4*' "••> *-V.- -.,r.j •.'•'■-•;'''. r* ft> <-: ^r?ra? ^ c f* | SURGEON GENERAL'S OFFICE LIBRARY. I - - /\ ':' Section, --- ^ * JVo. /O^S^. ~f/f~t' >—=T <-^\l-- \ ' u w ~S «,.' ESSAYS, Citerarp, i*tdtal $ $t)tlot'o$icat Br BENJAMIN R USH, M. D. AND PROFESSOR OF THE INSTITUTES OF MEDICINE AND CLINICAL PRACTICE IN THE Univerfity of Pennfylvania. -HBBflOM' Pfcifauelphfa; PRINTED BY THOMAS to* SAMUEL F. B N°. 8, SOUTH FRONT STREET. ♦»♦♦♦♦*♦♦♦♦♦»♦ I798. AS A RECORD OF FRATERNAL AFFECTION, THE FOLLOWING ESSAYS ARE INSCRIBED TO JACOB RUSH, Judge of the Third Diftridl: of Pennfylvania, By his Friend And Brother, THE AUTHOR. Januarys 1798. <✓ PREFACE, MOST of the following EfTays were publifhed in the Mufeum, and Columbi- an Magazine, in this City, foon after the end of the revolutionary war in the United States. A few of them made their first appearance in pamphlets. They are now publifhed in a fingle volume, at the requeft of feveral friends, and v,ith a view of promoting the ends at firft con- templated by them. Two of the EfTays, viz: that upon the ufe of Tobacco, and the account of remarkable circumstances in the conftitution and Ufe of Ann Woods, are now fubmitted for the firli time to the eye of the public. The author has omitted in this collection two pamphlets which he publifhed in the year 1772, upon the slave- ry of the Negroes, becaufe he conceived the object of them had been in part accom- PREFACE. plifhed, and becaufe the Citizens of the United States have fince that time been fur- nifhcd from Great Britain and other coun- tries, with numerous tra&s upon that fub- je<3, more calculated to complete the effecl: intended by the author, than his early pub- lications. BENJAMIN RUSH. Philadelphia, Jan. 9, 1798. TABLE OF CONTENTS. **• PLAN for establishing Public Schools in Pennfylvania, and for conducting Education agreeably to a Republican form of Go- vernment. AddreiTed to the Legiflature and Citizens of Penn- fylvania, in the year 1786, 1 Of the mode of Education proper in a Republic, t Obfervations upon the ftudy of the Latin and Greek languages, as a branch of liberal Education, with hints of a plan of liberal Inftru&ion, without them, accomodated to the prefent Hate of fociety, manners and government in the United States, 31 Thoughts upon the amufements and puniihments, which are prof er for Schools, 57 Thoughts upon Female Education, accomodated to the prefsntftate of fociety, manners and government, in the United States of America, 75 A defence of the Bible as a School Book, 93 An addrefs to the Minifters of the Gofpel of every denomination in the United States upon fubjects interesting to morals, 114 An inquiry into the coniiftency of Oaths with Chriftianity, ia ^ An enquiry into the Effects of Public Puniihments upon Criminals, and upon Society, 136 An enquiry into the conisftency of the Punifhment of Muru.:r by Death, with Reafon and Revelation, 164 A plan of a Peace Office for the United States, I 183 Information to Europeans who ar: difpofed to migrate to theUnit?! States cf America, iZj A TABLE OF CONTENTS. /.n Account of the Progrefs of Population, Agriculture, Manners, anJ Government, in Pennfylvania. -13 An Account of the manners, of the German Inhabitants of Pennfyl- vania, "6 Thoughts on common fenfe', 249 An Account of the Vices peculiar to the Indians 6f North America, 257 Obfervations upon the influence of the Habitual ufe of Tobacco upon FIcalth, Morals, and Property, 263 An account of the Sugar Maple Tree of the United States, 27 5 An account of the life and death of Edward Drinker, who died on the 17 of November, 17S2, in the 103 year of his age, 295 Remarkable circumftances in the constitution and life of Ann Woods, an old woman of 96 years of age, 301 biographical Anecdotes of Benjamin Lay, 305 Biographical Anecdotes of Anthony Benezet, 311 Paradifeof Negro Slave:—a dream, 305 Dulogium uponDr. William Cullen, 321 Tulogium upon David Pv'ttcnhoufe, 34> 1 €ffaj»0, LITERARY, M0R.1L, AND PHILOSOPHICAL, A PLAN FOR ESTABLISHING PUBLIC SCHOOLS IM PENNSYLVANIA, AND FOR CONDUCTING EDUCA- TION AGREEABLY TO A REPUBLICAN FORM OF GO- VERNMENT. ADDRESSED TO THE LEGISLATURE AND CITIZENS OF PENNSYLVANIA, IN THE. YEAR 1786. BEFORE I proceed to the fubjed of this ef- fay, I {hall point out, in a few words, the influence and advantages of learning upon mankind- I. It is friendly to religion, inafmuch as it affifts in removing prejudice, fuperftition and enthufiafm, in promoting juft notions of the Deity, and in enlarging our knowledge of his works. II. It is favourable to liberty. Freedom can exift only in the fociety of knowledge. "Without learning, men are incapable of knowing their rights, and where learning is confined to a few people, liberty can be neither equal nor uuiverfal. 2 A PLAN FOR ESTABLISHING PUBLIC III. It promotes juft ideas of laws and govern- ment. " "When the clouds of ignorance are dis- pelled (fays the Marquis of Beccaria) by the radiance of knowledge, power trembles, but the authority of laws remains immoveable." IV. It is friendly to manners. Learning in all countries, promotes civilization, and the pleafures of fociety and converfation. V. It promotes agriculture, the great bafis of na- tional wealth and happinefs. Agriculture is as much a fcjence as hydraulics, or optics, and has been equally indebted to the experiments and refearcjies of learned men. The highly cultivated irate, and the immenfe profits of the farms in England, are derived wholly from the patronage which agriculture has received in that country, from learned men and learned focieties. VI. Manufactures of all kinds owe their perfection chiefly to learning—hence the nations of Europe advance in manufactures, knowledge, and com- merce, only in proportion as they cultivate the arts and fciences. For the purpofe of diffusing knowledge through every part of the ftate, I beg leave to propofe the following fimple plan. I. Let there be one univerfity in the ftate, and let this be eftablifhed in the capital. Let law, phyfic, divinity, the law of nature and nations, ceconomy, &c. e taught in it by public lectures in the winter feafon, SCHOOLS IN PENNSYLVANIA* i aftef the manner of the European univerfities, and let the profeflors receive fuch falaries from the ftate as will- enable them to deliver their lectures at a moderate price. II. Let there be four colleges. One in Philadelphia; one at Carlisle; a tnird, for the benefit of our German. fellow citizens, at Lancafter ; and a fourth, fome years hence at Pittlburg. In thefe colleges, let young men be inftructed in mathematics and in the higher branches of fcience, in the fame manner that they are now taught in our American colleges. After they have received a teftimonial from one of thefe colleges, let them, if they can afford it, complete their ftudie* by fpending a feafon or two in attending the lectures in the univerfity. I prefer four colleges in the ftate to one or two, for there is a certain fize of colleges as there is of towns and armies, that is moft favourable to morals and good government. Oxford and Cam- bridge in England are the feats of dissipation, while the more numerous, and lefs crouded univerfities and colleges in Scotland, are remarkable for the order, diligence, and decent behaviour of their ftudents. HI. Let there be free fchools eftablifhed in every townfhip, or in diftricls confifting of one hundred families. In thefe fchools let children be taught to read and write the Englifh and German languages, and the ufe of figures. Such of them as have parents that can afford to fend them from home, and are difpofed to extend their educations, may remove their children from the free fchool to one of the college*. 4 A PLAN FOR ESTABLISHING? PUBLIC By this plan the whole ftate will be tied together by one fyftem of education. The univerfity will in time furnifh mafters for the colleges, and tne colleges will furnifh mafters for the free fchools, while the free fchools, in their turns, will fur>r,')r the colleges and the univerfity with fcholars, ftudents raid pupils. The fame fyftems of grammar, oratory and philofophy, will be taught in every part of the ftate, and the literary features of Pennfylvania will thus desig- nate one great, and equally enlightened family. But, how Ihall we bear the expenfe of thefe literary inftitutions r-----1 anfwer—Thefe inftitutiona will lejfen our taxes. They will enlighten us in the great bufinefs of finance—they will teach us to en- •«reafe the ability of the ftate to fupport government, by encreafing the profits of agriculture, and by pro- moting manufactures. They will teach us all the* modern improvements and advantages of inland navi- gation. They will defend us from hafty and expensive experiment in government, by unfolding to us the experience and folly of paft ages, and thus, inftcad of adding to our taxes and debts, they will. furnifh us with the true fecret of leffening and difcharging both of them. But, fhall the eftates of orphans, batchelors and perfons who have no children, be taxed to pay for the fupport of fchools from which they can derive no benefit ? I anfwer in the affirmative, to the firft SCHOOLS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 5 part of the objection, and I deny the truth of the? latter part of it. Every member of the community is interefted in the propagation of virtue and knowledge in the ftate. But I will go further, and add, it will be true ceconomy in individuals to fupport public fchools. The batchelor will in time fave his tax for this purpofe, by being able to fleep with fewer bolts and locks to his doors—the eftates of orphans will in time be benefited, by being protected from the ravages of unprincipled and idle boys, and the children of wealthy parents will be lefs tempted, by bad company, to extravagance. Fewer pillories and whipping pofts, and fmaller goals) with their ufual expcnfes and taxes, will be ne- cefiary when our youth are properly educated, than at prefent; I believe it could be proved, that the expenes of confining, trying and executing criminals, amount every year, in mod of the counties, to more money than would be fufficient to maintain all the fchools that would be neceffary in each county. The confeffions of thefe criminals generally fhow us, that their vices and punifnments are the fatal confe- quences of the want of a proper education in early life. I fubmit thefe detached hints to the confideration of the legislature and of the citizens of Penfylvania. The plan for the free fchools is taken chiefly from the plans which have long been ufed with fuccefs in e OF THE MODE OF EDUCATION Scotland, and in the eaftern ftates * of America, where the influence of learning, in promoting religion> morals, manners, and good government, has never been exceeded in any country. The manner in which thefe fchools fhould be fup- ported and governed—the modes of determining the characters and qualifications of fchoolmafters, and the arrangement of families in each diftrict, fo that children of the fame religious feet and nation, may be educa- es much as poflible together, will form a proper part of a law for the eftablifhment of fchools, and there- fore does not come within the limits of this plan. Or THE MODE OF EDUCATION PROPER. IN A REPUBLIC. THE bufinefs of education has acquired a new complexion by the independence of our country. The form of government we have aflitmed, has created a new clafs of duties to every American. It becomes us, therefore, to examine our former habits upon this fubject, and in laying the * Thzrs are46oo of thefe fchools in the frrsall ftate of Conne&icut, jyhVi atjthis time have in them 25, 000 fcholars. PROPER IN A REPUBLIC t foundations for nurferies of wife and good men, to adapt our modes of teaching to the peculiar form of our government. The firft remark that I fhall make upon this fubje& is, that an education in our own, is to be preferred to an education in a foreign country. The principle of patriotifm ftands in need of the reinforcement of prejudice, and it is well known that our ftrongeft prejudices in favour of our country are formed in the firft one and twenty years of our lives. The policy of the Lacedemonians is well worthy of our imitation. "When Antipater demanded fifty of their children as hoftages for the fulfillment of a diftant engagement, ythofe wife republicans refufed to comply with his de- mand, but readily offered him double the number of their adult citizens, whofe habits and prejudices could not be fhaken by refiding in a foreign country. Palling by, in this place, the advantages to the community from the early attachment of youth to the laws and conftitution of their country, I fhall only remark, that young men who have trodden the paths of fcience together, or have joined in the fame fports, whether of fwimming, fearing, fifhing, or hunting, generally feel, thro' life, fuch ties to each other, as add greatly to the obligations of mutual benevolence. I conceive the education of our youth in this country to be peculiarly neceffary in Pennfylvania, while our citizens are compofed of the natives of fo many diffe- rent kingdoms in Europe. Our fchools of learning. S OP THE MODE O* EDUCATION by producing one general, and uniform fyftem or education, will render the mafs of the people more homogeneous, and thereby fit ^them more eafily for » uniform and peaceable government. I proceed in the next place, to enquire, what mode, of education we (hall adopt fo as to fecure to the ftate all the advantages that are to be derived from the proper instruction of' youth; and here I beg JeaveUo remark, that the only foundation for a ufeful education in a republic is to be laid injleligion, Without thi$ there can be povirtue, and without ^virtue there can he no liberty, and liberty is the object and l life of all republican governments,. Such is my veneration for every religion that reveals the attributes of the Deity, or a future ftate of rewards and puniihments, that I had rather fee the opinions of Confucius or Mahomed inculcated upon our youth, than fee them grow up wholly devoid of a fyftem of religious principles. But the religion I mean to recommend in this place, is that of the New Testa- ment. It is foreign to my purpofe to hint at the arguments which eftablifh the truth of the Christian revelation- My only bufinefs is to declare, that all its doctrines and precepts are calculated to promote the happinefs of fociety, and the fafety and well being of civil govern- ment. A Christian cannot fail of being a republican. The hiitory of the creation of man, and of the relation PROPER IN A REPUBLIC f leaures given upon Hiftory and Chronology. The fcience of government, whether it related to conftitutions or laws, can only be advanced by a care- ful fekaion of faas, and thefe are to be found chiefly in hiftory. Above all, let our youth be inftruaed in the hiftory of the ancient republics, and the pro- grefs of liberty and tyranny in the different states of Europe. I wifh likewife to fee the numerous faas that relate to the origin and pfefent ftate of commerce, together with the nature and principles of Money, reduced to fuch a fyftem, as to be intelligible and a- greeable to a young man. If we confider the com- merce of our metropolis only as the avenue of the wealth of the ftate, the ftudy of it merits a place in a young man's education j but, I confider commerce' in a much higher light when I recommend the ftudy of it in republican feminaries. I view it as the beft fccurity againft the influence of hereditary monopolies of land, and, therefore, the fureft proteaion againft ariftocracy. I confider its effeas as next to thofe of religion in humanizing mankind, and Iaftly, t view it as the means of uniting the different nations of the world together by the ties of mutual wants- and obligations. Chemiftry by unfolding to us the effeas of heat" and mixture, enlarges our acquaintance with the: wonders of nature and the mvftevies of art; her.cvv: I) iS OF THE MODE OF EDUCATION it has become, in molt of the univerfities of Europe, a ^neceffary branch of a gentleman's education. In a young country, where improvements in agriculture and manufaaures are fo much to be defired, the cultiva- tion of this fcience, which explains the principles of both of them, fhould be confidered as an objea of the utmoft importance. Again, let your youth be inftruaed in all the means of promoting national profperity and inde- pendence, whether they relate to improvements in agriculture, manufaaures, or inland navigation. Let him be inftruaed further in the general principles of legislation, whether they relate to revenue, or to the prefervation of life, liberty or property. Let him be direaed frequently to attend the courts of juftice, where he will have the belt opportunities of acquairing habits of comparing, and arranging his ideas by obferving the difcovery of truth, in the examination of witneffes, and where he will hear the laws of the ftate explained, with all the advan- tages of that fpecies of eloquence which belongs to the bar. Of fo much importance do I conceive it to be, to a young man, to attend occafionally to the decifions of our courts of law, that I wifh tq fee our colleges eftablifhed, only in county towns. But further, confidering the nature of our con- neaion with the United States, it will be necefTary to make our pupil acquainted with all the prerogatives PROPER IN A REPUBLIC. 19 ef the national government. He muft be inftruaed in the nature and variety of treaties. He muft know the difference in the powers and duties of the feveral fpecies of ambaffadors. He muft be taught wherein the obligations of individuals and of ftates are the fame, and wherein they differ. In fhort, he muft accquire a general knowledge of all thofe laws and forms, which unite the fovereigns of the earth, or feparate them from each other. I beg pardon for having delayed fo long to fay any thing of the feparate and peculiar mode of education proper for women in a republic. I am fenfible that they mult concur in all our plans of of education for young men, or no laws will ever fender them effeaual. To qualify n\xr women for this purpofe, they fhould not only be inftruaed in the ufual branches of female education,, but they fhould be taught the principles of liberty and go- vernment ; and the obligations of patriotifm fhould be inculcated upon them. The opinions and condua of men are often regulated by the women in the moft arduous enterprizes of life ; and their approbation is frequently the principal reward of ,the hero's dangers, and the patriot's toils. . Befides, the firft impreffions upon the minds of children are gene- raly derived from the women. r Of how much con, fequence, therefore, is it in a republic, that they fhould think juftly upon the great fubjeas of liberty and government! 3° OF THE MODE OF EDUCATION, &C The complaints that have been made againft religion, liberty and learning, have been, againft each of them in a feparate ftate. Perhaps like certain liquors, they fhould only be ufed in a ftate of mixture. They mutually affift in correaing the abufes, and in improving the good effeas of each other. From the combined and reciprocal influence of religion, liberty and learning upon the morals, manners and knowledge of individuals, of thefe, upon govern- ment, and of government, upon individuals, it is impoffible to meafure the degrees of happinefs and perfeaion to which mankind may be raifed. For my part, I can form no ideas of the golden age, fq much celebrated by the poets, more delightful, than the contemplation of that happinefs which it is now in ;_the power of the legislature of Pennfylvania to confer upon her citizens, by eftablifhing proper modes Jmd places of education in every part of the ftate. Observations upon the study of the latin and greek languages, as a branch of liberal education, with hints of a plan of l iberal instruction, without them, accommodated to the present state of society, mannersj and government in the united states. IT requires the recolleaion of efcapes from a lion and a bear, to encounter the ftrong and univerfal prejudice, in favor of the Latin and Greek languages, as a peceffary branch of liberal education. If, in combating this formidable enemy of human reafon, I fhould be lefs fuccesful than the Hebrew stripling was in contending with the giant of the Philistines, I hope it will be afcribed wholly to the want of fkill to direa arguments, which, in other hands, would lay this tyrant in the duft. I fhall attempt to difcufs this queftion, by firft deliv- ering a few general propofitions. I fhall afterwards apply thefe propofitions, and anfwer fuch arguments as are ufually urged in favor of the Latin and Greek languages as neceffary parts of an academic education. I. The great defign of a liberal education is, to prepare youth for ufefulnefs here, and for happinefs hereafter. 11 OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY OF THE II. The proper time for acquiring the neceffary branches of knowledge for thefe important purpofes, is in the firft eighteen years of life. III. From four to five years are ufually fpent in acquiring a competent knowledge of the Latin and Greek languages. IV. The knowledge of things always preceeds the knowledge of words. Children difcover the truth of this obfervation every day. They know all the objeas around them, long before they are able to call them by their proper names, or even to arti- culate founds of any kind. It is fuppofed that children acquire more ideas of things in the firft three years of their lives, than they acquire in any thirty years afterwards. V. The acquifition of words leffens the ability of the mind to acquire ideas. That underftanding muft have uncommon ftrength, which does not contraa an oblique direaion by being employed four or five years in learning the Latin or Greek languages. VI. The difficulty of acquiring thofe dead languages, and the little pleafure which accompanies the knowledge of them in early life, occafion the principal obftacles to teaching, in mafters, and and learning, in fcholars. LATIN AND GREEK LANGUAGES. Z$ The famous Bufby is faid to have died of " bad Latin;" that is, the ungrammatical verfions of his fcholars broke his heart. How few boys relifh Latin and Greek leflbns! The plcafure they fometimes difcover in learning them, is derived cither from the tales they read, or from a competition, which awak- ens a love of honour, and which might b* dif- played upon a hundred more ufeful fubjeas ; or it may arife from a defire of gaining the good will of their mafters or parents. Where thefe incentives are wanting, how bitter does the ftudv of languages render that innocent period of life, which feems ex- clufively intended for happinefs! " I wifh I had never been born," faid a boy of eleven years old, to his mother:" why, my fon ?" faid his mother. '* Be- caufe I am born into a world of trouble." " What " trouble," faid his mother fmiling, " have you " known, my fon ?"—« Trouble enough, mamma," faid he, " two Latin lefTons to get, every day." This boy was not deficient in genius nor in application to books. He often amufed himfelf in reading natural and ancient hiftory, was inquifitive after knowledge of every kind, and was never heard to afk a foolifh or impertinent queftion. VII. Many fprightly boys of excellent capacities for ufeful knowledge, have been fo difgutted with the dead languages, as to retreat from the drudgery of fchools, to low company, whereby they have become bad mem- 24 OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY OF THE bers of fociety, and entailed mifery upon all whO: have been conneaed with them. VIII. The Latin and Greek languages are the firft tefts of genius in fchools. Where boys difcover a want of capacity for them, they are generally taken from fchool, or remain there the butts of their com- panions. Dr. Swift early difcovered a want oftafte for the dead languages. It would be unjuft to men- tion this faa, without aicribing it to the voice of reafon and nature fpeaking in this great man. He had no relifh for the hulks of literature. Truth and knowledge were alone commenfurate to the dignity and extent of his mind. IX. The ftudy of fome of the Latin and Greek claffics is unfavourable to morals and religion. In- delicate amours, and fhocking vices both of gods and men, fill many parts of them. Hence an early and dangerous acquaintance with vice ; and hence, from an pfiociatiori of ideas, a diminfhed refpea for the unity and perfeaions of the true God. Thofe claffics which are free from this cenfure, contain little elfe but the histories of murders, per- petrated by kings, and related in fuch a manner as to excite plcafure and admiration. Hence the univerfai preference of the military charafter to all others.—To the fame caufe we may afcribe the early paffion for a cockade in fchool boys ; and the Ul- faq'^'it adoption of the principles and vices of LATIN AND GREEK LANGUAGES. 2£ armies, by young men who are deftined for other profeffions. X. The ftudy of the Latin and Greek languages is improper in the prefent ftate of fociety and government in United States^ While Greek and Latin are the only avenues to fcience, education will always be confined to a few people. It is only by rendering knowledge univerfal, that a re- publican form of government can be preferved in our country. I fhall hereafter mention other reafons why the ftudy of thefe languages is improper in a peculiar manner in the United States. XI. The cultivation of the Latin and Greek lan- guages is a great obftacle to the cultivation and perfeaion of the Englifh language. XII. It is likewife one of the greateft obftruaions that has ever been thrown in the way of propagating ufeful knowledge. On each of thefe two laft propofitions I fhall treat more fully in another place. I proceed now to confider the principle arguments that have been urged in favour of the Latin and Greek languages, as neceffary parts of a liberal education. E 26 OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY OF THE I. A knowledge of the Latin or Greek grammar, it has been faid, is neceflary for our becoming acquainted with Englifh grammar. There was a time when the authority of a great name impofcd this opinion upon me, and even led me publicly to adopt it, but I am now fatisfied that it is wholly destitute of truth. I have known many bachelors and mafters of arts, who were incorrea Englifh fcholars, and many per- fons of both fexes, ignorant of the dead languages, who both wrote and fpoke Englifh, agreeably to the ftriaelt rules of modern grammar. Indeed I cannot help afcribing the late improvements in the Englifh language chiefly to the negka of the Latin and Greek languages. The Greek is fuppofed to be the moft perfea language both in its conftruaion and harmony, that has ever been fpoken by mortals. Now this language was not learned through the medium of any other. Hence it was acquired and fpoken with equal propriety by all ranks of people, and not lefs by an apple woman, than by the celebrated orators of Greece. In that highly favoured nurfery of human genius, the avenues to knowledge were not obftrua- ed by two or three dead, or even foreign languages ; nor was the precious feafon of youth, when memory is moft faithful, and curiolity moft active, mis-fpent in learning words. Hence the fame Of ancient Greece in arts and fciences, and hence the fublimity of the oVations of Demofthenes, and of the poems of Homer. There was nothing in the compofition LATIN AND GREEK LANGnAGES. *7 of the blood, or in the ftruaure of the nervc3 of the, ancient Greeks, which gave them a pre-eminence over the reft of mankind. It arofe entirely from their being too wife to wafte the important years of edu- cation in learning to call fubftances, by two or three different names, inftead of studying their qualities and ufes. The conftruaion of the Englifh, differs mate- rially from that of the Latin and Greek languages; and the attempt to accommodate it to the Greek and Roman grammars has checked its improvement in many inftances. I hope to prove hereafter, that a knowledge of grammar, like a knowledge of pro- nunciation, fhould be learned only by the ear in early life. The praaice of teaching boys Englifh grammar, through the medium of a dead language, is as abfurd, as it would be for a parent to force his child to chew peb- bles or mahogany, in order to prepare its gums or teeth to niafticate bread and meat. 2. We are told that the Roman and Greek authors are the only perfea models of tafte and eloquence, and that it is neceffary to ftudy them, in order to acquire their tafte and fpirit. Strange language indeed! what ! did nature exha.uft herfclf in Greece and Rome ? Are the ancients the only repofitories of the great principles of tafte and genius? Irejea the fuppofitionj and will venture to affert, in oppofition to it, that we fhall never equal the fublime and original authors of antiquity until we ceafe to ftudy them. 28 OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY OF THE Nature is always the fame. Let us yield to her infpi- ration alone, and avail ourfelves of allufions to the many difcoveries which have lately been made in her works. Shakefpeare owes his fame, as a fublime and original poet, to his having never read (as is generally believed) a Latin or Greek author. Hence he fpoke from nature, or rather, nature fpoke thro' him. But it fhould be remembered that art, as well as nature feeds the flame of genius. By negleaing the ancients, we may bor- row imagery from the many ufeful and well known arts which have been the inventions of modern ages, and thereby furpafs the antients in the variety and effea of our compositions. It is to this paffion for ancient writers that we are to afcribe the great want of originality, that marks too many of the poems of mod- ern time:-. A judicious critic has obferved, that the defcriptions of Spring, whhh are publifhed every year in Errand, apply chiefly t j the climates of Greece and the neighbourhood of Rome. This is the natural eflia of a fervile attachment to the ancient poets. It infennbly checks invention and leads to imitation. The ph.enure with which the poems of the fhoemaker, the milk-maid, and the Ayrefhire ploughman, have been read by ail clafihs of people, proves that an acquaintance with the Greek or Roman poets, is not neceffary to infpire juft ideas, or to produce harmony in poetry. Dr. Swift, as an author, owes nothing to the ancients» lie has attained to what Pope caiis the "majefty" and *.vhat Lord Shafted ury calls the « divinenefs" of fim- LATIN AND GREEK LANGUAGES. 2$ plicity in writing. All his compositions, exemplify his own perfea definition of ftyle. They confift of " proper words in their proper places." I have heard of a learned gentlemen in Scotland, who, when any of his friends propofed to introduce a stranger to him, afk- ed only, as a proof of his tafte for compofition, whether he admired Dr. Young's Night Thoughts ? Were I to receive a vifitor upon fimilar terms, my only question fhould be, " does he admire the ftyle of Dr. « Swift?" Under this head I fhall only add, that the moft intimate acquaintance with the Roman and Greek writers will not produce perfeaion of ftyle in men who are devoid of tafte and genius. Hence we fometimes find the moft celebrated reacheis of the Latin and Greek languages extremely deficient in Englifh compo- fition. I acknowledge that Milton, Addifon, Hume, Middleton and Bolingbroke, whofe ftyles have been fo much admired, were all Latin and Greek fcholars. But in thefe authors, a native ftrength of genius, and tafte preferved their writings from the affeaation and obfeurity which are imparted to Englifh compofitions, by an adherence to the grammars and arrangement of the Latin and Greek languages. 3. It has been faid that we cannot know the ufe or meaning of thofe numerous Englifh words which are derived from the Latin and Gteek, without a know- ledge of thofe languages. To this I may anfwer, that 30 OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY OF THE what proves too much, proves nothing at all. The* argument that has been mentioned, proves that a knowledge of the Celtic, the Saxon, the Germani the French, the Italian and the Dutch, is neceffary to ena- ble "us to underftand the ufe of many Englifh words; for far the greateft part of them are derived from thofe languages. But I objea further to this argument, that if a knowledge of the derivation of Englifh words from the Greek and Latin languages, fhould be follow- ed by a ftria regard to their original meaning, it would lead us into many miftakes. The derivation of the word " angel" would lead us to contemplate a meffen- ger, inftead of a perfea finite intelligence. The derivation of the word " rebellion" would lead us to contemplate a war commenced by a conquered people : inftead of a resistance to the juft authority of govern- ment. Many other inftances of fimilar incongruity might be mentioned between the meaning of certain Engiifh words, and their Roman and Greek originals. I conclude therefore that a knowledge of the derivation of words is not neceffary to teach us their proper ufe and meaning. Cuftom, which is the law and rule of fpeech, and what is, inftead of what Jhouldbe common, will always govern the ufe of words. Where cuftom is unknown, modern Englifh diaionaries will fupply its place. Here I beg leave to repeat that the ftudy of the Greek and Latin languages by the Englifh nation has been one of the greateft obftruaions, that ever LATIN AND GREEK LANGUAGES. gl has been thrown in the way of the propagation of ufeful knowledge. By rendering our language unintel- ligible to the greateft part of the people who hear or read it, it has made it an improper vehicle of inftruaion. The orations of Demoithenes, we are told, were, like earthquakes in ancient Greece. They moved whole nations. The reafon of this is plain. He never ufed a fingle word in any of them, but what was alike intelligible to all claffes of his hearers. The effea of Indian eloquence upon the councils and wars of the favages in America, depends wholly upon its being perfeaiy underftood and felt by every member of their communities. It has often been remarked that in England no play will fucceed without aaion, while fentiment alone infures the loudeft claps of applaufe, in the theatres of France. The reafon of this is obvious. The Englifh lan- guage requires aaion to tranflate it, to half the common audience of a theatre, whereas the French language, which is uniform and ftationary, is un- derftood, and, of courfe, the fentiment which is conveyed by it, is felt and enjoyed by all who hear it. The writings of Voltaire are quoted by the hairdreflfers and milliners of Paris, becaufe they are written in the fimple language of the country, while many of the moft celebrated Britifh authors cannot be underftood by common readers, without the help of a diaionary or interpreter. Richardfon and Fielding are an exception to this remark. They are alike intelligible and acceptable to the learned and J2 OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY OF THE unlearned, inafmuch as they have conveyed all their ideas in plain, but decent Englifh words. The po- pularity of the methodift preachers may be afcribed in part to their fpe^king in a language that is intel- ligible to the common people. It is true, many of them are deficient in education, but this deficiency appears more in an ignorance of the conftruaion of the Englifli language, than in the proper ufe of Englifh words, and perhaps this may be afcribed chiefly to their extempore mode of preaching. It is happy for fome of thofe churches where the Latin and Greek languages are confidered as neceffary parts for education in their clergy, that part of the public worfhip of God is confined to reading the fcriptures, and to forms of prayer, both of which are written in Englifli, and are intelligible to every clafs of heareTS. Such congregations are not left to the mercy of their preach- ers in every part of divine fervice. A pious woman in London who heard her minister fpeak of the Deity, by the name of the great Philanthropist, afked when fhe came home, what heathen god Philanthropist was ? There are few fermons compofed by Latin and Greek fcholars in which there are not many hundred words, that are equally unintelligible to a majority of their hearers. Hence I cannot help thinking that were John the Baptifc to appear again in our world, and to fend to fome of our d&aors of divinity, or to many of our young preachers to enquire after the figns of their divine million, few of them could adopt the anfwer Latin and greek languages. 33 >J\ our Saviour and fay that to the poor the gofpel was " preached." It will require a total ignorance of the Latin and Greek languages', or an uncommon mixture of good fenfe and piety in a preacher who is acquaint- ed with them, to addrefs an audience in fuch a manner as to be perfeaiy underftood by the illiterate part of them. I wifh to prefs the confiderations that have been mentioned under this head, home to the feelings of the friends of virtue and religion. It has been demon- strated, that the ftudy of the ancient claflics is hurtful to morals. It is equally plain that the corruption of our language by the conftant fubftitution of words of Greek and Latin origin, to thofe which had become familiar and univerfal, from long ufage, has greatly re- tarded the progrefs of knowledge of all kinds, but in a more efpecial manner, a great proportion of that fpecies of it which is delivered from the pulpit. I appeal to the confciences of minifters of the gofpel of all denominations, whether, inftead of expofing their their candidates for the ministry, to temptation from that kind of learning ft which puffeth up, without " edifying," it would not be better to direa them to employ the time which is ufually mif-pent in acquiring it, in ftudying the fcriptures, and in making themfelves mafters of the Englifli language ? It is im- poffible to tell what great improvements would be made by thefe means in moral happinefs in the United States. F 54 OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY 0? THE 4. We are told that a knowledge of the Greek and Roman languages, is neceffary to enable us to under- stand the frequent allufions that are made by Englifli writers to the mythology of thofe ancient nations. To this I anfwer, that the lefs we know of this fubjea, the better y for what is the hiftory of the ancient fables, but an agreeable defcription of frauds—rapes—and murders, which, while they pleafe the imagination, fhock the moral faculty ? It is high time to ceafe from idolizing the idolatry of Greece and Rome. Truth alone is knowledge, and fpending time in ftudying Greek and Roman fiaions, is only labouring to be more ignorant. If there is any moral contained in thefe fiaions, it is fo much involved in obfcurity, as not to be intelligible to a young man at that time of. life in which he ufually becomes acquainted with them. Happy will it be for theprefent and future generations, if an ignorance of the Latin and Greek languages, fhould bamfli from modern poetry, thofe difgraceful invocations of heathen gods, which indicate no lefs a want of genius, than a want of reverence for the true God. I fhall only add in this place, that the beft writers in the Englifh language feldom borrow allu- fions from the mythology of the Greek or Roman nations. Richardfon and Fielding have paffed them by, and hence arifes another reafon why the works of thofe authors are fo universally intelligible and acceptable to to all claflesi of readers. LATIN AND GREEK LANGUAGES. 35 5. It lias been faid, that the Latin language has become a neceffary part of liberal knowledge, inas- much as the European nations have by common con- fcnt made it the vehicle of their difcOveries. This argument had frme weight while fcience confifted on- ly learning what was known ; but fince the enquiries of philofophers have been direaed to new objeas of obfervation and experiment, the Latin language has not been able to keep pace with the number and ra- pidity of their difcoveries. Where fhall we find Latin words to convey juft ideas of the many terms which ckaricity—chemistry—navigation—and many other fciences have introduced into our modern languages ? It is from experience of the infufficiency of the Latin language for this purpofe, that moft of the modern na- tions of Europe have been obliged to adopt their own languages, as the vehicles of their difcoveries, in fcience. If this argument had been acknowledged to have weight in Europe, it fhould, from local circum- ftances, have no weight in America. Here wo lva/e no intercourfe with any part of Europe, except her com- mercial feaports, and in thefe, ail bufmefs is tranf- aaed in modern languages. America, with refpea to the nations of Europe, is like the new planet, with refpea to thofe, whofe revolutions have long been defcribed in the folar fyftem. She is placed at too great a diftance from moft of them, to be within the influence of a reciprocal exchange of the rays of knowledge. Like a certain animal, defcribed by tJ^ 36 OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY OF THE naturalifts, fhe muft impregnate herfelf. But while fhe retains a friendly intercourfe with Great Britain, alrfhe valuable difcoveries which are publifhed in Latin, in any part of Europe, will be tranfmitted to her through the medium of Englifh tranflations. 6. It has been faid that a knowledge of the Latin and Greek languages is neceffary to the learned pro- feffions of law—phyfic—and divinity. To this I an- fwer, that the molt ufeful books in each of thefe pro- fefiions are now tranflated, or written in Englifh, in confequence of which, knowledge in law—phyfic— and divinity has been greatly multiplied and extended. I fee no ufe at prefent for a knowledge of the Latin and Greek languages, for a lawyer, a phyfician, or a divine, in the United States, except it be to facilitate the remembrance of a few technical terms which may be retained without it. Two of the moft celebrated and fuccefsful lawyers in the United States, are ftrangers to the Latin language. An eminent phyfician, who fpent feveral of the years of his youth in learning this language, has allured me, that he had not more than three times in his life found any advantage from it. Very few phyfic ians, I believe, (profeffors of rriedecine only excepted, who are obliged to review Latin thefes previously to their publication) retain their knowledge of this language, after they become eftablifhed in bufi- nefs, and if they do, it is preferved lefs from neceffity, ♦han from vanity, or a defire of reviving, by reading LATIN AND GREEK LANGUAGES. 37 the claffics, the agreeable ideas of the *early and inno- cent part of their lives. I know that it is commonly believed, that a know- ledge of the Greek language, is neceffary to enable a divine fully to underftand the New Teftament. But I objea to this opinion, that the moft ufeful and ne- ceffary parts of this divine book are intelligible to the loweft capacities in its prefent Englifh drefs: and I believe further, that there have been as many difputes among the critics, about the meaning of words, and about editions and translations of the New Teftament, as there have been among unlearned christians about the meaning of its obfcure and difficult paffages. If a knowledge of the Greek language be neceffary to enable a divine to underftand the New Teftament, it follows, that a critical knowledge of all the diakas in which the different parts of it were origi- nally compofed, is equally neceffary for the fame pur- pofe ; and, if neceffary to a jlivine^ why not to the £ommon people, for they are equally interefted in all the truths of revelation ? The difficulties and ab- furdities into which wc are led by this propofition, are too obvious to be mentioned. We-are very ^pt tn josgct,. the..n«?. in winch wc live. In the fifteenth century, all the knowledge of Europe was locked up in a few Greek and Latin manufcripts. In this confined ftate of knowledge, an acquaintance with the Latin language was thought to be neceffary jS OBSERVATIONS ON THE ST CDs* OF THst to civilize the human mind—hence the teachers of it acquired the title of « profeflbrs of humanity " in the European univerfities. But we live in an age in which knowledge has been drawn from its dead repo- fitories, and diffufed by the art of printing, in living languages,, through every part of the world. Huma- nity has therefore changed fides. Her gentlenefs is now altogether in favour of modern literature. We forget not only the age, but the country like- wife in which we live. In Europe many ancient con- stitutions—laws—treaties—official letters—and even private deeds, are written in Latin—hence the know- ledge of it has fometimes been found ufeful for states- men and lawyer—but all the constitutions, laws, treaties, public letters, and private deeds of the United States, are written in Englifh ; and of courfe a know- ledge of the Latin language is not neceffary to un- derftand them. It is therefore as ufclefs in America, ;:3 the Spanifh great-coat is in the ifland of Cuba, or the Dutch foot-ftove, at the Cape of Good Hope. We forget further the difference of occupation be- taveen the inhabitants of the prefent, and of the fifteenth century. Formerly public prayers and war were the only bufinefs of man : but fince agriculture, manufac- tures and commerce, have afforded fuch different and profitable employments to mankind, there cannot be greater folly than to learn two languages which are no ways conneaed with the advancement of any of them. LATIN AND GREEK LANGUAGES. 29 « I once thought health, the greateft bkffmg in the « world," faid Mr. Rittenhoufe to the author of this effay, " but I do not think fo now. There is one thing " of much greater value, and that is time." This opinion of our excellent American philofopher, is true every where, but in a more efpecial manner in the Unifed States. Here the opportunities of acquiring knowledge and of advancing private and public interest are fo numerous, and the rewards of genius and in- dustry fo certain, that not a particle of time fhould be mis-fpent or loft.' We occupy a new country. Our principal bufmefs fhould be to explore and apply its refourccs, all of which prefs us to cnterprize and haftc. Under thefe circumftances, to fpend four or five years in learning two dead languages, is to turn our backs upon a gold mine, in order to amufe ourfelves in catching butterflies.. It is agreeable to hear of the progrefs of human reafon in the gradual decknfion of the ufual methocli of teaching the Latin and Greek languages within the laft forty years in Europe. Formerly boys were obliged to commit whole volumes of Latin and Greek poetry to memory, as the only means of learning thofe languages. Nor was this all •, they were obliged to- compofe Latin verfes, without the leait regard being paid to genius, or tafte for poetry. The laft aa of fchool tyranny, was to compel boys to read the ancient chfFics without the help of translations. All thefe methods of teaching the dead languages are now laid 40 OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY OF THE afide. The next ray of truth that irradiates human reafon upon thisfubjea, I hope will teach us to rejea the Latin and Greek languages altogether, as branches of a liberal education. The progrefs of human reafon fhould likewise be acknowledged in having banifhed Latin and Greek quotations from fermons, and other religious traas, which are intended for the common people. Such quotations are to be found only in books of fcience, addreffcd to the members of the learned profeffions, or to perfons who are fuppofcd to be acquainted with the Latin and Greek languages. There are certain follies, like the objeas of fight, which cannot be feen. when the eye is placed too near them. We are ftruck with pity and horror in con- templating the folly difcovered by our anceftors in their military expeditions to the holy land of Pakftine. The generations which are to follow us, will probably view our partiality to the clastic ground of Greece and Rome, with fimilar emotions. We laugh at the credulity of thofe nations who worfhipped apes and crocodiles, without recolkaing, that future ages will treat our fuperftitious veneration for the ancient poets and ora- tors, with the fame ridicule. Pofterity, in reading the hiftory of the American revolution, will wonder that in a country where fo many exploits of wifdom and virtue were performed, the human underftanding was fettered by prejudices in favour of the Latin and Greek LATIN AND GREEK LANGUAGES. 4* languages. But I hope with the hiftory of this folly, fome hiftorian will convey to future generations, that many of the moft aaive and ufeful charaaers in accomplifhing this revolution, were ftrangers to the formalities of a Latin and Greek education. V* It is high time to diftinguifh between a philofopher, and a fcholar, between things and^, words. " He " was educated at the college of----" faid a gentle- man to his friend, fpeaking of a young man who was known to them both. " You mean Sir," replied his friend, " he got his learning at the college of-----; but " as to education, he appears to have received none « any where." This young man was an excellent Latin and Greek fcholar, but knew nothing of men, or things. Let it not be fuppofed from any thing that has been here advanced, that I wifh the knowledge of the Latin and Greek languages to be extina in the world. Far from it. My wifh is to fee it preferved, like the know- ledge of law, or medicine, as a diftina profeffion. Let the perfons, who devote themfelves to the ftudy of thefe languages, be called linguifts, or interpreters, and let them be paid for their tranflations and explanations of Latin and Greek books, and other compofitions in thofe languages. No more confidence will be placed by the public, in the members of this new profeffion, than is daily placed in lawyers and phyficians, in matters of much greater importance •, nor will more G 42 OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY OF THE credit be given to them, than we are accuftomcd to give to travellers and hiftorians. There can be no more reafon why every man fhould be capable of tranflating or judging of a Latin or Greek book, than there can be why every man fhould be a lawyer or a phyfician, or why he fhould be obliged to vifit Conftantinople or Grand Cairo, in order to become acquainted with the fituation of thefe two great cities. If this method of preferving and applying the dead languages fhould be adopted, young men will learn them as they do law and phyfic, by ferving an apprenticcfhip, inftead of going to fchool. The following advantages would immediately attend the rejeaion of the Latin and Greek languages as branches of a liberal education. r. It would improve, and finally perfea the Englifh language, by checking the increafe of thofe fuperfluous words which are derived from the Latin and Greek languages. What ufe have we for feftivity—celebrity —hilarity—amenity—and a hundred other duplicate words, with which Johnfon and Harris have corrupted and weakened our language, and which are unintelli- gible to three fourths of common Englifh readers ? The rejeaion of the ancient languages, would further banifh Latin and Greek words, fuch as, exit, fecit, excudit, pinxit, acme, finis, bona fide, ipfofailo, ad valo- rem, and a hundred others, equally difgufting, from Englifh compofitions. It would moreover preferve LATIN AND GREEK LANGUAGES. 4J our language from encroachments of^French and Ita- lian words, fuch as eclat—amateur-—douceur—en pajfmnt -—corps—dilettanti—con cuore—piano and many others, all of which impair the uniformity and dignity of the Englifh language. 2. The rejeaion of the Latin and Greek langauges from our fchools, would produce a revolution in fcience, and in human affairs. That nation which fhall firft fhake off the fetters of thofe ancient languages, will advance further in knowledge, and in happinefs, in twenty years, than any nation in Europe has done, in a hundred. 3. It will have a tendency to deftroy the prejudices of the common people againft fchools and colleges., The common people do not defpife fcholars, becaufe they know more, but becaufe they know lefs than them- felves. A mere fcholar can call a horfe, or a cow, by two or three different names, but he frequently knows nothing of the qualities, or ufes of thofe valuable animals. 4. It would be the means of banifhing pride from our feminaries of public education. Men are generally moft proud of thofe things that do not contribute to the happinefs of tkemfelves, or others. Ufeful know- ledge generally humbles the mind, but learning, like fine clothes, feeds pride, and thereby hardens the hut man heart. 44 OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY OF THE 5. It would greatly encreafe the number of students in our colleges, and thereby extend the benefits of education through every part of our country. The excellency of knowledge would then be obvious to every body, becaufe it would be constantly applicable to fome of the neceffary and ufeful purpofe6 of life, and particularly to the fecurity and order of wife and juft government. 6. It would remove the prefent immenfe dlfparity which fubfifts between the fexes, in the degrees of their education and knowledge. Perhaps one caufe of the mifery of many families, as well as communities, may be fought for in the mediocrity of knowledge of the women. They fhould know more or lefs, in order to be happy themfelves, and to communicate happinefs to others. By ceafing to make Latin and Greek a neceffary part of a liberal education, we open the doors for every fpecies of improvement to the female part of fociety :—hence will arife new pleafures in their com- pany,—and hence, too, we may expea a general reformation and refinement, in the generations which, are to follow us ■, for principles and manners in all focieties are formed chiefly by the women. It may be afked here, how fhall we employ thofe years of a boy, that are now ufually fpent in learning the Latin and Greek languages ? I fhall endeavour to anfwer this queftion by laying down a fhort plan of a liberal Englifh education. In this undertaking, I fhall LATIN AND GREEK LANGUAGES. 45 ftrive to forget for a while all the fyftems of education I have ever feen, and fuggeft fuch a one as is founded in the original principles of aaion in the human mind. 1. Let the firft eight years of a boy's time be em- ployed in learning to fpeak» fpell, read and write the Englifh language. For this purpofe, let him be com- mitted to the care of a mafter, who fpeaks correaiy at all times, and let the books he reads, be written in a fimple and correa ftyle. During thefe years, let not an Englifli grammar by any means be put into his hands. It is to moft boys, under even twelve years of age, an unintelligible book. As well might we contend, that a boy fhould be taught the names and number of the humours of the eye, or the mufcles of the tongue, in order to karn to fee, or to fpeak, as be taught the Englifh language, by means of grammar. $ancho, in attempting to leaf n to read, by chewing the four and twenty letters of the alphabet, did not exhib- it a greater abfurdity, than a boy ot feven or eight years old docs, in committing grammar rules to memory, in order to underftand the Englifh language. Did we wifh to deferibe a fhip, fo as to have all its parts perfeaiy and fpeedily known, would we begin by defcribing its detached parts ina fhip-yard, or a rope-walk? Or would we not firft fix every part in its proper place, and then explain the names and ufes of thefe parts, by (hewing their fubferviency to each other? In like manner, I af- firm, that the conftruaion of our language fhould be learned by a careful attention to the places and ufes of the 46 OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY OF THE different parts of fpeech in agreeable compofitions, and not by contemplating them in a disjointed ftate in an Englifh grammar. But I will add further, that grammar fhould be taught only by the ear. Pro- nounciation, which is far more extensive, and dif- ficult, is learned only in this way. To teach con- cord in the arrangement of words, let the mafter converfe with his pupils as well as hear them read, and let him diftinaiy mark and correa every devi- ation from grammatical propriety which they utter. This method of teaching grammar has been tried with fuccefs in the families of fevcral gentlemen of my acquaintance. It is both rational, and praaicable. It has, moreover, the authority of the wife Greeks to re- commend it. Homer, Xenophon, Demofthenes and Longinus, I believe, were all taught to fpeak, read, and write their native language, without the incum- brance of a Greek grammar. I do not mean by any thing that has been advanced, to infinuate that our pupil fhould not be inftruaed in the principles and laws of our language. I have referved this part of know- ledge to a much later period of his youth, at which time he will acquire it almoft as foon as Moliere's " Citizen turned Gentleman," learned to diftinguifh between profe rtnd poetry. He will find that he is in poffeffion of this knowledge, and that the bufinefs of his mafter will be only to give names to things with which he is already acquainted. LATIN AND GREEK LANGUAGES. 47 Under this head, I fhall only add, that the perfec- tion of the ear, as an avenue of knowledge is not fufficiently known. Ideas acquired through that or- gan, are much more durable, than thofe acquired by the eyes. We remember much longer what we hear, than what we fee ; hence, old men recolka voices, long after they forget faces. Thefe faas are capable of great application to the bufinefs of educa- tion. Having provided our pupil with a vehicle of know- ledge, by teaching him to read and write, our next bufinefs fhould be to furnifh him with ideas. Here it will be neceffary to remark, that the human mind in early life firft comprehends fubftances. From thefe it proceeds to aaions, from aaions to qualities, and from qualities to degrees. Let us therefore in edu- cation, follow this order of nature, and begin by in- ftruaing our pupil in the knowledge of fubftances, or things. For this purpofe, let us initiate him into the knowledge of the globe on which he exifts, by teach- ing him 2. Natural hiftory. This ftudy is fimple and truly delightful. Animals of all kinds are often the fubjeas of converfation and difputes among boys in their walks and diverfions. But this is not all -, this ftudy is the foundation of all ufeful and praaical knowledge in agriculture, manufaaures and commerce, as well as in philofophy, chemistry, and medecine. By making 48 OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY OF TH£ natural hiftory the firft ftudy of a boy, we imitate the condua of the firft teacher of man. The firft leffon that Adam received from his Maker in Para- dife, was upon natural hiftory. It is probable that the dominion of-our great progenitor over the brute creation, and every other living creature, was founded upon a perfect knowledge of their names and qualities, for God appears in this, as well as in other instances, to have aaed by the instrumentality of human rea- fon.—Where a mufeum is wanting, all that is ne* ceffary for a boy to know of animals and fifties—infeas —trees and herbs, may be taught by means of prints. 3. Geography, is a fimple fcience, and accom- modated to the capacity of a boy under twelve years of age. It may be perfeaiy underftood by means of cards—globes—and maps; for each of thefe modes of conveying inftruaion, feizes upon the fenfes and imagination. The frequent application which a boy is obliged to make of his knowledge in geography, in reading, and converfation, will foon fix it upon his memory, and from the time and manner in which he will acquire it, he will never forget it. I allow four years to be employed in acquiring thefe two fundamental branches of knowledge. After our pupil has become tolerably well acquainted with them, he fhould be inftruaed in the LATIN AND GREEK LANGUAGES 4Q 4. French and German languages. Thefe will be equally neceffary, whether commerce—phyfic-^law or divinity is the purfuit of a young man. They fhould bz acquired only by the ear. Great care fhould be taken not to permit him to learn thefe languages be- fore he is twelve years old, otherwife he will contraa fo much of the French and German accent as will impair the prononciation of his native tongue. 5. Arithmetic, and fome of the more fimple branches of the mathematics fhould be acquired be- tween the twelfth and fourteenth years of his life. 6. Between his fourteenth and eighteenth years, he fhould be inftruaed in grammar—oratory—criti- cifm—the higher branches of mathematics—philofophy —chemiftry—logic—metaphyfics—chronology—hifto- ry—government—the principles of agriculture, and manufaaures—and in every thing elfe that is neceffary to qualify him for public ufefulnefs, or private hap- pinefs. 7. I know it is common to introduce what is called Moral Philofophy into a fyftem of liberal education. The name of this fcience is derived from the Pagan fchools. The ftudy of it conftituted a material part of their learning. Inftead of continuing this anti-chriftian mode of teaching morals, I would propofe a courfe of kaures to be given upon the evidences, doarines and precepts of the Chriftian religion. The laft part of this H $6 OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY OF THE cpurfe might be made to include the whole circle of moral duties, and from the conneaion it would have with the evidences and doarines of Chriftanity it would produce an imprcffion upon the understanding "which no time or circumftances would ever wear away. It is by negleding to teach young men the Chrif- tian religion as a fcience, or by the feparation of its morals from its principles, that colleges have becomt in fo many instances the nurferies of infidelity. Ext rati of a letter from the reverend Mr. James Muir± principal of the academy of Alexandria in Virginia, to the Author, dated July 29, 1791. " T HAVE read with fatisfaaion, in the Mufeum, -i. " your obfervations on ftudying the learned lan- " guages« There is little tafte for them in this place. " In our academy, where there are near ninety n ftudents, not above nineteen are poring over Latin « and Greek. One of thefe nineteen was lately " addreffed by a ftudent of Arithmetic in the foliow- " ing language—Pray, Sir, can you refolve me, by " your Latin, this queflion, If one bufhel of corn coft a four fhillings, what coft fifty bufhels ?—A demand (t of this kind from a youth, is to me a proof of the " tafte of Americans in the prefent day, who prefer " the ufeful to the ornamental." LATIN AND GREEK LANGUAGES. £J ANSWER to the foregoing letter, containing furthev obfervations upon thejludy of $e Latin and Greek lan- guages. Dear Sir, IT gave me great pleafure to find, by your polite letter of July 29th, that my opinions, upon the fubjea of the Latin and Greek languages, have met with your approbation ; and that the young gentlemen who compote your academy had difcovered fo much good fenie in preferring ufeful to ufelefs, or, at beft, ornamental literature. I have read all the replies that have been publifhed to my opinions : and am more confirmed in the truth of them, than ever, by the weaknefs and fallacy of the objeaionsthat have been made to them. The ftyle of fome of thofe replies has eitablifhed one of my pro- pofitions in the moft forcible manner. It has demon- strated that a knowledge of the dead languages does not confer tafte or elegance in (Iig Englifli language, any more than it does good breeding, or good temper. I except from this remark the candid and ingenious letters publifhed in the Federal Gazette, faid to be written by Dr. S-tuber, of this city. To perfuade men, that white is black, or black, white, jt is neceffary fometimes to make them believe that they are grey. The mind requires a refting point, in paffing from error to truth, upon many fubjeas. I fhall avaij mvfelf of this weaknefs in human nature, and take the $2 OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY dF THE liberty of fuggefting a method of teaching the Latin and Greek languages, which I conceive, will be ac- commodated to the prefent ftate of the prejudices of our countrymen in their favour. The late Dr. Franklin ufed to fay, that the learning of a dead or foreign language might be divided into ten parts. That it required five only to learn to read it—-/even to fpeak it—-and the whole ten to write it. Now, when we confider how feldom we are called upon to fpeak or write the Latin or Greek languages, fuppofe we teach our boys only to read them. This will cut off one half the difficulty of learning them, and and enable a boy to acquire as much of both, in two years, as will be neceffary for him. He will, moreover, by this plan, be able to read more of the claffics than are read at prefent in our fchools. The claffics are now read only for the fake of acquiring a knowledge of the conftruaion of the languages in which they are written; but by the plan I have propofed, they would be read for the fake of the matter they contained, and there would be time enough to read each book from its beginning to its end. At prefent, what boy ever reads all the JEnead of Virgil, or the Iliad of Homer ? In fliort, few boys ever carry with them from fchool, any thing but a fmattcring of the daffies. They peep into a dozen of them; but are taught to attend to every thing they contain, more than to thefubjecls which are treated of by them. LATIN AND GREEK LANGUAGES. S3 In the way I have propofed, a boy would be able to tranflate all the Latin and Greek books he would meet with, and from the perfea knowledge he would acquire of them at fchool, he would probably retain that knowledge as long as he lived. To carry this mode of teaching the Latin and Greek languages into eifea, it is absolutely neceffary that a boy fhould firft be inftruaed in hiftory and geography. Let him read an account of the rife, progrefs, and fall of the Greek and Roman nations; and examine, upon maps, the countries they inhabited and conquered, and their languages will foon become interesting to him. The negka of this natural and eafy mode of inftruc- tion, is an inverfion of all order. The abfurdity of it was once happily cxpofed by a boy of eight years old, who, with a Latin Grammar in his hand, gravely afked his father, " who made the Latin language, and what " was it made for ?" Had this boy been previoufly inftruaed in the Roman hiftory, he would not have afked fuch a queftion. Confidering his age, it was as natural, as it was foolifh. There is no play common among children, that strikes me with an idea of half the folly that I am ftruck with, every time I look into a Latin fchool, and fee thirty or forty little boys pinioned down to benches, and declining nouns, conjugating verbs, or writing Latin verfions. I confider the higheft attainment in this kind of learning, as nothing more than fuccefsful dof- 3'4 OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY OF THE cards, but far lefs ufeful than thofe which are exhibited in the ufual athleticexcercifes of fchool boys. By adopting the plan I have propofed, a boy will not open a Latin or Greek book, till he is fourteen or fifteen years old; fo that the dead languages, inftead of being the firft, will be the laft things he will learn at fchool. At this age, he will learn them with half the trouhle, and understand them much better than he would have done at nine or ten years of age. For though languages are acquired with moft eafe by the ear under puberty, yet they are acquired moft eafily by the eye, after that period of life. But there is another advantage in making the Latin and Greek languages the laft things that are taught at fchool. The bent of a young rnan's inclinations is generally known at fourteen or fifteen, and feldom fooner. Now if he incline to commerce-—to a military—or a naval life—or to a mechanical employment, in all of which it is agreed, Latin and Greek are unneceffary, it will be improper to detain him any longer at fchool, by which means much money will be faved by the parents, and much time faved by the boy, both of which are wafted by the prefent indifcriminate and prepofterous mode of teaching the dead languages. The idea of the neceffity of a knowledge of thofe languages, as an introduaion to the knowledge of the Englifh language, begins to lofe ground. It is certainly a very abfurd one. We have feveral Englifh LATIN AND GREEK LANGUAGES. tt fchools in our city, in which boys and girls of twelve and fourteen years old have been taught to fpeak and write our native language with great grammatical pro- priety. Some of thefe children would difgrace our bachelors and mafters of arts, who have fpent four or five years in the ftudy of the Latin and Greek lan- guages in our American colleges. It is true, thefe Latin and Greek fcholars, after a while, acquire a knowledge of our language : but it is in the fame flow way, in which fome men acquire a knowledge of the forms of good breeding. Three months inftruaion will often impart more of both, than a whole life fpent in acquiring them fimply by imitation. Where there is one Latin fcholar, who is obliged^ in the courfe of his life, to fpeak or write a Latin fentence, there are hundreds who are not under that neceffity. Why then fhould we fpend years in teach- ing that which is fo rarely required in future life ? For fome years to come, the reading of the language, may be neceffary; but a young man of fourteen or fifteen, may be taught to do this perfeaiy in one year, without committing a fingk grammar rule to memory, or without fpoiling his hand by writing a fin- gk verfion. Much more, in my opinion, might be faid in favour Of teaching our young men to fpeak the Indian lan- guages of our country, than to fpeak or write Latin- By their means, they might qualify themfelves to be- come ambaffadors to our Indian nations, or introduce 56 OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY, &C. among them a knowledge of the blcflings of civilization and religion. We have lately feen a large portion of power wrefted from the hands of kings and priefts, and ex- ercifed by its lawful owners. Is it not high time to wreft the power over the education of our youth, out of the hands of ignorant or prejudiced fchoolmafters, and place it in the hands of men of more knowledge and experience in the affairs of the world ? We talk much of our being an enlightened people; but I know not with what reafon, while we tolerate a fyftem of educa- tion in our fchools, which is as difgraceful to the human underftanding as the moft corrupt tenets or praaices of the pagan religion, or of the Turkifh go- vernment. With great refpea for your charaaer, as well as for your prefent honourable and ufeful employment, I am, dear fir, Your friend and moft obedient fervant. BENJAMIN RUSH. Philadelphia, Augtift 24, 1791. IhlOUG'ITS UPON THE AMUSEMENTS AND PUNISH- Ml'H TS WHICH ARE PROPER FOR SCHOOLSl AD- DRESSED to George Clymer, esq^ Dear Sir, THE laft time I had the pleafure of being in your company, you did me the honour to re- queft my opinion upon the Amusements and Punish- ments which are proper for fchools The fubjeas are of a very oppofite nature, but I fhall endeavour to comply with your wifhes, by fending you a few thoughts Upon each of them. I am fure you will not rejea my opinions becaufe they are contrary to received praaices, for I know that you are accuf- tomed to think for yourfelf, and that every propo- fition that has for its objeas the interefts of humanity and your country, will be treated by you with atten- tion and candor. I fhall begin with the fubjeas of Amusements. Montefquieu informs us that the exercifes Of the laft day of the life of Epaminondas, were the fame as his amufements in his youth. Herein we have an epi- tome of the perfeaion of education. The amufe- ments of Epaminondas were of a military nature -, but as the profeffion of arms is the bufinefs of only a fmall part of mankind, and happily much lefs I 58 ON THE AMUSEMENTS AND PUNISHMENTS neceffary in the United States than in ancient Greece, I would propofe that the amufements of our youth, at fchool, fhould confift of fuch exercifes as will be moft fubfervient to their future employments in life. Thefe are; 1. agriculture; 2. mechanical occupations; and 3. the bufinefs of the learned pro- feffions. I. There is a variety in the employments of agri- culture which may readily be fuited to the genius, tafte, and ftrength of young people. An experiment has been made of the efficacy of thefe employments, as amufements, in the Methodift College at Abing- ton, in Maryland •, and, I have been informed, with the happieft effeas.' A large lot is divided between the fcholars, and premiums are adjudged to thofe of them who produce the moft vegetables from their grounds, or who keep them in the belt order. II. As the employments of agriculture cannot af- ford amufement at all feafons of the year, or in cities I would propofe, that children fhould be allured to to feek amufements in fuch of the mechanical arts as are fuited to their ftrength and capacities. Where is the boy who does not delight in the ufe of a ham- mer—a cliiffel—or a faw ? and who has not enjoy- ed a high degree of pleafure in his youth, in con- ftruaing a miniature houfe ? How amufing are the machines which are employed in the manufaaory of eloathing of all kinds ! and how full of various en- proper for schools. S9 tertainment are the mixtures which take place in the chemical aits ! each of thefe might be contrived upon fuch a fcale, as not only to amufe young people, but to afford a profit to their parents or mafters. The Moravians, at Bethlehem in our ftate, have proved that this propofition is not a chimerical one. All the amufements of their children are derived from their performing the fubordinate parts of feveral of the mechanical arts; and a confiderabk portion of the wealth of that worthy and happy fociety is the pro- dua of the labour of their little hands.— If, in thefe amufements, an appeal fhould be made to that fpirit of competition which is fo com- mon among young people, it would be the means of producing more plcafure to the children, and more profit to all who are conneaed with them The wealth of thofe manufaauring towns in England, which employ the children of poor people, is a proof of what might be expeaed from conneaing amufe- ment and labour together, in all our fchools. The produa from the labour obtained in this way, from all the fchools in the United States, would amount to a fum which, would almoft exceed calculation. III. To train the youth who are intended for the learned profeffions or for merchandize, to the duties of their future employments, by means of ufeful amufements, which are related to thofe employments, will be impraaicable ; but their amufements may be 6"® ON THE AMUSEMENTS AND PUNISHMENTS derived from cultivating a fpot of ground ; for where is the lawyer, the phyfician, the divine, or the mer- chant, who has not indulged or felt a paffion, in fome part of his life, for rural improvements ?----In- deed I conceive the feeds of knowledge in agri- culture will be moft produaive, when they are planted in the minds of this tlafs of fcholars. I have only to add under this head, that the com- mon amufements of children have no conneaion With their future'occupations. Many of them injure their cloaths, fome of them wafte their ftrength, and impair their health, and all of them prove more or lefs, the means of producing noife, or of exciting angry paffions, both of which are calculated to beget vulgar manners. The Methodilts have wifely banifhed every fpecies of play from their college. Even the healthy and pleafurable exercife of fwimming, is not permitted to their fcholars, except in the prefence of one of their mafters. Do not think me too ftria if I here exclude gunning from among the amufements of young men. My objeaions to it are as follow. i It hardens the heart, by infliaing unneceffary pain and death upon animals. 2. It is unneceffary in civilized fociety, where animal food may be obtained from domeftic animals, with greater facility. PROPER FOR SCHOOLS. «I 3. It eorfumes a great deal of time, and thus creates habits of idlenefs. 4. It frequently leads young men into low, and bad company. 5. By impofing long abftinence from food, it leads to intemperance in eating, which naturally leads to in- temperance in drinking. 6. It expofes to fevers, and accidents. The news- papers are occafionally filled with melancholy accounts of the latter, and every phyfician muft have met with frequent and dangerous instances of the former, in the courfe of his praaice. I know the early ufe of a gun is recommended in our country, to teach our young men the ufe of fire- arms, and thereby to prepare them for war and battle. But why fhould we infpire our youth, by fuch exer- cifes, with hoftik ideas towards their fellow crea- tures ?—Let us rather instill into their minds fenti- ments of univcrfal benevoknee tojnen_ of_all nations and colours. Wars originate in error and vice.^ LeTus eradicate thefe, by proper modes of education, * and wars will ceafe to be neceffary in our country. The divine author and lover of peace « will then « fuffer no man to do us wrong ; yea, he will re- «< prove kings for our fake, faying, touch not my « anointed and do my people no harm." Should the nations with whom war is a trade, approach our 02 ON THE AMUSEMENTS AND PUNISHMENTS coafts, they will retire from us, as Satan did from our Saviour, when he came to affault him ; and for the fame reafon, becaufe they will " find nothing in *< us" congenial to their malignant difpofitions ; for the flames of war can be fpread from one nation to ano- ther, only by the conduaing mediums of vice and error. __— I have hinted at the injury which is done to the health of young people by fome of their amufements; but there is a praaice common in all our fchools, which does more harm to their bodies than all the amufements that can be named, and that is, obliging them to fit too long in one place, or crowding too many of them together in one room. By means of the former, the growth and fhape of the body have been impaired; and by means of the latter, the feeds of fevers have often been engendered in fchools. In the courfe of my bufinefs, I have been called to many hundred children who have been feized with indifpo- fitions in fchool, which evidently arofe from the ac- tion of morbid effluvia, produced by the confined breath and pcrfpiration of too great a number of children in one room. To obviate thefe evils, chil- dren fhould be permitted, after they have faid their lefTons, to amufe thcn.felves in the open air, in fome of the ufeful and agreeable exercifes which h.-.ve been mentioned. Their minds will be ftrengthened, as well as their bodies relieved by them To oblige a fprightly boy to fit feven hours in a day, with his PROPER FOR SCHOOLS. 63 little arms pinioned to his fides, and his neck unna- turally bent towards his book; 2nd for no crime!— what cruelty and folly are maniftfted, by fuch an ab- furd mode of inftruaing or governing young peo- ple ! I come next to fay a few words upon the f ih- jea of punishments which are proper in fchools. In barbarous ages every thing partook of the com- plexion of the times. Civil, ecckfiaftical, military, and domeftic punifhments were all of a cruel nature. With the progrefs of reafon and chriftianity, punifh- ments of all kinds have become lefs fevere. Soli- tude and labour are now fubftitutcd in many countries, with fuccefs, in the room of the whipping-poft and the gallows.—The innocent infirmities of human nature are no longer profcribed, and punifhed by the church. Difcipline, confifting in the vigilance of officers, has leffened the fuppofed neceffity of military executions ; and hufbands—fathers—and mafters now blufh at the hiftory of the times, when wives, chil- dren, and fervants, were governed only by force. But unfortunately this fpirit of humanity and civilization has not reached our fchools. The rod is yet the principal instrument of governing them, and a fchool- mafter remains the only defpot now known in free Countries. Perhaps it is becaufe the little fubjects of their arbitrary and capricious power have not been in a condition to complain. I fhall endeavour there-* 64 ON THE AMUSEMENTS AND PUNISHMENTS fore to plead their caufe, and to prove that corpo- ral puniihments (except to children under four or five years of age) are never neceffary, and always hurtful, in fchools.—The following arguments I hope will be fufficient to eftablifh this propofition. i. Children are feldom fent to fchool before they are capable of feeling the force of rational or moral obligation. They may therefore be deterred from committing offences, by motives lefs difgraceful than the fear of corporal punifhments. 2. By correaing children for ignorance and negli- gence in fchool, their ideas of improper and immoral aaions are confounded, and hence the moral faculty becomes weakened in after life. It would not be more cruel or abfurd to inflia the punifhment of the whipping-poft upon a man, for not dreffing fafhionably or neatly, than it is to ferule a boy for blotting his copy book, or mif-fpelling a word. 3. If the natural affeaion of a parent is fometimes infufficient, to reftrain the violent effeas of a fudden guft of anger upon a child, how dangerous muft the power of correaing children be when lodged in the hands of a fchool-mafter, in whofe anger there is no mixture of parental affeaion ! Perhaps thofe parents aa moft wifely, who never truft themfelves to inflia corporal puniihments upon their children, after they are four or five years old, but endeavour to punifli, and PROPER FOR SCHOOLS* *5 r6claim them, by confinement, or by abridging them of fome of their ufual gratifications, in drefs, food or amufements. 4. Injuries are fometimes done to the bodies, and fometimes to the intelleas of children, by cor- poral punifhments. I recolka, when a boy, to have loft a fchool-mate, who was faid to have died in confequerice of a fevere whipping he received in fchool. At that time I did not believe it poffible, but from what I now know of the difproportion between the vio- lent emotions of the mind, and the ftrePgth of the body in children, I am difpofed to believe, that not only ficknefs, but that even death may be induced, by the convulfions of a youthful mind, worked up to a high fenfe of fhame and refentment. The effeas of thumping the head, boxing the ears, and pulling the hair, in impairing the intelkas, by means of injuries done to the brain, are too obvious to be mentioned. 5. Where there is fhame, fays Dr. Johnfon, there may be virtue. But corporal punifhments, infliaed at fchool, have a tendency to deftroy the fenfe of fhame, and thereby to deftroy all moral fenfibility. The boy that has been often publicly whipped at fchool, is under great obligations to his maker, and his parents, if he afterwards efcape the whipping-poft or the gal- lows. K 66 ON THE AMUSEMENTS AND PUNISHMENTS 6. Corporal punifhments, infliaed at fchool, tend to beget a fpirit of violence in boys towards each other, which often follows them through life ; but they more certainly beget a fpirit of hatred, or revenge, towards their mafters, which too often becomes a ferment of the fame baneful paffions towards other people. The celebrated Dr. afterwards Baron Haller declared, that he never faw, without horror, during the remain- ing part of his life, a fchool-mafter, who had treat- ed him with unmerited feverity, when he was only ten years old. A fimilar anecdote is related of the famous M. de Condamine. I think I have known feveral inftances of this vindiaive, or indignant fpirit, to continue towards a cruel and tyrannical fchool-mafter, in perfons who were advanced in life, and who were otherwife of gentle and forgiving difpofitions. 7 Corporal punifhments, infliaed at fchools, beget a hatred to iuftruaion in young people. I have fome- times fufpeaed that the Devil, who knows how great an enemy knowledge is to his kingdom, has had the addrefs to make the world believe that jerruling, pulling and boxing ears, cudgelling, hor/tngt Sec. and, in boarding- fchools, a little Jlarving, are all abfolutely neceffary for the government of young people, on purpofe that he might make both fchools, and fchool-mafters odious, and thereby keep our world in ignorance; for ignorance is the beft means the Devil ever contrived, to keep up the number of his fubjeas in our world. PROPER FOR SCHOOLS. 67 8. Corporal punifhments are not only hurtful, but altogether unneceffary, in fchools. Some of the moft celebrated and fuccesful fchool-mafters, that I have known, never made ufe of them. 9. The fear of corporal punifhments, by debilitating the body, produces a correfponding debility in the mind, which contraas its capacity of acquiring know- ledge. This capacity is enlarged by the tone which the mind acquires from the aaion of hope, love, and confidence upon it; and all thefe paflions might eafi- ly be cherished, by a prudent and enlightened fchool- mafter. 10. As there fhould always be a certain ratio be- tween the ftrength of a remedy, and the excitability of the body in difeafes, fo there fhould be a fimilar ratio between the force employed in the government of a fchool, and the capacites and tempers of children. A kind rebuke, like frefh air in a fainting fit, is calcu- lated to aa upon a young mind with more effea, than stimulants of the greateft power; but corporal punish- ments level all capacities and tempers, as quack-me- dicines do, all conftitutions and difeafes. They dishonour and degrade our fpecies; for they fuppofe a total abfence of all moral and intelkaual feeling from the mind. Have we not often feen dull children fud- denly improve, by changing their fchools ? The reafon is obvious. The fuccesful teacher only accommodated his manner and difcipline to the capacities of his fcholars. 65 ON THE AMUSEMENTS AND PUNISHMENTS n. I conceive corporal punifhments, infliaed in an arbitrary manner, to be contrary to the fpirit of liberty, and that they fhould not be tolerated in a free government. Why should not children be proteaed from violence and injuries, as well as white and black fervants ,?—Had I influepce enough ip our legiflature to obtain only a fingle law, it fhould be to make the punifhment for ftriking a fchool boy, the fame as for affaulting and beating an adult member of fociety. To all thefe arguments I know fome well difpofed people will reply, that the rod has received a divine commiffion from the facred Scriptures, as the inftru- ment of correaing children. To this I anfwer that the rod, in the Old Teftament, by a very common figure in Rhetoric, ftands for punifhments of any kind, juft as the fword, in the New Teftament, ftands for the faithful and general administration of juftice, in fuch a way as is moft calculated to reform criminals, and to prevent crimes The following method of governing a fchool, I apprehend, would be attended with much better ef- feas, than that which I have endeavoured to fhew to be contrary to reafon, humanity, religion, liberty, and the experience of the wifeft and belt teachers in the world. Let a fchool-mafter endeavour, in the firft place, to acquire the confidence of his fcholars, by a prudent deportment. Let him learn to command his paffion* PROPER FOR SCHOOLS. 6$ t and temper, at all times, in his fchool,—Let him treat the name of the Supreme Being with reverence, as often as it occurs in books, or in converfation with his fcholars.—Let him exaa a refpeaful behaviour towards himfelf, in his fchool; but in the intervals of fchool hours, let him treat his fcholars with gentknefs and familiarity. If he fhould even join in their amufe- ments, he would not loofe, by his condefcenfion, any part of his authority over them. But to fecure their affeaion and refpea more perfeaiy, let him, once ©r twice a year, lay out a fmall fum of money in pen- knives, and books, and distribute them among his fcho- lars, as rewards for proficiency in learning, and for good behaviour. If thefe prudent and popular meafures fhould fail of preventing offences at fchool, then let the following modes of punifhment be adopted. i. Private admonition. By this mode of rebuking, we imitate the condua of the divine Being towards his offending creatures, for his firft punifhment is always infliaed privately, by means of the fill voice of con- fidence. 2. Confinement after fchool-hours are ended; but with the knowledge of the parents of the children. 3. Holding a fmall fign of difgrace, of any kind, in the middle of the floor, in the prefence of a whole fchool. 70 ON THE AMUSEMENTS AND PUNISHMENTS If thefe punifhments fail of reclaiming a bad boy, he fhould be difmifled from fchool, to prevent his cor- rupting his fchool-mates. It is the bufinefs of parents, and not of fchool-mafters, to ufe the laft means for eradicating idlenefs and vice from their children. The world was created in love. It is fuftained by lover Nations and families that are happy, are made fo only by love. Let us extend this divine principle, to thofe little communities which we call fchools. Children are capable of loving in a high degree. They may therefore be governed by love. The occupation of a fchool-mafter is truly" dignified. He is, next to mothers, the moft important member of civil fociety. Why then is there fo little rank con- neaed with that occupation ,3 Why do we treat it with fo much negka or contempt ? It is becaufe the voice of reafon, in the human heart, affociates with it the idea of defpotifm and violence. Let fchool-mafters ceafe to be tyrants, and they will foon enjoy the refpea and rank, which are naturally conneaed with their profeffion. We are grofly miftaken in looking up wholiy to our governments, and even to minifters of the gofpel, to pro- mote public and private order in fociety. Mothers and fchool-mafters plant the feeds of nearly all the good and evil which exift in our world. Its reformation muft therefore be begun in nurferies and in fchools. If the habits we acquire there, were to have no influence PROPER FOR SCHOOL-'. *]t Upon our future happinefs, yet the influence they have upon our governments, is a fufiicient reafon why we ought to introduce new modes, as well as new objeas of education into our country. You have lately been employed in an attempt to perpetuate our exiftence as a free people, by establish- ing the means of national credit and defence; * but thefe are feeble bulwarks againft flavery, compared With habits of labour and virtue, diffeminated among our young people. Let us eftablifh fchools for this purpofe, in every townihip in the United States, and conform them to reafon, humanity, and the prefent ftate of fociety in America. Then, Sir, will the generations who are to follow us, realize the precious ideas of the dignity and excellence of republican forms of government, which T well recolka you cherifhed with fo much ardor, in the beginning of the American revolution, and which you have manifefted ever fince, both by your public and private condua. We fuffer fo much from traditional error of various kinds, in education, morals, and government, that I have been led to wifh, that it were poffible for us to have fchools eftablifhed, in the United States, fotf teaching the art of forgetting. I think three-fourths of all our fchool-mafters, divines, and legiflators would * Mr. Clymer was one of the Repvefen^a fives of Pennfylvania, in the firft Congrefs of the United States which met in New York, in th* ytar 1789. 72 ON THE AMUSEMENTS AND PUNISHMENTS profit very much, by fpending two or three years in fuch ufeful inftitutions. An apology may feem neceffary, not only for the length of this letter, but for fome of the opinions contained in it. I hnow how apt mankind are to brand every propofition for innovation, as vifionary and Utopian. But good men fhould not be difcourageo% by fuch epithets, from their attempts to combat^vice and error. There never was an improvement, in any art or fcience, nor even a propofal for meliorating the condition of man, in any age or country, that has not been confidered in the light of what has been called, fince Sir. Thomas More's time, an Utopian fcheme. The application of the magnet to navigation, and of fteam to mechanical purpofes, have both been branded as Utopian projeas. The great idea in the mind of Columbus, of exploring a new world, was long viewed, in moft of the courts of Europe, as the dream of a vifionary failor. But why do we go to an cient times, for proofs of important innovations in human affairs having been treated as Utopian fchemes. You and I recolka the time, when the abolition of negro flavery in our ftate, as alfo when the independence of the United States, and the prefent wife and happy confed- eracy of our republics, were all confidered by many of our fober prudent men, as fubjeas of an Utopian nature. PROPER FOR SCHOOLS. 73 If thofe benefaaors of mankind, who have levelled mountains in the great road of human life, by the difcoveries or labours which have been mentioned, have beeen ftigmatized with obloquy, as vifionary projeaors, why fhould an individual be afraid of fimiku; treatment, who has only attempted to give to that road, from its beginning, a straight direaion. If but' a dozen men like yourfelf, approve of my opinions, it will overbalance the moft illiberal oppofi- tion they may meet with, from all the learned vulgar of the United States. For the benefit of thofe perfons who confider opinions as improved, like certain liquors, by time ; and who are oppofed to innovations, only becaufe they did not occur to their anceftors, I fhall conclude my letter with an anecdote of a minifter in London, who, after em- ploying a long fermon, in controverting what he fuppofed to be an heretical opinion, concluded it with the following words, " I tell you, I tell you my bre- « thren,—I tell you again,—that an old error is better " than a new truth." With great regard I am, Dear Sir, Your's fincerely, BENJAMIN RUSH. Philadelphia, Augufi 20th, 1790. L 74 ON THE AMUSEMENTS, &C. P. S. Since writing the above letter, an ingenious German friend of mine has informed me, that a curious work has lately appeared in Germany, entitled, " A " treatife on human mifery," written by a Mr. Sal- man, an enlightened fchool-mafter, in which a ftriking view is given of the mifery infliaed upon part of the human race, by the prefent abfurd, and cruel modes of conduaing education in public fchools. The author concludes this part of his work, my friend informs me, with a dream, in which he beholds with ineffable joy, the avenging angel defcending from heaven, and after- wards confuming in an immenfe bonfire, certain abfurd fchool-books, and all the ferrules in the world. Thoughts upon female education, accommodat- ed TO THE PRESENT STATE OF SOCIETY, MANNERS, and government, in the united states of America. Addressed to the visitors of the young ladies' academy in philadelphia, 28th july, 1787, at the close of the quarterly examination, and afterwards published at the request of the visitors. GENTLEMEN, I HAVE yielded with diffidence to the felicita- tions of the Principal of the Academy, in undertaking to exprefs my regard for the profperity of this feminary of learning, by fubmitting to your candor, a few Thoughts upon Female Education. The firft remark that I fhall make upon this fubjea, is, that female education fhould be accommodated to the ftate of fociety, manners, and government of the coun- try, in which it is conduaed. This remark leads me at once to add„that the educati- on of young ladies, in this country, fhould De conduaed upon principles very different from what it is in Great Britain, and in fome refpeas, different from what it was when we were part of a monarchical empire. There are feveral circumftances in the fituation, em- ployments, and duties of women in America, which require a peculiar mode of education. 76 THOUGHTS UPON I. The early marriages of our women, by contraaing the time allov/ed for education, renders it neceffary to contract its plan, and to confine it chiefly to the more ufeful branches of literature. II. The ftate of property in America, renders it neceffary for the greateft part of our citizens to employ themfelves, in different occupations, for the advance- ment of their fortunes. This cannot be done without the afiiitance of the female members of the community. They muft be the itewards, and guardians of their husbands' property. That education, therefore, will be moil proper for our women, which teaches them to difi harge the duties of thofe offices with the moft fuccels and reputation. III. From the numerous avocations from their families, to which profeffional life expofes gentlemen in America, a principal share of the inftruaion of children naturally devolves upon the women. It be- comes us therefore to prepare them by a fuitable education, for the difcharge of this moft important duty 'of mothers, IV. The equal fhare that every citizen has in the liberty, and the poffible fhare he may have in the government of our country, make it neceffary that our ladies fliuuh! be qualified to a certain degree by a pecu- FEMALE EDUCATION. 77 liar and fuitabk cdueation, to concur in inftruaing their fons in the principles of liberty and government. V. In Great Britain the bufinefs of fervants is a regular occupation ; but in America this humble ftation is the ufual retreat of unexpeaed indigence; hence the fervants in this country poffefs lefs knowledge and fubordination than are required from them; and hence, our ladies are obliged to attend more to the private af- fairs of their families, than ladies generally do, of the fame rank in Great Britain. « They are good fervants," faid an American lady of distinguished merit, * in a letter to a favorite daughter, § " who will do well with " good looking after." This circumftance fhould have great influence upon the nature and extent of female education in America. The branches of literature moft eflential for a young lady in this country, appear to be, I. A knowledge of the Englifli language. She fhould not only read, but fpeak and fpell it correaiy. And to enable her to do this, fhe fhould be taught the Englifli grammar, and be frequently examined in applying its rules in common converfation. II. Pleafure and intereft confpire to make the writing of a fair and legible hand, a neceffary branch of a lady's education. For this purpofe fhe fliould be * Mrs. Graeme. Ij Mrs. Elizabeth Fcrgufon. 78 THOUGHTS UPON taught not only to fhape every letter properly, but t« pay the ftriaeft regard to points and capitals.* I once heard of a man who profeffed to difcover the temper and difpofition of perfons by looking at their hand writing. Without enquiring into the pro- bability of this ftory; I fhall only remark, that there is one thing in which all mankind agree upon this fubjea, and that is, in confidering writing that is blot- ted, crooked, or illegible, as a mark of vulgar educa- tion. I know of few things more rude or illiberal, than to obtrude a letter upon a perfon of rank or bufi- nefs, which cannot be eafily read. Peculiar care fhould be taken to avoid every kind of ambiguity and affeaation in writing names. I have now a letter in my poffeffion upon bufinefs, from a gentleman of a liberal profeffion in a neighbouring ftate, which I am unable to anfwer, becaufe I cannot difcover the name which is fubfcribed to it. f For obvious reafons I would recom- * The jrefentmode of writing amomg perfons of tafte is to ufe a ca- pital letter only for the firft word of a fentence, and for names of perfons, places and months, and for the firft word of every line in poetry. The words fliould be fo lliaped that a ftraight line may be drawn between tw« lints, without touching the extremities of the words in either of them. f Dr. Franklin received many letters while he was in France during the American war, from perfons who wished to migrate to America, and whoapDeared to poflefs knowledge and talents that would have been ufe, ful to his country, but their names were fubfcribed to their letters in fo artificial and affe£ted a manner, that he was unable todecypher them, and of courfe, did not anfwer t' em, FEMALE EDUCATION. *)$ mend the writing of the firft or chriftian name at full length, where it does not confift of more than two fyllables. Abbreviations of all kind in letter writing, which always denote either hafte or carleffnefs, fliould likewife be avoided. I have only to add under this head that the Italian and inverted hands which are read with difficulty, are by no means accommodated to the aaive ftate of bufinefs in America, or to the fimplici- ty of the citizens of a republic. III. Some knowledge of figures and book-keeping is abfolutely neceffary to qualify a young lady for the duties which await her in this country. There are certain occupations in which the may affift her hufband with this knowledge; and fhould fhe furvive him, and agreeably to the cuftom of our country be the execu- trix of his will, fhe cannot fail of deriving immenfe advantages from it. IV. An acquaintance with geography and fome in- ftruaion in chronology will enable a young lady to read hiftory, biography, and travels, with advantage ; and thereby qualify her not only for a general inter- courfe with the world, but to be an agreeable com- panion for a fenfible man. To thefe branches of knowledge may be added, in fome initances, a genera! acquaintance with the firft principles of aftronomy natural philofophy and chemiftry, particularly, with fuch parts of them as are calculated to prevent fuperftition, by explaining the caufes, or obviating the effeas of So THOUGHTS UPON of natural evil, and fuch, as arc capable of being ap* plied to domestic, and culinary purpofes. V. Vocal mufic fliould never be negkaed, in the education of a young lady, in this country. Befides preparing her to join in that part of public worfhip which confifts in pfalmody, it will enable her to foothe the cares of domestic life. The diftrefs and vexation of a hufband—the noife of a nurfey, and, even, the the forrows that will fometimes intrude into her own bofom, may all be relieved by a fong, where found and fentiment unite to aa upon the mind. I hope it will not be thought foreign to this part of our fubjea to'introduce a faa here which has been fuggefted to me by my profeffion, and that is, that the exercife of the organs of the breaft, by finging, contributes very much to defend them from thofe difeafes to which our climate; and other caufes, have of late expofed them.— Our German fellow citizens are feldom affliaed with confumptions, nor have I ever known but one inftance of fpitting of blood among them. This, I believe, is in part occafioned by the ftrength which their lungs acquire, by exercifing them frequently in vocal mufic, for this conftitutes an effential branch of their educati- on. The mufic-mafter of our academy J has furnished me with an obfervation ftill more in favour of this opinion. He informed me that he had known feveral instances of perfons who were ftrongly dif- pofed to the confumption, who were reftored to health, by the moderate exercife of their lungs in finging. J Mr. Adgate. FEMALE EDUCATION. Si VI. Dancing is by no means an improper branch of education for an American lady. It promotes health, and renders the figure and motions of the body cafy and agreeable. I anticipate the time when the refources of converfation fhall be fo far multiplied, that the amufement of dancing fhall be wholly con- fined to children. But in our prefent ftate of fociety and knowledge, I conceive it to be an agreeable fub- ftitute for the ignobk pleafures of drinking, and gaming, in our affemblies of grown people. VII. The attention of our young ladies fhould be direaed, as foon as they are prepared for it, to the reading of hiftory—travels—poetry—and moral effays. Thefe ftudies are accommodated, in a peculiar manner, to the prefent ftate of fociety in America, and when a relifh is excited for them, in early life, they fubdue that paflion for reading novels, which fo generally prevails among the fair fex. I cannot difmifs this fpe- cies of writing and reading without obferving, that the fubjeas of novels are by no means accommodated to our prefent manners. They hold up life, it is true, but it is not as yet life in America. Our paffions have not as yet « overftepped the modefty of nature." nor are they « torn to tatters," to ufe the expreflions of the poet, by extravagant love, jealoufy, ambition, or revenge. As yet the intrigues of a British novel, are as foreign to our manners, as the refinements of Afiatic vice. Let it not be faid, that the tales of dif- M t2 THOUGHTS UPON trefs, which fill modern novels, have a tendency to foften the female heart into aas of humanity. The faa is the reverfe of this. The abortive fympathy which is excited by the recital of imaginary diltrefs, blunts the heart to that which is real; and, hence, we fometimes fee inftances of young ladies, who weep away a whole forenoon over the criminal forrows of a fiaitious Charlotte or Werter, turning with difdain at three o'clock from the fight of a beggar, who fo- licits in feeble accents or figns, a fmall portion'only of the crumbs which fall from their fathers' tables. VIII. It will be neceffary to connea all thefe branches of education with regular inftruaion in the chriftian religion. For this purpofe the principles of the different feas of christians fliould be taught and explained, and our pupils fhould early be furnifhed with fome of the moft fimple arguments in favour of the truth of chriftianity*. A portion of the bible (of late improperly banifhed from our fehools)fhould be read by them every day, and fuch queftions fhould be afked, after reading it as are calculated to imprint upon their minds the interefting ftories contained in it. RoufTeau has aflcrted that the great fecret of edu- cation confifts in" wafting the time of children pro- * Bsron Holer's letters- to his daughter on the truths of rhe chriftian religion, anJ Dr. Beatie's " evidences of the chriftian religion briefly ' and plainly ftated " are excellent little trafts, and well adaptsd for this parpefe. FEMALE EDUCATION. 8g fitably." There is fome truth in this obfervation. I believe that we often impair their health, and weaken their capcitics, by impofing ftudies upon them, which are not proportioned to their years. But this objec- tion does not apply to religious inltruaion. There are certain fimple propofitions in the chriftian religion, which are fuited in a peculiar manner, to the infant ftate of reafon and moral fenfibility. A clergyman of long experience in the inltruaion of youth f in- formed me, that he always found children acquired religious knowledge more eafily than knowledge upon other fubjeas ; and that young girls acquired this kind of knowledge more readily than boys. The female breaft is the natural foil of chriftianity; and while our women are taught to believe its doarines, and obey its precepts, the wit of Voltaire, and the ftile of Boling- broke, will never be able to deftroy its influence upon our citizens. I cannot help remarking in this place, that chrif- tianity exerts the moft friendly influence upon fcience, as well as upon the morals and manners of mankind. Whether this be occafioned by the unity of truth, and the mutual affiftance which truths upon different fubjeas afford each other, or whether the faculties of the mind be fharpened and correaed by embracing the truths of revelation, and thereby prepared to in- veftigate and perceive truths upon ether fubjeas, I f The Rev. Mr. Nicholas Collin, iv.'.nl'U: of the Swedifh chureh mi Wicoc«g. 84 THOUGHTS UPON will not determine, but I believe that the greateft difcoveries in fcience have been made by chriftian philofophers, and that there is the moft knowledge in thofe countries where there is the moft chriftianity.* If this remark be well founded, then thofe philofophers who rejea chriftianity, and thofe christians, whether parents or fchool-mafters, who negka the religious inltruaion of their children and pupils, reject and net gletl the moft effeaual means of promoting know- ledge in our country. IX. If the meafures that have been recommended for infpiring our pupils with a fenfe of religious and moral obligation be adopted, the government of them will be eafy and agreeable. I fhall only remark under this head, that firitlnefs of difcipline will always render feverity unneceffary, and that there will be the moft inftruaion in that fchool, where there is the moft order. I have faid nothing in favour of instrumental mufic as a branch of female education, becaufe I conceive * This is true in a peculiar manner in the fcience of medecine. A young Scotch phyfician of enterprizing talents, who conceived a high idea of the ftate of medecine in the eaftern countries, fpent two years in enqui- ries after medical knowledge in Constantinople, and Grand Cairo. On his return to Britain he confeiTed to an American phyfician whom he met at Naples, that after all his refcarches and travels, he " had difcovered «« nothing except a fingle faft relative to the plague, that he thought *' worth remembering or communicating." The fcience of medecine in China according to the accounts of De Halde is in as imperfect a ftate as among the Indians of North America. FEMALE EDUCATION. 85 it is by no means accommodated to the prefent ftate of fociety and manners in America. The price of mufical inftruments, and the extravagant fees de- manded by the teachers of inftrumental mufic, form but a fmall part of my objeaions to it. To perform well, upon a mufical inftrument, re- quires much time and long praaice. From two to four hours in a day, for three or four years appropriated to mufic, are an immenfe deduaion from that fhort period of time which is allowed by the peculiar circum- ftances of our country for the acquifition of the ufeful branches of literature that have been mentioned. How many ufeful ideas might be picked up in thefe hours from hiftory, philofophy, poetry, and the numerous moral effays with which our language abounds, and how much more would the knowledge acquired upon thefe fubjeas add to the confequence of a lady, with her hufband and with fociety, than the beft performed pieces of mufic upon a harpficord or a guittar! Of the many ladies whom we have known, who have fpent the moft important years of their lives, in learning to play upon inftruments of mufic, how few of them do we fee amufe themfelves or their friends with them, after they become miftreffes of families ! Their harp- fichords ferve only as fide-boards for their parlours, and prove by their fiknee, that neceffity and circum- ftances, will always prevail "over fafhion, and falfe maxims of education. 36 THOUGHTS UPON Let it not be fuppofcd from thefe obfervations that I am infenfibk of the charms of inftrumental mufic, or that I wifh to exclude it from the education of a lady where a mufical ear irrefiftably difpofes to it, and affluence at the fame time affords a profpea of fuch an exemption from the ufual cares and duties of the miftrefs of a family, as will enable her to praaife it. Thefe circumftances form an exception to the general condua that fhould arife upon this fubjea, from the prefent ftate of fociety and manners in America. It is agreeable to obferve how differently modern writers, and the infpired author of the Proverbs, defcribe a fine woman. The former confine their praifes chiefly to perfonal charms, and ornamental ac- complishments, while the latter celebrates only the vir- tues of a valuable miftrefs of a family, and a ufeful member of fociety. The one is perfeaiy acquainted with all the fashionable languages of Europe; the other, « opens her mouth with wifdom" and is per- feaiy acquainted with all the ufes of the needle, the diftaff, and the loom. The bufinefs of the one, is pkafure; the pkafure of the other, is bufinefs. The one is admired abroad; the other is honoured and beloved at home. " Ker children arife up and " call her bleifcd, her hufband alfo, and he praifeth her." There is no fame in the world equal to this; nor is there a note in mufic half fo delightful, as the refpea- ful language with which a grateful fon or daughter PEMALE EDUCATION. 87 perpetuates the memory of a fenfible and affeaionatc mother. It fhould not furprize us that British cuftoms, with refpea to female education, have been tranfplanted into our American fchools and families. We fee markj of the fame incongruity, of time and place, in many other things. We behold our houfes accomodated to the climate of Great Britain, by eaftern and weftern direaions. We behold our ladies panting in a heat of ninety degrees, under a hat and cushion, which were calculated for the temperature of a British fummer. We behold our citizens condemned and punifhed by a criminal law, which was copied from a country, where maturity in corruption renders public executions a part of the amufements of the nation. It is high time to awake from this fervility—to ftudy our own charaaer—to examine the age of our country—and to adopt manners in every thing, that fhall be accomo- dated to our ftate of fociety, and to the forms of our government. In particular it is incumbent upon us to make ornamental accomplifhments yield to principles and knowledge, in the education of our women. A philofopher once faid « let me make all the bal- " lads of a country and I care not who makes its laws." He might with more propriety have faid, let the ladies of a country be educated properly, and they will not only make and administer its laws, but form its manners and charaaer. It would rtquire a lively imaginaiton to defcribe, or even to comprehend, the 88 THOUGHTS UPON happinefs of a country, where knowledge and virtue, were generally diffufed among the female fex. Our young men would then be reftrained from vice by the terror of being banifhed from their company. The loud laugh, and the malignant fmile, at the expence of innocence, or of perfonal infirmities—the feats of fuccefsful mimickry—and the low priced wit, which is borrowed from a mifapplication of fcripture phrafes, would no more be confidered as recommendations to the fociety of the ladies.. A double entendre In their prefence, would then exclude a gentleman forever from the company of both fexes, and probably oblige him to feek an afylum from contempt, in a foreign country. The influence of female education would be ftill more extensive and ufeful in domeftic life. The obligations of gentlemen to qualify themfelves by knowledge and industry to difcharge the duties of benevolence, would be encreafed by marriage ; and the patriot—the hero—and the legiflator, would find the fweeteft reward of their toils, in the approba- tion and applaufe of their wives. Children would dif- cover the marks of maternal prudence and wifdom in every ftation of life ; for it has been remarked that there have been few great or good men who have not been bleffed with wife and prudent mothers. Cyrus. was taught to revere the gods, by his mother Mandane —Samuel was devoted to his prophetic office before he was born, by his mother Hannah—Conftantine was refcued from paganifm by his mother Conftantia—and Edward the fixth inherited thofe great and excellent female education. 89 'jualitie9 which made him the delight of the age in which he lived, from his mother, lady Jane Seymour* Many other inftances might be mentioned, if neceffary, from ancient and modern hiftory, to eftablifh the truth of this propofition; I am not enthufiaftical upon the fubjea of educati* on. In the ordinary courfe of human affairs, we fhall probably too foon follow the footfteps of the nations of Europe in manners and vices. The firft marks we fhall perceive of our declenfion, will appear among our women. Their idknefs, ignorance, and profli-* gacy will be the harbingers of our ruin. Then will the charaaer and performance of a buffoon on the theatre, be the fubjea of more converfation and praife* than the patriot or the minifter of the gofpel ;—then will our language and pronunciation be enfeebled and; corrupted by a flood of French and Italian words ;—then will the hiftory of romantic amours, be preferred to the pure and immortal writings of Addifon, Hawkefworth and Johnfon ;—then will our churches be negkaed, and the name of the fupreme being never be called upon, but in profane exclamations ;—then will our Sundays be appropriated, only to feafts and concerts ?—and then will begin all that train of domeftic and political calamities----But, I forbear* The profpea is fo painful, that I cannot help, fi- lently, imploring the great arbiter of human, af- fairs, to interpofe his almighty goodnefs, and to de- N ■ the confequence of a familiarity with fuch objeas of horror, upon our attachments and duties to our friends and connections, or to the reft of mankind ? If a fpeaator fliould give himfelf time to refka upon fuch a fight of human depravity, he would naturally PUBLIC PUNISHMENTS. I45 recoil from the embraces of friendfliip, and the endear-* ments of domeftic life, and perhaps fay with an unfor- tunate great man, after having experienced an inftance of treachery in a friend, " Oh! that I were a dog, " that I might not call man my brother." The Jewifh law forbade more than nine and thirty lathes, left the fufferer fhould afterwards become (< vile" in the fight of fpeaators. It is the prerogative of God alone, to contemplate the vices of bad men, without withdrawing from them the fupport of his benevolence. Hence we find, when he appeared in the world, in the perfon of his Son, he did not exclude criminals from the benefits of his goodnefs. He difmiffed a women caught in the perpetration of a crime, which was capital by. the Jewifh law, with a friendly admoni- tion : and he opened the gates of paradife to a dying thief. 5thly. But let us fuppofe, that criminals are viewed without fympathy—indignation —or contempt.—This will be the cafe, either when the fpeaators are them- felves hardened with vice, or when they are too young, or too ignorant, to connea the ideas of crimes and puniflimcnts together. Here, then, a new fource of injury arifes from the public nature of punifhments. Every portion of them will appear, to fpeaators of this defcription, to be mere arbitrary aas of cruelty: hence will arife a difpofition to exercife the fame arbitrary cruelty over the feelings and lives of their fellow creatures. To fee blows, or a halter, impofed U I46 AN ENQUIRY INTO THE EFFECTS Of in cold blood upon a criminal, whofe paflive behaviour, operating with the ignorance of the fpeaa- tors, indicates innocence more than vice, cannot fail of removing the natural obftacles to violence and mur- der in the human mind. othly. Public punifhments make many crimes known to perfons who would otherwife have palled through life in a total ignorance of them. They moreover produce fuch a familiarity, in the minds of fpeaators, with the crimes for which they are infliaed, that, in fome inftances, they have been known to excite a propenfity for them. It has been remarked, that a certain immorality has always kept pace with pub- lic admonitions in the churches in the eaftern ftates. In proportion as this branch of ecclefiaftical difcipline has declined, fewer children have been born out of wedlock. 7thly. Ignominy is univerfally acknowledged to be a worfe punifhment than death Let it not be fup- pofed, from this circumftance, that it operates more than the fear of death in preventing crimes. On the contrary, like the indifcriminate punifhment of. death, it not only confounds and levels all crimes, but by increafing the difproportion betweemcrimes and punifh- ments, it creates a hatred of all law and govern- ment ; and thus difpofes to the perpetration of every crime. Laws can only be refpeaed and obeyed, while they bear an exaa proportion to crimes.—The law PUBLIC PUNISHMENTS. 147 which punilhes the mooting of a fwan with deatha in England, has produced a thoufand murders. Nor is this all the mifchievous influence, which the punifh- ment of ignominy has upon fociety. While murder is punifhed with death, the man who robs on the high-way, or breaks open a houfe, muft want the common feelings and principles which belong to human nature, if he does not add murder to theft, in order to fcreen himfelf, if he fhould be deteaed, from that punifhment which is acknowledged to be more terrible than death. It would feem ftrange, that ignominy fhould ever have been adopted, as a milder punifhment than death, did we not know that the human mind feldom arrives at truth upon any fubjea, till it has firft reached the extremity of error. 8thly. But may not the benefit derived to fociety, by employing criminals to repair public roads, or to clean ftreets, overbalance the evils that have been mentioned ? I anfwer, by no means. On the contra- ry, befides operating in one, or in all the ways that have been defcribed, the praaice of employing criminals in public labour, will render labour of every kind difre- putable, more efpecially that fpecies of it, which has for its objeas the convenience or improvement of the ftate. It is a well-known faa, that white men foon decline labour in the Weft Indies, and in the fouthern ftates, only becaufe the agriculture, and mechanical 14^ AN ENQUIRY INTO THE EFFECTS OF employments of thofe countries, are carried on chiefly by negro (laves. But I objea further to the employ, ment of criminals on the high-ways and ftreets, from the Idlenefs it will create, by alluring fpeaators from their bufinefs, and thereby depriving the ftate of great- er benefits from the induftry of its citizens, than it can ever derive from the labour of criminals. The hiftory of public punifhments, in every age and country, is full of faas, which fupport every principle that has been advanced. What has been the operation of the feventy thoufand executions, that have taken place in Great Britain from the year 1688, to the pre- fent day, upon the morals and manners of the inhabi- tants of thafiflarid ? Has net every prifon-door that has been opened, to condua criminals to public fhame and punifliment, unlocked, at the fame time, the bars of moral obligation upon the minds often times the num- ber of people ? How often do we find pockets picked under a gallows, and highway robberies committed in fight of a gibbet ? From whence arofe the confpira- cies, with affaffinations and poifpnings, which prevailed in the decline of the Roman empire ? Were they not favoured by the public executions of the amphitheatre ? It is therefore to the combined operation of indolence, prejudice, ignorance and the defea of culture of the human heart, alone, that we are to afcribc the conti- nuance of public punifhments, after fuch long andmul- tiplied experience of their inefficacy to refc.m bad men, pr to prevent the commiffion of crimes. PUBLIC PUNISHMENTS. 149 III. Let it not be fuppofed, from any thing that has be.-n faid, that I wifh to abolifh punifhments. Far from it: I wifh only to change the place and manner of infliaing them, fo as to render them effeaual for the reformation of criminals, and beneficial to fociety. Before I propofe a plan for this purpofe, I beg leave to deliver the following general axioms : 1 ft. The human mind is difpofed to exaggerate every thing that is removed from it, by time or place. 2dly. It< is equally difpofed to enquire after, and to magnify fuch things as are facred. 3dly. It always afcribes the extremes in qualities, to things that are unknown ; and an excefs in duration, to indefinite time. 4thly. Certain and definite evil, by being long con- templated, ceafes to be dreaded or avoided. A fol- dier foon lofes, from habit the fear of death in battle ; but retains, in common with other people, the terror of death from ficknefs or drowning. cthly. An attachment to kindred and fociety is one of the ftrongeft feelings of the human heart. A fepe- paration from them, therefore has ever been confider- ed as one of the fevereft punifhments that can be in- fliaed upon man. 150 AN ENQUIRY INTO THE EFFECTS OF dthly. Perfonal liberty is fo dear to all men, that the lofs of it, for an indefinite time, is a punifh- ment fo fevere, that death has often been preferred to it. Thefe axioms being admitted (for they cannot be controverted) I fhall proceed next to apply them, by fuggefting a plan for the punifhment of crimes, which, I fsatter myfelf, will anfwer all the ends that have been propofed by them. 1. Let a large houfe be ereaed in a convenient part of the ftate. Let it be divided into a number of apart- ments, referving one large room for public worfhip. Let cells be provided for the folitary confinement of fuch perfons as are of a refraaory temper. Let the houfe be fupplied with the materials, and inftruments for carrying on fuch manufaaures as can be con- duaed with the leaft inftruaion, or previous know- ledge. Let a garden adjoin this houfe, in which the culprits may occafionally work, and walk. This fpot will have a beneficial effea not only upon health, but morals, for it will lead them to a familiarity with thofe pure and natural objects which are calculated to renew the conneaion of fallen man with his creator. Let the name of this houfe convey an idea of its bene- volent and falutary defign, but let it by no means be cal- led a prifon, or by ony other name that is affociated with what is infamous in the opinion of mankind. Let the direaion of this institution be committed t0 PUBLIC PUNISHMENTS. 1£I perfons of eftablifhed charaaers for probity, difcretlon and huma";>y, who fhall be amenable at all times to the legiflature, or courts of the ftate. 2dly. Let the various kinds of punishment, that are to be infliaed on crimes, be defined and fixed by law. But let no notice be taken, in the law, of the punifh- ment that awaits any particular crime. By thefe means, we fhall prevent the mind from accuftoming itfelf to the view of thefe puniihmeats, fo as to deftroy their terror by habit. The indifference and levity with which fome men fuffer the punifhment of hanging, is often occafioned by an infenfibility which is contrac- ted by the frequent anticipation of it, or by the appear- ance of the gallows fuggefting the remembrance o£ fcenes of criminal feftivity, in which it was the fubjea of humour or ridicule. Befides, punifhments fhould always be varied in degree, according to the temper of criminals, or the progrefs of their reformation. 3dly. Let the duration of punishments, for all crimes be limitted : but let this limitation be unknown I conceive this fecret to be of the utmoft importance 'n reforming criminals, and preventing crimes. The 'magination, when agitated with uncertainty, will fel- dom fail of conneaing the longeft duration of pu- nifhment, with the fmalleft crime. I cannot conceive any think more calculated to dif- fufe terror through a community, and thereby to 152 AN ENQUIRY INTO THE EFFECTS OF prevent crimes, than the combination of the-three cir_ cumftanees that have been mentioned in punifhments. Children will prefs upon the evening fire in listening to the tales that will be fpread from this abode of mifery. Superstition will add to its horrors : and ro-' mance will find in it ample materials for fiaion, which cannot fail of increafing the terror of its punifhments, Let it not be objeaed, that the terror produced by the hiftory of thefe fecret punifhments, will ope- rate like the abortive fympathy I have defcribed. Aclive fympathy can be fully excited only tluough the avenues of the eyes and the ears. Befides, the recolkaion that the only defign of punifliment is the reformation of the criminal will fufpend the aaion of fympathy altogether. We liften with palenefs to the hiftory of a tedious and painful operation in fur_ gery, without a wifh to arreft the hand of the ope- rator. Our fympathy, which in this cafe is of the pafiftve kind, is mixed with pkafure, when we are affured, that there is a certainty of the operation being the means of faving the life of the fufferer. Nor Jet the expence of ereaing and fupporting a houfe of repentance, for the purpofes that have been mentioned, deter us from the undertaking. It would be eafy to demonftrate, that it will not coft one fourth as much as the maintenance of the numerous jails that are now neceffary in every well regulated PUBLIC PUNISHMENTS. I5J ftate. But why fhould receptacles be provided and fupported at an immenfe expenfe, in every country, for the relief of perfons affliaed with bodily difor- ders, and an objeaion be made to providing a place for the cure of the difeafes of the mind ? The nature—degrees—and duration of the punifh- ments, fhould all be determined beyond a certain de- gree, by a court properly conflituted for that purpofe, and whofe bufinefs it fhould be to vifit the receptacle for criminals once or twice a year. I am aware of the prejudices of freemen, againft en- trusting power to a difcretionary court. But let it be remembered, that no power is committed to this court, but what is poflefled by the different courts of jufiice in all free countries ; nor fo much as is now wifely and neceffarily poifefled by the fupreme and inferior courts, in the execution of the penal laws of Pennfylvania. I fh.ill fpend no time in defending the confiftency of pri- vate puniflimcnts, with a fafe and free government. Truth, upon this fubjea, cannot be divided. If pub- lic punifhments are injurious to criminals and to foci- ety, it follows that crimes fhould be punifhed in private, or not punifhed at all. There is no alternative. The oppofition to private punifhments, therefore is founded altogether in prejudice, or in ignorance of the true principles of liberty. X 154 AN ENQUIRY INTO THE EFFECTS OF The fafety and advantages of private punifhments* will appear, further, when I add, that the beft governed families and fchools are thofe, in which the faults of fervants and children are rebuked privately, and where confinement and folitude are preferred for correaion, to the ufe of the rod. In order to render thefe punifhments effeaual, they fhould be accommodated to the conftitutions and tempers of. the criminals, and the peculiar nature of their crimes. Peculiar attention fhould be paid, like- wife, in the nature, degrees, and duration of punifh- ments, to crimes, as they arife from paffion, habit or temptation. The puniihments, fhould confift of bodily pain, la- bour, watchfulnefs, folitude, and filence. They fhould all be joined with cleanlinefs and a fimple diet. To afcertain the nature, degrees, and duration of the bodily pain, will require fome knowledge of the principles of fenfation, and of the fympathies which occur in the nervous fyftem. The labour fhould be fo regula- ted and direaed, as to be profitable to the ftate. Befides employing criminals in laborious and ufeful manufac- tures, they may be compelled to derive all their fub- fiftance from a farm and a garden, cultivated by their own hands, adjoining the place of their confine- ment. Thefe punifhments may be ufed feparately, or more or lefs combined, according to the nature of the crimes* PUBLIC PUNISHMENTS. I55 or according to the variations of the conftitution and temper of the criminals. In the application of them, the utmoft poffibk advantages fhould be taken of the laws of the affociation of ideas, of habit, and of imi- tation. To render thefe phyfical remedies more effeaual they fhould be accompanied by regular inftruaion in the principles and obligations of religion, by perfons appointed for that purpofe. Thus far I am fupported, in the application of the remedies I have mentioned, for the cure of crimes, by the faas contained in Mr. Howard's hiftory of prifons, and by other obfervations. It remains yet to prefcribe the fpecific punifhment that is proper for each fpecific crime. Here my fubjea begins to opprefs me. I have no more doubt of every crime having its cure in moral and phyfical influence, than I have of the efficacy of the Peruvian bark in curing the in- termitting fever. The only difficulty is, to find out the proper remedy or remedies for particular vices. Mr Dufriche de Valaye, in his elaborate treatife upon penal laws, has performed the office of a pioneer upon this difficult fubjea. He has divided crimes into claf- fes ; and has affixed punifhments to each of them, in a number of ingenious tables. Some of the connec- tions he has eftablifhed, between crimes and punifh- menrs, appear to be juft. But many of his punifhments .re contrary to the fufl principles of aaion in manj 15$ AN ENQUIRY INTO THE EFFECTS OF and all of them are, in my opinion, improper, as far as he orders them to be infliaed in the eye of the public. His attempt, however, is laudable, and deferves the praife of every friend to mankind. If the invention of a machine for facilitating labour, has been repaid with the gratitude of a country, how much more will that man deferve, who fliall invent the moft fpeedy and effeaual methods of reftoring the vi- cious part of mankind to virtue and happinefs, and of extirpating a portion of vice from the world ? Happy condition of human affairs ! when humanity, philc- fophy and chriftianity, fhall unite their influence to teach men, that they are brethren; and to prevent their preying any longer upon each other ! Happy citizens of. the United States, whofe governments permit them to adopt every difcovery in the n-oral or intelkaual world, that leads to thefe benevolent purpofes ! Let it not be objeaed, that it will be impoflible for men, who have expiated their offences by the mode of punifhment that has been propofed, to recover their former conncaions with fociety. This objeaion arifes from an unfortunate aflbciation of ideas. The infamy of criminals is derived, not fo much from the lenu-m- brance of their crimes, as from the recollection of the ignominy of their punifhments. Crimes produce a ftain, which may be wafhed out by reformation, and which frequently wears away by time ; but public PUBLIC PUNISHMENTS. 157 puniihments leave fears which disfigure the whole charaaer; and hence perfons, who have fuffered them, are ever afterwards viewed with horror or aver- fion. If crimes were expiated by private difcipline, and fucceeded by reformation, criminals would probably fuffer no more in charaaer from them, than men fuffer in their reputation or ufefulnefs from the punifh- ments they have undergone when boys at fchool. I am fo perfeaiy fitisfied of the truth of this opinion, that me thinks I already hear the inhabitants of our vil- lages and townfhips counting the years that fhall com- plete the reformation of one df their citizens. I behold them running to meet him on the day of his deliverance. His friends and family bathe his cheeks with tears of joy ; and the univerfal fhout of the neigbourhood is, " This our brother was loft, and is found—was dead and is alive." It has long been a defideratum in government, that there fhould exift in it no pardoning power, fince the certainty of punifliment operates fo much more than its feverity, or infamy, in preventing crimes. But where puniftiments are exceffive in degree, or infamous from being public, a pardoning power is abfolutely necef- fary. Remove their feverity and public infamy, and a pardoning power ceafes to be neceffary in a code of criminal jurifprudence. Nay, further—it is fuch a dcfea in penal laws, as in fome meafure defeats every invention to prevent crimes, or to cure habits of vice. *5' AN ENQUIRY INTO THE EFFECTS OF If punifhments were moderate, j uft, and private, they would exalt the feelings of public juftice and benevo- lence fo far above the emotions of humanity in wit- neffes, juries and judges, that they would forget to conceal, or to palliate crimes ; and the certainty of pu- nifhment, by extinguishing all hope of pardon in the criminal, would lead him to connea the beginning of his repentance with the laft words of his fentence of condemnation. To obtain this great and falutary end, there fhould exift certain portions of punifhment, both in duration and degree, which fhould be placed by law beyond the power' of the difcretionary court before mentioned, to fliorten or mitigate. I have faid nothing upon the manner of in- fliaing death as a punifhment for crimes, becaufe I confider it as an improper punifhment for any crime. Even murder itfclf is propagated by the punifliment of death for murder. Of this we have a remarkable proof in Italy. The duke of Tufcany foon after the publication of the marquis of Beccaria's excellent treatife upon this fubjea, abolished death as a punifh- ment for murder. A gentleman, who refided five years at Pifa, informed me, that only five murders had been perpetrated in his dominions in twenty years. The fame gentleman added, that after his refidence in Tufcany, he fpent three months in Rome, where death is ftill the punifhment of murder, and where executions,according to Dr. Moore,are condua- ed with peculiar circumftances of public parade. Du- PUBLIC PUNISHMENTS. I59 ring this fhort period, there were fixty murders com- mitted in the precinas of that city. It is remarkable, the manners, principles, and religion, of the inhabitants of Tufcany and Rome, are exaaiy the fame. The abolition of death alone, as a punifhment for murder, produced this difference in the moral charaaer of the two nations. I fufpea the attachment to death, as a punifh- ment for murder, in minds otherwife enlightened, upon the fubjea of capital puniihments, arifes from a falfe interpretation of a paffage contained in the old teftament, and that is, " he that fheds the blood of man, by man fhall his blood be fhed." This has been fuppofed to imply that blood could only be ex- piated by blood. But I am difpofed to believe, with a late commentator* upon this text of fcripture, that it is rather a prediction than a law. The language of it is fimply, that fuch will be the depravity and folly of man, that murder, in every age, fhall beget murder. Laws, therefore, which inflia death for murder, are, in my opinion, as unchriftian as thofe which juftify or tolerate revenge j for the obligations of chriftianity upon individuals, to promote repentance, to forgive injuries, and to difcharge the duties of univerfal benevolence, are equally binding upon ftates. The power over human life, is fhe fole prero- gative of him who gave it. Human laws, therefore, * The rcvcrer.J Mr. William Turner, in the fecond vol. of Mem**!)* •f the Literary and Pi'ilofophkas Society of Manchester. Kfo AN ENQUIRY INTO THE EFFECTS OF rife in rebellion againft thi; prerogative, when they transfer it to human hands. If fociety can be fecured from violence, by confining the murderer, fo as to prevent a repetition of his crime, the end of extirpation will be anfwered. In confinement, he may be reformed : and if this fhould prove impri.ticable, he may be reftrained for a term of years, that will probably, be coeval with his life. There was a time,v when the punifliment of cap- tives with death or fervitude, and the indifcriminate deftruaion of peaceable hufbandmen, women, and children, were thought to be eflential, to the fuccefs of war, and the fafety of ftates. But experience has taught us, that this is not the cafe. And in propor- tion as humanity has triumphed over thefe maxims of falfe policy, wars have been kfs frequent and terri- ble, and nations have enjoyed longer intervals of in- ternal tranquility. The virtues are all parts of a circle. Whatever is humane, is wife—whatever is wife, is juft—and whatever is wife, juft, and humane, will be found to be the true intereft of ftates, whether criminals or foreign enemies are the objeas of their kgiflation. o I have taken no notice of perpetual banishment, as a legal punifhment, as I confider it the next in de- gree, in folly and cruelty, to the punishment of death. If the receptacle for criminals, which has been pro- % PUBLIC PUNISHMENTS. l6l poled, is ereaed in a remote part of the ftate, it will a a with the fame force upon the feelings ofthe human heart, as perpetual banishment. Exile, when perpetual, by deftroying one of the molt powerful prin- , cipks of aaion in man, viz. the love of kindred and country, deprives us of all the advantages, which might be derived from it, in the bufinefs of reformation. While certain paffions are weakened, this noble paffion is ftrcngthencd by age: hence, by preferving this paffion alive, we furnifh a principle, which, in time may become an overmatch for thofe vicious habits, which feparatcd criminals from their friends and from fociety. Notwithftanding this teftimony againft the punifh- ment of death and perpetual banishment, I cannot'help adding, that there is more mercy to the criminal, and lefs injury done to fociety, by both of them, than by public infamy and pain, without them. The great art of furgery has been faid to confift in faving, not in deftroying, or amputating the difeafed parts of the human body. Let governments karn to imitate, in this refpea, the fkill and humanity of the healing art. Nature knows no wafte in any of her operations. Even putrefaaion itfelf is the parent of ufeful produaions to man. Human ingenuity imitates nature in a variety of arts. Offal maters, of all kinds, are daily converted into the means of increafing the profits of induftry, and the pleafures of human life. Y 162 AN ENQUIRY INTO THE EFFECTS OF The foul of man alone, with all its moral and intefc leaual powers, when mifled by paffion, Is abandoned, by the ignorance or cruelty of man, to unprofitable corruption, or extirpation. A worthy prelate of the church of England oncC faid upon feeing a criminal led to execution, " There goes my wicked felf." Confidering the vices to which the frailty of human nature expofes whole families of every rank and clafs in life, it becomes us, whenever we fee a fellow creature led to public infamy and pain, to add further. " There goes my unhappy father, my unhappy brother, or my unhappy fon,"' and afterwards to afk ourfelves, whether^z'-yflfc puniih- ments are not to be preferred to public. For the honour of humanity it can be faid, that in every age and country, there have been found perfons in whom uncorrupted nature has triumphed over cuftom and law. Elfe, why do we hear ef houfes being abandoned near to places of public execution I Why do we fee doors and windows fhut on the days or hours of criminal exhibitions ? Why do we hear of aid being fecretly afforded to criminals, to mitigate or elude the feverity of their punifhments ? Why is the public executioner of the law an objea of fuch general deteftation ? Thefe things are latent ftruggles of reafon, or rather the fecret voice of God himfelf, fpeaking in the human heart, againft the folly and cruelty Of public punifliment. PUBLIC PUNISHMENTS. 163 £ fhall conclude this enquiry by obferving, that the fame falfe religion and philofophy, which once kindled the fire on the alter of perfecution, now doom the criminal to public ignominy and death. In pro- portion as the principles of philofophy and chriftianity are underftood, they will agree in extinguifhing the one, and deftroying the other. If thefe principles Continue to extend their influence upon government, as they have done for fome years paft, I cannot help en- tertaining a hope, that the time is not very diftant, when the gallows, the pillory, the flocks, the whipp- jng-poft and the wheel-barrow^the ufual engines of public punifhments) will be conneaed with the hiftory of the rack and the flake, as marks of the barbarity of ages and countries, and as melancholy proofs of the feeble operation of reafon and religion upon the human mind. AN ENQUIRY INTO THE CONSISTENCY OF THE PUNISH ; WENT OF MURDER BY DEATH, WITH REASON AND REVELATION. I. r I ''HE Punifhment of Murder by Death, is A contrary to reafon, and to the order and happinefs of fociety. i. It leffens the horror of taking away human life, and thereby tends to multiply murders. 2. It produces murder by its influence upon peo- ple who are tired of life, and who, from a fuppofition that murder is a lefs crime than fuicide, deftroy a life (and often that of a near conneaion) and afterwards deliver themfelves up to the laws of their country, that they may cfcape from their mifery by means of a halter. 3. The punifhment of murder by death multiplies murders, from the difficulty it creates of conviaing perfons who are guilty of it. Humanity, revolting at the idea of the feverity and certainty of a capital punifliment, often fteps in, and colkas fuch evidence in favour of a murderer, as fcreens him from death altogether, or palliates his crime into manflaughter. Even the law itfelf favours the acquital of a murderer 165 ON THE PUNISHMENT OF MURDER &C. by making the circumftance of premeditation an4 malice, r.cccff try to render the offence, a capital crime. Mr. Townfend tells us in his travels into Spain* that feventy murders were perpetrated in Malaga in the 16 months which preceeded his vifit to that city, all of which efcaped with impunity, and pro- bably from the caufes which have been mentioned. If the punifliment of murder confifted in long con- finement, and hard labour, it would be proportioned to the meufure of our feelings of juftice, and every member of fociety would be a watchman, or a ma- giftrate, to apprehend a deftroyer of human life, and to bring him to punifliment. 4. The punifliment of murder by death checks the operations of univerfal juftice, by preventing the punishment of every fpecies of murder. 5. The punifhment of murder by death has been proved to be contrary to the order and happinefs of focietv, by the experiments of fome of the wifeft legiflators in Europe. The Emprefs of Rufia, tlvc King of Sweden, and the Duke of Tufcany, have nearly extirpated murder from their dominions, by converting its punifhments into the means of bene- fiting fociety, and reforming the criminals who per- petrate it. II. The punifliment of murder by death is con- trary to divine revelation. A religion which commands » Vol. 3. 166 ON THE PUNISHMENT OF MURDER us to forgive, and even to do good to, our enemies, can never authorife the punifhment of murder by death. «• Vengence is mine," faid the Lord ; " I will repay." It is to no purpofe to fay here, that this vengeance it taken out of the hands of an indi- vidual, and direaed againft the criminal by the hand, of government. It is equally an ufurpation of the prerogative of heaven, whether it be infliaed by a fingle perfon, or by a whole community. Here I expea to meet with an appeal from the letter and fpirit of the gofpel, to the law of MofeSj, which declare«, " he that killeth a man fliall be put to death." Forgive, indulgent heaven ! the ig- norance and cruelty of man, which, by the mifap- plication of this text of fcripture, has fo long and fo often flained the religion of Jefus Chrift with folly and revenge. The following confiderations, I hope, will prove that no argument can be deduced from this law, to juftify the punifhment of murder by death j—on the contrary, that feveral arguments againft it, may be derived from a juft and rational explanation of that part of the Levitical inftitutions. i. There are many things in fcripture above, but nothing contrary to, reafon. Now, the punifliment of murder by death, is contrary to reafon. It cannot, therefore, be agreeable to the will of God. < BY DEATH. 167 2. The order and happinefs of fociety cannot, fail of being agreeable to the will of God. But the pu- nifliment of murder by death, deftroys the order and happinefs of fociety. It muft therefore be contrary to the will of God. 3. Many of the laws given by Mofes, were accom- modated to the ignorance, wickednefs, and " hardnefs " of heart," of the Jews. Hence their divine legi- slator exprefsly fays, " I gave them ftatutes that were '* not good, and judgments whereby they fhould not live." Of this, the law which rcfpeas divorces, and the law of retaliation, which required, " an eye for '« an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," are remarkable inftances. But we are told, that the punifhment of murder by death, is founded not only on the law of Mofes, but Upon a pofitive precept given to Noah and his pofte- rity, that " whofo fheddeth man's blood, by man fhall his blood be fhed," If the interpretation of this text given in a former efiay* be not admitted, I fhall attempt to explain it by remarking, that foon after the. flood, the infancy and weaknefs of fociety rendered it impoffible to punifli murder by confinement. There "Was therefore no medium between infiiaing death upon a murderer, and fostering him to efcape with impunity, and thereby to perpetrate more aas of vio- lence againft his fellow creatures. It pleafed God, in this condition of the world, to permit a lefs, I.j * Enquiry into th.- effech of public puniihments. p. 159. 163 ON th;; PUNISHMENT of murolr order to prevent a greater evil. He therefore commits for a whiie his cxclufive power over human life, to his creatures for the fafety and prefervation of an j.ifant fociety, which might otherwife have perished, and with it, the only ftock of the human race. The command indireaiy implLs that the crime of murder was not punished by death in the mature ftate of fo- ciety which exifted before the flood. Nor is this the only inftance upon record in the fcriptures in which God has delegated his power over human life to his creatures. Abraham exprefles no furnrifc at the com- mand which God gave him to facrificc his fon. He fubmits to it as a precept founded in reafon and natural juftice, for nothing could be more obvious than that the giver of life had a right to claim it, when and in fuch manner as he pleafed. 'Till men are able to give life, it becomes them to tremble at the thought of taking it away. Vv'ili a man rob God r—Yes—he robs him of what is infinitely dear to him—of his daviing attribute of mercy, every time he deprives a feiiow creature of life. ,j. If the Mcfaic Irv., with refpea to murder, be obligatory up- n Christians, it follows that it is equally obligatory upon them to punish adultery, blafphemy and other capital crimes that are mentioned in the fcvitical law, by death. Nor is this all : it justifies the- extirpation of the Indians, and the ev. {laving of tic Afrii r. l.s ; fcr ' the command to the Jews to BY DEATH. 169 deftroy the Canaanites, and to make flaves of their heathen neighbours, is as pofitive as the command which declares, " that he that killeth a man, fhall furely be put to death." 5. ivery part of the Levitical law, is full of types of the Meffiah. May not the punifhment of death, infliaed by It, be intended to reprefent the demerit and confeqaences of fin, as the cities of refuge were the offices of the Meffiah ? And may not the enlarge- ment of murderers who had fled to thofe cities of refuge, upon the death of a high prieft, reprefent the eternal abrogation of the law which infliaed death for murder, by the meritorious death of the Saviour of the world ? 6. The imperfoaion and feverity of thefe laws were probably intended farther—to illuftrate the per- feaion and mildnefs of the gofpel difpenfation. It is in this manner that God has manifefted himfelf in many of his aas. He created darknefs firft, to illuf- trate by comparifon the beauty of light, and he per- mits fin, mifery, and death in the moral world, that he may hereafter difplay more illuftrioufly the bleflings of righteoufnefs, happinefs, and immortal life. This opinion is favoured by St. Paul, who fays, « the " law made nothing perfea, and that it was a " fhadow of good things to come." How delightful to difcover fuch an exaa harmony between the diaates of reafon, the order and hap- Z I 70 ON THE PUNISHMENT OF MURDER pinefs of fociety, and the precepts of the gofpel T There is a perfea unity in truth. Upon all fubjeas — in all ages—and in all countries—truths of every kind agree with each other. I fhall now take notice of fome of the common arguments, which are made ufe of, to defend the punifhments of murder by death. 1. It has been faid, that the common fenfe of all nations, and particularly of favages, is in favour of punifhing murder by death. The common fenfe of all nations is in favour of the commerce and flavery of their fellow creatures. But this does not take away from their immorality. Could it. be proved that the Indians punifh murder by death, it would not eftablifh the right of man over the life of a fellow creature; for revenge we know in its utmoft extent is the univerfal and darling paffion of all favnge nations. The praaice mcrcver, (if it exift) muft have originated in necefftty : for a people who have no fettled place of refideuce, and who are averfe from all labour, could reftraln murder In no other way. But I am difpofed to doubt whether the- Indians punifh murder by death among their own tribes. In all thofe cafes where a life is taken away by an Indian of a foreign tribe, they always demand the fatisfaaion of life for life. But this praaice is founded on a defire of preferving a balance in their numbers and power ; for among nations which confift of only a few warriors, the lofs of an individual BY DEATI7. I.71 often deftroys this balance, and thereby expofes them to war or extermination, It is for the fame purpofe of keeping up an equality in numbers and power, that they often adopt captive children into their nations and families. What makes this explanation of the praaice of punishing murder by death among the Indians more probable, is, that we find fhe fame bloody and vindiaivc fatisfaaion is required of a foreign nation, whether the pcrfon loft, be killed by an accident, or premeditated violence. Many faas might be mentioned from travellers to prove that the Indians do not punifh murder by death within the jurifdiaion of their own tribes. I fhall mention only one, which is taken from the Rev. Mr. John Mega- poknfis's account of the Mohawk Indians, lately pub- lished in Mr Hazard's historical colkaion of ftate pa- pers.—" There is no punifliment, (fays our author) " here for murder, but every one is his own avenger. " The friends of the deceafed revenge themfelves " upon the murderer until peace is made with the « next a kin. But although they are fo cruel, yet " there are not half fo many murders committed " among them as among Christians, notwithftanding " their fevere laws, and heavy penalties." 2. It has been faid, that the horrors of a guilty sonfeience proclaim the juftice and neceflity of death. as a puniihment for murder. I draw an argument of another nature from this fa/t. Are the horrors of con fcience the punifliment that God inflias upon 172 ON THE PUNISHMENT OF MURDER murder? Why, then fhould we fhorten or deftroy them by death, efpecially as we are taught to direa the moft atrocious murderers to expea pardon in the future world ? No, let us not counteraa the govern- ment of God in the human breaft : kt the murderer live—but kt it be to fuffer the reproaches of a guilty confcience j let him live, to make compenfation to fociety for the injury he has dene it, by robbing it of a citizen ; let him live to maintain the family of the man whom he has murdered ; let him live, that the puniihment of his crime may become univerfal; and, laftly, let him live, that murder may be extirpated from the lift of human crimes ! Let us examine the condua of the moral Ruler of the world towards the firft murderer.—See Cain, returning from his field, with his hands reeking with the blood of his brother ! Do the heavens gather blacknefs, and docs a fiafli of lightning blaft him to the earth ? No. Does his father Adam, the natural legislator and judge of the world, inflia upon him the punifhment of death ? No. The infinitely wife God becomes his judge and executioner. He expels him from the fociety of which he was'a member. He fixes in his confcience a never dying worm. He fub- jeas him to the neeeffity of labour ; and to fecure a duration of his punifhment, proportioned to his crime, he puts a mark of prohibition upon him, to prevent his being put to death, by weak and angry men j declaring, at the fame time, that " whofcevcr ffoyeth BY DEATH. 173 « Cain, vengeance fhall be taken on him feven- « fold. But further, if a neceffary conneaion exifted be- tween the crime of murder and death in the mind and laws of -he Deity, how comes it that Mofes and David cfcaped it ? They both imbrued their hands in innocent blood, and yet the horrors of a guilty con- fcience were their only punifhment. The fubfequent condua of thofe two great and good men, proves that the heart may retain a found part after committing murder, and that even murderers, after repentance, may be the vehicles of great temporal and fpiritual bleflings to mankind. 3. The declaration of St. Paul before Feftus, refpea - ing the punifhment of death,* and the fpeech pf the dying thief on the crofs,f are faid to prove the lawful- nefs of punifhing murder by death: but they prove only that the punifhment of death was agreeable to the Roman law. Human life was extremely cheap under the Roman government. Of this we need no further proof than the head of John the Baptift forming a part of a royal entertainment. From the frequency of pub- lic executions, among thofe people, the fword was confidered as an emblem of public juftice. But to * " For if I be an offender, and have committed any thing worthy of " death.T refui'e not to die."-----Afti xxv. and 11. + " We indeed" fuffer " juftly, for we receive the due reward of our "deeds."—— Luke xxiii. and 41. *74 ON THE PUNISH MEN r OF ?.;URDILR fuppofe, from the appeals which are fcmetimes made to it as a fign of juftice, that capital punifhments arc approved of in the New Teftament, is as abfurd as it would be to fuppofe that horfe-racing was a chriftian exercife, from St. Paul's frequent allufions to the Olympic games. The declaration of the barbarians upon feeing the fnake fatten upon St. Pauls hand, proves nothing but the ignorance of thofe uncivilized people ;—" and u when the barbarians faw the venomous beaft hang on " his hand, they faid among themfelves, no doubt this (t man is a murderer, whom, though he hath efcaped '< the fea, yet vengeance fuffercth not to live."—Aas xvii. and 4th. Here it will be proper to diltinguifii between the fenfe of juftice fo univerfal among dl nations, and an approbation of death as a punifliment for murder. The former is written by the finger of Gjod upon every human heart, but like his own attribute of jufiice, it lias the happinefs of individuals and cf fociety for its objeas. It is always milled, when it fecks fpr fatisfaaion in punishments that are injurious to fociety, or that are difpropcrticned to. crime«. The thti: fuaion. of this univcrfal fenfe of juftice by the puniflimcnts of imprifonment ;md labour, would far exceed that which is derived from the punifliment of tleath \ for it would be cf longer duration, and it rroiiid more frequently occur j for, upon a principle BY DEATH. l?J formerly mentioned, fcarcely any fpecies of murder would efcape with impuuity4 The condua and difcourfes of our Saviour ihoiild outweigh every argument that has been or can be offered in favour of capital punifliment for any crime When the woman caught in adultery was brought to him, he evaded infiiaing the bloody fentence of the Jewifh law upon her Even the maiming of the body appears to be offenfive in his fight ; for when Peter drew his fword, and fmote off the ear of the fervant of the high prieft, he replaced it by miracle, and at the fame time declared, that « all they who take the « fword, fhall perifli with the fword." He forgave the crime of murder, on his crofs -, and after his re- furreaion, he commanded his difciples to preach the gofpel of forgivenefs, firft at Jerufakm, where he well knew his murderers ftill refided. Thefe striking faas are recorded for our imitation, and feem intended to fliew that the Son of God died, not only to re- concile God to man, but to reconcile men to each other. There is one paffage more, in the hiftory of our Saviour's life which would of itfelf overfet the t A fcale of punishment-:, by me;m of impr.fonment jnJ'Iabour, rr.ijh'. c.-.iily be contrive J, l'j as t:> be accomodated to the different degrees of atrocity in murder. For example—f.r the firft or hi^heft Jo-rte of guilt. Jet the puniihment be fslita.'.c and Jai'inefs, and a to al icn.i of emp'.cy- ment. For the fecond, fjlituJs an] i.bour, with the benefit of light. For rise third, concincme:it i::i labour. The c-s.s.'ij*cf S.vSi puniihments flould hke-.vife be gavcrneJ by the atrocity of the murder, and by ti;2 6,'n-. of cofttritioaa::d amendment hi ri.z c-..:rria?.!. I7*> ON THE PUNISHMENT OF MURDLR juftice of the punifliment of death for murder, if every other part of the Bible had been fiknt upon the fubjea. When two of his difciples, aauated by the fpirit of vindiaive legiflators, requefted permiflion of him to call down fire from Heaven to confume the inhofpltable Samaritans, he anfwered them " The " Son of Man is not come to defray men's lives but " to fave them." I wifh thefe words compofed the motto of the arms of every nation upon the face of the earth. They inculcate every duty that is cdcda- ted to preferve, reftore, or prolong humim life. They militate alike againft war—and capital punifh- ments—the objeas'of which, are the unprofitable de- ftruaion of the lives of men. How precious does a human life appear from thefe. words, in the fight of heaven ! Paufe, Legiflators, when you give your votes for infiiaing the punifhment of death for any crime You fruftrate in one inftance, the defign of the miffion of the Son of God into the world, and thereby either deny his appearance in the flefh, or rejea the truth of his gofpel. You, moreover, ftrengthen by your condua the arguments of the Deifts againft the particular doarines of the Chrifti- an revelation. You do more, you preferve a bloody fragment of the Jewifh inftitutions.—" The Son of •* Man came not to deftroy men's lives, but to fave *- them " Excellent words ! I require no others to fatisfy me of the truth and divine original of the Chrif- tian religion; and while I am able to place a finger, upon this test of fcripture, I will not believe an angel BY DEATH. 177 from heaven, fhould he declare that the punifhment of death, for any crime, was inculcated, or permitted by the fpirit of the gofpel. The precious nature of human life in the eyes of the Saviour of mankind, appears further in the compa- rative value which he has placed upon it in the fol- lowing words.* " For what is a man profited, if he fhall gain the whole world, & lofe his life, or what fhall a man give in exchange for his life." I have re- jeaed the word foul which is ufed in the common tranflation of this verfe. The original word in the Greek, fignines life, and it is thus happily and juftly tranflated in the verfe which precedes it. 4. It has been faid, that a man who has committed a murder, has difcovered a malignity of heart, that renders him ever afterwards unfit to live in human fociety. This is by no means true in many, and perhaps in moft of the cafes of murder. It is moft frequently the effea of a fudden guft of paffion, and has fometimes been the only ftain of a well-fpent, or inoffensive life. There are many crimes which unfit a man much more for human fociety, than a fingle murder ; and there have been inftances of murderers, who have efcaped, or bribed the laws of their coun- try, who have afterwards become peaceable and ufeful members of fociety. Let it not be fuppofed that I * Matthew, x. v. 26. A a I78 ON THE PUNISHMENT OF MURDER wifh to palliate, by this remark, the enormity of murder. Far from it. It is only becaufe I view murder with fuch fuperlative horror, that I wifh t° deprive our laws of the power of perpetuating and encouraging it. It has been faid, that the confeffions of murderers have, in many inftances, fanaioned the juftice of their punifhment. I do not wifh to Ieffen the influence of fuch Vulgar errors as tend to prevent crimes, but I will venture to declare, that many more murderers efcape difcovery, than are deteaed, or punifhed.— Were I not afraid of trefpaffing upon the patience of my readers, I might mention a number of faas, in which circumftances of the moft trifling nature have become the means of deteaing theft and forgery, from which I could draw as ftrong proofs of the watchfulnefs of Providence over the property of individuals, and the order of fociety, as have, been drawn from the deteaion of murder. I might mention inftances, likewife, of perfons in whom confcience has produced reftitution for ftokn goods, or confeffion of the juftice of the punifhment which was infliaed for theft. Confcience and knowledge always keep pace with each other, both with refpea to divine and human laws. The acquiefcence of murderers in the juftice of their execution, is the effea of prejudice and educa- tion. It cannot flow from a confcience aaing In BY DEATH. 179 concert with reafon or religion—for they both fpeak a very different language. The world has certainly undergone a material change for the better within the laft two hundred years. This change has been produced chiefly, by the fecret and unacknowledged influence of Chriftianity upon the hearts of men. It is agreeable to trace the effeas of the Chriftian religion in the extirpation of fiaVery—in the diminution of the number of capital punifhments, and in the mitigation of the horrors of war. There was a time when mafters poffefled a power over the lives cf their flaves. But Chriftianity has depofed this power, and mankind begin to fee every where that flavery is alike contrary to the interefts of fociety, and the fpirit of the gofpel. There was a time when torture was part of the punifliment of death, and when the number of capital crimes in Great Britain, amounted to one hundred and fixty-one.— Chriftianity has abolished the former, and reduced the latter to not more than fix or feven. It has done more. It has confined, in fome inftances, capital punifhments to the crime of murder—and in fome countries it has abolifhed it altogether. The influence of Chriftianity upon the modes of war, has ftill been more remarkable. It is agreeable to trace its progrefs. 1 ft. Inrefcuing women and children from being the objeas of the deflations of war, in common with men. l8o ON THE PUNISHMENT OF MURDER 2dly.In preventing the deftruaion of captives taken in battle, in cold blood. 3dly. In proteaing the peaceable hufbandman from sharing in the carnage of war. 4thly. In producing an exchange of prifoncrs, inftead of dooming them to perpetual flavery. 5thly. In avoiding the invafion or deftruaion, in certain cafes, of private property. 6thly. In declaring all wars to be unlawful but fuch as are purely defenfivc. This is the only tenure by which war now hold* its place among Chriftians. It requires but litk in- genuity to prove that a defenfive war cannot be car- ried on fuccefsfully without offenfive operations. Already the princes and nations of the world difcover the ftruggles of opinion or confcience in their pre- parations for war. Witnefs the many national dif- putes which have been lately terminated in Europe by negociation, or mediation. Witnefs too, the eftablifhment of the conftitution of the United States without force or bloodfhed. Thefe events indicate an improving ftate of human affairs. They lead us to look forward with expeaation to the time, when the weapons of war fhall be changed into implements of hufbandry, and when rapine and violence fliall be no more. Thefe events are the promifed fruits of the gofpel. If they do not come to pafs, the prophets BY DEATH. I'1 have deceived us. But if they do—war muft be as contrary to the fpirit of the gofpel, as fraud, or mur- der, or any other of the vices which are reproved or extirpated by it. P. S. Since the publication of this effay and the preceeding one, the Author has had the pkafure of feeing his principles reduced to praaice in the State of Pennfylvania, in the abolition of the punifh- ment of death for all crimes, (the higheft degree of mmder excepted) and in private punifhments being fubftituted to thofe which were public. The effeas of this reformation in the penal laws of our ftate have been, a remarkable diminution of crimes of all kinds, and a great encreafe of conviaions in a given num- ber of offenders. The expenfes of the houfe appro- priated to the punifhment of criminals have been more than defrayed by the profits of their labor. Many of them have been reformed, and become ufeful members of fociety, and very few have relapfed. into former habits of vice. The Author is happy in adding, that a reformation "in the penal laws of the ftates of New York and New Jerfey has taken place, nearly fimilar to that which has been mentioned, in Pennfylvania. It would be an aa of injuftice in this place not to acknowledge that the principles contained in the foregoing effays, would probably have never been realiz- ed, had they not been fupported and enforced by the elo- 132 ON THE PUNISHMENT OF MURDER, &C quence of the kte William Bradford Efq. and the zeal of Caleb Lownes. To both thefe gentlemen, humanity and reafon owe great obligations. Mr. Lownes has demonftrated by faas, the fuccefs Of fchemes of philanthrophy, once deemed vifionary and impraaicabk. His plans for employing, and reform- ing his unfortunate fellow creatures in the Philadelphia prifon, difcover great knowledge of the ceconomy of the body, and of the principles of aaion in the mind. To comprehend fully the ingenuity and bene- volence of thefe plans, it will be neceffary to vifit the prifon. There fcience and religion exhibit a triumph over vice and mifery, infinitely more fublime and affeaing, than all the monuments of ancient conquefts. It is thus the father of the human race has decreed the ultimate extermination of all evil, viz. by mani- feftations of love to his fallen creatures. For the details of the difcipline, order, products of labor, &c. of this prifon, the reader is referred to two elegant pamphlets, the one by Mr. De Liancourt, of France, the other by Mr. Turnbull of South Carolina. July, 4, 1797. A PLAN OF A TeACE-OfFICE FOR THE UNITED States. AMONG the defeas which have been point- ed out in the federal conftitution by its antifederal enemies, it is much to be lamented that no perfon has taken notice of its total fiknce upon the fubjea of an office of the utmoft importance to the welfare of the United States, that is, an office for pro- moting and preferving perpetual peace in our country. It is to be hoped that no objeaion will be made to the eftablifhment of fuch an office, while we are engaged in a war with the Indians, for as the War- Office of the United States was eftablifhed in the time of peace, it is equally reafonabk that a Peace-Office fhould he eftablifhed in the time of war. The plan of this office is as follows : I. Let a Secretary of the Peace be appointed to prefide in this office, who fhall be perfeaiy free from all the prefent abfurd and vulgar European preju- dices upon the fubjea of government ; kt him be a genaine republican and a fincere Chriftian, for the prin- ciples of rcpublicanifm and Chriftianity are no lefs friendly to univerfal and perpetual peace, than they are to univerfal and equal liberty. I84 A PLAN OF A PEACE OFFICE II. Let a power be given to this Secretary.to efta- blifh and maintain free-fchools in every city, village and townfhip of the United States ; and kt him be made refponfible for the talents, principles, and morals* of all his fchoolmafters. Let the youth of our country be carefully inftruaed in reading, writing, arithmetic, and in the doarines of a religion of fome kind : the Chriftian religion fhould be preferred to all others ; for it belongs to this religion exclufively to teach us not only to cultivate peace with men, but to forgive, nay more—to love our very enemies. It belongs to it further to teach us that the Supreme Being alone pof- feffes a power to take away human life, and that we rebel againft his laws, whenever we undertake to execute death in any way whatever upon any of his creatures. III. Let every family in the United States be fur- nifhed at the public expenfe, by the Secretary of this office, with a copy of an American edition of the bible. This mcafure has become the more neceffary in our country, fince the banifhment of the bible, as a fchool-book, from moft of the fchools in the United States. Unkfs the price of this book be paid for by the public, there is reafon to fear that in a few years it will be met with only in courts of juftice or in magiftrates' offices; and fhould the abfurd mode of eftablifhing truth by kiffing this facred book fall into difufe, it may probably, in the courfe of the next FOR THE UNITED STATES. 18$. generation, be feen only as a curiofity on a shelf in a public mufeum. IV. Let the following fentence be inferibed in letters of gold over the doors of every State and Court houfe in the United States. THE SON OF MAN CAME INTO THE WORLD, NOT TO DESTROY MEN'S LIVES, BUT TO SAVE THEM. V. To infpire a veneration for human life, and an horror at the shedding of human blood, let all thofe laws be repealed which authorife juries, judges, sheriffs, or hangmen to affume the refentments of individuals and to commit murder in cold blood in any cafe whatever. Until this reformation in our code of penal jurifprudence takes place, it will be in vain to attempt to introduce univerfal and perpetual peace in our country. VI. To fubdue that paffion for war, which educa- tion, added to human depravity, have made univerfal, a familiarity with the inftruments of death, as well as all military fhows, fliould be carefully avoided. For which reafon, militia laws fhould every where be repealed, and military dreffes and military titles fhould be laid afide: reviews tend to leffen the horrors of a battle by conneaing them with the charms of order; militia laws generate idlenefs and vice, and thereby produce the wars they are faid to prevent; military dreffes fafcinate the minds B b 186 A PLAN OF A PEACE OFFICE of young men, and lead them from ferious and ufeful profeffions ; were there no uniforms, there would pro- bably be no armies j laftly, mil'tary titles feed vanity, and keep up ideas in the mind which leflen a fenfe of the folly and miferies of war. VII. In the laft place, kt a large room, adjoining the federal hall, be appropriated for tranfaaing the bufinefs and preferving all the records of this office. Over the door of this room let there be a fign, on which the figures of a lamb, a dove and an olive branch fhould be painted, together with the follow- ing infcriptions in letters of gold : PEACE ON EARTH—GOOD-WILL TO MAN. AH! WHY WILL MEN FORGET THAT THEY ARE BRETHREN ? Within this apartment let there be a colkaion Of ploughshares and pruning-hooks made out of fwcrds and fpears; and on each of the walls of the apartment, the following piaures as large as the life : i. A lion eating ftraw with an ox, and an adder playing upon the lips of a child. 2. An Indian boiling his venifon in the fame pot with a citizen of Kentucky. 3. Lord Cornwallis and Tippoo Saib, under the fhade of a fycamore-tree in the Eaft Indies, drinking Madeira wine together out of the fame decanter. FOR THE UNITED STATES l87 4. A group of French and Auftrian foldiers dartc- ing arm and arm, under a bower ertaed in the neigh- bourhood of Mons. 5. A St. Domingo planter, a man of color, and a native of Africa, legislating together in the fame colonial affembly.-j- To complete the entertainment of this delightful apartment, kt a group of young ladies, clad in white robes, affemble every day at a certain hour, in a gallery to be ereaed for the purpofe, and fing odes, and hymns, and anthems in praife of the bkffings of peace. One of thefe fongs fhould confift of the following lines. Peace o'er the world her olive wand extends, And white-rob'd innocence from heaven defcends 5 All crimes fliall ceafe, and ancient frauds shall fail, Returning juftice lifts aloft her fcale. In order more deeply to affea the minds of the citi- zens of the United States with the bkffings of peace, by contrafiing them with the evils of war, let the follow- ing inferiptions be painted upon the fign, which is placed over the door of the War Office. I. An office for butchering the human fpecies. 2. A Widow and Orphan making office. \ At the time of writing this, there existed wars between the United States and the American Indians, between the British nation and Tippoo Saib, between the planters of St Domingo and their African flaves, an^ between the French nation and the emperor of Germany. 188 A PLAN OF A PEACE OFFICE, &C. 3. A broken bone making office. 4. A Wooden leg making office. 5. An office for creating public and private vices. 6. An office for creating a public debt. 7. An office for creating fpeculators, ftock Jobbers, Snd Bankrupts. 8. An office for creating famine. 9 An office for creating peftilential difeafes. 10. An office for creating poverty, and the deftruc- tion of liberty, and national happinefs. In the lobby of this office let there be painted re- prefentations of all the common military inftrurncnts of death, alfo human fkulls, broken bones, unbuned and putrifying dead bodies, hfcfpitals crouded with fick and wounded Soldiers, villages on fire, mothers in befieged towns eating the flefh of their children, fhips finking in the ocean, rivers dyed with blood, and extenfive plains without a tree or fence, or any other objea, but the ruins of deferted farm houfes. Above this group of woeful figures,—let the following words be inferted, in red charaaers to re- prefent human blood, " NATIONAL GLORY." Information to Europeans who are disposed to m i grate to the united states of america. In A LETTER TO A FRIEND IN GREAT BRITAIN. AGREEABLY to your requeft contained in your letter of the 29th of Auguft, 1789, I have at laft fat down to communicate fuch faas to you, upon the fubjea of migration to this country, as have been the refult of numerous enquiries and obfervation. I am aware that this fubjea has been handled in a maf- terly manner by Doaor Franklin, in his excellent little pampkt, entitled " Advice to thofe who would wifh " to remove to America," but as that valuable little work is very general, and as many important changes have occurred in the affairs of the United States fince its publication, I fliall endeavour to comply with your wifhes, by adding fuch things as have been omitted by the Doaor, and fliall accommodate them to the prefent ftate of our country. I fhall begin this letter by mentioning the defcrip- tions of people, who ought not to come to America. I. Men of independent fortunes who can exift only in company, and who can converfe only upon public amufements, fhould not think of fettling in the United States. I have known feveral men of that charaaer in this country, who have rambled from State I9° INFORMATION TO EUROPEANS to State, complaining of the dulnefs of each of them, and who have finally returned and renewed their for- mer connexions and pleafures in Europe. II. Literary men, who have no profeffional purfuits, will often languifh in America, from the want of fociety. Our authors and fcholars are generally men of bufinefs, and make their literary purfuits fubfervient to their interefts. A lounger in book flores, breakfasting parties for the purpofe of literary converfation, and long attic evenings, are as yet but little known in this country. Our companies are generally mixed, and converfation in them is a medley of ideas upon all fubjeas. They begin as in England with the weather —foon run into politics —now and then diverge into li- terature—and commonly conclude with faas relative to commerce, manufaaures and agriculture, and the beft means of acquiring and Improving aneftate. Men, who are philofophers or poets, without other purfuits, had better end theh>days in an old country. III. The United States as yet afford but little en- couragement to the profeffers of ncft of the fine arts. Painting and fculpture flourifh chiefly in wealthy and luxurious countries. Our native American portrait painters who have not fought proteaion and encou- ragement in Great Britain, have been obliged to travel occafionally from one State to another in order to fupport themfelves. The teachers of mufio have been more fortunate in America. A tafte for this accom- MIGRATING TO THE UNITED STATES. I9I plifhment prevails very generally in our large cities : and eminent mafters in that art, who have arrived here fince the peace, have received confiderabk fums of money by exercifing their profeffion among us. I fhall now mention thofe defcriptions of people, who may better their condition by coming to America. I. To the cultivators of the earth the United States open the firft afylum in the world. To infure the fuccefs and happinefs of an European Farmer in our country, it is neceffary to advife him either to purchafe pr to rent a farm which has undergone fome improve- ment. The bufinefs of fettling a new traa of land, and that of improving a farm, are of a very different nature. The former muft be effeaed by the native American, who is accuftomed to the ufe of the axe and the grub- bing hoe, and who poffeffes almoft exclufively a know- ledge of all the peculiar andnamekfs arts of felf-prefcr- vation in the woods. I have known many inftances of Europeans who have fpent all their cafli in unfuccefs- ful attempts to force a fettlement in the wildernefs, and who have afterwards been expofed to poverty and diftrefs at a great diftance from friends and even neighbours. I would therefore advife all farmers with moderate capitals, to purchafe or rent improved farms in the old fettkments of our States. The price and rent of thefe farms are different in the different parts of the union. In Pennfylvania, the price of farms \g2 INFORMATION TO EUROPEANS is regulated by the quality of the land—by the value 01 the improvements which are ereaed upon it—by their vicinity to fea ports and navigable water—and by the good • or bad ftate of the roads which lead to them. There is a great variety, of courfe, in the price of farms : while fome of them have been fold for five guineas— others have been fold at lower prices, down to one gui- nea, and even half a guinea per acre, according as they were varied by the above circumftances. It is not expeaed that the whole price of a farm fliould be paid at the time of purchafing it. An half, a third, or a fourth, is all that is generally re- quired. Bonds and mortgages are given for the re- mainder, (and fometimes without intereft) payable in cwo, three, five, or even ten years. The value of thefe farms has often been doubled and even trebled, in a few years, where the new mode of agriculture has been employed in cultivating them : fo that a man with a moderate capital, may, in the com fe of fifteen years, become an opulent and independent freeholder. If, notwithftanding what has been faid of the difficulties of effcaing an eftablifhment in the woods, '.he low price of the new lands fhould tempt the European Farmer to fettle in them, then kt me add, that it can only be done by affociating himfelf in a large company, under the direaion of an aaive and Intelligent American farmer. To fecure even a MIGRATING TO THE UNITED STATES. I93 Company of European fettkrs from difappointment and want in the woods, it will be neceflary to clear a few acres of land the year before, and to fow them with grain, in order to provide fubfiftance for the company, till they can provide for themfelves, by clearing their own farms. The difficulties of eftablifh- ing this new fettlement, will be further kffened, if a few cabins, a grift and a faw mill be ereaed, at the fame time the preparations are made for the temporary fubfiftance of the company. In this manner, moft o£ the firft fettkments of the New England men have been made in this country. One great advantage, attend- ing this mode of fettling, is, a company may always carry with them a clergyman and a fchool mafter, of the fame religion and language with themfelves. Iff a fettler in the woods fhould poifefs a tafte for rural elegance, he may gratify it without any expenfe, by the manner of laying out his farm. He may fhade his houfe by means cf ancient and venerable forreft- trees. He may leave rows of them ftanding, to adorn his lanes and walks—or clufters of them on, the high grounds of his fields, to fhade his cattle. If he fliould fix upon any of thofe parts of our weft- em country, which are covered with the fugar-trees, he may inclofe a fufficient number of them to fupply his family with fugar; and may confer upon them at th,e fame time the order and beauty of a fine or- chard. In this manner, a highly improved feat may C c *94 INFORMATION T0 EUROPEANS be cut out of the woods in a few years, which will fur- pafs both in elegance and value a farm in an old fettlement, which has been for twenty years the fub- jea of improvements in tafte and agriculture. To contemplate a dwelling-houfe—a barn—ftables—fields —meadows—an orchard—a garden, &c. which have been produced from original creation by the labour of a fingle life, is, I am told, to the proprietor of them, one of the higheft pleafures the mind of man is capa- ble of enjoying. But how much muft this pkafure be increafed, when the regularity of art is blended in the profpea, with the wildnefs and antiquity of nature ? It has been remarked in this country, that clearing the land of its woods, fometimes makes a new fettle- ment unhealthy, by expofing its damp grounds to the aaion of the fun. To obviate this evil, it will be neceffary for the fettler either to drain and cultivate his low grounds, as foon as they are cleared, or to leave a body of trees between his dwelling houfe, and the fpots from whence the morbid effluvia are derived. The laft of thefe methods has, in no inftance that I have heard of, failed of preferving whole families from fuch difeafes as arife from damp or putrid exha- lations. To country gentlemen, who have been accuftom- ed to live upon the income of a landed eftate in Europe, it will be neceffary to communicate the following in- formation, viz. that farms, in confequence of the MIGRATING TO THE UNITED STATES. I«r> unprodu&ive woodland, which is generally conneaed with them, feldom yield more than three or four per cent, a year in cafh, except in the neighbour- hood of large cities. Befides, from the facility with which money enough may be faved in a few years, to purchafe land in this country,, tenants will not accept of long leafes : and hence they are not fufficiently interefted in the farms they rent, to keep them in repair. If country gentlemen wifh to derive the greateft advantage from laying out their money in lands, they muft refide in their vicinity. A capital of five thoufand guineas, invefted in a number of contiguous farms, in an improved part of our country, and cultivated by tenants under the eye and direaioii of a landlord, would foon yield a greater income than double that fum would in moft parts of Europe. The landlord in this cafe muft frequently vifit and infpea the ftate of each of his farms : and now and then he muft ftop to repair a bridge or a fence in his excurfions through them. He muft receive all his rents in the produce of the farms. If the tenant find his own ftock, he will pay half of all the grain he raifes, and fometimes a certain proportion of ve- getables and live ftock, to his landlord. The divifion of the grain is generally made in the field, in flieaves or ftacks, which are carried home to be thrafhed in the barn of the landlord. An eftated gentleman, who can reconcile himfelf to this kind of life, may be both happy and ufeful. He may inftru'a his \o6 INFORMATION TO EUROPEANS tenant* by his example, as well'as precepts In the new modes of hufbandry : he may teach them the art and advantages of gardening : he may infpire them ■with habits of fobriety, induftry, and ceconomy ; and thereby become the father and proteaor of a depen- dant and affeaionate neighbourhood. After a bufy Cummer and autumn, he may pafs his winters in polish- ed fociety in any of our cities, and in many of our country villages, But fhould he be difinclined to fuch extenfive fcenes of bufinefs, he may confine his purchafes and labours to a fingle farm, and fecure his fuperfluous cafh in bonds and mortgages, which will yield him fix per cent. Under this head, it is proper to mention, that the agricultural life begins to maintain in the United States, the fame rank that it has long maintained in Great Britain. Many gentlemen of education among us have quitted liberal profeffions, and have proved, by their fuccefs in farming, that philofophy is in no bufinefs'more ufeful or profitable, than in agriculture. V \ '- ^ II. Mechanics and manufacturers, of every def- cription, will find certain encouragement in the Uni- ted States. During the conneaion of this country with Great Britain, we were taught to-believe that agriculture and commerce fhould be the only purfuits of the Americans : but experiments and reflexion have taught us, thst our country abounds with re- MIGRATING TO THE UNITED STATES. I97 fources for manufaaures of all kinds : and that moft of them may be conduaed with great advantage in all the ftates. We are already nearly independent of the whole world for iron-work, paper, and malt liquors : and great progrefs has been made in the manufac- tures of glafs, pot-alh, and cloths of all kinds. The commercial habits of our citizens have as yet prevented their employing large capitals in thofe manufaauries : but I am perfuaded that if a few Euro- pean adventurers would embark in them with capitals equal to the demand for thofe manufaaures, they would foon find an immenfe profit in their fpeculations. A fingle farmer in the ftate of New York, with a capital of five thoufand pounds, has cleared one thoufand a year by the manufaaure of pot-afh alone. Thofe mechanical arts, which are accomodated to the infant and Ample ftate of a country, will bid faireft to fucceed among us. Every art, conneaed with cul- tivating the earth—building houfes and fhips, and feed- ing and clothing the body, will meet with encourage- ment in this country. The prices of provifions are fo different in the different states, and even in the different parts of the fame ftate, and vary fo much with the plenty and fcarcity of money, that it would be difficult to give you fuch an account of them as would be ufeful. I need only remark, that the difpro- portion between the price of labour and of provifions, is much greater in every part of the United States, than in any part of Europe : and hence our tradefmen I98 INFORMATION TO EUROPEANS every where eat meat and butter every day : arid moft of them realize the wifh of Henry IV. of France, for the peafants of his kingdom, by dining not only once, but two or three times, upon poultry, in every week of the year. It is a fingular faa in the hiftory of the mechanical arts in this country, that the fame arts feldom defcend from father to fon. Such are the profits of even the humbleft of them, that the fons of mechanics generally rife from the lower to the more refpeaabk occupa- tions : and thus their families gradually afcend to the firft ranks in fociety among us. The influence, which the profpeas of wealth and confequence have in invigo- rating induftry in every line of mechanical bufinefs, is very great. Many of the firft men in. America, are the fons of reputable mechanics or farmers. But I may go farther, and add, that many men, who diftinguifhed themfelves both in the cabinet and field, in the late war, had been mechanics. I know the Britifh officers treated the American caufe with contempt, from this circumftance : but the event of the war fhewed, that the confidence of America was not mifplaced in that body of citizens. III. Labourers may depend upon conftant em- ployment in the United States, both in our towns and in the country. When they work by the day, they receive high wages : but thefe are feldom continued MIGRATING TO THE UNITED STATES. I99 through the whole year. A labourer receives annually, with his boarding, wafhing, and lodging, from fif- teen to eighteen guineas, in the middle ftates. It is agreeable to obferve this clafs of men frequently raifed by their induftry from their humble ftations, into the upper ranks of life, in the courfe of twenty or thirty years. IV. Persons who are willing to indent themfelves as fervants for a few years, will find that humble ftation no obftacle to a future eftablifhment in our country. Many men, who came to America in that capacity, are now in affluent circumftances. Their former fituation, where they have behaved well, does not preclude them from forming refpeaable connec- tions in marriage, nor from fharing, if otherwife qualified, in the offices of our country. V. The United States continue to afford encourage- ment to gentlemen of the learned profejfions, provided they be prudent in their deportment, and of fufficient knowledge : for fince the eftablifhment of colleges and fchools of learning in all our ftates, the fame degrees of learning will not fucceed among us, which fucceeded fifty years ago. Several lawyers and phyficians, who have arrived here fince the peace, are now in good bufinefs: and many clergymen, natives of England, Scotland, and Ireland, are comfortably fettled in good parifhes. A 2.00. INFORMATION TO EUROPEANS minister of the gofpel in a country place muft not ex-« pea to have all his falary paid in cafli: but he will notwithftanding seldom fail of obtaining a good fubfif- tance from his congregation. They will furnifli his table with a portion, of all the live ftock they raife for their own ufe : they will fhoe his horfes—repair his implements of hufbandry, and affift him in gathering in his harvefts, and in many other parts of the bufinefs of his farm. From thefe aids, with now and then a little cafh, a clergyman may not only live well, but, In the courfe of his life, may accumulate an handfome estate for his children. This will more certainly happen, if he can redeem time enough from his paro- chial duties, and the care of his farm, to teach a fchool. The people of America are of all foas : but the greateft part of them are of the independent, prefbyterian, epif- copal, baptift, and methodift denominations. The principles held by each of thefe focietles in America are the fame as thofe which are held by the proteftant churches in Europe, from which they derive their origin. VI. Schoolmasters of good capacities and fair charaaers may exepa to meet with encouragement in the middle and fouthern ftates. They will fucceed better, if they confine their inftruaions to reading, writing, Englifh grammar, and the fciences of number and quantity. Thefe branches of literature are of general neceffity and utility : and of courfe every MIGRATING TO THE UNITED STATES. 201 town (hip will furnifh fcholars enough for the main- tenance of a fchoolmafter. Many young men have rifen by means of the connexions they have formed in this ufeful employment, to rank and confequence in the learned profeffions in every part of this country. From this account of the United States, you will eafily perceive, that they are a hot-bed for induftry and genius in almoft every human purfuit. It is in- conceivable how many ufeful difcoveries neceffity has produced within thefe few years, in agriculture and manufaaures, in our country. The fame neceffity has produced a verfatility of genius among our citizens : hence we frequently meet with men who have exercif- ed two or three different occupations or profeffions in the courfe of their lives, according to the influence which intereft, accident, or local circumftances have had upon them. I know that the peculiarities, which have been mentioned in the American charaaer, ftrike an European, who has been accuftomed to confider man as a creature of habit, formed by long eftablifhed governments, and hereditary cuftoms, as fo many deviations from propriety and order. But a wife man, who knows that national charaaers arife from circum- ftances, will view thefe peculiarities without furprife, and attribute them wholly to the prefent ftate of man- ners, fociety, and government in America. From the numerous competitions in every branch of bufinefs in Europe, fuccefs in any purfuit, may be D d 2«a INFORMATION TO EUROPEANS looked upOn in the fame light as a prize in a lottery. But the cafe is widely different in America. Here there is room enough for every human talent and virtue to expand and flourish. This is fo invariably true, tliat I believe there is not an inftance to-be found, of an induftrious, frugal prudent European, withfober manners, who has not been fuccefsful in bufinefs, in this country. As a further inducement to Europeans-to tranfport themfelves acrofs the Ocean, I am obliged to mention a faa that (!oes little honour to the native American; and that is, in all competitions for bufinefs, where fuc- cefs depends upon induftry, the European is generally preferred. Indeed, fuch is the facility with which pro- perty is acquired, that where it does not operate as a ftimulus to promote ambition, it is fometimes accom- panied by a relaxation of induftry in proportion to the number of years or generations which interpofe be- tween the founder of an American family and his pof- terity. This preference of European mechanics arifes, likewife, from the improvements in the different arts, which are from time to time imported by them into our country. To thefe faas lam happy in being able to add, that the years of r.narchy, which proved fo difgufting to th<* Europeans who arrived among us immediately after the peace, are nowx at an end, and that the United States have at laft adopted a national government which unites with the vigour of monarchy and .the liability of ariftocracy, all the freedom of MIGRATING TO THE UNITED STATES. 2Z$ a fimple republic. Its influence already in invigorat- ing induftry, and reviving credit, is univerfal. There are feveral peculiarities in this government, which can- not fail of being agreeable to Europeans, who arc difpofed to fettle in America. I. The equal fhare of power it holds forth to men of every religious fea. As the firft fruits of this per- feaion in our government, we already fee three gen- tlemen of the Roman Catholic church, members of the legiflature of the United States. 2. Birth in America is not required for holdingeither power or office in the federal government, except that of Prefident of the United States. In confequence of this principle of juftice, not only in the national government, but in all our ftate conftitutions, we dai- ly fee the natives of Britain, Ireland, Germany, ad- vanced to the moft refpeaable employments in our country. 3. By 3 late aa of congtefs, only two years refidence in the United States are neceffary to entitle foreign- ers of good charaaer to all the priviliges of citizen- fliip. Even that fhort period of time has been found fufficient to give ftrangers a vifibk intereft in the liability and freedom of our governments. * It Is agreeable to obferve the influence which our republican governments have already had upon the * By a law pa fled fince the above, five years residence are neceflary to entitle a fjrclgucr ti> uiizenlhip. 204 INFORMATION TO EUROPEANS tempers and manners of our citizens. Amufement is every where giving way to bufinefs: and local politeuefs is yielding to univerfal civility. We differ about forms and modes in politics : but this difference begins to fubmit to the reftraints of moral and focial obligation. Order and tranquility appear to be the natural confequence of a well-balanced republic : for where men can remove the evils of their govern- ments by frequent ekaions, they will feldom appeal to the lefs certain remedies of mobs or arms. It is with lingular pkafure that I can add further, that notwithftanding the virulence of our diffenfions about independence and the, federal government, there is now fcr.rcely a citizen of the United States, who is not fatisfied with both, and who does not believe this country to be in a happier and fafer fituation, than it was, in the moft flourishing years of its dependence upon Great Britain. The encouragment held out to European emigrants is not the fame in all the ftates. New England, New York, and New Jerfey, being nearly filled with culti- vators of the earth, afford encouragement chiefly to mcchanicks and labourers. The inhabitants of New England have far furpaffed the inhabitants of the ether ftates, in the eftablifhment of numerous and profitable manufaaories. Thefe wonderful people difcover the fame degrees of induftry in cultivating the arts of peace, that they did of enterprize and perfeverar.ee, in the late war. They already export large quantities MIGRATING TO THE UNITED STATES. ' 205 of wrought iron, hats, women's fhoes, cheefe, and linen and woolen cloth. The ftate of New-York lias likewife difcovered a laudable fpirit for manu- faaurers and domeftic improvements. European artifts, therefore, -cannot fail of meeting with encou- ragement in each of the above ftates. Pennfylvania affords an equal afylum to all the de- fcriptlons of people that have been mentioned, under the fecond head of this letter. Agriculture, manufac- tures, and many of the liberal arts feem to vie with each other for pre-eminence in this ftate. Each of them is under the patronage of numerous andrefpeaable focieties. No ftate in the union affords greater re- fources for fhip building, malt liquors, maple fugar, fail cloth, iron work, woolen and linen cloths, pot- afh, and glafs. Coal, likewife, abounds on the fhores of the Sufquehanna, a large river which runs through half the ftate. The variety of feas and nations, which com- pofe the inhabitants of this ftate, has hitherto prevented our having any fteady traits in our charaaer. We poffefs the virtues and weaknclTes of moft of the feas and nations of Europe. But this variety has produced fuch a collifion in opinions and interefts, as has greatiy favoured the progrefs of genius in every art and fcience. We have been accufed of being faaious by our fitter ftates. This muft be afcribed chief- ly to our late ftate conftitution, which was eftablifhed by violence in the beginning of the late war, and which w..s never affented to by a majority of the people. 206 INFORMATION TO EUROPEAN* But that majority have at length afferted their power. A convention, compofed of an equal reprefentation of the people, has met and formed a new conftitution, which comprehends in it every principle of liberty and juft government. From the excellency of tfcis conftitu- tion—from the harmony it has reftorcd to our citizens —from the central fituation of our ftate—from the number and courfes of our rivers—from the facility with which we are able to draw the refources of die lakes to the Delaware—from the wealth of our capital—and above all, from the induftry and fober habits of our citizens—there can be no doubt that Pennfylvania will always maintain the firft rank, for national profperity and happinefs, in the United States. There is one circumftance, peculiar in a great de- gree to Penfylvania, which cannot fail of direaing the eyes of die inhabitants of feveral of the European nations to this ftate—and that is, the natives of Britain, Ireland, Germany, France, Switzerland, and Holland, may here meet with their former fellow fubjeas, and receive from them that welcome and afEit.ince, which are the natural confequences of the tie of country. So ftrongly does this principle operate in America, that the natives of Germany and Ireland have formed themfelves into focieties in the city of Philadelphia, for the exprefs purpofe of proteaing, adviling, and afliiting their country- MIGRATING TO THE UNITED STATES. 207 men, as foon as they fet their feet upon the shores of Pennfylvania. It has been faid, that the lands in Pennfylvania are dearer than in fome of our filter ftates. They fell, it is true, for a greater nominal fum, than the lands of the neighbouring ftates : bst in the end, they are much cheaper-. The foil is deep, rich, and durable, and from the fuperior induftry and fkill of our farmers, our lands are more produaive than thofe of our neighbours •, hence their higher price; for the price of lands is always in a ratio to their quality, produce and fituation: hence likewife, we are able to tell the value of a farm in any part of the ftate, by firft finding out the quantity of grain an acre will produce, and the price of this grain at the neareft mill or ftore, making fome little allowance for the improvements which are conneaed with the farm. This remark is fo univerfally true, that a farmer never mistakes the application of it in pur- chafing land. There is a certain inftina, which governs in all purchafesand faks of farms, and which arifes cut of the principle I have mentioned: it is in general as accurate, as if it arofe out of the uiceft calculation. It is from an ignorance or negka of this principle, that fo many of our citizens have migrated to Kentucky, under a delufive expeaation of purchafing lands cheaper than in the old ftates. They are in faa often much dearer when you eftimate their price by the profit of the grain which is cultivated upon them. For inftance, an acre 208 INFORMATION TO EUROPEANS of land in Kentucky, which fJls for a quarter of a guinea, and yields 30 bufhels of corn, at four pence iterling per bufhel, is dearer than land of the fame quality in Pennfylvania, at a guinea per acre, that yields the fame quantity of corn, which can be fold at the neareft mill or ftore for two shillings fieri, per bufhel. To cure this paffion for migrating to the waters of the Ohio, there is but one remedy, and that is, to open the navigation of the Miffiffippi. This, by raifing the price of produce, will raife the value of land fo high, as to deftroy the balance of attraaion to that country. This truth is at prefent a fpecula- lative one, but I hope it will be reduced to praaice before the waters of the Ohio and Miffiffippi have been dyed with the blood of two or three hundred thoufand men. The ftates to the fouthward of Pennfylvania poffefs immenfe refources for political happinefs: but while they tolerate negro flavery, they can never be an agreeable retreat for an European. This objeaion applies chiefly to the fea coafts of thofe ftates *, for in the weftcrn parts of them, the land is cultivated chiefly by freemen. The foil and climate of the extenfive weftern country of thofe ftates is kind and mild to a very great degree. There Europeans may profper and be happy. Thus, Sir, have I complied in a few words with your requeft. In communicating many of the faas contained in this letter, I have not confidered you MIGRATING TO THE UNITED STATES. 20$ fimply as a citizen of London, or a fubjea of the crown of Britain. The whole family of mankind, I know are your brethren ; and if men be happy lam fure it is a matter of indifference 'to' you, whether they enjoy their happinefs on this fide, or on the other fide of the Atlantic ocean. From a review of the faas that have been , men- tioned, yqu will perceive that the prefent is the age of reafon and aaion in America. To our pofterity we mult bequeath the cultivation of the fine arts and the pleafures of tafte and fentiment. The foreigners who have vifited and defcribed our country without making allowances for thofe peculiarities which arife from our prefent ftate. of fociety, have dope as little honour to their understandings,'.as they, have done to human nature. Nor have thofe Europeans difcovered* more wifdom, who have-blended , with the American charaaer, the accidental diforders, which were the offspring of our late public, commo- tions. They refembled the fwelling, of the fea, which fucceeds a ftorm. At prefent, they haye as perfeaiy fubfided .as the diforders produced by tthe civil wars in England, in the laft cejitury. !Cj jj . , ... It is fomewhat remarkable that in every age, great inventions and great revolutions in human affairs have taken place in a quick fucceffibn to each other. The many curious machines for kffening labour, which E e 2IO INFORMATION TO EUROPEANS have lately been discovered in Europe, will neccsTarily throw many thoufand artificers out of employment* Perhaps the late fuccefsful application of the powers of fire and water to mechanical purpofes in your country, was delayed until the prefent time^ only that the fanauary of our national government might be perfeaiy prepared to receive and protea thofe induftrious bodies of people, who formerly lived by the labour of their hands, and who might otherwife become a burden to the countries in which they had been deprived of the means of fupporting themfelves. Perhaps, too, the revolutions, which are now going forward in several of the governments on the conti- nent of Europe, have occurred at the prefent junaure for a purpofe equally wife and benevolent. The firft effea of the eftablifhment of freedom in thofe countries, will be to promote population, by reducing taxes, difbariding ftanding armies, and abolishing the vows and praaices of celibacy: for I iake-«it - for granted that military inftitutions in the time of peace, and monafteries of all kinds, muft yield to the pre- fent force and cultivated ftate of human reafon, In thofe countries, which are now the theatres of revolu- tions in favour of liberty. This increafe of population will require an increafe of territory, which muft be fought for in the United States : for it is not probable that men who have once tailed of the fweets of liberty will ever think of tranfporting themfelves to any other Country. This outlet for fupernumerary inhabitants MIGRATING TO THE UNITED STATES. 2'H from the nations of Europe, will eventually promote their interefts and profperity: for when a country is fo much crouded with people, that the price of the means of fubfiftence is beyond the ratio of their induftry, marriages are reftrained: but when emi- gration to a certain degree takes place, the balance between the means of fubfiftence and induftry is reftored, and population thereby revived. Of the truth of this principle there are many proofs in the old counties of all the American ftates. Population has conftantly been advanced in them by the migration of their inhabitants to new or diftant fettlements. In fp^ of all the little fyftems of narrow politicians, it is an eternal truth, that univerfal happinefs is uni- verfal interest. ^Jhe divine government of our world would admit of a controverfy, if men, by acquiring moral or political happinefs, in one part, added to the mifery of the^lY^habitants of another part, of our globe. I fhall conclude this.long letter by the two fol- lowing remarks: I. If freedom, joined with the facility of acquiring the means of fubfiftence, have fuch an influence upon. population—and if exiftence be a title to happinefs— then think*, fir, what an ocean of additional happinefs will be created, by the influence which migration to the free and extenfive territories of the United States will have, upon the numbers of mankind. ^ . ■S %x& INFORMATION TO EUROPEANS, &C II. If wars have been promoted in all ages and countries, by an over proportion of inhabitants to the means of eafy fubfiftence, then think, fir, what an influence upon the means of fupporting human life, migration to America, and the immenfe increafe of the produaions of the earth, by the late improve- ments in agriculture, will probably have, in lellening the temptations and refources of nations to carry on war. The promifes of heaven are often accom- plifhed by means in which there is no departure from the common operations of nature. If the events, which have been alluded to, fhould con- tribute in any degree to put an end to wars, it will furnifh a noble triumph to your fociety f, by shewing how much enlightened policy, and national happinefs, are conneaed with the diaates of chrif- tianity. I am, Dear fir, * / With great refpea, And sincere regard, Yours very afteaionately, Philadelphia, April 16. 1790. f The gentleman to whom this letter Is addrefled, it of the focieSy ofthe people called quakers. An account of the progress of population, agriculture, manners, and government in- Pennsylvania, in a letter to a friend in England. Dear Sir, HATEVER tends to unfold faffs m the hiftory of the human fpecies, muft be interefting to a curious enquirer.—The manner ot fet ding a new country, exhibits a view of the human mind fo foreign tc» the views of it which have been taken for many centuries in Europe, that I flatter myfelf the following account of the progrefs of po- pulation, agriculture, manners, and government in Pennfylvania will be acceptable to you. I have chofen to confine myfelf in the prefent letter to Pennfylvania only, that all the information I fhall give you may be derived from my own knowledge and obfervations. The firft fettler in the woods is generally a man who has outlived his credit or foitune in the cultivated parts of the State. His time fcr migrating is in the month of April. His firft objea is to build a fmall cabbin of rough logs for himfeff and family. The floor of this cabbin is of earth, the roof is of fplit logs—the light is received through the doer, and, in w 214 AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROGRESS OF fome inftances, through a fmall window made of greafed paper. A coarfer building adjoining this cabbin affoTds a shelter to a cow and a pair of poor horfes. The labor of ereaing thefe buildings is fucceeded by killing the trees on a few acres of ground near his cabbin ; this is done by cutting a circle round the trees, two or three feet from the ground. The ground around thefe trees is then ploughed and Indian-corn planted in it. The feafon for planting this grain is about the 20th of May— It grows generally on new ground with but little cultivation, and yields in the month of Oaober fol- lowing, from forty to fifty bufhels by the acre. After the firft of September it affords a good deal of nou- rishment to his family, in its green or unripe ftate, in the form of what is called roafiing ears. His family is fed during the fummer by a fmall quantity of grain which he carries with him, and by fifh and game. His cows and horfes feed upon wild grafs, or the fucculent twigs of the woods. For the firft year he endures a great deal of diftrefs from hunger—cold— and a variety of accidental caufes, but he feldom complains or finks under them. As he lives in the neighbourhood of Indians, he foon acquires a ftrong rihaure of their manners. His exertions, while they continue, are violent; but they are fucceeded by long intervals of reft. His pleafures confift chiefly in fifhing and hunting. He loves fpirituous liquors? and he eats, drinks and fleeps in dirt and rags in his little cabbin. In his intercourfe with the world POPULATION, &C IN PENNSYLVANIA- 21 J' he manifefts all the arts which charaaerize the Indians of our country. In this fituation he palfes two or three years. In proportion as population increafes around hira, he becomes uneafy and diffatisfi- ed. Formerly his cattle ranged at large, but now his neighbours call upon him to confine them with- in fences, to prevent their trefpaffing upon their fields of grain. Formerly he fed his family with wild animals, but thefe, which fly from the face of man, now ceafe to afford him an eafy fubfiftence, and he is compelled to raife domeftic animals for the fupport of his family. Above all, he revolts againft the operation of laws. He cannot bear to furrender up a fingle natural right for all the benefits of go- vernment,—and therefore he abandons his little fettlement, and feeks a retreat in the woods, where he again fubmits to all the toils which have been mentioned. There are inftances of many men who have broken ground on bare creation, not lefs than four different times in this way, in different and more advanced parts of the State. It has been remarked, that the flight of this clafs of people is always in- creafed by the preaching of the gofpel. This will not furprife us when we confider how oppofite its precepts are to their licentious manner of living. If our firft fettler was the owner of the fpot of land which he began to cultivate, he fells it at a confidera- bk profit to his fucceffor; but if (as is oftner the cafe) he was a tenant to fome rich landholder, 2l6 AN ACCOUNT OE THE PROGRESS OF he* abandons it in debt; however, the fmall improve- ments he leaves behind him, generally make it an object of immediate demand to a fecond fpecies of fettler. ''•';■■ ■ This fpecies-of. fettler is generally a man of fome property,—he pays- one third or one fourth part in pafh for his plantation,. which confifts of three or four. bundredf .acres, and the.reft in gales or inftal- ments, as it is called here ; that is, a certain fum yearhy, without, intereft,. 'till the whole is paid. The firft objea of. this fettler is to build an addition to his cabbin ; this is done with hewed logs: and as faw-mills generally follow fcttlements, his floors are made of boards ; his roof, is 2made of what are call- ed clapboards, which are a. kind of coarfe fliingks, fplit out of fhort oak logs. This houfe is; divided by two floors, on each of whicfy are two rooms : under the- whole is a cellar, walled with ftone. The cabbin ferves as kitchen to this houfe. His next objea is to clear a little mea,dow ground, and plant an orchard of two or three hundred, apple trees. His liable is likewife enlarged *, and, in the courfe of a year or two, he builds a .large log .barn, the roof of which is commonly thatched with rye ftraw: he moreover encreafes the.quantity of his arable land > and,, inftead of cultivating Indian-corn alone^he raifes, a quantity of wheat and rye: the latter is cultivated chiefly for the purpofe of being diitilkd into whifkey. This fpe- POPULATION, &C IN PENNSYLVANIA. 2l7 cies of fettler by no means extraas all from the earth, which it is capable of giving. His fields yield but a fcanty increafe, owing to the ground not being fuffici- ently ploughed. The hopes of the year are often blafted by his cattle breaking through his half made fences, and deftroying his grain. His horfes perform but half the labor that might be expeaed from them, if they were better fed ; and his cattle often die in the fpring from the want of provifion, and the delay of grafs. His houfe, as well as his farm, bear many marks of a weak tone of mind. His'windows are ungIazed,or, if they have had glafs in them, the ruins of it are fupplied with old hats or pillows. This fpecies of fettler is feldom a good mem- ber cf civil or religious fociety : with a large portion of a hereditary mechanical kind of religion, he negkas to contribute fufficiently towards building a church, or maintaining a regular adminiftration of the ordinances of the gofpel: he is equally indifpofed to fupport civil government: with high ideas of liberty, he refufes to bear his proportion of the debt contraaed by its ef- tablifhment in our country : he delights chiefly in com- pany—fometimes drinks fpirituous liquors to excefs— will fpend a day or two in every week, in attending political meetings •, and, thus, he contraas debts which, (if he cannot difcharge in a depreciated paper curren- cy) compel him to fell his plantation, generally in the courfe of a few years, to the third and laft fpecies of fettler. F f 2l3 AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROGRESS OF This fpecies of fettler is commonly a man of proper- ty and good charaaer—fometimes he is the fon of a wealthy farmer in one of the interior and ancient counties of the ftate. His firft objea Is to convert every fpot of ground, over which he is able to draw water, into meadow : where this cannot be done, he fekas the moft fertile fpots on the farm, and devotes it by manure to that purpofe. His next objea is to build a barn, which he prefers of ftone. This build- ing is, in fome inftances, ioo feet in front, and 40 in depth: it is made very compaa, fo as to fhut out the cold in winter; for our farmers find that their horfes and cattle, when kept warm, do not require near as much food, as when they are expofed to the cold. He ufes ceconomy, likewife, in the confump- tion of his wood. Hence he keeps himfelf warm in , winter, by means of ftoves, which fave an immenfe deal of labour to himfelf and his horfes, in cutting and hawling wood in cold and wet weather. His fences. are every where repaired, fo as to fecure his grain from his own and his neighbour's cattle. But further, he increafes the number of the articles of his cultivation, and, inftead of raifing corn, wheat and rye alone, he raifes oats, buckwheat, (the fagopyrum of Linnccus) and fpelts. Near his houfe, he allots an acre or two of ground for a garden, in which he raifes a large quantity of cabbage and potatoes. His newly cleared fields, afford him every year a large increafe of turnips. Over the fpring which fupplies POPULATION, &C. IN PENNSYLVANIA. 219 him with water, he builds a milk-houfc and over this, in fome inftances, he builds a fmoke houfe ; he likewife adds to the number, and improves the quality of his fruit trees:—His fons work by his fide all the year and his wife and daughters forfake the dairy and the fpinning wheel, to fhare with him in the toils of harveft. The laft objea of his induftry is to build a dwelling houfe. This bufinefs is fometimes e ffeaed in the courfe of his life, but is oftener bequeathed to-his fon, or the inheritor of his plantation : and hence we have a common faying among our beft farmers, *' that " a fon fhould always begin where his father left off;" that is, he fhould begin his improvements, by building a commodious dwelling-houfe, fuited to the improvements and value of the plantation. This dwelling-houfe is generally built of flone—it is large, convenient, and filled with ufeful and fubftantial furniture—It fometimes adjoins the houfe of the fecond fettler, but is frequently placed at a little diftance from it. The horfes and cattle of this fpecies of fettler, bear marks in their ftrength, fat and fruitfulnefs—of dieir being plentifully fed and carefully kept. His table abounds with a variety of the beft provifions—his very kitchen flows with milk and honey—beer, cyder, and home made wine are the ufual drinks of his family : the greateft part of the cloathing of his family is manufaaured by his wife and daughters: in proportion as he encrtafes in wealth, he values the proteaion of laws: hence 220 AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROGRESS OF he punaually pays his taxes towards the fupport of government. Schools and churches likewife, as the means of promoting order and happinefs in fociety, derive a due fupport from him : for benevolence and public fpirit, as to thefe objeas, are the natural off- fpring of affluence and independence. Of this clafs of fettlers are two-thirds of the farmers of Pennfylvania. Thefe are the men to whom Pennfylvania owes her an- cient fame and confequence. If they poffefs lefs re- finement than their fouthern neighbours, who cultivate their land with Haves, they poffefs more republican vir- tue. It was from the farms cultivated by thefe men, that the American and French armies were chiefly fed with bread during the late revolution ; and it was from the produce of thefe farms, that thofe millions of dollars were obtained from the Havanna after the year 1780, which laid the foundation of the bank of North Ame- rica, and which fed and cloathed the^American army, till the peace of Paris.-----This is a fhort account of the happinefs of a Pennfylvania farmer—To this happir nefs our ftate invites men of every religion and country. We do not pretend to offer emigrants the pleafures of Arcadia—It is enough if affluence, independence, and happinefs are enfured to patience, induftry, and labour. The moderate price of land,* the credit which. * The unoccupied lands are fold by the ftate for about fix guineas inclufive of all charges, per hundred acres. But as moft of the lands that are fettled, are procured from perfons who had purchafed them from the ftate, they are fold to the firft fettler for a much higher price. The POPULATION, &C IN PENNSYLVANIA. 221 arifes from prudence, and the fafety from our courts of law, of every fpecies of property, render the bkffings which I have defcribed, objeas within the reach of every man. From a review ef the three different fpecies of fet- tkrs, it appears, that there are certain regular ftages which mark the progrefs from the favage to civilized life. The firft fettler is nearly related to an Indian in his manners—In the fecond, the Indian manners are more diluted : It is in the third fpecies of fettkrs only, that we behold civilization completed—It is to the third fpecies of fettkrs only, that it is proper to apply the term of farmers. While we record the vices pf the firft and fecond fettkrs, it is but juft to men- tion their virtues likewife.—Their mutual wants pro- duce mutual dependance: hence they are kind and quality of the foil—its vicinity to mills, court-houfes, places of worfhip, and navigable water : the diftarsce of land-carriage to the fea-ports of Philadelphia or Baltimore, and the nature of the road*, all influence the price of land to the firft fettler. The quantity of cleared land, and the aature of the improvements, added to all the above circumftar.ee*, in- fluence the price of farms to the fecond and third fettlers. Hence the price of land to the firft fettlers is from a quarter of a guinea to two guineas per acre ; and the price of farms is from one guinea to ten guineas per acre, to the fecond and third fettlers, according as the land ia varied by the before-mentioned circumftances. When the firft fettler is unable to purchafe, he often takes a trad* of land for feven years on a kafe, and contracts inftead of payin; a rent in cafli, to clear 50 acres of land, to build a log cabbin, and a barn, and to plant an orchard on it. This trad, after the expiration of this leafe, fells or rents for a confsdera- fele profit. 222 AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROGRESS OF friendly to each other—their folitary fituation make- vifitors agreeable to them ;—hence they are hofpitable to ftrangers : their want of money, (for they raife but little more than is neceffary to fupport their families) has made it neceffary for them to aflbciate for the pur- pofqs of building houfes, cutting their grain, and the like :—This they do in turns for each other, without any other pay than the pleafures which ufually attend a country frolic—Perhaps what I. have called virtues are rather qualities, arifing from neceffity, and the peculiar ftate of fociety in which thefe people live.—Virtue fliould, in all cafes, be the offspring of principle. I do not pretend to fay, that this mode of fettling farms in Pennfylvania is univerfal—I have known fome inftances where the firft fettler has performed the improvements of the fecond, and yielded to the third. I have known a few inftances likewife, of men of enterprizing fpirits, who have fettled hi the wil- dernefs, and who, in the courfe of a fingle life, have advanced through all the intermediate ftages of im- provement that I have mentioned and produced all thofe conveniences which have been afcribed to the third fpecies of fettlers; thereby refembhng, in their exploits, not only the pioneers and light-infantry, but the main body of an army. There are inftances likewife, where the firft settlement has been improved by the fame family, in hereditary fucceffion, 'till it has reached the third stage of cultivation. There are many fpacious ftone houfes and highly cultivated POPULATION, &C. IN PENNSYLVANIA. 223 farms in the neighbouring counties of the city of Philadelphia, which are poffefled by the grandfons and great-grandfons of men who accompanied William Penn acrofs the ocean, and who laid the foun- dation of the prefent improvements of their poftenty, in fuch cabbins as have been defcribed. This paffion for migration which I have defcribed, will appear ftrange to an European. To fee men turn their backs upon the houfes in which they drew their firft breath—upon the church in which they were dedicated to God—upon the graves of their anceftors—upon the friends and companions of their youth—and upon all the pleafures of cultivated fociety, and expofing themfelves to all the hard- fhips and accidents of fubduing the earth, and thereby eftablifhing fettlcments in a wildernefs, muft ftrike a philofopher on your fide the water, as a piaure of human nature that runs counter to the ufual habits and principles of aaion in man. But this paffion, ftrange and new as it appears, is wifely calculated for the extention of population in America: and this it does, not only by promoting the increafe of the human fpecies in new fettkments, but in the old fettkments likewife. While the degrees of in- duftry and knowledge in agriculture, in our country, are proportioned to farms of from 75 to 300 acres, there will be a languor in population, as foon as farmers multiply beyond the number of farms of the 224 AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROGRESS Or above dimenfions. To remove this languor, which is kept up alike by the increafe of the price, and the divifion of farms, a migration of part of the com- munity becomes abfolutely neceffary. And as this part of the community often confifts of the idle and extravagant, who eat without working, their removal, by increafing the facility of fubfiftence to the frugal and induftrious who remain behind, naturally increafes the number of people, juft as the cutting off the fuckers of an apple-tree increafes the fize of the tree, and the quantity of fruit. I have only to add upon this fubjea, that the migrants from Pennfylvania always travel to the fouth- ward. The foil and climate of the weftern parts of Virginia, North and South-Carolina, and Georgia, afford a more eafy fupport to lazy farmers, than the ftubborn but durable foil of Pennfylvania.—Here, our ground requires deep and repeated plowing to render it fruitful—there, fcratching the ground once or twice affords tolerable crops. Jn Pennfylvania, the length and coldnefs of the winter make it neceffary for the farmers to beftow a large fhare of their labour in pro- viding for and feeding their cattle ; bat in the fouthern ftates, cattle find pafture during the greateft part of the winter, in the fields or woods. For thefe reafons, the greateft part of the weftern counties of the States, that have been mentioned, are fettled by original in- habitants of Pennfylvania. During the late war, the POPULATION, &C. IN PENNSYLVANIA. 225 militia of Orange county, in North Carolina, were enrolled, and their number amounted to 3,500, every man of whom had migrated from Pennfylvania. From this you will fee, that our State is the great outport of the United States for Europeans; and that, after performing the office of a fieve by detaining all thofe people who poffefs the ftamina of induftry and virtue, it allows a paffage to the reft, to thofe States which are accommodated to their habits of Indolence. I fhall conclude this letter by remarking, that in the mode of extending population and agriculture, which I have defcribed, we behold a new fpecies of war. The third fettler may be viewed as a conqueror. The weapons with which he atchieves his conquefts, ftre the implements of hufbandry: and the virtues which direa them, are induftry and ceconomy. Idlenefs— extravagance—and ignorance fly before him. H. ppy would it be for mankind, if the kings of Europe would adopt this mode of extending their territories : it would foon put an end to the dreadful conneaion, which has exifted in every age, between war and poverty, and between conqueft and defolation. With great refpea, I have the honor to be, Sir, Your moft obedient humble fervants Gg An account of the manners of the. German inhabitants of Pennsylvania. THE ftate of Pennfylvania is fo much in- debted for her profperity and reputation, to the German part of her citizens, that a fhort account of their manners may, perhaps, be ufeful and agreeable to their fellow citizens in every part of the United States. The aged Germans, and the anceftors of thofe who are young, migrated chiefly from the Palatinate; from Alcace, Swabis, Saxony, and Switzerland : but natives of every principality and dukedom, in Germany, are to be found in different parts of the ftate. They brought but little property with them. A few pieces of gold or filver coin, a cheft filled with clothes, a bible, and a prayer or an hymn book conftituted the whole ftock of moft of them. Many of them bound themfelves, or one or more of their children, to maf- ters after their arrival, for four, five, or feven years, in order to pay for their paffages acrofs the ocean. A clergyman always accompanied them when they came in large bodies. The principal part of them were farmers; but there were many mechanics, who brought with them a knowledge of thofe arts which are necef- AN ACCOUNT OF THE GERMAN INHABITANTS &C- 22? fary and afeful In all countries. Thefe mechanics were chiefly weavers, taylors, tanners, shoemakers, comb-makers, fmiths of all kinds, butchers, paper- makers, watch makers, and fugar bakers. I fhall begin this account of the German inhabitants of Pennfylvania, by defcribing the manners of the German farmers. This body of citizens are not only induftrious and frugal, but fkilful cultivators of the earth. I fhall enumerate a few particulars, in which they differ from moft oi the other farmers of Pennfyl- vania. ift. In fettling a traa of land, they always pro- vide large and fuitable accomodations for their horfes and cattle, before they lay out much money In building a houfe for themfelves. The barn and the ftables are generally under one roof, and contrived in fuch a manner as to enable them to feed their horfes and cattle, and to remove their dung, with as little trouble as poffibk. The firft dwelling houfe upon this farm is fmall, and built of logs. It gen- erally lafts the life time of the firft fettler of a traa of land; and hence they have a faying, that " a " fon fhould always begin his improvements where " his father left off,"—that is, by building a large and convenient ftone houfe. 2d. They always prefer good land or that land on which there is a large quantity of meadow ground. 12$ AN ACCOUNT OF THE GERMAN From an attention to the cultivation of grafs, they often double the value of an old farm in a few years, and grow rich on farms, on which their predeceffors of whom they purchmfed them, have nearly ftarved. They prefer purchafing farms with fome improvements to fettling on 3, new traa of land. 3d. In clearing new land, they do not girdle the trees limply, and leave them to perifh in the ground, as is the cuftom of their Englifh or Irifh neighbours ; but they generally cut them down and burn them. In deftroying under-wood and bufhes, they generally grub them out of the ground -, by which means a field is as fit for cultivation the fecond year after it is cleared, as it is in twenty years afterwards. The advantages of thjs mode of clearing, confift in the im- mediate produa of the field, and in the greater faci- lity with which it is ploughed, harrowed and reaped. The expenfe of repairing a plough, which is often broken two or three times in a year by fmall flumps concealed in the ground, is often greater than the ex- traordinary expenfe of grubbing the fame field com- pletely, in clearing it, 4th. They feed their horfes and cowss of which they keep only a fmall number, in fuch a manner, that the former perform twice the labour of thofe horfes, and the latter yield twice the quantity of milk of thofe cows, that are lefs plentifully fed. There is great ceconomy in this praaice, efpecially INHABITANTS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 22J |n a country where fo much of the labour of a farmer is neceffary to fupport his domeftic ani- mals. A German horfe is known in every part of the ftate : indeed he feems to " feel with his " lord, the pkafure and the pride" of his ex- traordinary fize or fat. 5 th. The fences of a German farm are generally high, and well built; fo that his fields feldom fuf- fer from the inroads of his own or his neighbours, horfes, cattle, hogs, or fheep. 6th. The German farmers are great ceconomifts ot their wood. Hence they burn it only in ftoves, in which they confume but a 4th, or 5th. part of what is com- monly burnt in ordinary open fire places: befides, their horfes are faved by means of this ceconomy, from that immenfe labour, in hauling wood in the middle of winter, which frequently unfits the horfes of their neighbours for the toils of the enfuing fpring. Their houfes are, moreover, rendered fo comfortable, at all times, by large clofe ftoves, that twice the bufinefs is done by every branch of the family,in knif- ing, fpinning, and mending farming utenfils, that is done in houfes where every member of the family crouds near to a common fire-place, or shivers at a diftance from it,—with hands and fingers that move, by reafon of the cold, with only half their ufi*al quick- nefs. 23O AN ACCOUNT OF THK GERMAN They difcover oeconomy in the prcfervation and in- creafe of their wood in feveral ether ways. They fometimes defend it, by high fences, from their cattle ; by which means the young forelt trees are fuffered to grow, to replace thofe that are cut down for the neceffary ufe of the farm. But where this carmot be conveniently done, they furround the flump of that tree which is moft ufeful for fences, viz. the chSfnut, with a fmall triangular fence. From this flump a number of fuckers fhoot out in a few years, two or three of which in the courfe of five and twenty years, grow into trees of the fame fize as the tree from whofe roots they derived their origin. 7th. They keep their horfes and cattle as warm as poffibk in winter, by which means they fave a great deal of their hay and grain ; for thofe animals when cold, eat much more than when they are in a more comfortable fituation. 8th. The German farmers live frugally in their families, with refpea to diet, furniture and apparel. They fell dieir moft profitable grain, which is wheat; and eat that which is lefs profitable, but more nourifh- ing, that is rye or Indian corn. The profit to a farmer* from this fingle article of ceconomy, is equal, in the courfe of a life time, to the'1 price of a farm for cue of his children. They eat fparingly of boiled animal food, with large quantities of vegetables, particularly fallad, turnips, onions, and cabbage, INHABITANTS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 23T the laft of which they make into four crout. They likewife ufe a large quantity of milk and cheefe in their diet. Perhaps the Germans do not propor- tion the quantity of their animal food, to the degrees of their labour; hence it has been thought, by fome people, that they decline in ftrength fooner than their' Englifli or Irifh neighbours. Very few of them ever ufe distilled fpirits in their families: their com- mon drinks are cyder, beer, wine, and fimpk water. The furniture of their houfe is plain and ufeful. They cover themfeves in winter with light feather beds inftead of blankets: in this contrivance there is both convenience, and ceconomy, for the beds are warmer than blankets, and they are made by them- felves. The apparel of the German farmers is u- fually homefpun. When they ufe European articles of drefs, they prefer thofe which are of the beft qua- lity, and Gf the higheft price. They are afraid of debt, and feldom purchafe any thing without paying cafh for it. 9th. The German farmers have large or profitable gardens near their houfes. Thefe contain little elfe but ufeful vegetables. Pennfylvania is indebted to the Ger- mans for the principal part of her knowledge in hor- ticulture. There was a time when turnips and cabbage were the principal vegetables that were ufed in diet by the citizens of Philadelphia. This will not furprife thofe perfons, who know that the firft Englifh fettkrs in Pennfylvania left England while horticulture was in ijZ AN ACCOUNT OF THE GERMAN its infancy in that country. It was not till the reigfi of William III. that this ufeful and agreeable art was cultivated by the Englifh nation. Since the fettlemcnt of a number of German gardeners in the neighbour- hood of Philadelphia, the tables of all claffes of citizens have been covered with a variety of vegetables, in every feafon of the year; and to the ufe of thefe vegetables, in diet, may be afcribed the general exemp- tion of thq citizens of Philadelphia from difeafes of the fkin. i oth. The Germans feldom hire men to work lipori their farms. The feeblenefs of that authority which mafters poffefses over hired fervants, is fuch that their wages are feldom procured from their labour, except in harveft, when they work in the prefence of their matters. The wives and daughters of the German farmers frequently forfake, for a while, their dairy and fpinning-wheel, and join their hufbands and brothers in the labour of cutting down, colkaing and bringing home the fruits of their fields and orchards The work of the gardens is generally done by the women of the family. nth. A large and ftrong waggon covered with linen cloth, is an eflential part of the furniture of a German farm. In this waggon, drawn by four or five large horfes of a peculiar breed: they convey to market over the rougheft roads, between 2 or 3 thou- fand pounds weight of the produce of their farms. la INHABITANTS OF PENNSYLVANIA, 233 die months of September and Oaober, it is no uncom- mon thing, on the Lancafter and Reading roads, to meet in one day from fifty to an hundred of thefe wag- gons, on their way to Philadelphia, moft of which be- long to German farmers, 12th. The favourable influence of agriculture, as conduaod by the Germans in extending human hap- pinefs, is manifefted by the joy they exptefs upon the birth of a child. No dread of poverty, nor diftruft of Providence from an encreafing family, deprefs the fpirits of thefe induftrious and frugal people. Upon the birth of a fon, they exult in the gift of a ploughman or a waggoner ; and upon the birth of a daughter, they rejoice in the addition of another fpinft-y, or milkmaid to their family. Happy ftate of human fociety ! what bkffings can civilization confer, that can atone for the extinaion of the ancient and patriarchal pkafure of railing up a uumerous and healthy family of children, to 1'hour for their parents, for themfelves, and for their country; and finally to partake of theknowledge and hap- pinefs which are annexed to exiftence ! The joy of pa- rents upon the birth of a child is the grateful echo of creating goodnefs. May the mountains of Pennfylvania be for ever vocal, with fongs of joy upon thefe occafions ! They will be the infallible figns of inno- cence, induftry, wealth and happinefs in the ftate. 13th. The Germans take great pain? to produce, in their children, not only habits of labour, but a loye Hh 2^4 AN ACCOUNT OF THE GERMAN of it. In this they fubmit to the irreverfibk fentence infliaed upon man, in fuch a manner, as to convert the wrath of heaven into private and public happinefs. " To fear God, and to love Work," are the firft leflbns they teach their children. They prefer induftrious ha- bits to money itfelf; hence, when a young man afks the confent of his father to marry the girl of his choice, he does not enquire fo much whether fhe be rich or poor ? or whether fhe poffefses any perfonal or mental accomplishments—as whether fhe be induftiious, and acquainted with the duties of a good houfe-wife ? 14th. The Germans fet a great value upon patrimo- nial property. This ufeful principle in human nature prevents much folly and vice in young people. It moreover leads to lasting and extenfive advantages, in the improvement of a farm ; for what inducement can be ftronger In a parent to plant an orchard, to preferve foreft-trees or to build a commodious and durable houfe, than the Idea, that they will all be poffefsedby a fucceffionof generations, who fhall inherit his blood and name. 15th. The German farmers are very much influenc- ed in planting and pruning trees, alfo in fowing and reaping, by the age and appearances of the moon. This attention to the ftate of the moon has been afcribed to fuperftition ; but if the faas related by Mr. Wilfon in his obfervations upon climates are true, part of their fuccefs in agriculture muft be afcribed to their being' fo much influenced by it. INHABITANTS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 23J 16th. From the hiftory that has been given of the German agriculture, it will hardly be neceflary to add that a German farm may be distinguished from the farms of the other citizens of the ftate, by the fuperior fize of their barns; the plain, but compaa form of their houfes; the height of their enclofures; the extent of their orchards; the fertility of their fields; the luxuri- ance of their meadows, and a general appearance of' pknty and neatnefs in everything that belongs to them. The German mechanic poffeffes fome of the traits of the charaaer that has been drawn of the German farmer. His firft objea is to become a freeholder ; and hence we find few of them live in rented houfes. The higheft compliment that can be paid to them on entering their houfes is to afk them, " is this houfe your own." They are induftrious, frugal, punaual and juft. Since their fettkment in Pennfylvania, many of them have acquired a knowledge of thofe mechanical arts, which are more immediately neceffa- ry and ufeful in a new country; while they continue at the fame time, to carry on the arts they impor- ted from Germany, with vigour and fuccefs. But the genius of the Germans of Pennfylvania, is not confined to agriculture and the mechanical arts. Many of them have acquired great wealth by foreign and domeftic commerce. As merchants they are can- did and punaual. The bank of North America has witneffed, from its firft inftitution, their fidelity to all their pecuniary engagements. 236 AN ACCOUNT OF THE GERMAN Thus far have I defcribed the individual charaaer of feveral orders of the German citizens of Pennfylvania. I Hull now take notice of fome of their manners in a colkaive capacity. All the different feas among them are particularly attentive to the religious educa- cation of their children, and to the eftablifhment and fupport of the chriftian religion. For this purpofe fhey fettk as much as poffibk together—and make the ereaion of a fchool houfe and a place of worfhip the firft objea of their care. They commit the educa- tion and inftruaion of their children in a peculiar manner to the minifters and officers of their churches ; —hence they grow up with prejudices in favour of pub- lic worfhip, and of the obligations of chriftianity. Such has been the influence of a pious education among the German Lutherans in Pennfylvania, that in the courfe of nineteen years only one of them has ever been brought to a place of public fhame on punifhment, As members of civil government, the Germans are peaceable—and exaa in the payment of their tax- es. Since they have participated in the power of the ftate, many of them have become fenfible and enlightened in the fcience of legiflation. Pennfylvania has had the fpeaker's chair of her affembly, and the vice-prefident's office of her council, filled with dignity by gentlemen of German families. The fame gentlemen have fince been advanced to feats in the houfe of reprefentatives, under the new conftitution INHABITANTS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 237 of the United States. In the great controverfy about the i>af onal government, a large majority of the Germans in Pennfylvania decided in favour of its adoption, not withstanding the moft popular arts were ufed to prejudice them againft it. The Germans are but little addiaed to convivial pleafui.es. The" feldom meet for the fimple purpofe of eating tind drinking in what are jtiftly called " feeding " parties" ; but they are not ftrangers to the virtue of hofpi.-ahcy.—The hungry or benighted traveller, is always fure to find a hearty welcome under their roofs. A gentleman of Irifh extraaion, who loft his way in travelling through Lancalter county, called late at night at the door of a German farmer. He was kindly received and entertained with the beft of every thing the houfe afforded. The next morning, he offered to pay his hoft for his lodging, and other accommodations: " No" (aid the friendly German, in broken Englifh—" 1 will take nothing (< from you. I was once loft, and entertained, as « you have been, at the houfe of a ftranger who « would take no pay from me for his trouble. I « am therefore now only discharging that debt:— « do you pay your debt to me in the fame way t{ to fomebody elfe."— They are extremely kind and friendly as neighbours. They often affift each other by loans of money for 238 AN ACCOUNT OF THE GERMAN* a short time, without intereft, when the purch.ilfr of a plantation n;ake« a larger fum noceffary than is commonly poffefsed by a fingle farmer. To fecure their confidence, it is neceflary to be punaual. They never lend money a fecond time, to a man who has once difappointed them in paying what he had bor- rowed agreeably to his promife or obligation. It was remarked, during the late war, that there were very few inftances of any of them difch?rging a bond, or a debt, with depreciated paper money. It has been faid, that the Germans are deficient in learning; and that in confequence of their want of more general and extenfive education, they are much addiaed to fuperftition, and are frequently impofed upon in the management of their affairs. Many of them have loft valuable eftates by being unacquainted with the common forms of law, in the moft fimpk tranfa&ions; and many more of them have foil their lives, by applying to quacks in fick- nefs : but this objeaion to the Germans will foon ceafe to have any foundation in Pennfylvania. Seve- ral young men, born of German parents, have been educated in law, phyfic and divinity, who have de- monstrated by their abilities and knowledge, that the German genius for literature has not depreciated in America. A college has lately been founded by the ftate in Lancafter,f and committed chiefly to the care f This college is called after Dr. Franklin, who was prefident of the ftate at (he time it was founded, and who contributed very liberally taits funds. INHABITANTS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 239 of the Germans of all feas, for the purpofe of diflu- fing learning among their children. In this college they are to be taught the German and English lan- guages, and all thofe branches of literature which are ufually taught in the colleges of Europe and America. The principal of this college is a native of Pennfylvania, of German parentage.* His extenfive knowledge and tafte in the arts and fciences, joined with his induftry in the difcharge of the duties of his ftation, have afforded to the.friends of karning in Pennfylvania, the moft flattering profpeas of the future importance and ufefulnefs of this inftitution, Both fexes of fhe Germans difcover a ftrong propen- fity to vocal and inftrumental mufic. They excel, in pfalmody, all the other religious focietks in the ftate. The freedom and toleration of the government has produced a variety of feas, among the Germans in Pennfylvania. The Lutherans compofe a great propor- tion of the German citizens of the ftate. Many of their churches are large and fplendid. The German Prefbyte- rians are the next to thera in numbers. Their churches are likewife large and furnished, in many places, with organs. The clergy, belonging to thefe churches, have moderate falaries, but they arc punaually and juftly paid. In the country they have glebes which are flocked and occafionally worked by their congregations. The * The "cvwrc.-id Dr. W>mry MuhL.-.bcr; 24° AN ACCOUNT OF THE GERMAN extra expences of their minifters, in all their excurfion* to their ecckfiaftical meetings, are borne by their ref- peaive congregations* By this means the difcipline and general interests of their churches nr.: preferred and promoted. The German Lutherans and Pi<_tly- terians live in great harmony with each other, infomuch that they often preach in each other's churches, 2nd in fome inftances unite in building a church, ii: which they both worfhip at different times. This harmony between two feas, one fo much oppofed to each other, is owing to the relaxation of the Prefbyteriaiis in fome of the peculiar doarines of Calvaniim. I have called them Prefbyterians, becaufe moft of them objea to being defignated by the name of Calvanifts. The Menonifts, the Moravians, the Swingfielders, and the Catholics, compofe the other feas of the German inha- bitants of Pennfylvania. The Menonifts hold war and oaths to be unlawful. They admit the facrasnents of baptifm, by fprinkling, and the fupper. From them a fea has arifen, who hold, with the above principles and ceremonies, the neceffity of immerfion baptifm ; hence they are called Dunkers, or Baptifls. Previoufly to their partaking of the facrament of the fupper, they wafh each other's feet, and fit down to a love-feaft. They praaice thefe ceremonies of their religion with great humility and folemnity. They, moreover, hold the doarine of univerfal falvation. From this fea there have been feveral feceders, one of whom devoted themfelves to perpetual celibacy. They have exhibited INHABITANTS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 24X : for many years, a curious fpeaack of pious mortifica- tion, at a village called Ephrata, in Lancafter county > They are at prefent reduced to fourteen or fifteen members. The Separatifts who likewife diffented from the Dunkers, rejea the ordinances of baptifm and. the facrament; and hold the doarine of the Friends, con- cerning the internal revelation of the gofpel. They hold, with the Dunkers, the doarine of univerfal fal- vation. The fingular piety, and exemplary morality c£ thefe feas, have been urged, by the advocates for the falvation of all mankind, as a proof that the belief oi that doarine is not fo unfriendly to morals, and the order of fociety, as has been fuppofed. The Dunkers and Separatifts agree in taking no intereft. upon money, and in not applying to law to recover their debts. The German Moravians are a numerousvand refpec- table body of chriftians in Pennfylvania. In thei r village of Bethlehem, there ars two large flone buildings» in which the different fexes are educated in habits of induftry in ufeful manufaaures. The fitters (for by that epithet the women are called) all fleep in two large and neat apartments. Two of them watch over the reft, in turns, every night, to afford relief from thofe fudden indifpofitions which fometimes occur, in the moft he althy perfons, in the hours of fleep. It is impoffibk to record this faa, without paufing a moment to do homage to that religion, which pro- Ii w AN ACCOUNT OF THE GERMAN duces fo much union and kindnefs in human fouls. The number of women, who belong to this fequeft- ered female fociety, amounts fometimes to 120, and feldom to lefs than 100. It is remarkable that not- withftanding they lead a fedentary life, and fet con- ftantly in clofe ftove-rooms in winter, that not more than one of them, upon an average, dies in a year. The difeafe which generally produces this annual death, is the confumptioH. The conditions and ages of the women of the village, as well as of the fociety that has been mentioned, are diftinguifhed by ribbons of a peculiar kind which they wear on their caps: the widows, by white ; the married women, by blue ; the fingle women, above 18 years of age, by pink; and thofe under that age, by a ribbon of a cinnamon colour. Formerly this body of Moravians held all their property in common in imitation of the pr imi- tive chriftians; but, in the year 1760, a divifion of the whole of it took place, except a tavern, a tan-yard, 2000 acres of land near Bethlehem, and 5000 acres near Nazareth, a village in the neigbourhood of Bethlehem. The profits of thefe eftates are appropri- ated to the fupport and propagation of the gofpel. There are many valuable manufaaures carried on at Bethlehem. The inhabitants poffefs a gentknefs in their manners, which is peculiarly agreeable to ftrangers. They inure their children, of five and fix years old, to habits of early induftry. By this means they are not •nly taught thofe kinds of labor which are fuited f INHABITANTS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 243 their ftrength and capacities, but are preferved from many of the hurtful vices and accidents to which children are expofed. The Swingfielders are a fmall fociety. They hold the fame principles as the Friends, but they differ from them in ufing pfalmody in their worfhip. The German Catholics are numerous in Philadelphia, and have fever aJ fmall chapels in other parts of the ftate. There is an incorporated charitable fociety of Germans in Philadelphia, whofe objeas are their poor and diftrefled countrymen* There is likewife a German fociety of labourers and journeymen mechanics, who contribute 2s. 6d. eight times a year, towards a fund, out of which they allow 3 os. a week to each other's families, when the head of it is unable to work; and 7I. 10s to his widow, as foon as he is taken from his family by death. The Germans of Pennfylvania, including all the feas that have been mentioned, compofe nearly one third part of the whole inhabitants of the ftate. The intercourfe of the Germans with each other, is kept up chiefly in their own language ; but moft of their men, who vifit the capital, and the trading ©r country towns of the -ftate, fpeak the Englifh Ian- 244 AN ACCOUNT OF THE GERMAN guage. A certain number of the laws of the ftate are now printed in German, for the benefit of thofe of them who cannot read Englifh. A large number of German news-papers are likewife circulated through the ftate-, through which knowledge and intelligence have been conveyed, much to the advantage of the go- vernment. There Is fcarcely an inftance of a German, of either fex, in Pennfylvania, that cannot read; but many of the wives and daughters of the German far- mers cannot write. The prefent ftate of fociety among them renders triis accomplishment of little confequence to their improvement or happinefs. If it were poffible*'to determine the amount of all the property brought into Pennfylvania by the prefent German inhabitants of the ftate, and their anceftors, and then compare it with the prefent amount of their property, the contraft would form fuch a monument Of human induftry and ceconomy as has feldom been contemplated in any age or country. I have been informed that there was an ancient prophecy which foretold, that " God would blefs *' the Germans in foreign countries." This predic- tion has been faithfully verified in Pennfylvania. They enjoy here every blefling that liberty, toleration, independence, affluence, virtue and reputation, can confer upon them. How different is their fituation here ; from what it was in Germany ! Could the fubjeas of the prirc-s INHABITANTS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 245 of Germany, who now groan away their lives in flavery and unprofitable labour, view' from an emi- nence, in the month of June, the German fettkments of Stratfburg, or Manheim in Lancafter county, or of Lebanon or Bethlehem in the counties of Dauphin and Northampton ; could they be accompanied on this eminence, by a venerable German farmer, and be told by him that many of thofe extenfive fields of grain, full-fed herds, luxuriant meadows, orchards, promifing loads of fruit, together with, the fpacious barns—and commodious ftone-dwelling houfes, which compofe the profpeas that have been mentioned, were all the produa of the labour of a fingle fa- mily, and of one generation ; and that they were all fecured to the owners of them by certain laws; I am perfuaded, that no chains would be able to detain them from fliaring in the freedom of their Pennfyl- vania friends and former fellow-fubjeas. " We will affert our dignity—(would be their language) we will be men—we will be free—we will enjoy the fruits of our own labours—we will no longer be bought and fold to fight battles—in which we have neither intereft nor refentment—we will inherit a portion of that bleffing which God has promifed to the Germans in foreign countries—we will be Pennfylvanians." I fhall conclude this account of the manners of the Germa n inhabitants of Pennfylvania by remark- S4°" AN ACCOUNT OF THE GERMAN ing that if I have failed in doing them juftice, it hai not been the fault of my fubjea. The German charaaer once employed the pen of one of the firft hiftorians of antiquity. I mean the elegant and enlightened Tacitus. It is very remarkable that the Germans in Pennfylvania retain in a great degree all the virtues, which this author afcribes to their anceftors in his treatife " de moribus Germanorum"'.— They inherit their integrity—fidelity—and chastity— but chriftianity has banifhed from them, their drun- kennefs, idlenefs, and love of military glory. There is a fingular trait in the features of the German charaaer in Pennfylvania, which thews how long the moft trifling cuftoms may exift among a people who have not been mixed with other nations. Tacitus defcribes the manner in which the ancient Germans build their villages in the following words. " Stmm quifque domum fpatiis circumdai five adverfus tafus ignis remedium, five infeitia adificandi."f Many of the German villages in Pennfylvania are conftruc- ted in the fame manner. The fmall houfes are com- pofed of a mixture, of wood, brick and clay, neatly united together. The large houfes are built of ftone, and many of them after the Englifh fafliion. Very few •f die houfes in Germantown are conneaed together. —Where the Germans connea their houfes in their + E?.ch rmn leaves a fpace between his houfe, and thofe of his neigh- Viurs, ei'her to avDii tLe danger from fire, or from un/kjlfulnefs ia » dikeilure* INHABITANTS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 24^ villages, they appear to have deviated from one of the cuftoms they imported from Germany. Citizens of the United States karn from th« account that has been given of the German inhabitants of Pennfylvania, to prize knowledge and induftry in agriculture and manufaaures, as the bafis of domeftic happinefs and national profperity. Legislators of the United States, karn from th« wealth, and independence of the German inhabitants of Pennfylvania, to encourage by your example, and laws, the republican virtues of induftry and economy. They are the only pillars which can fupport the prefent conftitution of the United States. Legislators of Pennfylvania,—learn from thm hiftory of your German fellow citizens that you pof- fefs an inexhauftibk treafure in the bofom of the. ftate, in their manners and arts. Continue to patro- nize their newly eftablifhed feminary of learning and fpare no expenfe in fupporting their public free-fchools. The vices which follow the want of religious inftruaion, among the children of poor people, lay the foundation of moft of the jails, and places of public punifhment in the ftate. Do not contend with their prejudices in favour of their language. It will be the channel through which the knowledge and difcoveries of one of the wifeft nations in Europe, may be conveyed into our coun- 248 AN ACCOUNT OF THE GERMAN try. In proportion as they are inftruaed and en- lightened in their own language, they will become acquainted with the language of the United States. Invite them to fhare in the power and offices of go- vernment : it will be the means of producing an union in principle and condua between them, and thofe of their enlightened fellow-citizens who are defcended from other nations. Above all, cherifh with peculiar tendernefs, thofe feas among them who hold war to be unlawful.—Relieve, them from the oppreffion of abfurd and unneceffary militia laws. Protea them as the repofitories of a truth of the gofpel, which has exifted in every age of the church, and which muft fpread hereafter over every part of the world. The opinions refpeaing the commerce and flavery of the Africans, which have nearly produced a revo- lution in their favour, in fome of the European go- vernments, were tranfplanted from a foa of chriftians in Pennfylvania. Perhaps thofe German feas of chriftians among us, who refufe to bear arms for the purpofe of fhedding hum?n blood, may be preferved by divine providence, as the centre of a circle, which fhall gradually embrace all the nations of the earth in a per- petual treaty of friendfhip and peace. Thoughts on Common Sense. THE human mind in common with other branches of philofophy, has become the fubjea of attention in the prefent age of free and general enquiry. While new faculties are discover- ing in it, it will conduce equally to our acquiring a perfea knowledge of its powers, to detect: and re- move fuch fuppofed faculties as do not belong to it. i'L I have Jong fufpeaed the term Common. Senfe to be applied improperly to designate a faculty of the mind. I fhall not repeat the . accounts which have been given of it by Cicero—Buffier—Berkely—Shaftefbury —Bentcly—Fenelon—Locke—-Hume-r-Hobs -Prieftly and others, all of whom agree in defcribing it as a faculty, or part of a faculty, poffeffing ' a quick and Univerfal perception of right and wrong, truth and er- ror, and of propriety and impropriety in human affairs. I fhall copy, as the fubftance of all that thofe au- thors have faid upon this fubjea, Dr. Reid's ac- count of common fenfe, publifhed in the 2d. chapter of the fixtii number of his Effays on the intelkaual powers of man.—" It is abfurd to conceive (fays the •{ Doaor) that there can be any oppofition be- " tween reafon and common fenfe. It is the firft- Kk 25© THOUGHTS ON COMMON SENSE. « born of reafon, and, as they are commonly joined " together in fpeech and writing, they are inseparable rt in their nature." " We afcribe to reafon two offices or two degrees. " The firft is to judge of things felf-evident; the il fecond is to draw conclusions that are not felf- " evident from things that are. The firft of thefe " is the province, and the fole province, of common " fenfe, and therefore it coincides with reafon in its " whole extent, and is only another name for one "' branch or one degree of reafon." " There is an obvious reafon why this degree of «< reafon fhould have a name appropriated to it, and w that is, that in the greateft part of mankind no " other degree of reafon is to be found. It is this " degree of reafon that entitles them to the denomi- " nation of reafonable creatures." '•' Thefe two degrees of reafon differ in other " refpeas, which would be fufficient to entitle them " to diftina names. The firft is the gift of heaven— » the fecond is learned by praaice and rules, when " the firft is not wanting."-------Thus far Dr. Reid. It is' with great diffidence that I objea to any thing that comes from a gentleman from whofe writings I have derived fo much entertainment and inftruaion, and who has done fo much towards removing the rubbifh that has for many ages obfcured the fcience •f metaphyficks. This diffidence to offer a fingle oh- THOUGHTS ON COMMON SENSE. 251 jcftion to Dr. Reid's opinion upon the fubjea under confederation, is encreafed by the groupe of popular and refpeaable names under which he has fupported it. The idea which I have adopted of common fenfe is plain and fimple. I confider it as the perception of things as they appear to the greateft part of man- kind. It has no relation to their being true or falfe, right or wrong, proper or improper. ■ For the fake of perfpicuity, 1 fhall define it to be, Opinions and feelings in unifon with the opinions and feelings of the bulk of mankind. From this definition it is evident that common fenfe muft necefTarily differ in different ages and countries and, in both, muft vary with the progrefs of tafte, fcience, and religion. In the uncultivated ftate of reafon, the opinions and feelings of a majority of mankind will be wrong, and, of courfe, their com, mon or univerfal fenfe will partake of their errors. In the cultivated ftate of reafon, juft opinions and feelings will become general, and the common fenfe of the majority will be in unifon with truth. I beg leave to illuftrate what I mean by a few examples. 1. There are many things which were contrary t$ common fenfe in former ages, both in philofophy and religion, which are now univerfally believed, infomuch that to call them in question is to difcover a want of judgment, or a defeaive education. 252 THOUGHTS ON COMMON SENSE. 2. It is contrary to common fenfe to fpeak or write in favour of republicanifm, in feveral Euro- pean countries; and it is equally contrary to it to fpeak or write in favour of monarchy, in the United States of America. 3. The common fenfe of the planters in Jamaica, is in favour of the commerce and flavery of the Afri- cans.—In Pennfylvania, reafon, humanity, and com- mon fenfe, have univerfally declared againft them. 4. In Turkey, it is contrary to the common fenfe of delicacy which prevails in that country for a gentle- man to dance with a lady. No fuch common fenfe prevails in any of the weftern countries of Europe, or in the States of America. 5. It is contrary to the common fenfe of many numerous feas to believe that it is poffibk for men to go to heaven, who do not embrace their principles,. or mode of worfhip.—Among rational men, this common fenfe is contrary to truth and chriftian re- ligion. 6. The common fenfe of mankind has generally been in favour of eftablifhed modes and habits of prac- tice, in medicine. Opium, bark, mercury and the lancet have all forced their way into general ufe, contrary to this common fenfe. Their utility is a proof how little common fenfe accords with the deci- THOUGHTS ON COMMON SENSE. 253 fions of reafon, and how improperly it is fuppofed to be a part of that noble power of the mind. 7. It is agreeable to the common fenfe of a great part of mankind, to revenge public and private in- juries by wars and duels, and yet no wife or juft reafon has ever been given to juftify the praaice of either of them 8. The common fenfe of the bulk of the inhabi- tants of the British dominions, and of the United States, is in favour of boys fpending four or five years in learning the Latin and Greek languages, in order to qualify them to underftand the Englifli language^ Thofe perfons who recolka that the moft perfea language in the world, viz. the Greek, was learned without the medium or aid of a dead or foreign lan- guage, confider the above praaice (founded in com- mon fenfe) as contrary to right reafon and produaive of many evils in education. But further, under this head. The common fenfe of the fame immenfe pro- portion of people, is in favour of teaching boys words, before they are taught ideas. Now nature and right reafon both revolt at this abfurd praaice. 9. The common fenfe of nearly all nations, is in favour of preventing crimes, by the punifhment of death, but right reafon, ^policy, and the experience of a wife and enlightened prince,-]- all concur in proving •J- Leopold Emperor of Germany. 254 THOUGH IS ON COMMON SENSE. that the beft means of preventing crimes, is by hvwp and not by dead examples. In the perfeaion of knowledge, common fenfe snd truth will be in unifon with each other. It is now more related to error than truth, and in the fenfe in which I have defcribed it, it implies more praife than cenfure to want it. To fay that a man has common fenfe, is to fay that he thinks with his age or country, in their falfe, as well as their true opinions ; and the greater the proportion of people, he aas and thinks with, the greater fhare he poifeffes of this common fenfe.— After all that has been faid in its favour, I cannot help thinking that it is the charaaeriftic only of common minds. To think and aa with the majority of mankind, when they are right, and differently from them, when they are wrong, conftitutes in my opinion, the perfec- tion of human wifdom and condua. The feelings and opinions of mankind are often confounded ; but they are widely different from each other. There may hcjufi feelings conneaed with erro- neous opinions and condua. This is often the cafe in ion and government—But, in general, opinions and feelings are juft and unjuft in equal degrees, ac- cording to the circumftances of age, country, and die progrefs of knowledge before mentioned. rehg "THOUGHTS ON COMMON SENSE. 2^$ Had this common fenfe depended upon the infor- mation of any one of the five external fenfes, I fhouhi have had no difficulty in admitting Dr. Reid's account of it, inafmuch as the perceptions they afford are the fame, in their nature, in all healthy men, and in all ages and countries. But to fuppofe it to be an in- ferior degree, ox the firft aa of reafon, and afterwards to fuppofe it to be univerfal, is to contradia every thing that hiftory and obfervation teach us of human ■ature.f In matters addrefled to our reafon, the principal bufinefs of reafon Is to correa the evidence of our fenfes. Indeed, the perception of truth, in philofophy, feems to conliit in little elfe than in the refutation of the ideas acquired from the teftimony of our fenfes. In the progrefs of knowledge,, when the ex- aa conneaion between the fenfes and reafon is per- feaiy underftood, it is probable that the fenfes and reafon will be in unifon with each other, and that mankind will as fuddenly connea the evidence of all the fenfes with the decifionsof reafon, as they now connea, with certainty, the diftance of objeas with the evidence of the eyes. This general unifon be- tween the fenfes and reafon, as in the cafe of vifion, muft be the refult only of experience and habit. I cannot difmifs this fubjea without adding the following remark. • The kin; of Pruflia, in his pofthuirous works, fays, "Reafon " never did any thing great," by which he muft have meant theeom- nui degree; of it, or whst is called, by Dr. Re4J, esmaon [ttjt. 2$6 THOUGHTS ON COMMON SENSE. Mankind are governed, fays Mr. Bayle, by their prejudices, and not by their principles. To do them good, we muft, in fome meafure, conform to thofe prejudices;—hence we find the moft acceptable men in praaical fociety, have been thofe who have never fhocked their cotemporaries, by oppofing popular or common opinions. Men of oppofite charaaers, like objeas placed too near the eye, are feldom fcen dif- tinaiy by the age in which they live. They muft content themfelves with the profpeas of being ullful to the diftant and more enlightened generations which are to follow them. Galileo, who afked pardon of the pope, on his knees, for contradiaing the com- mon fenfe of the church, refpeaing the revolution of the earth, and Dr. Harvey, who loft all his bufinefs, by refuting the common fenfe of former ages, refpea- ting the circulation of the blood, now enjoy a repu- tation for their opinions and difcoveries, which has, in no inftance ever been given to the cold blood of common fenfe. April id 1791. A* ACCOUNT OF THE VICES PFCULIAR TO THE In- iiaiii or North America. IT has become fashionable of late years for th# philofophers of Europe to celebrate die vir- tues of the favages of America.—Whether the defign of their encomiums was to expofe chriftianity, and depreciate the advantages of civilization, I know not. but they have evidently had thofe effeas upon the minds of weak people. Without contradiaing the accounts that have been published by thofe gentlemen, of the virtues of the Indians in North America, I fhall briefly add an account of fome of their vices, in order to complete their natural hiftory. My information fhall be taken from the travels of Charlevoix—Hen- nepen—Carver—Romans and Bartram, and from con- verfations with perfons of veracity who have refided among them. The firft vice I fhall name, that is univerfal among our favages, is Uncleanness. They are, in general, ftrangers to the obligations both of morality and de- cency, as far as theyTelate to the marriage bed.—Th« exceptions to this remark, have been produced among thofe nations chiefly, who have had an occasional in- tercourfe with civilized nations. fcl 25$ AN ACCOUNT OF THE TICEI 2. Nastiness is another Indian vice. This is ex- emplified in their food—drinks—drefs—-perfons—and above all, in their total difregard to decency in the time—place—and manner of their natural evacuations. 3. Drunkenness is a more general vice among fa- vages than among civilized nations.—Whole Indiart tribes have been deftroyed by it. Indeed they glory in their fondnefs for ftrong liquors, and eonfider it as a part of their charaaer. A countryman who had dropt from his cart a keg of rum, rode back a few miles in hopes of finding it. On his way he met an Indian who lived in his neighbourhood, whom he afked if he had feen his keg of rum on the road ? The Indian laughed in his face, and addreffed him in the following words. t( What a fool you are to afk 11 an Indian fuch a queftion. Don't you fee I am tc fober ? Had I met with your keg, you would " have found it empty on one fide of the road, and *f Indian Tom drunk and afleep on the other." 4. Gluttony is very common among Indians. To this their long abftinence, produced by their idle- nefs; naturally tempts them.—It is very common to fee them ftretch themfelves on the ground after a full meal, and grunt there for feveral hours till they reco- ver from the effeas of their intemperance. Mr. Bartram tells us, that they fometimes rife in the middle of the night, in order to gratify their appetites for eating. PECULIAR TO TUB INDIAN!. 2$) jf. Treachery is another Indian vice. Who ever trufted to an Indian treaty ?—They generally begin their wars, with profeffions of peace and perpetual friendship. 6. The cruelty of Indians is well known. They confider compaflion as a mark of effeminacy. Their treatment of their prifoners, thews them to poffefs a fpirit of revenge, which places them upon a footing widi infernal fpirits. 7. Idleness is the univerfal vice of favages.-f They are not only too lazy to work, but even to think. Nothing but the powerful ftimulus of hunger pr revenge, is fufficient to roufe them into aaion. 8. Theft is an Indian vice. The Indians not only fteal from their civilized neighbours, but from each other. A horfe—=a gun —or fpirits, have charms in the eyes of an Indian that no reftraints can prevent his dealing, whenever they come in his way. 9. Gaming belongs in an eminent degree to the Catalogue of Indian vices. 10. But the infamy of the Indian charaaer is completed by the low rank to which they degrade their women. It is well known that their women perform all their work. They not only prepare their viauals, but plant, hoe and gather their corn and roots. They are feldom admitted to their feafts, or fhare in their converfation. The men oblige thent JO© AN ACCOUNT OF THE VICEI to lie at their feet, when they fleep without fire ; and at their backs when they fleep before a fire. They afford them no affiftance in the toils of tending, feed- ing, and carrying their children. They are even in- fenfibk of the dangers to which their women are often expofed in travelling with them. A gentleman from Northumberland county, informed me, that he once faw a body of Indian men and women wading acrofs the river Sufquehannah. The men arrived firft on the opposite shore, and purfued their journey along the river. The women, fome of whom had children on their backs, upon coming to a deep and rapid current, fuddenly cried out for help, and made figns to their hufbands and fathers to come to their affiftance, The men flood for a few minutes—and after atten- tively furveying their diftrefs, burfted out a laughing, and then with a merry indifference, walked from thenj along the shore. This is a fhort nomenclature of the vices' of the In- dians of North America. If it were neceffary. I would quote the chapters and pages of the authors who have eftablifhed by their obfervations, the truth of the cha- raaer I have given of them. I am not difpofed to enter into an examination of their virtues, but I can- not help fuppofing the m to be rather the qualities of neceffity, than the offspring of feeling, or principle. Their hofpitality—their friendships—their patience —and their fidelity to engagements, are the effeas of neceffity, and are as eflential to their exiftence, * PECULIAR TO THE INDIANS. t61 koncfty is to a band of affociated robbers. Their po- litenefs in never contradiaing any perfon, I believe is the effea of indolence, for I know of nothing that lazy people diflike more than to difpute, even where truth is on their fide, or where viaory is certain.—Where is the man that in a lazy fit (to which all men at times are fubjea) has not heard falfe and abfurd opinions advanced in company, without con- tradiaing them ? The taciturnity of the Indians which has been fo much celebrated, as a mark of their wifdom, is the effea of their want of ideas. Except in cafes of extraordinary pride, I believe taciturnity, in nine cafes out of ten in civilized company, is the effea of ftupidity. I will make one more exception to this rule, and that is in favour of thofe people who are in the habits of communicating their thoughts, by writing for the public, or by correfponding with their friends. Ideas, whether acquired from books, or by refkaion, produce a plethora in the mind, which can only be relieved by depletion from the pen, or tongue. But what fhall we fay to the encomiums that have been lavifhed upon the love of liberty which cha- raaerizes our favage neighbours ?—Why—that they arife from an ignorance of the influence of property, upon the human mind.—Property, and a regard for law, are born together in all focieties. The paffion %6% 4N ACCOUNT Of THE VICES, &C. for liberty in an Indian, is as different from the paffion for it in a civilized republican, as the impurity of luft, is from the delicacy of love There is a certain medium to be obferved between an affeaion for law, and for liberty. An excefs of the former has fometimes led to tyranny, while an excefs of the latter, leads to idlenefs and vice. The Athenians appear to have been intoxicated with an excefs of libcvty when they fpent their whole time in hearing air., 'ding news. There is always an excefs of law ■y. liberty in a community where poor men are idle, or where vices of any kind are fuffered with impunity. The only refkaioias that I fhall add upon this fubjea, fliall be,—how great are the bleflings of civil government which extirpates, reftrains, or punifhes the vices that have been mentioned ! and how great is the efficacy of chriftianity, which, by purifying the heart, renders the praaice of the contrary virtues natural and agreeable ? Observations upon the influence of the habi- tual use of Tobacco upon health* morals* and property. WERE it poffibk for a being who had re- fided upon our globe, to vifit the inhabitants of a planet, where reafon governed, and to tell them that a vile weed was in general ufe among the inhabitants of the globe it had left, which afforded no nourishment—that this weed was culti- vated with immenfe care—that it was an important article of commerce—that the want of it produced real mifery—that its tafte was extremely naufeous, that it was unfriendly to health and morals, and that its ufe was attended with a confiderabk lofs of time and property, the account would be thought incredible, and the author of it would probably be excluded from fociety, for relating a ftory of fo improbable a nature. In no one view, is it poffibk to contemplate the creature man in a more abfurd and ridiculous light, than in his attachment to Tobacco. This weed is of a ftimulating nature, whether it be ufed in fmoaking, chewing or in fnuff. Like Opium and fpirkuous liquors, it is fought for in all thofe cafes where the body is debilitated indireffly by intemperance in eating, or by exceffive application to ftudy, or bufinefs, or direclly by fedative paffions of the mind, 364 »B|EKtATI0N$ eH" TKt particularly by grief and fear. Perfons after loflng relations or friends by death, often refort to it. One of the greateft fnuffers I ever knew, ufed it for the firft time, in order to confole her under a prefentiment fhe entertained, that fhe fliould die in childbed. Fear creates a defire for Tobacco. Hence it is ufed in a greater quantity by foldiers and fallors than by other claffes of people. It is ufed moft profufe- Iy by foldiers when they aa as picket guards, or centi- nels, and by failors in ftormy weather. Perfons labouring under that ftate of madnefs which is ac- companied with a fenfe of mifery, are much devoted to it, hence the tenants of mad-houfea o/ten accoit their attendants and vifitors, with petitions for Tobacco. The progrefs of habit in the ufe of Tobacco is exaaiy the fame as in the ufe of fpirituous liquors. The flaves of it begin, by ufing i: only after dinner— then during the whole afternoon, and evening, after- wards before dinner, then before breakfaft, and fi- nally during the whole night. I knew a Lady who had paffed through all thefe itages, who ufed t« wake regularly two or three times every night t» compofe her fyftem with frefh dofes of fnuff. Again —the progrefs in the decay of die fenfibility of the nofe to the flimulus of ihuff is analogous to the decay of the fenfibility of the flomach, to the stimulus of fpirituous liquors. It feels for a while the aaion of Rappee; next it requires Scotch fnuff, afterwards Irifh-blackguard—and finally it is affeaed only by a USE OF TOBACCO. 26jj composition of Tobacco and ground glafs. This mix- ture is to the nofe, what Cayenne pepper and Jamaica fpirits are to the ftomachs of habitual dram drink- ers. The appetite for Tobacco is wholly artificial. No perfon was ever born with a relifh for it. Even in thofe perfons who are much attached to it, nature fre- quently recovers her difrelifh to if It- rpafec <•<-> be agreeable in every febrile indifpofition. This is fo invariably true, that a difrelifh to it is often a fign of an approaching, and a return of the ipt**^ ^^ it, a fign of a departing fever. In confidering the pernicious effeas of Tobacco, I fhall begin agreeably to the order I have laid down, by taking notice of its influence upon health; and here I fhafl mention its effeas not only upon the body, but upon the mind. 1. It impairs the appetite. Where it does not pro- duce this effea, 2. It prevents the early and complete digeftion of the food, and thereby induces diftrefling, and incu- rable difeafes not only of the ftomach, but of tha whole body. This effea of Tobacco is the refult of the wafte of the faliva in chewing, and fmoking, or of the Tobacco infinuating itfelf into the ftomach, when ufed in chewing, or fnuffing.-------1 once loft a young man of 17 years of age, of a pulmonary confump- Mm l66 OBSERVATIONS ON* THE tion, whofe diforder was brought on by the intempe- rate ufe of fegars. 3. It produces many of thofe difeafes which are fuppofed to be feated in the nerves. The late Sir John Pringle was fubjea in the evening of his life to tremors in his\hands. In his laft vifit to France, a few years before he died, in company with Dr. Franklin, he «.-« rpQiipfted by the Doaor to ohfprv/», that the fame diforder was very common among thofe people of fafhion who were great fnuffers. Sir John was fea uy *Mc remark to fufpea that his tremors were occafioned by fnuff which he took in large quantities. He immediately left off taking it, and foon afterwards recovered the perfea ufe of his hands. I have feen head-ache, vertigo, and epilepfy produced by the ufe of Tobacco. A Phyfician in Conneaicut has remarked that it has in feveral inftances produced palfy and apoplexy, and Dr. Tiffot afcribes fudden death in one inftance, to the exceffive ufe of it in fmoking. 4. A citizen of Philadelphia loft all his teeth by drawing the hot fmoke of Tobacco into his mouth by means of fhort pipe, and I have been informed of a cancer on the lip which terminated fatally from the fame caufe, in a farmer in Northumberland coun- ty in this ftate. The acrid nature of the matter which is mixed with the fmoke of the Tobacco may eafily be difcovered by the tafte or fmell of a pipe'Item that has been in ufe for two or three weeks. USE OP TOBACCO. 2$7 ' 5. Tobacco when ufed in the form of fnuff feldom fails of impairing the voice by obftru&ing the nofe. It moreover imparts to the complexion a difagreeablc tlufky colour. I have thus briefly enumerated the morbid effeas of Tobacco upon the human body. It remains un- der this head to mention, that the want of it is a fource of uneafinefs more diftreffing than many bodily diforders. This uneafinefs in perfons who have long been accuftomed to the ufe of Tobacco has in fome inftances produced an agitation of mind that has bordered upon diftraaion. Colonel Burr informed me that the greateft complaints of diffatisfaaion and fuffering that he heard among the foldiers who accom- panied General Arnold in his march from Bofton to Quebec through the wildernefs in the year 1775, were from the want of Tobacco. This was the more remarkable, as they were fo deftitute of provifions as to be obliged to kill, and eat their dogs. The Per- fians, we are told by travellers, often expatriate them- felves, when they are forbidden the ufe of Tobacco, in order to enjoy it in a foreign country. Thefe faas will not furprize thofe perfons who have been accuf- tomed to view our appetites when perverted to fuch things as are artificial and difagreeable, to be much more ungovernable than the appetite for things that are originally natural apd agreeable. *68 OBSERVATIONS ON THE f But the ufe of Tobacco has been known to produce a more ferious effea upon the mind than the diftrefs that has been mentioned. Sir John Pringle's memory was impaired by fnuff. This was proved by his re- covering the perfea exercife of it after he left off tak- ing fnuff agreeably to the advice of his friend Dr. Franklin. Dr. Mafillac informed me that his father loft his memory at forty years of age by the exceffive ufe of fnuff. He took for feveral years two ounces of it every day. In anfwer to thefe obfervations upon the morbid effeas of Tobacco it has been faid, i. That it poffeffes many medical virtues. I grant it, and the faas which eftablifh its utility in medicine furnifh us with additional arguments againft the habitual ufe of it. How feeble would be the effeas of opium, and bark upon the body if they conftitu- ted a part of the condiments of our daily food; — While I admit the efficacy of Tobacco as a medicine, I cannot help adding, that fome of the difeafes, or fymptoms of difeafes which it relieves, are evidently induced by the habit of ufing it. Thus a dram of ardent fpirits fufpends, for a while, a vomiting and tremors of the hands, but who does not know that thofe complaints, are the effeas of the intemperate and habitual ufe of fpirituous liquors ? 2. The advocates for Tobacco, tell us that fmok- ing, and fnuif relieve that uneafinefs which fucceeds USE OF TOBACCO. 269 a plentiful meal. I admit that the ftimulars of the Tobacco reftores the fyftem from the indirea weak- nefs which is induced by intemperance in eating, but the relief which is thus obtained, illy compenfates for the wafte of the faliva in fmoking, at a time when it is moft wanted, or for the mixture of a portion of the Tobacco with the aliment in the ftomach by means of fnuffing. But why fliould we cure one evil by producing another ? would it not be much better to obviate the neceffity of ufing Tobacco by always eat- ing a moderate meal ? The recolkaion of the remedy probably difpofes to that intemperance in eating which produces the uneafinefs that has been mentioned. 3. We are fometimes told that Tobacco is a pre- fervative from contagious difeafes. But many faas contradia this affertion. Mr. Howard informs us that it had no efficacy in checking the contagion of the plague, and repeated experience in Philadelphia has proved, that it is equally ineffeaual in preferv- ing thofe who ufe it, from the Influenza and Yellow Fever. 4. It has been further faid that chewing and fmok- ing Tobacco affift the intelkaual operations. So do wine, and diftilled fpirits, but fhall we upon that account, have recourfe to thofe liquors when we wifh to flimulate our thinking faculties ? Tea and Coffee are to be preferred, when we wifh to flimulate the mind. Mr. Pope recommends a trotting horfe for the fame purpofe. Rouffeau excited his invention by • 7<5 OBSERVATIONS ON THE walking backwards and forwards in his room. I fufpea that Tobacco Is often ufed, rather to fupply the want of ideas than to cALEt,ox excite them. The abfence of fenfation, whether of external impreffi- ons upon the body, or of the re-aaion of the mind in thought, is always accompanied with mifery. The Indians afford a ftriking proof of this remark—hence they fpend whole days and even weeks in fmoking, in order to relieve themfelves from the anguifh which attends the inaaivity and vacuum of their minds. We proceed next to mention the influence of the habitual ufe of Tobacco upon morals. I. One of the ufual effeas of fmoking and chewing is thirft. This thirfl cannot be allayed by water, for no fedative or even infipid liquor will be relifhed after the mouth and throat have been expofed to the ftimulus of the fmoke, or juice of Tobacco. A defire of courfe Is excited for flrong drinks, and thefe when taken between meals foon lead to intemperance and drunkennefs. One of the greateft fots I ever knew, acquired a love for ardent fpirits by fwallowing cuds of Tobacco, which he did, to efcape deteaion in the ufe of it, for he had contraaed the habit of chewing, contrary to the advice and commands of his father. He died of a Dropfy under my care in the year i/8o. 2. The ufe of Tobacco, more efpecially in fmok- ing, difpofes to Idlenefs, and idlenefs has been con- UVw OF TOBACCO. 2.71 fidered as the root of all evil. " An idle man's brain, " (fays the celebrated and original Mr. Bunyan) '* is the Devil's work fhop." 3. The ufe of Tobacco is neceffarily conieaed with the negka of ckanlinefs. The influence of this negka upon morals has been happily pointed out in an extraa from captain Cooke's journal, which is publifhed by Sir John Pringle in one of his Orations before the Royal Society ot London. 4. Tobacco, more efpecially when ufed in fmoking, is generally offenfive to thofe people who do no- ufe it. To fmoke in company under fuch cirr*1111- fiances, is a breach of good manners ; noyi man* ners have an influence upon morals. The/ may be confidered as the out pofts of virtue. A habit of offending the fenfes of friends or ftran/^rs by the ufe of Tobacco, cannot therefore be imaged with inno- cence. It produces a want of ref/a for our fellow creatures, and this always diF'f-'S to unkind and unj u ft behaviour towards the""*- Whoever knew a rude man completely, or /liformly moral ? The methodifts fo^id the ufe of Tobacco in the infancy of their foci-1}'* The prohibition dlfcovered a high and juft fofle of the felt-denial, decency, and univerfal civili/ which are required by the gofpel. What recepti>''1 may we fuppofe would the apoftles have met v/di, had they carried into the cities and houfes to which they were fent, fnufF-boxes, pipesa 272 OBSERVATIONS ON THE fegars, and bundles of cut, or rolls of hog, or pigtail' Tobacco ? Such a coftly and offenfive apparatus for gratifying their appetites, would have furnifhed folid objections to their perfons and doarines, and would have been a juft caufe for the clamors and contempt which were excited againft them. It is agreeable to ob- ferve that a regard to good manners, upon this fubjea, has at laft awakened in fome parts of the world. In England fmoking is not permitted in taverns and coffee houfes until after 10 o'clock at night, and in France fnuffing is becoming unfashionable and 'ulgar. How much is it to be lamented that while tne ufe 0f Tobacco is declining in two of the moft enhgh»jed countries in Europe, it is becoming more general 11. America. Who can fee groups of boys of fix or eigh- years old in our ftreets fmoking fegars, without antic«ating fuch a depreciation of our pof- terity in health and charaaer, as can fcarcely be contemplated at ti.,s diftance of time without pain and horror! It remains now that 1 briefly point out the influ- ence of the ufe of Tobacco Upon time and property. Snuffing makes a great inroad upon time. A man who takes a pinch of fnuff evt-v twenty minutes, (which moft habitual fnuffers do) ,nd fnuffs fifteen hours in four and twenty, (allowing l^rn to confume not quite half a minute every time he \fes his box ) will wafte about five whole days of every vear 0f his life in this ufelefs, and unwhokfome praace. But USE OF TOBACCO. 273 When we add to the profitable ufe to which this time might have been applied, the expenfes of Tobacco, pipes, fnuff and fpitting boxes—and of the injuries which are done to the cloathing, during a whole life, the aggregate fum would probably amount to feveral hundred dollars. To a labouriug man this would be a decent portion for a fon or daughter, while the fame fum, faved by a man in affluent circumftances, would have enabled him by a contribution to a public charity to have kffened a large portion of the igno- rance, or mifery of mankind. In reviewing the account that has been given of the difagreeable and mifchievous effeas of Tobacco, we are led to enquire, what are its ufes upon our globe,—for we are affured that nothing, exifts in vain. Poifon is a relative term, and the moft noxious plants have been difcovered to afford fuftenance to certain animals. But what animal befides man, will take Tobacco into its mouth ? Horfes, Cows, Sheep, Cats, Dogs, and even hogs refufe to tafte it. Flies, Mofquitoes, and the moth are chafed from our cloaths by the fmell of it. But let us not arraign the wifdom and ceconomy of nature in the produaion of this plant. Modern Travellers have at laft difcovered that it constitutes the food of a folitary and filthy wild beaft, well known in the defarts of Africa, by the name of the rock Goat. Nn 274 ' OBSERVATIONS ©N THE USE OF TOBACCO. I fhall conclude thefe obfervations by relating an Anecdote of the late Dr. Franklin. A few months before his death, he declared to one of his friends that he had never ufed Tobacco in any way in die courfe ef his long life, and that he was difpofed to believe there was not much advantage to be derived from it, for that he had never met with a man who ufed it, who advifed him to follow his example. *. An account of the Sugar maple-tree of the United States. In a letter to Ihomas Jeffer- son, EsQ^ THEN SECRETARY OF StaTE OF THE UnitedStatf.s, ANDONE OF VlCc presidents of the American Philosophical socitTY. Dear Sir, IN obedience to your requeft, I have fat down to communicate to our Society through the medium of 2 letter to you, a fhort account of the Sugar Maple-tree of the United States, together with fuch faas and remarks as I have been able to colka, upon the methods of obtaining Sugar from it, and upon the advantages both public and private, of this Sugar. The Acer Sacharinum of Linnseu$,'or the Sugar Ma- pk-tree, grows in great quantities in the weftern counties of all the Middle States of the American Union. Thofe which grow in New-York and Penn- fylvania yield the Sugar in a greater quantity than thofe which grow on the waters of the Ohio.— Thefe trees are generally found mixed with the Beech, (a) Hemlock, (b) White and water Afh, (c) the Cucumber tree, (d) Linden, (e) Afpen, (f) Butter Nut, (g) and Wild Cherry trees (h). They\ fometimes appear in groves covering five or fix acres in a body, (a) Fagui Ferruginea. (b) Pinus abies. (c) Fraxirsus Ame- ricana, (d) Magnolia acuminata. (e) Tijia Americana. (f) Po- pulus tre.ru.la. (g) Jug'.ans alba (oblonga.) (h) Pruilus Virginiana, •t'Liiisjeus: 270* AN ACCOUNT OF but they are more commonly interfperfed with fome, or all of the foreft trees which have been mentioned. From 30 to 50 trees are generally found upon an acre of ground. They grow only in the richeft foils and frequently in ftony ground. Springs of the pureft water abound in their neighbourhood. 'They are when fully grown as tall as the white and black oaks, and from two to three feet in diameter.* They put forth a beautiful white bloffom In the Spring before they show a fingle leaf. The colour of the blofom diftinguifhes them from the acer rubrum, or the common maple, which affords a bloffom of a red colour. The wood of the Sugar Maple-tree is ex- tremely inflammable, and is preferred upon that account by hunters and furveyors for fire-wood. Its fmall branches are fo much impregnated with fugar as to afford fupport to the cattle, horfes, and fheep of the firft fettlers during the winter, before they are abie to cultivate forage for that purpofe. Its afhes afford a great quantity of pot afh, exceeded by few, or perhaps by none of the trees that grow in the woods of the United States. The tree is fuppofed to arrive, at its full growth in the woods in twenty years. * Baron La Hontan, in his voyage to North America, gives the follow- ing account of the Maple-tree in Canada. After defcribing the black Cherry-tiee, fome of which he lV.ys areas tall as the loftieft oaks, and as big as a hogihe/.d, he adds, " The Maple-tree h much of the fame " height and balk. It bears no rcfemblance to that furt we have in *' Europe.',' THE SUGAR MAPLE-TREE 277 It is not injured by tapping ; on the contrary, the oftner it is tapped, the more fyrup is obtained from it. In this refpea it follows a law of animal fecre- tion. A fingle tree has not only furvived, but flourifh- ed after forty-two tappings in the fame number of years. The effeas of a yearly difcharge of fap from the tree in improving and increafing the fap, is demon- ftrated from the fuperior excellence of thofe trees which have been perforated in an hundred places, by a fmall wood-pecker which feeds upon the fap. The trees after having been wounded in this way, diftil the remains of their juice on the ground, and after- wards acquire a black colour. The fap of thefe trees is much fweeter to the tafte than that which is obtain- ed from trees which have not been previoufly wound- ed, and it affords more fugar. From twenty-three gallons and one quart of fap pro- cured in twenty hours from only two of thefe dark coloured trees, Arthur Noble, Efq. of the ftate of New-York, obtained four pounds and thirteen ounces of good grained fugar. A tree of an ordinary fize yields in a good feafon from twenty to thirty gallons of fap, from which are made from five to fix pounds of fugar. To this there are fometimes remarkable exceptions. . Samuel Low, Efq- a Juftice of Peace in Montgomery county, in the ftate of New-York, informed Arthur Noble, Efq. that he had made twenty pounds and one ounce of i7& AN ACCOUNT Of fugar between the 14th and 23d of April, in the year 1789, from a fingle tree that had been tapped. for feveral fucceffive years before. From the influence which culture has upon foreft and other trees, it has been fuppofed, that by tranf- planting the Sugar Maple tree into a garden, or by deftroying fuch other trees as fhelter it from the fap of the Sun, the quantity of the fap might be increafed; and its qualitv much improved. I have heard of one faa which favours this opinion. A farmer in Nordiampton county in the ftate of Penn- fylvania, planted ajiumber of thefe trees above twenty years ago in his meadow, from three gallons of the fap of which he obtaius every year a pound of fugar. It was remarked formerly thst it required five or fix gallons of the fap of the trees which grpw in the woods, to proJuce the f^oae quantity of fugar. The fap diftils from the wood of the tres. Trees which have been cut down in the winter for the fupport of the domestic animals of the new fettkrs, yield a confiderabk quantity of fap as foon as their trunks and limbs feci the rays of the Sun in the fpring of the year. It is in confequence of the fap of thefe trees being equally diffufed through every part of them, that they live three years after they are girdled, that is, after a circular incision is nnuij through the bark into the fub-fbmce of die tree for the purpofe cf deftroying it. ft 1 us... '■.•";'■ / t i \\ - '" \ \ Missing Pages 279-280 Missing Pages 279-280 THE SUGAR MAPLE-TREE. 281 and improve the quality of the fap. Mr. Noble in- formed me, that he faw a tree, under which a farmer had accidently burnt fome brush, which dropped a a thick heavy fyrup refembling molaffes. This faa may probably lead to fomething ufeful hereafter. ' During the remaining part of the fpring months, as alfo in the Summer, and in the beginning of Au- tumn, the maple tree yields a thin fap, but not fit: for the manufaaory of fugar. It affords a pkafant drink in harveft, and has been ufed inftead of rum, in fome inftances by thofe farmers in Conneaicut, whofe anceftors have left to them here, and there, a fugar maple tree, (probably to fhade their cattle,) in all their fields. Mr. Bruce defcribes a drink of the fame kind, prepared by the inhabitants of Egypt, by infufing the fugar cane in water, which he declares to be " the moft refrefhing drink in the world."* * Baron La Hoatan, gives the following account of the fap of the fugar maple-tree, when ufid as a drink, 3nd of the manner of obtaining it. "The tree yields a fap which has a much pleafaater tafte than the beft lemonade oc cherry water, and makes the wholefomeft drink in the world. This liquor is drawn by cutting the tree two. inches deep in the wood, the cui being made Hoping to the length of ten or twelve inches; at the lower end of this gaOi, a knife is thruft into thetree flopingly, fo that the water runs along the cut or gash, as through a gutter and falsi upon the knife, which lias feme veflels placed underneath to receive it. Some tre-s will yieli five or fix bottles of this water in a day, and fome inhabitants «f Canada might draw twenty hogsheads of it in one day, if they would thus cut and notch all the maple trees'of their refpec- tive plantations. The gaih does no barm to the tree. Of this fap they make fygar and fyrup which is fo valuable that there can be no better O o x8s AN ACCOUNT Of There arc three methods of reducing the fap t0 fugar. i. By freezing it; this method has been tried for many years, by Mr. Obediah Scott, a farmer in Luzerne county in this ftate, with great fuccefs. He fays that one half of a given quantity of fap re- duced in this way, is better than one-third of the fame quantity reduced by boiling. If the froft fhould not be intenfe enough, to reduce the fap to the graining point, it may afterwards be expofed to the aaion of the fire for that purpofe. 2. By fpontaneous evaporation. The hollow flump of a maple-fugar tree, which had been cut down in the fpring, and which was found fometime after- wards filled with fugar, firft fuggefted this method of obtaining fugar to our farmers. So many circum- ftances of cold and dry weather, large and flat veffels, and above all fo much time are neceffary to obtain fugar, by either of the above methods, that the moft general method among our farmers is to obtain it, 3. By boiling. For this purpofe the following faas which have been afcertained by many experiments, deferve attention. 1. The fooner the fap is boiled, after it is colka- ed from the tree, the better. It fhould never be kept remedy for fortifying the ftomach. 'Tis but few of the inhabiants thst hava th; patience to make them, for as common things are Flighted, fo there are fcarce any body but children that give then:felve« ht trouble of gaflsLig thefe trees." THE SUGAR MAPLE-TREE. 283 jonger than twenty four hours, before it is put over the fire. a. The larger the veffel in which the fap is boiled, the more fugar is obtained from it. 5. A copper veffel affords a fugar of a fairer colour than an iron veffel. The fap flows into wooden troughs from which it is carried and poured into ftone troughs or large citterns in the fhape of a canoe or large manger made of white afh, linden, bafs wood, or white pine, from which it is conveyed to the kettle in which it is to be boiled. Thefe citterns, as well as the kettle, are generally covered by a fhed to defend the fap from the rain. The fugar is improved by ftralning the fap through a blanket or cloth, either before or after it is half boiled. Butter, hogs lard, or tallow are added to the fap in the kettle to prevent its boiling over, and »ime, eggs or new-milk are mixed with it in order ■ to clarify it. I have feen clear fugar made without the addition of either of them. A fpoonful of flack lime, the white of one egg, and a pint of new-milk are the ufual proportions of thefe articles which arc mixed with fifteen gallons of fap. In fome famples which I have lately feen of mapk-fugar clarified with each of the above articles, that, in which milk alone was ufed, had an evident fuperiority over the others, in point of colour. The fugar after being fufficiently boiled, is grained and clayed, and afterwards refined, or converted int« 284 an Account of loaf fugar. The methods of conduaing each of thefe proceffes is fo nearly the fame with thofe which are ufed in the manufaaory of Weft-India fugar, and are fo generally known, that I need not fpend any time in defcribing them. It has been a fubjea of enquiry whether the ma- ple fugar might not be improved in its quality and increafed in its quantity by the eftablifhment of boiling houfes in the fugar maple country to be con- duaed by officiated labor. From the fcattered fitu- ation of the trees, the difficulty of carrying the fap to a great diftance, andvfrom the many expenfes which muft accrue from fupporting labourers and horfes in the woods in a feafon of the year in which nature affords no fuftenance to man or beaft, I am difpofed to believe that the moft produaive method both in quantity and profit of obtaining this fugar will be by the labor of private families. For a great number of years many hundred private families in New-York and Pennfylvania have fupplied themfelves jplentifully with this fugar during the whole year. I have heard of many families who have made from two to four hundred pounds in a year ; r nd of one man who fold fix hundred pounds, all made with his Own hands in one feafon.* * The following receipts publi/bed by W,ll\.-V. Cooper fEfq. in the Albany Gazette, fully efiablijhes tbisfacl. " Received, Cooper's Town, April 30th, 1790, of William Cooper, iixtee.-s pounds, for fix hundred and forty pounds of fugar made with my THE SUGAR MAPLE-TREE. 285 Not more knowledge is neceflary for making this fugar than is required to make foap, cyder, beer, four-crout, &c and yet one or all of thefe are made in moft of the farm houfes of the United State9. The kettles and other utenfils of a farmer's kitchen? will ferve moft of the purpofes of making lugar, and the time required for the labor, (if it deferves that name) is at a feafon when it is impoffible for the farmer to employ himfelf in any fpecies of agricul- ture. His wife and all his children above ten years of age, moreover may affift him in this bufinefs, for the profit of the weakeft of them is nearly equal to that of a man, when hired for that purpofe. A comparative view of this fugar has been fre- quently made with the fugar which is obtained from the Weft India fugar cane, with refpea to its quality, price, and the poffibk or probable quantity that can be made of it in the United States, each of which I fhall confider in order. 1. The quality of this fugar is neceffarily better than that which is made in the Weft-Indies. It is prepared in a feafon when not a fingle inka exifts to feed upon it, or to mix its excretions with it, and own hands, without any affiftance in lefsthanfour weeks, befides attend- ing to the other bufinefs of my farm, as providing fire wood, taking care of the cattle, &r. John Nicholls." Witnefs R. Smith. A fingle famiiy, confiding of a man and his two fons, on the maple fugar lands between the Delaware and Sufquehannah made i8oolb. of n-pie fugar inone feafon. 286 AN ACCOUNT OF before a particle of duft or of the pollen of piauu can float in the air. The fame obfervation cannot be applied to the Weft-India fugar. The infoas and worms which prey upon it, and of courfe mix with it, compofe a page in a nomenclature of natural hiftory, I fhall fay nothing of the hands which are employed in making fugar in the Weft-Indies but, that men who work for the exclufive benefit of others, are not under the fame obligations to keep their perfons clean while they are employed in this work, that men women and children are, who work exclufively for the benefit of themfelves, and who have been educated in the habits of ckanlinefs. The fuperior purity of the maple fugar is farther proved by its leaving a lefs fediment when diffolved in water, than the Weft-India fugar. It has been fuppofed that the maple fugar is inferi- or to the Weft-India fugar mfirength. The experi- ments which led to this opinion, I fufpea have been in- accurate, or have been made with maple fugar, pre- pared in a flovenly manner. I have examined equal quantities, by weight, of both the grained and the loaf fugar, in hyfon tea, and in coffee, made in eve- ry refpea equal by the minuteft circumftances that could affc-a the quality or tafte of each of them, and could perceive no inferiority in the ftrength of the maple fugar. The liquors which decided this quef- tion were examined at the fame time, by Alexander Hamilton, Efq. Secretarv of the Treafury of the the Sugar mai»le-tree. 287 United States, Mr. Henry Drinker, and feveral Ladies, who all concurred in the above ©pinion. 2. Whoever confiders that the gift of the fugar maple trees is from a benevolent Providence, that we have many millions of acres in our country co- vered with them, that the tree is improved by repeat- ed tappings, and that the fugar is obtained by the fru- gal labor of a farmer's family, and at the fame time confiders the labor of cultivating the fugar cane, the the capitals funk in fngar works, the firft coft of Haves and cattle, the expenfes of provifions for both of them, and in fome inftances the additional ex- penfe of conveying the fugar to a market, in all the Weft-India Iflands, will not hefitate in believing that the maple fugar may be manufaaured much cheaper, and fold at a lefs price than that which is made in the Weft-Indies. 3. The refources for making a fufficient quantity of this fugar not only for the confumption of the United States, but for exportation, will appear from the following faas. There are in the ftates of New-York, and Pennfylvania alone at kaft ten milli- ons of acres of land which produce the fugar maple- tree, in the proportion of thirty trees to one acre. Now, fuppofing all the perfons capable of labor in a family to confift of three, and each perfon to attend 150 trees and each tree to yield 5IDS. of fugar in a feafon, the product of the labor of 60,000 families} 288 AN ACCOUNT O* would be i35,ooo;oo» pounds of fugar, and allowing the inhabitants ©f die United States to compofe 6©o,ooo families, each of which confirmed 2oe pounds of fugar in.a year, the whole confumption would be 120,000,000 pounds in a yeaf, which would leave a balance of 15,000,000 pounds for exportation. Va- luing the fugar at 6-90 of a dollar per pound, the fum faved to the United States would be 8,000,000 dollars by home confumption, and the fum gained by exportation would be 1,000,000 dollars. The only part of this calculation that will appear improbable is, the number of families fuppofed to be employed in the manufaaory of the fugar, but the difficulty of admitting this fuppofition will v.mifh when we confi- der, that double that number of families are employed every year, in making cyder, the trouble, rifks and expenfes of which are all rnjjjjh greater than thofe of making maple-fugar. But the profit of the maple tree is not confined to its fugar. It affords a moft agreeable molaffes, and an excellent vinegar. The fap which is fuitabk for thefo purpofes is obtained after the fap which affords the fugar has ceafed to flow, fo that the manufaao- ries of thefe diiferent produas of the maple tree, by fucceeding, do not interfere with each other. The molaffes may be made to compofe the bafis of a pka- fant fummer beer. The fap of the maple is more- over capable of affording a fpirit, but we hope thia precious juice will never be proftitued by our citi- the sugar maple-tree. 289 zelis to this ignobk purpofe. Should the ufe of fugar in diet become more general in our country, it may tend to leffcn the inclination or fuppofed neceffity fot fpirits, for I have obferved a relish for fugar in diet to be feldom accompanied by a love fot ftrong drink. It is the fugar which is mixed with tea which makes it fo generally difagreeable to drunkards. But a diet, confifting of a plentiful mixture of fugar has other advantages to recommend it, which I fhall briefly enu- merate. 1. Suo-ar affords the greateft quantity of nourifh- ittent In a given quantity of matter of any fubftance in nature ; of courfe it may be preferved in lefs room in our houfes, and may be confumed in lefs time, than more bulky and lefs nourishing aliment. It has this peculiar advantage over moft kinds of aliment, that it is not liable to have its nutritious qualities affeaed by time or the weather, hence it is preferred by the Indians in their excurfions from home. They mix a certain quantity of Maple fugar, with an equal quantity of Indian corn', dried and powdered, in its milky ftate. This mixture is packed in little bafkets, which are frequently wetted in travelling, without injuring the fugar. A few fpoons full of it mixed with half a pint of fpring water, afford them a pka- fant and ftrengthening meal. From the degrees of ftrength and nourishment, which are conveyed into animal bodies by a fmall bulk of fugar, I conceive it might be given to horfes with great advantage, when 2QO AX ACCOUNT OF they are ufed In circumftances winch make it difficult or expenfive to fupport them, with more bulky or weighty aliment. A pound cf fugar with grafs or ha- , I have been told, has fupported the ftrength and fpirits of an horfe, during a whole day's labour in one of the Weft-India Iflands. A larger quantity given alone, has fattened horfes and cattle during the war before laft in Hifpaniola, for a period of feveral months, in which the exportation of fugar, and the importation of grain, were prevented by the want of fliips. 2. Tiie plentiful ufe of fugar in diet, is one cf the beft preventives that has ever been difcovered of the difeafes which are produced by worms. The Author of Nature feems to have implanted a love for this ali- ment in all children, as if it were on purpofe to defend them from thofe difeafes. I know a gentleman in Philadelphia, who early adopted this opinion, and who by indulging a large family of children, in the ufe of fugar, has preferved them all from the difeafes ufually occafioned by worms. 3. Sir John Pringle has remarked, that the plague has never been known in any country where fugar compofes a material part of the diet of the inhabitants. I think it probable, that the frequency of malignant fevers of all kinds has been lefkned by this diet, and that its more general ufe would defend that clafs of people, who are molt fubjea to malignant fevers, from being fo often affiled by them. THE SUGAR MAPLE-TRE2. *9l 4. Iii the numerous and frequent diforders of the- breaft, which occur in all countries, where the body is expofed to a variable temperature of weather, fugar affords the bafis of many agreeable remedies. It is ufeful in weakneffes, and acrid de fluxions upon other parts of the body. Many faas might be adduced in favor of this aifertion. I fliall mention only one, which from the venerable name of the perfon, whofe cafe furnifhed it, cannot fail of commanding atten- tion and credit. Upon my enquiring of Dr. Frank- lin, at the requeft of a friend, about a year before he died, whether he had found any relief from the pain of the (lone, from the Blackberry Jam, of which he took large quantities, he told me that he had, but that he believed the medicinal part of the jam, refided wholly in the fugar, and as a reafon for think- ing fo, he added, that he often found the fame relief, by taking about halt a pint of a fyrup, prepared by boiling a little brown fugar in water, juft before he went to bed, that he did from a defe of opium. It has been fuppofed by fome of the early phyficians of our country, that the fugar obtained from the maple tree, is more medicinal, than that obtained from the Weft-India fugar cane, but this opinion I believe is without foundation. It is preferable in its qualities to the Weft-India fugar only from its fuperior ckanli- nefs. Cafes may occur in which fugar may be required in medicine, or in diet, by perfons who refute to he lot AN ACCOUNT 01 benefited, even indireaiy by the labour of flaves. In fuch cafes, the innocent maple fugar will always be pre- ferred*. It has been faid, that fugar injures the teeth, but this opinion now has fo few advocates, that it doe* not deferve a ferious refutation. To tranfmit to future generations, all the advan- tages which have been enumerated from the maple tree, it will be neceffary to protea it by law, or by a bounty upon the maple fugar, from being deftroyed by the fettlers in the maple country, or to tranfplant it from the woods, and cultivate it in the old and improved parts of the United States. An orchard confifting of 200 trees, planted upon a common farm would yield more than the fame number of apple trees, at a diftance from a market town. A full grown tree in the woods yields five pounds of fugar a year. If a greater expofure of a tree to the aaion of the fun, has the fame effeas upon the maple, that it has upon other trees, ^ larger quantity of fugar might reafonably be expeaed from each tree planted in an orchard. Allowing it to be only feven pounds, then 200 trees will yield 1400 pounds of fugar, and deduaing 200 from the quantity, for the confumption of the family, * Dr. Knowles,a phyfician of worthy character in London, had occafion to recommend a diet to a patient, of which fugar compofed a material part. His patient refufed to fubmit to his prefcription,and gave as a reafon for it, that he had witnefltd fo much of the onpvcflion and cruelly which were exerchc .'. ucon the flaves, who rrade the fugar, that he had made a vow never to tafte the roduft of their mifery as long as he lived THE SUGAR MAPLE-TREE. JOj there will remain for fale 1200 pounds which at 6-9* of a dollar per pound will yield an annual profit to the farmer of 80 dollars. But if it fhould be found that the fhade of the maple does not check the growth of grain any more than it does of grafs, double or treble that number of maple trees may be plant- ed »n every farm, and a profit proportioned to the above calculation be derived from them. Should this mode of tranfplanting the means of obtaining fugar be fuccefsful, it will not be a new one. The fugar cane of the Weft-Indies> was brought originally from the Eaft-Indics, by the Portuguefe, and cultivated at Madeira, from whence it was tranfplanted direaiy or indireaiy, to all the fugar Iflands of the Weft-Indies. It were to be wifhed, that the fettlers upon the fu- gar maple lands, would fpare the fugar tree in clearing their lands, On a farm of 200 acres of land, accor- ding to our former calculation, there are ufually 6,00© maple trees. If only 2,000 of thofe original and ancient inhabitants of the woods, were fuffered to remain, and each tree were to afford only five pounds of fugar, the annual profit of fuch a farm in fugar alone, at the price formerly mentioned, would amount to 666 dollars, 150 dollars of which would probably more than defray all the expenfes of making it, and allow a plentiful deduaion for family ufe. According to the ufual annual profit of a fugar ma- ple tree, each tree is worth to a farmer, two dollars and 2-3 of a dollar; exclufive therefore of the value 294 AN ACCOUNT OF THE SUGAR MAPLE-TREE. of his farm, the 2,000 fugar maple trees alone confer .-■: value upon it of 5,330 dollars and 33-90 of a dollar. It is faid, that the fugar trees when deprived of the fhelter and fupport they derive from other foreft tr :es, are liable to be blown down, occafioned by their growing in a rich, and of courfe a loofe foil. To obviate this, it will only be neceflary to cut off fome of their branches, fo as to alter its center of gravity, and to allow the high winds to have an eafy paffage through them. Orchards of fugar maple trees, which grow with an original expofure of all their parts to the aaion of the fun, will not be liable to this in- convenience. In contemplating the prefent opening profpeas in human affairs, I am led to expea that a material fliare of the happinefs, which Heaven feems to have prepaT red for a part of mankind, will be derived from the manufaaory and general ufe of maple fugar, for the benefits which I flatter myfelf are to refult from it, will not be confined to our own country. They will, I hop?, extend themfelves to the interefts of humanity in the Weft-Indies. With this view of the fubjea of this letter, I cannot help contemplating a fugar ma- ple tree with a fpecies of affeaion and even venerations for I lave perfuaded myfelf, to behold in it the happy means of rendering the commerce and flavery of our African brethren, in the fugar Iflands as unneceffary, as it has always been inhuman and unjint. From, dear Sir, your fincere friend, July 10th 1791. BENJAMIN RUSH. An account of the life and death of Edward Drinkpr, who died on the 17TH of November, 1781, IN THE 103 YEAR OF HIS AGE. EDWARD DRINKER was born on the 24th of December, 1680, in a fmall cab- bin, near the prefent corner of Walnut and Second- ftreets, in the city of Philadelphia. His parents came from a place called Beverly, in the ftate Maffachufetts. The banks of the Delaware, on which the city of Philadelphia now ftands, were inhabited, at the time of his birth, by Indians, and a few Swedes and Hol- landers. He often talked to his companions of pick- ing whortle berries and catching rabbits, on fpots now the moft improved and populous in the city. He recolkaed the focond time William Penn came to Pennfylvania, and ufed to point to the place where the cabbin flood, in which he, and his friends, that accompanied him, were accommodated upon their arri- val. At twelve years of age, he went to Boftcn, where he fervedhis'apprenticeship to a-cabinet maker. In the year 1745, he returned to Philadelphia, wih his family, where he lived until the time of his death. He was four times married, and had eighteen children, all of whom were by his firft wit-. At one time of his life, he fat down, at his own tabic, with fourteen children. Not ion- before his death he heard of the 2^6 AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AN*) bEATH birth of a grand-child, to one of his grandchildren, the fifth in fucceffion to himfelf. He retained all his faculties till the laft year of his life. Even his memory, fo early and fo generally dimini- shed by age was but little impaired. He not only remembered the incidents of his childhood and youth*, but the events of latter years 5 and fo faithful was his memory to him, that his fon has informed me he ne- ver heard him tell the fame ftory twice, but to different perfons, and in different companies. His eye-fight * It is remarkable that the incidents of childhood and youth are fel- dom remembered or called forth until old age. I have fometimes been led, from this and other circumftances, to fufpett that nothing ii tver loll that is lodged in the memory, however it may be buried for a time by a variety of caufes, How often do we find the tranfaftions of early life, which we had reafon to fuppofe were loft from the mind for ever, revived in our memories by certain accidental fights or founds, particularly by certain notes or airs in mufics. I have known a young man fpeak French fluently when drunk, that could not put two fenfences of that language together, when fober. He had been taught it perfectly, when a boy, but had forgotten it from difufe. A French countefs was iiurfcd by a WeKh woman, from whom fhe learned to fp^ak her language, which fhe foon forgot, after ihe had acquired the French, which was her mother tongue. In the delirium of a fever, many years afterwards, (he was heard to mutter words which none of her family or attendants under- ftood. An bid Welfh woman came to fee her, who foon perceived that the founds which were fo unintelligible to the family, were the Welfh lan- guage. When (he recovered, fhe could not recoiled a fingle word of the language, fhe had fpoken in her ficknefs. I can conceive great advantages-may be derived from this retentive power in our memories, in the advancement of the mind towards perfection in knowledge ff» cflsntial to i:s happinefi) in a future world. DEATH OF EDWARD DRINKER. 297 failed him, many years before his death, but his hearing was uniformly perfea and unimpaired. His appetite was good till within a few days before his death. He generally ate a hearty breakfaft of a pint of tea 6r coffee, as foon as he got out of his bed, with bread and butter in proportion. He ate likewife at eleven o'clock, and never failed to eat plentifully at dinner of the groffefl folid food. He drank tea, in the even- ing, but never ate any fupper : he had loft all his teeth thirty years before his death, which was occafioned, his fon fays, by drawing exceffive hot fmoke of tobacco into his mouth: but the want of fuitable maftication of his food, did not prevent its fpeedy digeftion, nor impair his health. Whether the gums, hardened by age, fupplied the place of his teeth in a certain degree, or whether the juices of the mouth and ftomach be- came fo much more acrid by time, as to perform the office of diffolvmg the food more fpeedily and more perfeaiy, I know not, but I have often obferved, that old people are moft difpofed to excessive eating, and that they fuffer feweft inconveniences from it. He was inquifitive after news in the laft years of his life. ' His education did not lead him to increafe the ftock of his ideas any other way. But it is a faa well worth attending to, that old age, inftead of diminifh- ing, always increafes the defire of knowledge. It muft afford fome confolation to thofe who expea to be old, to difcover, that the infirmities to which the decays of nature expofe the human body, are rendered more 2p8 AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND tolerable by the enjoyments that are to be derived from the appetite for fenfual and intelkaual food. He was remarkably fober and temperate. Neither hard labour, nor company, nor the ufual affliaions of human life, nor the waftes of nature, ever led him to an improper or exceffive ufe of flrong drink. For the laft twenty-five years of his life, he drank twice every day of toddy, made with two table fpoonfuls of fpirit, in half a pint of water. His fon, a man of fifty-nine years of age, told me that he had never feen him intoxicated. The time and manner in which he ufed fpirituous liquors, I believe, contri- buted to lighten the weight of his years, and proba- bly to prolong his life. " Give wine to him that is " of a heavy heatt, and flrong drink to him that is " ready to perifh with age, as well as with ficknefs. «' Let him drink and forget his forrow, and remember " his mifery no more." He enjoyed an uncommon fhare of health, infomuch that in the courfe of his long life he never was confined more than three days to his bed. He often declared that he had no idea of that moft diftrefling pain called the head ache. His fleep was interrupted a little in the laft years of his life with a defluxion on his breaft, which produced what is commonly called the old man's cough. The charaaer of this aged citizen was not fummed up in his negative quality of temperance : he was a DEATH OF EDWARD DRINKER. 2QQ man of the moft amiable temper : old age had not curdled his blood ; he was uniformly chearful and kind to every body ; his religious principles were as fteady as his morals were pure. He attended puoiic worfhip about thirty years in the Rev. Dr. Sproat's church, and died in a full affurance of a happy immortality. The life of this man is marked 'with feveral circum- ftances, which perhaps have feldom occured in the life of an individual events. He faw and heard more of thofe events which are meafured by time, than have ever been feen or heard by any mane fince the ageof the patriarchs ; he faw the fame fpot of earth, which at one period of his life, was covered with wood and bufhes, and the receptacle of beafts and birds of prey, afterwards become the feat of a city not only the firft in wealth and arts in the new, but rivalling in both, many of the firft cities in the old world. He faw regular ftreets where he once purfued a hare: he faw churches rifing upon moiaffes, where he had often heard the croaking of frogs ; he faw wharfs and warehoufcs, where he had often feen Indian favages draw fifh from the river for their daily fubfiftence ; and he faw fhips of every fize arid ufe in thofe ftreams, where he had often feen nothing but Indian canoes; he faw a flately edifice filled with legiflators, aftonifli- ing the world with their wifdom and virtue, on the fame fpot, probably, where he had feen an Indian council fire; he faw the firft treaty ratified between the newly cenfederated powers of America and the 300 AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE, &C. ancient monarchy of France, with all the formalities of parchment and feals, on the fame fpot, probably, where he once faw William Penn ratify his firft and laft treaty with the Indians, without the formality of pen, ink or paper; he faw all the intermediate ftages through which a people pafs, from the moft fimple to the higheft degrees of civilization. He faw the beginning and end of the empire of Great-Britain, in Pennfylvania. He had been the fubjea of feven fucceffive crowned heads, and afterwards became a willing citizen of a republic ; for he embraced the li- berties and independence of America in his withered arms, and triumphed in the laft years of his life in the falvation of his country. Remarxable circumstances inthe constitution and life of ann woods, an old woman of 96 years of age. IN the fummer of the year 1788, while I was engaged in colkaing the faas upon the fubjea of old age, which I have fince publifhed,* a poor woman came to my houfe to beg for cold vic- tuals. Perceiving by her countenance, and the floop in her walk, that fhe was very old, I requefted her to fit down by me, while I recorded the following information, which I received from her, and which was confirmed to me a few days afterwards, by one of her daughters with whom fhe lived. Her name was Ann Woods. Her age at that time was 06. She was born in Herefordshire, in England, and came to this city when fhe was but ten years old, where flie # had lived ever fince. She had been twice married. By her firft husband Wm. Dickfon, fhe had nine chil- dren, four of whom were then living. By her fecond hufband Jofeph Woods, whom fhe married after fhe was fixty years old, fhe had one child, born within ten months after her marriage. There were inter- vals of two and nearly three years between each of her children. Three died foon after weaning them at the ufual age in which children are taken from * Meiical Enquiries and Obfervations. vol. a. 3°2 AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND the bread. This led her to fuckle her other children during the whole time of her pregnancy, and in feveral inftances, fhe fuckkd two of them, born in fucceffion to each other, ^t the fame time. One of her children by her firft hufband, fucked until it was five years old. Her menfes appeared between her nineteenth and twentieth years and continued with- out any intermiflion, except during her pregnancy and eleven months after the birth of each of her children, until fhe was eighty years of age. At the time I faw her, fhe heard tolerably well, but her fight was loft in one eye, and was weak in the other. She loft all her teeth when fhe was between fifty and fixty years of age. Her hair became grey when fhe was between forty and fifty. Her fleep was not found, owing to her having been affliaed with the Rheuma- tifm, a difeafe which was brought on her by the alternate heat and cold to which fhe had expofed herfeif, by following the bufinefs of a wafher woman for many years. She had had feveral attacks of the intermitting fever, and of the Pkurify in the courfe of her life, and was much affliaed with the Head-ache after her menfes ceafed. She had been frequently bled while affliaed with the above difeafes. Her diet was fimple, confifting chiefly of weak tea, milk, cheefe, butter and vegetables. Meat of all kinds, except veal, difagreed with her ftomach. She found great benefit from frequently changing her aliment. Her drinks were water, cyder and Water, molaffes and vinegar in CONSTITUTION OF ANN WOODS. 303 water. She had never ufed fpirits. Her memory was but little impaired. She was cheerful and thank- ful that her condition in life was happier than hund- reds of other old people. From the hiftory of this old woman's conftitution and manner of life, the following obfervations will naturally occur to the reader. 1. That there is a great latitude in the time in which the menfes ceafe. It is more common for them in their excentricities, to difappear at the ufual time, arid to return in extreme old age. In the year 1795, I faw a cafe of this kind in a woman of feven- ty years of age in the Pennfylvania hofpital. 2. There is a great latitude in the time in which women bear children. Many children are born be- tween fifty and fixty, but very few I believe beyond fixty. 3. It appears from the hiftory that has been given, that acute and chronic difeafes if oppofed by tempe- rance and fuitable remedies, do not necefsarily shorten the duration of human life. 4. That child-bearing, and fuckling children, do not materially affea health, or longevity, where their effeas are oppofed by temperance and moderate labor. 5. That the evils of life are feldom fo numerous, as not to leave room for thankfulnefs for an exemption 3^4 AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE, &C from a great deal of mifery. This poor woman did not complain of her weaknefs, pains or poverty. On the contrary, fhe appeared thankful under all the affliaions of her life. While the indolent are com- manded by the wife man to go to the ant to learn Induftry, thofe perfons who abound with all the external means of happinefs, and at the fame time complain of the moral government of our world, may be invited to fit down by the fide of Ann Woods, and karn from the example of her gratitude to heaven, for a fingle drop of divine goodneis, to render unceafing thanks for the ocean of bkffings they derive from the fame fource. Biographical anecdotes of Benjamain Lay. THERE was a time whea the name of this celebrated Chriftian Philofopher, was fami- liar to every man, woman and to nearly every child, in Pennfylvania.—His fize, which was not much above four feet, his drefs, which was always the fame, confifting of light-coloured plain clothes, a white hat, and half-boots ;—his milk white beard, which hung upon his breaft; and, above all, his peculiar princi- ples and condua, rendered him to many, an objea of admiration, and to all, the fubjea of converfation.— He was born in England, and fpent the early part of his life at fea. His firft fettkment was in Barbadoes, as a merchant, where he was foon con- vinced of the iniquity of the Have trade. He bore an open testimony againft it, in all companies, by which means he rendered himfelf fo unpopular, that he left the ifland in difguft, and fettled in the then province of Pennfylvania. > He fixed his home at Abington, ten miles from Philadelphia, from whence he made frequent excurfions to the city, and to different parts of the country.— At the time of his arrival in Pennfylvania, he found many of his brethren, the people called Quakers, had fallen fo far from their original principles, as to Rr 306 SlOGRAPHICAL ANECDOTES OF keep negro flaves. He remonftrated with them, both publickly and .privately, againft the praaice ; but, frequently with fo much indifcreet zeal, as to give great offence. He often difturbed their public meet- ings, by interrupting or oppofing their preachers, for which he was once carried out of a meeting-houfe, by two or three friends.—Upon this occafion he fubmit- ted with patience to what he confidered a fpecies of perfeeution.—He lay down at the door of the meetlng- houfe, in a fhower of rain, till divine worfhip was ended; nor could he be prevailed upon to rife, till the whole congregation had ftepped over him in their way to their refpraive homes. — To fhew nis indignation againft the praaice of flave-keeping, he once carried a bladder filled with blood into a meeting; and, in the prefence of the whole congregation, thruft a fword, which he had con- cealed under his coat, into the bladder, exclaiming, at the fame time, " Thus fhall God fhed the blood « of thofe perfons who enflave their fellow crea- " tures." The terror of this extravagant and uncx- peaed aa, produced fwoonings in feveral of the women of the congregation.— He once went into the houfe of a friend in Phila- delphia, and found him feated at breakfaft, with his family around him. Being afked by him to fit down and breakfaft with them, he faid, " Doft thou keep 11 flaves in thy houfe?" "Upon being anfwered in the BENJAMIN LAY. 3©7 affirmative, he faid, « Then I will not partake with '« thee, of the fruits of thy unrightecufnefs." He took great pains to convince a farmer and his wife, in Chefter county, of the iniquity of keeping negro flaves, but to no purpofe. They not only kept their flaves, but defended the praaice. One day he went into their houfe, and after a fhort difcourfe with them upon the wickednefs, and particularly the inhumanity of feparating children from their parents, which was involved in the flave trade, he feized the only child of the family, (a little girl about three years old) and pretended to run away with her.—The child cried bitterly, " I will be good,—I will be good," and the parents fhewed figns of oeing alarmed. Upon obferving this fcene, Mr. Lay faid, very em- phatically,—"You fee, and feel now a little of the " diftrefs you occafion every day, by the inhuman " praaice of flave-kccping." This fingular philofopher did not limit his pious teftimony againft vice, to flave-keeping alone. He was oppofed to every fpecies of extravagance. Upon the introduaion of tea, as an article of diet, into Pennfylvania, his wife bought a fmall quantity of it, with a fett of cups and fauccrs, and brought them home with her. Mr. Lay took them from her, brought them back again to the city, and from the balcony of the court-houfe foattered the tea, and broke the cups and faucers, in the prefence of many hundred fpeaa- tors, delivering, at the fame time, a ftriking lecture 3°5 BIOGRAPHICAL ANECDOTES OF upon the folly of preferring that foreign herb, with its expenfive appurtenances, to the fimple and whole- fome diet of our country. He poffeffed a good deal of wit, and was quick at rapartee. A citizen of Philadelphia, who knew his peculiarities, once met him in a croud, at a funeral, in Germantown. Being defirous of entering into a converfation with him that fhould divert the company, the citizen accofted him, with the moft refpeaful ceremony, and declared himfelf to be *' his moft humble fervant." " Art thou my fervant." faid Mr. Lay,—" Yes—I am" faid the citizen, " Then, foid Mr. Lay, (holding up his foot towards him,) clean this fhoe"—This unexpeaed reply turned die laugh upon the citizen. Being defirous of recovering him- felf in the opinion of the company, he afked him to inftrua him in the way to heaven. " Daft thou in- « deed wifh to be taught," faid Mr. La\. " I do," faid the citizen. " Then," faid Mr. Lay, " Do juftice will overbalance all the pleafures he ever enjoyT i( ed in his life—ant1, that for every aa cf unneceffary " feverity he inflict; upon his flaves, he fliall fuffer " tenfold in tL^ world to ccme." A DREAM. 3'$ He had hardly finifhed his tale, when a decent looking woman came forward, and addreffed me in the following language.—Sir, ' « I was once the flave of Mr. ----, in the ftate « of----. From the healthinefs of my conftitution, I '« was called upon to fuckle my Mafter's eldeft fon. To " enable me to perform this office more effeaually, " my own child was taken from my breaft, and foon « afterwards died. My affeaions in the firft emo- " tions of my grief, fattened themfelves upon my in- " fant mafter. He thrived under my care and grew up « a handfome young man. Upon the death of his « father, I became his property.—Soon after this « event, he loft i ool. at cards. To raife this money « I was fold to a planter in a neighbouring ftate. « I can never forget the anguifh, with which my " aged father and mother followed me to the end of « the lane, when I left my mafter's houfe, and hung « upon me, when they bid me farewell." « My new mafter obliged me to work in the field ; ct the confequence of which was, I caught a fever « which in a few weeks ended my life. Say, my «« friend, is my firft young mafter ftill alive? -If „ he is—go to him, and tell him, Ins unkind « behaviour to me is upon record agaiaft him. The « gentle fpirits in heaven, whofe happinefs confifts « in expreflions of gratitude and love, will have ro « fellowship with him.—His foul muft be melted with 323 PAR-ADIJE OF NEGRO SLAVES, &C. ct pity, or he can -rfeyer'efcape the punifliment which " awaits the hard:hearj£d, equally with the impenitent, " in the regions of'mifery." As fqon as fhe had finifhed her ftory, a middle aged wo'man approached me, and after a low and refpeaful curtfey, thus addreffed me. " Sir I was born^and educated in a chriftian family " in one of the foiutrierii ftates of America. In the " thirty-third year of my age, I applied to my mafter " to purchafe my freedom. Inftead of granting my * requeft, he conveyed me by force on board of a veffel .\ • An eulogium uroN done more bufinefs ; but I have never read, nor heard of a man, who mingled more ftudy and bufinefs together; He lived by rule, without fubjeaing himfelf to the flavery-of forms. lie was always employed, but never ina hurry ; and amidft the numerous and complicated avocations of ftudy and bufinefs, he appeared to enjoy the pkafure of fociety, as if company-keeping,and con- verfation were the only bufinefs of his life. I fliall mention but one more trait in the charaaer of Dr. Culkn, and that is, that he wes diftinguifhed by no one Angularity of behaviourfrom other men. It n> true he flood alone ; but this Angularity was occasioned, not by his quitting the fociety of his fellow-men by walking-on their left, or right fide, but by his walking before them. Eccentricities in behaviour are the off- fpring of a lively fancy only, but order is infeparably conneaed with real genius. The aaions cf the former may be compared to the crooked flafh of diftant light- ning, while the latter refembles in its movements the Heady revolutions of the heavenly bodies. In reviewing the charaaer which has been given of Dr. Culkn, I am forced to make a fhort digreflion, while I do homage to the profeffion cf phyfic by a fin- gle remark. So great are the bkffings which mankind derive from it, that if every other argument failed to prove the administration of a providence In human affairs, the profeffion of medicine alone would be fuiTicient for that puipofe. Who can think of the ta- lents, virtues, and fervices of Dr. Cuiien. without be- DR. WILLIAM CULLEN. 335 lievin^ that the Creator oi the world delights in the happinefs of his creatures, and that his tender mer- cies are over all his works! For the information of fuch of the members of our college as have not feen Dr. Culkn, it may not be improper to add the following defcription of his per- fon. He was tall, flender, and had a ftoop in his ftiDulders ; his face was long ; his under lip protruded a little beyond the upper ; his nofe was large, and inclined to a point downwards ; his eye, which was of a blue color, was penetrating, but foft; and over his whok face was diffufed an air of mildnefs and thought, which was ftrongly characteristic of the conftant temper and operations of hi s mind. It pkafed God to prolong his life to a good old age. He lived near 78 years. He lived to demonftrate how much the duration of all the faculties of the mind de- pends upon their conftant exercife. He lived to teach his brethren by his example, that the obligations to ac- quire and communicate knowledge, fhould ceafe only with health and life; and lastly, he lived to reap the fruits of his labors in the moft extenfive fame; for not only his pupils, and his works, had conveyed his re- putation; butcanvafs, paper, and clay, had borne e- ven the image of his perfon to every quarter of the globe. The public papers, as well as private letters, inform us, that he furvived his ufefulnefs but a few months. He refigned his profefforfhip in the autumn of 1789, 336 AN EULOGIUM UPON on account of bodily weaknefs, and died in the month of January of the prefent year; a year fatal to the pride of man; for this year Franklin and Howard, as well as Culkn, have mingled with the duft. During the interval between his refignation and his death he receiv- ed the moft affeaionate marks of public and private refpea. The city of Edinburgh voted him their thanks, and prefented him with a piece of plate. This inftance of public gratitude deferves our particular attention, as it is more common for cities to treat their eminent li- terary charaaers with negka during their lives, and centuries afterwards to contend for die honor of hav- ing given them birds. The different medical focieties of Edinburgh followed him to his chamber with ad- drefles full of gratitude and affeaion. In mentioning thefe faas, I am led to contemplate the venerable fub- jea of our praifes in a fituation truly folemn and inte„ refting. tIow pregnant with inftruaion is the death- bed of a phyfician, who has fpent a long life in exten- five and fuccefsful praaice! If the forrows we have relieved are the fureft fupport in our own, how great muft have been the confolation which Dr. Culkn de- rived, in his laft hours, from a review of his aaive and ufeful life! How many fathers and mothers, hufbands and wives, brothers and fitters, whofe tears he had wiped away by averting the ftroke of death from the objeas of their affoaions, muft have prefented them- felves to his imagination, and foothed his foul with grateful prayers for his eternal welfare! But the retrof. pea of the fervices he had rendered to his fellow-crea- DR. WILLIAM CULLBN. 337 tures, was not confined to the limits of his extenfive bufinefs in the city of Edinburgh. While the illustri- ous aaions of moft men may be viewed with a naked eye, the atchievements of Dr. Culkn in'the diftant re- gions of humanity and fcience, can only be perceived by the help of a tekfcope. Let us apply this inftrument to difcover his exploits of beneficence in every quarter of the world. He had filled the capitals, and moft of the towns of Great Britain and Ireland with eminent phyficians. Many of his pupils had arrived at the firft honors in their profeffion in the principal cities on the continent of Europe. Many of them had extended the bleffings of his improvements in the principles and prac- tice of medicine, to every British fettlement in the Eaft and Weft Indies, and to every free ftate in America. But the fum of his ufefulnefs did not end here. He had taught the different profeffors in tbc Univerfity of Pennfylvania, the art of teaching others the moft fuc- cefsful methods of curing difeafes, and thereby he had conveyed the benefits of his difcoveries into every part of the United States. How great was the mafs of fuch accumulated beneficence ! and how fublime muft have been the pkafure which the review of it created in his mind! Had it been poffibk for the merit of fuch exten- five and complicated fervices to mankind to have refcu- ed one mortal from the grave, Dr. Culkn had never di- ed. But the decree of death is univerfal, and even the healing art, is finally of no effea in faving the lives of X x 338 AN EULOGIUM UPON thofe who have exercifed it with the moft fuccefs in faving the lives of others. Dr. Cullei^ is now no more. What, a blank has been produced by his death in the great volume of Science ! Behold ! The genius of humanity weep- ing at his feet, while the genius of medicine lifts up the key, which fell.from his hand with his laft breath, and with inexpreflible concern, cries out, " to whom fhall I give this instrument ? Who now will unlock for me the treafores of univerfal nature ?" Venerable Shade, adieu ! What though thy Amer- ican pupils were denied the melancholy pkafure of following thee from thy Profeffor's-chair to thy fick bed, with their effufions of gratitude, and praife ! What though we did not fhare in the grief of thy funeral obfequies, and though we fhall never bedew with our tears the fplendid monument which thy affeaionate and grateful British pupils have decreed for thee in the metropolis of thy native country ; yet the remembrance of thy talents and virtues, fhall be preferved in each of our bofoms, and never fliall we return in triumph from beholding the efficacy of medicine in curing a difeafe, without feeling our obligations for the inftruaions we have derived from thee ! I repeat it again, Dr. Culkn is now no more---- No more, I mean, a pillar and ornament of an an- cient feat of fcience—no more, the delight and ad- DR. WILLIAM CULLEN. 339 tnintion of his pupils—no more the luminary of medicine to half the globe—no more the friend and benefaaor of mankind-----But I would as foon be- lieve that our folar fyftem was created only to amufe and penfh like a rocket, as believe that a mind endowed with fuch immenfe powers of aaion and contemplation had ceafed to exift. Reafon bids us hope that he will yet live—And Revelation ena- bles us to fay, with certainty and confidence, that he fhall again live.-----Fain would I lift the curtain which feparates eternity from time, and inquire---- But it is not for mortals to pry into the fecrets of the invifible world. Such was the man whofe memory we have en- deavoured to celebrate. He lived for our benefit. It remains only that we improve the event of his death in fuch a manner, that he may die for our benefit likewife. For this purpofe I fliall finifh our Eulogium with the following obfervations. I. Let us learn from the charaaer of Dr. Culkn duly to eftimate our profeffion. While Aftronomy claims a Newton, and Ekaricity a Franklin, Medi- cine has been equally honoured by having employ- ed the genius of a Culkn. Whenever therefore we feel ourfelves difpofed to relax in our ftudies, to ufe our profeffion for felfifti purpofes, or to negka the poor, let us recolka how much we leffen the dignity which Dr. Culkn has conferred upon our profeffion. ;J4* AN EULOGIUM UPON II. By the death of Dr. -Culkn the republic of medicine has loft one of its moft diftinguifhed and ufeful members. It is incumbent upon us therefore to double our diligence in order to fupply the lofs of our Indefatigable fellow-citizen. That phyfician has lived to little purpofe, who does not leave his profeffion in a more improved ftate than he found it. Let us remember, that our obligations to add fomething to the capital of medical knowledge, are equally binding with our obligations to praaife the virtues of integrity and humanity in our intercourfe with our patients. Let no ufeful faa therefore, however inconfiderable it may appear, be kept back from the public eye; for there are mites in fcience as well as in charity, and the remote confequences of both are often alike important and beneficial. Faas are the morality of medicine. They are the fame in all ages and in all countries. They have preferved the works of the immortal Sy- denham from being deftroyed by their mixture with his abfurd theories ; and Under all ths revolutions in fyftems that will probably take place hereafter, the faas which are contained in Dr. Cullen's works, will conftitute the beft fecurity for their fafe and grateful 'reception by future ages. III. Human nattire is ever prone to extremes. While we celebrate the praifes of Dr. Culkn, let us cake care left we check a fpirit of free inquiry, by too DR. WILLIAM CULLEN. 34* great a regard for his authority in medicine. I well remember an obfervation fuited to our prefent purpofe which he delivered in his introduaion to a courfe of kaures on the Inftitutes of Medicine in the year 1766. After fpeaking of the long continued and extenfive empire of Galen in the fchools of phyfic, he faid, " It *' is a great difadvantage to any fcience to have been « improved by a great man. His authority impofes " indolence, timidity, or idolatry upon all who come " after him."—Let us avoid thefe evils in our venera- tion for Dr. Culkn. To believe in great men, is often as great an obftacle to the progrefs of knowledge, as to believe in witches and conjurers. It is the image worfhip of fcience ; for error is as much an attribute of man, as the defire of happinefs; and I think I have obferved, that the errors of great men partake of the dimenfions of their minds, and are often of a greater magnitude than the errors of men of inferior under- standing. Dr. Brown has proved the imperfoaion of human genius, by extending fome parts of Dr. Cullen's fyftem of phyfic, and by correaing fome of its defies. But he has left much to be done by his fucceffors. He has even bequeathed to them the labor of removing the errors he has introduced into medicine by his ne- -gka of an important principle in the animal cecono- my, and by his ignorance of the histories and fymp- toms of difeafes. Perhaps no fyftem of medicine can be perfoa, while there exifts a fingle difeafe which we do not know, or cannot cure. If this be true, then a 34* ''N EULOGIUM UPON complete fyftem of medicine cannot be formed, till America has furnished defcriptions and cures of all her peculiar difeafes. The United States have improv- ed the fcience of civil government. The frvJedom of our conftitutions, by imparting vigor and indepen- dence to the mind, is favourable to bold and original thinking upon all fubjeas. Let us avail ourfelves therefore of this political aid to our refearches, and endeavour to obtain hiitories and cures of all our dif- eafes, that we may thereby contribute our part to- wards the formation of a complete fyftem of medicine. As a religion of fome kind is abfolutely neceffary to promote morals; fo fyftems of medicine of fome kind, are equally neceffary to produce a regular mode of praaice. They are not only neceffary, but unavoida- ble in medicine; for no phyfician, nay more, no empire, praaices without them. The prefent is an age of great improvement. While the application of reafon to the fciences of government and religion, is daily meliorating the condition of man- kind, it is agreeable to obferve the influence of medi- cine, in kffening human mifery, by abating the mor- tality or violence of many difeafes. The decrees of heaven appear to be fulfilling by natural means; artd if no ancient prophecies had declared it, the late nu-v merous difcoveries in medicine would authorize us to fay, that the time is approaching, when not only ty- ranny, diftord and fuperftition fliall ceafe from our world, but when difeafes fhall be unknown, or ceafe DR. WILLIAM CULLEN. 343 to be incurable; and when old age fhall be the only outlet of human life, il Thus heavenward all things tend." In that glorious sera, every dlfcovery in medicine fhall meet with its full reward; and the more abundant gra- titude of poftcrity to the name of Dr. Culkn; fhall then bury in oblivion the feeble attempt of this day to comply with your vote to perpetuate his fame. An e-ulogium upon David Rittenhouse, late President or the American Philosophical Society ; delivered be- fore THE SOCIETY IN THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN High-street, Philadelphia, on the 17TH December, I796, AGREEABLY TO APPOINTMENT, AND PUBLISHED AT THE RZQJUEtT OF THE SOCIETY, Gentlemen of the Philofophical Society. Friends and Colleagues, E are affembled this day upon a mournful occafion. Death has made an inroad upon our Society. Our illustrious and beloved Pre- sident, is no more. Rittenhousf, the ingenious, the modeft and the wife—Rittenhouse, the friend of God and man, is now no more!-------For this, the temple of Science is hung in mourning—for this, our eyes now drop a tributary tear. Nor do we weep alone.—The United St3tes of America fympathize in our grief, for his name gave a fpkndor to the American charaaer, and the friends of humanity in diftant parts w 344 -*N EULOGIUM UPON of the world, unite with us in lamenting our common lofs—for he belonged to the whole human race. By your vote to perpetuate the memory of this great and good man, you have made a laudable attempt to refcue philofophers from their humble rank in the hiftory of mankind. It is to them we owe our know- ledge and poffeffion of moft of the neceffaries and conveniences of life. To procure thefe bkffings for us, "they trim their midnight lamp, and hang o'er the fickly taper." For us, they traverfe diftant regions, expofe themfelves to the inclemencies of the weather, mingle with favages and beafts of prey, and in fome instances, evince their love of fcience and humanity by the sacrifice of their lives. The amiable philofopher whofe talents and virtues are to be the fubjea of the following eulogium, is entitled to an uncommon portion of our gratitude and praife. He acquired his knowledge at the expenfe of uncommon exertions, he performed fervices of uncom- mon difficulty, and finally he impaired his health, and probably fhortencd his life, by the ardor of his ftudies and labors for the benefit of mankind. In attempting to difcharge the difficult and painful duty you have affigned to me, it will be neceflary to give a fhort account of the life of Mr. Rittenhoufe, iuafmuch as feveral of the moft intcrefting parts of his charaaer are intimately conneaed with it. DAVID RITTENHOUSE. 345 The village of Germantown in the neighbourhood of this city, had the honor of giving birth to this dif- tinguifhed philofopher on the 8th day of April, in the year 1732. His anceftors migrated from Holland about the beginning of the prefent century. They were diftinguifhed, together with his parents, for probity, induftry, and fimple manners. It is from fources thus pure and retired, that thofe talents and virtues have been chiefly derived, which have in all ages enlightened the world. They prove by their hum- ble origin, that the Supreme Being has not furrendered up the direaion of human affairs to the advantages acquired by accident or vice, and they bear a conftant and faithful teftimony of his impartial goodnefs, by their neceffny and regular influence in equalizing the condition of mankind. This is the divine order of things, and every attempt to invert it, is a weak and unavailing effort to wreft the government of the world from the hands of God. The early part of the life of Mr. Rittenhoufe was fpent in agricultural employments under the eye of his father, in the county of Montgomery, twenty miles from Philadelphia, to which place he removed during the childhood of his Son. It was at this place his peculiar genius firft difcovered itfelf. His plough, the fences, and even the ftones of the field in which he worked, were frequently marked with figures which denoted a talent for mathematical ftudies. Upon 34^ AN EULOGIUM UPON finding that the native delicacy of his conftitution un- fitted him for the labors of hufbandry, his parents confented to his learning the trade of a clock and mathematical instrument maker. In acquiring the knowledge of thefe ufeful arts, he was his own inftruc- tor.—They afforded him great delight, inafmuch as they favoured his difpofition to inquire into the prin- ciples of natural philofophy.—Conftant employment of any kind, even in the praaice of the mechanical arts, has been found, in many inftances, to adminifter vigor to human genius. Franklin ftudied the laws of nature, while he handled his printing types. The father of Rouffeau, a jeweller at Geneva, became acquainted with the principles of national jurifprudence, by liften- ing to his fon while he read to him in his fliop, the works of Grotitis and Puffendorf; and Herfchel conceived the great idea of a new planet, while he exercifed the humble office of a mufician to a marching regiment. It was during the refidence of our ingenious philo- fopher. with his father in the country, that he made himfelf mafter of Sir Ifaac Newton's Principia, which he read in the Englifh tranflation of Mr. Mott. It was here likewife he became acquainted with the fci- ence of Fluxions, of which fublime invention he believed himfelf for a while to be the author, nor did he know for fome years afterwards, that a conteft had been carried on between Sir Ifaac Newton and Leibnitz, for the honor of that great and ufeful difcovery. What DAVID RITTENHOUSE. 347 a mind was here !---.-----Without literary friends or fociety, and with but two or three books, he became, before he had reached his four and twentieth year, the rival of the two greateft mathematicians in Europe! It was in this retired fituation, and while employed in working at his trade, that he planned and executed an orrery, in which he reprefentecl the revolutions of die heavenly bodies in a manner more extenfive and complete, than had been done by any former aftrono- mers. A correa defcription of this orrery drawn up by the Rev. Dr. Smith, is publifhed in the firft volume of our Tranfaaions. This mafter-piece of ingenious mechanifm was purchafed by the college of New-Jerfey. A fecond was made by him, after the fame model, for the ufe of the college of Philadelphia. It now forms part of the philofophical apparatus of the Univerfity of Pennfylvania, where it has for many years com- manded the admiration of the ingenious and the learned, from every part of the world. The reputation he derived from the conftruaion of this orrery, as well as his general charaaer for mathematical knowledge, attraaed the notice of his fellow-citizens in Pennfylvania, and in feveral of the neighbouring ftates, but the difcovery of his uncommon merit belonged chiefly to his brother-in-law, the Rev. Mr. Barton, Dr. Smith, and the late Mr. John Lukens, an ingenious mathematician of this city. Thefe gen- tlemen fully appreciated his talents, and united In 34& AM EULOGIUM UPON urging him to remove to Philadelphia, In order to enlarge his opportunities of improvement and ufeful- nefs. He yielded with reluaance to their advice, and exchanged his beloved retirement in the country for this city, in the year 1770. Here he continued for feveral years, to follow his occupation of a clock and mathematical inftrument maker. He excelled in both branches of that bufinefs. His mathematical inftru- ments have been efteemed by good judges to be fupe- rior in accuracy and workmanship to any of the fame kind that have been imported from Europe. About the time he fettled in Philadelphia, he became a member of our Society. His firft commu- nication to the Society was a calculation of the tranfit of Venus 2s it was to happen on the 3d of June, 1769, in 40° north latitude, and 5 hours weft longitude from Greenwich. He was one of a committee appointed by the Society to obfereve in the townfhip of Norri- ton, this rare occurence in the revolution, of that planet, and bore an active part in the preparations which were made for that purpofe. Of this Dr. Smith who was likewife of the committee, has left an honoura- ble rrccrd in the hiftory of that event which is pub- lifhed in the firft volume of the tranfaaions of our Society. " As Mr. Rittenhoufc's dwelling (fays the Doaor) is about twenty miles north weft from Phila- delphia ; our other engagements did not permit Mr. Lu- kei.s or myfelf to pay much attention to the neceflary preparations ; but we knew that we had intrufted ther» DAVID RITTENHOUSE. 349 to a gentleman on the fpot [meaning Mr. Rittenhoufe] who had, joined to a complete flcill in mechanics, fo extenfive an aftronomical, and mathematical know- ledge, that the ufe, management and even conftruc" tion of the apparatus, were perfeaiy familiar to him. The laudable pains he had taken in thefe material articles will beft appear from the work itfelf, which he hath committed into my hands, with a modeft introduaion, giving me a liberty with them, which his own accuracy, tafte and abilities leave no room to exercife. We are naturally led here to take a view of our philofopher with his aflbciates in their preparations to obferve a phaenomenon which had never been feen but twice before by any inhabitant of our earth, which would never be feen again by any perfon then living, and on which depended very important aftro- nomical confequences. The night before the long expeacd day, was probably paffed in a degree of folicitude which precluded fleep. How great muft have been their joy when they beheld the morning fun, " and the whok horizon without a cloud ;" for fuch is the defcription of the day given by Mr. Rittenhoufe in the report referred to by Dr Smith. In penfive filence, and trembling anxiety, they wait- ed for the prediaed moment of obfervation; it came, and brought with it all that had been wifhed for and expeaed by thofe who faw it. In our ohiiofoper, It excited in the inftant of one of the 35° AN EULOGIUM UPON contaas of the planet with the fun, an emotion of delight fo exqulfite and powerful, as to induce fainting. This will readily be believed by thofe who have known the extent of that pkafure which attends the difcovery, or firft perception of truth. Soon after this event, we find him aaing as one of a com- mittee appointed to obferve the tranfit of Mercury on the 9th of November in the fame year. This was likewife clone at Norriton, An account of it was drawn up, and publifhed at the requeft of the com- mittee by Dr. Smith. A minute hiftory of the whole of thefe events, in which Mr. Rittenhoufe continued to aa a diftinguifhed part, is given in our tranfaai- ons. It was received with great fatisfaaion by the aftronomers of Europe, and contributed much to raife the charaaer of our then infant country for aftronomical knowledge. In the year 1775, he was appointed to compofe and deliver the annual oration before our fociety. The fubjea of it, was the hiftory of aftronomy. The language of this oration is fimple, but the fentiments contained in it are ingenious, original, and in fome inftances fublime. It was delivered in a feeble voice, and without any of the advantages of oratory, but it commanded notwithftanding, the moft profound attention, and was followed by univerfal admiration and applaufe from a crouded and refpeaabk audience. From the contents of this oration, it appears that Aftronomy was the favourite objea of his ftudies. DAVID RITTENHOUSE. 35 I Attempts have been made to depreciate this branch of natural philofophy, by denying its utility, and ap- plication to human affairs.—The opinion is an unjuft one, and as it tends to convey a limited idea of the ta- lents of Mr. Rittenhoufe, I hope I fhall be excufed in faying a few words in favour of this fcience. It is to aftronomy we are indebted for our know- ledge of navigation, by which means the different parts of our globe have been difcovered, and afterwards cemented together by the mutual wants and obligations of commerce. It was aftronomy that taught mankind the art of prediaing and explaining eclipfes of the Sun and Moon, and thereby delivered them from the fuperftition which in the early ages of the world, was conneaed with thofe phenomena of nature. We are taught by aftronomy to correa our ideas of the vifibk heavens, and thus by difcovering the fallacy of the fimple evidence of our fenfes, to call to their aid, the ufe of our reafon, in deciding upon all material objeas of human knowledge. Aftronomy delivers the mind from a groveling attachment to the purfuits and pleafures of this world. « Take the mifer (fays our philofopher in his ora- tion) from the earth, if it be poffibk difengage him __he whofe nightly reft has been long broken by the lofs of a fingle foot of it, ufekfs perhaps to him ; and remove him to the planet Mars, one of the kaft 352 AN EULOGIUM U?ON diftant from us—Perfuade the ambitious monarch ta accompany him, who has facrificed the lives of thou- fmds of his fubjeas to an imaginary property in cer- tain fmall portions of the earth, and point out this earth to them, with all its kingdoms and wealth, a glittering ftar, clofe by the moon, the latter fcarce vifibk, and the former, lefs bright than our evening ftar.—They would turn away their difgufted fight from it, not thinking it worth their fmalieft atten- tion, and feek for confolation, in the gloomy regions of Mars.". Once more—the ftudy of aftronomy has the moft friendly influence upon morals, and religion. " Yes," (fays our philofopher in another part of his ora- tion) " the direa tendency of this fcience is to dilate the heart with univerfal benevolence, and to enlarge its views. It flatters no princely vice, nor national depravity. It encourages not the libertine by relaxing any of the precepts of morality, nor does it attempt to undermine the foundations of religion. It denies none of thofe attributes, which the wifeft and beft of mankind have in all ages afcribed to the Deity. Nor does it degrade the human mind from that dignity which Is ever neceffary to make it contemplate itfilf with complacency. None of thefe things does aftronomy pretend to, and if thefe things merit the 'name of philofophy, and the encouragement of a people, then kt fcepticifm flourish, and aftronomy lie negkaed.—Let the names of Barkley and Hum? DAVID RITTENHOUSE. 353 become immortal, and that of Newton be loft in ob- livion."— The following is a lift of fuch of Mr. Rittenhoufe's other publications as are contained in the three vo- lumes of our tranfaaions. Obfervations of the comet which appeared in June and July 1770, with the elements of its motion and the trajeaory of its path, In a letter to Dr. William Smith. An eafy method of deducing the true time of the fun's pafling the meridian, by means of a clock, from a comparifon of four equal attitudes, obferved on two fucceeding days, without the help of the equation tables, communicated by Dr. William Smith. An explanation of an opticle deception, namely, that the furfaces of bodies viewed through the double microfcope, fometimes appear to be reverfed, that is, thofe parts which are elevated feem depreffed, and the contrary. An account of a remarkable meteor obferved at Phi- ladelphia on the 31ft of Oaober, 1775, with fome conjeaures relative to the theory of meteors, in anfwer to a letter from John Page, Efq. giving an account of the fame meteor (een iu many diftant places in Virginia. Z z $£4 AN EULOGIUM* UPON Conjeaures, corroborated by experiments, native to a new theory of magnetifm ; in a letter to John Page, Efq. of Virginia. A new method of placing a meridian mark for a tranfit inftrument within a few feet of the obferyatory, fo as to have all the advantages of one placed at a great diftance; in a letter to the Rev. Dr. John Ewing. Obfervations on a comet difcovered in the month of January 1784. An explanation of a curious optical phamomenon, namely, if a candle or other luminous body be view- ed through a filk umbrella, handkerchief or the like, the luminous body will appear to be doubled ; in a letter to Francis Hopkinfon, Efq. A forks of obfervations made at fundry times in the years 1784, 85, and 86 on the new planet, or Georgium Sidus, alfo an obfervation of the tranfit of Mercury over the Sun's difk on the 12th of No- vember 1782. An account of three houfes in Philadelphia ftruck with lightning on the 7th of June 1789. An account of the effeas of a ftroke of lightning upon a houfe furnifhed with two metallic conduaors on the 17th of Auguft, 1789 ; in a letter to Mr. Robert Patterfon. DAVID RITTENHOUSE. 355 Aftronomical obfervations made at Philadelphia, containing an account of the eclipfe of the Moon on the 2d of November 1789. An account of the tranfit of Mercury over the Sun's diik, on the 5th of November 1789. An account of the eclipfe of the Sun, on the 6th. of November 1790, with an account of correfpond- ing obfervations, made at the univerfity of William and Mary, in Virginia, by Dr. J. Madifon, and at Washington college, in Maryland, by the Rev. Dr. Smith. Short, and elegant theorems for finding the fum of the feveral powers of the lines, either to a radius of unity, or any other; in a letter to Mr. Robert Paterfon. An account of a comet difcovered in the month of January 1793 ; in a letter to Mr. Robert Pattcrfon. Befides thefe publications, our fociety is in pof- feffion of the following communications from Mr. . Rittenhoufe, which are now in the prefs and will be fpeedily published in the fourth volume of our tranf- aaions. A method of determining the true plane of a planet in an eliptical form by converging forks, direaiy from the mean anomaly. A new and eafy method of calculating logarihims ; -in a letter to Mr. Rcbert Patterfon. 356 AN EULOGIUM UPON A defcription of an improvement on pendulum clocks, by which the error arifing from the different denfity, or refiftance of the medium in which the pendulum vibrates, is effcaually obviated. Laftly, experiments on the expanfion of wood by heat. Talents fo fpkndid, and knowledge fo praaical in mathematicks, are like mines of precious metals. They become public property by univerfal confent. The State of Pennfylvania was not infenfibk of the wealth fhe poffeffed in the mind of Mr. Rittenhoufe. She claimed him as her own, and employed him in bufinefs of the moft important nature. In the year 1779 he was appointed by the legif- lature of Pennfylvania, one of the commiffioners for adjufting a territorial difpute between Pennfylvania and Virginia, and to his talents, moderation and firmnefs, were afcribed in a great degree, the fatif- faaory termination, of that once alarming controverfy in the year 1785. In ^784 he affifted in determining the length of five degrees of longitude from a point on die Dela- ware, in order to fix the weftern limits of Penn- fylvania. In 1.786, he was employed in fixing the n- . thevn line which divides Pennfylvania from New-Te-rk. DAVID RITTENHOUSE. 357 But the application of his talents and knowledge to the fettkment of territorial difputes, was not con- fined to his native ftate. In the year 1769, he was employed in fettling the limits between New-Jerfey and New-York, and in 1787 he was called upon to affift in fixing the boundary line between the States of Maffachufetts and New-York. This laft bufinefs which was executed with his ufual precifion and integrity, was his fa'rewel peace offering to the union and happinefs of his country. In his excurfions through the wildernefs, he carried with him his habits of inquiry and obfervation. Nothing in our mountains, foils, rivers, and fprings efcaped his notice. It is to be lamented that his pri- vate letters, and the memories of his friends, are the only records of what he colkaed upon thefe occafi- ons. Phllofopher, or naturalift, whofoever thou art! that fhalt hereafter traverfe the unfrequented woods of our ftate, forget not to refpea the paths, firft marked by the feet of this ingenious, and faithful fervant of the public. Honour the fountains confecrated to fcience by his lialful hand, and inhale with double pkafure the pure atmofphere of the mountains, on which he renewed his acquaintance with the canopy of heaven, after paffing whole weeks in forefts fo fliady, as to conceal from him the rays of the fun. And citizens of Pennfylvania, friends and patrons of literature, be grateful for his fcrvices. Let the remembrance of them be dear to the prefent generation, and let a part 35* AN EULOGIUM UV'ON of the ftate diftinguifhed in a more efpecial manner for its refources in natural knowledge, bear his nan.z with honor to the lateft pofterity. In the year 1791, he was chofen fucceffor to Dr. Franklin in the chair of our fociety. In this elevated Station, the higheft that philofophy can confer in our country, his condua was marked by its ufual line of propriety and dignity. Never did the artificial pomp of ftation command half the refpea, which followed his unaffuming manners in the difcharge of the public duties of this office. You will often recolka, gentle- men, with a mixture of pkafure and pain, the delight- ful evenings you paffed in the fociety, every time lie prefided in your meetings. They were uniformly charaaerized by ardor in the purfuits of fcience, ur- banity and brotherly kindnefs. His attachment to the interefts of the fociety was evinced foon after he accept- ed cf the Prefident's chair, by a donation of three hun- dred pounds. But his talents and knowledge were not limited to mathematical or material fubjeas; his mind was a repof.tcry of the knowledge of all ages and countries. He had early and deeply studied moft of the divR-rent fyftems of theology. He was well acquainted with praaical metaphyncks. In reading travels he took great delight. From them, he drew a large fund of his knowledge of the n;u-;val hiftory of our globe. He poffeffed talents for mufic and pot fry, but il e mere fcrious and necefia;y purfuits cf his life, prevented his D"/ID RITTENHOUSE. 35^ devoting much time to the cultivation of them. He read the Englifli poets with great pkafure. The mufe oi" Thomfou charmed him moft. He admired his elegant combination of philofophy and poetry How- ever oppofed thefe ftudies may appear, they alike derive their perfeaion from extenfive and accurate obfervations of the works of nature. He was intimately acquainted with the French, German and Dutch languages, die two former of which he acquired without the affiftance of a mafter. They ferved the valuable purpofe of conveying to hirn the difcoveries of foreign nations, ar*d thereby enabled him to profecute his ftudies with more advantage, in his native language. In fpeaking of Mr. Rittenhoufe, it has been common to lament his want of what is called a liberal education. —Were education what it fliould be, in our public feminaries, this would have been a misfortune, but conduaed as it is at prefent, agreeably to the fyftems adopted inEaropein the fifteenth century, I am dif- pofed to believe that his extenfive knowledge, and fplen- did charaaer are to be afcribed chiefly to his having efcaped die pernicious influence of monkifh karning up- on his mind in early life. Had the ufual forms of a public education in the United States been impofed upon him; instead of revolving through life in a plane- tarv orbit, he would probably have confumed the force of his genius by fluttering around the blaze of an even- ing taper. Ritttenhoufe the philofopher, and one of the luminaries of the eighteenth century, might have fpent 3^0 AN EULOGIUM UPON his hours of ftudy in compofing fyllogifms, or in mea- furing the feet of Greek and Latin poetry. It will be honorable to the citizens of the United States, to add, that they were not infenfibk of the me- rit of our philofopher. Inventions and improvements in every art and fcience, were frequently fubmitted to his examination, and were afterwards patronifed by the public, according as they were approved of by him. Wherever he went, he met with pubiic refpea, nnd private attentions. But his reputation was not con- fined to his native country. His name was known and admired in every region of the earth, where fcience and genius are cultivated and refpeacd.* Such were the talents and knowledge, and fuch the fame, of our departed Prefident ! His virtues now demand our tribute of praife. —And here, I am iefs at a lofs to knew what to fay, than what to leave unfaid. We have hitherto beheld him as a philofopher, foaring like the eagle, until our eyes have been dazzled by his near approaches to the fun. We fhall now contemplate him at a lefs diftance, and behold him in the familiar, charaaer of a man, fulfilling his various duties, in their utmoft extent. If any thing has been faid of his * The degree of mafter of Arts was conferred upon him by the College of Philadelphia, in 1768. The fame degree vvus conferred upon him by the College of William and Mary, in Virginia, in 1784. In the year 17S9, he received the degree of Dodl-.r of Laws from the College of . Kcvv-jerfey. He was ele&ed a Member of the American Academy of Ar:s and Sciences at Button in 1782, aid of the Royal Sociecy in London in 1795. bAVID RITTENHOUSE. 3^1 ialents and knowledge that has excited attention, or kindled de fires in the younger members of our fociety, to purfue him in his path of honor, let me requeft them not to forfake me here. Come, and karn by his ex- ample, to be good, as well as great.-----His virtues furnifh the moft fhining models for your imitation for they were never obfeured in any fituation or ftage of his life; by a fingle cloud of weaknefs or vice. As the fource of thefe virtues, whether of a public or private nature, I fhall firft mention his exalted fenfe ©f moral obligation, founded upon the revelation of the perfec- tions of the Supreme Being. This appears from many paffages in his oration, and from his private letters to his friends. In his oration we find the following piou* fentiment. " Should it pleafe that Almighty Power who hath placed us in a world in which we are only permitted «to look about us and to die,' to indulge us with exiftence throughout that half of eternity which ftill remains Unfpent, and tO condua us through the feveral ftages of his works, here (meaning in the ftudy of aftronomy) is ample provifion made for employing every faculty of the mind, even allowing its powers to be enlarged through an endkfs repetition of ages. Let us not complain of the vanity of this world, and that there is nothing in it capable of fatisfying us. Happy in thofe wants—happy in thofe defires, forever in fucceffion to be gratified—happy in a continual ap- proach to the Deity." A a a 3$i AN EULOGIUM UPON " I muft confefs that I am not one of thofe fanguine fpirits who fcem to think that when the withered hand of death has drawn up the curtdn of eternity, all diftance between the creature and the Creator, and between finite and infinite, will be annihilated. Every enlarg«ment of our faculties—-every new happinefs conferred upon us, every ftep we advance towards the Divinity, will very probably render us more and more fenfible of his inexhauftible ftores of communicable blifs, and of his inacceffible perfe&iona*" There appears to be a natural conneaion between a knowledge of the works of nature and juft ideas of the divine perfoaions; and if philofophers have not in all ages been equally devout with our Prefident, it becomes us to acquire how far the beneficial influence of philofophy "upon religion, may have been prevented* by their minds being pre-occupied in early life with the fiaions of ancient poets, and the vices of the hea- then gods. It remains yet to be determined, whether" all the moral as well as natural attributes of the Deity may not be difcovered in the form, and ceconomy of the material world, and whether that righteoufnefs which defcended from heaven near eighteen hundred years ago, may not wait for philofophical truth to fpring up from the earth, in order by uniting with it, to com- mand univerfal belief and obedience. This opinion, as far as it relates to one of the moral attributes of the Deity, feems to have been admitted by our philofopher in the following elegaut and pious extraa from a letter DAVID RITTENHOUSE. %&% to one of his friends " give me leave (fays he) to men- tion two or three proofs of infinite goodnefs in the works of creation. The firft is, poffcfling goodnefs in ourfelves. Now it is inconfiftent with all juft reason- ing to fuppofe, that there is any thing good lovely or praife-worthy in us, which is not poffeffed in an in- finitely higher degree by that Being who firft called us into exifteucc. In the next place I reckon the exquifite and innocent delight that many things around us are calculated to afford us. In this light the beauty and frag- rance of a fingle rofe is a better argument for divine goodnefs than a luxuriant field of wheat. For if we can fuppofe that we were created by a malevolent Being with a defign to torment us for his amufement, he muft have furnifhed us with the means of fubfiftence, and either have made our condition tolerable, or not have left the means of quitting it at pkafure, in our own power. Such being my opinions, you will not wonder at my fondnefs for what Mr. Addifon calls «the pleafures of the imagination.' They are all to me, fo many demonftrations of infinite goodnefs. If fuch be the pious fruits of an attentive examina- tion of the works of the Creator, ceafe ye minifters of the gofpel to defeat the defign of your benevolent labors, by interpofing the common ftudies of the fchools between our globe, and the minds of young people. Let their firft ideas be thofe which are obtruded upon their fenfes, by the hand of nature. Permit the fir- mament of heaven, and the animal, vegetable and 3^4 AN EULOGIUM UPON mineral produaions of the earth, to inftrua them ii\ the wifdom and goodnefs of the Creator,* and let the effeas of phyfical evil upon general happinefs, vin- dicate the divine government, in permitting the exif- tence of moral evil in our world. Thus the perverfe paffions of man, may be made to unite with ftorms and tempefts, in furnishing proofs of the goodnefs of the Creator of die univerfe. But the religion of Mr. Rittenhoufe, was not der rived wholly from his knowledge and admiraiion of the material world. He believed in the Chriftian revelation. Of this, he gave many proofs, not only in the conformity of his life, to the precepts of the gofpel, but in his letters and converfation. I well recolka in fpeaking to me of the truth and excel- lency of the Chriftian religion, he mentioned as an evidence cf its divine origin, that the miracles of our Saviour differed from all other miracles, in being entirely of a kind and benevolent nature. It is nq fmall triumph to the friends of Revelation to obferve, in this age of infidelity, that our religion has been admitted and even defended by men of the moft ex- alted underftanding, and of the ftrongeft re cloning powers. The. fingle teftimony of D;-vw Rittenhoufe in its favor, outweighs the declamations of whok cations againft it.* * Since the publication of the Eulogium in a pamphlet, I havcreceiv- ed the following account cf Mr. Rittenhou.'c's religious principles, in a letter from his widow, silted Auguft 20th. 1797. " That you were *' fufRciently authcikedtoaiTertwhat you did refpe&ing Mr. Riuen- DAVID RITTENHOUSE. 3<5fjj As the natural effea of his belief in the relation of .the whok human race to each other in a common Father and Redeemer, he embraced the whole family of mankind in the arms of his benevolence. The force and extent of this virtue in his heart, will appear from my read' ng one more extraa from his oration. I am aware how much I fuffer by introducing quotations from that eloquent performance, for they will caft a fhade upon all 1 have faid, or fhall fay upon this occa- fion. " How far, (fays our philofopher) the inhabitants of the other planets may refembk men, we cannot pretend to foy. If like them they were created liable to fall, yet fome, if not all of them may ftill retain their origi- nal reaitude. We will hope they do ; the thought is comfortable.—Ceafe then Galhko to improve thy op- tic tube, and thou great Newton, forbear thy ardent fearch, into the myfteries of nature, left ye make un- weleome difcoveries. Deprive us not of the pkafure of believing that yonder orbs, traverfing in fiknt majef- ty the etherial regions, are the peaceful feats of inno- « houfe's religious principles. I now add my teftimony to what you « have faid, for well I know the great truths of religion engaged ,u:h of his attention, and isidced were interwoven with almoft every „ sun- concern oi his life. I do not recolledt, if in any of the .orations . havehsd wirli you, I informed you, what I now do, « t*har Dr. dice's opinions refpe cling Chriftianity were more in unifon «< w/hhls ows, than any others of the divine, that Dr. Price's fcr- u m„3 wn the laft boo'* he requefted me to read to him, and that the •« Ixcrnxuirssofhissif,, he reminded me that I had not finiflsed one « 0f the L^-iJr'sd:fcourL-s which I had bej-o the preceeding eveiug.'. -nu: im: CO.' $66 AN EULOGIUM UPON cence and blifs, where neither natural or moral evil has ever intruded, and where to enjoy with gratitud* and adoration the Creator's bounty, is the bufinefs of exiftence. If their inhabitants refembk man in their faculties and affoaions, let us fuppofe that they arc wife enough to govern themfelves according to the diaates of that reafon, God has given in fuch a manner, as to confult their own, and each other's happinefs upon all pccafions. But if on the contrary, they have found it neceflary to erea artificial fabrics of government, kt us not fuppofy they have done it with fo little fkill, and at Fuch an enormous expenfe, as to render them a misfor- tune, inftead of a bkfling.—We will hope that their ftatefmen are patriots, and that dieir kings (if that order of beings has found admittance there) have the feelings of humanity. Happy people !■—and perhaps more hap- py ftill, that all communication with us is denied. We have neither corrupted you with our vices, nor in- jured you by violence. None of your fons and daughters have been degraded from their native dignity, and doomed to endkfs flavery in America, merely becaufe their bodies may be difpofed to refka, or abforb the rays of light, different from ours. Even you, inhabitants of the Moon, fituated in our very neigh- bourhood, are effeaually fecured from the rapacioui hands of the oppreffors of our globe. And the ut- moft efforts of the mighty Frederick, the tyrant of the North, and fcourge of mankind, if aimed to dif- turb your peace, becomes inconceivably rkliculou» and impotent." DAVID RITTENHOUSE. 3$f «« Pardon th;fe refleaions. They arife not from the gloomy fpirit of mifanthrophy. That Being, be- fore whofe piercing eye all the intricate foldings of the human heart, become expanded, and illuminated, is my witnefs with what fincerity, with what ardor —I wifh for the happinefs of the whole race of mankind.—How much I admire that difpofition of lands and feas which affords a communication between diftant regions, and a mutual exchange of benefits—- rTIow fincerely I approve of thofe focial refinements, which add to our happinefs, and induce us with gratitude to acknowledge our Creator's goodnefs, and how much I delight in a participation of the difco- veries made from time to time in nature's works, by our philofophical brethern in Europe. But (adds our philofopher) when I confider that luxury, and her conftant follower tyranny, which have long fince laid the glories of Afia in the duft, are now advancing like a torrent, irrcfiftiblc, and have nearly completed dieir conqueft over Europe—I am ready to wifb .------vain wifh! that nature would raife her ever- lasting bars between the new and the old world, and make a voyage to Europe as impraaicable as one •o the moon." As when a traveller in pafling through a wildernefs, lackens his puce to prolong the pkafure of a fudden and unexpeaed profpea of a majeftic river pouring it* waters down the declivity of a cloud-cap't mountain, and fpreading fertility and verdure throughout the ad- jacent Tallies* fo we feel difpofed to paufe, and feaft ^©"6 An eulogium upon" upon the fublime fentiments contained in the paflag<{ which I have read. Citizens of the United .States, re- ceive and cherifh them as a legacy from a trien'-i, or a brother. Be juft, and loofe the bands of the Afr.can flave. Be wife, and render war odious in our coirury. Be free, by affuming a national charaaer and name, and be greatly happy, by ereaing a barrier aguir.iL the corruptions in morals, government, and religion, which now pervade all the nations of Europe. * But the philanthropy of Mr. Rittenhoufe did not confift fimply in wifhes for the happinefs Of mankind. He reduced this divine principle to praaice by a forks of faithful and difinterefted fervices to that part of his fellow creatures, to which the ufefulnefs of g< od men is chiefly confined. His country, his beloved country, was the objea of the ftrongeft afftaions of * Mr. William Barton, nephew ta Mr. Rittenhoufe, has favoured rr.r with the following extract ef a letter in September, 1755, to his brother-in-law, the Rev. Mr. Carton, who was the fiiend and corref- pondent of his youth, which .hews htiv/ early and deeply the principles of univerfal benevolence were fixed in his mind. " I would fooncr give up my intereft in a future ftate, than be diverted of humanity;—1 mean that goodwill I have to the (peciet, although one half of them are faid to be fools, aid almoft the other ha'f knaves. Indeed I am firmly perfuade , that we ate not at the difpofal of a-Being who has the leaft tincture of ill-nature, or requires any in us.—You will laugh at this grave phslouj.-'- ; , or my writing to you on a fubjeel: which you have thought of a thou land times: but, can any thing thac is fcrious, be ridiculous :—S> all we fuppole Cbnel fmiling a': Newton, for labouring to demonftrate v.!.e:her the earth be at reft or not, becaafe the former pkiinjy fees it move ? david Rittenhouse. 369 his heart. For her, he thought,—forher, he laboured, —and for her, in the hours of her dilfkulties and danger, he wept,—in every ftage of the American revolution. Patriots of 1776, you will acquit me of exaggeration here, for you feel in the recolkaun of what pafled in your own bofoms, a witnefs of the truth of each of thefe aff rtions. The year of the de- claration of Independance, which changed our royal governments into Republics, produced no change in his political principles, for he had been educated a Republican by his father. I can never forget the pkafure with which he avowed his early but fecret at- tachment to an ekaive and reprefentative form of government. Often have I heard hi.n above twenty years, ago, predi't the immenfe encreafo of talents and knowledge which has been produced by the ftien-di and aaivity riut have been infufod into th^ Ameri- can mind, by our republican constitutions. Often, likewife, at the fame remote period of time, have I heard him anticipate with delight, the effects of our revolution in fowing the feeds of a new order of things in other parts of the world, He believed p . d- tical, as well as moral evil to be intruders into the fociety of man—that general happinefs was the ori- ginal' defign, and ultimate end of the divine govern- ment, and that a time would come, when eveiy part of our globe, would echo back the heavenly procla- mation of univerfal peace on earth, and good will to man. B b b 27° -*n eulogihm upon Let it not be faid, that he departed from tl e duties of a Philofopher, by devoting a part of his time and talents to the fafcty and happinefs of his country. It belongs to monarchies, to limit the bufinefs of go- vernment to a privileged crc'er of men, and it is from the remains cf a monarchical fpirit in our coun- try, that we complain wlen clergymen, phyficians, philofophers and mechanics, take an aaive part in civil affairs. The obligations of patriotifm are as uni- verfal and binding, as thofe of juftice and benevolence, and the virtuous propenfities of the human heart are as much refifted by every individual who negkas the bufinefs of his country, as they are by the extinaion of the domeftic affeaions in a cell. Man was made for a republic, and a republic was made for man, other- wife Divine power and goodnefs have been wafted, in the creation' and gift of his public affeaions.—Our philofopher adopted this truth from the evidence of his feeungs, in common with the reft of mankind, but it was ftrongly reinforced in his mind by numerous analogies of nature. How was it poffibk for him to contemplate light and air as the common and equal portions of every man, and not acknowledge that > heaven intended liberty to be diflributed In the fame manner among the whok human race ! Or hew could he behold the beauty and harmony of the univerfe, as the refult of univerfal and mutual dependance, and not admit that heaven intended rulers to be dependant upon thofe, for whofe benefit alone, all government fhould BAVID RITTENHOUSE. 371 exift. To fuppofe the contrary, would be to deny unity and fyftem in the plans of the great creator of all things. I fhall make no apology for thefe fentiments. They are not foreign to the folemnity of thisdifcourfo. Had I faid lefs of the political principks and condua of our enlightened Prefident, hundreds and thoufands of my fellow-citizens would have accufed me, of an aa of treachery to his memory. May the time never come, in which the praifes of our republican govern- ments, fhall not be acceptable to the ears of an Ame- rican audience ! In the more limited circles of private life, Mr Rittenhoufe commanded efteem and affeaion. As a neighbour he was kind and charitable. His fym- pathy extended in a certain degree to diftrefs of eve- rv kind, but it was excited with the moft force, and the kindeft effeas, to the weaknefs, pain and pover- ty of old age.— As a friend he was fincere, ardent, and difinterefted. As a companion, he inftrudted up- on all fubjeas. To his happy communicative dif- pofition, I beg leave to exprefs my obligations in this public manner. I can truly fay, after an acquain- tance with him for fir.-and-twenty years, that I never went into his company, without learning fomething. With pkafure have I looked beyond my prefent la- bors to a time, when his fociety fhould constitute one of the principal enjoymems of die evening of 372 AN EULOGIUM UPON my life.—But a Lis ! that ti~,e, fo often anticipated! and fo delightful in profpea—will never—come I hope it will not be thought that I tread too clofoly upon his footfteps, when I piefume to lift the J arch of his door, and to exhibit him in the do- meftic relations of a hufband and father. It wag the praaice of the ph'ioiophtrs of former ages, to pafs their lives in their clofets, and to maintain a formal and diftant incercourfe with their families j butour philofopher was a ftranger to pride and im- pofture in every thing. His family conftituted his chief fociety, and the molt intimate circle of his friends. .When the declining ftate of his health, rendered the folitude of his ftudy, lefs agreeable than in former years, he paffed whole evenings in reading or convevfing, with his wife and daughters. Happy family ! fo much and fo long bkffed with fuch a head ! and happier ftill, to have poffeffed difpofitions and knowledge to difcern and love his exalted cha- raaer, and to enjoy his inftruaing converfation !— Thus Sir Thomas Moore lived with his accomplifhed wife and daughters;—Thus Cicero educated his be- loved Tullia ; and in this way only, can the female fex be elevated to that dignity, and ufefulnefs in fociety, for which they "were formed, and by which from their influence upon manners, a new sera would be created in the hiftory of mankind. The houfe and manner of living, of our prefident, exhibited the tafte of a philofopher, the fimplicity of a DAVID RITTENHOUSE. 373 republican, and the temper of a Chriftian. He was independent, and contented wifh ah cftate, fin: II in he cltimation of ambition end avarice, but amply fuited to all his wants and defiros. He held the office of treafurer of Pennfylvania, by an annual and unanimous vote of the legiflature, between the years 177(7, am» 1789. During this period, he declined purchaf.ig the fmalleft portion of the public debt of the ftate, the e- hy manifeftlng a delicacy of integrity, which is known and felt only by pure and elevated minds. In the year 1792, ho was perfuaded to accept of the office of Direaor of the mint of the United States. His want of health, obliged him to refini it in 1795. Here his condua was likewife above fufpicioa, for I have b'ren informed by his colleague in office,} that in feveral inftances, he paid for work done at the mint out of his falary, where he thought the charges for it would be deemed extravagant by the United .'kates. His ceconomy extended to a wile and profitable ufe of his time. No man ever found him unemployed. As an apokjy for detaining a friend a few mi- nutes, while he arranged fome papers he had been examining, he fold, " that he had once thought health, the greateft blefifing in the world, but that he now thought there was one thing of much, gree.ter vah:?, and that was time." The propriety of this remark will appear when we confider, that Providence, fo li- beral in other gifts, bellows this, in a foering manner. f Dr. \V..y. 374 AN EULOGIUM UPON He never gives a fecond moment, until he lias with- drawn the firft, and ftill reforves the third in his own hand. The countenance of Mr. Rittenhoufe, was too re- markible to be unnoticed upon this occafion. It dif- played fuch a mixrure of contemplation, benignity, and innocence, that it was eafy to distinguish his perfon in the largeft company, by a previous knowledge of his charaaer. His manners were civil, and engaging to fuch a degree, that he feldom paffed an hour, even in a public houfe, in travelling through our country with- out being followed by the good wifhes of all who at- tended upon him. There was no affeaation of Angula- rity, in any thing he faid or did: even his hand writing, in which this weaknefs fo frequently difcovers itfelf, was fimple and intelligible at firft fight, to all who faw it. Here I expeaed to have finifhed the detail of his vir- tues, but in the neighbourhood of that galaxy created by their conneaed luftre, I behold a virtue of ineftim- abk value, twinkling like a rare, and folitary flar. It is his fuperlative modefty. This heaven born virtue was fo confpicuous in every part of his condua, that he appeared not fo much to conceal, as to be ignorant of his fuperiority as a philofep rer ard a man, over the greateft part of his fellow creatures. In reviewing the intelkaual endowments and moral exce.kn„y of Mr. Rittenhoufe, and cir late intimate DAVID R1TTENH0USK. 375 conneaion with him, we are led to rejoice in being men. We proceed now to the doling foenes of his life. His conftitution was naturally feeble, but It was ren- dered ftill more fo, by fedentary labor, and midnight ftudies. He was affliaed for many years with a weak breaft, which, upon unufual exertions of body or mind, or fudden changes in the weather, became the feat of a painful and rarraffing diforder. This conftitutional infirmity was not without its ufas.v It contributed much to the perfeaion of his virtue, by producing habitual patience and refignation to the will of heaven, and a conftant eye to the hour of his diffolution. It was a window through which he often looked with pkafure towards a place of exif- tence where from the encreafe and perfeaion of his intuitive faculties, he would probably acquire more knowledge in an hour, than he had acquired in his whole life, by the flow operations of reafon ; and where, from the greater magnitude and extent of the the objeas of his contemplation, his native globe, would appear like his cradle, and all the events of time like the amufements of his infant years. On the 26th of June, of the prefent year, the long expeaed meffenger cf death, difclofed his com- miflion. In his laft illnefs, which was acute, and fhort, he retained the ufual patience and benevo- lence of his temper. Upon being told that fome of 376 an eulogium uroN his. friends had called at his door to enquire how he was; he afked why they were not invited into his chamber to fee him. " Becaufe (faid his wife: you are too weak to fpeak to them." " Yes (faid he) that is true, but I could ftill have fqueczed their hands."—i'hus with a heart ovi ^flowing with love io his family, friends, coup try, and to the whole world, he peacefully refigned his fpirit into the haftds of his God. Let the day of his death be recorded in the annals of our fociety, and iet its annjual return be marked by fome public aa, which fhall c'haraaerife his fervices and our grief, and thereby animate us and our fucceffors, to imitatehis illustrious example ! s * It I nc been the fafhion of late years, to fay of per- fons who he I been diftinguifhed in life, when they left tl ; world in a ftate of indifference to every thing, and bflitving, and hoping in nothing, that they died like ] LikfopLcrs. Very different was the htter end of our excellent prefident. He disd like a chriftian, in- tercut d in the welfare of ah around him—believing in the rdfurrcaion, and the life to come, and hoping for liappinelV from every attribute cf the Deity. Agreeably to his requeft, his body was interred in his obfervatory near his dwelling houfe, in the prefoncc of a numerous concourfe. of his feilow-citi- zc:ii It was natural for him in the near profpea of ^■rearing in the prefence of his M«:ker, to feel ?.n 4 DAVID RITTENHOUSE. 377 attachment to that fpot in which he had cultivated a knowledge of his perfoaions, and held communion with him through the. medium of his works. Here- after it fhall become one of the objeas of curiofity in our city. Thither fhall the philofophers of future ages refort to do homage to his tomb, and children yet unborn, fliall point to the dome which covers it, and exultingly fay, '« there lies our Rittenhoufe." Let us my refpeaed colleagues, repair for a few minutes to tha t awful fpot.—In entering it—we behold the tekfoope, dear inftrument of his difcoveries, turn- ed upon its axis, and pointed to the earth, which has clofed its mafter's- eyes.—How artkfs—the inforipti- on upon his tombftone !—It contains nothing but his name, and the fimple record of the days and years of his birth and death.—Very different would have been the monument of his worth and fame, had not the gratitude and afleaion of his friends been controukd by his dying requeft. His head would have reclined in marble, upon the lap of religion. At his feet, fci- ence would have fat—bathed in tears; while the ge- nius of republican liberty, in the figure of a venerable hermit, bending over his grave, would have deplored the lofs of his favourite fon.—Alas !—too—too foon has our beloved prefident been torn from the chair of our fociety !—Too foon has he laid afide his robes of office, and ceafed to minifter for us day and night at die altar of fcience !—Ah !—who now will elevate his tekfoope, and again direa it towards yonder heavens ? C c c 37° AN EULOGIUM, &0. W sVo now will obferve the tranfit of the planets ? V ho now will awaken our nation to view the tracklefs and ftupendous comet ? Who now will meafure the courfes of our rivers, in order to convey their ftreams ii.i.o our city, for the purpofes of health and com* merce ?—t—Nature is dumb ;----for the voice of her chief f interpreter is hufhed in death.—In this hour of our'bereavement, to whom fhall we look?—but to TK"E; father of life and light:—thou author of great and good gifts to man. O ! let not thy Sun, thy \l^on, and thy Stars now fliine unobferved among us ! nay the genius of our departed prefident, like the man- *tk of thy prophet of old, defcend upon fome member of our fociety, who fhall, as he, did, explain to us the lyiu.ries of thy works, and lead us ftep by ftep, to hyoelf, the great overflowing fountain of wifdom, goodnefs and mercy, to the children of men ! > T £ x, •> V f / WZ 270 ^•1