ADDRESSED

TO THE DAUGHTER

OF

A Mobleman,

ON THE

FORMATION OF RELIGIOUS AND MORAL
PRINCIPLE.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. II.

BY ELIZABETH HAMILTON,

AUTHOR OF

LETTERS ON THE ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF
EDUCATION, &c. &c. &c.

LONDON:

PRINTED FOR T. CADELL AND W. DAVIES,

IN THE STRAND,

By W. Flint, Old Bailey.

1806.

CONTENTS.

Of

LETTER I.

Or natural religion-Founded on belief in God.
and a future state of rewards and punishments
-Inquiry into the state of natural religion
prior to revelation-Gross misconceptions of
men respecting the divine attributes-Intro-
duction of barbarous rites in religious worship
-Errors of idolatry perpetuated during the
most enlightened æras of Greece and Rome-
Opinions of philosophers respecting a future
state, vague and speculative-Not influential
on moral conduct-Of the religions principles
of the Jews-The simplicity and sublimity.
peculiar

peculiar to many of their dogmas-Whence derived Mysteries connected with certain parts of revelation-Their gradual developement-Analogous to that of the human faculties-Views of Providence presented in the Bible, clear in all that relates to religious and moral duty-Objections to revelation originate in the limitation of the human mind-Docility recommended-An arrogant spirit inimical to every species of improvement.

.1

LETTER II.

Early corruption of the principles of natural religion Of the truths communicated by immediate revelation to the Jews-Knowledge of the Supreme Being-Of his providence and government-The relation established between religious belief and moral obligation-The brevity of the Scriptures an evidence of their authenticity-A reason assigned for the little. information contained in them respecting the first ages of mankind-Incapacity of the human mind to form distinct conceptions of a state wholly removed from human experienceIllustration of the supposed analogy between mythological