第620页 / 共1391页

Of all the ancient philosophers he is most attracted by Plato,

though he is very slightly acquainted with his writings. He is

inclined to believe that the idea of creation in the Timaeus is

derived from the narrative in Genesis; and he is strangely taken

with the coincidence (?) of Plato's saying that 'the philosopher

is the lover of God,' and the words of the Book of Exodus in

which God reveals himself to Moses (Exod.) He dwells at length on

miracles performed in his own day, of which the evidence is

regarded by him as irresistible. He speaks in a very interesting

manner of the beauty and utility of nature and of the human

frame, which he conceives to afford a foretaste of the heavenly

state and of the resurrection of the body. The book is not really

what to most persons the title of it would imply, and belongs to

an age which has passed away. But it contains many fine passages

and thoughts which are for all time.