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BOOK 139.SP97 c. 1 
 SPURSHEIM # PHILOSOPHICAL 
 CATFCHISM OF NATURAL LAWS OF MAN 
 
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PHILOSOPHICAL CATECHISM 
 
 i^0 
 
 NATURAL LAWS OP MAN. 
 
 OF THE UNIVERSITIES OF VIENNA AND PARIS, AND 
 
 LICENTIATE OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF 
 
 PHYSICIANS IN LONDON. 
 
 SECOND EDITION, IMPROVED. 
 
 B o s T o N : 
 
 MARSH, C A P E N AND LYON. 
 
 1832. 
 
Entered according to the act of Congress, in the year 
 1832, by Marsh, Capen and Lyon, in the Clerk's office of 
 the District Court of Massachusetts. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 ^^ Men have long been treated as children ; they 
 j^^ have been taught that if^norance and credulity 
 are virtues, and that fear is wisdom, and that they 
 may glorify God by flattery rather than by mor- 
 al excellency. Arbitrary regulations of all 
 
 ^ sorts have been imposed upon them, and blind 
 
 ^ and unconditional obedience to these required. 
 
 "-^ Words too often satisfy them, and the less they 
 understand, the more do they generally deem it 
 incumbent on them to admire; sensual grati- 
 fications have proved sufficient inducements for 
 them willingly to follow the good pleasure of 
 their masters. Even religion, in one or an- 
 other form, has been an engine to crush the 
 
 i!> human mind. This was, at all times more or 
 less the deplorable condition of mankind. Those 
 who even in our days make exception, are com- 
 paratively few in number. 
 
 The following pages are writen with a 
 ^view to ascertain whether or not the hu- 
 
 V)0 man kind be susceptible of better treatment, 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 and whether or not the arbitrary legislation of 
 man, that has hitherto been, and must always 
 be, but temporary, and of limited application, 
 might not advantageously give place to a code 
 of IMMUTABLE LAWS which, established by the 
 Creator, and not adapted to a single family, to 
 a particular nation, to an age, but to all man- 
 kind, and to all times, are calculated to endure 
 as long as the species remains. 
 
 It is of the highest importance to demonstrate 
 the existence of such laws, although it may 
 happen that governments and nations them- 
 selves will oppose their adoption. But this op- 
 position will not annihilate the reality of the 
 NATURAL CODE, and communities will certainly 
 feel disposed to receive, will even demand it, in 
 proportion as they become enlightened; they 
 will also be worthy of it in proportion as they 
 become virtuous. 
 
 I shall consider my subject under the form 
 of question and answer, the better to fix the at- 
 tention of my reader. My sole intention is to 
 contribute to the amelioration of man; that is 
 to say, to combat his ignorance and his immoral- 
 ity, and to point out the means of makino- him 
 better and happier, by insisting particularly on 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 the necessity of his fulfilling the laws of his 
 Creator. 
 
 Some may be of opinion that I might here 
 have avoided the introduction of any question 
 upon religion and morality. I, however, think 
 it incumbent on a philosopher to examine all 
 that enters into the nature of man, and to 'hold 
 fast thai which is good.' Now man being posi- 
 tively endowed with moral and religious feel- 
 ings, as well as with vegetative functions and 
 intellectual faculties, it was my business to 
 speak of the former as well as of the latter. Nay, 
 true relioion is central truth, and all know- 
 ledge, in my opinion, should be gathered round 
 it. 
 
 I lament the continual war which philoso- 
 phers, moralists, and divines, have hitherto 
 waged. They have only mutually disparaged 
 their inquiries, and retarded the knowledge and 
 happiness of man. Would they consent to lay 
 aside vanity, ^pride, and self-interest, they would 
 perceive, and might display, the harmony that 
 exists between the will of God and his gift of 
 intelligence. 
 
PHILOSOPHICAL CATECHISM. 
 
 GENERALITIES. 
 
 What is the meaning of the word Philoso- 
 pher? 
 
 It signifies Lover of Wisdom. 
 
 And what is understood by Wisdom? 
 
 Wisdom consists in the knowledge and in 
 the apphcation of Truth. 
 
 Who then is truly a philosopher? 
 
 He who not only loves, but w^ho applies truth 
 universally. The second part is as essential 
 to the character of a philosopher, as is the 
 practice of morality to that of a christian. 
 What is the airn of Philosophy? 
 
 To know objects and phenomena, and to 
 show the possibility of making practical appli- 
 cation of the knowledge acquired. 
 
2 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 Then there must be many kinds of philoso- 
 phers9 
 
 As many as there are species of knowledge, 
 or subjects that can occupy the attention. — 
 One may be a philosopher, and study entire 
 nature, or a particular district of her domain; as 
 animals, plants, minerals, man generally, or his 
 physical, moral and intellectual parts in parti- 
 cular. 
 
 What is understood by a Law'? 
 
 The word law, among the Romans lex^ has 
 the same root as the verb signifying, to read; be- 
 cause enactments for the conduct of the com- 
 munity were promulgated of old by being read 
 in public. For a long period, however, the 
 w^ord law has been used to designate a com- 
 mandment to do, or to abstain from, some spe- 
 cific act, in general combined with a clause 
 expressive of some penalty attached to its in- 
 fringement, and more rarely of some reward to 
 its observance. The word law is also employ- 
 ed to designate the inherent qualities of the ob- 
 jects and the determinate manner in which the 
 human faculties, and the qualities of organized 
 and inanimate bodies, act. That is to say : be- 
 
GENERALITIES. O 
 
 ings can only act after their peculiar natures, or 
 according to the qualities and powers with which 
 they are endowed. It is a law, that a stone 
 thrown into the air falls again till it reaches the 
 ground; that the stomach digests; that the eye is 
 the instrunaent of vision, the ear of hearing, &c. 
 Further, the title law is applied to the regu- 
 larity with which bodies and animated beings act 
 upon each other, and produce certain phenom- 
 ena. It is a law, that caloric united with wa- 
 ter changes it into vapor, that fire consumes 
 combustible bodies, that poisons destroy life; 
 and so on, through the whole circle of natural 
 phenomena. 
 
 How may laws be divided'? 
 
 They may be classed under two heads — the 
 Natural, and the Artificial. The first are im- 
 posed by the Creator, the second by individual 
 governors. 
 
 What is the signification of the toord nature? 
 
 Nature is a word to which three distinct 
 meanings are attached: — 
 
 1st, It designates the universe, — the heavens, 
 the earth, all that meets sense: 
 
 2nd, It expresses essence — that which char- 
 
4 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 acterizes or constitutes a class of beings, or 
 individuality. In this sense we say: every be- 
 ing acts according to its nature ; — man in his 
 nature is not an angel; we cannot change the 
 nature of things; we cannot, for example, 
 gather figs of thistles, nor grapes of thorns. 
 
 3rd, It is used to signify the First Cause 
 personified, and may then be considered as 
 synonymous with God, or Creator. 
 
 What are the characteristics of natural la20S 
 or of laiDS established by the Creator^ 
 
 Natural laws are inherent in beings, often 
 evident, always demonstrable, universal, inva- 
 riable, and harmonious. 
 
 How is the first character of natural laws, 
 their inherence, explained ? 
 
 The laws of nature exist by creation, and 
 enter as a part into the constitution of beings. 
 The bile is secreted by the liver according to 
 a natural law, and cannot be produced by the 
 stomach for a similar reason. The stomach 
 digests some substances by a natural law, and 
 by the same cause does not digest others. 
 Light exists in conformity with certain laws, 
 and we cannot see that as great which is little, 
 
GENERALITIES. 5 
 
 nor that as little which is great. The inher- 
 ence of natural laws is therefore apparent. 
 
 How is the second characteristic of natural 
 laios^ their regularity^ to be apprehended ? 
 
 The regularity of phenomena is so generally 
 evident as scarcely to require demonstration. 
 Every one knows that without support his 
 body falls, that his hand brought too near the 
 fire is burned, that there is no vision without 
 light, and so on. Occasionally, however, the 
 natural laws are less apparent; still they may 
 always be discovered by observation. The 
 mechanician searches for, and finds, the laws 
 of his art; the musician those of music; the 
 colorist those of color; the landscape-painter 
 those of perspective, &c. A great number of 
 natural laws are at present unknown, but they 
 will be detected as soon as truth is placed 
 above every other consideration — as soon as 
 the free employment of the understanding is 
 allowed, and men have learned to combine all 
 the characters of a natural law. 
 
 Hoio does the universality of natural laws 
 appear 9 
 
 They are the same in every country. Che- 
 1* 
 
6 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 mistry has no other laws in France than it has 
 in England, or in any other part of the earth; 
 carbonic acid gas kills men in the north and 
 in the south, in the east and in the west; com- 
 binations of color iinharmonioiis in any one 
 country, will not please the eye viewed by 
 the sun of any other; the same laws pervade 
 the music of every nation, of the Enghsh, 
 French, Italians, Germans, &c. 
 
 How are the natural laios invariable ? 
 
 They have been the same in all ages. The 
 principle of the lever, at the present time, is 
 precisely the same as it was when the Phara- 
 ohs and Ptolemies lived; the rules of geome- 
 try and arithmetic have suffered no change 
 since they were applied by Euclid and Ar- 
 chimedes; the beautiful forms of the Grecian 
 marbles are still beautiful; goodness since the 
 beginning has not ceased to be beneficent, and 
 so on. Our knowledge may be more or less 
 extensive, more or less exact, but the laws 
 themselves never vary 9 
 
 How are the natural laics harmonious? 
 
 The Creator has contrived all tilings as parts 
 of a grand whole, and combined all his enact- 
 
GENERALITIES. 7 
 
 ments in perfect harmoniousness. Natural 
 laws are, consequently, mutually aidant. It is 
 ignorance alone that prompts us occasionally 
 to fancy discrepancies among them. The 
 laws of vegetation act in accordance with those 
 of animahzation. The fruits and substance of 
 plants yield food to innumerable tribes of ani- 
 mals, and the excretions and the dead bodies 
 of animals in return afford aliment to the infi- 
 nite variety of vegetables that adorn the earth. 
 The principle, that nothing is useless, is true 
 physically, as it is morally. Hence it follows, 
 that philosophy is to seek for, determine, and 
 expose the harmony of the natural code. 
 
 Jlre all inanimate and all livins: beinsrs sub- 
 ject to natural laws? 
 
 All beings whatsoever have a determinate na- 
 ture; all phenomena appear in conformity with 
 fixed and invariable laws. Any opinion to 
 the contrary is fraught with danger to man- 
 kind. 
 
 But do not ice degrade the being — man^ for 
 instance — whose nature ice pronounce to be dc' 
 terminate? 
 
 Most certainly we do not. The nature of 
 
8 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 the Supreme being himself is determinate; he, 
 for instance, cannot desire evil, for his nature 
 is perfection. Now we can more readily 
 conceive beings he made and endowed accord- 
 ing to his pleasure possessed of a determinate 
 nature. Without this indeed, there would be 
 no regularity in their functions. 
 
 Jls the natural laws are no where to he found 
 reduced to writings hoio can we be certain of 
 having discovered them? 
 
 Observation and induction will lead secure- 
 ly to their knowledge. We shall recognise them 
 certainly when they possess all the distinguish- 
 ing characters. 
 
 Are the natural laws conformable to reason? 
 
 They must necessarily be so. They pro- 
 duce certain never-varying effects; whatever 
 is undertaken in conformiiy with their decrees 
 prospers, and penalty is always in proportion 
 to their infringement. 
 
 JVIust not natural laws also be divine? 
 
 As they exist, they ai-e evidently effects of 
 the will of the Creator, or God. 
 
 Is there any cause to apprehend^ from, the doc- 
 trine of the natural laws, the introduction of 
 
GENERALITIES. y 
 
 such evils as attended on the systems of govern- 
 ment called TJieocracies? 
 
 The self-elected and presumed interpreters 
 of a revelation have always had much better 
 opportunities of acting arbitrarily, and of en- 
 forcing belief, than can fall to the lot of the 
 proposers of natural laws. The priesthood 
 has generally taught dogmatically, and inter- 
 dicted the use of reason. Natural law, on the 
 contrary, is submitted to the free scrutiny of 
 all, and is appreciated in great part by means 
 of reason: every one, so inclining, may, under 
 the guidance of observation, be convinced of 
 the reality of its several propositions. There 
 is nothing but good to be anticipated from the 
 study of the natural law. 
 
 Have not the made and artificial laios of 
 men the distinguishing features of those ivhich 
 are natural? 
 
 Enacted by beings who may err themselves, 
 or who, from various motives, may wish to de- 
 ceive and to lead others into error, they are 
 often founded on caprice, and on partial con- 
 siderations; they are frequently modified by 
 local and individual circumstances; they vary 
 
10 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 in every nation, and have changed with the 
 different epochs in the history of each. Such 
 a law would not have been instituted, had not 
 such a man lived or such an event happened. 
 The act which the arbitrary law of one coun- 
 try approves, is often condemned by the made 
 code of another. It has even happened, that 
 laws simultaneously imposed have been mutu- 
 ally subversive. They are frequently repug- 
 nant to good sense, and they have also been 
 unjust; for they have conferred immunities and 
 privileges on individuals, have attached re- 
 wards and punishments by no means commen- 
 surate to the extent of virtuous conduct, or 
 the magnitude of criminal actions, and have 
 ranked as virtues and as vices actions altogeth- 
 er insignificant or purely indifferent. 
 
 Can society neglect positive laics — that is to 
 say, rules of conduct which, clearly announced, 
 are binding on all its members? 
 
 No; there are few who may be left to them- 
 selves, to their good pleasure, to their inch- 
 nations and their judgments. The majority of 
 mankind requires positive laws for its direction, 
 
GENERALITIES. 11 
 
 and frequent admonition as to what is to be 
 done and what left alone. 
 Wherefore is this'? 
 
 Because of the generally deficient strength 
 of the sentiments which dictate the Moral 
 Law^ and the true rule of conduct in the world. 
 
 Mmitting the necessity of a positive code 
 then^ is there any essential difference between 
 natural and positive laws'? 
 
 There ought to be none. The natural laws 
 should be promulgated as positive and obliga- 
 tory on all. Unfortunately, this is not done. 
 The positive laws of society are even too fre- 
 quently the very opposite of those which the 
 Creator dictates. 
 
 How may the artificial laws he subdivided^ 
 
 Into arbitrary or absolute and into conven- 
 tional. The former are the result of the good 
 pleasure of the ruler, the others are fixed upon 
 by the agreement of several legislators. 
 
 What titles are given to the transgression of 
 any law whatever 9 
 
 As regards rehgion, Sin, and as concerns 
 civil enactments. Crime. These are the 
 most comprehensive terms in use. 
 
12 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 Do transgressions of the law^ or sins and 
 crimes^ admit of degrees of gravity'? 
 
 That they do is a point admitted by all le- 
 gislators, civil as well as religious. 
 
 What title is given to the consequence of the 
 infringement of a laio ? 
 
 Evil. 
 
 Are there many and various kinds of evil 9 
 
 Evil is first physical, or it is moral; then it 
 is individual, or general; lastly it is temporal, 
 or eternal. 
 
 Are not these different kinds of evil linked to- 
 gether and inseparable ? 
 
 Physical and moral evil engender each other 
 mutuall3^ Individuals and society are con- 
 nected and in relation; and, according to the 
 christian religion, our fate through eternity de- 
 pends on the present life. 
 
 Does it ever happen that man suffers inno- 
 cently; that is to say^ for the transgression of a 
 law in ignorance of its existence ? 
 
 It occurs frequently, and in reference to 
 the whole of the three kinds of natural laws. 
 The punishments, too, are always as severe 
 as if merited by wilful neglect. Belladonna 
 
GENERALITIES. 13 
 
 kills him who knows not, as well as him who 
 knows, its poisonous quality, the man of gen- 
 ius and the fool, the pious and the impious. 
 All suffer alike who infringe, as all without ex- 
 ception prosper who obey, the natural laws. 
 
 Is the study of man a study of great impor- 
 tance 9 
 
 What of so much ? Man is at the head of 
 the terrestrial creation. He alone examines 
 the causes of natural phenomena and imitates 
 many of them. He alone elevates his thoughts 
 to the conception of a first cause and is sus- 
 ceptible of moral and religious ideas. 
 
 What is the great object of the philosophy of 
 man 9 
 
 To determine accurately the fundamental 
 powers of the human mind and to ascertain the 
 conditions under which these are exhibited; 
 to indicate the causes of the functions vari- 
 ously modified in individuals; and to show the 
 necessity of man's as well as of every other 
 created being's submission to the laws which 
 the Creator imposes to enjoy happiness and to 
 secure success in his undertakings. 
 
 Is the agency of the natural law suspended, 
 because of man's living in society? 
 
14 NATURAL LAWS OT MAN. 
 
 By no means. Man was destined to live m 
 society, and obedience to one natural ordina- 
 tion cannot render another ineffective. The 
 Creator has laid down certain laws for man's 
 social state, adherence to which is indispensa- 
 ble to his happiness, under whatever circum- 
 stances he may chance to be placed. 
 
 Is mankind happy? 
 
 To whatever side we turn our eyes, the un- 
 fortunate, and miserable, and discontented meet 
 our view. There are very few indeed who 
 are happy. 
 
 Wherein consists the happiness of man? 
 
 In the satisfaction of his faculties. 
 
 Does the happiness of men differ; or, is that 
 which gratifies one, calculated to be agreeable 
 to all? 
 
 Happiness differs universally according to in- 
 dividual constitution. There are as many dis- 
 tinct species of happiness and pleasure, as 
 there are fundamental faculties; and men being 
 unlike in mental endowment, the cause of hap- 
 piness in one case is frequently a source of 
 disgust in a second, and is unnoticed as either 
 in a third. 
 
GENERALITIES. 15 
 
 We cannot, therefore, find amj measure of the 
 happiness of others, in taking ourselves as 
 standards? 
 
 Certainly we cannot; because the faculties 
 are not equally nor alike active in all men. 
 
 In what does the- misery of man consist? 
 
 In the non-satisfaction of his faculties. 
 
 Then the causes of the misery of man are 
 different, are they not? 
 
 They vary according to the faculty or fac- 
 ulties which are active, and which are not sat- 
 isfied. 
 
 What is the principal cause of the unhappi- 
 ness of man? 
 
 Ignorance and transgression of the natural 
 law. 
 
 It appears, therefore, that to know and to 
 practise the natural law is extremely important? 
 
 As evil consists in its transgression, and good 
 in its accomplishment, and as its infringement 
 is the principal cause of man's unhappiness, 
 the natural law ought to be made a principal 
 study with every individual, it should be learn- 
 ed by heart, and its precepts never lost sight 
 of in the business of life. 
 
16 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 Holo may the natural laws of man be subdi- 
 vided? 
 
 Into three kinds, after the threefold na- 
 ture of his functions, viz. Vegetative, Intellect- 
 ual and Moral. 
 
 Do these three kinds of laws exert a mutual 
 influence? 
 
 They do, and it is of much importance not 
 to confound the fundamental faculties in which 
 diey inhere, with the products of the mutual 
 influence of those faculties, nor the existence 
 of three kinds of laws with their reciprocal re- 
 lations. 
 
SECTION I. 
 
 OF THE VEGETATIVE LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 What natural laws of man are Vegetative^ 
 
 Those which concern the preservation of his 
 body are so entitled. 
 
 How may these laws be divided? 
 
 Into two orders, having for their objects 
 respectively, 
 
 1st, The preservation of the individual, 
 
 2nd, The preservation of the species. 
 
 What are the most important of the natural 
 laivs that relate to the preservation of individu' 
 als9 
 
 1st, A good innate constitution, and 2nd, The 
 laws of dietetics which include temperature, 
 hght,air, food, cleanhness, exercise and repose. 
 
 Is not a perfect attention to the laws of diet- 
 etics indispensable to health 9 
 
 Yes; a certain quantity of caloric is neces- 
 sary to hfe, but it injures the bodily health in 
 
 too great abundance or too great scarcity. 
 
 2* 
 
18 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 Cold engenders many complaints, not only 
 among the poor but also among the rich. 
 The impossibility of guarding against sudden 
 changes of temperature, and the imprudence 
 with which all expose themselves to these, 
 are causes of innumerable diseases. The 
 quality of the air man breathes also influences 
 his bodily state. Carbonic acid gas suppres- 
 ses the vital functions, hydrogen retards, and 
 oxigen accelerates them; marsh miasmata pro- 
 duce diseases, &c. Air free from all putrid or 
 other exhalations is necessary to enable man 
 to exercise his various attributes with energy. 
 
 Howmay the dietetic laws that relate to Ali- 
 mentation he considered 9 
 
 Either as the quantity or the quality of ali- 
 mentary matter is concerned. 
 
 Does the quality of man's food deserve atten- 
 tion 9 
 
 It should be accommodated to age, tempera- 
 ment, climate, and season, and should vary 
 with the prevailing weather, and the state of 
 health of the individual. Whatever is easily 
 digested is wholesome, whatever is not is per- 
 nicious. Many enactments of ancient legisla- 
 
VEGETATIVE LAWS. 19 
 
 tors show their sense of the propriety of reg- 
 ulating the quahty of ahment. Rehgious law- 
 givers seem also to have had the same end in 
 view, when they pronounced certain kinds of 
 food to be clean, and certain others to be un- 
 clean. Pork in the warm countries of the 
 East is unwholesome, and the Jews and Ma- 
 hometans are forbidden by a religious com- 
 mandment to eat of it. 
 
 Does the general law in regard to the salu' 
 hrity of aliments vary in diffei^ent countries ? 
 
 In every chmate the general law is the same: 
 such food is uni\'ersally to be used as may be 
 digested with ease. But aliment varies in kind 
 In every diflerent country; and as food, by an- 
 other natural law, must always harmonize with 
 the particular circumstances of existence, 
 with age, temperament, climate, &c. such 
 things cannot be proper, in lands where the 
 excessive heat and light of the sun stimulate 
 the vital functions greatly, as are wholesome 
 and even necessary in regions where fogs and 
 frost and darkness cramp the energies of man. 
 
 There is nothing then clean or unclean in 
 itself 2 
 
20 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 Nothing. Every thing, however, may de- 
 serve either title by its employment in general 
 or in particular cases. 
 
 Are the dietetic rules of the Jews cf Palestine ^ 
 and of the Egyptians, adapted to the nations of 
 the north 9 
 
 By no means. To prescribe the same 
 course of diet to the inhabitants of every coun- 
 try of the globe, would not be less absurd than 
 to command the same material, and the same 
 form, for the garments of the Esquimaux, Eu- 
 ropean, and native of Senegal. 
 
 How is the natural law, having reference to 
 quantity of food, entitled ? 
 
 Sobriety or Temperance. 
 
 Is this laio of much importance ? 
 
 It exerts a powerful influence upon the well- 
 being of individuals. The sober man digests 
 easily, his body is properly nourished, and he 
 is ever in a condition to attend to his aflairs. 
 
 What crimes are committed against Sobrie- 
 ty9 
 
 Gluttony and Drunkenness. 
 
 What evils attend on the first of these 9 
 
 A long train of ills wait upon gluttony. It 
 
VEGETATIVE LAWS. 21 
 
 Injures the health, and weakens the digestive 
 powers; or it brings on obesity, unfits the body 
 for Its duties, obscures the powers of the 
 mind, and occasions every species of incon- 
 venience. 
 
 What evils accompany the second crime 
 against Sobriety'? 
 
 The consequences which attend drunken- 
 ness are nearly similar, but greater in degree. 
 Drunkenness undermines the health, enfeebles 
 digestion, and reduces its unhappy votary to 
 the level of the brutes; It deprives him of the 
 distinctions of humanity, which his Creator had 
 given for his guidance, rendering him equally 
 unfit for business and unworthy of trust; and, 
 making him quarrelsome and unreasonable, it 
 fills his home with misery and disorder. 
 
 What is the natural law which forbids the 
 abuse of solid or liquid aliment? 
 
 It is the law of Abstinence. 
 
 Does this law absolutely forbid all food 
 nohatever for a season, or certain kinds offood^ 
 as wine^ entirely? 
 
 It does no more than interdict those things 
 that are noxious, and the abuse of those which 
 
22 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 are good and proper. But this simple and salu- 
 tary interpretation has been abandoned; sound 
 views and excellent laws have been misunder- 
 stood, and changed into superstitious observ- 
 ances — the original aim of their institution has 
 indeed been very generally lost sight of alto- 
 gether. To subdue their animal appetites, the 
 inhabitants of Roman Cathohc countries are 
 commanded to eat no flesh on certain days of 
 the week, but they may still drink wine, live 
 upon fish, with rich and stimulating sauces, 
 on eggs, lobsters, and various shell-fish. Now 
 sensualism is in fact more excited by such al- 
 iments than by the flesh of animals plainly 
 dressed. The Mahometans are forbidden to 
 drink wine, but they still may intoxicate ihem- 
 selves by the unrestrained use of cofl^ee, opium 
 and tobacco; during the Rhammadan, they are 
 commanded to touch neither solid nor liquid 
 food from sunrise to sunset, by a restriction 
 which, however, allows them to revel in de- 
 bauchery from sunset to sunrise, &.c. 
 
 Are certain days indicated by the natural 
 law as proper to be observed as fasts? 
 
 Sobriety and the law of Abstinence, are never 
 
VEGETATIVE LAWS. 23 
 
 to be interrupted in their agency , never to be de- 
 parted from. No specific day, or number of 
 days, are pointed out by the natural law as es- 
 pecial Fasts. We must ever eat and drink 
 that we may live, not live that we may eat and 
 drink. The laws of hunger and thirst exist; 
 and he who obeys not their calls in due season 
 and at fitting time, is as much guilty of a breach 
 of the divine will, as he who abuses them by 
 brutal indulgence. 
 
 Does it not follow from this, that the laws of 
 sobriety^ and abstinence or fasting, are to be 
 enforced, not to phase the Creator, but purely 
 to advantage man^ 
 
 The first interpretation is the effect of igno- 
 rance, and is repugnant to good sense. These 
 natural laws have no other end but the happi- 
 ness of individuals, and of the kind at large, 
 and as they exert a powerful influence over 
 the health, the habitual dispositions, and the 
 momentary aflections of the mind, they ought 
 to be taught and made universally known. 
 Man, it is evident, feels his bodily as well as 
 his mental state to vary during a fast, and after 
 a hearty meal. A cup of strong coffee, or a 
 
24 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 glass of generous wine, gives more or less ac- 
 tivity both to the body and to the mind. Al- 
 iment is the principal cause of the organic con- 
 stitution, on which depends the degree of en- 
 ergy possessed by the fundamental faculties of 
 the body and mind. Without a body and a 
 brain, there is no exhibition of vegetative or 
 mental phenomena in this world; without food 
 there can be neither body nor brain. — Hence 
 the importance of the natural laws of alimenta- 
 tion. 
 
 Was the importance of the law of Sobriety 
 known to the ancients J 
 
 The rules of dietetics among them constitu- 
 ted a great part of moral science, and of the 
 revealed commandments. This proves suffi- 
 ciently the attention they bestowed on them, 
 and the degree of importance they attached to 
 their observance. 
 
 Jlre not the laws of bodily exercise also to 
 be carefully observed? 
 
 Bodily exercise is useful at every period 
 of life; it is, however, more especially so dur- 
 ing youth, and the years of corporeal devel- 
 opement. 
 
VEGETATIVE LAWS. 25 
 
 Has attention to the law of cleanliness any 
 influence on individuals'? 
 
 Cleanliness, as it tends to keep up free cuta- 
 neous transpiration — a process absolutely ne- 
 cessary to perfect health, demands sedulous 
 cultivation. Those who are very cleanly in 
 their persons and in their houses, are more 
 healthy than those who are slovenly, and live 
 amid filth. 
 
 What had consequences result from a neglect 
 of the natural law of cleanliness? 
 
 These are very numerous. Cutaneous dis- 
 eases, malignant fevers, and contagious influ- 
 ences generally, are engendered; and various 
 insects — those disgusting appendages of filth 
 and poverty — are encouraged to multiply! 
 
 Did the ancients give any heed to the laws of 
 cleanliness? 
 
 By ranking attention to cleanliness among 
 the religious virtues, and its neglect among the 
 sins, and by instituting ablutions and purifica- 
 tions ancient lawgivers had demonstrated 
 their knowledge of the good and evil effects 
 attendant on the observance or neglect of its 
 law. 
 
 3 
 
26 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 How are the laws that especially interest the 
 preservation of the species named 9 
 
 The laws of hereditary descent; for parents 
 exercise a mighty influence over the physical 
 condition of their offspring. General consti- 
 tution, bodily qualities, individual peculiarities, 
 diseases &c. are transmitted from sires to sons. 
 
 What are the conditions required to accom-' 
 plish the laios of hereditary descent ? 
 
 Every person ought to have attained com- 
 plete growth, and mature soUdity of fibre, and 
 also to be in possession of confirmed good 
 health, before putting himself into the way of 
 having a family. Those who marry too young 
 ruin their health, and procreate miserable, 
 dwarfish, and weakly children, whose lives are 
 useless to the commonwealth, and burthen- 
 some to themselves. Those, again, who have 
 passed the meridian of life, or have sufl:ered 
 from debilitating causes, before marriage, have 
 also an infirm and degenerate family. 
 
 What then should induce abnegation of mar-' 
 riage 9 
 
 No one who has the seeds of hereditary dis- 
 ease, such as scrofula, consumption, insanity, 
 
VEGETATIVE LAWS. 27 
 
 gout, Stone, &c. &c. lurking in his constitu- 
 tion, ought to many. 
 
 Do not individuals^ sprung from the same 
 stockj commit a grave error ivhen they inter- 
 marry 9 
 
 Marriages between near relations are very 
 frequently sterile, or the progeny is bastardiz- 
 ed, unpromising, and oftentimes idiotic. For 
 this reason it was that several ancient legisla- 
 tors interdicted such unions. Like misfor- 
 tunes, although in a less degree, afflict the fami- 
 lies that intermarry for a long period of time. 
 The offspring speedily feels a deteriorating in- 
 fluence; its physical and moral powers are en- 
 feebled by degrees, and the race is ultimately 
 extinguished. 
 
 WJiat is the most important moment for the 
 body of living beings 9 
 
 It is the moment of receiving existence. 
 The form, dimensions, and texture of the 
 body and its parts, the energy of the vegetative 
 functions, and the whole fate of the future be- 
 ing, in regard to health, disease. Sec. depend 
 on this instant. 
 
 Marriages ought therefore to he better assort- 
 
28 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 ed than they are at present^ were it merely to 
 benefit the physical part of man^s nature 9 
 
 Greater attention in this particular would 
 spare much sorrow to families. A dwarfish 
 and sickly offspring is in itself a dreadful mis- 
 fortune, and v^ery often poisons all the pleasures 
 of existence to parents. 
 
 Submission to the. laivs of hereditary descent 
 appears to be of the first-rate importance — does 
 it not 9 
 
 General as well as individual happiness is 
 impUcated in their observance. Attention to 
 their dictates will influence the improvement 
 of the species far more than any measure be- 
 sides that can be taken, and will consequently 
 do more to advantage general happiness than 
 any other exactment whatsoever. The laws 
 of hereditary descent exist; those who submit 
 will be happy and blessed in their offspring, 
 those who neglect them, though they them- 
 selves escape, will have prepared abundant 
 cause of misery to their children and to pos- 
 terity. 
 
 Hoio comes it that so little attention has hitlt- 
 erto been paid to the laws of hereditary descent 
 in contracting marriage ') 
 
VEGETATIVE LAWS. 29 
 
 Ignorance may in part be blamed, and the 
 dominion of inferior inclinations particularly 
 of acquisitiveness, love of approbation and 
 self esteem may very fairly be charged with 
 the rest of the transgressions committed against 
 them. 
 
 Ought not the Imcs of hereditary descent to 
 be taught J then? 
 
 They ought, as soon as young people can 
 understand how they themselves came into the 
 \vorld. Knowledge of these laws could not fail 
 to produce the most beneficial efiects; for even 
 personal views would unite with nobler and 
 higher considerations, to make the youth avoid 
 acts and connections that might bring misery 
 to dwell with th^m for the remainder of their 
 lives. But even admitting the impossibility of 
 finding means that would succeed completely 
 in opening men's eyes — acknowledging the 
 probable continuance of the reign of disorder, 
 we are nevertheless to use every effort in pro- 
 mulgating knowledge, which, acted upon, would 
 render mankind better and more happy. The 
 laws of hereditary descent occupy a place in 
 the foremost rank of importance, and ought 
 3* 
 
30 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 never to be lost sight of by the well wishers of 
 humanity. 
 
 What points does the law^ in its most com- 
 prehensive signification J that governs the phy- 
 sical part ofman^s nature, comprise? 
 
 The doing whatever may contribute to the 
 development and preservation of the body, the 
 avoiding all that may militate against this, the 
 putting the corporeal state into harmony with 
 the exhibition of the intellectual and moral 
 laws, or, in the religious language of the an- 
 cients, in making the body a temple and an 
 instrument of Intellect and Morality. 
 
 Is practice of the vegetative laws necessary? 
 
 The existence of these laws and the neces- 
 sity of submitting to them are synonymous. 
 Without this, man can never prosper or be 
 happy; without this, the accomplishment of 
 the moral and intellectual laws is impossible. 
 The importance, nay the necessity, of con- 
 forming strictly to all they ordain, follows ir- 
 resistibly as a corollary. 
 
SECTION II. 
 
 OP THE INTELLECTUAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 What is the essence of Litelligence, or Vh' 
 der standing? 
 
 It is, to know. The Intellect alone ac- 
 quires knowledge, of whatever kind it be. 
 
 In what does Intelligence consist — or, what is 
 Intelligence? 
 
 InteUigence is a word which, at one time, 
 designates a personified principle which knows; 
 at another, no more than an attribute of a prin- 
 ciple — the faculty of knowing; sometimes also 
 the name is used to signify the functions col- 
 lectively which have place with consciousness. 
 
 In what are philosophers agreed, in their 
 discussions upon intelligence, and in what do 
 they differ? 
 
 All agree as to the effects of Intellect; for all 
 assign to it every species of knowledge,— to know 
 is its nature: but differences occur as to what it 
 is that knows, as to the objects known,the con- 
 
32 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 ditions necessary to knowledge, and the vari- 
 ous degrees of certainty of our knowledge. 
 
 W hat opinion is the most generally enter- 
 tained as to that which knows9 
 
 The greatest number of philosophers speak 
 of, and admh, an incorporeal something, inhab- 
 iting man's body, which knows. Others, how- 
 ever, consider knowledge as a function or pro- 
 duct of certain organic structures. 
 
 How are these two classes of philosophers en- 
 titled'? 
 
 The partizans of the first opinion are called 
 Spiritualists, those of the second, Materialists. 
 
 What was the literal meaning of the icord 
 among the Greeks and Romans^ which corres- 
 ponds to Spirit or Soul among the moderns? 
 
 Air, or breath. 
 
 »Rnd by what name is the doctrine of the incor- 
 poreal something of man'' s constitution design 
 nated? 
 
 It is termed Psychology, from the Greek 
 4^f;fj? soul, and Ao^oc discourse or doctrine. 
 
 What are the ideas most generally entertain- 
 fid concerning this incorporeal part of man? 
 
 That it inhabits our mortal body, by the me- 
 
INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 33 
 
 dium or assistance of which its operations are 
 variously manifested, and from which it is sep- 
 arated at death, to change its habitation. 
 
 By what name have some modern French 
 philosophers entitled the vis, or power which 
 knows and the result of its activity or knoW' 
 ledge? 
 
 They have called the power which knows, 
 Sensibility, without paying further attention to 
 its nature, its actual state, or its destiny; and to 
 the product of sensibility, that is, knowledge, 
 they have given the general title, Sensation. 
 
 Can loe, by reasonings arrive at conclusions 
 on the nature of that which knows^ on its man' 
 ner of acting, or on its filial destination? 
 
 These are purely subjects of rehgious be- 
 lief, and history shows that opinions, the most 
 contradictory and unlikely, have been promul- 
 gated and received in regard to them. 
 
 What conclusion is to he draim from this 
 fact? 
 
 That every individual is to have full permis- 
 sion to beheve that which to him seems good 
 and proper, provided neither individual nor 
 general happiness be compromised. 
 
34 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 Announcing the fact — Man Knoics^ — lohat 
 points are especially to be attended to in exam- 
 ining his knoioledge? 
 
 It is necessary above all things to determine 
 accurately that which he can, and that which 
 he cannot know; to specify the various sorts 
 of knowledge, and indicate the conditions un- 
 der which each may be acquired; to establish 
 the natural laws, or the regularity with which 
 every thing happens; and thus to found on a 
 sure basis the happiness of individuals and of 
 the human kind. 
 
 What can man knoiv? 
 
 Strict reason demonstrates that he only 
 knows his individual identity, and the modified 
 conditions of his self. Plain sense says that 
 man laiows, first, his existence, many parts 
 which constitute his frame, many internal 
 functions, called feelings and intellect, or 
 affective and intellectual faculties; — Moreover, 
 that he knows a great number of external ob- 
 jects, as existences; th.at he further knows their 
 physical qualities, their mutual relations, and 
 their relations with himself and with others; 
 lastly, that he knows regularity, or the laws of 
 all the knowledge lie })ossesses. 
 
INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 35 
 
 How may the external objects of human 
 knowledge be divided^ 
 
 Into Matters^ and Spirits or Souls, 
 
 What,, according to the ancients, are the 
 characteristics of matter, and of spirit or soul'? 
 
 Matter was characterized by its inertia, and 
 certain qualities styled physical, such as form, 
 size, weight, and impenetrability. Spirit, on 
 the other hand, was distinguished by its form- 
 lessness, and its power of conferring activity on 
 matter. 
 
 Have opinions on these points been constant^ 
 
 No. Mankind have not at all times recog- 
 nized the same number either of elementary 
 matters or spirits. Simple substances were 
 long confined to four, but modern chemistry 
 in its progress has augmented the quantity 
 prodigiously. 
 
 Under what forms does matter occur in the 
 world9 
 
 It exists in the solid, hquid, aeriform or im- 
 ponderable state. 
 
 Are not researches upon matter in some of 
 these conditions more especially difficult^ 
 
 Researches upon imponderable bodies are 
 
36 >fATURAL LAWS OP MAN. 
 
 particularly so: for matter in this state is in- 
 timately connected with the personified princi- 
 ples which act in the human body; and here, 
 observation and induction, the sole guides to 
 certainty, abandon the investigator. 
 
 What difference is there between matter gener- 
 ally and an organized body'? 
 
 Matter may, 1st, be simple; an organized 
 body is always compounded: 
 
 2nd, Matter has not been engendered, and 
 has no generative power; organized bodies are 
 products of previously existing individuals, 
 their like : 
 
 3rd, matter of different kinds, however min- 
 gled, chemically or mechanically, can never 
 exhibit vital functions after the manner of an 
 organized body. 
 
 What are the points of resemblance between 
 matter generally and organized bodies; accord- 
 ing to ancients? 
 
 1st, Inertia, and 
 2nd, Each being actuated by immaterial caus- 
 es or spirits. 
 
 To what has the organizing power of the 
 body been ascribed by the old philosophers, 
 und with what degree of accuracy? 
 
 i 
 
INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 37 
 
 To the "soul or spirit. But this conclusion 
 is not probably correct. A beautiful body fol- 
 lows not necessarily as a consequence of a 
 superior soul, and many very plain persons at- 
 tach our good opinion and gain our confidence 
 by their amiable tempers and general good 
 qualities. 
 
 What is it impossible for man to knoic? 
 
 It is certain that he can know nothing in it- 
 self, neither the essence of his own nature nor 
 that of external objects. The self of the con- 
 scious man is nothing more to him than an ob- 
 ject of observation. Farther mian cannot know 
 either the beginning or the end or final desti- 
 nation of aught that is; he can only observe 
 what is, the conditions under which it is, and 
 the regularity with which the phenomena hap- 
 pen. His knowledge is merely phenomenal. 
 
 In what way can man know^ or acquire know- 
 ledge'^ 
 
 Og^ by observing and inducing; for reflec- 
 tion will no more reveal to man his own na- 
 ture, than it will give him information of exter- 
 nal objects, with their physical qualities and 
 their relations. The study of man by the 
 4 
 
33 NATURAL LAWS Op MAN 
 
 a priori method, or reflection, has retarded the? 
 knowledge of his nature extremely. Every 
 one who entered on the subject assuming him- 
 self as the type of the whole species, confound- 
 ed his own peculiarities w ith the essential or gen- 
 eral constitution of humanity; as if one blind 
 from4)irth should do well in imagining all man- 
 kind similarly circumstanced. Hence arose 
 as many systems of mental philosophy as 
 there were thinkers. 
 
 What can man knoto of his own nature'? 
 
 First, his body, its constituent parts, its 
 functions, the laws of its preservation, and the 
 laws of propagation; further, his own aftective 
 and intellectual operations, and those of his 
 fellow men; lastly, ihe conditions necessary 
 to the manifestation of these, and the regulari- 
 ty or laws according to which ihey appear or 
 are produced. 
 
 Man then J it appears^ is destined to knoio? 
 
 The law of nature proclaims that he is. 
 Intelligence is as essential a part of maii as 
 his body. Without it, neither individuals nor 
 the species could be preserved or continued. 
 
 Intelligence being an inherent part of human 
 nature^ why do some oppose its cultivation? 
 
INTELLECTUAL LAWS 39 
 
 All who do so are to -be regarded with a 
 very suspicious eye. They are such as would 
 lead mankind blindfolded, and obedient to their 
 arbitrary will and pleasure, for selfish and sin- 
 ister ends. It is unquestionably much easier 
 to render the ignorant and uncultivated subser- 
 vient to unworthy purposes, than the instruct- 
 ed and reasoning man. Knowledge, too, and 
 the habit of reflection, detect errors which 
 pride and selfishness would willingly keep con- 
 cealed. The abuses or misapplication of in- 
 tellect have also been confounded with intel- 
 lect itself. Now, intellect only supphes the 
 means of executing, it gives not the motive 
 or aim of the action. — As rehgion is not the 
 less respectable because of the crimes com- 
 mitted in its name, neidier is intellect because 
 of its abuses. 
 
 Is it not reasonable then to cultivate the un- 
 derstanding'^ 
 
 The cultivation of the Intellect, provided 
 justice and truth be made the objects of re- 
 search, is not only reasonable, but is a prime 
 duty. 
 }Vhat is the second natural law of Intelligence? 
 
40 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 It is this : The different manifestations of 
 man are inexphcable, on the supposition of one 
 simple cause; in other words: Man in his na- 
 ture possesses determinate, specific, and dis- 
 tinct causes of his different modes of feehng 
 and thinking. 
 
 Hoio do they ^ ivho admit the entity self, ex- 
 plain man's different kinds of knowledge'? 
 
 By supposing this agent, self, endowed with 
 a number of primary faculties; they also rec- 
 ognize various conditions, as necessary to the 
 exhibition of mental phenomena. 
 
 What is the usual division of the primary 
 faculties of the agent^ self? 
 
 It is into Understanding and Will; a di- 
 vision which has been recognized from remote 
 antiquity, and differently entitled — Head and 
 Heart, >Spirit and Flesh, Intellect and Moral 
 Faculties, Modes of thinking and Modes of 
 Feeling. 
 
 What is the meaning of the word^ Will? 
 
 To Will various meanings are attached. 
 Philosophers commonly understand by it, all 
 desires collectively, and all degrees in any 
 particular desire, from simple inclination up to 
 
INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 41 
 
 passion. Hence they speak of weak and of 
 strong wills ; and farther, of good and of bad 
 wills also. 
 
 Will, again, sometimes denotes the desire 
 which predominates. Feeling one incHnation, 
 if another arise and overcome the former, the 
 second is called Will. 
 
 There is still another kind of Will, which 
 may be called enlightened, because it implies 
 a desire approved of by intelligence. 
 
 Iswill^ as designating desires jHot confined to 
 the faculties which experience Sentiments^ 
 
 No; for, that every faculty, being active, 
 desires, is a perfectly general proposition, and 
 therefore includes such faculties as procure 
 knowledge also. 
 
 Seeing that the philosophical nomenclature 
 is so faulty, and that those faculties that know, 
 desire or manifest Will, would it not he well to 
 o-ive a distinguishing title to all the powers 
 that merehj excite feelings without acquiring 
 any knowledge? 
 
 Certainly it would. And as the faculties 
 which do not know, produce especially what 
 
 are called aftections, affective faculties will ac- 
 
 4* 
 
42 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 curately express their distlnguisbing nature. 
 If hat knows^ or takes cognizance of^ tke af- 
 fective 'powers') 
 
 The Iiilellect. To know, is the peculiar 
 and proper character of tlie faculties which en- 
 ter into its constitution. 
 
 IIow is the Intellect or the Understanding 
 divided') 
 
 It is commonly supposed to be ])ossessed of 
 certain attributes entitled faculties, such as 
 Attention, Perception, Memory, Imagination, 
 and Judgment. Occasionally the Understand- 
 ing has been said to know, according to certain 
 forms or categories. Kant, for instance, ob- 
 serves that the Spirit or Intellect must repre- 
 sent all it knows in space and time. 
 How is Jltleniion defined? 
 Philoso])hers have considered Attention to 
 be the primary faculty which acts in the acqui- 
 sition of every sort of knowledge. 
 
 Can Jlttentio7i be truly esteemed a primary 
 faculty of the mind'? 
 
 If it be, it behoves philosophers to show the 
 causes of its various degrees and different kinds 
 of activity. For one may manifest a peculiar 
 
INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 43 
 
 sort of Attention strongly, another weakly, and 
 be altogether incapable of exhibiting a third. 
 Now all these facts are incompatible with the 
 philosophic idea of Attention being a primary 
 faculty. 
 
 W hat is Jlttention then? 
 
 Attention is the effect of the entity self arous- 
 ed by the active state of the affective and in- 
 tellectual faculties. Its strength is proportion- 
 ed to the degree of energy of the acting pow- 
 ers, that is, of the powers which attend. 
 
 Can ice, on this showing, explain, why, 
 ivithout Attention, no one can succeed in any 
 art or science? 
 
 Readily. Attention is synonymous with 
 activity, and certainly success is impossible 
 without activity of the respective faculties. 
 
 How is Perception defined? 
 
 Perception, or Consciousness, according to 
 philosophers, is that faculty which takes cog- 
 nizance of impressions, whether external or 
 internal. Each of these two orders of impress- 
 sions includes many species, which may be 
 perceived separately. We may hear and not 
 see, see and not hear; we may perceive, or be 
 
44 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 conscious of, the forms of objects, and not of 
 their dimensions and colors; perceive the har- 
 mony of colors, and not of tones; be conscious 
 of attachment and not of fear, of pride and not 
 of benevolence; and so on. Knowledge of any 
 impression whatever, is Perception; there are 
 consequently as many kinds of perception as 
 of faculties which furnish impressions. 
 
 What general title may be given to the or- 
 gamc conditions which procure impressions? 
 
 The general term. Sense. Internal as well 
 as external senses might then be spoken of 
 with propriety; and perception — a common 
 quality, would appear stripped of all pretensions 
 to rank as a primary faculty of mind. 
 What is Memory? 
 
 Memory is, by many philosophers, regarded 
 as a fundamental power, but it is in truth noth- 
 ing more than the repetition by intellectual 
 faculties of previously received impressions. 
 The species of memory therefore are as nu- 
 merous as the faculties which know. The 
 different kinds of memory, and the various de- 
 grees of activity exhibited by each, are inex- 
 plicable by the hypothesis of a simple cause; 
 
INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 45 
 
 as inexplicable indeed as are the different spe- 
 cies of knowledge on such a supposition. 
 
 Hoio comes it that attention strengthens 
 Memory^ 
 
 Attention and Memory are alike effects of 
 an active state of the faculties which know. 
 Energetic actions of these, accompanied by 
 clear perceptions, leave strong impressions, 
 which are afterwards reproduced with more 
 ease than such as have been so weak and tran- 
 sient as to be but httle noted. Moreover, the 
 faculty which takes cognizance of the phenom- 
 enal w^orld, exercises an influence over the 
 powders w hich know, and by exciting, better 
 enables them to repeat their functions, and 
 thus strengthens memory. 
 
 What is the mental phenomenon, entitled 
 Reminiscence'^ 
 
 It is the consciousness of the repetition of 
 any sensation or previously acquired know- 
 ledge. 
 
 Is Reminiscence a primary faculty? 
 
 No, it is but an effect of a repetition of its 
 function by that faculty which takes cognizance 
 of the phenomenal world — Eventuality. 
 
46 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 What is understood by Imagination? 
 
 Imagination is a word which is variously in- 
 terpreted. Sometimes it is used to designate 
 a faculty that makes man act spontaneously, 
 and causes him to invent in any way. A me- 
 chanician invents ingenious machines, a musi- 
 cian composes musical pieces, a mathematician 
 discovers new problems, — all is done by Im- 
 agination. Sometimes the word denotes an 
 exalted and peculiar manner of feeling, and in 
 this sense, Imagination is a sentiment or dis- 
 tinct affective faculty, capable of being com- 
 bined with all the other faculties. 
 
 Is there any primary faoulty of Imagination 
 taken as synonymous with the capacity of Inven- 
 tion'? 
 
 None. It is only a consequence of the' in- 
 tellectual combined with the affective faculties, 
 each in a high state of activity. 
 
 Is there any primary faculty of Association? 
 
 Many philosophers speak of such a funda- 
 mental power, but it is a mere effect of sever- 
 al distinct and varied causes; in other words, 
 the actions of the primary faculties are associ- 
 ated. Each being active, excites and acts 
 along with one or two, or more, of the others. 
 
INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 47 
 
 TIow is association among the intellectual 
 faculties stijled? 
 
 Association of Ideas. 
 
 The mode of action^ called^ Association^ how- 
 ever^ is not confined to the intellectual faculties'^ 
 
 It may be observed among the affective also, 
 and between the affective and intellectual pow- 
 ers reciprocally. The mutual influence of the 
 faculties is quite general. Any one whatso- 
 ever in a state of activity may excite any one 
 or any number of others. 
 
 How is Judgment defined by philosophers'^ 
 
 It is considered as a primitive faculty, which 
 compares perceived impressions, finds them 
 harmonious or discordant, and approves or 
 disapproves of them. But Judgment is in fact 
 a qualitive mode of action of the intellectual 
 faculties. Species of knowledge act oh the 
 sentient being in conformity with certain laws, 
 which however admit of modifications to a cer- 
 tain extent. Now the faculties that know their 
 appropriate impressions respectively, are affec- 
 ted in a manner which they approve or disap- 
 prove, and in this way may be said to judge. 
 Judgment, consequently, is only the announce- 
 
48 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 ment of the mode of being affected by im- 
 pressions received and known. There are 
 consequently as many kinds of Judgment as 
 species of knowlege or faculties which know; 
 there is a Judgment in forms, another in col- 
 ors, a third in tones, and so on; and Judgment 
 individually depends on the special powders 
 which appreciate forriis, colors, tones, &c. 
 
 Can Judgment be correctly spoken of as 
 good or bad? 
 
 The faculties are subject to certain laws, and 
 their actions are either perfect or imperfect. 
 Good Judgment is the attendant of the first, 
 bad Judgment of the second, state. He who 
 listens to music, perceives the harmony of the 
 tones, or he does not; and is thus possessed 
 or is not possessed of a musical judgment. 
 He who has the faculties which are necessary 
 to appreciate tones in their greatest state of 
 perfection, has the best Judgment in music, 
 and he who has them the least complete, has 
 the worst Judgment in this particular. It is 
 the same in regard to every other kind of know- 
 ledge. 
 
 Jlre the laws, according to which different 
 species of knowledge have place, arbitrary? 
 
INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 49 
 
 By no means ; they present all the charac- 
 ters of natural laws. They inhere in human 
 nature, are essentially the same in all places 
 and at all times, and harmonize with the whole 
 of the vegetative and moral laws of man. Be 
 it observed, however, that it is the essence 
 aloneof the faculties which is pervaded by this 
 universal regularity. Modifications of the pow- 
 ers occur constantly and in great variety. 
 Some actions, results of their activity, may 
 be considered as good and excellent at one 
 time, and bad and reprehensible at another. 
 Certain kinds of knowledge, certain ideas, 
 may prevail at particular periods, even errors 
 may gain accredence and be in vogue, but 
 truth and essential excellence will not therefore 
 be annihilated ; sooner or later, by one or an- 
 other, they will be felt, and be made supreme. 
 
 Are there not certain Judgments which are 
 universally accounted good or bad? 
 
 Yes. All civihzed men would say of him, 
 who should feed on loathsome articles which 
 could not nourish his body, that he had a bad 
 taste. In the same w^ay, he who admits ideas 
 which are mutually contradictory, will be by 
 5 
 
50 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 all accounted to have a bad Judgment. On 
 the other hand, the effects of certain intellect- 
 ual operations will always meet approval. 
 The music of Handel and of Mozart, the color- 
 ing of Titian, the sculpture of the old Greeks, 
 and the Christian system of morals, will secure 
 approbation, so long as the feehng for the 
 melody and harmony of sounds, capacity to 
 perceive color, power to appreciate fine forms, 
 and admiration of virtue, belong to, ajid form 
 constituents in, the nature of man. 
 
 Is reason a fundamental power of the mind'^ 
 
 No, this term indicates the functions of 
 Comparison and Causality severally or in com- 
 bination. 
 
 What is the aim of reason^ 
 
 Reason is given to direct the functions of 
 all the other special powers of the mind, and to 
 bring them into harmony; without being guided 
 by reason every faculty is liable to errors. 
 
 Since reason is essential in preventing the er- 
 rors of the other faculties is it free from erring'? 
 Reason acts according to determinate princi- 
 ples, but it does not furnish the objects on which 
 it operates, hence it will err each time when 
 
INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 51 
 
 the premises or objects of its activity are not 
 truly furnished. 
 
 Since many mistakes have thus been made in 
 regard to thepoioers of the mind, how can we, 
 by reasoning, arrive at a knoivledge of its spe- 
 cial faculties? 
 
 A faculty will, by reason, be recognized as 
 special, 1st, when it exists in one species of 
 animal and not in another. 
 
 2d, When its manifestations are not in 
 proportion to those of the other faculties, nei- 
 ther in the different sexes nor in the same in- 
 dividual. 
 
 3d, When its manifestations may be singly 
 healthy or singly diseased. 
 
 4th, When its manifestations do not appear 
 nor disappear simultaneously with those of the 
 other powers. 
 
 5th, When it can alone, or singly repose. 
 
 6th, When it is transmitted in a distinct 
 manner from parents to children. 
 
 The same mode of proof appHes to the spe- 
 cial affective, as well as the special intellectu- 
 al, faculties. Observation and induction must 
 lead to the knowledge of both. 
 
52 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 How is the existence of any special faculty 
 whatever to he proved by observation^ 
 
 By the recognition of a relation between 
 special manifestation and particular organic ap- 
 paratus. 
 
 What are the affective faculties of man7 
 
 f Desire of life. 
 
 * Desire of Meat and Drink. 
 
 1. Sense of Destroying. 
 
 2. Sense of Amativeness. 
 
 3. Sense of Parental love, or Love of Off- 
 spring. 
 
 4. Sense of Attachment. 
 
 5. Sense of Habitation. 
 
 6. Sense of Courage. 
 
 7. Sense of Secresy. 
 
 8. Sense of Acquiring or Collecting. 
 
 9. Sense of Constructing. 
 
 10. Sense of Cautiousness. 
 
 1 1 . Sense of Approbation and Notoriety. 
 
 12. Sense of Self-esteem. 
 
 13. Sense of Benevolence. 
 
 14. Sense of Reverence. 
 
 15. Sense of Firmness and Perseverance. 
 IG. Sense of Conscientiousness. 
 
INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 53 
 
 17. Sense of Hope. 
 
 18. Sense of Marvellousness. 
 
 19. Sense of the Ideal and Perfect. 
 
 20. Sense of Mirth and Humor. 
 
 21 . Sense of Imitation. 
 
 What are the Intellectual faculties of man9 
 
 1. Five External Senses which convey to 
 him peculiar impressions of the external world. 
 
 2. A faculty- which personifies these impres- 
 sions, and presents them as separate from the 
 organs of external sense. This faculty seems 
 to procure him notions of individual existence. 
 
 3. Particular faculties which know the Phy- 
 sical Quahties of objects, as Configuration, 
 Size, Weight, and Color. 
 
 4. A particular faculty which knows what 
 passes in objects and their quahties, that is, 
 which cognizes the phenomenal world. The 
 same faculty seems also to turn into knowledge 
 all sensations felt in the body; as pain, fatigue, 
 the necessity of difterent evacuations, cold, 
 heat, and, lastly, the activity of all the affec- 
 tive powers. 
 
 5. Particular faculties which conceive no- 
 tions of the LocaHties of objects, of Time or 
 
 5* 
 
64 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 duration, whether of objects, or of phenomena 
 and their succession; of Melody; of Number, 
 whether of objects, qualities, phenomena, or 
 tones; of Order, whether in objects, in phys- 
 ical qualities, in phenomena, in localities, in 
 succession, or in number. 
 
 6. A particular faculty which cognizes An- 
 alogy or Difference, Similitude or Dissimili- 
 tude, and Identity, and establishes harmony; 
 and another which appreciates the Causes of 
 objects and of phenomena. 
 
 7. A particular faculty which knows and 
 presides over the signs of artificial language. 
 
 What is understood by the Passions, and 
 by the Affections. 
 
 These words denote modes of action of the 
 primary faculties. Passion expresses the high- 
 est degree of their activity. Affection the 
 mere general mode of their being affected. 
 
 Then neither the Affections nor the Passions 
 are primary powers of the mind? 
 
 The preceding reply authorizes a negative. 
 
 How may the Affections be subdivided? 
 
 1st, Into modes of quality and modes of 
 quantity; in other words, the primary faculties 
 
INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 55 
 
 may procure modified sensations, and they 
 may be more or less active. 
 
 2d, Affections are gencraZ, common^ or 
 special; that is, certain modes of being affect- 
 ed belong to the whole of the primary powers, 
 to several, to one only, and to each individu- 
 ally. Thus, Pleasure and Pain are general 
 affections. Memory belongs to the intellect- 
 ual faculties in common, and Compassion is a 
 special affection of the faculty of Benevo- 
 lence. 
 
 3d, Affections are simple or compound; 
 that is to say, they result from the individual 
 activity ol one faculty, or from the simultane- 
 ous activity of several. For instance. Fear 
 is a simple affection of the faculty of Circum- 
 spection; Shame, a compound affection, of 
 the faculties of Justice and Love of Approba- 
 tion. 
 
 4th, Affections are agreeable or disagreea- 
 ble. 
 
 6th, Affections are common to animals and 
 man, or they are proper and peculiar to man, 
 as well as the faculties themselves which are 
 their causes. 
 
56 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 When the Passions are spoken of^ why do 
 mankind generally think of sensual pleasures 
 and inferior sentiments^ as love of notoriety^ 
 pride, and self -inter estedness'^ 
 
 Because the affective powers in general, 
 and those in particular, in which these inchna- 
 tions inhere, are commonly very energetic 
 among men, and because their activity is ex- 
 tremely dangerous to the peace and well-be- 
 ing of society. 
 
 Concluding from what has gone before, how 
 are the functions, designated as primary facul- 
 ties in the schools of philosophy, to be regard- 
 ed9 
 
 Only as effects, or as modes of action in re- 
 gard to quantity and quality of the mind's fun- 
 damental powers. 
 
 A7id what is to be thought of the philosophic 
 nomenclature? 
 
 That it is extremely defective. Every ex- 
 pression has several significations, and none 
 designates a cause or primary faculty, but 
 merely an effect or action. 
 
 What conclusion is to he drawn from this 
 position? 
 
INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 67 
 
 That the ideas of the schools are inexact. 
 Ideas and the signs that express them are in- 
 timately related. Ideas precede, and as they 
 are precise, signs follow correspondingly nu- 
 merous and exact. 
 
 The philosophical nomenclature requires a 
 reform, then? 
 
 It stands in great need of it, as well as phi- 
 losophical principles themselves. 
 
 In remodelling and determining the nomen- 
 clature of the philosophy of man, v)hat course 
 would he proper to pursue? 
 
 It would be necessary to assume signs to 
 express, 
 
 1st, Primary faculties. 
 
 2d, Qualitive modes of action of the fac- 
 ilities. 
 
 3d, Degrees of activity or quantitive modes 
 of the faculties. 
 
 4th, Modes of several faculties simultaneous- 
 ly active. 
 
 6th, Different actions resulting whether 
 from primary faculties simply active, from 
 their modes, of their mutual influence. 
 
 To illustrate this procedure take Benevo- 
 
68 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 lence. — This sign denotes a primary faculty of 
 the mind; Compassion designates a qualitive 
 mode of the power; Great, Much, Little, 
 Weak, quantitive modes of the same; Equity 
 its simultaneous activity with justice, the infe- 
 rior sentiments being subordinate; Christian 
 Charity, its union with the whole of the pri- 
 mary powers besides, in a perfect state of har- 
 mony. 
 
 What generic i.ame may he aptly used to 
 express every function of the affective and in- 
 tellectual faculties? 
 
 Sensation will designate any degree of ac- 
 tivity or other mode of every faculty. Every 
 perceived impression is a species of Sensa- 
 tion. 
 
 How do Sensations become Conceptions or 
 Ideas? 
 
 This happens by Intellect representing to it- 
 self Sensation. One may perceive the sen- 
 sation of hunger internally and without saying, 
 'I am hungry;' knowledge of the existence of 
 sensations constitutes Conceptions or Ideas. 
 
 What signification is attached to the word 
 Idea? 
 
INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 59 
 
 This term has been the subject of much 
 discussion. Etymologically considered, it 
 signifies, image or figure; but in this accepta- 
 tion there are not many Ideas; odors, tastes, 
 colors, are all excluded. Besides, by the do- 
 minant philosophy of the present day, and in 
 opposition to Aristotle, impressions, and not 
 images, are maintained to be perceived by the 
 Soul. Several philosophers have also extend- 
 ed the meaning of the word Idea, and made it 
 to signify Knowledge of all external impres- 
 sions. But when the etymological significa- 
 tion is once abandoned, there can be no reason 
 for not calling knowledge, both of external 
 and internal impressions. Idea. One might 
 then have an Idea of hunger, of fear, and of 
 anger, as well as of color, sound, figure, or 
 dimension. 
 
 What is the third natural laio of Intelligence') 
 
 It is as follows: the knowledge of man's 
 mental nature may become as exact and posi- 
 tive as that of his physical constitution. 
 
 What are the principal points to be noted^ 
 touching man's mental nature'? 
 
 They are, 1st, The primary faculties that 
 enter mto its position. 
 
60 NATURAL LAWS OP MAN. 
 
 2d, The origin of these. 
 
 3d, The fixed laws of their functions. 
 
 4th, The causes of modifications of their 
 functions. 
 
 5th, The moral and religious laws. 
 
 What is the true method of proving the txis' 
 tence of the primary faculties which constitute 
 man's mental part'? 
 
 It is still observation and induction. Phi- 
 losphers have long disputed upon the special 
 faculties of the human mind. From time to 
 time, a greater or smaller number has been ad- 
 mitted, but all that has yet been written or 
 said has not been apphcable beyond the limited 
 sphere of individual conviction. When by 
 observation the relations which subsist between 
 the cerebral apparatus and the special powers 
 of the mind shall have been demonstrated, the 
 philosophy of man will become a positive and 
 an invariable science. 
 
 Physiology is therefore useful and aidant in 
 the philosophy of man? 
 
 Physiology and the Philosophy of mind are 
 two sciences inseparable. They are mutually 
 accompletive. 
 
INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 61 
 
 fVhat are the characteristics of exact knoioledge? 
 
 Exact knowledge is characterized in the 
 same way as the natural laws. That which 
 is, is, has been, and will be, demonstrable for 
 ever. It is of the highest importance to be 
 convinced that truth and exact knowledge of 
 every kind are, and must be in harmony. 
 
 What is the origin of the primary faculties 
 of man? 
 
 They are innate in his constitution. 
 
 Has this truth been long known? 
 
 From the remotest antiquity. The ancients 
 even went so far as to maintain that Ideas were 
 innate. 
 
 What then is actually innate in man? 
 
 The essence of the primary powders, various 
 capacities of activity, and pecuHar modifications 
 of function, according to sex or individuals. 
 
 Have the faculties hecn^ by all the schools^ 
 considered as innate? 
 
 No; many philosophers have maintained, 
 that man comes into the world a tabula rasa^ a 
 smooth and fair surface, and that all his capaci- 
 ties and actions are eflects of external circum- 
 stances. 
 
 What are the chief extraneous circumstances 
 6 
 
62 ' NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 tchich have been believed to be the causes of 
 man^s actions'? 
 
 Wan]t, Society, Opportunity, Climate, 
 Food, and, above all. Education. 
 
 What is the extent of the influence of extra- 
 neous circumstances'? 
 
 They are often necessary to permit the ex- 
 hibition of natural dispositions, but they can 
 by no possibihty produce any faculty; some- 
 times too they develope innate capacity, and 
 exercise the faculties. Further, Education 
 may give a determinate bent to the innate 
 powers; and make them ehcit specific actions. 
 — A Mussulman and a Christian are both de- 
 vout from the same innate feehng, but the for- 
 mer may think it his duty to make at least 
 once in his life a prilgrimage to Mecca, and 
 the latter to sing hymns in praise of God. 
 
 How has the innateness of their simple disposi- 
 tions^ or of their effects— actions ^been explained? 
 
 Their cause has been sought, sometimes in 
 the presence of immaterial agents, named Spir- 
 its or Souls, sometimes in organization; eitlrer 
 generally, or in that of the abdominal and thora- 
 cic viscera, of the external senses, and of the 
 brain especially. 
 
INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 63 
 
 IIoio does determinate knowledge originate'^ 
 
 From the innate primary capacities which 
 know, and the impressions which are known. 
 
 Do all possess the innate primary faculties in 
 equal degrees of activity'^ 
 
 No; experience proves that their energy va- 
 ries extremely in different individuals. 
 
 What is the cause of this diversity of endow- 
 ment? 
 
 It inheres partly in man, and partly belongs 
 to extraneous circumstances. 
 
 What is meant by an universal genius? 
 
 He who could appreciate and acquire tho- 
 roughly every species and variety of know- 
 ledge, would be an universal genius. Genius 
 does not signify a special power of mind, but 
 the highest degree of activity of any intellec- 
 tual faculty. Now although we may conceive 
 a being possessed of all the powers in their best 
 and most energetic state, it is not probable that 
 any such has ever visited, or is ever Hkely to 
 visit, the world. 
 
 Is it possible or probable, that mankind may^ 
 in some future age, agree in their manners of 
 feeling and thinking? 
 
<54 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 As men are constituted at the present time, 
 it must be admitted that they cannot agree, 
 even upon the essentials of their mental func- 
 tions, or of the judgments they pronounce. 
 Harmony and unanimity, however, as essen- 
 tials are concerned, will be possible, nay will 
 prevail whenever the natural laws are recog- 
 nized as the rules of conduct, and their com- 
 mands are enforced and obeyed. But man- 
 kind can never accord on the modifications of 
 their affective and intellectual faculties. 
 
 When we perceive that the corporeal and in- 
 tellectual parts of man are governed by invari' 
 able laws^ can we suppose that his moral part, the 
 most noble of all, is abandoned to chance — 
 abstracted from the influence of all natural law^ 
 
 To think so is a grievous error, — an error 
 that has been the source of many of the evils 
 that afflict humanity. Man's moral nature is 
 regulated by determinate laws. So vast is 
 the importance and so great and salutary the 
 influence, of this proposition, that it should be- 
 come aa article of universal belief among man^ 
 kind- 
 
SECTION III. 
 
 OF THE MORAL LAWS. 
 
 Is man naturally a moral being^ — that is, 
 a being who^ by his oton nature, views his ac- 
 tions in relation to duty and justice? 
 
 Yes: there is in his constitution an inherent 
 sentiment, entitled Moral Conscience, which 
 produces such an effect. 
 
 Are the moral precepts of all men alike'^ 
 
 No; for the act which is considered just in 
 one country, is often looked on as unjust in 
 another. 
 
 What is the cause of this diversity of deci- 
 sion'^ 
 
 The sentiment of conscientiousness does not 
 determine that which is just or unjust, it only- 
 feels the necessity of being just. The major- 
 ity of mankind take for granted whatever they 
 are told is right, and assume as just, the pre- 
 cepts to which they have been accustomed 
 6* 
 
66 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 from infancy. Among the few who think, In- 
 tellect determines Justice; but the conclusions 
 are still influenced by the general mental fi-ame. 
 
 How may conscience he divided') 
 
 Into Absolute and Individual. The first is 
 Conscience as it ought to be fcr all men ; the 
 second, as its name implies, is the Conscience 
 of individuals. 
 
 In what does the Absolute Conscience of 
 man consist? 
 
 In the sentiment of conscientiousness com- 
 bined with the whole of the faculties peculiar 
 to man, those common to the human kind and 
 animals being held in subjection. 
 
 In what does Individual Conscience consist? 
 
 It results from the sentiment of conscien- 
 tiousness combined with the other faculties of 
 individuals. He, therefore, who possesses 
 the superior sentiments in great activity, will 
 esteem those notions and actions as unjust, 
 which another, whose inferior feelings are 
 strong, and superior weak, w-ould look upon as 
 just. Intellect, it thus appears, is corrupted 
 or swayed by the affective powers, and ad- 
 mits as just whatever these recognize as agree- 
 able. 
 
MORAL LAWS. 67 
 
 Can we trust to the Individual ConscieU' 
 ces of mankind. 
 
 No; it is impossible. Many feel very 
 slightly the desire and necessity of being just, 
 and seldom or never think of examining their 
 actions with relation lo moral rectitude. Be- 
 sides, people are frequently misled in their 
 moral judgments by the influence of other feel- 
 ings ; and many things which the standard of 
 Absolute Conscience pronounces unjust, pass 
 for just when estimated by individual manners 
 of judging. 
 
 Ought not the moral laios therefore to be 
 studied^ determined^ and proposed as obliga- 
 tory'? 
 
 Certainly; Conscience should be Positive, 
 
 Is there any difference between Positive and 
 Jlhsolute Conscience^ 
 
 There ought to be none. In the world, 
 however, Positive Conscience, or the Law, 
 has most commonly been a product of the 
 Individual Consciences of legislators. 
 
 Has the J^atural Moral Laio, or Absolute 
 Conscience^ any distinguishing characters? 
 
 It has all those of the natural laws generally.* 
 
 * See page 4. 
 
6S NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 Have men any right to make moral lawsl 
 
 They have none, any more than to fabricate 
 laws to regulate then* vegetative and intellectu- 
 al functions. They cannot change the law of 
 propagation, nor of alimentation, nor of any 
 other functional operation; they can form no 
 conception of an object without dimensions and 
 figure; they cannot conceive an effect without 
 a cause; neither can they love pain, nor ap- 
 prove internally of that they perceive to be bad 
 or immoral. 
 
 Who made the moral laws of man? 
 
 The same Great Cause that traced the laws 
 of man's physical and intellectual parts also 
 instituted laws for the regulation of his moral 
 nature — God, the Author of the universe. 
 
 How does the Creator make known or reveal 
 his laws? 
 
 To inform man of his enactments, God has 
 endowed him with understanding, to observe 
 and to learn those that implicate his physical 
 and intellectual natures; and has implanted in 
 his interior, sentiments which make him feel 
 the moral laws. 
 
 Is tJiere not another source whence knowledge 
 of Moral Laws is derived? 
 
MORAL LAWS. 69 
 
 Yes, Revelation; that is, knowledge com- 
 municated by God to man in a supernatural 
 manner. 
 
 What are the advantages of Revelation^ 
 
 It is chiefly advantageous as it regulates man's 
 uncertain notions of his Creator, and of his du- 
 ties universally. 
 
 Can man^ in the study of his vegetative and 
 intellectual natures, acquire a greater quantity 
 of knowledge than God has revealed to him? 
 
 There can be no doubt of it. 
 
 Can the revelation of Moral Laws change, 
 or annihilate the laws of the vegetative and in- 
 tellectual functions^ 
 
 To say it can, would be absurd, as putting 
 God in contradiction with himself; for the God 
 who reveals the morcd duties and the God who 
 creates the physical and intellectual functions 
 are one and the same. 
 
 Are the advocates of the natural laws Athe- 
 ists? 
 
 On the contrary, they entertain the most 
 noble, the most pure, ideas of God; the}^ never 
 suppose him in contradiction with himself; they 
 regard him as the Impai'tial Parent of the uni- 
 
70 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 verse, who treats all his children with equal 
 kindness, who applies his laws without vari- 
 ation, and without any distinction of persons. 
 
 Jlre the advocates of the natural laws change- 
 able and arbitrary in their judgments'?- 
 
 No; they recognize but one law for all men, 
 — for the teacher and the taught, the govenor 
 and the governed. They have one determi- 
 nate and invariable standard for their rule of 
 conduct. 
 
 Jlre the disciples of the natural latvs hostile to 
 the Christian code of moraVmj'? 
 
 No; there they find traces of wisdom truly 
 divine; the better they know its precepts, the 
 more do they admire. Indeed they cannot do 
 otherwise than approve, for they see that true 
 Christian morality is the morality of nature, 
 announced in apositive manner; they, therefore, 
 hope it will speedily be repuriOed from the pa- 
 gan, profitless, and superstitious observances 
 with which its excellence has been contamina- 
 ted, and its lustre obscured. 
 
 What is the summary of tJie natural laio of 
 morality 9 
 
 The faculties proper to man constitute his 
 
MORAL LAWS. 71 
 
 moral nature; whatever, therefore, is in con- 
 formity to the whole of these is morally good, 
 whatever is in opposition to them is morally 
 bad. 
 
 What are the principal faculties which are 
 peculiar to man? 
 
 Reverence, Marvellousness, Ideality, Caus- 
 ality, and in a certain degree Benevolence, 
 Justice and Hope. 
 
 Man's powers being innate do they act 
 irresistibly? 
 
 God in giving powers does not inflict the 
 necessity of their acting. 
 
 How far are the actions of JVIan to he called 
 necessary^ and how far are they free? 
 
 They are necessary as far as there is no ef- 
 fect without cause and as they depend on mo- 
 tives. They are free as far as they are under 
 the control of other powers, and whenever a 
 choice among the motives takes place. 
 Is the liberty of man unlimited? 
 
 No, it is subject to conditions. 
 Which are the necessary conditions of free- 
 dom? 
 
 1 . Intellect to make a choice among motives. 
 
72 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN, 
 
 2. A plurality of motives. 
 
 3, The influence of intellect on voluntary 
 motion. 
 
 How does liberty acquire the character of 
 Morality. 
 
 By the victory of the powers proper to man 
 over his brute nature. 
 
 Is it a difficult or an easy task to practise nat- 
 ural morality? 
 
 It is one of extreme difficulty. Man is uni- 
 versally inchned to break the natural laws. 
 'There is no perfectly just man. ' 
 
 Is there a natural cause of moral evil? 
 
 Many religious systems recognize a primi- 
 tive seduction effected by an evil spirit, often 
 represented under the form of a serpent; but the 
 cause which continues to prompt man to in- 
 fringe the moral law is in himself. 
 
 Are there then any bad faculties in man? 
 
 No faculty of human nature can be bad in 
 itself, — the Author of the whole is all perfec- 
 tion. The faculties ai'e neither good nor bad; 
 it is their employment only to which these ti- 
 tles can be apphed. 
 
 Is it reasonable to decry human nature? 
 
MORAL LAWS. 73 
 
 It is absurd to decry human nature and at 
 the same time to exalt rehgion, which is a part 
 of the human constitution, and to teach that 
 man is made in the Hkeness of God. 
 
 Has the Creator ^villed the moral evil of 
 man? 
 
 Such an opinion is incompatible with the 
 notion of a supremely benevolent and all 
 wise God. 
 
 Is man then destined for happiness ? 
 To suppose an infinitely good Creator de- 
 lighting in the misery of his creatures, is re- 
 pugnant to good sense, and to propriety of feel- 
 ing. Man, says Moses, was happy until the 
 moment of his disobedience. 
 
 What are the synonymes of Happiness and 
 Misery? 
 
 They are the words Pleasure and Pain. 
 Is pleasure good or evil? 
 It is frequently neither the one nor the other, 
 and it may occasionally be both, though, in it- 
 self. Pleasure can never be evil, seeing that it 
 accompanies the activity of every fundamen- 
 tal power, and that man possesses certain fac- 
 ulties solely destined for his amusement; mu- 
 7 
 
74 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 sic, for instance, painting, sculpture, and the 
 feeling that inspires mirth and laughter. 
 
 Can Pleasure be the end or aim of man's 
 existence? 
 
 No; because some acts evidently bad are ac- 
 companied with pleasure. — The wicked man 
 is pleased in his iniquity. We are therefore 
 commanded by Morality to renounce pleasure 
 as often as the faculties we possess in common 
 with animals are in opposition to those peculiar 
 to our humanity, or whenever these are not in 
 harmony with each other. 
 
 What is the grand cause of the moral misery 
 of man? 
 
 It consists in the great activity of the inferior 
 or animal faculties. These, when combat- 
 ed by the moral nature, suffer pain from the 
 restraint. Moreover, the desires they ori- 
 ginate are insatiable; the more they are indulg- 
 ed, the more they crave indulgence. 
 
 Is it probable that the struggle which accom- 
 panies good conduct is a natural arrangement? 
 
 Yes; for without the necessity of combat- 
 ing the inferior propensities and sentiments, 
 there could be no such thing as Virtue. This 
 
MORAL LAWS. 75 
 
 implies a victory, which is not to be won with- 
 out an adversary, and courage to make resis- 
 tance. 
 
 Since the Creator ordained that man should 
 struggle, has he also decreed his fall? 
 
 Reason and MoraHty proclaim the contrary. 
 
 What must be done to render mankind hap- 
 py? 
 
 They must be made morally good, to the 
 end that they may love moral actions ; in other 
 words, the activity of the faculties pecuharto 
 man must be increased, and the energy of 
 those held in common with animals diminished. 
 
 By what title are good actions distinguished, 
 and what is he called who practises them? 
 
 Good actions are entitled Virtues, and he 
 wlio practises the virtues is styled Virtuous. 
 
 Whence were these ivords derived, and what 
 was their original meaning? 
 
 They came from the Latin; and signified 
 primarily, force or strength. This, indeed, 
 may be physical, or it may be moral; but 
 among the Romans, as among other warlike 
 nations, bodily strength combined with cour- 
 age was considered a most valuable quality. 
 
76 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 And since moral actions require an internal 
 struggle, to render human nature, properly so 
 called, triumphant, the title. Virtue, was also 
 applied here. 
 
 Is there any difference between the natural 
 laws and the natural virtues^ 
 
 When the words, Law and Virtue, are used 
 synonymously, the laws and virtues of na- 
 ture are identical. But if Law be employed to 
 signify the regularity with which forces act, and 
 phenomena appear, and Virtue to denote the 
 just employment of the faculties, a distinction 
 between the two becomes necessary. 
 How may virtuous actions he divided? 
 According as the Divine laws, or the laws 
 imposed by Men, are concerned. 
 
 How may the Civil laws — laws imposed by 
 men^ be subdivided? 
 
 1st, According to the nature of the legisla- 
 tive power, as Despotic, Arbitrary, or Con- 
 ventional laws. 
 
 2d, According to the situations or circum- 
 stances for which they are contrived, as the 
 Civil code of laws, the Penal code, Commer- 
 cial code, &c. 
 
MORAL LAWS. 77 
 
 Holo may Divine laws — laws institmd by 
 God, be subdivided? 
 
 Into Natural and Revealed. These two or- 
 ders, however, must of necessity harmonize. 
 To suppose that they differ, would be to sup- 
 pose God in contradiction with himself. 
 
 What then is the touchstone by ichich the 
 •excellence of a law, styled Revealed^ or any in- 
 terpretation of it, may be tried? 
 
 Laws styled Revealed and interpretations of 
 them, are perfect in proportion as they harmo- 
 nize with the laws of the Creator, or possess 
 the characteristics of a Natural law. 
 
 What are the objects in relation to lohich 
 Virtues and Vices are distinguished? 
 
 1st, The Creator. 
 
 2d, The beings of creation. 
 
 3d, The agent, or being who acts. 
 
 4th, His family. 
 
 5th, His nation. 
 
 6th, Mankind at large. 
 
 How are laws denominated when considered 
 in regard to their Divine origin? 
 
 They are called Religious. 
 
 And how are laws entitkd when the necessity 
 
78 NATURAL LAWS OP MAN. 
 
 of man* s submitting to, and practising them, is 
 the view taken'? 
 
 They are then named Moral. 
 
 May the Religious and Moral laics he sep- 
 arately considered? 
 
 Religious and Moral laws are intimately con- 
 nected, yet not so intimately as to preclude the 
 possibility or the propriety of considerino^ each 
 class under a separate head. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 OF MORALITY. 
 
 In ivhat does a Moral doctrine consist^ 
 
 It is a doctrine of rights and of duties, and 
 of those things which are, and of those things 
 which are not, to be done. 
 
 What is to be understood by moral philoso- 
 phy9 
 
 The term moral is sometimes used in op- 
 position to physical, also styled natural and 
 the moral philosophy means the docirine of the 
 
MORAL LAWS. 79 
 
 Mind; but the same term also signifies the high- 
 er powers of Man in opposition to his brute 
 nature, and in that sense, moral philosophy is 
 the same as Ethics, the doctrine of rights and 
 of duties, or of the moral precepts which ad- 
 mit of proof by reasoning, and which bear the 
 character of conviction. 
 
 .^5 to rights — has man any right over God? 
 
 He has none. 
 
 What duties J has man toioards his Maker? 
 
 To obey His will in all things. 
 
 What rights has man over the beings of ere- 
 ntion generally? 
 
 Man's superior endowment m faculties ele- 
 vates him far above all else that lives, and he 
 has a natural title to profit by his situation. 
 Such a law is universal; it extends throughout 
 the whole chain of created things. 
 
 Can we then with propriety say that all was 
 made solely for man? 
 
 It is ill-directed pride alone that has promo- 
 ted the conception or the utterance of such an 
 assertion. Every creature advantages itself 
 at the expense of others; and if man tui'n the 
 whole to his profit, he only follows the com- 
 
80 NATURAL LAWS OP MAN. 
 
 mon course of nature. This, however, is far 
 from showing that all was made solely for him. 
 Geology indeed proves, that many beings in- 
 habited the earth before the human kind was 
 called into existence. 
 
 Has raan rights only over those creatures 
 uhich^ tvith himself^ ^^y^y existence^ 
 
 No; he has duties also towards them. Nei- 
 ther the physical nor the purely animal nature 
 knows aught of duty; but to these, man unites 
 a third, which causes him to view his actions 
 in relation to morality. An essential faculty of 
 the moral man is Benevolence, and this forbids 
 him to torment sentient beings for his pleasure. 
 All cruelty to animals is, therefore, interdicted 
 by Natural Morality. 
 
 Is there a natural law^ that allows man to 
 kill animals for the sake of their flesh as food9 
 Many tribes of the lower animals only live 
 by shedding blood. Now the brute portion of 
 his nature leads man to destroy just as it does 
 the inferior creatures . Man 's anatomical struc- 
 ture proves also, that he is fitted to live upon 
 flesh; and further, he thrives on such food. 
 Still, his benevolence ought to restrain him from 
 
MORAL LAWS. 81 
 
 the commission of every act of cruelty, either 
 against the lower animals or his fellow-men. 
 
 What Virtues may be entitled Individual'? 
 
 Every action whose end is development and 
 preservation of the body, the understanding, 
 and the moral character of the Individual. 
 
 Wherein consists the difference between In- 
 dividual Virtues and those Virtues which reg-ard 
 Families, J^ations, and the tvhole Human kind? 
 It lies in the employment that is made of the 
 corporeal, affective, and intellectual powers, 
 to further the happiness of ourselves, of our 
 families, or of mankind in general. 
 
 Which of these Virtues is the most excellent 
 and ennobling? 
 
 That which interests the whole human kind 
 is eminently superior to all the rest. True it 
 is, indeed, that this is generally lost sight of 
 altogether. In the appreciation of the Virtues, 
 the scale of their worth is commonly reversed. 
 Most men think first of themselves, then of their 
 familes, then of their country, and seldom ex- 
 pend a thought upon humanity at large. There 
 are even few who recognize the happiness of 
 the species as the aim of man's existence, and 
 
 /'/sir- 
 
82 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 die subordination of all else to this. Yetnatvire 
 shows most evidently that she does all for the 
 species; she universally sacrifices individuals 
 to its preservation. Moreover, desire of self- 
 preservation inheres in all animals, love of fam- 
 ily and of country in a smaller number, but 
 love of the entire species is a distinguishing 
 character of man in his best estate. 
 
 Is it to be expected that man will speedily 
 practise the virtue of universal love^ 
 
 No; hitherto the happiness of countries has 
 been sacrificed to that of famihes and of indi- 
 viduals; but general philanthropy is commonly 
 decried and scouted as an aberration of the un- 
 derstanding; and this, too, in despite of the ex- 
 press command of Christianity. 
 
 The basis of natural morality being deter- 
 mined j* and the sources of good and evil being 
 ascertained to be internal,] what method may be 
 advantageously pursued in examining Virtu- 
 ous and Vicious actions? 
 
 These may be considered according to pri- 
 mary faculties, as it is their employment that 
 is good or bad. 
 
 What Virtues belong to the sexual propensity? 
 
 * See page 70. fSee page 72. 
 
MORAL LAWS. 83 
 
 Chastity, and the gratification cf the appe- 
 tite guided by the laws of hereditary descent. 
 
 Jlre Continence and Chastity useful to indi- 
 vidfXals? 
 
 Moderation in sexual indulgence promotes 
 bodily strength, and favors health. Hence 
 the Athletae of antiquity were enjoined Conti- 
 nence during their preparations for exhibiting 
 feats of strength and agiUty. 
 
 Is the Continence enforced in monastic in- 
 stitutions to be reorarded as an absolute virtue? 
 To entitle it to such consideration, it must 
 be proved advantageous to individuals, to 
 communities, and to the species at large. 
 W hat evil effects attend on Celibacy? 
 The unwedded are apt to become selfish, 
 and to neglect the social and domestic virtues. 
 Celibacy, therefore, may sometimes be a vice. 
 Why did Jesus Christ, our model of Justice 
 upon earth, advise his disciples against mar- 
 riage? 
 
 Probably that they might have all leisure 
 and liberty to teach and spread abroad the 
 knowledge of the new doctrine. 
 
 Is there any merit in abnegating marriage 
 through love of the public good? 
 
84 NATURAL LAWS OP MAN. 
 
 Celibacy on such grounds is an act of the 
 greatest virtue. 
 
 Can Celibacy under any circumstances be an 
 error? 
 
 Yes, when denial disturbs the general 
 functions of the body; when it destroys appe- 
 tite, causes sleeplessness, and induces unheal- 
 thy action of any sort; or when it occasions hy- 
 pocrisy and mendacity, for instance, in those 
 who make a religious virtue of it, and act in 
 opposition to their professions. 
 
 What are the Vices of the sexual propensity? 
 Libertinage, seduction, adultery, and incest. 
 What are the consequences of Libertinage? 
 Bodily infirmity, mental weakness, the con- 
 traction of bad habits and of disease, the ruin of 
 fortune, and a thousand ills beside. 
 
 Why should Chastity be a greater virtue, and 
 Incontinence a greater vice, among females than 
 males? 
 
 Because the latter superinduces the same 
 diseases in both sexes, and the bodies of wo- 
 men being less robust than those of men, they 
 suffer more from their effects. Women too 
 are exposed to all the inconveniences that pre- 
 
MORAL LAWS. 85 
 
 cede, accompany, and follow child-bearing; 
 and becoming mothers illegally, if, as is more 
 than probable, they be abandoned by their 
 seducers, they find themselves shunned by 
 society, and burthened with a family without 
 adequate means of support. Victims of self- 
 reproach, sunk in wretchedness, and disgusted 
 with life, they can then only look forward to 
 the grave as the goal at which their miseries 
 may terminate. 
 
 Is Polygamy agreeable or contrary to the 
 law of natural morality? 
 
 Polygamy has only obtained among men 
 through excessive activity of the sexual pro- 
 pensity in individuals, and the right of the strong- 
 est. There are certainly not more females than 
 males born, and the law which says, 'Love 
 thy neighbor as thyself,' forbids appropriation^ 
 if it can be effected only by robbing others of 
 the share of enjoyment destined for them by na- 
 ture. Polygamy is therefore in opposition to 
 the natural law of morality. 
 
 What should be required in the parties who 
 tcould contract marriage? 
 
 They ought to possess all the conditions re- 
 8 
 
86 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 quired by the laws of hereditary descent.* 
 What individuals should abstain from mar- 
 rying'? 
 
 All who have the seeds of a serious heredi- 
 tary malady in their constitutions; all who are 
 ^veak in body or in mind; and all who have the 
 distinguishing attributes of humanity in small 
 proportions. Such abstinence would be of far 
 more importance to mankind than the celibacy 
 practised by the teachers of religion and mor- 
 ahty in some countries. 
 
 Is it not improper to insist so strongly on the 
 laws of hereditary descent, seeing that they lim- 
 it a natural desire, implanted by the Creator? 
 
 By no means. Not only the laws of hered- 
 itary descent but also the sexual appetite, are 
 of divine origin; and it is much rather a crime 
 to be ignorant of the laws of hereditary descent, 
 or, knowing them, to neglect their practice, 
 than recklessly to indulge the sexual propen- 
 sity. 
 
 Is Incest a crime against natural morality? 
 
 It appears to be so; for those families, of 
 which the near relations intermarry, degen- 
 erate. 
 
 • See Page 26. 
 
MORAL LAWS. 87 
 
 Is Adultery also an infringement of the na- 
 tural law') 
 
 Yes; because it causes disorder, destroys 
 conjugal confidence, and ruins domestic order 
 and tranquillity. 
 
 Is marriage or union for life, an institution 
 of nature? 
 
 Yes; even animals, especially many birds, 
 are united for the term of their lives, and man 
 is so likewise in obedience to a law, which in- 
 heres in the faculty of Attachment, and this is 
 common to himself and the lower animals. 
 
 Is Divorce permitted by natural morality? 
 
 Yes. The couples which have no family, 
 or which can provide for the children they 
 may have, in as far as justice requires, do well 
 to separate rather than continue to live in per- 
 petual warfare. The consequences which fol- 
 low ill assorted unions are much more serious to 
 the parties, to their children, and to society 
 at large, than such as attend on divorce. Were 
 the sexes what they ought to be, there would 
 indeed be no occasion to permit divorce. The 
 conjugal union would then, without any res- 
 traint, terminate with life. In the mean time, 
 
88 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 however, divorce should be obtainable seeing 
 that the social institiitions ought to be the sour- 
 ces of happiness and not of misery. And 
 whatever lessens happiness and causes misery, 
 is evil, and contrary to nature. 
 
 What are the virtues of Love of Offspring? 
 
 The care which parents take in aiding the 
 bodily and mental development of their chil- 
 dren, in cultivating their talents,, and superin- 
 ducing habits useful to themselves and to their 
 fellow-men; in a word, the efforts given to 
 bring them up in the knowledge and practice of 
 truth and justice. 
 
 Is such parental virtue common? 
 
 It is unfortunately very rare. Children are 
 generally produced without a thought given to 
 the laws of hereditary descent and reared mere- 
 ly to please, or serve as pastimes to their pa- 
 rents; who more commonly attend to what may 
 flatter their own capricious tastes, than to what 
 may be substantially useful to their children 
 and the commonwealih. Children are fre- 
 quently spoilt through indulgent weakness, 
 (when their waywardness and unruliness are 
 insuflerable,) or they are forced to a mean and 
 
MORAL LAWS. 89 
 
 slavish submissiveness of deportment equally 
 unpleasing and pernicious. To give a good di- 
 rection to Philoprogenitiveness requires a com- 
 plete knowledge of human nature generally, 
 and of the qualities necessary to guide the in- 
 dividuals — the particular subjects of atten- 
 tion. 
 
 What are the fundamental duties of parents 
 to their children? 
 
 To procure them a good organic constitution, 
 to exercise those faculties with which they are 
 endowed, and to choose them a suitable pro- 
 fession; to instruct them in the laws of their 
 Creator; to show them the necessity of submit- 
 ting to these, and to set the example of obedi- 
 ence. 
 
 Is it the duty of parents to leave riches to their 
 children? 
 
 Natural morality forbids the accumulation of 
 riches; and surely parents cannot be obliged to 
 do aught which may pave the way to the im- 
 morality and degeneracy of their children. 
 
 Have parents a natural right to obedience 
 from their children? 
 
 So long as cliildren remain dependent on 
 8* 
 
90 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 their parents, ihey are bound to obey them, 
 but this obhgation ceases with the state of de- 
 pendence. 
 
 What are the duties of children towards their 
 parents? 
 
 Children so long as they are dependent must 
 respect their parents as superiors and bene- 
 factors, and repay the attachment and tender 
 cares they have received, with interest, during 
 the term of their lives. The child when born 
 is indebted to parental love for the very con- 
 tinuance of its life, and old age has frequent 
 occasion for the aids of fihal piety and aflection. 
 
 What are the duties of a husband? 
 
 He ought to have a trade or profession, to 
 procure food and clothing for himself and his fa- 
 mily, which he is to watch over and protect, 
 and also to have a portion of his time at the 
 command of the public service. 
 
 What are the duties of a wife? 
 
 To take care of the interior of the house, and 
 to arrange all matters connected with the do- 
 mestic economy; to instruct the boys in the ru- 
 diments of learning, and to educate the girls 
 /entirely. 
 
MORAL LAWS. 91 
 
 What are the principal virtues of Attach- 
 ment? 
 
 Society, Friendsbip, and Patrial love. 
 
 Is Society J or the social state ^ an institution 
 of nature? 
 
 ■ Man is no where found solitary; he is at the 
 least one of a family; families unite and form 
 tribes, and these compose nations. 
 
 Can society^ of itself be said to produce 
 virtues or vices? 
 
 Society is the consequence of an innate 
 primary faculty, and social virtues and social 
 vices, as they are called, result from its com- 
 binations with other fundamental powers. The 
 institutions destined to direct mankind in their 
 actions are and will continue to be the princi- 
 pal causes of their virtues and of their vices, 
 so long as internal motives, sufficient to in- 
 duce the practice of morality, independently 
 of all enactments, shall not beexperiencd. 
 
 Is Patrial love commanded by natural mo- 
 rality? 
 
 Natural morality recognizes no one species 
 of exclusive love as a supreme law; love ofna- 
 
92 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 live land is admitted, but still as subordinate 
 to uriversal love. Partiality is an attribute 
 of the animal nature, General Love of proper 
 humanity alone. 
 
 Wherein lies the clijference between Conju- 
 gal love^ Family love^ Fraternal love, and 
 P atrial love? 
 
 Each kind depends on the faculty of At- 
 tachment combined with other and difierent 
 powers. Attachment with the sexual propen- 
 sity begets conjugal love, with love of offspring 
 family love; the love of a fraternity is based 
 upon an attachment with success in particular 
 views or plans, and the love of native country 
 on an attachment extended to the land of our 
 birth, to its manners and mode of living, to the 
 men speaking the same language, governed by 
 the same laws as ''urselves,&c. 
 
 What is the direction of Attachment which 
 is conformable to natural morality, and, con- 
 sequently, positively Virtuous? 
 
 That which is bestowed on those who sub- 
 mit to the laws of the Creator. 
 
 And what direction of Attachment is vicious? 
 
 That which is not given agreeable to natu- 
 ral morality. 
 
MORAL LAWS. 93 
 
 Are there amj positive codes that exact at- 
 tachment in conformity with natural morality. 
 
 Yes; the Indian system of morals, and the 
 code of Jesus command us to know as brothers 
 and as sisters those only who do the will of 
 God. 
 
 Is resistance of attack, or self-defence, per- 
 mitted by natural morality'^ 
 
 Courage is a primary faculty of human nature, 
 and its proper employment a virtue. Such a 
 power, in the order of things, was indispensa- 
 ble to individual preservation and well being. 
 It is a frequent means in procuring aliment, it 
 enables us to overcome obstacles, and is even 
 useful in maintaining peace. 
 
 Is personal courage assisted by muscular 
 strength? 
 
 So much so, that several philosophers have 
 conceived it a result of this. Courage, bow- 
 ever, is the appanage of no particular degree 
 of muscularity or bodily power. 
 
 Is Courage in itself either Virtue or Vice'^ 
 
 Ancient philosophers ranked it as, one of 
 the four cardinal Yirtues,but in itself Courage 
 is neither Virtue nor Vice; one or other of these 
 
94 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 titles it gains according to its just or unjust 
 employment. 
 
 When is Courage a Virtue? 
 
 When it is displayed in conformity with na- 
 tural morality. 
 
 ^nd when is Courage a Vice? 
 
 When it aids the animal nature against that 
 which is peculiarly human. 
 
 What are the chief Vices of Courage? 
 
 War of aggression; Quarelsomeness; Love 
 of Fighting and of witnessing Combats between 
 animals or men, Dispute, Contention, &c. 
 
 What employment of Courage deserves to be 
 praised and rewarded? 
 
 Such as favors natural morality is alone 
 commendable, is alone worthy of reward. 
 
 What is the right which man possesses 
 through his propensity to destroy? 
 
 It is that of killiiig other animals for the sake 
 of their flesh. Violent death is one of Nature's 
 enactments, and man has that in his constitu- 
 tion which originates the law. 
 
 Has man a title to torment animals in any 
 way whatever? 
 
 No; his moral part forbids all cruel amuse- 
 
MORAL LAWS. 95 
 
 merits, and all indulgence at the expense of 
 suffering to any living and sentient being. 
 
 Has man a right to slay his fellow men'7 
 
 Only when he cannot otherwise defend his 
 life, or if this be the sole means of preventing 
 malefactors from committing murder. 
 
 Is capital punishment admissible in society? 
 
 Society may agree to inflict death to get rid 
 of evil-doers; but it is unjust and cruel to re- 
 sort to such an extreme measure until every 
 other means has been tried, and found ineffec- 
 tual to protect the community against crimin- 
 als. Yet it is understood that this, as well as 
 all other penalties, is to be applied universally, 
 and without distinction of persons. 
 
 Does not man's peculiar part revolt at the 
 idea^ and natural morality command the aholi' 
 tion, of capital punishment? 
 
 Man's ennobhng and peculiar nature does 
 only good; it never returns evil for evil, or 
 takes revenge; it consequently commands the 
 abolition of capital punishment. It is the an- 
 imal nature, combined with the simple sense of 
 justice, which has established the law of re- 
 taliation — the lex talionis. Man 's proper na- 
 
96 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 ture may, however, lawfully employ the ani- 
 mal faculties to enforce and to assist natural 
 morality, and capital punishment must be in- 
 flicted if with its abolition the number of crimes 
 should increase. 
 
 Is the practice of Duelling permitted by the 
 law of natural morality? 
 
 Duelling is opposed to every one of its pre- 
 cepts. He who sheds blood in a duel is guilty 
 of murder. The custom originated in the 
 right of the strongest, and its continuance is 
 one of the remains of barbarism. 
 
 Is war between nations agreeable to natural 
 morality? 
 
 He who, under any circumstances, attacks 
 and puts another to death, commits a murder 
 in the eye of God. All wars of conquest are 
 utterly at variance with the moral law. De- 
 fensive war is alone lawful. Every nation, 
 like every individual, has the undoubted right 
 of repelling any other that would attempt to 
 enslave it. It has even a right to destroy its 
 enemies, if there be no other means of pre- 
 serving its liberties and independent existence. 
 
 JVliat are the good effects of the faculty of 
 Constructiveness? 
 
MORAL LAWS. 97 
 
 This faculty is the source of the mechanical 
 arts; its employment is virtuous when it adds 
 to the means of subsistence, and favors the 
 general welfare; for instance, when it procures 
 a good dwellino--house, convenient articles of 
 furniture, or clothing which does not impede 
 the m.olions of the body, and which protects it 
 from the inclemencies of the seasons, or the 
 sudden variations of atmospherical tempera- 
 ture. 
 
 In what manner does the faculty of Construe- 
 tiveness work evil !■ 
 
 The mechanical arts are injurious to mankind 
 by introducing luxury. Ordinary enjoyments 
 then suffice no longer, and the desires are 
 guided by caprice. To meet the many and 
 expensive demands thus incurred, large sums of 
 money are required, and to procure these, ev- 
 ery means is adopted without scruple. Mor- 
 als thus become corrupted, and a highway 
 opened to all the miseries which attend degen- 
 erating men and declining empires. It was 
 with justice that the ancient moralists founded 
 the social virtues upon simplicity of manners, 
 restriction of wants, and contentment with little, 
 9 
 
98 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 In what does a just employment^ or virtuous 
 direction of the faculty of Acquisitiveness , con- 
 sist? 
 
 In procuring the necessaries of life, or as . 
 the Christian code has styled it, 'our daily 
 bread.' 
 
 Is property permitted by natural morality'? 
 Yes; for as all who hve must subsist, all must 
 have a right to that, at least, which is neces- 
 sary to support hfe. 
 
 Is it agreeable or contrary to natural mO' 
 rality to amass great ivealth9 
 
 No one can accumulate riches without doing 
 injury to his neighbor, and violence to the 
 natural moral law, which says, 'Love thy 
 neighbor as thyself.' The moral law gives 
 'their daily bread' to all who employ the tal- 
 ents they possess, but it gives no more. 
 
 Does natural morality permit animals to be 
 kept for the purposes merely of pleasure and 
 extravagance? 
 
 No. In as much as man is more wordiy 
 than beasts, it is against natural law to give 
 to horses and dogs the daily bread of men, or 
 the provender which would feed catde, whose 
 
MORAL LAWS. 99 
 
 flesh is both useful and necessary as ahment, 
 to the human khid. 
 
 IVhich are the most useful classes in man- 
 kind? 
 
 They are such as by then- industry produce, 
 or augment, the value of things — agricultur- 
 ists and artizans. 
 
 And what classes are the most useless? 
 
 Such as do nothing but consume. 
 
 Does natural morality set limits to the grat- 
 ification of the love of gain? 
 
 Certainly it does. The love of gain is the 
 most formidable of all enemies to the law of 
 neighborly love. Men brought up under the 
 influence of the spirit of trade, generally en- 
 deavor by every means in their power to evade 
 the commands of natural morality. 
 
 Does the natural moral law grant exclusive 
 advantages to individuals under the form of 
 privileges or monopolies? 
 
 No; on the contrary, it commands every 
 one to employ the talents entrusted to his 
 care, for the advancement of the common good, 
 the universal weal of man. 
 
 What are tlie privileges accounted the least 
 hlameahle among good men? 
 
100 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 Such as are granted for inventions and use- 
 ful discoveries. 
 
 Is it comformable to the law of natural moral- 
 ity to secure the eldest males of families in 
 large possessions, to the exclusion of the other 
 children^ 
 
 It is against every one of its precepts. 
 
 Is hereditary wealth favorable or prejudi- 
 cial to the culture of morality? 
 
 To amass great wealth is immoral, it is im- 
 moral to leave great riches to children. Man 
 is naturally disposed to be idle; and common- 
 ly yields to the inclination, if not compelled to 
 exertion. But idleness is a fertile source of 
 immoralitv. It ruins the health, enervates 
 the mind, and makes life a curse. Moses says 
 well — *Man was born to earn his bread by 
 the sweat of his brow.' 
 
 Ilotv do the rich usually apologize for their 
 great possessions? 
 
 They introduce God as the disposer of all 
 things; they boast of being his favorites, and 
 say, Providence gave them all they have. 
 Nevertheless they might be answered by a 
 reference to the Christian code, where they 
 
MORAL LAWS. 101 
 
 will find themselves admonished to give their 
 riches to the poor, in order more easily to en- 
 ter the kingdom of heaven. There, too, 
 they will learn, tliat the indulgence in superflu- 
 ities, and hoarding of treasm-es, while thous- 
 ands of their fellow-men are living around 
 them in indigence, is utterly at variance with 
 the express injunction to treat our neighbor as 
 ourselves. The love of money, said the apos- 
 tle Paul to Timothy, is the root of all evil. 
 
 This presumptuous error may be further ex- 
 posed by recurring to the history of rich fam- 
 ilies. These have always degenerated in cor- 
 poreal and mental quahties; their properties, if 
 not secured by arbitrary laws, consequently 
 pass away into other hands; and, in fine, no 
 living evidence of their ever having existed rem- 
 ains — their very name is consigned to oblivion. 
 
 Are we required by natural morality to labor 
 and support the idler 9 
 
 Whilst it commands aid to the unfortunate 
 and to the infirm, who are unable by their own 
 exertions to procure the means of existence, 
 natural morality enjoins the rejection of the 
 sluggard and drone as unworthy. The Apos- 
 9* 
 
105 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 tie Paul in his second letter to the Thessalon- 
 ians, iil. 10, said: 'when we were with you, this 
 vve commanded you, that if any w^ould not 
 work, neither should he eat. ' 
 
 When we see that arts and sciences espe- 
 cially flourish when every one strives for his 
 individual advantage^ is it not likely, that, as 
 this could not continue under the dominion of 
 natural morality, all icould droop beneath its 
 reign9 
 
 It were indeed no very agreeable reflection,. 
 for the industrious and the talented to think 
 that they were laboring for the indolent and in- 
 capable. Meantime, however, they should al- 
 so remember, that they have no natural title, 
 on the strength of a patent or charter of privi- 
 lege, to deprive others of the opportunity to 
 earn a livelihood, and much less, on account of 
 their superior endowments, to make others la- 
 bor for their pecuhar advantage. 
 
 But has not he who contnvcs or procures 
 icorkfor others a natural right to gain moi'e 
 than they? 
 The civil law says, yes, but the Christian and 
 
MORAL LAWS. 109 
 
 natural moral codes recognize no such prlvi- 
 ledge. As we live in the world at present, 
 the laws should apportion to each person who 
 labors his share of the profit, according to his 
 talents, industry and care. This would be 
 necessary, so long as selfishness predominates 
 to its present extent. Legislat/^rs should fa- 
 vor the working classes as much as possible 
 and use every means of rendering the reign of 
 natural morality practical. 
 
 /s it possible to do away with all sense of 
 individual pro-perty ? 
 
 To attempt such a thing with men as they are 
 now constituted, would be to annihilate even the 
 hope of general happiness. It would cause 
 crimes and calamities of every description. 
 The certainty of this exists in the evidently 
 immoral disposition of by far the greatest por- 
 tion of mankind, and in the general prevalence 
 of cupidity, and in the distribution of talents. 
 To accomplish the beneficial abolition of 
 private property, every individual ought to feel 
 pleasure in acting according to the commands 
 of the natural and Christian moral doctrines. 
 Until then, property must be respected. The 
 
104 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 early Christians attempted the measure of ab- 
 oHtion; all things were in common among them; 
 but experience proved that mankind were not 
 then in a condition to adopt such a system; and 
 they are still at an infinite distance from the 
 perfection which might render it practicable. 
 When, when will men be able to obey the law 
 of universal love! 
 
 May natural morality^ to a certain extent 
 he united with the existence of individual pos- 
 sessions^ 
 
 Yes; by fixing the maximum of property, 
 and the conditions under which this may law- 
 fully be acquired. The general welfare is al- 
 ways to be taken as the foundation in such con- 
 siderations. Manufacturers should be obliged 
 to lay out part of their gains in bettering the con- 
 dition, and adding to the comforts, of their la- 
 borers, — above all, they ought to be prevented 
 from injuring the health and morals of those in 
 their employment. 
 
 Does natural morality set bounds to national^ 
 as well as to individual^ love of gain') 
 
 Nations, which enrich themselves to the de- 
 triment of others, act contrary to the laws of 
 
MORAL LAWS. lOS 
 
 morality. The natural and Christian doctrines 
 place Universal abov^e Patriallove. That peo- 
 ple, which prevents the participation of its 
 neighbors in the advantages it enjoys, though 
 it may arrogate the title, is no Christian nation. 
 Are Sumptuary laws just or necessary? 
 Did manufacturers, and the inhabitants of 
 every country, love their neighbors as them- 
 selves, sumptuary laws w^ould be useless. No 
 one, then, would wish to enrich himself in par- 
 ticular, the products of every land would be 
 freely exchanged, and manufactures carried on 
 and perfected wlierever it could be done most 
 advantageously. In brief, the universal good 
 would be the sole consideration, and the efforts 
 of all be directed to the accomplishment of this 
 
 great end- 
 
 Prohibitory laiDS in general^ are not, how- 
 ever, sufficient to establish natural morality; are 
 they? 
 
 N-o. They may, in some measure, prevent 
 the evils which result from the over activity 
 of the inferior inclinations, but to better the 
 lot of man, it would be necessary to diminish 
 his animality, and to increase the energy of his 
 peculiar humanity. 
 
106 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN 
 
 What are the Vices of the desire to acquired 
 
 Usury, Fraud, Gambling, and Theft in gen- 
 eral. 
 
 Has the icord Theft the same meaning in the 
 civil as in the natural code? 
 
 Natural morality declares many actions to 
 be Thefts which are permitted by civil laws. 
 Every one according to the first, deserves the 
 name of Thief, who does not love his neighbor 
 as himself; he, for instance, who amasses wealth 
 by means of the industry of others. In the 
 eye of civil laws, however, he only is a Thief 
 who takes, by force or fraud, aught that, agree- 
 ably to the law, belongs to another. 
 
 Is theft ^ in the sense of the civil law ^forbid- 
 den by Christianity? 
 
 Yes; the Christian doctrine forbids evil of 
 every kind. 
 
 Does it go no farther? 
 
 Much: it not only forbids evil, it in addition 
 commands universal love, and in this it har- 
 monizes with ^natural morality. 'They who 
 came before me,' said Jesus, hvere thieves.' 
 He desired us to be satisfied with our daily 
 bread. 
 
MORAL LAWS. 107 
 
 What are the virtues, and what the vices, of 
 the Propensity to conceal (Secretiveness)'? 
 
 The faculty is Virtuous when employed in 
 the cause of general welfare, and Vicious when 
 it gives rise to lying, hypocrisy, cunning, in- 
 intrigue, and duplicity. 
 
 What are the Virtues of Cautiousness'? 
 
 Prudence, doubt, and just timidity. 
 
 t^nd its vices? 
 
 Irresolution, puerile terror, melancholy and 
 despair. 
 
 Is Prudence necessary in teaching truth? 
 
 The hght that is shed, ought certainly to be 
 apportioned to the capacity of bearing it in 
 those who are the subjects of instruction, Jesus 
 mentioned that he had yet many things to say 
 which his disciples could not bear. 'There is 
 nothing covered that shall not be revealed, and 
 hid, that shall not be known;' Math. x. 26. He 
 taught them in parables concerning the kingdom 
 of heaven, but added: 'what I tell you in dark- 
 ness that speak ye in hght, and what ye hear 
 in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops;' 
 Matth. X. 27. 
 
 What are the Virtues and the Vices of Self- 
 esteem? 
 
108 NATURAL LAWS OF xMAN» 
 
 True dignity and nobleness of character de* 
 pend in part on self-esteem, and the faculty i*s 
 virtuously employed in the production of such 
 an effect. But self-sufficiency, pride, haugh- 
 tiness, and disdainful or contemptuous bearing, 
 are consequences of its ov^er activity and ill di- 
 rection. Coarseness of manners, too, under 
 certain circumstances, and impertinence, are 
 increased by self-esteem. 
 
 What is the signification of the xcord Hu' 
 mility? 
 
 It is synonymous with the inaction of self- 
 esteem. Humility, to be a virtue, must result 
 from the struggle between self-esteem and the 
 moral sentiments, aud the victory of the lat- 
 ter. Humility is also occasionally used to sig- 
 nify activity in the Sentiment of Respectful- 
 ness (Reverence). 
 
 Is self-esteem a necessary quality^ 
 
 Yes; it favors general independence. Sub- 
 missiveness on the part of one, encourages 
 pride and the love of dominion in another. 
 Self-esteem should adjust the balance be- 
 tween the ideas of our own, and of others* 
 importance. Its virtuous functions emanate 
 
MORAL LAWS. 109 
 
 from its combinations with the facukies prop- 
 er to man. 
 
 What Virtues and what Vices belong to the 
 faculty of Love of Approbation'^ 
 
 This sentiment contributes essentially to the 
 union of mankind; pohteness of deportment 
 and dehcacy in language, deference in society, 
 obligingness of manner, and good breeding 
 generally, are among its agreeable manifesta- 
 tions. But petit-maitreism, vanity, ostenta- 
 tion, ambition, love of tides, and of all kinds of 
 mundane distinctions, are consequences of its 
 ill directed activity. 
 
 Is it easy or difficult to guide Self-esteem 
 and Love of Approbation in the path indicated 
 by natural morality? 
 
 It is extremely difficult. 'To fly the age we 
 live in,' says Confucius,* 'to suffer without re- 
 pining, to pass unknown and unnoticed among 
 men, is a task to be accomplished only by a 
 saint.' The great energy of these two senti- 
 ments, strengthened as they are by the love of 
 gain, and the inferior inclinations generally, 
 occasion innumerable evils in the world, and 
 
 * Invariable Millieu. Chap. xi. 
 
 10 
 
110 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 excite doubts of the possibility of natural mor- 
 ality ever being established as the rule of con- 
 duct. The Christian law declares itself, in 
 terms which cannot be more positive or more 
 severe, against abuses of Self-esteem and Love 
 of Approbation; nevertheless, they who style 
 themselves behevers, and the faithful, par ex- 
 cellence, even the preachers of the doctrine 
 of Jesus, have continued, and still continue, as 
 well as pagans, to be delighted with the grat- 
 ifications these faculties afi'ord, and to attribute 
 to the Supreme Being tastes and weaknesses 
 similar to their own. 
 
 What are the Virtues of Benevolence^ 
 
 Meekness, the Spirit of peace. Clemency, 
 Toleration, Liberahty, Forgivingness of Tem- 
 per, Hospitahly, Equity, and Neighboily 
 Love. 
 
 Is christian charity a single faculty? 
 No; it embraces the whole of the moral 
 law, and the regulation of every action that 
 concerns our fellow-men. 
 
 Is Jlhns-giving a virtue? 
 
 It is a Virtue or it is a Vice according as the 
 general happiness is thereby afiected. If it en- 
 
MORAL LAWS. Ill 
 
 courage idleness, society suffers, and it is evi- 
 dently blameable. When the truly deserving 
 are its objects, and it is directed to purposes 
 generally useful, it is conformable to natural 
 morality, and is praise-worthy. Indiscriminate 
 charity is never to be recommended. 
 
 Can Benevolence be any way injunous to 
 mankind? 
 
 Immensely. If not directed by reason com- 
 bined with the sentiment of Justice, it may en- 
 courage slothfulness and poverty, and all the 
 vices that attend on these. It may also dis- 
 pose to prodigality and squandering. 
 Is Respectfulness a natural Virtue? 
 Yes; nature has implanted a primary senti- 
 ment, its cause, in the constitution of man. 
 
 Wliat objects especially deserve the respect 
 of man? 
 
 The Supreme Cause, Parents, those who 
 teach the laws of the Creator, those who watch 
 over their accomplishment, and, in general, 
 all that is benevolent, just, and true. 
 JHay respect ever be ill-directed? 
 It is but too frequently bestowed altogether 
 unworthily upon superstitious notions and ob- 
 
112 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 servances, and upon antiquated forms, usages, 
 and precedents. 
 
 This sentiment then requires guidance in its 
 application? 
 
 Certainly; and reason ought especially to 
 rectify the errors it has committed in regard to 
 religion. All the sentiments, without excep- 
 tion, are blind, and require the aid of inteUi- 
 gence in their operation; without it they can 
 never act in harmony with the whole of the na- 
 ture of man. 
 
 But does not belief suffice to direct the reli- 
 gious sentiments? 
 
 No; for religious behef has induced men to 
 admJt the most contradictory and many nox- 
 ious propositions, under the idea that we ought 
 to obey God rather than man; moreover, that 
 which belief leads one to style venerable and 
 holy, is often, by another, called absurd and 
 impious. 
 
 The religious sentiments are given to man as 
 sources of happiness, are they not? 
 
 That they are given to produce good is ev- 
 ident; they are the gift of a good God, but hi- 
 therto they have been cruelly abused. 
 
MORAL LAWS. 113 
 
 What course would most directly tend to 
 abolish the errors^ and, for the future, to avoid 
 the disorders, ivhich have been committed in the 
 name of religion? 
 
 It -would be necessary to begin by permit- 
 ting the free use of reason. This, too, would 
 be the first step towards effecting the union of 
 all religious people. As yet the bhnd lead the 
 blind, but reason ought to enlighten and direct 
 the religious, as well as the other primitive feel- 
 ings. 
 
 Is belief natural to man? 
 Few examine and combine their ideas. The 
 greater number admit what they like best, or 
 what flatters their feelings and senses most. 
 They who hope for much, willingly beheve 
 promises made to them in the name of heaven. 
 They who are inchned to admire and to seek 
 after the marvellous, readily give credit to aught 
 that seems mysterious. And they who com- 
 bine the sentiment of respectfulness, with the 
 two that produce these effects, are fit agents 
 for the execution of whatever they ai'e told is 
 necessary to the glory of God. 
 
 Is the believing and benevolent man every 
 thing we expect of humanity? 
 
114 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 No; he may be still unfurnished with many 
 very essential qualities, such as Justice — the 
 fountain-head of morahty, Reason — the sole 
 guide of action, and Perseverance, the indis- 
 pensable assistant in the task of completion. 
 
 Does the sentiment of conscientiousness of 
 itself suffice to prevent injustice^ 
 
 It does not. This sentiment, it is true, feels 
 the desire of acting justly; but it is bhud, and 
 must be enlightened by reason, before its ac- 
 tions can be recognised as just. It is Reason, 
 therefore, that declares every thing done in 
 conformity with the dictates of the faculties pe- 
 cuhar to man to be just, and every thing con- 
 trary to their commands to be unjust. 
 
 Is natural morality the same as positive jus- 
 tice'? 
 
 The natural and the Christian moral codes 
 :agree, but they both differ from the civil laws. 
 These last only forbid the doing of things to 
 others which we would not that they did to us; 
 whilst the natural and Christian morality, far 
 more noble, command the doing to others the 
 things which we would that they did to us. 
 
 Can the sentiment of conscientiousness do 
 harm ? 
 
MORAL LAWS, 115 
 
 Yes; by acting imcombined with Reason, 
 and those powers generally which are pecuhar 
 to man. 
 
 What Virtues and what Vices belong to the 
 faculty of Firmness or Perseverance'^ 
 
 Perseverance in whatever is true, just, and 
 reasonabie, is Virtuous; but to persist in what 
 is false, unjust, and unreasonable, is Vicious. 
 
 Is man generally^ as he is now constituted^ 
 capable of accomplishing the precepts of natu- 
 of morality'? 
 
 No; neither the governors nor the governed 
 are generally susceptible of such superlative 
 virtue. All that good men can do at present, 
 is to demonstrate the existence of the system 
 of natural morality, to submit to it, and to spread 
 abroad its knowledge ; to examine into the ob- 
 stacles which oppose its admission; and to pro- 
 pose the means necessary to prepare mankind 
 for the happy epoch, when they will be capa- 
 ble of enjoying the blessings it must diffuse, 
 by being made the rule of action. 
 
 Is the cultivation of the Understanding to be 
 regarded as a duty'? 
 Intelhgence is one of nature's gifts; it is there- 
 
116 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 fore destined to act. Our existence, indeed, 
 depends on it. Without understanding we 
 should know neither external objects and their 
 qualities, nor the laws which govern the physi- 
 cal and moral world; neither could we have 
 any moral liberty. 
 
 Is understanding recognised as necessary to 
 free iciW 
 
 Yes; according to all the systems of legis- 
 lation, idiots, and children before a certain age, 
 are not accountable for their actions, because 
 they are unable to distinguish between good 
 and evil. 
 
 Are the functions of the intellcctualf acuities 
 Virtuous or Vicious^ 
 
 They may be either. Intelligence is a 
 means of doing both good and evil. To be 
 Virtuous it must second natural morality, which 
 is the end of our being. 
 
 What is the vice or sin against Intelli- 
 gence? 
 
 It is Ignorance, the cause of a great num- 
 ber of evils. Ignorance commits endless er- 
 rors; it acts unconscious of causes and of ef- 
 fects, and can never repair the disasters it oc- 
 casions. 
 
MORAL LAWS. 117 
 
 Is man^s ignorance greats 
 
 It is exceedingly great. The most com- 
 mon and necessary things are totally unknown 
 to the bulk of mankind. 
 
 Why is man's ignorance so ^reat? 
 
 The cause lies in the generally small size of 
 the organs of his intellectual faculties. This 
 is also the reason why study is so commonly 
 irksome and distasteful. Moreover, the civil, 
 and especially the religious, governors of na- 
 tions, have frequently opposed every sort of 
 obstacle to the cultivation of Intellect, and the 
 diffusion of knowledge. 
 
 W hat difference is there between Ignorance 
 and presumptuous stupidity (sottise in 
 French) 9 
 
 Ignorance is compatible with the presence 
 of excellent natural capacities; presumptuous 
 stupidity depends on deficiency of the intellect- 
 ual powers, joined to self-esteem and preten- 
 sions to learning. 
 
 Is Ignorance despicable? 
 
 Not in itself; and provided every opportu- 
 nity of gaining information and exercising the 
 mental powers be laid hold on. 
 
118 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 Is it the same in regard to presumptuous 
 stupidity? 
 
 No. This is despised by every sensible 
 person, for it invariably leads men to neglect 
 the means of instruction. 
 
 What Is the dijjerence between a learned 
 and a wise man? 
 
 Every man who knows much is learned: 
 but he only is wise who has acquired practical 
 knowledge; that is knowledge, applicable in the 
 affairs of life. The wise man also endeavors to 
 account for what he observes, and to discover 
 principles, in comformity with which he may 
 constantly act. 
 
 Is it necessary^ for the sake of morality, to 
 cultivate the Understanding? 
 
 Although neither the religious nor the moral 
 sentiments spring from Understanding, they 
 still require its guidance in their apphcation, 
 and its aid in enabling them to act harmoniously 
 with all the other faculties of human nature. 
 
 What should be the aim of every description 
 of study? 
 
 The establishment of Truth and attainment 
 of Perfection. 'Truth,' says Confucius, 'is 
 
MORAL LAWS. 119 
 
 the law of Heaven,' and 'Perfection is the 
 beginning and the end of all things.' 
 
 What is the basis on which the perfecting of 
 mankind must proceed? 
 
 Knowledge cf human nature, and submission 
 to the laws of the Creator; — Conviction that 
 nothing can be created, but only modified and 
 reproduced according to determinate condi- 
 tions. 
 
 How might the adoption of the natural laws^ 
 as the rule of conduct^ he most speedily effect- 
 ed? 
 
 By governments exacting their practice, and 
 joining the authority of example, by obeying 
 their commands. 
 
 What are the essehtial requisites in a Itgis- 
 lator? 
 
 He ought to know the nature of the being for 
 whom he enacts laws, to believe in natural mo- 
 rality, and to attest his behef by his actions. 
 
 Have men any right mutually to impose 
 their wills as rules of moral conduct? 
 
 They most certainly have not. There is 
 but one will that ought to be done — the Will 
 of God, and this, in morahty, commands im- 
 
120 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 perioiisly to man, ' Thou shall love thy 
 neighbor as thyself.' 
 
 JVIay the doctrine of Morality become a sci- 
 ence? 
 
 There can be no doubt it may by studying 
 the laws of the Creator and by comparing 
 them with pure Christianity. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 OF RELIGION. 
 I. 
 OF RELIGION IN GENERAL. 
 
 Has every one a right to inquire into religious 
 matters? 
 
 It seems absurd that a particular profession 
 should enjoy the privilege to establish rehgious 
 opinions incumbent on all the rest of the com- 
 munity, whilst it seems right that every reason- 
 able mind should examine the most important, 
 viz. the religious part of his constitution. 
 
OF RELIGION. 121 
 
 Has the phrenologist in particular a right to 
 inquire into religion? 
 
 Undoubtedly. Phrenolori,/ embraces the 
 whole of the mnate dispositions. Now as 
 there are innate religious feehngs, the phren- 
 ologist is enabled to examine their essence and 
 operations. 
 
 What are the limits of the phrenologist in 
 the examination of religious conceptions? 
 
 He is confined to the result of the innate 
 rehgious feelings of man. 
 
 What is the meaning of the word religion? 
 This name comes from the Latin, and signi- 
 fies a binding together, connexion, or union. 
 We particularly understand by it, a belief in 
 supernatural beings, and in relations between 
 them and ourselves; and further, the practice 
 of rendering them worship, in whatever this is 
 made to consist — in whatever manner it is be- 
 stowed. 
 
 Have men universally had religion of some 
 description? 
 
 All nations whatsoever have conceived the 
 existence of supernatural powers, have believ- 
 ed themselves in relation with these, and have 
 adored them, although in very different manners. 
 11 
 
122 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 Holo may Religions be divided'? 
 
 According to the number of supernatural be- 
 ings revered, and according to the origin of re- 
 ligious ideas. 
 
 What religious systems are included in that 
 division which regards the number of divinities') 
 
 1st, Polytheism, — the system of beUef in 
 many gods; such was the Pagan Religion, 
 styled Mythology. 
 
 2d, Bitheism, — the system of behef in two 
 principles, the one of good, the other of evil, 
 named Osiris and Typhon by the Egyptians; 
 Brama and Moisaourby the Indians; Ormuzd 
 and Ahrimanes by the Persians; Jehovah and 
 Satan by the Jews; God and the Devil by 
 some modern nations, &c. 
 
 3d, Monotheism, — the system of behef in 
 one Supreme Being, the primary cause of all 
 that is, and of ail that comes to pass. 
 
 Can we conceive the origin of PoIytheis)n? 
 
 Yes; by keeping in view the nature of the 
 faculties possessed by man, and his great igno- 
 rance. By his innate dispositions man is in- 
 clined to venerate, to fear, to admire, and to 
 raise his mind to supernatural conceptions. 
 
OF RELIGION. 123 
 
 These feelings he at first employed upon nat- 
 ural objects, the sun, the moon, the stars, and 
 afterwards upon the personified causes of nat- 
 ural phenomena, as of thunder, of the wind, of 
 the four seasons, of vegetation, &c. In his ig- 
 norance, therefore, man followed the blind dic- 
 tates of his feelings, and espoused such opin- 
 ions as accorded with them. 
 
 Can we also conceive the system of two prin- 
 ciples, the one of good., the other of evil"? 
 
 Yes; for good and evil, or pleasure and pain, 
 exist. Nature universally presents opposites 
 to the view, and every individual even feels 
 these ia his own interior, among his sentiments. 
 Now man, who by one faculty seeks for the 
 cause of every effect, and by another person- 
 ifies every thing even to causes, could not ad- 
 mit one and the same cause for both good 
 and evil. 
 
 Is Monotheism, or the system of one Su- 
 preme Being, more reasonable than Polytheism 
 and the belief in two principles? 
 
 Belief in the unity of God is the only notion 
 that agrees with the supreme law of reason. 
 This belief, therefore, spreads abroad among 
 
124 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 the nations, In proportion as they become en- 
 lightened. 
 
 Which of the two^ Monotheism or Polythe- 
 ism^ nas most probably the first religious belief 
 amons: savao-e nations? 
 
 Polytheism. To arrive at Monotheism, it is 
 necessary to reason; but the feelings or affec- 
 tive faculties exist in greater activity than the 
 powers of analysis and causation in civilized, 
 and still more among savage nations. It is con- 
 sequently probable, that the religious sentiments 
 acted before the intellectual facuhies had receiv- 
 ed any cultivation, and in their blindness gave 
 birth to the absurdities of paganism. This is 
 the course in which the people, whose histories 
 we know, have advanced, during the different 
 epochs of their civilization, audit has proba- 
 bly been that of those nations, of whose origin 
 or infant existence no account has reached us. 
 
 Is general consent given to the above reply? 
 
 No; Monotheism is commonly believed to 
 have degenerated into Polytheism, by reason of 
 the symbols under which the Supreme Being 
 and his attributes were adored. To God, it 
 is said, were attributed the light and vivifying 
 
OF RELIGION. 125 
 
 power of the sun, the abundance of a fertile 
 country, &c. — -the presumed qualities of the 
 Deity were represented under particular forms 
 or likened to natural objects, and ignorance, 
 overlooking their emblematic sense, assumed 
 the mere Symbols as Divinities. 
 
 Hoio is the preceding reasoning supported? 
 Monotheism, it is asserted, reigned in the east 
 of Asia, whilst in the western world, —in Egypt, 
 Greece, and Italy, the symbols of God having 
 been taken for so many divinities. Polytheism 
 was the religious belief. 
 
 What is overlooked in this explanation of 
 Polytheism? 
 
 The primary dispositions of man, and their 
 spontaneous activity. Our ignorance, too, of 
 the early history of eastern nations is forgotten. 
 It is also extremely improbable that they alone 
 should have commenced by Monotheism, all 
 the other societies of Europe, of America, and 
 the Isles, having follovv^ed a diflerent course. 
 
 How have the Montoheists represented God? 
 
 Philosophers have conceived God as a Su- 
 preme, Self-existing, and Self-sufficing Being, 
 the Author and Preserver of the Universe. 
 11* 
 
126 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 What is the title of the doctrine which re- 
 cognisesthe existence of a supreme , maintain^ 
 ing, and great First Cause? 
 
 It is called Deism, as its supporters are styl- 
 ed Deists or Theists. Some philosophers, 
 however, have considered God as a vivifying 
 and moving principle, pervading all things. 
 This they have called, Soul of the World. Ac- 
 cording to them, the souls of men are portions 
 of, or emanations from, the great principle, 
 which are never lost, but quitting one body at 
 death go immediately to animate another. 
 
 What is the exact meaning of Atheism? 
 
 It signifies the doctrine which denies the 
 existence of a God, — Supreme Creator and 
 Upholder of the Universe.* 
 
 How may Atheism be accounted for? 
 
 Atheists must necessarily be very rare. 
 They can only exist in consequence of some 
 deficiency in the conditions, by means of which 
 man generally conceives a Supreme Being; in 
 the same way as one is blind Irom birth when 
 the apparatus on which vision depends is im- 
 perfect. 
 
 * ' The Cool saith in his heart, There is no God,' Psalm 
 xiv. I. 
 
NATURAL RELIGION. 127 
 
 What Religious systems are included in the 
 division according to the origin of religious 
 ideas? 
 
 Isl, Natural Religion, and, 
 
 2d, Revealed Religion. 
 
 II. 
 
 OF NATURAL RELIGION. 
 
 Does man, by his reason, recognise the ex- 
 istence of God? 
 
 Man involuntarily seeks for the Workman, 
 or Cause of all that is. By reasoning he ar- 
 rives at a First Cause, beyond which he can 
 conceive nothing; this cause personified is 
 God. 
 
 Can man, by his reason, comprehend the 
 nature of God? 
 
 No; to know God, it were necessary to he 
 his equal at the least; an inferior being can 
 never conceive the nature of one infinitely his 
 superior. Indeed, man does not know the 
 essence of any single natural object, how then 
 
128 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 can he imagine that of aught which is superna' 
 tural? 
 
 Is man naturally inclined to religious ideas7 
 
 There is nothing more certain. He has in* 
 nate facuhies, whose manifestations depend on 
 certain parts of the brain, and which induce 
 him to be rehgious. 
 
 Can religious ideas be indifferent in their 
 nature? 
 
 True rehgion being the will of God, cannot 
 be indifferent, and God being all perfection and 
 bounty cannot act from mere arbitrariness. 
 
 Is it probable that God in giving a law to 
 man, has given him also means to understand it9 
 
 Certainly, since without intellect neither 
 the law nor its necessity can be conceived. 
 
 Does natural religion admit of reasoning? 
 
 Its regulation is subjected to reason. Any 
 proposition subversive of universal hai'mony 
 among the faculties is at once to be rejected 
 as erroneous. 
 
 Is not the reason of man governed by certain 
 principles, agreeably to which it must admit or 
 deny such and such attributes or qualities in 
 God? 
 
NATURAL RELIGION. 129 
 
 Human reason ou2;ht at least to suppose all 
 the moral qualities in God, which it exacts of 
 a just and reasonable man. 
 
 Can God, agreeably to human reason, be in 
 contradiction with himself, improve by experi- 
 ence, do aught at one time and repent him of 
 having done so at a latter period? 
 
 No; according to human reason, God is 
 perfection and intelligence itself; his will is 
 eternal, and his laws are unchangeable. 
 
 Ca7i God be partial'] 
 
 Human reason says he is all equity and all 
 justice; it declares every exclusionary idea, 
 entertained in connexion with the Parent of the 
 Universe, as sacrilegious. 
 
 Can God be cruel'] 
 
 Good sense shrinks from such a conception 
 coupled with the name of the great Author of 
 all. God cannot love evil, nor lend it his coun- 
 tenance and aid. 
 
 Can God be jealous, envious, and vindic- 
 tive"] 
 
 All such expressions are .merely expedient, 
 and adapted to a hard-hearted race of men. 
 Belief in God combined with such ideas, is 
 
130 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 an abomination in the eyes of a rational and 
 moral being. 
 
 Jf hy has God been so generally represented 
 as a being to be feared? 
 
 Because fear is an excellent means of mak- 
 ing man act at will. 
 
 Is it probable that the divine laivs made for 
 man are adapted to his nature'^ 
 
 It is impossible to think that God, in crea- 
 ting man and instituting laws for his govern- 
 ment, did not adjust the one to the other. 
 
 God being unchangeable, must, therefore, re- 
 ligion not remain unchanged? 
 
 The design and end of religion must remain 
 unchanged, but the means tending to that end 
 must vary according to the different degree of 
 civilization of nations and individuals who re- 
 ceive religious instruction. 
 
 What can be the end of true religion? 
 
 The glory of God and the good of man. 
 
 Can divine laics be less reasonable than civil 
 laws? 
 
 This is impossible, because human wisdom, 
 coming from God, cannot surpass that of his 
 all wise Creator and perfect law-giver. 
 
NATURAL RELIGION. 131 
 
 Which are the powers of man that are prop- 
 per tojud^e of true religious notions? 
 
 Religion is a prerogative of man, hence all 
 religious notions should be in conformity with 
 the human faculties strictly speaking and free 
 from every influence of animal feelings. 
 
 Is every one capable of deciding about reli- 
 gious truth? 
 
 No more than every person is able to judge 
 of ar<^s and sciences. The great bulk of man- 
 kind is only fit to learn; happy, therefore, the 
 flock, under the shepherd who attends to their 
 welfare. 
 
 Are there some signs indicative of truth in 
 religion? 
 
 Since true religion tends to the glory of God 
 and the good of man, divine doctrines are har- 
 monious, reasonable, and have a powerful in- 
 fluence to improve man's life and moral char- 
 acter, whilst all contradictions, absurdities and 
 doctrines that tend to promote vice, cannot 
 come from above. 
 
 Is it reasonable to conceive God^ trying men 
 and their obedience by commanding insignifi- 
 cant and unmeaning observances^ useless both 
 to himself and to his creatures? 
 
132 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 Such a thought is altogether unworthy of the 
 true God. The idea of God's spreading toils 
 for man is incompatible with his divine justice. 
 A reasonable master commands no more than 
 the necessary, the profitable and the just to 
 his servants. And if God be prescient, as 
 reason proclaims, he cannot require to put 
 mankind to the proof. It is time to cease from 
 representing God as a mere human being; or 
 if this be indeed impossible, let us suppose the 
 Supreme Author of the universe at least en- 
 dowed with such qualities as are exacted from 
 tolerably perfect humanity — Benevolence, Jus- 
 tice, Reason. The will of God impHcates re- 
 ahties and things indispensable; instead there- 
 fore of attributing to the Creator childish fantas- 
 ies and modes of acting to which worse names 
 might with justice be applied, let us accom- 
 plish his natural laws, fulfil the duties that prof- 
 it ourselves and all mankind, and thus, if by 
 aught we may render ourselves agreeable to 
 the great Author of cur being. 
 
 Is the belief ivJ lie h men have in GocVs attri- . 
 hutes^ of ^reat importance^ 
 
 Of the greatest; since men hke to imitate 
 the example of their maker- 
 
NATURAL RELIGION. lo3 
 
 Is outward loorship conceivable in J^atural 
 Relipon? 
 
 In recognising supernatural agents, or one 
 Supreme Being, and their influence on his es- 
 tate, man was naturally led to render them ho- 
 mage, and to demand their protection. Far- 
 ther, in endowing the objects of his worship 
 with human quaHiies, often with human weak- 
 nesses, and even with human vices, man has treat- 
 ed them humanly ; he has assigned them abodes, 
 especially in elevated situations, he has erect- 
 ed altars to their service, and brought them 
 propitiatory offerings of various kinds, he has 
 sung them laudatory hymns , played on musical 
 instruments, and burnt perfumes for their grati- 
 fication, &c. &c. Man has always anthro^- 
 pomorphised the divinity he adored. 
 
 Was it also natural for man to imagine 
 agents intermediate between him and his Crea- 
 tor") 
 
 Yes; in representing God as endowed with 
 human faculties, men have deemed him acces- 
 sible to all their wants, as well as alive to all 
 their pleasures and appetites. They conse- 
 quently supposed that the Supreme Being, 
 12 
 
134 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 like an earthly potentate, held a court, and had 
 a ministry or a iministration to which he confid- 
 ed part of his affairs, that he had favorites to 
 whom his ear was more open than to them- 
 selves, and so on, after the manner of things 
 below. 
 
 In JSTatiiral Religion what is the loorship 
 which reason approves? 
 
 Reason says that God, being all perfection 
 in himself, can neither gain nor lose in beati- 
 tude by means of the terrestrial creation. Rea- 
 son says further, that God must be a spirit, not 
 shut up in any one place, but that the earth — 
 the universe — is his tabernacle. Moreover, 
 reason says that God created men for their 
 own happiness, and that having estabhshed the 
 laws necessary to secure this end, they are the 
 true bond of union between God and man. 
 Knowledge of the natural laws, therefore, and un- 
 reserved submission to their dictates, compose 
 the natural worship which man owes and must 
 render to make himself agreeable to the Deity. 
 
 Is there any difference between J\'*atural Re- 
 ligion and JWitural Morality? 
 
 None whatever. All the relation which man, 
 
REVEALED RELIGION. 135 
 
 during the term of this hfe, has with God or his 
 Creator, consists in respect and obedience to 
 His laws. 
 
 III. 
 
 OF REVEALED RELIGION. 
 
 Man is by his nature carried to religious 
 ideas; but there is another source nhich invites 
 to such conceptions, is there not? 
 
 Yes, it is Revelation. 
 
 Is this source fertile in results? 
 
 Yes; by far the greater number of religious 
 systems have been received as revelations. 
 The divinities of the ancients, and the Deity, 
 by whatever title designated, of the moderns, 
 are reputed lo have manifested their Will, 
 wlieiher directly or indirectly, to man. Judg- 
 es in Israel, Druids among the Celts, Incas 
 among the Peruvians, — in a word, a priesthood 
 have always been the interpreters of the celes- 
 tial decrees. This body commonly received 
 the instructions of heaven secreily, or in sym- 
 
13G NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 bolic language, and appropriating to itself the 
 right of interpreting them, it has ever taught 
 dogmatically, arrogated infallibility to its tribu- 
 nal, and anathematized whoever dared to con- 
 tiadict, to question, or to doubt. 
 
 Is reason opposed to the belief in Revelation? 
 
 No; Reason is obliged to admit a Creator, 
 and cannot limit his almighty power. 
 
 Do all the systems of religion received as re- 
 vealed^ and lohich admit one only God^ inva- 
 riably represent him in the same way? 
 
 No; some of them attribute physical quali- 
 ties to the Supreme Being; the Mahometans, 
 for instance, conceive him to be round, im- 
 mense, and cold; the Indian Gentiles, imagine 
 him as an oval; others picture him as an old 
 man with a white beard and a venerable aspect, 
 &,c. Those systems of Religion which accord 
 most with reason, speak of God as an incor- 
 poreal Being — -a. Spirit. 
 
 And do alVthe religions that recognise God 
 as a Spirit J conceive him endowed with similar 
 attributes? 
 
 Far from it; by one he is represented as par- 
 
REVEALED RELIGION. 137 
 
 tial, exclusive, jealous, vindictiv-e, cruel, a 
 God of armies and battles, delighting in the 
 blood of victims and of enemies; by another he 
 is pictured as full of goodness, beneficence, 
 clemency, and mercy, a God of peace and of 
 love, rejoicing in the felicity of all. — Men com- 
 monly attribute to the Supreme Being their 
 own manners of thinking and of feehng their 
 animal and human nature; — this is even appa- 
 rent in the interpretations of the several grand 
 systems of rehgion, i. e. in the formation of 
 sects The controversies of theologians on 
 God and his nature, on his communication 
 with man, and on the mode in which he Tules 
 the universe, are very voluminous, and there 
 are innumerable schools of religion, each of 
 which assigns grounds, more or less plausible, 
 for its dissent from the others; in general, how- 
 ever, they are evidently entangled in a laby- 
 rinth of contradiction and inconsequence. 
 
 Are there not some z^eneral points of resem- 
 blance between all systems of religion? 
 
 There are. 1st, In each the articles of be- 
 lief are propounded as the commands of heav- 
 en. 
 
 12=* 
 
138 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 2cl, The articles of faith are essentially the 
 same, but variously modified according to the 
 genius of each; they relate to a beginning, or 
 creation of the world, to one or more regu- 
 lating causes of occurring phenomena, to a 
 primary state of perfection of man as created 
 by a good principle, to his degeneration, or 
 fall throug!! disobedience, to a cause of his se- 
 duction, t his disgrace and punishment, to 
 the possibility of his repurificatlon and restor- 
 ation to divine favor, and lastly, to his future 
 state. 
 
 3d, They who made known the articles of a 
 revelation, have uniformly attested their mis- 
 sion by the working of miracles; these are the 
 testimonials of prophets. 
 
 4th, The language used in all is figurative, 
 or symbolical. 
 
 5th, Almost all are intolerant and mutually 
 exclusive; a circumstance which arises from 
 the innate feelings of self-esteem and firmness 
 in man and from its being evident that as there 
 is only one God, only one religion can pos- 
 sibly be true. 
 
 Whence does this sameness arise? 
 
REVEALED RELIGION. 139 
 
 It may be accounted for by the sameness 
 of the mnate powers and by inferring a primi- 
 tive revelation of the divine will, adapted to 
 the innate faculties of man, which being essen- 
 tially the same, necessarily require and deter- 
 mine similar modes of satisfaction. All nations 
 have music according to the same laws, and 
 dances in accordance with their music; pride 
 is everywhere greedy of command, and vani- 
 ty of display. The same invariable law applies 
 to religious sentiments in combination with the 
 other primary powers of the mind. 
 
 When ice see that the several faculties which 
 dispose men to be religious are innate, does not 
 revelation become superJliious9 
 
 By no means. All the natural inclinations 
 have gone astray, and have a continual tenden- 
 cy to err in their application, and revelation, 
 in giving them a good positive direction, may 
 be eminently salutary. 
 
 Are all the religious systems ^lohich are con- 
 sidered as revealed, and believed at the same 
 time, true? 
 
 This is impossible. As there is but one God, 
 there can be but one supreme will, and one 
 true religion. 
 
140 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 Has the phrenologist a right or is it incum- 
 bent upon him to decide about the truth of any 
 religous belief) 
 
 Neither the one, nor the other. His knowl- 
 edge is confined to the result of the innate dis- 
 positions, but the certainty of revelation depends 
 on proofs of another nature beyond the reach 
 of phrenology. 
 
 HoiD are the religions^ regarded by their dis- 
 ciples as revealed^ commonly supported? 
 
 It is customary to repose on the veracity ol \ 
 the prophets who report the revelation, and 
 they themselves are required to work miracles 
 in order to attest their mission. 
 
 What is a miracle? 
 
 A miracle is a suspension or counteraction 
 of the established laws of nature. It, therefore, 
 implies the power of God, — the abiH;y to cre- 
 ate, and to interrupt or suspend the current of 
 things, to annihilate, to diminish, and to augment 
 matter, to still the waves of the sea, to liush 
 the winds, to cure distempers by words, and 
 so on. 
 
 Can the title ^absurd"" ever be well applies 
 in connexion with miracles? 
 
REVEALED RELIGION. 141 
 
 No; for whatever man pretends to effect in 
 contradiction to the laws of creation is decep- 
 tion. Thus it is impossible to put the moon 
 into the sleeve of a coat, as Mahomet boasted 
 he had done. 
 
 Why have revelations always been made in 
 symbolic and mysterious language? 
 
 The majority of mankind are fond of the 
 marvellous, and in addressing them through its 
 medium, a hearing is surely and readily obtain- 
 ed. The most palpable absurdities, the gross- 
 est superstitions, are admitted by the ignorant^ 
 provided they be but proposed as supernatural, 
 and be deeply tinged with the marvellous- 
 Enlightened men, too, who formed just and rea- 
 sonable ideas of the Supreme Being, of his at- 
 tributes, and of man's relations with him, have 
 generally been obliged to conform in public to 
 the prevalent state-system of rehgion, and they 
 therefore invented a language of symbols, by 
 means of which they maintained their private 
 opinions, entrusting the initiated only with the 
 key to its interpretation. Besides, the oriental 
 tongues abound in metaphors, comparisons, 
 ^nd figurative expressions, which translated lit- 
 
142 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 erally into modern languages, lose entirely 
 their primary significations. 
 
 TFhat is the conclusion to be dr men from the 
 foregoing reply^ 
 
 That we are not to rest satisfied with mere 
 literal interpretations of religious language, but 
 that we must search for its spirit. The apos- 
 tle said long ago, 'the letter kills, but the spir- 
 it vivifies.' 
 
 Can a truly divine revelation interdict the 
 use of reason^ 
 
 Reason is the noble gift by w^hich the Cre- 
 ator has distinguished man from all other ani- 
 mated things. Now it w^ould be a most unrea- 
 sonable act, first to endow a being with any fac- 
 ulty, and then to prohibit its use. Such a pro- 
 cedure would be, if possible, more absurd in 
 reference to the most distinguished and enno- 
 bling of all the powers of the mind. Moreover, 
 God, who is all wisdom aad all reason, coulc 
 never create man in his own likeness, as it i?. 
 said he did, and then forbid the employmen 
 of the very faculties which must form a princi 
 pal feature in the resemblance. 
 
 Can God contradict himself? 
 
REVEALED RELIGION. 14S 
 
 This is impossible, his will being p3rfection 
 of virtue and his sense of right and consistency 
 being the strongest. God therefore cannot 
 contradict in revelation what he teaches in his 
 works, nor can he contradict in one part of 
 scripture what he teaches at another. 
 
 What inference may de drawn from the pre- 
 ceding answer^ 
 
 Known truth derived from observation and 
 experience must restrain and modify the scrip- 
 tural language, and every interpretation must 
 be given up which contradicts any physical 
 truth, particularly since the scriptural language 
 is singularly figurative and no where affects the 
 precision of science or the accuracy of defini- 
 tion. 
 
 Is belief the best means of proving the truth 
 of a revealed system of religion'? 
 
 It is certain that all religions whatsoever are 
 propped upon belief. It is equally certain 
 that behef depends on feehngs rather than on 
 intellect and that men are very ready to be- 
 lieve when their tastes are flattered, when 
 they are met by promises that are agreeable to 
 their desires. — There are nearly as many Ma- 
 
144 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 hometans as Christians in the world, and all 
 good Mussulmen believe firmly, that their 
 prophet put the moon into the sleeve of his 
 coat. From this it is evident, tliat simple be- 
 lief cannot demonstrate the truth of any, how- 
 ever generally accredited, system of religion. 
 
 Besides belief, is there any other mode of de- 
 monstrating the truth of a revelation^ 
 
 Yes; there are proofs founded on the nature 
 of the revealed doctrine itself, and that are ap- 
 proved by reason. Thus, the precepts that come 
 from God must necessarily harmonize, they 
 must be adapted to human nature, and they 
 must produce salutary effects. It is impossi- 
 ble to suppose that God gives mankind laws 
 whose tendency is injurious to them. 
 
 Can true reli^^ion exclude morality'^ 
 
 This seems impossible to those who have 
 arrived at refined notions of an all perfect Be- 
 ing, and who place their most acceptable wor- 
 ship in actions producing every one's own 
 happiness in harmony w ith that of his neigh- 
 bor. They find religion unprofitable, nay of- 
 ten hurtful, if it be confined to mere behef in 
 the divine appointment of prophets; in mere 
 
REVEALED RELIGION. 145 
 
 miraculous actions ofihe Almighty, or in idle, 
 useless, ridiculous or even mischievous ob- 
 servances, whilst the exeriions of the higher 
 sentiments of man are passed over as indiffer- 
 ent. 
 
 Can they he received as true prophets^ who 
 speak according to the circumstances of the 
 times in ichich they appear? 
 
 No; the spirit of God is eternally the same. 
 Reason, therefore, unmasks Mahomet, who 
 accommodated^ the revelations of the angel 
 Gabriel to tlie nature of his designs, and even 
 rescinded preceding communications entirely, 
 if his views required the measure. 
 
 Is it reasonable to doubt in religious mat- 
 ters'? and 'if so^ why'? 
 
 Yes, it is; because many assent to what ma- 
 ny deny; and because there have been many 
 prophesying cheats, and much prophetic de- 
 ception inflicted on the world. Caution is es- 
 pecially necessary when the temporal interest 
 of the deceivers is joined with the spiritual in- 
 terest of the deceived. 
 
 May false prophets and their errors he more 
 readily and certainly detected by the nature of 
 13 
 
146 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 the doctrine they teach, or by the belief they re- 
 ceived 
 
 The nature and doctrine, and the fruits it 
 produces, afford the surest test of its truth. 
 
 Why do the priesthood so commonly oppose 
 the use of reason? 
 
 The priesthood have exacted blind behef, 
 because this, whilst it prevents discussion, 
 renders their calling more imposing, and more 
 easy; it further secures them from accusation, 
 and cloaks their errors and selfidi views. 
 
 What advantage is there in proposing laws 
 to men as divine revelations? 
 
 It disposes them powerfully to obedience. 
 
 What peculiar condition of mankind is the 
 most favorable to belief in general? 
 
 The state of ignorance which is always cre- 
 dulous. They, therefore, who would lead the 
 nations bhndfolded, have reason at least on 
 their side, in opposing the cultivation of the 
 understanding. 
 
 Is it a matter of difficulty to discover and to 
 understand truth? 
 
 The question is rarely of either discrimina- 
 ting or of understanding; the mass of mankind 
 
REVEALED RELIGION. 147 
 
 admit what they h"ke, and what they consider 
 as favorable to their interests, whether tempo- 
 ral or eternal. When the time comes that 
 mankind shall desire to understand and to prac- 
 tise what is reasonable and just, truth will tri- 
 umph over error. 
 
 Is belief necessary in any wise9 
 
 Yes; but if religious doctrines be Imposed as 
 obligatory, the articles of belief should be reas- 
 onable and just, in order that he who is capable 
 of reflecting, may perceive them as true, and 
 ihe ir practice as tending to establish the general 
 happiness. 
 
 Is a religious doctrine true because of its 
 promising great rewards? 
 
 To promise largely is an efficient means of 
 ensuring its adoption, but this does not in any 
 way prove its truth. It ought to be reasonable 
 and advantageous at the same time; that is to 
 say, it should satisfy both the aflective and the 
 intellectual faculties of man. 
 
 Is instruction dangerous to morality^ 
 
 Experience proves most amply that it is 
 not. The history of nations, of tribes, and of 
 classes in the different societies of men, pre- 
 senis the greatest number of crimes and of im- 
 
146 NATURAL LAWS OP MAW. 
 
 moral actions generally, during the reign o: 
 ignorance, and of superstition its attendant. 
 Crimes diminish not only in frequency, but in 
 atrocity, in proportion as the mind receives 
 cultivation, as arts and sciences are encouraged, 
 and as good manners and gentle bearing are 
 esteemed and rewarded. Men must positive- 
 ly be taught whatever it is deemed of impor- 
 tance that they should know\ The only ques- 
 tion therefore is, whether it be more advan- 
 tageous to instruct them in superstition and er- 
 ror, or in reasonable religion and salutary 
 truths. 
 
 Have religious dotrines done harm to man- 
 kind'? 
 
 Much, both physically and morally; som.e- 
 times by their commands, but principally by 
 their inioierance. 
 
 Hoio can a religious system work physical 
 evil? 
 
 By its provisions as to the nourishment of the 
 body and the propagation of the species, and 
 by countenancing any species of persecution, 
 such as the rack, dungeon, stake, &c. &c. 
 
 What is the revealed religion ivJiich surpass- 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 149 
 
 €s all others in every kin-l of perfection^ and 
 that stands the scrutiny ofreason9 
 It is Pure Christianity* 
 
 IV. 
 
 OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 Phrenology hein^ true^ can it he in opposi- 
 tion to pure Christianity^ 
 
 This is impossible, as no truth either physi- 
 cal or moral can be in opposition to any other. 
 Christianity and Phrenology, when well un- 
 derstood, will give mutual assistance to each 
 other. 
 
 Is the phrenologist entV^'d to speak of Chris- 
 tianity^ and if so^ hoio far? 
 
 The phrenologist has the right to examine 
 whether Christianity is adapted to the innate 
 dispositions of man, and he is delighted in see- 
 ing it in perfect harmony with the human na- 
 ture. But he is confined to the -examen of 
 .?the christian doctrine in itself and its superior- 
 13* 
 
150 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 ity without being able to decide about the na- 
 ture of the Revealer; he can speak only from 
 actual observations and inductions. 
 
 Does the Christian Religion permit reason- 
 ing9 
 
 Jesus himself said, 'Those who have ears 
 let them hear,' he declared that light is not 
 made to be hidden, but to enlighten; and he 
 reproached his own disciples for being without 
 understanding. (Matt, xv.) Paul also says, 
 ' I speak as to wise men, judge ye what I 
 say.' (1 Cor. x. 15.) And again, 'Prove all 
 things, hold fast that which is good. ' (1 Thess. 
 V. 21.) * Beloved,' says John, 'believe not 
 every spirit, but try the spirits whether they 
 are of God.' (1 John. iv. 1.) 
 
 Does not Christianity recur to reasoning in 
 order to demonstrate the existence of God? 
 
 It does. For ' every house,' says Paul to 
 the Hebrews, chap. iii. ver. 4, 'has been 
 builded by some man, but he that built all 
 things is God.' 
 
 In what manner^ according to Christianity, 
 does God make hi wself manifest? 
 
 The invisible perfections of God, his eter- 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 151 
 
 nal power and his divinity, appear in the works 
 of creation. (Rom. i. 20.) 
 
 IVhat are the chief attributes of God, as de- 
 fined by Christianity? 
 
 God is a spirit. (John iv. 24.) He is love. 
 (1 John iv. 16.) He is just and impartial, and 
 regards not appearances nor persons. (Rom. 
 ii. 11.) He rewards each according to his 
 works. (Rom. ii.); desires only good, and 
 wills only the happiness of his creatures. 
 (New Testament, passim.) 
 
 How may the doctrine of Christianity be di- 
 vided? 
 
 Into two principal parts, the one marvellous, 
 the other moral. 
 
 In what does the marvellous part of Christian- 
 ity consist? 
 
 It includes w^hatever is incomprehensible, 
 whatever is beyond the hmits of observa- 
 tion; — such as the nature of God, the creation 
 of the world by his will, his influence upon 
 his creatures, his communication with men 
 the birth and miraculous actions of Jesus, the 
 immortality of the soul, and the rewards and 
 punishments in the life to come. 
 
 This part of Christianity requires belief? 
 
152 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 It depends eniirely upon belief; for the points 
 of which it is composed cannot be submitted 
 to present observation. 
 
 How does belief in these incomprehensible 
 matters become efficacious and profitable? 
 
 When it induces the behever to practise the 
 Christian virtues. It is necessary, says Paul, 
 to have 'faith which worketh by love.' fGal. 
 V. 6.) 'Faith,' says James, 'if it have not 
 works, is dead in itself.' (James ii. 16, 26.) 
 Christianity calls us to be perfect as our Father 
 in heaven is perfect. 
 
 Have all Christian societies agreed upon the 
 marvellous part of their doctrine? 
 
 No; this part has produced continual dissen- 
 sions among Christians, and so long as any in- 
 dividual shall dare to think and to interpret for 
 himself, these must continue. It is this part 
 of Chiislianity also which has often been the 
 cause and always served as the pretext, for in- 
 tolerance, and persecution on account of opin- 
 ions. 
 
 What is to be concluded from this? 
 
 That every man should be allowed to follow 
 the dictates of his own conscience, and to be- 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 153 
 
 lieve whatever he conceives is true, provided 
 the pubhc tranquillity be not disturbed, and the 
 moral part of Christianity do not suffer. 
 Is this conclusion reasonable? 
 Is it in complete harmony with reason, and in 
 conformity with the moral injunctions of Chris- 
 tianity, which command the preaching of the 
 truth, but strictly prohibit all persecution. 'Go 
 ye,' said Jesus to his disciples, 'into all the 
 world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 
 And whoever shall not receive you, nor hear 
 your w^ords, when ye depart out of that house 
 or city, shake off the dust of your feet.' — The 
 induction is the more reasonable, too, in as 
 much as the Christian doctrine assures us that 
 every one, at the final judgment, will have to 
 render an account of his talents and of his 
 
 deeds. 
 
 Ill what does Christian morality consist? 
 
 The whole of it is reducible to two grand 
 commandments, viz. Love God with your 
 whole soul^' and, ^Loveyour neighbor as your- 
 self .' (Matt. xxii. 37. 39.) 
 
 W Jiat is understood by the ^ Love of GodV 
 'This is Love of God, that we keep his 
 commandments.' (1 John v. 3.) 
 
154 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN, 
 
 Can we, humanly speakings Hove God,^ such 
 as he is represented in the gospel? 
 
 Every rational and noble mind must love a 
 God of peace, of goodness, of clemency, and 
 of justice; a God who has compassion on 
 our weaknesses, and who makes the sun to 
 shine, and the rain to descend, even on those 
 who obey not his will; a God who gives the 
 breaker of his law time for repentance; who 
 desires universal happiness; who gives the 
 same laws to the whole human kind indiffer- 
 -ently ; and who will mercifully judge each by 
 his works, without respect of persons. 
 
 Is the observance of certain symbolic forms 
 sufficient to constitute a Christian? 
 
 Far from it; though many, indeed, think it 
 is. Forms are not the end of Christianity, 
 they are mere means of engendering and nour- 
 ishing a Christian spirit. 
 
 The Christian morality in commanding 
 love to God, implies in this entire submission 
 to the will of the Creator, does it not? 
 
 Conviction of the extent and importance of 
 this commandment is of prime necessity. 
 That the will of the Father — God, is to be 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 155 
 
 done on earth as it is done in heaven, is an 
 injunction clearly set forth. The proj3riety of 
 distinguishing between the laws of God and 
 the enactments of men, is thus proclaimed. 
 Jesus also said, that he could do nothing which 
 he had not seen done by his Father, and he 
 declared that only they who did the will of God 
 were his brothers, sisters, or mother. 
 
 Does the will of God comprise the laws of 
 creation, that is to say, the natural laios? 
 
 Undoubtedly; because God and the Creator 
 are one. Man indeed can create nothing; en- 
 dowed wath understanding to observe phenom- 
 ena, and the conditions under which they oc- 
 cur, he can, how^ever, imitate in some degree, 
 that which the Creator shows him; in other 
 w^ords, he can prepare the conditions neces- 
 sary to elicit determinate effects; but he is 
 still dependent on the laws of the Creator for 
 the success of his undertakings. Jesus said, 
 'My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent 
 me.' (John vii.) 
 
 Is there a difference between the belief in the 
 natural laws and that of Christianity '7 
 
 Those who merely beheve in the fixed or- 
 
156 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 der of nature admit in the Creator a regard to 
 general good rather than an afiection to indi- 
 viduals. They find the natural laws operating 
 with an inflexible tardiness and never varying 
 to meet the wants of individuals, whilst Cliris- 
 tianity represents God as a Father endowed 
 with parental tenderness towards his offspring, 
 and pardoning the sinner. Further, the belief 
 in the Ordinary Course of Providence does 
 not clearly conceive the reality of a future ex- 
 istence, whilst Christianity promises and as- 
 sures us of our immortality. Indeed, if man is 
 to live again, he is not to hve through any 
 known laws of nature, but by a power higher 
 than nature. 
 
 Having seen in an early part of this book,* 
 that there are three kinds of natural laws, viz. 
 vegetative, intellectual, and moral laws, which 
 of these is the most important in the view of 
 Christianity? 
 
 The knowledge and practice of the moral 
 
 laws. Jesus says, that his followers are to 
 
 shine before men, by the light of their good 
 
 works. (Matt, v.) He placed morality so 
 
 *See page 16. 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 157 
 
 far above every thing else, that some have im- 
 agined his aim to have been the annihilation 
 of the physical and intellectual laws of man. 
 
 What is the decision of good sense in this 
 particular'? 
 
 It recognises the moral laws as superior to 
 the others; assigns them the direction of all 
 our actions; introduces harmony among the 
 functions that respectively constitute the mor- 
 al, the intellectual, and the vegetative laws of 
 man, and it declares that nothing which God 
 has created is ever to be neglected, much less 
 to be annihilated. 
 
 Is beliefs or avoical of belief, in the mission of 
 Jesus, sufficient to constitute a Christian? 
 
 To be a Christian, it is not enough to rec- 
 ognise Jesus as the Son of God, the Redeem- 
 er of Man and the interpreter of the will of 
 his heavenly Father, or even to be con- 
 versant with his commandments, it is indis- 
 pensably necessary to act upon the precepts he 
 taught. 'He that hath my commandments, 
 and keepeth ihem, he it is that loveth me.' 
 (John xiv.) 'Not every one who sayeth into 
 me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdont 
 14 
 
158 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Fath- 
 er.' (Matt, vii.) 'If ye keep my command- 
 ments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have 
 kept my Father's commandments, and abide in 
 his love.' (John xv.) These are the Master's 
 own words. Paul, too, says, 'The kingdom 
 of God is not in word but in power,' i.e. deed. 
 (1 Cor. iv.) 
 
 What is the law which ^ although included 
 under the general title^ Love God, Jesus re- 
 commended in a particular manner^ 
 
 It is the law of neighborly love : Thou shalt 
 love thy neighbor as thyself, — do unto others 
 as ye would that they did unto you, and do not 
 to others the things ye would not that they 
 did to you. 
 
 Is the Urn of neighborly love of very exten- 
 sive application') 
 
 It is the universal rule of conduct in all the 
 relations of man with his fellow-men. They 
 who practise it will never oflend nor injure any 
 one; they will exert their utmost ability to re- 
 scind arbitrary and unjust enactments, to 
 crush tyranny, and to abolish slavery of every 
 description; they will not live at the expense 
 of others; they will be meek, indulgent, benev- 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 159 
 
 olent, just and faithful; they will never swerve 
 from the path of peace, nor ever lose sight 
 of general happiness as the end of their being. 
 And to be a Christian is it necessary to prac- 
 tise thislaio? 
 
 It is an indispensable condition to be so con- 
 sidered. To say otherwise would either be to 
 deceive ourselves, or to be guilty of hypocrisy. 
 The law is clearly expressed. Jesus frequent- 
 ly admonished his disciples to distinguish 
 themselves by their love of each other. 
 
 Is it easy or difficult to accomplish the law 
 of neighborly love9 
 
 Jesus announced the law as the will of his 
 heavenly Parent, and he exacts its fulfilment, 
 even though it require the aid of resolution; 
 ^because,' says he, 'no man putting his hand 
 to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the 
 kingdom of God.' (Luke ix.) And he adds, 
 ^When we have accomplished all that is com- 
 manded, we have done no more than our duty.' 
 He has, however, avowed, that it is extreme- 
 ly difiicultto enter into the kingdom of heaven, 
 and that there is no perfectly just man in the 
 world. The brethren of Jesus did not beheve 
 in him. (John vii. 5.) 
 
160 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 Is it equally difficult for all men to be Chris- 
 tians9 
 
 It is more easy for the poor than for th© 
 rich to love their neighbors as themselves. It 
 was especially to the poor that Christ brought 
 the good tidings. He has positively declaied 
 that it is extremely difficult for a rich man tQ 
 enter the kingdom of God. (Matt. xix. 23.) 
 
 Can ice, in the enjoyment of privileges ^ 
 love ourneis^hbor as ourselves^ 
 
 Good sense replies in the negative. 
 
 Are Christians authorised by their doctrine 
 to take or reclaim by force that which others 
 enjoy, in opposition to the law of neighborly 
 love? 
 
 By no means; they are forbidden to do evil 
 to any one, or to use violence in any way. They 
 form a class apart, and never serve as instru- 
 ments in oppressive or exclusionary schemes; 
 among them, there is neither master, nor servant, 
 nor slave; they know but two grades or ranka 
 in their community, — accomplished Christians, 
 and disciples, and the accomplished disciple 
 attains the same footing as his teacher; (Luke 
 vi.) they recognise each of their members as 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 161 
 
 possessed of particular gifts, but these all em- 
 ploy agreeably to the law of neighborly love; 
 each is only answerable for the talents entrus- 
 ted to his care; and, taking advantage of them 
 in this spirit, all have, as all only require, the 
 same recompense. 'Christians,' says Paul to 
 the Romans, 'form a body and many members; 
 they have different gifts, but each employs 
 that he possesses in union and in charity.' 
 
 Is the formation of a Christian society pos- 
 sible9 
 
 Not among men as they are at present consti- 
 tuted. The law of neighborly love is subhme, 
 and will remain true to eternity; but it is not 
 as yet given to man to adhere to its injunc- 
 tions. To do this, the knowledge and prac- 
 tice of the universal law of Christianity, Do 
 the will of God, in all its details, is indispen- 
 sable; above all, the laws of hereditary descent 
 must be enforced, in order to prepare mankind 
 for the reception of the Christian doctrine in 
 its purity. Without this course, the Holy 
 
 Spirit will never remain among mankind. 
 
 Christianity, in promising everlasting life 
 beyond the grave ^ does not render temporal 
 14* 
 
162 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 happiness incompatible with the prospect of such 
 bliss J does it? 
 
 To say yes, would be equivalent to saying, 
 that it is necessary to fall sick in order to live 
 well. True, in the actual state of things, the 
 majority of mankind find the task of adherence 
 to the natural laws extremely painful; but this 
 does not prove that the Creator has willed it 
 so, or resolved its endurance forever. Chris- 
 tianity in directing the actions of the innate 
 powers cannot intend to abolish them, and 
 each power when satisfied procures pleas- 
 ure and some are given only for the sake of 
 temporal happiness. 
 
 In what does the worship prescribed by Chris- 
 tianity principally consist? 
 
 It is reasonable and spiritual, not consisting 
 in what is eaten or drunk, nnr in distinctions 
 made between days; (Rom. xiv.) it is a wdi-- 
 ship which regards the sabbath as made for 
 man, not man for the sabba;h; ' for the Son 
 of man is Lord also of the sabbath;' (Mark ii. 
 27.) a worship, according to which the time 
 will come — the time is even now come — ■ 
 when true adorers shall worship God in spirit 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 163 
 
 and in truth; (John iv.) a worship, in fine, 
 which teaches that God is not served hy men's 
 hands, as if He had need of aught, — He who 
 gives hfe and sweet consciousness of being to 
 all, and sheds joy and harmony over his crea- 
 tion. (Acts xvii.) The vvorship, in a word, 
 -which the true Christian pays to God, con- 
 sists in learning and practising his laws in gen- 
 eral, and in observing his ordinance of neigh- 
 borly love in particular. 
 
 Do the religious and moral precepts of the 
 JVe.w Testament surpass those of the Old, in 
 perfection and excellence? 
 
 Whoever will compare the qualities attribu- 
 ted to the Supreme Being, regard the spirit 
 of the laws contained, and observe the means 
 proposed for teaching these, in each, must 
 inevitably recognise the infinite superiority of 
 the doctrines of Christianity. 
 
 What is the principal duty of the teachers 
 of religion and morality'? 
 
 To know the universal law of Christianity; 
 to study its particular laws, to spread abroad 
 a knowledge of them, and to show their advan- 
 tages to individuals, to existing communities, 
 
164 NATURAL LAWS OP MAN. 
 
 and to posterity; lastty, to attest their own be- 
 lief, by practising its ordinances. They are 
 to ' feed the flock of God which is among 
 them, taking the oversight thereof, not by 
 constraint, but wilhngly, ngt for fihhy lucre, 
 but of a ready mind; neither as being lords 
 over God's heritage, but being ensamples to 
 his flock.' (1 Pet. v.) Jesus said pointedly 
 that his disciples were to be known, and true 
 prophets distinguished from false, by ijieir 
 fruits. ' Beware of false prophets, ye shall 
 know them by their fruits. Do men gather 
 grapes of thorns or figs from thistles?' (Matt, 
 vii.) 
 
 What idea do true Chrisiians entertain oj 
 Prayer? 
 
 When they pray they retire into their closet, 
 and when they have shut the door, they pray, 
 above all, that the will of their heavenly Fath- 
 er may be done on earih. (Matt, v.) They 
 'use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, 
 who think they shall be heard for their much 
 speaking.' They are assured that God knows 
 all they require before they present their pe- 
 tition. (Matt, vi.) True Christians do not 
 
NATURAL RELIGION. 165 
 
 suppose that they can please the Almighty by 
 any kind of ceremony, by the burning of in- 
 ^cense, or otherwise. They admire the Cre- 
 ,ator in contemplating his works, in meditating 
 :on the laws which reign throughout the uni- 
 verse; the further they advance in knowledge, 
 the more do they ov^erflow wath reverence and 
 gratitude; examine all their actions, w^hether or 
 not they be in conformity with morality; they 
 strive to make amends when they have sinned, 
 and they admit in principle that God hstens 
 to them in proportion only as they fulfill his 
 laws, in Httle as well as in great things. 
 
 By what visible signs are true Christians, 
 or the disciples of natural morality, distin- 
 s^uished from the rest of mankind? 
 
 By their works; by their submission to the 
 laws of the Creator in general, and by their 
 practice of the moral laws in particular. 'Ye 
 are my friends, said Jesus, if ye do whatever 
 I command you, (John, xv.) It is in this that 
 ye will be known to be my disciples, if ye 
 have love one for another.' 
 
166 NATURAL LAWS Of" MAN. 
 
 V. 
 
 OF CHURCH RELIGION. 
 
 What is the meaning of the word church? 
 
 1st. It designates a general society of in- 
 dividuals professing the same religious princi- 
 ples. 
 
 2d. It also implies any special congregation 
 making part of the general society. Churches 
 are then named from the places at which they 
 exist; as for instance, the church of Corinth, 
 the church of Antioch, of Ephesus, &c. 
 
 3d. It is used to designate the government 
 of religious matters. 
 
 4th. It signifies the building in which the mem- 
 bers of the society or congregation assemble, 
 whether to improve in knowledge of their reli- 
 gious principles, to address prayers to God, to 
 sing hymns to his praise, to return thanks for 
 benefits conferred, generally or particularly, on 
 the members, or to ofier adoration in any way 
 ^vhatever. 
 
 IIoiD is the general Christian church entitled? 
 
 It is called Catholic. 
 
CHURCH RELIGION. 167 
 
 *Bre there more catholic churches than one9 
 
 Several have at least taken the title. They 
 are distinguished from each other by adding 
 the name of the country or town where they 
 severally commenced, or flourish. Thus there 
 is a Roman cathoHc church, a Greek catholic 
 church, an Anglican catholic church, and so 
 on. 
 
 Can the special societies of the general or 
 catholic churches follow principles differing 
 respectively^ 
 
 It is evident that congregations admitting 
 different principles, do not constitute parts of 
 one catholic church. 
 
 Can several churches he catholic in one re- 
 spect and divided in others^ 
 
 Yes; all ^vhich believe in the mission of Je- 
 sus and in his miracles, are members of one 
 catholic church, in as far as tbese points 
 are concerned; but they may be divided into 
 many churches in regard to the precepts ad- 
 mitted as Christian ordinances. 
 
 Does the society that changes its religious 
 principles^ belong to the catholic church, of 
 which it was a part? 
 
168 NATURAL LAWS OP MAN. 
 
 No; it forms a new church. 
 
 Ought there to be superiors in any church9 
 
 Yes; it is well to have persons especially 
 appointed to teach and to watch over the ac- 
 complishment of the principles they admit re- 
 spectively. 
 
 Is any man justified in commanding in the 
 name of God? 
 
 The power of God is absolute, but if man 
 arrogate such authority, disorder is inevitable. 
 The ministers of religion ought to be respon- 
 sible to the community for every one of their 
 religious interpretations in the same way as 
 the ministers of civil governments are answer- 
 able for their measures. 
 
 Can any reliance be placed on the word of 
 him whose actions are at variance with his pre- 
 
 No; more especially if the tendency of his 
 teaching be favorable to himself Jesus said: 
 Hf Ido not the works of my Father^ believe me 
 not.' (John x. 37.) 
 
 JVhat is the common tendency of every es- 
 tablished church? 
 
CHURCH RELIGION. 169 
 
 The priesthood of every State-religion try- 
 to keep religious notions stationary and to main- 
 tain the uniformity of discipline. 
 
 Is it possible to keep moral and religious no- 
 tions stationary f 
 
 It may be done by Theocratical governments 
 for a shorter or longer period, but it is im- 
 possible where civil and religious governments 
 constitute two separate powers. The prog- 
 ress will be slow in proportion as both sorts 
 of governors remain united; but views which 
 are adapted and even necessary to ignorant 
 generations cannot satisfy enlightened minds, 
 and must successively improve as well as arts, 
 sciences and civil legislation. The technical, 
 obscure and gloomy theology which has 
 come down from times of ignorance, super- 
 stition and slavery must yield to a system which 
 is practical, clear and calculated to unfold the 
 highest powers of our understanding and our 
 Moral Sentiments. 
 
 Is Protestantism compatible with the unifor- 
 mity of any religious doctrines? 
 
 No: Protestantism is founded on the right of 
 reasoning, and wherever this is allowed, the 
 
170 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 
 
 uniformity of doctrine cannot last, since the 
 power of reasoning differs in degree in differ- 
 ent persons. 
 
 Is it icise in the priesthood of established 
 churches to remain stationary whilst the nations 
 improve in civilization? 
 
 If the Sacerdocy do not keep path in arts and 
 sciences with the community at large, their in- 
 fluence must diminish by degrees and finally 
 cease altogether. 
 
 Since a variety of religious sects is unavoid- 
 hie wherever the free use of reason is allowed^ 
 what should be their cominon tendency? 
 
 Each sect should endeavor to establish har- 
 mony in all branches of knowledge, physical, 
 intellectual, religious and moral. 
 
 Is it possible for any chureh to become uni- 
 versal and permanent? 
 
 Yes; that church will become universal and 
 lasting whose religious principles shall be 
 founded on a knowledge of the true nature of 
 man, which shall establish harmony among all 
 the primary faculties of the mind, and which 
 shall elevate religion to the rank of a science. 
 Every religious idea that contravenes reason 
 can only endure for a time. 
 
CHURCH RELIGION. 171 
 
 IVhat then should form the ground-work^ 
 undwhat the aim of that general religious ref- 
 ormation^ whose necessity for the ivell being of 
 man is so evident? 
 
 With reason and belief in harmony, know- 
 ledge and morality must be its foundation, and 
 the universal happiness its aim. In other 
 words, Christian morality ought to be taught 
 in its purity, and become the essence of reh- 
 ?;ious belief. The practice of the moral law 
 should be a necessary obligation on every 
 member of society; whether induced by rea- 
 son or by faith, by love or by fear, all should 
 be bound to conform to its precepts. No 
 mystical conception, however, ought on any 
 account to be arbitrarily imposed. Every 
 one should be left free to reject or to adopt, 
 according to conscience, any opinion which is 
 not at variance with the true spirit of Chris- 
 tian and natural morality, — which is not inim- 
 ical to the general peace and happiness. 
 
WORKS OF THE SAME AUTHOR 
 
 REPUBLISH I:D IN BOSTON 
 BY MARSH, CAPEN AND LYON. 
 
 I. Phrenology or the doctrine of the mental 
 phenomena. Vol. I. Physiological part. Vol. 
 II. Philosophical part. 
 
 II. Outlines of Phrenology. ' 
 
 III. Elementary principles of Education. 
 
 OTHER WORKS 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE SAME AUTHOR IN ENGLISH. 
 
 I. Anatomy of the brain, with eleven plates, 
 8vo. 14s. 
 
 II. Appendix to the Anatomy of the brain, 
 with seven lithographic plates. 3s. 
 
 III. Observations on Insanity. LOs. 
 
 IV. Phrenology in connection with the 
 study of physiognomy. Part I. Characters, 
 with 34 lithogra})hic plates. Royal 8vo. 22s. 
 
 5. Art. of the For. Quart. Review on phre- 
 nology, with notes. Is. 6d. 
 
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