Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1861-08-09

University OF Nermont' commeuO0u On gu"
day, with
TIE -BAocALAUREATE SERMON
by President Pease.
The text was MATTHEW XVIII, llrH.-For
fM Son of Man rs come 10 sdre that 'rf'ch
1cas lost.
On this passage Mr.. Pease founded a dis
cusion Of the Purposes, Method and Results
Of Christianity. Inquiring, in the first
place, What does Christianity propose? lie
answered, The restoration Of a lost race to
obedience to the Divine law. 1t is neces>
sary here to keep in mind that man is a
spiritual being, capable of determining his wi
ends, perfectly free in choosing and pursu-
ing them. He is also a creature, and there
fore responsible TO God. He can have no
rational ends which do not coincide with
the designs of God. Now the great admit
ted fact is, that man has lot chosen as his
ends those that harmonic with the Divine
purposes. He has taken the control of his
being from the law of his Reason, and gwen
it TO his lower nature. He has thus become
essLaped according TO the only pure idea of
slavery; for if the Will is free the Man is
free. 1t follows that this bondage Of the
spirit must be total and hopeless, for change
in the ultimate determination of the Will is
a contradiction of terms If it suffer change
il IS not ultimate If 1t vacillates, it is not
determined. Spiritual freedom gone, and
msn hood is gone the man is lost,
Such being the ruined state Of the race.
Christianity proposes to restore the human
will to its original and proper freedom, and
make the man Gods freeman.
As TO the Method of this restoration, the
case is one admitting of no patching OF
repairs. A new creature can alone meet
the necessities of the case. We are com
PEELED to accept the doctrine and fact OF a
spiritual regeneration. The power working
TO this end is a ritdl power, and like the
vital forces of Nature is genial, gradual,
irreel tible. Placed within the soul 1t must
grow, assimilate to it's life the being of the
man, and eject and destroy whatever is for
esgn and hostile to it's aims.
Arriving at the Results of Christianity,
the speaker showed that they must first
appear in the individual soul,-the crown
ing Result being the individual salvation of
the man. One of these results is a profound
e set-knowhGye,-a self knowledge which,
is the condition of all right Acquaintance and
.ympathy with our fellow man.
Another result is the restoring in the indi-
vidual the just balance and proportions of
his being, by a subordination to one great
end, which, while bringing unity into the
being of the man, establishes the conditions
of a like unity in the working and products of
different minds. The History of Philosophy
shows us that the u%nifying principle of
Christianity alone renders possible the fulfill
ment of the injunction ''be of one mind. The
two great types of mind, the discursive and
the intuitive. are always in supposed conflict
s,d head schools which are in real conflict.
Plato and Aristotle often differ, their follow
ers always fight. In the literature of all
ages We find the same constantly recurring
diversity and confusion of ideas; men often
nearest when they think themselves farthest
apart, and really irreconcilable when they
think themselves agreed. What, for ex-
is more unlike than the Hebrew theism
Of Milton and the natural theism Of Word
worth, or what more in sympathy than the
philosophical atheism of Pope and the sensu-
Il atheism of Byron?
Christianity is the only principle of recon-
,ilement and under its influence an agreement
Md unity of mind with mind is secured.
The full realization of this is found
n ne Bible. The writers of the
Bible present the ssms varying types of mind
. Others; but there il a substantial agree G
lent and harmony Gn0rg them. Learning {
by malixnity has labored for ages to
iscover some essential and important dis q
armony, and failed. Paul and John, the c
'lato and ARISTOTLE of the scriptures, 60 hand v
/. Laau. Ia one God bows the Heavens and r
,ms s down. In the other earth rises and
an ascepds. In both there is the same ia
al, the reunion of Earth and Heaven. or
After mentioning briefly other results. W
lr. Pease dwelt more at length on the re- CO
1t that Christianity brings a man into the Ii
yht relation to evil government, and thus Oh
akes hun a good ahsen. He urged that m
INSTANTLY has q peculiar claim to this re- d.
It,in that it places o the right foundation of
e sentiment of patriotism. The christian of
unds the State on Gods appointment, and ia
~ in its service obedience to God. His
vsl,y Is aggressive as VIII q conservative. th