tution, as a pattern of marriage—I am of courfe led to conclude from hence alfo against the doctrine of a plurality of wives at once. In this SCRIPTURAL ENQUIRY, in which I have been wholly unbiaffed, and actuated only by the love of truth-for I do declare I am ready to embrace TRUTH, on which fide foever I may find it-I say, in this Enquiry, on the footing of Scripture, the evidence has come out clearly and fatisfactorily in favour of MONOGAMY; for which reason, on the authority of the word of God, I recommend it as a practice worthy of Chrif tians;-a rule from which I never can in confcience depart, let human reasoning be what it will. When I confider the laws of Chrif tian states, as prohibiting polygamy, I cannot then but fo far become their encomiast as to fay, that, in this particular, they are holy, wife, fcriptural, just, and good, confonant to reafon and nature, and best calculated for the good of fociety, which should be the foundation of all laws. CHA P. СНАР. III. POLYGAMY repugnant to NATURE. IT appears to me to be a matter of no small confequence, in the difcuffion of the prefent question, to know what is agreeable to nature, with respect to marriage; and that, fubordinate to the law of God, ought to be paid attention to. I am aware, that in modern language, natural and unnatural, from the loofe application of them, are very indeterminate in their meaning; which confufion of ideas has rather sprung from the nice and imaginary diftinctions of human reasoning, with refpect to what is adventitious, or original, in the inclinations of man in a state of fociety, who is naturally a focial being-than from any real ambiguity. But without entering deep into enquiries of this kind, probably we may learn fome little of the nature of man from the analogy of other animals; and which, with what we may learn immediately from himself, may perhaps perhaps be fufficient to establish some hypothefis with regard to matrimonial connec tions. ALL experience teacheth, that the connections of the animal world, in general, between males and females, that are left to range their native woods, are between two only, for the purposes of propagation and prefervation of their species. These ends being foon answered, thofe connections are only temporary:-indeed, the union of the two only feems general through the whole creation. I draw no conclufion from what happens among domeftic animals-I mean thofe immediately under the direction of mankind because it is evident that arbitrary acts, founded on convenience, have restrained nature with respect to them-which is certainly a matter of neceffity. At the creation we read of all living creatures being in pairs, and so they were preserved in Noah's ark it may also be remarked, that thus connected, the male and his female, were ordered to be fruitful and multiply." It likewife ought not to escape the obfervation of dili gent gent enquirers, that those pairs are described by the fame Hebrew words, which we tranflate, in other parts of the Bible, a man and his wife—x 'X-virum et uxorem ejus. Mont.-which circumftance feems to point out clearly the intention of GOD and NA TURE. : IF mankind then have those defires and feelings in common with other animalsthe fame instinctive powers and physical propenfities-they will by nature be led to monogamy for propagating and preserving their fpecies. But mankind having, in addition, mental and focial powers, which, not offering violence to, but acting in concert with, other phyfical powers, ripen what was temporary with respect to other animals, into a lafting connection. LEST, by pursuing this argument, I should offend the delicacy of human feelings, I will now confine myself to man, as he is in himself:-indeed, if we would know him perfectly, we must attend to himself; but as with him fociety appears as old as the in dividual, dividual, being a natural propenfity-the fource of civil establishments we must admit that mankind have physical, mental, and focial faculties, capable of high improve ment, without changing their nature:-a ftate of fociety then cannot be contrary to a state of nature. Allowing this, we are neceffarily led to another truth equally evident, that human faculties, not in a ftate of improvement, may be in a state of debasement, from the introduction of vices, wrong fyftems of education, or the total neglect of youth. Now, as the degradation of manor, in other words, of nature-may happen from the luxurious refinement of being highly polished, and the barbarous ideas of uncultivated minds :-it seems the fafeft way to look for originality in the manners of those nations that are equally remote from barbarism and high civilization. THE study of the manners of antient nations has always maintained an importance in the province of human learning; because it has been supposed that here only can be attained a thorough knowledge of mankind, unbiaffed Y |