Page:Works of the Late Doctor Benjamin Franklin (1793).djvu/278

268 told, "that, Corah was ambitious of the prieſthood; and offended that it was conferred on Aaron; and this, as he ſaid, by the authority of Moſes only, without the conſent of the people. He accuſed Moſes of having, by various artifices, fraudulently obtained the government, and deprived the people of their liberties; and of conſpiring with Aaron to perpetuate the tyranny in their family. Thus, though Corah's real motive was the ſupplanting of Aaron, he perſuaded the people that he meant only the public good; and they, moved by his insinuations, began to cry out,—’Let us maintain the common liberty of our reſpective tribes; we have freed ourſelves from the ſlavery impoſed upon us by the Egyptians, and ſhall we ſuffer ourſelves to be made ſlaves by Moſes? If we muſt have a matter, it were better to return to Pharaoh, who at leaſt fed us with bread and onions, than to ſerve this new tyrant, who has brought us into danger of famine.' Then they called in queſtion the reality of his conference with God; and objected to the privacy of the meetings, and the preventing any of the people from being preſent at the colloquies, or even approaching the place, as grounds of great ſuſpicion. They accuſed Moſes alſo of peculation; as embezzling part of the golden ſpoons and the ſilver chargers, that the princes had offered at the dedication of the altar, and the offerings of gold by the common people, as well as moſt of the poll tax ; and Aaron they accuſed of pocketing much of the gold of which he pretended to have made a molten calf. Beſides peculation, they charged Moſes with