Countries Destroyed;
Nations Alternately Buried In Ruins By Other Nations; Some Parts Of
The World Beautifully Cultivated, Returned Again To The Pristine
State; The Fruits Of Ages Of Industry, The Toil Of Thousands In A
Short Time Destroyed By A Few!
If one corner breathes in peace for a
few years, it is, in turn subjected, torn, and levelled; one would
almost believe the principles of action in man, considered as the
first agent of this planet, to be poisoned in their most essential
parts.
We certainly are not that class of beings which we vainly
think ourselves to be; man an animal of prey, seems to have rapine
and the love of bloodshed implanted in his heart; nay, to hold it
the most honourable occupation in society: we never speak of a hero
of mathematics, a hero of knowledge of humanity; no, this
illustrious appellation is reserved for the most successful butchers
of the world. If Nature has given us a fruitful soil to inhabit, she
has refused us such inclinations and propensities as would afford us
the full enjoyment of it. Extensive as the surface of this planet
is, not one half of it is yet cultivated, not half replenished; she
created man, and placed him either in the woods or plains, and
provided him with passions which must for ever oppose his happiness;
everything is submitted to the power of the strongest; men, like the
elements, are always at war; the weakest yield to the most potent;
force, subtlety, and malice, always triumph over unguarded honesty
and simplicity. Benignity, moderation, and justice, are virtues
adapted only to the humble paths of life: we love to talk of virtue
and to admire its beauty, while in the shade of solitude and
retirement; but when we step forth into active life, if it happen to
be in competition with any passion or desire, do we observe it to
prevail? Hence so many religious impostors have triumphed over the
credulity of mankind, and have rendered their frauds the creeds of
succeeding generations, during the course of many ages; until worn
away by time, they have been replaced by new ones. Hence the most
unjust war, if supported by the greatest force, always succeeds;
hence the most just ones, when supported only by their justice, as
often fail. Such is the ascendancy of power; the supreme arbiter of
all the revolutions which we observe in this planet: so irresistible
is power, that it often thwarts the tendency of the most forcible
causes, and prevents their subsequent salutary effects, though
ordained for the good of man by the Governor of the universe. Such
is the perverseness of human nature; who can describe it in all its
latitude?
In the moments of our philanthropy we often talk of an indulgent
nature, a kind parent, who for the benefit of mankind has taken
singular pains to vary the genera of plants, fruits, grain, and the
different productions of the earth; and has spread peculiar
blessings in each climate.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 113 of 154
Words from 58525 to 59028
of 79752
