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 Channin2e , William fh lenny. 
 
 1780-1842. 
 The liberal gospel, as set 
 FOTN anew cie sWwottin o omod 
 

 

 

 
 
 
 T H EF; Hep, abtoal seynee 
 LIBERAL GOSPEL 
 
 As set forth in the writings of 
 WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 
 
 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 CHARLES H.*LYTTLE, TH.D. 
 
 James Freeman Clarke Professor of Church History 
 in Meadville Theological School 
 
 
 
 BOSTON 
 PEBBLE ACONe PRESSING: 
 1925 
 
Copyright, 1925,.By\ ou 
 THE BEACON PRESS, Inc. 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 This collection of passages from the writings of 
 Channing is intended to perpetuate the memory and 
 the influence of the acknowledged leader of the 
 Liberal movement in New England Congregationalism 
 which resulted in the formation of the American Uni- 
 tarian Association in 1825 (the Presidency of which 
 ill health compelled Channing to decline). Although 
 the observance of the centennial is the immediate oc- 
 casion of the publication of this anthology, the latter 
 is prepared with no denominational objective in mind, 
 but with the hope that by making the message of 
 Channing more easily accessible and more handily 
 available, pure Christianity and universal religion will 
 be promoted; and the hearts of those who are striv- 
 ing for a more righteous social order, in which war, 
 economic slavery, political baseness, alcoholism, pov- 
 erty, and illiteracy will be diminished, may be cheered 
 and strengthened. Channing was not simply a prophet 
 and preacher of rational Christianity, that is, a creed- 
 less, unsectarian and intellectually free and honest 
 religion of righteousness and philanthropy; he was 
 counsellor and foreteller of the social progress of his 
 and the next century; he is an apostle of a world 
 religion, a church universal, an internationalism of the 
 spirit. 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 Not all the great passages with which his Works 
 are studded could be comprised in this volume; it is 
 hoped that the greatest have been, and that a just and 
 impressive presentation of Channing’s message has 
 been effected. Simplicity has been sought in the 
 arrangement; perhaps the Index will be a better path- 
 finder than the Table of Contents. <A brief but, it 
 is expected, an adequate Bibliography follows the 
 Selections. 
 
 It has been a source of gratification to the compiler, 
 that for a second time the memory of Channing has 
 been entrusted to a minister of the Second Unitarian 
 Church of Brooklyn, N. Y. For this reason, as well 
 as the fact that his biography “William Ellery Chan- 
 ning, Minister of Religion” is indispensable to the 
 student of the great Liberal and his times, the name 
 of Rev. John White Chadwick should stand first among 
 those to whom I am indebted for help and inspiration. 
 Those who have rendered me assistance in a technical 
 way are Professor Francis A. Christie, Rev. Walter 
 C. Green of the Meadville Theological School, and 
 Dean W. W. Fenn of the Theological School in Har- 
 vard University. Upon Rev. Henry Wilder Foote, 
 Secretary of the Centenary Committee of the Ameri- 
 can Unitarian Association has fallen most of the labor 
 of correction and revision. To Mr. Benjamin F. 
 Seaver, Mr. William Augustus White, and Miss 
 Isabelle J. Boggs of the Second Church in Brooklyn 
 I am obliged for the loan of books and articles. Their 
 kindness has been, however, but typical of the generous 
 sympathy of that congregation with the literary inter- 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 ests and labors of its ministers. Another of their 
 number is my wife, whose co-operation and advice have 
 been of inestimable value. 
 
 CHARLES H. LYTTLE 
 
 Brooklyn, December 17, 1924. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2022 with funding from 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 https://archive.org/details/liberalgospelassOOchan 
 
WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 
 An Interpretation 
 
 Channing is one of the great Christians of history. 
 There have not been many in the course of the 
 centuries who so nearly satisfy our conceptions of 
 what a follower of the Nazarene should be and should 
 accomplish for the preparation of the Kingdom upon 
 earth. There have not been many who have repro- 
 duced in lovely symmetry of ideal and deed the 
 spiritual intentness and control, the thrilling speech 
 and heroic behavior, the natural purity, the instant 
 and comprehending charity which we associate with 
 Jesus. A few names of conceded eminence occur to 
 USmeaccolding: to -ourr predilections; | Origen, ot: 
 Benedict, The Little Poor Man of Assisi, 4 Kempis, 
 Las Casas, John Robinson, Jeremy Taylor, Fenelon, 
 Locke, Wesley and Woolman.. . . criterion names 
 illustrative of that singular energy of goodness which 
 can exalt and transfigure a frail, local human being 
 into a divine ambassador, magnetic with the light and 
 power of a sacred duty, seer and prophet of the 
 eternal expediencies of righteousness, truth and love, 
 to his age and its people. Such was Channing: whose 
 heart God emptied of all mean traits and qualities 
 to fill it with a self-renouncing ardor, transparent 
 
 i 
 
il AN INTERPRETATION 
 
 candor, angelic wisdom and overflowing compassion, 
 to be a choice vessel of his Spirit and a liberator of 
 those who are bound. There is no pontiff to canonize 
 the venerable and blessed of Liberalism: but it ts 
 sufficient that the Lutheran Bunsen recognized him as 
 ‘a grand Christian saint and man of God’’; that the 
 Anglican Frederick Robertson expected to see 
 Channing in the bourne of time “revolving around the 
 central Light in an orbit immeasurably nearer than 
 ours, and lost in a blaze of glory’; while the Quaker 
 Whittier, in ecclesiastical metaphor, bore witness to 
 the honor in which the prophet was held even in his 
 own country: 
 
 “In vain shall Rome her portals bar 
 And shut from him her saintly prize, 
 Whom in the world’s great calendar 
 All men shall canonize. 
 
 And thus the common tongue and pen 
 Which world-wide echo Channing’s fame 
 As one of Heaven’s anointed men 
 
 Have sanctified his name.” 
 
 In curious conformity with the conventional belief 
 that the relics of every true saint work miracles from 
 his altar shrine, the words of Channing, long after 
 his death, continue to exert a remarkable influence 
 upon religious thought and humanitarian reform. 
 “We all preach Channing,” said Phillips Brooks. This 
 influence is exerted less by the literary merit of its 
 instrument (as the critics from Hazlitt to Woodberry 
 have pointed out) than by the indwelling energy of 
 
AN INTERPRETATION iil 
 
 conviction, the messianic fervor and flame which 
 Channing’s noble sentences, mounting from fitting 
 phrase to robust period, spreading from simple 
 thoughts to grand, inclusive principles, enshrine and 
 strive to impart. Nevertheless, for all the pith and 
 resonance of his prose, and the treasured recollections 
 of his pulpit eloquence, Channing is not to be ap- 
 proached primarily as a writer or an orator. His 
 lofty style was but the vesture of loftier thought and 
 emotion. Back of the eloquence with which he voiced 
 his faith, back of the faith itself, was the conscious- 
 ness that to him had been revealed the principal truth 
 of modern Liberalism. Through every utterance there 
 breathes an apostolic certitude of right teaching, a 
 frank confidence in the possession of healing and re- 
 deeming wisdom. This certitude and confidence Chan- 
 ning gained, not through philosophic speculation but 
 from an illumination of divine truth which suffused his 
 being with a jubilant faith, a positive hope, and laid 
 upon him a sacred obligation to dispel the doubts and 
 quicken the souls of his fellow men. For, like his 
 Master, who, after the baptism, spent forty days of 
 self-discipline and dedication in the wilderness, and 
 according to the precedent of Paul as well, Channing’s 
 faith and devotion had their origin in a transcendent 
 experience, and were rooted in his will by a long 
 vigil and ordeal of soul, in which doubts were 
 answered, weakness conquered, pride and_ flesh 
 mastered, and the new man born in fasting, humility 
 and prayer. 
 
 The illumination which came to Channing is one 
 of the noblest religious experiences in history. It 
 
Iv AN INTERPRETATION 
 
 occurred to him when a student at Harvard about 
 the year 1796. Resting under a clump of willows 
 near the river bank in Cambridge, he was reflecting 
 upon the derogatory views of human nature then 
 dominant in contemporary thought: those inspired by 
 the mechanistic determinism of the French skeptics 
 and the Calvinist doctrine of the utter depravity, the 
 moral inability of man born of woman and unvisited 
 by divine grace. A book into which the loftiest spirit 
 of Roman Stoicism, combined with the optimism and 
 philanthropy of the Age of Reason had been distilled, 
 lay open upon his knees, and he was occupied in read- 
 ing a passage wherein the author, in refutation of 
 the misanthropical theories of human nature which 
 have been mentioned, feelingly recalled the historic 
 testimony of man’s capacity for disinterested benevo- 
 lence, evinced by so many instances of unprofitable 
 and self-sacrificing fidelity to the interests of others 
 and the welfare of the race. The lad was stirred by 
 the pure heroism of his kind; and there came to his 
 mind the teaching that he had heard as a boy in 
 Newport from the lips of one of the saintliest of 
 New England’s divines: that God’s highest attribute 
 was disinterested benevolence, which Jesus had 
 enjoined his brethren to follow, bidding them be per- 
 fect as their Father in heaven is perfect in the exercise 
 of impartial beneficence to his human children, the evil 
 and the good, just and unjust. Then, in the provi- 
 dence of Channing’s great destiny, the light broke upon 
 him, the truth appeared in such a torrent of over- 
 powering glory that ‘“‘the place and hour were always 
 sacred in his memory and he frequently referred to 
 
AN INTERPRETATION Vv 
 
 them with grateful awe. It seemed to him that he 
 there passed through a new spiritual birth and entered 
 upon the day of joy and peace. He longed to die, as 
 if heaven alone could give room for the exercise of 
 such emotions.” ‘The sublime idea of Man’s natural 
 moral freedom, his filial inheritance of divine powers, 
 his infinite spiritual perfectibility flooded his mind with 
 the “fountain light of all his day, the master light of 
 all his seeing.” Henceforward the smoky stratagems 
 of Calvin for terrifying men into morality, and the 
 Lucretian materialism of the foes of the Infamy in 
 France were to Channing blasphemy and anathema. 
 The momentous conviction, to which the Age of 
 Reason had been pointing, for which the Age of 
 Science and Democracy were waiting, had been di- 
 vulged, with the brightness of a new Sinai, to the earn- 
 est heart and the gifted mind of a son of the Puritans. 
 It was one of the solemn annunciations of history, a 
 signal episode in Man’s long, momentous divination of 
 truth. From that day forward Channing was a man 
 consecrated and apart, for he was to be a servant of 
 the servants of God: 
 
 “Whoso has felt the Spirit of the Highest 
 
 Cannot confound or doubt Him or deny: 
 
 Yea, with one voice, O world though thou deniest, 
 Stand thou on that side for on this am I! 
 
 Rather the earth shall doubt, when her retrieving 
 Pours in the rain and rushes from the sod; 
 Rather than he, for whom the great conceiving 
 Stirs in his soul to quicken into God.” 
 
Vi AN INTERPRETATION 
 
 It is uncommon that the great teacher, to whom the 
 vision has been granted, goes at once, from the 
 mountain top to the valley of men’s dwellings and 
 the highways of his mission. Channing also was 
 moved to consummate the vision by a withdrawal into 
 a solitary place, until his conviction was clear and his 
 duty thoroughly determined. Accepting the manifest 
 vocation to the Christian ministry he sought funds 
 for the necessary period of divinity study by teaching 
 in Richmond for nearly two years. They were years 
 of stern and holy probation. Deliberately absenting 
 himself from the fashionable and profligate society 
 of that Southern metropolis, to which his social rank 
 would have assured him entrance, he secluded himself 
 in his schoolhouse study and exhausted his time and 
 strength in severe self-searching and meditation; for 
 he was disconsolate until he had resolved the duplicity 
 between sensual desire and pure ideal, between 
 professed faith and intrusive doubt, between worldly 
 ambition and the challenge to Christ-like self-oblation 
 that seemed to render him recreant to his great vision 
 and its calling. His moral discipline was as exacting 
 as his intellectual; both were intensified by physical 
 asceticism. He lay upon the winter floor as a bed, 
 he worked through the night contemptuous of the 
 indulgence of sleep, he fasted to subdue the flesh to 
 the spirit. At the same time, with scrupulous 
 intellectual integrity he tested the truth of his illumi- 
 nation by submitting it to the arguments of the 
 English skeptics and to the sarcasms of the French 
 atheists. The result was, a serene intellectual free- 
 dom, athletic and vigilant, comparable in the realm of 
 
AN INTERPRETATION Vii 
 
 the judgment to that disinterested benevolence of the 
 soul which he worshipped in God. This affinity 
 between intellectual and moral freedom Channing ever 
 insisted upon with the authority of experience: 
 
 “T cannot better give my views of spiritual freedom than 
 by saying it is moral energy put forth against the senses, 
 against the passions, against the world, and thus liberating the 
 conscience and the will, so that they may act with strength 
 and unfold themselves forever. "The essence of spiritual 
 freedom is power— He only is free who, through self-conflict 
 and moral resolution, sustained by trust in God, subdues the 
 passions which have debased him, and, escaping the thraldom 
 of low objects, binds himself to pure and lofty ones.” 
 
 Wrestling after this fashion with privation and 
 economy, doubt and self-reproach, he gained the 
 blessing which he sought; purity of heart, unswerving 
 self-command, impersonality of judgment, unity of 
 power, definiteness of purpose. It was with a grave 
 and tender reticence that he referred in after years to 
 his sojourn in Richmond: 
 
 “T look back on those days and nights of loneliness and 
 frequent gloom with thankfulness. If I ever struggled with 
 my whole soul for purity, truth and goodness, it was there. 
 ‘There, amidst sore trials, the great question, I trust, was 
 settled within me: whether I would be the victim of passion 
 and the world, or the free child and servant of God. Ina 
 licentious, intemperate city, one spirit at least, was preparing, 
 in silence and loneliness, to toil for truth and holiness.” 
 
 He returned to his home in Newport transformed 
 in spirit and broken in health. The latter was 
 
Viil AN INTERPRETATION 
 
 permanently enfeebled by the austerities of the past 
 two years to such a degree that henceforward the once 
 robust and vivacious young man would be exhausted 
 by the exertion of preaching a sermon—a nervous 
 debility sometimes so profound that the fragrance of 
 a flower would cause agony. So intense were the 
 fires of the Spirit! But in his moral being and deport- 
 ment there was a compensation. A beautiful serenity, 
 unfailing patience, elevating seriousness, a gentle and 
 melting sympathy testified to the change. His grave 
 and tranquil presence elicited an instinctive deference 
 which in later years grew into a general and impulsive 
 veneration for his habitual preoccupation with the 
 noblest themes and projects. At the age of twenty 
 three he was called to the pulpit of the Federal Street 
 Church in Boston where he pleaded the love and pro- 
 claimed the truth of the Eternal during forty 
 prodigious years of religious and political evolution. 
 
 When Channing began preaching in Boston, Liberal- 
 ism was at an ebb throughout Europe and America. 
 The Revolution, here and in France, had been followed 
 by a harsh and haughty reaction against democracy 
 and its attendant freedom of thought and speech, of 
 
 _.. civic, cultural and economic opportunity for the 
 
 laboring classes. The struggle on the Continent for 
 and against the domineering parvenuism of the 
 Corsican sustained the policies of reactionary op- 
 pression under the last mannikins of Absolutism; 
 then the intrigues of Metternich prolonged the 
 martyrdom of the spirit of Humanity and intellectual 
 progress. De Maistre and Chateaubriand seduced 
 
AN INTERPRETATION ix 
 
 the minds of many by the false glamor and fictitious 
 worth they gave the mother of orthodoxy. Herder 
 and Schleiermacher cast the spell of sentimentality 
 over German Protestantism, and in England Paley and 
 Watson persuaded the standing order that rationalism 
 in religion was cousin to revolution in government. 
 This reaction had its American counterpart in the 
 crusading Calvinism of Jedidiah Morse, Timothy 
 Dwight, Samuel Miller, Lyman Beecher and others. 
 By them and their party was instigated and directed 
 that revivalist excitement which was planned as an 
 antidote to Jeffersonian Deism and infidelity so 
 prevalent in the States at that time. But the second 
 decade of the nineteenth century brought a new vernal 
 movement. ‘The stirrings of progress and reform 
 were felt first in Europe. Wilberforce and Shaftes- 
 bury, Bentham, Leigh Hunt, Hazlitt and Shelley 
 are specimens of the genius of mind and heart by 
 which England was persuaded to achieve the correction 
 of the rotten borough iniquities, the enfranchisement 
 of Dissenters and Catholics, and the emancipation 
 of the slaves in the West Indies. In France, St. 
 Simon, Cabanis, Cousin stemmed the clericalism of 
 the waning Bourbons and inaugurated the new 
 philosophy of society which culminated in the 
 sociology of Comte and the socialism of Fourier. In 
 Germany, the nationalism that Fichte had invoked 
 to save the German soul turned against the feudal 
 and dynastic bigotries of Protestantism not only with 
 the weapons of revolution, but with the radical 
 criticism of Paulus, Baur and Strauss. Like the 
 murmur of distant cheering these signs and voices of 
 
x AN INTERPRETATION 
 
 the new era came over the ocean to Channing, sensi- 
 tive to every oppression, sympathetic with every 
 outreaching and uprising of the spirit of man. He 
 rightly interpreted them as ,confirming his own vision 
 and conviction. Knowing himself in tune with the 
 purpose of the Eternal, he also rejoiced to find him- 
 self leagued with the finest intelligence and scruples 
 of his own day in the advocacy of Man’s moral dignity 
 and powers of rational self-guidance, and in the 
 promotion of social reform, economic opportunity, 
 popular education and a broader and purer Chris- 
 tianity. 
 
 Progress in the realization of this manifold freedom 
 was nowhere more briskly challenged by the reaction- 
 aries of orthodoxy, privilege and obligarchical govern- 
 ment than in adolescent America, from whose 
 experiment in democracy so much was expected and 
 so much was feared. The Federalist Party, with 
 whose New England Junto of leaders Channing was 
 closely related by family and tradition, united in its 
 ranks the conservatives of the North in politics and 
 religion; while the slave-holding interests of the South, 
 with their confederates in northern banks, commission 
 houses, and among the cotton manufacturers of New 
 England were vitally concerned with the preservation 
 of an aristocratic and sycophantic Church. ‘The de- 
 termination of the genius and destiny of the young 
 Republic hung upon the issue of the struggles. 
 
 In the religious phase of the conflict, it was a 
 question whether New England and her western coloni- 
 zations should be abandoned to the mercies of a 
 fanatical and other-worldly Calvinism, relentlessly 
 
AN INTERPRETATION x1 
 
 hostile to that spirit of common sense and self-reliance, 
 tolerance and philanthropy which characterized the 
 manliest and most vigorous thought of the age. But 
 there were larger aspects of the struggle, far out- 
 running and yet deeply implicated with the Calvinist 
 denial of the fullest moral potentialities to any save 
 the elect saints. Should the manhood of the manual 
 laborer, whether black or white, residing on Northern 
 farms or Southern plantations be degraded by any 
 theory or principle of inferiority whether broached 
 by Calvinism or by the slave interests? Should his 
 rights to a Christian decency and security of family 
 life, as well as to full civic freedom, be sacrificed to 
 the thesis, proposed by slavery, but with its basis 
 in feudal and ecclesiastical Christian doctrine, that 
 a large number of human beings are by nature so 
 inferior to others that justice is not injured if 
 they become the unconditioned property of other men; 
 a thesis rendered very lucrative by the prospect of 
 huge profits from the cotton gin and the spinning jenny, 
 the mines and wheatfields of the opening West? 
 Should the Church of Christ in America be so cor- 
 rupted by Mammon and his worship in fashion and 
 trade as to give its blessing to economic serfdom, 
 represented in those days by slavery, with its record 
 of unspeakable brutality, its hideous bastardies of 
 miscegenation, its political insolence and corruption in 
 the Capitol, its arrogant demands for the unhampered 
 expansion of the institution, by force of arms if need 
 be, into the virgin West and the margins of Mexico? 
 In this titanic grapple of contending destinies, Chan- 
 ning chose his side; but it was not the position expected 
 
Xil AN INTERPRETATION 
 
 of him by his friends and kinsmen, nor the majority 
 of his congregation, nor was it the attitude most con- 
 genial to his reflective and pacific disposition. The 
 revelation under the willows in Cambridge of the 
 infinite worth of a human being, his invincible persua- 
 sion of its practical validity in every sphere and 
 situation formed for him a far mightier compulsion 
 than the tug of social status or the plea of tempera- 
 ment; and carried him by sheer force of moral con- 
 viction to the vanguard of Liberalism. 
 
 Its first and necessary undertaking was to defend 
 Christianity against the orthodox reaction, which, by 
 means of slanderous propaganda, fanatical revival 
 campaigns, and plots to dominate learning, had begun 
 war not only on the Deistic infidelity which the writings 
 of Thomas Paine typified and disseminated, but also 
 those rationalizing tendencies working within the . 
 Church through the writings of such eminent thinkers 
 as Locke, Tillotson, Lardner and Butler, and the bibli- 
 cal scholarship of Wettstein and Griesbach. Not 
 only the ministerial graduates of Harvard and Yale, 
 but the educated laymen of New England were 
 acquainted with these liberalizing influences, as well 
 as with the social millennialism of Godwin and Condor- 
 cet, and were inclined to reason about the Bible and 
 Christian doctrine with the same shrewd common sense 
 with which they had been accustomed to discuss the 
 provisions of the Constitution and the theories of de- 
 mocracy. ‘Taught by the abominations of the church 
 of the Old Regime in France, as well as by Deistic 
 criticism of the Thirty Nine Articles and the Church 
 of England, they were prepared to distinguish be- 
 
 
 
AN INTERPRETATION Xill 
 
 tween apostolic Christianity and the corruptions 
 introduced by priestcraft and superstition. The aver- 
 age man, plying his intelligence upon the metaphysics 
 of Calvinism, was moved to suspect its preposterous 
 tenets, so destructive of the moral self-respect and 
 working fraternalism of the New World, and to recon- 
 struct his faith and ethics upon his own reading of the 
 New Testament. 
 
 To a public thus predisposed, Channing brought his 
 inspiring message of the propriety of such self-reliance, 
 and of the thorough competency of the conscience and 
 reason of the nineteenth century to find the true con- 
 tent and fulfill the precepts of the genuine teaching 
 of Jesus Christ. The basic identity of the temper of 
 the average American of those pioneer days and of 
 Channing’s gospel is apparent. Both were forthright 
 and independent of tradition; both were governed by 
 an ideal of manly self-respect, self-reliance and practi- 
 cal integrity. On the condition that such integrity 
 of mind and purpose was the polar star, and an esteem 
 for scientific scolarship the quadrant, Channing en- 
 couraged the individual to dispense with dogmatic 
 catechisms and exegesis and to steer bravely out upon 
 the seas of truth, trusting to discover the simple law 
 that Jesus taught; while at the same time he anticipated 
 that, by thus offering Christianity to free and honest 
 criticism, the confidence of thinking men in the church 
 might be restored and a manly apologetic, a tenable 
 loyalty, and an irenic unity might be created on be- 
 half of a Christianity reformed for the second time 
 and now completely, in the New World. 
 
 Such anticipations necessitate a grand faith in the 
 
XIV AN INTERPRETATION 
 
 conscience and intelligence of the average man. ‘They 
 imply and stress the freedom and responsibility of the 
 individual; they are in tune with the triumphant 
 march of scientific invention and modern democracy. 
 They blossom into prospects and programs of human 
 brotherhood and undermine the partitions of creed 
 and nationality, color and race that have so long 
 seamed the world and disfigured religion. It was 
 inevitable that the American Liberalism of which Chan- 
 ning was so prominent a leader and interpreter, should 
 have become the chief religious expression of the 
 spirit of democracy, science and humanitarianism 
 which the Age of Enlightenment fostered and devel- 
 oped, shielded from the assaults of the obscurantists 
 and enthroned amid revolutions. With this spirit 
 the fortunes of Liberalism were linked from the begin- 
 ing. With the epic romance of our national origins, 
 therefore, is to be associated the spiritual romance of 
 the first organized religious movement avowedly 
 loyal to Humanity in the fullest sense of that glorious 
 word: loyalty to Man’s sense or right, to his power 
 of mind, to his one common nature and destiny, with- 
 out faith in which it is plain that Jesus’ dream of the 
 kingdom on earth can never be realized. 
 
 As the interpreter of Americanism in terms of relig- 
 ion, Channing had every qualification, and his thought 
 and achievement find a place in the first chapter of 
 our cultural and philanthropic history as well. By his 
 very lineage and environment he stood with the group 
 of our elder patriots; his grandfather, William Ellery, 
 signed the Declaration of Independence; George 
 Washington was entertained at dinner in his father’s 
 
AN INTERPRETATION XV 
 
 house at Newport; his church in Boston had been the 
 scene of the ratification of the Constitution by Massa- 
 chusetts in 1787; he had known Chief Justice Marshall 
 in Richmond, and in his circle of acquaintances were 
 to be found Josiah Quincy, Webster and Charles Sum- 
 ner. By blood and friendship he was closely connected 
 with many of the early governors, chief justices and 
 members of Congress from the Bay State. Thus 
 deeply attached by circumstances to the finest tradi- 
 tions of American citizenship, it was proper and natural 
 that he should take the lead not only in the translation 
 of Americanism into religion, but into literature and 
 philanthropy also. In each province he presided over 
 the opening of the new era. In each field his writ- 
 ings were as overtures, predicting the full choir and 
 hinting its themes. It was no mere coincidence there- 
 fore that the birth of our native American literature 
 synchronized with his prophecy that it would come as 
 the logical sequel to the religious Reformation inspired 
 by the Liberal views: ‘“‘We want a Reformation, we 
 want a literature; and our chief hopes for an improved 
 literature rest on our hopes of an improved religion— 
 a new action and development of the religious principle 
 in this country.”’ For it was a young Liberal—William 
 Cullen Bryant—who composed America’s first poem 
 of considerable merit—‘“The Ages’’; and he delivered 
 it in 1821 before the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harv- 
 ard, of which Channing was a member, but a few 
 months before these prophetic lines were written. 
 The first literary criticism produced on this side of the 
 Atlantic worthy to rank with the Essays of Hazlitt and 
 Macaulay in the Edinburgh Review, were Channing’s 
 
 
 
Xv1 AN INTERPRETATION 
 
 own reviews of works on John Milton, Napoleon Bona- 
 parte and Fénélon, which appeared in the pages of the 
 Christian Examiner, the Liberal organ of the day. 
 With but few exceptions all the great literary work 
 of American authorship in the first half century of 
 our history was produced by that school of poets, his- 
 torians and novelists whose ideals had been shaped 
 by the spacious humanity, the intellectual rectitude, the 
 passion for social justice of William Ellery Channing. 
 ‘He is our bishop,” said Ralph Waldo Emerson. 
 Channing’s transcendent conviction of the moral 
 dignity of human nature constrained him to play an 
 active, and by virtue of his gifts, a prominent part in 
 the various movements for the improvement of the 
 conditions of the poor, the elevation of the laboring 
 class, and the extension of Christian brotherhood into 
 international relations, the organized and energetic 
 promotion of which belongs to his day. Such is the 
 exceeding wisdom of a great moral principle that 
 Channing’s denunciation of war, alcoholism, slums, the 
 fatalism of poverty, the exploitation of the manual 
 worker, went far beyond the consensus of his own age, 
 and in many respects he is still far in advance of our 
 own. The Massachusetts Peace Society, organized 
 in his study, was the first of its kind in this country. 
 In comprehensive indictments of war he exposed the 
 hideous inconsistency of militarism (however plausibly 
 condoned) with Christianity; and virtually outlined the 
 evolution of the peace movement of the following cen- 
 tury toward a league of nations and, on the part of the 
 individual, non-participation in war from humanitarian 
 motives. In these indictments he exposed the un- 
 
AN INTERPRETATION XVil 
 
 reason of the idolatry paid the profession of arms 
 and military courage; he revealed the fallacy of the 
 popular conceptions of what constituted national 
 honor. The fratricidal orthodoxies of nationalism 
 gained no more sympathy from him than did those of 
 religion. Intemperance he denounced without com- 
 promise, but with understanding of the complexity of 
 the problem; and it is significant that he perceived no 
 inconsistency between the fullest moral responsibility 
 of the individual and the recommendation that the 
 manufacture and sale of ardent spirits be forbidden 
 by law. Poverty, with its sad by-products of wretched 
 housing, domestic sordidness and moral decay he re- 
 garded as remediable by the gradual operation of 
 enlightened philanthropy and popular education; yet, 
 as the years passed, he grew increasingly indignant 
 over the apathy, hypocrisy and cynicism of the rich 
 and privileged, and had premonitions of a social rev- 
 olution, pacific in its methods, but drastic in its re- 
 forms. He visualized the settlement house fifty years 
 in advance of its advent; the reformatory and proba- 
 tion system for juvenile offenders; remunerative and 
 instructive labor for those in prison; and university 
 extension lectures for the laboring classes were among 
 his proposals for the ennoblement of the individual and 
 society. The grandest perspectives of human bet- 
 terment radiated from the heart filled with faith, hope 
 and charity for Man. 
 
 It was, however, in relation to negro slavery that 
 Channing applied his sublime message of the dignity 
 of human nature with the most thorough logic, the 
 most moving eloquence, the most impressive effect. 
 
XVIII AN INTERPRETATION 
 
 The entire nation was his congregation. Humanity 
 was the text of a sermon sustained with mounting fer- 
 vor and impact for thirteen years. In the year 1831, 
 when William Lloyd Garrison was setting up the 
 first number of the Liberator with type borrowed 
 from the Christian Examiner, the organ of Channing 
 and his friends, a lively perception of the evils of 
 slavery came to Channing himself while spending the 
 winter in the West Indies. ‘his personal contact 
 revived the antipathy he had felt for the great iniquity 
 since his youthful stay in Richmond; and returning to 
 his Boston pulpit he forthwith declared his intention 
 to work for the abolition of negro slavery with the 
 words “I have been silent too long!” Thenceforward 
 the enfranchisement of the slaves by methods of moral 
 persuasion and the remuneration of the slave-owners 
 was a frequent and passionate theme of his utterances; 
 and nowhere are the beliefs of Channing more lucidly 
 defined, more astutely argued than in the numerous 
 sermons and pamphlets he produced in the cause of 
 Emancipation. “Half battles for the free,’ Long- 
 fellow called his mighty strokes, which one by one 
 described as upon the vault of heaven the verdict of 
 the enlightened Christian conscience on the shame of 
 negro bondage. A human being cannot rightfully be 
 held as property, whatever the law may say; slavery is 
 never morally justifiable, however lenient the yoke 
 and elegant the superstructure; the extension of slavery 
 into the virgin territories of the West must not be toler- 
 ated; freedom to oppose the curse of slavery in-speech 
 and print must be claimed and defended; neither the 
 selfishness of property and business interests, nor the 
 
AN INTERPRETATION XIX 
 
 indifference of the fashionable and well-to-do can be 
 pardoned when the immortal souls of millions of 
 black men and women are terrorized and calloused 
 and deformed by the heartless practises of their 
 owners. Upon these impregnable positions, Channing 
 based all his arguments. Yet it was not only the logic 
 of his principles, but the chivalry of his sympathy for | 
 the slaves and the persecuted Abolitionists that dic- 
 tated almost all his utterances on this subject. His 
 book on “Slavery” (1835) was evoked by the Boston 
 riots of the preceding year, when Garrison was dragged 
 about the Common with a noose and assaults upon the 
 Abolitionists took place in several cities. In 1836 
 an Abolitionist editor of Cincinnati was mobbed and 
 driven from the city; Dr. Channing forthwith startled 
 the complacence of his fellow citizens with a letter 
 rebuking such denial of liberty of speech. In the 
 following year a somewhat similar episode of mob 
 fury (wreaked upon the Abolitionist Lovejoy at 
 Alton, Illinois) stirred him to gather in protest, and 
 against the desire of the authorities, a great meeting 
 of the citizens of Boston in Faneuil Hall. In the same 
 year the proposed annexation of Texas elicited the 
 Letter to Henry Clay, trenchant in its attack upon the 
 aggressions and perfidies of the pro-Slavery party and 
 upon their imperialistic designs. “The pamphlet had 
 the effect of staying the attack upon Mexico for a dec- 
 ade. Following this, Dr. Channing set himself to 
 defeat the conspiracy of silence in which American 
 newspapers had buried the auspicious workings of 
 Emancipation of the negroes in the British West 
 Indies, and published under the aegis of his high repu- 
 
xx AN INTERPRETATION 
 
 tation the striking facts which demonstrated how nobly 
 the human nature even of black people responded to 
 the opportunities of freedom. As the conflict grew 
 more bitter, and the political issues more involved, the 
 ardor of his heart and the acumen of his understanding 
 kept pace with the need; against the specious casuistry 
 of our State Department, put forth to secure the ex- 
 tradition of a mutinous human cargo of a slaveship, 
 the Creole, from England, he directed a pamphlet 
 filled with the irony of outraged pity and the masterly 
 reasoning of a mind enlarged by the divine righteous- 
 ness. His last energies were spent upon an address 
 celebrating the Emancipation of the West Indian ne- 
 groes; his last prayer in public was for the slave’s 
 liberation from his bonds. 
 
 That these exertions for the negro cost Channing 
 much popularity there is no doubt. His outspoken 
 advocacy of Emancipation even at the risk of dividing 
 the Union estranged him from many of his conserva- 
 tive parishioners and admirers, who deserted his church 
 and passed him without a greeting on the street. 
 Even the use of his own Meeting House was denied 
 him when he desired to hold a public memorial service 
 for an Abolitionist, who was also a Unitarian minister 
 and his dear friend. He was accused of political 
 meddling and ambition and the charge of hypocrisy 
 was made against him because a portion of his wife’s 
 wealth (which Channing himself scrupulously refused 
 to share) was supposed to be derived from slave labor 
 in Newport. Whittier’s testimony that ‘Channing 
 threw upon the altar (of Emancipation) the proudest 
 reputation in letters and theology of his day. With 
 
AN INTERPRETATION Xxl 
 
 one exception I know of no one who made a greater 
 sacrifice’—errs only in the possible suggestion that 
 Channing deemed it a sacrifice. He felt, on the 
 contrary that in this work his ministry had come full 
 circle; and that his gospel of the infinite worth of a 
 human soul constrained him to do battle with its most 
 sinister denial. The effect of this alignment of his 
 wisdom, his eloquence, his unimpeachable integrity of 
 heart and mind with the Anti-Slavery movement was 
 incalculable; a timely and fortunate counterpoise to 
 the influence of those clergymen, even of Episcopal 
 rank, who made it their concern to provide the abomi- 
 nation of slavery with a doctrinal and Biblical defence. 
 The verdict of the jury which Time empanels may 
 well be voiced through the words of William Lloyd 
 Garrison: ‘Channing is to be ranked among the 
 foremost teachers, exemplars and benefactors of 
 mankind.” 
 
 To every moral challenge of his age, just as to 
 that of Emancipation, Channing responded with an 
 enthusiasm which may be expressed and described 
 by his own phrase, elicited by the news of European 
 uprisings in 1830: ‘Always young for liberty.”’ 
 It had been so from the commencement of his matur- 
 ity. ‘‘The tyrant is fallen, the world is free,” he cried, 
 at the conclusion of an address upon the fall of Bona- 
 parte which he made to a great mass meeting of his 
 fellow-citizens in King’s Chapel. Change the scene 
 to the sphere of religion and mark his strenuous op- 
 position to the efforts of the orthodox Calvinists to 
 establish ecclesiastical courts in Massachusetts, as they 
 
XXII AN INTERPRETATION 
 
 had done in Connecticut. ‘‘The time required,” he 
 wrote in later years, of his memorable marshalling of 
 the Liberal forces, “that a voice of strength and 
 courage be lifted up. At such a time I dared not be 
 silent.” When the Medusa of intolerance moved 
 again in 1830 to petrify progress, he exposed and 
 overwhelmed it with unabated zeal in the great ser- 
 mon on Spiritual Freedom. Quite as consistent and 
 steadfast was his stand in 1837 when the infidel 
 lecturer, Abner Kneeland, was brought to trial for blas- 
 phemous remarks upon the nativity of Jesus. Chan- 
 ning saw that the danger lay, not in the blasphemous 
 remarks, but in the suppression of free thought and 
 speech, and the prosecution of religious heresy by the 
 State. He put his name, therefore, at the head of the 
 petition against the trial of Kneeland, although the lat- 
 ter’s views were known to be thoroughly repugnant to 
 him. To conservatives this seemed to be carrying 
 the abstract theory of freedom to dangerous and, 
 indeed, gratuitous extremes; but George William Curtis 
 thought otherwise, and his estimate is that of the 
 majority today: “I know nothing finer in his life .. . 
 than to place all his power, all the fineness of his 
 genius, all his standing in society as a flame of fire to 
 envelope and guard the independence of Abner 
 Kneeland.” 
 
 It was this passion for liberty which, operating in 
 the sphere of religion, lifted Channing to his supreme 
 conception of a universal Church. For when the 
 battle for freedom and light, humanity and progress 
 had issued in a strong position for the Liberals, he 
 bade them straightway exchange the slogans and insig- 
 
AN INTERPRETATION XXIll 
 
 nia of the first skirmish for new standards and a 
 grander goal—no less indeed than the cause and the 
 comradeship of the Church Universal. Even a Lib- 
 eral Christianity was not broad enough for his desire 
 for fellowship with all earnest spirits, who were striv- 
 ing, in whatsoever confession, to do justly, to love 
 mercy and to walk humbly with God. _Instinctively 
 attracted by the great company of the good and true 
 in every age, he could give a hand, at one extreme to 
 Shelley, none the less a “‘seraph” though “gone 
 astray’; and at the other to Cheverus, the first Roman 
 Catholic Bishop of Boston. While his colleagues were 
 ostracizing Theodore Parker, it was with Channing— 
 ‘Give my love to Mr. Parker—let the full heart pour 
 itself forth.”’ Such catholicity was the natural issue 
 and consummation of his passion for liberty and his 
 devotion to Humanity. With grand and comprehen- 
 sive strokes of fraternal love he sketched in his last 
 great sermon the spacious dimensions of the ultimate 
 Church of Humanity; and in glowing phrases avowed 
 his allegiance to its glorious hope: 
 
 “T belong to the Universal Church; nothing shall separate 
 me from it. ... The soul breaks scornfully these barriers, 
 these webs of spiders, and joins itself to the great and the good; 
 and if it possess their spirit, will the great and good cast it off 
 because it has not enrolled itself in this or another sect? 
 Virtue is no local thing. . . . It is not honorable but for its 
 own independent and everlasting Beauty. ‘This is the bond of 
 the Universal Church. No man can be excommunicated from 
 it but by the death of goodness in his own breast.” 
 
 With this transfiguration of the local, dated and 
 
XXIV AN INTERPRETATION 
 
 registered self into the soul and destiny of Mankind, 
 Channing’s life in mounting aspiration blended with 
 the Eternal Love, whose service had been his life-long 
 strength and joy. “I have received many messages 
 from the Spirit,’ he murmured as he lay dying. For 
 forty years, with anxious fidelity, he had given these 
 messages forth to his countrymen, messages winged 
 by his rich eloquence, authenticated by his spotless life. 
 By virtue of his sublime idea of the human soul, its 
 rights and its powers, he had definitely impressed the 
 religious, literary and political future of this nation. 
 In an age when science and scholarship stagnated 
 under the spell of an obscurantist orthodoxy, he de- 
 fended the prerogatives of the human mind and aided 
 its liberation. ‘Throughout our country today scores 
 of non-sectarian seats of learning attest the importance 
 of his work. In a period when charity was frozen 
 by grim doctrines of God’s wrath toward men, he 
 reasserted the pity and faith of Jesus for the lowliest 
 mortal and opened the munificent record of America’s 
 philanthropy. When racial arrogance and property 
 interests, indeed even the subservience of Christian 
 ministers, withheld from the negro the moral and legal 
 opportunity which every principle of Christianity af- 
 firmed to be his, Channing sounded the keynote, not 
 only of the slave’s enfranchisement, but of our present 
 struggle for economic democracy. ‘This position, like 
 his phillipics against militarism, his denunciation of 
 war, his plea for international morality and a coven- 
 anted peace, owe their continuing freshness and force 
 to the eternal veracity of that vision which came to him 
 under the willows of Cambridge, in the morning 
 
AN INTERPRETATION XXV 
 
 his own life and of the Age of Humanity whose 
 prophet he was. 
 
 “From off the starry mountain peaks of song 
 Thy spirit shows me in the coming time 
 An earth untrodden by the feet of wrong, 
 A race revering its own soul sublime.” 
 

 
1780. 
 1792. 
 
 1794. 
 1798. 
 1798. 
 1800, 
 1802. 
 1803. 
 
 1812. 
 1814. 
 
 1814. 
 1815. 
 
 1816. 
 1819. 
 1820. 
 1822. 
 
 1824. 
 
 1825. 
 
 IMPORTANT DATES IN CHANNING’S LIFE 
 
 April 7, born in Newport, R. I. 
 
 To New London, Conn., to study with his uncle, Henry Chan- 
 ning. 
 
 Enters Harvard College. 
 
 Graduates from Harvard. 
 
 Goes to Richmond, Va., as tutor. 
 
 Returns to Newport. 
 
 Studies theology in Cambridge, Mass. 
 
 June 1, ordained and installed Minister of the Federal Street 
 Society in Boston. 
 
 Anti-War Sermon. . 
 
 Sermon at King’s Chapel mass meeting to celebrate the fall of 
 Napoleon. 
 
 Marriage to Miss Ruth Gibbs of Newport. 
 
 Channing replies to the attack of the orthodox in ‘The Panop- 
 list” upon the Sincerity of the ‘liberal’ Christians. 
 
 Sermon on War before Congregational ministers of Massa- 
 chusetts. ? 
 
 Sermon on “Unitarian Christianity” preached at the ordination 
 and installation of Jared Sparks as Minister of the (now) 
 First Unitarian Church of Baltimore, Md. 
 
 Founds the Berry Street Conference of Liberal Ministers, 
 
 To Europe. 
 
 Sermon, “The Demands of the Age on the Ministry,” preached 
 at the ordination of Ezra Stiles Gannett as his colleague. 
 American Unitarian Association organized, Channing being 
 
 elected first President. 
 
 1825-30. Reviews of Milton, Fénélon and Napoleon for the Christian 
 
 1826. 
 
 1828. 
 
 Examiner. 
 Sermon, “Unitarian Christianity favorable to Piety,” at dedi- 
 cation of Second Unitarian Church, New York. 
 Sermon, “Likeness to God,” at ordination of Frederick A. Far- 
 ley in Providence. 
 XxVli 
 
1830. 
 1830. 
 
 1830. 
 1835. 
 
 1835. 
 1836. 
 
 7837. 
 1838. 
 1838. 
 1839. 
 
 1840. 
 1841. 
 
 1841, 
 1842. 
 1842. 
 1842. 
 
 1842. 
 
 Sermon, “Spiritual Freedom,” before the Governor and Legis- 
 lature of Massachusetts. 
 
 “Discourses, Reviews, and Miscellanies,” with significant in- 
 troduction published. 
 
 To the West Indies. 
 
 Pamphlet on “Slavery”? published. 
 
 Third Sermon against War. 
 
 Letter, “The Abolitionists,’ on freedom of speech and publi- 
 cation. 
 
 Letter to Henry Clay on the “Annexation of Texas.” 
 
 Lecture on “War.” 
 
 Lecture on “Self Culture.” 
 
 Letter to Jonathan Phillips entitled “Remarks on the Slavery 
 Question,” criticising Henry Clay. 
 
 Lectures on “The Elevation of the Laboring Classes.” 
 
 Sermon on “The Church” delivered at the First Unitarian 
 Church, Philadelphia. 
 
 Works (5 volumes) published. 
 
 Last Sermon at Federal Street Church. 
 
 “The Duty of the Free States.” 
 
 Address in celebration of West Indian emancipation of the 
 negroes delivered at Lenox, Mass. 
 
 October 2, Channing dies at Bennington, Vt. 
 
 xxviii 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGH 
 
 FOREWORD 
 AN INTERPRETATION . ... faite sata Sey Soi i 
 THe Morat DIGNITY oF Sha ue NATURE WS 7 un ne I 
 VE NES A DONSHIP. STOtCrOD Ue ales tiers DL Acone all Seat ae TL 
 Serre RELIGIOUS) LIREU. (60). , : 21 
 THE CHARACTER AND WoRK OF cs AND THE 
 EXPOSTLES] 1. ale CR aa aerate ey AG 
 THE TRAITS OF Nore Grier Pe Ne Ree 
 LHe Ricut Conpucr or Lirr . . . : . 66 
 THe Uses or Prayer; PRAYERS, AND Mi eoreriane Laks: 
 UREMeIEERALSVIINISTRYVO Sits) Sort Se eens: ein eu Od 
 PEOUARTAND RELIGIOUS HDUCATION +) ti tia.) OL 
 erie PREnS AND UNIVERSAL,.CHURCH ~ 7.16 tao.) .0) 06 
 PUN MCIPATIONS OF THE FUTURE LIFED. (4... 4, 44. Waeloo 
 INTELLECTUAL INDEPENDENCE AND INTEGRITY . . . I16 
 THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERALISM . ... Eph ag Ba ba 
 THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN IN iyverarent: AND Prac- 
 ICE WNY oo) sch. yan AD PS aaa Sead Mega en eA 
 MoTIvEs AND Mcecnies OF sae Recon OE le eae On a TS 1 
 Berra ALT Ha OF WEROCRESS cue eke dl ey eee ei set 
 Se VEORAL ST ICAW IN GLOLITICS Oy rauis cele eee eek Oo 
 Seva ERISTIAN TL PATRION Geni, of piel oa ekten) fe tek LO2 
 Ser VIISSION OFA MERICA 5 Poa peeled cs teh) she 4 LOGO 
 Drie CTOOD Mt CITIZEN) 6 uae Ww teense fo tase k fa. He 207 
 PYGAINSTYVVAR) AND JVLILITARISM ] + Ur cae lets tb 2L0 
 YC AINSTOOLN TEMPERANCE Gut nie line Chav “cule 4 230 
 PE eINOGRA TH Yiunven eay, are Cteans oes Male MC ya LEO Lora) 248 
 KES a ote hic ee Pte er he eas Wey 8240 
 

 
THE MORAL DIGNITY OF HUMAN 
 NATURE 
 
 1. The Testimony of Man’s Divine Origin 
 
 I cannot but pity the man who recognizes nothing 
 godlike in his own nature. I see the marks of God 
 in the heavens and the earth, but how much more in 
 a liberal intellect, in magnanimity, in unconquerable 
 rectitude, in a philanthropy which forgives every 
 wrong, and which never despairs of the cause of 
 Christ and human virtue! I do and I must reverence 
 human nature. Neither the sneers of a wordly scepti- 
 cism nor the groans of a gloomy theology disturb my 
 faith in its godlike powers and tendencies. I know 
 how it is despised, how it has been oppressed, how civil 
 and religious establishments have for ages conspired 
 to crush it. I know its history. I shut my eyes on 
 none of its weaknesses and crimes. I understand the 
 proofs ‘by which despotism demonstrates that man is 
 a wild beast, in want of a master, and only safe in 
 chains. But injured, trampled on, and scorned as our 
 nature is, I still turn to it with intense sympathy and 
 strong hope. ‘The signatures of its origin and its end 
 are impressed too deeply to be ever wholly effaced. 
 I bless it for its kind affections, for its strong and 
 tender love. I honor it for its struggles against op- 
 pression, for its growth and progress under the weight 
 of so many chains and prejudices, for its achievements 
 
 in science and art, and still more for its examples of 
 I 
 
2 MORAL DIGNITY OF HUMAN NATURE 
 
 heroic and saintly virtue. These are marks of a 
 divine origin and the pledges of a celestial inheritance; 
 and I thank God that my own lot is bound up with that 
 of the human race. 
 
 Likeness to God, p. 298. 
 
 2. The Ray of Divinity in Man 
 
 Am I asked for my conception of the dignity of a 
 human being? I should say, that it consists; first, in 
 that spiritual principle, called sometimes the reason, 
 sometimes the conscience, which, rising above what is 
 local and temporary, discerns immutable truth and 
 everlasting right; which, in the midst of imperfect 
 things, conceives of perfection; which is universal and 
 impartial, standing in direct opposition to the partial, 
 selfish principles of human nature; which says to me 
 with authority, that my neighbor is as precious as my- 
 self, and his rights as sacred as my own; which com- 
 mands me to receive all truth, however it may war with 
 my pride, and to do all justice, however it may conflict 
 with my interest; and which calls me to rejoice with 
 love in all that is beautiful, good, holy, happy, in what- 
 ever being these attributes may be found. This 
 principle is a ray of Divinity in man. 
 
 Elevation of the Laboring Classes, p. 48. 
 3. The Evidence of the Godlike in 
 
 Human Nature 
 
 I have talked of the godlike capacities of human 
 nature, and have spoken of man as a divinity; and 
 where, it will be asked, are the warrants of this high 
 estimate of our race? I may be told that I dream, and 
 
MORAL DIGNITY OF HUMAN NATURE 3 
 
 that I have peopled the world with the creatures of 
 my lonely imagination. What! Is it only in dreams 
 that beauty and loveliness have beamed on me from 
 the human countenance, that I have heard tones of 
 kindness which have thrilled through my heart, that 
 I have found sympathy in suffering, and a sacred joy 
 in friendship? Are all the great and good men of 
 past ages only dreams? Are such names as Moses, 
 Socrates, Paul, Alfred, Milton, only the fictions of my 
 disturbed slumbers? Are the great deeds of history, 
 the discoveries of philosophy, the creations of genius, 
 only visions? Oh, no. I do not dream when I speak 
 of the divine capacities of human nature. It is a real 
 page in which I read of patriots and martyrs, of 
 Fénélon and Howard, of Hampden and Washington. 
 And tell me not that these were prodigies, miracles, 
 immeasurably separated from their race; for the very 
 reverence which has treasured up and hallowed their 
 memories, the very sentiments of admiration and love 
 with which their names are now heard, show that the 
 principles of their greatness are diffused through all 
 your breasts. The germs of sublime virtue are scat- 
 tered liberally on earth. How often have I seen 
 in the obscurity of domestic life a strength of love, of 
 endurance, of pious trust, of virtuous resolution, which 
 in a public sphere would have attracted public homage! 
 I cannot but pity the man who recognizes nothing god- 
 like in his own nature. 
 
 Likeness to God, p. 298. 
 
 4. The Grand Idea of Humanity, of the 
 Importance of Man as Man 
 
 We are looking as never before through the dis- 
 
4 MORAL DIGNITY OF HUMAN NATURE 
 
 guises, envelopments of ranks and classes to the com- 
 mon nature which lies below them, and are beginning 
 to learn that every being who partakes of it has noble 
 powers to cultivate, solemn duties to perform, inal- 
 ienable rights to assert, a vast destiny to accomplish. 
 The grand idea of humanity, of the importance of man 
 as man, is spreading silently but surely. Not that the 
 worth of the human being is at all understood as it 
 should be; but the truth is glimmering through the 
 darkness. A faint consciousness of it has seized on 
 the public mind. Even the most abject portions of 
 society are visited by some dreams of a better condition 
 for which they were designed. ‘The grand doctrine, 
 that every human being should have the means of self- 
 culture,—of progress in knowledge and virtue, of 
 health, comfort, and happiness, of exercising the 
 powers and affections of a man,—this 1s slowly taking 
 its place as the highest social truth. That the world 
 was made for all, and not for a few; that society is 
 to care for all; that no human being shall perish but 
 through his own fault; that the great end of govern- 
 ment is to spread a shield over the rights of all,— 
 these propositions are growing into axioms, and the 
 spirit of them is coming forth in all the departments 
 of life. 
 The Present Age, p. 160. 
 
 5. The Truly Great are to be Found 
 
 Everywhere 
 
 A man is great as a man, be he where or what he 
 may. The grandeur of his nature turns to insignifi- 
 cance all outward distinctions. His powers of in- 
 
MORAL DIGNITY OF HUMAN NATURE 5 
 
 tellect, of conscience, of love, of knowing God, of per- 
 ceiving the beautiful, of acting on his own mind, on 
 outward nature, and on his fellow-creatures,—these 
 are glorious prerogatives. Through the vulgar error 
 of undervaluing what is common, we are apt indeed to 
 pass these by as of little worth. ‘The truly great are 
 to be found everywhere, nor is it easy to say in what 
 condition they spring up most plentifully. Real great- 
 ness has nothing to do with a man’s sphere. It does 
 not lie in the magnitude of his outward agency, in the 
 extent of the effects which he produces. ‘The greatest 
 men may do comparatively little abroad. Perhaps the 
 greatest in our city at this moment are buried in 
 obscurity. Grandeur of character lies wholly in force 
 of soul, that is, in the force of thought, moral principle, 
 and love, and this may be found in the humblest con- 
 dition of life. A man brought up to an obscure trade, 
 and hemmed in by the wants of a growing family, may, 
 in his narrow sphere, perceive more clearly, discrimi- 
 nate more keenly, weigh evidence more wisely, seize on 
 the right means more decisively, and have more 
 presence of mind in difficulty, than another who has ac- 
 cumulated vast stores of knowledge by laborious study; 
 and he has more of intellectual greatness. Many a 
 man, who has gone but a few miles from home, under- 
 stands human nature better, detects motives and weighs 
 character more sagaciously, than another who has 
 travelled over the known world, and made a name by 
 his reports of different countries. It is force of 
 thought which measures intellectual, and so it is force 
 of principle which measures moral greatness, that 
 highest of human endowments, that brightest mant- 
 
6 MORAL DIGNITY OF HUMAN NATURE 
 
 festation of the Divinity. The greatest man is he who 
 chooses the right with invincible resolution, who re- 
 sists the sorest temptations from within and without, 
 who bears the heaviest burdens cheerfully, who is calm- 
 est in storms, and most fearless under menace and 
 frowns, whose reliance on truth, on virtue, on God, 
 is most unfaltering. 
 
 Self Culture, p. 12, 13. 
 
 6. The Only Social Distinctions Should Be Those 
 Based on Moral and Intellectual Excellence 
 
 Men may work in different departments of life, and 
 yet recognize their brotherly relation, and honor one 
 another, and hold friendly communion with one an- 
 other. Undoubtedly, men will prefer as friends and 
 common associates those with whom they sympathize 
 most. But this is not to form a rank or caste. For 
 example, the intelligent seek out the intelligent; the 
 pious, those who reverence God. But suppose the in- 
 tellectual and the religious to cut themselves off by 
 some broad, visible distinction from the rest of society, 
 to form a clan of their own, to refuse admission into 
 their houses to people of inferior knowledge and 
 virtue, and to diminish as far as possible the occasions 
 of intercourse with them; would not society rise up, as 
 one man, against this arrogant exclusiveness? And if 
 intelligence and piety may not be the foundations of a 
 caste, on what ground shall they, who have no dis- 
 tinction but wealth, superior costume, richer equipages, 
 finer houses, draw lines around themselves and con- 
 stitute themselves a higher class? ‘That some should 
 
MORAL DIGNITY OF HUMAN NATURE 7 
 
 be richer than others is natural, and is necessary, and 
 could only be prevented by gross violations of right. 
 Leave men to the free use of their powers, and some 
 will accumulate more than their neighbors. But to 
 be prosperous is not to be superior, and should form 
 no barrier between men. Wealth ought not to secure 
 to the prosperous the slightest consideration. The 
 only distinctions which should be recognized are those 
 of the soul, of strong principle, of incorruptible in- 
 tegrity, of usefulness, of cultivated intellect, of fidelity 
 in seeking for truth. A man, in proportion as he has 
 these claims, should be honored and welcomed every- 
 where. I see not why such a man, however coarsely 
 if neatly dressed, should not be a respected guest in the 
 most splendid mansions, and at the most brilliant meet- 
 ings. A man is worth infinitely more than the saloons, 
 and the costumes, and the show of the universe. He 
 was made to tread all these beneath his feet. What 
 an insult to humanity is the present deference to dress 
 and upholstery, as if silk-worms, and looms, and 
 scissors, and needles could produce something nobler 
 than a man! Every good man should protest against 
 a caste founded on outward prosperity, because it 
 exalts the outward above the inward, the material 
 above the spiritual; because it springs from and cher- 
 ishes a contemptible pride in superficial and transitory 
 distinctions; because it alienates man from his brother, 
 breaks the tie of common humanity, and breeds 
 jealousy, scorn, and mutual ill-will, Can this be 
 needed to social order? 
 
 The Elevation of the Laboring Classes, p. 54. 
 
8 MORAL DIGNITY OF HUMAN NATURE 
 
 7. To Despair of our Race, even when the Times 
 are Restless, is Unchristian 
 
 There are, however, not a few who have painful 
 fears of evil from the restless, earnest action which 
 we have seen spreading itself more and more through 
 all departments of society. They call the age wild, 
 lawless, presumptuous, without reverence. All men, 
 they tell us, are bursting their spheres, quitting their 
 ranks, aspiring selfishly after gain and pre-eminence. 
 The blind multitude are forsaking their natural leaders. 
 The poor, who are the majority, are contriving against 
 the rich. Still more, a dangerous fanaticism threatens 
 destruction to the world under the name of reform; 
 society totters; prosperity is shaken; and the universal 
 freedom of thought and action, of which so many 
 boast, is the precursor of social storms which only 
 despotism can calm. Such are the alarms of not a 
 few; and it is right that fear should utter its prophe- 
 cies, as well as hope. But it is the true office of fear 
 to give a wise direction to human effort, not to chill 
 or destroy it. To despair of the race, even in the 
 worst times, is unmanly, unchristian. How much 
 more so in times like the present! What I most la- 
 ment in these apprehensions is the utter distrust of 
 human nature which they discover. Its highest pow- 
 ers are thought to be given only to be restrained. 
 They are thought to be safe only when in fetters. ‘To 
 me, there is an approach to impiety in thinking so 
 meanly of God’s greatest work. Human nature is 
 not a tiger which needs a constant chain. In this case 
 it is the chain which makes the tiger. It isthe 
 
MORAL DIGNITY OF HUMAN NATURE 9 
 
 oppressor who has made man fit only for a yoke. 
 
 ThesPresent Age pato7. 
 
 8. The Long Record of Humanity’s Heroes 
 and Saints 
 
 Blessed be God; in the history of every age and 
 nation—amidst the ravages of ambition and the mean 
 aims of selfishness—there have broken forth nobler 
 sentiments, and the evidences of a heavenly virtue. 
 Every age has been illustrated by men who bore them- 
 selves like men, and vindicated the cause of human 
 nature,—men who, in circumstances of great trial, 
 have adhered to moral and religious principle, to the 
 cause of persecuted truth, to the interests of humanity; 
 to the hope of immortality,—who have trodden under 
 foot the fairest gifts of fortune and the world in the 
 pursuit of duty. It has often pleased God to gather 
 round these men the clouds of adversity, that their 
 virtues might shine with a sublimer splendor. ‘This 
 is the greatest value of history, that it introduces us 
 to persons of this illustrious order; and its noblest use 
 is by their examples to nourish in us a conviction, that 
 elevated purity of motive and conduct is not a dream 
 of fancy, but that it is placed within our reach, and is 
 the very end of being. 
 
 I have spoken of history as refuting the low con- 
 ceptions which men form of their nature; but, without 
 looking back to former ages, may not every individual, 
 amidst the corruptions of present society, discover in 
 his own sphere some delightful examples and illustra- 
 tions of human goodness? Does he not discern some 
 whose names are never to be inscribed on the rolls of 
 
10 MORAL DIGNITY OF HUMAN NATURE 
 
 earthly fame, and who can boast no distinction of in- 
 telligence or station, but whose sincere devotedness to 
 God, whose gratitude in adversity, whose patience 
 under injury, whose cheerful discharge of humble 
 duties, whose unwearied zeal in doing good, afford a 
 delightful proof of the connection between the human 
 and angelic nature? Let none, then, say that the 
 corruptions of society forbid us to believe that our 
 nature is susceptible of high advancement. ‘The road 
 to perfection is not unexplored. We have forerunners 
 in this path. We see the traces of many steps directed 
 to immortality. Men of like passions with ourselves 
 have subdued temptation. ‘The good and great were 
 not miracles in the moral world. We possess the same 
 power, the same motives, the same heavenly guide, and 
 the same promise of Divine assistance. . . . 
 
 He who accustoms himself to reflect on Jesus Christ, 
 on his apostles, on martyrs, on the best of men, on the 
 loveliest and sublimest forms of humanity, who regards 
 these high beings as his forerunners in the path of 
 glory, and whose chief prayer is, that he may walk in 
 their steps,—this man has learned the true secret of 
 greatness. [hough on earth, he has taken his place 
 in a higher world. 
 
 IED RAS hy AtOe 
 
MAN’S SONSHIP TO GOD 
 
 9. Man has a Kindred Nature with God 
 
 That man has a kindred nature with God, and may 
 bear most important and ennobling relations to him, 
 seems to me to be established by a striking proof. 
 This proof you will understand by considering, for a 
 moment, how we obtain our ideas of God. Whence 
 come the conceptions which we include under that 
 august name? Whence do we derive our knowledge 
 of the attributes and perfections which constitute the 
 Supreme Being? I answer, we derive them from our 
 own souls. The divine attributes are first developed 
 in ourselves, and thence transferred to our Creator. 
 The idea of God, sublime and awful as it is, is the 
 idea of our own spiritual nature, purified and enlarged 
 to infinity. In ourselves are the elements of the 
 Divinity. God, then, does not sustain a figurative 
 resemblance to man. It is the resemblance of a parent 
 to a child, the likeness of a kindred nature. 
 
 We call God a Mind. He has revealed himself as 
 a Spirit. But what do we know of mind but through 
 the unfolding of this principle in our own breasts? 
 That unbounded spiritual energy which we call God 
 is conceived by us only through consciousness, through 
 the knowledge of ourselves. We ascribe thought or 
 intelligence to the Deity, as one of his most glorious 
 attributes. And what means this language? ‘These 
 
 terms we have framed to express operations or 
 I 
 
12 MAN’S SONSHIP TO GOD 
 
 faculties of our own souls. The Infinite Light would 
 be for ever hidden from us did not kindred rays dawn 
 and brighten within’ us. God is another name for 
 human intelligence raised above all error and imper- 
 fection, and extended to all possible truth. 
 
 The same is true of God’s goodness. How do we 
 understand this but by the principle of love implanted 
 in the human breast?. Whence is it that this divine 
 attribute is so faintly comprehended, but from the 
 feeble development of it in the multitude of men? 
 Who can understand the strength, purity, fulness, and 
 extent of divine philanthropy, but he in whom selfish- 
 ness has been swallowed up in love? 
 
 The same is true of all the moral perfections of the 
 Deity. ‘These are comprehended by us only through 
 our own moral nature. It is conscience within us 
 which, by its approving and condemning voice, inter- 
 prets to us God’s love of virtue and hatred of sin; and 
 without conscience, these glorious conceptions would 
 never have opened on the mind. It is the law-giver 
 in our own breasts which gives us the idea of divine 
 authority, and binds us to obey. ‘The soul, by its sense 
 of right, or its perception of moral distinctions, is 
 clothed with sovereignty over itself, and through this 
 alone it understands and recognizes the Sovereign of 
 the universe. 
 
 Likeness to God, p. 293. 
 
 10. The Divine Powers of the Soul in the 
 Lowliest Individual 
 
 Let us not disparage that nature which is common 
 
MAN’S SONSHIP TO GOD 13 
 
 to all men; for no thought can measure its grandeur. 
 It is the image of God, the image even of his infinity, 
 for no limits can be set to its unfolding. He who 
 possesses the divine powers of the soul is a great being, 
 be his place what it may. You may clothe him with 
 rags, may immure him in a dungeon, may chain him 
 to slavish tasks. But he is still great. You may 
 shut him out of your houses; but God opens to him 
 heavenly mansions. He makes no show indeed in 
 the streets of a splendid city; but a clear thought, 
 a pure affection, a resolute act of a virtuous will, 
 have a dignity of quite another kind, and far higher 
 than accumulations of brick and granite and plaster 
 and stucco, however cunningly put together, or though 
 stretching far beyond our sight. ‘The solemn con- 
 flicts of reason with passion; the victories of moral 
 and religious principle over urgent and almost irre- 
 sistible solicitations to self-indulgence; the hardest 
 sacrifices of duty, those of deep-seated affection and of 
 the heart’s fondest hopes; the consolations, hopes, joys, 
 and peace of disappointed, persecuted, scorned, de- 
 serted virtue ;—these are of course unseen; so that the 
 true greatness of human life is almost wholly out of 
 sight. Perhaps in our presence, the most heroic deed 
 on earth is done in some silent spirit, the loftiest pur- 
 pose cherished, the most generous sacrifice made, and 
 we do not suspect it. I believe this greatness to be 
 most common among the multitude, whose names are 
 never heard. Among common people will be found 
 more of hardship borne manfully, more of unvar- 
 nished truth, more of religious trust, more of that 
 
14 MAN’S SONSHIP TO GOD 
 
 generosity which gives what the giver needs himself, 
 and more of a wise estimate of life and death, than 
 among the more prosperous. 
 
 Self Culture, p. 12. 
 11. The Soul was Made for God 
 
 The truth is, that one spirit runs through all our 
 affections, as far as they are pure; and love to man- 
 kind, directed aright, is the germ and element of love 
 to the Divinity. Whatever is excellent and venerable 
 in human beings is of God, and in attaching ourselves 
 to it we are preparing our hearts for its Author. 
 Whoever sees and recognizes the moral dignity of 
 impartial justice and disinterested goodness in his 
 fellow-creatures, has begun to pay homage to the attri- 
 butes of God. The first emotion awakened in the 
 soul—we mean filial attachment—is the dawning of 
 love to our Father in heaven. Our deep interest in 
 the history of good and great men, our veneration 
 towards enlightened legislators, our sympathy with 
 philanthropists, our delight in mighty efforts of intel- 
 lect consecrated to a good cause,—all these sentiments 
 prove our capacity of an affectionate reverence to 
 God; for He is at once the inspirer and the model of 
 this intellectual and moral grandeur in his creatures. 
 We even think that our love of nature has an affinity 
 with the love of God, and was meant as a prepara- 
 tion for it; for the harmonies of nature are only 
 his wisdom made visible; the heavens, so sublime, 
 are a revelation of his immensity; and the beauty 
 of creation images to us his overflowing love 
 
MAN’S SONSHIP TO GOD 15 
 
 and blessedness. To us, hardly any thing seems 
 plainer than that the soul was made for God. Not 
 only its human affections guide it to him; not only its 
 deep wants, its dangers, and helplessness, guide it to 
 him; there are still higher indications of the end for 
 which it was made. It has a capacity of more than 
 human love, a principle or power of adoration, which 
 cannot bound itself to finite natures, which carries up 
 the thoughts above the visible universe, and which, in 
 approaching God, rises into a solemn transport, a 
 mingled awe and joy, prophetic of a higher life; and a 
 brighter signature of our end and happiness cannot be 
 conceived. 
 
 On Feénélon, p. 572. 
 
 12. The New Social Life Involves a High 
 Estimate of Human Nature 
 
 How sublimely great is Man, when thus regarded 
 as a spiritual being in fellowship with the Infinite 
 Spirit! Within him is enshrined the idea of God. 
 He calls God his Father. 
 
 It is a joyful confirmation of my faith, then, to find 
 in the human soul plain signatures of a Divine Prin- 
 ciple, to find faculties allied to the attributes of God, 
 faculties beginning to unfold into God’s image, and 
 presages of an immortal life. 
 
 Another practical use of the views now given of 
 human nature is this; in proportion as they are re- 
 ceived, they will transform essentially our modes of 
 relationship, communication, and association with our 
 fellow-beings. They will exalt us into a new social 
 
16 MAN’S SONSHIP TO GOD 
 
 life. Indeed, they will give an entirely new character 
 to social intercourse. That intercourse must be deter- 
 mined by the estimate we form of human nature. He 
 who looks on Man as little better than a brute will 
 live with men as brutes. He will be wanting in rever- 
 ence for their rights and feelings. He will think only 
 of making them his instruments. He will be anxious 
 chiefly to raise himself above them by outward dis- 
 tinctions. He will care little how they are trampled 
 under foot. He will scoff at the thought of living 
 and dying for their happiness. Society is now de- 
 graded through all its laws, institutions, and customs, 
 by the blindness of men to the Divine Principle within 
 themselves, and one another. Once diffuse this great 
 truth through society, and it will work a mightier 
 revolution than politicians ever dreamed of. It will 
 ennoble all social duties. It will give sanctity to all 
 social relations. It will breathe a deference and 
 tender respect through manners, which will put to 
 shame what now passes for courtesy. It will bring 
 an end to that outward, ostentatious, superficial life, 
 on which so many squander time, means, thought, and 
 their best powers. It will awaken an intense effort for 
 distressed humanity. It will send far and wide a 
 spirit of reform, from the nursery to the hall of legis- 
 lation. It will substitute the holy tie of Human 
 Brotherhood for all artificial bonds of social order. 
 With this great truth in his heart a man cannot insult 
 a fellowman, for he beholds the Divine in the Human. 
 He can call no being low in whom his own highest 
 powers and affections are wrapped up. Can you con- 
 ceive then of a truth so practical as this doctrine of 
 
MAN’S SONSHIP TO GOD G7 
 
 the greatness of man asa moral being? It will create 
 a New Earth. 
 God Revealed in the Universe and in Humanity, p. 
 
 945, 0. 
 
 13. Religion Reminds Human Nature of its 
 Divine Parentage and Obligations 
 
 Religion gives life, strength, elevation to the mind, 
 by connecting it with the Infinite Mind; by teaching 
 it to regard itself as the offspring and care of the 
 Infinite Father, who created it that He might communi- 
 cate to it his own spirit and perfections, who formed 
 it for truth and virtue, who framed it for himself, 
 who subjects it to sore trials, that by conflict and en- 
 durance it may grow strong, and who has sent his Son 
 to purify it from every sin, and to clothe it with im- 
 mortality. It is religion alone which nourishes 
 patient, resolute hopes and efforts for our own souls. 
 Without it we can hardly escape self-contempt and the 
 contempt of our race. Without God our existence 
 has no support, our life no aim, our improvements no 
 permanence, our best labors no sure and enduring re- 
 sults, our spiritual weakness no power to lean upon, 
 and our noblest aspirations and desires no pledge of 
 being realized in a better state. Struggling virtue 
 has no friend; suffering virtue no promise of victory. 
 Take away God, and life becomes mean, and man 
 poorer than the brute. I am accustomed to speak 
 of the greatness of human nature; but it is great only 
 through its parentage; great, because descended from 
 God, because connected with a goodness and power 
 from which it is to be enriched forever; and nothing 
 
18 MAN’S SONSHIP TO GOD 
 
 but the consciousness of this connection can give that 
 hope of elevation through which alone the mind is to 
 rise to true strength and liberty. 
 
 Spiritual Freedom, p. 177. 
 
 14. Christianity’s Great Design is the Infinite. 
 Perfection of the Soul 
 
 I see everywhere in Christianity this great design 
 of liberating and raising the human mind on which I 
 have enlarged. I see in Christianity nothing narrow- 
 ing or depressing, nothing of the littleness of the sys- 
 tems which human fear, and craft, and ambition have 
 engendered. I meet there no minute legislation, no 
 descending to precise details, no arbitrary injunctions, 
 no yoke of ceremonies, no outward religion. Every 
 thing breathes freedom, liberality, enlargement. I 
 meet there not a formal, rigid creed, binding on the 
 intellect through all ages the mechanical, passive repe- 
 tition of the same words and the same ideas; but I 
 meet a few grand, all-comprehending truths, which 
 are given to the soul to be developed and applied by 
 itself; given to it as seed to the sower, to be cherished 
 and expanded by its own thought, love, and obedience 
 into more and more glorious fruits of wisdom and 
 virtue. I see it everywhere inculcating an enlarged 
 spirit of piety and philanthropy, leaving each of us to 
 manifest this spirit according to the monitions of his 
 individual conscience. I hear it everywhere calling 
 the soul to freedom and power, by calling it to guard 
 against the senses, the passions, the appetites, through 
 which it is chained, enfeebled, destroyed. I see it 
 everywhere aiming to give the mind power over the 
 
MAN’S SONSHIP TO GOD 19 
 
 outward world, to make it superior to events, to 
 suffering, to material nature, to persecution, to death. 
 I see it everywhere aiming to give the mind power 
 over itself, to invest it with inward sovereignty, to 
 call forth within us a mighty energy for our own ele- 
 vation. I meet in Christianity only discoveries of a 
 vast, bold, illimitable character, fitted and designed 
 to give energy and expansion to the soul. By its doc- 
 trine of a Universal Father, it sweeps away all the 
 barriers of sect, party, rank, and nation in which men 
 have labored to shut up their love; makes us members 
 of an unbounded family; and establishes sympathies 
 between man and the whole intelligent creation. In 
 the character of Christ it sets before us moral perfec- 
 tion, that greatest and most quickening miracle in 
 human history, a purity which shows no stain or touch 
 of the earth, an excellence unborrowed, unconfined, 
 bearing no impress of any age or any nation, the very 
 image of the Universal Father; and it encourages us, 
 by assurances of God’s merciful aid, to propose this 
 enlarged, unsullied virtue as the model and happiness 
 of our moral nature. 
 
 The Great Purpose of Christianity, p. 250. 
 
 15. Within You is the Grandest Truth 
 
 How is it that I get my ideas of God, of my fellow 
 creatures, of the deeds, suffering, motives, which make 
 up universal history? I comprehend all these from 
 the consciousness of what passes in my own soul. ‘The 
 mind within me is a type representative of all others, 
 and therefore I can understand all. Whence come 
 my conceptions of the intelligence, and justice, and 
 
20 MAN’S SONSHIP TO GOD 
 
 goodness, and power of God? It is because my 
 own spirit contains the germs of these attributes. ‘The 
 ideas of them are first derived from my own nature, 
 and therefore I comprehend them in other beings. 
 Thus the foundation of all the sciences which treat 
 of mind is laid in every man’s breast. The good man 
 is exercising in his business and family faculties and 
 affections which bear a*likeness to the attributes of 
 the Divinity, and to the energies which have made the 
 greatest men illustrious; so that in studying himself, 
 in learning the highest principles and laws of his own 
 soul, he is in truth studying God, studying all human 
 history, studying the philosophy which has immortal- 
 ized the sages of ancient and modern times. In every 
 man’s mind and life all other minds and lives are 
 more or less represented and wrapped up. To study 
 other things, I must go into the outward world, and 
 perhaps go far. ‘To study the science of spirit, I 
 must come home and enter my own soul. The pro- 
 foundest books that have ever been written do nothing 
 more than bring out, place in clear light, what is pass- 
 ing in each of your minds. So near you, so within 
 you, is the grandest truth. 
 
 Elevation of the Laboring Classes, p. 47. 
 
TORR Eb lGIOWs aie by i 
 16. The Birth of the New Man 
 
 There is a solemn moment in every man’s life 
 when the soul begins to realize its relations and connec- 
 tions with the invisible world eternally present; when 
 it begins to measure the difference between the ma- 
 terial and spiritual ends of life. Then God seems 
 to come forth from the clouds and obscurity in which 
 our indulged passions have enveloped him. Who has 
 not had this great moment when new and strong 
 aspirations to be at one with God were felt ?—when, 
 like the icebound river beneath the influence of the 
 sun, the soul bursts forth and flows freely, spreading 
 joy and gladness with refreshing verdure over the 
 barren plains of human life? At such moments of 
 awakening, the first conviction that presses on us is our 
 own unworthiness. Every stain of the soul, and short- 
 coming, though acknowledged in words before now, 
 has a new and fearful distinctness; a strong desire 
 arises to purge ourselves of sin, and every step of 
 moral effort and attainment opens new views of excel- 
 lence and duty to God and man and becomes a new 
 starting point of aspiration to God. A boundless at- 
 mosphere opens on us where imagination may soar, 
 hope expand, desire always obtain what refreshes the 
 soul, and yet never expire; for God fills it with new 
 
 energy forever. 
 21 
 
22 THEERELIGIOWS CIE 
 
 (From a Sermon on the text, “Ho! every one that 
 thirsteth, come unto me,’ preached in the winter of 
 1825-6. Miss E. P. Peabody made a copy of the 
 Mss. and included the above passage, among others, 
 in her Reminiscences, pp. 149 on). 
 
 17. The Experience of the New Birth 
 
 A religious character is an acquisition, and implies 
 a change; a change which requires labor and prayer, 
 which requires aid and strength from heaven; a change 
 so great and important, that it deserves to be called a 
 new birth. ‘The Christian is a new man. Once the 
 dictates of conscience might have been heard; now 
 they are obeyed. Once an occasional gratitude might 
 have shed a transient glow through his heart; now 
 the Divine goodness is a cherished thought, and he 
 labors to requite it by an obedient life. Once his pas- 
 sions were his lords; now he bows to the authority, 
 and waits to hear the will, of God. Once human 
 opinion was his guide, and human favor the reward 
 he proposed; now he feels that another eye is upon 
 him, that his heart and life are naked before God, and 
 to approve himself to this righteous and unerring 
 witness and judge is his highest ambition. Once he 
 was ready to repine and despond when his wishes and 
 labors were crossed; now he sees a providence in life’s 
 vicissitudes, the discipline of a father in his sufferings, 
 and bears his burdens, and performs his duties, with 
 cheerful resignation to Him who assigns them. Once 
 he was sufficiently satisfied with himself, or unwilling 
 to feel his deficiencies; now he is humble, conscious of 
 
THE RELIGIOUS LIFE 28 
 
 having sinned, desirous to discover his errors, contrite 
 in his acknowledgment, earnest in his application to 
 Divine mercy, and resolute in his opposition to temp- 
 tation. Once the thought of a Saviour, suffering for 
 human pardon and rising from the dead to confer 
 immortality, excited little interest; now the promise, 
 love, cross and resurrection of Jesus come home to 
 him with power, and awaken gratitude and hope. 
 Once he lived chiefly for himself, now he has learned 
 to love his fellow-beings with a sincere and efficient 
 kindness, to lose sight of himself in the prosecution 
 of benevolent designs, to feel for the misery, the sins, 
 of those around him, and to endure labors and sacri- 
 fices that he may give relief to the frail body and peace 
 and health to the immortal mind. 
 
 (AC iy Ge iey 
 18. The Seeking and Redeeming Love of God 
 
 This grace or mercy of God, which seeks the lost, 
 and receives and blesses the returning child, is pro- 
 claimed by that faith which we advocate with a 
 clearness and energy which cannot be surpassed. Unt- 
 tarianism will not listen for a moment to the common 
 errors by which this bright attribute is obscured. It 
 will not hear of a vindictive wrath in God which must 
 be quenched by blood; or of a justice which binds his 
 mercy with an iron chain until its demands are satisfied 
 to the full. It will not hear that God needs any 
 foreign influence to awaken his mercy, but teaches 
 that the yearnings of the tenderest human parent to- 
 wards a lost child are but a faint image of God’s deep 
 
24 THE*RELIGIOUS LIFE 
 
 and overflowing compassion towards erring man. 
 This essential and unchangeable propensity of the Di- 
 vine Mind to forgiveness, the Unitarian beholds 
 shining forth through the whole word of God, and 
 especially in the mission and revelation of Jesus 
 Christ, who lived and died to make manifest the 
 inexhaustible plenitude of divine grace; and, aided 
 by revelation, he sees this’attribute of God everywhere, 
 both around him and within him. He sees it in the 
 sun which shines, and the rain which descends on the 
 evil and unthankful; in the peace which returns to the 
 mind in proportion to its return to God and duty; 
 in the sentiment of compassion which springs up spon- 
 taneously in the human breast towards the fallen and 
 lost; and in the moral instinct which teaches us to 
 cherish this compassion as a sacred principle, as an 
 emanation of God’s infinite love. In truth, Unitar- 
 ianism asserts so strongly the mercy of God, that the 
 reproach thrown upon it is that it takes from the 
 sinner the dread of punishment,—a reproach wholly 
 without foundation; for our system teaches that Ged’s 
 mercy is not an instinctive tenderness, which cannot 
 inflict pain, but an all-wise love, which desires the true 
 and lasting good of its object, and consequently desires 
 first for the sinner that restoration to purity without 
 which shame, and suffering, and exile from God and 
 heaven are of necessity and unalterably his doom. 
 Thus Unitarianism holds forth God’s grace and for- 
 giving goodness most resplendently; and, by this mani- 
 festation of him, it tends to awaken a tender and 
 confiding piety; an ingenuous love, which mourns that 
 it has offended; an ingenuous aversion to sin, not be- 
 
THE RELIGIOUS LIFE 12% 
 
 cause sin brings punishment, but because it separates 
 the mind from this merciful Father. 
 Unitarian Christianity Favorable to Piety, p. 394. 
 
 19. The Divine Grace Needed to Overcome Law- 
 less Impulses and Sudden Temptations 
 
 When heavenly aspirations enter the soul, they are 
 like a light suddenly kindled in the dark. ‘They reveal 
 undreamed-of defects. “They waken a new sense of 
 sin. [hey display the deformity of motives, from 
 which we had before acted without misgiving. The 
 good man daily acquires a delicacy of moral percep- 
 tion and feeling, before whose penetrating gaze his 
 inmost imperfections are laid bare. His outward 
 blemishes, his grosser faults, may be amended. But 
 the sins which cling closest, which wind themselves 
 subtly through the fibres of his nature,—his pride, 
 vanity, self-conceit, self-indulgence, and, above all, 
 the disloyalty of his self-will to the will of the All- 
 Good,—these grow only more apparent. He finds 
 that to purify the fountain-head of emotion in the soul, 
 to cleanse its depths from all that defiles it, to drive 
 out lurking ill from its recesses, and to untwine the 
 serpent coils of selfishness from his purpose and plans, 
 his aims and interests, is a vastly harder work than 
 building fair walls of outer decorum. Some powerful 
 excitement, some unwonted trial, will rouse into action 
 lawless impulses, over whose subjection he had sung 
 songs of triumph. Long dormant evils, awakened 
 by adverse temptations, by a rush of prosperity, or a 
 shock of adversity, by flattery and favor, or by per- 
 secution and peril, will burst forth from their hiding- 
 
26 THE RELIGIOUS CIEE 
 
 places, with such violence as almost to make him doubt 
 the reality of his religious life. At such trying 
 seasons, a secret ejaculation, a cry of the soul for 
 God’s grace to rescue, brings home to the good man 
 his instant dependence. With what grateful joy does 
 he then hold fast to the assurance, that he is never 
 alone, for the Father is with him, that the living 
 source of all good is near to him as his own life, and 
 ready to renew him with light and strength from 
 heaven. 
 
 Life a Divine Gift, p. 974. 
 20. The Pure in Heart Shall See God 
 
 My belief is, that one chief means of acquiring a 
 vivid sense of God’s Presence is to resist, instantly and 
 resolutely, whatever we feel to be evil in our hearts 
 and lives, and at once to begin in earnest to obey the 
 Divine Will as it speaks in conscience. You say that 
 you desire a new and nearer knowledge of your 
 Creator. Let this thirst for a higher consciousness of 
 the Infinite Being lead you to oppose whatever you 
 feel to be at war with God’s Purity, God’s Truth, and 
 God’s Righteousness. Just in proportion as you gain 
 victory over the evil of which you have become aware 
 in yourself, will your spiritual eye be purged for a 
 brighter perception of the Holy One. And this in 
 its turn will strengthen you for a yet more strenuous 
 resistance of sin—which will prepare you for still 
 more intimate acquaintance with the Divine Nature 
 and Character. ‘This attainment to a knowledge of 
 God and this instant resistance of sin are most inti- 
 mately and vitally related. Neither can advance be- 
 
THE RELIGIOUS LIFE 27 
 yond the other. For God, is the All-Good, can be 
 
 known only through our own growing goodness. No 
 man living in deliberate violation of his duty, in wil- 
 ful disobedience to God’s commands as taught by 
 conscience, can possibly make progress in acquaintance 
 with the Supreme Being. Vain are all acts of worship 
 in church or in secret, vain are religious reading and 
 conversation, without this instant fidelity. Unless you 
 are willing to withstand the desire which the inward 
 monitor, enlightened as it always is by this Divine 
 Spirit, condemns, you must, you will, remain a stranger 
 to your Heavenly Father. Evil passions and sensual 
 impulses darken the intellect and sear the heart. 
 Especially important is it—indispensable indeed— 
 that self-indulgence and self-will shall be determinedly 
 withstood. While these enthrall us, never can we 
 comprehend the true glory of God. For His Glory 
 is Perfect Love. If we would have our souls become 
 the temples of the Supreme Being, filled with his light 
 and joy and peace, we must utterly cast out the foul 
 spirits which are at enmity with the Divine purity and 
 disinterestedness. 
 
 The Father’s Love for Persons, p. 958. 
 
 21. Religion Provides a Motive for Moral 
 Perfection 
 
 Religion is the great spring of moral improvement. 
 This confidence in God alone gives the hope of reach- 
 ing Perfection. Hope inspires energy. But without 
 trust in God I have no sufficient hope to excite and 
 sustain persevering efforts after excellence. ‘True, 
 there are other aids of virtue besides religion—the 
 
28 THE RELIGIOUS LIFE 
 
 approbation and rebukes of conscience, the esteem 
 and honour of fellow-beings, the present recompenses 
 of uprightness and charity. But that watchful dis- 
 cipline over the inmost thoughts and motives, that 
 aspiration after disinterestedness and inward purity, 
 that scorn of suffering in the way of well-doing, that 
 preference of the soul’s health and progress to out- 
 ward interests, that conflict with absorbing self-love— 
 all of which are so essential to eminence and perma- 
 nence of Rectitude—come not from ourselves. ‘They 
 demand continual, fresh supplies of Divine Inspira- 
 tion. So tremendous is the power of passion, so subtle 
 is temptation, so contagious is the influence of example, 
 that a man, conscious of no higher power than his 
 own, and expecting no improvement but such as he can 
 compass by his unaided will, might well despair of 
 resisting the combined powers of evil. An Infinite 
 Motive is needed to quicken us in this never-ending 
 war with selfishness and the world. And where is 
 such a motive to be found, if we believe in no Ever- 
 lasting Friend of goodness, and in no Future Life 
 where our present spiritual growth will be crowned 
 with Perfection? 
 The Perfecting Power of Religion, p. 986. 
 
 22. True Religion Blends Itself with 
 Human Life 
 
 We approach our Creator by every right exertion 
 of the powers He gives us. Whenever we invigorate 
 the understanding by honestly and resolutely seeking 
 truth, and by withstanding whatever might warp the 
 judgment; whenever we invigorate the conscience by 
 
THE RELIGIOUS LIFE 29 
 
 following it in opposition to the passions; whenever 
 we receive a blessing gratefully, bear a trial patiently, 
 or encounter peril or scorn with moral courage; when- 
 ever we perform a disinterested deed; whenever we 
 lift up the heart in true adoration to God; whenever 
 we war against a habit or desire which is strengthening 
 itself against our higher principles; whenever we think, 
 speak, or act, with moral energy and resolute devotion 
 to duty, be the occasion ever so humble, obscure, 
 familiar ;—then the divinity is growing within us, and 
 we are ascending towards our Author. ‘True religion 
 thus blends itself with common life. We are thus to 
 draw nigh to God without forsaking men. We are 
 thus, without parting with our human nature, to clothe 
 ourselves with the divine. 
 
 Likeness to God, p. 298. 
 
 23. The Sense of Duty and Idea of Right 
 are God’s Gifts 
 
 The sense of duty is the preteee gift of God. The 
 idea of right is the primary and the highest revelation 
 of God to the human mind, and all outward revela- 
 tions are founded on and addressed to it. All mys- 
 teries of science and theology fade away before the 
 grandeur of the simple perception of duty which 
 dawns on the mind of the little child. That percep- 
 tion brings him into the moral kingdom of God. 
 That lays on him an everlasting bond. He in whom 
 the conviction of duty is unfolded becomes subject 
 from that moment to a law which no-power in the 
 universe can abrogate. He forms a new and indis- 
 soluble connection with God, that of an accountable 
 
30 THE RELIGIOUS LIFE 
 
 being. He begins to stand before an inward tribunal, 
 on the decisions of which his whole happiness rests; 
 he hears a voice which, if faithfully followed, will guide 
 him to perfection, and in neglecting which he brings 
 upon himself inevitable misery. We little understand 
 the solemnity of the moral principle in every human 
 mind. We think not how awful are its functions. 
 We forget that it is the germ of immortality. Did 
 we understand it, we should look with a feeling of 
 reverence on every being to whom it is given. 
 
 Honor due to all Men, p. 69. 
 
 24. Moral Evil is the Worst Misfortune 
 
 In all ages of the world, in every country and with 
 all religions, it is the prevailing prayer to be delivered 
 from misfortune; and in the pagan worship, the most 
 costly offerings were heaped on the altars in the hope 
 of averting calamities impending over the country. 
 But what is the evil most to be dreaded? Suppose 
 every one here assembled should offer up the petition 
 to be delivered from the peculiar evil that besets him- 
 self, and, as he believes, makes him unhappy. What 
 a variety of petitions would be presented! One man 
 would say—‘‘Deliver me from this rival’; another, 
 ‘Protect me from danger and illness’; another, “Pre- 
 serve my property’; another, ‘Continue me my fam- 
 ily”; another, “Save me from disgrace in the eyes of 
 my fellow-men.” I do not say that some would not 
 pray fervently and sincerely for deliverance from the 
 thraldom of sin. But although here and there a 
 feeble voice would utter this petition, would it not be 
 
THE RELIGIOUS LIFE 31 
 
 disregarded amid the tumult of other and louder sup- 
 plications? Would the prayer for deliverance and 
 redemption predominate over those for temporal wel- 
 fave @eplefeamnot la heatter prayers: arcriruitiess 
 unless joined with a heart and mind unpolluted by sin. 
 
 You are unhappy, and you ascribe to outward cir- 
 cumstances the misery within—to ill health—the loss 
 of property, bereavement, the perplexed state of your 
 affairs, the east wind, the maladministration of govern- 
 ment, the offensive prodofaneighbor. Yet [have read 
 of those, yea I have seen those who, with all the mis- 
 fortunes I have enumerated, are yet at peace: Indeed, 
 the weapon with which the heart wounds itself is more 
 envenomed and deadly than any other; and the stings 
 of conscience are more severe than those inflicted by 
 the scorpion’s fangs. Pray to be delivered from these 
 evils, and the burden will be lessened. You cannot, 
 by multiplying pleasures and occupations, escape from 
 the clouds which a corrupt heart and sinful courses 
 have gathered around you. Let the Lord lead you 
 out of the way of temptation and deliver you from 
 evil. 
 
 From a Sermon copied from the original Mss. by 
 Miss Peabody. (Reminiscences, p. 163). 
 
 25. The Advantages of Conceiving God 
 as Purely Spiritual 
 
 My friends, hold fast the doctrine of a purely spirit- 
 ual Divinity. It is one of the great supports and 
 instruments of a vital piety. It brings God near as 
 no other doctrine can. One of the leading purposes 
 
32 THE RELIGIOUS LIFE 
 
 of Christianity is to give us an ever-growing sense of 
 God’s immediate presence,—a consciousness of him in 
 our souls. Now, just as far as corporeal or limited 
 attributes enter into our conception of him, we remove 
 him from us. He becomes an outward, distant being, 
 instead of being viewed and felt as dwelling in the 
 soul itself. It is an unspeakable benefit of the doc- 
 trine of a purely spiritual God, that He can be re- 
 garded as inhabiting, filling our spiritual nature; and, 
 through this union with our minds, He can and does 
 become the object of an intimacy and friendship such 
 as no embodied being can call forth. 
 Unitarian Christianity favorable to Piety, p. 389. 
 
 26. The Character of a Man of Piety 
 
 We esteem him, and him only, a pious man, who 
 practically conforms to God’s moral perfections and 
 government; who shows his delight in God’s benevo- 
 lence by loving and serving his neighbor; his delight 
 in God’s justice by being resolutely upright; his sense 
 of God’s purity by regulating his thoughts, imagina- 
 tion, and desires; and whose conversation, business, 
 and domestic life are swayed by a regard to God’s 
 presence and authority. In all things else men may de- 
 ceive themselves. Disordered nerves may give them 
 strange sights, and sounds, and impressions. Texts of 
 Scripture may come to them as from heaven. ‘Their 
 whole souls may be moved, and their confidence in 
 God’s favor be undoubting. But in all this there is 
 no religion. ‘The question is, Do they love God's com- 
 mands, in which his character is fully expressed, and 
 give up to these their habits and passions? Without 
 
THE RELIGIOUS LIFE 33 
 
 this, ecstasy is a mockery. One surrender of desire 
 to God’s will is worth a thousand transports. 
 Unitarian Christianity, p. 381. 
 
 27. Growth in Christian Excellence 
 
 If we are growing in Christian excellence, we shall 
 become more simple in our characters. We shall be 
 the same everywhere. ‘The love of God and man will 
 diffuse itself more and more through our common looks 
 and words, emotions and actions. We shall feel this 
 temper at home and abroad. It will influence us when 
 no eye sees us, as well as when we are excited by num- 
 bers. It will lead us peculiarly to secret, unobserved 
 performance of duty, to habitual acts of kindness and 
 devotion which lie beyond the notice of man. We 
 shall not only be more serene in provocation, more 
 cheerful in affliction, more moderate in prosperity, but 
 everything will take a hue from religion, and lead to 
 the exercise of pious, humble, disinterested atftec- 
 fon Santee: 
 
 We are not growing in Religion, if we make piety a 
 substitute for kindness, or kindness a substitute for 
 piety; if we hope by generosity to atone for extrava- 
 gance or lust, or by honesty to atone for avarice. We 
 are not growing in religion, if we are satisfied with per- 
 forming occasional acts which suggest themselves to 
 our minds, but make no exertion to learn how we may 
 pursue the whole will of God. We are not growing 
 in religion, if the thought of living habitually in any 
 omission or any positive disobedience sits easy upon 
 us, and makes no painful impression. If, on the con- 
 trary, our consciences testify that God’s goodness and 
 
34 THE RELIGIOUS LIFE 
 
 majesty excite us to seek universal obedience; if in our 
 hearts we feel that every branch of known duty is 
 the object of our attention and pursuit; if we can hope 
 that not one sin of heart or life is habitually allowed 
 and knowingly indulged,—then we may expect to grow 
 in all excellence. ‘Then the various duties which we 
 seek to perform will confirm one another. Our temper- 
 ance will invigorate our-love, and this our piety, and 
 piety will add stability to both. In a life in which all 
 duties meet, there is a harmony which is favorable to 
 all. One spirit circulates through all. ‘They grow 
 like the limbs of a well-proportioned body. .. . 
 
 When our duty and our happiness shall entirely 
 coincide, then we shall be perfect beings; and in pro- 
 portion as we approach this state, we approach per- 
 LeCtionsy am 
 
 Ltfeep also: 
 28. The Essential Thing in Religion 
 
 Inward sanctity, pure love, disinterested attachment 
 to God and man, obedience of heart and life, sincere 
 excellence of character, this is the one thing needful, 
 this the essential thing in religion; and all things else, 
 ministers, churches, ordinances, places of worship, all 
 are but means, helps, secondary influences, and utterly 
 worthless when separated from this. To imagine that 
 God regards any thing but this, that He looks at any - 
 thing but the heart, is to dishonor him, to express a 
 mournful insensibility to his pure character. Good- 
 ness, purity, virtue, this is the only distinction in God’s 
 sight. This is intrinsically, essentially, everlastingly, 
 
THE RELIGIOUS LIFE 35 
 
 and by its own nature lovely, beautiful, glorious, di- 
 vine. It owes nothing to time, to circumstance, to 
 outward connections. It shines by its own light. It 
 is the sun of the spiritual universe. It is God himself 
 dwelling in the human soul. Can any man think 
 lightly of it because it has not grown up in a certain 
 church, or exalt any church above it? My friends, 
 one of the grandest truths of religion is the supreme 
 importance of character, of virtue, of that divine 
 spirit which shone out in Christ. ‘The grand heresy 
 is to substitute any thing for this, whether creed, or 
 form, or church. 
 
 The Church, p. 443. 
 
 29. The True Praise of God is Appropriation 
 of His Goodness 
 
 Do not, my friends, forget the great end for which 
 Christ enjoins on us the worship of God. It is not 
 that we may ingratiate ourselves with an almighty 
 agent whose frown is destruction. It is that we may 
 hold communion with an intelligence and goodness 
 infinitely surpassing our own; that we may rise above 
 imperfect and finite natures; that we may attach our- 
 selves by love and reverence to the best Being in the 
 universe; and that, through veneration and love, we 
 may receive into our own minds the excellence, dis- 
 interestedness, wisdom, purity, and power which we 
 adore. ‘This reception of the divine attributes I desire 
 especially to hold forth as the most glorious end for 
 which God reveals himself. To praise him is not 
 enough. That homage which has no power to as- 
 
36 THE RELIGIOUS LIFE 
 
 similate us to him is of little or no worth. ‘The truest 
 admiration is that by which we receive other minds 
 into our own. ‘True praise is a sympathy with excel- 
 lence, gaining strength by utterance. Such is the 
 praise which God demands. 
 
 The Great Purpose of Christianity, p. 249. 
 
 30. The Church a Retreat from the World 
 
 In the world we form ties of interest, pleasure, and 
 ambition. We come together as creatures of time and 
 sense for transient amusement or display. In the 
 church we meet as God’s children; we recognize in 
 ourselves something higher than this animal and 
 worldly life. We come that holy feelings may spread 
 from heart to heart. The church, in its true idea, is 
 a retreat: from the world:. We meet init, thaten 
 union with the holy, we may get strength to with- 
 stand our common intercourse with the impure. We 
 meet to adore God, to open our souls to his Spirit, and, 
 by recognition of the common Father, to forget all 
 distinction among ourselves, to embrace all men as 
 brothers. ‘This spiritual union with the holy who are 
 departed and who yet live, is the beginning of that 
 perfect fellowship which constitutes heaven. It is 
 to survive all ties. The bonds of husband and wife, 
 parent and child, are severed at death; the union of 
 the virtuous friends of God and man is as eternal 
 as virtue, and this union is the essence of the true 
 church. 
 
 The Church, p. 442. 
 
THE RELIGIOUS LIFE a7 
 
 31. Come to Church to Worship in Spirit 
 and in Truth 
 
 Come, then, to this place to worship with the soul, 
 to elevate the spirit to God. . . . Come to worship in 
 spirit and in truth, that is, intelligently, rationally, 
 with clear judgment, with just and honorable concep- 
 tions of the Infinite Father, not prostrating your 
 understandings, not renouncing the divine gift of 
 reason, but offering an enlightened homage, such as 
 is due to the Fountain of intelligence and truth. 
 Come to worship with the heart as well as intellect, 
 with life, fervor, zeal. Sleep over your business if 
 you will, but not over your religion. Come to wor- 
 ship with strong conviction, with living faith in a 
 higher presence than meets the eye, with a feeling of 
 God’s presence not only around you, but in the depths 
 of your souls. Come to worship with a filial spirit, 
 not with fear, dread, and gloom; not with sepulchral 
 tones and desponding looks, but with humble, cheerful, 
 boundless trust, with overflowing gratitude, with a love 
 willing and earnest to do and to suffer whatever may 
 approve your devotion to God. Come to worship 
 him with what He most delights in, with aspiration 
 for spiritual light and life; come to cherish and express 
 desires for virtue, for purity, for power over temp- 
 tation, stronger and more insatiable than spring up in 
 your most eager pursuits of business or pleasure; and 
 welcome joyfully every holy impulse, every accession 
 of strength to virtuous purpose, to the love of God 
 andman. Ina word, come to offer a refined, generous 
 worship, to offer a tribute worthy of him who is the 
 
38 THE REDIGIOUS LIFE 
 
 perfection of truth, goodness, beauty, and blessedness. 
 Adore him with the calmest reason and the profound- 
 est love, and strive to conform yourselves to what you 
 adore. 
 
 Christian Worship, p. 420. 
 32. Go Forth from Church to do Good 
 
 Go from this house to worship God by reverencing 
 the human soul as his chosen sanctuary. Revere it 
 in yourselves, revere it in others, and labor to carry it 
 forward to perfection. Worship God within these 
 walls, as universally, impartially good to his human 
 offspring; and go forth to breathe the same spirit. 
 Go forth to respect the rights and seek the true, endur- 
 ing welfare of all within your influence. Carry with 
 you the conviction that to trample on a human being, 
 of whatever color, clime, rank, condition, is to trample 
 on God’s child; that to degrade or corrupt a man, is 
 to deface a holier temple than any material sanctuary. 
 Mercy, love, is more acceptable worship to God than 
 all sacrifices or outward offerings. ‘The most celestial 
 worship ever paid on earth was rendered by Christ, 
 when he approached man, and the most sinful man, 
 as a child of God, when he toiled and bled to awaken 
 what was divine in the human soul, to regenerate a 
 fallen world. Be such the worship which you shall 
 carry from this place. Go forth to do good with 
 every power which God bestows, to make every place 
 you enter happier by your presence, to espouse all 
 human interests, to throw your whole weight into the 
 
THERE EIGIOUSCEIRE 39 
 
 scale of human freedom and improvement, to with- 
 
 stand all wrong, to uphold all right, and especially to 
 
 give light, life, strength, to the immortal soul. 
 Christian Worship, p. 421. 
 
 33. The Best of all Blessings 
 
 The best of all the blessings which God gives to 
 man is a heart alive to what is great and good, which 
 glows at the sight of excellence, and kindles with 
 desire to become one with what it admires. ‘The best 
 of all God’s blessings is a heart which is accustomed 
 to aspire to him as its source and destination, which 
 is alive to his all-pervading presence, which meets him 
 in his works, converses with him in solitude, blesses 
 him in affliction, prays to him with the assurance of 
 being heard, and hopes from him all which infinite 
 goodness can bestow. The best of all blessings is a 
 heart which partakes God’s benevolence, which feels 
 its relation to the universe, which is bound by friend- 
 ship to the good, by sympathy to the afflicted, and by 
 an overflowing tenderness to the narrow circle of 
 domestic life. The best of all blessings is a heart 
 which carries with it a consciousness of its unbounded 
 destiny, which looks forward to eternity as its inher- 
 itance, which hopes for perfect goodness, which feels 
 alliance with higher orders of beings, and anticipates 
 a union with the spirits of the just made perfect, with 
 departed friends, and with the ascended Saviour. In 
 such a state of heart is the true happiness of man. 
 
 LTR We ey 
 
40 THE’RELIGIOUS LIFE 
 
 34. The Peace of God which Passeth 
 Understanding 
 
 There is a twofold peace. ‘The first is negative. It 
 is relief from disquiet and corroding care. It is re- 
 pose after conflict and storms. But there is another 
 and a higher peace, to which this is but the prelude, 
 ‘‘a peace of God which passeth all understanding,” 
 and properly called “the kingdom of heaven within 
 us.’) [his state is anything but negative.” lt "seine 
 highest and most strenuous action of the soul, but an 
 entirely harmonious action, in which all our powers 
 and affections are blended in a beautiful proportion, 
 and sustain and perfect one another. It is more than 
 silence after storms. It is as the concord of all melo- 
 dious sounds. Has the reader never known a season 
 when, in the fullest flow of thought and feeling, in the 
 universal action of the soul, an inward calm, profound 
 as midnight silence, yet bright as the still summer 
 noon, full of joy, but unbroken by one throb of 
 tumultuous passion, has been breathed through his 
 spirit, and given him a glimpse and presage of the 
 serenity of a happier world? Of this character is the 
 peace of religion. It is a conscious harmony with 
 God and the creation, an alliance of love with all 
 beings, a sympathy with all that is pure and happy, a 
 surrender of every separate will and interest, a par- 
 ticipation of the spirit and life of the universe, an 
 entire concord of purpose with its infinite Original. 
 This is peace, and the true happiness of man; and we. 
 think that human nature has never entirely lost sight 
 of this its great end. It has always sighed for a re- 
 
THE RELIGIOUS LIFE AI 
 
 pose, in which energy of thought and will might be 
 tempered with an all-pervading tranquillity. We 
 seem to discover aspirations after this good, a dim 
 consciousness of it, in all ages of the world. 
 
 On Feénélon, p. 574. 
 
 35. The Communion of Saints 
 
 The Christian, imbued with the spirit of his re- 
 ligion, maintains communion by grateful remembrance 
 with those who have gone before, and especially with 
 the more illustrious, whose holy services and sacri- 
 fices for the Church have crowned them with halos of 
 honor. He does not regard his religion merely as 
 a blessing of the present moment, but studies with 
 profoundest interest its past history. He remembers 
 that it has come down to him through a long proces- 
 sion of ages, and that it has been transmitted through 
 the professions, sufferings, prayers, and virtues of 
 millions who have lived and died for it before his 
 birth. He delights to think of his religion under the 
 similitude which Jesus gave, of a seed sown upon 
 earth centuries ago, and to trace its growth— 
 nourished, as it has been, with tears and sweat, the 
 blood and anxious care, of the holiest persons in the 
 records of the past. ‘To the true Christian no history 
 is so affecting as that of the Church Universal. His 
 soul unites with the pure and pious, who have clung 
 to it in danger; who have fought beneath the banner 
 of the Cross with spiritual weapons; who have con- 
 quered the powers of evil by self-sacrifice, suffering, 
 and death. The apostle, bearing Christian truth 
 through rude and barbarous nations to the ends of the 
 
42 THE RELIGIOUS LIFE 
 
 earth, armed with the spirit of all-enduring and all- 
 conquering love, rises before him,—high above con- 
 spicuous heroes and legislators—as the most majestic 
 and commanding form of human nature in the dim 
 regions of antiquity. He feels his personal debt to 
 the faith and loyalty of these tried followers of Christ, 
 and blesses them for those labors of which he daily 
 reaps the fruits. Thus,-by memory, we have connec- 
 tion as truly with the Saints risen in glory, as we have 
 with those yet dwelling here. ‘Though dead, they 
 still speak to us. And happy is it for us when we open 
 our minds to the influences of the departed, and form 
 intimacies with the great and good who have proceeded 
 us into the world of peace! 
 
 The Church Universal, p. 1017. 
 
THE CHARACTER AND WORK OF 
 JESUS AND THE APOSTLES 
 
 36. Love for Christ 
 
 I can direct you to nothing in Christ more important 
 than his tried, and victorious, and perfect goodness. 
 Others may love Christ for mysterious attributes; I 
 love him for the rectitude of his soul and his life. I 
 love him for that benevolence which went through 
 Judea, instructing the ignorant, healing the sick, giv- 
 ing sight to the blind. I love him for that universal 
 charity which comprehended the despised publican, the 
 hated Samaritan, the benighted heathen, and sought 
 to bring a world to God and to happiness. I love 
 him for that gentle, mild, forbearing spirit, which no 
 insult, outrage, injury, could overpower; and which 
 desired as earnestly the repentance and happiness of 
 its foes as the happiness of its friends. I love him 
 for the spirit of magnanimity, constancy, and fearless 
 rectitude with which, amidst peril and opposition, he 
 devoted himself to the work which God gave him to 
 do. I love him for the wise and enlightened zeal with 
 which he espoused the true, the spiritual interests of 
 mankind, and through which he lived and died to re- 
 deem them from every sin, to frame them after his 
 own godlike virtue. I love him, I have said, for his 
 moral excellence; I know nothing else to love. I know 
 
 43 
 
44 CHARACTER AND WORK OF JESUS 
 
 nothing so glorious in the Creator or his creatures. 
 This is the greatest gift which God bestows, the great- 
 est to be derived from his Son. 
 
 Love to Christ, p. 321. 
 
 37. The Universal Benevolence of Jesus 
 
 The great distinction of Jesus was a philanthropy 
 without mixture and without bounds; a philanthropy, 
 uniting grandeur and meekness in beautiful propor- 
 tions; a philanthropy as wise as it was fervent, which 
 comprehended the true wants and the true good of 
 man, which compassionated, indeed, his sufferings 
 from abroad, but which saw in the soul the deep foun- 
 tain of his miseries, and labored, by regenerating this, 
 to bring him to a pure and enduring happiness. So 
 peculiar, so unparalleled was the benevolence of Jesus, 
 that it has impressed itself on all future times. ‘There 
 went forth a virtue, a beneficent influence from his 
 character, which operates even now. Since the death 
 of Christ, a spirit of humanity, unknown before, has 
 silently diffused itself over a considerable portion of 
 the earth. A new standard of virtue has gradually 
 possessed itself of the veneration of men. A new 
 power has been acting on society, which has done 
 more than all other causes combined to disarm the 
 selfish passions, and to bind men strongly to one an- 
 other and to God. What a monument have we here 
 to the virtue of Jesus! and if Christianity has such 
 a Founder, it must have come from Heaven. 
 
 Evidences of Christianity, p. 219. 
 
CHARACTER AND WORK OF JESUS 45 
 
 38. The End for which Jesus Came 
 
 The end for which Jesus Christ came was to convert 
 men into real friends, to make them objects of each 
 other’s attachment, to give them a common feeling 
 and a common interest. He came to operate on the 
 spirit, to produce inward effects, to implant a principle 
 of true love, to fit men for the most endearing rela- 
 tions. He came to adorn the human character, to 
 strip it of everything fierce and repulsive, to make it 
 attractive, to shed round it the mild lustre of benevo- 
 lence. He came to take from men’s hands the im- 
 plements of war, and to open their arms to embrace 
 one another. He came to dispel distrust, suspicion, 
 and jealousy, to render man worthy of the confidence 
 of his brother, to bring men to that exalted state in 
 which they will lay bare their whole souls without 
 fear. He came to draw men off from separate inter- 
 ests, and to win them to objects in which all may com- 
 bine, to which all may lend their aid, and which will 
 thus form the means of affectionate intercourse. He 
 came to soften insensibility, to make many hearts beat 
 in unison, to excite the tenderest concern for each 
 individual’s welfare, and the most generous, disinter- 
 ested labors for the common good. He came to root 
 out envy, to give every person an interest in the excel- 
 lence of others, to make us look with delight on all 
 promises of goodness, to rouse us to be helpers of each 
 other’s purity and perfection, to teach us to feel that 
 the progress of our brethren is our own. He came to 
 form such a union amongst men as would lead them 
 
46 CHARACTER AND WORK OF JESUS 
 
 to pour freely from their hearts the noblest views and 
 feelings, and thus become the means of enkindling 
 every grace and virtue, and mutual sources of love and 
 wisdom. 
 
 Life, p. 173 (1809). 
 
 39. Jesus canimpart to Us Nothing so 
 Precious as His Own Excellence 
 
 I exhort you with calmness, but earnestness, to 
 choose and adopt Jesus Christ as your example with 
 the whole energy of your wills. I exhort you to re- 
 solve on following him, not, as perhaps you have done, 
 with a faint and yielding purpose, but with the full 
 conviction that your happiness is concentrated in the 
 force and constancy of your adherence to this celestial 
 guide. . . . Let not the false views of Christianity 
 which prevail in the world seduce you into the belief 
 that Christ can bless you in any other way than by 
 assimilating you to his own virtue, than by breathing 
 into you his own mind. Do not imagine that any 
 faith or love towards Jesus can avail you but that 
 which quickens you to conform yourselves to his spot- 
 less purity and unconquerable rectitude. Settle it as 
 an immovable truth, that neither in this world nor in 
 the next can you be happy but in proportion to the 
 sanctity and elevation of your characters. Let no 
 man imagine that through the patronage or protection 
 of Jesus Christ, or any other being, he can find peace 
 or any sincere good but in the growth of an enlightened, 
 firm, disinterested, holy mind. Expect no good from 
 Jesus any farther than you clothe yourselves with 
 excellence. He can impart to you nothing so precious 
 
CHARACTER AND WORK OF JESUS 47 
 
 as himself, as his own mind; and believe me, my 
 hearers, this mind may dwell in you. His sublimest 
 virtues may be yours. ... The most lamentable 
 scepticism on earth, and incomparably the most com- 
 mon, is a scepticism as to the greatness, powers, and 
 high destinies of human nature. In this greatness I 
 desire to cherish an unwavering faith. Tell me not 
 of the universal corruption of the race. Humanity 
 has already, in not a few instances, borne conspicuously 
 the likeness of Christ and God. The sun grows dim, 
 the grandeur of outward nature shrinks, when com- 
 pared with the spiritual energy of men who, in the 
 cause of truth, of God, of charity, have spurned all 
 bribes of ease, pleasure, renown, and have withstood 
 shame, want, persecution, torture, and the most 
 dreaded forms of death. In such men I learn that 
 the soul was made in God’s image, and made to con- 
 form itself to the loveliness and greatness of his Son. 
 Imitableness of Christ’s Character, p. 315. 
 
 40. Christ’s Cross is a Symbol of Victorious 
 Love 
 
 I am persuaded that a love to Christ of quite a low 
 character is often awakened by an injudicious use of 
 his sufferings. I apprehend that if the affection which 
 many bear to Jesus were analyzed, the chief ingre- 
 dient in it would be found to be a tenderness awakened 
 by his cross. In certain classes of Christians, it is 
 common for the religious teacher to delineate the 
 bleeding, dying Saviour, and to detail his agonies, 
 until men’s natural sympathy is awakened; and when 
 assured that this deep woe was borne for themselves, 
 
48 CHARACTER AND WORK OF JESUS 
 
 they almost necessarily yield to the softer feelings of 
 their nature. I mean not to find fault with this sensi- 
 bility. Itis happy for us that we are made to be touched 
 by others’ pains. Woe to him who has no tears for 
 mortal agony! But in this emotion there is no virtue, 
 no moral worth; and we dishonor Jesus when this is 
 the chief tribute we offer him. I say there is no moral 
 goodness in this feeling. To be affected, over powered 
 by a crucifixion, is the most natural thing in the world. 
 Who of us, let me ask, whether religious or not, ever 
 went into a Catholic church, and there saw the picture 
 of Jesus hanging from his cross, his head bending 
 under the weight of exhausting suffering, his hands and 
 feet pierced with nails, and his body stained with his 
 open wounds, and has not been touched by the 
 sight? . . . It is not the greatness of Christ’s sufter- 
 ings on the cross which is to move our whole souls, 
 but the greatness of the spirit with which he suffered. 
 There, in death, he proved his entire consecration of 
 himself to the cause of God and mankind. ‘There his 
 love flowed forth towards his friends, his enemies, and 
 the human race. It is moral greatness, it is victorious 
 love, it is the energy of principle, which gives such 
 interest to the cross of Christ. We are to look 
 through the darkness which hung over him, through 
 his wounds and pains, to his unbroken, disinterested, 
 confiding spirit. To approach the cross for the pur- 
 pose of weeping over a bleeding, dying friend, is to 
 lose the chief influence of the crucifixion. We are to 
 visit the cross, not to indulge a natural softness, 
 but to acquire firmness of spirit, to fortify our 
 minds for hardships and suffering in the cause 
 
CHARACTER AND WORK OF JESUS 49 
 
 of duty and of human happiness. To live as 
 Christ lived, to die as Christ died, to give up ourselves 
 as sacrifices to God, to conscience, to whatever good 
 interest we can advance,—these are the lessons written 
 with the blood of Jesus. 
 
 Love to Christ, p. 324. 
 
 41. dA Vision of Christ’s Reign 
 
 Christ came to establish an empire of benevolence, 
 peace, charity, on the ruins of malice, war, and dis- 
 EOCd seg. 
 
 At the thought of this reign of benevolence, the 
 whole earth seems to me to burst forth into rejoicing. 
 [ see the arts and civilization spreading gladness over 
 deserted regions, and clothing the wilderness with 
 beauty. Nations united in a league of philanthropy 
 advance with constantly accelerating steps in knowl- 
 edge and power. I see stupendous plans accomplished, 
 oceans united, distant regions connected, and every 
 climate contributing its productions and treasures to 
 the improvement and happiness of the race. In pri- 
 vate life, I see every labor lightened by mutual confi- 
 dence and aid. Indigence is unknown. Sickness, and 
 pain are mitigated, and almost disarmed, by the dis- 
 interestedness of those who suffer, and by the sympathy 
 which suffering awakens. Every blessing is heightened 
 and diffused by participation. Every family, united, 
 peaceful, and knowing no contention but for pre- 
 eminence in doing good, is a consecrated and happy 
 retreat, the image of heaven. ‘The necessary ills of 
 life shrink into nothing. The human countenance 
 puts on a new and brighter expression. Human 
 
so CHARACTER AND WORK OF JESUS 
 
 nature with its selfishness loses its base deformity, and 
 is clothed with the glory of God, whose designs it 
 embraces, with whose spirit it is imbued. 
 
 Life, p. 256. 
 
 42. The Wonderful Moral Revolution 
 Wrought by the Gospel 
 
 I go back to the age of Jesus Christ, and I am 
 immediately struck with the commencement and rapid 
 progress of the most remarkable revolution in the 
 annals of the world. I see a new religion, of a charac- 
 ter altogether its own, which bore no likeness to any 
 past or existing faith, spreading in a few years 
 through all civilized nations, and introducing a new 
 era, a new state of society, a change of the human 
 mind, which has broadly distinguished all following 
 ages. Here is a plain fact, which the sceptic will not 
 deny, however he may explain it. I see this religion 
 issuing from an obscure, despised, hated people. Its 
 Founder had died on the cross, a mode of punishment 
 as disgraceful as the pillory or gallows of the present 
 day. Its teachers were poor men, without rank, office, 
 or education, taken from the fishing-boat and other 
 occupations which had never furnished teachers to 
 mankind. I see these men beginning their work on 
 the spot where their Master’s blood had been shed, as 
 of a common malefactor; and I hear them summoning 
 first his murderers, and then all nations and all ranks, 
 the sovereign on the throne, the priest in the temple, 
 the great and the learned, as well as the poor and the 
 ignorant, to renounce the faith and the worship which 
 had been hallowed by the veneration of all ages, and to 
 
GHARAC FER AND WORK-OF JESUS © 51 
 
 take the yoke of their crucified Lord. I see passion 
 and prejudice, the sword of the magistrate, the curse 
 of the priest, the scorn of the philosopher, and the 
 fury of the populace, joined to crush this common 
 enemy; and yet, without a human weapon and in op- 
 position to all human power, I see the humble apostles 
 of Jesus winning their way, overpowering prejudice, 
 breaking the ranks of their opposers, changing enemies 
 into friends, breathing into multitudes a calm spirit 
 of martyrdom, and carrying to the bounds of civiliza- 
 tion, and even into half-civilized regions, a religion 
 which has contributed to advance society more than all 
 other causes combined. 
 Evidences of Christianity, p. 218. 
 
 43. The Doctrine of Human Brotherhood 
 Inspired Early Christianity 
 
 We read of the mission of the apostles as if it were 
 a thing of course. The thought perhaps never comes 
 to us that they entered on a sphere of action until that 
 time wholly unexplored; that not a track had pre- 
 viously marked their path; that the great conception 
 which inspired them, of converting a world, had never 
 dawned on the sublimest intellect; that the spiritual 
 love for every human being, which carried them over 
 oceans and through deserts, amid scourgings and fast- 
 ings, and imprisonments and death, was a new light 
 from heaven breaking out on earth, a new revelation 
 of the divinity in human nature. Then it was, that 
 man began to yearn for man with a godlike love. 
 Then a new voice was heard on earth, the voice of 
 prayer for the recovery, pardon, happiness of a world. 
 
52 CHARACTER AND WORK OF JESUS 
 
 It was most strange, it was a miracle more worthy 
 of admiration than the raising of the dead, that from 
 Judea, the most exclusive, narrow country under 
 heaven, which hated and scorned all other nations, and 
 shrunk from their touch as pollution, should go forth 
 men to proclaim the doctrine of human brotherhood, 
 to give to every human being, however fallen or de- 
 spised, assurances of God’s infinite love, to break down 
 the barriers of nation and rank, to pour out their blood 
 like water in the work of diffusing the spirit of universal 
 love. Thus mightily did the character of Jesus act 
 on the spirits of the men with whom he had lived. . . . 
 Christ loved man, not masses of men; loved each and 
 all, and not a particular country and class. ‘The hu 
 man being was dear to him for his own sake, not for 
 the spot of earth on which he lived, not for the lan- 
 guage he spoke, not for his rank in life, but for his 
 humanity, for his spiritual nature, for the image of 
 God in which he was made. Nothing outward in 
 human condition engrossed the notice or narrowed the 
 sympathies of Jesus. He looked to the human soul. 
 That he loved. That divine spark he desired to 
 cherish, no matter where it dwelt, no matter how it 
 was dimmed. He loved man for his own sake, and all 
 men without exclusion or exception. 
 
 Jesus was the first philanthropist. He brought with 
 him a new era, the era of philanthropy; and from his 
 time a new spirit has moved over the troubled waters 
 of society, and will move until it has brought order and 
 beauty out of darkness and confusion. 
 
 The Philanthropist, p. 600. 
 
CHARACTER AND WORK OF JESUS © 53 
 
 44. The Human Soul as the Kingdom 
 of Christ 
 
 Receive Christianity as given to raise you in the 
 scale of spiritual being. Expect from it no good any 
 farther than it gives strength and worth to your 
 characters. Think not, as some seem to think, that 
 Christ has a higher gift than purity to bestow, even 
 pardon to the sinner. He does bring pardon. But 
 once separate the idea of pardon from purity; once 
 imagine that forgiveness is possible to him who does 
 not forsake sin; once make it an exemption from out- 
 ward punishment, and not the admission of the re- 
 formed mind to favor and communion with God; and 
 the doctrine of pardon becomes your peril, and a sys- 
 tem so teaching it is fraught with evil. Expect no 
 good from Christ any farther than you are exalted 
 by his character and teaching. Expect nothing from 
 his cross unless a power comes from it strengthening 
 you to “bear his cross,’”’ to ‘‘drink his cup,’’ with his 
 own unconquerable love. ‘This is its highest influence. 
 Look not abroad for the blessings of Christ. His 
 reign and chief blessings are within you. The human 
 soul is his kingdom. There he gains his victories, 
 there rears his temples, there lavishes his treasures. 
 His noblest monument is a mind redeemed from iniq- 
 uity, brought back and devoted to God, forming itself 
 after the perfection of the Saviour, great through its 
 power to suffer for truth, lovely through its meek 
 and gentle virtues. No other monument does Christ 
 desire; for this will endure and increase in splendor 
 when earthly thrones shall have fallen, and even when 
 
54 CHARACTER AND WORK OF JESUS 
 
 the present order of the outward universe shall have 
 accomplished its work and shall have passed away. 
 The Great Purpose of Christianity, p. 253. 
 
THE TRAITS OF NOBLE CHARACTER 
 45. Ihe Life of Love 
 
 A profound conviction of God’s moral purposes to 
 men, of his design to exalt the soul infinitely, must 
 kindle a purpose in us vast and enduring as his own, 
 give us faith in the possibility of redeeming mankind, 
 give us a respect for every individual, make us feel 
 our unity with all. God must be regarded as en- 
 joining this unlimited love, as calling us to universal 
 brotherhood, and forbidding all that separates us from 
 our kind. . . . We are to be animated with this new 
 life of love,—of love for man as man,—a love which 
 embraces all, of every rank and character,—which for- 
 gets divisions and outward distinctions,—breaks down 
 the old partition walls,—sees a divine spark in every 
 intelligence,—longs to redress the existing inequalities 
 of society, to elevate all conditions of men to true 
 dignity, to use wealth only as a means of extensive 
 union, not of separation,—which substitutes generous 
 motives for force,—which sees nothing degrading in 
 labor, but honors all useful occupation,—which every- 
 where is conscious of the just claims and rights of all, 
 resisting the idolatry of the few, ceasing to worship 
 the great, calling upon the mighty to save, not crush, 
 the weak, from reverence for our common nature,— 
 and which, in a word, recognizes the infinite worth of 
 every human spirit. 
 
 Life, p. 376 (undated mss.). 
 
 55 
 
56 THE TRAITS OF NOBLE CHARACTER 
 
 46. All Great Virtues Bear the Impress 
 of Self-Denial 
 
 When you read history, what is it which most inter- 
 ests and absorbs you, which seizes on the imagination 
 and memory, which agitates the soul to its centre? 
 Who is the man whom you select from the records of 
 time as the object of your special admiration? Is it 
 he who lived to indulge himself ? whose current of life 
 flowed most equably and pleasurably? whose desires 
 were crowned most liberally with means of gratifica- 
 tion? whose table was most luxuriantly spread? and 
 whom fortune made the envy of his neighborhood by 
 the fulness of her gifts? Were such the men to whom 
 monuments have been reared, and whose memories, 
 freshened with tears of joy and reverence, grow and 
 flourish and spread through every age? Oh,no! He 
 whom we love, whose honor we most covet, is he who 
 has most denied and subdued himself; who has made 
 the most entire sacrifice of appetites and passions and 
 private interest to God, and virtue, and mankind; who 
 has walked in a rugged path, and clung to good and 
 great ends in persecution and pain; who, amidst the 
 solicitations of ambition, ease, and private friendship, 
 and the menaces of tyranny and malice, has listened 
 to the voice of conscience, and found a recompense for 
 blighted hopes and protracted suffering in conscious 
 uprightness and the favor of God. Who is it that 
 is most lovely in domestic life? It is the martyr to do- 
 mestic affection, the mother forgetting herself, and 
 ready to toil, suffer, die for the happiness and virtue 
 
THE CRATES OF NOBLE CHARACTER (57 
 
 of her children. Who is it that we honor in public 
 life? It is the martyr to his country, he who serves 
 her not when she has honors for his brow and wealth 
 for his coffers, but who clings to her in her danger and 
 fallen glories, and thinks life a cheap sacrifice to her 
 safety and freedom. Whom does the church retain 
 in most grateful remembrance, and pronounce holy 
 and blessed? ‘The self-denying, self-immolating apos- 
 tle, the fearless confessor, the devoted martyr, men 
 who have held fast the truth even in death, and be- 
 queath it to future ages amidst blood. Above all, to 
 what moment of the life of Jesus does the Christian 
 turn as the most affecting and sublime illustration of 
 his divine character? It is that moment when, in the 
 spirit of self-sacrifice, denying every human passion, 
 and casting away every earthly interest, he bore the 
 agony and shame of the cross. ‘Thus all great virtues 
 bear the impress of self-denial. 
 
 On Self-Denial, p. 342. 
 47. Precepts for Self Discipline 
 
 in Virtue 
 
 How continually selfishness breaks forth! It must 
 be resisted perpetually. Let nothing be spoken or 
 done to display self; but let simple love be the spring. 
 Do I know what such love will rise to, if cultivated ? 
 
 Let me, when in society with those who differ from 
 me, feel the importance of sincerity and independence. 
 Let me consider that virtue is infinitely more impor- 
 tant than their good opinion. Let me leave to God 
 the impression which I make, when I frankly express 
 
58 THE TRAITS OF NOBLE CHARACTER 
 
 feelings and opinions. Let me remember that ulti- 
 mately the friendship of the good will be secured by 
 the discharge of duty. 
 
 In conversation, let me feel that I shall gain more by 
 candor than by victory. 
 
 Let me cherish frankness by thinking of the noble- 
 ness of the quality. Restraint prevents expressions of 
 affection, makes society painful, chills the heart. 
 
 Eternal life is holy life,—the exercise of Jove to 
 God and all beings. 
 
 We must be babes, if we would have God revealed 
 to us; must feel the weakness, ignorance, helplessness, 
 dependence, wants, of little children. We must be- 
 come fools, and see that we know nothing. We must 
 hunger and thirst, and feel a void, as having nothing. 
 Amlababe? Do [I sit low? 
 
 Attain a single, simple heart. Never speak to 
 God or man without desiring the end I profess. 
 Let me beware of formality in discharging religious 
 duties. Let prayer, conversation, preaching, all flow 
 from the heart. Let me first feel the force of truth 
 myself, and then impress it upon others. Let me feel 
 the force of every truth and every argument with which 
 I am conversant. Let me be not learned, but wise. 
 
 Let me apply to my most painful, humble duties first 
 and most attentively. 
 
 Let me continually engage in labors enjoined by 
 God, and with the ends and temper he requires, and 
 feel a perfect confidence in him for support. Let 
 my whole life be a leaning upon God. 
 
 Let me place duty on the ground of privilege, and 
 consider every opportunity of employing time usefully 
 
GE baPikRAE ES OReNOBUE CHARACTER = 59 
 
 a favor; and ask only, What is duty? in every state. 
 When any particular sin recurs to my mind, let me 
 
 connect it with an act of humiliation before God, so 
 
 that even sin shall lead to a communion with God. 
 
 Whenever I enjoy, let me ask, How can I impart 
 and diffuse this happiness? and let me make every 
 pleasure a bond of friendship, a ground of communion, 
 and esteem it chiefly on this account. When I suffer, 
 let me ask, How can I relieve similar suffering, 
 wherever it exists? and so quicken sympathy and im- 
 prove experience. 
 
 When I have any portion of time not devoted to any 
 particular purpose, let me ask, Can I not spend it with 
 God? Let me seize it as a peculiarly privileged 
 season. 
 
 Have access to God, as if introduced to his presence. 
 Seek God; seek the sight of him; observe him in all 
 things. 
 
 Let me every day give away something, and daily 
 deny myself something, that I may have more to give. 
 
 fea DAL: 
 48. The Lust of Pleasure and Greed is Insatiable 
 
 Our appetites and desires carry with them a prin- 
 ciple of growth or tendency to enlargement. They 
 expand by indulgence, and, if not restrained, they fill 
 and exhaust the soul, and hence are to be strictly 
 watched over and denied. Nature has set bounds 
 to the desires of the brute, but not to human desire, 
 which partakes of the illimitableness of the soul to 
 which it belongs. In brutes, for example, the animal 
 appetites impel to a certain round of simple gratifica- 
 
60 THE TRAITS OF NOBLE CHARACTER 
 
 tions, beyond which they never pass. But man, having 
 imagination and invention, is able by these noble facul- 
 ties to whet his sensual desires indefinitely. He is able 
 to form new combinations of animal pleasures, and 
 to provoke appetite by stimulants. ‘The East gives 
 up its spices, and the South holds not back its vintage. 
 Sea and land are rifled for luxuries. Whilst the ani- 
 mal finds its nourishment in a few plants, perhaps in 
 a single blade, man’s table groans under the spoils of 
 all regions; and the consequence is that in not a few 
 cases the whole strength of the soul runs into appetite, 
 just as some rich soil shoots up into poisonous weeds, 
 and man, the rational creature of God, degenerates 
 into the most thorough sensualist. As another illus- 
 tration of the tendency of our desires to grow and 
 usurp the whole mind, take the love of property. We 
 see this every day gaining dangerous strength, if left 
 to itself, if not denied or curbed. It is a thirst which is 
 inflamed by the very copiousness of its draughts. 
 Anxiety grows with possession. Riches become dearer 
 by time. ‘The love of money, far from withering in 
 life’s winter strikes deeper and deeper root in the heart 
 of age. He who has more than he can use or manage, 
 grows more and more eager and restless for new gains, 
 muses by day and dreams by night of wealth; and in 
 this way the whole vigor of his soul, of intellect and 
 affection, shoots up into an intense, unconquerable, and 
 almost infinite passion for accumulation. 
 
 On Self-Denial, p. 340. 
 
 49. Moral Energy and Perseverance 
 Young man, remember that the only test of good- 
 
THE TRAITS OF NOBLE CHARACTER 61 
 
 ness, virtue, is moral strength, self-denying energy. 
 You have generous and honorable feelings, you scorn 
 mean actions, your heart beats quick at the sight or 
 hearing of courageous, disinterested deeds, and all 
 these are interesting qualities; but remember they are 
 the gifts of nature, the endowments of your susceptible 
 age. They are not virtue. God and the inward 
 monitor ask for more. ‘The question is, Do you 
 strive to confirm into permanent principles the gener- 
 ous sensibilities of the heart? Are you watchful to 
 suppress the impetuous emotions, the resentments, the 
 selfish passionateness which are warring against your 
 honorable feelings? Especially do you subject to your 
 moral and religious convictions the love of pleasure, 
 the appetites, the passions which form the great trials 
 of youthful virtue? Here is the field of conflict to 
 which youth is summoned. ‘Trust not to occasional 
 impulses of benevolence, to constitutional courage, 
 frankness, kindness, if you surrender yourselves basely 
 to the temptations of your age. No man who has 
 made any observations of life but will tell you how 
 often he has seen the promise of youth blasted; intel- 
 lect, genius, honorable feeling, kind affection, over- 
 powered and almost extinguished through the want of 
 moral strength, through a tame yielding to pleasure 
 and the passions. Place no trust in your good pro- 
 pensities, unless these are fortified, and upheld, and 
 improved by moral energy and self-control. To all 
 of us, in truth, the same lesson comes. If any man 
 will be Christ’s disciple, sincerely good, and worthy 
 to be named among the friends of virtue, if he will 
 have inward peace and the consciousness of progress 
 
62 THE TRAITS OF NOBLE CHARACTER 
 
 towards heaven, he must deny himself, he must take 
 the cross, and follow Christ in the renunciation of 
 every gain and pleasure inconsistent with the will of 
 God. 
 
 Self-Denial, p. 346. 
 
 50. The Sense of Beauty an Element of 
 Moral Culture 
 
 In looking at our nature, we discover, among its 
 admirable endowments, the sense or perception of 
 beauty. We see the germ of this in every human 
 being, and there is no power which admits greater 
 cultivation; and why should it not be cherished in all? 
 It deserves remark, that the provision for this princi- 
 ple is infinite in the universe. There is but a very 
 minute portion of the creation which we can turn into 
 food and clothes, or gratification for the body; but the 
 whole creation may be used to minister to the sense of 
 beauty. Beauty is an all-pervading presence. It un- 
 folds in the numberless flowers of the spring. It 
 waves in the branches of the trees and the green blades 
 of grass. It haunts the depths of the earth and sea, 
 and gleams out in the hues of the shell and the precious 
 stone. And not only these minute objects, but the 
 ocean, the mountains, the clouds, the heavens, the 
 stars, the rising and setting sun, all overflow with 
 beauty. ‘The universe is its temple; and those men 
 who are alive to it cannot lift their eyes without feel- 
 ing themselves encompassed with it on every side. 
 Now this beauty is so precious, the enjoyments it gives 
 are so refined and pure, so congenial with our tender- 
 est and noble feelings, and so akin to worship, that it 
 
THE TRAITS OF NOBLE CHARACTER 63 
 
 is painful to think of the multitude of men as living 
 in the midst of it, and living almost as blind to it as 
 if, instead of this fair and glorious sky, they were 
 tenants of a dungeon. An infinite joy is lost to the 
 world by the want of culture of this spiritual endow- 
 ment. No man receives the true culture of a man in 
 whom the sensibility to the beautiful is not cherished; 
 and I know of no condition in life from which it 
 should be excluded. 
 Self-Culture, p. 18. 
 
 51. Magnanimity in Misfortune 
 
 We see Milton’s magnanimity in the circumstances 
 under which “Paradise Lost’? was written. It was 
 not in prosperity, in honor, and amidst triumphs, but 
 in disappointment, desertion, and in what the world 
 calls disgrace, that he composed that work. The 
 cause with which he had identified himself had failed. 
 His friends were scattered; liberty was trodden under 
 foot, and her devoted champion was a by-word among 
 the triumphant royalists. But it is the prerogative 
 of true greatness to glorify itself in adversity, and to 
 meditate and execute vast enterprises in defeat. Miul- 
 ton, fallen in outward condition, afflicted with blind- 
 ness, disappointed in his best hopes, applied himself 
 with characteristic energy to the sublimest achieve- 
 ment of intellect, solacing himself with great thoughts, 
 with splendid creations, and with a prophetic confi- 
 dence that, however neglected in his own age, he was 
 framing in his works a bond of union and fellowship 
 with the illustrious spirits of a brighter day. We de- 
 light to contemplate him in his retreat and last years. 
 
64 THE TRAITS OF NOBLE CHARACTER 
 
 To the passing spectator, he seemed fallen and for- 
 saken, and his blindness was reproached as a judgment 
 from God. But though sightless, he lived in light. 
 His inward eye ranged through universal nature, and 
 his imagination shed on it brighter beams than the 
 sun. Heaven and hell and paradise were open to 
 him. He visited past ages, and gathered round him 
 ancient sages and heroes, prophets and apostles, brave 
 knights and gifted bards. As he looked forward, ages 
 of liberty dawned and rose to his view, and he felt 
 that he was about to bequeath to them an inheritance 
 of genius, ‘““‘which would not fade away,” and was to 
 live in the memory, reverence, and love of remotest 
 generations. 
 
 On Milton, p. 509. 
 
 52. True Greatness is Unselfish and 
 Unaffected 
 
 Greatness is not a secret, solitary principle, working 
 by itself and refusing participations, but frank and 
 open-hearted,—so large in its views, so liberal in its 
 feelings, so expansive in its purposes, so beneficent in 
 its labors, as naturally and necessarily to attract sym- 
 pathy and co-operation. It is selfishness that repels 
 men; and true greatness has not a stronger character- 
 istic than its freedom from every selfish taint. So far 
 from being imprisoned in private interests, it covets 
 nothing which it may not impart. So far from being 
 absorbed in its own distinctions, it discerns nothing so 
 quickly and joyfully as the capacities and pledges of 
 greatness in others, and counts no labors so noble as 
 
THE TRAITS OF NOBLE CHARACTER | 65 
 
 to call forth noble sentiments, and the consciousness 
 of a divine power, in less improved minds, 
 
 I know that those who call themselves great on 
 earth are apt to estrange themselves from their in- 
 feriors; and the multitude, cast down by their high 
 bearing, never think of proposing them as examples. 
 But this springs wholly from the low conceptions of 
 those whom we call the great, and shows a mixture of 
 vulgarity of mind with their superior endowments. 
 Genuine greatness is marked by simplicity, unostenta- 
 tiousness, self-forgetfulness, a hearty interest in others, 
 a feeling of brotherhood with the human family, and 
 a respect for every intellectual and immortal being 
 as capable of progress towards its own elevation. A 
 superior mind, enlightened and kindled by just views 
 of God and of the creation, regards its gifts and 
 powers as so many bonds of union with other beings, 
 as given it not to nourish self-elation, but to be em- 
 ployed for others, and still more to be communicated 
 Tomeoticism ouch sp reatness abas no, reserve, and 
 especially no affected dignity of deportment. It is too 
 conscious of its own power to need, and too benevo- 
 lent to desire, to entrench itself behind forms and 
 ceremonies; and when circumstances permit such a 
 character to manifest itself to inferior beings, it is 
 beyond all others the most winning, and most fitted to 
 impart itself, or to call forth a kindred elevation of 
 feeling. | far 
 
 Imitableness of Christ's Character, p. 312. 
 
 med 
 
LE PORIGH PeCON DUG TS @ BATE 
 
 53. “Consider What is Right as What 
 Must be Done” 
 
 (Advice to His Son on Entering School) 
 
 Remember that it is the distinction of a man to 
 govern himself, and that a man who cannot keep to his 
 resolutions and pursue his course of study or action 
 firmly and steadily must take a low place in the world, 
 and, what is worse, in his own esteem. 
 
 I beseech you in every temptation to be true, honest, 
 frank, upright. Whatever you may suffer, speak the 
 truth. Be worthy of the entire confidence of your 
 associates. Consider what is right as what must be 
 done. It is not necessary that you should keep your 
 property, or even your life, but it is necessary that you 
 should hold fast your integrity. 
 
 Enter in the school with the firm purpose of obeying 
 all the laws. Do nothing which you need to hide. 
 Make it a matter of honor and principle to do nothing 
 which can injure the institution of which you are a 
 member. Breathe no spirit of disaffection into your 
 associates. Be the friend of good order. If at any 
 time you think yourself aggrieved by your teachers, 
 go to them frankly, and urge your complaints calmly 
 and respectfully. 
 
 Treat your companions generously and honestly; 
 
PR bens Te CONDUCISOR WINE ~ 67 
 
 sympathize with them, and seek their good-will as far 
 as your principles will admit. But never sacrifice these. 
 Never be laughed out of your virtue. Take your 
 ground openly, manfully, and you will at length com- 
 mand respect. Do not let your companions depress 
 your ideas of right. ‘They cannot do you a greater 
 injury. 
 
 Reverence God, love him, and live as in his presence. 
 Every morning you will be remembered in our prayers. 
 Every morning remember us in yours. At that hour, 
 let us meet at the mercy-seat of our common Father. 
 
 HE Cee O57. 
 
 54. Evil is Evil no Matter at Whose Door 
 It Lies 
 
 It is a solemn truth, not yet understood as it should 
 be, that the worst institutions may be sustained, the 
 worst deeds performed, the most merciless cruelties 
 inflicted, by the conscientious and the good. History 
 teaches no truth more awful, and proofs of it crowd 
 on us from the records of the earliest and latest times. 
 Thus, the worship of the immoral deities of hea- 
 thenism was sustained by the great men of antiquity. 
 The bloodiest and most unrighteous wars have been in- 
 stigated by patriots. For ages the Jews were thought 
 to have forfeited the rights of men, as much as the 
 African race at the South, and were insulted, spoiled, 
 and slain, not by mobs, but by sovereigns and prelates, 
 who really supposed themselves avengers of the cruci- 
 fied Saviour. ‘Trajan and Marcus Aurelius, men of 
 singular humanity, doomed Christians to death, sur- 
 rendering their better feelings to what they thought 
 
68°. THE RIGHD GONDUCTOF ELE 
 
 the safety of the state. ew names in history are 
 more illustrious than Isabella of Castile. She was 
 the model, in most respects, of a noble woman. But 
 Isabella outstripped her age in what she thought pious 
 zeal against heretics. Having taken lessons in her 
 wars against the Moors, and in the extermination of 
 the Jews, she entered fully into the spirit of the Inqui- 
 sition; and by her great moral power contributed more 
 than any other sovereign to the extension of its fearful 
 influence; and thus the horrible tortures and murders 
 of that infernal institution, in her ill-fated country, lie 
 very much at her door. Of all the causes which have 
 contributed to the ruin of Spain, the gloomy, unrelent- 
 ing spirit of religious bigotry has wrought most deeply; 
 so that the illustrious Isabella, through her zeal for 
 religion and the salvation of her subjects, sowed the 
 seeds of her country’s ruin. It is remarkable, that 
 Spain, in her late struggle for freedom, has not pro- 
 duced one great man; and at this moment the country 
 seems threatened with disorganization; and it is to 
 the almost universal corruption, to the want of mutual 
 confidence, to the deep dissimulation and fraud, which 
 the spirit of the Inquisition, the spirit of misguided 
 religion, has spread through society, that this degrada- 
 tion must chiefly be traced. ‘The wrongs, woes, 
 cruelties, inflicted by the religious, the conscientious, 
 are among the most important teachings of the past. 
 Nor has this strange mixture of good and evil ceased. 
 Crimes, to which time and usage have given sanction, 
 are still found in neighborhood with virtue. Ex- 
 amples taken from other countries stagger belief, but 
 are true. Thus, in not a few regions, the infant is 
 
THE RIGHT CONDUCT OF LIFE 69 
 
 cast out to perish by parents who abound in tender- 
 ness to their surviving children. Our own _ enor- 
 mities are to be understood hereafter. Slavery is not, 
 then, absolved of guilt by the virtues of its supporters, 
 nor are its wrongs on this account a whit less tolerable. 
 The Inquisition was not a whit less infernal because 
 sustained by Isabella. Wars are not a whit less mur- 
 derous because waged for our country’s glory; nor was 
 the slave-trade less a complication of unutterable 
 cruelties because our fathers brought the African here 
 to make him a Christian. 
 
 The great truth now insisted on, that evil is evil, no 
 matter at whose door it lies, and that men acting from 
 conscience and religion may do nefarious deeds, needs 
 to be better understood, that we may not shelter our- 
 selves or our institutions under the names of the 
 great or the good who have passed away. 
 
 On Emancipation, p. 840. 
 
 55. Wrong Methods are not Sanctified 
 by Holy Ends 
 
 One great principle, which we should lay down as 
 immovably true, is, that if a good work cannot be 
 carried on by the calm, self-controlled, benevolent 
 spirit of Christianity, then the time for doing it has 
 not come. God asks not the aid of our vices. He 
 can overrule them for good, but they are not the 
 chosen instruments of human happiness. 
 
 We, indeed, need zeal,—fervent zeal,—such as will 
 fear no man’s power, and shrink before no man’s 
 frown,—such as will sacrifice life to truth and free- 
 dom. But this energy of will ought to be joined with 
 
70. |THE RIGHH CONDUCT OF LIFE 
 
 deliberate wisdom and universal charity. It ought 
 to regard the whole in its strenuous efforts for a part. 
 Above all, it ought to ask, first, not what means are 
 most effectual, but what means are sanctioned by the 
 moral law and by Christian love. _We ought to think 
 much more of walking in the right path than of reach- 
 ing our end. We should desire virtue more than suc- 
 cess. If by one wrong deed we could accomplish the 
 liberation of millions, and in no other way, we ought 
 to feel that this good, for which, perhaps, we had 
 prayed with an agony of desire, was denied us by God, 
 was reserved for other times and other hands. ‘The 
 first object of a true zeal is, not that we may prosper, 
 but that we may do right, that we may keep ourselves 
 unspotted from every evil thought, word, and deed. 
 Under the inspiration of such a zeal, we shall not find 
 in the greatness of an enterprise an apology for in- 
 trigues or for violence. We shall not need immediate 
 success to spur us to exertion. We shall not distrust 
 God because he does not yield to the cry of human 
 impatience. We shall not forsake a good work be- 
 cause it does not advance with a rapid step. Faith 
 in truth, virtue, and Almighty Goodness, will save us 
 alike from rashness and despair. 
 
 On Slavery, p. 734. 
 
 56. Righteousness is the Truest Expediency 
 
 To the exposition of duty now given it will be ob- 
 jected, that the morality of the closet is not the moral- 
 ity of real life; that there is danger of pushing princl- 
 ples to extremes; that difficulties are to be grappled 
 with in the conduct of public affairs which retired men 
 
Pie RichH CONDUCT OR LIRR 71 
 
 cannot understand; that there must be a compromise 
 between the ideal and the actual; and that our rigid 
 rules must be softened or bend, when consequences, 
 unusually serious, will attend their observance. ‘These 
 commonplaces are not wholly without truth. Moral- 
 ity is sometimes turned, by inexperienced men, into 
 rant and romance. Solitary dreamers, exalting imag- 
 ination above reason and conscience, make life a stage 
 for playing showy, dazzling parts, which pass with 
 them for beautiful or heroic. I have little more sym- 
 pathy with these over-refined, sublimated moralists 
 than with the common run of coarse, low-minded poli- 
 ticians. Duty is something practicable, something 
 within reach, and which approves itself to us not in 
 moments of feverish excitement, but of deliberate 
 thought. Good sense, which is another name for that 
 calm, comprehensive reason which sees things as they 
 are, and looks at all the circumstances and consequences 
 of actions, is as essential to the moral direction of life 
 as in merely prudential concerns. Still more, there is 
 a large class of actions, the relations of which are so 
 complicated, and the consequences so obscure, that 
 individual judgment is at fault, and we are bound to 
 acquiesce in usage, especially if long established, be- 
 cause this represents to us the collective experience of 
 the race. All this is true. But it is also true that 
 there are grand, fundamental, moral principles, which 
 shine with their own light, which approve themselves 
 to the reason, conscience, and heart, and which have 
 gathered strength and sanctity from the experience of 
 nations and individuals through all ages. ‘These are 
 never to be surrendered to the urgency of the moment, 
 
72 WHE RIGHRRECONDUGI OR EIEE 
 
 however pressing, or to imagined interests of indi- 
 viduals or states. Let these be sacrificed to hope or 
 fear, and our foundation is gone, our anchor slipped. 
 We have no fixtures in our own souls, nothing to rely 
 on. No ground of faith in man is left us. Selfish, 
 staggering policy becomes the standard of duty, the 
 guide of life, the law of nations. 
 On Slavery, p. 789. 
 
 57. The Saving Grace of the Loving Heart 
 
 Strive, each of you, to bring at least one human 
 being to the happiness for which God made him. 
 _Awaken him to some inward moral activity; for on 
 this, not on mere outward teaching, the improvement 
 of rich and poor alike depends. Strive to raise him 
 above the crushing necessities of the body, by turning 
 him to the great, kindling purpose of his being. 
 Show him that the fountain of all happiness is 
 within us, and that this fountain may be opened alike 
 in every soul. Show him how much virtue and peace 
 he may gain by fidelity to his domestic relations; how 
 much progress he may make by devout and resolute 
 use of his best opportunities; what a near union he may 
 form with God; how beneficent an influence he may 
 exert in his narrow sphere; what heroism may be exer- 
 cised amidst privations and pains; how suffering may 
 be turned to glory; how heaven may begin in the most 
 unprosperous condition on earth. Surely he who can 
 carry such truths to any human being is charged with a 
 glorious mission from above. 
 
 The Ministry to the Poor, p. 84. 
 
Po RIGH PE CONDUCT OF LIFE 73 
 
 58. Wealth Should be Applied to Works 
 of Beneficence 
 
 Let the Goodness which has prospered you teach 
 you the spirit in which your wealth or competence 
 should be used. What is the true use of prosperity? 
 Not to minister to self-indulgence and ostentation; not 
 to widen the space between you and the less prosper- 
 ous; not to multiply signs of superior rank; not to 
 raise us to an eminence, whence we may look down on 
 the multitude as an inferior race; but to multiply our 
 bonds of union with our fellow-creatures, to spread 
 our sympathies far and wide, to give us nobler spheres 
 of action, to make us more eminently the delegates 
 and representatives of divine beneficence. What is 
 the true use of increasing wealth in a city? It is not 
 that more magnificent structures should be reared, but 
 that our dwellings should be inhabited by a more 
 intelligent and virtuous people; that institutions for 
 awakening intellectual and moral life should be 
 brought to bear on the whole community; that the 
 individual may be carried forward to his true happt- 
 ness and perfection; that society may be bound to- 
 gether by stronger and purer bonds, and that the rigid 
 laws of earthly governments may be more and more 
 superseded by the law of love. Without such influ- 
 ences, wealth is turned into a snare and curse. If, in- 
 deed, our prosperity is to be used to spread luxurious 
 and selfish modes of life, to form a frivolous class of 
 fashion, to produce more striking contrasts between 
 unfeeling opulence and abject penury, to corrupt man- 
 ners and harden the heart, better were it for us that, 
 
74° THE RIGHT (CONDUCT OF LIPE 
 
 by the just judgment of God, it should be sunk into 
 the depths of the sea. It avails little that inter- 
 course is more polished, and a new grace is thrown 
 over life. The simple question is, Do we better under- 
 stand and more strongly feel our relations to God and 
 to our fellow-creatures? Without this, our boasted 
 civilization is a whited sepulchre, fair to the eye, but 
 inwardly “full of dead men’s bones and all unclean- 
 ness.’ 
 
 On the Ministry to the Poor, p. 87. 
 59. God be Thanked for Books! 
 
 It is chiefly through books that we enjoy intercourse 
 with superior minds, and these invaluable means of 
 communication are in the reach of all. In the best 
 books great men talk to us, give us their most precious 
 thoughts, and pour their souls into ours. God be 
 thanked for books. They are the voices of the dis- 
 tant and the dead, and make us heirs of the spiritual 
 life of past ages. Books are the true levellers. 
 They give to all who will faithfully use them the so- 
 ciety, the spiritual presence, of the best and greatest 
 of our race. No matter how poor I am; no matter 
 though the prosperous of my own time will not enter 
 my obscure dwelling. If the sacred writers will enter 
 and take up their abode under my roof; if Milton will 
 cross my threshold to sing to me of Paradise, and 
 Shakespeare to open to me the worlds of imagination 
 and the workings of the human heart, and Franklin to 
 enrich me with his practical wisdom, I shall not pine 
 for want of intellectual companionship, and I may 
 become a cultivated man though excluded from what 
 
THE RIGHT CONDUCT OF LIFE 75 
 
 is called the best society in the place where I live. 
 
 To make this means of culture effectual, a man 
 must select good books, such as have been written by 
 right-minded and strong-minded men, real thinkers, 
 who, instead of diluting by repetition what others say, 
 have something to say for themselves, and write to 
 give relief to full, earnest souls; and these works must 
 not be skimmed over for amusement, but read with 
 fixed attention and a reverential love of truth... . 
 I know how hard it is to some men, especially to 
 those who spend much time in manual labor, to fix at- 
 tention on books. Let them strive to overcome the 
 difhculty by choosing subjects of deep interest, or by 
 reading in company with those whom they love. 
 Nothing can supply the place of books. They are 
 cheering or soothing companions in solitude, illness, 
 affliction. The wealth of both continents would not 
 compensate for the good they impart. Let every 
 man, if possible, gather some good books under his 
 roof, and obtain access for himself and family to some 
 social library. Almost any luxury should be sacri- 
 ficed to this. 
 
 Self-Culture, p. 23. 
 
 60. Marriage is a Solemn and Holy 
 Relation 
 
 The indissolubleness of marriage should be dis- 
 tinctly and seriously weighed by those who have to 
 form this connection. Let not the most solemn en- 
 gagement of life be an act of rashness and unreflecting 
 passion. Let the heart take counsel of the under- 
 standing. Let the future as well as the present be 
 
76 THE RIGHT CONDUCT OF LIFE 
 
 brought into the account. Let not the eye or the 
 imagination be trusted. Let the young man or the 
 young woman inquire, Is this a friend with whom | 
 would wish to spend, not only my youth, but my age, 
 not only my health, but my sickness, on whom I can 
 lean in my griefs, to whom I can confide my trials, to 
 whom I am willing to resign my character,—who, if 
 reverses should befall me, would help me to sustain 
 hardship and distress, who will reciprocate my best 
 feelings, who will walk with me to heaven? .. . 
 
 The different qualities by which man and woman 
 are distinguished and contrasted prepare them for a 
 peculiarly tender and beneficial union,—prepare them 
 to supply each other’s deficiencies, to perfect each 
 other’s character, and to bear distinct, yet equally 
 necessary, parts in that most important work of the 
 present state, the support and rearing of a family. 
 Marriage, then, ought to be regarded as instituted for 
 a very noble end,—to awaken the heart, to exercise 
 and strengthen its sensibilities and charities, to train it 
 to the perfection of social virtue, to confer the highest 
 enjoyments of friendship, to secure to each party the 
 benefit of the other’s strength, intelligence, and virtues, 
 and to unite both in forming useful and virtuous mem- 
 bers for the community. 
 
 This is the noblest use of the conjugal relation; and 
 when marriage is thus employed, when it becomes a re- 
 finer of our nature, uniting the mind with God, and 
 elevating it to heaven,—when they who sustain it prove 
 to each other sources and cherishers of virtuous senti- 
 ment, and see in their present union a preparation for 
 indissoluble friendship after death,—when marriage 
 
THE RIGHT CONDUCE OF LIFE 44 
 
 assumes this high and holy character, it is a felicity al- 
 most too pure for earth, it is a’ foretaste of the attach- 
 ments of a better world. 
 
 Lifer i. 327. 
 
 61. The Sanctuary of Home 
 
 The domestic relations precede, and, in our present 
 existence, are worth more than all our other social 
 ties. They give the first throb to the heart, and un- 
 seal the deep fountains of its love. Home is the 
 chief school of human virtue. Its responsibilities, 
 Joys, sorrows, smiles, tears, hopes, and solicitudes, 
 form the chief interests of human life. Go where a 
 man may, home is the centre to which his heart turns. 
 The thought of his home nerves his arm and lightens 
 his toil. For that his heart yearns, when he is far 
 off. ‘There he garners up his best treasures. God has 
 ordained for all men alike the highest earthly happi- 
 ness, In providing for all the sanctuary of home. Home 
 is to be a nursery of Christians; and what is the end 
 of Christianity, but to awaken in all souls the princi- 
 ples of universal justice and universal charity? At 
 home we are to learn to love our neighbor, our enemy, 
 the stranger, the poor, the oppressed. If home do 
 not train us to this, then it is woefully perverted. If 
 home counteract and quench the spirit of Christianity, 
 then we must remember the divine Teacher, who com- 
 mands us to forsake father and mother, brother and 
 sister, wife and child, for his sake, and for the sake 
 of his truth. If the walls of home are the bulwarks 
 of a narrow, clannish love, through which the cry of 
 human miseries and wrongs cannot penetrate, then it 
 
*8 THE RIGHT CONDUCT, OF EIBE 
 
 is mockery to talk of their sacredness. Domestic life 
 is at present too much in hostility to the spirit of 
 Christ. A family should be a community of dear 
 friends, strengthening one another for the service of 
 their fellow-creatures. Can we give the name of 
 Christian to most of our families? 
 
 On Slavery, p. 711, on Emancipation, p. 844. 
 
THE USES OF PRAYER 
 62. The True Spirit and Uses of Prayer 
 
 Prayer gives intensity to the consciousness of our 
 connection with God,—lifts us out of our narrowness 
 into communion with the Infinite,—teaches us to re- 
 gard our interests as embraced within the immense 
 designs of Providence,—opens to us a view of our 
 relations to the universe and all spirits. We come to 
 him who has the well-being of all creatures in his con- 
 trol, in whom the whole good of the universe is concen- 
 trated. Can we approach him absorbed in selfish 
 wants? Wecome to the Spiritual Father, who desires 
 our perfection, whose law of rectitude is immutable, 
 whose will of goodness is supreme, who abhors evil. 
 Must not every desire become purified in such a pres- 
 ence? God always regards us in our connections with 
 other beings; every gift bestowed upon us, or with- 
 held from us, will affect them as well as us. Should 
 not our petition be, then, to receive only what the 
 Universal Father sees to be best for all as for our- 
 selves? ‘The true spirit of prayer is a submission of 
 ourselves to the good of the whole, to the purposes of 
 Infinite Love. 
 
 Life, p. 648. 
 
 63. A Prayer of Adoration and Communion 
 
 O God! the Centre of all spirits, the Everlasting 
 79 . 
 
80 THE USES OF PRAYER 
 
 Goodness, we come to thee. Thou art the happiness 
 of heaven; and thy presence, felt by the soul that com- 
 munes with thee, is the highest good. Ignorant of thee, 
 we know nothing aright; wandering from thee, we lose 
 all light and peace; forgetting thee, we turn our minds 
 from the noblest object of thought; and without love 
 to thee, we are separated from infinite loveliness, and 
 from the only substantial and, sufficient source of joy. 
 Thou hast an inexhaustible fulness of life; and thine 
 unceasing communications take nothing from thy 
 power to bless. ‘Thou art infinitely better than all thy 
 gifts, and through all we desire to rise to thee. 
 
 We thank thee for the proofs thou givest of thy 
 essential, pure, and perfect benignity, so that through 
 all clouds and darkness we can see a gracious Father. 
 In this world of shadows, this fleeting tide of things, 
 this life of dreams, we rejoice that there is a Reality, 
 sure, unchanging, in which we may find rest; that there 
 is a Power which can cleanse us from all sin, raise us 
 to all virtue and happiness, and give us endless growth. 
 How great is our privilege, that we have such an ob- 
 ject for our hope and trust,—that our souls may con- 
 template infinite loveliness, greatness, goodness,— 
 that we may at all times commune with the Best of 
 Beings ! 
 
 For thy inviolable faithfulness, thy impartial justice, 
 thy unerring wisdom, thy unfathomable counsels, thy 
 unwearied care, thy tender mercy, thy resistless power, 
 we adore thee. For the splendor spread over all thy 
 works, and still more for the higher beauty of the 
 soul, of which the brightness of creation is but the 
 emblem and faint shadow, we thank thee. O, let thy 
 
THE USES OF PRAYER 81 
 
 love affect our hearts, let us feel its reality, constancy, 
 tenderness! To thee we owe all. Thine is the health 
 of our bodies, the light of our minds, the warmth of 
 affection, the guiding voice of conscience. Whatever 
 knowledge of virtuous impressions we have derived 
 from the society of friends, the conversation of the 
 wise and good, the care of instructors, the researches 
 of past ages, we desire to trace gratefully to thee. 
 We rejoice that we depend on thee, the Father of 
 Spirits, whose requisitions are so reasonable, whose 
 government is so mild, whose influences are so enno- 
 bling. 
 UGE CFED. LOZ. 
 
 64. “‘Be Thou the Centre, Life, and Sovereign 
 of Our Souls” 
 
 Communicate and quicken spiritual life. May our 
 souls be warm with life. Save us from an inanimate 
 and sluggish state. Teach us thy purity, how great thy 
 abhorrence of evil, how irreconcilable thy hatred of it, 
 and may we all partake of the same abhorrence of sin. 
 Increase our sensibility to evil; may we shun every ap- 
 pearance of it and repel the first temptation; and in 
 a world where example is so corrupt, we beseech thee 
 to arm us with a holy fortitude. 
 
 Inspire us with a generous love of virtue, of recti- 
 tude, of holiness. May we prefer it even to life. 
 Animate us to adhere to good in every danger. May 
 nothing on earth move us or shake our steadfastness. 
 Increase our sensibility to good; may we see more and 
 more its loveliness and beauty. 
 
 Animate us to cheerfulness. May we have a joyful 
 
82 THE USES OF PRAYER 
 
 sense of our blessings, learn to look on the bright cir- 
 cumstances of our lot, and maintain a perpetual con- 
 tentedness under thy allotments. Fortify our minds 
 against disappointment and calamity. Preserve us 
 from despondency, from yielding to dejection. Teach 
 us that no evil is intolerable but a guilty conscience, 
 and that nothing can hurt us, if with true loyalty of 
 affection we keep thy commandments and take refuge 
 in thee. 
 
 May every day add brightness and energy to our 
 conceptions of thy lovely and glorious character. 
 Give us a deeper sense of thy presence, and instruct 
 us to nourish our devoutness by every scene of nature 
 and every event of providence. Assist us to conse- 
 crate our whole being and existence to thee, our under- 
 standings to the knowledge of thy character, our 
 hearts to the veneration and love of thy perfections, 
 our wills to the choice of thy commands, our active 
 energies to the accomplishment of thy purposes, our 
 lives to thy glory, and every power to the imitation of 
 thy goodness. Be thou the centre, life, and sovereign 
 of our souls. 
 
 LAE PNroo: 
 65. A Prayer for the Brotherhood of Man 
 
 Christianity has no plainer purpose than to unite all 
 men as brethren, to make man unutterably dear to 
 man, to pour contempt on outward distinctions, to raise 
 the fallen, to league all in efforts for the elevation of 
 all. Under its influence, the differences of nations 
 and rank are softening. To the establishment of a 
 fraternal relation among men, the science, literature, 
 
THE USES OF PRAYER 83 
 
 commerce, education of the Christian world are tend- 
 ing. A new comprehension of the Christian spirit,— 
 a new reverence for humanity, a new feeling of 
 brotherhood, and of all men’s relation to the common 
 Father,—this is among the signs of our times. We 
 see it; do we not feel it? Before this all oppressions 
 are to fall. Society, silently pervaded by this, is to 
 change its aspect of universal warfare for peace. 
 The power of selfishness, all-grasping and seemingly 
 invincible, is to yield to this diviner energy. ‘The song 
 of angels, “On earth peace,” will not always sound as 
 fiction. O come, thou kingdom of heaven, for which 
 we daily pray! Come, Friend and Saviour of the 
 race, who didst shed thy blood on the cross to recon- 
 cile man to man, and earth to heaven! Come, ye pre- 
 dicted ages of righteousness and love, for which the 
 faithful have so long yearned! Come, Father 
 Almighty, and crown with thine omnipotence the hum- 
 ble strivings of thy children to subvert oppression and 
 wrong, to spread light and freedom, peace and joy, 
 the truth and spirit of thy Son, through the whole 
 earth ! 
 
 On the Annexation of Texas, p. 767, on Emancipa- 
 
 tion, p. 924. 
 
THE LIBERAL MINISTRY 
 
 66. The Demands of a Progressive Age on 
 the Ministry 
 
 The age in which we live demands not only an en- 
 lightened but an earnest ministry, for it is an age of 
 earnestness and excitement. Men feel and think at 
 present with more energy than formerly. ‘There is 
 more of interest and fervor. We learn now from ex- 
 perience what might have been inferred from the pur- 
 poses of our Creator, that civilization and refinement 
 are not, as has been sometimes thought, inconsistent 
 with sensibility; that the intellect may grow without 
 exhausting or overshadowing the heart. The human 
 mind was never more in earnest than at the present 
 moment. ‘The political revolutions which form such 
 broad features and distinctions of our age have sprung 
 from a new and deep working in the human soul. 
 Men have caught glimpses, however indistinct, of the 
 worth, dignity, rights, and great interests of their 
 nature; and a thirst for untried good and impatience 
 of long endured wrongs have broken out wildly, like 
 the fires of Etna, and shaken and convulsed the earth. 
 It 1s impossible not to discern this increased fervor 
 of mind in every department of life. A new spirit of 
 
 improvement is abroad. ‘The imagination can no 
 84 
 
THE LIBERAL MINISTRY 8 5 
 
 longer be confined to the acquisitions of past ages, but 
 is kindling the passions by vague but noble ideas of 
 blessings never yet attained. Miultitudes, unwilling 
 to wait the slow pace of that great innovator, Time, 
 are taking the work of reform into their own hands. 
 Accordingly, the reverence for antiquity and for age- 
 hallowed establishments, and the passion for change 
 and amelioration, are now arrayed against each other 
 in open hostility, and all great questions affecting hu- 
 man happiness are debated with the eagerness of 
 party. 
 Demands of the Age on the Ministry, p. 272. 
 
 67. Moral Courage and Candor must Mark 
 the Effective Minister 
 
 I have said, preach plainly and preach earnestly; I 
 now say, preach with moral courage. Fear no man, 
 high or low, rich or poor, taught or untaught. Honor 
 all men; love all men; but fear none. Speak what you 
 account great truths frankly, strongly, boldly. Do 
 not spoil them of life to avoid offence. Do not seek 
 to propitiate passion and prejudice by compromise and 
 concession. Beware of the sophistry which reconciles 
 the conscience to the suppression, or vague, lifeless 
 utterance of unpopular truth. Do not wink at wrong 
 deeds or unholy prejudices, because sheltered by cus- 
 tom or respected names. Let your words breathe a 
 heroic valor. You are bound indeed to listen candidly 
 and respectfully to whatever objections may be urged 
 against your views of truth and duty. You must also 
 take heed lest you baptize your rash, crude notions, 
 your hereditary or sectarian opinions, with the name 
 
86 THE LIBERAL MINISTRY 
 
 of Christian doctrine. But having deliberately, con- 
 scientiously sought the truth, abide by your conviction 
 at all hazards. Never shrink from speaking your 
 mind through dread of reproach. Wait not to be 
 backed by numbers. Wait not till you are sure of an 
 echo from acrowd. ‘The fewer the voices on the side 
 of truth, the more distinct and strong must be your 
 own. Put faith in truth as mightier than error, preju- 
 dice, or passion, and be ready to take a place among its 
 martyrs. Feel that truth is not a local, temporary 
 influence, but immutable, everlasting, the same in all 
 worlds, one with God, and armed with his omnipo- 
 tence. Courage even on the side of error is power. 
 How must it prove on the side of truth! A minister 
 speaking not from selfish calculation, but giving 
 out his mind in godly sincerity, uttering his convictions 
 in natural tones, and always faithful to the light which 
 he has received, however he may give occasional of- 
 fence, will not speak in vain; he will have an ally in 
 the moral sense, the principle of justice, the reverence 
 for virtue, which is never wholly extinguished in the 
 human soul. 
 
 You are peculiarly called to cherish moral courage, 
 because it is not the virtue of our times and country, 
 and because ministers are especially tempted to moral 
 weakness. The Protestant minister, mixing freely 
 with society, sustaining all its relations, and depend- 
 ing on opinion for bread, has strong inducements to 
 make a compromise with the world. Is there not 
 reason to fear that, under these influences, religion 
 and the world often shake hands? Is there not a 
 secret understanding that the ministry, while it con- 
 
THE LIBERAL MINISTRY 87 
 
 demns sin in the mass, must touch gently the prejudices, 
 wrongs, and abuses which the community has taken 
 under its wing? Is not preaching often disarmed by 
 this silent, almost unconscious, concession to the 
 world? Whether a ministry sustained as it now is 
 can be morally free, is a problem yet to be solved. If 
 not, the minister must now, as of old, leave all for 
 Christ, looking solely for aid to those, however few 
 or poor, who share his own deep interest in the Chris- 
 tian cause. Better earn your bread with the sweat 
 of your brow, than part with moral freedom. 
 
 Ordination Sermon for Rev. John 8. Dwight, p. 288. 
 
 68. The Christian Ministry Requires a Spirit 
 of Self-Sacrifice 
 
 The spirit of self-sacrifice,—the spirit of martyr- 
 dom. ‘This was the perfection of Christ, and it is the 
 noblest inspiration which his followers derive from 
 him. Say not that this is a height to which the gener- 
 ality of ministers must not be expected to rise. This 
 spirit is of more universal obligation than many 
 imagine. It enters into all the virtues which deeply 
 interest us. In truth, there is no thorough virtue with- 
 out it. Who is the upright man? He who would 
 rather die than defraud. Who the good parent? 
 He to whom his children are dearer than life. Who 
 the good patriot? He who counts not life dear in 
 his country’s cause. Who the philanthropist? He 
 who forgets himself in an absorbing zeal for the miti- 
 gation of human suffering,—for the freedom, virtue, 
 and illumination of men. It is not Christianity alone 
 which has taught self-sacrifice. Conscience and the 
 
88 THE LIBERAL MINISTRY 
 
 divinity within us have in all ages borne testimony to its 
 
 loveliness and grandeur, and history borrows from it 
 
 her chief splendors. But Christ on his cross has taught 
 
 it with a perfection unknown before, and his glory 
 
 consists in the power with which he breathes it. Into 
 
 this spirit Christ’s meanest disciple is expected to drink. 
 The Christian Ministry, p. 267. 
 
 69. Better the Romance of Progress than the 
 Tameness of Timidity in a Minister 
 
 Am I told that “romantic expectations of great 
 changes in society will do more harm than good; that 
 the world will move along in its present course, let the 
 ministry do what it may; that we must take the present 
 state as God has made it, and not waste our strength 
 in useless lamentation for incurable evils’? I hold 
 this language, though it takes the name of philosophy, 
 to be wholly unwarranted by experience and revelation. 
 
 If there be one striking feature in human nature, 
 it is its susceptibleness of improvement. . . . Have 
 we not pledges in man’s admiration of disinterested, 
 heroic love; in his power of conceiving and thirsting 
 for unattained heights of excellence; and in the splen- 
 dor and sublimity of virtue already manifested in not 
 a few who “‘shine as lights” in the darkness of past 
 ages, that man was created for perpetual moral and 
 religious progress? ‘True, the minister should not 
 yield himself to romantic anticipations; for disappoint- 
 ment may deject him. Let him not expect to break in 
 a moment chains of habit which years have riveted, or 
 to bring back to immediate intimacy with God souls 
 which have wandered long and far from him. ‘This 
 
THE LIBERAL MINISTRY 89 
 
 is romance; but there is something to be dreaded by 
 the minister more than this,—I mean that frigid tame- 
 ness of mind, too common in Christian teachers, which 
 confounds the actual and the possible; which cannot 
 burst the shackles of custom; which never kindles at 
 the thought of great improvements of human nature; 
 which is satisfied if religion receive an outward respect, 
 and never dreams of enthroning it in men’s souls; 
 which looks on the strongholds of sin with despair; 
 which utters by rote the solemn and magnificent lan- 
 guage of the gospel, without expecting it to “work 
 mightily”; which sees in the ministry a part of the 
 mechanism of society, a useful guardian of public 
 order, but never suspects the powers with which it is 
 armed by Christianity. 
 The Demands of the Age on the Minister, p. 277. 
 
 70. The Christian Minister a Moral Revolutionist 
 
 There is no romance in a minister’s proposing and 
 hoping to forward a great moral revolution on the 
 earth; for the religion which he is appointed to preach 
 was intended and is adapted to work deeply and 
 widely, and to change the face of society. Christian- 
 ity was not ushered into the world with such a stupen- 
 dous preparation; it was not foreshown through so 
 many ages by enraptured prophets; it was not pro- 
 claimed so joyfully by the songs of angels; it was not 
 preached by such holy lips, and sealed by such precious 
 blood, to be only a pageant, a form, a sound, a show. 
 Oh, no. It has come from heaven, with heaven’s 
 life and power,—come to ‘‘make all things new,’’ to 
 make ‘“‘the wilderness glad and the desert blossom as 
 
gO THE LIBERAL MINISTRY 
 
 the rose,” to break the stony heart, to set free the 
 guilt-burdened and earth-bound spirit, and to “present 
 it faultless before God’s glory with exceeding joy.” 
 With courage and hope becoming such a religion, let 
 the minister bring to his work the concentrated powers 
 of intellect and affection, and God, in whose cause he 
 labors, will accompany and crown the labor with an 
 almighty blessing. 
 Demands of the Age on the Ministry p. 277. 
 
 71. Let the Minister Lead a Life of Faith and Hope 
 
 Live ‘avlife. of faith) and hopes Believe ineGodss 
 great purposes towards the human race. Believe in 
 the mighty power of truth and love. Believe in the 
 omnipotence of Christianity. Believe that Christ 
 lived and died to breathe into his church and into 
 society a diviner spirit than now exists. Believe in 
 the capacities and greatness of human nature. Be- 
 lieve that the celestial virtue, revealed in the life and 
 teaching of Jesus Christ, is not a bright vision for bar- 
 ren admiration, but is to become a reality in your own 
 and others’ souls. Carry to your work a trustful 
 spirit. Do not waste your breath in wailing over 
 the times. Strive to make them better. Do not be 
 disheartened by evils. Feel through your whole soul 
 that evil is not the mightiest power in the universe,— 
 that it is permitted only to call forth the energy of 
 love, wisdom, persuasion, and prayer for its removal. 
 Settle it in your mind that a minister can never speak 
 an effectual word without faith. Be strong in the 
 Lord and the power of his might. 
 
 Letter on Catholicism p. 477. 
 
SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 
 
 72. Environment Teaches the Child; Parents and 
 
 Teachers may Determine the Environment 
 
 The child is not put into the hands of parents alone. 
 It is not born to hear but a few voices. It is brought 
 at birth into a vast, we may say an infinite, school. 
 The universe is charged with the office of its education. 
 Innumerable voices come to it from all that it meets, 
 sees, feels. It is not confined to a few books anxiously 
 sclectcdm ton it by parental cate.’ Nature, society, 
 experience, are volumes opened everywhere and per- 
 petually before its eyes. It takes lessons from every 
 object within the sphere of its senses and its activity, 
 from the sun and stars, from the flowers of spring and 
 the fruits of autumn, from every associate, from every 
 smiling and frowning countenance, from the pursuits, 
 trades, professions of the community in which it moves, 
 from its plays, friendships, and dislikes, from the 
 varieties of human character, and from the conse- 
 quences of its actions. | 
 
 Still, the influence of parents and teachers is great. 
 On them it very much depends whether the circum- 
 stances which surround the child shall operate to his 
 good. They must help him to read, interpret, and use 
 wisely the great volumes of nature, society, and expe- 
 rience. They must fix his volatile glance, arrest his 
 
 gI 
 
92 SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 
 
 precipitate judgment, guide his observation, teach 
 him to link together cause and effect in the outward 
 world, and turn his thoughts inward on his own more 
 mysterious nature. ‘The young, left to the education 
 of circumstances,—left without teaching, guidance, 
 restraint,—will, in all probability, grow up ignorant, 
 torpid in intellect, strangers to their own powers, and 
 slaves to their passions. 
 
 On Education, p. 117. 
 
 73. The Office of the Teacher is the 
 Noblest on Earth 
 
 We have spoken of the office of the education of 
 human beings as the noblest on earth, and have spoken 
 deliberately. It is more important than that of the 
 statesman. ‘[he statesman may set fences round our 
 property and dwellings; but how much more are we 
 indebted to him who calls forth the powers and afiec- 
 tions of those for whom our property is earned, and 
 our dwellings are reared, and who renders our chil- 
 dren objects of increasing love and respect! We go 
 farther. We maintain that higher ability is required 
 for the ofhiice of an educator of the young than for that 
 of a statesman. The highest ability is that which 
 penetrates farthest into human nature, comprehends 
 the mind in all its capacities, traces out the laws of 
 thought and moral action, understands the perfection 
 of human nature and how it may be approached, under- 
 stands the springs, motives, applications, by which the 
 child is to be roused to the most vigorous and harmo- 
 nious action of all its faculties, understands its perils, 
 
SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 93 
 
 and knows how to blend and modify the influences 
 which outward circumstances exert on the youthful 
 mind. The speculations of statesman are shallow 
 compared with these. It is the chief function of the 
 statesman to watch over the outward interests of a 
 people,—that of the educator to quicken its soul. 
 The statesman must study and manage the passions 
 and prejudices of the community; the educator must 
 study the essential, the deepest, the loftiest principles 
 of human nature. ‘The statesman works with coarse 
 instruments for coarse ends; the educator is to work 
 by the most refined influences on that delicate, ethereal 
 essence, the immortal soul. 
 On Education, p. 119. 
 
 74. Economy in Education is Perilous 
 
 to the Child 
 
 There is no office higher than that of a teacher of 
 youth, for there is nothing on earth so precious as the 
 mind, soul, character of the child. No office should 
 be regarded with greater respect. The first minds in 
 the community should be encouraged to assume it. 
 Parents should do all but impoverish themselves to 
 induce such to become the guardians and guides of 
 their children. To this good, all their show and 
 luxury should be sacrificed. Here they should be 
 lavish, whilst they straiten themselves in every thing 
 else. They should wear the cheapest clothes, live on 
 the plainest food, if they can in no other way secure 
 to their families the best instruction. They should 
 have no anxiety to accumulate property for their chil- 
 dren, provided they can place them under influences 
 
94 SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 
 
 which will awaken their faculties, inspire them with 
 pure and high principles, and fit them to bear a manly, 
 useful, and honorable part in the world. No language 
 can express the cruelty or folly of that economy which, 
 to leave a fortune to a child, starves his intellect, im- 
 poverishes his heart. ‘There should be no economy 
 in education. Money should never be weighed against 
 the soul of a child. It should be poured out like water 
 for the child’s intellectual and moral life. 
 
 No profession should receive so liberal remunera- 
 tion. We need not say how far the community falls 
 short of this estimate of the teacher’s office. Very 
 many send their children to school, and seldom or 
 never see the instructor who is operating daily and 
 deeply on their minds and characters. With a blind 
 confidence, perhaps they do not ask how that work is 
 advancing on which the dearest interests of the family 
 depend. Perhaps they put the children under the 
 daily control of one with whom they do not care to 
 associate. Perhaps, were they told what they ought 
 to pay for teaching, they would stare as if a project 
 for robbing them were on foot, or would suspect the 
 sanity of the friend who should counsel them to throw 
 away so much money in purchasing that cheapest of 
 all articles, that drug in every market, instruction for 
 their children. 
 
 On Education, p. 118. 
 
 75. In Preaching Religion, Present it Cheerfully 
 but as a Challenge to Heroism 
 
 Carry a cheerful spirit into religious teaching. Do 
 not merely speak of Christianity as the only fountain 
 
SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 95 
 
 of happiness. Let your tones and words bear witness 
 to its benignant, cheering influence. Youth is the age 
 of joy and hope, and nothing repels it more than 
 gloom. Do not array religion in terror. Do not 
 make God a painful thought by speaking of him as 
 present only to see and punish sin. Speak of his 
 fatherly interest in the young with a warm heart and 
 a beaming eye, and encourage their filial approach 
 and prayers. On this part, however, you must be- 
 ware of sacrificing truth to the desire of winning your 
 pupil. Truth, truth in her severest as well as mildest 
 forms, must be placed before the young. Do not, to 
 attract them to duty, represent it as a smooth and 
 flowery path. Do not tell them that they can become 
 good, excellent, generous, holy, without effort and 
 pain. Teach them that the sacrifice of self-will, of 
 private interest, and pleasure, to others’ rights and 
 happiness, to the dictates of conscience, to the will of 
 God, is the very essence of piety and goodness. But 
 at the same time teach them that there is a pure, calm 
 joy, an inward peace, in surrendering every thing to 
 duty, which can be found in no selfish success. Help 
 them to sympathize with the toils, pains, sacrifices of 
 the philanthropist, the martyr, the patriot, and inspire 
 contempt of fear and peril in adhering to truth and 
 God. 
 The Sunday School, p. 457. 
 
THE FREE AND UNIVERSAL CHURCH 
 76. The True Christian Unity 
 
 By his Church our Saviour does not mean a party, 
 bearing the name of a human leader, distinguished 
 by a form or an opinion, and, on the ground of this 
 distinction, denying the name or character of Christians 
 to all but themselves. He means by it the body of 
 his friends and followers, who truly imbibe his spirit, 
 no matter by what name they are called, in what 
 house they worship, by what peculiarities of mode and 
 opinion they are distinguished, under what sky they 
 live, or what language they speak. ‘These are the 
 true church,—men made better, made holy, virtuous, 
 by his religionm—men who, hoping in his promises, 
 keep his commands. 
 
 Ever since Christ’s church was established such a 
 unity has existed, such characters have been formed by 
 the gospel; and this influence it will exert through all 
 ages. As we have said, we have reason to suppose, 
 from what has been experienced, that great changes 
 will take place in the present state of Christianity; and 
 the time is, perhaps, coming, when all our present sects 
 will live only in history. But the influences of the 
 gospel will not therefore cease; the church will not 
 die with the sects into which it is broken. On the 
 contrary, we may hope that the vine of God will flour- 
 
 ish more, when these branches are lopped off which 
 96 
 
FREE AND UNIVERSAL CHURCH — 97 
 
 exhaust its strength and bear little fruit. Men will 
 then learn that Christianity is designed for practice, 
 and not for contention; ceasing to censure others, they 
 will aim to reform themselves. The simple gospel, 
 divested of human addition, no longer disfigured by 
 absurd explanation, will be the centre and bond of 
 union to the world. The name of Christian will ab- 
 sorb all other names; and the spirit of love to God and 
 man will take the place of unhallowed zeal and bitter 
 contention. Human churches, human establishments, 
 —the effects and monuments of folly and ambition,— 
 will fall. But the church of Christ—which is another 
 name for piety, goodness, righteousness, peace, and 
 love—shall endure forever... . 
 
 Life, p. 170. 
 
 77. The Covenant of the Universal Church 
 is Charity and Beneficence 
 
 We have grown up under different influences. We 
 bear different names. But if we purpose solemnly to 
 do God’s will, and are following the precepts and 
 example of Christ, we are one church, and let nothing 
 divide us. Diversities of opinion may incline us to 
 worship under different roofs; or diversities of tastes 
 or habit, to worship with different forms. But these 
 varieties are not schisms; they do not break the unity 
 of Christ’s church. We may still honor and love and 
 rejoice in one another’s spiritual life and progress as 
 truly as if we were cast into one and the same un- 
 yielding form. God loves variety in nature and in 
 the human soul, nor does he reject it in Christian wor- 
 ship. In many great truths, in those which are most 
 
98 FREE AND UNIVERSAL CHURCH 
 
 quickening, purifying, and consoling, we all, I hope, 
 agree. There is, too, a common ground of practice, 
 aloof from all controversy, on which we may all meet. 
 We may all unite hearts and hands in doing good, in 
 fulfilling God’s purposes of love towards our race, in 
 toiling and suffering for the cause of humanity, in 
 spreading intelligence, freedom, and virtue, in making 
 God known for the reverence, love, and imitation of 
 his creatures, in resisting the abuses and corruptions 
 of past ages, in exploring and drying up the sources 
 of poverty, in rescuing the fallen from intemperance, 
 in succoring the orphan and widow, in enlightening 
 and elevating the depressed portions of the community, 
 in breaking the yoke of the oppressed and enslaved, in 
 exposing and withstanding the spirit and horrors of 
 war, in sending God’s word to the ends of the earth, 
 in redeeming the world from sin and woe. ‘The angels 
 and pure spirits who visit our earth come not to join 
 a sect, but to do good to all. May this universal 
 charity descend on us, and possess our hearts! may our 
 narrowness, exclusiveness, and bigotry melt away un- 
 der this mild, celestial fire! Thus we shall not only 
 join ourselves to Christ’s universal church on earth, 
 but to the invisible church, to the innumerable com- 
 pany of the just made perfect, in the mansions of ever- 
 lasting purity and peace. 
 The Church, p. 444. 
 
 78. Virtue is the Bond of the Universal Church 
 
 Do not tell me that I surrender myself to a fiction of 
 imagination, when I say that distant Christians, that 
 all Christians and myself, form one body, one church, 
 
PREE AN DYUNIVERSAG CHURCH 7:99 
 
 just as far as a common love and piety possess our 
 hearts. Nothing is more real than this spiritual union. 
 There is one grand, all-comprehending church. Who 
 shall sunder me from such men as Fénélon, and Pascal, 
 and Borromeo, from Archbishop Leighton, Jeremy 
 Taylor, and John Howard? Who can rupture the 
 spiritual bond between these men and myself? Do I 
 not hold them dear? Does not their spirit, flowing 
 out through their writings and lives, penetrate my 
 soul? Are they not a portion of my being? Am I 
 not a different man from what I should have been, had 
 not these and other like spirits acted on mine? And 
 is 1t in the power of synod, or conclave, or of all the 
 ecclesiastical combinations on earth, to part me from 
 them? Iam bound to them by thought and affection; 
 and can these be suppressed by the bull of a pope or 
 the excommunication of a council? The soul breaks 
 scornfully these barriers, these webs of spiders, and 
 joins itself to the great and good; and if it possess 
 their spirit, will the great and good, living or dead, 
 cast it off because it has not enrolled itself in this or 
 another sect? A pure mind is free of the universe. 
 It belongs to the church, the family of the pure, in all 
 worlds. Virtue is no local thing. It is not honorable 
 because born in this community or that, but for its own 
 independent, everlasting beauty. This is the bond 
 of the universal church. No man can be excommuni- 
 cated from it but by himself, by the death of goodness 
 in his own breast. All sentences of exclusion are vain, 
 if he do not dissolve the tie of purity which binds him 
 to all holy souls. 
 The Church, p. 430. 
 
100 = FREE AND UNIVERSAL CHURCH 
 
 79. The History of the Intolerance of Sects 
 Awakens Grief, Shame, and 
 Pity 
 
 There is no portion of human history more hum- 
 bling than that of sects. When I meditate on the 
 grand, moral, spiritual purpose of Christianity, in 
 which all its glory consists; when I consider how plainly 
 Christianity attaches importance to nothing but to the 
 moral excellence, the disinterested, divine virtue, which 
 was embodied in the teaching and life of its Founder; 
 and when from this position I look down on the sects 
 which have figured and now figure in the church; when 
 I see them making such a stir about matters generally 
 so unessential; when I see them seizing on a disputed 
 and disputable doctrine, making it a watchword, a test 
 of God’s favor, a bond of communion, a ground of 
 self-complacency, a badge of peculiar holiness, a war- 
 rant for condemning its rejectors, however imbued 
 with the spirit of Christ; when I see them overlooking 
 the weightier matters of the law, and laying infinite 
 stress here on a bishop and prayer-book, there on the 
 quantity of water applied in baptism, and there on 
 some dark solution of an incomprehensible article of 
 faith; when I see the mock dignity of their exclusive 
 claims to truth, to churchship, to the promises of 
 God’s word; when I hear the mimic thunderbolts of 
 denunciation and excommunication which they delight 
 to hurl; when I consider how their deep theology, in 
 proportion as it is examined, evaporates into words, 
 how many opposite and extravagant notions are 
 covered by the same broad shield of mystery and 
 
FREE AND UNIVERSAL CHURCH 101 
 
 tradition, and how commonly the persuasion of infal- 
 libility is proportioned to the absurdity of the creed; 
 —when I consider these things, and other matters of 
 like import, I am lost in amazement at the amount of 
 arrogant folly, of self-complacent intolerance, of al- 
 most incredible blindness to the end and essence of 
 Christianity, which the history of sects reveals. I 
 have, indeed, profound respect for individuals in all 
 communions of Christians. But on sects, and on the 
 spirit of sects, I must be allowed to look with grief, 
 shame, and pity. 
 Letter on Catholicism, p. 476. 
 
 80. ds Members of One Vast Spiritual Com- 
 
 munity, We Should Shun Sectarianism 
 
 We must shun the spirit of sectarianism as from 
 hell. We must shudder at the thought of shutting up 
 God in any denomination. We must. think no man 
 the better for belonging to our communion; no man 
 the worse for belonging to another. We must look with 
 undiminished joy on goodness, though it shine forth 
 from the most adverse sect. Christ’s spirit must be 
 equally dear and honored, no matter where manifested. 
 To confine God’s love or his good Spirit to any party, 
 sect, or name, is to sin against the fundamental law 
 of the kingdom of God, to break that living bond with 
 Christ’s universal church which is one of our chief 
 helps to perfection. What I wish is, that we should 
 learn to regard ourselves as members of a vast spirit- 
 ual community, as joint-heirs and fellow-worshippers 
 with the goodly company of Christian heroes who have 
 
102 FREE AND;UNIVERSAL CHURCH 
 
 gone before us, instead of immuring ourselves in par- 
 ticular) churches: Our? nature delights) anaes 
 consciousness of vast connection. This tendency mani- 
 fests itself in the patriotic sentiment, and in the 
 passionate clinging of men to a great religious de- 
 nomination. Its true and noblest gratification is 
 found in the deep feeling of a vital, everlasting connec- 
 tion with the universal church, with the innumerable 
 multitude of the holy on earth and in heaven. 
 
 The Church, pp. 437, 438. 
 
 81. Christian Truth 1s Infinite, Creeds 
 Cannot Contain It 
 
 I cannot but look on human creeds with feelings 
 approaching contempt. When I bring them into con- 
 trast with the New Testament, into what insignificance 
 do they sink! What are they? Skeletons, freezing 
 abstractions, metaphysical expressions of unintelligible 
 dogmas; and these I am to regard as the expositions 
 of the fresh, living, infinite truth which came from 
 Jesus! I might with equal propriety be required to 
 hear and receive the lispings of infancy as the expres- 
 sions of wisdom. Creeds are to the Scriptures what 
 rush-lights are to the sun. ‘The creed-maker defines 
 Jesus in half a dozen lines, perhaps in metaphysical 
 terms, and calls me to assent to this account of my 
 Saviour. I learn less of Christ by this process than 
 I should learn of the sun by being told that this 
 glorious luminary is a circle about a foot in diameter. 
 There is but one way of knowing Christ. We must 
 place ourselves near him, see him, hear him, follow 
 him from his cross to the heavens, sympathize with 
 
FREE AND UNIVERSAL CHURCH § 103 
 
 him and obey him, and thus catch clear and bright 
 glimpses of his divine glory. 
 
 Christian truth is infinite. Who can think of shut- 
 fing it up in a few lines of an abstract creed? You 
 might as well compress the boundless atmosphere, the 
 fire, the all-pervading light, the free winds of the uni- 
 verse, into separate parcels, and weigh and label them, 
 as break up Christianity into a few propositions. 
 Christianity is freer, more illimitable, than the light 
 or the winds. It is too mighty to be bound down by 
 man’s puny hands. It is a spirit rather than a rigid 
 doctrine,—the spirit of boundless love. ‘The infinite 
 cannot be defined and measured out like a human manu- 
 facture wl tunasebeen=tie tault ofeall sectsathatathey 
 have been too anxious to define their religion. ‘They 
 have labored to circumscribe the infinite. Christianity, 
 as it exists in the mind of the true disciple, is not made 
 up of fragments, of separate ideas which he can ex- 
 press in detached propositions. It is a vast and ever- 
 unfolding whole, pervaded by one spirit, each precept 
 and doctrine deriving its vitality from its union with 
 all. 
 
 Letter on Creeds, p. 487. 
 
 82. The Universality of the Christian Gospel 
 
 When I examine the doctrines, precepts, and spirit 
 of Christianity, I discover, in them all, this character 
 of universality. I discover nothing narrow, tem- 
 porary, local. The gospel bears the stamp of no 
 particular age or country. It does not concern itself 
 with the perishable interests of communities or indi- 
 viduals; but appeals to the spiritual, immortal, un- 
 
104 FREE AND UNIVERSAL CHURCH 
 
 bounded principle in human nature. Its aim is to 
 direct the mind to the Infinite Being, and to an infinite 
 good. It is not made up, like other religions, of pre- 
 cise forms and details; but it inculcates immutable and 
 all-comprehending principles of duty, leaving every 
 man to apply them for himself to the endless variety 
 of human conditions. It inculcates philanthropy with- 
 out exceptions or bounds,—a love to man as man, a 
 love founded on that immortal nature of which all 
 men partake, and which binds us to recognize in each 
 a child of God and a brother. The spirit of bigotry, 
 which confines its charity to a sect, and the spirit of 
 aristocracy, which looks on the multitude as an inferior 
 race, are alike rebuked by Christianity; which, eigh- 
 teen hundred years ago, in a narrow and superstitious 
 age, taught, what the present age is beginning to under- 
 stand, that all men are essentially equal, and that all 
 are to be honored, because made for immortality and 
 endued with capacities of ceaseless improvement. ‘The 
 more I examine Christianity, the more I am struck 
 with its universality. I see in it a religion made for 
 all regions and all times, for all classes and all stages 
 of society. It is fitted, not to the Asiatic or the Euro- 
 pean, but to the essential principles of human nature, 
 —to man under the tropical or polar skies, to all 
 descriptions of intellect and condition. It speaks a 
 language which all men need and all can understand; 
 enjoins a virtue which is man’s happiness and glory 
 in every age and clime; and ministers consolations and 
 hopes which answer to man’s universal lot,—to the 
 sufferings, the fear, and the self-rebuke which cleave 
 to our nature in every outward change. I see in it 
 
FREE AND UNIVERSAL CHURCH 105 
 
 the light, not of one nation, but of the world; and a 
 light reaching beyond the world, beyond time, to 
 higher modes of existence and to an interminable 
 futurity. Other religions have been intended to meet 
 the exigencies of particular countries or times, and 
 therefore society in its progress has outgrown them; 
 but Christianity meets more and more the wants of 
 the soul in proportion to the advancement of our race, 
 and thus proves itself to be eternal truth. 
 
 Christianity a Rational Religion, p. 242. 
 
ANTICIPATIONS OF THE FUTURE IGE 
 
 83. Heaven is the Freed and Sanctifiled Mind 
 and the Fellowship Thereof 
 
 The most exalted idea we can form of the future 
 state is that it brings and joins us to God. But is not 
 approach to this great Being begun on earth? An- 
 other delightful view of heaven is that it unites us 
 with the good and great of our own race, and even 
 with higher orders of beings. But this union is one 
 of spirit, not of mere place; it is accordance of thought 
 and feeling, not an outward relation; and does not 
 this harmony begin even now? and is not virtuous 
 friendship on earth essentially the pleasure which we 
 hope hereafter? What place would be drearier than 
 the future mansions of Christ to one who should want 
 sympathy with their inhabitants, who could not under- 
 stand their language, who would feel himself a for- 
 eigner there, who would be taught, by the joys which 
 he could not partake, his own loneliness and desola- 
 tion’ te l heses views, sl aknow, are. oftenecivensamaEn 
 greater or less distinctness; but they seem to me not 
 to have brought home to men the truth, that the 
 fountain of happiness must be in our own souls. 
 Gross ideas of futurity still prevail. I should not be 
 surprised if to some among us the chief idea of heaven 
 was that of a splendor, a radiance, like that which 
 
 Christ wore on the Mount of Transfiguration. Let 
 106 
 
ANTICIPATIONS OF FUTURE LIFE 107 
 
 us all consider—and it is a great truth—that heaven 
 has no lustre surpassing that of intellectual and moral 
 worth; and that, were the effulgence of the sun and 
 stars concentrated in the Christian, even this would 
 be darkness compared with the pure beamings of wis- 
 dom, love, and power from his mind. Think not, 
 then, that Christ has come to give heaven as some- 
 thing distinct from virtue. Heaven is the freed and 
 sanctified mind, enjoying God through accordance with 
 his attributes, multiplying its bonds and sympathies 
 with excellent beings, putting forth noble powers, and 
 ministering, in union with the enlightened and holy, 
 to the happiness and virtue of the universe. 
 
 The Great Purpose of Christianity, p. 252. 
 
 84. Heaven is the Rendezvous and Home 
 
 of the Great and Good 
 
 Were there a country on earth uniting all that 1s 
 beautiful in nature, all that is great in virtue, genius, 
 and the liberal arts, and numbering among its citizens 
 the most illustrious patriots, poets, philosophers, 
 philanthropists of our age, how eagerly should 
 we cross the ocean to visit it! And how im- 
 measurably greater is the attraction of heaven! 
 There live the elder brethren of the creation, the sons 
 of the morning, who sang for joy at the creation of 
 our race; there the great and good of all ages and 
 climes; the friends, benefactors, deliverers, ornaments 
 of their race; the patriarch, prophet, apostle, and 
 martyr; the true heroes of public, and still more of 
 private, life; the father, mother, wife, husband, child, 
 who, unrecorded by man, have walked before God in 
 
108 ANTICIPATIONS OF FUTURE LIFE 
 
 the beauty of love and self-sacrificing virtue. ‘There 
 are all who have built up in our hearts the power of 
 goodness and truth, the writers from whose pages we 
 have received the inspiration of pure and lofty senti- 
 ments, the friends whose countenances have shed light 
 through our dwellings, and peace and strength through 
 our hearts. ‘There they are gathered together, safe 
 from every storm, triumphant over evil; and they say 
 to us, Come and join us in our everlasting blessedness; 
 come and bear part in our song of praise; share our 
 adoration, friendship, progress, and works of love. 
 They say to us, Cherish now in your earthly life that 
 spirit and virtue of Christ which is the beginning and 
 dawn of.heaven, and we shall soon welcome you, with 
 more than human friendship, to our own immortality. 
 Shall that voice speak to us in vain? Shall our 
 worldliness and unforsaken sins separate us, by a gulf 
 which cannot be passed, from the society of heaven? 
 
 On The Future Life, p. 366. 
 
 85. The Christian’s Anticipation of the Fellow- 
 ship Beyond the Veil 
 
 But the Christian not only maintains a connection 
 with his brethren in Heaven by grateful recollections of 
 their virtues. Still more closely is he bound to them 
 by hope. He does not remember them as embalmed 
 in history, to be known only through the records of 
 tradition. They still Jive, and are members of the 
 same Organic Body with himself. Already he feels 
 a brotherhood with them. He is bound to them by 
 more than distant admiration, even by close and cor- 
 
ANTICIPATIONS OF FUTURE LIFE 109 
 
 dial friendship. Eagerly he anticipates a future exist- 
 ence, because he shall meet there the venerable dead, 
 with whose spirits, still animating their biographies, 
 histories, and works, he now communes. He rejoices 
 to think of soon hearing, seeing, and holding familiar 
 intercourse with inspired prophets and holy poets, 
 with philanthropists and sages, with scholars and 
 artists, with great-hearted heroes of common life, 
 whose characters and deeds have nourished in him 
 pure purposes and lofty aspirations; and he is elevated 
 towards their sublime height by these soaring expecta- 
 tions. [he space that sunders him from them 1s 
 daily growing narrower; and his present faint con- 
 ceptions of them will soon change into clear, full, inti- 
 mate, personal acquaintance. Steadfast in faith, he 
 trusts that they will receive and gladly incorporate 
 him into their society. This is indeed a glorious and 
 glorifying hope, that we shall be greeted with welcome 
 by the revered and illustrious, the humble and gentle, 
 who have gone before us into the world of light. 
 But let us not fear to yield to this high hope. For the 
 First among many Brethren will count his work un- 
 finished until his prayer shall be fulfilled: that all who 
 love and believe in him shall be one with him, and 
 with one another, as he and his Father are one, and 
 that where he is they shall be also. 
 The Church Universal, p. 1018. 
 
 86. The Great and Blessed Society of Jesus’ 
 Followers Hereafter 
 
 The departed go not to Jesus only. They go to the 
 
110 ANTICIPATIONS OF FUTURE LIFE 
 
 great and blessed society which is gathered round him, 
 to the redeemed from all regions of earth, “‘to the city 
 of the living God, to an innumerable company of 
 angels, to the church of the first-born, to the spirits of 
 the just made perfect.”” Into what a glorious com- 
 munity do they enter! And how they are received 
 you can easily understand. We are told there is joy 
 in heaven over the sinner who repenteth; and will not 
 his ascension to the abode of perfect virtue communi- 
 cate more fervent happiness? Our friends who leave 
 us for that world do not find themselves cast among 
 strangers. No desolate feeling springs up of having 
 exchanged their home for a foreign country. ‘The 
 tenderest accents of human friendship never ap- 
 proached in affectionateness the voice of congratula- 
 tion which bids them welcome to their new and ever- 
 lasting abode. In that world, where minds have 
 surer means of revealing themselves than here, the 
 newly arrived immediately see and feel themselves 
 encompassed with virtue and goodness; and through 
 this insight into the congenial spirits which surround 
 them, intimacies stronger than years can cement on 
 earth may be created in a moment. 
 
 It seems to me accordant with all the principles of 
 human nature, to suppose that the departed meet 
 peculiar congratulation from friends who had gone 
 before them to that better world; and especially from 
 all who had in any way given aids to their virtue; 
 from parents who had instilled into them the first 
 lessons of love to God and man; from associates, 
 whose examples had won them to goodness, whose 
 faithful counsels deterred them from sin. The ties 
 
ANTICIPATIONS OF FULURE. LIBE ) 111 
 
 created by such benefits must be eternal. The grateful 
 soul must bind itself with peculiar affection to such as 
 guided it to immortality. 
 
 On the Future Life, p. 364. 
 
 87. The Affection and Anxiety of Our 
 Departed for Us 
 
 Let us not think of the departed as looking on us 
 with earthly, partial affections. ‘They love us more 
 than ever, but with a refined and spiritual love. They 
 have now but one wish for us, which is, that we may 
 fit ourselves to join them in their mansions of benevo- 
 lence and piety. Their spiritual vision penetrates to 
 our souls. Could we hear their voice, it would not 
 be an utterance of personal attachment so much as a 
 quickening call to greater effort, to more resolute self- 
 denial, to a wider charity, to a meeker endurance, a 
 more filial obedience of the will of God. Nor must 
 we think of them as appropriated to ourselves. They 
 are breathing now an atmosphere of divine benevo- 
 lence. They are charged with a higher mission than 
 when they trod the earth. And this thought of the 
 enlargement of their love should enlarge ours, and 
 carry us beyond selfish regards to a benevolence akin 
 to that with which they are inspired. 
 
 helhijureilafe p30: 
 
 88. The Usefulness of the Good does 
 not End with Death 
 
 Let us not, then, imagine that the usefulness of the 
 good is finished at death. Then rather does it begin. 
 Let us not judge of their state by associations drawn 
 
112 ANTICIPATIONS OF FUTURE LIFE 
 
 from the chillness and silence of the grave. ‘They 
 have gone to abodes of life, of warmth, of action. 
 They have gone to fill a larger place in the system of 
 God. Death has expanded their powers. ‘The clogs 
 and fetters of the perishable body have fallen off, that 
 they may act more freely and with more delight in 
 the grand system of creation. We should represent 
 them to our minds as ascended to a higher rank of 
 existence, and admitted to co-operate with far higher 
 communities. ‘This earth was only their school, their 
 place of education, where we saw their powers com- 
 paratively in an infant state. They have now reached 
 a maturer age, and are gone to sustain more important 
 relations. ‘They have been called because their agency 
 was needed in higher services than those of this world. 
 Where they are now acting, it is not given to us to 
 know; but the all-wise Father can never be without a 
 sphere for the virtues of his children. It would be 
 grateful to believe that their influence reaches to the 
 present state, and we certainly are not forbidden to 
 indulge the hope. But wherever they may be, they 
 are more useful, more honorably occupied, than when 
 on earth; and by following their steps, we may, how- 
 ever separated from them during life, hope to obtain 
 admission into the same bright regions where they are 
 pressing onward to perfection. 
 
 Lee eae ve 
 
 89. The Reward of the Good in the 
 Life Hereafter 
 
 At the great consummation of all things, the dark- 
 ness will be dissipated, and the good will reap. Then 
 
AN TICIPATIONS OF PUTURE: LIFE 113 
 
 they will see their prayers, their toils, their liberal 
 contributions, their exhortations, all their various 
 exertions for the interests of men, and for the king- 
 dom of the Redeemer, improved by infinite wisdom to 
 accomplish the happiest ends. ‘They will see that 
 their good works failed to accomplish the object they 
 desired, only that they might conduce to greater good. 
 They will see happiness existing and destined to exist 
 and to increase forever, which they were the honored 
 instruments of promoting. ‘They will be hailed by 
 some grateful voice, ascribing to their prayers and ex- 
 ertions the attainment of heavenly blessedness. They 
 will see the connection of their labors with the prosper- 
 ity and triumphs of the kingdom of God. And joy 
 will fill their hearts at finding that they have not lived 
 in vain,—that while, perhaps, they have labored in sta- 
 tions too humble for the notice of man, they have been 
 workers together with God, and been permitted to lay 
 the foundation of felicity which shall never end... . 
 
 True benevolence is not- happy in itself; it is happy 
 in the felicity of other beings; and in proportion to its 
 strength we shall ardently desire to attain to a state 
 of existence in which we may behold and promote the 
 highest good, may grow in goodness, become members 
 of an active society warmed with purest benevolence, 
 and be entirely devoted to the designs of the merciful 
 God. ‘The prospect of eternal life must be inconceiv- 
 ably more dear to a benevolent heart than to any other 
 being, because this heart is fixed on an object so glori- 
 ous and extensive, that it wants an eternity to enjoy 
 and pursue it. Take away the rewards of the gospel 
 from the benevolent soul, let him see no spheres of 
 
114° ANTICIPAZTIONS OF FUTURE LIFE 
 
 usefulness beyond the grave, let him see all his labors 
 confined to the narrow sphere of this changing world, 
 and his heart will sink and grow cold. ‘There will be 
 no object large enough for him to embrace. ‘The 
 good heart naturally allies itself with eternity. It is 
 its nature to expand its views. Let it behold a king- 
 dom of endless and increasing glory under the govern- 
 ment of infinite love, and let it be invited to press for- 
 ward to this kingdom, and its benevolence will give it 
 vigor to pursue the prize. 
 
 Len Melee 
 90. A Spiritual Conception of the Idea of Hell 
 
 Ask multitudes what is the chief evil from which 
 Christ came to save them, and they will tell you, 
 ‘From hell, from penal fires, from future punish- 
 ment.” Accordingly, they think that salvation is 
 something which another may achieve for them, very 
 much as a neighbor may quench a conflagration that 
 menaces their dwellings and lives. That word hell, 
 which is used so seldom in the sacred pages, which in a 
 faithful translation would not once occur in the writ- 
 ings of Paul, and Peter, and John, which we meet only 
 in four or five discourses of Jesus, and which all per- 
 sons acquainted with Jewish geography know to be a 
 metaphor, a figure of speech, and not a literal expres- 
 sion,—this word, by a perverse and exaggerated use, 
 has done unspeakable injury to Christianity. It has 
 possessed and diseased men’s imaginations with out- 
 ward tortures, shrieks, and flames; giving them the 
 idea of an outward ruin as what they have chiefly to 
 dread; turned their thoughts to Jesus as an outward 
 
SNL CLEA PIONS OPI BULERESLCIER | 115 
 
 deliverer; and thus blinded them to his true glory, 
 which consists in his setting free and exalting the soul. 
 Men are flying from an outward hell, when in truth 
 they carry within them the hell which they should 
 chiefly dread. The salvation which man chiefly needs, 
 and that which brings with it all other deliverance, is 
 salvation from the evil of his own mind. ‘There is 
 something far worse than outward punishment. It is 
 sin; it is the state of the soul which has revolted from 
 God, and cast off its allegiance to conscience and the 
 divine word; which renounces its Father, and hardens 
 itself against Infinite Love; which, endued with divine 
 powers, enthralls itself to animal lusts; which makes 
 gain its god; which has capacities of boundless and 
 ever-growing love, and shuts itself up in the dungeon 
 of private interests; which, gifted with a self-directing 
 power, consents to be a slave, and is passively formed 
 by custom, opinion, and changing events; which, living 
 under God’s eye, dreads man’s frown or scorn, and 
 prefers human praise to its own calm consciousness of 
 virtue; which tamely yields to temptation, shrinks with 
 a coward’s baseness from the perils of duty, and sacri- 
 fices its glory and peace in parting with self-control. 
 No ruin can be compared to this. ‘This the impenitent 
 man carries with him beyond the grave, and there 
 meets its natural issue and inevitable retribution, in 
 remorse, self-torture, and woes unknown on earth. 
 This we cannot too strongly fear. ‘To save, in the 
 highest sense of that word, is to lift the fallen spirit 
 from this depth, to heal the diseased mind, to restore 
 it to energy and freedom of thought, conscience, and 
 love. 
 
 The Great Purpose of Christianity, p. 251. 
 
 + 
 
INTELLECTUAL INDEPENDENCE AND 
 INTEGRITY 
 
 g1. Independent Decision in Religious Questions the 
 Prerogative of Every Man 
 
 It is sometimes said, that the multitude may think 
 on the common business of life, but not on higher sub- 
 jects, and especially on religion. ‘This, it is said, must 
 be received on authority; on this, men in general can 
 form no judgment of their own. But this is the last 
 subject on which the individual should be willing 
 to surrender himself to others’ dictation. In nothing 
 has he so strong an interest. In nothing is it so 
 important that his mind and heart should be alive 
 and engaged. In nothing has he readier means 
 of judging for himself. In nothing, as_ history 
 shows, is he more likely to be led astray by such as 
 assume the office of thinking for him. Religion is a 
 subject open to all minds. Its great truths have their 
 foundation in the soul itself, and their proofs surround 
 us on all sides. God has not shut up the evidence of 
 his being in a few books, written in a foreign language, 
 and locked up in the libraries of colleges and philoso- 
 phers; but has written his name on the heavens and on 
 the earth, and even on the minutest animal and plant; 
 and his word, taught by Jesus Christ, was not given 
 to scribes and lawyers, but taught to the poor, to the 
 mass Of men, on mountains, in streets, and on the sea- 
 
 shore. Let me not be told that the multitude do 
 116 
 
INTELLECTUAL INDEPENDENCE 117 
 
 actually receive religion on authority, or on the word 
 of others. I reply, that a faith so received seems to 
 me of little worth. The precious, the living, the 
 effectual part of a poor man’s faith, is that of which 
 he sees the reasonableness and excellence; that which 
 approves itself to his intelligence, his conscience, his 
 heart; that which answers to deep wants in his own 
 soul, and of which he has the witness in his own in- 
 ward and outward experience. All other parts of his 
 belief, those which he takes on blind trust, and in 
 which he sees no marks of truth and divinity, do him 
 little or no good. Too often they do him harm, by 
 perplexing his simple reason, by substituting the fic- 
 tions and artificial systems of theologians for the plain 
 precepts of love, and justice, and humility, and filial 
 trust in God. As long as it was supposed that re- 
 ligion is to benefit the world by laying restraints, 
 awakening fears, and acting as a part of the system 
 of police, so long it was natural to rely on authority 
 and tradition as the means of its propagation; so long 
 it was desirable to stifle thought and inquiry on the 
 subject. But now that we have learned that the true 
 ofice of religion is to awaken pure and lofty senti- 
 ments, and to unite man to God by rational homage 
 and enlightened love, there is something monstrous 
 in placing religion beyond the thought and the study 
 of the mass of the human race. 
 Elevation of the Laboring Classes, p. 53. 
 
 92. The Independence of the Individual 
 Mind and Conscience 
 
 What many of us have chiefly to dread from society 
 
118 INTELLECTUAL INDEPENDENCE 
 
 is, not that we shall acquire a positive character of vice; 
 but that it will impose on us a negative character; that 
 we shall live and die passive beings; that the creative 
 and self-forming energy of the soul will not be called 
 forth in the work of our improvement. Our danger 
 is, that we shall substitute the consciences of others 
 for our own, that we shall paralyze our faculties 
 through dependence on foreign guides, that we shall 
 be moulded from abroad instead of determining our- 
 selves. [he pressure of society upon us is constant 
 and almost immeasurable; now open and direct in the 
 form of authority and menace, now subtile and silent 
 in the guise of blandishment and promise. What 
 mighty power is lodged in a frown or a smile, in the 
 voice of praise and flattery, in scorn or neglect, in 
 public opinion, in domestic habits and prejudices, in 
 the state and spirit of the community to which we be- 
 long! Nothing escapes the cognizance of society. 
 Its legislation extends even to our dress, movements, 
 features; and the individual bears the traces, even in 
 countenance, air, and voice, of the social influences 
 amidst which he has been plunged. We are in great 
 peril of growing up slaves to this exacting, arbitrary 
 sovereign; of forgetting, or never learning, our true 
 responsibility; of living in unconsciousness of that di- 
 vine power with which we are invested over ourselves, 
 and in which all the dignity of our nature is concen- 
 tred; of overlooking the sacredness of our minds, and 
 laying them open to impressions from any and all who 
 surround us. Resistance of this foreign pressure is 
 our only safeguard, and is essential to virtue. All 
 virtue lies in individual action, in inward energy, in 
 
INTELLECTUAL INDEPENDENCE £19 
 
 self-determination. ‘There is no moral worth in be- 
 ing swept away by a crowd, even towards the best 
 objects. We must act from an inward spring. The 
 good as well as the bad may injure us, if through 
 that intolerance which is a common infirmity of the 
 good, they impose on us authoritatively their own con- 
 victions, and obstruct our own intellectual and moral 
 activity. A state of society in which correct habits 
 prevail, may produce in many a mechanical regularity 
 and religion which is any thing but virtue. Nothing 
 morally great or good springs from mere sympathy 
 and imitation. These principles will only forge 
 chains for us, and perpetuate our infancy, unless more 
 and more controlled and subdued by that inward law- 
 giver and judge, whose authority is from God, and 
 whose sway over our whole nature alone secures its 
 free, glorious, and everlasting expansion. 
 Remarks on Associations, p. 142. 
 
 93. Spiritual Freedom 
 
 Spiritual freedom is the attribute of a mind in which 
 reason and conscience have begun to act, and which 
 is free through its own energy, through fidelity to the 
 truth, through resistance of temptation. It has 
 pleased the All-wise Disposer to encompass us from 
 our birth by difficulty and allurement, to place us in a 
 world where wrong-doing is often gainful, and duty 
 rough and perilous, where many vices oppose the dic- 
 tates of the inward monitor, where the body presses 
 as a weight on the mind, and matter, by its perpetual 
 agency on the senses, becomes a barrier between us and 
 the spiritual world. We are in the midst of influences 
 
12200 INTELLECTUAL INDEPENDENCE 
 
 which menace the intellect and heart; and to be free 
 is to withstand and conquer these. He only is free 
 who, through self-conflict and moral resolution, sus- 
 tained by trust in God, subdues the passions which 
 have debased him, and, escaping the thraldom of low 
 objects, binds himself to pure and lofty ones. ‘That 
 mind alone is free which, looking to God as the in- 
 spirer and rewarder of virtue, adopts his law, writ- 
 ten on the heart and in his word, as its supreme rule, 
 and which, in obedience to this, governs itself, reveres 
 itself, exerts faithfully its best powers, and unfolds 
 itself by well-doing in whatever sphere God’s provi- 
 dence assigns. 
 
 Spiritual Freedom, p. 173. 
 
 94. The Distinguishing Marks of a 
 Free Mind 
 
 I call that mind free which masters the senses, which 
 protects itself against animal appetites, which con- 
 temns pleasure and pain in comparison with its own 
 energy, which penetrates beneath the body and recog- 
 nizes its own reality and greatness, which passes life, 
 not in asking what it shall eat or drink, but in hunger- 
 ing, thirsting, and seeking after righteousness. 
 
 I call that mind free which escapes the bondage of 
 matter, which, instead of stopping at the material uni- 
 verse and making it a prison wall, passes beyond it to 
 its Author, and finds in the radiant signatures which it 
 everywhere bears of the Infinite Spirit, helps to its own 
 spiritual enlargement. 
 
 I call that mind free which jealously guards its in- 
 
INTELLECTUAL INDEPENDENCE 121 
 
 tellectual rights and powers, which calls no man 
 master, which does. not content itself with a passive 
 or hereditary faith, which opens itself to light whence- 
 soever it may come, which receives new truth as an 
 angel from heaven, which, whilst consulting others, 
 inquires still more of the oracle within itself, and uses 
 instructions from abroad not to supersede but to 
 quicken and exalt its own energies. | 
 
 I call that mind free which sets no bounds to its 
 love, which is not imprisoned in itself or in a sect, 
 which recognizes in all human beings the image of 
 God and the rights of his children, which delights in 
 virtue and sympathizes with suffering wherever they 
 are seen, which conquers pride, anger, and sloth, and 
 offers itself up a willing victim to the cause of man- 
 kind. 
 
 I call that mind free which is not passively framed 
 by outward circumstances, which is not swept away by 
 the torrent of events, which is not the creature of 
 accidental impulse, but which bends events to its own 
 improvement, and acts from an inward spring, from 
 immutable principles which it has deliberately es- 
 poused. 
 
 I call that mind free which protects itself against 
 the usurpations of society, which does not cower to 
 human opinion, which feels itself accountable to a 
 higher tribunal than man’s, which respects a higher 
 law than fashion, which respects itself too much to be 
 the slave or tool of the many or the few. 
 
 I call that mind free which, through confidence in 
 God and in the power of virtue, has cast off all fear 
 
22 INTELLECTUAL INDEPENDENCE 
 
 but that of wrong-doing, which no menace or peril 
 can enthrall, which is calm in the midst of tumults, and 
 possesses itself though all else be lost. 
 
 I call that mind free which resists the bondage of 
 habit, which does not mechanically repeat itself and 
 copy the past, which does not live on its old virtues, 
 which does not enslave itself to precise rules, but which 
 forgets what is behind, listens for new and higher 
 monitions of conscience, and rejoices to pour itself 
 forth in fresh and higher exertions. 
 
 I call that mind free which is jealous of its own free- 
 dom, which guards itself from being merged in others, 
 which guards its empire over itself as nobler than the 
 empire of the world. 
 
 Spiritual Freedom, p. 174. 
 
 95. The Man Who is Wanting in Force of Principle 
 
 and Purpose is a Slave 
 
 We may learn that the chief good and the most 
 precious fruit of civil liberty is spiritual freedom and 
 power, by considering what is the chief evil of tyranny. 
 I know that tyranny does evil by invading men’s out- 
 ward interests, by making property and life insecure, 
 by robbing the laborer to pamper the noble and king. 
 But its worst influence is within. Its chief curse is 
 that it breaks and'tames the spirit, sinks man in his 
 own eyes, takes away vigor of thought and action, 
 substitutes for conscience an outward rule, makes him 
 abject, cowardly, a parasite, and ‘a cringing slave. 
 This is the curse of tyranny. It wars with the soul, 
 and thus it wars with God. We read in theologians 
 and poets of angels fighting against the Creator, of 
 
INTEELECTUAL INDEPENDENCE 123 
 
 battles in heaven. The only war against God is 
 against his image, against the divine principle in the 
 soul, and this is waged by tyranny in ‘all its forms. 
 We here see the chief curse of tyranny; and this 
 should teach us that civil freedom is a blessing, chiefly 
 as it reverences the human soul and ministers to its 
 growth and power. 
 
 Without this inward spiritual freedom outward 
 liberty is of little worth. What boots it that I am 
 crushed by no foreign yoke if, through ignorance and 
 vice, through selfishness and fear, I want the command 
 of my own mind? The worst tyrants are those which 
 establish themselves in our own breast. The man who 
 wants force of principle and purpose is a slave, how- 
 ever free the air he breathes. The mind, after all, is 
 our only possession, or, in other words, we possess all 
 things through its energy and enlargement; and civil 
 institutions are to be estimated by the free and pure 
 minds to which they give birth. 
 
 Spiritual Freedom, p. 175. 
 
 96. The Mind Open to Truth 
 
 A mind which is open to truth, which sees things 
 as they are, which forms right judgments of its own 
 duties and condition, and of the character and rights 
 of all with whom it is connected, is immeasurably 
 exalted above the narrow, dark, confused intellect, 
 which sees everything as through a mist, gives to 
 everything the color of its own feelings, confines itself 
 to what coincides with its wishes, contents itself with 
 superficial views, and thus perpetually falls into errors 
 and misapprehensions. . 
 
1224 INTELLECTUAL INDEPENDENCE 
 
 Am I asked in what this honesty of mind consists, or 
 what is included in it? I answer,—would we be 
 honest, we must fill ourselves with a deep sense of the 
 infinite value of truth, with a desire to see everything 
 as it is, to form a right judgment on every subject; 
 and we must labor that this desire may exceed in 
 strength all those passions which so often darken and 
 blind the understanding. A supreme love of truth, a 
 disposition to make all sacrifices to it, and to follow 
 it, though it lead to contempt, loss, and danger,—this 
 is the very essence of honesty of mind; and where this 
 exists, it will induce impartial and serious inquiry. 
 
 Our honesty of mind bears an exact proportion to 
 the patience, steadiness, and resolution with which we 
 inquire. When an ‘opinion is proposed to us which 
 does not agree with our past conceptions, we must not 
 reject it as soon as proposed, and, to save ourselves 
 the trouble of inquiring and the shame of retracting, 
 say that on this point we have made up our mind; 
 but, on the contrary, under inquiry, we shall come to a 
 decision, but to a very different decision from what 
 others wish and expect. This is a trying condition; 
 but we must show our sense of the sacredness of truth 
 by steadfastly adhering to it, wherever we are ‘called 
 to express our sentiments. Nothing should tempt us 
 to belie the convictions of our minds. It is better to 
 be forsaken and renounced by men, than to seek their 
 friendship by affecting compliance with what seem to 
 us errors. We are not called to be forward, rude, 
 intemperate, in expressing our sentiments. We ought 
 to be prudent; but Christian prudence is never to be 
 separated from Christian simplicity and_ sincerity. 
 
INT EEE EC TUAL INDEPENDENCE = 125 
 
 When called to act, we should uniformly espouse what 
 we deem to be truth, and in this cause should be willing 
 LOpSUITE Taree oes 
 
 This is honesty of mind,—a most noble spirit,— 
 the distinction of a truly good and great man. It is 
 a quality of character without which the most splendid 
 talents ‘are of little avail; for then intellectual vigor 
 may prove a curse, and may only help to plunge us 
 deeper into error. This fairness of mind is not a very 
 showy virtue, especially when it is exercised in the 
 common concerns of life; but perhaps it includes more 
 magnanimity, courage, and self-denial than any other 
 virtue. Multitudes have dared to face death in the 
 field of battle, who have yet wanted strength and 
 spirit to oppose their own and others’ prejudices. . . . 
 
 This virtue will especially give inward peace. ‘The 
 man of an honest mind has a consciousness of the 
 truth of his convictions, which no other man can have. 
 
 JEDI) 70s Welyey: 
 
 
 
 97. Moral Independence 
 
 The progress of society depends chiefly on the 
 honest inquiry of the individual into the particular 
 work ordained him by God, and on his simplicity in 
 following out his convictions. This moral indepen- 
 dence is mightier, as well as holier, than the practice 
 of getting warm in crowds, and of waiting for an 1m- 
 pulse from multitudes. ‘The moment a man parts 
 with moral independence; the moment he judges of 
 duty, not from the inward voice, but from the interests 
 and will of a party; the moment he commits himself 
 to a leader or a body, and winks at evil, because divi- 
 
126 INTELLECTUAL INDEPENDENCE 
 
 sion would hurt the cause; the moment he shakes off 
 his particular responsibility, because he is but one in 
 a thousand or million by whom the evil is done,—that 
 moment he parts with his moral power. He is shorn 
 of the energy of single-hearted faith in the right and 
 the true. He hopes from man’s policy what nothing 
 but loyalty to God can accomplish. He substitutes 
 coarse weapons forged by man’s wisdom for celestial 
 power. 
 
 On Slavery, p. 734. 
 
 98. Serious and Honest Inquiry into Religion 
 
 The opinion is not entirely correct, that inquiry into 
 religion has produced the multiplicity of sects in the 
 Christian world. I would rather say, that the want 
 of examination has often originated and extended 
 them. The readiness of numbers to embrace what 
 is dogmatically and loudly asserted, what addresses the 
 passions instead of the understanding, has been the 
 greatest temptation to the heads of sects to propagate 
 their peculiarities, and furnishes them with followers. 
 The heads of sects have generally their full share of 
 ambition, and their ambition is fostered and made 
 more active by the common disposition which they see 
 to receive their doctrines without examination. We 
 must not imagine that the way to stifle sects is to en- 
 courage men to receive religious opinions without 
 thought or inquiry. In a land of universal toleration, 
 this is the most direct way of laying them open to 
 imposition and enthusiasm. The only way of produc- 
 ing uniformity is to encourage serious and honest in- 
 
 quiry. 
 
INTELLECTUAL INDEPENDENCE 127 
 
 It is the influence of such examination to bring truth 
 to light. Truth is not hidden beneath an impenetra- 
 ble veil, but reveals herself to the sincere inquirer. 
 Men of this character are not easily led away by 
 noisy declamations, by bold assertions, by high pre- 
 tensions. ‘[hey soon learn that true wisdom is not 
 characterized by positiveness, and that those who claim 
 most unreserved assent from others deserve it the 
 least. They demand proof, and this is the last de- 
 mand which enthusiasm is prepared and inclined to 
 answer. They are not carried away by sounds and 
 names. [hey do not range themselves under a par- 
 ticular banner and denounce war and destruction on all 
 who take a different standard of belief. Claiming for 
 themselves the right of inquiry, and taught by inquiry 
 that they are prone to err, they become more diffiident 
 of their own judgment, and lay aside their censorious- 
 ness towards others. And if they do not agree en- 
 tirely in sentiment with those around them, they still 
 live in peace, and give and receive light; and thus a 
 foundation is laid for real and increasing uniformity 
 of opinion... . 
 
 ipemp ail 2: 
 
THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERALISM 
 
 99. The Ultimate Reliance of a Human Being 
 is on His Own Mind 
 
 It is an important truth, which we apprehend has 
 not been sufhiciently developed, that the ultimate re- 
 liance of a human being is and must be on his own 
 mind. To confide in God, we must first confide in the 
 faculties by which he is apprehended, and by which 
 the proofs of his existence are weighed. A trust in 
 our ability to distinguish between truth and falsehood 
 is implied in every act of belief; for to question this 
 ability would of necessity unsettle all belief. We can- 
 not take a step in reasoning or action without a secret 
 reliance on our own minds. Religion in particular im- 
 plies that we have understandings endowed and quali- 
 fied for the highest employments of intellect. In af- 
 firming the existence and perfections of God, we 
 suppose and affirm the existence in ourselves of 
 faculties which correspond to these sublime objects, 
 and which are fitted to discern them. Religion is a 
 conviction and an act of the human soul, so that in 
 denying confidence to the one, we subvert the truth 
 and claims of the other. Nothing is gained to piety 
 by degrading human nature, for in the competency of 
 this nature to know and judge of God all piety has 
 its foundation. Our proneness to err instructs us, 
 
 indeed, to use our powers with great caution, but not 
 125 
 
THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERALISM 129 
 
 to contemn and neglect them. ‘The occasional abuse 
 of our faculties, be it ever so enormous, does not prove 
 them unfit for their highest end, which is to form clear 
 and consistent views of God. Because our eyes some- 
 times fail or deceive us, would a wise man pluck them 
 out, or cover them with a bandage, and choose to walk 
 and work in the dark? or, because they cannot distin- 
 guish distant objects, can they discern nothing clearly 
 in their proper sphere, and is sight to be pronounced 
 a fallacious guide? Men who, to support a creed, 
 would shake our trust in the calm, deliberate, and dis- 
 tinct decisions of our rational and moral powers, en- 
 danger religion more than its open foes, and forge the 
 deadliest weapon for the infidel. 
 The Moral Argument Against Calvinism, p. 462. 
 
 100. Never Do Violence to Your Rational 
 Nature 
 
 If, after a deliberate and impartial use of our best 
 faculties, a professed revelation seems to us plainly 
 to disagree with itself or to clash with great principles 
 which we cannot question, we ought not to hesitate 
 to withhold from it our belief. JI am surer that my 
 rational nature is from God than that any book is an 
 expression of his will. This light in my own breast is 
 his primary revelation, and all subsequent ones must 
 accord with it, and are, in fact, intended to blend with 
 and brighten it. My hearers, as you value Christian- 
 ity, never speak of it as in any thing opposed to man’s 
 rational nature. Join not its foes in casting on it this 
 reproach. It was given, not to supersede our rational 
 faculties, but to quicken and invigorate them, to open 
 
130 THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERALISM 
 
 a wider field to thought, to bring peace into the intellect 
 as well as into the heart, to give harmony to all our 
 views. We grievously wrong Christianity by suppos- 
 ing it to raise a standard against reason, or to demand 
 the sacrifice of our noblest faculties. These are her 
 allies, friends, kindred. With these she holds unalter- 
 able concord. Never, never do violence to your ra- 
 tional nature. He who in any case admits doctrines 
 which contradict reason, has broken down the great 
 barrier between truth and falsehood, and lays open his 
 mind to every delusion. The great mark of error, 
 which is inconsistency, ceases to shock him. He has 
 violated the first law of the intellect, and must pay the 
 fearful penalty. Happy will it be for him if, by the 
 renunciation of reason, he be not prepared for the op- 
 posite extreme, and do not, through a natural reaction, 
 rush into the excess of incredulity. 
 
 On Self-Denial, p. 338. 
 
 101. Intellectual Bondage is Treason to Human 
 Nature 
 
 In truth, a paralyzing influence has been working 
 mightily for ages in the Christian world, and we ought 
 not to wonder at its results. Free action has been de- 
 nied to the mind, and freedom is an essential condition 
 of growth and power. A fettered limb moves slowly 
 and operates feebly. The spirit pines away in a 
 prison; and yet to rear prison-walls round the mind has 
 been the chief toil of ages. The mischiefs of this in- 
 tellectual bondage are as yet, we conceive, but imper- 
 fectly known, and need to be set forth with a new 
 
THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERALISM 131 
 
 eloquence. If, as we believe, progress be the supreme 
 law of the soul and the very aim of its creation, then no 
 wrong can be inflicted on it so grievous as to bind it 
 down everlastingly to a fixed, unvarying creed, especi- 
 ally if this creed was framed in an age of darkness, 
 crime, and political and religious strife. This tyranny 
 is pre-eminently treason against human nature. If 
 growth be the supreme law and purpose of the mind, 
 then the very truth, which was suited to one age, may, 
 if made the limit of future ones, become a positive 
 evil; just as the garment, in which childhood sports 
 with ease and joy, would irritate and deform the en- 
 larging frame. God, having framed the soul for ex- 
 pansion, has placed it in the midst of an unlimited 
 universe to receive fresh impulses and impressions 
 without end; and man, ‘‘dressed in a little brief au- 
 thority,” would sever it from this sublime connection, 
 and would shape it after his own ignorance or narrow 
 views. The effects are as necessary as they are mourn- 
 ful. The mind, in proportion as it is cut off from free 
 communication with nature, with revelation, with God, 
 with itself, loses its life, just as the body droops when 
 debarred from the fresh air and the cheering light 
 of heaven. 
 
 On Feénélon, p. 561. 
 
 102. Monopoly of Thought in Religious Matters 
 Belongs to no Individual or Class 
 
 A very common error is, that the many are not to 
 be called to think, study, improve their minds, because 
 a privileged few are intended by God to do their 
 thinking for them. “Providence,” it is said, ‘‘raises 
 
132 THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERALISM 
 
 up superior minds, whose office it is to discover truth 
 for the rest of the race. Thinking and manual toil 
 are not meant to go together. ‘The division of labor 
 is a great law of nature. One man is to serve society 
 by his head, another by his hands. Let each class 
 keep to its proper work.’’ ‘These doctrines I protest 
 against. JI deny to any individual or class this mo- 
 nopoly of thought. Who among men can show God's 
 commission to think for his brethren, to shape pas- 
 sively the intellect of the mass, to stamp his own image 
 on them as if they were wax? Were the mass of men 
 made to be monsters? to grow only in a few organs 
 and faculties, and to pine away and shrivel in others? 
 or were they made to put forth all the powers of men, 
 especially the best and most distinguishing? No man, 
 not the lowest, is all hands, all bones, and muscles. 
 The mind is more essential to human nature, and more 
 enduring, than the limbs; and was this made to lie 
 dead? Is not thought the right and duty of all? Is 
 not truth alike precious to all? Is not truth the nat- 
 ural aliment of the mind, as plainly as the wholesome 
 grain is of the body? Undoubtedly some men are 
 more gifted than others, and are marked out for more 
 studious lives. But the work of such men is not to do 
 others’ thinking for them, but to help them to think 
 more vigorously and effectually. Great minds are to 
 make others great. Their superiority is to be used, 
 not to break the multitude to intellectual vassalage, 
 not to establish over them a spiritual tyranny, but to 
 rouse them from lethargy, and to aid them to judge 
 for themselves. The light and life which spring up 
 in one soul are to be spread far and wide. Of all 
 
THE PRINCIPLES: OF LIBERALISM (133 
 
 treasons against humanity, there is no one worse than 
 his who employs great intellectual force to keep down 
 the intellect of his less favored brother. 
 
 The Elevation of the Laboring Classes, p. 52. 
 
 103. Lhe Tyranny of Bigotry 
 
 There are countless ways by which men in a free 
 country may encroach on their neighbors’ rights. In 
 religion, the instrument is ready made and always at 
 hand. I refer to opinion combined and organized in 
 sects and swayed by the clergy. We say we have no 
 Inquisition. But a sect skilfully organized, trained 
 to utter one cry, combined to cover with reproach who- 
 ever may differ from themselves, to drown the free 
 expression of opinion by denunciations of heresy, and 
 to strike terror into the multitude by joint and per- 
 petual menace,—such a sect is as perilous and palsying 
 to the intellect as the Inquisition. It serves the min- 
 isters as effectually as the sword. ‘he present age ts 
 notoriously sectarian, and therefore hostile to liberty. 
 One of the strongest features of our times is the ten- 
 dency of men to run into associations, to lose them- 
 selves in masses, to think and act in crowds, to act 
 from the excitement of numbers, to sacrifice individu- 
 ality, to identify themselves with parties and sects. 
 At such a period we ought to fear—and cannot too 
 much dread—lest a host should be marshalled under 
 some sectarian standard, so numerous and so strong as 
 to overawe opinion, stifle inquiry, compel dissenters 
 to a prudent silence, and thus accomplish the end, with- 
 out incurring the odium, of penal laws. We have in- 
 deed no small protection against this evil in the multi- 
 
134 THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERALISM 
 
 plicity of sects. But let us not forget that coalitions 
 are as practicable and as perilous in church as in state; 
 and that minor differences, as they are called, may be 
 sunk for the purpose of joint exertion against a com- 
 mon foe. Happily, the spirit of this people, in spite 
 of all narrowing influences, is essentially liberal. 
 Here lies our safety. ‘The liberal spirit of the people, 
 I trust, is more and more to temper and curb that ex- 
 clusive spirit which is the besetting sin of their religious 
 ouides. 
 Spiritual Freedom, p. 180. 
 
 104. Denunciation of our Religious Opponents 
 Nullifies our Christian Ideals 
 
 Why is truth to be promoted? Not for its own 
 sake, but for its influence on the heart, its influence in 
 forming a Christian temper. In what, then, does this 
 temper consist? very much in candor, forbearance, and 
 kind affection. It follows, that any method of pro- 
 moting truth which is unfriendly to these virtues is 
 unchristian; it sacrifices the end to the means of 
 religion. Now let me ask, whether the practice of 
 rejecting as ungodly men those who differ from us on 
 subtile, perplexing, and almost (if not altogether) un- 
 intelligible doctrines, be not obviously and directly op- 
 posed to the exercise and diffusion of candor, forbear- 
 ance, kind affection, and peace. Has it not actually 
 convulsed the church for ages with discord and war? 
 The right of denouncing those who differ on such doc- 
 trines, if granted to one Christian, must be granted to 
 all; and do we need the spirit of prophecy to foretell 
 the consequences, if the ignorant, passionate, and 
 
THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERALISM 135 
 
 enthusiastic, who form the majority of every commu- 
 nity, shall undertake to carry this right into practice? 
 The idea, that a religion which is destined for weak 
 and fallible mortals of all classes and capacities, and 
 which is designed to promote unity, peace, candor, and 
 love, should yet make it our duty to reject, as wholly 
 destitute of goodness, every man, however uniform in 
 conduct, who can not see as we do on points where 
 we ourselves see little or nothing, appears to me the 
 grossest contradiction and absurdity. If this be 
 Christianity, we may say anything of our religion more 
 truly, than that it is a religion of peace. 
 Lif ZAGE 
 
 105. The Passionate Vehemence of the Reformer 
 is often Justified 
 
 We must not mistake Christian benevolence, as if 
 it had but one voice, that of soft entreaty. It can 
 speak in piercing and awful tones. ‘There is con- 
 stantly going on in our world a conflict between good 
 and evil. The cause of human nature has always to 
 wrestle with foes. All improvement is a victory won 
 by struggles. It is especially true of those great 
 periods which have been distinguished by revolutions 
 in government and religion, and from which we date 
 the most rapid movements of the human mind, that 
 they have been signalized by conflict. ‘Thus Chris- 
 tianity convulsed the world and grew up amidst 
 storms; and the Reformation of Luther was a signal 
 to universal war; and liberty in both worlds has en- 
 countered opposition over which she has triumphed 
 only through her own immortal energies. At such 
 
136 THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERALISM 
 
 periods, men, gifted with great power of thought and 
 loftiness of sentiment, are especially summoned to the 
 conflict with evil. They hear, as it were, in their own 
 magnanimity and generous aspirations, the voice of a 
 divinity; and thus commissioned, and burning with a 
 passionate devotion to truth and freedom, they must 
 and will speak with an indignant energy, and they 
 ought not to be measured by the standard of ordinary 
 minds in ordinary times. Men of natural softness 
 and timidity, of a sincere but effeminate virtue, will be 
 apt to look on these bolder, hardier spirits, as violent, 
 perturbed, and uncharitable; and the charge will not 
 be wholly groundless. But that deep feeling of evils, 
 which is necessary to effectual conflict with them, and 
 which marks God’s most powerful messengers to man- 
 kind, cannot breathe itself in soft and tender accents. 
 The deeply moved soul will speak strongly, and ought 
 to speak so as to move and shake nations. 
 
 On Milton, p. 504. 
 
 106. A Rational Attitude Toward the Bible 
 
 We profess not to know a book which demands a 
 more frequent exercise of reason than the Bible. In 
 addition to the remarks now made on its infinite con- 
 nections, we may observe, that its style nowhere affects 
 the precision of science or the accuracy of definition. 
 Its language is singularly glowing, bold, and figurative, 
 demanding more frequent departures from the literal 
 sense than that of our own age and country, and con- 
 sequently demanding more continual exercise of judg- 
 ment. We find, too, that the different portions of 
 this book, instead of being confined to general truths, 
 
veo hNCEDERSEORVICIBE RATSISM” (14% 
 
 refer perpetually to the times when they were written, 
 to states of society, to modes of thinking, to contro- 
 versies in the church, to feelings and usages which have 
 passed away, and without the knowledge of which we 
 are constantly in danger of extending to all times and 
 places what was of temporary and local application. 
 We find, too, that some of these books are strongly 
 marked by the genius and character of their respective 
 writers, that the Holy Spirit did not so guide the 
 apostles as to suspend the peculiarities of their minds, 
 and that a knowledge of their feelings, and of the 
 influences under which they were placed, is one of the 
 preparations for understanding their writings. With 
 these views of the Bible, we feel it our bounden duty 
 to exercise our reason upon it perpetually, to compare, 
 to infer, to look beyond the letter to the spirit, to 
 seek in the nature of the subject and the aim of the 
 writer his true meaning; and, in general, to make use 
 of what is known for explaining what is difficult, and 
 for discovering new truths. 
 Unitarian Christianity, p. 368. 
 
 107. The Debasement of God’s Nature Implied by 
 
 the Doctrine of Vicarious Atonement 
 
 Suppose, that a teacher should come among you, 
 and should tell you that the Creator, in order to 
 pardon his own children, had erected a gallows in the 
 centre of the universe, and had publicly executed upon 
 it, in room of the offenders, an Infinite Being, the par- 
 taker of his own Supreme Divinity; suppose him to 
 declare that this execution was appointed as a most 
 conspicuous and terrible manifestation of God’s jus- 
 
138 THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERALISM 
 
 tice, and of the infinite woe denounced by his law; and 
 suppose him to add that all beings in heaven and earth 
 are required to fix their eyes on this fearful sight, as 
 the most powerful enforcement of obedience and 
 virtue. Would you not tell him that he calumniated 
 his Maker? Would you not say to him, that this 
 central gallows threw gloom over the universe; that 
 the spirit of a government whose very acts of pardon 
 were written in such blood was terror, not paternal 
 love; and that the obedience which needed to be up- 
 held by this horrid spectacle was nothing worth? 
 Would you not say to him, that even you, in this in- 
 fancy and imperfection of your being, were capable 
 of being wrought upon by nobler motives, and of hat- 
 ing sin through more generous views; and that, much 
 more, the angels, those pure flames of love, need not 
 the gallows and an executed God to confirm their 
 loyalty? You would all so feel at such teaching as 
 I have supposed; and yet how does this differ from 
 the popular doctrine of atonement? According to 
 this doctrine, we have an Infinite Being sentenced to 
 suffer, as a substitute, the death of the cross, a punish- 
 ment more ignominious and agonizing than the gal- 
 lows, a punishment reserved for slaves and the vilest 
 malefactors; and he suffers this punishment that he 
 may show forth the terrors of God’s law, and strike 
 a dread of sin through the universe. I am indeed 
 aware that multitudes who profess this doctrine are 
 not accustomed to bring it to their minds distinctly in 
 this light; that they do not ordinarily regard the death 
 of Christ as a criminal execution, as an infinitely dread- 
 ful infliction of justice, as intended to show that, with- 
 
THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERALISM 139 
 
 out an infinite satisfaction, they must hope nothing 
 from God. Their minds turn, by a generous instinct, 
 from these appalling views, to the love, the disinterest- 
 edness, the moral grandeur and beauty of the sufferer; 
 and through such thoughts they make the cross a 
 source of peace, gratitude, love, and hope; thus afford- 
 ing a delightful exemplification of the power of the 
 human mind to attach itself to what is good and purt- 
 fying in the most irrational system. Not a few may 
 shudder at the illustration which I have here given; 
 but in what respects it is unjust to the popular doc- 
 trine of atonement, I cannot discern. I grieve to shock 
 sincere Christians, of whatever name; but I grieve 
 more for the corruption of our common faith, which I 
 have now felt myself bound to expose. 
 Unitarian Christianity Favorable to Piety, p. 397. 
 
 108. Religious Revivals are Contrived to Subvert 
 Deliberation and Self-Control 
 
 We have many objections to revivals of religion as 
 commonly conducted; but nothing offends us more than 
 their direct and striking tendency to overwhelm the 
 mind with foreign influences, and to strip it of all self- 
 direction. In these feverish seasons, religion, or what 
 bears the name, is spread, as by contagion, and to 
 escape it is almost as difficult as to avoid a raging epli- 
 demic. Whoever knows any thing of human nature, 
 knows the effect of excitement in a crowd. When 
 systematically prolonged and urged onward, it sub- 
 verts deliberation and self-control. The individual is 
 lost in the mass, and borne away as in a whirlwind. 
 The prevalent emotion, be it love or hatred, terror or 
 
140 THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERALISM 
 
 enthusiasm, masters every mind which is not fortified 
 by a rare energy, or secured by a rare insensibility. 
 In revivals, a multitude is subjected at once to strong 
 emotions, which are swelled and perpetuated by the 
 most skilful management. ‘The individual is never 
 suffered to escape the grasp of the leading or sub- 
 ordinate agents in the work. A machinery of social 
 influences, of “inquiry meetings,’ of ‘‘anxious meet- 
 ings,’ of conferences, of prayer meetings, of perpetual 
 private or public impulses, is brought to bear on the 
 diseased subject, until, exhausted in body and mind, he 
 becomes the passive, powerless recipient of whatever 
 form or impressions it may be thought fit to give him. 
 Happily for mankind, our nature loses its sensibility 
 to perpetual stimulants, and of consequence a revival 
 is succeeded by what is called “a dull, dead, stupid 
 season.’ This dull time is a merciful repose granted 
 by Providence to the overwrought and oppressed 
 mind, and gives some chance for calm, deliberate, 
 individual thought and action. Thus the kindness of 
 nature is perpetually counterworking the excesses of 
 men, and a religion which begins in partial insanity is 
 often seen to attain by degrees to the calmness and 
 dignity of reason. 
 Remarks on Associations, p. 144. 
 
 109. The Ends for Which a Liberal Church is Erected 
 
 This house is not reared to perpetuate the super- 
 stitions of past ages nor of the present age. It is 
 not reared to doom the worshipper to continual repe- 
 tition of his own or other delusions. It is reared for 
 the progress of truth, reared in the faith that the 
 
Tbe PR ENCIPEES OF LIBERALISM 141 
 
 church is destined to new light and new purity, reared 
 in the anticipation of a happier, holier age. As I 
 look round, I am met by none of the representations 
 of the Divinity which degraded the ancient temples. 
 My eyes light on no image of wood or stone, on no 
 efforts of art to embody to the eye the invisible Spirit. 
 As I look round, I am met by none of the forms which 
 Providence, in accommodation to a rude stage of so- 
 ciety allowed to the Jewish people. No altar sends 
 up here the smoke of incense or victims. No priest- 
 hood, gorgeously arrayed, presents to God the material 
 offerings of man. Nor are my eyes pained by cumber- 
 some ceremonies, by which in later ages Christianity 
 was overlaid, and almost overwhelmed. No childish 
 pomps, borrowed from Judaism and Heathenism, ob- 
 scure here the simple majesty, the sublime spiritual 
 purpose of Christianity. Nor is this house reared for 
 the promulgation of doctrines which tend to perpetu- 
 ate the old servility with which God was approached, 
 to make man abject in the sight of his Maker, to palsy 
 him with terror, to prostrate his reason. ‘This house 
 is reared to assist the worshipper in conceiving and 
 offering more and more perfectly the worship de- 
 scribed in the text, the worship of the Father in spirit 
 and in truth. 
 
 Christian Worship, p. 412. 
 
 110. The Dedication of a Liberal Church 
 
 We end by offering up this building to the Only 
 Living and True God. We have erected it amidst 
 our private habitations, as a remembrancer of our 
 Creator. We have reared it in this busy city, as a 
 
142 THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERALISM 
 
 retreat for pious meditation and prayer. We dedi- 
 cate it to the King and Father Eternal, the King of 
 kings and Lord of lords. We dedicate it to his Unity, 
 to his unrivalled and undivided Majesty. We dedi- 
 cate it to the praise of his free, unbought, unmerited 
 grace. We dedicate it to Jesus Christ, to the memory 
 of his love, to the celebration of his divine virtue, to 
 the preaching of that truth which he sealed with blood. 
 We dedicate it to the Holy Spirit, to the sanctifying 
 influence of God, to those celestial emanations of light 
 and strength which visit and refresh the devout mind. 
 We dedicate it to prayers and praises which, we trust, 
 will be continued and perfected in heaven. We dedi- 
 cate it to social worship, to Christian intercourse, to 
 the communion of saints. We dedicate it to the cause 
 of pure morals, of public order, of temperance, up- 
 rightness, and general good-will. We dedicate it to 
 Christian admonition, to those warnings, remon- 
 strances, and earnest and tender persuasions, by which 
 the sinner may be arrested and brought back to God. 
 We dedicate it to Christian consolation, to those truths 
 which assuage sorrow, animate penitence, and lighten 
 the load of human anxiety and fear. We dedicate it 
 to the doctrine of immortality, to sublime and joyful 
 hopes which reach beyond the grave. In a word, we 
 dedicate it to the great work of perfecting the human 
 soul, and fitting it for nearer approach to its Author. 
 Here may heart meet heart! Here may man meet 
 God! From this place may the song of praise, the 
 ascription of gratitude, the sigh of penitence, the 
 prayer for grace, and the holy resolve, ascend as fra- 
 grant incense to heaven; and, through many genera- 
 
THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERALISM 143 
 
 tions, may parents bequeath to their children this house, 
 as a sacred spot, where God had “lifted upon them his 
 countenance,” and given them pledges of his ever- 
 lasting love! 
 
 Unitarian Christianity Favorable to Piety, p. 400. 
 
THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN IN 
 DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE 
 
 111. 4 Spirit of Humanity Distinguishes Modern 
 Times 
 
 What constitutes the chief superiority of modern 
 times? I know there are those who say, we have no 
 superiority. ‘But how any man can read ancient his- 
 tory, and not perceive the immense advance of the 
 human race, amazes me. ‘We have not advanced in- 
 deed as we should and might have done. And in some 
 qualities antiquity surpassed us. But there is one 
 glorious element in the present condition of society 
 that fills me with ever-new gratitude and hope. In 
 the Christian world appears a spirit of humanity, ut- 
 terly unknown in the ancient world. Man looks upon 
 his fellow man as he never looked before. New and 
 sacred ties now bind all men together. ‘There is at 
 work a philanthropy—which not only descends with 
 sympathy and aid to the lowest depths of social misery 
 —but which looks beyond the bounds of the neighbour- 
 hood, and of the nation, with warm concern for the 
 interests of the whole family of man. This spirit is 
 a promise to the world infinitely brighter than was 
 given by the highest intellectual culture of antiquity. 
 This principle is still weak, indeed, even in the most 
 favoured countries. In our own, it has not yet been 
 strong enough to make us recognize in the Negro and 
 
 T44 
 
THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN = 145 
 
 the Indian our brethren, with rights as sacred, and 
 souls as precious, as our own. Still, this spirit of 
 brotherhood, of friendship, or humanity, is at work 
 throughout Christendom, and thence throughout the 
 world. 
 
 Jesus Christ, Brother, Friend and Saviour, p. 997. 
 
 112. The Inspiring Aid of Our Fellow Beings 
 
 Man is strong, not by exercising unaided energy; 
 but he grows in strength, in proportion as he can 
 gather and turn to use the energies of other beings. 
 We see an illustration of this in all common affairs. 
 The mightiest operations of man are performed, not 
 by his single arm, but by availing himself of the forces 
 of nature, of wind, fire, steam, and mechanic powers. 
 His strength multiplies itself by applying, and thus 
 making his own, the strength of countless other agents. 
 
 The same truth is illustrated, in a higher form, in 
 the realm of duty and religion. When I resolve on 
 seeking spiritual improvement, do I accomplish my end 
 by lonely efforts of my own will, however often re- 
 newed? Certainly not! I avail myself of incentives, 
 guidance, encouragement, aid, from fellow-beings. I 
 read what saints and sages have written, and strive 
 to infuse their thoughts and spirit into my own soul. 
 I recall the examples of the devout and disinterested, 
 the heroic, and humane. I associate with the excel- 
 lent and wise, who live around me. I add to private 
 intercourse and friendship the public means of reli- 
 gious and moral culture, worship with the congregation, 
 communion at Christ’s table, concert in deeds of char- 
 ity. In a word, I strive to grow in goodness, by 
 
1446 THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN 
 
 absorbing and assimilating, and so making my own, the 
 goodness and wisdom of my race. What immense 
 help do such influences afford me! How continually 
 when my mind is dull and languid, do the thoughts, 
 tones, looks of fellow-men, kindle a new flame within! 
 How repeatedly, when my purpose faints and flags, 
 does a cheering word, or bright example, revive my 
 sinking energy! Facts of this kind are of such con- 
 stant occurrence, that no one can dispute them. And 
 they clearly reveal the nature of the power which man 
 exerts in moulding his own character. It is the power 
 of exalting and perfecting it, by using the inspiring aid 
 of fellow-beings. 
 
 Life a Divine Gift, p. 973. 
 113. How Christianity Differs from Society 
 
 Christianity teaches us to feel ourselves members 
 of the whole human family; society, to make or keep 
 ourselves members of some favored caste. Chris- 
 tianity calls us to unite ourselves with others; society, 
 to separate ourselves from them. Christianity 
 teaches us to raise others; society, to rise above them. 
 Christianity calls us to narrow the space between our- 
 selves and our inferiors by communicating to them, 
 as we have ability, what is most valuable in our own 
 minds; society tells us to leave them to their degrada- 
 tion. Christianity summons us to employ superior 
 ability, if such we have, as a means of wider and more 
 beneficent action on the world; society suggests that 
 these are a means of personal elevation. Christianity 
 teaches us that what is peculiar in our lot or our 
 
THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN | 147 
 
 acquisitions is of little worth in comparison with what 
 we possess in common with our race; society teaches us 
 to cling to what is peculiar as our highest honor and 
 most precious possession. Fraternal union, sympathy, 
 aid, is the spirit of Christianity; exclusiveness is the 
 spirit of the world. And this spirit is not confined to 
 what is called the highest class. It burns, perhaps, 
 more intensely in those who are seeking than in those 
 who occupy the eminences of social life. It is a dis- 
 position to undervalue those who want what we 
 possess, to narrow our sympathies to one or another 
 class, to forget the great bond of humanity. ‘This 
 spirit of exclusiveness triumphs over the spirit of 
 Christianity, and, through its prevalence, the great 
 work given to every human being, which is to improve 
 his less favored fellow-being, is slighted. The sublime 
 sphere of usefulness is little occupied. A spirit of 
 rivalry, jealousy, envy, selfish competition, supplants 
 the spirit of mutual interest, the respect, support, and 
 aid, by which Christianity proposes to knit mankind 
 into a universal brotherhood. .. . 
 
 Life, p. 462. 
 
 114. Our Membership in the Great Human Family 
 and Partnership in its Fortunes. 
 
 I am a living member of the great family of all 
 souls; and I cannot improve or suffer myself, without 
 diffusing good or evil around me through an ever- 
 enlarging sphere. I belong to this family. I am 
 bound to it by vital bonds. I am always exerting an 
 influence upon it. I can hardly perform an act that is 
 
148 THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN 
 
 confined in its consequences to myself. Others are af- 
 fected by what I am, and say, and do. So that a single 
 act of mine may spread and spread in widening circles, 
 through a nation or humanity. ‘Through my vice I in- 
 tensify the taint of vice throughout the universe. 
 Through my misery I make multitudes sad. On the 
 other hand, every development of my virtue makes me 
 an ampler blessing to my race. Every new truth that 
 I gain makes me a brighter light to humanity. JI am 
 organically connected with the great family of the 
 universal parent. Plainly then it is for my happiness 
 that this family should be watched over and should 
 prosper. 
 
 My happiness is manifestly bound up with and flows 
 from the happiness of those around; and thus the Di- 
 vine kindness to others is essentially kindness to my- 
 self. This is no theory; it is the fact confirmed by all 
 experience. Every day we receive perpetual blessings 
 from the progress of our race. We are enlightened, 
 refined, elevated, through the studies, discoveries, and 
 arts of countless persons, whom we have never seen, 
 and of whom we have never even heard. Daily we 
 enjoy conveniences, pleasures, and means of health 
 and culture, through advancement in science and art, 
 made in the most distant regions. And in so far as 
 we possess elevated, disinterested, and holy charac- 
 ters, or enlarged intelligence, have not these been 
 cherished and encouraged by the examples, writings, 
 deeds, and lives of far-spread fellow-beings, through 
 all ages and nations? How much would each of us 
 assuredly be advanced in happiness, wisdom, virtue, 
 were the community around us—were all the persons 
 
THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN _ 149 
 
 with whom we hold intercourse—more humane and 
 more heavenly! 
 
 The Father’s Love for Persons, p. 956. 
 
 115. The Moral Equivalence of Men amid 
 Diversities of Gifts and Fortune 
 
 It is freely granted that there are innumerable di- 
 versities among men; but be it remembered, they are 
 ordained to bind men together, and not to subdue one 
 to the other; ordained to give means and occasions of 
 mutual aid, and to carry forward each and all, so that 
 the good of all is equally intended in this distribution 
 of various gifts. Be it also remembered, that these 
 diversities among men are as nothing in comparison 
 with the attributes in which they agree; and it is this 
 which constitutes their essential quality. All men 
 have the same power of conscience, and all are equally 
 made for indefinite improvement of these divine fac- 
 ulties, and for the happiness to be found in their vir- 
 tuous use. Who, that comprehends these gifts, does 
 not see that the diversities of the race vanish before 
 them? Let it be added, that the natural advantages 
 which distinguish one man from another, are so be- 
 stowed as to counterbalance one another, and bestowed 
 without regard to rank or condition in life. Who- 
 ever surpasses in one endowment is inferior in others. 
 Even genius, the greatest gift, is found in union with 
 strange infirmities, and often places its possessors be- 
 low ordinary men in the conduct of life. Great learn- 
 ing is often put to shame by the mother-wit and keen 
 good sense of uneducated men. Nature, indeed, pays 
 no heed to birth or condition in bestowing her favors. 
 
150 THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN 
 
 The noblest spirits sometimes grow up in the obscur- 
 est spheres. ‘hus equal are men; and among these 
 equals, who can substantiate his claim to make others 
 his property, his tools, the mere instruments of his 
 private interest and gratification? Let this claim be- 
 gin, and where will it stop? If one may assert it, 
 why not all? Among these partakers of the same 
 rational and moral nature, who can make good a right 
 over others, which others may not establish over him- 
 self? Does he insist on superior strength of body or 
 mind? Who of us has no superior in one or the 
 other of these endowments? Is it sure that the slave 
 or the slave’s child may not surpass his master in in- 
 tellectual energy, or in moral worth? MHas nature 
 conferred distinctions which tell us plainly who shall 
 be owners and who be owned? Who of us can un- 
 blushingly lift his head and say that God has written 
 ‘Master’ there? or who can show the word “Slave” 
 engraven on his brother’s brow? ‘The equality of na- 
 ture makes slavery a wrong. Nature’s seal is affixed 
 to no instrument by which property in a single human 
 being is conveyed. 
 
 On Slavery, p. 693. 
 
 116. Treat Men as Men and They will not 
 Prove Wild Beasts 
 
 When I am told that society can only subsist by rob- 
 bing men of their dearest rights, my reason is as much 
 insulted as if I were gravely taught that effects re- 
 quire no cause, or that it is the nature of yonder beau- 
 tiful stream to ascend these mountains, or to return to 
 its source. ‘The doctrine that violence, oppression, in- 
 
THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN J 1s1 
 
 humanity, is an essential element of society, is so re- 
 volting, that, did I believe it, I would say, let society 
 perish, let man and his works be swept away, and the 
 earth be abandoned to the brutes. Better that the 
 globe should be tenanted by brutes than brutalized 
 men. No! it is safe to be just, to respect men’s rights, 
 to treat our neighbors as ourselves; and any doctrine 
 hostile to this is born of the Evil One. Men do not 
 need to be crushed. A wise kindness avails with them 
 more than force. Even the insane are disarmed by 
 kindness. Once the madhouse, with its dens, fetters, 
 strait-waistcoats, whips, horrible punishments, at 
 which humanity now shudders and the blood boils with 
 indignation, was thought just as necessary as slavery 
 is now deemed at the South. But we have learned, 
 at last, that human nature, even when robbed ‘of 
 reason, can be ruled, calmed, restored, by wise kind- 
 ness; that it was only maddened and made more des- 
 perate by the chains imposed to keep it from outrage 
 and murder. ‘Treat men as men, and they will not 
 prove wild beasts. We first rob them of their hu- 
 manity, and then chain them because they are not 
 human. 
 On Emancipation, p. 922. 
 
 117. The Christian Should not Discriminate on 
 Grounds of Race or Social Rank 
 
 The great teaching of Christianity is, that we must 
 recognize and respect human nature in all its forms 
 in the poorest, most ignorant, most fallen. We must 
 look beneath “the flesh” to the “spirit.” The spir- 
 itual principle in man is what entitles him to our 
 
192, THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN 
 
 brotherly regard. To be just to this is the great in- 
 junction of our religion. To overlook this, on account 
 of condition or color, is to violate the great Christian 
 law. We have reason to think that it is one design of 
 God, in appointing the vast diversities of human con- 
 dition, to put to the test, and to bring out most dis- 
 tinctly, the principle of spiritual love. It is wisely 
 ordered that human nature is not set before us in a 
 few forms of beauty, magnificence, and outward glory. 
 To be dazzled and attracted by these would be no sign 
 of reverence for what is interior and spiritual in hu- 
 man nature. To lead us to discern and love this, we 
 are brought into connection with fellow-creatures 
 whose outward circumstances are repulsive. To rec- 
 ognize our own spiritual nature and God’s image in 
 these humble forms, to recognize as brethren those 
 who want all outward distinctions, is the chief way in 
 which we are to manifest the spirit of him who came 
 to raise the fallen and to save the lost. He who can- 
 not see a brother, a child of God, a man possessing all 
 the rights of humanity, under a skin darker than his 
 own, wants the vision of a Christian. He worships 
 the outward. The spirit is not yet revealed to him. 
 To look unmoved on the degradation and wrongs of a 
 fellow-creature, because burned by a fiercer sun, proves 
 us strangers to Justice and love in those universal 
 forms which characterize Christianity. The greatest 
 of all distinctions, the only enduring one, is moral 
 goodness, virtue, religion. Outward distinctions can- 
 not add to the dignity of this. ‘The wealth of worlds 
 is “‘not sufficient for a burnt-offering”’ on its altar. A 
 being capable of this is invested by God with solemn 
 
THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN - 153 
 
 claims on his fellow-creatures. To exclude millions 
 of such beings from our sympathy, because of outward 
 disadvantages, proves that, in whatever else we sur- 
 pass them, we are not their superiors in Christian 
 virtue. 
 
 The spirit of Christianity, I have said, is distin- 
 guished by universality. It is universal justice. It re- 
 spects all the rights of all beings. It suffers no be- 
 ing, however obscure, to be wronged, without con- 
 demning the wrong-doer. Impartial, uncompromis- 
 ing, fearless, it screens no favorites, is dazzled by no 
 power, spreads its shield over the weakest, summons 
 the mightiest to its bar, and speaks to the conscience 
 in tones under which the mightiest have quailed. It 
 is also universal love, comprehending those that are 
 near and those that are far off, the high and the low, 
 the rich and poor, descending to the fallen, and espe- 
 cially binding itself to those in whom human nature 
 is trampled under foot. 
 
 On Slavery, p. 691. 
 
MOTIVES AND AUGURIES 
 OF SOCIAL REFORM 
 
 118. The Growing Recognition of Man’s Duty to 
 Man 
 
 In our own times, the character of Jesus is exerting 
 more conspicuously its true and glorious power. We 
 have, indeed, little cause for boasting. The great 
 features of society are still hard and selfish. The 
 worth of a human being is a mystery still hid from an 
 immense majority, and the most enlightened among 
 us have not looked beneath the surface of this great 
 truth. Still there is at this moment an interest in 
 human nature, a sympathy with human suffering, a 
 sensibility to the abuses and evils which deform society, 
 a faith in man’s capacity of progress, a desire of human 
 progress, a desire to carry to every human being the 
 means of rising to a better condition and a higher 
 virtue, such as has never been witnessed before. 
 Amidst the mercenariness which would degrade men 
 into tools, and the ambition which would tread them 
 down in its march toward power, there is still a respect 
 for man as man, a recognition of his rights, a thirst 
 for his elevation, which is the surest proof of a higher 
 comprehension of Jesus Christ, and the surest augury 
 of a happier state of human affairs. Humanity and 
 justice are crying out in more and more piercing tones 
 for the suffering, the enslaved, the ignorant, the poor, 
 
 154 
 
MOTIVES OF SOCIAL REFORM | 155 
 
 the prisoner, the orphan, the long-neglected seaman, 
 the benighted heathen. I do not refer merely to new 
 institutions for humanity, for these are not the most 
 unambiguous proofs of progress. We see in the com- 
 mon consciousness of society, in the general feelings of 
 individuals, traces of a more generous recognition of 
 what man owestoman. ‘The glare of outward distinc- 
 tion is somewhat dimmed. The prejudices of caste 
 and rank are abated. A man is seen to be worth more 
 than his wardrobe or his title. It begins to be under- 
 stood that a Christian is to be a philanthropist, and 
 that, in truth, the essence of Christianity is a spirit of 
 martyrdom in the cause of mankind. 
 
 The Philanthropist, p. 601. 
 
 119. Reverence for Man must Preface Genuine 
 Social Reform 
 
 I have felt and continually insisted, that a 
 new reverence for man was essential to the cause of 
 social reform. As long as men regard one another 
 as they now do, that is as little better than the brutes, 
 they will continue to treat one another brutally. 
 Each will strive, by craft or skill, to make others his 
 tools. ‘There can be no spirit of brotherhood, no true 
 peace, any farther than men come to understand their 
 affinity with and relation to God and the infinite pur- 
 pose for which he gave them life. As yet these ideas 
 are treated as a kind of spiritual romance; and the 
 teacher who really expects men to see in themselves 
 and one another the children of God, is smiled at as 
 a visionary. ‘The reception of this plainest truth of 
 Christianity would revolutionize society, and create 
 
156 MOTIVES OF SOCIAL REFORM 
 
 relations among men not dreamed of at the present 
 day. A union would spring up, compared with which 
 our present friendships would seem estrangements. 
 Men would know the import of the word Brother, as 
 yet nothing but a word to multitudes. None of us can 
 conceive the change of manners, the new courtesy and 
 sweetness, the mutual kindness, deference, and sympa- 
 thy, the life and energy of efforts for social melioration, 
 which are to spring up, in proportion as man shall pen- 
 etrate beneath the body to the spirit, and shall learn 
 what the lowest human being is. ‘hen insults, 
 wrongs, and oppressions, now hardly thought of, will 
 give a deeper shock than we receive from crimes, which 
 the laws punish with death. ‘Then man will be sacred 
 in man’s sight; and to injure him will be regarded as 
 open hostility towards God. 
 Introductory Remarks, p. 7. 
 
 120. Sympathy with the Suffering; Loyalty to 
 Humanity 
 
 A nation, blessed as we are with free institutions, 
 should feel that it holds these not for itself only, but 
 for mankind, and that all oppressive establishments 
 must fall before their influence, if it will but give 
 proof of their tendency and power to exalt a people 
 in spirit, in virtue, and in condition. In truth, this 
 close connection of different communities should lead 
 us as individuals, as well as in our associated character, 
 to interest ourselves in the cause of humanity through 
 the whole earth. The present is an age of great 
 movements, of great perils, and still of glorious pros- 
 pects, and one in which there is a power of sympathy, as 
 
MOTIVES OF SOCIAL REFORM © 157 
 
 well as means of co-operation and extensive agency, 
 never known before. In such an age, we should not 
 shut up ourselves in ourselves, or look on the struggles 
 of nations with a vain curiosity, but should watch the 
 changes of the world with profound concern, and re- 
 spond to great principles, and cheer philanthropic ef- 
 forts, wherever manifested. We should feel, I think, 
 that the time is approaching in which Christian philan- 
 thropy is to act a new part on the theatre of human 
 affairs, is to unite men of different countries in the same 
 great work of rolling away abuses, of staying wide- 
 spread evils, vindicating private rights, establishing 
 public peace, and exalting the condition of the ignorant. 
 We should do what we can to hasten this era. Our 
 children should be educated on more generous prin- 
 ciples, and taught to make new sacrifices to the cause 
 of their fellow-creatures. Every age teaches its own 
 lesson. The lesson of this age is that of sympathy 
 with the suffering, and of devotion to the progress of 
 the whole human race. 
 
 Life, p. 575: 
 121. Present Civilization Hostile to Christianity 
 
 My great interest is in human nature, and in 
 the working classes as its most numerous represent- 
 atives. To those who look on this nature with con- 
 tempt or utter distrust, such language may seem a 
 mere form, or may be construed as a sign of the pre- 
 dominance of imagination and feeling over the judg- 
 ment. No matter. The pity of these sceptics I can 
 return. ‘Their wonder at my credulity cannot surpass 
 the sorrowful astonishment with which I look on their 
 
158 MOTIVES OF SOCIAL REFORM 
 
 indifference to the fortunes of their race. In spite of 
 all their doubts and scoffs human nature is still most 
 dear tome. When I behold it manifested in its perfect 
 proportions in Jesus Christ, I cannot but revere it as 
 the true temple of the Divinity. When I see it as 
 revealed in the great and good of all times, I bless 
 God for those multiplied and growing proofs of its 
 high destiny. When I see it bruised, beaten down, 
 stifled by ignorance and vice, by oppression, injustice, 
 and grinding toil, I weep for it, and feel that every man 
 should be ready to suffer for its redemption. I do 
 and I must hope for its progress. But in saying this, 
 I am not blind to its immediate dangers. I am not 
 sure that dark cloud and desolating storms are not 
 even now gathering over the world. When we 
 look back on the mysterious history of the human race, 
 we see that Providence has made use of fearful revo- 
 lutions as the means of sweeping away the abuses of 
 ages, and of bringing forward mankind to their present 
 improvement. Whether such revolutions may not be 
 in store for our own times, [ know not. ‘The present 
 civilization of the Christian world presents much to 
 awaken doubt and apprehension. It stands in direct 
 hostility to the great ideas of Christianity. It is 
 selfish, mercenary, sensual. Such a civilization cannot, 
 must not, endure for ever. How it is to be supplanted, 
 I know not. I hope, however, that it is not doomed, 
 like the old Roman civilization, to be quenched in 
 blood. I trust that the works of ages are not to be 
 laid low by violence, rapine, and the all-devouring 
 sword. I trust that the existing social state contains 
 in its bosom something better than it has yet unfolded. 
 
MOTIVES OF SOCIAL REFORM 159 
 
 I trust that a brighter future is to come, not from the 
 desolation, but from gradual, meliorating changes 
 of the present. Among the changes to which I look 
 for the salvation of the modern world, one of the 
 chief is the intellectual and moral elevation of the labor- 
 ing class. The impulses which are to reform and 
 quicken society are probably to come, not from its more 
 conspicuous, but from its obscurer divisions; and 
 among these I see with joy new wants, principles, and 
 aspirations beginning to unfold themselves. 
 
 The Elevation of the Laboring Classes, p. 05. 
 
 122. The Rise of Labor the Master Movement of 
 Our Age 
 
 Whoever studies modern history with any care, 
 must discern in it a steady, growing movement towards 
 one most interesting result,—I mean towards the 
 elevation of the laboring class of society. ‘This 1s 
 not a recent, accidental turn of human affairs. We can 
 trace its beginning in the feudal times, and its slow 
 advances in subsequent periods, until it has become 
 the master movement of our age. Is it not plain that 
 those who toil with their hands, and whose productive 
 industry is the spring of all wealth, are rising from 
 the condition of beasts of burden, to which they were 
 once reduced, to the consciousness, intelligence, self- 
 respect, and proper happiness of men? Is it not the 
 strong tendency of our times to diffuse among the 
 many the improvements once confined to the few? He 
 who overlooks this has no comprehension of the great 
 work of Providence, or of the most signal feature of 
 his times; and is this an age for efforts to extend and 
 
160 MOTIVES OF SOCIAL REFORM 
 
 perpetuate an institution, the very object of which is 
 to keep down the laborer, and to make him a machine 
 for another’s gratification? It is true that much re- 
 mains to be done for the laboring class in the most 
 favored regions; but the intelligence already spread 
 through this class is an earnest of a brighter day, of the 
 most glorious revolution in history, of the elevation of 
 the mass of men to the dignity of human beings. 
 
 It is the great mission of this country to forward this 
 revolution, and never was a sublimer work committed 
 to anation. Our mission is to elevate society through 
 all its conditions, to secure to every human being the 
 means of progress, to substitute the government of 
 equal laws for that of irresponsible individuals, to 
 prove that, under popular institutions, the people may 
 be carried forward, that the multitude who toil are 
 capable of enjoying the noblest blessings of the social 
 state. The prejudice, that labor is a degradation, 
 one of the worst prejudices handed down from bar- 
 barous ages, is to receive here a practical refutation. 
 The power of liberty to raise up the whole people, 
 this is the great idea on which our institutions rest, 
 and which is to be wrought out in our history. Shall 
 a nation having such a mission abjure it, and even fight 
 against the progress which it is specially called to pro- 
 mote? 
 
 On the Annexation of Texas, p. 767-768. 
 
 123. Poverty and its Wretchedness must Be 
 Eliminated 
 
 I see a silently growing purpose, that Christian 
 communities shall not always be deformed and 
 
MOTIVES OF SOCIAL REFORM 161 
 
 disgraced by the presence of an ignorant, destitute, 
 miserable horde; that in the bosom of civilization there 
 shall no longer exist a more wretched, degraded portion 
 of human beings than can be found in savage life. 
 This horrible contrast of condition, which all large 
 cities present, has existed too long. Shall it endure 
 for ever? My friends, we all, as well as others, have 
 hitherto been dreadfully insensible to this sorest evil 
 under the sun. Long use has hardened us to it. We 
 have lived comfortably, perhaps luxuriously, in our 
 dwellings, whilst within a stone’s throw were fellow- 
 creatures, the children of our Father in heaven, as 
 nobly borne and gifted as ourselves, in whose counte- 
 nances might be read brutal ignorance, hopeless mis- 
 ery, and degrading vice. We have passed them in the 
 street, not only without a tear but without a thought. 
 Oh, how seldom has a pang shot through our hearts 
 at the sight of our ruined fellow-creatures! Shall this 
 insensibility continue for ever? Shall not a new love 
 succeed to this iron hardness of heart? Do not call 
 the evil remediless. Sure I am, that at this moment 
 there is enough of piety, philanthropy, and moral 
 power in this community to work deep changes in the 
 poorer classes, could these energies, now scattered 
 and slumbering, be brought to bear wisely and per- 
 severingly on the task. Shall we decline this work? 
 If so, we decline the noblest labor of philanthropy. 
 If so, we must suffer, and we ought to suffer. Society 
 ought to be troubled, to be shaken, yea convulsed, until 
 its solemn debt to the ignorant and poor be paid. 
 Poor there will be, but they need not, must not, exist 
 as a degraded, hopeless caste. ‘hey need not, must 
 
162 MOTIVES OF SOCIAL REFORM 
 
 not, be cut off from the brotherhood of humanity. 
 Their children must not be left to inherit and propagate 
 their crimes and woes. To put an end to such a class 
 is the highest office of Christian philanthropy. 
 
 On The Ministry to the Poor, p. 86. 
 
 124. The Contempt Shown Poverty Engenders 
 Self-Contempt in the Poor 
 
 What, then, are the moral influences of poverty, its 
 influences on character, which deserve our chief atten- 
 tion? As one of its most fatal effects, I would ob- 
 serve, in the first place, that it impairs, often destroys, 
 self-respect. I know, and rejoice to know, that the in- 
 stitutions of this country do much to counteract this 
 influence of poverty; but still it exists and works fre- 
 quent debasement. It is hard for any of us to inter- 
 pret justly our own nature, and how peculiarly hard 
 for the poor! Uninstructed in the import and dignity 
 of their rational and moral powers, they naturally 
 measure themselves by their outward rank. Living 
 amidst the worshippers of wealth, they naturally feel 
 as if degraded by the want of it. They read in the 
 looks, tones, and manners of the world the evidences 
 of being regarded as an inferior race, and want inward 
 force to repel this cruel, disheartening falsehood. 
 They hear the word respectable confined to other con- 
 ditions, and the word Jow applied to their own. Now, 
 habitual subjection to slight or contempt is crushing to 
 the spirit. It is exceedingly hard for a human being 
 to comprehend and appreciate himself amidst outward 
 humiliation. There is no greater man than he who 
 is true to himself when all around deny and forsake 
 
MOTIVES OF SOCIAL REFORM _ 163 
 
 him. Can we wonder that the poor, thus abandoned, 
 should identify themselves with their lot,—that in 
 their rags they should see the sign of inward as well 
 as outward degradation? 
 
 The Ministry to the Poor, p. 75. 
 
 125. The Self-Indulgence of the Rich Demoralizes 
 the Poor 
 
 What is the great lesson which the more prosperous 
 classes teach to the poorer? Not self-denial, not 
 spirituality, not the great Christian truth that human 
 happiness lies in the triumphs of the mind over the 
 body, in inward force and life. The poorer are taught 
 by the richer that the greatest good is ease, indulgence. 
 The voice which descends from the prosperous con- 
 tradicts the lessons of Christ and of sound philosophy. 
 It is the sensuality, the earthliness of those who give 
 the tone to public sentiment, which is chargeable with 
 a vast amount of the intemperance of the poor. How 
 is the poor man to resist intemperance? Only by a 
 moral force, an energy of will, a principle of self-denial 
 in his soul. And where is this taught him? Does a 
 higher morality come to him from those whose con- 
 dition makes them his superiors? The great inquiry 
 which he bears among the better educated is, What 
 shall we eat and drink, and wherewithal shall we be 
 clothed? Unceasing struggles for outward, earthly, 
 sensual good, constitute the chief activity which he 
 sees around him. To suppose that the poorer classes 
 should receive lessons of luxury and self-indulgence 
 from the more prosperous, and should yet resist the 
 most urgent temptations to excess, is to expect from 
 
164 MOTIVES OF SOCIAL REFORM 
 
 them a moral force in which we feel ourselves to be 
 sadly wanting. In their hard conflicts, how little of 
 life-giving truth, of elevating thought, of heavenly as- 
 piration, do they receive from those above them in 
 worldly condition! 
 
 On Temperance, p. 104. 
 
 126. Looking on Luxury, the Poor are Incited to 
 Envy and Hatred 
 
 I proceed to another unhappy influence exerted on 
 the poor. ‘They live in the sight and in the midst of 
 innumerable indulgences and gratifications which are. 
 placed beyond their reach. Their connection with 
 the affluent, though not close enough for spiritual com- 
 munication, is near enough to inflame appetites, de- 
 sires, wants, which cannot be satisfied. From their 
 cheerless rooms they look out on the abodes of lux- 
 ury. At their cold, coarse meal, they hear the equi- 
 page conveying others to tables groaning under plenty, 
 crowned with sparkling wines, and fragrant with the 
 delicacies of every clime. Fainting with toil, they 
 meet others unburdened, as they think, with a labor or 
 a care. ‘They feel that all life’s prizes have fallen to 
 others. Hence burning desire. Hence brooding dis- 
 content. Hence envy and hatred. Hence crime, Jus- 
 tified in a measure to their own minds, by what seem to 
 them the unjust and cruel inequalities of social life. 
 Very seldom does a distinct, authentic voice of wisdom 
 come to them from the high places of society, telling 
 them that riches are not happiness, and that a felicity 
 which riches cannot buy is within reach of all. Wealth- 
 worship is the spirit of the prosperous, and this is 
 
MOTIVES OF SOCIAL REFORM 165 
 
 the strongest possible inculcation of discontent and 
 crime on the poor. The rich satisfy themselves with 
 giving alms to the needy. They think little of more 
 fatal gifts, which they perpetually bestow. They 
 think little that their spirit and lives, their self- 
 indulgence and earthliness, their idolatry of outward 
 prosperity, and their contempt of inferior conditions, 
 are perpetually teaching the destitute that there is but 
 one good on earth, namely, property,—the very good 
 in which the poor have no share. They little think 
 that by these influences they do much to inflame, em- 
 bitter, and degrade the minds of the poor, to fasten 
 them to the earth, to cut off their communication with 
 Heaven. 
 Ministry to the Poor, p. 77. 
 
 127. The Working Man should not Emulate the 
 Fashionable and Idle Rich 
 
 Fashion is a poor vocation. Its creed, that idle- 
 ness is a privilege, and work a disgrace, is among the 
 deadliest errors. Without depth of thought, or ear- 
 nestness of feeling, or strength of purpose, living an 
 unreal life, sacrificing substance to show, substituting 
 the factitious for the natural, mistaking a crowd for 
 society, finding its chief pleasure in ridicule, and ex- 
 hausting its ingenuity ir expedients for killing time, 
 fashion is among the last influences under which a 
 human being, who respects himself or who compre- 
 hends the great end of life, would desire to be placed. 
 I use strong language, because I would combat the 
 disposition, too common in the laboring mass, to re- 
 gard what is called the upper class with envy or ad- 
 
166 MOTIVES OF SOCIAL REFORM 
 
 miration. This disposition manifests itself among 
 them in various forms. ‘Thus, when one of their 
 number prospers, he is apt to forget his old acquaint- 
 ance, and, to work his way, if possible, into a more 
 fashionable caste. As far, indeed, as he extends his 
 acquaintance among the intelligent, refined, generous, 
 and truly honorable, he makes a substantial improve- 
 ment of his condition; but if, as is too often the case, 
 he is admitted by way of favor into a circle which has 
 few claims beyond those of greater luxury and show, 
 and which bestows on him a patronizing, condescend- 
 ing notice, in exchange for his old, honorable influence 
 among his original associates, he does any thing but 
 rise. Such is not the elevation I desire for the la- 
 borer. I do not desire him to struggle into another 
 rank. Let him not be a servile copyist of other 
 classes, but aim at something higher than has yet been 
 realized in any body of men. Let him not associate 
 the idea of dignity or honor with certain modes of 
 living, or certain outward connections. I would have 
 every man stand on his own ground, and take his place 
 among men according to personal endowments and 
 worth, and not according to outward appendages; and 
 I would have every member of the community fur- 
 nished with such means of improvement, that, if faith- 
 ful to himself, he may need no outward appendage to 
 attract the respect of all around him. 
 Elevation of the Laboring Classes, p. 40. 
 
 128. The Need for Peace Makers in an Age of Strife 
 
 There is another dark feature of this age. It is 
 the spirit of collision, contention, discord, which 
 
MOTIVES OF SOCIAL REFORM ~~ 167 
 
 breaks forth in religion, in politics, in business, in 
 private affairs,—a result and necessary issue of the self- 
 ishness which prompts the endless activity of life. 
 The mighty forces which are this moment acting in 
 society are not and cannot be in harmony, for they 
 are not governed by love. ‘They jar; they are dis- 
 cordant. Life now has little music in it. It is not 
 only on the field of battle that men fight. They fight 
 on the exchange. Business is war, a conflict of skill, 
 management, and, too often, fraud; to snatch the prey 
 from our neighbor is the end of all this stir. Religion 
 1s war; Christians, forsaking their one Lord, gather 
 under various standards to gain victory for their sects. 
 Politics are war, breaking the whole people into fierce 
 and unscrupulous parties, which forget their country 
 in conflicts for office and power. ‘The age needs noth- 
 ing more than peace-makers, men of serene, command- 
 ing virtue, to preach in life and word the gospel of 
 human brotherhood, to allay the fires of jealousy and 
 hate. 
 Dies Presenis da geupe n70. 
 
 129. The Worldliness of Wealth and Rank 
 
 In every community there are many who hold their 
 fellow-creatures in bondage for gain,—for mere gain. 
 They perpetuate this odious system not reluctantly, 
 but from choice; not because the public safety compels 
 them, as they think, to act the part of despots, but 
 because they love despotism, and count money their su- 
 preme good. Provided they can be supported in ease 
 and indulgence, can be pampered and enriched, they 
 care not for the means. ‘They care not what wrongs 
 
168 MOTIVES OF SOCIAL REFORM 
 
 or stripes are inflicted, what sweat is extorted, what 
 powers of the immortal soul are crushed. I refer to 
 the conservative class, to those who are tremblingly 
 alive to the spirit of innovation now abroad in 
 the world, who have little or no faith in human pro- 
 gress, who are anxious to secure what is now gained 
 rather than to gain more, to whom the watch- 
 word of the times, Reform, sounds like a knell. 
 Among these are to be found individuals who, from 
 no benevolent interest in society, but simply be- 
 cause they have drawn high prizes in the lottery of 
 life, are unwilling that the most enormous abuses 
 should be touched, lest the established order of things, 
 so propitious to themselves, should be disturbed. A 
 palsying, petrifying order, keeping things as they are, 
 seems to them the ideal of a perfect community, and 
 they have no patience with the rude cry of reformers 
 for the restoration of human beings to their long-lost 
 rights. Such are to be found in what is called the 
 highest class of society, that is, among the rich and 
 fashionable; and the cause is obvious. The rich and 
 fashionable belong to the same caste with the slave- 
 holder; and men are apt to sympathize with their own 
 caste more readily than with those beneath them. 
 The slave is too low, too vulgar, to awaken interest 
 in those who abhor vulgarity more than oppression and 
 crime, and who found all their self-admiration on the 
 rank they occupy in the social scale. Far be it from 
 me to charge on the rich or fashionable, as a class, this 
 moral degradation; but among them are the worship- 
 pers of high degree, who would think their dignity 
 soiled by touching the cause of a menial, degraded 
 
MOTIVES OF SOCIAL REFORM 169 
 
 race, and who load its advocates with ridicule and 
 scorn. Gain is their god, and they sacrifice on this 
 altar without compunction the rights and happiness 
 of their fellow-creatures. To such, the philanthropy 
 which would break every chain is fanaticism, or a pre- 
 tence. Nothing in their own souls helps them to com- 
 prehend the fervor of men who feel for the wronged, 
 and who hazard property and life in exposing the 
 wrong. This, however, cannot surprise us. Our 
 present civilization is characterized and tainted by a 
 devouring greediness of wealth; and a cause which as- 
 serts right against wealth must stir up bitter opposi- 
 tion, especially in cities where this divinity is most 
 adored. ‘The passion for gain is everywhere sapping 
 pure and generous feeling, and everywhere raises up 
 bitter foes against any reform which may threaten 
 to turn aside a stream of wealth. I sometimes feel as 
 if a great social revolution were necessary to break 
 up our present mercenary civilization, in order that 
 Christianity, now repelled by the almost universal 
 worldliness, may come into new contact with the soul, 
 and may reconstruct society after its own pure and 
 disinterested principles. 
 
 The Abolitionists, p. 747. 
 
 130. The Great Enemies of Society are not in 
 [ts Poorer Ranks 
 
 The prosperous part of society are, of course, par- 
 ticularly liable to the fear of which I have spoken. 
 They see danger especially in the extension of power 
 and freedom of all kinds to the laboring classes of 
 society. They look with a jealous eye on attempts 
 
170 MOTIVES OF SOCIAL REFORM 
 
 to elevate these, though one would think that to im- 
 prove a man was the surest way to disarm his violence. 
 They talk of agrarianism. ‘They dread a system of 
 universal pillage. ‘They dread a conspiracy of the 
 needy against the rich. Now the manual laborer has 
 burdens enough to bear without the load of groundless 
 suspicion or reproach. It ought to be understood that 
 the great enemies to society are not found in its poorer 
 ranks. [he mass may, indeed, be used as tools; but 
 the stirring and guiding powers of insurrection are 
 found above. Communities fall by the vices of the 
 prosperous ranks. We are referred to Rome, which 
 was robbed of her liberties and reduced to the most 
 degrading vassalage by the lawlessness of the Plebe- 
 ians, who sold themselves to demagogues, and gave 
 the republic into the hands of a dictator. But what 
 made the Plebeians an idle, dissolute, rapacious horde? 
 It was the system of universal rapine which, under 
 the name of conquest, had been carried on for ages 
 by Patricians, by all the powers of the state,—a sys- 
 tem which glutted Rome with the spoils of the pil- 
 laged world; which fed her population without labor, 
 from the public treasures, and corrupted them by pub- 
 lic shows. It was this which helped to make the me- 
 tropolis of the earth a sink of crime and pollution such 
 as the world had never known. It was time that the 
 grand robber-state should be cast down from her guilty 
 eminence. Her brutish populace, which followed 
 Cesar’s car with shouts, was not worse than the 
 venal, crouching senate which registered his decrees. 
 Let not the poor bear the burden of the rich. At 
 this moment we are groaning over the depressed and 
 
MOTIVES OF SOCIAL REFORM © 171 
 
 dishonored state of our country; and who, let me ask, 
 have shaken its credit, and made so many of its in- 
 stitutions bankrupt? The poor or the rich? Whence 
 is it that the incomes of the widow, the orphan, the 
 aged, have been narrowed, and multitudes on both 
 sides of the ocean brought to the brink of want? Is it 
 from an outbreak of popular fury? Is it from gangs 
 of thieves sprung from the mob? We know the 
 truth, and it shows us where the great danger to prop- 
 erty lies. 
 The Present Age, p. 169. 
 
 131. The Social Revolution must not Come 
 
 by Violence 
 
 That a higher order of ideas or principles is begin- 
 ning to be unfolded; that a wider philanthropy is be- 
 ginning to triumph over the distinctions of ranks and 
 nations; that a new feeling of what is due to the ig- 
 norant, poor, and depraved, has sprung up; that the 
 right of every human being to such an education as 
 shall call forth his best faculties, and train him more 
 and more to control himself, is recognized as it never 
 was before; and that government is more and more 
 regarded as intended not to elevate the few, but to 
 guard the rights of all; that these great revolutions 
 in principle have commenced and are spreading, who 
 can deny? and to me they are prophetic of an improved 
 condition of human nature and human affairs.—O, that 
 this melioration might be accomplished without blood! 
 As a Christian, I feel a misgiving, when I rejoice in 
 good, however great, for which this fearful price 
 has been paid. In truth, a good so won is necessarily 
 
172 MOTIVES OF SOCIAL REFORM 
 
 imperfect and generally transient. War may sub- 
 vert a despotism, but seldom builds up better institu- 
 tions. Even when joined, as in our own history, with 
 high principles, it inflames and leaves behind it passions 
 which make liberty a feverish conflict of jealous parties, 
 and which expose a people to the tyranny of faction 
 under the forms of freedom. Few things impair men’s 
 reverence for human nature more than war; and did I 
 not see other and holier influences than the sword 
 working out the regeneration of the race, I should 
 indeed despair. 
 Honor due to all Men, p. 72. 
 
THE FAITH OF PROGRESS 
 132. The Faith of Progress 
 
 Were I to look on the world as many do, were I to 
 see in it a maze without a plan, a whirl of changes 
 without aim, a stage for good and evil to fight with- 
 out an issue, an endless motion without progress, a 
 world where sin and idolatry are to triumph for ever, 
 and the oppressor’s rod never to be broken, I should 
 turn from it with sickness of heart, and care not how 
 soon the sentence of its destruction were fulfilled. 
 History and philosophy plainly show to me in human 
 nature the foundation and promise of a better era, 
 and Christianity concurs with these. The thought 
 of a higher condition of the world was the secret fire 
 which burned in the soul of the great Founder of our 
 religion, and in his first followers. That he was to 
 act on all future generations, that he was sowing a 
 seed which was to grow up and spread its branches 
 over all nations,—this great thought never forsook 
 him in life and death. That under Christianity a 
 civilization has grown up containing in itself nobler 
 elements than are found in earlier forms of society, who 
 can deny? Great ideas and feelings, derived from 
 this source, are now at work. Amidst the prevalence 
 of crime and selfishness, there has sprung up in the 
 human heart a sentiment or principle unknown in ear- 
 lier ages, an enlarged and trustful philanthropy, which 
 
 173 
 
174 THE FAITH OF PROGRESS 
 
 recognizes the right of every human being, which is 
 stirred by the terrible oppressions and corruptions of 
 the world, and which does not shrink from conflict with 
 evil in its worst forms. ‘There has sprung up, too, a 
 faith, of which antiquity knew nothing, in the final vic- 
 tory of truth and right, in the elevation of men to a 
 clearer intelligence, to a more fraternal union, and to 
 a purer worship. ‘This faith is taking its place among 
 the great springs of human action, is becoming even a 
 passion in more fervent spirits. I hail it as a prophecy 
 which is to fulfil itself. A nature capable of such an 
 aspiration cannot be degraded for ever. 
 LNCURTESEnTIA Ge pall. 
 
 133. Religion Alone can Offset the Poisonous 
 By-Products of Civilization 
 
 The need of religion is in no degree superseded by 
 what is called the progress of society. I should say 
 that civilization, so far from being able of itself to 
 give moral strength and elevation, includes causes of 
 degradation which nothing but the religious principle 
 can withstand. It multiplies, undoubtedly, the com- 
 forts and enjoyments of life; but in these I see sore 
 trials and perils to the soul. These minister to the 
 sensual element in human nature, to that part of our 
 constitution which allies—and too often enslaves—us 
 to the earth. Of consequence, civilization needs that 
 proportional aid should be given to the spiritual ele- 
 ment ‘in’ man, “ands L sknow. noty where atisisemto 
 be found but in religion. Without this the civilized 
 man, with all his properties and refinements, rises little 
 in true dignity above the savage whom he disdains. 
 
THE FAITH OF PROGRESS 175 
 
 You tell me of civilization, of its arts and sciences, 
 as the sure instruments of human elevation. You tell 
 me, how by these man masters and bends to his use 
 the powers of nature. I know he masters them, but 
 it is to become in turn their slave. He explores and 
 cultivates the earth, but it is to grow more earthly. 
 THe explores the hidden mine, but it is to forge him- 
 self chains. He visits all regions, but therefore lives 
 a stranger to his own soul. In the very progress of 
 civilization I see the need of an antagonist principle to 
 the senses, of a power to free man from matter, to re- 
 call him from the outward to the inward world and 
 religion alone is equal to so great a work. 
 
 Spiritual Freedom, p. 178. 
 
 134. The Worship of Mammon and a Spirit of 
 Materialism are Our Chief Dangers 
 
 I confess I look round on civilized society with 
 many fears, and with more and more earnest desire 
 that a regenerating spirit from heaven, from religion, 
 may descend upon and pervade it. I particularly fear 
 that various causes are acting powerfully among our- 
 selves to inflame and madden that enslaving and de- 
 grading principle, the passion for property. For ex- 
 ample, the absence of hereditary distinctions in our 
 country gives prominence to the distinction of wealth, 
 and holds up this as the chief prize to ambition. Add 
 to this the epicurean, self-indulgent habits which our 
 prosperity has multiplied, and which crave insatiably 
 for enlarging wealth as the only means of gratification. 
 This peril is increased by the spirit of our times, which 
 is a spirit of commerce, industry, internal improve- 
 
176 THE FAITH OF PROGRESS 
 
 ments, mechanical invention, political economy, and 
 peace. Think not that I would disparage commerce, 
 mechanical skill, and especially pacific connections 
 among states. But there is danger that these bless- 
 ings may by perversion issue in a slavish love of lucre. 
 It seems to me that some of the objects which once 
 moved men most powerfully are gradually losing their 
 sway, and thus the mind is left more open to the excite- 
 ment of wealth. For example, military distinction is 
 taking the inferior place which it deserves; and the 
 consequence will be, that the energy and ambition 
 which have been exhausted in war will seek new direc- 
 tions; and happy shall we be if they do not flow into 
 the channel of gain. So I think that political eminence 
 1s to be less and less coveted; and there is danger that 
 the energies absorbed by it will be spent in seeking 
 another kind of dominion,—the dominion of property. 
 And if such be the result, what shall we gain by what is 
 called the progress of society? What shall we gain by 
 national peace if men, instead of meeting on the field 
 of battle, wage with one another the more inglorious 
 strife of dishonest and rapacious trafic? What shall 
 we gain by the waning of political ambition if the in- 
 trigues of the exchange take place of those of the 
 cabinet, and private pomp and luxury be substituted 
 for the splendor of public life? I am no foe to civ- 
 ilization. J rejoice in its progress. But I mean to 
 say that, without a pure religion to modify its tend- 
 encies, to inspire and refine it, we shall be corrupted, 
 not ennobled by it. It is the excellence of the religious 
 principle, that it aids and carries forward civilization, 
 extends science and arts, multiplies the conveniences 
 
THE FAITH OF PROGRESS whe 
 
 and ornaments of life, and at the same time spoils 
 them of their enslaving power, and even converts them 
 into means and ministers of that spiritual freedom 
 which, when left to themselves, they endanger and de- 
 stroy. 
 
 Spiritual Freedom, p. 179. 
 
THE? MORAL LAW aIN POLITICS 
 
 135. The Human Soul is Greater and More Sacred 
 than the State 
 
 The individual is not made for the state so much as 
 the state for the individual. A man is not created 
 for political relations as his highest end, but for in- 
 definite spiritual progress, and is placed in political 
 relations as the means of his progress. “The human 
 soul is greater, more sacred, than the state, and must 
 never be sacrificed to it. “The human soul is to out- 
 live all earthly institutions. The distinction of na- 
 tions is to pass away. ‘Thrones, which have stood for 
 ages, are to meet the doom pronounced upon all man’s 
 works. But the individual mind survives, and the ob- 
 scurest subject, if true to God, will rise to a power 
 never wielded by earthly potentates. A human be- 
 ing is a member of the community, not as a limb is 
 a member of the body, or as a wheel is a part of a 
 machine, intended only to contribute to some general, 
 joint result. He was-created, not to be merged in 
 the whole, as a drop in the ocean, or as a particle of 
 sand on the sea-shore, and to aid only in composing a 
 mass. He is an ultimate being, made for his own 
 perfection as the highest end, made to maintain an 
 individual existence, and to serve others only as far as 
 consists with his own virtue and progress. Hitherto 
 
 governments have tended greatly to obscure this im- 
 178 
 
AES MORALTEAW IN POLITICS 179 
 
 portance of the individual, to depress him in his own 
 eyes, to give him the idea of an outward interest 
 more important than the invisible soul, and of an out- 
 ward authority more sacred than the voice of God 
 in his own secret conscience. Rulers have called the 
 private man the property of the state, meaning gen- 
 erally by the state themselves, and thus the many have 
 been immolated to the few, and have even believed 
 that this was their highest destination. These views 
 cannot be too earnestly withstood. Nothing seems to 
 me so needful as to give to the mind the consciousness, 
 which governments have done so much to suppress, of 
 its own separate worth. Let the individual feel that, 
 through his immortality, he may concentrate in his own 
 being a greater good than that of nations. Let him 
 feel that he is placed in the community, not to part 
 with his individuality or to become a tool, but that he 
 should find a sphere for his various powers, and a prep- 
 aration for immortal glory. ‘To me, the progress of 
 society consists in nothing more than in bringing out 
 the individual, in giving him a consciousness of his 
 own being, and in quickening him to strengthen and 
 elevate his own mind. 
 
 Spiritual Freedom, p. 176. 
 
 136. Nations are Equally Bound with Individuals 
 by the Moral Law 
 
 Of all the doctrines by which vice has propagated 
 itself, I know none more pernicious than the maxim 
 that statesmen are exempted from the common re- 
 straints of morality, that nations are not equally bound 
 with individuals by the eternal laws of justice and 
 
180 THE MORAL LAW IN POLITICS 
 
 philanthropy. Through this doctrine vice has lifted 
 its head unblushingly in the most exalted stations. 
 Vice has seated itself on the throne. “The men who 
 have wielded the power and riveted the gaze of na- 
 tions have lent the sanction of their greatness to 
 crime. In the very heart of nations, in the cabinet 
 of rulers, has been bred a moral pestilence which has 
 infected and contaminated all orders of the state. 
 Through the example of rulers, private men have 
 learned to regard the everlasting law as a temporary 
 conventional rule, and been blinded to the supremacy 
 of virtue. 
 
 That the prosperity of a people is intimately con- 
 nected with this reverence for virtue which I have in- 
 culcated on legislators, is most true, and cannot be too 
 deeply felt. ‘There is no foundation for the vulgar 
 doctrine, that a state may flourish by arts and crimes. 
 Nations and individuals are subjected to one law. 
 The moral principle is the life of communities. No 
 calamity can befall a people so great as temporary 
 success through a criminal policy, as the hope thus 
 cherished of trampling with impunity on the authority 
 of God. Sooner or later, insulted virtue avenges it- 
 self terribly on states as well as on private men. We 
 hope, indeed, security and the quiet enjoyment of our 
 wealth from our laws and institutions. But civil laws 
 find their chief sanction in the law written within by 
 the finger of God. In proportion as a people enslave 
 themselves to sin, the fountain of public justice be- 
 comes polluted. The most wholesome statutes, want- 
 ing the support of public opinion, grow impotent. 
 
THE MORAL LAW IN POLITICS 181 
 
 Self-seekers, unprincipled men, by flattering bad pas- 
 sions, and by darkening the public mind, usurp the seat 
 of judgment and places of power and trust, and turn 
 free institutions into lifeless forms or instruments of 
 oppression. I especially believe that communities suf- 
 fer sorely by that species of immorality which the herd 
 of statesmen have industriously cherished as of signal 
 utility,—I mean, by hostile feeling towards other coun- 
 tries. The common doctrine has been, that prejudice 
 and enmity towards foreign states are means of foster- 
 ing a national spirit, and of confirming union at home. 
 But bad passions, once instilled into a people, will 
 never exhaust themselves abroad. Vice never yields 
 the fruits of virtue. Injustice to strangers does not 
 breed justice to our friends. Malignity, in every 
 form, is a fire of hell, and the policy which feeds it 
 is infernal. Domestic feuds and the madness of party 
 are its natural and necessary issues; and a people hos- 
 tile to others will demonstrate, in its history, that no 
 form of inhumanity or injustice escapes its just retribu- 
 tion. 
 
 Spiritual Freedom, p. 183. 
 137. The Moral Standards and Ideals of the Govern- 
 
 ment Influence Those of Its Citizens 
 
 A government may, and should, ennoble the mind of 
 the citizen, by continually holding up to him the idea 
 of the general good. This idea should be impressed 
 in characters of light on all legislation; and a govern- 
 ment directing itself resolutely and steadily to this end, 
 becomes a minister of virtue. It teaches the citizen 
 
182”) THE. MORAL LAWS INSPOELTIGS 
 
 to attach a sanctity to the public weal, carries him be- 
 yond selfish regards, nourishes magnanimity, and the 
 purpose of sacrificing himself, as far as virtue will 
 allow, to the commonwealth. On the other hand, a 
 government which wields its power for selfish inter- 
 ests, which sacrifices the many to a few, or the state 
 to a party, becomes a public preacher of crime, taints 
 the mind of the citizen, does its utmost to make him 
 base and venal, and prepares him, by its example, to 
 sell or betray that public interest for which he should 
 be ready to die. 
 
 Again, on government, more than on any institu- 
 tion, depends that most important principle,—the 
 sense of justice in the community. To promote this, 
 it should express in all its laws a reverence for right, 
 and an equal reverence for the rights of high and 
 low, of rich and poor. It should choose to sacrifice 
 the most dazzling advantages rather than break its 
 own faith, rather than unsettle the fixed laws of prop- 
 erty, or in any way shock the sentiment of justice in 
 the community. 
 
 Let me add one more method by which govern- 
 ment is to lift up and enlarge the minds of its citizens. 
 In its relations to other governments it should invio- 
 lably adhere to the principles of justice and philan- 
 thropy. By its moderation, sincerity, uprightness, and 
 pacific spirit towards foreign states, by abstaining 
 from secret arts and unfair advantages, by cultivating 
 free and mutually beneficial intercourse, it should 
 cherish among its citizens the ennobling consciousness 
 of belonging to the human family, and of having a 
 
HES MORAL (eA WeIN POLITICS «183 
 
 common interest with the whole human race. Goy- 
 ernment only fulfils its end when it thus joins with 
 Christianity in inculcating the law of universal love. 
 
 Spiritual Freedom, p. 182. 
 
 138. Justice is the First Element of a Nation’s Honor 
 
 The first element of a nation’s honor is undoubtedly 
 justice. A people, to deserve respect, must lay down 
 the maxim, as the foundation of its intercourse with 
 other communities, that justice—a strict regard to the 
 rights of other states—shall take rank of its interests. 
 A nation without reverence for right can never plead 
 in defence of a war, that this is needed to maintain 
 its honor, for it has no honor to maintain. <A people 
 systematically sacrificing justice to its interests, is es- 
 sentially a band of robbers, and receives but the 
 just punishment of its profligacy in the assaults of 
 other nations. But it is not true that nations are so 
 dead to moral principles. ‘The voice of justice is not 
 always drowned by the importunities of interest; nor 
 ought we, as citizens, to acquiesce in an injurious act 
 on the part of our rulers towards other states, as if 
 it were a matter of course, a necessary working of 
 human selfishness. It ought to be reprobated as in- 
 dignantly as the wrongs of private men. A people 
 strictly just has an honor independent of opinion, and 
 to which opinion must pay homage. Its glory is 
 purer and more enduring than that of a thousand 
 victories. Let not him who prefers for his country 
 the renown of military spirit and success to that of 
 justice, talk of his zeal for its honor. He does not 
 
184 THE MORAL LAW IN POLITICS 
 
 know the meaning of the word. He belongs to a bar- 
 barous age, and desires for his country no higher praise 
 than has been gained by many a savage horde. 
 
 On War (1835), p. 660. 
 
 139. Rectitude is the Supreme Good of States 
 
 Let a people exalt prosperity above rectitude, and 
 a more dangerous end cannot be proposed. Public 
 prosperity, general good, regarded by itself, or apart 
 from the moral law, is something vague, unsettled, and 
 uncertain, and will infallibly be so construed by the 
 selfish and grasping as to secure their own aggrandize- 
 ment. It may be made to wear a thousand forms, 
 according to men’s interests and passions. This is 
 illustrated by every day’s history. Nota party springs 
 up which does not sanctify all its projects for monop- 
 olizing power by the plea of general good. Not a 
 measure, however ruinous, can be proposed which 
 cannot be shown to favor one or another national 
 interest. The truth is, that in the uncertainty of hu- 
 man aftairs,—an uncertainty growing out of the in- 
 finite and very subtile causes which are acting on com- 
 munities,—the consequences of no measure can be fore- 
 told with certainty. The best concerted schemes of 
 policy often fail; whilst a rash and profligate adminis- 
 tration may, by unexpected concurrences of events, 
 seem to advance a nation’s glory. In regard to the 
 means of national prosperity, the wisest are weak 
 judges. For example, the present rapid growth of 
 this country, carrying, as it. does, vast multitudes be- 
 yond the institutions of religion and education, may be 
 
LEE aViORAT = CAW. IN SPOLEPICS 18s 
 
 working ruin, whilst the people exult in it as a pledge of 
 greatness. We are too shortsighted to find our law in 
 outward interests. To states, as to individuals, rec- 
 titude is the supreme law. It was never designed that 
 the public good, as disjoined from this, as distinct 
 from justice and reverence for all rights, should be 
 comprehended and made our end. Statesmen work in 
 the dark until the idea of right towers above expediency 
 or wealth. Woe to that people which would found its 
 prosperity in wrong!  Itis time that the low maxims of 
 policy, which have ruled for ages, should fall. It is 
 time that public interest should no longer hallow in- 
 Justice, and fortify government in making the weak 
 their prey. 
 On Slavery, p. 701. 
 
 140. There are Higher Motives than Self-interest 
 in a Nation’s Career 
 
 When will statesmen learn that there are higher 
 powers than political motives, interest, and intrigues? 
 When will they learn the might which dwells in truth? 
 When will they learn that the great moral and religious 
 ideas which have now seized on and are working in 
 men’s souls are the most efficient, durable forces which 
 are acting inthe world? When will they learn that the 
 past and present are not the future, but that the 
 changes already wrought in society are only forerun- 
 ners, signs, and springs of mightier revolutions? Pol- 
 iticians, absorbed in near objects, are prophets only 
 ona small scale. ‘They may foretell the issues of the 
 next election, though even here they are often bafiled; 
 
186. THE MORAL CAW@IN POLITICS 
 
 but the breaking out of a deep moral conviction in 
 the mass of men is a mystery which they have little 
 skill to interpret. ‘The future of this country is to take 
 its shape, not from the struggles of parties or leaders 
 for power or station, but from the great principles 
 which are unfolding themselves silently in men’s breast. 
 There is here, and through the civilized world, a 
 steady current of thought and feeling in one direction. 
 The old notion of the subjection of the many for the 
 comfort, ease, pleasure, and pride of the few, is fast 
 wearing away. A far higher and more rational con- 
 ception of freedom than entered into the loftiest spec- 
 ulations of ancient times is spreading itself, and 1s 
 changing the face of society. 
 
 Principles of a higher order are beginning to operate 
 and the dawn of these primal, everlasting lights is a 
 sure omen of a brighter day. ‘This is the true sign of 
 the coming ages. Politicians, seizing on the narrow, 
 selfish principles of human nature, expect these to rule 
 for ever. ‘They hope, by their own machinery, to 
 determine the movements of the world. But if his- 
 tory teaches any lesson, it is the impotence of states- 
 men; and, happily, this impotence is increasing every 
 day, with the spread of light and moral force among 
 the people. Would politicians study history with more 
 care, they might learn, even from the dark times which 
 are past, that self-interest is not, after all, the mightiest 
 agent in human aftairs; that the course of human events 
 has been more determined, on the whole, by great prin- 
 ciples, by great emotions, by feeling, by enthusiasm, 
 than by selfish calculations, or by selfish men. 
 
 On Slavery, p. 810. 
 
Ee VORAL IEA WIN PORTTICS: 1187 
 
 141. The First Duty of a Statesman is to Build 
 up the Moral Energy of a People 
 
 The first duty of a statesman is to build up the moral 
 energy of a people. ‘This is their first interest; and 
 he who weakens it inflicts an injury which no talent can 
 repair; nor should any splendor of services, or any 
 momentary success, avert from him the infamy which 
 he has earned. Let public men learn to think more 
 reverently of their function. Let them feel that they 
 are touching more vital interests than property. Let 
 them fear nothing so much as to sap the moral con- 
 victions of a people by unrighteous legislation or a 
 selfish policy. Let them cultivate in themselves the 
 spirit of religion and virtue, as the first requisite to 
 public station. Let no apparent advantage to the com- 
 munity, any more than to themselves, seduce them to 
 the infraction of any morallaw. Let them put faith in 
 virtue as the strength of nations. Let them not be dis- 
 heartened by temporary ill success in upright exertion. 
 Let them remember that, while they and their con- 
 temporaries live but for a day, the state is to live for 
 ages; and that Time, the unerring arbiter, will vindicate 
 the wisdom as well as the magnanimity of the public 
 men who, confiding in the power of truth, justice, and 
 philanthropy, asserts their claims, and reverently fol- 
 lows their monitions, amidst general disloyalty and cor- 
 ruption. 
 
 Spiritual Freedom, p. 184. 
 
 142. A False Patriotism Often Incites to War 
 
 A common cause of war is a false patriotism. It 
 
188 THE MORAL LAW IN POLITICS 
 
 is a logical and generous impulse of nature to love the 
 country which gave us birth, by whose institutions we 
 have been moulded, by whose laws defended, and with 
 whose soil and scenery innumerable associations of 
 early years, of domestic affection, and of friendship, 
 have been formed. But this sentiment often degener- 
 ates into a narrow, partial, exclusive attachment, alien- 
 ating us from other branches of the human family, 
 and instigating to aggression on other states. In 
 ancient times this principle was developed with wonder- 
 ful energy, and sometimes absorbed every other senti- 
 ment. To the Roman, Rome was the universe. 
 Other nations were of no value but to grace her tri- 
 umphs and illustrate her power; and he who in private 
 life would have disdained injustice and oppression, 
 exulted in the successful violence by which other nations 
 were bound to the chariot-wheels of this mistress of the 
 world. ‘This spirit still exists. The tie of country 
 is thought to absolve men from the obligations of 
 universal justice and humanity. Statesmen and rulers 
 are expected to build up their own country at the ex- 
 pense of others; and, in the false patriotism of the 
 citizens, they have a security for any outrages which are 
 sanctioned by success. 
 
 On War, p. 647. 
 
 143. The Guilty Passion for Power over One’s 
 Fellow 
 
 Of all injuries and crimes, the most flagrant is 
 chargeable on him who aims to establish dominion 
 over his brethren. He wars with what is more pre- 
 cious than life. He would rob men of their chief 
 
THE MORAL LAW IN POLITICS 189 
 
 prerogative and glory,—we mean, of self-dominion, 
 of that empire which is given to a rational and moral 
 being over his own soul and his own life. Such a 
 being is framed to find honor and happiness in forming 
 and swaying himself, in adopting as his supreme 
 standard his convictions of truth and duty, in un- 
 folding his powers by free exertion, in acting from 
 a principle within, from his growing conscience. His 
 proper and noblest attributes are self-government, self- 
 reverence, energy of thought, energy in choosing the 
 right and the good, energy in casting off all other 
 dominion. He was created for empire in his own 
 breast, and woe, woe to them who would pluck from 
 him this sceptre! A mind inspired by God with reason 
 and conscience, and capable, through these endow- 
 ments, of progress in truth and duty, is a sacred thing; 
 more sacred than temples made with hands, or even 
 than this outward universe. It is of nobler lineage 
 than that of which human aristocracy makes its boast. 
 It bears the lineaments of a divine Parent. It has 
 not only a physical, but moral connection with the Su- 
 preme Being. Through its self-determining power, it 
 is accountable for its deeds, and for whatever it be- 
 comes. Responsibility—that which above all things 
 makes existence solemn—is laid upon it. Its great 
 end is to conform itself, by its own energy, and by 
 spiritual succors which its own prayers and faithfulness 
 secure, to that perfection of wisdom and goodness of 
 which God is the original and source; which shines 
 upon us from the whole outward world, but of 
 which the intelligent soul is a truer recipient and a 
 brighter image, even than the sun with all his splendors. 
 
10° | oLHE MORAL VAWS INSPOETEICS 
 
 From these views we learn that no outrage, no injury, 
 can equal that which is perpetrated by him who would 
 break down and subjugate the human mind; who would 
 rob men of self-reverence; who would bring them to 
 stand more in awe of outward authority than of reason 
 and conscience in their own souls; who would make 
 himself a standard and law for his race, and shape, 
 by force or terror, the free spirits of others after his 
 own judgment and will. 
 On Napoleon Bonaparte, p. 551. 
 
 144. Democracy Prohibits the Monopoly of Power 
 
 It is the distinction of republican institutions, that 
 whilst they compel the passion for power to moderate 
 its pretensions, and to satisfy itself with more limited 
 gratifications, they tend to spread it more widely 
 through the community, and to make it a universal 
 principle. The doors of office being open to all, 
 crowds burn to rush in. A thousand hands are 
 stretched out to grasp the reins which are denied 
 to none. Perhaps, in this boasted and boasting land 
 of liberty, not a few, if called to state the chief good 
 of a republic, would place it in this, that every man 
 is eligible to every ofhce, and that the highest places 
 of power and trust are prizes for universal competi- 
 tion. ‘The superiority attributed by many to our in- 
 stitutions is, not that they secure the greatest freedom, 
 but give every man a chance of ruling; not that they 
 reduce the power of government within the narrowest 
 limits which the safety of the state admits, but throw 
 it into as many hands as possible. ‘The despot’s great 
 crime is thought to be that he keeps the delight of 
 
THE MORAL CAW IN POLITICS © rox 
 
 dominion to himself, that he makes a monopoly of it, 
 whilst our more generous institutions, by breaking it 
 into parcels, and inviting the multitude to scramble 
 for it, spread this joy more widely. The result is, 
 that political ambition infects our country, and gen- 
 erates a feverish restlessness and discontent, which, 
 to the monarchist, may seem more than a balance for 
 our forms of liberty. The spirit of intrigue, which 
 in absolute governments is confined to courts, walks 
 abroad through the land; and, as individuals can ac- 
 complish no political purposes single-handed, they 
 band themselves into parties, ostensibly framed for 
 public ends, but aiming only at the acquisition of power. 
 The nominal sovereign, that is, the people, like all 
 other sovereigns, is courted and flattered, and told 
 that it can do no wrong. Its pride is pampered, its 
 passions inflamed, its prejudices made inveterate. 
 Such are the processes by which other republics have 
 been subverted, and he must be blind who cannot 
 trace them among ourselves. We mean not to exag- 
 gerate our dangers. We rejoice to know that the 
 improvements of society oppose many checks to the 
 love of power. But every wise man who sees its 
 workings must dread it as our chief foe. 
 On Napoleon Bonaparte, p. 554. 
 
THE CHRISTIAN. PATRIOT 
 145. Above All Nations is Humanity 
 
 We love our country. much, but mankind more. As 
 men and Christians, our first desire is to see the im- 
 provement of human nature. We desire to see the 
 soul of man wiser, firmer, nobler, more conscious of 
 its imperishable treasures, more beneficent and power- 
 ful, more alive to its connection with God, more able 
 to use pleasure and prosperity aright, and more vic- 
 torious over poverty, adversity, and pain. In our 
 survey of our own and other countries, the great ques- 
 tion which comes to us is this, Where and under what 
 institutions are men most likely to advance? Where 
 are the soundest minds and the purest hearts formed? 
 What nation possesses, in its history, its traditions, its 
 government, its religion, its manners, its pursuits, its re- 
 lations to other communities, and especially in its 
 private and public means of education, the instruments 
 and pledges of a more resolute virtue and devotion to 
 truth, than we now witness? Such a nation, be it where 
 it may, will engage our warmest interest. We love our 
 country, but not blindly. In all nations we recognize 
 one great family, and our chief wish for our native 
 land is, that it may take the first rank among the lights 
 and benefactors of the human race. 
 
 On National Literature, p. 125. 
 192 : 
 
THE CHRISTIAN PATRIOT 193 
 
 146. National Happiness Bound Up with 
 National Virtue 
 
 I feel—as I doubt not many feel—that the great 
 distinction of a nation, the only one worth possessing, 
 and which brings after it all other blessings, is the 
 prevalence of pure principle among the citizens. I wish 
 to belong to a state in the character and institutions 
 of which I may find a spring of improvement, which 
 I can speak of with an honest pride, in whose records 
 I may meet great and honored names, and which ts 
 making the world its debtor by its discoveries of 
 truth, and by an example of virtuous freedom. Oh, 
 save me from a country which worships wealth and 
 cares not for true glory; in which intrigue bears rule; 
 in which patriotism borrows its zeal from the prospect 
 of office; in which hungry sycophants besiege with 
 supplications all the departments of state; in which 
 public men bear the brand of vice, and the seat of gov- 
 ernment is a noisome sink of private licentiousness and 
 political corruption! Tell me not of the honor of 
 belonging to a free country. I ask, does our liberty 
 bear generous fruits? Does it exalt us in manly spirit, 
 in public virtue, above countries trodden under foot by 
 despotism? Tell me not of the extent of our terri- 
 tory. I care not how large it is if it multiply degen- 
 erate men. Speak not of our prosperity. Better be 
 one of a poor people, plain in manners, revering 
 God and respecting themselves, than belong to a 
 rich country which knows no higher good than 
 riches. 
 
 Of this country I may say with peculiar emphasis 
 
194 THE CHRISTIAN PATRIOT 
 
 that its happiness is bound up in its virtue. On this 
 our union can alone stand firm. 
 
 On Spiritual Freedom, p. 185. 
 
 147. Intellectual Culture is Indispensable to a 
 Country's Greatness 
 
 We maintain that a people which has any serious 
 purpose of taking a place among improved commun- 
 ities, should studiously promote within itself every 
 variety of intellectual exertion. It should resolve 
 strenuously to be surpassed by none. It should feel 
 that mind is the creative power through which all the 
 resources of nature are to be turned to account, and 
 by which a people is to spread its influence, and estab- 
 lish the noblest form of empire. It should train within 
 itself men able to understand and to use whatever is 
 thought and discovered over the whole earth. ‘The 
 whole mass of human knowledge should exist among 
 a people, not in neglected libraries, but in its higher 
 minds. Among its most cherished institutions should 
 be those which will ensure to it ripe scholars, explor- 
 ers of ancient learning, profound historians and math- 
 ematicians, intellectual laborers devoted to physical 
 and moral science, and to the creation of a refined and 
 beautiful literature. 
 
 Let us not be misunderstood. We have no desire 
 to rear in our country a race of pedants, of solemn 
 triflers, of laborious commentators on the mysteries 
 of a Greek accent or a rusty coin. We would have 
 men explore antiquity, not to bury themselves in its 
 dust, but to learn its spirit, and so to commune with 
 its superior minds as to accumulate on the present age 
 
THE CHRISTIAN PATRIOT 195 
 
 the influences of whatever was great and wise in for- 
 mer times. What we want is, that those among us 
 whom God has gifted to comprehend whatever is now 
 known, and to rise to new truths, may find aids and 
 institutions to fit them for their high calling, and may 
 become at once springs of a higher intellectual life 
 to their own country, and joint workers with the great 
 of all nations and times in carrying forward their 
 race. 
 On National Literature, p. 130. 
 
 148. The Great Question Is, Does a Country 
 Produce Noble Men? 
 
 The great distinction of a country, then, is, that it 
 produces superior men. Its natural advantages are 
 not to be disdained. But they are of secondary im- 
 portance. No matter what races of animals a country 
 breeds, the great question is, Does it breed a noble 
 race of men? No matter what its soil may be, the 
 great question is, How far is it prolific of moral and 
 intellectual power? No matter how stern its climate 
 is, if it nourish force of thought and virtuous purpose. 
 These are the products by which a country is to be 
 tried, and institutions have value only by the impulse 
 which they give to the mind. It has sometimes been 
 said that the noblest men grow where nothing else 
 will grow. ‘This we do not believe, for mind is not 
 the creature of climate or soil. But were it true, we 
 should say that it were better to live among rocks 
 and sands than in the most genial and productive re- 
 gion on the face of the earth. 
 
 On National Literature, p. 124. 
 
THE MISSION OF AMERICA 
 
 149. The Promise of America’s Greatness 
 
 When we look forward to the probable growth of 
 this country; when we think of the millions of human 
 beings who are to spread over our present territory; 
 of the career of improvement and glory opened to 
 this new people; of the impulse which free institu- 
 tions, if prosperous, may be expected to give to phi- 
 losophy, religion, science, literature, and arts; of the 
 vast field in which the experiment is to be made, of 
 what the unfettered powers of man may achieve; of 
 the bright page of history which our fathers have 
 filled, and of the advantages under which their toils 
 and virtues have placed us for carrying on their work; 
 —when we think of all this, can we help, for a mo- 
 ment, surrendering ourselves to bright visions of our 
 country’s glory, before which all the glories of the 
 past are to fade away? Is it presumption to say that, 
 if just to ourselves and all nations, we shall be felt 
 through this whole continent, that we shall spread 
 our language, institutions, and civilization through a 
 wider space than any nation has yet filled with a like 
 beneficent influence? And are we prepared to barter 
 these hopes, this sublime moral empire, for conquests 
 by force? Are we prepared to sink to the level of un- 
 principled nations, to content ourselves with a vulgar, 
 guilty greatness, to adopt in our youth maxims and 
 
 196 
 
THE MISSION OF AMERICA 197 
 
 ends which must brand our future with sordidness, op- 
 pression, and shame? This country cannot without 
 peculiar infamy run the common race of national ra- 
 pacity. Our origin, institutions, and position are pe- 
 culiar, and all favor an upright, honorable course. 
 We have not the apologies cf nations hemmed in by 
 narrow bounds, or threatened by the overshadowing 
 power of ambitious neighbors. If we surrender our- 
 selves to a selfish policy, we shall sin almost without 
 temptation, and forfeit opportunities of greatness 
 vouchsafed to no other people, for a prize below con- 
 tempt. 
 On the Annexation of Texas, p. 776. 
 
 150. The Rights of the Individual in America 
 
 The views of human rights, which pervade and 
 light up our history, may be expressed in one word. 
 They are summed up in respect for the individual 
 man. In all other countries the man has been ob- 
 scured, overpowered by rulers, merged in the state, 
 made a means or tool. Here every man has been 
 recognized as having rights on which no one can 
 trench without crime. ‘The nation has recognized, 
 something greater than the nation’s prosperity, than 
 outward, material interests; and that is, individual 
 right. In our Revolution a dignity was seen in human 
 nature; a generous confidence was placed in men. It 
 was believed that they would attain to greater noble- 
 ness by being left to govern themselves; that they 
 would attain to greater piety by being left to worship 
 God according to their own convictions; that they 
 would attain to greater energy of intellect, and to 
 
198 THE MISSION OF AMERICA 
 
 higher truths, by being left to freedom of thought and 
 utterance, than by the wisest forms of arbitrary rule. 
 It was believed that a universal expansion of the 
 higher faculties was to be secured by increasing men’s 
 responsibilities, by giving them higher interests to 
 watch over, by throwing them very much on them- 
 selves. Such is the grand idea which lies at the root 
 of our institutions; such the fundamental doctrines 
 of the political creed into which we have all been 
 baptized. 
 The Duty of the Free States, p. S39. 
 
 151. America’s Mission of Philanthropy to the World 
 
 A great element of a nation’s honor is a spirit of 
 philanthropy. A people ought to regard itself as a 
 member of the human family, and as bound to bear 
 part in the work of human improvement and happi- 
 ness. The obligation of benevolence, belonging to 
 men as individuals, belongs to them in their associated 
 capacities. We have, indeed, no right to form an 
 association of whatever kind, which severs us from 
 the human race. I care not though men of loose 
 principles scoff at the idea of a nation respecting the 
 claims of humanity. Duty is eternal, and too high 
 for human mockery; and this duty in particular, so 
 far from being a dream, has been reduced to practice. 
 Our own country, in framing its first treaties, proposed 
 to insert an article prohibiting privateering; and this 
 it did in the spirit of humanity, to diminish the crimes 
 and miseries of war. England, from philanthropy, 
 abolished the slave-trade and slavery. No nation 
 stands alone; and each is bound to consecrate its in- 
 
THE MISSION OF AMERICA _199 
 
 fluence to the promotion of equitable, pacific, and be- 
 neficent relations among all countries, and to the dif- 
 fusion of more liberal principles of intercourse and 
 national law. ‘This country is intrusted by God with 
 a mission for humanity. Its office is to commend to 
 all nations free institutions, as the sources of public 
 prosperity and personal dignity; and I trust we desire 
 to earn the thanks and honor of nations by fidelity to 
 our trust. A people reckless of the interest of the 
 world, and profligately selfish in its policy, incurs far 
 deeper disgrace than by submission to wrongs; and 
 whenever it is precipitated into war by its cupidity, its 
 very victories become monuments of its guilt, and de- 
 serve the execration of present and coming times. 
 
 On War (1835) p. 660. 
 
 152. Our National Wealth Endangers our Ideals 
 
 In one respect our institutions have disappointed us 
 all. ‘They have not wrought out for us that elevation 
 of character which is the most precious, and, in truth, 
 the only substantial blessing of liberty. Our progress 
 in prosperity has indeed been the wonder of the world; 
 but this prosperity has done much to counteract the 
 ennobling influence of free institutions. ‘The peculiar 
 circumstances of the country and of our times have 
 poured in upon us a torrent of wealth; and human na- 
 ture has not been strong enough for the assault of 
 such severe temptation. Prosperity has become 
 dearer than freedom. Government is regarded more 
 as a means of enriching the country than of securing 
 private rights. We have become wedded to gain as 
 our chief good. That, under the predominance of 
 
200 THE MISSION OF AMERICA 
 
 this degrading passion, the higher virtues, the moral 
 independence, the simplicity of manners, the stern up- 
 rightness, the self-reverence, the respect for man as 
 man, which are the ornaments and safeguards of a 
 republic, should wither, and give place to selfish cal- 
 culation and indulgence, to show and: extravagance, to 
 anxious, envious, discontented strivings, to wild ad- 
 venture, and to the gambling spirit of speculation, will 
 surprise no one who has studied human nature. ‘The 
 invasion of Texas by our citizens is a mournful com- 
 ment on our national morality. Whether, without 
 some fiery trial, some signal prostration of our pros- 
 perity, we can rise to the force and self-denial of free- 
 men, is a question not easily solved. 
 
 On the Annexation of Texas, p. 774. 
 
 153. Imperialistic Expansion an Imminent Peril 
 
 Did this country know itself, or were it disposed to 
 profit by self-knowledge, it would feel the necessity of 
 laying an immediate curb on its passion for extended 
 territory. It would not trust itself to new acquisi- 
 tions. It would shrink from the temptation to con- 
 quest. We are a restless people, prone to encroach- 
 ment, impatient of the ordinary laws of progress, less 
 anxious to consolidate and perfect than to extend our 
 institutions, more ambitious of spreading ourselves 
 over a wide space than of diffusing beauty and fruit- 
 fulness over a narrower field. We boast of our rapid 
 erowth, forgetting that throughout nature noble 
 growths are slow. Our people throw themselves be- 
 yond the bounds of civilization, and expose themselves 
 to relapses into a semi-barbarous state, under the im- 
 
THE MISSION OF AMERICA 201 
 
 pulse of wild imagination, and for the name of great 
 possessions. Perhaps there is no people on earth on 
 whom the ties of local attachment sit so loosely. 
 Even the wandering tribes of Scythia are bound to one 
 spot, the graves of their fathers; but the homes and 
 graves of our fathers detain us feebly. The known 
 and familiar is often abandoned for the distant and 
 untrodden; and sometimes the untrodden is not the 
 less eagerly desired because belonging to others. We 
 owe this spirit, in a measure, to our descent from men 
 who left the Old World for the New, the seats of 
 ancient cultivation for a wilderness, and who advanced 
 by driving before them the old occupants of the soil. 
 To this spirit we have sacrificed justice and humanity; 
 and, through its ascendency, the records of this young 
 nation are stained with atrocities at which communities 
 grown gray in corruption might blush. 
 
 It is full time that we should lay on ourselves ser- 
 ious, resolute restraint. Possessed of a domain vast 
 enough for the growth of ages, it is time for us to 
 stop in the career of acquisition and conquest. A\l- 
 ready endangered by our greatness, we cannot advance 
 without imminent peril to our institutions, union, pros- 
 perity, virtue, and peace. 
 
 On the Annexation of Texas, p. 760. 
 
 154. 4 Moral Interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine 
 
 Is the time never to come when the neighborhood of 
 a more powerful and civilized people will prove a 
 blessing, instead of a curse, to an inferior community ? 
 It was my hope, when the Spanish colonies of this 
 continent separated themselves from the mother coun- 
 
*202 THE MISSION OF AMERICA 
 
 try, and, in admiration of the United States, adopted 
 republican institutions, that they were to find in us 
 friends to their freedom, helpers to their civilization. 
 If ever a people were placed by Providence in a con- 
 dition to do good to a neighboring state, we of this 
 country sustained such a relation to Mexico. ‘That 
 nation, inferior in science, arts, agriculture, and legis- 
 lation, looked to us with a generous trust. She opened 
 her ports and territories to our farmers, mechanics, 
 and merchants. We might have conquered her by the 
 only honorable arms,—by the force of superior intel- 
 ligence, industry, and morality. We might silently 
 have poured in upon her our improvements, and by the 
 infusion of our population have assimilated her to our- 
 selves. Justice, good-will, and profitable intercourse 
 might have cemented a lasting friendship. And what 
 is now the case? A deadly hatred burns in Mexico 
 towards this country. No stronger national sentiment 
 now binds her scattered provinces together than dread 
 and detestation of republican America. She is ready 
 to attach herself to Europe for defence from the 
 United States. All the moral power which we might 
 have gained over Mexico we have thrown away; and 
 suspicion, dread, and abhorrence have supplanted re- 
 spect and trust. 
 
 I am aware that these remarks are met by a vicious 
 reasoning, which discredits a people among whom it 
 finds favor. It is sometimes said that nations are 
 swayed by laws as unfailing as those which govern 
 matter; that they have their destinies; that their char- 
 acter and position carry them forward irresistibly to 
 their goal; that the stationary Turk must sink under 
 
THE MISSION OF AMERICA 203 
 
 the progressive civilization of Russia, as inevitably as 
 the crumbling edifice falls to the earth; that, by a like 
 necessity, the Indians have melted before the white 
 man, and the mixed, degraded race of Mexico must 
 melt before the Anglo-Saxon. Away with this vile 
 sophistry! There is no necessity for crime. ‘There is 
 no fate to justify rapacious nations, any more than to 
 justify gamblers and robbers in plunder. We 
 boast of the progress of society, and this progress 
 consists in the substitution of reason and moral prin- 
 ciple for the sway of brute force. It is true that more 
 civilized must always exert a great power over less 
 civilized communities in their neighborhood. But it 
 may and should be a power to enlighten and improve, 
 not to crush and destroy. 
 On the Annexation of Texas, p. 762. 
 
 155. Freedom of Speech and of the Press 
 the Bulwark of Liberty 
 
 Freedom of opinion, of speech, and of the press, is 
 our most valuable privilege, the very soul of repub- 
 lican institutions, the safeguard of all other rights. 
 We may learn its value if we reflect that there is noth- 
 ing which tyrants so much dread. ‘They anxiously fet- 
 ter the press; they scatter spies through society, that 
 the murmurs, anguish, and indignation of their op- 
 pressed subjects may be smothered in their own breasts; 
 that no generous sentiment may be nourished by 
 sympathy and mutual confidence. Nothing awakens 
 and improves men so much as free communciation of 
 thoughts and feelings. Nothing can give to public 
 sentiment that correctness which is essential to the 
 
204. THE MISSION OF AMERICA 
 
 prosperity of a commonwealth but the free circulation 
 of truth from the lips and pens of the wise and good. 
 If such men abandon the right of free discussion; if, 
 awed by threats, they suppress their convictions; if 
 rulers succeed in silencing every voice but that which 
 approves them; if nothing reaches the people but what 
 would lend support to men in power,—farewell to 
 liberty. The form of a free government may remain, 
 but the life, the soul, the substance is fled. 
 
 If these remarks be just, nothing ought to excite 
 greater indignation and alarm than the attempts which 
 have lately been made to destroy the freedom of the 
 press. We have lived to hear the strange doctrine, 
 that to expose the measures of rulers is treason; and 
 we have lived to see this doctrine carried into practice. 
 We have seen a savage populace excited and let loose 
 on men whose crime consisted in bearing testimony 
 against the present war; and let loose not merely to 
 waste their property, but to tear them from the refuge 
 which the magistrate had afforded, and to shed their 
 blood. In this, and in other events, there have been 
 symptoms of a purpose to terrify into silence those 
 who disapprove the calamitous war under which we 
 suffer; to deprive us of the only method which is left 
 of obtaining a wiser and better government. ‘The 
 cry has been that war is declared, and all opposition 
 should therefore be hushed. A sentiment more un- 
 worthy of a free country can hardly be propagated. 
 If this doctrine be admitted, rulers have only to de- 
 clare war, and they are screened at once from scrutiny. 
 At the very time when they have armies at command, 
 when their patronage is most extended, and their 
 
THE MISSION OF AMERICA 205 
 
 power most formidable, not a word of warning, of cen- 
 sure, of alarm must be heard. ‘The press, which is 
 to expose inferior abuses, must not utter one rebuke, 
 one indignant complaint, although our best interests 
 and most valuable rights are put to hazard by an un- 
 necessary war! Admit this doctrine, let rulers once 
 know that, by placing the country in a state of war, 
 they place themselves beyond the only power they 
 dread,—the power of free discussion,—and we may 
 expect war without end. Our peace and all our inter- 
 ests require that a different sentiment should prevail. 
 We should teach our present and all future rulers that 
 there is no measure for which they must render so 
 solemn an account to their constituents as for a dec- 
 laration of war; that no measure will be so freely, so 
 fully discussed; and that no administration can suc- 
 ceed in persuading this people to exhaust their treas- 
 ure and blood in supporting war, unless it be palpably 
 necessary and just. In war, then, as in peace, assert 
 the freedom of speech and of the press. Cling to 
 this as the bulwark of all your rights and privileges. 
 The Duties of Citizens, p. 682. 
 
 156. Have Faith and Patience 
 
 We all know that it is through errors, sins, and 
 sufferings that the individual makes progress; and so 
 does a people. A nation cannot learn to govern it- 
 self in a day. New institutions conferring great 
 power on a people open a door to many and great 
 abuses, from which nothing but the slow and painful 
 discipline of experience can bring deliverance. After 
 all, there is a growing intelligence in this community; 
 
206 THE MISSION OF AMERICA 
 
 there is much domestic virtue, there is a deep working 
 of Christianity; there is going on a struggle of higher 
 truths with narrow traditions, and of a wider benevo- 
 lence with social evils; there is a spirit of freedom, a 
 recognition of the equal rights of men; there are pro- 
 found impulses received from our history, from the 
 virtues of our fathers, and especially from our revo- 
 lutionary conflict. 
 
 There is one duty of the free States of which I have 
 not spoken; it is the duty of faith in the intellectual and 
 moral energies of the country, in its high destiny, and 
 in the good Providence which has guided it through so 
 many trials and perils to its present greatness. We 
 indeed suffer much, and deserve to suffer more. 
 Many dark pages are to be written in our history. 
 But generous seed is still sown in this nation’s mind. 
 Noble impulses are working here. We are called to 
 be witnesses to the world of a freer, more equal, more 
 humane, more enlightened social existence than has 
 yet been known. May God raise us to a more thor- 
 ough comprehension of our work! May he give us 
 faith in the good which we are summoned to achieve! 
 May he strengthen us to build up a prosperity not 
 tainted by slavery, selfishness, or any wrong; but pure, 
 innocent, righteous, and overflowing, through a just 
 and generous intercourse, on all the nations of the 
 earth! 
 
 The Duty of the Free States, p. 905. 
 
THE GOOD) CIEIZEN 
 157. A Description of a Happy Community 
 
 How plain is the social destination of man! born, 
 as he is, into the arms of love, sustained from the be- 
 ginning by human kindness, endowed with speech, and 
 plunged among fellow-beings to whose feelings he can- 
 not but respond, into whose hearts he yearns to pour 
 his own, and whose rights, feelings, and interests are 
 commended to his regard by a law of love and justice 
 written within him by a divine hand. Can we ask why 
 such beings are gathered into cities? Is it not that 
 they should propose a common weal? Is it not that 
 they should desire and seek each other’s highest good? 
 What is the happiest community? What the city 
 which should be chosen above all others as our home? 
 It is that the members of which form one body, in 
 which no class seeks a monopoly of honor or good, in 
 which no class is a prey to others, in which there is 
 a general desire that every human being may have op- 
 portunity to develop his powers. What is the happi- 
 est community? It is not that in which the goods of 
 life are accumulated in a few hands, in which prop- 
 erty sinks a great gulf between different ranks, in which 
 one portion of society swells with pride and the other 
 is broken in spirit; but a community in which labor 
 is respected, and the means of comfort and improve- 
 ment are liberally diffused. It is not a community in 
 
 207 
 
208 THE GOOD CITIZEN 
 
 which intelligence is developed in a few, whilst the 
 many are given up to ignorance, superstition, and a 
 gross animal existence; but one in which the mind is 
 so reverenced in every condition that the opportuni- 
 ties of its culture are afforded to all. It is a commun- 
 ity in which religion is not used to break the many 
 into subjection, but is dispensed even to the poorest, to 
 rescue them from the degrading influence of poverty, 
 to give them generous sentiments and hopes, to exalt 
 them from animals into men, into Christians, into 
 children of God. ‘This is a happy community, where 
 human nature is held in honor; where, to rescue it 
 from ignorance and crime, to give it an impulse to- 
 wards knowledge, virtue, and happiness, is thought the 
 chief end of the social union. 
 
 On Joseph Tuckerman, p. 579. 
 158. The Greatest Thing in a City is Man Himself 
 
 It is a plain truth, and yet how little understood! 
 that the greatest thing in a city is man himself. He 
 is its end. We admire its palaces; but the mechanic 
 who builds them is greater than palaces. Human 
 nature, in its lowest form, in the most abject child of 
 want, is of more worth than all outward improve- 
 ments. You talk of the prosperity of your city. I 
 know but one true prosperity. Does the human soul 
 grow and prosper here? Do not point me to your 
 thronged streets. I ask, Who throng them? Is it a 
 low-minded, self-seeking, gold-worshipping, man- 
 despising crowd, which I see rushing through them? 
 Do I meet in them, under the female form, the gayly- 
 
THE GOOD CITIZEN 209 
 
 decked prostitute, or the idle, wasteful, aimless, profit- 
 less woman of fashion? Do I meet the young man 
 showing off his pretty person as the perfection of na- 
 ture’s works, wasting his golden hours in dissipation 
 and sloth, and bearing in his countenance and gaze the 
 marks of a profligate? Do I meet a grasping multi- 
 tude, seeking to thrive by concealments and frauds? 
 an anxious multitude, driven by fear of want to doubt- 
 ful means of gain? an unfeeling multitude, caring noth- 
 ing for others, if they may themselves prosper or en- 
 joy? In the neighborhood of your comfortable or 
 splendid dwellings are there abodes of squalid misery, 
 of reckless crime, of bestial intemperance, of half- 
 famished childhood, of profaneness, of dissoluteness, 
 of temptation for thoughtless youth? And are these 
 multiplying with your prosperity, and outstripping and 
 neutralizing the influences of truth and virtue? ‘Then 
 your prosperity is a vain show. Its true use is, to 
 make a better people. The glory and happiness of a 
 city consist not in the number, but the character, of 
 its population. Of all the fine arts in a city, the grand- 
 est is the art of forming noble specimens of humanity. 
 The costliest productions of our manufactures are 
 cheap compared with a wise and good human being. 
 A city which should practically adopt the principle, 
 that man is worth more than wealth or show, would 
 gain an impulse that would place it at the head of 
 cities. A city in which men should be trained worthy 
 of the name would become the metropolis of the earth. 
 On Joseph Tuckerman, p. 580. 
 
210 THE GOOD CITIZEN 
 
 159. Our Personal Interest in the Moral State of 
 Our City 
 
 We defeat ourselves, when we neglect the moral 
 state of the city where we live, under pretence of car- 
 ing for our families. How little may it profit you, 
 my friends, that you labor at home, if in the next 
 street, amidst haunts of vice, the incendiary, the thief, 
 the ruffian, is learning his lesson or preparing his in- 
 struments of destruction! How little may it profit 
 you that you are striving to educate your children, if 
 around you the children of others are neglected, are 
 contaminated with evil principles or impure passions! 
 Where is it that our sons often receive the most 
 powerful impulses? In the street, at school, from 
 associates. ‘heir ruin may be sealed by a young fe- 
 male brought up in the haunts of vice. Their first 
 oaths may be echoes of profaneness which they hear 
 from the sons of the abandoned. What is the great 
 obstruction to our efforts for educating our children? 
 It is the corruption around us. That corruption steals 
 into our homes, and neutralizes the influence of home. 
 We hope to keep our little circle pure amidst general 
 impurity. This is like striving to keep our particular 
 houses healthy, when infection is raging around us. 
 If an accumulation of filth in our neighborhood were 
 sending forth foul stench and pestilential vapors on 
 every side, we should not plead, as a reason for letting 
 it remain, that we were striving to prevent a like ac- 
 cumulation within our own doors. Disease would not 
 less certainly invade us because the source of it was 
 not prepared by ourselves. The infection of moral evil 
 is as perilous as that of the plague. We have a per- 
 
THE GOOD CITIZEN 211 
 
 sonal interest in the prevalence of order and good 
 principles on every side. If any member of the social 
 body suffer, all must suffer with it. 
 
 Joseph Tuckerman, p. 582. 
 
 160. The Impartial Administration of Law Vital 
 to National Well-being 
 
 The impartial administration of a good code of 
 laws is the grand result, the paramount good, to which 
 all political arrangements should be subordinate. ‘The 
 reign of justice, which is the reign of rights and liberty, 
 is the great boon we should ask from the state. The 
 judicial is the highest function. The chief justice 
 should rank before king or president. The pomp of 
 a palace may be dispensed with; but every imposing 
 solemnity consistent with the simplicity of our manners 
 should be combined in the hall where the laws which 
 secure every man’s rights are administered. ‘To ac- 
 complish the great end of government, nothing is so 
 important as to secure the impartiality and moral in- 
 dependence of judges; and for this end they should be 
 appointed for life, subject to removal only for viola- 
 tion of duty. This is essential. A judge should not 
 hang on the smiles of king or people. In him the peo- 
 ple should erect a power above their own temporary 
 will. There ought to be in the state something to rep- 
 resent the majesty of that stable, everlasting law to 
 which all alike should bow; some power above the 
 sordid interests, and aloof from the struggles and 
 intrigues of ordinary public life. “The dependence of 
 the judge on the breath of party or the fleeting pas- 
 sions of the people is a deformity in the state, for 
 
ify, THE GOOD CITIZEN 
 
 which no other excellence in popular institutions can 
 make compensation. The grandest spectacle in this 
 country is the judiciary power, raised by the people to 
 independence of parties and temporary majorities, tak- 
 ing as its first guide the national charter, the funda- 
 mental law, which no parties can touch, which stands 
 like a rock amidst the fluctuations of opinion, and 
 determining by this the validity of the laws enacted by 
 transient legislatures. 
 
 On the Duty of the Free States, p. S96. 
 161. Mob Rule a Denial of Freedom 
 
 Let every friend of freedom, let every good man, 
 lift up his voice against mobs. Through these lies 
 our road to tyranny. It is these which have spread 
 the opinion, so common at the South, that the free 
 States cannot long sustain republican institutions. No 
 man seems awake to their inconsistency with liberty. 
 Mobs call themselves, and are called, the people, when 
 in truth they assail immediately the sovereignty of 
 the people, when they involve the guilt of usurpation 
 and rebellion against the people. It is the funda- 
 mental principle of our institutions, that the people is 
 sovereign. But by the people we mean not an indi- 
 vidual here and there, not a knot of twenty or a hun- 
 dred or a thousand individuals in this or that spot, but 
 the community formed into a body politic, and express- 
 ing and executing its will through regularly appointed 
 organs. ‘There is but one expression of the will or soy- 
 ereignty of the people, and that is law. Law is the 
 voice, the living act, of the people. It has no other. 
 When an individual suspends the operation of law, 
 
THE GOOD CITIZEN DUR 
 
 resists its established ministers, and forcibly substitutes 
 for it his own will, he is a usurper and rebel. ‘The 
 same guilt attaches to a combination of individuals. 
 These, whether many or few, in forcibly superseding 
 public law and establishing their own, rise up against 
 the people as truly as a single usurper. The people 
 should assert its insulted majesty, its menaced sover- 
 eignty, in one case as decidedly as in the other. ‘The 
 difference between the mob and the individual is, that 
 the usurpation of the latter has a permanence not 
 easily given to the tumultuary movements of the 
 former. ‘The distinction is a weighty one. Little im- 
 portance is due to sudden bursts of the populace, be- 
 cause they so soon pass away. But when mobs are 
 organized, as in the French Revolution, or when they 
 are deliberately resolved on and systematically re- 
 sorted to, as the means of putting down an odious 
 party, they lose this apology. A conspiracy exists 
 against the sovereignty of the people, and ought to be 
 suppressed, as among the chief evils of the state. 
 
 On Slavery, p. 736. 
 
 162. Lawlessness a Shame and Threat to Society 
 
 A spirit of lawlessness pervades the community, 
 which, if not repressed, threatens the dissolution of 
 our present forms of society. Even in the old States, 
 mobs are taking the government into their hands, and 
 a profligate newspaper finds little difficulty in stirring 
 up multitudes to violence. Men take under their own 
 protection the rights which it is the very office of 
 government to secure. ‘The citizen, wearing arms as 
 means of defence, carries with him perpetual proofs of 
 
214 THE GOOD CITIZEN 
 
 the weakness of the authorities under which he lives. 
 The substitution of self-constituted tribunals for the 
 regular course of justice, and the infliction of imme- 
 diate punishment in the moment of popular frenzy, 
 are symptoms of a people half reclaimed from barba- 
 rism. I know not that any civilized country on earth 
 has exhibited during the last year a spectacle so atro- 
 cious as the burning of a colored man by a slow fire; 
 and this infernal sacrifice was offered not by a few 
 fiends selected from the whole country, but by a crowd 
 gathered from a single spot. Add to all this, the in- 
 vasions of the rights of speech and of the press by 
 lawless force, the extent and toleration of which oblige 
 us to believe that a considerable portion of our citizens 
 have no comprehension of the first principles of lib- 
 CLL. 
 On the Annexation of Texas, p. 775. 
 
 163. The Value and Power of an Upright 
 Newspaper 
 
 I cannot easily conceive of a greater good to a city 
 than the establishment of a newspaper by men of su- 
 perior ability and moral independence, who should 
 judge all parties and public measures by the standard 
 of the Christian law, who should uncompromisingly 
 speak the truth, and adhere to the right, who should 
 make it their steady aim to form a just and lofty public 
 sentiment, and who should at the same time give to up- 
 right and honorable men an opportunity of making 
 known their opinions on matters of general interest, 
 however opposed to the opinions and passions of the 
 day. In the present stage of society, when newspapers 
 
THE, GOOD CITIZEN 215 
 
 form the reading of all classes, and the chief reading 
 of multitudes, the importance of the daily press can- 
 not be overrated. It is one of the mightiest instru- 
 ments at work among us. It may and should take 
 rank among the most effectual means of social order 
 and improvement. It is a power which should be 
 wielded by the best minds in the community. The of- 
 fice of editor is one of solemn responsibility, and the 
 community should encourage the most gifted and virtu- 
 ous men to assume it, by liberally recompensing their 
 labor, and by according to them that freedom of 
 thought and speech without which no mind puts forth 
 all its vigor, and which the highest minds rank among 
 their dearest rights and blessings. 
 The Abolitionists, p. 751. 
 
AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM 
 TOA! The Moral Sentiment of the World against War 
 
 The abolition of war, is no longer to be set down as 
 a creation of fancy, a dream of enthusiastic philan- 
 thropy. War rests on opinion; and opinion is more 
 and more withdrawing its support. War rests on 
 contempt of human nature; on the long, mournful 
 habit of regarding the mass of human beings as ma- 
 chines, or as animals having no higher use than to be 
 shot at and murdered for the glory of a chief, for 
 the seating of this or that family on a throne, for 
 the petty interests or selfish rivalries which have in- 
 flamed states to conflict. Let the worth of a human 
 being be felt; let the mass of a people be elevated; 
 let it be understood that a man was made to enjoy in- 
 alienable rights, to improve lofty powers, to secure 
 a vast happiness; and a main pillar of war will fall. 
 And is it not plain that these views are taking place 
 of the contempt in which man has so long been held? 
 War finds another support in the prejudices and par- 
 tialities of a narrow patriotism. Let the great Chris- 
 tian principle of human brotherhood be comprehended, 
 let the Christian spirit of universal love gain ground, 
 and just so fast the custom of war, so long the pride 
 of men, will become their abhorrence and execration. 
 
 It is encouraging to see how outward events are con- 
 216 
 
AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM 217 
 
 curring with the influences of Christianity in promot- 
 ing peace; how an exclusive nationality is yielding to 
 growing intercourse; how different nations, by mutual 
 visits, by the interchange of thoughts and products, by 
 studying one another’s language and literature, by 
 union of efforts in the cause of religion and humanity, 
 are growing up to the consciousness of belonging to 
 one great family. Every railroad, connecting distant 
 regions, may be regarded as accomplishing a ministry 
 of peace. Every year which passes without war, by 
 interweaving more various ties of interest and friend- 
 ship, is a pledge of coming years of peace. 
 
 The Philanthropist, p. 605. 
 165. “Must the Sword Devour For Ever?” 
 
 “Must the sword devour for ever?’ Must force, 
 fear, pain, always rule the world? Is the kingdom 
 of God, the reign of truth, duty, and love never to 
 prevail? Must the sacred name of brethrén be only 
 a name among men? Must the divinity in man’s na- 
 ture never be recognized with veneration? Is the 
 earth always to steam with human blood shed by man’s 
 hands, and to echo with groans wrung from hearts 
 which violence has pierced? ‘Can you and I, my 
 friends, do nothing, nothing to impress a different 
 character on the future history of our race? You 
 say we are weak; and why weak? It is from inward 
 defect, not from outward necessity. We are inefh- 
 cient abroad, because faint within,—faint in love, and 
 trust, and holy resolution. Inward power always 
 comes forth, and works without. Noah Worcester, 
 enfeebled in body, was not weak. George Fox, poor 
 
218 AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM 
 
 and uneducated, was not weak. They had light and 
 life within, and therefore were strong abroad. Their 
 spirits were stirred by Christ’s truth and spirit; and, 
 so moved, they spoke and were heard. We are dead, 
 and therefore cannot act. Perhaps we speak against 
 war; but if we speak from tradition, if we echo what 
 we hear, if peace be a cant on our lips, our words are 
 unmeaning air. Our own souls must bleed when our 
 brethren are slaughtered. We must feel the infinite 
 wrong done to man by the brute force which treads 
 him in the dust. We must see in the authors of un- 
 just, selfish, ambitious, revengeful wars, monsters in 
 human form, incarnations of the dread enemy of the 
 human race. Under the inspiration of such feelings, 
 we shall speak, even the humblest of us, with some- 
 thing of prophetic force. This is the power which 
 is to strike awe into the counsellors and perpetrators 
 of now licensed murder; which is to wither the lau- 
 relled brow of now worshipped heroes. Deep moral 
 convictions, unfeigned reverence and fervent love for 
 man, and living faith in Christ, are mightier than ar- 
 mies; mighty through God to the pulling down of 
 the strongholds of oppression and war. Go forth, 
 then, friends of mankind, peaceful soldiers of Christ! 
 and in your various relations, at home and abroad, in 
 private life, and, if it may be, in more public spheres, 
 give faithful utterance to the principles of universal 
 justice and love, give utterance to your deep, solemn, 
 irreconcilable hatred of the spirit of war. 
 
 Duties of the Citizen, p. 678, 679. 
 
AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM 219 
 
 166. The Presumption against the Justice and 
 Necessity of War 
 
 The presumption is always against the justice and 
 necessity of war. This we learn from the spirit of 
 all rulers and nations towards foreign states. It is 
 partial, unjust. Individuals may be disinterested; but 
 nations have no feeling of the tie of brotherhood to 
 their race. A base selfishness is the principle on which 
 the affairs of nations are commonly conducted. A 
 statesman is expected to take advantage of the weak- 
 nesses and wants of other countries. How loose a 
 morality governs the intercourse of states! What 
 falsehoods and intrigues are licensed diplomacy! 
 What nation regards another with true friend- 
 ship? What nation makes sacrifices to another’s 
 good? What nation is as anxious to perform its du- 
 ties as to assert its rights? What nation chooses to 
 suffer wrong, rather than to inflict it? What nation 
 lays down the everlasting law of right, casts itself fear- 
 lessly on its principles, and chooses to be poor or 
 to perish rather than to do wrong? ‘Can communities 
 so selfish, so unfriendly, so unprincipled, so unjust, be 
 expected to wake righteous wars? Especially if with 
 this selfishness are joined national prejudices, antip- 
 athies, and exasperated passions, what else can be ex- 
 pected in the public policy but inhumanity and crime? 
 An individual, we know, cannot be trusted in his own 
 cause, to measure his own claims, to avenge his own 
 wrongs; and the civil magistrate, an impartial umpire, 
 has been substituted as the only means of justice. But 
 nations are even more unfit than individuals to judge 
 
220 AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM 
 
 in their own cause; more prone to push their rights 
 to excess, and to trample on the rights of others; be- 
 cause nations are crowds, and crowds are unawed by 
 opinion, and more easily inflamed by sympathy into 
 madness. Is there not, then, always a presumption 
 against the Justice of war? 
 
 On War (1838), p. 676. 
 
 167. To Question the Justice of a War is Our 
 Duty and Our Right 
 
 I know it will be asked, ‘‘And is not the citizen 
 bound to fight at the call of his government? Does 
 not his commission absolve him from the charge of 
 murder or enormous crime? Is not obedience to the 
 sovereign power the very foundation on which society 
 rests?’ I answer, “Has the duty of obeying govern- 
 ment no bounds? Is the human sovereign a God? 
 Is his sovereignty absolute? If he command you to 
 slay a parent, must you obey? If he forbid you to 
 worship God, must you obey? Have you no right to 
 judge his acts? Have you no self-direction? Is there 
 no unchangeable right which the ruler cannot touch? 
 Is there no higher standard than human law?”’ ‘These 
 questions answer themselves. A declaration of war 
 cannot sanction wrong, or turn murder into a virtu- 
 ous deed. Undoubtedly, as a general rule, the citizen 
 is bound to obey the authorities under which he lives. 
 No difference of opinion as to the mere expediency of 
 measures will warrant opposition. Even in cases of 
 doubtful right he may submit his judgment to the law. 
 But when called to do what his conscience clearly pro- 
 nounces wrong, he must not waver. No outward law 
 
AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM 221 
 
 is so sacred as the voice of God in his own breast. 
 He cannot devolve on rulers an act so solemn as the 
 destruction of fellow-beings convicted of no offence. 
 For no act will more solemn inquisition be made at the 
 bar of God.. 
 
 I maintain that the citizen, before fighting, is bound 
 to inquire into the justice of the cause which he is called 
 to maintain with blood, and bound to withhold his 
 hand if his conscience condemn the cause. On this 
 point he is able to judge. No political question, in- 
 deed, can be determined so easily as this of war. War 
 can be justified only by plain, palpable necessity; by 
 unquestionable wrongs, which, as patient trial has 
 proved, can in no other way be redressed; by the ob- 
 stinate, persevering invasion of solemn and unques- 
 tionable rights. ‘The justice of war is not a mystery 
 for cabinets to solve. It is not a state secret which 
 we must take on trust. It lies within our reach. We 
 are bound to examine it. 
 
 On War (1838), p. 675. 
 
 168. Conscientious Objection to War is Justifiable 
 
 Undoubtedly it will be objected, that if one law of 
 the state may in any way be resisted, then all may be, 
 and so government must fall. This is precisely the 
 argument on which the doctrine of passive obedience 
 to the worst tyrannies rests. The absolutionist says, 
 “If one government may be overturned, none can 
 stand. Your right of revolution is nothing but the 
 right of anarchy, of universal misrule.” ‘The reply 
 is in both instances the same. Extreme cases speak 
 for themselves. We must put confidence in the 
 
222 AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM 
 
 common-sense of men, and suppose them capable of 
 distinguishing between reasonable laws and those 
 which require them to commit manifest crimes. The 
 objection which we are considering rests on the sup- 
 position that a declaration of war is a common act of 
 legislation, bearing no strong marks of distinction 
 from other laws, and consequently to be obeyed as im- 
 plicitly as all. But it is broadly distinguished. A 
 declaration of war sends us forth to destroy our fellow- 
 creatures, to carry fire, sword, famine, bereavement, 
 want, and woe into the fields and habitations of our 
 brethren; whilst Christianity, conscience, and all the 
 pure affections of our nature, call us to love our breth- 
 ren, and to die, if need be, for their good. And from 
 whence comes this declaration of war? From men 
 who would rather die than engage in unjust or unnec- 
 essary conflict? Too probably from men to whom 
 Christianity is a name, whose highest law is honor, 
 who are used to avenge their private wrongs and 
 defend their reputations by shedding blood, and who, 
 in public as in private life, defy the laws of God. 
 Whover, at such men’s dictation, engages in war with- 
 out solemnly consulting conscience, and inquiring into 
 the justice of the cause, contracts great guilt, nor 
 can the “right of war,” which such men claim as rulers, 
 absolve him from the crimes and woes of the con- 
 flict in which he shares. 
 
 On War (1838), p. 677. 
 
 169. Beneficence, not Conquest, the True Glory 
 of Nations 
 
 Important service may be rendered! to the cause of 
 
AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM 223 
 
 peace by communicating and enforcing just and ele- 
 vated sentiments in relation to the true honor of rul- 
 ers. Let us teach that the prosperity, and not the 
 extent, of a state is the measure of a ruler’s glory; 
 that the brute force and crooked policy which annex 
 a conquest are infinitely inferior to the wisdom, jus- 
 tice, and beneficence which make a country happy; and 
 that the earth holds not a more abandoned monster 
 than the sovereign who, intrusted with the dearest 
 interests of a people, commits them to the dreadful 
 hazards of war, that he may extend his prostituted 
 power, and fill the earth with his worthless name. 
 Let us exhibit to the honor and veneration of mankind 
 the character of the Christian ruler, who, disdaining 
 the cheap and vulgar honor of a conqueror, aspires 
 to a new and more enduring glory; who, casting away 
 the long-tried weapons of intrigue and violence, ad- 
 heres with a holy and unshaken confidence to justice 
 -and philanthropy, as a nation’s best defence; and who 
 considers himself as exalted by God only that he may 
 shed down blessings and be as a beneficent deity to 
 the world. 
 
 To these instructions, in relation to the true glory 
 of rulers, should be added just sentiments as to the 
 glory of nations. Let us teach that the honor of a 
 nation consists, not in the forced and reluctant sub- 
 mission of other states, but in equal laws and free 
 institutions, in cultivated fields and prosperous cit- 
 ies; in the development of intellectual and moral 
 power, in the diffusion of knowledge, in magnanimity 
 and justice, in the virtues and blessings of peace. Let 
 us never be weary in reprobating that infernal spirit 
 
224 AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM 
 
 of conquest by which a nation becomes the terror and 
 abhorrence of the world, and inevitably prepares a 
 tomb—at best a splendid tomb—for its own liberties 
 and prosperity. Nothing has been more common 
 than for nations to imagine themselves great and glor- 
 ious on the ground of foreign conquest, when at home 
 they have been loaded with chains. Cannot these 
 gross and monstrous delusions be scattered? Can 
 nothing be done to persuade Christian nations to en- 
 gage in a new and untried race of glory, in generous 
 competitions, in a noble contest for superiority in wise 
 legislation and internal improvements, in the spirit 
 of liberty and humanity? 
 On War (1816), p. 649. 
 
 170. The Solemn Responsibility of Declaring War 
 
 If any action on earth ought to be performed with 
 trembling, with deep prostration before God, with the 
 most solemn inquisition into motives, with the most 
 reverent consultation of conscience, it is a declaration 
 of war. This stands alone among acts of legislation. 
 It has no parallel. These few words, ‘Let war be,” 
 have the power of desolation which belongs to earth- 
 quakes and lightnings; they may stain the remotest 
 seas with blood; may wake the echoes of another 
 hemisphere with the thunders of artillery; may carry 
 anguish into a thousand human abodes. No scheme 
 of aggrandizement, no doubtful claims, no uncertain 
 fears, no anxiety to establish a balance of power, will 
 justify this act. It can find no justification but in 
 plain, stern necessity, in unquestionable justice, in per- 
 severing wrongs, which all other and long-tried means 
 
AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM) 225 
 
 have failed to avert. Terrible is the responsibility, 
 beyond that of all others, which falls on him who in- 
 volves nations in war. He has no excuse for rashness, 
 passion, or private ends. He ought at such a moment 
 to forget, to annihilate himself. The spirit of God 
 and justice should alone speak and act through him. 
 To commit this act rashly, passionately, selfishly, is 
 to bring on himself the damnation of a thousand mur- 
 ders. An act of legislation, commanding fifty thou- 
 sand men to be assembled on yonder common, there 
 to be shot, stabbed, trampled under horses’ feet until 
 their shrieks and agonies should end in death, would 
 thrill us with horror; and such an act is a declaration 
 of war; and a government which can perform it, with- 
 out the most solemn sense of responsibility and the 
 clearest admonitions of duty, deserves, in expiation of 
 its crime, to endure the whole amount of torture which 
 it has inflicted on its fellow-creatures. 
 
 On War (1838), p. 674. 
 
 171. Political Sovereignty Should not Imply the 
 Right to Make War. 
 
 I proceed to a cause of insensibility to the evils of 
 war, and one of immense power. I refer to the com- 
 mon and almost universal belief that the right of 
 war belongs to civil government. Let us be just to 
 human nature. The idea of “right” has always 
 mixed itself with war, and this has kept out of view 
 the real character of most of the conflicts of nations. 
 The sovereign, regarding the right of war as an es- 
 sential attribute of sovereignty, has on this ground 
 ascribed a legitimacy to all national hostilities, and 
 
226 AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM 
 
 has never dreamed that in most of his wars he was a 
 murderer. So the subject has thought himself bound 
 to obey his sovereign, and, on this ground, has ac- 
 quitted himself of crime, has perhaps imputed to him- 
 self merit, in fighting and slaughtering for the defence 
 of the most iniquitous claims. Here lies the delusion, 
 which we should be most anxious to remove. It 1s 
 the legality ascribed to war, on account of its being 
 waged by government, which produces insensibility to 
 its horrors and crimes. When a notorious robber, 
 seized by Alexander, asked the conqueror of the 
 world whether he was not a greater robber than him- 
 self, the spirit of the hero repelled the title with in- 
 dignation. And why so? Had he not, without prov- 
 ocation and cause, spoiled cities and realms, whilst the 
 robber had only plundered individuals and single dwell- 
 ings? Had he not slaughtered ten thousand innocent 
 fellow-creatures for one victim who had fallen under 
 the robber’s knife? And why, then, did the arch- 
 robber disclaim the name, and seriously believe that 
 he could not justly be confounded with rufhans? Be- 
 cause he was a king, the head of a state, and as such 
 authorized to make war. Here was the shelter for 
 his conscience and his fame. Had the robber, after 
 addressing his question to Alexander, turned to the 
 Macedonian soldier, and said to him, “‘Are you not, 
 too, a greater robber than I? WHlave not your hands 
 been busier in pillage? Are they not dyed more 
 deep in innocent blood?” ‘The unconscious soldier, 
 like his master, would have repelled the title; and 
 why? “I ama subject,” he would have replied, ‘‘and 
 bound to obey my sovereign; and, in fulfilling a duty, 
 
AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM 227 
 
 I cannot be sunk to the level of the most hated crim- 
 inal.”’ ‘Thus king and subject take refuge in the 
 right of war which inheres in sovereignty, and thus 
 the most terrible crimes are perpetrated with little 
 reproach. 
 
 On ar (1838)5p,073. 
 
 172. Martyrs for Peace 
 
 Unhappily, public men under all governments are, 
 of all moral guides, the most unsafe, the last for a 
 Christian to follow. Public life is thought to absolve 
 men from the strict obligations of truth and Justice. 
 To wrong an adverse party or another country, is 
 not reprobated as are wrongs in private life. Thus 
 duty is dethroned; thus the majesty of virtue insulted 
 in the administration of nations. Public men are ex- 
 pected to think more of their own elevation than of 
 their country. Is the city of Washington the most 
 virtuous spot in this republic? Is it the school of 
 incorruptible men? ‘The hall of Congress, disgraced 
 by so many brawls, swayed by local interest and party 
 intrigues, in which the right of petition is trodden 
 under foot, is this the oracle from which the responses 
 of justice come forth? Public bodies want conscience. 
 Men acting in masses shift off responsibility on one 
 another. Multitudes never blush. If these things 
 be true, then I maintain that the Christian has not a 
 right to take part in war blindly, confidingly, at the 
 call of his rulers. To shed the blood of fellow- 
 creatures is too solemn a work to be engaged in lightly. 
 Let him not put himself, a tool, into wicked hands. 
 Let him not meet on the field his brother man, his 
 
228 AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM 
 
 brother Christian, in a cause on which heaven frowns. 
 Let him bear witness against unholy wars, as his coun- 
 try’s greatest crimes. If called to take part in them, 
 let him deliberately refuse. If martial law seize on 
 him, let him submit. If hurried to prison, let him 
 submit. If brought thence to be shot, let him submit. 
 There must be martyrs to peace as truly as to other 
 principles of our religion. ‘The first Christians chose 
 to die rather than obey the laws of the state which 
 commanded them to renounce their Lord. ‘Death 
 rather than crime’; such is the good man’s watch- 
 word, such the Christian’s vow. Let him be faithful 
 unto death. 
 On War, (1838), p. 677. 
 
 173. Self-Defense a Valid but Rare Occasion of War 
 
 If indeed, my country were invaded by hostile armies, 
 threatening, without disguise its rights, liberties, and 
 dearest interests, I should strive to repel them, just as 
 I should repel a criminal who should enter my house 
 to slay what I hold most dear, and what is intrusted 
 to my care. But I cannot confound with such a case 
 the common instances of war. In general, war is the 
 work of ambitious men, whose principles have gained 
 no strength from the experience of public life, whose 
 policy is colored if not swayed by personal views or 
 party interests, who do not seek peace with a single 
 heart, who, to secure doubtful rights, perplex the for- 
 eign relations of the state, spread jealousies at home 
 and abroad, enlist popular passions on the side of 
 strife, commit themselves too far for retreat, and are 
 then forced to leave to the arbitration of the sword 
 
AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM 229 
 
 what an impartial umpire could easily have arranged. 
 
 The question of peace and war is too often settled 
 
 for a country by men in whom a Christian, a lover of 
 
 his race, can put little or no trust; and, at the bidding 
 
 of such men, is he to steep his hands in human blood? 
 Introductory Remarks, p. 11. 
 
 174. d Fellow-feeling for Humanity Renders War 
 Abhorrent 
 
 For one, I look on war with a horror which no 
 words can express. I have long wanted patience to 
 read of battles. Were the world of my mind, no 
 man would fight for glory; for the name of a com- 
 mander who has no other claim to respect, seldom 
 passes my lips, and the want of sympathy drives him 
 from my mind. ‘The thought of man, God’s immortal 
 child, butchered by his brother; the thought of sea 
 and land stained with human blood by human hands, 
 of women and children buried under the ruins of be- 
 sieged cities, of the resources of empires and the mighty 
 powers of nature all turned by man’s malignity into 
 engines of torture and destruction; this thought gives 
 to earth the semblance of hell. I shudder as among 
 demons. I cannot now, as I once did, talk lightly, 
 thoughtlessly of fighting with this or that nation. 
 That nation is no longer an abstraction to me. It is 
 no longer a vague mass. It spreads out before me 
 unto individuals, in a thousand interesting forms and 
 relations. It consists of husbands and wives, parents 
 and children, who love one another as I love my own 
 home. It consists of affectionate women and sweet 
 children. It consists of Christians united with me to 
 
230 AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM 
 
 the common Saviour, and in whose spirit I reverence 
 the likeness of his divine virtue. It consists of a vast 
 multitude of laborers at the plough and in the work- 
 shop, whose toils I sympathize with, whose burden I 
 should rejoice to lighten, and for whose elevation I 
 have pleaded. It consists of men of science, taste, 
 genius, whose writings have beguiled my solitary 
 hours, and given life to my intellect and best affections. 
 Here is the nation which I am called to fight with, into 
 whose families [ must send mourning, whose fall or 
 humiliation I must seek through blood. I cannot do 
 it, without a clear commission from God. 
 Introductory Remarks, p. 10. 
 
 175. dA True Idea of National Honor 
 
 I have written once and again on war,—a hackneyed 
 subject, as it is called, yet, one would think, too ter- 
 rible ever to become a commonplace. Is this insanity 
 never to cease? At this moment, whilst I write, two 
 of the freest and most enlightened nations, having one 
 origin, bound together above all others by mutual de- 
 pendence, by the interweaving of interests, are thought 
 by some to be on the brink of war. False notions of 
 national honor, as false and unholy as those of the 
 duellist, do most towards fanning this fire. Great 
 nations, like great boys, place their honor in resisting 
 insult and in fighting well. One would! think the time 
 had gone by in which nations needed to rush to arms 
 to prove that they were not cowards. If there is one 
 truth, which history has taught, it is, that communities 
 in all stages of society, from the most barbarous 
 to the most civilized, have sufficient courage. No 
 
AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM 231 
 
 people can charge upon its conscience that it has 
 not shed blood enough in proof of its valor. Al- 
 most any man, under the usual stimulants of the 
 Campyecan stand wire, )<lhel) peor. wretch, / enlisted. 
 from a dram-shop and turned into the ranks, soon 
 fights like a “hero.” Must France, and England, 
 and America, after so many hard-fought fields, go to 
 war to disprove the charge of wanting spirit? Is it 
 not time that the point of honor should undergo some 
 change, that some glimpses at least of the true glory 
 of a nation should be caught by rulers and people? 
 “It is the honor of a man to pass over a transgression,” 
 and so it is of states. To be wronged is no disgrace. 
 To bear wrong generously, till every means of concilia- 
 tion is exhausted; to recoil with manly dread from the 
 slaughter of our fellow-creatures; to put confidence in 
 the justice which other nations will do to our motives; 
 to have that consciousness of courage which will make 
 us scorn the reproach of cowardice; to feel that there ts 
 something grander than the virtue of savages; to desire 
 peace for the world as well as ourselves, and to shrink 
 from kindling a flame which may involve the world; 
 these are the principles and feelings which do honor 
 to a people. 
 Introductory Remarks, p. 10. 
 
 176. The Bigotry of Christian Sects has 
 Fostered War 
 
 It is a painful truth, which ought not to be sup- 
 pressed, that the pacific influence of the gospel has been 
 greatly obstructed by the disposition which has pre- 
 vailed in all ages, and especially among Christian min- 
 
232 AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM 
 
 isters, to give importance to the peculiarities of sects, 
 and to rear walls of partition between different de- 
 nominations. Shame ought to cover the face of the 
 believer, when he remembers that under no religion 
 have intolerance and persecution raged more fiercely 
 than under the gospel of the meek and forbearing 
 Saviour. Christians have made the earth to reek 
 with blood and to resound with denunciation. Can 
 we wonder that, while the spirit of war has been cher- 
 ished in the very bosom of the church, it has continued 
 to ravage among the nations? Were the true spirit of 
 Christianity to be inculcated with but half the zeal 
 which has been wasted on doubtful and disputed doc- 
 trines, a sympathy, a co-operation might in a very 
 short time be produced among Christians of every 
 nation, most propitious to the pacification of the world. 
 In consequence of the progress of knowledge and the 
 extension of commerce, Christians of both hemispheres 
 are at this moment brought nearer to one another than 
 at any former period; and an intercourse, founded on 
 religious sympathies, is gradually connecting the most 
 distant regions. What a powerful weapon is fur- 
 nished by this new bond of union to the ministers and 
 friends of peace! Should not the auspicious moment 
 be seized to inculcate on all Christians, in all regions, 
 that they owe their first allegiance to their common 
 Lord in heaven, whose first, and last, and great com- 
 mand is, love? Should they not be taught to look with 
 a shuddering abhorrence on war, which continually 
 summons to the field of battle, under opposing stand- 
 ards, the followers of the same Saviour, and com- 
 mands them to imbrue their hands in each others’ 
 
AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM = 233 
 
 blood? Once let Christians of every nation be 
 brought to espouse the cause of peace with one heart 
 and one voice, and their labor will not be in vain in the 
 Lord. Human affairs will rapidly assume a new and 
 milder aspect. ‘The predicted ages of peace will 
 dawn on the world. Public opinion will be purified. 
 The false lustre of the hero will grow dim. A nobler 
 order of character will be admired and diffused. The 
 kingdoms of the world will gradually become the king- 
 doms of God and of his Christ. 
 On War (1816), p. 651. 
 
 177. Moral Courage Superior to Military Courage 
 
 The common courage of armies is equally worthless 
 with that of the pirate and the savage. A considerable 
 part of almost every army, so far from deriving their 
 resolution from love of country and a sense of justice, 
 can hardly be said to have a country, and have been 
 driven into the ranks by necessities which were gener- 
 ated by vice. These are the brave soldiers, whose 
 praises we hear; brave, from the absence of all re- 
 flection, prodigal of life, because their vices have 
 robbed life of its blessings; brave, from sympathy; 
 brave, from the thirst of plunder; and especially 
 brave, because the sword of martial law is hanging 
 over their heads. Accordingly, military courage 1s 
 easily attained by the most debased and unprincipled 
 men. The common drunkard of the streets, who is 
 enlisted in a fit of intoxication, when thrown into the 
 ranks among the unthinking and profane, subjected 
 to the rigor of martial discipline, familiarized by ex- 
 posure to the idea of danger, and menaced with death 
 
234 AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM 
 
 if he betray a symptom of fear, becomes as brave as 
 his oficer, whose courage may often be traced to the 
 same dread of punishment, and to fear of severer 
 infamy than attends on the cowardice of the common 
 soldier. Let the tribute of honor be freely and lib- 
 erally given to the soldier of principle, who exposes 
 his life for a cause which his conscience approves, and 
 who mingles clemency and mercy with the joy of tri- 
 umph. But as for the multitude of military men, who 
 regard war as a trade by which to thrive, who hire 
 themselves to fight and slay in any cause, and who 
 destroy their fellow-beings with as little concern as 
 the husbandman does the vermin that infest his fields, 
 I know no class of men on whom admiration can more 
 unjustly and more injuriously be bestowed. Let us 
 labor, my brethren, to direct the admiration and love 
 of mankind to another and infinitely higher kind of 
 greatness, to that true magnanimity which is prodigal 
 of ease and life in the service of God and mankind, 
 and which proves its courage by unshaken adherence, 
 amidst scorn and danger, to truth and virtue. Let the 
 records of past ages be explored, to rescue from obliv- 
 ion, not the wasteful conqueror, whose path was as the 
 whirlwind, but the benefactors of the human race, 
 martyrs to the interests of freedom and religion, men 
 who have broken the chain of the slave, who have 
 traversed the earth to shed consolation into the cell 
 of the prisoner, or whose sublime faculties have ex- 
 plored and revealed useful and ennobling truths. 
 Can nothing be done to hasten the time when to such 
 men eloquence and poetry shall offer their glowing 
 homage,—when for these the statue and monument 
 
AGAINST WAR AND MILITARISM 235 
 
 shall be erected, the canvass be animated, and the 
 laurel entwined,—and when to these the admiration of 
 the young shall be directed as their guides and fore- 
 runners to glory and immortality? 
 
 On War, p. 650. 
 
AGAINST INTEMPERANCE 
 
 178. The Conscientious Christian will First Evict 
 Alcoholism from His Own Table 
 
 Judge, as in the sight of God, whether you are not 
 bound to use your whole influence in banishing the use 
 of spirits, as one of the most pernicious habits, from 
 the community. If you were to see, as a consequence 
 of this beverage, a loathsome and mortal disease break- 
 ing out occasionally in all ranks, and sweeping away 
 crowds in the most depressed portion of society, would 
 you not lift up your voices against it? And is not an 
 evil more terrible than pestilence the actual frequent 
 result of the use of spirituous liquors? ‘That use you 
 are bound to discourage: and how? By abstaining 
 wholly yourselves, by excluding ardent spirits wholly 
 from your tables, by giving your whole weight and 
 authority to abstinence. ‘This practical, solemn testi- 
 mony, borne by the good and respectable, cannot but 
 spread a healthful public sentiment through the whole 
 community. This is especially our duty at the present 
 moment, when a great combined effort of religious 
 and philanthropic men is directed against this evil, and 
 when an impression has been made on the community 
 surpassing the most sanguine hopes. At the present 
 moment, he who uses ardent spirits or introduces them 
 into his hospitalities, virtually arrays himself against 
 the cause of temperance and humanity. He not 
 
 236 
 
AGAINST INTEMPERANCE Za 
 
 merely gives an example to his children and his do- 
 mestics, which he may one day bitterly rue; he with- 
 stands the good in their struggles for the virtue and 
 happiness of mankind. He forsakes the standard of 
 social reform and throws himself into the ranks of its 
 foes. | Hi 
 
 On Temperance, p. 113. 
 
 179. Government Prohibition of Spirituous Liquors 
 
 Let me urge on those who would bring out and 
 elevate their higher nature, to abstain from the use 
 of spirituous liquors. This bad habit is distinguished 
 from all others by the ravages it makes on the reason, 
 the intellect; and this effect is produced to a mournful 
 extent, even when drunkenness is escaped. Nota few 
 men, called temperate, and who have thought them- 
 selves such, have learned, on abstaining from the use 
 of ardent spirits, that for years their minds had been 
 clouded, impaired by moderate drinking, without their 
 suspecting the injury. Multitudes.in this city are 
 bereft of half their intellectual energy, by a degree of 
 indulgence which passes for innocent. Of all the foes 
 of the working class, this is the deadliest. Nothing 
 - has done more to keep down this class, to destroy their 
 self-respect, to rob them of their just influence in the 
 community, to render profitless the means of improve- 
 ment within their reach, than the use of ardent spirits 
 as a drink. I call on working men to take hold of the 
 cause of temperance as peculiarly their cause. ‘These 
 remarks are the more needed, in consequence of the 
 efforts made far and wide to annul at the present mo- 
 ment a recent law for the suppression of the sale of 
 
238 AGAINST INTEMPERANCE 
 
 ardent spirits in such quantities as favor intemperance. 
 I know that there are intelligent and good men who 
 believe that, in enacting this law, government tran- 
 scended its limits, left its true path, and established a 
 precedent for legislative interference with all our pur- 
 suits and pleasures. No one here looks more jeal- 
 ously on government than myself. But I maintain that 
 this is a case which stands by itself, which can be con- 
 founded with no other, and on which government, 
 from its very nature and end, is peculiarly bound to 
 act. Is government a usurper, does it wander be- 
 yond its sphere, by imposing restraints on an article 
 which does no imaginable good, which can plead no 
 benefit conferred on body or mind, which unfits the 
 citizen for the discharge of his duty to his country, 
 and which, above all, stirs up men to the perpetration 
 of most of the crimes from which it is the highest 
 and most solemn office of government to protect so- 
 ciety? 
 Self Culture, p. 22: 
 
 180. The Sale of Ardent Spirits must be Suppressed 
 
 We should discourage the sale of ardent spirits. 
 What ought not to be used as a beverage, ought not 
 to be sold as such. What the good of the community 
 requires us to expel, no man has a moral right to 
 supply. That intemperance is dreadfully multiplied 
 by the number of licensed shops for the retailing of 
 spirits, we all know. ‘That these should be shut, every 
 good man desires. Law, however, cannot shut them 
 except in a limited extent, or only in a few favored 
 parts of the country. Law is here the will of the 
 
AGAINST INTEMPERANCE 239 
 
 people, and the legislature can do little unless sus- 
 tained by the public voice. To form, then, an en- 
 lightened and vigorous public sentiment, which will 
 demand the suppression of these licensed nurseries of 
 intemperance, is a duty to which every good man is 
 bound, and a service in which each may take a share. 
 And not only should the vending of spirits in these 
 impure haunts be discouraged; the vending of them 
 by respectable men should be regarded as a great 
 public evils The retailer takes shelter under the 
 wholesale dealer, from whom he purchases the per- 
 nicious draught; and has he not a right so to do? 
 Can we expect that he should shrink from spreading 
 on a small scale what others spread largely without 
 rebuke? Can we expect his conscience to be sensitive, 
 when he treads in the steps of men of reputation? Of 
 the character of those who vend spirits I do not judge. 
 They grew up in the belief of the innocence of the 
 trafic, and this conviction they may sincerely retain. 
 But error, though sincere, is error still. Right and 
 wrong do not depend on human judgment or human 
 will. ‘Truth and duty may be hidden for ages; but they 
 remain unshaken as God’s throne; and when, in the 
 course of His providence, they are made known to one 
 or a few, they must be proclaimed, whoever may be 
 opposed. Truth, truth, is the hope of the world. 
 Let it be spoken in kindness, but with power. 
 On Temperance, p. 114. 
 
 181. Intemperance Due to Want of Self-Respect 
 
 A cause of intemperance is the want of self-respect 
 which the present state of society induces among the 
 
240 AGAINST INTEMPERANCE 
 
 poor and laborious. Just as far as wealth is the ob- 
 ject of worship, the measure of men’s importance, the 
 badge of distinction, so far there will be a tendency 
 to self-contempt and self-abandonment among those 
 whose lot gives them no chance of its acquisition. 
 Such naturally feel as if the great good of life were 
 denied them. ‘They see themselves neglected. ‘Their 
 condition cuts them off from communication with the 
 improved. ‘They think they have little stake in the 
 general weal. ‘They do not feel as if they had a char- 
 acter to lose. Nothing reminds them of the greatness 
 of their nature. Nothing teaches them that in their 
 obscure lot they may secure the highest good on earth. 
 Catching from the general tone of society the ruinous 
 notion that wealth is honor as well as happiness, they 
 see in their narrow lot nothing to inspire self-respect. 
 In this delusion they are not more degraded than the 
 prosperous; they but echo the voice of society; but to 
 them the delusion brings a deeper, immediate ruin. 
 By sinking them in their own eyes it robs them of a 
 powerful protection against low vices. It prepares 
 them for coarse manners, for gross pleasures, for de- 
 scent to brutal degradation. Society, in all its ranks, 
 especially in the highest, is bound in justice to resist 
 the evil; and not only justice, but benevolence pleads 
 with us to spare no efforts for its prevention or cure. 
 The thought that in the bosom of our society are 
 multitudes standing on the brink of perdition, multi- 
 tudes who are strongly tempted to debase and destroy 
 their rational nature, to sink into brutal excess, to seal 
 their ruin in this world and in the world to come, 
 ought to weigh on us as a burden, ought to inspire 
 
AGAINST INTEMPERANCE 241 
 
 deeper concern than the visitation of pestilence, ought 
 to rouse every man who has escaped this degradation 
 to do what he may to rescue the fallen, and, still more, 
 to save the falling. 
 
 On Temperance, p. 104. 
 
 182. The Debasing Power of Intemperance 
 in Every Rank of Society 
 
 We are apt to speak as if the laborious, uneducated, 
 unimproved, were alone in danger, and as if we our- 
 selves had no interest in this cause, except as others 
 are concerned. But it is not so; multitudes in all 
 classes are in danger. In truth, when we recall the sad 
 histories of not a few in every circle, who once stood 
 among the firmest and then yielded to temptation, we 
 are taught that none of us should dismiss fear,—that 
 we too may be walking on the edge of the abyss. The 
 young are exposed to intemperance, for youth wants 
 forethought, loves excitement, is apt to place happiness 
 in gayety, is prone to convivial pleasure, and too often 
 finds or makes this the path to hell; nor are the old 
 secure, for age unnerves the mind as well as the body, 
 and silently steals away the power of self-control. 
 The idle are in scarcely less peril than the over-worked 
 laborer; for uneasy cravings spring up in the vacant 
 mind, and the excitement of intoxicating draughts is 
 greedily sought as an escape from the intolerable 
 weariness of having nothing to do. Men of a coarse, 
 unrefined character fall easily into intemperance, be- 
 cause they see little in its brutality to disgust them. 
 It is a sadder thought that men of genius and sensibil- 
 ity are hardly less exposed. Strong action of the mind 
 
24.2 AGAINST INTEMPERANCE 
 
 is even more exhausting than the toil of the hands. 
 It uses up, if I may say so, the finer spirits, and leaves 
 either a sinking of the system which craves for tonics, 
 or a restlessness which seeks relief in deceitful seda- 
 tives. Besides, it is natural for minds of great energy 
 to hunger for strong excitement; and this, when not 
 found in innocent occupation and amusement, is too 
 often sought in criminal indulgence. 
 On Temperance, p. 101. 
 
 183. Intemperance Comes with Noiseless Step 
 
 and Insidious Habit 
 
 Do not say that I exaggerate your exposure to in- 
 temperance. Let no man say, when he thinks of the 
 drunkard broken in health and spoiled of intellect, “I 
 can never so fall.” He thought as little of falling in 
 his earlier years. ‘he promise of his youth was as 
 bright as yours; and even after he began his down- 
 ward course he was as unsuspicious as the firmest 
 around him, and would have repelled as indignantly 
 the admonition to beware of intemperance. ‘The dan- 
 ger of this vice lies in its almost imperceptible ap- 
 proach. Few who perish by it know its first accesses. 
 Youth does not see or suspect drunkenness in the 
 sparkling beverage which quickens all its susceptibilities 
 of joy. The invalid does not see it in the cordial 
 which his physician prescribes, and which gives new 
 tone to his debilitated organs. ‘The man of thought 
 and genius detects no palsying poison in the draught 
 which seems a spring of inspiration to intellect and 
 imagination. The lover of social pleasure little 
 dreams that the glass which animates conversation will 
 
AGAINST INTEMPERANCE 243 
 
 ever be drunk in solitude, and will sink him too 
 low for the intercourse in which he now delights. 
 Intemperance comes with noiseless step, and binds 
 its first cords with a touch too light to be felt. 
 This truth of mournful experience should be treas- 
 ured up by us all, and should influence the habits 
 and arrangements of domestic and social life in every 
 class of the community. 
 On Temperance, p. 102. 
 

 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 There is no complete collection of the extant writings of 
 Channing, but the bulk of them is contained in the following 
 volumes: 
 
 The Works of William E. Channing, D.D. 6 vols. 1846. 
 (The first four volumes were compiled and authorized 
 by Channing before his death.) 
 
 The most available edition is that issued in one volume by 
 the American Unitarian Association in 1886. Page 
 references in the present work are to this edition. 
 
 The Perfect Life. 1878. A volume containing twelve dis- 
 courses preached during the last ten years of Channing’s 
 life, selected by William Henry Channing, the nephew, 
 biographer and literary legatee of W. E. Channing. 
 
 Life of William Ellery Channing, D.D. 3 vols. 1848. 
 
 Reissued by the American Unitarian Association in one 
 volume, 1880 (6th edition 1889). (It is this work 
 which is referred to in the present volume as “Life.” 
 Page references are to the American Unitarian Asso- 
 ciation edition. ) 
 
 In addition to the sermons and addresses included in the 
 WV orks the following exist only in pamphlet form, some of them 
 being cited in W. H. Channing’s “Life.” 
 
 Sermon for the Ordination of John Codman, Dorchester, 
 
 1808. 
 
 Fast Day Sermon, 1810, Boston. 
 
 Fast Day Sermon, 1812, Boston. 
 
 Sermon for the Day of Humiliation and Prayer, Boston, 
 
 1812. 
 245 
 
246 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 Two Sermons on Infidelity, Boston, 1813. 
 
 Discourse at the Solemn Festival in Commemoration of 
 the Deliverance of the Christian World from Military 
 Despotism, Boston, 1814. 
 
 Sermon on the State of the Country, Boston, 1814. 
 
 Letter to Rev. S. C. Thacher, 1815. 
 
 Remarks on Rev. Dr. Worcester’s Reply (to above) 1815. 
 
 Sermon on Religion, a Social Principle, Boston, 1820. 
 
 One of Dr. Channing’s most notable utterances is the Intro- 
 duction to Discourses, Essays and Miscellanies, Boston, 
 1830. 
 
 ‘There are articles by Dr. Channing in 
 The Christian Disciple, Vol. 1 (1813), on Humility in the 
 Investigation of Truth. 
 Vol. 1-2, On Serious Preaching 
 Vol. 2, On the Events of the Year 
 Vol. 2, Eulogy on Charles I’. Parsons. 
 
 A valuable gleaning of brief but interesting passages from 
 the minor papers of Channing, too brief for use in this collec- 
 tion is, 
 
 Passages from Dr. Channing’s Notebook, Boston, 1887, 
 
 Edited by Grace Ellery Channing. 
 
 The Correspondence of Channing, in spite of its intrinsic 
 importance, is but partly preserved. The Life contains excerpts 
 from some letters; but the best salvage is the 
 Correspondence of William Ellery Channing, D.D., and 
 Lucy Aiken, 1826-1842, Boston, 1874. 
 
 Other letters of value, as well as passages copied by Miss 
 Peabody from the original (unpublished) mss. of Channing, 
 are fortunately preserved in 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 247 
 
 Reminiscences of William ‘Ellery Channing, D.D., by 
 Elizabeth P. Peabody, Boston, 1880. 
 
 Sundry letters, some of them noteworthy, are to be found 
 in the biographies of certain of Channing’s associates and 
 friends, in particular the Lives of 
 
 James Freeman Clarke, by E. E. Hale, 1891. 
 
 Henry Ware Jr. by John Ware, 18406. 
 
 Jared Sparks, by H. B. Adams, 1874. 
 
 Ezra Stiles Gannett, by W. C. Gannett, 1875. 
 
 Charles Follen (by his wife, Vol. 1 of his Works), 1842. 
 
 Theodore Parker, by John Weiss, 1864. 
 
 There are entries in the catalogues of the Libraries of the 
 Theological School of Harvard University, and Meadville 
 Theological School, indicating the existence of considerable 
 original material, such as 
 
 Draft of a Course of Study for Divinity School Students 
 
 (Harvard). 
 Ms. Letter to Dr. Nichols, Portland, April 20, 1820, 
 (Harvard). 
 
 AUXILIARY WorKS 
 
 Two excellent bibliographies of works on Channing are to 
 be found in 
 Memorial History of Boston, Justin Winsor, Vol. IV, p. 303. 
 Heralds of the Liberal Faith, Samuel A. Eliot, Vol. IT, 
 PO sls elooa(io10):. 
 Indispensable information about Channing is given in 
 
 William Ellery Channing, Minister of Religion, John 
 White Chadwick, 1903. (The standard brief biog- 
 
 raphy. ) 
 
248 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 (A condensation of the above in Vol. I of the Works, 1903 
 Edition. ) 
 
 See also 
 
 Channing, A Centennial Memory, Charles ‘T. Brooks, 
 1880. . 
 
 Four American Leaders, Charles W. Eliot, 1907. 
 
 William Ellery Channing, Paul Revere Frothingham, 1903. 
 
 Channing's Baltimore Sermon, Charles H. Lyttle, 1919. 
 
 “Dr. Channing’s Progress.’ The Christian Register, March 
 8, 1883. 
 
 Channing as a Sccial Reformer, W. M. Salter, Unitarian 
 Review, March, 1888. 
 
 The Story of Channing, J. T. Sunderland (A.U.A. 
 SractanNo.295)). 
 
 Selected Thoughts from the Writings of William Ellery 
 Channing, 1854. 
 
 Selected Sermons of William Ellery Channing, Boston, 
 1855. ; 
 
 Selected Passages from William Ellery Channing, compiled 
 by W. Gannett and Judson Fisher (Unity Tracts). 
 
 Selected Thoughts, etc. compiled by Henry E. Miles (a 
 republication in 1895 of the 1854 brochure). 
 
 Channing, Discourses on War. Ed. Edwin D. Mead. 
 Ginn & Co. 1903. (World Peace Foundation, Boston.) 
 
 Channing and Christian History. Professor Francis A. 
 Christie, Meadville Theological School Bulletin, April 
 1925. 
 
 Unitarianism and Social Change. Richard W. Boynton 
 (1919). 
 
INDEX 
 
 A 
 
 Advantages of conceiving God as 
 purely spiritual, 31 
 
 Abolitionists, 169, 215 
 
 Advice to his son on entering 
 school, 66 
 
 Affection and anxiety of our de- 
 parted for us, 111 
 
 “The Ages” (poem) xv 
 
 Alexander the Great, 226 
 
 America, her mission 
 world, 198 
 
 America, promise of her great- 
 ness, 196 
 
 America, rights of individual in, 
 197 
 
 Annexation of Texas, 83, 160, 200, 
 201, 203, 214 
 
 Ardent spirits, sale of must be 
 suppressed, 181 
 
 Associations, Remarks on, 119, 140 
 
 Average man, conscience and in- 
 telligence of, xiv 
 
 to the 
 
 B 
 
 “Be thou the center, life, and sov- 
 ereign of our souls,” 81 
 Beauty an element of moral cul- 
 ture, 62 
 Beecher, Lyman, iv 
 Beneficence, not conquest, 
 glory of nations, 222 
 Benevolence, disinterested, iv 
 Best of all blessings, 39 
 Better the romance of progress 
 than the tameness of timidity in 
 a minister, 88 
 
 true 
 
 249 
 
 Bible, rational attitude toward, 
 136 
 
 Bigotry of Christian sects has 
 fostered war, 231 
 
 Bigotry, tyranny of, 133 
 
 Birth, new, experience of, 22 
 
 Birth of new man, 21 
 
 Blessings, best of all, 39 
 
 Bonaparte, Napoleon, xvi, 
 I9I 
 
 Bonaparte, address upon the fall 
 Ole xxi 
 
 Books, God be thanked for, 74 
 
 Brooks, Phillips, ii 
 
 Bryant, William Cullen, xv 
 
 190, 
 
 Cc 
 Calvinism, fanatical and other- 
 worldly, x 
 Calvinism, moral argument 
 
 against, 129 
 
 Cambridge, Mass., iv 
 
 Character of a man of piety, 32 
 
 Cheverus, xxiii 
 
 Christ, Love for, 43 
 
 Christ’s character, Imitableness of, 
 47, 65 
 
 Christ’s cross is a symbol of vic- 
 torious love, 47 
 
 Christ’s reign, a vision of, 49 
 
 Christian excellence, growth in, 
 33 
 
 Christian gospel, universality of, 
 103 
 
 Christian ideals, 134 
 
 Christian minister a moral rey- 
 olutionist, 89 
 
 Christian ministry, 88 
 
250 
 
 Christian ministry requires a 
 spirit of self-sacrifice, 87 
 
 Christian should not discriminate 
 on grounds of race or social 
 rank, 151 
 
 Christian truth is infinite, creeds 
 cannot contain it, 102 
 
 Christian unity, true, 96 
 
 Christian worship, 38, 39, 141 
 
 Christian’s anticipation of fellow- 
 ship beyond the veil, 108 
 
 Christianity a rational religion, 
 105 
 
 Christianity, evidences of, 44, 51 
 
 Christianity, great purpose of, 36, 
 54, 107, 115 
 
 Christianity, union with govern- 
 ment, 183 
 
 Christianity, present civilization 
 hostile to, 157 
 
 Christianity’s great design the in- 
 finite perfection of the soul, 
 18 
 
 Church, 35, 98, 99, 102 
 
 Church a retreat from the world, 
 36 
 
 Church, go forth from to do good, 
 38 
 
 Church universal, xxii, 42, 109 
 
 Church, worship in spirit and 
 truth, 37 
 
 City, Man the greatest thing in, 
 208 
 
 City, personal interest in moral 
 state of, 210 
 
 Civilization, by products of, 174 
 
 Clay, Henry, Letter to, xix 
 
 Come to church to worship in 
 spirit and in truth, 37 
 
 Communion of saints, 41 
 
 Conscientious Christian will first 
 evict alcoholism from his own 
 table, 236 
 
 Conscientious objection to war 
 justifiable, 221 
 
 Contempt shown poverty engen- 
 
 INDEX 
 
 ders self-contempt in the poor, 
 162 
 
 Courts, ecclesiastical in Massa- 
 chusetts, xxi 
 
 Country, does it produce noble 
 men, 195 
 
 Covenant of the Universal Church 
 is charity and beneficence, 97 
 
 Creeds, 102 
 
 The Creole, slaveship, xx 
 
 Culture, intellectual, indispens- 
 able to greatness in country, 194 
 
 Curtis, George William, xxii 
 
 D 
 
 Debasement of God’s nature im- 
 plied by the doctrine of vicari- 
 ous atonement, 137 
 
 Debility, nervous, viii 
 
 Dedication of a liberal church, 
 141 
 
 Deism, Jeffersonian, ix 
 
 Demands of a progressive age on 
 the ministry, 84 
 
 Demands of the age on the min- 
 istry, 85, 89, 90 
 
 Democracy, economic, xxiv 
 
 Democracy, it prohibits the mo- 
 nopoly of power, 190 
 
 Determinism, mechanistic, of 
 French skeptics, iv 
 
 Denunciation of our religious op- 
 ponents nullifies our Christian 
 ideals, 134 
 
 Depravity, utter, of man, iv 
 
 Despair of our race is Unchris- 
 tian, 8 
 
 Distinguishing marks of a free 
 mind, 120 
 
 Divine grace needed to overcome 
 lawless impulses and sudden 
 temptations, 25 
 
 Divine in the human, 16 
 
 Divine mind, 24 
 
 Divine principle, 15, 16 
 
INDEX 
 
 Divine will, 26 
 
 Divinity, man, ray of, 2 
 
 Doctrine of human _ brotherhood 
 inspired early Christianity, 51 
 
 Duties of citizens, 205, 218 
 
 Duty of citizen, that of question- 
 ing war, 220 
 
 Duty of the free states, 206 
 
 Duty, sense of, God’s gift, 29 
 
 Duty, that of statesman in respect 
 to his people, 187 
 
 Dwight, John S. ordination ser- 
 mon, 87 
 
 Dwight, Timothy, ix 
 
 E 
 
 Economy in education is perilous 
 to the child, 93 
 
 Education, 92, 93, 94 
 
 Elevation of laboring classes, 2, 7, 
 20, 117, 133, 159, 166 
 
 Ellery, William, xiv 
 
 Emancipation, 69, 78, 151 
 
 Emancipation, advocacy of, xx, 83 
 
 Emerson, Ralph Waldo, xvi 
 
 End for which Jesus came, 45 
 
 Ends for which a liberal church is 
 erected, 140 
 
 Environment teaches the child, 91 
 
 Essential thing in religion, 34 
 
 Evidences of Christianity, 44, 51 
 
 Evil, 67 
 
 Examiner, Christian, (periodical), 
 xvi 
 
 Experience of new birth, 22 
 
 F 
 
 Faith, and patience, national, 205 
 Faith of progress, 173 
 
 Faneuil Hall, xix 
 
 Father in heaven, 14 
 
 Father’s love for persons, 27, 149 
 Federal Street church, Boston, viii 
 Federalist party, x 
 
 251 
 
 Fellow-feeling for humanity ren- 
 ders war abhorrent, 229 
 
 Fénélon, Francois, xvi, 15, 41, 13% 
 
 Free mind, distinguishing marks of, 
 120 
 
 Freedom, mob-rule a denial of, 212 
 
 Freedom of speech and of press 
 essential to liberty, 203 
 
 Freedom, spiritual, 18, 120, 122, 
 123, 134, 175, 177, 179, 181, 183, 
 187, 194 
 
 French atheists, sarcasm of, vi 
 
 Future life, 108, 111 
 
 G 
 
 Garrison, William Lloyd, xviii, 
 xxi 
 
 Go forth from the church to do 
 good, 38 
 
 God as purely spiritual, 31 
 
 God be thanked for books, 74 
 
 God revealed in universe and hu- 
 manity, 17 
 
 God, Likeness to, i 
 
 God, seeking and redeeming love 
 of, 23 
 
 God’s gifts, sense of duty and 
 idea of right, 29 
 
 God’s nature, debasement of, im- 
 plied by doctrine of vicarious 
 atonement, 137 
 
 Gospel, wonderful moral revolu- 
 tion wrought by, 50 
 
 Government, moral standards of 
 in relation to citizens, 181 
 
 Government, prohibition of spir- 
 ituous liquors, 237 
 
 Government, union with Chris- 
 tianity, 183 
 
 Great and blessed society of 
 Jesus’ followers hereafter, 109 
 
 Great enemies of society are not 
 in its poorer ranks, 169 
 
 Great question, does a country 
 produce noble men, 195 
 
252 
 
 Great purpose of Christianity, 19, 
 
 SAL IO7 ears 
 Great to be found everywhere, the 
 truly, 4 
 
 Great virtues bear the impress of 
 self-denial, 56 
 
 Greatness unselfish and unaffected, 
 64 
 
 Growing recognition 
 duty to man, 154 
 
 Growth in Christian excellence, 33 
 
 of man’s 
 
 H 
 
 Hampden, 3 
 
 Happiness, that of a nation bound 
 up with virtue, 193 
 
 Happy community, description of, 
 207 
 
 Heaven the freed and sanctified 
 mind and fellowship thereof, 106 
 
 Heaven the rendezvous and home 
 of good, 107 
 
 Hell, Spiritual conception of, 114 
 
 History of intolerance of sects 
 awakens grief, shame, and pity, 
 100 
 
 Home, sanctuary of, 77 
 
 Honor due to all men, 30, 172 
 
 How Christianity differs from 
 society, 146 
 
 Howard, 3 
 
 Human brotherhood, doctrine of 
 inspired early Christianity, 51 
 
 Human life, true religion blends | 
 
 itself with, 28 
 Human nature, 15 
 Human nature, dignity of, 1 
 Human nature, divine parentag 
 and obligations, 17 2 
 Human nature, evidence of the 
 Godlike in, 2 
 Human nature, intellectual bon- 
 dage is treason to, 130 
 Human soul as the Kingdom of 
 Christ, 53 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Humanity, above all nations, 192 
 Humanity, church of, xxiii 
 Humanity, grand idea of, 3 
 Humanity, loyalty to, 156 
 Humanity’s heroes and saints, 9 
 
 I 
 Illumination which came to Chan- 
 ning, ili 
 Imitableness of Christ's charac- 
 ter, 47, 65 
 
 Imperialist expansion in America, 
 peril of, 200 : 
 
 Independence of the individual 
 mind and conscience, 117 
 
 Independent decisions in religious 
 questions the prerogative of 
 every man, 116 
 
 Individual rights in America, 197 
 
 Inquisition, 68, 69 
 
 Inspiring aid of our 
 beings, 145 
 
 Integrity of mind, xiii 
 
 Intellectual bondage is treason to 
 human nature, 130 
 
 Intemperance, 236 
 
 Intemperance comes with noise- 
 less step and insidious habit, 
 242 
 
 Intemperance due to want of 
 self-respect, 239 
 
 Intolerance of sects, 100 
 
 Introductory remarks, 7 
 
 Isabella of Castile, 68 
 
 fellow 
 
 J 
 
 Jesus can impart to us nothing so 
 precious as his own experience, 
 46 
 
 Jesus, end for which he came, 45 
 
 Jesus, universal benevolence, of, 
 44 
 
 Jesus Christ, brother, friend and 
 saviour, 145 
 
 Jews, 68 
 
INDEX 
 
 Judaism, 141 
 
 Justice of war, to question is 
 right and duty of citizens, 220 
 
 Justice, first element of a nation’s 
 honor, 183 
 
 Justice, presumption against it 
 and need for war, 219 
 
 K 
 
 Kneeland, Abner, xxii 
 
 L 
 
 Labor, rise of, master movement 
 of our age, 159 
 
 Laboring classes, 
 2, 7, 20, 48, 527-54, 
 159, 166 
 
 Law, impartial administration of, 
 211 
 
 elevation of, 
 TU 7pat33; 
 
 Lawless impulses and _ sudden 
 temptations, 25 
 Lawlessness, danger to society, 
 
 213 
 
 Let the minister lead a life of 
 faith and hope, 90 
 
 Letter on Catholicism, 90, 10% 
 
 Letter on creeds, 103 
 
 Liberal church, dedication of a, 
 I4I 
 
 Liberal church, ends for which 
 erected, 140 
 
 The Liberator, xviii 
 
 Liberty, dependent on freedom of 
 press and speech, 203 
 
 Life, 10, 23, 34, 39, 46, 50, 55; 
 67, 77, 79, 81, 82, 97, 112, 114, 
 125, 8135,) 1470057 
 
 Life a divine gift, 26, 146 
 
 Life of love, 55 
 
 Likeness to God, 2, 3, 12, 29 
 
 Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 
 XVill 
 
 Looking on luxury, poor are 
 incited to envy and hatred, 164 
 
 Love for Christ, 43 
 
 DES 
 
 Love to Christ, 44, 49 
 
 Lovejoy, xix 
 
 Loyalty to humanity, 156 
 
 Lust of pleasure and greed in- 
 satiable, 59 
 
 M 
 
 Magnanimity in misfortune, 63 
 
 Man, kindred nature with God, 
 II 
 
 Man, new birth of, 21 
 
 Man of piety, character of, 32 
 
 Man, greatest thing in a city, 
 208 
 
 Man who is wanting in force of 
 
 principle and purpose is a 
 slave, 122 
 Man’s duty to man, growing 
 
 recognition of, 154 
 
 Marcus Aurelius, 67 
 
 Marriage a solemn and _ holy 
 relation, 75 
 
 Marshall, Chief Justice, xv 
 
 Martyrs for peace, 227 
 
 Massachusetts Peace Society, or- 
 ganised in Channing’s study, 
 xvi 
 
 Man, does a country produce 
 noble ones, 195 
 
 Mexico, Channing’s attitude to- 
 ward war with, 202 
 
 Miller, Samuel, ix 
 
 Milton, John, 64, 136 
 
 Milton, John, review of works 
 on, xvi 
 
 Mind open to truth, 123 
 
 Ministry, demands of a progres- 
 sive age on, 84, 272, 277 
 
 Ministry to the poor, 72, 74, 162, 
 163, 165 
 
 Misfortune, magnanimity in, 63 
 
 Mob-rule, a denial of freedom, 
 212 
 
 Monopoly of power, democracy a 
 prevention of, 190 
 
25.4 
 
 Monopoly of thought in religious 
 matters belongs to no individ- 
 ual or class, 131 
 
 Monroe Doctrine, moral interpre- 
 tation of, 201 
 
 Moors, 68 
 
 Moral argument against Calvin- 
 ism, 129 
 
 Moral courage and candor must 
 mark the effective minister, 85 
 
 Moral courage superior to mili- 
 tary courage, 233 
 
 Moral culture, sense of beauty 
 an element of, 62 
 
 Moral energy and perseverance, 
 60 
 
 Moral energy, statesmen should 
 produce this in his people, 187 
 
 Moral equivalence of men, 149 
 
 Moral evil is the worst misfor- 
 
 tune, 30 
 
 Moral independence, 125 
 
 Moral law, its authority over 
 state, 179 
 
 Moral perfections of the Deity, 
 22 
 
 Moral perfection, religion pro- 
 
 vides a motive for, 27 
 Moral revolution, the wonderful, 
 wrought by the Gospel, 50 
 Moral sentiment of world against 
 
 war, 215 
 Moral standards and ideals of 
 government, their influence 
 
 upon citizens, 181 
 
 Moral state of city, personal in- 
 terest in, 210 
 
 Morality, international, xxiv 
 
 Morse, Jedidiah, ix 
 
 Moses, 3 
 
 Motives, self-interest not highest 
 for nations, 185 
 
 N 
 
 Nation, its greatness dependent 
 upon intellectual culture, 194 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Nations, subordinate to humanity, 
 192 
 
 National happiness bound up with 
 national virtue, 193 
 
 National honor, justice first ele- 
 ment of, 183 
 
 National honor, true idea of, 230 
 
 National ideals, wealth a danger 
 to, 199 
 
 National literature, 125, 195 
 
 National peril, imperialistic ex- 
 pansion, 200 
 
 National wealth, a danger to its 
 ideals, 199 
 
 National well-being, impartial 
 administration of law vital to 
 it, 211 
 
 Nations bound by moral law, 179 
 
 Nations, true glory of, benefi- 
 cence not conquest, 222 
 
 Need for peace makers in an age 
 of strife, 166 
 
 Newport, home in, vii 
 
 Newspapers, value and power of 
 when upright, 214 
 
 O 
 
 Ordination sermon for 
 John S. Dwight, 87 
 Our membership in great human 
 family and partnership in its 
 
 fortunes, 147 
 
 Rev. 
 
 [e 
 
 Paine, Thomas, xii 
 
 “Paradise Lost,” 63 
 
 Parents and teachers may deter- 
 mine the environment, 91 
 
 Parker, Theodore, ostracizing of, 
 xxiii 
 
 Passionate vehemence of the re- 
 former is often justified, 135 
 
 Passion, guilty when it seeks 
 power over one’s fellows, 188 
 
 Patience, national, 205 
 
INDEX 
 
 Patriotism, false variety often in- 
 cites war, 187 
 
 Paul, 3 
 
 Peace, martyrs for, 227 
 
 Peace of God which passeth un- 
 derstanding, 40 
 
 Perfecting power of religion, 28 
 
 Philanthropist, The, 52, 155, 217 
 
 Philanthropy, the mission of 
 America to the world, 198 
 
 Piety, Unitarian Christianity fa- 
 vorable to, 25, 32, 139, 143 
 
 Political sovereignty should not 
 imply the right to make war, 
 225 
 
 Poor, looking on luxury incites to 
 envy and hatred, 164 
 
 Poor, ministry to, 72, 74, 162, 
 163, 165 
 Poverty and its wretchedness 
 
 must be eliminated, 160 
 
 Poverty, contempt shown, en- 
 genders self-contempt in the 
 poor, 162 
 
 Power over fellow-man, guilty 
 passion of, 188 
 
 Prayer for brotherhood of man, 
 82 
 
 Prayer of adoration and com- 
 munion, 79 
 
 Prayer, pure spirit and uses of, 
 
 13 
 
 Preaching religion, present it 
 cheerfully but as a challenge 
 to heroism, 94 
 
 Precepts for self-discipline in vir- 
 Hues 57 
 
 Present age, 4, 167, 171, 174 
 
 Present civilization hostile to 
 Christianity, 157 
 
 Progress, faith of, 173 
 
 Pure in heart shall see God, 26 
 
 Q 
 
 Quincy, Josiah, xv 
 
 255 
 
 R 
 
 Rational attitude 
 Bible, 136 
 
 Rational nature, never do vio- 
 lence to, 129 
 
 Rectitude, the supreme good of 
 states, 184 
 
 Reformation, xv, 135 
 
 Reformer, passionate vehemence, 
 often justifiable, 135 
 
 Religion alone can offset the 
 poisonous by-products of civ- 
 ilization, 174 
 
 Religion, essential thing, 34 
 
 Religion provides a motive for 
 moral perfection, 27 
 
 Religion reminds human nature 
 of its divine parentage and ob- 
 ligations, 17 
 
 Religion, true, blends itself with 
 human life, 28 
 
 Religious revivals are contrived 
 to subvert deliberation and 
 self-control, 139 
 
 Remarks on Associations, 140 
 
 Reverence for man must preface 
 genuine social reform, 155 
 
 Reward of good in life here- 
 after, 112 
 
 Rich, self-indulgence of demoral- 
 izes the poor, 163 
 
 Richmond, sojourn in, vii 
 
 Richmond, teaching in, vi 
 
 Right, idea of, God’s gift, 29 
 
 Righteousness the truest ex- 
 pediency, 70 
 
 Rights, those of 
 America, 197 
 
 Rise of labor master movement 
 of our age, 159 
 
 Robertson, Frederick, 1i 
 
 toward the 
 
 individual in 
 
 S 
 
 Sale of ardent spirits must be 
 suppressed, 238 
 
256 
 
 Sanctuary of home, 77 
 
 Saving grace of the loving heart, 
 72 
 
 Sectarianism, we should shun, ror 
 
 Seeking and redeeming love of 
 God;.23 
 
 Self-culture, 6, 14, 63, 75, 238 
 
 Self-defense a valid but rare oc- 
 casion of war, 228 
 
 Self-denial, 57, 60, 62, 130 
 
 Self-denial, great virtues bear the 
 impress of, 56 
 
 Self-discipline, 
 virtue, 57 
 
 Self-indulgence of the rich de- 
 moralizes the poor, 163 
 
 Self-interest, not highest motive 
 in nation’s career, 185 
 
 Sense, common and self-reliance, 
 xi 
 
 Sense of beauty an element of 
 moral culture, 62 
 
 Serious and honest inquiry into 
 religion, 126 
 
 Settlement house, visualized fifty 
 years in advance, xvi 
 
 Shelley, Percy B., xxiii 
 
 Slavery, 70, 71, 78, 126, 127, 150, 
 TOMO SRL OO.2 ES 
 
 Slavery, (book), xix 
 
 Social distinctions, should be 
 those based on moral and in- 
 tellectual excellence, 6 
 
 Social life involves high estimate 
 of human nature, 15 
 
 Social reform, reverence for man 
 must preface genuine, 155 
 
 Social revolution must not come 
 by violence, 171 
 
 Social storms, 8 
 
 Society, danger from lawlessness, 
 213 
 
 Society, great enemies of not in 
 its poorer ranks, 169 
 
 Society, how Christianity differs 
 from, 146 
 
 precepts for in 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Solemn responsibility of declaring 
 War, 224 
 
 Soul, Christianity’s great design, 
 infinite perfection of, 18 
 
 Soul, divine powers in the lowli- 
 est individual, 12 
 
 Soul, greater than state, 178 
 
 Soul made for God, 14 
 
 Spain, 68 
 
 Spirit, messages from, xxiv 
 
 Spirit of humanity distinguishes 
 modern times, 144 
 
 Spirit of materialism, danger of, 
 175 
 
 Spiritual conceptions of the idea 
 of hell, 114 
 
 Spiritual freedom, 18, 120, 122, 
 123, 134, 175, 177, 179, 181, 
 183, 187, 194 
 
 Spiritual freedom, Sermon on, 
 XXli 
 
 State, less sacred than soul, 178 
 
 State, supreme good of is recti- 
 tude, 184 
 
 Statesman, first duty of, 187 
 
 Sumner, Charles, xv 
 
 Sunday School, 95 
 
 Sword, must it devour forever, 
 217 
 
 Sympathy, with the suffering, 156 
 
 i 
 Teacher, office of, noblest on 
 earth, 92 
 Temperance, 164, 237, 239, 241, 
 242, 243 
 
 Texas, Annexation of, xix, 83 
 
 Thought in religious matters, mo- 
 nopoly of, belongs to no indi- 
 vidual or class, 131 
 
 Trajan, Emperor, 67 
 
 Treat men as men and they will 
 not prove wild beasts, 150 
 
 True idea of national honor, 230 
 
INDEX 
 
 True praise of God is appropria- 
 tion of his goodness, 35 
 
 True religion blends itself with 
 human life, 28 
 
 Truth, grandest, within you, 19 
 
 Tuckerman, Joseph, On, 208, 209, 
 211 
 
 Tyranny of bigotry, 133 
 
 U 
 
 Ultimate reliance of human be- 
 ing on his own mind, 128 
 
 Unitarian, 24 
 
 Unitarian Christianity, 33, 137 
 
 Unitarian Christianity favorable 
 to piety, 25, 32, 139, 143 
 
 Unitarianism, 23, 24 
 
 Universal benevolence of Jesus, 
 
 Universal church, covenant of is 
 charity and beneficence, 97 
 
 Universal Father, 19 
 
 Universality, of the 
 Gospel, 103 
 
 Usefulness of good does not end 
 with death, 111 
 
 Christian 
 
 V 
 Vicarious atonement, debasement 
 of God’s nature implied Ly 
 
 doctrine of, 137 
 
 Victorious love, Christ’s cross a 
 symbol of, 47 
 
 Virtue, national, 193 
 
 Virtue, precepts for self-discipline 
 In, 57 
 
 Virtue the bond of Universal 
 Church, 98 
 
 Vision of Christ’s reign, 49 
 
 257 
 Ww 
 
 War, 184, 188, 199, 220, 221, 225, 
 227, 228, 233, 235 
 
 War, conscientious objection to 
 is justifiable, 221 
 
 War, duty of citizen to question 
 it, 220 
 
 War, false patriotism incites it, 
 187 
 
 War, moral sentiment of world 
 against it, 215 
 
 War, must sword devour for- 
 ever, 217 
 
 War, necessity for it, 219 
 
 War, solemn responsibility of de- 
 claring, 224 
 
 War, to question the justice of, 
 our duty and right, 220 
 
 Washington, George, xiv 
 
 Wealth and rank, worldliness of, 
 167 
 
 Wealth, applied to 
 beneficence, 73 
 
 Wealth, national, 199 
 
 Webster, Noah, xv 
 
 West Indies, Emancipation of 
 slaves in, xix 
 
 Whittier, John Greenleaf, ii 
 
 Within you, is the grandest truth, 
 
 works of 
 
 19 
 
 Wonderful moral revolution 
 wrought by the Gospel, 50 
 
 Working man should not emulate 
 fashionable and idle rich, 165 
 
 Worldliness of wealth and rank, 
 167 
 
 Worship, 37 
 
 Worship, Christian, 38, 39, 141 
 
 Worship of mammon and spirit 
 of materialism, 175 
 
 Wrong methods not sanctified by 
 holy ends, 69 
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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