KNOWLEDGE INFLUENTIAL ON MORALS. 



105 



exercise the highest powers of intelli 

 gence, and the more we investigate it the more 

 ehall we admire the comprehensive nature of 

 that &quot; law which is exceeding broad,&quot; and the 

 more shall we be disposed to comply with its 

 divine requisitions. But unless we be, in some 

 measure, acquainted with the first principles of 

 moral action, and their numerous bearings upon 

 Ufa and conduct, we cannot expect to make rapid 

 advances in the path of virtue, or to reach the 

 sublirner heights of moral improvement. 



3. Knowledge, combined with habits of think 

 ing, would lead to inquiries into the reasons of 

 those moral laws which the Creator has pro 

 mulgated, and the foundations on which they 

 rest. It is an opinion which very generally pre 

 vails, even among the more respectable portion 

 of mankind, that the moral laws given forth to 

 men are the mere dictates of Sovereignty, and 

 depend solely on the will of the Deity, and, con 

 sequently, that they might be modified, or even 

 entirely superseded, were it the pleasure of the 

 Supreme Legislator to alter them or to suspend 

 their authority. But this is a most absurd and 

 dangerous position. It would take away from 

 tho inherent excellence of virtue, and would re 

 present the Divine Being as acting on princi 

 ples similar to those of an Eastern despot. If 

 such a position were true, it would follow, that 

 all the immoralities, cruelties, oppressions, wars, 

 and butcheries that have taken place in the 

 world, are equally excellent and amiable as 

 truth, justice, virtue, and benevolence, and that 

 the character of infernal fiends is just as lovely 

 and praiseworthy as that of angels and archan 

 gels, provided the Deity untied that such a change 

 should take place. Were such a change possible, 

 it would not only overturn all the notions we are 

 accustomed to entertain respecting the moral 

 attributes of God, but might ultimately destroy 

 our hopes of future enjoyment, and endanger the 

 happiness of the whole moral universe. But, 

 there is an inherent, excellence in moral virtue, 

 and the Deity has willed it to exist, because it is 

 essential to the happiness and order of the intel 

 ligent system. It might be shown, that not only 

 the two fundamental principles of religion and 

 morality stated above, but all the moral precepts 

 which flow from them, are founded on the nature 

 of Gorl, and on the relations which subsist 

 among intelligent agents, and that, were they 

 reversed, or their influence suspended, misery 

 would reign uncontrolled through the universe, 

 and in the course of ajes the whole moral and 

 intelligent system would be annihilated.* 



Now, if men were accustomed to investigate 

 the foundations of morality, and the reasons of 



For a full illustration of these positions, and a 

 variety of topics connected with them, the author 

 be?s to refer his readers to a work which he lately 

 published, entitled &quot; The Philosophy nf Rpi)s-i on or 

 an tUuatratian of the Moral Laws of the Universe &quot; 



those moral precepts which are laid befo&quot;o them 

 as the rule of their conduct, they would perceive 

 a most powerful motive to universal obedience. 

 They would plainly see, that all the laws of God 

 are calculated to uecure the happiness of every 

 moral agent who yields obedience to them, 

 that it is their interest to yield a voluntary sub 

 mission to these laws, and that misery both 

 here and hereafter, is the certain and necessary 

 consequence of their violation. It is a common 

 feeling with a considerable portion of mankind, 

 though seldom expressed in words, that the laws 

 of heaven are too strict and unbending, that 

 they interfere with what they consider their 

 pleasures and enjoyments, and that if one or 

 more of them could be a little modified or re 

 laxed, they would have no objections to attempt 

 a compliance with the rest. But such feelings 

 and sentiments are altogether preposterous and 

 absurd. It would be inconsistent not only with 

 the rectitude, but with the benevolence of the 

 Deity, to set aside or to relax a single requisi 

 tion of that law whi&amp;lt;:h is &quot;perfect&quot; and which, 

 as it now stands, is calculated to promote the 

 happiness of all worlds. Were he to do so, and 

 to permit moral agents to act accordingly, it 

 would be nothing less than to shut up the path to 

 happiness, and to open the flood-gates of misery 

 upon the intelligent universe. Hence we are 

 told by Him who came to fulfil the law, that, 

 sooner may &quot;heaven and earth pass away,&quot; or 

 the whole frame of nature be dissolved, than that 

 &quot; one jot or one tittle can pass from this law.&quot; 

 For, as it is founded on the nature of God, and 

 on the relations which subsist between Him and 

 created beings, it must be absolutely perfect and 

 of eternal obligation ; and, consequently, nothing 

 could be taken from it, without destroying its 

 perfection, nor any thing added to it, without 

 supposing that it was originally imperfect. 

 Were the bulk of mankind, therefore, capable 

 of entering into the spirit of such investigations, 

 and qualified to perceive the true foundations of 

 moral actions ; were they, for example, clearly 

 to perceive, that truth is the bond of society, and 

 the foundation of all delightful intercourse among 

 intelligent beings in every world, and that, were 

 the law which enjoins it to be reversed, and ra 

 tional creatures to act accordingly, all confi 

 dence would be completely destroyed, the in 

 habitants of all worlds thrown into a state of 

 universal anarchy, and creation transformed 

 into a chaos, such views and sentiments could 

 not fail of producing a powerful and beneficial 

 influence on the state of morals, and a profound 

 reverence and respect for that law &quot; which is 

 holy, just, and good.&quot; 



4. Knowledge, in combination with habits of 

 reflection, would lead to self-examination and self&quot; 

 inspection. The indolent and untutored mind 

 shuns all exertion of its intellectual faculties, and 

 all serious reflection on what passes within it, 



