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Untitled Article
and despondency is there amongst us , springing , as I think , from what maybe termed moral infidelity , or a distrust of the efficacy of moral instrumentality , w hereas , as I shall on another occasion attempt to show , no word , no exertion falls to the ground , but the food of the soul is equally sure in its operation with the food of the body . Meanwhile this is clear , that the cause in which we are embarked is no longer an experiment ; the ban of the laws no longer makes it disreputable ; the recommendation of some portion of social
consequence it has for those who , living by the world's l ajw ^ dlj ^ ej ^^ soeveT ^ they-mXyT ^ a ^ olNrtKeir senCimenrsTTilllliey ^ havo heard an affirmative to the question , ' Have any of the rulers believed V Yes , progress has been made , our cause , the cause of mental emancipation , the supremacy of the scriptures , the co-ordinate authority of reason , entire independence in all things on human authority ; the cause which involves hostility to the perplexing and dark divinity of the schools , and bears on its banner the paternity of God , the brotherhood and immortality of man ; this cause has triumphed , and considering the diversified shapes in which a mental regeneration has appeared ,
triumphed , I add , far beyond the expectation even of the sanguine . Therefore it will triumph . The conclusion is just . The enemies of light have had their day ; the day of the friends of light has more than dawned . The cords with which we were bound have , proved the veriest withes before the expanding influence of growing intelligence ! and now that we are free , with the energies within us by which our bonds were broken , shall we not use our new-born power , use it bravely and ceaselessly , in the cause of advancing regeneration ? -
We are now arrived at the centenary of Priestley ' s birth , and the name of him wjio was an , outcast from his country , is on the point of being honoured by some of the most honourable of his countrymen , and the very same church that raised a mob to lay waste _ his abode , is at last really in danger of reaping the fruit of her doings . Is this no triumph ? Is this no proof of the existence of cause and effect in the moral world ? Has this no voice to say to us , ' Go and do likewise ? ' Perhaps some man , conscious that he himself has done little to advance the dawning of' the perfect day , ' will be ready
to answer , All this has come to pass without me or mine , and without me or mine Providence will , if they be- required , bring to pass other changes . This objector is a specimen of a class of persons , wealthy , cold , imbecile , or demi-gods of fashion in their own circle , and hangers on the skirts of the aristocracy in the circleabove them ; and so by reason of the dearth of mind in the one , and the love of gentility in . the other , they are content to wait quietly the gratuities of Providence , heartily wishing that neither the words Priestley , zeal , nor Unitarianism ever intruded an unhallowed sound into the midsfc
of their calm and dignified reliance on higher powers , or their smooth and silken commerce with the powers that be . Not them , for that were vain , but others I ask , how has Providence brought about what now is ? By the agency of fashion ? of mental sycophancy ? of cold hearts or idle hands ? No , but b y the sturdy princi p le and indefatigableindustry of Priestley , tjie uncompromising courage of Wakefield , the self-denial of Lindsey , the moral daring of Bentham—and generally by active and energetic benevolence .
The past is a pattern to the future ; only by like means can like results take place . Therefore I say again , ' Go and do likewise / But in what way ? I have spoken in terms of commendation of the spirit of the age , nor do I wish to qualify what I have said , but only to limit it to those to whom of ri g ht it belongs . The intelligence of the age merits the noblest applause . It ^ is the offspring of reason ; it is the friend of principle ; it is the associate ^ of goodness in the work of furthering human happiness . But as yet this intelligence is comparatively limited \ u its extent , Society has been top long
Untitled Article
UNITARIAN CHRONICLE . 69
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 1, 1833, page 69, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2609/page/5/
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