an earnest, conscientious, sensitive thinker, whose calling has been to be a teacher of his fellow-creatures, religiously. A sophism current is no trifle. Bad logic has often conduced to great crimes. The greatness of ancient Athens died of sophistry. A man may be set wrong, for life, as a thinker by some wrong definition on even one point, got from some wrong-headed master. And an error in theology, may be poison at the heart. From no city in the world, has the philosophy of David Hume, been as influential as it has been from Boston. And this has been because nowhere, has thinking, practically, been as free as in Boston. And freedom of thought is liability to error, as well as being, also, the gateway, by which, man approaches the holy of holies. A creed which can possibly and reasonably be assented to, is of itself worthless, and mere general vague persuasion, though it be that of multitudes of preachers and hearers, is like the morning mist, and is liable to be swayed "and carried about with every wind of doctrine." It is the conviction of individuals, that constitutes the earnestness of the Church. But it will be said, "What is the good, and what is the use of believing in old tales? What is a miracle to me, what importance?" That depends much, on who the questioner is; for there are people, as to whom nothing intellectually would seem to matter much. The miracles of old, are nothing, except more or less, as they are "signs" as well as being also "wonders." It is the philosophy of those miracles, which is the worth of them, in the present day. The miraculous as it is called the supernatural, angelic intervention does your philosophy of the universe admit of that? And if it does not, then it is defective, erroneous; and it needs to be corrected by the Acts of Apostles, and by the latter chapters of the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. Once, at the prayer of the prophet Elisha, a young man, on the side of a mountain, had his eyes opened, spiritually, so as that he saw, at a moment of peril, horses and chariots of fire, where otherwise it was all loneliness, - once, in Galilee, a poor, suffering woman was cured by touching the hem of a garment, in faith, once on the highway, with a word, ten 420 lepers were cleansed of their leprosy-and on a certain occasion, a fisherman on Lake Tiberias, who had left his net, and afterwards got into prison, was set free in the night, by an angel, these things of themselves, and disconnected as to any probabilities or philosophy, would not really be of much importance, among a thousand odd things, which are on record. But they are of great importance, if really they And are instances of large classes of similar occurrences. they are of infinite importance, if they illustrate a philosophy, by which, heaven and earth are in connection, under God, as to influence and agents. Occurrences, which are called miraculous may be for only a few people, as to experience; but miracles, as affecting mental attitude before God, are for everybody; and as though, thereby, they themselves had tasted of "the powers of the world to come." A miracle is a point of wonder, and it is a "sign" inside of the sphere of our ordinary experience, of there being powers concerning us which transcend our knowledge. The possibility of "signs and wonders"— the miraculousness of the universe is, in our earthly darkness, like the glimmer of the light of other worlds. That the philosophy of Hume was an antidote to much. theological nonsense, is certain. But it was a rough specific for a coarse disease. Arsenic may be good, as a medicine for certain persons, at particular times; and anti-supernatural skepticism may be good against superstition and priestly proclivities. But arsenic cumulative in the body is death. And a continuous, indiscriminate denial of what is called the Supernatural, becomes blindness as to that Jacob's ladder, which reaches up from among men into the region of angels and toward God; and also it is dimness, which keeps growing worse and worse, as to the spirituality of every relation, in which we stand, towards one another, and as regards the uniAnd because of spiritual blindness morals are conceived of, as being, simply, useful, and the Godhead as being merely mechanism at work, in coral insects and oysters, and in winds and tides, and pigs and men, and in nettles, and sun, moon, and stars. verse. Honor to science, for it is being merited grandly! And all due honor to Dr. Huxley for the freshness and point of his lectures! But he arrogates too much. If he knows about Swedenborg, scientifically, as much as he ought to do, he knows where easily he might learn, that for true science, theology is like suggestion, inspiration and light. This volume by Dr. Huxley, makes the reader, at last, grow melancholy; and especially, if he bears what he reads, well in mind, to the end. For he feels as though he had been called to witness an autoptic examination of a dead planet. Laws are spoken of, and so are transformations as still going on but still one is affected, as though with having been shown the remains of chemical and muscular activity in a body warm, indeed, but dead. Our earth, to common sense and in the broad daylight, is alive with the spirit of "the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth." But with listening to these lay-sermons by Dr. Huxley, there comes on a horror, like that of being "without God in the world." With the end of the book, however, and in the gathering darkness, heart and soul cry out, as though to reassure themselves. And with waking up from the horrible nightmare of mortality, there has been one reader, who cried, "Glory to God! For still I am a living soul, and I can hope and trust. O my Father, if it be possible— Yes, and I can still pray! Blessed be the name of the Lord! And still the heavens declare the glory of God! And still love and the meaning faces of my fellow-creatures — and pain and joy and sorrow-and right, as it is done by me, and injustice as I encounter it- the changes of the seasons, year after year-and the variations of human life from the cradle to the grave-these things are what they always have been, and being to be spiritually discerned, they educate me, and assure me, as to my soul's immortality. Lord! thy chastening rod, and the staff which thou dost lend me — oh heavenly wonder they both alike comfort me. The cry of the soul- the soul's Father hears it. O God, thou art my God!" - NECESSITY AND SUFFICIENCY OF RELI GION. A SERMON. BY REV. EZRA S. GANNETT. [The following discourse was published by the proprietor of this magazine in "The Liberal Preacher," in 1831, who well remembers how much it was liked when issued forty years ago. We think it well to reprint it, as many friends of Dr. Gannett, of the past and present generations, who never heard or read the sermon, would like to see it in the magazine at this time.] But one thing is needful.-LUKE X. 42. It has been supposed by some commentators, and not without reason, that the interpretation commonly given to these words is erroneous, and that our Lord's purpose was to rebuke the anxiety of Martha to furnish a various entertainment for one whom she so much honored. Jesus assured her that he wished not for splendor and profusion in the feast, and that Mary manifested a more just sense of his character and chose a better service by sitting at his feet, where she might listen to his instructions, than was displayed by her sister in all her well-meant but unnecessary labors to spread a sumptuous board. In this discourse, however, the text will be regarded in its usual meaning, and in that which would probably suggest itself to every reader of our English Bible, and thus considered it presents us with two great doctrines, the necessity and sufficiency of religion, - One thing, but one thing is needful. Religion is indispensable to the well-being of man; while he who is truly religious can experience, no insupportable want. These two propositions are as important as human happiness, and as true as human experience, as important as God's will, and as true as God's word. Perhaps they will not be contradicted nor doubted by any one. They may not be thought to require illustration. Possibly the discussion of them will seem useless, when there are other topics worthy of our attention, the character or importance of which is not so evident. It would be better, some will say, to adopt particular subjects of discourse, to advocate certain principles, or reprove certain vices. Or if you would enter on disputable ground, the whole field of controversial theology is before you. Doctrines, opinions, matters of belief are open to examination, for they are variously understood. But religion itself, the Christian character, the Christian life, are subjects on which there is, and can be, no difference in our judgments. All sects agree on this topic, - on what relates to the end, however discordant may be their instructions respecting the means. I would that such were the fact. But I cannot believe it. The discussions which have agitated our community, and the object of which is to determine the mode of the divine existence or the nature of Jesus Christ, are not only less interesting and less important in themselves than those which involve the character of true religion, but they derive less value from the state of mind which exists in the Chistian Church. No one acquainted with the religious controversy, which has prevailed among us for the last fifteen years, can have been blind to the change which has been gradually introduced. At first the rationality of doctrines was a matter of debate, next their scriptural authority came into discussion, and now their tendency, in other words, their practical character, is brought under examination. We may indeed rejoice in this; for we wish the truth, as it is in Jesus, to be tried by all tests, being confident that its divinity will be established by every trial. But who does not see that an inquiry into the practical effect of a religious system involves an inquiry into the nature and evidences of true religion? Your faith, says the believer in one creed to his dissentient brother, is not as favorable to piety as mine. Now before this assertion can be either proved or refuted, it must be agreed what piety is. It is, all say, the love of God; but this is a sentiment, having its abode in the heart, which man cannot read. The question then arises, what are the evidences of piety, or how does true religion exhibit itself? By frequent attendance on religious meetings, by zeal, by efforts for the diffusion |