Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1881-04-16

IeT OF uutN. tdCu fuulNluutl man,
| alone before his God, stands or fails.
/ But in addition to this, there is lit
| tie clause in the Constitution of this
| Order, which works for good to the
members. Whatever may have
| been its intention when placed there,
/ it certainly does look towards the
prevention of sin No immoral man
| if known to be such, can be a mem
| Der of this Order. Those who are
members and are guilty of immoral
! ity, forfeits the privilege of mem
bership. There is, therefore, some
! thing in the Order to restrain and
check a man, were he disposed to
overstep the bounds OF morality.
And Just here comes in a little cork
for Christian men. They have an
opportunity to strengthen the BROTH
ers in high-toned, moral principles,
and if possible to lead them on up
! higher to true, noble, Chris
tian principles. Surely live, work
ing, active Christian man could not
object to opportunities ike these for
doing good, not only to his own fam
| lily but to his brother men at large.
Now we come to notice something
of the history OF organizations OF
this kind. A brief review will
show that their best, truest and most
significant start, dates with the Ad-
vent of Christ and Christianity, and
their principles are more clearly stat
ed in the New Testament than in
any other known work prior to that
date
Egyptian wisdom was great, and
her splendor was magnificent, but
we hear of no humane institutions,
even among her ruins. Grecian art
was the most perfect known, yet
there was no genius in that country
who could invent an ASYLUM for hu-
manity's sake. Roman culture was
ahead of anything known in the
world. The classic Augustan age,
in it's magnificencc, presents to us
almost a tabled existence, and yet
among those supurb intellects there
was not one grand enough to grasp
the idea of the brotherhood Of man
kind, and attempt to ameliorate the
condition of the human race. Now
and then the adoption OF poor child
into wealthy family, and the for
nation of retreat for the old brOk-
en- down soldiers, given as pension
for actual service, was as near as
these people ever got to humanitari-
an effort, to say nothing Of Christian
principles.
But Christ came into the world. He
entered the bosom OF our humanity.
"He spake as never man spake."
He it was who uttered the parable
of the good Samaritan, and He said:
Whatsoever ye would that men
should do to you, do We so to them.''
He invented and put into practice
these principles. They were Divine.
Emanating from the Goldman,
Christ, and we are told that IF We
have not the spirit OF Christ we are
none of His"
Now then, just as soon as man be-
gan to follow His example, to imi-
tate Him, to be His followers, to
have His spirit, we see new state
Of affairs. Ever since then He has
been teaching them, and His teach
ing we can trace upon every page of
history. In each event of every Gen.
fury, we can see His ruling hard,
and each blessing to our SOUS should
be more dear because conferred by
Him.
Now note, il you please, what is
actual history. Every city, every
town, every county, has it's Hospi-
tai, or .Lunatic Asylum, or Orphan
Asylum, or Magdelen Home, or
Aims houses, homes for the Aged
and Infirm, or Institutions for the
Deaf and Dumb and the Blind. Ev-
erywhere we see improvements in
prison life and discipline, the eleva-
ton of woman, the refining, soften
ing and sweetening of domestic and
social life. Yes, this principle of
doing unto others is evident through
out the land, and yet, it was I'M
known until Christ spake the words,
and it was untried until Christian
hands reared these monuments of
mercy.
During the Middle Ages, when
everything was dark and overcast,
and the black pail which preceded
the inquisitlon was thickening, the
spirit of Christ was creeping into
light, cropping hard for an outlet,
and it found it. Guilds were then
established. These, however, at first
were mere fraternities of trade. Men
o. the same calling combined togeth-
er to elevate that calling or to pre-
tect it from oppression. Thus the
object of the early Guilds was the
protection of commerce and me-
chanical industry. BY and by, this
same idea led the Church to use her
slumbering activities, and i'll time
brought about Guilds for the protec-
ton of families and her members.
And in passing, it is but just to say,
that in this the Church of England
stands in the fore front.
Not long after this. and less per