Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1859-10-08
From the Springfield Republican.
PreRohings upon Popular Proverbs.
BY T1MornY rIrcoMn.--NuMRER raIRrY.

ny TIMOTHY r1rcoMB.--NUMBRR THIRTY.
"speak the truth shame the devln
o be Gods martyr who is the DEVILS servant"
"Neuals soused from above and singe from below
"The way TO Babylon will never bring you to Jerusalem"
"Truth may be blamed, but shall never be shamod."
There is a great deal of confusion along
the line of fence which divides the good
people of tLis world from the bad. The
fence itself is bestridden by an uncounted
host on the right side Of which there is q
multitude, standing and looking wistfully
toward the wrong, and, on the wrong side,
another multitude looking toward the right.
We cannot count those who are undecided
in their convictions still we count those
who with their convictions correctly form
ed, have voluntarily chosen q neutral poll
cy, and taken position upon the fence. I'm
decided, compromising, neutral, mega
tive, these men form portion of humanity
as respectable in numbers as they are cou-
temptible in quality. Asses between two
bundles of hay, dogs in the manger-eat-
ing not and hindering others from eating
houses divided against themselves men of
putty who always Hatten under pressure
men of pewter who never take an edge un.
der any rasping, slaves in the market and
tools for the crafty, selfseekers, and self
losers by self-seeking soused from above and
singed from below, these neutrals are as un-
comfortable and unhappy in themselves as
they are poweress as positive forces in So
cety.
Manhood demands that man shall take
q position on the side Of truth, and, in some
way, declare himself in that position. 1t
bids him, if it be necessary to achieve this
step, to cut off old companionships, to COM
promise apparent momentary advantages
to incur enmities, and endure hardships. s.
1t demands that he plant himself upon the
| ground of right, and stands there though
all the world forsake him-stand there and
fight there if necessary. Self-respect-al-
ways requisite for the attainment of the
respect of others-is Of vastly more value
than the respect of Others There can
be no manhood without it, and true man.
hood will always hold it above mercena-
ry advantage, or temporary popular.
ity, or dread Of singularity, or personal
pence and comfort. A man who volunta-
rily refrainS from taking position toward
which his convictions urge him, because it
will disturb pleasant relations, or interfere
with his pecuniary interests, or compromise
his comfort does not deserve the name of
a man. He is always q coward-often a
knave.
There are always in society two marked
classes of ncutrals One of these is. on
the whole more to be pitied than blamed,
being composed of men of weak will, with
excessive love of appreciation, and great
good nature. 1t seems to be impossible
for them to withstand the fire of opposition
from any quarter. They become accustom-
ed to yield or dodge every disputed point.
They cannot stand up before strong will,
and assert themselves, without experiencing
emotions akin to guilt They half doubt
their personal right to an opinion. For
walking boldly out upon the field of right
or wrong, and taking position, and main
tanning it, they do not appear to have legs.
l say that such men are in some respects
the objects of pity, because their mental
and moral constitution is at fault They
feel themselves almost obliged to take posi-
tion on the fence, and to spend their lives
in bowing in about equal measure TO each
of the opposition campS-afrad to dis
mount for fear of being in somebody's way
or treading upon somebody's toes. / sup
pose there may be the germ of manhood in
many of these men, and that it might, un-
der favorable circumstances, be developed,
but the most Of them consent to be moth
ing and to be good for nothing while they
live, and to die without an enemy in the
world" simply because nobody deems it
worth while to be their enemy.
The other class is made up Of men who,
in all matters of principle and policy, make
it point to take middle ground. They
delight to be called Conservative men,"
but their conservatism always relates to
their own reputation and interests. They
desire the good opinion of all classes, and
imagine that their moderation and their To-
cation between two extremes will enable
them to use both for the accomplishment
of their purposes They are ambitious of
perferment, perhaps, or greedy for wealth,
or desirous of popularity. They aim to
make themselves stronger by drawing to
their support the sympathies of all parties,
through direct or indirect alliance with all
parties. To some Of them, "there is some
thing good in all parties"-to others, "par-
ties are equally bad" Others, still, convey
the impression that they are but passenG ers
in the social vessel, having no interest in
ship or cargo and indifferent as to the
name and qualifications of the captain
Now despise these men-though there
may be among them those whose talents l
admire. Conservative and reputable, neg
atiVe, neutral and contemplate, recognize
in them no element Of manhood-no chiv-
airy no bravery, no devotion to conviction,
no true self-respect, and no supreme love of
truth and the right. .
Humanity demands that man shall take
his position on the side of truth and the
right, and maintain it. We looked around
us and see how positively pronounced are
the agencies engaged in the prostitution of
humanity. Despotism enforces its power
at the lips of the cannon, error breaches
upon the mountain-tops, cruelty and wrong
work out their ends by systems cunningly
devised and openly defended, drunkenness
displays its enticements at the corners Of
the streets, prostitution haunts its colors in
open day crowds purity from the streets
at night, rruption--recognized and un-
oA,ly sp . h..