John Foster, a New England clergyman, was born in Massachusetts,
on April 19, 1763. He graduated from Dartmouth in 1783 and went on to receive
advanced degrees from both Dartmouth College and Harvard University. Foster was
selected as the first pastor of the Congregational church in Brighton,
Massachusetts, in 1783. He preached in Brighton until October of 1827, and died
two years later in September of 1829. Foster was a board member of Harvard
University in addition to being involved in numerous other benevolent works. He
was married to Hannah Webster, who was a famous early American novelist. Here,
Foster delivers what is called an "Artillery Sermon" – an annual sermon given
before a military audience. Rev. Foster provides a Biblical perspective on war
by discussing just war and self-defense, the lamentability of war, the
importance of preparedness, and God's sovereignty ruling over every event.
A Sermon Preached Before The Ancient And Honorable Artillery
Company
In Boston, June 5, 1809,
Being The Anniversary of Their
Election of Officers
By John Foster, A.M. Minister of Brighton.
Proverbs 24:6
By wise counsel thou shalt make thy war.
Solomon was a great and good man. Apart from the well attested fact, that his
pen was guided by the unerring Spirit of truth, his extensive information,
united to his ardent piety and exemplary virtue, give a high authority to his
opinions. Intimately acquainted with the windings of the human heart, and the
course of human affairs, all his knowledge was applied to the purposes of
utility. He was no visionary theorist. Though pre-eminently versed in the
learning of his time, and capable, beyond a doubt, as most philosophers of this
enlightened age, of exploring the secrets of nature and art, practical wisdom
was the object of his chief attention. In this he excelled. The maxims of
prudence written with his hand, and transmitted to us, in the sacred volume, are
admirably adapted to the various conditions and relations of our existence. The
solitary individual, the active citizen, the zealous statesman, and the intrepid
warrior may here find instruction, pertinent to their respective circumstances,
and worth, at once, to engross their study, and to govern their conduct.
On occasions, like the present, he speaks in that appropriate language, "By
wise counsel thou shalt make thy war": language which intimates, in the first
place, that cases may occur to render war both justifiable and necessary; and,
in the second, teaches the manner, in which war is then to be commenced and
prosecuted. Theses points we will briefly consider in the following discourse.
I. In the first place, cases may occur to render war both justifiable and
necessary.
Why, else, is it mentioned in scripture but with unequivocal disapprobation?
Why were the Jews so often permitted, and even commanded to assail and discomfit
their enemies? And when the kingdom of God was about to appear, under a more
pacific and mild dispensation; and the soldiers asked its precursor, "What shall
we do?" why did he not require them to renounce their profession entirely,
instead of giving directions which presupposed their profession lawful? "He said
unto them, 'Do violence,'" or rather outrage, "to no man, neither accuse any
falsely; and be content with your wages [Luke 3:14]."
"God hath made of one blood all nations to dwell upon the face of the earth,
and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their
habitation [Acts 17:26]." To each section of the globe he has assigned its
local, and other advantages, and has made it the duty, as well as the right of
its inhabitants to enjoy, improve, and defend them. Whilst suffered to dwell in
safety, they have no warrant to invade or molest their neighbors. "Contests for
power" are equally repugnant to the dictates of reason and the injunctions of
revelation. We are not, however, to impute, nor to admit the imputation of this
crime, indiscriminately. When we behold a nation struggling for her very
existence, and jeoparding her best blood in the field of battle, for no other
purpose, than to repel the aggressions of an aspiring, insatiable, despotic
tyrant, humanity and religion demand, that we decidedly condemn the one, and
devoutly "bid God speed" to the other.
Such spectacles, alas! are not infrequently exhibited on the theater of the
world. So malignant are the passions, and so boundless the ambition, which
infest our apostate race, that no region of the earth can assure itself of
undisturbed repose. Eager in pursuit of aggrandizement and wealth, commercial
kingdoms and states, more especially, are liable to repeated collisions; and in
perpetual danger of committing or receiving injuries, which lead to open
hostility. The extent, to which the art of navigation is now carried, and the
avidity, with which every chance of acquiring property, influence, and territory
is seized, expose the remotest climes to depredation. "Wheresoever the carcass
is, there will the eagles be gathered together [Matt. 24:28]." In whatever
country the prospect of gain or renown is discovered, to that country will the
cupidity of unprincipled adventures and heroes be directed; and the first
favorable opportunity to attempt its subjugation, either by intrigue or by
force, will be embraced.
"Other animals," says Pliny, "live in peace with those of the same
description. They gather themselves in troops, and unite against a common enemy.
The ferocious lion fights not against his species: The poisonous serpent is
harmless to his kind: The monsters of the sea prey but upon those fishes which
differ from them in nature: Man alone is foe to man."
It hence becomes the duty of every community to provide means of protection,
and to appear in the attitude of readiness, should they be driven to the painful
alternative, "to fight for their brethren, their sons and their daughters, their
wives and their houses [Nehem. 4:14]." To shrink from combat, in such an
exigence, were a dereliction of every principle, both of piety and patriotism.
It would betray equal ingratitude to God, and perfidy to our country. To God we
are indebted for "the good land" we possess, and for all the privileges,
religious, civil, and literary, which distinguish our lot. This fair
inheritance, bequeathed to us by fathers, who through life, yes, and in many
instances, at the expense of life, defended it for their children, is now
committed to our guardianship, in trust for "the generation to come [Ps. 78:4]."
And could we innocently abandon it, without an effort for its preservation?
Could we innocently deprive unborn millions of their birthright, and subject
them to hereditary vassalage and misery?
Never may these United States incur the execration and ruin, denounced on
ancient Meroz, "because they came not to help of the Lord, to the help of the
Lord against the mighty [Judges 5:23]." Never may they be lulled into fatal
security, by the Machiavellian policy of foreign courts, nor seduced into tame
submission to a domestic soldiery, by the revival of that long exploded doctrine
of nonresistance and passive obedience. May they resolutely withstand
encroachments of every kind, and from every source, and, under the benign
influence of equal laws and pure religion, continue a free, independent, and
happy people, "as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations
[Ps. 57:5]."
II. To this end, it is unspeakably important, that the measures resorted to
for self-defense, be well advised. Let us, therefore, turn our thoughts, as
proposed, secondly, to the instruction before us, relative to the manner in
which these measures are to be commenced and prosecuted. "By wise counsel thou
shalt make they war."
When war is contemplated, the first questions which present themselves for
solution respect its equity: Whether the motive which prompts it be guiltless;
consistent with the obligations, under which we are laid to God and our fellow
beings? Whether every previous step, tending to prevent a rupture, have been
taken, and "the last drop in the cup of reconciliation exhausted?" Whether
nothing more remain but abject prostration, or energetic repulsion? And, of
course, whether an appeal to arms be unavoidable?
To solve these questions judiciously, the collected wisdom of a nation is
always requisite. It is not enough that a select portion of the constituted
authorities convene, in midnight conclave, to arrange schemes, leading to war;
and then propose them to their compeers, not to prove their expediency, but to
vote their adoption: All parties ought to be consulted with candor; all parties
ought to be heard with patience. Light, as well as fire, may be elicited by the
clash of different opinions. This is, possibly, the precise idea, which the wise
king and preacher of Israel intended to convey, in the words immediately
subsequent to our text: meaning a diversified, rather than a great number, when
he said, "In the multitude of counselors there is safety." In the progress of
such unrestrained discussion, it may appear that the moment of extremity has not
yet arrived: that the alarm was artificially excited by minds prejudiced against
one offending power, or obsequious to the will of another: And thus an immense
sacrifice of blood and treasure may be prevented.
But suppose the worst: that it should be found absolutely necessary to enter
the list with a formidable antagonist: this advantage will, at least, be gained:
The public mind, set at ease by the procedure, will concur with far less
reluctance, when every class of citizens have had their views and wishes fairly
represented, and dispassionately canvassed.
This point being settled, the next, in order, is the process to be chosen: a
point, to the righteous decision of which, a sacred regard to the unalterable
rules of justice must be cherished. In justice is not allowable toward the
bitterest foe. That divine precept, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto
you, do ye even so unto them, [Matt 7:12]," can, in no case, be violated without
crime. The modern sophism, that " the end justifies the means," is alike
detestable in its nature and pernicious in its operation: It is totally opposite
to the gospel of Christ, and contains a degree of turpitude, abhorrent to the
moral sense of virtuous pagans.
When Themistocles had rebuilt Athens, "his wish was to make it the first city
in Greece, and to secure to it that command, of which Sparta," a rival republic,
"had shown to great jealousy. The building of the harbor of Piraeus; the
procuring of a decree, which enabled him to add twenty ships to the fleet
annually, with extraordinary privileges to encourage great numbers of laborers
and sailors; were measures which bespoke his prudence, as the sea was the
natural resource of Athens; but he did not stop there. One day, in a full
assembly of the people, he requested that some person might be appointed to
confer with him, upon a scheme of the greatest consequence, which was of such a
nature to require secrecy. The eyes of the whole assembly were instantly
directed to Aristides, upon whose judgment they could depend. Themistocles
communicated to him a project for burning the fleet of the allies, as an
infallible means of making Athens the umpire of all Greece. The report of
Aristides was such as virtue ought to dictate. He declared, that nothing could
be more advantageous than the design of Themistocles; but, at the same time,
nothing could be more iniquitous. The votes were unanimously on the side of
justice.
Whatever might be the opinion of Aristides," continues the historian, "the
utility of the plan was much to be doubted. The states of Greece, most justly
provoked, would not have hesitated to unite their whole power against a perjured
city; the public hatred must have followed, and all her glory have been forever
annihilated. And what advantage could have compensated for the ruinous effects
of such an undertaking? If the proper end of politicks be to procure the
happiness of nations, that end is not to be attained but by adhering to the
rules of morality: for every act of injustice leads to misfortune, were it only
from its being accompanied with certain infamy [Millot. Vol. I. P. 157-158.
Salem Edit. 1796.]."
Compare this reasoning, or rather the determination, upon which it is
founded, with sentiments often avowed, and practices sometimes adopted, "in
these last days;" and you will find no special cause to glory in the preeminent
wisdom or integrity of the present age. Instances have occurred, within our
personal recollection, in which the detention and seizure of all the
controllable vessels and wealth, pertaining either to the government or subjects
of an obnoxious realm, have preceded every other hostile intimation. If I
mistake not, propositions were once made in our national legislature to
retaliate British spoliations, alleged to have been committed on our commerce,
by sequestering all the debts due to individuals, belonging to that empire. But
to the honor of those who them guided our councils, these propositions were
rejected. We had then a greater than Aristiedes; we had a Washington in the
Presidential Chair.
War, commenced and prosecuted on Christian principles, is not a mere "trial,
which can do the other most harm." Even enemies have rights, and those rights
are always to be respected. Nothing, whatever benefits it may seem to promise,
is to be undertaken or achieved for their annoyance, but in subordination to
known will of God, and with the decided approbation of an unsophisticated
conscience.
'But why,' some of my audience may be disposed to inquire, 'Why do you accost
us in strains like these? Get you to the great men, 'who guide the car of state,
'and speak unto them [Jerem. 5:5];' for in their hands is the destiny and
conduct of the nation.'
This is true in a qualified sense; but not to such a degree as to supersede
the necessity or the effects of your agency. In a government constituted like
ours, no purpose can be carried into permanent execution unless "the people love
to have it so [Jerem. 5:31]." Every citizen has his weight; and if he throw that
weight into the scale of righteousness; if by his example, his advice, and his
suffrage, he exclusively countenance men and measures propitious to the common
weal, he may do much to lengthen the public tranquility.
Even we, my brethren, who minister in holy things, and serve at the altar,
are not exempt from the duties of social and civil life, nor incapable of
promoting the interests of our native land. The Jewish priesthood often gave
counsel, in matters intimately connected with the temporal prosperity and glory
of the chosen tribes; and were often instrumental of "causing them to know the
way wherein they should walk." Now and then an Ahab, indeed, hated them,
"because they prophesied not good concerning hem, but evil [1 Kings 22:28]."
This however did not dismay them; nor let it terrify us. Possessing the same
rights with others, and claiming neither emolument nor office from any
administration; destitute, therefore, of every inducement to swerve from the
line of political rectitude, or to wish for a system of favoritism, I scruple
not to affirm, that with equal honesty and information, we are entitled to more
confidence than the generality of those around us. They are beset with
temptations to partiality and selfishness in their decisions, which are, to us
unknown. Instead, then, of splitting into religious sects, and distracting
ourselves or our flocks, with the dogmas of controversial divinity; instead of
harboring suspicions and animosities towards each other, which we could hardly
vindicate in contending armies, let us stand in our lot with firmness, and
direct our united energies to the improvement and salvation of our beloved
country. "For our brethren and companions' sakes, let us say, 'Peace be with
her.' Because of the house of the Lord our God, let us seek her good [Ps.
122:8,9]."
In the application of what has been said, we are called,
1. To lament the universal prevalence of those inordinate lusts, in which
"wars and fightings" originate [See James 4:1].
Had innocence continued the inmate and ornament of our kind, nothing could
have interrupted or destroyed our peace; nothing could have "separated between
us and our God [Isa. 59:2]." But "man, being in honor, abode not [Ps. 49:12]."
Man perfidiously apostatized from hi Maker, and exposed himself and his
posterity to incalculable wretchedness.
By this deplorable catastrophe, our terrestrial abode was transformed from a
paradise of bliss to a field of contest; and "the whole creation groaneth and
travaileth in pain together, until now [Rom. 8:23]." The history of our species
is fraught with details of violence and distress, of battles and "garments
rolled in blood [Isa. 9:5]."
But we need not search the records of antiquity, in quest of scenes like
these. They abound, at this moment, in the world, and are visible to the most
superficial observer. Europe, convulsed in every member, and bleeding at every
pore, exhibits a spectacle of agony. "The overflowing scourge" has already
"passed through" many of its fairest regions, and they are "trodden down by it
[Isa. 28:18]." Other, seduced by the arts or invaded by the arms of a modern
Attila,
1 are in imminent danger of a similar
destruction.
"O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God to whom vengeance belongeth;
shew thyself. Lift up thyself, thou Judge of the earth: Render a reward to the
proud. Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? How
long shall they utter and speak hard things? And all the workers of iniquity
boast themselves? They break in pieces thy people, O Lord, and afflict thine
heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless [Ps.
94:1-6]."
Let us not, however, presume to impeach the conduct and counsels of heaven.
All these calamities are under the control of infinite wisdom and rectitude.
"Verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth [Ps. 63:11]:" and how majestic,
how adorable does he appear, in the direction of its multifarious and
complicated movements! All the diversified springs of human action, and every
source of human weal and woe are obsequious to his sovereign mandate; constantly
inspected by his omniscient eye; and invariably guided by his resistless hand,
to the accomplishment of holy and benevolent designs. "Surely the wrath of man
shall praise him, the remainder of wrath he shall restrain [Ps. 76:10]."
Adventurous, assuming despots are "the rod of his anger, and the staff in their
hand is his indignation." These he "sends against hypocritical nations to take
the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets;" and when, by
their instrumentality, he has "performed his whole work upon the people of his
wrath," he commissions others to "punish the fruit of their stout hearts, and
the glory of their high looks [see Isa. 10:5-7, 12]."
Such, how humiliating the melancholy truth! Such is the discipline, which, in
many cases, the depravity of our fallen nature requires. Hence, my countrymen,
we are admonished,
2. Of our particular exposure to the crimes and miseries of war.
"Subject to like passions [Acts 14:15]," and prone, in common with the rest
of mankind, to "emulation, wrath, and strife [Gal. 5:20]," by a just retribution
of divine providence, "our own wickedness may correct us [Jerem. 2:19]."
Infatuated by the thirst of dominion, the desire of revenge, or "the love of
money which is the root of all evil [1 Tim 6:10]," we may become aggressors, and
madly engage in conflicts ruinous in their tendency and result: And have we made
no advances toward this fatal precipice of degeneracy, whence so many once
splendid monarchies, empires, and republics have fallen headlong?
Scarcely had we attained to independence, adopted the federal constitution,
and begun to realize the blessings anticipated from these sources, when, as the
unexpected eruption of a volcano, after long confinement and accumulation,
instantly darkens the air with its suffocating smoke, overspreads the earth with
its burning lava, and terrifies the most distant observer with its ominous
belches; the French revolution at once disgorged the collected depravity of
ages, and diffused consternation and disorder through the civilized world. The
tremendous shock was felt even to this western hemisphere, and deplorable indeed
were its effects. Taking an imprudent and needless interest in the event, we
contemplated deeds of horror, till they ceased to excite our aversion, as when
rarely witnessed; and, till some among us were not ashamed to speak of them in
terms of applause and gratulation! The doctrines of disorganization and impiety
so incessantly sounded in our ears, that their deformity was unperceived by
many, and a baleful reaction of the demoralizing influence of the late war was
produced and heightened. By exaggerated colorings of the bigotry, superstition,
and tyranny of former times, on the one head; and of the enlightened liberty and
equality of the present, on the other, a portentous sanction was given
licentious principles and manners; and multitudes were emboldened to promise
themselves peace, whilst "they walked in the imagination of their hearts [Deut
29:19]." Yea, the pubic at large, from the obvious tendency of familiarity with
examples of vice, were imperceptibly led to regard them with diminished
abhorrence; and, at length, either for want of inclination, or through a
persuasion of its impracticability, seem to have abandoned all attempts to stem
the torrent, and fix the stigma of disgrace on dissolute characters. Such
characters, therefore, appear with boldness; and as they are not uniformly
frowned into retirement, but, in various instances caressed and promoted, they
redouble their exertions to propagate opinions and customs, repugnant alike to
personal virtue and social harmony. The spread of infidelity, irreligion, and
rancorous party zeal is the consequence.
"Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be
avenged on such a nation as this [Jerem. 5:9]?" These things naturally tend to
evil, and that continually. Unless repentance and amendment arrest their
progress, they may betray us into alliances, or contentions, or both, of the
most dreadful description: They may impel us rashly to "help the ungodly, and to
love them that hate the Lord [2 Chron. 19:2]."
This, though our greatest, is not our only danger. Could we challenge the
most irreproachable character as a people, such may be the rapacity and
injustice of surrounding nations, as to render war inevitable. Since the
commotions which have so long agitated Europe, there have been periods, when
numbers pronounced it expedient and proper to commence hostilities against one
or another of the leading belligerents. Recently have we been alarmed by rumors,
and even by proceedings tending to this issue, but blessed be God, who "turneth
the hearts of kings whithersoever he will [Prov. 21:1]," and "from whom cometh
our help [Ps. 121:1], the snare is broken, and we are escaped, as a bird out of
the hand of the fowler [Ps. 124:7]. The counsel of the forward is carried
headlong; the wise are taken in their own craftiness [Job 5:13];" and the bright
prospect of continued amity; of a mutually beneficial intercourse with the land
of our fathers' sepulchers; and of returning prosperity to thousands of our
fellow citizens, who have groaned under privations without a parallel, suddenly
rises to our view; relieves our boding apprehensions; and cheers our desponding
minds.
Whether war, on our part, would have been justifiable at any of the periods
to which I have now alluded, is not a question for me to decide: That it was not
necessary, and would, therefore, have been impolitic, facts have proved.
Hitherto a gracious providence has intelligibly addressed us, in the language of
the inspired Levite to Jehosaphat of old: "Ye shall not need to fight in this
battle; set yourselves, stand ye, and see the salvation of the Lord [2 Chron.
20:17]." Jehosaphat accordingly placed himself in a posture of defense, and
awaited the event; in which the nations, by whom his kingdom was threatened,
fell upon each other with such violence, that he had no other task to perform
than to "take away the spoil [2 Chron. 20 25]."
Instructed by this record, and in the hope of a similar result, is it not our
wisdom as well as our duty to occupy neutral ground: It is not to be dissembled
that the most impartial and equitable course, of which we are capable, may fail
of correspondent returns. Our commerce may still be obstructed. The magnanimous
policy of England may not be readily adopted by France; where the evil first
originated, and where, it seems, we are last to look for reparation. We may
again be insolently required to act either as friends or enemies to "the
terrible nation;" and notwithstanding all our endeavors to the contrary, we may
be compelled, by these, or by other causes, with in, and even beyond the limits
of our present apprehensions, to unsheathe the sword and assert our violated
rights. I, therefore, remark,
3. The obligation, inferred on us, to be habitually prepared for war.
I do not mean to insinuate the propriety of a standing army in time of peace,
for any purpose; and least of all for the purpose of enforcing oppressive laws,
at the point of the bayonet. What I intend is, that all governments ought, as
far as in them lies, to provide resources to meet every exigence, and to repulse
every invader.
It has long been the opinion of our greatest men, that armed vessels,
constructed not for shoal water, but to live at sea, are indispensable to the
protection and glory of our country. Mr. Jefferson, late President of the United
States, once reasoned upon this subject, in the following manner: "Wars must
sometimes be our lot and all the wise man can do, will be to avoid the half of
them which would be produced by our own follies and our own acts of injustice;
and to make for the other half the best preparations we can. Of what nature
should these be? A land army would be useless for offense, and not the best nor
safest instrument of defense. For either of these purposes, the sea is the field
on which we should meet an European nation. On that element it is necessary we
should possess some power."
2
In exact accordance with this reasoning, when "in the full tide of successful
experiment," we had an infant navy; and nothing contributed more to swell and
dignify the flood. Why was it destroyed in the cradle…At a season equally
perilous with any which has since arrived, it enabled us to maintain our rights
on the ocean, and to preserve the honor of our flag in every clime.
Can it admit of a question whether the same cause might have produced the
same effect, and saved us from the accumulated distresses of the late embargo?
It would have been far less expensive; and who will venture to affirm, that it
could have been more degrading:
Beside a naval force o\for the security of trade, military arrangements to
defend the coast and territory are apparently requisite; and the politician, who
is more solicitous to improve roads, than to fortify harbors, will seldom meet
the approbation, or advance the prosperity of a commercial people. It is
desirable, nevertheless, that these military arrangements should be of a nature,
as far as possible, to combine the citizen with the soldier.
Here we are constrained to recognize the wisdom and patriotism of our pious
ancestors. Tenacious of the liberty, in quest of which they had bid adieu to
their native soil; committed themselves to the mercy of the winds and waves, or
rather to the guidance of Him, whom the winds and waves obey [See Matt 8:27,
Mark 4:41, Luke 8:25]; and sought an asylum in a newly discovered and
unfrequented wilderness; among the earliest of their institutions was a martial
academy,
3 which, pursuant to its original design,
has been productive of numerous benefits to their descendants. From this
academy, have successively gone forth men, expert in tactics, and disseminated
the same useful science among their bretheren, in different quarters of their
own, and the adjoining states. Hence, the decided superiority of our militia, in
discipline and evolution, to that of any part of the Union, or even of the
world. Many of our ablest revolutionary officers have graced the rolls and ranks
of this select fraternity.
How important, then, is the station, and how responsible the trust, assigned
to you, gentlemen, who compose the chosen band, so justly styled "The Ancient
and Honorable Artillery Company!"
Permit me, in conclusion, while I congratulate you on the anniversary
occasion of your assembling, and cordially wish you "a blessing out of the house
of the Lord [Ps. 128:26]," to recommend a conduct becoming those, who "ask of
him the ordinances of justice, and take delight in approaching to God [Isa.
58:2]."
Few corporate bodies are under better advantages for extensive usefulness.
The rank you hold, is accompanied with power and opportunity to contribute much
to the real dignity and welfare of society, and to the correction of certain
erroneous sentiments and customs which prevail in "this untoward generation
[Acts 2:40]." Ought you not, therefore, at the same time that you "lead quiet
and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty [2 Tim. 2:2]," to frown upon
every practice which tends to induce or confirm a persuasion, that the Christian
and military character are incompatible! A crime more frequent, perhaps, in our
country, than in any other civilized or barbarous region of the globe! a crime,
not confined, as elsewhere, to camps; but perpetrated by statesmen, merchants,
planters, and even slaves!
4
The awful idea of blending, in one rash act, the daring guilt of suicide and
murder; of rushing himself, or of precipitating another into an endless
eternity, unprepared, might be sufficient, it should seem, to stay the most
vengeful hand from blood! But, unfortunately, it is not the morality of the
deed, nor its future recompense, but the estimation of sinful dust and ashes, by
which combatants of this sort are governed. They recoil from the imputations of
a spiritless pusillanimity!… Is it then demonstrative of a noble mind, in
defiance of than dread Being "who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell
[Matt 10:28]," to engage in a contest, which the laws of the realm have
denounced as a capital offense; and which, without the most cautious artifice to
evade those laws, must subject the survivor to the pangs of an ignominious
death? Or is it cowardly and timid, like "the horse or the mule, which have no
understanding [Ps 32:9]," leaps the rocky precipice at the rustling of fallen,
corrupted leaves, whirled in the wind? Is it patriotic, is it generous, is it
even manly, for a personal insult or abuse, to demand the sacrifice of a life
due to the public, and necessary to the subsistence and comfort of a rising
family; and to insist on piercing the victim, through the heart of a doting
parent, an affectionate wife, or a defenseless offspring?
"O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their anger they slay men,
and in their self will they dig down" the barriers of domestic and social peace.
"Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; and their wrath, for it is cruel [Gen
49:6-7]."
Is it not devoutly to be wished, that all classes of the community would
combine their efforts to discountenance and punish this nefarious usage? May it
not be expected that our civil fathers, among their other deliberations for the
general good, will turn their serious attention to the subject? God, in mercy,
lead them to the discovery and application of a prompt and efficacious remedy.
Some instances of a magnanimous superiority to this impious and absurd
practice have appeared in our land. The venerable Pinckney,
5 famed alike as a brave general, an able
ambassador, and an enlightened statesman, a few years since [In 1804], proposed
a resolution to the Cincinnati, the object of which was to encourage and bind
the members of that association, on no pretense whatever, to give or accept a
challenge. In perfect coincidence with the virtuous principle, thus publicly
avowed by this great man, a distinguished national legislator, from
Massachusetts, has lately honored himself and his constituents, by withstanding
every provocation to single combat.
Give your sanction, Gentlemen, to this laudable example, and save your own,
and the bosom companions of your brethren, both in arms and arts, from the dread
and danger of untimely widowhood. Your history, so far at least as it is known
to me, is yet free from the stain of fraternal slaughter. Continue, I beseech
you, to preserve this distinction; and cultivate every other virtue, which
adorned your founders. Seek your individual glory, in the blessings, procured by
your prowess for the nation; and voluntarily hold your swords on the terms
prescribed by Washington, in the bequest of his:
6 "Not to
unsheathe them for the purpose of shedding blood, except in your own defense, or
in defense of your country's rights; and in the latter case to keep them
unsheathed, and prefer falling with them in your hands to the relinquishment
thereof."
Never "set up your banners, but, in the name of the Lord: Through him alone
you can do valiantly; for he it is that shall tread down your enemies [Ps. 20:5
and 60:12]." Attend his call therefore; and, at his call "Be courageous, and
play the men for your people, and for the cities of your God: and the Lord do
what seemeth him good [2 Sam 10:12]."
NOTES
[1] The ancient Attila was a warlike
barbarian, who, at the head of the Huns, spread devastation and terror through
the world, about the middle of the fifth century; and who, on this account, was
called "The scourge of God." His genius equaled his ambition. An artful
politician and prudent general, not withstanding his ardent courage, he had
formed the most boundless plans of conquest; had murdered his brother Bleda,
that he might enjoy undivided dominion; and subjected to his power an immense
extent of country from the Baltic on one side, to the eastern ocean on the
other. He had received ambassadors from China, hemmed in the Roman empire, and
threatened to destroy it. Though destitute of every principle of religion, he
knew how to turn the vulgar superstition to his own advantage: The people
believed his enterprises inspired by the god of battles, and this opinion
heightened the courage and ferocity of his soldiers. The more he was courted,
the more insolent he became. His pretensions increased in proportion to the
proofs of cowardice which were given him, and a threat of war was often
sufficient to obtain for him whatever he demanded. See Milot's Elem. Gen. Hist.
Vol. 2. P. 346-7. Salem ed. 1796.
[2] Notes on Virginia by Thomas
Jefferson, p. 239,240. Boston Ed. 1802.
[3] The Ancient and Honorable Artillery
Company was incorporated A.D. 1638. only two years after the founding of Harvard
College.
[4] Few, who are at the pains to peruse
these pages, will fail to recollect, that, among the many other accounts of
duels, recorded in our public papers, one, at least, has appeared, of two
Negroes at the southward, who proved themselves capable of all the sensibility
and courage necessary to deliberate single combat. True, indeed, instead of
swords and pistols, they fought with sithes, weapons previously agreed upon in
arranging the affair of honor. But had they possessed the means, it can hardly
be made a question, whether they would gladly have been as fashionably equipped,
as fashionably attended, and as fashionably dressed too, as any of their
betters, on like honorable occasions. Be this, however, as it may: in the main
point they were not deficient. They assailed each other with as much obstinacy,
and the successful hero killed his antagonist as completely dead, as the
genteelest duelists of the age could possibly have done.
[5] It can hardly be necessary to inform
the reader that the Honorable Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, esq. The late federal
candidate for the Presidential chair is intended.
[6] See Washington's last will
