SECTION XII. The objection, that the time has not yet come to bring forward the ANOTHER objection, against any endeavours, at present, to oppose the custom of war, is raised by those who say," the time is not come." Procrastination has been the ruin of thousands of precious souls; yet it is often pleaded by pious men as an excuse for apathy and sluggishness in their Master's service. But I would ask, what reason has any one for saying that the time is not come? Are we, who are now on the stage of action, to expect any better time for us to occupy our talent in the cause of peace, rather than to hide it in a napkin, and thereby forfeit the blessing which our Saviour pronounced on the peace-makers, that "they shall be called the children of God?" I would say to my readers of either sex, if they are young-This is the very time to guard your youthful minds against the delusions of war. Youth are fond of excitement; and the drum, the trumpet, and other instruments of martial music, are calculated for excitement. The books you read are likely to prejudice your minds in favour of war, with all its wickedness and its fatal effects, both temporal and eternal. The pictures and statues which you see, are intended to raise your admiration of those who have figured on the bloody field; and, in fact, almost everything around you in this fallen world, tends to inspire you with a delight in military glory. Now, therefore, is the time, before the prejudices of education become indelible. Search the Scriptures, and see if the spirit of war be at all consistent with the spirit of the Gospel. Search, and you will find that "those things which are highly esteemed among men, are abomination in the sight of God." Read the peace publications. Study the subject with a determination to learn your duty. Judge not a cause before you have heard it, lest it should be found folly and shame unto you, both in this life and that which is to come. Seck the things which make for peace, if you mean to enjoy peace of mind and the Saviour's benediction. Give no countenance to war, by attending military parades. Were there no spectators, there would be no military display. A soldier in uniform feels as though he were a head taller when a troop of boys and girls are following at his heels. Are you past the age of boyhood; You may soon be called upon to do militia duty, and encounter all the temptations of the muster-field, and be exposed to the example of intemperance, profanity, and probably of licentiousness. On your decision may hang your eternal destiny. As you value your immortal soul, I conjure you to keep away from such scenes. Now is the time for you to decide. If you once subinit, it will be difficult for you to refuse hereafter. Make up your mind, and plead the liberty of conscience guaranteed to you by the constitution, and to which you have as good a right as a Quaker, a Shaker, or a Moravian. You may suffer for it; but if you suffer for conscience sake, you will not lose your reward. Are you a parent? Now is the time to determine whether you will bring up your children to follow Moloch or Christ, for they cannot follow both at once. If you are determined to do what you can to promote the cause of peace, and to help on the millennium, see to it that the minds of your children are not poisoned with military toys, or poems, or novels, or plays, which breathe the spirit of war. Your children will be, on this subject, what you make them. Mothers, remember that "those who rock the cradle, rule the world." (See Section 11.) Are you advanced in life? Now is the time to exert yourself for the good of your age, if you have never done it before. Now is the time to C seek the peacemaker's blessing, before you go hence to be no more seen. Would you, an aged person, die without having done anything to promote the cause so dear to the heart of your Redeemer? How can you go to heaven, and tell him that you lived a long life, and you often heard the blessing which he pronounced on the peacemakers, but you never offered a prayer to obtain it. I must confess that our opponents mean that the right time has not come, with respect to the world at large, in which to push the peace enterprise. They say that, in the present state of society, it would not be safe to adopt the Gospel principles, and we must wait until the state of society is improved, and mankind become more inclined to peace, before it will be right to disseminate peace principles. There is a great absurdity on the very face of this objection. It is to improve the state of society and incline mankind to peace, that the friends of peace endeavour to enforce their principles, both by precept and example. If the state of society were such as they wish to have it before any effort were made, there would be no need of the effort, for the work would have already been done. As well might it have been said that the time is not come to send Bibles and missionaries to the heathen. What better time than the present can we expect to promote the great object of abolishing the custom of war? The world is now hushed to peace. There is scarcely a speck of war in the horizon.* The world is at peace, not from principle, but from expediency. A long, bloody, and expensive war among the nations of Europe, has exhausted their resources and impoverished the people, and they are tired of war. Fatigued and drunk with blood, the monster, war, seeks repose to fit himself for another conflict. Now is our time. Let us make haste and shear off his locks while he sleeps, and rid the world of him for ever. Now may be the only opportunity for centuries to come. But some say, "The world is now at peace, and what more would you have? It is time enough to bestir ourselves to promote the cause of Peace when we are actually involved in war." What would the world think of the wisdom of that ship-master who should neglect the opportunity afforded him by a calm, to prepare against a storm? Who would praise the wisdom of that philanthropist who, wishing to reform an intemperate neighbour, should wait till he was dead drunk before he attempted to show him his folly and wickedness? Thank God, the nations are now sober, and may be convinced of the folly and wickedness of war: but if we wait until the storm rages, until they are intoxicated with revenge, hatred, a love of military glory, and all the direful passions and lusts from which wars proceed, "You may as well go stand upon the beach, No, now is the accepted time: and the man who would put off the reformation of the world to a more convenient season, which he may think a time of war to be, resembles the sluggard, who would not shingle his house in fair weather, because there was no need of it then; nor in a storm, because it was not a proper time. Now we may oppose all war, without being accused of opposing government; and if we use our privilege now, we may oppose any war, hereafter, without the imputation of party spirit. SECTION XIII Apprehension of pirates and robbers. THERE are many persons who fear that if the principles of Peace were *This was written in 1837. adopted to the full extent which would be justified by the precepts of Christ, literally interpreted, in their most obvious meaning, we should be unable to apprehend pirates and robbers. I must confess that these objections were for some years a great stumbling-block to me, and that it was not until after deep reflection and meditation that my mind became clear on this subject. And when I consider that it has been only step by step, and feeling my way for a long time that I have been able to surmount them, I cannot expect to bring all my readers at once to agree with me. The great question seems to be, whether we shall adopt the precepts of Christ, in their plain, evident meaning-a meaning which accords with the precepts which he laid down on all occasions and on all other points; and a meaning which is enforced by the precepts and example of the holy apostles and primitive Christians;-or whether we shall accommodate these precepts to our notions of the fitness of things, and to our own times. I say, our own times; for Christians generally allow that these precepts are to be literally interpreted in the millennium, but fear that, in the present state of society, it would not be safe to adopt them to their full extent. In the first place, it becomes us to inquire how far the precepts of the Gospel really do go. These precepts are intended to regulate the heartthe affections. So far as any external action may be perfectly consistent with these precepts, so far it is allowed by our holy religion. Now the law of love does not forbid the exercise of forcible constraint in all cases. On the contrary, the exercise of forcible constraint is sometimes required by the law of love. It may be necessary sometimes to use physical force to keep a person, in the delirium of a fever, in his bed. It may be necessary to confine in a strait waistcoat, or even in chains, a madman who scatters abroad "firebrands, arrows and death." In these cases, the use of physical force may not be contrary to the lawof love, but in perfect consistency with it. And when sick man gets well, and the madman is restored to reason, they will thank you for your kindness in interfering. The principles of Peace, when carried to their utmost extent, not only allow of constraint by physical force, when that constraint is consistent with the law of love, but even enjoin it. But here we stop. This is the end; and if Christians would generally go thus far, and no farther, wars of every kind would be abolished, wherever Christianity had any influence, without disturbing civil government. Again-a parent may find physical force absolutely necessary to subdue the temper of a stubborn and refractory child; especially before it has come to the age of reason. But the error is, that parents have depended too much on physical force, and too little on moral power. The child has seen passion and anger in the face of the parent, which has only excited similar passions in itself. There has been a disposition in the parent to make the child suffer, rather than suffer himself, and all his stripes have been worse than lost upon the child. This is strikingly illustrated in an affecting story which I have heard, of a father who had chastised his son repeatedly, but he grew worse and worse. He committed a great fault, for which his father took him into a private room to whip him. But the recollection of the bad success which had attended this kind of discipline, melted the heart of the father. "My son," said he, "what shall I do? All my correction has done no good," and he wept aloud. "Oh, father, said the son, "whip me as much as you please, only do not cry." work was done. The child was reformed. The great principle of Christianity is to suffer for others, rather than make others suffer. The The fault of civil government has been, that it has acted like an angry C2 vindictive parent; and its punishments have seldom or never reformed a criminal. But although I allow that physical force may be used to a great extent without violating the law of love, I do not think that it ought to be carried in any case, to the extent of depriving a fellow-creature of his life, and sending his soul to a miserable eternity. No circumstances whatever can justify it under the Gospel dispensation. After these general remarks, I proceed to take up the case of pirates and highway robbers. We have encouraged piracy and robbery on a large scale. We have sent our privateers and public armed vessels for the express purpose of robbery and slaughter. The property of the innocent trader is seized on the high sea; and if he resists, he is shot dead, agreeably to the law of nations in Christendom. When our ships return laden with plunder and prisoners, they are hailed with joyful acclamations, and the robbers are honoured and applauded. The custom of war has brought these evils of piracy and highway robbery upon us; and shall we use the actual existence of an evil as an argument for the continuance of a custom which has brought it upon us? If there were no spirit of war in the community, there would be no pirates nor highway robbers. But is there no way of overcoming evil except by evil? Moral resistance is much more effectual than physical resistance; and if I had room, I could adduce many instances in which moral resistance has been tried with complete success. True, it is not always successful, but it fails less frequently than the other; and a Christian should consider that he ought to obey the precept of his Master under all circumstances, and leave the result with him. As I cannot do justice to this subject in one section, I propose to defer the case of mobs to my next; and after that to take up the interference of peace principles with civil government generally. SECTION XIV. I AM now to take up the subject of suppressing mobs by physical force: for those who object to our principles say, "If they were generally to prevail, there would be no way of putting down mobs, and therefore the peace enterprize should be abandoned-or at least, its supporters must give up their ultraism." It would be a sufficient answer to this objection, to say, if our principles prevail, there will be no mobs. Did any one ever hear of a mob of Quakers? The spirit of a mob is the spirit of war. It is an attempt to overcome evil-or what the mob may think to be evil-with evil; and those who oppose the mob with deadly weapons, adopt the doctrine and follow the example of the mob; for they too attempt to overcome evil with evil; and are even worse than the mob, for the mob seldom use deadly weapons until they are attacked. There are but two master-spirits abroad in the world with respect to this subject. One is the spirit of war, which attempts to overcome evil with evil, and is inherent in our corrupt natures. The other spirit is the spirit of peace and love;-the spirit of Christ, who taught his disciples to overcome evil with good. This is not natural to the human heart. It descended from Heaven, and is accounted foolishness by the world. That a change from the principles of war to the principles of peace is attended with difficulties, I acknowledge; but, for the most part, they are only imaginary -perhaps wholly so. There is a lion in the way;' "but if any one has the courage to approach him in the way of his duty, like the pilgrim, he will find him chained. Of two evils, we should choose the less; and perhaps both may be avoided by God's blessing on judicious means. Let us trust to the wisdom of God, rather than to our own; and obey his precepts, however we may fear the consequences. Let us "do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly," and "leave off contention before it be meddled with," and leave the consequences to God. There was a time when the torture and the rack were thought to be the best means of preventing crime. The criminal was broken on the wheel, stretched on the rack, crucified, and hung up alive with a hook thrust through his ribs, and left to expire in torments. This was thought to be the best remedy for crime; and it gratified the diabolical passions of a corrupt nature. Heresies in religion were visited by much the same means, but exceeding them in protracted cruelty. Torment was thought the best remedy for evils in the church; and a man's body was burned for the good of his soul. The world has at length found out its error: and though I fear there is not yet much love to heretics or criminals, the law of violence is no cure for the evil it would remedy. Men have grown wiser in the above-mentioned particulars, and torture has been abandoned; but they still continue to use the sword as a sovereign remedy for certain other disorders of the body politic. But is there no other? Has Christ, the great Physician of souls, provided no other remedy than brute force, suited only to govern the brute creation, and not always the wisest, even then? When we have abandoned the law of violence, we shall seek other remedies, and not till then. Is the rich man in danger of losing his property or life by a lawless mob?-let him seek rather to prevent, than cure the evil by such hasty remedies as are often worse than the disease. Let him give his money liberally for the support of common and Sabbath schools, preaching the Gospel, instructing the ignorant, and relieving the necessitous. It will be for his interest to see that all the children in the country are religiously educated, whether he value religion for himself or not. This is the proper preventive of mobs, the true antidote, and the only remedy worthy of a Christian people. There is no telling what may be the consequence of putting down a mob by the cannon's mouth. Remember the ever-memorable fifth of March, when a Boston mob was put down by British regulars. The soldiers acted according to law, and were pronounced not guilty, by a jury of their countrymen; but look at the consequences. The party which, for a time, was put down by the law of violence, finally triumphed, and a separation of the British empire ensued; an event which, however dreaded then, Americans now boast of, and build monuments to commemorate it. The suppression of another mob by violence may be followed by another separation of the empire, equally dreaded now, and equally applauded hereafter. The way in which Christ conquered the powers of darkness, was by suffering; and the only lawful way for a Christian to conquer, is by suffering when he cannot overcome evil with good. This would very rarely be the case, even in barbarous and heathen countries, and still more rarely in Christian countries. But when a Christian cannot succeed in overcoming evil with good, he must suffer; his Saviour did so from choice; all but one of his apostles did so; the primitive Christians did so; they all overcame evil by suffering; and by that very suffering they accomplished their object-the spread of the Christian religion over the known world, in defiance of the power of the Roman government. I know that to many this appears a strange doctrine, and as new as strange. But it is not new. It is as old as Christianity; it cannot be |