Book Description

Excerpt from An Oration, Pronounced at Charlestown, on the 4th July, 1821: At the Request of the Republican Citizens of That Town, in Commemoration of the Anniversary of National Independence Self-government is as clear and indisputable a hu man right as self-preservation. We need not search the theories of the civilian or moralist for the truth of this posi tion. It is derived from the very nature and capacities of man. His moral and social qualities - his ability to reason and compare, to discriminate between good and evil, and above all, his unconquerable love of self and desire of hap piness, render him capable of this elevated purpose. Yet, this principle, however true and essential to human welfare and pleasing to human pride, has been reluctantly recognized, and is comparatively the result of modern innovation. It was not the interest of the few to develope it. For its dis covery would prostrate the power, which accident or usur patiou had given them, and which could only be secured by the ignorance of the many. Aware of this, individuals, who have seized on the government of communities, have always made it their primary concern to shut up the fountains of knowledge, and divert the attention of the multitude from an inquiry into their rights, to a stupid veneration of the power that oppresses them. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.