There can be no pleasure in any enjoyments which the heart cannot
approve, and which tends to sink, in our estimation the object of our
love: obstruct the idea of perfection and our enthusiasm vanishes: take
our esteem and love is at an end.
* * * * *
* * * *
+ADDRESS of the TRANSLATOR+
+of+
+The VICTIM of MAGICAL DELUSION+, &c.
To His Thinking Readers.
Before the Translator takes leave of the Reader, who will not withhold a
tear of tender pity from the Hero of the preceding history, when
informed that the mournful tale of his deviations and hapless fate is
not the offspring of imaginary fiction, but founded on historical facts,
recorded in Abbe Vertot’s excellent history of the Revolution in
Portugal; he deems it his duty as a man, and as a Christian, to put his
young friends, who will peruse his translation, in a way to avoid the
snares of superstition, the dire effects of which are the theme of the
preceding history. A careful attention to the four following principles,
will be the surest means of steering clear of the dangerous rocks and
quicksands of superstition, on which the happiness of so many mortals
has been wrecked; the Translator, therefore, begs his readers who value
their peace of mind, never to forget
_That Order is the Supreme Law of Nature_. The motion of the celestial
bodies, the ecliptical course of our globe, the regular change of day
and night, and of the different seasons, and every object we behold in
Nature’s boundless realms, enforce the truth of that principle on the
mind of the attentive observer. We no where behold effects without a
sufficient cause, no where causes without proportionate effects; no
where vacancies nor irregular leaps in the series and concatenation of
things; no where beings that are insulated and unallied to the whole; no
where supernatural effects nor _immediate_ interpolations of the
Godhead, where the regular powers of Nature are sufficient to effect the
great views of the Creator. On the contrary, we behold every where the
most indissoluble union, and the exactest proportion between cause and
effect, every where the most admirable connection between all the
smaller and the lesser parts of the whole, and between all the mutations
and changes that take place therein: we behold every where fixed,
immutable laws, after which all the works of God, the sun and the
smallest grain of sand, the worm and man, the king of creation, move and
act, every where great ends and means that are proportionate to them.
Who can examine the world, without perceiving the most perfect order
whereby it is ruled? And what reasonable man would conclude from what he
_does not know, nor can comprehend_ of the contrary of those things
which he _can_ see and examine? How was it possible that man could
successfully carry on his occupations and labours without this
unalterable order of things? How could he know the will of his Creator,
and how execute it? how conclude with the least security from what is
past, of what will be? how compute the success of his undertakings,
meditations and exertions? What a dreadful scene of confusion would a
world exhibit, wherein the series and the connections of things were
constantly interrupted through miracles, or the influence of superior
beings. Order is, and ever will be, the supreme law of Nature; respect,
therefore, this law, take it for your guide on your pilgrimage, and you
will avoid the deviations of superstition.
Superstition misconceives this order of things, expects effects without
causes, or from such causes as have no relation to them; it arbitrarily
transforms the nature of things, separates what is indissolubly
connected, and connect in the same arbitrary manner things which
evidently contradict each other, or are not connected at all.
Superstition obliterates the natural limits of created beings, imputing
to them qualities and powers which they do not, nor can possess, if they
shall be and continue to be what they really are. The superstitious
expects every where miracles and exceptions from the stated rules of
Nature, and the more wild and confused his fancies are, the more
important solutions of mysteries do they appear to him to promise. But
is not this scorning the laws of the Supreme Ruler of the world, and
censuring the order of things which is founded thereupon? Is not this
exposing the world, which is the work of the Supreme wisdom and
goodness, to all the dangers and confusions of blind fatality, and
destroying all dependance on our reasoning and conclusions, on our
actions, hopes and expectations? Is such a manner of thinking consistent
with a sound knowledge of God, and of the ways of Providence? If you
wish to avoid the delusions and the snares of superstition, that bane of
human happiness, of good order, and of peace of mind, O! then respect
Order as the supreme law of Nature, as the unalterable will of her
Creator and Ruler! Make yourselves acquainted with the regulation of the
world, and the eternal laws after which it is governed; suspect every
thing that is contrary to the regular course of Nature, and do not
foolishly dream that it is in the power of mortal man to change or
abrogate it by means of certain words and formulas, or of certain
mysterious ceremonies. Endeavour to trace out the natural cause of every
effect, and if you cannot find it, at least take care not to yield to
the self-conceited idea, that there exists no natural cause, because you
are too short-sighted to see it. Let your system of reasoning be
governed by the same accurate connection, the same natural combination
and order you behold in the whole creation, and you will not be
surprised by self-delusion, or the deceptions of impostors.
_Reason is the greatest prerogative of Man_; a second truth that
powerfully can guard us against the wiles of superstition.
What distinguishes us more eminently from all other inhabitants of our
globe, what renders us more the resemblance of our Maker than _Reason?_
the faculty of tracing out the causes of things, of forming just ideas
of their connections with each other, and of deducing firm conclusions
from what we know, of what we do not know? Our sensible organs and
sensations we have in common with the beasts of the field; reason only
renders us superior to them. Reason enables us to discover the delusions
of our senses, or to compare and adjust the impressions we have received
from external objects. By the light of reason we can investigate the
origin of our feelings, trace out their secret causes and their turns,
and raise them to clear notions. Assisted by reason, we can govern every
other faculty of our mind, strengthen or weaken, and direct it in a
manner which is most favourable for the discovery and examination of
truth. Without reason every natural phenomenon would confound us, and
every uncommon effect it produces fill our soul with fear and
consternation; without reason we should be the sport of our own passions
and of those of others.
Superstition does, however, not argue thus. The superstitious and the
vile disseminator of superstition, despises reason, decries that sacred
prerogative of man, exaggerates her imperfections and weaknesses, hurls
her from the throne on which the Creator has placed her, and raises
sensation and imagination upon it. The superstitious will not think, not
examine nor draw just conclusions; every picture that heats his fancy;
every appearance that blinds his senses; every obscure idea that makes
his blood ferment, is well received by him; he prefers it to every
principle of reason, and every incontestible truth, because they do not
amuse, nor heat his senses and his imagination. The more mysterious, the
more inconceivable a phenomenon, an experience, doctrine or system is,
the more eagerly he takes hold of, and the more firmly does he rely upon
them, because they leave his reason at rest, and promise him great
discoveries without trouble and exertion. But can this be called
honouring human nature and her Creator? is this valuing and making a
proper use of the prerogatives that ennoble human nature? Do we not
degrade ourselves to an inferior sort of beings when trusting to no
other guides but to our senses and feelings, and scorning the dictates
of reason? Is it to be wondered at, when the superstitious entangles
himself in the mazes of delusion, and falls a victim to a self-created
tyrant? If you are desirous to avoid these dark and perilous labyrinths,
if you wish to pursue the road to eternity with peace of mind and
safety, O! then, honour reason as the greatest treasure of man, and
maintain the dignity this gift of all-bountiful heaven confers upon you.
Reject, without hesitation, whatever is contrary to generally adopted
principles of sound reasoning, however charming and seducing it be in
many other respects. Suspect every thing of which you can form no
distinct and clear idea, or no notion at all, every thing that obliges
you to trust merely to an obscure sensation, to your own feelings, or to
those of other people, or to vague pictures of imagination. Suspect
every thing that shuns the investigation of the impartial and cool
examiner; every thing that conceals itself under the veil of
incomprehensible mysteries; suspect every one that attempts to preoccupy
you against reason, and advises you not to be guided by her torch in
your opinion. If the secrets which are offered to you really are
incomprehensible, then you have no interest in them; if they are useful
and important truths, then they must admit examination, and be founded
on firm arguments.
(To be concluded in our next.)
* * * * *
* * * *