Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1852-02-09
4 SHORT PATENT SERMON:
On Little Men With Little Souls
u TExr.-There was little man,
And he had little soul,
And exc q little mind, zt7
A Nd ,1o, r. No contrn1
+, And DER it no control.

TExr.-There was little man,
And he had little soul,
And exc a little mind,
And o'er it no control.
Ny HEARERS: In regard to physical and
mental magnitude, we find that, all the world
over, the extremes are monstrous. Wher.
ever we go, il is big and little, great and
small, like cart load Of stones, or bar.
rel Of potatoes. | find, in my travels, a
good many big little folks, and about an
equal number Of little big folks; and, pepper
my snufFbox, if can tell which are the
greatest! The big little ones have small
carcases, to be sure; but they possess souls
Of some considerable magnitude. On the
other hand, YOU. little big people can boast
of great extent of carnal territory, and
hearts that occupy aboutsas much room in
proportion as an acorn in hogshead. /
have seen small human dimensions, how.
ever, so swollen with self.importance, that
/ have trembled, least they should suddenly
experience the fact Of the frog in the fable.
NY friends: as my text informs US, there
was little man, and he had little soul,
consequently he had a little mind; and, as
might naturally be supposed, he had DO con.
troll over it. Ii was slender freed shaken
by the Wind and no more susceptible of a
prop than spider thread. Peradventure,
you have all seen specimens Of such trans.
cendental, humanized littleness. Mere
cockreaches, as they are, in community
Of decent-sized bodies and souls, they kick,
scratch, crawl, and scrabble about, as though
the whole world was their kitchen, and
every body cook. They are as 6dgetty
as an old maid at a wedding. As. for their
meaness, ii is hardly worth mentioning
still too important 10 be passed over in
silence. They are meaner than turkey
pondrette-and, you are well aware, that is
so mean that grass won't grow within ten
miles Of it. | have seen one of these small.
Observation-Disclosures chaps, myself, chase
musquito ill sundown for. its suet; and |
have no doubt but he would have followed
it up to midnight were il not for the expense
Of a candle. Not one Of them would hesi.
tate to steal sick nigger's physic-to take
cracker from the claw of a poll parrot
to put in tin sixpence, and take penny
from q contribution box-er to chew over
second hand tobacco quid. In charity,
however, toward these diminutive mortals,
I am inclined to beileye that THEY are not
altogether TO blame: they only exercise the
best Of their powers. Nature seldom makes
misfit, by planting the seeds of moral and
intellectual greatness in pots Of clay too
small TO admit Of fine growth and full
fruition. is
NY hearers: while many little men, cor.
porielly speaking, have souls to match,
other big masses Of human flesh contain
less by monstrous sight; but generally,
they are not of the stout stalwart, but ofthe
soapy fat, bloat and blubber species, in
whom is concentrated all the gross selfish>
ness that could possibly be crowded into the
circumference of individual mortality
They are bound to enjoy their mugs Of ale,
roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, and when
asked for penny for the starving children
of charity, they inform them that they too
are poor, can't get half enough to eat,
themselves. They usually contain about
half q bowl Of the milk of human kindness;
but they are pretty careful to keep the
cream skinned off for their own use. |
did know one, however, who, to his credit
be it said, once had the generosity 10 bor-
row cent to drop into the hat of a blind
fiddler. Whether it was ever returned or
not, is none Of my business. Such are
your little big men.
My friends: Jupiter knows there is plen.
ty Of littleness to be found among all sizes,
shapes, colors and sexes; but | know of
nothing meaner or more little, than for one
sect Of christians to monopolize heaven, to
the exclusion Of all others; or for one polit.
ical party to take all the credit to itself for
saving the country. But, brethren, the
time will soon come, have no doubt, when
people will be made larger (there is stuff
enough for Shave larger minds-wear
bigger boots and breeches-and have more
enlarged views Of things generally, and
small matters in particular. So mote it be!
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