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« ion * are clear and just , such as must be Va ** 2 sted to every enlightened mind by thf contemplation of the works of creation and the study of the testimony of Scrip ture : nor for any thing that
appears in this work is there reason to believe that the creed of the worthy Principal is burthened with the contradictory notions which generally prevail on this . subject . Hrs language a plain , decisive and unqualified :
" There is only one Heing- to whom all the perfections already considered , and every otiier belonging to Deity can be ascribed . God is self-existent and infinite and the original cause of all . Those m ^ lities and attributes exclude the supposition *> f p lurality . Self-existence extends every where and admits no limitation . Infinity implies both unlimited essence and
unlimited perfection , and this excludes the supposition of two or more beings of whom these can be predicated . The wisdom and power of each of such beings must be limited by the wisdom and power of the others ; and therefore they cannot all be infinite or supreme beings . The notion of two or more first causes is absurd in itself ,
and involves contradictory notions . , It supposes that there is one original to the others , and at the same time denies this supposition . "—P . 245 . There are many appearances in nature , and many occurrences in
human life , which seem . absolutely inexplicable upon the principle , that there isseatecj at the helm of affairs , a Being of infinite wisdom and benevolence , who ordains and regulates all the trains of events thjrthappen to all creatures . And those ^ ifficulties Jiave excited the
attention ' . o £# reflective persons from v ery early ages . The knowledge of nature' which philosophy has disclosed ; the just way of conducting inquiries of this ktna which is now
JWUMied , and above all the clear light p f revelation , guiding the effects of intelligence and piety ; have removed touch of the obscurity in which this interesting and important subject was ! r ° j " an ? m ? work > to which w ^ s ^ judged a prize , instituted on purpose 10 C * W away this darkness it was
, ¦^¦ yw to ex pect at least a luci ^ l and ^» tent $ t * tementof all that the ablest ***«* had advanced . Never were S -qaare diaappoiated than , in thi& & J ^*' ** > r * W > author is ajyvays , m j *» ty j * is o ^ iy now ancj t | , ^ n th at tiiw * ?* ^ ° tofc ^ - ' ^ 'r apkl and-inidifl ^ 8 'anee of the cuifv clue that can
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conduct him through the labyrinth j and we are much deceived if the perp lexities of a thinking mind will not oe increased rather than diminished by the perusal of this Kssay . In repelling the objections against
the Divine wisdom and goodness , Principal Brown proposes , p . 272 , 1 . To ascertain the proper notions of perfection and evil , and then to evince that the permission of this last , is not only not inconsistent with the former , but
some measure necessary to its highest displays ; that is , that the allperfect nature of God required that a certain portion of evil both natural and moral * should be permitted . 2 . That many evils which are produced as evidences against the wisdom of
Providence , are grossly exaggerated and for the most part exist only in the irregular imaginations of men . 3 . That these evils to which the human race is exposed , could not be excluded "from , the wisest and best system of the world , but are so controlled and
directed as to be productive of the greatest sum of good . And 4 . That the present state of man is adapted to his present faculties and powers . \ Vith regard to the nature of perfection , Or . Brown says , p . 276 :
< c We call every thing perfect which possesses all that is necessary to its nature , or has been brought to a higher degree of improvement than , belongs to individuals of the same kind , but in an
absolute sense nothing that is subject to any defect or privation , or * is circumscribed by any limits , nothing- but the Divine nature can be denominated perfect . "
"With regard to the nature of evilj , he says : * ' Evil has been divided into natural and moral , the one implying and caused by some derangement of the co * rporeal system , the other implying and caused by some disturbance of the mental , frame ,
considered in a moral point of view . To theSe two , a third species of £ vil has been added by metaphysicians , and has obtained the name of metaphysical evil It expresses the absence or privation of certain powers , faculties and capacities , and of the felicity which these are th « means of obtaining . "
And with regard to this last he adds" That the permission of metaphysical evil , or of a ceirtain deficiency in created being * , can imply nothing repugnant to tt * t
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Review . —rrBrowrfs Prize Essay * . flOj }
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1816, page 605, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2457/page/41/
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