Author
C. A. Thomas
C. A. Thomas was a nineteenth-century American clergyman whose sermonic work engaged with the theological and civic concerns of antebellum New England. His 1830 sermon before the Vermont General Assembly exemplifies the period's intersection of religious rhetoric and political discourse, reflecting the era's debates over moral authority and state governance. Thomas's contributions to American pulpit literature illuminate the role of clergy in shaping public conscience during a formative period of American democratic development.
From A Sermon Delivered Before the General Assembly of the State of Vermont
Take for example that great practical and plain precept of our Savior, “ All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” Here is a precept based on the general brotherhood and mutual obligation of mankind. It is addressed to men — creatures of understanding and affection, who have a common origin and a common nature, “ born to an inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Notwithstanding the great difference in the capacities, characters and conditions of men, yet, considered as men, they share in the same common nature, and are responsible to the same great Lawgiver ; they are, therefore, so far equal, and, in the same circumstances, entitled to the same treatment. How plain, too, is the precept ! A person of the weakest understanding may easily perceive its meaning. It is an appeal to each…
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