Monongalia mirror. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1855, 1852-10-30
owe Of country has beon deemed 81

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Prowcss has been, in all past time
regarded by too many as the chief o.
virtues. Long ages have braided
their wreaths Of honor around the
brow Of returning conquerors, red
with the blood of the slain. ,"The
alteration of innumorable hearts has
been freely rendered them. Theil
names have been; inscribed upon mon 2
uments Of enduring marble. Histo
rians have transmitted to posterity the
records oftheir heroic deeds, and en-
raptured poets have consecrated sls thse
choicest productions Of their genius
to the celebration Of their Tpraise.9'---
The din of martial music, the roar O
artillery, and the clash of.resounline
arms, mingled with I; the shlrieks Of TIE
wounded and the death-groans of the
slain, have bent their charms to the
poetry of the i"tented fields. "s The
wasted treasures Of nations, that might
have poured a tide of happiness int te
myriads Of anguished hearts: The
tears Of widowhood and orphanage
and allthe unpitied agonies ofibosoms
cleaved by tho devouring sword, have
been forgotten, in the universal, pro
longed and enthusiastic hurra! ltis
q painful fact that war fires have been
kept alive for ages, in the stern bosom
of the insatiate Moloch Of Religious
Intolerance! There is good reason
to believe that if, at this hour, the
doctrine Of freligious freedom was u.
Universally receiveddin the world, the
nations would begin at once to " beat
their swords into plough-shares and
their spears into pruning hooks" "and
henceforth s'learn war no more for.
ever ii f5siostii : ,ftagi = ts!ia ! iiei
The doctrine of Roger Williams,
for which he suffered banishment from
the Paritan, Pilgrim, Christian (D
colony of Massachusetts in A. d.
l635,isi the oil to cast upon the troub.
led waters of aiwarring world, that il
may be hushed to peace. Already,
"iunder our vine and fig tree" in this
our "goodly heritage" we hear the
yotaries Of every religion saying, one
to another, "come and,lct us reason
together,p while an appeal to the
sword would shock even the least toll
Grant as being out of place, behind
the age, and barbarousin in the extreme.
There is something in the 'liye-and-
let-liye system of religious freedom
which appeals to the heart and brings
into amicable spredominance, its best
feelings. No one hates, or would
harm you for thinking for yourself,
while you allow him the same privil.
ege, and respect him all the more for
usingiit. ltis only whenyou attempt
to do your own thinking and your
neigbbor's also, thathe is exasperated
by your officiousness, and feels a de-
sire, even though it transcend,his pre-
roga.iye,-to punish you for thinking
at all! 5.,.ys.,.ti53a "; .i..e,oi.i
Under our uplifted banner Of Reli-
gious Freedom, we already suerefa-
gees from persecution in every land,
the subjects Of all governments and
the friends Of all religions under the
sun, grasping the friendly hand and
smiling complacently in each others
eyes. The brazen barriers Of ages.
that made the nations strangers and
barbarians 10 each other, are falling
before the trumpet blast Of Religious
Freedom. Every tribe and tongue
flows into one great new-formed peo.
pie, who. with generous hearts and
friendly intellects, under the workings
Of, new dispensation Of Providence,
are cyphering over the great prob.
lens Of life anew. sg
The swelling bosom Of humanity
dilates with hope. The manacled
slave takesheart. The miserable serf
lifts his leaden eyes, to gaze upon the
Frightening fields Of his glorious fi.
ture. The trembling monarch sits
restless upon his crumbling throne,
while the breaking light that streaks
the eastern sky, proclaims at hand
that "better time coming the long
desired jubilee Of the world.
D. B. PURlNToN.
Correspondence of the ahirror,n