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Treason; Rebellion; and other acts of a similar nature. no purpose, here, for the perpetrator to allege, that death may, possibly, not be the consequence of his nefarious conduct. Had he any other regard to the value of human life, and to the sacred obligation, which he is under, not only not to invade, but to preserve, it, beside what a murderer feels; he would never be guilty of the conduct, nor think of this reason as a justification of it. bare possibility of this nature must be alleged, if alleged at all, not to convince, but to affront, the understanding.

Secondly. Under this head are also included all those actions, by which the life of man is destroyed through a criminal Negligence.

There are many cases, in which we may easily foresee, that the death of others will be a consequence of our negligence. A sacred regard to the value of human life, duly felt by us, would necessarily produce that attentive care, which, so far as is in our power, would insure safety to the lives of our fellow-men.

Thirdly. To contrive the death of others is a crime of the same general nature.

The crime of murder lies in the dispositions, and designs, of the heart. To constitute us murderers in the sight of God, it is not necessary, that we should be guilty of any overt act whatever. It is amply sufficient to contrive the death of others. So plain is this truth, that it has been generally acknowledged by mankind. The real, and the prime, guilt, probably, almost always lies here. The Providence of God not unfrequently prevents the contrivance from being executed. But the contriver is still a murderer in his sight.

Fourthly. To wish the death of others, although we form no plans for accomplishing it, is a crime of the same general nature.

He, who looketh on a woman to lust after her, saith our Saviour, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. By parity of reason, wishes indulged against the life of our neighbour, are the commission of murder. There are probably many persons, who secretly wish the death of their fellow-men, and who yet, never form, nor think of forming, any plan to accomplish their death. Most, if not all, of these, perhaps, feel little remorse at the remembrance of their conduct; and probably rarely suspect themselves of being even remotely concerned in transgressing this command. Every such person is grossly deceived; and will be found charged with the guilt of murder at the final Judgment.

Fifthly. To wound our neighbour, and deprive him of the use of his limbs, or faculties, is a crime of the same nature; though, I acknowledge, of inferior guilt.

Although to destroy another's limbs is not to take away his life; it is yet to take away a part of the usefulness, and comfort, which make life desirable. We may continue to live, when we are rendered chiefly useless, and unhappy. But life itself, so far as this

world is concerned, must be of little value to the possessor. Nor can it easily be believed, that he, whose malevolence can be gratified by depriving his neighbour of his limbs, or other peculiarly important blessings, would, under a little additional provocation, be reluctant to take his life.

Sixthly. Quarrelling and Fighting are crimes, evidently of the

same nature.

A great part of the murders, committed in this world, are merely the conclusions, or catastrophes, of these crimes. So evident is this, that nothing is more common, with respect to an existing quarrel, than to hear the persons, who mention it, express their apprehensions, that it may terminate in murder. Indeed, the spirit, which begets contentions of this nature, is only an inferior degree of that, which malignantly destroys the life of man. The beginning of strife, says Solomon, is as when one letteth out water: an evil, the degree, the mischiefs, and the end of which can never be anticipated by the human mind.

Seventhly. All violent, unreasonable anger, envy, and hatred, are evils of the same nature.

Christ, commenting on the Sixth Command, says, Whosoever shall be angry with his brother, without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment; and Whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, or,

er.

Doddridge seems inclined to render it, "Thou villain," shall be in danger of Hell-fire. St. John, in a manner more summary, and still more explicit, observes, He that hateth his brother is a murderFrom these passages it is evident, that all the several things, which I have considered as involved in the general crime of murder, or as acts of disobedience to this precept, are actually of thisgeneral nature. They are not, indeed, all marked with the same malignity, as the crime, usually known by this name. But they all partake of the same nature; and are either murder in the proper sense; or steps, which lead directly to it; seeds, impregnated with that very poison, which, more perfectly concocted in the future growth of the plant, becomes so rank, and so fatal, to the life of man.

Finally. I hesitate not to pronounce that unkindness, which, especially when exercised towards inferiors and dependants, wears upon the spirits, and often breaks the hearts of our fellow-creatures, to be a crime of the same nature.

In order to shorten human life, it is not necessary to use a bludgeon, nor a pistol. Servants may be easily brought to an untimely grave by stinting them with respect to their necessary food, clothes, lodging, or fuel; or by a repetition of tasks, unreasonably burdensome. A delicate, and susceptible, child may be easily driven into a consumption by parental coldness, fretfulness, severity, the denial of necessary indulgencies, or the exaction of undue compliances. Mere conjugal indifference may easily break

the heart of an affectionate wife. Faithless friendship may destroy, at once, the life of a friend. Ungrateful subjects have shortened the life of an affectionate Ruler by their ingratitude merely. Rulers have, probably, in millions of instances, put their subjects to death, without any immediate violence, by the gradual, but sure, operations of a comprehensive and hard-handed oppression.

From these observations it is evident, that Murder in the proper sense, is begun in unkindness: and that unkindness is begun in the early and unrestrained indulgence of human passions. This indulgence, therefore, Parents, and all other Guardians of children, are bound faithfully to restrain, from the beginning. The first tendencies towards cruelty, the first evidences of an unfeeling disposition, should be repressed, discouraged, and, as far as may be, destroyed. Tenderness, on the contrary, a spirit of general benevolence, and an active, affectionate beneficence to others, should be cultivated in every child with care, sedulousness, and constancy, resembling that, with which an impassioned florist watches, nurses, and cherishes, a choice flower; procured with great expense from a distant climate; his own favourite possession; pre-eminent for its fragrance and beauty; and regarded by him as the pride, and boast, of the country, in which he lives.

SERMON CXVI.

SIXTH COMMANDMENT.-DUELLING.

EXODUS IX. 13.-Thou shall not kill.

IN the preceding discourse, from these words, I proposed to point out,

1. Those instances, in which life may be lawfully taken away, agreeably to Scriptural exceptions under this law;

II. Some of those instances, in which life is destroyed in contradiction to this law.

The first of these heads I discussed at that time; and made several observations under the Second. The remaining subjects, included in this division, are Duelling, Suicide, and Drunkenness. The first of these, viz. Duelling, shall be the topic of immediate investigation.

That Duelling is a violation of the command in the text is evident,

1. From the words of the precept itself;

Thou shalt not kill.

I have already observed, that these words contain a command entirely absolute, without either condition, or exception. I also observed, that, as this is a command of God, man cannot, without impious presumption, attempt to limit it; and that no other exceptions, therefore, can be made to it, beside those which God Himself has made. But God has made no exception, which the most ingenious mind can so construe, as to render it, even in the most remote degree, favourable to Duelling. As this assertion will neither be denied nor doubted; it will only be necessary to add, that this precept stands in full force against Duelling; and that every Duel is a gross violation of its whole authority.

Nor is this all. Duelling is a violation of this precept, of the very worst kind; superior in its guilt to most other crimes of the same nature, and inferior to none. For,

2. A Duel is always the result of a design to take away human life.

1 say always. It is not, however, my intention to deny, that there may be exceptions to this general declaration. But these are probably as few, as to any general rule concerning human conduct. The challenge originally contains a proposition to kill, or to be killed. It is accepted with an expectation of killing, or of being killed. Each of the combatants, also, takes his aim at the seat of life, and intends to destroy his antagonist, if he can.

No

pretence, therefore, is more unfounded, than that duellists do not design to kill each other.

3. Duelling always involves Efforts to destroy life.

The weapons, used in it, are always the proper instruments of death; and they are used with the utmost skill, and care, which the parties possess, for the direct purpose of producing this dreadful catastrophe.

4. Men are put to death in Duels with more Deliberation, than in almost any other case whatever.

The Challenger has always ample opportunity to deliberate, before he gives the Challenge. This opportunity, also, it is reasonably supposed, he extends as far as he pleases; both because the case is of the utmost importance to himself, and because he manages it according to his own choice. To him it is entirely optional, whether he will fight at all; and, when he has determined this point, at what time he shall give the challenge. Whatever time, therefore, he chooses to take for consideration, he actually takes; and this he himself will not deny to be a sufficient time. During this period also, the subject, being of the highest importance, and necessarily making the strongest impressions, must be often, if not always, in his mind; must therefore be viewed in its various lights; and must receive all the examination which such a mind is capable of giving to subjects of the highest consequence. Of course, a duel is invariably the result, if it be not the Challenger's own fault, of the most ample deliberation. It must be his own fault also, if this deliberation be not cool and thorough. All these observations, it is to be remembered, are applicable, with the same force, to the person challenged.

Duelling is, probably, always perpetrated with a spirit of Revenge. I say probably always. For that this is usually the fact, no sober man can doubt for a moment. To me it seems inconceivable, that any man, whatever may have been his feelings in the earlier parts of this transaction, should go into the field and employ himself in the several measures, adopted by duellists for the purpose of taking away each other's lives; and not be under the influence of predominating passions. These passions can be no other than Hatred and Revenge. If we trace this subject with even a moderate degree of attention, from its commencement to its close; it will, I think, be impossible for us to adopt any other opinion. The Challenger receives, or at least believes himself to have received, an injury, (of what kind is a matter of perfect indifference) sufficiently great to demand of him the exposure of his own life to probable destruction; and the death, so far as he is able to compass it, of the injurer. Now let me ask, and let every sober man answer the question, whether an injury, felt to be of this magnitude, was ever regarded, or can possibly be regarded, by such men, as duellists always are, without strong feelings of wrath and revenge? Ducllists, every one knows, are men pre-eminently

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