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possible may not yet be terminated. As the light which appeared to them of old time was only the dawning of that comparative fulness of light which we now enjoy, Christianity itself may be only the dawning of that perfect light which shall shine upon us in our glorified state; when, in the language of St. Augustin, "the disposition of "them that thirst shall be changed into the "affection of them that taste and are replenished "." Instead of indulging in unprofitable speculations, we should place implicit confidence in the benevolence and wisdom of the Deity, and rest persuaded that he has fed us with spiritual food convenient for us, and revealed all that was suitable to the capacities of our moral and intellectual improvement. And instead of giving way to distrust, because every difficulty is not cleared up, and which perhaps to beings constituted as we are, never could be, we should walk forward as men assured of our final inheritance, having our hope in heaven, our labour on earth, our reward in

m Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity, vol. i. p. 259. 8vo. edit.

both on earth, the inestimable peace of a conscience void of offence; and in heaven, that peace with God, the author and finisher of our faith, which indeed passeth all understanding".

n Dr. Whately, in his ingenious Essay on a Future State, has placed too much reliance on the bold assertions of Warburton; who, with all his learning and dexterity in applying it, is by no means a safe guide. His learning is often superficial, and his reasoning sophistical. Had the author of the Essays on the Peculiarities of Christianity pursued the inquiry independently for himself, with no other aid than the resources of his own candid, vigorous, and argumentative mind, I am satisfied that his discussion on the subject would have been less liable to be mistaken. The words of Aristotle, when criticising the political dreams of his rival in philosophy, may justly be applied to characterize the Divine Legation of Warburton.

Τὸ μὲν ΠΕΡΙΤΤΟΝ ἔχουσι πάντες οἱ λόγοι, καὶ τὸ ΚΑΙΝΟΤΟΜΟΝ, καὶ τὸ ΖΗΤΗΤΙΚΟΝ· καλῶς δὲ πάντα ἴσως χαλεπόν. Pol. Aristot. lib. ii. cap. 4.

APPENDIX.

APPENDIX.

A.

ORPHEUS, Pythagoras, Thales, Anaxagoras,

all travelled into other countries, and from thence derived the greater part of their philosophical

tenets.

The Ægyptian priest observes to Solon in the Timæus 3, Ὦ Σόλων, Σόλων, Ἕλληνες ἀεὶ παῖδές ἐστε, γέρων δὲ Ἕλλην οὐκ ἔστιν, explaining his meaning at the same time by declaring that the Greeks had no ancient doctrine amongst them, no tradition rendered venerable by age. The passages are innumerable in which Plato alludes to this kind of evidence; and he always makes the appeal in the tone of a man who thought that it was entitled to considerable weight. The only exception I recollect (and in this case the common remark is most true, that exceptio probat regulam) is the passage in the Timæus, in which, after mentioning the traditions respecting Jupiter, Oceanus, Tethys, &c. he observes, that we ought to assent to them, because they have been handed down from the heroic age; and we must believe the sons of

a Plato, Timæus, pars iii. vol. ii. p. 12. Bekker. Eusebius, Præp. Evangel. lib. x. cap. 4.

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