"won't marry, because I can't afford it."; Every man may afford to marry, who is fober and induftrious, but certainly none, can who are idle and profligate.

The Jewish law alfo, by its feverity against adultery, inflicting certain death, on the adulterer and adulterefs, fo checked the evil, that married men had little to fear on that account; whereas, among us, our laws, having inflicted no punish-, ment on adulterers as public offenders, leave the punishment of it to what Judge Blackftone well calls, "the feeble coercion of "the ecclefiaftical courts,' which is about as well calculated to restrain it, as the strength of a pigmy would be to repel

Comp. Prov. xix. 15. and 2 Theff. iii. 10.—whereas with us, an increase of children is too often an increase of idleness and extravagance. Witnefs the crowds of, what we call, the higher fort of people, who fill our numerous places of public diverfion, gaming-houfes, &c. the bankruptcies among our tradefmen, and the fhoals of thieves, vagrants, beggars, &c. among the lower orders of men.

It is a remarkable thing, that among other ingredients of ruin to the apoftate Jews-idlenessabundance of idleness, was one. Ezek. xvi. 49. We do not find that GOD changed His law, because they had departed from their obfervance of it; but maintained its holiness and unchangeableness, in the fearful punishments He fent upon them for their diffolutenefs and difobedience.

the force of a giant; and even this, fuch as it is, is within the reach * of money to buy off. See i Burn, Eccl. Law, quarto, p. 663. Hence it is, that this giant-vice, with fuch large ftrides, marches through our land, and may probably be the means of terrifying not a few from marrying.

Having elsewhere observed the wisdom of the divine laws for the prevention and punishment of whoredom, I will here fay once more, that our banishment of them from our system of government, is another reason of the alarming frequency of celibacy among us.

As for polygamy, it certainly was allowed, as much as marriage + itself was; to say the contrary, is to deny the whole teftimony of the Hebrew fcripture:-but

this

* About the year 1735, the Bishop of Chefter actually cited his commiffary into the Archbishop's court at Fork, to exhibit an account of the money received for commutations. Oughton fays, that "commutation-money is to be given to the poor, or applied to other pious ufes, at the difcretion of the Judge." See Burn. Eccl. Law. tit. Pe nance. Alfo poft, Append. to this Chapter.

+ For which plain and evident reafon, it may be concluded, that the feveral attacks on marriage, which the Chriftians have made from time to time, under notions of greater purity and holiness, are

wholly

this was not that wild, licentious, wicked practice of it, which is now maintained at the expence not only of decency, but even of humanity itself, among the Mahometans; but a holy and fober use of marriage, circumfcribed by holy laws and institutions, in all cafes permitted, in fome commanded. And what was the confequence to the ftate? A numerous iffue, which contributed to its riches and ftrength-the demand for women in marriage increased, and few were left either to be a burden or a disgrace to it. But is this fo with us? Our making

wholly unjustifiable, because unwarranted by the fcriptures. GOD forbad marriage under certain circumstances, but in no one precept or example did he prohibit polygamy, where marriage itfelf was allowed. Wherefore, I own, I cannot in the leaft doubt, that the ftat. of 1 Jac. chap. 11. which forbids polygamy under pain of death, is juft as oppofite to the divine law, as the ftat. of Hen. VIII. which hangs a priest for marrying one wife, as well as the man who fhould affert it lawful in the fight of GOD, for a priest to marry at all. There was a time when it would have given great offence to have found fault with this law of Hen. VIII. juft as much as to arraign the propriety of that of 1 Jac. may give now;— but this proves no more than that both are equally abfurd-that fuperftition is always the fame-and that men are apt to take their ideas of religious truths, more from cuftom, and vulgar opinion, than from the word of God.

1

*

polygamy felony has deftroyed it.-But in what refpect are we gainers* by this?Why, we have gained-what Ifrael never faw,

** That is, we have abolished the public and open marriage of more women than one at a timeand thus have we fhut one door, against the private inexpediency and inconvenience to individuals, which, as things are conftituted among us, might accrue in many inftances.

But, on the other hand, what has the public gained for marriage is not to be confidered as only concerning this or that individual, or this or that private convenience or inconvenience, but as refpecting the public-the whole in general. And this, no doubt, the ALL-WISE CREATOR had in view, when-He bleffed them, and faid, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth-Gen. i. 28. with G n. ix. 1, 7. —as well as when he framed HIS LAWS for regulating the commerce of the fexes.

Baron Montefquieu obferves, and very truly, that "public incontinence may be regarded as the greatest "of misfortunes."-Now, confidering mankind, not as what they ought to be, but as what they really are - what a door to public incontinence is opened, by making it impoffible for married men, who feduce virgins, to be under that refponfibility towards them which the divine law enjoins-Exod. xxii. 16. and Deut. xxii. 28, 29-by this means thousands are turned out friendlefs and helplefs, to public infamy, proftitution, and ruin.

Another door is opened to that most horrid practice (it is fo common as to be a practice) of childmurder, either by procuring abortion, or by deftroying infants in or after the birth-for concealment, in fuch cafes, has more, much more to plead, than where fingle men are concerned.

Thefe,

'faw, till they regarded the divine law as little as we do thousands of women

for the purposes of profiitution and deftruction, by making it impoffible for their feducers to do them that justice, which reafon, nature, and the divine law, intitle them to demand. This may be reckoned also among the causes of our want of people; for I believe it would not be very hard to prove, that almost every woman, who is driven into common prostitution, is a lofs of one breeding-wo

These, and other dreadful appendages of making ourselves more wife, pure, and holy, than the GoD who knoweth whereof we are made, are the confequences of an indifcriminate and total prohibition of polygamy fo that, whatever we may have gained in point of cafual, private, or domeftic convenience in one refpect, we are lofers in point of public, as well as private mischiefs, in ten thousand!

If we advert to the fcripture, we shall not find a fingle inftance of these things among the antient Jews-their law was fo framed as to prevent them. -If we attend to the daily evidence of our own eyes and ears, they are frequently happening among us, because our laws are fo framed as to be the occafions of them-and perhaps no one part of our fyftem is chargeable with more of them, than our fanguinary prohibition of polygamy. I Jac.

C. JI.

To lay a foundation for all this mischief, by charging HIM, who came not to destroy men's lives, but to Jave them, with repealing the divine law which was made to prevent it, is an impious and infamous flander, and its wearing the guife of parity and piety makes it so much the worse.

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man