,,considerations     ,,on     ,,religion
 ,,and ,,public ,,education1     ,,with 
,,remarks     ,,on ,,the ,,speech ,,of  
,m4 ,,dupont1     ,,delivered ,,in ,,the
     ,,national ,,convention     ,,of   
,,france4     ,,together ,,with     ,,an
 ,,address ,,to ,,the ,,ladies1 c4      
,,of     ,,great ,,britain and          
,,ireland4      ,decoration      ,,by   
,,hannah ,,more4      ,,first ,,american
 ,,edition4      ,,printed ,,at         
,,boston1     ,,by ,,weld ,,and         
,,greenough4     ,,sold at the          
,,magazine ,,office1 ,no4 #di1 ,state   
,street4     ,,mdccxciv4     ,decoration
  ,a ,,prefatory ,,address ,,to ,,the   
,,ladies1 c4 of ,,great ,,britain and   
,,ireland1 ,,in ,,behalf ,,of ,,the     
,,french ,,emigrant ,,clergy4           
,decoration   ,if it be allowed that    
there may arise occasions so            
extraordinary1 that all the lesser      
motives of delicacy ought to vanish     
before them2 it is presumed that the    
present emergency will in some measure  

justify the hardiness of an ,address    
from a private individual1 who1         
stimulated by the urgency of the case1  
sacrifices inferior considerations to   
the ardent desire of raising further    
supplies towards relieving a distress as
 pressing as it is unexampled4  ,we are 
informed by public advertisement1 that  
the large sums already so liberally     
subscribed for the ,emigrant ,clergy1   
are almost exhausted4 ,authentic        
information adds1 that multitudes of    
distressed ,exiles in the island of     
,jersey1 are on the point of wanting    
bread4  ,very many to whom this address 
is made have already contributed4 ,o let
 them not be weary in well-doing6 ,many 
are making generous exertions for the   
just and natural claims of the widows   
and children of our brave seamen and    
soldiers4 ,let it not be said1 that the 
present is an interfering claim4 ,those 
to whom ,i write1 have bread enough1 and
 to spare4 ,you1 who fare sumptuously   
every day1 and yet complain you have    

little to bestow1 let not this bounty be
 subtracted from another bounty1 but    
rather from some superfluous expense4   
,the beneficent and right minded want no
 arguments to be pressed upon them2 but 
,i write to those of every description4 
,luxurious habits of living1 which      
really furnish the distressed with the  
fairest grounds for application1 are too
 often urged as a motive for withholding
 assistance1 and produced as a plea for 
having little to spare4 ,let her who    
indulges such habits1 and pleads such   
excuses in consequence1 reflect1 that by
 retrenching one costly dish from her   
abundant table1 the superfluities of one
 expensive desert1 one evening's public 
amusement1 she may furnish at least a   
week's subsistence to more than one     
person1,a as liberally bred perhaps as  
herself1 and who1 in his own country1   
may have often tasted how much more     
blessed it is to give than to           
receive--to a minister of ,god1 who has 
been long accustomed to bestow the      

necessaries he is now reduced to        
solicit4  ,even your young daughters1   
whom maternal prudence has not yet      
furnished with the means of bestowing1  
may be cheaply taught the first         
rudiments of charity1 together with an  
important lesson of economy3 ,they may  
be taught to sacrifice a feather1 a set 
of ribbons1 an expensive ornament1 an   
idle diversion4 ,and if they are thus   
instructed1 that there is no true       
charity without self denial1 they will  
gain more than they are called upon to  
give3 ,for the suppression of one luxury
 for a charitable purpose1 is the       
exercise of two virtues1 and this       
without any pecuniary expense4  ,let the
 sick and afflicted remember how        
dreadful it must be1 to be exposed to   
sufferings1 without one of the          
alleviations which mitigate their       
affliction4 ,how dreadful it is to be   
without comforts1 without necessaries1  
without a home--without a country6      
,while the gay and prosperous would do  

well to recollect1 how suddenly and     
terribly those for whom we plead1 were1 
by the surprising vicissitudes of life1 
thrown from equal heights of gaiety and 
prosperity4 ,and let those who have     
husbands1 fathers1 sons1 brothers1 or   
friends1 reflect on the uncertainties of
 war1 and the revolution of human       
affairs4 ,it is only by imagining the   
possibility of those who are dear to us 
being placed in the same calamitous     
circumstances1 that we can obtain an    
adequate feeling of the woes we are     
called upon to commiserate4  ,in a      
distress so wide and comprehensive1 many
 are prevented from giving by that      
common excuse--,that it is but a drop of
 water in the ocean4 ,but let them      
reflect1 that if all the individual     
drops were withheld1 there would be no  
ocean at all2 and the inability to give 
much ought not1 on any occasion1 to be  
converted into an excuse for giving     
nothing4 ,even moderate circumstances   
need not plead an exemption4 ,the       

industrious tradesman will not1 even in 
a political view1 be eventually a loser 
by his small contribution4 ,the money   
raised is neither carried out of our    
country1 nor dissipated in luxuries1 but
 returns again to the community2 to our 
shops and to our markets1 to procure the
 bare necessaries of life4  ,some have  
objected to the difference of religion  
of those for whom we solicit4 ,such an  
objection hardly deserves a serious     
answer4 ,surely if the superstitious    
,tartar hopes to become possessed of the
 courage and talents of the enemy he    
slays1 the ,christian is not afraid of  
catching1 or of propagating the error of
 the sufferer he relieves4--,christian  
charity is of no party4 ,we plead not   
for their faith1 but for their wants4   
,and let the more scrupulous1 who look  
for desert as well as distress in the   
objects of their bounty1 bear in mind1  
that if these men could have sacrificed 
their conscience to their convenience1  
they had not now been in this country4  

,let us shew them the purity of our     
religion1 by the beneficence of our     
actions4  ,if you will permit me to     
press upon you such high motives 7and it
 were to be wished that in every action 
we were to be influenced by the highest7
 perhaps no act of bounty to which you  
may be called out1 can ever come so     
immediately under that solemn and       
affecting description1 which will be    
recorded in the great day of account--,i
 was a stranger and ye took me in4----  
,decoration  ,the following is an exact 
,translation from a ,,speech made in the
 ,national ,convention at ,paris1 on    
,friday the #adth of ,december1 #agib1  
in a ,debate on the ,subject of         
establishing ,public ,schools for the   
,education of ,youth1 by ,citizen       
,,dupont1 a ,member of considerable     
,weight2 and as the ,doctrines contained
 in it were received with unanimous     
,applause1 except from two or three of  
the ,clergy1 it may be fairly considered
 as an ,exposition of the ,creed of that

 ,enlightened ,assembly4 ,translated    
from ,le ,moniteur of ,sunday the #afth 
of ,december1 #agib4  ,decoration       
,what6 ,thrones are overturned6         
,sceptres broken6 ,kings expire6 ,and   
yet the ,altars of ,,god remain6 7,here 
there is a murmur from some ,members2   
and the ,abbe ,,ichon demands that the  
person speaking may be called to order47
 ,tyrants1 in outrage to nature1        
continue to burn an impious incense on  
those ,altars6 7,some murmurs arise1 but
 they are lost in the applauses from the
 majority of the ,assembly47 ,the       
,thrones that have been reversed1 have  
left these ,altars naked1 unsupported1  
and tottering4 ,a single breath of      
enlightened reason will now be          
sufficient to make them disappear2 and  
if humanity is under obligations to the 
,french nation for the first of these   
benefits1 the fall of ,kings1 can it be 
doubted but that the ,french people1 now
 sovereign1 will be wise enough1 in like
 manner1 to overthrow those ,altars and 

those ,idols to which those ,kings have 
hitherto made them subject8 ,nature and 
,reason1 these ought to be the gods of  
men6 ,these are my gods6 7,here the     
,abbe ,,audrein cried out1 ,there is no 
bearing this2 and rushed out of the     
,assembly4--,a great laugh47 ,admire    
nature--cultivate reason4 ,and you1     
,legislators1 if you desire that the    
,french people should be happy1 make    
haste to propagate these principles1 and
 to teach them in your primary schools1 
instead of those fanatical principles   
which have hitherto been taught4 ,the   
tyranny of ,kings was confined to make  
their people miserable in this life--but
 those other tyrants1 the ,priests1     
extend their dominion into another1 of  
which they have no other idea than of   
eternal punishments2 a doctrine which   
some men have hitherto had the good     
nature to believe4 ,but the moment of   
the catastrophe is come--all these      
prejudices must fall at the same time4  
,we must destroy them1 or they will     

destroy us4--,for myself1 ,i honestly   
avow to the ,convention1 ,i am an       
atheist6 7,here there is some noise and 
tumult4 ,but a great number of members  
cry out1 ,what is that to us--you are an
 honest man67 ,but ,i defy a single     
individual1 among the twenty-four       
millions of ,frenchmen1 to make against 
me any well grounded reproach4 ,i doubt 
whether the ,christians1 or the         
,catholics1 of which the last speaker1  
and those of his opinion1 have been     
talking to us1 can make the same        
challenge4--7,great applauses47 ,there  
is another consideration--,paris has had
 great losses4 ,it has been deprived of 
the commerce of luxury2 of that         
factitious splendour which was found at 
courts1 and invited strangers hither4   
,well6 ,we must repair these            
losses4--,let me then represent to you  
the times1 that are fast approaching1   
when our philosophers1 whose names are  
celebrated throughout ,europe1 ,,petion1
 ,,syeyes1 ,,condorcet1 and             

others--surrounded in our ,pantheon1 as 
the ,greek philosophers where at        
,athens1 with a crowd of disciples      
coming from all parts of ,europe1       
walking like the ,peripatetics1 and     
teaching--this man1 the system of the   
universe1 and developing the progress of
 all human knowledge2 that1             
perfectioning the social system1 and    
shewing in our decree of the #agth of   
,june1 #aghi1 the seeds of the          
insurrections of the #adth of ,july and 
the #ajth of ,august1 and of all those  
insurrections which are spreading with  
such rapidity throughout ,europe--,so   
that these young strangers1 on their    
return to their respective countries1   
may spread the same lights1 and may     
operate1 for the happiness of ,mankind1 
similar revolutions throughout the      
world4  7,numberless applauses arose1   
almost throughout the whole ,assembly1  
and in the ,galleries47  ,decoration    
,,footnotes3  ,footnote ,a3 ,mr4        
,bowdler's letter states1 that about    

,six ,shillings a week included the     
expenses of each ,priest at ,winchester4
     ,decoration  ,,remarks  ,,on ,,the 
,,speech of ,mr4 ,,dupont1  ,,on ,,the  
,,subjects ,,of  ,religion and ,public  
,education4  ,decoration   ,it is       
presumed that it may not be thought     
unseasonable at this critical time to   
offer to the ,public1 and especially to 
the more religious part of it1 a few    
slight observations1 occasioned by the  
late famous ,speech of ,mr4 ,dupont1    
which exhibits the ,confession of ,faith
 of a considerable ,member of the       
,french ,national ,convention4 ,though  
the ,speech itself has been pretty      
generally read1 yet it was thought      
necessary to perfix it to these         
,remarks1 lest such as have not already 
perused it1 might1 from an honest       
reluctance to credit the existence of   
such principles1 dispute its            
authenticity1 and accuse the remarks1 if
 unaccompanied by the ,speech1 of a     
spirit of invective and unfair          

exaggeration4 ,at the same time it must 
be confessed1 that its impiety is so    
monstrous1 that many good men were of   
opinion it ought not to be made familiar
 to the minds of ,englishmen2 for there 
are crimes with which even the          
imagination should never come in        
contact4  ,but as an ancient nation     
intoxicated their slaves1 and then      
exposed them before their children1 in  
order to increase their horror of       
intemperance2 so it is hoped that this  
piece of impiety may be placed in such a
 light before the eyes of the ,christian
 reader1 that1 in proportion as his     
detestation is raised1 his faith1       
instead of being shaken1 will be only so
 much the more strengthened4  ,this     
celebrated ,speech1 though delivered in 
an assembly of ,politicians1 is not on a
 question of politics1 but on one as    
superior as the soul is to the body1 and
 eternity to time4 ,the object here1 is 
not to dethrone kings1 but ,,him by whom
 kings reign4 ,it does not here excite  

the cry of indignation that ,louis      
reigns1 but that the ,lord ,god         
omnipotent reigneth4  ,nor is this the  
declaration of some obscure and         
anonymous person1 but an exposition of  
the ,creed of a public ,leader4 ,it is  
not a sentiment hinted in a journal1    
hazarded in a pamphlet1 or thrown out at
 a disputing club3 but it is the implied
 faith of the rulers of a great nation4 
,little notice would have been due to   
this famous ,speech1 if it had conveyed 
the sentiments of only one vain orator2 
but it should be observed1 that it was  
heard1 received1 applauded1 with two or 
three exceptions only--a fact1 which    
you1 who have scarcely believed in the  
existence of atheism1 will hardly       
credit1 and which1 for the honour of the
 eighteenth century1 it is hoped that   
our posterity1 being still more         
unacquainted with such corrupt opinions1
 will reject as totally incredible4  ,a 
love of liberty1 generous in its        
principle1 inclines some good men still 

to savour the proceedings of the        
,national ,convention of ,france4 ,they 
do not yet perceive that the licentious 
wildness which has been excited in that 
country1 is destructive of all true     
happiness1 and no more resemble liberty1
 than the tumultuous joys of the        
drunkard1 resemble the cheerfulness of a
 sober and well regulated mind4  ,to    
those who do not know of what strange   
inconsistences man is made up2 who have 
not considered how some persons1 having 
at first been hastily and heedlessly    
drawn in as approvers1 by a sort of     
natural progression1 soon become        
principals2--to those who have never    
observed by what a variety of strange   
associations in the mind1 opinions that 
seem the most irreconcileable meet at   
some unsuspected turning1 and come to be
 united in the same man2--to all such it
 may appear quite incredible1 that well 
meaning and even pious people should    
continue to applaud the principles of a 
set of men who have publicly made known 

their intention of abolishing           
,christianity1 as far as the demolition 
of altars1 priests1 temples1 and        
institutions1 can abolish it2 and as to 
the religion itself1 this also they may 
traduce1 and for their own part reject1 
but we know1 from the comfortable       
promise of an authority still sacred in 
this country at least1 that the gates of
 hell shall not prevail against it4     
,let me not be misunderstood by those to
 whom these slight remarks are          
principally addressed2 that class of    
well intentioned people1 who favour at  
least1 if they do not adopt1 the        
prevailing sentiments of the new        
,republic4 ,you are not here accused of 
being the wilful abetters of infidelity4
 ,god forbid6 we are persuaded better   
things of you1 and things which         
accompany salvation4 ,but this ignis    
fatuus of liberty and universal         
brotherhood1 which the ,french are madly
 pursuing1 with the insignia of freedom 
in one hand1 and the bloody bayonet in  

the other1 has bewitched your senses1   
and is in danger of misleading your     
steps4 ,you are gazing at a meteor      
raised by the vapours of vanity1 which  
these wild and infatuated wanderers are 
pursuing to their destruction2 and      
though for a moment you mistake it for a
 heaven-born light1 which leads to the  
perfection of human freedom1 you will1  
should you join in the mad pursuit1 soon
 discover that it will conduct you over 
dreary wilds and sinking bogs1 only to  
plunge you in deep and inevitable ruin4 
,much1 very much is to be said in       
vindication of your favouring in the    
first instance their political projects4
 ,the cause they took in hand seemed to 
be the great cause of human kind4 ,its  
very name insured its popularity4 ,what 
,english heart did not exult at the     
demolition of the ,bastile8 ,what lover 
of his species did not triumph in the   
warm hope1 that one of the finest       
countries in the world would soon be one
 of the most free8 ,popery and          

despotism1 though chained by the gentle 
influence of ,louis ,x,v,ith1 had       
actually slain their thousands4 ,little 
was it then imagined1 that anarchy and  
atheism1 the monsters who were about to 
succeed them1 would soon slay their ten 
thousands4 ,if we cannot regret the     
defeat of the two former tyrants1 what  
must they be who can triumph in the     
mischiefs of the two latter8 ,who1 ,i   
say1 that had a head to reason1 or a    
heart to feel1 did not glow with hope1  
that from the ruins of tyranny1 and the 
rubbish of popery1 a beautiful and      
finely framed edifice would in time have
 been constructed1 and that ours would  
not have been the only country in which 
the patriot's fair idea of well         
understood liberty1 and of the most pure
 and reasonable1 as well as the most    
sublime and exalted ,christianity might 
be realized8  ,but1 alas6 it frequently 
happens that the wise and good are not  
the most adventurous in attacking the   
mischiefs which they perceive and       

lament4 ,with a timidity in some        
respects virtuous1 they fear attempting 
any thing which may possible aggravate  
the evils they deplore1 or put to hazard
 the blessings they already enjoy4 ,they
 dread plucking up the wheat with the   
tares1 and are rather apt1 with a spirit
 of hopeless resignation1      ,to bear 
the ills they have1     ,than fly to    
others that they know not of4  ,while   
sober minded and considerate men1       
therefore1 sat mourning over this       
complicated mass of error1 and waited   
till ,god1 in his own good time1 should 
open the blind eyes2 the vast scheme of 
reformation was left to that set of rash
 and presumptuous adventurers1 who are  
generally watching how they may convert 
public grievances to their own personal 
account4 ,it was undertaken1 not upon   
the broad basis of a wise and well      
digested scheme1 of which all the parts 
should contribute to the perfection of  
one consistent whole3 ,it was carried   
on1 not by those steady measures1       

founded on rational deliberation1 which 
are calculated to accomplish so         
important an end2 not with a temperance 
which indicated a sober love of law1 or 
a sacred regard for religion2 but with  
the most extravagant lust of power1 and 
the most inordinate vanity which perhaps
 ever instigated human measures2 a lust 
of power which threatens to extend its  
desolating influence over the whole     
globe2 a vanity of the same destructive 
species with that which stimulated the  
celebrated incendiary of ,ephesus1 who  
being weary of his native obscurity and 
insignificance1 and prefering infamy to 
oblivion1 could contrive no other road  
to fame and immortality1 than that of   
setting fire to the exquisite ,temple of
 ,diana4 ,he was remembered indeed1 as  
he desired to be1 but only to be        
execrated2 while the seventh wonder of  
the world lay prostrate through his     
crime4  ,it is the same over ruling     
vanity which operates in their politics1
 and in their religion1 which makes     

,kersaint,b boast of carrying his       
destructive projects from the ,tagus to 
the ,brazils1 and from ,mexico to the   
shores of the ,ganges2 which makes him  
menace to outstrip the enterprises of   
the most extravagant hero of romance1   
and almost undertake with the marvelous 
celerity of the nimbly footed ,puck1    
,to put a girdle round about the earth  
,in forty minutes4----  ,it is the same 
vanity1 still the master passion in the 
bosom of a ,frenchman1 which leads      
,dupont and ,manuel to undertake in     
their orations to abolish the ,sabbath1 
exterminate the ,priesthood1 erect a    
,pantheon for the ,world1 restore the   
,peripatetic ,philosophy1 and in short  
revive every thing of ancient ,greece1  
except the pure taste1 the wisdom1 the  
love of virtue1 the veneration of the   
laws1 and that degree of reverence which
 even virtuous ,pagans professed for the
 ,deity4  ,it is surely to be charged to
 the inadequate and wretched hands into 
which the work of reformation fell1 and 

not to the impossibility of amending the
 civil and religious institutions of    
,france1 that all has succeeded so ill4 
,it cannot be denied1 perhaps1 that a   
reforming spirit was wanted in that     
country2 their government was not more  
despotic1 than their church was         
superstitious and corrupt4  ,but though 
this is readily granted1 and though it  
may be unfair to blame those who in the 
first outset of the ,french ,revolution1
 rejoiced even on religious motives2 yet
 it is astonishing1 how any pious       
person1 even with all the blinding power
 of prejudice1 can think without horror 
of the present state of ,france4 ,it is 
no less wonderful how any rational man  
could1 even in the beginning of the     
,revolution2 transfer that reasoning1   
however just it might be1 when applied  
to ,france1 to the case of ,england4    
,for what can be more unreasonable1 than
 to draw from different1 and even       
opposite premises1 the same conclusion8 
,must a revolution be equally necessary 

in the case of two sorts of ,government1
 and two sorts of ,religion1 which are  
the very reverse of each other8 opposite
 in their genius1 unlike in their       
fundamental principles1 and widely      
different in each of their component    
parts4  ,that despotism1 priestcraft1   
intolerance1 and superstition1 are      
terrible evils1 no candid ,christian it 
is presumed will deny2 but1 blessed be  
,god1 though these mischiefs are not yet
 entirely banished from the face of the 
earth1 they have scarcely any existence 
in this country4  ,to guard against a   
real danger1 and to cure actual abuses1 
of which the existence has been first   
plainly proved1 by the application of a 
suitable remedy1 requires diligence as  
well as courage2 observation as well as 
genius2 patience and temperance as well 
as zeal and spirit4 ,it requires the    
union of that clear head and sound heart
 which constitute the true patriot4 ,but
 to conjure up fancied evils1 or even   
greatly to aggravate real ones1 and then

 to exhaust our labour in combating     
them1 is the characteristic of a        
distempered imagination and an          
ungoverned spirit4  ,romantic crusades1 
the ordeal trial1 drowning of witches1  
the torture1 and the ,inquisition1 have 
been justly reprobated as the foulest   
stain of the respective periods1 in     
which1 to the disgrace of human reason1 
they existed2 but would any man be      
rationally employed1 who should now     
stand up gravely to declaim against     
these as the predominating mischiefs of 
the present century8 ,even the whimsical
 ,knight of ,la ,mancha himself1 would  
not fight wind mills that were pulled   
down2 yet ,i will venture to say1 that  
the above named evils are at present    
little more chimerical than some of     
those now so bitterly complained of     
among us4 ,it is not1 as ,dryden said1  
when one of his works was unmercifully  
abused1 that the piece has not faults   
enough in it1 but the critics have not  
had the wit to fix upon the right ones4 

,it is allowed that1 as a nation1 we    
have faults enough1 but our political   
critics err in the objects of their     
censure4 ,they say little of those real 
and pressing evils resulting from our   
own corruption1 which constitute the    
actual miseries of life2 while they     
gloomily speculate upon a thousand      
imaginary political grievances1 and     
fancy that the reformation of our rulers
 and our legislators is all that is     
wanting to make us a happy people4  ,the
 principles of just and equitable       
government were1 perhaps1 never more    
fully established1 nor public justice   
more exactly administered4 ,pure and    
undefiled religion was never laid more  
open to all1 than at this day4 ,i wish  
,i could say we were a religious people2
 but this at least may be safely        
asserted1 that the great truths of      
religion were never better understood2  
that ,christianity was never more       
completely stripped from all its        
incumbrances and disguises1 or more     

thoroughly purged from human infusions1 
and whatever is debasing in human       
institutions4  ,let us in this yet happy
 country1 learn at least one great and  
important truth1 from the errors of this
 distracted people4 ,their conduct has  
awfully illustrated a position1 which is
 not the less sound for having been     
often controverted1 ,that no degree of  
wit and learning2 no progress in        
commerce2 no advances in the knowledge  
of nature1 or in the embellishments of  
art1 can ever thoroughly tame that      
savage1 the natural human heart1 without
 ,,religion4 ,the arts of social life   
may give a sweetness to the manners and 
language1 and induce1 in some degree1 a 
love of justice1 truth1 and humanity2   
but attainments derived from such       
inferior causes are no more than the    
semblance and the shadow of the         
qualities derived from pure             
,christianity4 ,varnish is an extraneous
 ornament1 but true polish is a proof of
 the solidity of the body2 it depends   

greatly on the nature of the substance1 
is not superinduced by accidental       
causes1 but in a good measure proceeding
 from internal soundness4  ,the poets of
 that country1 whose style1 sentiments1 
manners1 and religion the ,french so    
affectedly labour to imitate1 have left 
keen and biting satires on the ,roman   
vices4 ,against the late proceedings in 
,france1 no satirist need employ his    
pen2 that of the historian will be quite
 sufficient4 ,fact will put fable out of
 countenance2 and the crimes which are  
usually held up to our abhorrence in    
works of invention1 will be regarded as 
flat and feeble by those who shall      
peruse the records of the tenth of      
,august1 of the second and third of     
,september1 and of the twenty first of  
,january4  ,if the same astonishing     
degeneracy in taste1 principle1 and     
practice1 should ever come to flourish  
among us1 ,britons may still live to    
exult in the desolation of her cities1  
and in the destruction of her finest    

monuments of art2 she may triumph in the
 peopling of the fortresses of her rocks
 and her forests2 may exult in being    
once more restored to that glorious     
state of liberty and equality1 when all 
subsisted by rapine and the chace2 when 
all1 ,o enviable privilege6 were equally
 savage1 equally indigent1 and equally  
naked2 may extol it as the restoration  
of reason1 and the triumph of nature1   
that they are again brought to feed on  
acorns1 instead of bread4 ,groves of    
consecrated misletoe may happily succeed
 to useless corn fields2 and ,thor and  
,woden may hope once more to be invested
 with all their bloody honours4  ,let   
not any serious readers feel            
indignation1 as if pains were           
ungenerously taken to involve their     
religious1 with their political         
opinions4 ,far be it from me to wound1  
unnecessarily1 the feelings of people   
whom ,i so sincerely esteem2 but it is  
much to be suspected1 that certain      
opinions in politics have a tendency to 

lead to certain opinions in religion4   
,where so much is at stake1 they will do
 well to keep their consciences tender1 
in order to do which they should try to 
keep their discernment acute4 ,they will
 do well to observe1 that the same      
restless spirit of innovation is busily 
operating under various1 though         
seemingly unconnected forms4 ,to        
observe1 that the same impatience of    
restraint1 the same contempt of order1  
peace1 and subordination1 which makes   
men bad citizens1 makes them bad        
,christians2 and that to this secret1   
but almost infallible connexion between 
religious and political sentiment1 does 
,france owe her present unparalleled    
anarchy and impiety4  ,there are        
doubtless in that unhappy country       
multitudes of virtuous and reasonable   
men1 who rather silently acquiesce in   
the authority of their present turbulent
 government1 than embrace its principles
 or promote its projects from the sober 
conviction of their own judgment4       

,these1 together with those             
conscientious exiles whom this nation so
 honourably protects1 may yet live to   
rejoice in the restoration of true      
liberty and solid peace to their native 
country1 when light and order shall     
spring from the present darkness and    
confusion1 and the reign of chaos shall 
be no more4  ,may ,i be permitted a     
short digression on the subject of those
 exiles8 ,it shall only be to remark1   
that all the boasted conquests of our   
,edwards and our ,henrys over the       
,french nation1 do not confer such      
substantial glory on our own country1 as
 she derives from having received1      
protected1 and supported1 among         
multitudes of other sufferers1 at a time
 and under circumstances so peculiarly  
disadvantageous to herself1 three       
thousand priests1 of a nation habitually
 her enemy1 and of a religion intolerant
 and hostile to her own4 ,this is the   
solid triumph of true ,christianity2 and
 it is worth remarking1 that the deeds  

which poets and historians celebrate as 
rare and splendid actions1 and sublime  
instances of greatness of soul1 in the  
heroes of the ,pagan world1 are but the 
ordinary and habitual virtues which     
occur in the common course of action    
among ,christians2 quietly performed    
without effort or exertion1 and with no 
view to renown2 but resulting naturally 
and necessarily from the religion they  
profess4  ,so predominating is the power
 of an example we have once admired1 and
 set up as a standard of imitation1 and 
so fascinating has been the ascendency  
of the ,convention over the minds of    
those whose approbation of ,french      
politics commenced in the earlier       
periods of the ,revolution1 that it     
extends to the most trivial             
circumstances4 ,i cannot forbear to     
notice this in an instance1 which1      
though inconsiderable in itself1 yet    
ceases to be so when we view it in the  
light of a symptom of the reigning      
disease4  ,while the fantastic          

phraseology of the new ,republic is     
such1 as to be almost as disgusting to  
sound taste1 as their doctrines are to  
sound morals1 it is curious to observe  
how deeply the addresses1 which have    
been sent to it from the ,clubs,c in    
this country1 have been infected with   
it1 as far at least as phrases and terms
 are objects of imitation4 ,in other    
respects1 it is but justice to the      
,french ,convention to confess1 that    
they are hitherto without rivals and    
without imitators2 for who can aspire to
 emulate that compound of anarchy and   
atheism which in their debates is mixed 
up with the pedantry of school boys1 the
 jargon of a cabal1 and the vulgarity   
and ill-breeding of a mob8 ,one instance
 of the prevailing cant may suffice1    
where an hundred might be adduced2 and  
it is not the most exceptionable4--,to  
demolish every existing law and         
establishment2 to destroy the fortunes  
and ruin the principles of every country
 into which they are carrying their     

destructive arms and their frantic      
doctrines2 to untie or cut asunder every
 bond which holds society together2 to  
impose their own arbitrary shackles     
where they succeed1 and to demolish     
every thing where they fail4--,this     
desolating system1 by a most            
unaccountable perversion of language1   
they are pleased to call by the         
endearing name of fraternization2 and   
fraternization is one of the favourite  
terms which their admirers have adopted4
 ,little would a simple stranger1       
uninitiated in this new and surprising  
dialect1 imagine that the peaceful terms
 of fellow-citizen and of brother1 the  
winning offer of freedom and happiness1 
and the warm embrace of fraternity1 were
 only watch-words by which they in      
effect1                    ,cry havoc1  
,and let slip the dogs of war4  ,in     
numberless other instances1 the         
fashionable language of ,france at this 
day would be as unintelligible to the   
correct writers of the age of ,louis the

 ,x,i,vth1 as their fashionable notions 
of liberty would be irreconcileable with
 those of the true ,revolution ,patriots
 of his great contemporary and          
victorious rival1 ,william the ,third4  
,such is indeed their puerile rage for  
novelty in the invention of new words1  
and the perversion of their taste in the
 use of old ones1 that the celebrated   
,vossius1 whom ,christine of ,sweden    
oddly complimented by saying1 that he   
was so learned as not only to know      
whence all words came1 but whither they 
were going1 would1 were he admitted to  
the honours of a sitting1 be obliged to 
confess1 that he was equally puzzled to 
tell the one1 or to foretel the other4  
,if it shall please the ,almighty in his
 anger to let loose this infatuated     
people1 as a scourge for the iniquities 
of the human race2 if they are delegated
 by infinite justice to act1 as storm   
and tempest fulfilling his word2 if they
 are commissioned to perform the errand 
of the destroying lightning or the      

avenging thunder-bolt1 let us try at    
least to extract personal benefit from  
national calamity2 let every one of us1 
high and low1 rich and poor1 enter upon 
this serious and humbling inquiry1 how  
much his own individual offences have   
contributed to that awful aggregate of  
public guilt1 which has required such a 
visitation4 ,let us carefully examine in
 what proportion we have separately     
added to that common stock of abounding 
iniquity1 the description of which      
formed the character of an ancient      
nation1 and is so peculiarly applicable 
to our own--,pride1 fulness of bread1   
and abundance of idleness4 ,let every   
one of us humbly inquire1 in the        
self-suspecting language of the         
disciples to their ,divine              
,master--,lord1 is it ,i8 ,let us learn 
to fear the fleets and armies of the    
enemy1 much less than those iniquities  
at home which this alarming dispensation
 may be intended to chastize4  ,the war 
which the ,french have declared against 

us1 is of a kind altogether unexampled  
in every respect2 insomuch that human   
wisdom is baffled when it would pretend 
to conjecture what may be the event4    
,but this at least we may safely say1   
that it is not so much the force of     
,french bayonets1 as the contamination  
of ,french principles1 that ought to    
excite our apprehensions4 ,we trust1    
that through the blessing of ,,god we   
shall be defended from their open       
hostilities1 by the temperate wisdom of 
our ,rulers1 and the bravery of our     
fleets and armies2 but the domestic     
danger arising from licentious and      
irreligious principles among ourselves1 
can only be guarded against by the      
personal care and vigilance of every one
 of us who values religion and the good 
order of society4  ,,god grant that     
those who go forth to fight our battles1
 instead of being intimidated by the    
number of their enemies1 may bear in    
mind1 that there is no restraint with   
,,god to save by many or by few4 ,and   

let the meanest of us who remains at    
home remember also1 that even he may    
contribute to the internal safety of his
 country1 by the integrity of his       
private life1 and to the success of her 
defenders1 by following them with his   
fervent prayers4 ,and in what war can   
the sincere ,christian ever have        
stronger inducements to pray for the    
success of his country1 than in this8   
,without entering far into any political
 principles1 the discussion of which    
would be in a great measure foreign to  
the design of this little tract1 it may 
be remarked1 that the unchristian       
principle of revenge is not our motive  
to this war2 conquest is not our object2
 nor have we had recourse to hostility1 
in order to effect a change in the      
internal government of ,france,d4 ,the  
present war is undoubtedly undertaken   
entirely on defensive principles4 ,it is
 in defence of our ,king1 our           
,constitution1 our ,religion1 our ,laws1
 and consequently our ,liberty1 in the  

sound and rational sense of that term4  
,it is to defend ourselves from the     
savage violence of a crusade1 made      
against all ,religion1 as well as all   
,government4 ,if ever therefore a war   
was undertaken on the ground of         
self-defence and necessity--if ever men 
might be literally said to fight pro    
,,aris et focis1 this seems to be the   
occasion4  ,the ambition of conquerors  
has been the source of great and        
extensive evils3 ,religious fanaticism  
of still greater4 ,but little as ,i am  
disposed to become the apologist of     
either the one principle or the other1  
there is no extravagance in asserting1  
that they have seemed incapable of      
producing1 even in ages1 that extent of 
mischief1 that comprehensive desolation1
 which philosophy1 falsely so called1   
has produced in three years4            
,christians6 it is not a small thing--it
 is your life4 ,the pestilence of       
irreligion which you detest1 will       
insinuate itself imperceptibly with     

those manners1 phrases1 and principles  
which you admire and adopt4 ,it is the  
humble wisdom of a ,christian1 to shrink
 from the most distant approaches to    
sin1 to abstain from the very appearance
 of evil4 ,if we would fly from the     
deadly contagion of ,atheism1 let us fly
 from those seemingly remote1 but not   
very indirect paths which lead to it4   
,let ,france choose this day whom she   
will serve2 but1 as for us and our      
houses1 we will serve the ,lord4  ,and1 
,o gracious and long suffering ,god6    
before that awful period arrives1 which 
shall exhibit the dreadful effects of   
such an education as the ,french nation 
are instituting2 before a race of men   
can be trained up1 not only without the 
knowledge of ,,thee1 but in the contempt
 of ,,thy most holy law1 do ,,thou1 in  
great mercy1 change the heart of this   
people as the heart of one man4 ,give   
them not finally over to their own      
corrupt imaginations1 to their own      
heart's lusts4 ,but after having made   

them a fearful example to all the       
nations of the earth1 what a people can 
do1 who have cast off the fear of       
,,thee1 do ,,thou graciously bring them 
back to a sense of that law which they  
have violated1 and to participation of  
that mercy which they have abused2 so   
that they may happily find1 while the   
discovery can be attended with          
consolation1 that doubtless there is a  
reward for the righteous2 verify1 there 
is a ,,god who judgeth the earth4       
,,the ,,end4  ,,footnotes3  ,footnote   
,b3 ,see his ,speech1 enumerating their 
intended projects4  ,footnote ,c3 ,see  
the ,collection of ,addresses from      
,england1 c4 ,published by ,mr4 ,mc4    
,,kenzie1 ,college ,green1 ,,dublin4    
,footnote ,d3 ,see the ,report of ,mr4  
,pitt's ,speech in the ,house of        
,commons on ,feb4 #ab1 #agic4         99
       99       99       99       99    
,transcriber's note   ,printer errors   
have been changed and are listed below4 
,all other inconsistencies are as in the

 original4  ,characters that could not  
be displayed directly in ,latin-#a are  
transcribed as follows3   - italics     
,the following changes have been made to
 the text3  ,page #ah3 ,changed involve 
their religous to involve their         
religious4  ,page #ah3 ,changed in order
 to which they to in order to do which  
they4