811. BIGOTRY, Political and Religious.—
What an effort of bigotry in politics and religion have we gone through! The barbarians
really flattered themselves they should
be able to bring back the times of Vandalism,
when ignorance put everything into the hands
of power and priestcraft. All advances in
science were proscribed as innovations. They
pretended to praise and encourage education,
but it was to be the education of our ancestors.
We were to look backwards, not forwards
for improvement; the President himself
[John Adams] declaring * * * that we
were never to expect to go beyond them in
real science.—
To Dr. Joseph Priestley. Washington ed. iv, 373.
Ford ed., viii, 21.
(W.
March. 1801)
