PUBLIC SPIRIT 



ganization and its members. You have a 

 perfect right to distrust the principles of a 

 political party, but only bigots can doubt 

 the motives of a party's entire membership. 

 To denounce as disloyal the members of a 

 political sect which may at any time be in 

 a majority is virtually to despair of the state, 

 and that is next door to treason. 



The same of great ecclesiastical or benev- 

 olent fraternities. Their creeds and plat- 

 forms may contain much that is false, and 

 should be discussed with perfect freedom. 

 The bodies themselves may work great evil, 

 so that one may wish them broken up and 

 use all his influence to that end; but it is a 

 different and much graver matter to insin- 

 uate that they contain no good men. 



Dangerous doctrines are daily taught in 

 the name of politics, philanthropy and re- 

 ligion, and for the time many accept these 

 doctrines as true. But so soon as their real 

 nature appeared, multitudes of their most 

 ardent adherents now would turn their bit- 

 terest foes. That men profess evil tenets, 



335 



