The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-08-25

or purchase reward in heaven by thus dispos
ing Of part or the whole Of their wealth
Saints like Elizabeth Of Hungary. Francis o.
Assist and st. James Of Compostcllo. were chiefly
vcncratcd because of their personal povcrt,
and their boundlcss llbcraluy to the poor. Tn,
system has continued, and thrives Mt the pres
ent day The support of the poor and the edu.
cation Of their children ut the expense Of tn,
rich il enforced among us 10y law. and IL sup.
pemcntcd by the voluntary action OF Jews and
| Christians alike. From the forty thousand
pulpits Of the land. more or less. arc heard
every week cNhortutions to the rich to give Of
| their abundance to their less fortunate broth.
rem; and this not merely 10y way Of gratifying n
| generous impulse Of the heart hut as a rclig.
| ious duty cnjoined by Almighty God.
Nor tx the exaltation of the comparative merit
OF poverty peculiar to Christianity. One Of
| the first requisites Of saintship among the
| Brahmans Of India is the remuneration Of the
| pursuit OF riches and abstinence from all luXu-
ries. The holy order Of the Buddhists. like the
| ancient Essences. wear but one robe year and
! live upon the aims given them from day to day.
| Amongthe Mohammcdans. fnkiIs and dcrvishcs
arc distinguished above other believers bytheir
remuneration Of worldly possessions. Various
scots " ancient heather philosophers like
wise We'd with one another in preaching con-
poverty. Tho early and widely difTuscd doc
trne OF the antagonism Of soul to body, and Of
this world to the world Of spirit. led naturally
to the teaching that abstinence from sensual
pleasure was a necessary step to the attainment
of higher and purcr delights and 1t still eXcrts
a powerful influence in the same direction.
But while religion and philosophy have thus
combined 10 deprcclato the possession " riches
and to cXtol the virtue OF poverty the progress
Of civilization has gradually been bringing
about a state Of things in which their teachings
seem not only TO have lost their basis but 10
conflict with the welfare Of mankind. What was
a wholesome and useful doctrine in n semi bar
harous agricultural country like Judea becomes
unmeaning If not misrhcvous in commercial
and manufacturing England. Where wealth.
a. in the Roman empire. was not unfrcqucnty
gained by robbery aud fraud. and poverty was
the result Of oppression, the respect paid to the
poor and the suspicion If not the dsesteem Of
the rich. were grounded In reason while so long
ms human wants were few and easily supplied
and large wealth exposed its possessor 10 tho
loss Of liberty and life. philosophy might well
praise the lot Of him who, II he had little 10 en-
JOY. had also little t. lose. The great patriarch
Abraham. wandering. rs he did over the plains
Of Syria. had his cattle and sheep. his slaves
and his household gods but he could have
nothing else. There were no banks nor rail-
road stocks nor Government bonds for him to
invest in. and the moro his possessions in
creased the moro mouths there were for him
10 feed. both Of men and Of beasts. He could wear
his camcl's hair garments and eat Of the prod
uce Of his nocks and herds. but other lux
uries were unknown TO him. He hal the care
Of his property. but no moro enjoyment Of it
than the meanost Of his servants. His poster
ity. likewise. had their fields. their vineyards
their OliNeyards. their cattle. md their sheep
but they had little other wealth. Tho greater
mans possessions. tho greater were his cares
and the case OF sob illustrates how much
greater were his risks Of loss. A similar
state OF things prevailed down to a compare
lively recent epoch everywhere except in cities
and even in them wealth consisted almost
exclusively Of gold, silver. jewels. and rich
sttis. which We're easily carried n IN case
Of danger. but also easily became the prey OF
thieves and robbers. Moreover in ancient
times commerce was Of insignificant extent and
manufactures wore conducted By individuals in
their own houses. so that large amounts Of capt.
tai We're not necessary for the employment Of
industry. and there was no incentive to accu-
mutation for that purpose
Allthose conditions are now changed. Wealth
may now he gained with honor AMI enjoyed in
security. A rich man DOES not need to be- an
oppressor ora r 'hher. ana he is protected in the
possession Of his riches both by lawnnd bvpub-
lie opinion. The extension OF commerce and
manufacture has made large masses Of capital
not oni possible but Indispensable Our rail-
roads and steamboats, ami talesraphs our i'm
m"use cotton mills aud mercantile establish
meuts afford investment, for accumulated
wealth AMI could not exist without #. Millions
- mon AMI women depend { su-tcnanra upon
O..