If the hours of severe application are not relieved by the hope of ultimate success, if the mortifications inseparable from the reverses of earthly affairs are not compensated by the consoling hope of an approaching state of perfection; if the anticipation of unmingled joy there, does not encourage the fainting soul here,-how is it to be expected that any one should maintain a serene and determined aspect in the midst of difficulties, especially on finding that present success is not a certain attendant of his best calculations?

The importance of the affections may be estimated by the place assigned them in the word of God, particularly in the Savior's exposition of the moral law. He gives the first place to the great command of loving God with all the heart. No man having studied his own character, and explored the dark recesses of his heart, can' doubt concerning the necessity of having this source of his actions purified. When he regards this as a central moving point, he knows well if the impulse thence communicated be wrong, the movements of the being who is the subject of such control, produce confusion in the system of his operations, and mischief to all placed within his reach.

No one ever highly valued any object without forming some estimate of its worth, nor judged accurately of the worth of a great possession without bestowing some attention on its properties, and its relation to other things. Now one grand obstacle to the conversion of sinners is, not a mere inattention to the concerns of their souls, but a positive deep rooted dislike to religion. They not only undervalue the Gospel itself, but hate the terms on which reconciliation to God is proposed. Their strong disgust at the character of the Deity, so far as that character is understood, prevents them from seeking his favor, and from beginning any examination of the state in which they are placed now, or of the obligations it imposes.—If ever they give a momentary attention to the divine law, its universal application, its awful sanctions, or even their fearful exposure to its condemning sentence, still, they rarely sit down in earnest to the business of comparing their lives in every particular with the demands of this perfect standard. If in their occasional contemplations a thought inadvertently glance that way, the hideous deformity of their polluted nature so stares them in the face, that for a temporary refuge from the keen reflections thus excited, they fly to the resorts of business and the haunts of pleasure.

Some commentator has observed of this passage, that the word here rendered "set your affections," signifies to think, to judge, and to love. Undoubtedly all these definitions are admissible, but I think our translation gives a fair representation of the original. According to the present rendering the admonition is, that the prominent desires of the soul, are to be turned towards heaven, and of course, released from all that is wholly earthly: to be elevated so constantly above the grossness of temporal pleasures, as to be in a degree insensible of their existence, and perfectly beyond the reach of their dangerous attractions. The man who professes to love God, and to seek supremely the advancement of his kingdom on earth, is here enjoined not only to pray for the coming of this kingdom, but to apply all the faculties of his soul to the prosecution of those designs, which aim at

the building of the spiritual temple. In search of strength and wisdom for such a labor, he is always directed in the Gospel to ask, to seek, to strive, and with an earnestness of entreaty, which implies. that heaven alone is his proper home; that if he would hope to reach his Father's house, all the best exercises of his mind, the highest energies of his intellectual nature, are to be consecrated in the pursuit of that treasure, which both enriches and ennobles an immortal being. X.

MISCELLANEOUS.

From the Christian Observer.

A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE MORAL PHILOSOPHY OF THE ANCIENTS AND THE CHRISTIAN REVELATION.

THAT the ancient philosophers excelled Christians in morality, is an opinion which has been maintained by certain writers, who, if they did not know better, ought not to have written at all, and, if they did, ought to have written more correctly. This opinion is, I fear, too often lightly taken up by the youthful admirer of classical literature, to the great disparagement of our holy religion. The notions on which such an idea is founded are as erroneous in themselves as they are dishonorable to the Christian faith. When we read the writings of those eminent men, who by the light of nature and the use of reason, saw the moral fitness of virtue, and had courage to assert their doctrines in opposition to the corruptions of the times, we naturally feel that respect for their memory which is due to their moral worth. It is by comparing the writings of these men-as, for example, the admirable morals of Seneca, or Marcus Aurelius, with the lives of the generality of professed Christians-that the above opinion appears to have been adopted. There is, however, an obvious error in the manner of forming this opinion, which necessarily causes an untrue result; namely, by comparing the writings of one class of men with the actions of another; whereas, the only true and fair method of forming an estimate is by comparing the writings of ancient philosophers with the writings of Christians, and the actions of the one with the actions of the other.

In making the latter comparison, the bitterest enemy of the Gospel must at least allow, that in purity of life, in the exercise of the benevolent affections, in self-denial, in courage, and in active and disinterested exertion, the more eminent (I might have said, even ordinary) Christians are not excelled by the greatest of the ancient philosophers. This might be a fair comparison, if we possessed sufficient information respecting the public and private character of the subjects of the experiment, but, as comparatively few facts have been transmitted, and still fewer are authenticated, relative to the great heathen moralists, we are unable in this manner to arrive at a fair conclusion. As far, however, as we are acquainted with their actions, and without detracting from their virtues by the admission of those odious vices. with which mang of them are charged, such individuals as a Paul, or even a Brainerd, and a Howard (and they are but a few among many)

stand unrivalled in zeal, in devotion, and philanthropy in the heathen world.

But we are compelled to turn to the principles contained in their writings, in order fully to appreciate the real excellence and moral tendency of their doctrines. In perusing the works of those philosophers, nothing strikes an intelligent reader more forcibly than their extreme ignorance of some of the fundamental doctrines of moral philosophy. The immortality of the soul, and the relation of man to his God, were subjects on which few possessed decided opinions. Their constant confusion and numerous absurdities on these subjects evince, if not the absolute natural, yet at least the moral, impossibility of discovering by reason, those truths which Revelation claims as her own-the immortality of the soul, and our accountability for our actions to the "Father of our spirits." The attributes of the Deity, the relation in which we stand to him, and the order of his government, they could arrive at only by the works of creation. Even from these inferior glories might have been clearly seen, as the Apostle argues, "his eternal power and godhead;" but inductive philosophy was not their wisdom: they preferred the more fascinating charms of hypothesis and speculation, to the slow but surer results of calm investigation and sound reasoning. In proportion as they were deficient in the knowledge of these great truths, must they consequently have been deficient in the principles of morality founded on them. The fitness of virtue might have been demonstrated from its own nature, but unawed by a firm belief in future punishments, and unsolicited by the surc hope of future recompence, they were left to the imposing but unproductive principle, that "virtue is its own reward." If they doubted the truth of this principle, they were left abandoned, without a moral guide, to the depraved passions of our fallen nature: honor, fame, or the civil power alone could direct or control them. To these latter motives and restraints it must be allowed, that much which has the appearance of virtue owes its origin even where other principles are acknowledged. It is a painful confession, but truth compels us to make it; for where principles to moral action are few and less easy to be understood, charity itself knows not how to refrain from attributing to inferior motives actions otherwise not to be accounted for.

From the mere consideration of the effects of different actions in relation to each other, men have been at all times able to see the impropriety of a person injuring another without provocation; and though it is far more difficult to perceive the moral beauty of a disinterested kindness, yet even this could philosophy demonstrate, and both these virtues she taught her followers. But to proceed higher in the scale of practical morality, so as to forgive an enemy, was considered, if not absolutely wrong, yet at least as unnecessary; and to return good for evil would have been thought a precept which neither reason could support nor any motive be sufficiently powerful to enforce.

Now, if we turn from the principles of the heathen philosopher to those of the Christian, we are not more struck by the superior beauty, and strength, and number of the latter, than by the distinction in the very nature of those principles;-principles as widely separated as is the pride of human philosophy from the meekness of Christian

wisdom. The sense of moral weakness, which is felt and acknowledged by the true Christian, naturally leads him to seek for extrane, ous assistance; and in the exercise of this desire, the mind summons all its principles and motives, which together form its moral strength. I speak of this strength independently of those divine influences which are the Christian's peculiar privilege: that is, strictly speaking, the strength arising from the principles themselves, as contrasted with those of mere philosophy. The effect of the philosopher's principles is very different from the above estimate of the Christian's. In the pride of his own strength, he neither desires assistance, nor believes the possibility of attaining it; and, by resting on his own sufficiency, he loses the advantage which would accrue to a mind desirous of assistance, from the recollection of its acknowledged principles. The principles which spontaneously arise in the mind at the time, from the circumstances of the case, are nearly all that he employs, either as motives to virtuous, or restraints to vicious, conduct. This is a very marked and considerable inferiority in the moral power of the philosopher's principles; and as moral strength can arise only from the exercise of principles, the deficiency leaves him less encouraged to virtue and more exposed to vice.

The Christian Revelation clearly unfolds the relation in which we stand to God: it brings life and immortality to light, and shews us the sure and undeviating path to future happiness. It is a system complete in itself: it reveals the origin, the laws, and the end of all created things. The more attentively we contemplate the order of nature, and the more intimate knowledge we acquire of the human mind, the more are we struck by their exact conformity with the disclosures of Revclation; and when the inquiring mind seeks for information on subjects not revealed, and of which we are, therefore, necessarily ignorant, the Bible, in compassion to our aspiring infirmities, tells us generally what our Lord told St. Peter, that "what we know not now we shall know hereafter." But while it promises the future explication of mysteries, to which perhaps our present powers are inadequate, it gives us even now the full and perfect rule of moral action. It enforces virtue on the principle of a command from the Creator to the creature; it confirms its necessity by its indissoluble connexion with happiness; it encourages by the hopes of reward; it supports by a promise of assistance; it constrains by the power of gratitude and love; and it gives birth to and increases a desire for a transformation to the moral image of the allperfect Creator. Yet even these are not the only moral securities. If the love and mercy of God, with all their attendant blessings, cannot incite to virtue; the wrath of God is declared, in order fully to confirm the consequent misery of sin in another world, the earnest of which is felt even in this,

*In making this remark, I shall not be understood to intimate that the Christian has any moral strength, independently of those divinely imparted influences by which alone we have either the will or power to do actions well pleasing to God. But in shewing the comparative strength of the contending principles of heathen philosophy and Christian morality, it is neeessary to view them by themselves, and to estimate them on their own merits. And if, even on this lower ground, the Christian code has so greatly the advantage, how much more so, when to this is superadded the great doctrine of the divine influence to guide the understanding, to regulate the will, and to purify the affections! Indeed, the two systems admit of no comparison, when this important fact is taken into the account.

If it be true, that in a fair and unprejudiced examination truth mast ever triumph; it cannot be doubted, that in a legitimate comparison between the moral philosophy of the ancients and the Christian Revelation, the latter will gain that decided superiority of which in this, as in every thing else, it is so eminently worthy. It is only for want of Coming to a full examination of their respective merits, that they can ever be allowed to stand in competition.

But there are those who, professing a belief in the Christian faith, and lamenting in their own case how little they have been influenced by its power, feel cause for regret when they try themselves even by the comparatively low standard of the ancient philosophy. They compare their conduct with the principles of the heathen moralists, instead of comparing principles with principles; and forgetting that even the purest code of morals is not sufficient to secure a corresponding practice, they distress themselves by looking in their own case for an advance towards perfection, which it is very certain no heathen, whatever he might write, ever practically attained; and which, though far short of the mark at which the Christian is to aim, may be much beyond the ordinary success of human attainment. It is true that their acknowledged deficiency, in fulfilling even the requisitions of a heathen system, ought to keep them humble and vigilant, and to lead them constantly to the great sacrifice for pardon of their infirmities; but it ought not to induce them to suspect the truth or excellence of the sacred principles which they profess; principles which, if duly cherished and operating upon a suitable recipient, would effect far more than a heathen could conceive of virtue, and infinitely beyond what would be practicable on any other system.

But there may be a still greater, and a fundamental, defect in such persons; they may not have submitted themselves unreservedly to the government of the Christian faith; they may not earnestly have embraced the doctrines of Christ; they may not unfeignedly love the Savior, and therefore they neglect to keep his commandments. They prove their insincerity; for though they profess the Gospel, so far from entering into its spirit, they do not raise their standard of action even to that of the ancient philosophers themselves. But surely, if by a comparison of the Christian Revelation with the heathen philosophy, they have become convinced of the decided superiority of the religion they have professed, it becomes them as men and as Christians, to give that atten tion to its doctrines which in itself it demands, and which they acknowledge it deserves. Then, and not till then, will they be able to give an experimental decision on the power of the Gospel; they will then experience that it is "mighty through God to the pulling down the strong holds" of sin, and to the establishment of their souls in true holiness and obedience to the divine commands. They will then experience that "God always causeth us to triumph in Christ," hand wit sincere gratitude will give thanks to him for his "unspeakable gift;" for they will then, at least in part, be enabled to estimate its value.

W. M.