893 Memoirs of Leonardo Aretino. matter of surprise, that, during his residence at Rimini, Leonardo should have been honoured with the friendly notice of Carlo Malatesta, lord of that place, and of the surrounding district, and that he should, as he himself declares, have been admitted to his table, and allowed to partake of his amusements, to share in his studies, and freely to discuss with him all the current topics of disputation ‡. Leonardo was no flatterer; we may therefore give a considerable degree of credit to the eulogium on his newly acquired friend, with which he closes his letter to Niccolo Niccoli, on the antiquities of Rimini. 894 why should I dwell on such topics as the splendour of his family, when, in whatever station he had been born, he would have acquired nobility, glory, and honour, by his extraordinary virtues? I will only briefly say thus much, that by the munificence of the Divine Providence all the virtues of a long line of illustrious ancestry are so united in him, that whosoever of his predecessors was distinguished by magnanimity, by wisdom, by valour, or by justice, all their noble endow. ments are exemplified in him, as being their legitimate successor. It is indeed altogether wonderful in how many and how various things this "But since I have undertaken to prince excels. In the first place, his describe the ancient monuments of glory and skill in war is acknowledged this place, I must not omit to mention by the concurrent testimony of all one specimen of antiquity, to which competent judges. His military exnothing comparable can be found in ploits are great and memorable. VicRome, in Athens, or in Syracuse. I tory has crowned his arms from his speak not of a statue of Parian marble, carly youth; and in the course of his or of Corinthian brass; I speak of campaigns he has evinced a generous nothing mute, the object of childish loftiness of spirit, and an invincible admiration; but of a personage who strength of body, in the encountering is the express image of those excellent of dangers. If you attend to his conmen of old time, of whom we read with duct in peace, you will find him disfixed admiration, and whose memory tinguished by a maturity of wisdom, we hold in veneration; I mean Carlo and by a singular prudence, the fruit Malatesta, the lord of this state. You of an excellent understanding, imknow that I am not much given to proved by constant experience in afcommendation; you will therefore the fairs of the highest importance. Add more readily believe me when I say, to this, what is in my opinion most that as often as I look upon him, I wonderful, that a person who has been seem to myself to behold a Marcus engaged in pursuits which seem to Marcellus, or a Furius Camillus, men preclude all attention to study, has who were at once invincible in war, attained to an eminence in literature and gentle, and observant of the laws, which has been reached by comparain peace. Trust me, my friend, I nei- tively few of those who have devoted ther deceive you, nor am deceived the whole of their lives to the cultimyself. I never yet saw a man who vation of letters. He is, moreover, more nearly resembled the illustrious endowed with those eminent virtues, men whom I have just mentioned, in without which all other princely acgreatness of mind, in pre-eminence of complishments are instruments of misgenius, and in other virtues worthy of chief, namely, modesty, a high sense a distinguished chief. On this occa- of honour, clemency, piety, and insion, I do not deal in oratorical flou-tegrity. Such is the activity of his rishes: let these be applied to individuals whose virtues and actions stand in need of being set off by ornament, as paint and finery are used to supply the want of beauty in women. sides, I have neither time nor space, in the composition of a letter, to write a formal panegyric on his character. I say nothing, then, of his illustrious birth, of the glory of his ancestors, of his wealth, and of his power. For Leon. Aret. Epist. lib. vi. ep. 7. genius, that whether he reads the ancient authors, or composes in verse or prose, he seems born for that particular employment. Another of his quaBe-lifications I should not perhaps have mentioned, had it not been enumerated amongst the accomplishments of Augustus and Titus, namely, that his handwriting is so elegant, that it equals, or even surpasses, that of his secretaries. I cannot therefore determine, whether he is more powerful or more learned-more strong in body 895 Defectibility of the Human Mind. or in mind-more just, or more ingenious. Some persons there are who estimate his good fortune by the success of his enterprises: but this success I attribute to his industry, his justice, and his piety; for it is a saying of Furius Camillus, that prosperity attends the servants, adversity the contemners, of the gods. It is not my intention to institute a comparison between Malatesta and any of the great men of classic times; but in complying, with the request which you have made me, to give you an account of the specimens of antiquity which are to be found at Rimini, I thought it my duty not to omit to mention, with due praise, his talents and his virtues."* (To be continued.) AN ATTEMPT TO DEMONSTRATE THE DEFECTIBILITY OF THE HUMAN MIND, AND THE Doctrine of THE FALL OF MAN, FROM PREMISES UN- THE defectibility of the human mind is demonstrable from the prevalence of vice. For since our volition is not excited without an action of the mind, whereby we decide upon the motives presented to our choice, it follows that every act of wickedness results from a determinate action of the mind. And since the prevalence of vice incontrovertibly proves a propensity to evil, and that propensity can never excite our volition, except it bias the mind in the choice of motives; therefore, as the mind feels repugnant or not in the choice of good or evil motives, so the bias of the propensity to evil does or does not prevail. But since the propensity to evil is incontrovertibly proved from the prevalence of vice, its bias upon the mind must be in the same proportion as vice is prevalent. Now, since the propensity and the prevalence have the same relation as cause and effect, that relation must be determinate ; that is, they must have a determinate ratio to each other. Wherefore the inference is just, that, in proportion to the prevalence of vice, the mind of man is more or less propense to evil, and cannot therefore be indefectible. Leon. Aret. Epist. lib. iii. ep. 9. 806 For if it be otherwise, and the prevalence be not in a determinate ratio to the propensity to evil, then one act of wickedness may indicate the evil propensity, and not another, which is absurd. For since the propensity to evil can never excite our volition, except it bias the mind in the choice of motives, every act of wickedness must indicate the evil propensity; and since we cannot do an act of wickedness independently of our volition, if the wicked acts be ever so multiplied, they must always have the same determinate ratio to the propensity to evil. It therefore follows, that the human mind is more or less propense to evil in the same proportion as vice is more or less prevalent; which demonstrates its defectibility, since the mind cannot be propense to evil, and indefectible, at the same time. Before we apply this reasoning to the doctrine of the Fall, it may be expected that we should prove à priori the defectibility of the first man. That there must be a first link in the chain of human beings, is obvious from this argument, that an eternal succession of human beings implies that not one individual of the beings of which the succession is made up, is self-existent; and it is morally impossible that the succession can be self-existent, that is, eternal, for then the effect must exist before the cause; for there can be no succession till one being is passed away, and another stands in his room. But the proof of the defectibility of the first man lies within a narrow compass; for since the first man was not self-existent, he was not an infinite being, therefore he must owe his being to another; wherefore he must be a creature, and consequently a finite being. But to be indefectible, he must possess infinite perfection; which involves this contradiction, that a finite being must possess infinite perfection, which is absurd. By consequence, a being that is finite, must also be defectible. But since the defectibility of the human mind has been demonstrated from the actual condition in which man is found, that is, from the prevalence of vice; in applying the argument to the doctrine of the Fall, we are not speculating upon any theory of the origin of moral evil, but our proof is grounded upon matter of fact, which is obvious to every one's observation. And 897 Extract from an Old Sermon. 898 since the defectibility of the human | since all men are found in the same mind is demonstrated, man's liability predicament, and their identical conto fall is demonstrated also. This de- dition cannot be accounted for upon fectibility is demonstrated from the any other hypothesis, we are comprevalence of vice; and since the mind pelled to refer it to the apostasy of the of man is propense to evil in the same first man. But it is obvious for the proportion as vice is prevalent, there- same reason, that the deterioration is foreman must either have been created referrible alone to the first man, and propense to evil, or he must have that it must have taken place previlapsed into his present condition. But ously to the propagation of his species, it is inconsistent with reason to ima- otherwise some of his progeny must gine that man was created propense have escaped the contamination. to evil, since God, his creator, is infinite in holiness and indefectible. And since a propensity to evil must of all things be the most inimical to man's present and eternal happiness, it is inconsistent to imagine that God, who is infinite in wisdom and goodness, should create in him that evil propensity. Whether this demonstration of the defectibility of the human mind, and of the doctrine of the Fall, from premises entirely unconnected with the Bible, be satisfactory or not, the argument is not preferred as a matter of choice for the demonstration upon the Christian scheme is infinitely more satisfactory in the author's judgment ; neither is it offered to the Christian as the best demonstration of the truth; but the design of giving it to the public is, to convince every thinking man of the unreasonableness of modern infidelity. Since, therefore, man was not created propense to evil, he must have lapsed into his present condition. This is a supposition in which there is no inconsistency: for since man was defectible, he was liable to fall; which proves his condition to have been contingent and if man was not free to stand or fall, then the contingency was not in himself, and he would not be responsible for his actions. If he was created propense to evil, then his condition was not contingent, but absolute; and he could not himself be To chargeable with the sin which he committed. But what a dreadful dilemma would this hypothesis bring us into? for if sin be not chargeable upon the creature, it must be chargeable upon the Creator; which we have seen to be inconsistent in the nature of things: wherefore the conclusion is inevitable, that man's pristine condition was contingent; that is, that he was free to stand or fall. Therefore, since man in his present condition is propense to evil, and is no longer free to do good, because the propensity to evil gives that bias to his mind which excites volitions that have a continual tendency to evil, he must have lapsed into this condition: which proves that the nature of man must have suffered deterioration, that is, that he must have fallen from his pristine condition. But this deterioration of the nature of man is not referrible to any one branch of the family of human kind exclusively, but fixes upon the whole race; wherefore the deterioration must have taken place in the first man. For June 23, 1821. PUDICUS. Extract from an Old Sermon. THE EDITOR OF THE IMPERIAL SIR,-The following extract is from an "The fourth part followeth; For mee, Weep not too much for my death. For the death of Christ is the death of Death: the death of the Divell: the life of himself: the life of Man. The reason of all this is his innocence and righteousnesse, which makes first, that as the life of Christ is the life of Life; so the death of Christ is the death of Death. Put the case how 899 Extract from an Old Sermon. you please, this is a most certaine truth, that the gate of life had never bin opened unto us, if Christ, who is the death of Death, had not by his death overcome death. Therefore both before his death he threateneth and challengeth death, saying, O Death, I will bee thy death: and also after his death, hee derideth and scorneth death, saying, O Death, thou art but a drone, where is now thy sting? Ask death, any of you, I pray, and say, Death, how hast thou lost thy sting? How hast thou lost thy strength? What is the matter that virgins and very children do now contemn thee, whereas kings and even tyrants did before feare thee? Death, I warrant, will answer you, that the only cause of this is, the death of Christ. Even as a bee stinging a dead body takes no hurt, but stinging a live body many times, loozes both sting and life together; in like manner death, so long as it stung mortal men only, which were dead in sin, was never a wit the worse: but when it stung Christ once, who is life itself, by and by it lost both sting and strength. 900 jetting up and downe in a lyon's skinne, did for a time terrifie his master; bat afterwards being descried, did benest him very much; semblably death stands now like a silly asse, having his lyon's skinne pulled over his cares, and is so farre from terrifying any, that it benefits all true Christians, because by it they rest from their labour, and if they be oppressed with troubles a cares, when they come to death, they are discharged; death as an asse doth bear these burthens for them. "Oblessed, blessed be our Lord, which hath so disarmed death, that it can not do us any hurt, no more than a bee can which hath no sting; nay rather it doth us much good, as the brazen serpent did the Israelites: which hath so dismasked death that it cannot make us afraid, no more than a scar-bug can which hath no vizard; nay rather, as an asse beareth his master's burtheus, so death caseth and refresheth us. Hee that felleth a tree upon which the sun shineth, may well cut down the tree, but cannot hurt the sun. He that powreth water upon iron which is red hot, may well quench the heate, but he cannot hurt the iron. And so Christ the sun of righteousnesse did drive away the shadow of death; and as glowing iron, was too hot and too hard a morsell to digest. "Therefore as the brazen serpent was so far from hurting the Israelites, that contrarywise it healed them; after the same sort, death is now so far from hurting any true Israelite, that one the other side, if affliction, as a fiery scr- "All the while Adam did eat any other pent, sting us, or any thing else hurt fruit which God gave him leave to eate. us, presently it is helped and redress- he was nourished by it: but when he ed by death. Those which will needs had tasted of the forbidden tree, he play the hobgoblins, or the night- perished. Right so death had free walking spirits (as we call them,) all leave to devour any other man, Christ the wile they speak under a hollow only excepted, but when it went about vault, or leap forth with an ugly vizard to destroy Christ, then it was destroyupon their faces, they are so terrible, ed itself. Those barbarous people that he which thinketh himself no small called Cannibals, which feed only upon man, may perhaps be affrighted with raw flesh, especially of men, if they them. But if some lusty fellow chance happen to cate a piece of roasted meat, to steppe into one of these, and cud- commonly they surfit of it, and die. gell him well-favouredly, and pull the Even so the right Cannibal, the only vizard from his face, then every boy devourer of all mankind, death I laughs him to scorne. So is it in this meane, tasting of Christ's flesh, and matter. Death was a terrible bulbeg-finding it not to be raw, (such as it ger, and made every man afraid of was used to eat) but wholsome and him a great while; but Christ dying, heavenly meate indeede, presently buckled with this bulbegger, and con- tooke a surfit of it, and within three jured him (as I may say) out of his days died. For even as when Judas hollow vault, when as the dead com- had received a sop at Christ's hand, ming out of the graves, were seen in anon after his bowels gushed out; in Jerusalem, and puld the vizard from like sort death being so saucie as to his face, when as he himself rising, left snotch a sop (as it were) of Christ's the linning clothes, which were the flesh, and a little bit of his body, was vizard of death, behind him. There- by and by, like Judas, choaked and fore as that asse called Cumanus Asinus, strangled with it, and faine to yield it 01 Extract from Dr. Chalmers's Sermons. p againe, when Christ on Easter-day | evived. Death I wisse had not been rought up so daintely before, nor ised to such manner of meate, but alvays had ravined either with Mithrilates' daughters upon the poyson of sin, or else with Noah's crow upon the carrion of corruption. Wherefore now, saith Fulgentius, death did indeed taste of Christ, but could not swallow him up, nor disgest him. Contrariwise, Christ, as soon as ever he had but a little tasted of death, eftsoones he did devoure death, he did swallow up death in victory. And so the death of Christ, by reason of his righteousnesse, is the death of Death. "It is also the death of the divell. As the apostle saith, that by his death he did overcome not only death, but him also which had the power of death, the divell. It is reported that the libard useth a strange kind of policie to kill the ape. He lieth downe upon the ground, as though he were starke dead, which the apes seeing, come altogether, and in despite skip upon him. This the libard beareth patiently, til he thinks they have wearied themselves with their sporting, then suddenly he likewise leapes up, and catcheth one in his mouth, and in each foot one, which he immediately killeth and devoureth. This was Christ's policie. He was laid in the dust for dead. The divell then insulted over him, and trampled upon him. But hee, like a lively libard, starting up on Easter-day, astonished the souldiers set to keep him, which were the divell's apes, and made them lie like dead men. Even as hee told them before by the prophets, saying, I will be to them as a very lion, and as a libard in the way of Ashur. For as blind Samson by his death killed the Philistines, when they were playing the apes in mocking and mowing at him, so Christ by his death destroyed the divell. "Scaliger writeth, that the camelion when he espies a serpent taking shade under a tree, climbes up into that tree, and lets down a threed, at the end whereof there is a little drop as cleere as any pearle, which falling upon the serpent's head, kills him. Christ is this camelion: he climbes up into the tree of his crosse, and lets down a threed of blood issuing out of his side, like Rahab's red threed hanging out of her window, the least drop whereof being so pretious and so peerlesse, fal | 902 ling upon the serpent's head, kills him. The wild bull of al things cannot abide any red colour. Therefore the hunter for the nonce standing before a tree, puts on a red garment, whom when the bull sees, he runnes at him as hard as he can drive. But the hunter slipping aside, the bull's hornes sticke fast in the tree; as when David slipped aside, Saul's speare stuck fast in the wall. Such a hunter is Christ. Christ standing before the tree of his crosse, puts on a red garment, dipt and died in his owne bloud, as one that commeth with redde garments from Bozra. Therefore the divell and his angels, like wilde bulls of Bazan, run at him. But he shifting for himself, their hornes stick fast in his crosse ; as Abraham's ram by his hornes stuck fast in the briers. Thus is the divell caught and killed. A dragon indeed kils an elephant; yet so as the elephant falling down kills the dragon with him. And accordingly to this, the divell killing Christ, was killed by Christ. Yea, as an elephant is stronger than the dragon, and Eleazar is stronger than the elephant; so Christ is stronger than them both. For the elephant doth not live after he hath killed the dragon, neither doth Eleazar live after he hath killed the elephant: but Christ liveth after he hath destroyed the divell. Leaving the divell dead, he is now risen himselfe from the dead. Wherefore as a libard killeth the ape, and a camelion the serpent, and a hunter the bull, and an elephant the dragon, and Eleazar the elephant himself; so Christ, the true Eleazar, which signifies the helpe of God, hath by his death killed that mischievous ape the divell, that old serpent the divell, that wilde bull the divell, that great dragon the divell, that raging elephant the divell.” (An additional extract would be acceptable.) EXTRACTS FROM DR. CHALMER'S SER- MR. EDITOR. SIR,-Allow me to hand you an extract or two from the sermons of Dr. Chalmers. For simplicity, pathos, and truth of description, they are masterly specimens. And permit me, as a friend to your valuable publication, to suggest, that it will be highly satis |