Lord H.—You borrow that objection from the crowd, George;
but I wonder you have not looked into the matter more deeply.
Is there any thing inconsistent with disbelief in a partial plan of
salvation for the nations, which, by its necessarily limited working,
excludes the majority of men up to our day, with belief that
each individual soul, wherever born, however nurtured, may
receive immediate response, in an earnest hour, from the source of
truth.
George H.—But you believed the customary order of nature to be deranged in your behalf. What miraculous record does more?
Lord H.—It was at the expense of none other. A spirit asked, a spirit answered, and its voice was thunder; but, in this, there was nothing special, nothing partial wrought in my behalf, more than if I had arrived at the same conclusion by a process of reasoning.
George H.—I cannot but think, that if your mind were al-
race and nation, not to another,) “Being thus doubtful in my chamber, one fair day in the summer, my casement being opened to the south, the sun shining clear and no wind stirring, I took my book, De Veritate, in my hand, and kneeling on my knees, devoutly said these words:—O, thou eternal God, author of the light which now shines upon me, and giver of all inward illuminations, I do beseech thee, of thy infinite goodness, to pardon a greater request than a sinner ought to make. I am not satisfied enough whether I shall publish this book, De Veritate. If it be for thy glory, I beseech thee give me some sign from heaven; if not, I shall suppress it—I had no sooner spoken these words, but a loud, though yet gentle noise came from the heavens, (for it was like nothing on earth,) which did so comfort and cheer me, that I took my petition as granted, and that I had the sign I demanded, whereupon, also, I resolved to print my book. This, how strange soever it may seem, I protest before the Eternal God, is true; neither am I any way superstitiously deceived herein, since I did not only clearly hear the noise, but in the serenest sky that ever I saw, being without all cloud, did, to my thinking, see the place from whence it came.”
Lord Orford observes, with his natural sneer, “How could a man who doubted of partial, believe individual revelation?”
