force, in which the best man is he who
carries off the prize.

He will look upon power as belonging of right to the strongest; the
weak, or those who differ from him in opinion, he will treat with
contempt and cruelty, and will think they have no rights he is bound to
respect. In power, such a man will be arbitrary and cruel; out of power,
he will be faithless, hypocritical and subservient. Trust him with
authority, he will abuse it; trust him with money, he will steal it;
trust him with your confidence, and he will betray it. Such a man--Pagan
and unprincipled as he is--may nevertheless affect, when it suits his
purpose, great religious zeal and purity. He will talk of
"_Philanthropy_" and the "_Humanities_," have great compassion, perhaps,
for "a dray-horse," and give the cold shoulder to the houseless pauper
or orphan.

The heart of such a man is cold, insincere, destitute of every tender
chord for a tender vibration, of every particle of right or just feeling
or principle that can be touched; on the contrary, it is roused to rage,
revenge and falsehood if interfered with. How is such a heart to be
touched or moved, or placed under such influences as could move it?
Indeed, it would require a miracle! Nay, even a miracle would fail to
make a salutary impression upon such a heart. A French infidel declared
that, should he be told that the most remarkable miracle was occurring
close by his house, he would not take a step out of his way to see it.
Pride never surrenders; it prefers rather to take an illogical position
than to bow even to the authority of reason. Furious, beside itself, and
absurd, it revolts against evidence. To all reasoning, to undeniable
evidence, the infidel--the man without religion--opposes his own will:
"Such is my determination." It is sweet to him to be stronger,
single-handed, than common sense, stronger than miracles, than even the
God who manifests Himself by them.

Such a man is always in favor of _strong government_, provided he can
get to run it. He will talk loudly of loyalty and the "_life of the
nation_." He worships the _State_, because, to his gross animal
understanding, it represents _power_, and makes money his God, because
it gives him this power. Such a man may be called civilized, but he is
only an _accomplished barbarian_. His head and hands are instructed, his
heart, and low passions and appetites, unbridled and untamed. Such a man
can never be made to understand the beauti