I could find great numbers of examples to fupport what I have juft been faying, if I was difpofed to quote them; but, amongst the multitude, I fhall content myself with the following As the French army, at the battle of Ramillies, was retreating in very good order over a piece of ground that was extremely narrow, and bordered on two fides by fome deep hollows, the cavalry of the allies purfued it, at as flow a pace, as if they were marching to an exercise, the French moving likewife very gently, and formed at the fame time twenty deep, or perhaps more, on account of the narrowness of the ground, which I have juft taken notice of In this fituation an Englith fquadron approached two batta To the MONITOR. lions of French, and began firing CA upon them; who, imagining that they were going to be attacked, immediately came about, and made a general discharge; the noife of which fo alarmed the whole French army, that the cavalry took to flight at full speed, and all the infantry precipitated itself into the hollows with the utmost fear and confufion; infomuch, that the ground was clear in an inftant, and not a fingle perfon to be seen. Can any one, therefore, after fuch an inftance, prefume to boast of the regularity and good order of retreats, or of the prudence of those who permit a vanquished enemy to make them unmolested? Commanding Officers who conform to thefe tenets, make but bad fervants, and promote very Bowly the intereft of their Sovereign. Nevertheless, I do not fay they ought to give themselves totally up to the purfuit, and follow the enemy with all their forces; but only to detach proper bodies, with inftructions to purfue as long as the day laits, and, at the fame time, to keep themfelves conftantly in good order; becaufe after his troops have once taken the fight, they may be driven before CATO NATO having furvived the liberty of his country, first weakened by vice, then impoverished by its rulers; and, at laft, fubdued by its own army; and being spent, overpowered, defpairing of fuccefs in his endeavours to reform and preferve a corrupt ftate, wrestling with vice and faction, advifes his fon to retreat betimes from a court, in which there were no hopes of amendment, and to retire to his country feat, there to prav for the peace of his country, and to be content with being obfcurely good. Because the most certain means of preferving our integrity is to withdraw from those who are of abandoned principles; when it is not in our power to reftrain their ambition, nor ftem their vicious and defpotic measure. An advice not peculiar to Cato; but common to the best and greatest men in all ages and nations; who have always fhone with greater luftre in their private ftations, when driven from the government by vicious and impious men; than thofe, who brought on the ruin of their country by force and immorality; and who, by their example, as well as precept, have convinced us that it is as impoffible, for a Ministry, over-ruled by a factious cabal of def perato perate fortunes, gamefters, men without religion, and afpiring to arbitrary power, to preferve the constitution of their country, the honour of their nation, and the property of the fubject from injury, difgrace, and lofs; as it for freedom and flavery, ambition and public fpirit, light and darkness, virtue and vice to exift together. Can it be poffible for a free ftate to maintain its privilge, where the governors place their fecurity in the corruption of the guardians of the people and a ftanding army; and their perpetuity in fowing difcord amongst the fubjects, and, by misrepresentations, deprive them of that mutual love and confidence, which are neceffary for the tranquility and profperity of the King and his people? Where was it known that the Minifter, who has fixed his heart on riches, and is determined, at all events, to gratify his ambition at the expence of those who are committed to his power or juftice for protection and redrefs, ever confidered the public good in any other view than as fhould the most effectually put him in poffeffion of a large eftate, and adorn him with titles of honour? Can it be expected that one, whofe natural capacity is too weak to qualify him for a clerk, or whofe acquired abilities are prescribed by a little low craft to invent ways and means to deceive his friends, to filence oppofition, and to opprefs the whole community, fhould be a proper director at the head of the Treafury, Admiralty, War-office, or Navy? Or that the most difcerning and honeft affeffors, at the Treafury or Admiralty board, were able to prevent the mifapplication of the public money, or to obtain the neceffary appointments of qur fleets, when little genius's and egregious flatterers have been protected and dared to make secure an interest in their Prince by wronging the subject? And it might be as well fuppofed that heaven and hell may be in league, as to expect that religion and moral honeftly can be encouraged by the influence of infidels, gamefters, de. bauchees, and men, who connive at all vice, which confirms their own authority. This was the difmal prospect of the ftate, when Cato, in the bitterness of his foul, cried out. O Liberty! O Virtue! O my Country! And this has, and muft be always the cafe, where vice prevails, and impious men bear fway. Because neither the throne nor the fenate, neither the Sovereign nor the people, can be proof against their fecret and defperate attempts. If the King is to be fecured to their intereft, they terrify him with treafons, unthought of by his fubjects; if a majority is neceffary to carry a point in Parliament againit the conftitution, they opprefs the people with heavy taxes to corrupt their Reprefentatives; and, if the nation pretend to murmur at their loffes and grievous burdens, a standing army properly ftationed, or an invafion conjured up to contenance the importation of foreign forces, have been found ready expedients to make a difarmed people fubmit to the yoke. Thefe, like the traitor Syphax, try to fubdue the principles of faith, honour, and justice in their Prince; and, with Sempronius, conceal their thoughts, cover their frauds thick with art, bellow out for Rome, and for their country; mouth at faction, till they fhake the fenate with appearances of their public fpirit, and profeflions of being Cato's friends; but at the fame time they practife upon the army, and the factious Leaders, being gained over, fpread murmurs and difcontents among their foldiers, till they make them ripe to ftorm the fenate-house, to bid defiance to Cato, and to deftroy that conftitution for whofe protection they were raised. By fuch means Rome was undone ; and though Britain is esteemed the happieft nation upon earth, the nurse of heroes, the delight of gods, that humbled the proud tyrants of the earth, and had fet other nations free; yet yet if her people fhould be once overrun with vice, if they feek after nothing but what fhall enable them to outdo one another in pride, luxury, and intemperance; if religion is once regarded no farther than an engine of state to keep the lower clafs in awe, or to quality fome for places of worldly advantage, or to preferve an important decency, or, perhaps, to cover tome fraud in private life, or fome defign against the public; if can be brought to feck after his own, every one at the risk of the public good, and by a bribe or a place, under the government, for a 'fon, a nephew, relation, or friend, be prevailed with to vote for a Reprefentative of corrupt and arbitrary principles; if it could be poflible for Britons to imagine they are providing for their families by the price of their votes, when it is certain that the very bribe they receive mult come out of their own pockets, and, in time, cat out the marrow of their labour and eftates; if they, whofe ancestors obtained for them their boafted liberties, at the price of their blood, and delivered it down by their advice and example, that they would make the best choice of their guardians in Parliament, when they made it from amongit their neighbouring Gentlemen, whole knowledge of their circumftances and mutual intereft intitled them to their favour and confidence; thould by a profufion of drink and money, or by the influence of ministerial agents, be induced to prefer the application of a candidate they never heard of before; of one, whole luft ought to exclude him from the company of our wives and daughters; v.hofe extravagances and prodigality make him unfit for the difpofing of our wealth; and who only feeks an opportunity and power to fupport hinfelf by embracing every fcheme laid for the ruin of his Country: Britain muft alfo be undone. Should there come a time when our crimes have fo increafed, that they who fit in high places hate the light, and those that tell truth; when it fhall be criminal in the firm Patriot, who to remonftrate dutifully to his King, makes the welfare of mankind his care, against measures, which expofe the country to danger from abroad, excontent at home; when to pursue the hautt the Exchequer, and create dif authors of our griefs and loffes with juftice, to enquire into and punish the mifconduct of former Minifters of ftate, to provide for the internal fafety to the Sovereign and his family, to reof the nation, to reconcile all parties ject all coalition with men, whofe politics had almoft ruined their King and Britain to any foreign connections, and country, to prefer the real intereft of to ftrengthen the hands of government, by reducing the over-grown burthen of placemen and penfioners, fhall bring difgrace upon the virtuous and wite Minifter, and reduce him to the exiftence of a private man; Britain will require our tears. hearts to fee vice prevail; to hear, How much more would it afflict our that every artery of the constitution is corrupted by vice and faction; and to be informed, that the Treafury is committed to men who are poor, profule, and without honour; that the Admiralty is fuperintended by cowards, efevery department, eftablished for truft feminate and unfkilful pilots; and that and difpatch of bufinefs, in fupport of the credit and property of the kingdom, is filled and made fubfervient to into fufpicion; whofe ftrength mult a man whofe finances bring his credit depend upon the impoverishment of the delinquents, and who rakes brothels fubject; whole interest is to protect and gaming-houses for Officers and Statesmen bear fway, the enemy rejoiceth; they When fuch impious men try with debts and taxes; neglect the difarm the fubjects; load their counnational commerce; give up those apnursery of navigation; promote the pendages which are the fecurity and unlearned, vicious, and time-ferving, to the cure of fouls; and admit none into pofts of truft, but fuch as, they are fatisfied, will be always ready to aflift them to fubdue the hearts of a free people, and to work them down, by time and ill fuccefs, to a fubmifli on. Such men might endeavour, by hireling pens, to fanctify their inpiety to God and their country, and to recommend them for virtues, to which they have no claim; but with Cato, every true Britain would cry: < Curfe on their virtues! they've undone their country.' Their pride, oppreffion, and injuftice might reign for a fhort time; but the genius of Britain would never, by a bafe fubmiffion, give up the conftitution to the intrigues of vice and faction; while every true fon of liberty, every fincere frind to his King and country, will not only deteft the evil thing which threatens the wrath of Heaven upon the offenders, but will follow the difgraced Patriot to his country retreat with bleffings and good wishes, and with all the tokens of love and gratitude; his virtues fhall refound in every mouth; his name fhall be revered by the children yet un born; and his private ftation rendered more honourable, than the highest pofts of those who live in continual combat with the liberties of their country. For we must not forget the words which Cato pronounced, on the like occafion, over the remains of the Roman liberties : And make our lives in thy poffellion happy, Or our deaths glorious in thy juft defence. To the PROPRIETORS of the MAGAZINE of MAGAZINES. GENTLEMEN, By inserting the following Letter, on the Origin of natural Evils, from a Book lately published, entitled, A free Inquiry into the Origin of Evil, you will greatly oblige feveral of your Readers, especially, Your's, &c. B. K, I SIR, Shall now lay before you my free fentiments concerning the origin of natural evil, by which I understand the fufferings of fenfitive beings only; for tempefts, inundations, and earthquakes, with all the diforders of the material world, are no farther evils than as they affect the fenfitive: So that under this head can be only comprehended pains of body, and inquietudes of mind. That thefe are real evils, I readily acknowledge; and, if any one is philofopher enough to doubt of it, I fhall only beg leave to refer him to a fevere fit of fickness, or a tedious law-fuit, for farther fatisfaction. The production of happiness seems to be the only motive that could induce infinite goodness to exert infinite power to create all things: For, to fay truth, happiness is the only thing of real value in exiftence; neither riches, nor power, nor wifdom, nor learning, nor flrength, nor beauty, nor virtue, nor religion, nor even life tfelf, being of any importance but as they contribute to its production. All these are in themfelves neither good nor evil; happiness alone is their great end, and they defirable only as they tend to promote it. Moft aftonishing therefore it must appear to every one who looks round him, to obferve all creatures bleffed with life and fenfation, that is, all creatures made capable of happiness, at at the fame time by their own natures condemned to innumerable and unavoidable miseries. Whence can it proceed, that Providence fhould thus feem to counteract his own benevolent intentions? To what ftrange and invifible cause are all these numerous and invincible evils indebted for their exiftence? If god is a good and benevolent Being, what end could he propose from creation, but the propagation of happiness? and, if happiness is the end of all existence, why are not all creatures that do exift happy? The true folution of this important question, so long and fo vainly fearched for by the philofophers of all ages and all countries, I take to be at laft no more than this. That thefe real evils proceed from the fame fource as thofe imaginary ones of imperfection, name ly, from that fubordination, without which no created fyftem can fubfift; all fubordination implying imperfection, all imperfection evil, and all evil fome kind of inconveniency or fuffering: So that there must be particular inconveniencies and fufferings a nnexed to every particular rank of created beings by the circumftances of things, and their modes of exiftence. Moft of thofe to which we ourselves are liable may be easily fhewn to be of this kind, the effects only of human nature, and the station man occupies in the univerfe: And therefore their origin is plainly deducible from neceffity; that is they could not have been prevented without the lofs of greater good, or the admiffion of greater evils than themselves; or by not creating any fuch creatures as men at all. And though this, upon a general view of things, does not fo forcibly ftrike us; yet, on a more minute inspection into every grievance attendant on human nature, it will moft evidently appear. Moft of thefe, I think, may be comprehended under the following heads: Poverty, labour, inquietudes of mind, pains of body, and death; from none of which we may venture to affirm man could never have been exempted, fo long as he continued to be man. God indeed might have made us a world quite differently conftituted; quite other creatures, and placed us in but then we had been no longer men; and whatever beings had occupied our ftations in the univerfal fyftem, they must have been liable to the fame inconveniencies.. could not poffibly have been exempted Poverty, for example, is what all from, not only by reafon of the Auctuating nature of human poffeffions, but because the world could not fubfift without it; for, had all been rich, none could have fubmitted to the commands of another, or the neceffary drudgeries of life; thence all governments must have been diffolved, arts neglected, and lands uncultivated, and fo an univerfal penury have overwhelemed all, inftead of now and then pinching a few. Hence, by the by, appears the great excellence of charity, by which men are enabled by a particular distribution of the bleffings and enjoyments of life, on proper occafions, to prevent that poverty, which, by a general one, Òmnipotence itself could never have prevented: So that, by inforcing this duty, God, as it were, demands our affiftance to promote universal happinefs, and to fhut out mifery at every door, where it ftrives to intrude itfelf. Labour, indeed, God might eafily have excused us from, fince at his command the earth would readily have poured forth all her treasures without our inconfiderable affiftance: But, if the fevereft labour cannot fufficiently fubdue the malignity of human nature, what plots, and machinations, what wars, rapine, and devaftation, what profligacy and licentioufness, muft have been the confequences of univerfal idlenefs! So that labour ought only to be looked upon as a talk kindly imposed upon us by our indulgent Creator, neceffary to preferve our health, our fafety, and our innocence. |