Hence all theories of morality must tend toward Christianity, unless Christianity is false. Hitherto systems of morality have been constructed by infidels; and Christian writers, like Paley, have adopted their theories, and taught a scheme of morality founded upon selfishness, which is but another name for ungodliness. One object of this work is to show that a morality involving the idea of obligation cannot be constructed except upon the assumption of a God, the Creator and Moral Governor of humanity; that without this great central idea, all is mere utility and expediency, a system of means to an end, and that end man's self-development. The object here proposed is surely worthy of an effort to solve it whether it is solved is not for the author to say.

MORALITY AND THE STATE.

CHAPTER I.

FACTS THE GROUND OF ALL SCIENCE.

FACTS are the foundation of all science. No system of thought can be built up except upon facts, data, something admitted. Mathematics and geometry have their axioms, upon which rest all their reasonings and demonstrations. And yet these axioms are but facts, so simple that the statement of them secures implicit credit. Things that are equal to the same thing are equal to each other. What is this but the simple statement of a fact? We see it is so and cannot be otherwise. The same is equally true of all the axioms which lie at the foundation of all mathematics and geometry.

Facts, too, are the materials with which chemistry has to do, and it is nothing without them. Matter and its combinations are these facts, and science is the relations which exist between them and the laws which govern them. Natural philosophy has also its facts, with which it deals, and the nature and relations of which it seeks to discover. Gravitation is but a great fact upon which is built a science of the motions and relations of the heavenly bodies, as well as of matter in general. Indeed, existence itself is a fact which must lie at the foundation of all knowledge, of all science.

These facts, too, must be ultimate facts, admitted facts, data. If disputed or denied, they cease to be facts, and hence are incapable of serving as the basis of science or reasoning.

They must be admitted facts. Unless they are admitted, they cease to be facts. A fact is a thing that is, and not something that may be. Unless the starting point is fixed beyond debate or question, there is no point of departure, nothing from which an inference can be drawn. If the starting point is doubtful, so must be every deduction depending upon it.

These facts must be ultimate facts to insure absolute certainty in the final result. By ultimate fact is meant the fact of facts; that fact which underlies other facts, and explains them. If we commence reasoning upon an intermediate fact, we can have no assurance that we reason correctly; since this intermediate fact cannot be fully comprehended, unless one knows the ultimate fact upon which it depends. There were numerous facts known to the ancients from which they formed a theory of the motions of matter on the surface of the earth, as well as of the heavenly bodies; but all or most of these explanations were false, because the ultimate fact was yet unknown; and without this knowledge these intermediate facts could not be fully comprehended. But when Newton discovered gravitation, the ultimate fact, the fact upon which all these other facts depended, and by which they were all explained, in the light of which all these intermediate facts became luminous, a theory of motion, a science of astronomy became possible. The progress of chemistry is full of illustrations on this point. Indeed its progress has been obtained but by advancing as it were backwards, from intermediate to ultimate facts. Bodies have been assumed to be simple, which have since been found to be compound; and the discovery of such a fact has changed the whole science at times. This is equally true of electricity, galvanism and magnetism. They were once considered distinct powers and became the foundations of three distinct sciences; but further investigations

have shown them to be one, to depend upon the same fact, and hence the whole science has been changed. It was once said, to explain the rise of water in a pump, that nature abhorred a vacuum; but it was found that water would not rise in a vacuum beyond a certain height, while mercury and some other liquid bodies would not rise as high; hence nature did not abhor a vacuum, and this fact did not explain the rise of liquids in a vacuum. The pressure of the atmosphere being discovered, the whole mystery became as clear as light, and all exceptions and anomalies became regularities, and harmonized each with the other and with all.

Hence there are two things to be done in all scientific investigations. First-Facts are to be ascertained, understood, comprehended. Unless the facts are rightly comprehended all science based upon them must necessarily be unsound, erroneous. Second-Upon these facts so found, the mind must erect its superstructure called science, its explanation of this fact, and all facts depending upon it, and of the relations existing between them and the laws by which these relations are regulated.

The errors of science have arisen from hasty generalizations, from assuming a fact to be an ultimate fact, which was not so; and all progress has consisted in carrying back the mind from these intermediate facts to ultimate facts, and then from such ultimate fact, or at least so considered for the time, again forward in a theory or system explanatory of all facts depending upon this so called ultimate fact. Unless, however, the fact assumed was an ultimate fact, the system built upon it must lead to an ultimate absurdity, to a point where facts were found not to be explained upon the theory so formed. To correct this difficulty, the premise, the ultimate fact had to be reëxamined, when it would be found that there was a fact more general lying still further back, which explained and reconciled these apparent absurdities and contradictions. And the progress of all science has consisted in these alternate movements backward and then in advance, until that fact should be

found which explained and rendered explainable all mediate facts depending upon it.

What is true of physical science is equally true of intellectual and moral science or philosophy. Intellectual and moral science must have its facts, mediate and ultimate facts, or such a science is not possible. You might as well erect a magnificent cathedral without a foundation, as a science without facts. There must be something to begin with, something to start from, some hook on which to hang the first link of the chain; and this something can be nothing but a fact or facts. This would seem to be self-evident, incapable of any other demonstration or proof than the mere state

ment of it.

The early systems of moral science went wrong because they severally started upon some misconception of fact. They assumed some fact as explaining human existence and the universe, and reasoned from this assumption, and became of necessity involved in the wildest absurdities, in results directly in conflict with palpable fact, with human consciousness.

The problem to be solved is the existence of man and the world. The Pyrrhonist assumed a world of necessity, bound together by the inevitable law of cause and effect; in which man was imprisoned, and from which there was for him no more escape than for the shell embedded in the rock. Hence there was nothing man could do; he acted only as he was acted upon. For him there could be no right or wrong, no obligation, no crime, no sin. Man might be unfortunate, never criminal.

The Epicurean on the other hand, admitted the existence of a certain degree of ability-the ability to avoid inconveniences, pain, and in that way to secure for himself a certain amount of pleasure; pleasure being in his system simply the absence of painful, and the presence of pleasurable sensations and emotions. To accomplish this, man must withdraw himself as much as possible from the crushing movement of society, thus escaping all danger of in