hopes of the human race may all be traced back to one or two ideas which have strongly acted on the mind of the author which he clearly and to which he is never false he with the recognition of the moral principle as the highest element in human nature the purpose of religion is to and mature this principle to give it a practical over the soul and to preserve it from degradation by the of the world this principle man with his maker makes him conscious of a divinity within him to him the enjoyment of immortality the obligation of duty and calls him to a sublime destiny religion accordingly is not the reception of a creed but the cultivation of life not the of forms but inward it cannot and the mind but its true influence is joyous and it god to his children in the brightest and most attractive forms and commands them to be like him but if the moral principle is the highest attribute of man and the medium of his with god all other distinctions become trivial and unimportant the possession of a moral nature makes man the equal of man everywhere hence all assumption of authority over the conscience all on freedom of mind all claims to property in man all to on account of outward record the months privileges are to the divine law they do injustice both to the nature of man and the purposes of god now these principles give us a test of social arrangements they must be applied as the measure of civilization every institution of man must be brought into judgment before their the society which does not to every individual the means of and his highest which any to pine in hopeless want which external prosperity more than moral perfection which makes the pursuit of wealth the object and the culture of the soul is not in accordance with the principles of religion or the laws of human nature such are the conclusions at which dr arrives and which he on the world with the fearless earnestness of a martyr he commenced with here his purpose was not so much to attack as to explain to redeem the moral element of christianity from the speculations which concealed it and the spirit of as a spirit of freedom of charity of of universal truth his position now is that of a social in his mind the religion of love cannot be he has faith in man in christ and in god and accordingly he looks forward to a better future than the past his writings which will be most honored by the coming generations relate to this object they cannot fail to appreciate aright the with which he refuses to yield to popular prejudices the calm wisdom with which he looks into prevailing the courage and firmness with which he the current of that a divine charity for the welfare of man always at first calls forth and the hopeful serenity with which he watches the struggle between light and darkness that the speedy dawning of a better day the preface to this edition contains the following words which may be regarded as his own confession of faith and which the creed of the youth of this country who are beginning not so much to protest against the past as to live in the present and for the future these volumes will show that the author feels strongly the need of deep social changes of a spiritual revolution in of a new bond between man and man of a new sense of the relation between and his creator at the same time they will show his firm belief that our present low civilization the central idea of which is wealth cannot last forever that the mass of men are not doomed hopelessly and irresistibly to the degradation of mind and heart in which they are now sunk that a now comprehension of the end and dignity of a human being is to social institutions and manners that in christianity and in the powers and principles of human nature we have the promise of something and happier than now exists it is a privilege to live in this faith and a privilege to communicate it to others record of the sermons on the kind treatment and on the tion of slaves preached at on sunday the a� and sunday the of may a statement b f boston william and co these sermons form a signal exception to the manner in which the instructions of the pulpit are usually they were pronounced before an audience scarce one of which could be presumed to with the views that were urged they were intended not to set aside a error nor to enforce an abstract moral but to rebuke a sin that was deeply fixed in the habits of the people and so far from being adapted to win for the preacher the golden opinions of his hearers he uttered them at the risk of his popularity his reputation nay of his personal safety he might have had good reason to believe that when he that pulpit in which he stood to discharge a painful but imperative duty he would never be suffered to lift up his voice in it again if indeed he should not fall a prey to the wild wrath of those whose social he had to the quick the position which mr occupied was one of no common privilege calling for the exercise of a lofty him to accomplish an act of wise and noble self sacrifice presenting one of those solemn moments in which a soul of true vitality lives more than in many years of and worldly indulgence here was a young man fresh from the cold of the schools in the atmosphere of a dainty literature connected with a religious which a cautious prudence among the cardinal virtues and tempted by the counsels 