the efFedls of which it protects us, are not for the moft part the produce of that conflitutlon, we fhall never fufEciently under- ftand the quantity of benefit it includes.
Secondly, gratitude, as has aheady been proved *, is a vice and not a virtue. Every man and every colleftion of men ought to be treated by us in a manner founded upon their intrinfic qualities and capacities, and not according to a rule which has exiftence only in relation to ourfelves.
Add to this, thirdly, that no motive can be more equivocal than the gratitude here recommended. Gratitude to the confti- tution, an abftrad idea, an imaginary exiftence, is altogether unintelligible. Affedion to my countrymen will be much better proved, by my exertions to procure them a fubftantial benefit, than by my fupporting a fyftem which I believe to be fraught with injurious confequences.
He who calls upon me to fupport the conftitution muft found J""^ arlfe either from his requifition upon one of two principles. It has a claim upon ^^^ '''^^'^" °^' the cafe, or my fupport either becaufe it is good, or becaufe it is Britiih. ^'^°^ •'• P"-""- fonal and lo' cal confidera- tion.
Againft 200 DUTIES OF A CITIZEN.
Againft the requifition in the firft fenfe there is nothing to objeft. All that is neceflary is to prove the goodnefs which is afcribed to it. But perhaps it will be faid, " that, though not abfolutely good, more mifchief will refult from an attempt to overturn it, than from maintaining it VN^ith its mixed character of partly right and partly wrong." If this can be made evident, undoubtedly I ought to fubmit. Of this mifchief however I can be no judge but in confequence of enquiry. To fome the evils attendant on a revolution will appear greater, and to others lefs. Some vv'ill imagine that the vices with which the Englifli conftitution is pregnant are confiderable, and fome tliat it is nearly innocent. Before I can decide between thefe oppofite opinions and balance the exifting and the poflible evils, I mufl; examine for myfelf. But examination in its nature implies un- certainty of refult. Were I to" determine before I fat down on which fide the decifion fhould be, I could not ftridly fpeaking be faid to examine at all. He that defires a revolution for its own fak-e is to be regarded as.a madman. He that defires it from a thorough convi£tlon of its ufefulnefs and necefTity has a claim upon us for candour and refpeft.
Thefccoiid. ■ As to the demand upon me for fupport to the Englifli confti- tution, becaufe it is Englifli, there is little plaufibility in this arsiument. It is of the fame nature as the demand upon me to be a Chriftian. becaufe I am a Briton, or a Mahometan, becaufe I am DUTIES OF A CITIZEN. 201 I am a native of Turkey. Inftead of being an expreffion of re- fPf^i lY* fpedt, it argues contempt of all government, religion and virtue, ^—r^ and every thing that is facred among men. If there be fuch a thing as truth, it muft be better than error. If there be fuch a faculty as reafon, it ought to be ex-^rted. But this demand makes' truth a matter of abfolute indifference, and forbids us the exercife of our reafon. If men reafon and reflsii, it muft neceflarily Iiappen that either the Englifhman or the Turk will find his government to be odious and his religion falfe. For virhat pur- pofe employ his reafon, if he muft for ever conceal the conclu- fions to w^hich it leads him? How would man have arrived at his prefent attainments, if he had always been contented with the ftate of fociety in which he happened to be born? In a word, either reafon is the curfe of our fpecies, and human nature is to be regarded with horror; or it becomes us to em- ploy our underftanding and to ad; upon it, and to follow truth wherever it may lead us. It cannot lead us to mifchief, fmce utility, as It regards percipient beings. Is the only bafis of moral and political truth.
Dd SECTION MODE OF EFFECTING REVOLUTIONS.
PERSUASION THE r?.0?ER IN?TRUMENT — NOT VIOLENCE— NOR RESENTMENT. — LATENESS OF EVENT DESIRABLE.
^ O return to the enquiry refpeding the mode of efFeccIng revokitions. If no queilion can be more important, there Perfuafion is fortunately no queftion perhaps that admits ot a more complete the proper inftrument: and fatisfaftory general anfwer. The revolutions of ilates, which a philanthropift vs^ould defire to witnefs, or in which he would willingly co-operate, confift principally in a change of fenti- raents and difpofitions in the members of thofe ftates. The true inftruments for changing the opinions of men are argument and perfuafion. The beft fecurity for an advantageous iffiie is free and unreftritled difcuffion. In that field truth muft always prove the fuccefsful champion. If then we would improve the focial inftitutions of mankind, we muft write, we muft argue, we muft converfe. To this bufinefs there is no clofe; in this pur- fuit there fhould be no paufe. Every method fhould be cm- ployed, — not fo much pofitively to allure the attention of man- kind, or perfuafively to invite them to the adoption of our opinions, — as to remove every reftraint upon thought, and to throw throw MODE OF EFFECTING REVOLUTIONS. 103 throw open the temple of fclence and the field of enquiry to all BOOK iv. the world. *.^ ' Section II, Thofe inftruments will always be regarded by the difcerning not violence: mind as fufpicious, which may be employed with equal profpedt of fuccefs on both fides of every queftion. This confideration fhould make us look with averfion upon all refources of violence. When we defcend into the lifted field, we of courfe defert the vantage ground of truth, and commit the decifion to uncertainty and caprice. The phalanx of reafon is invulnerable; it advances with deliberate and determined pace; and nothing is able to refift it. But when we lay down our arguments, and take up our fwords, the cafe is altered. Amidft the barbarous pomp of war and the clamorous din of civil brawls, who can tell whether the event fhall be profperous or miferable?
We muft therefore carefully diftlnguifh between informing nofrefent- the people and inflaming them. Indignation, refentment and fury are to be deprecated; and all we fhould afk is fober thought, clear difcernment and intrepid difcuffion. Why were the revo- lutions of America and France a general concert of all orders and defcriptions of men, without fo much (if we bear in mind the multitudes concerned) as almoft a diflentient voice; while the refiftance againft our Charles the firft divided the nation into two equal parts? Becaufe the latter was the affair of the feven- teenth century, and the former happened in the clofe of the D d 2 eighteenth.
MODE OF EFFECTING REVOLUTIONS.
BOOK IV. eighteenth. Becaufe in the cafe of America and France philo- ^ ^~7f' fophy had already developed fome of the great principles of political truth, and Sydney and Locke and Montefquieu and RoulTeau had convinced a majority of refiedling and powerful minds of the evils of usurpation. If thefe revolutions had hap- pened ftill later, not one drop of the blood of one citizen vi^ould have been fhed by the hands of another, nor would the event have been marked fo much perhaps as with one folitary inftance of violence and confifcation.
Latenefs of event defira- ble.
There are two principles therefore which the man who defires the regeneration of his fpecies ought ever to bear in mind, to regard the improvement of every hour as eflential in the difco- very and diffemination of truth, and willingly to fufFer the lapfe of years before he urges the reducing his theory into adlual exe- cution. With all his caution it is pofTible that the impetuous multitude will run before the ftill and quiet progrefs of reafon; nor will he fternly pafs fentence upon every revolution that fhall by a few years have anticipated the term that wifdom would have prefcribed. But, if his caution be firmly exerted, there is no doubt that he will fuperfede many abortive attempts, and con- fiderably prolong the general tranquillity.
SECTIO SECTION III.
OF POLITICAL ASSOCIATION S..
MEANING OF THE TERM. ASSOCIATIONS OBJECTED TO I. FROM THE SORT OF PERSONS WITH WHOM A JUST REVOLUTION SHOULD ORIGINATE — '2. FROM THE DAN- GER OF TUMULT. OBJECTS OF ASSOCIATION. IN WHAT CASES ADMISSIBLE. ARGUED FOR FROM THE NECESSITY TO GIVE WEIGHT TO OPINION — FROM THEIR TENDENCY TO ASCERTAIN OPINION. UNNECESSARY FOR THESE PURPOSES. — GENERAL INUTILITY. CONCE6SIONS. — IM- PORTANCE OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION. — PROPRIETY OF TEACHING RESISTANCE CONSIDERED.
A QUESTION naturally fuggefts itielf in this place re- boOKIV. CHAP II fpeding the propriety of aflbciations among the people at > ' 'j large, for the purpofe of effedling a change in their political in- Meaning of ftitutions. It fliould be obferved, that the aflbciations here fpoken of are voluntary confederacies of certain members of the fociety with each other, the tendency of which is to give weight to the opinions of the perfons fo affbciated, of which the opinions of the unconfoderated and infulated part of the community are deftitute* 2o6 OF POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS.
2^9'i ^y* titute. This queftion therefore has nothins: in common with that 1!; ^"TT^ other, whether in a well organized flate every individual would Section III. ' o j not find his place in a deliberative as well as an ele<flive capacity; the fociety being diftributed into diftrifls and departments, and each man polTeffing an importance, not meafured by the capri- cious ftandard of fome accidental confederacy, but by a rule im- partially applied to every mem^ber of the community.
AlTociations Relative then to political affociations, as thus explained, there are two confiderations, which, if they do not afford reafon for undiftinguifhing condemnation, at leaft tend to diminifh our anxiety to their introdudlion.
I. from the In the firft place revolutions lefs originate in the energies of fortofperfons,.,. _._^ with whom a the people at large, than in the conceptions of perlons of lome tion (houid degree of ftudy and reflediion. I fay, originate, for it mufl oi-iginate: be admitted, that they ought ultimately to be determined on by the choice of the whole nation. It is the property of truth to difFufe itfelf. The difficulty is to diftinguifli it in the firft inftance, and in the next to prefent it in that unequivocal form which fhall enable it to command univerfal affent. This muft necefTarily be the tafk of a few. Society, as it at prefent exifts in the world, will long be divided into two claiTes, thofe who have leifure for ftudy, and thofe whofe Importunate neceffities perpetually urge them to temporary induftry. It is no doubt to be defired, that the latter clafs fliould be made as much as poffible to OF POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 207 to partake of the privileges of the former. But we fhould be BOOK IV.
careful, while we liften to the imdiftinguifhing demands of be- *■ « ' Section III.
nevolence, that we do not occafion a greater mifchief than that we undertake to cure. We Ihculd be upon our guard againfl an event the confequences of which are always to be feared, the propagating blind zeal, where we meant to propagate reafon.
The ftudlous and reflefting only can be expelled to fee deeply into future events. To conceive an order of fociety totally different from that which is now before our eyes, and to judge of the advantages that would accrue from its infti- tution, ar§ the prerogatives only of a few favoured minds. When thefe advantages have been unfolded by fuperior penetra- tion, they cannot yet for fome time be expected to be under- ftood by the multitude. Time, reading and converfation are neceffary to render them familiar. They muft defcend in regu- lar gradation from the mofl; thoughtful to the mofl: unobfervant. He, that begins with an appeal to the people, may be fufpeded to underftand little of the true character of mind. A finifter de- fign may gain by precipitation; but true wifdom is heft adapted to a flow, unvarying, inceflant progrefs.
Human affairs, through every link of the great chain of neceffity, are admirably harmonlfed and adapted to each other.
As the people form the lall ftep in the progrefs of ti'uth, they need leaft preparation to induce them to affert it. Their 3 prejudices Section III.
2oS OF POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS.
prejudices are few and upon the furface. They are the higher orders of fociety, that find, or imagine they find, their advantage in injuftice, and are eager to invent arguments for its defence. In fophiftry they firft feek an excufe for their conduct, and then become the redoubted champions of thofe errors which they have been afliduous to cultivate. The vulgar have no fuch intereft, and fubmit to the reign of injuftice from habit only and the want of reflection. They do not want preparation to feceive the truth, fo much as examples to embody it. A very Ihort catalogue of reafons is fufficient for them, when they fee the generous and the wife refolved to aflert the caufe of juftice. A very fliort period is long enough for them to imbibe the fentiments of patriotifm and liberty, 2. from the Secondly, aflbciations muft be formed with great caution tumult. j^Qj ^Q jjg allied to tumult. The conviviality of a feaft may lead to the depredations of a riot. While the fympai.hy of opinion catches from man to man, efpecially in numerous meetings, and among perfons whofe paffions have not been ufed to the curb of judgment, actions may be determined on, which folitary reflec- tion would have rejected. There is nothing more barbarous, cruel and blood-thirfty, than the triumph of a mob. Sober thought ' fliould always prepare the way to the public afl'ertion of truth. He, that would be the founder of a republic, fhould, like the firft Brutus, be infenfible to the energies of the moft imperious paflTions of our nature.
Upon OF POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 209 Upon this fubjedt of anbciations an obvious diftlncllon is to ^[^^^p ^j^" be made. Thofe, who are dlflatisfied with the o-ovcrninent of „'- — ^-~rr:!
their country, may aim either at the corredion of old errors, or 0„^J-.'^^^. °^ ■ the counteracting of new encroachments. Both thcfe objefts are legitimate. The wife and the virtuous man ought to fee things precifely as they are, and judge of the actual conftitution of his country with the fame impartiality, as if he had funply read of it in the remotell page of hiflory.
Thefe two obieds may be entitled to a different treatment. The ^" what cafe* firft ought undoubtedly to proceed with a leifurely ftep and in all poffible tranquillity. The fecond appears to require fomething more of adivity. It is the charaderiftic of truth, to truft much to its own energy, and to refifl invafion rather by the force of conviftion than the force of arms. The individual opprefTed feems however particularly entitled to our affiflance, and this can beft be afforded by the concurrence of many. The cafe may re- quire an early and unequivocal difplay of opinion, and this per- haps will afford an apology for fomc fort of afTociation, provided it be conducted with all pofTible attention to peaceablenefs and good order.
Few arguments can be of equal importance with that v>rhlch we Argued for from the neare here difcuffmg. Few miftakes can be more to be deplored '^':^^^y ^?
* give weight than that which fhould induce us to employ immoral and in- '° opinion; jurious methods for the fupport of a good caufe. It may be E e alledged, 2IO OF POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS.
CHAP ^n' ^^'^dg^^^? " ^^^^ affociation is the only expedient for arming the ^^"^'^^TTj' fenfe of the country againfc the arts of its oppreffors." Why arm? Why fpread a reftlefs commotion over the face of a nation, which may lead to the moft deftrudlive confequences? Why feek to beftow upon truth a weight that is not her own? a weight that muft always produce fome obliquity, fome blind and unen- lightened zeal? In attempting prematurely to anticipate the conqueft: of truth, we fhall infallibly give birth to deformity and abortion. If we have patience to wait her natural progrefs, and to afhft her caufe by no arguments that are not worthy of her, the event will be both certain and illuftrious.
from their A fimilar anfwer will fuggeft itfelf to the objedion, " that tendency to afcertain affociations are neceffary unequivocally to afcertain the opinioa opinion.
^ of the people." What fort of opinion is that, which thus ftands Unnecefiary -"^ ■*■ for thefe j^ need of fome fudden violence to oblige it to ftart from its purpofes.
hiding-place? The fentiments of mankind are then only equi- vocal in external appearance, when they are unformed and un- certain in the conception. When once the individual knows his own meaning, its fymptoms will be clear and unequivocal. Be not precipitate. If the embryo fentiment at prefent exifting ia my mind be true, there is hope that it will gain ftrength by time. If you wifh to affift its grov/th, let it be by inftrudlion, not by attempting to pafs that fentiment for mine which you only wifh to be fo. If the opinion of the people be not known to-day, it will not fail to Ihew itfelf to-morrow. If the opinion of OF POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 211 of the people be not known to-day, it is bccaufe that which vou BOOK IV.
would have fuppofed to be their opinion is not fufficiently their *^ v ' SLCTiOnIIL opinion. You might as well think of hiding the inhabitants of England, concealing their towns and their cultivation, and making their country pafs for a defert, as of concealing their real and deliberate fentiment.
Thefe are the expedients of men who do not know that truth is General inutility.
omnipotent. It may appear to die for a time, but it will not fail to revive with frefh vigour. If it have ever failed to pro- duce gradual convidtion, it is becaufe it has been told in a meagre, an obfcure or a pufillanimous manner. Ten pages that ihould contain an abfolute demonftration of the true interefls of mankind in fociety could no otherwife be prevented from changing the face of the globe, than by the literal deftrudtion of the paper on which they were written. It would become us to repeat their contents as widely as we were able; but,. if we at- tempted any thing more than this, it would be a pradtical proof that we did not know they contained a demonftration.
Such are the reafonings that fhould decide upon our abftrad Conceffions. opinion of every cafe of aflbciation that comes before us. But, * though from hence it Ihould fufficiently appear that aflbciation is fcarcelyin any cafe to be defired, there are confiderations that lhoul4 lead us fometimes to judge it with moderation and forbearance. There is one m.ode, according to which the benefit of mankind 212 OF POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS.
"^'2^ p ^^ * ^^'^y ^^^ ^^ promoted, and which ought always to be employed. : — T"* But mankind are imperfetSl beines, and there are certain errors of his fpecies which a wife man will be inclined to regard with indulgence. Affbciations, as a meafure intrinfically wrong, he will endeavour at leaft to poftpone as long as he can. But it muft not be dilTembled that in the crifis of a revolution they will fometimes be unavoidable. While opinion is advancing with filent ftep, imagination and zeal may be expe£led fomewhat to outrun her progrefs. "VVifdom will be anxious to hold them at bay; and, if her votaries be many, flie will be able to do this long enough to prevent tragical confequences. But, when the call is thrown, when the declaration is made and irrevocable, fhe will not fail, be the confufion greater or lefs, to take the fide of truth, and forward her reign by the beft means that the neceffity of the cafe will admit.
Importance But, though affociation, in the received fenfe of that term, munkation. muft be granted to be an mftrument or a very dangerous nature, it fhould be remembered that unreferved communication in a fmaller circle, and efpecially among perfons who are already awakened to the purfuit of truth, is of unqueftionable advantage. There is at prefent in the world a cold referve that keeps man at a diftance from man. There is an art in the pradice of which individuals communicate for ever, without any one telling - his neighbour what eftimate he fliould form of his attainments and charader, how they ought to be employed, and how to be improved.
OF POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 213 improved. There is a fort of domeftic tadics, the obieft of ROOK TV.
which is to inftrudl us to elude curiofity, and to keep up the ^ ^ ' SliCTIuN ill.
tenour of converfation, without the dirclofure either of our feelings or our opinions. The philanthropift has no objedt more deeply at heart than the annihilation of this duplicity and re- ferve. No man can have much kindnefs for his fpecies, who does not habituate himfelf to confider upon each fucceffive occa- fion of focial intercourfe how that occallon may be moft benefi- cently improved. Among the topics to which he will be anxious to awaken attention, politics will occupy a principal fhare.
Books have by their very nature but a limited operation; though, on account of their permanence, their methodical dil- quifition, and their eafmefs of accefs, they are entitled to the foremoft place. But their efficacy ought not to engrofs our confidence. The number of thofe by whom reading is negled- ed is exceedingly great. Books to thofe by whom they are read have a fort of conftitutional coldnefs. We review the arguments of an " infolent innovator" with fullennefs, and are unwilling to ftretch our minds to take in all their force. It is with difficulty that we obtain the courage of ftriking into untrodden paths, and quel- tioning tenets that have been generally received. But converfation accuftoms us to hear a variety of fentiments, obliges us to cxerclfe patience and attention, and gives freedom and elafticity to our men- tal difquifitions. A thinking man, if he will recoiled hisintelledlual hiftory, will find that he has derived ineftimable advantage from the ftimulus and furprife of colloquial fuggcRions; and, if he review 214 ' OF POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS.
BOOK IV. review the hiflory of literature, will perceive.that.minds of 2;reat Si- C TJOX III.
icutenefs and ability have' commonly exifted in a cluiler.
It follows that the promoting of the bell interefts of mankind eminently depends upon the freedom of focial communication. Let us imagine to ourfelves a number of individuals, who, having firft ftored their minds with reading and relledion, proceed afterwards in candid and unreferved converfation to compare their ideas, to fuggeft their doubts, to remove their difficulties, and to cultivate a collected and ftriking manner of delivering their fentiments. Let us fuppofe thefe men, prepared by mu- tual intercourfe, to go forth to the world, to explain with fuc- cinctnefs and funplicity, and in a manner well calculated to arrefh attention, the true principles of fociety. Let us fupvofe their hearers inftigated in their turn to repeat thefe truths to their companions. We fliall then have an idea of knowledge as per- petually gaining ground, unaccompanied with peril in the means of its diffufion. Reafon will fpread itfelf, and not a brute and unintelligent fympathy. DifcuiTion perhaps never exifts with fo much vigour and utility as in the converfation of two perfons. It may be carried on with advantage in fmall and friendly focieties. Does the fewnefs of their numbers imply the rarity of their exiftence? Far otherv/ife: the time perhaps will come when fuch inftitutions will be univerfid. Shev/ to mankind by a few examples the- advanta;ge,s of political difcufuon undebauched by political enmity and vehemence, and the beauty of the fpec- tacle will foon render the example contagious. Every man will commune OF POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 215 commune with his neighbour. Eveiy man will be ca^er to tell BOOK iv.
CHAP. 11. and to hear what the intereft of all requires them to know. ' ^^ ' SectiunIII.
The bolts and fortifications of the temple of truth will be re- moved. The craggy fleep of fcience, which it was before difficult to afcend, will be levelled with the plain. Knowledge will be ac- cefTible to all. Wifdom will be the inheritance of man, from which none will be excluded but by their own heedleffnefs and prodigality. If thefe ideas cannot completely be reahfed, till the inequality of conditions and the tyranny of government are rendered fomewhat lefs oppreffive, this affords no reafon againft the fetting afloat fo generous a fyftem. The improvement of individuals and the melioration of political inftitutions are deftined mutually to produce and reproduce each other. Truth and above all political truth, is not hard of acquifition, but from the fupercilioufnefs of its profeffors. It has been flow and tedious of improvement, becaufe the Iludy of it has been rele- gated to dodlors and civilians. It has produced little effedl upon the practice of mankind, becaufe it has not been allowed a plain and dire£l appeal to their underfl:andings. Rem.ove thefe obfta- \ cles, render it the common property, bring it into daily ufc and you may reafonably promife yourfelf confequenccs of the moft inefliimable value...But thefe confequenccs are the property only of independent and impartial difcuflion. If once the unambitious and candid circles of enquiring men be fwallowed up in the infatiate gulf of noify afl'emblies, the opportunity of improvement is inflantly ■ 4 annihilated.
Section 2i6 OF POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS.
BOO" TV. annihilated. Tlie happy varieties; of fentiment which fo emi- — ' nentlv contribute to iucellectual acutenefs are lofl. Adivity of III. ^ thoueht is fliackled bv the fear that our afibciates fnould difclaim us. A fallacious uniformity of opinion Is produced, which no man efpoufes from convidion, but which carries all men along with a refiftlefs tide. Clubs, in the old Englifh fenfe, that is, the periodical meeting of fmall and independent circles, may be admitted to fall within the line of thefe principles. But they ceafe to be admiifible, when united with the tremendous appa- ratus of articles of confederacy and committees of correfpond- ence. Human beings fliould meet together, not to enforce, but to enquire. Truth difclaims the alliance of marfiialled numbers. ■ It feems fcarcely neceuliry to add, that the individuals who are engaged in the tranfa£lions here cenfured, have frequently been inftigated by the beft intentions, and informed with the moft liberal views. It would be in the higheft degree unjuft, if their undertakings fhould be found of dangerous tendency, to ' involve the authors in indifcriminate cenfure for confequences which they did not forefee. But at the fame time, in propor- tion to the purity of their views and the foundnefs of their principles, it were earneftly to be defired that they would feriouily refiedl on the means they employ. It would be deeply to be lamented, if thofe who were the trueft friends to the wel- fare of mankind, fhould come, by the injudicioufneifi of their eonduCt, to rank among its enemies.
From g OF POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 217 From what has been f.m] It is fufficlently evident, that no alarm I'-OOK IV.
^ CHAP. II. can be more groundlefs, than that of violence and precipitation ' ' Reciiom III.
from the enlightened advocates of political iuftice. There is P't^pi'^}- of 1 J terxhiug: re-