The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1894-02-01

live in an age of refinement. Refine
ment, no doubt, is strong claim, but
where would it lead us? Not upward,
surely, for the most selfish people in the
world, and often the most dangerous,
are the most refined The supertine ele-
ment of refined France, something like
century ago, found that their religion
was too vulgar for their refined taste
so they began to refine and kept refining
it until they sifted God out of it entire
ly and ended in infidelity. Civilization,
according to the wiSeSt men of all ages,
is moral progress. Virtue is the qulnt-
essence of civilization, and we must ac-
cept that definition and no other. Ii
we compare our morality with that of
ancient Rome, what celestial beings we
would appear-at first sight But on
looking more closely into the subject,
any rational man can see that the most
of our morality is of an exterior nature
only. Our speech, our customs and
manners, are vastly more moral than
those of Rome, but she was never abso-
lutely devoid of all virtue not even in
her deepest depravity. A people who
knew no God, and sacrificed their lives
in the cause of virtue, were truly noble
people, and think, fit to be compared
morally with any race that now inhabits
the globe. The only difference we can
see between the ancients and ourselves,
is refinement. Our customs and man.
ners would do credit to any age, and we
deplore the fact that Rome did not have
a little more regard for common de-
cency. But as theirs were the customs
| Of the time in which they lived, we can
| forgive them; for in all probability, our
| l>n Nil inG hxy
posterity as all previous customs are
ridiculed by succeeding generations.
Human nature is just the same to-day
as it was when Jacob kissed Rachel at
the well: but the customs attached to
such transaction have changed, for it
is not the habit now days for young
man to raise his eyes and weep when
! he kisses maiden.
Some of the Roman customs imposed
upon them some very annoying incOn-
veniences. For instance, it man be-
came tired of his wife, or took fancy
to some other mans wife and wished to
rid himself of one so that he might en-
Joy the smiles of the other, it would
cause him much trouble to accomplish
his end. Perhaps he would have to
commit, or be the instigator of couple
of murders to do so. Even some of the
Roman emperOrs had to wait until laws
had been passed before they were en-
abled to divorce their wives. Contrast
that aggravating custom with ours. In
Connecticut, short time ago, a woman
was given divorce from her husband
because he cheWed tobacco in bed, and
several weeks ago, a woman sued for a
divorce because her husband walked
up stairs with his shoes on. In another
case, charitably disposed woman was
seen by her husband to give aims to a
blind man, and the sequel of it was that
he petitioned for divorce on the ground
that she was squandering all her money
on blind men.
One of the greatest errors of modern
times, is that of mistaking and accept
ing refinement for virtue. We raise
our eyes in piOus horror at the depravity
; of pagan Rome, and yet there is scarce
, ly god that was wOrshipped by the
Romans that is not worshipped to-day
only in different manner. If refined
. vice is less offensive than vulgar ano
unrefined vice in the sight OF God, then
we are surely virtuOuS people. In an
} cient Rome, and in the large provincial
cities, there were erected temples which
were dedicated to Venus; and, to these
! temples. thousands of maidens were
consecrated in public. That was Gus
| tom which no civilized nation woulC
practice, and yet we have more temples
) dedicated to that same goddess of love
in any one of our great cities, than the
Roman empire could boast of in its
, palmiest days; but history will not men
) tion the fact. Why? Because we
, keep such things under the rose-oul
) customs are more refined than were
7 those of Rome Had the Romans prac
/ ticed one-half the hypocricy that we dt
) had they shrouded their vices in thu
{ garb of refinement and outward moral
. ity as we do, they would have been helt