The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1811-01-10

.>"N PaumuV fonS1 pacis mala, savior armis
LuxuCa incubui..
We suffer all th' inveterate ills of peace.
FIR Luxury, more fsLd far than arms,
Hath hatched her baleful brood
The maxim, duice 6eHun, incnherto that
war Is sweet t. MIN who has not tried il
cannot apply to our country. We have tried
1T. ihf ves;igeS OF desolated Townsville
runs OF houses pc forated with Cannon ID lis
our helds still m-'rked with the breast
work, the line oil decentralization, the traces
OF bursted shelis-and, here and there. in
our cities the still animated body of a Door
old soldier, manned, scanned with scars
hoooiing ON his crutch IT stick, and reduced
not ny the ingratitude OF his country, but
tue unfeeling iapacity of spectators, to beg
ms oread--these spectacles are enough t.
Remind us tnat war has been this way aod
to prevent any wish, on our part, for re-
newal OF the visit.
And yet how strange is the condition of
humanity! tor 1t seems as if it were only
amid the direful Calamities of war: mat
man Can be seen TO advantage; as if all the
Tumpet's clangor & he cannon's roar W. 70
necessary, to keep his virtues and talen,
awake. The remark is not Confined To AS
merica M s1hind'' il IS said ruiy, -
pretty much he same in every age and na-
eion In all OF them, the seas n of war
has ever been that of talents and virtues ON
tiiei' srehdest aoaie: and tine heavier the
pressure OF the occasion. the higher have
those noble properties risen Such were
the occasuns on which Leonidas fought and
Demnstiienes spoke. Such in every coun-
Try lave been the most splendid epochas of
orators and heroes Il is not nv purpose
to enquire, at his time, with minute cnri
osity, why the dor nant p 'wers of man re
qure THIS excitement OF injuries and insults
20 awaken then; nor why the en- rgies a.
his mind seem so dependent on the tumult
and impulse OF his passions It will be
more useful 10 examine the mournful col.
lapse which follows this state of high exer
ton and marks the state of peace; and to
enquire whether no remedy exists either
to prevent or remove II.
lnls IS not topic of light and fruidess
speculation; nor one which relates merely
to the literary ornament of the nation. On
the contrary it is topic which is connecte II
with the very existence Of the republic f. e
It only by state of constant preparation
against both foreign and domestic ambition.
that we can calculate on he Continuance. Of
that existence, aud that pr, p ration can GER
fanny. De, In no way maintained but. bv
keeping The heart pure and stout and the
mind enlightened and alert.
Ii tho'e effects cannot be produced in a
state OF peace; ifthey can by no possibility
exist but in state of war, then peace ,s a
curse, and war compai i've blessing. Rot
TINS conclusion is by 10 means necessarv--
because the premises themselves. am ner
suaued, are not trde. 1t seems to require
no great penetration to discover why wars
OF uncommon duration and violence have
been, always. followed in every Country bv
declension of virtues and talents. Have
they been wars Of foreign CONQUEST The
hrst fruits are an influx of wealth into The
victorious nation; snch as that which in
the latter years of the Roman renub-
lie, lined the bank Of the Tiber w; h
gardens and villas--4nd then the process is
PLAIN and easy-luxury --indolence--;eno
rance-multiform vices--imbe cilitv-.ur
Jecticn. Or has the war been one o. ,nternal
defence 1t has left the country drsolate.
although victorious Then follows. frst
the necessity OF struggling Tor subsistence
NeItner honest labour nor sly speculation
can ma time for liberal study The hrsr
Ieaus the warrior slowly to independencr
ana ooscurIty-out preserves The heart -
Inc latter leads rapidly to wealth and dis
uhCuon--Out is TOO apt to corrupt the heart
shu deoase the understanding Such is the
hrst state OF things to which the return ~
peace directly conducts. But the long con.
uhuance OF peace and prosperity internal
and external, leads regularly On TO na,i,na
wea th--and then, as in the case of wars o.
conquest. follows luxury with all her bale
iul BROOD
1t may be useful fort to enquire in uhict
o'uiese stages w. now re IS it still e.,
't"6e OF poverty and struggle for subsist
NJ lis vt lndependence-or wealth e,.l,,,
bis gu 90 nu,t be variously A.,