Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1837-02-08

not when the mighty were upon her.
Her IONS were united at Thermopylm
and Marathon, and the tide Of her tri.
umph rolled back upon the Hellespont.
She fell by the hands Of her own PEG.
pie. The man of Macedonia did not
the work ofdestruction. 1t was alrea.
dy done by her own corruptions, ban.
ishments and dissensions.
Rome republican Rome whose
eagles glanced IN the rising sun, where
and what is she The eternal city
yet remains proud ever in her desola-
ton, noble in decline, venerable in the
majesty Sf her religion, and calm as
the composure ofdeath. The malaria
has but travelled in the parts won by
the destroyers. More than eighteen
centuries have mourned over the loss
of the empire. A mortal disease was
upon her before Caesar crossed the Ru.
bicon, and Brutus did not restore her
health by the deep probings ofthe SEN
ate chamber. The Cloths, the Van.
dals, and the Huns, the swarms ofthe
north, completed only what was begun
at home. Romans destroyed Rome.
The legions were bought and sold, but
the people paid the tribute money.
And where are the republics of mo-
dern times which cluster around i'm.
mortal Italy? Venice and Genoa ex-
list but in name. The Alps, indeed,
look down upon the brave and peace
full Swiss, in their native Businesses F;
but the guaranty of their freedom is
their weakness. and not their strength.
The mountains are not easily retained.
When the invader comes, he moves
like an an avalanche, carrying destruc.
ton in his path. The peasantry sink
before him. The country, too, is too
poor for plumber and too rough for a
valuable conquest. Nature presents
her eternal barrier on every side, to
check the wantonness of ambition
And Switzerland remains with her
simple institutions a military road to
climates scarcely worth a permanent
possession, and protected by the jeal-
ousy of her neighbors.
We stand the latest, and if we fall,
probably the last example of self gov.
eminent, by the people. We have be-
gun it under circumstances of the most
suspicious nature. We are in the vi
gor ofyouth. Our growth has never
been checked by the oppression of tyr
ranny. Our constituents never have
been enfecbled by the luxuries and vi
ces ofthe world.
Such as we are, we have been from
the beginning simple, hardy, intelli-
gent, accustomed to self government
and self-respect. The Atlantic rolls
between us and a formidable foe. Wi
thin our own territory, stretching thro'
many degrees of latitude, we have the
choice of many products, and many
means Of independence. The govern
ment is mild. Tho press is free. Re.
ligion is free. knowledge reaches, or
may reach every home. What fairer
prospects ~ofsuccess could be presented.
What more is necessary than for the
people to preserve what they them-
selves have created
Already has the age caught the spi-
rit of our institutions. Ii has assembled
the Andes and snuffed the breezes Of
both oceans 1t has infused itself into
the life blood Of Europe, and warmed
med the sunny plains of France and
the low lands Of Holland. Is has tou.
ched the philosophy Of Germany and
the North, q moving onward towards
the South, has opened to Greece the
lesson other better days.
Can it be, then, that America, under
such circumstances can betray herself?
That she is 10 be added TO the cata-
logue of Republics, the inscription upon
whose ruin, is, they were, but they
are not" Forbid it, my countrymen.
Forbid it heaven.
/ call upon you, fathers, by the
shades of your ancestors, by the dear
ashes which repose in this soil, by all
you hope to be, to resist every project
of disunion, resist every attempt to fet-
ter your conscience, or smother our
public schools, or extinguish our system
Of public instruction.
| call upon you, mothers, by that
which never fails in a woman, the love
of your offspring, to teach them as
they climb your knees, to learn on your
bosoms, the blessings oflibeity. Swear
them at the altar, as with their baptis-
NAL VOWS, to be true to their country,
and never forsake her.
call upon you, young men, to re.
member whose sons you are, whose
blood flows in your veins. Life can
never be too short, which brings MOTH
ing but disgrace and oppression. Death
never comes too soon, if necessary, in
defence Of the liberties Of our country.