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Tous las autres exempiaires originaux sont fllmte an commanqant par la pramiAre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'iilustration et en terminant par la darnlAre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboies suivants apparaftra sur la darnlAre image de chaque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols y signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent Atre film*s k des taux de rMuction diff«rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul ciich*. il est filmA A partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche h drolte, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrant la mAthode. irrata to pel u re, n A □ 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ■*i ^iM m t".-'- "-'''. ^ .ja;*-^*^"'- ^^■♦.■^ S^^mmmmmm0'-^sM''^^fm •• • ■4--'f »#» • "'■'/ T» Hit Honour, William Phillips, the President of the Muiachaiettt Peace Society; to the Hon. Thomab Dawbs, the Vice President; ftnd to the other Offieert of that Institution, GElTTLCMEir, The approbation with which you hare favour^ ed the following discourse desenres my grate- ful acknowledgments. I am truly happy to mbmit it to the publick under your patronage. The Society, which has committed to you the lirection ot its affairs, has my best wishes and fervent prayers. I rejoice, that I have lived to nritness its formation. The existence of an in- stitution for the promotion of peace, is an en- ;ouraffing indication of the improvement of mblick opinion, and of the diffusion of the spirit >f Christianity. Not many years ago, such an issociation must have encountered great, if not insuperable obstacles. But HE, whose pre- rogative it is Co bring ffood from evil, has iwal^ned multitudes of Christians, by the late tremendous calamities of war, to a sense of its lilt and madness. Never before were so jany minds directed to the true character, to the undisgnoised horrours of this barba- rous usage. The time, I trust, is coming, jwhen it will be accounted no small honour [to have been among the earliest labourers m the work of mitigating and abolishing war. ■ - *',. --. ~ ■--■ ..*■- l™.-.-M '^»^WW«5v3it*^*:jK»MK:f?-^ X r • . IV The cause is God's, and must prevail. The spirit, which you are labouring to diffuse, is Christ's, and it must triumph over the spirit and passions of the world. May God grant you tne happiness of witnessing, in this jour day, the fruits of your labours ; of witnessmff a new impulse communicated to the Christian world, a new sympathy and cooperation ex- cited in different nations, in favour of peace. But should the seed, which vou sow, yield no immediate harvest, you will yet have your reward. The influence of the principles, which you have espoused, though not develop- ed in sudden and conspicuous effects, will be silently and gradually extended^ until in an happier age it will break forth and issue in| the pacification of the world. There is a, satisfaction, known onlv to the heart which | feels it, in cherishine these hopes of the pro- gress of society and Christian truth. That your Society may receive constant ac-i cessions of strength and numbers ; that the zeal of its members may bear some proportion toi the sublimity and beneficence of its object ^ that' similar institutions may be multiplied in this and^ in everv country; And that their labours, issuing from the spirit of Christ, may be crown-' «d witn his favour ; is the ardent wish of Tour obedient servantt Toiir sincere friend, and Tour felloir labourar in the erase of peace* WILUAM Ei CHANNINCf. --*■■■, *-. •^A*w.- ■^=s*.--*^~. SERMON, ^c. tsaiah, £d chap. 4th Terse. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. : I HAVE chosen a subject, which may seem at jBrst view not altogether appropriate to the fpreseut occasion — the subject of war. It may [06 thought, that an address to an assembly [composed chiefly of the ministers of reh'gion, [should be confined to the duties, the dangers, land encouragements, which belong to the.sacred [office. If an apology be necessary for a devia- tion from the ordinary discussions of this day, would observe, that the subject, which I have selected, has strong and peculiar claims on Christian ministers. Their past neglect of it is their reproach; and it is time, my breth- ren, that this reproach were wiped away ; that >ur obligations, ds ministers of the Prince of )eace, should be better understood and more leeply felt; and that our influence should be Soinbined in illustrating and enforcing ti e [lighted and almost forgotten precepts oi Christianity on the subject of war. I have )een induced to select this topick, because, ifter the slumber of ages. Christians seem to )e awakening to a sense of the pacifick cha- racter of their religion, and because I under- ■ r^A 'm. »ii - ---i M& mj^iS. 5^S^ M ^ 883^ ..:.-■ •-.SffS'SEs ■r -■■>;» V ...■/ ...v- ■v;,?!r.'. V.'WJit.'tf ^m%^ ^:x ■?Jf.W ■,.■•■■ " ■■ ■-. * t<--^¥. i... d ^ m stood, that this Convention were at this anni- versary to consider the interesting question, whether no method could be devised for en- lightening the publick mind on the nature and guilt of the custom of war. I was unwilling that this subject should be approached and distiiissed as an ordinary affair. I feared, that in the presure of business, we might be satis- fied with the expression of customary disap- probation ; and that, having in this way relieved our consciences, we should relapse into our former indifference, and should continue to hear the bowlings of this dreadful storm of human pasisions with as much unconcern as before. \ wished — perhaps it v/as a presump- tuous wish, perhaps a humbler office would have been more wisely chosen — but I wished to awaken in your breasts a firm and holy purpose, to toil and suffer in the great work of. abolishing this worst vestige of barbarism, this grossest outrage on the principles of Chris- . tianity. — The dayl trust is conung, whenChris- i- tians will look back with gratitude and affection on those men, who, in ages of conflict and bloodshed, enlisted under the banner of phi- lanthropy and peace, cherished generous hopes ot human improvement, withstood the violence of corrupt opinion, held forth, amidst the general darkness, the pure and mild light of Christianity, and thas ushered in a new and peaceful era in the history of mankind. My | fathers and brethren I In that day of triumph 1 to the church, may it be recorded, that in this * ;> ■ =4: ,*!'? ags of war and crime, there were not wanting those, who looked with mingled indignation, horrour and grief, on the woes inflicted by man on his brother ; and who never fainted in their toils to infuse the spirit of mercy and peace, into their fellow-beings. The miseries and crimes of war, its sources, its remedies, will be the subjects of our present [attention. — In detailing its miseries and icrimes, there is no temptation to recur to mreal or exaggerated honours. No strength, lo depth of colouring can approach reality. [t is lamentable, that we need a delineation of the calamities of war, to rou.se us to exertion, ^he mere idea of human beings employing ivery power and faculty in the work of mu- |ual destruction, ought at once to strike a lorrour into our minds. But on this subject, Kir sensibilities are dreadfully sluggish and lead. Our ordinary sympathies seem to for- sake us, when war is named. The sufierings fand death of a single fellow-being often excite |a tender and active compassion : but we hear {without emotion of thousands enduring every [variety of wo in war. A single murder in {)eace thrills through our frames. The count- , ess murders of war are heard as an amusing tale. The execution of a criminal depresses the mind, and philanthropy is labouring to substitute milder punisl|gyents iov, death. But benevolence has] hardly' made' an effort to [snatch from sudden and'^iintimely death, the inQumerabl« victims immolated on the alt3S» • -■i nU m ;.^ «^.' *^ ^*>:--"'^" 5 ' ''■'"•■# !^^ r ' -_ •!.. ! » ' W . n of war. This insensibility demands, that the miseries and crimes of war should be often placed before us with minuteness, with energjf with strong and indignant emotion. The miseries of war may be easily conceiv* cd from its very nature. By war, we under- stand the resort of nations to force, violence, and the most dreaded methods of destruction and devastation. In war, the strength, skilly courage, energy, and resources of a whole people are concentrated for the infliction of pain and death. The bowels of the earth are explored, the most active elements combined, the resources of art and nature exhausted, to increase the power of man in destroying his fellow-creatures. Would you learn wImU destruction man, when thus aided, can spread around him? Look at that extensive region, desolate and overspread with ruins ; its forests rent and leafless, as if blasted by lightning; its villages prostrated, as by an earthquake; its fields barren, as if swept by storms. Not long ago, the sweet influences of heaven descended on no happier or more fruitful region than this. But ravaging armies prowled over it; war frowned on it; and its fruitfulness and happi- ness are fled. Here were gathered thousands and ten thousands from distant provinces, not to embrace as brethren, but to renounce the tie of brotherhood; and thousands, in the vigour of life, when least prepared for deathi K' > '** .'^- -...^„....X, were hewn down and scattered like chaff be- fore the whirlwind. Repair, my friends, in thought, to a field of recent battle. Here, are heaps of slain, we!" tering in their own blood, their bodies mangled^ their limbs shattered, and in many a form and countenance not a vestige left of their former selves. Here, are multitudes trodden under [foot, and the war-horse has left the trace of lis hoof in many a crushed and mutilated [frame. Here, are severer sufferers; they live, but live without hope or consolation. Justice despatches the criminal with a single Istroke ; but the victims of war, falling by casual, ^undirected blows, often expire in lingering jigony, their deep groans applying -in vain to compassion, their limbs wntning with pain m the earth, their lips parched with a burning thirst, their wounds open to the chilling air, ihe memory of tender relatives rushing on their minds, but not an accent of friendship or 'comfort reaching their ears. Amidst this i-ficene of horrours, you see the bird and beast of prey drinking the blood of the dead, arid ^vitn a merciful cruelty ending the struggles >f the dying: and, still more melancholy ! you see human plunderers, bereft of all human ^jmpathy, turning a deaf ear on tl>e wounded, ind rifling the warm end almost palpitating Remains of the slain. — If you extend your eye beyond the immediate field of battle, and follow the track of the pursuing and victorious (rmy,you see the roads strewed with the dead; 1* :* .^ K u * "*■ >."', 4 *« H- 'T 5' 1^ ■' i'' 6 H^v >^--* joii see gcattered flocks, and harvests trait'' pled under foot, the smoking ruins of cottages, and the miserable inhabitants flying in want and despair ; — and even yet, the horrours of a single battle are not exhausted. Some of the deepest pangs, which it inflicts, are silent, 4[ A. retired, enduring, to be read in the counte- nance of the widow, in the unprotected orphan, in the aged parent, in aflection cherishing the memorj' of the slain, and weeping that it could not minister to their last pangs. I have asked jou to traverse in thought, a field of battle. There is another scene often r resented in war, perhaps more terrible—- refer to a besieged city. The most horrible pages in history are those, which record the reauction of strongly fortified places. In a besieged city, are collected all descriptions ,^; ; and ages of mankinds women, children, the old, the infirm. Day and night the weapons # of death and conflagration fly around them. ^They see the approaches of the foe, the trembling bulwark, and the fainting strength of their defenders. They are worn with famine, and on famine presses pestilence. At length the assault is made, every barrier is broken down, and a lawless soldiery, exaspe- rated by resistance, and burning with lust ' and cruelty, are scattered through the streets. The domestiok retreat, and even the house of God, is no longer a sanctuary. Venerable ^ .- age is no protection. Female purity no de- fence. Jn presence of the dying husband, ai^ ■* • *-■ 4"» -*v'-ir^ >itJIJ^l^^0H^.i*^mi^ '**^''''^»4tet«.'..«»*iiJbiM'««lii 9 traM-' ottages, in want jrs of a \ of the I silenti counte- orphan, ling the it could >ught, a le often rrible— horrible :ord the I. In a ;riptions ren, the ^eapons s- \d them, be, the itrensth rn with ice. At irrier is exaspe- ith lust streets, louse of merable no de- r^: '^ the murdered child, the wife is spared, not from mercy, but to gratify the basest passion. These are heart-rending scenes, but history abounds with them; and what better fruits can you expect from war ? These views are the most obvious and striking which War presents, and therefore I have given them the first place. But the hor- rours of war are not yet exhausted. There are more secret influences, which, while they appeal less powerfully to the senses and ima- f Illation, will deeply affect a reflecting and enevolent mind. Consider, first, the condition of those who are immediately engaged in war ? The sufier- ings of soldiers from battle we have seen ; but their sufferings are not limited to the pe- riod of conflict The whole of war is a sue- cession of exposures too severe for human nature. Death employs other Weapons than the sword. It is computed, that in ordinary wars, g'*eater numbers perish by sickness than in battle. Exhausted by long and rapid marches, by unwholesome food, by exposure to storms, by excessive labour under a burn- ing sky through the day, and by interrupted and restless sleep on the damp ground and^ under the chilling atmosphere of night, thou- sands after thousands of the young pine away and die. They anticipated that they should fall, if to fall should be their lot, in what they called the field of honour ; but they perish in the inglorious and crowded hospital, sur« * ^^ • ** ** ■r I ■ * ' -t 'I *■■ > H I ^ .*■*' -,*'; ■■•'*iSi ^ 'v' 'Hi \ -'" ^\. u '^ .,!!> I '■*&■ *.«■ '• V rounded with sights and sounds of wo, far from home and every friend, and denied those ten- der offices which sickness and expiring nature require. - ; -'^'ai-- -/,/;.:■..: _;^w-.rrupt men, whom war exalts to power and Ice. The regular employments of peace j^re disturbed. Industry m many of its liranches is suspended. The labourer, ground rith want, and driven to despair by the cla- lour of his suffering family, becomes a soldier a cause which he condemns, and thus the mntry is drained of its most effective popula- ion. The people are stripped and reducedi rhilst the authors of war retrench not a com<« >rt, and often fatten on the spoils and woes of leir country. But the influence of war on the morals of >ciety is still more fatal. The suspension of bdustry and the pressure of want multiply lice. Criminal modes of subsitence are the (source of the suff*ering. Publick and pri- ite credit are shaken. Distrust and fear ike place of mutual confidence. Commerce icomes a system of stratagem and collusioa ; * *' *>, ST n .#- i. 3 ~'^^--^m-W''m. < K..^--,-»m^ *^pMr<*^«- *.'^-»^-^Mai,fm.»,Jkkrm^\ 10 << HA"" *l^l \V. <*:: and the principles of justice receive a shock which many years of peace are not able to repair. In war, the moral sentiments of a commu- nity are perverted by that admiration of mili- tary exploits, to which every people is inclined, and which is studiously cherished by those who have an interest in prolonging the con- test. Every eye is fixed on the conqueror, and every tongue busy with his deeds. The mild- er virtues of Christianity are eclipsed by the baleful lustre thrown round a ferocious cou- rage. The disinterested, the benignant, the mercifuK the forgiving, those whom Jesus has pronounced blest and honourable, must ^ive place to the hero, whose character is stained not only with blood, but sometimes with the foulest vices; but all whose stains are washed away by victory. * ;^ i ^ ij > " - ^u •".^.: Once more. War diffuses through a com- munity -unfriendly and malignant passions. Nations, exasperated by mutual injuries, burn for each others humiliation and ruin. They delight to hear that famine, pestilence, want, defeat, and the most dreadful scourges which providence sends on a guilty world, are deso- lating a hostile community. The slaughter of thousands of fellow-beings, instead of awak- ing pity, flushes them with delirious joy, illuminates the city, and dissolves the whole country in revelry and riot. Thus the heart of man is hardened. His worst passions are nourished. He renounces the bonds and sym^ "v -^ - ;,*- *•■■',.,■ 11 i. pathieg of humanity. Were the prayers, or [rather the curses of warring nations preva- lent in heaven, the whole earth would long since have become a desert. The human race, [with all their labours and improvements, would have perished under the sentence of universal [extermination. But war not only assails the prosperity and lorals of a community; its innuence on the )olitical condition is alarming. It arms govern- nent with a dangerous patronage, multiplies lependants and instruments of oppression, and venerates a power, which, in the hands of the inergetick and aspiring, can hardly fail to prostrate a free constitution. War organizes body of men, who lose the feelings of the citizen in the soldier; whose habits detach fhcni from the community ; whose ruling pas- jion is devotion to a chief; who arc inured In the camp to despotick sway ; who are iccustomed to accomplish their ends by force, und to sport with the rights and happmess of [heir fellow-beings ; who delight in tumult, idventure, and peril ; and turn with disgust md scorn from tne quiet labours of peace, fs [t wonderful, that such protectors of a state ihould look with contempt on the weakness ]f the protected, and should lend themselves lase instruments to the subversion of that reedom which they do not themselves enjoy ? h-In a community, in which precedence is Jiven to the military profession, freedom can- not long endure. * The encroachments of ■? . 1 .i >: \>i 'I if. 4- ,-jC' power at home are expiated by foreign tri- umphs. The essential interests and rights of j the state are sacrificed to a false and fatal | glory. Its intelligence and vigour, instead of presenting a bulwark to domestick usurpation, are expended in military uchievements. Its 1 most active and aspiring citizens rush to the army, and become subservient to the power ■ whicii dispenses honour. The nation is vie- ] torious, but the recompense of its toils is a ^ yoke as galling as that which it imposes on other communities. Thus, war is to be ranked among the most . dreadful calamities which fall on a guiltj world; and, what deserves consideration, and gives to war a dreadful pre-eminence among the sources of human misery, it tends to mul- tiply and perpetuate itself without end. It feeds and grows on the blood which it sheds,,^ The passions, from which it springs, gain gtrength and fury from indulgence. The suc- cessful nation, flushed by victory, pants for new laurelsj; whilst the humbled nation, irri- tated by defeat, is impatient to redeem its honour and repair its losses. Peace becomes a truce, a feverish repose, a respite to sharpen | anew the sword, and to prepare for future struggles. Under professions of friendship, lurk hatred and distrust ; and a spark suffices to renew the mighty conflagration. When from these causes, large military establish- ments are formed, and a military spirit kindled, war becomes a necessary part of policy. A «. ,^ .- ^, ^ :m -. ,. .^. ... .^ ^._ ._£,. t'S^i^ 1im,. •' .(•fltttt^'MtitP' <"»>•«.' .««»' " <^..,^r...^'H*— i<..-J*i. ,<|fc«»5.- -«#Jt-.- 13 >reign field must be found for the energies md passions of a martial people. To disband i numerous and veteran soldiery^ would be to let loose a dangerous horde on society. The >lood-hounds must be sent forth on other communities, lest they rend the bosom of their »wn country. Thus war extends and multi- >lies itself. No sooner is one storm scattered, lan the sky is darkened with the gathering ^orrours of another. Accordingly, war has ^een the mournful legacy of every generation that which succeeds it. Every age has had ts conflicts. Every country has in turn been le seat of devastation and slaughter. The rarest interests and rights of every nation ive been again and again committed to the izards of a game, of all others the most un« . srtain, and m which, from its very nature, iccess too often attends on the fiercest courage nd the basest fraud. . ; . , f^ "^ Such, my friends, is an unexaggerated, and will add, a faint delineation of the miseries |f war ; and to all these miseries and crimes lie human race have been continually expos- Id, for no worthier cause, than to enlarge an Empire already tottering imder its unwieldy [eight, to extend an iron despotism, to sup ! Sort some idle pretension, to repel some jnreal or exaggerated injury. For no worthier luse, human blood has been poured out as rater, and millions of rational and immortal jings have been driven like sheep to the feld of slaughter. it ■* rifP- -p. M .S«r '■^.^ '^' »* 2 * -^ w Ji^ ^ ii^ * ■*i ^ 't^. Ca \1- V 14 ttt ■♦*',.. «'4. ■¥■■ % ^. «» t- 1^ Ministei's of the Prince of peace ! sent to your feilow-beinss with a message of love, sent to breathe the spirit of charity and kind afiection around you ! can you look without aching hearts on the scenes which have been pourtrayed, on men, on brethren, on children of one father, on disciples of the same Lord, studying the arts of mutual destruction, plung- ing the sword into each others breasts, and exerting in the work of desolajlion and death those exalted powers, which ally them with angels and with God ; and which, under the guidance of benevolence, would change the world into a paradise ? Is it not your duty to employ every faculty, every legitimate means of mfluence, for the abolition of war ? But how, it will be said, can we contribute to the abolition of war ? Has not war its origin in the ambition of princes ? and how shall we obtain an influence over courts and cabinets, and sway the minds of those, whose power and station almost place them beyond the reach of instruction ? — -It is indeed true, that the ambition of rulers is a frequent cause of war. The desire of building up their power at home, or of extending their empire abroad ; of surpassing other sovereigns, trieir natural and only rivals ; of signalizing their administration by brilliant deeds ; and of at- Iractine: louder applause than ordinarily attends on pacHick vutucs ; this aspinng principle has in all ages thrown the world into tumult. But the ambition of* rulers does i>ot lie at the root ^ ■ :«r • •y ^ '■h m >-. r-.-.V4, .■ i:i,j^^ .;♦,' iir empire 15 of war. Wo must remember, that ambition is .directed and inflamed bj publick opinion. nVere there not a propensity in the mass of men, to give honour to warlike triumphs, ru- lers would never rsek distinction in this bloody career. The deepest and most operative causes of war are to be found in the univer-^^ sal pi'inciples of human nature, in passions which sway all classes of men ; and thcrieforc, religious instructors, whose office it is to ope- rate on the human heart, and to purify its principles, may do more than any other men to counteract the causes of war. To assist us in this work, let us inquire into the passions and principles which generate war ; — and here, I doubt nut, many will imagine that the first place ought to be given to malig- nity and hatred. But justice to human nature requires, that we ascribe to national ani- mosities a more limited operation, than is usually ascribed to them, m the production of this calamity. It is indeed, true, that anir bitious men, who have an interest in war, too often accomplish their views by appealing to the malignant feelings of a community, by exaggerating its wrongs, ridiculing its forbear- ance, and reviving ancient jealousies and resentments. But it is believed, that were not malignity and revenge aided by the concur- rence of^ higher principles, the false splendour of this barbarous custom might easily be ob<- jscured, and its ravages stayed, / -«' ?f ,4 I. II ! r - %■^ .. *"i*< 7'^ ^ %■ ■-^> w * v^t ^ \Mr — M*, •• ^^*.»i*--- ft- "V - ^>^_\^pfe.. 16 ^^ "^ii?., ■'t M .f.'' -<^'- « % J i^ -;^ One of the great springs of trar may be found in a very strong and general propensity of human nature ;— in the love of excitement, of emotion, of strong interest — a propensity which gives a charm to those bold and hazard- ous enterprizes which call forth all the ener- gies of our nature. No state of mind, not even positive suffering, is more painful than the want of interesting objects. The vacant heart preys on itself, and often rushes with impatience from the security which demands no effort, to the brink of peril. This part of human nature is seen in the kind of pleasures which have always been preferred. Why has the first rank among sports been given to the chace } Because its difficulties, hardships, ha- zards, tumults, awaken the mind, and give to it a new consciousness of existence, and a deep feeling of its powers. What is the charm which attaches the statesman to an office which almost weighs him down with labour and an appalling responsibility ? He finds much of his compensation in the powerful emotion and interest, awakened by the very hardships of his lot, by conflict with vigorous minds, by the opposition of rivals, and \iy the* alternations of success and defeat. What hur- ries to the gaming-table the man of prosper- ous fortune and ample resource } The dread of apathy, the love of strong feeling and of mental agitation. A deeper interest is felt in hazarding, than in secunng wealth, and the temptation is irresistible. One more exaotiple i# *, -*ii%- M-^ ■A he ener- ind, not ful ihan e vacant 108 with demands s part of pleasures Why has n to the ships, ha- five to it a deep e charm an office h labour He finds powerful the very vigorous d by the* That hur* prosper- le dread and of '? IS felt in and the es^ample m of this propensity may be seen in the attach- ment of pirates md highway-men to their dreadful employment. Ita excess of peril has given it a terrible interest; and to a man tvhu has long conversed with its dangers, the ordinary pursuits of life are vapid, tasteless, and disgusting. We have here one spring of war. War is of all games the deepest, awak-* ening most powerfully the-soul, and, of course, presenting powerful attraction to those restless and adventurous minds, which pant for scenes of greater experiment and exposure than peace affords. The savage, finding in his un- cultivated modes of life tew objects of inter- est, few sources of emotion, burns for war as a field for his restless energy. The sovereign, bred as he is in indulgence, satiated with luxury, and secluded from pursuits which fur- nish materials of interest to the great mass of his subjects, is often the victim of weariness and discontent, and stakes his crown, that he may feel the agitations of hazard, of peril, and of great events. The whole mass of a conima- nity also find a pleasure in war, as an excite- ment of the mind. They follow, with an eager concern, the movements of armies, and wait tho issue of battles with a deep suspense, an alternation of hope and fear, inconceivably more interesting than the unvaried uniformity of peaceful pursuits. ^ Another powerful principle of our nature, which is the spring of war, is the passion for superiority, for triumph, for power. The 2 * •^(1 .ill K^ T>' 'ft -A '%^ ' hi ":pi: ' '*;.l t - * . ■**'■■ iv; A •;];■ . J^S^-^_ _ 1%. ^. *^«»: " t^ Ik it 1 i human mind is strongly marked by this fea- ture. It is aspiring, impatient of inferiority, and eager of pre-eminence and control, f need not enlarge on the preilominanee of this passion in rulers, whose love of power if mfluenced by the possession, and whc are ever restless to extend their sway. It is more important to observe, that were this desire restrained to the breasts of rulers* war would move with a sluggish pace. But the passion for power and superiority is universal ; and as every individual, from his intimate union with the community, is accustomed to appropriate its triumphs to himself, there is a general promptness to engage in any contest, by which the community may obtain an ascendancy over other nations.-'The desire, that our country should surpass all others, would not be crimi- nal, did we understand in what respects it is most honourable for a nation to excel ; did we feel, that the glory of a state consists in inteU lectual and moral superiority, in pre-eminence of knowledge, freeaom and purity. But to the mass of a people, this form of pre-eminence is too refined and un-substantial. There is another kind of triumph which they better understand, the triumph of physical power, triumph in battle, triumph, not over the minds, but the territory of another state. Here is a palpable, visible superiority; and for this, a people are willing to submit to severe priva- tions. A victory blots out the memory of their jsufienngs, and in boasting of their extended .■'^ 'h ^ • sf ..", ^ ..M '4. % undei whicl and \{ intcns hurri^ the \i vadei stern I ruin tion ages, signs] it T?\ ■ ^4 Id 4^ power, they find a compensation for manj woes. 1 now proceed to another powerful spring of war, and it is the admiration oi' the brilliant qualities which are often displaced in war. These qualities, more than all things, have prevented an impression of the crimes and miseries of this savage custom. Many delight in war, not for its carnage and woes, but for its valour and apparent magitanimity, for the self-command oi the hero, the fortitude which despises suffering, the resolution which courts danger, the superiority of the mind to the body, to sensation, to fear. Let us be just to human nature even in its errours and ex* cesses. Men seldom delight in war, considered merely as a source of misery. When they hear of battles, the picture which rises to their view is not what it should be, a picture of extreme wretchedness, of the wounded^ the mangled, the slain. These horrours are hidden under the splendour of those mighty energfies, which break forth amidst the perils of conflict, and which human nature contemplates with an intense and heart-thrilling delight. Atttntion hurries from the heaps of the slaughtered to the victorious chief, whose single mind per- vades and animates a host, and directs with stern composure the storm of battle ; and the ruin which he spreads is forgotten in admira- tion of his power. This admiration has, in all ages, been expressed by the most unequivocal signs. Why that garland woven .'* that arch ■^ 'i^. f. .: VI ■^tt M C ■■ J 'n ^ 'M X' ■ M ■ m^ 4 / '. *i ; •* . If .1 1. )- I ^ ■■} 1 4'^- erected ? that festive board spread ? These are tributrs to the Warriour. Whilst the peaceful sovereign, who scatters blessings with the silence and constancy of Providence, is received with a faint applause, men assemble in crowds to hail the conqueror, perhaps a monster in human form, whose private life is blackened with lust and crime, and whose greatness is built on perfidy and usurpation. Thus war is the surest and speediest road to renown 5 and war will never cease, while the field of battle is the field of- glory, and the most luxuriant laurels grow from a root nou- rished with blood. ?>;!•:-* Another cause of war is a false patriotism. It is a natural and a generous impulse of nature to love the country, which gave us birth,' by whose institutions we have been- moulded, by whose laws defended, and with whose soil and scenery innumerable associations of early years, of domestick affection, and of friendship, have been formed But this sentiment often dege- nerates into a narrow, partial, exclusive attach- ment, alienating us from other branches of the human family, and instigating to aggression on other states. In ancient times, this principle was developed with wonderful energy, and 8omr3times absorbed every other sentiment. To the Roman, Rome was the universe. Other nations were of no value but to grace her triumphs, and illustrate her power; and he« who in private life would have disdained in- justice and oppression, exulted in the success^ # m "If- "W :£-. . ,:. ♦.* .f££.'ja'il^ I root nou- 21 ful vio1en<^e, by ti^hirh other nations wer6 bound to the chariot wheels of this mistress of the world. This spirit still exists. The tie of country is thought to absolve men from the obligations of universal justice and humanity. Statesmen and rulers are expected to build up their own country at the expense of others; and in the false patriotism of the citizen, they have a security for any outrages, which are sanc- tioned by success. ? •^ Let me mention one other spring of war.— 1 1 mean the impressions we receive in early life. In our early years, we know war, [only as it offers itself to us at a review ; not arrayed in horrour, not scattering wo, not stalking over fields of the slain and desolated regions, its eye flashing with fury, and its swoi*d reeking with biood — No. War, as we first see it, is decked with gay and splendid [trappings, and wears a countenance of joy. It Imoves with a measured and graceful step, to [the sound of the heart-stirring fife and drum. Ilts instruments of death wound only the air. [Such is war; the youthful eye is dazzled with [its ornaments ; the youthful heart dances to its tnimated sounds. It seems a pastime full of spirit and activity, the very sport in which, ^outh delights. These false views of war are confirmed by our earliest reading; We are intoxicated witht the exploits of the conquer^ ►r, as recorded in real history or in glowing iction. We follow, with a sympathetica ar- lour, his rapid and triumphant career in battle ; ■f'.'l!;! • i - 1 H?-^ ^1'^ •% ■%*•« -* .. »* i.«^ •!*•••- ■'^- -•"^-" ■•■*-' A" SM ■ I u 1 i'i (V It. :*<■ : A % ^ 2fi f - and, unused as we are to sufifcring and death, forget the fallen and miserable who are crush*- ed under his victorious car. Particularly by the study of the ancient poets and historians the sentiments of early and barbarous ages on the subject of war are kept alive in the mind. Tho trumpet, which roused the fury of Achil« les and ot the hordes of Greece, still resounds in our ears ; and though christians by profes- sion, some of our earliest and deepest impres- sions are received in the school of uncivilized antiquity. Even where these impressions in favour of war are not received in youth, we yet learn from our early familiarity with it, to consider it as a necessary evil, an essential part of oUr condition. We become reconciled to it as to a fixed law of our nature ; and consider the thought of its abolition as extravagam as an attempt to chain the winds or arrest the h'ghtning. I have thus attempted to unfold the princi- pal causes of war. They are, you perceive, of fi moral nature. They may be resolved into wrong views of human glory, and into excesses of certain passions and desires, which by right direction, would promote the best interests of humanity. From these causes we learn, that this savage custom is to be repressed by moral means, by salutary influences on the sentiments and principles of mankind. To Christian ministers then the work of suppressing war peculiarly belon^.s * - ^ .* e % * >„^- .* 'Jfe^, ' ' ***■"' 'V'"^'-''^-Hii:i.: i« ^^ Tjfif- -I' By these remarks, we are naturally led to consider the remedies of war, or the metliods of its abolition; and here, in introducing the observations which I have to ofier on this branch of the subject, I feel uiyself bound to suggest an important caution. Let not the cause of peace be injured by the assertion of extreme and indefensible principles. 1 par- ticularly refer to the principle, that war is ab- solutely, and in all possible cases unlawful, and prohibited by Christianity. This doctrine is considered by a great majority of the judicious and enlightened, as endangering the best in- terests of society ; and it ought not therefore to be connected with our efforts for the diffu- sion of peace, unless it appear to us a clear and indubitable truth. War, as it is com- monly waged, is indeed a tremendous evil ; but national subjugation is a greater evil than a war of defence ; and a community seems to me to possess an indisputable right to resort to such a war, when all other means have failed for the security of its existence or freedom. It is universally admitted, that a community may employ force to repress the rapacity and violence of its own citi- zens, to disarm and restrain its internal foes; and on what ground can we deny to it the right of repelling the inroads ar-d aggres- sions of a foreign power? It' a government may not lawfully resist a foreign army, invad- ing its territory to desoiate and subdue, on what principles can wo justify a resistance of '(! 'flit**' '■■4 ^ ^ m ■■^. \ # * *^ •• ". *#> ■. ■ • ■JiU "»• I* ** '4 . ^I|^ 'A ^; r -^.. (• A A- ^■-. ^ %- 'li^ t' L& 24 <5r" a combination of its own citizens for the same injurious purpose. Government is instituted for the very purpose of protecting the com- munity fioin all violence, no matter by what hands it may be offered ; and rulers would be unfaithful to their trust, were they to abandon the rights, inturests, and improvements of society to unprincipled rapacity, whether of domestick or forei{Tn foes. We are indeed told, that the language of scripture is, '* resist not evil.'* But the scrip- tures are given to us as reasonable beings. We must remember, that to the renuncia- tion of re'ason in the interpretation of scripture, we owe those absurdities, which have sunk Christianity almost to the level of heathenism. If the precept to " resist not evil" admit no exception, then civil government is prostrated ; then the magistrate must, in no case, resist the injurious; then the subject must, in no case, employ the aid of the laws to enforce his rights. The very end and ofiice of goverr.ment is, to resist evil men. For this, the civil magistrate bears the sword ; and he should beware of interpretations of the scrip- tures, which would lead him to bear it in vain. The doctrine of the absolute unlawfulness of war is thought by its advocates to be ne- cessary to a successful opposition to this bar- barous custom. But, were we employed to restore peace to a cotitentious licighbourhood, we should not cojisidcr ou)nelvcs as ohli^ed to leach, that self-dtience is in G\QYy possible! „*# # >. •I i/S- 85 i% case a crime ; and equally useless is this prin- ciple in our labours for the pacification of the world. Without taking this uncertain and dangerous ground, we may, and ought to as- sail war, by assailing the principles and pas- sions which give it birth, and by improving and exalting the moral sentiments of mankind. For example ; important service may be ren- dered to the cause of peace, by communicating and enforcing just and elevated sentiments in relation to the true honour of rulers. Let us teach) that the prosperity, and not the extent of a state, is tne measure of a ruler's glory ; that the brute force and crooked policy which annex a conquest, are infinitely inferiour to the wisdom, justice, and beneficence which make a country happy ; and that the earth holds not a more abandoned monster, than the sovereign, who, entrusted with the dearest interests of a people, commits them to the dreadful hazards of war, that he may extend his prostituted power, and fill the earth with his worthless name. Let us exhibit to the honour and veneration of man- kind the character of the Christian Ruler, who, disdaining the cheap and vulgar honour of a conqueror, aspires to a new and more endur- ing glory ; who, casting away the lon^ tried weapons of intrigue and violence, adheres with a holy and unshaken confidence to justice and philanthropy, as a nation's best defence ; and who considers himself as exalted by God, only that he may shed down blessings, and be as a beneficent deity to the world. 3 , !» . »■.*• ui' ..^- }■ ^_>_. -IV- ••- \ : .» ^ To these instructions in relation to the true f glory of rulers, should be added just sentiments as to the glory of nations. Let us teach, that the honour of a nation consists, not in the forced and reluctant submission of other states, but in equal laws and free institutions, in cultivated fields and prosperous cities, in the development of intellectual and moral power, in the diifu- sion of knowledge, in magnanimity and justice, in the virtues and blessings of peace. Let us never be weary in reprobating that infernal spirit of conquest, by which a nation becomes the terrour and abhorrence of the world, and in- evitably prepares a tomb, at best a splendid tomb, for its own liberties and prosperity. Nothing has been more common, than for na- tions to imagine themselves gre^t and glorious on the ground of foreign conquest, when at '' home they have been loaded with chains, and forced to lick with the tongue of flattery, the hand of a despot. Cannot these gross and monstrous delusions be scattered ? Can no- thing be done to persuade christian nations ' to engage in a new and untried race of glo- ry, in generous competitions, in a noble con-* test for superiority in wise legislation and inter- nal improvements, in the spirit of liberty and humanity ? Another most important method of promot- » ing the cause of peace is, to turn men's admi- ration from military courage to qualities of real nobleness and dignity. It is time that the childish admiration of courage should give ** . *-. . ■ '* 27 \'V place io more manly sentiments ; 9.hd in pro- portion as wc effect this change, ive shall shake the main pillar of war ; we shall rob military life of its chief attraction. — Courage is a very doubtful quality, springing from very different sources, and possessing a corresponding variety of character* Courage sometimes results from mental weakness. Peril is confronted, because the mind wants comprehension to discern its extent. This is often the courage of youth, the courage of unreflecting ignorance, a con- tempt of peril because peril is but dimly seen. — Courage still more frequently springs from physical temperament, from a rigid fibre and iron nerves, and deserves as little praise-, as the proportion of the form, or the beauty of the countenance. — Again, every passion, which is strong enough to overcome the passion of fear, and to exclude by its vehemence the idea of danger, communicates at least a temporary courage. Thus revenge, when it burns with great fury, gives a terrible energy to the mind, and has sometimes impelled men to meet cer- tain death, that they might inflict the same fate Ion an enemy. You see the doubtful nature of [courage. It is often associated with the worst vices. The most wonderful examples of it may be found in the history of pirates and robbers, whose fearlesness is generally proportioned to the insensibility of their consciences, and to the enormity of their crimes. Courage is also ex- hibited with astonishing power m barbarous oountries, where the child is trained to despise iiVl ■^ f i. ■■' - I 'm mit ui -M ■'»■ — ' ■ W » ". 1lli.< ■ ■iTJfnTii iWH-Jli ■*."- sr;;X:^2rntr-^"'^^-*--~--*^-';r^3; » . «"/• jpit 28 •Xv Vr*' Vijt *^' the hardshiper and pains to which he is exposed bj his condition ; where the absence oi civil laws obliges every man to be his own defend- f er; and where, from the imprrfection of moral feentimentt corporeal strengti and ferocious courage are counted the noblest quah'ties of hu- man nature. The common courage of armies is equally worthless with that of the pirate and the savage. A considerable part of almost every army, so far from deriving their resolu- tion from love of country and-^a sense of justice, can hardly be said to have a country, and have been driven into the ranks by necessities, which were generated by vice. These are the brave soldiers^ whose praises we hear; brave from the absence of all reflection ; prodigal of life, because their vices have robbed life of its blessings ; brave from sympathy ; brave from the thirst of plunder ; and especially brave, be- cause the sword of martial law is hanging over their heads. Accordingly, military courage is easily attained by the most debased and un- principled men. The common drunkard of the streets, who is enlisted in a fit of intoxica- tion, when thrown into the ranks among the unthinking and profane, subjected to the rigour of martial discipline, familiarized by exposure to the idea of danger, and menaced with death if he betray a symptom of fear, becomes as brave as his officer, whose courage may often be traced to the same dread of punishment, and to fear of severer infamy, tnan attends on the cowardice of the common soldier. Let the •«<|plvt»^>" ■ - sd tribute of honour be free! j and liberally given to the soldier of principle, who exposes his life for a cause which his conscience approves, and who mingles clemency and mercy with the joy of triumph. But as for the multitudes of mili- tary men, who regard war as a trade by which to thrive, who hire themselves to fight and slay in any cause, and who destroy their fellow be- ings with as little concern, as the husbandman does the vermin that infest his fields, I know no class of men on whom admiration can more un- justly and more injuriously be bestowed. Let us labour, my brethren, to direct the admira- tion and love of mankind to another and infinite- ly higher kind of greatness, to that true mag- nanimity, which is prodigal of ease and life m the service of God and mankind, and which proves its courage by unshaken adherence, amidst scorn and danger, to truth and virtue. Let the records of past ages be explored, to rescue from oblivion, not the wasteful conqueror, whose path was as the whirlwind, but the bene- factors of the human race, martyrs to the in- terests of freedom and religion, men who have broken the chain of the slave, who have tra- versed the earth to shed consolation into the cell of the prisoner, or whose sublime faculties have explored and revealed useful and en- nobling truths. Can nothing be done to hasten the time, when to such men eloquence and poetry shall offer their glowing homage ? when for these the statue and monument shall be erected, the canvass be animated, and lh«; 3* '■•Sfv- ■• wt:;..,..^-,^^ 4.' -^^r^r:^-'*?^-v -*ih«*^ '4f ■^ ^ :1 ^fci <• "i* ; > ':i.'... ■^ ^"-^s-. J* 5* .^ m 1 1^ I ' n- ' He jri ^9 ■^ laurel entwined ? and when to these the adnii- ration of the young shall be directed, as their guides and fore-runuers to glory and immor- tality ? • I proceed to another method of promoting the cause of peace. Let Christian ministers exhibit with greater clearness and distinrtness» than ever they have done, the pacifick and be- nevolent spirit of Christianity. My brethren* this spirit ought to hoid the same place in our £ reaching, which it holds in the gospel of our lOrd. Instead of being crowded and lost among other subjects, it should stand in the front of Christian graces ; it should be incul- cated as the life and essence of our ixiigion. We should teach men, that charity is greater than faith and hope ; that God is love or be- nevolence ; and that love is the brightest com- munication of divinity to the human soul. We should exhibit Jesus in all the amiableness of his character, now shedding tears over Jerusalem, and now, his blood on CalvaA/, and in his last hours recommending bib own sublime love as the badge and distinction of his followers. We should teach men, that it is the property of the benevolence of Christianity, to diffuse itself like the light and rain of heaven, to disdain the lim- its of rivers, mountains, or oceans, by which na- tions are divided, and to embrace every human being as a brother. Let us never forget, that our preaching is evangelical, just in proportion as it inculcates and awakens this disinterested imd unbounded charity ; and that our hearers ^'1. .* * *i v:-*. ^-5 .1 ! ai * .' tre Christians, just as far and no farther, thas they delight in peace and beneficence. ft is a painful truth, which ought not to he suppressed, that the pacifick influence of the gospel has been greatly obstructed by the dis- position, which has prevailed in all ages, and especially among Christian miiiisteis, to give importance to the peculiarities of sects, and to rear walls of partition between different de- nominations. Shame ought to cover the face of the believer, when he remembers^ that under no religion have intolerance and persecution raged more fiercely, than under the gospel of the meek and forbearing Saviour. Christians have made the earth to reek with blood and to resound with denunciation. Can we wonder, that, while the spirit of war has been cherished in the very bosom of the church, it has con- tinued to ravage among the nations. My brethren, let not the delusions of the dark ages *' be perpetual. Let us remember, that Christian- ity IS a spirit, rather than a doctrine, and that this spirit is universal love ; and in our preach- ing, and in our lives, let us bear perpetual testi- mony to this great characteristick of the gos- pel. It is believed, that were the true spirit of Christianity to be inculcated with but half the zeal, which has been wasted on doubtful and disputed doctrines, a sympathy, a cooperation might in a very short time be produced among Christians of every nation, most propitious to the pacification of the world. In consequence of toe progress of knowledge and the exten- I >»^ # M ir.'t^-^^*''^ ««js 32 sion of commerce, Christians of both hemis- pheres are at this moment brought nearer to one another, than at any former period ; and an intercourse, founded on rehgious sympa- thies, is -gradually connecting the most distant regions. Christians of different tongues are beginning to unite their efforts in support of that cause, which, by its subhmltj and purltj obscures, and almost annihilates those perisha- ble interests, about which states are divided. What a powerful weapon is furnished by this new bond of union to tne ministers and friends of peace ! Should not the auspicious moment be seized to inculcate on all Christians in all regions, that they owe their first allegiance to their common Lord in heaven, whose first, and last, and great command is — love ? Should they not be taught to look with a shuddering abhor- rence on war, which continually summons to the field of battle, under opposing standards^ the followers of the same Saviour, and com- mands them to imbrue their hands in each others blood ? Has not the time arrived, when the dreadful insensibility of Christians on this subject may be removed ; when the repug- nance of the gospel to this inhuman custom may be carried with power to every pious heart; and when all who love the LordJ^esus, the prince of peace, may be brought to feel, and with one solemn voice to pronounce, that of all men he is most stained with murder, and most obnoxious to the wrath of God, who, en- trusted with power to bless, becomes the %• ^^' :0 33 scourge, and curse, and ravager of the creation; scatters slaughter, famine, devastation, and be* reavement through the earth ; arms man against his brother ; multiplies widows and fatherless children ; and sends thousands of unprepared souls to be his accusers at the judgment seat of God ? — Once let Christians of everj nation be brought to espouse the cause of peace with one heart and one voice, and their labour will not be in vain in the Lord. Human affairs will rapidly assume a new and milder aspect. The predicted ages of peace will dawn on the world. Publick opinion will be purified. The false lustre of the ncro will grow dim ; a nobler order of character will be admired and dif- fused; the kingdoms of the world will gra- dually become the kingdoms of God and of his Christ. - : 1 might easily extend this head by the sug- gestion of other methods, by which ministers should resist the causes of war. But I will only add ; let this subject recur more frequently in our preaching. Let us exhibit to the hearts and consciences of men the woes and guilt of war, with all the c vjrgy of deep convic- tion and strong emotion. Let us labour to associate images of horrour and infamy with this unchristian custom in the minds of the young ; and awaken, at once, their sym- pathy towards its victims, and their indig- nation agains^ ' imposing and dazzling crimes. To men of i vt .urous and daring minds, who thirst for at evements which bear the stamp B I I 't ,v 4 *; *i ■^• % ^ r* 34 of greatness, let us point out services to huma% ity and religion which demand the most power- s ful energies of our nature. Let us teach and show, that war is not necessary as a field for ;«^ greatness and glory, but that peace and philan- '^ thropy give scope to generous enterprize, and furnisn objects commensurate with the noblest impulses and boldest aspirings of the heart. cW JVIy friends, I did intend, but I have not time, . to notice the arguments which are urged in -f isupport of war. Let me only say, that the common argument, that war is necessary to awaken the boldness, energy, and noblest quali- ties of human nature, will, I hope, receive a practical refutation in the friends of philan- thropy and peace. Let it appear in your lives, that you need not this spark from hell to kindle an heroick resolution in your breasts. Let it ' .appear, that a pacifick spirit has no affinity with a tame and feeble character. Let us prove, that courage, the virtue which has been thought to flourish most in the rough field of war, may be reared to a more generous height, and to a firmer texture, in the bosom of peace. Let it be seen, that it is not fear, but principle, which has made us the enemies of war. In T^ # every enterprise of philanthropy which de- V mands daring, and sacrifice, and exposure to ' ; hardship and toil, let us embark with serenity •* ^ V &nd joy. Be it our part, to exhibit an undaunt- \ ^. ed, unshaken, unwearied resolution, not in spreading ruin, but in serving God and man- « kind, in alleviating human misery, in diffusing .*» % ►.^»ivS»tJV«« ... -.. i"^^ •»*'. ff. 35 '^W truth and virtue, and especially in opposing , . war. The doctrines of Christianity have had^ many martyrs. Let us be willing, if God shall %^ require it, to be martyrs to its spirit — the * neglected, insulted spirit of peace ana love. In a better service we cannot live — in a nobler cause we cannot die. It is the cause of Jesus Christ, supported by almighty goodness, and appointed to triumph over the passions and de- lusions of men, the customs of ages, and the fallen monuments of the forgotten conqueror. %' #. 0- * il^i -t •'I r>.- ■M ''■■a •il' n i *^ irnfi END. .y* ^Vf 'r»- ^: ('■! ^ 4 # M. ^%^..;? -r' •• \i f I it . ' i-'ii- 1 ' NOTE. ,ltf I HAVE deferred to this place a few remarks on the arguments which are usually adduced in support of war. War, it is said, kindles patriotism ;- by fighting forouv eountry, we learn to love it — But the patriotism, which is cherished by war, is ordinarily false and spurioVs, a vice and not a virtue, a scourge to the world, a narrow^ unjust passion, which aims to exalt a particular state on the humiliation and destruction of other nations. A genuine, enlightened patriot discerns, that the welfare of his own country is involved in the general progress of society ; and, in the character of a patriot as well as of a Christian, he rejoices in the lil)erty and prosperity of other communities, and is anxious to maintain with them the relations of peace and amity. „- *'^ It is said, that a military spirit is the defence of a country. But it more frequently endangers the vital interests of a nation, by embroiling it with other states. This spirit, like every other passion, is impatient for gratification, and often precipitates a country into unne- cessary war. A people have no need of a military spirit. Let them he attached to their government and institutions by habit, by early associations, and especially by experi- mental conviction of their excellence, and they will never want means or spirit to defend thena. War is recommended as a method of redressing na' tional grievances. But unhappily, the weapons of war, from their very nature, are often wielded most suc- cessfully by the unprincipled. Justice and force have little congeniality. Should not Christians every where strive to promote the reference of national as well as of individual dis|)utes to an impartial umpire ? Is a project of this nature more extravagant than the idea of reducing savage hordes to a state of (Regular society ? The last has been accomplished.. Is tlie first to be abandoned in. despair?. *"i .-^1 ■1 --Wi: •rir ^f^ 4< ^iv ....Ajilk XmmHMmw #4l|^«4f Jd«M'^ < ' til 38 ■■ ' ■^ It is said, that war sweeps off the idle, dissolute, and vicious members of the community. Monstrous argu- ment ! If a government may for this end plunge a nation into war, it may with equal justice consign to the execu- tioner any number of its 8ut\ject8, whom it may deem a burden on the state. The fact is, that war commonly generates as many profligates as it destroys. A dis- banded army Alls the community with at least a^s many abandoned members as at first it absorbed. — There is anotlier methoil, not quite so summary as war, of ridding a country of unproBtable and injurious citizens, but vastly more effectual; and a method, which will be applied with spirit and success, just in proportion as war shall yield to the light and spirit of Christianity. I refer to the exerkions, which Christians have commenced, for the reformation and improvement of the ignorant and poor, and especially for the instruction and moral culture of indigent children. Christians are entreated to per- severe and abound in these godlike efTorts. By diffusing moral and religious [)rinciples and sober and industrious habits through the labouring classes of society, they will dry up one important source of war. They will destroy in a considerable degree the materials of armies. In proportion as these classes become well-principled and industrious, poverty will disappear ; the population of a country will be more and more proportioned to its re- sources ; and of course the number will be diminished of those, who have no alternative but beggary or a camp. The moral care, which is at the present day extended to the poor, is one of the most honourable features of our age. Christians ! remember, that pour proper warfare is with ignorance and vice, and exhibit here the same unwearied and inventive enei^y, which has marked the warriours of the world. It is sometimes said, that a military spirit favours liberty. But how is it, that nations, aflor flghting for ages, are so generally enslaved. The truth is, that liberty has no foundation but in private and publick virtue; and virtue, as we have seen, is not the common growth of war. But the great argument remains to be discussed. It is said, that without war to excite and invigorate the human tnind, some of its noblest energies will slumber, ♦«f' i*li * «|i» W |— - •^LiJm A-.-— «»wr.*- 39 and its highest qualities, courage, magnanimity, fortitude, will perish. — To this I answer, tliat if war is to be encour- aged among nations, because it nourishes energy and heroism, on the same principle, war in our families, and war between neighbourhoods, villages, and cities ought to be encouraged ; for such contests would equally tend to promote heroick daring and contempt of death. Why shall not different provinces of the same empire annually meet with the weapons of death, to k^ep alive their courage ? We shrink at this suggestion with horrour ; but why shall contests of nations, rather than of provinces or families, find shelter under this barbarous argument ? I observe again ; if war be a blessing, because it awa- kens energy and courage, then the savage state is pe- culiarly privileged ; for every savage is a soldier, and his whole modes of life tend to form him to invincible resolution. On the same principle, those early periods of society were happy, when men were called to con- tend, not only with one another, but with beasts of prey ; for to these excitements we owe the heroism of Hercules and Thessus. On the same principle, the feudal ages were more favoured than the present ; for then every baron was a military chief, every castle frowned defiance, and every vassal was trained to arms — And do we really wish, that the earth should again be overrun with mon* sters, or abandoned to savage or feudal violence, in order that heroes may be multiplied ? If not, let us cease to vindicate war as aff(>rding excitement to energy and courage. I repeat, what I have observed in the preceding dis- course; we need not war to awaken human energy. There is at least equal scope for courage and magna- nimity in blessing 'as in destroying mankind. The con- dition of the human race offers inexhaustible objects for enterprize, and fortitude, and magnanimity. In relieving the countries wants and sorrows of the world, in explor- ing unknown regions, in carrying the arts and virtues of civilizRiion to unimproved communities, in extending the boundd of knowledge, in diffusing the spirit of freedom, and especially in spreading the light and influence of Christianity, how much may be dared, how much en- dured? Pliilanthropy invites us to services, which f\' ■ i. I i I -, >v t'vJ 40 demand the most iatense, and elevated, and resolute, and adventureus activity. Let it not be imagined, that were nations imbued with the spirit of Christianity, they would slumber in ignoble ease, that instead of the high minded murderers, who are formed on the present system of war, we should ha.ve effeminate and timid slaves. Christian benevolence is as active as it is forl^earing. Let it once form the.charncter of a people, and it will attach them to eVery important interest of society. It will call forth sympathy in behalf of the suffering in every region under heaven. It will give a new extension to the heart, open a wider 8|)here to enterprise, inspire a courage of exhaust less resource, and prompt to every sacrifice and exposure for the imprOv^Anent and happiness of the human race. The energy of this principle has bee' tried and displayed in the fortitude of the martyr, a.id in the patient labours of those who have carried the gospel inta the dreary, abodes of idolatry. Away tlien with the argument, that war is needed as a nursery of heroism. The school of the peaceful Redeemer is infi- nitely more adapted to teach the nobler, as well as the jniider virtues, which adora humanity. ■V. I ,>. •;-r:i*Sg*»^1K^«*^"-~-''^i*^-<*'s^^^ solute, and , that were ihey vrould igh minded em of war, Clirietian et it once ittabh them il call forth ery region o the heart, a courage ry sacrifice appiness of )le has bee' martyr, a. A carried the Away tlien nursery of emer is infi- well as the •! I *--;^. ;-h