^

AN ju „ /.
,ORAT 10 N,
DELIVERED IN THE TOWN OF POULTNEYj
* ON THZ
FOURTH OF JULY, 1804.
BY CHAUNCY LANGDON, A. M.
WAy, 7ca« jwi/fc, c??rf murder while 7 smile ;
And cry content to that which grieves my heart ;
And wet mv cheeks with artificial tears ;
And frame my face to all occasions. SHAKESPEARE,
O that estates, degrees, and offices,
Were not derived corruptly / that clear honor
Were purchased by the merit of the wearer !
How many then be covered, that stand bare !
How many be commanded, that command .^...ibid,
H A LEU :
f&INTSD BY IIEN-kY DODO AND DAVID RUMSEY, JUJ».
1804.

0 U)r-
lE$OLtZD, 'By the Committee of Arrangement,"
'•¦ THAT, Meffrs. Pliny Adams and Thomas
Todd, be a Committee to wait on the Hon. Chaun-
cy Langdon, Efq. with thanks for his fervices
this day, and affure him, that the committee fpeak
their own fentiments, when they inform him, that
the general pleafure and fatisfaftion of his hearers,
have induced them refpe&fully to requeft a copy^of
his Oration for publication.
JONAS SAFFORD, Clerk.
Poultney, July 4, 1804. ,
TO THE COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENT.
* .GENTLEMEN,
THE affurance of your fatisfaftion and that of the
jafarerSj with my performance, is truly pleafing.
When I received your requeft on my return home
on the 3d of July kift, I lhould not have complied
with it, for the want of time ; had I not been com
pelled, out of regard to your peculiar fituation, and
the patriotic and independent feelings of your minds
and your conciliatory conduQ, as communicated to
me. In complying with your refpeQful requeft of
a copy for publication, I am fenfible that I {hall ex-
pofe myfelf to criticifm, and the cenfure of party fpi
rit; but upon further connderation, I have confent-

iv

ed to give you a copy with fome fmall additions^
which were omitted on account of length, and fome1
fmall correction without altering the fenfe : and if it
will afford any fatisfaQion to the candid reader and
friends of a free and virtuous government, it will be
an ample compenfation to the public's humble fery't,
CHAUNCY LANGDON.

Castleton, July 10, 1804; • \

)
6

AN
ORATION.

MEN AND BRETHREN,
JlaEAR me for your caufe, and be
candid that you may hear. Cenfure me with wifdom
and prudence ; " but awaken your fenfes, that you
" may the better judge." Regard the toils, the valor,
the treafures and united wifdom of our fathers, that
they may prove a lafting bleffing to us, and a pearl
of great price to the lateft generation.
I shAll not addrefs you in the mufic of periods,
in the artifice of conne&ion, or in the well arranged
flowers of rhetoric : but in a few plain and fimple
obfervations, which, I hope, may deeply imprefs
your minds by their own weight,
I shall not come to you in the fimpering blandifh-
ments of a courtier, or in the cringing Jiypocrify Of
a man of the people, , falfely fo called; but in the
•plain garb of that Republicanism, which has borne
the teft of ages ; and in the native drefs of one " who
's dwells hi his own country.'1

We have have met, not to celebrate the fuccefs of
one political party over another]; nor the acquifition
of an ideal paradife ; but tp commemorate the birth
of a nation : — A nation of freemen, who live in a
country v^here liberty delights to dwell ! Then let
lis all unite with heart and hand to celebrate the im
portant event : and render thanks to him, who fwfiys
the fceptre of univerfal nature, and implore his protec
tion, and the continuance of all our rights and liber
ties inviolate.
On this aufpicieus day, to fecure our rights and li
berties, the delegates of the American people, with
the love of liberty interwoven in the ligaments of their
hearts, were impelled to lift up thek hands to the)
Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth, and declare-
themfelves a free and independent nation ! " Ap-
" pealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the'
" reftitude of their intentions," they firmly relied up-,
on the protection of divine providence for the fuceefsj
of a righteous caufe. Amid the convulfions of na
ture herfelf— -conflagrated towns and facked villages
• — furrounded by widowed matrons, blooming vir
gins, and orphaned children, fleeing from paft af
fluence into exile — and amidft all the miferies of a
moft cruel and unnatural war, they dared to be free t ,
— Though naked, feeble, and deftitute of every im
plement of warfare ! yet they were clad in 'the veft-j ,

7
ments pf liberty, and armed with the finews of
freedom, ! Few in number, yet guarded with the
ftiield of faith in a juft and glorious caufe ! Though
fcattered over an extenfive country ; yet they cordi
ally united and mutually pledged their lives, their for
tunes, their honor, and all that is dear to man to fupi-
port that declaration ! — —A declaration, which af-
tonifhed Europe ; and in the iffue made tyranny
tremble ! — A declaration which plucked from Great-
Britain the brighteft gem in her crown — and fhobkher
imperial, and tyrannic throne to its centre ! — Thro'
feas of blood, furrounded by death and deftruQion,
witli defpair flaring, us in the face, we have maintained
our freedom, and defended our rights by the fingle
finew of the arm of Liberty.
The mother forgot her fucking child ! — And " if it
" had not been, the Lord was on our fide, when
" men rofe up againft us, then they had fwallowed us
" quick :'' — Yea ! " the proud waters had gone over
" our fouls." But praifed " be the Lord, we have
" efcaped as a bird out of the fnafe of the fowlers :
" The fnare is broken and we are efcaped."
. The finger of God pointed out to us the immor
tal Washington to lead the embattled ftrife ! — We
j^ofe— we fought — we bled — rand we conquered f
Yes, my friends, on this twenty -eighth anniverfary

of American Independence, we enjoy the Tweets of li
berty, with peace and plenty in her train.
Yonder fields of battle, once moiftened with the
precious blood of heroic and virtuous freemen, are
now preffed with the plowfkare, and annually yield,
their increafe. Stern want ftalks not in our ftreets !
 No favage yells affright us !— No relentlefs foes
furround our dwellings or annoy our reft. — All may
enjoy peace and plenty under a government of mild
and equal laws. Oh happy people, thrice happy
people ! if we know our own good, before " it is
" hidden from our eyes!" 
Though peace has been " within our walls, and
" profperity within our palaces :" — Though many
have fought to do us good ; — yet remember that the
ftamp of change is placed, on all things below the fun.
" GOD alone is unchangeable ! — With him there is
" no variableness or fhadow of turning !" — Every
page of hiftory, the great mirror of the world, in
which we can view the fate of men and nations, evin
ces this truth, and nature confirms the fad. The
magnificent works of art and man's inventions to per
petuate their fame or greatnefi, wafte away by ever-
changing time : and the face of nature herfeif annual*
ly varies her appearances, and affumes new fhapes
and features. The corporeal part of man is conftant-

9
ly changing, through the various periods of life; and
the mind is a&ive or progreflive from one thing to
another. With the great mafs of mankind nothing is
fixed or permanent. Their opinions and profeffions
are fleeting as the wind : and men change and veer as
occafion and their own private and ambitious views
require. Men are cried up and down, as great patri
ots, according to the particular interefts and ambitious
views of leading demagogues.* Liberty, freedom and
political virtue, in practice, is one thing to-day, and
another to-morrow. Tyranny, ariftocracy, oppref-
fion or political intolerance are only feen, or pretend
ed to be feen, and announced in opponents. We,
and we alone have no ambitious views ; and our on
ly objeQs are the good of the people and the fecurity of
their rights, is the language of party and of vain and
ambitious men.
" Not one looks backward, onward still he goes,
" Yet ne'er looksforward further than his nose."
Many fancy that they now live in a golden age :
But remember, " the gold may become dim, 'and the
" moft fine gold changed."
The beft governments have tumbled into ruin : and
* This position might be exemplified from numberless
instances in ancient and modern history. It is sufficient to
name only two recent ones — vis. Aaron Burr and Thom
as M'Kean. B

tp
the freeft and moft enlighteriedRepublics have become
tyrannies. . . . : 
 Where is the rich and magnanimous
Commonwealth of Rome? Once the cradle pf heroes,
and the depofit of public virtue and true patriotifm ?
— Where is the valiant and heroic Republic of Carth
age ? — Where are the free and enlightened States of
Greece, once the feat of liberty, freedom and sci
ence?  They have long fince
tumbled into promifcuous ruin, by their own corrup
tions, flatteries, party fpirit, (lander, detra&ions and
envy. Parties trod on the heels of parties ; deftroy-
ing "ojie another5 by themfelves deftroyed : — oblitera
ting every virtuous and patriotic aft ; flattering; and
deceiving the people ; themfelves deceived by the ac
tors behind the fcene : until all religion and political
virtue, in the rulers and in the majority of the people,
were done away : and an impartial execution of the
laws was fet at defiance ; and foon, very foon^lhe
fword of tyranny pierced between the joints and the
marrow of the body politic, and proftrated it in the
dufl of defpotifm.
Ceasar, having become popular by his many and
fplendid victories, and his courteous attention to the
people, aimed at the fovereign power of Rome. —
While he wept, when the poor man cried, hewas pre
paring materials to enflave the people. While he

11
thrice refufed a kingly crown, he was Forging out
chains to faft bind Roman liberty, and fhackle public
virtue. , While on Pharfalia's plains he was denoun
cing and fighting Pompey, as a dangerous and ambi
tious main, and hoftileto the rights and liberties of the
commonwealth, he was foftly winding the chains, he
had prepared, around the cringing necks of the too
credulous Romans. While he was decrying the rigid
virtue, and pure patriotifm of Cato, as tending to a-
riftocracy and monarchy ; and as dangerous to the
equal rights- and liberties of the people^ he was do
ling the doors of the temple of freedom s — And
while he was clofely preffing him pent up in "jltica,
ftruggling to fave their liberties, and the glory of the
Roman name, from his tyranic grafp ; Ceasar was
placing an everlafting feal on the portal :•-— which
made the magnanimous hero cry out, in the lan
guage of Addisqn, that
*' When vice prevails and wicked men bear sway*
" A post of honour, is a private station !"
And in the end, made him refufe to preferve a life
too virtuous and patriotic to furyive the lofs of pub
lic and private virtue, and of the glory and freedom
of Rome!
Where are the modern Republics of Venice, Ge
noa, Switzerland, Geneva and Holland ? They are
now the vaffals of a foreign power, and groaning un-

12

der the iron yoke of the Republic of France, with the
only confolation of having the terms, liberty and
equality, ftampedon each end! In vain did the noble
vouths of Switzerland, as the true descendants of
William Tell, under the walls of Bern,like the band
of Leon idas, fight to preferve their ancients liberties
and independence from the rapine of the French
government, -and gulph of their tyranny.
Where is the boafted Liberty and Equality of the
French Republic ? If they ever exifted in France,they
have long fince fled that ill-fated country, to elude
the tyrannic grafp of a foreign ufurper.
i
From the tragic death of the humane Louis to the
prefent day, party fpirit has continued to rage with
unrelenting fury ; and, as the befom of deftruction,
has fwept all before it. Petion, Brissot, Carnier,
Condorcet, Barras, MaSat, Robespierre and oth
er ruthlefs demagogues, under the fafcinating charms^,
and colour of freedom, in thick fucceffion feized the !
helm of government, from which they were hurled
into the giddy vortex of a fancied Liberty and Equal-
ity ! Millions of every age, denomination and fex ;
yea ; helplefs and unborn infants fell a prey to their
relentlefs rage and tyrannies. Deftruftion was in
their ways ; and defolation marked their fteps !* They
* Predhome, a zealous jacobin, in his publication of,

*3 ,
changed the temples of the living God, into fcenes of
debauchery and all manner of wkkednefs : — and even
attempted to change virtue itfelf; — to eradicate every
moral fentiment from the human breaft, and to ex
tirpate all religious obligation from the face of the
earth. — They even affailed the throne of the Deity
himfelf; and would
" Snatch from his hand the balance and the rod,
" Rejudge his justice and be God of God."
the revolutionsMn France, states, that the victims in the
revolution from June H89, to October 1795, amounted to
2,029,606: that 1265 women and children were thrownin-
to the sea at Toulon : and were called republican bap
tisms : that 900,000 perished at LaVeyidee; 1 5000 of 'whom
were women and 22,000 children: that 32,000 owe adjudg
ed to death at Nantz by Carnier ; among whom 500 chil
dren were shot, and 1500 drowned; 264 women were shot
to death and 500 were drowned — and that 1 24,000 whites
and 60,000 blacks were destroyed at St. Domingo. This
unparralleled destruction of the human race,, was within the
territories, under what they called the civil administration ot
their government. While these bloody massacres took place
in France, her armies were whitening the plains of Europe
and Africa with the bones of the innocent, and driving over
heaps of slain, were laying waste the fairest part of the globe,
and bowing the necks of nations* happy in their government,
to the gallic yoke ; and vainly deemed these victories, the
triumph of Republicanism, and called the purchase
cheap 1 1 !

i4
All thefe things were done under the names of
Liberty and Equality ! ! !  " Tell it not in Gath,
w publifh it not in the ftreets of Afkelon J-^-left" mon
archy " triumph, and the daughter of** defpotifm
" be glad l»*
The people of France were oppreffed by the ty
rannies of the adminiftrators of their government, un
til her millions were made willing, with raifed hands
and clamorous tongues, to welcome Bonaparte with
his victorious legions, within the gates of Paris, and
declare him Conful for life, with a right to dictate all
laws, and name his fucceffor. Thus the great mafs
of the people rejoiced to exchange the Tygers of
France for the Lion of Gorfica, to rule over them
with defpotic fway ! 
Oh my countrymen ! becaufe tyrannies have been
practifed in a Republican form of government : and
the cloak of Liberty and Equality, has been profti-
tuted for a covering ; defpife not the garments ! — -
they are robes which become virtuous freemen : but
can never be long worn by demagogues or tyrants,
when the people are virtuous, and well informed.
Liberty and Equality have been ufed asfafcinating
charms to bewilder the unwary, and ignorant : — but
well defined, underftood and praQifed, are the bans
of every free republic, and virtue the prefervatiye.

Civil Liberty is oppofite to licentioufnefs. It ex*.
ills in its greateft perfection, where the people are un
der a government of their own choice, and they con
form to the laws enaQed by themfelvps or their repre
fentatives, for the good of community. Trueliberty
makes the people fubje&s, not of men, but of the
Jaws. If we, therefore, would enjoy liberty, we muft
do only what the Jaws permit. It forbids the practice
or indulgence of any thing that is injurious to our
fellow-men. We may a& according to our own
choice, and purfue thofe meafures which are condu
cive to our own interefts and happinefs ; but muft
a£t within the'limits of the laws, and diftributive juf
tice. We muft fo ufe our own, as not to injure
another. Freedom of fpeech within the limits of
good and wholefome laws is a great privilege, and is
conducive to public good and private happinefs : but
a licentious ufe of that Freedpm, is a curfe to any
nation, and is as the peftilence which walketh in dark-
•nefs to juft information, and all focial and domeftic
happinefs. It is like a free ufe of mercury in the
hands of a quack ; and will eventually prove as de-
ftru£Uve to the body politic, " So Ipng as the peo-
" pie are under the reftraint of juft and equal laws,
" they enjoy true freedom." When the paflions of
men are under no other reftraint than reafon ;* and
* One of the doctrines of modern philosophy, orthenevr
school, is that every other restraint, than natural reason,

i6
the laws are violated with impunity, all real Freedom
is loft, the reign ofjuftice is over, party rage fucceeds,
liberty changes into libertinifm, tyranny triumphs
and public virtue flees away.
In every free government, the principles of equali
ty confift in an equality of rights ; but not in an equal
liberty, in every individual, to exercife the fame
rights : — And thofe rights protected and fecured to
every one by a ftricl obfervance and an impartial ad-
, miniftration of the laws.. And that thofe rights, thus
protected and fecured, be fuch, as that the way to hon
or and preferment may be equally open to every in
dividual in fociety — and where real merit, informa
tion and capacity are the only diftinctions. Liberty
and equality, thus defined and practifed, will perpe
tuate our government and freedom, and enfure us
lafting bleffings.
To obtain liberty and independence, we had to
cppquer a mighty hoft : but to preferve them pure
and uncontaminated, we muft do more — we muft
continually conquer ourfelves. We muft (land in
awe of our own prejudices and corruptions. We
is an infringement upon the freedom and liberty of man :
and therefore created Reason a goddess, as the presiding
principle or only rule of civil conduct in every individual in
society.

*7
muft guard againft flattery, envy, falfehood, party
fpirit and detraction. We muft watch the actions,
and not hear the profeffions of the zealous and J "elf*
filled patriot : for " by their works ye fhall know
" them. Men do not gather grapes of thorns, nor
"figsofthiftles." w There is,'' faid the patriotic orator, Caius Ma-
rius, .to the Romans, " a material difference in the
" behaviour pf thofe who offer themfelves as Candi-
" dates for places of power and truft, before and af-
" ter obtaining them. They folicitthem in oneway,
" and execute them in another. They fet out with
*' a great appearance of activity, humility and mode-
" ration : and they foon fall into floth, pride avarice
" and oppreflion."
A short time before the Athenian Republic loft
her liberties and was deftroyed by party rage and fac
tions, the great and eloquent Demosthenes faid. to
the people — " That when he compared the fpeeches
" of fome amongft them, with their actions, he was
" at a lofs how to reconcile what he faw, and what he
" heard. Their proteftations," fays he, " are full of
" zeal for the public good, but their meafures are fo in-
" eonfiftent, that all their prpfejfwns become fufpect-
« ed." Moral and political virtue and real patriotifm, are
C

i8
modeft in their profeflions and appearances. This is
moft beautifully exemplified in the parable of Jotham,*
reprefenting the trees as going forth to anoint a king
over them. The olive, the fig-tree and the vine mo-
deftly excufed themfelves from leaving the Jweets and
fatnefs of their own native virtues and excellencies,
and go to he promoted over the trees, and feign over
their brethren. The bramble, the vileft of all trees,
watching his opportunity, and ambitious of promo
tion over his brethren, hid his thorny trurjck and limbs
with a fair covering of leaves, ftood and faid to all
the trees, come and in truth anoint me king oxler'you ;
and kindly invited them, faying, " come and put your
'5 trufl in my fhadoto :" and no fooner was the appli
cation made, than the bramble accepted the offer —
but foon fire came out of the bramble, and devoured the
cedars of Lebanon !
Vain ambition and corrupt defigns require the
ftrongeft and moft zealous profeflions of patriotifm,
to hide their deformity from the public eye. Truth
and virtue want no covering. They appear moft
lovely iri their native drefs. They fhun not the light;
they fufpect no evil ; they feek that which is good. — •
Happy is that nation, to which true virtue reveals her-
felf in all her native beauty ! Can they fee her, and
not love her ? — Can they love her and not be happy ?
* See Judges, Chapter ix.

»9
And can they be happy without freedom ? — And can
they be free without virtue in the rulers and in the
people ? Reafon dictates that when the people are
corrupt, they will choofe corrupt rulers, who will fol
low their own devices, and gratify their own vicious
inclinations. They engender vice until the whole bo
dy politic becomes corrupt and diffolution enfues.
When the people become corrupt, the Lord of
hofts has alfo faid " that he will take away the mighty
' " man, and the man of war, the judge and the pro
phet, the prudent and the ancient, the honorable man
and the cpiinfellor,*' &q. " And will give children
" to he their. princes, and b^bes fhall rule over them,
" And the people fhall be oppreffed, every one by
" another, and every one by his neighbor : the child '
" fhall behave himfelf proudly againft the ancient,
" and the bafe againft the honorable.'*
Frugality and induftry are effential to virtue.
They are fo effential to the happinefs of the world,
that they are refpected in every man,, from the higheft
potentate to, the beggar on the dunghill. Without
induftry and frugality few virtues can long exift. — ,
" They may be called the daughters of prudence, the
" lifters of temperance^ and the parents of liberty."
.Extravagance and floth will enfure poverty : — pover
ty will enforce dependance :---dependance will invite
corruption-*-and corruption will deftroy all freedom!

20
and liberty. Dependance will produce a paflive
compliance with the wickednefs of others t and there
are few, few indeed ! who do not learn to practice
thofe crimes and vices which they daily fee and ceafe
to cenfure.
While a nation is virtuous, they will generally be
well informed ; and when rightly informed, they will
judge correctly, and purfue their own happinefs.
Flattery is dangerous to right information : and
whoever poffeffes power is expofed to its direful ef
fects. Flattery will infinuate itfelf like a ferpent a-
mong flowers. " It is better, faid Antisthines, to
" fall among crows than flatterers ; for thofe only de-
" vour the dead, thefe the living." Alas ! to what are
men poffeffing power expofed ! Even the wifeft are
frequently abufed by the flatteries of the defigning.- — ¦
People are often deceived becaufe they do not repulfe
flattery ; and love and refpect thofe who tell them
the truth. Flatter not, nor be flattered.. Search af
ter truth by the dictates of unbiaffed reafon, and you
are fafe.
Artful and defigning men will ever flatter the
people, when power and authority are derived from
them ; and when they have obtained the heighth of
their ambition, they will turn their "backs, and look
down and fcorn the bafe degrees by which they af-

cended.* Good men will retire, and wait until they
are fought after and promoted. The great Cincin-
natus folicited no office, but followed his plough and
induftrioufly purfued his domeftic concerns until he
was actually chofen dictator of Rome, and the com
mand given him. But Absalom " rofe up early and
" ftood befide the way of the gate," with all the pagean
try pf a monarch, to engage the attention of every
one as he paffed by. And as every one paffed by,
to go " to the king for judgment," he called unto him,
and enquired of his welfare ; and appeared to intereft
himfelf in his concerns : And then began to complain
of the government ; and " charged him to fee if his
" matters were good and right fince no man is deputed
u of the king to hear thee." He then artfully fays to
him—" Oh that /were made judge in the land, that
" every man which hath any fuit or caufe might come
" unto me, and / would do him juftice." And as
* This trait of the human character is beautifully de
scribed in the' following, lines of Shakespeare, in his Julius
Caesar.  ;." 'Tis a common proof
" That lowliness is young ambition's ladder,
" Whereto the climber upwards turns his face :
" And when he once attains the utmost round,
" He then unto the ladder turns his back,
" Looksiin the clouds, scorning the base degrees
" By which he did ascend." _

22
the unwary " man came nigh to him to do him obei-
" fance," he .being the king's fon, " he put forth his
hand, and took him and kiffed him !" And what was
the refult ? Holy writ informs us, that " fo Absalom
flole away the hearts of the men of Ifrael." — A viler
and more atrocious theft could not be committed a-
mong men !* After procefs of time, under pretence of
performing the religious obligation he was under, he
went to Hebron, " fent fpies through all the tribes of
Ifrael," and proclaimed himfelf king-, and thus drove
his father, " a man after God's own heart,'* from his
throne ; and polluted the fceptre of wifdom with his
facrilegious hands ! •$$ ,
Free governments have often been fapped to their
foundations by envy, flander and party fpirit. Their
* Stealing of men's hearts was well understood by no*
ture's poet.
" Ohserve his courtship to the common people :
" How he did seem to dive into their hearts
" With humble and familiar courtesy :
" What reverence he did throw away on slaves ,-
" Wooing poor craftsmen with the craft of smiles,
" And patient underbearing of his fortune*
" As 'twere to banish their effects with him,
" Off goes his bonnet to an oyster-wench :
" A brace of draymen, bid, God speed him well !
" And had the tribute of his supple knee ;
" With thanks, my countrymen, my loving friends."

23
baneful effects have been feen and felt by the good
and virtuous in all ages. Envy ever fixes itfelf on
merit ; and, like a fore eye, is offended with every
thing that is bright, and will ever call in the aid of
flander to tarnifh the luftre. Aristides, who, for his
unexampled integrity, was firnamed the just, fell be
neath the envenomed fhafts. By the envy and flan
der of vile demagogues, that great man was banifhed,
by thofe who could not write his name, from the Athe
nian Republic, which he had enriched by his fuperior
wifdom, virtues and talents, and often faved by his va
lour — and for no other caufe, than that envy could not
bear to hear- him called " the just."* Though he
poffeffed the public treafury, yet he. died poor, and his
children were unable to bury him.
Socrates, thp glory of Athens and of the world,
and numberlefs others, have alfo fallen victims to en
vy and flander.
* When Aristides was on trial by ostracism, an Athe
nian who did not know him, and could not write, came and
asked Aristides to write on his shell : Aristides asked
what he should write ? The man answered, " Aristides."
He then asked what he had against Aristides * The ig
norant man answered; " He had nothing ; only he could
not any longer bear to hear him called the just." Aris
tides wrote his own name on the shell, and was banished his
native. country for his virtue and integrity !

24 I
Says the prince of poets,,
My heart laments that virtue cannot live
Out of the teeth of emulation.
No might nor greatness in mortality
Can censure 'scape: back-rWDunding calumny
The whitest virtue strikes. What king so strong
Can tie the gall up in the slanderous tongue ?
 Tis slander,
Whose edge is sharper than a sword, whose tongue
Out venoms all the worms of Nile : whose breath
Rides on the, posting winds, and doth belie
All corners of the world ;* kings, queens and states,
Maids, matrons— ^nay, the secrets of the grave
This viperous slander enters.
In America^ have nof the greateft talents, and moft
exalted virtues, which ever adorned human nature,
felt the envenomed Ihafts, from the hireling tongues
of foreign fycophants and reftlefs denpiagogues ! Let
the grey hairs of retiring worth bear witnefs ! Let
the war-worn foldier teftify ! And let the entombed
afhes of the father of his country declare ! . . .
.  . . Alas ! he lies
low in the duft, beneath the cold clods of the valley !
and envy and flander would refufe him a monument of
his worth ! But. his virtues and fame are exalted a-
bove the reach of envy itlelf.
Party spirit in governments, towns or families is

an inexhauftible fource of evil. It is a gangrene which
often rages fo as to produce a total diffolution, un-
Jefs prevented by a timely amputation of the part af
fected. It embitters every enjoyment pf life ; and by
its peftilential breath blafts all focial and domeftie hap
pinefs. It paralifes every virtuous act of govern
ment, and fweeps away all confidence in the conftitu
ted authorities. It deftroys all integrity, and drives
every public and private virtue into exile. Do we
not fee — do we not feel its direful effects ?
Oh, my Countrymen ! Howrmuft|§ur cheeks be
covered with crimfon blufhes, if ourTenowned hero
and statesman fhould return fsom the manfion of
the dead, to fee our improvement of thofe leffons of
moral and political wifdom which he left us as a dying
legacy ? — Hear his warning voljee againft party fpirit.
" Let me now take," fays he, " a more comprehen-
" five view, and warn you in a moft folemn manner
"againft the baneful effects of party fpirit generally.
" This fpirit, unfortunately, is infeparable from
" our nature, having its root in the ftrongeft paflions
" of the human mind. It exifts under different fhapea,
" in all governments* more or lefs ftifled, contracted
" or repreffed : but in thofe of the popular form it is
" feen in its greateft ranknefs; and is truly their worft
" enemy.

z6
" The alternate dominion of one faction over anoT
" ther, fharpened by the fpirit of revenge, which is
" natural to party diffenfion, and which in different
" ages and countries has perpetrated the moft horrid
" enormities, is itfelf a frightful defpotifm. But this
" at length leads to a more formal and permanent
" defpotifm. The diforders and miferies which rd-
" fult and gradually incline the minds of men to feek
" fecurity and repofe in the abfolute power of an in-
" dividual ; — andj fooner or later the chief of fome
" prevailing faction, more able, or more fortunate
" than his competitors, $urns,this difpofition to the
" purpofes of his own elevation on the ruins of pub-
" lie liberty."
Further, " It ferves^alwaysto diftract the public
" councils, and enfeeble the public adminiftration. %
" It agitates the^communky with ill-founded jealou-
" lies and falfe alarms : kindles the animofities of one
" part againft another, foments occafiqnal riots and
" infurrections. It opens the door to foreign influ-
*' ence and corruption, which find a facilitated accefs
" to the government itfelfj through the channel of
" party paflion. Thus the policy and will of one
" country are fubjected to the policy and will of a-
" nother." Shall we not liften to the laft addrefs of our poli-
\

I 27
tical Father ? Shall we not hearken to his maxims,
when they contain a complete epitome of that virtue
and morality which exalt a nation ; and of thofe
principles which are the bulwark of our peace, free
dom and fafety ? Each fentence is like a precious jewel :
and all his actions like fo many pearls, ftrung on the
golden cord of love to his country. -
My friends, fuffer me this plainnefs of fpeech. —
Have not too many of us bferi fweityed from the line
of our duty by fafcinajhag! words, flatteries and falfe
profeflions ? Have noLour minds beenjftiolently pre
judiced and embittered againft good andro^right men,
whofe abilities, knowledge and.experience juftly en
title them to our co^^de^e,^ by^clafnorous partifans
and demagogues* and by a vile application of oppro
brious epithets? Have natjlander stpd party fpirit had
too confpicuous. a ftation and too vifible an effect
among us ? Do not fome of us feverely feel its en
venomed fhafts now rankling in our bofoms ? In
confequence of thefe things, do nottoo many foreign
ers, who have fucked the breafis offedition, and been
dandled in the lap of corruption, hold important fixa
tions, and have too much influence in our govern
ment and councils? — And that by the difplacing, and
to the exclufion of our beft citizens ! Will not the
enemies pf our freedom and independence gain

23

ground upon usv, while we are deftroying one ano
ther by party-fpirit, envy, flander and political intol

erance r

In our government the people emphatically ponefs
the fovereign power. The nature of our government
is. propitious to the rights of man, and the profperity
and happinefs of fociety : but its continuance is fhort
unlefs guarded by a vigilant attention. Its principles
muft be preferv^ pufe and uncontaminated. When
the purity of thofe principles are gone, the defcent to
anarchy and fi;om thence tOjde&otifm is inevitable.
In vain will the patriot ftrive to>eftore its original
principles*. ,*i The virtues of a Catoot a Washington
^ill becom&J:a&& founding irafs or^a tinkling fymboL
Finally, brethren, let Us fearch for truth as for
hidden treafures. Let us profit by the fate of nations,,
and the experience of paft ages. Let men of virtue
and real merit (but not the merit pfparty) be prefer
red and fought for in their humble retreats. Let ve-
nality, flander, party fpirit, vice and immorality meet
your, abhorrence in all yourfactions. Avoid innova
tions as dangerous. Make ho changes, with an ex
pectation of finding perfeBability in -man, or the works.
of man : It is not in man or his wOrks ; The fearch
h vain — it is the contagious diforder of the mind —

¦vr fag '. .; „
.the idle purfait of a new race of beings, whicS) we can '
have no reafonable hope to difcover.
While we notice the iraportancepf ithis day, let
us all unite in the love of one another, and in the
love of our common country ; and avoid party fpirit
as deftructive to both. Deteft envy and flander, arid
cultivate peace and harmony in fociety. Practice vir
tue, integrity, economy andinduflay. The practice
of thefe things is the (Tiiji|,or\aU free1 j^vernments.
And let fuch and onp fuch be the objects of our
choice, for placesjesr honour and truft. -JLet the gold
en privilege of ^«right of iuffrage be even guarded,
as the apple ofjthe eye ; and exercifedJraM.pure in
tentions. Fore*||j|jLrenounce every f||||6arance ef
bribery, corrupffaM prejudice, diffention and party
fpirit. Ever diftffft and avoid'tbe^^K'who would
create diftruft and pari!y.fpirit among jpen.

Thus we fhall perpetuate pur freedom and gov
ernment, and hand them down to pofterity in their
original jjurity. Thus we fhall, fecure the fublime
enjoyment of all thofe rights and privileges, which
have been dearly purchafed, by the precious blood
of heroes and the united cares and toils of a long lift
of patriots, who are now no more1. Thus we fhall
become victorious over the enemies of our freedom

go
and independence — and what is more,, we fhall be
victorious over ourf elves ; — and thereby realize, with
out alloy, the benign influence of good and whole-
fome laws, under a free and independent govern-,
ment : and leave to our poft.er.ky the richeft bleffing
earthly parents can beftow : — And finally finifh our
courfe in peace, and fall afleep in our God, and the
G6d of our Fathers.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 08725 8969