Way in which human opinions are formed.

"at once, in despair. Another person is so entirely away from you in sentiment and feeling, that you can get no common ground to start from. His ideas, and feelings, and habits of reasoning are all diverse. He lives in a different moral and intellectual world, and you cannot understand one another at all. He takes principles for granted, that you would deny, and if you turn aside to discuss one of them, you take for granted, immediately, what he does not admit, and thus you have no footing. Then there is pride, and the power of habit, and the influence of association, and authority, and interest, and the bias of feelings averse to the sacrifices which sound moral principle requires. When we consider the nature of these elements, we shall moderate our ideas in respect to the immediate effects which we can hope to produce upon them. Truth and logic, with all their power, are proved to be frail instruments among such moral forces as these.

The force of authority and personal influence, have a far greater control over men's opinions, and reason, far less than is generally imagined. Suppose, for example, that for the sake of trying an experiment upon human mind, and testing the real strength of truth, that the philosophers of England should divide themselves into two parties, equal in talents and numbers, and enter into a controversy, making a question, for this purpose, of some undoubted truth. Let one party maintain, for example, the truth that the earth is in motion, and the other, the falsehood that it is at rest. The latter would, of course, pretend that recent discoveries and calculations had overturned the long received opinions, and that, after all, it was proved that it was the sun, not the earth that revolved. We must suppose that this latter party are equal in talents, and standing, and influence, with the others, and that they are believed to be honest and sincere, and that they maintain their cause with the same industry in arraying the facts

Result of the discussion.

Grounds of human belief.

which seem to favor their cause, and in fabricating ingenious arguments which should exhibit the appearance of mathematical reasoning. Suppose the discussion to go on for a half century, what would be the result? "Why every man," you would at once reply, "of any intelligence and understanding, who would devote any proper attention to the subject, would be brought to the right side. The evidence for the truth in this case, is overwhelming." Very well: admit it. But what percentage of the whole mass of any people, are men of intelligence and understanding, and what percentage of those would have paid such attention to the subject, as to separate for themselves truth from falsehood, and to form an independent judgment of the case, and see distinctly the solidity of the arguments for the truth, and the fallacy of those for the error? A very small one. The result would probably be, that the mass of the people would be divided between the contending parties, pretty nearly in proportion to the numbers, and standing, and personal influence and popularity of the respective leaders, and the termination of the experiment would show that the opinions of mankind on almost any subject which they hear discussed, and on which they seem to form a judgment independently, rest, after all, upon the weight of authority, and not upon the perceived conclusiveness of the reasonings.

It is true, that on subjects of mathematical and physical science, where there is, in a general view of the great mass of mind, no leading bias one way or the other, there cannot be, for a long time, any such division of authority, as we have supposed in this imaginary case. The force of the argument will compel unanimity among leaders, and then the influence of authority, will secure the unanimity of the rest. But in moral subjects, this is not so. Take such a question as the true character and desert of Napoleon Buonaparte. The moral argument here will not enforce unanimity among the leaders of mind, and the

The way to spread the truth.

followers, swayed by the opinions or the representations, or the personal influence of those to whom they are accustomed to defer, will be divided too.

We cannot trust, then, in the expectation that truth will, in a world like this, necessarily make her way by our simply arming her with intellectual weapons, and sending her out to fight against error. The result of such conflicts will generally depend more upon the ability of the advocate, or rather upon his personal influence, than upon the goodness of the cause.

I ought, however, perhaps, to say in conclusion, though it may be scarcely necessary, that this chapter relates mainly to personal discussion between private Christians in the ordinary walks of life, and not to controversy among leading minds advocating diverse opinions before the public, for the purpose of eliciting truth by discussion, or placing on record, arguments to sustain it. This public controversy has its difficulties and dangers, immense and great, but this is not the place to exhibit them. The sphere of influence in which this book is intended to move, is a different one altogether. In that sphere there can be no question that disputation should hold but a very low rank among the means of doing good. Our means of promoting the spread of Christianity, is not to effect triumphs for it in debate, but to spread its gentle and noiseless influence. We are to exhibit it in our lives, we are to explain, and enforce, and exemplify its duties. We are to express its principles, and gain, by every means in our power, an influence for them among our fellow men. Thus the rigidity of argumentative disputation will be relaxed, and the moral influence of an alluring exhibition of the principles and duties of piety, will find an easy way where the most severe and scientific theological arguments for the truth, and refutations the most triumphant of error, would find every access barred and impregnable.

These remarks apply with peculiar force to infidelity. It

Infidelity.

Its spirit.

Voltaire.

Its

prevails to a vast extent in the world, and must, for some time, continue to prevail; and although the proof of the truth ought to be constantly before the community, so as to be accessible to every mind, yet to rely upon the logical force of arguments, as the main instrument for the expulsion of infidelity, is to mistake altogether, the nature of its power. Infidelity, as it has generally shown itself in this world, is not candid philosophical doubting of the mind; it is rejection by the heart. strength is not in its reasonings, but in its spirit. It is dislike to God, to penitence, humility, communion with heaven. It is love of this world, and of sin, and a determination to go on in its own way, without fear of a judgment to come. It is a spirit of hostility to God, and to his reign, and a determination not to submit to it. Now such a spirit, logic and reasoning can never change, they do not even tend to change it.

The spirit of infidelity;—the lofty genius of Voltaire has embalmed and preserved its deformed and malignant visage, for all time, and we fear that his wretched soul will find that he has done it for all eternity too, by his famous watch-word, "Crush the wretch," applied to Jesus of Nazareth. Read the Savior's life,―consider his character, his mild, unoffending, gentle spirit,—his labors for the good of his race, his patience, his forgiveness,—his cruel wrongs, and the submissive, quiet, unruffled spirit, with which he bore them. Read the whole story, and think of such words as "Crush the wretch,' applied to him. Oh, Voltaire, Voltaire, sad indeed, must have been the moral state of the heart which could have been aroused to anger, by the story of Jesus of Nazareth; sad the heart which could call that homeless victim of toil, and of patient suffering for others, a wretch, and which could meet his tind invitations, by a cry uttered forth to the whole civilized world, to arise and crush him. Do these malignant ›assions still burn in thy bosom, against him who would

Conclusion.

Plan completed.

Recapitulation.

fain have saved thy soul? We fear they do, for the strength of angry passion which sent forth that defiance, could carry it but a little way towards the eternal throne of the Son of God. The lapse of years shows that throne standing firmer than ever, and thy malediction has fallen back upon thine own head, and thou thyself art the crushed wretch now, for ever.

CHAPTER XI.

CONCLUSION.

THE plan which I had marked out for myself in the volumes of which this is the conclusion, being now accomplished, nothing remains but for me simply to recapitulate some of the fundamental principles on which the views maintained in these works, are based, and then to bid my readers farewell.

These principles may be briefly enumerated thus.

1. Lofty and expanded views of the character and government of God. I have endeavored to lead the reader to look upon Jehovah as the Universal Spirit, pervading, and sustaining all things;-and to draw him away from the absurd image of ivory and gold, which the imagination of childhood paints, out into the mighty universe which spreads itself illimitably all around us, and shows us God's doings and character, in all the physical phenomena of nature, and in all the social and economical relations of man.

Such views of the great Jehovah, will alone free the mind from virtual idolatry. They alone will light up all nature with an expression from God, and enable us to realize, in the most complete and thorough manner, his continual presence and agency.

I ought, however, to warn my readers very distinctly of one danger arising from this view, and that is, that