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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Untitled Article
after , than an inquiry into the actual constitution of angels * This is very well ; for in the first case we have a starting point of fact ; in the last we have none . Till we have some better evidence of the existence of superior beings than our own presumptions , however strong , we cannot hope to learn much of their nature , and shall only lose time in doubting " whether objects involved in utter darkness are not visible to those beings ; and whether their conversation is not audible to each other , even in a void . " Does not our author perceive that in the license of conjecture he has in this instance allowed himself , the doubt itself rests on the assumption that angels have
eyes , lungs , and ears ? On the eternally interesting topic of Providence , general or particular , our author writes in a way to perpetuate the interest and beauty of the theme : but is he sure that we must wait till we join the brotherhood of superior beings before we can solve its difficulties ? Do they not arise from the assumption that Time is a condition of being to which Deity itself is subject ? Our own intellectual progression here undoubtedly causes a gradual change
in our relation to Time , and thereby enables us to obtain some notion of the mode in which we shall , when further improved , perceive a general and
particular Providence to be the same thing . The difficulties of this subject appear to us to be so evidently soluble , that in a few generations they will probably be heard of no more . We speak not here of the designs of
Providence , but merely of the perplexities attending the doctrinal division of Providence into general and particular . Our author well exposes the absurdities which have arisen from the changes of meaning which the word spirit has undergone , from the ancient times when it signified etherealized matter as well as that which is not matter at all , to the present day , when the term is commonly used in close
argument with more precision . He supposes that all beings—except the Supreme—who have been called spiritual are organized , and that it is therefore rational to speculate on the conditions of their existence , which he does with some acuteness and a great deal of eloquence . We have been doubting which of" two passages to extract , a speculation on the powers of superior beings , or a defence of the inquiry on the ground that no truth can be dangerous . We conclude to give both : " Is it inconsistent with reason to suppose that Omnipotence could bring * into existence an organized being , endowed with more numerous and ex
cellent faculties than man , and framed of more pure and imperishable materials—that such a being , though privileged from the inspection of senses like
olirs , is open to the observation of such beings as himself—that his enjoyments must be great in proportion to his capacity for happiness ; and his desire of knowledge commensurate with his powers to attain it—that the wonders of nature cannot be disregarded by him , if scrutinized with enthusiasm by subordinate creatures like us . —If we follow after truth till our limited faculties fail us , will he not maintain the pursuit to the verge of creation ?—If such be his passion , will God deny him the power to indulge it ?—To believe that in the wide extent of this universe , no creature exists with such passions and such powers , is almost to believe that this universe was created in vain—a menagerie indeed for rational creatures to fatten and breed in ; but not the
magnificent temple of God , worthy to be viewed from every aspect , examined in every detail , and studied in its beautiful and stupendous proportions . —Is it
not rational then to presume that such creatures exist , animated with such propensities and endowed with such powerful means to accomplish their purposes ? The speed of a comet may indeed fall short of their necessities ; but they may bo gifted with the velocity of light . But will that velocity suffice
Untitled Article
226 Physical Considerations connected with Man * * Ultimate Destination .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 2, 1831, page 226, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2596/page/10/
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