The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1861-12-12
Communicated
The purcSt treasure mortal times afford,
Is spotIcss reputation that away
Men are but glded loan or painted clay.
Communicated

Men are nut gilded loan or painted clay.
II Si0kcsPedrS.
Much difficulty has arisen in defining the dstinc-
tion between the soul of man and the spirit of the
beast; and it is possible the problem would have
remained unsolyed had not Power abovc,us deter
minedit. The book of inspiration saith, "Thc spirit
of man goeth upward, but the spirit of the bcas,
goeth downward The man has an intellectual
capacity, with powers of reflection, by which the
force and energy of his acts increase in their ncn-
sty forever The beast follows IFS natural instinct
and having accomplished the object of It's creation
passes from existence without cntailing mental or
social misery on its fellows Such, however is not
the case with man, in the relations of his earthly
existence; and in all his communications with his
fellow beings, there is motive given for good or
evil, which will roll on eernsly Reasoning from
the analogy of religious and social life, how evil
IDENTITY is this portrayed.
AS an example, we would especially notice tue
influence which slander has ON the public and pri-
vate character OF our neighbprs. Indeed no tongue
can state or pen describe the nexprcssiblc misery
occnsioned thereby. BY it the foundations of har-
mony and unity are uporn, and friends transformed
to foes. 0fttimcs by 1t the lifelong destiny of in
dividualS and of families are shrouded in sorrow
in bitterness and in iniamy; and the source of their
trouble continues hid, until the light of eternity
rcNeNlS the SccfctS oi All heultS. In many cases.
slnder has its origin in suspicion in some il is the
offspring of consciousness, in others of malice
Lamentable it is TO know that there are those of
both SEXES wholly occupied in this work of dcfama-
ton. their character and mode of operation is aptv
stated by Milton, when describing the approaches
of Satan to our mother Eve.
Him there they found
Squat like q toad, close at the ear Eve
AsSayng by his devilish arts TO reach
The organs of her fancy, and with them forge
illusions, as he list.
Not content with spreading tales of folly, fraily
and vice, they proceed TO enlarge thrm, to invent
new ones; and blaCken character, that we may ap-
pear hateful and odious 10 each other Accom-
plShing this, they rejoice in their iniamy. Their
mode of operation is mostly secret. They go pri-
vately frem one to another distillng the Venom of
their slandcr; not with the intent thereby to give
less publicity to their statements, but rather more
the trick Of secrecy giving them greater credibilty
aud causes the subject 90 bc more spoken of. So
the tale passes from one To another through the
whole community. The estimate of a person Is
thus made the opinion of character is thus formed
and the deadly nsdious policy of the slanderrr.
like secret poison, produces incurablc results ere
the victim diSccrns II, and renders the detection of
its authors impossible.
OF all classes of evil persons, the whispering
slandercr is pre-cminenty vile. The thief who
Stoals your purse, the midnight assassin who stabs
YOU to the heart 10 possess Your property the rave
nous beast which grnls YOU between ita teeth 10
satisfy the cravings OF its appetite they honor
ahle ana klnd Whcn compared with such, Could
the slanderers realize their meanness they would
eoncede the beast loftier elevation in the scale of
creatures The enquiry may be made MS 10 how this
hane of society can be abated. The answer is sim
pie and piam 1t is by respecting the reputation OF
our neighbor as do ouro wn; and without int md
ing to libel the harmless reptile, we say, when the
slanderer approaches YOU with deiamatory tales
think of the Toad. n. ii. G.