Calendar: 1868-1869 Page 460

THEOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT doloris etiam capit Quod autem dolorem accipit id accipiat etiam interitum necesse Omne igitur animal confitendum est esse mortale Prseterea si quid est quod nec voluptatem sentiat nec dolorem id animal esse nou potest sin autem quod animal est id ilia necesse est sentiat et quod ea sentiat non potest esse seternum et omne animal sentit nullum igitur animal est aeternum IL-Cranilatt into Latin If none of these reflections can have any influence on them there is one that perhaps may because it is adapted to their vanity hy which they seem to be guided much more than their reason would therefore have them consider that the wisest and best of men in all ages of the world have been those who lived up to the religion of their country when they saw nothing in it opposite to morality and to the best lights they had of the divine nature Pythagoras's first rule directs us to worship the gods as it is ordained by law for that is the most natural interpretation of the precept Socrates who was the most renowned among the heathens both for wisdom and virtue in his last moments desires his friends to offer cock to jEsculapius doubtless out of submissive deference to the established worship of his country Xenophon tells us that his prince whom he sets forth as pattern of perfection when he found his death approaching offered sacrifices on the mountains to the Persian Jupiter and the Sun according to the custom of the Persians for those are the words of the historian Nay the Epicureans and atomieal philosophers showed very remarkable modesty in this particular for though the being of God was entirely repugnant to their schemes of natural philosophy they contented themselves with the denial of providence asserting at the same time the existence of gods in general because they would not shock the common belief of mankind and the religion of their country