The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1805-02-19

WHEN Alexander, after his victory over
Porus, magndnmouily retored TO that prince,
his kingdom and the provinces connected with
il, who does not admire the undetermined aet
When he beheld the family of Darius at his
feet, and forgetting the bitter enIrity and I'M
conquerable haugntneis Of his foe, treated them
with dllcacy and tenderuefs; when he after
wards Sept over the misfortuues Of that mo-
march, inftead of purifying him even TO the grave
with ali the rancour OF revenge, who does not
feel that, by his clemrncy, he was more truly
ennobled, than BY the mott fplendid OF his tri-
unphs Tho his invaGon of The Perfan en-
pirc was uuiuil tho it was dictated alone by
a lawltfs ambition, and Thrift of univerfal
fway, yet for moment his generoiity redcemS
his c',ard61er, and we are unable to with.hold
from him the admiration which is due 10 iIch
victory over himitlf. But when at TYRE,
prompted by a favage and revengeFul tpliit, he
cauied two thoufand men, who remained afIcr
his folders had been gluttcd with laughter, to
be facrihced on the crOiS; and when a3u&Jed
by the fame d;emoniac rage, he ma1acrcd ten
thouiand at GAIA, and dragged alive around its
walls the firm and intrepid Bctis who does
not lhudder al the deprayity of human nature |;
who does not eXeCrste the monher who could
thus forget every noble feeling of the foul who
does not wonder that the ipendid title Of hero
rs 10 far profsituted as 20 be bettowcd on 10 fan
culinary tyrant?- detsfatiou OF iuch I'm
MANLY revenge nun be univerfal: mankind may
fora time be dazzled by the fpiendour of a vic
tory, but realou and nature will in tie end az.
fert their empire. Thus tho the bood-thiroy
Suwarrow may have fecured TO himfclf dc ath-
lefs fame by the greatnefs of his military achiev-
Inents, yet lhsll his fanguiuary fpiiit be handed
down to future ages, and Ifmael and Prague
ihall be eternal monuments OF his djigrace. His
Talents may indeed be admired, but yet,
=
None ihal. remember but to eIecrate.
There is fomethiug indeed in noble genero-
Ety TO fallen eneny, which is calculated q at
tact the mott uubouuded admiration. He who
can forget the injuries that have been done him /;
v-ao can bury the remembrance of An oppoli-
ten that might have overwhelmed him, 6; who
can requite perfccution with bencvolcncc, diE
plays no lcfs real mar nznimit ythan the man who
laughs At death when his country's intereits de-
mand the focrifcc. IT'S a victory over our
wort of paGions, which has the air Of god-iike
virtue. lis foccies Of moral iubnity, ~
the recital OF which every boiom mutt fwcil
with indeicribable emotions.
Nor dc we receive LET'S plcafnre from tho con-
temptation Of that generous fpirit which is
fometimes difplayed in the warmef contention.
VINO can fr,il 70 admire the man who, while he
'opits nothing that is. due to the cauie in which
h. ATS, eyiHccs by the Gcuerohty % ms dcport-
uent, a coufciOafacis, that fCmcthing is due to
himfeif? Is il the Leaf interefing part OF TIC
Had, to fee the commanders even OF the barba-
rcus Greeks and 1'rojans, receiving from each
other the rights of hOfoitality; and Whit their
bploms fwced with Thrift of glory and renown,
fill chsrithiug thcfe gentlcr feelings, which
form the r!of cfinable part of the human cha
rsder?
It ftems fomewtat furprfng that we fhould
70 generally admire this noble fpirit, while the
mott virulent political intolerance prevails uni
verbally among us. Between the two great
parties in the United States, there has, for many
wears pait, exifted bitter animoity, equally in
confident with republican principles, and ini-
mical TO the interlas of orr country. Howe
yer bright may have been the virtues of an in
disidusl however amisble his temper; how
ever fti6t his integrity, yet mua he have been
more than ufusi'y fortunate, if there has been
no fes Of men whole hatred and ieaouiy he has
incurred. Socialintercourfe has i,-cr interrupt
cd 6v political rzncour, and the feat of love
and frendihiP has been poifoned by political
inveteracy.--Suc has unfortunately been, for
many years, the aatc Of this country. But the
friends Of liberty, of order, and of Iocial harrno
ny, hoped that the form would foon blow over.
ard that the calm iererity of peace and free
DON would ditfufe itjcf throughout the land.
The unparalleled Hnarimity of the late clecti
chs; itSm6V mecca 10 nave lGItidCu thCiS haDDV
rretaEee. Bat the cup Of expectation has been
daCled from our lips. ~ the moment when we
looked fer that union OF opinion, which would
have given haPpineis and tranquility, tho it
would not have iuiied us into dangerous &C.
cnr.iy. 4 fpirit has gone abroad, which threatens
fol farther to divide us into factions, and TO
Bow up the Games Of civil difcaFd once more
thro' the fate. The events which have taken
place during the at felton, of the Virginia, az
iembly, have judy excited the apprchcnfO6s Of
every calm and Ici.Gtiug man among MS I
Freak not of any tranla6lous within tic walls
OF The legiilatnrc. An examination of the nea-
fnres rrcpofed aHd adopted IN that body, is no.
theo5iec ofthe ~. tent c!iay. ludetothOfcc cir
oum6laces on, of doors, which are faid to have
created fernent in The metropolis, that can
not We too much Observation-Disclosures
evinciug an intsmpcraHcc highly ininical TO the
happiDeis Of the people. a faction fem 70
have rlen up pruf-ing the mon violent py,nci-
pies. and man'feGiGg an anxiety 10 pcrf-gsre in
nscalurss, Which mua forever clofe the door 70
reconciliation between the two great parties I'm
America. I"Rcad ofappiying to our political
differences the balm, which wonld probably
heal them. they have appeared anxious to en-
craie the w0ua1, by the NOT irritating means,
to generous add fatal maenty. Nor have
they topped mere. Not content with fomenf-
ing the ipirit of difcord between the federalifs
ard republicans not content with reyivirg that
hoitile iprit, which every temperate man hon
Cd was on the eve Of expiring they frcm 10
have puftt!pe 5yftrut pf cgfJt1 ,.,Li,b -. 81