pse of Nature which no
World-Spirit moves and holds together, and which grows in its grave; and
he mourns by that corpse till he himself crumble off from it. The whole
world lies before him, like the Egyptian Sphynx of stone, half-buried in
the sand; and the All is the cold iron mask of a formless Eternity."[22]

But the malign influence of Atheism on personal happiness will become
more apparent, if we consider its tendency to affect the _moral springs
of action_, on which happiness mainly depends. The question whether
Atheism be compatible with moral virtue, or whether an Atheist may be a
virtuous man, is one of those that can only be answered by
discriminating aright between the different senses of the same term. In
the Christian sense of virtue, which comprehends the duties of both
tables of the Law, and includes the love of God as well as of man, it is
clear that the Atheist cannot be reputed virtuous, since he wants that
which is declared to be the radical principle of obedience, the very
spirit and substance of true morality. But, in the worldly sense of the
term, as denoting the decent observance of _relative_ duty, it is
possible that he may be so far influenced by considerations of prudence
or policy, or even by certain natural instincts and affections, as to be
just in his dealings, faithful to his word, courteous in his manners,
and obedient to the laws. But this secular, prudential morality, is as
precarious in its practical influence as it is defective in its radical
principle. Atheism saps and undermines the very foundation of Ethics.
The only law which it can recognize (if that can be called a law in any
sense which is not conceived of as the expression of a Supreme Will) is,
either the greatest happiness of the individual, or the greatest
happiness of the greatest number; but, whether it assumes the form of
_Felicitarian_ or of _Utilitarian_ calculation, it degenerates into a
process of arithmetic, and is no longer a code of morals. The
fundamental idea of DUTY is awanting, and can only be supplied from a
source which the Atheist ignores. By denying the existence of God, he
robs the universe of its highest glory, obliterates the idea of perfect
wisdom and goodness, and leaves nothing better and holier as an object
of thought than the qualities and relations of earthly things. He
degrades human nature, by doing what he can to sever the tie which binds
man to his Maker, and which connects the earth with Hea