,,speeches1 ,,addresses1 ,,and ,,occasional ,,sermons1 ,,by ,,theodore ,,parker1 ,,minister ,,of ,,the ,,twenty-,,eighth ,,congregational ,,church ,,in ,,boston4 ,,in ,,three ,,volumes4 ,,vol4 ,i4 ,,boston3 ,,horace ,b4 ,,fuller1 7,,successor ,,to ,,walker1 ,,fuller1 ,,and ,,company17 #bde1 ,,washington ,,street4 #ahfg4 ,entered according to ,act of ,congress1 in the year #ahee1 by ,,theodore ,,parker1 in the ,clerk's ,office of the ,district ,court of the ,district of ,massachusetts4 ,,to ,,francis ,,jackson1 ,,the ,,foe ',,gainst ,,every ,,form ,,of ,,wrong1 ,,the ,,friend ,,of ,,justice1 ,,whose ,,wide ,,humanity ,,contends ,,for ,,woman',s ,,natural ,,and ,,unalienable ,,right2 ,,against ,,his ,,nation',s ,,cruelty ,,protects ,,the ,,slave2 ,,in ,,the ,,criminal ,,beholds ,a ,,brother ,,to ,,be ,,reformed2 ,,goes ,,to ,,men ,,fallen ,,among ,,thieves1-- ,,whom ,,priests ,,and ,,levites ,,sacramentally ,,pass ,,by1-- ,,and ,,seeks ,,to ,,soothe ,,and ,,heal ,,and ,,bless ,,them ,,that ,,are ,,ready ,,to ,,perish3 ,,with ,,admiration ,,for ,,his ,,unsurpassed ,,integrity1 ,,his ,,courage ,,which ,,nothing ,,scares1 ,,and ,,his ,,true ,,religion ,,that ,,would ,,bring ,,peace ,,on ,,earth ,,and ,,good-,,will ,,to ,,man1 ,,these ,,volumes ,,are ,,thankfully ,,dedicated ,,by ,,his ,,minister ,,and ,,friend1 ,,theodore ,,parker4 ,,preface4 ,i have collected in these volumes several ,speeches1 ,addresses and occasional ,sermons1 which ,i have delivered at various times during the last seven years4 ,most of them were prepared for some special emergency3 only two papers1 that on ,the ,relation of ,jesus to his ,age and the ,ages1 and that on ,immortal ,life1 were written without reference to some such emergency4 ,all of them have been printed before1 excepting the sermon ,of ,general ,taylor1 and the address on ,the ,american ,scholar2 some have been several times reprinted4 ,i do not know that they are worthy of republication in this permanent form1 but the leading ideas of these volumes are very dear to me1 and are sure to live as long as the human race shall continue4 ,so ,i have published a small edition1 hoping that the truths which ,i know are contained in these pages will do a service long after the writer1 and the occasion of their utterance1 have passed off and been forgot4 ,i offer them to whom they may concern4 ,,theodore ,,parker4 ,,august #bd1 #ahea4 ,,contents ,,of ,,volume ,i4 ,i4 ,,the ,,relation ,,of ,,jesus ,,to ,,his ,,age ,,and ,,the ,,ages4--,a ,sermon preached at the ,thursday ,lecture1 in ,boston1 ,december #bf1 #ahdd ,,page #a ,,ii4 ,,the ,,true ,,idea ,,of ,a ,,christian ,,church4--,a ,discourse at the ,installation of ,theodore ,parker as ,minister of the ,twenty-,eighth ,congregational ,church in ,boston1 on ,sunday1 ,january #d1 #ahdf #bc ,,iii4 ,a ,,sermon ,,of ,,war4--,preached at the ,melodeon1 on ,sunday1 ,june #g1 #ahdf #fc ,,iv4 ,a ,,speech ,,delivered ,,at ,,the ,,anti-,,war ,,meeting ,,in ,,fanueil ,,hall1 ,february #d1 #ahdg #aac ,v4 ,a ,,sermon ,,of ,,the ,,mexican ,,war4--,preached at the ,melodeon1 on ,sunday1 ,june #be1 #ahdh #abg ,,vi4 ,a ,,sermon ,,of ,,the ,,perishing ,,classes ,,in ,,boston4--,preached at the ,melodeon on ,sunday1 ,august #cj1 #ahdf #ahe ,,vii4 ,a ,,sermon ,,of ,,merchants4--,preached at the ,melodeon1 on ,sunday1 ,november #bb1 #ahdf #bbg ,,viii4 ,a ,,sermon ,,of ,,the ,,dangerous ,,classes ,,in ,,society4--,preached at the ,melodeon1 on ,sunday1 ,january #ca1 #ahdg #bgi ,,ix4 ,a ,,sermon ,,of ,,poverty4--,preached at the ,melodeon1 on ,sunday1 ,january #ad1 #ahdi #ccc ,x4 ,a ,,sermon ,,of ,,the ,,moral ,,condition ,,of ,,boston4--,preached at the ,melodeon1 on ,sunday1 ,february #aa1 #ahdi #cfd ,i4 ,,the ,,relation ,,of ,,jesus ,,to ,,his ,,age ,,and ,,the ,,ages4--,a ,,sermon ,,preached ,,at ,,the ,,thursday ,,lecture1 ,,in ,,boston1 ,,december #bf1 #ahdd4 ,,john ,,vii4 #dh4 ,have any of the ,rulers1 or of the ,pharisees1 believed on him8 ,in all the world there is nothing so remarkable as a great man2 nothing so rare2 nothing which so well repays study4 ,human nature is loyal at its heart1 and is1 always and everywhere1 looking for this its true earthly sovereign4 ,we sometimes say that our institutions1 here in ,america1 do not require great men2 that we get along better without than with such4 ,but let a real1 great man light on our quarter of the planet2 let us understand him1 and straightway these democratic hearts of ours burn with admiration and with love4 ,we wave in his words1 like corn in the harvest wind4 ,we should rejoice to obey him1 for he would speak what we need to hear4 ,men are always half expecting such a man4 ,but when he comes1 the real1 great man that ,god has been preparing1--men are disappointed2 they do not recognize him4 ,he does not enter the city through the gates which expectants had crowded4 ,he is a fresh fact1 brand new2 not exactly like any former fact4 ,therefore men do not recognize nor acknowledge him4 ,his language is strange1 and his form unusual4 ,he looks revolutionary1 and pulls down ancient walls to build his own temple1 or1 at least1 splits old rocks asunder1 and quarries anew fresh granite and marble4 ,there are two classes of great men4 ,now and then some arise whom all acknowledge to be great1 soon as they appear4 ,such men have what is true in relation to the wants and expectations of to-day4 ,they say1 what many men wished but had not words for2 they translate into thought what1 as a dim sentiment1 lay a burning in many a heart1 but could not get entirely written out into consciousness4 ,these men find a welcome4 ,nobody misunderstands them4 ,the world follows at their chariot-wheels1 and flings up its cap and shouts its huzzas1--for the world is loyal1 and follows its king when it sees and knows him4 ,the good part of the world follows the highest man it comprehends2 the bad1 whoever serves its turn4 ,but there is another class of men so great1 that all cannot see their greatness4 ,they are in advance of men's conjectures1 higher than their dreams2 too good to be actual1 think some4 ,therefore1 say many1 there must be some mistake2 this man is not so great as he seems2 nay1 he is no great man at all1 but an impostor4 ,these men have what is true not merely in relation to the wants and expectations of men here and to-day2 but what is true in relation to the ,universe1 to ,eternity1 to ,god4 ,they do not speak what you and ,i have been trying to say1 and cannot2 but what we shall one day years hence1 wish to say1 after we have improved and grown up to man's estate4 ,now it seems to me1 the men of this latter class1 when they come1 can never meet the approbation of the censors and guides of public opinion4 ,such as wished for a new great man had a superstition of the last one in their minds4 ,they expected the new to be just like the old1 but he is altogether unlike4 ,nature is rich1 but not rich enough to waste any thing4 ,so there are never two great men very strongly similar4 ,nay1 this new great man1 perhaps1 begins by destroying much that the old one built up with tears and prayers4 ,he shows1 at first1 the limitations and defects of the former great man2 calls in question his authority4 ,he refuses all masters2 bows not to tradition2 and with seeming irreverence1 laughs in the face of the popular idols4 ,how will the respectable men1 the men of a few good rules and those derived from their fathers the best of men and the wisest1--how will they regard this new great man8 ,they will see nothing remarkable in him except that he is fluent and superficial1 dangerous and revolutionary4 ,he disturbs their notions of order2 he shows that the institutions of society are not perfect2 that their imperfections are not of granite or marble1 but only of words written on soft wax1 which may be erased and others written thereon anew4 ,he shows that such imperfect institutions are less than one great man4 ,the guides and censors of public opinion will not honor such a man1 they will hate him4 ,why not8 ,some others not half so well bred1 nor well furnished with precedents1 welcome the new great man2 welcome his ideas2 welcome his person4 ,they say1 ,behold a ,prophet4 99 99 99 99 99 ,when ,jesus1 the son of ,mary1 a poor woman1 wife of ,joseph the carpenter1 in the little town of ,nazareth1 when he began to be about thirty years old1 and began also to open his mouth in the synagogues and the highways1 nobody thought him a great man at all1 as it seems4 ,who are you8 said the guardians of public opinion4 ,he found men expecting a great man4 ,this1 it seems1 was the common opinion1 that a great man was to arise1 and save the ,church1 and save the ,state4 ,they looked back to ,moses1 a divine man of antiquity1 whose great life had passed into the world1 and to whom men had done honor1 in various ways2 amongst others1 by telling all sorts of wonders he wrought1 and declaring that none could be so great again2 none get so near to ,god4 ,they looked back also to the prophets1 a long line of divine men1 so they reckoned1 but less than the awful ,moses2 his stature was far above the nation1 who hid themselves in his shadow4 ,now the well-instructed children of ,abraham thought the next great man must be only a copy of the last1 repeat his ideas1 and work in the old fashion4 ,sick men like to be healed by the medicine which helped them the last time2 at least1 by the customary drugs which are popular4 ,in ,judea1 there were then parties of men1 distinctly marked4 ,there were the ,conservatives1--they represented the church1 tradition1 ecclesiastical or theocratical authority4 ,they adhered to the words of the old books1 the forms of the old rites1 the tradition of the elders4 ,nobody but a ,jew can be saved1 said they2 he only by circumcision1 and the keeping of the old formal law2 ,god likes that1 ,he accepts nothing else4 ,these were the ,pharisees1 with their servants the ,scribes4 ,of this class were the ,priests and the ,levites in the main1 the ,national party1 the ,native-,hebrew party of that time4 ,they had tradition1 ,moses and the prophets2 they believed in tradition1 ,moses and the prophets1 at least in public2 what they believed in private ,god knew1 and so did they4 ,i know nothing of that4 ,then there was the indifferent party2 the ,sadducees1 the ,state4 ,they had wealth1 and they believed in it1 both in public and private too4 ,they had a more generous and extensive cultivation than the ,pharisees4 ,they had intercourse with foreigners1 and understood the writers of ,ionia and ,athens which the ,pharisee held in abhorrence4 ,these were sleek respectable men1 who1 in part1 disbelieved the ,jewish theology4 ,it is no very great merit to disbelieve even in the devil1 unless you have a positive faith in ,god to take up your affections4 ,the ,sadducee believed neither in angel nor resurrection--not at all in the immortality of the soul4 ,he believed in the state1 in the laws1 the constables1 the prisons and the axe4 ,in religious matters1 it seems the ,pharisee had a positive belief1 only it was a positive belief in a great mistake4 ,in religious matters the ,sadducee had no positive belief at all2 not even in an error3 at least1 some think so4 ,his distinctive affirmation was but a denial4 ,he believed what he saw with his eyes1 touched with his fingers1 tasted with his tongue4 ,he never saw1 felt1 nor tasted immortal life2 he had no belief therein4 ,there was once a heathen ,sadducee who said1 ,my right arm is my ,god6 ,there was likewise a party of ,come-outers4 ,they despaired of the ,state and the ,church too1 and turned off into the wilderness1 where the wild asses quench their thirst1 building up their organizations free1 as they hoped1 from all ancient tyrannies4 ,the ,bible says nothing directly of these men in its canonical books4 ,it is a curious omission2 but two ,jews1 each acquainted with foreign writers1 ,josephus and ,philo1 give an account of these4 ,these were the ,essenes1 an ascetic sect1 hostile to marriage1 at least1 many of them1 who lived in a sort of association by themselves1 and had all things in common4 ,the ,pharisees and the ,sadducees had no great living and ruling ideas2 none ,i mean which represented man1 his hopes1 wishes1 affections1 his aspirations and power of progress4 ,that is no very rare case1 perhaps1 you will say1 for a party in the ,church or the ,state to have no such ideas1 but they had not even a plausible substitute for such ideas4 ,they seemed to have no faith in man1 in his divine nature1 his power of improvement4 ,the ,essenes had ideas2 had a positive belief2 had faith in man1 but it was weakened in a great measure by their machinery4 ,they1 like the ,pharisee and the ,sadducee1 were imprisoned in their organization1 and probably saw no good out of their own party lines4 ,it is a plain thing that no one of these three parties would accept1 acknowledge1 or even perceive the greatness of ,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,his ideas were not their notions4 ,he was not the man they were looking for2 not at all the ,messiah1 the anointed one of ,god1 which they wanted4 ,the ,sadducee expected no new great man unless it was a ,roman quaestor1 or procurator2 the ,pharisees looked for a ,pharisee stricter than ,gamaliel2 the ,essenes for an ,ascetic4 ,it is so now4 ,some seem to think that if ,jesus were to come back to the earth1 he would preach ,unitarian sermons1 from a text out of the ,bible1 and prove his divine mission and the everlasting truths1 the truths of necessity that he taught1 in the ,unitarian way1 by telling of the miracles he wrought eighteen hundred years ago2 that he would prove the immortality of the soul by the fact of his own corporeal resurrection4 ,others seem to think that he would deliver homilies of a severer character2 would rate men roundly about total depravity1 and tell of unconditional election1 salvation without works1 and imputed righteousness1 and talk of hell till the women and children fainted1 and the knees of men smote together for trembling4 ,perhaps both would be mistaken4 ,so it was then4 ,all these three classes of men1 imprisoned in their prejudices and superstitions1 were hostile4 ,the ,pharisees said1 ,we know that ,god spake unto ,moses2 but as for this fellow1 we know not whence he is4 ,he blasphemeth ,moses and the prophets2 yea1 he hath a devil1 and is mad1 why hear him8 ,the ,sadducees complained that he stirred up the people2 so he did4 ,the ,essenes1 no doubt1 would have it that he was a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber1 a friend of publicans and sinners4 ,tried by these three standards1 the judgment was true2 what could he do to please these three parties8 ,nothing6 nothing that he would do4 ,so they hated him2 all hated him1 and sought to destroy him4 ,the cause is plain4 ,he was so deep they could not see his profoundness2 too high for their comprehension2 too far before them for their sympathy4 ,he was not the great man of the day4 ,he found all organizations against him2 ,church and ,state4 ,even ,john the ,baptist1 a real prophet1 but not the prophet1 doubted if ,jesus was the one to be followed4 ,if ,jesus had spoken for the ,pharisees1 they would have accepted his speech and the speaker too4 ,had he favored the ,sadducees1 he had been a great man in their camp1 and ,herod would gladly have poured wine for the eloquent ,galilean1 and have satisfied the carpenter's son with purple and fine linen4 ,had he praised the ,essenes1 uttering their ,shibboleth1 they also would have paid him his price1 have made him the head of their association perhaps1 at least1 have honored him in their way4 ,he spoke for none of these4 ,why should they honor or even tolerate him8 ,it were strange had they done so4 ,was it through any fault or deficiency of ,jesus1 that these men refused him8 quite the reverse4 ,the rain falls and the sun shines on the evil and the good2 the work of infinite power1 wisdom and goodness is before all men1 revealing the invisible things1 yet the fool hath said1 ay1 said in his heart1 ,there is no ,god6 ,jesus spoke not for the prejudices of such1 and therefore they rejected him4 ,but as he spoke truths for man1 truths from ,god1 truths adapted to man's condition there1 to man's condition everywhere and always1 when the ,pharisees1 the ,sadducees1 the ,essenes went away1 their lips curling with scorn2 when they gnashed on one another with their teeth1 there were noble men and humble women1 who had long awaited the consolation of ,israel1 and they heard him1 heard him gladly4 ,yes1 they left all to follow him4 ,him6 no1 it was not him they followed2 it was ,god in him they obeyed1 the ,god of truth1 the ,god of love4 ,there were men not counted in the organized sects2 men weary of absurdities2 thirsting for the truth2 sick1 they knew not why nor of what1 yet none the less sick1 and waiting for the angel who should heal them1 though by troubled waters and remedies unknown4 ,these men had not the prejudices of a straightly organized and narrow sect4 ,perhaps they had not its knowledge1 or its good manners4 ,they were unlearned and ignorant men1 those early followers of ,christ4 ,nay1 ,jesus himself had no extraordinary culture1 as the world judges of such things4 ,his townsmen wondered1 on a famous occasion1 how he had learned to read4 ,he knew little of theologies1 it would seem2 the better for him1 perhaps4 ,no doubt the better for us that he insisted on none4 ,he knew they were not religion4 ,the men of ,galilee did not need theology4 ,the youngest scribe in the humblest theological school at ,jerusalem1 if such a thing were in those days1 could have furnished theology enough to believe in a life-time4 ,they did need religion2 they did see it as ,jesus unfolded its loveliness2 they did welcome it when they saw2 welcome it in their hearts4 ,if ,i were a poet as some are born1 and skilled to paint with words what shall stand out as real1 to live before the eye1 and then dwell in the affectionate memory for ever1 ,i would tell of the audience which heard the ,sermon on the mount1 which listened to the parables1 the rebukes1 the beautiful beatitudes4 ,they were plain men1 and humble women2 many of them foolish like you and me2 some of them sinners4 ,but they all had hearts2 had souls1 all of them--hearts made to love1 souls expectant of truth4 ,when he spoke1 some said1 no doubt1 ,that is a new thing1 that ,the true worshipper shall worship in spirit and in truth1 as well here as in ,jerusalem1 now as well as any time2 that also is a hard saying1 ,love your enemies2 forgive them1 though seventy times seven they smite and offend you2 that notion that the law and the prophets are contained1 all that is essentially religious thereof1 in one precept1 ,love men as yourself1 and ,god with all your might4 ,this differs a good deal from the ,pharisaic orthodoxy of the synagogue4 ,that is a bold thing1 presumptuous and revolutionary to say1 ,i am greater than the temple1 wiser than ,solomon1 a better symbol of ,god than both4 ,but there was something deeper than ,jewish orthodoxy in their hearts2 something that ,jewish orthodoxy could not satisfy1 and what was yet more troublesome to ecclesiastical guides1 something that ,jewish orthodoxy could not keep down1 nor even cover up4 ,sinners were converted at his reproof4 ,they felt he rebuked whom he loved4 ,yet his pictures of sin and sinners too1 were any thing but flattering4 ,there was small comfort in them4 ,still it was not the publicans and harlots who laid their hands on the place where their hearts should be1 saying1 ,you hurt our feelings1 and we can't bear you6 ,nay1 they pondered his words1 repenting in tears4 ,he showed them their sin2 its cause1 its consequence1 its cure4 ,to them he came as a ,saviour1 and they said1 ,thou art well-come1 those penitent ,magdalens weeping at his feet4 ,it would be curious could we know the mingled emotions that swayed the crowd which rolled up around ,jesus1 following him1 as the tides obey the moon1 wherever he went2 curious to see how faces looked doubtful at first as he began to speak at ,tabor or ,gennesareth1 ,capernaum or ,gischala1 then how the countenance of some lowered and grew black with thunder suppressed but cherished1 while the face of others shone as a branch of stars seen through some disparted cloud in a night of fitful storms1 a moment seen and then withdrawn4 ,it were curious to see how gradually many discordant feelings1 passion1 prejudice and pride were hushed before the tide of melodious religion he poured out around him1 baptizing anew saint and sinner1 and old and young1 into one brotherhood of a common soul1 into one immortal service of the universal ,god2 to see how this young ,hebrew maid1 deep-hearted1 sensitive1 enthusiastic1 self-renouncing1 intuitive of heavenly truth1 rich as a young vine1 with clustering affections just purpling into ripeness1--how she seized1 first and all at once1 the fair ideal1 and with generous bosom confidingly embraced it too2 how that old man1 gray-bearded1 with baldness on his head1 full of precepts and precedents1 the lore of his fathers1 the experience of a hard life1 logical1 slow1 calculating1 distrustful1 remembering much and fearing much1 but hoping little1 confiding only in the fixed1 his reverence for the old deepening as he himself became of less use1--to see how he received the glad inspirations of the joiner's son1 and wondering felt his youth steal slowly back upon his heart1 reviving aspirations1 long ago forgot1 and then the crimson tide of early hope come gushing1 tingling on through every limb2 to see how the young man halting between principle and passion1 not yet petrified into worldliness1 but struggling1 uncertain1 half reluctant1 with those two serpents1 ,custom and ,desire1 that beautifully twined about his arms and breast and neck1 their wormy folds1 concealing underneath their burnished scales the dragon's awful strength1 the viper's poison fang1 the poor youth caressing their snaky crests1 and toying with their tongues of flame--to see how he slowly1 reluctantly1 amid great questionings of heart1 drank in the words of truth1 and then1 obedient to the angel in his heart1 shook off1 as ropes of sand1 that hideous coil and trod the serpents underneath his feet4 ,all this1 it were curious1 ay1 instructive too1 could we but see4 ,they heard him with welcome various as their life4 ,the old men said1 ,it is ,moses or ,elias2 it is ,jeremiah1 one of the old prophets arisen from the dead1 for ,god makes none such1 now-a-days1 in the sterile dotage of mankind4 ,the young men and maidens doubtless it was that said1 ,this is the ,christ2 the desire of the nations2 the hope of the world1 the great new prophet2 the ,son of ,david2 the ,son of ,man2 yes1 the ,son of ,god4 ,he shall be our king4 ,human nature is loyal1 and follows its king soon as it knows him4 ,poor lost sheep6 the children of men look always for their guide1 though so often they look in vain4 ,how he spoke1 words deep and piercing2 rebukes for the wicked1 doubly rebuking1 because felt to have come out from a great1 deep1 loving heart4 ,his first word was1 perhaps1 ,repent1 but with the assurance that the kingdom of ,god was here and now1 within reach of all4 ,how his doctrines1 those great truths of nature1 commended themselves to the heart of each1 of all simple-souled men looking for the truth6 ,he spoke out of his experience2 of course into theirs4 ,he spoke great doctrines1 truths vast as the soul1 eternal as ,god1 winged with beauty from the loveliness of his own life4 ,had he spoken for the ,jews alone1 his words had perished with that people2 for that time barely1 the echo of his name had died away in his native hamlet2 for the ,pharisees1 the ,sadducees1 the ,essence1 you and ,i had heard of him but as a ,rabbi2 nay1 had never been blest by him at all4 ,words for a nation1 an age1 a sect1 are of use in their place1 yet they soon come to nought4 ,but as he spoke for eternity1 his truths ride on the wings of time2 as he spoke for man1 they are welcome1 beautiful and blessing1 wherever man is found1 and so must be till man and time shall cease4 ,he looked not back1 as the ,pharisee1 save for illustrations and examples4 ,he looked forward for his direction4 ,he looked around for his work4 ,there it lay1 the harvest plenteous1 the laborers few4 ,it is always so4 ,he looked not to men for his idea1 his word to speak2 as little for their applause4 ,he looked in to ,god1 for guidance1 wisdom1 strength1 and as water in the wilderness1 at the stroke of ,moses1 in the ,hebrew legend1 so inspiration came at his call1 a mighty stream of truth for the nation1 faint1 feeble1 afraid1 and wandering for the promised land2 drink for the thirsty1 and cleansing for the unclean4 ,but he met opposition2 ,o1 yes1 enough of it4 ,how could it be otherwise8 ,it must be so4 ,the very soul of peace1 he brought a sword4 ,his word was a consuming fire4 ,the ,pharisees wanted to be applauded1 commended2 to have their sect1 their plans1 their traditions praised and flattered4 ,his word to them was1 ,repent2 of them1 to the people1 ,such righteousness admits no man to the kingdom of heaven2 they are a deceitful prophecy1 blind guides1 hypocrites2 not sons of ,abraham1 but children of the devil4 ,they could not bear him2 no wonder at it4 ,he was the aggressor2 had carried the war into the very heart of their system4 ,they turned out of their company a man whose blindness he healed1 because he confessed that fact4 ,they made a law that all who believed on him1 should also be cast out4 ,well they might hate him1 those old ,pharisees4 ,his existence was their reproach2 his preaching their trial2 his life with its outward goodness1 his piety within1 was their condemnation4 ,the man was their ruin1 and they knew it4 ,the cunning can see their own danger1 but it is only men wise in mind1 or men simple of heart1 that can see their real1 permanent safety and defence2 never the cunning1 neither then1 neither now4 ,jesus looked to ,god for his truth1 his great doctrines not his own1 private1 personal1 depending on his idiosyncracies1 and therefore only subjectively true1--but ,god's1 universal1 everlasting1 the absolute religion4 ,i do not know that he did not teach some errors also1 along with it4 ,i care not if he did4 ,it is by his truths that ,i know him1 the absolute religion he taught and lived2 by his highest sentiments that he is to be appreciated4 ,he had faith in ,god and obeyed ,god2 hence his inspiration1 great1 in proportion to the greater endowment1 moral and religious1 which ,god gave him1 great likewise in proportion to his perfect obedience4 ,he had faith in man none the less4 ,who ever yet had faith in ,god that had none in man8 ,i know not4 ,surely no inspired prophet4 ,as ,jesus had faith in man1 so he spoke to men4 ,never yet1 in the wide world1 did a prophet arise1 appealing with a noble heart and a noble life to the soul of goodness in man1 but that soul answered to the call4 ,it was so most eminently with ,jesus4 ,the ,scribes and ,pharisees could not understand by what authority he taught4 ,poor ,pharisees6 how could they8 ,his phylacteries were no broader than those of another man2 nay1 perhaps he had no phylacteries at all1 nor even a broad-bordered garment4 ,men did not salute him in the market-place1 sandals in hand1 with their ,rabbi6 ,rabbi6 ,could such men understand by what authority he taught8 no more than they dared answer his questions4 ,they that knew him1 felt he had authority quite other than that claimed by the ,scribes2 the authority of true words1 the authority of a noble life2 yes1 the authority which ,god gives a great moral and religious man4 ,god delegates authority to men just in proportion to their power of truth1 and their power of goodness2 to their being and their life4 ,so ,god spoke in ,jesus1 as he taught the perfect religion1 anticipated1 developed1 but never yet transcended4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this then was the relation of ,jesus to his age3 the sectarians cursed him2 cursed him by their gods2 rejected him1 abused him1 persecuted him2 sought his life4 ,yes1 they condemned him in the name of ,god4 ,all evil says the proverb1 begins in that name2 much continues to claim it4 ,the religionists1 the sects1 the sectarian leaders rejected him1 condemned and slew him at the last1 hanging his body on a tree4 ,poor priests of the people1 they hoped thereby to stifle that awful soul6 they only stilled the body2 that soul spoke with a thousand tongues4 ,so in the times of old when the ,saturnian day began to dawn1 it might be fabled that the old ,titanic race1 lovers of darkness and haters of the light1 essayed to bar the rising morning from the world1 and so heaped ,pelion upon ,ossa1 and ,olympus on ,pelion2 but first the day sent up his crimson flush upon the cloud1 and then his saffron tinge1 and next the sun came peering o'er the loftiest height1 magnificently fair--and down the mountain's slanting ridge poured the intolerable day2 meanwhile those triple hills1 laboriously piled1 came toppling1 tumbling down1 with lumbering crush1 and underneath their ruin hid the helpless giants' grave4 ,so was it with men who sat in ,moses' seat4 ,but this people1 that knew not the ,law1 and were counted therefore accursed1 they welcomed ,jesus as they never welcomed the ,pharisee1 the ,sadducee or the ,scribe4 ,ay1 hence were their tears4 ,the hierarchical fire burnt not so bright contrasted with the sun4 ,that people had a ,simon ,peter1 a ,james1 and a ,john1 men not free from faults no doubt1 the record shows it1 but with hearts in their bosoms1 which could be kindled1 and then could light other hearts4 ,better still1 there were ,marthas and ,marys among that people who knew not the law and were cursed4 ,they were the mothers of many a church4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the character of ,jesus has not changed2 his doctrines are still the same2 but what a change in his relation to the age1 nay to the ages4 ,the stone that the builders rejected is indeed become the head of the corner1 and its foundation too4 ,he is worshipped as a ,god4 ,that is the rank assigned him by all but a fraction of the ,christian world4 ,it is no wonder4 ,good men worship the best thing they know1 and call it ,god4 ,what was taught to the mass of men1 in those days1 better than the character of ,christ8 ,should they rather worship the ,grecian ,jove1 or the ,jehovah of the ,jews8 ,to me it seems the moral attainment of ,jesus was above the hierarchical conception of ,god1 as taught at ,athens1 ,rome1 ,jerusalem4 ,jesus was the prince of peace1 the king of truth1 praying for his enemies--,father1 forgive them1 for they know not what they do6 ,the ,jehovah of the ,old ,testament1 was awful and stern1 a man of war1 hating the wicked4 ,the sacerdotal conception of ,god at ,rome and ,athens was lower yet4 ,no wonder then1 that men soon learned to honor ,jesus as a ,god1 and then as ,god himself4 ,apostolical and other legends tell of his divine birth1 his wondrous power that healed the sick1 palsied and crippled1 deaf and dumb and blind2 created bread2 turned water into wine1 and bid obedient devils come and go1 a power that raised the dead4 ,they tell that nature felt with him1 and at his death the strongly sympathizing sun paused at high noon1 and for three hours withheld the day2 that rocks were rent1 and opening graves gave up their sainted dead1 who trod once more the streets of ,zion1 the first fruits of them that slept2 they tell too how disappointed ,death gave back his prey1 and spirit-like1 ,jesus restored1 in flesh and shape the same1 passed through the doors shut up1 and in a bodily form was taken up to heaven before the face of men6 ,believe men of these things as they will4 ,to me they are not truth and fact1 but mythic symbols and poetry2 the psalm of praise with which the world's rude heart extols and magnifies its ,king4 ,it is for his truth and his life1 his wisdom1 goodness1 piety1 that he is honored in my heart2 yes1 in the world's heart4 ,it is for this that in his name churches are built1 and prayers are prayed2 for this that the best things we know1 we honor with his name4 ,he is the greatest person of the ages2 the proudest achievement of the human race4 ,he taught the absolute religion1 love to ,god and man4 ,that ,god has yet greater men in store ,i doubt not2 to say this is not to detract from the majestic character of ,christ1 but to affirm the omnipotence of ,god4 ,when they come1 the old contest will be renewed1 the living prophet stoned2 the dead one worshipped4 ,be that as it may1 there are duties he teaches us far different from those most commonly taught4 ,he was the greatest fact in the whole history of man4 ,had he conformed to what was told him of men2 had he counselled only with flesh and blood2 he had been nothing but a poor ,jew--the world had lost that rich endowment of religious genius1 that richest treasure of religious life1 the glad tidings of the one religion1 absolute and true4 ,what if he had said1 as others1 ,none can be greater than ,moses1 none so great8 ,he had been a dwarf2 the spirit of ,god had faded from his soul6 ,but he conferred with ,god1 not men2 took counsel of his hopes1 not his fears4 ,working for men1 with men1 by men1 trusting in ,god1 and pure as truth1 he was not scared at the little din of church or state1 and trembled not1 though ,pilate and ,herod were made friends only to crucify him that was a born ,king of the world4 ,methinks ,i hear that lofty spirit say to you or me1 poor brother1 fear not1 nor despair4 ,the goodness actual in me is possible for all4 ,god is near thee now as then to me2 rich as ever in truth1 as able to create1 as willing to inspire4 ,daily and nightly ,he showers down his infinitude of light4 ,open thine eyes to see1 thy heart to live4 ,lo1 ,god is here4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,true ,,idea ,,of ,a ,,christian ,,church4--,a ,,discourse ,,at ,,the ,,installation ,,of ,,theodore ,,parker ,,as ,,minister ,,of ,,the ,,twenty-,,eighth ,,congregational ,,church ,,in ,,boston1 ,,january #d1 #ahdf4 ,for nearly a year we have assembled within these walls from week to week1--,i think not idly2 ,i know you have not come for any trivial end4 ,you have recently made a formal organization of yourselves for religious action4 ,to-day1 at your request1 ,i enter regularly on a ministry in the midst of you4 ,what are we doing2 what do we design to do8 ,we are here to establish a ,christian church2 and a ,christian church1 as ,i understand it1 is a body of men and women united together in a common desire of religious excellence and with a common regard for ,jesus of ,nazareth1 regarding him as the noblest example of morality and religion1--as the model1 therefore1 in this respect for us4 ,such a church may have many rites1 as our ,catholic brothers1 or but few rites1 as our ,protestant brothers1 or no rites at all1 as our brothers1 the ,friends4 ,it may be1 nevertheless1 a ,christian church2 for the essential of substance1 which makes it a religious body1 is the union for the purpose of cultivating love to ,god and man2 and the essential of form1 which makes it a ,christian body1 is the common regard for ,jesus1 considered as the highest representative of ,god that we know4 ,it is not the form1 either of ritual or of doctrine1 but the spirit which constitutes a ,christian church4 ,a staff may sustain an old man1 or a young man may bear it in his hands as a toy1 but walking is walking1 though the man have no staff for ornament or support4 ,a ,christian spirit may exist under rituals and doctrines the most diverse4 ,it were hard to say a man is not a ,christian1 because he believes in the doctrine of the ,trinity1 or the ,pope1 while ,jesus taught no such doctrine2 foolish to say one is no ,christian because he denies the existence of a ,devil1 though ,jesus believed it4 ,to make a man's ,christian name depend on a belief of all that is related by the numerous writers in the ,bible1 is as absurd as to make that depend on a belief in all the words of ,luther1 or ,calvin1 or ,st4 ,augustine4 ,it is not for me to say a man is not theoretically a ,christian because he believes that ,slavery is a ,divine and ,christian institution2 that ,war is grateful to ,god--saying1 with the ,old ,testament1 that ,god himself is a man of war1 who teaches men to fight1 and curses such as refuse2--or because he believes that all men are born totally depraved1 and the greater part of them are to be damned everlastingly by a jealous ,god1 who is angry with the wicked every day1 and that the few are to be saved only because ,god unjustly punished an innocent man for their sake4 ,i will not say a man is not a ,christian though he believe all the melancholy things related of ,god in some parts of the ,old ,testament1 yet ,i know few doctrines so hostile to real religion as these have proved themselves4 ,in our day it has strangely come to pass that a little sect1 themselves hooted at and called ,infidels by the rest of ,christendom1 deny the name of ,christian to such as publicly reject the miracles of the ,bible4 ,time will doubtless correct this error4 ,fire is fire1 and ashes ashes1 say what we may2 each will work after its kind4 ,now if ,christianity be the absolute religion1 it must allow all beliefs that are true1 and it may exist and be developed in connection with all forms consistent with the absolute religion1 and the degree thereof represented by ,jesus4 ,the action of a ,christian church seems to be twofold3 first on its own members1 and then1 through their means1 on others out of its pale4 ,let a word be said of each in its order4 ,if ,i were to ask you why you came here to-day2 why you have often come to this house hitherto8--the serious amongst you would say3 ,that we might become better2 more manly2 upright before ,god and downright before men2 that we might be ,christians1 men good and pious after the fashion ,jesus spoke of4 ,the first design of such a church then is to help ourselves become ,christians4 ,now the substance of ,christianity is ,piety--,love to ,god1 and ,goodness--,love to men4 ,it is a religion1 the germs whereof are born in your heart1 appearing in your earliest childhood2 which are developed just in proportion as you become a man1 and are indeed the standard measure of your life4 ,as the primeval rock lies at the bottom of the sea and appears at the top of the loftiest mountains1 so in a finished character religion underlies all and crowns all4 ,christianity1 to be perfect and entire1 demands a complete manliness2 the development of the whole man1 mind1 conscience1 heart and soul4 ,it aims not to destroy the sacred peculiarities of individual character4 ,it cherishes and develops them in their perfection1 leaving ,paul to be ,paul1 not ,peter1 and ,john to be ,john1 not ,jude nor ,james4 ,we are born different1 into a world where unlike things are gathered together1 that there may be a special work for each4 ,christianity respects this diversity in men1 aiming not to undo but further ,god's will2 not fashioning all men after one pattern1 to think alike1 act alike1 be alike1 even look alike4 ,it is something far other than ,christianity which demands that4 ,a ,christian church then should put no fetters on the man2 it should have unity of purpose1 but with the most entire freedom for the individual4 ,when you sacrifice the man to the mass in church or state1 church or state becomes an offence1 a stumbling-block in the way of progress1 and must end or mend4 ,the greater the variety of individualities in church or state1 the better is it1 so long as all are really manly1 humane and accordant4 ,a church must needs be partial1 not catholic1 where all men think alike1 narrow and little4 ,your church-organ1 to have compass and volume1 must have pipes of various sound1 and the skilful artist destroys none1 but tunes them all to harmony2 if otherwise1 he does not understand his work4 ,in becoming ,christians let us not cease to be men2 nay1 we cannot be ,christians unless we are men first4 ,it were unchristian to love ,christianity better than the truth1 or ,christ better than man4 ,but ,christianity is not only the absolute religion2 it has also the ideal-man4 ,in ,jesus of ,nazareth it gives us1 in a certain sense1 the model of religious excellence4 ,it is a great thing to have the perfect idea of religion2 to have also that idea made real1 satisfactory to the wants of any age1 were a yet further greatness4 ,a ,christian church should aim to have its members ,christians as ,jesus was the ,christ2 sons of man as he was2 sons of ,god as much as he4 ,to be that it is not needful to observe all the forms he complied with1 only such forms as help you2 not needful to have all the thoughts that he had1 only such thoughts as are true4 ,if ,jesus were ever mistaken1 as the ,evangelists make it appear1 then it is a part of ,christianity to avoid his mistakes as well as to accept his truths4 ,it is the part of a ,christian church to teach men so2 to stop at no man's limitations2 to prize no word so high as truth2 no man so dear as ,god4 ,jesus came not to fetter men1 but free them4 ,jesus is a model-man in this respect3 that he stands in a true relation to men1 that of forgiveness for their ill-treatment1 service for their needs1 trust in their nature1 and constant love towards them1--towards even the wicked and hypocritical2 in a true relation to ,god1 that of entire obedience to ,him1 of perfect trust in ,him1 of love towards ,him with the whole mind1 heart and soul2 and love of ,god is also love of truth1 goodness1 usefulness1 love of ,love itself4 ,obedience to ,god and trust in ,god is obedience to these things1 and trust in them4 ,if ,jesus had loved any opinion better than truth1 then had he lost that relation to ,god1 and so far ceased to be inspired by ,him2 had he allowed any partial feeling to overcome the spirit of universal love1 then also he had sundered himself from ,god1 and been at discord1 not in harmony with the ,infinite4 ,if ,jesus be the model-man1 then should a ,christian church teach its members to hold the same relation to ,god that ,christ held2 to be one with ,him2 incarnations of ,god1 as much and as far as ,jesus was one with ,god1 and an incarnation thereof1 a manifestation of ,god in the flesh4 ,it is ,christian to receive all the truths of the ,bible2 all the truths that are not in the ,bible just as much4 ,it is ,christian also to reject all the errors that come to us from without the ,bible or from within the ,bible4 ,the ,christian man1 or the ,christian church1 is to stop at no man's limitation2 at the limit of no book4 ,god is not dead1 nor even asleep1 but awake and alive as ever of old2 ,he inspires men now no less than beforetime2 is ready to fill your mind1 heart and soul with truth1 love1 life1 as to fill ,moses and ,jesus1 and that on the same terms2 for inspiration comes by universal laws1 and not by partial exceptions4 ,each point of spirit1 as each atom of space1 is still bathed in the tides of ,deity4 ,but all good men1 all ,christian men1 all inspired men will be no more alike than all wicked men4 ,it is the same light which is blue in the sky and golden in the sun4 ,all nature's difference makes all nature's peace4 ,we can attain this relation to man and ,god only on condition that we are free4 ,if a church cannot allow freedom it were better not to allow itself1 but cease to be4 ,unity of purpose1 with entire freedom for the individual1 should be the motto4 ,it is only free men that can find the truth1 love the truth1 live the truth4 ,as much freedom as you shut out1 so much falsehood do you shut in4 ,it is a poor thing to purchase unity of church-action at the cost of individual freedom4 ,the ,catholic church tried it1 and you see what came thereof3 science forsook it1 calling it a den of lies4 ,morality forsook it1 as the mystery of iniquity1 and religion herself protested against it1 as the mother of abominations4 ,the ,protestant churches are trying the same thing1 and see whither they tend and what foes rise up against them1--,philosophy with its ,bible of nature1 and ,religion with its ,bible of man1 both the hand-writing of ,god4 ,the great problem of church and state is this3 ,to produce unity of action and yet leave individual freedom not disturbed2 to balance into harmonious proportions the mass and the man1 the centripetal and centrifugal powers1 as1 by ,god's wondrous1 living mechanism1 they are balanced in the worlds above4 ,in the state we have done this more wisely than any nation heretofore4 ,in the churches it remains yet to do4 ,but man is equal to all which ,god appoints for him4 ,his desires are ever proportionate to his duty and his destinies4 ,the strong cry of the nations for liberty1 a craving as of hungry men for bread and water1 shows what liberty is worth1 and what it is destined to do4 ,allow freedom to think1 and there will be truth2 freedom to act1 and we shall have heroic works2 freedom to live and be1 and we shall have love to men and love to ,god4 ,the world's history proves that1 and our own history4 ,jesus1 our model-man1 was the freest the world ever saw6 ,let it be remembered that every truth is of ,god1 and will lead to good and good only4 ,truth is the seed whereof welfare is the fruit2 for every grain thereof we plant some one shall reap a whole harvest of welfare4 ,a lie is of the ,devil1 and must lead to want and woe and death1 ending at last in a storm where it rains tears and perhaps blood4 ,have freedom1 and you will sow new truth to reap its satisfaction2 submit to thraldom1 and you sow lies to reap the death they bear4 ,a ,christian church should be the home of the soul1 where it enjoys the largest liberty of the sons of ,god4 ,if fettered elsewhere1 here let us be free4 ,christ is the liberator2 he came not to drive slaves1 but to set men free4 ,the churches of old did their greatest work1 when there was most freedom in those churches4 ,here too should the spirit of devotion be encouraged2 the soul of man communing with his ,god in aspirations after purity and truth1 in resolutions for goodness1 and piety1 and a manly life4 ,these are a prayer4 ,the fact that men freely hold truths in common1 great truths and universal2 that unitedly they lift up their souls to ,god seeking instruction of ,him1 this will prove the strongest bond between man and man4 ,it seems to me that the ,protestant churches have not fully done justice to the sentiment of worship2 that in taking care of the head we have forgotten the heart4 ,to think truth is the worship of the head2 to do noble works of usefulness and charity the worship of the will2 to feel love and trust in man and ,god1 is the glad worship of the heart4 ,a ,christian church should be broad enough for all2 should seek truth and promote piety1 that both together might toil in good works4 ,here should be had the best instruction which can be commanded2 the freest1 truest1 and most manly voice2 the mind most conversant with truth2 the eloquence of a heart that runs over with goodness1 whose faith is unfaltering in truth1 justice1 purity1 and love2 a faith in ,god1 whose charity is living love to men1 even the sinful and the base4 ,teaching is the breathing of one man's inspiration into another1 a most real thing amongst real men4 ,in a church there should be instruction for the young4 ,god appoints the father and mother the natural teachers of children2 above all is it so in their religious culture4 ,but there are some who cannot1 many who will not fulfil this trust4 ,hence it has been found necessary for wise and good men to offer their instruction to such4 ,in this matter it is religion we need more than theology1 and of this it is not mere traditions and mythologies we are to teach1 the anile tales of a rude people in a dark age1 things our pupils will do well to forget soon as they are men1 and which they will have small reason to thank us for obscuring their minds withal2 but it is the great1 everlasting truths of religion which should be taught1 enforced by examples of noble men1 which tradition tells of1 or the present age affords1 all this to be suited to the tender years of the child4 ,christianity should be represented as human1 as man's nature in its true greatness2 religion shown to be beautiful1 a real duty corresponding to man's deepest desire1 that as religion affords the deepest satisfaction to man1 so it is man's most universal want4 ,christ should be shown to men as he was1 the manliest of men1 the most divine because the most human4 ,children should be taught to respect their nature2 to consider it as the noblest of all ,god's works2 to know that perfect truth and goodness are demanded of them1 and by that only can they be worthy men2 taught to feel that ,god is present in ,boston and to-day1 as much as ever in ,jerusalem in the time of ,jesus4 ,they should be taught to abhor the public sins of our times1 but to love and imitate its great examples of nobleness1 and practical religion1 which stand out amid the mob of worldly pretenders in this day4 ,then1 too1 if one of our members falls into unworthy ways1 is it not the duty of some one to speak with him1 not as with authority to command1 but with affection to persuade8 ,did any one of you ever address an erring brother on the folly of his ways with manly tenderness1 and try to charm him back1 and find a cold repulse8 ,if a man is in error he will be grateful to one that tells him so2 will learn most from men who make him ashamed of his littleness of life4 ,in this matter it seems many a good man comes short of his duty4 ,there is yet another way in which a church should act on its own household1 and that is by direct material help in time of need4 ,there is the eternal distinction of the strong and the weak1 which cannot be changed4 ,but as things now go there is another inequality not of ,god's appointment1 but of man's perversity1 the distinction of rich and poor--of men bloated by superfluous wealth and men starving and freezing from want4 ,you know and ,i know how often the strong abuse their strength1 exerting it solely for themselves and to the ruin of the weak2 we all know that such are reckoned great in the world1 though they may have grown rich solely by clutching at what others earned4 ,in ,christianity1 and before the ,god of justice1 all men are brothers2 the strong are so that they may help the weak4 ,as a nation chooses its wisest men to manage its affairs for the nation's good1 and not barely their own1 so ,god endows ,charles or ,samuel with great gifts that they may also bless all men thereby4 ,if they use those powers solely for their pleasure then are they false before men2 false before ,god4 ,it is said of the church of the ,friends that no one of their number has ever received the charity of an almshouse1 or for a civil offence been shut up in a jail4 ,if the poor forsake a church1 be sure that the church forsook ,god long before4 99 99 99 99 99 ,but the church must have an action on others out of its pale4 ,if a man or a society of men have a truth1 they hold it not for themselves alone1 but for all men4 ,the solitary thinker1 who in a moment of ecstatic action in his closet at midnight discovers a truth1 discovers it for all the world and for eternity4 ,a ,christian church ought to love to see its truths extend2 so it should put them in contact with the opinions of the world1 not with excess of zeal or lack of charity4 ,a ,christian church should be a means of reforming the world1 of forming it after the pattern of ,christian ideas4 ,it should therefore bring up the sentiments of the times1 the ideas of the times1 and the actions of the times1 to judge them by the universal standard4 ,in this way it will learn much and be a living church1 that grows with the advance of men's sentiments1 ideas and actions1 and while it keeps the good of the past will lose no brave spirit of the present day4 ,it can teach much2 now moderating the fury of men1 then quickening their sluggish steps4 ,we expect the sins of commerce to be winked at in the street2 the sins of the state to be applauded on election days and in a ,congress1 or on the fourth of ,july2 we are used to hear them called the righteousness of the nation4 ,there they are often measured by the avarice or the ambition of greedy men4 ,you expect them to be tried by passion1 which looks only to immediate results and partial ends4 ,here they are to be measured by ,conscience and ,reason1 which look to permanent results and universal ends2 to be looked at with reference to the ,laws of ,god1 the everlasting ideas on which alone is based the welfare of the world4 ,here they are to be examined in the light of ,christianity itself4 ,if the church be true1 many things which seem gainful in the street and expedient in the senate-house1 will here be set down as wrong1 and all gain which comes therefrom seen to be but a loss4 ,if there be a public sin in the land1 if a lie invade the state1 it is for the church to give the alarm2 it is here that it may war on lies and sins2 the more widely they are believed in and practised1 the more are they deadly1 the more to be opposed4 ,here let no false idea or false action of the public go without exposure and rebuke4 ,but let no noble heroism of the times1 no noble man pass by without due honor4 ,if it is a good thing to honor dead saints and the heroism of our fathers2 it is a better thing to honor the saints of to-day1 the live heroism of men who do the battle1 when that battle is all around us4 ,i know a few such saints2 here and there a hero of that stamp1 and ,i will not wait till they are dead and classic before ,i call them so and honor them as such1 for ,to side with truth is noble when we share her wretched crust1 ,ere her cause bring fame and profit1 and 'tis prosperous to be just2 ,then it is the brave man chooses1 while the coward stands aside1 ,doubting in his abject spirit1 till his ,lord is crucified1 ,and the multitude make virtue of the faith they once denied2 ,for ,humanity sweeps onward2 where to-day the martyr stands1 ,on the morrow crouches ,judas1 with the silver in his hands2 ,far in front the cross stands ready1 and the crackling fagots burn1 ,while the hooting mob of yesterday in silent awe return ,to glean up the scattered ashes into ,history's golden urn4 ,do you not see that if a man have a new truth1 it must be reformatory and so create an outcry8 ,it will seem destructive as the farmer's plough2 like that1 it is so to tares and thistles1 but the herald of the harvest none the less4 ,in this way a ,christian church should be a society for promoting true sentiments and ideas4 ,if it would lead1 it must go before men2 if it would be looked up to1 it must stand high4 ,that is not all3 it should be a society for the promotion of good works4 ,we are all beneath our idea1 and therefore transgressors before ,god4 ,yet ,he gives us the rain1 the snow and the sun4 ,it falls on me as well as on the field of my neighbor1 who is a far juster man4 ,how can we repent1 cast our own sins behind us1 outgrow and forget them better1 than by helping others to work out their salvation8 ,we are all brothers before ,god4 ,mutually needful we must be2 mutually helpful we should be4 ,here are the ignorant that ask our instruction1 not with words only1 but with the prayer of their darkness1 far more suppliant than speech4 ,i never see an ignorant man younger than myself1 without a feeling of self-reproach1 for ,i ask3 ,what have ,i been doing to suffer him to grow up in nakedness of mind8 ,every man1 born in ,new ,england1 who does not share the culture of this age1 is a reproach to more than himself1 and will at last actively curse those who began by deserting him4 ,the ,christian church should lead the movement for the public education of the people4 ,here are the needy who ask not so much your gold1 your bread1 or your cloth1 as they ask also your sympathy1 respect and counsel2 that you assist them to help themselves1 that they may have gold won by their industry1 not begged out of your benevolence4 ,it is justice more than charity they ask4 ,every beggar1 every pauper1 born and bred amongst us1 is a reproach to us1 and condemns our civilization4 ,for how has it come to pass that in a land of abundance here are men1 for no fault of their own1 born into want1 living in want1 and dying of want8 and that1 while we pretend to a religion which says all men are brothers6 ,there is a horrid wrong somewhere4 ,here too are the drunkard1 the criminal1 the abandoned person1 sometimes the foe of society1 but far oftener the victim of society4 ,whence come the tenants of our almshouses1 jails1 the victims of vice in all our towns8 ,why1 from the lowest rank of the people2 from the poorest and most ignorant6 ,say rather from the most neglected1 and the public sin is confessed1 and the remedy hinted at4 ,what have the strong been doing all this while1 that the weak have come to such a state8 ,let them answer for themselves4 ,now for all these ought a ,christian church to toil4 ,it should be a church of good works2 if it is a church of good faith it will be so4 ,does not ,christianity say the strong should help the weak8 ,does not that mean something8 ,it once did4 ,has the ,christian fire faded out from those words1 once so marvellously bright8 ,look round you1 in the streets of your own ,boston6 ,see the ignorant1 men and women with scarce more than the stature of men and women2 boys and girls growing up in ignorance and the low civilization which comes thereof1 the barbarians of ,boston4 ,their character will one day be a blot and a curse to the nation1 and who is to blame8 ,why1 the ablest and best men1 who might have had it otherwise if they would4 ,look at the poor1 men of small ability1 weak by nature1 born into a weak position1 therefore doubly weak2 men whom the strong use for their purpose1 and then cast them off as we throw away the rind of an orange after we have drunk its generous juice4 ,behold the wicked1 so we call the weak men that are publicly caught in the cobweb of the law2 ask why they became wicked2 how we have aimed to reform them2 what we have done to make them respect themselves1 to believe in goodness1 in man and ,god8 and then say if there is not something for ,christian men to do1 something for a ,christian church to do6 ,every almshouse in ,massachusetts shows that the churches have not done their duty1 that the ,christians lie lies when they call ,jesus master and men brothers6 ,every jail is a monument1 on which it is writ in letters of iron that we are still heathens1 and the gallows1 black and hideous1 the embodiment of death1 the last argument a ,christian ,state offers to the poor wretches it trained up to be criminals1 stands there1 a sign of our infamy1 and while it lifts its horrid arm to crush the life out of some miserable man1 whose blood cries to ,god against ,cain in the nineteenth century1 it lifts that same arm as an index of our shame4 ,is that all8 ,oh1 no6 ,did not ,jesus say1 resist not evil--with evil8 ,is not war the worst form of that evil2 and is there on earth a nation so greedy of war2 a nation more reckless of provoking it2 one where the war-horse so soon conducts his foolish rider into fame and power8 ,the ,heathen ,chinese might send their missionaries to ,america1 and teach us to love men6 ,is that all8 ,far from it4 ,did not ,christ say1 whatsoever you would that men should do unto you1 do you even so unto them2 and are there not three million brothers of yours and mine in bondage here1 the hopeless sufferers of a savage doom2 debarred from the civilization of our age1 the barbarians of the nineteenth century2 shut out from the pretended religion of ,christendom1 the heathens of a ,christian land2 chained down from the liberty unalienable in man1 the slaves of a ,christian republic8 ,does not a cry of indignation ring out from every legislature in the ,north2 does not the press war with its million throats1 and a voice of indignation go up from ,east and ,west1 out from the hearts of freemen8 ,oh1 no4 ,there is none of that cry against the mightiest sin of this age4 ,the rock of ,plymouth1 sanctified by the feet which led a nation's way to freedom's large estate1 provokes no more voice than the rottenest stone in all the mountains of the ,west4 ,the few that speak a manly word for truth and everlasting right1 are called fanatics2 bid be still1 lest they spoil the market6 ,great ,god6 and has it come to this1 that men are silent over such a sin8 ',tis even so4 ,then it must be that every church which dares assume the name of ,christ1 that dearest name to men1 thunders and lightens on this hideous wrong6 ,that is not so4 ,the church is dumb1 while the state is only silent2 while the servants of the people are only asleep1 ,god's ministers are dead6 ,in the midst of all these wrongs and sins1 the crimes of men1 society and the state1 amid popular ignorance1 pauperism1 crime1 and war1 and slavery too--is the church to say nothing1 do nothing2 nothing for the good of such as feel the wrong1 nothing to save them who do the wrong8 ,men tell us so1 in word and deed2 that way alone is safe6 ,if ,i thought so1 ,i would never enter the church but once again1 and then to bow my shoulders to their manliest work1 to heave down its strong pillars1 arch and dome1 and roof1 and wall1 steeple and tower1 though like ,samson ,i buried myself under the ruins of that temple which profaned the worship of ,god most high1 of ,god most loved4 ,i would do this in the name of man2 in the name of ,christ ,i would do it2 yes1 in the dear and blessed name of ,god4 ,it seems to me that a church which dares name itself ,christian1 the ,church of the ,redeemer1 which aspires to be a true church1 must set itself about all this business1 and be not merely a church of theology1 but of religion2 not of faith only1 but of works2 a just church by its faith bringing works into life4 ,it should not be a church termagant1 which only peevishly scolds at sin1 in its anile way2 but a church militant against every form of evil1 which not only censures1 but writes out on the walls of the world the brave example of a ,christian life1 that all may take pattern therefrom4 ,thus only can it become the church triumphant4 ,if a church were to waste less time in building its palaces of theological speculation1 palaces mainly of straw1 and based upon the chaff1 erecting air-castles and fighting battles to defend those palaces of straw1 it would surely have more time to use in the practical good works of the day4 ,if it thus made a city free from want and ignorance and crime1 ,i know ,i vent a heresy1 ,i think it would be quite as ,christian an enterprise1 as though it restored all the theology of the dark ages2 quite as pleasing to ,god4 ,a good sermon is a good thing1 no doubt1 but its end is not answered by its being preached2 even by its being listened to and applauded2 only by its awakening a deeper life in the hearers4 ,but in the multitude of sermons there is danger lest the bare hearing thereof be thought a religious duty1 not a means1 but an end1 and so our ,christianity vanish in words4 ,what if every ,sunday afternoon the most pious and manly of our number1 who saw fit1 resolved themselves into a committee of the whole for practical religion1 and held not a formal meeting1 but one more free1 sometimes for the purpose of devotion1 the practical work of making ourselves better ,christians1 nearer to one another1 and sometimes that we might find means to help such as needed help1 the poor1 the ignorant1 the intemperate and the wicked8 ,would it not be a work profitable to ourselves1 and useful to others weaker than we8 ,for my own part ,i think there are no ordinances of religion like good works2 no day too sacred to help my brother in2 no ,christianity like a practical love of ,god shown by a practical love of men4 ,christ told us that if we had brought our gift to the very altar1 and there remembered our brother had cause of complaint against us1 we must leave the divine service1 and pay the human service first6 ,if my brother be in slavery1 in want1 in ignorance1 in sin1 and ,i can aid him and do not1 he has much against me1 and ,god can better wait for my prayer than my brother for my help6 ,the saints of olden time perished at the stake2 they hung on gibbets2 they agonized upon the rack2 they died under the steel of the tormentor4 ,it was the heroism of our fathers' day that swam the unknown seas2 froze in the woods2 starved with want and cold2 fought battles with the red right hand4 ,it is the sainthood and heroism of our day that toils for the ignorant1 the poor1 the weak1 the oppressed1 the wicked4 ,yes1 it is our saints and heroes who fight fighting2 who contend for the slave1 and his master too1 for the drunkard1 the criminal2 yes1 for the wicked or the weak in all their forms4 ,it is they that with weapons of heavenly proof fight the great battle for the souls of men4 ,though ,i detest war in each particular fibre of my heart1 yet ,i honor the heroes among our fathers who fought with bloody hand2 peace-makers in a savage way1 they were faithful to the light2 the most inspired can be no more1 and we1 with greater light1 do1 it may be1 far less4 ,i love and venerate the saints of old2 men who dared step in front of their age2 accepted ,christianity when it cost something to be a ,christian1 because it meant something2 they applied ,christianity1 so far as they knew it1 to the lies and sins of their times1 and won a sudden and a fiery death4 ,but the saints and the heroes of this day1 who draw no sword1 whose right hand is never bloody1 who burn in no fires of wood or sulphur1 nor languish briefly on the hasty cross2 the saints and heroes who1 in a worldly world1 dare to be men2 in an age of conformity and selfishness1 speak for ,truth and ,man1 living for noble aims2 men who will swear to no lies howsoever popular2 who will honor no sins1 though never so profitable1 respected and ancient2 men who count ,christ not their master1 but teacher1 friend1 brother1 and strive like him to practise all they pray2 to incarnate and make real the ,word of ,god1 these men ,i honor far more than the saints of old4 ,i know their trials1 ,i see their dangers1 ,i appreciate their sufferings1 and since the day when the man on ,calvary bowed his head1 bidding persecution farewell with his ,father1 forgive them1 for they know not what they do1 ,i find no such saints and heroes as live now6 ,they win hard fare1 and hard toil4 ,they lay up shame and obloquy4 ,theirs is the most painful of martyrdoms4 ,racks and fagots soon waft the soul of ,god1 stern messengers but swift4 ,a boy could bear that passage1 the martyrdom of death4 ,but the temptation of a long life of neglect1 and scorn1 and obloquy1 and shame1 and want1 and desertion by false friends2 to live blameless though blamed1 cut off from human sympathy1 that is the martyrdom of to-day4 ,i shed no tears for such martyrs4 ,i shout when ,i see one2 ,i take courage and thank ,god for the real saints1 prophets and heroes of to-day4 ,in another age1 men shall be proud of these puritans and pilgrims of this day4 ,churches shall glory in their names and celebrate their praise in sermon and in song4 ,yea1 though now men would steal the rusty sword from underneath the bones of a saint or hero long deceased1 to smite off therewith the head of a new prophet1 that ancient hero's son2 though they would gladly crush the heart out of him with the tomb-stones they piled up for great men1 dead and honored now1 yet in some future day1 that mob1 penitent1 baptized with a new spirit1 like drunken men returned to sanity once more1 shall search through all this land for marble white enough to build a monument to that prophet whom their fathers slew2 they shall seek through all the world for gold of fineness fit to chronicle such names6 ,i cannot wait2 but ,i will honor such men now1 not adjourn the warning of their voice1 and the glory of their example1 till another age6 ,the church may cast out such men2 burn them with the torments of an age too refined in its cruelty to use coarse fagots and the vulgar axe6 ,it is no less to these men2 but the ruin of the church4 ,i say the ,christian church of the nineteenth century must honor such men1 if it would do a church's work2 must take pains to make such men as these1 or it is a dead church1 with no claim on us1 except that we bury it4 ,a true church will always be the church of martyrs4 ,the ancients commenced every great work with a victim6 ,we do not call it so2 but the sacrifice is demanded1 got ready1 and offered by unconscious priests long ere the enterprise succeeds4 ,did not ,christianity begin with a martyrdom8 99 99 99 99 99 ,in this way1 by gaining all the truth of the age in thought or action1 by trying public opinions with its own brave ideas1 by promoting good works1 applying a new truth to an old error1 and with unpopular righteousness overcoming each popular sin1 the ,christian church should lead the civilization of the age4 ,the leader looks before1 goes before1 and knows where he is going2 knows the way thither4 ,it is only on this condition that he leads at all4 ,if the church by looking after truth1 and receiving it when it comes1 be in unison with ,god1 it will be in unison with all science1 which is only the thought of ,god translated from the facts of nature into the words of men4 ,in such a case1 the church will not fear philosophy1 nor in the face of modern science aim to reestablish the dreams and fables of a ruder day4 ,it will not lack new truth1 daring only to quote1 nor be obliged to sneak behind the inspired words of old saints as its only fortress1 for it will have words just as truly inspired1 dropping from the golden mouths of saints and prophets now4 ,for leaders it will look not back1 but forth2 will fan the first faint sparkles of that noble fire just newly kindled from the skies2 not smother them in the ashes of fires long spent2 not quench them with holy water from ,jordan or the ,nile4 ,a church truly ,christian1 professing ,christ as its model-man1 and aiming to stand in the relation he stood1 must lead the way in moral enterprises1 in every work which aims directly at the welfare of man4 ,there was a time when the ,christian churches1 as a whole1 held that rank4 ,do they now8 ,not even the ,quakers--perhaps the last sect that abandoned it4 ,a prophet1 filled with love of man and love of ,god1 is not therein at home4 ,i speak a sad truth1 and ,i say it in sorrow4 ,but look at the churches of this city3 do they lead the ,christian movements of this city--the temperance movement1 the peace movement1 the movement for the freedom of men1 for education1 the movement to make society more just1 more wise and good1 the great religious movement of these times--for1 hold down our eyelids as we will1 there is a religious movement at this day on foot1 such as even ,new ,england never saw before2--do they lead in these things8 ,oh1 no1 not at all4 ,that great ,christian orator1 one of the noblest men ,new ,england has seen in this century1 whose word has even now gone forth to the nations beyond the sea1 while his spirit has gone home to his ,father1 when he turned his attention to the practical evils of our time and our land1 and our civilization1 vigorously applying ,christianity to life1 why he lost favor in his own little sect6 ,they feared him1 soon as his spirit looked over their narrow walls1 aspiring to lead men to a better work4 ,i know men can now make sectarian capital out of the great name of ,channing1 so he is praised2 perhaps praised loudest by the very men who then cursed him by their gods4 ,ay1 by their gods he was accursed6 ,the churches lead the ,christian movements of these times8--why1 has there not just been driven out of this city1 and out of this ,state1 a man conspicuous in all these movements1 after five and twenty years of noble toil2 driven out because he was conspicuous in them6 ,you know it is so1 and you know how and by whom he is thus driven out6#a ,christianity is humanity2 ,christ is the ,son of man2 the manliest of men2 humane as a woman2 pious and hopeful as a prayer2 but brave as man's most daring thought4 ,he has led the world in morals and religion for eighteen hundred years1 only because he was the manliest man in it2 the humanest and bravest man in it1 and hence the divinest4 ,he may lead it eighteen hundred years more1 for we are bid believe that ,god can never make again a greater man2 no1 none so great4 ,but the churches do not lead men therein1 for they have not his spirit2 neither that womanliness which wept over ,jerusalem1 nor that manliness which drew down fire enough from heaven to light the world's altars for well-nigh two thousand years4 ,there are many ways in which ,christ may be denied3--one is that of the bold blasphemer1 who1 out of a base and haughty heart mocks1 scoffing at that manly man1 and spits upon the nobleness of ,christ6 ,there are few such deniers3 my heart mourns for them4 ,but they do little harm4 ,religion is so dear to men1 no scoffing word can silence that1 and the brave soul of this young ,nazarene has made itself so deeply felt that scorn and mockery of him are but an icicle held up against the summer's sun4 ,there is another way to deny him1 and that is3--to call him ,lord1 and never do his bidding2 to stifle free minds with his words2 and with the authority of his name to cloak1 to mantle1 screen and consecrate the follies1 errors1 sins of men6 ,from this we have much to fear4 ,the church that is to lead this century will not be a church creeping on all fours2 mewling and whining1 its face turned down1 its eyes turned back4 ,it must be full of the brave1 manly spirit of the day1 keeping also the good of times past4 ,there is a terrific energy in this age1 for man was never so much developed1 so much the master of himself before4 ,great truths1 moral and political1 have come to light4 ,they fly quickly4 ,the iron prophet of types publishes his visions1 of weal or woe1 to the near and far4 ,this marvellous age has invented steam1 and the magnetic telegraph1 apt symbols of itself1 before which the miracles of fable are but an idle tale4 ,it demands1 as never before1 freedom for itself1 usefulness in its institutions2 truth in its teachings1 and beauty in its deeds4 ,let a church have that freedom1 that usefulness1 truth1 and beauty1 and the energy of this age will be on its side4 ,but the church which did for the fifth century1 or the fifteenth1 will not do for this4 ,what is well enough at ,rome1 ,oxford or ,berlin1 is not well enough for ,boston4 ,it must have our ideas1 the smell of our ground1 and have grown out of the religion in our soul4 ,the freedom of ,america must be there before this energy will come2 the wisdom of the nineteenth century before its science will be on the churches' side1 else that science will go over to the infidels4 ,our churches are not in harmony with what is best in the present age4 ,men call their temples after their old heroes and saints--,john1 ,paul1 ,peter1 and the like4 ,but we call nothing else after the old names2 a school of philosophy would be condemned if called ,aristotelian1 ,platonic1 or even ,baconian4 ,we out-travel the past in all but this4 ,in the church it seems taught there is no progress unless we have all the past on our back2 so we despair of having men fit to call churches by4 ,we look back and not forward4 ,we think the next saint must talk ,hebrew like the old ones1 and repeat the same mythology4 ,so when a new prophet comes we only stone him4 ,a church that believes only in past inspiration will appeal to old books as the standard of truth and source of light2 will be antiquarian in its habits2 will call its children by the old names2 and war on the new age1 not understanding the man-child born to rule the world4 ,a church that believes in inspiration now will appeal to ,god2 try things by reason and conscience2 aim to surpass the old heroes2 baptize its children with a new spirit1 and using the present age will lead public opinion1 and not follow it4 ,had ,christ looked back for counsel1 he might have founded a church fit for ,abraham or ,isaac to worship in1 not for the ages to come1 or the age then4 ,he that feels he is near to ,god1 does not fear to be far from men2 if before1 he helps lead them on2 if above1 to lift them up4 ,let us get all we can from the ,hebrews and others of old time1 and that is much2 but still let us be ,god's free men1 not the ,gibeonites of the past4 ,let us have a church that dares imitate the heroism of ,jesus2 seek inspiration as he sought it2 judge the past as he2 act on the present like him2 pray as he prayed2 work as he wrought2 live as he lived4 ,let our doctrines and our forms fit the soul1 as the limbs fit the body1 growing out of it1 growing with it4 ,let us have a church for the whole man3 truth for the mind2 good works for the hands2 love for the heart2 and for the soul1 that aspiring after perfection1 that unfaltering faith in ,god which1 like lightning in the clouds1 shines brightest1 when elsewhere it is most dark4 ,let our church fit man1 as the heavens fit the earth6 99 99 99 99 99 ,in our day men have made great advances in science1 commerce1 manufactures1 in all the arts of life4 ,we need1 therefore1 a development of religion corresponding thereto4 ,the leading minds of the age ask freedom to inquire2 not merely to believe1 but to know2 to rest on facts4 ,a great spiritual movement goes swiftly forward4 ,the best men see that religion is religion2 theology is theology1 and not religion2 that true religion is a very simple affair1 and the popular theology a very foolish one2 that the ,christianity of ,christ is not the ,christianity of the street1 or the state1 or the churches2 that ,christ is not their model-man1 only imputed as such4 ,these men wish to apply good sense to matters connected with religion2 to apply ,christianity to life1 and make the world a better place1 men and women fitter to live in it4 ,in this way they wish to get a theology that is true2 a mode of religion that works1 and works well4 ,if a church can answer these demands1 it will be a live church2 leading the civilization of the times1 living with all the mighty life of this age1 and nation4 ,its prayers will be a lifting up of the hearts in noble men towards ,god1 in search of truth1 goodness1 piety4 ,its sacraments will be great works of reform1 institutions for the comfort and the culture of men4 ,let us have a church in which religion1 goodness towards men1 and piety towards ,god1 shall be the main thing2 let us have a degree of that suited to the growth and demands of this age4 ,in the middle ages1 men had erroneous conceptions of religion1 no doubt2 yet the church led the world4 ,when she wrestled with the state1 the state came undermost to the ground4 ,see the results of that supremacy--all over ,europe there arose the cloister1 halls of learning for the chosen few1 minster1 dome1 cathedral1 miracles of art1 each costing the wealth of a province4 ,such was the embodiment of their ideas of religion1 the prayers of a pious age done in stone1 a psalm petrified as it rose from the world's mouth2 a poor sacrifice1 no doubt1 but the best they knew how to offer4 ,now if men were to engage in religion as in politics1 commerce1 arts2 if the absolute religion1 the ,christianity of ,christ1 were applied to life with all the might of this age1 as the ,christianity of the church was then applied1 what a result should we not behold6 ,we should build up a great state with unity in the nation1 and freedom in the people2 a state where there was honorable work for every hand1 bread for all mouths1 clothing for all backs1 culture for every mind1 and love and faith in every heart4 ,truth would be our sermon1 drawn from the oldest of ,scriptures1 ,god's writing there in nature1 here in man2 works of daily duty would be our sacrament2 prophets inspired of ,god would minister the word1 and piety send up her psalm of prayer1 sweet in its notes1 and joyfully prolonged4 ,the noblest monument to ,christ1 the fairest trophy of religion1 is a noble people1 where all are well fed and clad1 industrious1 free1 educated1 manly1 pious1 wise and good4 99 99 99 99 99 ,some of you may now remember1 how ten months and more ago1 ,i first came to this house to speak4 ,i shall remember it forever4 ,in those rainy ,sundays the very skies looked dark4 ,some came doubtingly1 uncertain1 looking around1 and hoping to find courage in another's hope4 ,others came with clear glad face2 openly1 joyfully1 certain they were right2 not fearing to meet the issue2 not afraid to be seen meeting it4 ,some came1 perhaps1 not used to worship in a church1 but not the less welcome here2 some mistaking me for a destroyer1 a doubter1 a denier of all truth1 a scoffer1 an enemy to man and ,god6 ,i wonder not at that4 ,misguided men had told you so1 in sermon and in song2 in words publicly printed and published without shame2 in the covert calumny1 slyly whispered in the dark6 ,need ,i tell you my feelings2 how ,i felt at coming to the town made famous by great men1 ,mayhew1 ,chauncy1 ,buckminster1 ,kirkland1 ,holley1 ,pierpont1 ,channing1 ,ware--names dear and honored in my boyish heart6 ,need ,i tell you how ,i felt at sight of the work which stretched out before me8 ,do you wonder that ,i asked3 ,who is sufficient for these things8 and said3 ,alas1 not ,i1 ,thou knowest1 ,lord6 ,but some of you told me you asked not the wisdom of a wiser man1 the ability of one stronger1 but only that ,i should do what ,i could4 ,i came1 not doubting that ,i had some truths to say2 not distrusting ,god1 nor man1 nor you2 distrustful only of myself4 ,i feared ,i had not the power1 amid the dust and noises of the day1 to help you see and hear the great realities of religion as they appeared to me2 to help you feel the life of real religion1 as in my better moments ,i have felt its truth6 ,but let that pass4 ,as ,i came here from ,sunday to ,sunday1 when ,i began to feel your spirits prayed with mine a prayer for truth and life2 as ,i looked down into your faces1 thoughtful and almost breathless1 ,i forgot my self-distrust2 ,i saw the time was come2 that1 feebly as ,i know ,i speak1 my best thoughts were ever the most welcome6 ,i saw that the harvest was plenteous indeed3 but the preacher1 ,i feel it still1 was all unworthy of his work6 99 99 99 99 99 ,brothers and ,sisters3 let us be true to our sentiments and ideas4 ,let us not imitate another's form unless it symbolize a truth to us4 ,we must not affect to be singular1 but not fear to be alone4 ,let us not foolishly separate from our brothers elsewhere4 ,truth is yet before us1 not only springing up out of the manly words of this ,bible1 but out of the ground2 out of the heavens2 out of man and ,god4 ,whole firmaments of truth hang ever o'er our heads1 waiting the telescopic eye of the true-hearted see-er4 ,let us follow truth1 in form1 thought or sentiment1 wherever she may call4 ,god's daughter cannot lead us from the path4 ,the further on we go1 the more we find4 ,had ,columbus turned back only the day before he saw the land1 the adventure had been worse than lost4 ,we must practise a manly self-denial4 ,religion always demands that1 but never more than when our brothers separate from us1 and we stand alone4 ,by our mutual love and mutual forbearance1 we shall stand strong4 ,with zeal for our common work1 let us have charity for such as dislike us1 such as oppose and would oppress us4 ,let us love our enemies1 bless them that curse us1 do good to them that hate us1 and pray for such as despitefully use us4 ,let us overcome their evil speech with our own goodness4 ,if others have treated us ill1 called us unholy names1 and mocked at us1 let us forgive it all1 here and now1 and help them also to forget and outgrow that temper which bade them treat us so4 ,a kind answer is fittest rebuke to an unkind word4 ,if we have any truth it will not be kept hid4 ,it will run over the brim of our urn and water our brother's field4 ,were any truth to come down to us in advance from ,god1 it were not that we might forestall the light1 but shed it forth for all ,his children to walk by and rejoice in4 ,one candle will light a thousand if it be itself lighted4 ,let our light shine before men so that they may see our good deeds1 and themselves praise ,god by a manly life4 ,this we owe to them as to ourselves4 ,a noble thought and a mean man make a sorry union4 ,let our idea show itself in our life--that is preaching1 right eloquent4 ,do this1 we begin to do good to men1 and though they should oppose us1 and our work should fail1 we shall have yet the approval of our own heart1 the approval of ,god1 be whole within ourselves1 and one with ,him4 99 99 99 99 99 ,some of you are venerable men4 ,i have wondered that a youthful ardor should have brought you here4 ,your silvery heads have seemed a benediction to my work4 ,but most of you are young4 ,i know it is no aping of a fashion that has brought you here4 ,i have no eloquence to charm or please you with2 ,i only speak right on4 ,i have no reputation but a bad name in the churches4 ,i know you came not idly1 but seeking after truth4 ,give a great idea to an old man1 and he carries it to his grave2 give it to a young man1 and he carries it to his life4 ,it will bear both young and old through the grave and into eternal ,heaven beyond4 ,young men and women1 the duties of the world fall eminently on you4 ,god confides to your hands the ark which holds the treasures of the age4 ,on young shoulders ,he lays the burden of life4 ,yours is the period of passion2 the period of enterprise and of work4 ,it is by successive generations that mankind goes forward4 ,the old1 stepping into honorable graves1 leave their places and the results they won to you4 ,but departing they seem to say1 as they linger and look back3 ,do ye greater than we have done6 ,the young just coming into your homes seem to say3 ,instruct us to be nobler than yourselves6 ,your life is the answer to your children and your sires4 ,the next generation will be as you make it4 ,it is not the schools but the people's character that educates the child4 ,amid the trials1 duties1 dangers of your life1 religion alone can guide you4 ,it is not the world's eye that is on you1 but ,god's2 it is not the world's religion that will suffice you1 but the religion of a ,man1 which unites you with truth1 justice1 piety1 goodness2 yes1 which makes you one with ,god6 ,young men and women--you can make this church a fountain of life to thousands of fainting souls4 ,yes1 you can make this city nobler than city ever was before4 ,a manly life is the best gift you can leave mankind2 that can be copied forever4 ,architects of your own weal or woe1 your destiny is mainly in your own hands4 ,it is no great thing to reject the popular falsehoods2 little and perhaps not hard4 ,but to receive the great sentiments and lofty truths of real religion1 the ,christianity of ,christ2 to love them1 to live them in your business and your home1 that is the greatest work of man4 ,thereby you partake of the spirit and nature of ,god2 you achieve the true destiny for yourself2 you help your brothers do the same4 ,when my own life is measured by the ideal of that young ,nazarene1 ,i know how little ,i deserve the name of ,christian2 none knows that fact so well as ,i4 ,but you have been denied the name of ,christian because you came here1 asking me to come4 ,let men see that you have the reality1 though they withhold the name4 ,your words are the least part of what you say to men4 ,the foolish only will judge you by your talk2 wise men by the general tenor of your life4 ,let your religion appear in your work and your play4 ,pray in your strongest hours4 ,practise your prayers4 ,by fair-dealing1 justice1 kindness1 self-control1 and the great work of helping others while you help yourself1 let your life prove a worship4 ,these are the real sacraments and ,christian communion with ,god1 to which water and wine are only helps4 ,criticize the world not by censure only1 but by the example of a great life4 ,shame men out of their littleness1 not by making mouths1 but by walking great and beautiful amongst them4 ,you love ,god best when you love men most4 ,let your prayers be an uplifting of the soul in thought1 resolution1 love1 and the light thereof shall shine through the darkest hour of trouble4 ,have not the ,christianity of the street2 but carry ,christ's ,christianity there4 ,be noble men1 then your works must needs be great and manly4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this is the first ,sunday of a new year4 ,what an hour for resolutions2 what a moment for prayer6 ,if you have sins in your bosom1 cast them behind you now4 ,in the last year1 ,god has blessed us2 blessed us all4 ,on some his angels waited1 robed in white1 and brought new joys2 here a wife1 to bind men closer yet to ,providence2 and there a child1 a new ,messiah1 sent to tell of innocence and heaven4 ,to some his angels came clad in dark livery1 veiling a joyful countenance with unpropitious wings1 and bore away child1 father1 sister1 wife1 or friend4 ,still were they angels of good ,providence1 all ,god's own2 and he who looks aright finds that they also brought a blessing1 but concealed1 and left it1 though they spoke no word of joy4 ,one day our weeping brother shall find that gift and wear it as a diamond on his breast4 ,the hours are passing over us1 and with them the day4 ,what shall the future ,sundays be1 and what the year8 ,what we make them both4 ,god gives us time4 ,we weave it into life1 such figures as we may1 and wear it as we will4 ,age slowly rots away the gold we are set in1 but the adamantine soul lives on1 radiant every way in the light streaming down from ,god4 ,the genius of eternity1 star-crowned1 beautiful1 and with prophetic eyes1 leads us again to the gates of time1 and gives us one more year1 bidding us fill that golden cup with water as we can or will4 ,there stand the dirty1 fetid pools of worldliness and sin2 curdled1 and mantled1 film-covered1 streaked and striped with many a hue1 they shine there1 in the slanting light of new-born day4 ,around them stand the sons of earth and cry3 ,come hither2 drink thou and be saved6 ,here fill thy golden cup6 ,there you may seek to fill your urn2 to stay your thirst4 ,the deceitful element1 roping in your hands1 shall mock your lip4 ,it is water only to the eye4 ,nay1 show-water only unto men half-blind4 ,but there1 hard by1 runs down the stream of life1 its waters never frozen1 never dry2 fed by perennial dews falling unseen from ,god4 ,fill there thine urn1 oh1 brother-man1 and thou shalt thirst no more for selfishness and crime1 and faint no more amid the toil and heat of day2 wash there1 and the leprosy of sin1 its scales of blindness1 shall fall off1 and thou be clean for ever4 ,kneel there and pray2 ,god shall inspire thy heart with truth and love1 and fill thy cup with never-ending joy6#b ,,footnotes3 #a ,rev4 ,john ,pierpont4 #b ,see note at the end of this volume4 ,,iii4 ,a ,,sermon ,,of ,,war1 ,,preached ,,at ,,the ,,melodeon1 ,,on ,,sunday1 ,,june #g1 #ahdf4 ,,exodus ,,xv4 #c4 ,the ,lord is a ,man of ,war4 #a ,,john ,,iv4 #h4 ,god is ,love4 ,i ask your attention to a ,sermon of ,war4 ,i have waited some time before treating this subject at length1 till the present hostilities should assume a definite form1 and the designs of the ,government become more apparent4 ,i wished to be able to speak coolly and with knowledge of the facts1 that we might understand the comparative merits of the present war4 ,besides1 ,i have waited for others1 in the churches1 of more experience to speak1 before ,i ventured to offer my counsel2 but ,i have thus far waited almost in vain6 ,i did not wish to treat the matter last ,sunday1 for that was the end of our week of ,pentecost1 when cloven tongues of flame descend on the city1 and some are thought to be full of new wine1 and others of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,the heat of the meetings1 good and bad1 of that week1 could not wholly have passed away from you or me1 and we ought to come coolly and consider a subject like this4 ,so the last ,sunday ,i only sketched the back-ground of the picture1 to-day intending to paint the horrors of war in front of that ,presence of ,beauty in ,nature1 to which with its ,meanings and its ,lessons1 ,i then asked you to attend4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it seems to me that an idea of ,god as the ,infinite is given to us in our nature itself4 ,but men create a more definite conception of ,god in their own image4 ,thus a rude savage man1 who has learned only the presence of power in ,nature1 conceives of ,god mainly as a force1 and speaks of ,him as a ,god of power4 ,such1 though not without beautiful exceptions1 is the character ascribed to ,jehovah in the ,old ,testament4 ,the ,lord is a man of war4 ,he is the ,lord of ,hosts4 ,he kills men1 and their cattle4 ,if there is trouble in the enemies' city1 it is the ,lord who hath caused it4 ,he will whet his glittering sword and render vengeance to his enemies4 ,he will make his arrows drunk with blood1 and his sword shall devour flesh6 ,it is with the sword that ,god pleads with all men4 ,he encourages men to fight1 and says1 ,cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood4 ,he sends blood into the streets2 he waters the land with blood1 and in blood he dissolves the mountains4 ,he brandishes his sword before kings1 and they tremble at every moment4 ,he treads nations as grapes in a wine-press1 and his garments are stained with their life's blood4#c ,a man who has grown up to read the ,older ,testament of ,god revealed in the beauty of the universe1 and to feel the goodness of ,god therein set forth1 sees him not as force only1 or in chief1 but as love4 ,he worships in love the ,god of goodness and of peace4 ,such is the prevalent character ascribed to ,god in the ,new ,testament1 except in the book of ,revelation4 ,he is the ,god of love and peace2 our ,father1 kind to the unthankful and the unmerciful4 ,in one word1 ,god is love4 ,he loves us all1 ,jew and ,gentile1 bond and free4 ,all are his children1 each of priceless value in ,his sight4 ,he is no ,god of battles2 no ,lord of hosts2 no man of war4 ,he has no sword1 nor arrows2 ,he does not water the earth nor melt the mountains in blood1 but ,he maketh ,his sun to rise on the evil and on the good1 and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust4 ,he has no garments dyed in blood2 curses no man for refusing to fight4 ,he is spirit1 to be worshipped in spirit and in truth6 ,the commandment is3 ,love one another2 resist not evil with evil2 forgive seventy times seven2 overcome evil with good2 love your enemies2 bless them that curse you2 do good to them that hate you2 pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you4#d ,there is no nation to shut its ports against another1 all are men2 no caste to curl its lip at inferiors1 all are brothers1 members of one body1 united in the ,christ1 the ideal man and head of all4 ,the most useful is the greatest4 ,no man is to be master1 for the ,christ is our teacher4 ,we are to fear no man1 for ,god is our ,father4 ,these precepts are undeniably the precepts of ,christianity4 ,equally plain is it that they are the dictates of man's nature1 only developed and active2 a part of ,god's universal revelation2 ,his law writ on the soul of man1 established in the nature of things2 true after all experience1 and true before all experience4 ,the man of real insight into spiritual things sees and knows them to be true4 ,do not believe it the part of a coward to think so4 ,i have known many cowards2 yes1 a great many2 some very cowardly1 pusillanimous and faint-hearted cowards2 but never one who thought so1 or pretended to think so4 ,it requires very little courage to fight with sword and musket1 and that of a cheap kind4 ,men of that stamp are plenty as grass in ,june4 ,beat your drum1 and they will follow2 offer them but eight dollars a month1 and they will come--fifty thousand of them1 to smite and kill4#e ,every male animal1 or reptile1 will fight4 ,it requires little courage to kill2 but it takes much to resist evil with good1 holding obstinately out1 active or passive1 till you overcome it4 ,call that non-resistance1 if you will2 it is the stoutest kind of combat1 demanding all the manhood of a man4 ,i will not deny that war is inseparable from a low stage of civilization2 so is polygamy1 slavery1 cannibalism4 ,taking men as they were1 savage and violent1 there have been times when war was unavoidable4 ,i will not deny that it has helped forward the civilization of the race1 for ,god often makes the folly and the sin of men contribute to the progress of mankind4 ,it is none the less a folly or a sin4 ,in a civilized nation like ourselves1 it is far more heinous than in the ,ojibeways or the ,camanches4 ,war is in utter violation of ,christianity4 ,if war be right1 then ,christianity is wrong1 false1 a lie4 ,but if ,christianity be true1 if reason1 conscience1 the religious sense1 the highest faculties of man1 are to be trusted1 then war is the wrong1 the falsehood1 the lie4 ,i maintain that aggressive war is a sin2 that it is national infidelity1 a denial of ,christianity and of ,god4 ,every man who understands ,christianity by heart1 in its relations to man1 to society1 the nation1 the world1 knows that war is a wrong4 ,at this day1 with all the enlightenment of our age1 after the long peace of the nations1 war is easily avoided4 ,whenever it occurs1 the very fact of its occurrence convicts the rulers of a nation either of entire incapacity as statesmen1 or else of the worst form of treason2 treason to the people1 to mankind1 to ,god6 ,there is no other alternative4 ,the very fact of an aggressive war shows that the men who cause it must be either fools or traitors4 ,i think lightly of what is called treason against a government4 ,that may be your duty to-day1 or mine4 ,certainly it was our fathers' duty not long ago2 now it is our boast and their title to honor4 ,but treason against the people1 against mankind1 against ,god1 is a great sin1 not lightly to be spoken of4 ,the political authors of the war on this continent1 and at this day1 are either utterly incapable of a statesman's work1 or else guilty of that sin4 ,fools they are1 or traitors they must be4 99 99 99 99 99 ,let me speak1 and in detail1 of the ,evils of ,war4 ,i wish this were not necessary4 ,but we have found ourselves in a war2 the ,congress has voted our money and our men to carry it on2 the ,governors call for volunteers2 the volunteers come when they are called for4 ,no voice of indignation goes forth from the heart of the eight hundred thousand souls of ,massachusetts2 of the seventeen million freemen of the land how few complain2 only a man here and there6 ,the ,press is well-nigh silent4 ,and the ,church1 so far from protesting against this infidelity in the name of ,christ1 is little better than dead4 ,the man of blood shelters himself behind its wall1 silent1 dark1 dead and emblematic4 ,these facts show that it is necessary to speak of the evils of war4 ,i am speaking in a city1 whose fairest1 firmest1 most costly buildings are warehouses and banks2 a city whose most popular ,idol is ,mammon1 the ,god of ,gold2 whose ,trinity is a ,trinity of ,coin6 ,i shall speak intelligibly1 therefore1 if ,i begin by considering war as a waste of property4 ,it paralyzes industry4 ,the very fear of it is a mildew upon commerce4 ,though the present war is but a skirmish1 only a few random shots between a squad of regulars and some strolling battalions1 a quarrel which in ,europe would scarcely frighten even the ,pope2 yet see the effect of it upon trade4 ,though the fighting be thousands of miles from ,boston1 your stocks fall in the market2 the rate of insurance is altered2 your dealer in wood piles his boards and his timber on his wharf1 not finding a market4 ,there are few ships in the great ,southern mart to take the freight of many2 exchange is disturbed4 ,the clergyman is afraid to buy a book1 lest his children want bread4 ,it is so with all departments of industry and trade4 ,in war the capitalist is uncertain and slow to venture1 so the laborer's hand will be still1 and his child ill-clad and hungry4 ,in the late war with ,england1 many of you remember the condition of your fisheries1 of your commerce2 how the ships lay rotting at the wharf4 ,the dearness of cloth1 of provisions1 flour1 sugar1 tea1 coffee1 salt1 the comparative lowness of wages1 the stagnation of business1 the scarcity of money1 the universal sullenness and gloom--all this is well remembered now4 ,so is the ruin it brought on many a man4 ,yet but few weeks ago some men talked boastingly of a war with ,england4 ,there are some men who seem to have no eyes nor ears1 only a mouth2 whose chief function is talk4 ,of their talk ,i will say nothing2 we look for dust in dry places4 ,but some men thus talked of war1 and seemed desirous to provoke it1 who can scarce plead ignorance1 and ,i fear not folly1 for their excuse4 ,i leave such to the just resentment sure to fall on them from sober1 serious men1 who dare to be so unpopular as to think before they speak1 and then say what comes of thinking4 ,perhaps such a war was never likely to take place1 and now1 thanks to a few wise men1 all danger thereof seems at an end4 ,but suppose it had happened--what would become of your commerce1 of your fishing smacks on the ,banks or along the shore8 what of your coasting vessels1 doubling the headlands all the way from the ,st4 ,john's to the ,nueces8 what of your whale ships in the ,pacific8 what of your ,indiamen1 deep freighted with oriental wealth8 what of that fleet which crowds across the ,atlantic sea1 trading with east and west and north and south8 ,i know some men care little for the rich1 but when the owners keep their craft in port1 where can the hands find work or their mouths find bread8 ,the shipping of the ,united ,states amounts nearly to #b1ejj1jjj tons4 ,at #dj a ton1 its value is nearly #ajj1jjj1jjj4 ,this is the value only of those sea-carriages2 their cargoes ,i cannot compute4 ,allowing one sailor for every twenty tons burden1 here will be #abe1jjj seamen4 ,they and their families amount to #ejj1jjj souls4 ,in war1 what will become of them8 ,a capital of more than #ac1jjj1jjj is invested in the fisheries of ,massachusetts alone4 ,more than #ai1jjj men find profitable employment therein4 ,if each man have but four others in his family1 a small number for that class1 here are more than #ie1jjj persons in this ,state alone1 whose daily bread depends on this business4 ,they cannot fish in troubled waters1 for they are fishermen1 not politicians4 ,where could they find bread or cloth in time of war8 ,in ,dartmoor prison8 ,ask that of your demagogues who courted war6 ,then1 too1 the positive destruction of property in war is monstrous4 ,a ship of the line costs from #ejj1jjj to #a1jjj1jjj4 ,the loss of a fleet by capture1 by fire1 or by decay1 is a great loss4 ,you know at what cost a fort is built1 if you have counted the sums successively voted for ,fort ,adams in ,rhode ,island1 or those in our own harbor4 ,the destruction of forts is another item in the cost of war4 ,the capture or destruction of merchant ships with their freight1 creates a most formidable loss4 ,in #ahab the whole tonnage of the ,united ,states was scarce half what it is now4 ,yet the loss of ships and their freight1 in the late war1 brief as it was1 is estimated at #ajj1jjj1jjj4 ,then the loss by plunder and military occupation is monstrous4 ,the soldier1 like the savage1 cuts down the tree to gather its fruit4 ,i cannot calculate the loss by burning towns and cities4 ,but suppose ,boston were bombarded and laid in ashes4 ,calculate the loss if you can4 ,you may say ,this could not be1 for it is as easy to say ,no1 as ,yes4 ,but remember what befell us in the last war2 remember how recently the best defended capitals of ,europe1 ,vienna1 ,paris1 ,antwerp1 have fallen into hostile hands4 ,consider how often a strong place1 like ,coblentz1 ,mentz1 ,malta1 ,gibraltar1 ,st4 ,juan d',ulloa1 has been declared impregnable1 and then been taken2 calculate the force which might be brought against this town1 and you will see that in eight and forty hours1 or half that time1 it might be left nothing but a heap of ruins smoking in the sun6 ,i doubt not the valor of ,american soldiers1 the skill of their engineers1 nor the ability of their commanders4 ,i am ready to believe all this is greater than we are told4 ,still1 such are the contingencies of war4 ,if some not very ignorant men had their way1 this would be a probability and perhaps a fact4 ,if we should burn every town from the ,tweed to the ,thames1 it would not rebuild our own city4 ,but on the supposition that nothing is destroyed1 see the loss which comes from the misdirection of productive industry4 ,your fleets1 forts1 dock-yards1 arsenals1 cannons1 muskets1 swords and the like1 are provided at great cost1 and yet are unprofitable4 ,they do not pay4 ,they weave no cloth2 they bake no bread2 they produce nothing4 ,yet from #agia to #ahcb1 in forty-two years we expended in these things1 #cjc1bdb1egf1 namely1 for the navy1 etc41 #aab1gjc1icc2 for the army1 etc41 #aij1ech1fdc4 ,for the same time1 all other expenses of the nation came to but #cg1aeh1jdg4 ,more than eight ninths of the whole revenue of the nation was spent for purposes of war4 ,in four years1 from #ahab to #ahae1 we paid in this way1 #ib1cej1eai4cg4 ,in six years1 from #ahce to #ahdj1 we paid annually on the average #ba1cbh1ijc2 in all #abg1igc1dah4 ,our ,congress has just voted #ag1jjj1jjj1 as a special grant for the army alone4 ,the #age1aah muskets at ,springfield1 are valued at #c1jjj1jjj2 we pay annually #bjj1jjj to support that arsenal4 ,the navy-yard at ,charlestown1 with its stores1 etc41 has cost #d1gda1jjj4 ,and1 for all profitable returns1 this money might as well be sunk in the bottom of the sea4 ,in some countries it is yet worse4 ,there are towns and cities in which the fortifications have cost more than all the houses1 churches1 shops1 and other property therein4 ,this happens not among the ,sacs and ,foxes1 but in ,christian ,europe4 ,then your soldier is the most unprofitable animal you can keep4 ,he makes no railroads2 clears no land2 raises no corn4 ,no1 he can make neither cloth nor clocks6 ,he does not raise his own bread1 mend his own shoes1 make his shoulder-knot of glory1 nor hammer out his own sword4 ,yet he is a costly animal1 though useless4 ,if the ,president gets his fifty thousand volunteers1 a thing likely to happen--for though ,irish lumpers and hod-men want a dollar or a dollar and a half a day1 your free ,american of ,boston will enlist for twenty-seven cents1 only having his livery1 his feathers1 and his glory thrown in--then at #h a month1 their wages amount to #djj1jjj a month4 ,suppose the present ,government shall actually make advantageous contracts1 and the subsistence of the soldier cost no more than in ,england1 or #ag a month1 this amounts to #hej1jjj4 ,here are #a1bej1jjj a month to begin with4 ,then1 if each man would be worth a dollar a day at any productive work1 and there are #bf work days in the month1 here are #a1cjj1jjj more to be added1 making #b1eej1jjj a month for the new army of occupation4 ,this is only for the rank and file of the army4 ,the officers1 the surgeons1 and the chaplains1 who teach the soldiers to wad their muskets with the leaves of the ,bible1 will perhaps cost as much more2 or1 in all1 something more than #e1jjj1jjj a month4 ,this of course does not include the cost of their arms1 tents1 ammunition1 baggage1 horses1 and hospital stores1 nor the #fe1jjj gallons of whiskey which the government has just advertised for6 ,what do they give in return8 ,they will give us three things1 valor1 glory1 and--talk2 which1 as they are not in the price current1 ,i must estimate as ,i can1 and set them all down in one figure #j2 not worth the whiskey they cost4 ,new ,england is quite a new country4 ,seven generations ago it was a wilderness2 now it contains about #b1ejj1jjj souls4 ,if you were to pay all the public debts of these ,states1 and then1 in fancy1 divide all the property therein by the population1 young as we are1 ,i think you would find a larger amount of value for each man than in any other country in the world1 not excepting ,england4 ,the civilization of ,europe is old2 the nations old1 ,england1 ,france1 ,spain1 ,austria1 ,italy1 ,greece2 but they have wasted their time1 their labor and their wealth in war1 and so are poorer than we upstarts of a wilderness4 ,we have fewer fleets1 forts1 cannon and soldiers for the population1 than any other ,christian country in the world4 ,this is one main reason why we have no national debt2 why the women need not toil in the hardest labor of the fields1 the quarries and the mines2 this is the reason that we are well fed1 well clad1 well housed2 this is the reason that ,massachusetts can afford to spend #a1jjj1jjj a year for her public schools6 ,war1 wasting a nation's wealth1 depresses the great mass of the people1 but serves to elevate a few to opulence and power4 ,every despotism is established and sustained by war4 ,this is the foundation of all the aristocracies of the old world1 aristocracies of blood4 ,our famous men are often ashamed that their wealth was honestly got by working1 or peddling1 and foolishly copy the savage and bloody emblems of ancient heraldry in their assumed coats of arms1 industrious men seeking to have a griffin on their seal6 ,nothing is so hostile to a true democracy as war4 ,it elevates a few1 often bold1 bad men1 at the expense of the many1 who pay the money and furnish the blood for war4 ,war is a most expensive folly4 ,the revolutionary war cost the ,general ,government directly and in specie #ace1jjj1jjj4 ,it is safe to estimate the direct cost to the individual ,states also at the same sum1 #ace1jjj1jjj2 making a total of #bgj1jjj1jjj4 ,considering the interruption of business1 the waste of time1 property and life1 it is plain that this could not have been a fourth part of the whole4 ,but suppose it was a third1 then the whole pecuniary cost of the war would be #haj1jjj1jjj4 ,at the beginning of the ,revolution the population was about #c1jjj1jjj2 so that war1 lasting about eight years1 cost #bgj for each person4 ,to meet the expenses of the war each year there would have been required a tax of #cc4ge on each man1 woman and child6 ,in the ,florida war we spent between #cj1jjj1jjj and #dj1jjj1jjj1 as an eminent statesman once said1 in fighting five hundred invisible ,indians6 ,it is estimated that the fortifications of the city of ,paris1 when completely furnished1 will cost more than the whole taxable property of ,massachusetts1 with her #hjj1jjj souls4 ,why1 this year our own grant for the army is #ag1jjj1jjj4 ,the estimate for the navy is #f1jjj1jjj more2 in all #bc1jjj1jjj4 ,suppose1 which is most unlikely1 that we should pay no more1 why1 that sum alone would support public schools1 as good and as costly as those of ,massachusetts1 all over the ,united ,states1 offering each boy and girl1 bond or free1 as good a culture as they get here in ,boston1 and then leave a balance of #c1jjj1jjj in our hands6 ,we pay more for ignorance than we need for education6 ,but #bc1jjj1jjj is not all we must pay this year4 ,a great statesman has said1 in the ,senate1 that our war expenses at present are nearly #ejj1jjj a day1 and the ,president informs your ,congress that #bb1ieb1ijd more will be wanted for the army and navy before next ,june6 ,for several years we spent directly more than #ba1jjj1jjj for war purposes1 though in time of peace4 ,if a railroad cost #cj1jjj a mile1 then we might build #gjj miles a year for that sum1 and in five years could build a railroad therewith from ,boston to the further side of ,oregon4 ,for the war money we paid in forty-two years1 we could have had more than #aj1jjj miles of railroad1 and1 with dividends at seven per cent41 a yearly income of #ba1baj1jjj4 ,for military and naval affairs1 in eight years1 from #ahce to #ahdc1 we paid #afc1ccf1gag4 ,this alone would have made #e1ddd miles of railroad1 and would produce at seven per cent41 an annual income of #aa1dcc1efi4ai4 ,in ,boston there are nineteen public grammar schools1 a ,latin and ,english ,high school4 ,the buildings for these schools twenty in number1 have cost #fec1bjh4 ,there are also #ace primary schools1 in as many houses or rooms4 ,i know not their value1 as ,i think they are not all owned by the city4 ,but suppose them to be worth #aej1jjj4 ,then all the school-houses of this city have cost #hjc1bjh4 ,the cost of these #aef schools for this year is estimated at #agb1jjj4 ,the number of scholars in them is #af1dgi4 ,harvard ,university1 the most expensive college in ,america1 costs about #df1jjj a year4 ,now the ship ,ohio1 lying here in our harbor1 has cost #hcd1hde1 and we pay for it each year #bbj1jjj more4 ,that is1 it has cost #ca1fcg more than these #aee school-houses of this city1 and costs every year #b1jjj more than ,harvard ,university1 and all the public schools of ,boston6 ,the military academy at ,west ,point contains two hundred and thirty-six cadets2 the appropriation for it last year1 was #ach1jjj1 a sum greater ,i think1 than the cost of all the colleges in ,maine1 ,new ,hampshire1 ,vermont and ,massachusetts1 with their #a1dde students4 ,the navy-yard at ,charlestown1 with its ordnance1 stores1 etc41 cost #d1gda1jjj4 ,the cost of the #gh churches in ,boston is #c1bdf1ejj2 the whole property of ,harvard ,university is #gjc1age2 the #aee school-houses of ,boston are worth #hjc1bjh2 in all #d1geb1hhc4 ,thus the navy-yard at ,charlestown has cost almost as much as the #gh churches and the #aee school-houses of ,boston1 with ,harvard ,college1 its halls1 libraries1 all its wealth thrown in4 ,yet what does it teach8 ,our country is singularly destitute of public libraries4 ,you must go across the ocean to read the history of the ,church or ,state2 all the public libraries in ,america cannot furnish the books referred to in ,gibbon's ,rome1 or ,gieseler's ,history of the ,church4 ,i think there is no public library in ,europe which has cost three dollars a volume4 ,there are six3 the ,vatican1 at ,rome2 the ,royal1 at ,paris2 the ,british ,museum1 at ,london2 the ,bodleian1 at ,oxford2 the ,university ,libraries at ,gottingen and ,berlin--which contain1 it is said1 about #d1ejj1jjj volumes4 ,the recent grant of #ag1jjj1jjj for the army is #c1ejj1jjj more than the cost of those magnificent collections6 ,there have been printed about #c1jjj1jjj different volumes1 great and little1 within the last #djj years4 ,if the ,florida war cost but #cj1jjj1jjj1 it is ten times more than enough to have purchased one copy of each book ever printed1 at one dollar a volume1 which is more than the average cost4 ,now all these sums are to be paid by the people1 the dear people1 whom our republican demagogues love so well1 and for whom they spend their lives1 rising early1 toiling late1 those self-denying heroes1 those sainted martyrs of the republic1 eating the bread of carefulness for them alone6 ,but how are they to be paid8 ,by a direct tax levied on all the property of the nation1 so that the poor man pays according to his little1 and the rich man in proportion to his much1 each knowing when he pays and what he pays for8 ,no such thing2 nothing like it4 ,the people must pay and not know it2 must be deceived a little1 or they would not pay after this fashion6 ,you pay for it in every pound of sugar1 copper1 coal1 in every yard of cloth2 and if the counsel of some lovers of the people be followed1 you will soon pay for it in each pound of coffee and tea4 ,in this way the rich man always pays relatively less than the poor2 often a positively smaller sum4 ,even here ,i think that three-fourths of all the property is owned by one-fourth of the people1 yet that three-fourths by no means pays a third of the national revenue4 ,the tax is laid on things men cannot do without1--sugar1 cloth1 and the like4 ,the consumption of these articles is not in proportion to wealth but persons4 ,now the poor man1 as a general rule1 has more children than the rich1 and the tax being more in proportion to persons than property1 the poor man pays more than the rich4 ,so a tax is really laid on the poor man's children to pay for the war which makes him poor and keeps him poor4 ,i think your captains and colonels1 those sons of thunder and heirs of glory1 will not tell you so4 ,they tell you so6 ,they know it6 ,poor brothers1 how could they8 ,i think your party newspapers1 penny or pound1 will not tell you so2 nor the demagogues1 all covered with glory and all forlorn1 who tell the people when to hurrah and for what6 ,but if you cipher the matter out for yourself you will find it so1 and not otherwise4 ,tell the demagogues1 whig or democrat1 that4 ,it was an old ,roman maxim1 ,the people wished to be deceived2 let them4 ,now it is only practised on2 not repeated--in public4 ,let us deal justly even with war1 giving that its due4 ,there is one class of men who find their pecuniary advantage in it4 ,i mean army contractors1 when they chance to be favorites of the party in power2 men who let steamboats to lie idle at #ejj a day4 ,this class of men rejoice in a war4 ,the country may become poor1 they are sure to be rich4 ,yet another class turn war to account1 get the glory1 and become important in song and sermon4 ,i see it stated in a newspaper that the ,duke of ,wellington has received1 as gratuities for his military services1 #e1djj1jjj1 and #dj1jjj a year in pensions6 99 99 99 99 99 ,but the waste of property is the smallest part of the evil4 ,the waste of life in war is yet more terrible4 ,human life is a sacred thing4 ,go out into the lowest street of ,boston2 take the vilest and most squalid man in that miserable lane1 and he is dear to some one4 ,he is called brother2 perhaps husband2 it may be father2 at least1 son4 ,a human heart1 sadly joyful1 beat over him before he was born4 ,he has been pressed fondly to his mother's arms4 ,her tears and her smiles have been for him2 perhaps also her prayers4 ,his blood may be counted mean and vile by the great men of the earth who love nothing so well as the dear people1 for he has no coat of arms1 no liveried servant to attend him1 but it has run down from the same first man4 ,his family is ancient as that of the most long descended king4 ,god made him2 made this splendid universe to wait on him and teach him2 sent his ,christ to save him4 ,he is an immortal soul4 ,needlessly to spill that man's blood is an awful sin4 ,it will cry against you out of the ground--,cain6 where is thy brother8 ,now in war you bring together #ej1jjj men like him on one side1 and #ej1jjj of a different nation on the other4 ,they have no natural quarrel with one another4 ,the earth is wide enough for both2 neither hinders the sun from the other4 ,many come unwillingly2 many not knowing what they fight for4 ,it is but accident that determines on which side the man shall fight4 ,the cannons pour their shot--round1 grape1 canister2 the howitzers scatter their bursting shells2 the muskets rain their leaden death2 the sword1 the bayonet1 the horses' iron hoof1 the wheels of the artillery1 grind the men down into trodden dust4 ,there they lie1 the two masses of burning valor1 extinguished1 quenched1 and grimly dead1 each covering with his body the spot he defended with his arms4 ,they had no quarrel2 yet they lie there1 slain by a brother's hand4 ,it is not old and decrepid men1 but men of the productive age1 full of lusty life4 ,but it is only the smallest part that perish in battle4 ,exposure to cold1 wet1 heat2 unhealthy climates1 unwholesome food1 rum1 and forced marches1 bring on diseases which mow down the poor soldiers worse than musketry and grape4 ,others languish of wounds1 and slowly procrastinate a dreadful and a tenfold death4 ,far away1 there are widows1 orphans1 childless old fathers1 who pore over the daily news to learn at random the fate of a son1 a father1 or a husband6 ,they crowd disconsolate into the churches1 seeking of ,god the comfort men took from them1 praying in the bitterness of a broken heart1 while the priest gives thanks for a famous victory1 and hangs up the bloody standard over his pulpit6 ,when ordinary disease cuts off a man1 when he dies at his duty1 there is some comfort in that loss4 ,it was the ordinance of ,god1 you say4 ,you minister to his wants2 you smoothe down the pillow for the aching head2 your love beguiles the torment of disease1 and your own bosom gathers half the darts of death4 ,he goes in his time and ,god takes him4 ,but when he dies in such a war1 in battle1 it is man who has robbed him of life4 ,it is a murderer that is butchered4 ,nothing alleviates that bitter1 burning smart6 ,others not slain are maimed for life4 ,this has no eyes2 that no hands2 another no feet nor legs4 ,this has been pierced by lances1 and torn with the shot1 till scarce any thing human is left4 ,the wreck of a body is crazed with pains ,god never meant for man4 ,the mother that bore him would not know her child4 ,count the orphan asylums in ,germany and ,holland2 go into the hospital at ,greenwich1 that of the invalids in ,paris1 you see the trophies of ,napoleon and ,wellington4 ,go to the arsenal at ,toulon1 see the wooden legs piled up there for men now active and whole1 and you will think a little of the physical horrors of war4 ,in ,boston there are perhaps about #be1jjj able-bodied men between #ah and #de4 ,suppose them all slain in battle1 or mortally hurt1 or mown down by the camp-fever1 vomito1 or other diseases of war1 and then fancy the distress1 the heart-sickness amid wives1 mothers1 daughters1 sons and fathers1 here6 ,yet #be1jjj is a small number to be murdered in a famous victory2 a trifle for a whole glorious campaign in a great war4 ,the men of ,boston are no better loved than the men of ,tamaulipas4 ,there is scarce an old family1 of the middle class1 in all ,new ,england1 which did not thus smart in the ,revolution2 many1 which have not1 to this day1 recovered from the bloody blow then falling on them4 ,think1 wives1 of the butchery of your husbands2 think1 mothers1 of the murder of your sons6 ,here1 too1 the burden of battle falls mainly on the humble class4 ,they pay the great tribute of money2 they pay also the horrid tax of blood4 ,it was not your rich men who fought even the ,revolution2 not they4 ,your men of property and standing were leaguing with the ,british1 or fitting out privateers when that offered a good investment1 or buying up the estates of more consistent tories2 making money out of the nation's dire distress6 ,true1 there were most honorable exceptions2 but such1 ,i think1 was the general rule4 ,let this be distinctly remembered1 that the burden of battle is borne by the humble classes of men2 they pay the vast tribute of money2 the awful tax of blood6 ,the glory is got by a few2 poverty1 wounds1 death1 are for the people6 ,military glory is the poorest kind of distinction1 but the most dangerous passion4 ,it is an honor to man to be able to mould iron2 to be skilful at working in cloth1 wood1 clay1 leather4 ,it is man's vocation to raise corn1 to subdue the rebellious fibre of cotton and convert it into beautiful robes1 full of comfort for the body4 ,they are the heroes of the race who abridge the time of human toil and multiply its results2 they who win great truths from ,god1 and send them to a people's heart2 they who balance the many and the one into harmonious action1 so that all are united and yet each left free4 ,but the glory which comes of epaulets and feathers2 that strutting glory which is dyed in blood--what shall we say of it8 ,in this day it is not heroism2 it is an imitation of barbarism long ago passed by4 ,yet it is marvellous how many men are taken with a red coat6 ,you expect it in ,europe1 a land of soldiers and blood4 ,you are disappointed to find that here the champions of force should be held in honor1 and that even the lowest should voluntarily enroll themselves as butchers of men6 99 99 99 99 99 ,yet more3 aggressive war is a sin2 a corruption of the public morals4 ,it is a practical denial of ,christianity2 a violation of ,god's eternal law of love4 ,this is so plain that ,i shall say little upon it to-day4 ,your savagest and most vulgar captain would confess he does not fight as a ,christian--but as a soldier2 your magistrate calls for volunteers--not as a man loving ,christianity1 and loyal to ,god2 only as ,governor1 under oath to keep the ,constitution1 the tradition of the elders2 not under oath to keep the commandment of ,god6 ,in war the laws are suspended1 violence and cunning rule everywhere4 ,the battle of ,yorktown was gained by a lie1 though a ,washington told it4 ,as a soldier it was his duty4 ,men emulate the tiger2 the hand is bloody1 and the heart hard4 ,robbery and murder are the rule1 the glory of men4 ,good men look sad1 but ruffians dance and leap4 ,men are systematically trained to burn towns1 to murder fathers and sons2 taught to consider it glory to do so4 ,the ,government collects ruffians and cut-throats4 ,it compels better men to serve with these and become cut-throats4 ,it appoints chaplains to blaspheme ,christianity2 teaching the ruffians how to pray for the destruction of the enemy1 the burning of his towns2 to do this in the name of ,christ and ,god4 ,i do not censure all the men who serve3 some of them know no better2 they have heard that a man would perish everlastingly if he did not believe the ,athanasian creed2 that if he questioned the story of ,jonah1 or the miraculous birth of ,jesus1 he was in danger of hell-fire1 and if he doubted damnation was sure to be damned4 ,they never heard that such a war was a sin2 that to create a war was treason1 and to fight in it wrong4 ,they never thought of thinking for themselves2 their thinking was to read a newspaper1 or sleep through a sermon4 ,they counted it their duty to obey the ,government without thinking if that ,government be right or wrong4 ,i deny not the noble1 manly character of many a soldier1 his heroism1 self-denial and personal sacrifice4 ,still1 after all proper allowance is made for a few individuals1 the whole system of war is unchristian and sinful4 ,it lives only by evil passions4 ,it can be defended only by what is low1 selfish1 and animal4 ,it absorbs the scum of the cities1 pirates1 robbers1 murderers4 ,it makes them worse1 and better men like them4 ,to take one man's life is murder2 what is it to practise killing as an art1 a trade2 to do it by thousands8 ,yet ,i think better of the hands that do the butchering than of the ambitious heads1 the cold1 remorseless hearts1 which plunge the nation into war4 ,in war the ,state teaches men to lie1 to steal1 to kill4 ,it calls for privateers1 who are commonly pirates with a national charter1 and pirates are privateers with only a personal charter4 ,every camp is a school of profanity1 violence1 licentiousness1 and crimes too foul to name4 ,it is so without sixty-five thousand gallons of whiskey4 ,this is unavoidable4 ,it was so with ,washington's army1 with ,cornwallis's1 with that of ,gustavus ,adolphus1 perhaps the most moral army the world ever saw4 ,the soldier's life generally unfits a man for the citizen's6 ,when he returns from a camp1 from a war1 back to his native village1 he becomes a curse to society and a shame to the mother that bore him4 ,even the soldiers of the ,revolution1 who survived the war1 were mostly ruined for life1 debauched1 intemperate1 vicious and vile4 ,what loathsome creatures so many of them were6 ,they bore our burden1 for such were the real martyrs of that war1 not the men who fell under the shot6 ,how many men of the rank and file in the late war have since become respectable citizens8 ,to show how incompatible are ,war and ,christianity1 suppose that he who is deemed the most ,christian of ,christ's disciples1 the well-beloved ,john1 were made a navy-chaplain1 and some morning1 when a battle is daily looked for1 should stand on the gun-deck1 amid lockers of shot1 his ,bible resting on a cannon1 and expound ,christianity to men with cutlasses by their side6 ,let him read for the morning lesson the ,sermon on the ,mount1 and for text take words from his own ,epistle1 so sweet1 so beautiful1 so true3 ,every one that loveth is born of ,god1 and knoweth ,god1 for ,god is love4 ,suppose he tells his strange audience that all men are brothers2 that ,god is their common father2 that ,christ loved us all1 showing us how to live the life of love2 and then1 when he had melted all those savage hearts by words so winsome and so true1 let him conclude1 ,blessed are the men-slayers6 ,seek first the glory which cometh of battle4 ,be fierce as tigers4 ,mar ,god's image in which your brothers are made4 ,be not like ,christ1 but ,cain who slew his brother6 ,when you meet the enemy1 fire into their bosoms2 kill them in the dear name of ,christ2 butcher them in the spirit of ,god4 ,give them no quarter1 for we ought not to lay down our lives for the brethren2 only the murderer hath eternal life6 99 99 99 99 99 ,yet great as are these three-fold evils1 there are times when the soberest men and the best men have welcomed war1 coolly and in their better moments4 ,sometimes a people1 long oppressed1 has petitioned1 remonstrated1 cast itself at the feet of the throne1 with only insult for answer to its prayer4 ,sometimes there is a contest between a falsehood and a great truth2 a self-protecting war for freedom of mind1 heart and soul2 yes1 a war for a man's body1 his wife's and children's body1 for what is dearer to men than life itself1 for the unalienable rights of man1 for the idea that all are born free and equal4 ,it was so in the ,american ,revolution2 in the ,english1 in the ,french ,revolution4 ,in such cases men say1 ,let it come4 ,they take down the firelock in sorrow2 with a prayer they go forth to battle1 asking that the ,right may triumph4 ,much as ,i hate war ,i cannot but honor such men4 ,were they better1 yet more heroic1 even war of that character might be avoided4 ,still it is a colder heart than mine which does not honor such men1 though it believes them mistaken4 ,especially do we honor them1 when it is the few1 the scattered1 the feeble1 contending with the many and the mighty2 the noble fighting for a great idea1 and against the base and tyrannical4 ,then most men think the gain1 the triumph of a great idea1 is worth the price it costs1 the price of blood4 ,i will not stop to touch that question1 ,if man may ever shed the blood of man4 ,but it is plain that an aggressive war like this is wholly unchristian1 and a reproach to the nation and the age4 99 99 99 99 99 ,now1 to make the evils of war still clearer1 and to bring them home to your door1 let us suppose there was war between the counties of ,suffolk1 on the one side1 and ,middlesex on the other--this army at ,boston1 that at ,cambridge4 ,suppose the subject in dispute was the boundary line between the two1 ,boston claiming a pitiful acre of flat land1 which the ocean at low tide disdained to cover4 ,to make sure of this1 ,boston seizes whole miles of flats1 unquestionably not its own4 ,the rulers on one side are fools1 and traitors on the other4 ,the two commanders have issued their proclamations2 the money is borrowed2 the whiskey provided2 the soldiers--,americans1 ,negroes1 ,irishmen1 all the able-bodied men--are enlisted4 ,prayers are offered in all the churches1 and sermons preached1 showing that ,god is a man of war1 and ,cain his first saint1 an early ,christian1 a ,christian before ,christ4 ,the ,bostonians wish to seize ,cambridge1 burn the houses1 churches1 college-halls1 and plunder the library4 ,the men of ,cambridge wish to seize ,boston1 burn its houses and ships1 plundering its wares and its goods4 ,martial law is proclaimed on both sides4 ,the men of ,cambridge cut asunder the bridges1 and make a huge breach in the mill-dam1 planting cannon to enfilade all those avenues4 ,forts crown the hilltops1 else so green4 ,men1 madder than lunatics1 are crowded into the ,asylum4 ,the ,bostonians rebuild the old fortifications on the ,neck2 replace the forts on ,beacon-hill1 ,fort-hill1 ,copps-hill1 levelling houses to make room for redoubts and bastions4 ,the batteries are planted1 the mortars got ready2 the furnaces and magazines are all prepared4 ,the three hills are grim with war4 ,from ,copps-hill men look anxious to that memorable height the other side of the water4 ,provisions are cut off in ,boston2 no man may pass the lines2 the aqueduct refuses its genial supply2 children cry for their expected food4 ,the soldiers parade1 looking somewhat tremulous and pale2 all the able-bodied have come1 the vilest most willingly2 some are brought by force of drink1 some by force of arms4 ,some are in brilliant dresses1 some in their working frocks4 ,the banners are consecrated by solemn words4#f ,your church-towers are military posts of observation4 ,there are ,old ,testament prayers to the ,god of ,hosts in all the churches of ,boston2 prayers that ,god would curse the men of ,cambridge1 make their wives widows1 their children fatherless1 their houses a ruin1 the men corpses1 meat for the beast of the field and the bird of the air4 ,last night the ,bostonians made a feint of attacking ,charlestown1 raining bombs and red-hot cannon-balls from ,copps-hill1 till they have burnt a thousand houses1 where the ,british burnt not half so many4 ,women and children fled screaming from the blazing rafters of their homes4 ,the men of ,middlesex crowd into ,charlestown4 ,in the mean time the ,bostonians hastily repair a bridge or two2 some pass that way1 some over the ,neck2 all stealthily by night1 and while the foe expect them at ,bunker's1 amid the blazing town1 they have stolen a march and rush upon ,cambridge itself4 ,the ,cambridge men turn back4 ,the battle is fiercely joined4 ,you hear the cannon1 the sharp report of musketry4 ,you crowd the hills1 the house-tops2 you line the ,common1 you cover the shore1 yet you see but little in the sulphurous cloud4 ,now the ,bostonians yield a little1 a reinforcement goes over4 ,all the men are gone2 even the gray-headed who can shoulder a firelock4 ,they plunge into battle mad with rage1 madder with rum4 ,the chaplains loiter behind4 ,pious men1 whom duty brought1 ,to dubious verge of battle fought1 ,to shrive the dying1 bless the dead6 ,the battle hangs long in even scale4 ,at length it turns4 ,the ,cambridge men retreat1 they run1 they fly4 ,the houses burn4 ,you see the churches and the colleges go up1 a stream of fire4 ,that library--founded amid want and war and sad sectarian strife1 slowly gathered by the saving of two centuries1 the hope of the poor scholar1 the boast of the rich one--is scattered to the winds and burnt with fire1 for the solid granite is blasted by powder1 and the turrets fall4 ,victory is ours4 ,ten thousand men of ,cambridge lie dead2 eight thousand of ,boston4 ,there writhe the wounded2 men who but few hours before were poured over the battle-field a lava flood of fiery valor--fathers1 brothers1 husbands1 sons4 ,there they lie1 torn and mangled2 black with powder2 red with blood2 parched with thirst2 cursing the load of life they now must bear with bruised frames and mutilated limbs4 ,gather them into hasty hospitals--let this man's daughter come to-morrow and sit by him1 fanning away the flies2 he shall linger out a life of wretched anguish unspoken and unspeakable1 and when he dies his wife religiously will keep the shot which tore his limbs4 ,there is the battle-field6 ,here the horse charged2 there the howitzers scattered their shells1 pregnant with death2 here the murderous canister and grape mowed down the crowded ranks2 there the huge artillery1 teeming with murder1 was dragged o'er heaps of men--wounded friends who just now held its ropes1 men yet curling with anguish1 like worms in the fire4 ,hostile and friendly1 head and trunk are crushed beneath those dreadful wheels4 ,here the infantry showered their murdering shot4 ,that ghastly face was beautiful the day before--a sabre hewed its half away4 ,the earth is covered thick with other clay1 ,which her own clay must cover1 heaped and pent1 ,rider and horse1 friend1 foe1 in one red burial blent4 ,again it is night4 ,oh1 what a night1 and after what a day6 ,yet the pure tide of woman's love1 which never ebbs since earth began1 flows on in spite of war and battle4 ,stealthily1 by the pale moonlight1 a mother of ,boston treads the weary miles to reach that bloody spot2 a widow she--seeking among the slain her only son4 ,the arm of power drove him forth reluctant to the fight4 ,a friendly soldier guides her way4 ,now she turns over this face1 whose mouth is full of purple dust1 bit out of the ground in his extremest agony1 the last sacrament offered him by ,earth herself2 now she raises that form1 cold1 stiff1 stony and ghastly as a dream of hell4 ,but1 lo6 another comes1 she too a woman1 younger and fairer1 yet not less bold1 a maiden from the hostile town to seek her lover4 ,they meet1 two women among the corpses2 two angels come to ,golgotha1 seeking to raise a man4 ,there he lies before them2 they look4 ,yes it is he you seek2 the same dress1 form1 features too2 it is he1 the son1 the lover4 ,maid and mother could tell that face in any light4 ,the grass is wet with his blood4 ,the ground is muddy with the life of men4 ,the mother's innocent robe is drabbled in the blood her bosom bore4 ,their kisses1 groans1 and tears1 recall the wounded man4 ,he knows the mother's voice2 that voice yet more beloved4 ,his lips move only1 for they cannot speak4 ,he dies6 ,the waxing moon moves high in heaven1 walking in beauty amid the clouds1 and murmurs soft her cradle song unto the slumbering earth4 ,the broken sword reflects her placid beams4 ,a star looks down and is imaged back in a pool of blood4 ,the cool night wind plays in the branches of the trees shivered with shot4 ,nature is beautiful--that lovely grass underneath their feet2 those pendulous branches of the leafy elm2 the stars and that romantic moon lining the clouds with silver light6 ,a groan of agony1 hopeless and prolonged1 wails out from that bloody ground4 ,but in yonder farm the whippoorwill sings to her lover all night long2 the rising tide ripples melodious against the shores4 ,so wears the night away1--,nature1 all sinless1 round that field of woe4 ,the morn is up again1 the dewy morn1 ,with breath all incense and with cheek all bloom1 ,laughing the clouds away with playful scorn1 ,and living as if earth contained no tomb1 ,and glowing into day4 ,what a scene that morning looks upon6 ,i will not turn again4 ,let the dead bury their dead4 ,but their blood cries out of the ground against the rulers who shed it1--,cain6 where are thy brothers8 ,what shall the fool answer2 what the traitor say8 ,then comes thanksgiving in all the churches of ,boston4 ,the consecrated banners1 stiff with blood and glory1 are hung over the altar4 ,the minister preaches and the singer sings3 ,the ,lord hath been on our side4 ,he treadeth the people under me4 ,he teacheth my hands to war1 my fingers to fight4 ,yea1 ,he giveth me the necks of mine enemies2 for the ,lord is his name2 and ,it was a famous victory6 ,boston seizes miles square of land2 but her houses are empty2 her wives widows2 her children fatherless4 ,rachel weeps for the murder of her innocents1 yet dares not rebuke the rod4 ,i know there is no fighting across ,charles ,river1 as in this poor fiction2 but there was once1 and instead of ,charles say ,rio ,grande2 for ,cambridge read ,metamoras1 and it is what your ,president recommended2 what your ,congress enacted2 what your ,governor issued his proclamation for2 what your volunteers go to accomplish3 yes1 what they fired cannon for on ,boston ,common the other day4 ,i wish that were a fiction of mine6 99 99 99 99 99 ,we are waging a most iniquitous war--so it seems to me4 ,i know ,i may be wrong1 but ,i am no partisan1 and if ,i err1 it is not wilfully1 not rashly4 ,i know the ,mexicans are a wretched people2 wretched in their origin1 history1 and character4 ,i know but two good things of them as a people--they abolished negro slavery1 not long ago2 they do not covet the lands of their neighbors4 ,true1 they have not paid all their debts1 but it is scarcely decent in a nation1 with any repudiating ,states1 to throw the first stone at ,mexico for that6 ,i know the ,mexicans cannot stand before this terrible ,anglo-,saxon race1 the most formidable and powerful the world ever saw2 a race which has never turned back2 which1 though it number less than forty millions1 yet holds the ,indies1 almost the whole of ,north ,america2 which rules the commerce of the world2 clutches at ,new ,holland1 ,china1 ,new ,zealand1 ,borneo1 and seizes island after island in the furthest seas2 the race which invented steam as its awful type4 ,the poor1 wretched ,mexicans can never stand before us4 ,how they perished in battle6 ,they must melt away as the ,indians before the white man4 ,considering how we acquired ,louisiana1 ,florida1 ,oregon1 ,i cannot forbear thinking that this people will possess the whole of the continent before many years2 perhaps before the century ends4 ,but this may be had fairly2 with no injustice to any one2 by the steady advance of a superior race1 with superior ideas and a better civilization2 by commerce1 trade1 arts1 by being better than ,mexico1 wiser1 humaner1 more free and manly4 ,is it not better to acquire it by the schoolmaster than the cannon2 by peddling cloth1 tin1 any thing rather than bullets8 ,it may not all belong to this ,government1 and yet to this race4 ,it would be a gain to mankind if we could spread over that country the ,idea of ,america--that all men are born free and equal in rights1 and establish there political1 social1 and individual freedom4 ,but to do that1 we must first make real these ideas at home4 ,in the general issue between this race and that1 we are in the right4 ,but in this special issue1 and this particular war1 it seems to me that we are wholly in the wrong2 that our invasion of ,mexico is as bad as the partition of ,poland in the last century and in this4 ,if ,i understand the matter1 the whole movement1 the settlement of ,texas1 the ,texan revolution1 the annexation of ,texas1 the invasion of ,mexico1 has been a movement hostile to the ,american idea1 a movement to extend slavery4 ,i do not say such was the design on the part of the people1 but on the part of the politicians who pulled the strings4 ,i think the papers of the ,government and the debates of ,congress prove that4 ,the annexation has been declared unconstitutional in its mode1 a virtual dissolution of the ,union1 and that by very high and well-known authority4 ,it was expressly brought about for the purpose of extending slavery4 ,an attempt is now made to throw the shame of this on the democrats4 ,i think the democrats deserve the shame2 but ,i could never see that the whigs1 on the whole1 deserved it any less2 only they were not quite so open4 ,certainly1 their leaders did not take ground against it1 never as against a modification of the tariff6 ,when we annexed ,texas we of course took her for better or worse1 debts and all1 and annexed her war along with her4 ,i take it everybody knew that2 though now some seem to pretend a decent astonishment at the result4 ,now one party is ready to fight for it as the other6 ,the ,north did not oppose the annexation of ,texas4 ,why not8 ,they knew they could make money by it4 ,the eyes of the ,north are full of cotton2 they see nothing else1 for a web is before them2 their ears are full of cotton1 and they hear nothing but the buzz of their mills2 their mouth is full of cotton1 and they can speak audibly but two words--,tariff1 ,tariff1 ,dividends1 ,dividends4 ,the talent of the ,north is blinded1 deafened1 gagged with its own cotton4 ,the ,north clamored loudly when the nation's treasure was removed from the ,united ,states ,bank2 it is almost silent at the annexation of a slave territory big as the kingdom of ,france1 encumbered with debts1 loaded with the entailment of war6 ,northern ,governors call for soldiers2 our men volunteer to fight in a most infamous war for the extension of slavery6 ,tell it not in ,boston1 whisper it not in ,faneuil ,hall1 lest you weaken the slumbers of your fathers1 and they curse you as cowards and traitors unto men6 ,not satisfied with annexing ,texas and a war1 we next invaded a territory which did not belong to ,texas1 and built a fort on the ,rio ,grande1 where1 ,i take it1 we had no more right than the ,british1 in #ahda1 had on the ,penobscot or the ,saco4 ,now the ,government and its ,congress would throw the blame on the innocent1 and say war exists by the act of ,mexico6 ,if a lie was ever told1 ,i think this is one4 ,then the dear people must be called on for money and men1 for the soil of this free republic is invaded1 and the ,governor of ,massachusetts1 one of the men who declared the annexation of ,texas unconstitutional1 recommends the war he just now told us to pray against1 and appeals to our patriotism1 and humanity1 as arguments for butchering the ,mexicans1 when they are in the right and we in the wrong6 ,the maxim is held up1 ,our country1 right or wrong2 ,our country1 howsoever bounded2 and it might as well be1 ,our country1 howsoever governed4 ,it seems popularly and politically forgotten that there is such a thing as ,right4 ,the nation's neck invites a tyrant4 ,i am not at all astonished that northern representatives voted for all this work of crime4 ,they are no better than southern representatives2 scarcely less in favor of slavery1 and not half so open4 ,they say3 ,let the ,north make money1 and you may do what you please with the nation2 and we will choose governors that dare not oppose you1 for1 though we are descended from the ,puritans we have but one article in our creed we never flinch from following1 and that is--to make money2 honestly1 if we can2 if not1 as we can6 ,look through the action of your ,government1 and your ,congress4 ,you see that no reference has been had in this affair to ,christian ideas2 none to justice and the eternal right4 ,nay1 none at all6 ,in the churches1 and among the people1 how feeble has been the protest against this great wrong4 ,how tamely the people yield their necks--and say3 ,take our sons for the war--we care not1 right or wrong4 ,england butchers the ,sikhs in ,india--her generals are elevated to the peerage1 and the head of her church writes a form of thanksgiving for the victory1 to be read in all the churches of that ,christian land4#g ,to make it still more abominable1 the blasphemy is enacted on ,easter ,sunday1 the great holiday of men who serve the ,prince of ,peace4 ,we have not had prayers in the churches1 for we have no political ,archbishop4 ,but we fired cannon in joy that we had butchered a few wretched men--half starved1 and forced into the ranks by fear of death6 ,your peace societies1 and your churches1 what can they do8 ,what dare they8 ,verily1 we are a faithless and perverse generation4 ,god be merciful to us1 sinners as we are6 99 99 99 99 99 ,but why talk for ever8 ,what shall we do8 ,in regard to this present war1 we can refuse to take any part in it2 we can encourage others to do the same2 we can aid men1 if need be1 who suffer because they refuse4 ,men will call us traitors3 what then8 ,that hurt nobody in '#gf6 ,we are a rebellious nation2 our whole history is treason2 our blood was attainted before we were born2 our creeds are infidelity to the mother-church2 our ,constitution treason to our father-land4 ,what of that8 ,though all the governors in the world bid us commit treason against man1 and set the example1 let us never submit4 ,let ,god only be a master to control our conscience6 ,we can hold public meetings in favor of peace1 in which what is wrong shall be exposed and condemned4 ,it is proof of our cowardice that this has not been done before now4 ,we can show in what the infamy of a nation consists2 in what its real glory4 ,one of your own men1 the last summer1 startled the churches out of their sleep1#h by his manly trumpet1 talking with us1 and telling that the true grandeur of a nation was justice1 not glory2 peace1 not war4 ,we can work now for future times1 by taking pains to spread abroad the sentiments of peace1 the ideas of peace1 among the people in schools1 churches--everywhere4 ,at length we can diminish the power of the national ,government1 so that the people alone shall have the power to declare war1 by a direct vote1 the ,congress only to recommend it4 ,we can take from the ,government the means of war by raising only revenue enough for the nation's actual wants1 and raising that directly1 so that each man knows what he pays1 and when he pays it1 and then he will take care that it is not paid to make him poor and keep him so4 ,we can diffuse a real practical ,christianity among the people1 till the mass of men have courage enough to overcome evil with good1 and look at aggressive war as the worst of treason and the foulest infidelity6 ,now is the time to push and be active4 ,war itself gives weight to words of peace4 ,there will never be a better time till we make the times better4 ,it is not a day for cowardice1 but for heroism4 ,fear not that the honor of the nation will suffer from ,christian movements for peace4 ,what if your men of low degree are a vanity1 and your men of high degree are a lie8 ,that is no new thing4 ,let true men do their duty1 and the lie and the vanity will pass each to its reward4 ,wait not for the churches to move1 or the ,state to become ,christian4 ,let us bear our testimony like men1 not fearing to be called traitors1 infidels2 fearing only to be such4 ,i would call on ,americans1 by their love of our country1 its great ideas1 its real grandeur1 its hopes1 and the memory of its fathers--to come and help save that country from infamy and ruin4 ,i would call on ,christians1 who believe that ,christianity is a truth1 to lift up their voice1 public and private1 against the foulest violation of ,god's law1 this blasphemy of the ,holy ,spirit of ,christ1 this worst form of infidelity to man and ,god4 ,i would call on all men1 by the one nature that is in you1 by the great human heart beating alike in all your bosoms1 to protest manfully against this desecration of the earth1 this high treason against both man and ,god4 ,teach your rulers that you are ,americans1 not slaves2 ,christians1 not heathen2 men1 not murderers1 to kill for hire6 ,you may effect little in this generation1 for its head seems crazed and its heart rotten4 ,but there will be a day after to-day4 ,it is for you and me to make it better2 a day of peace1 when nation shall no longer lift up sword against nation2 when all shall indeed be brothers1 and all blest4 ,do this1 you shall be worthy to dwell in this beautiful land2 ,christ will be near you2 ,god work with you1 and bless you for ever6 ,this present trouble with ,mexico may be very brief2 surely it might be even now brought to an end with no unusual manhood in your rulers4 ,can we say we have not deserved it8 ,let it end1 but let us remember that war1 horrid as it is1 is not the worst calamity which ever befalls a people4 ,it is far worse for a people to lose all reverence for right1 for truth1 all respect for man and ,god2 to care more for the freedom of trade than the freedom of men2 more for a tariff than millions of souls4 ,this calamity came upon us gradually1 long before the present war1 and will last long after that has died away4 ,like people like ruler1 is a true word4 ,look at your rulers1 representatives1 and see our own likeness6 ,we reverence force1 and have forgot there is any right beyond the vote of a ,congress or a people2 any good beside dollars2 any ,god but majorities and force1 ,i think the present war1 though it should cost #ej1jjj men and #ej1jjj1jjj1 the smallest part of our misfortune4 ,abroad we are looked on as a nation of swindlers and men-stealers6 ,what can we say in our defence8 ,alas1 the nation is a traitor to its great idea1--that all men are born equal1 each with the same unalienable rights4 ,we are infidels to ,christianity4 ,we have paid the price of our shame4 ,there have been dark days in this nation before now4 ,it was gloomy when ,washington with his little army fled through the ,jerseys4 ,it was a long dark day from '#hc to '#hi4 ,it was not so dark as now2 the nation never so false4 ,there was never a time when resistance to tyrants was so rare a virtue2 when the people so tamely submitted to a wrong4 ,now you can feel the darkness4 ,the sack of this city and the butchery of its people were a far less evil than the moral deadness of the nation4 ,men spring up again like the mown grass2 but to raise up saints and heroes in a dead nation corrupting beside its golden tomb1 what shall do that for us8 ,we must look not to the many for that1 but to the few who are faithful unto ,god and man4 ,i know the hardy vigor of our men1 the stalwart intellect of this people4 ,would to ,god they could learn to love the right and true4 ,then what a people should we be1 spreading from the ,madawaska to the ,sacramento1 diffusing our great idea1 and living our religion1 the ,christianity of ,christ6 ,oh1 ,lord6 make the vision true2 waken thy prophets and stir thy people till righteousness exalt us6 ,no wonders will be wrought for that4 ,but the voice of conscience speaks to you and me1 and all of us3 ,the right shall prosper2 the wicked ,states shall die1 and ,history responds her long amen4 ,what lessons come to us from the past6 ,the ,genius of the old civilization1 solemn and sad1 sits there on the ,alps1 his classic beard descending o'er his breast4 ,behind him arise the new nations1 bustling with romantic life4 ,he bends down over the midland sea1 and counts up his children--,assyria1 ,egypt1 ,tyre1 ,carthage1 ,troy1 ,etruria1 ,corinth1 ,athens1 ,rome--once so renowned1 now gathered with the dead1 their giant ghosts still lingering pensive o'er the spot4 ,he turns westward his face1 too sad to weep1 and raising from his palsied knee his trembling hand1 looks on his brother genius of the new civilization4 ,that young giant1 strong and mocking1 sits there on the ,alleghanies4 ,before him lie the waters1 covered with ships2 behind him he hears the roar of the ,mississippi and the far distant ,oregon--rolling their riches to the sea4 ,he bends down1 and that far ocean murmurs pacific in his ear4 ,on his left1 are the harbors1 shops and mills of the ,east1 and a five-fold gleam of light goes up from ,northern lakes4 ,on his right1 spread out the broad savannahs of the ,south1 waiting to be blessed2 and far off that ,mexique bay bends round her tropic shores4 ,a crown of stars is on that giant's head1 some glorious with flashing1 many-colored light2 some bloody red2 some pale and faint1 of most uncertain hue4 ,his right hand lies folded in his robe2 the left rests on the ,bible's opened page1 and holds these sacred words--,all men are equal1 born with equal rights from ,god4 ,the old says to the young3 ,brother1 beware6 and ,alps and ,rocky ,mountains say ,beware6 ,that stripling giant1 ill-bred and scoffing1 shouts amain3 ,my feet are red with the ,indians' blood2 my hand has forged the negro's chain4 ,i am strong2 who dares assail me8 ,i will drink his blood1 for ,i have made my covenant of lies1 and leagued with hell for my support4 ,there is no right1 no truth2 ,christianity is false1 and ,god a name4 ,his left hand rends those sacred scrolls1 casting his ,bibles underneath his feet1 and in his right he brandishes the negro-driver's whip1 crying again--,say1 who is ,god1 and what is ,right4 ,and all his mountains echo--,right4 ,but the old genius sadly says again3 ,though hand join in hand1 the wicked shall not prosper4 ,the hollow tomb of ,egypt1 ,athens1 ,rome1 of every ancient ,state1 with all their wandering ghosts1 replies1 ,,amen4 ,,footnotes3 #c ,isaiah lxiii4 #a-f4 ,noyes's ,version4 ,the ,people4 #a4 ,who is this that cometh from ,edom8 ,in scarlet garments from ,bozrah8 ,this1 that is glorious in his apparel1 ,proud in the greatness of his strength8 ,jehovah4 ,i1 that proclaim deliverance1 ,and am mighty to save4 ,the ,people4 #b4 ,wherefore is thine apparel red1 ,and thy garments like those of one that treadeth the wine-vat8 ,jehovah4 #c4 ,i have trodden the wine-vat alone1 ,and of the nations there was none with me4 ,and ,i trod them in mine anger1 ,and ,i trampled them in my fury1 ,so that their life-blood was sprinkled upon my garments1 ,and ,i have stained all my apparel4 #d4 ,for the day of vengeance was in my heart1 ,and the year of my deliverance was come4 #e4 ,and ,i looked1 and there was none to help1 ,and ,i wondered1 that there was none to uphold1 ,therefore my own arm wrought salvation for me1 ,and my fury1 it sustained me4 #f4 ,i trod down the nations in my anger2 ,i crushed them in my fury1 ,and spilled their blood upon the ground4 #d ,to show the differences between the ,old and ,new ,testament1 and to serve as introduction to this discourse1 the following passages were read as the morning lesson3 ,exodus1 xv4 #a-f2 #b ,sam4 xxii4 #cb1 #ce-dc1 #dh2 xlv4 #c-e2 ,isa4 lxvi4 #ae1 #af2 ,joel1 iii4 #i-ag1 and ,matt4 v4 #c-aa1 #ch-ci1 #dc-de4 #e ,such was the price offered1 and such the number of soldiers then called for4 #f ,see the appropriate forms of prayer for that service by the present ,bishop of ,oxford1 in ,jay's ,address before the ,american ,peace ,society1 in #ahde4 #g ,form of ,prayer and ,thanksgiving to ,almighty ,god4 ,o ,lord ,god of ,hosts1 in whose hand is power and might irresistible1 we1 thine unworthy servants1 most humbly acknowledge thy goodness in the victories lately vouchsafed to the armies of our ,sovereign over a host of barbarous invaders1 who sought to spread desolation over fruitful and populous provinces1 enjoying the blessings of peace1 under the protection of the ,british ,crown4 ,we bless ,thee1 ,o merciful ,lord1 for having brought to a speedy and prosperous issue a war to which no occasion had been given by injustice on our part1 or apprehension of injury at our hands6 ,to ,thee1 ,o ,lord1 we ascribe the glory6 ,it was ,thy wisdom which guided the counsel6 ,thy power which strengthened the hands of those whom it pleased ,thee to use as ,thy instruments in the discomfiture of the lawless aggressor1 and the frustration of his ambitious designs6 ,from ,thee1 alone1 cometh the victory1 and the spirit of moderation and mercy in the day of success4 ,continue1 we beseech ,thee1 to go forth with our armies1 whensoever they are called into battle in a righteous cause2 and dispose the hearts of their leaders to exact nothing more from the vanquished than is necessary for the maintenance of peace and security against violence and rapine4 ,above all1 give ,thy grace to those who preside in the councils of our ,sovereign1 and administer the concerns of her widely extended dominions1 that they may apply all their endeavors to the purposes designed by ,thy good ,providence1 in committing such power to their hands1 the temporal and spiritual benefit of the nations intrusted to their care4 ,and whilst ,thou preservest our distant possessions from the horrors of war1 give us peace and plenty at home1 that the earth may yield her increase1 and that we1 ,thy servants1 receiving ,thy blessings with thankfulness and gladness of heart1 may dwell together in unity1 and faithfully serve ,thee1 to ,thy honor and glory1 through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord1 to whom1 with ,thee and the ,holy ,ghost1 belong all dominion and power1 both in heaven and earth1 now and for ever4 ,amen4--,see a defence of this prayer1 in the ,london ,christian ,observer for ,may1 p4 #cai1 et seq41 and for ,june1 p4 #cdf1 et seq4 ,would you know what he gave thanks for on ,easter ,sunday8 ,here is the history of the battle3 ,this battle had begun at six1 and was over at eleven o'clock2 the hand-to-hand combat commenced at nine1 and lasted scarcely two hours4 ,the river was full of sinking men4 ,for two hours1 volley after volley was poured in upon the human mass--the stream being literally red with blood1 and covered with the bodies of the slain4 ,at last1 the musket ammunition becoming exhausted1 the infantry fell to the rear1 the horse artillery plying grape till not a man was visible within range4 ,no compassion was felt or mercy shown4 ,but 'twas a famous victory6 #h ,mr4 ,charles ,sumner4 ,,iv4 ,,speech ,,delivered ,,at ,,the ,,anti-,,war ,,meeting ,,in ,,faneuil ,,hall1 ,,february #d1 #ahdg4 ,mr4 ,chairman1--,we have come here to consult for the honor of our country4 ,the honor and dignity of the ,united ,states are in danger4 ,i love my country2 ,i love her honor4 ,it is dear to me almost as my own4 ,i have seen stormy meetings in ,faneuil ,hall before now1 and am not easily disturbed by a popular tumult4 ,but never before did ,i see a body of armed soldiers attempting to overawe the majesty of the people1 when met to deliberate on the people's affairs4 ,yet the meetings of the people of ,boston have been disturbed by soldiers before now1 by ,british bayonets2 but never since the ,boston massacre on the #eth of ,march1 #aggj6 ,our fathers hated a standing army4 ,this is a new one1 but behold the effect6 ,here are soldiers with bayonets to overawe the majesty of the people6 ,they went to our meeting last ,monday night1 the hireling soldiers of ,president ,polk1 to overawe and disturb the meetings of honest men4 ,here they are now1 and in arms6 ,we are in a war2 the signs of war are seen here in ,boston4 ,men1 needed to hew wood and honestly serve society1 are marching about your streets2 they are learning to kill men1 men who never harmed us1 nor them2 learning to kill their brothers4 ,it is a mean and infamous war we are fighting4 ,it is a great boy fighting a little one1 and that little one feeble and sick4 ,what makes it worse is1 the little boy is in the right1 and the big boy is in the wrong1 and tells solemn lies to make his side seem right4 ,he wants1 besides1 to make the small boy pay the expenses of the quarrel4 ,the friends of the war say ,mexico has invaded our territory6 ,when it is shown that it is we who have invaded hers1 then it is said1 ,ay1 but she owes us money4 ,better say outright1 ,mexico has land1 and we want to steal it6 ,this war is waged for a mean and infamous purpose1 for the extension of slavery4 ,it is not enough that there are fifteen ,slave ,states1 and #c1jjj1jjj men here who have no legal rights--not so much as the horse and the ox have in ,boston3 it is not enough that the slaveholders annexed ,texas1 and made slavery perpetual therein1 extending even north of ,mason and ,dixon's line1 covering a territory forty-five times as large as the ,state of ,massachusetts4 ,oh1 no2 we must have yet more land to whip negroes in6 ,the war had a mean and infamous beginning4 ,it began illegally1 unconstitutionally4 ,the ,whigs say1 the ,president made the war4 ,mr4 ,webster says so6 ,it went on meanly and infamously4 ,your ,congress lied about it4 ,do not lay the blame on the democrats2 the whigs lied just as badly4 ,your ,congress has seldom been so single-mouthed before4 ,why1 only sixteen voted against the war1 or the lie4 ,i say this war is mean and infamous all the more1 because waged by a people calling itself democratic and ,christian4 ,i know but one war so bad in modern times1 between civilized nations1 and that was the war for the partition of ,poland4 ,even for that there was more excuse4 ,we have come to ,faneuil ,hall to talk about the war2 to work against the war4 ,it is rather late1 but better late than never4 ,we have let two opportunities for work pass unemployed4 ,one came while the annexation of ,texas was pending4 ,then was the time to push and be active4 ,then was the time for ,massachusetts and all the ,north1 to protest as one man against the extension of slavery4 ,everybody knew all about the matter1 the democrats and the whigs4 ,but how few worked against that gross mischief6 ,one noble man lifted up his warning voice2#i a man noble in his father1--and there he stands in marble2 noble in himself--and there he stands yet higher up--and ,i hope time will show him yet nobler in his son1 and there he stands1 not in marble1 but in man6 ,he talked against it1 worked against it1 fought against it4 ,but ,massachusetts did little4 ,her tonguey men said little2 her handymen did little4 ,too little could not be done or said4 ,true1 we came here to ,faneuil ,hall and passed resolutions2 good resolutions they were1 too4 ,daniel ,webster wrote them1 it is said4 ,they did the same in the ,state ,house2 but nothing came of them4 ,they say ,hell is paved with resolutions2 these were of that sort of resolutions2 which resolve nothing because they are of words1 not works6 ,well1 we passed the resolutions2 you know who opposed them2 who hung back and did nothing1 nothing good ,i mean2 quite enough not good4 ,then we thought all the danger was over2 that the resolutions settled the matter4 ,but then was the time to confound at once the enemies of your country2 to show an even front hostile to slavery4 ,but the chosen time passed over1 and nothing was done4 ,do not lay the blame on the democrats2 a whig ,senate annexed ,texas1 and so annexed a war4 ,we ought to have told our delegation in ,congress1 if ,texas were annexed1 to come home1 and we would breathe upon it and sleep upon it1 and then see what to do next4 ,had our resolutions1 taken so warmly here in ,faneuil ,hall in #ahde1 been but as warmly worked out1 we had now been as terrible to the slave power as the slave power1 since extended1 now is to us6 ,why was it that we did nothing8 ,that is a public secret4 ,perhaps ,i ought not to tell it to the people4 7,cries of ,tell it47 ,the annexation of ,texas1 a slave territory big as the kingdom of ,france1 would not furl a sail on the ocean2 would not stop a mill-wheel at ,lowell6 ,men thought so4 ,that time passed by1 and there came another4 ,the ,government had made war2 the ,congress voted the dollars1 voted the men1 voted a lie4 ,your representative1 men of ,boston1 voted for all three2 the lie1 the dollars1 and the men2 all three1 in obedience to the slave power6 ,let him excuse that to the conscience of his party2 it is an easy matter4 ,i do not believe he can excuse it to his own conscience4 ,to the conscience of the world it admits of no excuse4 ,your ,president called for volunteers1 #ej1jjj of them4 ,then came an opportunity such as offers not once in one hundred years1 an opportunity to speak for freedom and the rights of mankind6 ,then was the time for ,massachusetts to stand up in the spirit of '#gf1 and say1 ,we won't send a man1 from ,cape ,ann to ,williamstown--not one ,yankee man1 for this wicked war4 ,then was the time for your ,governor to say1 ,not a volunteer for this wicked war4 ,then was the time for your merchants to say1 ,not a ship1 not a dollar for this wicked war2 for your manufacturers to say1 ,we will not make you a cannon1 nor a sword1 nor a kernel of powder1 nor a soldier's shirt1 for this wicked war4 ,then was the time for all good men to say1 ,this is a war for slavery1 a mean and infamous war2 an aristocratic war1 a war against the best interests of mankind4 ,if ,god please1 we will die a thousand times1 but never draw blade in this wicked war4 7,cries of ,throw him over1 etc47 ,throw him over1 what good would that do8 ,what would you do next1 after you have thrown him over8 7,drag you out of the hall67 ,what good would that do8 ,it would not wipe off the infamy of this war6 would not make it less wicked6 ,that is what a democratic nation1 a ,christian people ought to have said1 ought to have done4 ,but we did not say so2 the ,bay ,state did not say so1 nor your ,governor1 nor your merchants1 nor your manufacturers1 nor your good men2 the ,governor accepted the ,president's decree1 issued his proclamation calling for soldiers1 recommended men to enlist1 appealing to their patriotism and humanity4 ,governor ,briggs is a good man1 and so far ,i honor him4 ,he is a temperance man1 strong and consistent2 ,i honor him for that4 ,he is a friend of education2 a friend of the people4 ,i wish there were more such4 ,like many other ,new ,england men1 he started from humble beginnings2 but unlike many such successful men of ,new ,england1 he is not ashamed of the lowest round he ever trod on4 ,i honor him for all this4 ,but that was a time which tried men's souls1 and his soul could not stand the rack4 ,i am sorry for him4 ,he did as the ,president told him4 ,what was the reason for all this8 ,massachusetts did not like the war1 even then2 yet she gave her consent to it4 ,why so8 ,there are two words which can drive the blood out of the cheeks of cowardly men in ,massachusetts any time4 ,they are ,federalism and ,hartford ,convention6 ,the fear of those words palsied the conscience of ,massachusetts1 and so her ,governor did as he was told4 ,i feel no fear of either4 ,the ,federalists did not see all things2 who ever did8 ,they had not the ideas which were destined to rule this nation2 they looked back when the age looked forward4 ,but to their own ideas they were true2 and if ever a nobler body of men held state in any nation1 ,i have yet to learn when or where4 ,if we had had the shadow of ,caleb ,strong in the ,governor's chair1 not a volunteer for this war had gone out of ,massachusetts4 ,i have not told quite all the reasons why ,massachusetts did nothing4 ,men knew the war would cost money2 that the dollars would in the end be raised1 not by a direct tax1 of which the poor man paid according to his little1 and the rich man in proportion to his much1 but by a tariff which presses light on property1 and hard on the person2 by a tax on the backs and mouths of the people4 ,some of the ,whigs were glad last ,spring1 when the war came1 for they hoped thereby to save the child of their old age1 the tariff of '#db4 ,there are always some rich men1 who say ,no matter what sort of a ,government we have1 so long as we get our dividends2 always some poor men1 who say ,no matter how much the nation suffers1 if we fill our hungry purses thereby4 ,well1 they lost their virtue1 lost their tariff1 and gained just nothing2 what they deserved to gain4 ,now a third opportunity has come2 no1 it has not come2 we have brought it4 ,the ,president wants a war tax on tea and coffee4 ,is that democratic1 to tax every man's breakfast and supper1 for the sake of getting more territory to whip negroes in8 7,numerous cries of ,yes47 ,then what do you think despotism would be8 ,he asks a loan of #bh1jjj1jjj for this war4 ,he wants #c1jjj1jjj to spend privately for this war4 ,in eight months past1 he has asked ,i am told for #gd1jjj1jjj4 ,seventy-four millions of dollars to conquer slave territory6 ,is that democratic too8 ,he wants to increase the standing army1 to have ten regiments more6 ,a pretty business that4 ,ten regiments to gag the people in ,faneuil ,hall4 ,do you think that is democratic8 ,some men have just asked ,massachusetts for #bj1jjj for the volunteers6 ,it is time for the people to rebuke all this wickedness4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i think there is a good deal to excuse the volunteers4 ,i blame them1 for some of them know what they are about4 ,yet ,i pity them more1 for most of them1 ,i am told1 are low1 ignorant men2 some of them drunken and brutal4 ,from the uproar they make here to-night1 arms in their hands1 ,i think what was told me is true6 ,i say ,i pity them6 ,they are my brothers2 not the less brothers because low and misguided4 ,if they are so needy that they are forced to enlist by poverty1 surely ,i pity them4 ,if they are of good families1 and know better1 ,i pity them still more6 ,i blame most the men that have duped the rank and file6 ,i blame the captains and colonels1 who will have least of the hardships1 most of the pay1 and all of the glory4 ,i blame the men that made the war2 the men that make money out of it4 ,i blame the great party men of the land4 ,did not ,mr4 ,clay say he hoped he could slay a ,mexican8 7,cries1 ,no1 he didn't47 ,yes1 he did2 said it on ,forefather's day6 ,did not ,mr4 ,webster1 in the streets of ,philadelphia1 bid the volunteers1 misguided young men1 go and uphold the stars of their country8 7,voices1 ,he did right67 ,no1 he should have said the stripes of his country1 for every volunteer to this wicked war is a stripe on the nation's back6 ,did not he declare this war unconstitutional1 and threaten to impeach the ,president who made it1 and then go and invest a son in it8 ,has it not been said here1 ,our country1 howsoever bounded1 bounded by robbery or bounded by right lines6 ,has it not been said1 all round1 ,our country1 right or wrong6 ,i say ,i blame not so much the volunteers as the famous men who deceive the nation6 7,cries of ,throw him over1 kill him1 kill him1 and a flourish of bayonets47 ,throw him over6 you will not throw him over4 ,kill him6 ,i shall walk home unarmed and unattended1 and not a man of you will hurt one hair of my head4 ,i say again it is time for the people to take up this matter4 ,your ,congress will do nothing till you tell them what and how6 ,your #bith ,congress can do little good4 ,its sands are nearly run1 ,god be thanked6 ,it is the most infamous ,congress we ever had4 ,we began with the ,congress that declared ,independence1 and swore by the ,eternal ,justice of ,god4 ,we have come down to the #bith ,congress1 which declared war existed by the act of ,mexico1 declared a lie2 the ,congress that swore by the ,baltimore ,convention6 ,we began with ,george ,washington1 and have got down to ,james ,k4 ,polk4 ,it is time for the people of ,massachusetts to instruct their servants in ,congress to oppose this war2 to refuse all supplies for it2 to ask for the recall of the army into our own land4 ,it is time for us to tell them that not an inch of slave territory shall ever be added to the realm4 ,let us remonstrate2 let us petition2 let us command4 ,if any class of men have hitherto been remiss1 let them come forward now and give us their names--the merchants1 the manufacturers1 the whigs and the democrats4 ,if men love their country better than their party or their purse1 now let them show it4 ,let us ask the ,general ,court of ,massachusetts to cancel every commission which the ,governor has given to the officers of the volunteers4 ,let us ask them to disband the companies not yet mustered into actual service2 and then1 if you like that1 ask them to call a convention of the people of ,massachusetts1 to see what we shall do in reference to the war2 in reference to the annexation of more territory2 in reference to the violation of the ,constitution6 7,loud groans from crowds of rude fellows in several parts of the hall47 ,that was a tory groan2 they never dared groan so in ,faneuil ,hall before2 not even the ,british tories1 when they had no bayonets to back them up6 ,i say1 let us ask for these things6 ,your ,president tells us it is treason to talk so6 ,treason is it8 treason to discuss a war which the government made1 and which the people are made to pay for8 ,if it be treason to speak against the war1 what was it to make the war1 to ask for #ej1jjj men and #gd1jjj1jjj for the war8 ,why1 if the people cannot discuss the war they have got to fight and to pay for1 who under heaven can8 ,whose business is it1 if it is not yours and mine8 ,if my country is in the wrong1 and ,i know it1 and hold my peace1 then ,i am guilty of treason1 moral treason4 ,why1 a wrong1--it is only the threshold of ruin4 ,i would not have my country take the next step4 ,treason is it1 to show that this war is wrong and wicked6 ,why1 what if ,george ,,iii41 any time from '#ge to '#hc1 had gone down to ,parliament and told them it was treason to discuss the war then waging against these colonies6 ,what do you think the ,commons would have said8 ,what would the ,lords say8 ,why1 that ,king1 foolish as he was1 would have been lucky1 if he had not learned there was a joint in his neck1 and1 stiff as he bore him1 that the people knew how to find it4 ,i do not believe in killing kings1 or any other men2 but ,i do say1 in a time when the nation was not in danger1 that no ,british king1 for two hundred years past1 would have dared call it treason to discuss the war--its cause1 its progress1 or its termination6 ,now is the time to act6 ,twice we have let the occasion slip2 beware of the third time6 ,let it be infamous for a ,new ,england man to enlist2 for a ,new-,england merchant to loan his dollars1 or to let his ships in aid of this wicked war2 let it be infamous for a manufacturer to make a cannon1 a sword1 or a kernel of powder1 to kill our brothers with1 while we all know that they are in the right1 and we in the wrong4 ,i know my voice is a feeble one in ,massachusetts4 ,i have no mountainous position from whence to look down and overawe the multitude2 ,i have no back-ground of political reputation to echo my words2 ,i am but a plain humble man2 but ,i have a back-ground of ,truth to sustain me1 and the ,justice of ,heaven arches over my head6 ,for your sakes1 ,i wish ,i had that oceanic eloquence whose tidal flow should bear on its bosom the drift-weed which politicians have piled together1 and sap and sweep away the sand hillocks of soldiery blown together by the idle wind2 that oceanic eloquence which sweeps all before it1 and leaves the shore hard1 smooth and clean6 ,but feeble as ,i am1 let me beg of you1 fellow-citizens of ,boston1 men and brothers1 to come forward and protest against this wicked war1 and the end for which it is waged4 ,i call on the whigs1 who love their country better than they love the tariff of '#db2 ,i call on the democrats1 who think ,justice is greater than the ,baltimore ,convention1--,i call on the whigs and democrats to come forward and join with me in opposing this wicked war6 ,i call on the men of ,boston1 on the men of the old ,bay ,state1 to act worthy of their fathers1 worthy of their country1 worthy of themselves6 ,men and brothers1 ,i call on you all to protest against this most infamous war1 in the name of the ,state1 in the name of the country1 in the name of man1 yes1 in the name of ,god3 ,leave not your children saddled with a war debt1 to cripple the nation's commerce for years to come4 ,leave not your land cursed with slavery1 extended and extending1 palsying the nation's arm and corrupting the nation's heart4 ,leave not your memory infamous among the nations1 because you feared men1 feared the ,government2 because you loved money got by crime1 land plundered in war1 loved land unjustly bounded2 because you debased your country by defending the wrong she dared to do2 because you loved slavery2 loved war1 but loved not the ,eternal ,justice of all-judging ,god4 ,if my counsel is weak and poor1 follow one stronger and more manly4 ,i am speaking to men2 think of these things1 and then act like men4 ,,footnotes3 #i ,john ,quincy ,adams4 ,v4 ,a ,,sermon ,,of ,,the ,,mexican ,,war4--,,preached ,,at ,,the ,,melodeon1 ,,on ,,sunday1 ,,june #be1 #ahdh4 ,soon after the commencement of the war against ,mexico1 ,i said something respecting it in this place4 ,but while ,i was printing the sermon1 ,i was advised to hasten the compositors in their work1 or the war would be over before the sermon was out4 ,the advice was like a good deal of the counsel that is given to a man who thinks for himself1 and honestly speaks what he unavoidably thinks4 ,it is now more than two years since the war began2 ,i have hoped to live long enough to see it ended1 and hoped to say a word about it when over4 ,a month ago1 this day1 the #beth of ,may1 the treaty of peace1 so much talked of1 was ratified by the ,mexican ,congress4 ,a few days ago1 it was officially announced by telegraph to your collector in ,boston1 that the war with ,mexico was at an end4 ,there are two things about this war quite remarkable4 ,the first is1 the manner of its commencement4 ,it was begun illegally1 without the action of the constitutional authorities2 begun by the command of the ,president of the ,united ,states1 who ordered the ,american army into a territory which the ,mexicans claimed as their own4 ,the ,president says ,it is ours1 but the ,mexicans also claimed it1 and were in possession thereof until forcibly expelled4 ,this is a plain case1 and as ,i have elsewhere treated at length of this matter1#aj ,i will not dwell upon it again1 except to mention a single fact but recently divulged4 ,it is well known that ,mr4 ,polk claimed the territory west of the ,nueces and east of the ,rio ,grande1 as forming a part of ,texas1 and therefore as forming part of the ,united ,states after the annexation of ,texas4 ,he contends that ,mexico began the war by attacking the ,american army while in that territory and near the ,rio ,grande4 ,but1 from the correspondence laid before the ,american ,senate1 in its secret session for considering the treaty1 it now appears that on the #ajth of ,november1 #ahde1 ,mr4 ,polk instructed ,mr4 ,slidell to offer a relinquishment of ,american claims against ,mexico1 amounting to #e1jjj1jjj or #f1jjj1jjj1 for the sake of having the ,rio ,grande as the western boundary of ,texas2 yes1 for that very territory which he says was ours without paying a cent4 ,when it was conquered1 a military government was established there1 as in other places in ,mexico4 ,the other remarkable thing about the war is1 the manner of its conclusion4 ,the treaty of peace which has just been ratified by the ,mexican authorities1 and which puts an end to the war1 was negotiated by a man who had no more legal authority than any one of us has to do it4 ,mr4 ,polk made the war1 without consulting ,congress1 and that body adopted the war by a vote almost unanimous4 ,mr4 ,nicholas ,p4 ,trist made the treaty1 without consulting the ,president2 yes1 even after the ,president had ordered him to return home4 ,as the ,congress adopted ,mr4 ,polk's war1 so ,mr4 ,polk adopted ,mr4 ,trist's treaty1 and the war illegally begun is brought informally to a close4 ,mr4 ,polk is now in the ,president's chair1 seated on the throne of the ,union1 although he made the war2 and ,mr4 ,trist1 it is said1 is under arrest for making the treaty1 meddling with what was none of his business4 99 99 99 99 99 ,when the war began1 there was a good deal of talk about it here2 talk against it4 ,but1 as things often go in ,boston1 it ended in talk4 ,the news-boys made money out of the war4 ,political parties were true to their wonted principles1 or their wonted prejudices4 ,the friends of the party in power could see no informality in the beginning of hostilities2 no injustice in the war itself2 not even an impolicy4 ,they were offended if an obscure man preached against it of a ,sunday4 ,the political opponents of the party in power talked against the war1 as a matter of course2 but1 when the elections came1 supported the men that made it with unusual alacrity--their deeds serving as commentary upon their words1 and making further remark thereon1 in this place1 quite superfluous4 ,many men1--who1 whatever other parts of ,scripture they may forget1 never cease to remember that ,money answereth all things1--diligently set themselves to make money out of the war and the new turn it gave to national affairs4 ,others thought that glory was a good thing1 and so engaged in the war itself1 hoping to return1 in due time1 all glittering with its honors4 ,so what with the one political party that really praised the war1 and the other who affected to oppose it1 and with the commercial party1 who looked only for a market--this for merchandise and that for patriotism--the friends of peace1 who seriously and heartily opposed the war1 were very few in number4 ,true1 the sober second thought of the people has somewhat increased their number2 but they are still few1 mostly obscure men4 ,now peace has come1 nobody talks much about it2 the news-boys have scarce made a cent by the news4 ,they fired cannons1 a hundred guns on the ,common1 for joy at the victory of ,monterey2 at ,philadelphia1 ,baltimore1 ,washington1 ,new ,york1 men illuminated their houses in honor of the battle of ,buena ,vista1 ,i think it was2 the custom-house was officially illuminated at ,boston for that occasion4 ,but we hear of no cannons to welcome the peace4 ,thus far1 it does not seem that a single candle has been burnt in rejoicing for that4 ,the newspapers are full of talk1 as usual2 flags are flying in the streets2 the air is a little noisy with hurrahs1 but it is all talk about the conventions at ,baltimore and ,philadelphia2 hurrahs for ,taylor and ,cass4 ,nobody talks of the peace4 ,flags enough flap in the wind1 with the names of rival candidates2 but nowhere do the stripes and stars bear ,peace as their motto4 ,the peace now secured is purchased with such conditions imposed on ,mexico1 that while every one will be glad of it1 no man1 that loves justice1 can be proud of it4 ,very little is said about the treaty4 ,the distinguished senator from ,massachusetts did himself honor1 it seems to me1 in voting against it on the ground that it enabled us to plunder ,mexico of her land4 ,but the treaty contains some things highly honorable to the character of the nation1 of which we may well enough be proud1 if ever of any thing4 ,i refer to the twenty-second and twenty-third articles1 which provide for arbitration between the nations1 if future difficulties should occur2 and to the pains taken1 in case of actual hostilities1 for the security of all unarmed persons1 for the protection of private property1 and for the humane treatment of all prisoners taken in war4 ,these ideas1 and the language of these articles1 are copied from the celebrated treaty between the ,united ,states and ,prussia1 the treaty of #aghe4 ,it is scarcely needful to add1 that they were then introduced by that great and good man1 ,benjamin ,franklin1 one of the negotiators of the treaty4 ,they made a new epoch in diplomacy1 and introduced a principle previously unknown in the law of nations4 ,the insertion of these articles in the new treaty is1 perhaps1 the only thing connected with the war1 which an ,american can look upon with satisfaction4 ,yet this fact excites no attention4#aa ,still1 while so little notice is taken of this matter1 in public and private1 it may be worth while for a minister1 on ,sunday1 to say a word about the peace2 and1 now the war is over1 to look back upon it1 to see what it has cost1 in money and in men1 and what we have got by it2 what its consequences have been1 thus far1 and are likely to be for the future2 what new dangers and duties come from this cause interpolated into our nation4 ,we have been long promised indemnity for the past1 and security for the future3 let us see what we are to be indemnified for1 and what secured against4 ,the natural justice of the war ,i will not look at now4 99 99 99 99 99 ,first1 then1 of the cost of the war4 ,money is the first thing with a good many men2 the only thing with some2 and an important thing with all4 ,so1 first of all1 let me speak of the cost of the war in dollars4 ,it is a little difficult to determine the actual cost of the war1 thus far--even its direct cost2 for the bills are not all in the hands of ,government2 and then1 as a matter of political party-craft1 the ,government1 of course1 is unwilling to let the full cost become known before the next election is over4 ,so it is to be expected that the ,government will keep the facts from the people as long as possible4 ,most ,governments would do the same4 ,but ,truth has a right of way everywhere1 and will recover it at last1 spite of the adverse possession of a political party4 ,the indirect cost of the war must be still more difficult to come at1 and will long remain a matter of calculation1 in which it is impossible to reach certainty4 ,we do not know yet the entire cost of the ,florida war1 or the late war with ,england2 the complete cost of the ,revolutionary war must forever be unknown4 ,it is natural for most men to exaggerate what favors their argument2 but when ,i cannot obtain the exact figures1 ,i will come a good deal within the probable amount4 ,the military and naval appropriations for the year ending in ,june1 #ahdg1 were #dj1hfe1aee4if2 for the next year1 #ca1cgg1fgi4ib2 the sum asked for the present year1 till next ,june1 #db1bbd1jjj2 making a whole of #aad1dff1hce4hh4 ,it is true that all this appropriation is not for the ,mexican war1 but it is also true that this sum does not include all the appropriations for the war4 ,estimating the sums already paid by the ,government1 the private claims presented and to be presented1 the #ae1jjj1jjj to be paid ,mexico as purchase-money for the territory we take from her1 the #e1jjj1jjj or #f1jjj1jjj to be paid our own citizens for their claims against her1--,i think ,i am a good deal within the mark when ,i say the war will have cost #aej1jjj1jjj before the soldiers are at home1 discharged1 and out of the pay of the state4 ,in this sum ,i do not include the bounty-lands to be given to the soldiers and officers1 nor the pensions to be paid them1 their widows and orphans1 for years to come4 ,i will estimate that at #ej1jjj1jjj more1 making a whole of #bjj1jjj1jjj which has been paid or must be4 ,this is the direct cost to the ,federal ,government1 and of course does not include the sums paid by individual ,states1 or bestowed by private generosity1 to feed and clothe the volunteers before they were mustered into service4 ,this may seem extravagant2 but1 fifty years hence1 when party spirit no longer blinds men's eyes1 and when the whole is a matter of history1 ,i think it will be thought moderate1 and be found a good deal within the actual and direct cost4 ,some of this cost will appear as a public debt4 ,statements recently made respecting it can hardly be trusted1 notwithstanding the authority on which they rest4 ,part of this war debt is funded already1 part not yet funded4 ,when the outstanding demands are all settled1 and the treasury notes redeemed1 there will probably be a war debt of not less than #abe1jjj1jjj4 ,at least1 such is the estimate of an impartial and thoroughly competent judge4 ,but1 not to exaggerate1 let us call it only #ajj1jjj1jjj4 ,it will1 perhaps1 be said3 ,part of this money1 all that is paid in pensions1 is a charity1 and therefore no loss4 ,but it is a charity paid to men who1 except for the war1 would have needed no such aid2 and1 therefore1 a waste4 ,of the actual cost of the war1 some three or four millions have been spent in extravagant prices for hiring or purchasing ships1 in buying provisions and various things needed by the army1 and supplied by political favorites at exorbitant rates4 ,this is the only portion of the cost which is not a sheer waste2 here the money has only changed hands2 nothing has been destroyed1 except the honesty of the parties concerned in such transactions4 ,if a farmer hires men to help him till the soil1 the men earn their subsistence and their wages1 and leave1 besides1 a profit to their employer2 when the season is over1 he has his crops and his improvements as the return for their pay and subsistence4 ,but for all that the soldier has consumed1 for his wages1 his clothes1 his food and drink1 the fighting tools he has worn out1 and the ammunition he has expended1 there is no available return to show2 all that is a clear waste4 ,the beef is eaten up1 the cloth worn away1 the powder is burnt1 and what is there to show for it all8 ,nothing but the glory4 ,you sent out sound men1 and they come back1 many of them1 sick and maimed2 some of them are slain4 ,the indirect pecuniary cost of the war is caused1 first1 by diverting some #aej1jjj men1 engaged in the war directly or remotely1 from the works of productive industry1 to the labors of war1 which produce nothing2 and1 secondly1 by disturbing the regular business of the country1 first by the withdrawal of men from their natural work2 then1 by withdrawing large quantities of money from the active capital of the nation2 and1 finally1 by the general uncertainty which it causes all over the land1 thus hindering men from undertaking or prosecuting successfully their various productive enterprises4 ,if #aej1jjj men earn on the average but #bjj apiece1 that alone amounts to #cj1jjj1jjj4 ,the withdrawal of such an amount of labor from the common industry of the country must be seriously felt4 ,at any rate1 the nation has earned #cj1jjj1jjj less than it would have done1 if these men had kept about their common work4 ,but the diversion of capital from its natural and pacific direction is a greater evil in this case4 ,america is rich1 but her wealth consists mainly in land1 in houses1 cattle1 ships1 and various things needed for human comfort and industry4 ,in money1 we are poor4 ,the amount of money is small in proportion to the actual wealth of the nation1 and also in proportion to its activity which is indicated by the business of the nation4 ,in actual wealth1 the free ,states of ,america are probably the richest people in the world2 but in money we are poorer than many other nations4 ,this is plain enough1 though perhaps not very well known1 and is shown by the fact that interest1 in ,european ,states1 is from two to four per cent4 a year1 and in ,america from six to nine4 ,the active capital of ,america is small4 ,now in this war1 a national debt has accumulated1 which probably is or will soon be #ajj1jjj1jjj or #abe1jjj1jjj4 ,all this great sum of money has1 of course1 been taken from the active capital of the country1 and there has been so much less for the use of the farmer1 the manufacturer1 and the merchant4 ,but for this war1 these #aej1jjj men and these #ajj1jjj1jjj would have been devoted to productive industry2 and the result would have been shown by the increase of our annual earnings1 in increased wealth and comfort4 ,then war produced uncertainty1 and that distrust amongst men4 ,therefore many were hindered from undertaking new works1 and others found their old enterprises ruined at once4 ,in this way there has been a great loss1 which cannot be accurately estimated4 ,i think no man1 familiar with ,american industry1 would rate this indirect loss lower than #ajj1jjj1jjj2 some1 perhaps1 at twice as much2 but to avoid all possibility of exaggeration1 let us call it half the smallest of these sums1 or #ej1jjj1jjj1 as the complete pecuniary cost of the ,mexican war1 direct and indirect4 ,what have we got to show for all this money8 ,we have a large tract of territory1 containing1 in all1 both east and west of the ,rio ,grande1 ,i am told1 between #gjj1jjj and #hjj1jjj square miles4 ,accounts differ as to its value4 ,but it appears1 from the recent correspondence of ,mr4 ,slidell1 that in #ahde the ,president offered ,mexico1 in money1 #be1jjj1jjj for that territory which we now acquire under this new treaty4 ,suppose it is worth more1 suppose it is worth twice as much1 or all the indirect cost of the war 7#ej1jjj1jjj71 then the #bjj1jjj1jjj are thrown away4 ,now1 for this last sum1 we could have built a sufficient railroad across the ,isthmus of ,panama1 and another across the continent1 from the ,mississippi to the ,pacific4 ,if such a road1 with its suitable equipment1 cost #ajj1jjj a mile1 and the distance should amount to #b1jjj miles1 then the #bjj1jjj1jjj would just pay the bills4 ,that would have been the greatest national work of productive industry in the world4 ,in comparison with it1 the ,lake ,moeris and the ,pyramids of ,egypt1 and the ,wall of ,china seem but the works of a child4 ,it might be a work to be proud of till the world ends2 one1 too1 which would advance the industry1 the welfare1 and general civilization of mankind to a great degree1 diminishing1 by half1 the distance round the globe2 saving millions of property and many lives each year2 besides furnishing1 it is thought1 a handsome income from the original outlay4 ,but1 perhaps1 that would not be the best use which might be made of the money2 perhaps it would not have been wise to undertake that work4 ,i do not pretend to judge of such matters1 only to show what might be done with that sum of money1 if we were disposed to construct works of such a character4 ,at any rate1 two ,pacific railroads would be better than one ,mexican war4 ,we are seldom aware of the cost of war4 ,if a single regiment of dragoons cost only #gjj1jjj a year1 which is a good deal less than the actual cost1 that is considerably more than the cost of twelve colleges like ,harvard ,university1 with its schools for theology1 law1 and medicine2 its scientific school1 observatory1 and all4 ,we are1 taken as a whole1 a very ignorant people2 and while we waste our school-money and school-time1 must continue so4 ,a great man1 who towers far above the common heads1 full of creative thought1 of the ideas which move the world1 able to organize that thought into institutions1 laws1 practical works2 a man of a million1 a million-minded man1 at the head of a nation1 putting his thought into them2 ruling not barely by virtue of his position1 but by the intellectual and moral power to fill it2 ruling not over men's heads1 but in their minds and hearts1 and leading them to new fields of toil1 increasing their numbers1 wealth1 intelligence1 comfort1 morals1 piety--such a man is a noble sight2 a ,charlemagne1 or a ,genghis ,khan1 a ,moses leading his nation up from ,egyptian bondage to freedom and the promised land4 ,how have the eyes of the world been fixed on ,washington6 ,in darker days than ours1 when all was violence1 it is easy to excuse such men if they were warriors also1 and made1 for the time1 their nation but a camp4 ,there have been ages when the most lasting ink was human blood4 ,in our day1 when war is the exception1 and that commonly needless1 such a man1 so getting the start of the majestic world1 were a far grander sight4 ,and with such a man at the head of this nation1 a great man at the head of a free nation1 able and energetic1 and enterprising as we are1 what were too much to hope8 ,as it is1 we have wasted our money1 and got1 the honor of fighting such a war4 99 99 99 99 99 ,let me next speak of the direct cost of the war in men4 ,in ,april1 #ahdf1 the entire army of the ,united ,states1 consisted of #g1bdd men2 the naval force of about #g1ejj4 ,we presented the gratifying spectacle of a nation #bj1jjj1jjj strong1 with a sea-coast of #c1jjj or #d1jjj miles1 and only #g1jjj or #h1jjj soldiers1 and as many armed men on the sea1 or less than #ae1jjj in all6 ,few things were more grateful to an ,american than this thought1 that his country was so nearly free from the terrible curse of a standing army4 ,at that time1 the standing army of ,france was about #dhj1jjj men2 that of ,russia nearly #hjj1jjj it is said4 ,most of the officers in the ,american army and navy1 and most of the rank and file1 had probably entered the service with no expectation of ever shedding the blood of men4 ,the navy and army were looked on as instruments of peace2 as much so as the police of a city4 ,the first of last ,january1 there was1 in ,mexico1 an ,american army of #bc1fie regular soldiers1 and a little more than #ej1jjj volunteers1 the number cannot now be exactly determined1 making an army of invasion of about #ge1jjj men4 ,the naval forces1 also1 had been increased to #aj1jjj4 ,estimating all the men engaged in the service of the army and navy2 in making weapons of war and ammunition2 in preparing food and clothing2 in transporting those things and the soldiers from place to place1 by land or sea1 and in performing the various other works incident to military operations1 it is within bounds to say that there were #hj1jjj or #ij1jjj men engaged indirectly in the works of war4 ,but not to exaggerate1 it is safe to say that #aej1jjj men were directly or indirectly engaged in the ,mexican war4 ,this estimate will seem moderate1 when you remember that there were about #e1jjj teamsters connected with the army in ,mexico4 ,here1 then1 were #aej1jjj men whose attention and toil were diverted from the great business of productive industry to merely military operations1 or preparations for them4 ,of course1 all the labor of these men was of no direct value to the human race4 ,the food and clothing and labor of a man who earns nothing by productive work of hand or head1 is food1 clothing1 and labor thrown away2 labor in vain4 ,there is nothing to show for the things he has consumed4 ,so all the work spent in preparing ammunition and weapons of war is labor thrown away1 an absolute loss1 as much as if it had been spent in making earthen pitchers and then in dashing them to pieces4 ,a country is the richer for every serviceable plough and spade made in it1 and the world the richer2 they are to be used in productive work1 and when worn out1 there is the improved soil and the crops that have been gathered1 to show for the wear and tear of the tools4 ,so a country is the richer for every industrious shoemaker and blacksmith it contains2 for his time and toil go to increase the sum of human comfort1 creating actual wealth4 ,the world also is better off1 and becomes better through their influence4 ,but a country is the poorer for every soldier it maintains1 and the world poorer1 as he adds nothing to the actual wealth of mankind2 so is it the poorer for each sword and cannon made within its borders1 and the world poorer1 for these instruments cannot be used in any productive work1 only for works of destruction4 ,so much for the labor of these #aej1jjj men2 labor wasted in vain4 ,let us now look at the cost of life4 ,it is not possible to ascertain the exact loss suffered up to this time1 in killed1 deceased by ordinary diseases1 and in wounded2 for some die before they are mustered into the service of the ,united ,states1 and parts of the army are so far distant from the seat of ,government that their recent losses are still unknown4 ,i rely for information on the last report of the ,secretary of ,war1 read before the ,senate1 ,april #aj1 #ahdh1 and recently printed4 ,that gives the losses of parts of the army up to ,december last2 other accounts are made up only till ,october1 or till ,august4 ,recent losses will of course swell the amount of destruction4 ,according to that report1 on the ,american side there had been killed in battle1 or died of wounds received therein1 #a1fhi persons2 there had died of diseases and accidents1 #f1agc2 #c1gdc have been wounded in battle1 who were not known to be dead at the date of the report4 ,this does not include the deaths in the navy1 nor the destruction of men connected with the army in various ways1 as furnishing supplies and the like4 ,considering the sickness and accidents that have happened in the present year1 and others which may be expected before the troops reach home1 ,i may set down the total number of deaths on the ,american side1 caused by the war1 at #ae1jjj1 and the number of wounded men at #d1jjj4 ,suppose the army on the average to have consisted of #ej1jjj men for two years1 this gives a mortality of fifteen per cent4 each year1 which is an enormous loss even for times of war1 and one seldom equalled in modern warfare4 ,now1 most of the men who have thus died or been maimed were in the prime of life1 able-bodied and hearty men4 ,had they remained at home in the works of peace1 it is not likely that more than #ejj of the number would have died4 ,so then #ad1ejj lives may be set down at once to the account of the war4 ,the wounded men are of course to thank the war1 and that alone1 for their smart and the life-long agony which they are called on to endure4 ,such is the ,american loss4 ,the loss of the ,mexicans we cannot now determine4 ,but they have been many times more numerous than the ,americans2 have been badly armed1 badly commanded1 badly trained1 and besides have been beaten in every battle2 their number seemed often the cause of their ruin1 making them confident before battle and hindering their retreat after they were beaten4 ,still more1 they have been ill provided with surgeons and nurses to care for the wounded1 and were destitute of medicines4 ,they must have lost in battle five or six times more than we have done1 and have had a proportionate number of wounded4 ,to lie like a military bulletin is a ,european proverb2 and it is not necessary to trust reports which tell of #fjj or #ijj ,mexicans left dead on the ground1 while the ,americans lost but five or six4 ,but when we remember that only twelve ,americans were killed during the bombardment of ,vera ,cruz1 which lasted five days2 that the citadel contained more than #e1jjj soldiers and over #djj pieces of cannon1 we may easily believe the ,mexican losses on the whole have been #aj1jjj men killed and perished of their wounds4 ,their loss by sickness would probably be smaller than our own1 for the ,mexicans were in their native climate1 though often ill furnished with clothes1 with shelter and provisions3 so ,i will put down their loss by ordinary diseases at only #e1jjj1 making a total of #ae1jjj deaths4 ,suppose their number of wounded was four times as great as our own1 or #bj1jjj4 ,i should not be surprised if this were only half the number4 ,put all together and we have in total1 ,americans and ,mexicans1 #bd1jjj men wounded1 more or less1 and the greater part maimed for life2 and we have #cj1jjj men killed on the field of battle1 or perished by the slow torture of their wounds1 or deceased of diseases caused by extraordinary exposures2 #bd1jjj men maimed2 #cj1jjj dead6 99 99 99 99 99 ,you all remember the bill which so hastily passed ,congress in ,may1 #ahdf1 and authorized the war previously begun4 ,you perhaps have not forgot the preamble1 ,whereas war exists by the act of ,mexico4 ,well1 that bill authorized the waste of #bjj1jjj1jjj of ,american treasure1 money enough to have built a railroad across the ,isthmus of ,panama1 and another to connect the ,mississippi and the ,pacific ocean2 it demanded the disturbance of industry and commerce all over the land1 caused by withdrawing #ajj1jjj1jjj from peaceful investments1 and diverting #aej1jjj ,americans from their productive and peaceful works2 it demanded a loss yet greater of the treasure of ,mexicans2 it commanded the maiming of #bd1jjj men for life1 and the death of #cj1jjj men in the prime and vigor of manhood4 ,yet such was the state of feeling1 ,i will not say of thought1 in the ,congress1 that out of both houses only sixteen men voted against it4 ,if a prophet had stood there he might have said to the representative of ,boston1 ,you have just voted for the wasting of #bjj1jjj1jjj of the very dollars you were sent there to represent2 for the maiming of #bd1jjj men and the killing of #cj1jjj more--part by disease1 part by the sword1 part by the slow and awful lingerings of a wounded frame6 ,sir1 that is the ,english of your vote4 ,suppose the prophet1 before the vote was taken1 could have gone round and told each member of ,congress1 ,if there comes a war1 you will perish in it2 perhaps the vote would have been a little different4 ,it is easy to vote away blood1 if it is not your own6 99 99 99 99 99 ,such is the cost of the war in money and in men4 ,yet it has not been a very cruel war4 ,it has been conducted with as much gentleness as a war of invasion can be4 ,there is no agreeable way of butchering men4 ,you cannot make it a pastime4 ,the ,americans have always been a brave people2 they were never cruel4 ,they always treated their prisoners kindly--in the ,revolutionary war1 in the late war with ,england4 ,true1 they have seized the ,mexican ports1 taken military possession of the custom-houses1 and collected such duties as they saw fit2 true1 they sometimes made the army of invasion self-subsisting1 and to that end have levied contributions on the towns they have taken2 true1 they have seized provisions which were private property1 snatching them out of the hands of men who needed them2 true1 they have robbed the rich and the poor2 true1 they have burned and bombarded towns1 have murdered men and violated women4 ,all this must of course take place in any war4 ,there will be the general murder and robbery committed on account of the nation1 and the particular murder and robbery on account of the special individual4 ,this also is to be expected4 ,you cannot set a town on fire and burn down just half of it1 making the flames stop exactly where you will4 ,you cannot take the most idle1 ignorant1 drunken1 and vicious men out of the low population in our cities and large towns1 get them drunk enough or foolish enough to enlist1 train them to violence1 theft1 robbery1 murder1 and then stop the man from exercising his rage or lust on his own private account4 ,if it is hard to make a dog understand that he must kill a hare for his master1 but never for himself1 it is not much easier to teach a volunteer that it is a duty1 a distinction1 and a glory to rob and murder the ,mexican people for the nation's sake1 but a wrong1 a shame1 and a crime to rob or murder a single ,mexican for his own sake4 ,there have been instances of wanton cruelty1 occasioned by private licentiousness and individual barbarity4 ,of these ,i shall take no further notice1 but come to such as have been commanded by the ,american authorities1 and which were the official acts of the nation4 ,one was the capture of ,tabasco4 ,tabasco is a small town several hundred miles from the theatre of war1 situated on a river about eighty miles from the sea1 in the midst of a fertile province4 ,the army did not need it1 nor the navy4 ,it did not lie in the way of the ,american operations2 its possession would be wholly useless4 ,but one ,sunday afternoon1 while the streets were full of men1 women1 and children1 engaged in their ,sunday business1 a part of the naval force of ,america swept by2 the streets running at right angles with the river1 were enfiladed by the hostile cannon1 and men1 women1 and children1 unarmed and unresisting1 were mowed down by the merciless shot4 ,the city was taken1 but soon abandoned1 for its possession was of no use4 ,the killing of those men1 women1 and children was as much a piece of murder1 as it would be to come and shoot us to-day1 and in this house4 ,no valid excuse has been given for this cold-blooded massacre2 none can be given4 ,it was not battle1 but wanton butchery4 ,none but a ,pequod ,indian could excuse it4 ,the theological newspapers in ,new ,england thought it a wicked thing in ,dr4 ,palfrey to write a letter on ,sunday1 though he hoped thereby to help end the war4 ,how many of them had any fault to find with this national butchery on the ,lord's day8 ,fighting is bad enough any day2 fighting for mere pay1 or glory1 or the love of fighting1 is a wicked thing2 but to fight on that day when the whole ,christian world kneels to pray in the name of the ,peacemaker2 to butcher men and women and children1 when they are coming home from church1 with prayer-books in their hands1 seems an aggravation even of murder2 a cowardly murder1 which a ,hessian would have been ashamed of4 ,but 'twas a famous victory4 ,one other instance1 of at least apparent wantonness1 took place at the bombardment of ,vera ,cruz4 ,after the siege had gone on for a while1 the foreign consuls in the town1 moved1 as they say1 by the feeling of humanity excited in their hearts by the frightful results of the bombardment of the city1 requested that the women and children might be allowed to leave the city1 and not stay to be shot4 ,the ,american ,general refused2 they must stay and be shot4 ,perhaps you have not an adequate conception of the effect produced by bombarding a town4 ,let me interest you a little in the details thereof4 ,vera ,cruz is about as large as ,boston was in #ahaj2 it contains about #cj1jjj inhabitants4 ,in addition it is protected by a castle1 the celebrated fortress of ,st4 ,juan d' ,ulloa1 furnished with more than #e1jjj soldiers and over #djj cannons4 ,imagine to yourself ,boston as it was forty years ago1 invested with a fleet on one side1 and an army of #ae1jjj men on the land1 both raining cannon-balls and bomb-shells upon your houses2 shattering them to fragments1 exploding in your streets1 churches1 houses1 cellars1 mingling men1 women1 and children in one promiscuous murder4 ,suppose this to continue five days and nights2 imagine the condition of the city2 the ruins1 the flames2 the dead1 the wounded1 the widows1 the orphans2 think of the fears of the men anticipating the city would be sacked by a merciless soldiery2 think of the women6 ,thus you will have a faint notion of the picture of ,vera ,cruz at the end of ,march1 #ahdg4 ,do you know the meaning of the name of the city8 ,vera ,cruz is the ,true ,cross4 ,see how these ,christians love one another4 ,the ,americans are followers of the ,prince of ,peace2 they have more missionaries amongst the heathen than any other nation1 and the ,president1 in his last message1 says1 ,no country has been so much favored1 or should acknowledge with deeper reverence the manifestations of the ,divine protection4 ,the ,americans were fighting ,mexico to dismember her territory1 to plunder her soil1 and plant thereon the institution of slavery1 the necessary back-ground of freedom4 ,few of us have ever seen a battle1 and without that none can have a complete notion of the ferocious passions which it excites4 ,let me help your fancy a little by relating an anecdote which seems to be very well authenticated1 and requires but little external testimony to render it credible4 ,at any rate1 it was abundantly believed a year ago2 but times change1 and what was then believed all round may now be the most improbable thing in the world4 ,at the battle of ,buena ,vista1 a ,kentucky regiment began to stagger under the heavy charge of the ,mexicans4 ,the ,american commander-in-chief turned to one who stood near him1 and exclaimed1 ,by ,god1 this will not do4 ,this is not the way for ,kentuckians to behave when called on to make good a battle4 ,it will not answer1 sir4 ,so the ,general clenched his fist1 knit his brows1 and set his teeth hard together4 ,however1 the ,kentuckians presently formed in good order and gave a deadly fire1 which altered the battle4 ,then the old ,general broke out with a loud hurrah4 ,hurrah for old ,kentuck1 he exclaimed1 rising in his stirrups2 that's the way to do it4 ,give 'em hell1 damn 'em1 and tears of exultation rolled down his cheeks as he said it4 ,you find the name of this ,general at the head of most of the whig newspapers in the ,united ,states4 ,he is one of the most popular candidates for the ,presidency4 ,cannons were fired for him1 a hundred guns on ,boston ,common1 not long ago1 in honor of his nomination for the highest office in the gift of a free and ,christian people4 ,soon we shall probably have clerical certificates1 setting forth1 to the people of the ,north1 that he is an exemplary ,christian4 ,you know how ,faneuil ,hall1 the old ,cradle of ,liberty1 rang with ,hurrah for ,taylor1 but a few days ago4 ,the seven wise men of ,greece were famous in their day2 but now nothing is known of them except a single pungent aphorism from each1 ,know thyself1 and the like4 ,the time may come when our great men shall have suffered this same reduction descending1 all their robes of glory having vanished save a single thread4 ,then shall ,franklin be known only as having said1 ,don't give too much for the ,whistle2 ,patrick ,henry for his ,give me ,liberty or give me ,death2 ,washington for his ,in ,peace prepare for ,war2 ,jefferson for his ,all men are created equal2 and ,general ,taylor shall be known only by his attributes rough and ready1 and for his aphorism1 ,give 'em hell1 damn 'em4 ,yet he does not seem to be a ferocious man1 but generous and kindly1 it is said1 and strongly opposed to this particular war1 whose natural justice it seems he looked at1 and which he thought was wicked at the beginning1 though1 on that account1 he was none the less ready to fight it4 ,one thing more ,i must mention in speaking of the cost of men4 ,according to the ,report quoted just now1 #d1iff ,american soldiers had deserted in ,mexico4 ,some of them had joined the ,mexican army4 ,when the ,american commissioners1 who were sent to secure the ratification of the treaty1 went to ,queretaro1 they found there a body of #bjj ,american soldiers1 and #hjj more were at no great distance1 mustered into the ,mexican service4 ,these men1 it seems1 had served out their time in the ,american camp1 and notwithstanding they had1 as the ,president says in his message1 covered themselves with imperishable honors1 by fighting men who never injured them1 they were willing to go and seek a yet thicker mantle of this imperishable honor1 by fighting against their own country6 ,why should they not8 ,if it were right to kill ,mexicans for a few dollars a month1 why was it not also right to kill ,americans1 especially when it pays the most8 ,perhaps it is not an ,american habit to inquire into the justice of a war1 only into the profit which it may bring4 ,if the ,mexicans pay best1 in money1 these #a1jjj soldiers made a good speculation4 ,no doubt in ,mexico military glory is at a premium1 though it could hardly command a greater price just now than in ,america1 where1 however1 the supply seems equal to the demand4 ,the numerous desertions and the readiness with which the soldiers joined the foe1 show plainly the moral character of the men1 and the degree of patriotism and humanity which animated them in going to war4 ,you know the severity of military discipline2 the terrible beatings men are subjected to before they can become perfect in the soldier's art2 the horrible and revolting punishments imposed on them for drunkenness1 though little pains were taken to keep the temptation from their eyes1 and for disobedience of general orders4 ,you have read enough of this in the newspapers4 ,the officers of the volunteers1 ,i am told1 have generally been men of little education1 men of strong passions and bad habits2 many of them abandoned men1 who belonged to the refuse of society4 ,such men run into an army as the wash of the street runs into the sewers4 ,when such a man gets clothed with a little authority1 in time of peace1 you know what use he makes of it2 but when he covers himself with the imperishable honors of his official coat1 gets an epaulette on his shoulder1 a sword by his side1 a commission in his pocket1 and visions of glory in his head1 you may easily judge how he will use his authority1 or may read in the newspapers how he has used it4 ,when there are brutal soldiers1 commanded by brutal captains1 it is to be supposed that much brutality is to be suffered4 ,now desertion is a great offence in a soldier2 in this army it is one of the most common2 for nearly ten per cent of the ,american army has deserted in ,mexico1 not to mention the desertions before the army reached that country4 ,it is related that forty-eight men were hanged at once for desertion2 not hanged as you judicially murder men in time of peace1 privately1 as if ashamed of the deed1 in the corner of a jail1 and by a contrivance which shortens the agony1 and makes death humane as possible4 ,these forty-eight men were hanged slowly2 put to death with painful procrastinations1 their agony wilfully prolonged1 and death embittered by needless ferocity4 ,but that is not all3 it is related1 that these men were doomed to be thus murdered on the day when the battle of ,churubusco took place4 ,these men1 awaiting their death1 were told they should not suffer till the ,american flag should wave its stripes over the hostile walls4 ,so they were kept in suspense an hour1 and then slowly hanged one by one4 ,you know the name of the officer on whom this barbarity rests3 it was ,colonel ,harney1 a man whose reputation was black enough and base enough before4 ,his previous deeds1 however1 require no mention here4 ,but this man is now a ,general1 and so on the high road to the ,presidency1 whenever it shall please our ,southern masters to say the word4 ,some accounts say there were more than forty-eight who thus were hanged4 ,i only give the number of those whose names lie printed before me as ,i write4 ,perhaps the number was less2 it is impossible to obtain exact information in respect to the matter1 for the ,government has not yet published an account of the punishments inflicted in this war4 ,the information can only be obtained by a ,resolution of either house of ,congress1 and so is not likely to be had before the election4 ,but at the same time with the execution1 other deserters were scourged with fifty lashes each1 branded with a letter ,d1 a perpetual mark of infamy on their cheek1 compelled to wear an iron yoke1 weighing eight pounds1 about their neck4 ,six men were made to dig the grave of their companions1 and were then flogged with two hundred lashes each4 ,i wish this hanging of forty-eight men could have taken place in ,state street1 and the respectable citizens of ,boston1 who like this war1 had been made to look on and see it all2 that they had seen those poor culprits bid farewell to father1 mother1 wife1 or child1 looking wistfully for the hour which was to end their torment1 and then1 one by one1 have seen them slowly hanged to death2 that your representative1 ye men of ,boston1 had put on all the halters6 ,he did help put them on2 that infamous vote1 ,i speak not of the motive1 it may have been as honorable as the vote itself was infamous1 doomed these eight and forty men to be thus murdered4 ,yes1 ,i wish all this killing of the #b1jjj ,americans on the field of battle1 and the #aj1jjj ,mexicans2 all this slashing of the bodies of #bd1jjj wounded men2 all the agony of the other #ah1jjj that have died of disease1 could have taken place in some spot where the ,president of the ,united ,states and his ,cabinet1 where all the ,congress who voted for the war1 with the ,baltimore conventions of '#dd and '#dh1 and the ,whig convention of ,philadelphia1 and the controlling men of both political parties1 who care nothing for this bloodshed and misery they have idly caused1 could have stood and seen it all2 and then that the voice of the whole nation had come up to them and said1 ,this is your work1 not ours4 ,certainly we will not shed our blood1 nor our brothers' blood1 to get never so much slave territory4 ,it was bad enough to fight in the cause of freedom4 ,in the cause of slavery--,god forgive us for that6 ,we have trusted you thus far1 but please ,god we never will trust you again4 99 99 99 99 99 ,let us now look at the effect of this war on the morals of the nation4 ,the ,revolutionary war was the contest for a great idea4 ,if there were ever a just war it was that1 a contest for national existence4 ,yet it brought out many of the worst qualities of human nature on both sides1 as well as some of the best4 ,it helped make a ,washington1 it is true1 but a ,benedict ,arnold likewise4 ,a war with a powerful nation1 terrible as it must be1 yet develops the energy of the people1 promotes self-denial1 and helps the growth of some qualities of a high order4 ,it had this effect in ,england from #agih to #ahae4 ,true1 ,england for that time became a despotism1 but the self-consciousness of the nation1 its self-denial and energy were amazingly stimulated2 the moral effect of that series of wars was doubtless far better than of the infamous contest which she has kept up against ,ireland for many years4 ,let us give even war its due3 when a great boy fights with an equal1 it may develop his animal courage and strength--for he gets as bad as he gives1 but when he only beats a little boy that cannot pay back his blows1 it is cowardly as well as cruel1 and doubly debasing to the conqueror4 ,mexico was no match for ,america4 ,we all knew that very well before the war begun4 ,when a nation numbering #h1jjj1jjj or #i1jjj1jjj of people can be successfully invaded by an army of #ge1jjj men1 two thirds of them volunteers1 raw1 and undisciplined2 when the invaders with less than #ae1jjj can march two hundred miles into the very heart of the hostile country1 and with less than #f1jjj can take and hold the capital of the nation1 a city of #ajj1jjj or #bjj1jjj inhabitants1 and dictate a peace1 taking as much territory as they will--it is hardly fair to dignify such operations with the name of war4 ,the little good which a long contest with an equal might produce in the conqueror1 is wholly lost4 ,had ,mexico been a strong nation we should never have had this conflict4 ,a few years ago1 when ,general ,cass wanted a war with ,england1 an old-fashioned war1 and declared it unavoidable1 all the men of property trembled4 ,the northern men thought of their mills and their ships2 they thought how ,boston and ,new ,york would look after a war with our sturdy old father over the sea2 they thought we should lose many millions of dollars and gain nothing4 ,the men of the ,south1 who have no mills and no ships and no large cities to be destroyed1 thought of their peculiar institution2 they thought of a servile war2 they thought what might become of their slaves1 if a nation which gave #ajj1jjj1jjj to emancipate her bondmen should send a large army with a few black soldiers from ,jamaica2 should offer money1 arms1 and freedom to all who would leave their masters and claim their unalienable rights4 ,they knew the southern towns would be burnt to ashes1 and the whole ,south1 from ,virginia to the ,gulf1 would be swept with fire1 and they said1 ,don't4 ,the ,north said so1 and the ,south2 they feared such a war1 with such a foe4 ,everybody knows the effect which this fear had on southern politicians1 in the beginning of this century1 and how gladly they made peace with ,england soon as she was at liberty to turn her fleet and her army against the most vulnerable part of the nation4 ,i am not blind to the wickedness of ,england more than ignorant of the good things she has done and is doing2 a ,paradise for the rich and strong1 she is still a ,purgatory for the wise and the good1 and the ,hell of the poor and the weak4 ,i have no fondness for war anywhere1 and believe it needless and wanton in this age of the world1 surely needless and wicked between ,father ,england and ,daughter ,america2 but ,i do solemnly believe that the moral effect of such an old-fashioned war as ,mr4 ,cass in #ahde thought unavoidable1 would have been better than that of this ,mexican war4 ,it would have ended slavery2 ended it in blood no doubt1 the worst thing to blot out an evil with1 but ended it and for ever4 ,god grant it may yet have a more peaceful termination4 ,we should have lost millions of property and thousands of men1 and then1 when peace came1 we should know what it was worth2 and as the burnt child dreads the fire1 no future ,president1 or ,congress1 or ,convention1 or ,party would talk much in favor of war for some years to come4 ,the moral effect of this war is thoroughly bad4 ,it was unjust in the beginning4 ,mexico did not pay her debts2 but though the ,united ,states1 in #aghc1 acknowledged the ,british claims against ourselves1 they were not paid till #ahjc4 ,our claims against ,england1 for her depredations in #agic1 were not paid till #ahjd2 our claims against ,france1 for her depredations in #ahjf-ac1 were not paid us till #ahcd4 ,the fact that ,mexico refused to receive the resident ,minister which the ,united ,states sent to settle the disputes1 when a commissioner was expected--this was no ground of war4 ,we have lately seen a ,british ambassador ordered to leave ,spain within eight and forty hours1 and yet the ,english ,minister of foreign affairs1 ,lord ,palmerston1 no new hand at diplomacy1 declares that this does not interrupt the concord of the two nations6 ,we treated ,mexico contemptuously before hostilities began2 and when she sent troops into a territory which she had always possessed1 though ,texas had claimed it1 we declared that that was an act of war1 and ourselves sent an army to invade her soil1 to capture her cities1 and seize her territory4 ,it has been a war of plunder1 undertaken for the purpose of seizing ,mexican territory1 and extending over it that dismal curse which blackens1 impoverishes1 and barbarizes half the ,union now1 and swiftly corrupts the other half4 ,it was not enough to have ,louisiana a slave territory2 not enough to make that institution perpetual in ,florida2 not enough to extend this blight over ,texas--we must have yet more slave soil1 one day to be carved into ,slave ,states1 to bind the ,southern yoke yet more securely on the ,northern neck2 to corrupt yet more the politics1 literature1 and morals of the ,north4 ,the war was unjust at its beginning2 mean in its motives1 a war without honorable cause2 a war for plunder2 a quarrel between a great boy and a little puny weakling who could not walk alone1 and could hardly stand4 ,we have treated ,mexico as the three ,northern powers treated ,poland in the last century--stooped to conquer4 ,nay1 our contest has been like the ,english seizure of ,ireland4 ,all the justice was on one side1 the force1 skill1 and wealth on the other4 ,i know men say the war has shown us that ,americans could fight4 ,could fight6--almost every male beast will fight1 the more brutal the better4 ,the long war of the ,revolution1 when ,connecticut1 for seven years1 kept #e1jjj men in the field1 showed that ,americans could fight2 ,bunker ,hill and ,lexington showed that they could fight1 even without previous discipline4 ,if such valor be a merit1 ,i am ready to believe that the ,americans1 in a great cause like that of ,mexico1 to resist wicked invasion1 would fight as men never fought before4 ,a republic like our own1 where every free man feels an interest in the welfare of the nation1 is full of the elements that make soldiers4 ,is that a praise8 ,most men think so1 but it is the smallest honor of a nation4 ,of all glories1 military glory1 at its best estate1 seems the poorest4 ,men tell us it shows the strength of the nation and some writers quote the opinions of ,european kings who1 when hearing of the battles of ,monterey1 ,buena ,vista1 and ,vera ,cruz1 became convinced that we were a great people4 ,remembering the character of these kings1 one can easily believe that such was their judgment1 and will not sigh many times at their fate1 but will hope to see the day when the last king who can estimate a nation's strength only by its battles1 has passed on to impotence and oblivion4 ,the power of ,america--do we need proof of that8 ,i see it in the streets of ,boston and ,new ,york2 in ,lowell and in ,lawrence2 ,i see it in our mills and our ships2 ,i read it in those letters of iron written all over the ,north1 where he may read that runs2 ,i see it in the unconquered energy which tames the forest1 the rivers1 and the ocean2 in the school-houses which lift their modest roof in every village of the ,north2 in the churches that rise all over the freeman's land3 would ,god that they rose higher1 pointing down to man and to human duties1 and up to ,god and immortal life6 ,i see the strength of ,america in that tide of population which spreads over the prairies of the ,west1 and1 beating on the ,rocky ,mountains1 dashes its peaceful spray to the very shores of the ,pacific sea4 ,had we taken #aej1jjj men and #bjj1jjj1jjj1 and built two railroads across the continent1 that would have been a worthy sign of the nation's strength4 ,perhaps those kings could not see it2 but sensible men could see it and be glad4 ,this waste of treasure and this waste of blood is only a proof of weakness4 ,war is a transient weakness of the nation1 but slavery a permanent imbecility4 ,what falsehood has this war produced in the executive and legislative power2 in both parties1 whigs and democrats6 ,i always thought that here in ,massachusetts the whigs were the most to blame2 they tried to put the disgrace of the war on the others1 while the democratic party coolly faced the wickedness4 ,did far-sighted men know that there would be a war on ,mexico1 or else on the tariff or the currency1 and prefer the first as the least evil8 ,see to what the war has driven two of the most famous men of the nation3 one wished to capture or slay a ,mexican2#ab the other could encourage the volunteers to fight a war which he had denounced as needless1 a war of pretexts1 and place the men of ,monterey before the men of ,bunker ,hill2#ac each could invest a son in that unholy cause4 ,you know the rest3 the fathers ate sour grapes1 and the children's teeth were set on edge4 ,when a man goes on board an emigrant ship1 reeking with filth and fever1 not for gain1 not for glory1 but in brotherly love1 catches the contagion1 and dies a martyr to his heroic benevolence1 men speak of it in corners1 and it is soon forgot2 there is no parade in the streets2 society takes little pains to do honor to the man4 ,how rarely is a pension given to his widow or his child2 only once in the whole land1 and then but a small sum4#ad ,but when a volunteer officer--for of the humbler and more excusable men that fall we take no heed1 war may mow that crop of vulgar deaths with what scythe he will--falls or dies in the quarrel which he had no concern in1 falls in a broil between the two nations1 your newspapers extol the man1 and with martial pomp1 sonorous metal blowing martial sounds1 with all the honors of the most honored dead1 you lay away his body in the tomb4 ,thus is it that the nation teaches these little ones1 that it is better to kill than to make alive4 ,i know there are men in the army1 honorable and high-minded men1 ,christian men1 who dislike war in general1 and this war in special1 but such is their view of official duty1 that they obeyed the summons of battle1 though with pain and reluctance4 ,they knew not how to avoid obedience4 ,i am willing to believe there are many such4 ,but with volunteers1 who1 of their own accord1 came forth to enlist1 men not blinded by ignorance1 not driven by poverty to the field1 but only by hope of reward--what shall be said of them6 ,much may be said to excuse the rank and file1 ignorant men1 many of them in want--but for the leaders1 what can be said8 ,had ,i a brother who1 in the day of the nation's extremity1 came forward with a good conscience1 and perilled his life on the battle field1 and lost it in the sacred cause of ,god and his country1 ,i would honor the man1 and when his dust came home1 ,i would lay it away with his fathers'2 with sorrow indeed1 but with thankfulness of heart1 that for conscience' sake he was ready even to die4 ,but had ,i a brother who1 merely for his pay1 or hope of fame1 had voluntarily gone down to fight innocent men1 to plunder their territory1 and lost his life in that felonious essay--in sorrow and in silence1 and in secrecy would ,i lay down his body in the grave2 ,i would not court display1 nor mark it with a single stone4 ,see how this war has affected public opinion4 ,how many of your newspapers have shown its true atrocity2 how many of the pulpits8 ,yet1 if any one is appointed to tell of public wrongs1 it is the minister of religion4 ,the ,governor of ,massachusetts#ae is an officer of a ,christian church2 a man distinguished for many excellences1 some of them by no means common3 it is said1 he is opposed to the war in private1 and thinks it wicked2 but no man has lent himself as a readier tool to promote it4 ,the ,christian and the man seem lost in the office1 in the ,governor6 ,what a lesson of falseness does all this teach to that large class of persons who look no higher than the example of eminent men for their instruction4 ,you know what complaints have been made1 by the highest authority in the nation1 because a few men dared to speak against the war4 ,it was affording aid and comfort to the enemy4 ,if the war-party had been stronger1 and feared no public opinion1 we should have had men hanged for treason1 because they spoke of this national iniquity6 ,nothing would have been easier4 ,a gag law is not wholly unknown in ,america4 ,if you will take all the theft1 all the assaults1 all the cases of arson1 ever committed in time of peace in the ,united ,states since the settlement of ,jamestown in #afjh1 and add to them all the cases of violence offered to woman1 with all the murders1 they will not amount to half the wrongs committed in this war for the plunder of ,mexico4 ,yet the cry has been and still is1 ,you must not say a word against it2 if you do1 you 'afford aid and comfort to the enemy4' ,not tell the nation that she is doing wrong8 ,what a miserable saying is that2 let it come from what high authority it may1 it is a miserable saying4 ,make the case your own4 ,suppose the ,united ,states were invaded by a nation ten times abler for war than we are1 with a cause no more just1 intentions equally bad2 invaded for the purpose of dismembering our territory and making our own ,new ,england the soil of slaves2 would you be still8 would you stand and look on tamely while the hostile hosts1 strangers in language1 manners1 and religion1 crossed your rivers1 seized your ports1 burnt your towns8 ,no1 surely not4 ,though the men of ,new ,england would not be able to resist with most celestial love1 they would contend with most manly vigor2 and ,i should rather see every house swept clean off the land1 and the ground sheeted with our own dead2 rather see every man1 woman1 and child in the land slain1 than see them tamely submit to such a wrong3 and so would you4 ,no1 sacred as life is and dear as it is1 better let it be trodden out by the hoof of war1 rather than yield tamely to a wrong4 ,but while you were doing your utmost to repel such formidable injustice1 if in the midst of your invaders men rose up and said1 ,america is in the right1 and brothers1 you are wrong1 you should not thus kill men to steal their land2 shame on you6 how should you feel towards such8 ,nay1 in the struggle with ,england1 when our fathers perilled every thing but honor1 and fought for the unalienable rights of man1 you all remember1 how in ,england herself there stood up noble men1 and with a voice that was heard above the roar of the populace1 and an authority higher than the majesty of the throne they said1 ,you do a wrong2 you may ravage1 but you cannot conquer4 ,if ,i were an ,american1 while a foreign troop remained in my land1 ,i would never lay down my arms2 no1 never1 never1 never6 ,but ,i wander a little from my theme1 the effect of the war on the morals of the nation4 ,here are #ej1jjj or #ge1jjj men trained to kill4 ,hereafter they will be of little service in any good work4 ,many of them were the off-scouring of the people at first4 ,now these men have tasted the idleness1 the intemperance1 the debauchery of a camp2 tasted of its riot1 tasted of its blood6 ,they will come home before long1 hirelings of murder4 ,what will their influence be as fathers1 husbands8 ,the nation taught them to fight and plunder the ,mexicans for the nation's sake2 the ,governor of ,massachusetts called on them in the name of patriotism and humanity to enlist for that work3 but if1 with no justice on our side1 it is humane and patriotic to fight and plunder the ,mexicans on the nation's account1 why not for the soldier to fight and plunder an ,american on his own account8 ,ay1 why not8--that is a distinction too nice for common minds2 by far too nice for mine4 ,see the effect on the nation4 ,we have just plundered ,mexico2 taken a piece of her territory larger than the thirteen states which fought the ,revolution1 a hundred times as large as ,massachusetts2 we have burnt her cities1 have butchered her men1 have been victorious in every contest4 ,the ,mexicans were as unprotected women1 we1 armed men4 ,see how the lust of conquest will increase4 ,soon it will be the ambition of the next ,president to extend the area of freedom a little further south2 the lust of conquest will increase4 ,soon we must have ,yucatan1 ,central ,america1 all of ,mexico1 ,cuba1 ,porto ,rico1 ,hayti1 ,jamaica1--all the islands of the ,gulf4 ,many men would gladly1 ,i doubt not1 extend the area of freedom so as to include the free blacks of those islands4 ,we have long looked with jealous eyes on ,west ,indian emancipation--hoping the scheme would not succeed4 ,how pleasant it would be to reestablish slavery in ,hayti and ,jamaica1 in all the islands whence the gold of ,england or the ideas of ,france have driven it out4 ,if the ,south wants this1 would the ,north object8 ,the possession of the ,west ,indies would bring much money to ,new ,england1 and what is the value of freedom compared to coffee and sugar and cotton8 ,i must say one word of the effect this war has had on political parties4 ,by the parties ,i mean the leaders thereof1 the men that control the parties4 ,the effect on the democratic party1 on the majority of ,congress1 on the most prominent men of the nation1 has been mentioned before4 ,it has shut their eyes to truth and justice2 it has filled their mouths with injustice and falsehood4 ,it has made one man available for the ,presidency who was only known before as a sagacious general1 that fought against the ,indians in ,florida1 and acquired a certain reputation by the use of bloodhounds1 a reputation which was rather unenviable even in ,america4 ,the battles in northern ,mexico made him conspicuous1 and now he is seized on as an engine to thrust one corrupt party out of power1 and to lift in another party1 ,i will not say less corrupt1 ,i wish ,i could2 it were difficult to think it more so4 ,this latter party has been conspicuous for its opposition to a military man as ruler of a free people2 recently it has been smitten with sudden admiration for military men1 and military success1 and tells the people1 without a blush1 that a military man fresh from a fight which he disapproved of1 is most likely to restore peace1 because most familiar with the evils of war6 ,in ,massachusetts the prevalent political party1 as such1 for some years seems to have had no moral principle2 however1 it had a prejudice in favor of decency3 now it has thrown that overboard1 and has not even its respectability left4 ,where are its ,resolutions8 ,some men knew what they were worth long ago2 now all men can see what they are worth4 ,the cost of the war in money and men ,i have tried to calculate1 but the effect on the morals of the people1 on the press1 the pulpit1 and the parties1 and through them on the rising generation1 it is impossible to tell4 ,i have only faintly sketched the outline of that4 ,the effect of the war on ,mexico herself1 we can dimly see in the distance4 ,the ,government of the ,united ,states has wilfully1 wantonly broken the peace of the continent4 ,the ,revolutionary war was unavoidable2 but for this invasion there is no excuse4 ,that ,god1 whose providence watches over the falling nation as the falling sparrow1 and whose comprehensive plans are now advanced by the righteousness and now by the wrath of man1 ,he who stilleth the waves of the sea and the tumult of the people1 will turn all this wickedness to account in the history of man1--of that ,i have no doubt4 ,but that is no excuse for ,american crime4 ,a greater good lay within our grasp1 and we spurned it away4 ,well1 before long the soldiers will come back1 such as shall ever come--the regulars and volunteers1 the husbands of the women whom your charity fed last winter1 housed and clad and warmed4 ,they will come back4 ,come1 ,new ,england1 with your posterity of ,states1 go forth to meet your sons returning all covered with imperishable honors4 ,come1 men1 to meet your fathers1 brothers4 ,come1 women1 to your husbands and your lovers2 come4 ,but what6 is that the body of men who a year or two ago went forth1 so full of valor and of rum8 ,are these rags the imperishable honors that cover them8 ,here is not half the whole4 ,where is the wealth they hoped from the spoil of churches8 ,but the men--,where is my husband8 says one2 ,and my son8 says another4 ,they fell at ,jalapa1 one1 and one at ,cerro ,gordo2 but they fell covered with imperishable honor1 for 'twas a famous victory4 ,where is my lover8 screams a woman whom anguish makes respectable spite of her filth and ignorance2--,and our father1 where is he8 scream a troop of half-starved children1 staring through their dirt and rags4 ,one died of the vomit at ,vera ,cruz4 ,your father1 little ones1 we scourged the naked man to death at ,mixcoac4 ,but that troop which is left1 who are in the arms of wife and child1 they are the best sermon against war2 this has lost an arm and that a leg2 half are maimed in battle1 or sickened with the fever2 all polluted with the drunkenness1 idleness1 debauchery1 lust1 and murder of a camp4 ,strip off this man's coat1 and count the stripes welted into his flesh1 stripes laid on by demagogues that love the people1 the dear people6 ,see how affectionately the war-makers branded the dear soldiers with a letter ,d1 with a red-hot iron1 in the cheek4 ,the flesh will quiver as the irons burn2 no matter3 it is only for love of the people that all this is done1 and we are all of us covered with imperishable honors6 ,d stands for deserter1--aye1 and for demagogue--yes1 and for demon too4 ,many a man shall come home with but half of himself1 half his body1 less than half his soul4 ,alas1 the mother that him bare1 ,if she could stand in presence there1 ,in that wan cheek and wasted air1 ,she would not know her child4 ,better1 you say1 for us better1 and for themselves better by far1 if they had left that remnant of a body in the common ditch where the soldier finds his 'bed of honor2' better have fed therewith the vultures of a foreign soil1 than thus come back4 ,no1 better come back1 and live here1 mutilated1 scourged1 branded1 a cripple1 a pauper1 a drunkard1 and a felon2 better darken the windows of the jail and blot the gallows with unusual shame1 to teach us all that such is war1 and such the results of every famous victory1 such the imperishable honors that it brings1 and how the war-makers love the men they rule6 ,o ,christian ,america6 ,o ,new ,england1 child of the ,puritans6 ,cradled in the wilderness1 thy swaddling garments stained with martyrs' blood1 hearing in thy youth the warwhoop of the savage and thy mother's sweet and soul-composing hymn3 ,hush1 my child1 lie still and slumber1 ,holy angels guard thy bed2 ,heavenly blessings1 without number1 ,rest upon thine infant head3 ,come1 ,new ,england1 take the old banners of thy conquering host1 the standards borne at ,monterey1 ,palo ,alto1 ,buena ,vista1 ,vera ,cruz1 the glorious stripes and stars that waved over the walls of ,churubusco1 ,contreras1 ,puebla1 ,mexico herself1 flags blackened with battle and stiffened with blood1 pierced by the lances and torn with the shot2 bring them into thy churches1 hang them up over altar and pulpit1 and let little children1 clad in white raiment and crowned with flowers1 come and chant their lessons for the day3 ,blessed are the pure in heart1 for they shall see ,god4 ,blessed are the peace-makers1 for they shall be called the children of ,god4 ,then let the priest say1 ,righteousness exalteth a nation1 but sin is a reproach unto any people4 ,blessed is the ,lord my strength1 which teacheth my hands to war1 and my fingers to fight4 ,happy is that people that is in such a case4 ,yea1 happy is that people whose ,god is the ,lord1 and ,jesus ,christ their ,saviour4 ,then let the soldiers who lost their limbs and the women who lost their husbands and their lovers in the strife1 and the men--wiser than the children of light--who made money out of the war2 let all the people1 like people and like priest1 say ,amen4 99 99 99 99 99 ,but suppose these men were to come back to ,boston on a day when1 in civil style1 as having never sinned yourself1 and never left a man in ignorance and want to be goaded into crime1 you were about to hang three men--one for murder1 one for robbery with the armed hand1 and one for burning down a house4 ,suppose1 after the fashion of the good old times1 you were to hang those men in public1 and lead them in long procession through your streets1 and while you were welcoming these returned soldiers and taking their officers to feast in the ,cradle of ,liberty1 they should meet the sheriff's procession escorting those culprits to the gallows4 ,suppose the warriors should ask1 ,why1 what is that8 ,what would you say8 ,why1 this3 ,these men1 they broke the law of ,god1 by violence1 by fire and blood1 and we shall hang them for the public good1 and especially for the example1 to teach the ignorant1 the low1 and the weak4 ,suppose those three felons1 the halters round their neck1 should ask also1 ,why1 what is that8 ,you would say1 ,they are the soldiers just come back from war4 ,for two long years they have been hard at work1 burning cities1 plundering a nation1 and butchering whole armies of men4 ,sometimes they killed a thousand in a day4 ,by their help1 the nation has stolen seven hundred thousand square miles of land6 ,suppose the culprits ask1 ,where will you hang so many8 ,hang them6 is the answer1 we shall only hang you4 ,it is written in our ,bible that one murder makes a villain1 millions a hero4 ,we shall feast these men full of bread and wine2 shall take their leader1 a rough man and a ready1 one who by perpetual robbery holds a hundred slaves and more1 and make him a king over all the land4 ,but as you only burnt1 robbed1 and murdered on so small a scale1 and without the command of the ,president or the ,congress1 we shall hang you by the neck4 ,our ,governor ordered these men to go and burn and rob and kill2 now he orders you to be hanged1 and you must not ask any more questions1 for the hour is already come4 ,to make the whole more perfect--suppose a native of ,loo-,choo1 converted to ,christianity by your missionaries in his native land1 had come hither to have the way of ,god expounded unto him more perfectly1 that he might see how these ,christians love one another4 ,suppose he should be witness to a scene like this6 99 99 99 99 99 ,to men who know the facts of war1 the wickedness of this particular invasion and its wide-extending consequences1 ,i fear that my words will seem poor and cold and tame4 ,i have purposely mastered my emotion1 telling only my thought4 ,i have uttered no denunciation against the men who caused this destruction of treasure1 this massacre of men1 this awful degradation of the moral sense4 ,the respectable men of ,boston--the men of property and standing all over the ,state1 the men that commonly control the politics of ,new ,england1 tell you that they dislike the war4 ,but they reelect the men who made it4 ,has a single man in all ,new ,england lost his seat in any office because he favored the war8 ,not a man4 ,have you ever known a northern merchant who would not let his ship for the war1 because the war was wicked and he a ,christian8 ,have you ever known a northern manufacturer who would not sell a kernel of powder1 nor a cannon-ball1 nor a coat1 nor a shirt for the war8 ,have you ever known a capitalist1 a man who lives by letting money1 refuse to lend money for the war because the war was wicked8 ,not a merchant1 not a manufacturer1 not a capitalist4 ,a little money--it can buy up whole hosts of men4 ,virginia sells her negroes2 what does ,new ,england sell8 ,there was once a man in ,boston1 a rich man too1 not a very great man1 only a good one who loved his country1 and there was another poor man here1 in the times that tried men's souls1--but there was not money enough in all ,england1 not enough promise of honors1 to make ,hancock and ,adams false to their sense of right4 ,is our soil degenerate1 and have we lost the breed of noble men8 ,no1 ,i have not denounced the men who directly made the war1 or indirectly edged the people on4 ,pardon me1 thou prostrate ,mexico1 robbed of more than half thy soil1 that ,america may have more slaves2 thy cities burned1 thy children slain1 the streets of thy capital trodden by the alien foot1 but still smoking with thy children's blood3 pardon me if ,i seem to have forgotten thee6 ,and you1 ye butchered ,americans1 slain by the vomito1 the gallows1 and the sword2 you1 ye maimed and mutilated men1 who shall never again join hands in prayer1 never kneel to ,god once more upon the limbs he made you2 you1 ye widows1 orphans of these butchered men1 far off in that more sunny ,south1 here in our own fair land1 pardon me that ,i seem to forget your wrongs6 ,and thou1 my ,country1 my own1 my loved1 my native land1 thou child of great ideas and mother of many a noble son1 dishonored now1 thy treasure wasted1 thy children killed or else made murderers1 thy peaceful glory gone1 thy ,government made to pimp and pander for lust of crime1 forgive me that ,i seem over-gentle to the men who did and do the damning deed which wastes thy treasure1 spills thy blood1 and stains thine honor's sacred fold6 ,and you1 ye sons of men everywhere1 thou child of ,god1 ,mankind1 whose latest1 fairest hope is planted here in this new world1--forgive me if ,i seem gentle to thy enemies1 and to forget the crime that so dishonors man1 and makes this ground a slaughter-yard of men--slain1 too1 in furtherance of the basest wish6 ,i have no words to tell the pity that ,i feel for them that did the deed4 ,i only say1 ,father1 forgive them1 for they know full well the sin they do6 ,a sectarian church could censure a ,general for holding his candle in a ,catholic cathedral2 it was a candle to the ,pope2 yet never dared to blame the war4 ,while we loaded a ship of war with corn and sent off the ,macedonian to ,cork1 freighted by private bounty to feed the starving ,irishman1 the ,state sent her ships to ,vera ,cruz1 in a cause most unholy1 to bombard1 to smite1 and to kill4 ,father6 forgive the ,state2 forgive the church4 ,it was an ignorant ,state4 ,it was a silent church--a poor1 dumb dog1 that dared not bark at the wolf who prowls about the fold1 but only at the lamb4 ,yet ye leaders of the land1 know this1--that the blood of thirty thousand men cries out of the ground against you4 ,be it your folly or your crime1 still cries the voice1 ,where is thy brother8 ,that thirty thousand--in the name of humanity ,i ask1 ,where are they8 ,in the name of justice ,i answer1 ,you slew them6 ,it was not the people who made this war4 ,they have often enough done a foolish thing4 ,but it was not they who did this wrong4 ,it was they who led the people2 it was demagogues that did it4 ,whig demagogues and demagogues of the democrats2 men that flatter the ignorance1 the folly1 or the sin of the people1 that they might satisfy their own base purposes4 ,in ,may1 #ahdf1 if the facts of the case could have been stated to the voters1 and the question put to the whole mass of the people1 ,shall we go down and fight ,mexico1 spending two hundred million of dollars1 maiming four and twenty thousand men1 and butchering thirty thousand2 shall we rob her of half her territory8--the lowest and most miserable part of the nation would have said as they did say1 ,yes2 the demagogues of the nation would have said as they did say1 ,yes2 perhaps a majority of the men of the ,south would have said so1 for the humanity of the nation lies not there2 but if it had been brought to the great mass of the people at the ,north1--whose industry and skill so increase the national wealth1 whose intelligence and morals have given the nation its character abroad1--then they1 the great majority of the land1 would have said ,no4 ,we will have no war6 ,if we want more land1 we will buy it in the open market1 and pay for it honestly4 ,but we are not thieves1 nor murderers1 thank ,god1 and will not butcher a nation to make a slave-field out of her soil4 ,the people would not have made this war4 99 99 99 99 99 ,well1 we have got a new territory1 enough to make one hundred ,states of the size of ,massachusetts4 ,that is not all4 ,we have beaten the armies of ,mexico1 destroyed the little strength she had left1 the little self-respect1 else she would not so have yielded and given up half her soil for a few miserable dollars4 ,soon we shall take the rest of her possessions4 ,how can ,mexico hold them now--weakened1 humiliated1 divided worse than ever within herself4 ,before many years1 all of this northern continent will doubtless be in the hands of the ,anglo ,saxon race4 ,that of itself is not a thing to mourn at4 ,could we have extended our empire there by trade1 by the ,christian arts of peace1 it would be a blessing to us and to ,mexico2 a blessing to the world4 ,but we have done it in the worst way1 by fraud and blood2 for the worst purpose1 to steal soil and convert the cities of men into the shambles for human flesh2 have done it at the bidding of men whose counsels long have been a scourge and a curse--at the bidding of slaveholders4 ,they it is that rule the land1 fill the offices1 buy up the ,north with the crumbs that fall from their political table1 make the laws1 declare hostilities1 and leave the ,north to pay the bill4 ,shall we ever waken out of our sleep2 shall we ever remember the duties we owe to the world and to ,god1 who put us here on this new continent8 ,let us not despair4 ,soon we shall have all the southern part of the continent1 perhaps half the islands of the ,gulf4 ,one thing remains to do--that is1 with the new soil we have taken1 to extend order1 peace1 education1 religion2 to keep it from the blight1 the crime1 and the sin of slavery4 ,that is for the nation to do2 for the ,north to do4 ,god knows the ,south will never do it4 ,is there manliness enough left in the ,north to do that8 ,has the soil forgot its wonted faith1 and borne a different race of men from those who struggled eight long years for freedom8 ,do we forget our sires1 forget our ,god8 ,in the day when the monarchs of ,europe are shaken from their thrones2 when the ,russian and the ,turk abolish slavery2 when cowardly ,naples awakes from her centuries of sleep1 and will have freedom2 when ,france prays to become a ,republic1 and in her agony sweats great drops of blood2 while the ,tories of the world look on and mock and wag their heads2 and while the ,angel of ,hope descends with trusting words to comfort her1--shall ,america extend slavery8 butcher a nation to get soil to make a field for slaves8 ,i know how easily the ,south can buy office-hunters2 whig or democrat1 the price is still the same4 ,the same golden eagle blinds the eyes of each4 ,but can she buy the people of the ,north8 ,is honesty gone1 and honor gone1 your love of country gone1 religion gone1 and nothing manly left2 not even shame8 ,then let us perish2 let the ,union perish6 ,no1 let that stand firm1 and let the ,northern men themselves be slaves2 and let us go to our masters and say1 ,you are very few1 we are very many2 we have the wealth1 the numbers1 the intelligence1 the religion of the land2 but you have the power1 do not be hard upon us2 pray give us a little something1 some humble offices1 or if not these at least a tariff1 and we will be content4 ,slavery has already been the blight of this nation1 the curse of the ,north and the curse of the ,south4 ,it has hindered commerce1 manufactures1 agriculture4 ,it confounds your politics4 ,it has silenced your ablest men4 ,it has muzzled the pulpit1 and stifled the better life out of the press4 ,it has robbed three million men of what is dearer than life2 it has kept back the welfare of seventeen millions more4 ,you ask1 ,o ,americans1 where is the harmony of the ,union8 ,it was broken by slavery4 ,where is the treasure we have wasted8 ,it was squandered by slavery4 ,where are the men we sent to ,mexico8 ,they were murdered by slavery2 and now the slave power comes forward to put her new minions1 her thirteenth ,president1 upon the nation's neck6 ,will the ,north say ,yes8 ,but there is a ,providence which rules the world1--a plan in ,his affairs4 ,shall all this war1 this aggression of the slave power be for nothing8 ,surely not4 ,let it teach us two things3 ,everlasting hostility to slavery2 everlasting love of ,justice and of its ,eternal ,right4 ,then1 dear as we may pay for it1 it may be worth what it has cost--the money and the men4 ,i call on you1 ye men--fathers1 brothers1 husbands1 sons1 to learn this lesson1 and1 when duty calls1 to show that you know it--know it by heart and at your fingers' ends6 ,and you1 ye women--mothers1 sisters1 daughters1 wives1 ,i call on you to teach this lesson to your children1 and let them know that such a war is sin1 and slavery sin1 and1 while you teach them to hate both1 teach them to be men1 and do the duties of noble1 ,christian1 and manly men6 ,behind injustice there is ruin1 and above man there is the everlasting ,god4 ,,footnotes3 #aj ,in the ,massachusetts ,quarterly ,review1 ,vol4 ,i4 ,article ,i4 ,see also the paper on the administration of ,mr4 ,polk1 in ,vol4 ,,iii4 ,art4 ,,viii4 #aa ,mr4 ,trist introduced these articles into the treaty1 without having instructions from the ,american ,government to do so2 the honor1 therefore1 is wholly due to him4 ,there were some in the ,senate who opposed these articles4 #ab ,see ,mr4 ,clay's speech at the dinner in ,new ,orleans on ,forefathers' day4 #ac ,see ,mr4 ,webster's speech to the volunteers at ,philadelphia4 #ad ,a case of this sort had just occurred in ,boston4 #ae ,mr4 ,george ,n4 ,briggs4 ,,vi4 ,a ,,sermon ,,of ,,the ,,perishing ,,classes ,,in ,,boston4--,,preached ,,at ,,the ,,melodeon1 ,,on ,,sunday1 ,,august #cj1 #ahdf4 ,,matthew ,,xviii4 #ad4 ,it is not the will of our ,father which is in heaven1 that one of these little ones should perish4 ,there are two classes of men who are weak and little3 one is little by nature1 consisting of such as are born with feeble powers1 not strongly capable of self-help2 the other is little by position1 comprising men that are permanently poor and ignorant4 ,when ,jesus said1 ,it is not ,god's will that one of these little ones should perish1 ,i take it he included both these classes--men little by nature1 and men little by position4 ,furthermore1 ,i take it he said what is true1 that it is not ,god's will one of these little ones should perish4 ,now1 a man may be said to perish when he is ruined1 or even when he fails to attain the degree of manhood he might attain under the average circumstances of this present age1 and these present men4 ,in a society like ours1 and that of all nations at this time1 as hitherto1 with such a history1 a history of blood and violence1 cunning and fraud2 resting on such a basis--a basis of selfishness2 a society wherein there is a preference of the mighty1 and a postponement of the righteous1 where power is worshipped and justice little honored1 though much talked of1 it comes to pass that a great many little ones from both these classes actually perish4 ,if ,jesus spoke the truth1 then they perish contrary to the will of ,god1 and1 of course1 by some other will adverse to the will of ,god4 ,in a society where the natural laws of the body are constantly violated1 where many men are obliged by circumstances to violate them1 it follows unavoidably that many are born little by nature1 and they transmit their feebleness to their issue4 ,the other class1 men little by position1 are often so hedged about with difficulties1 so neglected1 that they cannot change their condition2 they bequeath also their littleness to their children4 ,thus the number of little ones enlarges with the increase of society4 ,this class becomes perpetual2 a class of men mainly abandoned by the ,christians4 ,in all forms of social life hitherto devised these classes have appeared1 and it has been a serious question1 ,what shall be done with them8 ,seldom has it been the question1 ,what shall be done for them8 ,in olden time the ,spartans took children born with a weak or imperfect body1 children who would probably be a hinderance to the nation1 and threw them into a desert place to be devoured by the wild beasts1 and so settled that question4 ,at this day1 the ,chinese1 ,i am told1 expose such children in the streets and beside the rivers1 to the humanity of passers by2 and not only such1 but sound1 healthy children1 none the less1 who1 though strong by nature1 are born into a weak position4 ,many of them are left to die1 especially the boys4 ,but some are saved1 those mainly girls4 ,i will not say they are saved by the humanity of wealthier men4 ,they become slaves1 devoted by their masters to a most base and infamous purpose4 ,with the exception of criminals1 these abandoned daughters of the poor1 form1 it is said1 the only class of slaves in that great country4 ,neither the ,chinese nor the ,spartan method is manly or human4 ,it does with the little ones1 not for them4 ,it does away with them1 and that is all4 ,i will not decide which is the worst of the two modes1 the ,chinese or the ,spartan4 ,we are accustomed to call both these nations heathen1 and take it for granted they do not know it is ,god's will that not one of these little ones should perish4 ,be that as it may1 we do not call ourselves heathen2 we pretend to know the will of ,god in this particular4 ,let us look1 therefore1 and see how we have disposed of the little ones in ,boston1 what we are doing for them or with them4 ,let me begin with neglected and abandoned children4 ,we all know how large and beautiful a provision is made for the public education of the people4 ,about a fourth part of the city taxes are for the public schools4 ,yet one not familiar with this place is astonished at the number of idle1 vagrant boys and girls in the streets4 ,it appears from the late census of ,boston1 that there are #d1idh children between four and fifteen who attend no school4 ,i am not speaking of truants1 occasional absentees1 but of children whose names are not registered at school1 permanent absentees4 ,if we allow that #a1idh of these are kept in some sort of restraint by their parents1 and have1 or have had1 some little pains taken with their culture at home2 that they are feeble and do not begin to attend school so early as most1 or that they are precocious1 and complete their studies before fifteen1 or for some other good reason are taken from school1 and put to some useful business1 there still remain #c1jjj children who never attend any school1 turned loose into your streets6 ,suppose there is some error in the counting1 that the number is overstated one third1 still there are left #b1jjj young vagrants in the streets of ,boston6 ,what will be the fate of these #b1jjj children8 ,some men are superior to circumstances2 so well born they defy ill breeding4 ,there may be children so excellent and strong they cannot be spoiled4 ,surely there are some who will learn with no school2 boys of vast genius1 whom you cannot keep from learning4 ,others there are of wonderful moral gifts1 whom no circumstances can make vulgar2 they will live in the midst of corruption and keep clean through the innate refinement of a wondrous soul4 ,out of these #b1jjj children there may be two of this sort2 it were foolish to look for more than one in a thousand4 ,the #a1iig depend mainly on circumstances to help them2 yes1 to make their character4 ,send them to school and they will learn4 ,give them good precepts1 good examples1 they will also become good4 ,give them bad precepts1 bad examples1 and they become wicked4 ,send them half clad and uncared for into your streets1 and they grow up hungry savages greedy for crime4 ,what have these abandoned children to help them8 ,nothing1 literally nothing6 ,they are idle1 though their bodies crave activity4 ,they are poor1 ill-clad1 and ill-fed4 ,there is nothing about them to foster self-respect2 nothing to call forth their conscience1 to awaken and cultivate their sense of religion4 ,they find themselves beggars in the wealth of a city2 idlers in the midst of its work4 ,yes1 savages in the midst of civilization4 ,their consciousness is that of an outcast1 one abandoned and forsaken of men4 ,in cities1 life is intense amongst all classes4 ,so the passions and appetites of such children are strong and violent4 ,their taste is low2 their wants clamorous4 ,are religion and conscience there to abate the fever of passion and regulate desire8 ,the moral class and the cultivated shun these poor wretches1 or look on with stupid wonder4 ,our rule is that the whole need the physician1 not the sick4 ,they are left almost entirely to herd and consort with the basest of men2 they are exposed early and late to the worst influences1 and their only comrades are men whom the children of the rich are taught to shun as the pestilence4 ,to be poor is hard enough in the country1 where artificial wants are few1 and those easily met1 where all classes are humbly clad1 and none fare sumptuously every day4 ,but to be poor in the city1 where a hundred artificial desires daily claim satisfaction1 and where1 too1 it is difficult for the poor to satisfy the natural and unavoidable wants of food and raiment2 to be hungry1 ragged1 dirty1 amid luxury1 wantonness and refinement2 to be miserable in the midst of abundance1 that is hard beyond all power of speech4 ,look1 ,i will not say at the squalid dress of these children1 as you see them prowling about the markets and wharves1 or contending in the dirty lanes and by-places into which the pride of ,boston has elbowed so much of her misery2 look at their faces6 ,haggard as they are1 meagre and pale and wan1 want is not the worst thing written there1 but cunning1 fraud1 violence and obscenity1 and worst of all1 fear6 ,amid all the science and refined culture of the nineteenth century1 these children learn little2 little that is good1 much that is bad4 ,in the intense life around them1 they unavoidably become vicious1 obscene1 deceitful and violent4 ,they will lie1 steal1 be drunk4 ,how can it be otherwise8 ,if you could know the life of one of those poor lepers of ,boston1 you would wonder1 and weep4 ,let me take one of them at random out of the mass4 ,he was born1 unwelcome1 amid wretchedness and want4 ,his coming increased both4 ,miserably he struggles through his infancy1 less tended than the lion's whelp4 ,he becomes a boy4 ,he is covered only with rags1 and those squalid with long accumulated filth4 ,he wanders about your streets1 too low even to seek employment1 now snatching from a gutter half rotten fruit which the owner flings away4 ,he is ignorant2 he has never entered a school-house2 to him even the alphabet is a mystery4 ,he is young in years1 yet old in misery4 ,there is no hope in his face4 ,he herds with others like himself1 low1 ragged1 hungry and idle4 ,if misery loves company1 he finds that satisfaction4 ,follow him to his home at night2 he herds in a cellar2 in the same sty with father1 mother1 brothers1 sisters1 and perhaps yet other families of like degree4 ,what served him for dress by day1 is his only bed by night4 ,well1 this boy steals some trifle1 a biscuit1 a bit of rope1 or a knife from a shop-window2 he is seized and carried to jail4 ,the day comes for trial4 ,he is marched through the streets in handcuffs1 the companion of drunkards and thieves1 thus deadening the little self-respect which ,nature left even in an outcast's bosom4 ,he sits there chained like a beast2 a boy in irons6 the sport and mockery of men vulgar as the common sewer4 ,his trial comes4 ,of course he is convicted4 ,the show of his countenance is witness against him4 ,his rags and dirt1 his ignorance1 his vagrant habits1 his idleness1 all testify against him4 ,that face so young1 and yet so impudent1 so sly1 so writ all over with embryo villany1 is evidence enough4 ,the jury are soon convinced1 for they see his temptations in his look1 and surely know that in such a condition men will steal3 yes1 they themselves would steal4 ,the judge represents the law1 and that practically regards it a crime even for a boy to be weak and poor4 ,much of our common law1 it seems to me1 is based on might1 not right4 ,so he is hurried off to jail at a tender age1 and made legally the companion of felons4 ,now the ,state has him wholly in her power2 by that rough adoption1 has made him her own child1 and sealed the indenture with the jailer's key4 ,his handcuffs are the symbol of his sonship to the ,state4 ,she shuts him in her college for the ,little4 ,what does that teach him2 science1 letters2 even morals and religion8 ,little enough of this1 even in ,boston1 and in most counties of ,massachusetts1 ,i think1 nothing at all1 not even a trade which he can practise when his term expires6 ,i have been told a story1 and ,i wish it might be falsely told1 of a boy1 in this city1 of sixteen1 sent to the house of correction for five years because he stole a bunch of keys1 and coming out of that jail at twenty-one1 unable to write1 or read1 or calculate1 and with no trade but that of picking oakum4 ,yet he had been five years the child of the ,state1 and in that college for the poor6 ,who would employ such a youth2 with such a reputation2 with the smell of the jail in his very breath8 ,not your shrewd men of business1 they know the risk2 not your respectable men1 members of churches and all that2 not they6 ,why it would hurt a man's reputation for piety to do good in that way4 ,besides1 the risk is great1 and it argues a great deal more ,christianity than it is popular to have1 for a respectable man to employ such a youth4 ,he is forced back into crime again4 ,i say1 forced1 for honest men will not employ him when the ,state shoves him out of the jail4 ,soon you will have him in the court again1 to be punished more severely4 ,then he goes to the ,state ,prison1 and then again1 and again1 till death mercifully ends his career6 ,who is to blame for all that8 ,i will ask the best man among the best of you1 what he would have become1 if thus abandoned1 turned out in childhood1 and with no culture1 into the streets1 to herd with the wickedest of men6 ,somebody says1 there are organic sins in society which nobody is to blame for4 ,but by this sin organized in society1 these vagrant children are training up to become thieves1 pirates and murderers4 ,i cannot blame them4 ,but there is a terrible blame somewhere1 for it is not the will of ,god that one of these little ones should perish4 ,who is it that organizes the sin of society8 99 99 99 99 99 ,let us next look at the parents of these vagrants1 at the adult poor4 ,it is not easy or needed for this purpose1 to define very nicely the limits of a class1 and tell where the rich end1 and the poor begin4 ,however1 men may1 in reference to this matter1 be divided into three classes4 ,the first acts on society mainly by their capital2 the second mainly by their skill1 mental and manual1 by educated labor2 and the third by their muscles1 by brute force with little or no skill1 uneducated labor4 ,the poor1 ,i take it1 come mainly from this latter class4 ,education of head or hand1 a profession or a trade1 is wealth in possibility2 yes1 wealth in prospect1 wealth in its process of accumulation1 for wealth itself is only accumulated labor1 as learning is accumulated thought4 ,most of our rich men have come out of this class which acts by its skill1 and their children in a few years will return to it4 ,i am not now to speak of men transiently poor1 who mend their condition as the hours go by1 who may gain enough1 and perhaps become rich2 but of men permanently poor1 whom one year finds wanting1 and the next leaves no better off2 men that live1 as we say1 from hand to mouth1 but whose hand and mouth are often empty4 ,even here in ,boston1 there is little of the justice that removes causes of poverty1 though so much of the charity which alleviates its effects4 ,those men live1 if you can call it life1 crowded together more densely1 ,i am told1 than in ,naples or ,paris1 in ,london or ,liverpool4 ,boston has its ghetto1 not for the ,jews as at ,prague and at ,rome1 but for brother ,christians4 ,in the quarters inhabited mainly by the poor1 you find a filthiness and squalor which would astonish a stranger4 ,the want of comfort1 of air1 of water1 is terrible4 ,cold is a stern foe in our winters1 but in these places1 ,i am told that men suffer more from want of water in summer1 than want of fire in winter4#af ,if your bills of mortality were made out so as to show the deaths in each ward of the city1 ,i think all would be astonished at the results4 ,disease and death are the result of causes1 causes too that may for a long time be avoided1 and in the more favored classes are avoided4 ,it is not ,god's will that the rich be spared and the poor die4 ,yet the greatest mortality is always among the poor4 ,out of each hundred ,catholics who died in ,boston1 from #ahcc to #ahch1 more than sixty-one were less than five years of age4 ,the result for the last six years is no better4 ,of one hundred children born amongst them1 only thirty-eight live five years2 only eleven become fifty6 ,gray-haired ,irishmen we seldom see4 ,yet they are not worse off than others equally poor1 only we can more distinctly get at the facts4 ,in the war with disease which mankind is waging1 the poor stand in front of the fire1 and are mowed down without pity6 ,of late years1 in ,boston1 there has been a gradual increase in the mortality of children4#ag ,i think we shall find the increase only among the children of the poor4 ,of course it depends on causes which may be removed1 at least modified1 for the average life of mankind is on the increase4 ,i am told1 ,i know not if the authority be good1 that mortality among the poor is greater in ,boston than in any city of ,europe4 ,of old times the rich man rode into battle1 shirted with mail1 covered and shielded with iron from head to foot4 ,arrows glanced from him as from a stone4 ,he came home unhurt and covered with glory4 ,but the poor1 in his leathern jerkin or his linen frock1 confronted the war1 where every weapon tore his unprotected flesh4 ,in the modern1 perennial battle with disease1 the same thing takes place2 the poor fall and die4 ,the destruction of the poor is their poverty4 ,they are ignorant1 not from choice but necessity4 ,they cannot1 therefore1 look round and see the best way of doing things1 of saving their strength1 and sparing their means4 ,they can have little of what we call thrift1 the brain in the hand for which our people are so remarkable4 ,some of them are also little by nature1 ill-born2 others well born enough1 were abandoned in childhood1 and have not since been able to make up the arrears of a neglected youth4 ,they are to fight the great battle of life1 for battle it is to them1 with feeble arms4 ,look at the houses they live in1 without comfort or convenience1 without sun1 or air1 or water2 damp1 cold1 filthy and crowded to excess4 ,in one section of the city there are thirty-seven persons on an average in each house4 ,consider the rents paid by this class of our brothers4 ,it is they who pay the highest rate for their dwellings4 ,the worth of the house is often little more than nothing1 the ground it covers making the only value4 ,i am told that twelve or fifteen per cent a year on a large valuation is quite commonly paid1 and over thirty per cent on the actual value1 is not a strange thing4 ,i wish this might not prove true4 ,but the misery of the poor does not end with their wretched houses and exorbitant rent4 ,having neither capital nor store-room1 they must purchase articles of daily need in the smallest quantities4 ,they buy1 therefore1 at the greatest disadvantage1 and yet at the dearest rates4 ,i am told it is not a rare thing for them to buy inferior qualities of flour at six cents a pound1 or #aa4hh a barrel1 while another man buys a month's supply at a time for #d or #e a barrel4 ,this may be an extreme case1 but ,i know that in some places in this city1 an inferior article is now retailed to them at #g4ib the barrel4 ,so it is with all kinds of food2 they are bought in the smallest quantities1 and at a rate which a rich man would think ruinous4 ,is not the poor man1 too1 most often cheated in the weight and the measure8 ,so it is whispered4 ,he has no friends1 says the sharper2 others have broken him to fragments1 ,i will grind him to powder6 ,and the grinding comes4 ,such being the case1 the poor man finds it difficult to get a cent beforehand4 ,i know rich men tell us that capital is at the mercy of labor4 ,that may be prophecy2 it is not history2 not fact4 ,uneducated labor1 brute force without skill1 is wholly at the mercy of capital4 ,the capitalist can control the market for labor1 which is all the poor man has to part with4 ,the poor cannot combine as the rich4 ,true1 a mistake is sometimes made1 and the demand for labor is greater than the supply1 and the poor man's wages are increased4 ,this result was doubtless ,god's design1 but was it man's intention8 ,the condition of the poor has hitherto been bettered1 not so much by the design of the strong1 as by ,god making their wrath and cupidity serve the weak4 ,under such circumstances1 what marvel that the poor man becomes unthrifty1 reckless and desperate8 ,i know how common it is to complain of the extravagance of the poor4 ,often there is reason for the complaint4 ,it is a wrong thing1 and immoral1 for a man with a dependent family to spend all his earnings1 if it be possible to live with less4 ,i think many young men are much to be blamed1 for squandering all their wages to please a dainty palate1 or to dress as fine as a richer man1 making only the heart of their tailor foolishly glad4 ,such men may not be poor now1 but destine themselves to be the fathers of poor children4 ,after making due allowance1 it must be confessed that much of the recklessness of the poor comes unavoidably from their circumstances2 from their despair of ever being comfortable1 except for a moment at a time4 ,every one knows that unmerited wealth tempts a man to squander1 while few men know1 what is just as true1 that hopeless poverty does the same thing4 ,as the tortured ,indian will sleep1 if his tormentor pause but a moment1 so the poor man1 grown reckless and desperate1 forgets the future storms1 and wastes in revel the solitary gleam of sunlight which falls on him4 ,it is nature speaking through his soul4 ,now consider the moral temptations before such men4 ,here is wealth1 food1 clothing1 comfort1 luxury1 gold1 the great enchanter of this age1 and but a plank betwixt it and them4 ,nay1 they are shut from it only by a pane of glass thin as popular justice1 and scarcely less brittle6 ,they feel the natural wants of man2 the artificial wants of men in cities4 ,they are indignant at their social position1 thrust into the mews and the kennels of the land4 ,they think some one is to blame for it4 ,a man in ,new ,england does not believe it ,god's will he should toil for ever1 stinting and sparing only to starve the more slowly to death1 overloaded with work1 with no breathing time but the blessed ,sunday4 ,they see others doing nothing1 idle as ,solomon's lilies1 yet wasting the unearned bread ,god made to feed the children of the poor4 ,they see crowds of idle women elegantly clad1 a show of loveliness1 a rainbow in the streets1 and think of the rag which does not hide their daughter's shame4 ,they hear of thousands of baskets of costly wine imported in a single ship1 not brought to recruit the feeble1 but to poison the palate of the strong4 ,they begin to ask if wealthy men and wise men have not forgotten their brothers1 in thinking of their own pleasure6 ,it is not the poor alone who ask that4 ,in the midst of all this1 what wonder is it if they feel desirous of revenge2 what wonder that stores and houses are broken into1 and stables set afire6 ,such is the natural effect of misery like that2 it is but the voice of our brother's blood crying to ,god against us all4 ,i wonder not that it cries in robbery and fire4 ,the jail and the gallows will not still that voice1 nor silence the answer4 ,i wonder at the fewness of crimes1 not their multitude4 ,i must say that1 if goodness and piety did not bear a greater proportion to the whole development of the poor than the rich1 their crimes would be tenfold4 ,the nation sets the poor an example of fraud1 by making them pay highest on all local taxes2 of theft1 by levying the national revenue on persons1 not property4 ,our navy and army set them the lesson of violence2 and1 to complete their schooling1 at this very moment we are robbing another people of cities and lands1 stealing1 burning1 and murdering1 for lust of power and gold4 ,everybody knows that the political action of a nation is the mightiest educational influence in that nation4 ,but such is the doctrine the ,state preaches to them1 a constant lesson of fraud1 theft1 violence and crime4 ,the literature of the nation mocks at the poor1 laughing in the popular journals at the poor man's inevitable crime4 ,our trade deals with the poor as tools1 not men4 ,what wonder they feel wronged6 ,some city missionary may dawdle the matter as he will2 tell them it is ,god's will they should be dirty and ignorant1 hungry1 cold and naked4 ,now and then a poor woman starving with cold and hunger may think it true4 ,but the poor know better2 ignorant as they are1 they know better4 ,great ,nature speaks when you and ,i are still4 ,they feel neglected1 wronged1 and oppressed4 ,what hinders them from following the example set by the nation1 by society1 by the strong8 ,their inertness1 their cowardice1 and1 what does not always restrain abler men1 their fear of ,god6 ,with cultivated men1 the intellect is often developed at the expense of conscience and religion4 ,with the poor this is more seldom the case4 ,the misfortunes of the poor do not end here4 ,to make their degradation total1 their name infamous1 we have shut them out of our churches4 ,once in our ,puritan meeting-houses1 there were body seats for the poor2 for a long time free galleries1 where men sat and were not ashamed4 ,now it is not so4 ,a ,christian society about to build a church1 and having #ej1jjj1 does not spend #dj1jjj for that1 making it a church for all1 and keep #aj1jjj as a fund for the poor4 ,no1 it borrows #cj1jjj more1 and then shuts the poor out of its bankrupt aisles4 ,a high tower1 or a fine-toned bell1 yes1 marble and mahogany1 are thought better than the presence of these little ones whom ,god wills not to perish4 ,i have heard ministers boast of the great men1 and famous1 who sat under their preaching2 never one who boasted that the poor came into his church1 and were fed1 body and soul6 ,you go to our churches--the poor are not in them4 ,they are idling and lounging away their day of rest1 like the horse and the ox4 ,alas me1 that the apostles1 that the ,christ himself could not worship in our churches1 till he sold his garment and bought a pew6 ,many of our houses of public worship would be well named1 ,churches for the affluent4 ,yet religion is more to the poor man than to the rich4 ,what wonder then1 if the poor lose self-respect1 when driven from the only churches where it is thought respectable to pray6 ,this class of men are perishing2 yes1 perishing in the nineteenth century2 perishing in ,boston1 wealthy1 charitable ,boston2 perishing soul and body1 contrary to ,god's will2 and perishing all the worse because they die slow1 and corrupt by inches4 ,as things now are1 their mortality is hardly a curse4 ,the ,methodists are right in telling them this world is a valley of tears2 it is almost wholly so to them2 and ,heaven a long ,june day1 full of rest and plenty4 ,to die is their only gain2 their only hope4 ,think of that1 you who murmur because money is tight1 because your investment gives only twenty per cent4 a year1 or because you are taxed for half your property1 meaning to move off next season2 think of that1 you who complain because the democrats are in power to-day1 and you who tremble lest the whigs shall be in '#di2 think of that1 you who were never hungry1 nor athirst2 who are sick1 because you have nothing else to do1 and grumble against ,god1 from mere emptiness of soul1 and for amusement's sake2 think of men1 who1 if wise1 do not dare to raise the human prayer for life1 but for death1 as the only gain1 the only hope1 and you will give over your complaint1 your hands stopping your mouth4 ,what shall become of the children of such men8 ,they stand in the fore-front of the battle1 all unprotected as they are2 a people scattered and peeled1 only a miserable remnant reaches the age of ten6 ,look about your streets1 and see what does become of such as live1 vagrant and idle boys4 ,ask the police1 the constables1 the jails2 they shall tell you what becomes of the sons4 ,will a white lily grow in a common sewer2 can you bleach linen in a tan-pit8 ,yes1 as soon as you can rear a virtuous population1 under such circumstances4 ,go to any ,state ,prison in the land1 and you shall find that seven-eighths of the convicts came from this class1 brought there by crimes over which they had no control2 crimes which would have made you and me thieves and pirates4 ,the characters of such men are made for them1 far more than by them4 ,there is no more vice1 perhaps1 born into that class2 they have no more inherited sin than any other class in the land2 all the difference1 then1 between the morals and manners of rich and poor1 is the result of education and circumstances4 ,the fate of the daughters of the poor is yet worse4 ,many of them are doomed to destruction by the lust of men1 their natural guardians and protectors4 ,think of an able1 respectable man1 comfortable1 educated and ,christian1 helping debase a woman1 degrade her in his eyes1 her eyes1 the eyes of the world6 ,why it is bad enough to enslave a man1 but thus to enslave a woman--,i have no words to speak of that4 ,the crime and sin1 foul1 polluting and debasing all it touches1 has come here to curse man and woman1 the married and the single1 and the babe unborn6 ,it seems to me as if ,i saw the ,genius of this city stand before ,god1 lifting his hands in agony to heaven1 crying for mercy on woman1 insulted and trodden down1 for vengeance on man1 who treads her thus infamously into the dust4 ,the vengeance comes1 not the mercy4 ,misery in woman is the strongest inducement to crime4 ,where self-respect is not fostered2 where severe toil hardly holds her soul and body together amid the temptations of a city1 and its heated life1 it is no marvel to me that this sin should slay its victims1 finding woman an easy prey4 ,let me follow the children of the poor a step further--,i mean to the jail4 ,few men seem aware of the frightful extent of crime amongst us1 and the extent of the remedy1 more awful yet4 ,in less than one year1 namely1 from the #ith of ,june1 #ahde1 to the #b;d of ,june1 #ahdf1 there were committed to your ,house of ,correction1 in this city1 #a1bbh persons1 a little more than one out of every fifty-six in the whole population that is more than ten years old4 ,of these #cgg were women2 #hea men4 ,five were sentenced for an indefinite period1 and forty-seven for an additional period of solitary imprisonment4 ,in what follows1 ,i make no account of that4 ,but the whole remaining period of their sentences amounts to more than #edd years1 or #aih1efh days4 ,in addition to this1 in the year ending with ,june #i1 #ahdf1 we sent from ,boston to the ,state ,prison1 thirty-five more1 and for a period of #ah1eie days1 of which #bje were solitary4 ,thus it appears that the illegal and convicted crime of ,boston1 in one year1 was punished by imprisonment for #bag1afc days4 ,now as ,boston contains but #aad1cff persons of all ages1 and only #fi1aab that are over ten years of age1 it follows that the imprisonment of citizens of ,boston for crime in one year1 amounts to more than one day and twenty-one hours1 for each man1 woman1 and child1 or to more than three days and three hours1 for each one over ten years of age4 ,this seems beyond belief1 yet in making the estimate1 ,i have not included the time spent in jail before sentence2 ,i have left out the solitary imprisonment in the ,house of ,correction2 ,i have said nothing of the #afi children1 sentenced for crime to the ,house of ,reformation in the same period4 ,what is the effect of this punishment on society at large8 ,i will not now attempt to answer that question4 ,what is it on the criminals themselves8 ,let the jail-books answer4 ,of the whole number1 #bjb were sentenced for the second time2 #aca for the third2 #aja for the fourth2 thirty-eight for the fifth2 forty for the sixth2 twenty-nine for the seventh2 twenty-three for the eighth2 twelve for the ninth2 fifty for the tenth time1 or more2 and of the criminals punished for the tenth time1 thirty-one were women6 ,of the thirty-five sent to the ,state ,prison1 fourteen had been there before2 of the #a1bbh sent to the ,house of ,correction1 only #fbf were sent for the first time4 ,there are two classes1 the victims of society1 and the foes of society1 the men that organize its sins1 and then tell us nobody is to blame4 ,may ,god deal mercifully with the foes2 ,i had rather take my part with the victims4 ,yet is there one who wishes to be a foe to mankind8 ,here are the sons of the poor1 vagrant in your streets1 shut out by their misery from the culture of the age2 growing up to fill your jails1 to be fathers of a race like themselves1 and to be huddled into an infamous grave4 ,here are the daughters of the poor1 cast out and abandoned1 the pariahs of our civilization1 training up for a life of shame and pollution1 and coming early to a miserable end4 ,here are the poor1 daughters and sons1 excluded from the refining influences of modern life1 shut out of the very churches by that bar of gold1 ignorant1 squalid1 hungry and hopeless1 wallowing in their death6 ,are these the results of modern civilization2 this in the midst of the nineteenth century1 in a ,christian city full of churches and gold2 this in ,boston1 which adds #ac1jjj1jjj a year to her actual wealth8 ,is that the will of ,god8 ,tell it not in ,china2 whisper it not in ,new ,holland1 lest the heathen turn pale with horror1 and send back your missionaries1 fearing they shall pollute the land6 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is yet another class of little ones4 ,i mean the intemperate4 ,within the last few years it seems that drunkenness has increased4 ,i know this is sometimes doubted4 ,but if this fact is not shown by the increased number of legal convictions for the crime1 it is by the sight of drunken men in public and not arrested4 ,i think ,i have not visited the city five times in the last ten months without seeing more or less men drunk in the streets4 ,the cause of this increase it seems to me is not difficult to discover4 ,all great movements go forward by undulations1 as the waves of the rising tide come up the beach4 ,now comes a great wave reaching far up the shore1 and then recedes4 ,the next1 and the next1 and the next falls short of the highest mark2 yet the tide is coming in all the while4 ,you see this same undulation in other popular movements2 for example1 in politics4 ,once the great wave of democracy broke over the central power1 washing it clean4 ,now the water lies submissive beneath that rock1 and humbly licks its feet4 ,in some other day the popular wave shall break with purifying roar clean over that haughty stone and wash off the lazy barnacles1 heaps of corrupting drift-weed1 and deadly monsters of the deep4 ,by such seemingly unsteady movements do popular affairs get forward4 ,the reformed drunkards1 it is said1 were violent1 ill-bred1 theatrical1 and only touched the surface4 ,many respectable men withdrew from the work soon as the ,washingtonians came to it4 ,it was a pity they did so2 but they did4 ,i think the conscience of ,new ,england did not trust the reformed men2 that also is a pity4 ,they seem now to have relaxed their efforts in a great measure1 perhaps discouraged at the coldness with which they have in some quarters been treated4 ,i know not why it is1 but they do not continue so ably the work they once begun4 ,besides1 the ,state1 it was thought1 favored intemperance4 ,it was for a long time doubted if the license-laws were constitutional2 so they were openly set at nought1 for wicked men seize on doubtful opportunities4 ,then1 too1 temperance had gone1 a few years ago1 as far as it could be expected to go until certain great obstacles were removed4 ,many leading men in the land were practically hostile to temperance1 and1 with some remarkable exceptions1 still are4 ,the sons of the pilgrims1 last ,forefathers' day1 could not honor the self-denial of the ,puritans without wine6 ,the ,alumni of ,harvard ,university could never1 till this season1 keep their holidays without strong drink4#ah ,if rich men continue to drink without need1 the poor will long continue to be drunk4 ,vices1 like decayed furniture1 go down4 ,they keep their shape1 but become more frightful4 ,in this way the refined man who often drinks1 but is never drunk1 corrupts hundreds of men whom he never saw1 and without intending it becomes a foe to society4 ,then1 too1 some of our influential temperance men aid us no longer4 ,beecher is not here2 ,channing and ,ware have gone to their reward4 ,that other man1#ai benevolent and indefatigable1 where is he8 ,he trod the worm of the still under his feet1 but the worm of the pulpit stung him1 and he too is gone2 that champion of temperance1 that old man eloquent1 driven out of ,boston4 ,why should ,i not tell an open secret8--driven out by rum and the ,unitarian clergy of ,boston4 ,whatsoever the causes may be1 ,i think you see proofs enough of the fact1 that drunkenness has increased within the last few years4 ,you see it in the men drunken in the streets1 in the numerous shops built to gratify the intemperate man4 ,some of these are elegant and costly1 only for the rich2 others so mean and dirty1 that one must be low indeed to wallow therein4 ,but the same thing is there in both1 rum1 poison-drink4 ,many of these latter are kept by poor men1 and the spider's web of the law now and then catches one of them1 though latterly but seldom here4 ,sometimes they are kept1 and1 perhaps1 generally owned1 by rich men who drive through the net4 ,i know how hard it is to see through a dollar1 though misery stand behind it1 if the dollar be your own1 and the misery belong to your brother4 ,i feel pity for the man who helps ruin his race1 who scatters firebrands and death throughout society1 scathing the heads of rich and poor1 and old and young4 ,i would speak charitably of such an one as of a fellow-sinner4 ,how he can excuse it to his own conscience is his affair1 not mine4 ,i speak only of the fact4 ,for a poor man there may be some excuse2 he has no other calling whereby to gain his bread2 he would not see his own children beg1 nor starve1 nor steal6 ,to see his neighbor go to ruin and drag thither his children and wife1 was not so hard4 ,but it is not the shops of the poor men that do most harm6 ,had there been none but these1 they had long ago been shut1 and intemperance done with4 ,it is not poor men that manufacture this poison2 nor they who import it1 or sell by the wholesale4 ,if there were no rich men in this trade there would soon be no poor ones6 ,but how does the rich man reconcile it to his conscience8 ,i cannot answer that4 ,it is difficult to find out the number of drink-shops in the city4 ,the assessors say there are eight hundred and fifty2 another authority makes the number twelve hundred4 ,let us suppose there are but one thousand4 ,i think that much below the real number1 for the assistant assessors found three hundred in a single ward6 ,these shops are open morning and night4 ,more is sold on ,sunday1 it is said1 than any other day in the week6 ,while you are here to worship your ,father1 some of your brothers are making themselves as beasts2 yes1 lower4 ,you shall probably see them at the doors of these shops as you go home2 drunk in the streets this day6 ,to my mind1 the retailers are committing a great offence4 ,i am no man's judge1 and cannot condemn even them4 ,there is one that judgeth4 ,i cannot stand in the place of any man's conscience4 ,i know well enough what is sin2 ,god1 only1 who is a sinner4 ,yet ,i cannot think the poor man that retails1 half so bad as the rich man who distils1 imports1 or sells by wholesale the infamous drug4 ,he knew better1 and cannot plead poverty as the excuse of his crime4 ,let me mention some of the statistics of this trade before ,i speak of its effects4 ,if there are one thousand drink-shops1 and each sells liquor to the amount of only six dollars a day1 which is the price of only one hundred drams1 or two hundred at the lowest shops1 then we have the sum of #b1aij1jjj paid for liquor to be drunk on the spot every year4 ,this sum is considerably more than double the amount paid for the whole public education of the people in the entire ,state of ,massachusetts6 ,in ,boston alone1 last year1 there were distilled1 #b1hgc1fbc gallons of spirit4 ,in five years1 from #ahdj to #ahde1 ,boston exported #b1aef1iij1 and imported #b1hhg1iic gallons4 ,they burnt up a man the other day1 at the distillery in ,merrimack street4 ,you read the story in the daily papers1 and remember how the by-standers looked on with horror to see the wounded man attempting with his hands to fend off the flames from his naked head6 ,great ,heaven6 ,it was not the first man that distillery has burned up6 ,no1 not by thousands4 ,you see men about your streets1 all afire2 some half-burnt down2 some with all the soul burned out1 only the cinders left of the man1 the shell and wall1 and that tumbling and tottering1 ready to fall4 ,who of you has not lost a relative1 at least a friend1 in that withering flame1 that terrible ,auto da fe1 that hell-fire on earth8 ,let us look away from that4 ,i wish we could look on something to efface that ghastly sight4 ,but see the results of this trade4 ,do you wonder at the poverty just now spoken of2 at the vagrant children8 ,in the ,poor ,house at ,albany1 at one time1 there were #fcc persons1 and of them #fae were intemperate6 ,ask your city authorities how many of the poor are brought to their ,almshouse directly or remotely by intemperance6 ,do you wonder at the crime which fills your jails1 and swells the tax of county and city8 ,three fourths of the petty crime in the ,state comes from this source directly or remotely4 ,your jails were never so full before6 ,when the parents are there1 what is left for the children8 ,in ,prussia1 the ,government which imprisons the father takes care of the children1 and sends them to school4 ,here they are forced into crime4 ,as ,i gave some statistics of the cause1 let me also give some of the effects4 ,two years ago your ,grand ,jury reports that one of the city police1 on ,sunday morning1 between the hours of twelve and two1 in walking from ,cornhill square to ,cambridge street1 passed more than one hundred persons more or less drunk6 ,in #ahdd there were committed to your ,house of ,correction1 for drunkenness1 #dec persons2 in #ahde1 #eie2 in #ahdf1 up to the #bdth of ,august1 that is1 in seven months and twenty-four days1 #ddf4 ,besides there have been already in this year1 #cif complained of at the ,police ,court and fined1 but not sent to the ,house of ,correction4 ,thus1 in seven months and twenty-four days1 #hdb persons have been legally punished for public drunkenness4 ,in the last two months and a half #dde persons were thus punished4 ,in the first twenty-four days of this month1 ninety-four6 ,in the last year there were #d1fdc persons committed to your watch-houses1 more than the twenty-fifth of the whole population4 ,the thousand drink-shops levy a direct tax of more than #b1jjj1jjj4 ,that is only the first outlay4 ,the whole ultimate cost in idleness1 sickness1 crime1 death and broken hearts--,i leave you to calculate that6 ,the men who live in the lower courts1 familiar with the sinks of iniquity1 speak of this crime as most awful6 ,yet in this month and the last1 there were but nine persons indicted for the illegal sale of the poison which so wastes the people's life6 ,the head of your ,police and the foreman of your last ,grand ,jury are prominent in that trade4 ,does the ,government know of these things2 know of their cause8 ,one would hope not4 ,the last ,grand ,jury in their public report1 after speaking manfully of some actual evils1 instead of pointing at drunkenness and bar-rooms1 direct your attention to the increased number of omnibuses and other large carriages in the streets4 99 99 99 99 99 ,these are sad things to think of in a ,christian church4 ,what shall we do for all these little ones that are perishing8 ,do nothing1 say some4 ,am ,i my brother's keeper8 asked the first ,cain1 after killing that brother4 ,he thought the answer would be1 ,no6 you are not4 ,but he was his brother's keeper1 and ,abel's blood cried from the ground for justice1 and ,god heard it4 ,some say we can do nothing4 ,i will never believe that a city which in twelve years can build near a thousand miles of railroad1 hedge up the ,merrimack and the lakes of ,new ,hampshire2 ,i will never believe that a city1 so full of the hardiest enterprise and the noblest charity1 cannot keep these little ones from perishing4 ,why the nation can annex new ,states and raise armies at uncounted cost4 ,can it not extirpate pauperism1 prevent intemperance1 pluck up the causes of the present crime8 ,all that is lacking is the prudent will6 ,it seems as if something could easily be done to send the vagrant children to school2 at least to give them employment1 and so teach them some useful art4 ,if some are ,catholics1 and will not attend the ,protestant schools1 perhaps it would be as possible to have a special and separate school for the ,irish as for the ,africans4 ,it was recently proposed in a ,protestant assembly to found ,sunday ,schools1 with ,catholic teachers for ,catholic children4 ,the plan is large and noble1 and indicates a liberality which astonishes one even here1 where some men are ceasing to be sectarian and becoming human4 ,much may be done to bring many of the children to our ,sunday and week-day schools1 as they now are1 and so brands be snatched from the burning4 ,the ,state ,farm ,school for juvenile offenders1 which a good man last winter suggested to your ,legislature1 will doubtless do much for these idle boys1 and may be the beginning of a greater and better work4 ,could the ,state also take care of the children when it locks the parents in a jail1 there would be a nearer approach to justice and greater likelihood of obtaining its end4 ,still the laws act cumbrously and slow4 ,the great work must be done by good men1 acting separately or in concert1 in their private way4 ,you are your brother's keeper2 ,god made you so4 ,if you are rich1 intelligent1 refined and religious1 why you are all the more a keeper to the poor1 the weak1 the vulgar and the wicked4 ,in the pauses of your work there will be time to do something4 ,in the unoccupied hours of the ,sunday there is yet leisure to help a brother's need4 ,if there are times when you are disposed to murmur at your own hard lot1 though it is not hard2 or hours when grief presses heavy on your heart1 go and look after these children1 find them employment1 and help them to start in life2 you will find your murmurings are ended1 and your sorrow forgot4 ,it does not seem difficult to do something for the poor4 ,it would be easy to provide comfortable and convenient houses and at a reasonable rate4 ,the experiment has been tried by one noble-hearted man1 and thus far works well4 ,i trust the same plan1 or one better1 if possible1 will soon be tried on a larger scale1 and so repeated1 till we are free from that crowding together of miserable persons1 which now disgraces our city4 ,it seems to me that a store might be established where articles of good quality should be furnished to the poor at cost4 ,something has already been done in this way1 by the ,trade's ,union1 who need it much less4 ,a practical man could easily manage the details of such a scheme4 ,all reform and elevation of this class of men must begin by mending their circumstances1 though of course it must not end there4 ,expect no improvement of men that are hungry1 naked1 and cold4 ,few men respect themselves in that condition4 ,hope not of others what would be impossible for you6 ,you may give better pay when that is possible4 ,i can hardly think it the boast of a man1 that he has paid less for his labor than any other in his calling4 ,but it is a common boast1 though to me it seems the glory of a pirate6 ,i cannot believe there is that sharp distinction between week-day religion and ,sunday religion1 or between justice and charity1 that is sometimes pretended4 ,a man both just and charitable would find his charity run over into his justice1 and the mixture improve its quality4 ,when ,i remember that all value is the result of work1 and see likewise that no man gets rich by his own work1 ,i cannot help thinking that labor is often wickedly underpaid1 and capital sometimes as grossly over-fed4 ,i shall believe that capital is at the mercy of labor1 when the two extremes of society change places4 ,is it ,christian or manly to reduce wages in hard times1 and not raise them in fair times8 and not raise them again in extraordinary times8 ,is it ,god's will that large dividends and small wages should be paid at the same time8 ,the duty of the employer is not over1 when he has paid the hands their wages4 ,abraham is a special providence for ,eliezer1 as ,god1 the universal providence1 for both4 ,the usages of society make a sharp distinction between the rich and poor2 but ,i cannot believe the churches have done wisely1 by making that distinction appear through separating the two1 in their worship4 ,the poor are1 undesignedly1 driven out of the respectable churches4 ,they lose self-respect2 lose religion4 ,those that remain1 what have they gained by this expulsion of their brothers8 ,a beautiful and costly house1 but a church without the poor4 ,the ,catholics were wiser and more humane than that4 ,i cannot believe the mightiest abilities and most exquisite culture were ever too great to preach and apply ,christianity among the poor2 and that the best sermons would be wasted on them4 ,yet such has not been the practical decision here6 ,i trust we shall yet be able to say of all our churches1 however costly1 ,there the rich and poor meet together4 ,they are now equally losers by the separation4 ,the seventy ministers of ,boston--how much they can do for this class of little ones1 if they will6 ,it has been suggested by some kindly and wise men1 that there should be a ,prisoners' ,home established1 where the criminal1 on being released from jail1 could go and find a home and work4 ,as the case now is1 there is almost no hope for the poor offender4 ,legal justice proves often legal vengeance1 and total ruin to the poor wretch on whom it falls2 it grinds him to powder6 ,all reform of criminals1 without such a place1 seems to me worse than hopeless4 ,if possible1 such an institution seems more needed for the women1 than even for the men3 but ,i have not now time to dwell on this theme4 ,you know the efforts of two good men amongst us1 who1 with slender means1 and no great encouragement from the public1 are indeed the friends of the prisoner4#bj ,god bless them in their labors4 ,we can do something in all these schemes for helping the poor4 ,each of us can do something in his own sphere1 and now and then step out of that sphere to do something more4 ,i know there are many amongst you1 who only require a word before they engage in this work1 and some who do not require even that1 but are more competent than ,i to speak that word4 ,your ,committee of ,benevolent ,action have not been idle4 ,their works speak for them4 99 99 99 99 99 ,for the suppression of intemperance1 redoubled efforts must be made4 ,men of wealth1 education and influence must use their strength of nature1 or position1 to protect their brothers1 not drive them down to ruin4 ,temperance cannot advance much further among the people1 until this class of men lend their aid2 at least1 until they withdraw the obstacles they have hitherto and so often opposed to its progress4 ,they must forbear the use1 as well as the traffic4 ,i cannot but think the time is coming1 when he who makes or sells this poison as a drink1 will be legally ranked with other poisoners1 with thieves1 robbers1 and house-burners2 when a fortune acquired by such means will be thought infamous1 as one now would be if acquired by piracy6 ,i know good men have formerly engaged in this trade2 they did it ignorantly4 ,now1 we know the unavoidable effects thereof4 ,i trust the excellent example lately set by the ,government of the ,university1 will be followed at all public festivals4 ,we must still have a watchful eye on the sale of this poison4 ,it is not the low shops which do the most harm1 but the costly tippling-houses which keep the low ones in countenance1 and thus shield them from the law and public feeling4 ,it seems as if a law were needed1 making the owner of a tippling-house responsible for the illegal sale of liquors there4 ,then the real offender might be reached1 who now escapes the meshes of the law4 ,it has long ago been suggested that a ,temperance ,home was needed for the reformation of the unfortunate drunkard4 ,it is plain that the jail does not reform him4 ,those sent to jail for drunkenness are1 on the average1 sentenced no less than five times2 some of them1 fifteen or twenty times6 ,of what use to shut a man in a jail1 and release him with the certainty that he will come out no better1 and soon return for the same offence8 ,when as much zeal and ability are directed to cure this terrible public malady1 as now go to increase it1 we shall not thus foolishly waste our strength4 ,you all know how much has been done by one man in this matter2#ba that in four years he saved three hundred drunkards from the prison1 two hundred of whom have since done well6 ,if it be the duty of the ,state to prevent crime1 not avenge it1 is it not plain what is the way8 ,however1 a reform in this matter will be permanent only through a deeper and wider reform elsewhere4 ,drunkenness and theft in its various illegal forms1 are confined almost wholly to the poorest class4 ,so long as there is unavoidable misery1 like the present1 pauperism and popular ignorance2 so long as thirty-seven are crowded into one house1 and that not large2 so long as men are wretched and without hope1 there will be drunkenness4 ,i know much has been done already2 ,i think drunkenness will never be respectable again1 or common amongst refined and cultivated men2 it will be common among the ignorant1 the outcast and the miserable1 so long as the present causes of poverty1 ignorance and misery continue4 ,for that continuance1 and the want1 the crime1 the unimaginable wretchedness and death of heart which comes thereof1 it is not these perishing little ones1 but the strong that are responsible before ,god6 ,it will not do for your grand juries to try and hide the matter by indicting omnibuses and other large carriages2 the voice of ,god cries1 ,where is thy brother8--and that brother's blood answers from the ground4 ,what ,i have suggested only palliates effects2 it removes no cause2--of that another time4 ,these little ones are perishing here in the midst of us4 ,society has never seriously sought to prevent it1 perhaps has not been conscious of the fact4 ,it has not so much legislated for them as against them4 ,its spirit is hostile to them4 ,if the mass of able-headed men were in earnest about this1 think you they would allow such unthrifty ways1 such a waste of man's productive energies8 ,never6 no1 never4 ,they would repel the causes of this evil as now an invading army4 ,the removal of these troubles must be brought about by a great change in the spirit of society4 ,society is not ,christian in form or spirit4 ,so there are many who do not love to hear ,christianity preached and applied1 but to have some halting theology set upon its crutches4 ,they like1 on ,sundays1 to hear of the sacrifice1 not to have mercy and goodness demanded of them4 ,a ,christian ,state after the pattern of that divine man1 ,jesus--how different it would be from this in spirit and in form6 ,taking all this whole ,state into account1 things1 on the whole1 are better here1 than in any similar population1 after all these evils4 ,i think there can be no doubt of that2 better now1 on the whole1 than ever before4 ,a day's work will produce a greater quantity of needful things than hitherto4 ,so the number of little ones that perish is smaller than heretofore1 in proportion to the whole mass4 ,i do not believe the world can show such examples of public charity as this city has afforded in the last fifty years4 ,alas6 we want the justice which prevents causes no less than the charity which palliates effects4 ,see yet the unnatural disparity in man's condition3 bloated opulence and starving penury in the same street6 ,see the pauperism1 want1 licentiousness1 intemperance and crime in the midst of us2 see the havoc made of woman2 see the poor deserted by their elder brother1 while it is their sweat which enriches your ground1 builds your railroads1 and piles up your costly houses4 ,the tall gallows stands in the back-ground of society1 overlooking it all2 where it should be the blessed gospel of the living ,god4 ,what we want to remove the cause of all this is the application of ,christianity to social life4 ,nothing less will do the work4 ,each of us can help forward that by doing the part which falls in his way4 ,christianity1 like the eagle's flight1 begins at home4 ,we can go further1 and do something for each of these classes of little ones4 ,then we shall help others do the same4 ,some we may encourage to practical ,christianity by our example2 some we may perhaps shame4 ,still more1 we can ourselves be pure1 manly1 ,christian2 each of us that1 in heart and life4 ,we can build up a company of such1 men of perpetual growth4 ,then we shall be ready not only for this special work now before us1 to palliate effects1 but for every ,christian and manly duty when it comes4 ,then1 if ever some scheme is offered which is nobler and yet more ,christian than what we now behold1 it will find us booted1 and girded1 and road-ready4 ,i look to you to do something in this matter4 ,you are many2 most of you are young4 ,i look to you to set an example of a noble life1 human1 clean and ,christian1 not debasing these little ones1 but lifting them up4 ,will you cause them to perish2 you8 ,i know you will not4 ,will you let them perish8 ,i cannot believe it4 ,will you not prevent their perishing8 ,nothing less is your duty4 ,some men say they will do nothing to help liberate the slave1 because he is afar off1 and our mission is silence6 ,well--here are sufferers in a nearer need4 ,do you say1 ,i can do but little to ,christianize society6 ,very well1 do that little1 and see if it does not amount to much1 and bring its own blessing--the thought that you have given a cup of cold water to one of the little ones4 ,did not ,jesus say1 ,inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these ye have done it unto me8 ,since last we met1 one of our number#bb has taken that step in life commonly called death4 ,he was deeply interested and active in the movement for the perishing classes of men4 ,after his spirit had passed on1 a woman whom he had rescued1 and her children with her1 from intemperance and ruin1 came and laid her hand on that cold forehead whence the kindly soul had fled1 and mourning that her failures had often grieved his heart before1 vowed solemnly to keep steadfast forever1 and go back to evil ways no more6 ,who would not wish his forehead the altar for such a vow8 what nobler monument to a good man's memory6 ,the blessing of those ready to perish fell on him4 ,if his hand cannot help us1 his example may4 ,,footnotes3 #af ,this evil is now happily removed1 and all men rejoice in a cheap and abundant supply of pure water4 #ag ,see the valuable tables and remarks1 by ,mr4 ,shattuck1 in his ,census of ,boston1 pp4 #acf-agg4 #ah ,for this much needed reform at the academical table1 we are indebted to the ,hon4 ,edward ,everett1 the ,president of ,harvard ,college4 ,for this he deserves the hearty thanks of the whole community4 #ai ,rev4 ,john ,pierpont4 #bj ,the editors of the ,prisoners' ,friend4 #ba ,mr4 ,john ,augustus4 #bb ,nathaniel ,f4 ,thayer1 aged #bi4 ,,vii4 ,a ,,sermon ,,of ,,merchants4--,,preached ,,at ,,the ,,melodeon1 ,,on ,,sunday1 ,,november #bb1 #ahdf4 ,,ecclesiasticus ,,xxvii4 #b4 ,as a nail sticketh fast between the joinings of the stones2 so doth sin stick close between buying and selling4 ,i ask your attention to a ,sermon of ,merchants1 their ,position1 ,temptations1 ,opportunities1 ,influence and ,duty4 ,for the present purpose1 men may be distributed into four classes4 ,i4 ,men who create new material for human use1 either by digging it out of mines and quarries1 fishing it out of the sea1 or raising it out of the land4 ,these are direct producers4 ,,ii4 ,men who apply their head and hands to this material and transform it into other shapes1 fitting it for human use2 men that make grain into flour and bread1 cotton into cloth1 iron into needles or knives1 and the like4 ,these are indirect producers2 they create not the material1 but its fitness1 use1 or beauty4 ,they are manufacturers4 ,,iii4 ,men who simply use these things1 when thus produced and manufactured4 ,they are consumers4 ,,iv4 ,men who buy and sell3 who buy to sell1 and sell to buy the more4 ,they fetch and carry between the other classes4 ,these are distributors2 they are the ,merchants4 ,under this name ,i include the whole class who live by buying and selling1 and not merely those conventionally called merchants1 to distinguish them from small dealers4 ,this term comprises traders behind counters and traders behind desks2 traders neither behind counters nor desks4 ,there are various grades of merchants4 ,they might be classed and symbolized according as they use a basket1 a wheelbarrow1 a cart1 a stall1 a booth1 a shop1 a warehouse1 counting-room1 or bank4 ,still all are the same thing--men who live by buying and selling4 ,a ship is only a large basket1 a warehouse1 a costly stall4 ,your peddler is a small merchant going round from house to house with his basket to mediate between persons2 your merchant only a great peddler sending round from land to land with his ships to mediate between nations4 ,the ,israelitish woman who sits behind a bench in her stall on the ,rialto at ,venice1 changing gold into silver and copper1 or loaning money to him who leaves hat1 coat1 and other collaterals in pledge1 is a small banker4 ,the ,israelitish man who sits at ,frankfort on the ,maine1 changes drafts into specie1 and lends millions to men who leave in pledge a mortgage on the ,states of the ,church1 ,austria or ,russia--is a pawnbroker and money-changer on a large scale4 ,by this arithmetic1 for present convenience1 all grades of merchants are reduced to one denomination--men who live by buying and selling4 ,all these four classes run into one another4 ,the same man may belong to all at the same time4 ,all are needed4 ,at home a merchant is a mediator to go between the producer and the manufacturer2 between both and the consumer4 ,on a large scale he is the mediator who goes between continents1 between producing and manufacturing ,states1 between both and consuming countries4 ,the calling is founded in the state of society1 as that in a compromise between man's permanent nature and transient condition4 ,so long as there are producers and consumers1 there must be distributors4 ,the value of the calling depends on its importance2 its usefulness is the measure of its respectability4 ,the most useful calling must be the noblest4 ,if it is difficult1 demanding great ability and self-sacrifice1 it is yet more noble4 ,a useless calling is disgraceful2 one that injures mankind--infamous4 ,tried by this standard1 the producers seem nobler than the distributors2 they than the mere consumers4 ,this may not be the popular judgment now1 but must one day become so1 for mankind is slowly learning to judge by the natural law published by ,jesus--that he who would be greatest of all1 must be most effectively the servant of all4 ,there are some who do not seem to belong to any of the active classes1 who are yet producers1 manufacturers1 and distributors by their head1 more than their hand2 men who have fertile heads1 producers1 manufacturers1 and distributors of thought1 active in the most creative way4 ,here1 however1 the common rule is inverted3 the producers are few--men of genius2 the manufacturers many--men of talent2 the distributors--men of tact1 men who remember1 and talk with tongue or pen1 their name is legion4 ,i will not stop to distribute them into their classes1 but return to the merchant4 ,the calling of the merchant acquires a new importance in modern times4 ,once nations were cooped up1 each in its own country and language4 ,then war was the only mediator between them4 ,they met but on the battle-field1 or in solemn embassies to treat for peace4 ,now trade is the mediator4 ,they meet on the exchange4 ,to the merchant1 no man who can trade is a foreigner4 ,his wares prove him a citizen4 ,gold and silver are cosmopolitan4 ,once1 in some of the old governments1 the magistrates swore1 ,i will be evil-minded towards the people1 and will devise against them the worst thing ,i can4 ,now they swear to keep the laws which the people have made4 ,once the great question was1 ,how large is the standing army8 ,now1 ,what is the amount of the national earnings8 ,statesmen ask less about the ships of the line1 than about the ships of trade4 ,they fear an over-importation oftener than a war1 and settle their difficulties in gold and silver1 not as before with iron4 ,all ancient states were military2 the modern mercantile4 ,war is getting out of favor as property increases and men get their eyes open4 ,once every man feared death1 captivity1 or at least robbery in war2 now the worst fear is of bankruptcy and pauperism4 ,this is a wonderful change4 ,look at some of the signs thereof4 ,once castles and forts were the finest buildings2 now exchanges1 shops1 custom-houses1 and banks4 ,once men built a ,chinese wall to keep out the strangers--for stranger and foe were the same2 now men build railroads and steamships to bring them in4 ,england was once a strong-hold of robbers1 her four seas but so many castle-moats2 now she is a great harbor with four ship-channels4 ,once her chief must be a bold1 cunning fighter2 now a good steward and financier4 ,not to strike a hard blow1 but to make a good bargain is the thing4 ,formerly the most enterprising and hopeful young men sought fame and fortune in deeds of arms2 now an army is only a common sewer1 and most of those who go to the war1 if they never return1 have left their country for their country's good4 ,in days gone by1 constructive art could build nothing better than hanging gardens1 and the pyramids--foolishly sublime2 now it makes docks1 canals1 iron roads and magnetic telegraphs4 ,saint ,louis1 in his old age1 got up a crusade1 and saw his soldiers die of the fever at ,tunis2 now the ,king of the ,french sets up a factory1 and will clothe his people in his own cottons and woollens4 ,the old ,douglas and ,percy were clad in iron1 and harried the land on both sides of the ,tweed2 their descendants now are civil-suited men who keep the peace4 ,no girl trembles1 though ,all the blue bonnets are over the border4 ,the warrior has become a shopkeeper4 ,lord ,stafford mines for coal and salt2 ,the ,duke of ,norfolk deals in malt1 ,the ,douglas in red herrings2 ,and noble name and cultured land1 ,palace and park1 and vassal band1 ,are powerless to the notes of hand ,of ,rothschild or the ,barings4 ,of merchants there are three classes4 ,i4 ,merchant-producers1 who deal in labor applied to the direct creation of new material4 ,they buy labor and land1 to sell them in corn1 cotton1 coal1 timber1 salt1 and iron4 ,,ii4 ,merchant-manufacturers1 who deal in labor applied to transforming that material4 ,they buy labor1 wool1 cotton1 silk1 water-privileges and steam-power1 to sell them all in finished cloth4 ,,iii4 ,merchant-traders1 who simply distribute the article raised or manufactured4 ,these three divisions ,i shall speak of as one body4 ,property is accumulated labor2 wealth or riches a great deal of accumulated labor4 ,as a general rule1 merchants are the only men who become what we call rich4 ,there are exceptions1 but they are rare1 and do not affect the remarks which are to follow4 ,it is seldom that a man becomes rich by his own labor employed in producing or manufacturing4 ,it is only by using other men's labor that any one becomes rich4 ,a man's hands will give him sustenance1 not affluence4 ,in the present condition of society this is unavoidable2 ,i do not say in a normal condition1 but in the present condition4 99 99 99 99 99 ,here in ,america the position of this class is the most powerful and commanding in society4 ,they own most of the property of the nation4 ,the wealthy men are of this class2 in practical skill1 administrative talent1 in power to make use of the labor of other men1 they surpass all others4 ,now1 wealth is power1 and skill is power--both to a degree unknown before4 ,this skill and wealth are more powerful with us than any other people1 for there is no privileged caste1 priest1 king1 or noble1 to balance against them4 ,the strong hand has given way to the able and accomplished head4 ,once head armor was worn on the outside1 and of brass1 now it is internal and of brains4 ,to this class belongs the power both of skill and of wealth1 and all the advantages which they bring4 ,it was never so before in the whole history of man4 ,it is more so in the ,united ,states than in any other place4 ,i know the high position of the merchants in ,venice1 ,pisa1 ,florence1 ,nuremberg and ,basel1 in the middle ages and since4 ,those cities were gardens in a wilderness1 but a fringe of soldiers hung round their turreted walls2 the trader was dependent on the fighter1 and though their merchants became princes1 they were yet indebted to the sword1 and not entirely to their calling1 for defence4 ,their palaces were half castles1 and their ships full of armed men4 ,besides those were little ,states4 ,here the merchant's power is wholly in his gold and skill4 ,rome is the city of priests2 ,vienna for nobles2 ,berlin for scholars2 the ,american cities for merchants4 ,in ,italy the roads are poor1 the banking-houses humble2 the cots of the laborer mean and bare1 but churches and palaces are beautiful and rich4 ,god is painted as a pope4 ,generally in ,europe1 the clergy1 the soldiers1 and the nobles are the controlling class4 ,the finest works of art belong to them1 represent them1 and have come from the corporation of priests1 or the corporation of fighters4 ,here a new era is getting symbolized in our works of art4 ,they are banks1 exchanges1 custom-houses1 factories1 railroads4 ,these come of the corporation of merchants2 trade is the great thing4 ,nobody tries to secure the favor of the army or navy--but of the merchants4 ,once there was a permanent class of fighters4 ,their influence was supreme4 ,they had the power of strong arms1 of disciplined valor1 and carried all before them4 ,they made the law and broke it4 ,men complained1 grumbling in their beard1 but got no redress4 ,they it was that possessed the wealth of the land4 ,the producer1 the manufacturer1 the distributor could not get rich3 only the soldier1 the armed thief1 the robber4 ,with wealth they got its power2 by practice gained knowledge1 and so the power thereof2 or1 when that failed1 bought it of the clergy1 the only class possessing literary and scientific skill4 ,they made their calling noble1 and founded the aristocracy of soldiers4 ,young men of talent took to arms4 ,trade was despised and labor was menial4 ,their science is at this day the science of kings4 ,when graziers travel they look at cattle2 weavers at factories2 philanthropists at hospitals2 dandies at their equals and coadjutors2 and kings at armies4 ,those fighters made the world think that soldiers were our first men1 and murder of their brothers the noblest craft in the world2 the only honorable and manly calling4 ,the butcher of swine and oxen was counted vulgar--the butcher of men and women great and honorable4 ,foolish men of the past think so now2 hence their terror at orations against war2 hence their admiration for a red coat2 their zeal for some symbol of blood in their family arms2 hence their ambition for military titles when abroad4 ,most foolish men are more proud of their ambiguous ,norman ancestor who fought at the battle of ,hastings--or fought not--than of all the honest mechanics and farmers who have since ripened on the family tree4 ,the day of the soldiers is well-nigh over4 ,the calling brings low wages and no honor4 ,it opens with us no field for ambition4 ,a passage of arms is a passage that leads to nothing4 ,that class did their duty at that time4 ,they founded the aristocracy of soldiers--their symbol the sword4 ,mankind would not stop there4 ,then came a milder age and established the aristocracy of birth--its symbol the cradle1 for the only merit of that sort of nobility1 and so its only distinction1 is to have been born4 ,but mankind who stopped not at the sword1 delays but little longer at the cradle2 leaping forward it founds a third order of nobility1 the aristocracy of gold1 its symbol the purse4 ,we have got no further on4 ,shall we stop there8 ,there comes a to-morrow after every to-day1 and no child of time is just like the last4 ,the aristocracy of gold has faults enough1 no doubt1 this feudalism of the nineteenth century4 ,but it is the best thing of its kind we have had yet2 the wisest1 the most human4 ,we are going forward and not back4 ,god only knows when we shall stop1 and where4 ,surely not now1 nor here4 ,now the merchants in ,america occupy the place which was once held by the fighters and next by the nobles4 ,in our country we have balanced into harmony the centripetal power of the government1 and the centrifugal power of the people3 so have national unity of action1 and individual variety of action--personal freedom4 ,therefore a vast amount of talent is active here which lies latent in other countries1 because that harmony is not established there4 ,here the army and navy offer few inducements to able and aspiring young men4 ,they are fled to as the last resort of the desperate1 or else sought for their traditional glory1 not their present value4 ,in ,europe1 the army1 the navy1 the parliament or the court1 the church and the learned professions offer brilliant prizes to ambitious men4 ,thither flock the able and the daring4 ,here such men go into trade4 ,it is better for a man to have set up a mill than to have won a battle4 ,i deny not the exceptions4 ,i speak only of the general rule4 ,commerce and manufactures offer the most brilliant rewards--wealth1 and all it brings4 ,accordingly the ablest men go into the class of merchants4 ,the strongest men in ,boston1 taken as a body1 are not lawyers1 doctors1 clergymen1 book-wrights1 but merchants4 ,i deny not the presence of distinguished ability in each of those professions2 ,i am now again only speaking of the general rule4 ,i deny not the presence of very weak men1 exceedingly weak in this class2 their money their only source of power4 ,the merchants then are the prominent class2 the most respectable1 the most powerful4 ,they know their power1 but are not yet fully aware of their formidable and noble position at the head of the nation4 ,hence they are often ashamed of their calling2 while their calling is the source of their wealth1 their knowledge1 and their power1 and should be their boast and their glory4 ,you see signs of this ignorance and this shame3 there must not be shops under your ,athenaeum1 it would not be in good taste2 you may store tobacco1 cider1 rum1 under the churches1 out of sight1 you must have no shop there2 it would be vulgar4 ,it is not thought needful1 perhaps not proper1 for the merchant's wife and daughter to understand business1 it would not be becoming4 ,many are ashamed of their calling1 and1 becoming rich1 paint on the doors of their coach1 and engrave on their seal1 some lion1 griffin1 or unicorn1 with partisans and maces to suit2 arms they have no right to1 perhaps have stolen out of some book of heraldry4 ,no man paints thereon a box of sugar1 or figs1 or candles couchant2 a bale of cotton rampant2 an axe1 a lapstone1 or a shoe hammer saltant4 ,yet these would be noble1 and ,christian withal4 ,the fighters gloried in their horrid craft1 and so made it pass for noble1 but with us a great many men would be thought the tenth transmitter of a foolish face1 rather than honest artists of their own fortune2 prouder of being born than of having lived never so manfully4 ,in virtue of its strength and position1 this class is the controlling one in politics4 ,it mainly enacts the laws of this ,state and the nation2 makes them serve its turn4 ,acting consciously or without consciousness1 it buys up legislators when they are in the market2 breeds them when the market is bare4 ,it can manufacture governors1 senators1 judges1 to suit its purposes1 as easily as it can make cotton cloth4 ,it pays them money and honors2 pays them for doing its work1 not another's4 ,it is fairly and faithfully represented by them4 ,our popular legislators are made in its image2 represent its wisdom1 foresight1 patriotism and conscience4 ,your ,congress is its mirror4 ,this class is the controlling one in the churches1 none the less1 for with us fortunately the churches have no existence independent of the wealth and knowledge of the people4 ,in the same way it buys up the clergymen1 hunting them out all over the land2 the clergymen who will do its work1 putting them in comfortable places4 ,it drives off such as interfere with its work1 saying1 ,go starve1 you and your children6 ,it raises or manufactures others to suit its taste4 ,the merchants build mainly the churches1 endow theological schools2 they furnish the material sinews of the church4 ,hence the metropolitan churches are in general as much commercial as the shops4 99 99 99 99 99 ,now from this position1 there come certain peculiar temptations4 ,one is to an extravagant desire of wealth4 ,they see that money is power1 the most condensed and flexible form thereof4 ,it is always ready2 it will turn any way4 ,they see that it gives advantages to their children which nothing else will give4 ,the poor man's son1 however well born1 struggling for a superior education1 obtains his culture at a monstrous cost2 with the sacrifice of pleasure1 comfort1 the joys of youth1 often of eyesight and health4 ,he must do two men's work at once--learn and teach at the same time4 ,he learns all by his soul1 nothing from his circumstances4 ,if he have not an iron body as well as an iron head1 he dies in that experiment of the cross4 ,the land is full of poor men who have attained a superior culture1 but carry a crippled body through all their life4 ,the rich man's son needs not that terrible trial4 ,he learns from his circumstances1 not his soul4 ,the air about him contains a diffused element of thought4 ,he learns without knowing it4 ,colleges open their doors2 accomplished teachers stand ready2 science and art1 music and literature1 come at the rich man's call4 ,all the outward means of educating1 refining1 elevating a child1 are to be had for money1 and for money alone4 ,then1 too1 wealth gives men a social position1 which nothing else save the rarest genius can obtain1 and which that1 in the majority of cases lacking the commercial conscience1 is sure not to get4 ,many men prize this social rank above every thing else1 even above justice and a life unstained4 ,since it thus gives power1 culture for one's children1 and a distinguished social position1 rank amongst men1 for the man and his child after him1 there is a temptation to regard money as the great object of life1 not a means but an end2 the thing a man is to get even at the risk of getting nothing else4 ,it answereth all things4 ,here and there you find a man who has got nothing else4 ,men say of such an one1 ,he is worth a million6 ,there is a terrible sarcasm in common speech1 which all do not see4 ,he is worth a million1 and that is all2 not worth truth1 goodness1 piety2 not worth a man4 ,i must say1 ,i cannot but think there are many such amongst us4 ,most rich men1 ,i am told1 have mainly gained wealth by skill1 foresight1 industry1 economy1 by honorable painstaking1 not by trick4 ,it may be so4 ,i hope it is4 ,still there is a temptation to count wealth the object of life--the thing to be had if they have nothing else4 ,the next temptation is to think any means justifiable which lead to that end1--the temptation to fraud1 deceit1 to lying in its various forms1 active and passive2 the temptation to abuse the power of this natural strength1 or acquired position1 to tyrannize over the weak1 to get and not give an equivalent for what they get4 ,if a man get from the world more than he gives an equivalent for1 to that extent he is a beggar and gets charity1 or a thief and steals2 at any rate1 the rest of the world is so much the poorer for him4 ,the temptation to fraud of this sort1 in some of its many forms1 is very great4 ,i do not believe that all trade must be gambling or trickery1 the merchant a knave or a gambler4 ,i know some men say so4 ,but ,i do not believe it4 ,i know it is not so now2 all actual trade1 and profitable too1 is not knavery4 ,i know some become rich by deceit4 ,i cannot but think these are the exceptions2 that the most successful have had the average honesty and benevolence1 with more than the average industry1 foresight1 prudence and skill4 ,a man foresees future wants of his fellows1 and provides for them2 sees new resources hitherto undeveloped1 anticipates new habits and wants2 turns wood1 stone1 iron1 coal1 rivers and mountains to human use1 and honestly earns what he takes4 ,i am told1 by some of their number1 that the merchants of this place rank high as men of integrity and honor1 above mean cunning1 but enterprising1 industrious and far-sighted4 ,in comparison with some other places1 ,i suppose it is true4 ,still ,i must admit the temptation to fraud is a great one2 that it is often yielded to4 ,few go to a great extreme of deceit--they are known and exposed3 but many to a considerable degree4 ,he that makes haste to be rich is seldom innocent4 ,young men say it is hard to be honest2 to do by others as you would wish them to do by you4 ,i know it need not be so4 ,would not a reputation for uprightness and truth be a good capital for any man1 old or young8 ,this class owns the machinery of society1 in great measure1--the ships1 factories1 shops1 water privileges1 houses and the like4 ,this brings into their employment large masses of working men1 with no capital but muscles or skill4 ,the law leaves the employed at the employer's mercy4 ,perhaps this is unavoidable4 ,one wishes to sell his work dear1 the other to get it cheap as he can4 ,it seems to me no law can regulate this matter1 only conscience1 reason1 the ,christianity of the two parties4 ,one class is strong1 the other weak4 ,in all encounters of these two1 on the field of battle1 or in the market-place1 we know the result3 the weaker is driven to the wall4 ,when the earthen and iron vessel strike together1 we know beforehand which will go to pieces4 ,the weaker class can seldom tell their tale1 so their story gets often suppressed in the world's literature1 and told only in outbreaks and revolutions4 ,still the bold men who wrote the ,bible1 ,old ,testament and ,new1 have told truths on this theme which others dared not tell--terrible words which it will take ages of ,christianity to expunge from the world's memory4 ,there is a strong temptation to use one's power of nature or position to the disadvantage of the weak4 ,this may be done consciously or unconsciously4 ,there are examples enough of both4 ,here the merchant deals in the labor of men4 ,this is a legitimate article of traffic1 and dealing in it is quite indispensable in the present condition of affairs4 ,in the ,southern ,states1 the merchant1 whether producer1 manufacturer or trader1 owns men and deals in their labor1 or their bodies4 ,he uses their labor1 giving them just enough of the result of that labor to keep their bodies in the most profitable working state2 the rest of that result he steals for his own use1 and by that residue becomes rich and famous4 ,he owns their persons and gets their labor by direct violence1 though sanctioned by law4 ,that is slavery4 ,he steals the man and his labor4 ,here it is possible to do a similar thing3 ,i mean it is possible to employ men and give them just enough of the result of their labor to keep up a miserable life1 and yourself take all the rest of the result of that labor4 ,this may be done consciously or otherwise1 but legally1 without direct violence1 and without owning the person4 ,this is not slavery1 though only one remove from it4 ,this is the tyranny of the strong over the weak2 the feudalism of money2 stealing a man's work1 and not his person4 ,the merchants as a class are exposed to this very temptation4 ,sometimes it is yielded to4 ,some large fortunes have been made in this way4 ,let me mention some extreme cases2 one from abroad1 one near at home4 ,in ,belgium the average wages of men in manufactories is less than twenty-seven cents a day4 ,the most skilful women in that calling can earn only twenty cents a day1 and many very much less4#bc ,in that country almost every seventh man receives charity from the public3 the mortality of operatives1 in some of the cities1 is ten per cent4 a year6 ,perhaps that is the worst case which you can find on a large scale even in ,europe4 ,how much better off are many women in ,boston who gain their bread by the needle8 yes a large class of women in all our great cities8 ,the ministers of the poor can answer that2 your police can tell of the direful crime to which necessity sometimes drives women whom honest labor cannot feed6 ,i know it will be said1 ,buy in the cheapest market and sell in the dearest2 get work at the lowest wages4 ,still there is another view of the case1 and ,i am speaking to men whose professed religion declares that all are brothers1 and demands that the strong help the weak4 ,oppression of this sort is one fertile source of pauperism and crime4 ,how much there is of it ,i know not1 but ,i think men seldom cry unless they are hurt4 ,when men are gathered together in large masses1 as in the manufacturing towns1 if there is any oppression of this sort1 it is sure to get told of1 especially in ,new ,england4 ,but when a small number are employed1 and they isolated from one another1 the case is much harder4 ,perhaps no class of laborers in ,new ,england is worse treated than the hired help of small proprietors4 ,then1 too1 there is a temptation to abuse their political power to the injury of the nation1 to make laws which seem good for themselves1 but are baneful to the people2 to control the churches1 so that they shall not dare rebuke the actual sins of the nation1 or the sins of trade1 and so the churches be made apologizers for lowness1 practising infidelity as their sacrament1 but in the name of ,christ and ,god4 ,the ruling power in ,england once published a volume of sermons1 as well as a book of prayers1 which the clergy were commanded to preach4 ,what sort of a gospel got recommended therein1 you may easily guess2 and what is recommended by the class of merchants in ,new ,england1 you may as easily hear4 99 99 99 99 99 ,but if their temptations are great1 the opportunities of this class for doing good are greater still4 ,their power is more readily useful for good than ill1 as all power is4 ,in their calling they direct and control the machinery1 the capital1 and thereby the productive labor of the whole community4 ,they can as easily direct that well as ill2 for the benefit of all1 easier than to the injury of any one4 ,they can discover new sources of wealth for themselves1 and so for the nation2 they can set on foot new enterprises1 which shall increase the comfort and welfare of man to a vast degree1 and not only that1 but enlarge also the number of men1 for that always greatens in a nation1 as the means of living are made easy4 ,they can bind the rivers1 teaching them to weave and spin4 ,the introduction of manufactures into ,england1 and the application of machinery to that purpose1 ,i doubt not has added some millions of new lives to her population in the present century--millions that otherwise would never have lived at all4 ,the introduction of manufactures into the ,united ,states1 the application of water-power and steam-power to human work1 the construction of canals and railroads1 has vastly increased the comforts of the living4 ,it helps civilize1 educate and refine men2 yes1 leads to an increase of the number of lives4 ,there are men to whom the public owes a debt which no money could pay1 for it is a debt of life4 ,what adequate sum of gold1 or what honors could mankind give to ,columbus1 to ,faustus1 to ,fulton1 for their works8 ,he that did the greatest service ever done to mankind got from his age a bad name and a cross for his reward4 ,there are men whom mankind are to thank for thousands of lives2 yet men who hold no lofty niche in the temple of fame4 ,by their control of the ,legislature the merchants can fashion more wisely the institutions of the land1 promote the freedom of all1 break off traditionary yokes1 help forward the public education of the people by the establishment of public schools1 public academies1 and public colleges4 ,they can frame particular statutes which help and encourage the humble and the weak1 laws which prevent the causes of poverty and crime1 which facilitate for the poor man the acquisition of property1 enabling him to invest his earnings in the most profitable stocks1--laws which bless the living1 and so increase the number of lives4 ,they can thus help organize society after the ,christian idea1 and promote the kingdom of heaven4 ,they can make our jails institutions which really render their inmates better1 and send them out whole men1 safe and sound4 ,we have seen them do this with lunatics1 why not with those poor wretches whom now we murder8 ,they too can found houses of cure for drunkards1 and men yet more unfortunate when released from our prisons4 ,by their control of the churches1 and all our seminaries1 public and private1 they can encourage freedom of thought2 can promote the public morals by urging the clergy to point out and rebuke the sins of the nation1 of society1 the actual sins of men now living2 can encourage them to separate theology from mythology1 religion from theology1 and then apply that religion to the ,state1 to society and the individual2 can urge them to preach both parts of religion--morality1 the love of man1 and piety1 the love of ,god1 setting off both by an appeal to that great soul who was ,christianity in one person4 ,in this way they have an opportunity of enlarging tenfold the practical value of the churches1 and helping weed licentiousness1 intemperance1 want1 and ignorance and sin1 clean out of man's garden here4 ,with their encouragement1 the clergy would form a noble army contending for the welfare of men--the church militant1 but preparing to be soon triumphant4 ,thus laboring1 they can put an end to slavery1 abolish war1 and turn all the nation's creative energies to production--their legitimate work4 ,then they can promote the advance of science1 of literature1 of the arts--the useful and the beautiful4 ,we see what their famed progenitors did in this way at ,venice1 ,florence1 ,genoa4 ,i know men say that art cannot thrive in a republic4 ,an opportunity is offered now to prove the falsehood of that speech1 to adorn our strength with beauty4 ,a great amount of creative1 artistic talent is rising here and seeks employment4 ,they can endow hospitals1 colleges1 normal schools1 found libraries and establish lectures for the welfare of all4 ,he that has the wealth of a king may spend it like a king1 not for ostentation1 but for use4 ,they can set before men examples of industry1 economy1 truth1 justice1 honesty1 charity1 of religion at her daily work1 of manliness in life--all this as no other men4 ,their charities need not stare you in the face2 like violets their fragrance may reach you before you see them4 ,the bare mention of these things recalls the long list of benefactors1 names familiar to you all--for there is one thing which this city was once more famous for than her enterprise1 and that is her ,charity--the charity which flows in public2--the noiseless stream that shows itself only in the greener growth which marks its path4 99 99 99 99 99 ,such are the position1 temptations1 opportunities of this class4 ,what is their practical influence on ,church and ,state--on the economy of mankind8 what are they doing in the nation8 ,i must judge them by the highest standard that ,i know1 the standard of justice1 of absolute religion1 not out of my own caprice4 ,bear with me while ,i attempt to tell the truth1 which ,i have seen4 ,if ,i see it not1 pity me and seek better instruction where you can find it4 ,but if ,i see a needed truth1 and for my own sake refuse to speak1 bear with me no more4 ,bid me then repent4 ,i am speaking of men1 strong men too1 and shall not spare the truth4 ,there is always a conservative element in society2 yes1 an element which resists the further application of ,christianity to public affairs4 ,once the fighters and their children were uppermost1 and represented that element4 ,then the merchants were reformatory1 radical1 in collision with the nobles4 ,they were ,whigs--the nobles were ,tories4 ,the merchants formed themselves into companies1 and got power from the crown to protect themselves against the nobles1 whom the crown also feared4 ,it is so in ,england now4 ,the great revolution in the laws of trade lately effected there1 was brought about by the merchants1 though opposed by the lords4 ,the anti-corn law league was a trades-union of merchants contending against the owners of the soil4 ,there the lord of land1 and by birth1 is slowly giving way to the lord of money1 who is powerful by his knowledge or his wealth4 ,there will always be such an element in society4 ,here ,i think it is represented by the merchants4 ,they are backward in all reforms1 excepting such as their own interest demands4 ,thus they are blind to the evils of slavery1 at least silent about them4 ,how few commercial or political newspapers in the land ever seriously oppose this great national wickedness6 ,nay1 how many of them favor its extension and preservation6 ,a few years ago1 in this very city1 a mob of men1 mainly from this class1 it is said1 insulted honest women peaceably met to consult for the welfare of ,christian slaves in a ,christian land--met to pray for them6 ,a merchant of this city says publicly1 that a large majority of his brethren would kidnap a fugitive slave in ,boston2 says it with no blush and without contradiction4#bd ,it was men of this class who opposed the abolition of the slave-trade1 and had it guaranteed them for twenty years after the formation of the ,constitution2 through their instigation that this foul blot was left to defile the ,republic and gather blackness from age to age2 through their means that the nation stands before the world pledged to maintain it4 ,they could end slavery at once1 at least could end the national connection with it1 but it is through their support that it continues2 that it acquires new strength1 new boldness1 new territory1 darkens the nation's fame and hope1 delays all other reformations in ,church and ,state and the mass of the people4 ,yes1 it is through their influence that the chivalry1 the wisdom1 patriotism1 eloquence1 yea1 religion of the free ,states1 are all silent when the word slavery is pronounced4 ,the ,senate of ,massachusetts represents this more than any other class4 ,but all last winter it could not say one word against the wickedness of this sin1 allowed to live and grow greater in the land4#be ,just before the last election something could be said6 ,do speech and silence mean the same thing8 ,this class opposed abolishing imprisonment for debt1 thinking it endangered trade4 ,they now oppose the progress of temperance and the abolition of the gallows4 ,they see the evils of war2 they cannot see its sin2 will sustain men who help plunge the nation into its present disgraceful and cowardly conflict2 will encourage foolish young men to go and fight in this wicked war4 ,a great man said1 or is reported to have said1 that perhaps it is not an ,american habit to consider the natural justice of a war1 but to count its cost6 ,a terrible saying that6 ,there is a ,power which considers its ,justice1 and will demand of us the blood we have wickedly poured out2 blood of ,americans1 blood of the ,mexicans6 ,they favor indirect taxation1 which is taxing the poor for the benefit of the rich2 they continue to support the causes of poverty2 as a class they are blind to this great evil of popular ignorance--the more terrible evils of licentiousness1 drunkenness and crime6 ,they can enrich themselves by demoralizing their brothers4 ,i wish it was an ,american habit to count the cost of that4 ,some fanatic will consider its justice4 ,if they see these evils they look not for their cause2 at least1 strive not to remove that cause4 ,they have long known that every year more money is paid in ,boston for poison drink to be swallowed on the spot1 a drink which does no man any good1 which fills your asylums with paupers1 your jails with criminals1 and houses with unutterable misery in father1 mother1 wife and child1--more money every year than it would take to build your new aqueduct and bring abundance of water fresh to every house6#bf ,if they have not known it1 why it was their fault1 for the fact was there crying to ,heaven against us all4 ,as they are the most powerful class1 the elder brothers1 ,american nobles if you will1 it was their duty to look out for their weaker brother4 ,no man has strength for himself alone4 ,to use it for one's self alone1 that is a sin4 ,i do not think they are conscious of the evil they do1 or the evils they allow4 ,i speak not of motives1 only of facts4 ,this class controls the ,state4 ,the effects of that control appear in our legislation4 ,i know there are some noble men in political life1 who have gone there with the loftiest motives1 men that ask only after what is right4 ,i honor such men--honor them all the more because they seem exceptions to a general rule2 men far above the spirit of any class4 ,i must speak of what commonly takes place4 ,our politics are chiefly mercantile1 politics in which money is preferred1 and man postponed4 ,when the two come into collision1 the man goes to the wall and the street is left clear for the dollars4 ,a few years ago in monarchical ,france a report was made of the condition of the working population in the large manufacturing towns--a truthful report1 but painful to read1 for it told of strong men oppressing the weak4#bg ,i do not believe that such an undisguised statement of the good and ill could be tolerated in democratic ,america2 no1 not of the condition of men in ,new ,england2 and what would be thought of a book setting forth the condition of the laboring men and women of the ,south8 ,i know very well what is thought of the few men who attempt to tell the truth on this subject4 ,i think there is no nation in ,europe1 except ,russia and ,turkey1 which cares so little for the class which reaps down its harvests and does the hard work4 ,when you protect the rights of all1 you protect also the property of each and by that very act4 ,to begin the other way is quite contrary to nature4 ,but our politicians cannot say too little for men1 nor too much for money4 ,take the politicians most famous and honored at this day1 and what have they done8 ,they have labored for a tariff1 or for free trade2 but what have they done for man8 nay1 what have they attempted8--to restore natural rights to men notoriously deprived of them2 progressively to elevate their material1 moral1 social condition8 ,i think no one pretends it4 ,even in proclamations for ,thanksgiving and days of prayer1 it is not the most needy we are bid remember4 ,public sins are not pointed out to be repented of4 ,slaveholding ,states shut up in their jails our colored seamen soon as they arrive in a southern port4 ,a few years ago1 at a time of considerable excitement here on the slavery question1 a petition was sent from this place by some merchants and others1 to one of our ,senators1 praying ,congress to abate that evil4 ,for a long time that ,senator could find no opportunity to present the petition4 ,you know how much was said and what was done6 ,had the ,south demanded every tenth or twentieth bale of domestics coming from the ,north2 had a petition relative to that grievance been sent to ,congress1 and a ,senator unreasonably delayed to present it--how much more would have been said and done2 when he came back he would have been hustled out of ,boston6 ,when ,south ,carolina and ,louisiana sent home our messengers--driving them off with reproach1 insult1 and danger of their lives--little is said and nothing done4 ,but if the barbarous natives of ,sumatra interfere with our commerce1 why1 we send a ship and lay their towns in ruins and murder the men and women6 ,we all know that for some years ,congress refused to receive petitions relative to slavery2 and we know how tamely that was borne by the class who commonly control political affairs6 ,what if ,congress had refused to receive petitions relative to a tariff1 or free trade1 to the shipping interest1 or the manufacturing interest8 ,when the rights of men were concerned1 three million men1 only the fanatics complained4 ,the political newspapers said ,hush6 ,the merchant-manufacturers want a protective tariff2 the merchant-importers1 free trade2 and so the national politics hinge upon that question4 ,when ,massachusetts was a carrying ,state1 she wanted free trade2 now a manufacturing ,state1 she desires protection4 ,that is all natural enough2 men wish to protect their interests1 whatsoever they may be4 ,but no talk is made about protecting the labor of the rude man1 who has no capital1 nor skill1 nothing but his natural force of muscles4 ,the foreigner underbids him1 monopolizing most of the brute labor of our large towns and internal improvements4 ,there is no protection1 no talk of protection for the carpenter1 or the bricklayer4 ,i do not complain of that4 ,i rejoice to see the poor wretches of the old world finding a home where our fathers found one before4 ,yet if we cared for men more than for money1 and were consistent with our principles of protection1 why1 we should exclude all foreign workmen1 as well as their work1 and so raise the wages of the native hands4 ,that would doubtless be very foolish legislation--but perhaps not1 on that account1 very strange4 ,i know we are told that without protection1 our hand-worker1 whose capital is his skill1 cannot compete with the operative of ,manchester and ,brussels1 because that operative is paid but little4 ,i know not if it be true1 or a mistake4 ,but who ever told us such men could not compete with the slave of ,south ,carolina who is paid nothing8 ,we have legislation to protect our own capital against foreign capital2 perhaps our own labor against the pauper of ,europe2 why not against the slave labor of the ,southern ,states8 ,because the controlling class prefers money and postpones man4 ,yet the slave-breeder is protected4 ,he has1 ,i think1 the only real monopoly in the land4 ,no importer can legally spoil his market1 for the foreign slave is contraband4 ,if ,i understand the matter1 the importation of slaves was allowed1 until such men as pleased could accumulate their stock4 ,the reason why it was afterwards forbidden ,i think was chiefly a mercantile reason3 the slave-breeder wanted a monopoly1 for ,god knows and you know that it is no worse to steal grown men in ,africa than to steal new born babies in ,maryland1 to have them born for the sake of stealing them4 ,free labor may be imported1 for it helps the merchant-producer and the merchant-manufacturer4 ,slave labor is declared contraband1 for the merchant-slave-breeders want a monopoly4 ,this same preference of money over men appears in many special statutes4 ,in most of our manufacturing companies the capital is divided into shares so large that a poor man cannot invest therein6 ,this could easily be avoided4 ,a man steals a candlestick out of a church1 and goes to the ,state ,prison for a year and a day4 ,another quarrels with a man1 maims him for life1 and is sent to the common jail for six months4 ,a bounty is paid1 or was until lately1 on every gallon of intoxicating drink manufactured here and sent out of the country4 ,if we begin with taking care of the rights of man1 it seems easy to take care of the rights of labor and of capital4 ,to begin the other way is quite another thing4 ,a nation making laws for the nation is a noble sight4 ,the ,government of all1 by all1 and for all1 is a democracy4 ,when that ,government follows the eternal laws of ,god1 it is founding what ,christ called the kingdom of heaven4 ,but the predominating class making laws not for the nation's good1 but only for its own1 is a sad spectacle2 no reasoning can make it other than a sorry sight4 ,to see able men prostituting their talents to such a work1 that is one of the saddest sights6 ,i know all other nations have set us the example1 yet it is painful to see it followed1 and here4 ,our politics1 being mainly controlled by this class1 are chiefly mercantile1 the politics of peddlers4 ,so political management often becomes a trick4 ,hence we have many politicians1 and raise a harvest of them every year1 that crop never failing1 party-men who can legislate for a class2 but we have scarce one great statesman who can step before his class1 beyond his age1 and legislate for a whole nation1 leading the people and giving us new ideas to incarnate in the multitude1 his word becoming flesh4 ,we have not planters1 but trimmers6 ,a great statesman never came of mercantile politics1 only of politics considered as the national application of religion to life4 ,our political morals1 you all know what they are1 the morals of a huckster4 ,this is no new thing2 the same game was played long ago in ,venice1 ,pisa1 ,florence1 and the result is well known4 ,a merely mercantile politician is very sharp-sighted and perhaps far-sighted1 but a dollar will cover the whole field of his vision and he can never see through it4 ,the number of slaves in the ,united ,states is considerably greater than our whole population when we declared ,independence1 yet how much talk will a tariff make1 or a public dinner2 how little the welfare of three million men6 ,said ,i not truly1 our most famous politicians are1 in the general way1 only mercantile party-men8 ,which of these men has shown the most interest in those three million slaves8 ,the man who in the ,senate of a ,christian ,republic valued them at twelve hundred million dollars6 ,shall respectable men say1 ,we do not care what sort of a ,government the people have1 so long as we get our dividends4 ,some say so2 many men do not say that1 but think so and act accordingly6 ,the ,government1 therefore1 must be so arranged that they get their dividends4 ,this class of men buys up legislators1 consciously or not1 and pays them1 for value received4 ,yes1 so great is its daring and its conscious power1 that we have recently seen our most famous politician bought up1 the stoutest understanding that one finds now extant in this whole nineteenth century1 perhaps the ablest head since ,napoleon4 ,none can deny his greatness1 his public services in times past1 nor his awful power of intellect4 ,i say we have seen him1 a ,senator of the ,united ,states1 pensioned by this class1 or a portion thereof1 and thereby put mainly in their hands6 ,when a whole nation rises up and publicly throws its treasures at the feet of a great man who has stood forth manfully contending for the nation1 and bids him take their honors and their gold as a poor pay for noble works1 why that sight is beautiful1 the multitude shouting hosanna to their ,king1 and spreading their garments underneath his feet6 ,man is loyal1 and such honors so paid1 and to such1 are doubly gracious2 becoming alike to him that takes and those who give4 ,yes1 when a single class1 to whom some man has done a great service1 goes openly and makes a memorial thereof in gold and honors paid to him1 why that also is noble and beautiful4 ,but when a single class1 in a country where political doings are more public than elsewhere in the whole world1 secretly buys up a man1 in high place and world-famous1 giving him a retaining fee for life1 why the deed is one ,i do not wish to call by name6 ,could such men do this without a secret shame8 ,i will never believe it of my countrymen4#bh ,a gift blinds a wise man's eyes1 perverts the words even of the righteous1 stopping his mouth with gold so that he cannot reprove a wrong6 ,but there is an absolute justice which is neither bought nor sold6 ,i know other nations have done the same and with like effect4 ,fight with silver weapons1 said the ,delphic oracle1 and you'll conquer all4 ,it has always been the craft of despots to buy up aspiring talent2 some with a title2 some with gold4 ,allegiance to the sovereign is the same thing on both sides of the water1 whether the sovereign be an eagle or a guinea4 ,some ,american1 it is said1 wrote the ,lord's ,prayer on one side of a dime1 and the ,ten ,commandments on the other4 ,the ,constitution and a considerable commentary might perhaps be written on the two sides of a dollar6 ,this class controls the ,churches1 as the ,state4 ,let me show the effect of that control4 ,i am not to try men in a narrow way1 by my own theological standard1 but by the standard of manliness and ,christianity4 ,as a general rule1 the clergy are on the side of power4 ,all history proves this1 our own most abundantly4 ,the clergy also are unconsciously bought up1 their speech paid for1 or their silence4 ,as a class1 did they ever denounce a public sin8 a popular sin8 ,perhaps they have4 ,do they do it now and here8 ,take ,boston for the last ten years1 and ,i think there has been more clerical preaching against the abolitionists than against slavery2 perhaps more preaching against the temperance movement than in its favor4 ,with the exception of disbelieving the popular theology1 your evangelical alliance knows no sin but original sin1 unless indeed it be organic sins1 which no one is to blame for2 no sinner but ,adam and the devil2 no saving righteousness but the imputed4 ,i know there are exceptions1 and ,i would go far to do them honor1 pious men who lift up a warning1 yes1 bear ,christian testimony against public sins4 ,i am speaking of the mass of the clergy4 ,christ said the priests of his time had made a den of thieves out of ,god's house of prayer4 ,now they conform to the public sins and apologize for popular crime4 ,it is a good thing to forgive an offence3 who does not need that favor and often8 ,but to forgive the theory of crime1 to have a theory which does that1 is quite another thing4 ,large cities are alike the court and camp of the mercantile class1 and what ,i have just said is more eminently true of the clergy in such towns4 ,let me give an example4 ,not long ago the ,unitarian clergy published a protest against ,american slavery4 ,it was moderate1 but firm1 and manly4 ,almost all the clergy in the country signed it4 ,in the large towns few3 they mainly young men and in the least considerable churches4 ,the young men seemed not to understand their contract1 for the essential part of an ecclesiastical contract is sometimes written between the lines and in sympathetic ink4 ,is a steamboat burned or lost on the waters1 how many preach on that affliction6 ,yet how few preached against the war8 ,a preacher may say he hates it as a man1 no words could describe his loathing at it1 but as a minister of ,christ1 he dares not say a word6 ,what clergymen tell of the sins of ,boston1--of intemperance1 licentiousness2 who of the ignorance of the people2 who of them lays bare our public sin as ,christ of old2 who tells the causes of poverty1 and thousand-handed crime2 who aims to apply ,christianity to business1 to legislation1 politics1 to all the nation's life8 ,once the church was the bride of ,christ1 living by his creative1 animating love2 her children were apostles1 prophets1 men by the same spirit1 variously inspired with power to heal1 to help1 to guide mankind4 ,now she seems the widow of ,christ1 poorly living on the dower of other times4 ,nay1 the ,christ is not dead1 and 'tis her alimony1 not her dower4 ,her children--no such heroic sons gather about her table as before4 ,in her dotage she blindly shoves them off1 not counting men as sons of ,christ4 ,is her day gone by8 ,the clergy answer the end they were bred for1 paid for4 ,will they say1 ,we should lose our influence were we to tell of this and do these things8#bi ,it is not true4 ,their ancient influence is already gone6 ,who asks1 ,what do the clergy think of the tariff1 or free trade1 of annexation1 or the war1 of slavery1 or the education movement8 ,why no man4 ,it is sad to say these things4 ,would ,god they were not true4 ,look round you1 and if you can1 come tell me they are false4 ,we are not singular in this4 ,in all lands the clergy favors the controlling class4 ,bossuet would make the monarchy swallow up all other institutions1 as in history he sacrificed all nations to the ,jews4 ,in ,england the established clergy favors the nobility1 the crown1 not the people2 opposes all freedom of trade1 all freedom in religion1 all generous education of the people3 its gospel is the gospel for a class1 not ,christ's gospel for mankind4 ,here also the sovereign is the head of the church1 it favors the prevailing power1 represents the morality1 the piety which chances to be popular1 nor less nor more2 the ,christianity of the street1 not of ,christ4 ,here trade takes the place of the army1 navy1 and court in other lands4 ,that is well1 but it takes also the place in great measure of science1 art and literature4 ,so we become vulgar1 and have little but trade to show4 ,the rich man's son seldom devotes himself to literature1 science1 or art2 only to getting more money1 or to living in idleness on what he has inherited4 ,when money is the end1 what need to look for any thing more8 ,he degenerates into the class of consumers1 and thinks it an honor4 ,he is ashamed of his father's blood1 proud of his gold4 ,a good deal of scientific labor meets with no reward1 but itself4 ,in our country this falls almost wholly upon poor men4 ,literature1 science and art are mainly in their hands1 yet are controlled by the prevalent spirit of the nation4 ,here and there an exceptional man differs from that1 but the mass of writers conform4 ,in ,england1 the national literature favors the church1 the crown1 the nobility1 the prevailing class4 ,another literature is rising1 but is not yet national1 still less canonized4 ,we have no ,american literature which is permanent4 ,our scholarly books are only an imitation of a foreign type2 they do not reflect our morals1 manners1 politics1 or religion1 not even our rivers1 mountains1 sky4 ,they have not the smell of our ground in their breath4 ,the real ,american literature is found only in newspapers and speeches1 perhaps in some novel1 hot1 passionate1 but poor1 and extemporaneous4 ,that is our national literature4 ,does that favor man--represent man8 ,certainly not4 ,all is the reflection of this most powerful class4 ,the truths that are told are for them1 and the lies4 ,therein the prevailing sentiment is getting into the form of thought4 ,politics represent the morals of the controlling class1 the morals and manners of rich ,peter and ,david on a large scale4 ,look at that index1 you would sometimes think you were not in the ,senate of a great nation1 but in a board of brokers1 angry and higgling about stocks4 ,once in the nation's loftiest hour1 she rose inspired and said3 ,all men are born equal1 each with unalienable rights2 that is self-evident4 ,now she repents her of the vision and the saying4 ,it does not appear in her literature1 nor church1 nor state4 ,instead of that1 through this controlling class1 the nation says3 ,all dollars are equal1 however got2 each has unalienable rights4 ,let no man question that6 ,this appears in literature and legislation1 church and state4 ,the morals of a nation1 of its controlling class1 always get summed up in its political action4 ,that is the barometer of the moral weather4 ,the voters are always fairly represented4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the wicked baron1 bad of heart1 and bloody of hand1 has passed off with the ages which gave birth to such a brood1 but the bad merchant still lives4 ,he cheats in his trade2 sometimes against the law1 commonly with it4 ,his truth is never wholly true1 nor his lie wholly false4 ,he overreaches the ignorant2 makes hard bargains with men in their trouble1 for he knows that a falling man will catch at red-hot iron4 ,he takes the pound of flesh1 though that bring away all the life-blood with it4 ,he loves private contracts1 digging through walls in secret4 ,no interest is illegal if he can get it4 ,he cheats the nation with false invoices1 and swears lies at the custom-house2 will not pay his taxes1 but moves out of town on the last of ,april4#cj ,he oppresses the men who sail his ships1 forcing them to be temperate1 only that he may consume the value of their drink4 ,he provides for them unsuitable bread and meat4 ,he would not engage in the ,african slave-trade1 for he might lose his ships and perhaps more2 but he is always ready to engage in the ,american slave-trade1 and calls you a fanatic if you tell him it is the worse of the two4 ,he cares not whether he sells cotton or the man who wears it1 if he only gets the money2 cotton or negro1 it is the same to him4 ,he would not keep a drink-hole in ,ann ,street1 only own and rent it4 ,he will bring or make whole cargoes of the poison that deals damnation round the land4 ,he thinks it vulgar to carry rum about in a jug1 respectable in a ship4 ,he makes paupers1 and leaves others to support them4 ,tell not him of the misery of the poor1 he knows better2 nor of our paltry way of dealing with public crime1 he wants more jails and a speedier gallows4 ,you see his character in letting his houses1 his houses for the poor4 ,he is a stone in the lame man's shoe4 ,he is the poor man's devil4 ,the ,hebrew devil that so worried ,job is gone2 so is the brutal devil that awed our fathers4 ,nobody fears them2 they vanish before cock-crowing4 ,but this devil of the nineteenth century is still extant4 ,he has gone into trade1 and advertises in the papers2 his name is good in the street4 ,he makes money2 the world is poorer by his wealth4 ,he spends it as he made it1 like a devil1 on himself1 his family alone1 or worse yet1 for show4 ,he can build a church out of his gains1 to have his morality1 his ,christianity preached in it1 and call that the gospel1 as ,aaron called a calf--,god4 ,he sends rum and missionaries to the same barbarians1 the one to damn1 the other to save1 both for his own advantage1 for his patron saint is ,judas1 the first saint who made money out of ,christ4 ,ask not him to do a good deed in private1 men would not know it1 and the example would be lost2 so he never lets a dollar slip out between his thumb and finger without leaving his mark on both sides of it4 ,he is not forecasting to discern effects in causes1 nor skilful to create new wealth1 only spry in the scramble for what others have made4 ,it is easy to make a bargain with him1 hard to settle4 ,in politics he wants a ,government that will insure his dividends2 so asks what is good for him1 but ill for the rest4 ,he knows no right1 only power2 no man but self2 no ,god but his calf of gold4 ,what effect has he on young men8 ,they had better touch poison4 ,if he takes you to his heart1 he takes you in4 ,what influence on society8 ,to taint and corrupt it all round4 ,he contaminates trade2 corrupts politics1 making abusive laws1 not asking for justice but only dividends4 ,to the church he is the ,anti-,christ4 ,yes1 the very ,devil1 and frightens the poor minister into shameful silence1 or1 more shameless yet1 into an apology for crime2 makes him pardon the theory of crime6 ,let us look on that monster--look and pass by1 not without prayer4 ,the good merchant tells the truth and thrives by that2 is upright and downright2 his word good as his ,bible-oath4 ,he pays for all he takes2 though never so rich he owns no wicked dollar2 all is openly1 honestly1 manfully earned1 and a full equivalent paid for it4 ,he owns money and is worth a man4 ,he is just in business with the strong2 charitable in dealing with the weak4 ,his counting-room or his shop is the sanctuary of fairness1 justice1 a school of uprightness as well as thrift4 ,industry and honor go hand in hand with him4 ,he gets rich by industry and forecast1 not by slight of hand and shuffling his cards to another's loss4 ,no men become the poorer because he is rich4 ,he would sooner hurt himself than wrong another1 for he is a man1 not a fox4 ,he entraps no man with lies1 active or passive4 ,his honesty is better capital than a sharper's cunning4 ,yet he makes no more talk about justice and honesty than the sun talks of light and heat2 they do their own talking4 ,his profession of religion is all practice4 ,he knows that a good man is just as near heaven in his shop as in his church1 at work as at prayer2 so he makes all work sacramental2 he communes with ,god and man in buying and selling--communion in both kinds4 ,he consecrates his week-day and his work4 ,christianity appears more divine in this man's deeds than in the holiest words of apostle or saint4 ,he treats every man as he wishes all to treat him1 and thinks no more of that than of carrying one for every ten4 ,it is the rule of his arithmetic4 ,you know this man is a saint1 not by his creed1 but by the letting of his houses1 his treatment of all that depend on him4 ,he is a father to defend the weak1 not a pirate to rob them4 ,he looks out for the welfare of all that he employs2 if they are his help he is theirs1 and as he is the strongest so the greater help4 ,his private prayer appears in his public work1 for in his devotion he does not apologize for his sin1 but asking to outgrow that1 challenges himself to new worship and more piety4 ,he sets on foot new enterprises which develop the nation's wealth and help others while they help him4 ,he wants laws that take care of man's rights1 knowing that then he can take care of himself and of his own1 but hurt no man by so doing4 ,he asks laws for the weak1 not against them4 ,he would not take vengeance on the wicked1 but correct them4 ,his justice tastes of charity4 ,he tries to remove the causes of poverty1 licentiousness1 of all crime1 and thinks that is alike the duty of ,church and ,state4 ,ask not him to make a statesman a party-man1 or the churches an apology for his lowness4 ,he knows better2 he calls that infidelity4 ,he helps the weak help themselves4 ,he is a moral educator1 a church of ,christ gone into business1 a saint in trade4 ,the ,catholic saint who stood on a pillar's top1 or shut himself into a den and fed on grass1 is gone to his place--that ,christian ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,he got fame in his day4 ,no man honors him now2 nobody even imitates him4 ,but the saint of the nineteenth century is the good merchant2 he is wisdom for the foolish1 strength for the weak1 warning to the wicked1 and a blessing to all4 ,build him a shrine in bank and church1 in the market and the exchange1 or build it not1 no saint stands higher than this saint of trade4 ,there are such men1 rich and poor1 young and old2 such men in ,boston4 ,i have known more than one such1 and far greater and better than ,i have told of1 for ,i purposely under-color this poor sketch4 ,they need no word of mine for encouragement or sympathy4 ,have they not ,christ and ,god to aid and bless them8 ,would that some word of mine might stir the heart of others to be such2 your hearts1 young men4 ,they rise there clean amid the dust of commerce and the mechanic's busy life1 and stand there like great square pyramids in the desert amongst the ,arabians' shifting tents4 ,look at them1 ye young men1 and be healed of your folly4 ,it is not the calling which corrupts the man1 but the men the calling4 ,the most experienced will tell you so4 ,i know it demands manliness to make a man1 but ,god sent you here to do that work4 ,the duty of this class is quite plain4 ,they control the wealth1 the physical strength1 the intellectual vigor of the nation4 ,they now display an energy new and startling4 ,no ocean is safe from their canvas2 they fill the valleys2 they level the hills2 they chain the rivers2 they urge the willing soil to double harvests4 ,nature opens all her stores to them2 like the fabled dust of ,egypt her fertile bosom teems with new wonders1 new forces to toil for man4 ,no race of men in times of peace ever displayed so manly an enterprise1 an energy so vigorous as this class here in ,america4 ,nothing seems impossible to them4 ,the instinct of production was never so strong and creative before4 ,they are proving that peace can stimulate more than war4 ,would that my words could reach all of this class4 ,think not ,i love to speak hard words1 and so often2 say not that ,i am setting the poor against the rich4 ,it is no such thing4 ,i am trying to set the strong in favor of the weak4 ,i speak for man4 ,are you not all brothers1 rich or poor8 ,i am here to gratify no vulgar ambition1 but in ,religion's name to tell their duty to the most powerful class in all this land4 ,i must speak the truth ,i know1 though ,i may recoil with trembling at the words ,i speak2 yes1 though their flame should scorch my own lips4 ,some of the evils ,i complain of are your misfortune1 not your fault4 ,perhaps the best hearts in the land1 no less than the ablest heads1 are yours4 ,if the evils be done unconsciously1 then it will be greatness to be higher than society1 and with your good overcome its evil4 ,all men see your energy1 your honor1 your disciplined intellect4 ,let them see your goodness1 justice1 ,christianity4 ,the age demands of you a development of religion proportionate with the vigor of your mind and arms4 ,trade is silently making a wonderful revolution4 ,we live in the midst of it1 and therefore see it not4 ,all property has become movable1 and therefore power departs from the family of the first-born1 and comes to the family of mankind4 ,god only controls this revolution1 but you can help it forward1 or retard it4 ,the freedom of labor1 and the freedom of trade1 will work wonders little dreamed of yet2 one is now uniting all men of the same nation2 the other1 some day1 will weave all tribes together into one mighty family4 ,then who shall dare break its peace8 ,i cannot now stop to tell half the proud achievements ,i foresee resulting from the fierce energy that animates your yet unconscious hearts4 ,men live faster than ever before4 ,life1 like money1 like mechanical power1 is getting intensified and condensed4 ,the application of science to the arts1 the use of wind1 water1 steam1 electricity1 for human works1 is a wonderful fact1 far greater than the fables of old time4 ,the modern ,cadmus has yoked fire and water in an iron bond4 ,the new ,prometheus sends the fire of heaven from town to town to run his errands4 ,we talk by lightning4 ,even now these new achievements have greatly multiplied the powers of men4 ,they belong to no class2 like air and water they are the property of mankind4 ,it is for you1 who own the machinery of society1 to see that no class appropriates to itself what ,god meant for all4 ,remember it is as easy to tyrannize by machinery as by armies1 and as wicked2 that it is greater now to bless mankind thereby1 than it was of old to conquer new realms4 ,let men not curse you1 as the old nobility1 and shake you off1 smeared with blood and dust4 ,turn your power to goodness1 its natural transfiguration1 and men shall bless your name1 and ,god bless your soul4 ,if you control the nation's politics1 then it is your duty to legislate for the nation1--for man4 ,you may develop the great national idea1 the equality of all men2 may frame a government which shall secure man's unalienable rights4 ,it is for you to organize the rights of man1 thus balancing into harmony the man and the many1 to organize the rights of the hand1 the head1 and the heart4 ,if this be not done1 the fault is yours4 ,if the nation play the tyrant over her weakest child1 if she plunder and rob the feeble ,indian1 the feebler ,mexican1 the ,negro1 feebler yet1 why the blame is yours4 ,remember there is a ,god who deals justly with strong and weak4 ,the poor and the weak have loitered behind in the march of man2 our cities yet swarm with men half-savage4 ,it is for you1 ye elder brothers1 to lead forth the weak and poor6 ,if you do the national duty that devolves on you1 then are you the saviors of your country1 and shall bless not that alone1 but all the thousand million sons of men4 ,toil then for that4 ,if the church is in your hands1 then make it preach the ,christian truth4 ,let it help the free development of religion in the self-consciousness of man1 with ,jesus for its pattern4 ,it is for you to watch over this work1 promote it1 not retard4 ,help build the ,american church4 ,the ,roman church has been1 we know what it was1 and what men it bore2 the ,english church yet stands1 we know what it is4 ,but the church of ,america--which shall represent ,american vigor aspiring to realize the ideas of ,christianity1 of absolute religion1--that is not yet4 ,no man has come with pious genius fit to conceive its litany1 to chant its mighty creed1 and sing its beauteous psalm4 ,the church of ,america1 the church of freedom1 of absolute religion1 the church of mankind1 where ,truth1 ,goodness1 ,piety1 form one trinity of beauty1 strength1 and grace--when shall it come8 ,soon as we will4 ,it is yours to help it come4 ,for these great works you may labor2 yes1 you are laboring1 when you help forward justice1 industry1 when you promote the education of the people2 when you practise1 public and private1 the virtues of a ,christian man2 when you hinder these seemingly little things1 you hinder also the great4 ,you are the nation's head1 and if the head be wilful and wicked1 what shall its members do and be8 ,to this class let me say3 ,remember your ,position at the head of the nation2 use it not as pirates1 but ,americans1 ,christians1 men4 ,remember your ,temptations1 and be warned in time4 ,remember your opportunities--such as no men ever had before4 ,god and man alike call on you to do your duty4 ,elevate your calling still more2 let its nobleness appear in you4 ,scorn a mean thing4 ,give the world more than you take4 ,you are to serve the nation1 not it you2 to build the church1 not make it a den of thieves1 nor allow it to apologize for your crime1 or sloth4 ,try this experiment and see what comes of it4 ,in all things govern yourselves by the eternal law of right4 ,you shall build up not a military despotism1 nor a mercantile oligarchy1 but a ,state1 where the government is of all1 by all1 and for all2 you shall found not a feudal theocracy1 nor a beggarly sect1 but the church of mankind1 and that ,christ which is the same yesterday1 to-day and for ever1 will dwell in it1 to guide1 to warn1 to inspire1 and to bless all men4 ,and you1 my brothers1 what shall you become8 ,not knaves1 higgling rather than earn2 not tyrants1 to be feared whilst living1 and buried at last amid popular hate2 but men1 who thrive best by justice1 reason1 conscience1 and have now the blessedness of just men making themselves perfect4 ,,footnotes3 #bc ,i gather these facts from a ,review of ,major ,poussin's ,belgique et les ,belges1 depuis #ahcj1 in a foreign journal4 ,the condition of the merchant manufacturer ,i know not4 #bd ,subsequent events 7in #ahej and #ahea7 show that he was right in his statement4 ,what was thought calumny then has become history since1 and is now the glory and boast of ,boston4 #be ,mr4 ,robert ,j4 ,walker published a letter in favor of the annexation of ,texas4 ,in it he said3 ,upon the refusal of re-annexation 444 ,,the ,,tariff ,,as ,a ,,practical ,,measure ,,falls ,,wholly ,,and ,,for ,,ever1 and we shall thereafter be compelled to resort to direct taxes to support the ,government4 ,notwithstanding this foolish threat1 a large number of citizens of ,massachusetts remonstrated against annexation4 ,the ,house of ,representatives1 by a large majority1 passed a resolve declaring that ,massachusetts announces her uncompromising opposition to the further extension of ,american slavery1 and declares her earnest and unalterable purpose to use every lawful and constitutional measure for its overthrow and entire extinction1 etc4 ,but the ,senate voted that the resistance of the ,state was already sufficient6 ,the passage in the text refers to these circumstances4 #bf ,it was then thought that the aqueduct would cost but #b1jjj1jjj4 #bg ,i refer to the ,report of ,m4 ,villerme1 in the ,memoires de l',institut1 ,tom4 lxxi4 #bh ,this was printed in #ahdf4 ,in #ahej1 and since1 these men have publicly gloried in a similar act even more atrocious4 #bi ,keble1 in one of his poems1 represents a mother seeing her sportive son enacting holy rites1 and thus describes her emotions3 ,she sees in heart an empty throne1 ,and falling1 falling far away1 ,him whom the ,lord hath placed thereon3 ,she hears the dread ,proclaimer say1 ',cast ye the lot1 in trembling cast1 ,the traitor to his place hath past1-- ,strive ye with prayer and fast to guide ,the dangerous glory where it shall abide4' #cj ,it is the custom in ,massachusetts to tax men in the place where they reside1 on the first day of ,may2 as the taxes differ very much in different towns of the same ,state1 it is easy for a man to escape the burden of taxation4 ,,viii4 ,a ,,sermon ,,of ,,the ,,dangerous ,,classes ,,in ,,society4--,,preached ,,at ,,the ,,melodeon1 ,,on ,,sunday1 ,,january #ca1 #ahdg4 ,,matthew ,,xviii4 #ab4 ,if a man have an hundred sheep1 and one of them be gone astray1 doth he not leave the ninety and nine1 and goeth into the mountains1 and seeketh that which is gone astray8 ,we are first babies1 then children1 then youths1 then men4 ,it is so with the nation2 so with mankind4 ,the human race started with no culture1 no religion1 no morals1 even no manners1 having only desires and faculties within1 and the world without4 ,now we have attained much more4 ,but it has taken many centuries for mankind to pass from primeval barbarism to the present stage of comfort1 science1 civilization1 and refinement4 ,it has been the work of two hundred generations2 perhaps of more4 ,but each new child is born at the foot of the ladder1 as much as the first child2 with only desires and faculties4 ,he may have a better physical organization than the first child2 he certainly has better teachers2 but he1 in like manner1 is born with no culture1 no religion1 no morals1 even with no manners2 born into them1 not with them2 born bare of these things and naked as the first child4 ,he must himself toil up the ladder which mankind have been so long in constructing and climbing up4 ,to attain the present civilization he must pass over every point which the race passed through4 ,the child of the civilized man1 born with a good organization and under favorable circumstances1 can do this rapidly1 and in thirty or forty years attains the height of development which it took the whole human race sixty centuries or more to arrive at4 ,he has the aid of past experience and the examples of noble men2 he travels a road already smooth and beaten4 ,the world's cultivation1 so slowly and painfully achieved1 helps civilize him4 ,he may then go further on1 and cultivate himself2 may transcend the development of mankind1 adding new rounds to the ladder4 ,so doing he aids future children1 who will one day climb above his head1 he possibly crying against them1--that they climb only to fall1 and thereby sweep off him and all below2 that no new rounds can be added to the old ladder4 ,still1 after all the helps which our fathers have provided1 every future child must go through the same points which we and our predecessors passed through1 only more swiftly4 ,every boy has his animal period1 when he can only eat and sleep1 intelligence slowly dawning on his mind4 ,then comes his savage period1 when he knows nothing of rights1 when all thine is mine to him1 if he can get it4 ,then comes his barbarous period1 when he is ignorant and dislikes to learn2 study and restraint are irksome4 ,he hates the school1 disobeys his mother2 has reverence for nobody4 ,nothing is sacred to him--no time1 nor place1 nor person4 ,he would grow up wild4 ,the greater part of children travel beyond this stage4 ,the unbearable boy becomes a tolerable youth2 then a powerful man4 ,he loves his duty2 outstrips the men that once led him so unwilling and reluctant1 and will set hard lessons for his grandsire which that grandsire1 perhaps1 will not learn4 ,the young learns of the old1 mounts the ladder they mounted and the ladder they made4 ,the reverse is seldom true1 that the old climbs the ladder which the young have made1 and over that storms new heights4 ,now and then you see it1 but such are extraordinary and marvellous men4 ,in the old story ,saturn did not take pains to understand his children1 nor learn thereof2 he only devoured them up1 till some outgrew and overmastered him4 ,did the generation that is passing from the stage ever comprehend and fairly judge the new generation coming on8 ,in the world1 the barbarian passes on and becomes the civilized1 then the enlightened4 ,in the physical process of growth from the baby to the man1 there is no direct intervention of the will4 ,therefore the process goes on regularly1 and we do not see abortive men who have advanced in years1 but stopped growth in their babyhood1 or boyhood4 ,but as the will is the soul of personality1 so to say1 the heart of intellect1 morals and religion1 so the force thereof may promote1 retard1 disturb1 and perhaps for a time completely arrest the progress of intellectual1 moral and religious growth4 ,still more1 this spiritual development of men is hindered or promoted by subtle causes hitherto little appreciated4 ,hence1 by reason of these outward or internal hinderances1 you find persons and classes of men who do not attain the average culture of mankind1 but stop at some lower stage of this spiritual development1 or else loiter behind the rest4 ,you even find whole nations whose progress is so slow1 that they need the continual aid of the more civilized to quicken their growth4 ,outward circumstances have a powerful influence on this development4 ,if a single class in a nation lingers behind the rest1 the cause thereof will commonly be found in some outward hinderance4 ,they move in a resisting medium1 and therefore with abated speed4 ,no one expects the same progress from a ,russian serf and a free man of ,new ,england4 ,i do not deny that in the case of some men personal will is doubtless the disturbing force4 ,i am not now to go beyond that fact1 and inquire how the will became as it is4 ,here is a man who1 from whatever cause1 is bodily ill-born1 with defective organs4 ,he stops in the animal period2 is incapable of any considerable degree of development1 intellectual1 moral1 or religious4 ,the defect is in his body4 ,others disturbed by more occult causes do not attain their proper growth4 ,this man wishes to stop in his savage period1 he would be a freebooter1 a privateer against society1 having universal letters-of-marque and reprisal2 a perpetual ,arab1 his rule is to get what he can1 as he will and where he pleases1 to keep what he gets4 ,another stops at the barbarous age4 ,he is lazy and will not work1 others must bear his share of the general burden of mankind4 ,he claims letters patent to make all men serve him4 ,he is not only indolent1 constitutionally lazy1 but lazy1 consciously and wilfully idle4 ,he will not work1 but in one form or another will beg or steal4 ,yet a fourth stops in the half-civilized period4 ,he will work with his hands1 but no more4 ,he cannot discover2 he will not study to learn2 he will not even be taught what has been invented and taught before4 ,none can teach him4 ,the horse is led to the water1 or the water brought to the horse1 but the beast will not drink4 ,the idle fool is whipt at school1 but to no purpose4 ,he is always an oaf4 ,no college or tutor mends him4 ,the wild ass will go out free1 wild1 and an ass4 ,these four1 the idiot1 the pirate1 the thief1 and the clown are exceptional men4 ,they remain stationary4 ,meanwhile1 mankind advances1 continually1 but not with an even front4 ,the human race moves not by column or line1 but by echelon as it were4 ,we go up by stairs1 not by slopes4 ,now comes a great man1 of far-reaching and prospective sight1 a ,moses1 and he tells men that there is a land of promise1 which they have a right to who have skill to win it4 ,then lesser men1 the ,calebs and ,joshuas1 go and search it out1 bringing back therefrom new wine in the cluster and alluring tales4 ,next troops of pioneers advance1 yet lesser men2 then a few bold men who love adventure4 ,then comes the army1 the people with their flocks and herds1 the priesthood with their ark of the covenant and the tabernacle1 the title-deeds of the new lands which they have heard of but not seen4 ,at last there comes the mixed multitude1 following in no order1 but not without shouting and tumult1 men treading one another under foot1 cowards looking back and refusing to march1 old men dying without seeing their consolation4 ,if you will lie down on the ground and take the profile of a great city1 and see how hill1 steeple1 dome1 tower1 the roof of the tall house1 gain on the sky1 and then come whole streets of warehouses and shops1 then common dwellings1 then cheap1 low tenements1 you will have a good profile of man's march to gain new conquests in science1 art1 morals1 religion1 and general development4 ,it is so in the family1 a bright boy shooting before all the rest1 and taking the thunder out of the adverse cloud for his brothers and sisters1 who follow and grow rich with unscathed forehead4 ,it is so in the nation1 a few great men bearing the brunt of the storm1 and wading through the surges to set their weaker brothers1 screaming and struggling1 with dry feet1 in safety1 on the firm land of science or religion4 ,it is so in the world1 a tall nation achieving art1 science1 law1 morals1 religion1 and by the fact revealing their beauty to the barbarian race4 ,in all departments of human concern there are such pioneers for the family1 the nation or mankind4 ,it is instructive to study this law of human progress1 to see the ,de ,gamas and ,columbuses1 aspiring men who dream of worlds to come and lead the perilous van2 to see the ,vespuccis1 the ,cortezes1 the ,pizarros1 who get rank and fame by following in their track2 to see next the merchant adventurers1 soldiers1 sutlers and the like1 who make money out of the new conquest1 while the great discoverers had for meet reward the joy of their genius1 the nobleness of their work1 a sight of the world's future welfare from the prophet's mountain--a hard life1 a bad name1 and a grave unknown4 ,now while there are those men in the van of society1 who aspire at more1 chiding and taxing mankind with idleness1 cowardice1 and even sin1 there are yet those others who loiter on the way1 from weakness or wilfulness1 refusing to advance--idlers1 cowards1 sinners4 ,if born in the rear1 afar from civilization1 they are left to die--the savages1 the inferior races1 the perishing classes of the world4 ,if born in the centre of civilization1 for a while they impede the march by actively hindering others1 by standing in their way1 or by plundering the rest--the dangerous classes of society4 ,they too are slain and trodden under foot of men1 and likewise perish4 ,in most large families there is a bad boy1 a black sheep in the flock1 an ,ishmael whom ,abraham will drive out into the wilderness1 to meet an angel if he can find one4 ,that story of ,hagar and her son is very old1 but verified anew each year in families and nations4 ,so in society there are criminals who do not keep up with the moral advance of the mass1 stragglers from the march1 whom society treats as ,abraham his base-born boy1 but sending them off with no loaf or skin of water1 not even a blessing1 but a curse2 sending them off as ,cain went1 with a bad name and a mark on their forehead6 ,so in the world there are inferior nations1 savage1 barbarous1 half-civilized2 some are inferior in nature1 some perhaps only behind us in development2 on a lower form in the great school of ,providence--,negroes1 ,indians1 ,mexicans1 ,irish1 and the like1 whom the world treats as ,ishmael and the ,gibeonites got treated3 now their land is stolen from them in war2 their children1 or their persons1 are annexed to the strong as slaves4 ,the civilized continually preys on the savage1 reannexing their territory and stealing their persons--owning them or claiming their work4 ,esau is rough and hungry1 ,jacob smooth and well fed4 ,the smooth man overreaches the rough2 buys his birthright for a mess of pottage2 takes the ground from underneath his feet1 thereby supplanting his brother4 ,so the elder serves the younger1 and the fresh civilization1 strong1 and sometimes it may be wicked also1 overmasters the ruder age that is contented to stop4 ,the young man now a barbarian will come up one day and take all our places1 making us seem ridiculous1 nothing but timid conservatives6 ,all these three1 the reputed pests of the family1 society1 and the world1 are but loiterers from the march1 bad boys1 or dull ones4 ,criminals are a class of such2 savages are nations thereof--classes or nations that for some cause do not keep up with the movement of mankind4 ,the same human nature is in us all1 only there it is not so highly developed4 ,yet the bad boy1 who to-day is a curse to the mother that bore him1 would perhaps have been accounted brave and good in the days of the ,conqueror2 the dangerous class might have fought in the ,crusades and been reckoned soldiers of the ,lord whose chance for heaven was most auspicious4 ,the savage nations would have been thought civilized in the days when there was no smith in ,israel4 ,david would make a sorry figure among the present kings of ,europe1 and ,abraham would be judged of by a standard not known in his time4 ,there have been many centuries in which the pirate1 the land-robber and the murderer were thought the greatest of men4 ,now it becomes a serious question1 ,what shall be done for these stragglers1 or even with them8 ,it is sometimes a terrible question to the father and mother what they shall do for their reprobate son who is an offence to the neighborhood1 a shame1 a reproach and a heart-burning to them4 ,it is a sad question to society1 ,what shall be done with the criminals--thieves1 housebreakers1 pirates1 murderers8 ,it is a serious question to the world1 ,what is to become of the humbler nations--,irish1 ,mexicans1 ,malays1 ,indians1 ,negroes8 ,in the world and in society the question is answered in about the same way4 ,in a low civilization1 the instinct of self-preservation is the strongest of all4 ,they are done with1 not for2 are done away with4 ,it is the ,old ,testament answer3--,the inferior nation is hewn to pieces1 the strong possess their lands1 their cities1 their cattle1 their persons1 also1 if they will2 the class of criminals gets the prophet's curse3 the two bears1 the jail and the gallows1 eat them up4 ,in the family alone is the ,christian answer given2 the good shepherd goes forth to seek the one sheep that has strayed and gone1 lost upon the mountains2 the father goes out after the poor prodigal1 whom the swine's meat could not feed nor fill4#ca ,the world1 which is the society of nations1 and society1 which is the family of classes1 still belong mainly to the old dispensation1 ,heathen or ,hebrew1 the period of force4 ,in the family there is a certain instinctive love binding the parent to the child1 and therefore a certain unity of action1 growing out of that love4 ,so the father feels his kinship to his boy1 though a reprobate2 looks for the causes of his son's folly or sin1 and strives to cure him2 at least to do something for him1 not merely with him4 ,the spirit of ,christianity comes into the family1 but the recognition of human brotherhood stops mainly there4 ,it does not reach throughout society2 it has little influence on national politics or international law--on the affairs of the world taken as a whole4 ,i know the idea of human brotherhood has more influence now than hitherto2 ,i think in ,new ,england it has a wider scope1 a higher range1 and works with more power than elsewhere4 ,our hearts bleed for the starving thousands of ,ireland1 whom we only read of2 for the down-trodden slave1 though of another race and dyed by ,heaven with another hue2 yes1 for the savage and the suffering everywhere4 ,the hand of our charity goes through every land4 ,if there is one quality for which the men of ,new ,england may be proud it is this1 their sympathy with suffering man4 ,still we are far from the ,christian ideal4 ,we still drive out of society the ,ishmaels and ,esaus4 ,this we do not so much from ill-will as want of thought1 but thereby we lose the strength of these outcasts4 ,so much water runs over the dam--wasted and wasting6 99 99 99 99 99 ,in all these melancholy cases what is it best to do8 what shall the parents do to mend their dull boy1 or their wicked one8 ,there are two methods which may be tried4 ,one is the method of force1 sometimes referred to ,solomon1 and recommended by the maxim1 ,spare not the rod and spoil the child4 ,that is the ,old ,testament way1 ,stripes are prepared for the fool's back4 ,the mischief is1 they leave it no wiser than they found it4 ,by the law of the ,hebrews1 a man brought his stubborn and rebellious son before the magistrates and deposed3 ,this our son is stubborn and rebellious3 he will not obey our voice4 ,he is a glutton and a drunkard4 ,thereupon1 the men of the city stoned him with stones and so put away the evil from amongst them6 ,that was the method of force4 ,it may bruise the body2 it may fill men with fear2 it may kill4 ,i think it never did any other good4 ,it belonged to a rude and bloody age4 ,i may ask intelligent men who have tried it1 and ,i think they will confess it was a mistake4 ,i think ,i may ask intelligent men on whom it has been tried1 and they will say1 ,it was a mistake on my father's part1 but a curse to me6 ,i know there are exceptions to that reply2 still ,i think it will be general4 ,a man is seldom elevated by an appeal to low motives2 always by addressing what is high and manly within him4 ,is fear of physical pain the highest element you can appeal to in a child2 the most effectual8 ,i do not see how ,satan can be cast out by ,satan4 ,i think a ,saviour never tries it4 ,yet this method of force is brief and compact4 ,it requires no patience1 no thought1 no wisdom for its application1 and but a moment's time4 ,for this reason1 ,i think1 it is still retained in some families and many schools1 to the injury alike of all concerned4 ,blows and violent words are not correction1 often but an adjournment of correction3 sometimes only an actual confession of inability to correct4 ,the other is the method of love1 and of wisdom not the less4 ,force may hide1 and even silence effects for a time2 it removes not the real causes of evil4 ,by the method of love and wisdom the parents remove the causes2 they do not kill the demoniac1 they cast out the demon1 not by letting in ,beelzebub1 the chief devil1 but by the finger of ,god4 ,they redress the child's folly and evil birth by their own wisdom and good breeding4 ,the day drives out and off the night4 ,sometimes you see that worthy parents have a weak and sickly child1 feeble in body4 ,no pains are too great for them to take in behalf of the faint and feeble one4 ,what self-denial of the father2 what sacrifice on the mother's part6 ,the best of medical skill is procured2 the tenderest watching is not spared4 ,no outlay of money1 time1 or sacrifice is thought too much to save the child's life2 to insure a firm constitution and make that life a blessing4 ,the able-bodied children can take care of themselves1 but not the weak4 ,so the affection of father and mother centres on this sickly child4 ,by extraordinary attention the feeble becomes strong2 the deformed is transformed1 and the grown man1 strong and active1 blesses his mother for health not less than life4 ,did you ever see a robin attend to her immature and callow child which some heedless or wicked boy had stolen from the nest1 wounded and left on the ground1 half living2 left to perish8 ,patiently she brings food and water1 gives it kind nursing4 ,tenderly she broods over it all night upon the ground1 sheltering its tortured body from the cold air of night and morning's penetrating dew4 ,she perils herself2 never leaves it--not till life is gone4 ,that is nature2 the strong protecting the feeble4 ,human nature may pause and consider the fowls of the air1 whence the ,greatest once drew his lessons4 ,human history1 spite of all its tears and blood1 is full of beauty and majestic worth4 ,but it shows few things so fair as the mother watching thus over her sickly and deformed child1 feeding him with her own life4 ,what if she forewent her native instinct and the mother said1 ,my boy is deformed1 a cripple--let him die8 ,where would be the more hideous deformity8 ,if his child be dull1 slow-witted1 what pains will a good father take to instruct him2 still more if he is vicious1 born with a low organization1 with bad propensities--what admonitions will he administer2 what teachers will he consult2 what expedients will he try2 what prayers will he not pray for his stubborn and rebellious son6 ,though one experiment fail1 he tries another1 and then again1 reluctant to give over4 ,did it never happen to one of you to be such a child1 to have outgrown that rebellion and wickedness8 ,remember the pains taken with you2 remember the agony your mother felt2 the shame that bowed your father's head so oft1 and brought such bitter tears adown those venerable cheeks4 ,you cannot pay for that agony1 that shame1 not pay the hearts which burst with both--yet uttering only a prayer for you4 ,pay it back then1 if you can1 to others like yourself1 stubborn and rebellious sons4 ,has none of you ever been such a father or mother8 ,you know then the sad yearnings of heart which tried you4 ,the world condemned you and your wicked child1 and said1 ,let the elders stone him with stones4 ,the gallows waiteth for its own6 ,not so you6 ,you said3 ,nay1 now1 wait a little4 ,perchance the boy will mend4 ,come1 ,i will try again4 ,crush him not utterly and a father's heart besides6 ,the more he was wicked1 the more assiduous were you for his recovery1 for his elevation4 ,you saw that he would not keep up with the moral march of men2 that he was a barbarian1 a savage1 yes1 almost a beast amongst men4 ,you saw this2 yes1 felt it too as none others felt4 ,yet you could not condemn him wholly and without hope4 ,you saw some good mixed with his evil2 some causes for the evil and excuses for it which others were blind to4 ,because you mourned most you pitied most--all from the abundance of your love4 ,though even in your highest hour of prayer1 the sad conviction came that work or prayer was all in vain--you never gave him over to the world's reproach1 but interposed your fortune1 character1 yes1 your own person1 to take the blows which the severe and tyrannous world kept laying on4 ,at last if he would not repent1 you hid him away1 the best you could1 from the mocking sight of other men1 but never shut him from your heart2 never from remembrance in your deepest prayers4 ,how the whole family suffers for the prodigal till he returns4 ,when he comes back1 you rejoice over one recovered olive-plant more than over all the trees of your field which no storm has ever broke or bowed4 ,how you went forth to meet him2 with what joy rejoiced6 ,for this my son was lost and is found1 says the old man2 he was dead and is alive once more4 ,let us pray and be glad6 ,with what a serene and hallowed countenance you met your friends and neighbors1 as their glad hearts smiled up in their faces when the prodigal came home from riot and swine's-bread1 a new man safe and sound6 ,many such things have ,i seen1 and hearts long cold grew bright and warm again4 ,towards evening the clouds broke asunder2 ,simeon saw his consolation and went home in sunlight and in peace4 ,the general result of this treatment in the family is1 that the dull boy learns by degrees1 learns what he is fit for3 the straggler joins the troop1 and keeps step with the rest1 nay1 sometimes becomes the leader of the march3 the vicious boy is corrected2 even the faults of his organization get overcome1 not suddenly1 but at length4 ,the rejected stone finds its place on the wall1 and its use4 ,such is not always the result4 ,some will not be mended4 ,i stop not now to ask the cause4 ,some will not return1 though you go out to meet them a great way off4 ,what then8 ,will you refuse to go8 ,can you wholly abandon a friend or a child who thus deserts himself8 ,is he so bad that he cannot be made better8 ,perhaps it is so4 ,can you not hinder him from being worse8 ,are you so good that you must forsake him8 ,did not ,god send his greatest1 noblest1 purest ,son to seek and save the lost8 send him to call sinners to repent8 ,when sinners slew him1 did ,god forsake mankind8 ,not one of those sinners did his love forget4 ,does the good physician spend the night in feasting with the sound1 or in watching with the sick8 ,nay1 though the sick man be past all hope1 he will look in to soothe affliction which he cannot cure2 at least to speak a word of friendly cheer4 ,the wise teacher spends most pains with backward boys1 and is most bountiful himself where ,nature seems most niggard in her gifts4 ,what would you say if a teacher refused to help a boy because the boy was slow to learn2 because he now and then broke through the rules8 ,what if the mother said3 ,my boy is a sickly dunce1 not worth the pains of rearing4 ,let him die6 ,what if the father said3 ,he is a born villain1 to be bred only for the gallows2 what use to toil or pray for him6 ,let the hangman take my son6 99 99 99 99 99 ,what shall be done for ,criminals1 the backward children of society1 who refuse to keep up with the moral or legal advance of mankind8 ,they are a dangerous class4 ,there are three things which are sometimes confounded3 there is ,error1 an unintentional violation of a natural law4 ,sometimes this comes from abundance of life and energy2 sometimes from ignorance1 general or special2 sometimes from heedlessness1 which is ignorance for the time4 ,next there is ,crime1 the violation of a human statute4 ,suppose the statute also represents a law of ,god2 the violation thereof may be the result of ignorance1 or of design1 it may come from a bad heart4 ,then it becomes a ,sin--the wilful violation of a known law of ,god4 ,there are many errors which are not crimes2 and the best men often commit them innocently1 but not without harm1 violating laws of the body or the soul1 which they have not grown up to understand4 ,there have been many crimes2 yes1 conscious violations of man's law which were not sins1 but rather a keeping of ,god's law4 ,there are still a great many sins not forbidden by any human statute1 not considered as crimes4 ,it is no crime to go and fight in a wicked war2 nay1 it is thought a virtue4 ,it was a crime in the heroes of the ,american ,revolution to demand the unalienable rights of man--they were traitors who did it2 a crime in ,jesus to sum up the ,law and the ,prophets1 in one word1 ,love2 he was reckoned an infidel1 guilty of blasphemy against ,moses6 ,now to punish an error as a crime1 a crime as a sin1 leads to confusion at the first1 and to much worse than confusion in the end4 ,but there are crimes which are a violation of the eternal principles of justice4 ,it is of such1 and the men who commit them1 that ,i am now to speak4 ,what shall be done for the dangerous classes1 the criminals8 ,the first question is1 ,what end shall we aim at in dealing with them8 ,the means must be suited to accomplish that end4 ,we may desire vengeance2 then the hurt inflicted on the criminal will be proportioned to the loss or hurt sustained by society4 ,a man has stolen my goods1 injured my person1 traduced my good name1 sought to take my life4 ,i will not ask for the motive of his deeds1 or the cause of that motive4 ,i will only consider my own damage1 and will make him smart for that4 ,i will use violence--having an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth4 ,i will deliver him over to the tormentors till my vengeance is satisfied4 ,if he slew my friend1 or sought to slay but lacked the power1 as ,i have the ability ,i will kill him6 ,this desire of vengeance1 of paying a hurt with a hurt1 has still very much influence on our treatment of criminals4 ,i fear it is still the chief aim of our penal jurisprudence4 ,when vengeance is the aim1 violence is the most suitable method2 jails and the gallows most appropriate instruments6 ,but is it right to take vengeance2 for me to hurt a man to-day solely because he hurt me yesterday8 ,if so1 the proof of that right must be found in my nature1 in the law of ,god2 a man can make a statute1 ,god only a right4 ,as ,i study my nature1 ,i find no such right2 reason gives me none2 conscience none2 religion quite as little4 ,doubtless ,i have a right to defend myself by all manly means2 to protect myself for the future no less than for the present4 ,in doing that1 it may be needful that ,i should restrain1 and in restraining seize and hold1 and in holding incidentally hurt my opponent4 ,but ,i cannot see what right ,i have in cold blood wilfully to hurt a man because he once hurt me1 and does not intend to repeat the wrong4 ,do ,i look to the authority of the greatest ,son of man8 ,i find no allusion to such a right4 ,i find no law of ,god which allows vengeance4 ,in his providence ,i find justice everywhere as beautiful as certain2 but vengeance nowhere4 ,i know this is not the common notion entertained of ,god and his providence4 ,i shudder to think at the barbarism which yet prevails under the guise of ,christianity2 the vengeance which is sought for in the name of ,god6 ,the aim may be not to revenge a crime1 but to prevent it2 to deter the offender from repeating the deed1 and others from the beginning thereof4 ,in all modern legislation the vindictive spirit is slowly yielding to the design of preventing crime4 ,the method is to inflict certain uniform and specific penalties for each offence1 proportionate to the damage which the criminal has done2 to make the punishment so certain1 so severe1 or so infamous1 that the offender shall forbear for the future1 and innocent men be deterred from crime4 ,but have we a right to punish a man for the example's sake8 ,i may give up my life to save a thousand lives1 or one if ,i will4 ,but society has no right to take it1 without my consent1 to save the whole human race6 ,i admit that society has the right of eminent domain over my property1 and may take my land for a street2 may destroy my house to save the town2 perhaps seize on my store of provisions in time of famine4 ,it can render me an equivalent for those things4 ,i have not the same lien on any portion of the universe as on my life1 my person4 ,to these ,i have rights which none can alienate except myself1 which no man has given1 which all men can never justly take away4 ,for any injustice wilfully done to me1 the human race can render me no equivalent4 ,i know society claims the right of eminent domain over person and life not less than over house and land--to take both for the ,commonwealth4 ,i deny the right--certainly it has never been shown4 ,hence to me1 resting on the broad ground of natural justice1 the law of ,god1 capital punishment seems wholly inadmissible1 homicide with the pomp and formality of law4 ,it is a relic of the old barbarism--paying hurt for hurt4 ,no one will contend that it is inflicted for the offender's good4 ,for the good of others ,i contend we have no right to inflict it without the sufferer's consent4 ,to put a criminal to death seems to me as foolish as for the child to beat the stool it has stumbled over1 and as useless too4 ,i am astonished that nations with the name of ,christian ever on their lips1 continue to disgrace themselves by killing men1 formally and in cold blood2 to do this with prayers--,forgive us as we forgive2 doing it in the name of ,god6 ,i do not wonder that in the codes of nations1 ,hebrew or heathen1 far lower than ourselves in civilization1 we should find laws enforcing this punishment2 laws too enacted in the name of ,god4 ,but it fills me with amazement that worthy men in these days should go back to such sources for their wisdom2 should walk dry-shod through the ,gospels and seek in records of a barbarous people to justify this atrocious act6 ,famine1 pestilence1 war1 are terrible evils1 but no one is so dreadful in its effects as the general prevalence of a great theological idea that is false4 ,it makes me shudder to recollect that out of the twenty-eight ,states of this ,union twenty-seven should still continue the gallows as a part of the furniture of a ,christian ,government4 ,i hope our own ,state1 dignified already by so many noble acts1 will soon rid herself of the stain4 ,let us try the experiment of abolishing this penalty1 if we will1 for twenty years1 or but ten1 and ,i am confident we shall never return to that punishment4 ,if a man be incapable of living in society1 so ill-born or ill-bred that you cannot cure or mend him1 why1 hide him away out of society4 ,let him do no harm1 but treat him kindly1 not like a wolf but a man4 ,make him work1 to be useful to himself1 to society1 but do not kill him4 ,or if you do1 never say again1 ,forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us4 ,what if ,he should take you at your word6 ,what would you think of a father who to-morrow should take the ,old ,testament for his legal warrant1 and bring his son before your ,mayor and ,aldermen because he was stubborn and rebellious1 a drunkard and a glutton1 and they should stone him to death in front of the ,city ,hall6 ,but there is quite as good a warrant in the ,old ,testament for that as for hanging a man4 ,the law is referred to ,jehovah as its author4 ,how much better is it to choke the life out of a man behind the prison wall8 ,is not society the father of us all1 our protector and defender8 ,hanging is vengeance2 nothing but vengeance4 ,i can readily conceive of that great ,son of man1 whom the loyal world so readily adores1 performing all needful human works with manly dignity4 ,artists once loved to paint the ,saviour in the lowly toil of lowly men1 his garments covered with the dust of common life2 his soul sullied by no pollution4 ,but paint him to your fancy as an executioner2 legally killing a man2 the halter in his hands1 hanging ,judas for high treason6 ,you see the relation which that punishment bears to ,christianity4 ,yet what was unchristian in ,jesus does not become ,christian in the sheriff4 ,we call ourselves ,christians2 we often repeat the name1 the words of ,christ1--but his prayer8 oh no--not that4 ,there are now in this land1 ,i think1 sixteen men under sentence of death2 sixteen men to be hanged till they are dead6 ,is there not in the nation skill to heal these men8 ,perhaps it is so4 ,i have known hearts which seemed to me cold stones1 so hard1 so dry4 ,no kindly steel had alchemy to win a spark from them4 ,yet their owners went about the streets and smiled their hollow smiles2 the ghastly brother cast his shadow in the sun1 or wrapped his cloak about him in the wintry hour1 and still the world went on though the worst of men remained unhanged4 ,perhaps you cannot cure these men6--is there not power enough to keep them from doing harm2 to make them useful8 ,shame on us that we know no better than thus to pour out life upon the dust1 and then with reeking hands turn to the poor and weak and say1 ,ye shall not kill4 ,but if the prevention of crime be the design of the punishment1 then we must not only seek to hinder the innocent from vice1 but we must reform the criminal4 ,do our methods of punishment effect that object8 ,during the past year we have committed to the various prisons in ,massachusetts five thousand six hundred sixty-nine persons for crime4 ,how many of them will be reformed and cured by this treatment1 and so live honest and useful lives hereafter8 ,i think very few4 ,the facts show that a great many criminals are never reformed by their punishment4 ,thus in ,france1 taking the average of four years1 it seems that twenty-two out of each hundred criminals were punished oftener than once2 in ,scotland thirty-six out of the hundred4 ,of the seventy-eight received at your ,state's prison the last year--seventeen have been sent to that very prison before4 ,how many of them have been tenants of other institutions ,i know not1 but as only twenty-three of the seventy-eight are natives of this ,state1 it is plain that many1 under other names1 may have been confined in jail before4 ,yet of these seventy-eight1 ten are less than twenty years old4#cb ,of thirty-five men sent from ,boston to the ,state's prison in one year1 fourteen had been there before4 ,more than half the inmates of the ,house of ,correction in this city are punished oftener than once6 ,these facts show that if we aim at the reformation of the offender we fail most signally4 ,yet every criminal not reformed lives mainly at the charge of society2 and lives too in the most costly way1 for the articles he steals have seldom the same value to him as to the lawful owner4 ,it seems to me that our whole method of punishing crimes is a false one2 that but little good comes of it1 or can come4 ,we beat the stool which we have stumbled over4 ,we punish a man in proportion to the loss or the fear of society2 not in proportion to the offender's state of mind2 not with a careful desire to improve that state of mind4 ,this is wise if vengeance be the aim2 if reformation1 it seems sheer folly4 ,i know our present method is the result of six thousand years' experience of mankind2 ,i know how easy it is to find fault--how difficult to devise a better mode4 ,still the facts are so plain that one with half an eye cannot fail to see the falseness of the present methods4 ,to remove the evil1 we must remove its cause1--so let us look a little into this matter1 and see from what quarter our criminals proceed4 ,here are two classes4 ,i4 ,there are the foes of society2 men that are criminals in soul1 born criminals1 who have a bad nature4 ,the cause of their crime therefore is to be found in their nature itself1 in their organization if you will4 ,all experience shows that some men are born with a depraved organization1 an excess of animal passions1 or a deficiency of other powers to balance them4 ,,ii4 ,there are the victims of society2 men that become criminals by circumstances1 made criminals1 not born2 men who become criminals1 not so much from strength of evil in their soul1 or excess of evil propensities in their organization1 as from strength of evil in their circumstances4 ,i do not say that a man's character is wholly determined by the circumstances in which he is placed1 but all experience shows that circumstances1 such as exposure in youth to good men or bad men1 education1 intellectual1 moral1 and religious1 or neglect thereof entire or partial1 have a vast influence in forming the character of men1 especially of men not well endowed by nature4 ,now the criminals in soul are the most dangerous of men1 the born foes of society4 ,i will not at this moment undertake to go behind their organization and ask1 ,how comes it that they are so ill-born8 ,i stop now at that fact4 ,the cause of their crime is in their bodily constitution itself4 ,this is always a small class4 ,there are in ,new ,england perhaps five hundred men born blind or deaf4 ,apart from the idiots1 ,i think there are not half so many who by nature and bodily constitution are incapable of attaining the average morality of the race at this day2 not so many born foes of society as are born blind or deaf4 ,the criminals from circumstances become what they are by the action of causes which may be ascertained1 guarded against1 mitigated1 and at last overcome and removed4 ,these men are born of poor parents1 and find it difficult to satisfy the natural wants of food1 clothing1 and shelter4 ,they get little culture1 intellectual or moral4 ,the school-house is open1 but the parent does not send the children1 he wants their services1 to beg for him1 perhaps to steal1 it may be to do little services which lie within their power4 ,besides1 the child must be ill-clad1 and so a mark is set on him4 ,the boy of the perishing classes1 with but common endowments1 cannot learn at school as one of the thrifty or abounding class4 ,then he receives no stimulus at home2 there every thing discourages his attempts4 ,he cannot share the pleasure and sport of his youthful fellows4 ,his dress1 his uncleanly habits1 the result of misery1 forbid all that4 ,so the children of the perishing herd together1 ignorant1 ill-fed1 and miserably clad4 ,you do not find the sons of this class in your colleges1 in your high schools where all is free for the people2 few even in the grammar schools2 few in the churches4 ,though born into the nineteenth century after ,christ1 they grow up almost in the barbarism of the nineteenth century before him4 ,children that are blind and deaf1 though born with a superior organization1 if left to themselves become only savages1 little more than animals4 ,what are we to expect of children1 born indeed with eyes and ears1 but yet shut out from the culture of the age they live in8 ,in the corruption of a city1 in the midst of its intenser life1 what wonder that they associate with crime1 that the moral instinct1 baffled and cheated of its due1 becomes so powerless in the boy or girl2 what wonder that reason never gets developed there1 nor conscience1 nor that blessed religious sense learns ever to assert its power8 ,think of the temptations that beset the boy2 those yet more revolting which address the other sex4 ,opportunities for crime continually offer4 ,want impels1 desire leagues with opportunity1 and the result we know4 ,add to all this the curse that creates so much disease1 poverty1 wretchedness1 and so perpetually begets crime2 ,i mean intemperance6 ,that is almost the only pleasure of the perishing class4 ,what recognized amusement have they but this1 of drinking themselves drunk8 ,do you wonder at this8 with no air1 nor light1 nor water1 with scanty food and a miserable dress1 with no culture1 living in a cellar or a garret1 crowded1 stifling1 and offensive even to the rudest sense1 do you wonder that man or woman seeks a brief vacation of misery in the dram-shop and in its drunkenness8 ,i wonder not4 ,under such circumstances how many of you would have done better8 ,to suffer continually from lack of what is needful for the natural bodily wants of food1 of shelter1 of warmth1 that suffering is misery4 ,it is not too much to say1 there are always in this city thousands of persons who smart under that misery4 ,they are indeed a perishing class4 ,almost all our criminals1 victims and foes1 come from this portion of society4 ,most of those born with an organization that is predisposed to crime are born there4 ,the laws of nature are unavoidably violated from generation to generation4 ,unnatural results must follow4 ,the misfortunes of the father are visited on his miserable child4 ,cows and sheep degenerate when the demands of nature are not met1 and men degenerate not less4 ,only the low1 animal instincts1 those of self-defence and self-perpetuation get developed2 these with preternatural force4 ,the animal man wakes1 becomes brutish1 while the spiritual element sleeps within him4 ,unavoidably then the perishing is mother of the dangerous class4 ,i deny not that a portion of criminals come from other sources1 but at least nine tenths thereof proceed from this quarter4 ,of two hundred and seventy-three thousand1 eight hundred and eighteen criminals punished in ,france from #ahbe to #ahci1 more than half were wholly unable even to read1 and had been brought up subject to no family affections4 ,out of seventy criminals in one prison at ,glasgow who were under eighteen1 fifty were orphans having lost one or both parents1 and nearly all the rest had parents of bad character and reputation4 ,taking all the criminals in ,england and ,wales in #ahda1 there were not eight in a hundred that could read and write well4 ,in our country1 where everybody gets a mouthful of education1 though scarce any one a full meal1 the result is a little different4 ,thus of the seven hundred and ninety prisoners in the ,mount ,pleasant ,state's ,prison in ,new ,york1 one hundred it is said could read and understand4 ,yet of all our criminals only a very small proportion have been in a condition to obtain the average intellectual and moral culture of our times4 ,our present mode of treating criminals does no good to this class of men1 these victims of circumstances4 ,i do not know that their improvement is even contemplated4 ,we do not ask what causes made this man a criminal1 and then set ourselves to remove those causes4 ,we look only at the crime2 so we punish practically a man because he had a wicked father2 because his education was neglected1 and he exposed to the baneful influence of unholy men4 ,in the main we treat all criminals alike if guilty of the same offence1 though the same act denotes very different degrees of culpability in the different men1 and the same punishment is attended with quite opposite results4 ,two men commit similar crimes1 we sentence them both to the ,state ,prison for ten years4 ,at the expiration of one year let us suppose one man has thoroughly reformed1 and has made strict and solemn resolutions to pursue an honest and useful life4 ,i do not say such a result is to be expected from such treatment2 still it is possible1 and ,i think has happened1 perhaps many times4 ,we do not discharge the man2 we care nothing for his penitence2 nothing for his improvement2 we keep him nine years more4 ,that is an injustice to him2 we have robbed him of nine years of time which he might have converted into life4 ,it is unjust also to society1 which needs the presence and the labor of all that can serve4 ,the man has been a burden to himself and to us4 ,suppose at the expiration of his ten years the other man is not reformed at all2 this result1 ,i fear1 happens in the great majority of cases4 ,he is no better for what he has suffered2 we know that he will return to his career of crime1 with new energy and with even malice4 ,still he is discharged4 ,this is unjust to him1 for he cannot bear the fresh exposure to circumstances which corrupted him at first1 and he will fall lower still4 ,it is unjust to society1 for the property and the persons of all are exposed to his passions just as much as before4 ,he feels indignant as if he had suffered a wrong4 ,he says1 ,society has taken vengeance on me1 when ,i was to be pitied more than blamed4 ,now ,i will have my turn4 ,they will not allow me to live by honest toil4 ,i will learn their lesson4 ,i will plunder their wealth1 their roof shall blaze6 ,he will live at the expense of society1 and in the way least profitable and most costly to mankind4 ,this idle savage will levy destructive contributions on the rich1 the thrifty1 and the industrious4 ,yes1 he will help teach others the wickedness which himself once1 and perhaps unavoidably learned4 ,so in the very bosom of society there is a horde of marauders waging perpetual war against mankind4 ,do not say my sympathies are with the wicked1 not the industrious and good4 ,it is not so4 ,my sympathies are not confined to one class1 honorable or despised4 ,but it seems to me this whole method of keeping a criminal a definite time and then discharging him1 whether made better or worse is a mistake4 ,certainly it is so if we aim at his reformation4 ,what if a shepherd made it a rule to look one hour for each lost sheep1 and then return with or without the wanderer8 ,what if a smith decreed that one hour and no more should be spent in shoeing a horse1 and so worked that time on each1 though half that time were enough--or sent home the beast with but three shoes1 or two1 or one1 because the hour passed by8 ,what if the physicians decreed1 that all men sick of some contagious disease1 should spend six weeks in the hospital1 then1 if the patient were found well the next day after admission1 still kept him the other forty2 or1 if not mended at the last day1 sent him out sick to the world8 ,such a course would be less unjust1 less inhuman1 only the wrong is more obvious4 ,to aggravate the matter still more1 we have made the punishment more infamous than the crime4 ,a man may commit great crimes which indicate deep depravity2 may escape the legal punishment thereof by gold1 by flight1 by further crimes1 and yet hold up his head unblushing and unrepentant amongst mankind4 ,let him commit a small crime1 which shall involve no moral guilt1 and be legally punished--who respects him again8 ,what years of noble life are deemed enough to wipe the stain out of his reputation8 ,nay1 his children after him1 to the third generation1 must bear the curse6 ,the evil does not stop with the infamy4 ,a guilty man has served out his time4 ,he is thoroughly resolved on industry and a moral life4 ,perhaps he has not learned that crime is wrong1 but found it unprofitable4 ,he will live away from the circumstances which before led him to crime4 ,he comes out of prison1 and the jail-mark is on him4 ,he now suffers the severest part of his punishment4 ,friends and relations shun him4 ,he is doomed and solitary in the midst of the crowd4 ,honest men will seldom employ him4 ,the thriving class look on him with shuddering pity2 the abounding loathe the convict's touch4 ,he is driven among the dangerous and the perishing2 they open their arms and offer him their destructive sympathy4 ,they minister to his wants2 they exaggerate his wrongs2 they nourish his indignation4 ,his direction is no longer in his own hands4 ,his good resolutions--he knows they were good1 but only impossible4 ,he looks back1 and sees nothing but crime and the vengeance society takes for the crime4 ,he looks around1 and the world seems thrusting at him from all quarters4 ,he looks forward1 and what prospect is there8 ,hope never comes that comes to all4 ,he must plunge afresh into that miry pit1 which at last is sure to swallow him up4 ,he plunges anew1 and the jail awaits him2 again2 deeper yet2 the gallows alone can swing him clear from that pestilent ditch4 ,but he is a man and a brother1 our companion in weakness4 ,with his education1 exposure1 temptation1 outward and from within1 how much better would the best of you become8 ,no better result is to be looked for from such a course4 ,of the one thousand five hundred and ninety-two persons in the ,state's prison of ,new ,york1 four hundred have been there more than once4 ,in five years1 from #ahda to #ahdg1 there were punished in the ,house of ,correction in this city1 five thousand seven hundred and forty-eight persons2 of these three thousand one hundred and forty-six received such a sentence oftener than once4 ,yes1 in five years1 three hundred and thirteen were sent thither1 each ten times or more6 ,how many found a place in other jails ,i know not4 ,what if fathers treated dull or vicious boys in this manner at home--making them infamous for the first offence1 or the first dulness1 and then refusing to receive them back again8 ,what if the father sent out his son with bad boys1 and when he erred and fell1 said3 ,you did mischief with bad boys once2 ,i know they enticed you4 ,i knew you were feeble and could not resist their seductions4 ,but ,i shall punish you4 ,do as well as you please1 ,i will not forgive you4 ,if you err again1 ,i will punish you afresh4 ,if you do never so well1 you shall be infamous for ever6 ,what if a public teacher never took back to college a boy who once had broke the academic law--but made him infamous for ever8 ,what if the physicians had kept a patient the requisite time in the hospital1 and discharged him as wholly cured1 but bid men beware of him and shun him for ever8 ,that is just what we are doing with this class of criminals2 not intentionally1 not consciously--but doing none the less6 ,let us look a moment more carefully1 though ,i have already touched on this subject1 at the proximate causes of crime in this class of men4 ,the first cause is obvious--poverty4 ,most of the criminals are from the lowest ranks of society4 ,if you distribute men into three classes1 the abounding1 the thriving1 the perishing1 you will find the inmates of your prisons come almost wholly from the latter class4 ,the perishing fill the sink of society1 and the dangerous the sink of the perishing--for in that lowest deep there is a lower depth4 ,of three thousand one hundred and eighty-eight persons confined in the ,house of ,correction in this city1 one thousand six hundred and fifty-seven were foreigners2 of the five hundred and fifty sent from this city in five years to the ,state's ,prison1 one hundred and eighty-five were foreigners4 ,of five hundred and forty-seven females in the ,prison on ,blackwell's ,island at one time--five hundred and nineteen were committed for vagrancy2 women with no capital but their person1 with no friend1 no shelter4 ,examine minutely1 you shall find that more than nine tenths of all criminals come from the perishing class of men4 ,there all cultivation1 intellectual1 moral1 religious1 is at the lowest ebb4 ,they are a class of barbarians2 yes1 of savages1 living in the midst of civilization1 but not of it4 ,the fact1 that most criminals come from this class1 shows that the causes of the crime lie out of them more than in them2 that they are victims of society1 not foes4 ,the effect of property in elevating and moralizing a class of men is seldom appreciated4 ,historically the animal man comes before the spiritual4 ,animal wants are imperious2 they must be supplied4 ,the lower you go in the social scale1 the more is man subordinated to his animal appetites and demonized by them4 ,nature aims to preserve the individual and repeat the species--so all passions relative to these two designs are preeminently powerful4 ,if a man is born into the intense life of an ,american city1 and grows up1 having no contact with the loftier culture which naturally belongs to that intense life1 why the man becomes mainly an animal1 all the more violent for the atmosphere he breathes in4 ,what shall restrain him8 ,he has not the normal check of reason1 conscience1 religion1 these sleep in the man2 nor the artificial and conventional check of honor1 of manners4 ,the public opinion which he bows to favors obscenity1 drunkenness1 and violence4 ,he is doubly a savage4 ,his wants cannot be legally satisfied4 ,he breaks the law1 the law which covers property1 then goes on to higher crimes4 ,the next cause is the result of the first--education is neglected1 intellectual1 moral1 and religious4 ,now and then a boy in whom the soul of genius is covered with the beggar's rags1 struggles through the terrible environment of modern poverty to die1 the hero of misery1 in the attempt at education6 ,his expiring light only makes visible the darkness out of which it shone4 ,boys born into this condition find at home nothing to aid them1 nothing to encourage a love of excellence1 or a taste for even the rudiments of learning4 ,what is unavoidably the lot of such8 ,the land has been the schoolmaster of the human race--but the perishing class scarce sees its face4 ,poverty brings privations1 misery1 and that a deranged state of the system2 then unnatural appetites goad and burn the man4 ,the destruction of the poor is their poverty4 ,they see wealth about them1 but have none2 so none of what it brings2 neither the cleanliness1 nor health1 nor self-respect1 nor cultivation of mind1 and heart1 and soul4 ,i am told that no ,quaker has ever been confined in any jail in ,new ,england for any real crime4 ,are the ,quakers better born than other men8 ,nay1 but they are looked after in childhood4 ,who ever saw a ,quaker in an almshouse8 ,not a fiftieth part of the people of ,new ,york are negroes1 yet more than a sixth part of all the criminals in her four ,state's ,prisons are men of color4 ,these facts show plainly the causes of crime4 ,it is almost impossible to exaggerate the temptations of the perishing class in our great cities4 ,in ,boston at this moment there are more than four hundred boys employed about the various bowling-alleys of the city1 exposed to the intemperance1 the coarseness1 the general corruption of the men who mainly frequent those places4 ,what will be their fate8 ,shall ,i speak of their sisters2 of the education they are receiving2 the end that awaits them8 ,poverty brings misery with its family of vices4 ,a third cause of crime comes with the rest--intemperance1 the destroying angel that lays waste the household of the poor4 ,in our country1 misery in a healthy man is almost proof of vice2 but the vice may belong to one alone1 and the misery it brings be shared by the whole family4 ,a large proportion of the perishing class are intemperate1 and a great majority of all our criminals4 ,now1 our present method is wholly inadequate to reform men exposed to such circumstances4 ,you may punish the man1 but it does no good4 ,you can seldom frighten men out of a fever4 ,can you frighten them from crime1 when they know little of the internal distinction between right and wrong2 when all the circumstances about them impel to crime8 ,can you frighten a starving girl into chastity8 ,you cannot keep men from lewdness1 theft and violence1 when they have no self-respect1 no culture1 no development of mind1 heart1 and soul4 ,the jail will not take the place of the church1 of the school-house1 of home4 ,it will not remove the causes which are making new criminals4 ,it does not reform the old ones4 ,shall we shut men in a jail1 and when there treat them with all manner of violence1 crush out the little self-respect yet left1 give them a degrading dress1 and send them into the world cursed with an infamous name1 and all that because they were born in the low places of society and caught the stain thereof8 ,the jail does not alter the circumstances which occasioned the crime1 and till these causes are removed a fresh crop will spring out of the festering soil4 ,some men teach dogs and horses things unnatural to these animals2 they use violence and blows as their instrument of instruction4 ,but to teach man what is conformable to his nature1 something more is required4 ,to return to the other class1 who are born criminals4 ,bare confinement in the prison alters no man's constitutional tendencies2 it can no more correct moral or mental weakness or obliquity than it can correct a deficiency of the organs of sensation4 ,you all know the former treatment of men born with defective or deranged intellectual faculties--of madmen and fools4 ,we still pursue the same course towards men born with defective or deranged moral faculties1 idiots and madmen of a more melancholy class1 and with a like result4 ,i know how easy it is to find fault1 and how difficult to propose a better way2 how easy to misunderstand all that ,i have said1 how easy to misrepresent it all4 ,but it seems to me that hitherto we have set out wrong in this undertaking2 have gone on wrong1 and1 by the present means1 can never remove the causes of crime nor much improve the criminals as a class4 ,let me modestly set down my thoughts on this subject1 in hopes that other men1 wiser and more practical1 will find out a way yet better still4 ,a jail1 as a mere house of punishment for offenders1 ought to have no place in an enlightened people4 ,it ought to be a moral hospital where the offender is kept till he is cured4 ,that his crime is great or little1 is comparatively of but small concern4 ,it is wrong to detain a man against his will after he is cured2 wrong to send him out before he is cured1 for he will rob and corrupt society1 and at last miserably perish4 ,we shall find curable cases and incurable4 ,i would treat the small class of born criminals1 the foes of society1 as maniacs4 ,i would not kill them more than madmen2 ,i would not inflict needless pain on them4 ,i would not try to shame1 to whip1 or to starve into virtue men morally insane4 ,i would not torture a man because born with a defective organization4 ,since he could not live amongst men1 ,i would shut him out from society2 would make him work for his own good and the good of society4 ,the thought of punishment for its own sake1 or as a compensation for the evil which a man has done1 ,i would not harbor for a moment4 ,if a man has done me a wrong1 calumniated1 insulted1 abused me with all his power1 it renders the matter no better that ,i turn round and make him smart for it4 ,if he has burned my house over my head1 and ,i kill him in return1 it does not rebuild my house4 ,i cannot leave him at large to burn other men's houses4 ,he must be restrained4 ,but if ,i cure the man perhaps he will rebuild it1 at any rate1 will be of some service to the world1 and others gain much while ,i lose nothing4 ,when the victims of society violated its laws1 ,i would not torture a man for his misfortune1 because his father was poor1 his mother a brute2 because his education was neglected4 ,i would shut him out from society for a time4 ,i would make him work for his own good and the good of others4 ,the evil he had caught from the world ,i would overcome by the good that ,i would present to him4 ,i would not clothe him with an infamous dress1 crowd him with other men whom society had made infamous1 leaving them to ferment and rot together4 ,i would not set him up as a show to the public1 for his enemy1 or his rival1 or some miserable fop to come and stare at with merciless and tormenting eye4 ,i would not load him with chains1 nor tear his flesh with a whip4 ,i would not set soldiers with loaded gun to keep watch over him1 insulting their brother by mocking and threats4 ,i would treat the man with firmness1 but with justice1 with pity1 with love4 ,i would teach the man2 what his family could not do for him1 what society and the church had failed of1 the jail should do1 for the jail should be a manual labor school1 not a dungeon of torture4 ,i would take the most gifted1 the most cultivated1 the wisest and most benevolent1 yes1 the most ,christian man in the ,state1 and set him to train up these poor savages of civilization4 ,the best man is the natural physician of the wicked4 ,a violent man1 angry1 cruel1 remorseless1 should never enter the jail except as a criminal4 ,you have already taken one of the greatest1 wisest1 and best men of this ,commonwealth1 and set him to watch over the public education of the people4#cc ,true1 you give him little money1 and no honor2 he brings the honor to you1 not asking but giving that4 ,you begin to see the result of setting such a man to such a work1 though unhonored and ill paid4 ,soon you will see it more plainly in the increase of temperance1 industry1 thrift1 of good morals and sound religion6 ,i would set such a man1 if ,i could find such another1 to look after the dangerous classes of society4 ,i would pay him for it2 honor him for it4 ,i would have a ,board of ,public ,morals to look after this matter of crime1 a ,secretary of ,public ,morals1 a ,christian ,censor1 whose business it should be to attend to this class1 to look after the jails and make them houses of refuge1 of instruction1 which should do for the perishing class what the school-house and the church do for others4 ,i would send missionaries amongst the most exposed portions of mankind as well as amongst the savages of ,new ,holland4 ,i would send wise men1 good men4 ,there are already some such engaged in this work4 ,i would strengthen their hands4 ,i would make crime infamous4 ,if there are men whose crime is to be traced not to a defective organization of body1 not to the influence of circumstances1 but only to voluntary and self-conscious wickedness1--,i would make these men infamous4 ,it should be impossible for such a man1 a voluntary foe of mankind1 to live in society4 ,i would have the jail such a place that the friends of a criminal of either class should take him as now they take a lunatic or a sick man1 and bring him to the ,court that he might be healed if curable1 or if not might be kept from harm and hid away out of sight4 ,crime and sin should be infamous2 not its correction1 least of all its cure4 ,i would not loathe and abhor a man who had been corrected and reformed by the jail more than a boy who had been reformed by his teacher1 or a man cured of lunacy4 ,i would have society a father who goes out to meet the prodigal while yet a great way off2 yes1 goes and brings him away from his riotous living1 washes him1 clothes him1 and restores him to a right mind4 ,there is a prosecuting attorney for the ,state2 ,i would have also a defending attorney for the accused1 that justice might be done all round4 ,is the ,state only a step-mother8 ,then is she not a ,christian ,commonwealth but a barbarous despotism1 fitly represented by that uplifted sword on her public seal1 and that motto of barbarous and bloody ,latin4 ,i would have the ,state aid men and direct them after they have been discharged from the jail1 not leave them to perish2 not force them to perish4 ,society is the natural guardian of the weak4 ,i cannot think the method here suggested would be so costly as the present4 ,it seems to me that institutions of this character might be made not only to support themselves1 but be so managed as to leave a balance of income considerably beyond the expense4 ,this might be made use of for the advantage of the criminal when he returned to society2 or with it he might help make restitution of what he had once stolen4 ,besides being less costly1 it would cure the offender and send back valuable men into society4 ,it seems to me that our whole criminal legislation is based on a false principle--force and not love2 that it is eminently well adapted to revenge1 not at all to correct1 to teach1 to cure4 ,the whole apparatus for the punishment of offenders1 from the gallows down to the ,house of ,correction1 seems to me wrong2 wholly wrong1 unchristian1 and even inhuman4 ,we teach crime while we punish it4 ,is it consistent for the ,state to take vengeance when ,i may not8 ,is it better for the ,state to kill a man in cold blood1 than for me to kill my brother when in a rage8 ,i cannot help thinking that the gallows and even the jail1 as now administered1 are practical teachers of violence and wrong6 ,i cannot think it will always be so4 ,hitherto we have looked on criminals as voluntary enemies of mankind4 ,we have treated them as wild beasts1 not as dull or loitering boys4 ,we have sought to destroy by death1 to disable by mutilation or imprisonment1 to terrify and subdue1 not to convince1 to reform1 encourage1 and bless4 ,the history of the past is full of prophecy for the future4 ,not many years ago we shut up our lunatics in jails1 in dungeons1 in cages2 we chained the maniac with iron2 we gave him a bottle of water and a sack of straw2 we left him in filth1 in cold and nakedness4 ,we set strong and brutal men to watch him4 ,when he cried1 when he gnashed his teeth and tore his hair1 we beat him all the more6 ,they do so yet in some places1 for they think a madman is not a brother but a devil4 ,what was the result8 ,madness was found incurable4 ,now lunacy is a disease1 to be prescribed for as fever or rheumatism2 when we find an incurable case we do not kill the man1 nor chain him1 nor count him a devil4 ,yet lunacy is not curable by force1 by jails1 dungeons1 and cages2 only by the medicine of wise men and good men4 ,what if ,christ had met one demoniac with a whip and another with chains6 ,you know how we once treated criminals6 with what scourgings and mutilations1 what brandings1 what tortures with fire and red-hot iron6 ,death was not punishment enough1 it must be protracted amid the most cruel torments that quivering flesh could bear4 ,the multitude looked on and learned a lesson of deadly wickedness4 ,a judicial murder was a holiday6 ,it is but little more than two hundred years since a man was put to death in the most enlightened country of ,europe for eating meat on ,friday2 not two hundred since men and women were hanged in ,massachusetts for a crime now reckoned impossible6 ,it is not a hundred years since two negro slaves were judicially burned alive in this very city6 ,these facts make us shudder1 but hope also4 ,in a hundred years from this day will not men look on our gallows1 jails1 and penal law as we look on the racks1 the torture-chambers of the middle ages1 and the bloody code of remorseless inquisitors8 ,we need only to turn our attention to this subject to find a better way4 ,we shall soon see that punishment as such is an evil to the criminal1 and so swells the sum of suffering with which society runs over2 that it is an evil also to the community at large by abstracting valuable force from profitable work1 and so a loss4#cd ,we shall one day remember that the offender is a man1 and so his good also is to be consulted4 ,he may be a bad man1 voluntarily bad if you will4 ,still we are to be economical even of his suffering1 for the least possible punishment is the best4 ,already a good many men think that error is better refuted by truth than by fagots and axes4 ,how long will it be before we apply good sense and ,christianity to the prevention of crime8 ,one day we must see that a jail1 as it is now conducted1 is no more likely to cure a crime than a lunacy or a fever6 ,hitherto we have not seen the application of the great doctrines of ,christianity2 not felt that all men are brothers4 ,so our remedies for social evils have been bad almost as the disease2 remedies which remedied nothing1 but hid the patient out of sight4 ,all great criminals have been thought incurable1 and then killed4 ,what if the doctors found a patient sick of a disease which he had foolishly or wickedly brought upon himself1 and then1 by the advice of twelve other doctors1 professionally killed him for justice or example's sake8 ,they would do what all the ,states in ,christendom have done these thousand years4 ,i cannot see why the ,legislature has not as good right to authorize the medical college thus to kill men1 as to authorize the present forms of destroying life6 ,we do not look the facts of crime fairly in the face4 ,we do not see what heathens we are4 ,why1 there is not a ,christian nation in the world that has not a ,secretary of ,war1 armies1 soldiers1 and the terrible apparatus of destruction4 ,but there is not one that has a ,secretary of ,peace1 not one that takes half the pains to improve its own criminals which it takes to build forts and fleets6 ,yet it seems to me that a ,christian ,state should be a great peace society1 a society for mutual advancement in the qualities of a man6 ,do we not see that by our present course we are teaching men violence1 fraud1 deceit1 and murder8 ,what is the educational effect of our present political conduct1 of our invasions1 our battles1 our victories2 of the speeches of our great men8 ,you all know that this teaches the poor1 the low1 and the weak that murder and robbery are good things when done on a large scale2 that they give wealth1 fame1 power1 and honors4 ,the ignorant man1 ill-born and ill-bred1 asks3 ,why not when done on a small scale2 why not good for me8 ,if it is right in the ,president of the ,united ,states to rob and murder1 why not for the ,president of the ,united ,states ,bank8 ,do famous men say1 ,our country however bounded1 and vote to plunder a sister ,state8 then why shall not the poor man1 hungry and cold1 say1 ,my purse however bounded1 and seize on all he can get8 ,give one a seat in ,congress if you will1 and the other a noose of hemp1 there is a ,god before whom seats in ,congress and hempen halters are of equal value1 but who does justice to great and little6 99 99 99 99 99 ,to reform the dangerous classes of society1 to advance those who loiter behind our civilization1 we need a special work designed directly for the good of the criminals and such as stand on that perilous ground which slopes towards crime4 ,some good men undertook this work long ago4 ,they found much to do2 a good deal to encourage them4 ,some of them are well known to you1 are laboring here in the midst of us4 ,they need counsel1 encouragement1 and aid4 ,we must not look coldly on their enterprise nor on them4 ,they can tell far better than ,i what specific plans are best for their specific work4 ,already have they accomplished much in this noble enterprise4 ,the society for aiding discharged convicts is a prophecy of yet better things4 ,soon ,i trust it will extend its kind offices to all the prisons1 and its work be made the affair of the ,state4 ,the plan now before your ,legislature for a ,state ,manual ,labor ,school1 designed to reform vicious children1 is also full of promise4 ,the wise and anonymous charity which so beautifully and in silence has dropped its gold into the chest for these poor outcasts1 is itself its hundred-fold reward4 ,institutions like that which we contemplate have been found successful in ,england1 ,germany1 and ,france4 ,they actually reform the juvenile delinquent and bring up useful men1 not hardened criminals4#ce ,we are beginning to attend to this special work of removing the causes of crime1 and restoring at least the young offenders4 ,however1 the greater portion of this work is not special and for the criminal1 but general and for society4 ,to change the treatment of criminals1 we must change every thing else4 ,the dangerous class is the unavoidable result of our present civilization2 of our present ideas of man and social life4 ,to reform and elevate the class of criminals1 we must reform and elevate all other classes4 ,to do that1 we must educate and refine men4 ,we must learn to treat all men as brothers4 ,this is a great work and one of slow achievement4 ,it cannot be brought about by legislation1 nor any mechanical contrivance and reorganization alone4 ,there is no remedy for this evil and its kindred but keeping the laws of ,god2 in one word1 none but ,christianity1 goodness1 and piety felt in the heart1 applied in all the works of life1 individually1 socially1 and politically4 ,while educated and abounding men acknowledge no rule of conduct but self-interest1 what can you expect of the ignorant and the perishing8 ,while great men say without rebuke that we do not look at the natural justice of a war1 do you expect men in the lowest places of society1 ignorant and brutish1 pinched by want1 to look at the natural justice of theft1 of murder8 ,it were a vain expectation4 ,we must improve all classes to improve one2 perhaps the highest first4 ,different men acting in the most various directions1 without concert1 often jealous one of another1 and all partial in their aims1 are helping forward this universal result4 ,while we are contending against slavery1 war1 intemperance1 or party rage1 while we are building up hospitals1 colleges1 schools1 while we are contending for freedom of conscience1 or teaching abstractly the love of man and love of ,god1 we are all working for the welfare of this neglected class4 ,the gallows of the barbarian and the ,gospel of ,christianity cannot exist together4 ,the times are full of promise4 ,mankind slowly fulfils what a man of genius prophesies2 ,god grants what a good man asks1 and when it comes1 it is better than what he prayed for4 ,,footnotes3 #ca ,the allusion is to the following passages of ,scripture1 which were read as the lesson for the day3 ,numb4 xiv42 #b ,kings1 ii4 #bc-be2 and ,luke1 xv4 #cb ,see other statistics in ,sermon of the ,perishing ,classes1 pp4 #bje1 #bjf4 #cc ,mr4 ,horace ,mann4 #cd ,the period of confinement in our ,states' ,prisons differs a good deal in the various ,states1 as will appear from the following ,table4 ,whole ,no4 in prison4 ,average sentence4 ,in ,conn4 #ahi1 ,march #ca1 #ahda1 #g yrs4 #c mos4 ,va4 #aha1 ,sept #cj1 #ahci1 #f #aj ,mass4 #cbb1 ,sept4 #cj1 #ahdj1 #e #i ,la4 #fh1 ,sept #cj1 #ahci1 #e #a ,n4 ,j4 #aeb1 ,sept4 #cj1 #ahdj1 #d #g ,ky4 #afb1 ,sept4 #cj1 #ahci1 #d ,d4 ,c4 #gi1 ,nov4 #cj1 #ahdj1 #c #h ,md4 #ajd1 #c ,phila4 #abi1 ,sept4 #cj1 #ahdj1 #b #e ,the difference between the average term of punishment in ,connecticut and ,philadelphia is #cjj per cent6 ,if the same result is effected by each1 there has then been a great amount of gratuitous suffering in one case4 #ce ,i refer to the prisons at ,stretton-upon-,dunmore in ,warwickshire1 that at ,horn near ,hamburg1 and the one at ,mettray near ,tours in ,france4 ,the ,french penal code allows the guardian or relatives of an offender under age to take him from prison on giving bonds for his good behavior4 ,while these pages were first passing through the press1 ,i learned the happy effect which followed the execution of the license laws in this city4 ,in #ahdf1 from the #ajth of ,march to the #bdth of ,april1 there were sent to the ,house of ,correction for intemperance one hundred eighty-nine persons4 ,during the same period of the year #ahdg1 only eighty-four have been thus punished6 ,but alas1 in #ahea the evil has returned1 and the demon of drunkenness mows down the wretched in ,boston with unrestricted scythe4 ,,ix4 ,a ,,sermon ,,of ,,poverty4--,,preached ,,at ,,the ,,melodeon1 ,,on ,,sunday1 ,,january #ad1 #ahdi4 ,,proverbs ,x4 #ae4 ,the destruction of the poor is their poverty4 ,last ,sunday something was said of riches4 ,to-day ,i ask your attention to a sermon of poverty4 ,by poverty1 ,i mean the state in which a man does not have enough to satisfy the natural wants of food1 raiment1 shelter1 warmth and the like4 ,from the earliest times that we know of1 there have been two classes of men1 the rich who had more than enough1 the poor who had less4 ,in one of the earliest books which treats of the condition of men1 we find that ,abraham1 a rich man1 owns the bodies of three hundred men that are poor4 ,in four thousand years1 the difference between rich and poor in our part of ,america is a good deal lessened1 not done away with4 ,in ,new ,england property is more uniformly distributed than in most countries1 perhaps more equally than in any land as highly civilized4 ,but even here the old distinction remains in a painful form and extended to a pitiful degree4 ,at one extreme of society is a body called the rich1 men who have abundance1 not a very numerous body1 but powerful1 first through the energy which accumulates money1 and secondly1 through the money itself4 ,then there is a body of men who are comfortable4 ,this class comprises the mass of the people in all the callings of life4 ,out of this class the rich men come1 and into it their children or grandchildren commonly return4 ,few of the rich men of ,boston were sons of rich men2 still fewer grandsons2 few of them perhaps will be fathers of men equally rich2 still fewer grandfathers of such4 ,then there is the class that is miserable4 ,some of them are supported by public charity1 some by private1 some of them by their toil alone--but altogether they form a mass of men who only stay in the world1 and do not live in the best sense of that word4 ,such are the great divisions of society in respect to property4 ,however1 the lines between these three classes are not sharp and distinctly drawn4 ,there are no sharp divisions in nature2 but for our convenience1 we distinguish classes by their centre where they are most unlike1 and not by their circumference where they intermix and resemble each other4 ,the line between the miserable and comfortable1 between the comfortable and rich1 is not distinctly drawn4 ,the centre of each class is obvious enough while the limits thereof are a dissolving view4 ,the poor are miserable4 ,their food is the least that will sustain nature1 not agreeable1 not healthy2 their clothing scanty and mean1 their dwellings inconvenient and uncomfortable1 with roof and walls that let in the cold and the rain--dwellings that are painful and unhealthy2 in their personal habits they are commonly unclean4 ,then they are ignorant2 they have no time to attend school in childhood1 no time to read or to think in manhood1 even if they have learned to do either before that4 ,if they have the time1 few men can think to any profit while the body is uncomfortable4 ,the cold man thinks only of the cold2 the wretched of his misery4 ,besides this they are frequently vicious4 ,i do not mean to say they are wicked in the sight of ,god4 ,i never see a poor man carried to jail for some petty crime1 or even for a great one1 without thinking that probably1 in ,god's eye1 the man is far better than ,i am1 and from the ,state's prison or scaffold1 will ascend into heaven and take rank a great ways before me4 ,i do not mean to say they are wicked before ,god2 but it is they who commit the minor crimes1 against decency1 sobriety1 against property and person1 and most of the major crimes1 against human life4 ,i mean that they commit the crimes that get punished by law4 ,they crowd your courts1 they tenant your jails2 they occupy your gallows4 ,if some man would write a book describing the life of all the men hanged in ,massachusetts for fifty years past1 or tried for some capital offence1 and show what class of society they were from1 how they were bred1 what influences were about them in childhood1 how they passed their ,sundays1 and also describe the configuration of their bodies1 it would help us to a valuable chapter in the philosophy of crime1 and furnish mighty argument against the injustice of our mode of dealing with offenders4 ,poverty is the dark side of modern society4 ,i say modern society1 though poverty is not modern1 for ancient society had poverty worse than ours and a side still darker yet4 ,cannibalism1 butchery of captives after battle1 frequent or continual wars for the sake of plunder1 and the slavery of the weak--these were the dark side of society in four great periods of human history1 the savage1 the barbarous1 the classic and the feudal4 ,poverty is the best of these five bad things1 each of which1 however1 has grimly done its service in its day4 ,there is no poverty among the ,gaboon negroes4 ,put them in our latitude1 and it soon comes4 ,nay1 as they get to learn the wants of cultivated men1 there will be a poorer class even in the torrid zone4 ,poverty prevails in every civilized nation on earth2 yes1 in every savage nation in austere climes4 ,let us look at some examples4 ,england is the richest country in ,europe4 ,i mean she has more wealth in proportion to her population than any other in a similar climate4 ,look at her possessions in every corner of the globe2 at her armies which ,europe cannot conquer2 at her ships which weave the great commercial web that spreads all round about the world2 at home what factories1 what farms1 what houses1 what towns1 what a vast and wealthy metropolis2 what an aristocracy--so rich1 so cultivated1 so able1 so daring1 and so unconquered4 ,but in that very ,english nation the most frightful poverty exists4 ,look at the two sister islands3 this the queen1 and that the beggar of all nations2 the rose and the shamrock2 the one throned in royal beauty1 the other bowed to the dust1 torn and trampled under foot4 ,in that capital of the world's wealth1 in that centre of power far greater than the power of all the ,caesars1 there is the most squalid poverty4 ,look at ,st4 ,giles and ,st4 ,james--that the earthly hell of want and crime1 this the worldly heaven of luxury and power6 ,put on the one side the stately nobility of ,england1 well born1 well bred1 armed with the power of manners1 the power of money1 the power of culture and the power of place1 and on the other side put the beggary of ,england1 the two million paupers who are kept wholly on public or private charity2 the three million laborers who formerly fed on potatoes1 ,god knows what they feed on now1 and all the other hungry sons of want who are kept in awe only by the growling lion who guards the ,british throne2 and you see at once the result of modern civilization in the ablest1 the foremost1 the freest1 the most practical and the richest nation in the old world4 ,even here in ,new ,england1 a country not two hundred and fifty years old1 a little patch of cleared land on the edge of the continent1 we hear of poverty which is frightful to think of4 ,it is a serious question what shall be done for the poor2 there are few that can tell what shall be done with them1 or what is to become of them4 ,want is always here in ,boston4 ,misery is here4 ,starvation is not unknown4 ,what is now serious will one day be alarming4 ,even now it is awful to think of the misery that lurks in this ,christian town4 ,new ,england in fifty years has increased vastly in wealth1 but poverty increases too4 ,there has been a great advance in the productiveness of human labor2 with our tools a man can do as much rude work in one day as he could in three days a hundred years ago4 ,i mean work with the axe1 the plough1 the spade2 of nicer work1 yet more2 of the most delicate work1 see what machines do for him4 ,the end is not yet2 soon we shall have engines that will whittle granite1 as a gang of saws cleaves logs into broad smooth boards4 ,yet with all this advance in the productiveness of human toil1 still there is poverty4 ,a day's work now will bring a man greater proportionate pay than ever before in ,new ,england4 ,i mean to say that the ordinary wages for an ordinary day's work will support a man comfortably and respectably longer than they ever would before4 ,on the whole1 the price of things has come down and the price of work has gone up4 ,yet still there are the poor2 there is want1 there is misery1 there is starvation4 ,the community gives more than ever before2 a better public provision is made for the poor1 private benevolence is more active and works far more wisely--yet still there is poverty1 want1 misery unremoved1 unmitigated1 and1 many think1 immitigable6 ,now ,i am not going to deny that poverty1 like other forms of suffering1 plays a part in the economy of the human race4 ,if ,god's children will not work1 or will throw away their bread1 ,i do not complain that ,he sends them to bed without their supper--to a hard bed and a narrow and a cold4 ,earn your breakfast before you eat it1 is not merely the counsel of ,poor ,richard1 but of ,almighty ,god2 it is a just counsel1 and not hard4 ,but is poverty an essential1 substantial1 integral element in human civilization1 or is it an accidental element thereof1 and transiently present2 is it amenable to suppression8 ,for my own part1 ,i believe that all evil is transient1 a thing that belongs to the process of development1 not to the nature of man1 or the higher forms of social life towards which he is advancing4 ,if ,god be absolutely good1 then only good things are everlasting4 ,this general opinion which comes from my religion as well as my philosophy1 affects my special opinion of the history and design of poverty4 ,i look on it as on cannibalism1 the butchery of captives1 the continual war for the sake of plunder1 or on slavery2 yes1 as ,i look on the diseases incident to childhood1 things that mankind live through and outgrow2 which1 painful as they are1 do not make up the greatest part of the entire life of mankind4 ,if it shall be said that ,i cannot know this1 that ,i have not a clear intellectual perception of the providential design thereof1 or the means of its removal1 still ,i believe it1 and if ,i have not the knowledge which comes of philosophy1 ,i have still faith1 the result of instinctive trust in ,god4 99 99 99 99 99 ,let us look a little at the causes of poverty4 ,some things we see best on a large scale4 ,so let us look at poverty thus1 and then come down to the smaller forms thereof4 ,i4 ,there may be a natural and organic cause4 ,the people of ,lapland1 ,iceland and ,greenland are a poor people compared with the ,scotch1 the ,danes1 or the ,french4 ,there is a natural and organic cause for their poverty in the soil and climate of those countries1 which cannot be changed4 ,they must emigrate before they can become rich or comfortable in our sense of the word4 ,hence their poverty is to be attributed to their geographical position4 ,put the ,new ,englanders there1 even they would be a poor people4 ,thus the poverty of a nation may depend on the geographical position of the nation4 ,suppose a race of men has little vigor of body or of mind1 and yet the same natural wants as a vigorous race2 put them in favorable circumstances1 in a good climate1 on a rich soil1 they will be poor on account of the feebleness of their mind and body2 put them in a stern climate1 on a sterile soil1 and they will perish4 ,such is the case with the ,mexicans4 ,soil and climate are favorable1 yet the people are poor4 ,suppose a nation had only one third part of the ,laplander's ability1 and yet needed the result of all his power1 and was put in the ,laplander's position1 they would not live through the first winter4 ,had they been ,mexicans who came to ,plymouth in #afbj1 not one of them1 it is probable1 would have seen the next summer4 ,take away half the sense or bodily strength of the ,bushmans of ,south ,africa1 and though they might have sense enough to dig nuts out of the ground1 yet the lions and hyenas would eventually eat up the whole nation4 ,so the poverty of a nation may come from want of power of body or of mind4 ,then if a nation increases in numbers more rapidly than in wealth1 there is a corresponding increase of want4 ,let the number of births in ,england for the next ten years be double the number for the last ten1 without a corresponding creation of new wealth1 and the ,english are brought to the condition of the ,irish4 ,let the number of births in ,ireland in like manner multiply1 and one half the population must perish for want of food4 ,so the poverty of a nation may depend on the disproportionate increase of its numbers4 ,then an able race1 under favorable outward circumstances1 without an over-rapid increase of numbers1 if its powers are not much developed1 will be poor in comparison with a similar race under similar circumstances1 but highly developed4 ,thus ,england1 under ,egbert in the ninth century1 was poor compared with ,england under ,victoria in the nineteenth century4 ,the single town of ,liverpool1 ,manchester1 ,birmingham1 or even ,sheffield1 is probably worth many times the wealth of all ,england in the ninth century4 ,so the poverty of a nation may depend on its want of development4 ,old ,england and ,new ,england are rich1 partly through the circumstances of climate and soil1 partly and chiefly through the great vigor of the race1 with only a normal increase of numbers1 and partly through a more complete development of the nations4 ,such are the chief natural and organic causes of poverty on a large scale in a nation4 ,,ii4 ,the causes may be political4 ,by political1 ,i mean such as are brought about by the laws1 either the fundamental laws1 the constitution1 or the minor laws1 statutes4 ,sometimes the laws tend to make the whole nation poor4 ,such are the laws which force the industry of the people out of the natural channel1 restricting commerce1 agriculture1 manufactures1 industry in general4 ,sometimes this is done by promoting war1 by keeping up armies and navies1 by putting the destructive work of fighting1 or the merely conservative work of ruling1 before the creative works of productive industry4 ,france was an example of that a hundred years ago4 ,spain yet continues such1 as she has been for two centuries4 ,sometimes this is done by hindering the general development of the nation1 by retarding education1 by forbidding all freedom of thought4 ,the ,states of the ,church are an example of this when compared with ,tuscany2 all ,italy and ,austria1 when compared with ,england2 ,spain1 when compared with ,germany1 ,france1 and ,holland4 ,sometimes this is brought about by keeping up an unnatural institution--as slavery1 for example4 ,south ,carolina is an instance of this1 when compared with ,massachusetts4 ,south ,carolina has many advantages over us1 yet ,south ,carolina is poor while ,massachusetts is rich4 ,sometimes this political action primarily affects only the distribution of wealth1 and so makes one class rich and another poor4 ,such is the case with laws which give all the real estate to the oldest son1 laws which allow property to be entailed for a long time or forever1 laws which cut men off from the land4 ,these laws at first seem only to make one class rich and the others poor1 and merely to affect the distribution of wealth in a nation1 but they are unnatural and retard the industry of the people1 and diminish their productive power1 and make the whole nation less rich4 ,legislation may favor wealth and not men--property which is accumulated labor1 rather than labor which is the power that accumulates property4 ,such legislation always endangers wealth in the end1 lessening its quantity and making its tenure uncertain4 ,two things may be said of ,european legislation in general1 and especially of ,english legislation4 ,first1 ,that it has aimed to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few and keep it there4 ,hence it favors primogeniture1 entails monopolies of posts of profit and of honor4 ,second1 ,it has always looked out for the proprietor and his property1 and cared little for the man without property2 hence it always wanted the price of things high1 the wages of men low1 and in addition to natural and organic obstacles it continually put social impediments in the poor man's way4 ,in ,england no son of a laborer could rise to eminence in the law or in medicine1 scarcely in the church2 no1 not even in the army or navy4 ,these two statements will bear examination4 ,the genius of ,england has demanded these two things4 ,the genius of ,america demands neither1 but rejects both2 demands the distribution of property1 puts the rights of man first1 the rights of things last4 ,such are the political causes1 and such their effects4 ,,iii4 ,then there are social causes which make a nation poor4 ,such are the prevalence of an opinion that industry is not respectable2 that it is honorable to consume1 disgraceful to create2 that much must be spent1 though little earned4 ,the ,spanish nation is poor in part through the prevalence of this opinion4 ,sometimes social causes seem only to affect a class4 ,the ,pariahs in ,india must not fill any office that is well paid4 ,they are despised1 and of course they are poor and miserable4 ,the blacks in ,new ,england are despised and frowned down1 not admitted to the steamboat1 the omnibus1 to the school-houses in ,boston1 or even to the meeting-house with white men2 not often allowed to work in company with the whites2 and so they are kept in poverty4 ,in ,europe the ,jews have been equally despised and treated in the same way1 but not made poor1 because they are in many respects a superior race of men1 and because they have the advantage of belonging to a nation whose civilization is older than any other in ,europe2 a nation specially gifted with the faculty of thrift2 a tribe whom none but other ,jews1 ,scotchmen1 or ,new ,englanders1 could outwit1 over-reach1 and make poor4 ,no ,ferdinand and ,isabella1 no inquisition could so completely expel them from any country1 as the superior craft and cunning of the ,yankee has driven them out of ,new ,england4 ,there are ,jews in every country of ,europe1 everywhere despised and maltreated1 and forced into the corners of society1 but everywhere superior to the men who surround them4 ,such are the social causes which produce poverty4 99 99 99 99 99 ,now let us look at the matter on a smaller scale1 and see the cause of poverty in ,new-,england1 of poverty in ,broad street and ,sea street4 ,from the great mass let me take out a class who are accidentally poor4 ,there are the widows and orphan children who inherit no estate2 the able men reduced by sickness before they have accumulated enough to sustain them4 ,then let me take out a class of men transiently poor1 men who start with nothing1 but have vigor and will to make their own way in the world4 ,the majority of the poor still remain--the class who are permanently poor4 ,the accidentally poor can easily be taken care of by public or private charity2 the transient poor will soon take care of themselves4 ,the young man who lives on six cents a day while studying medicine in ,boston1 is doubtless a poor man1 but will soon repay society for the slight aid it has lent him1 and in time will take care of other poor men4 ,so these two classes1 the accidental and the transient poor1 can easily be disposed of4 ,what causes have produced the class that is permanently poor8 ,what has just been said of nations1 is true also of individuals4 ,first1 there are natural and organic causes of poverty4 ,some men are born into the midst of want1 ignorance1 idleness1 filthiness1 intemperance1 vice1 crime2 their earliest associations are debasing1 their companions bad4 ,they are born into the ,iceland of society1 into the frigid zone1 some of them under the very pole-star of want4 ,such men are born and bred under the greatest disadvantages4 ,every star in their horoscope has a malignant aspect1 and sheds disastrous influence4 ,i do not remember five men in ,new ,england1 from that class1 becoming distinguished in any manly pursuit1--not five4 ,almost all of our great men and our rich men came from the comfortable class1 none from the miserable4 ,the old poverty is parent of new poverty4 ,it takes at least two generations to outgrow the pernicious influence of such circumstances4 ,then much of the permanent poverty comes from the lack of ability1 power of body and of mind4 ,in that ,iceland of society men are commonly born with a feeble organization1 and bred under every physical disadvantage2 the man is physically weak1 or else runs to muscle and not brain1 and so is mentally weak4 ,his feebleness is the result of the poverty of his fathers1 and his own want in childhood4 ,the oak tree grows tall and large in a rich valley1 stunted1 small1 and scrubby on the barren sand4 ,again this class of men increase most rapidly in numbers4 ,when the poor man has not half enough to fill his own mouth1 and clothe his own back1 other backs are added1 other mouths opened4 ,he abounds in nothing but naked and hungry children4 ,further still1 he has not so good a chance as the comfortable to get education and general development4 ,a rude man1 with superior abilities1 in this century1 will often be distanced by the well-trained man who started at birth with inferior powers4 ,but if the rude man begin with inferior abilities1 inferior circumstances1 encumbered also with a load becoming rapidly more burdensome1 you see under what accumulated disadvantages he labors all his life4 ,so to the first natural and organic cause of poverty1 his untoward position in society2 to the second1 his inferior ability2 and to the third1 the increase of his family1 excessively rapid1 we must add a fourth cause1 his inferior development4 ,an ignorant man1 who is also weak in body1 and besides that1 starts with every disadvantage1 his burdens annually increasing1 may be expected to continue a poor man4 ,it is only in most extraordinary cases that it turns out otherwise4 ,to these causes we must add what comes therefrom as their joint result3 idleness1 by which the poor waste their time2 thriftlessness and improvidence1 by which they lose their opportunities and squander their substance4 ,the poor are seldom so economical as the rich2 it is so with children1 they spoil the furniture1 soil and rend their garments1 put things to a wasteful use1 consume heedlessly and squander1 careless of to-morrow4 ,the poor are the children of society4 ,to these five causes ,i must add intemperance1 the great bane of the miserable class4 ,i feel no temptation to be drunken1 but if ,i were always miserable1 cold1 hungry1 naked1 so ignorant that ,i did not know the result of violating ,god's laws1 had ,i been surrounded from youth with the worst examples1 not respected by other men1 but a loathsome object in their sight1 not even respecting myself1 ,i can easily understand how the temporary madness of strong drink would be a most welcome thing4 ,the poor are the prey of the rum-seller4 ,as the lion in the ,hebrew wilderness eateth up the wild ass1 so in modern society the rum-seller and rum-maker suck the bones of the miserable poor4 ,i never hear of a great fortune made in the liquor trade1 but ,i think of the wives that have been made widows thereby1 of the children bereft of their parents1 of the fathers and mothers whom strong drink has brought down to shame1 to crime1 and to ruin4 ,the history of the first barrel of rum that ever visited ,new ,england is well known4 ,it brought some forty men before the bar of the court4 ,the history of the last barrel can scarcely be much better4 ,such are the natural and organic causes which make poverty4 ,with the exception of laws which allow the sale of intoxicating drink1 ,i think there are few political causes of poverty in ,new ,england1 and they are too inconsiderable to mention in so brief a sketch as this4 ,however1 there are some social causes of our permanent poverty4 ,i do not think we have much respect for the men who do the rude work of life1 however faithfully and well--little respect for work itself4 ,the rich man is ashamed to have begun to make his fortune with his own hard hands2 even if the rich man is not1 his daughter is for him4 ,i do not think we have cared much to respect the humble efforts of feeble men2 not cared much to have men dear1 and things cheap4 ,it has not been thought the part of political economy1 of sound legislation1 or of pure ,christianity1 to hinder the increase of pauperism1 to remove the causes of poverty1 yes1 the causes of crime--only to take vengeance on it when committed6 ,boston is a strange place2 here is energy enough to conquer half the continent in ten years2 power of thought to seize and tame the ,connecticut and the ,merrimack2 charity enough to send missionaries all over the world2 but not justice enough to found a high school for her own daughters1 or to forbid her richest citizens from letting bar-rooms as nurseries of poverty and crime1 from opening wide gates which lead to the almshouse1 the jail1 the gallows1 and earthly hell6 99 99 99 99 99 ,such are the causes of poverty1 organic1 political1 social4 ,you may see families pass from the comfortable to the miserable class1 by intemperance1 idleness1 wastefulness1 even by feebleness of body and of mind2 yet while it is common for the rich to descend into the comfortable class1 solely by lack of the eminent thrift which raised their fathers thence1 or because they lack the common stimulus to toil and save1 it is not common for the comfortable to fall into the pit of misery in ,new ,england1 except through wickedness1 through idleness1 or intemperance4 ,it is not easy to study poverty in ,boston4 ,but take a little inland town1 which few persons migrate into1 you will find the miserable families have commonly been so1 for a hundred years2 that many of them are descended from the servants1 or white slaves1 brought here by our fathers2 that such as fall from the comfortable classes1 are commonly made miserable by their own fault1 sometimes by idleness1 which is certainly a sin1 for any man who will not work1 and persists in living1 eats the bread of some other man1 either begged or stolen--but chiefly by intemperance4 ,three fourths of the poverty of this character1 is to be attributed to this cause4 ,now there is a tendency in poverty to drive the ablest men to work1 and so get rid of the poverty1 and this ,i take it is the providential design thereof4 ,poverty1 like an armed man1 stalks in the rear of the social march1 huge and haggard1 and gaunt and grim1 to scare the lazy1 to goad the idle with his sword1 to trample and slay the obstinate sluggard4 ,but he treads also the feeble under his feet1 for no fault of theirs1 only for the misfortune of being born in the rear of society4 ,but in poverty there is also a tendency to intimidate1 to enfeeble1 to benumb4 ,the poverty of the strong man compels him to toil2 but with the weak1 the destruction of the poor is his poverty4 ,an active man is awakened from his sleep by the cold2 he arises and seeks more covering2 the indolent1 or the feeble1 shiver on till morning1 benumbed and enfeebled by the cold4 ,so weakness begets weakness2 poverty1 poverty2 intemperance1 intemperance2 crime1 crime4 ,every thing is against the poor man2 he pays the dearest tax1 the highest rent for his house1 the dearest price for all he eats or wears4 ,the poor cannot watch their opportunity1 and take advantage of the markets1 as other men4 ,they have the most numerous temptations to intemperance and crime2 they have the poorest safeguards from these evils4 ,if the chief value of wealth1 as a rich man tells us1 be this--that it renders its owner independent of others1 then on what shall the poor men lean1 neglected and despised by others1 looked on as loathsome1 and held in contempt1 shut out even from the sermons and the prayers of respectable men8 ,it is no marvel if they cease to respect themselves4 ,the poor are the most obnoxious to disease2 their children are not only most numerous1 but most unhealthy4 ,more than half of the children of that class1 perish at the age of five4 ,amongst the poor1 infectious diseases rage with frightful violence4 ,the mortality in that class is amazing4 ,if things are to continue as now1 ,i thank ,god it is so4 ,if ,death is their only guardian1 he is at least powerful1 and does not scorn his work4 ,in addition to the poor1 whom these causes have made and kept in poverty1 the needy of other lands flock hither4 ,the nobility of old ,england1 so zealous in pursuing their game1 in keeping their entails unbroken1 and primogeniture safe1 have sent their beggary to ,new ,england1 to be supported by the crumbs that fall from our table4 ,so1 in the same ,new ,england city1 the extremes of society are brought together4 ,here is health1 elegance1 cultivation1 sobriety1 decency1 refinement--,i wish there was more of it2 there is poverty1 ignorance1 drunkenness1 violence1 crime1 in most odious forms--starvation6 ,we have our ,st4 ,giles's and ,st4 ,james's2 our nobility1 not a whit less noble than the noblest of other lands1 and our beggars1 both in a ,christian city4 ,amid the needy population1 ,misery and ,death have found their parish4 ,who shall dare stop his ears1 when they preach their awful denunciation of want and woe8 ,good men ask1 ,what shall we do8 ,foreign poverty has had this good effect2 it has shamed or frightened the ,american beggar into industry and thrift4 ,poverty will not be removed till the causes thereof are removed4 ,there are some who look for a great social revolution4 ,so do ,i2 only ,i do not look for it to come about suddenly1 or by mechanical means4 ,we are in a social revolution1 and do not know it4 ,while ,i cannot accept the peculiar doctrines of the ,associationists1 ,i rejoice in their existence4 ,i sympathize with their hope4 ,they point out the evils of society1 and that is something4 ,they propose a method of removing its evils4 ,i do not believe in that method1 but mankind will probably make many experiments before we hit upon the right one4 ,for my own part1 ,i confess ,i do not see any way of removing poverty wholly or entirely1 in one or two1 or in four or five generations4 ,i think it will linger for some ages to come4 ,like the snow1 it is to be removed by a general elevation of the temperature of the air1 not all at once1 and will long hang about the dark and cold places of the world4 ,but ,i do think it will at last be overcome1 so that a man who cannot subsist1 will be as rare as a cannibal4 ,ye have the poor with you always1 said ,jesus1 and many who remember this1 forget that he also said1 and when soever ye will1 ye may do them good4 ,i expect to see a mitigation of poverty in this country1 and that before long4 ,it is likely that the legal theory of property in ,europe will undergo a great change before many years2 that the right to bequeathe enormous estates to individuals will be cut off2 that primogeniture will cease1 and entailments be broken1 and all monopolies of rank and power come to an end1 and so a great change take place in the social condition of ,europe1 and especially of ,england4 ,that change will bring many of the comfortable into the rich class1 and eventually many of the miserable into the comfortable class4 ,but ,i do not expect such a radical change here1 where we have not such enormous abuses to surmount4 ,i think something will be done in ,europe for the organization of labor1 ,i do not know what2 ,i do not know how2 ,i have not the ability to know2 and will not pretend to criticize what ,i know ,i cannot create1 and do not at present understand4 ,i think there will be a great change in the form of society2 that able men will endeavor to remove the causes of crime1 not merely to make money out of that crime2 that intemperance will be diminished2 that idleness in rich or poor will be counted a disgrace2 that labor will be more respected2 education more widely diffused2 and that institutions will be founded1 which will tend to produce these results4 ,but ,i do not pretend to devise those institutions1 and certainly shall not throw obstacles in the way of such as can or will try4 ,it seems likely that something will be first done in ,europe1 where the need is greatest4 ,there a change must come4 ,by and by1 if it does not come peaceably1 the continent will not furnish special constables enough to put down human nature4 ,if the white republicans cannot make a revolution peacefully1 wait a little1 and the red republicans will make it in blood4 ,peaceably if we can1 forcibly if we must1 says mankind1 first in a whisper1 then in a voice of thunder4 ,if powerful men will not write justice with black ink1 on white paper1 ignorant and violent men will write it on the soil1 in letters of blood1 and illuminate their rude legislation with burning castles1 palaces and towns4 ,while the social change is taking place never so peacefully1 men will think the world is going to ruin4 ,but it is an old world1 pretty well put together1 and1 with all these changes1 will probably last some time longer4 ,human society is like one of those enormous boulders1 so nicely poised on another rock1 that a man may move it with a single hand4 ,you are afraid to come under its sides1 lest it fall4 ,when the wind blows1 it rocks with formidable noise1 and men say it will soon be down upon us4 ,now and then a rude boy undertakes to throw it over1 but all the men who can get their shoulders under1 cannot raise the ponderous mass from its solid and firm-set base4 ,still1 after all these changes have taken place1 there remains the difference between the strong and the weak1 the active and the idle1 the thrifty and the spendthrift1 the temperate and the intemperate1 and though the term poverty ceases to be so dreadful1 and no longer denotes want of the natural necessaries of the body1 there will still remain the relatively rich and the relatively poor4 ,but now something can be done directly1 to remove the causes of poverty1 something to mitigate their effects2 we need both the palliative charity1 and the remedial justice4 ,tenements for the poor can be provided at a cheap rent1 that shall yet pay their owner a reasonable income4 ,this has been proved by actual experiment1 and1 after all that has been said about it1 ,i am amazed that no more is done4 ,i will not exhort the churches to this in the name of religion--they have other matters to attend to2 but if capitalists will not1 in a place like ,boston1 it seems to me the ,city should see that this class of the population is provided with tenements1 at a rate not ruinous4 ,it would be good economy to do it1 in the pecuniary sense of good economy2 certainly to hire money at six per cent41 and rent the houses built therewith1 at eight per cent41 would cost less than to support the poor entirely in almshouses1 and punish them in jails4 ,something yet more may be done1 in the way of furnishing them with work1 or of directing them to it2 something towards enabling them to purchase food and other articles cheap4 ,something might be done to prevent street beggary1 and begging from house to house1 which is rather a new thing in this town4 ,the indiscriminate charity1 which it is difficult to withhold from a needy and importunate beggar1 does more harm than good4 ,much may be done to promote temperance2 much more1 ,i fear1 than is likely to be done2 that is plainly the duty of society4 ,intemperance is bad enough with the comfortable and the rich2 with the poor it is ruin--sheer1 blank and swift ruin4 ,the example of the rich1 of the comfortable1 goes down there like lightning1 to shatter1 to blast1 and to burn4 ,it is marvellous1 that in ,christian ,boston1 men of wealth1 and so above the temptation which lurks behind a dollar1 men of character otherwise thought to be elevated1 can yet continue a traffic which leads to the ruin and slow butchery of such masses of men4 ,i know not what can be done by means of the public law4 ,i do know what can be done by private self-denial1 by private diligence4 ,something also may be done to promote religion amongst the poor1 at least something to make it practicable for a poor man to come to church on ,sunday1 with his fellow-creatures who are not miserable--and to hear the best things that the ablest men in the church have to offer4 ,we are very democratic in our ,state1 not at all so in our church4 ,in this matter the ,catholics put us quite to shame4 ,if1 as some men still believe1 it be a manly calling and a noble1 to preach ,christianity1 then to preach it to men who stand in the worst and most dangerous positions in society2 to take the highest truths of human consciousness1 the loftiest philosophy1 the noblest piety1 and bring them down into the daily life of poor men1 rude men1 men obscure1 unfriended1 ready to perish2 surely this is the noblest part of that calling1 and demands the noblest gifts1 the fairest and the largest culture1 the loftiest powers4 ,it is no hard thing to reason with reasoning men1 and be intelligible to the intelligent2 to talk acceptably and even movingly to scholars and men well read1 is no hard thing if you are yourself well read and a scholar4 ,but to be intelligible to the ignorant1 to reason with men who reason not1 to speak acceptably and movingly with such men1 to inspire them with wisdom1 with goodness and with piety1 that is the task only for some men of rare genius who can stride over the great gulf betwixt the thrones of creative power1 and the humble positions of men ignorant1 poor and forgot6 ,yet such men there are1 and here is their work4 ,something can be done for the children of the poor--to promote their education1 to find them employment1 to snatch these little ones from underneath the feet of that grim ,poverty4 ,it is not less than awful1 to think while there are more children born in ,boston of ,catholic parents than of ,protestant1 that yet more than three fifths thereof die before the sun of their fifth year shines on their luckless heads4 ,i thank ,god that thus they die4 ,if there be not wisdom enough in society1 nor enough of justice there to save them from their future long-protracted suffering1 then ,i thank ,god that ,death comes down betimes1 and moistens his sickle while his crop is green4 ,i pity not the miserable babes who fall early before that merciful arm of ,death4 ,they are at rest4 ,poverty cannot touch them4 ,let the mothers who bore them rejoice1 but weep only for those that are left--left to ignorance1 to misery1 to intemperance1 to vice that ,i shall not name2 left to the mercies of the jail1 and perhaps the gallows at the last4 ,yet ,boston is a ,christian city--and it is eighteen hundred years since one great ,son of ,man came to seek and to save that which was lost6 ,i see not what more can be done directly1 and ,i see not why these things should not be done4 ,still some will suffer3 the idle1 the lazy1 the proud who will not work1 the careless who will voluntarily waste their time1 their strength1 or their goods--they must suffer1 they ought to suffer4 ,want is the only schoolmaster to teach them industry and thrift4 ,such as are merely unable1 who are poor not by their fault--we do wrong to let them suffer2 we do wickedly to leave them to perish4 ,the little children who survive--are they to be left to become barbarians in the midst of our civilization8 ,want is not an absolutely needful thing1 but very needful for the present distress1 to teach us industry1 economy1 thrift and its creative arts4 ,there is nature--the whole material world--waiting to serve4 ,what would you have thereof8 says ,god4 ,pay for it and take it1 as you will2 only pay as you go6 ,there are hands to work1 heads to think2 strong hands1 hard heads4 ,god is an economist3 ,he economizes suffering2 there is never too much of it in the world for the purpose it is to serve1 though it often falls where it should not fall4 ,it is here to teach us industry1 thrift1 justice4 ,it will be here no more when we have learned its lesson4 ,want is here on sufferance2 misery on sufferance2 and mankind can eject them if we will4 ,poverty1 like all evils1 is amenable to suppression4 ,can we not end this poverty--the misery and crime it brings8 ,no1 not to-day4 ,can we not lessen it8 ,soon as we will4 ,think how much ability there is in this town1 cool1 far-sighted talent4 ,if some of the ablest men directed their thoughts to the reform of this evil1 how much might be done in a single generation2 and in a century--what could not they do in a hundred years8 ,what better work is there for able men8 ,i would have it written on my tombstone3 ,this man had but little wit1 and less fame1 yet he helped remove the causes of poverty1 making men better off and better1 rather by far than this3 ,here lies a great man2 he had a great place in the world1 and great power1 and great fame1 and made nothing of it1 leaving the world no better for his stay therein1 and no man better off4 99 99 99 99 99 ,after all the special efforts to remove poverty1 the great work is to be done by the general advance of mankind4 ,we shall outgrow this as cannibalism1 butchery of captives1 war for plunder1 and other kindred miseries have been outgrown4 ,god has general remedies in abundance1 but few specific4 ,something will be done by diffusing throughout the community principles and habits of economy1 industry1 temperance2 by diffusing ideas of justice1 sentiments of brotherly love1 sentiments and ideas of religion4 ,i hope every thing from that--the noiseless and steady progress of ,christianity2 the snow melts1 not by sunlight1 or that alone1 but as the whole air becomes warm4 ,you may in cold weather melt away a little before your own door1 but that makes little difference till the general temperature rises4 ,still while the air is getting warm1 you facilitate the process by breaking up the obdurate masses of ice and putting them where the sun shines with direct and unimpeded light4 ,so must we do with poverty4 ,it is only a little that any of us can do--for any thing4 ,still we can do a little2 we can each do by helping towards raising the general tone of society3 first1 by each man raising himself2 by industry1 economy1 charity1 justice1 piety2 by a noble life4 ,so doing1 we raise the moral temperature of the whole world1 and just in proportion thereto4 ,next1 by helping those who come in our way2 nay1 by going out of our way to help them4 ,in each of these modes1 it is our duty to work4 ,to a certain extent each man is his brother's keeper4 ,of the powers we possess we are but trustees under ,providence1 to use them for the benefit of men1 and render continually an account of our stewardship to ,god4 ,each man can do a little directly to help convince the world of its wrong1 a little in the way of temporizing charity1 a little in the way of remedial justice2 so doing1 he works with ,god1 and ,god works with him4 ,x4 ,a ,,sermon ,,of ,,the ,,moral ,,condition ,,of ,,boston4--,,preached ,,at ,,the ,,melodeon1 ,,on ,,sunday1 ,,february #aa1 #ahdi4 #a ,,samuel ,,vii4 #ab4 ,hitherto hath the ,lord helped us4 ,a man who has only the spirit of his age can easily be a popular man2 if he have it in an eminent degree1 he must be a popular man in it3 he has its hopes and its fears2 his trumpet gives a certain and well-known sound2 his counsel is readily appreciated2 the majority is on his side4 ,but he cannot be a wise magistrate1 a just judge1 a competent critic1 or a profitable preacher4 ,a man who has only the spirit of a former age can be none of these four things2 and not even a popular man4 ,he remembers when he ought to forecast1 and compares when he ought to act2 he cannot appreciate the age he lives in1 nor have a fellow-feeling with it4 ,he may easily obtain the pity of his age1 not its sympathy or its confidence4 ,the man who has the spirit of his own1 and also that of some future age1 is alone capable of becoming a wise magistrate1 a just judge1 a competent critic1 and a profitable preacher4 ,such a man looks on passing events somewhat as the future historian will do1 and sees them in their proportions1 not distorted2 sees them in their connection with great general laws1 and judges of the falling rain not merely by the bonnets it may spoil and the pastime it disturbs1 but by the grass and corn it shall cause to grow4 ,he has hopes and fears of his own1 but they are not the hopes and fears of men about him2 his trumpet cannot give a welcome or well-known sound1 nor his counsel be presently heeded4 ,majorities are not on his side1 nor can he be a popular man4 ,to understand our present moral condition1 to be able to give good counsel thereon1 you must understand the former generation1 and have potentially the spirit of the future generation2 must appreciate the past1 and yet belong to the future4 ,who is there that can do this8 ,no man will say1 ,i can4 ,conscious of the difficulty1 and aware of my own deficiencies in all these respects1 ,i will yet endeavor to speak of the moral condition of ,boston4 99 99 99 99 99 ,first1 ,i will speak of the actual moral condition of ,boston1 as indicated by the morals of ,trade4 ,in a city like ,rome1 you must first feel the pulse of the church1 in ,st4 ,petersburg that of the court1 to determine the moral condition of those cities4 ,now trade is to ,boston what the church is to ,rome and the imperial court to ,st4 ,petersburg3 it is the pendulum which regulates all the common and authorized machinery of the place2 it is an organization of the public conscience4 ,we care little for any ,pius the ,ninth1 or ,nicholas the ,first2 the dollar is our emperor and pope1 above all the parties in the ,state1 all sects in the church1 lord paramount over both1 its spiritual and temporal power not likely to be called in question2 revolt from what else we may1 we are loyal still to that4 ,a little while ago1 in a sermon of riches1 speaking of the character of trade in ,boston1 ,i suggested that men were better than their reputation oftener than worse2 that there were a hundred honest bargains to one that was dishonest4 ,i have heard severe strictures from friendly tongues1 on that statement1 which gave me more pain than any criticism ,i have received before4 ,the criticism was1 that ,i overrated the honesty of men in trade4 ,now1 it is a small thing to be convicted of an error--a just thing and a profitable to have it detected and exposed2 but it is a painful thing to find you have overrated the moral character of your townsmen4 ,however1 if what ,i said be not true as history1 ,i hope it will become so as prophecy2 ,i doubt not my critics will help that work4 ,love of money is out of proportion to love of better things--to love of justice1 of truth1 of a manly character developing itself in a manly life4 ,wealth is often made the end to live for2 not the means to live by1 and attain a manly character4 ,the young man of good abilities does not commonly propose it to himself to be a noble man1 equipped with all the intellectual and moral qualities which belong to that1 and capable of the duties which come thereof4 ,he is satisfied if he can become a rich man4 ,it is the highest ambition of many a youth in this town to become one of the rich men of ,boston2 to have the social position which wealth always gives1 and nothing else in this country can commonly bestow4 ,accordingly1 our young men that are now poor1 will sacrifice every thing to this one object2 will make wealth the end1 and will become rich without becoming noble4 ,but wealth without nobleness of character is always vulgar4 ,i have seen a clown staring at himself in the gorgeous mirror of a ,french palace1 and thought him no bad emblem of many an ignoble man at home1 surrounded by material riches which only reflected back the vulgarity of their owner4 ,other young men inherit wealth1 but seldom regard it as a means of power for high and noble ends1 only as the means of selfish indulgence2 unneeded means to elevate yet more their self-esteem4 ,now and then you find a man who values wealth only as an instrument to serve mankind withal4 ,i know some such men2 their money is a blessing akin to genius1 a blessing to mankind1 a means of philanthropic power4 ,but such men are rare in all countries1 perhaps a little less so in ,boston than in most other large trading towns2 still1 exceeding rare4 ,they are sure to meet with neglect1 abuse1 and perhaps with scorn2 if they are men of eminent ability1 superior culture1 and most elevated moral aims1 set off1 too1 with a noble and heroic life1 they are sure of meeting with eminent hatred4 ,i fear the man most hated in this town would be found to be some one who had only sought to do mankind some great good1 and stepped before his age too far for its sympathy4 ,truth1 ,justice1 ,humanity1 are not thought in ,boston to have come of good family2 their followers are not respectable4 ,i am not speaking to blame men1 only to show the fact2 we may meddle with things too high for us1 but not understand nor appreciate4 ,now this disproportionate love of money appears in various ways4 ,you see it in the advantage that is taken of the feeblest1 the most ignorant1 and the most exposed classes in the community4 ,it is notorious that they pay the highest prices1 the dearest rents1 and are imposed upon in their dealings oftener than any other class of men2 so the raven and the hooded crow1 it is said1 seek out the sickliest sheep to pounce upon4 ,the fact that a man is ignorant1 poor1 and desperate1 furnishes to many men an argument for defrauding the man4 ,it is bad enough to injure any man2 but to wrong an ignorant man1 a poor and friendless man2 to take advantage of his poverty or his ignorance1 and to get his services or his money for less than a fair return--that is petty baseness under aggravated circumstances1 and as cowardly as it is mean4 ,you are now and then shocked at rich men telling of the arts by which they got their gold--sometimes of their fraud at home1 sometimes abroad1 and a good man almost thinks there must be a curse on money meanly got at first1 though it falls to him by honest inheritance4 ,this same disproportionate love of money appears in the fact that men1 not driven by necessity1 engage in the manufacture1 the importation1 and the sale of an article which corrupts and ruins men by hundreds2 which has done more to increase poverty1 misery1 and crime than any other one cause whatever2 and1 as some think1 more than all other causes whatever4 ,i am not speaking of men who aid in any just and proper use of that article1 but in its ruinous use4 ,yet such men1 by such a traffic1 never lose their standing in society1 their reputation in trade1 their character in the church4 ,a good many men will think worse of you for being an ,abolitionist2 men have lost their place in society by that name2 even ,dr4 ,channing hurt his usefulness and injured his reputation by daring to speak against that sin of the nation2 but no man loses caste in ,boston by making1 importing1 and selling the cause of ruin to hundreds of families--though he does it with his eyes open1 knowing that he ministers to crime and to ruin6 ,i am told that large quantities of ,new ,england rum have already been sent from this city to ,california2 it is notorious that much of it is sent to the nations of ,africa--if not from ,boston1 at least from ,new ,england--as an auxiliary in the slave-trade4 ,you know with what feelings of grief and indignation a clergyman of this city saw that characteristic manufacture of his town on the wharves of a ,mahometan city4 ,i suppose there are not ten ministers in ,boston who would not get into trouble1 as the phrase is1 if they were to preach against intemperance1 and the causes that produce intemperance1 with half so much zeal as they innocently preach regeneration and a form of piety which will never touch a single corner of the earth4 ,as the minister came down1 the ,spirit of ,trade would meet him on the pulpit stairs to warn him3 ,business is business2 religion is religion2 business is ours1 religion yours2 but if you make or even allow religion to interfere with our business1 then it will be the worse for you--that is all6 ,you know it is not a great while since we drove out of ,boston the one ,unitarian minister who was a fearless apostle of temperance4#cf ,his presence here was a grief to that form of piety2 a disturbance to trade4 ,since then the peace of the churches has not been much disturbed by the preaching of temperance4 ,the effect has been salutary2 no ,unitarian minister has risen up to fill that place6 ,this same disproportionate love of money appears in the fact1 that the merchants of ,boston still allow colored seamen to be taken from their ships and shut up in the jails of another ,state4 ,if they cared as much for the rights of man as for money1 as much for the men who sail the ship as for the cargo it carries1 ,i cannot think there would be brass enough in ,south ,carolina1 or all the ,south1 to hold another freeman of ,massachusetts in bondage1 merely for the color of his skin4 ,no doubt1 a merchant would lose his reputation in this city by engaging directly in the slave-trade1 for it is made piracy by the law of the land4#cg ,but did any one ever lose his reputation by taking a mortgage on slaves as security for a debt2 by becoming1 in that way or by inheritance1 the owner of slaves1 and still keeping them in bondage8 ,you shall take the whole trading community of ,boston1 rich and poor1 good and bad1 study the phenomena of trade as astronomers the phenomena of the heavens1 and from the observed facts1 by the inductive method of philosophy1 construct the ethics of trade1 and you will find one great maxim to underlie the whole3 ,money must be made4 ,money-making is to the ethics of trade what attraction is to the material world2 what truth is to the intellect1 and justice in morals4 ,other things must yield to that2 that to nothing4 ,in the effort to comply with this universal law of trade1 many a character gives way2 many a virtue gets pushed aside2 the higher1 nobler qualities of a man are held in small esteem4 ,this characteristic of the trading class appears in the thought of the people as well as their actions4 ,you see it in the secular literature of our times2 in the laws1 even in the sermons2 nobler things give way to love of gold4 ,so in an ill-tended garden1 in some bed where violets sought to open their fragrant bosoms to the sun1 have ,i seen a cabbage come up and grow apace1 with thick and vulgar stalk1 with coarse and vulgar leaves1 with rank unsavory look2 it thrust aside the little violet1 which1 underneath that impenetrable leaf1 lacking the morning sunshine and the dew of night1 faded and gave up its tender life2 but above the grave of the violet there stood the cabbage1 green1 expanding1 triumphant1 and all fearless of the frost4 ,yet the cabbage also had its value and its use4 ,there are men in ,boston1 some rich1 some poor1 old and young1 who are free from this reproach2 men that have a well-proportioned love of money1 and make the pursuit thereof an effort for all the noble qualities of a man4 ,i know some such men1 not very numerous anywhere1 men who show that the common business of life is the place to mature great virtues in2 that the pursuit of wealth1 successful or not1 need hinder the growth of no excellence1 but may promote all manly life4 ,such men stand here as violets among the cabbages1 making a fragrance and a loveliness all their own2 attractive anywhere1 but marvellous in such a neighborhood as that4 99 99 99 99 99 ,look next on the morals of ,boston1 as indicated by the ,newspapers1 the daily and the weekly press4 ,take the whole newspaper literature of ,boston1 cheap and costly1 good and bad1 study it all as a whole1 and by the inductive method construct the ethics of the press1 and here you find no signs of a higher morality in general than you found in trade4 ,it is the same centre about which all things gravitate here as there4 ,but in the newspapers the want of great principles is more obvious1 and more severely felt than in trade--the want of justice1 of truth1 of humanity1 of sympathy with man4 ,in trade you meet with signs of great power2 the highway of commerce bears marks of giant feet4 ,our newspapers seem chiefly in the hands of little men1 whose cunning is in a large ratio to their wisdom or their justice4 ,you find here little ability1 little sound learning1 little wise political economy2 of lofty morals almost nothing at all4 ,here1 also1 the dollar is both ,pope and ,king2 right and truth are vassals1 not much esteemed1 nor over-often called to pay service to their ,lord1 who has other soldiers with more pliant neck and knee4 ,a newspaper is an instrument of great importance2 all men read it2 many read nothing else2 some it serves as reason and conscience too3 in lack of better1 why not8 ,it speaks to thousands every day on matters of great moment--on matters of morals1 of politics1 of finance4 ,it relates daily the occurrences of our land1 and of all the world4 ,all men are affected by it2 hindered or helped4 ,to many a man his morning paper represents more reality than his morning prayer4 ,there are many in a community like this who do not know what to say--,i do not mean what to think1 thoughtful men know what to think--about any thing till somebody tells them2 yet they must talk1 for the mouth goes always4 ,to such a man a newspaper is invaluable2 as the idolater in the ,judges had a ,levite to his priest1 so he has a newspaper to his reason or his conscience1 and can talk to the day's end4 ,an able and humane newspaper would get this class of persons into good habits of speech1 and do them a service1 inasmuch as good habits of speech are better than bad4 ,one portion of this literature is degrading2 it seems purposely so1 as if written by base men1 for base readers1 to serve base ends4 ,i know not which is most depraved thereby1 the taste or the conscience4 ,obscene advertisements are there1 meant for the licentious eye2 there are loathsome details of vice1 of crime1 of depravity1 related with the design to attract1 yet so disgusting that any but a corrupt man must revolt from them2 there are accounts of the appearance of culprits in the lower courts1 of their crime1 of their punishment2 these are related with an impudent flippancy1 and a desire to make sport of human wretchedness and perhaps depravity1 which amaze a man of only the average humanity4 ,we read of ,judge ,jeffreys and the bloody assizes in ,england1 one hundred and sixty years ago1 but never think there are in the midst of us men who1 like that monster1 can make sport of human misery2 but for a cent you can find proof that the race of such is not extinct4 ,if a penny-a-liner were to go into a military hospital1 and make merry at the sights he saw there1 at the groans he heard1 and the keen smart his eye witnessed1 could he publish his fiendish joy at that spectacle--you would not say he was a man4 ,if one mock at the crimes of men1 perhaps at their sins1 at the infamous punishments they suffer--what can you say of him8 ,it is a significant fact that the commercial newspapers1 which of course in such a town are the controlling newspapers1 in reporting the ,european news1 relate first the state of the markets abroad1 the price of cotton1 of consols1 and of corn2 then the health of the ,english queen1 and the movements of the nations4 ,this is loyal and consistent2 at ,rome1 the journal used to announce first some tidings of the ,pope1 then of the lesser dignitaries of the church1 then of the discovery of new antiques1 and other matters of great pith and moment2 at ,st4 ,petersburg1 it was first of the ,emperor that the journal spoke2 at ,boston1 it is legitimate that the health of the dollar should be reported first of all4 ,the political newspapers are a melancholy proof of the low morality of this town4 ,you know what they will say of any party movement2 that measures and men are judged on purely party grounds4 ,the country is commonly put before mankind1 and the party before the country4 ,which of them in political matters pursues a course that is fair and just2 how many of them have ever advanced a great idea1 or been constantly true to a great principle of natural justice2 how many resolutely oppose a great wrong2 how many can be trusted to expose the most notorious blunders of their party2 how many of them aim to promote the higher interests of mankind8 ,what servility is there in some of these journals1 a cringing to the public opinion of the party2 a desire that our efforts may be appreciated6 ,in our politics every thing which relates to money is pretty carefully looked after1 though not always well looked after2 but what relates to the moral part of politics is commonly passed over with much less heed4 ,men would compliment a senator who understood finance in all its mysteries1 and sneer at one who had studied as faithfully the mysteries of war1 or of slavery4 ,the ,mexican ,war tested the morality of ,boston1 as it appears both in the newspapers and in trade1 and showed its true value4 ,there are some few exceptions to this statement2 here and there is a journal which does set forth the great ideas of this age1 and is animated by the spirit of humanity4 ,but such exceptions only remind one of the general rule4 ,in the sectarian journals the same general morality appears1 but in a worse form4 ,what would have been political hatred in the secular prints1 becomes theological odium in the sectarian journals2 not a mere hatred in the name of party1 but hatred in the name of ,god and ,christ4 ,here is less fairness1 less openness1 and less ability than there1 but more malice2 the form1 too1 is less manly4 ,what is there a strut or a swagger1 is here only a snivel4 ,they are the last places in which you need look for the spirit of true morality4 ,which of the sectarian journals of ,boston advocates any of the great reforms of the day8 nay1 which is not an obstacle in the path of all manly reform8 ,but let us not dwell upon this1 only look and pass by4 ,i am not about to censure the conductors of these journals1 commercial1 political1 or theological4 ,i am no judge of any man's conscience4 ,no doubt they write as they can or must4 ,this literature is as honest and as able as the circumstances will admit of4 ,i look on it as an index of our moral condition1 for a newspaper literature always represents the general morals of its readers4 ,grocers and butchers purchase only such articles as their customers will buy2 the editors of newspapers reveal the moral character of their subscribers as well as their correspondents4 ,the transient literature of any age is always a good index of the moral taste of the age4 ,these two witnesses attest the moral condition of the better part of the city2 but there are men a good deal lower than the general morals of trade and the press4 ,other witnesses testify to their moral character4 99 99 99 99 99 ,let me now speak of your moral condition as indicated by the ,poverty in this city4 ,i have so recently spoken on the subject of poverty in ,boston1 and printed the sermon1 that ,i will not now mention the misery it brings4 ,i will only speak of the moral condition which it indicates1 and the moral effect it has upon us4 ,in this age1 poverty tends to barbarize men2 it shuts them out from the educational influences of our times4 ,the sons of the miserable class cannot obtain the intellectual1 moral1 and religious education which is the birthright of the comfortable and the rich4 ,there is a great gulf between them and the culture of our times4 ,how hard it must be to climb up from a cellar in ,cove ,place to wisdom1 to honesty1 to piety4 ,i know how comfortable pharisaic self-righteousness can say1 ,i thank thee ,i am not wicked like one of these1 and ,god knows which is the best before ,his eyes1 the scorner1 or the man he loathes and leaves to dirt and destruction4 ,i know this poverty belongs to the state of transition we are now in1 and can only be ended by our passing through this into a better4 ,i see the medicinal effect of poverty1 that with cantharidian sting it drives some men to work1 to frugality and thrift2 that the ,irish has driven the ,american beggar out of the streets1 and will shame him out of the almshouse ere long4 ,but there are men who have not force enough to obey this stimulus2 they only cringe and smart under its sting4 ,such men are made barbarians by poverty1 barbarians in body1 in mind and conscience1 in heart and soul4 ,there is a great amount of this barbarism in ,boston2 it lowers the moral character of the place1 as icebergs in your harbor next ,june would chill the air all day4 ,the fact that such poverty is here1 that so little is done by public authority1 or by the ablest men in the land1 to remove the evil tree and dig up its evil root2 that amid all the wealth of ,boston and all its charity1 there are not even comfortable tenements for the poor to be had at any but a ruinous rent--that is a sad fact1 and bears a sad testimony to our moral state6 ,sometimes the spectacle of misery does good1 quickening the moral sense and touching the electric tie which binds all human hearts into one great family2 but when it does not lead to this result1 then it debases the looker-on4 ,to know of want1 of misery1 of all the complicated and far-extended ill they bring2 to hear of this1 and to see it in the streets2 to have the money to alleviate1 and yet not to alleviate2 the wisdom to devise a cure therefor1 and yet make no effort towards it--that is to be yourself debased and barbarized4 ,i have often thought1 in seeing the poverty of ,london1 that the daily spectacle of such misery did more in a year to debauch the ,british heart than all the slaughter at ,waterloo4 ,i know that misery has called out heroic virtue in some men and women1 and made philanthropists of such as otherwise had been only getters and keepers of gain4 ,we have noble examples of that in the midst of us2 but how many men has poverty trod down into the mire2 how many has this sight of misery hardened into cold worldliness1 the man frozen into mere respectability1 its thin smile on his lips1 its ungodly contempt in his heart6 99 99 99 99 99 ,out of this barbarism of poverty there come three other forms of evil which indicate the moral condition of ,boston2 of that portion named just now as below the morals of trade and the press4 ,these also ,i will call up to testify4 99 99 99 99 99 ,one is ,intemperance4 ,this is a crime against the body2 it is felony against your own frame4 ,it makes a schism amongst your own members4 ,the amount of it is fearfully great in this town4 ,some of our most wealthy citizens1 who rent their buildings for the unlawful sale of rum to be applied to an intemperate abuse1 are directly concerned in promoting this intemperance2 others1 rich but less wealthy1 have sucked their abundance out of the bones of the poor1 and are actual manufacturers of the drunkard and the criminal4 ,here are numerous distilleries owned1 and some of them conducted1 ,i am told1 by men of wealth4 ,the fire thereof is not quenched at all by day1 and there is no night there2 the worm dieth not4 ,there out of the sweetest plant which ,god has made to grow under a tropic sun1 men distil a poison the most baneful to mankind which the world has ever known4 ,the poison of the ,borgias was celebrated once2 cold-hearted courtiers shivered at its name4 ,it never killed many2 those with merciful swiftness4 ,the poison of rum is yet worse2 it yearly murders thousands2 kills them by inches1 body and soul4 ,here are respectable and wealthy men1 men who this day sit down in a ,christian church and thank ,god for his goodness1 with contrite hearts praise him for that ,son of ,man who gave his life for mankind1 and would gladly give it to mankind2 yet these men have ships on the sea to bring the poor man's poison here1 or bear it hence to other men as poor2 have distilleries on the land to make still yet more for the ruin of their fellow ,christians2 have warehouses full of this plague1 which outvenoms all the worms of ,nile2 have shops which they rent for the illegal and murderous sale of this terrible scourge4 ,do they not know the ruin which they work2 are they the only men in the land who have not heard of the effects of intemperance8 ,i judge them not1 great ,god6 ,i only judge myself4 ,i wish ,i could say1 ,they know not what they do2 but at this day who does not know the effect of intemperance in ,boston8 ,i speak not of the sale of ardent spirits to be used in the arts1 to be used for medicine1 but of the needless use thereof2 of their use to damage the body and injure the soul of man4 ,the chief of your police informs me there are twelve hundred places in ,boston1 where this article is sold to be drunk on the spot2 illegally sold4 ,the ,charitable ,association of ,mechanics1 in this city1 have taken the accumulated savings of more than fifty years1 and therewith built a costly establishment1 where intoxicating drink is needlessly but abundantly sold6 ,low as the moral standard of ,boston is1 low as are the morals of the press and trade1 ,i had hoped better things of these men1 who live in the midst of hard-working laborers1 and see the miseries of intemperance all about them4 ,but the dollar was too powerful for their temperance4 ,here are splendid houses1 where the rich man or the thrifty needlessly drinks4 ,let me leave them2 the evil ,demon of ,intemperance appears not there2 he is there1 but under well-made garments1 amongst educated men1 who are respected and still respect themselves4 ,amid merriment and song the ,demon appears not4 ,he is there1 gaunt1 bony1 and destructive1 but so elegantly clad1 with manners so unoffending1 you do not mark his face1 nor fear his steps4 ,but go down to that miserable lane1 where men mothered by ,misery and sired by ,crime1 where the sons of ,poverty and the daughters of ,wretchedness1 are huddled thick together1 and you see this ,demon of ,intemperance in all his ugliness4 ,let me speak soberly3 exaggeration is a figure of speech ,i would always banish from my rhetoric1 here1 above all1 where the fact is more appalling than any fiction ,i could devise4 ,in the low parts of ,boston1 where want abounds1 where misery abounds1 intemperance abounds yet more1 to multiply want1 to aggravate misery1 to make savage what poverty has only made barbarian2 to stimulate passion into crime4 ,here it is not music and the song which crown the bowl2 it is crowned by obscenity1 by oaths1 by curses1 by violence1 sometimes by murder4 ,these twine the ivy round the poor man's bowl2 no1 it is the ,upas that they twine4 ,think of the sufferings of the drunkard himself1 of his poverty1 his hunger and his nakedness1 his cold2 think of his battered body2 of his mind and conscience1 how they are gone4 ,but is that all8 ,far from it4 ,these curses shall become blows upon his wife2 that savage violence shall be expended on his child4 ,in his senses this man was a barbarian2 there are centuries of civilization betwixt him and cultivated men4 ,but the man of wealth1 adorned with respectability and armed with science1 harbors a ,demon in the street1 a profitable ,demon to the rich man who rents his houses for such a use4 ,the ,demon enters our barbarian1 who straightway becomes a savage4 ,in his fury he tears his wife and child4 ,the law1 heedless of the greater culprits1 the ,demon1 and the demon-breeder1 seizes our savage man and shuts him in the jail4 ,now he is out of the tempter's reach2 let us leave him2 let us go to his home4 ,his wife and children still are there1 freed from their old tormentor4 ,enter3 look upon the squalor1 the filth1 the want1 the misery still left behind4 ,respectability halts at the door with folded arms1 and can no further go4 ,but charity1 the love of man which never fails1 enters even there2 enters to lift up the fallen1 to cheer the despairing1 to comfort and to bless4 ,let us leave her there1 loving the unlovely1 and turn to other sights4 ,in the streets1 there are about nine hundred needy boys1 and about two hundred needy girls1 the sons and daughters mainly of the intemperate2 too idle or too thriftless to work2 too low and naked for the public school4 ,they roam about--the nomadic tribes of this town1 the gipsies of ,boston--doing some chance work for a moment1 committing some petty theft4 ,the temptations of a great city are before them4#ch ,soon they will be impressed into the regular army of crime1 to be stationed in your jails1 perhaps to die on your gallows4 ,such is the fate of the sons of intemperance2 but the daughters6 their fate--let me not tell of that4 ,in your ,legislature they have just been discussing a law against dogs1 for now and then a man is bitten and dies of hydrophobia4 ,perhaps there are ten mad dogs in the ,state at this moment1 and it may be that one man in a year dies from the bite of such4 ,do the legislators know how many shops there are in this town1 in this ,state1 which all the day and all the year sell to intemperate men a poison that maddens with a hydrophobia still worse8 ,if there were a thousand mad dogs in the land1 if wealthy men had embarked a large capital in the importation or the production of mad dogs1 and if they bit and maddened and slew ten thousand men in a year1 do you believe your ,legislature would discuss that evil with such fearless speech8 ,then you are very young1 and know little of the tyranny of public opinion1 and the power of money to silence speech1 while justice still comes in1 with feet of wool1 but iron hands4#ci ,there is yet another witness to the moral condition of ,boston4 ,i mean ,crime4 ,where there is such poverty and intemperance1 crime may be expected to follow4 ,i will not now dwell upon this theme1 only let me say1 that in #ahdh1 three thousand four hundred and thirty-five grown persons1 and six hundred and seventy-one minors were lawfully sentenced to your jail and ,house of ,correction2 in all1 four thousand one hundred and six2 three thousand four hundred and forty-four persons were arrested by the night police1 and eleven thousand one hundred and seventy-eight were taken into custody by the watch2 at one time there were one hundred and forty-four in the common jail4 ,i have already mentioned that more than a thousand boys and girls1 between six and sixteen1 wander as vagrants about your streets2 two hundred and thirty-eight of these are children of widows1 fifty-four have neither parent living4 ,it is a fact known to your police1 that about one thousand two hundred shops are unlawfully open for retailing the means of intemperance4 ,these are most thickly strown in the haunts of poverty4 ,on a single ,sunday the police found three hundred and thirteen shops in the full experiment of unblushing and successful crime4 ,these rum-shops are the factories of crime2 the raw material is furnished by poverty2 it passes into the hands of the rum-seller1 and is soon ready for delivery at the mouth of the jail1 or the foot of the gallows4 ,it is notorious that intemperance is the proximate cause of three fourths of the crime in ,boston2 yet it is very respectable to own houses and rent them for the purpose of making men intemperate2 nobody loses his standing by that4 ,i am not surprised to hear of women armed with knives1 and boys with six-barrelled revolvers in their pockets2 not surprised at the increase of capital trials4 99 99 99 99 99 ,one other matter let me name--,i call it the ,crime against ,woman4 ,let us see the evil in its type1 its most significant form4 ,look at that thing of corruption and of shame1 almost without shame1 whom the judge1 with brief words1 despatches to the jail4 ,that was a woman once4 ,no6 ,at least1 she was once a girl4 ,she had a mother2 perhaps1 beyond the hills1 a mother1 in her evening prayer1 remembers still this one child more tenderly than all the folded flowers that slept the sleep of infancy beneath her roof2 remembers1 with a prayer1 her child1 whom the world curses after it has made corrupt6 ,perhaps she had no such mother1 but was born in the filth of some reeking cellar1 and turned into the mire of the streets1 in her undefended innocence1 to mingle with the coarseness1 the intemperance1 and the crime of a corrupt metropolis4 ,in either case1 her blood is on our hands4 ,the crime which is so terribly avenged on woman--think you that ,god will hold men innocent of that8 ,but on this sign of our moral state1 ,i will not long delay4 99 99 99 99 99 ,put all these things together3 the character of trade1 of the press2 take the evidence of poverty1 intemperance1 and crime--it all reveals a sad state of things4 ,i call your attention to these facts4 ,we are all affected by them more or less2 all more or less accountable for them4 99 99 99 99 99 ,hitherto ,i have only stated facts1 without making comparisons4 ,let me now compare the present condition of ,boston with that in former times4 ,every man has an ideal1 which is better than the actual facts about him4 ,some men amongst us put that ideal in times past1 and maintain it was then an historical fact2 they are commonly men who have little knowledge of the past1 and less hope for the future2 a good deal of reverence for old precedents1 little for justice1 truth1 humanity2 little confidence in mankind1 and a great deal of fear of new things4 ,such men love to look back and do homage to the past1 but it is only a past of fancy1 not of fact1 they do homage to4 ,they tell us we have fallen2 that the golden age is behind us1 and the garden of ,eden2 ours are degenerate days2 the men are inferior1 the women less winning1 less witty1 and less wise1 and the children are an untoward generation1 a disgrace1 not so much to their fathers1 but certainly to their grandsires4 ,sometimes this is the complaint of men who have grown old2 sometimes of such as seem to be old without growing so1 who seem born to the gift of age1 without the grace of youth4 ,other men have a similar ideal1 commonly a higher one1 but they place it in the future1 not as an historical reality1 which has been1 and is therefore to be worshipped1 but one which is to be made real by dint of thought1 of work4 ,i have known old persons who stoutly maintained that the pears and the plums and the peaches1 are not half so luscious as they were many years ago2 so they bewailed the existing race of fruits1 complaining of the general decay of sweetness1 and brought over to their way of speech some aged juveniles4 ,meanwhile1 men born young1 set themselves to productive work1 and1 instead of bewailing an old fancy1 realized a new ideal in new fruits1 bigger1 fairer1 and better than the old4 ,it is to men of this latter stamp1 that we must look for criticism and for counsel4 ,the others can afford us a warning1 if not by their speech1 at least by their example4 ,it is very plain1 that the people of ,new ,england are advancing in wealth1 in intelligence1 and in morality2 but in this general march1 there are little apparent pauses1 slight waverings from side to side2 some virtues seem to straggle from the troop2 some to lag behind1 for it is not always the same virtue that leads the van4 ,it is with the flock of virtues1 as with wild fowl--the leaders alternate4 ,it is probable that the morals of ,new ,england in general1 and of ,boston in special1 did decline somewhat from #agge to #agij2 there were peculiar but well-known causes1 which no longer exist1 to work that result4 ,in the previous fifteen years1 it seems probable that there had been a rapid increase of morality1 through the agency of causes equally peculiar and transient4 ,to estimate the moral growth or decline of this town1 we must not take either period as a standard4 ,but take the history of ,boston1 from #afej to #agjj1 from #agjj to #agej1 thence to #ahjj1 and you will see a gradual1 but a decided progress in morality in each of these periods4 ,it is not easy to prove this in a short sermon2 ,i can only indicate the points of comparison1 and state the general fact4 ,from #ahjj to #ahdi1 this progress is well marked1 indisputable1 and very great4 ,let us look at this a little in detail1 pursuing the same order of thought as before4 ,it is generally conceded that the moral character of trade has improved a good deal within fifty or sixty years4 ,it was formerly a common saying1 that ,if a ,yankee merchant were to sell salt water at high-tide1 he would yet cheat in the measure4 ,the saying was founded on the conduct of ,american traders abroad1 in the ,west ,indies and elsewhere4 ,now things have changed for the better4 ,i have been told by competent authority1 that two of the most eminent merchants of ,boston1 fifty or sixty years ago1 who conducted each a large business1 and left very large fortunes1 were notoriously guilty of such dishonesty in trade1 as would now drive any man from the ,exchange4 ,the facility with which notes are collected by the banks1 compared to the former method of collection1 is itself a proof of an increase of practical honesty2 the law for settling the affairs of a bankrupt tells the same thing4 ,now this change has not come from any special effort1 made to produce this particular effect1 and1 accordingly1 it indicates the general moral progress of the community4 ,the general character of the press1 since the end of the last century1 has decidedly improved1 as any one may convince himself of1 by comparing the newspapers of that period1 with the present2 yet a publicity is now-a-days given to certain things which were formerly kept more closely from the public eye and ear4 ,this circumstance sometimes produces an apparent increase of wrong-doing1 while it is only an increased publicity thereof4 ,political servility1 and political rancor1 are certainly bad enough1 and base enough1 at this day1 but not long ago both were baser and worse2 to show this1 ,i need only appeal to the memories of men before me1 who can recollect the beginning of the present century4 ,political controversies are conducted with less bitterness than before2 honesty is more esteemed2 private worth is more respected4 ,it is not many years since the ,federal party1 composed of men who certainly were an honor to their age1 supported ,aaron ,burr1 for the office of ,president of the ,united ,states2 a man whose character1 both public and private1 was notoriously marked with the deepest infamy4 ,political parties are not very puritanical in their virtue at this day2 but ,i think no party would now for a moment accept such a man as ,mr4 ,burr1 for such a post4#dj ,there is another pleasant sign of this improvement in political parties3 last autumn the victorious party1 in two wards of this city1 made a beautiful demonstration of joy1 at their success in the ,presidential election1 and on ,thanksgiving day1 and on ,christmas1 gave a substantial dinner to each poor person in their section of the town4 ,it was a trifle1 but one pleasant to remember4 ,even the theological journals have improved within a few years4 ,i know it has been said that some of them are not only behind their times1 which is true1 but behind all times4 ,it is not so4 ,compared with the sectarian writings--tracts1 pamphlets1 and hard-bound volumes of an earlier day--they are human1 enlightened1 and even liberal4 ,in respect to poverty1 there has been a great change for the better4 ,however1 it may be said in general1 that a good deal of the poverty1 intemperance1 and crime1 is of foreign origin2 we are to deal with it1 to be blamed if we allow it to continue2 not at all to be blamed for its origin4 ,i know it is often said1 ,the poor are getting poorer1 and soon will become the mere vassals of the rich2 that ,the past is full of discouragement2 the future full of fear4 ,i cannot think so4 ,i feel neither the discouragement nor the fear4 ,it should be remembered that many of the ,fathers of ,new ,england owned the bodies of their laborers and domestics6 ,the condition of the working man has improved1 relatively to the wealth of the land1 ever since4 ,the wages of any kind of labor1 at this day1 bear a higher proportion to the things needed for comfort and convenience1 than ever before for two hundred years4 ,if you go back one hundred years1 ,i think you will find that1 in proportion to the population and wealth of this town or this ,state1 there was considerably more suffering from native poverty then than now4 ,i have not1 however1 before me the means of absolute proof of this statement2 but this is plain1 that now public charity is more extended1 more complete1 works in a wiser mode1 and with far more beneficial effect2 and that pains are now taken to uproot the causes of poverty--pains which our fathers never thought of4 ,in proof of this increase of charity1 and even of the existence of justice1 ,i need only refer to the numerous benevolent societies of modern origin1 and to the establishment of the ministry at large1 in this city--the latter the work of ,unitarian philanthropy4 ,some other churches have done a little in this good work4 ,but none have done much4 ,i am told the ,catholic clergy of this city do little to remove the great mass of poverty1 intemperance1 and crime among their followers4 ,i know there are some few honorable exceptions1 and how easy it is for ,protestant hostility to exaggerate matters2 still1 ,i fear the reproach is but too well founded1 that the ,catholic clergy are not vigilant shepherds1 who guard their sacred flock against the terrible wolves which prowl about the fold4 ,i wish to find myself mistaken here4 ,some of you remember the ,old ,almshouse in ,park-street2 the condition and character of its inmates2 the effect of the treatment they there received4 ,i do not say that our present attention to the subject of poverty is any thing to boast of--certainly we have done little in comparison with what common sense demands2 very little in comparison with what ,christianity enjoins2 still it is something2 in comparison with the good old times1 it is much that we are doing4 ,there has been a great change for the better in the matter of intemperance in drinking4 ,within thirty years1 the progress towards sobriety is surprising1 and so well marked and obvious that to name it is enough4 ,probably there is not a respectable man in ,boston who would not be ashamed to have been seen drunk yesterday2 even to have been drunk in ever so private a manner2 not one who would willingly get a friend or a guest in that condition to-day6 ,go back a few years1 and it brought no public reproach1 and1 ,i fear1 no private shame4 ,a few years further back1 it was not a rare thing1 on great occasions1 for the fathers of the town to reel and stagger from their intemperance--the magistrates of the land voluntarily furnishing the warning which a romantic historian says the ,spartans forced upon their slaves4 ,it is easy to praise the ,fathers of ,new ,england2 easier to praise them for virtues they did not possess1 than to discriminate1 and fairly judge those remarkable men4 ,i admire and venerate their characters1 but they were rather hard drinkers2 certainly a love of cold water was not one of their loves4 ,let me mention a fact or two3 it is recorded in the ,probate office1 that in #afgh1 at the funeral of ,mrs4 ,mary ,norton1 widow of the celebrated ,john ,norton1 one of the ministers of the first church in ,boston1 fifty-one gallons and a half of the best ,malaga wine were consumed by the mourners2 in #afhe1 at the funeral of the ,rev4 ,thomas ,cobbett1 minister at ,ipswich1 there were consumed one barrel of wine and two barrels of cider--and as it was cold1 there was some spice and ginger for the cider4 ,you may easily judge of the drunkenness and riot on occasions less solemn than the funeral of an old and beloved minister4 ,towns provided intoxicating drink at the funeral of their paupers2 in ,salem1 in #agbh1 at the funeral of a pauper1 a gallon of wine and another of cider are charged as incidental2 the next year1 six gallons of rum on a similar occasion2 in ,lynn1 in #agaa1 the town furnished half a barrel of cider for the ,widow ,dispaw's funeral4 ,affairs had come to such a pass1 that in #agdb1 the ,general ,court forbade the use of wine and rum at funerals4 ,in #afgc1 ,increase ,mather published his ,wo unto ,drunkards4 ,governor ,winthrop complains1 in #afcj1 that ,the young folk gave themselves to drink hot waters very immoderately4#da ,but ,i need not go back so far4 ,who that is fifty years of age1 does not remember the aspect of ,boston on public days2 on the evening of such days8 ,compare the ,election day1 or the ,fourth of ,july1 as they were kept thirty or forty years ago1 with such days in our time4 ,some of you remember the celebration of ,peace1 in #aghc2 many of you can recollect the similar celebration in #ahae4 ,on each of those days the inhabitants from the country towns came here to rejoice with the citizens of this town4 ,compare the riot1 the confusion1 the drunkenness then1 with the order1 decorum1 and sobriety of the celebration at the introduction of water last autumn1 and you see what has been done in sixty or seventy years for temperance4 ,a great deal of the crime in ,boston is of foreign origin3 of the one thousand and sixty-six children vagrant in your streets1 only one hundred and three had ,american parents2 of the nine hundred and thirty-three persons in the ,house of ,correction here1 six hundred and sixteen were natives of other countries2 ,i know not how many were the children of ,irishmen1 who had not enjoyed the advantages of our institutions4 ,i cannot tell how many rum-shops are kept by foreigners4#db ,now in ,ireland no pains have been taken with the education of the people by the ,government2 very little by the ,catholic church2 indeed1 the ,british government for a long time rendered it impossible for the church to do any thing in this way4 ,for more than seventy years1 in that ,catholic country1 none but a ,protestant could keep a school or even be a tutor in a private family4 ,a ,catholic schoolmaster was to be transported1 and1 if he returned1 adjudged guilty of high treason1 barbarously put to death1 drawn and quartered4 ,a ,protestant schoolmaster is as repulsive to a ,catholic1 as a ,mahometan schoolmaster or an ,atheist would be to you4 ,it is not surprising1 therefore1 that the ,irish are ignorant1 and1 as a consequence thereof1 are idle1 thriftless1 poor1 intemperate1 and barbarian2 not to be wondered at if they conduct like wild beasts when they are set loose in a land where we think the individual must be left free to the greatest extent4 ,of course they will violate our laws1 those wild bisons leaping over the fences which easily restrain the civilized domestic cattle2 will commit the great crimes of violence1 even capital offences1 which certainly have increased rapidly of late4 ,this increase of foreigners is prodigious3 more than half the children in your public schools are children of foreigners2 there are more ,catholic than ,protestant children born in ,boston4 ,with the general and unquestionable advance of morality1 some offences are regarded as crimes which were not noticed a few years ago4 ,drunkenness is an example of this4 ,an ,irishman in his native country thinks little of beating another or being beaten2 he brings his habits of violence with him1 and does not at once learn to conform to our laws4 ,then1 too1 a good deal of crime which was once concealed is now brought to light by the press1 by the superior activity of the police2 and yet1 after all that is said1 it seems quite clear that what is legally called crime and committed by ,americans1 has diminished a good deal in fifty years4 ,such crime1 ,i think1 never bore so small a proportion to the population1 wealth1 and activity of ,boston1 as now4 ,even if we take all the offences committed by these strangers who have come amongst us1 it does not compare so very unfavorably as some allege with the good old times4 ,i know men often look on the fathers of this colony as saints2 but in #afce1 at a time when the whole ,state contained less than one tenth of the present population of ,boston1 and they were scattered from ,weymouth ,fore-,river to the ,merrimack1 the first grand jury ever impanelled at ,boston found a hundred bills of indictment at their first coming together4 ,if you consider the circumstances of the class who commit the greater part of the crimes which get punished1 you will not wonder at the amount4 ,the criminal court is their school of morals2 the constable and judge are their teachers2 but under this rude tuition ,i am told that the ,irish improve and actually become better4 ,the children who receive the instruction of our public schools1 imperfect as they are1 will be better than their fathers2 and their grandchildren will have lost all trace of their barbarian descent4 ,i have often spoken of our penal law as wrong in its principle1 taking it for granted that the ignorant and miserable men who commit crime do it always from wickedness1 and not from the pressure of circumstances which have brutalized the man2 wrong in its aim1 which is to take vengeance on the offender1 and not to do him a good in return for the evil he has done2 wrong in its method1 which is to inflict a punishment that is wholly arbitrary1 and then to send the punished man1 overwhelmed with new disgrace1 back to society1 often made worse than before1--not to keep him till we can correct1 cure1 and send him back a reformed man4 ,i would retract nothing of what ,i have often said of that2 but not long ago all this was worse2 the particular statutes were often terribly unjust2 the forms of trial afforded the accused but little chance of justice2 the punishments were barbarous and terrible4 ,the plebeian tyranny of the ,lord ,brethren in ,new ,england was not much lighter than the patrician despotism of the ,lord ,bishops in the old world1 and was more insulting4 ,let me mention a few facts1 to refresh the memories of those who think we are going to ruin1 and can only save ourselves by holding to the customs of our fathers1 and of the good old times4 ,in #afca1 a man was fined forty pounds1 whipped on the naked back1 both his ears cut off1 and then banished this colony1 for uttering hard speeches against the government and the church at ,salem4 ,in the first century of the existence of this town1 the magistrates could banish a woman because she did not like the preaching1 nor all the ministers1 and told the people why2 they could whip women naked in the streets1 because they spoke reproachfully of the magistrates2 they could fine men twenty pounds1 and then banish them1 for comforting a man in jail before his trial2 they could pull down1 with legal formality1 the house of a man they did not like2 they could whip women at a cart's tail from ,salem to ,rhode ,island1 for fidelity to their conscience2 they could beat1 imprison1 and banish men out of the land1 simply for baptizing one another in a stream of water1 instead of sprinkling them from a dish2 they could crop the ears1 and scourge the backs1 and bore the tongues of men1 for being ,quakers2 yes1 they could shut them in jails1 could banish them out of the colony1 could sell them as slaves1 could hang them on a gallows1 solely for worshipping ,god after their own conscience2 they could convulse the whole land1 and hang some thirty or forty men for witchcraft1 and do all this in the name of ,god1 and then sing psalms1 with most nasal twang1 and pray by the hour1 and preach--,i will not say how long1 nor what1 nor how6 ,it is not yet one hundred years since two slaves were judicially burnt alive1 on ,boston ,neck1 for poisoning their master4 ,but why talk of days so old8 ,some of you remember when the pillory and the whipping-post were a part of the public furniture of the law1 and occupied a prominent place in the busiest street in town4 ,some of you have seen men and women scourged1 naked1 and bleeding1 in ,state street2 have seen men judicially branded in the forehead with a hot iron1 their ears clipped off by the sheriff1 and held up to teach humanity to the gaping crowd of idle boys and vulgar men4 ,a magistrate was once brought into odium in ,boston1 for humanely giving back to his victim a part of the ear he had officially shorn off1 that the mutilated member might be restored and made whole4 ,how long is it since men sent their servants to the ,workhouse1 to be beaten for disobedience1 at the discretion of the master8 ,it is not long since the gallows was a public spectacle here in the midst of us1 and a hanging made a holiday for the rabble of this city and the neighboring towns2 even women came to see the death-struggle of a fellow-creature1 and formed the larger part of the mob2 many of you remember the procession of the condemned man sitting on his coffin1 a procession from the jail to the gallows1 from one end of the city to the other4 ,i remember a public execution some fourteen or fifteen years ago1 and some of the students of theology at ,cambridge1 of undoubted soundness in the ,unitarian faith1 came here to see men kill a fellow-man6 ,who can think of these things1 and not see that a great progress has been made in no long time4 ,but if these things be not proof enough1 then consider what has been done here in this century for the reformation of juvenile offenders2 for the discharged convict2 for the blind1 the deaf1 and the dumb2 for the insane1 and now even for the idiot4 ,think of the numerous ,societies for the widows and orphans2 for the seamen2 the ,temperance ,societies2 the ,peace ,societies2 the ,prison ,discipline ,society2 the mighty movement against slavery1 which1 beginning with a few heroic men who took the roaring lion of public opinion by the beard1 fearless of his roar1 has gone on now1 till neither the hardest nor the softest courage in the ,state dares openly defend the unholy institution4 ,a philanthropic female physician delivers gratuitous lectures on physiology to the poor of this city1 to enable them to take better care of their houses and their bodies2 an unpretending man1 for years past1 responsible to none but ,god1 has devoted all his time and his toil to the most despised class of men1 and has saved hundreds from the jail1 from crime and ruin at the last4 ,here are many men and women not known to the public1 but known to the poor1 who are daily ministering to the wants of the body and the mind4 ,consider all these things1 and who can doubt that a great moral progress has been made8 ,it is not many years since we had white slaves1 and a ,scotch boy was invoiced at fourteen pounds lawful money1 in the inventory of an estate in ,boston4 ,in #afcj1 ,governor ,dudley complains that some of the founders of ,new ,england1 in consequence of a famine1 were obliged to set free one hundred and eighty servants1 to our extreme loss1 for they had cost sixteen or twenty pounds apiece4 ,seventy years since1 negro slavery prevailed in ,massachusetts1 and men did not blush at the institution4 ,think of the treatment which the leaders of the anti-slavery reform met with but a few years ago1 and you see what a progress has been made6#dc ,i have extenuated nothing of our condition2 ,i have said the morals of trade are low morals1 and the morals of the press are low2 that poverty is a terrible evil to deal with1 and we do not deal with it manfully2 that intemperance is a mournful curse1 all the more melancholy when rich men purposely encourage it2 that here is an amount of crime which makes us shudder to think of2 that the voice of human blood cries out of the ground against us4 ,i disguise nothing of all this2 let us confess the fact1 and1 ugly as it is1 look it fairly in the face4 ,still1 our moral condition is better than ever before4 ,i know there are men who seem born with their eyes behind1 their hopes all running into memory2 some who wish they had been born long ago3 they might as well2 sure it is no fault of theirs that they were not4 ,i hear what they have to tell us4 ,still1 on the whole1 the aspect of things is most decidedly encouraging2 for if so much has been done when men understood the matter less than we1 both cause and cure1 how much more can be done for the future8 99 99 99 99 99 ,what can we do to make things better8 ,i have so recently spoken of poverty that ,i shall say little now4 ,a great change will doubtless take place before many years in the relations between capital and labor2 a great change in the spirit of society4 ,i do not believe the disparity now existing between the wealth of men has its origin in human nature1 and therefore is to last for ever2 ,i do not believe it is just and right that less than one twentieth of the people in the nation should own more than ten twentieths of the property of the nation1 unless by their own head1 or hands1 or heart1 they do actually create and earn that amount4 ,i am not now blaming any class of men2 only stating a fact4 ,there is a profound conviction in the hearts of many good men1 rich as well as poor1 that things are wrong2 that there is an ideal right for the actual wrong2 but ,i think no man yet has risen up with ability to point out for us the remedy of these evils1 and deliver us from what has not badly been named the ,feudalism of ,capital4 ,still1 without waiting for the great man to arise1 we can do something with our littleness even now2 the truant children may be snatched from vagrancy1 beggary1 and ruin2 tenements can be built for the poor1 and rented at a reasonable rate4 ,it seems to me that something more can be done in the way of providing employment for the poor1 or helping them to employment4 ,in regard to intemperance1 ,i will not say we can end it by direct efforts4 ,so long as there is misery there will be continued provocation to that vice1 if the means thereof are within reach4 ,i do not believe there will be much more intemperance amongst well-bred men2 among the poor and wretched it will doubtless long continue4 ,but if we cannot end1 we can diminish it1 fast as we will4 ,if rich men did not manufacture1 nor import1 nor sell2 if they would not rent their buildings for the sale of intoxicating liquor for improper uses2 if they did not by their example favor the improper use thereof1 how long do you think your police would arrest and punish one thousand drunkards in the year8 how long would twelve hundred rum-shops disgrace your town8 ,boston is far more sober1 at least in appearance1 than other large cities of ,america1 but it is still the headquarters of intemperance for the ,state of ,massachusetts4 ,in arresting intemperance1 two thirds of the poverty1 three fourths of the crime of this city would end at once1 and an amount of misery and sin which ,i have not the skill to calculate4 ,do you say we cannot diminish intemperance1 neither by law1 nor by righteous efforts without law8 ,oh1 fie upon such talk4 ,come1 let us be honest1 and say we do not wish to1 not that we cannot4 ,it is plain that in sixteen years we can build seven great railroads radiating out of ,boston1 three or four hundred miles long2 that we can conquer the ,connecticut and the ,merrimack1 and all the lesser streams of ,new ,england2 can build up ,lowell1 and ,chicopee1 and ,lawrence2 why1 in four years ,massachusetts can invest eight and fifty millions of dollars in railroads and manufactures1 and cannot prevent intemperance2 cannot diminish it in ,boston6 ,so there are no able men in this town6 ,i am amazed at such talk1 in such a place1 full of such men1 surrounded by such trophies of their work6 ,when the churches preach and men believe that ,mammon is not the only ,god we are practically to serve2 that it is more reputable to keep men sober1 temperate1 comfortable1 intelligent1 and thriving1 than it is to make money out of other men's misery2 more ,christian1 than to sell and manufacture rum1 to rent houses for the making of drunkards and criminals1 then we shall set about this business with the energy that shows we are in earnest1 and by a method which will do the work4 ,in the matter of crime1 something can be done to give efficiency to the laws4 ,no doubt a thorough change must be made in the idea of criminal legislation2 vengeance must give way to justice1 policemen become moral missionaries1 and jails moral hospitals1 that discharge no criminal until he is cured4 ,it will take long to get the idea into men's minds4 ,you must encounter many a doubt1 many a sneer1 and expect many a failure1 too4 ,men who think they know the world1 because they know that most men are selfish1 will not believe you4 ,we must wait for new facts to convince such men4 ,after the idea is established1 it will take long to organize it fittingly4 ,much can be done for juvenile offenders1 much for discharged convicts1 even now4 ,we can pull down the gallows1 and with it that loathsome theological idea on which it rests1--the idea of a vindictive ,god4 ,a remorseless court1 and careful police1 can do much to hinder crime2#dd but they cannot remove the causes thereof4 ,last year1 a good man1 to whom the ,state was deeply indebted before1 suggested that a moral police should be appointed to look after offenders2 to see why they committed their crime2 and if only necessity compelled them1 to seek out for them some employment1 and so remove the causes of crime in detail4 ,the thought was worthy of the age1 and of the man4 ,in the hands of a practical man1 this thought might lead to good results4 ,a beginning has already been made in the right direction1 by establishing the ,state ,reform ,school for ,boys4 ,it will be easy to improve on this experiment1 and conduct prisons for men on the same scheme of correction and cure1 not merely of punishment1 in the name of vengeance4 ,but1 after all1 so long as poverty1 misery1 intemperance1 and ignorance continue1 no civil police1 no moral police1 can keep such causes from creating crime4 ,what keeps you from a course of crime8 ,your morality1 your religion8 ,is it8 ,take away your property1 your home1 your friends1 the respect of respectable men2 take away what you have received from education1 intellectual1 moral1 and religious1 and how much better would the best of us be than the men who will to-morrow be huddled off to jail1 for crimes committed in a dram-shop to-day8 ,the circumstances which have kept you temperate1 industrious1 respectable1 would have made nine tenths of the men in jail as good men as you are4 ,it is not pleasant to think that there are no amusements which lie level to the poor1 in this country4 ,in ,paris1 ,naples1 ,rome1 ,vienna1 ,berlin1 there are cheap pleasures for poor men1 which yet are not low pleasures4 ,here there are amusements for the comfortable and the rich1 not too numerous1 rather too rare1 perhaps1 but none for the poor1 save only the vice of drunkenness2 that is hideously cheap2 the inward temptation powerful2 the outward occasion always at hand4 ,last summer1 some benevolent men treated the poor children of the city to a day of sunshine1 fresh air1 and frolic in the fields4 ,once a year the children1 gathered together by another benevolent man1 have a floral procession in the streets2 some of them have charitably been taught to dance4 ,these things are beautiful to think of2 signs of our progress1 from ,the good old times1 and omens of a brighter day1 when ,christianity shall bear more abundantly flowers and fruit even yet more fair4 ,the morals of the current literature1 of the daily press--you can change when you will4 ,if there is not in us a demand for low morals1 there will be no supply4 ,the morals of trade1 and of politics1 the handmaid thereof1 we can make better soon as we wish4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it has been my aim to give suggestions1 rather than propose distinct plans of action2 ,i do not know that ,i am capable of that4 ,but some of you are rich men1 some able men2 many of you1 ,i think1 are good men4 ,i appeal to you to do something to raise the moral character of this town4 ,all that has been done in fifty years1 or a hundred and fifty1 seems very little1 while so much still remains to do2 only a hint and an encouragement4 ,you cannot do much1 nor ,i much3 that is true4 ,but1 after all1 every thing must begin with individual men and women4 ,you can at least give the example of what a good man ought to be and to do1 to-day2 to-morrow you will yourself be the better man for it4 ,so far as that goes1 you will have done something to mend the morals of ,boston4 ,you can tell of actual evils1 and tell of your remedy for them2 can keep clear from committing the evils yourself3 that also is something4 ,here are two things that are certain3 ,we are all brothers1 rich and poor1 ,american and foreign2 put here by the same ,god1 for the same end1 and journeying towards the same heaven1 owing mutual help4 ,then1 too1 the wise men and good men are the natural guardians of society1 and ,god will not hold them guiltless1 if they leave their brothers to perish4 ,i know our moral condition is a reproach to us2 ,i will not deny that1 nor try to abate the shame and grief we should feel4 ,when ,i think of the poverty and misery in the midst of us1 and all the consequences thereof1 ,i hardly dare feel grateful for the princely fortunes some men have gathered together4 ,certainly it is not a ,christian society1 where such extremes exist2 we are only in the process of conversion2 proselytes of the gate1 and not much more4 ,there are noble men in this city1 who have been made philanthropic1 by the sight of wrong1 of intemperance1 and poverty1 and crime4 ,let mankind honor great conquerors1 who only rout armies1 and plant fresh laurels where they kill2 ,i honor most the men who contend against misery1 against crime and sin2 men that are the soldiers of humanity1 and in a low age1 amidst the mean and sordid spirits of a great trading town1 lift up their serene foreheads1 and tell us of the right1 the true1 first good1 first perfect1 and first fair4 ,from such men ,i hear the prophecy of the better time to come4 ,in their example ,i see proofs of the final triumph of good over evil4 ,angels are they1 who keep the tree of life1 not with flaming sword1 repelling men1 but1 with friendly hand1 plucking therefrom1 and giving unto all the leaves1 the flower1 and the fruit of life1 for the healing of the nations4 ,a single good man1 kindling his early flame1 wakens the neighbors with his words of cheer2 they1 at his lamp1 shall light their torch and household fire1 anticipating the beamy warmth of day4 ,soon it will be morning1 warm and light2 we shall be up and a-doing1 and the lighted lamp1 which seemed at first too much for eyes to bear1 will look ridiculous1 and cast no shadow in the noonday sun4 ,a hundred years hence1 men will stand here as ,i do now1 and speak of the evils of these times as things past and gone1 and wonder that able men could ever be appalled by our difficulties1 and think them not to be surpassed4 ,still1 all depends on the faithfulness of men--your faithfulness and mine4 ,the last election has shown us what resolute men can do on a trifling occasion1 if they will4 ,you know the efforts of the three parties--what meetings they held1 what money they raised1 what talent was employed1 what speeches made1 what ideas set forth3 not a town was left unattempted2 scarce a man who had wit to throw a vote1 but his vote was solicited4 ,you see the revolution which was wrought by that vigorous style of work4 ,when such men set about reforming the evils of society1 with such a determined soul1 what evil can stand against mankind8 ,we can leave nothing to the next generation worth so much as ideas of truth1 justice1 and religion1 organized into fitting institutions2 such we can leave1 and1 if true men1 such we shall4 ,,footnotes3 #cf ,rev4 ,john ,pierpont #cg ,this statement was made in #ahdi2 subsequent events have shown that ,i was mistaken4 ,it is now thought respectable and patriotic not only to engage in the slave-trade1 but to kidnap men and women in ,boston4 ,most of the prominent newspapers1 and several of the most prominent clergy1 defend the kidnapping4 ,attempts have repeatedly been made to kidnap my own parishioners4 ,kidnapping is not even a matter of church discipline in ,boston in #ahea4 #ch ,the conduct of public magistrates who are paid for serving the people1 is not what it should be in respect to temperance4 ,the city authorities allow the laws touching the sale of the great instrument of demoralization to be violated continually4 ,there is no serious effort made to enforce these laws4 ,nor is this all3 the shameless conduct of conspicuous men at the supper given in this city after the funeral of ,john ,quincy ,adams1 and the debauchery on that occasion1 are well known and will long be remembered4 ,at the next festival 7in ,september1 #ahea71 it is notorious1 that the city authorities1 at the expense of the citizens1 provided a large quantity of intoxicating drink for the entertainment of our guests during the excursion in the harbor4 ,it is also a matter of great notoriety1 that many were drunk on that occasion4 ,i need hardly add1 that on board one of the crowded steamboats1 three cheers were given for the ,fugitive ,slave ,law1 by men who it is hoped will at length become sober enough to forget it4 ,when the magistrates of ,boston do such deeds1 and are not even officially friends of temperance1 what shall we expect of the poor and the ignorant and the miserable8 ,cain1 where is thy ,brother8 may be asked here and now as well as in the ,bible story4 #ci ,the statistics of intemperance are instructive and surprising4 ,of the one thousand two hundred houses in ,boston where intoxicating drink is retailed to be drunken on the premises1 suppose that two hundred are too insignificant to be noticed1 or else are large hotels to be considered presently2 then there are one thousand common retail groggeries4 ,suppose they are in operation three hundred and thirteen days in the year1 twelve hours each day2 that they sell one glass in a little less than ten minutes1 or one hundred glasses in the day1 and that five cents is the price of a glass4 ,then each groggery receives #e a day1 or #a1efe 7#cac x #e7 in a year1 and the one thousand groggeries receive #a1efe1jjj4 ,let us suppose that each sells drink for really useful purposes to the amount of #fe per annum1 or all to the amount of #fe1jjj2 there still remains the sum of #a1ejj1jjj spent for intemperance in these one thousand groggeries4 ,this is about twice the sum raised by taxation for the public education of all the children in the ,state of ,massachusetts6 ,but this calculation does not equal the cost of intemperance in these places2 the receipts of these retail houses cannot be less than #b1jjj per annum1 or in the aggregate1 #b1jjj1jjj4 ,this sum in two years would pay for the new ,aqueduct4 ,suppose the amount paid for the needless1 nay1 for the injurious use of intoxicating drink in private families1 in boarding houses and hotels1 is equal to the smallest sum above named 7#a1ejj1jjj71 then it appears that the city of ,boston spends 7#a1ejj1jjj #a1ejj1jjj 7 #c1jjj1jjj annually for an article that does no good to any but harm to all1 and brings ruin on thousands each year4 ,but if a school-house or a school costs a little money1 a complaint is soon made4 #dj ,it must be remembered that this was written1 not in #ahea1 but in #ahdi4 #da ,in #afgi1 ,the ,reforming ,synod1 assembled at ,boston1 thus complained of intemperance1 amongst other sins of the times3 ,that heathenish and idolatrous practice of health-drinking is too frequent4 ,that shameful iniquity of sinful drinking is become too general a provocation4 ,days of training and other public solemnities have been abused in this respect3 and not only ,english but ,indians have been debauched by those that call themselves ,christians4444 ,this is a crying sin1 and the more aggravated in that the first planters of this colony did 444 come into this land with a design to convert the heathen unto ,christ1 but if instead of that they be taught wickedness 444 the ,lord may well punish by them4444 ,there are more temptations and occasions unto that sin publicly allowed of1 than any necessity doth require4 ,the proper end of taverns1 c41 being for the entertainment of strangers 444 a far less number would suffice1 etc4 ,cotton ,mather says of intemperance in his time3 ,to see 444 a drunken man become a drowned man1 is to see but a most retaliating hand of ,god4 ,why we have seen this very thing more than threescore times in our land4 ,and ,i remember the drowning of one drunkard1 so oddly circumstanced2 it was in the hold of a vessel that lay full of water near the shore4 ,we have seen it so often1 that ,i am amazed at you1 ,o ye drunkards of ,new ,england2 ,i am amazed that you can harden your hearts in your sin1 without expecting to be destroyed suddenly and without remedy4 ,yea1 and we have seen the devil that has possessed the drunkard1 throwing him into fire1 and then kept shrieking ,fire6 ,fire6 till they have gone down to the fire that never shall be quenched4 ,yea1 more than one or two drunken women in this very town1 have1 while in their drink1 fallen into the fire1 and so they have tragically gone roaring out of one fire into another4 ,o ye daughters of ,belial1 hear and fear and do wickedly no more4 ,the history of the first barrel of rum which was brought to ,plymouth has been carefully traced out to a considerable extent4 ,nearly forty of the ,pilgrims or their descendants were publicly punished for the drunkenness it occasioned4 #db ,over eight hundred in #ahea4 #dc ,this statement appears somewhat exaggerated in #ahea4 #dd ,in #ahdg1 the amount of goods stolen in ,boston1 and reported to the police1 beyond what was received1 was more than #cg1jjj2 in #ahdh1 less than #aa1jjj4 ,in #ahdi1 the police were twice as numerous as in the former year1 and organized and directed with new and remarkable skill4 ,,appendix ,,note ,,to p4 #fb4 ,,some ,,account ,,of ,,the ,,installation ,,of ,,mr4 ,,parker4 ,,letter ,,of ,,the ,,committee ,,to ,,mr4 ,,parker4 ,,boston1 ,november #bh1 #ahde4 ,,dear ,,sir3-- ,among your friends and congregation at the ,melodeon1 a ,society has been organized according to law2 and we have been instructed1 as the ,standing ,committee1 to invite you to become its ,minister4 ,it gives us great pleasure to be the means to forward1 in this small degree1 the end proposed1 and we cordially extend you the invitation1 with the sincere hope that it will meet a favorable answer4 ,we are1 truly and respectfully1 ,your friends1 ,,mark ,,healey1 ,,john ,,flint1 ,,levi ,b4 ,,meriam1 ,,amos ,,coolidge1 ,,john ,g4 ,,king1 ,,sidney ,,homer1 ,,henry ,,smith1 ,,geo4 ,w4 ,,robinson1 ,c4 ,m4 ,,ellis4 ,,to ,,the ,,rev4 ,,theodore ,,parker1 ,west ,roxbury1 ,mass4 ,,mr4 ,,parker',s ,,reply4 ,,to ,,mark ,,healey1 ,,john ,,flint1 ,,levi ,b4 ,,meriam1 ,,amos ,,coolidge1 ,,john ,g4 ,,king1 ,,sidney ,,homer1 ,,henry ,,smith1 ,,george ,w4 ,,robinson1 ,,and ,c4 ,m4 ,,ellis1 ,,esquires4 ,,dear ,,friends3-- ,when ,i received your communication of the #bhth ult4 ,i did not hesitate in my decision1 but ,i have delayed giving you a formal reply1 in order that ,i might confer with my friends in this place1 whom it becomes my painful duty to leave4 ,i accept your invitation2 but wish it to be provided that our connection may at any time be dissolved1 by either party giving notice to the other of a desire to that effect1 six months before such a separation is to take place4 ,it is now nearly a year since ,i began to preach at the ,melodeon4 ,i came at the request of some of you2 but ,i did not anticipate the present result4 ,far from it4 ,i thought but few would come and listen to what was so widely denounced4 ,but ,i took counsel of my hopes and not of my fears4 ,it seems to me now that1 if we are faithful to our duty1 we shall in a few years build up a society which shall be not only a joy to our own hearts1 but a blessing also to others1 now strangers and perhaps hostile to us4 ,i feel that we have begun a good work4 ,with earnest desires for the success of our common enterprise1 and a willingness to labor for the advancement of real ,christianity1 ,i am1 ,faithfully1 your friend1 ,,theodore ,,parker4 ,west ,roxbury1 #abth ,dec41 #ahde4 99 99 99 99 99 ,on ,sunday1 ,january #d1 #ahdf1 ,,rev4 ,,theodore ,,parker was installed as ,pastor of the ,twenty-eighth ,congregational ,society in ,boston4 ,the exercises on the occasion were as follows3-- ,,introductory ,,hymn4 ,,prayer4 ,,voluntary ,,on ,,the ,,organ4 ,the ,chairman of the ,standing ,committee then addressed the ,congregation as follows3-- ,by the instructions of the ,society1 the ,committee have made an arrangement with ,mr4 ,parker1 by which the services of this ,society1 under its new organization1 should commence with the new year2 and this being our first meeting1 it has been set apart for such introductory services as may seem fitting for our position and prospects4 ,the circumstances under which this ,society has been formed1 and its progress hitherto1 are familiar to most of those present4 ,it first began from certain influences which seemed hostile to the cause of religious freedom4 ,it was the opinion of many of those now present1 that a minister of the ,gospel1 truly worthy of that name1 was proscribed on account of his opinions1 branded as a heretic1 and shut out from the pulpits of this city4 ,at a meeting of gentlemen held ,january #bb1 #ahde1 the following ,resolution was passed3-- ,resolved1 ,that the ,rev4 ,theodore ,parker shall have a chance to be heard in ,boston4 ,to carry this into effect1 this ,hall was secured for a place of meeting1 and the numbers who have met here from ,sunday to ,sunday1 have fully answered our most sanguine expectations4 ,our meetings have proved that though our friend was shut out from the temples1 yet the people heard him gladly4 ,of the effects of his preaching among us ,i need not speak4 ,the warm feelings of gratitude and respect expressed on every side1 are the best evidences of the efficacy of his words1 and of his life4 ,out of these meetings our ,society has naturally sprung4 ,it became necessary to assume some permanent form--the labor of preaching to two ,societies1 would of course be too much for ,mr4 ,parker's health and strength--the conviction that his settlement in ,boston would be not only important for ourselves1 but also for the cause of liberal ,christianity and religious freedom--these were some of the reasons which induced us to form a ,society1 and invite him to become its minister4 ,to this he has consented2 with the understanding that the connection may be dissolved by either party1 on giving six months notice to that effect4 ,at his suggestion1 and with the warm approval of the ,committee1 we have determined to adopt the old ,congregational form of settling our minister2 without the aid of bishop1 churches1 or ministers4 ,as to our ,choice1 we are1 upon mature reflection1 and after a year's trial1 fully persuaded that we have found our minister1 and we ask no ecclesiastical council to ratify our decision4 ,as to the ,charge usually given on such occasions1 we prefer to do without it1 and trust to the conscience of our minister for his faithfulness4 ,as to the ,right ,hand of ,fellowship1 there are plenty of us ready and willing to give that1 and warm hearts with it4 ,and for such of the other ceremonies usual on such occasions1 as ,mr4 ,parker chooses to perform1 we gladly accept the substitution of his services for those of any stranger4 ,the old ,puritan form of settling a minister is1 for the people to do it themselves2 and this let us now proceed to do4 ,in adopting this course1 we are strongly supported both by principle and precedent4 ,congregationalism is the ,republicanism of the ,church2 and it is fitting that the people themselves should exercise their right of self-government in that most important particular1 the choice and settlement of a minister4 ,for examples1 ,i need only remind you of the settlement of the first minister in ,new ,england1 on which occasion this form was used1 and that it is also used at this day by one of the most respectable churches in this city4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,society then ratified the proceedings by an unanimous vote2 and ,mr4 ,parker publicly signified that he adhered to his consent to become the ,minister of this ,society1 and the organization of the ,society was thus completed4 ,,occasional ,,hymn4 ,,discourse1 ,,by ,,mr4 ,,parker4 ,,anthem4 ,,benediction4