{"collection":"philosophy-ethics","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_21905/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_21905","id":"gutenberg_21905","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21905","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Category: Teaching & Education","Judaism -- Juvenile literature"],"text":"E-text prepared by Chuck Greif\n\n\n\nA GUIDE FOR THE RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF JEWISH YOUTH.\n\nProposed to Teachers by\n\nISAAC REGGIO,\n\nRabbi and Professor, Member of the Oriental and Leipsic, Halle,\netc., etc., etc.\n\nTranslated from the Italian by M. H. Picciotto.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLondon: Simpkin, Marshall, and Co.,\nStationers'--Hall Court.\nMDCCCLV.\n\nLondon: Printed by J. Wertheimer and Co.\n\n\n\n\nSYNOPSIS.\n\n\nNotice by the Translator.\n\nAuthor's Preface.\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nGOD.\n\n    1. His existence. Cosmological argument.\n\n    2. First Cause, necessary, eternal.\n\n    3. Omnipotent, free, provident, omniscient, infallible.\n\n    4. All-wise, good, pure, immutable.\n\n    5. God.\n\n    6. Psychological argument.\n\n    7. Moral argument.\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nMAN.\n\n    8. His faculties.\n\n    9. His destination.\n\n   10. Intellect.\n\n   11. Reason.\n\n   12. Free will.\n\n   13. Immortal soul.\n\n   14. Double tendency.\n\n   15. Contrast.\n\n   16. Choice.\n\n   17. Conscience.\n\n   18. Feeling.\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nNATURAL RELIGION.\n\n   19. Idea of religion.\n\n   20. Necessity for man.\n\n   21. Faith.\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nINSUFFICIENCY OF NATURAL RELIGION.\n\n   22. Obstacles.\n\n   23. Tardy development of reason.\n\n   24. Ascendancy of sensuality.\n\n   25. Want of opportunity.\n\n   26. Social life.\n\n   27. Internal anarchy.\n\n   28. Limitation of human understanding.\n\n   29. Uncertainty of human knowledge.\n\n   30. Experience.\n\n   31. Necessity of a revelation.\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nREVEALED RELIGION.\n\n   32. Its actuality.\n\n   33. Its truth.\n\n   34. Its fundamental principle.\n\n   35. Relation between God and man.\n\n   36. Divine plan.\n\n   37. Essence of revelation.\n\n   38. Lofty aspiration of man.\n\n   39. Prophecy.\n\n   40. Prediction of the future.\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nOBJECTION AND ANSWER.\n\n   41. Rationalism antagonistic to faith.\n\n   42. Self-love in the physical world.\n\n   43. Self-love in man.\n\n   44. Heroism of man.\n\n   45. Proceeding from love.\n\n   46. Is the cause of faith.\n\n   47. Is not the offspring of imagination\n\n   48. Depends on the subjection of the sensual appetites.\n\n   49. Furnishes evidence to faith.\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nPRELIMINARY DISPOSITIONS OF REVELATION.\n\n   50. Contingency in revelation.\n\n   51. Its removal.\n\n   52. Choice of a portion of mankind.\n\n   53. Beginning from an individual.\n\n   54. Election of that individual.\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nPATRIARCHAL EPOCH.\n\n   55. Abraham.\n\n   56. His virtues.\n\n   57. Aim of his vocation.\n\n   58. Covenant established with him.\n\n   59. Circumcision.\n\n   60. Abraham's progeny.\n\n   61. Providential measures.\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nSINAITIC REVELATION.\n\n   62. Egyptian bondage. Moses.\n\n   63. Preamble of the revelation.\n\n   64. Modality of the revelation\n\n   65. Decalogue.\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nTHE TEN COMMANDMENTS.\n\n   66. First Commandment,\n\n   67. Second,\n\n   68. Third,\n\n   69. Fourth,\n\n   70. Fifth,\n\n   71. Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth,\n\n   72. Ninth.\n\n   73. Tenth.\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nSUCCESSIVE REVELATIONS.\n\n   74. Their character.\n\n   76. Their twofold direction.\n\n   75. Their sanction.\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nREVEALED NOTIONS RESPECTING GOD.\n\n   77. Knowledge of God.\n\n   78. Opportunity of such a knowledge.\n\n   79. Immediate relation between God and man.\n\n   80. Love of God.\n\n   81. Fear of God.\n\n   82. Other duties towards God.\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nDUTIES TOWARDS FELLOW-MEN.\n\n   83. Justice.\n\n   84. Negative duties.\n\n   85. Positive duties.\n\n   86. Other duties.\n\n   87. Charity and benevolence.\n\n   88. Duties toward the animate and inanimate nature.\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nDUTIES TOWARDS ONE'S-SELF.\n\n   89. Fundamental rule.\n\n   91. Sanctification.\n\n   90. Duties towards the body.\n\n   92. Other special obligations.\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nJUDAISM.\n\n   93. Religious idea.\n\n   94. Its vicissitudes among the Jews.\n\n   95. Mosaism.\n\n   96. Prophetism.\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nCONCLUSION.\n\n   97. Action, creed, hopes.\n\n\n\n\nNOTICE.\n\n\nTHE name of Isaac Reggio of Goritz, is now a celebrity in the Hebrew\nliterary world. A man of vast mind, a profound scholar, a philosopher,\nand an elegant writer, his numerous works on Theology, Hermeneutics,\nPhilology, History, and Literature, written in Hebrew, in Italian, and\nin German, have tended much to revive the taste for Hebrew literature,\nand to reconcile modern education to the study of Jewish antiquities.\n\nThe present little book is one of his latest productions in the Italian\nlanguage. In a style at once concise and perspicuous, and with a form of\nreasoning suited to the scientific requirements of the times, he\nintroduces the student to an enlarged view of Religion, ascends with him\nto the heavenly source from which it emanated, and leads him, through\nthe paths of virtue and love, to the comprehension and admiration of the\nobjects contemplated by it. In short, he teaches--if I am permitted the\nexpression--_the philosophy of religion_.\n\nI humbly, but firmly believe that, in the hands of able Jewish teachers,\nthis work will considerably assist them to infuse into religious\ninstruction a little more spirituality, and to impart a more\ncomprehensive view of religion, than the routine of former days deemed\nnecessary, and that, by so doing, they will be better able to enlarge\nand satisfy the minds, improve the hearts, and generally advance the\nmoral education of youth.\n\nNotwithstanding the well-intentioned and beneficial efforts of many\nfriends of education among the British Jews, and the praiseworthy\nexertions of some excellent teachers, the education of the mass is, we\nmust confess, still in a condition, in which the attainment of those\nobjects has not ceased to be a desideratum. We may or may not be on a\nlevel with our neighbours, but we have very urgent and special calls of\nour own for self-improvement, we have a particular mission to fulfil,\nwith its concomitant duties. Such self-improvement and such duties are\ndemanded by the spirit--not of _the age_, as is too commonly said and\nbelieved--but of an age which began thirty-two centuries ago, at the\nrevelation on Mount Sinai--the spirit of Judaism, of well-understood\nJudaism. Our age, with all its boasted and undeniable progress, is\nstill, morally, far below the type designed by Providence for humanity\nin the Sinaitic dispensation, far behind the spirit which dictated and\npervades the pages of the sacred volume, and which, when thoroughly\nunderstood and generally acted upon, must bring about the supreme reign\nof justice, charity, and universal love, and--as far as attainable--the\nultimate perfection of mankind.\n\nIt has appeared to me that these truths find a plain and logical\nexposition in this little work, and that its contents may not prove\nuninteresting even to the general reader. I also believe that a more\ncorrect apprehension of the true spirit and principles of Judaism by our\nChristian brethren, than is commonly arrived at, will have the twofold\neffect, of gradually leading to a larger measure of justice being dealt\nto the Jew, and inducing the latter to a higher degree of self-respect.\nFor these several reasons, I have volunteered to translate it for the\nuse of the English public, while other versions are being prepared in\nGermany and France. I trust that those to whose lot has fallen the\nhonourable but arduous task of educating and informing young minds, and\nto whom it is more particularly addressed, will give it their earnest\nconsideration, for the sake of whatever good they may cull from it, as a\nmaterial in aid, while they are laying the foundations of virtue in the\nhearts of the rising generation.\n\nThat the results may correspond to the intentions is the sincere wish of\nTHE TRANSLATOR.\n\n\n\n\nAUTHOR'S PREFACE.\n\nTO INSTRUCTORS.\n\n\nIN the exercise of the sacred mission entrusted to you by\nProvidence--that of educating our youth to piety and religion--it must\nhave frequently occurred to you, to wish that such an instruction could\nbe imparted, not in the shape of dogmas demanding to be admitted without\ninvestigation, but as doctrines addressed to the intellect by proper\ndemonstrations, and finding their way to the heart by stimulating its\nnoblest feelings. The little book that I present to you is intended to\nsatisfy, at least in part, that wish. You will not find in it a complete\ntreatise on Jewish Theology, or a systematic catechism, but only the\nessential elements, which may serve to the future elaboration of both.\nYou will find deposited in it the rough materials, which some abler\nhands will perhaps one day employ in constructing an edifice, in which\nour youth may find a safe refuge from the storms of doubt, unbelief, and\nirreligion. I have purposed to avoid all exuberant ornaments of style,\nall pompous parade of erudition, and contented myself with a plain\ndiction, and a strict laconism. I have not quoted authors who preceded\nme in the same field; I have not called up for investigation what of\nvaluable or defective could be found in them; in short, I have not\ninstituted comparisons, scientific disquisitions, or critical\nexaminations of the opinions of others. A series of aphorisms, simple,\nplain, unadorned, of easy understanding, drawn from no other source than\nthe Divine Word, presented with the greatest possible perspicuity and\nprecision, progressing in a regular chain of consequential propositions,\nand containing in few words the most important points of the Israelitish\ncreed--that is the form in which I have thought more proper to present\nto those, who are already versed in the Bible and in Hebrew literature,\na skeleton of the vast religious science, in which they may perceive at\na glance the principal characteristic of Judaism, its various\nramifications, subsidiary parts, and special tendencies; they may then\neasily discover and account for the multifarious phases, in which it\nmanifested itself in the various epochs of the universal history of\nmankind. To supply the deficiencies, to adorn those naked propositions,\nto provide them with evidence deduced from the sacred text, to enlarge\nthem with appropriate applications, to illustrate them with examples, in\nfine, to reduce the whole into such a catechistic form as will suit a\nsound system of instruction--such is the task which remains entrusted to\nyour intelligence, and to your zeal. By employing the proffered\nmaterials with that discretion which is peculiar to your ministry, with\nthat method which the tender minds of your pupils require, and with the\nlove inspired by the sublimity and importance of the subject, yours will\nbe the merit of having propagated the seeds of truth that will bring\nforth charity and universal edification; to me suffices the happiness of\nhaving, in some degree, contributed to so noble a work.\n\n\n\n\nA GUIDE FOR THE RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF JEWISH YOUTH.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n\nI. WHOEVER directs his mind to the contemplation of the objects that\nsurround him, the aggregate of which is called the universe, will soon\nperceive, that the parts of which it is composed undergo continually\nvarious modifications and successive changes, every one of them\nexercising some influence on the others, and receiving from them some\nalteration. This state of mutual dependence, in which the parts of the\nuniverse stand in relation to each other, leads us necessarily to\nconclude, that none of them has within itself the reason or cause of its\nexistence, but that all of them together depend upon a cause which is\nout of themselves, and through which they began to exist; the universe,\nthen, has had a cause, an Author.\n\n\nII. This Author of the universe, if he had not in himself the reason of\nhis existence, must also have it in others, and these again in others.\nConsequently, we must either suppose an endless progression of causes\nand effects, which is repugnant to reason, or arrive at last at a Being\nexisting by and of himself,--that is to say, one who owes not his\nexistence to others, and has caused all other things to exist;--and in\nthat case, the reason of his existence must be part of his _own_ essence\nand nature, and, consequently, inseparable from him and indestructible.\nThe Author of the universe is then a Being necessary and eternal; and as\nto Him all things owe their existence, it follows that through Him they\nbegan to exist, and He created them from nought.\n\n\nIII. He, who could create all from nought, has a power without limits,\nand nothing is to Him impossible; He, who has given existence to all\nthings, has also ordained the laws to which they are subject; He, who\nhas ordained at His will the laws of nature, has also the power of\nchanging or suspending them at His will; and lastly, He, who caused all\nthings to exist, can alone keep them in existence, governing and\ndirecting them with ceaseless providence; and such continual action\nimplies, of necessity, that He should know everything, that nothing\nshould be hidden from Him, and that in Him error should be impossible.\nThe Author of the universe is then omnipotent, free, all-provident,\nomniscient, and infallible.\n\n\nIV. Again, whoever attentively contemplates the universe cannot help\ndiscovering, with admiration, in every part of it a stupendous art, a\nconstant order, a systematic correspondence of means to ends, which\ndemonstrate that all has been arranged on a predetermined plan and for a\nfixed purpose, to which all the particular dispositions developed in the\ncourse of the natural phenomena are exquisitely adapted. This order and\nthis harmony--which manifest themselves, also, in all the progressive\ncourses of nature--indicate a self-developing excellence, and a tendency\nto an ever-increasing perfectibility, such as can only emanate from a\ncause infinitely intelligent and good; and as such qualities cannot be\nattributed to a being corporeal, because limited and subject to changes,\nit follows that the Author of the universe is all-wise and good, pure\nand immutable.\n\n\nV. Now, this Being, necessary and eternal, whom the contemplation of the\nuniverse alone reveals to us as the Author of everything, as omnipotent,\nfree, all-provident, omniscient, infallible, pure, immutable, all-wise,\nand good, is He whom we call GOD.\n\n\nVI. But our conviction of the existence of God need not be derived\nexclusively from the wonders of the universe; for every man can find in\nhimself the evident proof of the existence of that supreme cause. In\nfact, man feels within himself that he thinks; and if he were even to\ndoubt it, he could not deny that at least he doubts; and the doubt\nitself is already a thought. Admitting that he possesses the faculty of\nthinking, he must admit that there is within himself a substance, a\nbeing, a something which thinks. But this being, who is conscious of his\nown thoughts, is also conscious that he exists not by himself, that he\nhas not existed from all eternity, that he is subject to changes, that\neven the simple ideas, which compose his thoughts, are not produced by\nhimself, but acquired through his senses from external objects; and, in\nshort, that he depends upon various causes placed without himself, and\nundergoes vicissitudes, which it is not in his power to remove.\nTherefore man has not within himself the reason of his own existence,\nbut he must trace it to another, who is the Author of it. Now, this\nAuthor cannot have received His own existence from another, if He is to\nbe considered the primary cause; otherwise we should fall into a\nsuccession of causes and effects to infinity. Then, the true Author of\nour existence is one who exists by Himself, and as such He is eternal,\nomnipotent, all-wise, etc., etc.; He is God.\n\n\nVII. Another source, affording the proof of the existence of God, man\nfinds in himself when his intellectual faculties have attained a certain\ndegree of culture and maturity. He then knows himself to be a moral\nbeing; that is to say, a being who, placed between good and evil, can,\nof his own free will, adhere to the former and reject the latter, if he\nfollows the dictates of his reason. Then the moral sense awakens in his\nmind the idea of a supreme blessing, of a progressive and infallible\nmoral perfection, of a future final accord between virtue and felicity,\nand their necessary co-existence. Now, he cannot expect this supreme\nblessing from anything that surrounds him in nature, because he does not\nfind in the latter the desired union of happiness with virtue, enjoyment\nwith merit. He must, therefore, seek it in a Supreme Cause existing out\nof nature--in a Cause which should contain in itself the type of the\nmoral law, embrace the whole extent of that law with infinite\nintelligence, and act up to its dictates with a powerful will. This\nSupreme Cause is God.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n\nVIII. MAN has many advantages and privileges over all other creatures.\nNot only can he, like other animals, perceive through his senses all the\nsurrounding objects, but he can compare with one another the perceptions\nreceived, associate them together, separate them, and form new ideas. He\ncan know for what purposes things exist, investigate their causes and\neffects, discern between good and evil, between just and unjust; he\nalone can communicate his thoughts to others; he alone can speak.\n\n\nIX. Everything produced by an intelligent Author must be intended for\nsome purpose--must have a _destination_. Man, the noblest creature on\nearth, must also have a destination. We shall arrive at a clear\nknowledge of that destination, when we shall have considered the powers\nand capabilities possessed by him; for the means with which nature has\nendowed him, for the development of his activity, evidently point out\nthe goal which that activity is designed to attain.\n\n\nX. Now, the capabilities that we discover in man are the\nfollowing:--Besides a body constructed with wonderful skill, but weak,\ncorruptible, mortal, man has within himself a vivifying principle, which\nsubstantiates in him the knowledge of things with the aid of the senses,\nrenews in him perceptions once received, unites them, separates them,\nand forms out of them new ideas. This thinking principle is certainly\ndifferent from the body, of which no part is apt to think, and is what\nwe call the _soul_; the act itself of thinking proceeds from a faculty\nof the soul which we call _intellect_.\n\n\nXI. But the soul can also judge, conclude from causes to effects,\ndistinguish between good and evil, between just and unjust, conceive an\nidea of things never perceived through the senses; it can recognise the\nsupreme Author of the universe, it can adore God. This faculty of the\nsoul is called _reason_; intellect and reason are the principal or\nsuperior faculties of the human soul.\n\n\nXII. Reason points out good as a thing desirable, and evil as a thing to\nbe avoided; yet man feels within himself a desire or impulse towards all\nthat is pleasurable to the senses, although reason may represent it to\nhim as an evil. And, on the other hand, he is conscious of his perfect\nfreedom of choosing good, however disagreeable to the senses, and of\nabhorring evil, however tempting it may appear; he has, then, the\nfaculty of directing his action to one or other of these two courses;\nhis soul is endowed with _free-will_.\n\n\nXIII. A being endowed with intellect, reason, and free-will cannot be\ncomposed of parts, because the operations proceeding from such faculties\npresuppose a comparison of various relations with each other, and a\ndeduction of consequences from their principles; and these operations\nrequire such a unity and simplicity in their subject as are absolutely\nincompatible with the nature of matter, composed, as it is, of parts.\nThe human soul is therefore a simple being, a _spirit_, and, as such,\nindestructible, _immortal_.\n\n\nXIV. Man, then, unites in himself two natures, belongs to two classes of\nbeings very different from one another, is a citizen of two worlds. In\nhis body he is linked to the material world, undergoes all the\nvicissitudes of matter, is subject to the incentives of the senses, and\nis impelled to gratify the wants and cravings of physical enjoyment. As\nregards his soul, he enters into the sphere of intelligences, he feels\nhimself attracted by the ideas of the beautiful, of the true, of the\njust; he participates in the condition of the spiritual beings, aspires\nto the immense, to the infinite; and is susceptible of an\never-increasing perfectibility, finding within himself the power of\nabhorring moral evil, viz., vice, and of cleaving to moral good, viz.,\nvirtue.\n\n\nXV. Man has, therefore, within himself a germ of discord between the two\nprinciples of which he is constituted, a contrast between the exigencies\nof the body and those of the soul--between the appetites of the senses\nand the dictates of reason; and as this latter alone is competent to\nform a judgment on what he ought or ought not to do, it follows that\nreason alone should be consulted and obeyed in determining upon every\naction.\n\n\nXVI. Now, by freely and spontaneously resolving to conform all the\nactions of his life to the dictates of reason, which commands him to be\nwise in his self-government, upright with others, and pious towards the\nsupreme Author, man will have worthily corresponded to the end for which\nhe was created--he will have fulfilled his _destination_; for it is\nclearly the destination of man to make the best possible use of the\nsublime faculties with which his soul is endowed; and the best possible\nuse he does make when he subordinates his inferior to his superior\ntendencies, the cravings of the body to those of the soul; in a word,\nwhen he obeys the dictates of reason.\n\n\nXVII. When man obeys the dictates of reason, an internal voice in his\nheart tells him that he has done right; he feels satisfied with himself,\nand is penetrated with a sense of true joy. When, on the contrary, he\nconsciously infringes the laws of reason, he is not only deprived of\nthat internal approbation, but an inextinguishable voice rises\nreproachful within his heart; he is no longer satisfied with himself,\nbut feels uneasiness and perturbation. That internal voice, which judges\nman's actions, and generates happiness or sorrow, is what is called\n_Conscience_.\n\n\nXVIII. But the human soul, when it concentrates itself within, has also\nthe faculty of feeling the sense of its own individuality, and\nperceiving that the state in which it is is its own. By virtue of this\nsense, which we may call feeling, the soul is led always to desire its\nown welfare, its own happiness; thence springs love or hatred,\ninclination or aversion towards an object, as this object seems apt to\noccasion pleasure or pain. But man, sooner or later, discovers that a\ntrue and permanent pleasure cannot be obtained through any of the\nphysical enjoyments on earth, which he may not always be able to\nprocure, or, when procured, leave after them weariness and disgust. He,\nconsequently, cannot place in them his true happiness; and his internal\nsense tells him that there are other enjoyments of a purely spiritual\nnature, which alone can satisfy the highest aspirations of his soul. The\nexercise of his moral duties--which, through his freedom of action, lies\nalways within his power, and by which alone he can tranquillise his\nconscience and fully delight in self-contentment--is that which offers\nto his soul true and permanent enjoyment; that alone is worth desiring.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n\nXIX. ON man governing himself morally well in life, it becomes manifest\nto him, on the one hand, that his conduct, being conformable to the end\nfor which he was created, must also be agreeable to the will of the\nCreator. On the other hand, that same internal sense, which prompts him\nto satisfy the demands of his own conscience, leads him, also, to\nelevate his mind towards God; and he feels at the bottom of his heart\nthat he would be wanting in the principal element of his happiness if he\nreferred not his every thought to the Author of his existence. This\ntwofold direction of the mind towards God is called _Religion_, a word\nderived from the Latin _religare_, for, as a moral being endowed with\nintelligence and freedom, man feels always a certain tendency to\ndisengage himself from the physical order of terrestrial things, and to\n_link_ himself again to the Supreme Cause from whom he emanated.\n\n\nXX. All the peoples of antiquity exhibited, in their successive\ndevelopments, the aptitude of the human soul to entertain religion\nwithin itself, nay, the necessity in which it finds itself to connect\nthe exercise of moral duties or virtue with the Supreme Source of all\nmorality. In fact, God, in His infinite wisdom and goodness, wills\nnothing but what is good; and in no better mode could man ever manifest\nhis gratitude to the Author of his existence, than by doing that which\nis agreeable to His will. Hence it is, that whoever is true to his\ndestination, is said to be true to God; and he who is virtuous is\nreligious. There is, then, in the human soul a natural disposition to\nreligiousness or piety; and the history of all ages testifies that no\npeople ever existed, who, however rude and uncultivated, has not had\nsome presentiment of the relations which bind the rational creature to\nits Creator. Man is born to religion.[1]\n\n[Note 1: These truths are now readily admitted by all well-thinking\nmen. It was very easy, and very amusing, for the philosophy of the\neighteenth century, to ridicule the ignorance and superstition of the\nancients, and to denounce the modern peoples which followed in the same\ndirection, though by different tracks. But the true philosophy of the\npresent age, which has penetrated deeper into the recesses of the human\nheart, has arrived at the double conclusion, that a superior power has\nimplanted therein certain elements which it is not in human power to\nremove; and that what is inherent in human nature cannot he combated,\nbut must be wisely directed. Hence, modern civilisation deals lees than\npreceding ages in abstractions; and in its Intellectual development,\naccepts religion as a starting point in the laborious but open walk,\nwhich leads to human happiness,--The TRANSLATOR.]\n\n\nXXI. This need for man to be religious constitutes the basis of _faith_.\nAs man is said to _know_ that which is proved to him by experience, or\nby the testimony of the senses, so he is said to _believe_ that which\nis to him a real want, although it cannot be demonstrated to him either\nby experience or by the evidence of the senses. _Knowledge_ is based\nupon _objective_, and _belief_ upon _subjective_ proofs.\n\nThe existence of God, the providence with which He governs the world,\nthe immortality of the soul, the excellence of virtue, the just\nexpectation of a final triumph of good, and of an improvement and future\nperfection of the human condition, are truths which have their\nfoundations in man himself, that is, in the _nature_ of his soul; they\noriginate in him, even without the concurrence of reflection, almost\nfrom an innate feeling of the heart, which impels him to admit them;\nthey are founded on subjective proofs, and man _believes_ them as\nnecessities of his own nature. These religious truths are therefore\ncalled _natural_, and their disciples are said to profess a _natural\nreligion_.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n\nXXII. YET, notwithstanding the possibility for man to attain happiness\nby only following the voice of reason, experience has shown, in the most\nunmistakable manner, that natural religion is insufficient alone to\nguide mankind in the right path, to preserve him from error, and to\nregulate his life with constant conformity to his destination, under all\ncircumstances and in all conjunctures. Such insufficiency is caused by\nvarious obstacles, presented by the self-same nature of man, and the\nobjects that surround him, and which prevent reason from exercising an\nabsolute dominion over the heart, and naturally weaken its influence on\nhuman actions.\n\n\nXXIII. First among these obstacles, is the circumstance, that the\nintellectual faculties do not exhibit so much vigour in early youth as\nthe animal or appetitive faculties. Long before the force of reason has\ndeveloped itself in the mind, the sensual tendencies have already grown\ngiants in the heart, impelling man to desire ardently all that has the\nsemblance of pleasure, however fugitive and deceitful. The will, which\nis in its full vigour even in a child, has already carried into effect\nmost of these desires, and has thus produced such a habit of grasping\nimpulsively, and without reflection, at everything that presents itself\nin the aspect of an enjoyment, that reason often arrives too late to\ndestroy the ascendancy gained by the lust of the heart, and to claim its\ndominion over all man's actions.\n\n\nXXIV. Besides, reason is sometimes in danger of losing its supremacy,\neven after having asserted it. Instinct, which, in brutes, holds the\nplace of free-will, confines their physical cravings within certain\nlimits, and we never see an animal wallow in intemperance; but man, just\nbecause enjoying absolute freedom of will, may extend his desires beyond\nevery limit, and so much strain and invigorate them as to succumb under\ntheir influence. Therefore reason, whether from its tardy development,\nor from the unlimited ascendancy of sensuality, holds the reins of its\npower always with uncertainty, and is not ever certain of being obeyed.\n\n\nXXV. Another obstacle is to be traced in the want of opportunity and\ntime, or, in other words, in the little time that man can spare to\ndevote to reflection, in the presence of the multifarious cravings of\nhis body. These cravings, increased, no doubt, by luxury and an\ninclination, to superfluities, demand daily and hourly to be satisfied.\nHe is, then, obliged to work unceasingly to earn or procure the means of\nsatisfying his own physical wants, as well as, not unfrequently, those\nof a whole family. Aliment, clothing, habitation, comfort, recreation,\nand other innumerable cares, real or artificial, require so much labour\nand exertion, that little or no time remains for the great majority of\nmankind to devote to the assiduous reflections and researches necessary\nto determine what duties reason imposes upon them to fulfil, and what\nactions to perform.\n\n\nXXVI. A third obstacle to the development of the moral force in man is\nthe very social life which, by his own nature, he is called to enter.\nThe safety of the social fabric demands that the property of each\nindividual be distinct and acknowledged, and establishes a diversity of\nranks, offices, honours, and positions, which ill agree with human\ncupidity. Hence a conflict of desires, a collision of ambitions, a\ncontest of interests, which at all times generate among men discords,\nmachinations, frauds, usurpations, treachery, violence, and rapine. Add\nthe consequences of the pride and ambition, which each more or less\nentertains, to reach or surpass some others in power, wealth, or fame,\nwhence many causes of disappointments and heartburnings, of hatreds and\njealousies, of persecutions and calumnies, of acts of vengeance and\ninjustice of every form, and it will be easily conceived how little,\nunder the influence of _so_ many evil passions occasioned by social\nlife, could populations, in the course of time, be disposed to submit\nwillingly to the severe and exclusive regimen of reason.\n\n\nXXVII. Independently of these external impediments, there exists a kind\nof internal anarchy in man, arising from the want of a force exercising\nthe functions of an arbitrator between the mind and the heart, and\ninclining the latter to shape its decisions on the motives of the\nformer. The truths, which he is frequently able to discover, satisfy his\nintellect without affecting his will, minister food to the mind, but\noperate not on the heart; in short, they establish a theory, but command\nnot practice. Hence it often happens that man sees right, approves it,\nand yet adheres to wrong. Even after having gathered an abundant harvest\nfrom long studies and profound meditations, he still feels the need of a\nguide to direct his steps--of a means, available at all times, and\ncompetent to enable him to subordinate the appetitive to the\nintellectual faculties, and to cause the will to follow the judgments of\nthe mind rather than those of the heart.\n\n\nXXVIII. The inadequacy of natural religion alone becomes still more\nmanifest, when we consider the weakness and limited extent of the human\nunderstanding. To meditate assiduously on an abstract object, which does\nnot fall under the perception of the senses, is given only to a few\nindividuals endowed with uncommon penetration. But by far the greater\npart of men, disinclined to submit to long and arduous researches,\nconcerning what they ought or ought not to believe and to do, prefer\nliving thoughtlessly; and when they even try to enter upon spiritual\nmeditations, they soon feel discouraged, and, often distrusting their\nown powers, throw up the difficult task half way, to resume the course\nof a reckless mode of life.\n\n\nXXIX. But even the few privileged beings, who believe themselves equal\nto the task, and plunge earnestly into spiritual researches, must\nconfess to the insufficiency of the intellectual powers, and admit, that\nbeside some few principles which they have succeeded in establishing,\nmany doubts remain to be cleared, many questions to be solved, many\nobjections to be overcome; and they must ultimately conclude, that\nreason by itself is unable to answer on all that interests man to admit\nor to deny, to seek or to avoid, to believe and to do, to hope and to\nfear. There is not, in this wide range of spiritual subjects, a\nproposition held by one as true, which has not been discarded by another\nas an error; and there is not a paradox or an absurdity that has not\nfound some supporters, who maintained it as a truth. Doubt and error, in\nabstract and metaphysical questions, are natural and inherent in\nmankind, so long as reason is their only luminary in the research.\n\n\nXXX. The experience of all ages teaches us that the obstacles above\nstated have always exercised their influence upon the development of the\nmoral sense among men, by retarding, and sometimes even rendering\nimpossible to them, a clear and sound conception of their destination,\nand a firm resolve to conform to it.\n\nAll the nations of antiquity, which, left to themselves, never received\nfrom without any spiritual and religious instruction, could never rise\nfrom the slough of sensuality and superstition; they sank deep in\nidolatry, and ultimately adopted creeds and practices abominable and\nrepugnant alike to the excellence of reason and the dignity of man. On\nthe other hand, all the nations that totally or partly succeeded in\nextricating themselves from a state of brutality and barbarism, must\nacknowledge that not to the development of their intelligence alone they\nowe their regeneration, but to certain sublime doctrines--originated in\ncauses quite extrinsical from human nature--which, having found their\nway to them through a concourse of favourable and apparently fortuitous\ncircumstances, were more or less readily admitted, as notions gained\nfrom without, and by degrees ingrafted, under various modifications, on\ntheir own primitive ideas.\n\n\nXXXI. It being, then, almost impossible, or, at least, extremely\ndifficult, for man to arrive, through the sole action of the faculties\ninherent in his nature, at his intended goal, to shape his course\naccordingly, and thus to lay the foundations of his future happiness, it\nwas necessary that an intelligence far superior to his own should come\nto his assistance, communicate to him some fundamental truths concerning\nhis present and future life, enlighten his intellect, guide his reason,\ninvigorate his will in the paths of truth, justice, and righteousness,\nand thus facilitate to him the attainment of his sublime destination. It\nwas necessary that God himself should instruct him in what was most\nimportant to know, manifest His will to him, and explicitly point out to\nhim the way he was to follow, the obstructions he was to avoid, and the\ngoal he had to reach. Man, then, was in need of a _revelation_.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\n\nXXXII. THIS revelation was actually vouchsafed. It pleased the supreme\nBeing, through His infinite mercy, to manifest His will, and make known\nsome great and precious truths, which men would have vainly attempted to\ndiscover with the unaided operation of their reason; He chose to\nundertake, to a certain extent, the education of mankind. From the\nbeginning of the world God revealed Himself to the first man; and He\ncontinued afterwards for many ages, as His eternal wisdom deemed proper,\nto communicate to such individuals as were the worthiest among mortals\nthe instructions which were afterwards to work the salvation of all\nmankind. Those instructions, which contain truths by far more comforting\nand sublime than any results which man could have arrived at through his\nown faculties alone, constitute the substance of Revelation; and he who\nacknowledges their divine origin, and conforms to them the actions of\nhis life, is called a professor of the _revealed religion_.\n\n\nXXXIII. That God has really revealed Himself to some individuals of the\nhuman species is an historical fact, the truth of which is proved, like\nall truths of a similar order, by testimony and documents. But\nindependently of the existing evidence, the possibility of such an act\ncan be easily conceived by the human understanding, when we consider\nthat everything is feasible to the omnipotence of the Creator; and\nnothing is more consentaneous to His infinite goodness and wisdom, than\nthe blessed purpose of granting to human frailty an assistance\ncalculated to lead the noblest of creatures to the attainment of the\nexalted end for which he was created. To conceive, also, the precise\nmodes and forms in which such a revelation is effected or conveyed, it\nwas given only to those elect who were themselves the recipients, and\nwho are called Prophets. But we can arrive at the knowledge of the\nprincipal characteristics which constitute prophecy, after we shall have\nplaced in a clear light the essence and the final object of revelation.\n\n\nXXXIV. All the revealed doctrines may be reduced to one fundamental\nprinciple, from which they originate, and on which rests the whole\nedifice of revelation. This principle may be expressed as\nfollows:--Besides the general relation of dependence existing\nindistinctly between all creatures and their Creator, there is a\nrelation more intimate and special between God and man--a relation of a\nspiritual and sentimental nature, arising from the circumstance of the\nlatter being created in the image of God, by virtue of which man is not\nsubject exclusively to the blind government of the physical laws of\nnature, but, almost independent of them, he walks under the immediate\ninfluence of his celestial Father; this independence, however, cannot be\naccomplished before he has succeeded in subduing his sensual appetites,\nand has bent them to follow the divine direction. Thus acting, he will\nnot remain a passive spectator of the vicissitudes which accelerate or\nretard the fulfilment of that which the Divine wisdom purposed as the\nfinal aim of the creation, but, through the immortal spirit transfused\nin him, he will feel impelled to take some active part in the great work\nof the ultimate universal perfection, and to associate his own will to\nthe will of the Creator.\n\n\nXXXV. The relation between God and man is a tie of love. God being\ngoodness itself, this finds a more extensive field for its manifestation\nin the rational creature than in any other. On the other hand, man,\npossessed of a spiritual soul, is superior to matter, and is capable,\nmore than the other terrestrial beings, of receiving within himself an\nabundance of the Divine benevolence, which _diffuses itself throughout\nthe universe in exact proportion to the various aptitudes of the\nrecipients_. It is precisely in consequence of the understanding with\nwhich man is endowed, and of his aptitude to nourish love for the\nsupreme Being, that he has been elected, from among all terrestrial\ncreatures, to enter into a more intimate relation with God, and to\nco-operate, in as much as lies in his power, to the accomplishment of\nthe divine plan.\n\n\nXXXVI. The plan of the Creator is immeasurably profound, and therefore\ninscrutable. Nevertheless, in so far as it is permitted to the human\nmind to penetrate it, and as it has pleased the Divine mercy to reveal\nit, we know with certainty that it is all directed to diffuse happiness\nand beatitude over all creatures, in proportion to their respective\ncapabilities of participating in them, and to guide all beings towards\nthat end, which, in the scheme of the universe, was pre-ordained by the\nInfinite Wisdom as _the best_. Now, the inanimate portion of the\ncreation progresses unconsciously in the way ordained by Providence,\nobeys physical immutable laws, and is, therefore, only a means to a more\nexalted end. But the moral being, who has self-consciousness, resolves\non action after deliberating upon what he thinks best, and carries out\nhis resolve with free will; he is, then, himself the aim of his life.\nTherefore, to lead this being towards his own destination, it was proper\nnot to subject him to restraint under laws of necessity, otherwise the\nfreedom of his will would have been destroyed; it was only necessary to\nenlighten him, to place before him some fundamental truths, capable of\ndispelling all doubts from his mind, and detaching him from errors and\nsuperstitions, and thus to offer him means and inducements sufficient to\ndirect his attention and will towards the end designed by the Divine\nwisdom.\n\n\nXXXVII. It is these truths, offered as means and inducements, that\nconstitute the essence of revelation. Through revelation, man was made\nacquainted that God created the universe out of nought, that He governs\nit with His wisdom, and can work every change which He deems suitable;\nthat He created man in the Divine image, that is, with an immortal soul,\ncapable of receiving within itself the Divine idea, of conceiving its\nsublimity, and carrying it into effect. Through revelation, man learnt\nthat God is One, omnipotent, holy, of infinite forbearance and mercy,\nand an inexhaustible source of pure love; that He created as a stock of\nall the human family a single individual (to proclaim thereby the\nprinciple of universal brotherhood and mutual love between all the\nmembers of that family); that He desires to be loved, worshipped, and\nserved by it, with purity of heart, with elevation of spirit, and with\nunflinching constancy. Through revelation, we are taught to use wisely\nthe earthly gifts, and to turn their material enjoyment into a subject\nfor edification and the glorification of God; to exercise right,\njustice, rectitude, charity, piety, and humility; we are also taught\nthat God judges the human actions, punishes those who contravene His\nwill, and is disposed to pardon the sins of those who feel a true\nrepentance. And, lastly, through revelation, an invitation is tendered\nto man to elevate his mind to the Creator, to imitate Him, to approach\nHim through self-sanctification; and a perspective is opened before his\nmind's eye of an interminable future of beatitude beyond the grave, as\nthe ultimate goal of his longings, and a just reward to his virtuous\nconduct.\n\n\nXXXVIII. When an individual, after long and serious meditations, and\nthrough a concourse of favourable circumstances, acquires a\ncomprehension of this divine plan, and conceives it in its fullest\nextent and excellence, he will feel an irresistible attraction towards\nsuch a contemplation, and an ineffable admiration will seize all his\nmind; an internal intense desire will spring up in his heart to see it\ncarried out, nay, to contribute himself to its accomplishment, since the\nfirst tendency is already engrafted on his very nature. In proportion as\nthis desire extends its roots in the heart of that individual, so will\nhe make it his exclusive pre-occupation, voluntarily sacrifice to it\nevery worldly consideration, and so will he feel impelled to devote\nhimself to promote, promulgate, and bring to universal knowledge those\ntruths which, as stated, form the essence of revelation; his soul will\nbecome the receptacle of the Divine idea, his tongue and all his body\nthe organs of its fulfilment; his whole life will be an expression of\nthe idea which pervades him; he will feel within himself an irresistible\ncall to constitute himself, of his own authority, and without any regard\nto worldly powers, a preceptor to mankind, an adviser and censor of all,\na supporter of right and virtue, a herald of truth, and a defender of\nthe cause of God; he will defy every obstacle with unbending spirit,\nwill employ all his powers, physical and moral, to the attainment of his\naim; and sometimes he will end by becoming a martyr to his holy project.\nIn short, his will becomes identical with the will of God.\n\n\nXXXIX. Such a man is a prophet. His mind elevated to the highest degree\nof intelligence, his heart bent constantly to love what is good, he has\nalmost assumed a second nature, and he lives upon earth a purely\nspiritual life. Of all that surrounds him, nothing is of any value in\nhis eyes but that which may contribute to the accomplishment of the\nDivine design; in all passing events he sees but as many dispositions of\nProvidence calculated to direct men to the path in which they are called\nto walk; the very thoughts which cross his mind, and the wishes which\nform themselves in his heart, he regards them not as the productions of\nhis own soul, but as emanations from the Spirit of God which dwells in\nhim, and pervades all his being. Such a mode of viewing things is, after\nall, not a mere effect of his imagination, but a true reflex of the\ninfluence that actuates this man, an influence springing from the fact\nalready stated, that his will has identified itself with the will of\nGod. Hence the prophet is called a man inspired by God, for it is the\nDivine Spirit that pervades, agitates, and directs him; it is the Divine\nSpirit that found in him an instrument for its operation, an organ for\nits manifestation, a medium to carry out its high designs, a\nrepresentative of God on earth, who shall recall men to their Divine\norigin, and lead them on to their ultimate destination.\n\n\nXL. From the foregoing exposition of the characters of prophecy it will\nappear obvious, that those are greatly mistaken, who think that the\nexclusive or even the principal ministry of the prophet consists in\nforeseeing and foretelling future events. The prophet may occasionally\nfind it necessary to his ends to predict some events, which he does by\nvirtue of the Divine spirit infused in him; but this is for him only an\naccessory means to the chief object, which is to propagate and promote\namong men divine knowledge and religious life. With an all-wise\nprovision, God disposed that, as a rule, the future shall remain hidden\nfrom mortals, that they may exert themselves to render it propitious by\ntheir good actions; and if He sometimes permitted, as an exception, that\nit should be revealed to them through the dispensers of His word, it was\nnot to gratify an idle curiosity, but to excite men to worthily conform\ntheir works to coming events.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n\nXLI. THE preliminary notions hitherto set forth are to be regarded as\nplaced in the vestibule leading to the temple of Revelation. Now, before\nwe cross the threshold, it may be well to meet at once an objection\nwhich will possibly be offered by modern incredulity. It is fashionably\nsaid, that rational man can admit nothing as true except that which is\nproved to him by logical demonstrations; and as for the acceptance of a\nrevealed religion faith is a necessary element, and this must exclude\n(as commonly pretended) every kind of proof, therefore all reasoning is\nout of the question, and the very basis of that which is sought to be\ninculcated as a truth, renders it inadmissible. Such an objection,\nhowever erroneous in reality, has too grave an appearance, and its\nconsequences would be too lamentable, to permit us to disregard it. It\nbecomes, therefore, indispensable, before entering the sanctuary of\nRevelation, to remove the obstruction of such an error, even at the cost\nof a digression from our path, in order to consider the matter in its\norigin.\n\n\nXLII. One of the primary laws of existence in the physical world is\nself-love; that is, an instinct in every creature to procure its own\ngood, even at the expense of others, so that the preservation of one is\nattended with the destruction of some others. All nature is in a\nperpetual struggle within itself, and every component part receives the\nelements of its own life and increment from the destruction of others.\nThis we see repeatedly happen under our own eyes, as well in plants as\nin animals, and so evidently, that we need not here record instances to\nconfirm it. It is through this contrast of individual interests, through\nthis perpetual alternation of production and growth with decrease and\ndestruction, that Providence ordained the preservation of the world in\nits totality, while the individuals perish and the species remain.\n\n\nXLIII. Man also, considered only in his physical nature, is subject to\nthe universal law of self-love; and until he has arrived at a correct\nappreciation of his moral nature and duties, he will allow himself to be\nimpelled by that law to possess himself of all that he thinks suitable\nto his own advantage, regardless of the detriment of others, and even of\ntheir very existence; and so will, on the other hand, every one else,\nbeing in the same condition, act towards him. But the effects of\nunrestrained self-love are by far more mischievous in man than in the\nirrational animals, for the intelligence with which he is endowed\naffords him more means and artifices to accomplish his selfish views, so\nlong as he is governed by these and not by nobler impulses. Hence it\nhappens also, that so long as a man lies under the fascination of\nself-love, society, of which he is called to become a member, places him\nin a condition, from which he looks upon his fellow-men as the natural\nenemies of his individual happiness; and he feels a propensity to throw\nobstacles, either by malice or violence, in the way of others, to\nprevent their attaining that which is denied to him.\n\n\nXLIV. But we find, also, in man another principle diametrically opposed\nto self-love, which, proceeding from the noblest prerogatives of his\nsoul, distinguishes him from the irrational creatures, and invites him\nto a career totally opposite to theirs. This principle, commonly called\nvirtue, we shall express by the more comprehensive name of _heroism_. As\nby self-love man is inclined to sacrifice the welfare of others to his\nown, so by heroism he is led to sacrifice himself to the welfare of\nothers. When we see a mother struggling to death, and with admirable\nself-devotion, against overpowering waves, or ferocious beasts, or\ndevouring flames, to save her child from certain destruction, it would\nbe stolidity and folly for us to bring into comparison with this act,\nthe cares bestowed by a brute in feeding her young, since as soon as the\nlatter has carried into effect the order of nature, she forsakes them,\nand, when grown, does not even recognise them; whereas the love of a\nmother endures beyond the grave. When a husband, bound with the\nindissoluble tie of affection to the woman of his heart, voluntarily\nsacrifices to her everything dearest in the world, and finds in her\naffection ample recompense for his direst privations, who would dare to\nattribute this to the physical sexual tendency common even to the\nbrutes? a tendency, which, besides manifesting itself only at detached\nperiods of time, disappears altogether in old age, whereas conjugal love\nruns beyond the confines of time. The same may be said of a friend, who\nwould give his own life to save that of his beloved, of a generous\nwarrior who risks everything for his country's sake, and of a host of\nothers, who magnanimously devote themselves to the relief of suffering\nhumanity; in short, of every one who feels himself moved by a superior\nforce to cross over the boundaries of selfishness and sensuality, and to\nbecome a hero.\n\n\nXLV. In all these phenomena, a principle directly adverse to that of\nphysical nature manifests itself. While in the latter, self-love is a\nnecessary supreme law, in the spiritual life of man we see prevailing,\nas a foundation to morality, a voluntary sacrifice of self, offered on\nthe altar of love. No pain or regret ever accompanies such an offering;\non the contrary, a sensible man undertakes it with cheerfulness, as a\nmanifestation of his exalted nature, and derives from its performance a\npurer joy than all other earthly enjoyments could afford him. But this\nlove, which limits and conquers self-love, this love which so well\ntestifies to the excellence of man, whence does it proceed? Assuredly\nnot from physical nature; this is, on the contrary, based upon a law\nwhich would destroy love. It must emanate, then, from a source, itself a\nprototype of moral perfection, a perpetual spring of the purest love;\nand this source is God. Through the effects and impressions of this\ncelestial love, man feels the need of approaching his Creator, of\nfinding in Him the provident Ruler of the human destinies, and of\nexpecting from His kindness the future triumph of good, and an ultimate\nperfection of all things. God, providence, and the immortality of the\nsoul, become then for him incontestable truths: and at such a knowledge\nhe does not arrive by way of laborious instruction and logical\ndemonstrations; but it springs up, as it were, in his inward feeling,\nwhich prompts him to regulate his life according to that sublime model\nof moral perfection; therefore, although reason furnishes not to him\nlogical proofs of these truths, yet he finds the presentiment of them\nwithin his heart, he feels them, he accepts them with a force more\nsentimental than intellectual, he embraces them with enthusiasm, and can\nno longer detach himself from them; in short he _believes_ them.\n\n\nXLVI. Thus, with the same confidence with which man admits as true, what\nis demonstrated to his reason by solid arguments,--and he is then said\nto be _convinced_,--does he likewise give his assent to the noble\ninspirations of his heart, not yet depraved by abject inclinations,--and\nhe is then said to be _persuaded_. Thus there are two kinds of truths,\nequally ascertained, and therefore equally admissible; the one\nproceeding from intellect and called rational truth, the other formed in\nthe heart, and called moral truth. The source of the latter might also\nproperly be called _good sense_, which in fact acts, in many\ncircumstances of life, in lieu of pure reason. A man endowed with good\nsense, and who has not yet become a slave to sensual appetites, will not\ndoubt for a moment, even without having ever been acquainted with the\nproofs, that lying, calumniating, blaspheming, false swearing, robbing,\nmurdering, betraying friendship, country or honour, are culpable and\nabominable actions. Other truths based on good sense are also the\nfollowing: the faith we have in friendship, in the rectitude of those\nwho administer justice, in the fidelity of a beloved object, in the\ntenderness of parents, in the excellence of virtue, and above all, in\nthe wisdom, goodness, and providence of God; all these things we admit\nwithin our souls, not in consequence of a cold calculation of the\nintellect, but through an irresistible impulse of the heart, and in\nconsequence of a sort of presentiment springing from the consciousness\nof our own noble spirituality, which develops itself and gains force, in\nproportion as we elevate ourselves above the material propensities to\nwhich we are subject as citizens of this earth.\n\n\nXLVII. Those who, throwing themselves on a severe rationalism, will\nrecognise nothing as true but what is demonstrated to them like\nmathematical theorems, will look upon the sentiments above referred to\nas delusions of the fancy, because they see them founded but upon\nfeeling; but they who think so are manifestly in error. If faith in God,\nin His providence, and in the immortality of the human soul, were a mere\nproduct of the imagination, it would last only so long as the semblance,\nwhich had given it aliment, exists; and when man is awakened to the\nsense of realities and facts calculated to destroy the delusion, he\nwould be seen to withdraw from the meshes of his error, and his reason\ntriumphant would confess the former aberration of the mind; yet it\nhappens not so. In the moment we are struck by some grave calamity, when\nwe see fond hopes, long cherished, vanish in an instant, or when we are\non the point of losing what is dearest to us, why is faith in God and in\nHis providence not then weakened in the religious man? Why, on the\ncontrary, does he cling to it more and more? The reason is, because such\na faith is not a cold theorem, against which some doubt may eventually\narise, but a truth rooted in the love inherent in our nature; and\nconsequently it acquires vigour with the growth of love, and its power\ncannot be extinguished but when we cease to love. So, also, the other\nimpulses to heroism and to exalted moral action, by which we are induced\nto great sacrifices, or led to believe ourselves capable of\naccomplishing them, are produced in us by faith in an eternal Source of\npure love, by that faith which carries with itself the surety of a\nfuture life and a future kingdom founded upon love. Therefore, in\nproportion as man succeeds in subduing his own passions, or as these\ngrow faint by age or other causes, so his love grows more vigorous; and\nas earthly objects gradually disappear, so faith rises and shews itself\nall-pervading and invincible.\n\n\nXLVIII. As a condition indispensable to the entertainment of faith, we\nhave already insisted on the necessity of previously freeing the heart\nfrom the sway of the sensual appetites; and it is not without a grave\nreason, for therein precisely consists the secret of the solution of the\ngreat question agitated in all ages between the so-called rationalists\nand the supernaturalists. Intellect and reason are rays from the Divine\nwisdom, bestowed upon man to assist him to discern between true and\nfalse, between good and evil; but such a function is not exercised by\nthose faculties with an absolute power over the human will; they, on the\ncontrary, are subservient to such desires and passions as have acquired\na preponderance in the heart; they are similar to those ministers of a\nprince who, in offering him advice, only aim at facilitating the\nattainment of their master's wishes; or to the known effects of a glass\napplied to a jaundiced eye. So long as man remains faithful to his moral\nduties, and desires nothing but what is good and honest, his intellect\nand reason always offer him valid arguments to confirm him in his\npurpose, and to augment his love of virtue; and then, also, the noblest\ndogmas of faith, God, providence, and immortality find easy access to\nhis mind, and are Harboured with joy. But if depraved propensities have\ncorrupted his heart, so that his aspirations are in a wrong and base\ndirection, then these same faculties become ministers to the predominant\npassion, and suggest to man sophisms, fallacies, and specious\nsubtleties, whereby to disown that which he heretofore respected, to\nupset the edifice of his faith, to lull his conscience and quiet\nremorse, to excuse his weaknesses and break through every restraint, and\nthus to warrant every kind of fault and vice. Hence it is that the\nknowledge and discernment of what is true or untrue, in the moral world,\ndepends, in a considerable degree, upon the practice of good or evil;\nhence it is, that the judgments of the mind are modified by the\ninclinations of the heart, and that virtue opens the way to faith, and\nvice is the author of infidelity.\n\n\nXLIX. From what we have hitherto briefly stated, it will appear\nsufficiently obvious that the dogmas of revealed religion, though based\nrather on the ground of faith than on that of philosophy and strict\ncriticism, are yet, for an upright man, susceptible of a degree of\nevidence equal to that of any other demonstrable truth, inasmuch as they\nhave their foundation in human nature itself, and can be rejected but by\nhim who rebels against the noblest impulses of the heart, to give\nhimself up to the sway of passions or inordinate appetites.\n\nOne of the features, which most enhances the value of religion, is\nprecisely this, that it is the product, not of transcendental devices of\nthe mind, but of faith in God, itself springing from love, and that\nconsequently, it is not originated by the intellect, but infused by a\nDivine grace. Thus we see every day, in our own experience, that the\nloftiest thoughts of virtue and heroism are not suggested to us by a\nlong and laborious chain of syllogisms, but break upon us unexpectedly\nas inspirations of the heart; truly--considering the divine spirit\ndwelling within us, and which we have but to harbour carefully--they\nbreak upon us like inspirations of heaven.\n\nHaving, as we hope, satisfactorily disposed of the objection usually put\nforward by the so-called rationalists, we shall now proceed to relate\nthe modes by which Divine revelation historically came into actuality.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\n\nL. THE benefits which the Eternal Wisdom had determined to confer upon\nmankind through revelation, depended, however, on a condition without\nwhich, they could never have been realized. It was necessary that men,\non their part, should be inclined to receive the bidding addressed to\nthem, that they should direct their attention to the truths to be\ngradually promulgated to them for their own advantage; in short, that\nthey should feel disposed to correspond to the Divine intentions. It was\nno part of the plan of the Divine wisdom that men should be in any way\nconstrained, for that would have been depriving them of the precious\ngift of free will, and destroying their essence. But this very liberty,\nof action granted to man, rendered the realization of the Divine thought\ndoubtful; and it might have happened that a generation, sinking itself\ninto complete corruption, would have lost every trace of the truths\nalready revealed; and thence a necessity would have arisen for one or\nmore repetitions of the communication, with equal uncertainty of\npermanent success.\n\n\nLI. To avoid such a danger, it pleased the Divine Mercy to found upon\nearth a permanent institution of an exceptional, wonderful, almost\npreternatural character, through which the preservation of the principal\ndoctrines, that form the substance of revealed religion, could be\ninsured to mankind. As seeds of rare and precious plants are preserved\nwith care, that the species may not perish, so the Ruler of Providence\ndesigned to establish among us a repository wherein to keep the germs of\nall that which concerns man's spiritual life; and He so ordained that\nthey should be there jealously guarded, and with particular diligence\ncultivated, in order to bring about their slow and gradual, but sure\npropagation among all the individuals of the human family. This\nprovision is a most luminous proof of the unbounded love and mercy of\nthe Divine Artificer towards the rational creature, to whom a powerful\nassistance is thus offered to attain his noble destination, without in\nthe least impairing his liberty of action.\n\n\nLII. Such a provision consists in God having chosen a small portion of\nmankind to be a medium for, and co-operator in, the grand work, and\nhaving entrusted to it the special important mission of perpetually\npreserving within its pale, the principal dogmas of revealed religion;\nof keeping always alive on earth the remembrance of that relation which\nwas established from the beginning of creation between the Creator and\nthe human family; and, in short, of contributing with all its might to\nthe practical realization of the Divine idea. The chosen few had\nconsequently to propose to themselves, as the goal of their career, the\ndefence of the sacred deposit entrusted to them from all attacks that\nmight be directed by malice, ignorance or superstition; they had to\npromote the propagation of the notions of monotheism; of the divine\norigin of man, and of the duties incumbent upon him to practice justice,\ncharity, rectitude, and piety; they had to protest incessantly against\npolytheism, and against all and every idolatrous and superstitious\ncreed, as adverse and injurious to the development of the principles of\nrevealed religion; they had to confirm these theories by making\nthemselves the exemplars of a religious life, and by bearing witness to\nthem, when necessary, by their own martyrdom; they had thus to become\nthe effectual instruments to the gradual diffusion throughout the world\nof those elements of truth, of virtue and happiness, calculated to bring\nforth the ultimate and universal perfection of mankind.\n\n\nLIII. In order that the individuals charged with such a grand mission\nshould be competent effectually to fulfil it, it was necessary that they\nshould themselves have been always free from the pernicious influence of\nthe errors and corruption, which had already spread almost throughout\nthe world; it was necessary that their minds should have remained\nunpolluted by the notions of the extravagant and degrading idolatries,\nwhich were in practice among almost all the ancient nations; and that\ntheir hearts should have remained untouched by the contagion of\nuniversal depravity. The soil to which any seed, however good, is to be\ncommitted, would never respond to the expectations of the husbandman, if\nit were not cleared from weeds and thistles. Those individuals had,\ntherefore, to be drawn aside from the general society of men; and from\ntheir infancy educated and prepared, so as to receive within their\nvirgin souls the seeds that were afterwards to produce in them, and\nthrough them, the spiritual regeneration of all mankind. But here\nanother difficulty presented itself; who would have undertaken the\ncharge of watching over those individuals from their infancy, and\nkeeping them in such an isolation, as to make them inaccessible to the\ngeneral depravity? It was, then, necessary to begin by a single\nindividual, whose descendants should receive from that stock the\neducation capable of fitting them for their future mission.\n\n\nLIV. The providential measure once decreed, of selecting an individual\nas guardian of the revealed truths, and making him the father of a\nposterity, whose duty was to preserve them and to make them fructify, it\nremained only to determine the selection of the person. And here it is\nobvious that not a capricious hazard, not an indulgent predilection, but\nonly a strict justice and wise impartiality could determine the\nimportant choice. Whoever would have aspired to such a glory--and\neverybody could have aspired to it--by no other means could he have\nattained it than his own merits. Such a man must have, of his own accord\nand spontaneously, withdrawn himself from the general current of\ndepravity; opposed, by his own impulse, the absurd ravings of his\ncontemporaries; displayed a lively attachment to virtue, and a steady\nabhorrence of evil; cultivated, above all, justice, charity, and\nrighteousness, in his every action; that man must have thrown off the\nsubjection of the senses, and all cupidity of earthly things, and,\nalmost assuming a second nature, have soared towards the eternal Source\nof truth, the Creator of the universe, offering as a sacrifice to Him\nhis own dearest personal interests, and, if required, his life itself.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\n\nLV. SUCH a man did appear on the stage of the world. It was the\npatriarch Abraham. The rarest qualities of mind and heart concurred\nadmirably to render him fit for the high mission. By the superiority of\nhis intelligence, he arrived at the rejection of the captivating, but\nabsurd, idolatrous opinions of his contemporaries, and at the\nrecognition of a unique supreme Cause of all things, omnipotent,\nall-wise and holy, that governs all with impartial justice and infinite\nmercy. The nobility of his sentiments led him to labour and exert\nhimself in the diffusion of these holy notions wherever he found\nhimself; and he was most sedulous in drawing the attention of men to\nthat which most concerned their spiritual life. An unparalleled\ncordiality towards not only his own friends, but all who approached him;\na self-abnegation, carried to the point of refusing the best deserved\nremuneration; a humility ready to waive any right of his own in order to\nsupport that of others; a hospitality full, generous, unasked; a\ncontinual exercise of charity and justice, which had become in him a\nsecond nature; in fine, a submission of all himself and his dearest to\nthe will of God,--such was the character of that celebrated luminary of\nantiquity, of that man truly divine, of that exemplar of sublime virtue.\n\n\nLVI. Although so many pre-eminent merits indisputably assigned to him\nthe distinction we have pointed out, yet the Divine wisdom decided to\nsubject his constancy to various trials, with the view of making\nmanifest to the world the excellence of that virtuous character, and the\njustice which dictated the choice. In the continual antagonism between\nthe material and spiritual interests involved in the events of his\nagitated life, he had opportunities to display the noblest firmness in\ncausing the latter to prevail. Involuntary peregrinations, conflicts\nwith foreign potentates, domestic discords, dangers, hazards, hopes\ndeferred, and promises well nigh forgotten, became to him so many\noccasions for the exercise of the highest virtues: and last, the holy\nresignation with which he prepared to immolate his beloved son, thinking\nthereby to respond to a Divine bidding, raised his glory to an\nunapproachable summit. If the other deeds of his edifying piety caused\nhim to be appointed a herald of the true religion, this last heroic act\nbrought down upon him the greatest blessing, in the shape of a promise,\nthat even to his remotest posterity would be extended the mission of\njealously preserving the revealed truths, and effectually cooperating in\ntheir propagation, so that through that posterity would be _blessed all\nthe families of the earth._\n\n\nLVII. Abraham's vocation marks a luminous and highly interesting epoch\nin the history of humanity. It was the commencement of the execution of\nthat plan of education of mankind, which, conceived since the beginning\nin the Increate Mind, came by means extraordinary, yet consistent with\nthe natural course of earthly events, to diffuse itself gradually and to\nacquire a progressive force among the various ramifications of the human\nfamily. In that vocation we perceive the first threads of a wonderful\ntissue of events, as well in the physical as in the moral world, which\nwent on preparing a slow but always progressive development of the human\nintelligence, and will go on to produce ultimately the full final\naccomplishment of the same primitive plan, so grandly conceived. In\nfact, in the very act of electing this patriarch, God revealed the\nultimate object of the election by saying, that He chose him, in order\nthat he might transmit to his latest posterity the obligation--which was\nto become characteristic of it--of exercising and promoting CHARITY and\nJUSTICE, the two chief columns on which rests the edifice of human\nperfectibility, two conditions indispensable to the fulfilment of the\nDivine idea, and therefore called _ways of the Eternal_.\n\n\nLVIII. Abraham and his race having been called upon to perpetuate the\nidea of the relation existing between God and man, it was obviously\nnecessary that such a relation should be fixed and established in a more\nprecise mode in the individuals of that race than it was in any others;\nin other words, it was necessary to show clearly that the idea, which\nwas to be promoted among others, was firmly seated, under permanent and\nconcrete forms, in those who were called upon to propagate it. This\npermanency of the relation exhibited itself, then, to Abraham and his\nposterity under the form of a _covenant_ between God and that family,\nwhereby the contracting parties, as it were, promised and undertook to\nmaintain certain conditions, upon which depended the subsistence of that\nrelation. The mutual conditions established were, in substance, nothing\nelse than the universal relations subsisting between God and every\nrational being, but expressed, with respect to Abraham's, family, in\nmore special and characteristic terms, viz., under a form in which God\npromised Abraham that He would be particularly _his God_, his Protector,\nGuardian, and Benefactor; and the Abrahamites, on their part, bound\nthemselves to recognise _Him alone_ as the Deity, to whom adoration and\nloyal obedience were due. Thus the covenant, which had been formerly\nestablished in general terms with Noah, as the representative of all\nmankind, was afterwards confirmed in more specific terms to the\nAbrahamites, as those who were appointed to keep and to promote among\nmankind the fulfilment of the conditions of the said relation.\n\nConsidering the Abrahamitic covenant in this point of view, all\nobjections of unreasonable exclusiveness and unjust predilection, which\nhave been sometimes urged, must disappear. The God of Abraham is the God\nof the universe; and the descendants of Abraham propose to themselves\nnothing more than the attainment of that same happiness to which every\nmortal can aspire.\n\n\nLIX. In order that the idea of the contracted covenant might remain\nfirmly impressed on all Abraham's progeny, it was necessary to\ninstitute some external mark, which should continually recall it to the\nmind; for an idea being but an abstraction, it could not be very long\nretained in men's minds, without some symbol or visible sign capable of\nkeeping its remembrance alive. It was also necessary that the adhesion\nof that progeny to the covenant should not begin to take effect in\nindividuals in the adult age only, and as a result of one's own\nspontaneous reflexions, as had been the case with the first stock of\nthat family, but that it should present itself as an accomplished fact,\nand, therefore, irrevocable and obligatory; so that every future\noffspring should bear from his birth an external indelible mark,\ncharacterising him as a follower of that principle, and qualifying him\nto enter into the pale of that association. By such means the\npreservation of the covenant was insured, and a beginning was made in\nthe system of those external, symbolical, and commemorative acts, which\nwere to be thereafter prescribed to all that race, when sufficiently\nincreased to form an entire people distinct from others. This external\nmark, instituted before the birth of the elect progeny of the patriarch,\nis the _circumcision_.\n\n\nLX. Before Abraham's descendants attained that degree of maturity which\nwould fit them to receive a revealed legislation, they had to pass\nthrough various stages of progressive material increment and\nintellectual development, and also to undergo several sad vicissitudes\nproduced by the inevitable relations of contact with other nations.\nThroughout all this period, which we may call preparatory, the Divine\nWisdom was pleased to take that race by the hand, guiding its first\nsteps, and watching in an extraordinary manner over its destinies, so as\ngradually to prepare it for the high mission for which it was designed.\nWe, therefore, perceive, during that epoch, a continual intervention of\nthe Divinity in regulating the particular concerns of the patriarchs and\ntheir successors, and an incessant care to draw their attention to the\nfuture destiny of their grandchildren, and to their duty of preparing\nworthily for it. Such a care manifested itself, particularly, in various\nprovidential measures, the objects of which evidently were to remove\nfrom them everything that might exercise over them a sinister influence;\nto enlighten them on the importance of their election, and to make them\nacquainted beforehand with the severe trials in store for them for\nseveral centuries, before they could deservedly reap the intended\nbenefits.\n\n\nLXI. To this category of providential measures belongs the state of\nisolation and of precarious subsistence, in which, by the Divine will,\nthe first fathers had to live, in respect to their neighbours, in that\nsame land which was yet promised to them as a perpetual inheritance;\nwhereby they were brought to learn from the beginning that the great\nwork, which their children were called upon to accomplish, was not\nabsolutely dependent on the possession of a land under their own\nsovereignty, but rather on the religious doctrines to which they were to\nremain faithfully attached. To it belongs, also, the severance or\nremoval of the elder branch of the first two families, which was too\nmuch inclined to material interests, to teach thereby that physical\nsuperiority is not at all requisite to the preservation of a covenant\nbased entirely on spirituality. And, lastly, to the same category of\nmeasures belongs the decreed long servitude of the Abrahamites in a\nstrange land, in which, not only the door to social enjoyments would be\nshut against them, but a barbarous tyranny would also deprive them of\nthe free exercise of acts which are an imprescriptible right of all\nmortals. Through the instrumentality of such an oppression, the profound\ncounsels of the Eternal Wisdom designed so to regulate the first\neducation of that growing people, that, refined in the crucible of\nadversity, it should early learn to renounce the subjection of the\nsenses, and turn its heart and soul to God, from whom alone it could\nhope salvation. It was only by depriving that people of all human\nsupport, and of all extraneous influences on its culture, that it could\nacquire a character, firm, independent, tenacious in the principles\nadopted, adverse to foreign notions, faithful to its vocation, and that\nits mind could be deeply impressed with the sentiment of a constant\nadoration of the Supreme Being, as its only Deliverer, Legislator,\nFather, and Sovereign.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\n\nLXII. THE descendants of the patriarchs, grown into a numerous people,\nwere, then, obliged to undergo the severe trial of a long servitude in\nEgypt, from which they could expect no rescue otherwise than by a\nrecourse to the God of their fathers. If the privations of earthly\nenjoyments tended to strengthen their spirits and courage against\nadversity, and to direct their desires towards gratifications of a more\nelevated nature; if the repulsive conduct of their oppressors (by\ncharacter hostile to all strangers, and by system constituted in\ndifferent castes, each of which jealous of its own privileges) favoured\nin a great measure their isolation, and kept them from a pernicious\ncontact and association, it was the prayer which they offered up from\nthe bottom of their hearts to the Supreme Ruler of their destinies,\nwhose covenant with their progenitors they remembered; it was that\nprayer that hastened the termination of so severe a discipline, and drew\nnear the epoch of their glorification. A fit instrument only was wanted,\nthrough which the deliverance should be effected, an organ to\ncommunicate to the people the Divine laws, a medium for the new solemn\ncovenant which was to be proclaimed between God and Israel. This elect\nfrom among all mortals--whose noble character, resplendent with all\nhuman virtues, was heightened by the true grandeur of an unexampled\nhumility--was the holy legislator Moses, the divine man, the faithful\nexpounder of the will of God, the first link of the glorious chain\nconnecting the human family with its Maker. He was appointed to deliver\nmiraculously the Israelitish mass from the yoke of Egypt, and to lead it\nto the skirts of a mountain, where the grand act of the revelation was\nto be accomplished.\n\n\nLXIII. Before imparting that revelation, the Divine wisdom vouchsafed to\ndeclare to the people at large, in brief but clear words, the ultimate\nobject intended to be attained by such an institution, and the principal\ncondition conducive to its realisation. Therefore it was, that God began\nhis communications by saying to Israel, through Moses, \"_I have brought\nyou unto me_\" a concise and sublime sentence, which comprehends in\nitself the whole system of revealed religion, for the recognition of the\nintimate relation which brings the rational creature near to its\nCreator, is the true goal of man's destination. He added that, to\nfacilitate the attainment of that object, He had adopted the means of\nelecting a small portion of mankind to be His missionaries (\"_although_\"\nsaid He, \"_all the earth is mine_\"); that He wished, therefore, to form\nof them _a sacerdotal kingdom_, that is, a class of persons, who, as\npriests of God, should watch over, conserve, and promote spiritual\ninterests upon the earth; and that in consequence of the gravity of such\na task, He required of them that they should become a _holy people_,\nthat is, a people peculiarly devoted to self-sanctification--which\nsubstantially consists in imitating, in as far as human nature permits,\nthe Divine perfections, or virtues.\n\n\nLXIV. The awfully solemn act which succeeded this preliminary\nmanifestation is the most portentous event to be found in the annals of\nthe world. Two millions of persons, ranged around the skirts of a\nmountain, witness a majestic supernatural vision; and amid thunder and\nlightning, dense vapour and blazing fire, the whole ground trembling and\nthe mountain echoing, a sonorous voice from heaven descends on the\nterrified ears of the people, and carries distinctly and unmistakeably\nto humanity the high message of God. By the pomp and circumstance which\nattended the glorious scene of the first revelation, God was pleased to\nafford an incontestable evidence of the truth and divinity, not only of\nthe doctrines which were then and there being revealed, but of those,\nalso, that were to follow; the unimpeachable testimony of the senses of\na vast multitude, brought to bear upon the first and fundamental\ncommunication, was capable of producing so full and lasting a conviction\nin the minds of the numerous hearers, as to remove for the future all\ndoubt as to the divine origin of revelation. Through an immediate\nsensible perception--which by its nature carries the most irrefragable\ncertainty--Israel, then, received from God Himself the first dictates of\na religion, of which that people was to become the professor,\nconservator, and propagator, in perpetuity; and equally convinced of the\ntrue mission of its leader, Moses, it naturally accepted from the latter\nall subsequent instructions, as laws emanating from the same divine\nsource.\n\n\nLXV. The word of God pronounced in that memorable instant, and known\nsince under the name of Decalogue, or Ten Commandments, could not,\nhowever, embrace the whole sum of religious truths that were intended to\nbe revealed, because it would have been humanly impossible to the people\nto persist in that extraordinary state of intimate spiritual or\nprophetic relation with the Deity, till the end of all the revelation.\nTherefore, the Decalogue exhibits only some fundamental points, which,\nfrom their importance, deserved to be more prominently impressed; it\nmarks the outlines of the foundation upon which the edifice of revealed\nreligion was afterwards to be raised. Yet, although the promulgation of\nthe entire divine code was a work reserved for the blessed legislator\nMoses, the Ten Commandments present, nevertheless, a compendious but\ncomplete system of institutions, referring to all those social and\nreligious subjects, which most interest mankind. In fact, the three\nrelations of man towards his Creator, his fellow-man, and himself, are\ntraced in the Decalogue in a masterly manner, classified according to\ntheir order, and elucidated by placing prominently forward one\nculminating point, which serves to determine their true character. Such\nis the wise economy of all revealed laws, that generally avoiding\nabstractions, they select as a standard one special case of the most\ninteresting, and leave it to thy care of the human understanding to\ngeneralize, and deduce from it universal theories.[2] Consequently, on\nanalysing the ten emanations of the Divine Will, we must transfer\nmentally each of them to the class of duties to which it belongs, and\nconsider it as intended to represent all that class.\n\n[Note 2: The author has already informed us, that he confines\nhimself, in this book, to the enunciation of principles, and leaves to\nteachers the task of demonstrating, developing, and applying them, in\ncourse of instruction. Nevertheless, as this proposition recurs more\nthan once in these pages, and contains a very important principle, it is\nperhaps desirable, for the general reader, to offer here an elucidation,\nby the following examples of its application.\n\nWe are taught, \"If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray,\nthou shalt surely bring it back to him again\" (Exod. xxiii. 4). We are\nto understand, that the lesson thereby conveyed, is not confined to the\nparticular case named, but that we are commanded to cast off\nselfishness, and to extend our kindness and charity even to enemies,\nactively exerting ourselves for the assistance and benefit of others,\nwhenever opportunities offer themselves in our every-day life.\n\nAgain, we are enjoined, \"Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a\nstumbling-block before the blind\" (Lev, xix. 14). We are clearly to\nconclude therefrom, that any net of treachery, in itself already\ndetestable in the eyes of God, becomes doubly so when directed against\nthe unconscious and the helpless; and a very wide range of treacherous\nactions would, therefore, come within the meaning of this prohibition.\n\nThe paramount importance of this hermeneutical rule will be any apology\nfor having dilated on a point, which must be already well known to\nbiblical students.--The TRANSLATOR.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\n\nLXVI. THE first commandment, which regards the relations of man with\nGod, lays down that the acknowledgment of the Supreme Being is the basis\nof all the revelation, and gives us to understand that such a conviction\nthen began historically to manifest itself on earth, taking root first\nin the people of Israel, whom therefore the Deity addresses, saying, \"I\nam the Eternal, _thy_ God,\" signifying, \"by _thee_ alone acknowledged\nhitherto.\" It also establishes the immutable eternity of the absolute\nBeing, conveyed in the etymology of the ineffable Name; next, his\nindivisible unity, indicated in the word _El_, which denotes the sum of\nall the powers, and the aggregation of all the attributes, in one and\nthe same essence. The same text proceeds then to arouse the feelings of\ngratitude, which must bind especially this people to the powerful hand\nthat had delivered it from ignominious servitude: and this involves the\nobligation in the same people of devoting itself entirely to God, and\nsubordinating all its tendencies to religious feeling. The last two\nwords of this text allude to one of the great principles on which\nrevealed religion rests, the Eternal having thereby proclaimed, not only\nthe individual equality of all the Israelites before the law, but also\nthe personal liberty of all men, which principle, being regulated\naccording to the true idea of right, becomes the fundamental basis of\ncivil society.\n\n\nLXVII. The worship of the only God, coupled with the absolute rejection\nof every form of idolatrous and superstitious creed, forms the subject\nof the second commandment, which completes the portion of the Decalogue\nregarding the relations of man towards the Creator. It severely\nprohibits every kind of idolatry, both that which substitutes for the\ntrue God false and imaginary beings, or even beings real but contingent\nand created, and that which would associate in His worship a veneration\nfor others, under the title of mediators or protectors; it then\ninterdicts the making of any image whatsoever, when intended to\nrepresent the infinite and incorporeal Being, and bids us neither to pay\nto any such simulacra a religious respect or veneration, which is due to\nthe true God alone, nor to practise such conventional acts, as, however\ninsignificant in themselves, are yet held by idolaters as modes of\nworship. Lastly, this commandment conveys the obligation to dissent\nfrom, and reject, every superstition and every error, requiring us to\npreserve pure and intemerate the adoration due to the Supreme Being,\nwho, in this sense, is represented in this text as jealously watching\nover human actions, and a not indifferent spectator of good or evil;\ntherefore a sure punisher of the guilty, and an eternal remunerator of\nhim who faithfully adheres to His law.\n\n\nLXVIII. As a transition from the duties towards God to those towards our\nfellow-men, the two succeeding precepts are opportunely placed, one of\nwhich concerns the act of invoking the Divinity between men, and the\nother the mode of elevating men towards the Divinity. In the\nmultifarious contentions arising in social life, it sometimes occurs to\nhave recourse to God, to convalidate an assertion, or to test a truth.\nNow, in the act of attestation called oath, the third commandment\nprohibits with the greatest rigour anything that might offend the\nsanctity of the ineffable name of God, which is invoked by the deponent\nin attestation of the truth of his words. Consequently the text\ndeclares, that if such a solemn invocation were made to confirm a thing,\nwhich is not wholly conformable to the intimate conviction and most\nscrupulous conscience of the swearer, the consequences would be a\nprofanation of the name of God, and a scandalous immorality, to the\ndetriment of society at large; for this could not subsist without an\nupright administration of justice; and the latter would be upset and\ntrampled upon by perjury. In order to shew more prominently the gravity\nof this matter, and to protect society, an avenging God protests that He\nwould never leave unpunished whomsoever should render himself guilty of\nthe monstrous crime of perjury.\n\n\nLXIX. From the moment when the work of creation was completed, the\nDivine wisdom ordained that an intimate relation should subsist between\nman and his Creator, and called that day holy and blessed on which so\nmerciful an institution was inaugurated and began to come into\noperation. This relation, which, as we have already stated, forms the\nbasis of revealed religion, tended to emancipate man from the sphere of\nmateriality, and to render him conscious of his higher destination, and\ncapable of accomplishing it. It was, therefore, natural that the people\ncalled upon to give the religious principle a durable consistency on\nearth, should keep a perpetual commemoration of that day which\nrepresented the bond subsisting between the Divinity and humanity; it\nwas proper that the day should not only and simply be remembered, but\nthat it should, also, have some feature exercising a predominating\ninfluence over material life, by making this subordinate to the\nspiritual requirements. The fourth word of the Decalogue prescribes,\nthen, that the Israelite should for ever remember the holy day of\nsabbath, as a representative of religion, and should, during that day,\nabstain, and cause all his dependants to abstain, from all manual labour\nand earthly occupation, that might distract him from the contemplation\nof heavenly subjects, which should exclusively occupy his mind on that\nday.\n\n\nLXX. Among all man's duties towards his fellow-men, those of children\ntowards their parents are assuredly the highest in degree, because\nwithout them the bonds which hold society together would be destroyed.\nThese duties form the subject of the fifth commandment. To define their\ncharacter in a single trait, a profound wisdom has selected the word\n_honour_, thereby pointing to a respect which arises, not from fear and\nterror, but from gratitude, love and submission. Additional importance\nis given to this precept by the consideration, that the revealed\nreligion could not have been preserved and made known to the latest\nposterity but by the instrumentality of an uninterrupted tradition from\ngeneration to generation; and the faith to be placed in such a tradition\ndepended, to a great extent, on the respect in which parents would be\nheld. The reward promised to him who observes this commandment, is in\nperfect and natural harmony with the observance itself; man's life will\nbe prolonged and blessed by honouring the authors of it.\n\n\nLXXI. The three conditions most prominent in human society, viz., life,\nmatrimony, and property, are referred to in the subsequent words, which\nform the sixth, seventh and eighth precepts of the Decalogue. To\nconcentrate in one word all that is to be observed regarding these\nessential elements of a social state, the sacred text confines itself to\nproclaiming, in an absolute mode, their _inviolability_, therefore\nadopting the negative or prohibitive form. It is desired to prevent and\nforbid every arbitrary act, and every unjust attempt, directed to\ndeprive the legitimate possessor of, or to restrict and in any other way\nto disturb him in, the full, free, and exclusive enjoyment of his own.\nTo respect the life, the conjugal bed, and the property of others, is to\nconsolidate the bonds of society, to pay homage to the eternal\nprinciples of justice, upon the practice of which God willed that the\npreservation and prosperity of mankind should depend.\n\n\nLXXII. In order that our conduct towards our neighbours be strictly in\naccordance with justice, it is necessary, generally, that it should be\nbased upon an honest and straightforward character of veracity, and that\nour outward demonstrations, in deeds and in words, should not be at\nvariance with our inward convictions, respecting the merits or demerits\nof our fellow-men. Falsehood, detraction, calumny, and other similar\nvices, injurious to the peace and reputation of others, as well as\nsimulated friendship, and hypocrisy, may all be comprehended within the\ndenomination of perfidy; and as an extreme and most distinct\nmanifestation of perfidiousness is to be found in false testimony, hence\nthe ninth commandment is addressed to this vice, and forbids the\nwitnessing against our fellow-men anything that is not entirely and\nstrictly conformable to the truth. It is easy and natural for us to step\nfrom this special prohibition to the spirit which dictated it, and to\nconclude that the precept is generally directed to remove from society\nall perfidy and wrong, as contrary to truth and justice.\n\n\nLXXIII. A certain involuntary or instinctive desire of that which is\npleasing, is in human nature itself; but this vague and voluble feeling\nmay, by deliberate reflection, convert itself into an act of free-will,\nand, eventually increasing in strength, become a vehement affection, an\nuncontrollable passion. Now, so long as that feeling does not pass into\nan act of appropriating the thing desired, human law cannot deal with\nit; but Divine law, which has for its object the internal perfection of\nman, steps in to regulate the movements of the heart, when they are\naccompanied by a deliberate will of possessing. Therefore, the tenth and\nlast commandment of the Decalogue, which refers to man's duties towards\nhimself, aims at the human will, and prescribes limits, within which the\ndesires, tending to procure possession, should be confined, forbidding\nspecially to covet that which belongs to others. It is not thereby\nintended to absolutely prevent the formation of a natural wish, but it\nis directed to confine it within just limits, that it may not expand and\nbe transformed into a usurpation.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\n\nLXXIV. THE succeeding revelations, which were made to the blessed\nlegislator Moses, and by him collected into a body of statutes and\nrules, known under the title of Pentateuch, bear the same relation to\nthe Decalogue as that of a finished edifice to the first outline which\ntraced its limits and compartments--they are the elaboration of it, they\nbranch into the same triple classification of duties which we have\nremarked in it, and present its development and completion. What in the\nDecalogue appeared, as in nucleus, under the form of duties of man\ntowards God, towards his fellow-man, and towards himself, is developed\nby those laws into detailed instructions, through which the people of\nIsrael was to learn the knowledge of God, to practise justice and\ncharity, and to effect its own sanctification; three cardinal points,\ncorresponding to the three classes of duties above mentioned, which\nembrace the whole sum and substance of revealed religion. We shall not,\ntherefore, proceed to enumerate here, one by one, those multifarious\nlaws,--a great part of which, being contingent on the existence of the\ntemple and the possession of Palestine, have now no practical\napplication,--but we shall only treat of the three principles which form\nthe bases of them all, viz., God, Justice, and Sanctification, leaving\nto the intelligence of those who sedulously investigate the single\nprecepts, the easy task of tracing them to one or other of the said\nthree categories.\n\n\nLXXV. To the elucidation of these three principles we must, however,\npremise two observations. In the first place, it is to be remarked, on\nthe one hand, that although the human intellect can by itself (provided\nit be not overruled by the sway of sensual appetites) recognise\nsummarily the excellence of such principles, and give them unreservedly\nits sanction, yet its perceptions with respect to their specialities\nremain very imperfect, for several reasons: first, because it finds\nitself unable to rebut and conquer one by one all the objections which\nthe infidel may bring forward; secondly, in consequence of the doubts\nwhich its own limited powers sometimes suggest, impairing its own sense\nof the truth; and lastly, because wanting the knowledge of many details\nand circumstances, about which it can form no judgment, the intellect\ncannot construct a complete rationalistic system of moral theology.\nWhereas, on the other hand, emanating as they do from the infinite\nwisdom and mercy of God, formulated in the shape of positive precepts,\nand corroborated by the portentous manner of their promulgation, those\nprinciples acquire an undisputed authority, remove every doubt, illumine\nthe mind with unexpected sublime truths, satisfy the heart which finds\nthem consentaneous with its own feelings, and are thus more apt to\naccomplish the objects towards which they are directed. And if there be\namong them some precept, of which we do not in our present time clearly\nperceive the true tendency, we accept it, nevertheless, with that filial\nconfidence inspired by its divine origin; and, by analogy, we consider\nit as calculated to contribute to the promotion of our own weal.\n\n\nLXXVI. In the second place, it is necessary to distinguish, in the\naggregate of this revelation, the universal theories applicable to, and\nconcerning all mankind, from the special prescriptions obligatory only\non those to whom they were addressed. Generally, all the children of\nAdam are bound to know God, to practise justice, and to procure their\nown sanctification; such duties are inherent in human nature itself,\nthey correspond exactly to the destination of man, and none can exempt\nhimself from them, without rebelling against nature and the sovereign\nAuthor of it. Consequently, the doctrines contained in the revealed law,\nin regard to these three points, apply to all rational beings, and\neverybody is called upon to participate in, and profit by, them; they\nare the inheritance of all mankind. But it was obvious that those, who\nwere in the first instance selected to receive those dogmas, and to\nbecome their jealous conservators and perpetual propagators, should have\nsome distinctive and peculiar devices, and be charged with observances,\nqualifying them for adepts to the ministry of such a sublime mission.\nHence it is, that among the precepts of universal appurtenance there are\nseveral which Israel alone is bound to observe, and these consist partly\nof external acts to be performed, either at certain stated times, or at\nall times, partly of particular forms and rules to be followed, either\nin reference to one's self or to others, and to some external objects of\nanimate or inanimate nature, and partly, in fine, they prescribe\nabstinence from certain things which to all others are left permissive.\nIt will be easy to every attentive student to discern and point out the\nprescriptions of this class, as their very nature is sufficient to\ncharacterise them; we shall have, however, occasion to mention them,\nafter we shall have endeavoured to place in a clear light the three\nprincipal articles of the revelation.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\n\nLXXVII. IMMENSE efforts have been made by human reason to elevate itself\nto the conception of the Deity, to demonstrate His existence, and to\ndeduce with solid arguments His principal attributes. Yet, even that\nquantum which human reason believes to have succeeded in establishing on\nthis exalted subject, has always had to encounter in the fields of proud\nphilosophy tenacious, or rather pertinacious, adversaries. Whereas\nrevelation, extricating man from the labyrinth of transcendental\nabstrusities, presents him at once with a well constructed system of\ntheological science, which he has only to receive within his bosom, to\nlead a happy life on earth, and attain his true goal beyond the grave.\nThe Divine word informs us of God, as a pure spirit, eternal and\nimmutable, incorporeal, absolute (that is, not dependent upon causes\nwithout Himself), omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, all-perfect and\ntherefore all-holy (that is, possessing all the attributes in the\nhighest degree of perfection); one, because admitting not in Himself\ndistinctions of multiplicity, and sole, because beside him there is no\nGod; Creator of the universe from nought, therefore distinct from all\nthings created (which we would call, if allowed the expression,\n_extramundane_); Creator of man in His image, having endowed him with\nintelligence, liberty, and an immortal soul; provident and immediate[3]\nto man, watching over his actions, punishing faults and rewarding\nmerits, and pardoning him who truly repents of evil committed; He is a\nperpetual source of the purest love, hence a merciful father to all His\ncreatures, unto whom He continually pours forth treasures of His\nkindness; He strengthens the weak, comforts the afflicted, enlightens\nthe ignorant, protects the oppressed, and grants the prayer of those who\ntrust in Him; He governs human events according to His will, now causing\nhuman enterprises to succeed, anon to fail; always directing them to the\nends contemplated by His infinite wisdom, for He is the all-wise, just,\nand faithful, whose promises are infallibly accomplished, and whose word\nsubsists to eternity. He sometimes suspends the order of nature, and\nworks miracles, whenever He deems it suitable to His high designs. He\nestablished a covenant with the Abrahamitic race, and revealed to it His\nholy law, by this means to illuminate and bless all mankind.\n\n[Note 3: This expression is here used to indicate the direct and\nspecial relation of God with man, and the direct government of mankind\nby God, without intermediate agencies, in contradistinction to the other\nterrestrial creatures, whose relation with the Creator is only general,\nand which are governed through the medium of pre-established physical\nlaws.--THE TRANSLATOR.]\n\n\nLXXVIII. Although these notions do not complete the idea of the\nDivinity, much less can they claim to define His essence--for to the\nvery limited faculties of the human mind this will always remain\ninconceivable--yet they are sufficient to afford such an instruction on\ndivine subjects as to satisfy the wants of humanity. With the guidance\nof the elements offered, and by a conscientious meditation on those\nDivine attributes, man will be able to dispel the superstitious notions\nand the errors into which they have fallen, who have not consulted the\nDivine word on such a subject; he will be able to sketch in his own mind\nan idea, however incomplete, of the sublime object of his adoration, and\nthus preserve himself from much that is evil. Having been destined to\nlive in society, and compelled to work in order to supply the\nmultifarious wants of his body; always more or less struggling with the\ninterests of his fellow men to secure a possession often disputed to him\nby malice, or violence; and evil example and ignorance and the sensual\nappetites being concurrently at work--man became naturally, in the course\nof time, too easy a prey to passions, vice and error; he was overpowered\nby materialism, and fell into sin. Therefore, the idea revealed to him\nof a holy God, who watches over his destinies, who punishes the guilty,\nrewards the virtuous, and pardons the penitent, is the best balsam that\ncould be administered, the best truth that could be taught to him; it\nsaves him from error, removes him from sin, invites him to direct his\nview to heaven, restores him within the Divine grace, and opens to him\nthe prospect of an interminable beatitude.\n\n\nLXXIX. Among those attributes, however, one becomes prominent, from its\nimportance; it is that which establishes an immediate relation, or\ncommunion, as subsisting between the Creator and the rational creature;\na fundamental point on which the whole religion hinges. The intimacy of\nsuch a relation manifested itself at the very beginning of the world by\nGod having created man _in His image_, by which expression it is meant,\nthat the Divine Maker bestowed some part of His perfections on the\nnoblest creature on earth, endowing it with intelligence, free-will, and\nimmortality; these high prerogatives conferred upon man, to a certain\ndegree, a similitude with his Maker, and from this similitude was\nnaturally to follow a closer relation of mutual love, than exists\nbetween God and the other created things. Such a relation assumed a more\ndefinite form when God took man under His special guardianship, whilst\nHe left the government of inanimate nature to physical laws, unalterable\nand compulsory, which He had established in the first instant of\ncreation. The stupendous connection was lastly completed, by God having\ncommunicated His will to men, and traced out to them the course they had\nto follow, in order to render themselves worthy of the great boon, and\nto attain the end destined for them. From all these circumstances it\nbecame evident that God is _immediate_ to man.\n\n\nLXXX. As, in general, all the revelation, has for its object to benefit\nhumanity, so, in particular, when the divine word is directed to impart\nto us the knowledge of God, it intends to teach us the duties we are\ncalled upon to fulfil towards the Author of our existence; duties which\nwe could not well discharge if we were wanting in that knowledge. Now,\nthe first of these duties is to _love God_. Such a noble feeling, which,\nas we have already stated, derives its origin from a relation of\nsimilitude between him who loves and the object beloved, cannot be\nkindled in us by effect of a mere command, as the motions of the heart\nare not produced by authority. Therefore, while holy writ inculcates the\nlove of God, it at the same time indicates to us the means whereby this\nsublime love will be promoted; and the means is _to walk in the ways of\nthe Eternal_. To understand the connection between the means and the\nend, we must consider the different degrees of which love is\nsusceptible, and motives by which it is actuated. He who loves God\nbecause of great favours received, is apt to feel a diminution of\nattachment, or even indifference, on being overtaken by misfortune. He\nwho loves Him with a view to benefits in a future life, is also in\ndanger of ceasing to love, if some doubts were to arise in his mind and\nto weaken his hopes. But when man loves God because he understands, and\nadmires, and adores in Him the aggregate of all perfections, and feels\nwithin himself the flame of a desire to approach the Divine Majesty,\nthen his love is an inextinguishable love, for he abnegates his own\nself, and centres his motives exclusively in the object beloved. This\nkind of love, however, presupposes a uniformity of tendencies, which\ncauses the one who loves to esteem and to endeavour to appropriate the\nqualities admired by him; and in this precisely consists the\nresemblance, which produces the true love. Justice, faithfulness,\nrighteousness, mercy, and many other Divine attributes, which in the\nbiblical language are called _the ways of the Eternal_, cannot be fully\nand worthily appreciated, except by him who uses all his endeavours to\nadorn himself with such virtues, as far as his limited nature allows.\nAnd now we can understand, why he cannot truly love who walks not in His\nways.\n\n\nLXXXI. Another principal duty, issuing from the same revelation, is that\nwhich is commonly called _fear of God_, an expression very frequent in\nthe sacred text, but which requires to be explained. The Hebrew word\nused is susceptible of two different interpretations. It might apply to\nthe fear of retribution, suggested by the reflection that an\nall-powerful God will not leave unpunished the transgressors of his\ncommands; or the same word might signify the sense of reverence and\nunbounded veneration, with which the frail creature must feel almost\noverwhelmed when thinking of its exalted Creator, who knows all, sees\nall, and governs all. The former originates in the intellect, the latter\nin the heart. It is obvious that the fear of punishment is not a\nsufficient restraint to deter man, at all times, from sin; for in the\nebullition of impetuous passions, the intellect becomes offuscated and\nimpeded in the exercise of its functions, or frequently is itself\npressed into the service of the predominating passion. Not so the awe\nand reverence inspired by the majesty of the Supreme King of the\nuniverse. It pervades all the heart, disposes it to feelings of\nsubmission and obedience, convinces it that man is at all times in the\npresence of his Maker, and thus prevents inordinate material appetites\nfrom bursting forth and rising forcibly to uncontrollable preponderance.\nHence it is that the fear of God, taken in the latter sense, is a\npowerful prop which supports the religious edifice, is the most\neffectual and valuable lesson we derive from the revelation of the\nDivine attributes.\n\n\nLXXXII. From these two principal duties, spring, as corollaries, others\nof no less importance, which come, also, within the sphere of the first\ncardinal point of biblical revelation, the knowledge of God. He, who\ntruly loves and fears God, will surely feel the necessity of placing in\nHim exclusively all his trust, for he is convinced that there is no\nbeing in nature, besides God, that can offer an infallible support to\nhuman hopes. He will find in his heart an almost irrepressible impulse\nto praise the Divine perfections, to extol His glory, to offer sincere\nhomage to the Sovereign of the universe, to worship and serve Him with\npurity of heart, to thank Him for favours received, to supplicate Him\nfor help, to confess to Him sins committed, and to ask His pardon with\ncontrite spirit. All these and other like acts of filial dependence and\npiety, find their expression in that elevated form of external worship\ncalled _prayer_, which, whether exercised publicly in appropriate and\nconsecrated temples, or recited in the solitude of the domestic\ncloset,[4] whether strictly following an established formulary, or\npouring out the impulsive feelings of the heart, is always an urgent\nwant and an indispensable duty of every religious man. Lastly, the true\nlove and fear of God imply the obligation of avoiding, in all that\npertains to Divine worship, everything that might have the appearance of\nidolatry, of intrusion of intermediate powers, or of any superstition\nwhatever; above all clearly emerges the duty of not abusing the holy\nname of God, either by uttering it on trivial occasions--which would\ntend to diminish the reverence due to Him--or by profaning it with an\ninvocation to a false testimony, whereby the detestable crime of perjury\nwould be consummated.\n\n[Note 4: Public, as compared with private worship, has the undoubted\nadvantage of being in itself a public homage to the omnipotence of God,\nand a solemn testimony of the dependence of man on Him. True, solitary\nworship is often more likely to be attended with the requisite mental\nabstraction from all worldly objects, and intellectual elevation of the\nsoul towards its Divine Source--a condition of mind indispensable to\nestablish a true spiritual communion in Prayer, and without which all\nour orisons and ritual ceremonies would be but mechanical and\nmeaningless performances, a body without soul. It is this condition of\nthe mind that, in Talmudical style, is called [Hebrew: het-nun-vav-kaf],\nas is well known, and that later ascetic writers termed [Hebrew:\ntav-vav-dalet-dalet-vav-bet-het-he], from the circumstance that it is\nsuperinduced by solitary meditation. But whenever this condition\nis attained in a public service, then indeed is that service\n\"divine,\" and humanity is exalted in its approach to the Throne of\nMercy.--THE TRANSLATOR.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\n\nLXXXIII. ON determining the duties of the individual towards his\nfellow-men, and towards all that surrounds him in nature, revelation did\nnot think it proper to refer the motives to human intelligence, and to\nallow the bases of justice and benevolence to rest on human reason\nalone; but it said, \"Do what is right and just and good in the eyes of\nthe Eternal thy God; and refrain from all that is not such, because it\npleases not thy God,\" whereby it wished to proclaim that the notions of\njust and unjust, of good and evil, of rights and duties, should be\nconsidered as emanating from, and prescribed by, the Divine wisdom, and\ntherefore obligatory only because agreeable to the Divine will. In this\nalso the revealed word purposed to come to the assistance of human\nfrailty, and to render superfluous the abstrusities--as arbitrary as\nuncertain and controvertible--about which eminent philosophers tortured\ntheir brains, for many centuries, to fix, as they thought, the\nprinciples of the so-called _Jure_ in its innumerable ramifications of\nnatural and positive, public and private, civil and criminal,\ncommercial, maritime, canonical, feudal, of police, of finance, of war,\nand what not, without ever yet arriving at a complete accord in their\nspecialities; whereas all right obtains a solid and effective sanction\nwhen its origin is referred to God, who comprehending in Himself the sum\ntotal of right, justice and moral good, and having communed with man to\nenjoin to him their exercise, willed that the carrying out of their\ndictates should be considered as an act of religion, of service rendered\nto Him, and that violating the one or failing in the other, should be\nalike regarded as an offence committed towards Him, which He will punish\nseverely. God, then, is the source of right; He made man acquainted with\nit through His law, and committed to him its performance on earth after\nrules prescribed by His will.\n\n\nLXXXIV. In promulgating the duties of man towards his fellow-men, the\nholy scripture assumed sometimes the negative form, to forbid all that\nwhich may cause injury to others; and sometimes the positive form,\nenjoining the practice to be followed towards all. To the first class\nbelong the following prohibitions, viz., of nourishing hatred, rancour,\nrevenge; of calumniating, or in any way whatever damaging the\nreputations of others; of assailing their honour or good fame; of\nrestraining or obstructing others in the exercise of their rights, or in\nthe use and enjoyment of their properties; of practising deceptions,\nimpositions, frauds, and all forms of insincerity, usury, extortions,\nand violence; of laying obstructions in the way of the weak or helpless;\nof giving false testimony; of speaking untruth; of reporting even truth,\nwhen it may lead to discord and strife; of occasioning danger; of\noffending decency and good manners; of causing scandal; of withholding\nwages or remuneration due; of keeping in pledge the clothing or\nimplements of the poor; of using two weights and measures; of\nassociating with the wicked; of breaking a pledge-word; of violating or\nassailing the conjugal happiness of others; of coveting anything that\nbelongs to others; and other similar prohibitions recorded in the sacred\ncode, which can be easily collected as pertaining to this class.\nMoreover, it will not be unreasonable to complete this list by the\naddition of a few more particular actions, which, though not\nspecifically mentioned, must yet be understood to be forbidden; for, as\nit is a constant rule in biblical exegesis to deduce general theories\nfrom single laws which appear to refer to particular cases, so must, by\nanalogy, be comprised in an enunciated forbidden action all others of a\nsimilar nature, character, and tendency, as being understood in the\nformer.\n\n\nLXXXV. The positive precepts concerning a man's conduct towards his\nfellow-men, are naturally enunciated in directions of a tendency\nprecisely opposite to those expressed negatively; that is to say, it is\n_enjoined_ to practise the reverse of what has been forbidden. Now, to\nbegin with the more general prescriptions; it is enjoined, in the first\nplace, to love one's fellow-men as one's own-self, all mankind, without\nany exception, being comprised in this expression, as we meet again the\nsame injunction with regard to the _stranger_, whom we are commanded to\nlove as ourselves; and Scripture explained already what is to be\nunderstood by the word _stranger_, when it said: \"Thou also hast been a\nstranger in the land of Egypt\"; from which it is evident that the love\ninculcated extends even to adversaries and enemies. It is next commanded\nto respect in every individual the dignity of man, created in the image\nof God, which establishes the inviolability of person, and the equality\nof all before the law, so that there should be no privileged caste, no\nhereditary preeminence; desiring, on the contrary, that \"under the\nprotection of the same law and same right should dwell the native and\nthe foreigner.\" The personal liberty of every member of the human family\nis also proclaimed, as it is with that intention that the Decalogue has\nput prominently forward the circumstance of Israel having been delivered\nfrom servitude; and if, on the one hand, the condition of the times,\nwhich had rendered the use of slavery natural and universal, did not\nthen admit of its sudden and immediate extirpation; on the other,\nScripture designed to mitigate its acerbity by provident and humane\nlaws, so as to make obvious the tendency to its future total, though\ngradual, extinction. To prevent pauperism, as well as to cure its evils,\nthe rich were enjoined to lend money to those who needed it; and the\nlaw, starting from the presumption that the poor man would not, or at\nleast should not, desire to borrow and incur a debt, unless being\ndeprived of the necessaries of life, ordered that such a loan to the\ndestitute brother be gratuitous, whilst in commercial transactions with\nforeign people it permitted the charge of some reasonable interest on\nloans of money, as an equivalent for the service rendered.\n\n\nLXXXVI. The administration of justice being, according to the revealed\nprinciples, a divine office, was naturally to be confided to persons\ncarefully selected for their intelligence, probity, incorruptibility,\nand superiority to every human regard; these are therefore invested with\na judicial representation of the Divinity on earth, and are enjoined to\nproceed according to the rules of the strictest justice, without ever\ndeferring either to the pitiable condition of the poor, or to the\ninfluence of the powerful. As a corollary to this system, every person\nis bound to appeal to these authorities in any emergency, and to refrain\nfrom taking the law into his own hands; even for the correction of the\ndisorders of one's own child, the law requires a recourse to the\nconstituted authority, not permitting the infliction of punishments of\nany kind, without the intervention of those appointed to administer\njustice. Passing to the other observances, which grow out of the grand\nduty to be just to all, we are strictly commanded to respect the\nproperty, the rights and the honour of others, to be solicitous of their\nwelfare, as much as of our own, to act honestly, sincerely and\nfaithfully on every occasion, to fulfil our promises, to facilitate to\nothers the success to which they are justly entitled, and to pardon our\nenemies. From the multifarious and varied ties which bind the individual\nto family and society, issue the special duties of husband and wife, of\nfathers, of children, of relations, as well as the regard due to\nmisfortune, respect to the aged, the virtuous, the learned, the\nmagistrates, and the authorities of the state, attachment to the\ncountry, and obedience and loyalty to the sovereign, who, in the\nlanguage of the Bible, is constituted by God to govern the destinies of\nthe people committed to his or her care. All these duties, which branch\noff into many specialities, are either explicitly declared, or\nincontestably result, by analogies and sound hermeneutical deductions,\nfrom the various texts referring to such subjects.\n\n\nLXXXVII. But not to strict justice alone our conduct towards our\nfellow-men must conform itself; we are bound to act on the principles of\nthe most generous benevolence and charity. Those acts of a noble mind\nand a magnanimous heart, commonly called virtue, which are by moralists\nonly _recommended_, as meritorious works, are by the Divine law\n_enjoined_, as obligatory, in the most absolute sense. Alms, for\ninstance, are, in the Mosaic law, a duty of the rich, and a right of the\nneedy. God is the owner of the land; He gave it to the diligent to\ncultivate, and through His blessing their labours prosper; He assigned\nto the poor His dues on the cultivated soil, and ordered that to them\nshould be left the total produce of every seventh year, the tithes of\nsome other years, and the gleanings of the fields and vineyards. It was\nnot thereby intended to render charity legal and compulsory, depriving\nit of its noblest attribute, which is spontaneity, but to show more\nconspicuously the importance attached to it, having otherwise left free\nall acts of kindness and mercy, to which the law does not fix any\nmeasure. To this class also belong the precepts, which make it a duty to\ngive timely assistance to him who is about to succumb to fatigue and\nlabour, to supply with provisions the discharged servant, to restore\nbefore sunset the clothing taken in pawn, to obviate danger in building\na house, to put no obstructions before the blind, to grant every kind of\nrelief to whomsoever stands in need, without exacting, or even\nexpecting, any remuneration, to rescue those who are in danger, to\ndefend the weak, to protect the widow and the orphan, to attend the\nsick, and to give sepulture to the dead. These and other similar\nprescriptions, which make of charity a duty, carry with them the great\nlesson, that justice must go always hand-in-hand with mercy, since the\nall-just God is also all-merciful, and he who satisfies not both alike,\ndoes not fully discharge his duties to society.\n\n\nLXXXVIII. The Mosaic dispensation, which considers the whole world as a\ngrand unit, and tends to carry out the idea of moral good to its fullest\nextent, could not leave unnoticed the relations of man with beings of\ndifferent species; therefore it also mentioned duties that we owe to the\nirrational creatures and inanimate beings. True, God granted to man a\nsuperiority, a dominion over all things created on earth, permitting him\nthe use, and even the destruction, of them, whenever this is necessary\nto his own welfare, or conducive to his own advantage; but He wisely\nrestricted such power within certain limits. Mosaism regards the entire\nuniverse as a temple manifesting the glory of God, and directs us to\nadmire in the single component parts the profound counsels and infinite\nwisdom of Him who created and harmonized so many wonders. Thus we are\ncommanded, in the first place, to respect the laws of nature, as\nestablished by its Supreme Author from the creation, and not to do\ncapriciously things that are in direct opposition to such laws. From\nthis principle spring the various prohibitions to couple sexually\ndifferent species of animals, to practise on them castration, to\nconstrain simultaneously to joint labour beasts of unequal strength, to\nmuzzle them while thrashing, and to use towards them any kind of\ncruelty. Nay, it is enjoined that they, also, should participate in the\ngeneral rest ordained for men on festivals. It is well for us to reflect\nhow incomplete are as yet the modern institutions for the prevention of\ncruelty to animals, when compared with those of the ancient Mosaic code.\nEven the simultaneous sowing of heterogeneous species, and the\ningrafting of plants, are considered as violations of the law of nature,\nwhich had established the distinctions. In the second place, in order\nthat man, while using all things for his benefit, might not imagine that\nhe is their absolute master, and should not forget the true Owner, who\nconferred them upon him under various reservations, he was enjoined not\nto appropriate at the same time two things, one of which had been born\nor produced from the other; but in the act of converting to his own use\nsome object or being, he should spare that which gave it birth, and not\nlay his hands upon both simultaneously. He is thus to learn to respect\nthe causes while enjoying the effects; and from the secondary causes he\nwill mentally ascend to the primitive one, which produced them all from\nnought. This is the sense and intention of the prohibitions of taking in\na covey the mother with the young, of slaughtering a quadruped together\nwith that which gave it birth, of cutting down a tree, were it even for\nthe necessity of a siege, while we are enjoying its fruit.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\n\nLXXXIX. THE third class of duties comprises those which man has towards\nhimself; and here the fundamental rule, from which they all emerge,\nsounds thus--\"Sanctify thyself, for I, the Eternal, am holy,\" which, in\nother words, may be rendered as follows--\"Imitate God, for thou wast\ncreated in His image.\" As, however, this sanctification of self cannot\npossibly be effected without knowing and loving God, and without walking\nin his ways by practising justice and charity, it follows that this\nthird article is the cardinal point, which virtually comprehends in\nitself the other two--it _is_ the ultimate object of all the revelation,\nwhich purposed nothing more or less than the perfection of man; to this\ngrand end the whole scheme of revelation was designed.\n\nIt is clear that, in regulating the precepts of sanctification, the\nrevealed word had not alone to deal with the human soul, but to take\ninto account the body also, without whose concurrence man cannot attain\nperfection. Designed for a receptacle of an immortal spirit, and for an\ninstrument to carry out the actions of life, the body must be preserved\nentire, pure, and inaccessible to all contamination that would be an\nobstacle to the high spiritual functions to be accomplished by its\nmeans. To ensure this inaccessibility, as far as possible, the Divine\nlaw prescribed for all mankind a rule, which, though to the short\nunderstanding of many its character may not appear very clear, was\ndeemed by the eternal wisdom as calculated to promote morality.\nPreviously to Abraham's vocation, God forbade Noah and his children to\nfeed upon blood; and the scriptural declaration, that the soul of\nanimals resides in their blood, seems to indicate that the motive of\nthat prohibition is to prevent the human body being brutalised by\nabsorbing within itself, and assimilating, a large amount of an inferior\nvitality, and thus causing the material propensities to preponderate in\nman. But even if the true reason of that prohibition remained unknown to\nus, this would not be the only instance of man being obliged to\nacknowledge his own ignorance, and to bow reverently before an explicit\nand rigorous commandment of God.\n\n\nXC. The principles inculcated by the Mosaic code, for the preservation\nof the body, involve, primarily, the prohibition of attempting its\nexistence, and, secondarily, that of cutting _off_ or injuring any part\nof it. Suicide is, therefore, explicitly declared a crime; and several\nprecepts are directed against mutilations, marks, and all sorts of\ndeformations. The law does not permit voluntary macerations of the body,\ncapricious abstinences from lawful things, multiplied or prolonged\nfasts, or subtractions from what is necessary to life. It, on the\ncontrary, intends that bodily health should be cared for, that\ncleanliness and decency, in every respect, be regarded, a proper\ndevelopment of the physical faculties promoted, and an employment\nprocured for them consonant with the superior requirements of man. It\n_is_ likewise due to the physiology of the human body, not to use any of\nits limbs in a manner contradictory to its organisation, to provide for\nthe restoration of equilibrium or health eventually lost, to avoid risks\nof injuries or disorders, and to take advice of skilled men in cases of\ndisease. But food, drink, recreation, physical enjoyment, and every\nother indulgence usually allowed to the advantage of the body, are\nrequired by the law to be moderated by certain rules of a moral\nstandard, having in view more elevated ends than the mere gratification\nof earthly wants; so that even the most vulgar acts may, from the\nintentions which accompany them, acquire a certain religious importance.\nIn short, the government of the body must be such as to favour, and not\nto hinder, the exercise of what concerns spiritual life.\n\n\nXCI. Passing to other moral requirements which come within the sphere of\nman's duties towards himself, it is unnecessary to demonstrate here how\nit is incumbent upon every man to choose a state in society adapted to\nhis individual faculties and aptitude, to be industrious, sober and\ndecorous, to fix on a well-regulated distribution of his time and work,\nto be economical without parsimony and liberal without prodigality, and\ngenerally to follow such rules of wisdom as tend to render life\nprosperous, and human conduct acceptable to society. All such rules are\nself-evident, and grow necessarily out of the general principle which\ndemands of the functions of the body to subserve the attainment of\nself-sanctification. But we must now speak precisely of this\nsanctification, to point out briefly in what it consists. From the\nDivine prescript, \"Sanctify yourselves because I am holy,\" we clearly\nconclude that the type of sanctification is to be sought, not in\nourselves, but in God; therefore, to sanctify ourselves is to shape our\nown acts and will upon the known will of God; to be fully penetrated\nwith the idea of Him; to hold steadfastly to Him; to take Him for a\nguide in the walks of life; to make Him the goal of our actions and the\ncentre of our hopes; to devote our solicitude to the accomplishment of\nthe high designs of His eternal wisdom; to perform whatever is agreeable\nto Him; to imitate, as far as possible, His perfections; in short, so to\nact, that what in Him is absolute may become in us subjective; and thus\nthe sanctity of God will produce man's own sanctification. Having\nestablished this sovereign principle, revelation has accomplished its\nintentions, has attained its object, for the whole sum of the Divine law\nis concentrated in it; and worship, morals, judicial laws, and all\nsingle observances prescribed, are but branches or constituent parts of\nthis principle; they all flow from, and return to, it, with a systematic\nconsequence.\n\n\nXCII. Besides the three cardinal articles above stated, the observance\nof which, in their general tendencies at least, is incumbent on all\nmankind, there are in the sacred code various special prescriptions\nobligatory only on Israel, as him who first received the revelation, and\nwho is bound to preserve it with particular means, and to testify it for\never, by his acts and by his very existence. Through such prescriptions,\nthe law designed either to keep alive among the people the idea of the\nhigh mission entrusted to it, and the memory of signal favours which\nProvidence prodigally conferred upon it in the early times of the\ninstitution, or to initiate it into a more scrupulous sanctitude, by\ninterdicting to it some things that are left permissive to others. It is\nnot necessary here to give a complete list of such precepts, as the mere\ninspection of the sacred text suffices to point them out; and we shall\nconfine ourselves to indicating some of the more important. Pre-eminent\namong them stands the sabbath, the elevated tendency of which has been\nalready explained in the Sinaitic revelation; next come the three\nFestivals of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles, which, besides being\nlinked to, and combined with, rural events and circumstances, are also\ndesigned to commemorate luminous epochs in the national history; the\ngreat day of atonement, as a highly important act of reconciliation with\nGod; the circumcision, as an ineffaceable mark of the adoption of\nIsrael; the assiduous study of the Divine law, as the purest source of\ntruth, and repository of the religious idea; the fringes in the\ngarments, the phylacteries or frontlets, the inscriptions on the\ndoor-posts, and such like commemorative means; the redemption of the\nfirstborn children; and the offering of the first fruits, as a\ndemonstration of filial dependance on, and gratitude to, the Supreme\nCause; the prohibition to feed on certain loathsome animals, and\nreptiles and insects, in order not to assimilate to the human body\nsubstances of a low, imperfect, and possibly deteriorated organization;\nthe interdiction of marriages between certain degrees of relationships,\nbecause wanting in the antagonism required in connubial unions;[5] the\nduty of offering up prayer, one of the noblest offices of piety, and the\nmost effectual medium of communion with God; that of confessing sins,\nthe inevitable consequence of human frailty; the injunctions to reject\nidolatry, divinations, charms, exorcisms, sortileges, and all manner of\nsuperstitions, all of which are obstacles to the development of the\nreligious idea; and several other precepts, which may be found dispersed\nthroughout the sacred code, all having similar tendencies, and coming\nmore or less directly within the scope we have assigned to them.\n\n[Note 5: Another probable reason of this prohibition is, that the\npractice of such unions would be fraught with great domestic disorders\nand unhappiness, and consequent social evils. But it is opportune here\nto remind the leader, that many attempts have been made, in the course\nof centuries, by eminent expositors, to assign to many of the Mosaic\nordinances motives of various characters, rationalistic and\nmetaphysical, sanitary, political, and mystical, but all more or less\nconjectural. To the religious man the positive knowledge of the true\nmotives is not at all essential for the performance of the divine\nprecepts; and in the words of our author himself, as stated elsewhere,\n\"we have to bow reverently before an explicit and rigorous commandment\nof God, and we consider it as calculated to contribute to the promotion\nof our own weal.\"--THE TRANSLATOR.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\n\nXCIII. CASTING now a retrospective glance on what we have hitherto\nbriefly stated, it will be easy to deduce, from the aggregate of these\nnotions, the principal characteristic of that wondrous institution,\nwhich it pleased the Divine mercy to found upon earth for the benefit of\nthe human family, selecting for its organ the people of Israel; an\ninstitution, which, in reference to the means adopted for its\npreservation and propagation, is called _Judaism_. The scope of Judaism\nis, then, the propagation among men of the _religious idea_, and this\ncomprises the doctrines revealed respecting the Deity and respecting\nman, in consequence of which the latter will be able to attain his true\ngoal. Respecting God, revelation teaches that He is a Being\nabsolute--that is to say, that has in Himself all the sources of\nexistence, of will, of power, and of action--hence He is eternal,\nall-perfect, all-powerful, all-holy; He is unique, because there is no\nGod beside Him; and He is one, because in Him there can be no\nmultiplicity or division of parts; He created out of nought the\nuniverse, which He governs by pre-ordained physical laws, and all that\nexists owes to Him its existence and conservation. Respecting man,\nrevelation teaches that he has an immortal soul, made in the image of\nGod--that is, endowed with various spiritual faculties similar, in their\nnature, to those of his Maker--therefore susceptible of a progressive\nperfection, which he will attain by sanctifying himself--that is, by\nimitating God and carrying out his commands. To that effect, God entered\ninto an immediate relation with man, whereby He not only provides for\nthe preservation of mankind, as He does for that of all other things\ncreated, but He, moreover, granted him a supernatural assistance to\nimprove his moral condition; and this assistance consists in having made\nhim the recipient of a revelation, by which He instructed him in the\nbest rules of life, and declared to him that He will be his support, his\nprotector, his judge, his loving father, and his guide towards eternal\nfelicity.\n\n\nXCIV. But the religious idea is not simply a theory that may be accepted\nor rejected without affecting the human actions, it is not an\nabstraction confined within the sphere of contemplation; it is a\npractical system, which requires to be put into execution, and to be\nmanifested in every part of the human conduct. As such, it was to pass\ninto the hands of men, to direct their actions; and they could conform\nto it only to the extent of their intellectual comprehension of its\nspirit. Now, every institution, however excellent in itself, is liable\nto vicissitudes, as soon as human ingenuity seeks to comprehend it, and\nhuman weakness to carry it into effect. Even as the intellectual powers\nand the modes of viewing things vary among men, so the religious idea,\nin its practical application, was subject, in the lapse of time, to some\nalteration among those who became its depositaries. Judaism did not\nremain always pure and consentaneous to its ends; and, although based on\na foundation unchangeable in its nature, and eternal, its practice was\nsometimes at variance with its spirit, and its essence was either\nneglected or misunderstood, according to certain circumstances of the\nnational development, as we are informed, even by the records of sacred\nhistory.\n\n\nXCV. There can be no doubt but the inspired man, who first was\ncommissioned to proclaim the true religious idea, had fully realized in\nhis mind the vastness and immense consequences of that new institution\nin its ultimate universal compass. In his eloquent addresses there are\neven some broad traits which allude to a fulfilment reserved to the\nlatest posterity. Nevertheless, it is obvious, that, having to instruct\na people who were not yet prepared to realize such an idea, and in an\nage when the opinions of all mankind ran into totally different\ndirections, he had to take into account the condition of the times and\nof men, and to use a language suited to his hearers. At the same time it\nwas not designed, or expected, by the holy legislator to see at once\nrealized the last and comprehensive results to which the revealed\ndoctrine aspires; it was sufficient to have given it existence and form,\nand to have instituted a repository capably of preserving it, leaving\nits final universal triumph to the development of humanity and progress\nof civilisation. Considered in these points of view, Mosaism has the\nappearance, in its exterior garb, of a special law, adapted to peculiar\ncircumstances, and circumscribed to few persons, but in reality, and\napart from that kind of integument, it contains the universal doctrines,\ndestined to become the inheritance of all mankind. The blessed Prophet\nclearly foresaw that the new ideas preached by him would meet with many\nan obstacle, before they were thoroughly adopted, even by those who were\ncalled upon to preserve them; hence the greater was the force with which\nhe inculcated the monotheistic principle, and the necessity of\nsegregation from foreign and idolatrous influences; thus his laws\nacquired an aspect of _particularism_ and nationality, whereas on being\ncarefully studied, and deeply penetrated, they exhibit their more\ngeneral and sublime tendency. Therefore, in judging of Mosaism, and in\ninterpreting the body of laws contained in the Pentateuch, we must never\nlose sight of the two following necessary cautions; viz., to deduce\ngeneral theories from particular cases; and to take into account the\ncircumstances of time and place, in order to seize that which is\ndesigned for all times and all places.[6]\n\n[Note 6: The attentive student of the Pentateuch must see,\nespecially when assisted by the best commentators, that several\nordinances are the creatures of circumstance and time, and consequently\nof an essentially transitory character. Among these stand foremost all\nsuch as refer to the treatment of, and relations with, the Canaanitic\nfamilies. The strict separation of Israel from those corrupt and\nidolatrous populations, and their ultimate destruction, were conditions\nnecessary to the establishment and success of the new order of things.\nAs soon as the end of those ordinances was accomplished, they naturally\nceased to have any other than a historical value. Therefore, he (if any\nsuch there be) who would transfer to the Gentiles of our days the\nprinciples of the policy that was inculcated towards the Canaanites of\nthe time of Moses, would not only he committing a sad mistake, but\nrunning counter to the spirit of Judaism, and violating the very letter\nof the law, elsewhere clearly expressed. \"Thou shalt love the stranger\nas thyself,\" is the motto which God inscribed for perpetuity on the\nbanner of Israel.--THE TRANSLATOR.]\n\n\nXCVI. What the inspired Arch-prophet had foretold came too truly to\npass, as soon as the people of Israel, mixing too freely with their\ncorrupt neighbours, wished to imitate them, and assumed the form of a\nmonarchy. Ambition and lust of power could ill agree with a law, which\nestablishes individual liberty and equality of rights. Consequently, it\nwas not long before Paganism ascended the throne, attended by a hideous\ntrain of profligacies and crimes; and, what then remained of the Mosaic\ninstitutions, consisted only of the material service of the temple, and\nsome exterior acts mechanically performed, but sadly lacking the idea,\nwhich alone constitutes their merit. To put an end to so great a\ndisorder, Prophetism rose. With admirable zeal, energy, eloquence, and\nabnegation, thundering in the courts, the temple, and the public\nmarkets; now by word of mouth, then by writings; now threatening, anon\nexhorting; always struggling with infinite obstacles, and setting at\ndefiance the tyranny of the ruling powers with the sole prestige of the\nanimated word, Prophetism undertook to revivify the religious idea,\nalmost extinguished, or crushed under the weight of universal\nperversion. But to repress with greater force the overflowing depravity,\nand to combat the evil with an opposite extreme, it was proper to divest\nthe religious idea of its particularising and national forms, and to\npresent it in its more comprehensive and general character, in its\ncelestial beauty of a future reign of happiness, based on love, justice,\nliberty, and universal peace. This was precisely what Prophetism did.\nTherefore, he would be greatly mistaken, who would suppose, in the\nexpressions used by the Prophets, any intention of slight towards the\nceremonial laws, and those biblical prescriptions, which are specially\nintended for the chosen people. True, these are to be regarded as means\ncalculated to a superior end; but they remain in full force and validity\nuntil that end (which is in store in the Eternal Mind) shall have been\nfully and finally attained. The Prophets eliminated nothing from, and\nadded nothing to, the law; they sought to revive the religious idea,\nwhich is the foundation and aim of the law; they brought it into\nprominence, to impress it more forcibly on the minds of a people who had\nnearly lost it. But they did more; they bounded over the confines of the\npresent, transferred themselves through the imagination to a future\nfinal re-arrangement of the human conditions; and, giving to the\nreligious idea its greatest possible latitude, depicted a future state\nof ideal perfection, which, while it offered a vivid contrast with\ncontemporary corruption, left to posterity an imperishable monument of\ntheir inspired eloquence and exquisite foresight.[7]\n\n[Note 7: The original has here several succeeding paragraphs devoted\nto a historical review of various phases of Judaism, which it describes\nunder the names of Talmudism, Rabbinism, Caraism, and Cabalism.\nBelieving this digression, or appendix, to be unnecessary to the general\npurposes of the present book, I have omitted it in the translation,\n_with the sanction of the distinguished Author himself._--THE\nTRANSLATOR.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\n\nXCVII. JUDAISM is now clearly delineated before us. From the outline\nthat we have endeavoured to sketch, it is evident that the religion of\nthe Jew imposes upon him solemn duties towards God, towards his\nfellow-men, and towards himself. A sincere, pure, undivided, active,\nloving worship of his heavenly Father, and a constant practice of\njustice, benevolence, and charity, in their widest sense, will lead to\nhis self-sanctification, which is the aim intended for him. These are\nhis fundamental duties, as far as regards actions. Many of the\nobservances prescribed by Holy Writ teach the modes and means of\ncarrying out such duties. All such prescriptions as are strictly\nconnected with the existence of the temple, and the sojourn in Palestine\nare dispensed with, since the destruction of the former, and the\ndispersion of Israel on the face of the earth. But no doubts can exist\nas to the others, which are all, and for ever, in full force, having\nbeen ordained for all times and all places.\n\nBut the Jew has also a creed to profess. According to the Scriptures, he\nis bound to believe in the unity, eternity, omnipotence, omniscience,\nunerring justice, and infinite mercy of God; in His general providence\nover all the universe, which He created and which He governs, and His\nmore special providence over man; he is bound to believe in the divine\norigin of the Mosaic revelation, in its truth and immutability, and in\nits efficacy to promote his own sanctification; he is bound to believe\nin the spirituality and immortality of the human soul, in its\ndestination and aptitude to perform all that is good, and in the future\nreward of the virtuous and punishment of the wicked; and, lastly, he is\nbound to believe, that, in order to make known, preserve, and propagate\nthese dogmas, a covenant was established between God and Israel, in\nconsequence of which the latter is called _servant of God, son of God,\nholy people_, and has the particular mission to conform to the will of\nGod, which is called _walking in the ways of the Eternal_. These various\npoints are, however, so intimately connected with each other, and form\nso complete a system, that one being admitted, the others follow as\nlegitimate consequences.\n\nIt now remains for us only to add a few words concerning the hopes of\nIsrael. The future--as great in its consequences as extraordinary in its\nconditions--which the Jew has a right to expect, has its foundation in\nthe Divine promises, and, consequently, its accomplishment, though long\nin the womb of time, is infallible. By virtue of such promises, Israel\nexpects a complete material restoration and spiritual perfection, not of\nhis own people only, but of all the human family; so that every\nindividual of the human species may then correspond, in all respects, to\nthe lofty requirements of his nature, and attain the ends\npre-established for man by the infinite wisdom of the Creator; and this\nnot only during his earthly life, but also beyond it, in his immortal\ncondition. As to the modes by which these heavenly universal promises\nwill come into actuality, we must rest satisfied with very feeble and\nvague notions, and not require an exact comprehension of specialities,\nwhich, in our present limited power of mind, we might be unable even to\nconceive. It is sufficient for us to be able to deduce with certainty\nfrom prophetic words, that (as regards the future condition of this\nlife) an increased intelligence, and a more energetic will directed\ntowards what is good--which in the biblical language is called\n_circumcision of the heart_--will be the means of diffusing throughout\nthe world the knowledge of the One God, and the exercise of virtue,\nunder the regimen of an incorruptible justice, a generous benevolence, a\nuniversal peace, and an uninterrupted prosperity and happiness. To\nIsrael, in particular, the gathering of his scattered members, the\nrestoration of his ancestral inheritance, and the re-establishment of\nhis nationality, have been promised and repeatedly assured; and the\nglory of that epoch forms the subject of the most glowing pictures of\ninspired poetry. But the fulfilment of these promises the Jew must\nexpect from the wonder-working hand of God alone, without any personal\nefforts of his own. Meanwhile, he is to consider himself, as he truly\nis, a citizen of the country in which he dwells, a brother to his\nfellow-citizens, a dutiful observer of the law of the land, and a loyal\nsubject of the sovereign, whose authority is constituted by God.\n\nLONDON: PRINTED BY J. WERTHEIMER AND CO.,\n\nCIRCUS PLACE, FINSBURY CIRCUS.","title":"A Guide for the Religious Instruction of Jewish Youth","tradition":"philosophy-ethics","translated_text":null,"word_count":24708}