And it is perfection enough.
And this perfection the Bible has. It has the best, the highest, the
most glorious objects in view, and it is adapted to accomplish those
objects; and that is sufficient. They that undertake to prove that it
has any other perfection, will fail, and both bring discredit on
themselves, and suspicion on the Bible. The Bible may be more grievously
wronged by unwise praise, than by unjust censure.
Absolutely perfect books and teachers are not necessary to our
instruction and welfare. We can learn all we need to know, and all we
need to do, from books and teachers that are _not_ perfect. We have no
absolutely perfect books on Grammar, Rhetoric, or Logic. Yet men learn
those sciences readily enough when they study them heartily and
diligently. We have no perfect systems of Arithmetic, Geometry, or
Algebra; of Geography, Astronomy, or Geology; of Anatomy, Physiology, or
Chemistry; of Botany, Natural History, or Physical Geography. Yet on all
those subjects men gather an immense amount of knowledge, make a
multitude of new discoveries, and arrive at a wonderful degree of
certainty.
And so with arts and trades. We have no absolutely perfect teachers or
books in music, or painting, or sculpture; in farming, or manufactures,
or trade.
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