And thus the conversation ran in private circles, during the intervals
of the public meetings.
I had supposed, that as the people of America had got a Democratic form
of government, no further reforms were necessary, except the Abolition
of Slavery. I now found however that there were more Reformers, and a
greater variety of Reformers, in the circle into which I had fallen,
than in England. There was nothing right,--nothing as it ought to be.
The family, the church, the school, the government, religion, morals,
and even nature were all wrong. The world was full of prejudice. We were
heirs of all the mistakes of our forefathers for a thousand generations.
"Every thing wants destroying," said one, "that every thing may be
created anew." The oracle of the universe cries, "Behold, I make all
things new;" and that oracle we ought to echo; and on that oracle we
ought to act. "'When I was a child, I thought as a child, I spoke as a
child, I understood as a child; but when I became a man, I put away
childish things.' Such was the language of the great Reformer of
antiquity. The human race should adopt the same language, and follow the
great example. The race should say, 'When _I_ was a child, _I_ thought
as a child, _I_ spoke as a child, _I_ understood as a child; but now,
having become a man, _I_ will put away childish things.
Pages:
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456