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Untitled Article
subscription or the profession of their creeds upon others , by hokhrig , out bribes in the one hand , and inflicting penalties and disabilities with the other . He was a sincere and enlightened lover of liberty , religious and pivil . He admired the American constitution , and regarded the character of Washington with the veneration to which it was entitled . His fame
early extended to our country ; and in one of bis letters , he speaks , in a tone of exhilaration , of a visit from some distinguished Americans * He was invited by them to remove and settle among us . " Happiest of countries , " says he , " peace and prosperity attend you ! I shall never see you ; but if I forget the ability and virtue that struggled to obtain , and actually did obtain , all that mankind hold dear , let my right hand forget her
cunning . We cannot transcribe these words without feeling that in this country the contest is to be won or lost , on which the hopes of mankind depend ; If the clouds which have broken away in the heavens , and let down upon us a clear sunshine , unknown before , should close again , no human foresight can determine the continuance of the doom and storms that will follow , _ . o ___ __
We seem , however , not to be fully aware , that as the highest earthly blessings cannot be obtained , so they cannot be secured , without unremitting and strenuous exertions . Of late we hear , especially from ourselves , too much of our national praises , and too little of our duties and responsibilities . At one period it was necessary , in order to produce a proper feeling of patriotism and gratitude , that we should be reminded of our distinctions ;
but of late , national flattery , mingled with falsehood , has been administered in too much abundance—in draughts adapted to intoxicate or to sicken . Such flattery may be as pernicious to a people as to a monarch , and is commonly offered with the same selfish purposes to the one as to the other . We need those who will warn , and counsel , and exhort . A republic is in continual danger . There is no season of idleness or indifference for those who wish well to their country , their children , or mankind . As regards our national government , there is always danger of the existence of regards our national government , there is always danger of the existence of
an unprincipled opposition , loving intrigue for its own sake , and having no object but the gratification of private ambition in its meanest forms ; but restless , cunning , working its way steadily , and silent or clamorous in its operations as occasion may require . Such an opposition may embarrass government , defeat the most important measures , and consume the time of our public councils in noisy and endless harangues , and the discussion of questions brought forward only as part of the hostile machinery of a faction . Its members may even labour to dishonour their country in the adoption of public measures , for the sake of bringing discredit on those who are at the head of affairs . Taking advantage of pernicious prejudices , false principles ,
wrong sentiments , and corrupt passions , they may countenance and strengthen them ; deceiving , misleading , and , as far as it is in their power , perverting the moral sense of all that portion of the community over which they can gain influence . To these dangers is our general government exposed ; nor is any one of our confederated republics secure in its present Ijrosperity . We speak on these subjects merely with the feeling of Christians and of moral men . As for the names of party distinction , no one can regard them with more indifference than we do . In addressing Unitarian Christians , we consider ourselves as addressing a very enlightened
portion of the community , and especially as addressing men who understand well , that true religion exercises its unrelaxing authority over every act that way affect the condition of our country or our fellow-men .
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518 Memoir of Robert Robinson ,
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1828, page 518, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2563/page/6/
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