Necessary life, intelligence, moral excellence, and efficiency, must be active, energetic, and operative: the very law of their nature is activity, energy, and operation.

One mode of subsistence, or personality of that which is eternal, immense, and immutable, can never exercise or manifest its own moral perfections, according to the law of the activity, energy, and operation of their own nature; because no perfection can be both agent and object at the very same time, and in the very same act.

As the moral being is created after the image of the Divine Being, it is entirely consistent with the most perfect rules of reasoning, to trace a perfection in the created moral essence, to a similar perfection in the necessarily existent moral essence.

When the essence and perfections are, in all respects, precisely the very same naturally, necesrily, and essentially, the modes of subsistence of that essence, and perfections, cannot possibly constitute inequality.

That which is necessarily eternal, immense, and immutable, if ever, in any one instance, it

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be exercised at all, according to its own nature, must be exercised eternally, immensely, and immutably.

EXPLANATION OF WORDS.

Mode, in the following Essay, signifies the continuation of the Divine Essence and perfections, identically the same in moral distinction.

Personality is considered as the same with the identical mode of subsistence, in moral distinction.

Subsistence, or to subsist, means the same mode of the essence and perfections continuing in an immutable moral relation.

Relation means the order of distinct subsistence.

Distinction means the connection between the essence and its attributes, or between one mode of subsistence and another, real in nature, and conceivable by the mind.

Procession means the constitution and economy of the Divine Nature, in exhibiting its own personality, in order to its own existence, perfection, and happiness.

Communication means the economy of the Divine Essence, in the full and perfect exercise of its own moral perfections, according to all the attributes and qualities of its nature, in the most perfect personality, that the divine being may be absolutely perfect in itself.

A mode, or person, arising in the Divine Essence, means the personality of that essence, exhibiting itself in the order of its own nature.

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

IN entering upon a subject so momentous and interesting as the following, much caution, humility, and reverence, are necessary in the execution; and much caution, candour, and impartiality, in the perusal. A subject that requires to be supported by demonstration; which often demands repetition, and rigorous adherence to abstract reasoning and argument; and which lies so far beyond the common course of studies,claims the attention, and patient investigation, both of the writer and the reader.

PROPOSITION I.

PROVING THE EXISTENCE OF THE DIVINE BEING FROM THE NATURE OF DURATION.

[Dificulty of the subject-Existence preferable to nonexistence-Existence a perfection—or the foundation of all perfection-Existence implies duration-Duration a perfection-Duration a medium of created

being-and a perfection of the uncreated—Duration, simple-leads to a view of an everlasting Essenceruns through all creation-lost in the uncreated Essence-incomprehensible -—cannot be an independent substance-equal in extent to the Essence in which it inheres-infinite-eternal, immense, and immutable-necessarily existent-The Being of which it is a necessary perfection, must be every way perfect in the exercise and enjoyment of all other perfections--Duration infers and discovers this Being-The Being, of which Duration is a necessary perfection, incomprehensible -everliving-spiritual-intelligent, and immaterialNothing contingent can inhere in this Essence-Conclusion of these arguments-Apology.]

IN the commencement, it is necessary to ascertain and prove the existence of the Divine Being. This we shall attempt by a train of reasoning, founded upon the nature of DURATION and SPACE.

1. Being, or existence, is preferable to nonexistence. The extremes between existence and non-existence are incomprehensible by the created intellect. No proportion can be found by any finite capacity between existence and nonexistence. These are extremes which can never meet. That which has existence, may possess attributes and perfections, in all the extremes of created or uncreated entity, according to the object we contemplate; but no attributes can be predicated of a nonentity.

Existence may comprehend being, either crea