their most cherished feelings, and their thoughts and actions became purified when they understood that the supreme eye was ever upon them. Such should have been the invariable effects, such were the necessary tendencies of even natural religion among men. They taught their children the morality they had learnt; precepts were repeated around the social hearth, and the remembrance endeared the imbibed principles to them in after life. These things were connected together by one great master chord, and the recollection of fond familiar things, recalled to mind the religious instruction of childhood.

Thus the chief end of a people was made manifest to them by themselves, their souls taught them of immortality; and great men, vast intelligences arose, who purified and elaborated their former crude notions in a definite principle into a general and accepted, organized, religion. Such were those of whom the Apostle tells us that being without the law they were a law unto themselves.

We have spoken, in the abstract, of the early religious impressions of all people and of all nations. True, there wasa difference, even among those who had no especial regulation, but this difference arose from variation in customs, climate, and circumstances.

Granting that the theology of ancient nations was obscured by their superstitions, by fallacies, errors, cheats, and impostures, we have only pleaded for the idea, and having this granted, we find that there is a parallel between the grand element of their conceptions and that of the Christian. There was a distinction between good and bad, virtue and crime, mortality and immortality, heaven and hell; their religions comprehended all these, and we, who have the advantage of a Revelation, which explains to us what they did not know, and who behold lifted up for us the pall that shadowed them, can admire the magnitude of their views, the greatness of their ideas, apart from the details and their varied modes of worship. For neither is it our present question to investigate the source from which this idea proceeded. We know indeed, and could prove that it arose from traditions, the results of which remained when the traditions themselves were forgotten; this is not, however, our immediate concern; we wish to show that there naturally existed such mental dispositions as made this traditional know-ledge sought out and valued. There is a yearning in man's soul to look upward for a God; that the feelings of love and reverence, of admiration and of awe, are stamped as attributes of the soul, and the vastness of the human intellect, the Godward bent of the thought, hath been shown in every age,

exemplified fully in the speculations of heathen nations, crude and mis-shapen as they were, and proved that it has ever been a ruling passion of the mind to comprehend space, time, eternity, infinity.

While we thus speculate upon the religions of the past, and compare them with the pure, holy, simple religion that Christ hath taught us-while we reprobate their follies, and feel disgust at their perversions and their crimes, let us admire that which they had among them good!-their examples of stern virtue, of undeviating morality, of unflinching justice, of high rectitude; that is to say, let us admire the image of God, even though dimmed by human clouds, and recognize the materials upon the grace of his Spirit acts in bringing men to salvation. Let us love and admire the men who have dared to be good in the face of scorn, contumely, and insult. Let us admire the great human souls of men who gave up their lives to serve their kind, who praised those things that were good for man to do, and classed the virtues of humanity under distinct heads, so that they might be seen and known on exhibition.

Coming to a more modern day, yet dark, and sunk in almost barbaric ignorance, it may be asked in what lay the Philosophy of Religion when she stood with a haughty brow, and mantled in the scarlet of Babylon? What principle sanctioned the thunders and comminations from the Vatican, when the purpled prelacy of Rome dictated to the souls of Europe, yea, almost of the world, with the sword in one hand and the bull of excommunication in the other, lacking the three great elements of Christianity-Faith, Hope, and Charity; and having recourse instead, to the wheel, the pile, the rack, and the gibbet? We answer, none; there was no religion in these. The name was usurped, as it ever is, when accompanied with force and violence. Yet in the lofty temper and stern resolve exhibited by the saints (so called) of the middle ages, in the magnificence of their integrity, and the severe devotion of their asceticism, we see the elements of a genuine, however ill-directed religion. There was not the depth of religion in the alchemi-theology of the East, in the theogony of Egypt, in the transmigrations and complex forms of Brahma, Siva, Vishnu, and the rest-the name sanctioned all these; and were it not for the name, perhaps the people would not have tolerated these slaveries. Yet even here the pure morality of the institutes of Menu-the sound philosophy, both ethical and metaphysical, known to the Hindoos-gave proof that the spirit of religion had not entirely forsaken them; even if it existed only to show, that though God made man

upright, he hath sought out many inventions. By these comparisons, however, we are enabled to judge the better the true nature of religion. We draw broad lines of demarcation between the true and the false, between the hypocrite and the devotee, the perverter of texts and creeds, and the zealous fanatic. We discriminate between the true and false methods by which religion appeals to our souls, not backed with banners and armies, not with thunders and threatenings, but with entreaties and kindness, in tones of love, and of affection. She calls upon us to read, to examine, to learn, to note her precepts; and then she refers us to our souls for a confirmation.

Religion turns the passions of man into a gentler, holier channel. We look upon them under its influence in a brighter aspect; it recreates man's nature, and gathers from off his heart the film of festering poison that corrodes it; it creates within him a new heart, and taking from him his viler nature, he is kept, while under its influence, in a strait undeviating path. There is a deep voice in the conscience, against every act, deed, and thought, that is not meted by the highest standard of rectitude. It speaks to him in tones of sweetest and most attractive music of peace, of justice, of joy, of happiness, of heaven. It shews him the deep horrible gulph opposed to it; it is ever on the alert to keep his foot from slipping, and bids him live in unity with all mankind. Such a principle, extending itself over a people, would stamp them with the emphatic and comprehensive words-good, wise, intelligent. Good comprises all; and now, if we apply to ourselves and to our own land the principles which we have laid down, we shall doubtless feel much cause for thankfulness that there is something like a spirit of religion among us.

There are drawbacks to this: alas! that it should be so: though there is religion in our streets, in our towns, it is not felt-its philosophy hath not sunk into the heart; the many and urgent cares of life scatter the fabrics of each succeeding Sabbath to the winds. Men view it literally as a day of rest, and not a day of worship. Men are apt to imagine-those, at least, who have not learnt to think for themselves, and who exist in a state of apathy and indifference-that the conduct of others should be the rule of their actions. They imitate vices, follies, irregularities, which they imagine a superior caste demands from them. It is said that the poor do not imitate the vices of the rich, but we are grieved to say, that we think they do. The rich profligate, and the wealthy profane, the titled debauchee, and their panders, are the destroyers of men, of nations; they are a black, rank poison, spreading around them ruin to an incredible extent,

and infecting the very air which they breathe. Such as these incur a fearful responsibility-they pluck upon their heads a terrible denunciation, for, having the means of improving society within themselves-possessed of the power to do good, to foster virtue and honesty-having an almost unlimited influence over the morals of society, they destroy the fabric they should build, and become a curse to body and soul.

Mr. Mackenzie, in his excellent sermon (a sermon which we rejoice to see, not so much because we think the views which the amiable and accomplished author takes always very deep or very sound, as because we are glad to see some attention paid to the philosophy of Christian metaphysics) speaks of such persons as existing only in animal condition. He says

"The first-the animal state-may exist almost singly. For though conscience or moral sense (the incipient state of the rationat part of the human constitution) would appear to be contemporaneous with will in animal life, yet, if unexercised, it will be early blunted by the indulgence of that carnal will. This, being purely animal, looks necessarily only to the things of animal life; the experience gained by it applies solely, therefore, to the things of appetite; and man, slighting the exercise of the reasoning faculties with which he has been gifted, sinks back into the indulgence of sensuality, and lives and dies the slave of animal passions.

"That such is the actual condition of vast numbers of the human race, the personal experience of every one who has studied human character must bear unequivocal testimony. They have experienced animal desires (appetite) in common with the brute creation: they have experienced gratification or distaste on their indulgence (knowledge): they have exercised an instinctive decision on the indulgence of, or abstinence from them (will): and contemporaneously with this exercise of animal will, they have experienced some demonstrations of conscience, or moral sense. This, being unused, has become speedily blunted; and the incipient portion of their reasoning faculties lost sight of, they have voluntarily degraded themselves to the level of the beasts that perish!

"But turn we from this debasing portrait of a mere vulgar humanity to examine the union of the rational with the animal properties. The first and second states of the human constitution may exist in conjunction, without any participation in the third. The philosophy of the heathen ages and, I might add, the sceptical philosophy of many who have lived in Christian times-has exhibited to the world instances of the rational powers of man exhibiting a noble development, yet untouched by the mind of Christ! When the early stages of animal life have been passed over and will attained; when the moral sense, no sooner known than allowed free scope, has led to additional experience; when this, again, enlarging with every passing moment of existence, has led to reason; then, Will directing Appetite, and Reason controlling Will, the animal has become subservient to the rational

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power; and mortal man has attained to the highest enjoyment and the highest moral dignity which man, as mortal, is capable of possessing!* But, beloved brethren, this is not all; for we are not simply mortal. As immortal beings-as capable of tabernacling within us the mind of Christ, we have sources of enjoyment and hopes of glory open to us higher than any exercise of mere powers of ratiocination can afford !" And this will necessarily lead us to look upon ourselves as accountable, if each feel the responsibility hanging upon him, if every man be aware that in this enlightened day there was a call from the four winds, a mighty call, to be up and stirring-a call to be up and renovate the morals and religion of his land, there would then be a transmission through the universe, of great startling thoughts; ideas of the sublime doctrines of the human soul would be awakened, which would transmute dark and awful passions into good. Such thoughts would awaken to a glowing, eloquent life, the soul, from the sleep, solemn and deep, that now clasps it.

We find names that stand synonymous with wealth, of high rank in the ledger of mammon, set down to contribution after contribution; they would keep well with the world, compromise with their own hearts, throw as it were a morsel now and then to quiet their fears, and hug themselves into a belief that all is peace when there is no peace." Such men do we find active

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The following is Mr. Mackenzie's tabular view of the theoretical analysis of the human constitution developed in the sermon.

Being a conviction of good and evil in the abstract. + Being a knowledge of good and evil in the concrete.

SPIRITUAL.

Repentance, or,
Conversion‡

Fear

Faith

Love of God, in the possession of which is found the greatest spiritual happiness.

Analogous to "Appetite" in animal life, being the first sense of spiritual hunger.

And, as we shall have occasion to show hereafter, we are not prepared to accept all Mr. Mackenzie's elements of the spiritual, or even the rational or intellectual life.