The Portland daily press., 1869-06-16
FrH r SIS,
Wednesday Morning, Juue l6, 1869.
Beechcr at West Point.

This clergyman preached a sermon on
Christian Manhood" before large audience,
including the graduates Of West Point, Presi-
dent Grant, Gen. Mcdowell, Secretary Borie,
the board of visitors and the staff of the Acad-
envy. We learn from the New York World
that the building was crowded as soon as il
was opened, the battalion of Cadets filling the
two rows OF pews opening ON the middle aisle.
1t was written sermon an hour and a hall
long and the audience wished it was longer
1t was one of his great efforts, and his advice
to the Cadets will long be rememembered
Thousands went away because they could not
find even standing room. The preacher told
his auditors that all churches, all ordinances,
doctrines, and all sorts OF moral teaching are
ordained OF God for the making of the perfect
man, and Christianity may be said, in q general
way, to be the art of being whole men in dis
tinction from partial men and make-believe
men. 1t is not enough to say that Christiani-
ty tends to make men better; it does that, but
on the way to something higher. It's aim is to
develope perfect manhood.
Christianity teaches that human nature
perfectly developed, becomes divine We
hold nature in common with the divine ma
ture. No man can be divine in scope and de-
gree, but in kind lie may. Every oak tree in
the nursery is like an oak hundred years old
not in size, but in nature. This is not all a
figure. One must not, then, confound chris
tianity and religion. Religion is the specific
of which Christianity is the generic. One is
simply worship, the other is character Wor-
ship is partialism, a very noble partialism,
but it is the employment of one part of our ma
ture adapted to divine things, but Christiani-
ty creates manhood in men. Religion teach
es men to pray and to worship, to.venerate, to
be obedient, but Christianity teaches men to
be men all through.
Nothing is superfiuous in man-no part too
much, nothing too little no appetite is fixed
in our constitution but is useful; no passion
that is superfiuous; no force or faculty o.
function that is not indispensable. The body
itselfis sacred, whatever men may have to say
respecting it; it is to be cherished and honored.
There is no single quality, not one single ele-
ment that goes to the composition of the
Christian mind which snakes a man more q
man by taking it away.
There is no picture ever painted no statue
ever scnlptured, no work of art evor conceiy-
ed, half so beautiful as the life of a man thor
oughly developed upon the pattern OF Christ.
Living well for the life to come is the surest
way to live well in this world Men try to be
Christians by viewing merely what is between
man and man, and they say that if man will
do bright here God win make it right hereafter
Others say that those who set their thoughts
upon things above, perverting the idea of the
Apostles, must live as anchorires, separate
from all vitality. That is like men disputing
which is the more important-the forward
sight upon the gun or the hind sight In its
place each is the most important If we take
true aim We must draw the foresight through
the hind one. And SO this world is the hind
sight and the other is the fore sight, and we
must put this world in line with the foresight
of the other, and work both in a line. HUI
man society and government are the drill
ground. Our toll and cur labor and our in
telligence arez all means of grace. The
place OF courage is where there is danger.
How ignoble it is to squander manhood in this
world
How many men sink lower than the beasts
by their indulgences; for the beasts never sink
below their natures. No man ought to sac
rifice power and ambition. If they come to a
man let him take them and use them. A man
without ambition is man without back
bone. If God int ided a man to he a leader
he will find it out himself. And if He did not
mean the man to be a leader, but to rank fifth
or sixth or tenth, but to secure leadership
the person jumps down and up like canary
in cage, and by fraud aud pretensons, by
creeping and crawling, sometimes on his feet,
nd of, Ia. L. 4
all tours, he brings himself through life, and
gains some power and place; yet all is lost
justice, moderation, self withal, benevolence
charity and love of God, and the love of his
fellowmen. He has lost his manhood How
dsgraceful it is for q man to be sent into God s
workshop and come out on the other side in
this pitiful condition. -. ,i.s
Beecher holds that no one can be man
without he be Christian. No man becomes
Christian by becoming professor of religion
NOT that sectarian is a Christian, but he
calls those men who have manhood in
Christ Jesus. No man is free until he has
learned to live in this higher nature. He called
upon his auditors to distinguish between Gods
men and the churchmen. He did not speak
in disparagement of the church 1t makes no
ulhereuce where you get your watch from, A
dispute between watchmakers, English, French
and German, ill make no impression on you;
their arguments a4lount to nothing. The
watch that keeps the best time was made by
fhe best maker. So it is in the church that
makes the most apostles that's the best
church. ffa8
In the close of his sermon he made an elo-
quent appeal to the Cadets to strive for that
better manhood. He told them they need not
be cruel because they were warriors, for war
may be discipline. 1t is the symbol of Justice,
of law, of liberty, and of society His illusions
to the war we have just passed through was
thrilling and sublime. He believed great good
will come oft, and it will be looked upon as q
sublime war for unity and liberty to man. We
have not space to print all the good things in
this sermon. Perhaps this preacher never ap-
yeared to better advantage than he did on this
occasion. Passages in his sermon were truly
startling and sublime, and delivered with
power and pathos which but few in this
world can equal. e.i ..iissek To .5fqa.ls}
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