ON

POLYGAMY.

PART the SECOND.

INTRODUCTION.

T was not before a second edition of The

IT

lyphthora made its appearance, that the writer of the following pages had serious thoughts of fitting down coolly and deliberately to contemplate its principles and tendency; for, before that, he could not tell in what point of view to confider its author : but the circumftance of a fecond edition fhews that he is ferious, and tenacious of his opinions, as well as indefatigable to bring others to a conformity with them. If those opinions had been really founded on a true interpretation of the word of God, or,

in

in other words, confonant to the spirit of the Bible and the letter of the New Teftament, they would have met no literary oppofition; but as I conceive them to be the very reverse of what is fcriptural and rational, I think oppofition becomes a duty, and I have joined in the oppofition accordingly. As those tenets are maintained with all the obftinacy which prejudice and bigotry, affifted by ingenuity and ability, are capable of, I find myself, having taken a leading part, under the neceffity of confidering particularly the matter of polygamy, not superficially, but minutely, by entering upon particulars, in order fully to detect error and defend truth.

FOR these several reafons, I cannot reft my defence of our national fyftem, with respect to marriage, entirely on those curfory remarks that I have already made, on the advanced reasoning for the adoption of polygamy: however, what has been faid will be a caveat against implicit belief, and will tend to diveft the fubject of fome foreign and heterogeneous matter artfully incorporated

with it: therefore I now proceed to confider the subject of Polygamy more at large, to fet it in a true and fcriptural light, and wholly to diveft it of that heap of absurdity with which prejudice has not only fanctioned, but obfcured it. And in this attempt, I fhall not omit any weighty argument, merely because it may have been used by others, in defence of Monogamy; but fhall intentionally adopt fome, that appear to me not to have had their full weight, merely because some circumstances have not been fufficiently attended to. As to the pamphlets lately published, which are levelled directly against Thelyphthora, what they contain, I thus publicly declare, I know. not; nor do I intend, till this is finished, to look into one of them; not out of any, disrespect to thofe publications and their authors; but that I may keep undisturbed that train of thinking fuggefted to me by the reading the Holy Scriptures, and the best Commentaries on them; in order to delineate on paper a system of rectitude, as I conceive, agreeable to reafon and common fenfe, as well as to the divine law, without the imputation

imputation of having implicitly followed partial writers. Indeed, implicitly to follow any writer, is at beft but to add an ufelefs book to the useless many already pub

lifhed; this conduct has often worse effects,

fuch as the support of error, and thereby, in time, making it facred by a fort of prefcriptive right. Yet writers, upon the same fubject, will fometimes inevitably fall into the fame way of reasoning, and into fimilar fentiments and expreffions, though they may be unacquainted with each others thoughts; but it may be presumed that they will as often reafon in different ways :-thus we have a view of the variety of arguments that learning and abilities can adduce-see the united force of them, and the utility of each in particular to the circumstances of perfons, time, and place ;—and here also we may discover the neceffity of many writers. In contemplation of this, I flatter.myself, that from all the writers against polygamy, arguments may be drawn wholly to confute, in the opinion of mankind, those brought for it. As to my own, if they contribute but a little if they contribute

any thing