The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1805-01-05

command va 10 tramols, exhibits the ferocity OF
a tyger, tue phrcnzy ~ maniac, or the raneour
OF a hend--,iot the courage vi d man aud the
energy OF a hero.
Ii man were to throw hin,felf from preoi-
pee thruit his richt band into a furnace or
di0ocate his limbs rpon the wheel, merely to
prove that he could brave death, and endure
torture with miiukcn conAancy, the mldDel5
af his proceeding would b. palpable to every
n,nd.--Yet the man who fights duel, who
givss or accepts challenge merely To cvince
bis initniibility 10 the fear or pain aud death, OF
becauie rs wants courage To encounter the
irown Of prejudice and the curit OF folly, cxh;-
bits a more cxtravaeart infantry. The princ-
pal difference betvixt the imaginary aud the
real enormity is, that the madnefs of the for
mer proceeding would, ON account of its novel
~, be diicernblc to every eye, whereas that Of
the latter, altho' even more extravasant, would
DC concealed under the veil of general deuiion.
The ma,incis would, in the imaginary intance,
be palpd6le, becau!t the malady would b. con-
fined to one individual in the cafe OF duellipg
furrounaed by perions no lefs iniane than him
felf.
o tits fearful fpe3ac,e to fee
So many niauiacS dancing n their chains;
Gazing upon the links, that hold them faf
With eyes of anguh execra,e their lot,
Then flake sIcm il delpair and dance again.
In every other light in which the cafe can be
placed and compared, the ccidu6t of the duel
lii is more f:ishtfuiy immoral and eXteniively
Injurious.
In the hrit cafe. only one individual could be
tortured or detroyed in the iecond, both may
fall by each others hands.--In the frt cafe, the
victim muft be 10 deplorabiy detitute of reaion
as to render the extinction OF his exihence de-
iirab!e; in the tecond, the pcrons who fail may
be endowed with the mott admirable qualities,
and connected By generous and eudearing ties,
with the mott accomplished of their countrymen
and contemporaries. The proceeding in the
firft nfance, far from being initiated by others,
would excite universal reprobation and horror !;
in the fecond, the inveteracy of the prejudice in
favour of duelIing combines with the perfonaI
reipectability Of the duell;e, 20 perpe.uate the
practice.
To eradicate the prejudices from which this
barbarous practice derives It's origin, is the pro-
vince OF philoiophy, cloGuence and moral ener-
ey. To e&pel duelling from civifcd fociety &
fubnitute more rational method of deciding
| the quairels that arife betwixt men of delicate
and irritable feelings, is the more difficult and
dazzling duty of the diitingui0ed few, who
combine the diicernment that can unmaik an
inveterate but venerated abufe, and the philln-
thropy that would prompt them to employ
their beit efforts TO effect its abolition with the
perional energy and reipettabity, that will E.
tiable them to encounter it with fuccels, inield
their motives from general mifconftru6ron. and
| render the example they exhibit an object of
imitation. The ignorant mutt fight duels in
blind obedience to the tyranny of cuitom, the
! timid TO quiet their intolerable and humiliating
feniations, tie vain and frivolous to obtain the
applaute, or avert the contempt of the gddy
multitude the vindittive, from the incontrola
bic fury of the demon t!iat bel}el1as them: Even
the enlightened, the generous and the brave.
NUT fight due!s, unleiS they pofefs fuficent
energy TO exhibit unequivocal evidence of the
dignity of their motives, and a fuaicient fhare
of pertonal relpectability, to frown into fiIence
the prejudice, which departure from eltablin-
cd cufom never fails TO excite. Let it be re-
collected, that as this memorable and modern
| cuRom, was originally e1abiiihed by the exam.
pie of influential individuals, its abolition can be
elIetled only by the heroic efforts of enlightened
and accomplished men. c..