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Ex. CLXXXVII.-THE ABOLITION OF WAR.

CHARLES SUMNER.

FAR be from us, fellow-citizens, on this anniversary, the illusions of national freedom in which we are too prone to indulge. We have but half done, when we have made ourselves free. Let not the scornful taunt be directed at us: 66 They wish to be free; but know not how to be just." Freedom is not an end in itself; but a means only; a means of securing justice and happiness, the real end and aim of States, as of every human heart. It becomes us to inquire earnestly if there is not much to be done by which these can be promoted. If I have succeeded in impressing on your minds the truths which I have upheld to-day, you will be ready to join in efforts for the abolition of war, and all preparation for war, as the true and only means of national grandeur.

To this great work let me summon you. That future which filled the lofty visions of the sages and bards of Greece and Rome, which was foretold by the prophets, and heralded by the evangelists, when man in happy isles, or in a new paradise, shall confess the loveliness of peace, may be secured by your care, if not for yourselves, at least, for your children. Believe that you can do it, and you can do it. The true golden age is before you, not behind you. If man has been driven once from paradise, while an angel with a flaming sword forbade his return, there is another paradise, even on earth, which he may form for himself, by the cultivation of the kindly virtues of life, where the confusion of tongues shall be dissolved in the union of hearts, where there shall be a perpetual jocund spring, and sweet strains borne on the odoriferous wings of gentle gales," more pleasant than the vale of Tempe, richer than the garden of the Hesperides, with no dragon to guard its golden fruit.

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Let it not be said that the age does not demand this work. The mighty conquerors of the past, from their fiery sepulchers, demand it; the blood of millions unjustly shed in war, crying from the ground, demands it; the voices of all good men demand it; the conscience, even of the soldier, whispers "Peace!" These are considerations, springing from our situation and condition, which fervently invite us to take the lead in this great work. To this should bend the patriotic ardor of the land; the ambition of the statesman; the efforts of the scholar; the pervasive influence of the press; the mild persuasion of the sanctuary; the early teachings of the school. Here, in ampler

ether and diviner air, are untried fields for exalted triumphs, more truly worthy the American name, than any snatched from rivers of blood. War is known as the Last Reason of Kings. Let it be no reason of our Republic. Let us renounce and throw off, for ever, the yoke of a tyranny more oppressive than any in the annals of the world. As those standing on the mountain-top first discern the coming beams of morning, let us, from the vantage-ground of liberal institutions, first recognize the ascending sun of a new era!

It is a beautiful picture in Grecian story, that there was, at least, one spot, the small island of Delos, dedicated to the gods, and kept at all times sacred from war, where the citizens of hostile countries met, and united in a common worship. So let us dedicate our broad country! The temple of honor shall be surrounded by the temple of concord, so that the former can be entered only through the portals of the latter; the horn of abundance shall overflow at its gates; the angel of religion shall be the guide over its steps of flashing adamant: while within JUSTICE, returned to the earth, from her long exile in the skies, shall rear her serene and majestic front. And the future chiefs of the republic, destined to uphold the glories of a new era, unspotted by human blood, shall be "the first in peace, and the first in the hearts of their country

men."

But while we seek these blissful glories for ourselves, let us strive to extend them to other lands. Let the bugles sound the Truce of God to the whole world, for ever! Let the selfish boast of the Spartan woman become the grand chorus of mankind, that they have never seen the smoke of an enemy's camp. Let the iron belt of martial music which now encompasses the earth, be exchanged for the golden cestus of Peace, clothing all with celestial beauty. History dwells with fondness on the reverent homage, that was bestowed, by massacring soldiers, on the spot occupied by the sepulcher of the Lord. Vain man! to restrain his regard to a few feet of sacred mold! The whole earth is the sepulcher of the Lord; nor can any righteous man profane any part thereof. Let us recognize this truth; and now, on this Sabbath of our country, lay a new stone in the grand temple of universal peace, whose dome shall be as lofty as the firmament of heaven, as broad and comprehensive as the earth itself.

Ex. CLXXXVIIL-RIENZI TO THE ROMANS

MOORE.

ROMANS! look round you-on this sacred place
There once stood shrines, and gods, and godlike men—
What see you now? what solitary trace

Is left of all that made Rome's glory then?
The shrines are sunk; the sacred mount bereft
Even of its name-and nothing now remains
But the deep memory of that glory, left

To whet our pangs and aggravate our chains!
But shall this be?- —our sun and sky the same,
Treading the very soil our fathers trod,—
What withering curse hath fallen on soul and frame,
What visitation hath there come from God
To blast our strength and rot us into slaves,
Here, on our great forefathers' glorious graves?
It can not be-rise up, ye mighty dead,

If we, the living, are too weak to crush
These tyrant priests, that o'er your empire tread,
Till all but Romans at Rome's tameness blush!

Happy Palmyra! in thy desert domes,

Where only date-trees sigh, and serpents hiss; And thou, whose pillars are but silent homes For the stork's brood, superb Persepolis! Thrice happy both, that your extinguished race Have left no embers-no half-living trace— No slaves, to crawl around the once proud spot, Till past renown in present shame's forgot; While Rome, the queen of all, whose very wrecks, If lone and lifeless through a desert hurled, Would wear more true magnificence than decks The assembled thrones of all the existing world— Rome, Rome alone, is haunted, stained, and cursed, Through every spot her princely Tiber laves, By living human things-the deadliest, worst, That earth engenders-tyrants and their slaves! And we-oh! shame!-we, who have pondered o'er The patriot's lesson, and the poet's lay; Have mounted up the streams of ancient lore, Tracking our country's glories all the wayEven we have tamely, basely kissed the ground, Before that Papal power, that ghost of her,

The world's imperial mistress-sitting, crowned
And ghastly, on her moldering sepulcher!
But this is past-too long have lordly priests,
And priestly lords led us, with all our pride
Withering about us-like devoted beasts,

Dragged to the shrine, with faded garlands tied.
'Tis o'er the dawn of our deliverance breaks!
Up from his sleep of centuries awakes

The genius of the old republic, free

As first he stood, in chainless majesty,

And sends his voice through ages yet to come,
Proclaiming Rome, Rome, Rome, Eternal Rome!

Ex. CLXXXIX.-DESTINY OF OUR COUNTRY.

JOSEPH STORY.

We

We stand the latest, and, if we fail, probably the last experiment of self-government by the people. We have begun it under circumstances of the most auspicious nature. are in the vigor of youth. Our growth has never been checked by the oppressions of tyranny. Our constitutions have never been enfeebled by the vices or luxuries of the old world. Such as we are, we have been from the beginning, -simple, hardy, intelligent, accustomed to self-government and self-respect. The Atlantic rolls between us and any formidable foe. Within our own territory, stretching through many degrees of latitude and longitude, we have the choice of many products, and many means of independence. The government is mild. The press is free. Religion is free. Knowledge reaches, or may reach, every home. What fairer prospect of success could be presented? What means more adaquate to accomplish the sublime end? What more is necessary than for the people to preserve what they themselves have created?

Already has the age caught the spirit of our institutions. It has already ascended the Andes, and snuffed the breezes of both oceans. It has infused itself into the life-blood of Europe, and warmed the sunny plains of France, and the low sands of Holland. It has touched the philosophy of Germany and the north; and, moving onward to the south, has opened to Greece the lessons of her better days.

Can it be that America, under such circumstances, can

betray herself? That she is to be added to the catalogue of republics, the inscription upon whose ruins is, "They were, but they are not ?" Forbid it, my countrymen! forbid it, Heaven!

I call upon you, fathers, by the shades of your ancestors, by the dear ashes which repose in this precious soil, by all you are and all you hope to be,-resist every object of disunion; resist every encroachment upon your liberties; resist every attempt to fetter your consciences, or smother your public schools, or extinguish your system of public instruction.

I call upon you, mothers, by that which never fails in woman -the love of your offspring; teach them, as they climb your knees, or lean on your bosoms,, the blessings of liberty. Swear them at the altar, as with their baptismal vows, to be true to their country, and never to forget or forsake her.

I call upon you, young men, to remember whose sons you are-whose inheritance you possess. Life can never be too short, which brings nothing but disgrace and oppression. Death never comes too soon, if necessary in the defence of the liberties of your country.

I call upon you, old men, for your counsels, and your prayers, and your benedictions. May not your gray hairs go down in sorrow to the grave with the recollection that you have lived in vain! May not your last sun sink in the west upon a nation of slaves!

No! I read in the destiny of my country far better hopes, far brighter visions. We who are now assembled here must soon be gathered to the congregation of other days. The time of our departure is at hand, to make way for our children upon the theater of life. May God speed them and theirs! May he who, at the distance of another century, shall stand here to celebrate this day, still look around upon a free, happy, and virtuous people! May he have reason to exult as we do! May he, with all the enthusiasm of truth as well as poetry, exclaim that here is still his country!

Ex. CXC.-DUTIES OF AMERICANS.

G. S. HILLARD.

WE may betray the trust reposed in us-we may most miserably defeat the fond hopes entertained of us.

We may

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