The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1859-04-28
The Fallaeies OF Freemen--A Lec-
ture by Rev. DIR. Bellows.


hear the Rev. DR.. Bellows lecture on the
"Fallacies of Freemen." The interval be-
tween the opening of the doors and the CON-
mencement of the discourse, was enlivened
and made pleasant by the music of Menter S
Band:
The speaker began 10y a reference to the
subjects which formed the topics of dis
courses and thought in these days. Per-
haps the most common Of all these, was Lib
erty. Ii had suffered so much by friction
that it was now as dull and unfragrant as its
image on copper coin of '76. Yet if any of
these could survive the contempt which
Familiarity bred, il would be Liberty
Freedom, he continued, was more imperiled
by the faithessness of its friends, than by
the assaults of its enemies. Did this seem
like paradox? The heavenly bodies had
their dark as well as their luminous sides,
and it was upon the dark side of Freedom,
that heshould try to throw his little light.
The first fallacy he would mention was
the belief of the friends of Freedom that all
loved it spontaneously. The love of Free
dom was not natural emotion. History
would show this. For all natural appetites
needed regulation and check; aud what men
everywhere loved, they everywhere strove TO
possess. 1t was plainly not so with Free
dom. Men loved il as they loved du-
ty, truth and self-sacrifce, only when
they did not interfere with the exer-
else of those more spontaneous emotions
of ease and qualification. How little spon-
taneity there was, after all, in the higher
oft ;lN.,ta Of nd hos
ent the interests of the human race were on
its Proyidential leaders those lamplighters
in Mansoul, who bore as ladders, crosses, and
fed the lights they kindled, with the mar
row Of their bones
Every nation that had attained freedom, or
light or truth, had been coaxed, whipped,
and dragged into it. He magnifed the Of
flee of the teachers of the race. What the
chest was to the lungs, the mass of humanity
was to the spirit of freedom, binding it by
tue stern limits of convention and custom
1t was only in after ages that humanity gar
nished the tombs of its prophets, with the
very stones with which it had slain them.
If this love of freedom were such an over
weening and perilous passion of our nature,
how was it that the Frenchmen of the nine
tcenth century had raised up the Nephew
of my Uncle" into the saddle under which
he had been borne by them to the throne
Was it liberty that had wrought this, or
the superior love of ease? The French were
a people of prodigious powers-at both ends
the head apd the heels. But there seemed
to be no middle part, where the heart was
to be found. The friends Of Liberty COM
mitted the fallacy of supposing that the
love of Freedom was universal, thinking
that they were dealing with powder mag
azine, and not that they had to do as they
really did, with green log.
The second fallacy the speaker mentioned
was, regarding Liberty as a Right rather
than Duty; as Privilege rather than Re-
sponsibility We had chosen here, as the
synonym of Fresdom, the word "Indepen-
dence." And it is noticeable that this word
in the sense in which we used it, did not
occur in our language until early in the lsth
century.
Independence, etymologically considered
referred TO something taken away, not some
thing conferred To give liberty, was TO
take away the cushions and supports that
had showed one up. In conferring freedom,
did we bestow right. or impose duty
The question was one of import. There
was no duty so much shrunk from even in
countries professedly free as the duty Of be-
ing free. II was so easy to obey customs
and cOuventionalisms, and follow leaders |
Dependence had its pleasures, and as we
| marched from Egypt over the Sinai wilder
ness of freedom, We sometimes hankered
| after the flesh-pots of bondage. Few of US
/ haa "A IL, l.,
when we could sneak up through the ub )er
! hole.
The speaker described, at some length,
the shrinking which the young always felt
| when the knife of manhood severed them
| from the parent stock ana made them indi-
viduals. This shrinking from independence
! explained the lecturer thought the general
willingness of youth to die. II could not
! 90 back to the dependence of childhood, and
! so it wanted to go TO the next best place
the grave.
Asking for liberty was asking for leave
| to work. IL was asking to have the cush-
ions of dependence removed and the yoke
of labor imposed.
| The smoothest faces belong TO children
and the most child-like nations. We were
constantly reminded of the laughter and
songs of our slaves, which drowned the
clanking OF their chains. Why ignore the
fact that it was the clanking that tuned the
melodiesl Bondage dried up the sacred
fountain of tears far sooner than il did the
less sacred source of smiles.
II was the "Man of Sorrows who was
the liberator of the race.
Travellers said we Americans wore the
saddest and most anxious conntenances of
any people. SO we ought, for we are the
lreest OF people. Ii we would see the mer-
riest countenances, we should go to those
light-hearted nations where Freedom had
never conversed with Humanity.
The Feast days of people were in pro-
portion 10 their Freedom. some who saw
the mirth of Italy and Spain thought Re,
tpublicanism something grave and anxious
The difference was that between the boy
hood and the manhood of nation We
should learn, in the noble words of Johr
Milton, "to prefer hard liberty before tn,
easy yoke of serrile pomp." There was nc
danger that nations would do this too rap
idly. Our effort should be towards inducing
them to do so, and not towards restraining
them. Every true nation was Saint Chris
topher wading through the food of Revo