New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1843-07-18

No pain keen enough that u has power
Over thy childlike love, that all the while
Upon the cold earth builds its heavenly bower
And thus with thee bngh, angels make their dwelling
Bringing thee of strength when man knoweth
The ocean from Gods hand ever swelling,
That forth through each leas; thing IN Nature goeth
Ia thee, Hero, deeper 5oweth
With lov battle, and many souls beside
Feel new life in the celestial tide. = a. ~
From the Newly York Observer.
Hon. John Quincy Adams on Voltaire.
HARTFORD, July TO- i8aS
Mr.sRs. EDITORS: Below ! send you letter from Hon
J. G. Adams, which trust you will pc disposed TO MAKE
public. A word By way OF explanation
Abop, two wear. snce while YVES travelling IN Vermont,
The pastor Of small village put into M hands Toi"'o
yotaife's Philosophical Dictionary pu!PoI'g ~
hoe. translated by John Quincy Adams, with oommeq,a[!
-cface by the same An luidel neghboF oil icy Nr
lard had loaned it him, Boosting that j. C. AdaHs was an
Inhdel as well himself Rev Nj n procured 'g u,
3.. of Mr. Adams delivered At New ork. IN which he
,,rgee the sudy Of the Bible. After reading II, the
5a6dei replied IF J. @ Adams blows hot and cold N tins
- ,tIl have further confidence IN him suspected
at the time that this either forgery, else the name OF
another @ Adams yet knowing that II mad been atlbu
red 10 the Ex President and therefore that his influence
made TO sanction ndel!ty finally determined TO asceS
the facts the case, and also MS views IN regard to
rare's writings These contained in the following lex
,sr. Yours Sc. JOSEPH EMERSON
Qulscy, Jane Il, 1913.
REvD SIR In answer to the inquiries In your
letter of the 18th inst cheerfully state-lst,
That / never published or made q translation OF
Voltaire's Philosophical Electromagnetic, That |
never read that work, and am therefore unable to
give any opinion Of its merits-3d, That never
saw the book mentioned by you, as purportlng TO
be a translation Of Voltaire's Philosophical Die
tio,lary, by John Quincy Adams-ltil, That
have heard OF person, stranger to me, bearing
that name, but know not how he came by 1t, nor
TO what family he belongs.
! have read extracts from Voltaire's Phlosophl-
cal Dictionary, and others of his writings m
fected with infdelity, but / have also read ard
seen performed on the stage his tragedies OF
Zaire Alzire and MaIlomet, and have read his
epic poem of the Hcnriade. have read If his
writings. in which he complains that he had been
accused o irreigous propensltles, and appeals
TO these tragedies and ihis epic poem as proofs OF
his orthodoxy. He boasts that when his tragedy
of Zai,e was first performed, it was called the
Christian tragedy. In the tragedy Of Alzirc
Spanish Viceroy is murdered by q Peruvian In
dian, and when the assassin isbrought before HIM,
as he is dying, he says =
Learn now the difference between thy gods and mine
Thy gods command thee TO revenge and murder
And mine when thou hast stabbed me TO the heart,
Command pity and forgive thee
In his Henriadc, he glorifes Henry the Fourth
his ancestor. ST Louis, proves TO him the truth
Of the doctrine of transubstantiation and he
dedicated his tragedy of Mahomct to pope Benc-
DICT the XIVth, assuring him that in exposing
the ;mposter of false religion, there was no per-
so,, to whom the work could with so much pro-
or;et, he Il, dictated as to the head Of the true
RELIGION a compliment for which the sovereign
oontiff rewarded i,m, as a true and faithful son
of the holy church, wlthIms paternal and apostolic
bcnediction-
Now if the infidel neghkor Of the Rev. Mr.
Hubbard declared that he would have no further
confidence in me, if had been blowing hot and
cold, by publishing translation OF VOItalre's
Philosophical Dictionary, and yet protesting TOR
myself religious sentiments and opinions how
could he have any confidence in Yoltaire himself
such an adept in the art of blowing hot and
cold, that he wrote with the same pen his Pblo
sophical Dictionary and his Henrade, his Zalre,
his Alzire and his Mahomet--how could the In
fidel Justify himself for recommending TO his
friend the work of such weathercock lnrehglous
opinions as Voltaire, and yet profess to withdraw
all his confidence in me Tor my supposed neon
sistency in publishing the ntidel trash OF Vol
taire, and yet arow;ng religious sentiments for
myself
The truth is, that Voltaire was lively, sarcas-
eica, disingcnuous, preudccd fanatica dlsbellever
IN Christianity, ready to assume the mask of re-
iigion, or to cast it away, Just as ii suited his
interest or bis humor; intent above all things
upon making himself NAME and tatterlng HIM
self that his easiest way to do 1t was by demo
ashing the Christian religion. never thought
his Philosophical Dictionary worth reading, and
/ read his Bible only to desplse il.
have read also his Maid of Oreans, and de-
spised him also for that-iniamous for ITS perger-
sion of all moral principle, and all decency. Its
snjustice to one of the brightest characters IN
human history is its most crying SIN. a French
man who can think or SPEAK of Joan of Arc
without reverence, must have heart colder than
the everlasting ice Of the poles.
You are at liberty, sir, to make such use %
this letter as you think proper. am certainly
not ambitious of the reputation OF spending my
time in translating or in publishing No!taire'S
Philosophical Dictionary.
There are very few from some OF whose wrt-
.ngs have rccoilcd with more disgust and hor-
ror OF MS nfdelity and disSolute morals have
had more Il, surieit; and if have ever de
rived any benefit from them, ii has only been by
that process which extracts healing medicine
from the dcadhest pr.sons
am very respectfully and thankfully, dear sir,
Your obedicnt servant,
IouN O,INCY ApANS.''