while one man never thinks of health, for the reason that he never has any thing but health, another man thinks of it continually, speaks of it frequently, tells you almost the number of hours, and the particular hours in which he has enjoyed it, for the reason that he is very rarely permitted to experience the blessing.

What is thus true of the body is not less true of the soul. It is one of the worst symptoms of the existing religious world,-testifying to the virulence and extent of its spiritual sickness, that one can hardly do a good deed without being vividly aware of the fact. A stranger passes up and down Broadway, and no one gives him at glance; but let him enter a secluded neighborhood, far away from the haunts of travel, and his presence is the exciting theme of wonderment and curiosity. Surely a holy deed must be a rare visitor, when its every presence is the occasion of so much staring and comment. Read the journals of those who are called saintly men,-in whom the distinctive piety of Orthodoxy has found living embodiments, and how striking is the indication of intense consciousness of holy deeds; the several states of their souls being noted with punctilious regard to time and place. At such an hour, and on such a spot, a terrible temptation was wrestled with and overcome; at another specified time and place, God was devoutly praised; at still another moment, the soul acknowledged the mercies of God; and thus, all along, the page looks like the jottings of a mariner's log-book, sprinkled over with dates and items touching the moral and religious experience. Had the same individuals given the world a similar record of their mo ments of bodily health and comfort, how we should have pitied them as wretched creatures, with whom the boon of health was such a rarity that its every visit was remem bered with minute regard to the particulars of time and locality. We have only to take its own testimony, by hearing its prayers and sermons, by reading its books, and by drawing it out in conversation, to have palpable evidence of the fact, that from the crown of its head to the sole of its foot, the popular piety is diseased, racked in every joint and fibre, and sorely distressed.

Were I speaking to persons not in sympathy with our convictions, it would be incumbent on me to demonstrate,

what in your presence I may assume, that the essence of Universalism, in its whole scope and power, gives the promise of a healthier state of piety and virtue. Recog nizing in human nature, not a mass of ruins, and therefore a state of utter helplessness, but an inherent ability for excellence, it furnishes a basis for exhortation; insisting on the inherent worth of goodness, it is a perpetual invitation to holiness; demonstrating, by every argument in its own defence, the hideousness of sin, it removes the greatest barrier in the way of the soul's recovery; and exemplifying in its own conscious energy the perfect sovereignty of the Divine Ruler, harmoniously coöperating with the struggle of the human powers, we are confident in the position, that Universalism is the true curative agency, whereby the spiritual nature of man may be released from the infirmity of guilt, and the sinking weight of inherited tendencies to evil. Let it be appreciated as a holy purpose, and felt as a divine power, and the soul of man shall in due time be elevated into that atmosphere of spiritual health in which holiness is its life, and breathings of heavenly love are its holy deeds-and all this by a method so natural, so much a matter of course, and so equable and calm, that the thought of its own excellence shall hardly be awakened, and the gaze upon itself perceive, in the steady flow of the divine current, scarce a ripple on which a separate observation may be fixed as noting a special experience.

If in the remarks thus far offered, it has been made to appear with any degree of distinctness that, under the circumstances of our day and generation, Universalism, to be of any worth, must be recognized not merely as a faith to rejoice the heart, but also, and primarily, as a purpose and a power-as a purpose pointing to a higher ideal of excellence, and a power giving the pledge that the attainment of such excellence is possible-there can hardly be occasion for a formal statement of the obligation resting on those whose profession it is to commend the doctrine to their fellow men. I trust it may be assumed, that we have before this accepted the rule-the truth of which needs no proof-that the indespensable condition of success, in any sphere of usefulness, is fidelity to the best conviction. We can but feel that the command rests upon

us, so to assert and apply the divine truth, that the souls. of men shall feel its remedial powers, and thus be made to rise into that holiness which is at once their life, their health, their joy, and their blessedness.

Without attempting to point out the special methods by which this high work is to be made effectual,-a labor which seems unnecessary in this connection,-I shall close this discourse with a few brief suggestions by way of encouragement, and also of warning.

1. First of all, we should guard against too extravagant expectations as to the present results of even our most faithful endeavors. The greatest of the church historians has shown that Grecian culture, though not so organic a preparation for Christianity as Judaism, was not the less truly a necessary preparation. In a less special, though not a less actual sense, Plato, as well as Moses, was a precursor of Christ. And not a few of the wisest minds, both in church and State, are prepared to to say, what experience has abundantly demonstrated, that civilization must go before, and pave the way for, the religion of the New Testament. An extreme case will illustrate my meaning. Suppose we should take Universalism to New Zealand, and attempt to apply it, as a purpose, to the souls of the cannibal inhabitants. In all probability we should meet with but poor success-should make but few, if any, exemplary converts. And even while we exert our efforts in a region much higher than the low level of the savage state, it yet remains a question, how large is the proportion of souls yet prepared to feel the force and apprehend the significance of a religion which calls for holiness on principle. In point of fact, the disease of depravity is too general and too deeply seated to admit of a very rapid restoration, however excellent or powerful the remedial agency. We are to include the whole world of humanity in our hope; but it will be necessary to remember, that eternity as well as time belongs to God, and that finite minds must not feel impatience, even though the march of his redeeming host progresses at a pace which to them seems slow.

2. We cannot too sedulously guard against the temptation, to which the seeming slowness of our best success exposes us, to employ unnatural methods to advance our

cause. We ought to feel the assurance, that no artifice, however ingenious, can trick a soul into a truth. Proselytism which assumes that any method is legitimate which makes nominal converts, is suicidal in the result. Every individual drawn into the supposed recognition of our theology by any other force than its spiritual attraction,drawn, let us say, by the cords of logic taking hold of his intellect, while his soul holds back with averted look, will, in the practical issue, prove a hindrance rather than a help. A truth imperfectly received, often has the worst effects of a lie. The reason given by Christ why he spoke to the multitude in parables, was, that it was not given them to comprehend the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. He gave practical proof that he knew what was in man, by his jealous care to prevent the multiplying of his followers any faster than men saw the spiritual meaning of his doctrine, and were drawn to him by the cords of the spirit. He knew that the shell of gospel truth, without its substance, would work mischief and not good. How many souls have been injured by the mere shell of Universalism, I must not now stop to estimate.

3. I but state another form of the same general principle, when I say, that by preaching Universalism as a purpose, our work is positive, and not negative. I would not rob the Hindo of his idol, could I not give him a higher object of worship. Idolatry, however grovelling, is nevertheless a recognition of the religious affections, and is infinitely to be preferred to atheism. It is better that men should run after strange gods, than not to run after any god. If we permit ourselves to proselyte by improper methods, the danger is that we may drive out one form of religion without introducing another; and so, while we make a nominal convert, virtually make a practical atheist. In dealing with the diseases of the body, the best of medicines must be administered by skilful practitioners, else what is meant to restore may destroy. Surely, the physician of souls has not less urgent occasion for prudence and discretion.

4. Finally, let it be our encouragement, that whatever may be the numerical results of fidelity to our highest sense of duty as Christian teachers, the power of any body depends far less upon its magnitude than upon its quality.

A bruise may swell, or a vile stimulant may bloat a haggard cheek; but it is only by increasing the healthi ness of the inner life, that the outward form can be rounded out into true beauty and symmetry. A swollen or a bloated Zion cannot be thought of without a feeling of horror, as beholding something sacrilegious. Nor let us by any means assume, that the purest method shall operate unfavorably even on the score of numbers. The sympathies, and the desires, and the aspirations of all pure souls will be with us; and when the affections are once enlisted, the understanding cannot long remain outside of the kingdom. By being faithful to our highest sense of truth and of method, we may dare to hope that the blessing of the common Father will give us the success we merit, fill our souls with the encouragement they need, and confer upon us, collectively and individ ually, the grace we habitually and fervently supplicate.

G. H. E.

ART. XIX.

Hope, Sympathy, Destiny.

Why is it, then, that the solemn drama of humanity, and the winding up of its fortunes, do not take hold of our deepest sympathies ?-SEAR'S "REGENERATION."

FROM Our window, the other day, we saw upon a neighbor's ground a solitary sheep which had just been tethered to a stake. The bare, brown sod of winter beneath its feet offered no attractions, and the poor creature naturally started for a run; but the inexorable cord checked it with a harsh and sudden shock. Stupified by this, it was some time before it ventured upon another attempt; but anon, with the air of one who slily eludes his keeper, it darted violently in a different direction, with the same staggering result. Again and again was this frantic rush repeated, until at last it stood, deadened into a dumb apathy, which lasted longer than we could remain to watch the scene.