184

THE CAREER OF HONOUR.

instructors, his parents, and all that are concerned in his welfare, merely as the pedestal, on which his own statue is to be erected; that he looks with an eye of envy and suspicion upon his fellow pupils, whose excellency, so far from being to him an object of delight, on the contrary, fills him with apprehension, lest they might increase the difficulties of his struggle, and lessen his chance of success; that he anticipates, with impatience, the moment, when he shall be allowed to sally forth into the world, and to pursue in it the objects of his ambition with all his power; and that, so far from considering himself the servant of Christ, and, for Christ's sake, the servant of all men, he values society, nay, the church of Christ itself, only as a means for the more full gratification of his selfish appetite for vain glory. And if it is deplorable to think, that one young man should have so systematically made himself his own idol, how much more afflicting is the idea, that a whole nation is guilty of this idolatry; and that it is the great object of education, to propagate that spirit from generation to generation! After having been educated in this manner, with a constant reference to their own honour, is it to be wondered at, that our public men speak of the pursuits of ambition in a way, as if they were to be numbered amongst the most lawful and the most praiseworthy exertions; that, so far from being ashamed to harbour such a feeling in their breast, they allege the motives derived from it, in their justification, when their conduct is impeached. And, vice versâ, with such a tone prevailing throughout society, is it to be wondered at, that no reform is attempted, nay, even thought of, on this point, in education? But, it shall not remain so for ever. There was a time, when the principles and laws of duelling were held in as general estimation, as the maxims of ambition are now; but a time came, when the true nature of that practice was explored,—when, in the estimation of a large majority, at least, an affair of honour began to be classed together with an attempt at murder; and so, likewise, the

BRITISH FREEDOM OF OPINION.

185

time will arrive, when the service of ambition will be unequivocally condemned, as a service of the devil, as an idolatry of self; and when our age will, on account of its gross violation of the spirit of christianity, in this particular, be termed an irreligious age, even as we bestow the appellation" barbarous" upon those ages, in which the practice of duelling was universally sanctioned.

Another great vice, which prevails throughout the higher classes of society, and which consequently exercises its baneful influence upon their education, is party spirit, that is to say, the bigoted adherence to the notions and feelings, entertained and professed by some party or other. On this subject a great truth has been spoken on a late occasion, which, as it proceeded from a quarter where the nature of bigotry is, no doubt, perfectly understood, carries with it a considerable weight of authority. It was said, with no less correctness than spite, that there is a bigotry of liberality, as well as a bigotry of illiberality. The truth is, that the bigotry consists, not so much in the nature of the opinions which are entertained, as in the slavish spirit with which we adhere to them, not because we are convinced of their truth, but because they happen to be the peculiar principles of that set of men, or of that system of society, to whose support we consider ourselves irrevocably pledged. One of the most invaluable privileges of this country is British freedom, and especially the freedom of opinion; but it is a sad use, or rather abuse, of this freedom, that men should render themselves the slaves of party views. No one will deny that a man addicted to drunkenness has lost his moral freedom, although it cannot be denied, that his abandoning himself to that vice, was an act of his moral freedom; and so, likewise, a man cannot be considered as enjoying and exercising the freedom of opinion, if he pledge himself irrevocably, to advocate and propagate a certain set of opinions, although his pledging himself thus were an act of the most perfect freedom, and though he lived under the freest constitution in the world.

186

THE TRUE STANDARD OBLITERATED.

The consequence of this voluntary slavery of opinion is, that gradually the real distinctions between right and wrong, the absolute criteria of truth and error, of morality and immorality, are entirely lost sight of by the mass, and that, instead of the original standard of judgment, which is one of life, planted as the voice of God in the heart of man, a sort of conventional tariff is introduced, which, as it has nothing to do with the true purpose of man's life, so it can only serve to entangle him more effectually in the pursuit of false purposes, and to render him more and more blind to what his real condition requires of him. The question is no longer: Is this or that line of conduct, this or that mode of thinking and feeling, consistent with those principles and laws, which God has laid down for the government of man? is it in itself right or wrong, Christian or unchristian? but: is it generally approved or disapproved of? or, is it consistent with the views of such and such a party, or with the fundamental principles of this or that system? The churchman asks not: Is such a view of the subject, or such a mode of proceeding, accordant with, or agreeable to, the principles laid down by Jesus Christ? His question is and must be: Is it, or is it not, in conformity with the fundamental articles of the Church of England doctrine and discipline? Is it, or is it not, in accordance with the received opinions, the usages, and interests of the Establishment? In vain, that you demonstrate to him, that such or such an opinion or practice is not only consistent with Christian principles, but indispensably required by them, as a practical proof of faith in, and obedience to Christ-if it be opposed to, or even merely an innovation upon, that which is received in the Church, his choice is decided; he cannot embrace it or adopt it, without a violation of his pledged duty to the Establishment, from which to deviate is, according to the prejudiced notions, with which his education has filled him, equivalent to departing altogether from the profession of the Christian faith. And let it not be supposed, that this bondage to the "traditions

TRADITIONS OF THE ELDERS.

187

of the elders," is confined to the Establishment; it exists with equal strength among other parties, both religious and not religious. To instance, among all the religious denominations, that which pays, in doctrine at least, the greatest deference to internal evidences, and in which the greatest degree of freedom of opinion ought, on this account, to be met with, I mean the Society of Friends: what are the chief considerations which determine the conduct, not of distinguished individuals among them, for they are free among all parties—but of the great mass, both as regards the most important and the most trivial matters? What is the first question that occurs to the mind? Is it an inquiry into the intrinsic merits of the case, independently of all regard for received opinions, merely on the ground of gospel principles, as illustrated in the mind of each individual by the spirit of truth? or is it the mere question of fact: "What is most consistent with the principles and the practice of the Society ?" And is not a departure from those principles, or from that practice, even in matters which are professedly mere matters of outward observation, by which the kingdom of heaven cannot come, considered, by the majority, as a departure from pure gospel principles ? And what is true, in this respect, of what I take to be the two extremes, in this country, of outward and inward Christianity, is equally applicable to all the intermediate denominations of Christians; they are all observing the traditions of their elders, by which many things are enjoined, which the gospel leaves free, and many things permitted and justified, which are prohibited or reprobated in the gospel-even as it was with the traditions of the elders of the Jewish Church.

It is true, that there is a sort of toleration exercised by different denominations towards each other; Friends, for instance, will, in members of other denominations, excuse that, which they do not tolerate in each other; and so, likewise, is there among Churchmen, at least among the better part of them, a willingness to make allowance for

188

CANT-TOLERATION.

differences of opinion and of practice, in those which are without the pale of the establishment. This toleration, however, is nothing but, as it were, a truce between belligerent powers, similar to that established, by the law of nations, between the civilized states of the world, which, although in the principle of their constitution rivalling with, and opposed to, each other, nevertheless acknowledge each other to a certain extent, and make to each other such concessions, as the mutual intercourse between them renders absolutely necessary. In the former as in the latter case, the mutual acknowledgment and toleration is not the result of the principle of Christian brotherhood and fellowship, but of the selfish calculation, that the security and prosperity of the interests of each party, require such concessions to be made to the others. They say, in fact, to each other:-" We wish every one of us to “be undisturbed in the pursuit of his own end, by his "own means; and we, therefore, mutually agree not to “interfere with each other, by an endeavour to unite all "in the pursuit of the universal end, by universal means.” Such a mutual compact is better-and who is there, that would deny it-than the "holy office," the torture and the faggot; it is better too-although some would call it into question-than penal statutes, civil and political disabilities, on the ground of religious opinions; but though may be better than any thing we have as yet had, is it on that account all that could be desired, all that, as a Christian nation, we ought to have? Does not the mutual compact, of allowing one another to pursue our several ends, undisturbed by each other, involve a compromise of principle, which is inconsistent with the Christian name? A great outcry has lately been raised, that "the Nation has cast off her God;" that "Christianity has been abandoned for expediency;" and what other phrases of a like high sounding description, a histrionical pulpit oratory has invented, and a host of hollow-brained hearers-servum imitatorum pecus-has repeated to disgust. But although

it