The True Theory of Government [pp. 401-410]

SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER.
A MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO LITERATURE, SCIENCE AND ART.
RICHMOND, JUNE, 1856.
THE TRUE THEORY OF GOVERNMENT.
BY THIE LATE JUDGE ABEL P. UPSHIUR.
sympathies, alike of the patriot and of
the man. Many of you have completed
your academical studies, and are preparing to enter on the great theatre of the
world. New actors will meet you there;
new objects will attract, and new motives
will inspire you. For you, the great drama of life is yet to be played; for hitherto you have witnessed only its opening
scenes. You cannot be permitted to look
on as mere spectators, whilst others act
out the play. You have your own parts
to perform; and whether they shall be
distinguished or obscure, whether you
shall be encouraged by applause and rewarded by honours, or driven off with
scorn and hisses, may depend, in a great
degree, on the impressions with which
you first enter on the stage. The remarks,
therefore, which it is my purpose to address you, will have an immediate referenee to the duties and responsibilities
which you are about to assume, as free
citizens of Virginia.
Look around you-not on the physical,
but on the moral world, and tell me what
it is you see. Is there anything which
strikes you as wonderful or surprising;
anything to excite your admiration or
awaken your curiosity? You behold every thing moving on regularly and in harmony; the vast multitude of human be
The following able treatise by one of
Virginia's most distinguished men was
prepared originally for a college celebration, and delivered fifteen years ago before
the Literary Societies of William and Mary. A very limited edition of it was circulated in pamphlet form, soon after its
delivery, but the transient and perishable
nature of that mode of publication seemed little likely to rescue from oblivion a
paper which, for the valuable truths of
which it is compact, and the sound philosophy that pervades it, deserves, in the estimation of many friends of the deceased
statesman, to be carefully preserved and
thoughtfully studied. It is therefore laid
before the readers of the Messe nger, and
will no doubt be thankfully received by
them.-LED. MESS.
Young Gentlemen:
I am much gratified at the opportunity
which your kindness has afforded me, of
addressing you on the present occasion. I
must be permitted, however, to express my
regret, an unaffected regret, that the pressure of my official duties has been, ever
since I accepted your invitation, so constant and so severe, as to compel me to
appear before you with less preparation
than I desired. Indulge me, then, in a
plain and unpretending style and manner.
The language of truth borrows no force
from the graces of elocution. A high and
solemn interest attaches to the scene now
before me. It appeals to all the better
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ings who pass daily before your eyes, do
not even jostle one another; industry
plies her task in a thousand forms, and no
man molests her; the bounty which na