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Almighty; they all proceed from those powers with which he has endowed his creatures. A houfe which falls by its own weight, is not brought to ruin by his providence, more than one deftroyed by the hands of men; nor are the human faculties lefs his workmanship, than the laws of motion and gravitation. When the paflions play, when the judgment dictates, when the limbs obey; this is all the operation of God, and upon thefe animate principles, as well as upon the inanimate, has he established the government of the universe. Every event is alike important in the eyes of that infinite Being, who takes in at one glance the most diftant regions of space, and remoteft periods of time. There is no event, however important to us, which he has exempted from the general laws that govern the univerfe, or which he has peculiarly referved for his own immediate action and operation. The revolution of ftates and empires depends upon the smallest caprice or paffion of fingle men; and the lives of men are thortened or extended by the smallest accident of air or diet, funshine or tempeft. Nature ftill continues her progress and operation; and if general laws be ever broke by particular volitions of the Deity, 'tis after a manner which entirely escapes human obfervation. As, on the one hand, the elements and other inanimate parts of the creation carry on their action without regard to the particular intereft and fituation of men; fo men are intrufted to their own judgment and difcretion in the various fhocks of matter, and may employ every faculty

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with which they are endowed, in order to provide for their eafe, happiness, or prefervation. What is the meaning then of that principle, that a man who tired oflife, and hunted by pain and mifery, bravely overcomes all the natural terrors of death, and makes his escape from this cruel scene: that fuch a man, I say, has incurred the indignation of his Creator by encroaching on the office of Divine Providence, and disturbing the order of the univerfe? Shall we affert that the Almighty has reserved to himself in any peculiar manner the disposal of the lives of men, and has not submitted that event in common with others, to the general laws by which the universe is governed? This is plainly false; the lives of men depend upon the fame laws as the lives of all other animals; and thefe are fubjected to the general laws of matter and motion. The fall of a tower, or the infufion of a poison, will deftroy a man equally with the meaneft creature; an inundation sweeps away every thing without diftinction that comes within the reach of its fury. Since, therefore, the lives of men are for ever dependent on the general laws of matter and motion, is a man's difpofing of his life criminal, because in every cafe it is criminal to encroach upon thefe laws, or difturb their operation? But this seems abfurd; all animals are intrufted to their own prudence and fkill for their conduct in the world, and have full authority, as far as their power extends, to alter all the operations of nature. Without the exercise of this authority they could not subsist a

moment; every action, every motion of a man, innovates on the order of fome parts of matter, and diverts from their ordinary courfe the general laws of motion. Putting together, therefore, thefe conclufions, we find that human life depends upon the general laws of matter and motion, and that it is no encroachment on the office of providence to disturb or alter these general laws: Has not every one, of confequence, the free difpofal of his own life? And may he not lawfully employ that power with which nature has endowed him? In order to deftroy the evidence of this, conclufion we must show a reason why this particular cafe is excepted; is it because human life is of fuch great importance, that 'tis a prefumption for human prudence to dispose of it? But the life of a man is of no greater importance to the universe than that of an oyfter. And were it of ever fo great importance, the order of human nature has actually fubmitted it to human prudence, and reduced us to a neceffity, in every incident, of determining concerning it. - Were the difpofal of human life fo much referved as the peculiar province of the Almighty, that it were an encroachment on his right, for men to difpofe of their own lives; it would be equally criminal to act for the preservation of life as for its deftruction. If I turn afide a stone which is falling upon my head, I disturb the courfe of nature, and I invade the peculiar province of the Almighty, by lengthening out my life beyond the period which by the general laws of matter and motion he had affigned it. (3)

A hair, a fly, an infect is able to deftroy this mighty being whose life is of such importance. Is it an abfurdity to suppose that human prudence may lawfully dispose of what depends on fuch infignificant caufes ? It would be no crime in me to divert the Nile or Danube from its course, were I able to effect fuch purpofes. Where then is the crime of turning a few ounces of blood from their natural channel?-Do you imagine that I repine at Providence or curfe my creation, because I go out of life, and put a period to a being, which, were it to continue, would render me miferable? Far be such fentiments from me; I am only convinced of a matter of fact, which you yourfelf acknowledge poffible, that human life may be unhappy, and that my exiftence, if further prolonged, would become ineligible; but I thank Providence, both for the good which I have already enjoyed, and for the power with which I am endowed of efcaping the ill that threatens me. To you it belongs to repine at providence, who foolishly imagine that you have no fuch power, and who muft ftill prolong a hated life, though loaded with pain and ficknefs, with fhame and poverty → Do not you teach, that when any ill befals me, though by the malice of my enemies, I ought to be refigned to Providence, and that the actions of men are the operations of the Almighty as much as the actions of inanimate

* Agamus Dei gratias, quod nemo in vita teneri poteft. SEN. Epift. 12.

beings? When I fall upon my own fword, therefore, I receive my death equally from the hands of the Deity as if it had proceeded from a lion, a precipice, or a fever. The fubmiflion which you require to providence, in every calamity that befals me, excludes not human fkill and induftry, if poffible by their means I can avoid or efcape the calamity; And why may I not employ one remedy as well as another? - If my life be not my own, it were criminal for me to put it in danger, as well as to difpofe of it; nor could one man deserve the appellation of hero, whom glory or friendship tranfports into the greatest dangers, and another merit the reproach of wretch or mif creant who puts a period to his life, from the fame or like motives. There is no being, which poffeffes any power or faculty, that it receives not from its Creator, nor is there any one, which by ever fo irregular an action can encroach upon the plan of his providence, or diforder the universe. Its operations are his works equally with that chain of events which it invades; and which ever principle prevails, we may for that very reason conclude it to be moft favored by him. Be it animate or inanimate, rational or irrational, 'tis all a cafe: its power is ftill derived from the fupreme Creator, and is alike comprehended in the order of his providence. When the horror of pain prevails over the love of life; when a voluntary action anticipates the effects of blind caufes, 'tis only in confequence of those powers and principles which he has implanted in his creatures.

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