Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1879-09-26

hearts. You know Nero's early and misera-
BILE fate-dying by his own dagger, fugitive
from the army and the people he had betray
I'd and soduced and you know Paul's glori-
Gus history and his name and praise, second
only to that of the Master he loved, and
whose cause, under God, he saved. 1t has
always been so aud it may long continue so
not always let us hope! But again and
again the effort will be made, as it is now be-
ing made once more--tho effort TO see what
man can do to make his senses, his pride, his
passions, his love Of the beautiful and the i'm
mediately pleasing, satisfy his thirst for hap
piness He will. again and again, finish of
the world, and make it a palace Of pleasure
and ease aud beauty lie will triumph again
and again in his inventions and his arts, and
boast that the era Of universal comfort and
plenty, refinement and peace. has, at length,
arrived and just as the yolleys of his self
admiration and self-complacency have reach
ed their loudest thundcrs, and brought forth
their widest echoes, he will see his FOOLS par
adise reeliug in ruin its foundations, sand
its walls, rottenness its glory, shame, and
its place given over to hnts aud owls
Man is Il spirit His life is dependent on
his worship and obedience to the Spirit that
made him. He may forget God, but he can
not survive the forgetfulncss either i'll ma
tons communities. families. or rs private
soul. Man is a spirit, and spirits must adore,
aspire, and commune with spirits and the Fa-
thor Of Spirits. They may smother their
spiritual affections in love Of pleasure, in
sense, and hurrying occupations; they may
gid or chiscl into beauty the shell they are
meanwhile dying il they may hush the
whisper OF conscience, hide their faces from
the Divine eye that reproacles their iugrati-
tude, gricvc away the holy Spirit TINT solicits
their return to allegiancc-but they do il at
the peril Of spiritual death and Oh the brink
Of threatening ruin. If they do it alone, and
IN the face of demonstrating kindred. or re-
proving communities, they may iujure chiefly
them selves but when they 90 it in company,
in coMmuu titles, with general consent. with
out sclf-r,pruacl OF Tia, resistance Of the pub
lie opinion about them, then ruin is propar-
ing not for individuals. hut for States and
nations 1t is not torrent, but a deluge, that
llAN AAiil blbhih lbbht anu NJ blAtA' JUST ~
worldly prosperity becomes most common,
most splendid and most ostentatious the
crack Of doom is heard and swift as al ava
hnche, proud. rich, gorgeous peoples and
States rush to hopeless destruction Young
as our nation is, and incomplete Its ciyiliza-
ton, measured 10y external standards. we have
Ind many significant tokens. that our pros
pcrty, chastened though it has lately been
has d,afen,d our spiritual ear and dazzled
aud impaired our spiritual vision.
There is no measure so sure and constant
for estimating the state Of religion, as the
state Of public and personal morality Nor
nity Is not religion. but religion is a super
sttiou and peril without it. And there may
doubtless. be much of emotional religion
among certain temporaments, in times and
places whore moral standards and moral life
are low. Indeed, ofteutimos the oxctements
and reyIyals which are resorted to, with many
outward indications Of success, are actually
created 10y decay Of morality People lose
80 completely their self-respect and become
10 hopeless of themselves, besides losing the
only sure corrective of superstiuon-au nc
tive moral sense-thst they betake themselves
to religions excitements in crowds, and be
come the victims Of self-deluded and deluding
fanatics Among the deepest and worst signs
Of low moral life in the people, have been
the sweep of these popular religious revivals
within the last few years. For this very pc
riod has been fertile in the weeds and tares
Of public vices and private crimes. Never
have so many breaches of trust, so many
great defaulters in high life and among hith-
erto respected or respectable people, so many
wife murders, assassuations, suicides, so
many precocious villains among boys and
girls, so many women in Jail, and often for
the worst Of crimes been alarming and dis
tressing careful observers Of the public life.
We lay, hardly known whom We could trust,
and often looked about in vain for safe exec
utor- and administrators FOR our estates in tn,
interest Of widows and dependent children.
Can it boz that il is only greater publicity,
IA, growth of the press that gives this air Of
uMIuiug increase to the vice and crime Of
IL, nation Are the abandoned or divorced
wives and forsahcu children in our asylums
and refugees, all only il the ordinary course
of mortal weakness: ! should not like to be-
lievo it; it is so Illuminating TO our common
nature. Are our political murders, our bought
aud sold nominations, our corrupt legisla-
lures. our land monopolics. our failing saw
iLgs banks, our rings, none the less danger
Gus becaus, now often formed by IA superior
aud decent class Of couspirators against the
ignorance Of the public-are all these signs
of rottenness only the usual infrmities of
civilization in Christian hands Is il only
the voice Of Cassandra that croaks blind TO
the broad daylight, in her little cloud of
smoke and dust Have We Ia right to SAY
with many: Yes, all you observe and rc-
port Of evil is true, but it is only a small part
Of the truth. There is more vice than usual
but there is also more virtue than ever more
irrevcrencc and worldliness, but also more
piety and heavenly mindedness; more acct
dents but more safety. You can't have many
railroad accidents except where there are
numerous railroads; nor many failures ex-
cept where there is great amount of bust.
ness, nor many crimes, except where there il
great amount of property to tempt men. '
This is the optimistic view, and is held to be
very scientific aud philosophical il is
very deadgning to the pulpit and to the cause
of Christ. Doubtless there is some truth in
this form Of excuse; there is more explann-
ton, If not apology, to be found in the free
dom Of our laws the universally of our suf-
frage, the immigration of the less governahle
portions OF other nations the new wealth in
hands Impractical to manage it, in the ef-
fects of the long and demoralizing war, and
in the unhappy consequences of an unreal
and deoeiying currency. There are many,
many excuses to be made for our moral de-
clension. But after all are allowed for, there
remains the decay Of faith, and worship,
which is enough to account for the whole,
without any other reasons.
And mark You, it is not the changes in
theological opinion, the falling away of old
dogmas, that is TO be lamented That has
been inevitable 1t has happened in spite of
us from the new light that has flooded the