Excerpt from Cause and Probable Results of the Civil War in America: Facts for the People of Great Britain The chastisement is both retributive and disciplinary. In regard to discipline I may simply say, that no man, or corporation or nation can attain to humble permanent greatness without great struggles in the school of adversity. If they cannot stand the ordeal, they cannot reach the end to which it is a means. In regard to God's retributive dealing with the American people, it is generally admitted by all concerned, that as a nation we have been very ungrateful, haughty, and wicked in the sight of the Lord. We have sinned grievously against God and humanity, not only by our complicity with slavery, but in numerous ways besides. Proportionate to the light enjoyed, and the consequent responsibility involved, so is the guilt of disobedience; hence we may reasonably expect that the retributions of God to be visited upon the nation will be terribly severe. The Secessionists are the principal rod used by the Lord for the chastisement of the loyal states, not simply by the action of armies in the field, but also by all the humiliating concomitants of the war at home and abroad. Had the Federal armies been uniformly successful, the chastening purpose of God would not have been realized at all. Why, as late as last June I travelled extensively through the northern. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.