him, "not many wise, not many noble." Therefore, there is no fear. And, remember, we are too strong for the priests to come back again. Their craft is in danger. Let these people catch what silly women they can; let them catch what weak men they can, and what celebrities they can; there is no fear. The unbroken march towards spiritualism-the spiritualism of pure love, love of God and love to men-will still go on. Take courage, take courage.

There is a time for everything. It is a good deal for a generation to have put a Pope off a throne; is a good thing to have seen a mighty nation grow up kingless and priestless before God. Therefore, let each nation take its own time, and it will work out its salvation in its own way. Of one thing my soul is confident-never back again is it possible for any intelligent nation to go. And let all races remember that with increased liberty there should be increased obedience to the law of God. That is the privilege of liberty. When men become truly educated, they will learn this-when they have chosen for themselves a king, sweetly must they be bound to follow! "Let My people go free, that they may serve Me." Freedom should mean escape from the lower bondages, in order that

men may come into the sweet service of the spiritual God.

And be you sure of this, those of you who sometimes think that the spirit of liberty is hostile to obedience—that is one of the green tricks of fools who "play fantastic tricks before high heaven.” Life and its sweet burdens-wife, little children, daily bread, and taxes-all come to teach the great lesson, he is free who has most self-sacrifice; he is freest who renders most service to his fellow men.

We close these rough sketches, then, hoping that at least this much is gained-that in future you will not look upon the religions of the world as accidental, but as springing up under the government and rule of that Almighty Father who is not the God of the Jew only, but of all men ; who watches their efforts to come to Him, their efforts to know Him, who is a Spirit, and to worship Him in spirit and in truth.

THE FALL OF MAN: A QUESTION

REOPENED.

Morning, August 27th, 1876.

"There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilæans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilæans were sinners above all the Galilæans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."-LUKE xiii. 1–5.

THOSE of you who are instructed, will remember that the great name of Aristotle lay for a long time as a hindrance to increase of knowledge, veracity of observation, and truthfulness of statement. was sworn to, as the Bible has been sworn to by theologians. As to the sun and moon, they were

He

not witnesses to be more called into account than he. He was a bar to the increase of knowledge, and an oppressive weight upon the life of men. Bacon, in his time, finding him to be a terrible oppression, did much to throw off the load.

But there is one thing which is wanted more than a revolt against Aristotle, and that is, a revolt against the usual theory of Revelation. It is the greatest hindrance to observation and promoter of falsity, the greatest preventer of inquiry, and of candid statement that exists. Until of late, Revelation was supposed to extend to everything. Many of you were brought up to believe in the little span of man's age, as given in the Old Testament Scriptures; to believe that a few thousands of years back man was not; to take the statements of the early chapters of Genesis as though they were whispered of God, man being the reporter of the heavenly observations; that man was cursed in God's name for eating an apple: that God made direct communication to man concerning bones and stones and dates, and all that business. As though any soul serving the Living God could be affected by such things as that!

In the old days, this Revelation was regarded as so final, that anything which would not coincide with

it was asked to retire. If a man would rise up and disbelieve, he was called "Atheist," and burned for the greater glory of God. For those were times of faith, you know, when men burned one another in this way. But by-and-by Galileo came, and he asked questions, and called in question the whole business. Then other men arose, and all these things were inquired into, and these pretty legends were reduced to what they are-legends, and nothing more. But then the ecclesiastics came in, and said, "Thus far shalt thou go, but no farther." For the priests part with absurdity with reluctance, and never like common sense, if it is possible to be avoided.

A great deal of Greek history was relegated to the land of fable and of myth. But they said, We will give up that, if you please, and keep this. One literature was written on the earth, and the other was written in heaven; one set of speculations was spun, like a spider web, out of what is in a man, the other was handed to him from above. So these distinctions prevailed. The history of the Hebrews was not like the history of the Romans; they received their history ready made for them. So criticism was crippled. But, by degrees, it was found that the Jewish history contained within