Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1852-1852, 1852-04-30
TEMPTATION.
HOW FEW KNOW THEMSELVES.
"LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION" :"

acts OF OmmlSSlOn or COMMISSION, 10 WHICH jill
are more or less liable. and which the very COM
palmer would have committed orindulged under
similar circumstances. 1t is an easy thing, COM
paratively speaking, for man to be correct, ri
gid and upright, who is compelled thereto by
the necessities of the case, or who is not placed
within the reach of temptation. There is little
merit, for example, to the temperance of an in
dividual who has never been thrown into gay
society," who has constitutional distaste for all
that intoxicates, or who has been trained from
early youth to avoid as little less than poison,
the inebriating bowl. And So too, with many
other weaknesses or vices. In order to Judge Of
ourselves and of others fairly and justly. we should
take all the circumstances together, the disposi-
ton, the education, the society, and the tempta-
tions generally. Many men become dizzy BY
prosperity, and from very excess of spirits and
generous feelings fall an easy prey Others are
the victims of credulity. They are played upon
by the specious, the able, and the beguiling, and
are thus won to ruin. Let no one assume to
himself superior powers Of moral resistance
Let no one who has not been subjected to the
fiery ordeal, imagine that he could resist this
species of fanaticsn, or that of social indulgence.
Let no one in mere arrogance and selfconeeit,
cherish the delusion that he is the sole master of
fraities, that he can curb and control himself
under any and all circumstances-an that he
has therefore no reason to appeal to superior
power The wisest sometimes commit frghttul
errors, while there does not breathe throughout
the length and breadth of the world we live in,
an individual, be he high or low, so selfpoised,
clearmindcd and true-hearted, as to be beyond
the reach of temptation in all cases-the temp
tation, we mean. not only Of honor, and ofpower
and of affluence-but Of feeling, passion, preju-
dice, taste, habit and enjoyment 1t is therefore
that due degree of iberality and forbearance
should be exercised, when adverting to the mis-
steps, the delusions, the downfall Of Others. And
yet the world, generally speaking, is sadly dis
posed to pronounce harsh and rash Judgments
The idol Of to-day, if in the enjoyment of pow
er, is lauded and fiattered in thousand forms.
But topple him from his position, take from him
his magic wand ofinhuence, reduce him down to
the common level, and associate with his name,
some error, weakness, or delinquency-tbe fruit,
perhaps, ofsome sudden and trying moment Of
temptation, and the very men who before bowed,
fawned and cringed before him, were proud Of
his acquaintance, and gloried in his position, are
alas! too often among the first to revile, assal
and exagerate his error. They spring upon
him with all the fury of ingratitude, and seem to
gloat over his downfall and his ruin. They do
not pause to discover paliatives or explanations,
but, on the contrary, affirm that they "long
suspected him, and that he has only realized
their apprehensions." He is contemned and de-
nounced and the bitterness of his position is rem
dered still more wretched by the melancholy
fact to which we have adverted. Alas! for the
heartlessness Of the world!" True, there are ex-
ceptions- generous, and magnanimous;
but they are few and far between.
Lead us not into temptation is prayer
that We should have constantly, not only on our
lips but in our hearts. The dreams of ambition
are full of fascination. They dazzle, bewilder,
and too often betray. How fightful arc the
examples exhibited in the pages of history
How many have mistaken false or true ambition
and in an effort to obtain power and occupy
position, have trampled upon truth and right,
aye-imbrued their hands in the blood of their
fellow creatures, The desire for gain, the year.
ming passion of avarice, is beset with thousand
temptations. 1t absorbs all other considerations.
The right and the manly are forgotten-all the
gentler and finer emotions are lost sight OF, and
the wretched worshipper of Mammon becomes
reckless, heartless, and sordid. The passion with
him is all-powerful, the golden bubble excites
and maddens. He worships money as a god,
and is almost unconscious of the intatuation.--
1t lures him on from step to step, and in many
cases, health, and in some even life itself is sacri
feed. But the world is full of temptations
They are around us in every form. Scarcely
day goes by, that the public journals are not
called upon to chronicle victims. Inquire into
the particulars, and it will be ascertained that
some gorgeous speculation dazzled for the mo-
ment, won the sanguine and the eager from the
ordinary pursuits of life, and thus tempted to
ruin! How many have fancied that they could
90 into the Stock market, watch the ups and
downs with eyes gilmore than ordinary intelli-
gence, could detect the causes ofthe various fluc-
tuations, the secret springs of action, and thus
proftting by their superior sagacity, speedily en-
rich themselves. Alas! the fortunate in this
hazardous field, are as one in a thousand; while
the ruined may be pointed out by hundreds and
hundreds The very success in the first case,
tempts the infatuated to plunge on still more
deeply, and hence the final disaster is only the
more fearful.
Of course, at the commencement, the deter
mination is to be especially cautious to avoid
any extraordinary risk, and to shrink back from
the abyss, long before anv thing like an ap-
proach to its brink. But the delirium increases