Chap. XVIII. ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. 275 



And not only is this doctrine of Ariftotle, concerning the Beautiful, 

 fupported by the opinion of fo great philofophers as Pythagoras and 

 Plato, but by a ftill greater authority, as appears from what I 

 have faid in Volume V. of this work, (p. 128.) and Volume 

 IV. of Origin of Language, (pp. 368. and 369.) where I have 

 fhown that the Apoftle Paul, in his ift Epiftle to the Theflalonians, 

 fums up the whole duty of a Ghriftian with thefe words, Tra^ra 2oy.i- 

 fj.ci{^iTi, 70 -/.uhov KxTiyjTi ; which I think is plainly faying, " That 

 " of all the things belonging to Chriftianity, the to kccXov is, upon 

 " confideration, that which is principal, and therefore we ftiould 

 '■^ hold it fajl i" and fo the wor^ xanyjrs is tranflatcd, and pro- 

 perly tranflated, in our bible. But the ro y.a^.ov we have tranflated 

 improperly, when we have made it to be that ivhich is good : For 

 the y.a}.-iv and the uyuDn' arc diftinguifaed in fcripture, as well as in 

 other Greek writings. In thefe they are exprefled in one word, 

 Ko.'koiTnu.ya.doi : But in our fcripture they are diftinguiflied by dif- 

 ferent words, conneded by the conjunction jc«< * ; which demon- 

 ftrates, that, though they may be united together, they denote dif- 

 ferent things. 



I will now proceed to fliow that Beauty is the principle of reli- 

 gion as well as of virtue. In another part of this work I have 

 ihown that the love both of God and of our fellow creatures, is the 

 great principle of the Chriftian religion. The love of God is deliver- 

 ed with greater copioufnefs of expreflion than any other duty of the 

 Chriftian religion ; for we are required to love God " with all our 

 " heart, and with all our foul, with all our flrength, and with all our 

 " mind f ." Now the objed of Love is Beauty; and though we could 

 fuppofe a being that had the greateft power, and could inflid the 



IM m 2 fevered 



* In the Parable of the Sciuer, (Luke, Chan. VIII. v. 15.}; where the expreffion is 



ufed, E» KxM Kcti ayu^ri Ktej^icc. 



f Vol. IV. p. 391. 



