Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1860-12-22

influences of selfish world--yet endowed
with power to contend against them all, tc
suffer and grow strong--yea, to become
perfect by conflict with the very forces that
threaten to overwhelm him. To know
these high prerogativss Of man, is to dis
Icern the inherent grandeur Of human nature,
before which all outward distinctions sink
to insignifcance. No thought can measure
iit--no limits can be set to its unfolding
And when we consider that the mind is to
advance forever-when we add the idea
Eternity to mans progress, the results o.
bis existence surpass not only our own,
but even angelic thought.
This being the basis Of selfculture, its
necessity becomes apparent, as without il
we could rise but very little above mere
lanimal existence. Man is moro helpless at
the commencement of his career than any
of the lower creation. The animal is en-
dowed from the first with all the powers
and faculties that are necessary to its i'm
mediate and future life But man is merely
an organism fitted to receive, but as yet
possessing nothing. All the powers and
faculties necessary to his present and future
life are to be acquired by steady and con-
slant cultivation. This our original desti-
tuition should induce us always to remem-
Der, that man was created to be made
The announcement, !" Let US make man,
has surely lost none Of its significance
Like all the announcements of the Creator,
lit paitakes of His infnituds When God
speaks He speaks for diverse and for all
time; and His words once uttered, sound
foreverl Hence the word, "Let us make
man." is still heard in every nursery, in
every school-room, in every effort to I'M
prove the intelectan expand the affections
of the meanest child of humanity. /" Let
us make man" is uttered in every act Of
Providence This is the constant, nnceas-
ing work Of Deity, and the whole universe
5 is charged with its accomplishment.
81 This, in the estimation Of your reporter
!, was the climax of the lecturers effort; anc
e he rose to it by such gradual and easy
# ascent, that no one of his auditors suspect
9 ed that they were mentally climbing to th'
9 top of great and high mountain. But
!, having followed him, all could see from
y that erninence the whole vast domain q
thought that lay outstretched on every
t hand before them, and could heartily agree
r with him in his next proposition, that there
9 is nothing to prevent selfculture but oul
own sloth and indifference.
The lecturer then spoke of the two
r powers or faculties of the mind by which
!. self-cultuIe is effected. These he called
a the selfsearehing and the self-forning
powers properly the intellectual and the
voluntary faculties Afterdescrihing theil
uses, he said that by their means we can
fix the eyes Of our mind upon Perfection,
7 and so concentrate the forces Of the viii,
as to compel almost everything to speed us
on toward that bright goal. Possessing
Y these powers, it matters little what orwher0
! we now are; for we can conquer and attain
!. better state, and even be all the better
) and happier for starting from the lowest
point. Self-knowledge is most important,
? and especially knowledge Of this self
4 forming power, for it tianscends the power
we exercise over outward nature. There
4 lis more of divinity in it than in the force
: which impels the uniyerse-and yet how
: it slumbers in most men, unsuspeetcd, UNI
used. Nevertheless, it is the possession of
1 it, whether we know i. or not, that makes
5 Iselfculture duty, to be neglected al our
!. peril. The self-forming power is the will,
} and the selfsearching is the understanding.
These constitute humanity. Whoever
: possesses them is A MAN-and whether be
|. be good man or bad mana happy
; man or a miserable man-depends upon
) the use he makes Of those powers.
: In the cultivation Of these faculties, it is
a primary and indispensable necessity tina t
: 1.-The individual be actuated by fixed pur-
pose Of acquiring THE TRuTH-not the
truth of this or that inan-not the truth
of any particular community or church
-jbut the Truth Of God. For this he must
Ibe willing to leave all else. and to follow
E wheresoeyer it leads. Truth is not found
lin the whirIwind or the storm Of passion
and debate, but comes asa "still small voice
, Ito every man, saying, This is the way, walk
live in it." As but one sun ilunines the
-Inatural heaven, so there is but one source
or fountain Of all truth, and that source or
center is Him who spake as never man
lspake, and who says, Il am the Way, the
elTruth, and the Life Tho home and
I resting place Of Truth is the throne Of God,
its form the divine goodness as seen in
tho life and words of Jehovah God, oul
CIr-y l..