THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION. 



Domestic broils and contentions would cease ; 

 brothers and sisters would be cemented in the 

 closest bonds of holy affection ; the law of kind 

 ness would swell their hearts and dwell upon 

 their tongues; serenity and joy, and a desire to 

 please, would appear on every countenance ; a 

 mutual exchange of sentiment and generous 

 affections would circulate joy from father to son, 

 and from children to parents ; and all the mem 

 bers of the family circle, animated by the same 

 benevolent spirit, would &quot; dwell together in 

 unity.&quot; To communicate useful knowledge, to 

 train each other to piety and virtue, to point out 

 the different spheres in which benevolence should 

 act, to assist in every kindly office, to sooth each 

 other in distress, and to direct each other in the 

 path to an endless life, would be the unceasing 

 desire and endeavour of every inmate of the 

 family mansion. From every such mansion, the 

 radiations of love would fly from family to family, 

 from one hamle^and village to another, from one 

 town and city to another, from one nation to 

 another, and from one continent to another, till 

 all the families of the earth were converted into 

 &quot; the dwellings of the God of Jacob.&quot; 



In larger communities the principle of love 

 would effectuate a mighty change. That spirit 

 of jealousy and selfishness, of avarice and mono 

 poly, which now produces so many jarrings, con 

 tentions, and collisions of interests among town 

 councils, corporations, and other smaller asso 

 ciations, would cease to operate. Every one 

 would see and feel, that the prosperity of the 

 whole is also the prosperity of every portion of 

 the general community. Boisterous disputa 

 tions, sneers, hisses, reproaches, and angry pas 

 sions, would be banished from the deliberations 

 of every society ; and candour, good-will, and 

 kindly affections would animate the minds of all 

 its members. Righteous laws would be enacted, 

 and distributive justice equitably administered. 

 Every nation would form one great and harmoni 

 ous family ; all its members being linkeJ together 

 by the ties of kindness and reciprocal affection. 

 Its magistrates would become &quot; nursing fathers&quot; 

 to the whole body of the people, to promote their 

 peace, their domestic comfort, their knowledge, 

 and their general improvement ; and throughout 

 all ranks of the community nothing would ap 

 pear but submission, obedience, reverence, and 

 respect. 



The mutual intercourse of nations would be 

 established on the principles of friendship and 

 affection, and on the basis of immutable justice 

 and eternal truth. Raised above petty jealousies, 

 secure from the alarms of war, and viewing each 

 other as branches of the same great family, and 

 as children of the same Almighty Parent, 

 every nation and empire would feel an interest 

 In promoting the prosperity of another, and would 

 rejoice in beholding its happiness and improve 

 ment. Commerce would be free and unshackled, 



and the productions of nature and of art wouki 

 quickly be transported into every nation from 

 every clinie. Travellers and navigators would 

 visit foreign shores without danger or alarm from 

 insidious or hostile tribes, and would land on 

 the most obscure island of the ocean, fully as 

 sured of protection and comfort, and the wel 

 come of friendship and affection. Every vessel 

 that ploughed the deep would become a floating 

 temple, from which incense and a pure offering 

 would daily ascend to the Ruler of the skies, 

 and its mariners would join, with one heart and 

 one mind, in imploring upon each other the bless 

 ing and protection of the God of heaven. The 

 beams of love and affection would gladden every 

 land, and add a new lustre to (he natural beauties 

 of its landscape. The inhabitants of China and 

 Japan would be hailed as benefactors when they 

 arrived on our coasts with their cargoes of tea, 

 sugar, silk, and porcelain ; and the natives of 

 France and Great Britain, when they transport 

 ed their manufactures to these distant empires, 

 would be welcomed as friends, and conducted, 

 without the least jealousy or suspicion, through 

 all their cities and rural scenes, to survey the 

 beauties of nature and art with which those 

 countries are adorned. The natives of Papua 

 and New-Zealand would land on our shores 

 without spears, or darts, or other hostile wea 

 pons, and be recognized as friends and brethren ; 

 and our countrymen, when traversing the dif 

 ferent regions of the globe, would always meet 

 with a cordial reception when landing on their 

 coasts. For national jealousies and antipathies 

 would cease ; and instead of selfish and revenge 

 ful passions, reason would be cultivated, and 

 its powers expanded ; the smile of benevolence 

 and the hand of benefice nee would gladden the 

 inhabitants of every clime, and &quot;righteousness 

 and praise would spring forth before all the 

 nations.&quot; 



Under the benignant influence of the spirit of 

 love, useful intelligence of every description 

 would be rapidly and extensively communicated; 

 the sciences would be improved, and carried 

 forward to perfection ; the jealousies which 

 now exist among scientific men would cease to 

 operate, and every fact on which science is 

 built would be impartially investigated, and ex 

 hibited in its true aspect ; the arts would flourish, 

 and be carried to the highest pitch of improve 

 ment ; no secrets in arts or trades would be lock 

 ed up in the breast of the discoverer ; but every 

 useful hint would at once be communicated to 

 the public ; every invention would uniformly be 

 applied to the promotion of a benevolent ob 

 ject, and the arts of destruction would cease to 

 be cultivated, and be held in universal detesta 

 tion. Under the hand of art, the habifations-oi 

 men would be beautified and adorned, to cor 

 respond with the purity and improvement of 

 their moral feelings, and a new lustre would 



