Eastern times., 1855-10-25
The Religious Sentiment.

Whoever truly worships, pouring out the
prayer, not of interest and fear, nor chiefly of
personal gratitude, but of aspiration, reverence
and trust, feels irresistably assured that he is
yielding TO no weakness, but is falling into the
attitude congenial to higher natures. Can it
be denied that the deep sense of God is haunt
ing accompaniment of the deepest and grand
est men that, however it may co-exist with
weakness, and absent itself without forfeiture
of a certain stormy force, it is ever inseperable
from the large and balanced soul, the spring at
once of tenderness and strength Whatever
is wise, or strong, or loving enough in this
world 10 outlast the changes of human admira-
tion, will be found to have the tincture of in
tense faith. The nation which has most af-
fected the fates of mankind, has done so by
giving them Christ And in each nation,
the highest men, whether in thought or action,
Socrates, Scipio, Dante, Luther, Pascal,
Cromwell. Newton, have not attained their
great dimensions, without bearing divine Sc
cret in their souls they have been men of
trust and prayer and, familiar with an Infinite
Presence, have attained the stature which
throws so grand shadow over history. Take
away from these minds their religion; reduce
the philosophers among them to their dialects
and mathematics the generals to their strate-
gy, the poet to his skill in epic fiction; sup
pose them to think, to act, to sing, for secular
profit and entertainment, and not for truth and
justice, dear eternally to God and do you not
cut out the very pitch oftheir genius and char
acter Be assured, all visible greatness of
mind, grows in looking at an Invisible that is
which is most sublime in humanity, should
spring from vision of thing that is not-that
what is most real and commanding with US,
should come of stretching the soul into the un-
real and empty, that historic durability should
be the gift of spectral fancies, we must hold
these devout natures to be at one with ever
lasting Fact-to feel truly that the august
forms of Justice aud Holiness are at home in
heaven, the object there of clearer insight and
more perfect veneration. There are those
who please themselves with the idea that the
world will outgrow its habits of worship; that
the newspaper will supercede the preacher and
prophet; that the apprehension Of scientific
laws will replace the fervor of moral inspira-
tions that this sphere of being will then be
perfectly administered when no reference to
another distracts atteption. But for my own
part, l am persuaded that life would soon be-
come intolerable on earth, were it copied from
nothing in the heavens that its deeper affec=
tions would pine away and its light Of purest
thought grow pale, if it lay shrouded in no
Holy Spirit, but only in the wilderness Of
space. The most sagacious secular voice
leaves after all chord untouched in the hu-'
man heart; listening too long 10 its didactic
monotone, we begin to sigh for the rich music
OF hope and faith, The dry glare of MONDAY
knowledge hurts the eye by plying it for use
and denying it beauty; and we long to be
screened behind cloud or two Of moisture and