Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1864-03-23
WHOLE NUMBER 1Q4.
Sober Thoughts for the Times.
tF,oa tho Natioaal fhtlsliiEaaBssl

ttrom the National Ihteiig gencer-l
CtcERo, in many of his letters and
speeches immediately prseedihstiIe over.
throw of the Republic, dwells Bif1 hon
est indignation, not unmingled with des-
pOndencyi on the luxury and frivolous
fsmusements to which the people suffered
themselves to be addicted while the State
was c0n7ulsed by civil war and actually
in the throes of dissolution. Tnstsad Of
practieing the virtues Of self-deniul and
Of graphing with the stern7diflcultiss Of
the time in which they lived they sought
diversion in the cares Of business or in
the dissipadons of Roman life. Bfagni.
fcent palaces were reared while tie foun-
datiOns Of the State were rackiny beneath
the blasts Of contehding faciiohs and
costly fish ponds expanded in ibsir7 dim
ensions until they We'd With the 1luorius
lake. Such was the optimism and such
the inseusibi'ity Of the ps0pis tHat he
writes Of men who deemed themselves
lnOst happy if they got tahs fsh %
come out at their call and eat out Of thsif
hands--fools enough, he adds, to be-
lieye that if the Constitution we're des.
troyod their fish ponds would be safe
There was no adequate perception Of the
duties demanded by the crisis, and no
attempt to perform them BY the great
mass Of the ruling population Wh0 gave
a tone to Roman society. s'as@s
It Will not be denied that We are liv.
ing in times fraught with the most solemn
destinies that ever awaited any people
embroiled as we are in a civil Rafl Of un-
ezampled magnitude, whether regard be
bad to the extent of territory covered by
it OF the number of the forces brought
into fratricidal conflict. at the salns
time the foundations Of our civil institu.
tons are destroyed in eleven States by
! their unconstitutional secession from ths
iTAesdes@U Union, until the. lacerations Of
the body polite are no lessfghastly than
the wounds aud scars left BY the mater.
ial strife of war. t,
And yet, amid all these evils which
call for humiliation, or at leu5t fOEasObsr.
ness and recollection of thoughtiwhat
do We witness? The increase and spread
of luxury and eztraYagancs on every
hand A spirit Of speculation pervadss
/ all classes Of people. The imitation Of
the currency lends itself to the dslusiOus
of those who make haste to get rich.
Our great cities, if we may trust the
representations which reach Us, ara. 6lled
With the booths Of Vanity Fain5 All
forms Of popular amusement are patrOns
lied beyond precedent, The Esry. winter
/ quarters of our armies ars Invaded bY
the train of Pleasure, and the sound Of
reyelry by night in bali and dance pre-.
cludes the opening Of The spring cam.
paigul
While England was engaged. in the
war of the Crimea We read that such was
the solemnity inspired by public calsmi.
/ ty and so keenly felt were the privats
griefs that darkened the heafthstOnes Of
English homes, that there was 4 general
suspension of the ordinary ferns in which
social gayety finds expression Are We
living in a less solemn time, 81 are vS
less sensible to the prophecies, rot to
say the duties, eDjOined by the judg.
ments of God when they take the most
awful shape in which they can visit any
people? Iffrivolity and t6OughtIsssnesl,
if greed and luxury are at alp times the
roProach of people, what Shall Se think
OF dissipation and eKtravaganes ana cor
ruption holding high carnival n time Of
eiyH war? IF no higher motives can ar.
rest the progress Of this dvgensfa6y than
such as appeal to the passions Of war, it
is sufficient to say that no war can be
successfully waged which does not begeG
in its prosecutions tile hardy yvirtaes Of
sacrifice and devotion, while hea7eB must
irowu on a cause which identities itself
With social and political dissolution.