Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/297

Rh reason, the acting according to fitnesses which arise out of the eternal and immutable relations of agents to objects, is the central and guiding thought in Balguy s moral speculations, and even the source of what is most distinctive in his theology. His exposition of it is characterised by insight into its significance, and by ingenuity in disposing of the objections which had been urged against it. In 1729 he became vicar of Xorthallerton, in the county of York. His next work was an essay on Divine Rectitude ; or, a Brief Inquiry concerning the Moral Perfections of the Deity, particularly in respect of Creation and Providence. It is an attempt to show that the same moral principle which ought to direct human life may be perceived to underlie the works and ways of God : goodness in the Deity not being a mere disposition to benevolence, but a regard to an order, beauty, and harmony, which are not merely relative to our faculties and capacities, but real and absolute; claiming for their own sakes the reverence of all intelligent beings, and alone answering to the perfection of the divine ideas. It is only, Balguy thinks, when the divine rectitude is thus viewed as aiming at order no less than at happiness, as acting according to the true reasons of things no less than from the affection of benevolence, that such facts as the gift of freedom to man, the introduction and infliction of natural evil, the inequalities of human fortune, the sufferings of the righteous, and the prosperity of the wicked, can be satis factorily explained. There followed A Second Letter to a Deist, concerning a late book entitled &quot; Christianity as old as the Creation,&quot; more particularly that chapter which relates to Dr Clarice. Here Balguy argues that Tindal had falsely inferred revelation to be superfluous from the perfection of the law of nature and the ability of reason to discover that law. He grants that the law of nature is perfect and unchangeable, and that men can know whatever it is their duty to do, but maintains that the light of reason may have, and has had, added to it by revelation knowledge of great interest and value. This, he holds, is all that Clarke had maintained, and Tindal had failed to show that he had fallen into any self-contradictions. The same leading thoughts which we find in the tracts just mentioned meet us again in Tlie Law of Truth, or the Obligations of Reason essential to all Religion. In this essay it is contended, (1.) That reason binds or obliges, in the strictest sense of the word, all moral agents ; (2.) That, considering men in their intellectual and moral capacity, the obligations of religion are entirely founded on the obligations of reason ; and (3.) That on this ground, religion, whether natural or revealed, stands very firm and secure. Balguy collected these tracts and published them in a single volume in 1734, the Letter to a Deist and the Foundation of Moral Goodness having previously passed through three editions. In 1741 he published an Essay on Redemption, containing somewhat peculiar views. Redemption as taught in Scripture means, according to him, &quot; the deliverance or release of mankind from the power and punishment of sin, by the meritorious sufferings of Jesus Christ,&quot; but involves no translation of guilt, substitution of persons, or vicarious punishment. Freed from these ideas, which have arisen from interpreting literally expressions which are properly figurative, the doctrine, he argues, satisfies deep and urgent human wants, and is in perfect consistence and agreement with reason and rectitude. His last publication was a volume of sermons, pervaded by good sense and good feeling, and clear, natural, and direct in style, but bearing few traces of the influence of the most distinctive and potent Christian motives. He died at Harrowgate, September 21, 1748. A second volume of sermons appeared shortly afterwards. The edition of his sermons most commonly met with is the 3d, in 2 vols., published in 17GO. The notice of his life in the Biographia Britannica, was written by his son. See also Hunt s Religious Thought in England, vol. ii. 362-4, 454-6, iii. 87-9. Mr Hunt erroneously represents Shaftesbury and not Hutcheson as the philosopher assailed in the Foundation of Moral Goodness.  BALI, or, one of the Sunda Islands, in the Eastern Seas, separated from Java by the straits of the same name, which are a mile and a half wide. It is 75 miles in length ; its greatest breadth is 50 miles. A chain of mountains crosses the island in a direction E. and W., and terminates on the E. in the volcanic peak Gunung- agung, 12,379 feet above the sea-level. The climate and soil are the same as in Java; it has mountains of propor tionate height, several lakes of great depth, and streams well fitted for the purposes of irrigation. Rice is produced in great quantities, and is even exported to Madura, Celebes, Timor, and Java. The other productions are tobacco, maize, pulses, oil, and salt ; also cotton of an excellent quality. Coffee is now grown with great success ; in the district of Teja Kulo alone, 150,000 trees were planted in the first four months of 1873. The inhabitants (estimated at about 800,000), though originally sprung from the same stock as those of Java, exceed them in stature and muscular power, as well as in activity and enterprising habits. &quot; They have,&quot; says Sir Stamford Raffles, &quot; a higher cast of spirit, independence, and man liness than belongs to any of their neighbours.&quot; They are good agriculturists and skilful artisans, especially in textile fabrics and the manufacture of arms. The imports are iron and cotton cloths, and opium to a great extent; in the district of Tabanan alone, forty chests of this drug are annually consumed. Both imports and exports are on the increase ; but trade is chiefly in the hands of Euro peans, Chinese, and Arabs, who have their firms or agents in Batavia, Surabaya, Makassar, and Singapore. The trade returns in the port of Padang Cove are estimated at 500,000 to 600,000 per annum ; those of Buleleng and Jembrana were about 500.000 in 1873. The island is divided into the eight independent principalities of Buleleng, Karang Asam, Bangli, Tabanan, Mengui, Klong- kong, Gyanyar, and Badong, each under its own ruler. The deputy-commissioner of Banyuwangi in east Java is also charged with the superintendence of the island of Bali in behalf of the Dutch Government. Though native rule is described as very tyrannical and arbitrary, especially in the principalities of Badong and Tabanan, trade and industry could not flourish if insecurity of persons and property existed to any great extent. The natives have also a remedy against the aggression of their rulers in their own hands ; it is called Metilas, consists in a general rising and renunciation of allegiance, and proves mostly successful. Justice is administered from a written civil and criminal code. Slavery is abolished. Hinduism, which was once the religion of Java, but has been extinct there for four centuries, is still in vogue in the islands of Bali and Lombok, where the cruel custom of widow burning is still practised, and the Hindu system of the four castes, with a fifth or Pariah caste (called Chanddla), adhered to. It appears partly blended with Buddhism, partly overgrown with a belief in Kalas, or evil spirits. To appease these, offerings are made to them either direct or through the mediation of the Devas (domestic or agrarian deities) ; and if these avail not, the Menyepi, or Great Sacrifice, is resorted to. Buddhism prevails only in three districts. The Mahometan religion is said to be on the wane, in spite of the good influence it has exerted upon the people. Of the early history of their island the Balinese knownothing. The oldest tradition they possess refers to a time shortly after the overthrow of the Majapahit dynasty in Java, about the middle of the 15th century; but, according tc Lassen. who identifies Bali with the island visited by III. - 36

