pite of this ingenious apology, the knave ought wounds in attempting to close one. Those have been well flogged for his acuteness. Socialists, who cry aloud for any sacrifice of ay, we may, as Paley observes, tell lies with- principle so that they may jog merrily on, may, at uttering a syllable. We read in the ancient in their burry, overlook some important parythology, that the place where the arrows of ticular; in their haste to reap, they may forget ercules lay concealed, was known only to his to sow, or that the seed time precedes the end and companion Philoctetes, who had harvest; but it should be borne in mind, that worn never to tell the secret: the gods had Socialism is valuable, not merely because it eclared, that until the arrows of Hercules were shows the road to wealth, and will enable men rought before the walls of Troy, the Greeks to produce and consume more than they have auld not be successful against that famous hitherto done; but it promises advantages ity. Ulysses, the wisest and most eloquent more solid and lasting in connection with inf the Greeks, was sent to obtain these won-tellect alone. The highest reformers have erful arrows, he knew that Philoctetes was in been those, who have given to sense its proper ossession of the secret, and used all his arts sphere of operation; by whom immediate eninduce him to betray it; at length his ar-joyment was sacrificed for future good, and that aments prevailed; but Philoctetes, dreading o perjure himself by telling Ulysses were the rrows were, played the rogue, he would not ell forsooth, O! no, he had too great a regard or his oath to do that, but he stamped upon he spot where the arrows lay concealed, when Ulysses was not slow to take the hint and carry them away; but the gods were not to be overreached in this fashion, and Philoctetes was punished for his perjury. The real question between those who take the oath, and those who will not, is simply this, are we justified in speaking falsely; when an inconvenience attaches to the promulgation of truth, can Socialists, on the ground of universal expediency, defend a course that is only to be commended because it is safe, and guarantees them for the present, at least, from the attacks of their enemies; I take the question un this broad ground, and distinctively say, no, they are not justified in the eye of reason, unless they are content to occupy a lower position than heretofore, as it is monstrous, and imbecility itself to prate about honesty and truth (and nothing but truth, mark), while we dabble in falsehood upon occasion. We read of Regulus, who voluntarily met a cruel death; with the strongest possible inducements to violate truth, he resisted those inducements, and crowned himself with immortal honour. Partial expediency would have led that great man to equivocate, but he disdained to do so, the moral chain that bound him to what he conceived to be right was strong as adamant, nor did he attempt to explain away nor interpret after his own manner, his pledge given to the Carthagenians. Can we hesitate in deciding, who are the most useful, and at the same time, who will be the most honoured by present and Juture generations, the Regulior or the Buchani. With a few more words as to the question of right and expediency, we shall conclude this paper; but will return to the subject if a reply the offered to the arguments here advanced. at is expedient, we are told, to take this oath; but is not such expediency partial in its results, like an unskilful surgeon, who opens many good not of an individual but universal character. The most prevailing temptation, says a modern author, to depart from the right, in pursuit of the expedient, seems to be the craving after prompt success, not remembering that principle in its moral influence, and eventually in its other influences, loses much more by such partial success, than it possibly can by remaining for a while in its dominion over men's minds, until that dominion is extended enough to assert its power over their actions as a community. For all great triumphs of principle, the world can afford to wait, and it is better that the world should wait. Herein, then, seems to consist the difference between an enlarged and a partial expediency, when the moralist, whose coat of mail is utilitarianism, declares that the utility of an act constitutes its morality, abstract right having nothing to do with political conduct and human affairs, and insists that the life of a public man, to be useful, must be one of compromise, he may be told, that all right is the expedient, but the expedient is not always right; this latter expediency is what is here protested against, as leading to the practice of immorality, and striking at the very roots of Social reform. ARISTIDES. MR. FLEMING'S REPLY. Charles St., Birmingham, Tuesday Evening. MY DEAR SIR,-I intended to call upon you in passing through to Bristol, but find I shall not have time to do so. The pressure of business prevented me from sending you your letter to Buchanan per Guest, as I intended, with a few observations thereon. I put it in my bag, hoping to have delivered it, and made these remaks in propia persona. I must, however, take another opportunity of remitting both; and, meantime, take the opportunity of saying, that it seems to me highly impolitic for one Social missionary to lecture another as to meanings of terms, and above all to teach him publicly through the medium of the papers. If thy brother offend thee, reprove him privately, and amend the error, not it, for fear of the consequences. The fac N THEORY OF REGULAR GRADATION. persecuted Infidel, the moment the way h LAST week we gave some authorities in support of our views, promising to give a few remarks upon them in our next. Before adverting to them, we would direct attention to the extracts given above, from the "Jew Book." The believers in that veracious authority are therein informed that their god made the sun and moon, and the stars also; that is to say, the universe, with the exception of our planet, which was the King David of the rest, we presume-one after his own heart -all in one day, the fourth. Are we not, then, deservedly proud of our pre-eminence, we, the glory of the universe, the gem in the triune diadem? Is it not more pleasant, as well as safe, to believe these things, so flattering to our vanity, than to foolishly bicker and dispute respecting them? Certainly! says the obstinate follower of faith in preference to reason. We leave our readers to answer for themselves. T been prepared and made smooth for them b He i We beg, also, to direct attention to tw remarks in M. De la Beche's opinions, which we have printed in italics, wherein that gen tleman's views, in relation to design are offen sively intruded upon the reader twice in a few lines. In both cases the object sought to b But to our purpose: the idea of the forma- obtained is defeated by the means used, tion of the world from a condensation of gases, difficult is it for error to be consistent. though "new and startling" to the Messrs. endeavouring to establish an important philo Chambers, who show signs, nevertheless, of sophical hypothesis, and professes to be led t being "cute" men, is by no means so with us, the adoption of it, "more particularly as T for we have a vivid recollection of our specu- would accord with the unity of design so evi lating with an intimate friend upon the same dent throughout the universe." Why, w subject, some six or seven years since, and of would ask, should he, if he be an impartial ex our imagining water to have been formed by pounder of the natural phenomena with which the combustion of oxygen and hydrogen. "But," he is acquainted, adopt a certain theory, be say these gentlemen (see article of last week), cause it harmonises with one man's opinion "there is much, it must be owned, to support while it is opposed to that of another? The this hypothesis, startling as it is." Indeed! evidence of design in the universe is merely an They are compelled to own it, are they? The opinion-it is not proved, although Mr. B cerberus of society must however be approached speaks of it as being so evident." Again with a whining tone and smirking face, and if it be "so evident," why adopt an hypothe the sop of apparent reluctance be thrown to sis, "more particularly as" it accords with it { design be "evident," it is proved, it is a ict, and all other facts must, per consequence, gree with it, and all hypothesis disagreeing ust be as certainly false. Therefore, to say e adopt an hypothesis simply because "it ould accord" with a known fact, is equal to aying we prefer building upon truth to falseood, which is always presumed of every riter, and clearly unnecessary to be stated. But the thin film with which our philosoher endeavours to hide his Atheism, is speedily roken through by his own awkward attempts t keeping up the delusion believed by so any to be true. For, after talking of the widence of design being apparent in_the_uni , he refers to the opinion of La Place specting our whole system," as resulting, doubtless, from design." Doubtless! indeed! Why, a few lines before, we are told it is evithe universe-the WHOLE-is designed. We ad always imagined that what was true of the whole, was true of the parts, and vice versa. But here we find an individual stating the wiverse to be evidently designed, but hesitating to speak with equal confidence of a poron of that universe, although it is from that portion alone that he has obtained the experince which would lead him to form an opinion of the whole ! borne out. Here, we think, we may be allowed a little gression, the better to enforce our views upon the matter. By the extracts given above, from the works of men holding high rank in La scientific world, it will be perceived, that only is the Mosaic cosmogony and also very other that we know of, completely scattered to the winds, but our opinion respecting the originally gaseous state of the globe This is not sufficient for our purpose. Though we may have driven the nail home, we can yet perhaps clench it. Some few years since, before geology had assumed any thing like a definite shape, the "called of god" insisted upon the literal interpretation of the Mosaic account of the creation, and did not cruple to persecute men for expressing contrary opinions, or for even asserting the earth passed round the sun. Geology has given the death-blow to the system based upon the "Jew Book" fable. Astronomy has lent its aid towards building up a nobler and fairer pile, the foundation of which is the everlasting rock of truth. The Augean stable of religion, fouled and polluted by human blood and misery, will yet be swept with the flood of science. knew nothing of what [he was writing about, but that he accommodated himself to the capacities of his hearers! Then again, the naming of the beasts by Adam, and the collecting them for the purpose of preservation by Noah, which has been shown by Dr. P. Smith to have been impracticable, naturally, were all clung to as long as possible, because it was asserted in the Jew Book!" They have, in fact, desperately disputed every inch of ground, and now the undermining of their last strong hold design, has been completed by Herschel's discoveries. This is our opinion. The same force, power, principle, or forces, powers, or principles, or whatever it may be which, under certain circumstances, would produce worlds, may reasonably be imagined to people them afterwards with what we call organic forms. Where then is the reason of allowing these men still to assume, that at any rate there is evidence of design? We have reason to believe that matter in a gaseous state would condense into worlds like our own because its properties would so tend. But the religious world will not so have it, they insist that matter is inert, and of course incapable of combinations, unless put in motion by the spirit of god, which if true involves them in a pretty dilemma, making their god the author of all mischief, and not of all good alone, as they passionately assert. To wit, there is more evil in the world than good; god is the cause of ALL conditions, both good and evil; ergo he is an evil or demon-god. This argument, moreover, is in harmony with the statement in the "Jew Book," which will be conclusive with all true believers in its inspiration and infallibility, for it is their expressly said that the Christians god planted in the garden of Eden, in addition to every thing" pleasant to the sight and good for food," "the tree of knowledge of good and evil." Here then is prima facie evidence that evil existed before man, and the great "I AM," the author of ALL, must have been the author of evil. W. C. AUTHENTIC ANECDOTES, Illustrative of the Wisdom of Christian_Religionists. 1. INFIDEL. You tell me I shall go to hell for unbelief, pray sir, would you send me there for it? Christian. No; I am not aware that I When geology had proved the absurdity of the have ever done anything to you to justify your Mosaic account of the formation of the world thinking that I would do so, if I had the power. in six days of twelve or twenty-four hours each,-Infidel. Just so, but you say god will do it, those interested in the continuance of man's bru- and thus make him worse than yourself.-Christtality endeavoured to reconcile science with evi-ian. It is in the bible, and therefore I believe it, dent folly, by saying that the word which stood-Infidel. But I am not constituted so as to bear for day in the Hebrew, would equally mean a fire and brimstone for ever.-Christian. Yes, thousand, ten thousand, aye, or an eternity of but god will enable you to bear it.—Infidel. Well years, and that it did not at all prove that Moses that is certainly very kind of him, to punish me in a way I could not bear, and then alter my nature so as to make me bear it. able to give a reason why, we differ from the NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS. 2. Infidel. You have been talking to me about" divine grace," and the "holy spirit" being a remedy for human depravity, now I candidly confess I don't know what you mean by those words. Methodist Preacher (with surprise), Indeed, do you really mean what you say.-Infidel. Indeed I do, what is divine grace? Methodist Preacher. It is the influence of the" holy spirit" upon the heart.-Infidel. Still, I am as backward as ever, what is the holy spirit?-Methodist Preacher. It is *"divine grace," as I have told you before.-Infidel. Pooh, pooh, nonsense, I see you have no idea attached to the words you use, the "holy spirit" is "divine grace," and " divine grace" is the "holy spirit," and that's all you know about it; truly you are a valuable in-counsel) instead of thwarting him on a most impor structor of your fellow-men. 3. Infidel. Well Mr. C., you have been to church this afternoon, as usual. Mr. C. Yes, sir.-Well what was the text?-Mr.C. directed the inquirer to the chapter and verse.-Infidel. How did the minister treat the subject?-Mr. C. What do you say, sir?-Infidel. How did the minister treat the subject.-Mr. C. 1 diuna ken what you mean.-Infidel. What principles did he elucidate by his remarks upon the text? What inferences did he draw from it? How did he apply it to your case, or to the cases of others? Mr. C. Deed sir, I ken naething about it, na muckle sense, Infidel see,mething by going Scotch church for forty years. [The several parties who at present conduct this www taken. "Another suggestion presents itself-Could not the simpleton who purchased the Oracle and made him self witness to that effect, be equally well indicted for having so published it himself? If this sort of retr bution could be brought to bear there would soon be an end to all persecutions for blasphemy."-We should the quarter sessions at which Mr. Southwell was say not, and for this reason. During the progress of tried, some parties employed by the Defence Committe purchased copies of Mr. Brindley's Gazette, which contained portions of the libel, and applied to the grand jury for garant, assist of a b tioning, and indirect attempts at intimidation, theution was asked of the pious and just judge, whether the refutation, could be construed into a blasphemous publication of a blasphemous libel for the purposes of libel which might be prosecuted? To this the second Daniel replied, certainly not, when published for the jury refused the warrant, not however before the appurpose of refutation. Upon this reply the grand plicants had been defrauded of 10s. 6d. by the officer of the court, and subjected to the loss of two day' work. But this is not all we would direct attention to. The libels were not inserted for the purposes of refutation, but solely to prove that R. Owen was n Atheist, and why, because Mr. Southwell (a Socialist was one. Any one may satisfy themselves of the truth the quotation is contained in a Letter to Sir Robert of our assertion by reference to the paper spoken of: Peel, Jan. 1, 1842. There is no doubt upon our minds that the grand jury were convinced of the criminality of the publication equally with the Oracle, but the 4. A Collier. Sir, I see you are a dn Infidel, you don't believe in the bible.-Infidel. Well, don't swear about it. What do you think of those passages where god is made to order the destruction of entire nations by the Israelites. The Collier. Why, sir, I never could read a word in my life.-Infidel. What! and yet you have told me you believe it all. The Collier. Well, so I do; and what do you make of that?-Infidel. I am, indeed, more surprised that you should say you believe it all, and yet have not read it.-Collier. Why, don't others believe it too?-Infidel. Oh, certainly; and, on the same grounds, though the preachers say that ignorance causes infidelity.defendants were respectable orthodox booksellers, and, As the charge of ignorance is so fre-moreover, some of them having the "lamb's mark in quently brought against the Infidel portion of the community, I trust you will insert the foregoing specimens of Christian intelligence, assuring you that they are literally correct, they are mere samples of a great number that might be brought forward to prove the truth of the orthodox Dr. Watts's statement, "that the greater part of the Christian world can hardly give any reason why they believe the bible to be the word of God, except that they always did believe it, and had been taught so from their infancy" and yet these are the parties who would glory in burning you and I for being their foreheads," or why such evident trepidation and The Trial complete, stitched in a wrapper, 1s. 2d. Printed by G. J. HOLYOAKE, 179, Broomhall Street, ORACLE OF REASON Or, Philosophy Vindicated, EDINBURGH "FAITH'S EMPIRE IS THE WORLD; ITS MONARCH, GOD; ITS MINISTERS, No. 17.] SOULAR UNIO EDITED FOR CHARLES SOUTHWELL, DURING HIS IMPRISONMENT, [PRICE 1d. into the subject. Industry and moral courage in a few years would reveal to broad light the abstrusest branches, and reduce its most subtile truths to axioms. The reveries of the studio would breathe the air of nations, and the speculations of sages would become the guides of the millions. UTILITY OF UNLIMITED INQUIRY. THERE are few greater drawbacks to the progress of knowledge than the assumption conally made, that this or that particular abject is unfitted for investigation-it is too ll of abstractions, refinements, and subtilties. y this means people are frightened from It is wise to disregard the common sophistry, ngs of importance to them. There is no that the brightest minds of antiquity did thi t oject that careful thought will not analyse. and did that; and if we attempt to finish wha Let it be viewed often in all lights by many they left unaccomplished, like them our laMuds; let the acuteness of free and un- bour will be in vain. Speciousness and strained intellect exercise its powers upon plausibility must never be permitted to stop , and whatever it may be, the shells of ig- the inquirer on his path. The same thing norance and error will soon be broken off and rung in Galileo's ears when he started his the sound kernel of truth be presented to new theories of the universe. Columbus was view. Every thing wildly expected may not dinned in like manner by the same remarks. e proved in relation to it, but every thing Newton was charged with presumption for tural to it, and all that the mind can em- his investigations-wiseacres assured him how race and reason upon will be displayed. hopeless was his stolid study, were ancient Thongh false assumption may be disappointed, and modern geniuses had sat down in despair. rational mind will be gratified. The only When men show WHY investigation into any ference will be, that instead of the subject branch of inquiry cannot proceed farther, ppearing as it was supposed to be, it will from the nature of the subject, a certain good show itself as it really is. These remarks is done-a favor conferred, a labour saved. ply in a peculiar manner to metaphysics. If it is proved something else would be more People are besought continually to abandon useful, under the circumstances, the course to ch airy speculations. But such advice pro- be pursued is clear-but to any thing else, rds either from the ignorant or mentally to sophistry, comparisons, doubts, prophecies, azy. Metaphysics has been defined "an threats, listen not, certainly regard not. quiry into the nature of man, the extent of With all due deference to Solomon, there x faculties, his relations to the existences are, and will be, many "new things under around him, and the bearing of all these on the sun. At least it is consoling to indulge his condition." What science can be more in the hope, for many of the old ones are inIn the words of Lord Comprehensive or important? Recall to the sufferably tedious. mind the crimes and oppressions speculative Shaftesbury "let but the search go freely on Tors have occasioned. It probably is not and the right measure of every thing will soon reeding likelihood to say that metaphysical be found." errors have produced more suffering, done more to strengthen priestcraft and retard the progress of the human mind than all other istakes put together. The supposed mystees and subtilties belonging to the science, ere magnified purposely to deter men from mvestigating in a direction where true know G. J. H. PRINCIPLES OF SOCIALISM, AND BY A SOCIAL MISSIONARY. To the Editor of the Oracle of Reason. dge would be so fatal to superstition and DEAR SIR,-I have been engaged in the kredulity. Within the last half-century what public advocacy of socialism from 1837 to advances have been made. How many truths the present time, and have paid some attenhas socialism made plain to the popular mind tion to the matter. I trust you will be able to which before were confined to closets and find room for a few remarks, on subjects so ashrouded in the mazes of doubt! The floods important to the interests of the human free thought have never yet been poured race. |