that it was to prove by the miraculous power which he exerted in his acts of mercy, that he was indeed Him of whom the prophets spake, is not sufficient. One grand display of omnipotent energy might have answered that end; and that display might have been of an equally unequivocal nature, and, we may well suppose, more astounding. Had it partaken more of the terrific, it might have paralyzed the tongue of the caviller; and made the wretch cower who in the pride of his heart, attempted on natural principles, to account for the miracles he chose to perform. It would have been as easy to throw back the entire course of nature; and to write in letters of blood upon every door post in Judea the fact of his Messiahship; and to have come to earth with legions of celestial beings to impress his original glory upon astonished mortals, as to have wrought the more simple, noiseless wonders that he did. This would not only have been equally easy to him; but it would have cost far less. of that watching, fatigue and insult which followed him throughout his entire sojourn on earth. But he chose that class of miracles which should be appreciable by the humbler order of minds; which no sophistry of the arch-enemy should be capable of destroying; and which, from the inherent nature of the case, must be a specific preparative for his gospel.

In fine, the principle under discussion is universally and instinctively recognized and practised upon. It is alike the handmaid of successful nursery teaching, and of homiletic theology. The humblest mother knows its power in leading a wayward child to penitence and duty. A roll of candy, or a farthing orange, will lure a child to

the sabbath school when thrice the pecuniary value, in the shape of religious tracts, might fail of doing it. It is a law of man's nature that kindness shall gain and hold empire, where reason, justice, right, cannot prevail. And by a refinement of human wisdom, as strange as it is melancholy, this grand element of success has been subordinated to, aye, almost buried beneath, the technics and lore of the schools!

Our foreign missionaries fully apprehend the various difficulties we have named which stand in the way of evangelizing the heathen. To arrest their attention; to impress them with the superiority of the christian scheme : to win them to a candid examination of the burden of their embassy, are the points at which the heralds of the cross strenuously and anxiously aim. And in proportion to their greater or less intimacy with the complexity and obstinacy of these difficulties, do they feel discouraged.

As has been noticed in a former chapter, a moral impossibility seems to stand between the presentation of the gospel and its appreciation by the heathen, on account of ignorance and error, and the absence of inbred predilections in its favor. This is greatly enhanced by the practical bearing of that master-feature of Satan's policy which now characterizes his designs in heathen nations; namely, to lull into a profound sleep on the subject of true religion the mass of mind. By a course of watchfulness and subtlety-characteristic of the source whence it. came—the arch enemy of man has succeeded in engrossing almost the entire attention of the idolatrous world in temporal cares, selfishness, and lust.

Thus circumstanced, many foreign missionaries have

felt the need of a resort to other arguments than are found in preaching the gospel, simply, and otherwise teaching its truths. In many instances they have had recourse to lectures on astronomy, geography, and pneumatics. This course, it should not be denied, has often received the meed of astonishment and respect from the heathen literati; but here, as we apprehend, the effect ceases. This kind of argument, from its nature, cannot affect the heart. There is not, in the contemplation of the natural sciences, the slightest tendency to move the affections. If it have any moral bearing, it is to create pride in the bosom of the possessor of scientific acquirements; and envy in him who sees them in the possession of another. It is very questionable whether it is a generous mode of acquiring influence over the heathen, to make them feel our scientific superiority. At all events, it should be so done, if done at all, as to make the keenness of a sense of inferiority felt lightly by them. The remark which has just been ventured, as to the moral effects of contemplating any or all of the natural sciences, is only intended to apply to the unregenerate. This should be distinctly understood; and it should be further borne in mind, that in the nature of the sciences themselves, so to speak, there is a world of interest and beauty. Alas! for the violence done to the mental constitution by sin, that such a position can be affirmed as has now been taken.

But while this melancholy proposition seems tenable, in reference to the unregenerate, the converse is true of the regenerate.

To the latter, every exhibition of science tends but to humble; and to raise from earthly to heavenly contenplations. And, we have abundant reason to presume, both from analogy and from acquaintance with our spiritual and mental organization, that our future being will find much of its occupation and delight in the pursuit of true science. It is indeed true, blessed be God, that the CROSS, will be the grand theme of the Christian's meditation, in the upper world. This will be the crowning glory of all that he shall perceive. Redemption, will be the burden of his song. But, in expatiating amid the ever evolving exhibitions of the Infinite Wisdom, as age after age, they shall be presented, "science" truly "so called" will necessarily be a part of his joyful experience;—enhanced immeasurably by the all-pervading consciousness, that the power of acquisition and enjoyment, as well as the means for its gratification, were a part of the purchase of Calvary.

The elements of his song will not consist simply in his salvation from hell, great as that boon will appear; but in an increased apprehension and appreciation of God's wisdom and power; and, in the mercy which gave him a nature capacitated to drink in their manifestations.

To return, we may justly conclude that, an investigation and love of the natural sciences, is not incongenial to the believer on earth; but that the tendency toward such cannot but be of a most valuable nature.

"Although we admit thus much, we are constrained to examine, more minutely, the other view with which this discussion commenced. And, to inquire if a just discrimination be made by those missionaries who resort to

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the course under consideration, between the mental admiration, and the salutary moral affection which they hope shall follow this procedure. As seems to us, there lurks a specious danger here; valuable, intrinsically considered, as true science is. In fact, not much is hazarded by assuming that, as a means of humbling the sinner, and of leading him, in an evangelical sense, to penitence and faith; the course in hand is unwise, and obviously not at all adapted to the end.

It is not a scriptural mode; no warrant for it, that we can discover, being found on the page of inspiration. Suppose we were to read in the book of the Acts of the Apostles the following record, purporting to be an account of the measures used by St. Paul and his companion, while on a tour of foreign missionary service. "The pasha of Scutary, a learned man, visited me this afternoon and spent from three to four hours in examining the school, the philosophical apparatus, etc. Several of the learned effendis accompanied him. He seemed determined to understand every thing; and instead of looking on with a vacant stare, as is generally the case with great Turks, he made intelligent inquiries, and endeavored to ascertain the nature and use of whatever came under his observation. He was delighted with the various experiments made by John with the air pump; and from a few words of explanation on our part, he would in almost every instance seize hold of the principle. I have seldom seen a man more wide awake. But the electricity, which we afterwards exhibited, altogether eluded his grasp. I contrived to give him various shocks without his being at all aware of it previously, and he skipped and bounded