i have, with all the consideration i have been able coolly to bestow upon the subject, become clearly of opinion, that the highest character a man can hope to attain to in this life is that of being a religious philosopher; and he cannot be the latter without religion being deeply impressed upon his mind; and, without the aid of religion and philosophy conjointly, he need not hope to feel all the happiness in this world attendant upon his approach towards perfection. the happiness derived from ignorance is like that of unreasoning animals; and, in carrying this a little further, or to the extreme, it is, comparatively, like the happiness enjoyed by a gate-post.
it is from amongst men of this enlightened character only that all and every clergyman ought to be selected, without permitting the least interference of private patronage; for that has been, and will continue to be, an evil of the most benumbing magnitude, which will—if not stopped—upset the best laid plans, and render such nugatory, or null and void. could such a stride as this towards purity ever be accomplished, then every village ought to have its church, and would thus become a religious, a moral, and a patriotic little community, in which its preceptors ought to teach youth the usual routine of their education five days in the week, and those of all ages on the sunday. this clergy ought not to be sworn to any belief, nor trammeled with any creeds, but only to promise, with the help of god, to instil into the minds of their hearers the purest religious adoration of the omnipotent, and the best maxims of morality. in this the scriptures would supply them with its pure and sublime precepts, and, above all, the still more sublime and amazing works contained in the great book of the creation is amply spread out before them, and made up of the living, the visible, words of god, so plainly to be seen, read, and felt, that howsoever miraculous and astonishing they are, it would require no stretch of faith to believe in them all. from these, such a clergy, one after another in succession for ages, might take their texts, ever new, and preach from them to all eternity; for, as to the number of subjects to preach from and explain, they would be found to be endless even on this globe we dwell upon, without soaring to those in the regions of immensity; and, if its wonders were productive of disease, enlightened men would die of wondering!
were a clergy of this description established, there could be no fears entertained of their teaching anything wrong; they would, on the contrary, from their knowledge and virtue, be the pillars of the state and the mainstays and ornaments of civilization. every church ought to have its library of good books, and its philosophical apparatus, to illustrate or explain the various phenomena of nature, and the amazing magnitude and distances of the “heavenly bodies;” or, rather, the incalculable number of suns and worlds floating about with the velocity of light, in immeasurable, endless space. it is from these contemplations that something like the truest conception of the adorable author of the whole can be formed; and it would soon be found that men of common capacities, and without having even been taught to read and write, would be at no loss to understand the clear lectures delivered on this latter subject. i think it would be folly, or worse than folly, to entertain any suspicion that poor men, thus enlightened, would forget the station in which they are placed, and cease to work honestly to maintain themselves, or to become bad members of society. on the contrary, it is reasonable to conclude that such a universal spread of knowledge as would follow this system of education, and this kind of religious worship, would stamp the character of a whole people as intelligent, good, subjects; and it appears to me certain that, until such a mode of enlightened christianity is adopted and acted upon, mankind will continue to be torn asunder, as they have too long been, and that, if it could quickly be spread over the partly civilized world, there would never more be any religious bickerings or animosities on that score, and that then, but not till then, all mankind would become as brethren.
i am well aware that the pride and the fears of what are called the dignified clergy, might operate powerfully against the purity and simplicity of such a change. if so, they will then thus clearly and decisively show that it is a system of revenue only, and not religion, that they can be fearful of upsetting; but, if none of these are deprived of their present livings (or an equivalent to their value), which they hold only during their lives, what have they to be afraid of? to sell their present enormous revenues, and fund the amount, and then divide the interest equally amongst the newly-established clergy, would be only fair and just; and they, above all other men, ought to be perfectly independent,—amply provided for, without being obliged to collect any other revenue,—and made as happy as men can be in this world; and, whatever might be deemed sufficient, a certain sum taken from this income ought also to be funded as a provision to support them in their declining years. such a body of men as this clergy could not fail of being revered and held in the greatest respect and estimation by all good and wise men; and what more any good and wise man can wish for in this world, i am at a loss to know.
it is from government, with the aid of our own enlightened and liberal-minded clergy, and other such like men, that this important business, in my opinion, ought to be openly and boldly taken up. they ought to have the honour to show the way, and not leave any other nation to take the lead of them in such a mighty and momentous concern, in which the happiness of the whole human race would become most deeply interested; and, from the change in men’s minds which is now taking place, and widely spreading, this change, by its own weight, will most assuredly happen, perhaps at no very distant day.
were our own government inclined to make this improvement in religion and politics, they would assuredly see the happiest results from it: it would soon be found that there would then be no need to keep ireland in subjection, like a conquered country, by an expensive military force. the irish, naturally acute, lively, generous, and brave, would soon feel themselves, under our excellent constitution, as happy and loyal a people as any in the world, and as much attached to their country, which, for its healthy climate and fertile soil, may match with any other on this globe. one would hope that the native gentry would at length see the very reprehensible injustice of becoming absentees. landowners in all countries, as well as in ireland, ought as far as possible to spend their rents where they receive them. where they do not do so, any country is certain to become poor.[41] ireland ought instantly to be put upon a par, in every respect, with their fellow subjects of the british isles. to withhold catholic emancipation from ireland appears to me to be invidious and unjust; and, if emancipated, it would be found at no very distant period that they would, under the foregoing tuition, individually become enlightened, think for themselves, adopt a rational religious belief, and throw off the bigotry and superstition taught them with such sedulous care from their infancy, and by which they have so long been led blindfold. if they could be brought to think, and to muster up so much of the reasoning power as to do all this, they would soon emancipate themselves. but even on this business it must be observed that the protestant establishment does not interfere with the catholic modes of faith; they may preach up and believe in what they please. in this they are not only fully tolerated, but are also protected in their worship, so that on this score they can have nothing to complain of. but beyond this the protestant ascendancy, having all the rich church livings secured to themselves, are fearful that the catholics, ever watchful, and never ceasing in their struggles to be at the head of all church affairs—they, the protestants, have become extremely jealous lest the emancipation now so eagerly wished for may, if granted, be a prelude to further future strides, and that the latent objects the catholics have in view is to partake in these rich livings, or to get them wholly to themselves. to dwell longer on these matters seems to me useless; for, so long as rich livings are set apart as a provision for those whose creeds continue in fashion, all the various numerous sects who dissent will always be barking at them, until the purity and simplicity of worshipping one god only can be established, and which to a certainty will one day happen. till then, all arguments on this subject may seem to be in vain.
having given my opinion on religious matters freely and sincerely, and with the best intentions, in which i do not wish to dictate, but only wish mankind to think for themselves on such a momentous and important affair as that of their present and their future eternal happiness, i leave them to their own reflections, and shall only furthermore attempt to show some of the salutary effects which i suppose would follow from mine. i first picture to myself that i see such a body of learned, rationally religious, moral, and patriotic men as this clergy spread over our already matchless country: and that the effects of their tuition and example, founded on honour and virtue, would very soon be seen and felt amongst all ranks of society, and would further exalt the character of our countrymen over the whole globe, as patterns for imitation to the rest of mankind. it is only by an education like this, that any country can hope that its institutions can remain unbroken up, and endure as a nation for ever; but so it will be, if the government is founded on wisdom and virtue, and backed by a whole people of the same character. to rear up and establish such a renovated order of things as i have with diffidence recommended, and coolly and deliberately to do away with old errors, will not, perhaps, be soon or easily done; for there are so many interests to consult, and so many men of the character to doubt and despair of accomplishing anything, however good, that, if they have influence over weak minds to help them out in this disposition to despondency, it will have the direct tendency to realize such doubts, and to throw a cold damp over the best and wisest plans. but we ought never to despair of accomplishing anything where our objects in view are good ones. to minds thus gifted, and such as this clergy it is hoped would possess, there could be little need to dictate. their own good sense, aided by the gentry of the land, would constantly enable them to see when anything was going wrong in each little community, and speedily to rectify it. such a number of little colleges spread over the land would excellently prepare such youths as might be intended to finish their education in colleges of a higher character, so as to fit them to fulfil the various offices of the state, in any of its several departments, as well as the many other employments they might be destined to pursue; and in this the teachers would have it greatly in their power to discover the talents or innate powers of mind of their pupils, as well as the bent of their inclinations, so as to be enabled to advise or direct inexperienced youths as to what might best suit their several capacities; and to point out to them the proper course of education that might lead to the calling or occupation in which they might make the most respectable figure when they were launched into the world. this duty of every teacher is an important one, and would require the keenest observation to make the true discovery; for, after all, we may be assured of this, that it is impossible to set bounds to the improvement of the human mind, and it is also equally so to limit the capabilities of the human frame when duly cultivated....
november 1st, 1828.
