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cions on either , as was in his Almighty Power to do—th ^ t % \ xe impious presumption of legislator ^ aad rulers , civil as well as ecclesiastical , who being themselves but fallible and
uninspired men , have assumed dominion pver the faith of others , setting up their own opinions and naodes of thinking as the oaly true and infallible , and
as such , endeavouring to impose them on others , hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world , and through all
time . "— "That truth is great and will prevail , if left to herself ; that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error , and has nothing to fear from the conflict , unless , by human
interposition , disarmed of her natural weapons , free argument and debate ; errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them . This is the language of the Bill establishing religious freedom , and is to be found on our statute book . How
solemn and sublime , and how trauscendently important , are . the truths which it announces to the world ! What but his great and powerful genius could have contemplated the breaking asunder those bonds in which the
conscience had been bound for centuries ? Who but the ardent and devoted friend of man would have exposed himself to the thunders and denunciation of the Church throughout all Christendom , by breaking into its very sanctuary and dissolving its connexion with Government ? If he consulted
the page of history , he found that the Church Establishment , exercising \ iulimited controul over the conscience , and unlocking , at its pleasure , the very gates of Heaven to the faithful devotee , had in all ages governed the world ; that kings had been made by
its thunders to tremble on their thrones , and that thrones had been shivered by the lightnings of its wrath . In casting his eyes over the face of the globe , he beheld , it is true , the mighty spirit of Protestantism walking on the waters , but confined and limited in its erqpire ,
and even its garments dyed in the blood of the martyr . Over the rest of the world he beheld the religion of the meek and blessed Redeemer , converted into a superstitious rite , and locked up in a gloomy and ferocious mystery . The sentence of the terrible inquisitor sounded in his ears , followed by the
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chains ajuj * be groans of j ^ liQ vilelitev If he looked in the direction from whence the sound proeeeded * he saw the fires of the ajito- < 4 a 4 $ consuming the agonised body of the aflfender , and thus finishing the last of this terrible
tragedy * He felt the full force of this picture , and , regardless of all personal danger , set about the accomplishment of the noble purpose of setting free the mind . He who had so much contributed to the unbinding of the hands of his countrymen , would have
left his work unfinished if he had not also unfettered their consciences . True , he had in all this great work , also , coadjutors who , like himself , had adventured all for their country , but he was the great captain who arrayed the forces and directed the assault . Let
it then t > e henceforth proclaimed to the world , that man ' s conscience -was created free ; that he is no longer accountable to his fellow-maa for hk religious opinions , being responsible ,
therefore , only to his God ; that it is impious in mortal man , whether clothed in purple or in lawn , to assume the judgment-seat ; that the connexion between the Church and State is an
unholy alliance , and the fruitful source of slavery and oppression—and let it be dissolved . What an imperishable monument has Mr , Jefferson thus reared to his memory , and how strong are his claims to our gratitude 1 When . from every part of this extended republic , the prayers and thanksgivings of countless thousands shall ascend to
the thronp of grace , each bending at his own altar , and worshiping his Creator after his own way , shall not every lip breathe a blessing on Ins name , and every tongue speak forth his praise ? Yes ; he was born a blessing to his country , and in the fulness of time shall become a blessing to
mankind . He was , indeed , a precious gift , a most beloved reform en Shall we not then , while weeping over his loss , offer thanks to the Giver of every perfect gift for having permitted him to live ?
But , my countrymen , we ha . ve still further reason for the deepest gratitude . He had not yet finished ins memorable efforts in the cause ot human liberty . The temple had been reared , but it was yet exposed to violent assaults from without . Those principles which in former ages bad
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642 Jefferson and Adams *
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1826, page 642, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2554/page/6/
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