The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1876-02-21
The Sins of the Imagination

A very large audience assembled at the
Congregational church, yesterday morning,
to hear Prof. Stuart Phelps of Middle
bury college, who had been summoned 10
preach in place of the pastor, who is at
tending the advisory council in Brooklyn.
Prof. Phelps is brother of Elizabeth
Stuart Phelps, author of the widely known
work of "Gates Ajar." HIS recent letter
respecting the Andover call for mutual
council, Published last week in the New
York papers, has attracted good deal Of
attention. No doubt had it been generally
Known that Prof. Phelps was going to
preach, the church would have been CON-
pletely filled, but the lateness of the hour
at which the engagement was consummated
rendered general announcement impos-
sible. The subject of Mr.. Phelps dis
course was "Thc Sins of the Imagination"
and he took the following as his text:
"Unto the pure all things are pure. ana unto
them that are detiied ana unbelieVing, nothing
Is pure but even their mind aud conscience Is
defiled. Epistle OF Pau to Titus, l., 49,"
The latter portion Of the. text J. "But
even their mind and conscience is defiled"
lis that on which he would more particu-
larly base his remarks. The purity of
Christ's teaching makes it alone the re-
ligion If all eternity. In the semi barbar-
| Gus state in which we now are our culture
is mostly external lies more in fine dress
| and all those accessories which go to make
| up good appearance than in the qualities
of the heart-it is q culture not of the soul
mi f ha OH t,f xuo I'd md
cular rather than of the inner conscious
ness. Every man leads two-fold life and
almost reaches two-fold personality and
some seem to have two distinct exstences.
A life of struggle, of mechanical propul-
| sion, aud the dream, ideal lite This ideal
J life has its sins no less in magnitude, or
| disastrous in their effects than the
sins that are external and visible.
There are sins of memory in which
the mind reyels in the past and
lives life among scenes that are forever
gone instead of the present one. IT man
allows the ideal to overshadow the real he
sins. Memory when properly used is one
| of the most important faculties but it may
lie and often is prevented. Hope carried
to excess luxuriates in the sin of castle
building. There are terrible sins of impure
Imagination, tempting and corrupting, find
ing everywhere its victims. There is the
sin of skepticism, but in certain persons it
may be more virtuous than indolent belief
There are SINS of faith. God does not ask
a blind trust, and men arc sometimes more
censurable for a lack of investigation into
the reason for their beliefs than less ques-
tioning faith would he. There are sins of
disappointment at the divine providences
and the way they are displayed. The sui
| ~
out the better feelings. The sketch of
the different classes of sins suggests their
insiduous corrupting power. The artificial
! codes of life fail to reach this class of sins.
This is no eve to censure their exercise.
When free from social restraints we are
not law unto ourselves. These mutual
faculties should be under the complete con-
troll of the will. We call him stolid whose
face does not reveal his thought. Mental
sins not so completely subject to the will
at length reveal themselves IN the face and
demeanor of the person. They laugh al
conscience, defy the will, and grow so ex-
cessive in their demands that they Absorb
the life. Imagination reveling in Its world
brushes the man. Listlessly the dreamer
plods along his way, dim his vision, he finds
his purest JOY in feastiDg on the unreal. BY
undermining, 1t destroys the existence OF
all the virtues. Oculists tell that there Ii
an insect too small to be seen by thu
most powerful miecroscope that eats into
the vision and when it has fed on
the optic nerve of one eye turns with
fatal instinct and works its way around t
the other. Such is the character of the in
visible and lnsdious destroyer of the mora
nature through the imagination, that feed
only on the finer elements of the soul
These accursed sins triumph and riot
Once in the possession of the soul such sin
are tyrants. We are on probation-sent +
this world to form character. Character
not physical. AS man thinks in his hear
so he il. We are worth to God just wha
our social life is, and nothing more. Thes
sins stretch to the very depth OF being an
makes many unutterabiy miserable forever
After singing the 360th hymn, "Come
Holy Spirit, Come the services close
| NTH tho hanediction