advance in the time to come, and then conceive distinctly of the true nature of this revolution, and the end at which it aims, how trifling appear many events called important, how momentous others at first sight small. Each object then assumes its just dimensions, and the illusions and passions which had confused the view are scattered, even if they do not wholly disappear.

For those who live in the future, and who are seeking from government and the laws a good which no individuals can bestow, that unknown and mysterious something which the future veils, that ineffable ideal, the desire for which prompts each social movement, and which, for myself, I call a new system of faith on the grand questions which must forever interest man;for all such persons a clear understanding of the nature of the passing revolution, and of the precise point at which it has now arrived, is well calculated to moderate impatience. For when we once comprehend what is really to be accomplished, we see that it cannot be done in a moment, but that it must necessarily be the fruit of long labor and slowly perfected; and that it is not in the power of institutions or laws to hasten the fulness of time. Past history bears witness, that such a revolution must be gradual. A state of society similar to our own prevailed in Greece before the introduction of Christianity, and was brought to an end by that event. Skepticism had made its appearance in Greece six centuries at least before the Christian era; in the time of Thales, even individuals of enlightened minds had already begun to entertain doubts of the prevalent faith, and two centuries later, in the time of Socrates, there were probably but very few among the citizens exercising political rights, who were not wholly given up to incredulity. Socrates was condemned, to be sure, on the ground that he attacked religion, but his sentence was dictated really by political reasons; and we, in this day, have seen a parallel instance, in a neighboring country, of this union between private incredulity and public profession of faith. If, then, the ancient faith in Greece was destroyed four centuries before the coming of Jesus Christ, and if philosophy even at that early period had begun to seek for new and higher forms of truth, it is plain that mankind were kept for centuries in waiting for that positive faith which could alone reorganize it. Yet more, it is well known, that the establishment of the Christian religion in the minds of the common people did not immediately follow its first introduction; it penetrated to them only by slow degrees, VOL. XXV. -3D s. VOL. VII. NO. II.

20

and centuries were needed to complete its progress. When, then, we attempt to measure the time needed to perfect and finish this former revolution, we find that the human race was occupied for nearly a thousand years in their passage from paganism to Christianity. God forbid, Gentlemen, that I should assert that the human mind, with the immense power which it has acquired in the course of eighteen centuries, will require so long a period as this to finish the work which it has begun in our day; and far be it from me to think that the revolution now in progress is to lead to any such complete change of opinion. Christianity has too strong a foundation in truth, ever to disappear as paganism did; its destruction was but a dream of the eighteenth century, which never will be realized. But undoubtedly it is to be purified; undoubtedly it is to receive new forms and important additions; for otherwise, the revolt it has excited, the incredulity which yet prevails, and the long struggles and labors of the whole of Christendom, have been without a meaning and a cause; and this it is impossible to believe. As yet, Gentlemen, when we view it rightly, this revolution has been but three centuries in progress; and we must not allow ourselves to imagine that by to-morrow we shall reach its end; neither should it astonish us, since the first period of this revolution has so lately terminated, that we have arrived as yet at only its second period. Many generations may very possibly pass away, before the faith of futurity will assume a definite shape, and be planted deep in the hearts of the multitude, to bless them with the Credo for which they now sigh in vain. And during the intervening period the world may remain, as in ancient times, a prey to that state of intellectual and moral anarchy which we have described, and which nothing but the manifestation of some new form of faith can remove. It was Christianity, Gentlemen, which cured this evil in ancient times; and it worked a moral cure before it did a material one; the moral remedy was the principle, of which the material was the consequence. Our cure must proceed in a like manner; first truth, and then social reformation as the effect of truth. Such is the law of revolution. At present, there is hardly the faint appearance and first dawning of new solutions of the great questions of human interest. And it is plain, therefore, that we are as yet far distant from the last period and final completion of this revolution. The journals, which day by day announce a new order of things, give no description of this better state.

They say, and say truly, that the present order does not meet our wants; but they do not tell us what should supply its place; this indeed is precisely what they are incapable of doing; for they, like the people, feel only the want of truths which are yet undiscovered, and they, like the people too, are ignorant of them. They would be nearer the truth if they did but know that they were ignorant of it; and they would be nearer still, if they but comprehended that as yet it cannot be known.

Such, Gentlemen, are the means by which we may preserve a calm mind in this feverish and agitated era. But we must do more than this; we must not only preserve the mind calm; we must direct it. And in this regard how can we do better than imitate the example of those men, who in an age similar to our own, the age which followed the overthrow of the ancient faith, -so lived that their names have been reverenced through succeeding times? These men, who were the Stoics, announced, in the midst of universal anarchy and corruption, the imperishable principles of morality; established rules for private duty when all public law was broken down; and sheltering themselves in virtue, passed untainted through the most polluted era that history records. We need but mention the names of Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and their illustrious friends, to show that it is in the power of individuals to preserve their characters and conduct pure, amidst the ruins of even the corruptest ages. We then, Gentlemen, certainly can do it, we who live in an age so much more elevated in character, under the light of Christianity, and of a philosophy purified by its power. It is entirely possible for any individual, who will seek seriously to distinguish good from evil, to keep his mind and conscience clear from the swarm of absurd and immoral notions, which an incredible license of thought yet more than of feeling, lets loose each day upon society from the journals, the theatre, and books. There is no one, who cannot, by consulting good sense and his own heart, plan out for himself a course of conduct conformable to the purest maxims of morality, and by firm purpose remain faithful to it and realize his ideal. This, Gentlemen, is possible for us one and all; and what we can do, we ought to do. No one is excusable for not preserving inviolate his character and reason in a period like the present; for although there are in our social condition circumstances, which may be temptations to those who will allow themselves to be led astray and corrupted,

our country,

yet it is precisely that we may be prepared for such situations, that God has endowed us with judgment and with will. And our country, Gentlemen, which, next to integrity and honor, should be the first object of regard, is there not in our time, as in all times, a way of being useful to her? There is; it is to make her true situation and the causes of it known to all her children; to explain to them the secret of their wants, the nature of the good which all are craving, and the means best adapted to its acquisition. This in my judgment is the only possible way of keeping society calm and well ordered, when society is without a faith. We must then, Gentlemen, enlighten as much as we can the great body of the people; never was light so necessary, never did they need discernment more. When society is under the influence of an established faith, the catechism neutralizes the effects of ignorance. But when minds without convictions are left an undefended prey to all ideas good and bad, useful and injurious, as they may arise, there is but one source of safety, and that is the diffusion of such a degree of information, as may enable each citizen to discern his own true interest and the actual condition of his country. All of our day, who understand the times, have a mission of patriotism to discharge; it is to communicate to others their own information, and thus aid in calming down the moral conflicts of the public mind, as they have calmed their own. To one, who really comprehends the present state of things, there is no cause for fear. And once free from fear we can meditate, we can plan our course, we can work, we can live; but when we rise each morning, in the dread of ruin, with the feeling that we are on the verge of some terrible catastrophe, thought becomes impossible; we can but abandon ourselves to the current of events, and there is an end at once to labor and reflection, to all plans for life, and all developments of character; like leaves we become the sport of each passing breeze.

And now, Gentlemen, after what I have said in this lecture of the fruitlessness of mere outward and material revolutions, after the proof I have offered that they never can advance society towards the good which it is seeking, but that they produce always disorder and suffering,-need I add, that it is the duty of every enlightened man and good citizen, to prevent if possible such useless evil. Once more I repeat, therefore, that when it is the object of outward revolution to realize and com

plete a moral revolution, then and then only revolution is both reasonable and right. But when a conviction of the need of a moral organization for society, so far from being generally established in the mind and heart of the community, is not even apprehended by those who profess to be the heralds of civilization, in such a case, revolution can only bring uncompensated suffering; and every friend of his country should withhold his aid. In speaking to you thus, Gentlemen, I am not preaching a sermon. I do but simply unfold to your view the necessary consequence of the great law of revolution, to which humanity is subject. My frankness and freedom will not, I am confident,

be misunderstood.

W. H. C.

ART. II. Exclusion of Witnesses for Want of Religious Belief.

We propose, in this article, to institute an inquiry into the reasonableness, and the right of that rule of law, by which the atheist, and the disbelievers of the scripture doctrine of reward and punishment, are forbidden to testify in a Court of Justice.

We feel that this question is one of universal interest,affecting some of the most important and dearest rights of man in his political state; and we are confident that the merits or defects of the existing rule are, for the most part, within the comprehension of every reflecting person. The whole law of evidence, or, in other words, judicial modes of discovering truth, whether by an inspection of written records, or by an examination of oral witnesses, is but one department of that great branch of human study, the science of logic. A practised lawyer would most readily conduct the actual examination of living witnesses; but any skilful logician might equally well reason out the principles of this chapter of that science.

The end and aim of the whole law of evidence, (however monstrous such an assertion may appear to a novice in its study,) is, at the present day, the development of all the facts and circumstances material to a full understanding of the