Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1877-01-26

mented by the rare intellectual culture at
Jerusalem, Paul was passing over the cur.
riculum arranged by God that he might be
prepared for his great work as the Apostle
to the Gentiles so the call, preparation
for and experience 10 the ministry by these
men aud others similarly situated, had re.
spect to subsequent abors for which they
had been endowed
While the ministry is great work, God
uses other agencies 10 working out the prob.
lens oil human history, and the thing to DO
borne in mind is. that the direct and positive
utility Of these agencies is determined by tho
inspiration, control aud support which they
receive from good men. 1t is not the But-
lers, and Brooks, aud Chambers, aud Bout.
wells who take tho lead in those measures on
which our national progress and perpetuity
depend; II is not the Woodhulls aud Tiltons
and Trains who inspire confidence 10 and
sympathy with the cause Of Woman's Rights /;
it is not the Tweeds aud Murphys aud
CasNys wh0 are ceOselessly agitating for civil
service reform it is not the radicals" 10
religion who inaugurate and carry forward
those enterprises of Christian philanthropy
aud reform which, in the past, have marked
epochs in human history; and it is not those
journals which are bought and sold by trad
ing politicians which create and guide that
public opinion to which pariaments and con.
crosses give heed, and whose authority rulers
dare not to disobey.
1t was not Mr.. Greeley's genius which
gave to the Tribune, in its palmy days its
power for good. Nay, it was the moral
tone there we're principles, deep rooted
convictions, inspiring its utterances, and
these commanded respect and attention. The
old French king had sagacity enough to see
the power Of the press, aud said Of the labors
Of Dderot aud his co-adjutors, --"Far sooner
would hear again the thunder Of artillery
than all this scratching Of pcns." But, pow
erfu as was the influence Of the Encycloped-
lists they wrought no reform in France, like
Luther's in Germany and the later works of
White6eld and the Wesleys in England.
intellectual ability thoy had yea genius
and scholarship were theirs but their la
bors made inddels of the people, undermined
the old monarchy, precipitatcd the French
revolution, prepared the way for the ruinous
era of Napoleonism, and sowed the seeds of
which the national humiliation of 1870 was
the ripeued fruit.
No, gentlemen Of the press, while we would
recognize your power, VIC would not have
you forget that the press cannot build up an
enduring civilization, inaugurate reforms and
secure wise legislation, cultivate public
morals aud promote private virtues, unless
it has moral character above the suspicion
Of bribery or reproach of any kind. That
good old Pagan Sophocles saw this:
''No ordinance Of man shall override
! The settled laws Of nature and of God"
Hence the significance Of such men as Dr.
Smith at the head of a college; or Of Drs
Dexter or Smith and others in editorial
charge of q public Journal. Divine provi.
dence selects wisely the men to lead in the
grander movements of human progress and
those only are chosen who come near
est to the realization Of ideal manhood. II
therefore theologically trained men are usu'
ally found in such positions, it is because
such culture is essential to perfected man.
hood. The bearing of this fact upon the re
latiOn of personal piety and religious culture
to chaaacter cannot be discussed in this arti
Gle already too far extended.