American union. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1855-1859, 1856-04-19
LIBERTY AND NsEPARABLE"
MOu0NGALA COUNTY, VA SATURDAY APRIL n 1855
THE nErUnLIcs OF ASrreurrr.

] Ihis Is an advance on the ancient
world. The ancient Greeks and Ro.
mans recognized the city or tho State
as the principle Of authority. The
! whole Gi9co- Roman civilization is ba-
sed on the State, on the supremacy of
the State, and its absolute authori,y.--
So far as organizing the State for Its
own protection or. its own preservation.
we can conceive nothing moro wisely
devised, more skilfully organized, than
the ancient Groeco-Roman Republic
It's majesty was everywhere apparent
and we trace it even in its ruins to-day.
But under that GRECO Roman ciyiliza-
ton there was no such thing as individ-
ual liberty. There were the rights of
tho citizen; but there were no rights Of
man. Thcro tho man was absorbed in
the citizen, and the citizen in the State.
Whafcverthe State commanded the In
} dividual must do. There was no high.
er law recognized no higherlaw admit
ted, than Rome Commands or Athens
} ordains, and the people must obey
The individual and Religion itself, un.
der that civilization, were subjected to
the city. And when il had its fullest
4 q,
J the Emperor resumed in himself all the
elements Of liberty and authority, and
!, was by the order of things which exist
ed, recognized at once as Emperor, Su-
preme PoDtih, and God. There was
nothing above him, and hence, though
there was freedom for the state, there
was no freedom for the Individual
Athens when boasling other Liberty,
had her twenty or her thirty thousand
freemen, aud her four hundred and thir-
Ity thousand slaves, and she saw no in.
compatibility between the liberty which
she asserted aud tho slavery which she
, maintained.
THE CAUSE OF THEIR DECLINE AND OUR
SUPERIORITY. st
But no State, orga Dized on this prin.
} clp'e, can be perpeiuated, and we may
t ascribe the fall of the Roman empire,
, not to her lack of power, to her lack of
} population, to her lack Of the means of
, war. or to her lack of science or skill in
] discipliniog and directing her armies, -
She was. at any moment, so far "a all
: these thugs were concerned amply "a
, bic to repel the barbarian hordes from
$ her frontiers, why then did she fall e.
Because The massof that population were
3 slaves, and it is only freemen who can
, sustain State. Loud and prolonged
, applause.
Wo have in our own country. as it
, regards tho State, all that was wise, and
, all that was just and desirable i'm the
; Gi@co Roman State. But we have
added one element which that wanted.
We have added that which call the in.
dividual, or lndiyidual fieedom, which
we are III the habit of expressing in our
own American way as "The Rights of
Man"
INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM INTRODUCED
This element of Individual Freedom
was introduced III part into the mod :
ern European world by tho barbarians,
amongst whom the State was But fee.
, bic while tho Individual was strong
1t was also introduced by Christianity,
and was consecrated by it, for Christi
anity recognizes all men as equal be-
fore God, and recognizes each as a hu-
man being, as soul, with all the rights
ofthe soul, and il asserts, moreover a
a law above all human law, tho law Of
God, which is the will of him who is
the King of Kings aud Lord Of Lords.
Applduse.l
THE RESULTS OF INDIyIDuAL AsCEHDENcY---
SOCIETY IN THE OZARK AGEsn
This element Of Individuaism, when too
strong, when exclusive. is fatal TO the Gov
ernment, and the Stale tends TO anarchy,
which is worse than the worst despoli SIN.
|, In what we call the "dark ages,"-,hat is.
what would call the era Of barbarians, this
IItiI nln IL.
effort OF European society was TO control it.,
. and to introduce and establisha strong cen.
tral government able to keep it in order.---
But owing TO the barbarism OF the times,
, never IN Europe were they able 10 adjust
Tue two elements. Either the State was 100
strong, and swallowed up the individual, or
inc individual was too strong and tended to
destroy the State or central power For
moment IL seemed the true order would 9e
hit upon when the Westero Empire was re-
yived in the person of Charlemogne at the
beginning Of the ninth century. You had
then apparently in tho feudal system the In-
divldnal element recognized. You had ia
The Imperial system the authority of society.
You had the Church. but unhapply the ball
ance Of The Individual element and the I'm.
perial element was not properly preserved
For time, fendaism gains the upper hand,
which after all was Individual Liberty, not
for tho masses, but only forthe feuda mobiles.
The Baron only was free, anl the Barons
constituted only small minority. The
great masses Of the peasaniry and sorrs were
unbenefited By this particular freedom of
The Baron, They naturally aided, therefore,
with the enemy Of these Borons; and then
commenced the struggle for the overthrow
OF The fendal system which was continued
through tho fourteenth, fifteenth and six.
Iiecnth Centuries when monarchy ttiurnphed
and tho nations Of Europe became so diyid.
ed among themselves, and go hostile one 10
Innother, the religious unity also being bro.
ken, that theto was no hope Of Europe for
long time, il ever, being able TO reoraanize
society ond give MS the model Of Repni,lic
where all three elements wete properly ad.
juse6 one TO the other.