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fidelity and anarchy had no charms for him. The solemnity and fer- 

 vor with which he started forth in his career, impatient alike of the 

 restraints of England, and of the sluggish materialism of Holland, 

 have never been equalled either in peace or in war. Casting aside the 

 temptations of mercantile adventure, he called his poverty-stricken 

 band about him, and set forth upon an enterprise whose value can 

 never be measured. The "tender last farewell" of John Robinson, 

 filled with a spirit of inquiry and liberality, and warm with religious 

 faith, inspired at once the thought and sentiment of advancing Chris- 

 tianity. "We are now, ere long," he said, " to part asunder; and the 

 Lord only knovveth whether ever I shall live to see your faces again. 

 But, whether the Lord hath appointed this or not, I charge you, be- 

 fore God and his blessed angels, to follow me no further than I have 

 followed Christ : and if God shall reveal anything to you by any other 

 instrument of his, be as ready to receive it as ever you were to re- 

 ceive any truth by my ministry : and I am confident that the Lord 

 hath more light and truth yet to break forth out of his Holy Word. 

 * * * Remember, also, your church covenant, especially that part 

 of it whereby you promise and covenant with God and one another, 

 to receive whatsoever light and truth shall be made known to you 

 from his written word. But take heed what you receive for truth, 

 and examine, compare^ and weigh it well with the Scriptures." This 

 was the Puritan's religion, his inheritance from a long line of protest- 

 ing ancestors, his support, too, in those hours of trial which attended 

 the severe and solemn service to which he was born. 



The Puritan's civil organization was founded upon the same ele- 

 ments as his religious loyalty, faith, self-reliance and the largest 

 freedom. The compact made on board the Mayflower, the result of 

 social and civil necessities which had not been provided for by that 

 government which they had left, but which they still recognized as 

 their own, is remarkable above all things in this that it was en- 

 tirely adapted to the occasion, and laid the foundation of the govern- 

 ment on the consent of the governed. The hard experience of the 

 Puritans under oppressive and arbitrary rule, had taught them the 

 value of that civil system which springs from the wisdom of those 

 who constitute society and the state, and which turns for its support 

 to the loyal hearts and moral energies of those who made it. How 

 inferior to this great principle is any mere machinery of power any 

 mere superstructure, which is exposed to the storms of popular pas- 

 sion, and can only supply a temporary necessity. Theories of finance, 

 and of the relations of the states to the general government, and of 

 taxation, and of charity and education, may change, but for popular 

 government, the theory and practice of the Puritans cannot change. 

 And the instinct of mankind, in all great popular endeavors, turns to 



