XVI

THE WORLD OF THE FUTURE.

THE time is coming when the outward relations of this world shall be changed,-when Position and Office shall no more be accepted as criterions of Greatness and Honor,-when Property shall be compelled to resign its usurped authority, in the community and in the nation, when the baseness of existing character shall no longer be polished and endorsed by the prestige of glorious ancestry, -when the physical inequalities of Life shall be less apparent, and the transcendent worth of the mind more clearly discerned,-when the bonds of Society shall be woven in Wisdom, and its utmost obligations performed with spontaneity,-when the power of Cir

cumstance shall be broken, and the ordinances of Selfishness annulled,-when rulers and teachers shall reverence and imitate the Genius of the Universe, and all the Children of God be dignified in the severe and hallowing splendor of Truth!

The time is coming when the spirit of the world shall be changed, also, When those old animosities, which have distinguished families, tribes and people, shall be cast out, -when that arrogant pride, which has engendered so much bitterness and violence, shall be repudiated by the righteous energy of Reason and the generous dictates of Love, -when those passions, which have rioted in the breast of Man, through ages of conflict, malignity, and shame, shall be eradicated by the solemn resolve of the soul, and by the promptings of sorrowful memory. When Experience shall have made the highway of Duty plain and acceptable, and when Christianity shall have so far developed the generous instincts of the heart, as to render it submissive and faithful to every demand, in every crisis.

This nobler state of Society will be the natural result of the culture of Humanity. The enlightenment of the nations will enable them to detect the sources of their misfortunes, and to apply wise and efficient remedies. It will open to them the lessons of universal Experience, and will lead them to choose those principles which are liberal and salutary, to the neglect of those which are narrow, exclusive, tyrannical and debasing. It will give them higher conceptions of Life, and inspire a more humane regard for all who possess its sensations. It will make Religion a practical element in human action ;-it will extend and legalize the deeds of Christian philanthropy, and grant an infinite range to all their healthy powers and rational sympathies. It will give them eternal deliverance from the weightiest despotisms of Time, release them from associations that pervert their natures, and permit their souls to act according to their high and holy dictates.

In that social condition which we anticipate, Poverty shall not cry at the gates of

Plenty, nor shall Labor groan and starve beneath its unequal task. A clear, Christian conviction of common Right, will insensibly and noiselessly equalize the possessions of men; and a true appreciation of human dignity will at once redeem toil from its reputed dishonor, and take from idleness its poor defence of reputed respectability. There is wealth and plenty enough in the earthenough light, food, fuel, raiment, knowledge, to bless, comfort and elevate every human being; and as men advance in Christian perfection-and advance they must, in some degree, for this is the rule and necessity of Life -they will abandon their monopolies and eradicate their selfishness, and find their highest happiness in disseminating their privileges and their abundance far and wide through the world. No community shall be destitute of charitable ministries,-no state shall be destitute of benevolent asylums. No soul shall be left the companion of its own grief, or of its own guilt, but all men shall realize and exhibit their brotherhood, and the calm and blessed affections that honor the society

of brethren, shall cheer and gladden every circle and every home.

Barbarous penalties shall no longer be inflicted on offenders in the name of Justice, nor shall contempt be manifested toward the erring, in the name of immaculate Virtue. Crime shall not be allowed to perpetuate itself through the intolerance of Law, or the neglect of Religion; but the wisdom of the highest philosophy shall be applied in the treatment of transgressors, and the tenderness of the highest friendship shall direct them in the way of Life. Prisons shall become Hospitals for the cure of moral disease, and none shall minister in that mournful sanctuary, save those who have proven their fitness to fulfill its solemn demands. Common sentiment shall be so thoroughly christianized, that men will have acquired the art of overcoming evil with good,-of destroying sin, without immolating the sinner,-of imitating the Spirit of Him who is infinite in mercy, and who yet visits every man according to his deeds.

There shall be no hopeless mourning in the earth, no sorrowing for the dead in the an