Every statute of the realm, every privilege you enjoy, every institution whose vigour you admire, or whose decay you mourn, every custom and usage of society whose traditionary sanction you obey, is but a rootless bramble flung, you know not whence or when, in the way of your free will, until you learn by whom and for what it was planted, and how and why it was suffered to grow up over the heads of your fathers. If you want to understand what you are as civilized men, and how you come to be as you find yourselves, if you would feel a reasoned confidence in the stability of what is good around you, and a sober, calm, unchildish hope that what is evil in your condition, is not immitigable, inevitable, everlasting, you must learn to use and to study history. Tis not safe for you to leave such knowledge to the few of peculiar energy and inquisitiveness? When from the chambers of the Past, (whose windows you will not open—whose treasures you will not share,) these few come forth, and find that any recital of what they have seen therein, will sound credible in your undiscriminating ears, where is your guarantee, that these irresponsible interpreters of the truth, which it behoves you so imperatively to know for yourselves, will interpret truly? They are fallible, temptible, frail; think of your ignorance which is their irresponsibilty; remember how the evils of astrology and magic rose, and tremble at the danger of exclusive historic knowledge.
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