Preface.
James Dodson
IN a free country, it is the privilege of the subject to examine, and to judge the measures of the government. Where every man is upon the footing of equal rights with another, the rulers are the servants of the public; their personal qualities, and their official conduct, are of course proper objects of animadversion. If magistrates are found deficient in talents or integrity, they are unfit for their station; and if their official deportment should prove injurious to the commonwealth, the end of their elevation is not answered, and they should, of course, be dismissed from their employment by the people over whom they unworthily rule. In this country, the right of examining the merit of men in office, and of candidates for power, is fully enjoyed. The press is free; and anyone, who chooses to be at the trouble or expense, may publish his opinions, as well as freely express them in the circle of his private friends. As this liberty is universal, no man has a right to complain of its enjoyment or exercise by another. For the manner, indeed, in which a person sees proper either to speak or to write, he is amenable, according to the laws of courtesy and of equity, to the proper tribunals in civilized life. The same liberty which guarantees a fair hearing to the opponents of the measures of administration, secures a similar right to those who undertake their vindication. Let the parties contend in the strife of reason; and truth, upon an equal footing with error, must prevail.
1 have exercised, in the discourses now laid before the public, this privilege of a freeman. I have believed, therefore have I spoken. If the tendency of my publication is to support the present administration of the government, the work ought not to be condemned merely on that account. I am ready to acknowledge, that a great part of my most intimate literary friends are in opposition; but this consideration does not, in the least degree, affect my convictions of truth and righteousness. Against the present war, much of that opposition has been directed. I have perceived, grafted upon the strife for place and power, errors which required correction: and, it is for this purpose, more than for the sake of serving the rulers of the land, that I have taken up the subject. Had I thought much less of the men, who hold the sceptre, than I do, I would have thought and spoken of the cause of my country precisely as I have done.
These sermons were addressed to Christians, from the pulpit; and for their use, they are principally intended, when issued from the press. Several respectable ministers of religion took an early stand against the measures of government; and denounced as cruel, and unprovoked, and unjust, the present appeal to arms. These opinions remained long before the public without contradiction; and it appeared, from the activity of their authors, and the silence of others, as if they were incapable of refutation. It was becoming a general opinion, that the clergy and the church were, on the great question between the United States and England, upon the side of the enemy. Many pious people were discouraged; their personal exertions, and their prayers, were affected by this fact: and even, when our own city was under the apprehension of immediate invasion, so great was the force of prejudice, that many men of intelligent piety doubted, whether they could join together in prayer, for courage to our warriors, and success to our armaments, in order to procure a speedy, an honourable, and a permanent peace. I beheld with alarm, the extent of the evil of party spirit. I viewed it as a judgment from the Lord; and I became fearful that the clouds of his indignation must thicken around us—that the hand of the enemy, and a long continuance of calamity would become necessary in divine Providence to effect the unanimity, without which, I am still apprehensive, we shall not succeed in putting an end to the contest. I am persuaded, that it requires no more than A DISPLAY OF UNANIMITY IN RESISTING AGGRESSSION, to procure at any time an honourable peace. While the enemy expects to divide, why should he seek to conciliate?
The principles which I have laid down, and enforced in these sermons, are not, however, of mere temporary interest. Whether in peace, or at war, they are of importance to a Christian community. They are the permanent principles of social order and public equity. If the work contained a single sentiment of irreligious or immoral tendency, I would cheerfully consign it to the flames. I love mankind, I love the country of my choice, I love the saints; and I desire to promote the best interests of true religion and of civil liberty, because I love my God.
New-York, Jan. 20, 1815.
ADVERTISEMENT
TO THE SECOND EDITION.
THE demand for this work far exceeded the calculations of the Author. He was of course compelled, in order to supply subscribers, to publish another edition. The arrangements which he made with the printers for the first edition were also in some degree inaccurate. He was under the necessity of withholding from the press, for want of room, some passages towards the close of the work. These, although they do not materially affect the argument, are restored in this edition.
The author avails himself of this opportunity of congratulating his readers upon the happy return of the desired peace. Long may we enjoy, with gratitude to our God, its numerous blessings. Its terms are liberal and just. No false principle is admitted: no right, on either side, is violated. The enemy, had he been inclined to peace, might have had the same terms, at any hour since the commencement of hostilities: and, if he had seen proper to prolong the contest for years, it is not probable he could have realized his first demands at GHENT.[1] Had he speedily met our commissioners with a spirit of equity and conciliation, he might have spared us some blood and treasure: and he would have saved for himself much of both, as well as, that which is to him of great importance—his military renown. Heaven ordered it otherwise. The angel of the covenant, who, notwithstanding our iniquities, presides in mercy over the destinies of our free and happy land, had decreed, that the enemy should send his veterans across the Atlantic, with their hard-earned laurels, for the purpose of transferring them to the brow of American heroes, who fought and conquered in vindication of the injured rights of their country. In the concluding blow of the war we have a guarantee that our national rights shall not again be rashly invaded. The battle of Orleans cannot be forgotten. While we live to enjoy the benefits of the pacification, and hold in honourable recollection the deeds of the soldier, let us be grateful to HIM, who gave courage to our warriors and success to our armaments, so far as seemed to himself both wise and good. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. He maketh wars to cease unto the ends of the earth.
New-York, March 1, 1815.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] [These sermons, occasioned by the War of 1812, are issued in this second edition after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, on December 12, 1814. This treaty restored national relations and secured the borders of both the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain to their pre-war status.]