The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-08-30
DIR. JOHN WRIGHT SAYS THAT POP
ULAR OPINION IS VERY UNCER-
o'a TAIN.
BIBLE AND THE PROPHETS
ARE CoNsIDERED AT THE OPENING
SESSION OF THE ANNUAL CON-
FERENCE.
REV. e. F. sTRpErEa, NEW YORK,
Is Essential to a Christian
Life.

The congregation of st. PauPs Epis-
copal church listened to very able
sermon yesterday morning by the rec
tor, Rev. DR.. John Wright. The sub
ject was 1.-THE Instability of Public
Opinion" and the text was taken from
Acts xvii, 4, 5 and 6:
And when the barbarianS saw the
YenomouS beast hanging on his hand,
they said among themselves: No doubt
this man is a murderer. whom, though
he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance
suffereth not to live And he shook off
the beast into the fire and felt no
harm. Howbeit, they looked when he
should have swollen or fallen down
dead suddenly But after they had
locked great while and saw no harm
come to him., they changed their minds
and said that he was a god"
DR.. Wright said in brief: "ThiS is a
picture of the instability Of the hui
man mind and the fickleness of public
opinion. The barbarians on the coast of
Malta one moment voted St.Paul a muir
derer and the next declared him to be
god. Through all ages public opinion
has not been an infallible guide. The
crowds who cried 'Hosannar in the
years of Christ a little later shouted
Cruelty Him.
ers of dominant minds. 1t is said of
Thomas Carlyle that once, while walk
ing the streets of London, he said: L
should like to, know the history of each
person who passes me by; then, on sec
ond thought, he said: I do not care to
know their histories for they are much
alike, for humanity is like a flock of
sheep; where one leads all the others
follow
''The world has been full Of exam
pies of the extremes of public opinion.
In the days of the French revolution it
was popular to decry the Christian
revelation and to eSpouSe the goddess
of liberty. In the Puritan days of
England it was popular to discard the
art from the churches, to rule out or
gans from public worship, and the Pu-
ritans were SO narrow that they would
not teach their children Latin be-
because it contained the names of
Apollo, Bacchus and other heather del
ties. Because these extreme opinions
prevailed for many years in England
is no argument that they were right.
All the world today is ready to vote
them fallacious.
What is the great practical thought
that grows, out of the changing and
fuctuating tendencies of popular opin-
ion? The duty is that of cultivating
personal convictions, even if those con-
victions are unpopular to the masses
Men who have accomplished anything
in the world have always been men of
individual opinions. Such were Moses,
Wickliffe, Columbus and Calico.
'"The lesson is one of special force to
youth; they are often afraid to do their
duty because Of the adverse criticism
of their associates in trade, in business
or the shop ,r Women are. often afraid
to follow that Which is strictly upright
because of the conventionalities of So
ciety. Do your duty and fear not,
whether other men bear or forbear,
whether your stand is popular or I'M
popular Do this and God will be with
you, and in the long run will be on the
winning side"