, 1880-07-04

practice. the reAder> may take tho following pus
tion that the doctrine Of original sin implies
That nature must be corrupted by some pos
n' 1xe 1s ny snn1 soe
quality or other, not from. tho choice Of our
minds, but Ike tuint, uncturc, or iltecnon,
dispositions Of our souls. That sin and evil dis
positions nfe implanted in tho fcEtus III me
womb, Whereas our doctrine neither implies Implies
nor nfers any such thing. In order TO account
fora sinful corruption OF nature, yen, to19l
native deprnvity of the heart of man, there is
not the lcnst necd Of supposing any evil quality
soevcr, either from God or tho creature: or of
Il fountain Of evil In his heart, such as is any
thing properly positive think al Mttle asten- t,n
on TO tho nature or 5nngs WI" nG
inquirer that the absence Of positive good
principles. and so the Withholding Of q specinf
Divine influence to iMpart and maintain these
good Notwithstanding the common natural
principles Of self-1ove natural appetite, etc., to
themselves, without the government Of superior
with the corruption, yea the total corruption OF
the heart without occasion for any positive In
tluence ut all; and that 1t was thus in fact that
diately on his fall, and comes on ali his poster
ity, as shining in him, and falling with him"
chief ground OF compiulnt nEalnst Edwaras 1,,s
future sf mankind which. shocks the sensi6lll.
ties OF Il later generation. There is no need Of
KOiU4 IlkU HI &uN plHata Al1N " AA1S
Inferno, Ms displayed in his sermons. We can
endure much in tho medieval verse OF Dante
which we cannot listen to IL the comparatively
Morl{y speaks in one Of his essays Of 1.-The hor-
rors Of what is perhaps tho most itighttui
dse as has e nanan puayh
mellt" Edwards has done his best 10 burn
these horrors into the souls of men. 4 new or
into the laboratory where tho bulk of lnMnkinu'
have been conveyed for vivisection Or vivicom-
bustion. The body is to possess the most ex-
Q,ltst sensfbilitieS, Is to be pervadcd i'll every
llorc and particle by the tire, nnd the fire is to be
such that our lime-kilns and iron-furnaccs
would be refriyerators i'll comparison with tue
great majority Of mankind are to pass the days
and nights, if such terms arc applicable to 1t, Of
torture in full operation Tor -four thousand
years., none OF its victims warned OF it or l-no".
ing anything noont it Mntil tho good news -
light,-an Immortality Of misery to 1.-THE bulk OF
mankind -!
But Edwards can be partially excused for do
perhaps, to confess that he was an iinitntor and
Il generous borrower than to allow him the
credit Of originality at the expense OF his better
human attributes. Very gOou men are some
times very forgctful.
Something Of the mild surprise which honest
old Dr. Jenks experienced when he found the
Rhomas Ru; Scott 20 maybe may be fc1 by serupulous indi.
ydua!s At rfsoEnzns rs p15 OF ae a%la
There is no installing the identity Of many of
these expressions and images. Some besides
the Scripturnl ones may have been borrowed
by both writers from common source, but
there is IL considerable number which confess
their parentage in the most uneIai'ocal way
Ihe ~ py f1f as the gpe tie bar ss
pending living soul over It the same; reptiles
and other odious images belong to both alike;
intiuit duration Is described in similar language;
tba nHtUrfl affections no longer CAlSte tQe
mother will not pity the daughter i'll these
flames, says Boston; parents, says Edwards, vii
tEdwards) and 'sronrlns" usostonl forever;
SOUND a'n ion on i the lips Of theoosan t looks Us if
he were getting out Of the reach Of human SYM
pathies- 1t sounds very harshly when Cotton
dcntally burned to dcnth,-being,: it seems, Il
little in liquor ut the time. pour soul!-that she
~wcnt roaring out OF Que flre into anotnor me
divine who 6tn1nped bis personality aua ms
doctrines on the Now England theology Of tho
last century Ths sto5y OF us IL u5aq ~ he ts ,va s
settled at Northampton Is tho coileag!le OF his
grandfather. the venerable Solomon stoddnrd,
happencd during bis ministry. or both these he
has left printed accounts The work entitled
Thoughts on the Revival Of Keli&ion in New
froM tho time Of its first publication, to u very
wide e1tent the comlnon text,no1k & l Of +e.I ovan,
yeffcHl Qfti0G5. on S1fO5cCE Ql WHICH, IL
The scenes described i'll his account reminds
Que Of the religious frcnzies which seized upon
muti,ndes n The Middle Ages: @ TheferS e paxeS '
nnssares as startling rs Que may read in
Defoe7s description Of tho Plague OF Lon
don Paintings. commissions; utter ,}sa Pr,o}str1,
trenlcns, were conmon occurrences.
Children went homo from the religious meetings
cryi12g aloud through the streets. Some lost
their reason; not enough, Edwards says, to
cause alarm, unless We arc disposed to gAthor
up ull we can to durkcn the work and seti forth
too far in saving SO much us this: I'VE cannot
determine how rreat u calamity DESTRUCTION Is,
considered with all its consequences, and .li that
might have been consequent if the distraction
had not huppcned; nor in.lecd whether, thus
considered, it be any calamity ut al, Or whether
a ote. e. One One cannot help questioning whether a
sense of the ludicrous did not relax his features
US he wrote this last sentence.
While the work WIS at its hight poor man,
overwhelmed with melancholy, made au nttempt
to cut his throAt. Then gentleman of good
standing WIG had been :re,ty concerned anont
no hope concerning his own good estate sue
ceeded in taking his life in that way. After
to hnye it. strongly suggested to them aud
pressed upon them to do lis this person had
done" And pious persons, who had no special
darkness or doubt about the goodness Of their
state had 1t urged upon then. us ii somebody
had spoken to them. Cut your own throat!
Nov is a good opportunity: Now! S9w!'
it must have been more than people could do
to stand boing called vile insects" filthy
worms - tirebrantis Of He'll" and other such
hard names. But what must have been tho feel
ing Of Northampton mothers when they read
what Edwards said about their darliugs! II
seems that there had been complaints against
some preachers for frightening poor Innocent
children, us he says. with .tnk Of hel-iirc and
eternal damnution. But it those who complain
really believe what they profess to, they show,
we think, u great deal Of weakness and 1ncon-
sideratiou. Then follow the words which tho
writer once quoted on a public occason, which
use Of them brought him u letter from Il much
respected orthodox Clergyman, asking where
they could be found. It il not strange that he
asked, for he might huve looked i'll vain for
them in the ten-voiumc edition Ut Edwards
works, published under the ctlitOrshfp Of his OWn
predccussor, grandson Of Edwards, tho Rev.
Serrno E. Dwight, Or the English reprint Of that
edition. But the editor Of the edition Of the
work on Revivuis, published III New York i'll
1eS. did not think it necessary, perhaps honest,
to omit the passage, and this is the way it reads:
'.As innocent As children seem to bc to us, yet,
If they out Of Christ, they are not so in Gods
sight, but are young vll,crs, and nrc 1ntinitly
more hateful than vipcrs: aud are in Il most
miserable condition. as we'll AIS grown persons;
and they are naturally very scnscess and stupid,
being born as ths uild ass cot, and need much
to awaken them."
Is it possible that Edwards read tho text
mothers love SO well, ''SuiYcr little vipsrs to
come unto me, and forbid them not, for OF such
is the Kingdom Of Cod?
t..J $-.E EN--At