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"TKI /^ -^d_ A-.^ ^H^-^ Xe^yiu^^ 
 
. % 
 
C M M i\ S E i\ S E 
 
 APPLIED TO 
 
 RELIGION 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 BY CATHARINE E. BEECHER. 
 
 ACXnOR OF " LETTERS TO THE PEOPLE ON HEALTH AND HAPPINESS,' 
 
 ** PHYSIOLOGY AND CALISTHENICS," ''DOMESTIC ECONOMY," 
 
 ''DOMESTIC RECELPT-BOOK," &C., i^C. 
 
 NEW YOTtK: 
 
 HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 
 FRANKLIN SQUARE. 
 
 MONTREAL: BENJAMIN DAWSON. 
 
 1857. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand 
 eight hundred and fifty-seven, by 
 
 Harper & Brothers, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District 
 of New York. 
 
TO 
 
 THE PEOPLE, 
 
 A3 
 THE SAFEST AND TRUEST INTERPRETERS OF 
 
 THE BIBLE, 
 
 TO WOMAN, 
 
 AS 
 THE HEAVEN-APPOINTED EDUCATOR OF MIND, 
 
 THIS wo UK 
 
Digitized by tine Internet Arcinive 
 
 in 2008 witii funding from 
 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 littp://www.archive.org/details/commonsenseappliOObeec 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 
 Introduction ix 
 
 Chap. I. The Grand Questions of Life 
 
 Chap. II. The Principles of Keason, or Intuitive Truths 14 
 
 Chap. HI. Sources of Human Knowledge 29 
 
 Chap. IV. Of the Knowledge gained by Human Experience in 
 regard to the Nature of JMind and of the System of which it 
 
 is a Part 32 
 
 Chap. V. Knowledge gained by Reason and Experience alone 
 
 as to aFuture State 42 
 
 Chap. VI. Knowledge gained by Reason and Experience alone 
 concerning the Existence, Character, and Designs of the 
 
 Creator 47 
 
 Chap. VII. Diversities in Systems of Mental Philosophy 52 
 
 Chap. VIH. Classification and Description of the ^lental Powers 59 
 
 Chap. IX. Sensation and Perception 64 
 
 Chap. X. Conception and Memory 79 
 
 Chap. XI. Attention and Abstraction 83 
 
 Chap. XH. Association 93 
 
 Chap, XHI. Imagination 102 
 
 Chap. XIV. Judgment 106 
 
 Chap. XV. The Susceptibilities 109 
 
 Chap. XVI. The Susceptibilities. Emotions of Taste 120 
 
 Chap. XVII. The Moral Susceptibilities 139 
 
 Chap. XVHI. The Will 149 
 
 Chap. XIX:. Faith or Belief 165 
 
 Chap. XX. Constitutional Varieties of the Human Mind 175 
 
 Chap. XXI. Habit 178 
 
 Chap. XXII. Mind as Proof of its Creator's Designs 190 
 
 Chap. XXIII. Social and ^Material Proofs of the Creator's De- 
 signs 207 
 
 Chap. XXIV. Right Mode of securing the Object for which 
 Mind was created „.,.. 212 
 
Vlll INDEX. 
 
 rage 
 
 Chap. XXV. Wrong Action of Mind and its Causes 220 
 
 Chap. XXVI. Wrong Action of ]\Iind and its Results in this 
 
 Life 224 
 
 CuAp. XXVII. Wrong Action of Mind and its Results in a Fu- 
 ture State 233 
 
 CiiAP. XXVIII. Character of the Creator 245 
 
 CiLVP. XXIX. On Perfect and Imperfect Minds 250 
 
 Chap. XXX. On the probable Existence and Character of Dis- 
 embodied Spirits , 258 
 
 Chap. XXXI. Probabilities in regard to a Revelation from the 
 
 Creator 261 
 
 Chap. XXXII. Interpretation of Language 2{;5 
 
 Addenda to Vol. 1 281 
 
 Notes 337 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 This work is the result of thirty years of devotion to 
 the training of the human mind for the great end for 
 which it was created. Early in that period it was 
 felt that at the very foundation of such efforts were 
 opposing theological theories, that seemed at war with 
 both the common sense and the moral sense of man- 
 kind. 
 
 In the progress of such duties, a work was prepared 
 on Mental and Moral Science, as a text-hook for the 
 institution under the care of the writer, which was 
 printed, but never published. After submitting this 
 work to the criticism of a number of the leading minds 
 of various schools and sects, it was found to contain 
 so much that might result in theological controversy, 
 that it was deemed modest and wise to wait until age, 
 experience, and farther examination had lent their ma- 
 turing influence. 
 
 After a delay of over a quarter of a century, the con- 
 viction above stated not only remains, but has been 
 strengthened by the discussions and developments that 
 have intervened in that period. 
 
 While the great practical truths both of natural and 
 revealed religion have seemed constantly to be gaining 
 a more controlling influence over the intellect and feel- 
 ings of mankind, the theological dogmas referred to 
 A2 
 
X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 have been more and more evaded or rejected, even by 
 those who receive and respect the Bible as containing 
 authentic and authoritative revelations from God. 
 
 At the same time, there is apparent a manifest and 
 strong tendency, especially among the young and most 
 highly-educated of both sexes, to infidelity ; not to 
 that species of a former age which involved a hatred 
 and contempt for the Bible, nor to the entire rejection 
 of it as a very respectable and useful collection of 
 most interesting writings, but to a rejection of it as a 
 sure and authomtative guide in faith and morals. 
 
 Though there may be other assignable causes for 
 this, it is certain that not the least powerful is the re- 
 pellency of dogmas claimed to be contained in the 
 Bible, which are revolting both to the intellect and to 
 the moral nature of man. 
 
 Instead of being able to meet their religious teach- 
 ers with the assumption that all which they have felt 
 to be contrary to reason, to common sense, and to com- 
 mon honesty is not contained in the Sacred Writings, 
 many have gradually drawn oflf to the religion of rea- 
 son and nature, and left the Bible to theologians and 
 the Church. 
 
 At the same time, there has been a new develop- 
 ment of philanthropy, in which those who either re- 
 pudiate the Bible as of any binding authority, or dis- 
 allow its commonly-accepted teachings, are as prom- 
 inent and earnest in works of benevolence as the most 
 orthodox of any sect. To these are added religious 
 teachers, who set forth the morality and benevolence 
 demanded in the Bible as obligatory, and as satisfac- 
 torily deducible from the light of nature, so that no 
 
INTRODUCTION. XI 
 
 revelation is needful to make them more so. Mean- 
 time, in popular forms and by popular writers, all the 
 most plausible and startling difficulties that oppose the 
 claims of the Bible are widely disseminated, while lit- 
 tle is done to counteract these influences. 
 
 iinother class of religionists has also arisen, that 
 numbers probably its hundreds of thousands, the Spir- 
 itualists, who rest their faith on a new species of so- 
 called revelations, which ordinarily clash with the ac- 
 cepted teachings of the Bible, and by vast numbers 
 are received as of superior authority. 
 
 Meantime the press and public lectures are exten- 
 sively supplanting the pulpit as organs of moral and 
 religious influence over large portions of the commu- 
 nity, wliile a large part of the most popular speakers 
 and writers avowedly reject the Bible as of any bind- 
 ing authority in deciding moral and religious ques- 
 tions. 
 
 At the same time, there has arisen a freedom of in- 
 vestigation, and an aversion to all traditional or con- 
 servative bonds, such as probably never before was so 
 universal and dominant in this nation, especially among 
 those religiously educated. 
 
 All these influences have combined to place the 
 Bible, and the systems of theology that claim to be 
 educed from it, in entirely new relations. Nothing 
 now is safe on the ground of tradition, or of authority, 
 or of the reverence that belongs to age, learning, gen- 
 ius, or experience. Every thing in religion, as well 
 as other matters, is to stand on its own claims, and 
 not by any factitious supports. 
 
 In this state of the public mind, the following con- 
 
Xii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 siderations have had influence in leading to the pre- 
 sentation of the views contained in this volume. 
 
 It is the distinctive maxim of Protestant Chris- 
 tianity that " every person is to be his own interpreter 
 of the revelations of God contained in the Bible, re- 
 sponsible only to his Maker." This, of course, im- 
 plies the practicability of a proper qualification for 
 this duty in every individual, so that no person shall 
 necessarily be dependent on other minds for a cor- 
 rect knowledge of all that relates to his own duty and 
 dangers. 
 
 It is manifest that the Creator designed that vjoman 
 sliould have the leading position as the educator of 
 inincl^ especially at that period when the habits and 
 principles of life are formed. This being so, it is clear 
 that it was designed that she should be qualified to 
 gain by her own independent powers all that is re- 
 vealed by God that wiU aid her in this great work. 
 
 The theological theories referred to, as seemingly op- 
 posing the moral sense and common sense of miankind, 
 are those that relate to the foundation principle on 
 which the training of mind is to start. They involve 
 the most practical questions of every-day life, both as 
 to individual responsibility and to the education of the 
 young. 
 
 These theories, then, are to be examined and tested 
 by the laity as much as by theologians, and especially 
 are they to be examined and decided on by wovian, as 
 the heaven-appointed educator of infancy and child- 
 hood. 
 
 In this examination, these theories are to be tested, 
 not by the decisions of ecclesiastical bodies, nor by the 
 
INTEODUCTION. XIU 
 
 writings of theologians, but by those principles of rea- 
 son and common sense, and those laws of language^ 
 which guide mankind in all other practical and per- 
 sonal duties. In order to this, these principles must 
 be evolved and stated in simple and popular form, for 
 particular application on these questions ; for no man 
 or woman can decide wdiether a thing agrees with, or 
 is contrary to the moral sense, or to the principles of 
 reason and common sense, till they clearly perceive 
 what those principles are, and have learned to apply 
 them appropriately. 
 
 The leading object of this volume is, then, to pre- 
 sent these principles in a popular form, and to make it 
 apparent that they can be practically employed by 
 the laity in deciding wdiat is truth, both as to the 
 claims of the Bible as containing authoritative revela- 
 tions from the Creator, and also as to the true inter- 
 pretation of it. 
 
 In asking the attention of the laity, including her 
 ow^n sex, to the discussion of topics which have hereto- 
 fore been deemed the most difficult, recondite, and pro- 
 found, it is with the full conviction that most of the 
 difficulties that heretofore have opposed such investi- 
 gations have belonged, not to the topics themselves, 
 but to the methods of discussion. 
 
 It is believed that, though this small volume em- 
 braces most of those points in metaphysics wdiich have 
 been considered the most difficult, there is not a page 
 that can not be perfectly comprehended by any man or 
 woman of only an ordinarily good education, and with 
 less intellectual effort tlian is demanded of little girls 
 in acquiring an ability to parse the English language. 
 
XIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 it is true tliat close thought and attention are req- 
 uisite for a full appreciation of all in this volume ; but 
 not more of these are required than the dignity and 
 importance of the great topics involved properly de- 
 mand. 
 
 In attempting what is here proposed, it can be seen 
 that there are great difficulties to be met. As a gen- 
 eral fact, these subjects have not been presented in 
 popular forms, but have been confined to works of 
 metaphysics and theology, and there enveloped in sci- 
 entific technics and formulas not interesting or intelli- 
 gible to the common mind. For this reason, it has 
 been suggested that, before presenting the abstract por- 
 tion, 3i practical illustration of the subject, embodied in 
 the history of the opinions of the author, as they have 
 been formed or modified by these principles, w^ould 
 have far more effect on the class of readers for whom 
 the work is written than the bare statement of princi- 
 ples and argument, while it would certainly be more 
 likely to be read. 
 
 It has been still farther urged that, in attempting to 
 controvert long-established theories, embodied as a part 
 of religious truth in the popular mind, there will be an 
 opposition oi feeling to be overcome, which needs a 
 counterbalancing appeal to the feelings such as an in- 
 dividual history can best offer. 
 
 As to the propriety of such a measure, it is now so 
 common to offer autobiographies, and histories of life 
 and opinions by living authors, that this will be no in- 
 novation on the customs of the literary world. 
 
 To this, a more weighty consideration should be add- 
 ed, and that is, that all questions of propriety and of 
 
INTRODUCTION. XV 
 
 duty are regulated by circumstances of risk and dan- 
 ger. A woman, suddenly roused from sleep to save 
 her children from the flames, has a very different rule 
 of propriety in appearing before the public from that 
 demanded on ordinary occasions. In this view, a be- 
 liever in the risks of the eternal loss of the soul must 
 withhold nothing, howe\*er sacred and cherished, if 
 there is the shadow of a probability that it wiU avail 
 aught in aiding, it may be, but one struggling, darkened 
 mind in the death-agony of the soul. 
 
 From these considerations, the writer has been led 
 to prefix to the exhibition of principles and arguments 
 of this work, a mental history that shall particularly 
 illustrate the subjects discussed. The article was pre- 
 pared for certain personal and family friends, and is in- 
 serted very nearly in its original form. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE MENTAL HISTORY. 
 
 I wish, before publishing my forthcoming work, to 
 obtain the views of some of my theological friends as 
 to certain phases of experience of my own mind, and, 
 to a certain extent, of other minds known to me. 
 
 My intellectual character was a singular compound 
 of the practical and the imaginative. In youth I had no 
 love for study or for reading even, excepting works of 
 imagination. Don Quixote, the novel to which I first 
 had access, was nearly committed to memory, as were 
 a few other novels found at my grandmother's. The 
 poets, both ancient and modern, were always in reach, 
 and with these materials I early formed a habit of rev- 
 erie and castle-building as my chief internal source of 
 enjoyment. With this was combined incessant activ- 
 
XVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ity in practical matters, such as, at first, doll-dress- 
 ing and baby -house building; afterward drawing, 
 painting, exploits of merriment, practical jokes, snow 
 castles and forts, summer excursions, school and fam- 
 ily drama-acting, and the like. Till eighteen, I never 
 wrote any thing but a few letters and scraps of rhyme, 
 and the transforming of some stories into dramas for 
 acting. A kind teacher, who sympathized in my 
 strong love of the comic, described me as " the busiest 
 of all creatures in doing nothing." 
 
 Socially^ I was good-natured and sympathizing, so 
 that my jokes and tricks were never such as to tease 
 or annoy others. 
 
 Morally^ I had a strong sense of justice, but was 
 not naturally so conscientious as some of the other 
 children. Add to these, persevering energy, great 
 self-reliance, and such cheerful hopefulness that the 
 idea of danger or failure never entered my head. 
 Even to this day, perfect success and no mischances 
 are always anticipated till reason corrects the calcu- 
 lation. 
 
 Thus constituted, my strict religious training made 
 little impression, for I rarely heard any thing of that 
 which seemed so dull and unintelHgible. Up to the 
 age of sixteen my conceptions on this subject were 
 about these: that God made me and all things, and 
 was very great, and wise, and good ; that lie knew all 
 I thought and did ; tliat because xVdam and Eve dis- 
 obeyed him once only, he drove them out of Eden, and 
 then so an-anged it that all their descendants would 
 be born with wicked hearts, and that, though this did 
 not seem either just or good, it was so; that I had 
 
INTKODLCTION. xv'n 
 
 such a wicked heart that I could not ffci or act rio-ht 
 in any thing till I had a new one ; that God only 
 could give me a new heart ; that, if I died without 
 it, I should go to a lake of fire and brimstone, and be 
 burned alive in it forever ; that Jesus Christ was 
 very good, and very sorry for us, and came to earth, 
 and suffered and died to save us from this dreadful 
 doom ; that 7'evivals were times when God, the Holy 
 Spirit, gave people new hearts ; that, when revivals 
 came, it was best to read the Bible, and pray, and 
 go to meetings, but that at other times it was of little 
 use. This last was not taught, but was my own in- 
 ference. 
 
 My mind turned from all this as very disagreeable. 
 When led by my parents and Christian friends to it, I 
 tried to do as they told me, because I saw they were 
 anxious and troubled, and I wished to relieve them. 
 Two or three times, when I saw my father so troubled, I 
 took Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion^ and 
 tried to go through the process there laid down, but 
 with utter failure. Meantime, I rarely heard any pray- 
 ers or sermons, and at fifteen I doubt if the whole ot 
 my really serious thoughts and efforts would, except 
 the above, have occupied a whole hour. 
 
 In the earlier periods of my religious training, my 
 parents, in tlieir instructions, and also my little hymns 
 and catechisms, made the impression that God loved 
 little children, and, though he was angry when they 
 did wrong, he was pleased when they did right ; and, 
 as parental government was tender and loving, my im- 
 pression of the feelings of the heavenly Parent were 
 conformed to this, my past experience. 
 
XVlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 But when, in more mature years, I came under the 
 influence of " revival preaching," all this impression 
 seemed to be reversed. I was taught to look at God 
 as a great " moral governor," whose chief interest was 
 "to sustain his law." Then there seemed to be two 
 kinds of right and wrong, the " common" and the 
 " evangelical." According to this distinction, I could 
 not feel or do any thing that was right or acceptable 
 to God till my birth-gift of a depraved heart was re- 
 newed by a special divine interposition. 
 
 Meantime, there did not seem to be any direct and 
 practical way of securing this supernatural interfer- 
 ence ; for it was to be the result, not of any efforts of 
 mine, nor were any divine promises or encouragements 
 offered to secure my efforts. On the contrary, the se- 
 lection of the recipients of this favor was regulated by 
 a divine decree of " election," without reference to any 
 acts of a being who did nothing but evil, and only evil, 
 till this favor was bestowed. Moreover, all the ex- 
 hortations to effort were based simply on the fact that, 
 ordinarily, those who took a certain course were se- 
 lected, though I perceived that sometimes those who 
 did the least were chosen, while those who did the 
 most were passed by. 
 
 It was this view of the case that had the chief influ- 
 ence in leading to an entire neglect of all religious con- 
 cerns. It was so nearly like a matter of mere chance, 
 and there seemed so little adaptation of means to ends, 
 that, to one so hopeful, and, at the same time, so prac- 
 tical, there was very little motive of any kind to lead 
 to a religious life. 
 
 The first real earnest feeling I ever had on this sub- 
 
INTRODUCTION. XIX 
 
 ject was when my tender mother died — such a moth- 
 er as earth has seldom seen ; as strong in intellect as 
 she was modest and gentle in manners, and loving and 
 sympathizing in heart. She left seven children youn- 
 ger than myself, one of them a babe, and I only sixteen. 
 I really tried, for some time, to become a Christian, till 
 the load of grief was alleviated by time, and then such 
 efforts ceased ; but these new responsibilities turned 
 my practical habits into useful channels. 
 
 Once after this, when " a revival" seemed closing, 
 and my father expressed his distress for my indiffer- 
 ence, I told him I was so happy I could not do any 
 thing but enjoy life, and that nothing but trials and 
 sorroiD would do me any good. Tears came into his 
 eyes as he said, " Dear child, must I die too ?" The 
 responsive tears came to my eyes, but soon all was 
 forgotten. 
 
 Ax tills time my theory of morals was, that to lie, 
 steal, swear, quarrel, disobey parents, and break the 
 Sabbath, were sins for which I should feel guilty ; but 
 for not becoming a Christian, when I could not under- 
 stand how to do it, never rested on my conscience as 
 a sin, but was felt to be simply a misfortune. And I 
 wondered, if God desired that I should have a new 
 heart, and he only could give it, why he did not do so. 
 This was the amount of my *' reasoning" so far. Till 
 nearly twenty, I gained little knowledge except by 
 intercourse with intelligent people, for still I had no 
 love for solid reading or study. At about that age, I 
 remember turning over Reid's work on Mental Science, 
 in which my mother had been deeply interested, and 
 wondering how people could read such stuff. 
 
XX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 At twenty that betrotlial took place, so soon and 
 so tragically ended ! It was the realization of all my 
 favorite dreams of earthly bliss. Affection, taste, am- 
 bition, every thing most desirable to me and to family 
 friends, seemed secured. In a few months all was end- 
 ed, and in the most terrible and heart-rending manner. 
 
 After the first stunning effect was over, the next 
 feeling was, "This is that indispensable sorrow! this 
 is to save me from eternal death .^" And so, as soon 
 as I could do any thing, I began a course of religious 
 reading, prayer, and mental conflict. I tried to remedy 
 that pernicious mental habit of reverie and castle-build- 
 ing; I tried to do I knew not what in "becoming a 
 Cliristian." 
 
 Shut up in entire seclusion, all my dearest hopes 
 forever crushed, without hope or object in life, over- 
 whelmed with grief, horrified less at his dreadful death 
 than at the awful apprehensions he himself had im- 
 parted that he was unprepared to die, I spent week after 
 week in reading the stern and powei-ful writings of 
 President Edwards, Dwight's System of Theology, and 
 other similar works. I hoped for nothing, cared for 
 nothing but to become a Christian. Yet no one could 
 teU me intelligibly how to do it, while it was clear that 
 all expected nothing from my efforts, and that all was 
 dependent on a divine efflatus that was to change the 
 birth-gift of a depraved heart. 
 
 And yet I was told that the fault was all my own ; 
 that it w^as my obstinate unicilUngness to do what was 
 required that alone made it needful for God to inter- 
 fere. This was urged as a doctrine from God, and so, 
 though it seemed as if I was not only willing, but that 
 
INTEODUCTION. XXI 
 
 I longed for this change, I submitted my humble in- 
 tellect to His, and owned that it must be so. So pass- 
 ed several dark and weary months. 
 
 Next, I went to visit the parents of the friend I had 
 lost. Here I read his private records of years of al- 
 most superhuman effort to govern his mind, and to 
 achieve the very thing I was laboring for, and yet, to 
 his mind, all ended in entire failure ; and this, too, 
 without any murmuring, or any accusation of any one 
 but himself. It was, as he maintained, because he was 
 so ungrateful, so hardened, so obstinately "unwilling," 
 so averse from God and his service. And yet he was 
 the model of every domestic, social, and official virtue; 
 so reverent to God, so tender as a son and brother, 
 so conscientious and faithful as an instructor! In 
 not a single duty did he fail that the closest intimacy 
 could discover ; and yet, by his own showing, he had 
 HO love to God, and was entirely " unwilling" to love 
 and serve him. 
 
 At the same time, I found his intelligent, tender, 
 heart-broken mother had for years been living just 
 such a conscientious life, without any hope that she 
 was a Christian, while now her pride and darling son 
 was lost to her forever on earth, and oh ! where was 
 he? and where should she meet him at last? And 
 thus she died. The only brother, too, so conscientious 
 and exemplary, was and long continued in the same 
 same position of mind. 
 
 These revelations took away all hope of any good 
 fi-om any farther efforts of mine. At this period I 
 almost lost my reason. For some days I thought I 
 should go distracted. The first decided "change of 
 
XXU INTRODUCTION. 
 
 mind" I now recall was an outburst of indignation 
 and abhorrence. I remember once rising, as I was 
 about to offer mj usual, now hopeless prayer, with a 
 feeling very like this : that such a God did not deserve 
 to be loved ; that I would not love him if I could, and 
 I was glad I did not ! It was but momentary, and 
 the long training of years resumed its sway. 
 
 It was at this period that I framed my first attempt 
 at serious argument in a letter to my father. I took 
 this position, that our own experience and co7iscious- 
 ness were the highest kind of evidence of our mental 
 power, and that I had this evidence of my mental in- 
 ability to love God as required. My father's reply was 
 published in the Christian Sjpectator^ and was regard- 
 ed as masterly and unanswerable. Its chief aim was 
 to lessen confidence in my own consciousness, and to 
 show that, as God was just and good, and certainly 
 did require supreme love to him, we had the power to 
 obey. I was unable to meet the argument, and so al- 
 lowed that it must be so, and that all that was in my 
 way was my own obstinate "unwillingness." 
 
 But there was another point about which I attempt- 
 ed to reason that I did not give up so easily. Accord- 
 ing to the theory of "obstinate unwillingness," there 
 was nothing in the Bible by way of promise, or even 
 encouragement, for any like me. For how could God 
 feel sympathy for obstinate rebels, or how make prom- 
 ises of hope and encouragement to those whose only 
 difficulty was an unreasonable dislike to God and his 
 service ? Such texts as I quoted to the contrary (as 
 Prov. 2:1-6; Matth. 7:7; John 4 : 10) were not for 
 such as I, but for those already converted ; and no 
 
INTEODUCTION. xxiii 
 
 prayers, even, were acceptable till offered by a renewed 
 heart. So it seemed impossible, in any case, to pray 
 acceptably to God for the greatest of all boons, redemp- 
 tion from the awful doom of eternal death ; for at re- 
 generation the blessing was already given, and before 
 that act no prayer was acceptable. So there was no 
 place for such a prayer. This I never accepted, though 
 I did not quite venture to oppose it. 
 
 At one time my mind turned with longing and ten- 
 der emotions toward Jesus Christ. All he said and 
 did appeared so reasonable and so kind that it seemed 
 to me he would hear my prayers. I brought, to sustain 
 this idea, the case of the young man whom " Jesus 
 loved" when he had no religion. Here I was met by 
 a theory that, till now, had not attracted my notice, 
 which was, that there was a human soul in Christ join- 
 ed to the Divine mind, and that it was this human soul 
 that felt this "human sympathy" for sinners, and hore 
 all the suffering^ while the Deity had nothing but calm, 
 unmingled bliss. This made me feel that I could love 
 the human soul, but could not love God. Indeed, the 
 sufferings of this innocent Savior, unshared by God, 
 was the most revolting of all. 
 
 At the close of a long year of such darkness and 
 suffering, I went to my friends in Boston, where " a 
 revival" was in progress, and where I met my father. 
 Here I received the most tender sympathy, was taken 
 to prayer-meetings, and every thing was said and done 
 that piety and love could devise for my relief, but all 
 in vain. 
 
 Finally, I came to this attitude of mind : " I will not 
 try any more to understand any thing about these doc- 
 
XXIV INTEODUCTION. 
 
 trines. I will not try any more to ' be convinced of 
 sin' in tliis inability to love God. Something is the 
 matter : it does not seem like obstinate ' unwilling- 
 ness ;' bat if God says so, I will take his word for it. 
 I will assume that He is just, and wise, and good, in 
 spite of all that seems to contrary. I will try to do all 
 He commands the best I can. There must he a dread- 
 ful mistake someioJiere^ but I will trust and obey, 
 and wait quietly for light." At this time my father 
 gave me some little hope. I knew not why, for I did 
 not "love God" according to any of the ordinary tests. 
 But I was encouraged to hope that my heart was "re- 
 newed," and I shortly after made a public profession 
 of religion in my father's church. 
 
 During my residence with the friends referred to, I 
 attempted the duties of a teacher to two young daugh- 
 ters of the family, and, to prepare myself, for the first 
 time set my mind to real hard study. In five weeks 
 I went through a large Arithmetic, of which I knew 
 almost nothing; in seven weeks I completed Day's 
 Algebra. Two schoolbooks on Chemistry and Nat- 
 ural Philosophy were also mastered that gloomy win- 
 ter. I had no other resource within or witliout for so 
 active a mind. Then my father urged me, for the sake 
 of a sister, as my own pecuniary wants had been pro- 
 vided for, to commence a school in Hartford. As I 
 taught only half a day, and " the higher branches" 
 were but just entering female schools, I found no dif- 
 ficulty in keeping sufficiently ahead of my pupils. 
 Thus commenced my career as a teacher. 
 
 I went on several years with no other evidence of 
 "love to God," which was the main test of "regener- 
 
INTKODUCTION. XXV 
 
 ation," but perseverance in the determination to assume 
 that He was wise, just, and good, and to do all I could 
 to obey him. ^ly great aim in life was to find out 
 what He required from the Bible, and then to try to 
 do it as well as I could. Besides this, I imitated the 
 methods of Christian worthies. I kept a religious di- 
 ary — read religious books — went to religious meetings 
 — prayed in my school, and taught religion to my pu- 
 pils as it had been taught to me. Often, when I found 
 suffering young minds embarrassed by my own diffi- 
 culties, willing and anxious to do all in their power, 
 and yet unable to feel as required, I almost lived over 
 past anguish of spirit, and could scarcely nerve myself 
 to instruct them that all the wrong was their own " ob- 
 stinate unwillingness." There was a constant conflict 
 between the theories to which I had bowed my intel- 
 lect, and thought I really believed, and the impulses 
 of my moral nature and common sense. 
 
 Sometimes these questions were intolerably impera- 
 tive. What evidence is there that what God says is 
 true^ when He claims to be wise, and just, and good, 
 when He has done such contradictory things ? For a 
 single act, done six thousand years ago, the first act 
 of disobedience too. He has so constituted things that 
 all the human minds that might be made right are 
 formed so '-'' dep/xivecV^ as that not one of them will ever 
 be '' willing" to love and obey the Creator till He " 7'e- 
 news''' their minds. If I were to act thus, I sliould 
 think it right for every one to believe I was cruel and 
 unjust until I showed good reasons for it. And if I 
 saw any one ruining the minds of young children, or 
 permitting Adam or any one else to do it, when I had 
 
 B 
 
XXVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 power to prevent it, I should say it was right to con- 
 sider him an abominable and hateful being till he show- 
 ed good reasons for such a course. 
 
 Such thoughts were banished by the force of a strong 
 will, and I continued to hold on to the Bible as a rev- 
 elation from God, and to His claims as being wise, 
 and just, and good. My renewed decision was, ' ' There 
 is some dreadful mistake somewhere ; but I will take 
 God's word and trust it, do the best I can, and wait 
 till all is made clear." 
 
 In the later periods of life, a mode of religious train- 
 ing has come repeatedly under my observation, to which 
 a brief reference will here be made. I have known 
 children, no more favorably endowed than myself, and 
 some of them less so, whose parents were no more 
 earnest and faithful than mine, though on a different 
 theoiy. 
 
 These children were first trained to prompt, un- 
 questioning, and universal obedience to their parents' 
 commands, almost such as is required by their Creator 
 to his fixed and unalterable laws. At the same time 
 they were treated with the greatest tenderness and 
 sympathy, and as soon as they could understand the 
 reasons for parental requirements, these reasons were 
 given, but always with the understanding that im- 
 plicit obedience must often be rendered without under- 
 standing the reasons. When these habits of confiding 
 and affectionate obedience were formed, then they were 
 taught that Jesus Christ was the Maker, Friend, and 
 Father of all, who loved all his children as these pa- 
 rents loved their little ones, only more and better; 
 that He created them to be happy, rejoiced to see 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXVli 
 
 them so, and was always sorry for them in every 
 trouble. 
 
 They were taught that there are right ways and 
 wrong ways of seeking to be happy ; that Jesus Christ 
 came into this world to teach us what are these right 
 and wrong ways, and that His instructions are writ- 
 ten in the Bible ; that it is very difficult to feel and 
 act right in all things ; that, when children try to do 
 so, the Savior is pleased with them, and, though they 
 see liim not, is present with them to help them ; that, 
 wlien tliey fail, and feel or act wrong, he is grieved, as 
 their parents are, and as ready to forgive and help 
 them, when they too are sorry, and continue to try to 
 do right in all things ; that they are Christians just 
 so far as they succeed in obeying Christy and that, the 
 more they try, the more help they will have, and the 
 better they will succeed. 
 
 Thus these children grew up with the feeling that 
 whenever they did any thing that was kind, honest, 
 honorable, just, and self-denying, they were pleasing, 
 not only their parents, but their best and ever-present 
 Friend. Under such a course, the varied duties of re- 
 ligion and of social and domestic life were gradually 
 not only explained, but enforced^ both by parental au- 
 thority and example, till a character and habits were 
 formed that were far more consistent with the Xew 
 Testament exhibitions of Clnristian life than is often 
 seen among mature Christians. 
 
 Without at present expressing any other opinion in 
 regard to this method, I am strong in the belief that 
 if this course had been pursued with me in child- 
 hood, very different mental habits would have been 
 
XXVlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the result, and that the Christian life would have be- 
 gun and progressed probably before the severe disci- 
 pline of sorrow came, and certainly after it had been 
 experienced. 
 
 At the same time, there is a deep conviction that 
 many of my young pupils, who turned away from re- 
 ligion as uninviting, severe, and unintelligible, would, 
 by another method, have been easily led into the true 
 paths of pleasantness and peace. 
 
 I wish now to exhibit the influence of one doctrine 
 (which I claim to be that of reason as truly as of rev- 
 elation) on a mind like mine. I have stated something 
 of that hopeful, elastic, and happy temperament that 
 seemed to make sorrow so indispensable to the devel- 
 opment of my noblest powers. But the earthly sor- 
 row, time and new interests would have remedied ere 
 youth had passed. But that awful doctrine of the 
 
 ETEEXAL, IRRE:\IEDIABLE LOSS OF THE SOUL, SO ground 
 
 into my spirit by years of effort, of which this was 
 the mainspring, has been the grand motive power of 
 my whole life ever since. K I could in any way have 
 satisfied myself that a time would come, however dis- 
 tant, when all sufferers would be repaid by eternal 
 ages of bliss, and ail the guilty, however long their pe- 
 riod of purgation, would at last be pure and happy /b/*- 
 evei\ I should have returned to life and its enjoyments 
 with fresh zest after such a period of privation. But 
 I could not gain any such assurance without the Bible, 
 but rather the reverse; wliile all the life and teachings 
 of Christ and the Apostles seemed entirely based on the 
 assumption that our whole race were in awful danger, 
 that some were to be saved and some were to be lost 
 
INTRODUCTION. Xxix 
 
 forever^ and that the great end for which Christ lived, 
 and for which his followers are to live, is to SAVE as 
 MANY AS POSSIBLE from this awful doom. 
 
 Indeed, I could not see how any one could feel any 
 respect for the teachings of Christ when such terrible 
 things were uttered by him, if there was no just reason 
 thus to terrify and alarm mankind. Times without 
 number, I went over the New Testament to see if I 
 could find any honest way of escaping that doctrine, 
 and always ending with a deeper and more awful con- 
 viction of its reality. The result was, that while, for 
 the first year, I was driven to such mental effort and 
 suffering to save myself, as soon as the least hope 
 dawned that I was safe, all that was kindly and sym- 
 pathizing in my nature led me to renewed efforts to 
 save others. 
 
 After such a lesson of inability, both in my own 
 case and that of such dear friends, no words can ex- 
 press the ineffable pity, sympathy, and almost horror 
 with which I looked on the world around me. And 
 when young and happy minds, such as once was my 
 own, came under my training, I never felt any need of 
 being " waked up," as some Christian people seemed 
 to do. It only seemed to me I could never sleep. 
 There never has been an hour for thhty years when a 
 moment's consideration of this awful doctrine would 
 not drive away every temptation to earthly ambition, 
 or any longings for earthly good of any sort for my- 
 self. Many times, when, by the presentation of such 
 an awful theme, I have brought the young to me with 
 tears and willing docility, and when, to the question 
 "What can we do to be saved?" my shut-up heart 
 
 A 
 
XXX INTEODUCTION. 
 
 was ready to exclaim "Nothing," I have "been so bur- 
 dened and worn as to be obliged to pray to forget, and 
 to take every lawful mode to turn my thoughts to oth- 
 er less exciting themes. It was at such times I un- 
 derstood for what the love of the comic was implanted, 
 and if all Christians should feel as I do, what might 
 be the legitimate use of works of fiction, the drama, 
 and the dance. In such a case, and properly regulated, 
 they would be needful and only beneficial alteratives. 
 I wish now to ask my theological friends to consider 
 the character of my inner life. In all outward mani- 
 festations I took the theory of religion trained into me, 
 and did my best to believe it, and talked, and wrote, and 
 prayed, and acted before others on the assumption of its 
 truth. But my inner life was after this fashion : as to 
 prayer in private, I found great comfort in the preface 
 to the Lord's prayer, '''-Aftei' this manner pray ye." It 
 was a short, comprehensive prayer, which amounted to 
 this, that God's will might be done on earth as in heav- 
 en ; that our temporal wants might be supplied ; that 
 we might do right and escape evil. This I could sin- 
 cerely feel and pray when all details distressed me. 
 But, still better, this prayer began, " Our Father J''* 
 Kow to me, through my whole life, this word " father" 
 had been associated with unparalleled tenderness, sym- 
 pathy, and love ; with truth, justice, and all that was 
 lovable. I could not apply it to God without such 
 associations, and so it comforted me — and that was all. 
 But the prayers, hymns, and sermons conformed to the 
 theory of religion were occasions when I had to strug- 
 gle with feelings of disgust and abhorrence. Especial- 
 ly, at times, was this so in reference to tlie atoning 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXXl 
 
 sacmfice of Jesus Christ, until I formed a curious men- 
 tal habit of letting these things pass through my mind 
 as something I did not understand, and then there 
 seemed to flow in a vague impression of something 
 "better, I knew not what. 
 
 In the progress of years I came to instruct some of 
 the most vigorous and active minds I ever saw, both in 
 mental science and in the interpretation of the Bible, 
 and thus gTaduaUy evolved and applied "the princi- 
 ples of reason and rules of interpretation" in this work. 
 The results will mainly appear in what follows. 
 
 Up to this time, my feelings toward God (except 
 sometimes when praying, as above described) were 
 that, as He has said he was wise, and just, and good, I 
 would take his word for it, in spite of all the evidence 
 to the contrary, and feel and act as he required as far 
 as I had power. !My service, however, was much like 
 that of a slave to a hard master. If " ih^fear of the 
 Lord is the beginning of wisdom," I certainly began 
 aright. 
 
 But the whole force of my being was turned, not to- 
 ward Him, but toward my lost, and suffering, and 
 darkened fellow-beings. And when all my darkness 
 was removed, and by a simple intellectual process of 
 argumentation I drew from His Holy Word all my 
 soul had longed for, my chief joy was, not that I was 
 safe, not that I could feel emotions of love to Him, but 
 that He felt as I did for this all-absorbing pui-pose 
 and end of my existence — to save my fellow-men. 
 
 Some minds seem to begin religious life with such 
 emotions of love to the Creator as makes it easy to 
 carry out the pui*pose to obey him. In my case, I be- 
 
XXXU INTRODUCTION. 
 
 gan with the cool intellectual purpose to obey him, 
 while it was love., not to Him, but to my fellow-men, 
 that made it easy to carry out this purpose of obedi- 
 ence. But, in both cases, was it not the sjpirit of 
 ohedience that was the grand requisite ? The all-con^ 
 trolli7ig purpose of acting Tight., by obeying all the 
 laws of the Creator as discovered by the light of Na- 
 ture, or by His revealed Word — is not this the dis- 
 tinctive feature that marks the ''^regenerated'''' soul? 
 
 It is theological theories, forced on mankind through 
 popes, emperors, and church councils, by pains and 
 penalties, which has mystified that grand question of 
 life, " What must we do to be saved V so that the an- 
 swer to almost every other practical question is more 
 clear than this. What do the great masses of men 
 suppose that they themselves are to do if ever they be- 
 come "regenerated?" Multitudes imagine that, by 
 going to camp-meetings, or conference meetings, or in 
 "revivals," some Divine efflux will come over them, 
 of which the chief evidence is that the mind is filled 
 with joy, or other delightful emotions. Others deem 
 it a mysterious change, that takes place sometimes in 
 sleep, without any voluntary act of the individual. 
 Others suppose it to consist in certain emotions or 
 mental acts, in reference to Jesus Christ, that come by 
 divine influence. Others consider it an act of the in- 
 tellect and will, of which emotions may be the preced- 
 ing state, or may follow as a result. Probably the vast 
 majority regard it as a mysterious indescribable event, 
 that no one can understand till it is experienced, and 
 which can not be made intelligible to an " unrenewed 
 mind." 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXXIU 
 
 Thousands of excellent, conscientious persons are 
 moving about with dark minds and heavy hearts, who 
 would instantly become happy and consistent followers 
 of Christ if these theories could be removed from their 
 minds, and they were sure that an earnest spirit of obe- 
 dience to Jesus Christ is what is required; to which 
 the promises of hope and encouragement are made; 
 which is the liighest evidence of regeneration, and the 
 chief feature of that "love to God" required ; while all 
 emotions, frames, and feelings are nothing without it. 
 Thousands of children and young persons, religiously 
 trained, are held back from a religious life because it 
 is conceived of as so mysterious, uninviting, and pain- 
 ful that they can neither understand or desire it. At 
 the same time, it is true that, after children have been 
 trained wrong ^ so that bad habits of mind are dom- 
 inant, the clear understanding of this subject will not, 
 in many cases, make it easy for them to commence a 
 religious life, or make it look desirable. 
 
 The fearful sanctions of eternity can not very di- 
 rectly be brought to bear on the minds of young chil- 
 dren without great. risk of entirely false impressions. 
 We see, in the Old Testament, that when God was 
 training a race, in the infancy of its development He 
 made visible appearances, used temporal motives, and 
 made no appeals to the sanctions of the invisible world. 
 Like the parents just referred to, his first aim seemed 
 to be to teach habits of obedience to God's temporal 
 laws, while, at the same time, He displayed his sympa- 
 thy, mercy, and love. And among his ancient people 
 men became his obedient children by just such train- 
 ing as is now best fitted to young children. 
 
XXXIY INTRODUCTION. 
 
 But when the race was farther advanced, so as to be 
 able to act more by reason and on geney^al 2)ri7icijples, 
 and when His religion, by new motives and forces, was 
 to be extended from one nation to all the Avorld, then 
 the Creator came himself ; and while disclosing those 
 most terrific sanctions of the invisible world, at the 
 same time exhibited such a manifestation of His pity, 
 sympathy, and self-sacrijici7ig love as renders these 
 terrors safe and effective in such a conjuncture, as they 
 would not be without. 
 
 With these two classes of motives thus intensified, 
 such a moral power has been generated, leading to 
 self-denying efibrts to educate and save mankind, as 
 never existed before. In the case of the writer, the 
 power of these terrible sanctions alone has been illus- 
 trated. In other cases, the power of Christ's love and 
 example have been the leading motives. It is the 
 union of both, clearly appreciated, and especially 
 brought to bear on those who form the character of 
 childhood and youth, that eventually is to renew the 
 whole race, and bring every human being to perfect 
 obedience to all the laws of the Creator. 
 
 In the investigation which originated at the time the 
 writer commenced teaching mental philosophy in con- 
 nection with the Bible, this was the first point to which 
 attention was led, "What is that ' reasori^ or ' common 
 sense" which is so often appealed to as the umpire in 
 religion, morals, and interpretation ?" All the works 
 of mental science within reach were examined, but it 
 was long before any clear conceptions on this question 
 Avere gained, and still longer before any test was evolved 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXXV 
 
 that seemed a ^practical one, as it is presented in this 
 work. Not that these principles and the test are not 
 indicated by metaphysicians in various forms of lan- 
 guage, but that there is such a confusing variety of 
 expression, and all is so presented as a speculative in- 
 stead of a practical question, that years elapsed before 
 that use of these principles which this work illustrates 
 was attained. 
 
 This is here referred to in explanation of future 
 passages that otherwise might seem to imply that the 
 author assumes to have discovered something not be- 
 fore known or recognized by metaphysicians. The 
 very writings of Dr. Eeid, which, in early life, were 
 turned over with wonder that any one could be in- 
 terested in them, probably contain the most complete 
 and clear exhibition of these principles, and also rec- 
 ognize the test by which they are to be established. 
 The writings of Sir William Hamilton exhibit other, 
 but less practical tests of these principles. 
 
 Until the printing of this volume was nearly com- 
 plete, it was the plan of the author to have the whole 
 work issued at once ; and, with reference to this whole, 
 its title was The Bible and the People, or Common 
 Sense Applied to Religion. But, after submitting 
 this portion of the work to criticism, it was concluded 
 to issue only one volume, and to wait until it was seen 
 what reception the principles it offered would meet. 
 In consequence of this, it seemed proper to transpose 
 the title, as the latter portion of it best describes the 
 contents of the first volume. This accounts for what 
 is unusual in paging and in the running title on the 
 left-liand pages. 
 
THE 
 
 BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE GRAND QUESTIONS OF LIFE. 
 
 We are now living througli the period of demoli- 
 tion. In morals, in social life, in politics, in medicine, 
 and in religion, there is a universal upturning of found- 
 ations. 
 
 But the day of reconstruction seems to be looming 
 in the orient, and now the grand question is. Are there 
 any sure and universal principles that will evolve a 
 harmonious system in which all shall agree ? Or, is 
 the only unity to be anticipated that which results from 
 the unsatisfactory conclusion that all must " agree to 
 disagree ?" 
 
 The first alternative is believed to be in our future; 
 and it is hoped that this volume will contribute some- 
 thing toward evolving such principles of reconstruction. 
 
 In some happily constituted minds and singularly 
 favorable circumstances, the passages of this life are 
 almost uniformly happy, and no clouds ever shut out 
 the sunshine of a cheerful existence. 
 
 But, as a general rule, the farther we advance in life, 
 the more solemn become our convictions that its ex- 
 periences are stormy, sad, disappointing, and unsatis- 
 A2 
 
10 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 factory. And the nobler the mind and the more ex- 
 alted its aspirations, the more surely are these lessons 
 read and understood. 
 
 If we turn aside from the lower haunts of pover- 
 ty, vice, and crime, and look only at the more favored 
 classes, we find men toiling for years and years to 
 build up schemes which, in some sudden shock, crum- 
 ble and pass away ; or, are their high hopes accom- 
 plished, some bitter ingredient mingles with the cup 
 of success, that turns it to gall. 
 
 And so, in heart-histories, the tenderest ties are form- 
 ed, as it would seem, only to be wrenched and torn. 
 The young heart gives its fresh impassioned love to 
 its appropriate object, and, just at the happy consum- 
 mation, death or desertion forever ends life's brightest 
 experience. 
 
 The young parents receive their first-born with un- 
 told rapture, and then some disease or accident turns 
 it to a hopeless idiot or ceaseless sufferer. 
 
 The young husband lays at once his first love and 
 his first bom in the same grave. The tender parents 
 spend years and years of care and effort to rear a dar- 
 ling child, and at the culmination of their hopes the 
 flower is cut down. 
 
 Business or misfortune severs those whose chief hap- 
 piness would be to live together. The long-tried 
 friends of early life are thro^vn into painfiil antago- 
 nisms that end their friendship. The conflicts of in- 
 terest and party develop conduct and character that 
 shatter confidence in men and tempt to misanthropy. 
 
 In short, there are seasons when a thoughtful and 
 tender spirit is tempted to feel as if some malignant 
 
THE GRAND QUESTIONS OF LIFE. 11 
 
 power were commissioned to seek out all that is most 
 beautiful, harmonious, and delightful in the experi- 
 ence of our race, only to imbitter, confound, and de- 
 stroy. 
 
 And even where the experience of life has been the 
 most favorable, as its closing years come on early 
 friends pass away, the capacities and resources of en- 
 joyment diminish, and the dim cloud that shrouds the 
 closing vista awakens solemn and anxious meditations 
 on the untried and silent future. Such experiences 
 bring forth the heart-yearning questions that come, as 
 it were, from the united voice of sad and suffering hu- 
 manity : 
 
 "Is there a God that controls the destinies of man ? 
 If so, what are his character and designs ? Is this 
 sad life our only portion, or shall we live beyond the 
 grave ? If there is another life before us, what influ- 
 ence has our conduct and character here on its solemn 
 destinies ? 
 
 Are we left to our own unaided faculties to reason 
 out from the nature of things around us the replies to 
 these momentous questions, or has the Author of our 
 bemg given some direct revelation to guide us ? 
 
 If such a revelation exists, is it made accessible to 
 all, or must one portion of our race necessarily depend 
 on fallible and interested interpreters ? 
 
 Does this revelation agree with reason and experi- 
 ence, and does it contain all that we need both for safe 
 guidance and for peace of mind ? 
 
 It is believed that, in the following pages, it will be 
 seen that every mind, of even only ordinary capacity, 
 is furnished with the means of answering all these 
 
12 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 questions, and with as much certainty as appertains 
 to the ordinary practical questions of this life. 
 
 At the same time, it will appear that most of the 
 difficulties and diversities of opinions in religious mat- 
 ters have mainly resulted from neglecting these means 
 of obtaining truth and peace, and that the "good times 
 coming" are all depending on the proper use of these 
 means. 
 
 As introductory to the first main topic, it is impor- 
 tant to refer to the fact that, in all languages, man is 
 recognized as possessing what is called reason. He 
 is called a reasonable being and a reasoning being, and 
 it is claimed that it is his reason that places him at the 
 head of creation in this world. 
 
 Again, in discussions on truth and duty, all men 
 seem to agree that there is such a thing as reason^ and 
 that it is, more or less, to be made the umpire in set- 
 tling all disputed points. It is true that very few 
 seem to have a clear and definite idea of what this 
 reason is, or how it is to be made an umpire. But all 
 allow that there is such a thing, and that it has a very 
 important office in deciding questions of truth and duty. 
 
 Then, again, among more scientific men, we hear 
 constant reference made to our *' intuitions" and our 
 *^ intuitive knowledge," as if there were some fixed 
 truths which are superior to all others. It is true, 
 that when we come to inquire specifically as to what 
 are these intuitions, we often find them to be acquired 
 notions, and sometimes such as are unsupported by 
 any evidence, or even contrary to the best kind of ev- 
 idence. Nevertheless, those who use these terms aU 
 agree in the fact that there are "intuitions" and "in- 
 
THE GRAND QUESTIONS OF LIFE. 13 
 
 tuitive knowledge," wliich are superior to any other 
 kinds of knowledge, and involve a certainty of convic- 
 tion which no reasoning can overthrow. 
 
 Then, as we advance still higher in the world of 
 letters, we find metaphysicians and philosophers as- 
 suming that a belief in certain truths is implanted in 
 all rational minds by the Creator as a necessary part 
 of their constitution, and that these truths are the foun- 
 dation of most of our acquired knowledge. The truths 
 or principles of mind thus recognized are called by va- 
 rious names, such as reason^ the. jprincvples of reason^ 
 the j)7'i7nary truths, the intuitioiis, the intuitive truths, 
 the fundamental truths, the princijyles of common 
 sense, the categories, etc. 
 
 The grand difficulty on this subject has been, that 
 while all agree in the existence of such implanted 
 truths, there has never been any test for deciding which 
 are these truths, in distinction from our acquired no- 
 tions. 
 
 It is the object of the succeeding chapter to present 
 the most important of these truths, and also to set forth 
 an infallible test by which they may be distinguished 
 from every other kind of knowledge. 
 
 And this attempt is made with a ftdl conviction that 
 success in such an effort is to be the foundation of that 
 harmony of reconstruction which has been indicated as 
 provided for the future. 
 
14 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 PRINCIPLES OF REASON, OR INTUITIVE TRUTHS. 
 
 It is maintained that the Author of mind has im- 
 planted, as a part of its constitution, the belief in cer- 
 tain truths, so that it is impossible to disbelieve them 
 without losing that which distinguishes man as a ra- 
 tional being. 
 
 It is also assumed that there is an infallible test, by 
 which we can distinguish these truths from all those 
 acquired notions which men often falsely call intui- 
 tions, or principles of reason, etc. 
 
 Before proceeding, it will be premised that the at- 
 tempt will not be to set forth all those truths that may 
 properly be called intuitive, but it will be limited to 
 those which are immediately connected with the sub- 
 jects to be discussed. 
 
 To proceed, then, the first principle of reason, or in- 
 tuitive truth, is that by which we arrive at the idea of 
 a great Fii'st Cause, who was without a heginning. 
 In briefest form, this truth is usually thus expressed : 
 
 EVERY CHANGE HAS A CAUSE. 
 
 The position here maintained is that the human mind 
 is so made that, w^henever any kind of change (or ef- 
 fect) takes place, there inevitably follows a belief that 
 there is some antecedent which is the cause of this 
 change, or, in other words, that there is something that 
 produced this change. 
 
PRINCIPLES OF REASON, OR INTUITIVE TRUTHS. 15 
 
 Now the question is not how this conviction first 
 finds entrance to the mind, nor whether it is conse- 
 quent on experience. 
 
 It is simply a question of fact. Men always do, 
 whenever they see any new form of existence, or any 
 change take place, believe that there is some antecedent 
 cause that produced this change. 
 
 Moreover, if a man should be found who was des- 
 titute of this belief, so that in his daily pursuits he 
 assumed that things would spring into existence with- 
 out any cause, and that there were no causes of any 
 kind that produced the changes around him, he would 
 be pronounced insane — a man who had " lost his rea- 
 son." 
 
 Here, then, we have an example of an intuitive truth, 
 and also an illustration of the test by which we are to 
 distinguish such truths from all others, viz. : 
 
 Any truth is a principle of reason^ or an intuitive 
 truths when all men talk and act as if they believed it 
 in the 2>ractical affairs of life, and xohen talking and 
 acting as if it loere not believed, would universally 
 be regarded as evidence that a Tnan had '•^lost his 
 reason."" 
 
 It will now be shown how a belief in this truth in- 
 volves a belief in some great First Cause who himself 
 had no beginning. 
 
 The atheist says thus : Somewhere, far back in other 
 ages, there were no existences at all, either of matter 
 or mind ; but at a given period, without any cause at 
 all, the vast and wonderful contrivances of matter and 
 mind began to exist. 
 
 The first reply to this is, that it is an assertion with- 
 
16 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 out evidence, either intuitive or otherwise. No being 
 ever was known to testify of such an event, and there 
 is no proof of it of any kind. 
 
 Next, it is replied that placing such an event at 
 distant ages does not render it any more credible than 
 the assertion that worlds and intelligent beings are 
 coming into existence at the present time without any 
 cause. God has so constituted our minds that we can 
 not believe that any curious and wonderful contriv- 
 ance springs into being without a cause, either now or 
 at any past period of time. 
 
 If the atheist, in the common affairs of life, should 
 talk and act as if he believed there were no causes for 
 all the existences and changes around him, he would 
 be regarded as having "lost his reason." And thus 
 Holy Writ sanctions the decision : *' The fool hath 
 said in his heart. There is no God." 
 
 We find, then, that our minds are made so that we 
 can not help believing that whatever begins to be has 
 an antecedent cause that produces it, and every change 
 in any kind of existence has a cause. We find, also, 
 the universe around us to be a succession of changes, 
 and these we trace back and back again to antecedent 
 causes. 
 
 But at last we come to the grand question, "Who 
 first started this vast system of endless and wonderful 
 contrivances ?" 
 
 Only two replies are possible. The first is that of 
 the atheist, that the whole started into existence with- 
 out a cause, which we have shown that no sane mind 
 can really believe. 
 
 The only remaining reply is, tliere is soTue great 
 
PEINCIPLES OF REASON, OR INTUITIVE TRUTHS. 17 
 
 self-existent Cause, xoho never began to he, and who is 
 the author of the universe of matter and mind.^ 
 
 It must, however, be conceded tliat this intuitive 
 truth does not aid us in deciding what is the nature 
 and character of this First Cause. "We are obliged to 
 resort to other intuitive truths to settle this question. 
 
 Neither does this principle aid us in deciding wheth- 
 er there may not be more than one self-existent cause ; 
 for several minds can be supposed to have united in wiU 
 and action to bring forth this "universal frame," each 
 one of which might have existed without beginning. 
 
 The second intuitive truth is this : 
 
 Two CLASSES OF CAUSES EXIST, VIZ., MATERIAL 
 THINGS, WHICH ACT ON MIND, AND IMMATERIAL OR 
 SPIRITUAL THINGS, WHICH ACT ON MATTER. 
 
 Some metaphysicians maintain that every thing is 
 matter, and that mind or spirit is only one particular 
 species of matter. Others teach that every thing is 
 mind, and that all which we suppose to be material 
 things are merely ideas in the mind of what really has 
 no existence. 
 
 Now we have no mode of proving that we have a 
 
 soul or that we have a body, or that there are any real 
 
 things existing around us. But God has so formed 
 
 our minds that we can not help believing that our 
 
 minds are distinct from matter, and that they are causes 
 
 of changes in our body and in the things around us. 
 
 Nor can we help believing that we have bodies, and 
 
 that the things around us are realities. And no man 
 
 could talk or act, in practical matters, with a contrary 
 
 belief, without being regarded as having "lost his 
 
 reason." 
 
 * Note A. 
 
18 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 The third intuitive truth is, that the mind of man 
 
 IS A FREE agent. 
 
 By this is signified that mind is an independent 
 cause of its own volitions, and capable, in appropriate 
 circumstances, of choosing in either of two or more 
 ways, not being, like matter, forced to a fixed and nec- 
 essary mode of action. 
 
 Some changes in mind are necessary effects pro- 
 duced by causes out of the mind. And some mental 
 action is the necessary result of its constitution, and 
 can not be otherwise. But choice or volition is an act 
 of the mind itself, when it has power to choose in either 
 of two or more ways without any change of circum- 
 stances. 
 
 The fatalist denies this, and maintains that choice is 
 a necessary act, the same as the changes in matter, and 
 that at each act of choice the mind had no power to 
 choose otherwise than as it does choose. 
 
 In reply to this, nothing is needed but to show that 
 all men believe, and show it by their words and actions, 
 that they always have power to choose more ways than 
 one. And after they have chosen a particular way, 
 they still believe that they had the power to have 
 chosen another way. And though metaphysicians may 
 deny this in words, if any one of them, in practical ev- 
 ery-day life, should talk and act as if he believed that 
 he had no power to choose otherwise than as he does, 
 he would be regarded as having "lost his reason." 
 
 This subject has often been so treated as to embar- 
 rass some of the most acute minds. Yet the ordi- 
 nary mind is as perfectly qualified to settle this ques- 
 tion as the most astute philosopher. Do men believe 
 
PKINCIPLES OF REASON, OR INTUITIVE TRUTHS. 19 
 
 that they have no power to choose any other way than 
 as they do choose? Do they talk and act in com- 
 mon life as if they believed it ? Would not a man 
 who talked and acted on the assumption that he had 
 no power to choose otherwise than as he does choose 
 be regarded as having " lost his reason ?" 
 
 All men of common sense must answer these ques- 
 tions alike, and thus decide that this is one of the in- 
 tuitive truths. 
 
 The fourth intuitive truth is, that design is evi- 
 dence OF AN INTELLIGENT CAUSE, AND THE NATURE 
 OF A DESIGN PROVES THE INTENTION AND CHARACTER 
 OF THE AUTHOR. 
 
 It is by the aid of this principle of reason that we 
 gain a knowledge of the character and designs of our 
 Creator. All minds are so constituted that when they 
 find a contrivance fitted to accomplish some end, they 
 can not help believing that the author of it is an intel- 
 ligent cause, and that he intended to secure that end. 
 
 This position is finely illustrated by Paley. He de- 
 scribes a savage finding a watch in a desert, who is 
 made to comprehend all its curious contrivances for 
 marking time. This savage, he claims, would inevi- 
 tably conclude that some intelligent person made the 
 watch, and that it was his design to have it keep 
 time. 
 
 In like manner, should the residence of a person be 
 inspected, and be found filled with contrivances for 
 producing mischief and for torturing men and animals, 
 the result would be a belief that the author of these 
 things was cruel and malignant. On the other hand, 
 were these contrivances calculated to produce only com- 
 
20 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 fort and happiness, the inevitable belief would follow 
 that the contriver was benevolent. 
 
 Again, if these designs were found to involve pow- 
 erful and magnificent results, the immediate belief 
 would follow that the author was wise and powerful as 
 well as benevolent. 
 
 This illustrates the method by which this implanted 
 principle of reason enables us to learn the design and 
 character of the Author of the universe by the works 
 of creation. 
 
 The fifth intuitive truth is, that NO eational mind 
 
 WILL choose evil WITHOUT ANY HOPE OF COMPEN- 
 SATING GOOD. 
 
 The fact that any person was seeking pain and evil 
 without hope of compensating good would prove to all 
 that " reason was lost." No sane mind ever acts thus. 
 
 It is by the aid of this intuitive truth that we rely 
 on human testimony. The surest mode of establish- 
 ing the reliability of a witness is to show that by false 
 testimony he would knowingly incur evil and gain no 
 good. In such circumstances no one would believe 
 that a witness would be false. 
 
 The sixth intuitive truth is, that things will con- 
 tinue AS they aee and have been till there is 
 
 EVIDENCE OF A CHANGE OR OF A CAUSE FOR A CHANGE. 
 
 All the business of this life rests on a belief in this 
 implanted truth, and equally so do our inferences in 
 regard to the immortality of the soul and a future state. 
 
 The belief that the sun will continue to rise, or that 
 the seasons wiU return, rests solely on the fact that 
 these events have been uniform in past time, and that 
 we know of no cause for a change from this uniformity. 
 
PKINCIPLES OF REASON, OR INTUITIVE TRUTHS. 21 
 
 And were any person to talk and act as if destitute of 
 this belief, he would be deemed insane. 
 
 Bishop Butler's celebrated argument on the immor- 
 tality of the soul is founded entirely on this principle. 
 It is briefly this : 
 
 Things will continue as they are and have been un- 
 less there is some evidence of some change or cause 
 for a change. Ai death the soul exists. The disso- 
 lution of the body is no evidence of the destruction of 
 the soul, and there is no kiod of evidence that it is de- 
 stroyed. Therefore we infer that the soul continues 
 to exist after the dissolution of the body. 
 
 The main point in this argument is to show that 
 there is no evidence that the act of death involves the 
 destruction of the soul. If this can be established, 
 then the belief must follow that the soul exists after 
 death. By the same method Butler establishes sev- 
 eral other doctrines of the Bible. 
 
 It is by the aid of this principle that what are called 
 the laws of nature are estabhshed. By means of hu- 
 man testimony we learn what has been the uniform 
 course of nature. And then men conclude that what 
 has been will continue to be untU some new cause in- 
 tervenes to change this uniformity. 
 
 The seventh intuitive truth is, that the NEEDLESS 
 DESTRUCTION OF HAPPINESS OR INFLICTION OF PAIN 
 IS WRONG, and THAT WHATEVER TENDS TO PRODUCE 
 THE MOST HAPPINESS IS RIGHT. 
 
 The terms right and wrong, as used by mankind, 
 always have reference to some ^j>Z«?i or design. Any 
 thing is called right when it fulfills the design for which 
 it is made, and it is called wrong when it does not. 
 
22 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 Thus a watch is right when it fulfills its design in 
 keeping time. A compass is right when it points to 
 the north. And so of all contrivances. 
 
 Of course, then, the question as to the right and 
 wrong action of mind involves a reference to the ob- 
 ject or design of the Author of mind. At this time it 
 will be assumed (the proof being reserved for future 
 pages) that the design or object for which God made 
 mind was to jyroduce the greatest ^possible hajyjpiness 
 with the least possible evil. 
 
 It is also assumed, without here exhibiting the proof, 
 that tlie impression of this design is so inwrought into 
 the mental constitution that whatever is perceived to 
 be destructive to happiness is felt to be icrong — that 
 is, xmfitted to the design of the Author of all things, 
 which the mind feels often when it can not logically 
 set forth the reason. So, also, whatever is seen to 
 promote the greatest amount of happiness is felt to be 
 right. 
 
 The mind is so constituted that, without any act of 
 reasoning as to the tendencies of things, there are cer- 
 tain feelings and actions that the mind turns from as 
 unfit and to be abhorred. 
 
 Thus, when plighted faith is violated, or a great ben- 
 efactor treated with cruelty and indignity by those he 
 has benefited, a feeling of unfitness and abhorrence is 
 awakened, independent of all considerations of the ten- 
 dency of such conduct to destroy happiness. 
 
 In like manner, there are certain acts of gratitude 
 and benevolence that always awaken approval and ad- 
 miration as suitable and right, without any reference 
 to future tendencies or results. 
 
PKINCIPLES OF REASON, OR INTUITIVE TRUTHS 23 
 
 At the same time, it is true that when, by a process 
 of reasoning, it is seen that the tendency of any course 
 of conduct is to diminish happiness or inflict evil with- 
 out compensating good, there arises the same feeling 
 of disapproval of it as wrong, and unfitted to the end 
 for which all things are made. This is often the case 
 when there is no definite, distinct idea of what the 
 great design of the Creator may be. 
 
 This belief and feehng of unfitness and wrongfiilness 
 is common to all sane minds. It is true that there are 
 different views of what actions are destructive to hap- 
 piness, but when there is a clear perception that a given 
 act will do great harm and no good, every mind will 
 feel that it is wrong ; and when it is seen that any act 
 will do good without any evil, it is felt to be right. 
 And this is so universal, that if any one should be 
 found to talk and act with a contrary belief, he would 
 be regarded as having lost a part of that which con- 
 stitutes him a rational being. 
 
 The eighth intuitive truth is, that the evidence of 
 
 OUR SENSES IS reliable. 
 
 This statement needs some qualification. It often 
 requires time to learn accurately what our senses do 
 testify, and sometimes the apparent experience of the 
 senses proves incorrect. For example, to one just re- 
 stored to sight, every object seems to touch the eye, 
 and distances are learned only by experience. So the 
 sun and stars seem to move, when it is the earth that 
 is turning. So, also, the senses are sometimes diseased 
 or disordered, and make false reports. 
 
 The true meaning, then, of the above intuitive truth 
 is, that when men know that they have had all requi- 
 
24 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 site experience, and understand properly all the cir- 
 cumstances of the case, they can not help believing the 
 evidence of their senses, and when this belief is lost, a 
 person is regarded as insane. 
 
 The ninth intuitive truth is, that whenever there 
 IS A change in the established order of nature 
 surpassing human power, it is evidence of a su- 
 pernatural agency that is sanctioned by the 
 Author of the laws of Nature. 
 
 The conviction of the wisdom and power of the Au- 
 thor of this vast and wonderful frame around us is 
 such that whatever changes may occur in its estab- 
 lished order must be felt to be by his permission. 
 
 To illustrate this, suppose a man appeared claiming 
 to be a teacher sent from God. In proof of this, he 
 commands a mountain to be uptom and thrown into 
 the sea. Now, if this phenomenon should follow his 
 command, it would be impossible for any who wit- 
 nessed it to refrain from believing that the Author of 
 Nature performed this miracle to attest the authority 
 of his messenger. 
 
 In order to insure this belief in the interference of 
 Deity, there must be full evidence that there can be 
 no deception, and that the miraculous performance is 
 entirely beyond human power and skill. JMen always 
 talk and act on the assumption that such miracles are 
 from God, and that all rational minds so regard them. 
 
 The tenth intuitive truth is, that in all practi- 
 cal CONCERNS WE ARE TO CONSIDER THAT COURSE 
 RIGHT WHICH HAS THE BALANCE OF EVIDENCE IN ITS 
 FAVOR. 
 
 There are few practical questions where we can 
 
PEINCIPLES OF REASON, OR INTUITIVE TRUTHS. 25 
 
 have perfect certainty as to the right course. In al- 
 most all the concerns of life men are guided by jprob- 
 abilities. It is not certain that seed will spring up, 
 or that a shij) will return, or that a given medicine will 
 cure, or that any future project will succeed ; but men 
 go forward in their pursuits with exactly the same de- 
 cision as if the probabilities that guide them were cer- 
 tainties. They find which course has the most evi- 
 dence in its favor, and then act as if it was certain 
 that this was the right course to attain their designs. 
 
 And if any person should habitually act as if he be- 
 lieved the reverse, he would be regarded as having lost 
 his reason. 
 
 The eleventh intuitive truth is, that nothing IS TO 
 
 BE ASSUMED AS TRUE UNLESS THERE IS SOaiE EVI- 
 DENCE THAT IT IS SO. 
 
 This principle is always assumed in aU practical af- 
 fairs. If a man were to send a cargo abroad without 
 any evidence that it was wanted, he would be called a 
 fool; and so in all other concerns, every sane man 
 takes this for his rule of conduct. 
 
 The preceding include the principles which it is 
 believed are the grand foundation on which rest most 
 of the practical knowledge of life, as well as the doc- 
 trines and duties both of natural and revealed religion. 
 
 There are some other intuitive truths which are not 
 introduced here, and there are some principles that 
 others have placed in this honorable position which 
 could not stand the test here introduced, and claimed 
 to be the only true and reliable one. 
 
 The intuitive truths have been called " fundamental 
 truths," because they are the ultimate basis of all 
 
 B 
 
26 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 knowledge secured or established by tlie process of 
 reaso7ii7ig. 
 
 This process consists in assuming a certain propo- 
 sition to be true as the basis of an argument. K this 
 proposition is granted, or supposed to be granted, then 
 the reasoner proceeds to show that the point in dispute 
 is in reality included in the truth already granted, so 
 that believing the first proposition, or basis, necessari- 
 ly involves a belief in the one to be proved. 
 
 For example, if a man wishes to prove that a certain 
 person is a benevolent man, he proceeds thus : 
 
 Let it be gi-anted that all persons who are habitual- 
 ly contriving and laboring to promote the happiness of 
 all around them are benevolent persons. This basis 
 proposition being conceded to be true, the reasoner pro- 
 ceeds to present evidence that the person in question 
 habitually is laboring for the good of others. This 
 being done, he draws the conclusion that this person 
 is included in the class which have been granted to be 
 benevolent. 
 
 J^easo7iijiff, ihen,is a process for exhibiting e\idence 
 that a point which is disputed is included in a propo- 
 sition already believed and allowed. 
 
 But suppose the disputant denies the truth of the 
 basis or foundation proposition, then it becomes nec- 
 essary to establish that proposition by another act of 
 reasoning. In order to do this, still another proposi- 
 tion is assumed which is allowed to be true, and 
 which the reasoner then attempts to show includes 
 his former basis proposition. 
 
 This process may thus be continued till, finally, it 
 comes to pass that the basis proposition assumed is 
 
PRINCIPLES OF REASON, OR INTUITIVE TRUTHS. 27 
 
 an intuitive truth. In this case the victory is secure ; 
 for whatever can be shown to be embraced in an in- 
 tuitive truth must be conceded to be true, and whatev- 
 er is contradictory to an intuitive truth must be al- 
 lowed to be false. 
 
 Now it can be shown that all the reliable practical 
 knowledge of this life can be thus traced back till it is 
 seen to rest on some intuitive truth as its basis. 
 
 So, also, all the doctrines and duties, both of natural 
 and revealed religion, can be shown to rest on these in- 
 tuitive tiTiths. This indicates the propriety of the 
 name given to these first principles as principles of 
 reason smdi fundamental truths. 
 
 Here, then, is presented the foundation of the hope 
 so confidently expressed, that a time is coming when, 
 in all the great questions which now agitate humanity 
 with doubts, discussions, and conflict, there shall result 
 universal harmony and unity of opinion. If such in- 
 tuitive principles are implanted in all human minds ; 
 if there is a certain test by which these principles can 
 be eliminated and established ; and if, by a sure proc- 
 ess of reasoning, every correct practical and religious 
 opinion can be shown to rest on these principles, and 
 every false one to contradict them, then we can plainly 
 perceive the true path to this golden age. 
 
 It is to cultivate the powers of the human intellect, 
 to train every mind, from early life, to detect the true 
 laws of reason, and to practice accurately the process 
 of reasoning. Not that this alone will suffice vithout 
 the attending cultivation of the moral powers, and the 
 promised blessing of heavenly aid. But the first would 
 
28 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 powerfully tend to secure the second, and then the 
 third would inevitably be bestowed. 
 
 Before proceeding farther, it is desirable to recognize 
 the fact that the word reason is used in several ways. 
 Sometimes it signifies simply the intuitive truths. 
 Sometimes it includes all those principles and powers 
 of mind which are employed in the act of reasoning. 
 Sometimes it refers to the intellect in distinction from 
 the feelings. In all cases, however, the connection will 
 determine in which of these uses it is employed. 
 
SOUECES OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE. 29 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 SOUECES OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 We have seen that there are certain intuitive truths, 
 the belief of which is implanted as a part of our men- 
 tal constitution, and that there is a test by which we 
 can distinguish them from all other kinds of knowl- 
 edge. 
 
 We have seen, also, that we are dependent on these 
 truths for a large portion of our acquired knowledge, 
 inasmuch as they are the basis of reasoning^ which is 
 that process by which we gain new truths by the aid 
 of those already believed. 
 
 It has been intimated, also, that it is chiefly by the 
 aid of these principles that a harmonious system of 
 truth is to be anticipated, in which all minds wiU event- 
 ually agree, at least in all great questions involving the 
 eternal interests of our race. 
 
 We will now proceed in an inquuy as to what are 
 the sources of human knowledge in addition to these 
 first implanted truths. 
 
 In the first place, then, we have our own personal 
 experience of the nature and action of our own minds, 
 and of the qualities and powers of the persons and 
 things around us. Next we have the experience of 
 other minds as to their own mental history and the 
 properties and powers of all that has surrounded them. 
 This knowledge is communicated by them to us either 
 
30 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 directly by word of mouth, or indirectly by writings 
 and books. 
 
 The experience of a single mind is very limited 
 both as to space and time, and it is only by the united 
 experience of many persons, in different periods and 
 places, that we arrive at what are called the laws of 
 nature and experience. The laws of day and night, 
 summer and winter, the tides, and all the other phe- 
 nomena of natui'e, are simply a uniform succession and 
 regularity of events, from which men infer a future 
 regularity of the same experience. i\Iuch of this knowl- 
 edge of past uniformity is transmitted from others to 
 us, and rests on our confidence in human testimony, 
 and it has been shown that this confidence is based on 
 one of the intuitive truths. 
 
 Xext, we have the knowledge gained by the process 
 of reasoning, and for this we are dependent on the in- 
 tuitive truths which are the foundation of all rehable 
 deductions. 
 
 Lastly, we have the resource of revelations from the 
 Creator of all, who can communicate to us knowledge 
 that we can not gain either by intuition, or experience, 
 or reasoning. 
 
 In regard to the kinds of knowledge to be gained 
 from each of these sources, it is clear that the experi- 
 ence of ourselves and others furnishes us with nothing 
 but facts, as it regards matter and mind, as they are 
 developed in this world only. As it respects the Cre- 
 ator, his character and designs, the immortality of the 
 soul, and the future destiny of our race, we gain noth- 
 ing by our own personal observation or experience. 
 " No man hath seen God at any time." No one has 
 
SOUECES OF HUINIAN KNOWLEDGE. 31 
 
 gone to " the silent land" to learn by inspection the 
 secrets of that dim shore, or the destiny of the soul 
 when it passes from earth. 
 
 Neither have we any resource in the experience of 
 others who can go to the invisible world and transmit 
 to us the knowledge there gained. There is not a 
 man upon earth that can furnish any reliable informa- 
 tion on these subjects from any personal knowledge. 
 
 It becomes, then, a most interesting inquiry as to 
 the amount and kind of knowledge to be gained by 
 means of the intuitive truths, experience, and reason- 
 ing, independently of revelation. In what follows this 
 inquiry will be pursued. 
 
32 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 OF THE KNOWLEDGE GAINED BY HUIMAN EXPERIENCE 
 IN EEGAED TO THE NATURE OF MIND AND THE LAWS 
 OF THE SYSTEM OF WHICH IT IS A PART. 
 
 We have seen that there are only these sources of 
 human knowledge, viz., the mtuitive tricths, human 
 experience, reasoning, and revelation. We have al- 
 luded to the nature of intuitive knowledge ; we will 
 now inquire as to the nature of the knowledge gained 
 by human experience, firstly, in regard to the constitu- 
 tion of mind and the laws of that system in which it 
 is jplaced. We restrict our inquiries to those points 
 which have the most direct bearing on the great ques- 
 tions to be discussed. 
 
 As it respects the nature of mind, then, as exhibited 
 by experience, we learn, in the first place, that it is con- 
 stituted with desires and propensities for various kinds 
 of enjoyment. These are the gratifications secured by 
 the senses, the pleasures of taste, the happiness of 
 giving and receiving afiection, the various intellectual 
 pleasures, and the still higher enjoyment resulting 
 from our moral nature. AU these are common to the 
 race, though in varied degrees and combinations. The 
 mind is also constituted with susceptibilities to pain 
 and sufiering from all the sources from which enjoy- 
 ment may spring. 
 
 With these susceptibilities are combined an all-per- 
 vading and constant desire to gain enjoyment and to 
 
KNOWLEDGE BY HUIVIAN EXPERIENCE, ETC. 33 
 
 escape suffering. This desire is the grand "motive pow- 
 er to the mind, as the main-spring is to a watch. For 
 this reason, awakened desires to gain any particular en- 
 joyment or escape any pain are called inotives. And 
 so, also, all those things that cause these desires are 
 called motives. 
 
 Next, it is seen that the mind is endowed with in- 
 tellect, or the intellectual powers, by which it can per- 
 ceive the nature and relative value of various kinds of 
 enjoyment, compare the present with the future, and 
 judge both of what is most valuable and of the proper 
 modes of securing it. 
 
 To this add the power of choice or volition, by which, 
 in view of any two or more kinds of enjoyment, the 
 mind decides which shall be secured and which be de- 
 nied. 
 
 Thus constituted, the mind comes into action in a 
 system of law. 
 
 By this is signified that in every direction in which 
 man can seek enjoyment there is a right course, or one 
 that secures the good sought in such proper degrees 
 and at such times as that the enjoyment designed is 
 the result. At the same time there is a wrong course, 
 or one in which the enjoyment sought is not secured, 
 or, if gained, is combined with pain and disappoint- 
 ment. 
 
 Thus there are right and wrong modes of seeking 
 all the multiplied kinds of enjoyment, while to the right 
 course is attached the reward of pleasure, and with the 
 wrong course is connected the penalty of pain, either 
 immediate or remote. 
 
 Again, our minds come into existence in a social 
 B2 
 
34 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 system so constituted that the rewards and penalties 
 of law extend, not merely to the good and evil doer, 
 but to those connected with him. Thus each mind is 
 made dependent for happiness on the well-doing of 
 those around almost as much as on its own obedience to 
 law. The penalties for the sins of parents fall on their 
 children, and the sins of children are visited on their 
 parents, and thus in all the other relations of life. 
 Equally so are the rewards of obedience shared by all 
 who are connected with the well-doer. 
 
 Thus it appears that in this life ha2ypiness is the 
 joint product of the obedience of each individual and 
 the obedience of all connected with him to the laws of 
 the vast system in which we are placed. 
 
 Again, each mind comes into this system of law in 
 perfect ignorance of the right and wrong courses to be 
 pursued. At the commencement of being there has 
 been no knowledge of good or of evil to call forth de- 
 sire or fear, while the only conceivable way in which 
 such a being can be taught law, and its penalties and 
 rewards, is by experience. Good must be tasted be- 
 fore the desire for it can come, and evil must be felt 
 before the fear of it can arise. 
 
 After there has been some experience of pleasure 
 and pain, and such advance in knowledge as that oth- 
 ers around can teach the new-comer what are the right 
 and wrong courses, then faith or belief becomes the 
 leading mode of safety. From this time happiness or 
 suffering will be proportioned to the truth of the in- 
 structions given, to the faith accorded, and to the obe- 
 dience rendered. 
 
 In this complicated system of law, it is found that 
 
KNOWLEDGE BY HUMAN EXPEKIENCE, ETC. 35 
 
 the great Author of all is never moved to modify or sus- 
 pend the penalties of wrong-doing by commiseration for 
 the inevitable ignorance of inexperienced beings, nor by 
 pity when wrong instructions are given, nor by sym- 
 pathy for the pain inflicted. Obedience^ exact, con- 
 stant, persevering — this is the only mode of securing 
 the enjoyment and escaping the pain that are the sanc- 
 tions of law. 
 
 And not only so, but it is often the case that diso- 
 bedience to some law in only one instance will de- 
 stroy the comfort and usefulness of a whole life. Nay, 
 more, the neglect or the mistake of a parent sometimes 
 will bring the penalty of violated law on some innocent 
 child, whose whole life will thus be made miserable. 
 
 Again, it is found that the sources of enjoyment are 
 of different relative value. 
 
 In the commencement of existence pleasure is se- 
 cured mainly through the senses. Next come the 
 higher social and domestic pleasures ; then follow the 
 intellectual enjoyments, the various gratifications of 
 taste, and all the multitudinous resources oj^en to a 
 highly-cultivated, virtuous, and religious man. 
 
 The greater the number of these sources, and the 
 more elevated the nature of each, the greater the de- 
 gree of happiness gained. 
 
 Such, also, is the nature of things, that the lower 
 kinds of happiness are placed first within our reach, 
 and then, as the higher modes of enjoyment come, we 
 often find them incompatible with the others, so that 
 to obtain these we must, to some extent, relinquish the 
 humbler classes. Thus, when a child begins to find 
 the value of intellectual attainments, he sees they can 
 
36 - THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 not be gained without a sacrifice of many indulgences 
 that are of an inferior value. 
 
 We now come to the grand law of the system in 
 which we are placed, as it has been developed by the 
 experience of our race, and that, in one word, is 
 
 SACRIFICE ! 
 
 Each mind finds that it has conflicting desires, so 
 that one class must constantly be sacrificed to another 
 of superior value. And the rule in reference to indi- 
 vidual enjoyment is ''^ always to sacrifice the lesser for 
 the greater good, having reference to the future as 
 inuch as to the present'^'' 
 
 This is the lesson of self-denial and self-control first 
 taught to infancy and childhood, and just as fast as the 
 reasoning powers are developed, the extent of this far- 
 reaching rule is impressed on the mind. At first this 
 rule is applied to the young child himself, and he is 
 trained chiefly to understand what will injure or bene- 
 fit himself. 
 
 But gradually a new and higher law begins to ap- 
 pear. As soon as the child can be made to understand 
 that he is surrounded by other minds, who can sufier 
 and enjoy by the same rules that regulate his happi- 
 ness, he begins to leani the other and still higher law 
 of sacrifice ; and that is, that *' the lesser good of the 
 individual is always to he sacrificed to the greater good 
 of the "inany, having reference always to the future as 
 much as to the present.^'' 
 
 Thus life commences with desires that are to be 
 controlled and denied, first by parental power and in- 
 fluence, and next by the intellect and will of the child. 
 
KNOWLEDGE BY HUMAN EXPEEIENCE, ETC. 37 
 
 And the farther life advances, the more numerous and 
 complicated are the occasions where intellect must 
 judge what is best for self, and what is best for the 
 commonwealth, whose interests must have precedence. 
 
 And as self-denial always involves more or less pain, 
 it becomes a fact that happiness is to be gained only 
 by more or less suffering. 
 
 Moreover, the greater the good to be gained, the 
 greater is the self-denial and suffering involved in its 
 attainment. Though there are exceptions, this cer- 
 tainly is the general rule. 
 
 The history of an individual is a history of self-con- 
 quest. It is a history of the self-denial and suffering 
 involved in subjecting the physical to the intellectual, 
 and both to the moral nature. 
 
 In like manner, the history of the race, from infancy 
 through its stages of barbarism, heathenism, civiliza- 
 tion, and Christianity, is a process of suffering, as the 
 lower principles of humanity are gradually subjected 
 to the higher, while men learn to give up lower gratifi- 
 cations for the more elevated, and to sacrifice the less- 
 er good of the minority to the well-being of the ma- 
 jority. 
 
 But the cheering aspect of the case is that the ef- 
 fects of suffering are salutary and tonic. The child 
 who is trained to bear cold bravely, to undergo toil, 
 and to meet crosses, becomes strong in body, and en- 
 terprising and energetic in spirit ; while a course of 
 ease and indulgence debilitates both mind and body. 
 This is true most decidedly when such a course is 
 cheerfuUy and voluntarily assumed, and is not forced 
 merely by fear of penalties. 
 
38 THE BIBLE AND TPIE PEOPLE. 
 
 The same is true of communities. Those people 
 who live in a cold climate and on a hard soil become 
 vigorous, industrious, and enterprising ; while a soft 
 climate, and such abundance as requires no self-denial 
 and toil, tend to national debility and decay. 
 
 Another fact is still more cheering, and that is, that 
 the more a habit of self-control and self-denial is form- 
 ed, the easier they become, so that what at first was 
 severe and painful may become a pleasure. Such may 
 be the progress of a virtuous mind, that, ultimately, 
 acting right, or conscious rectitude, may become more 
 desirable and agreeable than any other mode of enjoy- 
 ment. 
 
 The history of mankind thus far shows that as a 
 race we are progressing to higher and higher happiness. 
 As we take the history of each nation from its origin, 
 we find it a development of progress from lower to 
 higher degrees of enjoyment. Then we find periods 
 of retrocession and decay. Still, the experience of one 
 age is transmitted more or less to another, so that, on 
 the whole, the race has been gaining, both as to the 
 number of sources of enjoyment received and as to the 
 relative value of the enjoyments sought. The propor- 
 tion of persons who secure the higher class of enjoy- 
 ments is certainly greater now than at any former pe- 
 riod of the world's history. 
 
 Again, the history of the world teaches us that while 
 the race gains in knowledge of the laws of the system 
 and in obedience to them, there are vast multitudes to 
 whom, as individuals, this life is a total failure. Their 
 career has involved such frequent and fatal violations 
 of the laws of the system, that their progress is con- 
 
KNOWLEDGE BY HIBIAN EXPERIENCE, ETC. 39 
 
 stantly downward ; and, so far as past experience gives 
 any data, we must infer that continued existence would 
 prove a continued downward progress. The glutton, 
 the drunkard, the miser, the sluggard, the licentious, 
 the selfish, malignant, and cruel — all these are bind- 
 ing their spirits with the chains of habit, rendering 
 obedience to the laws they are violating more difficult 
 and improbable. 
 
 But then, as a counterbalancing result, it is seen that 
 these losses to individuals are made available to the 
 protection and improvement of the race, and seem in- 
 dispensable to it ; for it is the example of the evils 
 suffered by wrong-doers that is constantly exercising 
 a preservative influence to deter others from similar 
 courses. Thus good is constantly educed from ill, even 
 in the most melancholy cases. 
 
 We have seen that it is the desire of good and fear 
 of evil that is the motive power in causing all mental 
 action, and we have the history of man to teach us also 
 what kinds of motives prove the most effective in se- 
 curing that obedience to law which is the only way to 
 true and perfect happiness. 
 
 Our only mode of learning the nature of a thing is 
 to observe how it acts and is acted upon. This is as 
 true of mind as it is of material things. What, then, 
 has the experience of our race taught as to the nature 
 of mind in reference to the kinds and relative influence 
 of motive that secure obedience to law ? 
 
 In the first place, then, we learn that fear of evil 
 is indispensable. As soon as children in the family, 
 or adults in society, find that no harm comes from grat- 
 ifying their desires, all restraint is removed. So strong 
 
40 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 is this necessity, that when natural penalties seem un- 
 certain or far off, parents and civil rulers find it imper- 
 ative to add those which are more immediate and dis- 
 cernible. 
 
 But with this we leam that fear alone is not a health- 
 ful stimulus. Children and slaves who have no mo- 
 tives to action but fear of penalties are never so suc- 
 cessfully led to obedience as when other more agreea- 
 ble influences are combined. A mind that is constant- 
 ly goaded to action by fear of evil becomes torpid, or 
 irritable, or despairing, or all together. The hope of 
 good, or rewards, then, are as indispensable to secure 
 obedience to law as penalties. The proper balancing 
 of the motives of fear of evil and hope of good is the 
 grand art of controlling mind, both as it respects indi- 
 viduals and communities. 
 
 In reference to those motives that are pleasurable, 
 there are two classes which it is veiy important to 
 recognize. The first class are those sources of enjoy- 
 ment which are sought for the gratification of self 
 without any reference to another. Of this class are 
 the pleasures of the senses, the enjoyment of acqumng 
 knowledge, the exercise of power, the pleasures of taste, 
 and others that need not here be specified. 
 
 The second class are those in which the enjoyment 
 is secured by producing happiness for others, and is 
 sought solely in reference to the enjoyment of another. 
 The most decided illustration of this kind is that of a 
 mother who is providing for her offspring. This and 
 all true love has, as its distinctive feature, the pleasure 
 found in conferring happiness on the beloved object. 
 Gratitude, also, has for its main element the desire to 
 
KNOWLEDGE BY HUSIAN EXFEEIENCE, ETC. 41 
 
 make some returns of enjoyment to one who Las con- 
 ferred a favor. 
 
 Experience has shown that the most powerful of all 
 motives in securing obedience to law is that of love. 
 
 When love is awakened toward a superior mind — 
 when this superior mind knows what are the true rules 
 of right and wrong, and is deeply interested to guide 
 and aid the inferior mind — when this interest is ex- 
 pressed by all winning and attractive methods, nothing 
 has ever yet been found so successful in securing obe- 
 dience to the rules of right and wrong. 
 
 The power of this principle is greatly enhanced when 
 the superior mind is a benefactor. The bestowal of 
 kindness excites a desire to make some returns of good, 
 and when it is seen that such a benefactor is gratified 
 by leading a dependent mind to right action, it proves 
 a most powerful motive to obedience. 
 
 StiU more is the power of this principle increased 
 when the favors bestowed are purchased by self-denial 
 and suffering on the part of the benefactor. The more 
 noble the benefactor, and the greater the good thus pur- 
 chased or the evils thus averted, the stronger is the prin- 
 ciple of gratitude leading to such returns of obedience. 
 
 Again, experience has shown that the advance of the 
 race has been by the agency of teachers and confessors 
 who secured light and elevation to their fellows at the 
 expense of labor, toil, and self-denial of the severest kind. 
 
 These are the leading points in the results of human 
 experience as to the nature of mind and the laws of 
 the system of which it is a part. 
 
42 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 KNOWLEDGE GAINED BY REASON AND EXPERIENCE 
 AS TO A FUTURE STATE. 
 
 We have shown that, independently of a revelation, 
 we have no sources of knowledge except the intuitions 
 reasoning and experience. Hereafter we will, as is oft- 
 en done, include the two first in the teim reason. 
 
 We have seen what knowledge has been furnished 
 by human experience as to the nature of mind and 
 the laws of the present system in w^hich it is placed. 
 We will now inquire as to the teachings of reason and 
 experience in regard to the future. 
 
 As to the question of the existence of the soul after 
 the dissolution of the body, we have only one of the 
 intuitive truths for our guide, viz., "things will con- 
 tinue as tliey are and have been till there is evidence 
 of a cause for change," or, in other words, things wnll 
 continue according to past experience till there is some 
 evidence to the contrary. 
 
 It has been the uniform experience of mankind that 
 the human mind passes through various states of ex- 
 istence extremely different in nature and continuance. 
 The first state is that in which the mind seems to have 
 no susceptibilities but of sensation, and to be utterly 
 destitute of all the properties of a rational intellect. By 
 a slow and gradual process, new and successive powers 
 seem to be called into existence, and what seemed 
 among the lowest grades of animal existence becomes 
 
KNOWLEDGE AS TO A FUTURE STATE. 43 
 
 the glory and lord of this lower world. Yet, in the 
 full exercise of all the faculties of a rational and moral 
 nature, there is a perpetual recurrence of periods in 
 which all evidences of the existence of such faculties 
 cease. In a profound sleep, or in a deep swoon, no 
 proof of rational existence remains either to the being 
 thus affected or to the observers of this phenomenon. 
 As the extreme of old age approaches, the glories of 
 the mind begin to fade away, until man sometimes 
 passes into a state of second childhood. There are 
 times, also, when changes in the material system de- 
 range all the power of intellect, and sometimes reduce 
 what was once a rational mind to a state of entire fa- 
 tuity, and then, again, the mental powers are restored. 
 
 The experience of mankind, then, on this subject is 
 this : that the mind is an existence which passes 
 through multiplied and very great changes without 
 being destroyed. The soul continues to exist after 
 changes as great as death, and in many respects simi- 
 lar to it, such, for example, as the event of birth, and 
 of sleep, and we have never known a mind destroyed 
 by such changes. The argument, then, is, that as 
 things will be in agreement with past experience, the 
 soul will continue to go through other changes without 
 being destroyed, unless there is some reason to the 
 contrary. 
 
 There can be no reason found to the contrary, for 
 there is no evidence that the event called death is any 
 thing more than a separation of the spirit from its ma- 
 terial envelope, nor is there any evidence against the 
 supposition that it may be an event which introduces 
 the mind into a more perfect state of existence. 
 
44 THE BIBLE AND THE BEOPLE. 
 
 It appears that losing various parts of the body 
 does not at all affect the operations of mind ; that by 
 the perpetual changes that are taking place in the 
 body, every particle of it, after a course of years, is 
 dissevered from its connection with the spirit, and is 
 supplied by other matter. The soul is thus proved to 
 be so connected with a material body that it may lose 
 the whole of it by a slow process without being the 
 least injured, and therefore we have the evidence of 
 experience that it may be sejmrated from the body 
 without any detriment to its powers and faculties. 
 
 Analogy also leads to the supposition that death is 
 only a change which introduces the intellectual being 
 into a more perfect mode of existence ; for, in past ex- 
 perience, those changes most resembling death, which 
 are not accidental, but according to the ordinary course 
 of nature, are means of renewing and invigorating 
 mental powers. Thus sleep, the emblem of death, is 
 succeeded by renewed powers of activity and conscious- 
 ness. 
 
 The changes of other animals which most resemble 
 death furnish another analogy. The humble worm 
 rolls itself up in its temporary tomb, and, after a short 
 slumber, bursts forth to new life, clothed in more brill- 
 iant dyes, endued with more active capacities, and pre- 
 pared to secure enjoyments before unknown. Eea- 
 soning from past experience, then, we should infer the 
 continued existence of the mind after death. 
 
 By the same method we arrive at the doctrine of the 
 immortality of the soul. We know that the soul does 
 now exist. We know of no cause that will destroy it. 
 Therefore we infer that it yf'^ forever continue to exist. 
 
KNOWLEDGE AS TO A FUTURE STATE. 45 
 
 Whether this argument is satisfactory or not, with- 
 out a revelation this is all the evidence we have of the 
 soul's continued existence after death, and of the im- 
 mortality of the soul. 
 
 It is the same intuitive truth which (without a rev- 
 elation) alone furnishes aid in regard to the fiiture des- 
 tiny of man. 
 
 We assume that things are to he in agreement with 
 past experience unless there is evidence to the contra- 
 ry. No such evidence can be found. What, then, 
 does the past history of our race teach us to expect 
 from the future? These are the most important de- 
 ductions : 
 
 We are to continue under the same laws of the sys- 
 tem already established. We are to have the same 
 susceptibilities to pleasure and pain, the same intellect 
 to guide us, the same power of volition to decide our 
 own courses. 
 
 We are to be parts of a social system in which ev- 
 ery member suffers not only for his own violations of 
 law, but for the sins of others. 
 
 The great law of this system is to be forever sus- 
 tained — the laio of sacrifice. Every being is to sac- 
 rifice the lesser for the greater good in all his individ- 
 ual concerns, and, in regard to the commonwealth, the 
 lesser good of the individual is to be sacrificed to the 
 greater good of the many. In all this, also, reference 
 is to be had to the interests of the future as much as 
 to those of the present, and all violations of this great 
 law are to involve the estabhshed penalties. 
 
 This system of law is to be administered as it has 
 been in the past. No pity for ignorance, no sympathy 
 
46 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 for the suffering, will ever suspend the natural penal- 
 ties for wrong-doing. Obedience, exact, constant, and 
 persevering, is to be the only mode of securing the re- 
 wards and escaping the penalties of this system. 
 
 Again, mankind, as a race, are to continue to pro- 
 gress, until at some period a certain portion will arrive 
 at the entire and perfect obedience to law wliich, at the 
 present stage of being, no one has ever yet attained. 
 
 But, on the other hand, this progress will be attend- 
 ed "vvith the hopeless and perpetual ruin of multitudes 
 who, as individuals, take a retrograde course, and grow 
 more and more guilty and miserable, while continued 
 existence will serve only to render obedience to law 
 more improbable. 
 
 But from this loss to individuals will result protect- 
 ive and purifying influences to the commonwealth, so 
 that thus good will constantly be educed from evil. 
 
 Again, the influences that are to secure the advance 
 of the race to perfect obedience are to be, knowledge 
 of laws, fear of penalties, hope of rewards, and love and 
 gratitude toward those who may prove teachers, bene- 
 factors, and self-sacrificing friends. These have been 
 the modes in past experience in this world, and there- 
 fore we infer them for the future. 
 
KNOWLEDGE OF THE CREATOE. 47 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 KNOWLEDGE GAINED BY REASON AND EXPERIENCE 
 ALONE CONCERNING THE EXISTENCE, CHARACTER, 
 AND DESIGNS OF THE CREATOR. 
 
 We have shown that, in regard to our Creator, his 
 character and designs, without a revelation, we have 
 nothing to guide us but the intuitive truths, and the 
 deductions obtained by their aid from human experi- 
 ence. 
 
 We will now inquire as to the amount of knowl- 
 edge to be secured from these sources. 
 
 By the aid of the first intuitive truth, we arrive at 
 the knowledge of some great First Cause or causes, 
 existing without beginning, who created the universe 
 of matter and mind ; yet, as has been shown, we are 
 not, by this first principle, enabled to infer any thing 
 as to the unity or plurality of such cause or causes. 
 For aught that this intuitive truth indicates, there may 
 have been a plurality of eternal and self-existent minds, 
 who acted in unity at the creation of all things. Nei- 
 ther can we, by the aid of this truth, arrive at any con- 
 clusion as to the character and designs of the author 
 or authors of all created things. 
 
 It is by the aid of the fourth intuitive truth that we 
 deduce whatever can be known of the character and 
 designs of the Creator. 
 
48 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 This truth teaches us that " design is evidence of 
 an intelligent cause, and that the nature of a design 
 proves the intention and character of the author." 
 
 The works of Nature, both of mind and matter, are 
 full of evidence of design, and from this we infer that 
 the Creator is an intelligent cause. 
 
 The infinite variety and extent of creation are evi- 
 dences of the wonderful ^ower of their Author. The 
 fact that all the contrivances of matter and mind are 
 clearly designed to produce enjoyment, while pain is 
 merely the result of a violation of laws which, if obeyed, 
 would secure only happiness — this is evidence of the 
 benevolence of the Creator. 
 
 The skill with which all things are formed and com- 
 bined to secure the ends designed are proofs of the 
 wisdom of the Creator. 
 
 Thus, by aid of the fourth intuitive truth, and the 
 world of mind and matter around us, we obtain the 
 result that the Author of Nature is powerful, henevch 
 lent^ and wise. 
 
 But in regard to the use of the word power^ as 
 applied to the Creator, one distinction is important. 
 There are things which are contradictory and impos- 
 sible in the nature of things, so that no one can con- 
 ceive of them as possible. Thus, to create and not to 
 create at the same time, or to make a mind that is a 
 free agent and at the same time not a free agent, but 
 controlled in volitions by fixed causation as matter is — 
 these and many other things are contradictions or im- 
 possibilities. 
 
 Now when we say that the Creator can not do these 
 things, we do not limit his power, for almighty power 
 
KNOWLEDGE OF THE CEEATOR. 49 
 
 signifies simplj and only a power to do all things that 
 are not contradictions and thus absurdities. 
 
 This being premised, we are obliged to infer from 
 the history of our race that the Creator, in regard to 
 the existence of evil, is limited either in power, or in 
 benevolence, or in the nature of things. 
 
 We arrive at this conclusion thus : "VYe see that 
 evils and suffering, multitudinous and terrific, do exist, 
 and have existed in all ages. In reference to this, 
 only these suppositions are conceivable : the first is, 
 that the Creator is perfectly benevolent, and that a 
 better system, with all the existing good and none of 
 the evil, is conceivable and possible in the nature of 
 things, yet that he had not the jpoioer to produce and 
 sustain it. 
 
 The second supposition is, that the Creator has the 
 power to produce and sustain a wiser and better sys- 
 tem, in which there shall be all the good and none of 
 the evil in the existing one, and yet that he would not 
 do it. This either involves the supposition of a pure- 
 ly malignant being, who enjoys witnessing needless and 
 awful suffering, and prefers it to happiness, or of one 
 who is, like human beings, of a mixed character, and 
 allows evil to exist when self-denying efforts might 
 prevent it. 
 
 All the minds of whom we have had any knowledge, 
 although, where their own ease and pleasure are not to 
 be sacrificed, they prefer to make others around them 
 happy, yet ever exhibit a selfish spirit. They all show 
 that they think and plan more for their own private en- 
 joyment than for the general happiness, and thus, to a 
 greater or less extent, are selfish. Reasoning from ex- 
 
 C 
 
50 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 perience, then, we should infer that the Creator might 
 be of the same character. 
 
 The third supposition is, that the Creator has insti- 
 tuted the best system possible in the nature of things^ 
 so that there is and will be the MOST possible GOOD 
 
 WITH THE LEAST POSSIBLE EVIL. 
 
 We come, then, to the inquiry as to the end or de- 
 sign of the Creator in forming the universe of mind and 
 matter. 
 
 To answer this, we must again refer to the fourth 
 intuitive truth, viz., " the nature of a contrivance is 
 proof of the intention or design of the author." 
 
 This position is iUustrated in many cases in com- 
 mon life. If we find a contrivance which moves the 
 air toward a fire and thus increases the flame, we infer 
 that the author intended to produce this result. If we 
 find a contrivance to show the time of day, such as a 
 sun-dial or clock, we can not help believing that the 
 author intended to secure this end. 
 
 Moreover, when we find a curious machine, where 
 every part is arranged on a given design, we naturally 
 inquire hoio it must be worked to produce the intend- 
 ed result. It may have wheels that, if turned one way, 
 produce the end designed, but, if turned another way, 
 produce exactly the opposite efiect. 
 
 For example, if the wheels of a mill are arranged 
 aright, or as the author designed, they will grind flour 
 or weave cotton ; but if arranged and worked contrary 
 to the design of the author, they will break themselves 
 to pieces and destroy all things around them. 
 
 Two inquiries, then, are to be made in reference to 
 the design of the Creator. The first is. What was the 
 
KNOWLEDGE OF THE CKEATOE. 51 
 
 end or design for whicli he made all things ? and the 
 second is, What is the right and true method by which 
 this d-esign can "be secured ? 
 
 We shall assume, and attempt to prove in what fol- 
 lows, that the design and ultimate end of the Creator 
 in all his works is toj^roduce the greatest possible hap- 
 piness with the least possible evil. 
 
 Afterward will be exhibited the true and right meth- 
 od for securing this end, so far as we can learn it by 
 reason and experience without a revelation. 
 
 In pursuing this plan, the first step will be to ex- 
 hibit the constitution and laws of mind, as the chief 
 and most wonderful exhibition of the grand design of 
 its Author. 
 
52 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 DIVERSITIES IN SYSTEMS OF MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 
 
 We are now to commence an examination of the va- 
 rious powers and operations of the human mind, for 
 the purpose of illustrating the grand aim of the Author 
 in the creation of all things. 
 
 In pursuing this course, it is needful, first, to refer 
 to the apparent diversities in systems of mental phi- 
 losophy, for the purpose of justifying the classification 
 and the terms to be employed hereafter. 
 
 There is nothing more hackneyed than the com- 
 plaints against metaphysics as abstruse, difficult of 
 comprehension, and unpractical, while the various writ- 
 ers on this science seem more or less divided into op- 
 posing schools. Notwithstanding this, there are rea- 
 sons for maintaining a real agreement in all systems 
 of mental philosophy, at least in essentials, and the fol- 
 lowing considerations lead to such a conclusion : 
 
 In the first place, the nature of the subject investi- 
 gated would necessarily tend to such a result ; for that 
 subject is the human mind, not in its specific peculi- 
 arities, but in those generic phenomena which are com- 
 mon to all minds ; just as tlie natural philosopher in- 
 vestigates those properties of matter w^hich are com- 
 mon to a class, and not the specific peculiarities that 
 distinguish individual masses or particles. Now, as 
 those who direct their investigations to mental phenom- 
 
DIVERSITIES IN MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 53 
 
 ena are all drawing a picture from the same pattern, it 
 is properly inferred that in the main outlines there 
 must be a general resemblance. 
 
 Another reason for this conclusion is the mode of in- 
 vestigation pursued. It is simply observing, first, the 
 phenomena of our own minds, and then comparing 
 them with those of other minds as exhibited in looks, 
 words, and actions, and thus educing generic resem- 
 blances and specific difierences. It is the generic re- 
 semblances only that constitute the faculties and laws 
 of mind which are to be described, classified, and 
 named. 
 
 Another reason for inferring such an agreement of 
 systems is the fact, not only that all human minds have 
 common phenomena, but that they have provided them- 
 selves with terms to express them, so that they succeed 
 in so far understanding each other as to make compar- 
 isons of their mental experience. 
 
 The same agreement may be infeiTed, also, when we 
 consider that mental philosophy treats, not of new 
 ideas, or new combinations of ideas, but of knowledge 
 which is already in the mind. The process to be pur- 
 sued, then, involves a reference to what we have our- 
 selves experienced ; it is an examination of our own 
 feelings, thoughts, and volitions. These are subjects 
 of which we are competent judges, and in regard to 
 which we can be certain as to what is correct or in- 
 correct, more than we can be in reference to any other 
 kind of knowledge. 
 
 From these considerations, it is inferred that aU sys- 
 tems of mental philosophy will resemble each other 
 just so far as they are true, and that the difference 
 
54 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 must be mainly in modes of presenting the subject. 
 Inasmuch as writers on mental science are drawing a 
 picture of those experiences of their own minds which 
 are common to the whole race, they must in the main 
 resemble each other, though some may be more imper- 
 fect, vague, and disconnected than others. 
 
 It may be useful to indicate the causes which have 
 combined to produce perplexity and apparent diversi- 
 ties among writers on mental science. 
 
 The first cause is the want of an accurate medium 
 of communication by which one mind can compare its 
 experience with the experience of other minds. In 
 natural science, when the philosopher instructs in ref- 
 erence to the properties of matter, all the terms em- 
 ployed can be made definite by appeals to the senses. 
 For example, if it is not understood what is meant by 
 a ^pungent smell, such a smell can be produced, and 
 then there is a perfectly clear idea of what is meant by 
 the term. But in mental science, when the term reco- 
 son or the term understanding is employed, no such 
 perfect and definite mode is at command to illustrate 
 the meaning. 
 
 On the contrary, in this science, a single term is 
 often used with various meanings, each use, however, 
 including some common idea, while the ^extent or lim- 
 itation in every case is to be determined by the con- 
 nection. For example, the term heart is used some- 
 times to signify the chief organ of physical life, some- 
 times it signifies the mind itself. In a more limited 
 use it denotes the feelings, and in a still more restrict- 
 ed sense it expresses the leading interest of the mind. 
 
DH^RSITIES IN 3iIEXTAL PHILOSOPHY. 55 
 
 This involves a constant process of reasoning to decide 
 the meaning of the term. 
 
 Another perplexity in mental science has arisen from 
 an unwarrantable use of tenns by writers. In some 
 instances new distinctions in mental analysis have been 
 originated, and then terms have been used to express 
 these distinctions which never before were employed in 
 this limited sense. Of course, in reading their works, 
 the mind is confused by meeting terms that in common 
 use recall one signification, when the writer employs 
 them in another. 
 
 In other cases, such writers have formed new classi- 
 fications of mental phenomena, and employed new terms 
 to express them, and thus an impression is made that 
 something new has been discovered, or a new system 
 evolved. For example. Brown arranges the intellectual 
 operations of mind in but two general classes, and calls 
 them simj)le suggestion and relative suggestion. But 
 his work, in this respect, presents only a new classifi- 
 cation and new terms, but no new ideas. 
 
 Another difficulty in mental science has arisen from 
 the fact that many writers on this subject have failed 
 in accurate analysis of the phenomena of mind, and, of 
 course, have not succeeded in conveying clear and dis- 
 tinct ideas to their readers. For example, some meta- 
 physicians have never discriminated between desire and 
 choice^ but have written as if they were the same thing. 
 Thus they have affirmed things which were true in ref- 
 erence to one of these mental acts, and false in regard 
 to the other. This has produced mistiness of appre- 
 hension or false conceptions in their readers. Some un- 
 derstand the writer one way and dispute his positions, 
 
56 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 others understand liim another way and defend them, 
 because what he says is true of one act and false of 
 the other, while hoth acts are spoken of as one and 
 the same. 
 
 Meantime the great mass of readers have never been 
 accustomed to any accurate analysis, or even to any 
 fixed observation of their own mental states. They 
 are, therefore, unprepared to detect these defects in the 
 writers on mental science, and are easily confused and 
 perplexed. 
 
 Another difficulty has arisen from false ideas as to 
 the origin and proper use of words. In most minds 
 an impression has been generated that there is an in- 
 herent meaning belonging to the words of a language. 
 They do not consider that in the formation of language 
 the ideas come first, and that the words are only con- 
 ventional signs which men agree in using to express 
 these ideas. Writers often speak of words which by 
 long usage have been connected with certain ideas, as 
 if they ought not to be so employed. They do not 
 consider that the fact that men have used a word for a 
 given idea, and understand each other, is the very thing 
 which establishes its proper use and meaning. 
 
 If, then, in all time and in all nations, mankind have 
 classified and given names to their mental states, the 
 classification and the names are true and proper, and 
 no philosopher should claim that these are incorrect. 
 The object of language is to enable men to communi- 
 cate their ideas, and that language is best which en- 
 ables them to do it the most extensively and the most 
 accurately. 
 
 It is maintained, then, that there is a system of men- 
 
DIVERSITIES IN MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 57 
 
 tal philosophy which is understood by all mankind ; 
 that there are words in common use by which it can 
 be clearly and definitely described and expressed, ei- 
 ther by single terms or by circumlocution ; that it is 
 recognized in the Bible ; and that, substantially, it is 
 the system taught by all writers on mental science, 
 some teaching one portion and some another. It is 
 maintained, also, that no such writer has taught any 
 thing of any importance that is true which can not be 
 translated into the language of common life, so as to 
 be readily comprehended even by persons of ordinary 
 capacity and education. 
 
 There is no difficulty in leading any mind of ordi- 
 nary capacity to notice the several classes of mental 
 operations introduced in this work, and in all nations 
 and languages these facts are recognized and terms are 
 provided to express them. 
 
 Some persons object to speaking of any mental phe- 
 nomena as states of mind, because it is claimed that 
 the mind is active in all. Thus sensations are claimed 
 to be acts of mind instead of passive states caused by 
 material objects. In regard to this and various other 
 objections urged against this mode of classification and 
 nomenclature, it may be remarked that the thing aimed 
 at is simply, by means of a description, to point out 
 what is meant. A^Tien this is understood, it does not 
 change our idea to give it a name. We know by our 
 own experience what it is to have a sensation, and 
 calling it a state or an act does not alter our idea of 
 the fact. 
 
 In using words, aU we have to do is to convey our 
 meaning^ either by description or illustration, and 
 C2 
 
68 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 when we have done this, to select a word to express it ; 
 and that word is best for this purpose which would 
 recall this meaning to the greatest number of persons 
 who have previously used it in this sense. 
 
 For this reason, it is most proper to use terms em- 
 ployed in common life to express the phenomena treat- 
 ed of in mental science, instead of instituting: new 
 terms, which, to most persons, have never had the in- 
 tended ideas connected with them. 
 
 This method is adopted in the following pages ; 
 but it is important to remember that, while these 
 words are used both in common life and by metaphys- 
 ical writers with the meaning here indicated, they are 
 often used with other significations. Thus the word 
 to ^perceive is used not only to signify the act of gain- 
 ing ideas by the senses, but any act of mind in no- 
 ticing truths of any kind, either mental or external. 
 So to conceive and to perceive are often used inter- 
 changeably as meaning the same thing. 
 
 But this does not render it necessary to seek any 
 new terms to express these ideas. All that is need- 
 ful is to indicate that in classing and describing men- 
 tal phenomena we restrict ourselves to one exact and 
 uniform use of these terms, and this use is indicated 
 in the description or definition given. 
 
DESCEIPTION OF THE IMEXTAL POWEES. 59 
 
 CHAPTER YIIL 
 
 CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE MENTAL 
 POWERS. 
 
 We now proceed to the classification and descrip- 
 tion of the mental powers. 
 
 Not only all writers on mental science, but the most 
 common writers and speakers, recognize a general di- 
 vision of mental operations, which is expressed by the 
 terms intellect^ feeling^ and choice. We think^ we 
 feel^ and we choose. Even the young child learns to 
 comprehend these three grand divisions of the mental 
 phenomena. 
 
 To this most general division, in this work, are ap- 
 plied the terms the intellectual jpowers^ the suscejptibil- 
 ities, and the vnll. These terms are selected because 
 they are the most common ones. 
 
 the intellectual powers. 
 
 Under the general class of intellectual powers are 
 an*anged the following specific powers of mind : 
 
 Sensation, Perception, Conception, Memory, Imag- 
 ination, Judgment, Abstraction, Attention, and Associ- 
 ation. 
 
 Sensation is a state of mind produced by material 
 objects acting on the senses. 
 
 Thus, when light, which is considered as one kind 
 of matter, affects the eye, the sensation of sight is pro- 
 
60 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 duced. When the perfume of a rose, which is another 
 species of matter, affects the nostrils, the sensation of 
 smell is produced. When a bell or some musical in- 
 strument causes the air to vibrate on the drum of the 
 ear, it causes the sensation of sound. When any sap- 
 id body is applied to the tongue, the sensation of taste 
 is caused. When the hand, or any part of the body, 
 comes in contact with another body, the sensation of 
 touch is produced. 
 
 Thus it appears that the five senses are the organs of 
 sensation, and that through their instrumentality ma- 
 terial things operate upon the mind. 
 
 Perception is a sensation attended by the helief of 
 a cause, and it is this additional circumstance alone 
 which distinguishes perception from sensation. 
 
 If a person were asleep, and should suffer from the 
 prick of a pin, or be disturbed by an unpleasant sound, 
 these would be mere sensations, because the mind would 
 not ascribe them to any cause. But if the person should 
 waken, these sensations would immediately become 
 perceptions, because they would be attended by the 
 belief of some cause. 
 
 Conceiytion is a state of mind similar to perception, 
 and differs from it in being less vivid, and in not being 
 produced through the medium of the senses. 
 
 When we look at a tree, we have ^jperception of this 
 object. But the mind can also have an idea of this 
 tree when removed from the sight, though the idea is 
 not so vivid and distinct, nor have the senses any agen- 
 cy in producing it. The perfume of a rose, also, occa- 
 sions another sensation ; but when the rose is removed, 
 so as not to affect the senses, we can still have a con- 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SIENTAL POWERS. 61 
 
 cejptton of its perfume. The conception differs from 
 the perception only in being less vivid, and in not be- 
 ing caused by a material object acting on the senses. 
 
 Memory is either a conception or a perception, which 
 is attended with a feeling of its resemblance to a past 
 state of mind. It is this feeling of resemblance that 
 is the only circumstance which distinguishes memory 
 fi:om conception. 
 
 Thus we may conceive of a tree without recognizing 
 it as the particular idea of any tree we may have seen 
 before ; but if this is accompanied by a feeling of the 
 resemblance of this idea to the one we always have 
 when we see the tree that shadows the paternal roof, 
 this conception becomes memory. If we conceive the 
 form of a man without recognizing the resemblance of 
 this idea to the perceptions we have when we see any 
 particular man, this is a simple act of conception ; but 
 if we recognize in this object of conception the features 
 of a dear friend, this act then becomes memory. Again, 
 if we conceive of certain events and circumstances at- 
 tending them without recognizing this combination as 
 ever having existed in past experience, they are mere 
 conceptions ; but if we recognize in them the events 
 and circumstances of past experience, conception be- 
 comes memory. 
 
 Iinagination is the power which the mind possesses 
 of arranging our conceptions in new combinations. We 
 can conceive objects as united together of which we 
 never conceived before as thus united. 
 
 Thus, when we read the description of some pictur- 
 esque scene in nature, the mind immediately groups 
 together mountains, trees, brooks, cottages, and glens. 
 
62 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 forming a new combination of conceptions different from 
 any scene we ever witnessed or conceived before. All 
 the objects thus combined are conceptions ; the act of 
 arranging them is an act of the imagination. 
 
 Judgment is the power which the mind possesses 
 of noticing relations. A relation is an idea obtained 
 by observing one thing in connection w4th another. 
 Thus, when we perceive one thing to be longer than 
 another, one thing to be on another, or one thing to 
 belong to another — in all these cases the mind notices 
 relations^ or exercises the faculty of judgment. Thus, 
 also, when we compare any action with the rule of 
 duty in order to decide whether it is right or v.a'ong, 
 we exercise the same faculty. This act always is nec- 
 essarily preceded by the comparison of one thing with 
 another, in order to notice the relations. 
 
 Abstraction is the power of noticing certain parts or 
 quahties of any object, as distinct from other parts or 
 qualities. Thus, when we notice the length of a bridge 
 without attending to the breadth or color, or when we 
 notice the height of a man without thinking of his 
 character, we exercise the faculty of abstraction. 
 
 Attention is the direction of the mind to any par- 
 ticular object or quality, from the interest which is felt 
 in it, or in something connected with it. Tlie degree 
 of attention is always proportioned to the degree of in- 
 terest felt in the object. 
 
 Association is the power possessed by the mind of 
 recalling ideas in the connections and relations in which 
 they have existed in past experience. For example, 
 when any two objects, such as a house and a tree, have 
 often been observed together, the idea of one will or- 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE MENTAL POWERS. 63 
 
 dinarily be attended by that of the other. If two 
 events have often been united together in regard to the 
 time of their occurrence, such, for example, as thunder 
 and lightning, the idea of one will usually be attended 
 by the other. 
 
 In this work, the aim is to introduce no more of 
 mental analysis than is needed for its main object. 
 What is here introduced is not claimed as a complete 
 presentation of all the mental phenomena. 
 
64 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 SENSATION AND PERCEPTION. 
 
 As there is no distinction between sensation and 
 perception except in the fact that one is attended with 
 the belief of a cause and the other is not, they will be 
 treated of together. 
 
 The mind of man is an immaterial existence, con- 
 fined in its operations by the body it inhabits, and de- 
 pending upon the construction and modifications of this 
 envelope for much of its happiness or suffering. 
 
 The exercise of the imagination, when the eyes are 
 closed and the body at rest, will probably give us the 
 best idea of what is the nature of spiritual existence 
 when disconnected with matter. It is one of the of- 
 fices of our bodily system to retain the spirit in its 
 operations in one particular place, so that ordinarily it 
 can have direct communion with no other mind which 
 is not in the same place. Whether this is the case 
 with mere spiritual existence is a question for conject- 
 nre, and not for any rational decision. 
 
 While the spirit of man is resident in its material 
 frame, it is furnished with facilities of communication 
 with other minds, and with organs which fit it to re- 
 ceive suffering or enjoyment from the material objects 
 by which it is surrounded. These organs of commu- 
 nication are the several senses. They consist of ex- 
 pansions of the substance of which the brain is formed, 
 which, descending to the body through the spinal bone 
 
SENSATION AND PERCEPTION. 65 
 
 of the back, are thence sent out in thousands of ramifi- 
 cations over the whole system. Those branches which 
 enter the eyes, and are spread over the interior back 
 part of this organ, are called the ojptic nerve. When- 
 ever the particles of light enter the eye, they strike the 
 optic nerve, and produce the sensation whicli is call- 
 ed sight. Those branches which are spread over the 
 tongue are the organ of taste. Those that are ex- 
 tended through the cavities of the nostrils are called 
 the olfactory nerves. When the small particles of 
 matter that escape from odoriferous bodies come in 
 contact with these nerves, they produce the sensation 
 of smell. 
 
 The nerves that constitute the organ of hearing are 
 extended over the cavity of the ear behind the tynvpa- 
 num^ or ear-drmn. This cavity is filled with a liquid, 
 and when the drum of the ear is caused to vibrate by 
 the air which is set in motion by sonorous bodies, it 
 produces undulations of this liquid upon these nerves, 
 and thus the sensation of sound is produced. By the 
 expansion of other nerves, the sense oi feeling is ex- 
 tended all over the body, excepting the nails and the 
 hair. It is by the action of matter, in its different 
 forms, on these several senses, that the mind obtains 
 ideas, and that ideas are imparted from one mind to 
 , another. 
 
 Perception never takes place unless some material 
 object makes an impression upon one of the senses. 
 In the case of the eye, the ear, and the nostrils, the ob- 
 ject which is regarded as the cause of the sensation 
 does not come immediately in contact with the organs 
 of sense. When we see a body, we consider it as the 
 
66 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 cause of that perception ; but it is not the body that 
 comes in contact with the organ of sight, but merely 
 the particles of light reflected from that body. In the 
 case of smell, the fragrant body is regarded as the 
 cause of the sensation ; but that which acts on the 
 sense is the material particles of perfume which flow 
 from that body. 
 
 Thus, also, with hearing. We consider the sonor- 
 ous body as the cause ; but the sensation is produced 
 through the medium of the air, which affects the drum 
 of the ear. But in the case of taste and touch, the 
 body which is regarded by the mind as the cause 
 must come in contact with the nerves of the tongue or 
 the body to produce the sensation. 
 
 SmelL 
 
 The sense of smell is one which greatly conduces to 
 the preservation, the comfort, and the happiness of 
 man. It is a continual aid to him in detecting pol- 
 luted atmosphere or unhealthy food. The direct en- 
 joyment it affords is probably less in amount than 
 that derived from any of the other senses ; yet, were 
 we deprived of all the enjoyment gained through this 
 source, we should probably find the privation much 
 greater than we at first might imagine. When we 
 walk forth among the beauties of nature, the fresh per- 
 fumes that send forth their incense are sources both 
 of immediate and succeeding gratification. The beau- 
 tiful images of nature which rise to the mind in our 
 imaginative hours, would lose many of their obscure 
 but charming associations were the fields stripped of 
 the fragrance of their greens and the flowers of their 
 
SENSATION AND PERCEPTION. ^7 
 
 sweet perfumes. If^ature would appear to have lost 
 that moving spirit of life which now ever rides upon 
 the evening zephyrs and the summer breeze. As it 
 is, as we walk abroad, all nature seems to send forth 
 its welcome, while to its Maker's praise 
 
 " Each odorous leaf, 
 Each opening blossom, freely breathes abroad 
 Its gratitude, and thanks Him with its sweets." 
 
 Taste, 
 
 When a sapid body is applied to the organ of taste, 
 two sensations are produced, one of touch and one of 
 taste. We are conscious of the difference of these sen- 
 sations when we apply a body to the tongue which has 
 taste, and then immediately one which has not. It is 
 probable, however, that the same set of nerves serve 
 both purposes. 
 
 It is one of the numberless evidences of the benev- 
 olence of our Creator that the process which is neces- 
 sary for the preservation of life, and which depends 
 upon the voluntary activity of every human being, 
 should be connected with a sense which affords such 
 gratification that the duty is sought as a pleasure. 
 Were mankind led to seek food merely in the exercise 
 of reason for the pui-pose of preserving life, multitudes, 
 through carelessness and forgetfulness, would be per- 
 ■ petually neglecting that regular supply without which 
 the animal system would become deranged and en- 
 feebled. By the present constitution of the body, the 
 gratification of this sense is an object of desire, and 
 thus we are continually reminded of our duty, and led 
 to it as a source of enjoyment. 
 
68 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 Nor is it the gratification of this sense which is the 
 only source of enjoyment connected with it. The reg- 
 ular periods for repast bring around the social board 
 those united to each other by the tenderest ties of 
 kindred and affection. These become seasons of cheer- 
 ful hilarity and relaxation, seasons of cessation from 
 daily cares, seasons for the interchange of kind feel- 
 ings and intellectual stores ; and while the mere grati- 
 fication of sense is one source of pleasure, to this is 
 often added the " feast of reason and the flow of soul." 
 
 The effect on the best feelings in thus assembling 
 to participate in common blessings is scarcely ever ap- 
 preciated. Did every individual of our race retire to 
 secrecy and solitude to satisfy the cravings of nature, 
 how much would the sum of human happiness be di- 
 minished ! But thus has our benevolent Creator con- 
 trived that one source of enjoyment should serve as 
 an occasion for introducing many more. 
 
 Hearing. 
 
 The sense of hearing is one more connected with 
 the intellectual and moral powers of man than either 
 taste or smell, as it is through the medium of this or- 
 gan that both music and speech operate on the human 
 mind. We can form some imperfect estimate of the 
 amount of happiness derived from this sense by imag- 
 ining the condition of mankind were they at once and 
 forever deprived of this source of improvement and en- 
 joyment. The voice of sympathy, friendship, and 
 love would be hushed. The eloquence of the forum, 
 the debates of the Legislature, the instructions of the 
 pulpit, would cease. The music of nature — its sigh- 
 
SENSATION AND PERCEPTION. 69 
 
 ing winds and dashing waters — would be stilled, and 
 the warbling of the groves would charm no more. 
 The sound of pipe, and harp, and solemn harmonies of 
 voice would never again waken the soul to thrilling 
 and nameless emotions. Where now ten thousand 
 sounds of active life, or cheerful hum of business, or 
 music of language and song charm and animate the 
 soul, man would walk forth in silence and solitude. 
 
 The operation of mere sound, disconnected with the 
 ideas which are often conveyed by it, is a subject of 
 curious speculation. Sounds differ from each other 
 in quality^ ^^2V<:A, force, and in length. The differ- 
 ence in tone may be illustrated by the sounds of a 
 clarionet compared with the sound of a bell or of the 
 human voice. Every instrument and every human 
 voice has each a peculiar tone by which it is distin- 
 guished from all others. The difference in pitch is 
 shown by sounding a low and a high note in succes- 
 sion on an instrument. The difference in force is ex- 
 hibited by singing or speaking loud or soft. 
 
 There are certain sounds that in themselves are ei- 
 ther agreeable or disagreeable from their tone alone. 
 Thus the sound of a flute is agreeable, and that of the 
 filing of a saw is disagreeable. Sounds also are agree- 
 able according as they succeed each other. 
 
 Melody is a succession of agreeable tones arranged 
 in some regular order as it respects their duration and 
 succession. Some melodies are much more agreeable 
 to the ear than others. Some melodies produce a 
 plaintive state of mind, others exhilarate, and this 
 without regard to any thing except the nature of the 
 sounds and their succession. Thus a very young in- 
 
70 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 fant, by a certain succession of musical tones, can be 
 made either to weep in sorrow or smile with joy. 
 
 Harmony is a certain combination of sounds which 
 are agreeable to the ear ; and it is found that the mind 
 can be much more powerfully affected by a combina- 
 tion of harmonious sounds than by any melody. The 
 effect of music on certain minds is veiy powerful, often 
 awakening strange and indescribable emotions. It 
 has been, therefore, much employed both to heighten 
 social, patriotic, and devotional feeling. 
 
 There is probably nothing which produces stronger 
 and more abiding associations in the mind than music- 
 al sounds. As an example of this may be mentioned 
 the national air which is sung by the Swiss in their 
 native valleys. It is said that when they become wan- 
 derers in foreign lands, so strongly will this wild mu- 
 sic recall the scenes of their childhood and youth, their 
 native skies, their towering mountains and romantic 
 glens, with all the strong local attachments that gather 
 around such objects, that their heart sickens with long- 
 ing desires to return. And so much was this the case 
 with the Swiss of the French armies, that Bonaparte 
 forbade this air being played among his troops. The 
 Marseilles Hymn, which was chanted in the scenes of 
 the French Eevolution, was said to have been perfect- 
 ly electrifying, and to have produced more effect than 
 all the eloquence of orators or machinations of states- 
 men. 
 
 The mind seems to acquire by experience only the 
 power of determining the place whence sounds origi- 
 nate. It is probable that, at first, sounds seem to orig- 
 inate within the ear of the person who hears ; and, even 
 
SENSATION AND PEECEPTION. 71 
 
 after long experience, cases have been known, wlien a 
 person suddenly waked from sleep imagined the throb- 
 bing of his own heart was a knocking at the door. 
 But observation and experience soon teach us the di- 
 rection and the distance of sounds. The art of the 
 ventriloquist consists in nothing but the power which 
 a nice and accurate ear gives him of distinguishing the 
 difference between sounds when near or far off, and of 
 imitating them. 
 
 Touch, 
 
 The sense of touch is not confined to one particular 
 organ, but is extended over the whole system, both ex- 
 ternally and internally. It is in the hands, however, 
 especially at the ends of the fingers, that this sense 
 is most acute and most employed. We acquire many 
 more ideas by the aid of this sense than by either hear- 
 ing, smell, or taste. By these last wx become acquaint- 
 ed with only one particular quality in a body, either of 
 taste, smell, or sound ; but by means of the touch we 
 learn such qualities as heat and cold, roughness and 
 smoothness, hardness and softness, figure, solidity, and 
 extension. 
 
 It is supposed that it is by this sense that we gain 
 the idea of something external^ or without ourselves. 
 The sensation of smell would seem to be within, as 
 an act or emotion of the soul itself. Thus also with 
 hearing, which, being produced within the ear by the 
 undulating air, would seem to originate within. Thus 
 also with sensations within the eye. But when the 
 limbs begin to move and to come in contact with out- 
 ward objects, and also in contact with various parts of 
 
72 THE BIBLE AND THE PJEOPLE. 
 
 the body, the mmd gains an idea of the existence of 
 some outward object. This is probably the first sense 
 by which any idea of existence is wakened in the mind. 
 As one sense after another is called into action, the 
 mind continually gains new ideas, and then begins its 
 operations of comparing, abstracting, reasoning, and 
 willing. 
 
 It is by the sense of touch that we gain our ideas 
 of resistance and extension. In the class of ideas in- 
 cluded under the head of ideas of resistance may be 
 placed those of solidity, liquidity, hardness, softness, 
 viscidity, roughness, and smoothness ; these all be- 
 ing different names for different modes of resistance 
 to the muscles of the hands, arms, or fingers, when ap- 
 plied to the bodies which have these qualities. These 
 ideas are not gained by simple contact ; their exist- 
 ence depends upon the contraction or expansion of the 
 muscles, which are the organs of motion and resistance 
 in the human body. 
 
 We may suppose the infant to gain these ideas by 
 a process somewhat similar to this : He first moves 
 his arms by instinct, without any knowledge of the 
 effects to follow. By this movement he gains certain 
 ideas of the simple contractions and extension of his 
 muscles, and learns also that by his own will he can 
 exercise his muscles in this manner. At length he at- 
 tempts to move his arm in a manner to which he has 
 become familiar, and some object intervenes, and mo- 
 tion is prevented, while all his wonted muscular efforts 
 are vain. Thus arises in his mind a new idea, of re- 
 sistance, in addition to the sensations of touch and of 
 motion, which had before been experienced. 
 
SENSATION AND PEECEPTION. 73 
 
 The ideas of different degrees of this resistance are 
 gained by repeated experience, and when age furnishes 
 the ability to understand language, the names of hard- 
 ness, softness, roughness, and the like, are given to these 
 ideas. In the use of his muscles, also, the infant must 
 first acquire its ideas of extension and figure ; for it 
 must be where resistance to muscular effort ceases that 
 he must feel that the cause ceases to exist. The lit- 
 tle being extends his hand — an object intervenes which 
 interrupts his muscular motions ; he grasps this object, 
 and wherever this feeling of resistance exists, there he 
 feels that the cause of it exists, and that after he has 
 passed certain limits it does not exist. 
 
 Figure is defined as the limits of extension^ and, of 
 course, it can be seen that ideas of figure can only be 
 gained by thus finding the limits of extension. It has 
 formerly been supposed that ideas of extension and fig- 
 ure were gained by the eye, but later experiments and 
 discussions show that the sense of feeling, including 
 muscular motion, is the medium by which these ideas 
 are first gained, and that afterward the eye, by the prin- 
 ciple of association, acquires the power of distinguish- 
 ing figure and distance. 
 
 There is much enjoyment resulting from the sense 
 of touch in many ways, a large portion of which is al- 
 most unnoticed. Much also included under the term 
 comfort results from this sense. Much of that which 
 is agreeable in clothing and in objects around us is of 
 this nature. Besides this, there are many endearments 
 of friendship and affection that gain expression only 
 through this medium. 
 
 D 
 
74 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 Vision, 
 
 The organ of vision is the eye, which is one of the 
 most curious and wonderful parts of the human frame, 
 and displays in astonishing variety the wisdom and 
 skill of its Designer. 
 
 The eye consists of a round ball, formed externally 
 of various coverings, and within of humors of different 
 degrees of consistency. The front part of the eye, 
 which is exposed to view, has a small opening in it, 
 which admits the rays of light within this ball, while 
 it is by the operation of light on the nerves, which are 
 spread in fine net-work over the interior, that sight is 
 produced. 
 
 In examining the mechanism of the eye, a great va- 
 riety of contrivances appear, all aiding in accomplish- 
 ing the object of vision. In the first place, we may 
 olDserve its modes of protection and defense. The lid 
 is a soft, moist wiper, which, with a motion quick 
 as lightning, protects the eye from outward violence, 
 cleanses it from dust, veils it from overpowering radi- 
 ance, and in hours of repose entirely excludes the light. 
 On its edge is the fringing lash, which intercepts float- 
 ing matter that miglit otherwise intnide, while above 
 is spread the eyebrow, which, like a thatch, obstructs 
 the drops that heat or toil accumulate on the brow. 
 
 "We next observe the organs of motion with which 
 the eye is furnished, and which, with complicated strings 
 and pulleys, can turn it every way at the will of the in- 
 telligent agent. The piipil or oldening of the eye, also, 
 is so constructed, with its minute and multiplied circu- 
 lar and crossing muscles, that it can contract or ex- 
 
SENSATION AND PERCEPTION. 75 
 
 pand in size just in proportion as the light varies in 
 intensity. 
 
 The ball of the eye is filled with three substances 
 of different degrees of density. One is a watery hu- 
 mor, near the front of the eye ; back of this, and sus- 
 pended by two muscles, is the solid lens of the eye, or 
 the crystalline humor / and the remainder of the eye, 
 in which this lens is imbedded, consists of the vitreous 
 humor ^ which is of the consistence of jelly. These all 
 have different degrees of transparency, and are so nice- 
 ly adjusted that the rays of light, which start from ev- 
 ery point in all bodies in diverging lines, are by these 
 humors made to converge and meet in points on the 
 retina^ or the nerve of the eye, forming there a small 
 picture, exactly of the same proportions, though not 
 the same size, as the scene which is spread before the 
 eye. 
 
 When the outer covering of the back part of the eye 
 is removed, the objects which are in front of the eye 
 may be discerned, delicately portrayed in all their per- 
 fect colors and proportions, on the retina which lines 
 the interior. It is this impression of light on the op- 
 tic nerve which gives our ideas of light and colors. 
 
 The eye is also formed in such a way that it can 
 alter its shape and become somewhat oblong, while at 
 the same time its lens is projected forward or dra^vn 
 back. The object of this contrivance is to obtain an 
 equally perfect picture of distant and of near objects. 
 
 Our ideas of shape and size at first are not gained 
 by the eye, but by the sense of touch. x4.fter consid- 
 erable experience we learn to determine shape and size 
 by the eye. Experiments made upon persons bom 
 
76 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 blind and restored to sight furnish many curious facts 
 to support this assertion. 
 
 When the eye first admits the light, all objects ap- 
 pear to touch the eye, and are all a confused mass of 
 different colors. But by continual observation, and 
 by the aid of the sense of touch, objects gradually are 
 separated from each other, and are then regarded as 
 separate and distinct existences. 
 
 The eye is so formed that the picture of any object 
 on the retina varies in size according to its distance. 
 Two objects of equal size will make a different picture 
 on the back of the eye, according to the distance at 
 which they are held. The ideas of size at first are 
 regulated by the proportions of this picture in the eye, 
 until by experience it is found that this is an incorrect 
 mode, and that it is necessary to judge of the distance 
 of a body before we can determine its size. This ac- 
 counts for the fact that objects appear to us so differ- 
 ent according as we conceive of their distance, and that 
 we are often deceived in the size of bodies because we 
 have no mode of determining their distance. 
 
 But it appears also that our ideas of distance are 
 gained, not by the eye alone, but by the eye and the 
 sense of feeling united. A child by the sense of feel- 
 ing learns the size of his cup or his playthings. He 
 sees them removed, and that their apparent size di- 
 minishes. They are returned to him, and he finds 
 them unaltered in size. "When attempting to recover 
 them, he finds that when they look very small he is 
 obliged to pass over a much greater distance to gain 
 them than when they appear large, and that the dis- 
 tance is always in exact proportion to their apparent 
 
SENSATION AND PEECEPTION. 77 
 
 size. In this way, by oft-repeated experiments, the 
 infant reasoner learns to judge both of the size and dis- 
 tance of objects. From this it appears that, in de- 
 termining the size of an object, we previously form 
 some judgment of its distance, and likewise that, in 
 finding the distance, we first determine the size. 
 
 The shajpe of objects is learned altogether by the 
 sense oi feeling. It has before been stated that at the 
 first exercise of vision every thing is a confused mass 
 of different colors, and all appearing to touch the eye. 
 By the aid of the hands the separate existence of dif- 
 ferent bodies is detected, and the feeling of touch, which 
 once was the sole mode of determining shape, is now 
 associated with a certain form or picture on the eye, 
 so that, in process of time, the eye becomes the princi- 
 pal judge of shape. 
 
 But, in determining the shape of a thing, an act of 
 judgment is necessary. This may be illustrated by 
 the example of a hoop, which in one position will make 
 a picture in the eye which is circular, in another posi- 
 tion the picture of it will be oval, and in another only 
 a straight line. K a person will observe a hoop in 
 these different positions, and then attempt to draw a 
 picture of it, he will be conscious of this varying pic- 
 ture in the eye. Of course, in order to decide the 
 shape of a thing, we must decide its distance, its rel- 
 ative position, and various circumstances which would 
 alter the form of the picture in the eye. It is only 
 by long experience that the infant child gradually ac- 
 quires the power of determining the shape, size, and 
 distance of objects. 
 
 The painter's art consists in laying on to canvas an 
 
78 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 enlarged picture of the scene which is painted in the 
 interior of his own eye. In this minute picture of the 
 eye, the more distant an object the smaller its size, 
 the more indistinct its outline, and the fainter its col- 
 ors. These same are transferred to canvas in an en- 
 larged form ; the distant objects are made small in 
 size, faint in colors, and indistinct in outline, just in 
 proportion to their distance. 
 
 The organ of vision is the mlet of more enjo}Tnent 
 to the mind than any of the other senses. Through 
 this small loop-hole the spirit looks forth on the rich 
 landscape of nature, and the charms both of the natural 
 and moral world. The fresh colors, the beauty of mo- 
 tion, the grace of figures, the fitness of proportion, and 
 all the charms of taste, are discovered through this 
 medium. By the eye, also, we learn to read the speak- 
 ing face of man, we greet the smile of friendship and 
 love, and all those varying charms that glance across 
 the human face di%'ine. By the aid of this little or- 
 gan, too, we climb not only the summits of earth's do- 
 mains, but wander forth to planets, stars, and suns, 
 traverse the vast ethereal expanse, and gather faint 
 images and flitting visions of the spirit's future home. 
 
CONCEPTION AND MEMORY. 79 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 CONCEPTION AND MEMORY. 
 
 There has been much speculation on the question 
 as to whether the mind possesses any ideas entirely 
 independent of the senses, which were gained without 
 any aid or influence from them. Many have main- 
 tained the existence of some ideas, which they denom- 
 inate innate ideas, which they suppose were originally 
 implanted in the mind, and not at all dependent on 
 sensation. 
 
 On this subject it may be sufficient to remark that 
 there is no proof of the existence of any such ideas. 
 All ideas, so far as we can trace them, seem to have 
 been originally gained by the senses, though the mind 
 has the power of making new arrangements and com- 
 binations of such materials as are thus furnished. 
 
 The intuitive truths seem to exist as a part of the 
 original constitution of the mind, but there is no evi- 
 dence that they would ever have been called into ex- 
 ercise except through the instrumentality of the senses. 
 
 There is nothing to prove that the positive exercise 
 of thought, feeling, and volition is necessary to the ex- 
 istence of mind, and no proof that the mind might not 
 have existed forever without thought or feeling of any 
 kind, were it not fqr the aid of the senses. We know 
 that there are periods of sleep and of swooning, when 
 the mind is in existence, and yet when there is no ev- 
 
80 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 idence that either thoughts, feelings, or volitions are in 
 exercise. 
 
 Speculations on this subject seem to be profitless, 
 because there are no data for determining them. The 
 facts in the case are not of a character to enable us to 
 j)ronounce positively either that these operations are 
 or are not essential to its existence. It may be that 
 in sleep and in a swoon these phenomena exist, and no 
 memory is retained of them, and it is equally probable 
 that at such intervals all mental operations entirely 
 cease. 
 
 But, now that the mind has been furnished by the 
 senses with its splendid acquisitions, upon whicli its 
 reflective powers can act, it is easy to believe that it 
 might continue to exist and to be in active exercise 
 if all its bodily senses, and even its material envelope, 
 were destroyed. Should we never again behold the 
 light of heaven, nor be charmed with the profusion of 
 varied color and form, still the mind could busy itself 
 with pleasing visions of brilliant dyes, of graceful out- 
 line, and fair proportion, as bright and as beautiful as 
 any objects of sense could awaken. Should we never 
 again inhale the freshness of morning or the perfumes 
 of spring, the mind itself could furnish from its stores 
 some treasured incense, never to be entirely exhaled. 
 Should the palate never again be cooled by the fresh- 
 ening water of spring, or be refreshed by the viands of 
 the luxuriant year, yet fancy could spread forth her 
 golden fruits and sparkling juices in banquets as va- 
 ried and profuse as ever greeted the most fastidious 
 taste. Should the melodies of speech and of music 
 be heard no more, and the sweet harmonies of nature 
 
CONCEPTION AND MEMORY. 81 
 
 and of art forever be huslied, yet the exulting spirit 
 could warble its own songs, and melt in ecstasies with 
 imagined harmonies. And should the grasp of friend- 
 ship rejoice us no more, nor the embrace of affection 
 send joy to the heart, yet still the spirit would not be 
 desolate, for it could gather around it the beings most 
 loved, and still feel the embraces of affection. 
 
 Conceptions are distinguished into two classes with 
 reference to this one fact, that some of our conceptions 
 are attended with a consciousness that they have ex- 
 isted before, and others are not. Those conceptions 
 which are thus attended with the feeling of their re- 
 semblance to past perceptions or conceptions are called 
 ideas of 'memory ; those of our perceptions also which 
 are attended with this recognition are called memory. 
 
 How important to our happiness and improvement 
 is this recognition of past ideas, few are wont to imag- 
 ine. If all our knowledo;e of external thino;s were for- 
 ever lost to us after sensation is past, our existence 
 would be one of mere sensitive enjoyment, and all the 
 honor and dignity of mind would be destroyed. No 
 past experience could be of any avail, nor could any 
 act of judgment or of reasoning be performed. Even 
 the most common wants of animal nature could not be 
 supplied ; for, were the cooling water and sustaining 
 food presented to the sight, no memory of the past 
 comfort secured by them would lead the mind to seek 
 it again. Or, had nature, by some implanted instinct, 
 provided for these necessities, yet life in this case would 
 have consisted of a mere succession of sensations, with- 
 out even the amount of intellect of which the lower ani- 
 mals give proof. 
 
 D2 
 
82 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 It is the capacity of retrospection, too, which gives 
 us the power of foreseeing the future, and thus of look- 
 ing both before and behind for sources of enjoyment in 
 delightful reminiscences and joyful anticipations. It is 
 this power of remembrance and foresight which raises 
 man to be the image of his Creator, the miniature of 
 Him who sees the end from the beginning, who looks 
 back on never commencing ages, and forward through 
 eternal years. 
 
 It is true the mind of man can foresee only by the 
 process of reasoning, by which it is inferred that the 
 future wiU, in given circumstances, resemble the past. 
 And how the Eternal Mind can foresee by intuition all 
 the events which hang upon the volitions of the myr- 
 iads of acting minds which he has formed is what no 
 human intellect can grasp. The foresight of intui- 
 tion has not been bestowed upon man, but is reserved 
 as one distinctive prerogative of Deity. 
 
ATTENTION AND ABSTEACTION. 83 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 ATTENTION AND ABSTEACTION. 
 
 To understand clearly the nature of the mental 
 phenomena called attention and abstraction^ two facts 
 in our mental history need definitely to be understood 
 — facts which have a decided bearing on the nature and 
 character of almost all the operations of mind. 
 
 The first is, that the objects of our conceptions are 
 seldom, if ever, isolated, disconnected objects. On the 
 contrary, there is an extended and complex picture be- 
 fore the mind, including often a great variety of ob- 
 jects, with their several qualities, relations, and chan- 
 ges. In this mental picture some objects are clear and 
 distinct, while others seem to float along in shadowy 
 vagueness. 
 
 This fact must be evident to any mind that will 
 closely examine its own mental operations. It is also 
 equally evident when we consider the mode in which 
 our ideas are gained by perception. We never acquire 
 our ideas in single disconnected lineaments. We are 
 continually viewing complex objects with numerous 
 qualities and surrounded by a great variety of circum- 
 stances, which unitedly form a whole in one act of per- 
 ception. 
 
 Indeed, there are ferw objects, either of perception or 
 conception, which, however close the process of abstrac- 
 tion, do not remain complex in their nature. The sim- 
 plest forms of matter are combined ideas of extension, 
 
84 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 figure, color, and relation. These different ideas we 
 gain by the aid of the different senses. Of course, our 
 conceptions are combinations of different qualities in 
 an object which the mind considers as one^ and as dis- 
 tinct from other objects. 
 
 Each item, then, in any mental picture is itself a com- 
 plex object, and each mental picture is formed by a 
 combination of such complex objects. It w^ill be found 
 very difficult, if not impossible, to mention a name 
 which recalls any object of sense in which the concep- 
 tion recalled by the word is a single disconnected thing, 
 without any idea of place or any attendant circum- 
 stances, and, as before remarked, almost all objects of 
 sense are complex objects, combining several ideas, 
 which were gained through the instrumentality of dif- 
 ferent senses. The idea of color is gained by one 
 sense, of position, shape, and consistency by another, 
 and other qualities and powers which the mind associ- 
 ates with it by other senses. 
 
 The other fact necessaiy to the correct understand- 
 ing of the subject is the influence which the desires 
 and emotions have upon the character both of the per- 
 ceptions and conceptions with which they coexist. 
 
 It will be found that our sensatio?is vary in vivid- 
 ness and distinctness according to the strength and 
 permanency of certain feelings of desire which coexist 
 with them. For example, we are continually hearing 
 a multitude of sounds, but in respect to many of them, 
 as we feel no desire to know the cause or nature of 
 them, these sensations are so feeble and indistinct as 
 scarcely ever to be recalled to the mind or recognized 
 by any act of memory; but should we hear some 
 
ATTENTION AND ABSTRACTION. 85 
 
 strange wailing sound, immediately the desire would 
 arise to ascertain its nature and cause. It would im- 
 mediately become an object of distinct and vivid per- 
 ception, and continue so as long as the desire lasted. 
 
 While one sensation becomes thus clear and prom- 
 inent, it will be found that other sensations which 
 were coexisting with it will become feebler and seem 
 to die away. The same impressions may still be 
 made upon the eye as before, the same sounds that 
 had previously been regarded may still strike upon the 
 ear, but while the desire continues to learn the cause 
 of that strange wailing sound, the other sensations 
 would all be faint and indistinct. When this desire 
 is gratified, then other sensations would resume their 
 former distinctness and prominency. 
 
 Our conceptions, in like manner, are affected by the 
 coexistence of emotion or desire. If, for example, we 
 are employing ourselves in study or mental specula- 
 tions, the vividness of our conceptions will vaiy in ex- 
 act proportion to the interest we feel in securing the 
 object about which our conceptions are employed. K 
 we feel but little interest in the subject of our specu- 
 lations, every conception connected with theni' will be 
 undefined and indistinct ; but if the desire of approba- 
 tion, or the admonitions of conscience, or the hope of 
 securing some future good stimulate desire, immedi- 
 ately our conceptions grow more vivid and clear, and 
 the object at which we aim is more readily and speed- 
 ily secured. The great art, then, of quickening men- 
 tal vigor and activity, and of gaining clear and quick 
 conceptions, is to awaken interest and excite desire. 
 When this is secured, conceptions will immediately be- 
 
86 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 come bright and clear, and all mental operations will 
 be carried forward with facility and speed. 
 
 The distinction between attention and abstraction 
 is not great, but, as it is recognized in language, it 
 needs to be definitely understood. Attention has been 
 defined as " the direction of the mind to some partic- 
 ular object, from the interest which is felt in that ob- 
 ject." It consists simply in a feeling of desire coex- 
 isting with our sensations and conceptions, and thus 
 rendering them vivid and distinct ; while, in conse- 
 quence of this fact, all other sensations and concep- 
 tions seem to fade and grow indistinct. 
 
 Attention seems to be the generic exercise, and ab- 
 straction one species of the same thing. Attention is 
 used to express the interest which attends our percep- 
 tions or conceptions as ichole objects, thus rendering 
 them clear and distinct from other surrounding objects. 
 Abstraction is that particular act of attention which 
 makes one part or one quality of a complex object be- 
 come vivid and distinct, while other parts and quali- 
 ties grow faint and indistinct. Thus, in viewing a 
 landscape, we should be said to exercise the power of 
 attention if we noticed some object, such as a stream 
 or a bridge, while other objects were more slightly re- 
 garded ; and we should exercise the power of abstrac- 
 tion if we noticed the color of the bridge or the width 
 of the stream, while their other qualities were not 
 equally regarded. 
 
 It is the power of abstraction which is the founda- 
 tion of language in its present use. Were it not for 
 the power which the mind has of abstracting certain 
 qualities and circumstances of things, and considering 
 
ATTENTION AND ABSTRACTION. 87 
 
 them as separate and distinct from all other parts and 
 qualities, no words could be used except such as spe- 
 cify particular individuals. Every object that meets 
 our eye would demand a separate and peculiar name, 
 thus making the acquisition of language the labor of 
 a life. 
 
 But now the mind possesses the power of abstract- 
 ing a greater or fewer number of qualities, and to these 
 qualities a name is given, and whenever these quali- 
 ties are found combined in any object, this name can 
 be applied. Thus the name animal is given to any 
 thing which has the qualities of existence and animal 
 life, and the name quadrwped is given to any object 
 which has the qualities of animal life and of four legs. 
 
 Every thing which is regarded by the mind as a 
 separate existence must have some peculiar quality, or 
 action, or circumstance of time or place, to distinguish 
 it firom every other existence. Were there not some- 
 thing, either in the qualities or circumstances, which 
 made each object in some respects peculiar, there would 
 be no way to distinguish one thing from another. 
 
 Kjproxni' name is one which is used to recall the 
 properties and circumstances which distinguish one in- 
 dividual existence from every other. Such is the word 
 Mount Blanc, which recalls certain qualities and cir- 
 cumstances that distinguish one particular thing from 
 all others, and the name Julius Csesar, which recalls 
 the character, qualities, and circumstances which dis- 
 tinguish one being from every other. 
 
 Some words, then, are used to recall the peculiar 
 qualities and circumstances of individual existences, 
 and are called jprojper names ; other words are used to 
 
88 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 recall a combination of certain qualities and circum- 
 stances, wliich unitedly are an object of conception, 
 but are not considered by the mind as belonging to 
 any real particular existence. These last words are 
 called general terms or common names. 
 
 A great variety of names may be applied to the 
 same object of conception or perception, according to 
 the number of qualities and circumstances which are 
 abstracted by the mind. Thus an object may be called 
 a thing^ and, in this case, the simple circumstance of 
 existence is what is recalled by the word. The same 
 object may be called an animal, and then the qualities 
 of existence and animal life are made the objects of 
 conception. It can also be called a 'inan, and then, in 
 addition to the qualities recalled by the word animal, 
 are recalled those qualities which distinguish man from 
 all other animals. It can also be called sl father, and 
 then to the qualities recalled by the term man is add- 
 ed the circumstance of his relation to some other being. 
 The same object can be called La Fayette, and then, 
 to aU the preceding qualities, would be added in our 
 conceptions all those peculiar qualities and circumstan- 
 ces which distinguish the hero of France from all oth- 
 er existences. 
 
 The following wiU probably illustrate the mode by 
 which the human mind first acquues the proper use of 
 these general terms. The infant child leams to distin- 
 guish one existence from another probably long before 
 he acquu-es the use of any names by which to desig- 
 nate them. We may suppose that a little dog is an 
 inmate of his nursery, and that with the sight of this 
 animal has often been associated the sound of the word 
 
ATTENTION AND ABSTRACTION. 89 
 
 dog. This is so often repeated, that, by the principle 
 of association, the sight of the object and the sound of 
 the word invariably recur together. He observes that 
 this sound is used by those around him in order to di- 
 rect his attention to the animal, and he himself soon 
 uses the word to direct the attention of others in the 
 same way. 
 
 But soon it happens that another animal is intro- 
 duced into his apartment, which in many respects re- 
 sembles the object he has learned to call a dog. To 
 this new object he would apply the same term, but he 
 finds that others use the sound cat in connection with 
 the sight of this new animal. He soon learns the dif- 
 ference between the two objects, the particulars in 
 which they agree, and those in which they differ. He 
 afterward notices other animals of these species, and 
 observes that some have the qualities to which the term 
 dog is applied, and others those to which the term cat 
 is applied. 
 
 He continues to notice animals of other kinds, and, 
 after long experience in this way, he learns to apply 
 names to designate a particular combination of quali- 
 ties, and, whenever these qualities are found combined, 
 he has a term ready to apply to them. He learns that 
 some words are used to point out the peculiar quali- 
 ties which distinguish one thing from all others, and, 
 at the same time, other words are used which simply 
 recall qualities, but do not designate any particular ex- 
 istence to which they belong. Thus the term hoy he 
 uses for the purpose of designating qualities without 
 conceiving of any particular existence in which they 
 are found, while the term Mary is used to designate 
 
90 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 the qualities and circumstances of the particular exist- 
 ence he finds as the companion of his sports. 
 
 All objects of our perceptions are arranged into class- 
 es, according to the peculiar combination of qualities 
 which are recalled by the names employed to designate 
 them. For example, all objects that have the quali- 
 ties of existence and of animal life are arranged in one 
 class, and are called aniinals. All those which have 
 the qualities recalled by the term animal, and the addi- 
 tional qualities of wings and feathers, are arranged in 
 another class called birds. Ml those objects which 
 have the qualities included in the term hijxl, together 
 with several additional quahties, are arranged in an- 
 other class, and called eagles. 
 
 To these various classes the terms genera and spe- 
 cies are applied. These terms imply a relation, or the 
 comparison of one class with another, in reference to 
 the nuinber of qualities to be recalled by the terms 
 employed. Thus the class bird is called a sjMcies of 
 the class animal, because it includes all the qualities 
 that are combined in the conception recalled by the 
 word animal, and others in addition ; but the class bird 
 is called a genus in relation to the class eagle, because 
 it contains only a part of the qualities which are re- 
 called by the term eagle. 
 
 A genus may be defined as a class of things the 
 name of which recalls feioer particulars than the name 
 of another class or species with which it is compared. 
 Bird is a genus when compared with the class eagle, 
 
 A species is a class of things the name of which re- 
 calls more particulars than the name of another class 
 or genus with which it is compared. JBh'd is a spe- 
 cies when compared with the class animal. 
 
ATTENTION AND ABSTE ACTION. 91 
 
 In examining language, it -\viil he found that the 
 larger portion of words in common use are names of 
 genera and species — that is, they are words employed 
 to recall ideas as they are arranged in genera and spe- 
 cies. It is only those words that are j^^ojyer names 
 which recall conceptions of the particular existences 
 by which we are surrounded. Some of these sur- 
 rounding existences are furnished with these particular 
 names, and others can be designated and distinguished 
 from each other only by a description. Thus we see 
 some hills around our horizon, some of which have a 
 peculiar name, and others can be designated only by 
 describing the circumstances which distinguish them 
 from all other hills. 
 
 A definition of a word is an enumeration of the sev- 
 eral qualities or circumstances which distinguish cer- 
 tain things from all others, and which are recalled to 
 the mind when the word is used. Thus, if the word 
 animal is to be defined, we do it by mentioning the 
 circumstances of its existence and animal life, as the 
 ideas recalled by the word. Generally, a word is de- 
 fined by mentioning the name of some genus of which 
 the thing intended is a sjjecies, and then adding those 
 particular qualities which the species has, in addition 
 to those included under the genus. Thus, if we are to 
 define the word 77icm, we mention the genus animal, 
 and then the qualities which man has in addition to 
 those possessed by other animals. Thus : '-'-Man is 
 an animal, having the human form, and a spirit en- 
 dowed with intellect, susceptibility, and will." 
 
 There are some words which recall only one quality 
 or circumstance, and which, therefore, can not be de- 
 fined like the words which recall various qualities and 
 
92 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 circumstances, as joy, sorrow, color, and the like. Such 
 words as these are defined by mentioning the times or 
 circumstances when the mind is conscious of the ex- 
 istence of the idea to be recalled by the word. Thus 
 joy is " a state of mind which exists when any ardent 
 desire is gratified." Color is "a quality of objects 
 which is perceived when light enters the eye." 
 
 Those conceptions which can be defined by enumer- 
 ating the several qualities and circumstances which 
 compose them are called complex ideas, and the words 
 used to designate them are called comjolex terms. 
 Such words as landscape, wrestler, giant, and philoso- 
 pher, are complex terms. The word landscape recalls 
 a complex idea of various material things. The word 
 wrestler recalls an idea of a material object and one of 
 its actions. The word giant recalls an idea of a thing 
 and its relation as to size. The word philosopher re- 
 calls the idea of a thing and one of its qualities. 
 
 Those conceptions which are not composed of sev- 
 eral qualities and circumstances, but are themselves a 
 single quality or circumstance, are called simple ideas, 
 and the words used to recall them are called simple 
 te'i^ns. Such words as sweetness, loudness, depth, 
 pain, and joy, are simple terms. Some tei*ms which 
 express emotions of the mind are entirely simple, such 
 as sorrow, joy, and happiness. Others are words 
 which recall an idea of a simple emotion and of its 
 cause, such, for example, as gratitude, which expresses 
 the idea of an emotion of mind and also that it was 
 caused by some benefit confeiTcd. Words that ex- 
 press simple ideas can be defined only by some de- 
 scription of the circumstances in which these ideas ex- 
 ist, or by a reference to their causes or efiects. 
 
ASSOCIATION. 9S 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 ASSOCIATION. 
 
 The causes of the particular succession of our ideas, 
 and the control which the mind has in regulating this 
 succession, is a subject no less interesting than import- 
 ant ; for if by any act of choice the mind has the pow- 
 er of regulating its own thoughts and feelings, then 
 man is a free agent and an accountable being ; but if 
 the conceptions and the emotions depend entirely upon 
 the constitution of things, and thus, either directly or 
 indirectly, on the will of the Creator, then man can not 
 be accountable for that over which he can have no con- 
 trol. 
 
 In the preceding chapter has been illustrated the 
 effect which the co-existence of desire has in regard 
 both to our sensations and our conceptions, tending to 
 make those w^hich are fitted to accomplish the object 
 desired very vivid and prominent, while others, to a 
 greater or less extent, disappear. 
 
 The mind is continually under the influence of some 
 desire. It constantly has some plan to accomplish, 
 some cause to search out, or some gratification to se- 
 cure. The present wish or desire of the mind imparts 
 an interest to whatever conception seems calculated to 
 forward this object. Thus, if the mathematician has 
 a problem to solve, and this is the leading desire of 
 the mind, among the various conceptions that arise, 
 those are the most interesting which are fitted to his 
 
94 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 object, and sucli immediately become vivid and dis- 
 tinct. If the painter or the poet is laboring to effect 
 some new creation of his art, and has this as the lead- 
 ing object of desire, whatever conceptions seem best 
 fitted to his purpose are immediately invested with in- 
 terest, and become distinct and clear. K the mer- 
 chant, or the capitalist, or the statesman has some proj- 
 ect which he is toiling to accomplish, whatever concep- 
 tions appear adapted to his purpose soon are glowing 
 and defined, in consequence of the interest with which 
 desire thus invests them. 
 
 From this it appears that the nature of the desire, 
 or governing purpose of the mind, will in a great meas- 
 ure determine the nature and the succession of its con- 
 ceptions. If a man has chosen to find his chief hap- 
 piness in securing power and honor, then those concep- 
 tions will be the most interesting to his mind that best 
 fall in with his object. If he has chosen to find hap- 
 piness in securing the various gTatifi cations of sense, 
 then those conceptions that most coincide "with this 
 desire will become prominent. If a man has chosen 
 to find his chief enjoyment in doing the will of God, 
 then his conceptions will, to a great extent, be con- 
 formed to this object of desire. The current of a man's 
 thoughts, therefore, becomes the surest mode of determ- 
 ining what is the governing purpose or leading desire 
 of the mind. 
 
 But there are seasons in our mental history when 
 the mind does not seem to be under the influence of 
 any governing desire ; when it seems to relax, and its 
 thoughts appear to flow on without any regulating 
 principle. At such times the vividness of leading 
 
ASSOCIATION. 95 
 
 conceptions, which otherwise is determined by desire^ 
 seems to depend upon our past experience. Those 
 objects which, in past experience, have been associated 
 with emotion, are those which the mind selects, and 
 which thus begin to glow in the distinct lineaments 
 with which emotion at first invested them. 
 
 In past experience, all conceptions which were at- 
 tended with emotion were most distinct and clear, and 
 therefore, when such conceptions return united with 
 others, they are the ones which are most interesting, 
 and thus most vivid and distinct. Thus, in our mus- 
 ing hours of idle reverie, as one picture after another 
 glides before the mind, if some object occurs, such as 
 the home of our youth, or the friend of our early days, 
 the emotions which have so often been united with 
 these objects in past experience cause them to appear 
 in clear and glowing lineaments, and the stronger have 
 been the past emotions connected with them, the more 
 clearly will they be defined. It appears, then, that 
 there are two circumstances that account for the ap- 
 parent selection which the mind makes in its objects of 
 conception. The first is the feeling that certain con- 
 ceptions are fitted to accomplish the leading desire of 
 the tnind ; and the second is, that certain objects in 
 jpast experience have been attended with emotion. 
 
 But there is another phenomenon in our mental his- 
 tory which has a direct bearing on the nature and suc- 
 cession of our conceptions. When any conception, 
 through the influence of desire or emotion, becomes the 
 prominent object, immediately other objects with which 
 this has been associated in past experience begin to 
 return and gather around it in new combinations. 
 
96 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 Thus a new picture is presented before the mind, from 
 which it again selects an object according as desire or 
 emotion regulates, which, under this influence, grows 
 vivid and distinct. Around this new object immedi- 
 ately begin to cluster its past associates, till still an- 
 other scene is fresh arrayed before the mind. 
 
 In these new combinations, those objects which are 
 least interesting continually disappear, while those 
 most interesting are retained to form a part of the suc- 
 ceeding picture. Thus, in every mental picture, de- 
 sire or emotion seems to call forth objects which start 
 out, as it were, in bold relief from all others, and call 
 from the shade of obscurity the companions of their 
 former existence, which gather around them in new 
 and varied combinations. 
 
 Almost every object of thought in past experience 
 has been connected with a great number of other ob- 
 jects, and so great has been the variety of its former 
 combinations, that it would be impossible to predict, 
 with any degree of certainty, which of its past associ- 
 ates will be summoned to aid in forming the new men- 
 tal scenes which are destined to arise. Yet experi- 
 ence has enabled us to detect some general laws, which 
 appear to regulate these combinations. 
 
 ThQ first is, that those objects are* most likely to at- 
 tend each other which in past experience were united, 
 while some strong emotion was existing with them. 
 If, for example, a retired lake had been the scene of 
 death to a beloved friend, the conception of this object 
 would be almost invariably associated with the image 
 of the friend that had perished beneath its waters, and 
 also with the scene of his death. In like manner, if 
 
ASSOCIATION. 97 
 
 some friend had expired at a certain hour of the day, 
 or on a particular day of the year, the return of these 
 seasons would probably be associated with the sorrow- 
 ful scenes connected with them in past experience. 
 
 The second law of association is, that long continued 
 or frequently repeated attention to objects that are 
 connected at the time of this attention will secure the 
 connected return of these objects. Attention, it may 
 be recollected, is desire united with our conceptions, 
 thus rendering them more vivid. 
 
 It seems to produce the same effect if this atten- 
 tion is long continued or if it is frequently repeated. 
 Thus, if the mind has dwelt for a long time on a 
 beautiful picture, has noticed all its proportions, its 
 shading, its outline, and its colors with minute atten- 
 tion, one object in this picture can not recur to the 
 mind without bringing with it the other objects that 
 were associated at the time of this close attention. 
 The frequent repetition of a sentence is a case where 
 oft repeated though short attention to certain words 
 has the effect of recalling them to the mind in the con- 
 nection in which they were placed during this repeated 
 attention. 
 
 The third law of association is, that objects which 
 have recently been associated in experience are, on this 
 account, more likely to recall each other than to recall 
 those which were connected with them at a more re- 
 mote period of time. The passage of time, as a gen- 
 eral fact, seems to weaken the vividness of our concep- 
 tions, and to destroy the probability of their associate 
 recurrence. Thus a line of poetry may be repeated, 
 and the listener may be able, the moment after, to re- 
 E 
 
98 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 call each word, but the next day the whole may he 
 lost. 
 
 The fou?'tk law of association is, that the recurrence 
 of associated objects depends, in a great measure, upon 
 the number of objects with which it may have been 
 connected in past experience. If it has existed in 
 combination with only one object, that object will re- 
 turn associated with it ; but in proportion as the num- 
 ber of its associates increases, the power of determin- 
 ing which will be its next companion diminishes. As 
 an example of this fact may be mentioned the first 
 hearing of a .beautiful air by some particular person. 
 The next time it is heard, the idea of this performer 
 will be associated with the sounds ; but after it has 
 been sung by a great variety of persons, other cir- 
 cumstances would determine what conceptions this air 
 would recall. It is very probable, in this case, that 
 its notes would recall from among the associated 
 scenes the friend most beloved, or some interesting cir- 
 cumstance that awakened emotion at the time the air 
 was performed. 
 
 The principal circumstances which operate in recall- 
 ing associated ideas have now been pointed out. The 
 next inquiry is, What are those objects and events 
 which ordinarily are most frequently united in our 
 perceptions, and therefore are most likely to return to- 
 gether in our conceptioJis ? 
 
 The most common connection of our ideas of per- 
 ception are made by contiguity in place. Objects are 
 continually passing before the eye, and they are not 
 in single distinct objects, but in connected groups. 
 Of course, when we perceive any object, we must nee- 
 
ASSOCIATION. 99 
 
 essarily observe its several relations to the things by 
 which it is surrounded. If it is a building which 
 meets the eye, it is impossible to observe it without 
 at the same time perceiving the trees around it, the 
 sky above it, and any other objects which are parts of 
 the picture of which this is the prominent object. Of 
 course, objects that are united in one complex picture 
 before the eye when we gain our knowledge of them 
 by perception, will ordinarily return together in our 
 conceptions. 
 
 Our ideas, also, are very much connected by conti- 
 guity as it respects time. When any two events oc- 
 cur at the same moment of time, or in such near con- 
 nection that the conception of one remains until the 
 other occurs, they ordinarily will recur together in our 
 after conceptions of them. As an example of this 
 may be mentioned the associations of a family who 
 have been accustomed to close each Sabbath with mu- 
 sic. As the still hour of this sacred evening drew on, 
 wherever any wanderer might roam, it is probable that 
 the notes of praise, so often connected with this sea- 
 son, would perpetually steal over the mind, bringing 
 many another image of friends, and kindred, and home. 
 
 The mind of man is so constituted that no change 
 can take place in any material object without awaken- 
 ing the idea of some cause. An effect is defined as 
 ** some change of state or mode of existence in matter 
 or mind." A cause is defined as " that without which 
 no change would take place in matter or mind, and 
 with which it will take place." As the ideas of cause 
 and effect are so constantly conjoined in all our acts 
 of perception, these ideas will return together in our 
 
100 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 conceptions. Thus, if we see an instrument which 
 has been the cause of pain, the idea of this effect will 
 be recalled by a conception of the cause ; or if the 
 mind is dwelling on the memory of some beautiful 
 painting or poetry, the author of these works will 
 probably recur to the mind in connection with these 
 conceptions. 
 
 We sometimes meet with persons of such peculiar 
 habits and dispositions, that, whenever they are en- 
 countered, the feelings are wounded or the temper 
 crossed by their ill-timed or ill-natured remarks. The 
 conceptions of such persons wiU ordinarily be attended 
 by the memory of some pains of which they have been 
 the cause, and the mind will involuntarily shrink from 
 contact with them, as from the points and thorns of a 
 bramble-bush. Those events, therefore, or those ob- 
 jects which have the relation of cause and effect exist- 
 ing between them, will ordinarily be united as objects 
 of conception. 
 
 The mind of man is continually noticing the rela- 
 tions which exist between the different objects of its 
 conceptions. As no idea of relation can be gained with- 
 out comparing two or more things together, those ob- 
 jects which are most frequently compared will natural- 
 ly be most frequently associated together in our concep- 
 tions. It has been shown that language is founded on 
 that principle of the mind which enables us to notice 
 certain qualities in things abstracted from other qual- 
 ities, and to apply names to objects according as we 
 find certain qualities united in them. Of course, in the 
 use of language, the mind is continually led to notice 
 the particulars in which objects resemble each other, 
 
ASSOCIATION. 101 
 
 and also tlie particulars in wliicli they differ ; conse- 
 quently the mind, in learning and in applying names, 
 is continually comparing objects, both to discover the 
 particulars in which they are alike and those in which 
 they differ, so that two objects are thus brought to- 
 gether before the mind. 
 
 It is owing to this fact, therefore, that objects which 
 resemble each other, or which are very much contrast- 
 ed in their qualities, are very commonly united in our 
 conceptions. K, for example, we see the countenance 
 of a stranger, some feature will be recognized as fa- 
 miliar. Desire will be awakened to know where and 
 in what other countenance we have seen such a feat- 
 ure or such an expression. This particular feature 
 will thus become abstracted and vivid, and will soon 
 recall that other combination of features for which we 
 are seeking, and of which this has formed a part in our 
 past experience. Thus two objects will be brought 
 before the mind at once, the person who is the stran- 
 ger, and a conception of another person whom this 
 stranger resembles. 
 
 All our ideas of contrast are relative. One thing 
 can not be conceived of as very high or very low, as 
 very large or very small, without a previous compar- 
 ison with some object to determine this relation. Our 
 ideas of poverty and riches, or of happiness and mis- 
 ery, are also relative. A person is always considered 
 poor or rich, happy or miserable, by comparing his lot 
 with that of others by whom he is surrounded. As, 
 therefore, all ideas of resemblance or of contrast are 
 gained by comparing two objects together, our concep- 
 tions often unite objects that resemble each other or 
 that are contrasted with each other. 
 
102 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 CHAPTER XIIL 
 
 IMAGINATION. 
 
 All operations of mind whicli are not produced Tby 
 material things acting upon the senses consist of a 
 continual succession of conceptions. Some of these 
 conceptions are exact pictures of past perceptions, and 
 are attended by the consciousness that such things 
 have existed before, and such are called ideas of mem- 
 ory. Others are conceptions which, by the process of 
 association, are continually recurring, and arranging 
 themselves in new combinations, according to certain 
 laws or principles of association. Imagination has 
 been defined as " that power which the mind possesses 
 of arranging conceptions in new combinations, " and it 
 can readily be seen that this includes all the ordinary 
 successions of thought except those of perception and 
 memory. The term imagination has been used in 
 rather a vague manner by writers on the subject. 
 Sometimes it is used to signify all that succession of 
 conceptions which recur according to the laws of asso- 
 ciation, and sometimes it is used in a more restricted 
 sense. The more limited meaning is the one to which 
 the term is most commonly applied, and it seems to be 
 the one which precision and accuracy in the use of 
 terms demand, and therefore it will now be pointed 
 out. 
 
 The mind is susceptible of certain emotions, which 
 are called emotions of taste. These, more specifically, 
 
IMAGINATION. 103 
 
 are called emotions of beauty, sublimity, and novelty. 
 Such emotions are awakened by certain objects in na- 
 ture, by certain works of art, and by the use of lan- 
 guage which recalls conceptions of these objects. 
 Those objects which awaken such emotions are called 
 objects of taste, and those arts which enable us to pro- 
 duce combinations that will awaken such emotions are 
 called the Ji7ie arts. 
 
 Among the fine arts are ordinarily classed painting, 
 music, sculpture, architecture, ornamental gardening, 
 and poetry. The art of the painter consists in com- 
 bining, according to certain rules of proportion and fit- 
 ness of outline and color, certain objects, which, either 
 from their peculiar character, or from the fitness of their 
 combination in effecting a given design, awaken emo- 
 tions of beauty or sublimity. The highest perfection 
 of this art consists not so much in close imitation as 
 in the nature of the combinations, and their unity and 
 fitness in producing the effect designed by the artist. 
 
 The art of the sculptor is similar in its nature, and 
 differs chiefly in the materials employed, and in being 
 limited to a much more restricted number of objects 
 for combination. 
 
 The art of the architect consists in planning and 
 constructing edifices, intended either for use or orna- 
 ment, and in so arranging the different parts as to 
 awaken emotions of beauty or sublimity from the dis- 
 play of utility, fitness, grandeur of extent, or order of 
 proportion. 
 
 The art of the musician consists in combining sounds 
 so as to produce such melodies or harmonies as wiU 
 awaken varied emotions in the mind. The power of 
 
104 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 this art over the human mind is much superior to that 
 of the others enumerated, because it can call forth both 
 a greater variety and more powerful emotions. 
 
 The art of the poet consists in such a use of lan- 
 guage as will recall objects of beauty or sublimity in 
 combinations that are pleasing to the mind, or as will, 
 by the description and expression of varied emotion in 
 other minds, awaken similar feelings in the breast of 
 the reader. 
 
 The art of ornamental gardening consists in such an 
 arrangement of the varied objects which compose a 
 landscape as will awaken emotions of beauty from a 
 display of unity of design, order, fitness, and utility. 
 
 The term imagination, then, in its most frequent use, 
 signifies those new combinations of conceptions which 
 will aioaJcen the emotions of taste. 
 
 The painter or the poet, when he attempts the exer- 
 cise of his art, has some leading desire of an object to 
 be secured. Under, the influence of this desire, all 
 those conceptions, recurring by the principle of asso- 
 ciation, which appear fitted to accomplish this object, 
 immediately become vivid and distinct, and are clear- 
 ly retained in the mind. As other conceptions suc- 
 ceed, other objects are found which will forward the 
 general design, and these also are retained, and thus 
 the process continues till the object aimed at is accom- 
 plished, and by the pen or pencil retained in durable 
 characters. 
 
 The action of mind to which the term imagina- 
 tion is thus restricted differs in no respect from other 
 acts of conception when the mind is under the influ- 
 ence of desire, except in the nature of the objects of 
 
IMAGINATION. 105 
 
 desire. If it is the desire of the mind to establish a 
 proposition by mathematical reasoning, the mind is en- 
 gaged in the same process of conception as when it is 
 engrossed with the desire to form some combination of 
 taste. In both cases some object of desire stimulates 
 the mind, and whatever conceptions appear fitted to 
 accomplish this object immediately become vivid and 
 distinct. 
 
 E2 
 
106 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 CHAPTER XrV. 
 
 JUDGMENT. 
 
 The term judgment, as a mental faculty, signifies 
 *« that power of the mind bj which it notices relations.''^ 
 It is often used to signify all the intellectual powers, 
 among which it is the most important one. Thus we 
 hear it said that, in certain cases, the feelings and the 
 judgment are in opposition, or that the heart and the 
 judgment are not in agreement. 
 
 It is also used often to signify any act of the mind 
 when a comparison is made between two things, or be- 
 tween the truths asserted in any proposition and a truth 
 already believed. The act called memory is a con- 
 ception attended with one specific act of judgment, by 
 which a present state of mind is compared with a past, 
 and the relation of resemblance perceived. 
 
 The nature of our ideas of relation are very different, 
 according to the object or purpose for which the com- 
 parison is made. If objects are compared in reference 
 to time, we learn some one of the relations of past, 
 present, or future. No idea of time can be gained ex- 
 cept by comparing one period of time with another, 
 and thus noticing their relations. All dates are gain- 
 ed by comparing one point of time with some specified 
 event, such as the birth of the Savior, or some partic- 
 ular period in the revolution of the earth around the 
 sun. 
 
 If objects are compared in reference to the succession 
 
JUDGMENT. 107 
 
 of our conceptions or perceptions, we gain the ideas of 
 such relations as are expressed by the terms Jirstl?/, 
 secondly/, and thirdly. If objects are compared in 
 reference to the degree of any quality, we gain an idea 
 of such relations as are expressed by the terms bright- 
 er^ sweeter^ harder^ louder. If objects are compared in 
 reference to projportion, we gain ideas of such relations 
 as are expressed by the terms an eighth, a half. If 
 objects are compared in reference to the relation of 
 parts to a whole, we gain such ideas as are expressed 
 by the iexms part, whole, remainder. 
 
 The process of classifying objects and the use of 
 language depend upon the power of judgment; for if 
 we see an object possessing certain qualities, in order 
 to apply the name we must compare and observe their 
 resemblance to the qualities to wliich such a name has 
 been applied in past experience, and this feeling of re- 
 semblance is an act of judgment. The application of 
 a name, then, always implies the exercise of the power 
 of judgment, by which a comparison is made between 
 the present qualities observed in an object and the 
 same qualities which affected the mind when the name 
 has formerly been employed. It also implies the act 
 of association, by which the perception of certain qual- 
 ities recalls the idea of the sound or object with which 
 they have been repeatedly conjoined. 
 
 The mental process called reasoning is nothing but 
 a connected succession of acts of judgment. It is a 
 comparison of what is asserted in a given proposition 
 with some truth wliich is believed, or which has been 
 established by evidence, and then observing the agree- 
 ment or disagreement. Thus the truth that "things 
 
108 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 will be in agreement with past experience unless there 
 is some reason for the contrary," is a tmth which ev- 
 ery mind believes. Whenever, therefore, any event 
 has been repeatedly an object of past experience, it is 
 compared with this truth already believed, and found 
 to be included under it, and therefore entitled to the 
 same credit. 
 
 Thus, also, the truth that "things which equal the 
 same thing equal one another," is one which every 
 mind believes. When any object by examination is 
 found to be included under that class of objects which 
 are thus equal to the same thing, it is an act of rea- 
 soning when we infer that they are equal to one an- 
 other. 
 
THE SUSCEPTIBILITIES. 109 
 
 CHAPTER XY. 
 
 THE SUSCEPTIBILITIES. 
 
 HAvma examined the intellectual powers, we will 
 now attend to the next general class, denominated the 
 suscep tibilities. 
 
 When the mind is in a state of emotion, this state is 
 always either pleasurable or painful. Desire relates 
 to the attainment of some object which will be the 
 cause of pleasurable emotions, or else to the avoidance 
 of something which will cause painful emotions. This 
 desire for pleasure and for the avoidance of pain is 
 the mainspring of all mental activity ; for when it is 
 not in existence, neither the powers of the mind or of 
 the body are called into exercise. 
 
 There are various sources of enjoyment or causes 
 of pleasurable emotion to the mind of man, the most 
 important of which will now be pointed out. 
 
 Th^Jii'st cause of enjoyment at the commencement 
 of existence is that of sensation.* This, at first, is 
 small in amount compared with what it becomes when 
 association lends its aid to heighten sensitive enjoy- 
 ment. The light of day, the brilliancy of color, the 
 sweetness of perfume, the gratification of taste and 
 touch, the magic influence of sound, and the pleasure 
 resulting from muscular activity, are probably the 
 
 * Hereafter the terms sensation and perception will often be used 
 synonymously in cases where it is not needful to recognize the dis- 
 tinction heretofore indicated. 
 
110 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 chief sources of enjoyment to the infant mind. As 
 life advances, all these modes of sensitive gratification 
 become connected with others of an intellectual and 
 moral nature, so that at mature years it is difficult to 
 determine how much of the enjoyment we derive from 
 the senses is the result of association, and how much 
 is simply that of sensation. 
 
 Another source of happiness to the human mind is 
 the simple exercise of its intellectual powers. This 
 includes all the pleasures derived from the exercise of 
 taste and the imagination ; all the more profitless ex- 
 ercises of reverie and castle-building; all the activ- 
 ity of mind employed in contriving, inventing, and 
 bringing to pass the various projects for securing good 
 to ourselves and others; and all those charming illu- 
 sions which so often give transient delight, but burst 
 like bubbles in the grasp. 
 
 Another source of enjoyment is the exercise of phys- 
 ical and moral power. This love of power is one of 
 the earliest principles which is developed in the hu- 
 man mind. The exercise of the muscles in producing 
 changes in its own material frame or in surrounding 
 objects is a source of constant pleasure to the infant 
 mind. There are few who have reared a child through 
 the period of infancy but can recollect the times that 
 this new species of delight was manifested, as, with 
 his hand raised before his eyes, he watched its various 
 motions, and learned his own power to control them. 
 
 This love of power continually displays itself in the 
 sports and pursuits of childliood. To project the peb- 
 ble through the air ; to drive the hoop ; to turn the 
 windwill ; to conduct some light stream from its chan- 
 
THE SUSCEPTIBILITIES. Ill 
 
 nel ; to roll the rock from the mountain cliff — these 
 and many others are the varied modes by which child- 
 hood exhibits its love of physical power. 
 
 But when man begins to learn the influence which 
 mind can exert over mind, a new desire is awakened 
 of moral power. All the different modes are then 
 sought by w^hich one mind can bend the will of others 
 to yield to its controlling influence. It is this desire 
 which is gratified when the conqueror of nations be- 
 holds millions of minds yielding to the slightest word 
 of his command. It is this which inspires the orator, 
 as he pours forth that eloquence which charms the de- 
 lighted throng, and bends them to his wiU. It is this 
 desire, which often becomes the master passion, to which 
 is sacrificed all that is just, lovely, and benevolent. 
 
 Another cause of enjoyment is that of sympathy in 
 the happiness of others. This susceptibility is a 
 Bource of constant enjoyment when those around us 
 are contented and happy. None can be ignorant of 
 the change produced in passing from the society of a 
 sprightly, cheerful, and happy group to a circle soured 
 by discontent or overwhelmed with melancholy. In 
 early childhood, the effect of this principle is clearly 
 developed. Even the infant child is aftected and dis- 
 turbed with flowing tears, and steals away from the 
 chamber of sorrow, w^hile the sight of smiling faces 
 and the sound of cheerful voices sends through his 
 heart the glow of delight. 
 
 Another source of enjoyment is a feeling of conscious 
 rectitude. Man is so constituted that, when he know- 
 ingly violates the principles of rectitude, a painful feel- 
 ing is the inevitable consequence, while a habit of 
 
112 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 constant conformity to them brings a peaceful and 
 happy state of mind. 
 
 Another source of happiness is the consciousness of 
 being the cause of happiness to others. This is an 
 enjoyment entu"ely distinct from that of sympathy in 
 the happiness of others ; for we may see happiness 
 conferred by another and rejoice in it, but the pleasure 
 of being ourselves the cause of this enjoyment is one 
 altogether peculiar. It can readily be seen that the 
 more benevolent a mind is, the more happiness it will 
 derive from this source ; while in exact proportion as 
 the mind is selfishly engrossed by its own exclusive 
 interests will this stream of enjoyment cease to flow. 
 
 Another source of happiness is the consciousness of 
 inspiring certain emotions in other minds, such as es- 
 teem, respect, confidence, love, gratitude, reverence, 
 and the Kke. The desire for this is one of the stron- 
 gest passions, and its gratification often secures the 
 most exquisite enjoyment. This. happiness, ordinarily, 
 is proportioned to the nobleness of the person who ren- 
 ders this regard. 
 
 Another source of enjoyment is the discovery of 
 certain qualities in intelligent minds. The perception 
 of the qualities of matter through the medium of the 
 senses is a very inferior source of gratification com- 
 pared with the discovery of certain qualities of mind. 
 This is the source of the highest enjoyment of which 
 the mind is capable. The emotions thus awakened 
 are called esteem, veneration, love, gratitude, and the 
 Hke. Love^ in its most general sense, is used for the 
 pleasurable emotion which is felt in the discovery of 
 any quality that is agreeable, either in matter or mind. 
 
THE SUSCEPTIBILITIES. 113 
 
 Thus we are said to love the beauties of nature, to love 
 delicious fruit, and to love the society of friends. But 
 in relation to intelligent beings, it signifies pleasurable 
 emotion in view of certain qualities and actions, at- 
 tended with the desire of good to the object loved, and 
 also a desire for reciprocated affection. There are cer- 
 tain qualities and attributes of mind which may be 
 pointed out as the causes of affection. 
 
 The first is intellectual superiority. Our estimate 
 of intellect is altogether relative. What in a child 
 seems an astonishing display of it, would be consid- 
 ered puerility in a man. What excites admiration in 
 a savage or in the unlettered, is regarded with little 
 emotion in the man of education. There are various 
 qualities of intellect which awaken admiration. Quick 
 perceptions and ready invention are the peculiar attri- 
 bute of some minds ; others are endowed with great 
 sagacity and wisdom in adapting the best means to ac- 
 complish the best ends ; others possess an energy and 
 force of purpose which enables them to encounter dif- 
 ficulties, sustain bodily fatigue, and even to face death 
 without shrinking ; others possess a power of forming 
 new and varied combinations that gratify the taste ; 
 others seem to possess a readiness and versatility of 
 mind which enables them to succeed in almost any ob- 
 ject they undertake. The exhibition of any of these 
 operations of intellect are causes of emotions of pleas- 
 ure to other minds. 
 
 The next quality of mind which is a cause of affec- 
 tion is the power ot syinjjathy. There is nothing 
 which so powerfully draws the mind toward another 
 being as the assurance that all our pleasures will be 
 
114 THE BIBLE AXD THE PEOPLE. 
 
 his, and that "in all our afflictions he Trill be afflict- 
 ed." It is probable that a being entirely destitute of 
 this susceptibility, however he might excite the mind 
 by displays of intellectual power, never could be re- 
 garded with the warm and tender emotions of affection. 
 If we encountered a mind that we felt looked upon our 
 happiness without one glimmering of pleasure, and 
 who could gaze upon our sufferings without one shade 
 of sympathizing woe, it is probable the mind would 
 turn away witli feelings of dissatisfaction or disgust. 
 
 Another quality of mind which becomes a cause of 
 love is the power oi giving and appreciating affection. 
 There is nothing which is an object of more constant 
 and fervent desire than the admiration and affection of 
 other minds. To be an object of attention and of ad- 
 miration to others has been the aim that has stimu- 
 lated the efforts and nerved the arm of all the heroes 
 and conquerors of the world. To gain the esteem and 
 affection of other minds is what regulates the actions, 
 the plans, and the hopes of all mankind. If, therefore, 
 a mind should be destitute of this susceptibility, that 
 which gives the chief interest would be withdrawn. 
 If we should find, also, that the gift of our affections 
 was of no value to another mind, this would deprive it 
 of much that awakens interest and pleasure. It is the 
 excessive indulgence of this desire for admiration 
 which leads to ambition and pride — those principles 
 which have filled the world with contention and del- 
 uged it with blood. 
 
 Another quality of mind which secures affection is 
 henevolence. This consists in such a love for the hap- 
 piness as induces a •willingness to make sacrifices of 
 
THE SUSCEPTIBILITIES. 115 
 
 personal ease or enjoyment to secure a greater amount 
 of good to others. Every mind is so made that, if its 
 own wishes are not interfered with, it is more agreea- 
 ble to see others happy around than to see them mis- 
 erable. There have been cases of such perversion of 
 our nature that some have seemed to find pleasure in 
 the simple act of inflicting pain upon others ; but this 
 seldom occurs until after a long course of self-indul- 
 gence and crime. All persons, if it cost no sacrifice, 
 would prefer to make others happy. 
 
 But there is a great difference in the character of 
 minds in this particular. Some, when they find that 
 certain modes of personal enjoyment interfere with the 
 interests and happiness of others, can find a pleasure 
 in sacrificing their own lesser enjoyment to secure 
 greater good for others. But others are so engrossed 
 by exclusive interest in their own happiness that they 
 will not give up the smallest amount of their own good 
 to secure any amount of benefit to others. 
 
 All minds, whatever their own character may be, de- 
 test selfishness in others, and never can bestow any 
 great affection where this is a prevailing trait. 
 
 These are the leading characteristics of mind which 
 are causes of admiration and affection. There are oth- 
 er more specific exercises, such as modesty, humility, 
 meekness, and the like. 
 
 But all these traits of character, which, in themselves 
 considered, are causes of pleasure, in certain circum- 
 stances may, to a selfish mind, become causes of un- 
 mingled pain. If the displays of intellect or the ex- 
 hibition of the amiable susceptibilities in another be- 
 ing are viewed by a selfish mind as the cause of dis- 
 
116 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 paragement and disadvantageous contrast to itself, they 
 will be regarded only with painful emotions. They 
 will awaken " envy, anger, wrath, malice, and all un- 
 charitableness." This fact is fully illustrated in the 
 history of the world and in the daily observation of 
 life. 
 
 The causes ofj^ctin to the human mind are in most 
 cases owing to these very susceptibilities of enjoyment. 
 The organization of the material frame and of the ex- 
 ternal world, while it is a source of multiplied and con- 
 stant enjoyment, is often also the cause of the most in- 
 tense and exquisite suffering. The strongest concep- 
 tion of suffering of v/hich mind can form any concep- 
 tion is sensitive suffering. There are many minds 
 whose constitution and circumstances are such that 
 they can form but faint conceptions of any pain which 
 results from the exercise of malignant passions, or 
 from other sources of suffering. But every mind soon 
 acquires a knowledge of what sensitive suffering must 
 be, and can form the most vivid conceptions of it. 
 Though few ever suffered the dislocation of joints, the 
 laceration of the flesh, or the fracture of bones, still 
 descriptions of such sufferings are readily apprehended 
 and conceived of, and there is nothing from which the 
 mind so involuntarily shrinks. 
 
 Another cause of suffering consists in the loss of 
 present or expected enjoyment. There are many bless- 
 ings which seem desirable to the mind that are never 
 secured, and yet unhappiness is not caused by the 
 want ; but there is no happiness which is actually in 
 possession of which the loss does not occasion pain. 
 We may desire the esteem and affection of certain be- 
 
THE SUSCEPTIBILITIES. 117 
 
 irigs, and yet not become unhappy from the want of it ; 
 yet nothing sends such exquisite suffering through 
 the mind as the conviction that some beloved object 
 has ceased thus to respect and to love, or has been 
 taken from us by death. Thus, also, if wealth, which 
 is the means of purchasing a variety of blessings, be 
 not secured, the heart can desire it without being made 
 unhappy by the wish, yet the loss of wealth is attend- 
 ed with painful disappointment and regret. The pos- 
 session of power, also, may be desired without uneasi- 
 ness, but the loss of it seldom occurs without painful 
 emotions. 
 
 Another cause of suffering is inactivity of body and 
 mind. It has been shown that desire is the spring 
 both of mental and of physical activity, and that this 
 activity is one source of enjoyment. The loss of this 
 species of enjoyment is followed by consequent inqui- 
 etude and uneasiness. 
 
 Another cause of suffering is the existence of strong 
 desire with the belief that it never can be gratified. 
 Some desires exist in the mind without causing pain, 
 but they may be excited to such a degree that the cer- 
 tainty that they never will be gratified may produce 
 anguish almost intolerable. 
 
 Another source of pain is sympathy in the sufferings 
 of others. These may be so realized as to affect the 
 mind of the observer with even more pain than the 
 sufferer experiences. It is probable that the tender 
 mother, in witnessing the distresses of her child, ex- 
 periences much more pain than the object of her sym- 
 pathies. 
 
 Another cause of suffering is the violated sense of 
 
118 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 justice. In minds of high moral susceptibiHties, suf- 
 fering from this source may be most exquisite. 
 
 Another cause of suffering is the consciousness of 
 guilt. The emotions that follow the commission of 
 crime are denominated repentance and remorse ; and it 
 is probable that the human mind has never suffered 
 greater agonies than have attended the existence of 
 these emotions. There are cases on record when in- 
 tense bodily suffering has been resorted to as a relief 
 from such anguish by withdrawing the attention of 
 the mind from those subjects that call forth such emo- 
 tions. 
 
 Another cause of pain is the apprehension of future 
 evil. This is often a source of long-continued and of 
 distressing emotions, and the pain suffered in appre- 
 hension is often greater than would be experienced if 
 the evils were realized. 
 
 Another source of suffering is the exercise of malig- 
 nant passions, such as hatred, envy, and jealousy. 
 These emotions never can exist in the mind without 
 pain. The exhibition of wicked passions and actions 
 in other minds may also be mentioned in connection 
 with this. It is painful to behold a mind tossed with 
 the furies of ungoverned passion, or yielding to the 
 chain of selfishness and pride. 
 
 Another source of suffering is the consciousness of 
 the existence of certain emotions in other minds to- 
 ward ourselves. The belief that other intelligent be- 
 ings look upon our character and conduct with dis- 
 pleasure, indignation, or contempt, inflicts the keenest 
 suffering, and there is scarcely any thing mankind will 
 not sacrifice to avoid these painful emotions. 
 
THE SUSCEPTIBILITIES. 119 
 
 Another source of painful emotions is the view of 
 certain characteristics in other minds. While the dis- 
 covery of certain traits in other minds aiford a high 
 enjoyment, the want of them, or the existence of their 
 opposite, awaken disagreeable emotions, expressed by 
 the terms pity, contempt, indignation, disgust, abhor- 
 rence, and the like. 
 
 There are other sources of pleasure and pain, which 
 will be discussed more at large in succeeding chapters. 
 
120 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 THE SUSCEPTIBILITIES. EMOTIONS OF TASTE. 
 
 Among the susceptibilities, the emotions of taste 
 have alvvays been distinguished, and treated of as a 
 peculiarly distinct class. Why is it that certain ob- 
 jects of sight, and certain sounds or combinations of 
 sound, awaken emotions more than other sights and 
 sounds ? Why do the perceptions of the eye and ear 
 so much more powerfully affect the mind than those 
 of the other senses ? These certainly are objects for 
 interesting inquiry. In attempting the discussion of 
 this subject, the following particulars need to be con- 
 sidered. 
 
 All pleasurable emotions are caused either }:)y per- 
 ceptio?i or conception^ for we have no other ideas but 
 of these two kinds. That they are not occasioned by 
 perception alone must be evident from the fact that in- 
 fants and children, who have the same perceptions as 
 matured persons, do not experience the emotions of 
 taste in view of the most perfect specimens of the fine 
 arts. A combination of gaudy colors or a string of 
 glittering beads will delight a child more than the most 
 finished productions of a Raphael or a Phidias. That 
 it is not conception alone which awakens such emotions 
 is manifest from the fact that it is the perce2ytion of 
 objects which are either sublime or beautiful that awak- 
 ens the most vi\-id emotions of this kind. Of course, 
 it is inevitable that emotions of taste are caused by per- 
 
THE SUSCEPTIBILITIES — EMOTIONS OF TASTE. 121 
 
 ception and conception through their connection with 
 some past co-existing emotions. 
 
 Perceptions and conceptions can recall the emotions 
 which have been connected with them, and emotions 
 can also recall a conception of the objects with which 
 they have been united. For example, if some dark 
 wood had been the scene of terror and affright, either 
 the perception or the conception of this wood would 
 recall the emotions of fear which had coexisted with 
 it. If, on some other occasion, a strong emotion of 
 fear should be awakened, this would probably recall a 
 conception of the wood with which it had formerly been 
 united. It is no uncommon fact in our experience to 
 have circumstances about us that recall unusually sad 
 and mournful feelings, for which we are wholly unable 
 to account. No doubt, at such times, some particular 
 objects, or some particular combination of circumstances 
 which were formerly united with painful emotions, 
 again recur, and recall the emotions with which they 
 were once connected, while the mind is wholly unable 
 to remember the fact of their past coexistence. In 
 like manner, pleasurable emotions may be awakened 
 by certain objects of perception when the mind is equal- 
 ly unable to trace the cause. 
 
 Objects oi jpercejption recall the emotions connected 
 with them much more vividly than objects of concep- 
 tion can do. Thus, if we revisit the scenes of our 
 childhood, the places of the sorrows and the joys of 
 early days, how much more vividly are the emotions 
 recalled which were formerly connected with these 
 scenes than any conception of these objects could 
 awaken. 
 
 F 
 
122 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 Certain perceptions will be found to produce emo- 
 tions similar to those awakened by the intellectual op- 
 erations of mind. Thus the entrance of light pro- 
 duces an emotion similar to the discovery of some 
 truth, and the emotion felt while in a state of doubt 
 and uncertainty resembles that experienced when 
 shrouded in darkness. Great care and anxiety pro- 
 duce a state of mind similar to what is felt when the 
 body is pressed down by a heavy weight. The up- 
 ward spring of an elastic body awakens feelings re- 
 sembling those that attend the hearing of good news, 
 and thus with many other perceptions. From this 
 fact originates much of the figurative language in com- 
 mon use ; such as when knowledge is called light, and 
 ignorance darkness, and care is called a load, and joy 
 is said to make the heart leap. 
 
 It has previously been shown that the discovery of 
 certain operations and emotions of mind affords much 
 more pleasure than attends mere perceptions of mate- 
 rial objects. Those who have experienced the excit- 
 ing animation felt at developments of splendid genius, 
 and the pure delight resulting from the interchange of 
 affection, can well realize that no sensitive gratification 
 could ever be exchanged for them. Whatever objects, 
 therefore, most vividly recall those emotions which are 
 awakened when such qualities are apprehended will be 
 most interesting to the mind. 
 
 Now it will appear that there are no modes by which 
 one mind can learn the character and feelings of an- 
 other but by means of the eye and ear. A person both 
 deaf and blind could never, except to an exceedingly 
 limited extent, learn either the intellectual operations 
 
THE SUSCEPTIBILITIES — EMOTIONS OF TASTE. 123 
 
 or the emotions of another mind. Of course, it is by 
 means of certain forms, colors, motions, and sounds 
 that we gain those ideas which are most interesting 
 and animating to the soul. It is by the blush of mod- 
 esty, the paleness of fear, the flush of indignation, that 
 color aids in giving an idea of the emotions of the 
 mind. The pallid hue of disease, the sallow com- 
 plexion of age, the pure and bright colors of childhood, 
 and the delicate blendings of the youthful complexion, 
 have much influence in conveying ideas of the qualities 
 of mind in certain particulars. The color and flashing 
 expressions of the eye also have much to do with our 
 apprehensions of the workings of mind. 
 
 As it regards raotion as aiding in imparting such 
 ideas, it is by the curl of the lip that contempt is ex- 
 pressed, by the arching brow that curiosity and sur- 
 prise are exhibited, by the scowling front that anger 
 and discontent are displayed, and by various muscular 
 movements of the countenance that the passions and 
 emotions of the mind are portrayed. It is by the mo- 
 tions of the body and limbs also that strong emotions 
 are exhibited, as in the clasped hand of supplication, 
 the extended arms of afiection, and the violent contor- 
 tions of anger. 
 
 Form and outline also have their influence. The 
 sunken eye of grief, the hollow cheek of care and want, 
 the bending form of sorrow, the erect position of dig- 
 nity, the curvature of haughtiness and pride, are va- 
 rious modes of expressing the qualities and emotions 
 of mind. 
 
 But it is by the varied sounds of voice chiefly that 
 intellect glances abroad, and the soul is poured forth at 
 
124 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 the lips. The quick and animated sounds of cheer- 
 fulness, joy, and hope ; the softer tones of meekness, 
 gentleness, and love ; the plaintive notes of sympathy, 
 sorrow, and pain ; the firm tone of magnanimity, for- 
 titude, patience, and self-denial, all exhibit the pleas- 
 ing and interesting emotions of the soul. Nor less 
 expressive, thougli more painful, are the harsh sounds 
 of anger, malice, envy, and discontent. 
 
 Not only are certain forms, colors, motions, and 
 sounds the medium by which we gain a knowledge of 
 the intellectual operations and emotions of other minds, 
 but they are the means by which we discover and des- 
 ignate those material objects which are causes^ of com- 
 fort, utiHty, and enjoyment. Thus it is by the partic- 
 ular form and color that we distinguish the fruits and 
 the food which minister to our support. By the same 
 means we discriminate between noxious and useful 
 plants and animals, and distinguish all those conven- 
 iences and contrivances which contribute to the com- 
 fort of man. Of course, certain forms and colors are 
 connected in the mind with certain emotions of pleas- 
 ure that have attended them as causes of comfort and 
 enjoyment. 
 
 In what precedes, it appears that it is those emo- 
 tions which are awakened by the apprehension of cer- 
 tain intellectual operations and emotions of intelligent 
 minds. which are most delightful; that all our ideas 
 of such operations and emotions are gained by means 
 of certain forms, colors, motions, and sounds ; that we 
 designate objects of convenience and enjoyment to our- 
 selves by the same mode ; that perceptions can recall 
 the emotions which have been connected with thera, 
 
THE SUSCEPTIBILITIES — EMOTIONS OF TASTE. 125 
 
 even after the mind has forgotten the connection, and 
 that perceptions recall associated emotions much more 
 vividly than conceptions. 
 
 In consequence of these considerations, the infer- 
 ence seems justifiable that the emotions of beauty and 
 sublimity are not owing either simply to the percep- 
 tions produced, nor to the conceptions recalled by the 
 principle of association. But they are accounted for in 
 a great degree by the fact that certain colors, forms, 
 motions, and sounds have been so often connected 
 with emotions awakened by the apprehension of qual- 
 ities in other minds, or of emotions which arise in view 
 of causes of enjoyment to ourselves, that the percep- 
 tion of these colors, sounds, forms, and motions recall 
 such agreeable emotions, even when the mind can not 
 trace the connection in past experience. 
 
 As an example of this, the emotion of pleasure has 
 been so often connected with the clear blue of the sky 
 and with the bright verdure of the foliage, that the 
 sight of either of these colors recalls the emotions, 
 though we may not be able to refer to any particular 
 time when this previous connection existed. In like 
 manner, the moaning sound of the wind in a storm, or 
 the harsh growl which sometimes attends it, has so 
 often been united with sorrowful or disagreeable emo- 
 tions, that the sounds recall the emotions. 
 
 But there is another important fact in regard to the 
 causes of the emotions of taste. It is found that the 
 character of the combination of sounds, forms, colors, 
 and motions has as much to do with the existence 
 of such feelings as the nature of these objects of per- 
 ception. The very same colors and forms, in certain 
 
126 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 combination, are very displeasing, when in others thej 
 are beautiful. Tims, also, certain motions in certain 
 circumstances are very beautiful or sublime, and in 
 others very displeasing. The very same sounds, also, 
 may be made either very disagreeable or very delight- 
 ful, according to their combination. 
 
 To account for this, it is necessary to understand 
 that objects which tend to awaken emotions of a di- 
 rectly opposite nature can not both operate on the mind 
 without causing disagreeable feelings. If we are sur- 
 rounded by objects of awe and solemnity, it is painful 
 to notice objects that are mean or ludicrous. If we are 
 under the influence of sprightly and humorous feelings, 
 it is painful to encounter solemn and pensive scenes, 
 with which, perhaps, at other times, we should be 
 pleased. In order, therefore, to awaken emotions of 
 beauty and sublimity, there must exist a congridty in 
 the arrangement and composition of parts which will 
 prevent the operation of causes that would awaken in- 
 congruous emotions. 
 
 But there is another principle which has a still more 
 powerful operation in regard to the effect of combina- 
 tion and composition. We are always accustomed to 
 view objects with some reference to their nature and 
 use. We always feel that every effect must have a 
 cause, and that every contrivance has some design 
 which it was made to accomplish. 
 
 There is no intellectual attribute of mind which is 
 regarded with more admiration than loisdom, which is 
 always shown in selecting the best means for accom- 
 plishing a given end ; and the more interesting or im- 
 portant is the object to be secured, the more is the 
 
THE SUSCEPTIBILITIES — EMOTIONS OF TASTE. 127 
 
 mind pleased with discovering the wisdom exhibited 
 in adapting means to secure this end. Almost every 
 construction of nature or of art is regarded by the 
 mind as having some use and design. Xo mind, ex- 
 cept one bereft of its powers, would ever employ itself 
 in designing any thing which has no possible use, 
 either in benefiting or pleasing the designer or others ; 
 and should any such object be found, it would cause 
 only disgust, as exhibiting the fatuity of a mind which 
 spent its powers in contriving so useless a thing. 
 
 There are many objects which meet the eye of man 
 for which he in vain seeks the use and design ; but 
 such objects are never attended with the conviction 
 that there is no possible use to which they can be ap- 
 plied ; on the contrary, they more frequently provoke 
 curiosity, and awaken desire to discover their nature 
 and their use. There is a never-failing conviction at- 
 tending all our discoveries of new objects in nature 
 that there is some design or contrivance of which they 
 form a link in the chain. 
 
 Whenever the object of any design is ascertained, 
 immediately there commences an examination of the 
 modes by which this object is to be effected. If every 
 thing is found to harmonize — if a relation of fitness and 
 propriety is discovered in every part, the mind is sat- 
 isfied with the exhibition of wisdom which is thus 
 discovered. But if some parts are found tending to 
 counteract the general design of the contrivance, the 
 object is displeasing. Every work of art, then, de- 
 pends, for the pleasure it affords, not alone on the va- 
 rious forms, colors, sounds, and motions which are 
 combined to afiect the senses, but on the nature of the 
 
128 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 design intended, and on the skill which is shown in so 
 composing and arranging the several parts that each 
 shall duly aid in cftecting this design. This is the 
 particular in which the genius of the painter, the sculp- 
 tor, the architect, the musician, and the poet is espe- 
 cially exhibited. 
 
 Another particular to be noticed in reference to this 
 subject is the implanted principle of curiosity, or the 
 desire which the mind feels to discover what is new. 
 After we have discovered the object for which a thing 
 is contrived, and the fit adjustment of every part to 
 this object, one cause of interest in it ceases. And 
 objects which have been the subjects of repeated ob- 
 servation and inspection never yield so much interest 
 as those which afford to the mind some fresh opportu- 
 nity to discover neio indications of design, and of fitness 
 in the means for accomplishing the design. The love 
 of novelty, then, is a powerful principle in securing 
 gTatification to the mind. Of course, the genius of 
 the artist is to be displayed, not only in arranging the 
 several parts so as to accomplish a given design, but 
 in the very effort to secui'e a design which is new, so 
 that the mind will have a fresh object for exercising its 
 powers in detecting the fitness of means for accom- 
 plishing a given end. 
 
 From the preceding, we recapitulate the following 
 causes for the pleasurable emotions which are felt in 
 view of certain objects of sight, and in certain combi- 
 nations of sound : They recall emotions which, in past 
 experience, have been connected with the conception 
 of operations and emotions of other minds, or with 
 material objects that were regarded as the causes of 
 
THE SUSCEPTIBILITIES — EMOTIONS OF TASTE. 129 
 
 pleasurable emotions to ourselves ; they recall emo- 
 tions that are congruous in their nature ; they cause 
 emotions of pleasure from the discovery of fitness in 
 design and composition ; and, finally, they awaken 
 emotions of novelty. 
 
 Emotions of taste that are painful are caused by the 
 presence of objects that recall painful emotions with 
 which they have formerly been connected ; by objects 
 that recall incongruous emotions ; by objects that ex- 
 hibit a want of fitness and design ; and by objects 
 that are common, when the mind has been led to ex- 
 pect novelty. 
 
 OBJECTS, MOTIONS, AND SOUNDS THAT CAUSE EMO- 
 TIONS OF TASTE. 
 
 The causes which produce emotions of taste have 
 now been pointed out. An inquiry as to v:hich are 
 the objects, motions, and sounds, and their various 
 combinations, that, in our experience, have awakened 
 such emotions, may lead to facts that will establish 
 the position assumed. 
 
 Emotions of taste generally are divided into two 
 classes, called emotions of siiblimity and emotions of 
 beauty. Emotions of sublimity resemble those which 
 exist in the mind at the display of great intellectual 
 power, and at exhibitions of strong passion and emo- 
 tions in another mind. Emotions of beauty resemble 
 those which are experienced at the exhibition of the 
 more gentle emotions of mind, such as pity, humility, 
 meekness, and afiectioi?i. 
 
 F2 
 
130 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 Of Sounds, 
 
 All sounds are sublime which in past experience 
 have been associated with the strong emotions of fear 
 and terror. Such sounds are heard in the roar of ar- 
 tillery, the howling of a storm, the roll of thunder, and 
 the rumbling of an earthquake. Sounds are sublime, 
 also, which convey an idea of great power and might. 
 This is illustrated in the emotions felt at the uproot- 
 ing of trees and the prostration of nature before a 
 whirlwind ; in the force of the rolling waves, as they 
 dash against the cliffs ; and in art, by the working of 
 some ponderous and mighty engine, that astonishes 
 with the immense resistance it can overcome. 
 
 Other sounds, also, are sublime which have often 
 been associated with emotions of awe, solemnity, or 
 deep melancholy. Such are the tolling of a heavy 
 bell and the solemn notes of the organ. 
 
 There may be certain circumstances that render a 
 sound, that otherwise would be very gentle and beau- 
 tiful, more strongly sublime than even those sounds 
 that are generally most terrific. Gray describes such 
 a combination of circumstances in a letter to a friend. 
 "Did you never observe," said he, "while rocking 
 winds are piping loud, that pause, as the gust is re- 
 collecting itself, and rising upon the ear in a shrill and 
 plaintive note, like the swell of the ^Eolian harp ? I 
 do assure you there is nothing in the world so like 
 the voice of a spiriV 
 
 We have another example in Scripture : " And be- 
 hold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind 
 rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks be- 
 
THE SUSCEPTIBILITIES — EMOTIONS OF TASTE. 131 
 
 fore the Lord ; but the Lord was not in the wind ; 
 and after the wind an earthquake ; but the Lord was 
 not in the earthquake ; and after the earthquake a fire ; 
 but the Lord was not in the fire ; and after the fire a 
 still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard 
 it, he wrapped his face in a mantle." In both these 
 cases, the sudden silence and the still small voice, so 
 contrasted with the tumult around, would awaken the 
 most thrilling emotions of the sublime. In some cases 
 it is the sense which these sounds awaken of the pres- 
 ence of some awful and powerful Being that causes 
 such emotions. 
 
 There are a great variety of sounds that are called 
 beautiful. Such are the sound of a distant waterfall, 
 the murmur of a rivulet, the sighing of the wind, the 
 tinkling of the sheepfold, the lowing of distant kine, 
 and the note of the shepherd's pipe. But it must be 
 remarked that it is always a combination of circum- 
 stances that make sounds either sublime or beautiful. 
 If we know, by the source from which they originate, 
 that they are caused by no display of power or dan- 
 ger, or if necessarily they have low and mean associa- 
 tions connected with them, the emotions of the sublime 
 or beautiful, which would otherwise recur, are prevent- 
 ed. Thus the rumbling of a cart is sublime when it 
 is believed to be thunder, and loses this character when 
 its true cause is discovered. The sound of the lowing 
 of kine in certain circumstances is very beautiful, and 
 in others very vulgar and displeasing. 
 
 Music seems to owe its chief power over the mind 
 to the fact that it can combine all kinds of sounds that 
 have ever been associated with any emotions, either of 
 
132 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 dignity, awe, and terror; or of joy, sprightliness, and 
 mirth ; or of tenderness, melancholy, and grief. Its 
 power depends on the nature of the particular sounds, 
 and also on the nature of their combination and suc- 
 cession in relation to time, and in relation to a certain 
 sound which is called the fundamental or key note. 
 
 The art of a musical composer consists in the abil- 
 ity with which he succeeds in producing a certain 
 class of emotions which he aims to awaken. The 
 more finished productions of this art are never relished 
 till long observation and experience enable the listener 
 to judge of the nature of the design, and with how 
 much success the composer has succeeded in effecting 
 it. Music, when adapted to certain words, has its na- 
 ture and design more clearly portrayed, and in such 
 productions it is easier to judge of the success of the 
 composer. 
 
 Of Color, 
 
 There are no colors which ordinarily excite so strong 
 an emotion as to be called sublime. The deep black 
 of mourning and the rich purple of royalty approach 
 the nearest to this character. That colors acquire 
 their power in awakening agreeable or disagreeable 
 emotions simply from the emotions which have ordi- 
 narily existed in connection with them, appears from 
 the fact that the associations of mankind are so exceed- 
 ingly diverse on this subject. What is considered a 
 dignified and solemn color in one nation is tawdry and 
 vulgar in another. Thus, with us, yellow is common 
 and tawdry, but among the Chinese it is a favorite 
 color. Black, with us, has solemn and mournful as- 
 
THE SUSCEPTIBILITIES — EMOTIONS OF TASTE. 133 
 
 sociations, but in Spain and Venice it is an agreeable 
 color. White, in this country, is beautiful, as the 
 emblem of purity and innocence, but in China it is the 
 sorrowful garb of mourning. 
 
 Of Forms. 
 
 Forms that awaken emotions of sublimity are such 
 as have been associated with emotions of danger, ter- 
 ror, awe, or solemnity. Such are military ensigns, 
 cannon, the hearse, the monument of death, and vari- 
 ous objects of this kind. Those forms which distin- 
 guish bodies that have great strength, or which are 
 enduring in their nature, awaken the same class of 
 emotions. Thus the Gothic castle, the outline of rocks 
 and mountains, and the form of the oak, are examples. 
 Bodies often appear sublime from the mere circum- 
 stance of size, when compared with objects of the same 
 kind. Thus the pyramids of Egypt are an example 
 where relative size, together with their imperishable 
 materials, awakens emotions of sublimity. The ideas 
 of beauty of form depend almost entirely on their fit- 
 ness to the object for which they are designed, and on 
 many casual associations with which they are con- 
 nected. 
 
 Of Motion, 
 
 All motion that awakens sublime ideas is such as 
 conveys the notion of great force and power. Motions 
 of this kind are generally in straight or angular lines. 
 Such motions are seen in the working of machinery, 
 and in the efforts of animal nature. Quick motion is 
 more sublime than slow. Motions that awaken ideas 
 
134 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 of beauty are generally slow and curving. Such are 
 the windings of the quiet rivulet, the gliding motion 
 of birds through the air, the waving of trees, and the 
 cuiding of vapor. 
 
 In regard to the beauty and sublimity of forms and 
 color, it is equally true, as in reference to sound, that 
 the alteration of circumstances will very materially al- 
 ter the nature of the emotions connected with them. 
 If they are so combined as to cause incongruous emo- 
 tions, or if they do not harmonize with the general de- 
 sign of any composition, emotions of the sublime or 
 beautiful are not awakened. For example, if the vivid 
 green, which is agreeable in itself from the pleasing 
 emotions which have been connected with it, is com- 
 bined with a scene of melancholy and desolation, where 
 the design of the artist is to awaken other than lively 
 emotions, it appears incongruous and displeasing. 
 
 The art of the poet consists in the use of such lan- 
 guage as awakens emotions of beauty and sublimity, 
 either by recalling conceptions of various forms, col- 
 ors, and motions in nature, which are beautiful and 
 sublime, or the strong and powerful, or the soft and 
 gentle emotions of mind. 
 
 Emotions of moral sublimity are such as are felt in 
 witnessing exhibitions of the force of intellect or of 
 strong feelings. 
 
 Emotions of moral beauty are those that are felt in 
 witnessing the exhibition of the gentler and tender 
 emotions of mind. These emotions are much more 
 powerful and delightful than when they are more faint- 
 ly recalled by those objects of perception which are 
 called sublime and beautiful. 
 
THE SUSCEPTIBILITIES — EMOTIONS OF TASTE. 135 
 
 The taste is improved by cultivating a love for in- 
 tellectual endowments and moral qualities. It is also 
 cultivated by gaining an extensive knowledge of ob- 
 jects and scenes which, either in history, or in poetry, 
 or in any compositions of the fine arts, have been as- 
 sociated with emotions. It is also cultivated by learn- 
 ing the rules of fitness and propriety, by studying 
 works of taste, by general reading, by intercourse with 
 persons of refinement and taste, and by a nice obser- 
 vation of the adaptation and fitness of things in the 
 daily intercourse and pursuits of life. 
 
 The liighest efibrts of taste are exhibited in the 
 works of artists who make such pursuits the express 
 object of their profession. 
 
 But in ordinary life the cultivation of taste is chief- 
 ly exhibited in the style, furniture, and decoration of 
 private dwellings, and in the dress and ornaments of 
 the person. In reference to these, there is the same 
 opportunity for gratifying the eye as there is in the 
 compositions of the fine arts. On these subjects there 
 are rules in regard to color, outline, and combination, 
 and also rules of fitness and propriety, of which every 
 person of taste sensibly feels the violation. In the 
 construction of dwelling-houses, in the proportion of 
 rooms, in the suitableness of colors, in the fitness of all 
 circumstances to the spot of location, to the habits and 
 circumstances of the proprietor, to ideas of convenience, 
 and to various particulars which may be objects of re- 
 gard, in all these respects the eye of taste ever is pre- 
 pared to distinguish beauties or defects. 
 
 As it regards dress, every individual will necessari- 
 ly exhibit, to a greater or less extent, the degree in 
 
136 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 which taste has been cultivated. A person of real re- 
 finement of taste will always have the dress consist- 
 ent with the circumstances of fortune, the relative rank 
 in life, the station and character, the hour of the day, 
 the particular pursuit or profession, and the period of 
 life. 
 
 If a person is dressed with a richness and elegance 
 which fortune does not warrant, if the dress is either 
 inferior or superior to that of others of the same rank 
 and station, if it is unfitted to the hour or the pursuit, 
 if youth puts on the grave dress of age, or age assumes 
 the bright colors and ornaments of youth, in all these 
 cases the eye of taste is offended. 
 
 In the adaptation of colors to complexions, and the 
 style of dress to the particular form of the person ; in 
 avoiding the extremes of fashion, the excesses of orna- 
 ment, and all approaches to immodesty — in all these 
 respects a good taste can be displayed in dress, and 
 thus charm us in every-day life. A person of cultiva- 
 ted taste, in all that relates to the little arrangements 
 of domestic life, the ornaments of the exterior and in- 
 terior of a dwelling, the pursuits of hours of relaxation 
 and amusement, the modes of social intercourse, the 
 nice perception of proprieties in habits, manners, modes 
 of address, and the thousand little every-day incidents 
 of life, will throw an undefined and nameless charm 
 around, like the soft light of heaven, that, without daz- 
 zling, perpetually cheers. 
 
 Emotions of the Ludicrous, 
 There is a certain class of feelings called emotions 
 of the ludicrous, which are the causes of laughter. 
 
THE SUSCEPTIBILITIES — EMOTIONS OF TASTE. 137 
 
 These are generally pleasurable in their nature, though 
 there are times when the emotions which produce 
 laughter are painful. Emotions of this kind are usu- 
 ally caused by the sudden union of certain ideas in 
 our conceptions when the laws of association appear to 
 be violated. Such ideas are called incongruous, be- 
 cause, according to the ordinary experience of our 
 minds, they would not naturally have appeared to- 
 gether. 
 
 In order to awaken this emotion, it is not only nec- 
 essary that the mind should discover ideas united which 
 have not ordinarily been so in past experience, but those 
 which are united in direct opposition to the laws of 
 association Thus, if there has been a union of cer- 
 tain qualities in an object which have unifomily tend- 
 ed to produce emotions of a dignified and solemn kind, 
 and some particular is pointed out which is mean, lit- 
 tle, or low, the unexpected incongruity occasions mirth. 
 
 In like manner, when an object in past experience 
 has uniformly united ideas which awakened emotions 
 of contempt, if some particular is pointed out in asso- 
 ciation with these which is grand or sublime, this in- 
 congruity occasions an emotion of the ludicrous. This 
 is the foundation of the amusement produced by bom- 
 bastic writings, where objects that are grand and sub- 
 lime have low and mean conceptions connected with 
 them, or where qualities that are insignificant or mean 
 are connected with those which are grand and sublime. 
 
 The following example of the union of such incon- 
 gruous ideas will illustrate : 
 
 *' And now had Phoebus in the lap 
 Of Thetis taken out his nap, 
 
138 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 And, like a lobster boiled, the mom 
 From black to red began to turn." 
 
 The sublime ideas connected with the sun, and the 
 classical associations united with the name of Thetis, 
 would not naturally have recalled the idea of so insig- 
 nificant an animal, nor the changes produced in cook- 
 ing it, and these connections violate the ordinary laws 
 of association. 
 
 Emotions of the ludicrous are also produced by the 
 sudden conception of some association in ideas which 
 has never before been discovered. Thus, if ideas have 
 been united in the mind on some other principle of 
 association than that of resemblance, the sudden dis- 
 covery of some unexpected resemblance will produce 
 mirth. This is the foundation of the merriment pro- 
 duced by pu7is, where the ideas w^hich the words rep- 
 resent would never have been united by the principles 
 of association, but the union of these ideas is effected 
 on the principle of resemblance between the sounds of 
 the words which recall these ideas. When the mind 
 suddenly perceives this unexpected foundation for the 
 union of ideas that in all other respects are incongru- 
 ous, an emotion of the ludicrous is produced. This is 
 also the foundation of the pleasure which is felt in the 
 use of alliteration in poetry, where a resemblance is 
 discovered in the initial sound of words that recall 
 ideas which in all other respects are incongruous. 
 
 All minds enjoy the excitement of this class of emo- 
 tions, but some much more than others. Laughter^ 
 which is the effect of this class of emotions, is enjoyed 
 more or less by all mankind, and is regarded as not 
 only an agi*eeable, but as a healthful exercise. 
 
THE MORAL SUSCEPTIBILITIES. 139 
 
 CHAPTER XYIL 
 
 THE MORAL SUSCEPTIBILITIES. 
 
 A BRIEF reference has been made to those suscepti- 
 "bilities which are the subject of this chapter. These, 
 from their importance, are entitled to a more enlarged 
 consideration. 
 
 Before proceeding, however, it is desirable to refer to 
 the uses of the term morale inasmuch as it often is em- 
 ployed with a vague comprehension of its signification. 
 In its widest sense it signifies ichatever relates to the 
 regulation of mind by motives in distinction from 
 those influences that produce involuntary results. 
 
 In a more limited sense, it signifies whatever relates 
 to the regulation of mind in reference to the rules of 
 right and lorong. 
 
 In the preceding pages it has been assumed that the 
 grand object for which the Creator formed mind and 
 all things is to produce the greatest possible happiness 
 with the least p)Ossible evil, and that this design is so 
 impressed on the human mind that the needless de- 
 struction of happiness is felt to be wrong — that is, 
 contrary or unfitted to the design of all things ; while 
 all that tends to promote happiness is felt to be nght, 
 or consistent with this plan. 
 
 In order to a more clear view of this part of the 
 subject, it is important to inquire as to the manner in 
 which the ideas of right and icrong seem to originate. 
 
 The young child first notices that certain actions 
 
140 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 of its own are regarded with smiles and tones of love 
 and approval, while other acts occasion frowns and 
 tones of displeasure. 
 
 Next, it perceives that whatever gives pleasure to 
 itself and to others is called good and rights while 
 whatever causes unpleasant feelings is called had and 
 v:rong. Moreover, it notices that there is a right and 
 wi'ong way to hold its spoon, to use its playthings, to 
 put on its clothes, and to do multitudes of other 
 things. It thus perceives, more and more, that there 
 is some rule to regulate the use and action of all 
 things, both animate and inanimate, and that such 
 rules always have reference to some plan or design. 
 
 As its faculties develop and its observation en- 
 larges, the general impression is secured that all plans 
 and contrivances of men are designed to promote en- 
 joyment or to prevent discomfort, and are called good 
 and right just so far as this is done. At the same 
 time, all that tend to discomfort or pain are called bad 
 and wrong. 
 
 In aU the works of nature around, too, every thing 
 that promotes enjoyment is called good and right, and 
 the opposite is called evil and wrong. 
 
 At last there is a resulting feeling that the great de- 
 sign of all things is to secure good and prevent evil, 
 and that whatever is opposed to this is wrong, and un- 
 fitted to the object for which all things exist. The 
 question whether this impression is owing solely to 
 observation or partly to mental constitution is waived 
 as of little practical consequence. 
 
 But, in the experience of infancy and childhood, the 
 law of sacrifice is speedily developed. It is perceived 
 
' THE MOEAL SUSCEPTIBILITIES. 141 
 
 that mucli of the good to "be gained, if sought to excess, 
 occasions pain, so that there must be a certain amount 
 of self-denial practiced, which, to the young novice, 
 sometimes involves disappointment and discomfort. 
 It is also seen that frequently two or more enjoyments 
 are oflfered which are incompatible, so that one must be 
 relinquished to gain the other. It is perceived, also, 
 that there is a constant calculation going on as to 
 which will be the hest — that is, which will secure the 
 most good with the least evil. And the child is con- 
 stantly instructed that it must avoid excess, and must 
 give up what is of less value to secure the greater 
 good. All this training involves sacmfices which are 
 more or less painful, so that a young child will some- 
 times cry as it voluntarily gives up one kind of pleas- 
 ure as the only mode of securing what is preferred. 
 
 It is perceived, also, that there is a constant haU 
 ancing of good and evil, so that a given amount of 
 enjoyment cancels or repays for a certain amount of 
 evil. When a great amount of enjoyment is pur- 
 chased by a small degree of labor or trouble, the com- 
 jpound result is deemed a good, and called right ; on 
 the contrary, when the evil involved exceeds a given 
 amount in comparison to the good, the compound re- 
 sult is called evil and wrong. 
 
 Thus is generated the impression that there is a 
 law of sacrifice instituted requiring the greatest possi- 
 ble good with the least possible evil, and that this is 
 the great design of all things. 
 
 The impression is, not merely that we are to seek 
 enjoyment and avoid pain, but that we are to seek the 
 greatest ^possible good with the least jpossible evil, and 
 
142 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 that in doing this we are to obey the law of sacrifice 
 and suffering, by which the greatest possible good is 
 to he bought by a certain amount of evil voluntarily 
 assumed. 
 
 In regard to this great law of sacrifice, the highest 
 part of it is discerned in the earliest experiences of 
 life. The young child very soon perceives that its 
 mother and its other friends are constantly making 
 sacrifices for its own good, and bearing inconveniences 
 and trouble for the good of those around. And those 
 who perform such acts of benevolent self-sacrifice are 
 praised, and their conduct is called good and right. 
 Yoluntary suffeAng to promote the loelfare of oth- 
 ers is discerned to be the highest kind of good and 
 right conduct in the estimation of all. 
 
 The first feature, then, in our moral nature is that 
 impression of the great design of our Creator which 
 furnishes us the means of deciding on the rectitude of 
 all voluntary action. 
 
 The second feature of our moral constitution is what 
 is ordinarily called the sense of justice. It is that sus- 
 ceptibility which is excited at the view of the conduct 
 of others as voluntary causes of good or evil. 
 
 In all cases where free agents act to promote hap- 
 piness, an emotion of approval arises, together with a 
 desire of reward to the author of the good. On the 
 contrary, when there is a voluntary destruction of hap- 
 piness, there is an emotion of disapproval and a desire 
 for retributive pain on the author of the wrong. 
 
 These emotions are instinctive, and not at all regu- 
 lated by reason in their inception. When an evil is 
 done, an instant desire is felt to discover the cause ; 
 
THE MOEAL SUSCEPTIBILITIES. 143 
 
 and when it is found, an instant desire is felt to inflict 
 some penalty. So irrational is this impulse, that chil- 
 dren will exhibit anger and deal blows on inanimate 
 objects that cause pain. Even mature minds are some- 
 times conscious of this impulse. 
 
 It is the office of the intellect to judge whether the 
 deed was a voluntary one, whether the agent intended 
 the mischief, and whether a penalty will be of any use. 
 The impulse to punish is never preceded by any such 
 calculations. 
 
 That this impulse is an implanted part of our con- 
 stitution, and not the result of reason and experience, 
 is seen in the delight manifested by young children in 
 the narration of the nursery tale where the cruel uncle 
 who murdered the Babes in the Wood receives the ret- 
 ributions of Heaven. 
 
 Another feature in this sense of justice is the jpro- 
 jportion demanded between the evil done and the pen- 
 alty inflicted. That this also is instinctive, and not 
 the result of reason, is seen in the nurseiy, where chil- 
 dren will approve of slight penalties for slight offenses, 
 and severe ones for great ones, but will revolt from 
 any very great disproportion between the wrong act 
 and its penalty. As a general rule, both in the nurs- 
 ery and in the great family of mature minds, the great- 
 er the wrong done, the stronger the desire for a penal- 
 ty, and the more severe the punishment demanded. 
 
 Another very important point of consideration is the 
 universal feeling of mankind that the natural penal- 
 ties for wrong-doing are not sufficient, and that it is 
 an act of love as well as of justice to add to these pen- 
 alties. Thus the parent who forbids his child to eat 
 
144 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 green fruit will not trust to the results of the natural 
 penalty, but restrain by the fear of the immediate and 
 more easily conceived penalty of chastisement. 
 
 So, in the great family of man, the natural penalties 
 for theft are not deemed sufficient, but severe penalties 
 for the protection of property are added. 
 
 This particular is the foundation of certain distinc- 
 tions that are of great importance, which will now be 
 pointed out. 
 
 We find the terms " reward dixidi punishnenf used 
 in two different relations. In the first and widest 
 sense they signify not only the penalties of human 
 law, but those natural consequences which, by the con- 
 stitution of nature, inevitably follow certain courses of 
 conduct. 
 
 Thus an indolent man is said to receive poverty as 
 a punishment, and it is in this sense that his children 
 are said to be punished for the faults of their father. 
 
 The violations of natural law are punished without 
 any reference to the question whether the evil-doer in- 
 tended the wrong, or whether he sinned in ignorance, 
 or whether this ignorance was involuntary and una- 
 voidable. The question of the justice or injustice of 
 such natural penalties involves the great question of 
 the right and wrong of the system of the universe. Is 
 it just and right for the Creator to make a system in 
 which all free agents shall be thus led to obedience to 
 its laws by penalties as weU as rewards, by fear as well 
 as by hope ? This question will not be discussed 
 here. 
 
 Most discussions as to just rewards and penalties 
 ordinarily relate to the added penalties by which pa- 
 
THE MOEAL SUSCEPTIBILITIES. 145 
 
 rents, teachers, and magistrates enforce obedience to 
 natural or to statute law. 
 
 In these questions reference is always had to the 
 probable results of such rewards and penalties in se- 
 curing obedience. If experience has shown that cer- 
 tain penalties do secure obedience to wise and good 
 laws, either of nature or of human enactment, then 
 they are considered just. If they do not, they are 
 counted unwise and unjust. 
 
 So, if certain penalties are needlessly severe — that 
 is to say, if a less penalty will secure equal obedience, 
 then this also decides so severe a penalty to be unjust. 
 
 In deciding on the rectitude of the penalties of hu- 
 man enactments, it is always assumed to be unjust to 
 punish for any lack of knowledge and obedience when 
 the subject had no power to know and to obey. If « 
 choice to obey will not secure the act required of a free 
 agent, then a penalty inflicted for disobedience is al- 
 ways regarded as unjust. The only seeming excep- 
 tion to this is the case where a person, by voluntary 
 means, has deprived himself of ability to obey. But in 
 such cases the punishment is felt to be right, not be- 
 cause he does not obey when he has no power, but be- 
 cause he has voluntarily deprived himself of this pow- 
 er. And he is punished for destroying his abihty to 
 obey, and not for violating the law. 
 
 These things in human laws, then, are always de- 
 manded to make a penalty appear just to the moral 
 sense of mankind, namely, that the subject have power 
 to obey, and that he has opportunity to know the law, 
 and is not ignorant by any voluntary and improper 
 neglect. 
 
 a 
 
146 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 In all questions of justice, therefore, it is important 
 to discriminate l)etween those penalties that are inher- 
 ent as a part of the great system of the universe, and 
 for which the Creator alone is the responsible cause, 
 and those which result from voluntary institutions of 
 which men are the authors. 
 
 In connection with this subject, it is important to 
 recognize the distinction that exists in regard to two 
 classes of right and wrong actions. The first class in- 
 cludes those which are wrong in their nature and in all 
 supposable cases, such, for example, as the wanton in- 
 fliction of needless pain, or the breach of plighted faith, 
 or the returning of love and kindness with ungrateful 
 treatment. In all possible suppositions, the mind re- 
 volts from such actions as wrong and deserving of pen- 
 alties. It is this class of actions which, without any 
 reasoning, the mind never fails to disapprove, and to 
 desire should be visited w^ith retributive penalties. 
 
 The other class of right and wrong acts derive their 
 estimate solely from the circumstances in which they 
 occur. For example, a man is angiy and beats a lit- 
 tle child. Now the question whether his feelings and 
 action are right or wrong depends entirely on circum- 
 stances. If the child has done no evil and the per- 
 son knew it, his feelings and actions are wrong. But 
 if the person is a father correcting his child for some 
 heinous fault and with only a suitable degree of anger, 
 then the feeling and action are right. 
 
 There is another mode of estimating conduct by 
 which the same act may have two opposite characters, 
 according to the relation in which it is regarded. For 
 example, a good parent may give •svrong medicine to 
 
THE MORAL SUSCEPTIBILITIES. 147 
 
 Ms child, or punish an innocent one, believing him to 
 he guilty. 
 
 In such cases the act is right as it respects the mo- 
 tive or intention, and wrong as it respects the nature 
 of the action. It is sometimes the case that a man 
 may do a right action with a bad motive, and a wrong 
 action with a good motive. 
 
 Thus the same act is right in one relation, and 
 wrong in another. It is important that this distinc- 
 tion should be borne in mind. 
 
 The next feature in our moral constitution is the 
 susceptibility which is excited by the intellectual judg- 
 ment of our own feelings and conduct as either right 
 or wrong. 
 
 In case we decide them to be right, we experience 
 an emotion of self-approval which is very delightful ; 
 but if we decide that they are wrong, we experience an 
 immediate penalty in a painful emotion called remorse. 
 This emotion is always proportioned to the amount 
 of evil done, and the consciousness that it was done 
 knowingly and intentionally. No suffering is more 
 keen than the highest emotions of this kind, while 
 their pangs are often enduring and unappeasable. 
 Sometimes there is an attending desire to inflict retri- 
 bution on one's self as a mode of alleviating this dis- 
 tress. 
 
 This susceptibility is usually denominated con- 
 science. Sometimes this word is used to include both 
 the intellectual judgment of our conduct as right or 
 wrong, and the consequent emotions of approval or re- 
 morse ; sometimes it refers to the susceptibility alone. 
 Either use is correct, as in the connection in which it 
 
148 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 is employed the distinction can ordinarily be easily 
 made. 
 
 This analysis of our moral constitution furnishes 
 means for a clear definition of such terms as obligated, 
 ought, ought not, and the like. 
 
 A person is obligated or ought to do a thing when 
 he has the intellect to perceive that it is right, and the 
 moral susceptibilities just described. When he is des- 
 titute either of the intellect or of these susceptibilities, 
 he ceases to be a moral and accountable being. He 
 can no longer be made to feel any moral obligations. 
 
THE WILL. 149 
 
 CHAPTER XYIIL 
 
 THE WILL. 
 
 It is the jpower of choice which raises man to the 
 dignity of an intellectual and moral being. Without 
 this principle, he would be a creature of mere impulses 
 and instincts. He would possess susceptibilities of 
 happiness to be excited, and intellect to devise and 
 discover the modes of securing enjoyment ; but with- 
 out governing principle, the soul would be led captive 
 with each successive desire, or be the sport of chances 
 whenever conflicting desires were awakened. 
 
 He who formed man in his own perfect image left 
 not his work without this balance-power to regulate 
 the complicated springs of so wonderful an existence. 
 Man is now not only the image of his Creator as lord 
 of this lower world, but is, like him, the lord and mas- 
 ter of his own powers. 
 
 It has been shown that the constitution, both of 
 mind and of the world, is such that it is impossible in 
 the nature of things to gain every object which is the 
 cause of enjoyment. There is a constant succession of 
 selections to be made between different modes of secur- 
 ing happiness. A lesser good is given up for a gi-eat- 
 er, or some good relinquished altogether to avoid some 
 consequent pain. Often, also, some painful state of 
 mind is sought as the means of securing some future 
 good, or of avoiding some greater evil. Thus men 
 endure want, fatigue, and famine to purchase wealth. 
 
150 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 Thus the nauseous draught will be swallowed to avoid 
 the pains of sickness ; and thus the pleasures of do- 
 mestic affection will be sacrificed to obtain honor and 
 fame. The whole course of life is a constant succes- 
 sion of such decisions between different modes of se- 
 curing happiness and of avoiding pain. 
 
 Specific and Generic Volitions. 
 
 In noticing the operation of mind, it will be seen 
 that there is a foundation for two classes of volitions 
 or acts of choice, which may be denominated specific 
 and generic. 
 
 A specific volition is one that secui*es some partic- 
 ular act, such as the moving of the arm or turning of 
 the head. Such volitions are ordinarily consequent on 
 some more general purpose of the mind, which they 
 aid in accomplishing, and which is, therefore, denom- 
 inated a generic volition. For example, a man chooses 
 to make a certain journey : this is the generic volition, 
 and, in order to carry it out, he performs a great variety 
 of acts, each one of which aids in carrying out the ge- 
 neric decision. These specific acts of will, which tend 
 to accomplish a more general purpose, may also be 
 called subordinate^ because they are controlled by a 
 generic volition. 
 
 It can be seen that the generic volitions may them- 
 selves become subordinate to a stiU more comprehen- 
 sive purpose. Thus the man may decide to make a 
 journey, which is a generic volition in reference to all 
 acts subordinate to this end. But this journey may 
 be a subordinate part of a more general purpose to make 
 a fortune or to secure some other important end. 
 
THE WILL. 151 
 
 It is frequently the case that a generic purpose, 
 which relates to objects that require a long time and 
 many complicated operations, exists when the mind 
 seems almost unconscious of its power. For example, 
 a man may form a generic purpose to enter a profession 
 for which years will be required to prepare. And while 
 his whole course of action is regulated by this decis- 
 ion, he engages in pursuits entirely foreign to it and 
 which seem to engross his whole attention. These 
 pursuits may sometimes be such as are antagonistic to 
 his grand pm-pose, so as at least to imperil or retard its 
 accomplishment. And yet this strong and quiet pur- 
 pose remains, and is eventually carried out. 
 
 It is the case, also, that a generic volition may be 
 formed to be performed at some particular time and 
 place, and then the mind becomes entirely unconscious 
 of it till the appointed period and circumstances occur. 
 Then the decision becomes dominant, and controls all 
 other purposes. 
 
 Thus a man may decide that, at a specified hour, he 
 will stop his studies and perform certain gymnastic ex- 
 ercises. This volition is forgotten until the hour ar- 
 rives, and then it recurs and is carried out. 
 
 This phenomenon sometimes occurs in sleep. Some 
 persons, in watching with the sick, will determine to 
 wake at given hours to administer medicines ; then 
 they will sleep soundly till the appointed time comes, 
 when they will waken and perform the predetermined 
 actions. 
 
 In regard to the commencement of a generic pui-pose, 
 we find that sometimes it is so distinct and definite as 
 to be the subject of consciousness and memory. For 
 
152 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 example, a spendthrift, in some moment of suffering 
 and despondency, may form a determination to com- 
 mence a systematic course of thrift and economy, and 
 may actually carry it out through all his future life. 
 Such cases are often to be found on record or in every- 
 day life. 
 
 In other cases, this quiet, hidden, but controlling pur- 
 pose seems to be formed by unconscious and imper- 
 ceptible influences, so that the mind can not revert to 
 the specific time or manner when it originated. For 
 example, a child who is trained from early life to speak 
 the truth, can never revert to any particular moment 
 when this generic purpose originated. 
 
 It is sometimes the case, also, that a person will con- 
 template some generic volition before it occurs, while 
 the process of its final formation seems almost beyond 
 the power of scrutiny. For example, a man may be 
 urged to relinquish one employment and engage in an- 
 other. He reflects, consults, and is entirely uncertain 
 how he shall decide. As time passes, he gradually 
 inclines toward the proposed change, until, finally, he 
 finds his determination fixed, he scarcely knows when 
 or how. 
 
 Thus it appears that generic volitions commence 
 sometimes so instantaneously and obviously that the 
 time and influences connected with them can be rec- 
 ognized. In other cases, the decision seems to be a 
 gradual one, while in some instances the process can 
 be traced, and in others it is entirely unnoticed or for- 
 gotten. 
 
 It is in reference to such generic purposes that the 
 moral character of men is estimated. An honest man 
 
THE WILL. 153 
 
 is one who has a fixed purpose to act honestly in all 
 circumstances. A truthful man is one who has such 
 a purpose to speak the truth at all times. 
 
 In such cases, the degree in which such a purpose 
 controls all others is the measure of a man's moral 
 character in the estimate of society. 
 
 The history of mankind shows a great diversity of 
 moral character dependent on such generic volitions. 
 Some men possess firm and reliable moral principles 
 in certain directions, while they are very destitute of 
 them in others. 
 
 Thus it will be seen that some have formed a very 
 decided purpose in regard to honesty in business af- 
 fairs, who yet are miserable victims to intemperance. 
 Others have cultivated a principle called honor, that 
 restrains them from certain actions regarded as mean, 
 and yet they may be frequenters of gambling saloons 
 and other haunts of vice. 
 
 In the religious world, too, it is the case that some 
 who are very firm and decided on all points of religious 
 observances and in the cultivation of devotional emo- 
 tions, are guilty of very mean actions, such as some 
 worldly men of honor would not practice at the sacri- 
 fice of a right hand. 
 
 On Causes of Yolition. 
 
 It becomes, then, a most interesting subject of in- 
 quiry as to the causes which decide these diversities 
 of moral purposes, and also the causes which oper- 
 ate to give them more or less control over other prin- 
 ciples. 
 
 But, preliminary to this, it is necessary to secure 
 G2 
 
154 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 some discriminating accuracy in regard to the signifi- 
 cation of the word cause in its various uses. 
 
 This term, in its widest sense, signifies " that with- 
 out which a change loill not take place^ and with 
 which it will take place,'''' This is tlie leading idea 
 which is included in every use of the word. 
 
 But there is a foundation for three classes of causes 
 which may be denominated producing causes, occo/- 
 sional causes, and deciding causes. 
 
 A producing cause is that which produces a change 
 by the constitution of nature, so that in the given cir- 
 cumstances there is no power to do otherwise. 
 
 Occasional causes are those circumstances which are 
 indispensable to the action of producing causes. 
 
 Thus, when fire is applied to your powder, the fire 
 is the producing cause of the explosion, while the act 
 of contact between the fire and powder is the occasion- 
 al cause. 
 
 In regard to the action of mind in volition, the mind 
 itself is the producing cause, while excited desires and 
 objects to excite those desires are the occasional causes. 
 Or, in other words, mind is the producing cause of its 
 own volitions, and motives are the occasional causes. 
 
 On Deciding Causes of Volition. 
 
 But inasmuch as mind always has the power to 
 choose in either of two or more directions, the ques- 
 tion arises as to the causes which decide the direction 
 of volitions, and which may be called deciding causes. 
 Whenever it is asked, *' Why did a person choose to 
 do thus ?" the meaning is, What were the causes that 
 influenced him to decide thus ? 
 
THE WILL. 155 
 
 Now these causes are ascertained, as all others are, 
 by experience. Men are always stating to each other, 
 as well as noticing in their own experience, the causes 
 which decide their determinations. 
 
 First, in certain cases, where two or more objects 
 are presented, of which only one can be taken, the cause 
 assigned for the direction of the choice may be that one 
 excited a 6tro7iger desire thmi the other. A vast pro- 
 portion of human volitions are decided simply by the 
 fact that one object seems a greater good or excites a 
 stronger desire than any other, and is thus the stron- 
 gest motive. 
 
 But there are other cases where, of the objects pre- 
 sented, one excites the strongest desire, while the judg- 
 ment perceives that another will secure a greater good 
 on the whole. For example, in case of a sick person, 
 there may be placed a favorite drink that excites a 
 very strong desire, and beside it may stand a nauseous 
 medicine. In this case, the invalid may feel the 
 strongest desire for the drink, and yet choose the med- 
 icine as the greater good in its final results. 
 
 In such cases, what decides the direction of a voli- 
 tion is the judgment of the mind, that the object 
 chosen, though it does not excite the strongest desire, 
 is still the greater good. 
 
 Another deciding cause of volition is the nature of 
 the constitutional susceptibilities. For example, when 
 it is asked why did a man forsake domestic life and 
 become a soldier, the deciding cause may be that he 
 had a strong constitutional love of the excitement and 
 glory connected with that profession, and but little 
 susceptibility for the quiet enjoyments of domestic life. 
 
156 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 It is sometimes the case that a child, from its birth, 
 seems to possess a natural love for truth, so that in- 
 structions on that point are scarcely needed. In an- 
 other case, in the same family, and under exactly the 
 same training, will be found a child who has the con- 
 trary propensity, so that it costs years of careful train- 
 ing to form a principle of veracity. The same consti- 
 tutional variety wiU be found in reference to other vir- 
 tues. 
 
 Another deciding cause of volition are the habits. 
 The existence of a habit of obedience, for example, will 
 induce the formation of \drtuous purposes that would 
 never have existed but for this. A child who began 
 life with strong propensities to certain faults, by a wise 
 and careful training may secure habits that are fully 
 equal in power to the same constitutional traits in an- 
 other child. Often, in the result, it can not be seen 
 whether the generic purpose to be truthful, for exam- 
 ple, resulted mainly from natural constitution or from 
 the formation of habits. 
 
 The will itself also is more or less regulated by this 
 principle. When a child is trained constantly to sub- 
 mit to fixed rules, the will acquires increased ease and 
 facility in doing it. On the contrary, a mind that is 
 never controlled grows more and more averse to yield- 
 ing to any regulating principle. 
 
 Another deciding cause of volition is such a combi- 
 nation of circumstances as excites one class of desires, 
 while other sensibilities have no appropriate objects to 
 stimulate them. 
 
 For example, it may be asked. Why did a man choose 
 to drink and gamble ? The cause assigned may be the 
 
THE WILL. 157 
 
 presence of liquor and of tempting companions, and the 
 want of objects to excite higher susceptibilities. He 
 had no wise firiends, no business, and no higher sources 
 of enjoyment immediately around him. 
 
 Another deciding cause of volition is the existence 
 oi principle or gerieric purjpose. For example, it may 
 be asked. Why did a man choose to give up his liberty 
 and property when he could have secured them by false 
 testimony ? The answer may be that he was a truth- 
 ful man or a virtuous man — that is, he had formed a 
 strong generic purpose to speak the truth or to act 
 right on all occasions. 
 
 Another deciding cause of volition is the existence 
 of love and gratitude toward other minds, and the re- 
 flex influence of such minds in the bestowal of their 
 love, sympathy, teachings, and example. 
 
 This is the most powerful of all the influences which 
 secure and sustain generic volitions, as will be illus- 
 trated more at large in future pages. 
 
 Causes that regulate the Power of Generic Volitions. 
 
 The next inquiry relates to the causes which regu- 
 late ih.Q power of generic volition. 
 
 Among those causes, the most prominent is that 
 natural force of will which is strictly constitutional. 
 Some minds are formed by the Creator with great en- 
 ergy and great pertinacity of will, so that when a pur- 
 pose is formed, all subordinate volitions needful to car- 
 ry out this purpose seem easily controlled. Other 
 minds, on the contrary, possess a naturally feeble will, 
 so that no generic volition has a strong and steady 
 control, but is constantly interrupted in its power over 
 
158 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 subordinate volitions, or is easily changed by conflict- 
 ing desires. 
 
 In one case the person is denominated a man of firm 
 purpose or a man of a strong will. In the other case 
 he is called a man of yielding temperament or a weak 
 character. 
 
 The remaining causes that give strength to a gener- 
 ic purpose are most of those that have been enumer- 
 ated as causes of the direction of volition, or deciding 
 causes. These are the constitutional susceptibilities 
 — the habits — the surrounding circumstances — the ex- 
 istence of love and gratitude toward other minds, and 
 the reflex influence of such minds in the bestowal of 
 their love, sympathy, teachings, and example. 
 
 In all this variety of influences that decide those 
 generic volitions which are the foundation of moral 
 character, it must be remembered that in every case 
 the mind has the power to choose that which the judg- 
 ment decides to be the greatest good on the whole for 
 itself and for the commonwealth. 
 
 Sow one Mind causes Volitions in another Mind. 
 
 In this connection, it is important to secure exact 
 ideas of what is meant when one mind is spoken of as 
 the cause of the volitions of another mind. 
 
 Of course, in this relation, no mind can be the pro- 
 ducing cause of volition in any mind but itself. It 
 must be, then, either as occasional or as deciding 
 causes that we can influence other minds. 
 
 The only mode by which we can regulate the voli- 
 tions of other minds is by the employinent of motives 
 to stimulate desire, or by changing the constitutional 
 susceptibilities. 
 
THE WILL. 159 
 
 In the first case, men have power to so combine cir- 
 cumstances of temptation as to affect the most excita- 
 ble and powerful sensibilities, or they can remove those 
 objects and influences that sustain moral principle, or 
 by a long course of training they can form habits and 
 induce principles. The combinations of motive influ- 
 ences that one mind can bring to bear on another, as 
 temptations to right or wrong action, are almost in- 
 finite. 
 
 The other mode is by changing the constitutional 
 susceptibilities. This can sometimes be effected to a 
 certain degree by education and the formation of hab- 
 its. It can be still more directly effected through the 
 physical organization. For example, a child may be 
 trained to use coffee, tea, alcohol, or tobacco, till the 
 nervous system is shattered, and then a placid temper 
 becomes excitable, a generous nature grows sour and 
 selfish, an active nature becomes indolent, and multi- 
 tudes of other disastrous changes are the result. 
 
 These are the only two modes in which one mind 
 is ever regarded as the cause of right or wrong voli- 
 tion in other minds. 
 
 On a Ruling Purpose. 
 
 The most important of all the voluntary phenomena 
 is the fact that, while there can be a multitude of these 
 quiet and hidden generic purposes in the mind, it is 
 also possible to form one which shall be the dominant 
 or controlling one, to which all the other volitions, 
 both generic and specific, shall become subordinate. 
 In common parlance, this would be called the riding 
 passion. It may also be called the ruling purpose 
 
160 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 or controlling principle. This consists in the perma- 
 nent choice of some one mode of securing happiness 
 as the chief end or grand object of life. 
 
 We have set forth on preceding pages the chief 
 sources of happiness and of suffering to the human 
 mind. Now in the history of our race we find that 
 each one of these modes of enjoyment have been se- 
 lected by different individuals as the chief end of 
 their existence — as the mode of seeking enjoyment, to 
 which they sacrifice every other. Some persons have 
 chosen the pleasures of eating, drinking, and the other 
 grosser enjoyments of sense. Others have chosen 
 those more elevated and refined pleasures that come 
 indirectly from the senses in the emotions of taste. 
 
 Others have devoted themselves to intellectual en- 
 joyments as their chief resource for happiness. Oth- 
 ers have selected the exercise of physical and moral 
 power, as in the case of conquerors and physical he- 
 roes, or of those who have sought to control by moral 
 power, as rulers and statesmen. 
 
 Others have made the attainment of the esteem, ad- 
 miration, and love of their fellow-creatures their chief 
 end. Others, still, have devoted themselves to the 
 promotion of happiness around them as their chief in- 
 terest. Others have devoted themselves to the serv- 
 ice of God, or what they conceived to be such, and 
 sometimes by the most miserable life of asceticism 
 and self-torture. 
 
 Others have made it their main object in life to obey 
 the laws of rectitude and virtue. 
 
 In all these cases, the inoral character of the person, 
 in the view of all observers, has been decided by this 
 
THE WILL. 161 
 
 dominant volition, and exactly in proportion to the su- 
 premacy with which it has actually controlled all oth- 
 er purposes. 
 
 Some minds seem to have no chief end of life. Their 
 existence is a succession of small pui'poses, each of 
 which has its turn in controlling the life. Others have 
 a strong, defined, and all-controlling principle. 
 
 Now experience shows that both of these classes 
 are capable, the one o^ forming and the other of change 
 ing such a purpose. For example, in a time of peace 
 and ease there is little to excite the mind strongly ; 
 but let a crisis come where fortune, reputation, and 
 life are at stake, and men and women are obliged to 
 form generic decisions involving all they hold dear, 
 and many minds that have no controlHng purpose im- 
 mediately originate one, while those whose former rul- 
 ing aims were in one direction change them entirely to 
 another. 
 
 This shows how it is that days of peril create he- 
 roes, statesmen, and strong men and women. The 
 hour of danger calls all the energies of the soul into 
 action. Great purposes are formed with the strongest 
 desire and emotion. Instantly the whole current of 
 thought, and all the co-existing desires and emotions, 
 are conformed to these purposes. 
 
 The experience of mankind proves that a dominant 
 generic purpose may extend to a ivhole life, and actu- 
 ally control all other generic and specific volitions. 
 
162 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 Mode of Controlling the Intellect, Desires, and 
 Emotions. 
 
 We will now consider some of the modes by wliich 
 the will controls the intellect, desires, and emotions. 
 
 We have seen, in previous pages, the influence which 
 desire and emotion exert in making both our percep- 
 tions and conceptions more vivid. Whatever pur- 
 pose or aim in life becomes an object of strong de- 
 sire, is always distinctly and vividly conceived, while 
 all less interesting objects are more faint and indis- 
 tinct. 
 
 We have also seen that whenever any conception 
 arises it always brings connected objects, according to 
 certain laws of association, forming a new and com- 
 plex picture. 
 
 Whenever the mind is under the influence of a con- 
 trolling purpose, the object of pursuit is always more 
 interesting than any other. This interest always fast- 
 ens on those particulars in any mental combination 
 that are connected with the ruling purpose and seem 
 fitted to promote it, making them more vivid. Around 
 these selected objects their past associated ideas begin 
 to cluster, forming other complex pictures. In all these 
 combinations, those ideas most consonant with the lead- 
 ing interest of the mind become most vivid, and the 
 others fade away. 
 
 The grand method, then, for regulating the thoughts 
 is by the generic decisions of the mind as to the modes 
 of seeking enjoyment. 
 
 In regard to the power of the mind over its own 
 desires and emotions, it is very clear that these sensi- 
 
THE WILL. 163 
 
 bilities can not be regulated by direct specific volitions. 
 Let any person try to produce love, fear, joy, hope, or 
 gratitude by simply choosing to have them arise, and 
 it is soon perceived that no such power exists. 
 
 But there are indirect modes by which the mind can 
 control its susceptibilities. The first method is by 
 directing attention to those objects of thought which 
 are fitted to call forth such emotions. For example, 
 if we wish to awaken the emotion of fear, we can place 
 ourselves in circumstances of danger, or call up ideas 
 of horror and distress. If we wish to call forth emo- 
 tions of gratitude, we can direct attention to acts of 
 kindness to ourselves calculated to awaken such feel- 
 ings. If we wish to excite desire for any object, we 
 can direct attention to those qualities in that object 
 that are calculated to excite desire. In all these cases 
 the mind can, by an act of will, dii'ect its attention to 
 subjects calculated to excite emotion and desire. 
 
 The other mode of regulating the desires and emo- 
 tions is by the direction of our generic volitions. For 
 example, let a man of business, w^ho has never had any 
 interest in commerce, decide to invest all his property 
 in foreign trade. As soon as this is done, the name 
 of the ship that bears his all can never be heard or 
 seen but it excites some emotion. A storm, that before 
 would go unnoticed, awakens fear ; the prices in the 
 commercial markets, before unheeded, now awaken 
 fear or afibrd pleasure. And thus multitudes of va- 
 ried desires and emotions are called into existence by 
 this one generic volition. 
 
 One result of a purpose to deny an importunate pro- 
 pensity is frequently seen in the immediate or gradual 
 
164 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 diminution of that desire. For example, if a person 
 is satisfied that a certain article of food is injurious, 
 and resolves on total ahstinence^ it will be found that 
 the desire for it is very much reduced, far more so than 
 when the effort is to diminish the indulgence. 
 
 When a generic purpose is formed that involves 
 great interests, it is impossible to prevent the desires 
 and emotions from running consonant with this pur- 
 pose. The only mode of changing this current is to 
 give up this generic pui-pose and form another. Thus, 
 if a man has devoted his whole time and energies to 
 money-making, it is impossible for him to prevent his 
 thoughts and feelings from running in that direction. 
 He must give up this as his chief end, and take a no- 
 bler object, if he would elevate the whole course of liis 
 mental action. 
 
 These are the principal phenomena of the grand 
 mental faculty which is the controlling power of the 
 mind, and on the regulation of which all its other pow- 
 ers are dependent. 
 
FAITH OE BELIEF. 165 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 FAITH OR BELIEF. 
 
 We have shown that a belief in the reality of the 
 existence, hoth of mind and of matter, as causes, is one 
 of the implanted principles of mind. Some philoso- 
 phers have claimed that there is nothing in existence 
 but mind, and that all that is called matter is simply 
 ideas of things in the mind itself, for which there is no 
 corresponding reality. Others have claimed just the 
 opposite : that there is no such existence as an imma- 
 terial spirit, but that soul is the brain, or some other 
 very fine organization of matter. 
 
 In both cases, the assumptions not only have no ev- 
 idence to sustain them, but are contrary to the common 
 sense or reason of all mankind, and never can be really 
 believed. 
 
 "WYlqh perceptions are called into existence by the 
 agency of the senses, we can not help believing that 
 things are as they appear to us, unless we have some 
 evidence of deception either from disordered sensation 
 or some other cause. 
 
 But in regard to our conceptions we have two class- 
 es. One class is attended with the belief that they cor- 
 respond with realities, or the things they represent. 
 The other class is not attended with this belief. For 
 example, we can conceive of a house of a color, form, 
 and details such as we never saw, and this conception 
 is not attended with any belief of the reality of such 
 
166 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 an existence ; but when we conceive of the home of 
 our childhood, this conception is attended with a be- 
 lief of the reality of the thing conceived. 
 
 This illustration furnishes the means of defining 
 "M^^A" as "^Ae reality of things.'''' We conceive the 
 truth when our conceptions represent correctly the real- 
 ity of things, and we believe the truth when we feel 
 this correspondence to exist. We believe falsehood 
 when we have a conception attended by a feeling that 
 it represents the reality of things when it does not. 
 
 All our comfort, success, and happiness depend upon 
 believing the truth ; for just so far as our belief or 
 faith varies from the reality of things, we shall meet 
 with mistakes, disappointment, and sorrow. 
 
 Our beneficent Creator has so formed our minds and 
 our bodies that, in their natural, healthy state, our J9^r- 
 ceptions correspond with the reality of things uniform- 
 ly, while, as before stated, our belief or faith also thus 
 corresponds. 
 
 It is very rarely the case that disease or other causes 
 prevent this uniform correct perception and belief in 
 regard to all things that come within the reach of our 
 own senses. 
 
 It is only in regard to that knowledge that we gain 
 from the experience and testimony of others, or from 
 the process of reasoning, that we become liable to a 
 false belief. 
 
 !Men often impart their conceptions of things to us, 
 and we find that they do not correspond with realities. 
 
 We also, by a process of reasoning, often come to 
 conceptions of things, and a belief in them, which we 
 find to be false. 
 
FAITH OR BELIEF. 167 
 
 Evidence may be defined as all those causes which 
 tend to produce correct ideas of truth or the reality of 
 things. 
 
 Inasmuch as we find by experience that human tes- 
 timony and the process of reasoning do not uniformly 
 conduct us to right conceptions of realities, we find 
 that there are difierent degxees of belief according to 
 the nature of the evidence presented. 
 
 The highest kind of evidence is intuitive knowl- 
 edge, which is a uniform result of the constitution of 
 mind and its inevitable circumstances. This is called 
 intuitive knowledge or intuitive belief. 
 
 All other evidence is gained by experience or by 
 reasoning. The experience of other minds we gain by 
 testimony. This is called the evidence of testimony. 
 
 Belief diifers in degrees according to the nature and 
 amount of evidence perceived. The highest kind of 
 evidence produces what is called certainty. It is the 
 kind which is felt in reference to the intuitive truths. 
 There are all degrees of faith, from the highest cer- 
 tainty to entire incredulity or unbelief. 
 
 This fact lays the foundation for a distinction in 
 practical matters which it is very important to recog- 
 nize. It is often the case that there is an amount of 
 evidence that produces a conviction which rests in the 
 mind, but does not produce its appropriate j^^r^c^zcaZ 
 result. For example, a man in feeble health has read 
 enough on the subject to be convinced that a daily 
 bath in cool water would tend to restore strength, and 
 yet the belief does not secure the practice. But on a 
 review of the books which produced the conviction, or 
 on hearing some lecturer on health, the conviction be- 
 
168 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 comes more powerful, and leads to a corresponding 
 practice. 
 
 Now, in reference to the fact that there are multi- 
 tudes of convictions which are inoperative, which, if 
 vividly realized, would become principles of action, 
 there is a distinction made, in common parlance, be- 
 tween a dead or ideal faith, and a living or practical 
 faith. Still more is this distinction recognized in 
 matters of religion, as will be hereafter shown. 
 
 The question whether faith or belief is under the 
 control of the will, or whether it is necessary and inev- 
 itable, is one of very great importance both in regard 
 to our happiness and our obligations. 
 
 If belief is not under the control of the will, it must 
 be because either the mind has not the power of direct-^ 
 ing its attention to evidence, or because it is so made 
 that, when it perceives the truth, it can not distinguish 
 it from falsehood. 
 
 In regard to the first alternative, the control which 
 the mind has over its own train of thought has been 
 definitely pointed out and described in the articles on 
 attention and on the will. It appears that the icill is 
 the regulating principle, which governs all mental op- 
 erations by selecting the modes of happiness which the 
 intellect shall be employed in securing. ' Whatever 
 mode of present or of general happiness is selected, im- 
 mediately all conceptions which the judgment discerns 
 as having a fitness for accomplishing this object be- 
 come vivid and distinct, and recall their associate con- 
 ceptions. Thus it is the choice of any mode of en- 
 joyment by the will which determines the train of 
 thought. 
 
FAITH OR BELIEF. 169 
 
 When, therefore, any question is brought up which 
 demands attention to evidence, if the mind has some 
 desire to gratify, and the intellect discerns that the 
 conviction of this truth -will interfere with this chosen 
 plan of happiness, the will refuses attention to what is 
 not in consonance with the leading desire of the mind. 
 Where conviction of any truth is foreseen to interfere 
 with some plan of enjoyment akeady chosen, the only 
 way by which attention can be secured is by exhibit- 
 ing some evil that will follow inattention which will 
 more than counterbalance the good to be gained. In 
 this case, the mind may choose to attend, and run the 
 hazard of losing the particular mode of enjo3mient 
 sought in order to avoid the threatened evil from inat- 
 tention to evidence. 
 
 This is the method men pursue in all their inter- 
 course with each other. They find that their fellow- 
 men are unwillmg to believe what is contrary to their 
 own wishes and plans. But when they determine that 
 belief shall be secured, they contrive various modes to 
 make it appear either for their pleasure or their inter- 
 est to attend to evidence, or else they exhibit some 
 evil as the consequence of neglecting attention. 
 
 The only mode by which mankind are induced to 
 give their thoughts to the concerns of an invisible 
 world is by awakening then* hopes of future good to be 
 secured, or by stimulating their fears of future evils. 
 It thus appears, from the laws and operations of the 
 mind of which every person is conscious, and also from 
 the conduct and recorded experience of mankind, that 
 the mind has the power of directing its attention to 
 evidence. 
 
 H 
 
170 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 The other alternative which would establish the 
 principle that belief is not under the control of the 
 will is, that truth, when seen by the mind, can not be 
 distinguished from falsehood. But this, it can be seen, 
 involves a denial of the principles of reason and com- 
 mon sense. It is saying that the mind may have the 
 evidence of the senses, memory, and all the other 
 principles included in the laws of reason, and yet not 
 believe it ; for every process of reasoning is, in fact, 
 exhibiting evidence either of the senses, memory, or 
 experience, that a certain truth is included under a pri- 
 mary truth. 
 
 The only position which can be assumed without 
 denying the principles of reason and common sense is, 
 that belief, according to the laws of mind, is exactly 
 according to the ainount of evidence to which the mind 
 gives its attention. 
 
 In order to belief, then, two things are necessary, 
 viz., evidence, and the choice of the onind to attend to 
 this evidence. When both of these are attained, the 
 belief of truth and the rejection of falsehood are inev- 
 itable. 
 
 The influence which the will and desires have upon 
 our belief accounts for the great variety of opinions 
 among mankind on almost every subject of duty and 
 of happiness. 
 
 There are two ways in which the desires and wishes 
 regulate belief. In the first place, by preventing at- 
 tention to the subject which would lead to the belief 
 of truths that are inconsistent with the leading desires 
 of the mind. This, in a great measure, will account 
 for the great variety of religious belief. Keligion is a 
 
FAITH OR BELIEF. 171 
 
 subject wliich is felt to be inconsistent with the lead- 
 ing desii'es of most persons who are interested in the 
 pursuit of other enjoyments than those resulting from 
 obedience to God in the discharge of the duties of be- 
 nevolence and piety. It is a subject, therefore, which 
 receives so little examination that opinions in regard 
 to it are adopted with trifling attention. 
 
 The second cause of variety of behef is the effect 
 wliich desire has in making vivid those conceptions 
 which most agree with the leading purpose of the 
 mind. When the mind decides to examine the evi- 
 dence on any subject, if the decision involves questions 
 which have a bearing on some favorite purpose, all those 
 arguments which are most consonant with the desires 
 appear vivid and clear, and those which are contrary to 
 the wishes are fainter and less regarded. This is a 
 fact which universal experience demonstrates. Men 
 always fasten on evidence which favors their own 
 wishes, and but faintly conceive the evidence which is 
 opposed. This is a cause which operates most pow- 
 erfully in regard to religious truths whenever they in- 
 terfere with the leading desires. 
 
 This view of the subject exhibits the importance of 
 having the mind directed to proper objects ; for if the 
 mind is earnestly engaged in the pursuit of duty, it 
 will be pleased with every development of truth, for 
 truth and duty are never found to interfere. Tinith 
 is another name for "things as they are," and it is al- 
 ways the duty and happiness of man to regulate his 
 conduct by seeing things as they are, rather than by 
 seeing them in false relations. That man is best pre- 
 pared to discover truth who is most sincerely desirous 
 
172 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 to obtain it, and to regulate his feelings, words, and 
 conduct by its dictates. 
 
 There is nothing more obvious, from experience and 
 observation, than that men feel their ability to control 
 their belief, and realize both their own obligations and 
 those of their fellow-men on this subject. They loiow 
 that every man must act according to his belief of right 
 and wrong, and thus that the fulfillment of every duty 
 depends upon the nature of our belief. And the more 
 important are the interests involved in any question, 
 the more men perceive their obligations to seek for ev- 
 idence, and obtain the knowledge necessary to ena- 
 ble them to judge correctly. 
 
 The estimation of guilt among mankind, in reference 
 to wrong belief, is always proportioned to the inter- 
 ests involved and the opportunities for obtaining 
 knowledge. In the minute affairs of life, where but 
 little evil is done from false judgments, but little blame 
 is attached to a man for believing wrong. Neither is 
 a man severely judged if the necessary knowledge was 
 inaccessible or very difficult to be obtained. 
 
 But where a man has great interests committed to 
 his keeping, and has sufficient opportunity for obtain- 
 ing evidence of truth, the severest condemnation awaits 
 him who, through inattention or prejudice, hazards 
 vast interests by an incorrect belief. If an agent has 
 the charge of great investments, and through negli- 
 gence, or indolence, or prejudics ruins his employer, 
 his sincere belief is no protection from severe condem- 
 nation. If the physician has the health and life of a 
 valued member of the community and the object of 
 many affections intrusted to his skill, and from negli- 
 
FAITH OR BELIEF. 173 
 
 gence and inattention destroys the life he was appoint- 
 ed to save, his sincere behef is but a small palliation 
 of his guilt. If a judge has the fortune and life of his 
 fellow-citizens intrusted to his judicial knowledge and 
 integrity, and, through want of care and attention, is 
 guilty of flagrant injustice and evil, the plea of wrong 
 belief will not protect him from the impeachment and 
 just indignation which await such delinquencies. 
 
 There is no point where men are more tenacious of 
 the obligations of their fellow-creatures than on the 
 subject of belief. If they iind themselves calumni- 
 ated, unjustly dealt with, and treated with contempt 
 and scorn from prejudice or want of attention, the real- 
 ity of belief is little palliation of the guilt of those who 
 thus render them injustice. They feel the obligations 
 of their fellow-men to hnow the truth in all that re- 
 lates to their interests, honor, and good name ; and 
 often there is scarcely any thing which it is so difficult 
 to forgive as the simple crime of wrong belief. 
 
 The only modes by which men attempt to justify 
 themselves for guilt of this nature are to show either 
 that the matter was of small consequence, or that the 
 means of learning its importance and of obtaining the 
 other necessary information was not within reach. 
 
 It may be laid down, then, as a long-established ax- 
 iom in regard to tliis subject, that men estimate the 
 guilt of wrong belief in all matters relating to the wel- 
 fare of mankind in exact proportion to the value of the 
 interests involved, and to the opportunities enjoyed for 
 obtaining information. 
 
 Inasmuch as all our success and happiness depends 
 upon our belief of the truth, we have two of the prin- 
 
174 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 ciples of reason and common sense to guide us. The 
 first is, that we are to consider that to be right which 
 has the halance of evidence in its favor ; and the sec- 
 ond is, that nothing is to be assumed as true unless 
 there is some evidence that it is so. 
 
CONSTITUTIONAL VARIETIES OF MIND. 175 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 CONSTITUTIONAL VAEIETIES OF THE HUMAN MIND. 
 
 ' In the preceding chapters have "been presented the 
 most important mental faculties which are common to 
 tlie race. There are none of the powers and atti'ibutes 
 of the mind as yet set forth which do not belong to ev- 
 ery mind which is regarded as rational and complete. 
 
 But, though all the race have these in common, yet 
 we can not but observe an almost endless variety of 
 human character, resulting from the diverse j^'^^jpor- 
 tions and cotnbinations of these several faculties. 
 
 These constitutional differences may be noticed, first, 
 in regard to the intellectual powers. Some minds are 
 naturally predisposed to exercise the reasoning pow- 
 ers. Others, with precisely the same kind of culture, 
 have little relish for this, and little power of appreci- 
 ating an argument. 
 
 In other cases, the imagination seems to be the pre- 
 dominating faculty. In other minds there seems to 
 be an equal balance of faculties, so that no particular 
 power predominates. 
 
 Next we see the same variety in reference to the 
 susceptibilities. In some minds, the desire for love 
 and admiration is the predominating principle. In 
 others, the love of power takes the lead. Some are 
 eminently sympathizing. Others have a strong love 
 of rectitude, or natural conscience. In some, the prin- 
 
176 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 ciple of justice predominates. In others, benevolence 
 is the leading impulse. 
 
 Finally, in regard to the power of volition, as has 
 been before indicated, there are some that possess a 
 strong will that is decisive and effective in regulating 
 all specific volitions, while others possess various and 
 humbler measures of this power. 
 
 According to the science of Phrenology, some of these 
 peculiarities of mind are indicated by the size and 
 shape of different portions of the brain, and externally 
 indicated on the skull. 
 
 That these differences are constitutional, and not 
 the result of education, is clear from the many facts 
 showing that no degree of care or training w^ill serve to 
 efface these distinctive traits of the mind. To a cer- 
 tain degree they may be modified by education, and 
 the equal balance of the faculties be promoted, but 
 never to such a degree as to efface very marked pe- 
 culiarities. 
 
 In addition to the endless diversities that result 
 from these varied proportions and combinations, there 
 is a manifest variety in the grades of mind. Some 
 races are much lower in the scale of being every way 
 than others, while the same disparity exists in indi- 
 viduals of the same race. 
 
 The w^isdom and benevolence of this arrangement is 
 very manifest when viewed in reference to the interests 
 of a commonwealth. Where some must lead and oth- 
 ers follow, it is well that some have the love of power 
 strong, and others have it less. Where some must be 
 rulers, to inflict penalties as well as to apportion re- 
 wards, it is well that there be some who have the 
 
CONSTITUTIONAL VARIETIES OF MIND. 177 
 
 sense of justice a leading principle. And so in the 
 developments of intellect. Some men are to follow 
 callings where the reasoning powers are most needed. 
 Others are to adopt pursuits in which taste and imagi- 
 nation are chiefly required ; and thus the varied pro- 
 portions of these faculties become serviceable. 
 
 And if it be true that the exercise of the social and 
 moral faculties secures the highest degrees of enjoy- 
 ment, those disparities in mental powers which give 
 exercise to the virtues of compassion, self-denial, for- 
 titude, and benevolence in serving the weak, and the 
 corresponding exercises of gratitude, reverence, humil- 
 ity, and devotion in those who are thus benefited, then 
 we can see the wisdom and benevolence of this grada- 
 tion of mental capacity. 
 
 Moreover, in a commonwealth perfectly organized, 
 where the happiness of the whole becomes that of each 
 part, whatever tends to the highest general good tends 
 to the best interest of each individual member. This 
 being so, the lowest and humblest in the scale of be- 
 ing, in his appropriate place, is happier than he could 
 be by any other arrangement, and happier than he 
 could be if all were equally endowed. 
 H2 
 
178 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 HABIT. 
 
 Habit is a facility in performing physical or mental 
 operations, gained by the repetition of such acts. As 
 examples of this in physical operations may be men- 
 tioned the power of walking, which is acquired only 
 by a multitude of experiments ; the power of speech, 
 secured by a slow process of repeated acts of imita- 
 tion ; and the power of writing, gained in the same 
 way. Success in every pursuit of life is attained by 
 oft-repeated attempts, which finally induce a habit. 
 
 As examples of the formation of iritellectual habits 
 may be mentioned the facility gained in acquiring 
 knowledge by means of repeated efforts, and the accu- 
 racy and speed with which the process of reasoning is 
 performed after long practice in this art. 
 
 As examples of 'moral habits may be mentioned 
 those which are formed by the oft-repeated exercise of 
 self-government, justice, veracity, obedience, and in- 
 dustry. The will, as has been shown, gains a facility 
 in controlling specific volitions and in yielding obe- 
 dience to the laws of right action by constant use, as 
 much as all the other mental powers. 
 
 The happiness of man in the present state of exist- 
 ence depends not so much upon the circumstances in 
 which he is placed, or the capacities with which he is 
 endowed, as upon the formation of his habits. A 
 man might have the organ of sight, and be surrounded 
 
HABIT. 179 
 
 with all the beauties of nature, and yet, if he did not 
 form the habit of judging of the form, distance, and 
 size of bodies, most of the pleasure and use from this 
 sense would be wanting. The world and all its beau- 
 ties would be a mere confused mass of colors. 
 
 If the habits of walking and of speech were not ac- 
 quired, these faculties and the circumstances for em- 
 ploying them would not furnish the enjoyment they 
 were designed to secure. 
 
 It is the formation of intellectual habits by mental 
 discipline and study, also, which opens vast resources 
 for enjoyment that otherwise would be forever closed. 
 And it is by practicing obedience to parents that inor- 
 al habits of subordination are formed, which are indis- 
 pensable to our happiness as citizens, and as subjects 
 of the divine government. There is no enjoyment 
 which can be pointed out which is not, to a greater or 
 less extent, dependent upon this principle. 
 
 The influence of habit in regard to the law ofsacri- 
 fice is especially interesting. The, experience of mul- 
 titudes of our race shows that such tastes and habits 
 may be formed in obeying this law, that what was once 
 difficult and painful becomes easy and pleasant. 
 
 But this ability to secure enjoyment through habits 
 of self-control and self-denial, induced by long practice, 
 so far as experience shows, could never be secured by 
 any other method. 
 
 That the highest kinds of happiness are to be pur- 
 chased by more or less voluntary sacrifice and suffer'- 
 hig to procure good for others seems to be a part of 
 that nature of things which we at least may suppose 
 has existed from eternity. We can conceive of the 
 
180 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 eternal First Cause only as we imagine a mind on the 
 same pattern as our own in constitutional capacities, 
 but indefinitely enlarged in extent and action. Knowl- 
 edge, wisdom, power, justice, benevolence, and recti- 
 tude must be the same in the Creator as in ourselves, 
 at least so far as we can conceive ; and, as the practice 
 of self-sacrifice and suffering for the good of others is 
 our highest conception of virtue, it is impossible to re- 
 gard the Eternal ]\Iind as all-perfect without involving 
 this idea. 
 
 The formation of the habits depends chiefly upon 
 the leading desire or governing purpose, because what- 
 ever the mind desii-es the most it will act the most to 
 secure, and thus by repeated acts will form its habits. 
 The character of every individual, therefore, as before 
 indicated, depends upon the mode of seeking happiness 
 selected by the will. Thus the ambitious man has se- 
 lected the attainment of power and admiration as his 
 leading purpose, and v,diatever modes of enjoyment in- 
 terfere with this are sacrificed. The sensual man 
 seeks his happiness from the various gratifications of 
 sense, and sacrifices other modes of enjoyment that in- 
 terfere with this. The man devoted to intellectual 
 pursuits, and to seeking reputation and influence 
 through this medium, sacrifices other modes of enjoy- 
 ment to secure this gTatification. The man who has 
 devoted his affections and the service of his life to 
 God and the good of his fellow-men sacrifices all oth- 
 er enjoyments to secure that which results from the 
 fulfillment of such obligations. Thus a person is an 
 ambitious man, a sensual man, a man of literaiy am- 
 bition, or a man of piety and benevolence, accord- 
 
HABIT. 181 
 
 ing to the governing purpose or leading desire of the 
 mind. 
 
 There is one fact in regard to the choice of the lead- 
 ing object of desire, or the governing purpose of life, 
 which is very important. Certain modes of enjoy- 
 ment, in consequence of repetition, increase the desire, 
 but lessen the capacity of happiness from this source ; 
 while, in regard to others, gratification increases the 
 desire, and at the same time increases the capacity for 
 enjoyment. 
 
 The enjoyments through the senses are of the first 
 kind. It will be found, as a matter of universal expe- 
 rience, that where this has been chosen as the main 
 purpose of life, though the desire for such pleasures is 
 continually increased, yet, owing to the physical effects 
 of excessive indulgence, the capacity for enjoyment is 
 decreased. Thus the man who so degrades his nature 
 as to make the pleasures of eating and drinking the 
 great pursuit of life, while his desires never abate, 
 finds his zest for such enjoyments continually de- 
 creasing, and a perpetual need for new devices to stim- 
 ulate appetite and awaken the dormant capacities. 
 The pleasures of sense always pall from repetition — 
 grow " stale, flat, and unprofitable," though the de- 
 luded being who has slavishly yielded to such appe- 
 tites feels himself bound by chains of habit, which, 
 even when enjoyment ceases, seldom are broken. 
 
 The pleasures derived from the exercise of power, 
 when its attainment becomes the master passion, are 
 also of this description. The statesman, the politician, 
 the conqueror, are all seeking for this, and desire nev- 
 er abates while any thing of the kind remains to be 
 
182 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 attained. We do not find that enjoyment increases 
 in proportion as power is secured. On the contrary, 
 it seems to cloy in possession. Alexander, the con- 
 queror of the world, when he had gained all, Avept that 
 objects of desire were extinct, and that possession 
 could not satisfy. 
 
 But there are other sources of happiness, which, 
 while sought, the desire ever continues, and possession 
 only increases the capacity for enjoyment. Of this 
 class is the susceptibility of happiness from giving and 
 receiving affection. Here, the more is given and re- 
 ceived, the more is the power of giving and receiving 
 increased. AVe find that this principle outlives every 
 other, and even the decays of nature itself. When 
 tottering age on the borders of the grave is just ready 
 to resign its wasted tenement, often from its dissolving 
 ashes the never-dying spark of affection has burst 
 forth with new and undiminished lustre. This is that 
 immortal fountain of happiness always increased by 
 imparting, never surcharged by receiving. 
 
 Another principle which increases both desire and 
 capacity by exercise is the powder of enjoyment from 
 being the cause of hajopiness to others. Never w^as 
 an instance known of regret for devotion to the liappi- 
 ness of otliers. On the contrary, the more this holy 
 and delightful principle is in exercise, the more the de- 
 sires are increased, and the more are the susceptibili- 
 ties for enjoyment from this source enlarged. While 
 the votaries of pleasure are wearing down with the ex- 
 haustion of abused nature, and the votaries of ambi- 
 tion are sighing over its thorny wreath, the benevolent 
 spirit is exulting in the success of its plans of good, 
 
HABIT. 183 
 
 and reaching forth to still purer and more accomplish- 
 ed bliss. 
 
 This principle is especially true in regard to the 
 practice of rectitude. The more the leading aim of the 
 mind is devoted to right feeling and action^ or to obe- 
 dience to all the laws of God, the more both the desire 
 and the capacity of enjoyment from this source are in- 
 creased. 
 
 But there is another fact in regard to habit which 
 has an immense bearing on the well-being of our race. 
 When a habit of seeking happiness in some one partic- 
 ular mode is once formed, the change of this habit be- 
 comes difficult just in proportion to the degree of rep- 
 etition which has been practiced. A habit once form- 
 ed, it is no longer an easy matter to choose between 
 the mode of securing happiness chosen and another 
 which the mind may be led to regard as much supe- 
 rior. Thus, in gratifying the appetite, a man may feel 
 that his happiness is continually diminishing, and that, 
 by sacrificing this passion, he may secure much great- 
 er enjoyment from another source ; yet the force of 
 habit is such that decisions of the will perpetually 
 yield to its power. 
 
 Thus, also, if a man has found his chief enjoyment in 
 that admiration and applause of men so ardently de- 
 sired, even after it has ceased to charm, and seems 
 like emptiness and vanity, still, when nobler objects 
 of pursuit are offered, the chains of habit bind him to 
 his wonted path. Though he looks and longs for the 
 one that his conscience and his intellect assure him is 
 brightest and best, the conflict with bad habit ends in 
 fatal defeat and ruin. It is true that every habit can 
 
184 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 be corrected and changed, but nothing requires greater 
 firmness of purpose and energy of will ; for it is not 
 07ie resolution of mind that can conquer habit : it must 
 be a constant series of long-continued efforts. 
 
 The influence of habit in reference to emotions de- 
 serves special attention as having a direct influence 
 upon character and happiness. All pleasurable emo- 
 tions of mind, being grateful, are indulged and cher- 
 ished, and are not weakened by repetition unless they 
 become excessive. If the pleasures of sense are in- 
 dulged beyond a certain extent, the bodily system is 
 exhausted, and satiety is the consequence. If the love 
 of power and admiration is indulged to excess, so as to 
 become the leading purpose of life, they are found to be 
 cloying. But within certain limits all pleasurable emo- 
 tions do not seem to lessen in power by repetition. 
 
 But in regard to painful emotions the reverse is true. 
 The mind instinctively resists or flies from them, so 
 that after a habit of suppressing such emotions is 
 formed, until the susceptibility diminishes, and some- 
 times appears almost entirely destroyed. Thus a per- 
 son often exposed to danger ceases to be troubled by 
 fear, because he forms a habit of suppressing it. A 
 person frequently in scenes of distress and suffering 
 learns to suppress the emotions of painful sympathy. 
 The surgeon is an example of the last case, where, by 
 repeated operations, he has learned to suppress emo- 
 tions until they seldom recur. A person inured to 
 guilt gradually deadens the pangs of remorse, until 
 the conscience becomes " seared as with a hot iron." 
 Thus, also, with the emotion of shame. After a per- 
 son has been repeatedly exposed to contempt, and feels 
 
HABIT. 185 
 
 that he is universally despised, he grows callous to 
 any such emotions. 
 
 The mode by which the mind succeeds in forming 
 such a habit seems to be by that implanted principle 
 which makes ideas that are most in consonance with 
 the leading desire of the mind become vivid and dis- 
 tinct, while those that are less interesting fade away. 
 Now no person desires to witness pain except from 
 the hope of relieving it, unless it be that, in anger, the 
 mind is sometimes gratified with the infliction of suf- 
 fering. But, in ordinary cases, the sight of suffering 
 is avoided except where relief can be administered. In 
 such cases, the desire of administering relief becomes 
 the leading one, so that the mind is turned off from 
 the view of the suffering to dwell on conceptions of 
 modes of relief. Thus the surgeon and physician 
 gradually form such habits that the sight of pain and 
 suffering lead the mind to conception of modes of re- 
 lief, whereas a mind not thus interested dwells on the 
 more painful ideas. 
 
 The mind, also, can form a habit of inattention to 
 our own bodily sufferings by becoming interested in 
 other things, and thus painful sensations go unnoticed. 
 Some persons will go for years with a chronic head- 
 ache, and yet appear to enjoy nearly as much as those 
 who never suffer from such a cause. Again : those 
 who violate conscience seem to relieve themselves 
 from suffering by forming a habit of dwelUng on other 
 themes, and of turning the mind entirely from those 
 obligations which, when contemplated, would upbraid 
 and pain them. Thus, too, the sense of shame is 
 lost. A habit is formed of leading the mind from 
 
186 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 whatever pains it to dwell on more pleasurable con- 
 templations. 
 
 The habits of life are all formed either from the de- 
 sire to secure happiness or to avoid pain, and the fear 
 of suffering is found to be a much more powerful prin- 
 ciple than the desire of hapjphiess. The soul flies 
 from pain with all its energies, even when it will be 
 inert at the sight of promised joy. As an illustration 
 of this, let a person be fully convinced that the gift of 
 two new senses v/ould confer as great an additional 
 amount of enjoyment as is now secured by the eye 
 and ear, and the promise of this future good would 
 not stimulate with half the energy that would be 
 caused by the threat of instant and entire blindness 
 and deafness. 
 
 If, then, the mind is stimulated to form good habits 
 and to avoid the formation of evil ones most power- 
 fully by painful emotions, when their legitimate object 
 is not effected they continually decrease in vividness, 
 and the designed benefit is lost. If a man is placed 
 in circumstances of danger, and fear leads to habits of 
 caution and carefulness, the object of exciting this 
 emotion is accomplished, and the diminution of it is at- 
 tended with no eviL But if fear is continually ex- 
 cited, and no such habits are formed, then the suscep- 
 tibility is lessened, while the good to be secured by 
 it is lost. So, also, with emotions of sympathy. If 
 we witness pain and suffering, and it induces habits 
 of active devotion to the good of those who suffer, the 
 diminution of the susceptibility is a blessing and no 
 evil. But if we simply indulge emotions, and do not 
 form the habits they were intended to secure, the pow- 
 
HABIT. 187 
 
 er of sympathy is weakened, and the designed benefit 
 is lost. Thus, again, with shame : if this painful emo- 
 tion does not lead us to form habits of honor and rec- 
 titude, it is continually weakened by repetition, and 
 the object for which it was bestowed is not secured. 
 And so with remorse: if this emotion is awakened 
 without leading to habits of benevolence and virtue, it 
 constantly decays in power, and the good it would have 
 secured is forever lost. 
 
 It does not appear, however, that the power of emo- 
 tion in the soul is thus destroyed. Nothing is done 
 but to form habits of inattention to painful emotions 
 by allowing the mind to be engrossed in other and 
 more pleasurable subjects. This appears from the 
 fact that the most hardened culprits, when brought to 
 the hour of death, where all plans of future good cease 
 to charm the mental eye, are often overwhelmed with 
 the most vivid emotions of sorrow, shame, remorse, 
 and fear. And often, in the course of life, there are 
 seasons when the soul returns from its pursuit of de- 
 luding visions to commune with itself in its own secret 
 chambers. At such seasons, shame, remorse, and fear 
 take up their abode in their long-deserted dwelling, 
 and ply their scorpion whips till they are obeyed, 
 and the course of honor and virtue is resumed, or till 
 the distracted spirit again flies abroad for comfort and 
 relief. 
 
 There is a great diversity in human character, result- 
 ing from the diverse proportions and combinations of 
 those powers of mind which the race have in common. 
 At the same time, there is a variety in the scale of be- 
 ing, or relative grade of each mind. "While all are 
 
188 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 alike in the common faculties of the human mind, some 
 have every faculty on a much larger scale than others, 
 while some are of a very humble grade. 
 
 The principle of habit has very great influence in 
 modifying and changing these varieties. Thus, by 
 forming habits of intellectual exercise, a mind of nat- 
 urally humble proportions can be elevated considera- 
 bly above one more highly endowed by natural consti- 
 tution. So the training of some particular intellectual 
 faculty, which by nature is deficient, can bring it up 
 nearer to the level of other powers less disciplined by 
 exercise. 
 
 In like manner, the natural susceptibilities can be 
 increased, diminished, or modified by habit. Certain 
 tastes, that had little power, can be so cultivated as to 
 overtop all others. 
 
 So of the moral nature : it can be so exercised that 
 a habit will be formed which will generate a strength 
 and prominency that nature did not impart. 
 
 The w411 itself is also subject to this same princi- 
 ple. A strong will, that is trained to yield obedience 
 to law in early life, acquires an ease and facility in do- 
 ing it which belongs ordinarily to weak minds, and yet 
 can retain all its vigor. And a mind tliat is trained to 
 bring subordinate volitions into strict and ready obe- 
 dience to a generic purpose, acquu'cs an ease and facil- 
 ity in doing this which was not a natural endowment. 
 
 Thus it appears that by the principle of habit every 
 mind is furnished with the power of elevating itself in 
 the scale of being, and of modifying and perfecting 
 the proportions and combinations of its constitutional 
 powers. 
 
HABIT. 189 
 
 And sometimes the result is that there is no mode 
 of distinguishing between the effects of habit and the 
 natural organization. 
 
 One of the most important results of habit is its in- 
 fluence on faith or belief. Those persons who prac- 
 tice methods of false reasoning, who turn awaj from 
 evidence and follow their feelings in forming opinions, 
 eventually lose the power of sure, confiding belief. 
 
 On the contrary, an honest, conscientious steadiness 
 in seeking the truth and in yielding to evidence se- 
 cures the firmest and most reliable convictions, and 
 that peace of mind which alone results from believing 
 the truth. 
 
190 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 MIND AS PROOF OF ITS CREATOR'S DESIGNS. 
 
 We have seen that the mind of man, by its very 
 constitution, has certain implanted truths which it be- 
 lieves from the necessity of its nature, and that these 
 are the foundation of all acquired knowledge, and the 
 guide to all truth. 
 
 We have seen that, independently of a revelation, we 
 have no other sources of knowledge except these intu- 
 itions, the experience of ourselves and others, and the 
 deductions of reasoning. 
 
 We have examined as to the amount of knowledge 
 to be gained from these sources in regard to the na- 
 ture of mind, the laws of the system of which it is the 
 essential part, the immortality of the soul, our pros- 
 pects after death, and the character and designs of our 
 Creator. 
 
 In discussing the last topic, it has been assumed 
 that the grand and ultimate design of the Creator is 
 "to produce the greatest possible happiness with the 
 least possible evil." 
 
 We have examined, at some length, the chief facul- 
 ties and laws of the human mind, for the purpose of 
 exhibiting their adaptation to tliis design. 
 
 We now proceed to a brief review of this portion 
 as a sunfiTYiing up of the evidence sustaining the prop- 
 osition that the grand end of the Creator, in forming 
 
MIND AS PEOOF, ETC. 191 
 
 mind, is to j^'i^oduce the greatest j^ossihle happiness 
 with the least possible evil. 
 
 xVs preliminary, however, we need to refer to one 
 principle. 
 
 Whenever we find any contrivances all combining to 
 secure a certain good result, w^hich, at the same time, 
 involves some degree of inevitable evil, and then discov- 
 er that there are contrivances to diminish and avoid this 
 evil, we properly infer that the author intended to secure 
 as inuch of the good with as little of the evil asjjossi- 
 ble. For example, a traveler finds a deserted mine, and 
 all around he discovers contrivances for obtaining gold, 
 and, at the same time, other contrivances for getting 
 rid of the earth mixed w4th it. The inevitable infer- 
 ence would be that the author of these contrivances 
 designed to secure as much gold with as little earth as 
 possible ; and should any one say that he could have 
 had more gold and less earth if he wished it, the an- 
 swer w'ould be that there is no evidence of this asser- 
 tion, but direct evidence against it. 
 
 Again : should we discover a piece of machinery in 
 which every contrivance tended to secure speed in 
 movement, produced by ih^ friction of wheels against 
 a rough surface, and at the same time other contriv- 
 ances were found for diminishing all friction that was 
 useless, we should infer that the author designed to 
 secure the greatest p)Ossihle speed with the least possi- 
 ble friction. 
 
 In like manner, if we can show that mind is a con- 
 trivance that acts by the influence of fear of evil, and 
 that pain seems as indispensable to the action of a 
 free agent as friction is to motion ; if we can show that 
 
192 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 there is no contrivance in mind or matter which is de- 
 signed to secure suffering as its primary end ; if we 
 can, on the contrary, show that the direct end of all the 
 organizations of mind and matter is to produce happi- 
 ness ; if we can show that it is only the wrong action 
 of mind that involves most of the pain yet known, so 
 that right action, in its place, would secure only hap- 
 piness ; if we can show contrivances for diminishing 
 pain, and also contrivances for increasing happiness by 
 means of the inevitable pain involved in the system 
 of things, then the just conclusion will be gained that 
 the Author of the system of mind and matter designed 
 " to produce the greatest possible happiness with the 
 least possible evil."* 
 
 In the review v/hich follows, we shall present evi- 
 dence exhibiting all these particulars. 
 
 The only way in which we leam the nature of a 
 thing is to observe its qualities and actions. This is 
 true of mind as much as it is of matter. Experience 
 and observation teach that the nature of mind is such 
 that the fear of suffering is indispensable to secure a 
 large portion of the enjoyment within reach of its fac- 
 ulties, and that the highest modes of enjoyment can 
 not be secured except by sacrifice, and thus by more 
 or less suffering. 
 
 This appears to be an inevitable combination, as 
 much so as friction is inevitable in machinery. 
 
 We have the evidence of our own consciousness 
 that it is fear of evil to ourselves or to others that is 
 the strongest motive power to the mind. If we should 
 find that no pain resulted from burning up our own 
 bodies, or from drowning, or from any other cause ; if 
 * Note B. 
 
»nND AS PEOOF, ETC. 193 
 
 every one perceived that no care, trouble, or pain re- 
 sulted firom losing all kinds of enjoyment, the effort to 
 seek it would be greatly diminished. 
 
 K we could desire good enough to exert ourselves to 
 seek it, and yet should feel no discomfort in failing ; 
 if we could lose every thing^ and feel no sense of pain 
 or care, the stimulus to action which experience has 
 shown to be most powerful and beneficent would be 
 lost. 
 
 We find that abundance of ease and prosperity en- 
 ervates mental power, and that mind increases in all 
 that is grand and noble, and also in the most elevating 
 happiness, by means of danger, care, and pain. We 
 may properly infer, then, that evil is a necessary part 
 of the experience of a perfectly-acting mind. 
 
 So strong is the conviction that jpainful jpenalties 
 are indispensable, that the kindest parents and the 
 most benevolent rulers are the most sure to increase 
 rather than diminish those that are already involved 
 in the existing nature of things. 
 
 Again : without a revelation we have no knowledge 
 of any kind of mind but by inference from our expe- 
 rience in this state of being. All we know of the 
 Eternal First Cause is by a process of reasoning, in- 
 ferring that his nature must be like the only minds of 
 which we have any knowledge. We assume, then, that 
 he is a free agent, regulated by desire for happiness 
 and fear of evil. 
 
 We thus come to the conclusion that this organiza- 
 tion of mind is a part of \h.Q fixed and eternal nature 
 of things^ and does not result from the will of the Cre- 
 ator. . His own is the eternal pattern of an all-per- 
 
 I 
 
194 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 feet mind, and our own are formed on this perfect mod- 
 el, with susceptibilities to pain as an indispensable mo- 
 tive power in gaining happiness. 
 
 We will now recapitulate some of the particulars in 
 the laws and constitution of mind which tend to estab- 
 lish the position that its Creator's grand design is " to 
 produce the greatest possible happiness with the least 
 possible evil." 
 
 Intellectual Powers, 
 
 First, then, in reference to the earliest exercise of 
 mind in sensation. The eye might have been so made 
 that light would inflict pain, and the ear so that sound 
 would cause only discomfort. And so of all the other 
 senses. 
 
 But the condition of a well-formed, healthy infant 
 is a most striking illustration of the adaptation of the 
 senses to receive enjoyment. Who could gaze on the 
 countenance of such a little one, as its various senses 
 are called into exercise, without such a conviction? 
 The delight manifested as the light attracts the eye, 
 or as pleasant sounds charm the ear, or as the limpid 
 nourishment gratifies its taste, or as gentle motion and 
 soft fondlings soothe the nerves of touch, all testify to 
 the benevolent design of its Maker. 
 
 Next come the pleasures oi jpercejption as the in- 
 fant gradually observes the qualities of the various 
 objects around, and slowly learns to distinguish its 
 mother and its playthings from the confused mass of 
 forms and colors. Then comes the gentle curiosity 
 as it watches the movement of its own limbs, and 
 finally discovers that its own volitions move its tiny 
 
MIND AS PEOOF, ETC. 195 
 
 fingers, while the grand idea that it is itself a cause is 
 gradually introduced. 
 
 Next come the varied intellectual pleasures as the 
 several powers are exercised in connection with the 
 animate and material world around, in acquiring the 
 meaning of words, and in imitating the sounds and 
 use of language. The adult, in toiling over the dry 
 lexicon, little realizes the pleasure with which the little 
 one is daily acquiring the philosophy, grammar, and 
 vocabulary of its mother tongue. 
 
 A child who can not understand a single complete 
 sentence, or speak an intelligible phrase, will sit and 
 listen with long-continued delight to the simple enun- 
 ciation of words, each one of which presents a picture 
 to his mind of a dog, a cat, a cow, a horse, a whip, a 
 ride, and many other objects and scenes that have 
 given pleasure in the past ; while the single words, 
 without any sentences, bring back, not only vivid con- 
 ceptions of these objects, but a part of the enjoyment 
 with which they have been connected. 
 
 Then, as years pass by, the intellect more and more 
 administers pleasure, while the reasoning powers are 
 developed, the taste cultivated, the imagination exer- 
 cised, the judgment employed, and the memory stored 
 with treasures for future enjoyment. 
 
 In the proper and temperate use of the intellectual 
 powers, there is a constant succession of placid satis- 
 faction, or of agreeable and often of delightful emo- 
 tions, while no one of these faculties is productive of 
 pain except in violating the laws of the mental consti- 
 tution. 
 
196 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 The Susceptibilities. 
 
 In regard to the second general class of mental pow- 
 ers — the susceptibilities — the first particular to be no- 
 ticed is the ceaseless and all-pervading desire to gain 
 happiness and escape pain. This is the mainspring 
 of all voluntary activity ; for no act of volition will 
 take place till some good is presented to gain, or some 
 evil to shun. At the same time, as has been shown, 
 the desire to escape evil is more potent and effective 
 than the desire for good. Thousands of minds that 
 rest in passive listlessness, when there is nothing to 
 stimulate but hope of enjoyment, will exert every phys- 
 ical and mental power to escape impending evil. The 
 seasons of long-continued prosperity in nations always 
 tend to a deterioration of intellect and manhood. It is 
 in seasons of danger alone that fear wakes up the high- 
 est energies, and draws forth the heroes of the race. 
 
 ]\Iind, then, is an existence having the power of that 
 self-originating action of choice which constitutes free 
 agency, while this power can only be exercised when 
 desires are excited to gain happiness or to escape pain. 
 This surely is the highest possible evidence that its 
 Author intended mind should thus act. 
 
 But a mind may act to secure happiness and avoid 
 pain to itself, and yet may gain only very low grades 
 of enjoyment, while much higher are within reach of 
 its faculties. So, also, it may act to gain happiness 
 for itself as the chief end in such ways as to prevent 
 or destroy the happiness of others around. 
 
 In reference to this, we find those susceptibilities 
 which raise man to the dignity of a moral being. 
 
MIND AS PROOF, ETC. 197 
 
 In the first place, there is that im-pressioii of the 
 great design of the Creator existing in every mind, 
 either as a result of constitution or of training, or of 
 both united, which results in a feeling that whatever 
 lessens or destroys happiness is unfit and contrary to 
 the system of things. 
 
 ISText tliere is the power to balance pleasure and 
 pain, and estimate the compound result, both in refer- 
 ence to self and to the commonwealth. With this is 
 combined the feeling that whatever secures the most 
 good with the leant evil is right and fit, and that the 
 opposite is wrong and unfitted to the nature of things. 
 
 Xext comes the sense of justice^ which results in an 
 impulse to discover the cause of good and evil, and 
 when this cause is found to be a voluntary agent, a 
 consequent impulse to make returns of good for good, 
 and of evil for evil, and also io j^^^oj^ortion retributive re- 
 wards or penalties to the amount of good or evil done. 
 
 With this, also, is combined the feeling that those 
 retributions should be applied only where there was 
 voluntary power to have done otherwise. When it is 
 seen that there was no such power, the impulse to re- 
 ward or punish is repressed. 
 
 Such is the deep conviction that such retributions 
 are indispensable, that where natural pains and penal- 
 ties do not avail, others are demanded, both in the 
 family and in the commonwealth. 
 
 Lastly, we find the susceptibility ot consde^ice, 
 which, by the very framework of the mind itself, appor- 
 tions the retributive pangs of remorse for wrong doing, 
 and the pleasure of self-approval for well doing. 
 These, too, are retributions never to be escaped, and 
 
198 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 the most exquisite, both in elevated happiness and ex- 
 quisite pain. The mind caiTics about in itself its own 
 certain and gracious remunerator — its own inexorable 
 prosecutor, judge, and executioner. 
 
 This same design of the Creator may be most de- 
 lightfully traced in what may be called the economy 
 of happiness and pain. 
 
 One particular of this is set forth at large in the 
 chapter on the emotions of taste. Here we find the 
 mind formed not only to secure multitudinous enjoy^ 
 ments through the nerves of sensation, but that, by the 
 principle of association, there is a perpetual reproduc- 
 tion of these emotions in connection with the colors, 
 forms, sounds, and motions with which they were orig- 
 inally associated. Thus there are perpetually return- 
 ing emotions of pleasure so recondite, so refined, so al- 
 most infinite in variety and exent, and yet how little 
 noticed or understood ! 
 
 Another indication of the same kind is the pecul- 
 iarity pointed out on former pages, where it is shown 
 that securing certain enjoyments which tend to pro- 
 mote the general happiness increases both desire and 
 capacity for enjoyment, while those that terminate in 
 the individual diminish by possession. Thus the en- 
 joyment of power, which must, from its nature, be 
 confined to a few, diminishes by possession. Thus, 
 too, the pleasures of sense pall by indulgence. But 
 the enjoyment resulting from the exercise and recipro- 
 cation of love, and that resulting from benevolent ac- 
 tions, and that which is included in a course of per- 
 fect obedience to all the rules of rectitude, increases 
 the capacity for enjoyment. 
 
MIND AS PEOOF, ETC. 199 
 
 Another illustration of the same principle is exhib- 
 ited in the chapter on Habit, where it is seen that the 
 power of pleasurable emotions increases by repetition, 
 while painful emotions decrease when the good to be 
 secured by their agency is attained. Thus fear seems 
 to protect from danger till caution and habit render it 
 needless, and then it decreases. And so of other pain- 
 ful emotions. 
 
 It is interesting to trace the same design in the con- 
 stitution of minds in regard to each other. We find 
 that the purest and highest kind of happiness is de- 
 pendent on the mutual relations of minds. Thus the 
 enjoyment resulting from the discovery of intellectual 
 and moral traits in other minds — that resulting from 
 giving and receiving affection — that gained by sympa- 
 thy, and by being the cause of happiness to others, and 
 that resulting from conscious rectitude, all are de- 
 pendent on the existence of other beings. 
 
 Now we find that minds are relatively so constituted 
 that what one desires, it is a source of hajyjyirf-^ss in 
 another to hestoio. Thus one can be pleased by the 
 discovery of certain traits in other minds, while, in re- 
 turn, the exliibition of these traits, and the conscious- 
 ness that they are appreciated, is an equal source of 
 enjoyment. One mind seeks the love of others, while 
 these, in return, are desiring objects of affection, and 
 rejoice to confer the gift that is sought. The desire 
 of knowledge or the gratification of curiosity is anoth- 
 er source of pleasure, while satisfying this desire is a 
 cause of enjoyment to those around. How readily do 
 mankind seize upon every opportunity to convey in- 
 teresting news to other minds ! 
 
200 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 Again : we find that, both in sorrow and in joy, the 
 mind seeks for the sympathy of others, while this 
 grateful and soothing boon it is delightful to bestow. 
 So, also, the consciousness of being the cause of good 
 to another sends joy to the heart, while the recipient 
 is filled with the pleasing glow of gratitude in receiving 
 the benefit. The consciousness of virtue in acting for 
 the general good, instead of for contracted, selfish pur- 
 poses, is another source of happiness, while those who 
 witness its delightful results rejoice to behold and ac- 
 knowledge it. What bursts of rapturous applause 
 have followed the exhibition of virtuous self-sacrifice 
 for the good of others from bosoms who rejoiced in this 
 display, and who could owe this pleasure to no other 
 cause than the natural constitution of mind, which is 
 formed to be made happy both in beholding and in 
 exercising virtue. 
 
 This same beneficial economy is manifested in a 
 close analysis of all that is included in the affections 
 of love and gratitude. 
 
 It has been shown that, in the commencement of 
 existence, the young mind first learns the sources of 
 good and evil to self, and its sole motives are desire for 
 its own enjoyment. 
 
 Soon, however, it begins to experience the happiness 
 resulting from the relations of minds to each other, 
 and then is developed the superior power of love^ and 
 its importance as a regulating principle. 
 
 In the analysis of this affection, it is seen to consist, 
 first, in the pleasurable emotions which arise in view of 
 those traits of character in another mind pointed out on 
 previous pages. When these qualities are discovered, 
 
MIND AS PEOOF, ETC. 201 
 
 the first result is emotions of pleasure in the contem- 
 plation. Immediately there follows a desire of good 
 to the cause of this pleasure, JSText follows the desire 
 of reciprocated affection — that is, a desire is awakened 
 to become the cause of the same j^l^ccsure to another; 
 for the desire of being loved is the desire to be the 
 cause of pleasurable emotions in another mind, in view 
 of our own good qualities. "When we secure this de- 
 sired appreciation, then follows an increased desire of 
 good to the one who bestows it. 
 
 Thus the affection of love is a combination of the 
 action and reaction of pleasurable emotions, all tending 
 to awaken the desire of good to another. This pas- 
 sion may become so intensified that it will become 
 more delightful to secure enjoyments to another than 
 to procure them for self. 
 
 Gratitude is the emotion of pleasure toward the au- 
 thor of voluntary good to self, attended by a desire of 
 good to the benefactor. This principle can be added 
 to augment the power of love. 
 
 There is a foundation for a very important dis- 
 tinction in the analysis of the principle of love. In 
 what is thus far presented, we find that the desire of 
 good to another results solely from the fact that cer- 
 tain mental qualities are causes of pleasure to self 
 Of course, this desire ceases when those qualities cease 
 to exist or cease to be appreciated. This kind of love 
 is the natural result of the constitution of minds in 
 their relations to each other, making it easy and pleas- 
 ant to live for the good of another in return for the 
 pleasure received from their agreeable qualities and 
 manifestations. 
 
 12 
 
202 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 But the highest kind of love consists in the desire 
 of good to another'' ivitJiout reference to any good r^- 
 ceived in return. It is good willing. It consists in 
 an abiding feeling of desire for the happiness of anoth- 
 er mind. 
 
 This principle exists as a natural impulse more or 
 less powerful in differently constituted minds. It is 
 the cause of that pleasure which is felt in the con- 
 sciousness of being the cause of good to another. But 
 this natural impulse can be so developed and increased 
 by voluntary culture as to become the strongest im- 
 pulse of the mind, and thus the source of the highest 
 and most satisfying enjoyments. In many minds 
 this becomes so strongly developed that securing hap- 
 piness to others is sought with far more earnestness 
 and pleasure than any modes of enjoyment that term- 
 inate solely in self. This analysis lays the foundation 
 for the distinction expressed by the terms the love of 
 co'in])lacency and the love of benevolence. The first is 
 the involuntary result of good conferred on self ; the 
 last is a voluntary act. It is good willing toward 
 others without reference to self. 
 
 The first can only exist where certain qualities are 
 preserved and appreciated in another mind. The sec- 
 ond can result from voluntary eftbrt, and become the 
 subject of law and penalties. 
 
 We can never be justly required to love another mind 
 with the love of complacency except when qualities 
 are perceived that, by the constitution of mind, neces- 
 sarily call forth such regard. But the love of benevo- 
 lence can be justly demanded from every mind toward 
 every being capable of happiness. 
 
MIND AS PROOF, ETC. 203 
 
 Here it is important to discriminate more exactly 
 in regard to the principle of benevolence and the prin- 
 ciple of rectitude. 
 
 It is seen that the benevolence which is the sub- 
 ject of rewards and penalties as a voluntarj act con- 
 sists in good vnlling — that is, in choosing the happi- 
 ness of other minds as the object of interest and pur- 
 suit. 
 
 But the principle of rectitude is more comprehensive 
 in its nature. It relates to obedience to all the laws 
 of the system of the universe — those relating to our- 
 selves as much as those relating to otliers. It is true 
 that, as obedience to these laws includes the greatest 
 possible amount of good with the least possible evil, 
 both to the individual and the commonwealth, the tend- 
 ency of the two principles is to the same result. But 
 it may be the case that benevolence acts contrary to 
 the true rules of rectitude, and thus may mar rather 
 than promote happiness. A mind must not only 
 choose to promote the greatest possible happiness, but 
 must choose the right icay of doing it. 
 
 A very important particular to be considered is, that, 
 while in the physical and mental constitution there is 
 not a single arrangement the direct object of wliich is 
 to produce suffering, the susceptibilities to pain seem 
 designed to protect and preserve, while the greater the 
 need the more strong is this protection. For example, 
 in regard to physical organization, fire is an element 
 that is indispensable to the life, comfort, and activity 
 of man, and it must be accessible at all times and 
 places. But all its service arises from its power to 
 dissolve and destroy the body itself, as weU as all 
 
204 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 things around it. Therefore the pain connected with 
 contact with fire is more acute than almost any other. 
 Thus even the youngest child is taught that care and 
 caution needful to protect its body from injury or de- 
 struction. 
 
 Another fact in regard to the susceptibilities of pain 
 is their frequent co-existence with the highest degrees 
 of enjoyment. The experiences of this life often pre- 
 sent cases where the most elevated and ecstatic happi- 
 ness is combined with the keenest suffering, while such 
 is the nature of the case that the suffering is the chief 
 cause of the happiness thus secured. The highest 
 illustration of this is in the suffering of saints and mar- 
 tyrs, when they "rejoice to be counted worthy to suf- 
 fer shame," or when, amid torturing flames, they sing 
 songs of transport and praise. 
 
 Even in common life it is constantly found that a 
 certain relative amount of happiness is felt to be more 
 than a recompense for a given amount of pain. This 
 relative amount may be such that the evil involved, 
 though great, may count as nothing. Where there is 
 a passionate attachment, for example, the lover exults 
 in the labor and suffering that will joyfully be received 
 as a proof of affection and secure the compensating re- 
 turn. 
 
 It is a very common fact that the existence of pain- 
 ful emotions is sought, not for themselves, but as min- 
 isters to a kind of mental excitement which is desired. 
 This is the foundation of the pleasure which is felt in 
 tragic representations, and in poetry and novels that 
 present scenes of distress. The little child will again 
 and again ask for the tale of the Babes in the Wood, 
 
MIND AS PEOOF, ETC. 205 
 
 thougli each rehearsal brings forth tears ; and the 
 mature matron or sage will spend hours over tales that 
 harrow the feelings or call forth sighs. This also 
 is the foundation of that kind of music called the 
 tninor key, in which certain sounds bring emotions 
 of sadness or sorrow. 
 
 Another striking fact in regard to the desire for pain 
 is the emotions that are felt by the most noble and 
 benevolent minds at the sight of cruelty and injustice. 
 At such scenes, the desire for inflicting pain on the 
 guilty offender amounts to a passion which nothing 
 can allay but retributive justice. And the more be- 
 nevolent the mind, the stronger this desire for retribu- 
 tive evil to another. 
 
 Thus it appears that the mind is so made as to de- 
 sire pain both for itself and for others ; not in itself 
 considered, but as the indispensable means to gain 
 some consequent enjoyment. 
 
 The highest kinds of happiness result from painful 
 emergencies. The transports of love, gratitude, and 
 delight, when some benefactor rescues suffering thou- 
 sands from danger and evil, could exist in no other 
 way. All the long train of virtues included in patient 
 toil for the good of others, in heroic daring, in brave 
 adventure, in fortitude, in patience, in resignation, in 
 heavenly meekness, in noble magnanimity, in sublime 
 self-sacrifice, all involve the idea of trial, danger, and 
 suffering. It is only the highest and noblest class of 
 minds that can fully understand that the most blissful 
 of all enjoyments are those which are bought with pain. 
 
 But the most cheering feature in the constitution of 
 mind is all that is included in the principle of habit 
 
206 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 We see in the commencement of existence that every 
 action of mind and body is imperfect, and more or less 
 difficult, while each effort to secure right action in- 
 creases the facility of so doing. We see that, owing 
 to this principle, every act of obedience to law makes 
 such a course easier. The intellect, the susceptibili- 
 ties, the will, all come under this benign influence. 
 Habit may so diminish the difficulty of self-denial for 
 our own good that the pain entirely ceases ; and self- 
 sacrifice for the good of others may so develop benevo- 
 lence and generate a habit that it will become pleas- 
 ure without pain. There are those, even in this world, 
 who have so attained this capacity of living in the life 
 of those around them that the happiness of others be- 
 comes their OAvn, and then there is even less pain in 
 self-denial for the good of others than for that of self. 
 When this habit of mind is attained, the happiness of 
 the commonwealth becomes the portion of the individ- 
 ual. 
 
PKOOrS OF THE CKEATOK'S DESIGN. 207 
 
 CHAPTER XXIIL 
 
 SOCIAL AND MATERIAL PROOFS OF THE CREATOR'S 
 DESIGNS. 
 
 We have now presented the organization of mind as 
 the chief evidence of the grand design of its Creator in 
 forming all things. We now will trace the evidences 
 of the same beneficent object in the social and mate- 
 rial organizations. 
 
 First, then, in regard to the domestic relations. We 
 have seen that while all happiness depends on obedi- 
 ence to laws, every mind comes into existence in per- 
 fect ignorance of them, and without any power to learn 
 what is good or evil but by experience and instruction. 
 The intention of the Creator that each new-born being 
 should be taught these laws and trained to obey them, 
 is clearly seen in the first and highest domestic rela- 
 tion. In this we see two mature minds, who have 
 themselves been trained to understand these laws, 
 drawn by sweet and gentle influences to each other. 
 They go apart from all past ties of kindred ; they have 
 one home, one name, one common interest in every 
 thing. The one who has most physical strength goes 
 forth to provide supplies ; the delicate one remains 
 behind, by domestic ministries to render home the cen- 
 tre of all attractions. 
 
 Then comes the beautiful, helpless infant, of no use 
 to any one, and demanding constant care, labor, and at- 
 
208 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 tention. And yet, with its profound ignorance, its ten- 
 der weakness, its delicate beauty, its utter helplessness, 
 its entire dependence, how does it draw forth the stron- 
 gest feelings of love and tenderness, making every toil 
 and care a delight ! And thus, month after month, 
 "both parents unite to cherish and support, while, with 
 unceasing vigilance, they train the new-born mind to 
 understand and obey the laws of the system into which 
 it is thus ushered. Its first lessons are to learn to 
 take care of its own body. And when the far-off pen- 
 alty of pain can not be comprehended by the novice, 
 the parent invents new penalties to secure habits of 
 care and obedience. During all this period the great 
 lesson of sacrifice constantly occurs. The child must 
 eat what is hest^ not what it desires. It must go to 
 bed when it wants to sit up. It must stay in the 
 house when it wants to go out. It must not touch 
 multitudes of things which it wishes thus to investi- 
 gate. And so the habits of self-denial, obedience, and 
 faith in the parents are gradually secured, while the 
 knowledge of the laws of the system around are slow- 
 ly learned. 
 
 But the higher part of the law of sacrifice soon be- 
 gins to make its demands. The child first learns of 
 this law hy exarwple, in that of the inother, that most 
 perfect illustration of self-sacrificing love. Then comes 
 a second child, when the fu'st-bom must practice on 
 this example. It must give up its place in the moth- 
 er's bosom to another ; it must share its sweets and 
 toys with the new-comer ; it must join in efforts to 
 protect, amuse, and instruct the helpless one. And 
 thus the family is the constant school for training ig- 
 
PROOFS OF THE CREATOR'S DESIGN. 209 
 
 norant, inexperienced mind in tlie laws of the system 
 of which it is a part, especially in the great law of self- 
 control and of self-sacrifice for the good of others. 
 
 JSText comes the discipline of the school and the 
 neighborhood, when the child is placed among his peers 
 to be taught new rules of justice, benevolence, and self- 
 sacrifice for the general good. 
 
 Next come the relations of the body politic, for 
 which labors are demanded and pain is to be endured 
 under the grand law of sacrifice, that the individual is 
 to subordinate his own interests and wishes to the 
 greater general good, and that the interests of the ma- 
 jority are to control those of the minority. 
 
 Lastly, the whole world is to be taken into the esti- 
 mate, and the nations are to be counted as members 
 of one great family of man, for which every portion is 
 to make sacrifices. Thus, as age, and experience, and 
 habits of obedience to the laws of rectitude increase, 
 the duties and obligations grow more numerous and 
 complicated. But the same grand principle is more 
 and more developed, that each individual is to seek the 
 greatest possible happiness with the least possible evil, 
 for the vast whole as well as each subordinate part, 
 while self is to receive only its just and proper share. 
 The same great design of the Creator can be detect- 
 ed also in specific organizations, by which minds so 
 differ from each other as to fit them for the diverse po- 
 sitions and relations that the common good demands. 
 If all were exactly alike in the amount of constitutional 
 powers and in the proportionate combinations, it can 
 easily be seen that the general result would be far less 
 favorable to the happiness of the whole. But as it is, 
 
210 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 some have the love of power veiy large, and love to 
 lead and control ; others have it small, and love to fol- 
 low. Some have elevated intellect, and love to teach ; 
 others have humbler capacities, and better love hum- 
 bler pursuits. 
 
 These varied combinations also give scope to the 
 virtues of pity, tenderness, patience, mercy, justice, 
 self-denial, and many other graces that could not be 
 called into being without all the disparities, social, do- 
 mestic, intellectual, and moral, that we find existing. 
 Meantime, the prmciple of habit and the power of the 
 will give abundant opportunities for modifying these 
 natural peculiarities to accommodate to varying cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 To these indications of benevolent design may be 
 added the organization of the bodily system, and the 
 constitution of the material world without. In exam- 
 ining the body we inhabit, so nicely adjusted, so per- 
 fectly adapted to our necessities, so beautifully and 
 harmoniously arranged, so "fearfully and wonderfully 
 made," it is almost beyond the power of numbers to 
 express the multiplied contrivances for ease, comfort, 
 and delight. 
 
 We daily pursue our business and our pleasure, 
 thoughtless of the thousand operations which are go- 
 ing on, and the busy mechanism employed in securing 
 the objects we desire. The wann current that is flow- 
 ing from the centre to the extremities, with its life- 
 giving energies, and then returning to be purified and 
 again sent forth ; the myriads of branching nerves that 
 are the sensitive discerners of good or ill ; the unnum- 
 bered muscles and tendons that are contracting and ex- 
 
PROOFS OF THE CREATOR'S DESIGN. 211 
 
 panding in all parts of our frame ; the nicely-adjusted 
 joints, and bands, and ligaments, that sustain, and di- 
 rect, and support; the perpetual expansion and con- 
 traction of the vital organ ; the thousand hidden con- 
 trivances and operations of the animal frame, all are 
 quietly and constantly performing their generous func- 
 tions, and administering comfort and enjoyment to the 
 conscious spirit that dwells within. 
 
 Nor is the outer world less busy in performing its 
 part in promoting the great design of the Creator. 
 The light of suns and stars is traversing the ethereal 
 expanse in search of those for whom it was created ; 
 for them it gilds the scenes of earth, and is reflected 
 in ten thousand forms of beauty and of skilL The 
 trembling air is waiting to minister its aid, fanning 
 with cool breezes, or yielding the warmth of spring, 
 sustaining the functions of life, and bearing on its light 
 wing the thoughts that go forth from mind to mind, 
 and the breathings of affection that are given and re- 
 turned. For this design earth is sending forth her 
 exuberance, the waters are emptying their stores, and 
 the clouds pouring forth their treasures. All nature 
 is busy with its offerings of fruits and flowers, its 
 wandering incense, its garnished beauty, and its va- 
 ried songs. Within and without, above, beneath, and 
 around, the same Almighty Beneficence is found still 
 ministering to the wants and promoting the happiness 
 of the minds He has formed forever to desire and pur- 
 sue this boon. 
 
212 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIY. 
 
 EIGHT MODE OF SECUEINa THE OBJECT FOE WHICH 
 MIND WAS CEEATED. 
 
 Having set forth the object for which the Creator 
 formed mind, we are thus furnished with the means 
 for deciding as to the right mode of its action in ob- 
 taining this object. We may discover the design of 
 a most curious machine, and perceive that, if it is right- 
 ly regulated^ it will secure that end ; while, if it is 
 worked wrong, it will break itself to pieces, and de- 
 stroy the very object which it was formed to secure. 
 
 The same may be seen to be as true of mind as it 
 is of material organization, and the question then is 
 most pertinent. What is that mode of mental action 
 which will most perfectly secure the end for which 
 mind is made ? 
 
 We have seen that the self-determining power of 
 choice is the distinctive attribute of mind, and that 
 all the other powers are dependent on this, and regu- 
 lated by it. We have seen that the current of the 
 thoughts, and the nature and power of the desires and 
 emotions, are also conti-olled by the generic ruhng pur- 
 pose, or chief interest of the mind. 
 
 This being so, then the only way in which mind 
 can act to secure the object for which it is made is to 
 choose that object for chief end or ruling purpose^ 
 and actually carry out this choice i7i all subordinate 
 volitions. 
 
EIGHT MODE OF MENTAL ACTION. 213 
 
 We will now present the evidence gained from ex- 
 perience, as well as what we should infer from the 
 known laws of mind, to show what the result would 
 "be in a system of minds where each mind should thus 
 act. 
 
 Let us suppose, then, a commonwealth in which ev- 
 ery mind is regulated by a ruling purpose to act 
 rights which actually controls every specific volition. 
 Each mind then would obey all those laws which will 
 secure to the whole community and to each individual 
 the greatest possible amount of happiness with the 
 least possible evil. 
 
 To do this of necessity involves the idea that each 
 mind must hiow what are all the laws of the system ; 
 for no one can choose to obey laws until laws are 
 known. 
 
 Let the result on a single mind be first contem- 
 plated. In the first place, all the trains of thought 
 would be regulated by the chief desire, which would 
 be to make the most possible happiness with the least 
 possible evil. Of course, all those ideas that were 
 most consonant with this ruling passion would be- 
 come vivid and distinct ; and as these ideas also would 
 be connected with the strongest emotions, the two chief 
 causes that regulate association would combine to se- 
 cure constant thought and intellectual activity to pro- 
 mote the common welfare as the chief object, while 
 self would have only its true and proper estimation 
 and attention. There would be no need of effort to 
 regulate thought and emotion, for they would all flow 
 naturally to the grand and right object. 
 
 Next suppose a commonwealth in wliich every mind 
 
214 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 had its intellect, desires, and emotions, and all its 
 specific volitions thus regulated by the grand aim of 
 making the most possible happiness, guarded, too, by 
 unerring judgment, so as to make no miscalculation ; 
 what would be the state of things, so far as we can 
 ascertain by past experience and by reasoning from 
 the known nature of things ? 
 
 First, then, in reference to the susceptibilities of 
 sensation. If all should never touch any food but 
 that which would expose to no danger or excess ; if 
 they never encountered any needless hazard ; if they 
 exactly balanced all the probabilities of good and evil, 
 in every matter relating to the pleasures of sense, and 
 invariably chose that which exposed to the least dan- 
 ger ; if every being around was anxiously watchful in 
 affording the results of observation, and in protecting 
 others from risk and exposure, it is probable that the 
 amount of sensitive enjoyment would be a thousand 
 fold increased, while most of the evils caused by im- 
 proper food and drink, -by needless exposure, by neg- 
 ligence of danger, and by many other causes which 
 now operate, would cease. With the present consti- 
 tution of body, which tends to decay, we could not 
 positively maintain that no suffering would be experi- 
 enced, but it is probable that the amount would be as 
 a drop to the ocean compared with what is now ex- 
 perienced. 
 
 Under such a constitution of things, we can per- 
 ceive, also, that there would be no suffering from the 
 painful emotions ; for where each was striving to at- 
 tain the g7'eatest amount of good to all, there could 
 be no competition, no jealousy, no envy, no pride, 
 
EIGHT MODE OF MENTAL ACTION. 215 
 
 no ambition, no anger, no hatred ; for there would 
 "be no occasion for any of these discordant emotions. 
 Nor could remorse harass, or shame overwhelm ; for 
 no wickedness would be perpetrated, and no occasion 
 of reproach occur. Nor could fear intrude, where ev- 
 ery mind was conscious that its own happiness was 
 the constant care of every one around. Nor could 
 painful sympathy exist, where so little pain was known. 
 Nor could the weariness of inactivity be felt, where all 
 were engaged in acting for one noble and common ob- 
 ject, in which every faculty could be employed. Nor 
 could the mind suffer the pangs of ungratified desire, 
 while the gratification of its chief desire was the aim 
 and object of all. So that, if all minds should act 
 unitedly and habitually on this principle, there would 
 be no exposure, except to sensitive pain, and this 
 danger would be exceedingly trifling. 
 
 In the mean time, every source of happiness would 
 be full and overflowing. AU sensitive enjoyments 
 that would not cause suffering, nor interfere with the 
 happiness of others, would be gained ; admiration and 
 affection would be given and reciprocated ; the powers 
 of body and mind would be actively employed in giv- 
 ing and acquiring happiness ; the pleasure resulting 
 from the exercise of physical and moral power would 
 be enjoyed, and employed to promote the enjoyment 
 of others ; the peace of conscious rectitude would 
 dwell in every bosom ; the consciousness of being the 
 cause of happiness to others would send joy to the 
 heart, while sympathy in the general happiness would 
 pour in its unmeasured tide. But this happiness could 
 not be perfect except in a commonwealth where every 
 
216 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 individual was perfectly conformed to the laws of rec- 
 titude. A single mind that violated a single law would 
 send a jar through the whole sphere of benevolent and 
 sympathizing beings. 
 
 The next question is, How can mind be most suc- 
 cessfully influenced to right action ? To answer this 
 we must refer again to experience, and inquire as to 
 the methods which have been found most successful in 
 influencing the mind to right action. 
 
 The first thing which experience teaches is, that it is 
 indispensable to right mental action that there should 
 be a knowledge and belief of the truth. We must 
 have true conceptions of reality of things, and of the 
 right mode of promoting the greatest possible happi- 
 ness, before we have power to pursue this course. 
 
 But each mind, as it comes into existence, is a per- 
 fect blank in regard to knowledge or experience of any 
 kind. The only way to gain knowledge is by experi- 
 ence and instruction. The knowledge secured by ex- 
 perience as to the laws of a system so vast and com- 
 plicated comes very slowly and imperfectly. The 
 chief reliance in the beginning of existence is on the 
 instructions of other minds. Infallible teachers, and 
 jperfect faith or belief in such teachers, then, is the 
 grand necessity of mind as it begins existence. 
 
 The next thing which experience shows to be effect- 
 ive in securing the right action of mind is the forma- 
 tion of right habits. For this, also, the new-made be- 
 ing is entirely dependent on those to whom is given its 
 early training. It comes into life without any knowl- 
 edge and without any habits, a creature of mere im- 
 pulses and instincts. Its very first want is not only 
 
EIGHT MODE OF MENTAL ACTION. 217 
 
 infallible teachers, but patient educators, who shall, by 
 constant care and effort, form its physical, intellectual, 
 social, and moral habits. 
 
 The next indispensable requisite to the right action 
 of mind is the existence of a ruling generic jmrpose to 
 obey all the laws of rectitude. 
 
 It has already been shown how all the powers of 
 the mind are regulated and controlled by the leading 
 purpose, and that it is impossible to bring all the de- 
 sires, emotions, and subordinate volitions into right ac- 
 tion except by the power of such a principle. 
 
 But experience has proved that such a generic pur- 
 pose wiU not either be originated or sustained except 
 by the social influences of surrounding minds through 
 the principles of love, gratitude, sympathy, and ex- 
 ample. 
 
 The power of these principles may be illustrated by 
 supposing the case of a mature mind already embar- 
 rassed with habits of self-indulgence and selfishness. 
 Let such a person be placed in the most endeared and 
 intimate communion with a being possessed of every 
 possible attraction which is delightful to the human 
 mind. Let him feel that he is the object of the most 
 tender and devoted affection to such an exalted friend, 
 and, spite of his own faults and deficiencies, realize 
 that his own affection is desired and his communion 
 sought. Let him, in all his daily pursuits, be attend- 
 ed by the desired presence of the one in whom his 
 hopes centre and his affections repose ; one in whom 
 he sees every possible exhibition of disinterestedness, 
 tenderness, and love, not only toward himself, but all 
 other beinos who come within the circle of such be- 
 
 o 
 
 K 
 
218 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 nevolence. Let him discover that the practice of all 
 that is excellent and benevolent by himself is the ob- 
 ject of unceasing desire to this devoted friend. Let 
 him discover that, to save him from the consequences 
 of some guilty act of selfishness, this friend had sub- 
 mitted to the most painful sacrifices, and only asked as 
 a return those efibrts which were necessary to overcome 
 such pernicious habits. Let him feel that this friend, 
 though pained by his deficiencies, could forbear and 
 forgive, and continue his love in spite of them all. Let 
 him know that his attainment of perfect virtue was the 
 object of intense desire, and was watched with the most 
 exulting joy by so good and so perfect a being, and is 
 it possible to conceive a stronger pressure of motive 
 which could be brought to act on a selfish mind? 
 Would not every human being exclaim, " Give me 
 such a friend, and I should be selfish no more. His 
 presence and his love would be my strength in foiling 
 every wrong desire and in conquering every baneful 
 habit." 
 
 This illustration enables us to realize more clearly 
 the power of love and gratitude toward another mind, 
 and the reflex influence of love of sympathy and of 
 example. Could the young mind be placed under the 
 training of such minds, and in circumstances where 
 all the rules of right and wrong were perfectly under- 
 stood, it can be seen that the habits would early be 
 formed aright, and that the difficulties against which 
 the mature mind has to struggle would be escaped. 
 
 Could we suppose a community of such elevated ma- 
 ture educators, with young minds of various degrees of 
 advancement under their training, it can be seen that 
 
RIGHT MODE OF MENTAL ACTION. 219 
 
 the social influences of all would produce a moral at- 
 mosphere that would add great power to the individ- 
 ual influences. What every body loves, honors, and 
 admires, secures a moral force over young minds al- 
 most invincible, even when it sustains false and wick- 
 ed customs. How much greater this power when it 
 co-operates with the intellect, the moral sense, and the 
 will in leading to right action ! 
 
 The result of all this is to show, as the result of rea- 
 son and experience, that it is indispensable to the per- 
 fectly right action of mind to secure infallible and per- 
 fect educators. 
 
 Meantime, the degree in which any individual mind, 
 or any community, has or will approach to such per- 
 fection, depends entirely on the extent to which such 
 a character can be secured in those who are to train 
 young minds. The history of individual families and 
 of large communities shows that their advance, both 
 in intellectual and moral development, has exactly 
 coiTCsponded with the character of those who educated 
 the young. 
 
220 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 WRONG ACTION OF MIND AND ITS CAUSES. 
 
 We have exhibited the object for which mind was 
 created, and the mode of action by which alone this 
 object can be secured. 
 
 We next inquire in regard to the wrong action of 
 mind ; its causes and its results as learned by reason 
 and experience. 
 
 According to the principles set forth, a mind acts 
 wrong whenever it transgresses any law. The grand 
 law is that of sacrifice^ by which every mode of enjoy- 
 ment is to be relinquished which does not tend to the 
 greatest possible happiness with the least possible evil. 
 
 Having set forth those influences or causes which 
 tend to secure the right action of mind, we are ena- 
 bled thus to indicate what are the causes of its wrong 
 action. 
 
 The first and leading cause is a want of knowledge 
 of the truth and a belief of error. We begin exist- 
 ence without knowledge of any kind, and without any 
 power to receive instruction from others. The new- 
 born mind is a mere unit of impulses and instincts, with 
 an intellect entirely undeveloped, and a will which nev- 
 er can act intelligently. It is entirely dependent for 
 its experience, safety, enjoyment, and knowledge of all 
 kinds on those around. As it gains by experience 
 and training, much of its knowledge and belief is cor- 
 
WEONG ACTION OF MIND AND ITS CAUSES. 221 
 
 rect, and many of its mental acts are right; but a 
 large portion of its actions are wrong, and many of 
 them inevitably so. 
 
 And here we must recognize again the distinction 
 which our moral nature demands between wrong ac- 
 tions that result from unavoidable ignorance, and those 
 which are committed intelligently and which violate 
 conscience. In regard to the first class, the natural 
 penalties are inevitable, and the justice of them in- 
 volves the great question of the Creator's character 
 and designs. In regard to those that violate con- 
 science, our moral nature, as has been shown, leads 
 us not only to approve additional penalties, but to de- 
 mand them. 
 
 The violations of law which are sins of ignorance 
 commence with the earliest period of existence. Ow- 
 ing to its helpless ignorance, often the little child can 
 no more help acting wrong than it can help thinking 
 and feeling. 
 
 A second cause of wrong action is false teachings. 
 Although a large portion of the insti'uction given to the 
 young, especially in regard to physical laws, are true, 
 yet the infant commences life among imperfectly in- 
 structed beings, who often communicate error believing 
 it to be truth. Meantime the little one has no power 
 of coiTecting these errors, and thus again is inevitably 
 led to wrong action. 
 
 A third cause of wrong action is the want of good 
 habits and the early formation of bad ones. As a hab- 
 it is a facility of action gained hy rej)etition^ of course, 
 at first, there can be no habits. And then what the 
 habits shall be is entirely decided by the opinions and 
 
222 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 conduct of its educators. While some habits are 
 formed aright, others are formed wrong, and thus the 
 disability of nature is increased instead of diminished. 
 
 The next cause of wrong action is those social in- 
 fluences of other minds that have most power both in 
 securing and sustaining right action. In the previous 
 chapter we have illustrated the power of the principles 
 of love, gratitude, synvpathy, and exarnple in securing 
 right action. 
 
 The same powerful influences exist in reference to 
 wrong action. The child who loves its parents and 
 playmates is not only taught to believe wrong action 
 to be right, but has all the powerful influences which 
 example, sympathy, love, and gratitude can combine to 
 lead to the same wrong courses. Thus, to the natural 
 ignorance of inexperienced mind, to false instructions, 
 and to bad habits, are often added these most power- 
 ful of all influences. 
 
 The next cause of wrong action is the want of a 
 ruling purpose to do right. It has been shown that 
 all the powers of the intellect and aU the susceptibili- 
 ties can be regulated by a generic ruling purpose, and 
 that it is impossible, according to the nature of mind, 
 to regulate it any other way. 
 
 When such a purpose exists, and its object is any 
 other except the right and true one, it is as impossi- 
 ble for a mind to act right as it is for a machine to ful- 
 fill its design when the main wheel is turned the wrong 
 way. 
 
 That such a purpose does not exist in the new-bom 
 mind, and that it must be a considerable time before it 
 is possible, in the nature of things, to be originated, 
 
WRONG ACTION OF MIND AND ITS CAUSES. 223 
 
 needs no attempt to illustrate. Such a purpose is de- 
 pendent on knowledge of truth, on habits, and these 
 on the character of the educators of mind, and on other 
 surrounding social influences. 
 
 These are the chief causes of the wrong action of 
 mind as they have been developed by experience. 
 
 In the next chapters we shall consider the results of 
 the wrong action of mind as they have been exhibited 
 in the experience of mankind, and as they are to be 
 anticipated in a future world. 
 
224 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 WEONa ACTION OF MIND, AND ITS KESULTS IN THIS 
 LIFE. 
 
 We have examined into the causes of the wrong ac- 
 tion of mind, and have found them to consist m the 
 want of knowledge, want of habits, want of social influ- 
 ences from other minds, and want of a right governing 
 purpose, all of which, so far as reason and experience 
 teach, alone could he secured by perfect and infalli- 
 ble teachers and educators in a perfect commonwealth. 
 
 We are now to inquire in regard to the wrong ac- 
 tion of mind and its results in this life. 
 
 The first point to be noticed is the fact that from 
 the first there is in every intelligent mind a sense of 
 entire inability to obey the laws of the system in 
 which it is placed. 
 
 This is true not merely in reference to that breach 
 of law which is the inevitable result of ignorance, 
 but of that also which involves a violation of con- 
 science. Where is the mother who has not heard 
 the distressed confession, even from the weeping in- 
 fant, that he was happier in doing right than in doing 
 wrong, that he wished to do well, and yet that he was 
 constantly doing evil ? Where is the parent that has 
 not witnessed, as one little being after another passed 
 on from infancy to youth, and from youth to manhood, 
 the perpetual warfare to sustain good purposes and oft- 
 broken resolutions ? And where is the conscious spir- 
 
WKONG ACTION OF MIND AND ITS RESULTS. 225 
 
 it that can not look back on its whole course of exist- 
 ence as one continued exhibition of a conflict that gives 
 unvarying evidence of this truth ? 'Men feel that it 
 is as impossible for them to be invariably perfect in 
 thought, word, and deed, as it is to rule the winds and 
 waves. 
 
 The testimony of mankind through every period of 
 the world, in regard to their own individual conscious- 
 ness, attests a sense of the same fatal inability. K we 
 go back even as far as to the heathen sages of antiq- 
 uity, we gain the same acknowledgment. Thus we 
 find Pythagoras calls it " the fatal companion, the nox- 
 ious strife that lurks within us, and wliich was born 
 along with us." Sopator terms it "the sin that is 
 bom with mankind." Plato denominates it "natui'al 
 wickedness," and Aristotle "the natural repugnance of 
 man's temper to reason." Cicero declares that "men 
 are brought into life by Nature as a step-mother, with 
 a naked, frail, and infirm body, and with a soul prone 
 to divers lusts." Seneca observes, "We are born in 
 such a condition that we are not subject to fewer dis- 
 orders of the mind than of the body ; all vices are in 
 men, though they do not break out in every one." 
 Propertius says that " every body has a vice to which 
 he is inclined by nature." Juvenal asserts that "na- 
 ture, unchangeably fixed, runs back to wickedness." 
 Horace declares that "no man is free from vices, and 
 he is the best man who is oppressed with the least." 
 He adds that "mankind rush into wickedness, and al- 
 ways desire what is forbidden ;" that "youth has the 
 softness of wax to receive vicious impressions, and the 
 hardness of rock to resist virtuous admonitions ;" that 
 K2 
 
226 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 " we are mad enough to attack Heaven itself, and our 
 repeated crimes do not suffer the God of Heaven to lay 
 aside his wrathful thunderbolts." 
 
 This testimony of individual experience is verified 
 by the general history of mankind. All the laws and 
 institutions of society are founded on the principle that 
 mankind are prone to wrong, infirm of purpose in all 
 that is good, and that every possible restraint is need- 
 ed to prevent the overbreaking tide of evil and crime. 
 When we read the history of communities and of na- 
 tions, it is one continued record of selfishness, avarice, 
 injustice, revenge, and cruelty. Individuals seem equal- 
 ly plotting against the happiness of individuals, and 
 rejoicing to work evils on society. Communities rise 
 against communities, and nations dash against nations. 
 Tyrants fill their dominions with sorrow, misery, and 
 death; bloody heroes, followed by infuriate bands, 
 spread havoc, ruin, and dismay through all their course, 
 while superstition binds in chains, racks with tortures, 
 and sacrifices its millions of victims. 
 
 In tracing along the history of mankind, there is no 
 period which we can select when mankind have not 
 seemed as busy in destroying their own, and the hap- 
 piness of others, as the lower animals are in seeking 
 their appropriate enjoyments. At one time we behold 
 Xerxes pouring forth all Asia upon Europe, where 
 three million beings were brought to be slaughtered by 
 the Greeks. At another time the Greeks, headed by 
 Alexander, return upon Asia, and spread over most of 
 the known world, pillaging, burning, and slaughtering. 
 Then we behold Alaric, at the head of barbarous 
 hordes, desolating aU the Koman empire, and destroy- 
 
WRONG ACTION OF MIND AND ITS RESULTS. 227 
 
 ing the monuments of taste, science, and the arts. 
 Then we see Tamerlane rushing forth, overrunning 
 Persia, India, and other parts of Asia, carrying carnage 
 and the most desolating cruelty in his course, so that 
 it is recorded that he would cause thousands of his 
 prisoners to be pounded in mortars with bricks to form 
 into walls. 
 
 From Europe we behold six millions of Crusaders 
 rush forth upon the plains of Asia, with rapine, and 
 famine, and outrage attending their course. Then 
 come forth from Eastern Asia the myrmidons of Gen- 
 ghis Khan, ravaging fifteen millions of square miles, 
 beheading 100,000 prisoners at one time, shaking the 
 whole earth with terror, and exterminating fourteen 
 millions of their fellow-men. Then from the northern 
 forests are seen swarming forth the Goths and Van- 
 dals, sweeping over Europe and Asia, and bearing 
 away every vestige of arts, civilization, comfort, and 
 peace. At another time we see the professed head of 
 the Christian Church slaughtering the pious and inof- 
 fensive Albigenses, sending horror into their peaceful 
 villages, and torturing thousands of inoffensive vic- 
 tims. 
 
 At one period of history the whole known world 
 seemed to be one vast field of carnage and commotion. 
 The Huns, Vandals, and other Northern barbarians 
 were ravaging France, Germany, and Spain ; the Goths 
 were plundering and murdering in Italy, and the Sax- 
 ons and Angles were overrunning Great Britain. The 
 Roman armies under Justinian, together with the Van- 
 dals and Huns, were desolating Africa ; the barbarians 
 of Scythia were pouring down upon the Eoman em- 
 
228 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 pire; the Persian armies were pillaging and laying 
 waste the countries of Asia ; the Arabians, under Mo- 
 hammed, were beginning to extend their conquests over 
 Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Barbary, and Spain. Every 
 nation and kingdom on earth was shaking to its cen- 
 tre. The smoke and the spirits of the bottomless pit 
 seemed coming up to darken, and torment, and affright 
 mankind. The most fertile countries were converted 
 to deserts, and covered with ruins of once flourishing 
 cities and villages ; the most fiendish cruelty was prac- 
 ticed ; famine raged to such a degree that the living 
 fed upon the dead; prisoners were tortured by the 
 most refined systems of cruelty ; public edifices were 
 destroyed ; the monuments of science and the arts per- 
 ished ; cruelty, fraud, avarice, murder, and every crime 
 that disgraces humanity, were let loose upon a wretch- 
 ed world. Historians seem to shudder in attempting 
 to picture these horrid scenes, and would draw a veil 
 over transactions that disgrace mankind. 
 
 If from ancient times we look at the present state of 
 the world, at its present most refined and enlightened 
 period, the same mournful evidence is discovered. Cru- 
 elty and tyranny have changed some of the fairest 
 provinces of Persia to deserts. The Turk long ago 
 turned the land of the patriarchs and prophets to a 
 wilderness, and drenched the shores of Greece with the 
 blood of slaughtered victims, while Syria, Kurdistan, 
 and Armenia for ages have been ravaged with injus- 
 tice and rapine. China and Japan have been shut out 
 from the world by a cold and jealous selfishness. In 
 Tartary, Arabia, and Siberia, the barbarous tribes are 
 prowling about for plunder, or engaged in murderous 
 
WKONG ACTION OF MIND AND ITS RESULTS. 229 
 
 conflicts. In Africa, the Barbary States are in perpet- 
 ual commotion ; the petty tyrants of Benin, Ashantee, 
 and other interior states are waging ceaseless wars, mur- 
 dering their prisoners, and adorning their houses with 
 their skulls ; and on its ravaged coast the white man- 
 stealer, for hundreds of years, has been prowling, and 
 bearing off thousands of wretches as a yearly oiFering 
 to the avarice of the most refined and Christian nations 
 on earth. In North America, we have seen the native 
 tribes employed in war, and practicing the most fiend- 
 ish barbarities, while in South America, its more civ- 
 ilized inhabitants are engaged in constant political and 
 bloody commotions. In the islands of the ocean thou- 
 sands of human beings have been fighting each other, 
 throwing darts and stones at strangers, offering human 
 sacrifices, and feasting on the flesh of their enemies. 
 
 If we select Europe for the exhibition of human na- 
 ture as seen under the restraints of civilization, laws, 
 refinement, and religion, the same evils burst forth 
 from bonds and restraints. In Europe, for ages, the 
 common people, in slavery and ignorance, have been 
 bowing down to a grinding priesthood, or an oppress- 
 ive nobility or monarchical tyranny. Incessant heav- 
 ing of the troubled nations portends desolation and 
 dismay, as man seems waking from the slavery of ages 
 to shake off liis fetters and call himself free. 
 
 If we look to our own boasted land of liberty and 
 religion, what toiling of selfish and discordant inter- 
 ests — what mean and low-lived arts to gain honor and 
 power — what shameful attacks on fair reputation and 
 unblemished honor — what collisions of party -strifes 
 and local interests ! Here also the curse of slavery 
 
230 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 brings the blush of shame to every honest man that, 
 from year to year, on the anniversary of the national 
 liberty, hears the declarations of rights this very nation 
 is trampling under foot. Millions of slaves, deprived 
 of the best blessing and the dearest rights of humani- 
 ty, are held in the most degrading bondage by a na- 
 tion who yearly and publicly acknowledge their per- 
 fect and unalienable rights. 
 
 The same melancholy view is no less clearly wit- 
 nessed in the opinions and moral sentiments of man- 
 kind. The mind of man is fonned to love happiness, 
 to be pleased with what promotes it, and to detest 
 that which tends to destroy it, yet the long reign of 
 selfishness has seemed to pervert and poison even 
 the taste and moral sentiments of men. Who is the 
 hero sung by the poet, eulogized by the statesman, 
 and flattered by the orator ? Who is it presented in 
 classic language to the gaze of enthusiastic child- 
 hood, and pictured forth in tales of romance to kin- 
 dling youth ? 
 
 It is the man who has given up his life to the grat- 
 ification of pride, and the love of honor and fame ; the 
 man who, to gain this selfish good, can plunge the 
 sword into the bosom of thousands, and stand the un- 
 pitying spectator of burning cities, widowed mothers, 
 orphan children, desolated fields, and the long train of 
 ills that he wantonly pours on mankind, that he may 
 gain the miserable pittance of gaping admiration and 
 dreadful renown which rises amid the tears and cries 
 of mankind. It is the man who, when injured, knows 
 not how to forgive — whose stinted soul never knew 
 the dignity and pleasure of giving blessing for ill — 
 
WEONG ACTION OF MIND AND ITS RESULTS. 231 
 
 who deems it the mark of honor and manhood to fol- 
 low the example of the whining infant, that, when he 
 is struck, with the same noble spirit will strike back 
 again. 
 
 Meantime, the calm forbearance and true dignity of 
 virtue, that would be humbled at recrimination and 
 can not condescend to retaliate, is put in the back- 
 ground as unworthy such honors and eulogy. Thus, 
 also, we find intellect, which the Creator designed only 
 as the instrument of securing happiness, though per- 
 verted to vice and folly, applauded and admired ; and 
 even some of those admired as among the wisest of 
 mankind have often placed true virtue and goodness 
 below the fancied splendors of genius and learning. 
 All the maxims, and honors, and employments of 
 mankind develop the perverted action of the noblest 
 part of the creation of God in all its relations and in 
 all its principles and pursuits. 
 
 It is into such a world as this that every new-bom 
 mind is ushered without knowledge to guide, without 
 habits to strengthen, without the power of forming a 
 ruling purpose to do right which shall control all sub- 
 ordinate volitions. 
 
 Instead of meeting perfect educators to instruct in 
 the laws of the system, to form good habits, and to 
 exert all the powerful social, domestic, and civil influ- 
 ences aright, every one of these powerful principles are 
 fatally wrong. Parents, teachers, companions, and 
 rulers, to a greater or less extent, teach wrong, train 
 wrong, and set wrong examples, while the whole moral 
 atmosphere is contaminated and paralyzing. 
 
 In these circumstances, it is as impossible for a 
 
232 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 young mind to commence existence here with perfect 
 obedience to law, and to continue through life in a 
 course of perfect rectitude, as it is for it, by its feeble 
 will, to regulate the winds of heaven, or turn back the 
 tides of the ocean. 
 
WRONG ACTION OF MIND AND ITS RESULTS. 233 
 
 CHAPTER XXVn. 
 
 WRONG ACTION OF MIND, AND ITS RESULTS IN A FU- 
 TURE STATE. 
 
 We are now to inquire as to the results of the 
 wrong action of mind in a future state, so far as rea- 
 son and experience can furnish data for any antici- 
 pations. 
 
 The following are the principles of mind from which 
 we reason on this subject. It appears that its consti- 
 tution is such that the repetition of one particular 
 mode of securing happiness induces a habit ; and that 
 the longer a habit continues, the more powerful is its 
 force. An early habit of selfishness is always formed 
 in the human mind, and the penalties following from 
 self-indulgence and selfishness are not sufficient to pre- 
 vent the continued increase of this habit. Though 
 men, from the very beginning of existence, feel that 
 they are happier in obeying the dictates of conscience, 
 and that increase of guilt is increase of sorrow, yet 
 this does not save them, in numberless cases, from in- 
 creasing evil habits. 
 
 ' It is also established by experience that, when a 
 strong habit is formed, the mere decisions of the will 
 are not sufficient for an immediate remedy. In this 
 life, it requires a period of long and painful efibrts of 
 the will to rectify an established habit. Every human 
 being is conscious how difficult it is to force the mental 
 and bodily faculties to obey its decisions when con- 
 
234 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 trary to the stream of a long-indulged habit. There 
 are few who have not either experienced or witnessed 
 the anguish of spirit that has followed the violations 
 of solemn resolutions, those firmest decisions of the 
 will, in the contest between habit and conscience. 
 
 Another principle of mind is this, that when selfish- 
 ness and crime have been long indulged, the natural 
 constitution of mind seems changed, so that inflicting 
 evil on others is sought as an enjoyment. In illus- 
 tration of this, it is related of Antiochus Epiphanes 
 that, in his wars with the Jews, after all opposition had 
 ceased, and all danger and cause of fear was removed, 
 he destroyed thousands for the mere pleasure of seeing 
 them butchered. An anecdote is related of him, too 
 horrible to record in all its particulars, where he sat 
 and feasted his eyes on the sufferings of a mother and 
 her seven sons, when the parent was doomed to wit- 
 ness the infliction of the most excruciating and pro- 
 tracted tortures on each of her seven children, and then 
 was tortured to death herself. 
 
 It is recorded of Mustapha, one of the Turkish 
 sultans, that by honorable capitulations he gained the 
 person of a brave Venetian commander called Brag- 
 adino, who was defending his country from the cru- 
 elty of invaders. After having promised him honor- 
 able protection, he ordered him, bound hand and foot, 
 to behold the massacre of his soldiers, then caused his 
 person to be cut and mutilated in the most horrible 
 manner, and then taunted him as a worshiper of Christ, 
 who could not save his servants. When recovered of 
 his wounds, he obliged him to carry loaded buckets of 
 earth before the army, and kiss the ground whenever 
 
WRONG ACTION OF MIND AND ITS RESULTS. 235 
 
 he passed his barbarous tormentor. He then had him 
 hung in a cage, to be tormented by his own soldiers, 
 who were chained as galley-slaves, that they might be 
 agonized by the indignities and sufferings of their ven- 
 erated commander. After the most protracted suffer- 
 ings and indignities in the public place, at the sound 
 of music he was flayed alive. 
 
 The history of some of the Roman emperors, even 
 of some who, m early childhood and youth, were gen- 
 tle, amiable, and kind, presents the same horrible pic- 
 ture. Nero set fire to Eome, and dressed the Christians 
 in garments of flaming pitch, to run about his garden 
 for his amusement. Tiberius tormented his subjects, 
 and murdered them in cruel pangs, to gratify his love 
 of suffering, while Caligula butchered his people for 
 amusement with his own hand. 
 
 The mind turns with horror from such revolting 
 scenes, and asks if it is possible human nature now 
 can be so perverted and debased. But this is the hu- 
 mihating record of some of the amusements, even of 
 our own countrymen, that have occurred in some parts 
 of this refined and Christian nation. "Many of the 
 interludes are filled up with a boxing match, which be- 
 comes memorable by feats of gouging. When two 
 boxers are wearied with fighting and bruising each 
 other, they come to close quarters, each endeavoring 
 to twist his forefinger into the earlocks of his antag- 
 onist. When they are thus fast clenched, the thumbs 
 are extended, and both the eyes are turned out of their 
 sockets. The victor is hailed with shouts of applause 
 from the sporting throng, while his poor antagonist, 
 thus blinded for life, is laughed at for his misfortune." 
 
236 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 One very striking fact bearing on this subject has 
 been established by experience, and that is, that extreme 
 suffering^ either mental or bodily, tends to awaken the 
 desire to inflict evil upon other minds. This is prob- 
 ably one mode of accounting for the increased cruelty 
 of the Eoman emperors. As the powers of enjoyment 
 diminished by abuse, and the horrors of guilt harassed 
 their spirits, this dreadful desire to torment others was 
 awakened. 
 
 There are many undisputed facts to establish the 
 principle that extreme suffering is the cause of terrible 
 malignity. The following is from a statement of Mr. 
 Byron, who was shipwrecked on the coast of South 
 America ; " So terrible was the scene of foaming break- 
 ers, that one of the bravest men could not help ex- 
 pressing his dismay, saying it was too shocking to 
 bear. In this dreadful situation malignant passions be- 
 gan to appear. The crew grew extremely riotous, and 
 fell to beating every thing in their way, and broke open 
 chests and cabins for plunder that could be of no use. 
 So earnest were they in this wantonness of theft, that 
 in the morning a strangled corpse was found of one 
 who had contested the spoil." 
 
 A still more terrible picture is given in an account 
 of the loss of the ]\Iedusa frigate on the coast of Afri- 
 ca. In the midst of dreadful suffering from cold, dan- 
 ger, and famine, it is recorded that "a spirit of sedi- 
 tion arose and manifested itself by furious shouts. The 
 soldiers and sailors began to cut the ropes, and de- 
 clared their intention of murdering the officers. About 
 midnight, they rushed on the officers like desperate 
 men, each having a knife or sabre, and such was their 
 
WRONG ACTION OF MIND AND ITS RESULTS. 237 
 
 fury that they tore their clothes and their flesh with 
 their teeth. The next morning the raft was strewed with 
 dead bodies. The succeeding night was passed in sim- 
 ilar horrors, and the morning sun saw twelve more life- 
 less bodies. The next night of suffering was attended 
 with a horrid massacre, and thus it continued till only 
 fifteen remained of the whole one hundred and fifty!" 
 
 Another principle of mind having a bearing on this 
 subject is the fact that those qualities of mind which 
 are the causes of enjoyment in others around may be 
 viewed with only pain and dislike by a selfish per- 
 son. Thus intellectual superiority, in itself consid- 
 ered, is a delightful object of contemplation ; but if it 
 becomes the means of degradation or of contemptuous 
 comparison to a selfish mind, it is viewed with unmin- 
 gled pain. Benevolence and truth are objects of de- 
 lightful contemplation to all minds when disconnected 
 with obligations or painful comparisons, but if they 
 are viewed as causes of evil to a selfish mind, it will 
 view them with unmingled dislike and hatred. 
 
 Now we find that there are two classes of minds in 
 this world : those who are more or less benevolent, and 
 find their happiness in living to promote the general 
 interests of their fellow-beings, and those who are self- 
 ish, and are living to promote their own enjoyment ir- 
 respective of the general happiness. 
 
 If, then, we reason from the known laws of mind 
 and from past experience, we must suppose that the 
 habits of mind which are existing in this life will con- 
 tinue to increase, and if the mind is immortal, a time 
 must come when one class will become perfectly be- 
 nevolent and the other perfectly selfish. A communi- 
 
238 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 ty of perfectly benevolent beings, it has been shown, 
 would, from the very nature and constitution of mind, 
 be a perfectly happy community. Every source of 
 enjoyment of which mmd is capable would be secured 
 by every individual. 
 
 It can be seen, also, that there must, in the nature 
 of the case, be an entire separation between two such 
 opposite classes ; for it is as painful for minds suffer- 
 ing from conscious guilt, shame, and malignity, to look 
 upon purity, benevolence, and happiness, as it is for the 
 virtuous to associate with the selfish, the debased, and 
 the abandoned. This separation, therefore, would be 
 a voluntary one on both sides, even did we suppose 
 no interference of Deity. But if the Creator contin- 
 ues his present constitution of things, we may infer 
 that his power would be exerted to prevent the intru- 
 sion of malignity into a perfect and well-ordered com- 
 munity; for he has so constituted things here^ that 
 those who are incomgible pests to society are confined 
 from interfering with its interests. 
 
 From the laws of mind, then, and fi'om past expe- 
 rience as to the tendencies of things, we can establish 
 the position that, at some future period, if the mind of 
 man is immortal, the human race will be permanently 
 divided into two classes, the perfectly selfish and the 
 perfectly benevolent. 
 
 Should it be objected to this conclusion that when 
 the mind passes into another world more effectual mo- 
 tives may be brought to operate, it may be replied that 
 it is not the office of reason to meet suppositions of 
 jpossihilities^ but to show what the probabilities are 
 by deductions from principles already known. A thou- 
 
WEONG ACTION OF MIND AND ITS RESULTS. 239 
 
 sand possibilities may be asserted, such as the annihi- 
 lation of mind or the alteration of its powers, but these 
 are mere suppositions, and have nothing to do with 
 the conclusions of reason. 
 
 If mind is immortal and continues its present na- 
 ture, habits will continue to strengthen ; and in regard 
 to motives, we know already that the fear of evil con- 
 sequences will not save from continuance in crime. 
 How often has a man who has yielded to habits of 
 guilt been seen writhing in the agonies of remorse, 
 longing to free himself jfrom the terrible evils he has 
 drawn around him, acknowledging the misery of his 
 course and his ability to return to virtue, and yet, with 
 bitter anguish, yielding to the force of inveterate hab- 
 its and despairing of any remedy. 
 
 We know, also, that it is a principle established by 
 long experience, that punishment does not tend to soft- 
 en and reform. Where is the hardened culprit that 
 was ever brought to repentance and reformation by 
 lashes or the infliction of degradation ? Such means 
 serve only to harden and brutify. Experience forbids 
 the hope that punishment will ever restore a selfish 
 and guilty mind to virtue and peace. 
 
 Beason and experience, then, both lead to the conclu- 
 sion that the two classes of minds into which mankind 
 are here divided will, on leaving this world, eventually 
 become two permanently distinct communities — one 
 perfectly selfish, and the other perfectly benevolent. 
 
 What, then, would reason and experience teach us 
 as to the probable situation of a community of minds 
 constituted like those of the human race, who, in the 
 progress of future ages, shall establish habits oi per- 
 fect selfishness and crime ? 
 
240 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 In regard to the Creator, what may we suppose will 
 be the feelings of such minds ? If he is a benevolent, 
 pure, and perfectly happy being, and his power is ex- 
 erted to confine them from inflicting evU on the good, 
 he will be the object of unmingled and tormenting 
 envy, hatred, and spite ; for when a selfish mind be- 
 holds a being with characteristics which exhibit its 
 own vileness in painful contrast, and using his power 
 to oppose its desires, what might in other circumstances 
 give pleasure wiR only be cause of pain. If they be- 
 hold, also, the purity and happiness of that community 
 of benevolent beings from which they will be with- 
 drawn, the same baleful passions will be awakened in 
 view of their excellence and enjoyment. 
 
 There is no suffering of the mind more dreaded and 
 avoided than that of shame. It is probable a guilty 
 creature never writhes under keener burnings of spirit 
 than when aU his course of meanness, baseness, in- 
 gratitude, and guilt is unveiled in the presence of dig- 
 nified virtue, honor, and purity, and the withering 
 glance of pity, contempt, and abhorrence is encoun- 
 tered. This feeling must be experienced, to its full 
 extent, by every member of such a wretched commu- 
 nity. Each must feel himself an object of loathing 
 and contempt to every pure and benevolent mind, as 
 well as to all those who are equally debased. 
 
 Another cause of suffering is ungratified desire. In 
 this world, perfect misery and full happiness is seldom 
 contrasted. But in such circumstances, if we suppose 
 that the happiness of blessed minds will be known, the 
 keenest pangs of ungratified desire must torment. 
 Every mind wiU know what is the pure deliglit of 
 
WEONQ ACTION OF MIND AND ITS EESULTS. 241 
 
 yielded and reciprocated affection, of sympathy in the 
 happiness of others, of the sweet peace oi conscious 
 rectitude, and of the delightful consciousness of con- 
 ferring bliss on others, while the ceaseless cravings of 
 hopeless desire will agonize the spirit. 
 
 Another cause of suffering is found in the loss of 
 enjoyment. In such a degraded and selfish commu- 
 nity, all ties of country, kindred, friendship, and love 
 must cease* Yet all will know what wei^e the endear- 
 ments of home, the mild soothings of maternal love, 
 the ties of fraternal sympathy, and all the trust and 
 tenderness of friendship and love. What vanished 
 blessing of earth would not rise up, with all the sweet- 
 ness and freshness that agonizing memory can bring, 
 to aggravate the loss of all ! 
 
 But the mind is so made that, however wicked it- 
 self, guilt and selfishness in others is hated and de- 
 spised. Such a company, then, might be described as 
 those who were "hateful and hating one another." 
 It has been shown that both suffering and selfishness 
 awaken the desire to torment others. This, then, will 
 be the detested purpose of every malignant mind. 
 Every action that could irritate, mortify, and enrage, 
 would be deliberately practiced, while disappointed 
 hopes, and blasted desires, and agonizing misery would 
 alone awaken the smile of horrible delight. And if 
 we suppose such minds in a future state reclothed in 
 a body, with all the present susceptibilities of suffer- 
 ing, and surrounded by material elements that may be 
 ministers of hate, what mind can conceive the terror 
 and chaos of a world where every one is actuated by a 
 desire to torment ? 
 
 L 
 
242 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 Suppose these beings liad arrived at only such a de- 
 gree of selfishness as has been witnessed in this world ; 
 such, for example, as Genghis Khan, who caused unof- 
 fending prisoners to be pounded to death with bricks 
 in a mortar ; or Nero, who dressed the harmless Chris- 
 tians in flaming pitch for his amusement ; or Antiochus 
 Epiphanes and j\Iustapha, who spent their time in de- 
 vising and executing the most excruciating tortures on 
 those who could do them no injury. What malignity 
 and baleful passions would actuate such minds, when 
 themselves tormented by others around, bereft of all 
 hope, and with nothing to interest them but plans of 
 torment and revenge ! What refined systems of cru- 
 elty would be devised in such a world ! what terrific 
 combinations of the elements to terrify and distress ! 
 If such objeets as "the lake which burneth with fire 
 and brimstone, and the worm that never dies," could be 
 found, no Almighty hand would need to interfere, while 
 the " smoke of their torment" would arise from flames 
 of theu' own kindling. 
 
 To fearfiil sufierings thus inflicted would be added 
 the pangs of agitating fear ; for where all around were 
 plotting mi&eiy, what relief, by day or by night, from 
 its withering terrors ? Then surely " fear would come 
 upon them like desolation, and destruction as a whirl- 
 wind." 
 
 Another cause of sufifering is inactivity of body and 
 mind. It has been seen that the desire of good is 
 what gives activity to the intellectual and moral pow- 
 ers. In such a world, no good could be hoped or 
 sought, but the gi-atification of inflicting ill. And even 
 a malignant mind must often weary in this pursuit, and 
 
WEON€^ ACTION OF MIND AND ITS RESULTS. 243 
 
 sink under all the weight and misery of that awful 
 death of the soul, when, in torpid inactivity, it has 
 nothing to love, nothing to hope, nothing to desire ! 
 
 Another cause of misery is the consciousness of 
 guilt ; and such, even in this life, have been the ago- 
 nies of remorse, that tearing the hair, bruising the 
 body, and even gnawing the flesh have been resorted 
 to as a temporary relief from its pangs. What, then, 
 would be its agonizing throes in bosoms that live but 
 to torment and to destroy all good to themselves and 
 to other minds ? 
 
 In this life, where we can allow the mind to be en- 
 grossed by other pursuits, and where we can thus form 
 a habit of suppressing and avoiding emotions of guilt, 
 the conscience may be seared. But it could not be 
 thus when all engaging and cheerful pursuits were 
 ended forever. Then the mind would view its folly, 
 and shame, and guilt in all their length and breadth, 
 and find no escape from the soul-harrowing gaze. 
 
 To these miseries must be added despair — the loss 
 of all hope. Here hope comes to all ; but, in such a 
 community, that fearful susceptibility of the soul — 
 that terrific power of habit — would bind in chains 
 which would be felt to be stronger than brass and 
 heavier than iron. If the spirit is conscious that its 
 powers are immortal, with this consciousness would 
 come the despairing certainty of increasing and never- 
 ending woe ! 
 
 This terrifying and heart-rending picture, it must be 
 remembered, is the deduction of reason, and who can 
 point out its fallacy? Is not habit appalling in its 
 power, and ofttimes, even in this life, inveterate in its 
 
244 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 hold ? Are not habits increased by perpetual repeti- 
 tion? Is not the mind of man immortal? Do not 
 the tendencies of this life indicate a period whan a to- 
 tal separation of selfish and benevolent minds will be 
 their own voluntaiy choice ? If all the comforts, gen- 
 tle endearments, and the enlivening hopes of this life ; 
 if aU the restraints of self-interest, family, country, and 
 laws ; if in Christian lands the offers of heaven, and the 
 fearful predictions of eternal woe ; if the mercy and par- 
 don, and all the love and pity of our Creator and Re- 
 deemer, neither by fear, nor by gratitude, nor by love, 
 can turn a selfish mind, what hope of its recovery when 
 it goes a stranger into a world of spirits, to sojourn in 
 that society which, according to its moral habits, it 
 must voluntarily seek? And if there exists a com- 
 munity of such selfish beings, can language portray, 
 with any adequacy, the appalling results that must 
 necessarily ensue ? 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CEEATOE. 245 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 CHAEACTER OP THE CREATOR. 
 
 The preceding pages have exhibited the nature of 
 mind, the object of its formation, the right mode of 
 action to secure this object, and the causes and results 
 of its right and wrong action, as indicated by reason 
 and experience. 
 
 We are now furnished with farther data to guide us 
 in regard to the character of our Creator, as we seek it 
 by the light of reason alone. 
 
 We have seen, in the chapter on intuitive truths, 
 that by the first of these principles we arrive at the 
 knowledge of some eternal First Cause of all finite 
 things. 
 
 By another of these principles we deduce certain 
 particulars in regard to his character as exhibited 
 through his works. This principle is thus expressed : 
 " Design is evidence of an intelligent cause, and the 
 nature of a design proves the character and intention 
 of the author." We are now prepared to show how 
 much must be included in this truth. 
 
 Oar only idea of " an intelligent cause" is that of a 
 mind like our own. This being so, we assume that 
 we are instructed, by the very constitution of our own 
 minds, that our Creator is a being endowed with intel- 
 lect, susceptibilities, and will, and a part of these sus- 
 ceptibilities are those included in our moral consti- 
 tution. 
 
246 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 This moral nature, wliich we are thus led to ascribe 
 to our Creator, includes, in the first place, the existence 
 
 of a feeling that whatever lessens or destroys happi- 
 ness is unfitted to the system of the universe, and that 
 voluntary sacrifice and suffering to purchase the high- 
 est jpossihle happiness is fitted to or in accordance 
 with the eternal nature of things. 
 
 Next, we are thus taught that in the Eternal Mind 
 is existing that sense of justice which involves the de- 
 sire of good to the author of good, and of evil to the 
 author of evil, which requires that such retributions be 
 proportioned to the good and evil done, and to the 
 voluntary power of the agent. 
 
 Lastly, we are thus instructed that the Author of 
 all created things possesses that susceptibility called 
 conscience^ which includes, in the very constitution of 
 mind itself, retributions for right and wrong actions. 
 
 But while we thus assume that the mind of the 
 Creator is, so far as we can conceive, precisely like our 
 own in constitutional organization, we are as necessa- 
 rily led to perceive that the extent of these powers is 
 far beyond our own. A mind with the power, wis- 
 dom, and goodness exhibited in the very small portion 
 of his works submitted to our inspection, who has in- 
 habited eternity, and developed and matured through 
 everlasting ages — our minds are lost in attempting any 
 conception of the extent of such infinite faculties ! 
 
 But we have another intuitive truth to aid in our de- 
 ductions. It is that by which we infer the continuance 
 of a uniformity in our experience ; that is, we neces- 
 sarily believe that "things will continue as they are and 
 have been, unless there is evidence to the contrary." 
 
CHAEACTER OF THE CREATOE. 247 
 
 Now all past experience as to the nature of mind has 
 been uniform. Every mind known to us is endowed 
 with intellect, susceptibility, and will, like our own. 
 So much is this the case, that when any of these are 
 wanting in a human being, we say he has " lost his 
 mind." 
 
 Again : all our experience of mind involves the id^ea 
 of the mutual relation of minds. We perceive that 
 minds are made to match to other minds, so that there 
 can be no complete action of mind, according to its 
 manifest design, except in relation to other beings. A 
 mind can not love till there is another mind to cali 
 fortli such emotion. A mind can not bring a tithe of 
 its power into appropriate action except in a commu- 
 nity of minds. The conception of a solitary being, 
 with all the social powers and sympathies of the hu- 
 man mind infinitely enlarged, and yet without any 
 sympathizing mind to match and meet them, involves 
 the highest idea of unfitness and imperfection conceiv- 
 able. 
 
 Thus it is that past experience of the nature of 
 mind leads to the inference that no mind has existed 
 from all eternity m solitude, but that there is more 
 than one eternal, uncreated mind, and that all their 
 powers of enjoyment from giving and receiving hap- 
 piness in social relations have been in exercise from 
 eternal ages. This is the just and natural deduction 
 of reason and experience, as truly as the deduction 
 that there is at least one eternal First Cause. 
 
 It has been argued that the iinity of design in the 
 works of nature proves that there is but one creating 
 mind. This is not so, for in all our experience of the 
 
248 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 creations of finite beings no great design was ever 
 formed without a combination of minds, both to plan 
 and to execute. The majority of minds in all ages, 
 both heathen and Christian, have always conceived of 
 the Creator as in some icay existing so as to involve 
 the ideas of plurality and of the love and communion 
 of one mind with another. 
 
 Without a revelation, also, we have the means of 
 arriving at the conclusion that the Creator of all 
 things is not only a mind organized just like our own, 
 but that he always has and always will feel and act 
 right. We infer this from both his social and his 
 moral constitution ; for he must, as our own minds 
 do, desire the love, reverence, and confidence of his 
 creatures. The fact that he has made them to love 
 truth, justice, benevolence, and self-sacrificing virtue 
 is evidence that he has and will exhibit these and all 
 other excellences that call forth affection. 
 
 But we have still stronger evidence. We have 
 seen all the causes that experience has taught as the 
 leading to the wrong action of mind. These are nec- 
 essarily excluded from our conceptions of the Creator. 
 The Eternal Mind can not err for want of knowledge, 
 nor for want of habits of right action, nor for want of 
 teachers and educators, nor lor want of those social in- 
 fluences which generate and sustain a right governing 
 purpose ; for an infinite mind, that never had a be- 
 ginning, can not have these modes of experience which 
 appertain to new-born and finite creatures. 
 
 Again : we have seen that it is one of the implanted 
 principles of reason that " no rational mind will choose 
 evil without hope of compensating good." Such is 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CREATOR. 249 
 
 the eternal system of the universe, as we learn it by 
 the light of reason, that the highest possible happiness 
 to each individual mind and to the whole common- 
 wealth is promoted by the right action of every mind 
 in that system. This, of necessity, is seen and felt 
 by the All-creating and Eternal i\Iind, and to suppose 
 that, with this knowledge, he would ever choose wrong 
 is to suppose that he would choose pure evil, and this 
 is contrary to an intuitive truth. It is to suppose the 
 Creator would do what he has fonned our minds to 
 believe to be impossible in any rational mind. It is 
 to suppose that the Creator would do that which, if 
 done by Iiuman beings, marks them as insane. 
 L2 
 
250 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 ON PERFECT AND IMPERFECT MINDS. 
 
 We are now prepared to inquire in regard to what 
 constitutes a jperfect onind. This question relates, in 
 the first place, to the perfect constitutional organiza- 
 tion of mind, and, in the next place, to the perfect ac- 
 tion of mind. 
 
 In regard to a finite mind, when we inquire as to 
 its perfection in organization, we are necessarily re- 
 stricted to the question of the object or end for which 
 it is made. Axij contrivance in mind or matter is 
 perfect when it is so formed that, if worked according 
 to its desigri, it completely fulfills the end for which it 
 is made, so that there is no way in which it could be 
 improved. 
 
 It is here claimed, then, that by the light of reason 
 alone we first gain the object for which mind is made, 
 and then arrive at the conclusion that the mind of man 
 is perfect in construction, because, if worked according 
 to its design, it would completely fulfill the end for 
 which it is made, so that there is no conceivable way 
 in which it could be improved. This position can not 
 be controverted except by presenting evidence that 
 some other organization of the mind would produce, in 
 an eternal and infinite system, more good with less evil 
 than the present one. 
 
 In regard to the Eternal Mind, the only standard of 
 perfection in organization that we can conceive of is 
 
ON PEEFECT AND IMPERFECT MINDS. 251 
 
 revealed in our own mind. Every thing in our own 
 minds — every thing around us — every thing we have 
 known in past experience, is designed to produce the 
 most possible happiness with the least possible evil. 
 We can not conceive of any being as wise, or just, or 
 good, but as he acts to promote that end. 
 
 A mind organized like our own, with faculties infi- 
 nitely enlarged, who always has and always will sus- 
 tain a controlHng purpose to act right, is the only idea 
 we can have of an all-perfect Creator. 
 
 But on the subject of the perfect action of finite 
 minds it is perceived that reference must always be 
 had to voluntary power and its limitations. We have 
 shown that the implanted susceptibility, called the 
 sense of justice^ demands that the rewards ajid penal- 
 ties for good and evil have reference to the hiowledge 
 and power of a voluntary agent ; that is to say, it is 
 contrary to our moral nature voluntarily to inflict pen- 
 alties for wrong action on a being who either has no 
 power to know what right is, or no power to do it. We 
 revolt from such inflictions with instinctive abhor- 
 rence, as unfit and contrary to the design of all things. 
 
 So, in forming our judgment of the Creator, when 
 we regard him as perfectly just, the idea implies that 
 he will never voluntarily inflict evil for wrong action 
 on beings who have not the knowledge or power to act 
 right. 
 
 Here we are again forced to the assumption of some 
 eternal nature of things independent of the Creator's 
 will, by which ignorant and helpless creatures are ex- 
 posed to sufiering firom wrong action when they have 
 no power of any kind to act right. 
 
252 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 For we see such suffering actually does exist, and 
 there are but two suppositions possible. The one is, 
 that it results from the Creator's voluntary acts, and 
 the other, that it is inherent in that eternal nature of 
 things which the Creator can no more alter than he can 
 destroy his own necessary and eternal existence. 
 
 In judging of the perfect action of finite minds, 
 we are obliged to regard the question in two rela- 
 tions. In the primaiy relation we have reference to 
 actions which, in all the infinite relations of a vast and 
 eternal system of free agents, are fitted to secure the 
 most possible good with the least possible evil. In 
 this relation, so far as we can judge by experience and 
 reason, no finite being ever did or ever can act perfect- 
 ly from the first to the last of its volitions. In this 
 relation, every human being is certainly, necessarily, 
 and mevitably imperfect in action. 
 
 But when the question of perfection in action simply 
 has reference to the knowledge and power of the vol- 
 untary agent, we come to another result. In this re- 
 lation, any mind acts perfectly icJien it foiiiis a ruling 
 purpose to feel and act Hght in all things, when it 
 takes all p)0ssible nuans of learning what is right, 
 and luhen it actually carries out this p)^~^i^pose, so far 
 as it has hioicledge and power. 
 
 If a human mind is, as has been shown, perfect in 
 that organization of its powers for which the Creator 
 is responsible, and then forms and carries out such a 
 ruling purpose, it is, so far as we can learn without 
 revelation, as perfect in action as is possible in the na- 
 ture of things ; that is to say, it voluntarily acts to 
 promote the greatest possible good with the least pos- 
 
ON PEEFECT AND IMPERFECT MINDS. 253 
 
 sible evil as entirely as is possible, and as really as 
 does the Creator, who himself is limited by the nature 
 of things. 
 
 It is as impossible for a Unite mind to act right, 
 when it does not know what right is, as it is for the 
 Eternal Mind to make and sustain a system in which 
 there has been and never will be any wrong action to 
 cause pain to himself and to other minds. 
 
 What, then, so far as we can learn without a revela- 
 tion, is a perfect mind in such a system of things as 
 we find in this world ? It is a mind constituted like 
 our own, which has formed a ruling pui*pose to feel and 
 act right in all things, which takes all possible means 
 in its reach to learn what is right, and which actually 
 carries out this purpose to the extent of its power. 
 
 In shorter terms, in this relation every human mind 
 is perfect, both in constitution and in action, so long 
 as it acts as near right as is in its present power. At 
 the same time, in relation to the infinite and eternal 
 standard of rectitude, its action may be very imperfect. 
 
 We next inquire as to the evidence of a perfect 
 mind in this secondary relation ; that is to say, how 
 can we know wlien a mind does reach the full measure 
 of its power in voluntary right action ? 
 
 In regard to this we have two sources of evidence : 
 first, the mental consciousness of the acting mind it- 
 self, and, next, the results of its action. In regard to 
 the first, every mind, in reference either to its mental 
 states or external deeds, can have as much certainty 
 as to the extent of its power as it can of any thing. 
 If we choose to feel in a given way, or to perform a 
 given act, and what we choose does not foUow, we 
 
254 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 are certain we have no power to do the thing. All 
 the idea oi power we have is that volition is followed 
 by the result chosen. All the idea we have of VM7it 
 of 2)ower is that the result chosen does not follow the 
 volition. 
 
 Every mind, then, in regard to ever^y sj^ecific volition^ 
 has the most perfect of all evidence as to the extent of 
 its powers in its own experience. 
 
 But the question is a more difficult one in reference 
 to a generic governing volition. A perfectly acting 
 mind, according to our definition, is one that has 
 formed a generic governing volition to feel and act 
 right in all respects ; that is, it decides that the 
 chief end of existence shall he to promote the greatest 
 possible happiness with the least possible evil, in obe- 
 dience to all, physical, social, and moral laws of the 
 Creator, so far as it is within the reach of its powers. 
 
 Now, as to this simple act of choice, a mind can have 
 the highest possible evidence in its own consciousness. 
 The only question of difficulty would be as to the ex- 
 tent of its powers to caiTy out this decision, and the 
 con-espondence of all its subordinate volitions with 
 this generic purpose. 
 
 To ascertain the truth on this point, let us suppose 
 a mind that has the highest evidence (that of internal 
 consciousness) that it has formed such a purpose. 
 Then comes a case where a subordinate decision is to be 
 made — say it relates to the existence of a certain feel- 
 ing or emotion, such as love, fear, gratitude, or sorrow. 
 It has been shown that these emotions are not to be 
 evoked into existence by a simple act of will. The 
 mode by which the mind controls its own desires and 
 
ON PERFECT AND IMPERFECT MINDS. 255 
 
 emotions is set forth on page 162. If, then, the per- 
 son chooses to do all that is in its power at the given 
 tijne to awaken these emotions, its action is ;perfect in 
 this respect : it has fulfilled the measure of its power. 
 It reaches the limit of its power when it can find 
 nothing more that an act of choice will secure that it 
 perceives will tend to accomplish the end chosen. 
 That is to say, at each given moment, when a mind is 
 aiming to know what is right, and to do it, if it has 
 done all it perceives can be done by any act of will to- 
 ward this end, then its decision or mental action is 
 ^perfect ; it is as good as is possible in the nature of 
 things. 
 
 We have the same method of testing our power in 
 regard to the prevention of desires and emotions. No 
 matter how painful or inappropriate may be the desires 
 and emotions of any mind, it is acting jjerfectly when 
 it goes to the full extent of its power to extinguish or to 
 control them according to the rules of rectitude. If it 
 wills to have them otherwise, and uses the appropriate 
 modes to have them so, this is all it has power to do. 
 
 In reference to external actions^ there are an infinite 
 variety of circumstances that must decide the charac- 
 ter of actions as right or wrong. An action which is 
 wise and benevolent in one set of circumstances be- 
 comes foolish and selfish in another combination. 
 More than half the questions of right and wrong action 
 are to be decided as to their character by the surround- 
 ing circumstances, while no mind but the one that is 
 infinite and omniscient can pronounce with certainty 
 on actions whose character is dependent on circum- 
 stances and probable future results. 
 
256 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 What, then, is the limitation of power in these cases? 
 How can we know when we act as nearly right as it 
 is in our power ? 
 
 In the first place, we can have the high evidence of 
 consciousness that our chief end in life is to act right 
 in all things. In the next place, we can know cer- 
 tainly whether there is any thing more that we can do 
 to find out what the right course is. When we have 
 decided that we have done all we can in the given 
 circumstances, and then are conscious that we choose 
 what we believe to he rights or that ivhich has to our 
 Tnindthe balance of evidence in its favor as rights we 
 act jperfectly ; that is to say, we have reached the full 
 measure of our power in voluntarily acting right. 
 
 But, besides this evidence, that rests mainly on in- 
 ternal consciousness of the nature of our volitions, we 
 have other evidence to guide us. It has been shown 
 in the previous pages how our thoughts, and desires, 
 and emotions are all dependent on the generic purposes 
 of the mind. Whatever is the chief end of life is the 
 object which excites the strongest interest and calls 
 forth the deepest emotions. Therefore, when a mind 
 has chosen to act right as the chief end, all its tastes, 
 desires, and emotions become conformed to this pur- 
 pose. Whatever is seen as tending to promote this 
 end is more desired and valued than any thing else. 
 Wliatever is seen to interfere with this is regarded 
 with dissatisfaction. 
 
 This being so, a mind that is controlled by a ruling 
 purpose to act right finds those persons and places the 
 most congenial and agreeable who can lend the most 
 aid in pointing out all that is wrong in thought, word, 
 
ON PERFECT AND IMPERFECT MINDS. 257 
 
 or deed, and in helping, by instruction, sympathy, and 
 example, to do right. One great test, then, of the ex- 
 istence and strength of such a ruling purpose is the 
 manner in which those are regarded who are most in- 
 terested in finding out and doing what is right them- 
 selves, and in aiding others to do so. 
 
 To be " meek and lowly in heart," so as to seek help 
 in learning what is right from every source, however 
 humble or however imperfectly offered, is the surest 
 indication that a mind is under the entire control of a 
 ruling purpose to do right, and is thus a jperfect mind. 
 
 Such a mind, it must be seen, has tendencies that 
 fit it to that great system of things in which we find 
 ourselves. Such a mind can not trace out these tend- 
 encies by the light of reason alone without a convic- 
 tion tliat somewhere in the progress of ages it will at- 
 tain to a j)<^Kf*^c^ C07nm07iivecdth, where the great end 
 and object of the Creator in forming mind will be car- 
 ried to entire perfection in each individual mind and in 
 the all-perfect whole I 
 
258 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 CHAPTEH XXX. 
 
 ON THE PROBABLE EXISTENCE AND CHAEACTER OF 
 DISEMBODIED SPIRITS. 
 
 We have considered the mode by which, without 
 revelation, we arrive at a knowledge of the existence 
 and character of one eternal, self-existent Creator, and 
 of other eternal beings endowed with all the attributes 
 of the human mind. 
 
 We will next inquire as to the existence of other 
 created minds in addition to those whose existence is 
 manifested by a material body. There are several 
 principles of reason to aid us in this inquiry. The 
 first is that which establishes the existence of mind 
 and matter as two distinct and diverse causes or exist- 
 ences. By this we decide that every human being has 
 a body and a soul. 
 
 The second principle of reason to guide us is that 
 which teaches us to believe that things continue to 
 exist as they are and have been, unless there is some 
 known cause to destroy or change them. 
 
 The other principles to guide us are, that nothing is 
 to be assumed to be true unless there is some evidence 
 that it is so, and, in case of conflicting evidence, the 
 halance of evidence is to decide what is right and true. 
 
 These principles being assumed, we find that at the 
 death of every human being we have evidence, first, 
 that the body ceases to be connected with the spirit, 
 and is dissolved. 
 
EXISTENCE, ETC., OF DISEftlBODIED SPIEITS. 259 
 
 Next, we have evidence at the period of this dis- 
 solving of soul and body that the soul exists without 
 a body, and no evidence that it is changed in any of 
 its powers, or habits, or character. 
 
 Thus we arrive at the conclusion that the spirits 
 that have existed in this life connected with bodies are 
 still existing with all the powers, habits, and character 
 which they possessed in this life, except as they are 
 modified by causes and tendencies that experience in 
 this life has disclosed. We thus infer that all minds 
 who have left this world have continued in the upward 
 or downward tendencies of character which existed 
 when they were disconnected with the body. 
 
 This is all the knowledge we can gain by reason and 
 experience alone in reference to other created beings, 
 and their character and mode of existence. 
 
 As to the time when the soul co'imnences existence^ 
 we have no evidence of such existence except what is 
 manifested in the body. We can only infer, then, that 
 the soul begins to exist when the evidence of its exist- 
 ence commences in the body. To assert that it begins 
 before that time is to violate the principle of reason 
 which forbids us to assume any thing to be true un- 
 less there is evidence of it. 
 
 Thus, without a revelation, we are led to a belief in 
 the existence of two classes of disembodied spirits, the 
 good and the bad. But we have no evidence of the 
 existence of any other created minds except those that 
 have formerly been connected with bodies in this world. 
 
 So far as animals give evidence of possessing an in- 
 dependent spiritual existence, the same argument that 
 proves the continued existence of the human mind aft- 
 
260 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 er death, proves that the animal spirit, if there be one, 
 continues after the dissolution of the body. 
 
 But we can not reason in regard to animals as we 
 can in regard to human minds, for we never had the 
 experience of animal existence to commence with, as 
 we have our own experience in reasoning as to the 
 nature and experience of mind in reference to other 
 beings of the same race. 
 
PEOBABILITIES AS TO A EEYELATION, ETC. 261 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 PROBABILITIES IN EEGAED TO A EEVELATION FEOM 
 THE CEEATOE. 
 
 We have now completed our investigations as to 
 the nature and amount of knowledge to be gained on 
 the great questions of life hy reason and experience 
 independently of a revelation. 
 
 We have assumed that the great cause of the dis- 
 ordered action of mind is that it commences action in 
 perfect ignorance, while all those causes which experi- 
 ence shows to he indispensable to its right action, to a 
 greater or less degree, are wanting. 
 
 The great want of our race is ^perfect educators to 
 train new-born minds, who are infallible teachers of 
 what is right and true. 
 
 We have presented the evidence gained by reason 
 and experience that the Creator is perfect in mental 
 constitution, and that he always has acted right, and 
 always will thus act. This being granted, we infer 
 that he always has done the best that is possible for 
 the highest good of his creatures in this world, and 
 that he always will continue to do so. 
 
 We proceed to inquire in regard to what would be 
 the best that it is possible to do for us in this state of 
 being, so far as we can conceive. 
 
 Inasmuch as the great cause of the wrong action of 
 mind is the ignorance and imperfection of those who 
 are its educators in the beginning of its existence, we 
 
262 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 should infer that the best possible thing to be done 
 for our race would be to provide some j^^i^fod and in- 
 fallible teacher to instruct those who are to educate 
 mind. This being granted, then all would concede 
 that the Creator himself would be ©ur best teacher, 
 and that, if he would come to us himself in a visible 
 form to instruct the educators of mind in all they need 
 to know for themselves and for the new-born minds 
 committed to their care, it would be the best thing we 
 can conceive of for the highest good of our race. 
 
 We next inquire as to the best conceivable mode 
 by which the Creator can manifest himself so as to se- 
 cure credence. 
 
 To decide this, let each one suppose the case his 
 own. Let a man make his appearance claiming to be 
 the Creator. We can perceive that his mere word 
 would never command the confidence of intelligent 
 practical men. Thousands of impostors have appear- 
 ed and made such claims, deceiving the weak and ig- 
 norant and disgusting the wise. 
 
 In case the person with such claims proved to be 
 ever so benevolent and intelligent, if we had no other 
 evidence than his word, it would, by sensible persons, 
 be regarded as the result of some mental hallucination. 
 
 But suppose that a person making claims to be the 
 Creator of all things, or to be a messenger from him, 
 should attest his claim by shaking the earth, or tear- 
 ing up a mountain, or turning back the floods of the 
 ocean, it would be impossible for any man to wit- 
 ness these miracles without believing that tlie Author 
 of all things thus attested his own presence or the 
 authority of his messenger. We have shown that, in 
 
PROBABILITIES AS TO A REVELATION, ETC. 263 
 
 the very organization of mind, one of the intuitive 
 truths would necessarily force such a belief on all sane 
 minds. 
 
 One other method would be as effective. Should 
 this person predict events so improbable and so be- 
 yond all human intelligence as to be equivalent to an 
 equal interruption of experience as to the laws of mind, 
 as time developed the fulfillment of these predictions, 
 the same belief would be induced in the authority of 
 the person thus supernaturally endowed. 
 
 In the first case, the evidence would be immediate 
 and most powerful in its inception. In the latter 
 case, the power of the evidence would increase with 
 time. 
 
 Miracles and jpro^hecy^ then, are the only methods 
 that we can conceive of that would, as our minds are 
 now constituted, insure belief in revelations from the 
 Creator. 
 
 But if every human being, in order to believe, must 
 have miracles, there would result such an incessant 
 violation of the laws of nature as to destroy them, and 
 thus to destroy all possibility of miracles. 
 
 The only possible way, then, is to have miracles oc- 
 cur at certain periods of time, and then have them ade- 
 quately recorded and preserved. 
 
 This method involves the necessity of interpreting 
 written documents. If, then, the Creator has provided 
 such revelations, the question occurs as to how far 
 they may be accessible to all men. Are there revela- 
 tions from the Creator in such a form that all men can 
 gain access to them and interpret them for themselves, 
 or are they so recorded that only a few can gain the 
 
264 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 knowledge they impart, while the many are helplessly 
 dependent on the few ? 
 
 It is with reference to this question that the inter- 
 pretation of language becomes a subject of vital and 
 infinite interest to every human being. This subject 
 will therefore occupy the remaining portion of this 
 volume. 
 
INTERPEETATION OF LANGUAGE. 265 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 INTERPEETATION OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 The mind of man is confined in its operations by 
 the material system it inhabits, and has no modes of 
 communicating with other minds except through the 
 medium of the eye and ear. It is by signs addressed 
 to the eye and by sounds affecting the ear that ideas 
 are communicated and received. 
 
 It is by the power of association^ which enables us 
 to recall certain ideas together which have been fre- 
 quently united, that the use of language is gained. 
 The infant finds certain states of mind produced by 
 material objects invariably connected with certain 
 sounds. This is done so often that whenever a cer- 
 tain perception occurs, the sound recurs which has 
 been so often united with it. 
 
 If language is correctly defined as "any sound or 
 sign which conveys the ideas of one mind to another," 
 it is probable that children leani language at a much 
 earlier period than is generally imagined. It is im- 
 possible to know how soon the infant notices the soft 
 tones of its own voice when happy, or the moaning or 
 shrill sound that expresses its own pain, and by com- 
 paring them with those of its mother, learns, through 
 its little process of reasoning, that another spirit has 
 emotions of pleasure and pain corresponding with its 
 own. jSTor can we determine how soon these pleasant 
 
 M 
 
266 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 sounds of the mother's voice begin to be associated 
 with the benignant smile, or the tones of grief with the 
 sorrowful expression, or the tones of anger -with the 
 frowning brow. 
 
 It seems very rational to suppose that sound, to the 
 infant mind, is what first leads to the belief of the 
 emotions of another mind, by means of a comparison 
 of its own sounds with those originating from another. 
 After this is done, the eye comes in for a share in these 
 offices. The little reasoner, after thousands of exper- 
 iments, finds the pleasant sound always united with 
 the smiling face, until the object of vision becomes the 
 sign for recalling the idea at first obtained by sound. 
 In gaining the common use of language, we know this 
 is the order of succession. We first learn the sounds 
 that recall ideas, and then, by means of a frequent un- 
 ion of these sounds with some visible sign, the power 
 once possessed simply by the sound is conveyed to 
 the sign. Thus we have words that are sounds and 
 words that are visible signs. 
 
 The communion of one spirit with that of others in 
 every-day life is maintained ordinarily through the 
 medium of sounds ; but when distance intervenes, or 
 when some record is to be preserved of the thoughts 
 and feelings of other beings, then signs addressed to 
 the eye are employed. In civilized nations, the signs 
 used are a certain number of arbitrary marks, which 
 are arranged in a great variety of combinations, and 
 each combination is employed to recall some partic- 
 ular idea or combination of ideas. These arbitrary 
 signs are called letters, and in the English language 
 there are onjy twenty-six ; yet, by the almost infinite 
 
INTERPRET ATION OF LANGUAGE. 267 
 
 variety of combination of which these are capable, ev- 
 ery idea which one mind wishes to communicate to 
 another can be expressed. 
 
 A loritten word is a single letter or a combination 
 of letters used as a sign to recall one or more ideas. 
 It is considered by the mind as a unit or whole thing, 
 of which the letters are considered as parts, and is 
 shown to be a unit by intervals or blank spaces that 
 separate it from the other words of a sentence. The 
 fact that it is considered by the mind as a unit, or a 
 sign separate from all other combinations of letters, is 
 the peculiarity which constitutes it a xvord. A sylla- 
 ble is a combination of letters which is not considered 
 as a unit, but is considered as a j)a7't of a word. 
 
 Words are used to recall the ideas of things, qual- 
 ities, changes, and circumstances. Some words recall 
 the idea of a thing without any other idea connected 
 with it ; such are the words mind, ivory. Some 
 words recall the idea of quality simply, such as red, 
 hard, sweet Some words recall the ideas of change 
 merely, such as motion, action. Some words recall 
 simply the idea of relation or circumstance, such as 
 on, under, about. Sometimes ideas of things, and 
 their actions and relations, are recalled by the same 
 sign ; thus vjrestler recalls the idea of a thing and its 
 action, and giant of a thing and its relation. Some 
 words recall a variety of ideas ; thus the term begone 
 recalls the idea of two things, of the desire of a mind 
 and of its mode of expression. 
 
 In the process of learaing language, mankind first 
 acquire names for the several things, qualities, changes, 
 and circumstances that they notice, and afterward learn 
 
268 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 the process of coinhinmg these names, so as to convey 
 the mental combination of one mind to another. A 
 person might have names for all his ideas, and yet, if 
 he had never learned the art of properly combining 
 these signs, he never could communicate the varied 
 conceptions of his own mind to another person. Sup- 
 pose, for illustration, that a child had learned the mean- 
 ing of the terms cup^ spooii, the, j^^^i ^^to, little, my ; 
 it would be impossible for him to express his wish till 
 hie had learned the proper arrangement of each term, 
 and then he could convey the conception and wishes of 
 his own mind, viz., "Put the spoon into my little cup." 
 
 We see, then, how the new combinations of ideas in 
 one mind can be conveyed to another. The two per- 
 sons must both have the same ideas attached to the 
 same sign of language, and must each understand the 
 Tnode of combination to be employed. When tliis is 
 done, if one person sees a new object, he can send to 
 his friend the signs which represent all its qualities, 
 circumstances, and changes arranged in a proper man- 
 ner. The absent person will then arrange the concej^ 
 tions recalled by these words, so as to correspond with 
 those of his con-espondent. 
 
 In all languages, the same word often is used to re- 
 call different ideas, and the meaning of words depends 
 often on their Tnode of combination. 
 
 The art of interpreting consists in ascertaining the 
 particular ideas conveyed by words hi a given combi- 
 nation. 
 
 There are two modes of using language which need 
 to be distinctly pointed 0Mt,\iz., literal 2i.\\^ figurative. 
 
 In order to understand these modes, it is necessary 
 
INTEKPEETATION OF LANGUAGE. 269 
 
 to refer to the principles ot association. Neither our 
 perceptions or conceptions are ever single, disconnected 
 objects except vrhen the power of abstraction is em- 
 ployed. Ordinarily, various objects are united togeth- 
 er in the mind, and those objects which are most fre- 
 quently united in our perceptions, as a matter of course, 
 are those which are most frequently united in our con- 
 ceptions. 
 
 Now, by the power of abstraction^ the mind can re- 
 gard the same object sometimes as a unit or whole, 
 and sometimes can disconnect it, and consider it as 
 several distinct things. Thus it happens that ideas 
 whicii are connected by the principles of association 
 are sometimes regarded as a whole, and sometimes are 
 disconnected, and considered as separate existences. 
 
 Language will be found to be constnicted in exact 
 conformity to this phenomenon of mind. We shall 
 find that objects ordinarily united together, as cause 
 and effect, have the same name given, sometimes to the 
 causCj sometimes to the effects, and sometimes it em- 
 braces the tc/iole ; or the thing, its causes and its ef- 
 fects. As an example of this use of language may 
 be mentioned the term jpi^de. We sometimes hear 
 those objects which are the cause of pride receiving 
 that name. Thus a child is called the pride of its 
 parents. The same name is applied simply to the 
 state of 'inind, as when a man is said to be under the 
 influence of pride, while the effects of pride receive 
 the same appellation when we hear a haughty de- 
 meanor and consequential deportment called pride. 
 The term is used in its most extended signification as 
 including the thing, its causes, and its effects, w^hen we 
 
270 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 hear of the "pride of this worid," which is soon to pass 
 away, signifying equally the causes of this feeling, the 
 feeling itself, and the effects of it. 
 
 Literal language is that in which all words have 
 the ordinary meaning as commonly used. 
 
 Figxirative language is that in which the ordinary 
 names, qualities, and actions of things are ascribed to 
 other things with which they have been associated. 
 
 As an example of the use of language which i^figw- 
 rative^ we find tears, that are the effects of grief, called 
 by the name of the cause ; thus : 
 
 " Streaming grief his faded cheek bedewed." 
 
 On the contrary, we find the cause called by the name 
 of the efiects in this sentence : 
 
 " And hoari^ hairs received the reverence due." 
 
 Here age is called by the name of one of its effects. 
 
 The indiscriminate application of names to things 
 which have been connected by ti?7ie, 2^l<^ce, or reserru- 
 hlance, abounds in figurative language. The follow- 
 ing is an example where one object is called by the 
 name of another with which it has been connected by 
 jplace : 
 
 "The groves give forth their songs." 
 
 Here birds are called by the name of the groves with 
 which they have been so often united as it respects 
 place. The following is an example where an object 
 is called by the name of another with which it is con- 
 nected by time : 
 
 ** And night weighed down his hea%y eyes." 
 
INTERPRETATION OF LANGUAGE. 271 
 
 Here sleejp is called bj the name of nighty with which 
 it has been so often united. The following is an ex- 
 ample where one object is called by the name of anoth- 
 er with which it has been connected by the principle 
 of resemblance : 
 
 " You took her up, a little, tender bud, 
 Just sprouted on a bank." 
 
 Here a young female is called by the name of an ob- 
 ject with which she is connected by the association of 
 resemblance. When one object is thus called by the 
 name of another which it resembles, the figure of speech 
 is called a metaphor. 
 
 When dominion is called a sceptre ; the office of a 
 bishop, the lawn ; the profession of Christianity, the 
 cross ; a dwelling is called a roof ; and various ex- 
 pressions of this kind, one thing is called by the name 
 of another of which it is a part^ or with which it has 
 been connected as a circumstance, cause, or effect. 
 
 Not only do objects which have been united in our 
 perceptions receive each other's names, but the quali- 
 ties of one are often ascribed to the other. The follow- 
 ing are examples in which the qualities of the cause 
 are ascribed to the effect, and the qualities of the effect 
 are ascribed to the cause : 
 
 "An impious mortal gave a daring wound." 
 
 Here the quality of the cause is ascribed to the effect. 
 
 "The merry pipe is heard." 
 
 Here the quality of the effect is ascribed to the cause. 
 The following is an example where the quality of one 
 thing is ascribed to another connected with it by time : 
 
2i'2 IHE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 "Now musing midnight hallows all the scene." 
 
 The following is an example of the quality of one thing 
 
 ascribed to another, connected with it hj 2)l(ice : 
 
 " when sapless age 
 Shall bring thy father to his drooping chair." 
 
 We have examples of the qualities of one thing as- 
 cribed to another which it reserahles in such expres- 
 sions as these — " imperious ocean," " tottering state," 
 "raging tempest." The following is an example of a 
 thing called by the name of one of its qualities or at- 
 tending circumstances : 
 
 "What art thoii, that usurpest this time of night, 
 Together Avith the fair and warlike form 
 In Avhich the majesty of buried Denmark 
 Did sometimes vv-alk?" 
 
 Here a king is called by the name of a quality and by 
 the name of his kingdom. 
 
 It is owing to the principle of association that an- 
 other mode of figurative language is employed called 
 jjersonification. This consists in speaking of a qual- 
 ity which belongs to living beings as if it were the 
 being in which such a quality was found. This is 
 owing to the fact that the conceptions of qualities of 
 mind are always united with some being, and there- 
 fore such ideas are connected ones. Thus it is said in 
 the sacred writings, 
 
 "Mercy and truth are met together." 
 
 "Righteousness and peace have embraced each other." 
 
 " Wisdom crieth aloud, she uttereth her voice." 
 
 Another mode of personification is owing to the fact 
 that the actions and relations of inanimate existences 
 very often resemble those of living beings, so that 
 
INTERPRETATION OF LANGUAGE. 273 
 
 such ideas are associated by the principle of resem- 
 blance. In such cases, the actions, properties, and re- 
 lations of living beings are ascribed to inanimate ob- 
 jects. Thus, when the sea roars and lifts its waves 
 toward the skies, the actions are similar to those of a 
 man when he raises his arm in supplication. An ex- 
 ample of this kind of figurative language is found in 
 this sublime personification of Scripture: "The mount- 
 ains saw thee, and trembled ; the overflowing of the 
 waters passed by ; the deep uttereth his voice, and 
 lifted up his hands on high ; the sun and moon stood 
 still in their habitations." Other examples of this 
 kind are found when we hear it said that " the fields 
 smile," "the woods clap their liands," "the skies 
 frown," and the like. 
 
 One cause of figurative language is found in the 
 similarity of efiects produced on the body by opera- 
 tions of mind and operations of matter. Whatever 
 causes afiect the mind in a similar manner are called 
 by the same name. Thus, when a man endeavors to 
 penetrate a hard substance, the muscles of his head 
 and neck are afiected in a particular manner. The 
 same muscles are afiected in a similar way when a per- 
 son makes powerful and reiterated efforts to compre- 
 hend a difficult subject. Both these actions, therefore, 
 are called by the same name, and a man is said to pen- 
 etrate the wood with an instniment, or to penetrate 
 into the subject of his investigations. Thus joy is 
 said to expand the breast, because it does, in fact, pro- 
 duce a sensation which resembles this action. There 
 is a great variety of figurative language founded on this 
 principle. Indeed, there is little said respecting the 
 M2 
 
274 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 mind, and its qualities and operations, where we do not 
 apply terms that describe the qualities, actions, and re- 
 lations of matter. 
 
 It is also the case that actions and relations that re- 
 semble each other are called by the same name, with- 
 out regard to the objects in which they exist. Thus 
 the skies are said to weep. Here there is, in fact, the 
 same action as is weeping in mankind, and it receives 
 the same name, though it is connected with a different 
 subject. Thus, also, the sword is said to be " drunk 
 with the blood of the slain." Here the same relation 
 exists between the blood and the sword as between a 
 man and an immoderate quantity of liquor, and the re- 
 lation receives the same name in each case. 
 
 An allegory is a succession of incidents and circum- 
 stances told of one thing which continually recall an- 
 other thing, which it resembles in the particulars men- 
 tioned. Thus the aged Indian chief describes him- 
 self by an allegory: "I am an aged hemlock. The 
 winds of a hundred years have swept over its branch- 
 es ; it is dead at the top ; those that grew around have 
 all mouldered away." 
 
 A jparahle is of the same character as an allegory. 
 
 A type is an object of conception in which many 
 of its qualities and relations resemble another object 
 that succeeds it in regard to time. 
 
 Hyperbole is a collection of actions, qualities, or cir- 
 cumstances ascribed to an object which are contrary to 
 the laws of experience, and this language is em- 
 ployed to express excited feeling. Thus, by hyper- 
 bole, a person is said to be ''''drowned in tears." 
 
 Irony is language used in such a manner as to con- 
 
INTERPRETATION OF LANGUAGE. 275 
 
 tradict the known opinions of the speaker, and is in- 
 tended to represent the absurdity or irrationality of 
 some thing conceived by him. 
 
 Symbols aire material things employed to convey 
 the ideas of one mind to another. Thus, as the culti- 
 vation of the olive is connected with seasons of peace, 
 an olive branch is used to express the idea of peace. 
 
 Symbolic language is the use of words that are 
 names of symbols in place of the names of things rep- 
 resented by symbols. Thus the word olive might be 
 used instead of the word peace. 
 
 Figurative language, especially metaphors and sym- 
 bolic words, abound in the writings of the earliest na- 
 tions ; and as what are claimed to be the earliest rev- 
 elations of the Creator are recorded in these languages, 
 the rules for interpreting figurative language are of the 
 highest importance. 
 
 The preceding illustrates the principles upon which 
 both literal and figurative language are constructed. 
 The question now arises. How are we to determine 
 when expressions are to be interpreted literally and 
 when they are figurative? One single rule will be 
 found sufiicient in all cases, viz. : 
 
 All language is literal when the common meaning 
 of each word is consistent with our experience as to 
 the nature of things, and consistent with the other sen- 
 timents of the writer. 
 
 All language is figurative when the names, quali- 
 ties, and actions ascribed to things are inconsistent 
 with our experience of the nature of things, or contra- 
 dict the known opinions of the writer. 
 
 In the preceding examples of figurative language, it 
 
276 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 can readily be seen that a literal interpretation would 
 in all cases form combinations of ideas whicli are op- 
 posed to experience as to the nature of things. For 
 example, ''^ grief '^ can not be conceived of as "bedew- 
 ing a face," because it is an emotion of mind ; nor do 
 " hoary hairs'' literally ever receive honor ; nor do 
 "groves sing," nor "night weigh down the eyes." 
 
 In like manner, where the qualities of one thing are 
 ascribed to another with which it has been connected, 
 there is no difficulty in determining that the language 
 is figurative; for a "wound" can not have the quality 
 of " daring," which belongs only to mind, nor can a 
 "pipe" be literally considered as "merry," or "mid- 
 night" as "musing;" nor w^ould it be consistent with 
 experience to think of a " chair" as " drooping." Nor 
 in the case of personification is there any more cause 
 of difficulty. Mercy and truth, righteousness, peace, 
 and -^visdom, are qualities of mind, and can not be con- 
 ceived of as " meeting," " embracing," and " crying 
 aloud" in any other than a figurative sense. And 
 when the ocean is said to " lift up his hands," and the 
 sun and moon to " stand still in their habitations," 
 the laws of experience forbid any but a fignirative in- 
 terpretation. 
 
 In the case of an allegory and all symbolic lan- 
 guage, the same rule applies with equal clearness and 
 certainty. In the example given, it would be a viola- 
 tion of the laws of experience to conceive of a man as 
 a tree with branches and a withered top. 
 
 Hyperhole is readily distinguished by the same rule. 
 Irony is known by its being contradictory to the 
 known opinions of the writer. Thus there is never 
 
INTERPRETATION OF LANGUAGE. 277 
 
 any difficulty in deciding when language is literal and 
 when it is figurative in cases where men have the laws 
 of experience by which to determine. 
 
 On the supposition of a revelation from the Creator, 
 there must he subjects upon which mankind have had 
 no experience, such as the nature of the Deity, the 
 character and circumstances of the invisible world and 
 of its inhabitants. On these subjects all language 
 must be literal when the literal construction is not in 
 contradiction to the known or implied opinion of the 
 other declarations ; for on these subjects, as the laws 
 of experience can not regulate in deciding between fig- 
 urative and literal language, it is impossible to show 
 any reason why words should not be literal except by 
 comparison with the other statements of the same au- 
 thor. If these show no reasons for supposing it figu- 
 rative, it must of necessity be considered as literal ; for 
 if neither experience nor the writer's opinions oppose 
 a literal meaning, there is no cause why the ordinary 
 and common signification of words should not be re- 
 tained. 
 
 The next inquiry is. How are we to ascertain the 
 ideas which are to be attached to words that are used 
 figuratively ? If the common ideas which are recalled 
 by words are not the proper ones, what are the data for 
 knowing which are the ideas to be recalled? The 
 laws of association, upon which language is founded, 
 furnish an adequate foundation for determining this 
 question. If language is such that a literal construc- 
 tion is contrary to the nature of things, the words used 
 figuratively must express something which has been 
 connected with the object recalled by the literal signi- 
 
278 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 fication, either as cause or effect, or as something which 
 it resembles, or as something it has been connected 
 with as Si. part, or by circumstances oi time ox place. 
 Of course, a process of reasoning will soon decide 
 which of these must be selected. Take, for example, 
 the expression, 
 
 "Streaming grief his faded cheek bedewed." 
 
 Here, as "grief" can not bedew the cheek, it must be 
 the name of something which has been connected with 
 grief, either by the principle of resemblance, contiguity 
 in time or place, or by the relation of cause and effect. 
 It is easy to determine that it can not be either of 
 these except the last. Tears are the effect of sorrow, 
 and are therefore called by this name. The nature of 
 the idea conveyed by the figurative term will show 
 whether the cause or effect, or some object related to it 
 as it respects time, place, or resemblance, is intended, 
 and no difficulty can ever occur in deciding. In all 
 cases this general rule avails : when words are used 
 figuratively, such ideas as have been in any way con- 
 nected with them are to be retained as will be consist- 
 ent with the known nature of things, and consistent 
 with other assertions of the writer. 
 
 In regard to the literal use of language, it has been 
 shown that the same term is sometimes used for the 
 name of the thing ordinarily expressed by it, some- 
 times for its cause, sometimes for its effect, and some- 
 times as including all these ideas. The rule for de- 
 termining in which of theso' senses the term is used is 
 the same as in regard to figurative language, viz., that 
 signification must be attached to the term which is in 
 
INTERPRETATION OP LANGUAGE. 279 
 
 agreement with experience as to the nature of things, 
 and with the other sentiments of the writer. Thus, 
 in relation to the example given of the term pride, 
 suppose a child is called the " pride of its parents." 
 "We know it can not mean the emotion of mind ; that 
 it can not mean the effects of this state of mind ; and 
 its only other meaning is found consistent with expe- 
 rience, viz., it is the cause or occasion of pride to its 
 parents. The same mode of reasoning can be applied 
 to the other uses of the term. If a man is said to feel 
 pride, there is but one meaning which can be attached 
 to the term. If it is said that " the pride of the world 
 passeth away," it includes the whole, and signifies that 
 the causes of pride pass away, and with them the emo- 
 tions and the effects. 
 
 The following, then, are the clear and simple rules 
 to employ in interpreting all language : 
 
 LAWS OF INTERPRETATION. 
 
 1. The literal, ordinary meaning is to be given to 
 all words, unless it would express what is inconsist- 
 ent with experience as to the nature of things, or in- 
 consistent with the opinions of the writer. 
 
 2. When the words in a sentence are capable of 
 several literal meanings, that is to be chosen which 
 makes the writer most consistent with himself and 
 with all known circumstances. 
 
 3. When the literal meaning expresses what is not 
 consistent with the nature of things or with the writ- 
 er's other declarations, then the language is figurative, 
 and only such a part of the ideas as have been in any 
 
280 THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 way connected with the words used are to be retained 
 as will secure such consistency. 
 
 4. In deciding the meaning of words, we are to be 
 guided by the principles of common sense, viz. : No 
 meaning is to be given unless there is some evidence 
 that it is true ; and, when there is conflicting evidence, 
 that meaning is the true one which has the balance of 
 evidence in its favor. 
 
ADDENDA TO VOL. L 
 
 The second volume will commence with a descrip- 
 tion of the Mild of evidence which sustains the Bible 
 as a collection of authentic and authoritative records 
 of revelations from the Creator. This kind of evi- 
 dence, it will be shown, in one grand feature is entire- 
 ly diverse from any that ever existed, or even that was 
 ever clawied to exist in reference to any pretended 
 revelations. 
 
 It will also be shown that this evidence is as strong 
 and reliable as that which regulates men in their daily- 
 practical concerns. 
 
 This attempt the writer supposes to be, in some re- 
 spects, peculiar, and one that is particularly calculated 
 to affect popular apprehension, especially that of well- 
 balanced and practical minds. Instead of a great ar- 
 ray of detail and argument, the whole will be contain- 
 ed in a very few pages, easily comprehended, and de- 
 manding but little time or effort. 
 
 In the next place, the laws of interpretation, and the 
 principles of common sense as set forth in this volume, 
 will be applied to discover the answers of the Sacred 
 Oracles to the great questions of life, and their agree- 
 ment with reason, experience, and tlie moral sense of 
 mankind. 
 
 This will involve a discussion of \\\q philosopJiical 
 theories which it is believed have obscured and dimin- 
 
282 ADDENDA. 
 
 ished the influence of the great Atoning Sacrifice of 
 "the Great God our Savior Jesus Christ." 
 
 The work will conclude with the practical applica- 
 tion of the views set forth to the greatest of all human 
 interests, the right training of the human mind in in- 
 fancy and childhood. 
 
 Before offering to the public the topics to be em- 
 braced in the last volume, it is deemed expedient to 
 present the great j^rincvples on which all the discus- 
 sions are to rest, and also a fair illustration of the 
 mode in which these principles will be applied. 
 
 The following is the illustrative example : 
 
 Theological Dogma of a Depraved Mental Consti- 
 tution, 
 
 In the preceding pages we have seen the evidence 
 that the mind of man is perfect in its constitutional 
 powers^ and is thus the chief and highest evidence of 
 the wisdom, justice, and benevolence of its Creator. 
 
 But the systems of theology in all the Christian 
 sects, excepting a small fraction, teach that the mind 
 of man comes into existence in this world with "« de- 
 praved nature ;" meaning by this a mental constitu- 
 tion more or less depraved. 
 
 That this is the ordinary dogma of theological teach- 
 ings is clear from this statement of the case. A thing 
 can be wrong in only two conceivable ways : one is 
 by its nature or original construction, and the other is 
 by its action. The mind of man, therefore, if it is not 
 perfect every way, is either wrong in construction or 
 ■wrong in action. Now no person ever claimed that 
 the mind of man was not depraved in action, and 
 
DOGMA OF A DEPKAYED CONSTITUTION. 283 
 
 therefore all who teach that it is depraved any other 
 waj must teach that it is depraved in its constitution, 
 or in that nature it received from its Maker, for there 
 are only these two modes of depravity conceivable. 
 
 It being granted, then, that the mind of our race is 
 depraved in its nature, of course the Author of this na- 
 ture is responsible for this inconceivable and whole- 
 sale wrong. This forces us to the inevitable conclu- 
 sion that the Creator of mind is a being guilty of the 
 highest conceivable folly, injustice, and malignity. 
 For reason and common sense teach that "the nature 
 of a contrivance is proof of the character and intention 
 of its author." Therefore, if mind is depraved in con- 
 struction, the Author of it is a depraved being, and to- 
 tally unworthy of our trust, respect, or love. 
 
 This is the argument which, in all ages, has been 
 pressed on those theologians who maintain the dogma 
 of the depraved nature of man, and there have been 
 these various methods by which this difficulty has 
 been evaded : 
 
 One class openly avow that the Creator had power 
 to make the mind of man perfect in all respects, and 
 that lie has proved that he has this power by making 
 the minds of angels and of our first parents thus per- 
 fect. But, in consequence of our first parents eating 
 the forbidden fruit, every mind created since that time 
 has been ruined in the making, so as to be totally de- 
 praved. This, it is maintained, it was right for God 
 to do. How it was right we have no business to in- 
 quire. It is an awful mystery ; but it was so done 
 that God "is in no way the author of sin." 
 
 This amounts simply to a denial of the principle of 
 
284 ADDENDA. 
 
 reason, "that the nature of a contrivance is proof of the 
 intention and character of the contriver." It is saying 
 that the author of sin is not the author of sin. 
 
 This will be still farther apparent if we refer to 
 page 158, where is exhibited the only conceivable 
 modes in which one being can be the cause of sin or 
 of wrong action in others. God is undisputably the 
 author of all the outivard circumstances that suiTOund 
 us. If, then, he has made our susceptibilities wrong, 
 or combined them wrong, he is the author of sin in ev- 
 ery conceivable sense. 
 
 Whoever, therefore, affirms that God is the author 
 of a depraved mental organization of the human mind, 
 affirms that he is " the author of sin" in every con- 
 ceivable sense. To assert such a fact, and then deny 
 that God is the author of sin, is simply a contradic- 
 tion in terras. 
 
 To avoid this dilemma, theologians have instituted 
 the following theories : 
 
 The first class teach that the first pair of the hu- 
 man race were made with perfect minds, and then stood 
 as representatives of the race and sinned for the whole. 
 The first part of the penalty came on the actual sin- 
 ners in the ruin of their own mental constitution, and 
 then, all men being represented in Adam and Eve, the 
 Creator "imputed" this sin to all their posterity, and, 
 as a penalty, all receive a depraved mental constitution. 
 
 That is to say, though each of the unborn millions 
 descended from Adam was innocent of the crime, in 
 order to be just, God " imputes" it to each, and, as a 
 penalty, ruins each in its organization, when He has 
 full power to make perfect minds. 
 
DOGMA OF A DEPRAVED CONSTITUTION. 285 
 
 Another class assume that the Creator established 
 such a constitution of things that the nature of one 
 mind is transmitted to all its myriad descendants, by 
 the same law as the nature of a plant is included in 
 one seed and is transmitted to all of its future kind. 
 The first parents of our race, receiving perfect minds 
 from their Creator, ruined them by one act of disobe- 
 dience. Then, by the above law, instituted by their 
 Maker, they transmitted this depraved constitution of 
 mind to all their descendants. 
 
 This mode of evading responsibility is about as 
 honorable as if a teacher should so construct springs 
 and traps for his pupils that one little fellow, when 
 forbidden to do it, should touch a spring that should 
 cut oif his own hand, and thus move other springs 
 that would maim all the rest of the school, while 
 the master lays all the blame on the child that diso- 
 beyed. 
 
 Another class teach that the first man and woman 
 of the race were made with perfect minds, and then 
 such a constitution of things was instituted by God 
 that every mind of the human race was so existing 
 with or in them, that when Adam and Eve voluntari- 
 ly disobeyed the Creator's first law, every one of their 
 descendants voluntarily did the same thing ; and then, 
 as a penalty for the deed, the parent and every one of 
 the embryo descendants became " totally depraved." 
 
 This theory, which makes every human being guilty 
 of a crime thousands of years before we were bom, and 
 for which we are suffering the most awful of all penal- 
 ties, has nearly passed away to the puerilities of the 
 old schoolmen, and yet there are some of the most 
 
286 ADDENDA. 
 
 popular professors in our largest and moat respectable 
 theological seminaries who are publicly advocating it 
 at this very time. 
 
 Another method promulgated is the assumption that 
 all the race were originally created perfect, and then, 
 while in the possession of every possible advantage for 
 virtue and happiness, they ruined themselves in a pre- 
 vious state of existence. This is the only theory which 
 really meets the difficulty, and relieves the character of 
 the Creator from being the guilty author of depraved 
 minds. 
 
 But this theory, even if it could be established by rev- 
 elation, does not remedy the strong argument of reason 
 and experience against the wisdom and benevolence of 
 the Creator, on the assumption of a depraved consti- 
 tution of mind. The man denying a revelation, who 
 is called upon to receive one, can say. Here is a race, 
 every one of whom is ruined, and, so far as I can see, 
 in the making of his mind by the Creator. Therefore 
 this Creator, by his works, is shown to be a being of 
 infinite folly and malignity, from whom no reliable 
 revelation is possible. 
 
 Granting the mind to be depraved, the light of rea- 
 son inevitably guides to a weak or malevolent Creator. 
 To illustrate this, suppose a man is seen manufacturing 
 beautiful porcelain vases, and out of the " clay of the 
 same lump," as he makes them, he spoils every one, 
 cracking, marring, and defacing them in the very proc- 
 ess of manufacture. Now suppose this person should 
 turn to a witness, and offer to instruct him in the best 
 way of doing things, what would be the common-sense 
 reply ? Exactly that which would be due to a Creator 
 
DOGMA OF A DEPRAVED CONSTITUTION. 287 
 
 who has ruined every mind he sent into this world, and 
 then proposes to reveal the right way for those ruined 
 creatures to act ! 
 
 Another illustration may be permitted. Suppose a 
 colony, by some mischance, settles on an isolated isl- 
 and, which is found covered with the tobacco plant. 
 They clear their plantations, but find that, by a re- 
 markable and unintelligible arrangement, after every 
 shower there is a fall of tobacco seeds, disseminated 
 from an inaccessible height by a machine erected for 
 the purpose and constantly supplied. 
 
 After some years, they receive a missive from the 
 king to whom the island belongs, in which he informs 
 them that tobacco is the chief object of his detestation; 
 that it is doing incalculable mischief to his subjects ; 
 that it is the chief end of his life, and he wishes it to 
 be of theirs, to exterminate the plant, and thus its use. 
 
 He, at the same time, states that he is the author 
 of the contrivance for scattering the seed, and that he 
 keeps it constantly supplied, and claims that he has a 
 right '*to do what he will with his own," without be- 
 ing questioned by his subjects. 
 
 He then enacts that any person who is found to use 
 tobacco, or even to have a single seed or plant on his 
 premises, shall be burned ahve in a caldron of fire and 
 brimstone. 
 
 If, in addition to this, that king were to command 
 supreme love to him, and perfect confidence in his wis- 
 dom, justice, and goodness, all this would but faintly 
 illustrate that awful system under consideration, whose 
 penalties are eternal. 
 
 The assumption that the constitution of mind is de- 
 
288 ADDENDA. 
 
 praved not only destroys tlie evidence of the Creator's 
 wisdom and benevolence by tlie light of reason, but 
 destroys the possibility of a credible and reliable rev- 
 elation from hhn. 
 
 For the belief in the existence of a God is depend- 
 ent on an intuitive truth, while his character is under- 
 stood, without a revelation, only by the aid of that in- 
 tuitive truth which teaches that the nature of his 
 works proves his character and designs. Now if his 
 greatest work, the immortal mind, that which alone 
 gives any value to his other works, is malformed, and 
 thus made the cause of all the misery, crime, and evil 
 of this life, what is there to give any foundation for 
 confidence that his revelations will not be false, per- 
 nicious, and malignant ? 
 
 No man can start with the assumption that there is 
 a revelation from the Creator that needs no proof. The 
 only basis for such a revelation is that intuitive truth 
 by the aid of which miracles and prophecy become ev- 
 idences of the interposition of the Creator. Thus we 
 perceive that the proof that "the author of a depraved 
 constitution of mind is a depraved being," is as strong 
 as the evidence of a revelation by miracles and proph- 
 ecy can be. 
 
 In regard to these theories, and in regard to the dog- 
 ma of theology which they are instituted to explain, it 
 is claimed that both reason and the Bible equally for- 
 bid each and all of them. 
 
 It has already been shown, in Chapters xxii. and 
 xxiii., that all the evidence of reason and experience 
 goes to prove that the mind of man is perfect in its or- 
 ganization. We have only to inquire, then, in regard 
 
DOGMA OF A DEPRAVED CONSTITUTION. 289 
 
 to the evidence claimed to be found in revelations from 
 the Creator. 
 
 Before examining this evidence, it is important to 
 notice the distinction between revealed facts and the 
 theories invented to explain them. 
 
 The/ac^, which both experience and revelation agree 
 in teaching, is that man, as a race, is guilty and de- 
 praved in action^ and that from the earliest periods of 
 life this depraved action is manifested. 
 
 The theories relate to the cause of this wrong action, 
 and there are only two. The first theory is, that the 
 constitution of mind is perfect, and that the wrong ac- 
 tion results from a want of experience, knowledge, 
 right habits, right training, and right social influences. 
 
 The second theory is, that the constitution of mind 
 is depraved, and that its wrong action is the inevitable 
 result of this wrong construction. 
 
 Then come the theories in reference to the cause of 
 this assumed malformation of mind. There are only 
 two ever assigned, viz., God and man : God by crea- 
 tion, and man by sinning in Adam or before Adam in 
 a pre-existent state. 
 
 By those who ascribe the deed to God, it is claimed 
 that he perpetrated this wholesale wrong to our race 
 in one of two ways, viz., either by the direct miscrea- 
 tion of each mind at or near the time of birth, or by 
 creating such a constitution of things that by one wrong 
 act the first pair transmitted, from parent to child, 
 through the whole race, a vitiated and depraved men- 
 tal constitution. 
 
 We now resort to the Bible to ascertain what are its 
 teachings on this subject, 
 ISi 
 
290 ADDENDA. 
 
 In the first place, then, we find a constant recogni- 
 tion of the fact of a depraved action of mind, and that 
 this commences at the earliest period of life. On this, 
 as a revealed fact, there is no debate. 
 
 Next, in regard to the theories instituted to account 
 for this fact. Here we shall only discuss the com- 
 monly accepted theory of the Christian world, and leave 
 the other for the future volume. 
 
 The main reliance for the support of the common 
 theory of a miscreated mind is found in Genesis, chap- 
 ters i. and v., which, it is claimed, teaches, in the first 
 place, that God could and did create the first human 
 pair with minds perfectly organized, and, next, that 
 after they sinned, their descendants came into life with 
 a depraved mental constitution. The passages read 
 thus: 
 
 Gen., i., 26, 27: '-^And Godsend, ''Let us make man 
 in OUT image, after our liheness.'^ " 
 
 "xSb God created man in his ovm image; in the 
 image of God created he him, male and female cre- 
 ated he them,'''' 
 
 Gen., v., 3 : '''-And Adam leg at a son in his own 
 liJceness, after his image, and called his name SethJ'"' 
 
 The whole question in these passages turns on the 
 meaning of the words "image" and "likeness." 
 
 Now the only conceptions possible of the " image 
 or likeness" of a human mind to its spiritual Creator 
 are, first, resemblance in its constitutional powers of 
 intellect, susceptibility, and will, and, next, resem- 
 blance in the action of these faculties. 
 
 That man is the image andlikeness of his Maker in 
 constitutional powers is clear, because we can not have 
 
DOGMA OF A DEPEAVED CONSTITUTION. 291 
 
 any conception of the Creator but as of a mind like 
 our own, infinite in the extent of such capacities. This, 
 then, is one respect in which the first pair could be in 
 the image or likeness to God. 
 
 The other only conceivable respect in which they 
 could resemble their Creator is by their own volunta- 
 ry action^ and this can not he conceived of as created, 
 
 Man is the sole producing cause (see page 158) of his 
 own voluntary acts, which alone decide moral charac- 
 ter. Should God create these, man would cease to be 
 their author and cease to be a free agent. 
 
 It is thus manifest that a mind can be created in 
 the image of God, so far as we can conceive, only in 
 its constitutional powers of intellect, susceptibility, and 
 will. 
 
 This being established as the meaning of the word 
 when it is said that Adam begat Seth "in his own im- 
 age," if it has reference to the mind alone, or chiefly, 
 then it means that the mental organization of the child 
 was like the parent's, and thus like the Creator's. 
 
 In the New Testament, the chief passages which are 
 supposed to bear on this subject are in Komans, chap- 
 ter V. These are the main texts : 
 
 Verse 12 : " Wherefore as hy one man sin entered 
 into "the world, and death hy sin, and so death ])assed 
 ujpon all men for that all have sinned.''^ 
 
 Verse 19 : ^^For as hy one onan's disohedience nnany 
 were inade sinners, so hy the ohedience of one shall 
 many he made inghteoiisy 
 
 Here we again are to discriminate between facts 
 and theories. The facts here stated are, that by one 
 man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; that 
 
292 ADDENDA. 
 
 death comes on all men because all sin ; and that by 
 one man's disobedience many were made sinners. 
 
 Then come the theories as to the mode by which 
 many were made sinners by the sin of one man. 
 
 Here the Bible is silent. But theologians have 
 manufactured the theory that when Adam sinned the 
 constitution of his mind was changed, and then that 
 this nature was transmitted to his descendants. All 
 this is without a word of proof. 
 
 Others have assumed that all mankind were exist- 
 ing in Adam, and " sinned in him, and fell with him," 
 which is both unintelligible, and equally without sup- 
 port from the Bible. 
 
 These, it is believed, are all ever claimed as direct 
 Scripture evidence of a depraved constitution of mind 
 consequent on Adam's sin. Two other passages are 
 quoted as having an indirect bearing on this subject. 
 They are as follows : 
 
 2 Peter, ii., 4 : ''''For if God spared not the angels 
 that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered 
 them into chains of darkness to he reserved imtojudg^ 
 menf — 
 
 Jude, 6 verse: '-'-And the angels which kept not 
 their first estate, hut left their own hahitation, he hath 
 reserved in everlasting chains under dark7iess unto the 
 judgment of the great day J''' 
 
 In regard to these passages, we are to notice, as be- 
 fore, first, the facts revealed, and, next, the theories in- 
 stituted in regard to them. 
 
 The facts are, that there are two classes of angels, 
 those that have sinned and those that have not ; that 
 those that sinned kept not their first estate, but left 
 
DOGMA OF A DEPRAVED CONSTITUTION. 293 
 
 their habitations ; that God cast them down to hell, 
 and that they are reserved in chains of darkness unto 
 the judgment of the great day. 
 
 These are all the facts disclosed. Not a word is 
 said as to the cause or reason why some sinned and 
 some did not, nor as to the mode or manner by which 
 these events were brought about. Here the theories 
 come in. 
 
 Those who maintain the depravity of the human 
 mental constitution frame their theory on these pas- 
 sages thus : 
 
 It is here taught that there are a class of minds that 
 have never sinned. There must be a cause for this 
 diversity from man's experience. This cause is a 
 perfect mental constitution. This, it is seen, is a 
 mere assumption, without a word of proof from the 
 passages quoted I What is quite as remarkable is, 
 that this theory is maintained in the face of the con- 
 cession that both Adam and the fallen angels were as 
 well endowed as the unsinning angels in regard to 
 mental constitution, and yet that they all sinned just as 
 the descendants of Adam have done. 
 
 This dogma has been sustained by certain miscon- 
 ceptions that should be considered. 
 
 The first is in the use of the term "nature." As 
 this word is ordinarily used, it signifies that constitu- 
 tion, received from the Author of all things, which 
 makes certain results or effects invariable. Thus, 
 when a fountain invariably sends forth bitter waters, 
 it is called its ••' nature" to do so ; when a tree invari- 
 ably produces bitter fruit, this is called its "nature." 
 Now if it was a fact that the human mind never acted 
 
294 ADDENDA. 
 
 right, but invariably wrong, it would be proper to ap- 
 ply this terra, and to say that in its "nature" it was 
 totally depraved. 
 
 But this is not the fact. " Sin is a transgTCssion of 
 law," and every child, from the first, sometimes obeys 
 and sometimes disobeys the physical, social, and mor- 
 al laws of God. ISTo child ever invarictblij breaks them, 
 but sometimes obeys and sometimes disobeys. 
 
 But theologians have mystified the subject by as- 
 suming the very thing to be proved, and then "rea- 
 soning in a circle." Thus they assume, not only vrith- 
 out, but contrary to evidence, that all human minds in- 
 vamahly act wrong from the first ; therefore there must 
 be a cause, and this cause is the " nature" received, 
 directly or indirectly, from the Creator. Then they 
 assume that, as every mind is " totally depraved" in its 
 "nature," it can no more produce holy acts tlian a 
 corrupt tree can produce good fruit, or a bitter fountain 
 send forth sweet waters. 
 
 Another misconception which has embarrassed tliis 
 subject has arisen from the supposition that it is irrev- 
 erent, and contrary to the Bible, to allow any limitation 
 to almighty 2^oim7\ even in "the nature of things." 
 
 But it can be clearly shown that every person who 
 maintains that there is a. Creator who is "perfect" in 
 wisdom and benevolence, does, by this assertion, main- 
 tain that very limitation to which the objection is made. 
 This is shown by means of accurate definitions. 
 
 Thus "j^er/ec^ wisdom is that which adapts the 
 best 2^ossihle means to the best j)Ossible ends." 
 
 (•i Perfect benevolence is tliat which produces the 
 greatest ^possible good with the least possible evil." 
 
D0G:MA of a DEPRAVED CONSTITUTION. 295 
 
 That is to say, a Creator wlio is perfect in wisdom 
 and goodness lias done the best that possibly can be 
 done for the great universe of mind in all its infinite 
 and eternal relations. This being so, certainly He has 
 no power to do better.'''' 
 
 The only way this is evaded is by using different 
 words that mean the same thing, and then refusing to 
 define these words, or to accept exact - definitions of 
 them from others. 
 
 The infidel, who allows a God of perfect goodness 
 and wisdom, and the strict Calvinist, who is shocked 
 at hearing that God '-'-has no power'"' to make a bet- 
 ter system, or one that has less of evil, say the very 
 same thing themselves, only in more vague and misty 
 modes of expression. They, therefore, are precluded 
 from objecting to positions that involve such a lim- 
 itation, when it is the very one which they themselves 
 assume. 
 
 To affirm that almighty power can make black white 
 and yet black at the same time, or a straight Ime crook- 
 ed and still straight, even the strictest upholders of the 
 extent of almighty power would hesitate to afiirm, be- 
 cause they are contradictions and absurdities. But 
 they teach equal contradictions who claim that a mind 
 can be created with knowledge, habits, and experience, 
 when it has had neither instruction, training, or expe- 
 rience. 
 
 Instead of claiming these absurdities as included in 
 our ideas of this attribute of Deity, we are rather to 
 assume that by almighty power is signified "a power 
 to do all things except contradictions and absurdities.'''' 
 
 Thus has been presented what is claimed as the ev- 
 
2^6 ADDENDA. 
 
 idence in the Bible in favor of a depraved mental con- 
 stitution in the human race, and it is maintained that 
 it amounts to nothing at all. 
 
 This being so, then we appeal to the principle of 
 reason and common sense (p. 25), ''that nothing is to 
 he assumed as true U7iless there is some evidence that 
 it is soy 
 
 Moreover, in Chapters xxii. and xxiii. is exhibit- 
 ed the evidence of reason and experience that the hu- 
 man mind is perfectly organized, and thus the highest 
 evidence of its Maker's wisdom and benevolence. 
 
 So we can again appeal to another principle of rea- 
 son, that " we are to consider that right which has the 
 balance of evidence in its favor, ''^ K there is no evi- 
 dence to prove the mind of man depraved in organiza- 
 tion, and all the evidence of reason and experience is in 
 favor of its perfect organization, is it not to be assumed 
 that it is thus perfect ? 
 
 To this might be added the teachings of the Bible 
 in the same direction. But this is deferred to the fu- 
 tm'e volume. In the present illustrative example, the 
 aim is simply to exhibit the fallacy of one of the theo- 
 logical theories that has been incorporated as a part of 
 the teachings of the Bible, thus lessening the respect 
 and confidence accorded to it, and impeding the true 
 religious development of our race. 
 
 How it has happened that a dogma, which is so con- 
 trary to the moral feelings and the common sense of 
 man, and, at the same time, unsupported by revelation, 
 should have become so incorporated with the teachings 
 of the Christian Church, will be set forth in the next 
 article. 
 
HISTOEY OF THE DOGiVIA. 297 
 
 History of the Dogma. 
 
 The history of the dogma of the depraved constitu- 
 tion of the human mind imparted directly or indirectly 
 by the creative agency of its ]\Iaker has become a mat- 
 ter of profound interest. 
 
 So far as appears, theories on i\iQ philosophy of relig- 
 ion did not agitate the apostolic age. Christianity first 
 spread among the humbler classes. They felt that they 
 were sinful and miserable in the present life, and looked 
 with dread and dismay to the dark passage of the 
 grave and the destinies to follow. They were taught 
 to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,*' and that thus 
 they would become good and happy now and forever. 
 This they understood to mean, not a mere intellectual 
 conviction, but a j^rac^imZ faith, in which Christ was 
 received as their supreme Lord and teacher by con- 
 forniing their feelings and conduct to his teachings. 
 
 But, after a while, the philosophers and rulers be- 
 came Christians, and then commenced the two grand 
 evils : first, the theories of p)hilosophy, and, next, the 
 enforcing of these theories hy pains and penalties. 
 About A.D. 400 commenced the discussion of the the- 
 ory under consideration. Pelagius, a learned and de- 
 vout man of Great Britain, aided by his friend Celcius, 
 promulgated the common-sense views on the nature of 
 mind derived from reason and experience, mainly as set 
 forth in this volume, and claimed that these views were 
 sustained by the teachings of the Old and New Testa- 
 ment. He and his friend traveled and disseminated 
 these views in Great Britain, France, Africa, Italy, and 
 Palestine, over which Christianity to a great extent 
 N2 
 
298 ADDENDA. 
 
 prevailed. The celebrated Augustine, a man of great 
 goodness, talents, and learning, became their leading 
 antagonist. He set forth the philosophical theories 
 afterward adopted and taught by Calvin in the form 
 which is now denominated the system of High Calvin- 
 is7n. 
 
 This system starts with the assumption (without 
 proof) that the Creator could form mind on a more 
 perfect model than that of our race, and that he 2^'^'oved 
 it by forming the minds of angels and of our first pa- 
 rents on this pattern. But, as a j)enaltj for one act 
 of disobedience by them, first their own mental con- 
 stitution was vitiated. Next, in the language of stand- 
 ard Calvinists, " Such as man was afte}' the fall, such 
 children did he beget ; coiTuption,by the righteous judg- 
 ment of God, being derived from Adam to his posteri- 
 ty, not by imitation, but by the propagation of a vi- 
 cious nature. Wherefore all men are conceived in 
 sin, and are born children of "svrath ; unfit for every 
 good connected with salvation ; prone to evil, dead in 
 sins, and, without the Holy Spirit regenerating them, 
 they neither icill nor can return to God, amend their 
 depraved nature, nor dispose themselves fo7' its amend- 
 menty 
 
 Men being thus terribly incapacitated for right ac- 
 tion, so that they have no power "to amend their de- 
 praved nature," nor even "to dispose themselves for 
 its amendment," the whole race became liable not only 
 to the pains and penalties of sin through this life, but 
 to eternal and hopeless misery beyond the grave. Nor 
 could any one of the race do a single thing to escape 
 this doom, or to induce the Author of their Being to 
 
HISTORY OF THE DOGMA. 299 
 
 pity or help them. Instead of this, a certain portion 
 of the race were " elected" by God to be restored to 
 the state from which their first parents fell by "the 
 Holy Spirit regenerating them," while all the rest were 
 left to eternal torments, "to illustrate God's justice 
 and hatred of sin ! " Moreover, wdioever was thus elect- 
 ed was sure to "persevere." These tenets are usual- 
 ly called the " five points of Calvinism," Viz.^original 
 s'm, total depravity^ electioii^ Tegene7'ati07i^ and saiiit^ 
 jperseverance. 
 
 Pelagius denied that there was any difference be- 
 tween the mental constitution of Adam and his de- 
 scendants, or any other connection between his and 
 their sins than always exists between the sins of chil- 
 dren and those of their parents. Of course, the vitia- 
 ted nature imparted directly or indirectly by God, and 
 the tenets based on it, Avere denied by him. 
 
 At this period all matters of doctrine were settled 
 by ecclesiastical councils. The first council on this 
 matter was in Africa, and, led by Augustine, they con- 
 demned the views of Pelagius. The two next coun- 
 cils were in Palestine, and both sustained his teach- 
 ings. Next, in Italy, the Pope, then at the early pe- 
 riod of pontifical power, first sustained Pelagius, but 
 finally, by the exertions of Augustine and his party, 
 was led to condemn him with the greatest severity. 
 Finally, the emperors were enlisted against him with 
 their civil pains and penalties. The result was, Pela- 
 gius and his followers suffered tlie perils and miseries of 
 civil and ecclesiastical persecution. "And thus," says 
 the historian, "the Gauls, Britons, and Africans by 
 their councils, and the emperors by their edicts, demol- 
 
300 ADDENDA. 
 
 ished this sect in its infancy, and suppressed it en- 
 tirely.*' 
 
 It is very probable that, if Pelagius had had the 
 power and adroitness of Augustine, the edicts of em- 
 perors and decrees of councils would have maintained 
 his views, and those of Augustine would have gone 
 into obscurity. But ever since that day the organized 
 power of the Latin, Greek, and Protestant churches 
 have been arrayed to sustain the theories thus inaug- 
 urated. 
 
 But the common sense and the moral nature of man 
 have maintained a feeble but ceaseless warfare against 
 the tenets of the Augustinian and Calvinistic creed, 
 while now this " conflict of ages" is invigorated by the 
 intervention of a new power. The authority of coun- 
 cils, popes, and emperors is on the wane, while the 
 jpeojple are fast advancing to that position of umpires 
 in the moral and religious world which they have gain- 
 ed in the political. 
 
 In this long and unequal struggle, the principal act- 
 ors since the days of Pelagius have been, in the first 
 place, A nninius at the time of the Reformation. While 
 maintaining the foundation dogma of a depraved men- 
 tal constitution consequent upon Adam's sin, he strove 
 to give some slight feature of humanity and tenderness 
 to the consequent system by maintaining that there 
 was some way in which man, in spite of his ruined 
 nature, could attain some right feeling and action ac- 
 ceptable to his Creator, and tending in some degree to 
 remedy the dreadful calamity inflicted on the race. 
 
 The liistorian thus narrates : 
 
 " After the appointment of Amiinius to the theolog- 
 
HISTOEY OF THE DOGMA. 301 
 
 ical chair at Leyden (University), he thought it his duty 
 to avow and vindicate the principles which he had em- 
 braced, and the freedom with which he published and 
 defended them exposed him to the resentment of those 
 that adhered to the theological system of Geneva (Cal- 
 vinistic), which prevailed in Holland. The Arminian 
 doctrines gained ground under the mild and favorable 
 treatment of the magistrates of Holland, and were 
 adopted by several persons of merit and distinction. 
 The Calvinists appealed to a national synod. Ac- 
 cordingly, the Synod of Dort was convened [by the 
 States-General], and was composed of ecclesiastical 
 deputies from the United Provinces, as well as from 
 the Reformed churches of England, Hessia, Bremen, 
 Switzerland, and the Palatinate. 
 
 " It was first proposed to discuss the principal sub- 
 jects in dispute, and that the Arminians should be al- 
 lowed to state and vindicate the grounds on which 
 their opinions were founded. 
 
 " But some difference arising as to the proper course 
 of conducting the debate, the Ar7ninians were ex- 
 cluded from the assembly, their case was tried in their 
 absence, and they were pronounced guilty of pestilen- 
 tial errors, and condemned as corrupters of the true 
 religion ! 
 
 "In consequence of this decision, the Arminians 
 were considered as enemies to their country and its 
 established religion, and were much persecuted. They 
 were treated with great severity, deprived of all their 
 posts and employments, their ministers silenced, and 
 their congregations suppressed. The great Barnevelt 
 was beheaded, and the learned Grotius fled and took 
 refuge in France." 
 
302 ADDENDA. 
 
 Thus it is seen that, while Pelagius and his follow- 
 ers were wasted by persecution in the commencement 
 of the Calvinistic system under Augustine, the attempt 
 to soften its hard features by Arminius was put down 
 by the same method. 
 
 But, in spite of all such opposition, Arminianism 
 gained ground, and the Arminian and Calvinistic sys- 
 tems have existed side by side in most Protestant 
 communions. In the Church of England, and fonner- 
 ly in the Methodist churches, these two parties have 
 existed. So in the Presbyterian, Congregational, and 
 Baptist churches, there has always been a division in 
 reference to the tenets of Calvinism, some holding 
 them strictly according to Augustine and Calvin, and 
 others more or less modifying their sterner features by 
 various theories and expositions. 
 
 The main point of difference between these two 
 classes is in reference to that most disheartening and 
 deplorable tenet of men's entire inability to "amend 
 their depraved nature," or even to "dispose themselves 
 for its amendment." The strict Calvinist maintains 
 that the mind of man is so entirely ruined in its na- 
 ture that no one but the Author of mind can rec- 
 tify it, while he can in no way be moved to this act of 
 mercy (justice ?) by any thing the U7ireneived creature 
 can do. The Arminian sects hold that, though the 
 "natural man" is utterly incapable of any acceptable 
 moral action in himself, yet, through the atonement of 
 Jesus Christ, he is endowed with " a gracious super- 
 natural ability," by which he can accept the offers of 
 salvation. This, it is supposed, is a statement that 
 most Arminians would accept as expressing their views. 
 
HISTORY OF THE DOGMA. 303 
 
 In our own country, the earliest leader of an attempt 
 to modify the Calvinistic system was the celebrated 
 metaphysician, Jonathan Edwards. While maintain- 
 ing, as did Arminius, the foundation theory of an ut- 
 terly depraved mental constitution of the race as a pen- 
 alty for the first act of disobedience, he first labored to 
 prove this penalty to be just^ inasmuch as in some 
 mysterious way the whole race existed in Adam, and 
 sinned just as he did, thus becoming the authors of 
 their own mental ruin and incapacity. 
 
 And inasmuch as our moral nature revolts from the 
 infliction of penalties for not doing what there is no 
 power to do, he originated a metaphysical theory to 
 tliis eiiect : that, in spite of the injury resulting from 
 this first sin of the whole race, there is full power and 
 obligation in every human being to obey all that the 
 laws of God demanded, but that man is unwilling in- 
 stead of imahle. This unicillingness is the result of 
 that first sin of the race ; and so great is its pertinacity, 
 that no man ever did or ever will feel or act right in a 
 single case, from the beginning to the end of life, until 
 "regenerated by the Holy Spirit." Xeither will they 
 do any thing "to amend their depraved nature," or to 
 " dispose themselves to its amendment ;" nor will any 
 man, before "regeneration by the Holy Spirit," do a 
 single thing that has even any tendency to gain this 
 Divine aid, but it is all dependent on " sovereign, un- 
 conditional election." Still worse, the more efibrts an 
 unrenewed man makes to love and obey God, the more 
 wicked he grows, because he is voluntarily resisting 
 increased light and obligation in refusing to regenerate 
 himself, which, on this theory, he had full power to do. 
 
304 ADDENDA. 
 
 As it respects God, this theory, indeed, relieves his 
 character very essentially ; but as to affording any 
 comfort to man, it only adds a new thorn to wound 
 sensitive consciences. For no man could possibly help 
 feeling that when, according to High Calvinism, he had 
 no jpower at all to do right, he was relieved from some 
 portion of obligation, even if, six thousand years ago, 
 he did join Adam in that sinful repast. But Presi- 
 dent Edwards and his followers took away this small 
 alleviation, and put the whole blame entirely on the 
 depraved and guilty creature, both for the ruin of the 
 fall and the refusal to remedy the evil. 
 
 This attempt to prove that God does not require 
 men to perform what they have no jpoicer to do, has 
 been regarded as a most terrific heresy by the strict 
 Calvinist, while for nearly a hundred years New En- 
 gland and the whole Presbyterian Church have been 
 agitated by it. Again and again, some of the wisest 
 and best of their clergy have been arraigned for this 
 heresy, with the threatened or inflicted penalty of loss 
 of character, profession, and daily bread for themselves 
 and their families. Three times the author has seen 
 a revered parent thus arraigned. And in these eccle- 
 siastical trials, she has herself heard otherwise sensible 
 persons maintaining that men were required by their 
 Maker to do what they had no power of aiiy kind to 
 do, under the penalty of eternal damnation, and that it 
 was a dangerous heresy to maintain that God did not 
 thus require it. 
 
 Another attempt to modify the Augustinian dogma 
 is found in the work entitled ** The Conflict of Ages," 
 by the Eev. Edward Beecher. The theory there pre- 
 
HISTOKY OF THE DOGMA. 305 
 
 sented was first started by the great and learned Ori- 
 gen in the third century, and has been advocated by in- 
 dividuals ever since. It assumes the entire and fatal de- 
 pravity of the mental organization, but relieves the Cre- 
 ator of all blame by assuming that every human mind 
 was created with a perfect mental organization, and 
 placed in the most favorable circumstances possible in 
 2i, jpre-exutent state ; and yet the same sad results then 
 occurred as our race are approaching, viz., the existence 
 of two classes of minds, the holy and the sinful. Mean- 
 time this world was prepared as a merciful arrangement 
 to afford a second probation to those who ruined them- 
 selves in the pre-existent state. 
 
 This theory entirely relieves the Creator of all blame, 
 but gives no other help or comfort to the miserable race 
 of man. It certainly is a comfort to feel that our Maker 
 is not a being who ruins his creatures in the very pro- 
 cess of creation, and then exposes them to eternal, hope- 
 less misery as the consequence of it. But whoever 
 believes this pre-existent theory takes the load of a 
 guilty conscience for all he considers as wrong in his 
 own mental constitution, and for all the dreadful con- 
 sequences. 
 
 These several theories all were originated to escape 
 from the inevitable deduction of reason, that God^ as 
 the author of a depraved constitution of mind, is him- 
 self dejpraved. 
 
 And yet neither of them avails but one of the two 
 jore-existent theories, that makes man himself the au- 
 thor of this ruin of his own mind, either in Adam or 
 before Adam, while neither of these is supported ei- 
 ther by reason or revelation. 
 
306 ADDENDA. 
 
 Moreover, neither of these theories coidd be estab- 
 lished by revelation for want of means to prove a rev- 
 elation to beings who find themselves endowed with 
 7nis€reated minds, as has been shown on pages 287 
 and 288 of this volume. 
 
 Another effort to change the hard features of Calvin- 
 ism was by the New Haven school of theologians. These 
 gentlemen maintained that a holy nature and a sinful 
 nature were not what could be created, inasmuch as 
 all sin implies a knowledge of what a morally right 
 choice is and power to make such a choice, while it 
 consists not at all in a wrong nature or constitution, 
 but solely in lorong voluntary action. 
 
 This is precisely what, as the author supposes, was 
 the doctrine of Pelagius in opposition to that of Au- 
 gustine, and for the propagation of which, popes, em- 
 perors, and councils drove Pelagius and his followers 
 firom their churches. 
 
 A similar penalty seemed for a while to await the 
 New Haven innovators; for, as professors in a the- 
 ological seminary connected with the most influential 
 university in the nation, their doctrine on this subject 
 occasioned a controversy that agitated all the New En- 
 gland as well as the Presbyterian churches. 
 
 At the same time, an earnest controversy was in prog- 
 ress with the Unitarian sect, which had adopted this 
 tenet of Pelagius as a part of their creed. Of course, 
 the charge, both of Pelagianism and Unitarianism, was 
 rife all over the land against these innovators on the 
 established creed of the churches. 
 
 To meet this, the§e gentlemen maintained that they 
 had not essentially departed from the system of New 
 
HISTORY OF THE DOGMA. 307 
 
 England divinity as exhibited in the writings of Pres- 
 ident Edwards. Thus they had two labors to per- 
 form — the one to maintain the doctrine that sin con- 
 sisted solely in wrong action and not at all in nature^ 
 and the other to show that in this they did not differ 
 from Edwards. 
 
 In attempting the first, at one time and another, they 
 have maintained that mankind since the fall are as 
 truly created in God's image as Adam was ; that the 
 nature of man is still like the nature of God ; that a 
 corrupt, depraved, or unholy nature can not be affirm- 
 ed of the human mind in any proper use of these 
 terms. 
 
 The inquiry, then, must arise, in many minds that 
 are familiar with tlie writings of President Edwards, 
 how it is possible that men so intelligent and so hon- 
 est should maintain that on this subject they had not 
 departed from the system of New England divinity as 
 exhibited by Edwards. 
 
 To the author this enigma is solved by the charac- 
 ter of Edwards's writings, which, like those of many 
 other metaphysicians who hold theories contrary to 
 common sense, are contradictory and inconsistent. 
 Thus it is seen that one class of very acute minds find 
 in Edwards's Treatise on the Will the most complete 
 exposition and defense oi fatalism, and thus the author 
 regards it. Another class, equally acute, claim this 
 same essay as a full exposition and defense of the con- 
 trary doctrine oifree agency. 
 
 The Augustinian theory of a totally depraved mind, 
 transmitted through the Catholic Church to its re- 
 formed offsets, was received by Edwards. He per- 
 
308 ADDENDA. 
 
 ceived that if God was the cause of this depravity, he 
 is the author of sin, and so he labored to prove that all 
 mankind "sinned in Adam and fell with him," and 
 thus caused their own depravity. 
 
 He perceived, too, that requiring men to originate 
 holy acts with a totally depraved nature seemed to de- 
 mand what they had no power to perform, and thus 
 made God unjust. So he brought forth his Treatise 
 on the Will to prove that man had a natural ability 
 to obey God, and a vioral viability ; and so at once 
 he established ya^aZ^57?^ to one class of minds, andy^^g 
 agency to another. 
 
 Thus it is that the New Haven divines find lan- 
 guage in Edwards that sustains their views, while their 
 antagonists find as much, or more, that condemns them. 
 
 The ancient followers of Pelagius, the modern Uni- 
 tarians, and the leaders of the New Haven school of 
 divines, all hold exactly the position set forth in this 
 work of the ^;>er/*^C2J organization of the human mind, 
 while the only depravity maintained by them is that 
 of voluntary action. At the same time, it is believed 
 that but a very small portion of the younger clergy of 
 any theological school in New England, or in a large 
 portion of the Presbyterian churches, would openly 
 avow a belief in the depraved mental constitution of 
 man as created by God, either directly at or near birth, 
 or indirectly by hereditary transmission. 
 
 It is interesting, yet sad, to trace the dominant influ- 
 ence of the Augustinian theory of a dej)l\aved mental 
 constitution in originating most of the leading sects of 
 the present Christian world. 
 
 Man being assumed to be thus miserably miscreat- 
 
HISTORY OP THE DOGMA. 309 
 
 ed, and his sole hope being the gift of the Holy Ghost 
 to recreate, the priesthood soon claimed to be the only 
 medium through which this gift could pass ; and hav- 
 ing the eternal life and death of the soul in their hands, 
 they speedily thus gained that domestic, civil, and re- 
 ligious power which made the papal hierarchy the 
 most tremendous tyranny that earth ever witnessed. 
 
 The question of the transmission of this power 
 through properly ordained persons was the chief fea- 
 ture of the Episcopal organization. 
 
 Most of the other large sects in this country are de- 
 scended from the Puritans, who, as it appears, were 
 the first to institute "a church" as consisting solely 
 of persons who "profess" to be "regenerated" on the 
 theory of the renewal of a misfonned or depraved mind. 
 
 The Greek, Eoman, Episcopal, Scotch, and Europe- 
 an Protestants recognize no such organization, all be- 
 ing born into the Church; and this seems to have 
 been the case in the first churches of the New Testa- 
 ment, where parents and their families^ and all who 
 joined their communities, were considered as consti- 
 tuting the Christian Church, whether " regenerated" or 
 not.* So, in the Jewish Church, all who submitted to 
 the initiatory rite were members, without respect to 
 religious attainments in character. This new princi- 
 ple of organization, originating with the Puritans, is re- 
 tained among most sects in this nation, and is the foun- 
 dation of their separate organizations. 
 
 Thus the Baptists are separated on the question of 
 
 * The word " church" in the New Testament, in the Greek, sig- 
 nifies " assembly" or "congregation," and not an organization of re- 
 generate persons. 
 
310 . ADDENDA. 
 
 the mode of administering the rite of admission to 
 this Church. 
 
 The Presbyterians and Congi*egationalists separate 
 on the question of apj^ointing the officers of this or- 
 ganization. 
 
 The Methodists are an offset from the Episcopal 
 Church, with reference chiefly to modes of bringing 
 men into their Church. 
 
 All agree that it is " regenerate persons" alone who 
 are fully members of this organization. 
 
 There are diversities of opinion as to the relation of 
 baptized children to this body, but none allow them to 
 be admitted to its distinctive ordinance except they 
 profess to be " regenerated." 
 
 It is a matter for interesting conjecture as to the 
 probable results on Christendom had the theory of 
 Pelagius been established by pope, emperor, and coun- 
 cils instead of that of Augustine. 
 
 In that case we may suppose that the efforts and ener- 
 gies of the churches, instead of to these rites and forms, 
 would have been mainly directed to the right training 
 of the human mind in obedience to all the physical, 
 domestic, social, and moral laws of the Creator. 
 
 Instead of instituting two standards of right and 
 wrong, the "common" and the "evangelical," as is 
 now so generally done, children would have been taught 
 that all that was just, honorable, benevolent, and love- 
 ly in their feelings and conduct was as acceptable and 
 right to God as it is to men. Their parents, instead 
 of that sense of helpless inability resulting from the 
 belief that their little ones could feel and do notliing 
 but sin until new mental powers were given, and that 
 
HISTOEY OF THE DOGMA. 311 
 
 the gift was bestowed Ibj the rule of sovereign " elec- 
 tion," would have felt that every successful effort to 
 cultivate all lovely and right habits and feelings was 
 advancing their offspring nearer to God and their heav- 
 enly home, and that, when their wisdom failed, the 
 promise of " the Comforter" was given to encourage 
 them in this great work. 
 
 Thus they would expect their children to become 
 " new creatures in Christ Jesus" by the combined in- 
 fluence of the heavenly and earthly parents gradually 
 transforming their ignorance and selfishness to knowl- 
 edge and benevolence. 
 
 That the theory of Augustine, originally established 
 in the Clu'istian churches by pains and penalties, is 
 still sustained there by such influences, is apparent 
 from these facts. 
 
 Although there is a large amount of real virtue and 
 piety that is not within the pale of any sectarian or- 
 ganization, yet the vast majority of conscientious per- 
 sons are either enrolled in the Churchy or intimately 
 connected with it in principle and feeling. All this in- 
 tellectual and moral power is organized into various 
 denominations, each controlled and led by a number of 
 highly-educated, conscientious, and religious men. 
 
 With these denominations are connected high posi- 
 tions in the pulpit, with great influence and liberal sala- 
 ries ; literary institutions, with posts of honor and com- 
 petency ; and theological seminaries that are the central 
 ecclesiastical mainsprings of influence. 
 
 Then there are connected with each denomination 
 large voluntary associations for benevolent purposes, 
 with officers who control large pecuniary means. Fi- 
 
312 ADDENDA. 
 
 nally, eacli sect has its quarterlies, montlilies, and its 
 religious newspapers, whose editors are speaking every 
 day to the minds of thousands and hundreds of thou- 
 sands. 
 
 Now it is a fact that this vast array of wealth, posi- 
 tion, influence, and ecclesiastical power is actually com- 
 bined to sustain these theological theories. So much 
 is this the case, that a minister, theological professor, 
 president of a college, secretary of a benevolent society, 
 or editor of a periodical or newspaper, could not open- 
 ly deny this Augustinian tenet but under penalty of 
 the loss of reputation, position, influence, and the in- 
 come that sustains himself and family. Our largest 
 and best theological seminaries demand an avowal of 
 belief in this dogma as a condition of holding any pro- 
 fessorship, and in some of them it must be renewed by 
 all the professors every few years. 
 
 At the same time, this dogma of a depraved mental 
 constitution transmitted from Adam is inwrought into 
 all the standard works of theology, the sermons, the 
 prayers, the sacred poetry, the popular literatui'e, and 
 even the Sunday-school and family literature of cliild- 
 hood. 
 
 The power of such influences is intensified by the 
 present stringency of sectarian organization. By those 
 who have marked the tendencies of the religious 
 world, it will be remembered that, at the time the asso- 
 ciations for religious benevolence began their gi*eat 
 work, all sects seemed to be harmonizing and uniting 
 in the efforts to send Bibles, tracts, and missionaries to 
 the destitute. At this period, the questions that sep- 
 arated Christians in reference to modes of ordination, 
 
HISTORY OF THE DOGIHA. 313 
 
 baptism, and churcli officers, seemed to disappear as 
 matters of small moment among all whose great aim 
 was to save the lost of every name and nation. 
 
 But, while this served to liberalize the feelings and 
 opinions of good men in all sects, it soon became ap- 
 parent to the leaders that, if these tendencies were not 
 counteracted, the sects would all come together. 
 
 If this should happen, where Avould be all the great 
 machinery that was supported by these several denom- 
 inations for their distinctive aims ? 
 
 Soon the tide turned, and, though now there is less 
 sectarian bitterness, and most sects can allow each oth- 
 er to be Christians with different names and badges, 
 yet each is active for its own separate interests more 
 decidedly than ever. And now the leading concern 
 of each denomination seems to be, to increase its own 
 separate churches, schools, colleges, theological sem- 
 inaries, religious periodicals, and benevolent associa- 
 tions, not because the salvation of the lost depends on 
 these distinctive matters, but chiefly as modes of in- 
 creasing the extent^ 7'espectability^ d^ndi influence of their 
 sect. In order to do this, the importance of the points 
 which divide each from the other must be magnified ; 
 for if there is but a trifling difference between an Old 
 School and New School Church, or a Baptist, Congre- 
 gational, or a Presbyterian, then, in small places, and 
 especially in our new settlements, all these would unite 
 in one large, harmonious church, that could properly 
 support all its own ordinances, and send of its surplus 
 to supply the destitute. On the contrary, if these dif- 
 ferences are magnified, there will be two, three, or four 
 small churches, all contending with each other, poorly 
 
 
 
314 ADDENDA. 
 
 supporting their own ordinances, and, instead of help- 
 ing the destitute, sending to other churches of then: 
 own sect for help. 
 
 Thus it is that we see vast sums raised every year 
 to multiply these needless, weak, and militant churches 
 all over the land. There are facts on this subject that 
 should be deeply pondered.* 
 
 So in regard to education ; although intelligence has 
 diminished the acerbity of sectarianism, it has led to 
 a higher appreciation of educational institutions as an 
 element of sectarian influence and respectability. 
 From this has come the struggle to multiply colleges 
 and female seminaries in each of the several denomi- 
 nations. Each is now acting as a sect in starting new 
 institutions all over the land, that demand immense in- 
 vestments for buildings, apparatus, and endowments, 
 and this without reference to the actual wants of the 
 community. For example, in Indiana, where the low 
 state of common school education makes such institu- 
 tions least patronized, there are eleven endowed institu- 
 tions, with an aggregate income from these endowments 
 of $14,000^^r anniim^ besides tuition. In Ohio there 
 are twenty-six colleges and professional schools, with 
 an annual income from endowments of $25,000; and 
 yet, as appears in the public prints, $100,000 has been 
 subscribed in one city in this same state to start an- 
 other college for the Old School Presbyterians, who 
 are expected to raise as much more among that sect. 
 Besides endowments to support teachers, vast sums are 
 expended in buildings, some of which are standing 
 unused for the purpose for which the money to build 
 ♦ See Note C. 
 
HISTORY OF THE DOGMA. 315 
 
 them was given. This is a fair specimen of what is 
 transpiring in most of the other states in raising new 
 institutions or increasing the funds of those abeady 
 started. In this way, two, three, and four colleges are 
 often found as competitors in a section that could 
 properly patronize scarcely one. 
 
 After each sect has thus reared an institution, it 
 must then struggle to find pupils, and thus multitudes 
 of young boys, who are to go into future pursuits where 
 such knowledge will be of little or no service, are 
 pressed into a Latin and Greek course, which probably 
 the larger portion of them forsake before it is com- 
 pleted, with little knowledge of ancient literature, and 
 far less of their own mother tongue. The waste of 
 educational benefactions in this way is little realized, 
 while the effect of congregating the young in boarding- 
 school life, away from home and parental influence, is 
 most disastrous. 
 
 How can it be otherwise? To take the unformed 
 youth at the most excitable period of the nervous sys- 
 tem, at the point where temptations are strongest, and 
 habits of self-control the weakest, away from mothers, 
 sisters, and home influences ; herd them promiscuously 
 with good and bad; stimulate the brain to excess; 
 end all the healthful domestic exercise, and what could 
 be expected but just such wrecks of health, morals, 
 home habits, and all that is good and pure, as is con- 
 stantly going on in such institutions ? 
 
 If parents could hear the details that have come 
 from mothers and their young sons of the experiences 
 of boarding-school and college life all over the land, 
 especially in reference to that most contaminating and 
 
316 ADDENDA. 
 
 horrible literature and prints that no care can exclude, 
 they would understand only a small part of the evils 
 included in such institutions for the young. 
 
 Not only colleges, but female seminaries, and even 
 private schools, are becoming more and more sectarian, 
 as especially patronized by some one denomination, 
 and relying on this for success. 
 
 All this sectarian influence in education is, in fact, 
 operating to sustain the Augustinian theories hy the 
 jpains and 2:)enalties that first enforced them ; for no 
 teacher of a school, or college, or female seminary 
 could avow a dissent from theories so powerfully sus- 
 tained, without subjecting himself, his institution, and 
 his sect to attacks from other sects and institutions, as 
 one mode of supplanting a rival. 
 
 It was this powerful array of antagonistic influences 
 that for years withheld the author from any public ex- 
 pression of some of the views set forth in this work. 
 
 It has been stated in the introduction that, while 
 teaching mental science, in connection with the Bible, 
 to highly gifted minds, an octavo volume was printed, 
 but not published, which embraced the leading features 
 of this work. In that, the principles of reason and in- 
 terpretation were not applied to the theories of a de- 
 praved mental constitution, which at that time were 
 not, to her own mind, satisfactorily solved, but to 
 theories on the character and atoning sacrifice of Je- 
 sus Christ, where relief was first experienced by the 
 writer. 
 
 On taking advice as to the publication of such a 
 work, it became clear that it would probably result in 
 such powerful theological influences as would end a 
 
HISTORY OF THE DOGMA. 317 
 
 connection with a public institution, and all labors as 
 a teacher. 
 
 In obedience to the counsel of friends, it was con- 
 cluded to go quietly on as an educator, and work out 
 practically all that could be done without innovating 
 on accepted opinions, and wait till time and circum- 
 stances should afford more maturity and completeness 
 to the writer's own views ; for it was soon perceived 
 that no one ever objected to having children trained 
 exactly according to the author's present views, pro- 
 vided nothing was said against the accepted theolog- 
 ical theories. So faithfully has this method been pur- 
 sued, that it is probable that there is not an individ- 
 ual with whom the writer has been associated as an 
 educator, who will not, for the first time, learn her 
 views on the Augustinian and Calvinistic theories from 
 this work ; while, even in her own family circle, though 
 opinions have been expressed freely, all discussions on 
 this subject have been avoided. 
 
 In pursuing the course of a practical educator, the 
 first years were spent mainly in the intellectual depart- 
 ment, at the period when the "higher branches" first 
 began to enter as a part of female culture. Surround- 
 ed by some of the most gifted female minds in the 
 country as both teachers and pupils, and all excited by 
 the interest of pioneers in the effort to elevate the 
 standard of female education, there resulted such an 
 amount of intellectual activity and enthusiasm as has 
 never been witnessed by the author before or since. 
 
 Ignorant of the laws of health, and unaware of 
 any danger from excess, the result was such entire 
 and irretrievable prostration of the nervous system 
 
318 ADDENDA. 
 
 as forbade forever any farther labor as a practical 
 teacher. 
 
 Extensive journeyings to restore health among a 
 widely-dispersed family connection led to frequent re- 
 unions with former pupils. Thence resulted a deep 
 conviction of the necessity of training the domestic 
 habits and tastes of young girls as had never yet been 
 attempted, and of the extreme suffering and ill health 
 consequent on the neglect of it as a part of school ed- 
 ucation. This led to two works on Domestic Economy, 
 one of which was designed as a text-book for girls at 
 school, and the other for their use after they became 
 housekeepers. 
 
 Continued ill health, inducing frequent resort to 
 health establishments, where invalids from all classes 
 were congregated, increased the conviction that modes 
 of education and other causes were fatally undermin- 
 ing national health, especially that of women. Thus 
 originated a work on Health, and another on Physiol- 
 ogy and Physical Training. 
 
 Incapacitated from labor as a teacher, the only field 
 of effort to the author was in more general efforts to 
 interest her own sex to enlarged and organized efforts 
 to secure the proper training of woman for her distinct- 
 ive duties, and also to provide envployment for her in 
 her appropriate profession. 
 
 Two small works addressed to American women on 
 this subject were issued by her, and two organizations 
 were the result : one conducted by ladies in Boston, 
 and one by Governor Slade as General Agent of the 
 Board of National Popular Education. 
 
 As both of these restricted their efforts mainly to 
 
HISTORY OF THE DOGMA. 319 
 
 providing employment for teachers already educated, 
 the next attempt was to secure an organization to pre- 
 pare woman for her distinctive duties on a more com- 
 plete and comprehensive scale. 
 
 In this attempt, it was perceived that the other sex 
 have always secured proper attention to any particular 
 department of education by endowments to sujpport 
 highly-educated teachers to give their lohole time to 
 that object. Thus chemistry, agriculture, and the prac- 
 tical sciences are made honorable, and are insured as 
 branches of liberal instruction. The question then 
 arose, Why should not this method be taken to make 
 woman's distinctive profession honorable, and to se- 
 cure a proper training for it ? 
 
 The business of a woman is divided into three as dis- 
 tinct departments as the liberal professions of law, med- 
 icine, and divinity for men, which are so honored and 
 endowed. Nor are they less important or universal. 
 For, in the first place, woman is to train the human 
 mind at just that period when principles, tastes, and 
 habits are most firmly fixed ; next, she has the care of 
 the human body all through its period of development, 
 when the physical habits are formed, and also in peri- 
 ods of sickness for all ages. Lastly, she has charge 
 of the whole circle of domestic economy, and of all the 
 home interests of the family state. Educator, nurse, 
 and housekeeper, these three departments are not less 
 in importance than law, medicine, and divinity. 
 
 The leading feature, then, in this attempt was to se- 
 cure an organization of American women, who should 
 aim to establish model institutions for woman, that 
 should prepare her thoroughly and ^properly for the 
 
320 ADDENDA. 
 
 three distinctive employments of her profession, by 
 means of endowments to support highly-educated teach- 
 ers for this express object. In all other female insti- 
 tutions, the training of the intellect has been the lead- 
 ing object ; in these, the preparation of woman for her 
 distinctive duties was to be the leading object. 
 
 To the common remark that the mothers must do 
 this at home, it is replied, in the first place, that the 
 mothers, to a great extent — as the general rule, having 
 but few exceptions — are not qualified to do this ; and, 
 next, if they were, they have not the health, or they have 
 not the time, or they have not the will to do so. When 
 men wish to perfect and honor any profession, they pro- 
 vide endowments to sustain teachers of the highest or- 
 der. Thus, for example, though it may be said that 
 farmers can best train their sons for their own profes- 
 sion, still agricultural professorships in our colleges, 
 and teachers sustained by endowments, are found to 
 be indispensable to honor and raise that pursuit to a 
 science and 2, profession. 
 
 While the young women of the nation see every 
 thing else more honored and provided for than the 
 very profession and future business of their lives, they 
 will grow up to neglect and despise such duties. 
 
 The education of woman, to be what Heaven design- 
 ed for the race, should unite the home training of the 
 parents with the school training of the teacher. In- 
 stead of taking young girls from all domestic interests 
 and pursuits, and turning all the energies of their ner- 
 vous system into the intellectual department of the 
 brain, there should be an equable and healthful train- 
 ing, at once, of the bodily powers, the social and do- 
 
HISTORY OF THE DOGIMA. 321 
 
 mestic habits, the intellect, and the moral nature ; and 
 in effecting this, the parents and the teachers should 
 work together harmoniously. It is in reference to this 
 that the tendency of this age and country to conduct 
 the education of the higher and middling classes in 
 hoarding-schools instead of at home is most disastrous. 
 Boarding-schools should be the exceptions to meet the 
 wants of a sparse population. Instead of this, the 
 country sends its daughters to city boarding-schools, 
 and the city sends to country boarding-schools, and so 
 home education is becoming more and more neglected. 
 
 The consequences to the health, happiness, and mor- 
 al interests of woman are more and more disastrous. 
 
 In reference to this, the efforts of the above associ- 
 ation have been confined to establishing what it is 
 hoped would become model institutions in the centres 
 of influence of the states where they were located, in 
 which the funds should 7iot be spent in providing great 
 buildings to take children away from all home influ- 
 ences and domestic pursuits, but rather in providing 
 such teachers and influences as would have a direct 
 bearing on the homes of the pupils, and aid the par- 
 ents in cultivating ho7ne habits, home virtues, and 
 ho^ne tastes and j)u?'suits. 
 
 This brief history of the writer's efforts is given be- 
 cause its results will now be seen to form a part of the 
 " history of the dogma" which is the subject of this 
 section. 
 
 For, during the whole period of these efforts to pro- 
 mote the right traviing of the human onind by loom- 
 an as the Heaven-ajpjpointed Tninister for this end, 
 the influence of this dogma has been constantly forced 
 02 
 
322 ADDENDA. 
 
 on attention as the real antagonistic force. That is 
 to say, the whole energies of the Christian Church, in 
 its distinctive character, are organized to remedy the 
 evil after the nnincl is educated wrong^ while little is 
 attempted by the powerful agency of orgayxization to 
 secure its right education. In proof of this, it will be 
 seen that all the great benevolent organizations for 
 which collections are enforced from the pulpit are for 
 adults, with one only seeming exception. There is an 
 organization to send Bibles, another to send tracts and 
 colporteurs, another to send missionaries abroad, an- 
 other to send home-missionaries, another for the sail- 
 or, another for the slaves, another to educate ministers, 
 another to raise up colleges, another for temperance, 
 and so on. All these have as their direct aim those 
 who are educated wrong, and are to be redeemed from 
 sinful habits. Not one has any direct reference to the 
 formation of right habits in the daily training of ev~ 
 ery-daTj life. 
 
 The Sunday-school is the only seeming exception. 
 But this is only a weekly exercise of an hour or two, 
 in which every sect secures the training of its chil- 
 dren in its own religious system, while this system, 
 in most cases, is based on the Augustinian doctrine of 
 the inability of children to feel or do a single right 
 thing till they are "regenerated," while not only the 
 teaching, but the Sunday libraries for children all en- 
 force this dogma. The practical influence of this, 
 though counteracted more or less by other influences, 
 is fairly illustrated in the mental history of the author 
 in the Introduction. 
 
 Thus the Christian Church has all its organizations 
 
HISTORY OF THE DOGMA. 323 
 
 to cure diseased and miseducated mind, and not a sin- 
 gle one to prevent this ruin by its rigiit training. 
 
 This being so, this effort to promote the neglected 
 and yet great end of Christian effort has been looked 
 on with indifference, or as a small concern to receive 
 its mite, while all others are to receive their hundreds 
 and thousands. 
 
 Moreover, the enterprise has been looked upon with 
 jealousy by many whose attention has been called to 
 it as a covert sectarian movement to promote the in- 
 terests of that denomination with which some of its 
 movers have been connected. Then, too, because it 
 really has not favored any one sect, it has secured the 
 special favor and sympathy of none. There has never 
 been a time when its movers have not been made to un- 
 derstand that success in raising endowments would be 
 certain if the anti-sectarian feature could be relinquish- 
 ed, and the enterprise could assume a sectarian banner. 
 
 The most influential clergy of the large sects are 
 engaged in denominational enterprises, to found col- 
 leges or theological seminaries, or to establish book 
 or newspaper agencies devoted to the interests of their 
 sect. The great body of laymen who have wealth to 
 bestow in large sums are more or less influenced by 
 their clergymen, either as personal friends or as spir- 
 itual advisers. Especially is this true of the few be- 
 nevolent ladies who have such independent means as 
 to be able to furnish endowments. 
 
 And thus it has come to pass that this first attempt 
 yet known to organize Christians as Christians, to 
 train woman for her great work of forming the phys- 
 ical, social, domestic, and moral habits of childhood by 
 
324 ADDENDA. 
 
 methods deemed indispensable by man for his profes- 
 sions, is on the verge of failure, after four years of trial. 
 And this is not owing to the fact that the motives, or 
 the plan, or the conductors of it have been extensively 
 distrusted, or in any particular disapproved. On the 
 contrary, the leading clergymen of most of the Prot- 
 estant sects have given their unqualified approval, 
 while the Board of Managers embraces a large propor- 
 tion of the most distinguished female educators and 
 authoresses, with some of the most distinguished bus- 
 iness men and financiers of our land. At the same 
 time, the agents and educators who have performed 
 for four years the details of the enterprise have secured 
 the entire approval and confidence of the public as to 
 their qualifications. 
 
 The real difficulty at the root of all is the indifier- 
 ence to the training of the habits of childhood, result- 
 ing from the long-established dogma of a misformed 
 mind, whose propagated incapacity is not within the 
 reach of educational training. ^Meantime, the chief en- 
 ergies of the Christian Church are now tending to the 
 extending of sectarian organizations, based on pecul- 
 iarities as to baptism, ordination, and church officers, 
 which no intelligent person believes are either indis- 
 pensable to salvation, or even so important as to be 
 subjects of direct Divine commands. 
 
 It is this view of the subject that has at last brought 
 the author to relinquisli any farther practical education- 
 al efforts, and now to attempt whatever may be in her 
 power in directing public attention to what seems to 
 be one grand impediment in the Christian world to the 
 right traiiiir.g and development of the human race. 
 
HISTORY OF THE DOGMA. 325 
 
 In presenting this work to the special attention of 
 the laity, the author does not intend to imply that the- 
 ologians are not to take the lead in all discussions and 
 investigations that are to guide and enlighten mankind 
 in their special department. 
 
 The aim is rather to lessen the general impression 
 that the whole matter is to be left exclusively to them ; 
 that it is a professional concern, in which a layman is 
 to resign his own judgment as he does to his physician 
 or lawyer. Instead of this, there are some reasons 
 why the laity have superior advantages to the clergy 
 in cases where long-accepted theological errors are to 
 be eradicated. 
 
 In the first place, they are free from the strong influ- 
 ence of a system into which the mind has been edu- 
 cated. The power of a system over men who are 
 trained to reason, and who reason on that subject 
 which involves all the greatest interests of existence 
 both for time and eternity, is most insidious and in- 
 calculable. To this is added the reverence, love, and 
 veneration felt by pious persons for those great and 
 good men who, like Augustine, Calvin, and Jonathan 
 Edwards, have been the revered masters of theological 
 systems for ages. Under these two influences, every 
 new opinion is compared with a system^ and when it is 
 seen to be inconsistent with it, all the veneration at- 
 tached, both to that and to its authors and advocates, 
 stands opposed to any innovation. 
 
 The powerful influence of educational training, and 
 of love and rcA^erence to a revered parent, has taught 
 the author to understand and sympathize with other 
 minds similarly influenced. 
 
326 ADDENDA. 
 
 From all such biasing influences the laity are far 
 more free than their clerical guides. 
 
 Add to this the fact that the '* pains and penalties" 
 attached to all change in theological opinions have 
 very little reach among the laity. Any layman, if he 
 adopts new views, can quietly withdraw from one re- 
 ligious communion and join another more congenial, or 
 remain unconnected with any, while no man can call 
 him to an account. But men connected with parish- 
 es, colleges, and all educational institutions, are sub- 
 ject to the supervision of councils, presbyteries, syn- 
 ods, and many other organs of surveillance, making it 
 indispensable that all changes should be known to the 
 public. Thus profession, reputation, and daily bread 
 become more or less involved. 
 
 And here it is but justice to express the author's 
 convictions, which an extensive acquaintance with the 
 clergy of various sects has induced, that there is not 
 another body of men, of equal number and education, 
 who are so free from personal considerations of this 
 kind in forming and maintaining opinions. 
 
 The entrance on the clerical profession in this coun- 
 try involves the sacrifice of all hope of wealth and its 
 advantages, and includes often poverty and a painful 
 dependence on the vacillating favor of parishes ; so 
 that, to a man of talents and worldly ambition, the 
 command to enter this profession is very nearly equiv- 
 alent to that of the Great Master's, "Sell all that 
 thou hast and give to the poor, and come and follow 
 me." 
 
 But while allowing that, as a class, this profession is, 
 most of all, free from biasing influences of the kmd in- 
 
HISTORY OF THE DOGJklA. 327 
 
 dicated, it can not but be allowed that tbej are sub- 
 ject to like temptations as other men, and that these 
 considerations must have more influence with them 
 than with the laity, who are exposed to little or noth- 
 ing of this kind. 
 
 To this, add the fact that men in other professions 
 are far more habituated to look at all questions in a 
 practical relation, and to use the principles of coimnon 
 sense more than the principles of a system. 
 
 The writer has had frequent occasion to notice how 
 the well-trained reasoners of other professions throw 
 aside the theories and systems of theology, and settle 
 down on the great practical truths of Christianity. 
 
 It has sometimes been a matter of wonder to per- 
 ceive how little attention is often given by some of the 
 most gifted and well-trained laity, even those that are 
 devoutly religious, to questions deemed of paramount 
 and absorbing interest by the clergy. 
 
 In presenting this work to public attention, the au- 
 thor is not animated with the expectation of any im- 
 mediate or very striking results. 
 
 Long-established and time-honored opinions, especi- 
 ally when they are entwined with the sacred hopes and 
 interests of religion, are changed only by slow and grad- 
 ual transitions, and these, often, almost imperceptible. 
 
 It is the hope of the author to do something to pro- 
 mote at least a renevjed discnssio7i of these subjects, 
 under more favorable auspices than have heretofore 
 existed. 
 
 The circumstances that favor and indicate such a 
 renewal are, in the first place, a gradual change that 
 has been going on the last thirty years in the theolog- 
 
328 ADDENDA. 
 
 ical world as the result of discussions on these very- 
 subjects. Some of the most candid and acuie minds 
 that have been interested in such discussions have, 
 more and more, been led to feel the difficulties involved 
 in the accepted theory of Augustine ; and though few 
 have come to such clear convictions on the subject as 
 to feel warranted in taking any public stand as inno- 
 vators or reformers, many are ready to examine and 
 discuss in a very different attitude of mind from what 
 has ever before been so extensively experienced. 
 
 One striking indication of this change is the almost 
 universal neglect of " indoctrinating preaching" among 
 the younger clergy in those sects where, forty years 
 ago, it was deemed indispensable to success to thus 
 establish the "five points of Calvinism." 
 
 A still more important change is an increase in that 
 practical preaching that urges on the consciences of 
 men all their domestic, social, and moral duties, as con- 
 stituting an essential jyart of religion^ as truly as the af- 
 fections toward God and the fecial duties owed to him. 
 
 An equal or greater change is apparent among the 
 laity. The strong Calvinistic doctrines that used to 
 be so reverently received are either simply tolerated 
 or quietly rejected. This is particularly the case with 
 mothers and teachers, both in the family and in the 
 secular and Sunday schools. Thousands of practical, 
 tender mothers utterly refuse to teach their httle ones 
 that a depraved nature has descended to them from 
 Adam, and that they can never perform any thing that 
 is right or pleasing to God till this nature is recreated ; 
 or, if they use such language, it is with explanations 
 entirely un-Calvinistic. 
 
HISTOKY OF THE DOGMA. 329 
 
 Instead of this, they teach their oiFspring that they 
 can please and obey their Heavenly Parent as truly 
 and acceptably as they do their earthly parents ; that 
 when they have so learned to love and please Him 
 (or to feel and act right) that it is their chief desire 
 thus to do, they have a new life. This " new birth," 
 they also teach, is the result of that aid from the Holy 
 Spirit, the Comforter, which both parents and children 
 so need that they can never succeed without it, and 
 yet which is promised to all who earnestly desire it, 
 and seek it by proper methods. 
 
 Multitudes of parents and teachers are pursuing this 
 method in churches whose ministers would entirely re- 
 volt from the idea of denying the Augustinian theory 
 or the system of Calvin resting upon it. Many are 
 doing this, unconscious that they are taking a course 
 that is contrary to the standards of their Church. 
 
 In conclusion, the author would ask attention to the 
 chief points presented in this volume. 
 
 The main question is, are these principles of rea- 
 son or common sense, and the rules for interpreting 
 language here set forth, accepted as guides in decid- 
 ing the great questions of life ? 
 
 Next, are the deductions gained by their aid as to 
 what can be learned without a direct revelation from 
 the Creator, accepted ? 
 
 Lastly, is the Augustinian theory of a depraved 
 mental constitution consequent on the sin of the first 
 parents of the race, as tried by these principles, sup- 
 ported either by reason or the Bible ; and, if not, 
 should not all men renounce it, both theoretically and 
 practically ? 
 
330 ADDENDA. 
 
 In answering this last, it is to be remembered that 
 the question is not one of fact as to the depraved 
 action of mind, but of the 2>f^'^^osoj)hy of this fact, or 
 the cause of this wrong action. A man may not be 
 able to form any satisfactory theory on this question, 
 and be content, as the early Christians used to be, to 
 remain without one. The repudiation of the Augus- 
 tinian theory does not necessarily involve the adop- 
 tion of any other, while it does remove insurmountable 
 difficulties from just and generous minds in accepting 
 the Bible as of Divine authority while encumbered 
 with what seems so contrary both to the moral sense 
 and the common sense of mankind. 
 
 • It has been the privilege of the author all her life to 
 be intimately associated, by family and other connec- 
 tions, with the ministers of religion in a variety of de- 
 nominations — those intelligent, excellent, and pious 
 men who, more than any other class, can understand 
 that heavy burden of spirit connected with that awful 
 subject, the eternal loss of the huinan soul. 
 
 Before closing, they will permit a few inquiries in 
 reference to this subject. The almost universal cessa- 
 tion of " revivals" of religion, the diminished attend- 
 ance of the masses on Sabbath worship, the decrease 
 in the relative proportion of the ministry, the diminu- 
 tion of spirituality and the consequent laxness in the 
 Church, the increase of skepticism and infidelity of 
 various grades, the terrific rush of worldliness on all 
 classes, as wealth, and luxury, and temptations of all 
 kinds abound, are not all these signs of the times of 
 fearful import, foreshadowing either some dreadful 
 
HISTORY OF THE DOGAIA. 331 
 
 judgments, or the advent of some moral forces that 
 are appropriate to such a crisis ? 
 
 In this position of the moral world, is it to he sup- 
 posed that theology alone, of all departments of science, 
 has reached its culminating point, so that there is no 
 possibiUty of improvement ? Is there not manifestly 
 needed far more powerful motives than any now wield- 
 ed to stop the inrushing tide of worldliness ? In for- 
 mer times, when revivals abounded, it was the princi- 
 ple oifear that was first appealed to with such won- 
 derful results. But where now are such appeals made 
 as once shook men's consciences with fears of " the 
 wrath to come f " 
 
 If such preaching abounds in any quarter of our na- 
 tion, where is it ? In all her travels the writer finds 
 it wanting, and the testimony of others is similar. 
 
 Here, now, is the great question : Could the minis- 
 try novj preach the disthictive theories of Calvinism, 
 and at the same time those awful views of the eter- 
 not loss of the soid, warranted by Scripture language, 
 with any prospect of being sustained by the moral sen- 
 timents of the gTeat body of benevolent and intelli- 
 gent hearers ? Would not some be driven to reckless 
 worldliness, others to infidelity, others to Universal- 
 ism, others to another style of preaching, till the re- 
 mainder could scarcely maintain any preaching at all ? 
 Is not this perceived and felt by many ministers, and 
 is not this one great reason why that terrible doctrine, 
 on which the whole Gospel is based, is now so hidden 
 or so slightly recognized in the pulpit ministrations ? 
 
 And yet, to the writer, it seems that this very doc- 
 trine, so plain and awful in Holy Writ, could be so 
 
332 ADDENDA. 
 
 drawn forth by the light of reason alone as to furnish 
 a power of motive now almost unwielded. It seems 
 as if the terrible exhibitions of this volume in the chap- 
 ters on Habit, and on the Wrong Action of Mind in a 
 Future State, might be wrought out by a man of talent 
 and eloquence so as to draw such audiences as once 
 thronged around Whitfield, and with equal results. 
 What, then, could be done with the added power of 
 revelation, dissevered from obstructing theories ? 
 
 When the writer looks back on her own mental his- 
 tory for the last thirty years, and feels how every step 
 of her life, during the whole of that period, has been 
 regulated by the overmastering pressure of this tre- 
 mendous subject, and when she is sure that a convic- 
 tion that no such awful dangers beset our race would 
 bring her life on to just that level where so many 
 Christians complain that they find themselves, the que- 
 ry will often arise whether ministers who say so little 
 about the matter, and those professed Christians who 
 (zct so little in consistence with it, really do believe it f 
 And yet, when her own difficulties in expressing all 
 that has been thought and felt are recalled, it is under- 
 stood how others too may have been equally embarass- 
 ed and restrained. 
 
 In regard to the main topics of this work, is not 
 every minister called to decide, jpractically, between 
 these two theories ? 
 
 The first is, that the great and leading aim of aU 
 Christian organization should be to train newborn 
 minds aright^ and that it is the special office of the 
 ministry to influence the educators of the raee to the 
 right performance of this, their chief duty. 
 
HISTORY OF THE DOGMA. 333 
 
 In doing this, it is to be assumed that the end for 
 which we are made is "to glorify God" by obedience 
 to those laws by which "the most happiness with 
 the least evil" is to be secured to His vast eternal em- 
 pire. 
 
 That, at ih^Jlrst hirth of a child, it is "impossible, 
 in the nature of things," for it to feel and act for the 
 happiness of others till it has learned to know what 
 gives pleasure and pain to self^ and to understand that 
 there are other beings who can thus enjoy and suffer ; 
 so that a child, by its very nature, is at first obliged 
 to be selfish in the exercise of faculties which, in ref- 
 erence to the great whole, are perfect. 
 
 That the " second birth" is the sudden or the grad- 
 ual entrance into a life in which the will of the Crea- 
 tor is to control the self-will of the creature ; while, 
 under the influence of love and gratitude to Him, and 
 guided by "faith" in his teachings, living chiefly for 
 the great commonwealth takes the place of living 
 chiefly for self For this, the supernatural aid of the 
 Holy Spirit is promised to all who seek it ; and, with- 
 out this aid, success is hopeless. But the grand in- 
 strumentality is the right training of parents and 
 teachers. 
 
 Then, in reference to that great change of character 
 which wrongly-educated mind must pass in order to 
 gain eternal life, there are three modes of expression in 
 the Bible in regard to that, viz., " love to God," "faith 
 in Jesus Christ," and "repentance." 
 
 According to all uses of these terms, in practical 
 matters, love is nothing which does not include obedi- 
 ence or conformity of will and action to the being 
 
334 ADDENDA. 
 
 loved. Faith^ or belief, is notHng unless it includes 
 its fruits of obedience. Repentance is nothing unless 
 it includes ceasing to do evil. 
 
 Obedience to the laws of God, physical, social, mor- 
 al, and religious, is the grand, indispensable requisite. 
 Xow, when any person is so engaged in striving to 
 obey all these laws that it is the first interest of the 
 mind, then there is a " new heart ;*' and so great is 
 the change from the life of self-indulgence and disobe- 
 dience to one of such earnest desire and efforts to obey 
 God, that it is properly expressed by the terms " bom 
 again*' and '* created anew." 
 
 The contrasted theory is, that the chief end of man 
 is "to glorify God," without, perhaps, any very definite 
 ideas of what this signifies ; that our whole race comes 
 into life with dwarfed and ruined moral powers, so 
 that it is as impossible, before a " second birth," to feel 
 and act right as it is for a corrupt tree to bear good 
 fruit, or a bitter fountain to send forth sweet waters ; 
 and that the great end of Christian organizations is to 
 secure and administer certain appointed methods by 
 which God re-creates these diseased minds. Thus all 
 training, all instructions, all good habits, are nothing 
 as ha-ving any fitness toward either preparing a child 
 for eternal happiness, or inducing God to re-create its 
 mind. For it is " unconditional election," and not any 
 foreseen act, either of parent or child, that decides their 
 eternal destiny. 
 
 Can any minister preach without assuming one of 
 these two theories as the very foundation-principle of 
 his ministrations ? And is this matter any the less a 
 practical one to all the laity ? 
 
HISTORY OF THE DOGSIA. 335 
 
 During tlie period in which the author has been en- 
 gaged as a practical laborer in the field of education, 
 her chief earthly reliance has been on the counsel, 
 sympathy, and co-operation of her ovm sex ; and in 
 closing a work especially dedicated to them, a few 
 parting words may be permitted. 
 
 This work is offered, not as one of metaphysics and 
 theology, to exercise the intellect alone. It presents 
 the grand practical question of life to looman as the 
 mother, the educator, the nurse, and the fountain of 
 home sympathies for the race. It is the question over 
 which every Christian mother ponders with aching 
 heart as every new immortal is brought to her arms. 
 It is the question where every Christian teacher stands 
 in awe, as, gazing into the dark futurity over the 
 dim ocean of eternity, each young mind is felt to be a 
 voyager whose frail and solitary bark is soon to be 
 launched. The Protestant mother or teacher, with 
 the Bible in her hands, can not, as in the Catholic 
 Church, throw off this tremendous responsibility on to 
 her jpriest. She may go to her minister for aid, but at 
 the last she must decide for herself v^hdl is that path 
 which Jesus Christ decides to be right in guiding the 
 lambs of His flock through such awful dangers. 
 
 Here, then, is the great practical question on which 
 depends the Ufe of the soul, and for eternity I and 
 every parent and every teacher must decide on which 
 theory the young minds committed to their care shall 
 be trained. 
 
 In contemplating the discussions that must ere long 
 be renewed on these great topics, and in such forms as 
 to involve, not theologians alone or chiefly, but the 
 
336 ADDENDA. 
 
 people^ and especially the most intelligent of her own 
 sex, the writer recalls with deep interest her early 
 efforts as a pioneer in elevating the course of female 
 education. Then she supposed herself the first, as 
 she was among the first, to introduce such works as 
 Butler's Analogy, Mental Philosophy, and a Mathe- 
 matical course as a regular part of female education. 
 And as she recalls the hundreds of bright, vigorous, 
 and independent minds under her care thus trained to 
 reason accurately, and now scattered as mothers and 
 influential members of society in almost every state 
 in the Union, and then remembers, too, how many in- 
 stitutions all over the land have for years pursued the 
 same course, she can not but thankfully believe that 
 the Almighty Teacher and Euler was thus preparing 
 her sex for these very responsibilities. 
 
 In relinquishing that educational enterprise which 
 for years has absorbed her time and strength, while 
 as yet it is so imperfectly understood and so little ap- 
 preciated, she asks, with tender and grateful memories, 
 the attention, not only of her dear former pupils, but 
 of that multitude of noble and benevolent women who, 
 at so many times and places, have afforded her their 
 sympathy and aid, to what is still farther offered on 
 this subject in the closing note.* 
 
 * See Note D. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 Note A, page 17. 
 
 SoJiE atheists imagine that they escape the difficulty by 
 assuming that matter is eternal, and thus uncreated. But 
 the question is, not in reference to the existence of matter, 
 but as to the organization^ contrivances, and changes of mat- 
 ter, all of which prove the existence of some Intelligent 
 First Cause. 
 
 The theory of an '' infinite series of changes and causes 
 without a beginning" is a contradiction in terms, as can be 
 shown to any person who understands the use of defini- 
 tions, and no other person is prepared to discuss such sub- 
 jects intelligently. 
 
 Let it be remembered that the author, in this work, has 
 not attempted to present a complete exhibition of all the 
 intuitive truths, but only such a portion of them as are 
 adapted to the design of this work. At the same time, by 
 a close analysis, some here presented as distinct intuitions 
 could be shown to be specifics, under a more general propo- 
 sition. But in a popular work, and for the purposes aimed 
 at, this close analysis is inappropriate. 
 
 Note B, page 192. 
 "Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him for- 
 ever," is an expression equivalent to what is here main- 
 tained, if we assume that the chief "glory" of God consists 
 in the rectitude and happiness of his vast empire of intelli- 
 gent minds. 
 
 P 
 
338 NOTES. 
 
 Various other terms used to express the ultimate end of 
 the Creator in his works, accurate definitions would show 
 to be simply different words chosen to express the same idea 
 as that here presented. 
 
 Note C, page 314. 
 In the Home 3fissionary for February, 1856, is the fol- 
 lowing mournful exhibition of the results of these sectarian 
 divisions : 
 
 " Subdivision a Source of Weakness and Destitution. 
 
 " Now it is but too evident that our American Christen- 
 dom is prosecuting its work, in some respects, at a disad- 
 vantage. True, funds have been furnished with a commend- 
 able liberality ; but, worse than a dearth of money — which 
 a few months of vigorous effort, or a prosperous turn in the 
 market might remove — there is a dearth of men. Fields 
 are explored, openings are found, communities are fast form- 
 ing, and even make urgent requests for ministers, but often 
 there are no ministers to send. The great exigency of the 
 missionary work now is the want of capable and devoted 
 men, 
 
 " However we may charge this upon the lukewarmness 
 of the churches, upon the absence of correct views respect- 
 ing ministerial support — and its consequent meagi'eness — 
 or on the prevalence among young men of a subtile skep- 
 ticism, we may not shut our eyes to the fact that the want 
 must continue as long as that unfortunate division of the 
 field continues, which must ever come from divided coun- 
 sels and sectarian rivalries. Destitutions are likely to last 
 while alienations last. 
 
 "Every denomination naturally feels that it must be 
 strong in the centres of population ; and so, without asking 
 whether the Church of Christ needs so many congregations 
 
NOTES. 339 
 
 there, we crowd our six separate enterprises, of as many 
 rival names, into a little place where two churches would da 
 more good than the half dozen. 
 
 "The evils that result from this course are many and va- 
 rious. One consequence of it is a weakening of the unity 
 and the moral force of the Church as a whole. Another 
 is the diminution of the numbers and the strength of the 
 several local societies, so that an amount of assistance many 
 times greater is needed, and this need is prolonged for years, 
 when often its period should have been reckoned in months. 
 But a third consequence of this overcrowding of one portion 
 of the missionary field is the destitution of other portions. 
 While many villages are so well supplied as to leave pas- 
 tors and churches leisure to quarrel, many rural districts 
 and young communities are almost totally neglected. If all 
 the preachers in the United States were evangelical men, 
 well educated and devoted to their work, they would no 
 more than supply the real wants of the country, upon a 
 system of wise distribution. On a system, then, so unfor- 
 tunate as this, its destitutions are not supplied ; and we 
 hear from all quarters the cry, Send more laborers into the 
 harvest. 
 
 " A Cause of Unwillingness to enter the Ministry. 
 "Again, a fourth consequence of our denominational di- 
 visions, and another cause of destitution, is seen in the diffi- 
 culty of persuading young men of enterprise to enter the 
 ministry. When we consider how the field of ministerial 
 labor is cut up into small parishes, affording to men of su- 
 perior capacity but a limited scope for some of their best 
 qualities — with scarcely the possibihty of much improve- 
 ment — promising, also, only a meagre support and a moder- 
 ate usefulness, we can not wonder that young men who are 
 conscious of the ability to occupy a larger sphere, and whose 
 nature thirsts after something stirring and an opportunity 
 
340 NOTES. 
 
 for a hopeful struggle and for achievement, should often 
 shrink from the seeming narro^Tiess and hopelessness of the 
 work which is here offered them. We need not praise the 
 truthfulness of their appreciation in all particulars, but have 
 we, on the whole, a right to anticipate a different decision ? 
 No. The result is manifestly one that must be expected. 
 There is not the least doubt that this diminution in the size 
 of parishes is also a diminution in the attractiveness of the 
 pastoral office. And so this very multitude of denomina- 
 tions, which has increased the want of ministers, operates, 
 in more ways than one, to diminish the supply. 
 
 " A Discouragement and a Weanness. 
 "But, what is yet worse, it tends to injure the ministry. 
 No preacher but has felt, at times, the depressing influence 
 of a small audience. A large proportion of the missiona- 
 ries at the West feel this at all times ; and often the intel- 
 lect is jaded, and the heart is wearied out, from the want 
 of that natural stimulus which the presence of a multitude 
 and the pressure of an important occasion alone can afford. 
 If it is discouraging to find your people coming out in small 
 numbers on rainy vSabbaths, what is it to have nothing but 
 small numbers the year through, and year after year ? How 
 must this tend to check youthful enthusiasm, and to dull 
 the fires of intellectual and moral energy. If our brethren 
 of the West have not fallen behind themselves, it certainly 
 is not due to the inspiration of large audiences or of popu- 
 lous and able parishes ; for, with so many divisions in such 
 sparse and unstable communities, these can not be other- 
 wise than small. Good men will labor on, indeed, under 
 all these discouragements ; and the gi-eatness of their faith 
 wall make their work and achievement great. They may 
 triumph over these difficulties, but they contend at disad- 
 vantage ; and the difficulties are real, notwithstanding the 
 highest fidelity. 
 
NOTES. 341 
 
 " Number and Policy of Denominations. 
 *' There are more than forty religious denominations in 
 the United States. Four of these — the N. S. Presbyteri- 
 ans, the O. S. Presbyterians, the Congregationalists and 
 Baptists, together with the Methodists and Episcopalians 
 — habitually esteem it a matter of obligation to be repre- 
 sented in every community where it is possible to gather a 
 church of their name, and, in establishing these churches, 
 deem it no part of their duty to consider, in the least, the 
 welfare of any congregation of a different name that may 
 have been previously gathered. "VYe have six great evan- 
 gelical churches, each one of whom feels bound to push for- 
 ward its own gi'owth, with a disregard of the interests of 
 all other churches, which is equivalent to an ignoring of 
 their existence, and, in practical effect, identifies the King- 
 dom of God with the denomination. It is very much as 
 though each one had laid it down as the fundamental prin- 
 ciple of its procedure — We are the saints. 
 
 " Waste of Resources. 
 "Now it is obvious that this system must bring about 
 an unfortunate distribution of labor and a great waste of 
 power; in some localities multiplying churches to excess, 
 and leaving other regions destitute ; making the town con- 
 gregations weak, from their very multitude, and losing the 
 happy moment in communities that are just forming from 
 the want of the right men to occupy them at the right mo- 
 ment ; while many laborers abuse as much time and strength 
 in working against each other as they use in working for 
 Christ. So churches are born weak, and are compelled to 
 worry through a long and fretful infancy, are kept on a diet 
 irritatingly low, and compelled to struggle, with slow and 
 uncertain growth, toward a maturity which must come late, 
 and may come never." 
 
3^ 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Statistics. 
 
 Here follow statistics, the details of which we omit, and 
 give these as the results, as seen in thixe of the larger de- 
 nominations, viz. : the O. S. Presbyterian, the N. S. Presby- 
 terian, and the Congregational. 
 
 In this table is shown the number of churches, with a giv- 
 en number of members to each church. 
 
 Number of Members. 
 
 So 
 
 !1 
 
 ^1 
 
 11 
 
 o 
 
 H 
 
 11 
 
 it 
 ^1 
 
 Presbyterian O.S 
 
 Presbj-terian N. S 
 
 Congregational 
 
 1239 
 743 
 696 
 
 1907 
 1180 
 1219 
 
 763 
 432 
 
 7n9 
 
 278 
 163 
 245 
 
 101 
 70 
 83 
 
 2670 
 1612 
 1971 
 
 
 
 
 Total of three denominations 
 
 2678 
 
 4306 i 1947 
 
 686 
 
 254 
 
 6253 
 
 ^^ Proportion of strong and weak Churches. 
 "More than one fifth, therefore, of all the churches con- 
 nected with these denominations may be counted as very 
 weak, none of them having more than twenty-five members, 
 and the average falling considerably below that number. 
 Nearly one fourth may be counted as weak, their member- 
 ship ranging between twenty-five and fifty ; and these, taken 
 together with those that are weaker yet, constitute nearly 
 forty-three per cent, of the whole. More than two thirds 
 of all the churches do not contain over one hundred mem- 
 bers. Those that exceed one hundred are about thirty-one 
 per cent., and those that exceed two hundred are not quite 
 eleven per cent, of the entire number. 
 
 ^^ Present Supply of Ministers ijiadequate, 
 " The whole number of ministers in these three denom- 
 inations is 6150. The number of pastors and stated sup- 
 plies (errors excepted) is 4336, leaving 1814 to be classed 
 as without charge, as professors, teachers, editors, secreta- 
 ries, etc. 
 
NOTES. 343 
 
 "The number of churches in the three denominations 
 whose membership exceeds fifty is some five hundred less 
 than the number of pastors and stated supplies. If, there- 
 fore, each of the five hundred men remaining after the 
 largest churches were supplied were to take two of the 
 smaller churches, more than sixteen hundred churches 
 would still be left destitute ; and if allowance be made for 
 those not reporting, this number must be taken as exceed- 
 ing two thousand. Probably none of these contain more 
 than thirty-five members. 
 
 ^^ Deficiency clue to Divisions. 
 
 *'Now we need a thousand-fold increase of our effective 
 force in the great harvest-field of the world ; but have we 
 any reason to expect that the Lord of the harvest will hear 
 our cry for laborers, and raise them up indefinitely, in order 
 to meet wants unnecessarily, nay, wickedly created by our 
 divisions ? Would a spendthrift son expect to prevail with 
 an indulgent father to administer to his necessities on the 
 plea or the confession that he had squandered his former 
 bounty, and, moreover, was intending to make a similar 
 use of what he then solicited? The responsibility rests 
 upon Christians of no one name, and it would seem that if 
 the people of God every where could but have a full real- 
 ization of the heart-rending inadequacy of all means yet 
 employed for the conversion of the world, or of the utter 
 hopelessness of ever meeting the vast want under such a 
 waste of power, the work of economical adjustment would 
 at once and earnestly commence, and also a new consecra- 
 tion — that the evangelization of the world may be carried 
 forward upon a scale commensurate with the ]; rovidential 
 openings for missionary effort. 
 
 "That would be, indeed, a glorious revolution which 
 should bring the true disciples of Christ every where to 
 this position — to a consecration that should keep nothing 
 
344 NOTES. 
 
 back from the Lord, to a heaven-appointed economy in the 
 adjustment offerees, a condensation of churches in the same 
 neighborhood, till the combined body could support a pas- 
 tor, furnish him with all needed facilities for the prosecution 
 of liis work, and, at the same time, open to him an adequate 
 field of labor. All supernumerary ministers in a given lo- 
 cality would thus be set loose for effort where men are per- 
 ishing for lack of vision. Then Apollos would not inter- 
 fere with Paul when he planted, nor Paul with Apollos 
 when he watered, nor would both either plant or water at 
 the same point or time, provided one could do the work. 
 
 ^'•Divisions unnecessanj, 
 " But it is possible that some, calling to mind the large 
 number of weak congregations at the East — where denom- 
 inational rivaliy is less active than at the West — may claim 
 that this feebleness is but a part of the necessary imperfec- 
 tion of human arrangements ; that we must always have the 
 poor with us, and that it is not the sectarianism of the West 
 which so reduces our churches. It were sufficient to sug- 
 gest, in reply, that the weak churches in the older states 
 are found where the communities are weak, in barren or 
 uncultivated districts, or in regions depopulated by emigra- 
 tion, while a large proportion of the feeble churches of the 
 "West are in populous, vigorous, growing communities, 
 where nothing but irreligion or division could keep the con- 
 gregations from being numerous, and where nothing less 
 than the combination of the two could keep them so small 
 as they are. Yonder are three debilitated churches strug- 
 gling for existence against each other. Is it necessary to 
 ask whether, if they were joined in one, and were with one 
 heart and voice contending for the kingdom of God, the 
 Christian strength of that community would not be greater ? 
 
NOTES. 345 
 
 ^'Proportion of weak Churches at the West. 
 "But facts are at hand which show that the relative 
 number of feeble churches is much larger at the West than 
 at the East. Of the churches in Illinois and Iowa connect- 
 ed with three leading denominations, the proportion that 
 must be accounted very weak — having not more than twen- 
 ty-five communicants — is almost twice as great as in the 
 same denomination taken entire, and amounts to nearly tivo 
 fifths of the whole number reporting. These, again, taken 
 with those whose membership ranges between twenty-five 
 and fifty, make up nearly seventy per cent, of the whole I" 
 
 The author would ask attention to a few questions in 
 view of these statistics. 
 
 The above table was formed from reporting churches. 
 There are 934 churches not reporting. Giving to these last 
 the average proportion of ministers and weak churches, and 
 we find this result : 
 
 Wliole number of churches 7187 
 
 Ministers acting as pastors and supplies 4336 
 
 Churches without ministers 2851 
 
 That is to say, in three of our largest and most wealthy and 
 intelligent denominations, nearly one third of their churches 
 are without ministers, and nearly one half of them have 
 not over fifty members, and the majority of these members, 
 no doubt, are women. Then the relative number of minis- 
 ters is constantly decreasing. 
 
 In this state of things, to what is the Church and minis- 
 try coming ? 
 
 When young men of talents and energy see not only in- 
 dependence, but wealth before them in other callings, where, 
 in preparing, they will not need to spend nine years in dead 
 languages and literature never to be used ; where they can 
 have an abundant field of usefulness, and where their minds 
 P2 
 
346 NOTES. 
 
 can hQfree from creeds and the supervision of ecclesiastics 
 and parishes, how long will any such seek the ministry % 
 
 Will not the ministry thus soon become the resort, first, 
 of poor, ambitious young men, who find in its official stand- 
 ing the surest mode, with moderate talents and means, to 
 gain the highest social j^osition ; and next, of ambitious young 
 men of talents, who, among such inferior competitors, are 
 sure of the best pulpits and highest salaries ? 
 
 Again : How long will the laity so freely pour out their 
 earnings to endow colleges and theological seminaries when 
 such results as these are seen ? 
 
 Note D, page 336. 
 
 In resigning all farther agency in practical educational 
 efforts, the writer hopes, after so many years of devotion to 
 it, she may be allowed to speak with entire frankness her 
 views as to the present modes of education. 
 
 The last thirty years have witnessed great efforts all over 
 the nation to improve and increase common schools, and to 
 multiply higher educational institutions. Although much 
 has been said and written in regard to physical and moral 
 training in schools, unfortunately very little has been accom- 
 plished. 
 
 It is the intellectual department of the brain that has ab- 
 sorbed attention, as if this were the chief, or even the whole 
 of man. Parents stimulate, teachers stimulate, lecturers 
 stimulate, superintendents stimulate, school committees 
 stimulate — all turning their full energies on to only one 
 function of the brain. 
 
 In our colleges, this intellectual stimulating is divided and 
 subdivided, one professor for one department, another for a 
 second, and another for a third, and so on, till from twelve 
 to twenty are thus employed. Meantime the training of the 
 
NOTES, ' 347 
 
 body, or the development of the social, domestic, and moral 
 powers, have not even one to minister the needful care. 
 
 Then, in preparatory boarding-schools for boys, taken 
 from mother, sisters, and home influences in the first blush of 
 youth, all the school stimulus is turned on to the brain to 
 develop Latin, Greek, and mathematics, while health of 
 body and soul perish under abuse or neglect. 
 
 Then the boarding-school is taking the young girls through 
 a kind of college course at the most critical period of life, 
 while their chief nervous energies are exhausted in com- 
 pleting a given course of study in a given time, and almost 
 every law of health for body and mind are violated. 
 
 Then, in our primary schools, especially in cities, where 
 pure air, healthful exercise, and home employments are least 
 at command, all the energies of school committees and su- 
 perintendents of schools are directed to securing a given 
 amount of intellectual labor. 
 
 But what is the teaching of physiology on this matter 1 
 Through one of its greatest writers, thus it speaks : 
 
 "If young children are compelled to sit quietly while 
 their minds are urged to undue action, we take from them 
 the noblest part of their strength, and consume it in the function 
 of thinking. Thus growth is retarded, the limbs imperfectly 
 developed, the digestion (and thus the blood) becomes bad, 
 scrofula perhaps appears, and then ensues a great predom- 
 inance of the nervous system. Any unequal development 
 of our faculties is injurious. It is certain that mental ex- 
 ertions weaken the more they are unaccompanied by bodily 
 movements. Those who, between mental occupations, take 
 bodily exercise, can do more than those who neglect this 
 exercise." 
 
 The grand evils of our present modes of education are, 
 not that too much intellectual training is bestowed, but that 
 physical, social, and domestic training are neglected. Tho 
 result is a universal decay of national vigor and health. Other 
 
348 NOTES. 
 
 causes, such as the use of stoves and unventilated houses, 
 improper diet and dress, with excess in other modes of stim- 
 ulating, have had a large share in the evil, but there can be 
 no doubt that mistaken modes of education are the chief 
 causes of the acknowledged fact that our national health is 
 perishing at a frightful rate. 
 
 There are facts that prove the Anglo-Saxon race, as de- 
 veloped in America under the best circumstances, is ,^he 
 most perfect race on earth as it respects size, strength, and 
 beauty. The mountain regions of Kentucky and Tennes- 
 see, where the climate allows all to live in pure air night 
 and day, with the simple food and habit of forest life, send 
 out sons that, appearing in foreign lands, are followed by 
 admiring crowds as specimen giants. General \Yashing- 
 ton's staff, though not picked men, were most of them over 
 six feet in height, with size and muscle to correspond. The 
 vigorous mothers and stalwart sons that achieved our Rev- 
 olution have given place to sickly mothers with a delicate 
 and puny offspring. 
 
 The Greeks, though they educated the mind, took even 
 more pains to train the body, and thus they became the 
 wisest, strongest, and most powerful people on earth. We 
 might do the same, and with far greater facilities; but, 
 should our present rate of deterioration proceed, two or 
 more generations would bring us out a race of deformed and 
 unhealthy pigmies. For facts to sustain such a prediction, 
 the author begs leave to refer to her Letters to the People on 
 Health and Happiness. 
 
 The great point now urged is that woman should be 
 trained, not, as some would urge, to enter the professions of 
 men, but for her own proper business, in educating mind in 
 developing the body of infancy and childhood, and in con- 
 ducting the economy of an orderly, happy, and well-regu- 
 lated home. These arduous and complicated duties demand 
 able assistance, and here is the caUing of the female educa- 
 
NOTES. 349 
 
 tor ; not to carry off children from their parents and home, 
 but rather to aid these parents in education in all depart- 
 ments. 
 
 It is manifestly the Divine intention that parents should 
 be the chief educators of the race, and all plans consistent 
 with this will succeed, and all counter to it will fail. The 
 boarding-school is not in consonance with this Heaven-ap- 
 pointed plan, and the evils multiply around it so fast that 
 a nation of so much common sense as ours must soon for- 
 sake it for the true method. 
 
 Again: in the grand object of educating humanity for an 
 eternal existence, the questions as to how ordination or bap- 
 tism shall be administered, or whether it shall be church 
 elders or church committees that rule, are to be made sec- 
 ondary, and the followers of Christ are to unite for the edu- 
 cation of the race, not as sects, but as Christians. 
 
 These views present the principles on Avhich is organized 
 the American Woman's Educational Association. 
 
 Its main features are, that it unites all sects in educa- 
 tion ; that it spends its funds, not for great buildings to de- 
 prive the young of parents and homes, but to provide well- 
 trained educators to assist parents in their homes; and, 
 finally, its leading aim is to prepare woman for her distbictive 
 duties as educator, nurse, and fountain of home sympathies 
 for the race. 
 
 In attempting this, the methods the other sex have em- 
 ployed to honor and sustain their professions have been 
 claimed, viz. : institutions governed by a faculty instead of 
 an individual, and teachers supported by endowments for this 
 express object. 
 
 The following extract from the fourth Annual Eeport of 
 this Association gives some of the results. 
 
 *' We are now prepared to indicate what lias been accom- 
 plished. We have, then, in the first place, evolved and set 
 forth a fundamental idea. This is no small part of the sue- 
 
350 NOTES. 
 
 cess of any great movement. Whatever were the difficul- 
 ties of first learning to print, the triumph of Guttenberg was 
 nearly achieved when he first mastered the idea of the type. 
 It was a secondary affair to work it out and set the world 
 vibrating to its power. We have got the idea, and done 
 something toward its execution. 
 
 " We have secured the existence of two institutions on 
 our plan, one at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the other at 
 Dubuque, Iowa, whose united catalogues will show some 
 five hundred pupils the past year. Both are in very suc- 
 Qessful operation, with efficient boards of teachers, silently 
 doing the work for which they have been established. 
 
 " We have united all the Protestant citizens in the noble 
 work of founding and patronizing these institutions, which 
 they cherish as among their most valued public establish- 
 ments. We have shown that the faculty j^rinaple is as good 
 for female institutions as for those of the other sex, and that 
 results may be expected from it for woman corresponding 
 in utility and dignity with those it has secured to man. 
 
 "We have shown that, by the offe?' of the small endow- 
 ment of twenty thousand dollars, we can secure the estab- 
 lishment of one of these invaluable institutions, and make 
 it a permanent source of measureless good — a most econom- 
 ical and wise expenditure of educational benefactions. 
 
 "We have, in short, carried out our plan successfully 
 just as far as it can be done befoi^e the endowments are act- 
 ually furnished. 
 
 " We have made a beginning toward raising the first en- 
 dowment, and are able to report on hand and pledged near- 
 ly ten thousand dollars. 
 
 "Our movement has the confidence and full endorsement 
 of many leading clergymen, educators, and editors of our 
 country. Our institutions have the hearty co-operation of 
 the religious bodies where they arc located. 
 
 " At our last annual meeting, an urgent rec[uest was made 
 
NOTES. 351 
 
 to the Association to aid in the establishment of a third in- 
 stitution at Kalamazoo, Michigan. Without any pledge of 
 immediate action, it was agreed that, if the citizens should 
 comply with our conditions, we would aid them as soon as 
 our means would allow. Those conditions have not yet 
 been met, and we have not, therefore, been called to do any 
 thing at that place. 
 
 " It has seemed desirable, moreover, that the endowment 
 of the two institutions already established should be com- 
 pleted before attempting to found others." 
 
 The questions most frequently proposed to the conduct- 
 ors of this enterprise, and the answers to them, will now 
 be introduced. 
 
 How can the business of domestic economy be taught as 
 a part of school training 1 
 
 Not in great boarding-schools, where it never was or can 
 be done. The " Mount Holyoke" plan, now so popular, 
 is widely supposed to embrace this in its design. But the 
 teaching of this science is not the aim of their domestic de- 
 partment. It is a measure for reducing expenses by saving 
 hired labor, while certain social advantages are supposed to 
 be combined with it. But no pupil is to be taught any thing 
 in this department. Meantime, introducing cooking, wash- 
 ing, ironing, and house-cleaning as a regular part of school 
 duty, makes a system of such detail and complication, de- 
 manding so many rules and such strict obedience as adds 
 enormously to the already excessive pressure that is put on 
 the female brain. This is probably an insuperable diffi- 
 culty attendant on this system, that will forever forbid its 
 introduction wherever the healthful development of woman 
 has its proper regard. 
 
 How, then, is the object aimed at to be accomplished? 
 
 In reply we say, that, with institutions established for the 
 express purpose of training women to be healthy themselves, 
 and to perform properly all their duties as educator, nurse, 
 
352 NOTES. 
 
 and regulator of the domestic state ; with teachers support- 
 ed by endowments for this express object ; with a board of 
 managers embracing some of the most influential ladies in 
 the land, who are or have been both practical teachers and 
 housekeepers ; with committees of influential ladies in each 
 place where such institutions are located to co-operate, the 
 thing attempted can not fail to be done, and in the best 
 manner. Whatever ought to be done, can be ; and what- 
 ever can be done, will be, when energetic American women 
 fairly undertake it. 
 
 But will endowments for such institutions be furnished ? 
 
 In reply, we point to the multitudes of needless colleges for 
 the other sex all over the land, for which the people are pour- 
 ing forth such abundant endowments, while icomen are even 
 more liberal, according to their relative means, than men. 
 
 Since this effort commenced, one lady has endowed a 
 professorship in Brunswick College, Maine. Another lady 
 has added §20,000 to the nearly one million endowments of 
 Cambridge. These two are the first cases of endowments 
 for the physical, social, and moral departments of education. 
 Woman, then, has first done for man what is now sought 
 for her sex. 
 
 In this same short period, sufficient for the endowment of 
 a theological professorship in Connecticut has been furnished 
 by female benefactors. In New Jersey a lady has given 
 some $30,000 for a college. In New York City another 
 lady has endowed a theological professorship. In Albany, 
 New York, a lady has given $50,000 for a scientific in- 
 stitution for man. In Massachusetts a lady has given more 
 than enough to endow a professorship for a college in Wis- 
 consin. Many more cases can be given of large benefactions, 
 amounting in all to hundreds of thousands, given by woman 
 within a few years for the richly-provided professional insti- 
 tutions of man, while as yet not one complete endowment 
 for her sex has been raised. 
 
NOTES. 353 
 
 Why is this ? Because it is so diflScult to change long- 
 established customs and habits of thought. The idea that 
 every thing must be done for man's profession, and nothing 
 for woman's, has so long been dominant, that even our own 
 sex have fallen into that belief and practice. 
 
 But the American people are eminent for practical wis- 
 dom and common sense. The time is certainly coming 
 when the true vieiv is to possess the public mind, and then 
 the right practice will follow. The question is simply one 
 as to time, and as to ivko are to be the first to provide means 
 for this great movement to promote the right physical, do- 
 mestic, and moral training of our race, whose names shall 
 shine as benefactors of our sex, as Harvard and Yale have 
 shone for the other. 
 
 But it is asked, Why go to the West to establish such in- 
 stitutions ? 
 
 Because the evils of sectarian strife affect educational in- 
 terest most severely there ; because educational institutions 
 are most needed there ; and because the moral soil, like the 
 natural, bears fruit so quickly and so abundantly. 
 
 But why not endow large boarding institutions already es- 
 tablished ? 
 
 Because it is contrary to the grand design of Providence 
 to take children away from parents to educate them ; be- 
 cause it is more economical to provide superior teachers and 
 school-houses in cities and large towns, than to turn funds 
 into brick and mortar to congregate great communities of 
 the young away from parents, home, and all domestic pur- 
 suits ; and because those who need to go to boarding-schools 
 can find homes in private families in large towns. 
 
 But why not have our public schools on this model ? 
 
 Because it can not be done until the public, by fair ex- 
 periments, have tested the value of such institutions. So 
 long, too, as foreign lands are emptying all classes into our 
 country, and their children enter all public schools, it will 
 
354 NOTES. 
 
 be impossible to bring the children of the wealthy classes 
 into them. 
 
 In conclusion, the author asks every true woman who 
 reads this to help in this effort for the women and the chil- 
 dren of our country. If she has money to give, it can be 
 sent to our agent, Rev. William L. Parsons, No. 11 Cliff 
 Street, New York. 
 
 If she has time to devote to the work, let her send SI 25 
 by mail to Harper & Brothers, New York, and she will re- 
 ceive, without farther expense, the author's two works, one 
 on Domestic Economy, and the other on Physiology and 
 Physical Training, designed as text-books for schools. She 
 can then use her injlluence to introduce them, while the 
 author's profits, as they ever have been, will be devoted to 
 this object. 
 
 The following is the Constitution of the association and 
 the names of the ladies and gentlemen who superintend the 
 enterprise. Most of them have been practical teachers, 
 most are practical housekeepers, while they represent seven 
 different religious denominations : 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE A:MERIC^VN W0:MAN'S EDUCA- 
 TIONAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Art. 1. The name of this Society is the American Wom- 
 an's Educational Association. 
 
 Art. 2. The object of this Association is to aid in secur- 
 ing to American Women a liberal education, honorable po- 
 sition, and remunerative employment in their appropriate 
 profession ; the distinctive profession of woman being con- 
 sidered as embracing the training of the human mind, the 
 care of the human body in infancy and in sickness, and the 
 conservation of the family state. 
 
 Art. 3. The leading measure to be pursued by this As- 
 sociation is the establishment of permanent endowed insti- 
 tutions for women, embracing the leading features of college 
 
NOTES. 355 
 
 and professional institutions for the other sex, i. e., they 
 shall be conducted by a Faculty of Teachers, each being the 
 head of a given department, and no one having control over 
 the others. An office corresponding to that of the Presi- 
 dent of a college shall be optional with those who control 
 each institution. 
 
 Akt. 4. The mode of establishing such institutions shall 
 be as follows : An agent of this Association shall make this 
 offer to some city or large town in a section where teachers 
 and schools are most needed. 
 
 First : That the citizens shall organize a Board of Trus- 
 tees, in which the various religious denominations of the 
 place shall be fairly represented ; that these Trustees shall 
 provide temporary accommodations, and pupils enough to 
 support four Teachers ; that a Primary and a High School 
 Department be organized, and that the college plan of a 
 Faculty of Teachers be adopted. 
 
 On these conditions, the Association shall furnish the In- 
 stitution with a library and apparatus to the value of one 
 thousand dollars. The first Bdard of Teachers shall be ap- 
 pointed by the Association, with the advice and consent of 
 the Trustees, and thereafter the Faculty shall have the 
 nominating and the Trustees the appointing power. 
 
 Second: As soon as the Teachers have secured public 
 confidence, and proved that they can work harmoniously 
 together, the citizens shall erect a building at an expense of 
 not less than ten thousand dollars, and engage to give gra- 
 tuitous tuition to twenty Normal Pupils. In return, the 
 Association shall provide an endowment of twenty thousand 
 dollars, the interest of which shall furnish the salaries of 
 the three superior teachers, each having charge of one of 
 the three departments set forth above as constituting the 
 profession of woman. They shall also aid in the literary 
 instruction. These three teachers, with the beneficiary 
 Normal Pupils, and any others who may wish and are 
 
356 NOTES. 
 
 qualified to enter, shall constitute the Normal Department. 
 The Normal Pupils shall act as Assistants in the Primary 
 and High School Departments, under the direction of the 
 Principal Teachers. 
 
 Art. 5. With each institution shall be connected an or- 
 ganization of ladies resident in the place of location, who, 
 with the Teachers of the Normal Department, shall carry- 
 out a system for raising up schools in destitute places, and 
 for securing employ and suitable compensation for all teach- 
 ers trained in the institution. "When the home supply is in- 
 adequate, the Teachers shall be sought from the Board of 
 National Popular Education, and other similar associations. 
 All teachers thus located shall be under the special care of 
 this local Association, and the boarding establishment of 
 the Normal Department shall serve as a temporary home to 
 them in all emergencies demanding it. 
 
 Art. 6. Funds contributed for endowments shall be held 
 in trust for this Association by gentlemen Trustees incor- 
 porated for the purpose. 
 
 Art. 7. The whole control of the business and funds shall 
 be in a Board of Managers, who shall appoint their o^^^l 
 oflScers, agents, and executive committee. This Board shall 
 have power to perpetuate and increase itself, but the num- 
 ber from any one religious denomination shall never exceed 
 one fifth of the whole. Not less than seven different de- 
 nominations shall be represented in the Board, and a ma- 
 jority shall be ladies who are or have been practical teach- 
 ers. Any number of members present, of the Board or of 
 the Executive Committee, at any meeting of either, due no- 
 tice having been given of such meeting, shall constitute a 
 quorum. The Board shall meet annually at such time and 
 place as it shall appoint, and the presiding officer shall be 
 appointed at each meeting. A meeting may also be called 
 at any time, at the request of any three members of the 
 Board. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 357 
 
 Akt. 8. Any person may become an honorary life member 
 of this Association by the payment of twenty-iive dollars, 
 and an honorary lyatron of the enterprise by the payment of 
 fifty dollars or upward. 
 
 BOARD OF MANAGERS OF THE AMERICAN WOMAN'S EDUCATIONAL 
 ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Mrs. Z. P. G. Banister, 
 
 Neivhuryport, Mass. 
 
 Mrs. L. H. Sigourney, 
 
 Hartford, Conn. 
 
 Mrs. S. J. Hale, 
 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 Miss P. Fobes, 
 
 Monticello, III. 
 
 Mrs. Gen. J. Gould, 
 
 Rochester, N. Y. 
 
 Mrs. E. Ricord, 
 
 Newark, N. J. 
 
 Mrs. H. B. Stowe, 
 
 Andover, Mass. 
 
 ]Mrs. Prof H. C Conant, 
 
 Rochester, N. Y. 
 
 Miss C. E. Beecher, 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 Miss Mary Mortimer, 
 
 Milwaukee, Wis. 
 
 Miss C. M. Sedgwick, 
 
 New York. 
 
 JVIi's. Prof D. C. Van Norman 
 
 
 Mrs. Marcus Spring, 
 
 a 
 
 IVIrs. C. M. Kirkland, 
 
 6C 
 
 Mrs. Prof H.Webster, 
 
 u 
 
 Mrs. A. H. Gibbons, 
 
 u 
 
 Mrs. C.W. Milbank, 
 
 66 
 
 Mrs. Rev. Dr. Cheever, 
 
 (C 
 
 Mrs. Heniy Dwight, Jr., 
 
 66 
 
 Mrs. James Harper, 
 
 66 
 
 Mrs. D. Codwise, 
 
 66 
 
 Mrs. Charles Abemethy, 
 
 (( 
 
 Mrs. Prof Henry B. Smith, 
 
 li 
 
 Mrs. Joseph F. Stone, 
 
 C6 
 
 Miss Caroline L. Griffin, 
 
 C( 
 
 Mrs. Rev. Abel Stevens, 
 
 U 
 
 Mrs. Rev. W. L. Parsons, 
 
 (C 
 
358 NOTES. 
 
 The following gentlemen are the Officers under the Act 
 of Incorporation granted to the Association by the Legis- 
 lature of New York in 1855. 
 
 Benj. W. Bonnet, President. 
 Wm. L. Parsons, Cor. Secretary. 
 Henry A. Hurlbut, Treasurer. 
 
 board of managers, 
 
 Cyrus W. Field, 
 JosiAH W. Baker, 
 Benj. W. Bon^ey, 
 Henry A. Hurlbut, 
 Wm. L. Parsons. 
 
 FINANCE committee. 
 
 Cyrus W. Field, 
 JosiAn "\y. Baker, 
 Benj. W. Bontsey. 
 
 FORM OF BEQUEST. 
 
 I give and bequeath to the "American Woman's Edu- 
 cational Association," incorporated by or under an Act of 
 the Legislature of the State of New York, the sum of 
 Dollars, which I direct to be paid by my 
 executors to the Treasurer of said Association for the time 
 bein2:. 
 
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