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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. i 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 13