Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1858-08-13

ana closing with inc corporation dinner on
Wednesday the 4th. We copy notices Of the
principal services from the Burlington Free
Press:
The BAocA1AuREArE SERMON.
President Pease took for his text the l4th
verse Of the sixth chapter Of Matthew, Ye
arc the light of the ,corld We have in the
text a union Of corresponding opposites. 1t
calls up before us world without light
such as is the earth when night is upon it.
when only spirits of darkness are abroad
when the stars alone shine to show that
though earth slumbers Heaven is awake
Into the darkoned soul God shines by his
spirit, and man becomes a special messenger
Of God, living epistle OF God, known and
read Of all men thus he becomes the light of
The Dorid The main divisions of the dis
course were as follows:
/. The rorld needs such light. This
point was suitably developed
2. There is light for he igorid The true
light now shinoth. Christ. the perfection of
humanity as well as the brightness Of the Fa-
Tiers glory, in showing what was his end on
earth. showed the end Of living for all men,
In his prayer, Thy will be done" is Hght
the light Of life. The way TO reach the end
the impulse TO it, aud the strength to pursue
it, arc in Christ.
3. But men cannot receive and transmit
the light passicey. They must do it in the
conscious exercise Of their powers. The
light-bearcr must know himself-must see
the end Of his being in the glory Of God aud
mans blessedncss in Him. and then he will
know his lellowmen, will rightly view the
object and operations Of civil government. and
will understand his duties.
Mr. peaso newt fourhn1 upon Chriafi a
Honesty, as the test Of the true light-bearer.
The Christian is the only man who has not
his price, he is incorruptible just so far as
he is Christian
Finally, the knowledge and realization Of
the true end, furnishes a true guide to the
Sentiment Of Honor. This head Of the dis
course was dwelt upon at some length, and
the Apostle Paul, ever under the control Of
duty-infused the tremulous with the love Of
others-ever willing TO conform his habits to
those Of weaker brethren-over the protector
of the lowly-the soathiug rebuker of un-
righteousness, combining the courtesy Of
christian kindness with the severity Of chris
tian truth, was held up as an example of the
Chrisiian gentleman.
In conclusion, the President addressed the
class, who rose. as usual, to receive his part
ing words of instruction. He urged, in
few impressive words upon the young men,
the truth that IL Religion has claims upon
men, it has double claim on educated men.
They had Intercepted history and the achiev-
mouts Of Science and the monuments of Art.
Books and study had taught them what else
could have been gained only by years Of ex-
perience Having the advantage of light. a
double duty rested on them to cousecrato
themselves TO the service of God The learn
ed man should be good man. true man. a
strong man-a Christie through aud through
Their greatest attainment. as educated men,
would be 20 be true 20 the great end Of their
manhood-to have Christ in them the hope
of glory. Thus would they be true to God,
TO themselves and to their fellow-men--truly
lights Of the world.
The above is but meagre abstract Of a
sermon Of wide range. embclished with the
flowing rhetoric of which President Pease is
master, aud delivered with the solemn car
ncstuoss becoming the occasion
CELEBRATION OF THE SOCIETY FOR RELt-
G1oUs INQUIRY.
The anniversary exercises of the Society for
Religious Inquiry occupied Sunday evening
The discourse was by Rev. Samuel Harris,
d. d., of Bangor Theological Seminary
His appropriate theme was--lIow we may
individually attain the great results OF life.
The words Development and Evolution, are
the answer to this question As the man
can give only Of that which he hath. it is ne
cessary that he be developed that he may
have wealth TO give. In considering the
proper method Of development we are first
met by the question, which shall be first the
man OF his uses In answering this ques
ton the speaker impugned severely the
Positive Philosophy" which makes Of the
q l.. g. -. .rts
the profession should be but an implement of
the man.
Bat that the true development may be re-
allied so that a life Of beauty and power shall
be the natural evolution Of the spirit, it is
first necessary that the man be awakened.
Stupidity" says Schiller, defes the
Gods" The bolts Of Jove are poweross on
the mud. While stupidity and uncoucern
continues there is no hope. The man must
be walked up by discovering the reality and
grandeur of truth, and the unity of truth as
resting in tho oneness of a personal God,
whose glory is the end of all things. Then
he must discover his personal relations to the
truth. must set himself the solution of the
plot in which he finds himself, placed here as
he is in the grasp of Titanic natural forces
must ask himself what is to be the issue of
this conflict of good and evil about him and
within him This is the souls awakening,
which tho Bible sums mp in the question
What must do to be saved
Next truth must be acquired We have, it
is true the formulas of the Past-but still
each man must work out his problem for
himself Christianity is as new to us as 1t
was to the Apostles, and each man must re-
ceive it for himself as they did. And the
problem must be worked through. The life
Of doubt is not the life of work There is
nothing sadder than the life of the man who
cannot bsliere.
The third requisite to development is as
simaatioa The Inquirer must gain truth not
from books only but from life; he must
turn life into thought and unfold study into
life.
Another and the great requisite is the
submission Of the 0W to the truth. In this
submission we find that to which self-devel-
opment is subordinate-the conservation oil
the whole man to the truth from the love Of
it,