presumed to be Christians, have to make their election between the orders of their King, and the commands of their Redeemer. They cannot worship God and Mammon. If they obey the Scriptures, they lose their official stations, forfeit their salaries, and incur the scorn of their countrymen. If they violate the Scriptures, they retain their rank, gratify their vanity, and sell their souls to eternal perdition. "Is it possible, then," exclaims the Sceptic, "that any man, sincerely believing that, on the day of judgment, the Father will reject all who, in their life-time rejected his Son, can barter away his eternal happiness for the miserable consideration of earthly grandeur? The supposition is monstrous: and I am compelled to doubt the sincerity of the belief." It is impossible to deny the conclusiveness of this reasoning, nor can it be disguised that the progress of infidelity, and the encouragement with which it has been received, are principally to be attributed to the unguarded conduct of those who profess to believe in the truth of the Gospel.

But even, if it be admitted, that the great majority of those who assume the title of Christians are hypocrites, it by no means follows, as the sceptic contends, that Christianity is not adapted to the condition of mankind. It is an easy task for an ingenious sophist to

draw arguments from the abuse of an institution, and by this species of fraus logica, give an air of plausibility to an hypothesis, which he knows to be untenable. Those disputants who argue for victory, and the ambition of displaying the fertility of their invention, resort to these expedients: but in an honest search after truth, sophistry is useless.

The gospel may be divided into two distinct parts: the doctrinal, which points out the conditions on which eternal salvation is to be obtained; and the ethical, which teaches mankind how to secure temporal happiness. The former comprehends the mysteries and matters of faith the latter embraces the precepts of Christ, and are generally considered by divines, as forming the internal evidence of the truth of his doctrines. To this latter branch of the subject, the following observations will be confined. After Christ had confirmed the validity of his commission by the performance of miraeles, he proceeded to instruct his followers in those duties, which constitute the essence of his religion. In order to accomplish this object, he had recourse to two expedients: first, by affording in his own person an example of piety and virtue, which might serve as a model to his disciples: secondly, by the precepts and parables which he uttered. Thus; the

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condescension with which he laid aside his heavenly nature, teaches humility: the parable of the good Samaritan, charity: the parable of the publican and pharisee, shows the sinfulness of pride: that of the talents, the obligation of mental and physical exertion. This catalogue of Christian duties might easily be swelled: but sufficient has been adduced for the purpose of this discussion. It must, however, be observed, that the life of Christ perfectly accorded with his precepts, and that the most implacable of his enemies never could adduce one single instance, in which his practice and his doctrine differed.

The infidel writers have confined their attacks to the doctrinal or mystical part of Christianity, and with scarcely any exception, have pronounced the moral precepts of Christ fraught with wisdom, humanity, and conduciveness to public good. And they have with one accord declared, that if all who profess to believe in Christianity practised its precepts, without any reservation in favour of any particular vices, the general condition of mankind would be wonderfully improved. That there are some few individuals who, as far as the frailty of human nature will allow, endeavour to imitate the example, and obey the injunctions, of Christ, cannot be disputed; but the

number of such conscientious Christians is rare indeed :

Apparent rari nantes in gurgite vasto.

There does not, however, exist a single instance, in which the government of any nation has forgone political advantages, for the sake of observing the precepts of the gospel. Even the late King of Britain, who discharged with exemplary virtue, the duties of a parent, a husband, and a monarch, and entertained such laudable scruples about signing deathwarrants, violated the positive command, "Thou shalt not kill," in wider extent than any of his predecessors. If the Sceptic could mention any nation or set of men, who rigidly practised the precepts of Christ, and were wicked and miserable, then indeed it would be perfectly fair to conclude, that Christianity was not adapted to the condition of mankind. But as far as the experiment has been tried, the results have proved the falsity of the infidel assertion. That small section of the community, who, under the appellation of Quakers, not only profess to believe in, but actually practise, the injunctions of the Saviour, constitute the most happy and most respectable portion of the public. For a very considerable space of time, not a single member of the Society of Friends has been convicted of a civil misdemeanour,

and we are not aware of a single instance, in which a criminal charge has ever been substantiated. This fact speaks volumes.

'It appears then, uncandid to argue, that the precepts of the gospel are too good for the world, and by this refinement in sophistry, to conclude, that revelation is untrue, because Christians are not more virtuous than the Pagans of antiquity. It would be more just to say that the people are to blame, who merely profess a belief which they do not exemplify in their conduct, than to attribute the, want. of morality to the impossibility of acting up to the spirit of the gospel. The Quakers are living proofs of what may be effected by a determined struggle of reason over appetite; and we shall now proceed to show, no nation ever yet practised Christianity to the extent which the author of it has enjoined. And if we succeed in establishing that fact by historical evidence, we shall be justified in inferring, that, until the experiment has been tried on a large scale, with as much sincerity as it has been by the Society of Friends, it cannot be maintained that Christianity is badly adapted to the fallen and sinful nature of frail humanity. On the contrary, it may be urged, that the abuse of the Gospel has caused vice and immorality among men, and not that men are vicious and