it from its course, and rendering its powers subservient to his will. Ocean extends o'er half the globe her liquid plain, in which no path appears, and the rude winds oft lift her waters to the sky; but there the skill of man may launch the strong-knit bark, spread forth the canvass to the gale, and make the trackless deep a highway through the world. In such a state of things, knowledge is truly power; and it is highly important to human beings to become acquainted with the constitution and relations of every object around them, that they may discover its capabilities of ministering to their advantage. Farther, where these physical energies are too great to be controlled, man has received intelligence by which he may observe their courses, and accommodate his conduct to their influence. This capacity of adaptation is a valuable substitute for the power of regulating them by his will. He cannot arrest the sun in its course, so as to avert the wintry storms, and cause perpetual spring to bloom around him; but, by the proper exercise of his intelligence and corporeal energies, he is able to foresee the approach of bleak skies and rude winds, and to place himself in safety from their injurious effects. These powers of applying nature, and of accommodating his conduct to her course, are the direct results of his rational faculties; and in proportion to their cultivation is his sway extended. Man, while ignorant, is a helpless creature; but every step in knowledge is accompanied by an augmentation of his power.

formation. Our constitution and our position equally imply, that we should not remain contented with the pleasures of mere animal life, but that we should take the dignified and far more delightful station of moral and rational occupants of this lower world.

If, according to some philosophers, the physical history of the globe indicate progression in an advancing series of changes, the civil history of man also proclaims the march, although often vacillating and slow, of moral and intellectual improvement. To avoid too extensive an inquiry, unsuitable to an introductory discourse, let us confine our attention to the aspects presented by society in our native country.

At the time of the Roman invasion, the inhabitants of Britain lived as savages, and appeared in painted skins. After the Norman conquest, one part of the nation was placed in the condition of serfs, condemned to labour like beasts of burden, while the other devoted itself to war. The nobles fought battles during the day, and in the night probably dreamed of bloodshed and broils. Next came the age of chivalry. These generations severally believed their own condition to be the highest, or at least the permanent and inevitable lot of man. Now, however, have come the present arrangements of society, in which millions of men are shut up in cotton and other manufactories for ten or twelve hours a-day; others labour under ground in mines; others plough the fields; while thousands of higher rank pass their whole lives in frivolous amusements. The elementary principles, both bodily and mental, were the same in our painted ancestors, in their chivalrous descendants, and in us, their shopkeeping, manu

Again: We are surrounded by countless beings, inferior and equal to ourselves, whose qualities yield us the greatest happiness, or bring upon us the bitterest evil, according as we affect them agreeably or disagree-facturing, and money-gathering children. Yet how difably by our conduct. To draw forth all their excellencies, and cause them to diffuse joy around us-to avoid touching the harsher springs of their constitution, and bringing painful discord to our feelings-it is necessary that we should know their nature, and act with a habitual regard to the relations established by the Creator between ourselves and them.

ferent the external circumstances of the individuals of these several generations! If, in the savage state, the internal faculties of man were in harmony among themselves, and his external condition was in accordance with them, he must then have enjoyed all the happiness of which his nature was capable, and must have erred when he changed it ;-if the institutions and customs of Man, ignorant and uncivilized, is a ferocious, sensual, the age of chivalry were calculated to gratify his whole and superstitious savage. The world affords some en- nature harmoniously, he must have been unhappy as a joyments to his animal feelings, but it confounds his savage, and must be miserable now;-if his present conmoral and intellectual faculties. External nature ex-dition be the perfection of his nature, he must have been hibits to his mind a mighty chaos of events, and a dread far from enjoyment, both as a savage and as a feudal display of power. The chain of causation appears too warrior;-and if none of these conditions have been in intricate to be unravelled, and the power too stupen-accordance with his constitution, he must still have his dous to be controlled. Order and beauty, indeed, occa- happiness to seek. Every age, accordingly, has testified sionally gleam forth to his eye from detached portions that it was not in possession of contentment; and the of creation, and seem to promise happiness and joy; question presents itself,-If human nature has received but more frequently, clouds and darkness brood over a definite constitution, and if one arrangement of exterthe scene, and disappoint his fondest expectations. Evil nal circumstances be more suited to yield it gratification seems so mixed up with good, that he regards it as either than another, what are that constitution and that arits direct product, or its inseparable accompaniment. rangement? No one among the philosophers has sucNature is never contemplated with a clear perception ceeded in informing us. If we in Britain have not of its adaptation to promote the enjoyment of the hu- reached the limits of attainable perfection, what are we man race, or with a well founded confidence in the next to attempt? Are we and our posterity to spin and wisdom and benevolence of its Author. Man, when weave, build ships, and speculate in commerce, as the civilized and illuminated by knowledge, on the other highest occupations to which human nature can aspire, hand, discovers, in the objects and occurrences around and persevere in these labours till the end of time? If him, a scheme beautifully arranged for the gratifica- not, who shall guide the helm in our future voyage on tion of his whole powers, animal, moral, and intellec- the ocean of existence? and by what chart of philosotual; he recognises in himself the intelligent and ac-phy shall our steersman be directed? The British are countable subject of an all-bountiful Creator, and in joy and gladness desires to study the Creator's works, to ascertain his laws, and to yield to them a steady and a willing obedience. Without undervaluing the pleasures of his animal nature, he tastes the higher, more refined, and more enduring delights of his moral and intellectual capacities; and he then calls aloud for education as indispensable to the full enjoyment of his powers.

here cited as a type of mankind at large; for in every age and every clime, similar races have been run, with similar conclusions. Only one answer can be returned to these inquiries. Man is, apparently, a progressive being; and the Creator, having designed a higher path for him than for the lower creatures, has given him intellect to discover his own nature and that of external objects, and left him, by the exercise of that intellect, to find out for himself the method of placing his faculIf this representation be correct, we perceive the ad- ties in harmony among themselves, and in accordance vantage of gaining knowledge of our own constitution with the external world. Time and experience are neand of that of external nature, with a view to regulat- cessary to accomplish these ends; and history exhibits ing our conduct according to rules drawn from such in- | the human race only in a state of progress towards the

full development of its powers, and the attainment of mate and inanimate, exhibits; oecause, in conferring on rational enjoyment.

As long as man remained ignorant of his own nature, he could not, of design, form his institutions in accordance with it. Until his own faculties and their relations became the subjects of his observation and reflection, they operated as mere blind impulses. He adopted savage habits, because, at first, his animal propensities were not directed by the moral sentiments, or enlightened by reflection. He next assumed the condition of the barbarian, because his higher powers had made some advance, but had not yet attained supremacy; and he now devotes himself, in Britain, to commerce and manufactures, because his constructive faculties and intellect have given him power over physical nature, while his love of property and ambition are predominant, and are gratified by such avocations. Not one of these conditions, however, has been adopted from design, or from perception of its suitableness to the nature of man. He has been ill at ease in them all; but it does not follow that he must continue for ever equally ignorant of his nature, and equally incapable of framing institutions in harmony with it. The simple facts, that the Creator has bestowed on man reason, capable of discovering his own nature, and its relations to external objects; that He has left him to apply it in framing suitable institutions to ensure his happiness; that, nevertheless, man has hitherto been ignorant of his nature and of its relations; and that, in consequence, his modes of life have never been adopted from enlightened views of his whole qualities and capacities, but have sprung up from the impulsive ascendency of one blind propensity or another,-warrant us in saying, that a new era will begin, when man shall study his constitution and its relations with success; and that the future may exhibit him assuming his station as a rational creature, pursuing his own happiness with intelligence and design, and at length attaining to higher gratification than any which he has hitherto enjoyed.

each part the specific qualities and constitution which belong to it, and in placing it in the circumstances in which it is found, He is assumed to have designed, from the first, the whole results which these qualities, constitution, and circumstances, are capable of exhibiting. No countenance is given by this theory to atheism. On the contrary, it affords the richest and most comprehensive field imaginable, for tracing the evidence of Divine power, wisdom, and goodness in creation.

The other hypothesis is, that the world was perfect at first, but fell into derangement, continues in disorder, and can be rectified only by supernatural means.

If the former view be sound, an important object of man, as an intelligent being in quest of happiness, must be to study the elements of external nature and their capabilities; the elementary qualities of his own nature, and their applications; and the relationship between these. His second object will be to discover and carry into effect the conditions,-physical, moral, and intellectual,-which, in virtue of this constitution, require to be realized before the fullest enjoyment of which he is capable can be attained.

According to the second view, little good can be expected from the merely natural action of creation's elements, especially the mental ones, these being all essentially disordered; and human improvement and enjoyment must be derived chiefly from spiritual influences. If the one hypothesis be sound, man must fulfil the natural conditions requisite to the existence of religion, morality, and happiness, before he can reap full benefit from religious truth: according to the other, he must believe aright in religion, and be the subject of spiritual influences to rectify the disorders of nature, before he can become capable of virtue or enjoyment: in short, according to it, science, philosophy, and all arrangements of the physical, moral, and intellectual elements of nature, are subordinate, in their effects on human happiness on earth, to religious faith.

It appears to me extremely difficult to reconcile these conflicting views.

The theologians who condemned the natural world, lived in an age when there was no sound philosophy, and almost no knowledge of physical science; they were unavoidably ignorant of the elementary qualities of human nature, and of the influence of organization on the mental powers-the great link which connects the moral and

In the next place, the inquiry naturally occurs, What has been the cause of the human race remaining for so many ages unacquainted with their own nature and its relations? The answer is, that, before the discovery of the functions of the brain, it was impossible to reach a practical philosophy of mind. The philosophy of man was cultivated as a speculative and not as an inductive science; and even when attempts were made at induction, the manner in which they were conducted was at variance with the fundamental requisites of a sound phi-physical worlds. They were unacquainted with the relalosophy.* Consequently, even the most enlightened nations have never possessed any true philosophy of mind, but have been bewildered amidst innumerable contradictory theories.

tions subsisting between the mind and external nature; and could not by possibility divine, to what extent individuals and society were capable of being improved by natural means. In the history of man, they had read This deplorable condition of the philosophy of human chiefly of misery and crime, and had in their own age nature is strikingly and eloquently described by Mons. beheld much of both. They were, therefore, naturally de Bonald, in a sentence translated by Mr Dugald Stew-led to form a low estimate of human nature, and to exart, in his Preliminary Dissertation to the Encyclopædia pect little good from the development of its inherent Britannica: “ Diversity of doctrine," says he, " has in-capabilities. These views appear to me to have influenced creased from age to age, with the number of masters, and with the progress of knowledge; and Europe, which at present possesses libraries filled with philosophical works, and which reckons up almost as many philosophers as writers; poor in the midst of so much wealth, and uncertain, with the aid of all its guides, which road it should follow; Europe, the centre and focus of all the lights of the world, has yet its philosophy only in expectation." In our own country two views of the constitution of the world and of human nature have long been prevalent, differing widely from each other, and which, if legitimately followed out, would lead to different practical results. The one is, that the world, including both the physical and moral departments, is, in itself, well and wisely constituted, on the principle of a progressive system, and, therefore, capable of improvement. This hypothesis ascribes to the power and wisdom of the Divine Being the whole phenomena which nature, ani* See System of Phrenology, Fourth Edition, p. 51.

their interpretations of Scripture: and these, having once been entwined with religious sentiments, have descended from generation to generation :--Consequently, persons of sincere piety have, for several centuries, been induced to look down on this world as a wilderness abounding with briars, weeds, and noxious things, and to direct their chief attention, not to the study of its elements and their relations, in the hope of reducing them to order, but to enduring the disorder with patience and resignation, and to securing, by faith and penitence, salvation in a future life. It has never been with them a practical principle, that human nature itself may be vastly improved in its moral and intellectual capacities, by those means which Physiology and Phrenology have recently opened up; or that human nature and the external world are adapted to each other with the view of favouring the development of the higher powers of the mind; or that this world and its professions and pursuits may be rendered favourable to virtue by searching out

at good, always desiring it, but often missing it through ignorance and blindness, yet capable of attaining it when enlightened and properly directed. The baneful effects of ignorance are every where apparent. Threefourths of the mental faculties have direct reference to this world, and in their functions appear to have no intelligible relation to another-such are Amativeness, Philoprogenitiveness, Combativeness, Destructiveness, Constructiveness, Acquisitiveness, Secretiveness, and others; while the remaining fourth appear calculated to act both in this life and in a higher state of existence-such are Benevolence, Ideality, Wonder, Veneration, Hope, Conscientiousness, and Intellect. While the philosophy of mind continued a purely abstract theory, moralists and divines enjoyed an unlimited privilege (of which they largely availed themselves) of ascribing or denying to human nature whatever qualities best suited their several systems; but now the case is different. Organs cannot be added to, or displaced from, the brain, by the fancy or the logic of contending disputants or sects; and philosophers and divines must hereafter study human nature as it exists, and accommodate their views to its actual qualities and relations. To guide and successfully apply the former class of faculties to the promotion of human happiness, it appears indispensable that the faculties themselves, the physical conditions on which their strength and weakness, inertness and vivacity, depend, the relations established between them and the external world, which is the grand theatre of their action,--and, finally, the relation between them and the superior faculties, which are destined to direct them, should be known; and yet, scarcely any thing is known, in a philosophical and practical sense, on these points, by the people at large.

the natural qualities and relations of its elements, and the moral plan on which God has constituted and governs it. Some philosophers and divines, having failed to discover a consistent order or plan in the moral world, have rashly concluded that none such exists, or that it is inscrutable. It appears never to have occurred to them that it is impossible to comprehend a whole system without becoming acquainted with its parts:-Although ignorant of the physiology of man, of mental philosophy, of the philosophy of external nature, and of their relations, these authors have not perceived that this extensive ignorance of the details, rendered it impossible for them to comprehend the plan of the whole. Hence they have involved themselves in contradictions; for, while it has been a leading principle with them, that enjoyment in a future state is to be the consequence of the believer's attaining to a holy and pious frame of mind in this life, they have represented the constitution of the world to be so unfavourable to piety and virtue, that men in general, who continue attached to it, cannot attain to this right frame of spirit, or act habitually in consistency with it. They have not perceived that man must live in society to be either virtuous, useful, or happy; that the social atmosphere is to the mind what air is to the lungs; and that if an individual cannot exist to virtuous ends out of society, neither can he exist in a right frame of mind in it, if the moral atmosphere with which he is surrounded be deeply contaminated with vice and error. Individual merchants, for example, cannot act habitually on Christian principles, if the operations of trade be necessarily inconsistent with Christianity; and if the constitution of the world do not admit of the rules of trade becoming Christian, then active life and practical religion must be naturally opposed to each other. Divines have laboriously recommended spiritual exercises as If I am correct in saying that these faculties, by their means of improvement in this life, and of salvation in constitution, appear to have reference to this world alone, the next; but have rarely dealt with the philosophy then knowledge useful for their guidance may be obof this world, or attempted its rectification, so as to ren- tained from the philosophy of this world; and the wisder these exercises truly efficacious. Their minds have dom which is to reduce them to order may receive imbeen occupied with the idea that this world is irreme-portant aids from studying the constitution which it has diably defective in its constitution, and that human hope pleased the Creator to bestow on them, and the relamust be concentrated chiefly on the next. This may be tions which he has instituted between them and the other attributed to the premature formation of a system of departments of his works. His wisdom and goodness theology in the dawn of civilization, before the quali-will be found to pervade them. He has bestowed on us ties of the physical world, and the elements of the moral intellect to discover his will, and sentiments disposing world, and their relationships, were known; and to er- us to obey it, in whatever record its mandates are inroneous interpretations of Scripture, formed in conse- scribed. quence, partly, of that ignorance.

Knowledge of the constitution, capabilities, and relations, of sublunary things and beings, is indispensable also to the proper exercise and direction of the superior powers of the mind. In all ages, practical men have dedicated three-fourths of their time to pursuits calculated to gratify the faculties that bear reference to this world alone; but, unfortunately, the remaining fourth has not been devoted to objects related to their higher powers. A defective intellectual education has render

If the discovery of the philosophy of mind, founded on the physiology of the brain, be destined to operate at all in favour of human improvement, one of its most striking effects will be the lifting up of the veil which has so long concealed the natural world and its capabilities from the eyes of divines. To all prac tical ends connected with theology, the philosophy of nature might as well not exist: With few exceptions, the sermons preached a century ago are equal, if not sued them incapable of deriving pleasure from the study perior, in sense and suitableness to human nature, to those delivered yesterday; and yet, in the interval, the human mind has made vast advances in knowledge of the works of creation. Divines have frequently applied scientific discoveries in proving the existence and developing the attributes of the Deity; but they have failed in applying either the discoveries themselves, or the knowledge of the Divine character obtained by means of them, to the formation of any system of mental philosophy, capable of combining harmoniously with religion, and promoting the improvement of the human

race.

This, however, Phrenology will enable them one day to do. In surveying the world itself, the phrenologist perceives that the Creator has bestowed definite qualities on the human mind, and on external objects, and established certain relations between them; that the mental faculties have been incessantly operating according to their inherent tendencies, generally aiming

of nature; while, owing to the barbarism which has pervaded society in general, there has been only an imperfect moral atmosphere in which their superior sentiments could play. Ambition, that powerful stimulant of the mind in social life, has not been directed exclusively to moral objects, but generally the reverse. The hours which should have been dedicated to the improvement of their higher faculties, have been either devoted to the pursuit of gain, sensual pleasure, or the objects of a vulgar ambition, or spent in mere trifling amusements and relaxation. There has been little onward purpose of moral and intellectual advancement in the secular occupations of society; and the divines who formed public opinion, so far from discovering that this disorder is not inherent in the constitution of nature,—and that Christianity, in teaching the doctrine of the supremacy of the moral faculties, necessarily implies the adaptation of the human mind to a state of society accordant with that principle,--fell into the opposite error, and

I am far from casting blame on the excellent individuals who fell into these mistakes: such errors were inevitable at the time when they lived, and with the lights which they possessed; but I point them out as imperfections which ought to be removed.

represented the world not only as deranged in all its | requires obedience to itself; that each, in its own speparts, but as consisting of elements incapable of natural cific way, rewards obedience and punishes disobedience; rectification; and they thereby added strength and per- and that human beings are happy in proportion to the manence to the evils originating in ignorance and un-extent to which they place themselves in accordance guided passion. with all of the divine institutions. For example, the most pious and benevolent missionaries sailing to civilize and Christianize the heathen, may, if they embark in an unsound ship, be drowned by disobeying a physical law, without their destruction being averted by their morality. On the other hand, if the greatest monsters of iniquity were embarked in a staunch and strong ship, and managed it well, they might, and, on the general principles of the government of the world, they would, escape drowning in circumstances exactly similar to those which would send the missionaries to the bottom. There appears something inscrutable in these results, if only the moral qualities of the men be contemplated; but if the principle be recognised that ships float in virtue of a purely physical law,—and that the physical and moral laws operate independently, each in its own sphere, the consequences appear in a totally different light.

The late Earl of Bridgewater died in February 1829, and left the sum of L.8000, which, by his will, he directed the President of the Royal Society of London to apply in paying any person or persons to be selected by him, "to write, print, and publish one thousand copies of a work On the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God, as manifested in the Creation;' illustrating such work by all reasonable arguments, as, for instance, the variety and formation of God's creatures in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms; the effect of digestion, and thereby of conversion; the construction of the hand of man, and an infinite variety of other arguments; as also by discoveries, ancient and modern, in arts, sciences, and the whole extent of literature." The President of the Royal Society called in the aid of the Archbishop of Canterbury and of the Bishop of London, and with their advice nominated eight gentlemen to write eight treatises on different branches of this great subject.

One of the objects of the Earl of Bridgewater appears to have been to ascertain what the character of external nature and the capacities of the human mind really are, and what is the adaptation of the one to the other; questions of vast importance in themselves, and which can be solved only by direct, bold, and unbiassed appeals to Nature. This subject was committed to Dr Chalmers.

In like manner, the organic laws operate independently; and hence, one individual who has inherited & sound bodily constitution from his parents, and observed the rules of temperance and exercise, will enjoy robust health, although he may cheat, lie, blaspheme, and de stroy his fellow-men; while another, if he have inhe rited a feeble constitution, and disregarded the laws of diet and exercise, will suffer pain and sickness, although he may be a paragon of every Christian virtue. These results are frequently observed; and on such occasions the darkness and inscrutable perplexity of the ways of Providence are generally moralized upon; or a future life is called in as the scene in which these crooked paths are to be rendered straight. But if my views be correct, Divine wisdom and goodness are abundantly conspicuous in these events; for by this distinct ope ration of the organic and moral laws, order is preserved in creation, and, as will afterwards be shewn, the means of discipline and improvement are afforded to all the human faculties.

In the execution of this object, the first inquiry should have been, "What is the constitution of the human mind?" because, before we can successfully trace the adaptation of two objects to each other, we must be acquainted with each separately. But Dr Chalmers and all the other authors of the Bridgewater Treatises have neglected this branch of inquiry. They disdained to acknowledge Phrenology as the philosophy of mind, yet they have not brought forward any other. Indeed they have not attempted to assign to human nature any de-fountain of moral and intellectual happiness, which is the finite or intelligible constitution. In consequence, they appear to me to have thrown extremely little new light on the moral government of the world.

In the following work, the first edition of which was published in 1828, before the Earl of Bridgewater's death, I have endeavoured to avoid this inconsistency. Having been convinced, after minute and long-continued observation, that Phrenology is the true philosophy of mind, I have assumed it as the basis of my reasoning. In this inquiry, it is indispensably necessary to adopt some system of mental philosophy, in order to obtain one of the elements of the comparison; but the reader, if he choose, may regard the phrenological views as hypothetical, and judge of them by the result. Or he may attempt to substitute in their place any better system with which he is acquainted, and try how far it will enable him successfully to proceed in the investigation.

In the next place, in instituting the comparison in question, I have brought into view, and endeavoured to substantiate and apply, a doctrine, which, so far as I have yet been able to discover, is the key to the true theory of the divine government of the world, but which has not hitherto been duly appreciated,—namely, THE INDEPENDENT EXISTENCE AND OPERATION OF THE NATURAL LAWS OF CREATION. The natural laws may be divided into three great classes,-Physical, Organic, and Moral; and the peculiarity of the new doctrine is, its inculcating that these operate independently of each other; that each

The moral and intellectual laws also have an independent operation. The man who cultivates his intellect and higher sentiments, and who habitually obeys the precepts of Christianity, will enjoy within himself a

appropriate reward of that obedience. He will also become more capable of studying, comprehending, and obeying, the physical and organic laws;-of placing himself in harmony with the whole order of creation;and of attaining to the highest degree of perfection, and reaping the greatest extent of happiness, of which human nature in this world is susceptible. In short, whenever we apply the principle of the independent operation of the natural laws, the apparent confusion of the moral government of the world is greatly diminished.

These views will be better understood and appreciated after perusing the subsequent chapters, the object of which is to unfold and apply them; the aim of these introductory remarks being merely to prepare the reader for travelling over the more abstruse portions of the work with a clearer perception of their scope and tendency. The work itself has now been before the public for thirteen years, and I have seen no criticism which has shaken my conviction of the substantial truth of the principles maintained in it. Of its value as a contribution to the philosophy of human nature, the public are the only legitimate judges.

Some well-meaning individuals have imagined that this work is hostile to religion, because it is confined to principles which can be discovered by observation and reflection, and to human conduct in this life without direct reference to a future state; but such ideas are entirely unfounded. Human nature and the external world have both proceeded from the Creator, and it is

impossible, in interpreting their constitution aright, to | tion, to its natural constitution. If this view be well arrive at any conclusions at variance with true religion. founded, it will be indispensable that all the natural It is argued, indeed, by some theologians, that the human conditions required by the human constitution as prefaculties are no longer in the condition in which they liminaries to moral and religious conduct be complied were created, and that hence no sound philosophy can with, before any purely religious teaching can produce be deduced from studying their manifestations. (Chris- its full effects. If, for example, an ill-constituted brain tian Ethics, by Ralph Wardlaw, D. D., p. 40.) I have be unfavourable to the appreciation and practice of reconsidered this topic in my lectures on Moral Philoso-ligious truth, it is not an unimportant inquiry, whether phy, and here only remark, that man did not make the any, and what, influence can be exercised by human cerebral organs which he now possesses, nor bestow on means in improving the size and proportions of the them their functions. Both organs and functions are mental organs. If certain physical circumstances and as assuredly the direct gifts of the Creator, as is the eye, occupations,--such as insufficient food and clothing, the ear, or the stomach. The science of optics is never unwholesome workshops, dwelling-places, and diet, and questioned by any person who understands it, on the severe and long-protracted labour,--have a natural tenground that the eye (on the structure, properties, and dency, in consequence of their influence on the nervous relations of which it depends) is not now in the condi- system in general, and the brain in particular, to blunt tion in which it was created. Yet to do this would be all the higher feelings and faculties of the mind, and as reasonable as to deny the truth and authority of a if religious emotions cannot be experienced with full philosophy of mind derived from correct observations effect by individuals so situate, the ascertainment, with on the constitution and relations of the mental faculties a view to removal, of the nature, causes, and effects of and organs. It is presumable that the same Divine these impediments to holiness, is not a matter of indifpower, wisdom, and goodness, which instituted the eye, ference. This view has not been systematically adoptand adapted its structure to light, presided also over the ed and pursued by the religious instructors of mankind institution and adaptations of the internal organs of the in any age, or any country; and, in my humble opinion, mind. If a theologian were to maintain that these or- for this sole reason, that the state of moral and physical gans, or several of them, were bestowed on man in con- science did not enable them either to appreciate its imsequence of sin, or from any other cause, philosophers portance, or to carry it into effect. By presenting would remain silent to such a proposition; because they Nature in her simplicity and strength, a new impulse do not inquire into the motives which induced the Creator and direction may perhaps be given to their understandto confer on man the organs and faculties which he pos-ings; and they may be induced to consider whether They limit their investigations to objects that exist, and their relations and uses. But, on the ground that organs and faculties have been given by the Creator, they are entitled to maintain, that a philosophy of morals correctly deduced from their constitution must accord with all sound religion. As, then, all real philosophy and all true religion must harmonize, there will be a manifest advantage in cultivating each by itself, till its full dimensions, limits, and applications, shall be brought clearly to light. We may then advantageously compare them, and use the one as a means of elucidating or correcting our views of the other.

sesses.

their universally confessed failure to render men as virtuous and happy as they desired, may not, to some extent, have arisen from their non-fulfilment of the natural conditions instituted by the Creator as preliminaries to success. They nave complained of war waged, openly or secretly, by philosophy against religion; but they have not duly considered whether religion itself warrants them in treating philosophy and all its dictates with neglect in their instruction of the people. True philosophy is a revelation of the Divine Will manifested in creation; it harmonizes with all truth, and cannot with impunity be neglected.

CHAPTER I.

ON NATURAL LAWS.

Man's faculties capable of ascertaining what exists, and the purpose of what exists, but not the will of the Deity in creation-All the departments of Nature have definite constitutions and fixed laws imposed by the Deity-The term law defined and illustrated-Man's pleasure and pain depend, in this world, upon observance of, and obedience to, these constitutions and laws; an opinion supported by Bishop Butler-The Natural Laws divided into Physical, Organic, and Moral, and obedience or disobedience to each asserted to have distinct effects; while the whole are universal, invariable, unbending, and in harmony with the entire constitution of man-Death in certain circumstances appears desirable-Full and universal obedience not supposed to interfere with the prospects of futurity-Benevolence not the exclusive or immediate, but the ultimate, principle on which the world is arranged; evil in no case the ultimate, but only in certain instances the immediate, principle, and that for wise and benevolent ends-The will of the Deity in designing evil inscrutable, but the mental constitution shewn by Phrenology to bear relation to it.

To the best of my knowledge, there is not one practical result of the natural laws expounded in the subsequent pages, which does not harmonize precisely with the moral precepts of the New Testament. Indeed, this work has been characterized by some individuals as the philosophy of Christian morality, because they regard it as exhibiting the natural foundations of the admirable precepts which in the New Testament are taught only dogmatically. It is objected, however, that, by omitting the sanction of future reward and punishment, this treatise leaves out the highest, best, and most efficacious class of motives to virtuous conduct. This objection is founded on a misapprehension of the object of the book. It is my purpose to shew, that the rewards and punishments of human actions are more complete, certain, and efficacious, in this life, than is generally believed; but by no means to interfere with the sanctions to virtue afforded by the prospect of future retribution. It appears to me that every action which is morally wrong in reference to a future life, is equally wrong and inexpedient with relation to this world; and that it is of essential advantage to virtue to prove this to be the case. Having observed a great tendency in many religious men to overlook the importance of understanding the moral administration of this world, and to turn their attention too exclusively to the next, I have endeavoured to present the administration of the present world in a clear light, calculated to arrest attention, and to draw towards it that degree of consider - It is matter of fact, for instance, that arctic regions tion to which it is justly entitled. This proceeding and the torrid zone exist,—that a certain kind of moss will be recognised as the more necessary, if one princi- is abundant in Lapland in winter,-that the rein-deer ple, largely insisted on in the following pages, shall be feeds on it, and enjoys health and vigour in situations admitted to be sound, viz. that religion operates on the where most other animals would die; that camels exist human mind, in subordination, and not in contradic- | in Africa,-that they have broad hoofs, and stomachs

IN natural science, three subjects of inquiry may be distinguished: 1st, What exists? 2dly, What is the use of what exists? and, 3dly, Why was what exists designed for such uses as it evidently subserves?