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tion WMclk p leases us , how $ 6 oh Ts btxr pleasure alloyeS by discovering some defective mq ratHyi some hidden licentiousness , or at least some artificial sentiment , which proves that they
hav ^ drawn their idea , s from that source which is tainted by the foul admixtures of superstition , instead of from that well-spring of life Which , under the influence of a pure religion , spring s up in every bosom ! Compare the elevated and noble works of Mrs .
Hannah More with the qualified morality , the affected feeling , the longdrawn-out sentiments of Madame Genlis ; though I believe Iioth to be women of great talents tfnd sincere piety . It is the difference of the religions that has raised one to fcuch an eminence
above the other . Compare the brilliant imagination , the warm feelings , the conversational accomplishments of Madame de Stael , vVitli the similar qualities of our first female poet , Mrs . Barbauld . What has given to the productions of the latter their irresistible foi * ce , their universal interest ? Surely , the spirit of pure and s , inlple
devotion which breathes through ev&fy line . For genius , Madame de Stael stands pre-eminent , for goodness 6 f heart scatcely les& so 5 but our countrywoman has been taught to fix , her standard higher , and has consequently made the greatest advances ,
Many have feared that we ate losing the simplicity and purity of our manners , by intercourse with the continent ; but I do not fear . A& long $ s our women , and such Women , live and write under the influence of a pure
religion , we are safe : and 1 would rather hope that truth is making sure , though sl 6 vv advances , ancf Ihat a simple belief and ' pure morality will in time tak < i pfacQ of the superstitions &nd corruptions now prevalent in Jhe countries of which I hfrve been
speaking . The first work \ vhich claims our attention on the subject of . which I am treating Is Mrs . More ' s Practical Piety , a production w ^ ich j , though I believe it has been mtich read , is not
in general sufficiently studied . I '( Jo not entirely approve the whole Vvor ^ c , or perhaps even the \ vhoje of airy one chapter ; some aoctim ^ are lricu ? - cjfted which arfe rej ^ tign ao t to iny , jfcaton , softie subjects are reShed lipon
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niot'e than is necessary ; brut the way in Which ndly t * utfts ftthaAffgi * , Stftfent , and carriecj home to evetfbti ^ k bosom , renders the work truly valuable , In the chapter on " Periodical Keligiou " some forcible remarks occur on a
subject highly important , but on which it is most convenient for the world in general to entertain ideas totally opposite to those of Mrs . More , viz . religious conversation . How strange does it appear that the object for which we were brought into the world ,
the object which ought to engage our principal , not to say our whole attention , should be kept entirely out of sight in our intercourse with one another ! How strange it is that countless millions of beings , created for the same ends , endowed with the same
powers , enjoying * in a # reat degree the same facilities and privileges , with a reward great beyond conception placed within the reach of each and all , with a punishment too dreadful for the imagination to comprehend , set before them , which they are all in
danger of incurring without the strictest vigilance ^ should pass through life in constant communicatioa with eacji 6 tKer , should experience its vicissitudes and uncertainties , should approach its boundary , should be
summoned to the last tribunal , without having held communion together concerning their fcesj injtei ^ sts ! While they experience the instability of every thing earthly , whjle they sicken at and beco / ne weary of the best enjoyments the world can give , they leave the glorious hopes , the awful threatening ^ ,
the thousand interesting objects of the gospel , to be unheard of , disregarded , and I fear I must say too often unfelt ; for surely those who feel the hourly influence of religion hi their conduct , who make it the deli g ht of their thoughts , cannot for ever banish it from tHeir conversation , cannot
prevent " the mouth ** from giving utterance to the " abuad ^ mee of the heart . " I arn aware of and can make allowance for tlie sacrednes S' of the feelings on this holy subject , but I must believe too
that those feelings are indulged far , which would lead us to forget religion , or to encourage the forgetfulness of it in others . I b y no means advocate the practice of lightly bridging fdrvvard subjects ot
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594 Femtfle trriterJ dn PraCiidat DMnity .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1822, page 594, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2517/page/10/
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