Imatges de pàgina
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All social intercourses and relations would cease ;families could not possibly exist; nor any affectionate intercourse between the sexes; for truth, and the confidence which is founded upon it, are implied in all the intercourses of husbands and wives, of brothers and sisters, and of parents and children ;-and consequently, the human race, dropping into the grave, one after another, like the leaves of autumn, without any successors, would, in a short time, be extirpated from the earth. In such a state, kindness and affection would never be exercised; trade and commerce, buying and selling, social compacts and agreements would be annihilated; science, literature and the arts, could not exist; and consequently, universities, colleges, churches, academies, schools, and every other seminary of instruction would be unknown. No villages, towns, nor cities would be built; no fields cultivated; no orchards, vineyards nor gardens planted; no intercourse would exist between different regions of the globe; and nothing but one dreary barren waste would be presented to the eye, throughout the whole expanse of nature. that were truth completely banished from the earth, it would present a picture of that dark and dismal region where "all liars have their portion!" where all are deceivers and deceived, and where the hopeless mind roams amidst innumerable false intelligences, for one ray of comfort, or one confidential spirit in which it may confide, but roams in vain.

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In short, were truth banished not only from this world, but from the universe at large, creation would be transformed into a chaos; the bond which now connects angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim in one harmonious union, would be forever dissolved; the inhabitants of all worlds would be thrown into a state of universal anarchy; they would shun each other's society, and remain as so many cheerless and insulated wretches, amidst the gloom and desolations of universal nature; all improvement in knowledge, and all progressive advances towards moral perfection, would be forever interrupted; and happiness would be banished from the whole intelligent system. Every mind would become the seat of terror and suspense, and would be haunted with frightful spectres and dreadful expectations. The government of

the Eternal would be subverted, the moral order of the intelligent system overturned; all subordination would cease, and misery would reign uncontrolled throughout every region of intellectual existence. For truth is implied in the principle of love; it is essential to its existence; so that the one cannot operate except on the basis of the other and we have already shown, that the destruction of love would be the destruction of all order, and of all happiness among intelligent beings.

Such are some of the dreadful effects which would inevitably follow, were the law under consideration reversed, or universally violated. In our world this law has, hitherto, been only partially violated; yet what dreadful mischiefs, beyond calculation, and even beyond conception, has its frequent violation created! Ever since that moment when "the father of lies" deceived the first human pair, how many thousands of millions of liars have trodden in his footsteps! and what a host of falsehoods has followed in their train, which have destroyed the harmony of the moral system, and robbed the world of happiness and repose! Yet how little are we affected by the frequent violations of this law? and how seldom do we reflect, that every falsehood we unadvisedly utter, is an infringement of that law on which rest the throne of the Almighty and the eternal happiness of the universe? For if one lie may be palliated or vindicated, on the same principle we might vindicate a thousand, and a million, and millions of millions, till falsehood became universal among all ranks of beings, and till the moral order of the intelligent creation was completely subverted. Of how much importance is it, then, that an inviolable attachment to truth, in its minutest ramifications, be early impressed upon the minds of the young, by persuasion, by precept, by example, by reasoning, and by a vivid representation of its importance, and of its inestimable benefits? and how careful should we be to preserve them from all incentives to the practice of lying, and especially from the company of those "whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood."

Were falsehood universally detested, and the love of truth universally cherished; were a single lie never more to be uttered by any inhabitant of this globe, what a migh

ty change would be effected in the condition of mankind, and what a glorious radiance would be diffused over all the movements of the intelligent system? The whole host of liars, perjurers, sharpers, seducers, slanderers, tale-bearers, quacks, thieves, swindlers, harpies, fraudulent dealers, false friends, flatterers, corrupt judges, despots, sophists, hypocrites and religious impostors, with the countless multitude of frauds, treacheries, impositions, falsehoods, and distresses which have followed in their train, would instantly disappear from among men. The beams of truth, penetrating through the mists of ignorancé, error, and perplexity, produced by sophists, sceptics, and deceivers, which have so long enveloped the human mind, would diffuse a lustre and a cheerfulness on the face of the moral world, like the mild radiance of the morning after a dark and tempestuous night. Confidence would be restored throughout every department of social life; jealousy, suspicion, and distrust, would no longer rankle in the human breast; and unfeigned affection, fidelity, and friendship, would unite the whole brotherhood of mankind. With what a beautiful simplicity, and with what smoothness and harmony would the world of trade move onward in all its transactions! How many cares and anxieties would vanish! how many perplexities would cease? and how many ruinous litigations would be prevented? For the violation of truth may be considered as the chief cause of all those disputes respecting property, which have plunged so many families into suspense and wretchedness. The tribunals of justice would be purified from every species of sophistry and deceit; and the promises of kings, and the leagues of nations, would be held sacred and inviolate. Science would rapidly advance towards perfection; for, as all its principles and doctrines are founded upon facts, when truth is universally held inviolable, the facts on which it is built will always be fairly represented. Every fact asserted by voyagers and travellers, in relation to the physical or the moral world, and every detail of experiments made by the chemist and the philosopher, would form a sure ground-work for the developement of truth, and the detection of error; without the least suspicion arising in the mind respecting the veracity of the persons on whose testimony we rely. For want of this confidence the

mind has been perplexed and distracted by the jarring statements of travellers, naturalists, and historians; false theories have been framed; systems have been reared on the baseless fabric of a vision; the foundations of science have been shaken; its utility called in question, and its most sublime discoveries overlooked and disregarded.

In fine, the clouds which now obscure many of the sublime objects of religion, and the realities of a future world, would be dispelled, were falsehood unknown, and truth beheld in its native light; and religion, purified from every mixture of error and delusion, would appear arrayed in its own heavenly radiance, and attract the love and the admiration of men. When exhibited in its native grandeur and simplicity, all doubts respecting its divine origin would soon evanish from the mind-the beauty and sublimity of its doctrines would be recognized as worthy of its Author; and all its moral requisitions would be perceived to be "holy, just, and good," and calculated to promote the order, and the everlasting happiness of the intelligent universe. Divine truth irradiating every mind, and accompanied with the emanations of heavenly love, would dispel the gloom which now hangs over many sincere and pious minds; would unite man to man, and man to God; and the inhabitants of this world, freed from every doubt, error, and perplexity, would move forward in harmony and peace, to join "the innumerable company of angels, and the general assembly of the spirits of just men made perfect, whose names are written in heaven."

THE TENTH COMMANDMENT.

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's."

Every precept of the law to which I have hitherto adverted, has a reference not only to the external conduct of moral agents, but also to the internal motives or principles from which that conduct proceeds. This is evident from the considerations already stated, and from the whole tenor of Divine Revelation ;—and it is in

unison with reason, and with the common sense of mankind, that the merit or demerit of any action is to be estimated, according to the intention of the actor, and the disposition from which it flows. That no doubt may remain on this point, the Supreme Legislator closes the decalogue with a command, which has a reference solely to the desires and dispositions of the mind: "Thou shalt not covet." Covetousness consists in an inordinate desire

of earthly objects and enjoyments. This desire, when uniformly indulged, leads to a breach of almost every other precept of the Divine law; and is the source of more than one-half of all the evils which afflict the human race. It leads to a breach of the eighth command, by exciting. either to fraudulent dealings, or to direct acts of theft and robbery. It leads to a breach of the ninth command, by cherishing the principle of falsehood which is implied in every fraudulent transaction.-It leads to a violation of the sixth command, by engendering a spirit of revenge against those who stand in the way of its gratification; and by exciting the covetous man to the commission of murder, in order to accomplish his avaricious desires.It also leads to a violation of the seventh command; for, when one "covets his neighbour's wife," the next step is, to endeavour to withdraw her affection from her husband, and to plunge a family into misery and distress.It also leads to a violation of the fifth precept of the law, not only as it steels the heart against those kindly filial affections which children ought to exercise towards their parents, but as it excites them to withhold from their parents, when in old age and in distress, those external comforts which are requisite to their happiness, and which it is the duty of affectionate children to provide. And, when covetousness has thus led to the breach of every other precept of the second table of the law, it follows, that all the precepts of the 'first table are also virtually violated. For all the commandments of the first table are briefly summed up in this comprehensive precept, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart :" but it is obviously impossible, nay, it would be a contradiction in terms, to suppose, that supreme love to the Creator can reside in the same breast in which an inordinate desire of worldly enjoyments reigns uncontrolled, and in which

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