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down th e tru th ,” as one holds down, chokes and strangles an antagonist; again he says they “ do not like to retain God in th e ir know ledge.” Bacon says, “All colors agree in the d ark .” If one can only get and keep out of the light, he may call evil, good, and good, evil; tru th , falsehood, and falsehood, tru th . Optical science shows th a t th e color of an object depends on the illum inat ing ligh t; th a t the colors do not origin ate in th e object looked at, but in the ligh t, which falls on it. No object or pigment can present any color to th e eye, éxcept such rays exist in the light illum inating it, as áre competent to pro duce th a t color; the rays must be there, or no color will be seen. W ith spirits of wine and salt, we can prepare a light producing little more th an yellow rays; then if, by such light, we look at a purely red body (a piece of red morocco, or a b righ t cherry lip) we see it w ithout color, i. e., black; again if by th e same light we look a t a sub stance not purely red, as Vermillion or red sealing wax, we see it yellow; for th e power of th e colored ray governs the power of the color seen by it and the la tte r shows yellow only. There are corresponding facts in men tal and moral science. W hat an object shall appear to us depends largely on the disposition of mind or heart, w ith which, through which we view it. A bias of prejudice or prepossession be comes a colored lens, giving color to the object, so th a t we see it not as it is, bu t as it is to us, w ith our pre-con- ceived notions. Even th e Bible may be read in a false light, and its tru e colors may not appear. If we come to the study of it, w ith a determ ination or - disposition to find in it the encourage ment and sanction of erroneous opin ions, we can persuade ourselves th a t .we find th ere w hat is only in ourselves. Hence A ristotle in defining tru th , says, “ It is first what a th ing is in it
self; second, what a thing is in its rela tions; and th ird , what a thing is in the medium through which it is viewed,” and the g reat philosopher touched a profound tru th in his very definition! The first condition of all truth-seeking is an unbiased and im partial mind. No discoveries in doctrine or duty are im possible to him who is willing to know th e tru th and to do th e tru th when it is known. This disposition and deter m ination floods every object and subject of candid investigation w ith a clear, white, illum inating light. No colors are communicated to th e tru th bu t such as belong to it. As Bacon says again, th ere are th ree rays, “radius directus, radius , reflectus, radius refractu s” . T ru th sometimes strik es us directly, sometimes is reflected, sometimes is re fracted, bent out of its tru e direction, and so distorted views of tru th take possession of us. Hence th e Bible speaks of those who “ w rest th e scrip tu re to th e ir own destruction” ! To the real seeker afte r tru th nothing is more necessary th an candor to adm it th e tru th , and courage to subm it to it. Upon moral subjects th ere is a vast amount of simple cowardice; men are afraid to be convinced of th e tru th and' the rig h t lest they be compelled to re construct th e ir lives and even reorgan ize th e ir business. T ru th is a revolu tion ist in a world where erro r reigns— it overturns things— and if it had full sway would “ tu rn th e world itself upside down” . And no man honestly seeks to know th e tru th un til he is prepared to have th is world, to him, tu rned upside down, th a t it may once more come righ t side up. It is an old bu t tru e proverb th a t the “ h ea rt makes the theology” . W hat a man’s h eart disposes him to believe he can find some pretense or pretext for believing; what is a t first plainly an absurdity he can persuade him self is not so absurd after all, and, by and by, he
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