devout, and to prepare them for heaven above, by worshipping here below. To this I answer, that God has not revealed to me that he is to be served, or my happiness promoted, by the superstitious observance of days, and months, and years, and set forms of what is called worship; but it is revealed to me, that he is the best worshipper of God whose actions are most in unison with the laws of God, and who shews his sincerity by his efforts to promote the general welfare of his species.

practicable-is an assumption which ought not to be admitted, upon the mere testimony of the human imagination:

Whereas a well-directed experiment to train a whole population to act upon such principles, would also decide the truth or falsehood of the important assertion, "that the character is formed for and not by the individual," or, in other words, that the habits and ideas which regulate the conduct in after-life, are given to children, to an important extent, by those who have the care of them :

Several songs have been prepared by members of the society for the children of New Harmony, of which the following is a specimen :

TUNE-"Auld Lang Syne."
Ah! we shall see that glorious day,
When, thron'd' on Mercy's brow,
The TRUTH shall rend that veil away
Which blinds the nations now!
When earth no more with anxious fear
In misery shall sigh;
But pain shall cease-and every tear
Be wip'd from every eye.

**Orbiston.

THE masons at Orbiston have been prevented from working for ten days, on account of the severity of the weather. It is so far fortunate, that the frost which has retarded operations in this respect, will be very beneficial to the land that has been dug. I am glad to find, that the proposal for maintaining and educating the children which was given in the third number, is genérally approved of. From the disposition manifested by the proprietors, and from

The race of man no more shall mourn, the accounts which I have received from Controll'd by error's chain ;

Sweet innocence will then return,
And all be new again.'

The fount of life shall then be quaff'd
In peace, by all who come;

And every wind that blows shall waft,
Some wand'ring mortal home.''

28

Extracts from the Preamble to the Articles of Agreement of the Orbiston Company.

'Whereas the most useful and valuable Practical Precepts promulgated by Jesus Christ or his followers, have never yet been acted upon that we are aware of-by any class, or sect, or party, in this or in any other country:

Whereas the assertion that human nature, in the aggregate, is not suited for acting on such principles, or, in other words, that such principles are not suited for human nature-or that they are necessarily im

those who are practically acquainted with the powers and inclinations of children on the subject of profitable employment, I have no doubt, but we shall obtain the necessary funds, in the first place, without difficulty, and find a sure and profitable return for our outlays, in the second place. Indeed, the plan appears to correspond with the most rational policy; for in the morning of life, the individuals are engaged in the repayment of the cost of their maintenance and education. In the meridian, they are engaged in advancing a loan to their children; and the afternoon and evening of their days, they enjoy in peace the fruits of this industry, when repaid by their children. All this, indeed, must appear fanciful to those who are unacquainted with the power of the spring which moves the whole. But we trust, that a few months will now give a reality to that which now appears, to those whose minds are unable to comprehend its principles, as an airy vision.

Edited by ABRAM COMBE.-Sold by CAMPBELL, North College-street, Edinburgh: and at the Orbiston Store; Co-operative Society, 36, Red Lion Square, London; W. R. MPhun, Glasgow; and A. Millar, Hamilton.-Price 2d, each Number; delivered to Subscribers, 28, 2d. quarterly.

J. & J. GRAY, Printers, Edinburgh.

compare any other facts in the same way, if they take the trouble to direct our attention to them.

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Facts revealed to others.

The history informs us, that "Aaron "cast down his rod before Pharoah, and "before his servants, and it became a serpent:-That the magicians of Egypt cast "down every man his rod, and they be66 came serpents:-That Aaron's rod swal"lowed up their rods:-That Aaron lifted 66 up the rod and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharoah, "and of his servants; and all the waters "that were in the river were turned to "blood:-That the magicians of Egypt "did the same with their enchantments:"That Aaron stretched out his hand over "the waters, and frogs came up and covered "the land of Egypt :-That the magicians.

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As we find that many of our readers are unable to understand what is meant by "Facts revealed to the Senses," we shall give a statement which should tend to make our meaning more intelligible. We have said that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are nothing but a history of Facts and Truths revealed by God to the Senses and to the Understanding; and we have also said that these Facts and Truths were the original Divine Revelation; and that the written accounts of these, if correctly given, may be denominated the history of Divine Revelation. It is our opinion, that the Lord has not changed his mode of acting, and that Divine Revelation is precisely the same at present as it has ever been; and a comparison drawn between what was formerly revealed, and what is now revealed, will shew the ground upon which this opinion" also, with their enchantments, brought rests. That our attention may not be distracted by too extensive observation, we shall confine the comparison to the works which Moses tells us God effected for the deliverance of the Israelites from the bondage of the Egyptians, on the one hand, and to certain facts which are now revealed to the Human Senses, on the other. In each case, we shall state, 1st, The facts as revealed. 2d, The object intended by the revelation. 3d, The consequences of this revelation;—and, finally, we shall endeavour to draw a comparison between these facts, their objects, and consequences, that the ground upon which our opinion rests may be thereby more distinctly understood.

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66 up frogs upon the land of Egypt.-That "Aaron stretched out his hand with his "rod, and smote the dust of the earth, "and it became lice in man and in beast; "that all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.-That "the magicians attempted to do the same "with their enchantments. but that they "could not:-That the Lord sent a griev66 ous swarm of flies into the house of 66 Pharoah, and into the houses of his servants, and into all the land of Egypt;

66

so that the land was corrupted by rea66 son of the swarm of flies:-That the "Lord sent a very grievous murrain upon "the horses, asses, camels, oxen, and sheep "of the Egyptians, so that all the cattle of Egypt died; but of the cattle of the "children of Israel died not one:-That "Moses sprinkled handfuls of ashes in the 66 sight of Pharoah, and it became a boil "breaking forth with blains upon man and "beast; and that the magicians could not "stand before Moses because of the boil; "for the boil was upon the magicians and

In fixing upon the history of the facts revealed by God to the senses of the Egyp-" tians and Israelites, we do no injustice to the cause of those who have been trained to devote their attention to the history of the facts which God revealed to the senses of others, in preference to the facts which he reveals to themselves, because these facts are considered by them as at least equal in their nature and consequences to any that are recorded. If this is not the case, we shall be willing to examine and VOL. I.

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upon all the Egyptians :-That Moses "stretched forth his rod towards heaven, "and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and

F

42

66

Divine Revelation compared with Human Testimony.

"the fire run along the ground:-That "Moses stretched forth his rod over the "land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an "east wind upon the land, which brought "locusts so very grievous, that there were 66 no such locusts before, nor shall be after; and that they were so numerous that "they covered the face of the whole earth, 66 so that the land was darkened:-That "the Lord turned a mighty strong west "wind, which took away the locusts, and "cast them into the Red Sea, so that not "one remained in all the coasts of Egypt: "That Moses stretched forth his hand to"ward heaven, and there was a thick dark66 ness in all the land of Egypt, so that no one could see another, or rise from his place, for three days:-That the Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharoah "that sat on the throne, to the first-born "of the captive in the dungeon, so that "there was not a house where there was "not one dead." These are the facts as they are recorded; but before alluding to the object for which they were revealed, it may be proper to make a few remarks on the nature of Divine Revelation.

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66

66

66

Divine Revelation compared with Human
Testimony.

We have uniformly stated, that Divine Revelation comprehends two distinct branches, and that the Facts revealed by God to the senses constitute the one, and that the Truths revealed to the understanding constitute the other. We shall confine our present observations to the first of these branches.

In some cases the fact is revealed to the senses, and not to the understanding; in other cases it is revealed to the understanding and not to the senses; and again, in others, it is revealed to both. It does not appear, however, that the term "Revelation" can be correctly applied to what is neither revealed to the one nor the other; for this distinction seems to constitute the only line of demarcation between Divine Revelation and Human Testimony; the former being, in every instance, revealed either to the one or the other, while the latter has not this peculiarity. It appears to be a misapplication of language, to call that Divine Revelation, which does not come direct from Deity; and in confirmation of this, we find that all that is recorded as having so come, resolves itself into a collection of facts and truths, which were revealed either to the human senses or to the human understanding,

These assertions will become more evident, by a reference to any of the numerous

explanatory cases which every where abound. In the growth of every plant or vegetable, for instance, we see a fact revealed to the senses, and concealed from the understanding; but, though we cannot, as yet, understand the means by which this is brought about, our belief of the fact is, nevertheless, as complete as if we did understand it; for by the law of our nature we have no power to doubt any thing that is distinctly revealed to the senses. On the other hand, in the diurnat motion of the earth, we have a fact revealed to our understanding, and concealed from our senses; and though even the means, by which this motion is produced, is hid from our understanding, still the fact itself is so clearly revealed, that no one, who is acquainted with the evidence in its favour, has power to doubt it; so that this also appears to be a law of our nature, that whatever is distinctly revealed to the understanding must be believed. When we see a wheel turned by water, we have, in one instance, a fact revealed to the senses and to the understanding. We see the motion, and in so far as we know that water has a natural tendency to descend, we understand the cause of it. We thus perceive, that, though the Revelation becomes more forcible when it is made both to the senses and to the understanding, yet still we may also perceive that it becomes quite effectual when it is made to either.

When we recur to the first and second statement of facts in the foregoing quotation from the Bible, if we fancy ourselves in the situation of those to whom the Revelation was made, we shall perceive that, in such circumstances, the individuals could have no power to disbelieve the facts which were revealed to their senses. In the case of Pharoah's servants, it is probable that they did not understand the means by which the rods of the magicians were converted into serpents; but still we find that a fact must be believed when it is revealed to the senses, even though the means of accomplishing it be concealed from the understanding. As all Divine Revelation is made either to the senses, or to the understanding, so there appears to be an inclination in our nature to subject Human Testimony to a similar obligation. When this inclination shall be generally followed, the reign of error and delusion will be over; for this is a test which nothing but Divine Revelation is able to stand.

That the least possible misunderstanding may exist regarding the meaning of words, I shall here define what is implied by the term "Human Testimony." This

Divine Revelation compared with Human Testimony.

term has been applied to three different
kinds of evidence. The first refers to the
information we receive from men, which is,
at the same time, altogether in unison with
the facts and truths which God reveals to
the senses and to the understanding; the
second refers to what is wholly at variance
with these facts and truths; and the third
refers to what is a mixture of both. As
the first and third definition are connected
with Divine Revelation, so it becomes
evident that the second definition is the
most correct, as it is nothing but Human
Testimony; therefore it is only in this
sense that we use it; and we beg our read-
ers to bear in mind, that wherever we
mention the term "Human Testimony,"
that we always mean the ideas which we
have received by Human Agency, and
which, at the same time, are at variance
with the facts and truths which God re-
veals to our senses and to our understand-
ing. The statement "that the Egyptian
magicians threw down their rods and that
they became serpents," comes under the
third definition. The fact of throwing
down the rods, is in unison with the facts
which God reveals to our senses, but the
rods becoming serpents is at variance
with all the facts which God reveals to our
senses; therefore, it is only the latter part
of the assertion, that, in our case, rests
upon mere Human Testimony. We say,
in our case, because we have seen nothing
like it, nor can we understand the way by
which it could take place; but still God
may have revealed to the senses, or to the
understanding of others, what he has con-
cealed from us; therefore it becomes us,
with humility, merely to let the true state
of our minds be known, that those who
know more may communicate their know-
ledge to us. It is extremely unphilo-
sophical to call an assertion "false,"
merely because it is not in unison with
the facts and truths which God has reveal-
ed to us.
We ought to bear in mind, that
this apparent inconsistency may proceed
from our own ignorance of other facts and
truths, which as yet are concealed from us.
The account of balloon ascension may be
apparently at variance with the facts and
truths revealed to the senses and to the
understanding of a Negro; and if he could
find no one who had either seen any thing
like it, or who could understand the means
by which it was effected, he should be
quite justifiable in stating the incapacity
of his own mind to receive the account;
but it would be irrational in him to de-
elare the account to be false, merely be-
cause his mind could not comprehend it.
The adherents to Divine Revelation can
distinctly perceive that such statements as

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those which are quoted from the Bible, were, and are, "Divine Revelation," to those who saw them, or to those who can understand the means by which they were effected; but, at the same time, they are as yet unable to perceive, how this term can be correctly used by those who have had neither of these advantages.

We have also stated, that the original of Divine Revelation is not in any written language; and in order to perceive the correctness of this assertion, we have only to reflect attentively on the facts and truths which are recorded in the Bible, separately or apart from each other. For instance, when our attention is directed to the foregoing quotation, we distinctly perceive, that it refers to a train of occurrences, all following, one after another, in the same order that events usually happen. Though many of these facts are of a nature totally different from any thing with which we are acquainted, yet some of them are precisely similar, and all of them are given as facts that occurred before the senses of the individuals who were present when they took place. Now it appears to us, that the original of this Revelation is not in the written account, but in the facts themselves. The word “original” means “that which is first," therefore, no one who believes that such things ever took place, can consider the written account of them as the original Divine Revelation; for this would be the same as stating, that such things had no existence previous to the account of them being written. It is easy to perceive that Moses and Aaron, and Pharoah and his servants, and the magicians, stood on a different footing, in regard to this Revelation, from the rest of mankind. They saw what took place, and they had no power to doubt it. The facts were revealed by God to their senses, and these facts were to them a Divine Revelation. The history of these facts, if correctly given, is the history of a Divine Revelation. To attempt to abolish the inevitable distinction between witnessing a fact, and getting a history of it from others, is to abolish all distinction between Divine Revelation and Human Testimony. To call evil good, or sweet bitter, is every whit as rational as it would be for us to apply the term Divine Revelation to that knowledge which we not only receive from our fellowmen, but which is at variance with the facts and truths which God reveals to our senses and our understanding. But if this be the case, it certainly must be even still more irrational to call the history of the facts which God revealed to the senses of others by the name of Divine Revela