is, when pursued in a right spirit, a powerful 

 auxiliary of revealed religion, throwing, as it 

 does, new light on the events which scripture 

 records, and, by bringing them to the test of ex- 

 isting phenomena, confirming these events, and 

 the chronology with which they are connected. 

 It is true, that the inspiration of scripture is suf- 

 ficiently established, as I have already noticed, 

 by independent evidence of a more unequivocal 

 kind, and the Christian stands in no need of such 

 adventitious aid > but it is assuredly satisfactory 

 to know, that the very weapons which have been 

 so powerfully wielded against our faith, and 

 which have subdued so many minds, or at least 

 strengthened them when already enlisted in the 

 ranks of infidelity, have been wrested out of the 

 hands of the enemy, and are now legitimately 

 employed in a holier cause. 



