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    among us , casting off the shackles of prejudice and opening their eyes to the light of reason and religion , have learnt to see things as they are , and to call r * l ^ A m * k ^ frigtanamesr Th £ ritiiftbSf rfc dailSpfricreasing of those who ^ ejia ttte ^ ncumons of the military chief no nighei ? merit thanin ? flfe'lfefiflgda ^ ion ^ ioftbe ^ cagle or the Kon \ and in the ferocity ofhisffoHowe ^ rsqtialili ^ s 7 ncfrJyLaHied 4 o , vthose with which nature has furnished the wolf and the

    tif ^ fl ^ ib ^ Thp ;^ wr has already come when the sympathies of the ^ gbod w ^ it uppn Jtte ^ vretipas instead of the victor ; when the lot of the fallen is thought p ^ e / erfbijeitoothe triumphs of those who trample them down ; when true rprealacss i ^ pranounced rather to belong to him who , pierced with injuries , invests ^ himself with patience , as if gathering up his mantle before hisfall , £ ^ niojthose / wh o infli ct the blows , however loudly the world may proclaim them jtp p&i& honourable men . " Passive courage , the courage of endur # &e

    < u * sfcead of aggression , is a source of dignity , true and permanent , in propor-^ aa } toc&e ^ rinciplefrom which it derives its energy , The passive enrage of theistoic is dignified in comparison with the active courage of the con-{ f $ aecoz ; vb * A Ahe dignity of the stoic shrinks into almost nothing ' when -comparedwith that of the Christian martyr ; he who dies for his religion , coxpnpod ^| ar ; ought to command , less of our respect than the confessor ,- —he ? wjjQdiTO ? cin misery for the sake of his religion . There is an unalterable dignity iiiJsiiffering * well ; the more protracted the suffering , the greater ) the $ gnUj ? kepaus& . themoreassured the purity and strength of ttie motive frdrii

    wgi ^^ he ^ overM endurance proceeds ; On these principles we shall lbok ^^ ejrarokr the Great with a respect diminished , instead of increased , by k& cof * q « esfet ^ reifook on him as ott ^ high-spirited ehildy m ^ Uin ^ iagreat « wmmotion witb ^ his ^ lay thiiig ^ ; Crd # ia ^ , Mrt ^ oms ^ and : tfee liire ^ of m < 4 n , am ^ opeiidoiis playthings eetta *^ anf | tP 7 ^ n < l his ^ opeqaent p ^^ er ^ n % ri ^ mmg fflen Wa ^^ ttle ^ rhor ^ mafc cative of true greatness , than , Ai ^^ nt \ imtfj whvp ^ a boisterous child obtains over his weaker and quieter companions . On the same principles we shall

    look on a stoic in ^^ undeserved ^ bMiiHm ^ hO ^ ith ^ gte ^ to ^ respect than on a general in an oration : the ftoiGtwiU ^ be ^ lmast tfojg ^ ttsenin our contemplation of a Christian martyr , exulting in the invincible strength of his faith : from the triumphs of the rmnfifyte ^ H ^ MW ^ Wi ^ i a dee p er veneration to foehold the serene glories of a spirit possessing itself in patience , and passing through degradation , wantpand " miseiy , "iieanng pam of body and anguish of mind , for the sake of conscience and of God . Many fine examples of stoical courage , might be , enunaqratef } , but , ^ i eir gr $ 3 taess cannot compare with the dignity of each irtdiviaual bf tfie glorious army of martyrs , from Stephen to Latimer ; and there a ^ re greater even than these ; the cloud of

    witnesses who h&ve boriie testimony to their faith in much patience , in afflictions , in necessities , in distresses , of whom the world was not worthy , yet by whom the world has been blessed in a continued series from the apostle of the Gentiles to the Henry Martyns of the present day . Moral courage is , therefore , one source of dignity of character ; but we must also look for it elsewhere ; for a character graced by the very perfection of the best kind of courage , may yet be far from dignified as a whole .

    There may be evidences of a proud , overbearing , impatient , or dogmatical temper , which jnay , . wh $ n the time for exercising courage is past , serve as marks for t ; he shafts ot malice to aim at and to wound . It has ever been a subject of regret to . the rnends of truth that her champions have seldom been able to preserve the dignity of her' aause in' their persons through life . Those * vho have written ^ ap ^ spofceny on ^ < febou * ed ^ i « l ne * defeifte ^ have sometimes } » $ ' ¦ . ak ; jni ' . 'uniF-ijMfA ^ iwa&f p (\ c \ w * i \ - ' >\ *

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    On Dignity of Character . 789

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1827, page 789, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1802/page/5/