Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1861-09-14

>, N haI ulul extremes. Men
OF one 'uea are always extremist, and ex.
tremlsis are. always nuisanees. | might
faithfully add that an extremist is never
man of sound mind.
Inc WnoIe tribe OF professional ngitators
and misealed reformers are men of one idea
That tleSe men do good, sometimes direct.
" ana frequently indirectly, do not DENY.
ana " equally evident that they do n
great dsul Of harm, the worst of which
perhaps, fall upon themselves. Like tho
charge Of cannon they do damage 70 nm
enemy' Notifications, but they burn up the
powder there is in them, and lose the ball
Like blind old Samson, they may PROSTATE
the pillars of great wrong, but they crush
themselves aud the Philistians Together
The gr'ateSt and trueSt reformer that ever
lived was Jesus Christ but ah the diff
terance between his broad aims, universal
sympathes and overhowing love, and the
malignant spirit that moves those who
angrlly beat themselves to death against an
instituted wrong As an illustration, look
at those who have been the prominent agi-
tators Of the slavery question in this country
for the last twenty years Are they men
OF charty Are they christian men ? rs
not invective the chosen aud accustomed
language of their lips? Do they not follow
those against whom they have opposed
themselves, whether for good cause or
otherwise, into their graves with q fendish
lust OF cruelty, aud do they uot delight TO
trample upon great names aud sacred memo.
ries +! Are they mn whom we love Do
we feel attracted 10 theirsocety Teachers
Of tolerltion, are they not the most intoler.
ant of men living? Denouucers of birotrv
are the. not the most fercely bigotcd of onv
men we Know Preachers OF love and good
will to men, do they not use more .for1ihIv
than any other class the power OF words IN
wound and poison human sensibilities
1t is not the quality of the idea which a
man entertains that kills him. Freedom
for every creature that bears Gods imacn
the breaking of the rod of the oppressor
and letting the oppressed go free-this is a
good idea. 1t is so great, so broad, so full
SO flowing, that world of men might gather
around t for time as they do around Nj.
agara, and grow divine in its majestic mu.
sic and the vision of the wreath of lpht
which heavea holds above it, If a man
undertake to live upon a single idea, it real
ly makes very little difference to him
whether that idea be good or a bad one
A man nay as well get scurvy Oh beans
as beef. suppose diet of potatoes would
be quiteas likely to support life comfortably
as die Of peaches It's because the hu.
man soul cannot live upon one thing alone,
but demands participation in every express.
ion of the life OF God, that it will dwarf and
Starye upon even the grandeSt aud most di-
vine idea
The agitators and reformers are very
ready to see the dwarfng effect of single
range o. ideas upon the Christian ministry,
and large number of Christian men. |
admit tle accuracy of their observations in
this mater, and, admitting this, can GER
tainly ask the question whether they hope
to escape depreciation when the Christian
idea-tle divineSt Of all-is insufficient Of
itself to make man, and Gil him, and give
him all desirable health and wealth and
growth As have touched upon this point,
may say that it is coming to be understood
that a nan or a minister, in order to be a
Christian, must be something else-that
Christianity received into nature and life is
only on, of the elements Of manhood-and
that a nan may become starved and mean
and bigoted and essentially insane by feed.
ing exclusively upon religion What means
the vision of these Sapless, sad and sancti,
monioui ChriStians-these poor, thin, stingy
lves-out that all ideas save the religious
one hare been shut out from them ? Is it
not notorious that minister who has fed
exclusively upon religion is a man without
power upon the hearts and minds of men
Is it not true that he has most efficiency in
pulpit ministration who has the largest
knowledge of and sympathy with men, the
broadest culture, and the widest acquain-
tance with all the ideas that enter as food
and motive into human life }? Is it not true
that in the lifelong, absorbing anxiety and
carefuneSs of multitude of souls to secure
their salvation those souls are constantly be-
ecoming less valuable, and thus-to use the
language of the marhz less worth saw
ing?
| cannot fail, however unwilling, TO see
much that is dry and stiff and unlovely in
the style Of Christianity around me. 1t hos
no attraction for me- do not like the
people who illustrate it and the reason is,
not that they have got to much of Christi
anity, but they have not got enough OF
anything else Flour is good. but flour is
not bread. II l am too eat -four, must
eat it as bread and either milk or water
must be used to make it bread II a little
milk.is used, tho bread will be dry and
heavy and hard II good deal is used,
the flour will be transformed into soft and
plastic mass, which will rise in the heat,
and come to my lips sweet and fragrant
morsel Christianity is good, but it wants
mixing with humanity before it will have
practical value. If only little humanity
be mixed with it, the product will be dry
and tasteless, but ii it be combined with the
real milk of humanity, and enough OF it, the
result will be q loaf fit for the tongues OF
angels. No the diVinest idea that has yet
been apprehended by the human mind is
not enough for the human mind. That
which God made to be fed by various food
cannot be fed with success or safety by a
single element We cannot build a honse
Of dry bricks. 1t takes lime and sand and
water in their proper proportions to hold
the bricks together
This selection of a single idea from the
great world of ideas to which the mind is
vitality related, and making it food and