Litchfield enquirer. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1829-current, 1859-10-20

the subycrsion of the central principle of sell
fishness in heart. and the substitution Of the
nrinri,,la IF bauoy,,ono.

| the subvcrsion of the central principle of sell
! tlslness i'll heart, and the substitution Of the
| principle of benevMence
Al student Of human nature and an OBJ
serverver of the forces brought to bear upon
it, am compelled to give this tribute to
Christianity. There is either in it co,nbina-
| ton of powerful motives, nationally to be APP
pretended and voluntarily to be adopted, or a
| new principle of life, which, infused into the
heart, diffuses itself through every artery and
vein, and changes that lfe's issues. 1t is not
necessary for me to say which ! think it is. l
only say that there has never been found any
transforming and reforming agency equal to it +;
and that, l believe, is the olly reliable agen-
cy in the worlds transformation. 1t is this
which is to make the world altogether lovely
like it's Founder, who gave his whole life to
us-gave it out of his OVERLOOKING love and
unselfish nature AS "self-love is mote in
every mans eye" there is no man who does
not need to acquire the principle OF the Chris
tan life, to make him more loving and lovely.
The heart given to the Father, the hand Civ
ell to the brother, the life given to to both
truly this makes man admirable Can we
resist loving him !!
If the instructive judgments of men coin
eide with and uphold the Christian standard
of loneliness, so do they go further, and reveal
to us what the character of that translorma-
ton must be which Christ works in the heart
and life l. is not enough that deed be be-
Inefficient in its results to secure my homage and
admiration. [ must see that the heart out OF
which it came was a generous heart-that
heart was moved by hearty sympathy and I'M
calculating benevolcncc. | must see no selfish
end consulted, no reluctant bending to sense
of obligation, no hard yielding to conviction
of duty. 1t must he spontane"us-an out
burst of noble, generous life This my Judg-
ment tells me is admirable and only this
Now Christianity never works its perfect work
in the heart until the tutgoings OF this heart
are of this character. | am not bound to adj
mre, and | cannot admire, a MAN who profess
sing to be actunted by Christian motives man
1fests his life by deeds Of brnevoicnce that
start in sense of Christian duty aud Chris
tan obligation. The Christian life must be as
uncaIculatng and as spontaneous as the natu-
raj life, before its expression CAN touch my adj
miration by its quality.
The true heart is just as unerring in its
Judgment of what constitutes true Chrstani-
ty as true humanity. Before it will yield its
tribute of admiration and affection to him who
docs deed of good, it demands that, in Ell
Their case, there shall be no consideration OF
any kind 1t demands that Christianity shall
be as spontaneous and chivalrous as humanity,
and it knows that when it is not, it is not the
genuine article. Obligation implies the idea
of Justice The fulfllment of it is the pay
ment of debt Duty is thing nationally
unprecedented and intellectually measured I'M
selfish natural, or acquired by
the possessions of the Christian fe-blossoms
with spontaneous beauty, and it is that which
we love and which God loves.
So the secret of being loved is in being love-
", and the s, cret Of being lovely is in being
nnselfsh, No man liveth to himself, and no
man was made to live to himself. lie was
born with Il desire for the good will Of others,
and with the fact (veiled, perhaps, in many
instances looking him in the face, that it is
impossible to get it without the REIMBURSEMENT
of sclishncss as the ruling motive of his life.
The truth is that the curse of selfislness is up
on pretty much all our life. 1t blackens and
defles everything. We have not popular men
enough to ill decent|y the Offices of govern
inert. They are so few that they are not on
" the subjects of envy to many, but OF suspl-
con. The world is so mean that unless it
bappen to know an unseltish man personally.
it hears of his good deeds only to inquire what
and how much he expects to make Ivy them
Is not this unpopularity of the human race
with itself rather humliating? Knowing the
fact and the reason of it, let US try to naugu-
rate better condition of things.