The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1859-04-07

When The greatest oil the Mediei was
found abandoned to the nursery sports Of his
children, and taxed with the folly Of il, he
replied, that TO be wise one somei,mss must
be foolish.
No one loses dignity BY what ID proper
10 ITSELF JAoos lost no dignity BY wrestling
with the Angel Of the Lord, and God de-
clars in opposition to AIcHAL and Mr..
NELL, that DAVID lost no dignity by dane
ing.
Nor do we doubt, il the social dance had
been in vogue 10 our Ssviours tims, II only
among pablicans and sinners, that be would
have danced ut the wedding least ct Cana, in
spite Of oil the Pharisees, - in more than
one instance by the simple freedom Of bis
manners, be shocked the selirighteous pro.
prieties Of bis time. He would certainly
be more likely to have done that than to
have "sketched waterfalls under overhsnging
rocks"
This suggestion may be Inconsistent with
the vulgar notion Of CnRisr's character, but
is not, ~ Mr.. MILL says, Inconsistent with
our reverence for CBRrsr.
That man must hold his reverence for
CHaIsr by a very precsrious tenure who
perils it by the suspicion that Hs shared in
all the innocent impulses and common wants
which made HIS human nature human.
We have no patience with the legendary
CusIsr devised by monksh eremites to JUS
tify their own repulsive cynicism and pro-
psgated by superstition as gloomy as the
caves from which il sprapg The conven-
tional idea OF CHRIST humanity separates it.
self into two distinct notions, which take
their cooring from the Arisn and Athanasian
conceptions Of his nature. One Is the mon
aar msd--an apotheosis Of the sscetic spirit
Of St SIMON SrYLIrKs-- which strips CHRIsr
of all human attributes to make q model
Dominican Of him, and places him 40 far
above human nature, as to deprive bis mis-
sion OF half its purpose and bis example Of
all its force.
The other il the artistic ,dsa, which pre-
sen,s the predominant expression OF his
character for his whole character and sac
rifces him 10 meretrcious and bloodless
ideal blazing all his life In preternstural
aurcole. In the one case his humanity is u
myth; in the other, a statue beautiful-but
a statue. The horrible, monkish legend that
he never laughed, at once consoles the cynic
and viudcates the aesthetic horror of grin
But surely the Bible CHRIST was not Con
alone-nor petrifed and Raphaelized
ideal 10 adorn Cathedral nches-but an ac-
tual living man of FACILITATING flesh and
blood. with like passions unto ourselves,
summing up in his perfect nature oil the
wants and sympathies of human kind. typ
cal Of universal humanity, aud central to al
ia wide aud varied needs and impulses. Ilis
divine nature was given US to worship; llls
human nature, TO follow.
A contemporary is shocked at the sugges-
tion that Cuslsr may have shared, IA q
child in the innocent sports Of the children
OF whom, as man, in his kindly sympathy
for truth and health he declared, that 80
such il the Kingdom of Heaven" We are
aware that this idea does not harponizt
with the popular models oil early piety
whose obituaries We find in the Sunday
: School books precocous prodigics OF in.
? digestion. with n preternatural horror o
! skates and leap frog. and who. being much
too good for earth, are always mercltall!
taken to Heaven, before they are ten years
old--a natural consequence Of the prema
,urc pampering Of one class Of faculties, ant
of skc,ching waterfalls under cyerhsngips
, rock'. when they ought to have been dane
ing with their ss,ers---or ow.balliDg III
school master. 80 much for dignity
-- Note wha. IS dancing
Mr.. MILL has himself described il, in il
; normal development. as IAN emotion OF tn
, mind manifested in muscular action Th
, child leaps in the impulse OF gladness, an'
, keeps on leapiug from the mere ecstacy o
Q motion. Nor is there any harm, says MI
MILL. IN these natural movements Of th
}, body" The harm consists. We are told. Il
D regulating these natural movements by rules
: 1t will puzzle Mr., MILL, we think, to Tel
US how. wha, is inn1ccn, tits germ. become
vicious in its development Surely, If it |
, proper to dance rudely, it IS better to dane
r gracefully. Surely, il the sorg Of birds
Q we'll. the symphonies Of Rsstuovxs ar
I better The distinction between the spou
:, famous impuls,s OF muscular movemcn, il
a child beating time 10 hand organ, an