Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1859-04-12
Com muuitatr0 .
FGf iho Mols. counts Telegrar
A MAN for the Times.
BY LADY STUDENT ov rur sLnAkr NJ. 1. ssrvrEsrrr


Progression is stamped everywhere; con
ward" is the worlds great motto, and ideas,
schemes and inventions stride on with ac-
celerated speed, as though governed by the
law of falling bodies. Never was the
world SO wide awake as now; never was
intense earnestness 30 great characteris-
tic of the human race, and society seems
urged on with an irresistible impulse to do,
what is to be done, quickly. A man.
therefore, who would succeed, must adapt
himself to the spirit of the times. He
must not creep through life like terrapin,
adhering to the opinions and customs of
his fore-fathers, or with his eyes half shut,
listlessly lounging, waiting for something
to turn up; such man can have his for
tune told without consulting a sorcerer, or
looking into the palm of his hand. Energy
is the great essential, and, without it, no
one can succeed, and nothing which hu-
man power or human intellect can grasp,
is denied to it. 1t propels every great
thought and accomplishes every mighty
achievement. No statesman, warrior or
philanthropist ever immortalized his name;
no poet, historian or philosopher ever
blessed mankind without it. Take from a
man this powerful element, aud he be-
comes an oyster, over which great events
sweep without being affected by his influ-
ence. Amid tie great jostle of mind and
matter be is no longer man, but vege-
table, reminding one of the cuscuto and
mistletoe, which pilfer even the sap of life.
Soft hands and soft heads are below par;
they are not needed in this age; but those
are the men for the times, whom no dis
ter can defeat. Let misfortune over
whelm them ever so often, aud they will
come up again with hands washed ready
for fresh struggle.
/ This is an age of practical intelligence.
knowledge can no longer be confined to
the few, but is out among the masses, the
stone is removed from the well, and all that
thirst, can come and partake. Ignorance
and superstition are rolling themselves up
and taking wings. The world is coming
under the dominion of mind, and every
institution, whether social, political or &C.
clesiastical, which cannot stand the test of
reason, must be removed and replaced by
a better. We need not trembie for pet
creeds, let them pass through the ordeal;
if of pure gold, they will be the brighter
for the transition; and man for this age,
must be intelligent, he must read aud think.
No excuse can be offered; periodicals are
as thick as autumn leaves; literature falls
from the press like rain drops from the
clouds. The door OF the great temple is
thrown open to all, one may be homeless,
frlendless and pennyless, but energy and
perseverance will carve The name in marble,
and, indeed, work all the myracles of this
age. One may be of plebelan birth, but
Tue WOlIu uOeS HOS care 80 LluCH WheIe a
man came down from, as where he is going
up TO; not so much troubled about his
descent as his ascent; no matter whether
ones father WAS peasant oil. a prince, the
broad highway Is alike free TO all.
This age is tending toward pure chris
tian morality. Some will doubt this,
others roll up their eyes in perfect amaze
ment at such blind belief. Such examine
the world through microscope, overlook
luscious fruit and mark only the dwarfed
and specked; cannot think of rose with
out bewailing the thorn; point to the spark
ling water, and they will tell you of the
living hordes that rankle in its bosom; but,
Notwithstanding all this, the world is gong
up and growing better every day. One OF
the great evidences of this is seen in the
fact that the New Testament is becoming
more and more the standard OF morality,
the lever by which Archimedes would
move the earth, is superseded by the one
Jesus bequealhed to his disciples. The
world is also more liberal in its opinion of
non. essentials and more inhexible in regard
to fundamental truths. Life does not now
hang on a mere matter of faith; hat out
of fashion, or peculiar coat does not
pave the way to the scaifold; woman is
not hung as a witch, because she is little
brighter than her neighbor; difference of
opinion in religious matters IS tolerated;
denominations do not look upon each other
as they once did, feeling that their own
sect was lhe chosen of God; and mankind
is more and more, coming TO be jud ged by
this infaIible Standard "by their fruits
shall ye know them" A man for this age;
therefore, must % a moral man; for a
convincing proof of this, look at the esti-
M tinn in Uh;ch an immoral M an iS held