give place to intelligent adoration of His wisdom and power; the gross darkness of the spiritual shall be as the remembrance of night at noonday. No more shall mankind point out the names of philosophers and sages, as though they were curious importations from another sphere, in which they had enjoyed advantages superior to those which the family of earth possess. And this, not because men will be insensible to the claims of science, unaffected by the brilliance of genius; but Nature's aristocracy shall be multiplied, and the crowns and stars shall be for them, who shall have demolished those artificial distinctions by which the chains of error have been strengthened; those whose might rolled back the stone from the mouth of the grave, and bid the captive nations live. Shall these honours be yours? CHAPTER XIV. ACTIVE INFLUENCE. THE change which we anticipate will be POLITICAL. All men are brethren; all possessing minds similar in their powers, forming communities for mutual benefit, all contributing to the safety of the commonwealth, it would seem to be a principle pervading the whole mass of society, that all its members should enjoy equal privileges so long as they conform to the laws on which that society is constituted. By equal political rights I mean, such as the following:-equal share in the government of the commonwealth, cured by whatever regulations may be necessary; equal protection of personal property, reputation, and life; equal facility in appealing to the laws made by common consent when those laws are violated; toleration, nay, the right of all to vindicate and diffuse principles, either of political economy, science, or religion. se “If a man saw, in a field of corn, a flock of pigeons, all of whom, save one, were engaged, not in choosing for themselves the best food, but the worst, and reserving the best for that single pigeon, the weakest, and perhaps the worst of the flock; and if, while that single pigeon were devouring or wasting at pleasure, he should see, when another hungry and hardy pigeon touched a grain of the hoard, all the other pigeons fly on the intruder and peck it to death, he would see no more than what is every day practised among men." This is philosophy, but it lost the philosopher a mitre.* I do not instance this with the express purpose of opposing a monarchical government just now; though, perhaps, a little thought on this subject may not be unprofitable to my readers; but I do say, that any artificial distinctions that cause a nation to present a spectacle which, in the lower creation, we should esteem the manifestation of consummate folly, must cease before mind can possess its full dignity,-truth and happiness be universal. I cannot find one secondary cause which has so fast riveted on mankind the chains of ignorance, and so long preserved the clouds of superstition-has so long stunted the intellect of individuals, and dwarfed the mind of society, or warped its powers from their high intent-which has kindled so many evil passions, and produced so many dire calamities-physical, mental, and moral-as that monster evil, 66 CLASS LEGISLATION." Whence have arisen those terrible wars, from the very recital of which, the mind of humanity turns with a shudder? Nations have been thought playthings for the powerful (those children of a larger growth) to contend for, and then destroy. Men have been regarded as pleasing automata, to perform strange evolutions at the pleasure of one who is a proficient in the arts of hell; or to crush their fellows, that on * King George had this passage in mind, when, on being asked to make Paley a bishop, he replied, "What, what, pigeon Paley? No, no." their blood he may be flooded onwards to glory! The ambitious general, with the political power Class Legislation may give him, can ferment the angry passions of rulers (not servants), turn them mad about a nation's honour, and then congratulate himself on his skill, as he receives the laurel of successful warfare, with the more solid proofs of a nation's gratitude. The crafty statesman, feeling how obnoxious his home measures must become, if fully understood, has not unfrequently drenched the nation with strong potations of blood, making it forgetful of internal ruin, by anxiety to effect external destruction. The minds of a people accustomed to exercise political power, become too sagacious to be anxious for war, which they know will result in the aggrandisement of a few; the blighted hopes of families; the almost incalculable expense of the nation; the neglect of home administration. "ONE speaks-and lo! Up springs infernal War, and stalks abroad; And, in the groan of widowed natinos, hails But I fancy I hear some foe to freedom asking: "Have not the people themselves hailed with delight the news of a fresh war, watched it progress with intense, untiring application, and evinced unequivocal signs of excessive joy, when the decisive victory of some chieftain was proclaimed?" I reply, Yes, they have; and this is a ground for opposing Class Legisla. tion. Had the people the exercise of their rights, the continual contests in the Legislature would be sufficient to attract and maintain their attention. Intelligent political feelings would assume the place of blindness and deadness to matters of the highest moment. As it is, any affair which comes to the level of their capacity, any subject which will afford strong animal excitement, absorbs their interest; and therefore is it they hail a new war, for it is the excitement they have long wanted; and therefore is it they crown the successful chieftain. They can sympathise with the low, unworthy love of physical prowess; but intellectual strength appears to them a strange thing. Be it known, that the nation is the "people's university." If the mind of England had to remain in its present state, or, perhaps, I should rather say, in the state in which it was ten years since, the partisans of Class Legislation need not fear the extension of political privileges to the whole nation. But full well they know that the men who might now be bribed or deceived, would, in the possession of their rights, soon regard them as too valuable to be either sold or misapplied. We well know that self is the god of all men in their unregenerate state; nor can we wonder that those who possess certain facilities licensed by law, or, at any rate, without any punishment in that law, for increasing their own wealth, and making large provisions for their families, should avail themselves of their advantages, leaving the commonwealth that is so simple as to permit the appropriation, to do its best. What a spirit does this Class Legislation engender in the minds of the people! Unused to control their temporal concerns, they are apt to look up for their intellectual and spiritual guidance to their kind masters, who are ever ready to afford them aid. Or, what is * Channing. |
