New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1848-04-08
LETTERS
FROM HON. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS TO HIS SON
ON THE BIBLE AND ITS TEACHINGS.
LETTERS
LETTER VI.

particulars in which deemed the Chi,tian dispen
sation to be an improvement perfection OF the
law delivered at Sinai considered az including a
system OF morality bat before come TO this point,
| It 10 proper 10 remark upon the character Of the
books OF the Old Testament subsequent to those OF
Moses. Some are historical some propheticsl, and
some poetical and two may be considered as pc
culiarly Of the moral class-one being an affecting
dissertation upon the vanity Of human life and an
other a collection OF moral sentences under the
name Of Proverbs have already observed that
the great immovabe and eternal foundation Of the
superiority Of Scripture morals to all other morah
ty was the idea Of God disclosed in them and only
in them: the unity of God His omnpotence, HIS
righteousness His mercy. and the irfnity OF his
attributes, are marked in every line OF the Old les
lament in characters which nothing less than blind
ness can fail discern and nothing less than fraud
can nisrepresent. This conception of God serving
as basis for the piety Of His worshipers was OF
course incomparably rational and more pro
found than it possible that sentiment could be
which adored Devils for deities, even that OF
philosophers like Socrates. Plato and Cicero, who,
with purer and exalted ideas Of the Divine ma
ture than the rabbe the Poets still considered the
| existence OF any God at all as a question upon
which they could form decided opinion. You
have seen that even Cicero believed the only solid
foundation of all human virtue TO be piety and it
was impossible that piety SO far transcending
that of all other nations should not contain in its
consequences a system Of moral virtue equally
transcendent. The first Of the ten con amendments
was, that the Jewish people should never admit
the idea of any other Godthe object Of the second
third and fourth was merely to impress with greater
force the obligation of the first and obviate the
tendencies and temptations which might arise
to its being neglected, disregarded- Throughout
the whole law the injunctions continually
renewed all the rites and ceremonies were adapt
ed to root deeper into the hearts and souls Of the
chosen people that the Lord jehovah was to be
forever the sole and exclusive object Of love-
Reverence and alteration unbounded His own
nature was the principle: every letter o. the Law,
and the whole Bible 10 but comments ry upon 1t,
and corollary from it. The law wal given not
merely in the form of commandment from God,
but in that OF a covenant or compact etween the
Supreme Creator and the Jewish Peep lie; it was
sanctioned by the blessing and the curse pronoun-
ced upon Mount Gerizim and Mount Ed AL in the
presence of the whole Jewish people nd stran.
gers, and by the solemn acceptance OF { lie whole
people responding Amen to every one OF he curses
denounced for violation their part of t 10 Cove
nant. From that day until the birth OF Christ, Ia
period of about 500 years. the historic oil books OF
the Old Testament are no more than simple
record of the fuhlment OF the .nant, Ia all Its
blessings and curses exactly adapt ID to the fulfill
ment or transgression of its duties " the people
The nation was first governed by Joshua, under
the express appointment Of God; t aen by success
sion of Judges and afterward by double line OF
kings. until conquered and carrie | into captivity
by the kings Of Assyria and Babylon seventy
wears afterward restored to the, county, their
fannie and their laws and again conquered by
the Romans, and ruled by their trbu .ary kings and
proconsuls. Yet, through all their ''iclsstudes OF
fortune. thew never complied with the duties to
which they had bound themselves by the covenant
without being loaded with the blt's sing promised
ON Mount Gerism, and never depsr led from them
without being afflicted with some % the curses de
nounced upon Mount Ebal The Pa 'Phetcal books
are themselves historical-for p r'phecy 10 the
srictest sense is no than hi story related De-
fora the event but the Jewish Pro phets, ot whom
there WAS a succession almost co Instant from the
time of Joshua to that of Chrst)w ere messengers
specially com missioned of God, to warn the people
of their DUTY to foretell the pur ishments which
awaited their transgressions, and finally to keep
alive by unidentified prediction the expectation
of tho Messisb. "the seed OF AT raham, In whom
oil tina families of the earth shou' d be blessed. -
With this conception OF the Divin nature SO mn
nitelv surpassing that of any OF 1er nation-"itn
tbis svstem of moral virtue ndi isoluo y oienong
@. nv the eternal constitution OF things must De
blsnded piety-with this unnter rupted series oil
.;gns and wonders, prophets and GERS miraculous
iterpostions ofhe Omnipotent Or Gator to preserve
and indicate the truth it is Ian ientable, but 70
,boss who know the nature of ma a, 1t is not sur
nri.pe to find the Jewish history Il tile else than
narrative of aoatries and corruptio Of he Israel
ite. and their monarchs that the very people who
nd heard the voice of God fro m, Mount Sinai,
within forty days compel Aaron 10 make golden
..1f .rd ,,orabn that as the Go1 who brought
them out of the land of Egypt; that the very
Solomon, the wisest of mankind, To- whom God bad
twice revealed himself in Visions the sublime die
tstor of the Temple, the witness, IL the presence
of the whole people, of the lire from Heaven when
consumed the offerings from the ali ar aud OF the
GLORY of the Lord that filed the ho' ise-tnaI he' IL,
his old age, beguiled by fair idoh dresses, snouu
have fallen from the worship Of u lie ever.bless ed
Jehovah 70 that OF Asn'a'o'n az
the abomnation Of all the petty tri oes OF Judea-
that of Baal and Dsgon. &c; thatth' Sun Moon and
Planets and all the host OF Heaven the mountains
and plains, every high place, ani every grave
.hould have swarmed with idol 9, to corrupt the
bearts and debase the minds OF people 80 highly
favored of Heaven-the elect oft he Aimigh ~, may
be among the mysteries of wine Pro 'idence
which it 10 not given to mortality to- explain but As
admissible only to those who presume TO de-
mand why it has pleased the Sul'r eme Aroter o.
events to create such a being as man. observe
however that amid the atroc'ou crimes whien
tba, nation so often polluted the nselves with
through all their servitudes' di'men ioermen'' cap
,ivities, and trsnsmigrations-theDr nneIgoI"o''n
had been impaired exclusively to u 'em' was never
extinguishedi the law delivered nom e'nsi was
preserved in all its purity the his cries winch al
H. lfahp nan