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047 - Chapter 31 - Part 8 · The American Revolution A Historical Overview Vol. 3

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  Speaker 1: Section forty seven of History the Rise, Progress and Termination
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  Speaker 1: of the American Revolution, Volume three by Mercy Otis Warren.
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  Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
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  Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information or volunteer, please visit
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox dot org. History of the Rise, Progress and Termination
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  Speaker 1: of the American Revolution, Volume three by Mercy Otis Warren,
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  Speaker 1: Chapter thirty one, Part eight. These observations are not confined
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  Speaker 1: to any particular nation or character. The historians of Britain
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  Speaker 1: and the philosophers and poets of France, Germany and England
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  Speaker 1: are perhaps equally culpable, and it is to be regretted
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  Speaker 1: that America has not preserved a national character of her own,
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  Speaker 1: free from any symptoms of bernicious deviation from the purest
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  Speaker 1: principles on moral's, religion and civil liberty. She has been
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  Speaker 1: conducted to a revolution that will be ever memorable, both
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  Speaker 1: for its origin its success in the new prospects it
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  Speaker 1: has opened, both at home and abroad. The consequences of
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  Speaker 1: this revolution have not been confined to one order of
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  Speaker 1: the globe, but the dissemination of more liberal principles and government,
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  Speaker 1: and more honorable opinions of the rights of man and
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  Speaker 1: the melioration of his condition have been spread over a
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  Speaker 1: considerable part of the world. But men prone to abuse
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  Speaker 1: the best advantages lent by the beneficent hand of providence,
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  Speaker 1: sometimes brought them away, or confound causes with effects which
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  Speaker 1: lead to the most erroneous conclusions. Thus, it has been
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  Speaker 1: the recent fashion of courtiers and a great part of
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  Speaker 1: the clergy under monarchic governments, to impute the demoralization and
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  Speaker 1: skepticism that prevails to the spirit of Greek inquiry as
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  Speaker 1: it regards the rights of civil society. This fashion has
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  Speaker 1: been adopted by all anti republicans in America. But it
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  Speaker 1: may be asked whether that declamation and clamor against the
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  Speaker 1: dissemination of Republican opinions on civil government as originating the
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  Speaker 1: prevalence of aid theistical boy is founded on the basis
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  Speaker 1: of truth. Examine the history of the ancient republics of Greece,
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  Speaker 1: and the splendid common Wealth of Rome was not the
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  Speaker 1: strictest regard paid to the worship of the gods and
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  Speaker 1: a sacred observance of the religious rits and joined until
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  Speaker 1: the Chretian republics were overthrown by ambitious individuals. It was
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  Speaker 1: then that skeptical disputes were generally employed the philosophers, in
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  Speaker 1: consequence of which the rules and the people sunk into
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  Speaker 1: an indifference to all religion. The rich city of Happens, particularly,
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  Speaker 1: was early corrupted by the influx of wealth, the influence
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  Speaker 1: of aristocratic nobles, and the annihilation of every principle connected
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  Speaker 1: with religion. Surveyed the Roman commonwealth before its decline, when
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  Speaker 1: it was most worthy of the imitation of republicans. It
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  Speaker 1: was not a general regard day to the worship of
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  Speaker 1: their deities among the celebrated people, and a superstitious attention
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  Speaker 1: observed relative to omens, prodigies and judgments as denounced and
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  Speaker 1: executed by their gods. Until republicanism was extinguished, the comet
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  Speaker 1: wealth subverted, and the scepter of a single sovereign was
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  Speaker 1: stretched over that vast empire. It was then that Caligula
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  Speaker 1: set up his horse to be worshiped as of Rolestican religion,
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  Speaker 1: and the sink ephants of the court encouraged every compressor
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  Speaker 1: of the emperor. The people did not become so universally
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  Speaker 1: corrupt as to throw off all regard for religion and
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  Speaker 1: all homage to the deities of their ancestors, until the
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  Speaker 1: Lobid and his conduct of their august sufferers and the
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  Speaker 1: nobles of the court set the example. Nor do we
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  Speaker 1: read in more sacred history, through all the history of
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  Speaker 1: the Israelites, that the fool ever said in his heart
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  Speaker 1: there is no God until under the dominion of kings.
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  Speaker 1: It may be observed in the character of more modern
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  Speaker 1: republics that religion has been the grand palladium of their institutions.
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  Speaker 1: Through all the free states of Italy, democracy and religion
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  Speaker 1: have been considered in union. Some of them have indeed
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  Speaker 1: been darkened by superstition and bigotry, yet not equally hoodwinked
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  Speaker 1: under republican governments, as are the neighboring kingdoms of Spain
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  Speaker 1: and Portugal, subjected to monarchic despotism. By no fear deduction,
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  Speaker 1: cannot be asserted that the skepticism and the late appearance
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  Speaker 1: of a total disregard to religious observances in France are
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  Speaker 1: in consequence of the democratic struggles of the The dereliction
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  Speaker 1: of all religious principles among the literarity of France and
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  Speaker 1: the abominable opinionss of their philosophers cannot be too much detested,
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  Speaker 1: but they have sprung from various causes, remote from political freedom,
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  Speaker 1: and too complicated to trace their origin in a page
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  Speaker 1: of cursory observations. The French have long been a highly civilized, refined,
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  Speaker 1: luxurious nation, divided into two classes, the learned and the infidel,
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  Speaker 1: the ignorant and superstitious, both equally pursuing present pleasure, with
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  Speaker 1: little regard to moral principle, the laws of reason, of God,
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  Speaker 1: or of nature, any further than prompted by the gratifications
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  Speaker 1: of the moment. The first were patronized by the court,
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  Speaker 1: the rich, and the noble had been generally infidel for
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  Speaker 1: more than a century before the Revolution. The last rapport
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  Speaker 1: depressed and degraded by monarchic and prolatic power till their
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  Speaker 1: intigence and his reproduced universal armor and revolution burst on
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  Speaker 1: a nation too ignorant to investigate the sources of their
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  Speaker 1: own wretchedness, and too volatile and impatient to wait the
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  Speaker 1: operation of measures adapted for relief by men of more
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  Speaker 1: information and ability than themselves. Thus from the ignorance and
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  Speaker 1: impecility of a people degraded by oppression and long the
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  Speaker 1: dupes of Priestley as well as monarchy tyranny. They naturally
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  Speaker 1: followed the lead of their superiors. They had longer the
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  Speaker 1: infidel disciples of Voltaire, Dalenbear, and Ditable. The atheistical opinions
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  Speaker 1: of these men and others of their character had been
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  Speaker 1: cherished only by courtiers and aphemedicians until near the middle
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  Speaker 1: of the eighteenth century, when their numerous adherents, who had
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  Speaker 1: concealed their furnish as opinions under the veil of modesty
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  Speaker 1: throw off the mass, came out openly and set religion
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  Speaker 1: at defiance. But the backles of superstition were not yet broken,
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  Speaker 1: nor were any remarkable struggles made in favor of civil liberty,
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  Speaker 1: until the flame was caught by their officers and soldiers,
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  Speaker 1: and resistance to tyranny taught them while in union with
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  Speaker 1: the sovereign pious Americans, they were animated by the principles
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  Speaker 1: of freedom, while they lent their arm and aided the
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  Speaker 1: energies of a people whose character had never been impeached
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  Speaker 1: as favorers of aid theistical opinions, and who were only
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  Speaker 1: exerting their abilities, both in the cabinet and the field,
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  Speaker 1: in supporting the civil and social rights of men. On
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  Speaker 1: the return of this veteran band of officers and soldiers
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  Speaker 1: to their own nation, they found, as they had left,
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  Speaker 1: a voluptuous court, a licentious and extravagant nobility, a corrupted priesthood,
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  Speaker 1: and an ignorant multitude spread over the face of one
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  Speaker 1: of the finest countries on earth. Yet the murmurs against
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  Speaker 1: tyranny and oppression had become so general that some ineffectual
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  Speaker 1: efforts for relief had been made without any diesed system
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  Speaker 1: of means that might produce it. Previous to this period,
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  Speaker 1: some of their parliaments had discovered spirit and energy to
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  Speaker 1: resist the despotic mandates of the crown, but the arm
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  Speaker 1: of royalty, which yet too potent to receive any check,
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  Speaker 1: or the whole nation was held in bondage by the
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  Speaker 1: strong end of their grand monarch. These combined circumstances brought
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  Speaker 1: forward an assembly of notables and a national convention, neither
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  Speaker 1: of which were capable of quieting the universal discontent and
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  Speaker 1: disaffection to royalty that prevailed. Hence the destruction of the bestial,
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  Speaker 1: the imprisonment and decapitation of the king in queen, the
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  Speaker 1: extermination of their nobility and clergy, the assassination of any
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  Speaker 1: of their first literary characters, and the indiscriminate murder of
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  Speaker 1: ladies of the Faier's fame and virtue, and women of
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  Speaker 1: consideration of characters of the highest celebrity, of nobles, magistrates,
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  Speaker 1: in men without name or distinction, These sudden irruptions of
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  Speaker 1: the passions of the multitude spread like the lava of
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  Speaker 1: a volcano throughout all France. No could men of correct judgment,
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  Speaker 1: who aimed only at the reform of abuses and a
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  Speaker 1: renovation on all the departments checked the fury of the torrent.
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  Speaker 1: This confusion and terror within in an army without sent
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  Speaker 1: on by the combined despots of Europe, with the professed
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  Speaker 1: design of subjecting the nation and re establishing the monarchy
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  Speaker 1: of France, gave an opportunity to ambitious, on principled, corrupt
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  Speaker 1: and ignorant men to come forward under pretense of supporting
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  Speaker 1: the rights and celebrities of mankind, without any views but
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  Speaker 1: those of disorder and disorganization. Thus, in the midst of
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  Speaker 1: tumult and confusion was indulged every vicious propensity, peculation, revenge
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  Speaker 1: in all the way black passions of the soul. The
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  Speaker 1: guillotine was blooded with the blood of innocent victims, while
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  Speaker 1: the rapidity of execution and their jealousy of each other
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  Speaker 1: involved the most guilty and cut down many of the
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  Speaker 1: Blackish mistrants, as well as the most virtuous characters in
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  Speaker 1: the nation. But from the rise and progress of this
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  Speaker 1: period of horror, this outpage of humanity, it is evident
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  Speaker 1: that it originated more from former monarchic and priests oppression
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  Speaker 1: than from the operation of infidel opinions united with Republican efforts.
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  Speaker 1: In consequence of this state of things, though there were
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  Speaker 1: very many characters of the best intentions, principles, and ability
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  Speaker 1: animated and active for the promotion of civil liberty in France,
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  Speaker 1: they had to regret with all the humane, benevolent empirets that,
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  Speaker 1: while engaged to eradicate the superstitions of their country and
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  Speaker 1: the arbitrary strides of their civil rulers, was annihilated and
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  Speaker 1: even the government of Heaven renounced. Thus, all religious opinions
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  Speaker 1: were set afloat, the passions let loose, and all distinctions leveled, decency, humanity,
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  Speaker 1: and everything else respected in civil society disappeared, until the
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  Speaker 1: outputs of cruelty and pacentiousness resembled the regions of pandemonium.
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  Speaker 1: Thus was Republicanism disgraced by the demoralization of the people
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  Speaker 1: and a cloud of infidelity targeted on his views of France.
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  Speaker 1: But there is nothing to countenance the opinion that skepticism
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  Speaker 1: was the origin or the result of the struggles of
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  Speaker 1: the Gallic and nation and papers Civil Liberty footnote. The
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  Speaker 1: above summary of the French Revolution was written several years
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  Speaker 1: before monarchy was re established in France, and the footnote
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  Speaker 1: this people may have had their day of pacentious enjoyment,
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  Speaker 1: of literary fame, of taste, elegance, and splendor. They have
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  Speaker 1: abused his gifts and denied the God of Nature, who,
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  Speaker 1: according to the usual course of his government among men,
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  Speaker 1: may devote them to that ruin which is the natural
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  Speaker 1: consequence of luxury and impiety. If the God of Providence,
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  Speaker 1: when national punishment has been sufficiently inflicted, may bring them
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  Speaker 1: back again to a due sense of religion and order,
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  Speaker 1: while the seeds of liberty which they have disseminated far
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  Speaker 1: and wide, may broaden in every soil, and in full
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  Speaker 1: maturity extend the branches of general freedom through Europe and
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  Speaker 1: perhaps throughout the world. After all, we are inadequate to
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  Speaker 1: any calculation on future events. The ways of heaven are
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  Speaker 1: hidden in the depths of time, and a small circumstance
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  Speaker 1: frequently gives a new turn to the most probable contingencies
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  Speaker 1: that seem to measure the fate of men or of empires. Footnote.
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  Speaker 1: The Duke Dalancourt, who visited the family of the author
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  Speaker 1: is exilent to the tyranny of Robespierre observed justly that
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  Speaker 1: the sources of disorder in France were so innumerable that
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  Speaker 1: it was impossible to conjecture winterranquility would be again restored,
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  Speaker 1: or what masters or what government the nation would sit
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  Speaker 1: down under after their violent convulsion subsided through a very
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  Speaker 1: interesting conversation relative to the causes and consequences of the revolution.
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  Speaker 1: The deepest marks of grief and sensibility sat on the
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  Speaker 1: countenance of the noble sufferer, expressive of the pain he
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  Speaker 1: felt for the miseries of his country and the misfortunes
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  Speaker 1: of his family and the footnote. We will now leave
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  Speaker 1: this extraordinary nation, which is furnished materials for history of
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  Speaker 1: the most interesting nature as it regards the character of man,
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  Speaker 1: their civil, political and religious institutions, and the more and
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  Speaker 1: social tize that connects society from them. We will look
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  Speaker 1: over to the island of Britain and surveyed the gradations
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  Speaker 1: of principles, manners, and science. There we shall find that
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  Speaker 1: Lord Herbert, one of the first and most notorious infidels
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  Speaker 1: in England, sprung up unto kingdlic government. And none will
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  Speaker 1: deny that skepticism has prevailed and has been gathering strength,
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  Speaker 1: both in France and England under monarchy. Even before the
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  Speaker 1: correspondencies of British infidels were Saint Evremonde and other skeptical
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  Speaker 1: Frenchmen Hobbes, Hume and Bolingbroke were subjects of a King
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  Speaker 1: of England. And while their disciples have been increasing, and
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  Speaker 1: their deistical opinions have poisoned the minds of youth of
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  Speaker 1: genius and shaken the faith of some even and clerical professions,
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  Speaker 1: yet no democratic opinions have been generally spread over the nation.
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  Speaker 1: And of Section forty seven