The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1844-04-23
Lecture In lafayette Church, by Rev,d.
DIR. Bethune.

III Laidyeue church. Seldom has such profound
attention been evinced on any occasion as W As man
lfested on this. The discourse was sublime and
lucid vlndication OF revealed religion. The elo-
quence, profound learning and wonderful extent
Of readihg-the complete mastery possessed by the
Reverend gentleman, of civil and ecclesiastical
hlstory-his familiarity with sacred and profane.
ancient and modern authors, sophIsts, bards, enhu-
slasts and philosophers, made an obvious impress
sion; and the time occupied crept past almost i'm
perceptibly.
The DR.. expressed little regret at having disap-
pointed them on a former evening, and feared that
his remarks tonight would i'll requite the fattering
interest manifested.
The question he proposed TO discuss was: "What
IS the source of moral opinion" BY "moral opin-
ION he meant those which relate TO what ought
not To be, what we ought not to do. They had
an intimate connection with the state Of man after
ueaeh ana future state, and II would be necessary
10 take review of the opinions Of antiquity which
uo ns on tne subject. The inquiry first suggested
was do 10 the source OF human know ledge in ge-
neral. Whatever plausby might be in Locke's
tneory OF innate ldeas-and il had MANY opposers
ooH, , np en,fLtain any belief in innate ideas
OF moral truth Whatever the mind takes cogni-
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 ident-
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
sers, that the first ideas they possessed of the
being OF God, were impaired by him. He did
sufficient Of itself to determine what was wrong
and what was right Nay, there were some who,
with seeming reason, doubted the existence OF a
separate moral faculty. The case of the Spartan
boy, who saw wrong in theft but in it's de-
teclion, was relevant to the inquiry The difference
of learned authorities great as to The nature of
truth, and 1t was notorious that some were blind to
the evil OF falsehood if il did prove injurious;
and the maxim that the ends sanctlfies the means,
to do evil for the sake OF good was we'll known,
and Advent to prove that conscience subserv lent
to something superior AID could not be its standard
Judge and jury 1t was still important enquiry. "Was
there light enough in the world without revelation, to
discover what is right wroDg what ought to be d0nel
and what ought not to be donel To that question
fairly reference must be had antiquity; those ages
before the birth Of Christ hen the world was numned
BY the splendid Of divine revelation Socrates.
the wisest and best OF the heahen philosophers and whose
should be spoken without admiration assert
ed that inspiration necessary impart knowledge
Of the divinity He {Dr doubted heber there such
thing as natural religion or whether that which passes
by the name only natural confirmation Of revelation
II there be truth in the holy scriptures there Ieve
Iatlon to man from the very beginning Moses in his &C
count OF the creation tells us that mans primitive state
was one OF innocence and felicity; and DO his and the
testimony Of st Paul. set forth his al and de-
Pravity His position went no farther than that unaded
nature was insucen he did deny natural truth
confirmed those Of revelation But there import
ant difference in proof BE- and after discovery God
made an early discovery Of himself 10 who became
dark through perversty and hndness aud the
religions OF the world were not made through Efforts or
did not originate in desire to discover God,
but were departures from him The correctness
from revelation could he sustained by many arguments.
FirstIt was agreeable to the OF mankind
No nation either ancient modern attempted to deny
that created by and % the contrary would
be perfectly absurd, there in committing it.
to divine source The hestbs5s invested Diana With
divine projections, whilst her abode h The
soul by the greatest authorities looked upon di
vine emanaton from the mind OF God and that philosophy
either sent direct from heaven brought down by
men Anarchus in his life of rythagorus, says The
early teachers Of morality, and lawgivers Of the Per-
SLAMS, Egg ptans and Chaldeans their priests,
who protested to hold immediate intercourse with
their Gods The Oldest compositions on record
political. and it was curious that the Latin term
for poet and prophet were the same. The name of
God among many ancient that which distin
guished their earliest lawgiver striking instance of
which was afforded by that Of p.lus Baa the Baalim
inquiry. The honest, sober and rational Socrates
himself him believed that he was attended by Demon
Tor his.weare and guide his life and the Delphian
oracle predicted for Aristotle that he was to b:s
great philosopher although he would have laughed at the
teachings OF the oracle himself The vulgar regard for
dreams, dvinations. fortune telers. and the Morse
biological and all these however fabulous fraud
uent, or false, showed the belief divinity and the
Their human reason was in itself adequate TO discover sci
enfc TRUTH although after perception OF these truths
ascribed to revelation The authorities of Besiod.
Virgil, Luc'etus, Tihullus. sc, say the golden.
and happy, when life was without care and pain and
scene Of uninterrupted joy So the earliest sges Of re-
mote antiquity was the time OF the S3turn8Ia when
Saturn the father OF heaven the most venerable Of all the
GODS reigned personally over and dwet with men, and
Astrea or heavenly justice had her abode this EARTH
until growing depravity frightened her back to heaven
II no belief Of this kind existed might be used plau
sbe argument by skepics against revelation but when
we find the universal and concurrent testimony of the
worldof all nations barbarous or refined that at one
period the divinity held with mankind, is the
strongest confirmation Of faith aud proves that the
moral principle not inherent in the human mind al.
though agreeable to the of mankind The
next consideration was, whether not it was handed
ever knowledge was dusea through the old world
derived from the east and most probably rst conveyed
by those nmigrantr who travelling westward settled in
the genial climate of Greece. stillingheet has
brought an amazing amount Of research prove that the
cur their o0 nsms FROM pes the fifth
from Noah, and he is sustained by the learned
STSius in this opinion has become very
somewhat visionary German hierdh. There was various
fashions learning as In coats prove that the learn
ing Of the Greeks was not impaired them from Others
but radical and spontaneous carry their theo
ry they are driven to the necessity Of making the great
personages Of their history imaginary but that the mas
ter spirits the proound3 nielscs arose the midst OF
darkness unaided was PRESERVATION 100 silly even for
examination of the writings of the most eminent OF the hea-
hens quoting some OF the most sublime passages from Pla
TO- r! thagaras Aristotle Cicero &c to show that their
views on the two grand doctrines Of the existence Of God
ndthe Immortality oil the sonl imperfect and crude
The great Tuly after an elaborate in which he
10 be without any conception Of God which might arise
from the bad manners Of the age the different accounts
clashing opinions-says in his Tuscuan CUES
uons, that there was little certainty the sub.
by ceanes, and plausbilty he would go for the Atheist
rather than the Theis He entertained belief in future
state from the universal anxiety about tuury the trans
mission OF The works and acquisitions of 10 posterity
the desire Tor children, for monuments and euogies-
Hercules said he wished for heaven. but if he had
not by his abo secured passage through the world to
IT. he never would have gone" and he was Of opinion
ina, as oil antiquity was ON his side in belief Of futury,
philosophers might draw their strongest arguments,
not from reason, but from nature. Dr. Behune then
took mastery survey of the proofs Of the antiquity,
authenticity, and divine origin Of the Holy Scrip
lures. lie proved that the Books of Moses were in
comparably more ancient than other exant Porphy
ry has quotations from him; Berocous the Babylonish
historian, makes mention OF the Jewish records while
Manetho the Egyptian lived hut go before Christ
The learning oil the Hndoos Of greater ohscurty but
no doubt i was Of great antiquity Ward the mission