I shall now attempt to show, in four particulars, how a habit of distinct conception may be formed. 1. Awake from habitual slumber. How great a portion of mankind drowse all their days, as the animal of the forest lies in a forgetful stupor, amid the inclemency of winter? They "rather sigh and groan," and sleep, "than live." A dead weight in the bottom of a ship, is of service to keep it upright, and thus to prevent its sinking; but when these sluggish mortals are embosomed in a community, their weight is too grievous to be borne. What a vast sacrifice is made by that wretch, who, through his own indecision and idle vagaries, suffers the clouds of doubt and uncertainty to obscure his prospects! How heaven-provoking is his conduct, who voluntarily gropes in darkness, because he refuses to open the eyes, which his Maker has given him! 2. Estimate objects according to their real importance. We should bear in mind, that the value of a thing is not always proportioned to the avidity with which it is sought. Hence it is, that the interests of the soul, as they are regarded by the multitude, are passed by without concern. Nothing is more important, than that we should ascertain the real value of objects, by weigh ing them in the balance of reason and truth. This practice, if begun in good earnest, will induce a habit of sys atic thought, and accurate research. He, who has once experienced a less or greater good, will, if rightly disposed, compute the probable influence of the same blessing, had it been conferred upon his neighbor, or upon the community at large; and the accuracy of his computation will be exactly proportioned to the importance of the blessing, as realized by himself. 3. Imitate the virtuous in their most splendid actions and sentiments. I am, as much as any one, opposed to a servile dependence, and an habitual distrust of one's own discernment. This kind of imitation is not intended." To take the advantage of a virtuous example, by following it, does not impair the independence of sentiment. It is agreeable to the divine constitution, that every generation should avail itself of the improvements of preceding ages. Nor do we esteem it a disgraceful dependence, that, as we are advancing in literature, we are also travelling a road which was opened for us, by the efforts of our ancestors. In morals also, the same advantage might accrue from à wise regard to principles of truth' already established. Were every person to form his system of morals entirely upon his own reason and experience, without regard to those of a former age, men would make but feeble ad-' vances towards any thing definite or certain. Above all; consult divine inspiration. Upon opening the scriptures, we find sacred wonders. Its doctrines are universal in their extent, and definite in their application. In it we behold nothing calculated to flatter pride, or elevate self; but its whole tendency is to depreciate our own characters, to humble man, and to exalt the Lord. As we turn over the pages of inspiration, we are at once introduced into a sacred field. There we behold the mist, which enveloped the speculations of the ancient philosophers, entirely swept away. There we see truth disrobed of its false apparel, and freed from the shackles of imposture and sophistry. By its light we have the origin of our existence; find ourselves on a rapid march to immortality; discover our relation to God, and find data upon which we may calculate our future destiny. This light confessedly shines in a dark place, since by it, we discover the moral turpitude of the heart; its impatience of divine control; its aversion to known duty, and its entire opposition to a most holy God. At the same time that we discover the attributes of Jehovah, we find his majesty accessible, his justice mingled with clemency, and his power every moment exerted in our behalf. Such is not the god of fancy. Such is not the god, which is discovered by the feeble enquiries of benighted, and unassisted reason. Reason indeed enthrones a god; but according to many of the ancient philosophers, he neither sees nor regards the conduct of men. Unnoticed by him, the elements play at random; and man, an object too small to share his attention, passes unregarded into eternity! Among the ancients, many of whom were the greatest men the world ever saw, we behold all full of doubt and uncertainty. Hesitation arrests the pen, and new difficulties suspend the judgment. Darkness thickens, as they advance, and the field, which they explore with a philosophic eye, becomes a field luxuriant with folly. Whither, O boasted reason, whither will thy speculations lead us! But how speedily is the gloom and uncertainty, which gather round the brow of unenlightened reason, dissipated by the radiance of revelation? Inspiration kindles the fire of true devotion; leads us by a path which we know not; defines the qualities which are introductory to eternal happiness; distinctly marks its objects; displays its own benevolence, and by an unparallelled eloquence, demands the assent of the heart. It expresses a tender regard for the body and the soul, by providing for both. It inculcates submission to rulers, without directly interfering with the policy of the world. It regulates the passions, by explaining their proper use; subdues ambition by showing the folly and the vanity of the world; represses the desire of wealth, by reducing our estimation of this life, and teaching us to proportion our schemes of worldly grandeur, to the fewness of our real wants; and by explaining the nature and value of the soul, instructs us to prepare for heaven. What can be more clear? What more certain? As every object of inspiration is important, so it is distinct, and clearly defined. And he that often repairs to it for instruction, will find that the improvement of his mind will keep pace with that of his heart. Upon a review therefore of what has been said, let him who is disposed to contemplate this subject remember, that a confusion of thought is very prevalent; that distinct ideas are indispensable, and that a habit of acquiring them, can easily be formed. Let him take the word of God for his guide, and the conduct of the righteous for his example. Then it shall appear, "That all his prospects brightening to the His heaven commences ere the world be past.”, last, THELESUS, ANSWER TO CANDIDUS, ON THE Messrs. Editors, In the Panoplist for January, is contained an attempt to prove that Apollos was the original writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews. The letter of CANDIDUS certainly deserves a reply. I have expected to find, in every succeeding number of the Panoplist, a confutation of the arguments of Venema, and a summary of the evidence, which may be brought in support of the commonly received opinion that Paul was the author of that Epistle, which Venema, Candidus and some other learned men, attribute to one who was not an apostle. Hitherto my expectations have been vain. CANDIDUS has given the public an abridgment of the arguments of Venema: will you allow me to reply to him, by adducing some of the arguments, by which Dr. Macknight opposes the doctrines maintained by Venema? 1. The most ancient, and by far the most universal tradition of the church, has constantly ascribed the epistle to the Hebrews to the apostle Paul. Eusebius, Eccles. Hist. b. vi. c. 25. cites Origen as saying in his Homilies on the Hebrews; "If any church holds this epistle to be Paul's it is to be commended for so doing. For the ancients did not rashly hand it down as Paul's." Upon this quotation from Origen, Hallet observes: "it is very certain then, that the churches and writers, who were ancient with respect to Origen, must have conversed with the apostles themselves, or at least with their immediate successors." "Since this tradition was ancient in the days of Clement of Alexandria and Origen, about one hundred and thirty years after the epistle was written, it must have had its rise in the days of St. Paul himself, and so cannot reasonably be contested." Lardiner says, (Canon, vol. ii. p. 331.) "Clement of Alexandria, before the end of the second century, received this epistle as Paul's, and quoted it as his, frequently, and without any doubt or hesitation." Now, if this tradition originated while Paul was alive, either Paul or those to whom the epistle was directed, would have contradicted the tradition, had it not been founded on truth. 2. If an author's method of handling his subjects, together with his manner of reasoning, are sure marks by which he may be distinguished, as all good judges of composition allow, we shall without hesitation pronounce Paul the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews. For in this letter we find that overflowing of sentiment briefly expressed, which distinguishes Paul from all other writers. In this also, are abrupt transitions from the subject in hand, to something subordinate; but at the same time connected with it, which having pursued for a little while, the writer returns to his subject, and illustrates it by arguments of great force, couched, sometimes in a short expression, and sometimes in a single word, all which are peculiar to Paul. In this Epistle likewise, contrary to the practice of other writers, but in Paul's manner, we meet with many eliptical expressions, which are to be supplied, either from the foregoing, or from the following clauses. In it also, as in Paul's acknowledged epistles, we find reasonings addressed to the thoughts of the reader, and answers to objections not proposed, because being obvious, the writer knew they would naturally occur, and therefore needed to be removed. Lastly, after Paul's manner, the author of the epistle to the Hebrews, has subjoined to his reasonings many exhortations to piety and virtue. These peculiarities of style, which are found in no other writings, beside Paul's acknowledged epistles and this epistle to the Hebrews, plainly point out the apostle Paul, and not Apollos, as the author of that last mentioned, learned and sublime writing. Should it be granted, that the stile of this letter is more "round, rhetorical, oratorical," than that of Paul's other epistles, it would only prove that this might be Paul's masterpiece in energetic, inspired eloquence. CANDIDUS would not surely reason thus: "the Rambler is superior in elegance to Johnson's other writings: and therefore Johnson was not the writer of the Rambler." When Paul wrote this epistle he may have improved his style by use; or he may have been most eloquent here, because he was opposing his former errors. His ardent love to his kindred according to the flesh, his desire that they should be converted to christianity, and his early acquaintance with the typical ordinances, which he explained, may have had an united influence upon his manner of writing. But, it may be doubted whether there be a manifest superiority in the style of this epistle,over the other epistles ascribed to Paul. For, not to mention that the sublimest 4 passages in this epistle are those quoted from the Old Testament, I, without hesitation affirm, that the epistles to the Ephesians, to the Colossians, and to Philemon, in respect of sentiment and language, will easily bear to be set in competition with the epistle to the Hebrews; especially the epistle to the Ephesians; concerning which Grotius has said, that it surpasseth all human eloquence. And yet, strange to tell! the same Grotius has given it as his opinion, that the excellency of the style of the epistle to the Hebrews, is a proof, that it was not written by Paul. 3. In the epistle to the Hebrews, there are many sentiments and expressions, which Paul has used in the epistles acknowledged to be his. The following are examples. Heb. i. 2. Heir of all things, and ver. 3. an image of his substance, are parallel to Col. i. 15. The image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature. Heb. ii. 7. Thou hast made him for a little while less than angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, and hast set him over the works of thy hands: are sentiments parallel to Philip. ii. 8. Being in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even the death of the cross, ver. 9. And therefore God hath exceedingly exalted him, and hath bestowed on him a name which is above every name. 10. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, &c. See also, Ephes. i. 20,21, and 22. What is said in Heb. v. 12. about milk as food for babes, but strong meat for full grown men, we have in 1 Cor. iii. 2. Milk I gave you, and not meat, &c. Heb. viii. 1. Who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens and Heb. xii. 2. Sat down at the right hand of the throne of God; are expressions similar to Ephes. i.. 20. And set him at his own right hand in heavenly places. Heb. x. 1. The law containing a shadow of good things to come: is the same with Col. ii. 17. Which are a shadow of things to come, Compare Heb. x. 33. with 1 Cor. iv. 9. and Heb. xiii. 16. with Philip. iv. 18-The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews, chap. x. 30, quoting Deut. xxxii. 35. adds the words, saith the Lord, which are neither in the Hebrew nor in the Septuagint; just as Paul has done in two of his citations from the Old Testament, Rom. xiv. 11. and 2 Cor. vi. 17.-In Heb. xiii. 18. the writer of this epistle says, We are fully persuaded we have a good conscience. The same declaration Paul made before the council, Acts xxiii. 1. and before Felix, Acts xxiv. 16. and to the Corinthians, 2 Cor. i. 12,-Heb. xii. 14. Follow peace with all men. Rom. xii. 18. Live peaceably with all men.-In Heb. xiii. 20, God is called, The God of Peace. This title is given to God no where but in Paul's writings, Rom. xv. 33-xvi. 20. and 2 Cor. xiii. 11. Philip. iv. 9. 1 Thes. v. 23. and 2 Thes. iii. 16. In Heb. xii. 1, 2, 3, 12, are beautiful allusions to the athletic exercises, to which there are many similar allusions in Paul's other epistles. It is possible that Luke or Appollos may have been the writer of these expressions, but it is not probable. This remarkable coincidence of sentiments and expressions in the epistle to the Hebrews, with the sentiments and expressions in Paul's acknowledged episVOL. I. New Series. I tles, is no small presumption that this epistle also is of his writing. 4. In the epistle to the Hebrews, there are interpretations of some passages of the Jewish scriptures, which may properly be called Paul's, because they are to be found only in his writings. For example, Psalm ii. 7. My son thou art: to-day I have begotten thee; is applied to Jesus, Heb. i. 5. just as Paul applied the same passage, Acts xiii. 33.-In like manner, the explication of Psalm viii. 4. and cx. 1. given by Paul, 1 Cor. xv. 25. 27. is found Heb. ii. 7, 8.-So also the explication of the covenant with Abraham, given in Heb. vi. 14, 18.is no where found but in Paul's epistle to the Gal. iii. 8, 9, 14, 18. 5. There are, in the epistle to the Hebrews, doctrines which none of the inspired writers have mentioned, except Paul. In particular the doctrines of the mediation and intercession of Christ explained, Heb. iv. 15, 16. vii. 22, 25, are no where found in the books of the New Testament, except in Paul's epistles, Rom. viii. 34. and Gal. iii. 19, 20. The title of Mediator, which is given to Jesus, Heb. vii. 22. viii. 6. ix. 15, and xii. 24, is no where applied to Jesus, except in Paul's epistles, 1. Tim. ii. 5.-In like manner, none of the inspired writer except Paul, (Heb. viii. 1— 4,) have informed us that Christ offered the sacrifice of himself in heaven. And that he did not ex ercise his priestly office on earth, but only in heaven. 6. In the epistle to the Hebrews, we find such enlarged views of the divine dispensations respecting religion; such an extensive knowledge of the Jewish scriptures, according to their an |