The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1878-11-28

opponent. l do not believe in the
code of honor. l despise the char
acter of the duellist. l loatLe the
monster who like Cain is stained
with his brothers blood. But adj
mire personal bravery. honor the
man who, in these degenerate times,
can 90 forward in the discharge of
duty, who can go wherever it calls,
even TO the brink oil the volcano or
to the very jaws of death. TO meet
the sneers of infidelity, or to with
stand the worlds dread laugh re-
quires the highest moral courage.
Speaking of the influence which rid
icule exerts, Sidney Smith says: II
know of no principle which it is of
more Importance to fix in the minds
of young people than that OF the
most determined resistance to the
encroachments of ridicule. Learn
from your earliest days to inure
your principles against the perils Of
ridicule. You can no more exercise
your reason if you live in constant
dread of laughter than you can en-
joy your life if you are in constant
terror of death. If you think il
right to differ from the times and to
make a stand for valuable point
of morals, do it however rustic,
however pedantic 1t may appear; do
it not for insolence, but seriously
and grandly as a man who has a
soul of his own in his bosom an I
did not wait till it was breathed in
him by the breath of fashion Let
men call you mean, if you know
you are just; hypocritieai, if you
are honestly religious, and pusillan-
imOus, if you leel you are pure. +"
Never in the history of our country
has there been more need OF high
moral courage than at this time.
Inlidelity is bold and defiant, and
crime startles us Ivy its tierceness
and its brazeh ehr0ntery, It is
found in every party and stains the
garments of every sect. 1t pollutes
the domestic circle and sewers the
hottest relations. 1t is as regard
Jess of human obligation as it Is of
lofty public sentiment. IL enters
into Congress halls and degrades
the temples of justice. 1t violates
public faith and disregards private
confidence. Person, property, rep
utation, character and life itself are
alike disregarded. We need cour
ageous men and brave women to
set their faces as flint against the
prevalence OF crime, The moral at
mosphere needs publication. We
need some great moral chemist to
apply such disinfectants as shall de-
stroy the deadly germs which are
constantly breeding a moral plague
worse than the poison of asps or
the fearful yellow fever. Courage
is needed to meet every form of
vice with u nerye that never flinches
and q firmness that heter "yields.
Fortitudefs equally needful in the
cultivation of decision Of character.
To you, my dear young friends, the
present and The future are full of
JOY and hope. The sea on which
you are about to launch sparkles
brightly beneath a cloudless sun
and all is calm and peaceful. But
clouds will come, storms will rise,
dangers will assail and adversely
will possibly place you beneath a
pressure unsdpportable. DnapFTe-
ciated by the community in which
you live, you may be left as thou
sands have been, to pine in penury
unhonored and uncared for. Prov
idence may seem to frown and your
best efforts may be fruitless. Aihic-
tons must come to all in this world
Of ours. and fortitude is needed to
bear thea, Sustained by this
principle the sorrows OF life, the
opposition of enemies and the hy-
pocrisy of pretended friends will all
be borne without a murmur and
with an assurance of hope which
keeps the spirits calm and the char
acter firm.
During these discussions / have
often urged upon you to love the
truth. again present its divine
Claims. i Tar 10 = c6Sard, and no
cuwar.. can have decision of char
acuer Bat let the truth be deeply
imb ddcd in the heart, let it -ule IN
the conscience and glow upon the
lips; let it give direction to every
how along the current of
every feeling and the everlasting
hills would bow and the granite
totter to their fall sooner
than YOU. a true man never falls;
a true woman rises a5oye the petty !
ills and storms Of life, and hoyes I,
upon the brightest plane OF human
action. In cultlvatiLg decision of
character it is well TO reflect on |
some great historical parsonage and |
endeavor to reach the highest stand /
ard. 1t seems to me that one can
scarcely fail to feel the Importance
Of decision Ehen he eOntemplates
such a character as the Apostle
Paul. 1t is his unfaltcIing decision
which shines out at nil times and /
Dn all occasions. 1t gives him COM
nand of men aud control over cir
~ S"hVo AWAY Inv
Tread OF the stoIm and the gloom
IT the prison. II inparts presence
# mind in the midst of dangers and
lives him serenity in the presence
4 death. 1t was decision OF char
cter which gave TO the Christian
martyrs triumph such as no con
Iuerur ever won. 1t made Luther
reformcr, and made John Wesley
he founder of the greatest protest !
mt denomination in Christendom.