into the Baconian, and Newtonian, inductive process of subjecting all truth to the tests of experiment, fact, may be said of his views of the British Constitution. Paley's system of Morals is equally contradictory to the soundest principles of Religion and order. Paley tells us in the very first page of his Moral Philosophy," that the science of morals teaches men their duty, and the reasons of it; and that without it, the rules of life, among which the Scriptures are allowed a place, often mislead men through a defect, either in the rule or application. Thus Religion is rendered subordinate to Moral Philosophy. The supreme authority of the revealed will of God, is thus not only superseded, but must also-from the very precepts of Christianity which teach the deadness and incapacity of the "natural" man-be opposed and contradicted. In short, Paley, in his moral speculations, everywhere makes the sacred sanctions and obligations of Religion give way to " philosophy and vain deceit"; and this is no where more conspicuous than in his definition of Virtue, and the unscriptural consequences which he deduces from it. Our author's assertion as to the use of the Scriptures, namely, that they " are employed not so much to teach new rules of morality, as to enforce the practice of it, by new sanctions, and a greater certainty; which last seems to be the proper business of a Revelation from God, and what was most wanted"--appears to explode all the great, and distinguishing doctrines of our holy Religion, such as the necessity and efficacy of the atonement, faith, conversion, &c. His justification of Subscription to Articles without believing them, is fraught with contradictions, ignorance, and the most scandalous laxity of principle. The ground of his argument--" the incurable diversity of human opinion," is in express contradiction to, or ignorance of, the very Convocation that framed them, which declared that they were appointed for the avoiding of diversities of opinions, and for the establishing of consent touching true Religion." Notwithstanding this "incurable diversity of opinion," Paley informs us, that the framers of the Articles meant to exclude Papists, Anabaptists, and Puritans, from offices in the Church. In fact, on this subject, the confusedness of his ideas, the shuffling of his principles, and the contradictoriness of his language are absolutely disgusting. Paley in his zeal against the Articles, often beats his head against the express authority of Revelation itself; and he so contrives it, that Arians, and Socinians may subscribe with impunity! His intimations of expunging, or "compromising by silence," every Anti-Arian or AntiSocinian expression, in our Liturgy, marks the shameful looseness of his moral, conscientious, and religious feelings. Paley's hostility to the apostolic institution of Episcopacy, and his perfect ignorance of the church's constitution during the primitive ages, are at once a disgrace to himself, and his applauders. The way in which he degrades the college of the Apostles, acting under the immediate influence of the Spirit of God, is certainly an offence to every christian mind. Can we listen to a self-named divine informing us, that no precise constitution could be framed, which would suit with Christianity in its primitive state?" and "that a particular designa 66 and testimony. The investigation therefore of the mere truth of the Christian evidence comes, strictly, tion of Ministers of the new Religion, might have so interfered with the civil policy, as to have proved a considerable obstacle to the progress and reception of the Religion itself?" Where could be found such degrading insinuations? Did he suppose that Christians would believe, that the Church could be formed without, and even against, God? Did he think that no higher Spirit prevailed over the Church, of Christ, than the scales of political, or state expediency? Away with such theology, and such principles. Let them keep company with the five secondary causes of the infidel Gibbon-with the "Political Justice" of Godwin-with the licentious ribaldry of Paine—with the philosophic blasphemy of Priestley, or with the overbearing heterodoxy of Parr. But the latter, however, he might have chuckled over such a bold advocacy of his favourite dogmas, would have discharged a volley of turgid pomposity upon Paley for his literary blunder, in making a quotation of a line of Cicero, and supposing the original to have been an Oration in place of a Poem (Evidences, first Edit. Part I. chap. ix. §. 1.)--for his ridiculous, proposed emendation in Martial's epigram, of "thure manum" (Evidences, Part I. chap. ii. Notes.)--and for his false quantity of profugus before the University in his Concio ad clerum. Such verbal quibbles would have supplied Parr with a rich banquet for using his petty despotism; for like all other frantic democrats, he too was a tyrant in a small way: sedulously practising that tyranny in private, which he longed, and panted for in public; but, unfortunately, to the annoyance of poor Mrs. Parr; who is recorded to have frequently declared of her husband that," he was born in a whirlwind, and bred a tyrant!' We could, however, pardon Paley's ignorance of classical literature, if he had refrained from publishing such opinions, as have materially contributed to give to our Church and State, dwarfs in theology, republicans in politics, and Rationalists-Neologists-Socinians, in religion. Nor have we been surprized, that such principles as Paley has sanctioned, have had the warmest advocates among Papists; as a recent occasion proved, when in the House of Commons, one of the most virulent demagogues, that the spawn of an intolerant and avowedly persecuting Church has produced-Shiel, found it expedient to quote the authority of Paley in justification of sacrilege, and of the right which the physical strength of the people possessed, in founding at any time a mob religion, and a mob establishment!! What a faithful son of the Mother Church! To whom is this potent hero, indebted for such heretical sentiments? Would he have uttered them within view of the Inquisition, or a slow fire? Let him congratulate himself that the "children of Belial" are his Inquisitors, and that he is declaiming among those, who, though they have been branded by the Pope in this year's " Encyclical," as the "Devil's family”—as 'the refuse of human nature and its stain,” still will neither make an Auto da fè of him, nor broil him for his renunciation of his own proper principles, and the professed doctrines of his own Church. We trust that this brief exposure of the scanda within the cognizance of human observation. In short, every possible question, respecting its truth, lously loose principles in Paley's "Moral Philosophy," may claim some attention from those, who build up our embryo divines on a fabric of such awful laxity: we hope that our readers may use their best exertions to cast upon this work, and process of instruction, that stigma which is so justly its merit. In returning to the subject with which we commenced this note, we beg to state, what method we intend to pursue in our review of the Evidence of Christianity. Our object would be to produce a variorum work, embracing all that is valuable in every publication of decided reputation. We would draw together every argument, that the most celebrated French, German, and Dutch authors, have advanced. We conceive that the foreign schools supply a vast body of materials, which are almost unheard of, among our Clergy. To this we may make the exceptions of Bishop Marsh's and Mr. Horne's deeply recondite labours. Their exertions have tended much to light the lamps of English Theology at the candles of foreign divines. Of the latter class, we would examine the works of Tinguet, Vernet, Pictet, Viret, Hug, Bonnet, Jahn, Doederlin, Michaelis, Calmet, De Mornai, Carpzővius, Stosch, Rambach, Hoornbeck, Less, Ernesti, Rosenmüller, Abbadie, and many others whose very names are almost unknown among us. It is true that some solitary exception occasionally offers itself; but it is too often not of the most respectable sort; for it sometimes happens that an ungenerous author on the wings of plagiarism, deals out the learning of some one of these distinguished men. We have a fine example of this, in the case of one Robinson-a dissenting minister, who a few years ago, acquired considerable celebrity, by a publication, entitled, "Plea for the Divinity of Christ," almost all the arguments of which, were surreptitiously drawn without acknowledgment, from the celebrated treatise of Abbadie-" Traité de la Verité de la Religion Chrétienne." We would also review all the remains of the ancient Apologists, who wrote directly, in defence of Christianity; or collaterally, against the Jews, Gentiles, Mohammedans, or Heretics; as for example the apologies of Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, Theophilus, and Tertullian; Irenæus and Epiphanius against Heresies; the Stromata of Clemens Alexandrinus; Origen against Celsus; Arnobius against the Gentiles; Cyprian's Testimonies against the Jews; the "Divine Institutions" of Lactantius; the "Gospel Demonstration" and "Preparations" of Eusebius Pamphilus; and the " City of God" by Augustine. We would also peruse the writings of the most distinguished laymen who have treated on the subject. Among these are Newton, Leibnitz, Pascal, Locke, Boyle, Hale, Grotius, Puffendorf, Burlamaqui, Euler, Montesquieu, Zimmermann, Haller, Addison, Johnson, Burke, De la Harpe, Chateau briand, De Constant, De Luc, Necker, Selden, Hartley, &c. Such endowed lectures as have been published would give a host of data: such as the Warburtonian, Hulsean, Bampton, and those that have been founded by Boyle, and Donneylan, in the University of Dublin. All English writers who have lived since the Reformation would be lies within the acknowledged, and legitimate boundaries of human speculation. examined. From this universally extensive field, we hope to cull every topic, which may subserve the great cause of Christianity. We would endeavour to make our publication achieve as much for Revelation, and evidence as extended a research into the writings of the Ancients and Moderns, Foreign and British, as the " • Intellectual System" of Cudworth did, who by nearly a similar process has quite for ever over-thrown the attacks of Atheism. We know of no work, that approaches to the enlarged comprehension of such a plan of the many hundreds, which have seen the light, there is but one, that is based on universal and profound research-the Evangelical Demonstration" of Huet-the celebrated Editor of the Delphin Classics, for the use of his pupil, the Dauphin of France. He may be said to have benefitted Christianity in much the same manner and proportion, as Cudworth by his labours promoted generally the cause of all Religion. Huet's work contains an inexhaustible storehouse of facts, from the most approved and ancient authorities. But however important may be the details of his system, his confusion of mathematical and moral reasoning, is far from profiting an argument, which on all hands, is allowed to be only probable--a probability, however, as satisfactory, and as suitable to the present condition of man as the strongest demonstrable proofs. The plan of this great work, may be best known from Huet's own account, in his Memoirs, or " Huetii Commentarius de Rebus ad illum pertinentibus," lib v.—a book which gives highly interesting notices of the eminent men of letters of the seventeenth century. "I procured (says Huet) a great number of books-the interpreters of the Holy Scriptures-the Fathers of the Church-the writers of sacred and profane history, ancient and modern all I consulted and compared together." Again, "After I had undertaken to demonstrate the truth of the christian Religion, I resolved to pass over no work on the same topic, whether ancient or modern, without examination." We would therefore, pursue the same line of investigation, as Cudworth and Huet did. In doing so, we act in the full spirit of the maxims of Bacon, and Newton; indeed we were directed primarily to this method of investigation, from a perusal of the immortal work of Bacon's "Advancement of Learning." Bacon there states, Book ii. in his thoughts on Theology-"I am persuaded, that if the choice and best of those observations upon texts of Scriptures, which have been made dispersedly in sermons within this your Majesty's island of Britain, by the space of these forty years and more, leaving out the largeness of exhortations and applications thereupon, had been set down in a continuance, it had been the best work in divinity which had been written since the apostles' times." Strange to say, that a work such as Bacon, here suggests, never has been attempted, much less accomplished. To follow this rule to a more ample extent in behalf of the evidences of our Holy Faith-will be our unremiting labour; we dare not presume to expect to deserve the encomium of our great English philosopher; but we humbly trust to be enabled by divine assistance to perform the task with faithfulness and zeal. STRICTURES, On The Outrage Offered To Public Morals, In Respect To Portugal.* No sooner had we perused, in the public journals, the important and interesting debates, which took place in the House of Lords on the 3rd of June, and in the House of Commons on the 6th, relative to our long established connection with the government of Portugal, than we felt ourselves irresistibly impelled, for many hours, to moralize, with extreme intensity of feeling, on the ever-shifting scenes, and motley diversity of expedients, with which the passing events of every day so abundantly supply us. More than once, the pathetic description, which the great bard of universal nature, puts into the mouth of the expiring John of Gaunt, suggested itself to us "This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle * * * * * * This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England, For Christian service, and true chivalry; * We crave the indulgence of our readers in not consecutively continuing the line of argument, which we proposed to pursue in "CHAMPION," No. 4, p. 73. We conceive that for the present at least, our labours may be seasonably employed in rather a different direction. We may appear, in doing so, to pursue a devious track, but it is in reality only a different posture of defence; for all our excursions, however seemingly desultory, in the tendency of the whole, never fail to converge most strictly to the intended guardianship of our sacred and venerable citadel. |