and told him all his labors to leave the anchorage; but his friend seemed quite unconscious of his presence. He did not even look, upon him, but proceeded in business of his own, with which he seemed entirely occupied. The merchant, wearied with fatigue, and almost frantic with alarm, hurried to a tavern on the quay, where he used to dine, and entering, called for wine, to recruit his exhausted strength. But the servants seemed unconscious of his presence; no movement was made; and he remained, as it were, in a vast solitude, amidst large companies of merchants, servants and assistants, who all bustled in active gaiety, each fulfilling his duty in his own department. The merchant now comprehended all the horrors of his situation, and called aloud to Jupiter. O Jupiter, death in the blue waves, or even by consuming flame, were better than the life thou hast assigned me. Let me die, for my cup of misery is full beyond endurance. Restore me the enjoyments of thy social law, and I hail its pains as blessings.'

'But,' said Jupiter, if I restore to thee my social law, thy ship will be consumed, thou and thy crew will escape in thy boat, but thou shalt be a very beggar; and, in thy poverty, thou wilt upbraid me for dealing thus unjustly by thee.'

O bountiful Jupiter,' replied the merchant, I never knew till now what enjoyments I owed to thy social law, how rich it renders me, even when all else is gone; and how poor I would be, with all the world for a possession, if denied its blessings. True, I shall be poor; but my nerves, muscles, senses, propensities, sentiments and intellect will be left me: now I see that employment of these is the only pleasure of existence; poverty will not cut me off from exercising these powers in obedience to thy laws, but will rather add new excitements to my doing so. Under thy social law, will not the sweet voice of friendship cheer me in poverty, the ecstatic burst of adoration of thee lift my soul to heaven; will not the aid of kindred

and of my fellow men soothe the remainder of my days? and, besides, now that I see thy designs, I shall avoid employing my fellow men in situations unsuitable to their talents, and thereby escape the penalties of infringing thy social law. Most merciful Jupiter, restore to me the benefit of all thy laws, and I accept the penalties attached to their infringement.' His request was granted; ever after he made Jupiter's laws and the nature of man his study; he obeyed them, became moderately rich, and found himself happier than he had ever been in his days of selfishness and ignorance.

Jupiter was assailed by many other prayers from unfortunate sufferers under infringement of his laws; but, instead of hearing each in endless succession, he assembled his petitioners, and introduced to them the slater, the husbandman, the young heir, and the merchant, and requested them to narrate their knowledge and experience of the natural laws; and he intimated, that if, after listening to their account, any petitioner was not satisfied with his condition, he would suspend for him the particular law which caused him discontent. But no application followed. Jupiter saw his creatures employ themselves with real earnestness to study and observe his institutions, and ever after they offered up to him only gratitude and adoration for his infinite goodness and wisdom.

CHAPTER IX.

ON THE RELATION BETWEEN SCIENCE AND SCRIPTURE.

SINCE the first edition of this work was published, objections have been stated that the views maintained in it are at variance with Revelation, and hostile to the interests of Religion. It is gratifying, however, to know, that they have not been urged by any individual of the least eminence in theology, or countenanced by persons of enlarged views of Christian doctrine. On the contrary, many excellent individuals, of unquestionable piety and benevolence, have widely recommended this work as containing the philosophy of practical Christianity, and have aided in its distribution. It is therefore rather on account of the interest of the inquiry itself, than from any feeling of the necessity of a defence, that I enter into the following discussion of the relation between Scripture and Science; and as in a question of this nature authorities are entitled to great weight, I shall commence by citing the opinion of one of the most learned, talented, and accomplished divines of the present day, the Archbishop of Dublin.

A few years ago, a Professorship of Political Economy was founded in Oxford by Mr. Drummond, with a novel constitution. The professor holds his office for only five years, and it is a condition that one lecture, at least, shall be published every year. Dr. Whately, now Archbishop of Dublin, was the second individual elected to the chair, and, in compliance with the statute, he, in 1831, published eight lectures on the science. They are introductory in their character, being intended chiefly to dispel popular prejudices against political economy, and to unfold its

objects. They contain several admirable observations, calculated to remove prejudices against the pursuit of new truths, which are directly applicable to the subject of this work, and on this account I present them to the readers.

'It has been my first object,' says Dr. Whately, in his preface, to combat the prevailing prejudices against the study, and especially those which represent it as unfavorable to religion.'

'In proportion,' he continues, as any branch of study leads to important and useful results, in proportion as it gains ground in public estimation,-in proportion as it tends to overthrow prevailing errors-in the same degree it may be expected to call forth angry declamation from those who are trying to despise what they will not learn, and wedded to prejudices which they cannot defend. Galileo probably would have escaped persecution, if his discoveries could have been disproved, and his reasonings refuted.' 'That political economy should have been complained of as hostile to religion, will probably be regarded a century hence (should the fact be then on record) with the same wonder, almost approaching to incredulity, with which we, of the present day, hear of men sincerely opposing, on religious grounds, the Copernican system. But till the advocates of Christianity shall have become universally much better acquainted with the true character of their religion, than, universally, they have ever yet been, we must always expect that every branch of study, every scientific theory that is brought into notice, will be assailed on religious grounds, by those who either have not studied the subject, or who are incompetent judges of it; or again, who are addressing themselves to such persons as are so circumstanced, and wish to excite and to take advantage of the passions of the ignorant. Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo. Some there are who sincerely believe that the Scriptures contain revelations of truths the most distinct from religion. Such persons proeured, accordingly, a formal condemnation (very lately

rescinded) of the theory of the earth's motion, as at variance with Scripture. In Protestant countries, and now, it seems, even in Popish, this point has been conceded; but that the erroneous principle-that of appealing to revelation on questions of physical science has not yet been entirely cleared away, is evident from the objections which most of you probably may have heard to the researches of geology. The objections against astronomy have been abandoned, rather, perhaps, from its having been made to appear, that the Scripture accounts of the phenomena of the heavens may be reconciled with the conclusions of science, than from its being understood that Scripture is not the test by which the conclusions of science are to be tried." 'It is not a sign of faith-on the contrary, it indicates rather a want of faith, or else a culpable indolence-to decline meeting any theorist on his own ground, and to cut short the controversy by an appeal to the authority of Scripture. For, if we really are convinced of the truth of Scripture, and consequently of the falsity of any theory, (of the earth, for instance) which is really at variance with it, we must needs believe that that theory is also at variance with observable phenomena; and we ought not therefore to shrink from trying the question by an appeal to these.' God has not revealed to us a system of morality, such as would have been needed for a being who had no other means of distinguishing right and wrong. On the contrary, the inculcation of virtue and reprobation of vice in Scripture, are in such a tone as seem to presuppose a natural power, or a capacity for acquiring the power to distinguish them. And if a man, denying or renouncing all claims of natural conscience, should practise without scruple every thing he did not find expressly forbidden im Scripture, and think himself not bound to do any thing that is not there expressly enjoined, exclaiming at every turn

6

Is it so nominated in the Bond?'

he would be leading a life very unlike what a Christian's: should be. Since, then, we are bound to use our own