CHAPTER II. SECOND PRINCIPLE OF MORAL ACTION-LOVE TO ALL SUBORDINATE INTELLIGENCES. In the commencement of the last chapter, I had occasion to remark that, strictly speaking, the fundamental principle or affection which gives birth to all the ramifications of moral action, is but one, namely, Love. This noble affection may be considered as dividing itself into two great streams, one directing its course towards the Creator, as the supreme source of all felicity, and the other expanding itself towards all the intellectual beings which he has formed. Having, in the preceding pages, endeavoured to illustrate the foundation and the reasonable ness of the principle of love to God, from a consideration of his perfections, character, and relations, and having described some of those kindred affections by which its existence in the minds of moral agents is manifested,-I shall now endeavour to exhibit the foundation, and the reasonableness, of that modification of love which is directed towards created intelligences, and which may be termed the second principle of moral action-THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF. Taking it for granted that this is the fundamental law prescribed by the Creator for regulating the conduct of intelligent beings towards each other-because the Supreme Lawgiver has proclaimed it as such in the revelation which he has given us of his will-I shall endeavour to exhibit the reasonableness and the beauty of this amiable principle-from the nature of man, and the relations in which all the individuals of the human race stand to each other-from the happiness which would flow from the uniform operation of this principle-and from the misery which would inevitably ensue were it completely eradicated from the minds of moral agents. Before proceeding to the illustration of these particulars, it may be proper to remark, that by "our neighbour" is to be understood men of every nation and of every clime, whether they avow themselves as our friends or our enemies, and whatever may be their language, their religion, their rank, or station. The inhabitants of New Zealand, of Patagonia, of New Holland, of the Ladrones, of Kamtschatka, or of Greenland, are our neighbours, in the sense intended in the divine injunction above quoted, as well as those who reside in our own nation and in our more immediate neighbourhood. For with all these, and other tribes of mankind, we may happen to have intercourses, either directly or indirectly, and towards them all we ought to exercise an affection analogous to that which every man exercises towards himself. This we are decisively taught by our Saviour in the parable of the good Samaritan, in which it is clearly shown, that under the designation of neighbour, we are to include even our bitterest enemies. His apostles avowed the same sentiment, and taught, that in the bonds of Christian love, no distinction should exist between "Jews and Greeks, Barbarians, Scythians, bond, or free." For they are all members of the great family of God, and recognized as children by the universal parent. SECTION I. THE NATURAL EQUALITY OF MANKIND COSSIDERED AS THE BASIS OF LOVE TO OUR NEIGHBOUR. I SHALL now exhibit a few considerations founded on the Natural Equality of Mankind, in order to evince the reasonableness and the necessity of the operation of the principle of love towards all our fellow-men. In the first place, Men, of whatever rank, kindred, or tribe, are the offspring of the great Parent of the universe. They were all created by the same Almighty Being, and to him they are indebted for all the members and functions of their animal frames, and for those powers, capacities, and endowments, which render them superior to the clods of the valley and to the beasts of the forest. They derived their origin too, as to their bodies, from the same physical principles and from the same earthly parent. “Of the dust of the ground" the body of the first man was formed; and from Adam, the primogenitor of the human race, have descended all the generations of men which now exist, or will hereafter exist till the close of time. This is equally true of the prince and of his subjects; of the monarch arrayed in purple, and seated on a throne, and of the beggar, who is clothed in rags, and embraces a dunghill; of the proud nobleman, who boasts of a long line of illustrious ancestors, and of the obscure peasant, whose progenitors were unnoticed and unknown. All derived their origin from the dust, and all return to the dust again. This consideration, on which it is unnecessary to dwell, shows the reasonableness of union and affection among men, on the same grounds from which we conclude that brothers and sisters belonging to the same family ought to manifest a friendly affection for each other. Secondly, Men of all nations and ranks are equal in respect to the mechanism of their bodies and the mental faculties with which they are endowed. Whether their bodies be rudely covered with the skins of beasts, or adorned with the splendours of royalty; whether they be exposed naked to the scorching heats and piercing colds, or arrayed in robes of silk and crimson-in their construction and symmetry they equally bear the impress of infinite wisdom and omnipotence. The body of the meanest peasant, who earns his scanty subsistence from day to day by the sweat of his brow, is equally admirable, in the motions of its fingers, the structure of its limbs, and the connexion and uses of its several functions, as the body of the mightiest and the proudest baron who looks down upon him with contempt. The organs of vision comprise as many coats and hemours, muscular fibres, and lymphatic ducts, and form as delicate pictures upon the retinathe bones are equally numerous, and as accurately articulated the muscles perform their functions with as great precision and facility-the lymphatic and absorbent vessels are as numerous and incessant in their operations-and the heart impels the blood through a thousand veins and arteries with as great a degree of rapidity and of purity in the corporeal frame of a poor African slave, who is daily smarting under the lash of an unfeeling planter, as in the body of the Emperor of China, who sways his sceptre over half the inhabitants of the globe. All the external trappings which fascinate the vulgar eye, and by which the various ranks of mankind are distinguished, are merely adventitious, and have no necessary connexion with the intrinsic dignity of man. They are part of the consequences of the depravity of our species: in most instances they are the results of vanity, folly, pride, and frivolity; and they constitute no essential distinction between man and man; for a few paltry guineas would suffice to deck the son of a peasant with all the ornaments of a peer. Men are also nearly on a level in respect to the mental faculties which they possess. Every man, however low his station in the present world, is endowed with a spiritual principle which be received by "the inspiration of the Almighty," which is superior to all the mechanism and modifications of matter, and by which he is allied to beings of a superior order. The faculties of consciousness, perception, memory, conception, imagination, judgment, reasoning, and moral feeling, are common to men of all casts and nations. The power of recollecting the past, and of anticipating the future-of deducing conclusions from premises previously demonstrated of representing to the mind objects and scenes which have long ceased to exist; of forming in the imagination new combinations of the objects of sense; of perceiving the qualities of moral actions, and distinguishing between right and wrong; of recognizing a supreme intelligent Agent in the movements of the universe, and of making perpetual advances in knowledge and felicity; faculties which distinguish man from all the other tribes which people the earth, air, or sea; are possessed by the dwarfish Laplander and the untutored peasant, as well as by the ruler of kingdoms, the enlightened statesman, and the man of science. It is true, indeed, that there is a mighty difference among men in the direction of these faculties, in the objects towards which they are directed, in the cultivation they have received, and in the degree of perfection to which they have attained. There are innumerable gradations in the improvement and the energies of intellect, from the narrow range of thought possessed by a Greenlander or an Esquimaux, to the sublime and expansive views of a Bacon, or a Newton. But, this difference depends more on the physical and moral circumstances in which they are placed than on any intrinsic difference in the faculties themselves. Place the son of a boor or of a Laplander in circumstances favourable to the developement of his mental powers, and afford him the requisite means for directing and increasing their activity, and he will display powers of intelligence equal to those which are found in the highest ranks of civilized life. A sound understanding, a correct judgment, vigour of mind, control over the irascible passions, and other mental endowments, though destitute of polish, will as frequently be found in the lower walks of life as in the elevated ranks of opulence and power. The philosopher, however, as well as the man of rank, is apt to look down with a contemptuous sneer on the narrow conceptions of the husbandman, the mechanic, and the peasant; and is disposed to treat them as if they were an inferior species of intelligent beings. He does not always consider that the profound and the subtle speculations, which are dignified with the title of philosophy, are frequently of less importance to the progress of the human mind, and to the enjoyment of substantial comfort, than the deductions of common sense and the dictates of a sound though plain understanding; that they torment him with feelings, doubts, and perplexities, which sometimes shake the whole fabric of his knowledge, and lead him into labyrinths, out of which he can scarcely extricate his way; while the man of plain understanding, guided by a few certain and important points of truth, prosecutes the path of virtue with safety and success. For it may be considered as an established maxim, that the most interesting and salutary truths connected with the happiness of man are neither numerous nor difficult to be acquired, and are level to the comprehension of men of every nation and of every rank. But however grovelling may be the affections, and however limited the intellectual views of the untutored ranks of society, they are capable of being trained to the knowledge and the practice of every thing which regards their present comfort and their future happiness; and to devise and execute the means by which this object may be accomplished, is one way among many others by which our love to mankind should be displayed and demonstrated. We have no reason to complain of the want of mental energy, or of the ignorance and folly of the lower orders of mankind, and to despise them on this account, while we sit still in criminal apathy, and refuse to apply those means which are requisite to raise them from their state of moral and intellectual degradation. Thirdly, Mankind are on an equality, in respect of that moral depravity with which they are all infected. From whatever cause it may be conceived to have originated, the fact is certain, that a moral disease has spread itself through all the branches of the human family, in whatever station, or in whatever regions of the globe they may be placed. Whether we look back on the "generations of old," or survey the moral state of the nations in modern times; whether we turn our eyes to the abodes of savage or of civilized life; whether we contemplate the characters of the higher orders of society, or the practices which abound among the inferior ranks of social life; the stamp of depravity, in one shape or another, appears impressed upon the general conduct of mankind. In the case of nations, this depravity has manifested itself in those wars, dissensions, devastations, and contentions for territory and power, which have in all ages convulsed the human race and disturbed the peace of the world. Among lesser societies, families, and individuals, it is displayed in the operation of the principles of pride, ambition, tyranny, persecution, revenge, malice, envy, falsehood, deceit, covetousness, anger, and other malignant passions, which have infested all ranks and conditions of men. This depravity infects the higher ranks of mankind equally with the lower, though among the former it is sometimes varnished over with a fairer exterior; and therefore, there is no rank or order of men that have any valid reason on this ground for despising their fellow-creatures, or withholding from them the exercise of love and affection. For "there is none righteous, no, not one: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." And in this point of view, love ought to exercise its beneficent energies, in endeavouring to counteract the stream of human corruption, and in disseminating those divine principles which are calcu lated to raise mankind to the moral dignity of their nature. Fourthly, Mankind possess substantially the same pleasures and enjoyments. It is a trite saying, but it is nevertheless a true and importast one, that happiness does not depend upon the rank and stations we occupy in life, nor upon the quantity of wealth or riches we possess. The pleasures which flow from the movements of the system of nature, and from the beauties which adorn the heavens and the earth, are coramon and open to all the inhabitants of the globe. The rising sun, the smiling day, the flowery landscape, the purling streams, the lofty mountains, the fertile vales, the verdure of the meadows, the ruddy hues of the evening clouds, the rainbow adorned with all the colours of light, the coruscations of the northern lights, the music of the groves, the songs of the nightingale and the lark, the breath of spring, the fruits of harvest, the azure sky, the blazing comet, the planets in their courses, the moon walking in brightness, and the radiant host of stars, convey to the mind thou sands of delightful images and sensations, which charm the cottager and the mechanic no less than the sons of opulence and fame. The pleasures of the senses, of eating and drinking, of affectionate friendship, of social and domestic intercourse, of a cheerful contented mind, of fervent piety towards God, and of the hope of im mortality beyond the grave, may be enjoyed by men of every colour, and rank, and condition in life; by the inhabitants of the cottage, as well as by the potentate who sways his sceptre over kingdoms. Nor does it materially detract from these enjoyments in the case of the peasant, that his body is frequently hung with rags, that he subsists on the coarsest fare, and reposes under the thatch of a miserable hut. For habit is the great leveller of mankind; it reconciles us to innumerable inconveniences and privations, and blunts the edge of the keenest pleasures. The owner of a princely mansion frequently loathes the most delicious dainties on his table, and walks through his magnificent apartments, surrounded with paintings and decorations, with as much apathy and indifference as if he were in an Indian wigwam or a clay-built cottage. So that, in the pleasures of sense, of affection, and sentiment, there is no essential distinction between the high and the low, the rich and the poor. But should it be insinuated that the poor and the ignoble have fewer enjoyments than the rich, then it will follow, that towards them in a particular manner our benevolent affections ought to be directed, in order that they may enjoy a competent portion of those physical and intellectual pleasures which the Creator has provided for all his creatures. Fifthly, Men in every condition and in every clime have the same wants, and are exposed to the same disasters and afflictions. Hunger and thirst, cold and heat, motion and rest, are common to all orders and conditions of men; and in order to supply and alleviate such wants, the aid of our fellow-men is indispensably requisite, to enable us to obtain food, raiment, light, warmth, comfortable accommodation, and shelter from the blasts of the tempest. We all stand in need of comfort and advice in the hour of difficulty and danger; we all long for the love, and friendship, and good offices of those around us; and we all thirst for an increase of knowledge, happiness, and joy. And those wants and desires can be supplied and gratified only by the kindly intercourse and affection of kindred spirits. All are exposed to the same sorrows and affictions. Disappointments, anxiety, disgrace, accidents, pain, sickness, disease, loss of health, fortune, and honour, bereavement of children, friends, and relatives, are equally the lot of the prince and the peasant. The prince in the cradle is a being as weak and feeble, as dependent on his nurse, has as many wants to be supplied, is liable to as many diseases and accidents, and requires as many exertions to learn to lisp, to speak, and to walk, as the new-born babe of his meanest subject. Nay, the rich and the powerful are frequently exposed to miseries and vexations from fancied insults, affronts, and provocations, from frustrated hopes, from pride, vanity, and ill-humour, from abortive projects and disconcerted plans, to which the poor are generally strangers. If we enter into one of the abodes of poverty, where one of the victims of disease is reclining, we may behold a poor emaciated mortal, with haggard looks and a heaving breast, reposing on a pillow of straw, surrounded by ragged children and an affectionate wife, all eager to sooth his sorrows and alleviate his distress. If we pass through a crowd of domestics and courtly attendants into the mansion of opulence, where disease or the harbinger of death has seized one of its victims, we may also behold a wretch, pale, blotched, and distorted, agonizing under the pain of the asthma, the gravel, or the gout, and trembling under the apprehensions of the solemnity of a future judgment, without one sincere friend to afford him a drop of consolation. Neither the splendour of his apartment, nor the costly crimson with which his couch is hung, nor the attentions of his physicians, nor the number of his attendants, can prevent the bitter taste of nauseous medicines, the intolera*ble pains, the misgivings of heart, and the pangs of conscience which he feels in common with the meanest wretch who is expiring on a dungf hill. Lastly, All ranks come to the same termination of their mortal existence. "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return," is a decree which has gone forth against every inhabitant of our globe, of whatever kindred, rank, or nation. The tombs of mighty princes, of intrepid gene ness. rals, of illustrious statesmen, may be adorned with lofty columns, with sculptured marble, and flattering inscriptions; but within these varnished monuments their bodies present putrid carcasses, as loathsome, and as much the prey of worms and corruption, as the corpse of their meanest vassal. Their eyes are equally impenetrable to the light of day, their ears are equally deaf to the charms of music, and their tongues are equally silent in this land of deep forgetfulThis consideration of itself fully demonstrates, if any demonstration be necessary, the natural equality of mankind, and that there is no essential difference between the noble and the ignoble, the emperor, and the slave. And since mankind are all equally liable to afflictions and distresses, and are all journeying to the tomb, nothing can be more reasonable than the exercise of love, with all its kindred affections, towards every class of our fellow-men, in order to alleviate their sorrows, and to cheer them on their passage through this region of mortality. Thus it appears, that there is a natural equality subsisting among mankind, in respect of their origin, their corporeal organization, their intel lectual powers, their moral depravity, their wants, their afflictions, their pleasures, and enjoyments, and the state to which they are reduced after they have finished the career of their mortal existence. The illustration of such circumstances would be quite unnecessary, were it not that a certain proportion of mankind, under the influence of pride and other malignant pas. sions, are still disposed to look down on certain classes of their fellow-mortals as if they were a species of beings of an inferior order in the scale of existence. To the propriety of the senti ments now stated, the sacred Scriptures bear ample testimony. "The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the maker of them all.”* "Did not he that made me in the womb make my servant, and did he not fashion us alike?" "God hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation." Since, therefore, it appears, that mankind are equal in every thing that is essential to the human character, this equality lays a broad foundation for the exercise of universal love towards men of all nations, tribes, conditions, and ranks. It must obviously appear contrary to every principle of reason, repugnant to every amiable feeling, and inconsistent with the general happiness of the species, that intelligent beings, who are all children of the same Almighty Parent, members of the same great family, and linked together by so many fraternal ties, should "bite and devour one another," engage in hostile enterprises against each other, look down with scorn and • Prov. xxii. 2. ↑ Job xxxi. 15. 1 Acts xvii. 28. contempt on each other, or even behold with indifference the condition of the meanest member of the family to which they belong. On the other hand, it is consistent with the dictates of enlightened reason, congenial to the best feelings of human nature, and indispensably requisite to the promotion of universal happiness, that such beings should be united in the bonds of affection and harmony, that they should sympathize with the distressed, delight in beholding the happiness of all, rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep ;"-that every one, whether he be near or far off, whether he be rich or poor, whether he be learned or unlearned, whether he belong to this or the other civil or religious society, whether his colour be black or white, whether he be blind, or deaf, or lame, whether he be an inhabitant of Greenland, Iceland, Barbary, Germany, France, or Spain, whatever may be his language, manners, or customs, should be recognized, wherever he may be found, as a friend and brother; and a cordial interest felt in every thing that concerns his welfare and comfort. Such a recognition of man as man, is a duty which necessarily flows from the natural equality of mankind, and is congenial to the conduct of the Universal Parent towards all his human offspring. For, in his love to his numerous family, and without respect of persons, he makes the same vital air to give play to their lungs, the same sun to cheer and enlighten them, and the same rains and dews to refresh their fields, and to ripen the fruits of harvest. Let it not, however, be inferred, from what has been now stated, that we mean to sap the foundations of that subordination of ranks which exists in this world. This gradation in society is the appointment of God, and necessarily flows from the circumstances and relations in which man is placed in this first stage of his existence; and, were it completely overthrown, society would be plunged into a scene of anarchy and confusion; and the greater part of the individuals which compose it, would become a lawless banditti. Whether or not there exists a subordination of office and rank among superior intelligences of the same species, or among the inhabitants of other globes, we are unable at present to determine; but in the actual condition of society in the world in which we dwell, a state of complete independence, and a perfect equality of wealth, station, and rank, are impossible, so long as there exists a diversity in the capacities, teinpers, and pursuits of men. On the diversity of rank, and the relations which subsist between the different classes of society, as parents and children, masters and servants, princes and subjects, is founded a great proportion of those moral laws which God hath promulgated in his word, for regulating the inclinations and the conduct of mankind. Diversity of fortune and station appears abso lutely inevitable in a world where moral evil es ists, and where its inhabitants are exposed to dangers, difficulties, and distress. Whether the inhabitants of a world, where moral perfection reigns triumphant, can exist in a state of perfect felicity, and move forward in progressive inprovement, without a subordination of rank, it is not for us to determine. But in such a world as ours, it is a wise and gracious appointment of the Creator, and is attended with many and in portant advantages. Were there no diversity of wealth and station, we should be deprived of many of the comforts, conveniences, and assis tances which we now enjoy. Every one word he obliged to provide for himself food, drink, clothing, furniture, shelter, medicines, and re creations; and in the season of sickness, danger, and distress, he would have few or none to alle viate his affliction, and contribute to his com fort. But, in consequence of the diversity which now exists, an opportunity is afforded of em ploying the several capacities and endowments of mankind in those lines of active exertion, for which they are respectively fitted, and of rendering them subservient for the improvement and happiness of general society. One exercises the trade of a weaver, another that of a baker; one is a shoemaker, another a tailor; one is an architect, another a farmer; one is a teacher of sci ence or religion; others have their minds entertained and improved by his instructions. One is appointed a ruler over a city, another over a kingdom; one is employed in writing for the amusement and instruction of mankind, another is employed in printing and publishing his writings. By this arrangement, the powers and capacities in which individuals excel, are gradually carried to the highest degree of attainable perfection; and the exertions of a single individual are rendered subservient to the ease, the convenience, and the mental improvement of thousands. It is not to the diversity of rank and station, that the evils which exist among the various classes of society are to be attributed; but to the influence of a spirit of pride, on the one hand, and a spirit of insubordination on the other-to the want of a disposition to discharge the duties peculiar to each station, and to the deficiency of those kindly affections which ought to be manifested towards every human being, by men in all the ranks and departments of life. If love, in all its benevolent ramifications, were to pervade the various ranks of social life, kings would never oppress their subjects, nor masters act unjustly towards their servants; nor would subjects and servants refuse to submit to just laws, and equitable regulations. All would act their parts with harmony and delight in this great moral machine, and every station and rank would contribute, in its sphere, to the prosperity and happiness of another. For the poor cannot do without the |