Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1876-04-06

to swing the censor by the altar of Black
stone and Justinian. Many young law
yer has sat down, or moved that the Court
take recess, because his voice had be-
gun to cleave to the roof of his mouth.
But the great profession, and the great
Beating heart devoted to the profession,
have taken up the blurting youth, and
have carried him right along for ten or
twenty years, and then giving the toiling
| one the composure, the peace, the power,
the happiness Of an esteemed barrister the
| schOOl-house cannot educate. It's term
is too Short and lies in part of life not
| sufficiently full of reflection The school
house does vast work, but leaves the
mind as Bromante left the Cathedral of
st. Peter-a thousand arches bending
everywhere, but making no perfect tenn
| pie for God or man. Angelo came along
and gathered up these arches, and made
that sanctuary in which the music of
worship has resounded for centuries.
! Thus the great profession, be it law, or
medicine, or science, or art, or religion,
or philanthrophy, comes to the founda-
| lions as an Angelo to gather all the learn
ing and hopes Of early years into fab
| ric, which, in the middle life and old age
may resound with the deep music of a
full manhood. The statesmen, and above
all the philanthropists and the ministers
OF religion, are made by their avocations.
Their work forbids them to sleep too
long, to play too much, 70 love too deeply
society, or riches, or food, or drink 1t
becomes guardian angel, shielding them
right and left with flaming sword, but
with the arms of love. Thus all the large
mental and moral pursuits of earth be-
come the genii of tie air, that bear the
faithful children from boyhood to man
hood in all the grandeur of middle life
and old age. 1t is an Elijah's chariot
ready to pass upward on bright clouds.
1t is, hence, fearful injury done the
mind when one is bound up in a pursuit
that comes short of being honorable. To
be secretly and dishonorably extracting
money out OF an office or profession, to
have business which one must conceal
from his friends, is not only to 1un the
risk of punishment in eternity, but it is
to accept of an awful punishment on the
shores Of time. The mind and soul lose
their buOyancy. The night comes with
out decent memory, the morning dawns
without hope. There are bright minds
everywhere, gifted brains in this CITY,
which are being wrecked, starved, muir
dercd by the ignominy of the pursuits to
which they have been dragged through
the late months or years. But though
much remains to be said upon the rela-
ton OF ones pursuit to his mental culture,
yet time permits us only to enumerate
ideas and not to expand them. We pass,
therefore, to the remark that the age de-
mands that each Of you should seek and
find noble occupation. Let us observe
here that the mere pursuit of livelihood
should never be interpreted as the whole
calling of man. In the very humblest
condition of man, the struggle for shelter,
clothes and food comes very near being
the whole ideal occupation, but up among
the higher classes, mere mechanics or
merchandising or traffic cannot be &C
cepted as an adequate filling UP of the
heart There must be some mental and
moral industry added always to the strug-
gle for natural things. For example,
while Tappan and Lawrence were bust
ness men, they were also publicists, phi
lanthropists; and while the Ettrick Shep-
herd attended his fiocks he was also a
reader and poet; while Peabody was a
banker, he was also benefactor by regu-
lar enlistment and service. By pursuit,
then, one should understand the mental
and moral flow of life apart from and
above the simple pursuit of material
things-an occupation Of the spirit not
only possible but easy and essential. This
employment the age demands. In econo-
my Of earth man is appointed the savior
OF man, the Creator Himself remains
behind the veil, that man may not wait
for God, but may himself fly to the assist
anco Of his brother. Out of human inter
vention have come all the blessings we
enjoy. We are here to-day in our wide and
rich civillzation-richi in language, and art
and all truth, because in the past the great
barbarian sea of idleness was broken up,
and the great waves Of industry began to
roll toward our shores. The light that
envelopes us is the motion of souls that
are now dead. We are here in such adj
vancement because there W ere hearts that
once embarked upon great pursuits God
concealed His omnipotence that man
might reach out his own hand to help the
world. Thecar of civilization is the very
wagon which, having become mired in a
heavy road, the owner prayed over to Ju-
piter, and to whom came the answer that
mans shoulder must first bend to the
wheel The car Of our progress has been
rolled thus far by the shoulders of NOR
tails; the immortals, meanwhile, strange
ly letting down invisible hands from the
clouds. Hence, around your feet is
standing throng to-day-the young, the
unfortunate, the poor, the superstitious,
the enslaved-looking up to your enlight-
ened face for help. Reform in morals
and customs are perpetual. The intern
perate are looking to Won for helm the