Excerpt from Morality

The best stimulant to awaken and develop man's intelligence would be teaching a knowledge of the natural laws. An understanding of the power of the Infinite Being manifested in the immensity of creation, could not fail to call forth the desire to obey, love, and adore Nature's God, whose wisdom is so manifest in the variety of combinations, perfect harmony, and exquisite beauty which the universe presents, His goodness in the abundant provision made for the innumerable and varied wants of all living and organized beings, and His justice in the fact that He governs the whole world by these universal and invariable laws, the observance of which, on the part of man, produces its own reward - happiness, and the infraction of which carries with it its own proportionate punishment - misery: thus at once demonstrating to man the wisdom, justice, and benevolence of the Supreme Ruler. One of the saddest sights in all the world, if not the very saddest, is that of a soul conquered by evil instead of rising above it, and believing in the potentialities of good in every man till they are rendered abortive by his own weakness, my object is to stimulate, by attracting attention to its importance, a more general desire on the part of mankind, not the exclusive few "but the mass, " to the study of their own constitutions, their position in the world, and how best to regulate their conduct so as to avoid misery whilst therein. Many will dissent, owing to their theological opinions, from my conclusion. I must ask of all such to bear the object in mind - viz., the elevation of man's moral nature, and thereby bring out the religious element within him. Our aim is the same, but where Christianity seems to have failed - seems to have lost the power, I suggest a means whereby the greatest danger of our times, "Indifferentism, " may be checked, by showing to mankind that the laws of God are never infringed with impunity, and proving to them the wisdom, justice, and invariable operation of law in relation to all created things, and so thereby lead them to the worship and adoration of their Creator.

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