New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-11-24

" Enoch he walks with God, me sco'oon'A
tsyal Of theology which makes small account OF the
Divire personaity. We know no more suc"ess,ql oe
plausible form OF Atheism than Pantheism Wnen
God IL everything, he is practically nothing, sna
when he does all things, be might as wen 40 nosnns'
God IN history opt 10 be thog bat God IN CnrsSi
and the piety which instead OF discriminating MS Ways
frm ur avs and his wil from viii confuses al the
partition lines of Il ought and feeling, ends IN praou-
cal In6celty and Atheism IL In vain thar our ora
tor aeu pts put of the scent OF hs own bereses
nv CRYING do wn the the Posvism of Compile, and the
maisrialsm Of Locke, Priestley and Broussas IL IS
an old Trick which fods its imators every day in the
,toptbef cry of the shop ters and pilferep OF our
streets, We hold the bold atheism Of the honest aud
downright Freedman in far more respect and inn
ritely lees honor than the secret and poisonous skep
ticsm which, in mry and unmeanlng term, OF ortho-
doxy covers a mere nature worship or man worship.
And a. for Locke and Prisstly, and Belsham, one
aequsned with the deeply religious spirit OF any one
of them would think for moment OF proianing their
piety by associsiing or comparing with mem any OF
their unscrupulous defamers. Tner theories may have
b, en- mistaken but their lives and characters, their
spirit al temper, were above suspicion.
Neither of them could have stopped TO the use OF q
literary occssoD for po,emie calumny. Neither OF
them could have used terms certain To be msunder-
stood TO conciliate the appreciation OF the multitude
Neber of them could have smugged into public
discourse, on secular occasion, ana before proms-
cuous audience theological statements offensive IN
the highest degree TO invited guests, astounding TO
personal friends and contradictory OF all the sntece
dents obe atoms and sanctties of their own history
Nobody was prepared, we suppose, to hnd Mr..
Bancroft using the Semi Centennial OF the New'fork
Historical Society, 10 proclaim his own theological
position to set himself right before Trntaan COM
munty, and clear his skirts OF all Unitarian asocia,
tons On proper occ scion we might nave reJolcei
in his public recanstion OF the faith in which he WAS
born and educated which his honored father preached
ard for the ministry OF which he was himself prepared
ItwoulG have disembarrassed him and his Unitarian
friends aud exonerated The faith which he now NH
recy exposes TO from the responsibility OF hls
9TH ayr a. nfraIn
Cntaranism as the uBfsithfulness which its original
friends have frequently shown to II IN high social
and political positions. We sometimes fear its un
soundnes when We look at the r0ttenness OF some OF
the fruit upon It's topmOst bough; and II relieves US TO
know that Trinitariansm, and not Unitarianism the
hum bic and lowly AthsDasius, and not the proud
land ambitious Arius;" =" the Mediator " from the
"beeinniDg and not Jesus of Nazareth, are the pa
rents and patrons OF the general opinions and the pres
ent bearing OF the Historian of the United States.
But We have words TO express our scOrn Tor the
uLmsnlir ess-we we're going to say the reachery-
which could sieze an occasion like the present 10
trade in the paudts Of an orthodox public aud tram
pie on the seusbllties of she pess Unit iran minority
The esgerntss with which few deluded theologians
snap at this bait is no indication OF the disgust with
which 1t will be rejected by the very public 1t seeks
to he guile. The ominOus restraint which accompl-
MED the hearing of the discourse and whstood lts
stormy attacks the admiration of the audience, in
dicaied sufficiently the value assigned to the authors
prof ssion OF faith.
logical friends ana certainly, shall never propose TO
reclaim him. In the Church ofthe Future-that cas-
tie ia tie arto which he man,stly belongs-we hope
be may frd better society ihsn Arius, Prieshey, OF
Belsbam and escape the malignant oiluences of En-
81 Sd Uuitsriarsm anu the reectors Of the Trune and
lncaII ate God.
From TIE Chsroamaa (High Church Epi,eopal)
TIE New York Historical Society had its jubilee
this week-s S, mi centenary celebration; and bril-
lisnt affair certsiDly Nbos never resouuded
perhaps with Der bursts OF eloquence, or scintated
with brighter sparks Of genius, than those exhi )lted
BY the the occasion, the Hon Mr. Bancroft
lie evidently entranced lis delighted audence-1 a
literary Effort in il matter aud arrangement, no less
than rhetorical display, in its language and its
utteraLce, it was altogether unique Both ~ writer
and aker-as the essay list and the rhetorcian he
mGI festes commanding tslent, aud ex,rtet rresls-
Bile influence There was something in the man, IN
the subject in the occasion, which combined 10 give
the GRAFTON spontaneous, original, and native iorce
which harmed aud captlVaied $3.50
Would that so accomplished on orator could have
fin, bimsef to the science and literature OF his
subject, without presuming 20 be the theologian as
web as the pbllosopher- without pretending 10 be
religious where be was oGly disputaous. This it
was which made al his oratOry however delicious in
its straits but sounding brass AMI tinkhng sym
bal in its substance. The auslblity of his repre-
feIta ions evidently deceived the majority OF his
auoitory-and d,ceving, deluded; AMI deuding
must have infected As Webster has eloquently
sud 1.-THE clear conc ptoD outrunning the deduc-
ton Of logic, the high purpose, the firm resolve, the
from the eye, informing every feature, and urging
the vi ole man onward, right onward, to his object
this, this 10 eloquence.' And taken on the sur
face received as an outward thing accepted as an
IL telectual qualification, without examining its prn-
cples, deriDg its nferences-t would feel aud
would appear TO be all this But moments thought
and reflection detected the Insidiods sophistry, and
prOy0t ed one to exclalm
"Tbeusb with Jour rhetoric aOurishes,
You strive to aid rotten Cause the touch
ofressoD, fortified by Truth delivered
FIO m IL ter - al
Ard 10 u be contemned."
And "rotten cause" indeed is that which is based
on the empt ness of mans cOnceit, in disregard, in
defspce of Coos reve aled will. There were inter-
landings OF religious sentiment 10 this Grafton, as CO.
pi0us as they sp' cous, and the Almgty WAS in
vOked in some Of His attributes, and even the Savior
was acknowledged in certain of His capacities. But
it had nothing of the inspired word in It a-nOthing
OF the Gospel. No one could, on the slightest consd
GRAFTON, suppose that " Moses and the Prophets
regarded as any uthortes, whether as respects the
veritabee history of crea,ioO T. real coalition OF
our race or that the Gospel dispensa.Jn to be
held 0iher~ls e Il al subordinate To the Intellectual
Attachments, the cultivated Reason Of msn We heard
good desl about Truth-but not only was il Truth
restricted and instructed but il was not the Truth
ss God has revealed il TO u.s. L. was Truth according
10 reason, in opposition 10 revelation AZ though he
had in SO many words declared TO us" You have
reason; reason was given you to be exerted- What
IL the use vi II, II yOu are not TO sesrch oOt truth
" You nust become independent thinkers and stu
dents Of history and Investigators Of nature. Truth
you viii thereby find it out must be your object
and rule Such wa, in effect the language Of
Locke, and Rosseau, and Voltsire, and Pane and
disguiie it he may, it is virtually and consequsn.
TALLY The language of Bancroft We have no
with to say one word in dkparsee cement of Mr.. Ban
croft as man Of genius, and of a highly cultivated
mind. But having come forward 70 teach OF at least
10 iDsinusie tbeOlopy of ason, only n contra
distinction of revelation, but in aatagonsm to it, he
mui txcufe our exposure of so mischey0us device
We know nothing of the honorable gentlemans re-
igOus professions; should we, under other cir.