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manifest that we cannot justly conclude, from the example of God's ancient people, that warfare, as it is generally practised, even when it bears the stamp of honour or defence, is consistent with the will of God.

In addition to the example of the Hebrews, the defenders of modern warfare are accustomed to plead the authority of John the Baptist.2 It is recorded, in the Gospel of Luke, that, when that eminent prophet was preaching in the wilderness, various classes of persons resorted to him for advice and instruction. Among others, "the soldiers demanded of him saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages. "3 Since the precept of John to these soldiers, that they should do violence to no man, probably related to their behaviour among their friends and allies, it may be allowed that he did not, on this occasion, forbid the practice of fighting. On the other hand, it must be observed, that the expressions of the Baptist afford no direct encouragement to that practice. I would suggest that, with reference to the present argument, his doctrine is neutral. The question whether war was, in itself, lawful or unlawful, is one which was probably placed beyond his scope, and which he obviously did not entertain. On the supposition that the soldiers would continue to be soldiers, he confined himself to recommending to them that gentle, orderly, and submissive, demeanour, which was so evidently calculated to soften the asperities of their profession.

2 See Grotius de Jure Belli ac Pacis, lib. I, cap. ii, § vii, 5. 3 Ch. iii, 14.

But, although John the Baptist was engaged in proclaiming the approach of the Christian dispensation-the kingdom of heaven-he did not himself appertain to that kingdom. He belonged to the preceding institution; and his moral system was that of the law. Now, although, on the supposition that this system continues unchanged, it may fairly be denied, for the reasons now stated, that the example of the Hebrews, or the expressions of the Baptist, afford any valid authority for warfare, as generally practised, it ought to be clearly understood that the objection of Friends to every description of military operation is founded, principally, on that complete revelation of the moral law of God which distinguishes the dispensation of the Gospel of Christ. We contend, and that with no slight degree of earnestness, that all warfare-whatever are its peculiar features, circumstances, or pretexts-is wholly at variance with the revealed character and known principles of the Christian religion.

In support of this position, I may, in the first place, adduce the testimony of the prophets; for these inspired writers, in their predictions respecting the Gospel dispensation, have frequently alluded both to the superior spirituality and to the purer morality of that system of religion, of which the law, with all its accompaniments, was only the introduction. In the second chapter of the book of Isaiah we read the following prophecy: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall

4 See Matt. xi, 11.

be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it; and many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for, out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.5 The prophet Micah repeats the same prediction, and adds the following animating description: "But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his figtree; and none shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it."6

It is allowed, by the Jews, that the "last days," of which these prophets speak, are the "days of the Messiah;" and Christian commentators unanimously apply these expressions to the period of that glorious dispensation which was introduced by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Accordingly, the actual predictions of his coming are elsewhere accompanied with similar descriptions. In Isa. ix, 6, the Messiah is expressly called the "Prince of Peace." In Isa. xi, the reign of Christ is painted in glowing colors, as accompanied by the universal harmony of God's creation. Lastly, in Zech. ix, 9, 10; we read as follows: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he

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is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle-bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.” 7

It is undeniable that, in these passages, a total cessation from the practice of war is described as one of the most conspicuous marks of Christianity. Such a consequence is represented by Isaiah as arising from the conversion of the heathen nations-as resulting from their being led into the ways, instructed in the law, and enlightened by the word, of the Lord. Whoever, indeed, were to be the members of the true church of God, she was no longer to participate in the warfare of the world. The chariot was to be cut off from Ephraim, and the war-horse from Jerusalem. It is true that, for the full accomplishment of these glorious prophecies, we must look forward to a period yet to come. But let us not deceive ourselves. The inspired writers describe this complete and uninterrupted peaceableness, as a distinguishing feature of the dispensation under which Christians are living— as the result of obedience to that law which they are, at all times, bound to follow: and we may therefore infer, that if the true nature of the Christian dispensation were fully understood, and if the law by which it is regulated were exactly obeyed, a conversion to our holy religion, or the cordial and serious holding of it, would be uniformly accompanied with an entire 7 Comp. Ps. xlvi, 9.

abstinence from warfare. Thus the prevalence of the law of peace would be found commensurate, in every age of the church, with the actual extent of the Messiah's kingdom over men.

As the language of the prophecy clearly suggests this doctrine, so it will be found that, on the introduction of Christianity, there were promulgated certain moral rules which, when fully and faithfully obeyed, infallibly lead to this particular result. Here I am by no means alluding exclusively to those divine laws which condemn aggressive warfare and every species of unjust and unprovoked injury; for these laws (however it may be the intention of Christians to obey them) are far from being powerful enough to produce the effect in question. They were indeed, commonly admitted in the world, long before the commencement of the Christian dispensation; and neither before nor after that era, have they ever been found sufficient to convert the sword into the ploughshare, and the spear into the pruninghook. In point of fact, the distinction which men are accustomed to draw between just and unjust warfare is, in almost all instances, entirely nugatory; for there are few wars, however atrocious, which are not defended, and not many, perhaps, which the persons waging them do not believe to be justified, by some plea or other connected with self-preservation or honourable retribution. In addition, therefore, to the laws which forbid spontaneous injury, some stronger and more comprehensive principles were obviously needed, in order to the accomplishment of this great end; and these principles are unfolded in that pure and exalted

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