New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-08-30
4 BAD STATE OF THINGS.

Nobody can possibly know into what inf
mite depths of degradation poor New-England
has been rrecipitated until they read Sermon
on "The Churchs Law of Interpretation"
lately preached by the Rev. S. =. Parker be-
fore the Convention of the Diocese of New
Hampshire, and now published for the edilica-
ton of mankind. We have not ourselves pc
rused the whole of this Discourse for several
reasons, one of which is that we have never seen
it, but from an extract before us it is evil
dent either that the preacher has the jaundice
or that New-England is in an exceedingly
perilous state. Thus, we are informed that in
the land of the Puritans practical Atheism
"has been substituted for the Apostles Creed"
"The educated, intellectual devil" we are
told, ais more formidable than the darkened,
"blnd devil" Consequently, England is,
or promises to be, foremost in wickedness.'
Her philosophers are most unphilosophically
given up 10 "the indulgence of the passions"
Mr.. Emerson, for instance, we may venture to
suggest is Outwardly calm, but inwardly,
although it is not generally known, his nature
stands at 1909 in the shade. SO with all the
other Boston philosophers. They are aban-
doned, says the Rev. Mr.. Parker, " to the in
"tellecual and passional immortality of inf
"delityn
But this is not all New-England might sur
vive the "passiOnal immortality of men like
Emerson, and Freeman Clarke, and Bartol, and
Alcott, and John Weiss but, mark you, the
"people are fast profting by their teachers
"and blOtting out all belief in heaven or hell
Now then for worse! What things there are
becoming Obsolete ~ According to Mr.. S. p
Parker the following: "The sancity of mar
"riage, the purity of home, maternal love, pa
eternal care, womaRly conscience, manly honor,
parental virtue, and feminine Instincts And
what things are taking the place of these
According to Mr.. S. p Parker, the following
Ejaculation, immodesty, RIGHTEOUSNESS, con-
"jugal infidelity, infanticide, murder" All
| these are represented as "riding abroad in
"brazen triumph" More dreadful than all,
Mr.. Z. cries out that, by this exceedingly re-
| prehenSible conduct of New-England the
perpetuatiOn of the human race is imper-
| "iled.n There is no comfort to be extracted
! from the newspapers, for they are "phOto-
"graphs of crimes which fill you with horror
"at their enormity and multitude" There is
no comfort in the pictorials," for they "poisOn
"the Imagination and corrupt the heart" leav-
|
! Heaven permitted the demoralizing art of wood
| engraving to be discovered. Meanwhile, Rome
is working stealthily with all her subtle de-
Customs" and will in time complete the ruin
commenced by the Boston atheists.
The outlook, we confess, is but murky. But
while there is still in New-England a gentle
man like Mr.. Parker, of so much zeal and such
an unusually fine command of language, we
will not despair. Moreover there is reason to
believe that the spectaces which he wears,
besides being yellow, are of uncommon
power patent dOuble-milliOn magnifying gas
microscopes, of hextra power" as Mr. Weller
would say. With our limited vision, the New
England of to-day seems not unlike the New
England of Old-speculative, intellectually
courageous, given a good deal to controversy,
not by any means perfect, but really guided
in matters essential by the fundamental prin-
ciples of Christianity