Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-07-20
VICE As A MORAL AGENT.

For godly sorrow worketh repentance to sal
vatl on not to be repented OIL. CORINTHIANS
WHO.
The SUNDAY GLOBE desires to advocate the
form alton of a society for the regulation of
vice. It does this in all sincerity, fully be-
lieving that it will prove of great benefit to
the world if properly conducted. We have
been taught to believe that nothing was Gre
ated in vain, and even evil has it's uses and
can be diverted to good purposes.
We are led to assume this position by
perusal of the Fourth of July speech deliv-
cred by ev-Gov. Horatio Seymour, to thecon-
victs in Auburn penitentiary. It was an elo-
quent and appropriate address, and followed
vein of thought purely original. He
said, in effect, that ne had sometimes
ardently desired the power to blot
from his recollection every evil thought or
deed of which he had been guilty, but re-
Election had shown him that if he did so he
would be obliged at the same time to erase
some of the noblest impulses and the best
deeds with which his life had been marked,
for these had been inspired directly by his
evil thoughts or actions which he so much
from one extreme to the other. If one stops
to think the matter over he will find that his
own experience tallies precisely with that of
Gov. Seymour. Virtue is, in most cases,
the direct offspring of vice. Where one
person is virtuous from a we'll settled, clear
ly defined principle, dozen are so because
they have sinned or know of sin, and fear
its consequences. When man has trans
crossed the moral law-and who can say
with truth that he has not at some time done
so?-his conscience pricks him and he
is led to hate his conduct and to devise
means which will prevent a repetition o
he ofense. In this way he comes to real
ize how easy it is for men to sin, and to see
how much better it is to continue in well
doing. He also learns to place stronger
guard about himself-to be watchful and
prayerful lest he again fall into temptation.
He is nerved to seek others who have fallen,
and to urge them to turn from the evil of
their ways. We are inclined to the belief
that if ministers of the gospel sinned a little
more frequently, or at any rate familiarized
themselves with evil so that they could I'M
derstand it, they would be far more compe-
tent to teach morality than they now are.
AS it is they occupy only theoretical stand
point which very often is far removed from
the practical chase of life. When they
condemn vice and point out the way to
guard against its insidious approach, they
are too often situated like man who at
tempts to criticise book he has never read,
or to depict an emotion he has never ex-
perienced.
Everything in this world is simply COM
parative. Joy is realized only when con-
trasted with sorrow, love with hate, virtue
with vice. Hence we claim that if there was
no sin in the world there could be no good,
nor can man be truly righteous, intelli-
gently and appreciatively good, who has not
experienced the reverse. It is no credit to q
man who has never experienced temptation
to live blameless life. Few such ever ex-
cite our admiration or regard. It is the
rough, rugged natures that have passed
through the fiery furnace of temptation
that have subdued their passions, conquered
their appetites, and, though often SHINING,
finally come out masters of themselves
that make the nobility of the land. There
is everything to admire in such man
strength, force, dignity of character. He is
as the veteran of many battle field, often
tried, sometimes overcome, but never con-
quered, as compared with the gaily
caparisoned rnilitiaman who never saw
the smoke of the battle field or faced the
lannon's mouth. Experience is hard
teacher, it is true but it does much to de-
velop the inherent nobility of mankind.
Men who have faults and learn to detest and
seek to correct them make our best citizens
and our truest Christians. They know how
to pardon the follies of youth and the vices
of old age, and at the same time they can
labor intelligently to induce reform.
Therefore we say that society for the