Le Louisianais. [volume] (Convent, La.) 1865-1883, 1868-10-24
Passions and Ideas.

Men who are prone to abstract reflection arc
very APT 10 regard The solution Of political ant
sociological questions as depending merely
on The results of conflicting ideas Revolution.
hey are often heard 10 assume, j. Simply The
Violent preponierance OF one set Of aniaront~.
nc IDEAS over another set, and. ON ,he Other
band. stability is the rroIrct OF a movable
equilibrium of an'ngoniSiic IDEAS, in which
progress takes pace By a regular aud pc,rc.
fnl alienation of action md reaction. There
Is a fatal flaw in this niell,Dl Of accnnurtru Tor
war or peace, Tor stability OF Instability. Il
ignores Tie paramount office and he terrible
play OF he pa SsionS. Abstract ideas frn4n ,aS.
slnnS, if you can. and what do they become 4
Are they capable Of snch conflicts as may
c%onvnlse society and subvert government /?
WHAT var did an idea ever produce? What
bloody conquest did an idea ever achtete7
The truth is that there is no more warljke
power or propensity in those IDEAS. regarded
strictly as ideas, which are frequently spoken
OF as a9i,a,ing society aud conlendinn for
p"i'tIcal ascendancy. Than there is in liz
axi"ms and propositions of Euclid. There can
be no more nrlagoniSm between them than
there is between a comic section and a roll,
ang!eA triangle. Nor would men. viewing
them from the standpoint, of pnre in,clleclion.
experiences any more impulse 10 fight ahnu,
Them, than 10 fight abnn, multiplication and
addition, or 10 cnt Gael, others thtoaiS in q
contest to destroy vulgar fractions with deci.
mails, or rice rerSa.
Rnt il may be said lha, men have unavoid.
able differences Of opinion. which llpv may
believe TO be founded in diSpaSsiora,e r,rson.
Indeed. William Goodwin once Woe am chb.
crate essay 10 prove that mcn-even lie urea.
test cri,ninals-always act with the belief l,la,
their action is reasonable. While srra n
theory cancels moral criminslity and de-
thrones conscience. it n'ieriv f.ilS to accom-,
for those thousands and thousand. cr case, 81
human Inconsistency so gazing and 50 i'm
pressive as 10 make ii as familiar a>a proye,b
and much trnrr than the bnlk Of prove,hiul
philosophy, that men are nearly always worse
or better then their creeds.
TT TrfTT~r nnsl -nIaN n
symbolic part, while passions organize heir
opposing forces. and lead them TO tho corAic,
But It frequently happens that those WHO con.
tend with The nimc>t frenzy for The overthrow
n' certain institutions ard the establishment
OF others. are coolIy agreed with their foes on
The abstract principles npon which govern.
meni oneht TO be organized and conducted. A
signal instance If such a coincidence of ideas
amidst conflicting passions was witnessed in
the late nter.secliona war. Leaders on both
sides wer" fonnd uniting in the belief that the
federal constitution was an admirable VOL of
political wisdom which had given 10 he world
an eNemple of '1he best government on the
face of the earth" And yet. al hat moment.
this government, so bean'iinl in The abstract.
was visibly and scandalonsly falling to secure
the peace. the Union and the liberty which
were the objects Of lis formation Narrower.
the vicforinns section has been in,en, ON oil
m'na''ng all those constitutional principles
which gave to the federal organization lis
ideal beauty, and is now, apparent y. on the
eve OF erecting one of the most mons,rous and
h'deons despotisms which the world ever saw.
In short, the passions which brought sbont
Inc war are still at work, and we cannot look
Tor better political conditions until those pas.
siohs have died on, and are succeeded by
others less malign in their nature and more
wholesome in their tendency.
lN. O. Crescent
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