say of himself, such was the modesty that adorned his elevated character,-that if his labours had in any degree benefited mankind, it was owing, not to any extraordinary endowments, but to patience and perseverance in his studies. And I know not a greater obstacle to success in our philosophical inquiries than a spirit of arrogance and presumption. When a young man fancies himself wiser than his teachers, or, when his desire of knowledge proceeds from vanity, and not from the love of truth, he may indeed acquire those superficial notions of things which will enable him to make a figure among those who are as frivolous and superficial as himself, but he can never reach great excellency, nor rise above the unsteady and borrowed light of others. He has not only imposed on himself, but unhappily the delusion is of such a nature, as to give it a permanent influence over his thoughts; and, in place of extending his views to all the grandeur and majesty of truth, his mind is darkened and narrowed by the pride and the superficiality of his reasonings. If men think justly or otherwise, in proportion as they think profoundly,and of the truth of this remark those only will doubt who are ignorant of the progress of knowledge, then the greatest barrier that can come between us and true wisdom, is the conceit that we are already wise*. My son," says the wise man, "let not truth forsake thee: bind it about thy neck; write it on the table of thine heart: so shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine 66 * Multi ad scientiam pervenissent si se illuc pervenisse non putassent. I must mention; the striking proofs which it affords of the beneficence and wisdom of the Creator. On this point I am the more disposed to lay stress, because I feel persuaded that in no department of nature are there clearer or more impressive indications given of the boundless goodness and intelligence of Him that formed us; and though the phenomena of the material world be more frequently appealed to on this subject, it is only because external objects are familiar to the thoughts of every one, and require less abstraction of mind to discover in them a continued illustration of the divine perfections. After tracing the goodness of the Deity in the various kingdoms of nature, in the air, the earth, the sky, more especially in the mighty and harmonious movements of the planetary worlds, the metaphysician returns to survey regions which are, indeed, concealed from vulgar view, but whose phenomena afford the most affecting proofs of that tender mercy that pervades and gladdens the universe. He can perceive in the constitution of the human mind-in the balance which is established between its intellectual and moral powers, in the admirable adaptation of its various tendencies to the circumstances with which it is surrounded, and in the growth of affections corresponding to youth, to manhood, and to old age, the wisdom and the goodness of a Being who is not only himself infinitely perfect, but who, in communicating life to his intelligent offspring, has given them, with this blessing, the essential elements of happiness. Were it my object to enter into details on this subject, it were easy to multiply illustrations. I might refer to the benign and salutary influence of that parental, filial, and relative affection which forms the tender tie of all our endearing connexions, and which is productive to man individually, and to society in general, of most valuable blessings. I might hold up to your view the operations of this principle or affection of mind, as exhibited in the lovely scenes of domestic life; as influencing all the duties of that sacred retirement from the busy occupations of the world, where the holy tranquillity of earth approaches nearest to the rest of heaven, and where alone the greatest felicity which has survived the loss of paradise is to be enjoyed. Who has ever witnessed the serene happiness of the family, the tender affection by which its members are united to one another, the pleasure that is felt in meeting, and the pain in separating, the fondness and the tender solicitude of the parents, and the love and the gratitude of the children;-who has ever mingled in such scenes, and yet relinquished them without emotions of painful regret, or refrained from admiring the wisdom and beneficence of Him who has rendered the most permanent affections of our nature subservient to the gracious purposes of his Providence, and which, by their influence on all our moral habits, are evidently designed to prepare us for a higher and a nobler state of being? If, then, these affections are so necessary to our happiness and to our very existence-so necessary that, without them, the human race must soon perish, must it not be obvious that a Being of boundless intelligence, who has acted with a reference to futurity, has conferred them upon us? This is the more evident, from the fact that some of these feelings do not exist till we are placed in those circumstances which require their operation. Thus, for example, we see the gay and effeminate female becoming the tender and anxious mother, cheerfully relinquishing those pursuits with which she formerly associated much of her happiness, and sacrificing her time and her repose to the comfort of her infant, with no other reward than the exquisite pleasure she enjoys in cherishing her offspring. For my part, I can never contemplate this lovely display of tenderness and affection, without marking in it the hand of that Heavenly Parent who has called us into being, and who has made provision for the happiness of the unnumbered millions who are dependant on his bounty. The study of a science which furnishes us with such proofs of the goodness of God, and which opens up to us such interesting views of the power that renders the thoughts of the heart subservient to its gracious designs, cannot be in vain. I know not any other branch of human knowledge more calculated, when thoroughly examined, to impress upon the mind a pleasing conviction of the established order of Providence, or, to teach it the important lesson, that happiness may be secured independent of the wealth or the honour of fortune. In any enumeration of the advantages of Moral Philosophy, the enlarged conceptions which it leads us to form of the destiny of man should not be forgotten. This has a most favourable influence on elevation of sentiment and conduct; it accustoms the mind to dwell chiefly on the contemplation of objects that are vast and sublime; and, by fixing its views on the mighty powers and achievements of man, on the designs which he has already accomplished, and on those still greater designs which he is capable of accomplishing, it associates with his nature the grandeur of immortality. It was because Socrates and Cicero entertained such enlarged notions of the intellectual and moral powers of man, and studied his nature under every aspect which it presents, that their writings possess a charm for every reader, and leave that impression on the mind which stimulates to virtuous and lofty exertion. When we rise from the perusal we feel, not that we have been reading a libel on the species, composed by the profligate wit of an acute but vulgar mind, we feel that there is a principle within us which cannot be mortal, which rises to an ideal standard of beauty and loveliness and moral perfection, far above the realities of the present scene, and that we have been destined by the Power which formed and which sustains all things, for nobler ends than any which terminate on this side of the grave. With such impressions we allow our thoughts to be carried forward to a period of greater improvement in the history of the human race-when philosophy and religion will shed still happier influences on the world -when the beneficent arrangements of Providence will make truth and virtue finally prevail over falsehood and error, and when the happiness of the species will be removed from every thing that might hurt or destroy in all God's holy mountain. |