Year: 1859

stated that he understood this circle to
have been formed for the benefit Of man,
as woman does not herself require any
great effort to keep sober. This was one
Of the rare instances in which man hap
pened to be right; and as you have thus un-
dertaken to show your sense Of the inf
mite obligations heaped upon you by his
unwearied labors for your benefit, it ap-
pears highly proper that the first lecture
delivered before you shoull be upon that
subject which called your "circle" into
existence.


Man-what is he? The question was
asked some thousands of years ago by Da-
vid the great king Of Isreal; but he did
not undertake to answer it; and of course
l cannot hope to give any very satisfacto-
ry answer to 50 important a query. But,
it is a conceded point that the Great First
Cause whicz has brought everything into
existence, has marked indclibly upon ev-
cry part Of his creation the exact use for
which it Was intended. Every single ar
ticle in the great storehouse Of Nature has
its label fixed in its essential form; and
the slightest change in the substance,
must, per force, produce a corresponding
change in the external appearance.


Ii men do not put new wine into old
bottles, neither does God put any spirit in
to ha5itation unsuited to its wants;
and the uses for whcih it was intendcd.-
All the mistakes we ever make in estima-
ting the character and quality Of any per-
son or thing are caused by our ignoranc>
Of, or partial acquaintance with Gods
handwriting in His labels. He never
puts the spirit Of lamb into the form Of
hon. lie never arms the OK with a
tigers claws, or furnishes the dove with
an eagles beak. The external form of cv-
cry living creature is an exact indication
Of the spirit that dwells within; and the
external form OF every inaninate substance
| is the unerring test Of the nature Of that
substance, and the uses to which it ought
to be applied. Thus by outward indica-
ton, or form we have a full answer to
David's important question; but we are on
m m uuo ';-.e, Try by my key to read the
hieroglyphic; but,


The history Of creation is another way
OF ascertaining the intended use Of any ob
ject. Al! things were created in their
proper order, from the least even unto the
greatest. 1t is q maxim of wisdom to
make only such things as are required for
some specific use; and to make them at
the proper time; and have them in the
proper place; and he is deemed most wise
who makes that which is needed in the
time it is required. A locomotive would
have been a useless peice Of lumber prior
to the building of railroads; and telegraph
wires would have been worse than useless
before the tanning Of the lig ghtning. A
wise man when he purposes to make any
important peice Of machinery must know
some use to which he intends applying it
and must prepare place in which it can
be preserved for use When he intends
to acquire anything valuable, he prepares
every thing necessary to its preservation.
In other words, he gets the cage before he
goes to catch the bird. !


Applying these acknowledged rules of
wisdom to the history of creation, it would
appear that the All Wise had intended,
from all eternity, to create, in the fullness
Of time, an order of intelli gences closely
resembling, yet differing from the angels
which were then in heaven; and from
which He might draw a stream of emigra
tion to the upper realms The first care
was to prepare habitation and suitable
surroundings for one stage of the existence
Of the new order; and he made the world,
then clothed it with verdure and beauty,
just as wise man preparing habitation
for favored tenant, first builds the house
and then furnishes it.


The chandeliers were hung, the sun
and moon made, the earth brought forth
fruit and flowers, the sea teemed with
fishes, the air and the pastures with birds,
insects and animals. The cellar, the lar
der, the pantry were stored with all good
things which mi ght minister to the COM
fort and innocent pleasure Of the expected
proprietor, the horses were in the stable
and Brindle in the stall, the Watchdog at
the door, the kitten on the rug, the ayiary
was peopled, the dove cot scene of COO
ing lite, the rabbit warren dotted over
with pink eyes; and the whole establish
ment waited for the steward to come and
take possession. He was made for the oc-
caslon and the Creator called him Man.
After he had looked about and become
tamlllarzed with his charge, the mistress
Of the establishment arrived and took po-
session. .,>'.~.,l


|, thus by the order of creation, it ap-
pears that man is the link between woman
and what we call the merely animal king
dom, just as the animals are the links be-
tween him and the vegetable world; and
according to the law which governs every
other part of that .13>Es9 =ca -.


"-'nighty chain of being ~