charges, until they have, we do not say, examined, but read the writings against which they are directed. We are far, very far, from being indiscriminate admirers of Locke. It would be strange, indeed, if the progress of speculative inquiry since his time had not opened many new fields of research, and corrected many errors, into which he had fallen. But the catholic spirit in which his great work is written, the entire absence of pretension in enunciating his opinions, the wisdom of his practical views, the sagacity and good sense with which the inquiry is conducted, and, we do not scruple to say it, the general soundness of his doctrines, are qualities that must insure to him study and respect, as long as the language shall endure. To his example, more than to any other single cause, the healthy and judicious tone of English speculations in philosophy for more than a century is properly to be attributed. He is the proper father of Reid and Stewart with their school, who, we must say, have rendered him but scanty justice, and the proper opposite of Cousin, who has treated. him with no justice at all. There are many points in his "Essay," which now require to be limited and explained. There are some doctrines, which we would fain cut away altogether. But there remains after all, as we verily believe, a greater body of truths first clearly set forth by him and still unimpeached, than in any other single work on a corresponding subject, that has appeared since the revival of letters.

PALEY: THe argument FOR THE BEING of a god. 161

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PALEY:

THE ARGUMENT FOR THE BEING OF A GOD.*

THIS is a pleasant sight for those who continue to respect the name and writings of Paley. His work on Natural Theology, which, in itself, fills but one volume of moderate size, is here swelled into five goodly tomes, by the aid of notes and introductory and supplementary matter. And the men who are content to fill this humble part, to glean in the footsteps of Paley, are two of England's most distinguished sons; an eminent surgeon, and a statesman not more remarkable for great legal and political ability, than for various learning and an apt and versatile genius. Such are the persons, who are willing to act as commentators, to be mere hewers of wood and drawers of water, in their literary capacity, to one who occupied, during his whole life, a rather humble position in the English church, all hope of advancement being cut off by no lightly founded suspicions

* From the North American Review for January, 1842.

A Discourse on Natural Theology, showing the Nature of the Evidence and the Advantages of the Study. By Henry Lord BrouGHAM, F. R. S. London. 1835.

Paley's Natural Theology, with Illustrative Notes. By HENRY LORD BROUGHAM, F. R. S. and SIR CHARLES BELL, K. G. H., &c. To which are added Supplementary Dissertations. By SIR CHARLES BELL. London. 1836.

Dissertations on Subjects of Science connected with Natural Theology; being the concluding Volumes of the New Edition of Paley's Work. By HENRY LORD BROUGHAM, F. R. S. London. 1839.

of heterodoxy. But such a testimonial was fairly due to the character and influence of the works of Paley. We do not derogate from the reputation of Sir Charles Bell and Lord Brougham, nor undervalue the importance of their present undertaking, when we assert, that the fruit of all their labors is but dust in the balance, when compared with the original work; and to their connexion with it they are indebted for a great part of the interest and favor, wherewith their publication has been received.

There are those, who, filled with the spirit of an age fond of exaggerating the merits and successes of its own sons, while it regards the lights of a former generation with a supercilious and hypercritical air, can see nothing but the marked defects of Paley's mind and writings, and are wholly unable to account for his extraordinary influence and popularity. That many acute and philosophical treatises on the same subject, replete with the learning and science of the present day, are already becoming the property of spiders and trunk-makers, while a writer who had no genius for metaphysics, and who committed blunders in speculation which tyros can laugh at now-a-days, is universally read and admired, is for such critics a puzzling and mortifying fact. There is no physic that can purge away self-conceit, and no logic that can disarm or silence prejudice. We might else hope, that a fair consideration of the strong and weak points of this author, would clear up some difficulties in this problem, and assist such individuals in reconciling their theory with the facts in the case. But though it may not shake preconceived opinions, or put an end to cavilling, it may serve to place in a clearer light the questions in dispute, and supply some hints for a general solution of them. An attempt to define with accuracy the characteristics of a writer, and the nature and scope of the

argument which he employed, may remove some prevailing misapprehensions respecting both.

The three principal works of Paley, his "Moral Philosophy," "Evidences of Christianity," and "Natural Theology," appear to be animated with nearly the same purpose, and executed on a very similar plan. The aim is entirely a practical one, the writer desiring to produce a particular effect upon his readers, and keeping this end in view throughout with a remarkable unity, both of design and performance. And a great part of the effect which his works produce, is probably due to the clear manifestation of this simplicity of purpose. The reader perceives at once, that the author is honest; is not playing with him; is not thinking of his own appearance or reputation; is not desirous of displaying his stores of learning and science, or of exciting admiration by his eloquence, the subtilties of his reasoning, or the originality of his views. He goes straight forward to his object, to convince his readers of some great truth, or to persuade them to a certain course of conduct. There is none of the sensitiveness of an author about him;

none of that petty feeling, which is nervously alive to a charge of plagiarism, but seeks every opportunity to pilfer without being detected; which will set forward a poor or weak argument in preference to a better one, because the former is all his own, while some one has used the latter before him. All was manliness and fair-dealing on the part of Paley. His inquiry respecting an argument or a remark was not, whether it was new, or bore the appearance of ingenuity, or opened a field for eloquent amplifica. tion ; but whether it was effective; whether it advanced his main, his single purpose. He took his materials wherever he could find them, no source being too suspicious, or too low, or too common, provided that it afforded matter, which furthered his ends. Consequently, there are few

works which appear, at first sight, to contain so little that is new, while there are none wherein the subject is treated with such real originality. It is an old remark, that his "Evidences of Christianity" are a mere compilation from Lardner, and that his "Natural Theology" is founded upon the works of Ray and Derham. In one sense this is true, for he made very liberal use of these writers. In another, it is false, for the great merits of his works can be traced to no predecessor, and he imitated no one. The borrower, the imitator, is detected and disgraced, for he can never surpass one whom he follows, and the original must at last assert its own superior worth. But Paley has wholly supplanted the very authors to whom he is most indebted. His books have pushed Lardner, and Ray, and Derham off the shelves, or consigned them to those persons, who hope to glean a little more in the field which he worked to such marvellous advantage.

It may seem strange to put forward honesty as one of the great merits of Paley, and the main source of his popularity and influence. But the truth is, that this quality is far more rare among the writers on such subjects, than is commonly imagined. Men have published works on natural theology, not to prove the existence of a God, but to show their own metaphysical acumen; nay, sometimes they have written them only to disprove the common notions on the subject, and to manufacture a deity suited to their own purposes, and consonant with their philosophical system. They have filled huge tomes with the evidences of Christianity, which should have been lettered on the backs, "Proofs of the Author's Erudition." This same quality of perfect honesty, this forgetfulness of self, and entire devotion to the avowed object, whether it be the pursuit of truth, or the inculcation of virtue, can be attributed to but very few of the great writers and thinkers of any age. It manifests