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wlien it is considered" that moral feeling , which possesses the principal influence ir * the regulation of the conduct , will be formed and modelled by tbe views of the understanding " , it will be confessed that ttijr conceptions of moral pririciple and obligation cannot be too clear and exact . " I . 388 .
Mr . Cogan cannot be charged with having preached mere morality * His moral sermons are all Christian . And youn £ preachers may see iu his
discourses how fitl \ and powerfully the great doctrine of the gospel , the certainty of a future state of retribution , comes in < ud of every moral principle . We may refer particularly to Ser . VI . Vol I ., " Ou Benevolence , ' a
sermon which will be read with pleasure , even by such as are familiar with Dr . Jebb ' s beautiful sermon on the same subject , one of the finest pieces of declamation in the English language . Towards the conclusion of
his sermon , Mr . Cogan describes the pleasures of Benevolence , all which are enhanced by Christian considerations and feelings , and he throws out a conjecture , which is a little out of his usual manner , but which is as
rational ns it is delightful : " But the pleasures of the benevolent , having inexhaustible sources , are perpetually at hand . Opportunities of doing * good present themselves every day and every hour , a : id with ( hem , —opportunities of exquisite aud refined enjoyment . Could that secret be discovered hv which other
metals could , he transmuted into gold , how invaluable would it be thought by the man who should possess it ! But how mnch more valuable is the secret of converting * the happiness of others , into a source of enjoyment to ourselves . —the art of making
the good of the universe our own ! The man who lives to others , and not merely to himself , enjoys also the consciousness of moral worth and usefulness ; a satisfaction of more value than ail the solitary pleasures of the sensual and selfish . He
farther has reason to indulge a cheerful persuasion , that he is the object of approbation U > that great Being ' , whose conduct he imitates , who doeth good to all , and whose tender mercies are over all his works . ' But a Christian should view
every moral obligation in connexion with the precepts and prospects of the gospel . And in the Christian Scriptures the great stress is laid , aud if I have not been reasoning * in vain , is wisely laid on * the cultivation of benevolence . ' Now there remaineth these th ree—faith , hope and charity , and * Jie greatest of these is charity . * May I
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hazard a conjecture , a harmless one at least , that the superior happiness of a future world will principally consist in a completer emancipation from the selfish affections - and that the inhabitants of that happy country will enjoy each other ' s good as being truly and properly their own , till at length all consideration of self shall be lost in the feeling- of universal loYe ? 7 > I . 133—135 .
The Sermon " On the Vices of the Tongue" ( Ser . X . Vol . 11 . ) , is spirited and eloquent : and the same character may be given of the kindred Sermon in the same volume , ( Ser . XVIII . ) " On the Misapplication of Words . " It may be remarked , that our language is-singularly rich in excellent discourses and treatises on these
topics : the Essay on the Government of the Tongue , by the Author of the Whole Duty of Man . stands at the head of our books of practical morals , and the sermons of Barrow , South
and Tillotson on this subject , are amongst the best specimens of pulpit eloquence . Without any assistance , as far as appears , from these distinguished writers , Mr . Cogan has
written some passages which will bear a comparison with the best of theirs He is earnest in impressing the maxim " that the conversation , while it indicates , contributes to form the inward character ; " and he observes , with equal vivacity and justness , " Words , it is true , are only breath , but by this breath the fair fruits of virtue mav be
blasted , the flame of Christian love may be extinguished . ' * 11 . 213 . He urges ( pp . 214 , 215 ) that the spirit of pride is peculiarly cherished by the medium of language , and reprobates the making of human misery the subject of a jest . And , on licentious conversation , he says ,
" If it lie the . object of Christianity to inculcate sobriety of heart and conduct , it must be dangerous to nifring'c ? upon its pure and holy precepts , not in action merely , but in language . Human nature is expert at uniting * inconsistencies , but it cattnot easily combine the life of a saint with the conversation of a voluptuary . And even if licentious conversation does
not lead to acts of criminal indulgence , it leaves a stain upon ibe inward man of a character similar to that which would bo contracted by the actual gratification of licentious propensities . " II . 206 . In the latter of these two Sermons
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Review * - — Cogarfs Sermons . 8 % 5
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1819, page 325, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1772/page/45/
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