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to us, with as much clearness as the eye reveals the physical world; God and Immortality, the first conditions of the existence of such a world; man, destined to take part in it, as a free and moral being; all his faculties and all the tendencies of his nature, adapted to this destination, and the material world, confirming the indications of conscience by the unequivocal proofs which it contains of order, benevolence, and a moral providence; the infinite value which man thus acquires in the view of his own reason; the bonds, which unite him with his brethren, made more sacred and delightful because they are men like himself; virtue, becoming more precious and holy, because it makes man more than man, and strengthens the ties which connect him with the moral world and with his immortal destiny; these are some of the great positive truths contained in the system of Rationalism. They are taken from the depths of human nature; they tend to ennoble the human soul. They regard the whole human race as one great family, of which each man should consider himself a member, in which he should devote his life to the greatest good of the whole, in which alone he can find his own true happiness. To destroy selfishness by unfolding the life of humanity, to take from the importance of this earthly life, which is but a feeble portion of human existence, by quickening the spiritual life, the life of the moral world taken in its whole extent; this is the object of the system. Was it not also the object of our Saviour? Does not this spirit breathe through all his words? Rationalism does nothing but establish it on a philosophic foundation, and disengage it from the mysterious forms, with which it has been clothed.

Here, then, continues our author, are the principles of an efficient religious system, or rather of every religion that is grand, holy, and pure. These ideas once admitted cannot fail of exerting a great influence on the soul, for they are the expression of its most profound and secret feelings. They do not, however, make up the whole of Christianity, any more than other systems, without this, do justice to the whole nature of man.

It is the opinion of M. Vincent, that in the union of this system with the one before described, the foundation must be laid of a religion at once rational and evangelical, philosophic and popular. It is by instructions directed in this

manner, that we can act on the mass of society, revive an interest in religion, restore to the human soul its dignity, establish virtue on a more solid and purer foundation, than some philosophers and Christians have dared to give it, and render more invincible by the force of feeling and of love, the natural horror of vice and sin.

The union between the Rational system, which has human nature for its central point, and the Supra-natural system, which has redemption for its basis, is not so difficult as at first sight may be imagined. Indeed, this is in the natural course of things. Not only will it be attempted, but it must needs be accomplished. It is a connected chain of ideas, in which philosophy leads us to the threshold of Christianity, and Christianity to our final destination. Humanity, love, the sanctity of the moral law, the unseen moral world, the destiny of man to virtue and happiness, the imperfection of man, and sin; these are philosophical truths. The means of restoring this fallen being are made known by Christianity, after having confirmed all the former truths with its indisputable authority. Let the preachers of the Gospel give their whole hearts to the exposition of these ideas, and the hearts of men will answer to the appeal. They will return to the consciousness of their own dignity; and a merely material and sensual life will give place to a superior life, the life of moral order, of hope, and of humanity.

We have now laid before our readers some of the most important ideas advanced by M. Vincent respecting the state and prospects of religion in his own country. To our minds the subject is full of interest. We think no one can fail of deriving from it materials for useful reflection. We know not, indeed, to what extent the revival of a religious spirit in France has been carried. We are not blind to the many obstacles with which it must needs contend.. We are aware that after all the changes which have taken place, there is much open or secret infidelity in different classes of society, on the one hand; and on the other, a tendency to fantastic and extravagant religious notions, which have had considerable success in the present unsettled state of public opinion. It is not all the Protestant ministers who possess the intelligence and liberality of M. Vincent, nor yet the primitive zeal and cordial charity of the apostolic Oberlin. But a noble spirit

is at work among them. The influence of such men as the present writer and others of a similar stamp, must be widely felt. They have received the great quickening truths of Christianity with their whole souls, and, raised above the low bigotry and superstition of former ages, have devoted the energies of the heart and the head to the promotion of a pure, spiritual, and rational religion among their countrymen. Who does not bid them God speed' in their holy enterprise? They do not engage in it alone. Many eyes are upon them. Many hearts, though divided by the broad ocean, beat in sympathy with theirs. Many prayers go up to the common Father that his most precious blessings may rest upon them.

We regard the experiment, which has been made in France, for forty years past, as settling the question with respect to the importance of religion. Every effort was made to eradicate it from the hearts of men. No means

were spared to level the Church of Christ to the earth, and grind it to powder. Philosophy, history, poetry, eloquence, the current literature of the day and the elaborate volumes of the Encyclopédie, wit and argument, subtlety and strength, all the resources of the human mind were arrayed in hostility to religion. Many were, undoubtedly, sincere in their opposition to it. They knew it only as it had been masked, and their natures rose against it. No wonder. They deemed it a pest to society. But so much the worse for religion. It was betrayed into mortal peril, by the company it had kept. What chance could it have, yoked with a system of superstition which the heart loathed; assailed by powerful minds, indignant at execrable abuses; burdened with the mummeries of dark ages in an age of light? But so it was. Yet religion survived. Had it been a delusion, a mockery, a phantom, it must have quailed before the blows, dealt by giant arms. Had not a divine spirit been in it, it must have followed its ancient companion to the grave. If ever the man lived who could root out religion from the world, it was Voltaire. He did what he could. In his own sphere he partially succeeded. For a time his triumph seemed inevitable. He was popular, powerful, the idol of his age. He spread the cry against religion,Away with it! away with it!' and the people banished it from the land. Half a century has not elapsed, and the people begin to feel that they have been deceived.

The heart of man, true to itself, returns to its deep yearnings after spiritual blessedness. It cries out for the living God. And so it always will be. Religion belongs to the human soul. It is as much its birthright as reason, or conscience, or natural affection. No power which does not destroy the very elements of our being can pluck it thence. Man may be deprived of it by tempory influences; he may be blinded to its celestial beauty; he may mistake its character, and when it comes to him with the richest blessings, may reject it as a deadly foe. But this cannot always be. He will return at last to himself, and then, like the prodigal of old, the vital cravings of his heart will lead him back to his Father's house.

What

The example of France convinces us, moreover, of the desperate folly of insisting on any points of faith, except the clear and essential principles of Christianity. was it that men attacked in their furious zeal against religion? The abuses of Christianity, the mysteries, the contradictions, the palpable absurdities, which had been connected with it, and, through these, Christianity itself. What is it to which they are now returning after the deathlike sleep of infidelity? Not the strange dogmas of the old theologians, but the living truths which shine forth, with light and beauty, from every word of our Saviour's instructions. These must constitute the religion of the coming age, or it will have no religion at all. This is true of France, and of the Christian, the civilized world. The springs of the old machine are worn out. They cannot be restored. The idea of repairing them is a chimera. Let us not waste our strength in miserable efforts to do so. Let the energy of Christian love and the ardor of Christian faith be devoted to the support of those eternal truths, which reveal man to himself and closely link him with his brethren, to which the Son of God came into the world to bear witness, and which give every one who receives them the witness in his own heart; then we may look, if not for a fancied millenium, for many years of the reign of peace, righteousness, wisdom, and charity, even the full coming of the kingdom of God on earth.

ART. II. Letters to the Rev. Joel Hawes, D. D., in Review of his Tribute to the Memory of the Pilgrims.' By SAMUEL J. MAY, Pastor of the First Church in Brooklyn, Connecticut. Hartford: Printed by Philemon Canfield. 1831. 8vo. pp. 72.

FOR interesting and instructive matter, and unexceptionable manner, we can safely recommend this pamphlet as one of the best which has appeared in the Unitarian controversy.

Although Dr. Hawes's 'Tribute to the Memory of the Pilgrims has attracted so little attention in our part of the world that we should not probably have noticed it, yet as the production of a man who stands high in his own denomination and city, and one therefore which has doubtless been much read in his own denomination and city, it was deserving of an answer, direct and on the spot, which might be circulated just where it would be likely to produce the most effect. We are glad that it has been answered, or rather that those parts of it which required an answer from Unitarians have been answered so well. We hope that all those who read the Tribute' will also read these 'Letters,' and then they may read the 'Tribute' as much as they please; not that we look to see them converted by the 'Letters,' but that we think they must be enlightened and rendered more charitable by them.

The present is a fair instance of the advantages of religious controversy. Here is a Connecticut clergyman, of great repute in his own state, but with rather more zeal than knowledge, and not quite so much liberality as a Christian ought to have, who, being but superficially acquainted with Unitarians or their opinions, but thoroughly imbued with extravagant prejudices against them, has been proclaiming his misapprehensions and maledictions in the most excited manner from the pulpit, and then spreading them still further by means of the press. Those who look up to Dr. Hawes as a teacher, both in and out of his parish, will be influenced by his sentiments, infected by his fears, and moved by his appeals; and their horror of Unitarians will be so confirmed and heightened, that they will not only refuse to regard them as fellow Christians, but will hardly consider them as neighbours and fellow men. What is to be done? We say

VOL. X.-N. S. VOL. V. NO. III.

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