Percy Bysshe Shelley as a Philosopher and ReformerSotheran, Charles
Philosophy
Percy Bysshe Shelley as a Philosopher and Reformer
Sotheran, Charles
Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 1792-1822 -- Philosophy; Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 1792-1822 -- Political and social views
His other Dublin pamphlet, _A Proposal for an Association of
Philanthropists_, consists of remarks of the same character as the
former, but he gives a summary of the French Revolution, which he
endeavors to clear from the slurs which had been cast thereon. The
information has come down to us through one of Shelley's biographers,
that he spoke at several meetings in Dublin. At the one in which he
made his first appearance in public he aroused a large assembly to
enthusiasm by his fervid eloquence, and yet, notwithstanding all his
efforts, his toleration unfortunately became the great stumbling-block
in his attempts on behalf of Ireland, for we learn that at another
meeting of patriots:
"So much ill-will against the Protestants was shown, that
Shelley was provoked to remark that the Protestants were
fellow-Christians and fellow-subjects, and were therefore
entitled to equal rights and equal toleration with the
Papists. Of course, he was forthwith interrupted by savage
yells. A fierce uproar ensued, and the denouncer of bigotry
was compelled to be silent. At the same meeting, and
afterward, he was even threatened with personal violence,
and the police suggested to him the propriety of quitting
the country."
By many it has been said that Shelley was unsuccessful in his
self-imposed task, but he was simply before his time, and no wonder,
when we remember the condition of Ireland at the time of his visit.
We know to-day that much of what he demanded has been conceded to
Ireland by liberal English governments. An alien Church has been
disestablished; public education, Catholic emancipation, and a good
deal more, has been given. In the late repeal movement, the young
Ireland party, the Fenian organization, and the present Home Rule
agitation, we find, as Shelley wished, Catholic and Protestant working
arm in arm, their colors being an admixture of orange and green--a
healthy sign.
Those who dislike this noble people--for the name is legion of those
who are fond of shouting "No Irish need apply"--I would recommend to
think calmly over Irish history, to remember the frightful outrages
put upon this generous, warm-hearted, and impulsive race for
centuries, and read up Froude, Mitchell, Goldwin-Smith, McGee, Moran,
and other Irish historians.
We know what the Irish are capable of, and that in Ireland, as here,
after a generation or two of education, the old theological belief
becomes by a gradual process less and less strong.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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