Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1853-02-23

mast necessarily be preceded by Il wild and
vicious career. a good writer well remarks,
that there is many young man just enter
ing the world, who would avoil those ac-
tons which give rise to the saying, If it were
not for the veil which this very saying throws
over their lidrousness. But as he hears the
lips of beauty apungeticaly mutterng, he
is only sowing his wild oats" when some
instance of vile pruhigacy is told, or some
tale of innocence undermined, related, he
begins to look upon such actions as the na.
tural and excusable effects of ardent youth !;
he thinks that he, too, may be pardoned Tor
scattering similar seeds on the highway of
lilc; ard is, perhaps, unconscious that tie
soil in which they will take the lirmes: and
deepest root is his own mind Memo re-
pcate fruit tmpissimus--no man becomes
vicious on sudden. The appetite for vice
increases with what it feeds on; like the
taste for olives, it may be nauseous at first,
but by repetition we come 10 like it, and at
length it becomes u fixed desire Of the mind ;
we have sown the seeds, and unfortunately y,
we must reap the fruits. We need not SOW
these wild oats, but once having 50 done, we
must take the consequences.
An old French writer has said, that dis
gust stands at the door Of all bad places"
1t NAV be so but it is to be feared that we
too often put her behind the door as we en-
ter; and it is onl y when we come out we
meet her face to face We cover up her
form with all kinds of disguiscs we endeav.
or to cheat ourselves Into the belief that dis
rust is not her real name, and that it is not
the door of vice at which she stands senli-
nell and as we pass her by, and enter, we
console ourselves with the thought that we
arc only having bit of Il spree that we arc
in for lark or at any rate, that we " must
sow some of our wild oats" We are con.
fdent in ourselves, have great reliance on
our own correct principles and right inten'
tons, and dclude ourselves into the belief
that we are only gaining little knowledge
o.! the world aud showing ourselves to be
Youths of spirit. And Il most miserable de.
lusinn this is--fostered and encouraged by
the wrctchcd fallacy we are Illustrating; and
bv the perncous habit of CLOSING over vile
things with eulogistic names We begin
perhaps. by sowing our seeds with careful
hand, scattering few here, and few there,
with long intervals between them; we are
not alarmed by any very great expenditure
of seed; we hardly fancy that the correct
principles on which we re- Y, are disturbed
or shocked by their slight deviations from
the strict rule OF right we still keep in the
common routine of our duties, while we arc
impcrccp,ibly being led into temptations
that, by degrees, cause us to scatter the
seeds more thickiy, and with fewer intervals
between them. And we go on sowing the
wild oats" until the days Of our youth are
mast. and when a miserable and premature
old are draws on, we find that the tlage i:
not vet complete; it is only when nirmi.ic:
have rendered it impossible to pursue ou1
former course, that the seed time is over
and the harvest comes upon US at once ii
she shape of pains and penalties grievous tt
bear. We forsake now the sowing unit
the power to sow is departed--we torsak'
not the sin until the sin (Orsakes US.
How often do we hear it said, both by pa
rents and friends, that it is right for a young
man 10 know the world, and that he vii
avoid vice all the more for having tasted it
and found what it is like. Bad judges o
human nature and Of human appctitcs, arr