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THE

Emperial Magazine ;

OR, COMPENDIUM OF

RELIGIOUS, MORAL, & PHILOSOPHICAL KNOWLEDGE.

JANUARY.] "SOCIAL REFINEMENT DAS NO EXISTENCE WHERE LITERATURE IS UNKNOWN." [1822.

THE PHYSICAL AND MORAL WORLD.

No. 1.—Connection between Natural and Revealed Truths;-Development of Mr. Macnab's Theory of the Uni

verse.

As the circumstances which gave rise to the following papers, did not originate from the author himself, though nothing could have been more congenial to his mind; but from his being requested, by the Editors of a respectable periodical publication, to prepare a Review of the "Theory of the Moral and Physical System of the Universe," of Mr. Macnab, in order to its insertion in that publication; it is deemed of importance that this should be understood. The review was accordingly undertaken, and prosecuted to a considerable length; but feeding in such a rich pasture, and surrounded by objects so grand and sublime, the notion of merely a review, was, in consequence of the advice of many intelligent and learned friends, abandoned, as altogether insufficient for such a glorious subject; so that the originally intended brief review has now given place to a more enlarged speculation, which, it is humbly hoped, will be both necessary and useful.

In an age so pregnant with great events as the present; an age which has convulsed the political, philosophical, and moral worlds; an age in which the infidel has done his utmost to disseminate his ruinous tenets; an age in which the politician and the warrior have approximated to the zenith of that career, in which they had been so long struggling; an age in which the modest and receding philosopher also comes forward to claim his quota of public applause, for the many services he has rendered, by his numerous and useful discoveries; in such an age, when all are on the alert to distinguish themselves by something remarkable, is the advocate of truth, of moral as well as physical truth, to be the only idle person? By no means. No. 36.-VOL. IV.

He too has plenty to occupy his attention. For, through the influence of sophistical philosophy, that important Divine Revelation, is still in a great work, which is the grand object of measure retarded; and it is the duty of every friend of truth to do all in his power to root it up. There are thousands in the present day, who would give countenance to the work of God, were they only convinced of the divinity of the scriptures. But when they find, as by their teachers they have been led to suppose, that philosophical facts run counter to revelation; when philosophers teach one thing, and the scriptures another, they cannot be but stumbled, and at a loss which to believe. And it is in vain to urge them to abandon sense and reason for an unintelligible something which the Christian calls faith. No: the sophist wishes to make surer work of it. Of two such opposite sources of information, he reasons upon the propriety of cleaving to that which proceeds upon the surest principles, and that which, in his view, is established on matter of fact. Thus religion, through sophistry, loses many of its advocates; through the supposed opposition of philosophy to revelation, and the book of nature to the gospel of the Son of God.

And what has contributed to cherish this error the more, is, the constant, and hackneyed, and fearful procedure of many Christian teachers, in their mode of only treating what they conceive to be evangelical doctrine; but standing aloof from touching on natural truths, as if they were no part of a divine system, lest they should strike false fire. The term philosophy having been applied exclusively to such sort of truths, has also misled many; for by this means they have, in a manner, been wrested out of the hands of Christians altogether; they have been considered as belonging to a system, entirely different from that, which the Christian, from principle, has espoused; and this has rendered

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them an easier prey to such as have called themselves philosophers. Nor would this circumstance have been much regretted, had not this class of men perverted the subject, and converted one part of the infinitely wonderful works of the self-same Being, into an instrument of opposing and thwarting another part of them.

than most Christians are disposed to allow; and to treat Nature's truths as they do, in connection with revealed truths, would have the two-fold effect of depriving sophists, on the one hand, of their most powerful arguments against the gospel; and on the other, of instructing Christians in the knowledge of those laws of nature which they are called to obey, and even must in some sense obey, so long as they maintain their animal existence in this world.

This appears to be the object of Mr. Macnab, in his theory, and we trust we shall considerably ramify and enforce the same subject in our following papers.-In general, we may say, that his object seems to be, not to present the world with a new system of philosophy, but with a new theory, by which all the principles of philosophy, known or unknown, moral or physical, may harmonize. This seems to be his object. It is, in short, to furnish a key, by means of which he would unlock all mysteries; a thread, by which he would unravel all know

It has been said, that philosophy is a handmaid to Christianity; and this, perhaps, would be a truth, were it not that it is so shockingly abused. Yea, I would go farther, and grant it an equally divine origin with Christianity itself; for the facts on which true philosophy rests, have the same origin with those of revelation; they differ only in their nature or kind, but not in their authority; this being the same in both; and, like the vessels of silver and gold in the ancient sacred service, physical truths are of use to illustrate and enforce spiritual truths. Hence, is it the business of Christians, according to their ability, to trace them in their respective bearings, and to observe their admirable harmony, notwithstanding their infi-ledge; a light, that will dissipate all nite diversity; for, "the works of the Lord are great," says a celebrated saint of old, "and sought out of all them that have pleasure therein."

Were all Christians, according to the opportunity and ability which God gives them, as faithful as they ought to be in the discharge of this duty, it is impossible to calculate the happy effects which might result from it, both to themselves and unbelievers. However the generality may here plead to be excused, it is certainly the duty of the intelligent and learned among them, whatever be their profession, to devote at least a portion of their time, to a pursuit so rational, so instructive, and important, as that of demonstrating the correspondence and harmony subsisting among the various works of God, and by this means both edify their brethren, and convince the gainsayers.

It is pleasing to think, that there have not been wanting the most masterly works of this kind; but to the person who has consulted the work of our author, and is alive to the subject, it must appear that we are still far, far short of what yet remains to be done.

The sacred writers, themselves, will be found much more philosophical

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darkness; a centre, that will unite all lines. Matter and mind are alike subject to its laws; for its laws, according to him, "are more universal than those of gravitation."* Alike, it unfolds the mysteries of the Creation, Providence, and Redemption. unites all knowledge into a point or focus. It displays a continuity, a harmony, a concatenation, the most astonishing, subsisting among all the works of the Almighty. It shews how the book of Nature and the book of Revelation are linked together; the one being the first, the other the second volume of a work by the same hand.

Such is the theory of Mr. Macnab. This is the thesis he wishes to maintain. He wishes to simplify, to generalize, to give the mind a hold of every thing at one grasp! And, how noble, how sublime the idea, could it only be realized!

But is not the idea chimerical? To employ the phraseology of our author, judging by "analogy," where do we find any thing that will bear us out in such a pursuit, in the whole universe? Here, we see, if there be unities, there are also diversities-diversities ad infi

* Macnab's Theory, art. 12.

nitum. How then can it ever be, that | 1. Some objects are perceptible by our

all should approximate towards each other, and meet in a point?

This difficulty, as it refers to particulars, we do not pretend to solve, for this, upon the best plan it is possible to propose, must be the work of ages; but we may observe in general, that it is possible to conceive a circle whose circumference may contain the whole. And will not this circle have a point or centre, from which, if you stretch your line to its circumference, you include one portion of a septenary scale? Continue your measurement from this second point, around the line of your circumference; and after dividing itself into six other portions, it will bring you back to the same point whence you set out. The circumference of the circle then, which extends beyond all things, must include the whole; and the centre of this circle is the point where all meet. This theory, reduced to a mathematical figure, would be represented by a vast circle, including a hexagon, the six angles of which were brought into contact with its circumference, both having one common centre. By such a figure is proved the point in question, in as far as it relates to the whole; and it being the object of Mr. Macnab's work to make it appear, that things in general, by a law in nature, arrange themselves into concentric circles, every one of which is susceptible of being divided in the manner above described; it will hence follow, that when we discover the centre of each circle, we ascertain the point of union where all meet. From this point, therefore, if we set out on the septenary scale, we can never be bewildered; for we are travelling on the surest ground; namely, from a centre to a circle, and from any point in the circle, round its circumference, which will bring us back by the number seven, to the centre where we began.

The septenary scale is, accordingly, the grand hypothesis of our author: and let none be startled at his hypothesis; for, that it is founded on undeniable mathematical truth, the septenary division of the centre and the hexagon, as above described, clearly demonstrates.

There are THREE sources from which the human mind is furnished with ideas; and these proceed in the gradation of sense, reason, and faith.

senses. 2. Some are perceived by reason, or abstraction, or deductions, of the intellect. 3. Some are cognizable by neither of these means, but are purely the objects of faith or belief, resting upon supernatural revelation; and they bid defiance to the powers of the human mind, to come to the knowledge of them by any other

means.

Now the different arrangements of our ingenious author's plan, determine the limits and demarcations of the human faculties with wonderful accuracy, as will be evident by the following sketch.

On the abstruse subject of the origin of matter, the manner in which he proceeds is admirable. He seems to be aware beforehand, that to explain all its intricacies, is a theme beyond the reach of man; and therefore he avoids involving himself in the perplexing and unsatisfying jargon of the schools, respecting the concourse of atoms, the eternal existence of matter, its infinite divisibility, indestructibility, and the like. He wisely waves all those hard and knotty questions, which tend rather to gender strife, than to prove the subject; and begins where common sense begins, and views the world as it appears to the peasant and to the philosopher. He perceives in general, that there are two classes which may be said to comprehend the whole. These are matter and mind. The latter he therefore places on the right hand, and the former on the left. But prosecuting his observations farther, he perceives another class, which, strictly speaking, is neither matter nor mind; yet, by striking characteristics, is allied to both. This, accordingly, he places in the middle between the other two; and this constitutes his first scale, which stands thus:

MATTER. CENTRAL STATE.

MIND.

But he observes again, that matter, strictly speaking, appears under different aspects, viz. mechanical and chemical; and that mind also appears under different aspects, namely, animal and intellectual. And the central step between these, as partaking of both, yet distinct from both, is organization and vegetable life; which, by the principles that compose the first of its properties, is allied to the left of

the scale; but by those that compose its last property, is allied to the right of the scale. So that we have now an organic, or vegetable step in the cen

MATTER.

Mechanical, Chemical.

tre of the scale; on each side of which are two belonging to matter, and two to mind; represented thus:

CENTRAL STATE.

Organic, Vegetable.

Having made this advance, the mind of our author was led naturally to proceed a step further; and he perceived that the phenomena of the three central steps, viz. the chemical, vegetable, and animal, were cognizable by the human senses; but that the phenomena of the two lateral, namely, mechanism and intellect, belong to the province of reason or abstraction.

Still dipping deeper and deeper into this wonderful subject, and now exercising his reason upon it, he perceives a chasm in his plan, a something wanting at its beginning and end; a something, which appears dark and mysterious, involving the first and the last; that is to say, an efficient and final cause; the one regarding the elementary part of matter, the other regarding the moral part of intelligence.

This, accordingly suggested to him the complete septenary scale. To the beginning of the mechanical, he was led to prefix the elemental; and to the end of the intellectual, to superadd the moral; and both these are hemmed in by the inscrutable paths of the Almighty, beginning with eternity ab ante, or efficient causation, and termi

Eternity ab ante Efficient Causation.

Matter.

MIND.

Animal, Intellectual. nating with eternity to come, or final causation.

These two, added to each extremity of the scale, differ from the other steps, in the respect that they are above the reach of human investigation; they are involved in eternity both ways. They are not cognizable, like the other five, by sense or reason, but are above our ken as mere animal or rational beings. They are, therefore, matters of faith or belief, as the others are of sense and reason; and this demonstrates the necessity of DIVINE REVELATION, to assist and bear us out in such profound investigations; for, without such aid, we must fall infinitely short of our object. Hence the necessarily mutilated systems, both of cosmography and ethics, where men discoursing on such subjects do not avail themselves of the light of the word of God, but walk merely by the light of the spark of their own kindling.

Our author's complete septenary scale, or great seven-fold mystery of nature, now appears in the following scheme, with the Sun, the soul of the organic vegetable world, presiding over the centre.

Mind

Elemental, Mechanical, Chemical, Organic. Animal, Intellectual, Moral.

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3, Vegetable. 5,
4,

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Eternity to come, Final Causation.

Perceived by the senses.

Understood by abstraction, reason, or intellect.

Believed by faith in the word of God, who is called Alpha and Omega, the First and Last.

Let the author who suggests these noble ideas, and this rational method of treating the most abstruse and august of all subjects, here speak for himself. "These," says he, "constitute what may be called the seven-fold mystery of nature."

"It is a scale, wherein the third and fifth are connected by sensible ties; the second and sixth by abstract

reasoning; and the first and last by faith, or belief in Him who is called the First and Last,' and whose emblem is 'light' and 'fire,' typifying a state, which passeth all understanding,' transcending and enveloping in eternity, both ends of the scale." Art. 85.

"The seven steps of the scale are marked by a perfect harmony, which

reigns throughout; but are at the | idea of diversity or change, the anasame time so interwoven by the law of logy becomes evanescent, or, like the continuity, that we cannot fix a line of | moral, matter of faith. Art. 93. demarcation between any two conti- Gliding along in this manner, we guous steps. It is difficult, also, to could easily present the reader, not find language expressive of this ana- only with the different scales of our logy, and yet flexible in its terms; so | author, but with a variety of others, that their meanings may amalgamate all tending to demonstrate the harmoby the insensible gradations of syno- ny subsisting among the works of nyme; for rigid definitions find no place God: we could add criticism upon here. There must be no abrupt tran- criticism, and illustration upon illussitions, no sharply defined margins; tration, all proceeding, like so many they must run into each other, like the wheels within wheels, and systems seven colours of the rainbow, or the | within systems, from the most dimiseven sounds of the octave; and, in- nutive atom, to the majestic whole ; stead of a definition, we must designate but this we must reserve to subsecach step by its middle or prominent quent papers. Meanwhile we entreat feature. This is the natural way of the countenance and blessing of the handling those abstruse inquiries, great Eternal, whose works and ways contenting ourselves at first with an we would humbly attempt to demonoutline, and afterwards gradually re-strate and vindicate, to enable us to touching and improving it by approximation, as a painter in finishing a landscape." Art. 86.

"As the seven colours of the rainbow produces all imaginable colours, and the seven sounds of the octave all imaginable sounds, even so the seven steps of the great scale, embrace all imaginable science; the whole being compacted and swallowed up in the 'first and last.'" Art. 87.

In this manner does our author proceed, guiding us by his masterly hand through labyrinths of darkness and confusion, into fields of clear day, where, by a little assistance, every object may be seen in its proper attitude.

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Our author, having got his grand seven-fold mystery of nature thus arranged, see with what admirable ease he accounts for the operations of the whole; and how each part, by the in- | fluence of habit and reiteration, goes on unto perfection! Beginning at the highest, and descending to the lowest, we perceive, that, in the moral | department, perseverance produces more faith and obedience; in the intellectual, habit produces readiness and skill; in the animal, exercise pro- | duces quickness of apprehension, muscular vigour, and address; in the vegetable, cultivation produces luxuriant growth ; in the chemical, the repetition of many of its processes, produces a more and more refined spirit; in the mechanical, friction, and the like, produces firmness and smoothness, and so on; but in the elemental, which, by hypothesis, excludes the

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execute the present undertaking, in some measure at least, correspondent to the greatness of the object.

(To be continued.)

LECTURE ON ASTRONOMY.

MR. EDITOR.

SIR,-As the paper on Light, which I had the honour to send you, appeared in the Imperial Magazine, I am induced to put into your hands the following, on Theoretical Astronomy. It was delivered as a lecture, on the 9th of November, 1821, before a very numerous and highly respectable audience, at one of the public sittings of a philosophical institution, now flourishing in the south of the kingdom. Both in matter and style it is accommodated to the taste of a popular assembly; and was received at its delivery with sufficient marks of approbation. Perhaps that which was heard with apparent interest, may be at least read without offence.

AMICUS SCIENTIE.

Exordium.-Before I enter immediately on that subject which is to occupy our attention this evening, I cannot forbear the opportunity which is afforded me of presenting my congratulatory offering to this highly respectable and learned society. A prosperity like that which has crowned this institution, during the period we have had the happiness and honour to be acquainted with it, cannot have failed to inspire every friend of sci

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