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424 J $ eview . r—iykalmer $ ' 8 Astronomical Discourses ^
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in Dr » Chalmers * own words , or we shall be suspected of an irreverend sneer at the popular doctrines respecting the powers of Satan : ** . — a gleam of malignant joy shot athwart him , as he conceived his project for hemming our unfortunate species within the bound of an irrecoverable dilemma ; and as surely as sin and holiness could not enter into
fellowship , so surely did he think that if man were seduced into disobedience , would the truth , and the justice , and the immutability of God , lay their insurmountable barriers on the path of his future acceptance . " * We forbear to quote how and when Satan ** met with a wisdom which overmatched him , " t for it seems like a
gross caricature of that system of fail h which the author intends to support . And we close this sermon , hoping that he comes fairly by his minute knowledge of Satan ' s thoughts , and heartily congratulating him that the days of Lord Hale and of witchcraft are over . The seventh , and we are happy to announce , the last Discourse , has
fortunately no connexion with the stars . It is , therefore , more intelligible , more rational , and more consistent than any of the preceding orations . Its object is to warn the hearers and readers of Dr . Chalmers that they are not to consider the delight they may have experienced from sacred eloquence or sacred music , as
the essence of religion . In this sentiment we fully coincide ; and , though we are probably disposed to attribute a greater degree of moral influence to taste than our author would concede , we are well aware that no feeling " , however sublime , which does not dispose the heart to good affections , and the conduct to a holy course , will be of any avail when the pleasure it
excites shall have faded away . In itself , indeed , it is excellent , and worthy of the fondest cherishing . Even when it is excited in a bosom stained with sin , it shews that human nature can never wholly lose the traces of its original excellence , and may well serve to inspire us with hope for the future recovery of man . But , it too often leaves no immediate trace behind it :- •—
lt Like the snow-falls in the river , One moment white—then gone for ever !" - || ¦ , | ' III ! - ¦¦¦ ¦¦¦ . _ ... - ^_——J— '
* P . 205 . t Ib i <* .
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Our readers will now be able to appreciate the merits of Dr . Chalmers as a defender of our common faith . In this capacity , we fear his efforts will be worse than useless . Of those who regard this work as exhibiting a very brilliant imagination , we would anxiously inquire whether they think a
book which professes to confute ther objections of the infidel is not , in reality , censured by the very encomium they are eager to pass ? Surely the high architrave of the Temple of Divine Truth is not the proper place
even for Poetrv " to make its bed and procreant cradle in . " The majestic simplicity of that venerable pile can only be injured by the fairest forms , even of angelic spirits , which the daring hand of a . mortal may wish to carve out on its pillars . Sion ' s hill is not
ground on which every man may erect the " buildings of his fancy . " Had even Milton published his immortal work as a serious defence of the Christian faith , he would have done it an irreparable injury . He would have left it , distinguished only
by his own superior genius , on a level with a fairy tale . This Dr . Chalmers will not do , simply because he lias not tne power . He has done his worst ; though , no doubt , with the best intentions . In a work professedly written to defend Christianity , he has represented the most absurd chimeras as
part of it ; and thus afforded a great advantage to the infidel whose objections he purposed to demolish . His efforts are calculated to have the same effect on the credibility of Christian truth , as the labours of a man professing to write authentic history would have on the authenticity of his tale ,
who should iuterweave with the narration the adventures of the immortal Gulliver ! i Having investigated the claims of Dr . Chalmers to a place among the distinguished champions of our common faith , we shall now inquire into the justice of the encomiums lavished
on him as a man of genius . His imagination is the perpetual subject of wonder to his admirers . For our own parts , we must confess , that we have looked for it in vain . Indeed , so strong is our conviction , that there is not
even the lowest degree of this divine faculty exerted in the Discourses before us , that we can account only for the prevalence of a contrary opinion *
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1817, page 424, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2466/page/48/
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