New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-07-19
PELF md PIETY.

PELF And PIETY.
Everybody has heard of the good and shrewd
deacon who informed his brethren Qn meeting
asse,nbled) that he was as sure OF the exist
ence of a Deity as of the existence OF flour IN
the city; and of that he was sure, since he had
Just received 500 bbls. prime, Howard-st., which
he was ready to sell, at Wholesale or retail,
upon the most reasonable terms. We reckon
this story a sort of iTeverent Joe invented
by the scOfier; yet we find in The Worcester
shire (Eng) advertiser verltable advertise
ment as relishing in its way as the celebrated
Worcestershire sauce. In this, Edward HICKS,
No. q Friar street, Worcester, invites ms
" Christian friends" to inspect his "large as
"sortment of boots an,i shoes" He expresses
desire for "the Divine Blessing upon
CHS diligence in business" and promises,
if he can sell boots and shoes enough, 10 de-
"vote portion of his time to gratultous ms
"sion work Repairs neatly executed. be-
"spoke orders punctually attended, &c, &C"
Now. we should like to ask the reader, as we
have asked ourselves, what there is in an adj
vertisement like this which should make the
irreyerent sheer and the reverentjudicious
erieye. as they assuredly Wilt 1t is perfectly
possible that this shoe-seller may be sincere
and that he desires to sell great many shoes
in order that he may be able to distribute
great many tracts in Worcester Why should
we doubt the veritaJle devotion of good Mr..
Hicks2 Why suspect him of using his piety
as a puff Yet nothing can be more certain
than that nine-tenths of those who may READ
this advertisement will declare Mr.. Hicks to he
but a worldly wise hypocrite of coIdwalncr'
Probably a good deal Of the dlsagIeeaDle
feeling to which such an announcement may
give rise may be safely attributed to its pal
nable violation of the laws of good taste.
Men with no loudly-prOfessed religion OF their
own may yet be offended by anything which
diminishes their respect for the religion of
others; for, however Indifferent they may be
upon the point of personal piety, they are not
indifferent to the dignity of human nature.
They fail to see the connection between the
selling of shoes and the salvation OF souls
between faith and filthy lucre. For the tenn
ple. pure and undefiled, they may have sort
of reverence, albeit they never pass its por-
tails; and they may not exactly approve its
conversion into house of merchandise.
But the incongruity perhaps the deception,
goes further still. Mr.. Hicks invites "Chris-
"tansn to come and buy his boots and shoes.
Now, this would be perfectly right if Chris
tians wore uniformly particular kind of boot,
whether calf, cowhide, box-toe, or round-tOe.
But this not being the case, there is no reason
why Christians, as such, should be invited 10
buy, unless all the profits of their buying are
to be devoted I" to gratuitOus mission work"
But it must be remembered that MIR. hicks,
excellent man though he be, must eat, and so
must Mrs. Hicks and the little Hickses. More
over, this devotee of tradesman solicits the
patronage of the wicked, or Gas he phrases it)
"the public generally" His goodness there
fore enables him, through the prosperity of his
shop, not only to distribute tracts and occa-
sionally preach, but also to pay his notes, keep
his stock good, support his family, and perhaps
lay by a good bit of money for day of rain.
The world may be wicked world, but of this
kind of piety, the pety which literally pays,
the world always has been and will be sus-
piciOus.
Nor have men who thus, either through in
terest or carelessness, mix the sacred and the
secular, any right to complain of outside criti
cism. If they will bring the sacred vessels
into the market-place they must not be sur
prised if the general pOpulace shall proceed to
test the sOundness of the metal. We do not
believe that any rational human being ever
looked upon any form of real religion without
a feeling of respect; and to this feeling an
exhibition of self-seeking, hypocrisy, and cant,
are grievously offensive. If this were an Ordi-
nary matter, carpers might properly be told to
mind their own business; but, as it concerns
the spiritual culture of the whole race, Pious
Pufiery is their business, and cannot be other
wise. Of this there is Overmuch, even in our
own beautiful land. Gentlemen of the clerical
profession are continually betrayed into giving
semi-oficial sanction lin the literal meaning
of the world to books, medicines, piano-fortes,
sewing machines, melOdeOns, and all manner
of acknowledgements of which the "Rev-
"erendn before their names by no means
makes them infallible judges. IF they will but
calmly consider the matter they will see that
the respect of the unrghteous is precisely what
they cannot afford to dispense with.
|
WAR TOPICS