The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1868-02-26
ANSWER TO ARIEL.


author Of this pamphlet is a Mr.. B. 5. Paine
OF Nashville, Tenn. He Is SAID TO have been
In early life q minister vi the gospel IN the
Methodist Church, CUT who abandoned this
holy vocation mot liking perhaps to spend 50
much precious Time ln preaching to beasts, }
and engaged in sugar-panung IN Louisiana,
where ne could turn Juein 10 more profitable
account.
AS to the motive with which this book was
Nwrltten there are various opinions. Some
think It hoax, Judging from the extravaganza
and a0Surdlty Vi its general proposition anu
many OF Its sO-calied arguments. Others pro-
nounce 1t political crusade 10 make victim
o. the negro. Others again regard 1t as dead
ly Indde IN Its origin and design, but masked
under the disguise OF apparent reverence ior
the Bible.
We care not TO situ the merit Of these coAjec-
lures about motives. Tue work speaks for
Itself, and Is III It's own nature an enormous
outrage upon truth, embodying proposition
nothing short Ul diabohcal, anu which, there
fore should be treated as one of the works oi
wickeduess.
As to the name il Is probably rather one OF
fancy than OF any relevancy 10 the subject dis.
eussed. iu TIC lew places met with IN the
Bible it has no sigai6cancy that way nor as
a name in fiction does there seem any thing
appropriate in it, use But these matters
need not detain Us; the main question is con
corning what the author teaches.
What are the intrinsic claims Of this book
upon public attention and confidence? If
learning, and argument and modesty are
sought, no man can find them. The author
talks largely about Hebrew, when in truth he
/ Is such an lguoramus that he cannot write
good grammar 10 English. Some specimens
vii be given before we dismiss him. A Pres,
byteriau minister il Virginia once had pub
lie debate IN the county of Nottoway with 4
preacher whose name was Thomas, and who
denied the immortality OF the human soul, and
soaght 20 draw away disciples after him. He
undertook TO Prove that the Hebrew word
translated soul, really meant smelling
bottle He paGaded Hebrew Bible, and
talked abou, the Hebrew language in quite as
con6deat a style a. Ariel We have not
time, nor rs ii specially to our purpose TO ex.
plain how he fell into the enormous blunder,
except thar it was from sheer ignorance
Some Of the people IN Nottowey still remenl-
Der the confusion into VI be gastbrown
\ befors a large c.sss
ed tho new ga
texts which Be citeG. eu.0, Tor instance, as.
"Why arr thou cast down, 0 my smelling
bottle &C. H3 then decided the matter eff
tectually by proposing TO give up the debate.
if the said Thomas would be so obEging as TO
repeat the Hebrsc alphabet If brother John
S. Watt could. in like manner, put Ariel
through the experimentum crucis, We think
be would probably settle his Hebrew learning
about as quickly as Sidney Smith once did the
imperunence Of a young lop in the anecdote
well known as the cool Of the euetiag. -
Never have we seen so much pretenSion, non
sense, dOgmstisrn, impudence, irreverence, i'm
piety and wickednesS crammed into forty
eight pages. Tue deliberate express object Of
the book Is 20 prove that tie negro has no soul
and Is beast We freely confess it is with
unspsakable reluctance and disgust that We
undertake 10 review a production headed with
such sentiment 1t demands an apology,
for the mention of such a thing ought to be its
refutatiop every where. But it is represented
from various quarters that this wicked publ
cation has a very wide circulation, is doing
much mischief, and even shaking the faith of |
some well-meaniug Christian people. We
hope the approximations about its influence are
to considerable extent mistaken. Shallow |
brooks babble most, and empty barrels sound |
the loGdest. Certainly no intelligent, thinking |
man would ike 70 have it known that his be
lief in what Christian theologians have under
stood to be taught in the Bible on certain
points, was disturbed by such an effosion as
We have here.
Those intimately acquainted with the bog
raphy of that most remarkable man of genius |
John Randolph of Roanoke, may remember
the letter to his brother, Judge Henry St |
George Tucker, where he refers to the fact of
his having been al one time an atheist But
says he, Il was an honest one. .
Hume began, and Hobbies finished me. Il !
read SpinOsa and all the tribe Surely | fell
L NO iguo5le hand Aal the very man Who (
gave me Hume Essay upon Human Ma |
ture' to read, administered Beattie upon
Truth, as the antdote Venice treacle against
arsenic and the essential oil of bitter almonds;
a bread and milk poulrice for the bite of the
cobra copello. We quote this interesting
passage to say that whoever may find his faith
shaken by such an affair as this must have lit
lie of it to shake If he should fall, he can
hardly have the comfort Of rejecting, Sure
" l fell by no ignoble hand A Christians
faith killed by such a contemplate thing as
Ariel We know Of 10 parallel to such a strange
except In the story of the simple
hearted old man who, in the operation and
troubles Of strengthening, had the misfor
tune under a struggling stroke of the animals
sharp hoof, to get a bit Of depreciation on one
Of his shins. Unexpectedly the wound mortified
aud proved mortal. In his last moments call
ing a circle Of friends 70 his bedside to listen
to his parting words, he gave vent to his IN
,onsolable grief: Had it been. " said he. ''from
the kick Of horse, or even of COW. would
not have complained but TO die from the kick
If miserable sheep, Is modification and dis
grace beyond endurance.
We hardly think there is enough arsenic"
n this potion mixed by Ariel to need any
hing stronger than " Venice treace, or "a
bread and milk poultee If the book has
Empower, it is not in the evidence of estab-
ished facts or well wrought logio-uot in its ]
biblical or scientific Investigations but in Its Z
Iogmatism It's efFrontery, its bold assertions |