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"He who feels the spirit in him, will be conscious of possessing the pearl of great price, and will lock it up in the sanctuary of his heart, as his richest treasure, never to be despoiled of it by the seducing arts of false philosophy; never to exchange that pure gold, which is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, for the base metal of worldly politicians, who may endeavour, as they have done, to make truth itself alter her inimitable nature, to serve the varying purposes of temporary ambition."

— Anonymous

Author

Anonymous

Work Title

Review of Vicesimus Knox's Christian Philosophy [from the Critical Review]

Place of Publication

London

Publisher

Printed for A. Hamilton

Date

1796

Metaphor

"He who feels the spirit in him, will be conscious of possessing the pearl of great price, and will lock it up in the sanctuary of his heart, as his richest treasure, never to be despoiled of it by the seducing arts of false philosophy; never to exchange that pure gold, which is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, for the base metal of worldly politicians, who may endeavour, as they have done, to make truth itself alter her inimitable nature, to serve the varying purposes of temporary ambition."

Metaphor in Context

"Godly persons," that is, Christian philosophers, are described, in those articles which all churchmen have most solemnly assented to, as,"such as feel in themselves the spirit of Christ, mortifying the works of the flesh, and drawing up their minds to high and, heavenly things." He who feels the spirit in him, will be conscious of possessing the pearl of great price, and will lock it up in the sanctuarv of his heart, as his richest treasure, never to be despoiled of it by the seducing arts of false philosophy; never to exchange that pure gold, which is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, for the base metal of worldly politicians, who may endeavour, as they have done, to make truth itself alter her inimitable nature, to serve the varying purposes of temporary ambition. Those doctrines of Christianity, which were true under the first Charles, will be considered, notwithstanding the subtle attempts of politicians, equally true under the abandoned profligacy of a second; or in subsequent reigns, when it was discovered by the court divines, that Christianity was as old as the creation, and the religion of grace, a mere republication of the religion of nature. The substance of Christianity can survive the wreck of empires, the demolition of temples made with hands, and the dismission of a superstitious or a time-serving priesthood. The living temple of the heart, where the Holy Spirit fixes his shrine, will stand unimpaired, amidst the fallen columns of marble. The kingdom of heaven will remain unshaken, amidst all the convulsions of this changeable globe. We are told, that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it; and, though it should happen, in any country of Christendom, that the rulers should be infidels, and the visible church abolished; yet while there are human creatures left alive in it, the church of Christ may still flourish. [...]
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