Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1866-01-10

study and reveals the student busily en-
ployed in the exercise of his mind
points to man in the exercise of his SCI
eral faculties whereby he is enabled
to live and move, and by his conduct an
conversation influences the virtue of th
world it shows us the little insect an
the buzziDg fly, the beast of the field an
the fowl of the air, the trees and plant
which coYer the earth. acting in thei
respective spheres it reminds of in
sun, fixed in its place, and of the moo
modestly following its course, to the star
twinkling as if in joy that they have
part to fill, and to the earth moving in it
orbit, to the thunder's roll, and tn
lightning's flash; and last of all it cor
ducts the devout mind to God, the cen
trail source of all power, upholding, di
recting and moving all things by tn,
power of His almighty will. Thus, yol
see, there is no end to the variety tina
this subject brings to our notice but yoI
need not be frightened at the magnitud,
of the design as it thus appears on tn,
tressil board. l do not calculate on ex
haustlng the subjects in masonry, we
are constantly reminded that there is
something beyond what We know yet tc
be revealed, so also will leave a great
deal more unsaid on this subject than
shall say.
Of all the moral forces that are in the
world none has greater or more wide
spread influence than society. In all oi
its various forms and relations it is the
great moving power of the world. 1t has
its effect on the virtue of mankind, yet
it does not stop here, but acts and reacts
on the whole world, physical as well as
moral. Man is a social being-he needs so
ciety, and in consequence he regulates
and is regulated by society. 1t is by vir-
tue of this social quality residing in US,
aud the influence that is exerted by So
ciety, that man becomes a moral power
in the world.
The little infant, lying unconsciously
in its nurses arms, the boy or girl emerg-
ing into youth, the young man or young
woman, coming forth to take a place in
the busy world, the parent to whose care
is entrusted the nurture and education
of thinking, moral, active agent, each
in his or her own sphere is power in the
world. In large piece of machinery
there are innumerable rods and bars and
bolts and screws and valves and wheels /;
some are more directly important than
others, but each one has its appropriate
use and each one has an effect on the other,
and thus each one is a power in produc-
ing the general result of the whole. So
ciety is q complicated piece of machinery
its parts are as numerous and varied
as there are men, and as the relations we
sustain to one another can make them
To keep the whole piece working proper
ly, each distinct part has its work to full
fill, and every piece of this complex ma
chine, although producing in the first
place some immediate end, is necessary
to the general effect of the whole. The
child, in influencing the conduct of the
parent, influences to some extent the
conduct of the world the family is but
a government inside of the civil govern
ment-one nationality is but part of the |
political power in the world. Thus the |
social life of man is awheel within a wheel, |
or a series of widening circles, agitating |
the stream of life from shore to shore. 1t /
is the obligations of society, the demands |
of society, the wants of society, the |
pleasures of society, the profits of socie-
ty, that brings into exercise not simply
the virtuous principle that is within US,
but those faculties and powers by which
the business of life is conducted, and BY
which the great inventions of the age are
brought about. Some may affect to un-
dervalue the influence of society, but
they know not what they are talking
about; in doing this they are denying
human nature, and are undertaking
that which keeps the world moving on in
its course Society is, in some respects,
the sun around which the life of man re-
wolves, from which warmth and bright
ness are procured, and that which keeps
all things in their proper place, and that
which helps to advance to the attainment
of happiness hereafter. That man who
forswears society is not the wisest man,
the happiest man, or the holiest man
nay, he is likely to be the very reverse
it is by the friction of society that man
is in every respect polished.
You have all noticed the steam car, and
perhaps you have been again and again
struck as have been. with its grand and
majestic appearance. 1t is a machine of
power; in its every part it indicates pow
ar and strength, even if it is standing
on the track. 1t is a work to
be admired, and as one looks at its bur-
nished steel and glittering brass-its large
driving wheels-its capacious boiler and !
slender piston rod-the idea of a great {
power inVoluntarily arises in our minds
[ never tire of looking at a locomotive
there is a charm to me in the steam as it (
comes kissing forth, and the smoke (
thrown out in majestic puffs, as if coming ]
rom the very bowels of the machine,
md the engineer, leaning out of his box, {
Is the governor of the huge thiDg-in-
jpires me with a feeling akin to venera- {
ion. But when l see this great, power
'ul iron horse at the head of long train
Of cars, moving the whole thing swiftly s
md easily along, when l consider the /
yreat weight that is being thus dragged i
along, as l feel the earth shaking at my 1
eet, when rejecting on the regularity {
and smoothness with which the whole {
matter is conducted-I feel almost lost i
With wonder at the power thus displayed i
But after all, the real power of that ma i
chine is not in the metal with which it is I
Ouilt, nor in the steam by which it is
in the mind of that man I
who discovered that steam could be put |
10 such a use, and who planned the en-
CINE and back even of this il resides in
The society which has use for such ma {
chine, and which prompted the discov- i
.ry. 1t is not simply man, but man as a
social being-m4n as a member of socie- /
5y-who gives us the locomotive. 1t is q
the power of society working upon the {
mind of man, determining him to bring i
certain natural forces together, that they
may become of service to society. Nor 1
loes the power of the machine itself con- c
iist merely in the great weight it drags t
along, but in the fact that it carries the q
of man from place to place i
hat it helps to develope the Vigor and T
and enterprise that is in t
nan-that it contributes to the happi- '
ness of the human family-that it assists {
% make the wealth of a country. All t
his is but saying that its Iower is in ad- i
7ancing the interests of society. Society t
Ifter all is the main power. c
Our beloved country has just finished a L
rrible struggle-it was a battle for its life /
the nations existance was staked on d
,he contest--and by the blessing of God, 1
through able hands and willing hearts S
through patient endurance and noble sac t
'ifces, it has come forth victorious. The v
ides of the old ship of state are SCARED S
'ut they are not broken-and, that glori- v