The New York herald., 1875-12-06
MASONIC TEMPLE.
MIR. FRorHMGHAM's DISCOURSE, SHOWING HOW
nnnonnrNr1rrns BECOME CLOGS.

OPPORTUNITIES BECOME CLOGS.
The picturesque chapel in the Masonic Temple was
about half filed BY persona nxous to hear the Rev o.
B. Frothingham's discourse on "Cogs and Opportuni-
tes Yesterday forenoon At the beginning Of his ad-
dress Mr. rockingham said that the two words, Cogs
and Opportunities suggested opposition and appeared
TO be at different angles Of thought They suggested
obstacles and liberation, mpedment and furtherance
Opportunities regarded commonly deliverance
from clogs II had the universal custom for hun
dreds OF years for the world the scarcity
OF opportunities and the prevalence OF clogs Tho
world itself had been regarded q OF aIlic
ton by religious persons who had always fostcred the
belief that there was inevitable to the death
between good and evil, and that this earth Of
dungeon from which 1t should be the effort OF every
mans life 10 cmancpate himself by appeal to super
natural agencies This theory being accepted, under
religious Influences, persons had been accustomed to
wish themselves freed from the body spiritually as
il wcrc-lberated from the body the clog Of the soul
and the obstacle in the way OF spiritual Improvement
"Now," continued the Rev. Mr. rockingham ''my
thought IS that there IS no such violent contrast be-
tween clogs and opportunities, =
THEORY
that htndranccs helps obstacles furtheranccs
and that clogs were often really the best opportunities
we had The method Illustration adopted by the
preacher to explain how ridiculous, in his judg-
mont, was the old idea that the body the natural
seat OF all evil Where formerly there existed
almost general faith in II, now comparatively
few individuals live in the supposition that natural
desires entirely bad There still many queer
longings dwelling in the hearts Of Christian people
which nnd expression in the ofrcpeatcd desires TO be
relieved from the ettcrs Of the body and 10 become
spirits. Despite such aspirations no could form
any just idea OF a disembodied soul spirit The de-
sres mere fances and not tangible. The body in
reality Notwithstanding the condemn alton OF men. is
whole system or wealth Of opportunities Instead OF
being tho abode OF clogs that impede the progress OF
man, II has displayed from time to time most
tphn 6fr
tunities This part OF the sermon Mr.. rockingham
exemp6cd by citations from the biographies Of great
men-artists, musicians mathematcians aud orators
They had shown In their own persons the wealth OF OPP
portunty in the eve hand brain, car-in short, tho
capacity or the human members 10 develop wondrous
power and to controver the theory that the body Is
GENERATOR CLOGS
or il would not be well for to be endowed
in each OF his limbs and organs with all the excel
uowed would be clouded and crushed beneath the
weia ht OF his own felicity The history OF beautiful
showing that great beauty Is more OF opportunity
than can be managed Great strength and physical
endowment OF the Same character, too much TO he
borne happily and for the posscssor's welfare The
history Of great brusers and violent demonstrated
this and the whole OF the prccodonts presented prove
satisfactorily that for mans welfare some OF tho doors
OF opportunity in tho body should be closed The
truth was that there is a positive necessity for
certain bemshcs to enable us to appreciate the oppor
tunitics. lnfrmitics il could not be denied, nurscd
the passive virtues and In the Of Laura Bridg
man, the great Rober, Hall and other historical per-
and still continued to do II the effort 10
tho disease and so-caled hindrancc advance
ment that furnish the opportunity that the contrast
and opposition claimed existing rretrievaby between
clogs and opportunities do not really prevail % great
degree. II was nothing uncommon to hear the world
moaning over the clog imposed upon mankind by
obscuring poverty and owlness The history or four
generations England disprovc the accuracy OF the
statement that opportunity means friends and
diton at the outset would almost nialliby improve tho
world During the period mentioned It had been
corded that man worth f2C0 year had risen 10
any prominence in his profession. Ths persons who
had many opportunities in our own days did
nothing with them. Indeed one Of the problems Of
society this very city how to.cmploy we'll endowed
women and men advantagcously II could not, in Mr.
rockingham opinion, be denied that the clog was in
ninety y-nIns out Of hundred the opportunity
The history Of the world during all ages bore testimony
TO the truth Of the assertion that he she who had
effect cd most and achieved greatest distinction seemed
TO have greater clogs and less opportunities The pres
OF the former insured the creation Of the latter by
stimulation, and in Mr. Frothtngham's Judgment
without tho incentive TO action engendcrcd by tue clogs
and hindrances deprecatngly bemoaned, there
woold be man. woman and no opportunity.