FOLLOWING NATURE. THE term nature here, is still more loose and unintelligible than the term passion was before. If it be meant that we ought to accomodate ourselves to hunger and the other appetites which are common to our species, this is probably true. But these appetites, some of them in particular, lead to excess, and the mischief with which they are pregnant is to be corrected, not by consulting our appetites, but our reason. The advocates of this maxim are apt to consider whatever now exists among mankind as inherent and perpetual, and to conclude that this is to be maintained, not in proportion as it can be shown to be reasonable, but because it is natural. Thus it has been said, that man is naturally a religious animal, and for this reason, and not in proportion to our power of demonstrating the being of a God or the truth of Christianity, religion is to be maintained. Thus, again, it has been called natural, that men should form themselves into immense tribes or nations, and go to war with each other. Thus persons of narrow views and observation, regard every thing as natural and right, that happens, however capriciously, or for however short a time, to prevail in the society in which they live. The only things which can be said to compose the nature or constitution of man, are our external structure, which itself is capable of being modified with indefinite variety; the appetites and impressions growing out of that structure; and the capacity of combining ideas and inferring conclusions. The appetites common to the species we cannot wholly destroy: the faculty of reason it would be absurd systematically to counteract, since it is only by some sort of reasoning, bad or good, that we can so much as adopt any system. In this sense, therefore, no doubt we ought to follow nature, that is, to employ our understandings and increase our discernment. But, by conforming ourselves to the principles of our constitution in this respect, we must effectually exclude all following, or implicit assent. If we would fully comport ourselves in a manner correspondent to our properties and powers, we must bring every thing to the standard of reason. Nothing must be admitted either as a principle or precept, that will not support this trial. Nothing must be sustained, because it is ancient, because we have been accustomed to regard it as sacred, or because it has been unusual to bring its validity into question.—Godwin. EDEN. THE village of Eden is situate on a part of Lebanon. "The tradition that the garden of Eden once stood here, originated in the extreme loveliness of the site, which is, however, of too alpine a character to render the locality probable." The climate is salubrious; vineyards, gardens, mulberry and walnut trees, clothe the mountain sides, watered by numerous rivulets and little canals; and every cottage is supplied with excellent wine, of which no fewer than twelve kinds are made on the range of Lebanon. What is wanting to make this delightful land indeed a Paradise? But one thing—that the heart of man should echo the external beauty. Why even in the most inclement waste of earth the heart of humanity is, but too generally, yet more barren and ungenial, must be asked of those who lead man away from the worship of Nature's beautiful existences, to the idolatry of ignorance and supernatural fear. Cast away religious systems; let men know that they have no duties but to themselves and to their kind, that their only duties are to be ever truthful and loving; let them feel that the earth is beautiful-and the Golden Age will be redeemed from Time; the cultivated earth will indeed be as the fabled Garden of Eden; and neither command nor temptation shall again make man to fall. HYMNS FOR THE UNENFRANCHISED. Why are white foreheads bow'd with shame, Trade's ignominious spoil? Why do grey men with maidens mate, Why is Content a slave's reproach ?— Why are the Lords of Intellect The Slaves of Power and Pelf? While felons' homes are palaces?— Why are six men the tools of one? A creature kept to propagate The forms of suffering? Why is Religion Law-condemn'd, And Truth a "blasphemy"; While Liars lecture "in God's name"? Unriddle me the why! Why lies the beggar Justice In the cold, at the rich man's door? Have we not Houses of Charity, And prisons for the poor? Why is Love a homeless wanderer, And Thought an agony?— Seek out a Christian! question him! Bid him expound the why! No. X. Truth is no more the anarch Custom's prey; Man, the poor serf, by kings and priests long hounded Into the den of Woe, now turns at bay: The trampler is unhorsed, the hunter wounded. We sought for peace-ye gave us toil and war; What bargain have your boasted victories bought? • Taxing us to build new churches in a time of famine. Spartacus. RELIGIOUS APPLIANCES. Is it requisite for the maintenance of religion, that there should be tithes or church-rates? Is it necessary for the maintenance of religion, that there should be a priesthood-a body of men separated from the community, to perform "religious service"-whether supported by voluntary or compulsory payments? Is the establishment of certain prescribed forms essential to the preservation and promotion of religion? It is not our present design by argument or by reference to texts to prove the unchristianity of a paid priesthood and of law-ordered forms of worship; we do not intend here to show, what every honest inquirer, whose studies have reached the Gospels, can not fail to perceive-that Christ abolished all ceremonial observances, all setting apart of hirelings to teach religion. What we now purpose is, to inquire into the utility of these practices: to inquire whether hired priests and formal services are the appliances best adapted for the promotion of religion; whether they are essential to the being of religion; and whether they may not be essentially inimical to the increase, or even the existence, of religion. Setting aside the fact that, of the many sects in this country, all, save that called the Established, support their clergy without any law-exactions, solely by voluntary donations; let us inquire of our episcopal clergy themselves, whether their ministering would cease, or flag, if they were deprived of the remuneration of tithes. We have their own oaths to inform us that they are all called to the ministry by the Holy Ghost. Either they speak truth, in which case they must continue to preach as the Spirit compels their utterance, whether there be any payment or not (for surely they will not blaspheme the Holy Ghost by showing that they were called to receive money, or houses, or lands; or that the Spirit of God takes estimate of presentations and stalls and bishopricks); or they lie, and, so blaspheming, are unfit for their office. Their very qualification for the ministry; and this their own explicit declaration, disallows the need, or the desire, of recompense.-But "they must be supported." By whom? Surely not by those who do not desire their care? To compel a man to give value for that which to him is valueless, is indisputably a robbery. So would they make the Holy Spirit of God a patron saint of thieves-hardly to the advantage of religion. By those, then, who need their services? These will not hesitate to recompense their labour, giving as freely as they have received; or the preaching, which produces not even the mere honesty of paying good for good rendered, can deserve but little reward. But tithes are paid by all: therefore manifestly unjust towards those compelled to pay them without receiving their equivalent; their appointment, also, useless and absurd as regards those who, having derived benefit, though they have learned but one virtue, will be careful to reward their benefactors; unjust too even to these last, inasmuch as the legal ordinance deprives even the most willing of the grace of ready gratitude. Compulsory tribute, therefore, not being required for the support of honest priests, and lying teachers being the worst enemies of religion, it follows that tithes may be safely and satisfactorily abolished, according to the injunction of Christ, without detriment to religion, religionist, or religious labourer, and to the happy removing of all future occasion of strife or uncharitableness, or of any of the unpleasantries, sometimes by them engendered; since there could not be even a variance of opinion concerning that which had certainly ceased to exist. With tithes would also depart much of that dishonesty which so lamentably obtrudes itself in the place of the apostolic singleness of purpose, which alone can qualify man or woman for the priestly office. The great and continual temptation to commit forgery against the Holy Ghost, to lie even to God's face, would be no more: and who doubts but this would advance religion? But yet, while devout persons were ready to support those who laboured for their souls' welfare, and while the devout are not necessarily discreet or not to be deceived, the mere probability of obtaining a livelihood at the expense of others' credulity, for the appearance of services, would tempt some to pretend to authority to teach, to assume a holy name to which they had no title. A strong argument this against any payments for spiritual services: and, without such distinctive mark, there would be no priesthood. If a man may not expect to be supported by others, he cannot wholly devote himself to others; he must necessarily apply a certain portion of his time to the satisfaction of his own wants: the rest he may dispense as he pleases. Nor can it be necessary that he should be set apart entirely, for religion's sake, in any country where religion is a general thing for we are not supposing a heathenish land where the most strenuous exertions and utter devotedness of apostolic men may be required to teach a new faith; but we refer to a land like our own, where generation after generation is brought up religiously by pious parents and god-parents, and where a priesthood pretends to nothing but to be the conservators of religion. Since Christianity is not an accumulation of facts, and as a knowledge of few things is necessary to salvation, it is ridiculous to waste the whole time of learned divines in merely reminding people of that, of which they might in their daily intercourse find such abundant opportunity of reminding each other, which, indeed, should be the conversation of every hour. Accordingly we find that the clergy can only make a decent show of being employed by repeating week after week the same words, rather to the wearying than the edifying of their hearers. As the days in which public worship is more especially made use of, are days of law-appointed rest from men's usual avocations, any man might perform all this, as well as those now set apart, and find no great labour either. This is satisfactorily proved by the common practices of dissenters, who can find time to be earnest and active in the ministry without neglecting their worldly interests. We might also make an example of the conduct of the Apostles and primitive Christians, who surely underwent weightier religious duties than rest upon the shoulders of our episcopal apostles. It will be urged "Who shall attend christenings, marriages, burials, &c.?" At christenings, even the nurse might be free enough to cross the child's brow and baptize her own fingers, as well as any other gowned official; and any one of the company, who could spare time to be a listener, would not find it occupied more time to be a reader. Of marriage we need say nothing further than that the legislature, which never errs, being powerful, has declared it to be a civil ordinance; and rightly has at length redeemed it from the fee-exacting hands of the clergy. Besides, on these occasions there are always guests enough ready to say at least as much as can be useful without impertinence. At burials it cannot be desirable, it is hardly decent, that strangers should thrust themselves between the loving and those for whom the loving alone should perform the last offices. They, whose kindness has waited upon the sick, possibly rendering more effectual service than the cold reading of a few formal words that haply jar against the feelings of the sufferer, or the unfeeling catechising and indecent interruption of the deathquestioned, will not be slack, even without fees, in finishing their labour of love. In all these cases the interference of appointed officers, neither friends, nor carers for the persons concerned, seems to be an unwarrantable and impudent intrusion, often most offensive to those for whose service it is pretended to be. All this must be inimical to religion, which, not being a mere outward form, cannot be worthily represented by formal observances; but should be evidenced by observances springing from the heart of each, rendering every one engaged therein, and so indeed called by the Holy Spirit, a priest for the time of such service, whether performed on his own account or for the benefit of friend or neighbour. This would not separate any, since every one in turn would take part in this holiest worship and ritual of mutual and charitable service, for which no pay should be asked or offered, for which no man would desire pay, were it not the baleful and inevitable effect of Commerce to separate all duties and employments from their right religious destination, and to class them as things of speculation, to be bought and sold. The arguments against tithes bear with equal force against church-rates, as to the injustice of compelling men to pay for that which conscienciously they cannot use. Let those who use the churches keep them in repair. But the churches are not the rightful, though they may be the legal, property of the Establishment. They belong to the community. Let them be used by all sects in turn, as they are in many places out of England, (There need be no jostling, and there would be none if arrangements were made in a religious spirit;) and let all contribute fairly to their maintenance. As to printed forms of worship- till human hearts become as mechanical as compositors' forms, these can not be other than false or feeble representations of human desires, preventing the spontaneous expression of those devotional feelings, which alone are the inspirations of God. On the whole, it appears to us that the services of a hired priesthood must degenerate into worthless forms, to hang like a dead weight upon Religion, so that Religion, instead of being served and promoted, is ordered to a shameful death, being sacrificed upon the altars of Trade, a worse foe to Truth, than either mere savage Ignorance, or the less despotic tyranny of Force. TO THE HIERARCHY. THOU hast not built thy house upon the rock Thou in the CHURCH of CHRIST hast dug a gluttonous stye. Wade. O world! when wilt thou come out of thine infancy and assume a beard, and a mind worthy of that beard? learn to despise long coats; reject thy leaders and thy leading-strings; stand upon thy own legs; be of age; look round thee, and distinguish, at last, truth and freedom from restraint and disguises. Gordon. The Clergy.-Officers of God Almighty's Revenue; who, also, are a board of commissioners for managing his power, or rather their own power, by his ministration. God's Dwelling.-I will tell you, scholar, I have heard a grave divine say that God has two dwellings; one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart.-Isaak Walton. Revolutions. All revolutions are the utterance of some one, long-felt truth in the minds of men.-Carlyle. |