The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1859-05-28
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA, SATURDAY, MAY 49, 1859. ~~.
From the Springfield Republican
UPON POPULAR PROVERBS
BY TIMOTHY TITCoMB.

From the Springfield Republican.
PREACHING UPON POPULAR PROVERBS
BY TIMOTHY TITcoNB. s.F'-
You stout aud stout, -y-
Who shall carry the dirt ont?
"Every man cannot be vicar of Bowden."
"He that cannot paint, must grind the coors."
Who shall be vicar of Bowden, and VIII
shall carry the dirt out-who shall paint
and who shall grind the colors-are question
which, in various forms have agitated tn
world since human society existed. Dissat
isfaction with position and condition is vel
nigh universal. Every man walks with hi
eyes and wishes upwards-some moved b.
aspiration for nobler good, others by am
bision for higher place; some by emulation
OF worthy example; others by disconten
with allotment of Providence. The infan
does not forget to climb when he learns t,
walk, nor is the man less q climber than tn
boy. Everything is towering, or climbing
or reaching, or looking upward. The elm
stretches its feathcry arms, and waves it,
hands toward the clouds that hang over it
the vine pulls itself up the elm by its deli
cate fingers and the violet sits at the foo
OF the vine, and looks up, and breathes it,
fragrant wishes heayenward. Even tn,
sleeping lakelet in the meadow, dreams o.
stars, and will not be satisfied without
private armament of water -lillies., 1t is as il
God had whispered in the ear of all exist
ence the moment it was emerging from
nihility, the word s'look upr' and, hardly
knowing why, it has been looking up evel
since. swell, this is right; for, far above
everything shines the graf White throne
sits the Father Soul-abide the treasure.
of all good-burns the uncreated fire a,
which the torches of life were Ii GIFTED. l,
is a natural, instructive thing to look up.
ward.
Discomfort may be very good thing, o,
very bad thing. There is discomfort
which is divine-which has its birth in the
highest and purest inspirations that yisi,
and stir the soul. All that discomfort which
grows from dissatisfaction with present at.
tainment or springs from desire for higher
usefulness, or has its birth in motives that
Impel to the worthy achievement of an hon.
orable name and an honorable place, is q
thing to be visited by blessings and benisons.
Discomfort which Comes from bclow-which
comes from q soul disgusted with its lot,
falthless in God and out Of harmony with the
and the operations of Provi-
dence, is an evil tn ng-only evil-and that
continually. One holds the principle OF
love; the other malice. One is attracted
from above; the other is instigated from
below. One tends to the development of a
symmetrical, strong and harmonious charac-
ter; the other to disorganization and depre-
ciatlon. One is from heaven, the other is
from hell.
look out Of my window, and see car
rinse rolling by, with its freight of richly
dressed ladies'. On the coach box sits a
man who urivrs the horses when they 90,
and opens the door of the carriage and lets
down the steps when they stop. Further up
the street there is building going up. The
architect stands by with his hand in his
breast, giving directions. The hod-carrier,
smeared with mortar, passes him, climbs
the giddy ladder, and drops the bricks upon
the scatolding, and these one after another,
are driven to their places by the ringing
trowel of the brick-Iayer. | rise from nv
seat and walk through the rooms adjoining
my own. Here sits an editor, hastily putting
.-ogetner the thoughts that will form to-
leader. At another table sits
another editor, cutting from pile of ex-
changes bits of intelligence that come in on
thousand paper wings from other commu-
nitios- AT thor easss tand the oompusilors,
setting up type by type, the mat or which
the editors prepare for them. The Press
man and the engineer have their respective
parts to perform. l find the great aggregate
OF life to be a network of duties. In order
to secure the comfort of the whole, there is
a certain amount of work to be done, infn-
itely various in kind. There must be an
architect to plan, there must be a hod car
rier to bear mortar, and brick LAYER to
lay the bricks, or we shall have no buildings.
There must be an editor, and n compostor,
and pressman, or there will be no pews-
paper. Who shall 10 the thinking, and who
shall perform the manual labor? Who
shall paint, and who shall grind the colors :
Every man cannot be vicar of Bowden.
II does not suffice to tell discon.ented
people that every man has his place, and
will find his highest account in seeking to
fill it, and to fill it well. What particularly
troubles them, is, that they were made foI
SO low a place. They really call Gods
wisdom and bcncvolence in question 70,
assigning to them subordinate Offices il.
operating the machinery of society. Amar
finds himself distinguished by clumsy hand:
and broad shoulders, with hod on his back
and complains that he was not made for &
urick-layer; and the brick layer wishes he
had the ease and honor Of the architcc,
and wonders why his power of achievment il
so closely clrcumscribed. The coachmar
rubS down his horses, and :aaryc!s that ht
was not born their ownership, and that th(
owner was not born to drive for him. Sc
people quarrel with their position, th,
world over. Everything in the world il
Unequal to these people. They do not SEE
the impartil justice of conferrlng upon on
man great mental faculties, pleasant address
and commanding presence, while anothc
is condemned to be dwarf, both in mnc
and body, and to serve his more highly
favored neishbor that he may win bread an,
raiment.
We'll, there is all this work to do; VIII
shall do it: A link broken in the chain
will spoil the chain. There are all thes
places to fill !; who shall ell them? | fill
subordinate Office in the world why shoul
not you? Is there any good reason VIII
you should be vicar of Bowden, and the yica
Va Do"NSh Shoui0 teuu u tUll-DElOpe, q
conduct railroad train? Since ,hes
things are to be done by somebody, you an
| may as we'll take the part that comes t
US, and perform it. 1t is not best to sto
the wheels of society on our private accouu,
If you and have injustice done to us il
the assignment of our duties, it will no
mend anything to fasten our ill-fortune up
on somebody else; and you and are no
the men to skulk, think. Genuine, mani
pluck and good nature will settle much o
this difficulty. If our advance involve
nothing more than change of places wit
others, it is not exactly the manly thing t
whine about our lot.
But there is better and broader basi
for the settlement of this matter than this
and did we possess even modcum of tn
faith in God that we ought to possess, W
should feel certain that there would be sue
a basis, though We nigh, fail to find it,
The instructive, persistent search of tn
soul is for happiness. We seek for Office
or place, or wealth; we pine over the fac