PART III. NATURAL RELIGION. DIGNITY, LIBERTY, AND INDEPENDENCE "Live and let live." MAN stands at the head of the universe, and we can form but a very inadequate conception of the wonderful majesty and glory of his being. We admire the extraordinary energies and transcendant perfections of the simplest organised substances; we can watch a humble plant construct a huge complex fabric, by the magical powers inherent in a cell, almost inconceivably minute; but when we come to reflect on the natural powers inherent in man, which build up our wondrous being from a cell no less minute, to a perfection of developement, which no imagination can reach, our astonishment can know no bounds. Man is beyond all comparison the most powerful and elevated part of Nature, and the majesty of his position cannot be too highly estimated. If a thing is to be valued in proportion to the great time and care spent in its production, in proportion to the grandeur of its construction and its purpose, and the multiplicity of the energies it possesses, Man cannot be too highly valued. It needed myriads and myriads of ages, for the working powers of life to develope this their master-piece; and it is only by this patient and long continued elaboration, that we could have been produced. Of the boundless energies of Man how shall we obtain a conception? In every little cell within us reside occult powers of life and death, whose study is worth a life-time. By their united agency an individual is formed, so perfect, and with such various endowments, as to deserve the name of the microcosm; for his manifold being is an epitome of the whole universe. Man is nature become self-conscious; the crowning effort of Nature to understand herself, to know, as well as to be. And it would almost seem as if the scale of being, having been developed so far, need not go further; for man, unlike other animals, contains in himself the powers of indefinite progress. It is probable, that there is scarcely a secret in Nature, (who has, as it has been beautifully said, in various places told all her secrets,) which man may not gradually learn, and that to all legitimate questions he may obtain an answer. Another reason for supposing that developement will not proceed higher than Man, is that the inferior organisms, whether existing or extinct, seem to prefigure man, who has thus been called the fulfilment of the geological prophecies. If we thus, forgetting that we belong to the human race, and viewing it in an objective, not a subjective, light, consider man's unapproachable elevation in the universe, we must regard him as the greatest and most glorious manifestation of nature; and if we look up to the heavens and around us on this beautiful earth with wonder, and almost with awe, we must still more look up to man, as a being far more incomprehensible, and immeasurably further above our conception in his natural sublimity. He who does no: profoundly feel the unutterable grandeur of humanity, does not feel that of nature; for man is nature incarnate. We may give the reins to our imagination, and form the most extravagant ideal of perfection; nothing that we can conceive or express of power, virtue, or sublimity, will give the least idea of the perfection of a human being, who contains in himself the concentrated energies of the universe. When we reflect on the elevation of man's position, and observe the wondrous products of his power; the sciences, the arts, the material and mental wealth he has accumulated; the way in which he has bent to his purpose the various agencies in nature, and in which he is looked up to by the other creatures as their lord and master; we would expect that the possessor of such powers would have a due sense of his own dignity, would be able easily to raise himself above the grosser wants of inferior beings, and enjoy a much freer and more independent life. But alas! when we look upon the present state of mankind, we find this by no means the case. We see the world's Lord reduced to contend on every side with the most degrading evils, which take away the sense of liberty and dignity, that so lofty a being should possess; and make him cringing and timid, the slave instead of the master of fortune. Dignity, liberty, and independence, are among the most valuable of human possessions. Independence, or the capability of self-maintenance, is indeed the very foundation of all other advantages; and from it comes the delightful sense of dignity and liberty, which is so essential to hap piness. The great aim in social economy should be, that every adult should be independent; that every one should be able to obtain for himself the necessaries of life; and that no one in this essential respect should be more in the power of his neighbour, than the latter is of him. Of course there must exist a mutual dependence, which indeed is the great bond and condition of society; but this should be reciprocal, and as equal as possible, else there can be no satisfactory liberty. Upon individual independence alone, possessed by every adult member of the community, can social freedom or secure political institutions be based; for a state of dependence on others is so opposed to the welfare of man, that discontent and disorder are sure to result, where it exists. No man, even if he had the wish, could provide for another, as well as the latter could for hitself; and whenever one man has undue power over another, we know from too sad experience, it is certain to be abused. Hence it is, that all institutions and systems, which have for their objects to make one part of mankind dependent on another, are radically erroneous; and that the patriarchal forms of government, and the feudal ideas of noble beneficence surrounded by grateful dependents, are rapidly giving way to the far truer and more ennobling principle of universal independence in the essentials of life, which is, it may be said, the great leading idea of the civilized nations of modern times. Even if charity and brotherly love could be secured on the side of the more fortunate among us towards the more destitute, charity is no proper support for man, and grateful dependence no fit sphere for him. It is well that each of us should give and receive mutually from each other, and where there is this feeling of equality, there will be true gratitude and love; but where the favours are all on one side, the natural feelings of independence revolt from them, and gratitude or content, even under the best treatment, is not to be expected. But a dependent need never look for good treatment; for the only true foundation of this between man and man, is a mutual reverence, arising from equal independence. The noble desire for independence is one of the finest points in the English character, the main cause of the country's unrivalled progress in the industrial arts; and it has enabled her to struggle onward under the most overwhelming social difficulties. But notwithstanding all our struggles for these grand essentials of lifeliberty and independence-society is still very, very far, from having attained such an aim. In fact, if we look around us on the various individuals of whom cur society is composed, we will find very few, who can be said to enjoy an adequately free or independent life. In the first place there is a mass of paupers, to the humiliation of our race, who are unable to find employment, and are utterly dependent for their bare life on the charity of others. Helpless and dejected, covered with shame and contumely, their lot is a constant wretchedness to themselves, and a misery and reproach to the rest of us, who cannot find the means to prevent such awful calamities. If we now regard the condition of the working classes, we shall find that there are few, if any, among them, who can be said to enjoy much freedom or independence. In the hot-press of competition, at present existing among us, all their energies are enslaved to the gain of their daily bread, and they are dependent on the least smile or frown of fortune. The fear of destitution always hangs over them, and even their greatest efforts are often insufficient to prevent them from sinking into the gulph of pauperism or crime. Those cannot be said to be free men, who are forced to toil from morning to night at a work, from which their jaded limbs revolt; and who, after all, are perhaps half-starved. It matters little whether it be fortune or a tyrant that sets the task; the state of slavery |