, 1873-02-16

full Of pride and arrogance. The haughtiest Of
I'll the Roman Pontiffs styled himself "the ser
rant Of the servants Of God" at the very time
when he huniliated the Emperor OF Germany
by making him wait FIVE days barefoot in
his nntechamber in the depth of winter, and
expected all the Kings Of Europe, when in his
presence, to kiss his toe or hold his 6tirT1p.
Catherine OF Russia was always mouthing the
language OF piety and. .benevolence, especially
when about to wage war or do some reEcally
deed. Louis the Fourteenth's paroxysms OF
repentance and devotion were always the occa-
sion for fresh outrages upon the Huguenots;
and Napoleon was always prating Of his love OF
peace, and Of being compelled to fight by his
quarrelsome neighbors. While the French royo-
lntionists were shouting 'Liberty, Equality,
and Fraternity!" men were executed in Paris
without law and against law, and heads fell By
cart-loads from the knife OF the guil1otine.
"My Children said DR.. johnson, s clear
vour minds Of can't" If professional politicians
should follow this advice VIC fear that many Of
them would find their occupation clean gone
At elections they arc go wont to simulate the
sentiments and language Of patriotism,-t pre-
tend zeal for this, an indignation for that, and
horror for another thing, about which they are
known to be comparatively indifferent, as if any
aummery might be cranmed down tho throats
of the people, e,-that the voters whom tho old
party hacks fancy they arc gulling are simply
laughing in their sleeves at their transparent ct
tempts at humbuggery. Common, however, cs
are fummery and 81 gas" on the stump aud the
platform, it is to be feared they are hard1yless
60 in the Westinghouse, and there they are
doubly offensive il not objectionable. There
can DO little doubt that many man whose
life is thoroughly selfish cheats himself into the
belief that he is pious because he parrots with
ease the phrases of piety and orthodoxy. The
number OF such pet phrases and cant terms
which arc repeated at this day, apparently with
out thought Of their meaning, is large and In
creasing. Who ever attended missionary meet
ing without hearing 1.-THE Macedonian cry and
account of some " little interest," i" and :. fields
rhite for the. harvHst'?" Who is not weary OF
the ding-dong Of "our Zion" i" and the solecism
Of tin our midst;' and who does not long for
verbal millennium when Christians shall 10 long
,er feel to take " and grant to give {" s'How
much I regret" says Coleridge, "that
70 many religious persons Of tho present
day think it necessary. to adopt
certain cant Of manner and phraseology as q
token to teach other! They must Improve this
and that text, and they must do so and so in q
proyerfm way; and go on. A young lady urged
upon me, the other day, that such and such feel
ings werc tho rnar'rozo Of all religion; upon
which recommended her to try to walk to Lon
don on her marrow-bones only" Many persons
have very erroneous ideas OF what constitutes i
religious conversation. That is not necessarily
religious talk which is interlarded with religious
phraaes, or which is solely about divine things;
hrt That whirh nnrTuon{n3 1r1f19 rofiviour
feeling, which is full Of truth, reverence, and |
love, whatever tho theme may be. Who has not |
heard some souls talk Of the most worldly |
things in way that made the bearer feel the
electric current of spirituality playing through
their words, and e1ect1ifying his whole spiritual
being? And who has not heard other persons !
talk about tie divinest things in so dry, formal
and sou1ess way that their words seemed
PROCLAMATION, and chilled him to the core?
When Lady Townsend was asked if Whitfield
had recanted, she replied, mo; he has only
canted." Often, when there lis no deliberate
hypocrisy, good men use language so exagger-
ated and unreal as to do more harm
than the grossest worldliness. We have
often, in thinking upon this subject,
called to mind saying of DIR. Sharp,
OF Boston, Baptist preacher, who was a
hater Of all cant md sha1ns. "There's Dr. |
-" said he, about the time OF the first meet
ing Of the Evangelical Alliance, '' who went all |
the way to Europe to talk up brotherly love- If |
he should meet Door Baptist minister in the
street, he wouldn't speak to him." Nothing is
cheaper than pious or benevolent talk. 4 man
may have heart overhoving with love and sym
pathy, even though he is not in the habit of OK
E1biting on his cards, ri. Good Soul, Philan-
throp;st, and was never known to unfold bis
rambric with the words, "Let rs weep" It
has been truly said that when good mon,
who have no great religious fervor, use
leryent language, which they have caught
from others, or which WAS the natural e1pres-
zion of what they felt in other and better years,
hey cannot tell whht disastrous impression
hey produce upon keen and discriminating
minds. The cheat is ut once detected, and "the
TASTY inference is drawn that all expressions Of
.eligious carnestness are affected and artificial.
The honest and irrepressible utterance of strong
conviction and deep emotion commands respect;
mt intense words should never bo used when
he religious life is not intense"
One Peculiarly OF 1872. !,