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altogether inadequate to support and tranquillize the soul in the prospect of the agonies of dissolving nature. Notwithstanding the rational gratifications such persons may have occasionally enjoyed in philosophical pursuits, they must be obliged to confess that they have acquired no equivalent for those joys which frequently animate the hearts of the most illiterate, who are sometimes enabled to look forward to the king of terrors without dismay, and to depart in peace with hopes full of immortality,-when the philosophist is obliged to exclaim, "All is now lost, finally and irrecoverably lost." Yet such is the tendency of the principles which are now in operation in our literary and scientific seminaries, and such the result to which we must ultimately look forward, should the principles of religion be discarded from the pursuits of knowledge.

It is therefore to be hoped, that all who have a sincere regard for the promotion of science, for the interests of religion, and for the welfare of their country, will devote a portion of their attention to this important subject, and set their faces in opposition to the spirit of that skeptical philosophy which has so long debased and demoralized the continental philosophists. Were all the instructions delivered in our seminaries, from infant schools through all the gradations of grammar and parochial establishments, mechanics' institutions, academies, and universities, judiciously amalgamated with the principles of pure and undefiled religion, it would doubtless be accompanied with a variety of pleasing and beneficial effects. It would tend to remove the prejudices which a considerable portion of the religious world still entertain against the pursuits of science, -it would lead to correct and rational views of the Christian system, and tend to dissipate those foolish and superstitious notions which have too frequently been grafted upon it, it would promote the interests of genuine morality among society at large,-it would fit the inferior ranks of the community for taking a part in the elective franchise and government of their country, and the higher ranks for promoting the enactment of laws congenial to the spirit of true religion, and promotive of the best interests of the nation,-it would tend to secure the peace and tranquillity of nations, by undermining the malignant passions from which

wars and contentions derive their origin,-it would introduce a general spirit of philanthropy, and give efficacy to the means employed for promoting the knowledge of Christianity throughout the world, and would, ere long, usher in the period foretold in ancient prophecy, when "the knowledge of Jehovah shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the channels of the deep," and "when righteousness and praise shall spring forth before all nations."

APPENDIX.

No. I.-Ignorance of the Dark Ages. Page 19.

THE following facts, chiefly extracted from Dr. Robertson's History of Charles V., will show the low state of literature and the deplorable ignorance which characterized the period to which the text refers. In the ninth century, Herbaud Comes Palatii, though supreme judge of the empire, by virtue of his office, could not subscribe his name. As late as the fourteenth century, Du Guesclin, Constable of France, the greatest man in the state, could neither read nor write. Nor was this ignorance confined to laymen-the greater part even of the clergy were not many degrees superior to them in science. Many dignified ecclesiastics could not subscribe the canons of those councils of which they sat as members. One of the questions appointed by the canons to be put to persons who were candidates for holy orders was this-"Whether they could read the Gospels and Epistles, and explain the tenor of them, at least literally?"Alfred the Great complained that from the Humber to the Thames there was not a priest who understood the liturgy in his mother tongue, or who could translate the easiest piece of Latin; and that from the Thames to the sea the ecclesiastics were still more ignorant. The ignorance of the clergy is quaintly described by Alanus, an author of the dark ages, in the following words: "Potius dediti gulæ quam glossæ; potius colligunt libras quam legunt libros; libentius intuentur Martham quam Marcum; malunt legere in Salmone quam in Solomone,"i. e. They gave themselves more willingly to the pleasures of gluttony than to the learning of languages; they chose rather to collect money than to read books; they looked upon Martha with a more affectionate eye than upon Mark; and they found more delight in reading in Salmon than in Solomon.

One of the causes of the universal ignorance which prevailed during that period was the scarcity of books, along with their exorbitant price, and the difficulty of rendering them more comThe Romans wrote their books either on parchment or on paper made of the Egyptian papyrus. The latter, being the

mon.

cheapest, was of course the most commonly used. But after the communication between Europe and Egypt was broken off, on account of the latter having been seized upon by the Saracens, the papyrus was no longer in use in Italy and other European countries. They were obliged, on that account, to write all their books upon parchment; and as its price was high, books became extremely rare, and of great value. We may judge of the scarcity of the materials for writing them from one circumstance. There still remain several manuscripts of the eighth, ninth, and following centuries, written on parchment, from which some former writing had been erased, in order to substitute a new composition in its place. In this manner, it is probable, several works of the ancients perished. A book of Livy or of Tacitus might be erased to make room for the legendary tale of a saint, or the superstitious prayers of a missal. Many cir cumstances prove the scarcity of books during these ages. Private persons seldom possessed any books whatever. Even monasteries of considerable note had only one missal. Lupus, Abbot of Ferriers, in a letter to the pope, A. D. 855, beseeches him to send him a copy of Cicero De Oratore, and Quintilian's "Institutions"-"For," says he, "although we have part of those books, there is no complete copy of them in all France." The price of books became so high that persons of a moderate fortune could not afford to purchase them. The Countess of Anjou paid for a copy of the Homilies of Hamon, Bishop of Alberstadt, two hundred sheep, five quarters of wheat, and the same quantity of rye and millet. Even so late as the year 1471, when Louis XI. borrowed the works of Racis, the Arabian physician, from the faculty of medicine in Paris, he not only deposited in pledge a considerable quantity of plate, but was obliged to procure a nobleman to join with him as surety in a deed, binding himself under a great forfeiture to restore it. When any person made a present of a book to a church or monastery, in which were the only libraries during several ages, it was deemed a donative of such value, that he offered it on the altar pro remedio animæ suæ, in order to obtain the forgiveness of his sins. In the eleventh century, the art of making paper, in the manner now become universal, was invented; by means of which, not only the number of manuscripts increased, but the study of the sciences was wonderfully facilitated.

No. II.-Foolish and Superstitious Opinions respecting Comets and Eclipses. Page 31.

Aristotle held comets to be fiery exhalations, rising from the lower atmosphere to the upper or fiery region, condensing during their rapid descent, kindling on their near approach to the em pyreum, and burning until exhausted. Leonard Digges, an

almanac maker of the fourteenth century, affirmed of comets, "That they signifie corruption of the ayre; they are signes of earthquake, of warres, chaunging of kingdomes, great dearth of corne, yea a common death of man and beast."-Bodin supposed them spirits, which, having lived on the earth innumerable ages, and having at last completed their term of existence, celebrate their last triumphs, or are recalled to heaven, in the form of shining stars. In the records of former ages, we read of a comet "coming out from an opening in the heavens, like to a dragon with blue feet, and a head covered with snakes." And we are told that "in the year 1527, about four in the morning, not only in the palatinate of the Rhine, but nearly over all Europe, appeared for an hour and a quarter a most horrible comet in this sort. In its length it was of a bloody colour, inclining to saffron. From the top of its train appeared a bended arm, in the hand whereof was a huge sword, in the instant posture of striking. At the point of the sword was a star. From the star proceeded dusky rays, like a hairy tail; on the side of them other rays like javelins, or lesser swords, as if imbrued in blood; between which appeared human faces of the colour of blackish clouds, with rough hair and beards.. All these moved with such terrible sparkling and brightness, that many spectators swooned with fear."-Rosenburgi, "Exampla Cometarum."

The comet of 1454, seen at Constantinople, seemed there to be moving in the firmament from west to east, and to present the aspect of a flaming sword. From its great magnitude, it is said even to have eclipsed the moon, and created among the Turks the utmost consternation, as it was thought to prognosticate nothing less than a crusade from all the kingdoms of Christendom, and forbode the certain overthrow of the crescent. Only two years afterward, when, notwithstanding these direful omens, the Turkish arms had proved eminently victorious, and were spreading dismay over all Europe, Halley's comet, in 1456, with a long tail turned towards the east, created reciprocal and still greater alarms on the part of the Christians. Pope Calixtus believed it to be at once the sign and instrument of Divine wrath; he ordered public prayers to be offered up, and decreed that in every town the bells should be tolled at midday, to warn the people to supplicate the mercy and forgiveness of Heaven; "ut omnes de precibus contra Turcarum tyrrannidem fundendis admonerentur." That all people may be admonished to pour out supplications against the tyranny of the Turks.-See Milne's Essay on Comets.

Even in modern times many foolish and preposterous opinions have been entertained respecting these anomalous bodies. In a late periodical publication, the writer of an article on comets, when alluding to the comet of 1811, proceeds to state "some

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