New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-04-15
EC YPTIAN PHILOSOPHY.
ALExANDRIAN PLAToNIsM-THE DOCTRINES OF
BOSTON AND THE MORALS OF NETWORK

The Rev. Hugh Miller Thompson, ID. d.,
Rector Of Christ Church. Fhave., delivered the eighth
lecture his Church History, yesterday AFTER
noon his subject beiag The Philosophy OF Egypt He
said:
Christianity was preached carly in all the great cities
of the Roman Empire. 1t founded in the great City
OF Alexandria as tradition uniformly says by st. Mark
and in the second century of the Christian era thls
Church seems to have been large and hourshnS There
were certain advantages in the social ana potca o Oh
Alexandria calculated to make 1t grow there. Ihe Guy
was founded three centuries before the coming OF
oHr Lord by Alexander the Great whose par
ttcular favoritism toward the Jews had IN
duccd q large number to settle there. to
whom he gave the prvilegcsa to the Maecdonana
the city made up Of three distinct races, Astic
African and European; the three continents had met IN
Alexandria as essential parts of its population and II
was planted Mt the mouth Of the Nile in position winch
was sure to become the largest mercantile city OF the
world concentrated within itself the trade OF all these
three continents and within its spacious walls you might
meet men from all the lands then known, ana IRON all the
tribes of mankind. The Indian, the Syrian tho Roman,
the Macedonian the savage and the civilized all met
there in that busy mart OF commerce. Beside Delng
communal and manufacturing city, 10 was also literary
CITY, II became after the depression OF Athens the real
university town OF the Roman Empire. Its enormous
libraries founded by the Ptoemcs, and expanded ana
added to in succeeding regns its museum 10 WLnen
were attached professors and teachers had collected 10
the CITY students inQuirers Of intellectual activity
from al parts Of the world, and every facility was given
them for the study OF every department OF knowledge
Alexandra had at that time light and airy popua.-
ton, and yet one that was wealthy a1tVe ana lhdstI'
Gus. the very foundation OF the city almost com
posed il Of so many different races cic prhgh5
their religion with them, it was thGnsnt Dy moe VINO 10
governed that IL essential II these people Wero 10
he unifcd, if the various conflicting elements were 10
live together as good citizens ana TcGd IN od
unseen, invisible; the Greek brought with him ms olympic
deties while the Egyptian held to AL the brute gods OF
the Nile and here elements OF discord or nate OF
religious war. perhaps, so some solvent nlst nc round
and that found by Ptoemy Lcater IN serapt, tDe
mai deity, the
sentcd the nature and attributes or an gods lie was
whatever YOU might choose to think him. This god was
sci mn in tie temple as the god OF Alexandria, the one
protecting deity invented for class OF men who had
agreed TO- disagree 10 Danish all religious differences and
to allow the otHer to think as he pleased Serap,,
suggests the shape which that philosophy took which
aiterward appeared there in opposition to Chrstaty
as well as they did in AleXandTathc main thing is to
make money not especially TO think rightly about God,
here in church it may occasionally 10 our minds
that that rather town an M Go not o think H' Th'h
at all. The business of everybody down there
on business as prosperousy as possible to make the
commerce. OF the city epre I'd far and wide. That is
fe"ms Would interrupt business relations ana be very
detrimental to tie commercial Interests or Newfork
if now ana The consequence was the first thing to be
done wa to ger a god on which everybody coud unite.
The commercial power a great city ID enormous, and
Each agreed to abolish his own faith, ana accept Scraps
His god.
Bat now in the fourth century of the great cltys ex-
tence, when the population numbers about 2Cco0)O in
this enormous. wealthy there appears one day an
unknown man. preaching an nnheard,of story that God
has come 10 earth; ana he eSaniishcn rGion wIlen
against all differences which has clear-cut,
deae iaA ,G and ceed, apa s2ys ' xsoH
Mercury, Scrars, O.ii-, APPS, are all fables together
Is no oncr name gwen among whereby they be
saved and this man plants that fat there aud gathers
Christian church, distinct from Jews and llpater',
which grows aud spreads. til IL has clergy and bishops
and comes to DC Il power in AicHandi.d. NOW, What
ven going to do with t'LSI Wen, 1lrSt OF all,
you are going to let il Interfere win tho making o,
money in the Cay OF Ale andTn, moi you can help It,
Put ycu could not meet TINS with INC nonsense OF 'era
ps; You coda make them call Scraps Christ AMI
worship him. Christianity ired the intellect, and must
bo me- in The realm not 81 supcrsituto put OF Thought
and the Greek philosophy ai Deen met ana swept
away by it, there must be some modification OF nat
philosophy, some new development OF IL 10 resist ms
nroad. SO Alcxandr1 Invented the universal sol
vent OF philosophy as it had before Invented tue uni
PiatOuism, changed that Plato would not have
from the original doctrine taught III he w0rAs or It's
great teacher, Its GENITAL idea wss that all religious
was one OF the best men that ever lived. Il give you
lille Boston dialect here 90 not De surprised iJ. .ic
dialect of the nineteenth are very much alike Jesus
Christ admirable man, one OF the greatest
so also did Socrates Thc Bible is all true and is an
admirable book, splendid philosophy, but you narrow
S MnO''i true too, and the Koran would have
short, Christianity is but moGilcati Of the great
broad, a-embracing religion which takes in all re,
express it by set of words and phrases, and tine
Egyptians had another conception OF 1t, which they
Greeks alioher but you all the thing; you
believe that you right and other men have much
good for you, and another mans faith is equally
good for him while we' serene, trans see
Jesus Christ TO save you but we are
already i'll communion with the Great ALL We are parts
of grand
we smile seremely on all Your differences.
NO gGo that a q gap Sd r laG oy ld there hs
Christian who worshped Jesus Christ, the Son
shipped Apollo, the son Of righteousness and driver Of
chariot OF light is not there analogy ana could
not ingenious philosopher make great out OF IL
There number OF anaiOgies 10 be found in this
way, and they used them In those days. Wl ii all had
that al! things would have gone most admirably
there would have been simply nothing quarrelabout.
1t would have been taken 50, had II not been Tor the
Christians who always come IN az Inarplols in such
arrangements. few men had thing called faith-a
Kind belief which leads o. hold truth IL
they die for it to believe tat truth IS positive thing
ana not mere whim OF the brain and whether We see
were men in Alexandria who believed that they had
better die than deny an eternal, unchaDglng truth
from the face OF the earth rather than Of these Old
eternal truths OF God shOGd perish and they inerercd
with the perfect development OF inc Aexanaflan Platoon
ism eathenism accepted this philosophy, and tried to
elevate its duD geis and gid Its supiity and super
stons with H. Ihey FOUND wonderful IN sdnnyi In the
blndest and supidest Old stories about their gods.
Even III the most corrupt ana vc stories they an took
TO tni some high ana sacred ne. that had escaped
AL men You VIII thus see tliat there Il notii new
under the sun. have yet 10 meet single ODj ction
line OF objection to Christianity ihat HAS not been al
do lot think that aheresy could he invented that has
not already been invented aud had its l have
yet to nnd IN modern times single line OF philosophy
been amused IN finding that some " the most wonder
ful discoveries which modern philosophers Origi
Lated were Feeble echoes Of the doctrines taught BY the
te achers OF this PatOnisn IL museum OF Alexand ia
foI "A ID Wlalu lI.l fhaV IN