Essays and Lectures; Historical and Literary (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE HOMELY VIRTUES. CHAPTER I. CLEANLINESS. The question for our investigation to-night is one rather of a practical character; but the consideration of practical subjects may be as instructive and as profitable as the poetical and imaginative. A great moralist has said that, " Whatever makes the past predominate over the present, elevates us in the scale of thinking beings." Now, that is a truth I will not deny; but while we recall the past for our instruction, and while we linger with delight over the enchanting page of history, still it is useful at times to mark our progress as a nation?ascertain our present position, and consider whether we have advanced, retrograded, or declined. Poets revel in the pleasures of fiction, and deck their inventions with the brilliant hues of fancy or of genius; the historian recalls to our minds nations that have passed away?re-peoples the desert, or rebuilds the ruined city; my humble purpose this evening, is to turn the eye of the mind upon ourselves?our habits, condition, and prospects; and to refer to the past only that it may shed light upon the present and future of our country. I believe the first Christians inculcated and practised Cleanliness, Prudence, Industry; and I am sure that the individual and the nation will be respectable and respected in proportion as these Christian habits are practised and inculcated amongst us. We, however, can scarcely improve, unless we admit our failings, and confess our faults; then energy, diligence, and self-reliance, will overcome and push aside every obstacle and difficulty to our progress, and the heroical virtues, tried by adversity, will qualify us for prosperity. Our subject naturally divides itself into two parts?the Personal and the National. Fixing attention upon oursel...