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out periods that would read well ; now I confess I regard language merely as the instrument of thought , and the words that express my meaning quickest and fullest are the words of my choice , however they may sound .
But what I aim at in this hasty letter is to explain my growing tendency ( and I presume I am not a solitary instance of this habit of mind ) towards the proverbs and maxims in use amongst the people as the deliberate expression of their moral sense .
For instance , I no longer smile when I hear the poor say , in order to alienate misfortune , that all must have their troubles * The maxim does not now appear to me to recognize a
blind Fate , but a wise ordination of Providence , under which all are subjected to discipline , and every one Las the peculiar trials allotted to him that are best for the formation and
improvement of his character . Again , I can hear without con * tempt , nay with approbation , the remark so commonly made by persons in humble life , on the experience or observation of great suffering , that it will be made zip to the sufferer in
another world . The saying implies the great doctrine of moral compensation , which is necessary to the vindication of Divine Providence . They who doubt of this truth , should consider the parable of Dives and Lazarus , plainly intended to set it forth ;
or if an argument please them better , they may take up the chapter on this subject in the " Light of Nature Pursued /* which is amongst the most ingenious parts of that singular work . The pretenders to superior spiritual light in the present day are accustomed to look with unutterable scorn
upon the people when they speak , as the people of all countries are wont to speak , of making their peace with God . Unquestionably , there may be error mixed up with the notion and superstition with the practice ; and with what practice and notion may
not superstition and error be united ? But in its obvious meaning , the phrase denotes no more than the scriptural term reconciliation . Evil and worldly habits estrange the soul from God ; when sickness comes , and especially as the forerunner of death ,
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warning is given to the imperfect human being to bring himself nearer to the Great Being to whom he is accountable ; and he can prepare to
meet his God only by pious and Christian thoughts and devotional ex « ercises . He makes his peace with God , when his mind is brought into a state of humble hope and of calm reliance upon the Divine goodness .
I might produce many other examples , but these may suffice to explain my meaning , and to shew that there is amongst us a mass of popular wisdom . Indeed , it may perhaps be proved that there is not a single term or phrase by which
the people , properly so called , are accustomed to express their moral judgment or feeling , that is not the result of long and deep thought upon the constitution of human nature , the course of society and the operation of an all-wise Providence . ONE OF THE PEOPLE .
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580 The Apocrypha .
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^^^ mmmm *^— - Sib , ONE good effect will , I hope , be produced by the controversy which is now shaking the Bible Society . The public must surely obtain information , of which they are
grievously destitute , concerning the Apocrypha . All that nine hundred and ninety-nine out of every thousand Christians in this country know of the matter is , that there are certain books sometimes bound up with the Bible , which in some degree not ascertained and for some reasons not
apparent , are of lower value and authority than the rest of the volume . Now , Sir , I do hope that in this boolcmaking age some compiler will ghe us in a little work the literary history of the apocryphal books . A small portion of industry , learning- and jud £ -
ment , might suffice for the task . In the mean time , perhaps one of your correspondents will point out the works already existing- in which a scriptural learner may find at least some scattered notices upon this
interesting but neglected topic . If tins inquiry should elicit real information , and particularly if it should give occasion to the formation of a Key io the Apocrypha , your columns will add another to the many benefits they h ave conferred upon biblical readers . R *** .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1826, page 580, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2553/page/8/
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