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Untitled Article
through it ; , by the light of a serene philosqtphy . The very note before ine is an appropriate instance of these qualities . If the man were serious and wise , what could be more unfor him the
fortun ^ B than illustration taken from the Brahminical philosophy ? But he could not resist the temptation to make a learned quotation out of the Asiatic Researches , even though it threw a suspicion on the sincerity of his whole note , and tended to bewilder even his
Trinitarian reader with doubt and Transcendentalism . In the repeated sentiment , Unto us a son is given , instead of a peculiar mark of exultation , one sees nothing more than the usual intensity lent to every sentiment by the parallelism of Hebrew poetry .
An unfair play upon a term in another part of the note , shews the spirit of a miserable word-catcher , rather than of the liberal-minded critic . < c The appellation of plunderer , * he savs . " would little comport with
the other splendid epithets with which the prophet adorns his hero . " Surely not , if by plunderer is meant a petty robber . But if a victorious conqueror be represented by the expression father of * spoils , the phrase , we may
contend , is full splendid enough for the passage . In the next sentence , he assumes , in the face of the passage , that the Prince of Peace there spoken of , was to reign over a world . Isaiah speaks only of the throne of David . In short , a leading defect of the whole
note is , that it evades encountering at full length the very common and obvious objection that Isaiah is only predicting- the rise of a hero in his own age . Not one word is said to
account for the expressions all over the passage that support such an objection j whereas these surely are of much more weight h priori than the lofty , figurative epithets which are the only support of the other side of the
question . I know not why iC it is contrary to common sense" tliat Isaiah should " bestow several appellations upon the person by whom the name was to be given , and only one upon the individual named . " I would not contend .
however , for the criticism against which this part of the note is directed
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In other remarks I am more than anticipated by the present correspondent . Strictures on the American Quaker Creed . The observations on the impossibility of corrupting reason are new and fine . , Questions to Dr . Smith . When these questions are satisfactorily answered , I may have some others to propose , before I can clearly comprehend and adopt the common doctrine of Justification . Thoughts on Religious Education .
A happy illustration of the intrinsic excellence of a devotional spirit is here taken from the parental relation . In abandoning the severe and morose maxims of their predecessors ,
and rendering religion as captivating as possible to the young and uninstructed , have not Calvinists made one very great advance towards the essential principles of Unitarianism ? We must not be so sectarian as to
regret their success , with the youthful mind , if they will really conceal the deformity and prevent the mischief of old -fashioned Calvinistic principles . Perhaps , indeed , they will make more nominal converts . What then ? The
gospel is preached , and we ought to rejoice and will rejoice . The Geneva Catechism is " hailed in America /* not so much on account of our €€ little children , " as in the light of a text-book for more advanced classes . Mrs . Hamilton ' s " thanks to the Almighty for the happiness enjoyed at a dancing-school ball / ' was beautiful and correct for her a ^ e . How far
can such a sense of devotion be made to mingle with the pleasures and innocent dissipations of after-life ? Why might not the pious man after retiring from the theatre , the ball-room , or the rout , read his chapter in the Bible at two or three o ' clock in the
morning , and thank iiod for the enjoyments he has received ? This seems to be an incongruous combination ot ideas ; but if a minister of the gospel acquiesces in the indulgences
abovementioned , and at the same time inculcates the necessity of personal devotion , he cannot , to be consistent , wish the two species of occupation separated in the same individual , but ,
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76 Critical Synopsis of the Monthly Repository for January , 1825 .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1826, page 76, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2545/page/12/
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