The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1844-04-21
Lecture In Lafayette Church, by Rev'd.
DIR. Bethune.

Lecture In Lafayette Church, by Rev'd.
DIR. Bethune.
The Rev. DIR. Bethune, of Phila, delivered a dis
course onWednesday night, to very large assembly.
in Lafayette Church. Seldom has such profound
attention been evinced on any occasion as was man.
Tested on this The discourse was a sublime and
lucid vindication of revealed religion. The elo-
quence, profound learning, and wonderful extent
OF readlng-the complete mastery possessed by the
Reverend gentleman, OF civil and ecclesiastical
history-hs familiarity with sacred and proiane,
ancient and modern authors, sophsts bards, enthu-
sasts and philosophers made an obvious impress
sion and the time occupied crept past almost I'M
percept1bly.
pointed them on former evening, and feared that
his remarks tonight would i'll requte the 1aterlng
interest manifested.
The question he proposed to discuss was "What
is the source OF moral opinion" BY "moral opln-
ion" ne meant those which relate to what ought
not to be, or what we ought not TO do. They had
an intimate connection with the state OF man alter
death and future state, and it would be necessary
to take review OF the opinions of antiquity which
bore on the subject. The inquiry first suggested
was, as to the source of human knowledge IN ge-
neral. Whatever plauslbiiity might be in Locke's
theory of innate ideas-and it had many OppOsers
he could not entertain any belief In Innate ideas
of moral truth Whatever the mind takes cognl-
zance of, must be different from, and cannot be
contained in itself and if the doctrine OF innate
ideas be true, the opinions of men must be ldent-
cal, as to the being of God. 1t was well known
what latitude existed among different nations on
this point, and that some did not at all recognize
the truth One of the most eminent men OF the
day, and who has greatly distinguished himself by
the education and mental cultivation of mutes, as
serts, that the first ideas they ever possessed OF The
being OF God, were impaired by him. He did
not believe that there was a natural conscience
sufficient Of itself TO determine what was wrong
and what was right. Nay, there were some who,
with seeming reason, doubted the existence OF
separate moral faculty. The case of the Spartan
boy who saw wrong in theft but in It's de-
tecton was relevant TO the inquiry. The difference
of learned authorities was great as to the nature OF
TRUTH and 1t was notorious that some were blind to
the evil of fasehood if il did not prove Injurious;
and the maxim that the ends sanctiiies the means,
to TO evil for the sake OF good, was well known,
and Advent to prove that conscience was subservlent
something SUPERIOR and could not its own standard
Judge and jury. II still an important enquiry, was
there light enough in the world without revelation, TO
discover what right wrong, what ought to be done
and what ought not to be done To treat that question
fairly reference must be had antquity to those ages
before the birth of Christ when the world illumned
by the splendid mysteries Of divine revelation Socrates
the wses and best OF the heather philosophers and whose
should never be spoken without admiration, assert
ed that inspiration was necessary to mpar
of the divinity" lie Or b. doubted whether there such
thing natural religion whether that which passes
by the il only natural confirmation OF revelation.
there be truth IN the no Moses was S
count Of the creation, tells us that mans primitive state
Of innocence and felicity; and both his and the
testimony of ST. Paul. set forth his FALL and consequent de-
pravity His position went farther than that unaded
nature nsucient he did not deny that natural truth
confirmed those of revelation But there import
ant difference in proof before and after discovery God
made early discovery OF himself to manwho became
dark through perversy and blindness ana the
did not originate in a desire to discover God,
but were departures from him The correctness
from revelation could he sustained by many arguments
First-It agreeable to the common sense OF mankind
No N Or Sns a tbe 10
be perfectly absurd there was no use in committing it.
The universal testimony OF al! ages ascrbe mans origin
to divine source The heathsns invested Diana with
divine PROJECTIONS, whilst her abode was with The
SOUL by the greatest authorities, was looked upon as d.
vine emanaon from the mind Of God and that philosophy
was either sent direct from heaven brought down BY
men, Anarohus in his life Of Pyhagorus says SO. The
early teachers Of morality and law.givers Of the Per-
who protested to hold Immediate intercourse with
their Gods The Oldest compositions on record were
political and it curious that the Latin term
for poet and prophet were the same. The Of
God among many ancient nations was that which disn;
gashed their earliest iawgiye striking instance e OF
Of scripture (rhe Rev. gentleman then took review OF
heather mythology, and pointed out its bearing on the
himself believed that he was attended by Demon
and Guardian Angel sent from God to counsel him
for h';were and guide his M and M the p t hi
great philosopher although he would have laughed the
teachings Of the oracle himself The vulgar regard for
and Lapland witches, all analogous to the old my
biological and all these however fabulous fraud
ulent false showed the belief in divinity and the
force of moral truth in man i was very doubtful whe
Their human in itself adequate to discover sci
enc TRUTH although an after perception OF these truths
ascribed to revelation The authorities of Hesiod
Virgil, Lucretius, Tibullus, SC, say the golden,
happy age came FIRST when man innocent
and happy, when life without care and pain, and
Of uninterrupted JOY So the earliest ages OF re-
mote antiquity was the time OF the saturnaa: when
If hsov oil The
gods regned personally over and dwelt with men, and
Asrea or heavenly justice had her abode this EARTH
until growing depravity frightened her back to heaven
Il no belief Of this kind existed, il might be used pau
sble argument by skeptics against revelation but when
find the universal and concurrent testimony OF the
word-of all nations, barbarous refined, that at one
period the divinity held converse with mankind, is the
strongest confirmation Of our faith and proves that the
moral principle is not inherent in the human mind, al
though agreeable to the common Of mankind The
next consideration was, whether not was handed
down to man by divine revelation. Beyond doubt what
ever knowledge was dfnsel through the old world
derived from the east and most probably first conveyed
by those immigrants. who travelling westward, settled in
brought an amazing Of research prove that the
Peasgians, people whose history is shrouded in OBJ
sc om yNosh and ns' is by the learned
Grotius in this opinion. 1t has become very
fashionable. especially among the metaphysical and
somewhat visionary German teraii There was various
fashions in learning coats oprove that the learn
ing of the Greeks not impaired to them from others
hut radical and spontaneous and to carry out their heo
~ they are driven the necessity Of making the great
personages of their history imaginary but that the mas
spirits the rofoundtntellects arose in the midst OF
darkness unaided, was personation too silly for
German philosophy DR. Bethune then entered into an
examination the writings fhe most eminent Of Hea
hens quoting of the most sublime passages from Pa
TO- Pythagaras Aristotle Cicero &c to show that their
the two grand doctrines OF the existence OF God
and the Immortality the son was imperfect and crude
The great Tu after elaborate dsquisiton in which he
aes the fact that nations were so barbarous as
to be without any conception of God which might arise
from the bad manners Of the age, the different accounts
given OF the deity. by differ mt writers, their
ciashing opinions-says, in his Tuscuan Cues
TONS that there was little certainty the sub
lect and that If he were to be guided in his belief
by clearness and FEASIBILITY he would go for the Atheist
rather than the Thest He belief in future
state from the universal anxiety about uury the trans.
mission of the works and acquisitions of men poserty