{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_62506/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_62506","id":"gutenberg_62506","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62506","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Modern (1750+)","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Politics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Christian socialism","Owen, Robert, 1771-1858. Book of the new moral world","Socialism -- Great Britain"],"text":"Transcribed from the [c1840\u2019s] Religious Tract Society edition by David\nPrice, email ccx074@pglaf.org\n\n                          [Picture: Book cover]\n\n\n\n\n\n                            SOCIALISM EXPOSED.\n\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                        BY THE REV. JOSEPH MATHER.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n              THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY, INSTITUTED 1799.\n           56, PATERNOSTER ROW, AND 65, ST.  PAULS CHURCHYARD.\n\nMR. OWEN professes to be seeking the happiness of his species: he\nimagines he has discovered the specific, which, if believed and applied,\nwill produce it; and he is using all the means in his power to convince\nthe world that such is the fact, and to induce the men of it to receive,\nand follow his prescriptions.\n\nWe must confess that we are not a little startled at the means by which\nhe proposes to accomplish this desirable object.  And here we quote his\nown language: \u201cThe religions founded under the name of Jewish, Budh,\nJehovah, God or Christ, Mohammed, or any other, are all composed of human\nlaws in opposition to nature\u2019s eternal laws.\u201d  (Book of the New Moral\nWorld, p. 68.)  From which it appears that all other systems have been\nwrong, founded on error, and productive of nothing but misery and crime:\nand before his can be established they must be renounced, and overturned,\nand abolished.  Now, Mr. Owen professes to have found out something\nbetter than what I and the world are in possession of; but I do not wish\nto be like the dog in the fable, which, when he had a piece of meat,\ndropped it, because, from seeing its shadow in the water, he fancied\nthere was another and a larger within his reach, and so lost them both.\nBefore I give up what I know and feel to be valuable, the source of\ncomfort and the source of happiness, let me not only be convinced that it\nis a superior good which is held out before me, but let me have the\npossession of it.\n\nThen let me ask, What evidence does Mr. Owen furnish, that the system and\nprinciples of the New Moral World are so much superior to those of the\nChristian system?  Let us contrast the two a little, and see how far we\nshall be acting wisely in rejecting all that we have been accustomed to\nbelieve and reverence as Divine in favour of these new principles.\n\nAnd first, as to the evidence of their authority.  The writers of the\nBible, while they come to us claiming our attention, and demanding our\nregard, tell us that they are only messengers sent from God; they come in\nhis name and speak what he has put into their minds and their mouths;\nand, as a proof of their being what they profess, as credentials, they\nwork miracles which none but a Divine power could work; they deliver\nprophecies and predictions of events, many of which have since come to\npass, and others are in course of accomplishment; and they announce\ntruths, doctrines, and principles which, for their originality and yet\nbeautiful simplicity, for their importance, and at the same time their\nuniversal adaptation to the wants and the circumstances of the whole\nhuman race, and for their purity and invariable tendency to good, speak\nfor themselves, and declare that they are Divine.  Yet a book resting on\nsuch authority, and supported by such testimonials, is to be rejected,\nand thrown aside, and its principles are pronounced to be evil and\nunsound, on the authority of\u2014whom think you?  Mr. Robert Owen!!\n\nIs it not a fearful responsibility which such an individual assumes, to\ntell me that I am not to believe a testimony which is supported by\nmiracles, is confirmed by prophecies, and, above all, is borne out by its\nown native dignity, and intrinsic beauty and worth?  Surely such a person\nought to be furnished, and he ought to present to those whom he wishes to\nbelieve him, evidence of his authority, and proofs of his claims to the\nhigh distinction to which he aspires, to be the founder of a New Moral\nWorld.  Then, where are Mr. Owen\u2019s claims?  And what are his proofs?\nWould you believe it?  He adduces nothing but his simple testimony! his\nown unsupported word!!  Here is a man wiser than Solomon, and more\nprofound than Moses!  He is even superior to Jesus Christ, the Son of\nGod!!!  And this you and I are called upon to believe simply because he\nhimself says so!!!\n\nWell, but after all he may have pretensions to our notice, and if we do\nnot receive his revelation, we may be shutting our eyes to our own\nhappiness, and the means of our welfare.  Then let me ask, Upon what are\nthose pretensions founded?  Truths, which are propounded, sometimes gain\nattention from the character and well-known ability of the persons that\npropound them.  Thus great names often obtain currency for sentiments\nwhich otherwise would not receive a moment\u2019s attention.  Then, perhaps,\nMr. Owen is to eclipse and throw into the shade all other minds that have\npreceded him.  That is (to say nothing of Isaiah, and Paul, and Daniel,\nand many other scriptural worthies) Robert Boyle, and Isaac Newton, and\nJohn Locke, and Francis Bacon, and John Milton, and a host more of such\ngreat and mighty minds, are nothing before Mr. Owen!!!  Does he himself\npretend this?  Let us give him credit for so much modesty as not to put\nforth such pretensions.\n\nThen if he be not superior to those stars in intellect, to those giants\nin mind which have preceded him, and all of whom expressed their\nadmiration of the Bible, and bore their strongest testimony to its\nDivinity and authority, perhaps his opportunities of coming at the truth,\nin reference to the principles upon which the New Moral World is to be\nfounded, have given him the advantage, and enabled him, though inferior,\nto succeed, while others, very greatly his superiors, have failed.  Then\nwhat advantages does he profess to have enjoyed?  He himself shall tell\nus: \u201cIt is a system the result of much reading, observation, and\nreflection, combined with extensive practical experience, and\nconfidential communication with official public characters in various\ncountries, and with leading minds among all classes; a system founded on\nthe eternal laws of nature, and derived from facts and experience only.\u201d\n(Preface to the Book of the New Moral World, p. x.)  And thus, without\neven pretending that he has spent his time, or devoted his energies, to\nan examination and careful investigation of the book which professes to\nbe Divine, and of the truths and doctrines which it contains, he calls\nupon us to reject and renounce it, while these great minds have spent,\nnot only hours but years upon its study, and as the result of their\ninvestigations have expressed their highest admiration of its contents,\nand have employed their talents and influence to recommend it to others.\nAnd here I might adduce testimonies to its excellence were it necessary;\nbut that is a work of supererogation.  Then I appeal to every wise, to\nevery reflecting mind.  Can those persons be acting the part of rational\nbeings, who in a matter of such infinite moment as a revelation from\nHeaven, with its momentous contents, refuse to receive it, although\nsupported by the strongest arguments, and confirmed by the most\ninvincible testimonies,\u2014testimonies from miracles, from prophecies, from\nhistory, from men of the greatest learning, and the most powerful minds,\nand even from enemies; and that, too, as the result of the closest\ninvestigation, and also personal experience, of its truths, merely\nbecause Mr. Owen says that it ought not to be received, and that it must\nbe rejected before his system can be established?  Matters have indeed\ncome to a fearful pass, when Mr. Owen ventures, not only to set himself\nagainst, but wants to claim superiority over the wisest and the greatest\nmen of all ages, and of all countries; over prophets, and apostles, and\nevangelists; over Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and even over God\nhimself!\n\nBut, suppose we throw away that book which we have been accustomed to\nhold sacred,\u2014suppose we consent to regard Mr. Owen as the wisest of men,\nand to receive his principles as the standard of unerring truth, and to\nadopt them; surely we may not only expect, but we shall certainly find,\nemanating from him nothing but the truth; and we may venture implicitly\nto follow him, when he commands us so to do.  But to show how far he is a\nsafe guide, I need do no more than refer to his own statements at\ndifferent times.  Thus, in 1823, Mr. Owen developed the principles of his\nsystem in a series of letters, published in the \u201cGlasgow Chronicle,\u201d\ncontained in twelve propositions, preceded by one general proposition, as\nthe foundation of the whole.  But, since then, his twelve propositions\nhave dwindled down to five fundamental facts; only, to make up for the\nloss in fundamental principles, we have now twenty supplemental laws.\nBut, if in 1823, Mr. Owen had discovered and revealed the laws of nature,\nand those laws he expressly declares to be immutable, how comes it to\npass that in 1838 they have so greatly altered, not only in their number\nand form, but also in their very nature, as given in the \u201cNew Moral\nWorld?\u201d\n\nIf alterations so many, and so fundamental, can take place in the\nimmutable laws of nature; if in 1823, Mr. Owen can require credence and\nimplicit confidence in his principles as infallible truth; and then again\nin 1838, can demand credence and implicit confidence in a new and quite\ndifferent set of principles, and declare that they also are infallible\ntruth, may he not in 1848, if Providence should spare his life so long,\nhave discovered some new laws, and found out some fresh principles?  If\nit should be replied, No, he has now got the truth, the whole truth, and\nnothing but the truth; we answer, So he said in 1823.  And yet he has\nchanged his principles, call it improved them, if you like, but they are\ndifferent, and they may yet change again.  How, then, can we be certain\nthat we have now got the truth?  If not, would it be wise to throw away\nthe volume of inspiration, the word of unerring truth, before we are\ncertain that we have something better to supply its place?\n\nBut if we admit, for the sake of argument, that the principles of the\n\u201cNew Moral World,\u201d are now fixed, and will no more be changed; let us see\nhow far they recommend themselves from their own intrinsic nature, and\ninternal excellence.\n\nAnd to begin with his first fact, which tells us that \u201cman is a compound\nbeing,\u201d and his first law, which declares that \u201chuman nature, in the\naggregate, is a compound, consisting of animal propensities, intellectual\nfaculties, and moral qualities.\u201d  Pray how does Mr. Owen come to know any\nthing about man or human nature?  And from what source did he obtain\nthose views of his constitution which he promulgates to the world as the\nunerring principles of truth: and especially, as he tells us that man is\n\u201cmade by a power unknown to himself, and without his knowledge or\nconsent.\u201d  Now, upon Mr. Owen\u2019s own principle, man knows nothing of\nhimself, then how does Mr. Owen know any thing about him?\n\nIf he does not know, and has not perfect knowledge on the subject on\nwhich he takes upon himself to speak with the most unbounded confidence,\nhe certainly is very unfit for the office to which he aspires, of\nteaching others; but if he has knowledge, where did he obtain it? for,\naccording to his own principles, all the thoughts of the human mind are\nnot the voluntary acts of the mind, but entirely the result of\ncircumstances, and are communicated to him; and consequently man knows\nnothing but what he is taught.  Mr. Owen\u2019s knowledge, then must have been\nimparted to him.  Now then, who communicated it to him?  He must have\nreceived it from some man, or he must have derived it from inspiration.\nIf he received it from a human teacher, it is very disingenuous in him to\ntake to himself the merit of discoveries which belong to another; but, if\nhe obtained his knowledge by inspiration, it certainly would only be\ncandid for him to let us know when he was inspired, and also let us judge\nof the evidence of his inspiration; for unless he does that, as this is\nthe ground on which the Christian Scriptures rest, and they do give us\nmany strong and unequivocal proofs of their Divine origin, I and many\nmore prefer taking what we know to be from God, to the unsupported\ntestimony or revelation of Robert Owen.  But, Mr. Owen may say that he\nhas not received what he undertakes to teach, either from man or God:\nthen he himself overturns his own system; for he expressly says that man\ncan know nothing but what he is taught.  From the very first position,\ntherefore, which Mr. Owen takes, it will be seen how ill qualified he is\nto be the great teacher of the world.\n\nNor is the next attempt which he makes at imparting knowledge much\nbetter, if any, than the first.  It is that man, who did not make\nhimself, but was made by a power unknown to himself, is the creature of\ncircumstances, over which he has no control, and in fact, is nothing but\nwhat he is made: or in other words, that he is a mere machine.  Some,\nperhaps, may be a little startled at the deduction which I profess to\ndraw from Mr. Owen\u2019s principles, and think that he is not quite so bad as\nthat: but I can tell them it is not a deduction of mine; it is one of the\nfundamental principles, nay, the corner-stone of Mr. Owen\u2019s system, the\nadmission and belief of which is essential to his success.  Nay, in one\nof his works, \u201cEssays on the formation of the human character,\u201d he\nexpressly says that men are \u201cliving machines,\u201d p. 28.  Whether even the\nfollowers of Mr. Owen may be flattered at being accounted only machines,\nand may be willing that he should mould and use them as he pleases, in\nworking out his results, I know not: but I do think that men in general\nwill not thank him for the compliment, nor be inclined to become his\ntools.  It is too great a fall from the dignity of high, intelligent,\nrational, and accountable beings, to be treated as \u201cliving machines;\u201d\nespecially when every man, whatever may be his circumstances, has only\nneed to appeal to his own consciousness for the evidences of the fact,\nthat he is not a machine.\n\nBut Mr. Owen tells us, \u201cMen are nothing but what they are made, and they\nare made to be what they are by their organization, and the external\ncircumstances which act upon and influence it,\u201d namely, that\norganization.  \u201cNone are, or can be bad by nature; their education,\u201d\nwhich makes them bad, \u201cis always the business or work of society, and not\nof the individual.  The individual is thus, evidently, a material of\nnature, finished and fashioned by the society in which it lives,\naccording to the ignorance, or the intelligence, or the knowledge of\nhuman nature, which that society has been made to possess, and by the\ninfluence of other external circumstances, with which the individual may\nbe surrounded.\u201d  (Book of the New Moral World, p. 54.)  But, if this\nstatement be true, that the nature of man is good, and he would never be\nbad if he were not taught to be so, we now shall want all Mr. Owen\u2019s\nwisdom to explain to us how, upon his system, evil and sin first came\ninto the world.  That they are in the world, he cannot but admit; indeed,\nhe tells us that it is the object of his system to drive them out of it.\nWell, then, will he have the goodness to tell us how, upon his system,\nthey first came into the world?  Man could not do wrong without his being\ntaught to do wrong? then who first taught him?  And whence did he receive\nit?  According to Mr. Owen\u2019s theory, man could not receive it from\nhimself; whence, then, did he get it?  It must have been from some sinful\nbeing who was in the world before sin itself, which is a palpable\ncontradiction!  But, if the natural effect of Mr. Owen\u2019s system be to\nlead to this absurdity, it requires nothing more to show that it is not,\nand cannot be, according to truth.\n\nBut, if Mr. Owen\u2019s principles be true, and the nature of man is\ninherently good, according to his own showing, his system is altogether\nunnecessary.  For, if man would not be bad were he not taught to be so,\nsurely the simplest and the easiest plan would be to take the human race\nin infancy, before they have been contaminated, or rather, \u201cmade to\nreceive an unfavourable character,\u201d and let the germs of goodness which\nthey have within them develope themselves, and come to perfection.\nShould we, then, have a paradise without sin?  Ah!  Mr. Owen knows that\nthere is not a single spot on this earth which has not been contaminated\nwith sin; and instead of human nature being in a state the nearest\napproaching to perfection where there has been least contact with the\ntruths and doctrines of the Bible, which he regards as the source of all\nthe errors and all the evils which there are in the world, (see p. 60,\nBook of the New Moral World,) it is the testimony of universal history\nand fact, that there it is the most depraved.\n\nIt is, however, not necessary to go to what may be termed the children of\nnature, to the untutored sons of the forest, to prove, not only the\nexistence of sin, but also of a sinful disposition, of a natural tendency\nto evil even in the infant breast; it might be furnished to almost any\nextent from Mr. Owen\u2019s own establishments, and from the lips of his own\nagents.  It is possible that Mr. Owen himself, from his attachment to a\nfavourite theory, and his desire to support it at all hazards, as well as\nfrom having his mind absorbed in the grand object which he has before\nhim, may not see what is so plain to others; or, it may be that what\nappears black to them is white to him; but let his dancing masters, and\nthe nurses of his infant children, be brought into an open court and\nfully examined, and they will testify to the satisfaction of every\nimpartial jury, although composed even of Robert Owen\u2019s followers, that\nsome, at least, of these urchins, at an age when they could not have been\ntaught these things, unless their mother\u2019s milk imparted them, display\npassions and dispositions which indicate anything rather than an entire\nabsence from evil.  We shall require no other witnesses to prove that the\nnature of man is not naturally good, but is inherently depraved.\n\nBut, if man from his birth has an evil principle within him, (I would\ncall it a depraved nature,) then Mr. Owen\u2019s principles, however much they\nmay modify and change the external character, will not avail in changing\nthe heart.  His system will no more produce the results which he\npromises, the paradise of joy which he pictures before his followers,\nthan have the systems of the old world.  And, therefore, he is only\namusing and deluding those that attend to him with pleasing dreams which\ncan never be realized.  If this, however, were all, it would not much\nmatter; he might be left to pursue his course undisturbed; but when it is\nknown that the effect of his system, whatever may be his design, is to\ntake off the mind from everything but what is connected with his earthly\nparadise, and so cause it to neglect, and even despise everything\nconnected with eternity and everlasting life, and the happiness of the\nprinciple which never dies, it would be, not only a dereliction of\nprinciple, but also a want of love to one\u2019s species, not to lift up the\nvoice against him, and endeavour to warn such persons of their fatal\nerror, and the destructive consequences which must, and will inevitably\nensue.\n\nBut another fundamental principle of Mr. Owen\u2019s system, as expressed in\nthe 2nd and 3rd Fundamental Facts, and 13th Law, is, \u201cMan is compelled by\nhis original constitution, to receive his feelings and his convictions\nindependently of his will;\u201d and \u201chis feelings, or his convictions, or\nboth of them united, create the motive to action called the will, which\nstimulates him to act, and decides his actions;\u201d and \u201ceach individual is\nso organized that he must believe according to the strongest conviction\nwhich is made upon his mind:\u201d the plain meaning of which is, that man is\nnot accountable for his belief, neither ought he to be considered\naccountable for his actions; and which, indeed, Mr. Owen does not leave\nhis readers to deduce from his principles, but which he himself\nexplicitly states.  Thus, he says, \u201cMan cannot be bad by nature, and it\nmust,\u201d therefore, \u201cbe a gross error to make him responsible for what\nnature and his predecessors have compelled him to be.\u201d  (Book of the New\nMoral World, p. 54.)\n\nThat man is not accountable, that he can think as he likes, and act as he\npleases, without being amenable, either to God or man, for his thoughts\nor his actions, is a doctrine which will well accord with the wishes of\nall those who feel the idea of God and judgment a restraint upon their\nconduct, and human laws oftentimes a barrier in the way of indulging\ntheir evil desires.  And it is lamentable to think how many, even of this\ndescription of persons, there are to be found in the world.\n\nBut it is a question of the deepest importance, whether or not this\nprinciple be true.  Mr. Owen calls it a law and a fact; and if persons\nare willing to take what he says for granted, merely because he says it,\nand so to stake their character in this world, and their eternal\nwell-being in another, upon his unsupported testimony, they may endeavour\nto satisfy themselves in believing it, and try to make and keep their\nconsciences as easy as they can.  What a happy thing it would be, if Mr.\nOwen\u2019s saying that there is no judgment, and that man is not accountable,\ncould make it be so!  But is it so?  We all know that Mr. Owen\u2019s saying\nthat there is no guilt in crime, that man acts only as he is compelled to\ndo, and ought not, therefore, to be either punished or praised for what\nhe does, does not release him from the responsibility imposed by human\ngovernment and human laws; and it is well both for him and for us, that\nit does not; for only break the bonds of law, and leave each one to act\nas he likes, and what a pandemonium, instead of a paradise, we should\nhave!  Why even Mr. Owen himself is under the necessity, in his own\nparadise, of imposing laws, and putting very considerable restraint upon\nthe wishes and the inclinations of those that expected when they entered\nhis establishment to be perfectly happy in the enjoyment of their own\nwill.  As a proof of this, I beg to give an extract from a published\nstatement of a visit paid to New Harmony, in America, by the Duke of Saxe\nWeimar, in April, 1826.\n\n    \u201cOn Sunday morning, the society met in the large building, and the\n    meeting was opened by music.  Mr. Owen delivered a discourse on the\n    advantages of the society.  In the evening the duke paid visits to\n    the ladies, and witnessed philosophy, and the love of equality put to\n    the severest trial with one of them, young and handsome.  While she\n    was singing, and playing very well on the pianoforte, she was told\n    that milking of cows was her duty.  Almost in tears, she betook\n    herself to this servile employment, deprecating the new social\n    system, and its so much prized equality.  After the cows were milked,\n    in doing which this pretty girl was trod on by one, and daubed by\n    another, the duke made one in an aquatic party with the young ladies\n    and some of the young philosophers, in a boat, upon the Wabash.  The\n    evening was beautiful.  The duke\u2019s heroine regaled the party with her\n    sweet voice.  Afterwards, the whole party amused themselves in\n    dancing cotillions, reels, and waltzes, and with such animation as to\n    render it, as the duke adds, quite lively.  A new figure had been\n    introduced into the cotillions, called the New Social System.\n    Several of the ladies objected to dancing on Sunday.  \u2018We thought,\n    however,\u2019 writes the Duke, \u2018that in this sanctuary of philosophy,\n    such prejudices should be utterly discarded, and our arguments, as\n    well as the inclination of the ladies, gained the victory.\u2019\u201d  (Three\n    years in North America, by James Stuart, Esq., vol. ii. p. 442.)\n\nAnd not only is Mr. Owen under the necessity of passing laws, and of\nmaking those that belong to his establishment amenable to those laws, but\nthe whole of his system is founded upon compulsion, both mental and\nbodily; for he would take infants from the care of their mothers, and put\nthem under the care of his dancing-master, and there train them according\nto his model, and mould them according to his ideas; and that, no doubt,\noftentimes very much against the inclination of the children themselves.\nThe only difference between the present state of things, and the state\nwhich he wishes to introduce is, that he would put himself in the place\nof God, and of all human laws; and not only give laws to all his\nfollowers, but also enforce them.  Whether the task would not be more\nthan he could accomplish you shall judge by and by.\n\nBut as Mr. Owen cannot release us from the obligation of human laws,\nneither can he from that of the laws of God.  Man may say, \u201cWho is the\nLord, that I should obey him?\u201d but, even while he is saying it, he feels,\nwhether he will or not, and is under the necessity of acknowledging to\nhis own mind, that there is a Being above him whom he does not love, but\nfrom whose eye, and whose power he cannot escape; before whose dread\ntribunal he is conscious that he must stand, and be \u201cjudged according to\nthe deeds which have been done in the body, whether they be good, or\nwhether they be evil.\u201d  This is one of those eternal laws which are\nengraven, not only in the face of nature, but upon every mind and\nconscience, which Mr. Owen wishes to erase, and in the room of which he\nwould write what he calls \u201cthe eternal laws of nature:\u201d and in the\naccomplishment of his task, there are multitudes that would gladly help\nhim, and contribute all the aid in their power; and, so eager are they\nfor the accomplishment of his and their wishes, that they have even\nagreed to believe it, or rather, agreed to say that they believe it, and\nto act upon it, before it has been proved to be true.\n\nNor is it possible for them to prove it.  They might as well attempt to\nprove that the sun does not shine at noonday, and they would have quite\nas much hope of success, as attempt to prove either to themselves or\nothers, that \u201cthere is no God,\u201d and that there is no hereafter.  They may\nargue with themselves upon the subject, and attempt to convince\nthemselves of the truth of what they wish to be true; and sometimes they\nmay think they have satisfied themselves upon the point; but the next\nday, or perhaps the next hour, the sight of a funeral, the hearing of the\ndeath of a fellow creature, or even a sharp pain in their own bodies,\nsweeps away in a moment all the cobwebs which they have been weaving, and\nleaves them exposed to the naked truth, unsheltered and unprepared, that\nthere is a judgment, and that they must stand and be judged.\n\nAnd this judgment will be, whatever Mr. Owen may say to the contrary, not\nonly for actions but for thoughts and opinions.  And it is strictly\nreasonable that it should be so; for not only is man not compelled to\nbelieve, contrary to his will, but he is not compelled to believe at all.\nHe is a rational and intelligent creature, and from the very constitution\nof his being, he must and can believe, only as he has evidence upon which\nhis belief is to be founded.  For the mind to believe without evidence,\nis like the eye seeing without light.  But there may be light, and yet\nthe eye may not see, for it may shut itself.  And there may be evidence\nwhich would carry conviction to the mind if it were brought before it,\nand yet the mind may not be convinced, simply because it will not receive\nit, for it does not wish to be convinced.  But who does not know that\nthere are none so deaf as those who will not hear!  And, in like manner,\nwe say, \u201cThere are none so blind as those who will not see.\u201d  Men have\nthe law which they are bound to obey\u2014the law of God; they have the means\nof becoming acquainted with that law; they have the ability to perform\nall that this law requires, if they are so disposed; if, therefore, they\nbreak this law, it is not because they are compelled so to do, but their\nown voluntary act and deed; and reason tells them that it is just that\nthey should be punished for their transgressions.  In like manner, the\ngospel of Jesus Christ reveals to man a way of escape from the miseries\nof the fall, those miseries which Mr. Owen admits to exist, whatever he\nmay say respecting the source from which they spring; which way is a\nprovision of mercy, and an act of grace on the part of the Divine Being.\nFor the accomplishment of it, he gave his own Son to die in the stead of\nman; and as the result of his death, he has offered salvation, and that\nfreely, to every one that believeth.  Now, the evidence, upon which these\nglorious truths rest, is such, so full, so clear, and so conclusive, that\nhe may run that readeth; and man has the means of knowing these truths:\nif, therefore, he remain in ignorance respecting them, or when they are\nbrought before him he does not believe them, it is entirely a wilful and\na voluntary unbelief.  For that he will be condemned, and reason will\napprove his doom.\n\nIn wading through the mass of absurdities and errors contained in Mr.\nOwen\u2019s principles, as developed in the \u201cBook of the New Moral World,\u201d it\nwould have been a very easy task to have selected a number more which\nmight have been exposed: but to go through the whole work page by page,\nwould indeed be labour lost, as to most readers; for I am persuaded there\nare very few that understand, or even profess completely to understand\nhis principles.  Neither is it necessary for their purpose that they\nshould.  What they want is a system which shall let them live and do as\nthey like, without being exposed to the consequences of their conduct,\nand this they find in the system of the New Moral World.  But I think I\nhave knocked down some, if not all the main pillars of the structure: the\nrest will fall of themselves.\n\nThere is, however, one law of such a character, which, when understood,\nwill perhaps have a greater influence in preserving such as have no\nselfish or wicked ends to answer, from falling into his pernicious\nerrors, than any long train of argument, and that is the following:\u2014\u201cEach\nindividual is so organized that he must like that which is pleasant to\nhim, or which, in other words, produces agreeable sensations in him; and\ndislike that which is unpleasant to him, or which, in other words,\nproduces in him disagreeable sensations; and he cannot know previous to\nexperience, what particular sensations new objects will produce on any of\nhis senses.\u201d (Law 12.)\n\nThe meaning of this law will be best explained by an extract from Mr.\nOwen\u2019s \u201cDeclaration of Mental Independence, addressed to the Society at\nNew Harmony, July 4, 1826,\u201d in which, in reference to the law of\nmarriage, he says, \u201cIt is, in reality, the greatest crime against nature\nto prevent organized beings from uniting with those objects, or other\norganized beings, with which nature has created in them a desire to\nunite.\u201d\n\nThus has Robert Owen ventured, not only to set himself in opposition to\nGod, but also to declare that that law of Divine appointment which\nenjoins a man to \u201cleave his father and his mother, and to cleave unto his\nwife;\u201d and forbids \u201cman to put asunder what God hath joined together,\u201d is\nwicked; and, as he avers, has \u201cproduced hypocrisy, crime, and misery,\nbeyond the power of language to express.\u201d  So that he would avoid the\ncrime of adultery by making all persons common; and each man and each\nwoman should be left at perfect liberty to have whom they liked, keep\nthem as long as they liked, and change them as often as they liked.\nCome, this is speaking out; and it is just what is wanted.  The poison\nthen will carry along with it its own antidote.\n\nOn another subject, too, Mr. Owen has spoken plainly.  He says, \u201cThe love\nof truth is an instinct of human nature which would be always exercised\nin simplicity, were not individuals praised and blamed for particular\nfeelings,\u201d p. 11.  The Bible tells us that \u201cman goeth astray from the\nwomb, speaking lies.\u201d  Now, which is to be believed, Robert Owen, or God?\n\nBut I ought to beg Robert Owen\u2019s pardon; according to his doctrine, there\nis no personal God: this is his language: \u201cThe error respecting this law\nof human nature, viz., the 14th, has led man to create a personal Deity,\nauthor of all good; and a personal devil, author of all evil. * * * * And\nyet, when the mind can be relieved from the early prejudices which have\nbeen forced into it on these subjects, it will be discovered that there\nis not a single fact known to man, after all the experience of the past\ngenerations, to prove that any such personalities exist, or ever did\nexist; and, in consequence, all the mythology of the ancients, and all\nthe religions of the moderns, are mere fanciful notions of men, whose\nimaginations have been cultivated to accord with existing prejudices, and\nwhose judgments have been systematically destroyed from their birth.\u201d\n(Book of the New Moral World, p. 46.)  And his idea on this awful subject\nhe explains, when he says, \u201cWithout a shadow of a doubt, that truth is\nnature, and nature God; that \u2018God is truth, and truth is God,\u2019 as so\ngenerally expressed by the Mohammedans,\u201d p. 65; and yet he tells us that\n\u201cman is a wonderful and curiously contrived being;\u201d and that, \u201cin the\nformation of man and woman there is the most evident harmony and unison\nof design,\u201d p. 70.  How truth, which is an abstract quality, can be a\npower, can contrive and create, is what I do not understand; but, no\ndoubt, Robert Owen, who, if persons will take his testimony, and follow\nhis notions, can perform much more wonderful feats than this, will be\nable to explain it; especially as he tells us that \u201cit is only now, for\nthe first time, in the known history of mankind, that the mind has been\npermitted to examine facts, in order to discover truth, upon the subjects\nwhich have the greatest influence upon the human race.\u201d\n\nBut, before I proceed further, I must here stop to inquire, Are there any\nhuman beings gifted with reason, and in the use of their sober senses,\nwho can, with their eyes open, rest their faith upon testimony such as\nthat contained in the Book of the New Moral World, and stake their\neternal interests upon the reception of that testimony?  Then, indeed,\nare they to be pitied.  They are not only groping in the dark, but they\nput out, with their own hands, the only light which can conduct them\nthrough the darkness of this world to the regions of immortal blessedness\nand joy.  And what do they get in return?  Mr. Owen promises them a\nparadise\u2014a paradise, however, only for this world; his system has nothing\nto do with anything beyond the grave; that is a dark and dreary waste, in\nwhich, yet, they must exist and dwell; and, without an acquaintance with,\nand a belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ, must live and dwell there in\neternal misery.  But, even in the paradise which Mr. Owen promises, there\nis not the happiness which his followers expect.  As a proof of this, I\nbeg attention to the following account of his settlement at New Harmony,\nin America, published by Mr. Flint, in his History of the Western States.\nMr. Flint was, and, it is supposed, still is the friend of Mr. Owen, and\nwas made acquainted by him with his proceedings; his account, therefore,\nas far as it goes, may be considered to be authentic.  The statement,\ntoo, has now been five years before the British public; and yet has\nnever, as far as I am aware, in any shape been contradicted.\n\n    \u201cHarmony, fifty-four miles below Vincennes, and something more than a\n    hundred, by water, above the mouth of the Wabash, is the seat of\n    justice for the county of Posey.  It is situate on the east bank of\n    the river, sixteen miles from the nearest point of the Ohio, on a\n    wide, rich, and heavily-timbered plateau, or second bottom.  It is\n    high, healthy, has a fertile soil, and is in the vicinity of small\n    and rich prairies, and is, on the whole, a pleasant and well-chosen\n    position.  It was first settled, in 1814, by a religious sect of\n    Germans,\u201d who resigned it to \u201cthe leader of a new sect,\u201d who \u201ccame\n    upon them.  This was no other than Robert Owen of New Lanark, in\n    Scotland, a professed philosopher of a new school, who advocated new\n    principles, and took new views of society.  He calls his views upon\n    this subject \u2018the Social System.\u2019  He was opulent, and disposed to\n    make a grand experiment of his principles on the prairies of the\n    Wabash.  He purchased the lands and the village of Mr. Rapp,\u201d the\n    head and leader of the Germans, in whose name all the lands and\n    possessions were held, \u201cat an expense, it is said, of 190,000\n    dollars.  In a short time, there were admitted to the new\n    establishment from 700 to 800 persons.  They danced all together one\n    night in every week, and had a concert of music on another.  The\n    sabbath was occupied in the delivery and hearing of lectures.  Two of\n    Mr. Owen\u2019s sons, from Scotland, and Mr. M\u2018Clure, joined him.  The\n    society at New Harmony, as the place was called, excited a great deal\n    of interest and remark in every part of the United States.  Great\n    numbers of distinguished men, in all the walks of life, wrote to the\n    society, making inquiries respecting its prospects and rules, and\n    expressing a desire, at some future time, to join it.  Mr. Owen\u2019s\n    experiment at New Harmony lasted little more than a year, during\n    which he made a voyage to Europe.  The 4th of July, 1826, he\n    promulgated his famous declaration of \u2018mental independence.\u2019  The\n    society had begun to moulder before this time.  He has left New\n    Harmony, and the \u2018Social System\u2019 seems to be abandoned.\u201d\n\nThus far Mr. Flint\u2019s account; from which we gather, that although the\nestablishment was formed under Mr. Owen\u2019s personal superintendence, and\nmanaged by himself, and formed, too, under the most favourable\ncircumstances, yet one short twelvemonth was sufficient to explode all\nhis views, and to crumble his system to nothing!  But he hopes, perhaps,\nto develope it under more favourable circumstances in this country, and\nhis followers are subscribing monies to enable him so to do; and yet he\ntells us that his system is to change the character of the whole world.\nIt, however, did not seem to meet with a congenial soil in America, or\nelse he found that it was not suited to that part of the world.  But what\nfailed in America in twelve months, where he had all his own way, and\nnothing to interfere with his plans, is likely to succeed better in\nEngland!  What dupes they must be who believe him!\n\nBut it did not take even twelve months to show, that in Mr. Owen\u2019s\nboasted paradise there were the seeds of evil which he could not\neradicate, and miseries which he could not counteract, as appears from\nthe following testimonies and statements.  The Duke of Saxe Weimar, to\nwhose work a reference has already been made, states, \u201cthat it shocked\nthe feelings of people of education to live on the same footing with\nevery one indiscriminately, and that several of the discontented wished\nto leave the society immediately, and to go to Mexico.  One lady, the\nwidow of an American merchant, was full of complaints of disappointed\nexpectations.  The duke observed the better educated members of the\nsociety keeping themselves together, and taking no notice of\ntatterdemalions, who stretched themselves on the platform.  The young\nladies of the better class kept themselves in a corner, forming a little\naristocratical club, and turned up their noses apart at the democratic\ndancers, who often fell to their lot, when the gentlemen, as well as the\nladies, drew numbers for the cotillions, with a view to prevent\npartialities.  The duke expresses his regret that Mr. Owen should have\nallowed himself to be so infatuated by his passion for universal\nimprovement, at the very time when almost every member of the society\nwith whom the duke had conversed apart, acknowledged that he was deceived\nin his expectations.\u201d  (Stuart\u2019s Three Years in North America, vol. ii.,\npp. 444, 445.)\n\nAnd such, it may be confidently predicted, will be the end of all Mr.\nOwen\u2019s visions of paradise, if he should ever be able to do more than\ndraw them on paper, and exhibit them to the imagination; or present them\nin his pictures, as is customarily done, to the enchanted eyes of his\nfollowers.  But who can think without sorrow of the evils which result\nfrom his principles? and they do produce innumerable evils!  Who can\ncontemplate so many immortal creatures, fitted for the highest and the\nnoblest purposes, debasing themselves to a level with the brutes, and\nmaking pleasure and sensual gratification the sole end of their being;\nnay, even stooping to be regarded as mere machines, in order that they\nmay escape from the trammels which they feel that a sense of\naccountability throws around them!  Above all, who can behold unmoved the\ndisregard, and even contempt, with which these persons treat the soul,\nthat immortal principle, which stamps upon man his dignity, which raises\nhim above the brutes, and allies him to the inhabitants of the celestial\nworld, which is the seat of happiness; for the redemption of whom the Son\nof God became flesh, and expired on Calvary, and for whom, when\nsanctified, there are mansions of glory provided in heaven?  How can men\ntrifle with this precious jewel, and account it of no value, saying, \u201cLet\nus eat and drink, for to-morrow we die?\u201d  Is it not enough to affect the\nheart, to draw forth floods of grief, and make us exclaim, \u201cOh that they\nknew, even they, in this their day, the things which belong to their\npeace!\u201d and to add, \u201cOh that they were wise, that they understood this,\nthat they would consider their latter end!\u201d  Happy, unspeakably happy\nshould I be, if I might be the means of rescuing and saving any that have\nbeen deluded into these errors, from their perilous situation, and their\nstill greater and more awful doom, if they continue in them; nor shall I\naccount it a less privilege to be the humble instrument of preventing\nany, that are in danger, from falling into these snares.  A desire to do\ngood, and, if possible, saving good, to my fellow creatures, is my sole\nobject in taking my pen, and meddling with the subject.  Christianity,\nlike an impregnable fortress, has often been assailed; men of gigantic\nminds have directed their weapons against her, but she has outlived every\nstorm, has hitherto vanquished even her mightiest foes.  I think,\ntherefore, her friends need be under no alarm on account of the efforts\nof Robert Owen to assail or destroy her.\n\nI am, however, departing from my purpose; my object, on the present\noccasion, not being to defend Christianity, but simply to examine\nSocialism, and to inquire how far the principles of the New Moral World\nare calculated to effect the object for which they are propagated.  I\nthink I have shown that in themselves they want consistency, they are\neither absurd, or they lead to absurdity, they destroy the sense of the\nbeing of a God, and, as the necessary consequence, debase the character\nof man, making him only a living machine.  If the foundation on which\nthey rest were true, they are not necessary, and their consequences are\nmost pernicious: and here I think I might stop, and leave the truth to\nmake its own way; and here I should stop, were it not that by so doing, I\nshould be acting a very unjust and unfaithful part towards the cause of\nChrist.\n\nThen, I do say from conviction, and to use Mr. Owen\u2019s words, \u201ca\nconviction, as strong as conviction can exist in the human mind;\u201d and not\nonly from conviction, but also an experience, in some humble degree, of\nthe things which I profess to teach to others, that Christianity, not\nonly promises, but actually does, for those who believe it, what\nSocialism promises, but cannot perform.\n\nMr. Owen pictures before his followers an earthly paradise.  He promises\nthem, when his establishment shall be commenced, sights to please the\neye, and sounds to enrapture the ear, more than the imagination can now\nconceive.  He tells them that, what with the pleasures of the table, the\nrecreations of music and dancing, and the enjoyments resulting from\nphilosophical and political discussions, and such like things, they shall\nhave a happiness unbroken and complete.  But even in his paradise there\nmust be labour, and as each member must necessarily take his or her\nproportion of the labour, will he, for the future, ensure all that enter\nagainst such an unpleasant, and such a mortifying occurrence as took\nplace with the young and handsome woman, who, when she was singing and\nplaying admirably on the pianoforte, was told that milking of cows was\nher duty!  If not, what is the happiness of his paradise worth?  \u201cLike\nthe apples of Sodom,\u201d beautiful to the eye, but ashes within.  The body\nmay indeed be regaled, but there is no lasting, no solid joy for the\nmind.  And this Mr. Owen\u2019s followers already have found.  I appeal to\nthemselves for the truth of what I say; and I have the means of knowing\nthat they will support the truth of my statement.  They have not found\nperfect happiness yet, whatever they may do when they get within the\nwalls of his promised paradise.  But if this be the case in health, in\nvigour of life, and when surrounded by every thing calculated to impart\npleasure, what, I ask, will be the state of things when sickness invades\nthe frame, when disease and old age enfeeble and destroy the body, and\nwhen death comes and cuts it down?  Is there, or has he made, any\nprovision against these evils, or will they change or lose their nature\nwithin the walls of this promised paradise?  Ah! if his followers could\nhave assurance of that, then, indeed, there might be some faint prospect\nof being happy\u2014but he cannot; and they feel he cannot; there is,\ntherefore, and there must always be, a worm at the root of their gourd,\nand poison at the bottom of their cup of pleasure.\n\nAnd what is there beyond the grave?  Yes, I ask, what is there beyond the\ngrave?  \u201cOh that grave!\u201d is the feeling cry of each of their minds: \u201cif\nit were not for the grave, we should not mind, we should do very well;\u201d\nbut there is the grave; and again I ask, What is there beyond it?  Oh! if\nany of those that have imbibed these principles should cast their eye on\nthis page, I beseech them, by the worth of their souls, by the terrors of\nthe Lord, by the solemnities of the judgment day, and by the miseries,\nthe eternal miseries of hell to think of their state, and immediately to\nflee from the wrath to come.  And let me tell them, for we have no\ndelight in thundering out these awful realities, on the contrary, we\nrejoice to tell them, that if they repent, even for them, there is\nsalvation, and eternal life through the blood of the Lamb.  Oh then, we\nbeseech them by the mercies of God, we beseech them by the dying love of\nChrist, as though God did beseech them by us, we pray them in Christ\u2019s\nstead, \u201cBe ye reconciled to God.\u201d\n\nBut what a contrast the Christian presents, to even the best and the\nhappiest follower of Robert Owen, or even Robert Owen himself!  It is\ntrue that he may not be rolling in wealth, nor surrounded by luxuries;\nhis circumstances may be humble, and his situation may be poor; but he is\nhappy, unspeakably happy!  He has peace within, a peace which is not\nadventitious, which is not the result of circumstances, and will not\nchange with them; it is \u201cpeace of conscience,\u201d and \u201cpeace with God;\u201d that\n\u201cpeace which passeth all understanding,\u201d and which is full of glory: it\nis a peace which \u201cthe world cannot give, and which the world cannot take\naway.\u201d  It supports the mind in sickness, it cheers and comforts it in\npoverty and affliction, it smooths the pillow of death, it illumines and\nsheds a glorious radiance over the dark passage to the grave, and beyond\nthe tomb it is converted into the fulness of joy, and pleasures for\nevermore.  Nor am I drawing an imaginary picture; I could refer to\nhundreds and thousands who will confirm the descriptions, as far as their\npresent experience goes; and for the truth of the statement in reference\nto death, what multitudes of death-bed scenes have there been which have\ncompelled even unbelievers to exclaim, \u201cLet me die the death of the\nrighteous, and let my last end be like his!\u201d\n\nMr. Owen\u2019s principles have not in a single instance changed, so as\nradically to benefit any individual of the human race; they cannot exalt\nthe moral character.  Christianity has her thousands of trophies of her\npurity and her power.  They are to be found in every age, and exist in\nevery part of the world.  Mr. Owen\u2019s principles never yet made a single\ntruly happy man: Christianity furnishes them daily.  Mr. Owen\u2019s\nprinciples are silent about a hereafter, and make no provision for the\nworld to come: Christianity brings life and immortality to light by the\ngospel, takes away the sting of death, triumphs over the grave, and opens\nbefore its followers a bright and a glorious immortality.  Mr. Owen\u2019s\nprinciples, independent of their absurdity and atheism, have nothing to\nrecommend them but his unsupported testimony: Christianity is confirmed\nand established by the united testimony of prophets, and apostles, and\nevangelists; of martyrs, confessors, and enemies; of miracles,\nprophecies, and history; of its own doctrines, and precepts, and\ntriumphs\u2014that it is the word of God!  Then we say, If Mr. Owen be what he\npretends, the only teacher that has yet risen to enlighten and to bless\nthe world, and if his principles, as developed in the \u201cBook of the New\nMoral World,\u201d be the eternal laws of nature, then follow him: but, if the\nLord be God, and Christianity be Divine, then follow them.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX.\n\n\nSINCE writing the preceding pages, I have had an opportunity of both\nseeing and hearing of the effects of the system, the principles of which\nI have endeavoured to expose: and as the fruits of a tree are not only of\ngreat service in determining the character of the tree which bears them,\nbut are the best test by which that character may be known, it may be of\nuse to the cause of truth, and may tend more effectually than any other\nmeans, to explain and expose what Robert Owen\u2019s Socialism is, to state\nthe fruits which it has already produced.\n\nAn intimate friend of mine, resident in a large manufacturing district,\nin whose neighbourhood socialists abound, and where they have had an\nopportunity, to a very considerable extent, of developing their system,\nwrites me word: \u201cPersons in whose neighbourhood their meetings are held,\nspeak of their proceedings as most riotous and disorderly.  Young men and\nyoung women assemble in the room, and around it, in great numbers, and\nthe most demoralizing scenes occur.  Twice in the week they meet for\ndancing, etc. in the room where their preachings are held.\u201d\n\nAnd as to the persons that compose their societies, it is notorious that\nthe great bulk of them are young men and women, who are attracted solely\nby the pleasures and amusements which are there held out to them; and the\nremainder consist either of persons of bad moral character, or men of\nunsettled religious views, as atheists, unbelievers, the followers of\nJohanna Southcote, etc.; or, where any have joined them who were once\nattached to other bodies, or were professed believers in the doctrines of\nrevelation, they are, almost without a single exception, persons whose\npractices did not accord with their profession\u2014\u201cmen of corrupt minds,\nreprobate concerning the faith,\u201d 2 Tim. iii. 8.  And, although it is not\nfair nor honourable to charge either the sentiments, or the practices of\nparticular individuals upon a whole body, or even to lay them to the\naccount of the system which they profess; yet, when those sentiments and\npractices can be shown fairly to arise out of the system: and moreover,\nwhen they are neither disavowed nor discountenanced by the body\ngenerally, nor by those persons that may fairly be considered as\nrepresenting the body, there can be nothing wrong in adducing them as\nillustrations of the nature and the tendency of the system which produces\nthem.  It is solely with this view that I bring forward the following\nfacts, for the truth of which I can vouch:\u2014\n\n    \u201cA man named \u2014, of \u2014, the clerk of the socialists at \u2014, and a clever\n    lecturer, who was once a missionary, is of so abandoned a character,\n    that nearly at the time of his marriage with one female, he had an\n    illegitimate child by another; and he threatened, if a certain\n    person, \u2014, of \u2014 opposed his marriage, he would shoot him.\u201d\n\nAnother person, the editor of a periodical which supports the views of\nMr. Owen, and one of the champions of their cause, is charged publicly by\nthe author of a pamphlet entitled, \u201cTruth without Mystery, mixture of\nError, or fear of Man,\u201d with seducing his own wife\u2019s sister: nor has the\ncharge, as far as I can learn, been in any shape denied, or attempted to\nbe disproved.  And not only is he not disowned, but is still continued as\nan acknowledged and recognised supporter and expounder of their\nprinciples.\n\nAnother man, who was once a preacher, is now a warm advocate of\nsocialism, and has given a clear illustration of the kind of morality\nwhich may be expected, if the principles of this system should become at\nall general; for he has lived already with not less than eight or ten\nwomen in succession.\n\nThese facts, which, after all, are only specimens of what might be\nadduced, awful as they are, cannot be wondered at; nor will the reading\nof them occasion any surprise, when it is known that the following\nsentiments are taught and inculcated by the advocates of these\nprinciples:\u2014A Mr. \u2014 on one occasion publicly declared, and argued\naccording to one of the fundamental principles of this system, that men\nare not to be held accountable for what they are.  He said, \u201cEach nation\nhas some particular character of its own.  Some nations think murder\nright; others are cannibals; and they cannot help either their belief or\ntheir practice. . . .  And we should not punish men for the want of\nvirtue, or the commission of vice, but we should teach them better.\u201d  A\nsocialist lecturer expressed his ideas of God in the following words:\u2014\u201cHe\nis omnipresent, he is all goodness, he is all wisdom, he is present in\nyou, he is present in me, he is present in the murderer, he is present in\nhell.\u201d  And the conclusion which he wished to draw was, that as God is\nthus present everywhere, therefore, he is the author of the crime of the\nmurderer!!  I asked him, \u201cWas God all goodness when he was thus present\nin the murderer?\u201d  Or, in other words, Was murder goodness?\n\nThese, and similarly awful sentiments, Mr. Owen\u2019s followers are seeking\nto extend with the greatest diligence, and that too, even among the\nyoung.  Nor have they been unsuccessful.  The effects which already begin\nto appear are highly detrimental.  In one instance, the son of a\nprofessor of socialism, who goes to school to a Christian, was one\nmorning too late, and told his master that he could not help being too\nlate, for he was the creature of circumstances over which he had no\ncontrol; when his master very properly replied, then he would apply a\nmoral motive of sufficient power to induce him to be in time, and so gave\nhim a good beating.\n\nA sabbath-school teacher, in a neighbourhood where these principles have\nextensively spread, bears testimony that, \u201cthrough the influence of\nsocialism the boys have become so unmanageable that the teachers do not\nknow what to do: to turn them out of the school appears to be to doom\nthem to destruction: and to keep them in is, almost to a certainty, to\ncorrupt the views and morals of the rest of the children.\u201d\n\nA man named \u2014, of \u2014, who was once a preacher, but is now a warm advocate\nof socialism, has repeatedly confessed that he has no peace in his own\nmind.\n\nBut, without attempting to adduce more facts as illustrations of the\nevils and the tendencies of this system, I may ask, Does it produce no\nother fruits besides these?  It has now been tried for some time, and\nopportunity has been given to develope and bring to maturity its\nprinciples; surely then Robert Owen can produce, if from no other\nquarter, at least from his own establishments, some rare and surpassing\nspecimens of moral beauty and intrinsic worth, such as the old world and\nthe old system have in vain attempted to exhibit.  Christianity can\nexhibit the names of persons whose virtues and excellences have been the\ntheme of universal admiration, and have extorted from friends and foes\nthe meed of praise.  The list is too long to transcribe: nor is it\nnecessary; for their memory is embalmed in the grateful recollections of\nall who have any perception of moral goodness, and their deeds shall\noutlast the course of time.  Can the New Moral World as yet produce no\nnames to eclipse those of the Christian world?  Then, on every principle,\nwhether of reason, argument, fact, or experience, it may truly be said as\nto the social system, \u201cThou art weighed in the balances, and found\nwanting.\u201d\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n_London_: _Printed by_ W. CLOWES _and_ SONS, _Duke-street_, _Lambeth_,\n_for_ THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY; _and sold at the Depository_, 56,\n_Paternoster-row_; _by_ J. NISBET _and_ Co., 21, _Berners-street_,\n_Oxford-street_; _and by other Booksellers_.\n\n                        [_Price_ 7_s._ _per_ 100]\n         _Considerable Allowance to Subscribers and Booksellers_.","title":"Socialism Exposed","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":10189}