267 
indeed, is idle in tlie face of these assertions, for “ where 
Moses and the Prophets 33 are not heard in faith, we are plainly 
told se neither would 33 the objector “ be persuaded though one 
rose from the dead '* to convince him. As to the question, 
“ Ought any moral truth to be received in mere obedience to 
a miracle of sense ? — I cannot conceive of any antagonism 
between our moral sentiments and such a display of Divine 
Power as a miracle implies ; but if it is meant to be insinuated 
that moral perception is completely dissociated from sensi- 
tivity, then I can but answer that I know of no theorist in 
morals who has held such a monstrous and absurd position, 
either in ancient or modern times, Mr. Powell divorced faith 
and philosophy, and this last quotation implies apparently a 
divorce between morality and sense. What the ethical resi- 
duum would be, we are not informed. But the spiritual and 
moral parts of our nature are too much bound up with our 
material economy to admit of any wild theorizing of this kind. 
The supernatural is not so far removed as the materialist would 
have us believe. Though miracles are not now wrought for 
social and moral ends, we have a constant Providence, and 
therefore a Supreme Will in constant play and activity- — • 
— /cat yap r 3 ovap Ik Aiog Iqtiv* 
That c( even a dream is from God ;jJ is old, in profane authors, 
as Homer. The revelation of future events is a thing of rare 
occurrence ; but it happens sometimes, and when it does hap- 
pen, the law of suggestion can no more account for it than the 
law of gravitation. We know of no other way of accounting 
lor it, than by assuming that it is Deity communicating the 
future to our minds. The mode of communication is not easily 
explained, it is hidden from us, like the link which binds to- 
gether cause and effect in physics; the fact of such commu- 
nications, however, is, as Mr. Morell has said, “ an internal 
phenomenon, perfectly consistent ” (no doubt) “ with the 
natural laws of the human mind/'’ though, it should be added, 
not to be explained by them. 
The Morality of Miracles. — Miracles being connected with 
ends that are moral, must be themselves moral in their nature. 
In the old dispensation, they partook of the severity of the 
law as well as of its holiness ; in the new, they are almost 
universally examples of mercy and redemptive power. The 
deatli oi the firstborn sounds a little harsh, but it was no doubt 
an act of retributive justice, dealt back as a blow in return 
* Essays and Reviews, p. 147. 
