Minnesota weekly times., 1855-05-29
EU.EFNIOSYNAHY.


ity as the rose its fragrance. Love to man is the
effect of love TO God. Kind.e faith in the soul
and YOU shall know the fire by its beam neg
light, shedding its sweet influences where mans
lot is darkest long before you know IT, In the
narrower radiaions Of lis living heat. But II we
mistake not the highest exercise OF Christian char
ity. has n higher scope than condescens.on, as
defined by DIR. Van lngen in his beautiful dis
course on Sunday morning Condcscens!on we
cannot help regarding as very narrow modil-
cation of charity. II is less q Christian than a
Pagan virtue. Alexander displayed magnanimity
in his treatment Of the captive family OF Darius
Scipio was generous to his prisoners. Inequality
Of condition is necessary to condcscension. Love
exists among co-cquals. Condcsccnsion implies
an assertion of superiority in its exercise. Love,
in the owly humility of its ministrations, washes
the feet of its disciples. Condcsccnson is an en-
inently aristocratic virtue, looking always beneath
itself for its objects. Love all cmbraclng-rcach-
ing upwards to kinSs-downward to slavcs-rc-
cognizng no distinction Of ranG-watchlnS over
the tempted rich-rityins the stricken poor-is a
very Democratic virtue. CondesccnsiOn stoops
to be gracious. Charity knee!s to its gentle
Offices. Bcncvoencc, not maGnanimity, shon!d
be the virtue inspired by comparison of supo-
rior with inferior circumstances. 1t is very sub
lime and ch:valrous for the good knight of the
age Of inequalities to releaye the captive maiden
but it is sublimcr and nobler to treat her as
free without the ceremony of manumission to re-
mind her she was slave.
We may pity without patronzing- relieve
without the ostentaton of alms-giving. We
believe, dissenting from the Rev. Doctor, that
Democracy in its widest sense, lifts men upward
to the highest leycl--it IS dcmagogueism which
drags them down. But condescension. we are
told, does that. Then Democracy is the higher
charity; for what Democracy does as a due to
the universal brotherhood, condescension profcrs
rs "A gift to the individual man. One is a
prnciple-thc other is an impulse.
But if We do not believe in the Doctors ethics,
We are devout believer in his practice. We do
not care bv what name YOU call life devoted to
works of temperance and pety. 1t is the same to
us in Ignatus Loyola, Howard, Sister of Char
itv, or the rector and congregation of any of
Christ's Churches. If it was condescenson which
prompted the lavish muniiicencc of the congrega-
tion on Sunday morning towards the erection OF
an Orphan Asylum in our city-if benevolenc
would not have done it, if condescenson is the
efhcacious virtue-why then We differ only in
words, for that is what We mean by charity. One
thousand dollars, of which three hundred was in
money, tn rest in donations Of land, &C.. was put
on the plate in the five minutes of its passing
round. That will Do pretty well for Christ's
Church, not Yet very rich. Pretty well for St.
Paul-never too poor to be generous.
L. . IN &c Il, oh -hnrt toI
last fail in the beautiful grounds of the mission,
the Doctor proposes to erect this monument Of his
peoples charity.
Fitting memorial of the child that needs no
earthly fathers care. High solace of the
bereaved parcnt-to be parent to the bercaved
child.