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    deetiny of man . ol ^^ rlffiJM 1 # ^^ hg ; ^ w ^^^^ bejng pB ## J according to th # i ? , &W ^ ppi ^ qgij ^^^ i ^ t ^^ nw ^^ rfW ^ ^ consoling doctrine ® f , |^ j 6 ^^ toatiQ )^ pfthe , whole ^ huinan n $ e to punty and happiness being irarar | #$ : % ?^ EeJ ^ u 9 io ^ lciphrpp , w ^ t ^ tpA ^ ipli the latter would naturalfy } r ^^ w { j £ n seeding irelief frQHi hi& terror of dea | h ; yet , though his need of such a relief is the hinge on whjch thejwWe of the story turns , it is not told what was the effect of the reception of this belief on the mind of the Epicurean . That it was not great , may be inferred from the fact that he denied his faith on the first temptation , and employed all hi&

    powers to induce Alethe to forswear herself and live . Little better results than these could indeed be expected from those parts of the discourses of Melanius with which we are presented ; and though the greater number are conveniently said to be omitted , the reader is not tempted to regret his loss , as they were confessedly unable to inspire the disciple wjth ^ urage ^ ox , to teach him sincerity . There is , to be sure , one excuse which has been made for the avowed flimsiness of his hero ' s conversion . It has been said that if

    Alciphron bad teen represented as an actual and abiding convert ^ befo ^ e ^ the loss of Alethe , he would have been too open to the observation ; that jloife was his converterj by motives which would as easily , under differed rfreur& . stancels , have made Mm a believer in any creed ; and that mV aroweif'In firmity of purpose white the reward of conviction was within his attaintrieilt ,

    and the sincerity which his after sufferings attested when that prifce wais > fbr > ever withdrawn which could have cast a doubt upon the single-heartedtiess of hiis . profession , place his character upon the most respectable footing which the author could assign to it . To all this , we ean only say that it is at best a contrivance to evade a difficulty which the author had better have avoided altogether . '

    It realty seems ati injury to Christianity to represent it thus powerless flimsy , and mia ^ tiatWe . 'Th ^ professors of other faiths have been known tc lay down their liv&'fbt conscience' sake , and we cannot but wish that the community m the * deWt teet beieh worshipers of fire , of the planets , of any thing rather than ^ fo ^ 'Godof Christians , whose gospel is too sacred to be used as an instrument for a purpose so light that the records of Paganism would have answered as'well . The interest of Mr . Moore ' s own Fire

    worshipers is superior to that of the E picurean convert , and our sympathies with the former are not disturbed by the dread of touching too lightly on a sacred subject . What Mr . Moore ' s religious opinions and feelings may be , or whether he meant to gratify any particular sect by the doctrines of his text , or the comments and quotations in his notes , we know not : but in these subjects he is not at home ; and we hope this is the last time that he will attempt to honour religion ( if such be his aim ) by making it the

    ground-Work of his elegant fictions ; or to create an interest in his fictions by iatrodicing themes too vast for his powers and unsuited to his genius . ' Christianity , even in its outward fortunes , belongs to the world of mind ; Mk Moored talents direct him to the delineation of the world of matter ; exfeeta ty < indeed , when civil liberty is in question;—then the stream of his elo- »

    qofenW poifs forth a deeper and stronger tide . To these subjects let him apply ikis eminent talents * When he speaks , of the graces and beauties of flatiilWM , wfoejfl he * leads us among her groves and valleys , her gardefl % bowers a ? ri& streams , We follow him With delight . When he ittvit ? es < to ^ heiifeas ^ the song and the dance , outMspiritfl leap ^ ind ^ parkle ^ like the teiiitainnkiMl sealed by the wand of the enchanter . When he raises the watch-word of

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• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1827, page 908, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1803/page/52/