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which p hilosopher * have taught , and philosop hers have beliered ^ the indefinite perfectibility of the human species ; an age in which the Baptist missions , and the diitribiition of the Bible , hare been announced as the preludes of universal and perpetual peace : —Such an ag-e , we verily think , was worthy of the Revelations of
Joanna . It-may indeed be honestly and safely conceded that some of the friends of the religious institutions at
which tlje critic aims his ridicule , have spoken of their tendency in exaggerated and too sanguine terms . But ,, in the eye of candour and justice , this excess of a generous zeal cannot lessen the value of the
institutions themselves j the objects , the plans and the measures of which are so truly laudable that even the Edinburgh Review will fail of bringing them into contempt by its mention of " the Baptist Missions and the distribution of the Bible , " in the same
sentence with animal magnetism and the metallic tractors and the Revelations of Joanna . For the simple question , after all , is , whether the inhabitants of a Christian and Protestant country can be irrationally employed in circulating the scriptures with a view to the dissemination of religious
knowledge ? AH true philosophers will a ^ ree that this is a wise and honourable employment ; since philosophy selects the best ends and pursues them by the' best means . ISor can there be a reasonable doubt whether the acquaintance of man with God and duty and the connexion between the present and a future life , will
advance the interests of civilization and of peace . Men who look no further than this world—r-men who admit not the claims of revealed religion or who are strangers to Us
influence—« ay with some consistency laugh at all attempts to render our race better and happier . Such persons speak their natural language when they represent the patrons of Missions and ° * Bible Societies as weak and
visionary . This , however , is not the jtytural language of a believer in ^ "ristianity , under any of its denomi-!* aUojis . We lament to add , that it Is ttQch more in the flippant style ^ fuch , on these subjects , has long ^ tijiguisjjed the Fren ch school of * wrati than in the manly tone which ^ a racterizes , for the most part , the
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critical discussions of our countrymen . It has reminded us , in truth , of the worst manner of Voltaire , who never appeared to so little advantage * so feeble in reasoning , so deficient in iirformation * as when he directed his pen against religion .
If the distribution of the Bible is ridiculed , either covertly or openly , by any persons of eminence in the literary world , we might oppose to their authori ty far greater names ; names at which the ablest and most accomplished men of the present age
must be content to veil themselves . The fathers of natural and of intellectual philosophy in Great Britain , cherished a supreme attachment to the scriptures ! Nor would Newton or Locke have branded those with enthusiasm who distribute them in the hope of thus accelerating the progress
of human virtue . In what other way can that progress be so powerfully aided ? It is true , the effect may not be rapid or immediate . We entertain no such expectation . But the result is not , on this account , the less sure , nor the duty less commanding . Would the Edinburgh Reviewer discourage all speculations and efforts which
regard—we must not say the perfecti bility but—the improvement of the human species ? We envy not that state of the understanding and the feelings from which such an attempt to paralyze benevolence proceeds . A profound and elegant writer , * whom even the Edinburgh Reviewer will
acknowledge for a philosopher , considers those views which respect the probable improvement of the world as being " so conducive to the comfort of those who entertain them , that even , although they were founded in delusion , a wise man would be disposed to cherish them . "—» He subjoins ,
u Whatever may be thought of their truth , their practical teudency is surely favourable to human happiness 5 nor can that temper of mind , which disposes a man to give them a welcome reception , * be
candidly suspected of designs hostile to the interests of humanity . One thing * is certain , that the greatest of all obstacles to the improvement 0 / the world , is that prevailing belief of its improbability , which damps the exertions of go ninny individuals ; and that , in proportion as the * Dugald Stewart . Elements of Philos of JUfind . ( 2 nd ed . ) 272 .
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Review , —BibW Society . . 3 ^ 0
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V 0 * -. X . Sit
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1815, page 369, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1761/page/41/
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