Junius Unmasked Part 12

If the reader will carry forward in his mind what I have already said on style and the object for which Mr. Paine and Junius wrote, it will greatly aid me in reducing the size of this book. I shall act on the principle of this suggestion, and while I give new matter upon new subjects, the reader will find the parallels greatly strengthened by what has already been said. The reader will also apply the facts already brought forward to the pa.s.sages I shall hereafter present, so that, like a two-edged sword, it may be made to cut both ways. And first of _avarice_ and the _miser_:

_Paine._

"Could I find a miser whose heart never felt the emotion of a spark of principle, even that man, uninfluenced by every love but the love of money, and capable of no attachment but to his interest, would and must, from the frugality which governs him, contribute to the defense of the country, or he ceases to be a miser and becomes an idiot."

_Junius._

"Of all the vices avarice is most apt to taint and corrupt the heart."--Let. 27.

"As for the common _sordid views_ of avarice,"

etc.--Let. 53.

"The miser himself seldom lives to enjoy the fruits of his _extortion_."--Let. 20, note.

"Every pa.s.sion that acts upon mankind has a peculiar mode of operation. Many of them are temporary and fluctuating; they admit of cessation and variety. But avarice is a fixed, uniform pa.s.sion. It neither abates of its vigor nor changes its object."--Crisis, x.

"I could never have a doubt in law or reason that a man convicted of a high breach of trust and of a notorious corruption in the execution of a public office, was and ought to be incapable of sitting in the same parliament."--Let. 20.

I call attention to that pride of character and personal honor, so conspicuous in both Paine and Junius:

_Paine._

"A man who has no sense of honor, has no sense of shame."--Let. to Cheetham.

_Junius._

"Honor and honesty must not be renounced, although a thousand modes," etc.--Let. 58.

"Knowing my own heart, and feeling myself, as I now do, superior to all the skirmish of party, the inveteracy of interested, or mistaken opponents, I answer not to falsehood or abuse."--R. M., part ii.

"Junius will never descend to dispute with such a writer as Modestus."--Let. 29.

"Fortified with that proud integrity, that disdain to triumph or to yield, I will advocate the rights of man."--Do.

"For my own part, my lord, I am proud to affirm, that if I had been weak enough to form such a friends.h.i.+p, I would never have been base enough to betray it."--Let. 9.

A thousand pa.s.sages might be selected from both to show this riding trait of character. The proud, imposing spirit that would dare to undertake the business of a world for the good of mankind, and to tread on the pride of courtiers, and to tell the king, who ruled over the greatest nation on earth, that nature had only intended him for a good-humored fool, is pre-eminently the leading trait in Junius and Paine. No one can mistake it; no one can fail in finding it; no one can help feeling the force of it. It has never been produced in any other man. The world's history has given us but the one example of it. We search in vain for another parallel. And if Mr. Paine did not write Junius, nature produced twins of the same mental type to do the same work for mankind, and then defeated all her arts and gave the lie to all her laws, by exhibiting the one and forever concealing the other. But surely nature can conceal nothing. Her method is to reveal, not to conceal. She writes the character of man on all he touches, and reveals it in the very language he would employ to conceal it.

It was this proud spirit which gave Paine that contempt for monarchy which he so often expressed. "I have an aversion to monarchy," he says, "as being too debasing to the dignity of man." This is a language which courtiers could not understand, and they would consider it the vain babbling of a mad-man; but it is the very basis of that government which he labored to establish in America and France. This is also the spirit of Junius when he says with such withering sarcasm: "It may be matter of curious speculation to consider, if an honest man were permitted to approach a king, in what terms he would address himself to his sovereign." And after having gained the ear of the king, when he says: "Let it be imagined, no matter how improbable, that he has spirit enough to bid him speak freely and understanding enough to listen to him with attention. Unacquainted with the vain impertinence of forms, he would deliver his sentiments with _dignity_ and firmness." Here Junius, also, fortified with that proud integrity of character which he held in common with all who would not be enslaved, and which he possessed as the birthright of man, was free to place the dignity of an honest man in ant.i.thesis to a weak understanding in a king only supported by the vain impertinence of forms. Paine was too proud to be vain; his pride came up from nature; it was the pride of human worth, and opposed to that vanity of art which always makes pretentions to more worth than nature has conferred. Nature gives us pride, art makes us vain. It was this pride, in opposition to vanity, which Junius expressed in his great battle against the usurpations of government, when he says: "Both liberty and property are precarious unless the possessors have sense and spirit enough to defend them. This is not the language of vanity. If I am a vain man my gratification lies within a narrow circle." That is, "to write for fame and be unknown."

From this pride of character, so strong and peculiar, we may draw no weak conclusion in regard to the authors.h.i.+p of Junius, for the parallel is perfect, and the age in which he wrote gave us nothing like it in any one but Paine. This characteristic gives tone to the whole mind, and a shade of coloring to every faculty. It reflects itself upon the people, and draws therefrom the conclusion that they have more "sense and spirit" than they really possess. It gives a double coloring to hope, paints two bows instead of one, and reduces the time for the establishment of right. It thus produces more faith in the people than facts will sustain. For example:

_Paine._

"The fraud, hypocrisy, and imposition of governments are now beginning to be too well understood to promise them any longer career. The farce of monarchy and aristocracy in all countries, is following that of chivalry, and Mr.

Burke is dressing for the funeral."

"The time is not very distant when England will laugh at itself for sending abroad for a king."

&c.

_Junius._

"I believe there is yet a spirit of resistance in this country, which will not submit to be oppressed; but I am sure there is a fund of good sense in this country which can not be deceived."--Let. 16.

"Within the s.p.a.ce of a few years we have seen two revolutions, those of America and France.... From both these instances it is evident that the greatest forces that can be brought into the field of revolutions, are reason and common interest...."

"We may hereafter hope to see revolutions or changes in government, produced by the same quiet operation, by which any measure determinable by reason and discussion, is accomplished."--R. of M.

Part ii.

"Although the king should continue to support his present system of government, the period is not very distant, at which you will have the means of redress in your own power; it may be nearer, perhaps, than any of us expect.

"I do not believe that monarchy and aristocracy will continue seven years longer in any of the enlightened countries of Europe."--R. of M. Part ii. Pref.

"You are roused at last to a sense of your danger: the remedy will soon be in your power."--Ded.

But Paine and Junius were both mistaken. Reason will, perhaps, forever fail to produce a revolution without bloodshed. Reason only prepares for war, and when time has slowly accomplished the work of reason in any reform, it terminates that work in convulsions of war. The political corruptions, also, which Junius was so hopeful would soon be resisted by the English people, still exist, and the reforms he advocated, although partly accomplished, fail to produce any better result. The reason is, the people never resist tyranny till scourged into it, from self-interest; and, besides, they must wors.h.i.+p a tyrant of some political form, bending the knee to king or party, and baring the back to the lash. A leader the people must have, under whose banner they can rally, and which they consider it treason to desert, and whether they vote for a president or bow to a king, is all the same. The political prayer of royalty or republicanism, if not in the same words, expresses the same fact. The one is, "Oh, Lord! to the king I bow, thou knowest he can do no wrong." The other is, "Oh, Lord! to the party I bow, thou knowest I never scratched a ticket."

Although Paine and Junius were thoroughly read in the history of the human heart, they failed to place a proper estimate on the character of mankind. They failed because they reasoned from their own pride of character, their own feelings, hopes, and desires, and these far exceeded the ma.s.s of mankind.

They were both too proud to flatter.

_Paine._

"As it is not my custom to flatter but to serve mankind, I will speak freely."--Crisis, xi.

"The world knows I am not a flatterer."--R. M., part ii, Preface.

_Junius._

"I am not conversant in the language of panegyric.

These praises are extorted from me; but they will wear well, for they have been dearly earned."--Let. 53.

The above characteristic is quite peculiar. I do not remember of ever seeing the like of it in any other writer, and as there is a perfect parallel here, the fact that it stands almost alone gives it great weight.

They were both enthusiasts, as the following parallel on _moderation_ will show:

_Paine._

"Though I would carefully avoid giving unnecessary offense, yet I am inclined to believe that all those who espouse the doctrine of reconciliation may be included within the following descriptions: Interested men, who are not to be trusted; weak men who can not see; prejudiced men who will not see; and a certain sort of _moderate_ men, who think better of the European world than it deserves; and this last cla.s.s, by an ill-judged deliberation, will be the cause of more calamities to this continent than all the other three."--Common Sense.

_Junius._

"The lukewarm advocate avails himself of any pretense to relapse into that indolent indifference about every thing that ought to interest an Englishman, so unjustly dignified with the t.i.tle of _moderation_."--Let. 58.

"I have been silent hitherto, though not from that shameful indifference about the interests of society which too many of us possess and call _moderation_."--Let. 44.