ed by a galaxy of clergymen and churchmen, of whatever name or nature, bound apart by cast iron creeds, and fastened to set stakes by chain cable opinions, without revelation; nor are they the lions of the land or the leviathans of the sea, moving among the elements, as distant chimeras to fatten the fancy of the infidel; but they are as the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, and will become a great mountain and fill the whole earth. "Were I an Egyptian, I would exclaim, Jah-oh-eh, Enish-go-on-dosh, Flo-ees-Flos-is-is; [O the earth! the power of attraction, and the moon passing between her and the sun.] A Hebrew; Haueloheem yerau; a Greek, O Theos phos esi; a Roman, Dominus regit me; a German, Gotl gebe uns das licht; a Portugee, Senhor Jesu Christo e libordade; a Frenchman, Dieu defend le droit; but as I am, I give God the glory, and say in the beautiful figure of the poet:
Was the whole earth of parchment made;
And ev'ry single stick a quill;
And ev'ry man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Woald drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the whole upon a scroll,
Be spread from sky to skj.'
It seems that your mind is of such 'a mathematical and philosophical cast, that the divinity of Moses makes no impression upon you, and that I will not be offended when you say, that you rate me higher as a legislator, than you do Moses, because you have me present with you for examination;' that 'Moses derives his chief authority from prescription and the lapse of time; you cannot however say, but we are both right, it being out of the power of man to prove us wrong. It is no mathematical problem, and can therefore get no mathematical solution.'
Now, sir, to cut the matter short, and not dally with your learned ideas, for fashion's sake, you have here given your opinion, without reserve, that revelation, the knowledge of God, prophetic vision, the truth of eternity, cannot be solved as a mathematical problem. The first question then is, what is a mathematical problem? and the natural answer is, a statement, proposition or question that can be solved, ascertained, unfolded or demonstrated, by knowledge, facts or figures, for 'mathematical' is an adjective derived from Mathesis (gr.) meaning in English, learning or knowledge. 'Problem' is derived from probleme, (French,) or problema, (Latin, Italian or Spanish) and in each language means a question or proposition, whether true or false. 'Solve' is derived from the Latin
