A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

INTRODUCTION.vjections brought to show that the principle called conscienceis an acquired property of the mind, to offersome considerations which would render the oppositeopinion the most probable, and then to urge the directarguments by which it seems to be supported. Thisendeavour may the more readily be admitted, since theensuing <strong>treatise</strong> contains no information upon the natureof conscience, but simply describes its emotionswhen distressed, and the method of assuaging them byapplying the truths of the gospel.1. The objections urged to show that conscience is notan original faculty of the human mind communicatedto it by the Creator, but acquired by our circumstances,are of the following nature —:That if it were so, its effects would be uniform ; thatwe should consequently observe all mankind entertainingthe same feelings towards the same actions, andtherefore pursuing the same conduct. Instead howeverof this similarity, we may learn from historiesand travels that there is not a single crime, which hasnot been publicly countenanced in some age or country.Theft, which is considered as dishonourable andworthy of punishment by most nations, was not only,tolerated but even encouraged at Sparta. In thiscountry it is deemed meritorious to maintain aged andindigent parents, and no less so in North America tokill them out of the way. Suicide itself, which isusually thought in Christian countries to be so hopelessand atrocious a crime, has had its advocates amongthe ancient philosophers. Humane treatment of captivesis regarded as honourable and virtuous in thisquarter of the globe, and not less so by a wild Ame-