EDITOR'S TABLE. 



623 



he might say, "tlie orchards of the 

 world ! They deteriorate and decay, and 

 nothing remains of them at last but 

 withered branches, dead trunks, and 

 rotten stumps. Where are the orchards 

 mentioned by Pliny, the orchards of the 

 middle ages, the old Indian orchards, 

 or even the orchards of the Revolution ? 

 The history of apples does not show an 

 instance of an orchard growing by its 

 own efforts. The vitality which impels 

 one orchard in its growth has always 

 been kindled from the vitality of an 

 orchard behind it. This is the simple 

 truth of history, which makes all such 

 discussions as Mr. Darwin's respecting 

 tlie descent of the golden pippin from 

 the sour and miserable crab as false to 

 fact as they are abhorrent to pomology." 

 In regard to the second and main 

 position of President Seelye's address 

 respecting the relations of religion to 

 civilization, it is chiefly interesting from 

 the indications it affords of the ration- 

 alistic tendencies of New England or- 

 thodoxy. "We by no means object to 

 the prominent part which he assigns to 

 religion in promoting the progress of 

 man ; and are only agreeably surprised 

 at the catholicity of his position. The 

 president says that " human nature 

 reveals no internal impulse to improve 

 and perfect itself; " this he maintains 

 is duo to an external impulse, to a 

 power above man, which he assumes to 

 be the agency of supernatural religion. 

 But the transition from barbarism to 

 civilization has taken place on an ex- 

 tensive scale. President Seelye asks, 

 " "Where are now the civilizations of 

 Tyre and Carthage, of Nineveh and 

 Babylon?" His question implies that 

 they once existed, and his hypothesis 

 of their origin is that they were the 

 product of religious inspiration and su- 

 pernatural agency. It will be hardly 

 claimed that those ancient and extinct 

 civilizations were due to the Christian 

 religion ; but if not, then they were 

 caused by other religions potent with 

 genuine inspirations and supernatural 



in their elevating influence. Yet is it 

 not the essence of orthodoxy that it is 

 the only true faith, and that all other 

 so-called religions are delusions, im- 

 postures, and heathenish superstitions ? 

 The implication of the inaugural ad- 

 dress contravenes evangelical theology 

 by assuming that there are other reli- 

 gions than that professed in New Eng- 

 land, which are genuinely attested as 

 of supernatural influence by their civil- 

 izing impulses, and which have been in 

 operation whenever and wherever there 

 has been any improvement in the con- 

 dition of humanity. Now, this recog- 

 nition of the universality of genuine 

 religious influences, as opposed to the 

 exclusive claims of any particular sys- 

 tem, we understand to be the broad 

 ground of rationalism ; and, if Amherst 

 orthodoxy can accept it, we shall cer- 

 tainly be the last to complain. "We only 

 hope, however, that tliis surrender, 

 horse, foot, and dragoons, to ultra-ra- 

 tionalism, is not to be considered as a 

 bomb-shell in the camp of evolution. 



It is a serious question whether 

 President Seelye has not here put a 

 strain upon the claims of supernatural- 

 ism which endangers them. Grant- 

 ing the universality of the religious 

 agency, he must explain why it is not 

 always efficient in the work of ele- 

 vation. The president points impres- 

 sively to the phenomena of national de- 

 generacy and decay. Viewed as a part 

 of the order of Nature, these phenom- 

 ena are explicable ; but, from President 

 Seelye's point of view, what reason is 

 there why all that had been gained 

 should be thus thrown away ? His 

 theory that true religious influences are 

 coextensive with all phases of human 

 progress is an important step in the lib- 

 eral direction; and his further assump- 

 tion that the rhythmic successions of 

 progress are due to an intermittent su- 

 pernaturalism can have little other ten- 

 dency than to eliminate the supernatu- 

 ral from the investigation of the sub- 

 ject. "Why should President Seelye 



