Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1876-01-06
Theodore Tiison,s Lccsnr..
A SMALL AuEIEscP, LAST EvksfSa --eyNoPrIs
the LECIusp.

A SMALL AuEIEscP, LAST EvNsfSa-eySoPrts tf
InE LEuIunv.
The audience at the opera Huuso, last eve
Mug, was slasll, about lhres hundred persons
being preseut M itlIou reDsrRed. at opening
his lecture, that this wa his first appearance
before Wilmington audience, but this WAS
error. He lectured here at lnstitute Hall, six
or seven years ago, under the auspicas OF a
ohnrch society.
Boeu ming HE lecture, he observed that the
pr, hiem OF ilfe oi which he wonld treat was not
that whct, Huxley, witil his theorlDs OF protop.
lasD, valnl, runght to solve. but was tlat one
when wAr Old NJ thc agsr, uhsetll d RS the sea,
and yet over vital as human nature. For he
supposed il,.p every man had the snme fair
share VI human Experience that ls, every man
WHO had gone far enough into life to feel the
burden ard heat Of tie day. Every man who
stood at the altar OF his marriage, ard looked
into she cradles OF III. chdreI, and laid away
bis dead IN htiloSed g,syea- every such man,
in tho hnrly-burly Of uvery-dny lIie, asked him,
selt what VAS the function, the mystery. the
problem OF everyday life.
solomon, tho wire, expressed his opinion of
it when he said, VANITY OF va tiles, all ia vani
ty," aud job, the patient man, sid, "Cursed be
the day in which WAS born p" He heard men
daily inyeighing against tue world, and yet he
Thought that " Col who made II, called it good,
| Il wxs NIB aaominp IN men, for whom He made
| IL, to pronounce 1t III Ii was a rich aud great
and wonderful world created, after in1uite
| cycles of years, for mans happiness and love.
In poetic msgeres he portrayed the wondrous
richness Of earth, with its productions 80 nul.
titudinous that the human mind had not the cs.
pscity to grasp ths catalogue. And out Of this
bounty how small was each mans portion He
would accord man the attainment OF all the
highest ambitions Of the created universe, he
would endow him with all the possibilities q fer
tile fancy could suggest, and bis possession A.
compared with existing things was as the possess
sion OF the midget in the stately forest. Hence
while the world Was great the mans share was
little; ambition was vanity, and the only chance
was to surrender it. and OBTAIN instead the mas
terry over ones eelf.
The problem Of life was to.6nd out the duty Of
life and to fulfil it. 1t WAS not the attainment
OF wealth, nor power nor fame, nor learning,
but was, in his judgment, the development Of
human character. suppose it was the attain
ment OF wealth, or power, or fame, or greatness,
how many men attain their ambition, and how
many names OF this age will not posterity will
lingly let die Carlyle said happiness was cheap
If men only knew the proper merchant to apply
to forit Immortal and exquisite was that sto-
ry OF the King whose mslsdy could be cured on
| " by wearing the shirt Of the happy man, and
when he found him he had no shirt.
A mans character WAS not only i'll his own
| keeping, but it Was his own making. All ! ho
said, he meant character and not reputation.
| mans character was what he was mans
reputation was what people imagined him to be.
Character WAS one thing, reputation another,
| and sometimes they are ~ far apart ~ the East
and West-difrerent as dav and night. Charac-
| ter and reputation Why tue greatest character
| in all history made himself Of no reputation.
| Public men were constantly making and losing
| regulations, as the stars went down and came
| up but there was this difference, that star
| that sets will rise again. but = star that falls Is
lost forever. The plants in tho garden were
not more numerous than the typos OF character
as expressed in asceticism aud luxury. cruelty
and gentlsness, pride and humiliation medl:a-
! tion and mirth.
Human nature that is many-sided and myriad
minded human nature was stole and epicurean,
| celibate and social, brutal and gentle, anstere
and bacchanalian, ipiidel and devout-all these
characteristics existed IN the human heart
The wise man seeking to develop the problem
Of life, looking at all these forces would un,
dertsks to deal healthfully with all. abnormally
with mono. Pleasure was to be sought and des
piaej, pain to be Stunned and to be endured
and in the midst of all these contrarieties, ht
asked did 1t ever occur to them what basis had
good character in the opinion OF men, and how
vrtuous virtue must be tobe cardinal.
Proceeding to Illustrate he said the fortitudt
which enabled Scsevola and Cranmsr to plung
their hands into the fire was natural it had N
reference to religion, the one being Pagan
the other Christian Fortitude was capscit
inherent III human nature, and he asked wa
there any carnation Of shame which rebuked
! grumbling at a tostsache or q headache, an
dared to murmer at,a hesrtache. Men say ti'
Esprit lis wiling. Sd s,ra fnsh weaK tnat va
slander on human nature. Fortitude Dor
pain courage brsvea peril, and which Of thes
typos was the more preoious2 Gibbon said ths
the cheapest courage was that which led men
: the battle field, and Dr. johnson asserted thi
the very rsrest quality in human nature wa
. moral courage.
He insisted that john Thomas ruled the Eng
liHh public, while Miss Grundy governs tn
American public. No man in the face Of publ
, opinion would assert his fault il he doubted til
Thirty -nino Articles OF deemed temperance
} failure, or trial by jury farce Orestss Bron
son said that while kneeling in Catholic churc
r negro Knelt on each side OF him, but it woul
take Martin Lnther to reproduce that picture
, Protestant churcn in Boston. He denounce
tho prevalence OF falsehood in politics, con
rnerce, the pulpit and in the lady's boudoir, al
n said that in this civilized nineteenth century
man forsave an injury at tho expense OF Ii
a reputation He encouraged higher standar
. Of education for children and derided the falls
| system OF public morals which condemned
. perditon in q woman what was pardonable in
, man.
!, Mr. Tilton also inycighed against the perm
i cious system which was converting religion INT
|. pious fraud, pulpit preaching to sentimental
4 ty, cultivated society to luxurious sensuaht
!. and summing up. he said we ought to take lar
er views Of life, higher views OF duty and holi
=. | yieys of sceouutablity