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Show 108 Wendell Phillips. were a million of bodied- n if ev ry man carri ed a sonl!- b tl 1. c ut 1cy ... n "r , tru::·:-. tinror the merry of God, tha t by edu. <'nting all, the martyrs aml the saints-. thnt do not travel m bat- ta1 .t ons, nor c ~· e· r· come to us in rcror 11n ent~, but come nl01w, now aml tl 1cn on C - 'voul(l be reached and unfolded, and sa ve their own t .u ncs. PLtr·'1tn< 11i·m , therefore, i5 action; it is impcnon-j. • .1 l't i" distrustinrr and bcillg willing to ~hake on: at Ht.lllg luCaS; ::; o . . <. , , fittinrr times, what arc called wstttutwns. I hry wr r ' above word: ; they went out into the wildemcss, ?utsi<le of' :ornr. The consequence wa that, throughout their whole l11:-; tory, there i ~ the mo t daring confi<1encc in being sub:::.ta11tially right. They asked not of safety; tiH'Y n ~ v<'r '~'<'rc fr~ghten cd by nppcaranc<'S; they did the sub~tantt;~lly n ght tl~m ~, and left the stat esmen or a hundr ·d ycar:3 after, at a safe di stanee, to find out the rca ·on- why they were right. The con ·c'qnence is that, when conserratism co111 ~s tog<'th 'l' to-<.1ay, wh •ther in the form of a'' Union meeting"- dt•ad m ' ll t11rnin,!; in I heir gmYCS and pretending to be :dire- wlletll<'r it be in tl1is f(Jrm or any ot her, it: oC'cupntion is to <'xplain how, a hundred year,:; ago, the cour~c taken wa:; ri~h t, and not to !' •c tire reflection of' a hundred y ea r ~ ngo ~ tarin g them in the f~l co to-tlay. Like the i' ittin:.; fig1tre on our ('oin, lhey are lookin~ baek - thcy haxc no eyes for thl' future. The solll:; thnt (JOU t0tH.:hes baYe th eir urows gilded by the dmrn of' tho future. A man prc, ent at tl1e gloriou:-; marlyrclorn of the 2d of December, said of the hero-:;nint who man:h<.:d out of 1he jail," lie sc<'m •cl to comC', hi ::; brow radiant with triumph." It was the dawn of a f'utun' thy that g ilded his brow. lie was high rnough, in the providvn<'c of' God, to cn teh, earlier than the present generation, the dawn of the tlcty that he was to inang11ratc. Thi$ i ~ my idea of Puritan principk::;. Nolhing new in th ~m. How are we to Yindieate th l'm? Eminent hi ~ t o rillm; n.nd pntt·iot~ have told u ~ that the 1wns of the Puritans are their l>e::;t witues~es. It does not seem to me ~o . \\" e are Wendell Phillips. their witncs cs. lf thry li ved to nny pnrpo~ , they produced a generation better than th •m:;;c lves. The tn1 mn,n always m:tkcs himself to be ont<lone by his c·hild. The Yindication of Puritnni -m is a N ' W England bound to be bolter than Puritanism; bonn<l to look back and . ce its fault:; and m et the cxigcneic;; of the pre~ent day, not with stupiu i111itation, hut with that cs,ential <1isint<'rc:.:; tednes:4, that f~t ith in ri rrht and lJ God, with which they met the (•xigc'n<'ics of their tim <'. Take an illu stration. \VIICII our f:uh ·t·s stood in London, undt'r the corporation chart •r of Uktrl •:;, the qu ·:-;tion w:t ~, " Jl aYe we a right, to remove to 1\Ia s~:lt:llllset t~?" TI H' l:twyc·r:-; ~a id, "No.~' The f~tthers said, '' Y ·s; w ' will rc·mo,· I lo 1\fa..;:-;achu: ctt :-:, ancl let law find the n·a:-:on fil'ly year:-; h c· n c·c ~. " Thl'y kn<' w that they hacl rhe substantial ri.(..r, l1 t. Th eir motto wa:; W>t " Law and Order"; it was " Gocl and ,J u:-;ti<'e "-a mtH:h better motto. U nl c:;:-; you take ''Law and Ordt'r" in tl1c hig he:-;t meaning of the word:4, it i;-; n. b:t:c motto - if it nwans only n.:co.~nizing til I 111:1jorit y. "Cr-ime," ~ays Vidor II ugo, "conH!:3 to hi story ~i ld e1 l :mel r ro\rn ecl, and sny~, 'I :1m not crime ; I am sta·ccss.' " And hi :; tory, \\'rit ten by a ~o11 l gird ·d with pct rellrnt•n t:-; ~li Hl i'tll nned wit h ha ll' a dnzen l nng~r:t~t'=-', ~ay~, '' Yt':::, thou :trt SlfCtrss; W<' ae<·<'pt tlH·e." But til<' i:tithf'ul sot tl h< 1low cries out," Thou art CHL\11·: r Avaunt!" Thvre is so ltlll elt in wonl~. Thi ~ i: tiH! lc~so n of' Puritanism -!tow . hall we m<·<·t it to-d:ty? Ev<' ry nge ~ t e rC'otypes its id t'a" into f(mn s. It i::; tire uatural tcmletH')'; and whC'n it. i:S done, <·n· ry ~tg<' f!'I'O \\'S old a nd di<:'~. I t is God's ll<'IWflcent pro,·idc·net• - dC':ttll \\rlH·n id('a:; have :::::h:t 1>('d thc•m ..- <·h·cs nncl bec·omc• f(,,..;:-.i l and I ~t ill, God takes off the weight of the dead 111<'11 f'rorn tl1cir :tg<·, and lc ~u ,·<·:-; mom f(H· th' new bt1d. It i ~ a blc· . ..;~ecl in . .-titt ttion - clvath! But there are 111 <' 11 running :tbout \\'Ito third" tl l;tt tho:;<' f(>rm.::, \\'h ich the oltl Hntl the experience of' tit<• pn ~ t han~ l<·l't t ll< 'nl, at·e n ec<.'~saril y right and ind i:-; pcn~able. Th,·y are Co n ~e rvat i ,·e:. The m ·n who !wiLl their ears open lor the mc::;::;age of the present hour, they arc the Puritans. 10 |