Vicksburg weekly herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1868-1883, 1870-10-01
emRlsFEAN LAnoRs.

- h AA@N
Could the hearts Of men be read j
he the page Of a book; could its :
secret recesses be explored, 1t would {
Be surprising TO the great mass Of
to discover that in almost
every breast there lurked sincere
aspirations for the good, the true,
and the beautiful
Il would presents wonderful evil
dence Of the lOngeVity-nay, the
immortality-Of the Good, even
when most exposed to the degen-
eracy Of Evil.
Man always has, lurking some
where in his breast q regard for
that which Is pure and holy.
This sentiment must be brought
ont, and reViviied, and thrown
into action. This Is the labor for
Christianity.
We do not speak 50 much Of Chris
hanity In lie sectarian sense; we
mean that men are Christians be-
cause they are brethren, and they
are brethren because God Is their
Father and "the Father Of all men,"
Because men are brethren 1t Is
each ones duty to endeavor that
none should 60 astrAy and be lost
in sin, without constant and unlag-
cling efforts TO reform and restore
the wanderer, the 'lOst sheep"
Herein consists the outside labor
ofmen the inside work Is to purify
the temple within themselves, Ia
adOrn themselves with magnificent
virtues.
For this purpose men are united
in sects and upon creeds.
What II man be Jew or Gentle
Protestant or Roman Catholic, Ma.
hommedan or HIndOO; what If q
man believes In the old or new tes'
lament the Talmud or Koran, If be
Is labOring FIRST to justify himself
and then 10 elevate his fellow man,
he is practicing the one creed ia
which all men coiacide-the gOl-
den rule-"as 20 would that men
should do to you, do ye even so to
them"
From this doctrine spring Out
temperance organizations, our re.
ilgious societies and our christian
and other moral associations.
But to accomplish the greatest
good we must not work In a narrow
purilanical spirit. We must II ne
csssaFy, sacrifice the form to the
spirit. ut is the letter Of the Law
that kills the spirit that mRketh u
fres.S
Therefore, christian effort should
be guided by q clear understanding
Of man and his nature. Due al
lowance should be made for bill
weakness and proneness to sin.
In Withdrawing him from Lh'
Establishments Of sin we should no
place him where temptation cal
assail him with still greater force.
Il ls especially with the yOunl
that moral labor Is most needed
But in Withdrawing them from th,
dangerous enticements Of sin, VI
should not forget that youth nat
uFally and rightfully Graves plea
sure and amusement.
L. s as useless as Il ls cruel 10 hand
cuff youth with the manacles q
forms. We believe q spirit Of pre-
gresslve thought is infusing itse.
into the efforts Of good men an
women and the purpose lie nov
not to ask Of youth q sacrifice ola
that is dear to 1t, to become q
anchOrite or q hermit, but 10 thro'
IN the young mans path that whiC
shall satisfy his rightful craving Il
relaxation and amusement shOrn
Sc harmful auxiliaries.
For this reason, associations, f
the moral Improvement and elevI
ton of young men, have adOpte
reading rooms, libraries, chess an
even billiards.
It has been demonstrated tbi
this Is the truest and most effecti'
way to work. Let our readers an
our Christian labOrers ponder th
well ; and let our temperance soc
cites and young mems christian a
sociatiOns take mans God give
and natural impulses for a guild
ana seek to control those impulse
and to direct them to useful an
noble ends-not to check, perveI
Or destroy them.
JEEFRRsoK COUNTY FART