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roughly perfuaded of the truth and fuperior goodness of his Koran, conceived it a duty to propagate his doctrine by conqueft. Thus the fanatics of the laft century

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prov'd their doctrines orthodox

By apoftolic blows and knocks"

And thus the Catholics of all times, except the modern, thought they were doing God and his Son good fervice, by forcing a belief of christianity by the means of tortures and death-hitherto religious opinions only have been thought worthy of fuch great exertions, but our good neighbours have made politics of equal impor

tance.

As a man is not fed by hearing of good dinners, but by what he puts into his own ftomach, fo, it may be prefumed, no one feels the enjoyment of liberty farther than that portion which comes to The reverse of the po

his own fhare.

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fition is equally true-if a man's perfon and actions are free, he enjoys liberty even under a defpot, but if his person or his actions are confined, he is a flave although a member of a Republic. Admitting the truth of this position; if circumstances in private life take our liberty from us, what are we the better for living under a free goverment; or how are we hurt by defpotifin if we may go, act, and fpeak as we please ?

Should it be faid, that the effence of a free government is to give liberty, and that the nature of defpotifm is to take it away; I can fubfcribe to this opinion no farther than it is true-and its truth only reaches to purposes and occafions which do not occur in daily life, while either form of government leaves the flavery unremedied with which we are daily environed. If we are engaged in a lawfuit, or called to answer for fome offence, then we feel the advantage of a free go

vernment

vernment with fixed laws, over a sentence pronounced by an arbitrary judge, appointed by an arbitrary mafter-but most men pafs their days without going to law, and not one in fifty thousand becomes a victim to justice. but om in sproo 15

The real flavery we feel, and it is equal under all governments, is the reftraint of fociety; under which we are more compleatly fhackled in all our actions, words, and even thoughts, than by the most imperious commands of the most abfolute tyrant-for a defpotic mandate does not defcend to minute particulars; it puts on a chain, but leaves fome limbs at liberty; while the tyranny of fociety draws a thoufand flender threads over us from head to foot, by which we are more compleatly hampered than Gulliver in Lilliput.

I can scarce flatter myself to have proceeded thus far without incurring fome X 2 cenfure,

cenfure, nor to finish my subject, without more. I certainly might, without trefpafs, have walked in a beaten path, which if I quit, it must be to my own peril-I tremble while I fay-that the marriage-vow--the reciprocal duty between parents and children-the offices of friendship-the ceremonies of civility --all these take from us more perfonal liberty than can be ballanced by any political liberty which the most perfect form of government can beftow.

Should you think that more pleasure arifes from such restraints than without them--be it fo; but do not fay they are confiftent with liberty. If a father gives up his own enjoyment to encrease that of a fon--if a fon abridges his own pleasures because he will not violate his duty to a parent-if my friend has my money, and I want it myself-if my time, instead of being my own, is consumed in attentions to acquaintance and the ceremonies of

company

company-all these circumftances may perhaps encrease our enjoyment, but they furely diminish our liberty. The more we feel an obligation to do an action, the more is the choice taken from us of doing it, or not, as we pleafe; of course, the more is our liberty abridged. If nature, custom, or the rules of fociety require us to fulfil certain duties to our relations, friends, or acquaintance; our not having it in our power to act otherwife is certainly the definition of real flavery.

Let not my intention be mistaken. I am not speaking against natural or focial attachments; my opinion of them perfectly agrees with the reft of the worldI only attempt to prove, that our greatest reftraints do not arife from defpotifm in any form of government, but from ourfelves. "We complain of our taxes,” fays Dr. Franklyn, "we tax ourselves more than we can be taxed by a Minister." It is our private habits by which we are affected

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