"Here a soldier, gentle reader, Ever mournful, weep, thou willow, On the verdant bank they found him, Holy standards waving o'er him, While victorious shouts were ringing, MERCY. Wildly, now, melodious notes And, ob! what poet's glowing pen Behold! behold! the smiling goddess cries, I beheld an assembly, each chiefs of a realm, At their feet roll'd a river, enough to o'erwhelm Yet eager was each to o'ermaster the tide, It was pregnant with death, but great was their pride; Aud ambition dares all for its sake. VOL. III. PART II. BB One hardily plung'd, he was 'mers'd in the deep, When a being, unseen till this perilous hour, Sprang forth to the succour of woe, From the gold-emboss'd bank, from the much-desir'd shore, He sav'd him, he sooth'd him,-be toil'd till ere long His talents were few,-he was brave, he was strong, This summ'd his acquirements, and now for his sin,- Tho' his conscience was spotless, yet black was his skin, He pours forth his treasures-he calls them to share ; With his gold, claim'd his service, ingratitude rare! To bondage the Negro was sent. The tale soon was spread, that the talisman, gold, The sable race went, were enslav'd, and were sold, But, see, one approaches with olive-branch crown, Tho' mild is her aspect, the tyrants bow down, A helmet of gold her dark tresses comprest, "Forbear," she cried, "this hateful sin, Obedient to the trumpet's call, Shall these not tread the Eternal's hall?- Where justice bears the balance even, The cumb'ring earth remov'd, behold! The loreless African shall stand." ""Tis nobly said," cried I, and broke the spell, — R. B. DISCUSSION: ARE MANKIND MORE INFLUENCED BY THE FORCE OF CUSTOM, OR THE LOVE OF NOVELTY? THE Proposer of this question maintained, that the Force of Custom had the more powerful influence. The observations on that side were, in effect, as follows: The point at issue depends on the extent and degree of that influence, which custom and novelty respectively possess. For the question, when expressed in more explicit terms, is this,-whether mankind in general are, with greater force, constrained by the one to prefer what is old, or stimulated by the other to pursue what is new. Mankind, then, are more influenced by that, which produces the stronger effect upon the greater number. This, on examination, will appear to be the case, with respect to the force of custom,whether we contemplate its effects on nations or individuals. The force of custom upon nations, is in no respect more remarkable, than in the pertinacious attachment which they have frequently shewn for the laws and religion of their ancestors, even when antiquity has been the chief or only ground of preference. Having been accustomed to regard the one as in all respects having justice for its basis, and to look upon the other as being, in every point, sanctioned by Heaven, they could not be prevailed upon to relinquish either. So far as their firmness in adhering to ancient opinion, can be fairly attributed to the force of truth, we should not impute it to that of custom. But, when (which has often happened,) all ground for their prepossession has been wanting, there has been no corresponding absence of obstinacy. On the contrary, nations, as well as individuals, are generally perverse, in proportion to their errors; as they, who appeal rather to prejudice than to reason, have no other resource but that of an implicit reliance on the authority of past times, the existence of which cannot be denied, and the validity of which they will not permit to be questioned. Accordingly, it has only been by some irresistible power, or other accidental causes, or by gradual and imperceptible means, that revolutions in church or state have, for the most part, been produced. But direct attempts at extensive innovations, even where their propriety, and indeed necessity, was obvious, have almost always failed. This has likewise been the case too frequently, with such partial and limited changes, as would have left the system, in which they were proposed to be made, totally unimpaired. Thus, particular laws of long standing, which, if now proposed, would be rejected with indignation or contempt, are, if a repeal is called for, defended with as much zeal, on the ground of their antiquity, as if the very existence of the state depended on their continuance. A striking instance of this sort has been exhibited of late years, in the failure of the endeavours made, to entitle persons accused of felony to the aid of counsel. Had such persons always been, by law, entitled to that aid, instead of having been always deprived of it, any attempt to take away the privilege, would have exposed the maker of it to general odium. But, as the law has hitherto prohibited counsel in such cases, those who have proposed the alteration, have been ridiculed by some, abused by others, and more than once defeated in their endeavour to procure a change, which is imperiously demanded, alike by common justice and by common sense. Again, with regard to religion, history presents us with similar occurrences, which the rules of the Institution will not permit to be discussed in detail; but from which it is sufficiently obvious that, while the force of custom makes it difficult to effect any alteration, it makes it equally difficult, when once effected and long adhered to, ever more to adopt either the ancient or any other system. But, in matters of less, importance than laws or religion, national prejudices, the effects of custom, have often been displayed, sometimes, indeed, rather whimsically. The government of Spain, about sixty years ago, issued a decree, prohibiting the people from wearing the slouched hats and long cloaks, to which they had been accustomed, and great endeavours were made to bring about a change in their ancient dress and manners; but the consequence was, so dangerous an insurrection at Madrid, that the king was obliged to part with his minister.* The people of Minorca exhibited the effect of custom in an instance equally absurd, though less alarming. In consequence of a certain old road being in very bad repair, and also, from its circuity, unnecessarily long, Governor Kane made a new one. He might, however, as well have saved the time, labour, and money, which the new road cost, as the people entirely neglected it, preferring the old, worn-out, and tedious way, which time and custom had concurred to consecrate.t A still more striking and preposterous manifestation of the force of custom, has been remarked in certain inhabitants of the regions about the Alps, where enormous wens are very common, which by us would be regarded as equally ugly and cumbersome; but so long and so often have those people been accustomed to see them upon persons whom they loved and respected, that it is said they are regarded as enviable ornaments, instead of disgusting deformities.‡ May we not impute, to a like cause, the difference of opinion between white people and Negroes, as to personal beauty? They consider, as charming, features by which we are disgusted; but then they have been accustomed to them from infancy, the impressions of which, long continued, can never be effaced. It is true they admire white people, though not equally used to them; but that only shews the difference between real and fancied beauty: the one is universally admired, the other by those only on whom custom, or some such adventitious circumstance, happens to operate. In this country, also, the great influence of custom was once shewn in a very singular instance. The merchants of Bristol had been long accustomed, originally for want of a proper building, to meet in a certain open part of the street, for the purpose of transacting their business. After a time, however, an exchange, with piazzas and every requisite accommodation, was erected; but the same evil spirit, which stimulated the people of Minorca to disregard their new road, seems to have urged the men of Bristol to neglect their new exchange. As if determined not to be comfortable, they continued to meet in the street, though a commodious building, equally handy in point of situation, and far * Historical Account of Spain and Portugal, in Guthrie's Geographical Grammar. + Kames's Elements of Criticism, vol. i. p. 324. Idem, vol. i. p. 389. |