New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-01-04

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/ hThomas Carlyle or any ether gave up that cause,
world not he. II was urged that Liberty dan
geous, but everything WAS dangerous; out ofhi nethe
Cfdanger plucked the flower Of safety. Hereupon
this ground lie wouldstak his stand. II there was
seevidence IN anything Il was in this, that Freedom
was the essential condition Of all good TO man was
the law Of all leaning. virtue and progress. In read
ing The writings Of Confucus or the poet OF the Ma
bobaTna one felt that the sages themselves free,
and that II the people could not understand these II
was because they oppressed. But the FIRST great
step in Liberty and the march of mind was taken in
the Hebrew land nowhere in all antiquity there
such freedom ~ there the political state Of Judea had
even been compared TO that of the Swiss Cautions The
influence Of the Hebrew writings writings which could
not have been produced without the freedom OF the
Hebrew people, was imrnense il was hardly extrava
CANT To say that for one who had read Homer or
Sophocles, 10000 had read the Hebrew Scriptures:
This eternal reliance II the Hebrews, on right and
final vengeance. produced ncessant rebellion against
Rsmsn rule and the most obstinate defense of their
Holy City which the world had ever seen. Their lit
eratue todd the whole story. Beside the Hebrew Ri.
bic the Puranas and the zeid Avesta were cold aud
formal.
Out OF the heart OF rolled
The burden. Of the Bible Old
There but three eras of light in the ancient world
the Hebrew, Greek and Roman; there were three
equal eras of liberty. But the masses OF the people
were not free in any Of these. Gervnus, indeed main
tanned that the natural order Of things was first law
leSSness, then despotism to control 1t, and lastly
liberty; that this ~as going on eternaly among
nations. Progress in liberty implied past restriction,
and past restriction was necessary Popular suffrage
was impossible in China or India. Caste and impe-
nal absorption of all power were necessary to the
maintenance Of those societies. Freedom was former
y for the few, now II for the many once the
freedom of power Il had become the freedom of right.
Christianity had worked the change; it astonishing
to see how much Freedom talked about by the
early Christian writers. His great faith In Freedom
was founded in ts foundation Christianity. The
change had been accomplished very slowly. In the
...ph MIR tbe ri a-fa
10 the noblesse petition in which they SAID, Treat
an younger brother and we will love aud honor
you" The noblesse shocked ut this familiarity
and addressed to the King these indignant words;
." Sire, the third estate, which holds the lowest
crank, forgetfu Of every duty, Is pleased
"to compare itself with u. We are
ashamed to repeat the offensive language they have
L" used. They compare your realm to family com
opposed of three brothers. owhat miserable condi.
" ton are fallen if this is true T" The world had
taken some steps since then: The French noolesse
were forgotten. DIR. Dewey dwelt upon the material
advantages of the people III Europe and especially IN
England, a. instances of this progress. The nobest
traits Of humanity had appeared at these grand eras
of humanity. All the great battles and all great NC
tories had been fought by Freedom against Power;
The worlds martyrdoms were all for Liberty. He had
often passed the spot under the walls of Geneva where
Servetus was burned with green wood fire three
hundred years ago last October. Servetus said
nothing his emotions were too deep and grand to be
pronounced, but DIR. Dewey spoke for him.
The world, he said, cherished the memory
of martyrs; Thennopye was name of
everlasting strength. The great battles OF history had
been between the nations of the East and the nations
Of the West On five different occasions Eastern hosts
had met Western Liberty, and on each of these occa-
eions numbers had yielded to Freedom. First at Mar
ashon where Greece was saved from being trampled
to death by eephantine Persia next ut Arbela, when
the fate of Asia decided and Greek ascendancy
was secured; thirdly at the Metaurus, where the
genius Of Hannibal proved unequal to cope with the
Freedom of the Roman people and the Seneitic race
Welded the empire of the Mediterranean to the Peas-
eic; foprthly at Chaons, where Germany, France
Britain aud America too, rescued from the yoke
of Atila and his Huns; and lastly at Tours, where
in 732 Charles Marte checked the Saracenlc TIDE
which was sweeping over Europe and pre-
vented the substitution of the Koran for the
Bible in European faith and culture. What was true
Liberty7 1t was not the freedom to do what would
The law of obedience must run parallel to the law of
Llbeuy-obedence to the Law and tho Constitutions If
they seemed to be wrong our business should be to
amend and not to break them. If a man were con-
WINGED that the Constitution was wrong be must amend
the Constitution or the Constitution must amend him.
But his highest couviction-and let him take care
that it be rational and not fanatica-that highest law
let him obey and take the consequences. Liberty was
solemn thing. II bond well as boon. He could
Imagine man to protest and to tremble when II was
conferred upon him. But let that Liberty come. He
INVOKED it with IIampden and sydney, with Rlenzl
and Dante, with Hamilton and Washington:
He Is q freeman whom the truth makes Tree,
l.If.wo bod