The thought is here suggested, that, if God could not get along without the adoption of an expedient calculated to corrupt our moral nature and deprave our reason, he should not and would not have implanted in us such an instinctive horror to the doctrine. This natural feeling of repugnance is alone sufficient to condemn it, and prove that it is a slander upon Infinite Wisdom, and a libel upon human nature, to assume its existence. And such doctrine is evidently calculated to demoralize society. An old Roman proverb teaches us, "Call a man a dog, and he will be a dog." Call a child depraved, and it will feel depraved; and, feeling so, it will act so. On the other hand, teach the child he possesses the grand principle and feeling of an inherent nobility, and he will rise to the dignity of moral manhood. Such is the difference in the moral value of the two doctrines. CHAPTER XXXVII.--FREE AGENCY AND MORAL ACCOUNTABILITY. One of the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith is the free agency of man; but the very term is a logical contradiction. An agent must act in accordance with the will and wishes of his employer, or he will be called to account, and perhaps dismissed. Where, then, is his moral freedom? It may be assumed that his employer licenses him to take his own course; but this must be with certain conditions, or else he will act for himself, and be no agent at all. Certain alternatives are placed before an agent, which he is privileged to choose; but that does not make him free in any rational or practical sense. If he does not act as required or desired, he will be either punished or dismissed. That is a singular kind of freedom. It is the freedom of a slave, which is no freedom at all; and this is exactly the kind of freedom orthodoxy grants to the sinner, and to the whole human race. It marks out the road to heaven, and says, "This is the road to eternal bliss; and you must walk in it, or eternal misery will be your portion." And, to escape such a terrible doom, millions tremblingly travel the road impelled and propelled by fear. And this painful alternative Christians are pleased to term free agency, or moral freedom. It is simply the freedom of a slave to clank his chains. It is a perversion of language to apply the term "free agency" to such a case. The orthodox give us our choice to accept their terms of salvation or reject them; but they attach to the consequence of rejecting them the most awful penalties. We will illustrate: A father says to his son some sabbath morning, "John, I am going to leave you free to-day either to go to church or go a-fishing." He instantly darts away to the river or the lake with the glee of a humming-bird, and is seen no more until nightfall. As he approaches the door, his father says to him, "John, where have you been to-day?"--"Why, father, I have been fishing, to be sure."--"Well now, John, I am going to give you one of the most terrible floggings you ever had in your life