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There is no immorality in this belief; on the contrary, the most incalculable benefits have accrued from it to religion and to society. If my friend say that it is impious to ascribe to man a power which belongs to God alone, I answer, that if God choose to give such power to man, it would be impious in man to deny such power to God, and a grievous sin of disobedience, to refuse to use it. If he persist in saying, that man cannot be empowered by God to forgive sin in the sacrament of penance, I will ask him, why then is man empowered to forgive sin in the sacrament of baptism? I ask, why does he quarrel with Catholics for employing the words "I absolve thee from thy sins," when Episcopalians do the same? Here is the church of England book of common prayer; and in it, I read as follows: "When the minister visits any sick person, the latter should be moved to make a special confession of his sins, if he feels his conscience troubled with any weighty matter; after which confession, the priest shall absolve him, if he humbly and heartily desire it, after this sort: "Our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath left power to his church, to absolve all sinners who truly repent and believe in him, of his great mercy, forgive thee thine offences, and by his authority committed to me, I ABSOLVE THEE FROM ALL THY SINS, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," Amen. Soon after king James I. presented to the world, in his own person, the anomaly of head and member of the English church, and lord spiritual and temporal of the realm, he asked his prelates at Hampton court, what authority this church claimed in the article of absolution from sin? (Mark-the new Peter did not know his powers!) Archbishop Whitgift began to bamboozle him with an account of the general confession and absolution in the communion service; with which the king being dissatisfied, Bancroft bishop of London, fell on his knees and said, "It becomes us to deal plainly with your majesty; there is, also, in the book, a more particular and personal absolution in the visiting of the sick. Not only the confessions of Augsburgh, Bohemia, and Saxony, retain and allow it, but also Mr. CALVIN doth approve both such a general and such a private confession and absolution." "I exceedingly well approve it, replied his majesty, it being an apostolical and godly ordinance." Bancroft was right in quoting the Augsburgh confession, for the Lutherans, the real Simon Pure of the reformation, in the confession of faith, and apology for that confession, expressly teach, "that absolution is no less a sacrament than baptism and the Lord's supper; that particular absolution is to be retained in confession, that to reject it is the error of the Novatian heretics; and that by the power of the keys, sins are remitted, not only in the sight of the church, but in the sight of God." Luther himself, in his catechism, required, that the penitent in confession should expressly declare that he believes "the forgiveness of the priest to be the forgiveness of God."

On this topic, before taking up the voluminous evidence before me for the doctrine of the Episcopalians, on this side the great water, I must produce evidence, not to be contradicted by the champion of all Protestantism. It is that of the redoubted Chillingworth. Treating of the text, John xx. 22, 3, he asks: "Can any man be so unreasonable as to imagine, that when our Savior, in so solemn a manner, having first breathed upon his disciples, thereby conveying and insinuating the Holy Ghost into their hearts, renewed unto them, or rather confirmed that glorious commission, whereby he delegated to them an authority of bind

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ing and loosing sins upon earth, can any one think, I say, so unworthily of our Savior, as to esteem these words of his for no better than compliment? Therefore, in obedience to his gracious will, and as I am warranted and enjoined by my holy mother, the church of England, (you see Protestants use the style holy mother church' as well as Catholics) I beseech you that by your practice and use, you will not suffer that commis sion which Christ hath given to his ministers, to be a vain form of words, without any sense under them. When you find yourselves charged and oppressed, have recourse to your spiritual physician, and freely disclose the nature and malignity of your disease. And come not to him only with such a mind as you would go to a learned man, as one that can speak comfortable things to you; but as to one that hath authority, delegated to him from God himself, to absolve and acquit you of your sins. If you shall do this, assure your souls, that the understanding of men, is not able to conceive the transport, and excess of joy and comfort, which shall accrue to that man's heart, who is persuaded he hath been made partaker of this blessing."

An accredited writer in the New York Churchman, of the 7th Jan. one of the ablest periodicals in the United States, quotes the most convincing texts from Origen, Cyprian, Basil and Gregory, under the head of antiquity.

Origen (flor. A. D. 220) in Hom. 10 in Numb.

"Laicus si peccet, ipse suum non potest auferre peccatum, sed indiget sacerdote, ut possit remissionem peccatorum accipere." The same father, in his seventh homily on Luke, "Si enim hoc fecerimus et revelaverimus peccata nostra, non solum DEO; sed et his, qui possunt mederi vulneribus nostris atque peccatis; delebuntur peccata nostra ab eo, qui ait, ecce delebo, ut nubem, iniquitates tuas et sicut caliginem peccata tua." (Lat. ver. ex. Taylor.)

St. Cyprian (flor. A. D. 240) in lib. de lapsis.

"Confiteantur singuli, quæso vos, fratres, delictum suum; dum adhuc, qui deliquit, in sæculo est, dum admitti ejus confessio potest, dum satisfactio, et remissio facta per sacerdotes apud Dominum grata est."

St. Basil (flor. A. D. 360) in Regul. explic. et Reg. Brev.; 228. Δεῖ τῶν τεταγμένων ἔκαστον μηδὲν μὲν τῆς ψυχῆς κινημα αποκρυφον φυλάσσειν ἀλλ' ἀπογυμνουν τᾷ κρυπτὰ τῆς καρδίας τοις πιστευομενοις επιμελείσθαι τῶν ἀσθενούντων. Αναγκαίον εξομολογεῖσθαι τα ἁμαρτήματα τοὺς πεπιστευομένοις την οικονομίαν τῶν μυστηρίων του Θεου.

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St. Gregory M. (flor. A. D. 590) in hom. 26 in Octav. Pascho. "Causæ pensandæ sunt, et cum ligandi atque solvendi potestas exercenda, videndum est, quæ culpa ante, quæ sit pœnitentia sequuta, post culpam; ut quos omnipotens Deus per compunctionis gratiam vivificat, illos pastoris sententia absolvat: tunc enim vera est absolutio præsidentis cum eterni arbitrium sequiturjudicis." "When St. James exhorts all christians to confess their sins to one another,' certainly it is more agreeable to all spiritual ends, that this be done rather to the curate of souls, than to the ordinary brethren. The church of England is no way engaged against it, but admires it and practises it. The Calvinist churches did not practise it much, because they knew not well how to divest it from its evil appendages, which are put to it by the customs of the world, and to which it is too much exposed by the interests, weaknesses, and partialities of men. But they commending it, shew they would use it willingly, if they could order it unto edification. "Interim quin sistant se pastori oves, quoties sacram cœnam participare volunt, adeo non reclamo, ut maxime velim hoc ubique observari." Calvin. Institut. liber. iii. c. 4. Sec. 12, 13. And for the Lutheran churches, that it is their practice, we may see in Chemintios, 2. part. Gan. Conc. Trid. Cap. 5. de Pœnit. who is noted to this purpose by Bellarmine; only they all consent (how very consistently) that it is not necessary, nor of divine institution." Jeremy Taylor of auricular confession.

"For they who are spotted with sins, unless they be cured with the priestly authority, cannot be in the bosom of the church," said Fabianus Martyr (cited by Taylor.)

Translation of the above extracts from the Latin fathers.

(1) If a layman sin, he cannot himself take away his sin, but has need of a priest, that he may obtain the remission of his sins.

(2) For if we do this, and reveal ourselves not only to God, but to those who can heal our wounds and sins, our sins will be blotted out by him, who says: "Behold, I will take away your iniquities as a cloud, and your sins as darkness."

(3) I beseech you, brethren, let each one confess his sins, while he who has sinned is yet in life, while his confession may be admitted, while the satisfaction and remission made by the priests is ratified with God.

(4) It behoveth each subject to conceal no passion of his soul, but to reveal the hidden things of his heart to those entrusted with the care of the infirm.

(5) The causes are to be weighed, and when the power of loosing and binding is to be exercised, we must see what cause preceded, and what penance has followed the fault, that the sentence of the pastor may absolve those whom the Omnipotent God, by the grace of compunction, enlivens: for then the absolution of the minister is correct, when he follows the decree of the eternal Judge.

[For English divines, see close of last speech of Saturday, January 21.]

THURSDAY, January 19th, Half-past 9 A. M.

The 3d Proposition being read—

"She is the Babylon of John, the Man of Sin of Paul, and the Empire of the Youngest Horn of Daniel's Sea Monster,"

MR. CAMPBELL rose and said:

I could have wished, my fellow citizens, that this proposition had been nearer the close of this discussion. But as my nine propositions were first arranged as themes for lectures, rather than as propositions for debate; I could not materially alter either the verbiage or order, after I had been invited to discuss them with my present opponent. Without further ceremony, I proceed to sustain the proposition.

I am not insensible of the difficulties and objections we have to encounter, when we presume to prove any thing from the figurative and symbolic language of prophecy. The difficulties are not, however, so great as at first view may appear. Symbols are exempt from some of the objections lying against literal descriptions--They need no translation. Sun, moon, and stars speak the same sublime language to every eye, and suggest the same devout and lofty emotions to every heart. A lion, a leopard, a bear,—an earthquake, a tempest, a swelling sea, are types of the same ideas, and call forth the same thrilling sensations in every spectator. Hence the wisdom in selecting appropriate symbols of the persons and scenes which fill up the great drama of human existence, and diversify the prophetic chart, which the revealing Spirit holds up to the eye of the diligent and faithful student of the word and providence of God.

But, as on a globe of 13 inches diameter, the earth with all its oceans and continents, its mountains and valleys, its lakes and islands, cities and districts, can be displayed in the proper positions and relative sizes of all its parts, and in an instant presented to the eye; so in a symbol, can be grouped together all the grand characteristics of a people or an event, and so accurately and comprehensively, that by a single glance of the eye more can be learned than from the perusal of a volume.

This is, indeed, an advantage which figurative representation has over that which is purely literal and descriptive. By a glance of the eye on a globe, or a map, one can have a better idea of a country, or of the earth, than from the reading of volumes; so by considering a symbolic representation, we may acquire a more vivid and comprehensive view of a subject than by the perusal of many pages.

There is but one eye in the universe that pierces all nature through; to which the past, the present, and the future are equally plain. God alone knows the future. He has revealed it. In the seventh chapter of Daniel, now lying before me, we have one great meridian line, which runs from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth, and from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the proudest of Assyrian kings, to the ultimate triumph of the Gospel throughout the whole earth.

We shall rapidly sketch the contents of this chapter, which embraces more of human destiny than can be gleaned from all human records. Daniel is in vision translated to the Mediterranean-the great seasymbol of people in commotion; as the earth is of the people at rest. There can be no more appropriate or striking picture of human society than the sea. Sometimes it is tranquil and smooth as oil, like a splendid mirror reflecting the azure vault of heaven: anon it is ruffled by a gentle breeze that ripples softly on its bosom: again, it swells and foams and rages in huge mountain waves that strike with a sublime awe the eye of every beholder. So the people who, to day are all in peace and amity in the smooth current of their daily avocations, by some evil wind or passion are swollen into some mob, or tumult, or tremendous conflict, which for a moment rends the social compact, destroys all confidence, and jeopardizes the best interests of all. Thus in the symbol now before us;-the winds, the passions of men, are in some great tumult. They strive upon the great sea. Four terrific and appalling savage monsters in quick succession rise.

They were all sea monsters, for God's symbol of a tyrannical government has always been a savage wild beast. The first was like a lion with eagle's wings the fortunes of this eagle-winged lion coming out of a tempestuous sea, fitly symbolized Assyria in its rise, glory, and decline, after the dynasties of more than fourteen hundred years.

The savage beast, like to a bear, raising itself on one side, standing with three ribs in its mouth, viz. Babylon, Lydia and Egypt, represents, because of its rapacity and cruelty, the empire of the Medes and Persians. This rose from the sea which overwhelmed the Assyrian power: and it continued for two hundred years.

A leopard-like monster, with four heads and four wings upon its back, indicates the rapid conquests of Alexander. His short-lived empire of ten years, reared upon the ruins of the Medo-Persian, and spotted with various nations, finally partitioned among his own four principal generals, is most appositely represented by the symbol of the sixth verse.

But a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly, having great iron teeth which devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it, diverse from all the beasts that were before it, having ten horns, portrays the Roman empire in those fortunes connected with the principal figure in the group. Interpreters are as much agreed about the import of these symbols as are lexicographers in defining the ordinary words of human speech. For, although they may differ about the time when, or the place where, one of these symbols may rise, or fall, there is scarcely any controversy on the symbols themselves, or subjects to which they refer.

But the principal figure in these four monsters remains yet to be described. "I considered," says the prophet, "and, behold, there came up among them (rather, "behind them" and unobserved) another LITTLE HORN, before which, three of the first horns

were plucked up by the roots." Horns, as defined by the Spirit, mean kings or kingdoms. The Roman empire was first partitioned between ten kings or states, after the irruption of the northern barbarians.— Pepin, the king of France, gave to a pope of Rome one horn, viz. the exarchate of Ravenna. Charlemagne gave to Peter's successor the kingdom of the Lombards-the second horn; and Lewis the Pious confirmed to the Pope the State of Rome, a third horn of the original ten. Thus, before the little horn became very conspicuous, three horns made room for it, and it occupied their places.

But the eleventh horn is particularly described in the words following, to wit: "In this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and it had a mouth speaking great things." Here we have a horn, a government, full of eyes,-sagacious, politic, cunning: and eloquent, persuasive, boastful, rhetorical, for such are the chief attributes of the horn full of eyes, having a mouth, &c. The identification of this horn is the grand point before us. We shall, therefore, hastily seek out its distinguishing attributes.

By reading the chapter with, now and then, the interposition of a word, we shall see that the peculiarities of the little horn are clearly and definitely marked.

"I beheld," says Daniel, "I contemplated the horns till the thrones were cast down (rather set up: as in the Vulgate, positi sunt,) and the ANCIENT OF DAYS did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool, his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him, thousand thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him, the judgment was set and the books were opened. I beheld then, because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake, I beheld till the beast was slain and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame." Mark, the entire and complete destruction of the beast of the little horn is assigned to his arrogance and blasphemy, because of the words which he spake against God and his saints. The other beasts simply lost their dominion, but their lives were spared. "As concerning the other beasts, they had their dominion taken away, but their lives were prolonged." So ends the general statement concerning the whole, and the broken, and the restored, empire of the fourth beast. But to proceed to the second part of the vision. "I saw," &c. "One like a SON OF MAN-(bar-enosh) came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him, and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. I asked the meaning of all this, so he told me and made me understand the interpretation of the things." We have now an interpretation authorized and confirmed. "These great beasts which are four, are four kings which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the MOST HIGH shall take (receive) the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever-even for ever and ever." "Then I would know the truth (meaning) of the fourth beast (empire,) and of the ten horns; and of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.' The interpreting angel then explains this portion of the vision. "The

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