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and , therefore , difficult to impress ; and with the rich , the spirit of the world is a still stronger barrier against the attacks of reason and conscience . Who is there , in the upper ranks of
life , that has not some near or distant connexion with persons in the army or navy ? And this , we may well believe , shuts up the hearts and understandings of thousands against all inquiry into the necessity or lawfulness of that profession which affords support , and gives gentlemanly employment to their friends or relatives . But
the blindness thus occasioned by selflove , short sighted and cruel self-love , which , would gladly prolong the existence of a mighty mass of evil , to avoid a risque of future loss or inconvenience to the few in whose well-being it takes an interest , does not make the cause of peace less the cause of truth and of genuine Christianity .
If this consideration has little weight with the children of the world , there is yet an argument which , by taking away all present alarm , may soften their indignant feelings , respecting the future dire effects of what , in
contradiction to their fears , they term our theoretical and impracticable plans . We entirely agree with them , that kings and cabinet ministers are of all men the least likely to second our views . They have hitherto ruled by the sword , and will , of course , be
among the last to relinquish its use . Till this kind of rule can be dispensed with , the war system will only slowl } % and at first almost imperceptibly lose ground ; therefore , none of those who are or have been enriched or ennobled
by the craft * can have any thing to fear , except a gradual diminution of public esteem ( which may already be perceived ) for themselves or those who have already entered on the bloodstained career . The present generation may go down to their graves covered with gilded laurels , before the multitude will be aware of a
diminution in their splendour—and from their gains nothing will be taken : while those who hold the public purse employ soldiers , they will doubtless be well paid . By the great "Author and Finisher of our faith / ' that imperishable seed was laid in the ground , which will spring up producing a plant for " the
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healing of the nations * ! which will finally obtain a glorious victory over every description of evil ; and this most destructive branch of it already takes alarm from the zealous exertions of a few peaceful men . We look for no farther miracles than have
already been displayed . He , whom the Almighty sent to " save mankind by turning away every one of us from his iniquities , " has furnished his true and enlightened followers with ample means to bring about this mighty change . His perfect precepts and
his bright example have ' * showed us what is good" ! Both decidedly proclaim , that it is essential to " do justice , to love mercy , and to walk humbly with our God , "—none of which things are practicable in a state of warfare .
The more I consider , the more certainly do I come to this conclusion ; either the flaming sword must wrest the New Testament from our hands , and utterly destroy , or again immure
it between walls impenetrable to the public eye ; or its precious records , which so plainly and powerfully delineate the character of our Lord , and so incessantly in the epistolary parts exhort his followers to view him as
the perfect model set forth for their imitation , will change that instrument of destruction , and its fellow enemy of man , the spear , into those useful helpers of the human race ,, the ploughshare and the pruning-hook .
War and real Christianity cannot subsist together . Men have called , and firmly believed themselves to be zealous followers of the benevolent and holy Jesus , while , with feelings of atrocious malignity of which the savage beasts of the desert are happily by nature incapable , they were leading bands of their fellow-men to the
destruction of their brethren ! Nay , more than this ; when they have been conducting to the stake or the rack , those for whom Christ both lived and died , because they asserted opinions differing- from their own , they have not only thought themselves , but have
been believed by multitudes of professing Christians , to have been true and meritorious disciples of him who * ' was led like a lamb to the slaughter /* who , * ' when he was reviled , reviled not again - " , but willingly laid
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3 % 6 . Mrs . Hughes * s Vindication of Peace * So tie ties *
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1824, page 326, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2525/page/6/
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