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1113 NOT CONTKNT WITH 1MIB8KNT ATTAINMENTS.
VOIi VII.
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tlio perfection of character, and to this
end, charity, love, and peace, were to be
practised toward men. Such, then, is
what infidels call "buying a soul on
credit;" such arc the principles which
in their opinion arc opposed to progress
They do not seem to recognize the law
that the more frequently an act is per.
formed, the more easily it is accom
plished. We can readily seo that a vie
tory over an evil passion will at once
strengthen the moral character. Yield,
ing to temptation, on the contrary, weak
ens the moral faculties, and at the same
time increases the power of temptation.
This invariable rule, being carried to its
legitimate extent, leads to the heaven
which the infidel ridicules, and to the
hell, for which ho would express his con.
tempt with "words of living hate that
would hiss and sting like a serpent." In
finite woe is the necessary consequence
of constant loss of moral power; of con
slant yielding to temptation. There must
be a point beyond which a return to a right
course is impossible. This, then, is hell
here, and the berc.after is subject to the
same unfaltering law.
A state of perfection will bo attained
through the exercise of virtue, and by
gaining moral strength. As the influence
of evil decreases, moral excellence must
Increase. Jiy thus advancing we become
incapable of turning back, and we cannot
help growing in perfection.
BE NOT CONTENT WITH PRES
ENT ATTAINMENTS.
Who can bo content with their pies
cut attainments, when they seo how much
there is yet to learn, how many millions
of books to bo read, how many new
branches of philosophy, of science or of
irt there are to be pursued, how much
knowledge there is yet to be gained V
And where can we find greater pleasure,
than in gaining that knowledge?
Some may think they have ascended the
hill of science, mill are now resting on the
top of fame's dread mountain, with noth
ing to do, but to play with the laurels
they have gathered, anil look down upon
the grasping tendrils that are winding
their way up rugged recesses.
Hut alas, how mistaken they arc ! They
do not seem to icnlizc that there arc still
higher peaks and neighboring hills, which
they have not yet climbed.
On tho contrary, those who earnestly
desire to become wise and good, feel as
they advance, that they know so little in
comparison to what there is yet to know,
that they estimate themselves, not as intel
lectual giants, but as tyros in science,
Because they have mastered one sci
ence or read one hundred volumes of the
world of literature, they do not fold their
hands as if that were all there was to be
learned, but keep reaching out after
knowledge. Not that they expect to learn
all there is to be learned, but their only
contentment is in learning and improving
all they can.
Why is it that we have so man' and
great improvements, in the present age,
that they had not in the past? Look at
public libraries, aside from the many pri
vate libraries, in every city all over the
world ; and the newspapers, one or more
of which are printed in every little town
the world over.
Then think of the parchments that used
to be the only means of preserving histo
ries Look at the self-binding reaper of
the present day, and then think of the
cradle with which grain used to be gath
ered. Think too of the great telegraphic
and post-oillco systems, and you will see
that we are a people of progress and im
provement. It is evident that we enjoy these privile
ges above our ancestors, because men arc
not content witli their present attainments
but arc always thinking, reasoning and
working for something better and higher.
Let us then, not be content with our
present attainments, but press onward
and upward and, as wo rise higher our
minds will expand ami Uecqinp more coin.
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