Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1869-01-28

centuries our MINDS CraVel Oack 10 ina
sacred mount where the assembled mul
titudes from Galilee, and Decapolis, an,
Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyol
Jordon, listened reverently to Him whit
'pake as never man had spoken before
And after that striking exordium o
'lessings, and the subsequent inculca
lions of love of charity, of concord, o
orbearance, of humility, of prayer, h,
Ipeued the peroration of that extraor
iinory discourse which stands without
rival in the realm ofsacred or human
.loquence, with that which he announe
ed as the embodiment and concentra
| non of all: .-
nat men should do unto you, do we even SO unit
them; for this is the law and the prophets"
Some there are whs regard this com
prehensive rule of action and of life al
,araphrased from that eminent AM
learnd Chinese philosopher, Coufucius
who, five hundred years before, had laid
down as a maxim, that none should dc
INTO their fellows what they would not
have done to themselves. But apart
rom the broad distinction between the
affir native command of the one and the
are negation of the other, the rule
i elf, thus laid down on the Mount, i
ut u repetition aud condensation OF
what tie Creator had declared to Mos
=, in the tabernacle of the Congregation,
thousand years before Coufacius hvesl
aud died. Thou shalt not defraud thy
neighbor, neithor rob him.. "Thou
shalt not ;svenae nor bear any grudge
against the children of the people "
And then, rising from the lahglrge of
prohibition to that of command, here
IN the same spirit as on the Mount, fif-
cen centuries after, the conclusion of
the whole matter is, .'But thou shall love
thy neighbOr as thyself." .9 g.a.s
Such is the rule of all rules-the duty
of all duties-the law of all law-for hu
nan conduct in this wide world Of ours.
How it sparkles in its brilliancy in con-
trast with the iron rule of tyranny,
which teaches that might makes right. "
How it glows in the firmanent when
compared with what has been called the
silver rule of the earth, which bids you
to mete out to others as they have meas
ured to you!, Rightly has the whole
Civilized world recognized the inspired
command as indeed the golden rule
And if lived up to by all on earth, what
u paradise would it make of this globe.
My it ever go before you as the pillar
of fire of old, guiding your footsteps and
and governing your lives.
l cannot close this address, which you
have already found has treated OF the
education of the heart more than of the
mind-the moral nature more than the
ntellectual-without insisting that all
of you have it in your power to make
this world happier and better by your
presence in it, and that you have no
right to hide his power in a Napkin
Look around you on every side as you go
out from these walls into the busy world.
You will find some selfish, cold, austere,
repulsive, forbidding. No noble charity
affects their souls. No unselfish duty
warns their natures. No generous act
their hearts. No blessings are
invoked upon their heads. Living
for self alone, they carry with them to
their graves hearts of steel and faces of
iron. But there are others active in
every good word and work. Is there a !
cry of distress? They do not lecture the
but promptly proffer the |
helping hand. Is there misery to be |
Is there wounded heart |
that needs the oil of consolation? Dol
the rough winds of adversely smite their
all mankind is your
neighbor. How cheerfully they speed
N their errand of humanity! How 1
oyOusly they go forth on their labor of
ovei My young friends, the true felic>
ty of this world is in making others
happy. 1t is this which fills your own
soul with joy. 1t is this which causes a
influx of gladness into your
own heart. For in blessing others you
bless yourself. To me the most beautiful
.ouplet in the English language is,
Count that day lost whose low descending sun
Views from thy hand no noble action DONE"
None of us can live up to this noble
esson of life fully; but in striving to-
ward this ideal, you shall diffuse genial
around you. which will make
you, in many hearts, beloved while liv
ng and mourned when dead. Lord
Bacon said most beautifully that "man's
leart was not an island cut off-from all
'ther lands, but continent which joins
hem" And if you will thus, while
the intellect, and enlarging
he mind, and filling yourselves with the
'riceless knowledge you acquire here.
nd which is to fit you for useful men,
ers of society hereafter, also educate the
eart, widening the sphere of your af-
ectiOns and the scope of your duty to
he less fortunate who are ever near to
our very doors. you shall all
Earn names that win
Iappy remembrance from the great and good. {
James that shall sink not in oblivion's flood,
ut with clear music, like achurch-bells chime.
ound through the rivers sweep OF onward
rushing time"