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system of fundamental balances and checks for the government. Where every man is a sharer in the direction of his ward-republic, or of some of the higher ones, and feels that he is a participator in the government of affairs, not merely at an election one day in the year, but every day; when there shall not be a man in the State who will not be a member of some one of its councils, great or small, he will let the heart be torn out of his body sooner than his power be wrested from him by a Cæsar or a Bonaparte. How powerfully did we feel the energy of this organization in the case of embargo? I felt the foundations of the government shaken under my feet by the New England townships. There was not an individual in their States whose body was not thrown with all its momentum into action; and although the whole of the other States were known to be in favor of the measure, yet the organization of this little selfish minority enabled it to overrule the Union. What would the unwieldy counties of the middle, the south, and the west do? Call a county meeting, and the drunken loungers at and about the court houses would have collected, the distances being too great for the good people and the industrious generally to attend. The character of those who really met would have been the measure of the weight they would have had in the scale of public opinion. As Cato, then, concluded every speech with the words, "Carthago delenda est," so do I every opinion, with the injunction, "divide the counties into wards." Begin them only for a single purpose; they will soon show for what others they are the best instruments. God bless you, and all our rulers, and give them the wisdom, as I am sure they have the will, to fortify us against the degeneracy of one government, and the concentration of all its powers in the hands of the one, the few, the well-born or the many.

JOHN ADAMS TO THOMAS JEFFERSON.

QUINCY, February 2, 1816.

DEAR SIR,-I know not what to think of your letter of the 11th of January, but that it is one of the most consolatory I ever received.

To trace the commencement of the Reformation, I suspect we must go farther back than Borgia, or even Huss or Wickliff, and I want the Acta Sanctorum to assist me in this research. That stupendous monument of human hypocrisy and fanaticism, the church of St. Peter at Rome, which was a century and a half in building, excited the ambition of Leo the Xth, who believed no more of the Christian religion than Diderot, to finish it; and finding St. Peter's pence insufficient, he deluged all Europe with indulgences for sale, and excited Luther to controvert his authority to grant them. Luther, and his associates and followers, went less than half way in detecting the corruptions of Christianity, but they acquired reverence and authority among their followers almost as absolute as that of the Popes had been.

To enter into details would be endless; but I agree with you, that the natural effect of science and arts is to erect public opinion into a censor, which must in some degree be respected by all.

There is no difference of opinion or feeling between us, concerning the partition of Poland, the intended partitions of Pilnitz, or the more daring partitions of Vienna.

Your question "How the apostasy from national rectitude can. be accounted for?"—is too deep and wide for my capacity to answer. I leave Fisher Ames to dogmatize up the affairs of Europe and mankind. I have done too much in this way. A burned child dreads the fire. I can only say at present, that it should seem that human reason, and human conscience, though I believe there are such things, are not a match for human passions, human imaginations, and human enthusiasm. You, however, I believe, have hit one. Mark, "the fires the governments of Europe felt kindling under their seats ;" and I will hazard a shot

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at another, the priests of all nations imagined they felt approaching such flames, as they had so often kindled about the bodies. of honest men. Priests and politicians, never before, so suddenly and so unanimously concurred in re-establishing darkness and ignorance, superstition and despotism. The morality of Tacitus is the morality of patriotism, and Britain and France have adopted his creed; i. e., that all things were made for Rome. "Jura negat sibi lata, nihil non arrogat armis," said Achilles. "Laws were not made for me," said the Regent of France, and his cardinal minister Du Bois. The universe was made for me, says man. Jesus despised and condemned such patriotism; but what nation, or what christian, has adopted his system? He was, as you say, "the most benevolent Being that ever appeared on earth." France and England, Bourbons and Bonaparte, and all the sovereigns at Vienna, have acted on the same principle. "All things were made for my use. So man for mine, replies a pampered goose." The philosophers of the eighteenth century have acted on the same principle. When it is to combat evil, 'tis lawful to employ the devil. Bonus populus vult decipi, decipiatur. They have employed the same falsehood, the same deceit, which philosophers and priests of all ages have employed for their own selfish purposes. We now know how their efforts have succeeded. The old deceivers have triumphed over the new. Truth must be more respected than it has ever been, before any great improvement can be expected in the condition of mankind. As Rochfaucauld his maxims drew "from history and from practice," I believe them true. From the whole nature of man, moral, intellectual, and physical, he did not draw them.

We must come to the principles of Jesus. But when will all men and all nations do as they would be done by? Forgive all injuries, and love their enemies as themselves? I leave those profound philosophers, whose sagacity perceives the perfectibility of human nature; and those illuminated theologians, who expect the Apocalyptic reign;—to enjoy their transporting hopes, provided always that they will not engage us in crusades and

French Revolutions, nor burn us for doubting. My spirit of prophecy reaches no farther than, New England Guesses.

You ask, how it has happened that all Europe has acted on the principle, "that Power was Right." I know not what answer to give you, but this, that Power always sincerely, conscientiously, de tres bon foi, believes itself right. Power always thinks it has a great soul, and vast views, beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God service, when it is violating all his laws. Our passions, ambition, avarice, love, resentment, &c., possess so much metaphysical subtlety, and so much overpowering eloquence, that they insinuate themselves into the understanding and the conscience, and convert both to their party; and I may be deceived as much as any of them, when I say, that Power must never be trusted without a check.

Morgan has misrepresented my guess. There is not a word in my letter about "a million of human beings." Civil wars, of an hundred years, throughout Europe, were guessed at; and this is broad enough for your ideas; for eighteen or twenty millions would be a moderate computation for a century of civil wars throughout Europe. I still pray that a century of civil wars, may not desolate Europe and America too, south and north.

Your speculations into futurity in Europe are so probable, that I can suggest no doubt to their disadvantage. All will depend on the progress of knowledge. But how shall knowledge advance? Independent of temporal and spiritual power, the course of science and literature is obstructed and discouraged by so many causes that it is to be feared their motions will be slow. I have just finished reading four volumes of D'Israeli's-two on the "Calamities," and two on the "Quarrels of Authors." These would be sufficient to show that, slow rises genius by poverty and envy oppressed. Even Newton, and Locke, and Grotius, could not escape. France could furnish four other volumes of

the woes and wars of authors.

My compliments to Mrs. Randolph, her daughter Ellen, and all her other children; and believe me, as ever.

To which Mrs. Adams adds her affectionate regard, and a wish that distance did not separate souls congenial.

TO THOMAS W. MAURY.

MONTICELLO, February 3, 1816.

DEAR SIR,-Your favor of the 24th ultimo was a week on its way to me, and this is our first subsequent mail day. Mr. Cabell had written to me also on the want of the deeds in Captain Miller's case; and as the bill was in that house, I enclosed them immediately to him. I forgot, however, to desire that they might be returned when done with, and must, therefore, ask this friendly attention of you.

You ask me for observations on the memorandum you transcribe, relating to a map of the States, a mineralogical survey and statistical tables. The field is very broad, and new to me. I have never turned my mind to this combination of objects, nor am I at all prepared to give an opinion on it. On what principles the association of objects may go that far and not farther, whether we could find a character who would undertake the mineralogical survey, and who is qualified for it, whether there would be room for its designations on a well-filled geographical map, and also for the statistical details, I cannot say. The best mineralogical charts I have seen, have had nothing geographical but the water courses, ranges of hills, and most remarkable places, and have been colored, so as to present to the eye the mineralogical ranges. For the articles of a statistical table, I think the last census of Congress presented what was proper, as far as it went, but did not go far enough. It required detailed accounts of our manufactures, and an enumeration of our people, according to ages, sexes, and colors. But to this should be added an enumeration according to their occupations. We should know what proportion of our people are employed in agriculture, what proportion are carpenters, smiths, shoemakers, tailors, bricklayers, merchants, seamen, &c. No question is more curious than that

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