Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1863-05-06

+ TRASTE6-0PPoSITE THEORIES AS TO TIE
ORIGIN OF SOCIETY AND OF POLITICAL GeT.
ERNMENT-L0CKE, ARISTOTLE, SIR P0BERT
FILMER, BROUGHAM, AND eARLfLE-IDEN
THY OF SOUTHERN C0NSERvATIsM AND
ENGLISH TORYIsM,
By esczss FIt.hag1.
wRirJxs FOR DEBow's REYIEw
The Revolution of 1915 was, when subjected to the
SEARCHING analysis of learned and comprehensive phi
loso,cy the commonest thing in nature. The birth Of
: child, or the weaving Of calf, exctes no wonder,
and stirs up anaca aor because of their frequent
occurrences yet The birth of nation, the separation
of colon from i. parent STEM are events quite as
much IN The order Of nature the birth of child the
weAni1 Of calf the dropping of the rpened apple
from hs parent stem. The Revolution of '76 had moth
ing dramatic, nothing novel, nothing grand about It,
Every child aud efey chicken that getting old enough
and strong enough to take care Of ITSELF quits its pa
rents and up for eelf is quite as singular and ad-
mrable spectacle, as that of the thirteen adult States
Of America soeunly resolving to cut loose from the
state OF pupage and dependence their parent Eng
land and thereafter to assert and enjoy the rights
of independent manhood. II was exceedingly vulgar,
common place affair 1t had nothing poetic or dramatic
about it birth, christening, circumcision, or the
induing Of the "t0Ja ViriS-in fact, anything that
marked an epoch in life was quite admirable as this
weaving Of the American calf from its TRANSATLANTIC
| dam.
|
enough TO do so, and had been thus setting up for
themselves since the world began, and excited
der by the procedure. SO well aware were che Greeks
OF this fact, that they anticipated and sbvated this
weaving procedure which, whether 1t occur with Colo
MES calves chickens, occasions heart burning, Tam
y auarrels scratching and peeking and fghtng; that
they sent their Colonies as fultedged and ndepen
( dent nations Declarations Of Independence
known then Nothing so pompou', SO mGEdpr0poS and
so sy to be found in history uutl our Revolution OF
1 - ed han, e
in France vet all the artillery in the world fired stimuli
taneously could not make Ihe birth the weaving Of
a baby or a nation a grand or imposing event. Either
occurrence is decidedly vulgar and commonplace, and
Columbian Orators 4th Of July oralons and lengthy
C0lumbiads ia endeavoring to celebrate and dramae
| them only serve to render them more ridiculous.
All the bombasic absurditieS in our Declaration of
Independence about the inalienabe rights of had
about as much to do with tie OCCASION would
mon or an Grafton the teething Of child or the
kiltening of a cat
The ont Of heaven full OF hery shapes,
or burnilg cressets; and a. my birth,
shaAd like coward
Al the same season. II your mothers cat had
But kitten'd-tR ing Henry ~ dct8d, scene Ha.
1t would have been well for Us if the seemingly pom.
pous uaniiCs of the Declaration OF independence of
the Virginia Bill of Rights aud the Act of Religious
Federation had remained dead letters. But they had
strength, vitality and meaning in Them, utterly
COmprehended by their charlatauic nalfeMned, pc
dantic authors which rendered them most potent en-
gines of desHuctiyeness. Our Institutions State and
Federal, imported from England where they had grown
up naturally and impercepdbly and adapted to Pc
culiar circumstances by like natural growth and acore-
ton might and would have lasted for very many ages
had not silly, thOughtess, halI-iniormed speculative
charlaans, like Jefferson succeeded in basng them
such infammabe and explosive materials those 10
be found in the instruments which we have mentioned
gNyliH hin
literally from Lockes Essays on Government-Locke
distinguished himself in pure physcs-deceved
and led astray the phosophic world for two centuries
by system OF materialsm and consequent infdelty,
which he himself did not comprehend at least, the
necessary deductions from which he did not Oresee.-
protesting Christian himself be is the father Of all
modern nidelity-infdelity in religion, in moras in
everything. Rousseau borrowed from him. and sOwed
his infde and anarchca principles broadcast through
! out Chrstendom. Lockes metaphysics ignored all ill.,
nate ideas all instincts, all intuition and involuntary
faiths beliefs and opinions. Man. according to his doc
,rine a mere reasoning machine, ard derived all
his knowledge aud all his dgmsn- and opinions leon,
impressions made upon his mind, through the medium
of his senses by external objects 1t is not bust
ness now TO refute this theory, follow il the
oretcally or historically, into its materialistic nfdel
and anarchic consequences We have only to do with
him as a political pedagogue: as presumptuOus char
latan Who ignorant OF the science n practice of
government 3ny shoemaker or horse Ky, attempt
ed to introduce his false and lnhdel metaphysics into
the field of politics.
Aristotle had taught and his teachings had been re-
spected and needed for thousand years. that socc
w. or government, was natural to man; that lie was
born under government, born member of society and
did originate government and society; That men,
like bees and ants and herds and ocks were impeled
into society by their natures their wants their instincts
and intuitions; that in fact society and government
in their origin grand outlines the works of
God and not of man. He taught further that in al
h,,
others to obey that inequality, not equality was the
necessary condition OF men, bees, ants and all other
sksl and gfegarous animals Zoe society can only ex.
ist series OF subordinatious Hence, he Aristote)
begins his treatise governments with dissertation
the family, and on slaves as ltural and apprOpI e.
part of the family. Human incgua'ity aud the natur'@
keodmade origin Of society and Of government are the
distinguishing features of his political doctrines.
Human equality, and the orgination and entire con-
sruction of society and government by man. are the
Distinguishing, and only distinguishing features of the
woud-be political philosophy Of Locke. He teaches
the doctrine Of the social contract or compact and
distinctly explains it to mean that men Gte not by
nature social animals, but originally lived each aduie
separate to himself ndependen, and seltgoverning-
That society is institution which in process of time
grew ont Of positive agreement or compact and that
only those who entered into this agreement bound
by it. This is all absurd enough but he is not content
gaTing faulty. He adds that not only originally did
men become members OF society by positive agreement,
Dut tnRt even HOW nO Vhe DeSOiues sucCt VI So'ih
ment OF member Of society except by express agree
ment.
His metaphysic drove him to these nonsrous cDn-
illusions for TO admit that society instructive aud
not the rat of reasoning from experience was 10
ad.lt the doctrine Of innate deas-the doctrine Of
Aristotle and the Perpatetcs, which his philosophy
was intended to refute.
1t is not strange that Locke should have invented
the theory Of the social contract but at first view it
is passing strange that the civilized world should have
accepted it as political axiom The wonder is essered
however, when find that this theory is first broacbed
by him in reply to Sir Thomas Fimer's Patiacha, or
the Divine right OF Kings, for the world was ready to
accept any doctrine rather than consider that implicit
submission due to tyrants however cruel or how
ever Incompetent. After frequent reading Of Sir
Roberts book, are quite at loss to know what was
his exact meaning and intention. In some passages he
seems merely to DOd that government and society are
natural and iod-made and that all rulers should be
obeyed by Individuals if appointed by God This