Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1838-04-18

vii OF which my brother complains, appre
bend to be an effect, the cause of which lies,
in my view, yery much where / have plac-
ed il. z .sass1 il sss
(2)ea Whose reason and common sense 2"
Your own, certainly. To depend on others
will be, neither tosatisfy yourself nor any
one else. The difficulty" my brother, is,
that you blend together and eonfound things
that are entirely different, and which should |
be kept separate and distinct. You speak of
public opinion, and of the opinion Of an indi-
tidual, as being one and the same thing
You brought forward public opinion as, in
many cases, a proper" rule ofaction." Onmy
|preferring-in matters Of expediency-rea-
son and common sense, you say, "1t is diff
fcult for me 10 conceive Of man having an
opinion contrary to his reason and common
sense, or separate from them" Very well.
But his opinion, founded on his own reason
and common sense, may be in every respect
different from public opinion.
90 This is coming TO the point at issue.
We shall now probably understand each 9TH
er, and be understood. Prevailing customs
ard prejudiees" are to be "conformed to-"
so far as they may be '9without violating
moral obligation" Allow me now to ask
how we are to know what is, and what is
not violation of moral obligation'-how
else but by going to the Bible, or to reason
and common sense? You have already con-
coded that prevailing customs" [public O.
pinlon may, in some things, sanction or re-
quire the violation Of moral obligation: of
course you grant that, in some things, pub
tic opinion is not a safe standard Of duty,
or rule Of action! Well, if sometimes you
find it necessary to appeal to higher and bet
ter standards than public opinion, why not
use these standards at all times? Look to
these and you are sure to be right, whether
public opinion be right or wrong. Adhere
10 what is right and proper, not because pub
lie opinion favors it, but because God re-
quires it and reason dictates it. Shun and
rebuke the wrong, though the public opinion
Of the whole world around you sustain it
II, in obeyng the dictates Of reason and Rev
citation, you find yourself at the. same time
sustained by public opinion, all the better
But this affords no justification for making
public opinion the rule-it being imperfect.
Adopt the perfect rule, and then you can
never be wrong. Stop short of this, and you
arc never sure of being right. still main
tain, therefore, that cit is not good and
sufficient reason for Ckristian-or for ra-
tional, accountable being-to render, that he
is sustained in a given course Of action by
the opinions Of erring mortals." This does
not necessarily involve any contempt of pub
lie opinion-or any undue disregard for the
opinions Of others. II is only setting up a
per- feet standard in lieu OF an imperfect one
A word in regard to your illustration, and
your quotations of Scripture, and I have
done, for the present. IF public opinion
require minister to wear a black coat it is e
, sufficient reason why he should wear blacl
coat" Not in the least. If blue coat, O.
the same texture and cost, will do from &
fourth to third more service than a blacl
one, land it will, then he who throws away
from twenty-five to thrty-three dollars O
his hundred, which he lays out for coats, il
given space of time: is wanting in the frs
duties owed to himself, his family, hi
friends-in word, the cause Of behevolenc'
, and religion.
And so if public opinion require it, sup
d pose my brother would have me wear calf
q skin boots in the winter and in the wet, in
J. stead of COW hide ones, which are altogethe
4 more comfortable as we'll as economical
a But | shall never submit 10 it. My reaso
'e and my religion forbid it. And | suppos
sr too, that if God should send death into m
j. windows and take away one of my dear ones
'e my brother, instead Of leaving me and m
'c bereaved family in quietness, to contemplat
* the matter, and suitably to lay it TO hear
ID that we might profit by the providence
a' would have Us, in obedience to public opir
10 ion, disquiet and distract ourselves, and d
is violence to class Of the best feelings Of OF
lie natures & the dictates Of the holy religio
ID we profess, and Danish the still small voic
D. of the Holy Spirit, and thus lose one Of tn
he most favorable opportunities in our whol
1t, lives 10 be taught Of God and all this tn:
q" we might appear on the occasion in a fast
ionable dress-to say nothing about ii
Mt waste Of time and money. am as niue
H. opposed to this as the other.
as As for the Scriptures, l will barely eli
a. one or two passages, ard leave readers