44 INFLUENCE OF WAR ON DOMESTIC LIFE. I dwelt upon the willowy banks of Loire. Had been my playmate. One morn, I'll ne'er forget, 45 CHAPTER THIRD. INFLUENCE OF WAR ON THE MORALS OF SOLDIERS. THE evils of war, in almost every possible point of view, have been pointed out. One form of those evils, however, has not arrested that attention, to which it seems to be justly entitled; we refer to the influence of war on the moral and religious character of the soldiers themselves. It is not necessary to assert that the evil which is now referred to is one of the greatest resulting from a state of war; but it is certainly an evil so considerable as richly to deserve the notice of the philanthropist. In making this remark, we do not permit ourselves to forget that the moral and religious improvement of the human race is one of the greatest objects to which the attention of mankind can be directed. Certainly, when we consider that this object was one of the most effective in bringing the Son of God down from heaven, this statement will not be likely to be regarded as an exaggerated one. And can it be pretended that the moral and religious improvement of the soldier is less important than that of other men? On the supposition, therefore, that the moral and religious interests of the soldier are not less real and urgent than those of other classes of persons, we are prepared to enter into an examination of the circumstances in which he is placed, considered in their bearing upon moral and religious character. And, accordingly, we do not hesitate to assert that the life of a soldier is decidedly adverse to sound morals, and particularly to religion. In proof of this assertion, we might rely, without going into particulars, on the prima facie evidence Who has ever sup which is every where presented. posed, or believed, that large armies were remarkable for the purity and strictness of their morals? Who has ever heard, with some rare and marked exceptions, of special attention to religion in the military encampment? Undoubtedly there have been at various times some distinguished soldiers, who have been men of religion. Such seems to have been the character of Colonel Gardiner, who was killed at the battle of Preston Pans. And such, probably, was the character of many of the soldiers and officers (among others, Fleetwood, Harrison, Goffe, Whalley, and perhaps Cromwell himself) who bore a conspicuous part in the great English revolution of 1640. It is almost literally true, that the soldiers on the parliament or commonwealth side fought and prayed at the same time, with the sword in one hand, and the Bible in the other. It is a fact, probably without a parallel in the history of war, that early in the contest an attempt was made to raise some new regiments for the parliament's army, to be composed chiefly of truly religious men. This was done at the suggestion of Cromwell, who, as he held at that time a subordinate military station, proposed the measure to the celebrated Hampden. The latter, at first, thought the plan impracticable, but still seems to have carried it into effect by means of Cromwell's assistance. Cromwell says that, when he first went into engagement, he saw his men beaten on every side; but afterwards, when he had "raised such men as had the fear of God before them, and made conscience of what they did," he was always successful against the enemy.* But these are obviously rare instances, and are justly to be regarded as exceptions to the general statement. As a general thing, it is true, beyond all question, that among sol * Godwin's History of the Commonwealth of England, Book IV. chap. 23. diers, particularly in large armies, there is a deplorable laxity both of moral and religious principle and feeling. But it is certainly a reasonable conclusion, that such a state of things could not so generally exist, unless there were something in the very situation of a soldier, which is opposite, and fatally opposite, to the cultivation of principles and feelings of this kind. But, without resting satisfied with this general statement, it is proper to enter into the examination of some particulars. And, in the first place, the soldier is removed from those many favorable and powerful influences, which result from domestic life and from the general relations of society. The young man, who remains at home beneath his father's roof, surrounded by his relatives and friends, is encircled on all sides by cords, invisible, indeed, to the eye, and so light in their pressure as to be scarcely perceptible, which have an immense power in restraining the ebullitions of the passions and improprieties of conduct. He knows that the ever-watchful and affectionate eye of his father and mother is upon him; he knows that a sister's love is feelingly and deeply alive to every thing he says and does; he knows that his numerous relatives and friends, whom he meets at almost every hour of the day, have an interest in his deportment and character, which he cannot disregard, without a violation of every sentiment of honor and benevolence. The influence from these sources is far stronger than is sometimes imagined; and we should hardly go too far in saying that it constitutes one of the greatest sureties and supports of civil government. But the soldier is removed, in a great measure at least, beyond the reach of this propitious control. Separated from his home, and from all those restraining and regulative influences, of which home. is the great centre and source, he finds himself in a situation where he can indulge his passions without being subject to any observation of which he stands in awe, and give loose to improprieties of deportment without so clearly perceiving and feeling that he himself is dishonored, and that his dearest friends are injured by it. He is transplanted from a scene and a situation where every thing is rendered sacred by domestic affection, and oftentimes by the observances and benign spirit of religion, to a soil and atmosphere that give birth and nourishment to every thing noxious and pestilential. No father's warning voice checks him in his mad career; no mother's tear gives strength to the suggestions of virtue; no brother's or sister's hand compulsively, yet kindly, withholds him from the haunts of dissipation and vice; but, on the contrary, he finds himself launched suddenly on the great ocean of temptation and vice, under a full press of sail, and left at the entire mercy of the winds and waves. But the soldier is not only removed from those influences of domestic life, so favorable to a course of virtue, but is placed directly under the pressure of other influences, of a wholly opposite character, tending directly to vice. In other words, he is surrounded by men whose character is essentially vicious, and constantly breathes the deleterious atmosphere of their example and advice. It is a just remark of Dr. Doddridge, in respect to the military life, "The temptations are so many, that it may seem no inconsiderable praise and felicity to be free from dissolute vice, and to retain what in other professions might be regarded a mediocrity of virtue." * It is not our object to go into the particulars of those vices, which are undoubtedly prevalent, in a very high degree, in all armies. It is sufficient for our purpose merely to allude to them. Among other vices, which display themselves openly, and are constantly disseminating their pernicious * Doddridge's Remarkable Passages in the Life of Colonel James Gardiner |