tes-Plato-Aristotle. Artists-Zeu- ments, manners, and modes of thinkxis-Parrhasius- Phidias-Alcama- ing. A short review of the most re nes. "Chap. VI. The subject continued. -The causes and consequences of the Peloponnesian war. Character of Pericles. The decline of Athenian power and fame. Epaminondas and Pelopidas illustrious Thebans. Character of Alexander the Great. Apelles and Lysippus. The degeneracy of Athenian manners. Greece subdued by the Romans-by the Turks. Degraded state of its present inhabitants, who retain some traces of the character of their ancestors. Advantages derived by modern Europe from ancient Greece. Concluding remarks suggested by some points of resemblance between Athens in the time of her glory, and the present state of Great Britain. 66 Chap. VII. The History of Rome. The singular excellence of the Roman History. The magnificence of Rome, and the wide extent of the empire in the reign of Trajan, naturally excite our curiosity to investigate the leading causes of the greatness and fall of the Roman power. The causes of its greatness were, I. The peculiar Constitution of Government. II. The Improvement of the Arts of War. III. The Attachment to the established Religion. IV. The Spirit of Patriotism. markable events, with their respective causes and effects. I. The Feudal System. II. The Crusades. III. The Institution of Chivalry. Chap. X. The subject continued. The events in Modern Europe continued. IV. The Reformation of Religion. V. The revival of Classical Learning. The most remarkable Discoveries of modern Times, and their beneficial Effects. Concluding Observations." p. ix-xv. The subject of the first class is religion: and the first chapter treats of the "Christian religion," commenc ing with "the reasonableness of instructing children in the principles of religion at an early age," and proceeds to state the superior excellence of "CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE," on which the author observes that, "To know Christianity is therefore both to understand what the Supreme Being has revealed for our greatest good, and to ascertain what conduct we ought to pursue in order to obtain his approbation and favour. How long therefore must the acquirements of learning and science sink in our opinion, when placed in opposi tion to religious knowledge! But when it forms the basis, upon which they are built, they derive additional value as well as stability from its supChap. VIII. The subject conti- port; they are consecrated to the nued. The Roman institutions and best purposes, and directed to their laws, by forming the manners, and most salutary ends. Much as the directing the conduct of a hardy, knowledge of the scholar, and the active, and courageous people, ena- speculations of the philosopher may bled them to establish their extensive elevate and enlarge the mind, and empire. - The Carthaginians were much as they may improve and adorn their most formidable rivals.-Their it, they extend not our prospects benaval power and extensive commerce. yond the world, they bound our Characters of Hannibal and Scipio views within the narrow limits of huAfricanus. The civil wars - The man life. But the knowledge of a character of Augustus-The flourish Christian takes a more exalted and a ing state of literature and the arts more certain aim; it respects a deduring the Augustan Age.-The degree of felicity, which exceeds our generacy of manners from that pe. riod.--lts causes; I. Luxury. II. Corruption. III. Neglect of Education. IV. The prevalence of the Epicurean Philosophy.Good and bad Emperors. Rome sacked by the Goths. Division of the Empire. Reflec tions. utmost powers of conception, and a situation of pleasure and delight without alloy, and without end-It relates to a state of existence, when the spirits of the just will be made perfect, and the transcendent bliss of angels will be imparted to glorified and im mortal men. "Such being the excellence of Christianity, and such the important end, which it proposes, every person, with divine truth, and to build his happiness upon the most solid basis, will take, with the greatest satisfaction, a particular and distinct view of its nature and evidences. Then will he avoid the imputation of being a Christian merely in compliance with the prejudices of his parents, or the customs of his native country; and he will become one in consequence of a rational preference, and a proper examination. His conviction of its truth will then be solid and clear; he will plainly perceive the strength of its foundations, and fully understand the extent of its advantages: he will be persuaded that it bears the character and stamp of divinity, and that it has every claim to the reception of mankind, which a divine Revelation can reasonably be expected to possess. "The proofs of the truth of the Christian Revelation are numerous, clear, and conclusive. The most obvious and striking are those which arise; I. From the authenticity of the Books of the New Testament. II. The Character of our Lord and Saviour. III. The Prophecies of which he was the subject, as well as those which he delivered. IV. His Miracles. V. The sublime Morality of his Precepts. And, VI. The rapid and extensive propagation of his Religion under circumstances the most hostile to its advancement." p. 19-21. On the first of these topics are the following observations. "Here presides the majesty of pure and unsullied truth, which shines in unadorned but awful state, and never turns aside to the blandishments of flattery, or listens to the whispers of prejudice, or defamation. Here alone she invariably supports the same dignified and uniform character, and points with equal impartiality to Peter now professing his unalterable fidelity, and now denying his Lord; to the apostles at one time deserting Christ, and at another, hazarding their lives by the bold profession of his Gospel. And these plain characters of truth afford the clearest evidence of the inspiration of the sacred books. The Holy Spirit, whose assistance was promised to his disciples by their heavenly Master, guarded them from error in their narratives, in the statement of 5 ment of their doctrines. Upon such momentous points, as contribute to form an infallible rule and standard of faith and practice, they were guided by the divine wisdom, and thus are raised to a degree of authority and credibility unattainable by all other writers." p. 25, 26. "In the preservation of the holy scripture, we may observe a very striking instance of the superintendance of divine Providence, ever watchful for the happiness of mankind. Notwithstanding the various dissentions which have continued to prevail in the Christian church, ever since its first establishment, the books containing the principles of the religion itself, are come down to us who live at the distance of nearly eighteen centuries from the time of their authors, in a pure and unadulterated condition: so that whenever the Christian faith has been corrupted, its deviation from a state of purity could always be detected by an appeal to the most indisputable authority. Nor has the stream of time merely conveyed to us this divine treasure, uninjured and secure; but even in the midst of the most violent persecutions, and the darkest superstition, the Christian faith has been so protected by divine care, that it has never been wholly lost to the world. The spark of heavenly fire, although it has been covered by the ashes of error, has still remained alive, and although in the superstitious ages, previous to the Reformation, its light could be with difficulty discerned, yet it was always accessible to those, who wished to fan it into a flame." p. 28. The author then presents us with a statement of "six of the leading proofs of the truth of Christianity." I. THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. II. The Character of our Lord and Saviour. III. THE PROPHECIES of which he was the subject, and those which he pronounced. IV. HIS MIRACLES. V. HIS PRECEPTS, OF CHRISTIAN ETHICS. VI. THE RAPID AND EXTENSIVE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL at its first preaching, under circumstances the most hostile to its success. The subject is continued in the second chapter, which contains the following topics. REASONS why the doctrines and precepts of Christiani ty have been attacked by infidels of all ages. Their cavils shewn to be weak, and their arguments proved to be inconclusive.-The character and conduct of modern infidels furnish additional evidence to the truth of Christianity, as they are plainly foretold in Scripture.-The absurdity of the opinions of the French philosophists, and their followers, relative to universal philanthropy exposed. From the author's observations and arguments on the subject of infidelity, we extract the following: "Modern unbelievers may have reason to boast of the boldness of their attacks, but little of the originality of their arguments, since the cavils of Voltaire, and his followers, newly pointed as they may be with wit, or urged as they may be with additional vehemence, can be traced to Julian, Porphyry and Celsus, the ancient enemies of the church. Some who dislike the toil of investigating truth for themselves, eagerly take advantage of the labours of others; and lay great stress upon the example of those eminent men, who have disbelieved, or rather in, some instances, perhaps, only affected to disbelieve, the fundamental truths of Christianity. The Christian professes not to deny the force of such an argument, because he is aware, that the weight of authority is very powerful, whether avowed or concealed. It undoubtedly gives a bias to the mind, which is more commonly felt than acknowledged; and it has considerable influence in determining the judgment in most of the affairs of life. If however this argument be urged in opposition to Christianity, fair reasoning requires that it should be allowed due force in its favour. Ask the infidel, who are the leaders, under whose banners he has enlisted himself, and perhaps he will point to Hume, and to Bolingbroke: but sureJy, if even we allow the elegance and acuteness of the one, and the florid declamation of the other, all the praise they deserve, they can never bear a competition with those luminaries of science, and those teachers of true wisdom, who have not only embraced the Christian faith, but maintained its truth and divine origin, and directed their conduct by VOL. I. its rules. They can never be weighed in the balance of merit, with the advocates of Christianity, so dispassionate, sincere, ingenuous, and acute, so divested of all objections, that can be drawn from professional bias, or interested attachments, as Milton, Clarendon, Hale, Boyle, Bacon, Locke, Newton, Addison, Lyttleton, West, and Johnson. "Ought not the testimony, which such men as these have given, to be held in the highest estimation? A testimony founded not upon any surrender of their judgments to the prevailing opinions of the day, but upon close and patient examination of the evidences of Christianity, of which their writings give the most satisfactory proofs. Or are such men to be undervalued, when brought into com parison with the vaunting infidels of modern times? Where do we find persons of such profound understandings, and inquisitive minds, as Bacon, Locke, and Newton; where of such a sublime genius as Milton; where of such various and extensive learning; exhausting all the literary treasures of eastern, as well as western literature, as Sir William Jones, who at the close of life recorded his conviction of the truth of divine Revelation, and celebrated the excellence of the holy Scriptures? To compare the race of modern infidels in point of genius, learning, science, judgment, or love of truth;-to compare Voltaire, Hume,, Gibbon, Godwin, and Paine, with such men as these, were surely as idle, and as absurd, as to compare the weakness of infancy with the maturity of manhood; the flutter of a butterfly with the vigorous soaring of an eagle; or the twinkling of a star with the glory of the sun, illuminating the universe with his meridian brightness." p.60— 63. "Against the authority of such insidious writers as Voltaire and Gibbon, we enter our serious, and we think our equitable protest; we exhort every one to beware of their sophistry, and to guard against their delusive arts. They have violated the laws of fair controversy, and fought with the weapons that cannot be allowed on such occasions. . They employ ridicule instead of argument,. artful insinuation instead of serious. discussion, and bold assertion instead 4 Y 720 Kett's Elements of General Knowledge. inconsistent with the purity of the Christian character; it is clear, they are imperfectly acquainted with the the various proofs by which it is real nature of the religion itself, and supported. They condemn not so much what they do not understand, as what they do not give themselves the trouble to investigate. Do they carefully examine the facts which had such great influence in attracting the notice of the world to our Saviour? I allude to the miracles of various kinds which he wrought; and do they read the accounts of these wonderful operations of divine goodness, with minds disposed to yield to the force of historical evi, power and of the Rich Man and Lazarus, that dence! We read in the awful parable the former, when in a state of tor, ment, was desirous that a person might be sent from the dead for the conversion of his unbelieving brothers. Is there any infidel who wishes for such a proof of the truth of Christianity? Suppose God should grant solemn hours of the night, when deep his desire, and that in the still and sleep had fallen upon the rest of mankind, a spirit should pass before him, discern, but which resembled a latewhose form he could not distinctly ly departed friend. • Fear would of proof. They write to the passions and imagination, and not to the judgment of mankind. They artfully involve the questions relative to the evidences of Christianity in perplexity, and endeavour to throw the blame arising from the dissensions and usurpations, the vices and ignorance of some of the clergy, and the incroachments which in dark and superstitious times were made upon the liberties of mankind, upon Christianity itself. They select those topics, which can best be turned to their purpose, by the arts of misrepresentation; they embellish them with the flowery ornaments of stile, and skilfully adapt them to the passions and prejudices of their readers. As however their conduct is thus artful and insidious, so ought their labours to be vain and unfruitful; for they do not try the cause upon its own merits: they do not, like candid and dispassionate reasoners, separate the subJect in dispute from all foreign and extraneous circumstances: they do not agitate questions, and start objections, from a desire of being well informed: : they do not, in the spirit of true philosophy, examine the evidences of Christianity with that becoming seriousness, which is due to an affair of such infinite importance to the present welfare and future happiness of mankind: they do not consider, that the same unbelief, if shake.' Suppose there should be upon him, and trembling, which would cause all his bones to applied to the common records of profound silence, and then a voice be history, or the ordinary affairs of life, heard, saying, I am come to tell you would expose them to the imputation there is a God-a heaven and a hell: of blind rashness, or extreme folly. forsake your sins, ere it be too late, and As their conduct is evidently not seek salvation in the Gospel of Christ, dictated by a love of truth, their scoffs, their sarcasms, and their soor you will perish for ever. phistry, deserve no attention; and as fect would this vision produce? ProWhat efthey not only wantonly reject, but death; or should he survive it, and bably it would terrify the infidel to industriously depreciate the best gift be at first deeply impressed with the of heaven, they ought to be shunned, awful circumstances, it is probable, and reprobated, as enemies to the that the cares and the pleasures of dearest interest of mankind." p. 64, 65. the world would gradually wear out From the author's observations and its impression. As to his sceptical arguments on the subject of infide--friends they would not believe him; lity, we extract also the following paragraph. From whatever causes the doubts and cavils of modern infidels arise, whether from a desire to gain the reputation of superior sagacity, a love of novelty, an ambition to soar above vulgar notions, a fear of being thought credulous or superstitious, or the pursuit of such practices as are ' come they would strive to laugh, or to reasenting that all he related was a son him out of his alarms, by repredream. He would in time begin to think so himself, and perhaps would suspect that he had been imposed upon, and so would remain obdurate and unconvinced. As such evidence thus ineffectual, so is it highly unneof the truth of Revelation would be cessary, for no facts recorded in the history of mankind are more fully attested than the miracles of our Lord. Did he not repair to the tomb of Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, who had been dead four days, and in the presence of many people cry aloud to him to come forth, and did not the dead man hear his voice, and live for a long time after? Our Lord declared repeatedly that he should himself rise from the tomb. When the appointed hour arrived, was there not a great earthquake, and did not the Saviour of the world arise? Were not these things attested by friends, and by enemies, who were all eye witnesses; and did not the primitive Christians endure every hardship, and suffer every torment in proof of such facts? What need therefore can there be of any additional assurance? If the intidel will not believe Moses and the prophets, Christ and his apostles; neither will he be persuaded, though one came to him from the dead." The author then shews that Christianity has produced the happiest effects upon the opinions, conduct, and institutions of mankind.-It was darkened by superstition, and intermixed with error by the Papists: But was refined and brought back more nearly to the apostolical standard by the REFORMATION-particularly by the PROTESTANT ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.-Summary of the sublime truths of Christianity.-It comprehends the last revelation of the divine will to mankind, establishes the certainty of a future state-reconciles man to the dispensations of Providence and qualifies him, by a life of faith and obedience, for the rewards of eternity. Amongst the blessings produced by Christianity, which the author enumerates, we notice the following. "And, not to expatiate upon its mild and salutary effects upon the temper, the passions, and the general conduct of millions, who, although their names were never recorded in the pages of history, were more wor thy and honourable members of society, and are infinitely more deserving the approbation of mankind, than all the ancient heroes who have sought renown by war, or all the modern sceptics who have aspired to fame by their opposition to the faith; we may enumerate, in addition to its extensive and various improvements, the refinement it has given to manners, and its beneficial influence upon the public judgment of morals. Mankind, no longer left a prey to ignorance, or to loose and Auctuating opinions, are furnished with a guide, to which they can always resort, for principles of religion and rules of conduct. Hence the most illiterate and humble members of the Christian church can form more true and accurate notions of the Deity, his attributes and providence, as well as a more rational notion of moral obligation, of virtue, and vice, and the final destination of man, than was ever reached by the ancient sages in the brightest days of heathen philosophy. Christianity, far from being calculated for any political constitution in particular, is found to prosper and flourish under every form of government, as it is equally incompatible with licentiousness on the one hand, or oppression on the other. It corrects the spirit of democracy, and softens the rigour of despotic power. An enlargement of mind, and superior intelligence, distinguish in a peculiar manner those nations that have embraced the faith, from those extensive portions of mankind, who fight under the banners of Mahomet, or adhere to the more pacific institutes of Brama and Confucius. The inhabitants of the east groan under the oppres sions of arbitrary power, and little does their religion contribute to alleviate the weight of their chains. The Mahometans more especially are marked by peculiar ignorance; and so far are they from being distinguished by the light of science, or the cultivation of useful knowledge, that they adopt with the greatest reluctance all foreign improvements, and even smother in its birth the spirit of liberal enquiry and research." p. 76-78. The subject of the second class is language, and the first chapter treats of language in general in the following order. ADVANTAGES resulting from a knowledge of various languages.The theories of Lord Monboddo, and Adam Smith, relative to their origin examined. All languages derived |