BRIGHAM YOUNG AND MARTIN LUTHER,
That conversation between Senator TRUM-BULL and Pope BRIGHAM YOUNG is suggestive of some interesting points. His Holiness very plainly warns the people at Washington not to be surprised if they hear of Federal officials being "quietly and orderly put out of Utah" which intimation will be unwelcome to the carpet-baggers who, having exhausted the South, are now turning their thoughts towards the flesh-pots of Salt Lake City. The Saints, it appears, have a persuasive way with them—so persuasive that, when the Prophet told the United States judges who had "acted badly" what he "thought of them" "they left." The carpet-baggers have been very plainly and frequently told by the Southern people what they thought of them, but few of them have until now "left." But only a short residence in Utah is necessary to convince anyone who is so unfortunate as to receive from the Prophet an unfavorable ex-pression of opinion concerning his private character that the air of that Territory is not wholesome for him. The Prophet was, per-haps, paltering in a double sense when he de-clared that his people would "adhere to the Union"—(gentlemen who are so very much married as they are must be very faithful to the Union);—but there no mistake about his declaration that they will not obey the en-actment of Congress forbidding polygamy. If a man is a hero when fighting for one wife—and even members of the peace society have been known to perform deeds of valor in defence of their spouses—what irresistible prowess might not men display who each have a dozen or a score of wives to fight for? But the most amazing portion of this conversation is that passage wherein Senator TRUMBULL avows his opinions concerning the comparative guilt of polygamy and wife-desertion. "It is bet-"ter" remarked the Prophet, "for a man to "have several wives to support, honor, and "cherish, than it is for a man to deceive one, "and cast off, disown, and refuse to support "her." "That is a matter about which we "must differ" replied Judge TRUMBULL; but we fancy there are plenty of people who will differ with him and agree with BRIGHAM in thinking that it is better for a man to be a good husband to twenty women than a bad, cruel, and worthless husband to one woman. The final declaration of the Prophet, that when Utah becomes a State she will have a perfect and indefensible "right to make laws pro-tecting polygamy" opens up a very inter-esting and abstruse subject of inquiry; and it might not be difficult to show that those who deny this assertion must do so on prin-ciples which, if carried out to their legitimate and logical conclusions, would justify and indeed demand such a mingling of religion with politics as would lead to the virtual es-tablishment of a State religion. This is a subject on which we care not at present to en-ter, and we content ourselves with remark-ing that much may be said for as well as against the Mormon prophet's position. No less a person than MARTIN LUTHER, the au-thor of the blessed Reformation, in 1539 wrote a letter to PHILIP, the Landgrave of Hesse, authorizing that potentate to have two wives at once and at great length recapitu-lating the arguments whereby his conscience might be quieted. The Landgrave was already the husband of a wife who had borne him several children; but he fell violently in love with a young lady whom he failed to seduce; his passion was so violent that he went into a decline; and in his despair he im-plored LUTHER to authorize polygamy in his case. In reply the great Reformer, first reminding the Landgrave of "how great "need our poor, miserable, little, and "abandoned church stands in of virtuous "princes and rulers to project her" recapitulates the arguments to show that, as plurality of wives was permitted by the Old Testament and was not forbidden in the New, it is only a question of expediency, since "the Gospel hath neither recalled nor forbid "what was permitted in the law of MOSES "with respect to marriage;" and he concludes by granting the required permission, recom-mending, however, that the bigamous mar-riage "be done secretly" a few "trusty persons" being the only witnesses, and they "obliged to secrecy under the seal of con-fession." "It is no extraordinary thing" adds LUTHER, "for princes to keep concu-"bines; and, though the vulgar should be "scandalized thereat, prudent persons would "approve of this moderate kind of life "preferably to adultery" and there "is no "need of being much concerned for what man "will say, provided all goes right with con-"science." There are many traits of charac-ter in common between LUTHER and BRIG-HAM YOUNG; but in no way are they more alike than in their disregard for the opinions of "the vulgar" and in their belief that polygamy is preferable to adultery. The dispensation granted to the Landgrave of Hesse, however, was signed not only by LUTHER, but by MELANCTHON, BUCER, and five other bright and shining lights of the Reformation; and those who intend to preach a crusade against the Mormons on "high moral ground" will do well to first peruse these arguments in favor of polygamy. The document can be found in the original Latin in the first volume of BOSSUET'S "History of the Variations of the Protestant Churches."
