empire of Rome was submerged beneath the wild deluge of barbarians from the North. But even there, amid the deepest darkness and desolation of the world, and at the very point where all its lights seemed to have gone out forever, the footsteps of the divine wisdom and goodness were clearly seen, as well as of that eternal justice which reigns everywhere among the children of men. Salvian, standing amid the ruins of Rome, and pointing to a more glorious future than the world had ever seen, is the true type and symbol of the real philosophy of history. He was moreover, no imaginary personage, or figure of speech, but a real living man whose sublime prediction, founded on his faith in God, has already been realized.

Rome, it is said, conquered the world; that is, the known world. If so, then was there an unknown world beyond the Rhine, which she did not, and could not, subjugate. That world, as the event has shown, was made, not to be conquered, but to conquer. Long did Rome endeavor to subdue that world, but in vain. The colossal power of her mighty empire had, it is true, cast its dark shadow across the Rhine, and inspired those primitive peoples with a mysterious and awful sense of its greatness. But still they did not shrink from a contest with that power, or submit to its sway. The providence of the Almighty had, indeed, drawn a line near the banks of the Rhine, and said to the conquering hosts of Rome: "Hitherto shalt thou come, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed:" Varus, with his noble legions, ran against that line, and the bones of his army whitened the forests of Germany. Thus ended the career of Rome, and thus began the dominion of the Teutonic race. Or, more properly speaking, thus perished Rome as a State, and begon to live as a principle and a power in the civilization of a better world.

The tremendous and terrible discipline, which Rome hadbeen appointed to administer to the ancient world, having been accomplished, her mission was at an end. r rather it then became a part of her sion to dergo a like tremendous and terrible discipline erself. The very

germs of morality and religion had decayed and died in her bosom. The hopes of mankind were not destined to be grafted on a race worn out by vice and degraded by atheism. They were actually grafted on their conquerors, the barbarians of Germany.

Perhaps no other race of barbarians, known to history, ever entertained so profound a respect for woman as those of the primitive German world. Hence there seems to have been a peculiar fitness in the selection of such a race as the germ of the Christian civilization; a civilization which, above all others, vindicates for woman a noble, glorious, and dignified position in the social world. The family, as constituted and governed by the Christian code, is a new power on earth; the centre of mighty influences for the intellectual, moral, and social development of man. It is the high office of woman to preside over and direct this world-transforming power. Neither Greece nor Rome understood her real mission, or felt much of her benign influence. Even Aristotle, by far the greatest political philosopher of antiquity, maintains that children should be taken from their mothers at five years of age, and committed to that iron step-mother, the State.

But aside from all particular proofs or illustrations, the wisdom and the goodness of the selection are seen in the result. In the course of twelve centuries, Rome ran her great career; she rose, she reached her meridian height, she declined, and she fell. It has been fifteen centuries since the origin of the great States of the modern world; and yet, at this very day, their civilizations are fresher, brighter, and more beautiful than ever. They have not, as yet, even reached their zenith. Who knows that they will ever perish? It is certain that, in view of such facts, to say nothing of the promises of Revelation, we have no right to talk about the ideal circle of Vico, or the iron circle of fate. The very least that can be said is, that the destiny of man revolves, not in the same eternal circle, but in a spiral which, instead of returning into itself, takes a broader sweep at each succeeding convolution, and brightens as it expands.

In every society, as in every individual, there is a downward as well as an upward tendency. But is there any valid reason for the belief, that this downward tendency must always prevail, and bring every civilization on earth down to the dust? Even if this had been so in all heathen countries, does it follow that the same thing must happen in all Christian nations? We might just as well conclude from the majority of examples, that all projectiles must ultimately come to the ground; a conclusion which we know to be false. We know that projectiles may be raised so high, and thrown with such force, as to make them revolve around the earth forever. The moon, for example, launched by the hand of the Almighty, is forever falling and yet never falls, but rolls around our planet in eternal beauty. May not the divine impulse of Christianity, then, give such force to the upward tendency of human society, as shall continually resist the ruinous effects of its downward tendency? It is certain that if we would reason from the past to the future, not blindly or rashly, but cautiously and wisely, we should overlook no new power which may have been introduced into history; much less one which has been ordained by the Supreme Ruler of the world for its regeneration and recovery from the ruins of its primeval fall.

But if, at an infinite and humble distance, we would be intelligent co-workers with the divine Restorer of the world, the first condition of success is a knowledge of his plan,of his design and the means employed for its accomplishment. If we were so unfortunate as to believe, with M. Guizot, that his scheme, his system, is on the side of despotism; then we should either take leave of Him, or else, in the name of religion, become the advocates of despotism and the enemies of liberty. But He himself assures us, that it is his design to emancipate the human family, and restore them to "the glorious liberty of the sons of God." By what means, then, does He seek to accomplish this object? By what truths, by what influences, by what institutions, does He regenerate the world, and put a new face on the universe? Are these influences, these means

real? Are they facts in the history of the world; or are they merely fancies and fictions in the imagination of man? If, indeed, we should judge from most works on the philosophy of history, or the education of mankind, we should be constrained to believe, that their authors placed a very low estimate, if any at all, on the sublime system of means and causes, which God himself has ordained and established for the renovation of the human race. There is among them, it is true, a great difference in degree; yet all, more or less, either depart from "The Light of the World," or else ignore its existence. Their sins of omission are even greater than their sins of commission. All the tapers invented by the wit of man, all the lights kindled by human ingenuity, are industriously paraded and held up by them for the illumination of the world; but, if we may judge from their writings, they have but little faith in the real power of "The Sun of Righteousness." So meagre and imperfect, indeed, if viewed from the Christian standpoint, are most of these philosophies of history, as they are called, or schemes for the education of mankind, that a solar system without a sun, or with a sun obscured by clouds and darkness, would scarcely be more dreary and desolate.

Now why is this? Are there any good reasons, any philosophic grounds, for such omissions? If a philosopher professes to exhibit the causes of human progress, and to show them in correlation with their effects, why should he slight or neglect those which God himself has set in motion? Are not these the very heart and life-giving energy of the world? Is there any better reason, then, for excluding these great divine agencies from a system of the world, than there would be for omitting the heart or the lungs in a system of anatomy or physiology?

The Christian scheme, it may be said, is the light of the world, and will operate as such, whether we understand its laws and operations or not. That is, it is a great practical system, which does not require the analysis, or scientific comprehension, of man to give success to its manifold and mighty influences. This is, in one sense,

perfectly true. But, then, we do not reason thus in regard to natural things. Precisely the same thing may be said of the light of the material world. The sun shines, and will continue to bless and to beautify the world, whether we study the laws and the effects of its action or otherwise. No one, however, regards this as a reason why the science of optics should not be cultivated. The, sun it is true, rose and set, and answered all the great practical purposes of life, long before the science of optics was created, or conceived, or dreamt of by man. Still there is no branch of physical knowledge, which has proved more useful or ornamental, which has contributed more to the comfort of human life, or more to the expansion of the human mind, than the science of optics. Why, then, should there not be an analogous science for the real "Light of the World,' for the "Sun of Righteousness"? God is always like himself both in his dispensations and his acts. He gave us "the great light that rules by day; but he did not give us the science of optics. He left this to be created by the devout and diligent student of his works. In like manner, he bestowed the "Sun of Righteousness" on mankind; but he gave them no scientific analysis or exposition of the laws of its light, or the modes of its action. This, no less than the science of optics, He requires of man, the lord and sovereign of this lower world. It is, we are told, "the glory of the Lord to conceal a thing; but we are, at the same time, assured by the same high authority, that "it is the glory of the King to search it out." This glory of the King is everywhere, in the material universe at least, magnificently displayed. We behold it in mechanics, in optics, in astronomy, and, in short, in the whole splendid retinue of the physical sciences. But where, we ask, is this glory manifested in relation to the infinitely more grand and beautiful system of the moral world? There, at least, the glory of the Lord is still concealed; and we poor, blind, ignorant, and desponding mortals dare not seek to raise or penetrate the awful veil. But this is no reason why we should not gladly welcome, and devoutly contemplate every gleam of the Divine Glory,