Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1851-08-04
For the Portage Sentinel.
On the Equality of Mankind.


On the Equality of Mankind.
Men, OF whatever rank, kindred or tribe,
are the offspring o!the great Parent of the
universe. Every man, however low his
station in the present world, is endowed
with spiritual principle, which he receiv.
ed by the inspiration of the Almighty, |
which is superior to all the mechanism and
notifications Of matter, and by which he
is allied to beings Of superior order.-
The laculties OF PERCEPTION, memory, con>
ception, judgment, reasoning, and moral
feeling, are common to men of all casts
and nations Again; mankind are on ON
equality in respect to that moral dep,avi,y
with which they are all infected, from whats
ever cause il may be conceived TO have
originated. The fact is certain, that
mora! disease has spread itself through oil
the branches of the human family, in what
ever station they may be placed. This
deprayity inlects the higher ranks Of man.
kind equally with the lower, thong b among
the former it is sometimes varDlshed over
with iairee exterior, and therefore, there
is no rank or order OF men shst has any
good reason, on this ground, ior despising
their fellow creatures, or Withholding the
exercise Of affection and good manners
/ Again: Mankind all possess, substantial
ly, the same pleasures and enjoymenls. 1t
is common saying though, nevertheless,
true and important one, that happiness
does not depend upon the rank and station
we occupy in life, nor upon the quaatity Of
wealth or riches we possess. The pleasure
which flow from the movements OF the sys-
tenn of nature and from the beauties which
adorn the heavens and the earth, are corn
mon and open 10 all the inhabitants of the
globe. The rising sun, the smiling day,
the fowery landscape, purling streams, the
loftly mountains, the fertile wales, the YER
dure Of the meadows, the ruddv hues of the
evening clouds, the rainbow adorned with
all the colors Of light, the songs Of the
nightingale and the lark, the breath of
spring, the fruits of harvest; the azure sky,
the planets in their courses, the moon
walking in brightness, the radiant host of
stars, convey to the mind thousands of
delightful images and sensations which
charm the cotlager and the mechanic no
less than the sons Of opulence and fame.
Nor does it materially detract from these
enjoyments in the care Of the peasant that
his body is frequently hung with rags, that
he subsists on the coarsest fare and repos.
es under the thatch Of nsiserrble hut, for
habit is the great evelier of mankind. 1t
reconciles US TO oinnumerable inconveniences
and privations, and blun:s the edge of the
keenest pleasures. The owner OF prince.
ly mansion frequently loathes the most de.
licious danties of his table and walks thro'
his magnificent apartments, surrounded
with paintings and decorations, with as
much apathy and indifference us if he were
in an ladian wigwam, so that in pleasure
of sense, Of affection and sentiment, there
is no essential distinction between the high
and the low the rich and the poor. All
are exposed 10 the same sorrows and affiic-
lions. Disuppointments, anxiety, disgrace,
accidents, pain, sickness, disease, loss oi
wealth, fortune and honor, friends and rela.
tives, are equally the lot of the prince and
the peasant. The prince in the cradle is
a being as weak and feeble, as dependent
on his nurse, has rs many wants TO be
supplied, is liable TO as many diseases and
acc idents, and requires as many exertions
to learn TO lisp, to speak and to walk, as
the new born babe of his meanes! subject.
And all ranks come TO the same termina.
tion of their mortal existence. '.Dust thou
art and unto dust thou shalt return" is a
decree which has gone forth against eve.
ry inhabitant of our globe, of whatever
kindred, rank or nation. The tombs oil
the mighty princes, of intrepid generals, oi
illusirious statesmen, may be adorned with
lofty columns, with sculptured marble and
aattering Inscriptions, but within their var
nished monuments their bodies present pu.
trid carcasses as loathsome and as much
the prey of worms and corruption as the
corpse of the meanest vassal. Their eyes
are equally impenetrable to the light oi
day-they are equally deaf to the charms
Of music, and their tongues are equally
silent in this land of forgetlulness. In
view Of these considerations think you that
roll in opulence and lounge upon sofas
think whether you are off On upper crusl
or merely on an equality with the rest ol
your fellow mortals. Think not that be.
cause you with avarice and device have
heaped tegether sordid wealth at the ex>
pense of many of those around you, that
you were born merely to oppress the poor
and trample beneath your unholy feet the
rights of the laboring poor, and thereby
make them victims of despair. Think not,
you who have long been the citizens of a
township that you may be the instruments
of devastation 10 those who will not submit
to your injunctions, but, on the other hand,
regard them as members of the same COM
mon family with rights as sacred as yours.
! S. D. N.
| Who believes that Judge Wood will play
the Governor any more in accordance with
the Principles of the new constitution than