The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1862-12-25
A Retrospect.

thropy, and wisdom that the world ever
saw. The basis of the system of reli
gion which he taught was love, which
distinguished IL from the other system Of
religion which were held by the nations
of the earth. Mahomet and other false
prophets trusted to the sword to estab-
Iish their doctrines, but the Author OF
Christianity appealed solely to the hearts
and judgments of the people. Spread
ing banner of celestial light from one
end of the world TO the other, he traced
Che word Lone upon its folds, and exclaim-
ed, "By this thou shalt conquer" Time
rolled onward, until at last in the lapse
ofyears, America becume a nation. The
the birth of our government seemed bless
ed with peculiarly propitious circumstan-
ces. We were not only civilized, Chris
tian people, but were interrupted by the
vices of the old world, and far removed
from contact with the deleterious infiu-
ences which had been the plague of Eu-
ropean governments. Oar infant Repub-
lie was based upon the rights of man,
and recognized not only the right but
the capability of man to govern himself
We had not only greatpolitical and NOR
nj advantages, but also material, and
physical advantages, without limit in
rich soil, endless variety of climate, and
every natural facility for commercial in
tercourse, There was nothing left for us
TO desire, for Providence seemed to have
anticipated all our wishes, and taxed its
boundIess treasures TO crafty them TO
tbe utmost. AS Minerva, the Goddess of
wisdom, was said to have sprang forth
from the brow of Jupiter, in matured
strength and beauty, so Columbia
"sprang forth Palias, armed and urdehlod''
upon the theatre Of action. Millions
hailed her advent from one end OF the
civilized world to the other, for they
hoped that she would set so glorious
an example to the rest OF the world,
that other nations, would follow her foot
steps, adopt her policy, and make their
citizens free, prosperous, and happy, like
her own. SO great was our prosperity
that immigrants from all countries flock
ed to our shores, to share in our good
fortune. Men grew rich in a day, cities
sprang up as if by magic, and ali kinds
of business prospered, until we literally
reyelled in an excess Of wealth and pow
or. Strangely, sadly different is now
the scene of dismay, .desolatiOn, dark
ness and. death which now surrounds us
Like the doomed suitors of Penelope, at
their last banquet, before the avenging
bow of Ulysses spread death in their
ranks. visions of blood meet our eyes on
every side. We hear the roar of cannon,
in the morning, and lilo down at night
while the earth trembles with the shock
of battle. The scene reminds us of Sa-
IathiePs description of the burning OF
the Amphitheatre at Rome, where all
the wild beasts of the jungles and des-
erts of Africa broke loose from their
burning cages, and clutched each others
tbroats in last terrible death struggle,
amid the roar of the surrounding flames.
Never was nation 80 smitten with fren-
Hy; never did people engage in civil
butchery SO causelessly and foolishly'
Despite of the falsehoods of newspapers
and partisans, this great fact is incon-
trovertible That corrupt politicians
dragged the South into rebellion, because
she people had voted them out of office.
This has been recorded by the finger of
God himself, on the page of history, and
posterity will remember the declaration
forever. Neither lying excuses, nor
gilded defamation, can conceal this sim
ple statement of the case from the eyes
of mankind. II will remain in letters of
living light until time shall be no more.
II is awful TO contemplate such folly,
and wickedness. Is this all that
we have learned from Christianity,
and is il thus We have used the
ten talents of Liberty, law, religion,
independence, nationality, democracy,
power, wealth, commerce, and.invention,
which God loaned us from the treasury
of heaven? To us this serene Christmas
morning appears 20 rise, like the spirit of
n cruciiied Christ, TO reproach us for the
commission of an INCAPABLE crime
against the human race. Had we stain