The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1871-08-03

no doubt. That it is the privilege OF all
to come into it in some measure, L do
not doubt But as men are born into
life in very different gauges and ranges
of capacity, so it will be in the spiritual
life. They will come into this co:nmun-
ion of God, and into this blessedness Of
the love state in Christ Jesus,in different
degrees of power, very much according
to their original capacity but still more
according to the degree of exertion, eff
fort, Gfe-force, that they put into the
epdeavor.
We know very well that there is such
a thing. Cor instance, as the spirit Of
beauty in life. The world intrinsically
has been so made that there is a vast
range of that which is beautiful in it !;
and we know perfectly well that the ma
jority of the race of men live and die
without perceiving it. The quality OF
beauty exists; but right by the side of a
person who sees things wondrously beau
| tful, in form. in combination and IN sug-
gession, there will be another person In
| whom the sense of beauty is unborn, and
| who looks upon the same things and sees
nothing. Now, if to this person who has
no sense of the beautiful, process Of
education should be applied, so that his
curiosity should be excited, his zeal
| awakened, and his faculties sharpened
and drilled and exercised, after GER
tain period he would come to point at
which he would begin to perceive the
same things that the other person pei
celved.
| have seen that process developed. |
have had men on my place in the coun-
try, who, when they came there,
were plain workmen, and believed IN
wheat, and corn, and cattle, and thought
that farm was splendid thing. After
the first season. when they were set to
| raising shrubs, or vines, or flowers, they
| did it obediently, and with some inter
| were pretty. And the next year they
cultivated them with a little more inter
est, and the next year with little more
still. And being conversant with an en-
thusiast, and learning TO discriminate
this, that, and the other element, and
their eye being educated, and their
thought being called out in this direction,
in the course of four or FIVE years they
became themselves, lovers of horticulture
in distinction from agriculture. And
finally they became passionately fond of
this occupation. They might have lived
and died without knowing that they had
any such tendency IN them if it had not
been for this experience Of years; but it
came out under culture.
And that which is true of the body is
also true of the spirit Take the quality
of affection. A man is brought up . sea-
farming man on board ship, under cir
cumstanees that call only for strength and
kind Of stoical manhood He is gross
and hard. He lives for forty years under
him, you say, Gle is cast iron man,
and woe to him that runs against him -
His idea of grandeur In life consists in
toughness and endurance. He scorns
what he is pleased to call the a0eakness Of
men on shore. And he forms relations
of business, and mlngles in society, and
begins to live in sympathy with those
with whom he comes in contact. Final
ly he takes to himself help meet. and
settles down in the family relation, and
begins to see things in a new light. And
there is a cradle in his house one Of these
days; aud he tries-the old fellow-to
sing a little to the chlrper that lies In it.
And it Is as if the north wind were trying
to sing through crack in an old house.
But his affections grow, and many fine
veins begin to open up in him. He might
have lived and died In the old way, and
not known that there was any soft side
to his nature; but his changed circum
stances, and his development under these
circumstances, revealed that in him,
which everybody has in a greater or less
measure.
Now, the human soul is full of such
undeveloped resources. There are veins
running through the soul, which if there
were some divine power to stimulate and
bring them up would yield rich har-
vest. The soul is full of capacities which
are not unfolded, or which are unfolded
only in low and imperfect way.
Look at the conditions which are pre-
scribed here:
He that hath my commandments.
and keepeth them, he it is that loveth
NE"
1t is the love-life, then, that the Sa-
viour is speaking of.
He that loveth me, shall be loved Of
my Father, and | will love him, and
manifest myself to him."
That seems very plain to us; bat they
to whom it was addressed stumbled over
It. They thought that it had reference
to some great triumphant entrance and
| display. They thought that Christ would
royalty appear to them; and Judas (nol
lscariot) thought, why, if we see him,
OF course other people will see him :"
and he says:
How is it that thou wilt manifest
thyself unto. US, aud not unto the
| World p
Christ replies:
IF man loves me, he viii keep my
words; and my Father viii love him, and
+ we will come. unto him, and make our
abode with him.
Now let US take an analogy which