ing the aspect of such a day upon
themselves; how much they will lose if there be none; perhaps the
bulk would wish that it could be proved that it would never come! It
has been from a wish to escape great speculative perplexities, connected
with the divine administration, and not in relation to man's deserts,
that the question has been argued. When dictated by other feelings,
the conviction of a future state has been quite as generally the
utterance of remorse and fear, the response of an accusing conscience,
as of hope and aspiration; and derives, perhaps, a terrible significance
from that circumstance. But it has certainly not been, in the Christian,
the result of any absurd expectation of virtues to be rewarded, or rights
to be redressed. As to the Christian, though he feels that he would not,
and dare not, go to the divine tribunal with any such absurd plea as
Mr. Newman is pleased to put into his mouth,--though he cannot impeach
the divine goodness,--he none the less feels that that goodness, if
this scene be all, is open to very grievous impeachment in relation to
millions who have suffered much, and done no wrong, and to multitudes
more who have inflicted infinite wrong, and suffered next to nothing;
and they would fain, if they could, get over difficulties which
Mr. Newman chooses, from the mere exigencies of his theology, to
represent as no difficulties at all. To escape them or to solve them is
the thing principally in the minds of those who contend for a day
of recompense; not the imaginary compensation of individual wrongs. I do
contend that, if this world be all, the divine administration in many
points is more hopelessly opposed to our moral instincts, and to all
our notions of equity and benevolence, than any thing on which you
spiritualists are accustomed to justify your censure of Scripture.
You ought, as Harrington says, to go further."
____

July 30. I was much interested yesterday morning by a conversation
between Harrington and two pleasant youths, acquaintances of Mr.
Fellowes, both younger by three or four years than either he or
Harrington. They are now at college, and have imbibed in different
degrees that curious theory which, professedly recognizing
Christianity (as consigned to the New Testament) as a truly
divine revelation, yet asserts that it is intermingled with a large
amount of error and absurdity, and tells each man to eliminate
the divine element for himself. According to this theor