32 



THE PHILOSOPHY OF A FUTURE STATE. 



of the electrical and galvanic fluids ; in the splen 

 dour of the sun, and the glories of the midnight 

 sky; in the organization of the body of man, and 

 the different senses with which he is endowed ; 

 in the general adaptation of the mineral and ve 

 getable kingdoms, and of every element around 

 us, to the wants of man and other sensitive be 

 ings ; and in the abundant supply of food and drink 

 which is annually distributed to every rank of 

 animated existence. We perceive traces of the 

 same benevolent agency in the arrangements 

 connected with distant worlds in the rotation 

 of the planetary globes around their axes, in the 

 assemblages of rings and moons with which they 

 are environed, and in the diversified apparatus 

 by which light and heat are distributed in due 

 proportion to the several bodies which compose 

 the solar system. And, in other systems, in the 

 distant regions of space, we perceive that it is 

 one great end of the Creator, to diffase light and 

 splendour throughout all the provinces of his im 

 mense empire, in order to unveil his glorious 

 works to the eyes of unnumbered intelligences. 

 But, although a system of benevolence is abun 

 dantly manifest in the mechanical fabric of the 

 universe, yet it does not appear that happiness 

 can be fully enjoyed without the benevolent agency 

 of intelligent beings. We have abundant proofs 

 of this position in the world in which we dwell. 

 For although the goodness of the Creator is dis 

 played throughout all its regions, yet the greater 

 part of the human race is in a state of comparative 

 misery, not owing to any deficiency in the Divine 

 bounty, but to the selfishness, ambition, and 

 malevolence of men. With the blessings which 

 Heaven provides from year to year, the whole 

 population of our globe, and a thousand millions 

 more, would be amply supplied, and happiness 

 extensively diffused, were benevolence a promi 

 nent and universal trait in the character of man 

 kind. Even in those places where only a few 

 energetic and benevolent individuals bestir them 

 selves in the cause of general philanthropy, a 

 wonderful change is rapidly produced in the 

 condition of society. Disease, and misery, and 

 want, fly away at their approach, the poor are 

 supplied, the wretched relieved, the prisoner re 

 leased, the orphan provided for, and the widow s 

 heart made to sing for joy. 



Now, we have every reason to conclude, that 

 moral action extends over the whole empire of 

 God that benevolence exerts its noblest ener 

 gies among the inhabitants of distant worlds 

 and that it is chiefly through the medium of re 

 ciprocal kindness and affection that ecstatic joy 

 pervades the hearts of celestial intelligences. 

 For we cannot conceive happiness to exist in any 

 region of space, or among any class of intellec 

 tual beings, where love to the Creator, and to one 

 another, is not a prominent and permanent affec 

 tion. 



U is, therefore, reasonable to believe that those 



virtuous benevolent characters which have ap 

 peared in our world, have been only in the aoto** 

 training for a short period, preparatory to their 

 being transported to a nobler scene of action, and 

 that their moral powers, which could not be 

 brought into full exercise in this terrestrial 

 sphere, were intended to qualify them for ming 

 ling with more exalted intelligences, and co-ope 

 rating with them in carrying forward that vast 

 system of universal benevolerx e, to which all the 

 arrangements of the Creator evidenlly tend. 



Whether then, it may be asked, does it appear 

 most consistent with the moral powers of man, 

 and with the wisdom and goodness of God, to 

 suppose that such illustrious characters as Penn, 

 G. Sharp, Clarkson, Venning, Howard, and the 

 apostle Paul, are now for ever banished from 

 creation, or that they are expatiating in a higher 

 scene of action and enjoyment, where all their 

 benevolent energies find ample scope, and where 

 every blossom of virtue is fully expanded ? If 

 there is a God, and if wisdom, benevolence, and 

 rectitude, form an essential part of his character, 

 we cannot doubt for a moment that such charac 

 ters are still in existence, and shall re-appear on 

 a more splendid theatre of action in the future 

 scenes of eternity. 



I shall conclude my illustrations of the pre 

 ceding arguments with the following extract from 

 a judicious and elegant writer : 



&quot; In tracing the nature and destination of any 

 being, we form the surest judgment from his 

 powers of action, and the scope and limits of 

 these compared with his state or that field in 

 which they are exercised. If this being passes 

 through different states or fields of action, and 

 we find a succession of powers adapted to the 

 different periods of his progress, we conclude, 

 that he was destined for those successive states, 

 and reckon his nature progressive. If, besides 

 the immediate set of powers which fit him for 

 action in his present state, we observe another 

 set which appear superfluous if he were to be 

 confined to it, and which point to another or 

 higher one, we naturally conclude that he is not 

 designed to remain in his present slate, but to 

 advance to that for which those supernumerary 

 powers are adapted. Thus, we argue, that the 

 insect, which has wings forming or formed, am* 

 all the apparatus proper for flight, is not destined 

 always to creep on the ground, or to continue in 

 the torpid state of adhering to a wall, but is 

 designed in its season to take its flight in air. 

 Without this farther destination, the admirable 

 mechanism of wings and the other apparatus, 

 would be useless and absurd. 



&quot; The same kind of reasoning may be applied 

 to man, while he lives only a sort of vegetative 

 life in the womb. He is furnished even there 

 with a beautiful apparatus of organs, eyes, ears, 

 and other delicate senses, which derive iourtoi* 



