Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Observations on the Celebrated Pamphlet of the Rt. Hon. Edmund Burke
Ty; vi ty; while the hafiy, intemperate, and unground ed anfwers which have been offered to the latter, enforce the propriety of difcu?ing the oppofite opi nions, particularly thofe which'may become for midable, and of inquiring how two men of very high rank in the political world, can be fo differ ently atfe�led' by the very fame event. Are they the Democritus and Heraclitus of the prefent age, or does this event, according to their prejudices, act on different perfons, like john Bunyan's fermons, which forced one half of the congregation to titter, and the other to weep. Mr. Locke has juf'tly ob ferved, that the interference of our pa?ions pre vents morals from being equally demonfirable with mathematics: men, according to their prejudices and predominant affection, feel themfelves much interefied in determining, whether they fhould he governedby their-equals, or fubmit to a prince, who conceives himfelf the delegate'of heaven, ufhered into exif'tence with an imperial crown on his head, while he fuppofes fubjet'fts to -be born with pack-faddles on their backs, but are perfectly indifferent about the properties of a fquare or tri angle Confidering, therefore, a freedom from pallion and prejudice to be more requifite in moral difcu?ions, than the mofi fplendid abilities, I (hall venture to offer my thoughts to the public, on the refpeftive merits of the two oppolite performam ces, each of which has obtained more admirersthan reeifon would warrant. We all know that Calvin efiablilhed every man, a competent judge of both government and religion; but we are equal ly certain, that the jefuits maintained ihe right di vine of kings, and the infallibility of the Pope, even we Catbea'rfi. Virtzzs e/i medium vitiorum, ci utrirzque redufizzm, and to el'tabliih the golden mean between thefe two, equally blameable extremes, {hall be the purport of this little work: in it I (hall examine the doctrines of the new jewry, with re fpec'l to the right of election in the people, and the opinions of Mr. Burke, relative to that of heredi tary fucceliion; from this I {hall proceed to elli mate the refpec'tive merits of the oppolite decla mations on the captivity of the degraded monarch -lhall inquire whether chivalry merited the prai fes he has fo liberally befiowed on it, and what were the neceffary confequences thereof: I (hall, in the next place, attempt to determine, whether there exilied a pofhbility of receiving their own conflitution renovated, or of adopting that of Great Britain; I (hall then offer a very few comments on the robbery of the nobility and clergy, the united force of which re?eftions, Will be found a full reply to all the matter contained in the trait of this honourable gentleman, except the obferva tions which he has hazarded on a fubje�l, with refpet'l to which, neither he, nor any man in thefe dominions, was capable ofjudging, much lefsofde.
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