Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1809-11-01

-. mind. You will reeollect how often
pp,,toak Of your grief during that scene OF
moral degradation. No sooner did you and
,b+ otner1v;rsuous leaders in the revolution
b.ein to speak of axsust liberty, h2lureason
ond the a'viae rights OF man, than the artl-
/. cans took up the hammer, the chissel and
,hr plaister OF Paris. They must reduce
these gods TO form before they could pre-
cent them to the people with any chance OF
being understood; they must create before
I5ev could adore. Trace thi. principle
though FIVE years of your history, and you
will find why the catholic religion was over
! armed, morality laid asleep, and the object
of the revolution ifretrievaoiy lost, at least
for oar day.
NV dear Gregoire, am glad YOU have
written me this letter, though at first IT gave
me pain. was ryto find mysels SO en-
,irely msconceivcd by a friend SO highly
valued; bur see vour attack IS easily re-.
pcrd, a thing which l know woula give
you nieasG~e, and it furnishes Inc IN occa-
s.ioa at the same time TO render a piece OF
Astice to myself iii relation to my fellow
tsit;aens. You must know [ have enemies
IN this country. Not personal ones /; ne
yer had personal enemy, TO my knowledge,
ia any country. But they are political ene-
mics, the enemies of republican liberty, ana
aisw Of their followers who never read my
writings ti.stis, ny writings that wrote,
but orv those that did Goa write such as
were forged snd published for NE IN my
absence; .r,aey Of which never have seen,
and some of which did not hea, Of tiil ten
wears after they had been printed in The
American gaZettes.
It has even been said and published by
these christian editors, never heard OF 1t
Jill la,ely) that | went 10 the bar OF your
convention, waen Ii was She fashion 50 to
10, anil made 4 solemn recantation OF my
christian faith, declaring myself an atheist
Or dcist, or some orhsr an,i christian apos--
tate / know not what, for | never yet nave
seen the'piecy. Now, as an active member
Of that convention, steady. attendant at
their sltsings, and my mostintimate friend,
you know that such a thing could not be
done without your knowledge you know [
never went but once to the bar Of that con-
yentlon, which was on IN. occasion to winch !
you aliude III the letter now before me. TO
present al address from the constitutional
society III london, or which | was q mem
Der. Yau know always sympathased in
your geief and partooS of ali your resent
ment while such horrors aud biaslhes1ies
were passing, o. Which taese typographical
rauibals Of reputation nave made me par
ucipant.
These calumnies you gee could not be re-
iuted by me while did net know OF their
existence. But there is another reason
which you will no, conceive of til / inform
you. The editors OF newspapers yon know,
ought to be considered as exercising sa-
cred function they are The high priests Of
public opinion, which is Sht nigh court OF
character, the guardian d aub!ic morals
Now Ian ashamed 10 lnioym youinaT there
are editors in this country who viii publish
the grossest calunay against a citizen, ana
iefuse to publish It's retutaiion. This IS an
immortality unknown in Trance snco the
death Of Marat.
private letter OF mine, written from
fars, was mutiiaisd ia this coun.ly, made
"say things that never wrote nor thought
and published in all our anti-rePaotcan pa
ers. saw tia year after the date and lnl-
nsdlateIy wrote an explanatory letter. nioh
,Seesfahlished nay hrst intention. lhis last
linen published in Paris, London and PHI
aaephia. Not one editor who printed the
l. III IL
printed my .aasusr: chongh it was publish
uih ailtaose places ten years ago. And
g'fnsps not one person in twenty who Tead
NC afst has ever seen the second, or yet
Aaoss ct Its existence, except these editors
1ao refused 70 publish it. /.
lou must not suppose from this state
@at OF facts that / am angry with these,
~, ~. II