Excerpt from The Substance of a Discourse: Delivered in the Presbyterian Church of South Salem, Westchester Co., N. Y., November 29, 1856 But the reproach which attaches to this sin, is not confined to individual and social life. It exerts directly and indirectly an incalculable influence upon the Public Affairs of the Country. The moral consequences of the universal thirst for gain is felt in all the departments of government. As its selfish ends induce the disre gard of personal and social duties, so they lead to the neglect and violation of civil and political obligations. Its intense application leaves no time to devote to the common interests Of citizenship. Gain asks to be let alone in the prosecution Of its selfish ends, and relinquishes the highest aims of government to other hands. Add to this, the indifference of many good men to the honors of office, their aversion to partizan wrangling, and their criminal neglect of political duties, and the wide-spread corruption Ofpolitics, proceeding from Opposite sources, is explained. But that disregard of these Obligations which attend the vehement pursuit of gain is less ex ensable than any other, because the defence which it sets up is entirely selfish. Men who have a taste for serving the people, and a disrelish for labor, push themselves forward; and demagogues are thus lifted into place and power. The injuries which such men are capable of inflicting upon the Country are incalculable for it is never safe to confide important interests to corrupt hands. N O barrier is impregnable to their insidious assaults. They reduce the science of politics to a contraband trade in offices and emoluments. The safeguards of liberty which patriotism would vigilantly defend, they covertly invade, or openly disregard. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.