DEAR SIR: Will you step aside for a moment from the many duties, the

interesting cares and soul-stirring pleasures of your enviable

situation, and read a few lines from a stranger? They come to you, not

from the cold and sterile regions of the North, nor from the luxuriant

yet untamed wilds of the West, but from the bright and sunny land where

cotton flowers bloom, where nature has placed her signet of beauty and

fertility. Yes, sir; the science that the immortal Fourier brought to

light has reached the far South, and I trust has warmed many hearts,

and interested many minds; but of ours alone will I write.

It is to me the dawn of a brighter day than has ever yet risen upon the

world--a day when man shall be redeemed from his more than "Egyptian

bondage" and stand erect in moral, intellectual and physical beauty.

I have lived forty years in the world, and divided that time between

the eastern, middle and southern states--have seen life as exhibited,

in city and country, have mingled with the most intelligent and with

the unlettered rustic--have marked society in a variety of phases, and

find, amid all, that selfishness has warped the judgment, chilled the

affections and blunted all the finer feelings of the soul. I am weary

and worn with the heartless folly, the wicked vanity and shameless

iniquity which the civilized world everywhere presents. Long have I

sighed for something higher, nobler, holier than aught found in this

world, and have sometimes longed to lay my body down where the weary

rest, that my spirit might dwell in perfect harmony. But since the

beautiful science of unity has dawned upon my mind, my heart has loved

to cherish the bright anticipations of hope, and I see in the dim

distance the realization of all my wishes. I see a generation coming on

the arena of action bearing on their brows the impress of their noble

origin, and cultivating in their hearts the pure and exalted feelings

that should ever distinguish those who bear the image of their Maker.

Association is destined to do much for poor, suffering humanity--to

elevate, refine, redeem the race and restore the purity and love that

made the bowers of Eden so surpassingly beautiful. You, sir, and your

associates are pioneers in a noble reform. May the blessing of God

attend you.

I am anxious to be with you for various reasons. The first is: I have

two little daughters whom I wish to bring up amid healthful influences,

with healthful and untrammelled bodies, pure minds and all their young

affections and sympathies clustering around their hearts. I never wish

their minds to be under the influence of the god of this

generation--fashion--nor their hearts to become callous to the

sufferings of their fellows. I never wish them to regard labor as

degrading, nor poverty as a crime. Situated as I am I cannot rear them

in health and purity, and, therefore, I am anxious to remove them from

the baneful influences that surround them. Again: I look upon labor as

a blessing, and feel that every man and woman should spend some portion

of each day in healthful employment. It is absolutely necessary to

health, and is also a source of enjoyment, even in isolation; how much

would that pleasure be increased could I have several kindred spirits

around me with whom I could interchange thought, and whose feelings and

desires flow in the same channel as my own! O, sir! I must live, labor

and _die_ in Association.

Again: my heart is pained with the woes of my fellows--with the

distressing poverty and excessive labor which are bearing to the grave

a portion of the human family. Gladly would I bear my part in raising

them to a higher and happier condition; and how can I better do this

than by uniting myself with the noble reformers of Brook Farm, where

caste is thrown aside, and rich and poor constitute one family. I have

not a large fortune, but sufficient to live comfortable anywhere. A

large part of it is now invested in houses and lands in Georgia. Such

is the low price of cotton that real estate cannot be sold at this time

without a serious sacrifice. Most of my Georgia property rents for more

than the interest of its cost at 8 per cent. I have also houses and

land in this state, but cannot for the above named reason find a

purchaser. Therefore, if I go into Association I shall be obliged to

leave some of my possessions unsold, and be content to receive the rent

until I can effect a sale.

I have no negroes--thank God. Now if you are not full at Brook Farm,

and do not object to myself, wife and two daughters, one four years and

the other six months old, presenting ourselves as candidates for

admission, and $2500 or $3000 will be sufficient for an initiation fee,

I shall, as soon as I can arrange my affairs, be with you.

I will thank you to write to me, informing me with how much ready cash,

with an income of $500 or $600 per year, I can be received. Mrs. Clarke

and myself will wish to engage daily in labor. We both labored in our

youth--we wish to resume it again.

Very respectfully,

John Clarke.

The following letter is in manuscript without date and is

_One of Mr. Ripley's Replies_.

Dear Sir:--It gives me the most sincere pleasure to reply to the

inquiries proposed in your favor of the 3d inst. I welcome the extended

and increasing interest which is manifested in our apparently humble

enterprise, as a proof that it is founded in nature and truth, and as a

cheering omen of its ultimate success. Like yourself, we are seekers of

universal truth. We worship only reality. We are striving to establish

a mode of life which shall combine the enchantments of poetry with the

facts of daily experience. This we believe can be done by a rigid

adherence to justice, by fidelity to human rights, by loving and

honoring man as man, and rejecting all arbitrary, factitious

distinctions.

We are not in the interest of any sect, party or coterie; we have faith

in the soul of man, in the universal soul of things, and trusting to

the might of a benignant Providence which is over all, we are here

sowing in weakness a seed which will be raised in power. But I need not

dwell on these general considerations with which you are doubtless

familiar.

In regard to the connection of a family with us, our arrangements are

liberal and comprehensive. We are not bound by fixed rules which apply

to all cases. The general principle we are obliged to adhere to rigidly

is not to receive any persons who would increase the expenses more than

the revenue of the establishment. Within the limits of this principle

we can make any arrangement which shall suit particular cases.

A family with resources sufficient for self-support, independent of the

exertion of its members, would find a favorable situation with us for

the education of its children, and for social enjoyment. An annual

payment of $1000 would probably cover the expenses of board and

instruction, supposing that no services were rendered to diminish the

expense. An investment of $5000 would more than meet the original

outlay required for a family of eight persons; but in that case an

additional appropriation would be needed, either of productive labor or

cash, to meet the current expenditures. I forward you herewith a copy

of our Prospectus, from which you will perceive that the whole expense

of a pupil, without including board in vacations, is $250 per annum;

but in case of one or more pupils remaining with us for a term of

years, and assisting in the labor of the establishment, a deduction of

$1 or $2 per week would be made, according to the services rendered,

until such time as their education being so far completed, they might

defray all their expenses by their labor.

In the case of your son fifteen years of age, it would be necessary for

him to reside with us for three months at least, and if at the end of

that time his services should be found useful, he might continue by

paying $150 or $200 per annum, according to the value of his labor, and

if he should prove to have a gift for active industry, in process of

time, he might defray his whole expenses, complete his education and be

fitted for practical life.

With the intelligent zeal which you manifest in our enterprise, I need

not say that we highly value your sympathy. I should rejoice in any

arrangement which might bring us into closer relations. It is only from

the faith and love of those whose hearts are filled with the hopes of a

better future for humanity, that we look for the building up of our

"City of God." So far we have been prospered in our highest

expectations. We are more and more convinced of the beauty and justice

of our mode of life. We love to breathe this pure, healthy atmosphere;

we feel that we are living in the bosom of nature, and all things seem

to expand under the freedom and truth which we worship in our hearts.

I should regret to think that this was to be our last communication

with each other. May I not hope to hear from you again--and with the

sincere wish that your views of the philosophy of life may bring you

still nearer to us, I am, with great respect,

Sincerely your friend,

Geo. Ripley.

_From a Lady Teacher_.

New York, March 18, 1843.

Dear Sir: For the last ten years I have been employed as a teacher in a

boarding school in this city. A year ago the lady with whom I was

associated died, and though I do not love business as such, there were

many and weighty reasons why it seemed right for me to commence a

school of my own. I have had during the winter past a school of

twenty-three pupils consisting of children and youth. My success

hitherto in teaching, in my own judgment, has been dependent on an

earnestness of manner, a sincere love of knowledge and a deep interest

in the welfare of the young. I know how to work and would not fear to

undertake any kind of household occupation which devolves upon woman.

Early in life I embraced a religious faith, and, seeking to obey God

according to my light, connected myself with a church. Years have

passed away; experience, reflection and light from other minds have

produced a radical change in my views. I stand in the eye of the world

as one of a sect, but my spirit does not recognize the union. I am,

from my position, subject to painful restraints. I cannot be just to

the truth which is in me. The alternative, I need not say, with me is

to hold fast to the popular faith or give up my bread.

I am much interested in those ideas which your Association is

attempting to find a realization of. The state of things resulting from

a full expansion of the principles upon which your society is based

would seem to meet many spiritual wants. I can understand that so high

an aim can be reached only through lowliness of life. The prospect of

becoming one day a co-worker in your cause is very agreeable to me. I

should like to know that I may be permitted to cherish the idea.

With much respect,

R. Prentiss.

_Application for an Unfortunate_.

[The person who indited the following was a friend of the organization,

and probably saw as well as anyone the absurdity of making a

reformatory institution of the great experiment, but from kindly and

personal considerations put the question and the best face on the

matter that he could.]

New York, Sept. 14, 1845.

My Dear Friend: I have been applied to by a very respectable widow lady

of this city, at the instance of Dr. ---- (who it seems is fast getting

over his want of sympathy for Fourier and his disciples), to see

whether you will not convert Brook Farm into a sort of hospital for the

cure of young men who won't mind their mothers. But, as the case is a

serious one, I must treat it seriously as it deserves.

The lady is a Mrs. ----, who is connected with one or two of our

wealthiest families, and who has a son about twenty-five years of age

whom she desires to get a place with you.

He is said to be a person of the most kind and amiable disposition, and

willing to do the hardest kind of work, but unfortunately he is

surrounded by evil companions in this city, who draw him into bad

habits. His mother is exceedingly distressed by his weakness, and has

been counselled to send him to sea, but Dr. ---- has advised her to

come to me and ask whether he could not be taken on trial at Brook

Farm, in order to ascertain what might be the effect of good

influences. The young man is well educated, a good accountant, has

worked considerably on a farm, and is exceedingly anxious to escape

from his present position, where his _infirmity of will_ betrays him

under temptation. His general disposition and deportment are excellent,

and under proper circumstances would make an estimable member of

society.

If you have room for him, and are willing to undertake his case, his

mother can contribute a few dollars a week toward paying his board,

until it shall have been determined whether his longer stay would be

mutually satisfactory. Should he be able to stay, no doubt his friends

here would raise an amount of capital for him which might be an object

worth considering.

Very sincerely yours,

P. Godwin.

_Wanted to Speak against Slavery_.

Collinsville, CT., March 22, 1844.

Friends: I call all people friends who have for their object the

elevation of the human race and are opposed to all oppression in any

form, who do not wish to build up one class at the expense of the other.

I have been reading on the subject of Association for the last six

months all the publications I could find, which has pleased me much. I

think it is just such a system that is wanted. Massachusetts being my

native state, and also being acquainted with the vicinity of Roxbury,

which I think is a delightful place, especially in the summer, I

thought that I would write you to inquire if you have an opening for

any more this spring providing I can bring recommendations to your

satisfaction.

I was brought up a farmer; the last twelve years I have been to work in

a scythe shop. I have a wife--no children. My wife is a tailoress,

makes all kinds of men's clothing and is acquainted with all kinds of

housework. We are both forty-two years of age. I shall want to buy four

hundred dollars' worth of stock and pay for it when I join. If I am

rightly informed of your system, it does not interfere with anyone's

religion or his politics. Being an abolitionist, I shall want the

privilege of voting and speaking against slavery in every respect.

Please write me as soon as you receive this and inform me what

recommendations will be required and all other particulars.

Respectfully yours, James C. Smith.

_From a Wesleyan_.

Trinity, Newfoundland, June 30, 1845.

Sir: Having been informed by Mr. Brisbane that an establishment on the

united interest principle has been commenced near Boston, I hasten to

address you to inform you that for some years I have felt impressed

with its superiority to the individual system; and have been, and still

am, anxious to engage heart and soul in so good a cause. I have been in

this country between four and five years, and have a comfortable

situation; but feeling confident of the ultimate advantage of an

Association, and feeling assured that I could render myself valuable in

such an establishment, I prefer casting my lot with those who feel

desirous of acting for the restoration of man.

I have to inform you that from my youth I have chiefly engaged in the

dry goods business, ironmongery, grocery, etc., and have a general

knowledge of trade. I am of industrious habits and with an active turn

of mind, and together with my wife, I may justly say, few will be found

more useful and desirous of acting for the general good. I am about

forty-two years of age, and my wife is a little older; my son is

fourteen, and we are fully prepared for active life. I have no

knowledge of any mechanical trade, but am fond of it as well as

agriculture and gardening; I possess a fair share of health; am fond of

writing and bookkeeping; only occasionally disposed to gaiety, but

rather for scientific relaxation; not fanatical in religion, but a

regarder of the great commandments and charitable for the feelings and

the convictions of others.

I have, sir, given you an unvarnished statement with regard to myself,

and I should feel obliged by your informing me at your earliest

convenience if myself, wife and son can be admitted by my investing two

hundred dollars for the furnishing of the apartment assigned to us. Are

there any Wesleyans with you, and what is the distance to the Wesleyan

chapel?--as my wife is a member of that body. From what I have learned

from Mr. Brisbane's letter and newspaper he was kind enough to send me,

I should judge your establishment to be such as we could safely and

comfortably join, and I trust you will give me in your answer

additional reason to think so.

I remain, sir,

Your obedient servant,

H. Gawler.

_From a Printer_.

Bangor, ME., Jan. 1, 1845.

_Mr. George Ripley_,

Dear Sir: While on a visit to Brook Farm Association last August, it

was intimated to me that it was probable, on the completion of the

arrangements then in progress for the accommodation of an additional

number of members, that a printing press might be introduced, a weekly

paper published and something done at the printing business generally;

further, that though there were two or three practical printers in the

Association, yet others in all likelihood would also be required; in

which case, a selection from the number of candidates would be made.

Should it be the intention to adopt the plan, which was then in doubt,

I beg most respectfully to present myself as a candidate for the

acceptance of the Association.

I am at present situated as foreman of a daily paper in Bangor, and

previous to this time, have had a somewhat varied experience in other

branches of the business. Though now rather favorably located, in the

ordinary acceptation of the term, yet I would prefer a thousand times

mingling even in the struggles of an infant Association, founded upon

what I deem to be substantial principles, than the most desirable

possession in an overgrown and distorted civilization.

Touching the requisite of character, I believe I can make out a case in

my favor; but with respect to capital--when I say I am a _printer_, I

say also that I am in the predicament of the most of my profession,

with nothing to recommend us but a willing heart and a ready hand;

albeit, if the taking of one share of a hundred dollars will entitle me

to membership, the amount may be forthcoming.

With sentiment of great respect, I have the honor to be, sir, Yours

most obediently, etc.,

George Bayne, Jr.

_A Wife's Eloquent Appeal._

Kingston, Sept. 5, 1845.

_Mr. George Ripley_,

Sir: After taking the _Phalanx_ and the _Harbinger_ and visiting Brook

Farm, our attachment and love for associated life has become so strong,

and the idea of our present life so cold and to a benevolent mind so

difficult, that I very much doubt of remaining any longer happy in our

present state. For these reasons I write to inform you that we wish to

make an application to be received as members of--so it looks to

us--your happy Association; and, "delays being dangerous," we would ask

an answer soon to it, as, living on a farm, it is necessary to know

whether we shall dispose of our crops, cattle, etc., in the market, or

store them in barn and cellar for another _lonely_ winter--so my

husband expresses it; though I assure you it is not lonely for lack of

numbers, but he is doubtless expressing the feeling many of us have

experienced of solitude in the midst of a crowd of uncongenial spirits.

As it is a busy time--we have to work from 5 A.M. until late at night,

with scarce a moment to rest our weary limbs--it is not convenient to

visit you personally; we wish you to return us a written letter stating

whether we can have any encouragement and what are the requirements.

Being strangers to you we would probably need recommendation.

Thus far I have acted as amanuensis for my husband. Hoping that it may

not offend, I now address you of and from myself.

Elizabeth Brewster, _for Elisha Brewster._

_Mr. Ripley,_

Dear Sir: In the cause my husband urges I would plead. Had I skill I

would do so with all the eloquence ascribed to woman's tongue; nay,

more, had I an angel's tongue tipped with burning eloquence, I would

exert its utmost efforts to urge my husband's suit. I feel deeply that

his present and future earthly happiness depends on what answer may be

received from you. That is saying much, but I believe it is strictly

true. And if his happiness depends on it, surely that of the rest must,

for what happiness does a woman desire but that of those connected with

her? Husband has been for three years a devoted associationist; his

whole heart and mind have been with them and he has ardently desired

the associative life.

Not so myself. I was willing, it is true, to go anywhere he desired and

would be happy where he was happy, but I dreaded to leave such a

beautiful home, for the place we would leave is no ordinary one. The

prospect from it is considered as almost without a parallel. We have

plenty of fruit, flowers, fine grove and shade trees, in fact

everything to make rural life agreeable and we know how to appreciate a

beautiful location and prospect. Then I have had a fear of being a

pioneer, lest there should be too heavy work or duties imposed or

required of me. Such ideas combined, prevented me from seeing unitary

life as one ought who knows that it is in the form of a heavenly

society, and that as we desire perfection here on earth we must imitate

the heavenly model.

Since visiting you my fears have given place to an ardent desire to

become one of your Community, not to come as an alien and a stranger

but as a sister in full communion, with a heart full of love and

affection and with a strong desire to act my part fully and to do all

required of me.

You will find I have great skill and ingenuity in work, understanding

almost all kinds, and have, I am told, a good faculty to plan and

perform it, so I hope that I shall be of real use to you. You will not

think I am trying to flatter you or myself. Husband's idea is this: he

says when people trade they place their commodities in the best light

and speak of their desirable qualities, and this is so much like

trading ourselves off that we have a right to give some idea of

ourselves as an offset for what we expect to receive.

Mr. Brewster has sound, unbroken health, untiring strength and great

skill and ability to work. He often says he would not go where he could

not work--but he would like more time to read than he gets here. He has

great power and skill in doing heavy work and great patience and

industry in doing small and light work; talents not often combined in

one individual. He is just as handy and skilful in planting and weeding

and planning a flower garden, or in potting plants and tending them, as

in doing the heaviest work. He loves birds and flowers, but _bees_ are

his _hobby_; he loves them as a mother loves her children. If he comes

among you, you must let him have a hive of bees or I fear he would tire

of Association. Ah! a new thought just strikes me. Bees are

_associationists_ and that accounts for his great love of them.

I cannot believe that you will ever regret the possession of such a

working man. Furthermore, you will rarely find two united with more

willing hearts and hands and more cheerful tempers. We have never been,

so far, either of us unhappy in any situation. Our family is not large;

it consists of three daughters, one of eleven, one eight and the last

three years of age, twenty-fifth of May last--they all have one

birthday. We shall probably bring with us, if you make no objection, a

girl who is bound to us, and there remains three years of unexpired

service--a very stout, strong girl, who loves coarse work and who is

Mr. Brewster's mesmeric subject.

Mr. Brewster is a lineal descendant of old Elder Brewster, of the fifth

generation on the paternal side and a lateral descendant on the

maternal side. He thinks that accounts for his being so ardent an

associationist, as Elder Brewster started his colony on that plan and

failed--and perhaps this E. Brewster will do the same thing. But

seriously, because the first failed it is no reason that the second

should, for the world was not as well prepared for unitary life then as

now. Mr. Brewster thinks he would rather help you provide for winter

than to be doing the same here.

May the blessing of Heaven attend you all at Brook Farm.

E. B. B. BREWSTER.

APPENDIX.

PART III.

AN OUTSIDE VIEW OF BROOK FARM.

_From the Dial of January, 1844._

Wherever we recognize the principle of progress our sympathies and

affections are engaged. However small may be the innovation, however

limited the effort towards the attainment of pure good, that effort is

worthy of our best encouragement and succor. The institution at Brook

Farm, West Roxbury, though sufficiently extensive in respect to number

of persons, perhaps is not to be considered an experiment of large

intent. Its aims are moderate; too humble, indeed, to satisfy the

extreme demands of the age; yet for that reason, probably, the effort

is more valuable, as likely to exhibit a larger share of actual success.

Though familiarly designated a "Community," it is only so in the

process of eating in commons; a practice at least as antiquated as the

collegiate halls of old England, where it still continues without

producing, as far as we can learn, any of the Spartan virtues. A

residence at Brook Farm does not involve either a community of money,

of opinions or of sympathy. The motives which bring individuals there,

may be as various as their numbers. In fact, the present residents are

divisible into three distinct classes; and if the majority in numbers

were considered, it is possible that a vote in favor of self-sacrifice

for the common good would not be very strongly carried.

The leading portion of the adult inmates, they whose presence imparts

the greatest peculiarity and the fraternal tone to the household,

believe that an improved state of existence would be developed in

Association, and are therefore anxious to promote it. Another class

consists of those who join with the view of bettering their condition,

by being exempt from some portion of worldly strife. The third portion

comprises those who have their own development or education for their

principal object.

Practically, too, the institution manifests a threefold improvement

over the world at large, corresponding to these three motives. In

consequence of the first, the companionship, the personal intercourse,

the social bearing, are of a marked and very superior character. There

may possibly to some minds, long accustomed to other modes, appear a

want of homeness and of the private fireside; but all observers must

acknowledge a brotherly and softening condition, highly conducive to

the permanent and pleasant growth of all the better human qualities. If

the life is not of a deeply religious cast, it is at least not inferior

to that which is exemplified elsewhere, and there is the advantage of

an entire absence of assumption and pretence. The moral atmosphere, so

far, is pure; and there is found a strong desire to walk ever on the

mountain tops of life; though taste, rather than piety, is the aspect

presented to the eye.

In the second class of motives we have enumerated there is a strong

tendency to an important improvement in meeting the terrestrial

necessities of humanity. The banishment of servitude, the renouncement

of hireling labor and the elevation of all unavoidable work to its true

station, are problems whose solution seems to be charged upon

Association; for the dissociate systems have in vain sought remedies

for this unfavorable portion of human condition. It is impossible to

introduce into separate families even one half of the economies which

the present state of science furnishes to man. In that particular, it

is probable that even the feudal system is superior to the civic; for

its combinations permit many domestic arrangements of an economic

character, which are impracticable in small households. In order to

economize labor, and dignify the laborer, it is absolutely necessary

that men should cease to work in the present isolated, competitive

mode, and adopt that of coöperative union or Association. It is as

false and as ruinous to call any man "master," in secular business, as

it is in theological opinion. Those persons, therefore, who congregate

for the purpose, as it is called, of bettering their outward relations,

on principles so high and universal as we have endeavored to describe,

are not engaged in a petty design, bounded by their own selfish or

temporary improvement. Everyone who is here found giving up the usual

chances of individual aggrandizement, may not be thus influenced; but

whether it be so or not, the outward demonstration will probably be

equally certain.

In education Brook Farm appears to present greater mental freedom than

most other institutions. The tuition being more heart-rendered, is in

its effects more heart-stirring. The younger pupils, as well as the

more advanced students, are held mostly, if not wholly, by the power of

love. In this particular, Brook Farm is a much improved model for the

oft-praised schools of New England. It is time that the imitative and

book-learned systems of the latter should be superseded or liberalized,

by some plan better calculated to excite originality of thought and the

native energies of the mind. The deeper, kindly sympathies of the

heart, too, should not be forgotten; but the germination of these must

be despaired of under a rigid hireling system. Hence Brook Farm, with

its spontaneous teachers, presents the unusual and cheering condition

of a really "free school."

By watchful and diligent economy, there can be no doubt that a

community would attain greater pecuniary success than is within the

hope of honest individuals working separately. But Brook Farm is not a

community, and in the variety of motives with which persons associate

there, a double diligence and a watchfulness perhaps, too costly will

be needful to preserve financial prosperity. While, however, this

security is an essential element in success, riches would, on the other

hand, be as fatal as poverty, to the true progress of such an

institution. Even in the case of those foundations which have assumed a

religious character, all history proves the fatality of wealth. The

just and happy mean between riches and poverty is, indeed, more likely

to be attained when, as in this instance, all thought of acquiring

great wealth in a brief time is necessarily abandoned, as a condition

of membership. On the other hand, the presence of many persons, who

congregate merely for the attainment of some individual end, must weigh

heavily and unfairly upon those whose hearts are really expanded to

universal results.

As a whole, even the initiative powers of Brook Farm have, as is found

almost everywhere, the design of a life much too objective, too much

derived from objects in the exterior world. The subjective life, that

in which the soul finds the living source and the true communion within

itself, is not sufficiently prevalent to impart to the establishment

the permanent and sedate character it should enjoy. Undeniably, many

devoted individuals are there; several who have, as generously as

wisely, relinquished what are considered great social and pecuniary

advantages, and, by throwing their skill and energies into a course of

the most ordinary labors, at once prove their disinterestedness, and

lay the foundation for industrial nobility.

An assemblage of persons, not brought together by the principles of

community, will necessarily be subject to many of the inconveniences of

ordinary life, as well as to burdens peculiar to such a condition. Now

Brook Farm is at present such an institution. It is not a community; it

is not truly an association; it is merely an aggregation of persons,

and lacks that oneness of spirit, which is probably needful to make it

of deep and lasting value to mankind. It seems, after three years'

continuance, uncertain whether it is to be resolved more into an

educational or an industrial institution, or into one combined of both.

Placed so near a large city, and in a populous neighborhood, the

original liability for land, etc., was so large as still to leave a

considerable burden of debt. This state of things seems fairly to

entitle the establishment to re-draw from the old world in fees for

education, or in the sale of produce, sufficient to pay the annual

interest of such liabilities. Hence the necessity for a more intimate

intercourse with the trading world, and a deeper involvement in money

affairs than would have attended a more retired effort of the like

kind. To enter into the corrupting modes of the world, with the view of

diminishing or destroying them, is a delusive hope. It will,

notwithstanding, be a labor of no little worth, to induce improvements

in the two grand departments of industry and education. We say

_improvement_ as distinct from _progress_; for with any association

short of community, we do not see how it is possible for an institution

to stand so high above the present world as to conduct its affairs on

principles entirely different from those which now influence men in

general.

There are other considerations also suggested by a glance at Brook

Farm, which are worthy the attention of the many minds now attracted by

the deeply interesting subject of human association. We are gratified

by observing several external improvements during the past year; such

as a larger and more convenient dining room, a labor saving cooking

apparatus, a purer diet, a more orderly and quiet attendance at the

refections, superior arrangements for industry, and generally an

increased seriousness in respect to the value of the example which

those who are there assembled may constitute to their fellow beings.

Of about seventy persons now assembled there, about thirty are

children, sent thither for education; some adult persons also place

themselves there chiefly for mental assistance; and in the society

there are only four married couples. With such materials it is almost

certain that the sensitive and vital points of communication cannot

well be tested. A joint-stock company, working with some of its own

members and with others as agents, cannot bring to issue the great

question whether the existence of the individual family is compatible

with the universal family, which the term "Community" signifies. This

is now the grand problem. By mothers it has ever been felt to be so.

The maternal instinct, as hitherto educated, has declared itself so

strongly in favor of the separate fireside, that the association, which

appears so beautiful to the young and unattached soul, has yet

accomplished little progress in the affections of that important

section of the human race--the mothers. With fathers, the feeling in

favor of the separate family is certainly less strong; but there is an

undefinable tie, a sort of magnetic _rapport_, an invisible,

inseverable umbilical cord between the mother and child, which in most

cases circumscribes her desires and ambition to her own immediate

family.

All the accepted adages and wise saws of society, all the precepts of

morality, all the sanctions of theology, have for ages been employed to

confirm this feeling. This is the chief corner stone of present

society; and to this maternal instinct have, till very lately, our most

heartfelt appeals been made for the progress of the human race, by

means of a deeper and more vital education. Pestalozzi and his most

enlightened disciples are distinguished by this sentiment. And are we

all at once to abandon, to deny, to destroy this supposed stronghold of

virtue? Is it questioned whether the family arrangement of mankind is

to be preserved? Is it discovered that the sanctuary, till now deemed

the holiest on earth, is to be invaded by intermeddling scepticism, and

its altars sacrilegiously destroyed by the rude hands of innovating

progress?

Here "social science" must be brought to issue. The question of

Association and marriage are one. If, as we have been popularly led to

believe, the individual or separate family is the true order of

Providence, then the associate life is a false effort. If the associate

life is true, then is the separate family a false arrangement. By the

maternal feeling it appears to be decided that the coëxistence of both

is incompatible--is impossible. So also say some religious sects.

Social science ventures to assert their harmony. This is the grand

problem now remaining to be solved, for at least the enlightening, if

not for the vital elevation, of humanity. That the affections can be

divided, or bent with equal ardor on two objects so opposed as

universal and individual love, may at least be rationally doubted.

History has not yet exhibited such phenomena in an associate body, and

scarcely, perhaps, in any individual.

The monasteries and convents, which have existed in all ages, have been

maintained solely by the annihilation of that peculiar affection on

which the separate family is based. The Shaker families, in which the

two sexes are not entirely dissociated, can yet only maintain their

union by forbidding and preventing the growth of personal affection

other than that of a spiritual character. And this, in fact, is not

personal in the sense of individual, but ever a manifestation of

universal affection. Spite of the speculations of hopeful bachelors and

aesthetic spinsters, there is somewhat in the marriage bond which is

found to counteract the universal nature of the affections to a degree

tending at least to make considerable pause, before they can be blended

into one harmony.

The general condition of married persons at this time is some evidence

of the existence of such doubt in their minds. Were they as convinced

as the unmarried of the beauty and truth of associate life, the

demonstration would be now presented. But might it not be enforced that

the two family ideas really neutralize one another? It is not quite

certain that the human heart cannot be set in two places; that man

cannot worship at two altars? It is only the determination to do what

parents consider the best for themselves and their families, which

renders the o'er populous world such a wilderness of selfhood as it is.

Destroy this feeling, they say, and you prohibit every motive for

exertion. Much truth is there in this affirmation. For to them no other

motive remains, nor indeed to any one else, save that of the universal

good, which does not permit the building up of supposed self-good, and,

therefore, forecloses all possibility of an individual family.

These observations, of course, equally apply to all the associative

attempts, now attracting so much public attention; and perhaps most

especially to such as have more of Fourier's designs than are

observable at Brook Farm. The slight allusion in all the writers of the

"Phalansterian" class, to the subject of marriage, is rather

remarkable. They are acute and eloquent in deploring woman's oppressed

and degraded position in past and present times, but are almost silent

as to the future. In the meanwhile, it is gratifying to observe the

success which in some departments attend every effort, and that Brook

Farm is likely to become comparatively eminent in the highly important

and praiseworthy attempts to render labor of the hands more dignified

and noble, and mental education more free and loveful. C. L.

ASSOCIATIVE ARTICLES.

_"Association the Body of Christianity" by John S. Dwight._

The world has been divided between infidels and bigots. In Association

there will be neither, for it will remove their causes. The framework

of society is false which drives to such extremities. For most

assuredly these opposites proceeded from one common centre, and will

most gladly gravitate back again to that, so soon as the general order

becomes just and genial to the real character and purpose of each

individual soul.

Unbelief is torment, as much as any obstinate refusing of food, and no

one courts it because he will, but only accepts it because he must. On

the other hand, exclusive religionism has too much consciousness of

secret sympathy with its avowed antipodes, to enjoy itself much better.

They are only opposite forms of the same denial; opposite feelings from

the same great central wrong. They seem to hate each other; it is only

because they are not permitted to embrace: let them transfer their hate

to that which separates them. And what is that?

It is the want of unity and of all recognition of unity in the material

interests of men. If the material interest of each harmonized with the

material interest of all, as fully as their spiritual interests do, the

immediate result would be that the material and spiritual would

harmonize with one another. Then religion would not have to renounce

the world to save its very life; nor would the believer in natural

reason and the lover of justice cry, "Away with all religion, since it

leaves the world so bad!"

There are certain instincts and convictions in every human soul which

call for love and truth and justice. There is a revelation from God

which confirms them all. One noble life was all made up of these high

qualities, a present incarnation of these seemingly almost unattainable

ideals, and freely gave itself for man. Some say it was very God; all

acknowledge that such virtue is the divinest thing known, that such

love stands for the Most High, and that to reverence and obey it, is to

obey the very saving principle of human nature; that such obedience, in

fact, is perfect freedom. So that, leaving intellectual dogmas and

theories out of the question, the essence of what is called

Christianity is the natural faith of the human heart, and all men do in

their heart of hearts long to have a Christian spirit and to have that

prevail throughout the world.

But while the spirit of Christ is unity, the material interests of men

are without unity. In the whole body politic of life, the unity of the

human race is not at all implied. On the contrary, everything

contradicts the idea. Every man in seeking his material interests

becomes the rival and antagonist of every other man. To gain his bread

he must sacrifice friendship, generosity and even honor. He must keep

his convictions of nobleness and justice for a beautiful and holiday

idea; he must consign them to the keeping of religion; and she, like

the gentle wife at home, has careful instructions not to show her

beautiful face in the market place. It is hard; since in the market

place mankind are doomed to spend the most part of their life; and very

many men and women and children _all_ their life, except what nature

claims for sleep.

If there be no way, then, of realizing the unity of man with man, of

growing into the beauty of Christian love and fellowship, by the very

act which earns us bread; if there be no reconciling of religion with

this worldliness; if there be no possibility of raising in the very

market place the song, "The Lord is in his temple"; if religion calls

us one way and necessity another; if business is to be based on

principles which render ineffectual every prayer for the spirit of love

and charity; if work is the dissevering of all the bonds which thought

and speech and sentiment and blessed dreams and holy influences, with

all the help, too, of God's Holy Spirit, strive to weave;--then is

Christianity impotent, a heavenly voice that mocks mankind.

But no! As surely as Christ taught the love of God and of the neighbor,

so surely did his prediction imply a change in the material

organization of society which should fit it to be the container of this

heavenly spirit. Did he think to "put new wine into old bottles"? Must

not the spirit of Christianity create unto itself a _body_? It is a

fruitless abstraction until it does. And this, if we read the signs

aright, is the demand of this age. This is the tendency of all social

movements. The material basis of our life, our social and industrial

system, is entirely incompatible with the moral conviction and duties

of this age. Our social economy all represents and preaches

selfishness; but the idea of Christian love, the vision of unity and

brotherhood, is born in the mind, and makes terrible and unendurable

contrast with this state of things. The world is nearly ripe for the

kingdom of heaven--the organization of society precludes it.

ASSOCIATION is the word that solves the problem. The earnest and

believing hearts of this day everywhere have certain hopeful lookings

towards that; and at this providential moment science comes and offers

us the key which shall unlock the whole sphere of material interests to

its true lord, the spirit of religious love and unity. The organization

of attractive industry will be the reconciliation of spirit and matter,

of religion and the world; it will be the admission of Christ into all

our spheres; it will make all nature holy, and clothe religion in the

garb of nature.

_Extract from a lecture on Association in its Connection with Religion,

by Charles A. Dana._

It is now more than eighteen hundred years since that annunciation of

the coming of peace on earth and good-will to men, at which the world

might well have trembled with a new and mighty hope. The Divine Infant,

whose birth the celestial choirs thus celebrated, grew up to man's

estate, still bearing within him that blessed promise; he went about on

earth, imparting new life to the broken-hearted and forlorn, and

uttering words of such heavenly significance, that to this day there is

nothing that thrills the hearts of men with so true a power. At last he

gave his life a testimony to those eternal truths, and died in great

bodily agony, still publishing the prophecy that welcomed his birth,

still announcing the kingdom of peace and love, the kingdom of God on

earth.

His followers have since grown to cover great continents; whole nations

acknowledge those few words of his as their most sacred possession;

great temples are built in which his life and death are solemnly

commemorated, and men gladly yield their hard-won treasure to carry his

history to distant regions that his name has never reached. And yet, my

friends, where is that kingdom of peace and love; where, where in the

whole wide world is the will of God done as it is in heaven? Is it even

thought of as anything but a dream, an impossibility? Does not a

sceptical smile steal over the faces of men, when an earnest and

enthusiastic person speaks of it as a thing yet actually to be?

And yet it is only what Christ taught us to hope for and pray for. We

are not deceived; no one of us is mistaken in the vision that in

innocent and blessed moments visits us all. No man who utters that

sacred petition prays in vain. For the kingdom of God, the reign of

peace and good-will among men, shall surely come. Not in mystical

raptures, not in feverish trances, not in imagination, but in

reality--in actual outward peace and beauty, and in the abiding spirit

of love, filling humanity and sanctifying the earth to be the worthy

temple of so divine a presence.

And yet, who that beholds only the present condition of the Christian

church, to which these sacred ideas have been especially entrusted; who

that sees the body of Christ thus torn and discordant, would imagine

that a consummation of this imperishable hope was any longer possible?

Might we not despair, seeing these centuries of terror, of revolution,

of injustice and of perpetual hatred, and seeing that the very

disciples of the spirit of love have lost the memory of their

Master--might we not despair, and cry out with them, that the earth was

given over to evil, and that the kingdom of God would never come?

No, my friends, we may not so despair, we cannot if we would. That old

prophecy, however long delayed, still finds an involuntary echo in our

souls. And now, in this hope of a true and brotherly society, its

fulfilment seems at hand. Say it is enthusiasm, say it is a mistake,

say it is irreligion, if you will, and still I reply that the time is

not distant. It is in the combined order, where men are held together

by inward laws only, and not by outward constraint and outward

necessities, that the kingdom of God is to come down and possess the

earth.

It is in Association, then, that the promise of Christianity is to be

fulfilled--fulfilled by making the incarnation of the great law of love

an actual and universal fact. Hitherto Christianity has been in the

world a spirit pining and dying for want of a body. She has wandered up

and down on the earth, possessing here and there an individual, but

never obtaining her birthright, which is the whole of humanity, never

able to exercise her prerogative, which is to bathe the earth in the

aroma of harmony and peace. The forms of selfish and egoistical

society, the forms of society here in Boston, and throughout the

civilized world, are not of Christianity, but of the primeval curse,

which they perpetuate. Into them Christianity cannot fully enter, any

more than light can dwell in the midst of darkness.

The relations which Christianity seeks to establish between man and

man, are indicated in these words, "Love one another." But how is this

possible in a competitive society, where the interests of all are

hostile? How can vital and true love operate between me and my

neighbor, when his misfortune is my advantage, and my loss is his gain?

What does it avail that on Sundays the better spirit is feebly

awakened; what does it avail that then I aspire and long to love all

men, if on the other six days in the week my hand is of necessity set

against them all?

Do you tell me that if my love is deep and pure enough, it will modify

my whole life, and of itself, without hindrance from circumstances,

appear perfectly in all my actions and relations? This is the old

heresy, this is the error of the individualism and egoism which has

hindered us so long. Let us meet it fully and fairly.

In all results there are two elements, namely, that which acts and that

which is acted upon. The character of the individual never does and

never can form his circumstances, but can only modify them. No man is

an artist or a poet by virtue of inward genius alone. No matter how

great his gifts, unless he find a congenial atmosphere and favorable

conditions, his high office is not fulfilled. Precisely so is it with

that sacred energy which we call love. It can act entirely and

sincerely only in circumstances that harmonize and correspond with

itself. In order to carry Christianity into my daily life, the forms of

my daily life, all my relations to others, my household and my

business, must be in harmony with it.

If these forms are contrary to Christianity, the first thing for me, as

a Christian, to do, is to change them, to put them off, to be free from

them at whatever cost. If I am indeed filled and impelled by that

divine injunction, "Love one another," I cannot rest, I shall give

myself no peace, until it be possible for me to do so, not in my inward

spirit only, but in all my outward actions also. But how is this to be

done? How are the ultimate forms of my life to be brought into

correspondence with its central impulse? Plainly not by any spontaneous

and unconscious power, but by intellectual inquiry and voluntary

action. _Inspiration can discharge its whole mission only by the aid of

science._

Besides, the end of Christianity is not the salvation of individuals,

but the transfiguration of humanity; it cannot be accomplished in you

and me, but only in the whole race. It promises the kingdom of peace

and love, not to a few solitary souls, but to man. He is indeed a

servant of Christianity, who has learned its universal purpose and

labors therefor; who does not so much seek to be saved himself, as to

bring salvation to all the world, who sees that his own private life

and development are forever involved in the universal progress. He is

ignorant of the true idea of Christianity, who has not understood that

it demands not so much that one should be careful about his own

spiritual perfection, that he should watch himself, and by private

remorse and tears seek a far-off heaven, as by a generous

self-forgetfulness and self-devotion, seek to build up the kingdom of

peace and love among men, and make heaven a reality here, and not the

hope only of a distant future and a different sphere of existence.

It is time, my friends, that this long divorce between the natural and

spiritual worlds should be broken off, and that we should know that

even now we may breathe the celestial ether, and have our common life

transformed and illumined by infinite spiritual glories.

We have said that the end of Christianity is not the salvation of

individuals; but do not let it be thought that we overlook the worth of

individual character. For heroism and holiness we have an unspeakable

reverence. The saints and poets and sages of all time are the choicest

gifts of God. The virtue, the beauty and the devotion that now shine in

the lives of private men and women, still assure us that all is not and

cannot be a failure. The ultimate result of the life of humanity will

doubtless be found in symmetrical and harmonious individuals; and in a

perfect Christianity we shall look to see an angelic love radiant from

every face. But while there is disease and imperfection in any part of

the human body, there cannot be perfect health in any other part; just

so while there is disease and imperfection in humanity, of which the

human body is an image, there cannot be perfect health in any

individual. Perfect men and women are possible only in a perfect

society.

Finally, the sum of our remarks on the relation of Association to

Christianity, is briefly this: Association fulfils the promise of

Christianity; it shows the means whereby peace on earth and goodwill

among men are to be realized. It harmonizes the forms and relations of

society with the spirit of Christianity; in a word, it makes them forms

and relations of brotherly love, and not of selfishness and discord,

and thereby renders possible the accomplishment of the final aim of

Christianity, which is the salvation and spiritual life of universal

humanity.

THE TEMPTATION IN THE WILDERNESS, FROM THE HARBINGER, BY WILLIAM HENRY

CHANNING.

A prophecy in the spirit of this age announces that a new era in

humanity is opening, and sounds forth more fully than ever before the

venerable yet new gospel, that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Doubtless, in all generations, the seers and the seekers--who are

usually one and the same--have felt that their times were the

culminating points of history, the mountain of vision, the border

overlooking the promised land. Doubtless, the great of all nations and

ages have felt that they were a peculiar people, called to a peculiar

work, inspired and led by divine guidance to sublime ends. No age, no

people, have wholly wanted such signs of providential commission.

And doubtless, too, the works, bravely attempted from such high

promptings, have always in actual results seemed fruitless. Yes!

compared with his vision, the gains of the martyr's labors seem

tantalizing--a dropping shower upon the droughty earth. Always the

ideal entering the soul of man, like a god descending to the embrace of

a mortal, seems to engender a son but half divine. Yet this

disappointment is a delusion of the moment.

Quite opposite are the facts. No man yet upon earth ever boldly

aspired, and faithfully obeyed his clear convictions of good without

transmitting through his race an all but omnipotent energy. Winds waft,

streams scatter, birds of the air carry in their beaks, each seed that

drops in ripeness from the tree of life. The failures of man have been

from infidelity to his faith. Infinitely grander consequences than the

doer could estimate, have followed every executed purpose of heroism

and humanity and holy hope. Each age has been right in feeling that its

mission was all-important. Each prophet has chanted, as if for very

life, his warning and cheering, for God spoke through him in the

language of his land and era.

The Infinite Being, who through generation upon generation,

progressively incarnates himself in the human race, and so manifests

his glory upon earth, calls this age to its heavenly mission, and

speaks through it with an eloquent longing, that cannot be uttered, his

welcome and promise. The word whispers through the nations: "Man made

One; a World at Peace; Humanity, the Earth round." At the nativity of

this great hope, of this present Immanuel, the angels of our highest

aspirations bend from their cloudy thrones,--

"Harping in loud and solemn choir, With unexpressive notes, to Heaven's

newborn heir."

And the burden of the song that interprets their symphony is this:--

"Justice and Truth again Shall down return to men.

Orb'd in a rainbow; and, like glories wearing,

Mercy will sit between,

Throned in celestial sheen,

With radiant feet the tissued clouds down steering,

And Heaven, as at some festival,

Will open wide the gates of her high palace hall."

The hope of universal unity has been born, cradled in the rude manger

of labor; nurtured by charity, ever virgin; worshipped by shepherds,

guarding humble, humane thoughts, like flocks in the fold of their

hearts; it has sat with the doctors in the temple, unsullied by

timidity and prudence, and has astonished them at its profound doctrine

of unbounded love; it has grown in favor with God and man, and answered

to its half doubting, half hoping parents of the church and state,

"Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" and now is it

driven away into the wilderness of poverty and hard toil, of loneliness

and mortification, to be tempted of the devil.

Let us first consider awhile these temptations; then review the forty

days' meditation upon the divine mission of this principle of perfect

love; and so be ready to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is

at hand."

To the scattered band who, few and weak, are here and there withdrawn

from the thoroughfares of life, to commune together and to cöoperate in

the grand movement of the age, the world comes in with scarce

dissembled sneer, and ironically says, "_If_ Association is really this

Messiah to the ages, this pledge of universal prosperity, of

overflowing wealth, then let it make these barren fields into gardens,

these thick growing woods into palaces, these stones into bread."

And all the while the shrewd, the rosy, sleek and full-fed world, with

title deeds in pocket and scrip and stock in hand, thinks of its

factories on rapid streams; its warehouses of three thousand dollars'

rent; its dividends at seven per cent half yearly; its iron-limbed and

tireless steeds, hurrying with the spoils of myriads of acres; its

carpeted, curtained, glowing, shining, pictured, sculptured, perfumed

homes. The victorious world, so confident and easy and jocular, so

beautiful in its own right, so wrapped about in kingly purple--how

strangely is it metamorphosed to the eyes of the child of God! Its

factories change into brothels; its rents to distress warrants; its

railroads to mighty fetters, binding industry in an inextricable net of

feudalism; from under the showy robes of its success, flutter the

unseemly rags of an ever-growing beggary; from garret and cellar of its

luxurious habitations, stare out the gaunt forms of haggard want; the

lash of the jailer, the gleam of swords, the glitter of bayonets, are

its garters and stars of nobility.

If Association has been elated by the thought of its miraculous power,

or meditated to use it for selfish ends, it deserves the taunt of the

yet more selfish world. And it is reason for great rejoicing, that the

difficulties of transition from the isolated to the harmonic mode of

life are so great. God thus _sifts_ his people. None are worthy to

enter upon this work who are not _dusted_. We need to hunger. We need

to feel dependence, in order that we may judge competition in contrast.

We need to know actually how pinching is necessity; how deep it ploughs

its furrows into brow and brain; how tight it knots up the muscles and

cramps back and limbs, by exhausting toil.

Association must be in its very essence disinterested; holding power as

something given from above, to be used not for self alone, or chiefly,

but for universal good; consecrating itself as a servant. And its

answer to the boasting world is, "Man liveth not by bread alone, but by

every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." We are learning,

in these trial times, the beauty of reciprocation, the wealth of

sharing all; we are studying experimentally the law of cooperation; we

are estimating the value of justice by its practical application; above

all, are we opening our hearts to the glad conviction that it is

possible, ay, easy, for men to grow more kindly by adversity, and to

love each other better for each other's wants.

The word which is proceeding out of the mouth of God to Associationists

now, to all the true-hearted and brave and devoted and hopeful of them

is, "Union with fellow beings by usefulness is the very life of life."

Let patience have its perfect work. Let no man be so mean as to

emphasize the "If thou be," etc. Let no doubt enter from present

humiliation. Association is the divine form of humanity. So ends in

piety the first temptation.

Then the Satan of selfishness takes counsel of his cunning, and subtly

states a new suggestion. If Association is this glorious truth to

renovate the nations, then glorious should be its announcement; loud,

wide, startling, should be its call; sudden, as from the skies, its

appearing. Here on the pinnacle of the temple of peace (or of Salem),

shalt thou stand, and cast thyself down among the multitudes like an

angel. Some splendid boldness should introduce thy reign. Take no heed

of care and caution; count not the cost; risk all in a providential

career. Surely thou shalt be guided safe. God's angels will bear thee

up, that thou dash not thy foot against a stone.

O bragging, advertising, placarding, circular-scattering,

auctioneering, humbuging world! And you would thus prove Association to

be also a windbag and a lie! Just in so far as Association has been

rash and precipitate, and swollen with promises and dizzy in its

towering pretensions, it has been truly carried to the pinnacle.

The child of God waits for opportunities. There will be occasions soon

enough for manifestation. According to the hour is the duty; and the

duty now is performance. Calm, wise, large and balanced plans,

discriminate selection of persons, discreet preparations of industry, a

sober estimate of the greatness of the undertaking, and a summoning of

all energies to its fulfilment, is the vocation just now of

Association. Enough for the day it is, honestly, honorably, humanely,

to lay the foundation in the earth unseen for the glorious fabric which

the future shall rear in light.

In so far as the inculcation of principles, the instruction of the

national mind, the calling out of enthusiasm and courage, of hope and

heroism, demand publicity, of course Association must not be backward.

It must no more be behind than before the time. But the special call

to-day is, in practical endeavor to prepare the way for a future gospel

preaching. We need complete science, clear understanding, solid

judgment. We need to solve innumerable problems, to comprehend

principles exactly by their detailed development in practice. We need

inward concentration, to gain singleness and unity of purpose.

"Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God," either by anticipation or by

tardiness. If Association is the salvation of mankind, there will be

time enough to let mankind know it. Meanwhile, let us give ourselves

wholly up to God, to be filled with his love, inspired with his wisdom,

strengthened with his might, and so made ready for the sublime work of

manifesting man made one in a perfect society. We will humbly wait the

opening of opportunities by Providence. And so ends the second

temptation in patience.

Thus baffled twice, the Prince of this world gathers up his routed

forces for the final charge:--

"Surely the power of united effect is irresistible. What has it not

already accomplished?--tunnelling mountains, bridging oceans with

boats, wringing from the gnomes of the mines their wealth long buried

in sparry palaces of salt and diamond, of gold and silver,--preparing

to sever the bond that unites twin continents, summoning storms and

staying them, making the desert yield an hundred fold, using the

lightning for post boy, giving iron weavers coal for bread and fire for

drink, that they may spin garments for the nations,--prodigious power

of combined effort, what may it not do!

"We will appeal to the rich and mighty. We will show them how they can

multiply their means seventy times seven. We will unite the race in one

grand effort of prolific production and unlimited voluptuousness. We

will be kings upon earth. All these things that thou seest from this

high mountain of exceeding enterprise, all these kingdoms and their

glory shall be thine, if thou wilt but give thyself up, O Association!

body, soul, spirit, to the worship of worldly power and splendor and

enjoyment."

Ah, Satan! that was thy wiliest web. What! no poor, all nobles, all

fat, all glittering in court raiment, all surfeited with sweets, all

bathing in Johannisberg and champagne, all tended by houries, all

pillowed on orange-scented beds, and covered with gauze or eider down,

according to the season? Charming Satan! Selfishness made universal

will be selfishness no more. Thou art an angel of light!

Just in so far as Association, using the tact of worldly training, has

in its plannings and pleadings, lowered itself to exaltation of the

outward, by merging the inward, it has permitted the magic of sin to

dazzle its vision.

It is indeed a splendid prospect, this of a world reclaimed, of

overflowing plenty. And it shall be realized. Perfect beauty shall one

day enwreath this earth with its clustering vines. The long folded

petals of this little planet flower on the tree of the sun, shall open

and distil sweetness; its gorgeous fruit of consummate joy shall swell

and ripen. Far more than all the voluptuaries of all ages have dreamed

of shall exist, heightened by a purity they could not conceive of.

Yes! O devil, the kingdoms and the glory of them are there before us.

But know this--they do not belong unto thee to give. Thou poor devil,

always mocked and always mocking. Have not six thousand years taught

thee yet, that self-love is always a suicide? Thou wilt give the

kingdoms of the world as thou always hast, first by stealing them for

thy slaves, and then stealing them from thy slaves? No! thou forlorn

devil, thy rule is ended, thy sceptre snapped into shivers; henceforth

thou art so wholly accursed, that God and man will heartily forgive

thee, whenever thou canst forgive thyself.

"_Duty of Associationists to the Cause," by Horace Greeley. From the

Harbinger of Oct. 25, 1845._

Through the last four or five years, the doctrine of Association has

been widely disseminated through the country. The labors of its ardent

advocates, few but faithful, have been ably seconded by some portion of

the press, and both have been immensely aided by the course of events.

The great themes of political discussion in our day--the tariff and the

currency--lead directly to a consideration of the conditions of labor,

of the relations between producers and products, of mutual rights and

respective interests of employers and employed. The existence of

extreme destitution and consequent misery in the midst of general

prosperity and plenty, of willing hands vainly seeking employment amid

unsurpassed industrial activity and thrift, cannot have escaped

attention. The disasters resulting from industrial anarchy, from

"strikes" of operatives for higher wages or fewer hours of labor, the

stoppage of work by combinations if not by outright violence, arrest

general attention.

Truly the remedy for these errors and evils has yet been perceived and

embraced by comparatively few, but the conviction that the present

organization of industry cannot be advantageously maintained, and some

radical change is at hand, must have already forced itself upon very

many intelligent and candid minds. The readjustment of the relations of

capital and labor on a basis of harmony and mutual advantage, is

manifestly the great problem of the age. But that a change is at hand

is evident: the practical question regards not its probability or

certainty, but its character.

The more intelligent and wealthy class have it in their power so to

mould this change as to render it peaceful, gradual and universally

beneficent; or they can turn a deaf ear to the calls of humanity, and

let the demagogue, the envious, the selfishly discontented, pervert it

into an engine of convulsion, destruction and desolation. As in the

days of King John, the barons laid the foundations of English political

liberty, so in our day the intellectual and philanthropic may guide the

car of progress, and in establishing industrial harmony may secure to

all but the stubbornly vicious or incurably afflicted, true

independence and ample means of subsistence and development; or they

can indolently leave all to the benighted and malignant, and see

reproduced a war of classes, different indeed in its weapons and its

physical aspects, but not different in its essential character from the

ravages of France by the _Jacquerie_ or the butcheries of the reign of

terror.

In this crisis of events, with an industrial war plainly threatened and

partially commenced, the doctrine of Association appears as a mediator

and reconciler. Its bow of promise shines broadly in the lurid sky; it

irradiates the murky visage of the gathering, muttering tempest. It

awakens a hope, and the only well grounded hope, of averting the

miseries of an insane struggle between those who ought to be the

closest allies, to see which can the more injure the other. Need I urge

that in this crisis the friends of Association ought to be most earnest

and untiring in the promulgation and advocacy of their faith; that they

ought to improve the opportunities which are daily presented of

commending the truth to others whose minds are but newly prepared to

receive it? What Associationist so dull that he cannot improve every

"strike," every collision respecting the hours or the wages of labor,

to the advancement of the good cause?

To do this with effect, we must be, in the true sense of an abused

term, catholic. We must not suffer Association to be merged in mere

partisanship for any class or calling, or blind hostility to any abuse

or oppression. We are not the champions of the slave or the hired

servant, the factory girl or the housemaid, the seamstress or the

washerwoman. We are not the advocates merely of labor against capital,

of the employers as opposed to the employed. Ours is the cause of all

classes and vocations, and our success is the triumph of all. We are in

danger of becoming partial and one-sided; let us take special care to

overcome it.

But it is not enough that we give our testimony in behalf of this

benign truth; it behooves us to be doers of the work as well as hearers

and commenders. Friends of Association! scattered over the face of our

wide country! do you realize this? Do you feel that your works ought to

justify and fortify your words? We are surrounded by a world full of

want, vice and misery, which Association realized would greatly modify

and ultimately cure. But those who know nothing of this truth will

never cause it to be realized; it would be absurd to expect anything of

the kind. The work must be accomplished by us, and by those whom our

acts rather than words shall win over to a knowledge of the truth. Is

not the work of sufficient importance to incite you to embark heartily

in its furtherance?

But, says one, how can I engage practically in realizing Association?

My family and friends are vehemently adverse to it; I am engrossed by

responsibilities and duties of various kinds which I cannot uprightly

escape, and which confine me where I am. I am not yet prepared, if I

ever should be, to embark in Association.

Very well, you are not required to embark in it in the way your

objection contemplates. You are urged only to contribute to the great

work according to your ability and in a mode not inconsistent with the

proper discharge of all your duties. But many who cannot personally

enlist in the pioneer groups who for the next ten years will be engaged

in preparing the ground on which Associations are ultimately to arise,

are yet able to contribute something of their time and means to the

cause of humanity's emancipation from brutal drudgery.

And this something is eminently needed by that cause. The great work of

disseminating and defending the principles of social science needs

pecuniary aid; who will offer it? The secondary work of founding and

sustaining pioneer Associations also languishes for want of means.

Ought it to do so? I say founding, not that I would encourage the

commencement of any new undertaking, but because I consider no

Association founded as yet. We have a few beginning to clear the ground

for the work, and that is all.

But in this work noble men and women are engaged; to it they have

consecrated their energies; for it they suffer hardship and privations,

and are willing to suffer. But they cannot make their labor truly

effective without a large increase of capital, in every instance within

my knowledge. They commenced with little means, in no case sufficient

to pay for their land and buildings, and generally not half enough.

They were in need of everything, even of experience and skill to render

their labor effective, and for a long time two out of every three blows

they strike are ill-directed or render no immediate return. Thus they

toil on, needing machinery, power, buildings, everything, to give them

a chance for rapid progress; and even Associationists stand ready to

wonder at their snail-paced advance, or reproach their occasional

failures!

As one Associationist who has given his efforts and means freely to the

cause, I feel that I have a right to speak frankly. I know that the

great number of our believers are far from wealthy; yet I know that

there is wealth enough in our ranks, if it were but devoted to it, to

give an instant and resistless influence to the cause. A few thousand

dollars subscribed to the stock of each existing Association would in

most cases extinguish the mortgages on its property, provide it with

machinery and materials, and render its industry immediately productive

and profitable. Then manufacturing invention and skill would fearlessly

take up their abode with our infant colonies; labor and thrift would

flow thither, and a new and brighter era would dawn upon them.

Fellow Associationists! I shall do whatever I can for the promotion of

our common cause; to it whatever I have or may hereafter acquire of

pecuniary ability is devoted; may I not hope for a like devotion from

you?

_A Prophecy. From the Introduction to Fourier's

"Theory of Social Organization" translated

by Albert Brisbane._

"Among the influences tending to restrict man's industrial rights, I

will mention the formation of privileged corporations which,

monopolizing a given branch of industry, arbitrarily close the doors of

labor against whomsoever they please. These corporations will become

dangerous, and lead to new convulsions on being extended to the whole

industrial and commercial system. This event is not far distant and it

will be brought about all the more easily as it is not apprehended. The

greatest evils have often sprung from imperceptible germs, as for

instance, Jacobism, and if our civilization has engendered this and so

many other calamities, may it not engender others which we do not now

foresee? The most imminent of these is the birth of a commercial

feudalism or the monopoly of commerce and industry by joint-stock

companies, leagued together for the purpose of usurping and controlling

all branches of industrial organizations. Extremes meet, and the

greater the extent to which anarchical competition is carried, the

nearer is the approach to _universal monopoly_, which is the opposite

excess. Circumstances are tending towards the organization of the

commercial and industrial classes into federal companies or affiliated

monopolies, which, operating in conjunction with the great landed

interest, will reduce the middle and laboring classes to a state of

commercial vassalage, and by the influence of combined action become

the masters of the productive industry of entire nations. The small

operators will be reduced to the position of mere agents working for

the mercantile coalition. We shall then see the reappearance of

feudalism in an inverse order, founded on mercantile leagues and

answering to the baronial leagues of the middle ages.

"Everything is concurring to produce this result. The spirit of

commercial speculation and financial monopoly has extended to all

classes. Public opinion prostrates itself before the bankers and

financiers who share authority with the governments and devise every

day new means for the monopoly and control of industry.

"We are marching with rapid strides towards a commercial feudalism and

to the fourth phase of our civilization. The economists accustomed to

reverence everything which comes in the name and under the sanction of

commerce, will see this new order spring up without alarm, and will

consecrate their servile pens to the celebration of its praises. Its

_debut_ will be one of brilliant promise, but the result will be an

industrial inquisition, subordinating the whole people to the interests

of the affiliated monopolists."

Albert Brisbane prefaces this wonderful prophecy by these remarks: "In

1805 or 6, amid the preoccupation of war and military politics, he

[Fourier] foresaw and described with accuracy the future formation of

vast joint-stock companies destined to monopolize and control all

branches of industry, commerce and finance, and establish what he

called 'An industrial or commercial feudalism'--a feudalism that would

control society by the power of capital, as did the old baronial or

military feudalism by the power of the sword, and as despotically.

Under the dominion of the great barons who leagued together to control

the social world there was a monopoly of the then existing wealth,

namely, the land and the laboring classes. Now, society having passed

out of the military _regime_, and entered the industrial and

commercial, it is threatened with another vast system of monopoly."

He concludes as follows: "This was written seventy years ago [it is now

almost ninety years] when public attention was absorbed in military

conquests and glory. To-day advanced thinkers on social questions are

beginning to see the conquest of the industrial and commercial worlds

by the power of associated capital. To-day the new feudalism has more

than half entangled society in its meshes, and its complete

establishment stares us in the face. What perspicuity to have foreseen

so clearly what is now being realized! If prescience is a test of

science--if the foretelling of future events is a test of the laws that

govern them and from which they are deducible, then Fourier must have

discovered at least some of the laws which govern social evolution.

"A vague opinion prevails among men that society is moving onward to

its appointed state by what is variously termed the 'force of

circumstances,' 'the instinct of the race,' 'the general law of

progress,' 'Divine guidance.' These loose opinions are speculative

fancies adopted in the absence of real knowledge; whereas the fact is,

that society can only reach its true state by the conscious and

calculated efforts of human reason under the direction of an exact

social science. Men act on this principle when they try to organize any

part of the social system. When, from necessity, they are forced to

frame political institutions and organize governments, as they often

are after revolutions, they do so by conscious calculation and

reasoning. True, being without a scientific guide, their institutions

are imperfect and arbitrary; yet these efforts show that man recognizes

the necessity of calculation and thought in one branch, at least, of

the social organism. He knows that to have a government, he must think,

plan and devise; but he does not know that the other branches of the

social organism are subject to the same conditions, and can only be

normally constituted by the exercise of conscious reason guided by

scientific principles. Construction and organization--the same in

principle in all departments of creation--can only be the work of mind,

conscious of its operations, planning with forethought; analyzing,

comparing and combining; adapting means to ends and calculating the

relations of cause and effect. Instinct cannot organize; Divine

Providence does not interfere to do the work of reason; no science is

revealed to man; no constructions or other means are furnished him by

nature.

"When the human mind shall rise to the conception of the possibility of

a scientific organization of society, it will at once undertake, as the

work of paramount importance, the elaboration of a system of exact

social science. First, however, the laws on which the science is to be

based must be discovered and combined into a system that will enable

the mind clearly to comprehend and apply them."