The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1857-01-28
MAssAcHus AND THE puRlTANs.-No. o.

MASSACHUSETTS AND THE PURITANS.-No. 2.
This spirit political and religious intolerance and this
assumption of superiority in pey morals and intelligence
has survived many of the virtues which served to redeem
the Purans in the eyes of those who excused the intern
perance of their zeal the of the sincerity of their
faith The patriots Of these old and ia several respects
venerable Pgrimsmany of whose delnquencies may be
justly ascribd to the spirit of the which they vsd
still retain some Of the lees Of the old cask the true spirit
OF which is in great exhausted. They are still
infected with spritu, pre still bgoted and exclusive
They aspire the right to impose their opinions ard
dogmas on their neghbors and they maintain the same
old practice of persecnng In various indirect ways pc
cular to themselves, all those who differ with them by
burning converts hanging Roman Catholics, most es-
pecisy Irshmen and calling their southern neehbors
nansteaers and dealers in human fesh Thus far they
resemble their puritan orethers in their faults but
we fear not in their vrtues. Fanacism, overweight
religious ZEAL is plant of quick growth and sudden de-
cay 1t preys ITSELF and is at length consumed in its
own fires But it too often leaves behind in it's ashes
principle more dangerous than itself The fana-
icism Of one generation is succeeded by the hypocrisy
Of another which, having inherited the reputation Of its
foefahers for superior pie and finding that enthusiasm
which indispensable its maintenance gradually be-
1nevltaDle course OF
decay, substitutes outward forms for inward sancity,
bgotry for picy, and intolerance for religious ZEAL
Tsappears 10 be the with the descendants Of the
old Puritans Of the Nay Flower especially In Masssa-
chusets The heart Of the tree Is decayed aud nothing
but the bark remains. What with them strong con-
vction and reality 10 apparently little else than
arrogant assumption, spiritual pride and dogmatical
can't There is something beautiful in sincerity that
we cannot help respecting the man who errs from a
conviction of right But when politics the dis
guse of religion and analicism becomes only stimulus
to the malignant passions of mankind il longer merits
the honor OF sincerity. 1t is base mpostora hypo-
cte-a wifu maniac pretending to be mad only that he
may indulge his wicked propenstes without airy rcspon-
sby for the consequences Such seems to be the spirit
of puranism in s drcgs and DRAWINGS. Its piety when
sincere always vcrges towards sheer anatcsm and when
mixed up with politics the most dangerous of all the dis
guscs of hypocrisy Its enthusiasm rather political
than religious and the primitive piety Of the old Puraps
is now only the ghost of departed principle
We could not commit the injustice Of charging whole
people with hypocrisy We believe there yet some Of
the old lgHu pG of the Puritans left in Massachusetts
inconsderabe portion Of the and youth who have
Joined in this fratricda their ow-ctzens Of the
South least partially impressed by religious motives
and conscientious scrupes. But cannot extend the
same charity majority Of their leaders whom we hold
be rank hypocrites and mposor exclusively mpellcd