in occupations which those men
held in abhorrence. They believed in the reality of witchcraft, and
condemned those who were pronounced guilty of the crime; we believe
that the crime cannot be committed, that it is merely a creature of
the imagination, and we denominate those who pretend to the power of
committing it impostors: just as by the Mosaic law they were condemned
as deceivers, pretending to possess a power and knowledge independently
of the Almighty. Our predecessors considered the lending of (p. 322)
money upon interest as an offence against the law of God, and
reprobated those who so employed their capital as usurers, who had
forfeited all title to the name of merciful Christians;--whilst in the
present day the most scrupulous person does not hesitate, as in a
matter of conscience, to depend for the means of subsistence on such a
source of income. Assuming that in each of these two cases our views
are formed on a sounder principle of moral and religious philosophy,
we have no more right to disparage the character of any individual,
who did his best in the midst of less favourable circumstances, than
we should have to reprobate the helmsman of former days, because in
the darkness of a starless night he had no compass wherewith to save
his ship from wreck.

[Footnote 246: The Bible is always and everywhere
the standard of divine truth; but to condemn an
individual for wilful ignorance of its heavenly
doctrines, to whom no opportunity has been afforded
of learning them, would be unreasonable and unjust.
A corresponding principle applies to the
interpretation of the Bible. Our responsibility in
every case increases with our privileges and
opportunities.]

[Footnote 247: It will be borne in mind, that the
question here is not whether there be not one
immutable principle, nor whether there ought not to
be one uniform interpretation of that principle; we
are inquiring only into the nature of that rule by
which we may equitably judge of the moral and
religious characters of men.]

These principles must be borne in mind, and acted upon whenever we
would examine the spirit and character of any individual on the