Pascal's touching delineation of a man who has wearied himself in searching after God with the aid of the dim lights of mere natural science ;-" When I consider," says he, "the blindness and misery of man, and those amazing contrarieties which discover themselves in his nature; when I observe the whole Creation silent, and man without light, abandoned to himself, and, as it were, strayed into this corner of the universe, neither knowing who placed him here, nor what is the end of his coming, nor what will befal him at his departure, I feel the same horror as a person who has been carried in his sleep into a desolate and savage island, and who awakes without knowing where he is, or by what way he may escape. I behold other persons near me, of a nature like my own; I ask if they are any better informed than myself; and they tell me they are not; and, what is more, these wretched wanderers, having looked about them, and espied certain pleasurable objects, are become attached and devoted to them. For my own part, I cannot rest here; I cannot repose in the society of these persons, whose condition is no better than my own, being equally wretched, equally helpless. I find they will be able to give me no assistance at my death; I shall die alone; and, therefore, I must proceed as if I lived alone. Now, were I really alone, I should build no houses; I should perplex myself with no tumultuary pursuits; I should court no man's esteem; but should devote myself solely to the discovery of truth. Hence, reflecting how probable it seems, that there may be something besides what I see, I begin to examine, whether that God, who is talked of by all the world, has not left some intimation of himself. I look around, and discover only general darkness. Nature offers no consideration, but what occasions doubt and disquiet. Could I nowhere discern the least token of a God, I would resolve not to believe in any. Could I trace a Creator on all sides, I would rest sa

tisfied in this belief. But while I see too much for denial, and too little for conviction, I am an object of pity; and I have a thousand times wished, that if nature have, indeed, a God, she would distinctly manifest him; or, if the tokens which she offers are fallacious, she would entirely conceal them, that she would either say all or say nothing, so as to determine which course, to adopt. Whereas, in my present situation, being ignorant of what I am, and of what is expected from me, I know neither my condition, nor my duty. My heart is intent on the search of real good, that I may follow and secure it. I should think no price too dear for this acquisition.'

My Lord, this is an unexaggerated picture of the condition in which your lordship's system leaves your pupil. That in which he is unutterably interested, you have not told him. There is much within him, in his own moral character, to awaken the most solemn inquiry respecting the moral character of God. As is his nature so is his conduct; he knows that he has but seldom obeyed the voice within him; but of this transgression he knows not the consequence. Both the law and its penalties—if law and penalties there really be-are shrouded in deep obscurity. Your lordship's system has no answer to the following question, which is one of infinite moment, and common to all mankind :- "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"+

The answer to this question involves an exposition of principles, and an illustration of Divine Attributes,

*Thoughts, No. viii.

† Micah vi. 6.

of which your lordship's philosophy knows nothing. This question is most abundantly answered in the sacred Scriptures. The answer to it is what the Scriptures emphatically designate "the knowledge of God." Of this transcendental knowledge Solomon thus speaks : My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path."* This, my Lord, is the method of study which must be adopted, in order to the acquisition of this higher philosophy. The last lesson, in this spiritual course, is imparted by God himself.

I cannot leave the subject of Solomon and his wisdom, which consisted in the knowledge of the justice, truth, love, and mercy of God, without just glancing at the results of the reign of this most enlightened ruler. One of the first results which flowed from his wisdom and rectitude, was the love of Peace, and the pursuit of it. The greatness which he sought was not military, but moral. Desirous of peace himself, he had no difficulty in establishing and perpetuating the relations of Peace with all other countries. His empire was one of vast dimensions, and yet "he had Peace on all sides round about him." It is important to inquire into the + Kings iv. 24.

Prov. ii. 1-9.

:

effect of Peace on population and prosperity. The answer is full of instruction and rebuke to warlike princes. Hear it, my Lord: "Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitudes, eating, and drinking, and making merry! And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon."* Behold the effects of peace and equity! How beautiful the picture! See a nation numerous as the sand, and happy as children making holiday! No complaints of excessive population; none, of the want of bread! Peace poured out the horn of plenty; poverty and want were banished from the borders of this happy land! "King Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom; and all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom.-And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon were of gold; and all the vessels of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver; it was not any thing accounted of in the days of Solomon.-The king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycamore trees that are in the low plains, in abundance."+ Such, my Lord, was the first kingdom in our world founded in truth and justice. The reign of Solomon lasted forty years-a space which, although brief, sufficed to raise the kingdom of Judah and Israel to a pitch of true greatness, and to diffuse among its people a felicity without parallel on our earth. The sight of such a fact suffices to fire the breasts of benevolent and patriotic men with the most intense indignation! Had the kings of Europe, for the last five hundred years, been wise and good, and their governments been pacific and just, what, by this time, might have been the state of its nations?

* 1 Kings iv. 20—25.

† 2 Chron. ix. 20, 22, 23, 27.

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It will probably occur to your lordship, that what Solomon was among the Jewish, that Numa was among the Roman kings. The analogies are very remarkable; while the success of Numa demonstrates that, for purposes of human improvement, even defective and erroneous institutions of religion, administered by virtuous men, possess a power infinitely greater than all the infidel and atheistical philosophy of Europe. Numa was undoubtedly the Solomon of the Romans. In his early youth he spent not his days in the pursuit of pleasure, nor in schemes of ambition, but in the worship of the gods, and in anxious inquiries into their nature and their power. When the Romans pressed him to accept the crown, his answer bespoke his worth and wisdom. My genius," said he, “is inclined to peace; my love has long been fixed upon it, and I have studiously avoided the confusion of war. I have also drawn others, so far as my influence extended, to the worship of the gods, to mutual offices of friendship, and to spend the rest of their time in tilling the ground and feeding cattle. The Romans may have unavoidable wars left upon their hands by their late king, for the maintaining of which you have need of another, more active and more enterprising. Besides, the people are of a warlike disposition, spirited with success, and plainly enough discover their inclination to extend their conquests. Of course, therefore, a person who has set his heart upon the promoting of religion and justice, and drawing men off from the love of violence and war, would soon become ridiculous and contemptible to a city that has more occasion for a general than a king."*

This is, to say the least, strange language from such a man as Numa; and not less strange was the reception given by the Romans to these enlightened sentiments. They increased, rather than diminished, the popular desire.

Plutarch's Numa.