Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/150

112 there is one idea of moral obligation; the decree of nature mud force upon every thinking being, and upon every feeling heart, the conviction that honour, affection, and gratitude are due from children, to thoe who gave them birth, nurture, and education. The entiments and affecftions which naturally arie, from reflecting on the love, the cares, and the bleings of parents, abtracted from the conideration of duty, are ome of the mot forcible and mod univeral. When religion, law, morals, affection, and even fahion, thus conpire to fill every mind with attachment to parents, and to tamp deep upon the heart their impreions, is it to be expected that men hould reverence their parents while they live, and begin to depie or neglect their memories as oon as they are dead? This is in nature impoible; on the contrary, every little unkindnes and everity is forgotten, and nothing but endearments remembered with pleaure.

The on of a wie and virtuous father, finds the world about him ometimes as much dipoed as he himelf is, to honour the memory of his father; to congratulate him as the ucceor to his etate; and frequently, to compliment him with elections to the offices he held. A ene of duty, his paions and his interet, thus conpiring to prevail upon him to avail himelf of this advantage, he finds a few others in imilar circumtances with himelf; they naturally aociate together, and aid each other. This is a faint ketch of the ource and rie of the family pirit: very often the dipoition to favour the family is as trong, in the town, county, province, or kingdom, as it is in the houe itelf. The enthuiam is indeed ometimes wilder, and carries away, like a torrent, all before it. Thee