The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-12-20
The Age of Reason and Radioalism.

Tho Age OF Reason and Radicalism.
Hume was not only the boldest,
but the ablest and most ingenious
reasoner of modern times. If he be-
heved his own speculative reasoning,
he was less of the philosopher than
any sane man who ever lived, except,
perhaps, his compeer, Bishop Berke-
ley; less of philosopher, because he
excluded all faith or belief not found
ed on reason. The result was, that
he and the Bishop, by the most unan-
swerable ratiocination, demonstrated
that there is no material world, no
earth, no moon, no sun, no stars, no
bodily existence. Employing reason
untrammeled and unrestricted by
faith, they very logically reduced all
existence, the universe itself, to a
parcel Of vagrant, undeinable, in
comprehensive ideas. Nobody ever
did, nor from the nature of our being,
ever possibly can, believe in the CON
clusions at which they so logically
arrived; for belief in our own physic-
al existence, and of an ex.raneous ma
terial world is intuitive, instructive,
neccssitous, and was never doubted
for a moment by either Hume or
Berkeley, any more than by the rest
of mankind
1t is no objection whatever to be-
lief III the existence of d material
world that such belief is contrary 10
reason. Hume would tell us SO ii he
were living. Nor can it be any OBJ
lection to belief in miracles, that such
faith or belief is contrary to reason.
Hume having demonstrated that rea-
son is an uttcrly deceptive, false and
fallacious guide IN the pursuit of
truth, has thereby amply refutcd his
reasoning, to show that all miracles
are incredible. Grant that he has
shown that miracles are contrary to
reason, he has not thereby advanced
an inch i'll proving that they are un-
true or unworthy Of belief, and more
than he has induced doubt of the ex-
istence OF a material world, by de-
monstrating that such Il world is
unreasonable, and therefore false.
We do not write this essay to prove
the truth of the Christian miracles;
that has often been done by ADLER
pens than ours. Our object is to
show the danger of relying too muc!
on reason in the pursuit Of truth.
To reason is part of our moral and
intellectual labor; but our reasoning,
our speculations, our theories, should
always be limited and restricted in
some degree by faith, authority, pre-
cedent, prescription, experience and
common sense. Reason not thus
limited, balanced and counterpoised,
always leads to false, and often to
dangerous, conclusions Whatever
is purely and only reasonable, is false.
10 arrive at correct practical conclu-
slons, we must combine faith with
reason. But reason restricted by
faith ceases to be mere reason. We
therefore repeat what we have often
before maintained, ''that whatever
is reasonable is false" All the sages
and philosophers, from the days of
Socrates and Solomon to those of
Hume, had seen, felt and lamented
that reason would not conduct to
truth. Hume has demonstrated by
the ''relucto ad abSMdum' what other
philosophers only saw and felt.
Faith and reason are the two great
antinomes that, by their opposing g
and concurring forces, control aud
govern the moral world. Excess Of
either is noxious and dangerous. But
we live in the age of reason, of bold
and rash speculation. Every bloody
revolution in Christendom, as we'll in
Church as in State, for the last three
hundred years, has been brought
about by following the too often de-
ceptive guide of reason. And reason
now, except in the South, is every
where busiy at work in undermining
and upsetting all laws, Governments,
faiths and institutions, with no visi-
bic results, except the shedding of
blood, and the rapid and vast increase
of pauperism.
The banner of faith went down
when the South was conquered, and
we expect, ere long, we shall have a
Reign of Terror and a Goddess of
Reason throughout Christendom.
DeBO1o's Reoie,c.
STAGNATIoN OF BUSINESS. Our ad-