ey do read it without
prejudice, it is a book of lofty, heavenly moral inspiration, and the
first book of literature. But, the true christian follows the good which
he finds in the bible, and leaves all religious discussions to the wicked.
The wise Christian, I say, understands as well as Terence the _nequid
nimis_. It is a religion in the unerring nature which cannot fail: it is
the religion of truth. Our mind turns black by dint of reading black, and
still more so, when a great deal of bad is interspersed with good: and
those, able to discriminate bad from good, are, unfortunately, too few.
The plurality cannot judge by themselves, as far as they are taught to
believe every thing, which comes out from the mouth of a so called
theologian. Miss Davison, the victim of the Rev. Fairchild, had she not
believed him another David, as he pretended to be, she would have spared
her shame.

CHAPTER IV.

OF NEWSPAPERS.

Next to men, unworthy of the church, injuring American Literature, come
editors of certain stamp, the shame of those countries, where it is
permitted a free circulation. He who permits an unprincipled man to enter
his house, and becomes familiar with his wife, and innocent children, he
deserves the same blame as well as if he were leaving them to read
unprincipled newspapers. Though we are permitted to carry a bowie-knife,
or a pair of pistols in our pocket, the laws of this country will always
arrest the criminal, who uses the weapons improperly. The scribbler here,
who does not know how to use an academical language, goes unpunished,
though he did take from his christian fellow being, more than life--his
honor! What more? Prisoners, before their trial, have not been spared by
them!

The law which condemns the challenger, and not the aggressor, is a bad
law: or, at least, since the couragous man is generous, it should be
better to have no law against dueling, and then, few cowards would dare to
speak, or write against their fellow beings. Dueling is a private war,
which minds the uncivilized, not to insult the better part of the
republic. If every man can pull a trigger, not every man has either the
opportunity, or can wield a pen against a low scribbler, who had the
impudence to injure his reputation with strong words. Gentlemen of
congress are so badly treated by such newspapers, and to such an excess,
for which, even the strongest words of the english language have lost
their sharpness. Still, tho