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    doubt whether even this exception may be made , ) hardly any motive is apparent in the crusaders but that of purchasing salvation to themselves . it was not to deliver the Holy Land ; it was not , to help the distressed Christ tians—it was to deliver their own souls by the shedding of Moslem blood *

    Wo matter where it might be , under what circumstances , in defiance of what moral obligations—eternal peace was to be purchased by the slaughter of Infidels ; and when once that baptism of blood and tears had been obtained * the warriors quitted the banners of the cross , with no further care for the condition of the Holy Land , no feeling for the dangers of those whom they deserted , no thought but for themselves and their own accomplished salva *

    tion . In the character of St . Louis , this selfish spirit certainly predominated ; but he was in those times a rare instance of the occasional sway of nobler religious feelings . Other rulers , even the most superstitious , occasionally resisted the encroachments of the Romish Church , when interest pleaded against her / but when he opposed himself to her dictates ; or softened them down in execution , there was the real resistance of rectitude ; the whole tenor of his character makes us certain that on these occasions

    he ceased to be selfish ; he even felt the peril to his soul of opposition ; but he ^ suffered the strong promptings of virtuous feelin g to prevail . Happy would it have been for him and for his people had piety ( as we understand the term ) been allowed its genuine sway in his heart . Had it not been constantly checked by selfish thoughts and devices to provide for his own religious security , the records of history would have brought us no finer character than that of St . Louis . Unimpeached veracity , singular purity of

    mind , fidelity in his friendships , genuine humility , sweetness of temper , and a pacific spirit , these virtues were all his ; and one cannot help adding , love to his people , and desire to promote their welfare ; though those affections and desires were sadly checked by the narrow views which usually prevailed . In his celebrated recommendation to his son , " Fair son , be

    kind to my people ; for I had rather a stranger Seot should come hither to rule over them justly , than that thou shouldest govern them unjustly "—we see the father of his country . On another occasion , when , under the loss of a precious relic , ( a nail used at the crucifixion , ) " the very good and very noble King Louis said he had rather the best city in his kingdom had been buried in the earth and lost , " we se £ the influence of lower motives .

    Here the good of others , and the natural emotions of the heart , are lost sight of ; and , what is worse still , the Deity is degraded ; for the same spirit of appropriation which deteriorates the worshiper ' s piety , is attributed to the object of worship . Thus an inch of ground in the Holy Land is considered more an object of Divine solicitude tnan the lives of armies of men ; as if

    the Divine affections could be centred on scenes and things ; as if the past were more dear to God than the present ; as if he were , like ourselves , prone to deny to others whatever had been once consecrated by his employment of his agency ; as if the soul , which bears continual and living witness of his presence , were not more dear to him than inanimate relics , than barren sands , or the waves of Jordan , or the hills that are round about

    Jerusalem . As to the persecutions exercised by St . Louis towards various classes of his subject , the Jews , the Albteenses , and the Bankers , though all were connected with religion , yet it should never be forgotten that the primary error seems to have been with regard to the extent of a monarch ' s supervisal of his subjects' conduct . It was a part of the creed of all kings and poten-

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    Sismoridi on Si , Louis and the Cru&Hdes . 309

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1828, page 309, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2560/page/21/