spirits," he must 
 have all the events which depend on voluntary action as much 
 under his cognizance and controul as those which result from 
 the action of mere physical causes. However great, then, 
 may be the difficulties, to our comprehension, attending the 
 administration of an economy so vast and complicated, we 
 must conclude, from the view we have taken of the Divine 
 perfections, that the great Governor of the universe will bring 
 the whole scheme of providence to such an issue as shall be 
 in every respect worthy of himself. 
 
 But do the views which we have hitherto taken of the 
 Author and Governor of nature, authorise us to form any 
 conclusions respecting the Moral Government of the 
 great Creator? By moral government we mean that controul 
 which is exercised over the conduct of intelligent beings, by 
 a system of rewards and punishments suited to their rational 
 nature. That man possesses faculties which render him a 
 proper subject of such controul, none, we presume, will 
 doubt. He has a capacity of thinking and reasoning; of 
 perceiving the nature and relations of things with which he 
 is conversant; of discriminating between right and wrong, 
 of refusing what he perceives to be evil, and choosing 
 what he apprehends to be good, and of reflecting with 
 approbation or disapprobation on those intentions which give 
 to every action its true character of good or evil. This 
 power of voluntary action, combined with his capability of 
 perceiving the nature, and grounds, and consequences of an 
 action, renders him responsible for his conduct in any given 
 case. On this responsibility, according to his several relations 
 to his fellow-creatures, he is ever acting. As a child amenable 
 
 **— fc^^— .,p j^n 
 
 Lect. V.] jO FORM OF THE SUPREME BEING. 
 
 217 
 
 to his parent, a servant to his master, a subject to his sovereign, 
 the sovereign himself to the laws, he recognizes his account- 
 ability; in every situation of social life there is and must be 
 some responsibility which guides and controuis his actions. 
 If, then, the several relations of society impose duties which 
 are of indispensable obligation, can the relation which man 
 sustains to the great Being who created him. to whom he is 
 indebted for ten thousand comforts, by whose power he is 
 preserved m existence, and on whose goodness he is ever 
 dependent, be alone without its duties ? Can it be supposed 
 that the nearer the connexion and the more complete the 
 dependence, the less there is of duty involved in the relation.? 
 Is It not the dictate of reason, that every living being with 
 which man is in any way connected is entitled to certain 
 duties from him, appropriate to the relation sustained, from 
 the lowest animal that ministers to his wants or pleasures, to 
 the great Fountain of existence who is at the head of the 
 universe .? And if there are duties owing to the Creator and 
 Preserver of men from all his intelligent creatures, can any 
 one be guiltless who neglects to inquire what these duties are, 
 or who refuses a practical recognition of them ; or can we 
 imagine that "the Judge of the whole earth" will make no 
 distinction between the obedient and disobedient ? 
 
 But by what law is the morality of man's actions to be 
 determined ? Certainly by the will of the Supreme Creator, 
 if that will can be ascertained ; and that will must express 
 what is right and proper in the view of infinite wisdom. 
 From the present condition of man, we are led to infer that 
 the primary law, the law of nature, was not left on perish- 
 able records, nor trusted to traditionary transmission ; amidst 
 all the waywardness, and folly, and crime of man, do we not 
 perceive distinct traces of a law written on the tablets of his 
 heart, interwoven into the very texture of his nature.' It 
 seems as much a matter of feeling as of reasoning, that 
 
 D D 
 
218 
 
 THE VIEWS WHICH NATURE TEACHES US [Lect. ▼. 
 
 .2 
 
 some things are right and others wrong, and that intrinsically 
 considered, independent of their consequences. Notwith- 
 standing all the theories the object of which is to confound 
 virtue and vice, by making them entirely dependent on 
 circumstances, and thus to annihilate the essential distinctions 
 of right and wrong ; notwithstanding all the caprice and 
 disorder of the passions, and the unaccountable eccentricities 
 of individuals, is there a man who does not at some times, at 
 least, reproach himself, or indulge a feeling of complacency, 
 according to his judgment of the moral fitness and propriety 
 of his actions ? Has there ever been a nation or an age, how- 
 ever peculiar in its usages or strange in its manners, that has 
 considered lying, and stealing, and cruelty, and ingratitude, 
 in themselves virtues; — and truth, and honesty, and kind- 
 ness, and gratitude vices? ♦ A reverence or fear of some 
 superior power, whose favour it was important to obtain, and 
 to whom worship should be addressed, a sense of accounta^ 
 bility to some invisible being, and an apprehension that crime 
 would be followed by punishment which no earthly power 
 could evade, have been found in more or less distinctness, and 
 in all ages and countries, though exhibited in various ways. 
 Nor does it at all invalidate this statement, that some few 
 tribes of men may be found so sunk in barbarism as to indi- 
 cate but faint traces of any such law; its characters, as might 
 be expected, grow more distinct and l^ible in proportion as 
 
 • Perhaps the case of Sparta will be cited as an exception, in which state private 
 theft was permitted if it could escape detection, while severity of punishment 
 followed its discovery. But it is obvious to every one who has considered this 
 peculiarity of Lacedemonian legislation, that it was the toleration of a private 
 injury to secure what was considered a public advanta^. Situated as was their 
 little state, and dependent only for its safety on its superior military prowess and 
 habits of consUnt vigilance, the object of this peculiar license was to foster, on the 
 one hand, a watchfulness that should be never taken by surprise ; and on the other 
 hand, to encourage a vigilant and enterprising hardihood, which would lose no ad- 
 vantage for want of quickness in perceiving it, dexterity in contriving and putting 
 into action means to obtain it, or courage to risk the consequences. The dishonour 
 and the punishment which followed detection, still showed that, in itself, it was not 
 considered otherwise than as a vice. 
 
 Leci. v.] to form of the SUPREME BEING. 
 
 219 
 
 man rises in the scale of being. Interest, however it may 
 bribe the judgment and pervert the reason, cannot entirely 
 obliterate it; passion may produce a mental intoxication, 
 but when It subsides the law resumes its force; the frequent 
 endurance of the reproaches of the internal monitor, may 
 continually lessen the moral susceptibilities, but we presume 
 there are few, if any cases, in which the most hardened 
 villain does not. at times, perceive these faded characters of 
 a long neglected and often violated law brightening into 
 appalling distinctness, proclaiming his baseness and announ- 
 cing his punishment like that mysterious writing traced by 
 an invisible hand on the palace wall, which horrified the 
 impious king of Babylon, and at once pronounced his guilt 
 and doom. ° 
 
 And what, it may be asked, are the sanctions which en- 
 force this law of nature ? From the remarks just made it is 
 evident that it cannot always be violated with impunity. 
 The remorse and self-reproach which to a certain extent 
 attend its infractions, and the delight of conscious virtue, are 
 by no means to be disregarded. These consequences are. at 
 least, a part of those sanctions by which it is enforced. The 
 exercise of every virtue brings with it a degree of satisfaction 
 and pleasure, that often goes far towards balancing any incon- 
 veniences with which it may be attended. The vicious not 
 only deprive themselves of this gratification, but commonly 
 entail on themselves both remorse of conscience and bodily 
 suffering. But here a question of most awful import suggests 
 Itself; are these the only sanctions by which this law is 
 guarded? Are these visitations of remorse, which in the 
 case of the hardened sinner are repeated at more distant 
 intervals as he proceeds in crime.-especially when by his 
 vices he triumphs, obtains wealth, acquires honour.-are 
 these lashes of a guilty conscience, which after a time almost 
 cease their ineffectual attempts to reclaim him, and seem to 
 
 C^B^^^Ti^^Bir .j» "^■4Hicuhi .JiEdZJ 
 
220 
 
 THE VIEWS WHICH NATURE TEACHES, &c. [Lect. V. 
 
 Lkct. v.] 
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 221 
 
 abandon him without check or restraint to his headlong 
 passions, as an incorrigible offender, whose doom is sealed ; 
 are these the only punishments of the wretch who makes 
 thousands miserable, sacrifices with ruthless indifference the 
 happiness of all around him to his own baleful passions, and 
 lives only like a malignant fiend, to plague and torment 
 others? Is there no truth in those mysterious and awful 
 whisperings which, in all ages, have suggested to the guilty 
 wretch an invisible and almighty avenger, and a retribution 
 in a future state ? Is there no recompense for oppressed and 
 suffering virtue, trampled under foot, defamed, and scorned, 
 beyond the consciousness of right?— Is there no ground for 
 those hopes and longings after rest and compensation in 
 another state, which have so oflen supported virtue in its 
 severest trials ? We have already shown that he who is at 
 the head of the universe is a God of justice, that he has the 
 most true and correct perceptions of all that is right and 
 proper, in all his creatures, and in all circumstances. He 
 must, then, view with approbation or disapprobation the 
 actions and conduct of men, according as they agree or 
 disagree with those perceptions of what is right It is, 
 therefore, an inference which appears justly drawn from 
 these premises, that this approbation or disapprobation will 
 be expressed in a manner that shall become him as the 
 sovereign Lord of all, and be suitable to the purposes of his 
 government And that, if the peculiar circumstances of 
 this state do not admit of this full expression, there will be 
 ultimately, in a future life, such a retribution as shall inflict 
 on vice and transgression a condign punishment, and amply 
 indemnify all the sufferings of virtue. 
 
 But here nature pauses, — her voice is silent: reason is at 
 fault, and can go no further. Revelation must now become 
 our teacher, from no other quarter can we derive any satis- 
 factory answers to the numerous, the deeply interesting, and 
 
 inexpressibly important questions that arise. That such a 
 revelation has been given, and that its evidences and its pur- 
 port are most satisfactory, it will be our object at some future 
 time, if health and strength permit, to show. 
 
 Before we conclude this part of the subject, it will be 
 expected that we notice some objections which have been 
 stated to the views which we have taken. Why, it is some- 
 times asked, if a Being of infinite wisdom be the Creator of 
 all, do we see so many creatures which are apparently useless, 
 and whose existence seems rather like freaks of nature than 
 the results of intelligence and wisdom ? What end can be 
 answered worthy of such a Being, by the creation of many 
 of the species of birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and insects, 
 with which the world swarms ? To this we reply, that in 
 every one of those species on which man may look with 
 contempt, and which atheism may assign to chance, there are 
 such inimitable arrangements, and so curious an organization 
 as could result only from designing wisdom ; and if there is 
 so much of design in its formation, why should we suppose 
 that there is less in the position which it occupies in the 
 system at large, or that there is no important end answered 
 in its creation ? If we cannot see in the wide range of 
 existence the important use or beneficial end of each, it does 
 not follow that there is no such use or end. An almost 
 endless diversity, amidst a general uniformity, seems to char- 
 acterize the works of the Divine Being. And do we not 
 perceive, in all the astonishingly diversified forms of living 
 creatures, the exhaustless power and skill of the great 
 Creator displayed ? And who will have the presumption to 
 ^x the limits to this variety, or to state what creatures 
 should or should not be made, or what is the degree of 
 excellence to which it is right for omnipotence to limit itself, 
 in the material forms to which life is given ? Wherever 
 life is given the capability of enjoyment is bestowed ; being 
 
wiiaijiii 
 
 222 
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 [Lkct. ▼. 
 
 itself may be considered as a boon. And is the wisdom of 
 the Creator to be impeached, because Divine benevolence 
 distributes its bounties in various ways and different degrees ? 
 Have we a sufficient knowledge of the whole system, with 
 the connexion and dependencies of all its parts, to pronounce 
 any portion of it superfluous? In every department of 
 nature we see evidence which leads to a completely opposite 
 conclusion. The elementary constituents of this globe and 
 its furniture, the combinations of which they are susceptible, 
 and the laws which regulate their changes; the atmosphere! 
 the water, the vapours, the various soils and produce on the 
 surface, and the minerals beneath it, all have their appropriate 
 use. Besides the important part which vegetable productions 
 perform in the general economy of nature, their variety 
 serves many valuable purposes of animal life; they furnish 
 the food and medicine, and in a great variety of ways con- 
 tribute to the comfort and enjoyment, of man. It appears, 
 by the researches of naturalists, that there is not a plant that 
 grows, nor a leaf put forth by any tree, that is not the means 
 of sustenance to some living creature. Among the animal 
 tribes, many which might appear at first as useless, seem, 
 after having enjoyed a portion of existence themselves, to be 
 the appointed means of subsistence to others. Even the 
 infusoria, those minute specks of living matter which, though 
 floating in unnumbered myriads through the waters, were for 
 many ages undetected— even these serve for food for animals 
 of another class ; and many of a higher order contribute to 
 sustain the life of man. How many parts of the internal 
 economy of the human frame were viewed, some ages ago, 
 as perfectly useless simply because their uses were not 
 known. But so many have been the discoveries made by 
 modern science, of the important functions of what had 
 been supposed to be superfluous appendages, that upon the 
 detection of any minute part that may have escaped former 
 
 Lect. v.] 
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 223 
 
 observation, the inquiry is immediately commenced as to its 
 peculiar office, it being assumed almost as an axiom that 
 every part must have its use. If, therefore, every part of 
 every plant or animal,— if every constituent part of this 
 globe, with all its apparatus,— if every element, every com- 
 bination, every organ has its appropriate use;— if many 
 of those very parts, or relations, or laws, which formerly 
 Appeared superfluous, are evidently found, upon a more ex- 
 tended knowledge, all to have their beneficial and important 
 uses, may it not be the same with that very department 
 which now furnishes the objection? And is it not a fair 
 inference, drawn from a very general analogy, that it only 
 requires a more complete acquaintance with the various 
 bearings and relations of the whole system of nature, to per- 
 ceive the use of everything which now appears superfluous? 
 But the objection on which the greatest stress is generally 
 laid, is the great amount of existing evil. How, it is asked, 
 can we suppose that a being of infinite wisdom, and power, 
 and goodness, is the Author of a system in which we see so 
 many evils prevailing, and to such an extent ? In the very 
 course of nature we perceive frequent deviations from its 
 beautiful and beneficial regularity ; showers become inun- 
 dating storms, winds become tempests, and those powers of 
 nature which, in their ordinary operations, are productive 
 of so many benefits, put forth their strength in frightful tor- 
 nadoes or volcanic eruptions. In all animate beings we see a 
 large portion of sufferings, and those which are inevitable 
 are greatly increased by the wickedness of man. Can a world 
 pregnant with so much misery, deformed by so much vice, 
 be under the administration of an Almighty Power, of infinite 
 wisdom and rectitude? That this is a subject which presents 
 great difficulties, we do not attempt to deny; they have 
 occupied the minds of men in every age, and no solution 
 which has been offered can completely remove them. Some 
 
OBJECTIONS ANSWERED!. 
 
 [Lect. V. 
 
 of these, however, admit of an explanation which ought to 
 satisfy every reasonable mind ; many of them will appear 
 considerably mitigated and lessened, by considerations which 
 ought to be taken into the account ; and if there exist any 
 which are quite inexplicable, we can at least account for 
 our inability to explain them. 
 
 As to those deviations from the ordinary course of nature 
 to which reference has been made, as evils in the present 
 system, a careful consideration of these phenomena will show 
 that, strictly speaking, they are no irregularities, but proceed 
 from laws which are constant and uniform; and that their 
 most terrific exhibitions appear to be in many cases, and 
 perhaps may be in all, necessary to the well-being of the 
 system. That, for instance, the law which regulates the 
 phenomena of electricity is as accurately obeyed in the light* 
 ning's blaze, as in all those silent and unobserved operations 
 in which it so eminently subserves the purposes of animal 
 and vegetable life: and that its wildest commotions are 
 eminently beneficial. If those laws, by which nature is 
 governed, so interfered with each other as to derange its 
 course, and endanger the permanence of the system, then 
 the objection might be forcibly urged ; but while all these 
 apparent irregularities are the result of laws the most uniform 
 in their operations, and tend to the benefit of the system, 
 there is rather reason to admire the wisdom which framed 
 and which guides the whole, than rashly to call it in question. 
 That Divine wisdom might have established other laws, and 
 governed nature in a different manner, we have no reason to 
 doubt; but to say that any other laws, and a different mode 
 of administering the economy of nature, would have been on 
 the whole better, is beyond the province of any to determine. 
 The liability of all creatures possessing animal life to 
 suffering, is not unconnected with results of a most beneficial 
 kind, which should not be overlooked. The object of pain 
 
 Lect. V.] 
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 225 
 
 appears to be, to give timely notice that the system is suffering 
 injury, and not only to warn but to compel to instant measures 
 of precaution or relief. The essential interests of the system 
 must be guarded by something more vigilant in its attention, 
 and more certain in its operations, than mere reason ; it is on 
 this principle that the beating of the heart is secured by an 
 involuntary power, and that the keen sensations of hunger 
 and thirst prompt us to seek the necessary supplies. Pain 
 is a sentinel ever on the alert, whose voice is faithfully 
 raised when the body is likely to suffer, and whose language 
 must be heard, and cannot be misunderstood. Nor should it 
 be forgotten, that our happiness is often much heightened by 
 the occasional inconvenience of pain. The man can scarcely 
 enjoy repose who never feels fatigue, nor is ease ever so 
 delightful as when it follows occasional suffering. 
 
 But it may be said that there is much more evil than can 
 be accounted for in this way, than can be necessary as a pre- 
 caution against danger, or prove beneficial, by its occasional 
 presence, in its influence on our actual enjoyment. This is 
 admitted ; the amount of bodily suffering and mental anguish 
 in the present state is, indeed, great. But let it be again 
 considered, that this is a world of sin and vice ; and ought 
 not such a state of things to be marked by interruptions of 
 happiness, and visitations of evil ? Admit that the highest 
 order of the earth's inhabitants, that its only rational beings 
 have departed from rectitude, that there has been a universal 
 defection in their obedience to the great Creator, and less 
 surprise will be felt that so much misery should follow so 
 much vice. Should a world abounding with moral evil 
 be a paradise of sweets ? Should not a world of sin be a 
 world of suffering ? That exclusive enjoyment should reign 
 amidst universal transgression, would not, as far as we can 
 perceive, become the character of the righteous Governor of 
 the universe,— it would be like a bounty on crime. 
 
 E E 
 
OBJtCJtlOKiS ANSWEHED. 
 
 [Lect. V. 
 
 Lect. v.] 
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 227 
 
 But still the question is pressed on us, why was evil, eithei*^ 
 moral or natural, permitted to enter into the fair creation, to 
 mar its beauties, and to spoil its happiness ? Could not aH 
 intelligent Creator, possessing boundless wisdom and powefj^ 
 have prevented this ? And if perfect rectitude is an attribute 
 of his nature, how could he permit it? That evil has entered 
 and established itself in the world, and that there exists an 
 infinitely wise, and powerful, and righteous governor of the 
 universe, are propositions which atheism affirms to be coiii 
 tradictory ; and since the entrance of evil is an undeniable 
 fact, the other proposition, it affirms, cannot be true. The 
 state of the argument then, as far as this objection goes, ii 
 this ; — on the one hand we have proofs without number, and 
 of the strongest kind, that a being exists of unbounded 
 power, supreme intelligence, and transcendent goodness, ti 
 whom, as the great Creator, we trace the existence of ali 
 things; — against this is placed the contradiction, be it real or 
 supposed, between the prevalence of so much evil and the 
 existence of such a being. It must be remembered at the 
 same time, that the evil on which the objection is grounded 
 is not pure, unmixed, and universal, but commingled with a 
 large amount of good. Now whether of the two is the 
 greater difficulty; — to resist the evidence which meets us 
 everywhere, which is so varied in its kind, so numerous in its 
 instances, and yet in each separate and individual case so 
 strong and unanswerable; or to consider the contradiction, 
 like many others of less importance with which we frequently 
 meet, as only apparent? On the one hand we have a truth 
 pressed on us with a strength of evidence which has produced 
 conviction in the minds of the wisest, and greatest, and best 
 of men in every age; on the other, a difficulty which we cannot 
 understand. When such a case occurs in common life, we 
 never yield up the evident truth on account of the difficulty, 
 but conclude that there are some unknown circumstances or 
 
 views of the case which create the difficulty, and which, were 
 we in possession of them, would remove it. I appeal, then, to 
 the reason and the candour of my auditory, of that part' of 
 it especially, who, while following in the ranks of scepticism, 
 profess to be inquirers after truth, whether, with such pre- 
 ponderating evidence as that which we have produced, the 
 conclusion is not fair and rational, and unspeakably more 
 satisfactory than its opposite, that the alleged contradiction 
 18 only apparent ; and that our incapability of solving the 
 problem, does not prove that it is incapable of solution ? 
 
 The following considerations we candidly submit as deserv- 
 ing attention ; and feel assured, that if they do not throw all 
 the light which may be desired on a subject so mysterious, 
 they are at least sufficient to forbid the presumption of a 
 rash and hasty conclusion, on the ground of a difficulty, in 
 the face of so much evidence. 
 
 Is not a degree of imperfection necessarily attendant on a 
 created being? He is not, cannot be absolutely as the 
 Creator. The great First Cause is the only necessary, self- 
 existent, and immutable Being, who cannot by necessity be 
 otherwise than he is ; that is, it would involve a contradiction 
 to suppose it No created being can be what he is neces- 
 sarily, he cannot, therefore, have necessary immutability. He 
 is not in his own nature free from the possibility of change; 
 It IS possible that he may at another time be different from 
 what he now is. He cannot, then, have absolute perfection ; 
 he cannot be by necessity of nature free from evil. What is 
 possible may happen without a contradiction. Man, there- 
 fore, however high in the scale of being, and though without 
 any original bias to evil, might deteriorate, unless the Creator 
 should prevent it by an act of his own power. 
 
 Is not a liability to evil inseparable from liberty of choice, 
 and necessary to free agency ? If man had been created with 
 an impossibility of falling from that state, where could there 
 
OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 [Lect. V. 
 
 Lect. v.] 
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 229 
 
 have been any test of his obedience!^ — what virtue would 
 there have been in his fidelity ? 
 
 Does not a partial evil sometimes produce a general good, 
 and an amount of good so great as to render that which was 
 in itself, and separately considered, an evil, relatively and on 
 the whole a good ? Wearisome labour, fatiguing application 
 of mind, self-denial, are in themselves evils ; yet how much 
 happiness results from them and depends on them ? Cannot 
 we recollect many incidents of our lives that we felt for the 
 time being as evils, and which, independent of their conse- 
 quences, were so, — and yet we now see that so much of 
 our subsequent happiness depended on them, that we are 
 thankful for their occurrence. Misfortune in business some- 
 times proves the foundation of future success. And even a 
 certain amount of folly and misconduct, though in itself a 
 serious evil, and against which it is the duty of every one 
 cautiously to guard, may yet be the means, and often has 
 been the means, of teaching such lessons and awaking such 
 feelings and sentiments in the mind as have subsequently 
 given the strongest power to the virtuous principle, and led 
 to the most confirmed habits of rectitude. Every person of 
 observation must have seen instances, in which the penitent 
 recollections of past misconduct have so wrought on the 
 mind, as to produce characters the most eminent and dis- 
 tinguished in the ranks of moral excellence, who have far 
 outstripped others, who from their youth have kept on the 
 even tenor of their way, with a mediocrity of virtue. 
 
 Does not a state in which good and evil are so blended as 
 to afford opportunity for the full developement of character, 
 and the exercise of every virtue, accord with our idea of a 
 probationary state, the inequalities of which shall be fully 
 adjusted by the rewards and punishments of a future life.> 
 Do not the sufferings, the trials, and the temptations of such 
 a state, while «they afford a test of character, call forth the 
 
 I 
 
 liveliest exercise of compassion, benevolence, generosity, and 
 give an opportunity of showing, in a high degree, the love 
 of truth, fidelity, integrity, and every grace that can adorn 
 the human character .J^ And does not such a state, viewed in 
 connexion with the retributions of a life to come, seem to 
 afford the best opportunity for developing all the principles 
 of moral government } 
 
 That may appear to be wrong with a certain measure of 
 knowledge, which a more comprehensive view will show to 
 be right The child thinks that the restraints placed on his 
 inclinations, and the discipline to which he is subject, are all 
 against him; when his mind expands, and he is able to take a 
 more enlarged view, he perceives the propriety of the whole. 
 |A person with very little knowledge of the laws of nature, 
 will not believe that the sun is larger than the earth ; and that 
 the latter is in constant and rapid motion round the former. 
 To affirm that the sun is more than a million times larger than 
 this globe, and that it does not move round from east to west, 
 are to him most palpable contradictions ; and yet a higher 
 degree of knowledge explains the mystery, and sets all right. 
 So, with our present limited knowledge and means of judging, 
 there may be much that may appear to be wrong and contra- 
 dictory in the present system ; whereas, if we were capable 
 of taking a more enlarged survey of all its connexions and 
 results, and its bearings on God and man, on this and on 
 Other worlds, on time and on eternity, where we now stand 
 astonished at the mystery we might admire the wisdom, and 
 exclaim, " righteous and true art thou in all thy ways, 
 O King of saints." 
 
 And I would ask, lastly, whether it is at all likely that we 
 should be able, with our limited powers, to comprehend the 
 plans of an infinite mind ? Can we expect a child to enter 
 into all the views and projects of his father, or to comprehend 
 all the financial details, the political relations, and the various 
 
•mm 
 
 230 
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 [Lect. T. 
 
 Lect. v.] 
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 231 
 
 interests which enter into the plans of a statesman who 
 guides the affairs of an empire ? Place before a school-boy, 
 just acquiring the rudiments of arithmetic, the profound 
 and elaborate analysis of Laplace to determine the secular 
 mequalities of the planets :-here are words and letters 
 which, as insulated portions, he may understand, and per- 
 haps, by dint of application, he might here and there 
 discover a simple operation of multiplication or division, and 
 thmk he had done wonders ; but these are blended with a 
 number of mystic characters and unknown operations, of 
 the nature and connexions of which he has not the slightest 
 perception; and, without any idea of the surpassing inge- 
 nuity and compass of mind which the process exhibits, and 
 the important results to which it leads, it is all confused and 
 mysterious to his apprehension; he has no experience to 
 guide him, no means of judging of the whole; as far as his 
 perceptions go there is no order, no proposed end, and it is 
 only by the most implicit reliance on the superior capabilities 
 Of the mathematician, that he believes that method pervades 
 the whole, and that an important result is obtained. Now 
 there is an immeasurably greater disparity between the 
 highest powers of human intellect and the infinite mind 
 than between the understanding of a child and the most 
 exalted genius that ever adorned human nature. Is it likely 
 then, that we should be competent to the task of explaining 
 every part of the Divine administrations,^is it surprising 
 that we should find what appear to us as contradictions 
 which we cannot reconcile, and difficulties which we cannot 
 solve,-~are we in a capacity to determine what on the whole 
 and m the great result is right, when we see but a small part 
 of what IS yet incomplete ? If we cannot, therefore, explain 
 the difficulty, we can account for the existence of what may 
 confound our judgment and nonplus our understanding, by 
 the obvious impossibility that a limited mind should compre- 
 
 bend the plans and workings of an infinite intellect, which 
 embraces in one mighty whole all creatures, all worlds, all 
 time, and all eternity. 
 
 Let me now, in closing, remind my auditory how completely 
 coincident, as far as it goes, is the knowledge which nature 
 gives with that which is imparted by divine revelation. It 
 is delightful to observe the accordance of the works of God 
 with the word of God. Nature, indeed, speaks by signs, which 
 it requires the exercise of reason rightly to interpret ; reve- 
 lation speaks by words, and pronounces with authority its 
 decisions on sacred and moral truth. I need not refer you 
 who are in the habit of reading the scriptures, to the impres- 
 sive language in which the eternity, the self-existence, and 
 independence, the immutability, the infinity, the spirituality, 
 and the unity of the Divine Being are so often presented to 
 our mind;— in which the inspired writers descant on the 
 wisdom and the power, the justice and the mercy of him who 
 is the Creator and Governor of all things, the benefactor and 
 the judge of rational beings. It was the contemplation of 
 these divine attributes and perfections, which filled the minds 
 of the sacred writers with solemn awe and unspeakable 
 delight; which filled their hearts with holy confidence, and 
 their tongues with praise; which gave them assurance of 
 safety, whatever dangers might threaten them or calamities 
 befall them; which gave them peace amidst all the storms of 
 life, enabled them to rejoice in the prospect of death, and 
 filled their bosoms with the joyful anticipation of having a 
 fuller and a brighter vision of his uncreated glories in the 
 world of eternity. 
 
 Let me congratulate you, my Christian brethren, that in the 
 sacred scriptures you have the deficiences of nature's light 
 supplied, and all the information imparted which is necessary 
 to your present peace or future welfare ; that where nature 
 and reason stop in the information which they are able to 
 
232 
 
 OBJ ECTIOHi JtNSWERED. 
 
 [Lect. V. 
 
 impart, you have " a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto 
 ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth 
 in a dark place." How unspeakably important are the 
 inquiries which you here find answered : " If a man die, 
 shall he live again?" " How can man be just with God ?" 
 Will the great Governor of the universe pardon transgression? 
 How, and on what terms, and to what extent may pardon be 
 obtained ? What will be the consequences of dying unfor- 
 given, and what the result of having obtained mercy ? What 
 will be the nature of the retributions of a future state, and 
 when will they be finally awarded? These and many in- 
 quiries of an interest incomparably greater than all which 
 relates to human science, or the concerns of this transitory 
 life, are answered with a clearness and precision, which re- 
 iease us from the dreadful suspense of uncertainty on topics 
 so momentous, and afford us " a light to our feet, and a lamp 
 to our path," to guide us to the regions of endless day. 
 
 How well adapted to impress the mind with reverence, and 
 to inspire it with sacred pleasure, is the consideration of the 
 perfections and government of such a Being. So great, and yet 
 so good, so comprehensive in his plans, and so minute in his 
 care ; whose providence extends to worlds and atoms ; who 
 bids the planets roll, marks the flight of a "sparrow," and 
 numbers even " the hairs of our head." " Clouds and darkness" 
 may for a time veil his designs in mystery, but " righteousness 
 and judgment are the basis of his throne." We may, in view- 
 ing the wonders of his providence and grace, have occasion to 
 exclaim, " O the depths both of the wisdom and the know- 
 ledge of God ; how unsearchable are his judgments, and his 
 ways past finding out" But we still add, " shall not the judge 
 of all the earth do right." And O, how consolatory is the 
 thought that, insignificant and unworthy as we are, he, the 
 great Maker and Governor of the universe, " taketh pleasure 
 in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy." 
 
 LECTURE VI, 
 
 THE ATHEISTIC PHILOSOPHY COMPARED, IN SOME OF ITS 
 PRINCIPAL FEATURES, WITH CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 "'and U^'^c'^tr '"^ "^^ «^-- -- THROUGH PHILOSOPHY 
 
 Philosophy was originally a term of very modest import, 
 indicating only the love or study of wisdom ; those who 
 were engaged in the pursuit of truth and knowledge were 
 thus called philosophers. It soon, however, assumed a more 
 dignified meaning, and indicated that more refined and accu- 
 rate knowledge of nature and morals, which the learned few 
 professed to have obtained. The tenets of philosophy, as 
 rnaintained by different persons, were not, however, uniform • 
 almost every distinguished teacher had his own system, or 
 made innovations on those systems which had preceded him 
 It IS unnecessary to enumerate the various and jarring sects 
 that arose, each advocating some peculiarity which was 
 opposed by others. In these various systems there generally 
 were some facts of science and some just reasoning, inter- 
 mixed with a very large portion of sophistry and conjecture • 
 and some of them were wild and extravagant almost beyond 
 
 . 1 -1 ^T' f :\^-^^*-^ "- --"^ «Tar.,." A Hebraism probably, for « throuRh 
 a philosophy which is vain and deceitful,"— or « thn^ua-h , „ • a J . . ""^'^ 
 «.phy." M.«k„igh., " an e^pty and'del^Ifu, SCh"" '*"''• 
 
 F F 
 
234 
 
 ATHEISM, IN SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL [Lect. VI. 
 
 credibility. Their philosophical tenets were not confined to 
 the observed phenomena of matter or mind, but their specu- 
 lations related also to the author of nature, the government 
 of the world, the grounds and obligations of virtue, and the 
 means of happiness. The Jews, though not a people re- 
 markable for their literature, yet had their philosophical 
 sects, or what much resembled these sects in other parts 
 of the world, which had their doctors, and their schools, 
 and their followers, and their distinct peculiarities, both in 
 opinion and practice. Whether the apostle here alludes to 
 any system in particular, among either the Greeks or Jews, 
 is not, perhaps, certain ; his principal object being to caution 
 those to whom he wrote against any of those fallacies which, 
 though going under the dignified name of philosophy, were 
 nothing better than " vain deceit." 
 
 How much that has been obtruded on the world under the 
 name of " philosophy," has been in every sense " empty" 
 and profitless ? How many a system, that once had its ad- 
 mirers and supporters, lives now only in the page of history, 
 as a record of the folly and credulity of mankind ? And 
 how often still are opinions of the most absurd and incon- 
 gruous nature linked together into systems and theories, 
 in which conjecture takes the place of fact, sophistry is 
 substituted for reason, and bold assertion supplies the lack 
 of argument^ However such opinions may impose on the 
 unwary, they are and must be nothing but " a vain philo- 
 sophy." Instead of substantial truth, a shadow is grasped ; 
 instead of any solid advantage, an imaginary good is possessed,^ 
 but real injury sustained. 
 
 A " philosophy" which is " vain," that is alike destitute of 
 truth and profit, may yet be, on many accounts, as " deceit- 
 ful" as it is "vain." Error never appears without disguise 
 when it solicits a reception ; it always wears the garb and 
 bears the name of truth. Few, indeed, are the erroneous 
 
 Lkct. VI.] FEATURES, COMPARED WITH CHRISTIANITY. 235 
 
 systems in which there is not some admixture of truth ; and it 
 IS to this very circumstance that they are frequently indebted 
 for acceptance. The most unwholesome error may be so 
 ingrafted on the stock of truth as to appear actually to 
 spring from it; mistakes of a most pernicious kind may by 
 practised ingenuity, be so dexterously inwrought with ac^ 
 knowledged truths as, like a finished piece of mosaic, to 
 render a very close inspection and a nice discrimination 
 necessary to distinguish the several parts, or to see where 
 one ends and the other begins; and thus frequently the 
 ^ whole system, with all its essential and mischievous errors 
 IS received, on account of some few truths which cannot be' 
 denied. A « vain philosophy " may also impose on many by 
 a few great names which it may rank among its patrons. 
 The aberrations of the human mind are truly astonishing 
 and especially among men distinguished for their learning 
 and talents. It is a fact, however it may be explained, that 
 theories so visionary, and opinions so wild and fanciful as 
 would discredit a man of common understanding, have some- 
 times been originated or maintained by men of great general 
 superiority. Great names, in science or literature, always 
 have their influence; and a few of these will sometimes give 
 currency to great absurdities, and render a "vain philosophy" 
 imposing and " deceitful." A system destitute of truth may 
 also, have much to flatter our pride, and may thus tend to 
 beguile the mind. If it teaches its votaries to consider 
 themselves as the only free and independent thinkers, while 
 others are the slaves of unreasonable prejudices, and the 
 dupes of an hereditary and widely spread superstition,^that 
 they alone assert the supremacy of reason, while others are 
 crouching before a despotic dictation,-that they are the 
 select few who have the courage to examine what others take 
 upon trust, and to ridicule what others treat with veneration 
 and awe,-it will become peculiarly captivating to bold and 
 
236 
 
 ; m SOME OF m PRINCIPAL [Lect. VI. 
 
 Lbct. VI.] FEATURES, COMPARED WITH CHRISTIANITY. 237 
 
 speculative minds, to whom singularity itself is a proud 
 distinction, and especially to the ardent and inexperienced 
 youth. If, in addition to this, a " vain philosophy" should 
 tend to quiet all the remonstrances of conscience, by denying 
 everything of which, in the hour of retirement and stillness, 
 it reminds us ; by reducing to a fiction of the imagination 
 all the solemnities involved in the consideration of an invisible 
 judge, and a future state of retribution ; if by thus removing 
 all the restraints which others feel, it allows a man, without 
 fear, to " walk in the ways of his own heart, and according 
 to the sight of his eyes ;" then, it is evident, such a philosophy 
 will have such recommendations to any one who feels these 
 restraints irksome and annoying, who would enjoy the plea- 
 sure of sin without its sting, and gratify his inclinations 
 without remorse, as will in all probability blind the under- 
 standing to its defects, bespeak the feelings of the heart in its 
 favour, and thus secure an acceptance by its ** vain deceit." 
 
 Now, is it not obvious that the boasted philosophy of infi- 
 delity is of this kind ; — that these are some of the principal 
 qualities which render it dangerous ? Because, therefore, it 
 comes with the fair promise of leading us into truth, and 
 ingeniously blends its pernicious errors with many things 
 which are acknowledged true, claims a few great names in 
 literature or science as its patrons or disciples, and flatters 
 the pride of man, while it aims to destroy the power of 
 conscience, it is necessary that all who come within reach of 
 its seductions, either by the companions with whom they 
 associate, or the books which are thrown in their way, should 
 be warned to " beware, lest any man spoil* them, through 
 philosophy and vain deceit." And lamentable, indeed, would 
 be the result of being thus spoiled : beguiled, and plundered 
 
 * av^ayoiy(u» Properly, to make a spoil of any, as persons vanquished in war, 
 whose property is seized and whose persons are enslaved by the victor. And meta- 
 phorically as here, to deprive a person of any thing by force or fraud. 
 
 of the highest sanctions of morality, the most powerful in- 
 centives to virtue, the sweetest consolations and the brightest 
 hopes, what would there remain to man but a slight and 
 •hort-lived superiority to the beasts that perish ? 
 
 We have already endeavoured to show that the atheistic 
 philosophy. is "empty" and "vain," as far as it makes any 
 pretensions to truth. In order to this, we have adduced some 
 strong presumptions that lie against it, which have never 
 been satisfactorily removed ; we have examined the various 
 hypotheses on which it rests, and "found " them "wanting;" 
 we have produced evidence which condemns it, so various 
 and conclusive as not, we conceive, to admit of contradiction ; 
 we have given the objections which it raises a fair hearing^ 
 and in reply have, we believe, proved them to be groundless. 
 Our principal object now is to show that it is as destitute of 
 any real advantage as it is of truth, that it is as worthless as 
 it is false, that its assumed superiority is all a fable; and 
 that, therefore, whatever may be its plausibilities, it is in 
 the worst sense " deceitful," emphatically " a vain deceit." 
 We shall endeavour to show that were we to grant the truth 
 of its dogmas, it would still be worse than useless,— that, were 
 we to leave its supporters in undisturbed possession of their 
 territory, it is only a land barren and dreary, and dark as 
 "the shadow of death,"— that the beauty which they admire 
 is only a ghastly phantom,— that the object of their ador- 
 ation cannot, after all the incense which they offer, give 
 one cheering smile to the human race,— that their splendid 
 monument of false reasoning and perverted science is but a 
 decorated tomb, which, beneath all its sculpture and its 
 gilding, and its panegyrical inscription, contains only silence, 
 and gloom, and putrefaction. 
 
 As things and opinions are frequently seen to advantage by 
 contrast, we intend to exhibit some of the principal points in 
 which the atheistic philosophy has gloried, in comparison 
 
238 
 
 ATHEISM, IN SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL [Lbct. VI. 
 
 with those very points ia that system which atheism particu- 
 larly condemns and ahhors. For it is remarkable that all the 
 fantastic fooleries, all the extravagant absurdities, and all the 
 barbarous rites of ancient or modern paganism receive a 
 treatment mild, and polite, and benign, compared with that 
 with which Christianity meets in the writings of many of the 
 patrons of infidelity. Whatever crimes and follies other 
 systems may be charged with, they cry out like the Jews of 
 old, " Release unto us Barabbas, — but as for this man crucify 
 him, crucify him." 
 
 But let the comparison be fairly made, let atheism be 
 judged according to the descriptions and statements of its 
 own advocates ; and let an estimate be formed of Christianity, 
 not as it is disgraced in the lives of many who unworthily 
 assume the Christian name, nor, as it is when secularised 
 and corrupted, and employed for purposes foreign to its own 
 pure nature and heavenly origin, but as it appears in its own 
 writings, as it is pourtrayed in the sacred scriptures. 
 
 Let me not, however, be mistaken. Far be it from me to 
 concede or intimate that there is anything like philosophy in 
 the minds of a great many who embrace infidelity in its 
 various gradations. There is reason to fear there are too 
 many in whose minds there is nothing systematic but their 
 aversion to Christianity, as a scheme which demands sub- 
 jection to a holy Being, and which presents objects of terror 
 to a sinful heart. And with too many of the writers on 
 this subject, there is anything but philosophical reasoning ; 
 they deal principally in extravagant vituperation, bold and 
 unwarrantable assertion, and a determination to identify re- 
 ligion with all the abuses chargeable on hypocritical, or 
 ignorant, or bigoted and wicked professors of it To dignify 
 such trash as frequently issues from the infidel press with the 
 name of philosophy, even of a " vain philosophy," would be 
 a miserable abuse of terms. But there are some who to 
 
 Lect. VI.] FEATURES, COMPARED WITH CHRISTIANITY. 239 
 
 considerable talents and science add great ingenuity, and who 
 have given to atheism the shape and appearance of a system, 
 and have endeavoured to support it by arguments drawn 
 from various branches of philosophy. It is to such writings 
 as these which I refer, which I know are circulated in this 
 town and neighbourhood, and to the opinions of those who 
 read and reason on them, however erroneously, when I speak 
 of the philosophy of atheism. 
 
 Before we proceed to the points of comparison on which 
 I shall principally dwell, there are a few particulars in which 
 the two systems may be compared, which deserve some 
 attention. 
 
 There is an important difference in the character and 
 aspect under which these systems respectively present them- 
 selves to our notice. Atheism is professedly a philosophical 
 system; Christianity a divine communication. Consequently, 
 the systems take very different ground, and advance claims' 
 of a very different nature. Atheism, so far as it makes any 
 pretension to a philosophical system, stands on just the same 
 grounds as the opinions maintained by the ancient Academics 
 or Peripatetics, the Epicureans or the Stoics, each of which 
 had its advocates and its enemies, its period of triumph and 
 decay. Whatever credit may be attached to any such system, 
 on account of the plausiblity of its arguments, the ingenuity 
 with which it is constructed, or the great names which it 
 enrols among its supporters, the highest ground on which 
 it can challenge our belief, and claim our acquiesence, is, 
 that it is a well constructed and well reasoned system of 
 human opinions, with a probability of their truth. Beyond 
 this no system of this kind can go ; certainty is out of the 
 question. Christianity, on the other hand, stands forward in 
 a character far different, and with claims of another kind. 
 It professes to be not the result of human speculation, « but 
 the wisdom which is from above ;" not a plausible theory. 
 
240 
 
 ATHEISM, IN SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL [Lect. VI. 
 
 
 but certain truth. Admit all that atheism requires, and it is 
 still but the offspring of human reason ; admit the truth of 
 Christianity, and its origin is the Father of lights ; — the Foun- 
 tain of eternal truth. 
 
 * 
 
 The one, as founded only on human reasonings, is princi- 
 pally a question of opinion, the other, as professing to be' a 
 communication from heaven, is a question of fact. Atheism 
 has no facts which belong peculiarly to its system, on which 
 it can ground its opinions ; we have precisely the same facts, 
 and, with what we cannot but consider overwhelming evi- 
 dence, draw conclusions from them destructive of the atheistic 
 scheme. But Christianity is entirely built on facts peculiar 
 to itself, which, unless they can be shown to be historically 
 false, ensure with a certainty which cannot be doubted the 
 truth of all its communications. Concede everything to the 
 atheistic scheme which its advocates can, with any show of 
 reason demand, and still there is room for doubt to operate, 
 and uncertainty to distract the mind ; there may be a flaw in 
 the reasoning, some views of the subject may be omitted 
 which would entirely alter the case, the premises may be 
 mere conjecture, or the conclusions may not be justified. 
 Grant to Christianity its facts, and doubt is for ever excluded. 
 Here are books come down to us, and which for many ages 
 have existed, not only in the principal languages of Europe, 
 but in several of the oriental tongues, which were professedly 
 written by persons whose names they bear, and published at 
 or very near the time when the events which they relate 
 occurred, and when their statements, if false, might have 
 been contradicted; these statements also, are interwoven 
 with many historical events and local peculiarities. Now, 
 whether such writings did first appear about the time to 
 which they refer, and whether those particulars of general 
 history and local references be accordant with truth ; or, 
 whether any age, before or since, can be assigned to these 
 
 LECT. VI.] FEATURES, COMPARED WITH CHRISTIANITy. 241 
 
 books, and their historical allusions shown to be fictions • 
 are questions of fact, on which the whole system hinges, and 
 which, surely we have sufficient historical information of the 
 past to determine. And further, it is affirmed in these writings, 
 published about the time and in the places where the events 
 narrated are said to have occurred, that during the reign of 
 a certain emperor at Rome, and under the government of a 
 Roman magistrate, there appeared in the land of Judea a 
 most extraordinary person, who professed to be well ac 
 quainted with all those great and mysterious topics of inquiry 
 that had long engaged the attention of the wisest of men to 
 little purpose, respecting the nature, and character, and will 
 of the great Creator, the prospects and destiny of man with 
 reference to a future life, the means of man's highest happi- 
 ness, and the rule of his duty; professing, moreover, to be a 
 messenger from the most high God, sent to instruct and bless 
 his rational creatures : and it is also related in these documents 
 of history, that prophecies which had for many ages been 
 contained in books still extant, were most remarkably ful- 
 filled m the circumstances, character, life, and death of this 
 sacred person; that in proofof his mission he wrought many 
 surprising miracles, which nothing but a divine power could 
 effect, and that after having been unjustly sentenced to a 
 cruel death he rose from the dead, according to his own pre- 
 dictions, notwithstanding every precaution taken by his 
 enemies, and after having been seen by many of his disciples 
 repeatedly, he ascended into heaven; and that according to 
 a previous promise, he bestowed on his followers most ex- 
 traordinary powers : and moreover, these writings testify, that 
 a rite was instituted as initiatory into the community of his 
 followers, which rite we know continues to this day, that 
 another rite was appointed by himself in remembrance of his 
 death, and a cerUiin day in the week observed by his disciples 
 commemorative of his resurrection, all which observances 
 
 QQ 
 
242 
 
 ATHEISM, IN SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL [Lbct. VI. 
 
 are still miintained in every part of the Christian world. Now 
 these, with many others which might be mentioned, are facts 
 which can be submitted to the test of historical evidence, 
 and if they can be substantiated, which we believe they can, 
 in the most complete and satisfactory manner, then the truths 
 which Christianity announces, admit neither of reasoning nor 
 of appeal; our only business being to ascertain what they 
 are ; then the precepts of duty which it delivers call not for 
 discussion, but implicit obedience: on all the momentous 
 inquiries which interest man, there is no longer any room to 
 doubt, but all is certainty. On those great points whose de- 
 cision is so necessary to our happiness, atheism may profess 
 to give plausible reasons, but still leaves room for the most 
 tormenting doubts; Christianity, by its authoritative decisions 
 resolves these very doubts, and, by the assured certainty 
 which it thus affords, releases the mind from torturing 
 apprehensions. 
 
 From the very different grounds on which these systems 
 professedly stand, and the claims which they respectively 
 make, the consequences of receiving or rejecting either are 
 widely different Admitting atheism to be true ; if we em- 
 brace it, what do we gain ? If we stubbornly, and through 
 prejudice, reject it, what do we lose? If Christianity be 
 true, a reception of its statements, and an acquiescence with 
 its claims, bring unspeakable blessings for time and for 
 eternity; while a wilful and perverse rejection of it incurs m 
 risk the most tremendous that can be imagined. 
 
 Another remarkable contrast between the two systems is, 
 that one is a system of belief, the other of disbelief; the one 
 is remarkable for its positive or affirmative character, the 
 other for its n^ative quality. Atheism discloses no secrets, 
 unfolds no mystery, teaches no truth. It tells us, indeed, to 
 look at nature and observe her laws, but this the Christian 
 does quite as much as the atheist, and the laws and operations 
 
 Umf^ VZ.] FEATURES, COMPARED WITH CHiliflANITY. 243 
 
 of nature have been principally discovered, explained, and 
 illustrated by Christian philosophers, and on Christian prin- 
 ciples. But what has atheism to teach but mere negations > 
 —that there is no First Cause, no Creator, no intention in all 
 the beautiful and beneficial arrangements of nature; that 
 there is no such thing as mind or spirit in the universe ; no 
 God, no angel, no hereafter for man, no future judgment,' no 
 heaven or hell, no rewards for virtue or punishments 'for 
 vice beyond this life. Its object is, in fact, to teach men to 
 disbelieve what all ages have believed, and to confine within 
 the smallest compass all the objects of truth and knowledge. 
 Christianity, on the other hand, admits all the truths of 
 nature and of sound philosophy, and encourages, by very 
 peculiar and interesting considerations, our examination of 
 all the objects of creating power ; and in addition to this, 
 presents us with truths which only revelation could disclose, 
 and those of the most important kind, which affect our 
 welfare both in this world and in that which is to come. It 
 answers questions which philosophy could never solve, it 
 teaches truths which reason could never reach. It shows us 
 how man's nature can be purified, and exalted, and raised to 
 the highest dignity; how the simplest mind that is teachable 
 may be made wise unto salvation; how the transgressor 
 may be pardoned ; how the weakest may be strengthened to 
 sustain every difficulty, and to vanquish every enemy ; how 
 comfort may spring from afflictions, the deepest sorrows 
 be turned into joy, and the most distressing evils be con- 
 verted into means of the highest good. It is the work of 
 Christianity to resolve doubts,-K)f atheism to create them ; 
 Christianity explains much, atheism declares everything to 
 be inexplicable. Christianity offers a " light to our feet and 
 a lamp to our path," to guide us through this world to a 
 better ; atheism bids us grope our way in darkness to the 
 silent tomb, till an eternal night extends its shadows over us. 
 
'1144 
 
 JXH£ISM, IN SOME OF ITS PRlN€l%L [Lect. VI. 
 
 Atheism does not, with all its boasted philosophy, meet 
 the wants of man, nor come home to the feelings of human 
 nature. Christianity does, and that in the most effectual 
 manner. How often does the heart of man feel the want of 
 some superior power on which to lean for help and guidance? 
 There are seasons when, sensible of the insufficiency of all 
 earthly aid, it sighs involuntarily and deeply for support 
 which no human being can render. How frequently does 
 the mind, in its calm and thoughtful moments, look with the 
 eagerness of inquisitive desire on the vast regions of truth, 
 of which it can, by its own unaided powers, know so little, 
 and pant to know more of the past, and the present, and the 
 future, of things visible and invisible, the existence of which 
 is either perceived or imagined? There is something within 
 that indicates responsibility, in a manner which it is difficult 
 to resist, and which feels that a hope of forgiveness is necessary 
 to peace of mind. There are also internal suggestions about 
 a mysterious futurity, and an irrepressible longing after im- 
 mortality. There is in the mind of man that which earth 
 cannot satisfy, with all the good of every kind which it has 
 to bestow ; so that often, in the midst of affluence, and honour, 
 and friendship, and domestic endearments, a something is 
 felt still void, and still unsatisfied. At the very time when 
 the heart thrills with pleasurable emotion, while contem- 
 plating the scenes of nature, how often is there mixing with 
 this pleasure a strange feeling of desire and longing after 
 something more beautiful, and vast, and glorious still? In 
 the midst of every thing good, and great, and delightful, in 
 civil or in social life, in nature or in art, whatever relation 
 man may sustain, in whatever situation he is placed, there is 
 an inward pining, a secret longing after an undefined some- 
 thing greater, and better, and lovelier, than all that is seen or 
 enjoyed in this world. These sentiments of the heart, these 
 peculiar susceptibilities of our nature, may be fainter and 
 
 LiCT. VI.] FEATURES, COMPARED WITH CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 245 
 
 feebler as man sinks in the scale of rationality ; they may be 
 disregarded amidst the hurry of business and the round of 
 dissipation, but they are seldom, if ever, entirely obliterated; 
 they are found in every age, in every climate, in every rank 
 and degree of society, as a part of our mental constitution ; 
 and in proportion as man rises in the scale of being, and as 
 he retires from the cares, and strife, and tumult of life into 
 himself, he is conscious of feelings of this kind. Now, 
 Christianity completely meets the wants and feelings of man's 
 nature, it has help for his weakness, truth for his curiosity, 
 and imperishable good for his desires of happiness ; it can 
 calm the conscience, silence the fears, and guide the hopes 
 to a blissful futurity ; it has objects on which the mind can 
 fix, and, in the contemplation of them, feel all its inward 
 workings and indistinct imaginings respecting the great 
 and the beautiful, the awful and the lovely, satisfied, over- 
 whelmed, and delighted. But where is this adaptation to 
 man's nature to be found in atheism ? What has it for any 
 such feelings and sentiments, but a doubt or a rebuke ? Man 
 must, under the discipline of a determined scepticism, learn 
 to silence this inward monitor, to repress these feelings of 
 responsibility, to contradict and deny this capability which 
 is felt for superior happiness, to subdue these cravings after 
 immortality and boundless good, before he can cordially 
 embrace the tenets of atheism, or feel satisfied with its un- 
 natural philosophy. In other words, he must, we conceive, 
 do violence to his nature, in order to become thoroughly an 
 atheist. 
 
 Whatever benefits the atheistic philosophy proposes to 
 confer, are, according to the showing of its own advocates, 
 confined to a few ; Christianity is adapted to all. There are 
 two reasons for this: one is that which we have just men- 
 tioned, its contrariety to man's nature ; and the other is„ that 
 the sophistry of a system so opposite to the general sense of 
 
246 
 
 ATHEISM, IN SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL [Lect. VI. 
 
 mankind in every age, must necessarily be coiifiiMd to a few 
 speculative minds. A practical atheism which renounces 
 all belief in a Divine Being, which scojQTs at what others re4 
 vere, and despises those sanctions which others hold sacred, 
 may, indeed, be found connected with the most brutal stu- 
 pidity; but I am now speaking of its philosophy, — of its 
 speculations arranged into a system, in order to account for 
 the phenomena of the universe, without admitting an intelli- 
 gent Creator, and to secure, in some measure at least, such 
 as may hold society together, the interests of morality, while 
 rejecting a moral Governor, the responsibility of man to 
 any higher power, and the retributions of a future state. A 
 large portion of society consists of the working classes, many 
 of them men of good common sense, but all of them of limited 
 education, and who, generally, must be incapable of entering 
 into all the refined sophistry, and ingenious subtleties by 
 which the philosophy of atheism is supported. So that, were 
 we to listen to all the panegyrics of the atheist on his own 
 system, we should still feel that its proposed benefits and 
 blessings must be very limited in their extent Atheism, says 
 one of its most strenuous advocates, " requires intense study, 
 demands extensive knowledge."* "Atheism, then, as well as 
 philosophy, like all profound abstruse sciences, is not calcu- 
 lated for the vulgar, neither is it suitable to the great mass of 
 mankind." t "It is not, then, for the multitude, that a 
 philosopher should propose to himself, either to write or to 
 meditate : the Code of Nature, or the principles of atheism, 
 as the priest calls it, are not, as we have shown, even calcu- 
 lated for the meridian of a great number of persons." { That 
 it should ever become general is, according to this author, 
 what ** appears utterly impossible," § therefore, he asserts, 
 " this is not the end we can propose to ourselves."§ How 
 completely is the contrast to this which Christianity exhibits? 
 
 •Sjrstem of Nature.— Vol. II, p. 597. f p. 598. J p. 699. § p. 596. 
 
 Lbct. VI.] FEATURES, COMPARED WITH CHRISTIANITY. 247 
 
 M 
 
 « 
 
 It was announced as a distinguishing feature in the new 
 economy, when the great founder of Christianity first estab- 
 lished his spiritual kingdom in this world, that " to the poor 
 the gospel is preached." To comprehend as much of 
 Christianity as is necessary to a participation in all its 
 blessings, does not require « intense study, and demand ex- 
 tensive knowledge." It is not as a « profound and abstruse 
 science," that it benefits its recipients, but, it is by receiving 
 the kingdom of God as a little child," that it becomes 
 the power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth." 
 While it gives ample scope to a mind capable of ranging 
 through a wide field of truth, and, by its sublime objects, 
 affords exercise to the largest powers, the cordial belief of 
 a few facts is all that is necessary to bring its divine com- 
 fort into the mind ; a few simple rules or principles, with an 
 upright intention, are sufficient to give and to enforce such 
 a code of morality, as shall lead even the poor and labouring 
 classes to all that is virtuous, and " honest," and " lovely," 
 and ** of good report" Christianity does not restrict its 
 bounties to men of any rank or degree of mental cultivation, 
 it labours for " the multitude," and it is " calculated," and 
 eminently so, " for the meridian of a great number of per- 
 sons." Christianity looks benignly on the whole world, is 
 adapted alike to the poor and the rich, the bond and the free, 
 announces its glad tidings to "every creature" who hears 
 its "joyful sound," excites all who have felt its power and 
 enjoyed its comforts to diffuse these blessings to "every 
 nation, and tongue, and people, and kindred ; " and will be 
 satisfied with nothing short of universal extension, when "all 
 flesh shall see the salvation of God together." 
 
 We shall now proceed to a more particular inquiry con- 
 cerning the bearing of the respective systems on three 
 important points, Man, Morals, and Happiness. We 
 shall institute, with all due regard to brevity, a comparison 
 
248 
 
 ATHEISM, IN SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL [L«CT. VI. 
 
 of the views they respectively give us of man, the influence 
 they exert on morals, and the provision which they make 
 for human happiness. 
 
 And first, let us ask how the respective systems stand 
 with regard to their views of Man. Man is evidently the 
 Lord of this lower world ; not only is he distinguished by 
 the superior organization of his bodily frame, but still more 
 by those mental faculties which give him so lofty a pre- 
 eminence over all other living beings that inhabit this earth. 
 As both the speculations of the atheistic philosophy and the 
 statements of Christianity profess to throw a light on the 
 nature, and relations, and prospects of man, the excellency 
 or defect of either system may be made apparent by a com- 
 parison of both with reference to man. Atheism charges 
 Christianity with being unsatisfactory and debasing, all its 
 views are, according to atheistic writers, chimerical, and its 
 influence degrading : Christianity not only denies the charges 
 but retorts them. Let us, then, submit the opposing systems 
 to the test of comparison on this point 
 
 What then, is the origin of this wonderful structure, the 
 human frame ? We have, in some preceding lectures, shown 
 how complex are its parts, how numerous are its adapt- 
 ations, and with what surprising accuracy the whole works. 
 How just are the mechanical principles on which the solid 
 frame work is built, and how many are the ingenious con- 
 trivances for strength, mutual support, and protection of 
 the vital parts, which are exhibited in the bones and joints, 
 and especially in the skull, the vertebral column, and the 
 manner in which the head is connected with the spine ? How 
 exquisite is the formation of every muscle, with its tendons ; 
 how accurately placed, so as to secure the proper motion of 
 every moveable part of the human frame,— and how well 
 furnished with nerves, in innumerable ramifications, to es- 
 tablish a communication and a sympathy throughout the 
 
 Lbct. VI.] features, compared with CHRISTIANITY. 249 
 
 whole system. How surprising is the distinct hydraulic ap- 
 paratus for circulating the blood, after the refined chemistry 
 which has converted the food into chyle, and that into the 
 vital fluid ; and no less so the pneumatic machinery of the 
 chest and lungs,- the exquisite construction of the organs of 
 sense, and the complete adaptation of the whole to the'^world 
 in which human beings exist and the various productions 
 with which it abounds. And we ask of either system how it 
 will account for the origin of all these wonders, exhibiting 
 so complete an acquaintance with the principles of mecha- 
 nism, the most refined chemistry, the laws of hydraulics, 
 pneumatics, and optics.? Atheism answers, "it is a production 
 of nature." We ask again, what is nature .?— and we are told 
 it « is the great whole that results from the assemblage of 
 matter ;" that is, that matter, operating without design or in- 
 telligence, by « necessary laws," happened unintentionally to 
 form this crowning piece of ingenious workmanship. We 
 are to believe, then, that on some occasion a number of the 
 elementary particles of matter, which had been eternally in 
 motion, without any object or any guidance, happened to meet 
 together, just at the same time and place, just of such kinds 
 and in such quantities as to form the bony frame work of 
 the body, with all its cartilages and joints, and to provide the 
 latter with an anti-attrition liquid which, as though these 
 senseless atoms had foresight, the working of them would 
 certainly need ; that others joined, as though by concert, to 
 stretch out the minute fibres of the muscles, and to sheath 
 them and bind them together, and place them just in that 
 position which it was necessary they should occupy in order 
 to move the bones, and that some, as though they knew how 
 to economise space, passed one muscle through another, or 
 reeved it through a bone like a pulley, or made straps to 
 bind down the tendons in their places; and that others at 
 the same time arranged themselves so as to form a mouth, 
 
 H II 
 
250 
 
 ATHEISM, IN SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL [Lect. VI. 
 
 and teeth, and throat, and stomach ; while again their fellowi 
 made the gastric juice, or at least organs to secrete it ; anij 
 another set as industriously arranged themselves into thi 
 shape of a heart, furnished with valves, and arteries, and 
 veins, for the circulation of the blood ; while their associates 
 at the same time, as though well skilled in pneumatics, made 
 the lungs, and trachea, and larynx, and took care to provide 
 a valve, lest the food should descend by a wrong tube. All 
 these, however, and a thousand more distinct contrivances, 
 would have been of no use without eyes; but just at thii 
 juncture, we are further to suppose, some thousands of 
 particles, that had been wandering about for all eternity, 
 happened to meet just in the same spot, and, as the bone^ 
 makers had quite unintentionally left two strongly protected 
 cavities, communicating with that which contained the brain, 
 set about making, on optical principles, a pair of eyes to fit 
 them, some forming the various humours and lenses, and 
 others the retina, to receive the rays, and others the beautiful 
 iris, to regulate the quantity of light, while their companions, 
 with other combinations, made muscles to move the eye in 
 every direction, and eye-lids to protect it, and glands to 
 prepare a liquid to keep it moist; and that this curious struc- 
 ture, made in such a way, was just suited to the air, and 
 the light, and the water, and the productions of the globe 
 which were to minister to its future subsistence. But this 
 was but one ; whether male or female it must, if alone, have 
 perished. Just, then, at the same time, we are required to 
 believe that, as though there had been a mutual understand- 
 ing, certain other companies of vagabond atoms, which the 
 necessary laws of matter had been driving about from all 
 eternity, in one direction or another, met, and performed the 
 same wonders, with this difference, that one of another 
 sex was made in order to continue the race ! What is there 
 satisfactory in this? Is any cause assigned adequate to the 
 
 Lect. VI.] FEATURES, COMFlRfiD WITH CHRISTIANITY. 251 
 
 production of such effects ? Is it possible to imagine a greater 
 failure? Could all the romantic speculations in which eccen- 
 tric genius has ever indulged, afford anything more unsatis- 
 iictory and visionary ?» Now let us turn to Christianity, and 
 receive her explanation. We are informed that a Being of 
 infinite wisdom and power, having formed and fitted up this 
 world, made man of the same materials as the globe, and im- 
 parted to him the breath of life ; and that seeing it was « not 
 good for man to be alone," «d>help meet" for him was also 
 created. That " in the beginning" « male and female " were 
 thus created with a view both to their mutual comfort and 
 the continuance of the race. Is there anything unreason- 
 able in this ? Here is a cause completely adequate to the 
 effect, by which all the surprising, and beautiful, and bene- 
 volent contrivances in man's formation, are accounted for in 
 a manner the most satisfactory. 
 
 Consider again the marvellous workings of the human 
 mind, and all the phenomena of thought How profound are 
 the reasonings, how exalted the conceptions, how command- 
 ing the genius, which distinguish mind. How numerous and 
 surprising are the discoveries which it has made in every 
 department of nature, how extensive the dominion which it 
 exercises over matter, and the power which it possesses of 
 making all material properties subserve the happiness and 
 improvement of the human race? It recalls the past, antici- 
 pates the future, and brings present whatever is remote. 
 How great is the power which it possesses, of abstracting, 
 combining, generalizing, and classifying ; what brilliancy of 
 fancy and smartness of wit does it not sometimes display ? 
 How strong and tender the affections, how authoritative and 
 dominant the will, which is capable, when a sufficient motive 
 is addressed to it, of resisting all the animal propensities, all 
 
 • However modified and diverse may be the theories on which atheism endeavours 
 to account for the existence of man, they appear equally absurd and extravagant. 
 
252 
 
 ATHEISM, IN SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL [Lect. VI. 
 
 the excitement of desire, all the allurements of pleasure, 
 all the hope of gain, and all the terrors of death. And how 
 does the atheistic philosophy explain the existence and the 
 origin of such powers ? It resolves all into matter and motion. 
 All that is pure in love, that is exalted in friendship, that 
 is tender in maternal regard, is only the result of some me- 
 chanical action or chemical affinity. All the bright visions 
 of glory that stood before the mind of a Milton, were but the 
 dance of certain atoms in his brain, — the enlarged conceptions 
 and the profound reasonings of Newton, by which he gener- 
 alized innumerable insulated facts, and discovered the great 
 law of nature, was only a lucky congregation of certain 
 medullary particles, that meeting together most appropriately, 
 and in a most fortunate position in his brain, kindled a light 
 that diffused itself through the whole world of mind, and 
 commenced a new era in science. Every virtue that adorns, 
 every grace that beautifies, and every sublime trait of magna- 
 nimity that ennobles the human character; — the daring of 
 the hero, the devotion of the patriot, the benevolence of the 
 philanthropist, and the piety of the martyr, are nothing but 
 the properties of that food which after having existed in a 
 vegetable form, entered into the composition of the animals 
 on which man has fed ; which having been taken into the 
 stomach and digested, and received into the general mass of 
 blood, after having passed through all these parts and pro- 
 cesses, became all that was brilliant, and powerful, and lovely 
 in mind ! This philosophy, in fact, leads to the conclusion 
 that man has nothing to identify him with his past existence ; 
 that the substance, which at a previous period thought, and 
 reasoned, and felt, now no more belongs to him than it does 
 to the earth on which he lives, or to the cattle which graze on 
 the plain ; and that without any one principle of identity he 
 has changed all that constitutes himself some ten or twelve 
 times during his life! And this is the philosophy which. 
 
 Lbct.VI.] features, compared with CHRISTIANITY. 253 
 
 according to the modest pretensions of one of its advocates, 
 \diom we have often quoted, professes to be able " without re- 
 curring to chimerical causes, to explain everything ! *' Now, 
 what is the view which Christianity gives of the mind of man? 
 It teaches that it is a distinct and living principle, acting 
 by the organs of the body, indestructible in its nature, and 
 amidst all the changes which the body undergoes remaining 
 identically the same ; that, endowed with properties which 
 belong to no material substance, it is for a time connected 
 inseparably with the body, but that, itself a spirit, created 
 by the great " Father of Spirits," in his own « image and 
 likeness," it is capable of existing in the presence of its 
 adorable Maker, of perceiving his glories, and enjoying his 
 favour, when the mortal body shall be slumbering in the 
 tomb. Admit the truth of atheism, and all is dark, dubious, 
 and unsatisfactory : admit the truth of Christianity, and in- 
 formation is given, by which the phenomena of both matter 
 and mind are accounted for, and a satisfactory relation esta- 
 blished between the effects which appear and the cause to 
 which they are assigned. 
 
 But atheism would have us to believe that its philosophy 
 is an ennobling and elevated speculation, while Christianity 
 is a debasing superstition. The effrontery of such an assump- 
 tion must be evident on a moment's comparison. Atheism 
 teaches, that man in his best state is nothing higher nor better 
 than a beast of the earth, with a physical organization supe- 
 rior to his fellow beasts ; that, by certain necessary laws of 
 unconscious matter, he came into being without either design 
 or end ; that here he has no relation to anything but matter, 
 whose forms are ever varying and perishing; that he is tossed 
 about on the uncertain billows of an ever fluctuating state, 
 as chance may befall or fatality compel him ;. that in a few 
 short years he will suffer a complete annihilation, and have 
 no more existence than his dog, or than the worm which is 
 
254 
 
 Ji^EISM, IN SOME OF ITS MINCIPAL [Lect. VI. 
 
 crushed beneath his feet : in a word, that his origin is chance, 
 his life a vapour, and his prospects an eternal blank. Christi- 
 anity, on the other hand, teaches him to look to the glorious 
 Creator of all worlds as his Maker and Governor, to consider 
 himself allied by his immortal spirit to myriads of the highest 
 order of created intelligences, and to the Infinite Spirit him- 
 self; and it shows him a land beyond the grave, points to a 
 deathless existence in a world where all his powers, now so 
 contracted and confined and interrupted in their exercise, 
 shall have ample room to expand, and the most glorious ob-' 
 jects to employ them. Go, says atheism, go, weary mortal, 
 worn out with the perplexities of a mysterious existence 
 which nothing can explain, exhausted with the cares and 
 pains of an evanescent and worthless being, lie down on the 
 bosom of thy mother earth, sink contentedly into the undis- 
 turbed quiescence of nonentity, and render back all that now 
 composes thee to nature, to form new combinations, and to 
 live again in some other form. Ennobling prospect— all that 
 thinks, and feels, and reasons in man, must go into corrup- 
 tion ; and the very particles which formed the soul of a Bacon 
 or a Locke, may successively form the sensorium of a worm, 
 a spider, a bat, and an ass ! Glorious philosophy ! 
 
 The next point to which we proceed in our comparison, 
 is that of Morals; and this opens so wide a field, that we 
 must, as much as the subject will admit, contract our survey 
 and condense our remarks. That atheism should make great 
 pretensions to morality may appear very strange, whether we 
 regard those high and powerful sanctions to virtue which it 
 denounces as chimerical fancies, or the results which have 
 generally attended an adoption of its tenets. Yet, surprising 
 as it may seem, its advocates laud it to the skies as teaching 
 the purest and highest morality, by enforcing a "system of 
 nature," while all religion is despised as a demoralising su- 
 perstition. Before we make our comparison, let us hear the 
 
 IMlil>«ll»> 
 
 Lect. VI.] FEATURES, COMPARED WITH CHRfSffANITY. 265 
 
 parallel of contrast which a celebrated patron of this philo- 
 sophy draws. 
 
 Everything that has been advanced," says the author I 
 now refer to, " evidently proves that superstitious morality 
 is an infinite loser, when compared with the morality of 
 nature, with which, indeed, it is found in perpetual contra- 
 diction. JVature invites man to love himself, to preserve his 
 existence, to incessantly augment the sum of his happiness : 
 superstition teaches him to be in love only with formidable 
 doctrines, calculated to generate his dislike ; to detest himself; 
 to sacrifice to his idols his most pleasing sensations, the most 
 legitimate pleasures of his heart. JVature counsels man to 
 consult reason, to adopt it for his guide : svperstition, pour- 
 trays this reason as corrupted, as a treacherous director, 
 that will infallibly lead him astray. Nature warns him to 
 enlighten his understanding, to search after truth, to inform 
 himself of his duties ; superstition enjoins him not to examine 
 anything, to remain in ignorance, to fear truth ; it persuades 
 him there are no relations so important to his interest, as 
 those which subsist between himself and systems which he 
 can never understand. Nature tells the being who is in love 
 with his welfare to moderate his passions, to resist them 
 when they are found destructive to himself, to counteract 
 them by substantive motives collected from experience; 
 superstition desires a sensible being to have no passions, to 
 be an insensible mass, or else to combat his propensities, by 
 motives borrowed from the imagination, which are as variable 
 as itself JVature exhorts man to be sociable, to love his 
 fellow-creatures, to be just, peaceable, indulgent, benevolent, 
 to permit his associates to freely enjoy their opinions ; super- 
 stition admonishes him to fly society, to detach himself from 
 his fellow-mortals, to hate them when their imagination does 
 not procure them dreams conformable to his own ; to break 
 through the most sacred bonds, to maintain his own opinions. 
 
m aMi ■"••-'•«'«ll»"""#IPid|||,inp(i«|||"^ . 
 
 'flpiO 
 
 ATHlttH, IN mmE OF ITS PRINCIPAL [Lect. VI. 
 
 or to frustrate those of his neighbour ; to torment, to perse- 
 cute, to massacre those who will not be mad after his own 
 peculiar manner. Nature exacts that man in society should 
 cherish glory, labour to render himself estimable, endeavour 
 to establish an imperishable name, to be active, courageous, 
 industrious; superstition tells him to be abject, pusillanimous, 
 to live in obscurity, to occupy himself with ceremonies ; it 
 says to him, be useless to thyself, and do nothing for others. 
 Nature proposes to the citizen for his model, men endued with 
 honest, noble, energetic souls, who have usefully served their 
 fellow citizens; superstition recommends to his imitation 
 mean, cringing sycophants ; extols pious enthusiasts, frantic 
 penitents, zealous fanatics, who, for the most ridiculous 
 opinions, have disturbed the tranquillity of empires. Nature 
 urges the husband to be tender, to attach himself to the com- 
 pany of his mate, to cherish her in his bosom; superstition 
 makes a crime of his susceptibility, frequently obliges him 
 to look upon the conjugal bonds as a state of pollution, as the 
 ofl'spring of imperfection. Nature calls to the father to 
 nurture his children, to cherish their affection, to make them 
 useful members of society ; superstition advises him to rear 
 them in fear of its systems, to hoodwink them, to make them 
 superstitious, which renders them incapable of actually 
 serving society, but extremely well calculated to disturb its 
 repose. Nature cries out to children, to honour the authors 
 of their being, to love their parents, to listen to their admo- 
 nitions, to be the support of their old age ; superstition says, 
 prefer the oracles in support of the systems of which you 
 are an admitted member, trample father and mother under 
 your feet. Nature holds out to the philosopher, that he 
 should occupy himself with useful objects, consecrate his 
 cares to his country, make advantageous discoveries suitable 
 to perfection the condition of mankind ; superstition saith, 
 occupy thyself with useless reveries, employ thy time in 
 
 Lect.VI.] features, compared with CHRISTIANITY. 257 
 
 endless disputes, scatter about with a lavish hand the seeds 
 of discord, calculated to induce the carnage of thy fellows 
 obstinately maintain opinions which thou thyself canst never 
 understand.'** 
 
 In this comparison, let it be observed, that it is Christi- 
 anity to which reference is here especially made, and which 
 w designated a "superstition." It was not to expose the 
 errors and rebuke the fanaticism of pagan idolatry that the 
 work was written ; to undermine and destroy Christianity 
 was its obvious design, though reasons existed at the time of 
 its publication, why the author should be somewhat guarded 
 m his expressions, and make use of general rather than of 
 specific terms.t It is also worthy of remark, that here almost 
 everything that is unnatural, cruel, licentious, and base- 
 everything that virtue hates and man abhors; everything 
 which destroys individual happiness, poisons the comforts 
 of domestic life, and disorganizes society, is attributed to the 
 influence of religion! But is this Christianity? Is the 
 charge thus intended to be made against it, true or false.? Is 
 it a fair representation, or a foul slander ? Let us examine. 
 That the most extravagant vagaries have, in different ages 
 of the world and in various circumstances, assumed the name 
 of religion, no one can deny. But what is this to Christi- 
 anity ? It must also be acknowledged with deep regret, that 
 the state policy which has, in most of the governments of 
 Europe, made Christianity national, has given a most incon- 
 gruous exhibition of that "kingdom" which is "not of this 
 world;" that this procedure has too often, while ingrafting a 
 form and a creed on the vices of the human heart, secured a 
 
 * Syst of Nat-Vol. II, pp. 438-441, Chap, intitled * Theology not Moralitt ' 
 
 t For the same reason, prohably, the ..ork goes under a feigned name. Though 
 
 ,t bears the name of Mirabaud as its author, who died at the advanced age of eighty. 
 
 ZVh" H ' T^ r °'* P"""^'^' '' ^PP^^^' «" ^« y^-^« after his 
 death and ,s gcnemlly believed to be the pn,ductionof8ome other person ;-perhaps 
 I should say persons, as the glaring contradictions which are found in it would lead 
 to the supposition that different parts of it were written by different individuals. 
 
 1 1 
 
258 
 
 ATHEISM, IN SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL [Lect. VI. 
 
 support for despotism and lent itself to persecution; and that 
 excesses which outrage the spirit and contradict the precepts 
 of Christianity, have claimed the sanction of its name. But 
 is Christianity to be charged with abuses, which in the 
 strongest terms it condemns? We also remember that in 
 France, where this was first published, all that was licentious 
 in manners, both in the court and in the clergy, was com- 
 bined with the most ridiculous superstitions, the ignorant 
 and intemperate zeal of bigotry, and not unfrequently with a 
 deep hypocrisy and cruel fanaticism, which tended to hasten 
 on that frightful catastrophe which buried in one common 
 ruin, both the altar and the throne. But, all the crimes of 
 Nero might as well be charged on civil government, or the 
 fatal qualities of the poison imputed to the pure water iu 
 which deleterious drugs are infused, as these excesses be 
 attributed to the holy and benevolent spirit of the gospel. 
 And it is further granted, that wherever Christianity has 
 existed, and in whatever form, some have professed its 
 sacred name whose conduct has dishonoured it ; the friend- 
 ship of these Christianity rejects, their alliance she repels 
 with indignation, and limits ail the blessings which she 
 bestows to those whose lives are regulated by the precepts 
 of the gospel. 
 
 Having made these concessions and explanations, I ask of 
 the most confirmed disciple of atheism now present, who has 
 read the New Testament, made himself acquainted with the 
 life, and doctrine, and precepts of its founder, the exhortations 
 and examples of his chosen apostles, and, who has considered 
 the preaching and the practice of those who are living under 
 the influence of Christianity, and making it the great business 
 of their lives, whether the comparison is fairly made,— 
 whether such charges are true— whether such are the genuine 
 features of Christianity ? Does it command man to extinguish 
 his desire for happiness, or to sacrifice any pleasure worth 
 
 UCT. VI.] FEATURES, COMPARED WITH CHRISTIANITY. 259 
 
 enjoying, which does not lead to misery .? Has it nothing to 
 say of "abounding in hope," « rejoicing with joy unspeak- 
 able, ofa " peace which passeth all understanding " ? Does it 
 not secure advantages in « the life which now is," as well as in 
 « that which is to come " ? Is it true that it forbids us « to 
 examme anything," that it tells us "to remain in ignorance, to 
 fear the truth " ? Does it never exhort us to " prove all things 
 and hold fast that which is good " ? Do the sacred writers' 
 never appeal to our reason on the evidences of Christianity 
 and the claims of its founder to a divine mission ? Is 
 our reason ever required to yield to faith except when a 
 higher authority speaks, and when the subject is beyond its 
 grasp ? Does the religion of the gospel aim to annihilate 
 « the passions," and reduce ourselves « to an insensible mass".? 
 Why, then, are so many rules given us to guide and regulate 
 these passions, so that they may be means of good and not 
 of evil.? Had the divine author of Christianity no sensi- 
 bilities, and did his apostles forbid us to « rejoice with them 
 that do rejoice, and weep with those that weep " ? Where 
 is the precept of the gospel that teaches us to persecute and 
 massacre those who do not " maintain our own opinions " ? 
 Is It in the inculcation of that charity which teaches us « to 
 believe all things, to endure all things, to hope all things," or 
 m those precepts which enjoin us to render blessing for 
 cursing— or in his example who. when loaded with exe- 
 crations and suffering undeserved tormente, breathed out the 
 prayer " Father, forgive them, they know not what they 
 do"? Whocan be ignorant that conjugal love is blessed and 
 sanctioned, that parental affection is encouraged, that filial 
 obedience is enjoined ? Where is the precept written, or the 
 example recorded, which urges us to « live useless to our- 
 selves, and to do nothing for others"? Does it not command 
 us to " do good unto all men, "— " to visit the fatherless and 
 the widow, and the sick in their afiliction " ? Where is 
 
200 
 
 ; IN SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL [Lbct. VI. 
 
 " abject pusillanimity " encouraged, is it in such exhort-, 
 ations as those which direct us, " by patient continuance in 
 well-doing to seek for glory, and honour, and immortality ? " 
 Has Christianity done nothing, is it now doing nothing to 
 encourage institutions which are designed to benefit the 
 body and instruct the mind? Are there no heroic exertions, 
 is there no self-devotion to be seen in those efibrts of 
 benevolence which are made in the East and West Indies, 
 among the ices of Greenland, or in the scorching climes of 
 the equator ? Does Christianity cherish no warm feelings of 
 attachment for our native land or our fellow countrymen ? 
 Was there no love of country in those labours which sought 
 assiduously " the lost sheep of the house of Israel,"— or in 
 those tears which were so profusely shed over Jerusalem, — 
 or in that " great heaviness," and continual sorrow of heart 
 which, amidst all his cares, and labours, and successes, still 
 pressed on the mind of an apostle for his countrymen, the 
 Jews ? But it is unnecessary to proceed ; it must be evident 
 to every candid mind, that if this author had endeavoured to 
 exhibit a perfect contrast to all that Christianity is, and all 
 that it commands, he could scarcely have drawn a more 
 complete picture. 
 
 And observe farther ; Nature teaches a man *« to augment 
 bis own happiness," " to consult reason," " to enlighten his 
 understanding," " to search after truth," " to moderate his 
 passions," ««to love his fellow creatures," &c. We admit 
 that reason and conscience, when passion does not drown 
 their voice, and they are listened to, will show that these 
 things are right and proper. And Christianity, instead of 
 overlooking them, gives light to reason, and power to con- 
 science to enforce them. All that nature teaches, Christi- 
 anity teaches, and much more. Christianity has a voice 
 where nature is silent, she decides where nature doubts, she 
 unfolds to the view objects of commanding power, and 
 
 Lbct. VL] FEATURES, COMPARED WITH CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 261 
 
 deepest interest, and holiest influence, to enlighten, and 
 purify, and exalt, and strengthen nature. Christianity is not 
 the foe, but the best friend of nature. Her kind and benig- 
 nant influence prompts to everything which can benefit an 
 individual or a state, raises the standard of morals, elevates 
 every noble sentiment, and, expanding the heart with charity, 
 sums up the whole of its precepts in one word, ** love ; " for 
 " love is the fulfilling of the law." If hesitation should ever 
 occur as to the line of duty to others, she supplies a principle 
 of universal application ; •* all things whatsoever ye would 
 that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." And 
 if any duty or course of action should occur to which no 
 specific precept applies, a general rule is given in such terms 
 as these. " Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things 
 are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are 
 pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of 
 good report ; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, 
 think on these things." 
 
 A candid examination of what Christianity is, will not 
 only prove that the charges advanced against it are unfounded 
 calumnies, but will show that we are justified in asserting 
 that, besides exhibiting a purer and more elevated system of 
 morality than atheism can inculcate, — defining more accu- 
 rately its duties, and affording a greater number of illustrious 
 examples, it possesses means and motives to restrain crime 
 and to promote virtue, to which the atheistic philosophy is 
 an utter stranger. In order to prove this, it is not necessary 
 that we should enter into any elaborate disquisition on the 
 nature of virtue, and the grounds of moral obligation. A 
 shght reference to the morality of atheism and the sanctions 
 by which it is enforced, will show that it is essentially de- 
 ficient in those very points in which Christianity excels. The 
 following is, I presume, a fair sketch of the atheistic system 
 of morality. The great object of man's pursuit is and ought 
 
^04 ATHStSH, IN SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL tLKcx. VI. 
 
 to be his own happiness; to secure this he must put a degree 
 of restraint on his own passions and desires; and as his 
 happiness is partly dependent on others, among whom he 
 lives, he must refrain from injuring them, lest they injure 
 him, and confer benefits on them, that he may in return 
 receive benefits again.* Now. it must be observed that 
 whatever virtue this philosophy approves, or whatever vice 
 it condemns, all the reward of the one and the punishment 
 of the other belong to this life, to the brief mortal existence 
 of the virtuous or vicious individual. Atheism looks no 
 farther, and declares that all beyond is a blank, an eternal 
 nonentity. What, then, is to support virtue, when that 
 very virtue is unpopular, when it brings only misery, and 
 poverty, and scorn ; or when, after enduring the vexatious 
 persecutions of the ignorant, the bigoted, and the interested, 
 m the consequences of which all that are dear to him share, 
 the sufferer sees nothing before him but an ignominious 
 death ? Can the abstract love of virtue support a man under 
 
 maJZ^T^/ir^ r°' *** ^"^ °' b^i"^, or the fear of mfaery, are the only 
 
 L^„ -1 r ri"^*^ °^**"'' " " ""'y "^"'"^ «» «»"'''«' o»' own eocti. 
 !!^Z f ? *° ""'' "" ""^' ^-"^ "« «" ""'y 'o™ ">»« «tions. approve that 
 conduct, from whence result actual and reciprocal utility , this constitutS^ViRTUB 
 In consequence, to conserve ou^elves, to make our own happiness, totjoy ^" 
 r.^, ««« compelled to follow the routine which conducts to this nd;TfnZ; 
 others .„ o„r own preservation, we are obliged to display an interest in the ™^^e 
 
 ^^„M , •""',. '^ •" "" '■'''''="' ^'^'^- S"""" » tl'«trueestaMisLent"f 
 moral obligation."— System of Nature, Vol. 11, p. 428. 
 
 wdf^ (!•;•. """l") will aUow, that to conserve himself, to secure his own permanent 
 welfere. he >s frequently obliged to resist the bUnd impulse of his oto desirl 
 T^ f ^-fte the benevolence of others he must ac't in a m^e ZfoZZ^ 
 to thcr advantage ; in reasoning thus, he will find out what virtue actuallyT, f 
 
 cXt t th"7'"'° "Tf'' "*"'" ■" "'^o"'' »■« •'" ^ "warded foVhL 
 eonfinned by the good opinion of others, whose kindness he will have secu,^ if 
 he acts m . contrary mode, tte trouble that wiU ensue, the disorder of hir^ie. 
 wll quickly warn him that nature, thwarted by his «,tions, disapproves his con"m 
 
 o"f ol" "T'T. "'T"' *" "'••'='■ "" "'» ^ """Sed to add'thcToniemnatioi' 
 Of others, who will hate him."— -Vol. ir, p. 437. 
 
 Lect. VI.] FEATURES, COMPARED WITH CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 263 
 
 all this; when a compliance with the custom of the times, and 
 a conformity to the practices of others, would bring comfort, 
 and prosperity, and honour ? But it may be said he would 
 suffer in his own esteem, were he to act otherwise than ac- 
 cording to his own standard of right and wrong. Be it so ; 
 will not his views of the standard or rule of duty be affected 
 by the recollection that it is his duty, and should be his 
 object, to enjoy as much of happiness as this fleeting life 
 will allow, and that nothing can indemnify him for a loss in 
 this respect } Will virtue, in such a case, apart from his 
 happiness, and contrary to it, appear much more than an 
 empty name; and will he be likely to sacrifice to it all the 
 substantial good that he can ever enjoy } 
 
 And further, as, according to the atheistic philosophy, it 
 must be the sum of a man's desires and duty, to make as 
 much of this life as he can, to have those gratifications 
 which he values most highly, what should bind a man to 
 be virtuous whose propensities, whether constitutional or ac- 
 quired, lead all the other way ? Suppose a man should say, 
 I feel unspeakably more happiness in wine, and revelry, and 
 libidinous pleasures, than I can in any virtuous self-denial 
 which you recommend ; if you are happy in abstemiousness, 
 I am happy in indulgence, you go your way, and I go mine; 
 we are both fulfilling the end of our being, we are enjoying 
 the happiness we prize, each in his own way. What, in 
 such a case, could be objected to him ? The graver atheist 
 might, perhaps, reply ; but, in so doing you are constantly 
 living under excitement, you are shortening the very term 
 of enjoyment, you are preparing for yourself an early grave. 
 Might not the ardent voluptuary retort, this is the only way 
 in which I can be happy ; the " necessary laws " of nature 
 have made me what I am ; I am accountable to no one in 
 heaven or earth, providing I do not bring myself under the 
 power of the laws ; I know the price at which my happiness 
 
mmm^ 
 
 264 
 
 ATHEISM, IN SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL [Lbct. VI. 
 
 ~^iiiiiiitt.Ji>i 
 
 i* purchased, and am content to pay it ; "a short nie and a 
 merry one " for me. Let the very stuff that life is made of 
 consume with the enjoyment— it is my only heaven ; let the 
 taper burn like phosphorus in oxygen, rapidly, indeed, but 
 with a bright, a brilliant flame ; and when it expires I shall 
 be just as happy as the gravest, and the most temperate, and 
 the most virtuous of men. And who, on atheistical prin- 
 ciples, could contradict or blame him ? 
 
 And what is the check which it has on crime ? It is in- 
 expedient, because it tends to misery, by forfeiting the good 
 opinion of others, and by sinking a man in his own esteem. 
 But some men become so hardened in guilt as to lose all 
 sense of honour, and, by repeated acts of sin, almost to para- 
 lyze every moral feeling, and to deaden the remonstrating 
 power within their bosom ; what then shall awaken a torpid 
 conscience, or impose any barrier to still greater guilt? If 
 the dishonesty of a knave can be concealed, if the adulteries 
 of the debauchee are not detected, if the oppressions or mur- 
 ders of the tyrant be above the reach of law, or if any one of 
 these possesses the means of eluding its grasp, so that he can 
 sin with impunity, what is to prevent him ? Let the atheist 
 reason with him on his dishonourable course and his flagrant 
 sin, may he not repel him by saying, vices and virtues are 
 but names, pleasure is pleasure by whatever term it may be 
 designated, and this is the only mode, and the highest measure 
 of my gratification. If I can profit by what you call villainy, 
 and find gratification in those passions which you call vices, 
 if the possession of wealth, however obtained, if the indul- 
 gence in lust or revenge, if the wanton exercise of power be 
 the elements of my happiness, why should I not be happy 
 in my own way ? since, as you tell me, no God sees me, no 
 tribunal will judge me, no heaven would reward my virtue, 
 no hell will punish my crimes; I am pursuing the end of my 
 existence, and when my career is closed, I shall be in the 
 
 Lect. VI.] FEATURES, COMPARED WITH CHRISTIANITY. 265 
 
 same eternal sleep as those whose virtues have been most 
 lauded by mankind. In such a system, then, what support 
 can there be for suffering virtue, — what motive for high j^nd 
 generous deeds which require the sacrifice of all that is dear 
 in life,— what power has it of restraining vice, and checking 
 undetected or triumphant crime ? 
 
 Look, now, at Christianity, and mark how transcendently 
 superior to every consideration of temporary utility are the 
 motives which it presents to the mind, and the manner in 
 which it enforces the practice of virtue. First, it assures us 
 that the present state of existence is only preparatory to 
 another which shall never terminate, and that the character 
 of our future immortality, whether of glory or disgrace, of 
 happiness or misery, of safety or of ruin, depends entirely 
 on the manner in which this probationary term is passed ; 
 that, in fact, "what a man sows that shall he also reap." It 
 farther points our attention to an ever present Deity, who 
 marks with approbation every virtuous struggle, and notices 
 with displeasure every incipient crime, while yet it exists 
 only in the desire or intention ; it reminds us that we never 
 act without a witness, that in the deepest solitude and in the 
 busy crowd we are alike observed by one who " is of purer 
 eyes than to behold iniquity," without marking it for punish- 
 ment. It tells the sinner, whom concealment may tempt to 
 an indulgence in vice, that there is One " who seeth in secret 
 and rewardeth openly." It warns the proud and impious 
 transgressor, who may bid defiance to human laws, that 
 there is a Supreme Judge, who, " without respect of persons," 
 marks every crime ; whose vigilance none can escape, whose 
 power none can brave, before whose tribunal the rich and 
 the poor, the oppressor and the oppressed, must alike stand 
 to receive the reward of their deeds ; that neither wealth, nor 
 power, nor long impunity, nor death, nor the grave, shall 
 screen the offender from the final and impartial scrutiny, or 
 
 K K 
 
26« 
 
 ATHEISM, IN SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL [Lkct. VI. 
 
 protect him from avenging justice. If the sinner be filled 
 with remorse and penitence he is not abandoned to despair, 
 nor compelled to consider recovery to virtue hopeless ; par- 
 don is promised, << and that by means which speak its value 
 infinite" ; and he is encouraged to return by the assurance 
 that the same grace which forgives his guilt will also reno- 
 vate his fallen nature, and assist him to " walk in newness 
 of life." To virtue, in all its distresses, though oppressed, 
 forsaken, and scorned by man, it gives this divine consolation 
 and support, that the great Father and Sovereign of the 
 universe beholds him with approving smiles, that he has not 
 forsaken him, that he never will ; and that, if misery be 
 entailed on him in this life by his conscientious integrity, if, 
 by a bold singularity in the cause of truth and virtue, he is 
 dishonoured and slighted by his fellow men, there is a radiant 
 crown reserved for him, which, in another world, shall 
 sparkle on his brows when, with the celestial and holy 
 spirits of heaven, he shall rest from his labours, and eiyoy a 
 full reward for all his sufferings and all his exertions. If any- 
 thing can purify the heart, expand every generous affection, 
 support every glorious action, and prompt to every sacrifice 
 which the cause of truth and benevolence may demand, it is 
 such a system, it is such prospects as these ! Contrast with this 
 view, and draw your own conclusion, the cold, the heartless 
 scheme, which removes from the mind the idea of supreme 
 and infinite excellence, which destroys the belief in a holy and 
 invisible God, the witness and the judge of human conduct, 
 and treats as useless fictions all the solemnities and the glories 
 of the world to come; — ^which buries all excellence in the 
 tomb, makes the end of a man and a beast the same, and takes 
 for its motto, " let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." 
 We now advance to the third and last point of comparison, 
 the Happiness which the two systems are respectively 
 capable of yielding. To a person unacquainted with the 
 
 Lbct. VL] features, compared with CHRISTIANITY. 267 
 
 writings of those. who advocate the atheistic philosophy, it 
 would appear in no small degree surprising and singular, 
 to notice in what lugubrious strains they deplore, or affect to 
 deplore, the misery of which men have been the subjects 
 through religion, and to hear its panegyrics on the power of 
 this system to bestow happiness on man. It seems scarcely 
 to be credited, that a scheme which excludes the great 
 Father of mankind from its creed, and future happiness from 
 its prospects, should assert its claims as a benefactor of the 
 human race. That it is the great and the professed object 
 of Christianity to benefit mankind, and in the highest degree 
 and by the most effectual methods to augment our happi- 
 ness, needs no proof. Let us, then, as we have done in other 
 particulars, submit the two systems to a brief comparison in 
 this respect. There are two things which deserve consider- 
 ation, in estimating the respective merits of the systems on 
 this point. The happiness which, in ordinary circumstances, 
 each can yield: and the consolation which, in times of trouble 
 and adversity, each can supply. 
 
 In estimating the happiness which atheism and Christianity 
 can respectively yield, we notice in the first place some sources 
 of enjoyment which are common to both. The necessaries 
 and comforts of life are not limited to any kind of belief; the 
 enjoyment of health and strength, the use of our senses and 
 limbs, domestic pleasures and the sweets of friendship, with 
 all the productions of the globe, the light of heaven, and the 
 air we breathe, are blessings common to all ; the beauties of 
 nature, the wonders of science, the pleasures of literature, and 
 the refinements of taste, are equally accessible to the believer 
 and the unbeliever. These are pleasures which the atheist 
 can enjoy, and which are not forbidden to the Christian. 
 But, admitting an atheist and a Christian to possess the same 
 portion of these comforts, there are associations which 
 Christianity connects with them, of so interesting a nature 
 
ATHEISM, IN SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL [Lbct. VI. 
 
 as must tend to give refinement to the pleasure which they 
 yield, and greatly to heighten their enjoyment What does the 
 atheist see in all these comforts and bounties, but the oper- 
 ation of physical and necessary causes ; and what does he 
 perceive in all the loveliness and sublimity of nature, but 
 accidental combinations of matter without intended arrange- 
 ment, and without design or end ? But, when all these are 
 viewed as the works of an Almighty artist, and the exhibitions 
 of paternal wisdom and goodness, in how different a light 
 does everything appear, and how different are the emotions 
 which these objects excite. The veriest trifle is endeared 
 to us when it is the gift of friendship ; and when all the 
 comforts which the Christian enjoys are traced up to the giver 
 of "every good gift and every perfect gift," how additionally 
 sweet is the enjoyment of them, and how greatly augmented 
 is their value ? What words can fully express the delight 
 with which a review of the mercies of a gracious God 
 has thrilled through the soul, when it has responded to the 
 language of the grateful psalmist, ** what shall I render unto 
 the Lord for all his benefits toward me ? " Who that possesses 
 any sensibility of mind, has not, when viewing the beautiful 
 variety and splendid magnificence of nature's scenery, felt the 
 heart glowing and expanding with emotions of the most de- 
 lightful kind, which the recollection of the still more glorious 
 and beneficent Power that formed them, has turned into 
 adoring admiration and grateful praise? But let him suppose 
 for a moment, just at the time when the heart is thus full, 
 that no intelligence has formed these wonders, or painted 
 these beauties, or lighted up these glories, but that it all is 
 nothing more than the fortuitous and undesigned combinations 
 of unconscious matter ; and the expanding bosom immediately 
 feels a collapse, the glow of the heart is suddenly chilled, and 
 the spirit sighs over all these evanescent forms of accidental 
 beauty. The gifts of nature and the wonders of the fair 
 
 Lect. VI.] FEATURES, COMPARED WITH CHRISTIANITY. 269 
 
 creation must necessarily lose a great portion of their value, 
 and their highest power of producing happiness, when a 
 beneficent and ever glorious Creator is not acknowledged. 
 
 But atheism and Christianity profess each to have sources 
 of happiness peculiarly its own. What, then, does atheism 
 promise.? It offers first, a more unrestrained license of 
 enjoyment in reference to earthly pleasures. All that an 
 individual feels would, on the whole, give him the greatest 
 share of enjoyment, whatever be his habits or propensities, 
 he is at full liberty to pursue, providing he has the means and 
 opportunity, and is content to pay the price in property, or 
 character, or health. And in the next place, it proposes to 
 remove all the annoyance which would be produced by a be- 
 lief that an invisible and Almighty Being is present, observing 
 and recording all our thoughts, and words, and actions. It 
 further guarantees the removal of all fear of the future, so that 
 no punishment in the world to come, no future tribunal or 
 judge, shall at all restrict or interfere with the course which a 
 man means or wishes to pursue. Beyond this atheism cannot 
 go; and even on its advantages of this kind there are many se- 
 rious drawbacks. How few have found, after their most ardent 
 pursuit of those pleasures, and gaieties, and follies which 
 Christianity forbids, that happiness in them which they ex- 
 pected ? How many have deeply felt, after having tried them 
 all, that they were but "vanity and vexation of spirit".? And 
 how uncertain is the continuance of all these joys ; at best how 
 transient is their nature. "All flesh is as grass ; and all the 
 goodliness thereof as the flower of the field." And what 
 comfort is there in the prospect of the future ? There can be 
 no anticipations of anything beyond the grave. When the joys 
 of the atheist are highest, and his happiness greatest, if he 
 looks forward, he sees the tomb gaping to receive the whole, 
 and an eternal oblivion ready to cast its deepest shadows 
 over everything beloved and valued. 
 
270 
 
 ATHEISM, IN SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL [L»ct. VI. 
 
 Is it asked, on the other band, what peculiar joys Christi- 
 anity has to bestow ? We scarcely know how in a few words 
 to answer, so vast is the field opened to our view. How su- 
 premely glorious and unspeakably interesting are the objects 
 which it presents to the mind, and to which it invites the 
 contemplations; the ever glorious Grod, in all his divine 
 perfections, " of whom, and through whom, and to whom 
 are all things ;" the Maker, the Benefactor, the Parent, and 
 the Sovereign of the whole universe, ** glorious in his holi- 
 ness,*' and "rich in his mercy;" it exhibits him in his 
 universal government, as directing all things by his infinite 
 wisdom, and in an economy of mercy displaying in a most 
 impressive manner the wonders of his love and grace, in 
 providing for the restoration of fallen man to happiness 
 and glory. Christianity brings man into the highest and 
 noblest of all relations; it connects him by faith with that 
 adorable and mysterious Redeemer whom *' all the angels 
 of God worship," and who %gave " his life a ransom for 
 many;" it declares him to be, in a new and peculiar sense, a 
 child of God, and encourages him with filial confidence to 
 call the Lord of all worlds his father ; it identifies him with 
 a sacred community, which is called ''the church of the 
 living Grod," the peculiar object of the Divine love and care, 
 which comprises " an innumerable company of angels and 
 the spirits of just men made perfect" And to his admiring 
 eyes it opens a prospect of futurity the most delightful and 
 glorious. It assures him that his aspirations after a happy 
 immortality shall be gratified in a manner far exceeding all 
 his conceptions, in a state the full glories of which " the 
 eye hath not seen, the ear hath not heard, nor hath it 
 entered into the heart of man to conceive." There, the 
 Christian is taught to expect, his knowledge shall receive 
 a large increase, when faith shall be exchanged for sight, 
 and his powers shall be adapted to a superior state of 
 
 Lbct. VI.] FEATURES, COMPARED WITH CHRISTIANITY. 271 
 
 existence, and able to take an inconceivably wider range than 
 is now possible; that there he shall have a far more distinct 
 perception of the great Sovereign of the universe ; see that 
 sacred person whose unbounded love and generous sacrifice 
 procured his redemption ; behold those glorious spirits which 
 rank far higher than man in the scale of creation, and all 
 those illustrious patriarchs, and prophets, and apostles, and 
 martyrs, of whose devoted piety and heroic sufferings he has 
 so often read with delight There he looks for complete 
 purity, for the absence of all those imperfections of which he 
 is conscious in the present life; for a discharge from a warfare 
 between the dictates of an enlightened mind and the animal 
 propensities and passions of a fallen nature. There he expects 
 every social feeling of man's pure nature to be exercised ; 
 while he mingles in the society of kindred minds, where all is 
 benevolence of heart, and mistake is no longer possible; where 
 he shall again join those with whom he held sweet converse 
 on earth, without the fear of death or the pangs of parting. 
 To this place he looks as his home, as his rest, to which he 
 is now journeying, and after which he is panting; there his 
 hopes are to be realized, the largest wishes of his heart to be 
 accomplished, and his joys to receive their consummation. In 
 a word, Christianity awakens in the mind every feeling which 
 constitutes an element of the purest and the highest happiness 
 <rf which human nature is capable; all that is valuable in pos- 
 session, and that gives a consciousness of safety ; deliverance 
 from the greatest dangers and the acquisition of the highest 
 good ; the contemplation of all that is sublime in grandeur, 
 or lovely in beauty, or touching in boundless generosity, all 
 that delights the soul in holy love, and tender charity, and 
 grateful emotion, and all that can gladden the heart in pro- 
 spective joys, in the anticipation of which it is impossible 
 to exaggerate. Now, what are the capabilities of atheism^ 
 when compared with this ? 
 
373 ATHEISM, IN SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL [L«ci. VI. 
 
 That in this world, all are subject to difficulties and dis- 
 tresses, which no prudence can avert, and from which no age, 
 or sex, or station, or character can claim exemption, is a fact 
 which none can question. These interfere with our comforts, 
 abstract from our enjoyment, and often render unavailing the 
 various means of earthly happiness which we possess. In 
 such circumstances, what can the atheistic philosophy and 
 Christianity respectively do for man ? 
 
 There are two sources of consolation in such circumstances, 
 which atheism can claim, and only two which it can consider 
 properly its own. The one arises from its views of necessity, 
 or what one of its ablest advocates hesitates not to term « fa-' 
 tality." All that any one in any case suffers is unavoidable. 
 It is therefore useless to repine. It is not the ordination of a 
 sovereign wisdom and goodness, that may convert these mis- 
 fortunes to blessings, but a blind fate, the necessary and 
 unavoidable result of physical causes. If the poor wretch is 
 lame, or halt, or blind ; if he pines in misery neglected of 
 man, beloved by none, and slighted by all ; if nothing but 
 disappointment has attended him, if all his schemes have 
 been frustrated, all his hopes blasted, and in return for love 
 he has received hatred, and for kindness ingratitude; what 
 has the atheistic philosophy to offer for his comfort ? The 
 necessity of unavoidable fate. The forlorn and friendless 
 wretch is miserable, he must be miserable, it is his fate, and 
 this must be his comfort How poor, how shallow, is this 
 cup of consolation ! But if this fail, atheism has one more 
 resource. Life and its troubles are passing, both will soon 
 become a non-entity. Death is approaching, your spirit wUl 
 soon vanish into empty air, your life will expire like a 
 meteor that in its rapid passage gilded the skies, and left 
 nothing but darkness behind it You will soon be no more ; 
 you will have no more existence than the flowers which 
 blossomed before the flood, or the last rainbow that glittered 
 
 Lkct.VL] features, COMPARED WITH CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 273 
 
 in the heavens, and melted into nothing. Well may the 
 martyr of affliction, the sorrowing mother, the widowed 
 husband, the bereaved orphan, turn to such philosophers apd 
 say, " miserable comforters are ye all." 
 
 How different are the consolations which Christianity 
 proffers. It assures us that our troubles come neither by 
 chance or fate, but that an infinitely wise, and gracious, and 
 righteous Governor of the universe has the controul of all 
 events ; that he possesses the power of " making darkness 
 light, and crooked things straight;" and that he "out of 
 seeming evil " is "still educing good." It invites us, in all our 
 perplexities, to seek wisdom to guide us, with a certainty 
 that it shall not be withheld ; it promises aid to our weakness, 
 and encourages us in humble confidence and prayer to " cast 
 all our care on him who careth for us." It certifies us of the 
 delightful fact, that our best friend will never leave us nor 
 forsake us; that he is " the father of the fatherless, and the 
 husband of the widow," the asylum of the destitute, the hope 
 of the oppressed, and a " very present help in every time of 
 trouble." So that " we know that all things work together 
 for good to them that love God," and that their trials are 
 converted into mercies, and the most painful crosses into the 
 greatest blessings. It teaches us, in fine, to " reckon that the 
 suffierings of this present state are not worthy to be compared 
 to the glory which shall be revealed in us;" for "our light 
 affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far 
 more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." Compared 
 with such consolations, what are the proffered comforts of 
 atheism but mockery and delusion ? 
 
 We have seen, then, that the atheistic philosophy has as 
 little ground to boast on account of its professed excellence, 
 as it has on its assumed ground of truth ; that it is, in fact, 
 alike destitute of both. It is sometimes said of imaginary 
 excellence, how beautiful this would be were it but true; 
 
 L L 
 
274 
 
 ATHEISM, IN SOME OF ITS PRINCII^AL [Lect. VI. 
 
 but atheism has not even this merit Its aspect on man 
 is the most gloomy imaginable. Christianity raises man 
 almost to the level of an angel ; atheism sinks him to a con- 
 dition but little superior to the brutes ; all his excellence it 
 resolves into the perishable forms of matter, his prospects are 
 contracted into a span, and he has nothing before him but 
 darkness, oblivion, and annihilation. Its morals, we have 
 seen, are essentially deficient ; it has but little to support 
 virtue, to restrain vice, or to check crime. And as to hap- 
 piness, it leaves man the sport of chance, or the victim of a 
 blind necessity ; seeing in the whole universe nothing on 
 which his hopes can fix as a ground of comfort ; no righteous 
 governor, no judge, no friend of the friendless, no refuge in 
 seasons of distress, nothing to indemnify suffering virtue, or 
 to compensate for all the sorrows of this mortal state. And 
 I would on this account earnestly press on those who have 
 embraced this heartless, hopeless scheme, the reasonableness 
 of laying aside all prejudice in its favour. Who can hope to 
 gain anything from adopting it, but he who seeks, in the 
 dark recesses of its gloom, to escape from the upbraidings of 
 his own conscience, and has reason to tremble if it be proved 
 that " verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth ? " 
 
 We have also afforded ample proof, that it is totally desti- 
 tute of truth. We have shown that it is an hypothesis which 
 will not admit of proof, — ^that there are very strong pre- 
 sumptions against it on the very face of it,— that the principal 
 arguments in support of it are untenable, as being either 
 founded on mere assumptions, or involving absurdities and 
 contradictions, — we have shown that the proofs of a Divine 
 Intelligence are numerous and unanswerable, and that all the 
 objections raised against them, are such as a reasonable mind 
 ought not to entertain, — we have shown that the Great Being 
 who is at the head of the universe, possesses all natural and 
 moral perfections, and is the supreme Lord and Governor of 
 
 LEct. VI.] FEATURES, COMPARED WITH CHRISTIANITY. 275 
 
 all the creatures which he has made; and nowl beg leave, with 
 affectionate earnestness, to address a few parting words to 
 those of my audience who have fallen into the ranks of this 
 species of infidelity. 
 
 Of all men the atheist should especially beware of rash- 
 ness. Consider, I beseech you, that it is not a light thing to 
 take a stand against the sentiments and reasonings of so large 
 a majority of mankind, many of them men of the greatest 
 independence of mind, the most acute in reasoning, and the 
 most extensive in their observations on nature. Consider, 
 also, if you are wrong, how daring must be the impiety, and 
 how unnatural and atrocious the attempt, to endeavour to 
 blot from the creation the great Maker of the universe, and 
 to fly in the face of Him « in whom we live, and move, and 
 have our being." 
 
 The atheist should, of all men, be most eager to examine 
 what others have to allege. None can possibly run such a 
 risk as he does. What risk does the humble and devout 
 Christian incur ? If the atheistic scheme were true, and he 
 were at last to be found in error, he now enjoys the most 
 soothing consolations, is animated by the brightest hopes ; 
 and if he should sink into a state of non-existence and eternal 
 oblivion, would his perpetual and unconscious slumbers be 
 less uninterupted than those of the atheist ? But should the 
 Christian system prove true, what will become of the atheist.? 
 •p-who is found with his puny arm " fighting against God"! 
 Will he be able to stand before the tribunal of his insulted 
 Maker, with the false, the impious, the daring language of 
 excuse and defence which one of his favourite authors has 
 put into his mouth ? * 
 
 My fellow men, and fellow townsmen, let me, by all that 
 is sacred, entreat you to stop and pause — ^your everlasting all 
 is staked on the question. And it will soon be decided ; our 
 
 • System of Nature.— Vol. IT, pp. 476 — 180. 
 
376 
 
 ATHEISM, IN SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL [Lkct. 'WI 
 
 sand 18 running, our lives are ebbing, our lamps will soon be 
 burnt out, tlie journey of life will soon be ended, and then—! 
 Allow me to breathe the fervent wish that you may be pre- 
 pared to enter that world of happiness of which you now 
 profess to disbelieve the existence. Should the effort which 
 I have made, at no small expense of time and strength, with 
 niy many other engagements, be the means of leading you 
 from error to truth, from folly to wisdom, from " the power 
 of sin and Satan unto God," how amply repaid shall I con- 
 sider myself! I have endeavoured so to conduct this argu- 
 ment as to avoid all unnecessary irritation, even of prejudice 
 itself.— I have addressed you calmly and kindly,— you cannot 
 say that you have not been rationally treated, that you have 
 not been affectionately addressed ; but I must, in now taking 
 my leave of you, in the discharge of my duty to my God, 
 myself, and to you, warn you again of the dangerous position 
 in which you stand. If Christianity be true— if God has 
 spoken to man by his works and by his word, by his pro- 
 phets in past ages, and by the Divine Redeemer in this latter 
 dispensation,— then your present course is one of most im- 
 minent peril, and your eternal welfare is in jeopardy. I believe 
 we shall all meet— once more at least, and never perhaps 
 shall we all meet till then— before the judgement throne, 
 before Him who shall award to all, the final retributions of 
 eternity ; I take your own consciences to witness— I take the 
 present assembly— I take that awful power, " whose I am, 
 and whom I serve," whose omniscient eye at this moment 
 beholds us— I take heaven and earth to witness, that I have 
 reasoned with you, and counselled you, admonished you, and 
 warned you. If you persist in your present course of un- 
 belief and disobedience, the consequence will b^ on your own 
 heads* 
 
 Let me also uige on the attention of parents and guardians 
 the propriety, nay, the necessity of making the great found- 
 
 Lbct. VI.] FEATURES, COMPARED WITH CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 277 
 
 atibh of all religion a part of the education of those who are 
 entrusted to their care. Do not be content with merely 
 apprising them of the truths which religion teaches, let them 
 also know the ground on which they rest This is not the 
 age of implicit faith ; the reverence for opinions, merely 
 because they are of long standing and of general extent, is 
 continually diminishing ; error has now taken the field, and 
 error of every kind ; and it possesses in the peculiarities of the 
 present times, facilities of access to every mind ; its weapons 
 are furbished, and its partisans are active ; and should truth 
 remain quiescent, and slumber on its rusty armour in dreams 
 of safety, while the foe is abroad and active? Teach, then, 
 your interesting charge, the nature and the solidity of that 
 foundation on which all your hopes rest ; — show them that 
 you have " not followed cunningly devised fables," — that your 
 faith is not an hereditary prejudice, nor your hope a fond 
 delusion. Teach them not only that there is, but why you 
 have the undoubted assurance that there is, a Supreme and 
 glorious Creator, who is both the Benefactor and the Judge 
 of man ; show them how his name is written on every plant, 
 and shines in every sunbeam^— let them see in all the wonders 
 of science, in all the course of nature, in the curious arrange- 
 ments and exquisite adaptations which the structure of plants 
 and animals exhibit, the wisdom, power, and goodness of 
 the great Parent of mankind. Accustom them thus early 
 to "follow nature up to nature's God," and thus, while 
 they acquire a taste for some of the purest of earthly 
 pleasures, they will be prepared to find the whole creation a 
 most interesting volume of sacred theology. 
 
 Those who are young in life I may be permitted to caution. 
 Beware of being taken by surprise by the bold assertions, 
 or of being captivated by the seductions, of ** a vain and 
 deceitful philosophy." Remember that the confidence with 
 which a strange and bold assertion may be advanced is no 
 
» ' ^ ^ 
 
 278 
 
 ATHEISM, IN SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL [LiCT. VI. 
 
 Lbct. VI.] FEATURES, COMPARED WITH CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 279 
 
 proof of its truth, and the contempt and ridicule with which 
 established opinions are assailed, is no evidence that they are 
 erroneous. Caution is necessary, lest your pride and inde- 
 pendence may be flattered into an acquiescence with what 
 your better judgment would condemn ; lest either a love of 
 singularity, an appearance of superiority to vulgar prejudices, 
 or a wish to indulge in pleasures which religion would forbid, 
 tempt you to embrace a fatal error. Mistakes the most per- 
 nicious may, by the ingenuity of sophistry, assume a very 
 phusible appearance ; before you think of surrendering any- 
 thing to the infidel philosophy, pause deliberately, examine 
 carefully, and attentively consider what, in their works on 
 Natural and Revealed Religion, some of the wisest and the 
 best of men have to say. 
 
 And you who profess to believe in the gospel, and to have 
 embraced the Christianity of the scriptures, let me entreat you, 
 let me charge you to be cautious, lest by your thoughtless or 
 improper conduct you minister to the cause of infidelity, and 
 supply objections to the religion which you profess to love. 
 Perhaps it is not too much to say that Christianity has suffiered 
 much more from its declared friends than from its bitterest 
 enemies. Who have corrupted it, secularized it, converted 
 it to unholy purposes, marred its beauty, and neutralized its 
 power } Not its professed enemies. Who are they who, 
 while bearing the name of Christianity, live in defiance of all 
 its precepts, and are guilty of vices which would disgrace a 
 heathen ? — ^not the declared enemies, but the nominal friends 
 of Christianity. O, it is distressing beyond measure, that so 
 pure, and holy, and benevolent a system should be thus 
 dishonoured and obstructed by those who bear its name. 
 You, then, who feel its power, who derive from it your 
 highest hopes, your choicest comforts, be doubly careful to 
 <* adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things." And 
 for your own sakes, for the sake of others, and for the sake 
 
 of Him who died to save you, and who has entrusted his 
 cause into your hands, let your lives be " the epistles of 
 Christ, known and read of all men." 
 
 And, finally, my respected hearers and townsmen, let me 
 give you a caution. You most of you profess to hold in 
 abhorrence what you consider pernicious errors in your 
 neighbours ; beware that this abhorrence extend not to their 
 persons. Let them not have to complain of persecution, let 
 them meet with nothing like unkindness or contempt You 
 believe they are |in error ; shun that error, value the truth, 
 and if you possess it, rejoice in it more than in '* thousands 
 of gold or silver;" but let charity and compassion be ex- 
 tended to those whom you consider as deceived, as spoiled 
 "through a vain and deceitful philosophy." Remember that 
 contempt is not argument, and unkindness is not likely to 
 produce conviction. Let your conduct, therefore, be formed 
 on the model of the gospel, let your practice show the 
 superiority of your principles; "in meekness instructing 
 those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give 
 them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth." 
 
"i — rn 
 
 «. KEIGHLBY, PRlRTERy BRADFOBD. 
 
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