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November 6, 1852.] THE LEADER. 1073
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HOOKS ON OUR TAIILE. Uncle Tovi'i Cabin....
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Cljt l i te.
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T W O O () M .K D 1 E S. i iiavm seen tw...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Butler's Analogy V. Modern Unbelief. The...
e an author external to the Creator . But it is taught by Butler himlf that all things in this world are inter-related : — < t it is most obvious , analogy renders it highly credible , that , upon supposition of oral government , it must be a scheme ; for the world , and the whole natural 51 vernnient of it , appears to be so ; to be a scheme , system , or constitution , whose ^ rts correspond to each other , and to a whole , as really as any work of art , or as ^ y particular model of a civil constitution and government . In this great scheme f the natural world individuals have various peculiar relations to other individuals f their own species . And whole species are , we find , variously related to other oecies upon this earth . JN " or do we know how much further these kinds of rela-\ : may extend . And , as there is not any action or natural event which we are cauainted with so single and unconnected as not to have a respect to some other actions and events , so possibly each of them , when it has not an immediate , may
vet have a remote , natural relation to other actions and events much beyond the compass of this present world . There seems indeed nothing from whence we can 0 niucli as make a conjecture whether all creatures , actions , and events , throughout the whole of nature have relations to each other . But as it is obvious that all events have future unknown consequences , so if we trace any , as far as We can go , into what is connected with it , we shall find that if such event were not connected with somewhat further in nature unknown to us , somewhat both past and present , such event could not possibly have been at all . Nor can we give the whole account of any one thing whatever ; of all its causes , ends , and necessary adjuncts , those adjuncts , I mean , without which it could not have been . By this most astonishing connection , these reciprocal correspondences and mutual relations , everything which we see in the course of nature is actually brought about . "
Having secured this admission , let us see what light it throws on the argument . The world is a world made by God : — " And that which constitutes this our trial , in both these capacities , must be somewhat either in our external circumstances , or in our nature . For , on the one hand , persons may be betrayed into wrong behaviour upon surprise , or overcome upon any other very singular and extraordinary external occasions , who would otherwise have preserved their character of prudence and of virtue : in which cases every one , in speaking of the wrong behaviour of these persons , would impute it to such particular external circumstances . And on the other hand , men who have contracted habits of vice and folly of any kind , or have some particular passions in excess , will seek opportunities , and , as it were , go out of their way to gratify
themselves in these respects , at the expense of their wisdom and their virtue ; led to it , as every one would say , not by external temptations , but by such habits and passions . And the account of this last case is , that particular passions are no more coincident with prudence , or that reasonable self-love the end of which is our worldly interest , than they are with the principle of virtue and religion , hut often draw contrary ways to one as well as to the other ; and so such particular passions are as much temptations to act imprudently with regard to our worldly interests as to act viciously . However , as when we say men are misled by external circumstances of temptation , it cannot but be understood that there is somewhat within themselves to render those circumstances temptations , or to render them susceptible of impressions from them ; so when we say they are misled by passions , it is always
supposed that there are occasions , circumstances , and objects exciting these passions , and affording means for gratifying them . And therefore , temptations from within and from without coincide and mutually imply each other . Now the several *> vf : prnal objects of the appetites , passions , and affections being present to the senses , m- offering' tiicxnseives to the mind , ana so exciting emotions suitable to their nature , not only in cases where they can oe gratified consistently with innocence and prudence , but also in cases where they cannot , and yet can be gratified imprudently and viciously : this as really put them in danger of voluntarily foregoing their present interest or good as their future , and as really renders self-denial necessary to secure one as the other ; i . e ., we are in a lijce state of trial with respect to both , by
the very same passions , excited by the very same means . Thus mankind havinga temporal interest depending upon themselves , and a prudent course of behaviour being necessary to secure it , passions inordinately excited , whether by means of example or by any other external circumstance , towards such objects , at such times or in such degree as that they cannot be gratified consistently with worldly prudence , are temptations—dangerous , and too often successful , temptations—to forego a greater temporal good for a less ; i . e ., to forego what is , upon the whole , our temporal interest for the sake of a present gratification . This is a description of our state of trial in our temporal capacity . Substitute now the -word future for temporal , and virtue for prudence ; and it will he just as proper a description of our state of trial in our religious capacity , ho analogous are they to each other . "
A / yam : — " Every species of creature in , we sec , designed for a particular way of life , to which the nature , the capacities , temper , and qualifications of each species , are aa necessary as their external circumstances , Hoth come into the notion of such state ° > " particular way of life , and are constituent parts of it . Change a man's capacities or character to the degree in which it is conceivable they may be changed , and ll < : would he altogether incapable of a human course of life , and , human happiness ;
llSi iiioitp : tl > lt » as if , his nature continuing unchanged , ho were placed in a world where lie hiU | , 1 () Hj ) i , ( , of action , nor any objects to answer his appetites , passions , ! l " ( l ull (!(> t , ions of any sort . One thing is not , over against smother , as an ancient , writer expresses it . Our nature corresponds to our external condition . Without lH
All ( hJH amounts to the assertion that God made hh the weak erring ° "'' ' wo ? ire , made the external circumstances which are to caune < j"i-err or , and ho has done mo in order tliut wo may—become moral ! The ^ 'Vioiih answer thai , it would have been . simpler , uiul , above all , kinder , to l ' 1 "" IIH moral at once , cannot bo me I ; , except by sophistries it pains one . m u * luv | . We may add , parenthetically , that for ourselves , wo disapprove a | 1 giunents respecting what ( Jlod might have done , in the Hume way ih , M 0 ('' HJipprovo arguments respecting what he has done ; we employ » , W 0 Jl P onH , however , of tho . se we combat . J in l H ° pl'iHtry which underlies Butler ' s argumentation , may bo once re ' "" alnitcd in the following passage : — of "' '" in' ' 'w pm'l' <> f the creation of Uod . There uro natural appearances lu " 'g iu a Htaty of dognulutioii . Aud wo certainly arc in n condition which
does not seem by any means the most advantageous we could imagine or desire , either in our natural or moral capacity , for securing either our present or future interest . However , this condition , low and careful and uncertain as it is , does not afford any just ground of complaint . For , as men may manage their temporal affairs with prudence , and so pass their days here on earth in tolerable ease and satisfaction , by a moderate degree of care ; so likewise with regard to religion , there is no more required than what they are well able to do , and what they must be greatly wanting to themselves if they neglect . And for persons to have that put , upon them which they are well able to go through , and no more , we naturally consider as an equitable thing , supposing it done by proper authority . "
Vjrtue is here repi'esented as so easy , requiring no more than what we are all well able to do ; yet awhile ago , we heard him tell us how really this world seemed a discipline of vice , owing to our fallen condition ! and we would ask further , Isvelicfeasy ? If I do not believe in the Bible , I am to be damned , whether I have ever heard of that Bible , or notwhether I have even the '' purity of heart" or the openness of intellect requisite or not ; if I don't believe , the penalty is certain . Is that requisition easy P Will moderate care and prudence coerce my convictions ? Butler has called upon Reason as the arbiter even of Hevelation . In answer , we call upon Eeason to say what proof from " Analogy" it derives to demonstrate these propositions : —
1 st . This life is a moral trial . We are surrounded by dangers meant expressly for our fall . The Creator , in scheming the whole of our life , foresaw that these temptations would in almost every case prevail , for he gave men temptable natures , as he gave oxygen an affinity for phosphorus . 2 nd . But although he foresaw that men would fall , he gave them also a power of foresight which would warn them of their fall . 3 rd . And if that foresight did uot prevent their fall ( he knew it would not ) , then as a punishment for falling he assigned eternal agonies in fire and brimstone . 4 th . He gave them Free Will to choose between Virtue and Vice , but he gave them also a " fallen nature , " which so adapted them to vice , that he foresaw which they must follow .
The moral trial thus becomes " analogous" to tight-rope dancing . Man may by sedulous efforts accomplish the perilous feat , after long training , of dancing on a tight-rope ; but we do not regard that father as a strictly moral being who forces Ms son to learn that perilous art , even though " improved command of muscles" be the consequence of success , as broken bones are of failure . . Nor can we regard that scheme as strictly moral , which says , The Creator made men , and as Virtue is his only delight , he wished them to be virtuous ; for this purpose he placed them in a set of conditions which made virtue impossible to the vast majority , and infinitely arduous to the few ; declaring , moreover , that all who were not virtuous should suffer everlastingly ; that all who were virtuous should also suffer if they did not believe in the Book he had written , or caused to be written , although that Book never came under the sight of millions , and seemed preposterous to the eyes of many who did behold it .
Therefore , in the name of the New Theology against the Old , we say , that if Reason is called upon to decide in this matter , she decides emphatically against the " Scriptural scheme" as immoral and contradictory , and against Butler's Analogy as a false analogy . In our next we shall extend this fAumiuiiLion of tlic Analogy of Natural ana Reveaiea Religion , for the present contenting ourselves with this illustrative passage : — " And suppose the invisible world and the invisible dispensations of Providence to be in any sort analogous to what appears , or that both together make up one uniform scheme , the two parts of which , the part which we see , and that which is beyond our observation , are analogous to each other , then there must be a like
natural tendency m the derived power throughout the universe , under the direction of virtue , to prevail in general over that which is not under its direction , as there is in , reason , derived reason in the universe , to prevail over brute force /' JNT . B . We have received a letter from Cronippus , in reply to our first article , and we beg him to permit our withholding it until the completion of the series of articles , when we shall be happy to let him be heard in defence , no less than other correspondents who may leel disposed to take up the side adverse to our own . in making tin ' s oiler , however , wo must trust to the generous constructions of our correspondents , if the voluminousneHS or the tone of their letters do not allow us to publish all we receive . They Avill remember this is a newspaper , and it is only from a desire of fairness that we admit reply at all .
November 6, 1852.] The Leader. 1073
November 6 , 1852 . ] THE LEADER . 1073
Hooks On Our Taiile. Uncle Tovi'i Cabin....
HOOKS ON OUR TAIILE . Uncle Tovi ' i Cabin . ¦ O . Routl ( jd po . Short . Short-Ilantl . By L . W . 'Yonv . Whittakor » nd Co . The lleoemw and Vommerce of the United Kingdom , for 1851 , contraittd with t / u Trantactiona of I ' reoiont Years . By Oeiorgo Troup . T . Baundera . My ' Life and Acts in Hungary , in the , Years 1 H 1 H and 1 HU ) . Uy A . Otirgoi . 2 voln . David Bopuo . Thtt ' People m J ' aliice and the ttrliyiouM World . H y a Layman . Arthur lla . ll , Virtuo , aiul Co The Parlour Library ~ -The . Jacqtterir . By ( i . P . it . Juiiicm . HimniN and Mi : ln ( yro . I ' riticiplts of Imitative Art . Hy Ueorgu Hiillor , M . A . J . W . Purkor Tint's Edinburgh Magazine . i ' lirtrulgo and Oakoy The Reformer t Almanac / 'or 1 N 53 . Aylott and Junou .
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T W O O () M .K D 1 E S. I Iiavm Seen Tw...
T W O O () M . K D 1 E S . i iiavm seen two Comedies this week , which called up niore re / lections in my mind than I shall have time to express here , the more so , as you would leel but mediocre gratitude for such an assault "upon your patience . One of those comedies was a work of high pretensions ; tlio ptJrer w £ s aft modest as it was agreeable . Richelieu in Love is tho nanto ' . of the ono ; the name of the other is Married /) au hters and Young Husbands . An " historical comed y" was the pretension of tho JLIaymaukkt piece ; a , " comic drama" that of the Lyckdm p iece . . Rumour attributing Kiclwliun in Lone to a lady , I will bo aa tender towards it as natural gallantry commands ; but this much I juaay perhaps
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 6, 1852, page 21, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_06111852/page/21/
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