CHRISTIANITY was a second cre ation. It completed the first order of things, and introduced a new one of it's own, not subversive but perfective of the original. It produced an entire revolution in the condition of man, and accomplished a change in the state of the world, which all its confederated power, wit, and philosophy, not only could not effect, but could not even conceive. It threw such a preponderating weight into the scale of morals, by the superinduction of the new principle of faith in a Redeemer, as rendered the hitherto insupportable trials of the af flicted, comparatively light. It gave strength. strength to weakness, spirit to action, motive to virtue, certainty to doubt, patience to suffering, light to darkness, life to death. It is a rule of Aristotle, that principles and conclusions must always be within the sphere of the same science; that error will be inevitable, while men examine the conclusions of one science by the principles of another. He observes, that it is therefore absurd for a mathematician, whose conclusions ought to be grounded on demonstration, to ground them on the probabilities of the rhetorician. May not this rule be transferred from the sciences of the schools to the science of morals? Will not the worldly moralist err, by drawing his conclusions as to the morality of a serious Christian from the principles of the worldly school; not being at all able to judge of the princi ples, ples, of which the religious man's morals are the result. But in our application of this rule, the converse of the proposition will not hold good; for the real Christian, being aware of the principles of the worldly moralist, expects that his conclusions should grow out of his principles, and in this opinion he seldom errs. Christian writings have made innumerable converts to morality; but mere moral works have never made one convert to religion. They do not exhibit an originating principle. Morality is not the instrument but the effect of conversion. It cannot say, "Awake "thou that sleepest, and arise from the "dead, and Christ shall give thee light." But when Christ has given life, then morality, by the activity of the inspiring motive, gives the surest evidence of renovated vitality, and exhibits the most unequi unequivocal symptoms, not only of spiritual life, but of vigorous health. Saint Paul is sometimes represented not merely as the greatest of the Apostles, this is readily granted, — but virtually as being almost exclusively great. Is not this just ascription of superior excellence, however, too commonly limited to the doctrinal part of his compositions, and is not the consummate moral perfection which both his writings and his character so consistently display, sometimes, if not overlooked, yet placed in the back ground? Though he did more for the moral accomplishment of the human character than has ever been effected by any other man; though he laboured more abundantly than any other writer, to promote practical religion; yet polemical divinity, on the one side, is too much disposed to claim him as her immediate champion; and. and then in order to make good her claim, on the other, to assign to him a subordinate station in the ranks of sacred moral writers. Now the fact is, that all the prophets and apostles, aggregately, are not so abundant in ethical instruction, nor is the detail of moral conduct in any of them so minutely unfolded, or so widely ramified, as in the works of Saint Paul. We may, indeed, venture to assert, that David and our apostle are almost the only Scripture characters, of whom we have such full-length pictures. And for this obvious reason; what was left imperfect in their delineation by their respective historians, is completely filled up by their own compositions. The narratives may be said to exhibit their shape and features; their own writings have added the grace of countenance, the force of expression, and the warmth of colouring. VOL. I. F It |