§ 95. I do not think that any one will resort ultimately to the fact that Christianity has never yet been universal, and thence presume to draw the conclusion that it never can be. The obstacles which have hitherto opposed its universal extension may disappear. Indeed, the general connexion between all the nations of the earth which is expected to precede this event, seems, by the united influence of various causes, to be greatly advanced. Moreover, Christianity actually prevails among that portion of the human family which is the most distinguished for knowledge, riches, and power, and exerts a most decided influence upon all the other regions of the earth.

Let no one fear that this religion will be destroyed or even injured, should the new states of Europe which rise up before our eyes, rob her of all the external authority and civil power with which she has been invested under the old constitutions. She does not need this power in order to be preserved and enabled to exert her benevolent influence. She existed for three centuries and obtained firm footing in the best countries of the earth, without being the privileged religion of the state; and had she never been, men could never have made use of her as an instrument of oppression, as they have done. She would not have remained for centuries a degenerated superstition under the control of ambitious priests, who patronized her for the sake of their own advantage. It would not have cost so much labor and blood, as it ac

which are constantly increasing in number; as one will readily per ceive from reading the yearly reports of the Bible Society of Great Britain. Comp. Die Thätigkeit der Brittisch-Ausländischen Bibelgesellschaft zur Verbreitung der h. S. in den Ländern und Sprachen der verschiedenen Welttheile, Hamburg, 1815. Hess, Das Vorsehungsvolle der Bibelverbreitung, S. 90 f.; [the History of the Origin and first ten years of the British and Foreign Bible Society. By the Rev. John Owen, N. Y. 1817; Tr.] and the various reports of the British and Foreign Bible Society, especially the last, or 25th, Appendix, p. 130 seq., Lond. 1829, at which place a survey is given of the languages and dialects into which the Bible has been either entirely or in part translated. The number is stated at 145, among which there are 62, into which the Bible had not been translated before the formation of this society.]

tually did, to purify her and restore her. She may therefore well be left to her own fate. She will sustain herself and make progress. Men will gradually come off from their hostility to her, when the storms of revolutions are allayed, and quiet reflection respecting her relations to the public weal, take the place of those passionate commotions, which have thus far overturned and destroyed every thing legitimate.* Besides, it was, as has been shown, not the wish nor the intention of Jesus, that the civil power should come with its despotic laws and authoritative decisons, to aid him in the execution of his plan. The proof, however, which we here wish to draw from the plan of Jesus would not be weakened in the least degree, should this plan never be carried into complete execution; provided, it is only certain that it is so formed as to contain nothing the execution of which is impossible.

And it seems to me, that this is perfectly clear from the foregoing considerations. The plan which Jesus devised for the general good, has nothing in it chimerical, extravagant, or impracticable. It is constructed in every respect with reference to the character and wants of human nature and the course of human affairs. It is the greatest and most exalted plan of which the human mind ever conceived.

II. JESUS THE GREATEST, MOST EXALTED of men.

96. But how great must that mind have been which devised it, and thus opened a way which no man had previously discovered! It is time for us to attend to this consideration and inquire, what kind of qualities a plan

* [What was here said by way of conjecture with reference to the overthrow of Christianity among the French, was soon after fulfilled. In the year 1797-98, the Theophilanthropical worship was yet in existence. In the year 1801, it was abolished and the Christian worship restored. Vid. Grégoire, Geschichte des Theophilanthropismus, in Staudlin's Magazin für Religionsgeschichte, IV. 257-401.]

of this character presupposes a soul to possess, and whether we are justified in thence concluding, that Jesus was the greatest and most exalted being that ever thought and acted upon earth.

97. There are three kinds of qualities, which may authorize a human mind to claim the honor of a great mind. First, an extraordinary perfection of the intellectual faculties, and their cultivation and exercise in the acquisition of a knowledge of truth. It is not necessary that a mind have all these excellencies of the intellectual faculties, in order to be thus denominated. That mind is called great which possesses but one of them in a high degree. Such a mind is readily distinguished; for it goes to the utmost boundaries of human knowledge, and ventures out into every abyss in which the truth appears to be concealed. It does not confine itself to the few and imperfect notions with which common souls are satisfied, but it extends its inquiries to every thing within the grasp of reason and fills every chaos of intricate conceptions, with order and light. From a gentle hint of nature, of which an ordinary intellect would have taken no notice, it discovers the way into her deepest mysteries, and from every degree of experience, however small it may appear, draws a series of the most important conclusions. It not only has the clearest apprehension of the ultimate objects of every thought, effort, and operation, as bearing upon the true destination of rational existence, but in all cases makes them its own, and refers every thing to itself. Finally, under the guidance of such knowledge and sagacity, it projects the most exalted plans, ascertains the remotest effects of every cause, turns every thing to its own account, and while weaker minds, distributed to their posts, are exhausting their whole strength in the small and narrow sphere assigned to them, soars upward above them all, and, by a secret, invisible power, brings them to act in conformity to its own views, and by its superiority, induces thousands engaged in active combat with each other, to harmonize together, and at every step keeps the goal in view at which it aimed in the

outset.

To an equal degree, however, in the second place, is our attention attracted and our admiration excited by strength of soul, and invincible power in a will, free and obedient to the calls of duty. We cannot refrain from pronouncing that mind great which we see acting in every thing that it does, with an energy and firm intention, with an effort and power, which increase with opposition, carry it boldly through every difficulty, and enable it to keep its original goal steadily in view. We are astonished at the constancy and unchangeable firmness with which a strong mind adheres to its purposes and pursues them, without being wearied with difficulties, deterred by dangers, hushed to sleep by the slow process of time, or discouraged by want of success. We are penetrated with the most profound respect, whenever we discover an incorruptible integrity, a self-control, which brings every inclination in subjection to the requisitions of law; and a faithful adherence to duty which cannot be made to quake or tremble at any thing on earth;-whenever we discover a strength of good will, which, in order to fulfil its obliga-1 tions, disdains both injury and profit, and can neither be infatuated by cunning, nor conquered by power. We consider it a most exalted spectacle, and one that must fill every observer with admiration and reverence, to behold a great and virtuous man contending with opposing fate, and, though under its severest strokes, and in the midst of dangers, before which an ordinary man would tremble and flee away, though deserted on every side, and without deliverance and without hope, yet always displaying that tranquillity of soul, that equanimity and presence of mind, that firm adherence to truth and rectitude, which were peculiar to him in propitious circumstances; -to behold a man whom the falling fabric of the universe may strike to the ground, but cannot make afraid. Spirits of such superiority and strength are certainly made for the purpose of exciting universal admiration, and we are inclined to recognise them as great, in proportion to the giddiness created by gazing at the dazzling height on which they stand.

But there is a third class of great minds which extort from us our admiration; not by a power which humbles and depresses us, but one which fills our hearts with a confidence, a gratitude, and a love, towards them, which render the confession of their greatness, a delicious and most agreeable task. To this class belong those benefactors of mankind, whose excellence consists in an extensive benevolence, and an all-comprehensive goodness of heart; whose most zealous, and whose ceaseless efforts. are to enlighten, improve, save, and bless all around them; who can even load an ungrateful world with benefits, and offer up their own lives for their enemies. We cannot avoid indeed being carried away with admiration and astonishment at the two first kinds of greatness when unaccompanied with this. Our humbled hearts, however, remain locked up and cold while we gaze upon them, or are filled with envy and aversion. Spirits of such a character we cannot love. As regards persons so dissimilar to us, we cannot feel that confident affection with which we are drawn out towards those in whom we discover philanthropical benevolence. Hence, this latter kind of greatness conquers every heart, and needs merely to be exhibited, in order, not only to be admired, but tenderly embraced and deeply respected by every one in whom all traits of feeling are not entirely extinct.

98. But where is the human mind that has united these three kinds of greatness in itself? Separately we often meet with them in different degrees and great varieties. History unquestionably furnishes us with spirits of penetrating sagacity; men of unshaken firmness, and invincible courage; philanthropists, gentle, tender, and full of an activity which springs from disinterestedness and magnanimity. Ordinarily, however, there exists but one kind of greatness, which has such a decided preponderance as to leave the others in no correct proportion, and of the last kind especially, the most distinguished men of antiquity are totally destitute. The plan devised by the founder of Christianity is a proof that these three kinds of greatness existed in the soul of its author in a harmony