in their substratum or ultimate essence they are the same, or whether they are different, we know not, and never can know in our present state of being. Let us, then, be satisfied with the facts, when our utmost faculties can carry us no farther; let us cease to push our feeble speculations, when our duty is only to wonder and adore.

These considerations, while they are directly opposed to the crude conclusions of the materialist, also serve to show us how much the subject is removed beyond our limited faculties; and it is not on such speculations, therefore, that we rest the evidence for a future state of being. We know nothing of the nature or the essence of mind; but whatever may be its essence, and whatever may be the nature and extent of that mysterious connection which the Deity has established between it and our bodily organization, these points have no reference whatever to the great question of its future existence. This is a principle which seems to have been too much lost sight of in the discussion of this subject, namely, that our speculations respecting the immateriality of the rational human soul have no influence on our belief of its immortality. This momentous truth rests on a species of evidence altogether different, which addresses itself to the moral constitution of man. It is found in those principles of his nature by which he feels upon his spirit the awe of a God, and looks forward to the future with anxiety or with hope;-by which he knows to distinguish truth from falsehood, and evil from good, and has forced upon him the conviction that he is a moral and responsible being. This is the power of conscience, that monitor within which raises its voice in the breast of every man, a witness for his Creator. He who resigns himself to its guidance, and he who repels its warnings, are both compelled to acknowledge its power; and, whether the good man rejoices in the prospect of immortality, or the victim of remorse withers beneath an influence unseen by human eye, and shrinks from the anticipation of a reckoning to come, each has forced upon him a conviction, such as argument never gave, that the being which is essentially himself is. distinct from any function of the body, and will survive in

Immortality of the soul. Real evidence of it-what? Conscience. Irresistible con viction on this subject.

undiminished vigor when the body shall have fallen into decay.

When, indeed, we take into the inquiry the high principles of moral obligation, and the moral government of the Deity, this important truth is entirely independent of all our feeble speculations on the essence of mind. For though we were to suppose, with the materialist, that the rational soul of man is a mere chemical combination, which, by the dissolution of its elements, is dissipated to the four winds of heaven, where is the improbability that the Power which framed the wondrous compound may collect these elements again, and combine them anew, for the great purposes of his moral administration. In our speculations on such a momentous subject we are too apt to be influenced by our conceptions of the powers and properties of physical things; but there is a point where this principle must be abandoned, and where the soundest philosophy requires that we take along with us a full recognisance of the power of God.

There is thus, in the consciousness of every man, a deep impression of continued existence. The casuist may reason against it till he bewilder himself in his own sophistries; but a voice within gives the lie to his vain speculations, and pleads with authority for a life which is to come. The sincere and humble inquirer cherishes the impression, while he seeks for farther light on a subject so momentous; and he thus receives, with absolute conviction, the truth which beams upon him from the revelation of God,—that the mysterious part of his being, which thinks, and wills, and reasons, shall indeed survive the wreck of its mortal tenement, and is destined for immortality.

Does materialism, if admitted, disprove immortality? How illustrated. Concluding remarks.

PART II.

OF THE ORIGIN OF OUR KNOWLEDGE OF FACTS RELATING BOTH TO MIND AND MATTER.

AMONG writers on the science of mind, there was formerly much controversy in regard to the origin of our ideas. Some maintained that they are derived entirely from perception, that is, through the external senses; others considered them as arising partly from perception and partly from consciousness, or reflection; and some added a third class, which they called innate ideas, and which were supposed to exist in the mind itself, independently of and prior to the exercise either of perception or reflection. This phraseology had its origin in the ancient theory of ideas, according to which something was supposed to exist distinct both from the mind and the external object of its perception. This, as we have formerly seen, was what philosophers meant by an idea. It was believed to be the immediate object of the mind's perception, but to be only a kind of image or representative of the object perceived. This hypothesis, which kept its place in the science of mind till a very recent period, is now generally admitted to have been a fiction of philosophers; and the phraseology respecting ideas is abandoned by the best practical writers; because, though the ancient doctrine be exploded, and the term may be used only in a figurative sense, it still seems to imply something existing in the mind distinct from the mind itself. The impressions derived from external things are therefore to be considered as the occasions on which the various powers of the mind are brought into action. These powers themselves then become the objects of consciousness or reflection, and by their further exercise we acquire certain notions which arise out of the mental operations. This doctrine gives no encouragement to the scheme of materialism, for it is clear that we cannot remember till we are furnish

Different opinions. Ancient theory of ideas-what? Present opinion of this theory Modern view-what?

ed with some fact to be remembered; but this can never be supposed to affect our belief in the existence of the power of memory before the fact was so furnished. If we could suppose the case of a man who had lived all his life in the dark, he certainly could not see, but we should not say that the admission of light imparted to him the power of vision; it only furnished the circumstances which gave occasion to the exercise of sight. It has accordingly been shown by Mr. Stewart, that though we may not be conscious of our mental powers till they are called into action, yet this may arise from the most simple sensation, such as affords no evidence of the properties, or even of the existence of the material world.

Through the senses, then, we acquire a knowledge of the facts relating to external things. The mental processes thus brought into action then become the subjects of consciousness, and we acquire a knowledge of the facts relating to them. By a further exercise of these powers on various facts referring to both matter and mind, we acquire certain notions arising out of our reflection upon the relations of these facts, such as our notions of time, motion, number, cause and effect, and personal identity; and we acquire, further, the impression of certain fundamental laws of belief, which are not referable to any process of reasoning, but are to be considered as a part of our constitution, or a spontaneous and instinctive exercise of reason in every sound mind.

The origin of our knowledge then is referable, in a philosophical point of view, to perception and reflection. But, in point of fact, the knowledge which is acquired by an individual through his own perception and reflection is but a small part of what he possesses; much of the knowledge possessed by every one is acquired through the perceptions of other men. In an essay, therefore, which is intended to be entirely practical, I shall include this last department under the head of Testimony. The division of this part of the subject will therefore be,

1. Sensation and Perception.

2. Consciousness and Reflection.

3. Testimony.

Illustration. Knowledge of external things-how acquired? Of their relations? Two sources? Additional source. Summary.