Modern Chivalry, or the Adventures of Captain Farrago and Teague O'regan

ISBN: 9781332737826 出版年：2016 页码：402 Hugh Henry Brackenridge Forgotten Books

The satire, it must be admitted, is sometimes excessive, when it deals with the folly, presumption, extravagance, or dishonesty, which too often shows itself amid the rank growth of popular liberty. Many of those things which he merely imagined as caricatures, have in our times become amazing realities witness the world's convention of agra rians, communists, atheists, disorganizers, proposing to over turn constitution, right of property, religion, education, and all the w1se institutions among men, which experience has created or sanctioned. He wrote for the people, that is, for the sound and healthy portion of society, not for the incurably diseased, and does not fear to lay the scourge with severity on the ignorant multitude or populace, _the mobile vulgus, constantly bent on the deracination of institutions, and which, in his opinion, ought not to exist among our free and presumed enlightened population. He defined our government to be, a democracy founded on the experiment Of representation, and this experiment again depending on the success of the principle of universal suf frage, which must be a fallacy in practice, unless the people are virtuous and enlightened. The author's philosophic vision penetrated far into futurity, which is proved by the fact, that it has required a half a century, from the publica tion of his work, to Show the application of many of his satires.