Изображения страниц
PDF
EPUB

BR55 Аз

ADDRESS

DELIVERED BEFORE

THE AMERICAN PEACE SOCIETY

AT ITS

ANNUAL MEETING,

MAY 26TH, 1851.

BY

RUFUS W. CLARK,

Pastor of the North Church, Portsmouth, N. H.

BOSTON:

J. P. JEWETT & CO., 17 & 19 CORNHILL.

AMERICAN PEACE SOCIETY, 21 CORNHILL.

1851. W

EXTRACT FROM THE SOCIETY'S RECORDS.

BOSTON, May 26, 1851.

Ar the close of the public exercises, it was, on motion of the Rev. Charles Brooks, unanimously

Voted, That the thanks of this Society be given to the Rev. Rufus W. Clark, for his appropriate and eloquent Address, and a copy solicited for publication.

A. Forbes, Printer,
No. 37 Cornhill, Boston.

ADDRESS.

MR. PRESIDENT, AND GENTLEMEN OF THE PEACE SOCIETY:

IN listening to the Report which has been presented, of the operations of the American Peace Society, we are struck with the inadequacy of the means in use for the accomplishment of the ends for which the Society was established. An evil that from the earliest ages has overshadowed all other evils; that is interwoven with the governments, and social institutions of the world; that pervades the literature of even Christian nations, and is sustained by vast appropriations from the revenues of all countries, is not to be destroyed by the occasional holding of meetings, and the annual expenditure of a few thousand dollars.

What is War, about which some men talk so coolly and flippantly? I have been endeavoring recently to measure its power; to explore its dark empire; to fathom the depth of its horrors; to paint upon my own imagination, its scenes of wild desolation and dreadful misery. But the attempt has taught me, that the evil can be neither realized nor described. The most potent words, vivid descriptions, accurate compilation of statistics, fail to answer the question. What is War?' As we run our eye along the history of mankind, this huge monster stares us in the face, bidding defiance to all our efforts to portray its hideous features. To approximate towards a definition, War is the concentration of all crimes. It is injustice, revenge, lust, cruelty and murder in uniform. It is hell organized, rendered effective by discipline. It is the combination of the millions in a nation, to execute deeds of wickedness by national power, that are beyond the reach of individual power. It is the strength, resources and skill of one nation,

[ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

employed to render as wretched as possible other nations. War, in fact, is the deity of misery, a deity that is worshipped without temples, sustained without a priesthood, adored by millions of willing followers. Its songs are written in every language. Its altars are drenched with the blood of fourteen thousand millions of victims.

Napoleon, in a moment of remorse, said, — and surely he ought to know," War is the trade of barbarians." A distinguished British officer said, "Ours is a damnable profession."

As

At the introduction of Christianity, this gigantic sin was assailed with more directness and force than any other. While with reference to other evils the principles of the new religion were general, here they were specific. It was a significant fact, that the Messiah selected for his mission to earth a period of universal peace. though he had patiently waited at the gates for the war-trumpet to be silent, for the tempest of human passions to subside, for the rivers of human blood to cease to flow, he at last, the temple of Janus being shut, ventures to enter and proclaim God's truth. His approach is announced by the sweet strains of an angelic song, "Peace on earth, good will toward men." His title is "Prince of Peace." Thus his system, in its infancy, is baptized with the spirit of peace. It appears before the world as the antagonistic element of war, designed to contend against it, stay its ravages, waste away its power, obliterate from the human memory its barbarous maxims, revolutionize public opinion, and hold before the minds of men principles of justice, right and mercy, until they 'beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks, and learn

war no more.'

The vital connection between the peace cause, and all other Christian charities and enterprises, must be obvious to every one. If this Society fails of its object, all other societies that are aiming at the elevation and evangelization of the world, must fail. We may have our missionary societies for sending preachers of righteousness to the heathen; our associations for scattering bibles and religious books in the various languages and dialects of the world; our societies for the benefit of the sailor, the prisoner, the inebriate,

« ПредыдущаяПродолжить »