ABSTRACT
It is a melancholy thought, that men can be found who so strenuously endeavour to lessen that small portion of good which is allotted to this life, that they should employ those means which are eminently calculated to refine, instruct, and elevate the mind, to effect its degradation and corruption. Yet, it is too well known, that, for the attainment of these objects, they have laboured with a perseverance unwearied as the wing of time, and with an appetite keen as the grave. They have explored every avenue to the human mind, and availed themselves of its weaknesses, its passions, and its prejudices. They have adapted themselves to the capacities of every class of men, to extend their influence and increase the number of their proselytes. Their principles have been diffused through the whole mass of human science, from sober treatises on morals and philosophy, down to penny sheets and ballads for the information of children . . .
