True American. [volume] (Steubenville [Ohio]) 1855-1861, 1855-11-14
The Philosophy Of Happiness.

Life is not all sunshine, neither is it all
shadow. The perpetual complainer is a
libeler of Gods munifcence. Not only are
there sunny prospects upon which the eye
may rest with pleasure, but the disturbing
causes which rufile the stream of life are
very much under our own control. 1t is
serious mistake to attribute to the provi-
dence of God the many annoyances which
spring up in our path to chale and irritate,
True, calmness of various kinds, affecting
our health, prosperity, and social relations,
may assail us, under divine commission
and yet even in these marked cases, we may
often trace the af1liction, not to an arbitra4
ry decree of God, but to our own reckless
disregard of the laws by which, according
to the dictates of reason, we should have
been governed. How often is the health
impaired and completely undermined by
the imprudent indulgence of appetite!
How often is fortune dssipated by an in
sane avarice which tempts men to imperil
what they possess in hope of acquiring
more than is neediul! And how often, too,
are our social comforts interrupted and
clouded by our own gross Encouragement!
Thus in suffering the severest adversities,
we may detect our own instrumentality
in their occurrence, and see occasion for
selEaccusation rather than of complaint
against the divine benefcence. The truth
is, that we are admirably constituted for
happiness, and the works of God by which
we are surrounded are peculiarly well fitted
to promote our enjoyment it is by the in
terventon of sin that this divine arrange
ment is disturbed, and that the very objects
which were designed to minister to our
happiness, become fruitful sources of sor-
row.
1t is important, too, to consider that the
seat Of happiness is the mind. and that it
depends not so much on outward appliances
as on the proper regulation of the thoughts
and affections. 1t is not within the power
of external circumstances to render us un-
happy. That effect is produced only when
the mind is disordered (; when the power OF
endurance has been awakened, and sombre
clouds have been suffered to gather to OBJ
scure the sunlight of heaven. In other
words, he must be happy whose thoughts
have a right. direction, and whose passions
are under proper control. The evil passions
of our nature are the prolific springs of our
misery. Hence it is that we often find the
least enjoyment amidst all the outward ap-
plcatons of happiness. Wealth may fur
nish its luxuries, health afford the capacity
for their enjoyment, and yet wounded van
ity, inAamed jealousy, angry excitement,
disappointed ambition, revengful and ma
levolent feelings, may SO pre-occupy the
mind and poison its springs, us to render
happiness impossible. 1t is in these moods
that multitudes abandon their homes and
seek relief in foreign travel, but carrying
their discontented temper with them, the
mere change of cline produces no mitiga-
tion. On the contrary, the mind which is
kept in repose by confident reliance on
the beneicence of Providence, and which
has learned the divine art of contentment,
which keeps every passion under control
and cultivotes pure aspirations, may bic
defiance to outward tumults, and amidst
the storms which wreck the hopes of others
may preserve
'The souls calm sunshine and the heartfelt joy.
... ,. [PhiIa. Presbyterian.