On this page
-
Text (1)
-
Untitled Article
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.
-
-
Transcript
-
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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
intimations of Christian revelation on this subject had ever been considered , by him as the finest portion of the Bible ; and his heart therefore bled when * he found that he could no longer derive from it that satisfaction which he had formerly done . Philosophers had robbed him of his peace of mind—of philosophers he demanded it again . He read every work connected with this , to him ,
most important subject , but finding that which one author gave him another took away , he shut up all his books , and resolved himself to institute an inquiry concerning that poitit on which every thing seemed to him to depend * For this investigation he prepared himself in the most solemn manner at the grave of his father , and Vowed not to desist till his mind had arrived at full conviction .
To this period he deferred all other concerns : nor would he think of forming any plan for his life , till he had satisfied himself whether there is a future state after death or not . " During the whole time that he was engaged in this investigation his temper was extremely unequal . Sometimes he was like a man whose every wish is gi atified ; at others , he resembled One who is bereft of his all . Those about him
erroneously attributed these extraordinary variations to mere caprice . At length this state ceased , a settled serenity succeeded , and became the permanent characteristic of his disposition . Convinced of his everlasting continuance in the rank of . thinking beings , the young philosopher now laid down , in conformity with this conviction , a plan
for his future life , and appeared in a totally altered character . He who could not before be induced to attend to any business or to form any connexions , now displayed indefatigable activity in every pursuit calculated to promote the welfare of his fellow-creatures , contracted friendships and intimacies with the wise and good , opened his heart to love , and
founded a domestic society , the enviable happiness of which was entirely his work . He was seen to seek pleasures with avidity , but such pleasures only as are Worthy of a being destined to immortality , and as he c 6 uld share with others . If misfortune befel him , he
bdfe it with manly resignation , and taught his family to imitate his example ; "the ; unexpected discovery which he had occasion to make , that he should not be long-lived , disturbed not his serenity . Ou the contrary , when he perceived that death was approaching , he became every dny more cheerful , f n this tone of mind
Untitled Article
he continued to the very last , when he assembled his family about him , blessed them with a smile , and expired with the words , 'I am only going before you ; we shall meet again ! ' " In this account of the book and its author which the Editor renders to the
public , many a valuable lesson may be learnt , in extracting which our readers need not our help . How it happened that the writer found not satisfactory evidence of a- future life in the Bible ; the following extract declares : " Formerly I believed in the Bible , because I believed that it was the word Of God .
My tutor instilled - this notion into me from my childhood , and our minister at a later period said the same thing ; but neither the one nor the other ever proved it to me : nay , they never told me iu what sense the expression , the word of God , was to be understood . "
We have met with persons who questioned the propriety of instructing the young in the evidences of revelation . Let such look at the result of the omission in the case before them , and learn what experience recommends . An Atheist , the writer thinks , may believe in the immortality of the soul . * ' He who has no occasion for a God to account for his origin or his present existeuce , has no occasion for a God to believe a future
existence . " Though a believer in the existence of an intelligent First Cause , the author omits any reference to such-a Being in the series of his arguments . At least such is his intention , and certainly he makes no avowed and explicit , yet , perhaps , in some cases a tacit , allusion
to attributes of the Almighty . The following is a summary of the views which are given . The idea body does not wholly comprise the idea man , and it is not absolutely necessary that / should perish when my body is dissolved , but it is possible that I may continue to exist after death . // is true that there is no
human affliction for which there is not also cousolatiou : can it be then that for the idea of death , the severest of mental afflictions , and for this alone , there is no consolation ? It is true that this existence after death appears most desirable , and that the more I reflect on it the
more I long for it . This longing is a real instinct , one of the more noble of the natural instincts—nay , the very noblest of them all . And shall all my other natural instincts be really gratified , and this , just this one , which is every thing to me , remain ungratined ? It is true that 1 , as a man , am destined to the highest possible happiness which this
Untitled Article
534 Critical Notices . — Theological .
-
-
Citation
-
Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1831, page 534, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2600/page/30/
-