, 1876-01-15
Mental 1lrcs.

How the ncttlc thistle, ferns and noNiOus
weeds do spring up and check the flowers
and plants in our gardens. Nearly all the
gardeners time is engrossed, uprootng those
hateful ntcrOpers that Strang|c onr bcanties.
Keep the weeds down and the work vt
pruning, feeling, watering, and training u
Is but tri1e. And it is such Gle
ligntful hborl And they pay us for it too
so hountfn fnlly, by adornlng Themselves in
such glorious colOrs--such heavenly hucs--
and pcrmcating the air with their sweet per.
funv. How we have to dig, and toll, up
root, tear down and consign to flame, in NJ.
der that our pets may not bc starved anu
smothtrcd; we often have To light and get
our hands filled with thorns, briars and
stinI g that they may have sunlight, dew and
room to breathe. "An enemy came hy night
aud sowed tarcs." what an enemy! What II
sweet morsrl," "urdcr his tongue, that re-
venyr must have been. How that enemy
must gloat over his revenge, AS he secs the
great drops of sweat roll from the brow. h""
he must chucklc and cXut, ~ he hears the
weary sigh and witnesses our contortions OF
pain, worn with fatigue, after struggling with
his tarcs, sown in midnight darkness upon
ground So carefully fnllo q |, enriched and
planted with choicest seeds; Aud, as 1T is
in the floral world, 80 is It IN the mental.
The natural field il no more 0vcrrun with
worthless garbage han the garden oI thought
Tho lnt,cr is full Of mental plants, the
most beautiful, valuhlc and precious ot n'
things earthly NoXious Nrcs, false ideas,
wrong impressions, crrora, vices, prrn'cIons
habits and mental blindness ovcrrnn every
intellectual field. And the careful gardener,
often finds more trouble in uprnotimg, and
emdcnIng false conceptions, than in training
the intanilc intellect attcrw rls. And Why
Because man is u progressive being, what is
taught as golden truth to-day, will become
worthless dros' in the light of the future,
We cannot stand still, inactivity produces
torpor, mildew and death. How long does
II take us all, to overcome and get entirely rid
of the errors our minds imhbed in the cradle
at the family ireside, in the schoo|room, the
sabbath school, from the pulpit and in the
first journeyings ofdnwnng mouhood1 E,r.
ly imprcssons,-right or wrong-how they
cling to US! They are our first idols; they
will not bc clcthroncd: aRl even after we dis
card them and consume with fire, We often
return and linger among their ashes. around
| the old alter. We vcneratc; Here our fathers
worshipcd can they have been wrong!
Look on the filthy half clothed passion bur
dcncd and all hut bcastly savagcs that daily
pass our doors and often make night more
hidcous than tho jackal' How long since
the races from which we sprung were moro
degraded than theyl Only q few centuries
We have progressed since then. Many ideas,
tarcs since then have disappeared. But the
me lieynl weeds are not all eXtcrmnatcd, +,
! They are still rank, noNinus, poisonous, bit
ter aud thorny, choking our tender intellect
ual Conservatives and preventing our
choicest plants from blooming and bringing
forth any hut GIfdevclopcd, too often blight
ed nut. Not only seasons change, nothing
is permanent, even the solid earth is cnjlless-
y and always changing. Vegetable epochs
succeed each other like the endless patterns of
the designer.
Animal species appear, live their brief life
disappear leaving nn traces but fossil remNlns'
Man has changed, is changing, will be for.
ever changeabl" He is not half as near the
brute as he once was. His institutions change
ideas and all that pertains to him. What Is
gospel to-day will be bArbarous centuries
hence Intalibilty does not belong to NOR
taity. But progress is divine prrrogatiyc
of man. Then let him not fear to tear down.
It Is his mission to destroy, and afterwards
rebuild more beautiful each time than before.
None rccd icar to, give up old ideas, mcde-
vial ideas M one con IorCso M oId idea rr