ellow-men, and everything
around him! and, how unable would he be even to pursue his studies for
want of those instruments, books, and appliances which a more advanced
state of society alone can produce! A revelation of this kind would
clearly not be a boon, but an injury to him. It may be observed,
moreover, that a revelation, adapted to the knowledge even of a Newton,
would neither exactly correspond with facts, nor obviate all the
difficulties which a more enlightened age might discover. We do not stop
to dwell upon the obvious fact, that such a revelation, as that which we
have been noticing, would require not only a preternatural expansion of
faculties in the person to whom it was made, but also a similar
expansion, or, if not, a long educational process in the case of all
those who should receive it. We conclude, then, that a revelation must
be adapted to, and in a great degree limited by, the state of knowledge
existing in the world at the time when such revelation is made.

This leads us to a consideration of the _necessarily phenomenal character
of some portions of a revelation_, respecting which objections against
the Bible have been frequently raised. We will, to explain our views,
take as an example, the familiar instance of the sun and earth.
According to appearance the sun moves, and the earth is stationary: but
science has demonstrated that the opposite to this is the real state of
the case. What line might it be expected that a revelation would take,
when it had to deal with a case of this kind? Should it speak according
to appearances, or realities? This, we believe, is the exact point to be
considered, and we do not think, when fairly put, that it is one about
which there is much difficulty. If a revelation were given to an
ignorant people, in accordance with the reality, it is quite clear that
they would not be in a condition to receive it, and would therefore,
probably, reject it as absurd; but if the description were given
according to the appearance presented, then no difficulty would be felt.
The question, however, is pressed--whether such a mode of representation
is consistent with the truthfulness which may be expected in a
revelation.

It might, we think, be a sufficient reply to say that, as, according to
our former reasoning, it is, in many cases, the only possible mode of
revelation consistent with the established order of things, we may well
be content with it; but we will pursue