He said that he received with a thankful heart this testimonial of
respect and welcome from the reverend ministers of the Gospel, whose
hearts and minds were deeply imbued with regard and desire for
_truth_. He had been taught to reverence the Word of God, because
it guaranteed freedom to man; and there was nothing more intimately
associated with the idea of freedom than the right of every mind to
search for truth in its own way--the right of private judgment.
Therefore in receiving the approbation of so reverend and learned a
body, he felt that he received the approbation of religion itself; and
as if an angel voice from heaven had declared to him--"The cause you
plead has found favour before Heaven. You may encounter hostility; you
may be overtaken by calumny; you may endure sufferings, and trials, and
temptations; you may even suffer martyrdom;--but the cause will triumph.
Trust to Him who strengthened the arm of David against the mighty
Goliath; and learn to say in truth: Lord, thy will be done!" When he
thought thus, and felt thus, he was not weak, but strong. The sufferings
and trials which he had endured had strengthened his body, even as the
holy influences of religion had strengthened his soul. He was not left
as the fragile flower, that remained bowed and bent before the blast;
for he could now look forward with more of hope and of trust for the
future of his own beloved land, when he heard such glorious truths so
warmly proclaimed; and when he saw such evidences of real sympathy for
the cause of Hungary. They spoke of the Protestant Church. He claimed no
merit on account of his belief; but he, too, was a Protestant--not by
education merely, but from his own studied convictions. He could believe
nothing merely because he might be commanded to do so; but solely as the
result of his own convictions. Truth is as uncorruptible and
imperishable as God himself; and He will spread it throughout all the
world. But the triumph of truth cannot be achieved by persecution,
opposition, or political oppression. This glorious principle can only be
triumphant when the nations of the earth shall become free from
oppression; because it is only under the protection of free
institutions--a free press, free controversy, freedom of speech, and
free popular education,--where it is your privilege to preach and that
of the neighbour to hear,--that the political independence of a people
can be preserved. Oppression is everywhere accompanied by the
demoralization of the masses, and their adoption of infidelity or
fanaticism; while under the teachings of freedom religion becomes a
growth of the soul.
He would urge them to go on and support that cause which they believed
to be sanctified by truth. It has been said that true religion can never
cease to be republican. If this be true, he would ask what could more
promote the glorious cause, than the influence of the United States
exerted among the nations of the world, toward the general
acknowledgment of that doctrine among nations which is laid down for the
government of men,--"What ye would that men should do unto you, do ye
even so to them." This fundamental truth should be declared a part of
the international law of the world; and the Gospel would then become the
bulwark of liberty to all mankind. Thus we may see that the triumph of
genuine liberty can best be secured by recognizing religion as the true
basis of the law of nations. He who shall be instrumental in
incorporating this grand doctrine among those laws, will be equal, or
perhaps superior to, a Luther, or a Melancthon, a Calvin, or a Huss, a
Cranmer, or any other of the world's greatest reformers. The people of
this republic have all this within their grasp; and he hoped the
Almighty would hasten the day when it shall be done. He had often heard
that the people of this country loved to be called a great people, and
he had many times heard them called a great people. To _be_ a great
people, however, the people of this country must really _act_ as a
great people. He urged upon the ministers of the Gospel that they should
warn their flocks against the horrid doctrines of _Materialism_.
Nothing is more hostile to national greatness than when the poor see the
rich governed only by pecuniary considerations--leaving nothing for the
mind and the soul, or undervaluing virtue and talents. He thankfully
acknowledged the deep solemnity of his feelings, when for his humble
self, such solemn manifestations were observed; and while commending his
bleeding country to their love, he could only refer them to the
Saviour's words as the guide for their prayers and their watchfulness.
* * * * *