The Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1861-1862, 1861-11-09
.saIhnuSn 0R THIaIEaI1II

. saealAnUsE Or Tnis wonID.
so Among the .mOtal apothegms floating
Though the, newspapets-none Of a numerous
class-is this definition Of worldly happi.
ness :''-
"a glittehng false diamond, placedppon the
top Of smooth creased pole, which all try
to climb and sectre.v gap ~ ---s''i y MAJ
The figure is rather striking than hain9el elegant,
But the idea is simply false and execrabIe. IF
the writer meant ful'' when he said aworld.
ly" he would have hit nearer the truth. But
he meant, as all mawkish sentimentalists mean
when they use such language, to disparage the
.enjoyments Of this life and bring them I into
contempt, We expect this sort Of talk,from
the pulpit, and tolerate it there, because the
pulpit Having fallen into il, continues thy
force of habit and with the idea that men VIII
think better of the blessings God has in store
for them in another life if they learn to des-
pise those bestowed upon them in this. But
how a sane man can deliberately, and with
any adequate idea of the purpose of human
life, reach the conviction that its happiness is
not real and satisfying, is one of the myste-
ries The wisest men, it is not to be denied,
have thus deprecated the value of earthly
enjoyments, and used language which would
imply the basest ingratitude to the author of
these -enjoyments, if we did not know it is
somehow prompted by a vague notion that
God has placed us in this beautiful world in
order that we may be disappointed and tanta-
lized till we come heartilyto despise it, and
so look upward to higher life out of sheer
disgust with this. 1t may be true that some
grow into a genuine spiritual life by this pro-
cess. - But we cannot believe it the natural
way, ,.or the best way. Goethe, the German
Shakespeare, said -
n,s"1 have often been praised as an especial
favorite of fortune; and l will not myself
complain. But at the bottom there has been
nothing but trouble and labor and 1 can we'll
say that in my whole five and seventy years,
had not four weeks of real pleasure. 1t was
the eternal rolling of stone that had always
to be lifted up again for a new start" ~ -.
And suppose it to be SO. There is salts
start, quite as great, sometimes as in watohing
its descent by the force of. gravity. That any
single pleasure is not perpetual is no valid
objection to it. We should accept it gratefully
for what it is, and if the giver Of it is not well
pleased with our thorough and hearty enjoy
ment of each gift he bestows, than he is not
the loving Father our religion represents him
to be. The rose soon loses its beauty and
fragrance, it is true, but is that reason for not
accepting the delicate sensual delight it offers
while they do last Besides the recollection
of them is pleasant; and in all, the minutest
things, with. which this world is adorned and
enriched, there are valuable spiritual lessons
for whoever will attentively look for them.-
If the sources, Of worldly happiness We're
not transitory, there could be none of that
succession and infinite variety that make our
daily life ever new and fresh. ,a, \ pa iGr
"Life is. real : its enjoyments are as real as
its duties, and more real than most of its sor-
rows 1t isa morbid carbohydrates bile,
and too much of it---that makes it seem 9TH
erwise to any of us. But with most of those
who talk and write otherwise, the depreciation
of"worldly happiness" is mere cant and af-
fectation. They do enjoy a pleasantprospect
a good dinner, the inspiring countenance of a
friend, the sweet kiss of wife, sweetheart and
ehild-or any other of the immeasurable
good things that make the daily lives Of all
Of us SO blessed. And they profess dissats-
faction with Gods earthly gifts only because
they have vague notion that it is somehow
wrong to cultivate, or crafty any human fac
ulty that is not wholly spiritual, and that it is
sign of great heavenly mindedness to con-
slider all the pleasures of this world ihsipid
and valueless. 1t is true that the permanent
enjoyments of another life are of vastly high
er value-yet who can say that there, as here,
there shall not be succession and variety p
The perpetual psalm7singing some anticipate
can hardly be more than pleasant figure Of
speech. And there, as we'll as here unless hu-
man nature is so radically transformed that
we shall loose our identity and become some-
body else, perpetual growth and ever increas-
ing happiness must be attained by using and
enjoying each faculty. We cannot avoid the
conclusion that it is great mistake to despise
"worldly happiness" and that whoever neg
lects to improve such. means of enjoyment
sensual, mental, moral Or spiritual-as come
in his way or are to be- had for the seeking
wrongs his own nature, perverts even his
highest, faculties into morbid and deformed
growth, and in that process acts ingratitude
towards. God while uttering thanksgiving with
the lips.-Sp1inafeM Republican. .' ''4i
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