BT 96 •565 1834 ADVERTISEMENT TO THE FOURTH EDITION. THE more I have contemplated the view of the divine character and government which is exhibited in the following pages, and the more the engagements of life have brought me acquainted with the wants of the human mind in this state of discipline, and therefore of vicissitude and suffering, the more deep has become my conviction, that, were the opinions which it is the object of this work to establish generally believed and considered, they would promote, in an incalculable measure, the virtue and happiness of mankind. This conviction coincides with that of the wisest and best men whom I have the pleasure of knowing. My sense of the importance of rendering this view of the moral government of the Deity as complete as possible is therefore stronger than ever, and under this impression I have entered, in this edition, into a more close and connected investigation of the origin, the nature, and the tendency of evil. I have considered, separately and in detail, the several classes of evil, namely, natural and moral evil, and the evils which have hitherto been found inseparable from the social state, namely, poverty, dependence, and servitude. I have endeavored to show why these evils exist in the creation of a Being of almighty power, of infinite wisdom, and of perfect goodness. I have endeavored to lead the mind to the calm and serious consideration of principles which seem adequate to divest it of doubt, where doubt must be unhappiness, and to conduct it to a conclusion which, if once embraced from conviction, must secure it from misery. I look back to the quiet and contemplative hours which were devoted to these inquiries with the feeling, not unmixed with melancholy, with which we reflect on our departed pleasures. |