66 a third edition was published at Cambridge in 1834, the author remarks, that "we are justified in saying, that, in the moral as in the physical world, God seems to govern by general laws." "I am not now," says he, contending for the doctrine of moral necessity; but I do affirm, that the moral government of God is by general laws, and that it is our bounden duty to study these laws, and, as far as we can, to turn them to account." "If there be a superintending Providence, and if his will be manifested by general laws operating both on the physical and moral world, then must a violation of these laws be a violation of his will, and be pregnant with inevitable misery." "Nothing can, in the end, be expedient for man, except it be subordinate to those laws the Author of Nature has thought fit to impress on his moral and physical creation. In the end, high principle and sound policy will be found in the strictest harmony with each other." These are precisely the views which it is the object of the present work to enforce; and it is gratifying to me to see them so ably and eloquently recommended to the attention of the students of the University of Cambridge. 23. CHARLOTTE SQUARE, EDINBURGH, 5th March, 1835. CONTENTS. Page 1 IV. The Faculties of Man compared with each other; or the Su- TO WHAT EXTENT ARE THE MISERIES OF MANKIND REFERA- BLE TO INFRINGEMENTS OF THE LAWS OF NATURE? Sect. I. Calamities arising from infringements of the Physical Laws, 108 II. On the Evils that Befall Mankind from infringement of the INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. GENERAL VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION OF HUMAN NATURE, AND ITS RELATIONS TO EXTERNAL OBJECTS. In surveying the external world, we discover that every creature and every physical object has received a definite constitution, and been placed in certain relations to other objects. The natural evidence of a Deity and his attributes is drawn from contemplating these arrangements. Intelligence, wisdom, benevolence, and power, characterize the works of creation; and the human mind ascends by a chain of correct and rigid induction to a great First Cause, in whom these qualities must reside. But hitherto this great truth has excited a sublime yet barren admiration, rather than led to beneficial practical results. Man obviously stands pre-eminent among sublunary objects, and is distinguished by remarkable endowments above all other terrestrial beings. Nevertheless no creature presents such anomalous appearances as man. Viewed in one aspect he almost resembles a demon; in another he still bears the impress of the image of God. Seen in his crimes, his wars, and his devastations, he might be mistaken for an incarnation of an evil spirit; contemplated in his schemes of charity, his discoveries in science, and his vast combinations for the benefit of his race, he seems a bright intelligence from Heaven. The lower animals exhibit a more simple and regulated constitution. The lion is bold and ferocious, but he is regularly so; and, besides, is placed in circumstances suited to his nature, in which at once scope is given and limits are set to the gratification of his instincts. The sheep, as a contrast, is mild, feeble, and inoffensive; but its external condition also is suited to its constitution, and it apparently lives and flourishes in as great enjoyment as the lion. The same remarks apply to all the inferior creatures; and the idea which I wish particularly to convey is, that their bodily organs, faculties, instincts, and external circumstances, form parts of a system in which adaptation and harmony are discoverable; and that the enjoyment of the animals depends on the adaptation of their constitution to their external condition. If we saw the lion one day tearing in pieces every animal that crossed its path, and the next oppressed with remorse for the death of its victims, or compassionately healing those whom it had mangled, we should exclaim, what an inconsistent creature! and conclude that it could not by possibility be happy, owing to this opposition among the principles of its nature. In short, we should be strikingly convinced that two conditions are essential to enjoyment; first, that the different instincts of an animal must be in harmony with each other; and, secondly, that its whole constitution must be in accordance with its external condition. When, keeping these principles in view, we direct our attention to Man, very formidable anomalies present themselves. The most opposite instincts or impulses exist in his mind; actuated by Combativeness, Destructiveness, Acquisitiveness, and Self-Esteem, the moral sentiments being in abeyance, he is almost a fiend; on the contrary, when inspired by Benevolence, Veneration, Hope, Conscientiousness, Ideality, and Intellect, the benignity, serenity, and splendor, of a highly-elevated nature beam from his eye, and radiate from his countenance. He is then lovely, noble, and gigantically great. But how shall these conflicting tendencies be reconciled? And how can external circumstances be devised that shall accord with such heterogeneous elements? Here again a conviction of the power and goodness of the Deity comes to our assistance. Man is obviously an essential and most important part of the present system of creation, and, without doubting of his future destinies, we ought not, so long as our know |