9. Mr. Hobbs, (the celebrated moral philanthropist !) says, "that every man has a right to all things, and may lawfully get them if he can!"

10. Lord Bolingbroke states that self-love is the principle of morality: that modesty is only vanity! That polygamy is a part of the religion of nature!

11. Mr. Hume maintained that self-denial, self-mortification, and humility, are not virtues; but are useless and mischievous; that pride, self-valuation, &c. are virtues! That adultery must be practised, if men would obtain all the advantages of life!

12. Both Voltaire and Helvetius advocated the unlimited gratification of the sensual appetites!

13. Rousseau made feelings his standard of morality! "I have only to consult myself," said he, "concerning what I do. All that I feel to be right, is right," &c. This is exactly the principle of morality taught as the Tammany Hall rule, where it is said "whatever gives me pain is wrong, whatever gives me pleasure is right!"

14. Lastly, comes Mr. Robert Dale Owen, with his rules of morality, one of which is, that a man may throw off his wife, as often as he would his garment, when worn out!

MOSES. When it is recollected, that Moses was ignorant of science, and yet that he has given a scientific description of the creation, &c. no one can entertain a doubt, as to his having been divinely inspired. For proof that his writings are strictly consistent with the deepest researches of natural philosophy, see Sun. Light. Earth.

Moses, so far from having been ambitious, most re

luctantly accepted God's commands to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. (Gen. iii. 11. 13; iv. 1.) Moreover he never would have (as a mere human general) discouraged his people, by prophesying their destruction, unless he was what he professed to be, viz., the servant of God. Deut. xxviii. 20, 21. 25. 28. 37. These predictions are even now fulfilling. See Prophecy.

MEEKEST. Where it is said that Moses was the meekest of men, the original word signifies "oppressed," "afflicted," &c.; and Moses was really afflicted and oppressed, by the disobedience and rebellion of the Jews.

That Moses wrote or composed the five books attributed to him, and commonly called the Pentateuch, is as certain, as any historical fact possibly could be; possessing as much evidence as the nature of the case could admit. The very enemies of the Jews, long before the Christian era, admitted him to be the great Jewish lawgiver; and Josephus, who wrote A. D. 64, in his work against Apion, says, 66 we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing from, and contradicting one another, (as the Greeks have,) but only twenty-two books, which contain all the records of all the past times, which are justly believed to be divine, and of them, FIVE BELONG TO MOSES." &c. (Whiston's Josephus, p. 581.) These twenty-two books constitute what we call the Old Testament.

THE DEATH of Moses is recorded in the last chapter of Deuteronomy; this has afforded the ignorant another argument against the Bible. The fact is, the Bible was not originally divided into chapters and verses, nor had each book a distinct heading or title: hence, subsequent transcribers and compilers, in some instances, thought it best to add the commencement of the subsequent book,

so far as it related to the author of the previous book, to the said book; thus, the first part of the book of Joshua was placed at the end of Deuteronomy, which Moses wrote, because it related the death of Moses; hence it has been called the last chapter of Deuteronomy: not imagining it possible that any age of the world would produce such an idiot as to argue from this circumstance, that Moses was not the author of Deuteronomy! The same occurs in the last of Joshua, which was evidently written by the author of the book of Judges, and added, for the above reason, to the book of Joshua.

Lastly, the style in which Moses wrote, when speaking of himself, either in the third person singular, or by name, as thus, "Moses said unto the Lord," or "the Lord said unto Moses," by no means shows that he did not write those books that constitute the Pentateuch: for it was the common way of authors to speak of themselves: thus wrote XENOPHON; thus wrote Josephus; and thus wrote Cæsar, in the third person singular: it was Cæsar made a speech; Cæsar crossed the Rhine; Cæsar invaded Britain, &c. &c. See Book. Bible. Pentateuch.

N.

NAMES. Among the Jews, a number of names or designations were given to persons, places, mountains, &c. Paul was called Saul; Peter, Simon; Lebbeus, Thaddeus, &c. &c.; Golgotha, Calvary, &c. A common term of designation was, "the son of " such a person; and the person referred to, was not necessarily the actual father, but might be the grand, or greatgrandfather: in fact, that ancestor who was the most

prominent character of him, his great-grandchildren were generally said to be the sons. Thus Christ was repeatedly called (not by his disciples, but by supplicants,)" the son of David," although he was removed from David by upwards of thirty progenitors. (Matt. xv. 22; xx. 30, 31; xxii. 45; xxi. 9.) Another peculiarity among the Jews, was, that they reckoned their kindred both by natural generation, and legal succession, through inheritance, or marriage; and moreover did not record the names of women in their pedigrees. When a family ended with a daughter, they inserted in their tables the name of her husband instead of her own. From this circumstance it is, that a son-in-law is sometimes accounted in Scripture "a son." (See Genealogy.) Thus Luke states that "Salathiel" was the son of Neri, when in fact he was only his son-in-law, being actually the son of Zechonias, as recorded by Matthew. (Matt. i. 12; Luke, iii. 27.) The same occurs in reference to Joseph, who was the son of Jacob, and the son-in-law of Heli, the father of his wife, Mary.

These peculiarities in the Jewish method of writing and speaking, have been wantonly used by the enemies of truth, in endeavouring to deceive the ignorant, and lead them to revile their Creator, and despise His authority. See Deist. Mary.

NATURE, Laws of. Infidels talk much about the laws of nature, and most ignorantly say, they are always constant and uniform. So far from this being the case, the vital laws, which constitute a most important class, are, according to the celebrated physiologist BICHAT, "scarcely ever the same; and are at every instant undergoing some change in degree and kind." And as to the physical laws, we have only to observe that, within the

NAZARENE. NEW TESTAMENT. NOD. NUMBERS. 291

last century, not less than thirteen stars, none of these below the sixth magnitude, seem totally to have perished; forty to have changed their magnitude, becoming either much larger or much smaller; and ten new stars have appeared. See Good's Book of Nature. Every argument, therefore, built upon the uniform or constant course of nature, must be erroneous and absurd. See Morality. Miracles. Experience.

NAZARENE, a name given, by way of reproach, to the Lord Jesus, in consequence of it having been erroneously supposed, that he was born in Nazareth. Matth. ii. 23. But this very mistake of his enemies, (if it may be so called,) was literally fulfilling the prophecies respecting the condition and character of the Messiah; for the term Nazarene, signifies a poor, despised, rejected, man of sorrows. So it was foretold, 760 years before the Christian ora, that Christ should be. Isaiah, liii.

NEW TESTAMENT. See Testament.

NOD. See Cain.

NUMBERS. As in common history, so in the Bible, the principal number is often given, and the smaller or odd number, omitted. This we find to be the case sometimes in the very same chapter, where the charge of contradiction could not possibly be advanced. Thus in Judges, xx. 35, the Benjamites that were slain, are said to be 25,100; but in the very same chapter, by the very same writer, (ver. 4. 6,) the number is stated at only 25,000!

The numbering of Israel and Judah by DAVID, is related in 2 Sam. xxiv. 1, thus; "Again the anger of the