world. Were we to take a survey of the moral state of the world, as delineated in the history of nations, or as depicted by modern voyagers and travellers, we should find abundant illustration of the truth of this remark. We should find, in almost every instance, that ignorance of the character of the true God, and false conceptions of the nature of the worship and service he requires, have led not only to the most obscene practices and immoral abominations, but to the perpetration of the most horrid cruelties. We have only to turn our eyes to Hindostan, to Tartary, Dahomy, Benin, Ashantee, and other petty states in Africa; to New Zealand, the Marquesas, the Sandwich islands, and to the Society isles in the Southern Pacific, prior to their late moral transformation, in order to be convinced of this melancholy truth. The destruction of new-born infants,-the burning of living women upon the dead bodies of their husbands,-the drowning of aged parents,―the offering of human victims in sacrifice,-the torturing to death of prisoners taken in battle, the murder of infants and the obscene abominations of the societies of the Arreoy in Otaheite and other islands, and the dreadful effects of ambition, treachery, and revenge, which so frequently accompany such practices, are only a few specimens of the consequences of ignorance combined with human depravity. It is likewise to ignorance chiefly that the vices of the ancient pagan world are to be attributed. To this cause the apostle of the Gentiles ascribes the immoralities of the heathen nations. "The Gentiles," says Paul," having the understanding darkened through the ignorance that is in them, have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all manner of uncleanness with greedi

ness."* And, in another part of his writings, he declares," Because they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, they were given up to a reprobate mind," or a mind void of judgment; and the consequence was," they were filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, envy, murder, deceit, and malignity;" they were "backbiters, haters of God, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, without natural affection, implacable, and unmerciful."+ And, if we turn our eyes to the state of society around us, we shall find that the same cause has produced the same effects. Among what class do we find sobriety, temperance, rectitude of conduct, honesty, active beneficence, and abstinence from the grosser vices most frequently to prevail? Is it among ignorant and grovelling minds? Is it not among the wise and intelligent, those who have been properly instructed in their duty, and in the principles of moral action? And, who are those that are found most frequently engaged in fighting, brawling, and debauchery, in the commission of theft and other petty crimes, and in rioting in low houses of dissipation? Are they not, for the most part, the rude, the ignorant, and untutored,-those whose instruction has been neglected by their parents or guardians, or whose wayward tempers have led them to turn a deaf ear to the reproofs of wisdom? From all the investigations which of late have been made into the state of immorality and crime, it is found, that gross ignorance, and its necessary concomitant, grovelling af fections, are the general characteristics of those who are engaged in criminal pursuits, and most deeply

Ephes. iv. 18, 19.

+ Rom. i. 28, 31.

sunk in vicious indulgence. Now, if it be a fact that ignorance is one principal source of immorality and crime, it appears a natural and necessary inference, that the general diffusion of knowledge would tend to counteract its influence and operations. For when we remove the cause of any evil, we, of course, prevent the effects; and not only so, but at the same time bring into operation all those virtues which knowledge has a tendency to produce.

2. Knowledge is requisite for ascertaining the true principles of moral action, and the duties we ought to perform. Numerous are the treatises which have been written, and various the opinions which have been entertained, both in ancient and modern times, respecting the foundation of virtue and the rules of human conduct. And, were we to investigate the different theories which have been formed on this subject, to weigh the arguments which have been brought forward in support of each hypothesis, and to balance the various conflicting opinions which different philosophers have maintained, a considerable portion of human life would be wasted before we arrived at any satisfactory conclusions. But if we take the system of revelation for our guide in the science of morals, we shall be enabled to arrive, by a short process, at the most important and satisfactory results. We shall find, that, after all the theories which have been proposed, and the systems which have been reared by ethical philosophers, the Supreme Lawgiver has comprised the essence of true morality under two commands, or fundamental principles, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart," and "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." On these two commandments rests the whole duty of man.

Now, although the leading ideas contained in these commands are simple and obvious to every one who considers them attentively, yet it requires certain habits of reflection and a considerable portion of knowledge, to be enabled to trace these laws or principles to all their legitimate consequences, and to follow them in all their ramifications, and in their bearings on human conduct, and on the actions of all moral intelligences. For, it can easily be shewn, that these laws are so comprehensive as to reach every possible moral action, to prevent every moral evil, and to secure the happiness of every moral agent,—that all the duties inculcated in the Bible, which we owe to God, to our fellow-creatures, and to ourselves, are comprehended in them, and are only so many ramifications of these general and fundamental principles, that they are equally adapted to men on earth and to angels in heaven,-that their control extends to the inhabitants of all worlds,-that they form the basis of the order and happiness of the whole intelligent system, and that their authority and influence will extend not only through all the revolutions of time, but through all the ages of eternity. Here, then, we have a subject calculated to exercise the highest powers of intelligence, and the more we investigate it the more shall we admire the comprehensive nature of that "law which is exceeding broad," and the more shall we be disposed to comply with its divine requisitions. But unless we be, in some measure, acquainted with the first principles of moral action, and their numerous bearings upon life and conduct, we cannot expect to make rapid advances in the path of virtue, or to reach the sublimer heights of moral improvement. 3. Knowledge, combined with habits of thinking, would lead to inquiries into the reasons of those mo

ral laws which the Creator has promulgated, and the foundations on which they rest. It is an opinion which very generally prevails, even among the more respectable portion of mankind, that the moral laws given forth to men are the mere dictates of Sovereignty, and depend solely on the will of the Deity, and, consequently, that they might be modified, or even entirely superseded, were it the pleasure of the Supreme Legislator to alter them or to suspend their authority. But this is a most absurd and dangerous position. It would take away from the inherent excellence of virtue, and would represent the Divine Being as acting on principles similar to those of an Eastern despot. If such a position were true, it would follow, that all the immoralities, cruelties, oppressions, wars, and butcheries that have taken place in the world, are equally excellent and amiable as truth, justice, virtue, and benevolence, and that the character of infernal fiends is just as lovely and praiseworthy as that of angels and archangels, provided the Deity willed that such a change should take place. Were such a change possible, it would not only overturn all the notions we are accustomed to entertain respecting the moral attributes of God, but might ultimately destroy our hopes of future enjoyment, and endanger the happiness of the whole moral universe. But, there is an inherent excellence in moral virtue, and the Deity has willed it to exist, because it is essential to the happiness and order of the intelligent system. It might be shewn, that not only the two fundamental principles of religion and morality stated above, but all the moral precepts which flow from them, are founded on the nature of God, and on the relations which subsist among intelligent agents, and that, were they reversed, or their influence suspended,