BOOK I.

BOOK I.

ARGUMENT.

INTRODUCTION.-Religion intended to achieve a conquest, and acquire a dominion-the spiritual nature of that conquest and dominion-her mistake in accepting the addition of temporal power to her legitimate sway-the Alliance with the State necessarily induces adoption of its policy and subservience to its interests-Religion at once a slave and a tyrant, the sport and terror of mankind-the corruptions of her truths, and the arbitrary means employed in forcing those corruptions on the conscience-the sword takes the place of the Word-the wilful perseverance of priestcraft, and the consequences to be apprehended from its struggles with the adverse spirit of the age. The external strength of Religion, the great cause of its internal weakness-her heavenly mission embarrassed by her earthly attendants-spiritual dominion incompatible with temporal-their attempted union the fruitful source of evil-this position illustrated from history, in the cases of Egypt and India, where the caste system aggravated the evil-the intellectual glory of Greece greatly owing to her comparative freedom from priestly control. The greater glory of Christianity-the idea of its intended connexion with the State, refuted by the manner of its introduction, the character of its founder, and the opposition he met with from the chiefs of the Jewish Church and StateJudaism and Christianity contrasted-the wish of his countrymen to connect our Lord with the State constantly resisted by him, in his answer to Salome, his interview with Pilate, his death and resurrection-Conclusion.

BOOK I.

Θνητοις γὰρ γέρα

πορων ἀνάγκαις τάισδ ̓ ὑπέζευγμαι τάλας.”—PROM. VINCT.

"Yes, while bestowing the best gift on man,
Hapless I'm yoked 'neath these necessities."

AMIDST the world's wide waste there grows a Tree,

The shelter of woe-worn Mortality;

Where man may gather, nor despair of room,
And live upon the fruit, yet ne'er consume.

Here tempests, impotently fierce, forbear;

Nor seasons change, nor centuries impair ;

It blooms, of summer's endless smile secure,
Its leaf unfading, and its fruitage sure.

The Tree of Knowledge tempted, and we mourned;
The Tree of Life upsprang, and joy returned.

If man has harmed it with superfluous aid,
The fruit corrupted, and curtailed the shade,
Why judge the goodly Tree by blighted fruit?
The strength of heaven still vivifies the root,
Still, firm 'midst more than elemental strife,
Its shade is shelter and its fruit is life!

Majestic Minister! Immortal Birth! Surpassing Conqueror of oft-conquered earth! Supreme Religion! why has Heaven allowed Thy mighty sway, and why have mortals bowed ? What warfare tried the strength divinely given? What conquest waited on the arms of Heaven? Say, art thou not the Conqueror, whose fame Was written in each Will thy words o'ercame ? The Potentate for whom each Soul's assent Was glory peerless, sway pre-eminent ? The Sovereign honoured, yet the Subject free, And fond and faithful through that liberty. Yes! Man must smilingly embrace thy sway, Delight to yield, and glory to obey,

With eyes of love thy terms of service read, Mind seal the bond, and Heart attest the deed!

Yet ill at ease, though Sovereign of the Will, Religion strangely felt ambition still;

Nor prized the power transmitted from on high,
Enamoured of inferior Sovereignty;

Embraced the offer mortal monarchs made,
Their throne ascended and their sceptre swayed.
Alas! ungrateful man had done her wrong,
Worn out the innocence that made her strong;
Imposed foul falsehood on her weakened sense,
And cursed her with degrading eminence!
Yes! poorly rich, and impotently great,
She sank her natural in her new estate,
Employed each weak device of human sense,
To rule the soul, and teach Omnipotence;
Controlled the spirit, as men sway the flesh,
And used their arms, and did their deeds afresh.
Her world-won children spoke their erring will,
Bade Conscience acquiesce and Thought be still;