ARGUMENT OF THE SECOND BOOK.

Invocation. Episode-Progress of Liberty. Revolution in Switzerland. William Tell. Fall of Griesler.

WASHINGTON,

OR

LIBERTY RESTORED.

TRANSCENDENT Mind! For by what higher name

Can the confined intellect of man

Address thee, or adore thee; Great Unknown!
To whom infinite is finite, and the obscure
Lucid as thy own sun; who fill'st all space,
All time with thy incomprehensible.

Blest above all the blest! Since mortal tongue
Without thy holy influence nought avails,
To whom compar'd the human intellect
Is but a glow-worm to the orb of day,
And present, past, and future, all are one;
Grant me thy heavenly aid, and deign to guide
My wandering thoughts, while I describe to men
That vast beneficence which hath remov'd
The film of darkuess from the human eye,
And let in light. Blest, trebly blest is he,
Whom thou hast chosen to fulfil thy will

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1. Transcendent Mind!-Νοῦς ἐστιν ὁ Θεός, ὁ πάντα ἐπιστα μένος, καὶ διέπων τὸ πᾶν. Plut. de Vita Homeri, ii. sect. 114.

On earth, nor yet unblest that tongue which dares
Under thy guidance such great acts recount.
Of all the evils that have scourg'd mankind,
From the beginning of the world till now,
There is not one so adverse to the will
Of God, and upright man, as that of war,
That mad, unnatural, fabricated ill.

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Whence, then, it may be ask'd, has this fell scourge
So long oppress'd mankind? 'Tis ignorance,
The rankest ignorance, at once the cause,

And also the effect; 'tis this alone

Which man impels his fellow-man to slay,

And long hath delug'd all the world with blood. 30
That a frail mortal, whose short life to ills
Unnumber'd subject, should unpitying stand
'Mid slaughter'd thousands, and recount with joy

33. and recount with joy-So Par. Lost, xi. 691; See Reg. iii. 71. To overcome in battel, and subdue

Nations, and bring home spoils with infinite
Man-slaughter, shall be held the highest pitch
Of human glory, and for glory done

Of triumph, to be stil'd great conquerors,
Patrons of mankind, Gods, and sons of Gods,
Destroyers rightlier call'd, and plagues of men.

Unfortunately these glorious destroyers, these triumphant plagues of men, occupy the whole volume of history, whether ancient or modern, sacred or prophane: and yet the hypocrites profess to worship that Being who requires of us to do justly, and to love mercy; and to venerate that Saviour, who endeavoured to bring peace on earth, and good will towards men. But a "transcendently excellent Being must regard with displeasure whatever has a tendency to disturb. the moral order, happiness, and harmony of his creation." And if he regards it with displeasure, he must, he will put an end to it. The world is in its infancy, when it puts on the toga of manhood, it will throw off childish things. See Belsham's Hist. G. III. vi. 349.

The horrid desolation he hath caus'd;

The wives whom he hath widow'd; and the sons 35
Whose fathers' blood his murderous blade hath spilt;
And call this glory! O my God! My God!
Grant that such glory may be far remov'd
From me and mine! Thy own vast thoughts and acts
So instantaneous are, that to our eyes
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They seem as one, yet well thou know'st that man
Must thro' the gates of evil pass to good,
And from the effect alone can learn the cause;
And dear-bought is that knowledge: but the time,
I speak prophetick, but I speak from truth,
The time will come, when wars at length will cease.
Full well I know some barbarous conflicts yet
Must desolate our race, until that hour,
That happy hour arrive, which then will come,
When the two rival nations of the earth

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50. When the two rival nations, &c.-" Between our two countries, (said the French to the British monarch, an. 1792,) new connections ought to take place. I think I see the remains of that rivalship which has done so much mischief to both daily wearing away. It becomes two kings, who have distinguished their reigns by a constant desire to promote the happiness of their people, to connect themselves by such ties as will appear to be durable in proportion as the two nations shall have clearer views of their own interests. I consider the success of the alliance, in which I wish you to concur with as much zeal as I do, as of the highest importance; I consider it as necessary to the stability of the respective constitutions, and the internal tranquillity of our two kingdoms; and, I will add, that our union ought to command peace to Europe." Could a prophet have delivered greater truths? In the same spirit is written the letter of the First Consul to His Britannick Majesty, Dec. 25, 1799. "How can two most enlightened nations of Europe, powerful and strong beyond what their safety and independence

D

Shall see the folly of their private hate,
And, firmly knit in hand and heart, restore
To suffering man his liberties and laws.
But this depends not on their will alone,
But on the will of Him, whose heavenly light
Must first illume their minds, and further yet
Remove the mist of ignorance from their eyes.

Long had mankind, submissive to the rod
Of their despotick rulers, patient born
The most oppressive burthens, and obey'd,
With superstitious reverence, those laws
Which the caprice and arbitrary will

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Of their proud rulers fram'd. Nor had they yet Dar'd to assert their rights; they knew them not, And ignorance was weakness, which their lords 65 Turn'd to their own account; and if perchance

require, sacrifice to ideas of vain greatness the benefits of commerce, internal prosperity, and the happiness of families? How is it that they do not feel that peace is of the first necessity, as well as of the first glory!-France and England, by the abuse of their strength, may still for a long time, to the misfortune of all nations, retard the period of their being exhausted. But I will venture to say it, the fate of all civilised nations is attached to the termination of a war which involves the whole world." Prophecy again! and the prophecy will be remembered when the scornful rejection is forgotten. Nor must I omit to record that noble sentiment expressed by the First Consul to Mr. Fox in 1802; "that the globe might be considered as inhabited by two great nations, the eastern and the western; and that hostilities between any of the powers of Europe must be regarded as a species of civil war. Belsham, iv. 458; vii. 306-7; viii. 420. See the note Id. 391; and see Append. E. to Miles's Letter to the Prince of Wales.

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-Tanton' placuit concurrere motu,
Jupiter, æternâ gentes in pace futuras?"

Æn. xii. 504.