Smyrna times., 1871-02-15
ms /Iu 10 cons.
Beecher on Happiness.

The following is a synopsis of Rev. Fl w
Bee GERS lecture on Happiness" which he
delivered in New York last week:
What an organ is, said the lecturer. in a
vast cathedral IN the hands Of an Ignorant
player, Is the s'ul OF man VIII badly plaved
- - as 10 give forth more noise than music
there Is great deal OF happ ness in ndlviIu
al lives. Chidno0d has a great deal O, h,n,,i
ness, OF lower grade, tut far more eniovaIl,
than that whlcn lies higher aud is called more
rrhned: The ely sium OF animals lies At the
beginning OF HE. To an imaginative child the
woild is great plcture-g gallery museum of
wonder. ChlkiHOOd believes, Whil,. manhOod
dOuht>; aud this prcdOminance ofimapin.tion
4ver Reason Is one of the elements OF hanpinr.s
do not belong to the grumblers nor cyn,cs OF
any SCI oOL Lite Is very grand and real
thlns, aud with all it. evils Is vel worth living
And yet the great art OF hIppiness i imnrr-
iectly learned at best. Happiness is too often
Pu. 'n SchO"I 70 lnorallst~ aud maxim hunters
II Is the result OF temperament and o,pariza
ton. No one Can tell in his day whether ri,
daughter will be Mary, blessed among " omen,
or N'ohe Men d" not known their nrganiza
tlOn We know how to become wise, poud
strong, but this does not ma e hhnrine>s
Excellent rules have heen given for harniue>s
"ut they are at best halt uuth.. One suggests
0ccuDatIOn; another leisure as a constituent
ment. An hrlrr>s wat ting 1t he wiutloa
to Ge ought a minister without a couprey,
ton lawyer without case these need oc-
patton III order to be happy but The over
worked merchant or lawyer, aud tie curp-w,r,
stat snan n,r d i,ure us we'll The bvpieni
professor W. ~ay that perfect health, u ligh,Iy
dJu ted o. upatiOn, and moderation in deSir..
institute .ppineSs But ev. nv man carr,,s
within himself hi own natural law. E,erv
faculty b s Its own sphere, and every spher,
ITS own law. The facnIties of the mind arc
but scnre or more, and each is affected by
lh, steal avs
What, th' Il, is your definition? am askej.
have no scheme Ordinary, organic hapri
ness Is 100 low toned tor the majuIity OF men,
aud doubt whether any one will ever realiz;.
the happiness of which religious novices and
rnuanilc en- hu>la>ts dream. Happiness con
SIets III the harmony OF all our CONDITIONS
FIRST, II l. normal product OF the nrrvou, or
ganlzation. Men think of happiness, as some
thIhg without rather than within, and hence
they see tor 1t in irivel >O:iety, and oc,upa-
| tlOn rather than within themselves II is the
nian that carries hIppine>s into the ci,cum-
stances, aud the latter only act az exci,ants
Happiness Is the VIBRATION of the nerve itself
ana occasion brings n"thing but the stimulus
Soil and cllmate-that is, organization and
ton OF happiness. Spcoudly, men cannot ex-
perience pleasure ind fnitely Every man has
TWO fathers, organization aud education and
what the second can do depends upon the first.
fleasuraDle excitement in moderate degree
aud variation of kind that is law. D;ssipa
ton Is an excess or excitement beyond what
we can bear, and m ~ be intellectual and re
lIgiOuS as we'll as physical. Excitabilty is the
raw material out OF which happiness is pro-
nd ma
appropriately registered There il a prpdis
position In some men to enjoy, and in Others
10 suner. Some men seem TO spcrete acid and
Others sugar Blessed be the saccharinnI
Thirdly, As sensbility increases pxcit ,bilitv DE-.
creases. AT the bottom happiness wastes and
wears, but at the top it has the el.mpnts Of
immortality. Men derive excitahility from
their lower and happiness from their higher
natures, and il all depends on where we place
the dynamic centre OF life.
The nervous system distingui. hes between
man and the brute and between man and man.
aud yet there Is nothing which men 20 peril
ously ignore as the nervous system. The fol-
ly OF the age is waste of nprve-force. The
augmentation OF nerve-iorce is very great. but
the waste is still greater On all sides we see
the result oil nervous exhaustion. Good men
are living too fast society gives us no leisure
| and every man is whirlcd along by the cnIlvc
tive will until he IL burnt up by the general
conAagration. Oyer-intensity is the style OF
our day. Men play at hawk by day and al
owl by night There are three kinds of dissi.
pation--white, which is caused by brain px
haustion; red, which is produced by Iuxuriou
food, and ends by dragging out life with the
blood ; and black, which is the grosser dissi-
patton OF which criminals know. These are
the species Of dissipation Cerebral, arteri~l
anil venercal. There are faces Of women in mid
| Il m IN, of t.kA Il
def ats and the upturned faces of an audience
sometimes remind me of Dantc's Inferno with
out thoatrical exaggeration Whatever has ex.
' sA@ - 'a-. - 70 ~ -a+i'l'.s, III - q