The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1838-10-27
THE MADIsONIAN.
or PARTY LIES.

Preserv'd from shame By numbers on OUT sas -
There is something very sublime snoasn
very fancj6,l, in Plato's description OF "e
Sunreme Being that truth u has BODY ana
LIGHT his shadow According 70 this denim
t;or. there Is nothing 50 contradictory to MS
na,,re ne error and ialsehood. The Pa
tonists have so Just a notion OF me Al
mighty,s aversion TO every thing which Is
false and erroneous, that they looked upon
truth as no less necessary than virtue TO
qualify human soul for tho enjoyment ola
senarate state. For this reason, as they re-
Commended moral duties to quality and season
the will for future life, so they prescribed
several CONCENTRATIONS and sciences TO rectiiy
The understanding. Thus Plato has called
mathematical demonstrations the cathartics,
or purgatives Of the soul, as being the most
proper means TO cleanse il from error, and
give il a relish of truth I; which is the natural
food and nourishment Of tho understanding,
as virtue is the perfection and happiness ofthe
will.
There are many authors who have shown
wherein the malignity Of lie consists, and
set forth In proper colors the Nervousness
of the offence. | shall here consider one
particular kind Of this crime, which has
not been so much spoken to; mean that
abominable practice of pauy-lying. This
vice is so very predominant among US at
present, that a man is thought of no princi-
pie, who does not propagate certain sys-
tenn of lies. The coffee houses are sup
ported by them, the press IS choked with
them, eminent authors live upon them
Our bottle conversation is so infected with
them, that party-lie is grown as fashiona-
BILE an entertainment as lively catch, or
merry story. The truth oft is, half the great
takers in the nation would be struck dumb
were this fountain of discourse dried up
There is, however, one advantage resulting
from this detestable practice; the very APP
pearances of truth are so little regarded, that
lies are at present discharged in the air, and
begin to hurt nobody. When we hear par
ty-story from stranger, we consider whether
he is whig or tory that relates it, and inn
mediately conclude they are words Of course,
in which the honest gentleman designs to re-
commend his zeal, without any concern for
his veracity. A man is looked upon as bereft
Of common sense, that gives credit TO the rela-
tons oil party-wrlters nay, his own friends
shake their heads at him, and consider him in
no other light than an officious fool, or we'll
meaning idiot. When it was formerly the
some extraordinary emergency, il generally
did execution, and was not little serviceable
to the faction that made use Of it |; but at pre-
sent every man is upon his guard; the arti-
fee has been too often repeated to take ef
feet
have frequently wondered to see men of
probty, who would scorn to utter falsehood
for their own particular advantage, give so
readily into lie. when it is become the voice
Of their faction, Notwithstanding they are
thoroughly sensible Of it as such. How is it
possible for those who are men of honor in
their persons, thus to become notorious liars
intheir party' If we look into the bottom Of
this matter, we may find, think, three reasons
e. :. I'D =. the same time discover the insult:
practice.
In the first place, men are apt to think that
the guilt Of lie, and consequently the punish
ment may be very much diminished, if not
wholly worn out, by the multitudes of those
who partake in it. Though the weight Of
falsehood would be too much for one to bear,
il grows light in their irnaginations when it is
shared among many. But in this case a man
very much deceives himself; guilt, when it
spreads through numbers, is not so properly
divided as multiplied. Every one is criminal
in proportion to the offence which he commits,
not to the number of those who are his COM
panions in it. Both the crime and penalty lie
as heavy upon every individual of an offending
multitude, as they would upon any single per-
son, had none shared with him in the offence.
In word, the division Of guilt is like to that
of matter; though it may be separated into
infinite portions, every portion shall have the
whole essence of matter in it, and consist of
as many parts as the whole did before it was
divided.
But in the second place, though multitudes,
who join in lie, cannot exempt themselves
from the guilt, they may from the shame Of it.
The scandal Of lie is in manner lost and
annihilated, when diffused among several thou
sands; as drop of the blacklist tncture
wears away and vanshes, when mixed and
confused in considerable body of water the
blot is still in it, but is not able to discover it
self. This is certainly very great motive to
several party-offenders, who avoid crimes, not
as they arc prejudicial to their virtue, but to
their reputation. II is enough to show the
weakness of this reason, which palliates guilt
without removing it. that every man who is in
fuenced by it declares himself in effect an
Infamous hypocrite, prefers the appearance of
virtue to its reality, and is determined in his
conduct neither by the dictates Of his own
conscience, the suggestions of true honor, nor
the principles Of religion.
The third and last great motive for mems
joining in a popular falsehood, or, as / have
hitherto called it, party-lie, Notwithstanding
they are convinced Of it as such, is the doing
good TO cause which every party may be
supposed to look upon as the most meritori-
GUS. The unsoundness Of this principle has