New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-03-11
r'ts,ly r,i.Gss to take place in sy sisqn'.s meas
a, "a N so &. - nan a In sA.she or esennR lee

rsolly seMp-owp,es in IT, Copj7uo.ion with GO
msGss Of course DO psysieI hoeas-p0cu', %
tmply az tnforc.d iseror fellowship With al D.vlr'
perfection, free and cordial syrps'hy With s ,ho'
benign ard n.rrifal dsposiiors which chsrsc.eIiE'
Deity sni which are Hegatriy sIpres,ed n refr.tisa
! from dlirg svl 70 or.'s r.igbsor Now no one re
frairs from do re evil to HE shbor chen tempted
ard 10 corr sias himself in .2r Wit God, usss htst
OF al he SppcGr 10 himself 10 bs estirly self omp,d
IN RETAINING or 20 do 90 in sensbs freedom from oil
onward coI,rsrt j. r,sy be mere GfTearasoe, ss
SFsdtnborg says or mare faly % the ssnsss, that
be thus free; hut 30 long this MIG freedom
exists 10 ssafcisnt basis for the conf 1nciion ia
question, auI rsures thai end where other thing.
cur. The esl truth, AZ Sg,deaborg .aoss under all
these fslsoous sppesrSncss is that the man never
selfprompted, bu: all the while most really prompted
and mo, ed BY the Divine power. b.. as ths, power
is alssys exered in scrupulous Difference 70 these
spps sAnces or in strictest consonance with m,n o
seeming or sensible freedom, tie moral subject
aus ects tae truth OF TIE case, bat the contrary
agrees with DR.. Bushnell in locking upon his moral
force So en- absolute possession, which argues him TO
be RdspeEdenf of God and qualities him 81 & mes vhea
i, peculiarly potent to speculate whether God e,i,ts
whether anything superior to himself, superior to hu
marity, be not in fact q fond illusion Of infancy.
Mans moral free then, according 70 5we ,enbcrg 10
pore iliusion ard fs.cy, if i. be regarded imply
irg an absolute freedom or selhood, tSati. power
Of really ind. pendent action. BE shows every page
that il nipple. se,rGHg Independence, but he denss
tots riyi6Vs that there is the slightest spiritual reality
answering to that sensible seeming. He proves that
this dvrey given freedom or sel-lood OF man, which,
to the var himself appears ike absolute dependence,
s, or the contrary, the very ctsiel of his intimate
dependence upon God, the very ARK Of the infinite
wire presence in him, tn, true holy Of holes. And
the sole why does not ,upeot the truth Of
the case the soe resson why he looks upon his moral
power absoute, ard puts on perhspa, the dirtest
little Ph,risaic airs, to the e1.snt even of pro
nounciug other men moral ogic0st, annoyed
al the Distinctions Of riTtue,' simply bsc,use they
differ from him and his coterie in thsologio
opinion, is that the Divine presence with lin, as
Christianity afirms, is preser ce in MS NATURE eI
ousively 60 constituting inevitably snd unoon,ciousy
lie Individual natural pyoprtnm or self hoof. Ths
diyre power is rot felt to lie divine in u.s. s in fact
inc vitality appropriated by regarded as ourovn,
simply because il il naturally derived TO us-simpy
because il is fsct of our natural constitutions or,
what the same thing becsu'e are born to it, and
therefore accept il az matter of course He who
sees this truth the total significance of Christian
y ard therein posses,es the key which shall day
unlock to him the prooundest realms Of creation.
Morality, then, il natural possession Of msn-tho
thD which dhtinguishss his nature from all other
patures 1t is not tie iAiog which distinguishes him
from all other eD bat, on the contrary allies him
with all other men; the man who is without il not
being reckonsd man, Int an idiot. Gravitsop, and
conse queDt weight body, he posse'se, in common
With the mineral sensation and consequent growth
form, he possesses in common with the vegetable;
intelligence and consequent yolition or motion,
he posses.ee in common with the animal; but
morality, or the power Of appropristing to
him:ef good and evil iudGerentiy he poss.,se,
only in common with his fellow man, that s, by virtae
Of lis being partaker Of hum an nature. l. is COM
mon or natural possession Of my race aud accordingly
does no. indyiduazs me from my species, bat on tue
contrary identifies me with it. in short, my moral
power is my natural inheritance man. constitutes
my purely human individuality, that 1hch have in
common will al other It is our sole bond Of nau
rs fellowship or equality. My supernatural indyi
duality, il may 80 speak that which does not flow
from my rstare and ally me with all o.hsr men, bu
which flows exclusively from God, ard therefore for
ever distinguishes me from all other is not moral
but spiritual. TAat il to say, it implies no longer the
mere equilibrium or logical indifference Of go9d and
evil but tho rigid subjugation of ole 10 the other.
Thus 10 he supernatural man il is requisite thai
undo the natural Indifference under which am placed
with resp,ct to good ard evil, and give one or the
otter preponderancs in my action. II is requisite, in
other sords, that die-tha undergo decsass-ss to
my purely moral human beginnings, and rise sg,in
spiritually az angel or devil. But TO be man. 10
posses true natural individuality man, must be
neither morally good nor morally evil, bat the exact
answering equilibrium or Indifference Of both.
Now, what DR.. Bushnell aims to do throughout his
very remarkable book IL, to seize upon this dstn,-
tnotiyely natural endowment of man, his morality or
born Indifference to heaven and he'll and body
vent Il into s own supernatural spiritual substance.
It. utterly refls., Of course lend se to HE latter
log .dyszcel; but he clutches Il IN hi. muscular en-
brace, he whiks i. into the miids Of the f)0r aud
Wbirs il up ard down the room 10 such al ec..acy
Of unhsLowed possession, that only the dispnhon-
ate observer how ndecorous spec iels must
end and what long gust, will leave in the bjsom
Of the outraged fsr che. Tn, supernatural meaning
Of morality tne cole spiritu, substance which under
lies il, 10 mans power Of cOIjoiBDg h.eif privately
or Individually, and h<uto,e ma1aOrtaRy, with God.
He enjoy, b. power il is t'u. exclusively by virtue
Of tha, Divine yiyifcation of bis nature, which il
operated and ,gualized il morality but TO confoond
one with the other ia - sink one,e in endless contra
dictiou. Yet this ia whst D. Bushnell sets hin-
self with profouni deliberston 10 do nothing
more nor less than to cOpfound moral exist
ence with spiritual, or give u the SHADOW ths
prestige which belongs Only to .u3s.asce. Bat
in vain. Nature 10 all her departments, whether
il b. human nature or animal nsture or vegetable or
mineral nature utterly reu,e to do duty for the super
natural, utterly refaes TO be c:nf0undcd with spirit.