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those attributes which man possesses in common
with the lower animals, and is always developed in
H greater degree as the mi. and of man descends in
the scale of intelligence. Thus the natives of Af
rica and the aborigines of America are so selfish
that force Idas to be used i > compel them to allow
each other to retain the smallest possession, and
anything like social organization is either impossi
ble, or exceedingly imperK-ot amongst them. The
natives of the Australasian archipelago are still
lower, and consequently more selfish than the Afri
can::. They will kill a man to possess themselves
of ihu buttons of his emit, an • when they have o'u
sssion, will o t her f
puled ownership or’ the spoil, if we descend below
th< ale of lu ... , • hall find the same trait
; ugly T • ,
sons who have not at .some time witnessed a con
test between two clogs over a rich bone, and as few
pet 1 ave aske 1 tut raselves why dcgs
fought so about it. If any tak the trouble to en
quire,They are certs iu to fi ■ f the dogs
was btmef >r his own cx< isive use. But it
is said that (togs, aid older animals, have an un
selfish affection for their owners. But this cannot
be true: for ; dug can only distitigrish his master
by the frequency of Lis H-'niivtis mid ki .and : : . es
to him ; and his canine affection is therefore, a pur
chased article. A dug always fawns on ins master
with the hope of being caressed, or gelling some
thing to eat.
It is difficult to say whether chi!-Iren arc more
selfish than grown persons, or whether the latter
have a greater power of conoc.dim*; ;d’s principA.
It is, however, an undoubted Act tin. A ildren Lave
most affection for those who show them the most
kindness, and have the strut: -ost anti. . if t> th ,i
who arc cruel and unkind to them. Untutored
adults resemble them in this res pec, except that
adults often add to their sold affliction ingratitude,
decitfulness, and hypocrisy. Children are always
grateful to those who are truly kind to them. It.
is easy to see, however, the eagerness aud desire
with which they endeavor to obtain possession of
whatever can afford them gratification, and how
they engage in miniature wars about marbles, &
just as their seniors get up extensive wars about
territories, &c.’ As children progress in y ..a,
generally grow more generous —that is, more dis
interested —and remain so for a certain number of
years. This is the period when the “wise ones”
call them “foolish,” and look with alarm and dis
may, not without contempt, on the young people,
who seem not to regret their fast departing dollars.
“How,” say they, “can any one have good sense
that spends money at such a rate as that ?” For
of course common sense consists in the getting
and keeping of money. But the young man soon
arrives at the point where lie begins “turning again
toward second childishness,” and “setttes down.”
His energies are now devoted to the accumulation
of money ; if he is not too lazy, his mind and body
are taxed to the utmost for the attainment of this
great end. His eye soon becomes educated enough
to look on abject misery without conveying an
80 ii If ER N BAPTIST MESSENGER.
emotion of pity or tenderness to his heart ; he soon
learns to listen to a tale’of privation, suffering and
misfortune with perfect indifference, and without
the thought occurring to him that he ought to as
sist his poor brother. He forgets that “he that
givtth to the poor lendeth to the Lord,” and “whoso
hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have
need, and sbutteth up his bowels of compassion
from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him !”
nor does .he remember that he ought to cast his
bread upon the waters. Os ail this he thinks less
and less, because freezing Avarice is winding a
hroud of snow and ice around his heart, and no
warm word nor look of compassion can come from
t: at chilled source. He sees troubles and difficul
ty gather round, his less fortunate brother, and
blank ruin stare him in the face, but in his hand
he clutches light his money bag, and lets his
bro‘tier sink down, down, down. What if that
pr x-d down heart and crushed spirit appeals to
.< in cries of sobbing anguislr, and a last glimpse
of : * o remains as he asks once more for a helping
nand. 2sTo ;it is nothing at all to him. “ L>t him
go” says Avarice ; “ I’ll hold ou to my money. It
i- true, some people sav he is sinking into a pre
•mature ‘grave, and that a little assistance would
rave him ; and I wish somebody would assist him;
but I want my money for myself.” So the black,
foamless waves of despair are allowed to ciose over
t u fortunate, and the pitiless spectator, with his
c! gold clasped affectionately to his bosom,
turns to loo!.: for the next victim.
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Some may say that this picture is over-drawn ;
but any who will look around them cannot fail to
rce :ze tlie originals of the two principal figures.
h -'L nave teuen instances and examples of the
eft’ cm of this horrid vice, which, if I described,
without giving persons and places, would be deemed
wild flights of fancy. At the present time I know
more than one individual who are in the respective
siitfhtfons I h vo described. I have not exagger
ated in the smallest degree. Indeed it is impossi
ble to exaggerate this, or anything in nature. We
can only be said to exaggerate when vve falsify the
occurrences or common transactions of every day
life. But nature is the creation of God, and the
most powerful human mind that ever existed, or
the most vivid imagination that could enrich that
mind, could not improve ou nature ; because the
mind and all its attributes, as well as nature aud
all her processes, are alike his creations, and one
cannot overrate the other. What painter has ever
fixed on canvass colors half so brilliant as the hues
of nature? or who has been able to approach with
their art the gorgeousness of sunset ? lias any
sculptor ever been able to rival in the beauty of
chiseled marble the elegance of the human form 1
or has he ever succeeded in imitating the distor
tion in which we sometimes
questions we must answer, No, not one. The hor
rors of the rushing storm, and the calm beauty of
a summer’s evening, are alike beyond the reach of
description, or the possibility of exaggeration; while
the beauty and perfection of angels, and the hide
ousness of demons, are not only indescribable, but
unimaginable. Nature is full of wonders, so full,
indeed, that they do not excite our astonishment ;
and it is only something exceedingly unusual that
cau move our stolidity. We stand still with amaze
ment when we hear that our Lord raised the dead,
but witness the transformation of the earth we tread
ou into our food, and the transformation of our
food into our bodies, and rarely think that it is
even curious. All the works of God are miracles .
aud we cannot imagine them to be any greater
than they are. And as it is with material things,
so it is with immaterial. The vilest character, the
robber or assassin, has never been described in a
manner sufficiently horrible to convey an adequate
idea of the workings of Ins mind. The best de
scription of this sort we have seen is in the epistle
of Jude. Oq the other extreme, we have no con
ception of the emotions which move the mind of
the truly good and beautiful.
But it often happens that the avaricious charac
ter is benevolent, and gives sums of money to what
are called charitable purposes. True, it is that
sums of money are so given ; but why ? Because
money, or property, is not the only thing he covets.
He must stand high in the estimation of “ the
world,” and therefore makes a “magnificent dona
tion,” in such a manner that all the world shall
know it. These donations are generally profitable
investments in many ways. When these men join
one of the benevolent societies of our day, their
character is still further established as liberal and
large hearted. Truly, when meu are determined
to have a benevolent character, there are many
ways of gaining it. The truth about these socie
ties is, that they limit the sphere of a man’s be”
nevolence by excluding from it the great broth
erhood of humanity. Every man is our brother,
and our Father loves all alike, and has command
ed us to love one another. *’
In religion, men are as avaricious as iu other
possessions. They first persuade each other that it
is a thing to be “got;” and if so, of course they
must get it. For the desire of Avarice is limitless ;
the treasures of the earth and the glories of heaven
are objects towards which it equally aspires, and ■
around which it stiives to entwine its covetous
arms. These men are told very impressively what
God has done for them, and that they, in return,
ought to get religion. They sometimes do feel
very grateful,'and by an incomprehensible process
of self-delusion, compel themselves to believe that
gratitude and sensual feeling is the love of God. —
Their very prayers are’ supplications for more and
moro of everything they already possess; they are ’
as insatiable as the devouring flame. The admo
nition of Paul to be diligent in business, they con
strue into a command to devote the energies of their
souls and bodies to the acquisition of money ; and
they are willing to give a cup of cold water, be
cause the word of God assures them they shall not
lose their reward, i know that no one will say
this is an exaggeration ; for there is abundance of
evidence that men have been benevolent because
they expected a thousand fold reward in both the
present and future world. And there is no need
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