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and accidentally casting his eye upon the wall, he descries a formidable spider, spreading his toils, and preparing the instru ments of death. In a moment a heedless fly is entangled in the web-the fell tyrant rushes on his prey, and murdering the defenceless victim revels in his blood!-Horrible cruelty exclaims our spectator-the Supreme Being cannot be the creator of spiders.-An eagle, stooping from the brow of yonder rock, pounces on a poor lamb, and carries him away to his nest.-Shocking! (cries our friend again) Shocking! the Supreme Being cannot be the creator of eagles. And yet the truth is, that the Supreme Being is after all, the creator of eagles; yes, and of spiders too: and the difficulty (if any diffi culty exists) should be attributed, not to the maker of the world, but to this compassionate moralist himself; who, instead of learning the true character of the Deity, as he ought to have done, from the contemplation of his works, has drawn his notions of the Creator from some fordidden and unwarrantable source.

1 do not say that the Deity is not infinitely benevolent, though perhaps in a manner incomprehensible by us; I assert only that it is always unsafe and unphilosophical, to refuse the admission of facts, because those facts may chance to clash with some of our pre-conceived notions of the moral or natu ral perfections of God.

The great doctrines of necessity, free-will, matter, and spirit, are usually discussed in a manner which really admits of no apology every rule of just reasoning is violated: our prejudices are consulted; final causes are appealed to; and the supposed arrangements of another world are pressed into the service, and made to contradict the phenomena of the present.

It is fortunate for us, who live in these modern times, that dialectics have of late years received considerable improvements. The department of metaphysics, in particular, promises for the future to make some compensation for the miserable uses to which it was applied by our predecessors, Heretofore, that term was made to signify any thing, except what is clear and definite. It is now, by our best writers, limited to the consideration of Mind; and is conversant only with facts, ca pable of proof by direct experiment. The most judicious phiTosophers of the present age very properly decline the inves tigation of final and efficient causes, as altogether vain and unprofitable: nor are they in any degree solicitous to discover whether the thinking principle is material or otherwise.

The intimate nature of the soul is covered by impenetrable obscurity; but so is the intimate nature of every thing else the mode of investigation is precisely the same, in all cases whatsocver, it is with facts alone that we have to do; nothing with the primary or hidden qualities.

In the hope, Mr. Editor, that these unconnnected and irregular observations may promote the interest of GENERAL I remain, Sir, your's, &c.

TRUTH,

Oct. 16, 1812.

ZETA

REMARKS ON MR. MABERLY'S ATTACK UPON CATHOLIC

EMANCIPATION.

To the Editor of the Freethinking Christians' Magazine.

SIR,

OME violent and inflammatory handbills having been recently circulated in the town of Royston and its neighbourhood, by an evangelical clergyman of the church of England, for the avowed purpose of prejudicing the minds of the people against the Roman Catholics, and against Catholic emancipation, I have extracted a few passages from one of them, and shall feel myself obliged by your giving them a place in your very useful and valuable Magazine.

I think you will perceive that my object in requesting this is not altogether selfish. When there is any thing good to be learnt, I am always anxious my neighbours should partake with me. To be serious-however, I am decidedly of opinion that the more publicity is given to such a fanatical engine of persecution as I am about to unfold, the better able we shall be to expose the author to ridicule, and to shew the fallacy of his state

ment.

To proceed-this priest in holy orders, begins one of these truly pious compositions with the following Christian-like title

"the lion about to be let loose." Yes, gentle reader, this Rev. Gentleman, who not only pretends to be a follower of Christ, but wishes to persuade his flock that he has been moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon him the cure of souls, declares, ipso facto, that there is no difference whatever between the nature and disposition of a Roman Catholic, and that of a savage ferocious lion. This is imitating his divine master with a vengeance !!!

Permit me to say, if sentiments like these are characteristic of piety, may they ever keep at a becoming distance from me! That your readers, however, may perceive that my object is not to mislead or misrepresent, I will give them the pious man's own words upon the subject. He begins thus.—

"There are some lions confined in the world--there are some confined in this kingdom; they have been confined many years, and therefore have not been able to act agreeably to their savage disposition. Re member, in spite of all that can be said, the nature of a lion can never be changed, and that, therefore, if our lions are let loose, they will be for devouring and destroying us." And after a deal more in the same

strain, he concludes thus:--" Only take my word for it, if ever Catholic Emancipation take place, you will find that Roman Catholics are worse than lions, and more to be dreaded. If you wish to see this for yourselves, and cannot wait till I set it before you-read Fox's Acts and Monuments, Bishop Burnet's History of the Reformation, and the Life of Luther, in Milner's History of the Church of Christ.

1 am, &c.

FREDERICK HERBERT MABERLY, M. A.
A Clergyman of the Church of England."

Kingston, near Caxton, Cambridgeshire, 1st July, 1812.

I have only thought it necessary to trouble your readers with a few extracts, being perfectly satisfied they will see the object the author has in view, viz. a determination to support "An excellent establishment" at the expence of falsehood, bigotry, intolerance, and persecution. To love them that hate you, to pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute youthese, I say, are virtues, which seem not to belong to this Rev. Gentleman's creed. In a word, he is for denying to his fellow countrymen (the Roman Catholics) those priviliges which I conceive they are most justly intitled to, and which I most sincerely hope will ere long be granted to them, in spite of all the sophistry, which their most malignant and inveterate enemies can produce. Royston, Oct. 4, 1812.

W. H. A.

A REVIEW OF THE MORALITY CONTAINED IN THE NEW

TESTAMENT.

"The system of morality to be gathered out of the writings of ancient sages, falls very short of that delivered in the gospel.”—Swift.

To the Editor of the Freethinking Christians' Magazine.

SIR,

AS it is one of the declared objects of your Magazine to promulgate the truths of Christianity, and to hold up their varied beauties to the public view, I presume you will not consider as entirely useless an attempt to collect the scattered morality of the New Testament into a smaller focus; and, by a concentration of its excellence, to give it an increased capa·bility of action on the human mind.

But before I enter on the subject, permit me, Mr. Editor, for perspicuity's sake, to state the precise meaning which ĺ shall attach to the word morality throughout the observations that may ensue. By morality I mean all those duties that are incumbent on man as a human being, independent of his notions respecting Deity. Thus it will appear that morality arises out of the fitness of things, and that whether a man be an Atheist or a Deist, whether he believe in one God or in one

thousand, the duties of morality have an equal claim to his attention in every stage of life.

It is somewhat surprising, that notwithstanding it can be proved, even to mathematical demonstration, that an uniform practice of morality is the only sure road to honour and hap piness, yet how comparatively few is the number that ever appropriate one single moment to the consideration of their duty; and among the few who do this, how rarely do we find one that has resolution enough to practise it! How! it may well be asked, how is it that in this instance men do so grossly play the fool with themselves? How is it that they are so blind to their true interests? Perhaps the cause may be thus defined-it so happens that the animal appetites of man are born with him, but his mind remains to be acquired. No sooner is he called into existence, than the former begin their task of encircling him within the fetters of habit, and ere the mind has acquired strength and sagacity sufficient to controul these promoters of slavery, so firmly have they fixed it within their iron grasp, that not all the demonstrations of Euclid, nor all the reasonings of Locke, would ever give it energy enough to burst its bands. Hear this, ye parents, who indolently neglect to improve the understandings of your children, and say on whom the miseries of their ignorance ought equitably to fall. If you would save them, and retrieve yourselves, listen to the important truths of the Christian religion, and let the morality of the New Testament sink deep into your minds:1. "Do unto others as in like circumstances you would think others ought to do to you."-Matt. vii. 12.

To compose a criterion for human action more universally applicable than this, is what I should conceive to be beyond all the powers of language. Every man is more or less under the influence of his feelings, and these feelings are continually interfering with his judgment, and leading it from the right line of rectitude. There are some men who contend that our feelings ought to be the criterion of our judgment; and 1 knew a man, a pious man, who, when he could not substantiate his decisions by fair and equitable reasoning, would resort to this favourite and incontrovertible hypothesis-"I know my own feelings." Happily, however, he saw on his death bed the fallacy of this doctrine, and gave his warmest thanks to his friend who had for years uniformly opposed it. What are our feelings? they are nothing but our desires and aversions; and what has desire or aversion to do with justice? When we form in our minds a determination, it should be our object to form a right one, to give a just judgment; but how can we do this if we permit any thing to interfere in the decision which has nothing to do with justice? and that our feelings have nothing

to do with it may clearly be shewn. If, for instance, we are deliberating on the propriety of relieving a fellow-creature, or of reproving the failings of a friend, will our desire to do the one justify the action? or will our aversion to the other be a sufficient reason for refraining to act? Surely not. Justice is not determined by human wishes, but by the eternal fitness of things; nor is the conduct of the wise man regulated by animal caprice but by that which contributes to the general good.

Seeing then that it becomes an imperious duty, when we sit in judgment on our actions, to put aside all feelings and inclinations, it behoves a man to place himself in those circumstances that will be most favourable thereto. And here the beauty of our moral precept fully displays itself: its author was well acquainted with the powers of the human mind, and in their exercise he knew the dangers to which they were exposed; he knew how liable they were to receive a bias from habit or inclination, even when guided by a watchful controul-he knew also the power of self-love, whose influence enters so minutely into all the ramifications of mind, that as our actions are contaminated by feeling, so our feelings are contaminated by the love of self. This self is like a parsimonious tradesman, who will rise up in open clamour if he have not his full due, but who will modestly take as much more as he can get. So the love of self being too contracted to recognize the principle that the good of one consists in the good of the whole, enters into all our deliberations on the conduct to be pursued towards our neighbours, and softly persuades us to do as little for others and as much for ourselves as we can. This influence it is that misguides our judgments, and leads us sometimes to do too little and sometimes too much.

Jesus, acquainted with this deceptive faculty of the mind, wisely advises when we would resolve how we should act towards others, to place ourselves in their situations, and them in ours, and ask how ought we to expect them to act towards us? Self will soon make out its claim to every thing that is due from justice and generosity, and will spare no pains in proving its title by sound argument; and when it has so done, then is the time to dismiss it, with this salutary remark-" Go, thou, and do to thy neighbour what thou hast clearly proved he ought, in like circumstances, to do to thee."

If men would thus regulate their conduct, we should not have so much strife and acrimony in the world as we now have. Would he who is angry with his neighbour like that his neighbour should be angry with him? Would he who oppresses others like to be oppressed? Would he who lords it over his fellow man like to be tyrannized over himself? Would he who acts with indifference towards his friend like that his

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