ness into action. It is too much, too daring, too arrogant, for human reason to presume to dictate to God the manner, or to censure or criticise the plan of action, he, in his infinite wisdom, has thought proper to adopt for this purpose. If any mere human creature could have accomplished this great work of man's redemption, it might be contrary to reason to suppose that God would have sent his Son into the world for this purpose: but as we cannot rationally suppose either the virtue or ability of man equal to the task, reason has nothing further to object; for, however a vain arrogance and impiety may presume to question, arraign, or cavil at the means or plan God, in his infinite wisdom, has thought proper to adopt for this gracious purpose, it is by no means the part of reason to do so; instead of this she recommends, that the wreath of gratitude, of humble love and affection to God, should be entwined by every man around his heart, mind, and soul, as a mark or token of his thankfulness for this great and stupendous instance of God's goodness to him. Many of those men who are so presumptuous and absurd as to arraign the conduct of God and his goodness in this awful matter, in

stead of being able to determine what infinite goodness is capable of, are often unable to judge of the extent even of finite goodness. Some fathers, for example, take little or no pains to provide for their offspring, and behave with constant unkindness to them; whilst others, of a better nature, think no difficulty too great to undergo for the promotion of their welfare, and even willingly risk their lives for this purpose; and yet all the reward they desire, wish, or seek from their children is to see them happy. Again, some men, from the natural magnanimity and goodness of their nature, will do the most noble and generous actions, and think nothing of them; whilst others make a merit of the least, and, from their selfish nature, question, arraign, and cavil at every disinterested action, founded in generosity and goodness, which they call, and really consider, as instances of egregious folly and extravagance.

But true reason does not think it incredible that infinite goodness should be capable of the exertion of that virtue and compassion which finite goodness has often exhibited for, though the observation made by the late Mr. Adam Smith may be very

true, that the selfish nature of man is such, that he would suffer more real grief from the reflection that the first joint of his little finger was to be cut off, than he would from hearing that an earthquake had swallowed up the whole empire of China, and all its inhabitants; the compassion of man's nature is, at the same time, such, that if the prevention of this earthquake, by which so many people would suffer, depended on the sacrifice of a man's life, there are many men, I am persuaded, who would shew they possessed virtue and goodness enough to make a voluntary sacrifice of theirs, to prevent so very dreadful a catastrophe, if in their heart they believed their conduct in so doing was right and proper, and agreeable to the will of God. Indeed, history furnishes us with a case exactly in point, and that such a sacrifice was intended to be made with such a view in that very empire. This extract is made by Mr. Maurice, in his Indian Antiquities, from Martinius's History of China, and is as follows:

"An universal barrenness, arising from “continued drought, having for seven years

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together desolated the kingdom, and thin“ned the inhabitants of China; Ching Tang,

"the founder of the second dynasty

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of

China, was told by the priests who interpreted the will of Heaven, that its venge

ance could only be appeased by an human "sacrifice; and he himself readily offered to "become the devoted victim. The aged king, says Martinius, having laid by his

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imperial robes, cut off the venerable grey "hairs of his head, shaved his beard, pared “his nails, and subjected himself to other

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preparatory ceremonies, esteemed indigni"ties in China; barefooted, covered over "with ashes, and in the posture of a con"demned criminal, he approached the al"tar of sacrifice, where, with supplicant

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hands, he intreated Heaven to launch the "thunderbolt of its wrath, and to accept the "life of the monarch for the sins of the people." However difficult it may be in the opinion of some persons to assign the reason, it is certain, that it was a religious opinion, received and adopted with the utmost veneration by the ancients, that in great and afflictive emergencies and dangers of the state, the impending destruction might be averted, if the prince or some of the chief magistrates had the nobleness of mind to make a voluntary offer of their persons, and to devote

themselves to certain death, as a sacrifice for the general welfare of the people. And the late Dr. Johnson confirms this opinion, by observing, that mankind in every age and in every country, however barbarous or however civilized, have always judged, that a vicarial offering was the one the most likely to deprecate the wrath of the Deity, and the one the most suited to his dignity. It was this opinion that amongst the Grecians (without mentioning either Lycurgus, or Leonidas king of Sparta) wholly influenced the conduct of Codrus the last king of the Athenians, and Menæceus the Theban; and amongst the Romans, Curtius, and three of the noble family of the Decii, who all devoted themselves to certain death for the salvation of their country. And, in opposition to the before-mentioned stigma thrown on the philanthropy of man, I may instance the conduct of Mr. Howard in our own country, who voluntarily quitted all that ease and comfort which is in general so highly prized, and exposed his person to the dank and noxious vapours of almost every prison in England, to administer health and comfort, and to relieve from oppression the afflicted in those prisons; in which he greatly suc