The Equinox (Volume I, Number X)

THE EQUINOX and theft are negations of society; it is the isolated despotism of an individual who usurps royalty, and makes war at his own risk and peril. Crime should doubtless be repressed, and society must defend itself; but who is so just, so great, so pure, as to pretend that he has the right to punish ? Peace then to all who fall in war, even in unlawful war! For they have staked their heads and they have lost them; they have paid, and what more can we ask of them? Honour to all those who fight bravely and loyally! Shame only on the traitors and cowards ! Christ died between two thieves, and He took one of them with Him to heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. God bestows His almighty power on love. He loves to triumph over hate, but the lukewarm He spueth forth from His mouth. Duty is to live, were it but for an instant! It is fine to have reigned for a day, even for an hour! though it were beneath the sword of Damocles, or upon the pyre of Sardanapalus ! But it is finer to have seen at one’s feet all the crowns of the world, and to have said, “I will be the king of the poor, and my throne shall be on Calvary.” There is one man stronger than the man that slays; it is he who dies to save others. There are no isolated crimes and no solitary expiations. There are no personal virtues, nor are there any wasted devotions. 44