The Ebensburg Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1865-1871, 1868-11-19
Test Of Character.

Each individual of every community
must necessarily have some sort of char
acter. 1t is possible for him to be with
out reputation, but character is as GER
tain to be a consequence of his existence
as that death should follow birth. More
than this-his character may be one sort,
and his reputation another. Character is
what the man IS, and may be described as
the sum total of his habits Reputation
is what he is repttted to be. 1t is possible
that a man be a scoundrel, and have the
reputation of saint; or be saint, and
yet looked upon as dishonest. A mans
reputation should accord with his charac-
ter, and it is important to the community
in which he lives, as we'll as to che State
at large, that it do SO accord. Nor is
there any agency by which the TWO may
be made to harmonize other then such as
each community establishes for ITSELF
The law is powerless in the case, for the
plain reason that it could enforce no rule
that it might adopt. But were it other
wise, it should not prescribe rule, for to
do so would be TO usurp the province of
private judgment and to destroy all indi-
viduality of thought and action. The
object to be attained by the adoption of
rule is the good of the State or communi-
ty. 1t ought to be such one as would
tend, in its application, to make sincere
men and good citizens Now, what is
such rule Let us suppose case :: A
man of inquiring mind concludes, how
ever mistakenly, that the Christian religion
is false, but he perceives that if he openly
avows his conviction, he will lose his re-
spectahility, by which term is usually
designated the possession of an entree to
''good society,"" and if he is man in
business, he will lose a great portion of his
custom also. As consequence, he shrinks
from the avowal, continues a profession
which he regards as a mere superstition,
and at last almost imperceptibly to himself
becomes the chief of canting hypocrites.-
But would this be the case if man were
Judged solely by what he is and does, rath-
er than by what he processes In the
days of the English commonwealth, when
the Puritanic influence had reached It's
hight. the most sincere Puritan was put
to the blush in all his professions and all
his criptural phrases and sepulchral tones
by the most gr2celess hypocrites and
shameless libertines. So it will continue
to be to the extent that men acquire de-
ference and responsibility by virtue Of
their professions. Adherence to partic-
ular system, assent to certain dogmas, or
adhesion to particular forms, should
weigh nothing in our estimate of charac-
ter. or in the confidence or the lack of it
which we may show towards our fellows.
If man does well, if he love justice and
hate wrong, if he is industrious in his hab-
| its and upright in his life, the motives that
move him mast be good. The question is
not, is his theology correct or his philos-
ophy sound We yield to none in love OF
correct theology and sound philosophy.
But the very end and aim of these is pu-
rity of life, industry, cleanliness, and love
i. of Justice, 1t may be objected, and plaus-
IDLY, too, that community whose inquiry
is directed to what u man is and does rath-
cr than to what u man believes and thinks.