versally, this compact is entered into with some solemnity or formality; and its violation is considered a crime of so serious a nature, that its punishment is very severe, and among some barbarous people, even capital. This universal existence of marriage does not appear to be the result of reason, but has been received by tradition; its origin is as ancient as the union of the first pair in Paradise. The Bible is our key to the universal fact. There we read, that when the Lord God had formed the woman out of the rib of man, he brought her to him, and "Adam said, this is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man; therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh."

It appears very evident, that in this divine institution, it was intended that marriage should include no more than one woman for the great Creator, in furnishing a model for future imitation, instituted the first marriage between one of each sex. Polygamy, therefore, which began to be practised before the deluge, and prevailed, and still prevails, extensively in the East, was a departure from the purity and simplicity of the origiual institution.

The history of those families and nations in which polygamy has been allowed, furnishes a strong argument in favor of the wisdom of confining man to one wife; for domestic strife, and innumerable other evils, have been occasioned by the practice.

The same thing is also demonstrated by that remarkable dispensation of providence, by which the number of the respective sexes, in all ages and countries, is very nearly equal:-the males generally being a small majority, that by the surplus, provision may be made for the greater waste of life in that sex, by their greater exposure to dangers. It has, I am aware, been asserted by some travellers, that in the countries where polygamy prevails, no such equality be

tween males and females exists; the female sex being far more numerous than the males. This assertion, however, has never been verified by an appeal to any authentic documents; and there is reason to believe, that it has no foundation in fact. If true, it would be the strangest anomaly which can be found in the whole circle of providential

events.

One great end of marriage is the nurture and good education of children; but it would be easy to show, that polygamy is destructive of this end, and is not even friendly to population. The prophet Malachi seems to refer to this subject, when he says, " And did he not make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore, take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.'

3. On any principles except those contained in the Bible, it is impossible to explain the origin of articulate speech, among all the nations and tribes on the face of the earth. If men are of entirely distinct races, and language is a human invention, is it not extraordinary, that every one of them should have made this important discovery? Indeed, if we examine the common philosophical theory of the invention of articulate speech, we shall find it encumbered with so many and great difficulties, that we will be pleased to find some other method of accounting for the possession of this wonderful faculty.

Previously to the use of language, the mind of man must, from its very constitution, have been in such a state of ignorance and incapacity, that he was no more able to invent a language, than to build a ship of war. How could savage man, supposing him to have possessed a degree of intellect which could not have belonged to him, have known that he possessed the capacity of forming that variety of articulate sounds, necessary to a language the most limited? Moreover,

language could only be formed by common consent to employ certain sounds as the signs of certain ideas or things but before language existed, how could such an agreement be made? And this formation of language, by men in the lowest state of improvement, or rather destitute of all improvement, appears more incredible, when we analyze the languages of the world, and find that their structure is indicative of profound wisdom. Even the languages of some of the wandering tribes of America are complicated, and in a very high degree, artificial.

Again, let it be considered, that if human language were the invention of men, it would have been long in a very imperfect state; and we might expect to be able to mark the steps of improvement, from the first rude and awkward attempts, up to that perfection which language has attained; and according to this theory, the more ancient languages would be found less artificial and less complete in their grammatical structure, than the more modern. But the facts are not so. The oldest languages known are as complete in their structure, and as artificial in their grammatical inflexions, and even more so, than those languages which have been more recently formed.

Besides, how can we reconcile it with the beneficence of the Creator, who has enriched human nature with so many other gifts, that he should place man in this world, without giving him, from the beginning, the use of speech, so necessary to his comfort as a social being?

Now all these difficulties are removed at once, if we resort for information, to the simple narrative of Moses. He informs us, that man, as soon as created, was endowed with speech; for he was capable of understanding the words in which his Maker communicated to him his will. His possession of articulate speech is most apparent in his giving names to all the animals, which were brought in review before him, for that purpose. When the woman was brought

to him, he spoke distinctly, and said, "This now is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh." The woman also was from her first creation, endowed with the faculty of speech. And the whole history of the world, until this time, accords with the account given in the Bible. All nations and people wherever found, have the use of speech, and yet articulate language is not natural to man. Those persons, however intelligent, who are born deaf, remain dumb. If a thousand children were brought up together, without hearing an articulate sound, I believe they would remain dumb all their lives. And if men were adult when they are supposed to have invented language, it is probable, that the organs of speech, for want of use, would have become so rigid, that they would have been incapable of articulate sounds, in any variety, even if they had had the opportunity of learning them from others.

From a full consideration of this subject, we are under a necessity of adopting some such hypothesis as that which is given to us in the Bible.

4. Another remarkable phenomenon in the history of man, is the diversity of human language. Between some of the existing languages there is so great an affinity, that we can safely determine, that they are radically the same but between others, the difference is so great, not only in the sound of the words, but in the idioms and graminatical structure, that we know not how, on any hypothesis, they can be referred to the same origin. That the language of nations widely separated from each other, although originally the same, will by degrees be changed, not only in the pronunciation of the words, but by the loss of some and addition of others, is a fact easily understood, and of which we have many examples in history. But in such changes, the radical structure of the language is not altered: a similarity very striking can still be observed in all the dialects. In regard to all the existing languages of the world, however, no such analogy

exists. Not only are the radical words different, but the whole structure of one language is founded on principles totally different from those observed in others. Some etymologists, indeed, by the help of a fertile imagination, have discovered, or pretended to discover, many words in all known languages, which are from the same origin: but conceding the fact of the identity of those words, it is easy to account for it, without supposing that all existing languages in the world have been derived from one original. In the various commingling of the nations, by conquest and emigration, it could not be otherwise, but that words of one language would be transferred often to another. Now, supposing the fact to be as just stated, that all the known languages of the world can never be traced to one original tongue, philosophy has no method of accounting for this diversity. It must remain an unexplained phenomenon, upon principles of mere reason.

But let us now turn to the Bible, and we shall find a full and satisfactory explanation of this whole matter. There, we read, "That the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. And it came to pass as they journeyed from the east that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, &c." (to the 9th v. of the xi. chap. Gen.) Critics, it is true, have differed in their interpretation of this transaction; and some men, eminent for their learning, have entertained the opinion, that the confusion produced at Babel, was not, properly, of language, but of counsel; and that the diversity of language has gradually arisen from the dispersion of the nations. Others, again, admit, that God did confound the language or speech, so far, as that a change of dialect or pronunciation occurred, while the language of the different families continued radically the same. But, if by miracle, the language of the builders was confounded, which is the obvious meaning of the passage, it is as easy to believe, that God originated at this time, several languages entirely new,