Chapter 14

[14]It has been already observed that a child always imitates what he sees and hears: For this reason, he should hear no language which is not correct and decent. Every word spoken to a child, should be pronounced with clearness and propriety. Banish from children all diminutive words, all whining and all bad grammar. A boy of six years old may be taught to speak as correctly, as Cicero did before the Roman Senate.

[15]Nothing can be more fatal to domestic happiness in America, than a taste for copying the luxurious manners and amusements of England and France. Dancing, drawing and music, are principal articles of education in those kingdoms; therefore every girl in America must pass two or three years at a boarding school, tho her father cannot give her a farthing when she marries. This ambition to educate females above their fortunes pervades every part of America. Hence the disproportion between the well bred females and the males in our large towns. A mechanic or shopkeeper in town, or a farmer in the country, whose sons get their living by their father's employments, will send their daughters to a boarding school, where their ideas are elevated, and their views carried above a connexion with men in those occupations. Such an education, without fortune or beauty, may possibly please a girl of fifteen, but must prove her greatest misfortune. This fatal mistake is illustrated in every large town in America. In the country, the number of males and females, is nearly equal; but in towns, the number of genteelly bred women is greater than of men; and in some towns, the proportion is, as three to one.The heads of young people of both sexes are often turned by reading descriptions of splendid living, of coaches, of plays, and other amusements. Such descriptions excite a desire to enjoy the same pleasures. A fortune becomes the principal object of pursuit; fortunes are scarce in America, and not easily acquired; disappointment succeeds, and the youth who begins life with expecting to enjoy a coach, closes the prospect with a small living, procured by labor and economy.Thus a wrong education, and a taste for pleasures which our fortune will not enable us to enjoy, often plunge the Americans into distress, or at least prevent early marriages. Too fond of show, of dress and expense, the sexes wish to please each other; they mistake the means, and both are disappointed.

The heads of young people of both sexes are often turned by reading descriptions of splendid living, of coaches, of plays, and other amusements. Such descriptions excite a desire to enjoy the same pleasures. A fortune becomes the principal object of pursuit; fortunes are scarce in America, and not easily acquired; disappointment succeeds, and the youth who begins life with expecting to enjoy a coach, closes the prospect with a small living, procured by labor and economy.

Thus a wrong education, and a taste for pleasures which our fortune will not enable us to enjoy, often plunge the Americans into distress, or at least prevent early marriages. Too fond of show, of dress and expense, the sexes wish to please each other; they mistake the means, and both are disappointed.

[16]Cicero was twenty eight years old when he left Italy to travel into Greece and Asia. "He did not stir abroad," says Dr. Middleton, "till he had completed his education at home; for nothing can be more pernicious to a nation, than the necessity of a foreign one."—Life of Cicero, vol. 1. p. 48.Dr. Moore makes a remark precisely in point. Speaking of a foreign education, proposed by a certain Lord, who objected to the public schools in England, he says, "I have attended to his Lordship's objections, and after due consideration, and weighing every circumstance, I remain of opinion, that no country but Great Britain is proper for the education of a British subject, who proposes to pass his life in his own country. The most important point, in my mind, to be secured in the education of a young man of rank of our country, is to make him an Englishman; and this can be done no where so effectually as in England." See hisView of Society and Manners, &c. vol. 1, page 197, where the reader will find many judicious remarks upon this subject. The following are too pertinent to be omitted.—"It is thought, that by an early foreign education, all ridiculous English prejudices, will be avoided. This may be true; but other prejudices, perhaps as ridiculous, and much more detrimental, will be formed. The first cannot be attended with many inconveniencies; the second may render the young people unhappy in their own country when they return, and disagreeable to their countrymen all the rest of their lives." These remarks, by a change of names are applicable to America.

Dr. Moore makes a remark precisely in point. Speaking of a foreign education, proposed by a certain Lord, who objected to the public schools in England, he says, "I have attended to his Lordship's objections, and after due consideration, and weighing every circumstance, I remain of opinion, that no country but Great Britain is proper for the education of a British subject, who proposes to pass his life in his own country. The most important point, in my mind, to be secured in the education of a young man of rank of our country, is to make him an Englishman; and this can be done no where so effectually as in England." See hisView of Society and Manners, &c. vol. 1, page 197, where the reader will find many judicious remarks upon this subject. The following are too pertinent to be omitted.—"It is thought, that by an early foreign education, all ridiculous English prejudices, will be avoided. This may be true; but other prejudices, perhaps as ridiculous, and much more detrimental, will be formed. The first cannot be attended with many inconveniencies; the second may render the young people unhappy in their own country when they return, and disagreeable to their countrymen all the rest of their lives." These remarks, by a change of names are applicable to America.

[17]Not that the English nation was originally in slavery; for the primitiv Saxons and Germans were free. But the military tenures, established by the Gothic conquests, depressed the people; so that under the rigor of the feudal system, about the date of Magna Charta, the King and Nobles held their tenants in extreme servitude. From this depression, the English have gradually emerged into ancient freedom.

[18]The first convention of deputies in a state, is usually designed to direct the mode in which future legislatures shall beorganized. This convention cannot abridge the powers of future legislatures, any further than they are abridged by the moral law, which forbids all wrong in general.

[19]Thenominaldistinction ofConventionandLegislaturewas probably copied from the English; but the American distinction goes farther, it implies, in common acceptation, a difference ofpower. This difference does not exist in G. Britain. The assembly of Lords and Commons which restored Charles II, and that which raised the Prince of Orange to the throne, were calledConventions, orparliamentary Conventions. But the difference between these Conventions and an ordinary Parliament, is merely a difference in the manner of assembling; aConventionbeing an assembly or meeting of Lords and Commons, on an emergency, without the King's writ, which is the regular constitutional mode of summoning them, and by custom necessary to render the meeting aParliament. But the powers of this assembly, whether denominated aConventionor aParliament, have ever been considered as coextensive and supreme. I would just remark further, that the impossibility of establishing perpetual, or even permanent forms of government, is proved already by the experience of two States in America. Pensylvania and Georgia, have suffered under bad Constitutions, till they are glad to go thro the process of calling a new Convention. After the new forms of government have been tried some time, the people will discover new defects, and must either call a third Convention, or let the governments go on without amendment, because their Legislatures, which ought to have supreme power, cannot make altertations.——[1789.]

[20]This is the date of the first writs now extant, for summoning the Knights and Burgesses.

[21]In Pensylvania, after the late choice of Delegates to Congress by the people, one of the Gentlemen sent his resignation to the President and Council, who refered it to the Legislature then sitting. This body, compozed of the servants of the people, I suppoze, solemnly resolved, that there was no power in the State whichcouldaccept the resignation. The resolv was grounded on the idea that the power of the people is paramount to that of the Legislature; whereas the people hav no power at all, except in choosing representativs. All Legislativ and Executiv powers are vested in their Representativs, in Councilor Assembly, and the Council should have accepted the resignation and issued a precept for another choice. Their compelling the man to serve was an act of tyranny.

[22]This pernicious error subverts the whole foundation of government. It resembles the practice of some Gentlemen in the country, who hire a poor strolling vagabond to keep a school, and then let the children know that he is a mereservant. The consequence is, the children despise him and his rules, and a constant war is maintained between the master and his pupils. The boys think themselves more respectable than the master, and the master has the rod in his hand, which he never fails to exercise. A proper degree of respect for the man and his laws, would prevent a thousand hard knocks. This isgovernment in miniature. Men are taught to believe that their rulers are theirservants, and then are rewarded with a prison and a gallows for despising their laws.

[23]"In a democracy there can be no exercise of sovereignty but by suffrage: In England, where the people do not debate in a collective body, but by representation, the exercise of this sovereignty consists in thechoice of Representatives."Blackstone's Com. b. 1. ch. 2.This is the sole power of the people in America.

[24]The septennial act was judged the only guard against a Popish reign, and therefore highly popular.

[25]Notes on Virginia, page 197. Lond. Edit. Query 13.

[26]Contracts, where a Legislature is a party, are excepted.

[27]Some jealous people ignorantly call the proposed Constitution of Federal Government, anaristocracy. If such men are honest, their honesty deserves pity: There is not a feature of true aristocracy in the Constitution; the whole frame of Government is a pure Representativ Republic.

[28]Calvini Lexicon Juridicum.

[29]See Laws of the Saxon Kings.

[30]Such is the article, which excludes the clergy from a right to hold civil offices. The people, might, with the same propriety, have declared, that no merchants nor lawyers should be eligible to civil offices. It is a common opinion that the business of the clergy is whollyspiritual. Never was a grosser error. A part of their business is to inform the minds of people on all subjects, and correct their morals; so that they have a direct influence on government. At any rate they are subjects of law, and ought as freemen to be eligible to a seat in the Legislature; provided the people incline to choose them.

[31]No.II.IV.V.

[32]It is a capital defect in some of the States, that the government is so organized as not to admit subordinate acts of legislation in small districts. In these States, every little collection of people in a village must petition the Legislature for liberty to lay out a highway or build a bridge; an affair in which the State at large has very little interest, and of the necessity and utility of which the Legislature are not suitable judges. This occasions much trouble for the State; it is a needless expense. A State should be divided into inferior corporations, veiled with powers competent to all acts of local police. What right have the inhabitants of Suffolk to interfere in the building of a bridge in Montgomery?[a]Who are the most competent judges of a local convenience; the whole State, or the inhabitants of the particular district?[a]This was written in New York.

[a]This was written in New York.

[33]An error, originating in mistake, is often pursued thro obstinacy and pride; and sometimes a familiarity withfalsehood, makes it appear liketruth.

[34]New York.

[35]Some have suspected from these sentiments, that I favor the insurrection in Massachusetts. If it is necessary to be more explicit than I have been in the declaration, "I reprobate, &c." I must add, that in governments like ours, derived from the people, I believe there is nopossible situationin which violent opposition to laws can be justified; because it can never be necessary.General evilswill always be legally redressed, andpartial evilsmust be borne, if the majority require it. A tender law, which interferes withpastcontracts, is perhaps the wickedest act that a Legislature can be guilty of; and yet I think the people in Rhode Island have done right, in not opposing their's, in a violent manner.

[36]Pensylvania.

[37]This assertion may seem to be contradicted by the opposition of Connecticut to the half pay act; but that opposition did not even threaten violence or arms: It was conducted in a peaceable manner; and I do not know that the State has furnished an instance of a tumultuous interruption of law.

[38]These remarks are not applicable to the mercantile part of the people, who, since the revolution, have been distinguished by their punctuality.

[39]Published in Rhode Island, shortly after the preceding letter.

[40]See page125.

[41]See the records of this State, where rum is called strong water. This was soon after the first distilling of spirits, and rum was not then named. It seems, however, that our pious ancestors had a taste for it, which their posterity have carefully improved.

[42]I would just mention to my fair readers, whom I love and esteem, that feathers and other frippery of the head, are disreputable in Europe.

[43]Some of the bills of rights in America declare, that the people have a right to meet together, and consult for the public safety; that their legislators are responsible to them; that they are servants, &c. Such declarations give people an idea, that as individuals, or in town meetings, they have a power paramount to that of the Legislature. No wonder, that with such ideas, they attempt to resist law.

[44]As well may the New Zealanders, who have not yet discovered Europe, fit out a ship, land on the coast of England or France, and, finding no inhabitants but poor fishermen and peasants, claim the whole country byright of discovery.

[45]General Prideaux was killed by the bursting of a mortar, before the surrender of the French.

[46]It has been controverted whether the capture of General Cornwallis was the result of a plan preconcerted between General Washington and Count de Grasse; or rather whether the arrival of the Count in the Chesapeak was predetermined and expected by General Washington, and consequently all the preparations to attack New York a mere finesse to deceive the enemy; or whether the real intention was against New York, and the siege of Yorktown planned upon the unexpected arrival of the French fleet in the bay. The following letter will let the matter in its true light.Mount Vernon, July 31, 1788.Sir,I duly received your letter of the 14th instant, and can only answer you briefly and generally from memory; that a combined operation of the land and naval forces of France in America, for the year 1781, was preconcerted the year before; that the point of attack was not absolutely agreed upon,[b]because it could not be foreknown where the enemy would be most susceptible of impression; and because we (having the command of the water with sufficient means of conveyance) could transport ourselves to any spot with the greatest celerity; that it was determined by me, nearly twelve months before hand, at all hazards, to give out and cause it to be believed by the highest military as well as civil officers, that New York was the destined place of attack, for the important purpose of inducing the eastern and middle States to make greater exertions in furnishing specific supplies, than they otherwise would have done, as well as for the interesting purpose of rendering the enemy less prepared elsewhere; that by these means, and these alone, artillery, boats, stores, and provisions, were in seasonable preparation to move with the utmost rapidity to any part of the continent; for the difficulty consisted more in providing, than knowing how to apply the military apparatus; that before the arrival of the Count de Grasse, it was the fixed determinationto strike the enemy in the most vulnerable quarter, so as to ensure success with moral certainty, as our affairs were then in the most ruinous train imaginable; that New York was thought to be beyond our effort, and consequently that the only hesitation that remained, was between an attack upon the British army in Virginia and that in Charleston: And finally, that, by the intervention of several communications, and some incidents which cannot be detailed in a letter, the hostile post in Virginia, from being aprovisional and strongly expected, became thedefinitiv and certain objectof the campaign.[b]Because it would be easy for the Count de Grasse, in good time before his departure from the West Indies, to giv notice, by expressing at what place he could most conveniently first touch to receive advice.I only add, that it never was in contemplation to attack New York, unless the garrison should first have been so far degarnished to carry on the southern operations, as to render our success in the siege of that place, as infallible as any future military event can ever be made. For I repeat it, and dwell upon it again, some splendid advantage (whether upon a larger or smaller scale was almost immaterial) was so essentially necessary, to revive the expiring hopes and languid exertions of the country, at the crisis in question, that I never would have consented to embark in any enterprise, wherein, from the most rational plan and accurate calculations, the favorable issue should not have appeared as clear to my view as a ray of light. The failure of an attempt against the posts of the enemy, could, in no other possible situation during the war, have been so fatal to our cause.That much trouble was taken and finesse used to misguide and bewilder Sir Henry Clinton, in regard to the real object, by fictitious communications, as well as by making a deceptiv provision of ovens, forage, and boats, in his neighborhood, is certain: Nor were less pains taken to deceive our own army; for I had always conceived, where the imposition did not completely take place at home, it could never sufficiently succeed abroad.Your desire of obtaining truth, is very laudable; I wish I had more leisure to gratify it, as I am equally solicitous the undisguised verity should be known. Many circumstances will unavoidably be misconceived and misrepresented. Notwithstanding most of the papers, which may properly be deemed official, are preserved; yet the knowlege of innumerable things, of a more delicate and secret nature, is confined to the perishable remembrance of some few of the present generation.With esteem, I am, Sir, your most obedient humble servant,G. WASHINGTON.To ——.

Mount Vernon, July 31, 1788.

Sir,

I duly received your letter of the 14th instant, and can only answer you briefly and generally from memory; that a combined operation of the land and naval forces of France in America, for the year 1781, was preconcerted the year before; that the point of attack was not absolutely agreed upon,[b]because it could not be foreknown where the enemy would be most susceptible of impression; and because we (having the command of the water with sufficient means of conveyance) could transport ourselves to any spot with the greatest celerity; that it was determined by me, nearly twelve months before hand, at all hazards, to give out and cause it to be believed by the highest military as well as civil officers, that New York was the destined place of attack, for the important purpose of inducing the eastern and middle States to make greater exertions in furnishing specific supplies, than they otherwise would have done, as well as for the interesting purpose of rendering the enemy less prepared elsewhere; that by these means, and these alone, artillery, boats, stores, and provisions, were in seasonable preparation to move with the utmost rapidity to any part of the continent; for the difficulty consisted more in providing, than knowing how to apply the military apparatus; that before the arrival of the Count de Grasse, it was the fixed determinationto strike the enemy in the most vulnerable quarter, so as to ensure success with moral certainty, as our affairs were then in the most ruinous train imaginable; that New York was thought to be beyond our effort, and consequently that the only hesitation that remained, was between an attack upon the British army in Virginia and that in Charleston: And finally, that, by the intervention of several communications, and some incidents which cannot be detailed in a letter, the hostile post in Virginia, from being aprovisional and strongly expected, became thedefinitiv and certain objectof the campaign.

[b]Because it would be easy for the Count de Grasse, in good time before his departure from the West Indies, to giv notice, by expressing at what place he could most conveniently first touch to receive advice.

I only add, that it never was in contemplation to attack New York, unless the garrison should first have been so far degarnished to carry on the southern operations, as to render our success in the siege of that place, as infallible as any future military event can ever be made. For I repeat it, and dwell upon it again, some splendid advantage (whether upon a larger or smaller scale was almost immaterial) was so essentially necessary, to revive the expiring hopes and languid exertions of the country, at the crisis in question, that I never would have consented to embark in any enterprise, wherein, from the most rational plan and accurate calculations, the favorable issue should not have appeared as clear to my view as a ray of light. The failure of an attempt against the posts of the enemy, could, in no other possible situation during the war, have been so fatal to our cause.

That much trouble was taken and finesse used to misguide and bewilder Sir Henry Clinton, in regard to the real object, by fictitious communications, as well as by making a deceptiv provision of ovens, forage, and boats, in his neighborhood, is certain: Nor were less pains taken to deceive our own army; for I had always conceived, where the imposition did not completely take place at home, it could never sufficiently succeed abroad.

Your desire of obtaining truth, is very laudable; I wish I had more leisure to gratify it, as I am equally solicitous the undisguised verity should be known. Many circumstances will unavoidably be misconceived and misrepresented. Notwithstanding most of the papers, which may properly be deemed official, are preserved; yet the knowlege of innumerable things, of a more delicate and secret nature, is confined to the perishable remembrance of some few of the present generation.

With esteem, I am, Sir, your most obedient humble servant,

G. WASHINGTON.

To ——.

[47]A dollar, in sterling money, is 4s6. But the price of a dollar rose in New England currency to 6s; in New York to 8s; in New Jersey, Pensylvania and Maryland to 7s6; in Virginia to 6s; in North Carolina to 8s; in South Carolina and Georgia to 4s8. This difference, originating between paper and specie, or bills, continued afterwards to exist in the nominal estimation of gold and silver.Franklin's Miscel. Works, p. 217.

Franklin's Miscel. Works, p. 217.

[48]A dollar was usually cut in five pieces, and each passed by toll for a quarter; so that the man who cut it gained a quarter, or rather a fifth. If the State should recoin this silver, it must lose a fifth.

[49]This pernicious opinion has prevailed in all the States, and done infinit mischief.

[50]Columbian Magazine for May, 1787.

[51]The existence of a custom of paying respect to theseIndian heaps, as they are called, is proved by a ludicrous practice, that prevails among the Anglo Americans in the vicinity, of making strangers pull off their hats as they pass by this grave. A man passing by with one who is a stranger to the custom, never fails to practise a jest upon him, by telling him that a spider, a caterpillar, or some other insect is upon his hat; the unsuspecting traveller immediately takes off his hat, to brush away the offending insect, and finds by a roar of laughter, that a trick is put upon him. I have often seen this trick played upon strangers, and upon the neighbors who happen to be off their guard, to the great amusement of the country people. The jest, however, is a proof that the aborigines paid a respect to these rude monuments, and in ridicule of that respect, probably, originated the vulgar practice of the English, which exists to this day.

[52]Camden's Britannia, volume II, page 759.

[53]Mona Antiq. Restaur, page 47.

[54]That the primitiv Britons may claim a very direct descent from the ancient inhabitants of Syria and Phenicia, whose languages were but branches from the same common stock, with as Hebrew, may be made to appear probable by a comparison of their customs; but may be almost demonstrated by a collation of the old British language with the Hebrew roots.See my Dissertations on the English Language, Appendix.

[55]Britannia, volume I, page 127.

[56]One as large as that is said to be found at Grave Creek, about eighty miles above Muskingum.

[57]Volume II, page 763.

[58]Camden, volume II, page 751.

[59]Mons. Mallet, in his Northern Antiquities, has produced unquestionable testimony, from the Chronicles of Iceland and others histories of the north, that the American continent was discovered about the tenth century; and the esquimaux are clearly of the same race as the Greenlanders.

[60]Elements of Criticism. Vol. I, page 198.

[61]A line of houses built on the descent of land to the river, with a street adjacent to the houses on both sides.

[62]This title, and many of the following ideas, are borrowed from a treatise of Mr. Michaelis, director of the Royal Society of Gottingen.

[63]Any person may prove this by a trifling experiment. Let him place a glass receiver or bowl over the grass in a summer's day, and the next morning he will find as much dewunderit as around it.The truth is this; the particles of water are constantly exhaled from the earth by the heat of the sun. During the day time, these particles ascend in an imperceptible manner, and furnish the atmosphere with the materials of clouds and rain. But in the night, the atmosphere grows cool, while the earth, retaining a superior degree of heat, continues to throw off the particles of water. These particles, meeting the colder atmosphere, are condensed, and lodge upon the surface of the earth, grass, trees and other objects. So that the expression,the dew falls, is in a degree true, altho itfirst risesfrom the earth.

[63]Any person may prove this by a trifling experiment. Let him place a glass receiver or bowl over the grass in a summer's day, and the next morning he will find as much dewunderit as around it.

The truth is this; the particles of water are constantly exhaled from the earth by the heat of the sun. During the day time, these particles ascend in an imperceptible manner, and furnish the atmosphere with the materials of clouds and rain. But in the night, the atmosphere grows cool, while the earth, retaining a superior degree of heat, continues to throw off the particles of water. These particles, meeting the colder atmosphere, are condensed, and lodge upon the surface of the earth, grass, trees and other objects. So that the expression,the dew falls, is in a degree true, altho itfirst risesfrom the earth.

[64]It is a fact, supported by unquestionable testimony, that the savage nations on the frontiers of these States, have fewer vices in proportion to their virtues, than are to be found in the best regulated civilized societies with which we are acquainted.

[65]Uxores habent deni, duodenique inter se communes; et maxime fratres cum fratribus, et parentes cum liberis. Sed si qui sunt ex his nati; eorum habenter liberi a quibus primum virgines quæque ductæ sunt.——Cæsar de bell. Gall. Lib. 5.

[66]Let an individual depend solely on his own exertions for food, and a single failure of crops subjects him to a famin. Let a populous country depend solely on its own produce, and the probability of a famine is diminished; yet is still possible. But a commercial intercourse between all nations, multiplies the chances of subsistence, and reduces the matter to a certainty. China, a well peopled country, is subject to a famin merely for want of a free commerce.

[67]Jacob Dict.word,domesday.

[68]Cowel Dict.Daysman.

[69]Coke Litt. 3. 248.

[70]It iz singular that the last syllable of this worddomesday, should hav been mistaken forday, a portion of time; for the latter in Saxon waz writtendaeganddaegum, az in the Saxon version of the Gospels; whereaz the termination ofdomesdaywaz formerly, and ought now to be, speltdey.

[71]Cowel, Law Dict.dome.

[72]In some wordsdomis substituted for the ancient terminationrick; and in one sense, it iz equivalent torick, which implies jurisdiction or power.King rickwaz used az late az Queen Elizabeth:Bishop-rickiz stil used, denoting the territory or jurisdiction of a bishop.

[73]Johnson deriveslayfrom the Greek λαος; as he does all other words which hav some resemblance to Greek words in sound or signification. I beleev the Saxon or Gothic original and the Greek may be the same, and of equal antiquity.

[74]Blackstone Com. vol. I. 112.

[75]Camden's Britannia.Baron.

[76]Let no one question the probability of such changes of consonants which are formed by the same organs; for to this daybandvare often used promiscuously. In the Spanish language, we are at liberty to pronounce,bazv, orvazb; and with us,marbleis often pronouncedmarvle. It is also certain that the Romanviris found in the word mentioned by Cesar. Com. 11. 19.Vergo bretus, an annual magistrate among the Ædui, a nation of Germany. This word is derived fromvir, andguberno, altho Cesar and Tacitus never suspected it. The same word iz mentioned by Mc Pherson, az stil existing in the Erst language,Fergubreth; and its meaning iz the same az in Cesar's time: A decisiv argument thatvir,fer, andbar, are radically the same; and that the ancient Celtic language had a common origin with the Latin. A similar change of consonants iz observable in the wordsvoloandbull(the Pope's decree) which are radically the same; az also the Germanwolland the Englishwill. So the ancientPergamusiz called by the modern Turks,Bergamo. See Masheim's Eccle. Hist. Vol. I. and my Dissertations on the Eng. Language, Appendix.

[77]The feudal system iz commonly supposed to hav originated in the conquest of the Roman empire by the northern nations. The rudiments of it however may be discovered az erly az the Cimbric invasion of Italy, a century before the Christian era. Se Florus. lib. 3. c. 3. The Cimbri and Teutones were tribes of the same northern race, az the Germans and Saxons.

[78]So it iz spelt in the Saxon laws; but its root waz probablycirce, fromsciran, to divide.Cbeforeiandewas in Saxon pronouncedchor neerly; hencecirceischirche.

[79]Blackstone Com. vol. I, 112. That each shire had its bishop, seems to be obvious from a law of Edgar, c. 5, where, respecting the county court, it iz ordered, "celeberrimo huic conventui episcopus et aldermannus intersunto;" notunus episcoporum, butthe bishopanderl.

[80]Parsoniz said, by Coke and others, to be derived frompersona, because this officer represents the corporation or church,vicem seu personam ecclesiæ gerere. This reezon seems to be obscure and unsatisfactory. It iz possible the word may proceed from the same root azparish, viz.par.

[81]Great synod—great meeting.

[82]Stuarts English Constitution, p. 275.

[83]Mallets North. Antiq. Vol. I. 61. The northern nations had, like the Greeks,twelvprincipal deities, and this article in their religious beleef might originate the institution oftwelv preests,twelv judges, &c. Many civil institutions among rude nations, may be traced to their religious opinions; and perhaps the preference given to the numbertwelv, in Germany, in Greece, and in Judea, had its origin in some circumstances az ancient az the race of the Jews.Odin, which in Anglo Saxon, wazWoden, waz the supreme god of the Goths, answering to the Jupiter of the Greeks: And it iz remarkable that the words,god,good,odinandwoden, all sprung from one source. We shall not be surprized that the same word should begin with such different letters, when we reflect that such changes are very common. The Danes omitwinword; a dictionary they callord-bog, a word book; and the Spaniards, in attempting to pronouncew, always articulateg. See my Dissertations, p. 335.

Odin, which in Anglo Saxon, wazWoden, waz the supreme god of the Goths, answering to the Jupiter of the Greeks: And it iz remarkable that the words,god,good,odinandwoden, all sprung from one source. We shall not be surprized that the same word should begin with such different letters, when we reflect that such changes are very common. The Danes omitwinword; a dictionary they callord-bog, a word book; and the Spaniards, in attempting to pronouncew, always articulateg. See my Dissertations, p. 335.

[84]North. Antiq. Vol. I. 169.

[85]London, in England, probably had its name from this place.

[86]North. Antiq. Vol. II. 41.

[87]See Chardin's Travels, Vol. III.

[88]Tac. de Mor. Germ. c. 7.

[89]Tac. de Mor. Germ. c. 11.

[90]C. 12.

[91]De Bello Gallico. lib. VI. c. 21.

[92]Com. Vol. III. 35. This cannot be strictly true; for theprincipeswere electiv; and therefore could not hav owned the land (pagus) or exercised the office of judge in right of their property. The kings, princes, and generals of the ancient Germans were elected; some for theirnobility, that iz, the respectability of their families, arising from the valor and merits of their ancestors; others, az theirduces, military commanders, were chosen for theirvirtues, their personal bravery. This I take to be the meening of that passage in Tacitus, "Reges ex nobilitate, duces ex virtute sumunt.""TheComites ex plebe," says Selden, chap. 18, "made one rank of freemen superior to the rest in wisdom." The Saxon nobles were calledadelingi, or wel born; the freemen,frilingi, or free born; the latter might be assistants in the judicial department. The lower ranks were calledlazzior slaves; and indolence iz so necessary a consequence of bondage, that this wordlazzi, orlazy, haz become sinonimous withindolent,sluggish. This word iz a living national satire upon every species of slavery. But the effect of slavery iz not merely indolence; its natural tendency iz to producedishonesty; "almost every slave, being, says Dr. Franklin, from the nature of hiz employment, a theef." Az a striking proof of this, we may instance the change of meening in the wordsvillainandknave, which at first denotedtenantandplowman, but during the oppressions of the feudal system, come to signify,a rogue.Vassalalso denoted originally, atenantorfeudatoryof a superior lord. It waz an honorable name, the barons being called the kingsvassals. But servitude iz to natural a consequence of the tenure of lands under aproprietor, in see, thatvassalhaz become sinonimous with slave.[c]The change of meening in theze words iz a volum of instruction to princes and legislators. Reduce men to bondage, and they hav no motiv but feer to keep them industrious and honest, and of course, most of them commence rogues and drones. Why hav not the tyrants of Europe discovered this truth? Good laws, and an equal distribution of the advantages and the rights of government, would generally be an effectual substitute for the bayonet and the gallows. Look thro Europe; wherever we see poverty and oppression, there we find a nursery of villains. A difference in the property, education and advantages, originates the difference of character, between the nobleman of nicest honor, and the culprits that swing at Tyburn.[c]Blackstone, Vol. II. 52, says, "we now uze the wordvassalopprobriously, az sinonimous to slave or bondman, onaccount of the prejudices we hav justly conceived against the doctrins grafted on the feudal system." So good a man ought not to hav uzed the wordprejudice; and so great a man ought to hav assigned a better reezon for thisopprobriousnessof the modern wordvassal.

"TheComites ex plebe," says Selden, chap. 18, "made one rank of freemen superior to the rest in wisdom." The Saxon nobles were calledadelingi, or wel born; the freemen,frilingi, or free born; the latter might be assistants in the judicial department. The lower ranks were calledlazzior slaves; and indolence iz so necessary a consequence of bondage, that this wordlazzi, orlazy, haz become sinonimous withindolent,sluggish. This word iz a living national satire upon every species of slavery. But the effect of slavery iz not merely indolence; its natural tendency iz to producedishonesty; "almost every slave, being, says Dr. Franklin, from the nature of hiz employment, a theef." Az a striking proof of this, we may instance the change of meening in the wordsvillainandknave, which at first denotedtenantandplowman, but during the oppressions of the feudal system, come to signify,a rogue.Vassalalso denoted originally, atenantorfeudatoryof a superior lord. It waz an honorable name, the barons being called the kingsvassals. But servitude iz to natural a consequence of the tenure of lands under aproprietor, in see, thatvassalhaz become sinonimous with slave.[c]The change of meening in theze words iz a volum of instruction to princes and legislators. Reduce men to bondage, and they hav no motiv but feer to keep them industrious and honest, and of course, most of them commence rogues and drones. Why hav not the tyrants of Europe discovered this truth? Good laws, and an equal distribution of the advantages and the rights of government, would generally be an effectual substitute for the bayonet and the gallows. Look thro Europe; wherever we see poverty and oppression, there we find a nursery of villains. A difference in the property, education and advantages, originates the difference of character, between the nobleman of nicest honor, and the culprits that swing at Tyburn.

[c]Blackstone, Vol. II. 52, says, "we now uze the wordvassalopprobriously, az sinonimous to slave or bondman, onaccount of the prejudices we hav justly conceived against the doctrins grafted on the feudal system." So good a man ought not to hav uzed the wordprejudice; and so great a man ought to hav assigned a better reezon for thisopprobriousnessof the modern wordvassal.

[93]De Mor. Germ. c. 13.

[94]The practice of choosing assistant judges in the Roman commonwealth, waz something similar to our mode of impannelling a jury. Theze assistants were sometimes a hundred, and it iz not improbable, the Roman and German customs of electing that number might be derived from the same original.

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