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DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Treasure %oom 6\ to V Id/ fiiC/KO/uX Jfyty/uLf. AIDS TO REFLECTION. This makes, that whatsoever here befalls, Tou in the region of yourself remain Neighb'ring on heaven ; and that no foreign land. Daniel. AIDS TO REFLECTION. SAMUEL TAYLOE COLEELDGE. EDITED BY THE EEV. DERWENT COLERIDGE, M.A. SEVENTH EDITION. LONDON: EDWAED MOXON, DOVEE STEEET. 1854. : LONDON BRADBURY AND ETANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS. $2-£ff<i{ /• ' ADVERTISEMENT. The present Edition of the " Aids to Reflection" is a corrected reprint from the last,* with several additional Notes by the Author, interesting in themselves, and valuable in their connection with the text. It has been deemed of paramount importance to reduce the size and cost of this Edition, so as to bring the work itself within the reach of as large a number, and as various a description, of readers as possible. All extraneous matter has consequently- been withdrawn. The preliminary Essay by Dr. Marsh, able and judicious as it is, is no longer so needful, nor indeed quite so applicable, as when it first appeared. The Editor cannot, however, set it aside without * The references marked Ed. are to be assigned to the editor of the first posthumous edition, Henry Nelson Coleridge, whose critical care and judgment every succeeding editor is bound to acknowledge. ADVERTISEMENT. paying a tribute of respect to the memory of the writer, while he expresses his obligations both to him and to other learned and enlightened Americans, by whom the name of Coleridge is held in honour, and who have variously contributed to spread the knowledge and facilitate the reception of his religious philosophy. The "Essay on Eationalism," by the late Mrs. Henry Nelson Coleridge, will, it is hoped, be re- produced as an independent treatise with the other literary remains of the lamented writer. The observations on Instinct by Mr. Green, being referred to in the text, are retained. "With this exception, the Author is now left to speak for himself. There is some advantage in this. The " Aids to Reflection" has been long before the world. The subject matter has passed into the public mind through various channels and with divers modifica- tions. A text-book, without comment, may be useful to those who wish to correct or to verify from the original the impressions which they have received at second hand. And as regards the younger student, to whom these " Aids" are more particularly, though by no means exclusively, addressed,—the work has a ADVEBTISEMENT. vii method of its own, and it may be well that the reader should find his way through it strictly in the manner prescribed. It is a hand-booh, capable indeed of indefinite expansion and elucidation, but complete in itself; chargeable with no obscurity, relatively to the subject, and presenting no difficulty separable from the act of reflection. A certain process has to be passed through. It is not needful, and perhaps it is not altogether desirable, that the attention should be directed, or the judg- ment anticipated, by any prestatement, still less by any defence or explanation of the results. DERWENT COLERIDGE. St. Mark's College, Chelsea. January, 1854. ADVEETISEMENT TO THE FOURTH AND FIFTH EDITIONS. This corrected Edition of the Aids to Eeflection is commended to Christian readers, in the hope and the trust that the power which the book has already exer- cised over hundreds, it may, by God's furtherance, here- after exercise over thousands. No age, since Christianity had a name, has more pointedly needed the mental discipline taught in this work than that in which we now live ; when, in the Author's own words, all the great ideas or verities of religion seem in danger of being condensed into idols, or evaporated into meta- phors. Between the encroachments, on the one hand, of those who so magnify means that they practically impeach the supremacy of the ends which those means were meant to subserve ; and of those, on the other hand, who, engrossed in the contemplation of the great .Redemptive Act, rashly disregard or depreciate the appointed ordinances of grace ;—between those who, confounding the sensuous Understanding, varying in every individual, with the universal Eeason, the image of God, the same in all men, inculcate a so-called faith, having no demonstrated harmony with the attributes of God, or the essential laws of humanity, and being sometimes inconsistent with both ; and those again who requiring a logical proof of that which, though — ADVEETISEMENT. ix not contradicting, does in its very kind, transcend, our reason, virtually deny the existence of true, faith, altogether ; —between these almost equal enemies of the truth, Coleridge,—in all his works, but pre- eminently in this — has kindled an inextinguishable beacon of warning and of guidance. In so doing, he has taken his stand on the sure word of Scripture, and is supported by the authority of almost every one of our great divines, before the prevalence of that system of philosophy (Locke's), which no consistent reasoner can possibly reconcile with the undoubted meaning of the Articles and Formularies of the English Church : In causaqite valet, causamque juvantibus armis. %Wh April, 1839. This is the fifth Edition of the Aids to Eeflection published in England ; and there have been three in the United States of America. It deserves note, less with reference to the Author himself, than to the moral and religious history of this age. Since 1824, when the Work first appeared, the tone has changed, and the senseless imputation of obscurity, and vague- ness, and Germanism—so general then—is now but faintly heard, and in the mouths of sciolists alone. Those who buy this Volume, buy seriously, and because they staud in need. It is found to be clear, and particular, and practical by minds seeking light to enlighten ; and now that the evil side of modem Germanism in religion,— its Pantheistic spirit — is better understood, it will be seen that here is contained its most striking confutation by the side of the firmest x ADVEKTISEMENT. assertion of the Evangelical truth. But the Aids to Eeflection did not at first suit all the views of High Churchmen, nor all the views of Low Churchmen ; and it will not suit them now. This is an antagonism, the issue whereof cannot yet be known. Meantime, the cause of religious philosophy has suffered a great loss in America, by the recent death of Dr. Marsh, who, if longer life and better health had been granted him, might have done much. But there are others—fellow-countrymen and pupils of his—upon whom his mantle has fallen. May they prosper ! H. N. C. 25th October, 1842. THE AUTHOE'S ADDEESS TO THE EEADEE. Fellow-Christian ! the wish to be admired as a fine writer held a very subordinate place in my thoughts and feelings in the composition of this "Volume. Let then its comparative merits and demerits, in respect of style and stimulancy, possess a proportional weight, and no more, in determining your judgment for or against its contents. Eead it through : then compare the state of your mind with the state in which your mind was when you first opened the book. Has it led you to reflect ? Has it supplied or suggested fresh subjects for reflection 1 Has it given you any new information ? Has it removed any obstacle to a lively conviction of your responsibility as a moral agent 1 Has it solved any difficulties, which had impeded your faith as a Christian 1 Lastly, has it increased your power of thinking connectedly—especially on the scheme and purpose of the Eedemption by Christ? If it have done none of these things, condemn it aloud as worth- less : and strive to compensate for your own loss of time, by preventing others from wasting theirs. But if your conscience dictates an affirmative answer to all or any of the preceding questions, declare this too aloud, and endeavour to extend my utility. MABINU8. Ornnis divince atque humance eruditionis elementa tria, None, Telle, Posse; quorum principium unum Mens ; cujusoculus Ratio; cui lumen * * prasbet Deus. VICO. Naturam hominis hanc Deus ipse voluit, ut duarum, rerum cupidus et appetens esset, religionis et sapientice. Sed homines ideo falluntur, quod aut religionem suscipiunt omissa sapientia ; aut sapientice soli student omissa religione ; cum alterum sine altero esse non possit verwn. LACTANTIUS. — THE AUTHOR'S— PREFACE. An Author has three points to settle : to what sort his work belongs, for what description of readers it is intended, and the specific end or object, which it is to answer. There is indeed a preliminary question re- specting the end which the writer himself has in view, whether the number of purchasers, or the benefit of the readers. But this may be safely passed by ; since where the book itself or the known principles of the writer do not supersede the question, there will seldom be sufficient strength of character for good or for evil to afford much chance of its being either distinctly put or fairly answered. I shall proceed, therefore, to state, as briefly as possible, the intentions of the present Volume in reference to the three first-mentioned points, namely, What ? For whom 1 For what 1 I. What 1 The answer is contained in the title- page. It belongs to the class of didactic works. Consequently, those who neither wish instruction for themselves, nor assistance in instructing others, have no interest in its contents. Sis sus, sis Dims : sum caltka, et non tibi spiro. II. For whom 1 Generally, for as many in all classes as wish for aid in disciplining their minds to habits of .

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