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, Na ., | 2 . -r . ., •« -, - Mental Quibblingy &r > Specimen of Casuistry , ' " Epimenides has said , that all the Cretans are liars . Now he himself was a Cretan ; therefore he has lied , and the Cretans are not liars ; and if they are not liars , then he has not lied- ^ ejgo ; the Cretans are liars /' No . 3 . ' .. . •¦ ¦ . ' . .., n
Some months ago , Graham , the aeronaut , announced his intention of gratifying the people of Birmingham by ascending from thence with his balloon . The spot , the day , and the hour being appointed , aii immense multitude assembled , and a considerable sum of money was contributed by those who were admitted within his inclosure . As soon , however y as the balloon was inflated and ready for its ascent , it was attacked by a sheriff ' s officer at the suit of a creditor of Graham's ; the money collected from the
public was also seized for the same purpose ; and the officer would not suffer the balloon to go up , because it would have been giving up possession of the property for which he was responsible . Now , then , in all similar transactions it is universally understood that till the adventurer has fulfilled his share of the contract , the money collected for the exhibition does not belong to him , and if he fails in his engagement , he must either return the
money , or be branded as an infamous cheat . How then can the sheriff or his officer be justified in seizing the property ? Was it legal ; and , if it was , was it not a gross violation of justice ? Or supposing , as some of the public papers asserted , that the balloon did not go up in consequence of its being damaged by the populace , will this alter the bearing of the question as to the right in the property £ ' ¦
No . 4 . There are three sovereigns in Europe , and it is said only three , from whose high offices of state all persons are excluded who do not profess the established religion of the respective countries ; and these three are Ferdinand of Spain , Selim of Turkey , and George of England ! What a humiliating reflection for Englishmen , that their beloved Ruler should be found in such degrading , imbecile and bigoted company ! Gifted by nature , ;
accomplished by education , and aided by the u soi pensant" most enlightened council in the world , —that such should be the combined result of circumstances , must surely call for a national aiicj sober inquiry . If expedience is to be our only apology , at least let us grant the same amnesty to the other two personages , and not pretend to censure them for what we allow ourselves to practise ; or if they are wrong in such narrow and illiberal opinions , is it not possible we may ]> e so too ? In the common intercourses of
life , do we find Catholics and Dissenters to be incorrigible knaves , or fools , devoid of honour and every principle of social morality ? And if not , would it not be well before we accuse them as a body , to ascertain how many virtuous individuals it would require to make up a community of monsters ? All mankind are composed of the same materials , from the hands of the same Creator , guided by the same impulses , and liable to the
same prejudices—can it then be allowable in the face of Heaven to persecute opinions , or even to withhold protection and good-will from those we imagine to be most erroneous ? Is it not high time we began to profit by our own improvements and experience , and not perpetuall y sound the tocsin of alarm , because in the dark ages of the world mankind were bigoted and superstitious and cruel ? Shall we never learn that the best way to ensure a
Untitled Article
578 Moral Uwi& *
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1827, page 578, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1799/page/26/
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