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I would not forget to say that I am indebted as well as you to our beloved brother Ford for his aid on sundry occasions, and by whose aid some of the above additions were made. I regret that the afflictions of my companion for the last six months will compel me to resist the earnest and affectionate appeal of the co-operation to continue my labors among them My labors must be more circumscribed until a change of circumstances May the Lord bless you in your labors of love and untiring zeal in the cause of our Lord! With all affection, GEORGE W. ELLY.

August 8th, 1842.

By order of the churches as above, we are requested to ask the publication of the above report in the Harbinger and Christian Family Library. MOSES SHOBE, RICHARD HEATHER,

Llders.

Brother Campbell-By request of the Elders above, I am required to ask you to give the above an insertion; which do, and oblige yours in hope,

Lexington, August 16, 1842.

GEORGE W. ELLY.

Paris, Kentucky, September 15, 1842.

I will proceed to give you, in a few words, the accessions obtained at protracted meetings, which I have attended, since last May.

At Antioch, Clarke county, Kentucky, at one meeting, 17; at another, 20; at Bethel, Madison county, 16; Pleasant Hill, 24; Union, 37; Mount Zion, Clarke county, 14; Richmond, 6; Winchester, at one meeting 10, at another 4; Howard's Creek, Clarke county, 84; Log Lick, 54; Athens, Fayette county, 52. Total, 338. A few others recollected after making out the above estimate, 345.

At all these meetings I was but a co operater with other preachers, several of whom were highly efficient helpers of the good cause. At Pleasant Hill, the veteran William Morton sounded out the word of truth; and at most of the places named John Morton, the brother of William, was our helper; and at several of the places last named, such a one as Jacob Creath the elder! discreet, humble, affectionate; and in exhortation, still wielding astonishing power!

ARAINES

A large amount of news from the churches, and various communications from Evangelists and others, amongst which is a very interesting one from brother Johnson, are reluctantly laid over till our next.

A. C.

THE MILLENNIUM,

Brother Thomas J Harvey, of New York, has issued a Prospectus "for publishing a monthly periodical in the cily of New York, to be entitled The Millennian Christian Evangalist, and Defender of the True Faith. Our object is to make ourselves useful in the great work of reformation, in disciplining the nations, and rallying them under the one broad banner of Christ, which great and good work is to be performed in this great millennial day, and believe this work is already begun. Sectarians have become divided against themselves, and are already beginning to totter and fall; thousands and thousends have already united themselves with the numerous Christian congregations of the middle and western states, and shall New York and the eastern states be found in the rear? We hope not! The world seems to be on the eve of some great moral and religious change." -We have seen

Dr. Harvey's "QUIETUS, written to show the evil tendency of all such Prophecies as that of Mr. Miller's, respecting Christ's 'Second Advent,' and to establish and set forth the TRUE GOSPEL doctrine of the same, that men may no more be lead astray as to that matter; 'eschew evil and do good.' But on my return from long absence I have not had leisure to examine it satisfactorily. The Doctor is not afraid of strong positions, and seems to devote himself to their development with much spirit and energy.

TERMS-The work will be furnished at one dollar and fifty cents per annum; or four copies for five dollars, invariably in advance; 24 pages 8vo.

A. C.

Several communications on hand, and many Queries, with some tabular views of large districts of country as respect reformation statistics, are reluctantly postponed till our next.

THE

MILLENNIAL HARBINGER

NEW SERIES.

VOL. VI. BETHANY, VA. NOVEMBER, 1842.

No. XI.

ADDRESS

Delivered before the Little Rock Lyceum, by the Rev. W. W. STEVENSON. Gentlemen-THE subject I have selected for the address of this evening is the mind and its improvement.

By the mind, I mean that power in man that thinks, reasons, and judges-which distinguishes him from every other animal with which we are acquainted.

The mind is not a mere faculty or assemblage of faculties. It is an agent. Memory, reason, and will are the attributes of this agent, and as such subservient to its government.

The mode of being and local residence of this agent, I shall not attempt to describe. The attributes or faculties are all we are capable of examining, and even these very imperfectly.

The mind with all its powers, (and surely they are many,) had a beginning. There was a period when there was but one mind, and that the unoriginated mind of the Supreme Intelligence.

When God created man he “breathed into him the breath of life, and he became a living soul." There is a period when every mind begins to be. This remark forms a distinction of much importance, and one to which we shall be indebted presently for some very important conclusions. This same mind which began to be, was at the time of its first being a blank: susceptibility was at that time its only power. In common with the body, of which it is a tenant, it could only receive impressions.

The mind is by the Creator endowed with certain faculties which are gradually developed, and, as before stated, are the servants of this agent through which its energies are exerted; these faculties are perception, reason, imagination, judgment, and memory. These faculties are only competent to receive, compare, and extend ideas: they cannot create them. The se faculties are not the mind, but are simply attributes of the mind. The mind itself is wholly unable to create an idea, but is dependant on the bodily senses for the origin of all its ideas.This is the doctrine of common sense, and was taught by Bacon, I am very sensible it is disputed Newton, Locke, Watts, and Goode. ground, and many worthy names stand arrayed on the opposite side of the question. It is not my intention to enter upon the discussion of this point, or glance at the theories advanced on the subject of ideas and their origin.

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There was a period when the mind was not in being. This period of non-existence terminated when the mind was united with sensible organs, and not BEFORE. The mind can have no ideas beyond the beginning of its own existence, nor can we suppose that the Creator, by a direct act, fixes in each mind the germ of knowledge. As before stated, we can claim for the mind and body no higher powers than ability and susceptibility.

Gentlemen, I perceive at this point a certain theory, stretching across my path in majestic prominence, and as is usually the case, it is called by a long hard name. You will perceive what I mean when informed the theory in question is that one which pretends to know all that a man is and should be, by certain bumps on his head. By these bumps the initiated not only pretend to know what a man is and will be, while he yet wears his hairy scalp, but even the dry brain-pan affords equal facilities for deciding. The presumption of this theory forms a strong objection to i; only last week we were informed through the Arkansas Gazette, that the bumps on the head of a poor fellow found dead, proved him to be a suicide. A few more strides, and courts and juries will be relieve from the most difficult part of their duty in criminal cases: that is, neither to clear the guilty nor punish the innocent. They need only have one learned in the 'science' of bumps to examine the heads of the victims and culprits, whose chart will decide the whole matter.

I would ask these theorists whether the bumps form the mind and passions? or does the mind and passions form the bumps?

If these men contend that the "organs" give to the mind and passions their direction, we know what they mean, and the tendency of their theory: it is another form of the old exploded doctrine of materialism. In the days of Lavater physiognomy was the all in all. These modern theorists have fixed on the bony structure of the head. I am frank to admit that there are indications about the head and face, of the character of the mind that works within; but that four inches square of the bony forehead developes more different traits of character than there are signs in the zodiac, I cannot believe, until there is another bump developed in my own head

I assumed that all our ideas are derived through the senses of our physical frame, which are, seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, and smell. ing. These are to the mind both teachers and sentinels. The ideas received through the senses are the simplest ideas received by the mind: they may be denominated roots or germs of knowledge. The importance of these roots or germs are clearly seen in the case of those born blind; such persons have no idea of color-they reason, imagine, and judge; but are unable to originate the idea of color. The blind lad will still ask if red is like the sound of a bell." If we involve the poor fellow in the additional calamities of deafness, what can he learn? He is in a world of which he is entirely ignorant, except that sugar pleasant and fire gives pain.

is

Philosophers have given us a sixth sense, which they are pleased to call moral, because it belongs to the mind independent of the mind's dependence on the external senses.

It would be an unnecessary waste of time to enter upon a definition respecting this moral sense. It will be sufficient to our purpose, to

admit at once the name most generally given to it, which is "conscience," and proceed to examine its identity. It is said to be an original and independent attribute of the mind, to which I cannot assent for the following reasons:—

1. This doctrine is a fragment of the old exploded theory of innate ideas.

It is contended that by this moral sense we have intuitively an idea of a Supreme Being, of a future state, and of futnre retribution-three of the most important ideas known by mortals. The idea of retribution is only the subordinate idea of immortality: so that by this sense we receive the first ideas of all moral government.

If, as I have before stated, there was a time when the mind was not in being, then it follows of course that all its ideas, both physical and moral, have been received since it began to BE. We are told that this sense possesses the amazing power of conceiving ideas by its own intuitive perception.

This is downright assumption; and that, too, in the face of strong negative testimony. This the advocates of this doctrine feel sensibly, which drives them to appeal to every man's experience, in proof of their notion; and then very boldly charges every one who does not admit their inference, with a defect of moral perception, or a want of intellect.

I have no controversy with those who hold this theory about such an operation of the mind as we call conscience; nor that the whole world have the ideas before named; that is, of God, of immortality, &c.; but I do deny that conscience is a faculty of the mind, and I also deny that the idea of a Supreme Being, the soul, and retributive justice are received by intuition. The fact that these ideas are common to all men, and the same in all men, is a strong argument that they have been derived through some infallible source. Is it not far more probable that those ideas have descended through the countless generations, intervening between us and the first man who saw his Maker and knew him, and learned from that awful source these immense ideasideas as far beyond the conception of a poor circumscribed intellect, such as man's, as the farthest fixed star is removed from the touch of our finger.

To contend that we know these things by natural intuition, because they are known by every one, is to dogmatize without reason or evidence; and to contend that they are revealed to each individual by the Creator, for himself, is begging the question.

They were revealed to the first man, and through him, by universal tradition to all men. These ideas are of such magnitude, that when once known they could not be forgotten again.

What is conscience? Bishop Watson (to Payne) says it is "the decisions of our judgment (well informed) upon our own actions."Hence our conscience is either strong or weak, pure or defiled, in proportion to the moral information we possess, and the heed we pay to that information.

If this be true, then this moral sense is no sense at all, but the exercise of a faculty of the mind-the "decision of our judgment."

This view of the question is still more evident from the great diversity that prevails among mankind, as to the complexion or character of

what we call conscience. Their faces and language are not more variant than their conscience.

Every man's conscience is fashioned like the system under which he has been educated. Hence a Christian has a conscience very different from the Turk. The Arab's conscience leads him to perform his ablutions and prayers at the set time, and the next minute he will rob the weak. Those who have the most perfect moral knowledge will of course have the most perfect conscience.

2. I object to the doctrine in question because it supersedes one of the most important displays of God's goodness vouchsafed to man: that is, his word. If we can know all that Paley, and some other writers of the same school teaches, we can know without the book. It would seem we have but little use for the book. The Bible, under this view, would be nothing more that a book of details.

3d. I object to the doctrine under consideration from its tendency to erect a false rule of action. If we erect it into an independent faculty of the mind, and tribunal, a man is not to be blamed for his acts more than for his mistakes, arising from weakness; that is, upon the supposition he acts adverse with his conscience.

Every man's mind settles upon some general rules of action. These rules are nothing more than a digest of the moral code under which we may chance to have been educated. The influence of the moral code of the Bible is not confined to those who are strictly Christian, but has become the rule of action to thousands who know but little of the letter of that book. Those having what may be properly called a Christian conscience, have formed, by the approval of their judgment, a code of conscience drawn from the Bible.

The Mahomedan draws his from the Koran; and he who has no sacred book, forms his from the best materials in his possession. He has received from universal tradition the idea of God, the soul, and retribution. With these he draws from nature's volume the best mode he is capable of subject, however, to the same disregard and violation, from the depravity of mind, as that of the Christian.

Gentlemen, I shall now return to our train of thought respecting the origin of our knowledge. I have before assumed that we derive the whole of our ideas through the external senses I have also endeavored to show that these ideas, thus derived, are the first and simplest ideas-that they form the basis of our knowledge. For example, I am for the first time shown an orange. I perceive that it is round and yellow, I cut it, and find it soft and juicy. I taste it, and find it sweet, and the rind spicy. I have obtained six ideas respecting the orange, which may be denominated original ideas.* The mind now begins its operations, and very soon it has more than a dozen additional ideas: As an orange tree or trees, an orchard, a gardener, a fruit dealer, money with which to purchase, profit and loss in the business, the the pleasure of eating the fruit, &c. &c. Thus the mind goes on increasing the number of our ideas, all of which are referrable to the six originals before named.

The ideas of roundness, &c. were not originated with the orange; they were only applied to it by experience. It is not my design to treat of abstract ideas, and account for the origin of the idea of shape, color, and taste. This would lead to the discussion of questions foreign to the design of this brief address. Philosophers have perplexed them. selves with this question to no purpose. It may be that all these ideas were derived by original revelation.

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