The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1861-08-20

lMillNg sipriNs, thct Always sloptfu pHa'
be went oa. Nobody ever grasPed lis
hand cordially, or spoke of him as d good
fellow. lie seemed a. dry and hard and
tough IS a piece Of jetkcd beef There
was 10 soiiness of character no juciness,
no lovlmcss ia him.
Now il i Of no use 70 undertake e rca.
lie to myself that God admires such a
character as this. DO not doubt that he
loves tie man. a. he loves 81 men, bat to
admire his style Of manhood and i Is i'm
possible for any intelligent being. Itlacks
the rondaess and fullaess, and r'rllfos
and sweetness, that belongio i truly nd
miralle character. Such man carica-
tures Christianity, and scares other men
away from il. Such a man ostentatiously
presents himself as one in whose life re-
ligion is dominant 1t is religion that is
supposed 10 have rubbed down that long
face, and inspire that stiff demeanor, and
to make him in all points an unalractiyc
aud unloyablc man, OF course il is not
religion that docs anything Of the Kind but
il has the credit Of il in the world, and the
world does not like it. 1t looks around,
and secs great many men who do not
pretend to religion At AL, and yet who are
very loyable men. If religion can trans
form pleasant man into most unpleas.
ant one, and change free, bright and hap
py home into dismal place of slavery,
and blot out mans esthetie and social na-
ture, the world naturally thinks that get
( ting religion would be almost as much Of
n misfortune as getting some melancholy
chronic disease, and / do not blame IT, 1t
4 is not to be wondered at that the world
should mistake, very much, the true ma
ture of Christianity, when Christians them
selves entertain such gfeyious errors about
il.
suppose God is attracted to very much
the same style OF character that men are.
Christ loved a young man at first sight,
who lacked the very thing essential to his
highest manhood. But he liked the kind
of man he saw before him. He was up
right, frank-heartsd, open-mindcd, and
7 bright, and Jesus beholdipg him. loved
I him." There are men orc cannot help
loving and admiring, though they lack a
great many things-ihhgs very "need-
ful TO make them peri ct mon. Now ]
put it to good conscientious, Christian men
and women, whether they do Mt take
more pleasure in the society of warm
hearted, generous, chivalrous, wellicd
men of the world, than in the sobrieiy Of
that class Of Christians of whom the dea-
con ] have mentioned is type. know
they do, and they cannot help it, There
Is more of that which belongs to Iirst-class
Christian character in the former than the
latter, and if | were called upon TO test
the two men by commanding them re-
spcctiyely TO sell what they had and give
to the poor, ! should be disappointed were
the deacon 70 behave the best. A char
acier which religion does not fructify--
does not soften, enlarge, purify and enrich
it's not benefited by religion--or rath-
er, has not possessed itself of religion.
! God loves that which is beautiful and at
traciiye in character, just as much as VIC
do, and it makes no difference where he
sees it. He does not dislike the amiable
traits Of a sinner because he is sinner
nor does He admire those traits ola Chris
tian all of which we feel TO be contempii-
bic, simply because they belong TO Chris
tiap. A Christian sucked dry Of his hu-
manity is juiceless and hayorless as =
sucked orange, and ! believe that God re-
CARDS him in the same light that we do
: lie will save such | doubt not, for ilieii
faith and, in the coming world. they vii
learn what they do not know here; ba
t the question whether they are as vel
! worth saving as some Of their neighbors
| may, think, be legitimaiely entertained
; In saying this, mean to be neither ligh
! or irreverent. ! mean simply TO indicate
! that some men are worth a great dea
more, to themselves and 10 their fellow
than others
So, when look abroad upon the world
. and see men shaving their heads, ant
: wearing nasty hair-shirts, and shutting
: themselves up in cells, and living lives 0
> celibacy, and when / see women retiring
: from the world which they we're sent t
7 sdorn, populate and bless, and Shaker