Alexandria advertiser and commercial intelligencer. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1800-1803, 1801-08-21

| MAX our o! {ne d0i0odHSG o. i.iI ''~"!s
the mouth fpeaketh-they rail at the cler-
gy-they calumniate the gocd-they are
| not afraid to fpea!z evil Of dignicies--shey
| paHn;fe men liberty, but are themleives-
| the fevvants of corruption. The fate of
things in Europe, and in this country,
hows the nature and tendency Of their
principles in character as legible as if
written with fun-beam. But, that they
ought to be kept from avalling thenieives
of Office is evident, not only from the ge-
neral Ra,e'of things, but ALTO from the ma
sure of the opinions which they embrace,
in themfelves contidered.
An Atheif denies the being Of a God;
he of courfe annihiates all moral oblga-
ton lie mutt conGder virtue and vice as
mere empty names, and rot as relations
reiulting from the nature of things-he,
therefore cannot feel the obligations OF OF
fice-oaths cannot bind his confidence; he
ought then to be excluded from Office; un-
Ieis indeed it can be made to appear, con-
trary to all experience, that men are I'M
pelled to what is called right action, a.
gainif the power Of all temptation, by rec
ti,ude of nature. If there was in mena
moral fcnle Of the beauty Of virtue and
deforrni,y ofvic Efficient, 'in itielf, to I'M
pei them toright conduit, it would f41er-
cede the neceGity CT law in all cafes what
ver.Tke exjfere< of law then demonstrates
that moral ienle in men is inadequate
to produce fuch an effect.
A Delft admits the being Of a God, and
it may be, future fate OF rssribu'ion;
but, rejecting al! revelation, he aandsoF-
on no better ground thar that of all other
pasans. The doctrine Of the unity Of
God, which revelation teaches, he cannot
prove. There may be, for ought he
knows, two Gods; the one the author Of
good; the other the author of evil as
many of the oriental nations have held for
ages, and continue tohoii to this day; CT
there may be hundreds, as the Romans,
Grecians, and other ancient nations have
held: Or, if, with thoGe nations, he could
huppole one, as the ancient Jupiter, to be
flpren,e above the reR, he may have orr
ginated from iolne older God and God
defs by the fame p.ocets as mc5tals proceed
one from another he may hold his en-
pire by conquea and ufurpation, as Jup.-
ter was fuppofed to'hold his; or, Ike
him, he may have been caught by hs
wife in the ate Of adultery with fair
profitute, either mortal or immortal
At lcaa ,heic things may be 10, as far as
the corrupted realon G: the delft can prove
to the contrary. He may admit the re-
tributions of future World It he l0>t,
he mutt be wholly in the dark as to their
nature, degree, or duration They viii,
Of conftquence, have little or no practical
effect, and much leis upon the modern de-
if, than they had upon the ancient pa
cans bccaule the latter generally believ-
ed 10 the tabled torrents Of Tarf@rus
which the former, in the prelent enlight-
ened period Of the world, would ds.phe,
as much a.mcf, as Re does the he'll tor
taenss Of the Bible. But whatever vague
notions the deia may, at different periods,
have of future retribution, fill, as he has
no ttandard Of religious opinion, he NAV
difmifs them as uneiential in his iclleme.
Al preiens, he has deeply inblbed the phi
!oiophifn Of theage, and conioles 'inie.t
with the forced hope, that death is an eser-
nal Geep. Whatever diff ence, thenoss De-
point Of Ejaculation, there may may -he pre-
ses4 the , ask sl= And nd. the a:i I've 40 e
., their conduct as citizens or az r"eo.
- IF the prevalence of 'hele opinions
.brsarens the total fuoyesaon OF the c'sA
ard religious intti;utions, which o's zass Is
. 49, b.ys transn;,sed to us, as inc pfics OF
w.. b,o,d a. then it is high tire for ezeft'oa.
Vim ~ ne cafe indeed, be aafp:ra'e' we MAJ
g,,la our bands, and wait me aPP,oaeh 81,
o ,vu' f.,., witAoa. a arasgls. but tins
can bv no means be the cate, un'e'S we are
ssaasing to ourfs'vs'. fAs's "s'''e''Se