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Untitled Article
be ah Unalterable truth , that Fauntleroy had committed the crime , and that he had been ordered for execution ? That execution being yet a future event , may either be effected , or delayed , or commuted , or never be required , if his Majesty shall so please . What is future may be effected by the will of man ; but what is past never again can be made present or future . A , And do you account these statements , by which you would endeavour to convince my mind of the utter impossibility of saving Fauntleroy ' s life by the substitution of my own , incontrovertible principles ?
O . Incontrovertible , only in so far as they are the dictates of common sense and sound reason . No doubt the Legislature , in the plenitude op power , might accept of this substitution : but what would the nation at large think of it ; at least the intelligent part of it ? They certainly would conclude that by such procedure the Legislature had set reason and common sense , not to speak of law and justice , at utter defiance . A . And what is the conclusion that I must draw from this ?
O * The conclusion which naturally follows is , that you desist from your present application , and by diligence in your profession preserve that respectability which you have already attained as a useful member of society , A . That conclusion respects myself , but what conclusion must I draw respecting you ? O . With respect to me you are at liberty to draw any conclusion : but , if you do me justice , you will allow that I have spoken to you with the best intentions , and according to the best of my judgment .
A . That may be so : but , Reverend Sir , I take the liberty to ask , how it is possible to reconcile your principles with the Christian religion ? O . What connexion has the Christian religion with the subject of our conversation ? A . In my apprehension the very closest connexion . For upon the very same principles that you object to my dying for Fauntleroy , might you object to Jesus Christ dying on the cross for the sins of mankind . O . And do you , Sir , dare to compare yourself with Jesus Christ , the eternal and only-begotten Son of God ?
A . No , Sir , I have not indeed the presumption . But he has condescended to set us an example , that we should follow his steps : and jiis Apostle John has said , " Hereby perceive we the love of God , because he laid down his life for us , and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" Our Lord himself has also said , " Greater love hath no man than this , that a man lay down his life for his friends . " The Apostle Paul , too 9 says , " For scarcely for a righteous man will one die ; yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die , but God commendeth his love
to us , in that , while we were yet sinners , Christ died for us . " O . You mistake in applying these passages to yourself . You may indeed , in a variety of ways , exhibit your love , so as even to lay down your life ** for the brethren , " in promoting their interests , or their personal safety in times of danger ; but , for the reasons already assigned , you are not permitted ,
far less required , to lay down your life for a condemned criminal . Besides , since you have had the presumption to seek to shelter your rash and daring proposal under the authority of Scripture , recollect , Sir , what St . Peter says , ' * But let none of you suffer as a murderer , or as a thief , or as an evil-doer . ' * Now , Sir , were you to suffer in place of Fauntleroy , you would suffer as art evil-doer of no ordinary description . A . But , though I suffered for him , I would not be really criminal , but would only afford an instance of love to him , which could not be exceeded ,
Untitled Article
PTcariom Punishment . 453
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1827, page 493, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1798/page/21/
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