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 THE MEN 
 
 FOR 
 
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 THE ^G^E 
 
 A. LECTXJRE, 
 
 I»ai.IYEB£D BEFORE THE 
 
 f alife Soung Ittu's Qamim ^$mhim, 
 
 ON TUESDAY EVENIKG, DECEMBER 20, 1859. 
 
 BY 
 
 EEV. THOMAS CRISP, A. B. 
 
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 ial«iix. i. ^: 
 
 PRINfTED XT THE WE8LEYAN CONFERENCE STEA^i PRESS. 
 
 1859 
 
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THE MEN FOR THE AGE. 
 
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 "Life bears us on like the stream of a mighty river. 
 Our boat at first glides down the narrow channel, through 
 the playful murmuring of the little brook, and the wmdmg of 
 ,t-. grassy borders. The trees .hed their blossoms over our 
 .ouno- heads ; the lowers on the brink seem to offer them- 
 sav^stoouryorr^g.handp; we are happy in hope, and we 
 grasp eagerly at the beauties around us ; but the stream 
 hurrien on, and still our hands are empty. Our course m 
 youth and manhood is along a wider and deeper fiood, amid 
 subjects more striking and magnificent. We are annnated 
 by the moving picture of enjoyment and mclustry passmg 
 us ; we are excited at some short-lived disappointment. The 
 stream bears us on, and our joys and griefs are alike left be- 
 hind. We may be shipwrecke.l ; we cannot be delayed^; 
 whether rough or smooth, the river hastens to its home, till 
 the roar of the ocean is in our ears, and the tossing of the 
 waves is beneath our feet, and the land lessens from our eyes, 
 ^nd the floods are lifted around us, and we take our further 
 voyage where there is no witness save the Infinite and Eter- 
 nal.'' . • 
 
 This is a graphic picture drawn by that attentive observer 
 of men and nature-Bishop Heber. It portrays that onward 
 rush which has ever marked the course of time since time ex- 
 isted. It depicts that swiftly passing scene which opens when 
 life is ushered into being, and closes when the spirit takes its 
 
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 4 
 
 everlasting fligl,,. It ,,;,,„„, y,f, ;„ ^.^^^ ^^ ^,^^ 
 
 when ic was so stnk.ngly applicable to man's career upon 
 earth as at the present. The age we live in is a peculiar one 
 and one ch.ef feature of its peculiarity is its rapjity. Every^ 
 thing appears to be in rapi.l movement. ^V'e learn faster 
 work faster, trade faster, travel faster, and Il>e faster ; wet^ 
 more k,,o,v more do n.ore in the course of our lifotime,I.han 
 any of those who have trod the earth before us. The average 
 
 Ce ovttr'""'"^ ''"""'" '^ "•" '"^"''^^■'•' ''"' *ere L 
 tiZJ f"""' '='""'S'^^''»'« knowledge-more of ever, 
 tlnng which constitutes life, crowded into that period now 
 ^«n at any previous age in the histoiy of our race. Ou^ 
 anc stors before the flood, who counted their years by bun 
 d«=ds. knew far less of life than our modern 'age oTth ee 
 eore years and ten The stripling of to-day has Ld long 
 than his great grandfather who died half a century a^o at fho 
 good old age of eighty. y ■'c.o at tno 
 
 In days gone by, men travelled all their lifetime in the same 
 old lumbering coaches, beheld in youth and gray hairs the 
 same old stunted ships-lived and died in the fam'e o d an i 
 quated nouses, But now the man that has not measured 
 more than half life's allotted span, has seen change rapidlysu' 
 
 ecedingchangc. improvement following improvement, invention 
 g.v ng place to ,„™„t,„„, till at length he finds that the old 
 
 fa he. before ),,„, had admired with all the admiration of a 
 de-Iov.ng boy, has vanished before the untiring strides of the 
 
 Wo ,ren and h,s gliding, noLseless train; the ancient 
 ships „ose heavy prows and clumsy rig he was early taught 
 to e nsider the wondrous perfection of naval art, now taktng 
 ^e form of the graceful and rapid steamer; and the time 
 honored family collage which had sheltered his birth no 
 longer as .t stood, and still stands in his fond memory of early 
 
 ■npii 
 
(lays, but transformed into the iinposinp; structure of the stately 
 mansion. Tliese and a thousand other clianges liave takea 
 phico within the narrow lunits of his half-sv-ent life. Theso 
 are the products of the present age ; and they are not yet 
 completed,— tlieir development may i)eriiaps be but just be- 
 gun. We know not what nmrvels even this generation may 
 yet behold. Every thing is rushing onwards. Event follows 
 event, crisis comes crushing on crisis, with such endless suc- 
 cession, that we no sooner begin to wonder at one, than wo 
 are surprised by the startling presence of another. Our 
 business, our customs, our arts and sciences, are all borno 
 along on the great tidal wave of progress. Eapldlty is tlio 
 characteristic feature of the age. 
 
 But here arises the main ({uestlon for our consideration at 
 present. What of the Mm :^— those who are the intelligent 
 actors in this ever moving, shifting scene? They areneces- 
 sarily borne onward too. They cannot stem the rushing tide ; 
 they cannot stop its onward progress. Stop its progress ! 
 why, whoever attempted it would be just as successful as the 
 Dutchman who lost his liat overboard, and thought to stop the 
 steamer's way to recover it by putting his shoulder to the 
 mast. The Men form a part and parcel of the Age. They 
 cannot arrest its course. Circumstances over which they have 
 no control require that it should advance. A power as irre- 
 sistible as that which impels the burning co let through 
 boundless space drives it forward. Men cannot hinder it. 
 What then are they to doV Why, there is only one thing 
 which, under the circumstances, thoy can do. If they cannot 
 accommodate the tendency of the times to themselves, they 
 must accommodate themselves to the tendency of the times. 
 If they cannot arrest the onward movement of the Age, they 
 can at least endeavor to keep up with it. They can aim to 
 regulate, if not retard its progress. They can step aside for 
 u moment, and mark the course of events transpiring around 
 
 m 
 
fhem.-oonHlder tluMr owt. positmn nn.l tl.o ,,atl, Mhi.-I. lies 
 before tho.n. They can roHort .,ul s.o whnt traits of dmrj. 
 sition need most to l,e chorishe.!, what points of olmrucf-r 
 need most to be developed, wI,,U powers .■,nd ene-T^ieH need 
 most to be exercised ; in ord.'r that they imy secure and re. 
 tail! a rreditnldf, inlluentiul and useful plnee in the a-e i„ 
 which they live. And this is what I propose to discuKs h'rieHv 
 with the young men assendjled hero to ni-ht. under tho 
 auspices of this Christian Association. 
 
 *' What are you good for?" sai,l a gentleman to a knot of 
 yming urchins, wlio were laying (h,wn the law to each other 
 m ad the confidence of their boyish pride. "Good fur''" 
 answered one of them, drawirig himself up to impress tho 
 inquisitor with a sense of, ..t least, his own importa.ue "Why 
 we are good to .lake men of.- The answer wrs a wise onl' 
 Ihe ambitious youth knew that he was not always goincr to 
 be . youth : and he probably looked forward to the t^me 
 when he would be as great a man among his fellow men, a« 
 he now was among his fellow %.v. I do not put this ques- 
 tion to you, my young friends, or doubtless your pride would 
 be as sorely wounded as was that of this youthful aspirant 
 whde perhap. the questioner would not got off so easily' 
 iou are good Ibr something, I should be sorry to be thought 
 for one moment to doubt it;~if for nothing else, you are good 
 to make m.n oi-e:,perienced, vseful, influential Men . Men 
 of some sort, if spared, you must be. In the rapid march of 
 time, you will soo.i find yourselyes in the place of those now 
 before you A few short years, and you will probably know 
 more ot life s eares aud anxieties, as well as joys and com- 
 forts than you do now. That roying, unfettered libenv in 
 which you now rejoice, w^ill be curtailed by more restraining 
 les. ■ You wdl haye settled down a. the steady-going, home^ 
 lovmg, chddreTi-petting, family man. JJut mo;e than that - 
 Vou wdl haye taken a station of graye responsibdity. You 
 
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 will hu-e crrnnc<l n HtMnain,c.' lum.t wl i.l. wiUjnv. you, o.tnor f^)r 
 ,,od or evil, m.-.nen.o influeu.o. Vou xvill be the J^n W ^/.. 
 \ig, _tl,e prim, actors on tlie stao-n of llfo. Yc»u mW be in a 
 powifu.n to ^rive a tone and oharaoter to v.mr Ti.n.s-to v.<^n- 
 Lo that nii.^htv n.ovin. n.nss of thon-^ht and action whicli 
 constitutes thoV,>iM<5«'o/-A/. it is with M^Fo^^Fj-t hctoro 
 you that I venture to tlu-ow out tor your consi.lerat.on a t.-w 
 practical, au.l accoraius to n.y ju.lsnuM.t, imiM.rtant Innts 
 \„<1 if they shall prove efH.^tual i.i leadins you to reflect 
 upon the e'ritical po.iti.. ' .i lite you now occupy, and ni 
 .tinmlatinn: you to ain. .audst all the .hiftin.i^ and Imrryjn.i^ 
 aud bustlHig of the Aj^e, at that noble one which is w.thm 
 your reach, I shall h...e ncco.uplishcd my object, ana bo 
 
 'tuV A*re requires Men that start in life with hlo' ^-"is. 
 Time was? when men could make their way easily through the 
 world with little labor and no ambition, and the consequenca 
 ^vas that there existed a disposition to become careless a..d 
 indolent. Little was devised, and still le.s effected for the 
 benefit of mankind. Everything was stagnant ; nothmg pro. 
 .ressed. The wr.rld was at a stand. But the tunes have 
 changed. Tiic worhl has received an impulse. Ivverytung 
 is in mocion. It is an age of actum .-and whoever wdl keep 
 pace with its progr..s, aad take part in its great operations, 
 must sot out with high aims. 
 
 " If I mioht speak as a monitor." said a recent lecturer 
 before Young Men in England, -'my .'hole exhortation 
 might be comprised in a .ingle word-aud that word would 
 be— Aspire. ' And this sentiniont, which was uttered in Jl.x- 
 eter Hall, Loudon. I wovdd reiterate in Temperance Hall, 
 Halifax. There is a laudable aspiration— you may call it 
 ambition, or what you like-that should posses the breast of 
 every youth that launches forth upou the sea of life. It 
 there is a coiitemptilde being upon earth, it is the man that 
 
 
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 it 
 
 »■ 1 
 
 Bits listlessly on tlic wave of time, suffering himself to bo 
 borne onwanl, anil buffeted about at its pleasare, and merely 
 contenting himself to keej) his head above water. One of 
 the few things I remejuber in connection with that obnoxious 
 book to boys, Lennie's Grammar— and perhaps this was im- 
 pressed upon my memory by something more potent than 
 words— was being required to parse Uiis sentence : " Man is 
 not such a njachine as a clock or a watch, which moves 
 merely as it is moved." Whether I ever managed to p»rsG 
 it correctly I don't remember, and wiiere WillLn Lennie 
 got the sentence I don't know, Ijut it has often struck mo 
 as containing a wholesome truth. Man is not an mitomatoy, 
 and God never intended that he sliould be a 7noj)e. fie has 
 been put in possession of marvelous powers, which he is call- 
 ed lipon to train and develop for their destined use. He 
 inhabits a body fearfully and wonderfully made, which 
 requires his support, attention, and care. He has been 
 endowed with a noble intellect, which it is alike his duty and 
 his privilege to expand. Be has been entrusted with talents, 
 which demand an exercise and improvement. He is gifted 
 with an immortal spirit, which he is solemnly bound to get 
 fitted for a place at the right hand of God. The age we live 
 in, our position, our responsibilities, the very nature of our 
 existence, requires that each one should start upon the jour- 
 ney of life with that noble and illustrious motto— Excelsior I 
 Excelsior I ! 
 
 But the Age further requires Mm of sl purpose— men 
 who live for an object. No one acts mechanically,— we never 
 move a finger without a reason. Men will never set their 
 whole thoughts and energies in motion, unless there is an end 
 in view worthy of the effort. If we are to aspire we must 
 aspir6:40 something. What is if! Ah! what is it, my 
 young friends, that is worthy of your aspiration ? Your 
 powers of body and mind tell you that it is nothino- jo-noble 
 
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 ii^^iKmgmmmmmKmmitm 
 
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 ti 
 
 
 —nothing mean. You would not go to the trouble of fur- 
 nishin.^ a°nian with a crowbar to overturn a pebble. Your 
 noble feculties call for something of like quality upon which 
 to work,— they point to something lofty as the end of their 
 creation. What, then, is that end 'i 
 
 And here I must refer to one or two of those prime objects 
 which are frequently adopted. There is a strong, and I fear 
 growing, disposition to regard as the swwnum bonum of our 
 existeri^e the acquisition of wealth. It is a tendency of the 
 Ao-e, growing out of the Age's progress and competition. 
 AVardBeecher has well described it: "We say a man is 
 made. What do we mean ? That he has got the control of his 
 lower instincts, so that they are only fuel to his higher feelings, 
 giving force to his nature ? That his affections are like vines, 
 sending out on all sides blossoms and clustering fruits ? That 
 his tastes afe so cultivated that all beautiful things speak to 
 him, and bring him their delights? That his understanding 
 is opened, so that he walks through every hall of knowledge 
 and gathers its treasures? That his moral feeling is so de- 
 veloped and quickened, that he holds sweet commune with 
 heaven? Oh no! none of these things! He is cold and 
 dead in mind, in heart, and soul. Only his passions are 
 alive; but— Ae is worth jive hundred thousand dollars ! '' 
 *' And we say a man is ruined. Are his wife and children 
 dead ? Oh no ! Have they had a quarrel, and are they 
 separated from him ? Oh no ! Has he lost his repuiation 
 through crime ? No. Is his reason gone ? Oh no, it is as 
 sound as ever. Is he struck through with disease ? No ;— 
 he has lost his property, and he is ruined! " This picture 
 is quaint, but is is true. How debasing to human dignity to 
 pay such worship to that glittering, deceitful goddess. Mam- 
 mon ! Wealth— base, sovdid, uncertain wealth j what an ob- 
 ject for the adoration of an immortal spirit ! Get riches, and 
 in what respect are you a better or a nobler man ? Wealth 
 
 "*^ 
 
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 ^vi 
 

 10 
 
 aocs not constitute, it is not oven an ingreilicnt in, inie 
 ffreatneas. 
 
 Degrading as it is for man to make tlio great purpose of 
 life the accumulation of wealth, equally degrading is it to 
 make it the attainment of pleasure — sensual, earthly, grovel- 
 ling pleasure The American orator has insmuated the com- 
 parative W3rthlessness of the one ; Scotland's greatest poet 
 shall give us the empty nature of the other : 
 
 " Pleasures arc like popples spread— 
 You seize the flower, its b^oom is shed ; 
 Or like the snow-falls in the river — 
 A moment Avhit3, then melt forever ; 
 Or like the borealis race — 
 That flit ere you can point their place ; 
 Or like the rainbow's lovely form — 
 Evanishing amid the storm." 
 
 There is an object which may perhaps be called a branch 
 of pleasure, that has always, among persons of not very lofty 
 minds, claimed and received a large share of attention. I 
 don't exactly kno;Y how to describe it, but it developes itself 
 somewhat after this manner : A young man spends a great 
 deal of thought, and not a little money, in endeavoring to 
 keep his habiliments trimmed to the prevailing fasJdon, and 
 fancies he has ftiiled in the great desideratum of existence, if 
 he cannot keep his appearance up to the newest style. It has 
 always appeared to me* that the only lawful result of this 
 disposition to idolize fashion, is to exalt most highly one par- 
 ticular branch of . our industrial population. If a man has 
 obtained the highest object of life when his personal appear- 
 ance is perfectly in accordance with the popular taste, the 
 only persons who have reason to be proud of his position are 
 those that have placed him there — his tailors ; while he 
 himself has no more cause for self-satisfaction than would a 
 block of marble or wood if similarly attirtd. I must, how- 
 
 ^5^8Sr|F 
 
11 
 
 «l 
 
 «ver, d„ tl.e young ,ue. of the p.-e..ut day l.o c ■ .1, to «>^ 
 that I do,i't think that all the time, and thought, and ex 
 !1 lavished upon this foohsh, senseless ta.hng, are con- 
 uibuted by them A .tory i» told of an art.t m the days f 
 .ood old Queen Bess, who was engaged to i-efrescvit u, pn. - 
 t the people of all naf.ns in their aeeustomed appareh 
 ifc pietured the difterent nations aeeordn.gly , but when he 
 came to the Englishman he painted h,m all naked, with a 
 bundle of cloth under his ann. and then wrote under h.m 
 these words: "This mm must make his clothes to h>s own 
 Pkin., for his fashion changes so often that I really don t 
 know" how to make them." The afcion .s made to the 
 habits of the people generally, but it is not stated whether t 
 ^-a, intended to apply particularly to the males ^^ females 
 These are objects which men sometimes place before them- 
 selves as the most desirable to be attained in life. Need 1 
 ask are they worthy onesV Riches, Pleasures, lash.ons, are 
 these, or thei,- like, fit subjects to absorb the thoughts and 
 stand as the highest aim of ManV Has he been fumshed 
 with that wonderful machinery for thought and act^orf that .t 
 should work upon material, and produce results so valueless 
 R.-.amean'i No; Young Men, there arc object far higher, 
 more ennobling, than these, that demand the exercse of your 
 manly energies and extensive powers. :It is that you may 
 reap that pure enjoyment which a foithful application of your 
 talents, whatever they may' be, will assuredly bnng you. 
 It i. that as long as you live you may be in a position o 
 beneat your fellow man ; and that when you die the world 
 may feel ymr loss: It is that every faculty you possess may 
 be called into exercise, to glorify your God upon earth ami 
 fitted to enjoy Hin^ forever. These, my friends are objects 
 worth living for. l-'or this end every power of body or mind 
 with which your Creator has endowed you, should be 
 trained to the full extent to which it is susceptible, t)r your 
 
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 ^ eil-cumstances permit you to train it. To accomplish t/ns 
 end I would have you, in whatever position in life your 
 lot is cast, avail yourselves of every lawful means to 
 acquire wisdom and knowledge, advancement, and even 
 wealth. Set that end before you as the great purpose of 
 your life, and then let your stimulating watchword ever be,— 
 Aspire. 
 
 The Age requires, Men of a persevering spirit. Amidst 
 its bustling, varying, shifting movements, there ia too much 
 of a feverish desire of change. Novelty is the order of the 
 
 day— a running here and there for something new; and this 
 begets a feeling of dissatisfaction with everything that is old. 
 A man sets out in life with a fair prospect of success ; but before 
 he is gone far he gets tired of his occupation, or is allured by 
 something he fancies to be better, or some difficulty, real or 
 imaginary, presents itself, and he becomes discontented and 
 discouraged. He must try some other business, or seek 
 some other clime. He makes a chango ; soon, probably, to 
 becon.c more dissatisfied that before, and he must change 
 again : and thus he goes on, and finds himself at the close of 
 life just at the same point from which he started. A party 
 of persons, in good circumstances, took it into their heads the 
 other day to migrate from my native Province of Prince Ed- 
 ward Island. They had heard of the fertile soil, the luscious 
 fruit, the boundless wealth, and, above all, the balmy air to 
 be found in the colony of New Zealand ; and all at once 
 they discovered (for it never, I believe, struck one of them 
 before) that the long and severe winters to which they had 
 been accustomed were unbearable, and that, because times 
 were not just then as bright as usual, famine was about to 
 destroy their Island home. They went,—commisserating 
 their hapless friends left behind to be starved to death with 
 hunger, or frozen to death with the cold,— but these have 
 survived to hear that the enegades have discovered their 
 
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 to 
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 th 
 hi 
 
 P' 
 
 St 
 
 t' 
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New Zealand soil to be of little value ; fruit rarely to be 
 seen • provisions enormously expensive ; employment scarcely 
 to ^e obtained ; none of their expectations realized ; and but 
 fc> prospects to cheer them,-except their warm wmter. 
 And such is too frequently the disposition and experience of 
 the A«re. Men are too prone to make mountams out of mole- 
 hills when they happen to be in their road, and to see every 
 path strewn with flowers, except that on which they them- 
 selves are travelling. 
 
 B-,t these are not the Men the Age requires. Such are 
 not the men to make their way through life with credit, and 
 to attain to positions of influence and respectability. We 
 want men of a patient, untiring, persevering, spirit ; men, 
 that having once entered upon the path of duty, will not be 
 easily allured or frightened out of it ; men that will smile at 
 small difliculties, and boldly grapple with gi-eat ones. Men 
 that in the strength of God will take up their armor, and 
 whether the contest be with the ills of life, the foes of 
 freedom, or the enemies of the immortal soul, never lay them 
 down again, till they do as victors. This is the spirit that 
 bas made our eminent lawyers, our influential mechanics, 
 our wealthy merchants. This is the spirit that has raised up 
 our distinguished warriors, our renowned statesmen, our de- 
 voted Christians. This is the spirit that has placed our glo- 
 rious British nation in the vanguard of the world. This is 
 the spirit that has spread the blessings of our holy, still more 
 glorious Christianity among millions upon millions of benight- 
 ed men. 
 
 Young Man, hi whatever you undertake cherish this spirit, 
 tmd you cannot fail. Select your course, get fairly started. 
 Lay hold of the right, and then persevere. If you should 
 get a tumble get quietly up agai'n, improve by the experience, 
 and go firmly on. If you meet with an obstacle across the 
 king's hif^h-wny, walk boldly up to it, And if you do not 
 '2 
 
 f 
 
»S«'ia,»*^fejat, I „ 
 
 i^. 
 
 14 
 
 frighten It away-as you probably wlll-by your aeternn'ned 
 ook make an effort to .cale it. If you can't get over it, try 
 to get under it. If you can't do that, then try to pull it down 
 If you are not able alone, get some of your friends tohelp you 
 If after a 1 you are unsuccessful, it is time enough then to go a 
 dozen miles round to avoid it. And if you find yourself wall- 
 ed up on ad sides, why, it is time enough then to sit down in 
 despair. The poet has well described the persevering mnn • 
 
 "I^''^<lutyvveretobepeiformed 
 
 Straight to the mark, like anw from a bow . 
 lie darted, passing- crowds of busy men 
 
 Who turned, and wondered wliy Jie went so fast 
 And why lie went at all. But on he went ' 
 Mountains and rivers never checked liis course 
 Nothmg could daunt him." ' 
 
 "Ah! but I have seen 
 The swiftest arrow Wtwte/ at the point 
 % the hard rock on which it struck." 
 
 " You have ! 
 
 And I hare seen the blunted arrow 5/.«.;,.„,j 
 1 he metal newly tempered, and the wci-Jit 
 So mcely balanced,-it wen', whizzing bj 
 With piercing certainty, and in tlie ;W ' 
 It quivered. Yes-give me the dauntless man, 
 Who flinches not from labor or fatio-ue 
 But moves right on upon the path of ilutv 
 
 God will stand by the man who boldly stands 
 By God s command,-will give him energy 
 And courage noiv ; and after give success." 
 
 ^ The Age requires Men tnat are willing to labor. There 
 IS no greater impediment to a young man's progress in lifel 
 .thing more effectual to keep him low in Lleale of beL 
 
 ploymen . I have heard of a man who declared that if it had 
 been caJle, any thing else he could manage it very wd but 
 be never could get ovor thnt intolerable nanfo"" 
 
 t 
 
 ^^^P 
 
« 
 
 rnk'M 
 
 ■m 
 
 15 
 
 Whether it is the name that frightens people now-a-days I 
 don't know. It is certain, however, that from some cause or 
 oilier, there prevails a great objection to the thing itself. 
 There is no lack of a love for shifting and schemmg and 
 speculating, but tliere is a lack of love for honest, healthy, 
 art've Work. I have no desire to depreciate those who can 
 turn their brains to good account in promoting an honest 
 advancement ; but I certainly do depreciate those who are un- 
 willing to work at all,— or are desirous, no matter what their 
 positio°n, to make the head do all the labor, and su^- the 
 hands and feet to do none. And I do say that these are not 
 the Men the Age requires : there are enough of them already. 
 We want men that are willing to use all their powers ; men 
 that in whatever condition of life they are placed, have an eye 
 to see what is necessary to be done, and heart to do it. Men 
 that will not waste an hour in scheming and contriving how 
 they may get a piece of labor effected, without bending their 
 own backs, ruffling their own clothes, or smarting their own 
 finders, when at the risk of this little inconvenience, they 
 could easily accomplish it themselves in five minutes. We 
 want men that are neither too proud nor too indolent to 
 ivorh. "Action, action," was the motto of Demosthenes, 
 and by following its principle, he rendered his own name as 
 immortal as the classic land of his birth. 
 
 Youno- Man, the world is before you. You have to make 
 your own place in it. If you wish that place to be an honor- 
 able one, don't be afraid of work. There is dignity in labor : 
 it is only your shallow-brained upstart that would consider it 
 7nean. Never be ashamed of healthy, thrifty, honest labor. 
 Don't mind what other people think or say of you for working ; 
 they are just as likely to find fault with you if you don't. A 
 gentleman had occasion to require a little piece of manual 
 Tabor. Thinking it not worth while to employ a man to do^ it, 
 he set about it himself. His opposite neighbor seeing him. 
 
 t 
 
B 
 
 16 
 
 exclaimed, - Look at so and so, ho is so miserably mean 
 that he would rather do that job hi.nsolf than pay mm poor 
 fellow a trifle for doing it." The other heard it, and began 
 to thmk^ that perhaps it was, as we used to say at College, 
 infra dig., beneath his dignity to be thus engaged. The 
 next time ho required the same work done, he hired a man to 
 perform it. Ilis same observing neighbor was considerate 
 enough to remark-- There is a man that would actually take 
 the trouble to go after a laborer and pay him to do that little 
 job, and then waste his time in watching him at it, when ho 
 might have done it all himself in ten minutes. V/hat a des- 
 picable thing it is to be lazy !" 
 
 Then, my friends, you want to acquire lcnowhdcje—\^\,^x 
 for It. Do not depend upon your natural abilities, however 
 bright tdey may be. It is only by hard, determined, inflexible 
 application that yoa can develope the powers of body or of 
 inind. Labor is the only road to wealth, and labor is the 
 only road to wisdom. There is no royal path now-a-days to 
 eitber. Tne son of our illustrious sovereign, the Prince of 
 Wales, has to go to Oxford, as well as the son of the poor 
 country parson. Aye, and if he will know as much as his 
 humble compeer, ho will have to study too. 
 
 " There's no royal road to grcamess, 
 Men must ever dime to fume : 
 All the wealth in misers' coffers 
 
 Would not huv a deathless name. 
 Is a noble goal before 3-0 u ? 
 
 Would you great achievements dure ? 
 Brother, then, be up and doing ; 
 Brotlier, you must ' win and wear ! ' 
 
 'Tis the lesson nature teaches 
 
 All throughout her wide domain ; 
 And the text from which she preaches 
 
 l^, ' thiit labor leads to gain.' 
 
 w 
 
Moral worth mv\ honest merit— 
 
 Brighter crowns than mnuiu-ch'a hear — 
 
 These you never can inherit : 
 
 Brotlier, tliese you ' win ivml wear.' " 
 
 The Age requires Men of a self-rehjinrj confidence. 
 Tlic world Ts now so full of societies, and associations, and 
 companies, that men are in danger of losing sight of their 
 individuality. Let me not he supposed to despise or thmk 
 lightly of united effort : union is strength ; and when there 
 ar" great works to be accomplished, nothing can be so effec- 
 tuaUs combined exertions ; but I speak of th ii cendency to 
 lessen the efforts, and weaken the self-confidence of individ- 
 uals. We get into the habit of supposing that we can do 
 little or nothing, unless we have the co-operation of others. 
 The individual is prone to hide himself in the mass ; and no- 
 thing proves a greater drawback to his usefulness and 
 advrncement. It is well that we should have props to sup- 
 port us in infancy— that we should have leading strings to 
 walk in, when we are absolutely unable to walk without 
 them. But it is well also, that in due time these props and 
 leading strings should be removed, and we left to our own 
 resources. That beautiful sample of scientific skill, the arch, 
 must be properly supported while it is being turned, but 
 when the key-stone is inserted the form is withdrawn— the 
 arch settles down upon its own strength, and the more weight 
 is placed upon it, the firmer it becomes. Is there a youth 
 that has been raised In luxury and case, sheltered and pro- 
 tected by his parents or friends? Is he inclined to lean on 
 them still for support, to avoid personal responsibilities, to 
 live entirely under the guidance of others, and to remain secure 
 from all the difficulties and dangers of active life ? then, let 
 me tell hiui, that while he does so he will never rise above 
 the level of a helpless, useless, dependant. If he wishes to 
 become anybody, or anything— if he ever expects to attain a 
 
mt'^,^m<m-:mmmmmmmmmmm'msmmm 
 
 If! ' 
 
 18 
 
 lio.sitlon of manly and orcdifnllo in(lo|)on(lonoo— be will knock 
 away these supports from liiniself, even if 1,1s friends are not 
 anxious to witlulraw them f.om him. The old eao-le driven 
 her young out of the nest, to try their wings and°developo 
 their strength, and tlius teaches them to cLave the air for them- 
 selves, that they may ]>e able to rise above the storni-a 
 wholesome example for indulgent parents, if they would see 
 their oflF:^pring prepared to meet the storms and hardships 
 of life. The great majority of those who have made their 
 way to eminence and distinction were early thrown upon their 
 own resources. Daniel Webster and lienry Clay-names of 
 which our American neighbors may well be proud— be<^an 
 their career pennyless and friendless, but with an indonmrbk 
 energy and self-relying spirit. At the age of 17 John Pri- 
 deaux left his father's humble cottage : his worldly all con- 
 sisting of a change of linen and a few coins in a leathern ba^^ • 
 some years after he returned, one of the greatest scholars '^.f 
 the day, and Bishop of Worcester. Eobert Stephenson com- 
 menced life as the son of an obscure day-laborer, working with 
 lis f-ither, for a few shillings a day, in a coal-pit. He i;ft be- 
 hind h.m at Its close, the other day, half a million of money 
 the noblest achievements of engineering skill in the world' 
 and a deathless fame. Dr. Livingston, who learned the rudi- 
 ments of Latin over a spinning-jenny, qualified himself, by his 
 own exertions, to become one of the greatest travellers of the 
 age, and to carry the glorious Gospel of Jesus (as he is now 
 doing) to the very centre of benighted Africa ' But why 
 enumerate ? In every rank we find men that were early left 
 to the exercise of their own powers, trained in the rou^h 
 experience of life to bear its hardships, and to perform fts 
 duties ; and almost invariably we find them, noted by their 
 life, and esteemed by their fellows, as men of rnjlnence 
 respectability, and worth. 
 
19 
 
 .'gan 
 
 In innnlratinc; selfreUmicp, do not tliinl', my young 
 frlonds, that I want to olierlsh that dospicahlo spirit that ia 
 sometimes put in its place — self-cnnreit. There is quite 
 enough of that among tlio young ah-eady. Perliaps the 
 present age has the share of other ages and its own hesltles : 
 certainly no previous one could ])oast of more. There is your 
 narrow-niinded, vain-conoeited, youth, wiio is several inches 
 taller in his owvi estimation now at 20, than ho will be at 05. 
 Friends and relatives may advise and suggest, urge and per- 
 suade him for his good ; but ho has so much moral buckrum 
 about him that he cannot stoop to listen to their counsel, 
 lie thinks it would destroy his manhood forever if ho should 
 attend to the voice of experience and ago. He has little to 
 do, and spends his time in making himself, in his own eyes, 
 an accom[)lishod (/ent, but in the eyes of every one else a, 
 jntiable fop. There is your young haK-taught mechanic, 
 who thinks he knows as much, if r ■ more, than his nipstor. 
 He breaks away from his restraint, to try the world alone, 
 and comes out a miserable hotch. And there is your flighty 
 young clerk, who fancies himself an accomplished merchant. 
 Ho is ready to risk his thousands, even where experienced 
 heads have failed ; and turns out a mortified, and, not un- 
 likely, dishonest hankrupt. Those characters are plentiful 
 enough. It is not such a spirit as this I vnsh to encourage, 
 my friends, when I advise you to rely upon your own re- 
 sources. I don't want any to run away with the idea that 
 he is the wisest man in the world, — that he knows every- 
 thing, and there is nothing more that he can know. I don't 
 wish you to conceive that you are ready to walk over ever;^ - 
 body's head before yoi; have a leg to stand upon. I don't 
 want you to overrate your powers ; but to have a correct idea 
 ol what your pv^wers are. I don't want you to scorn to 
 acquire knowledge ; I want you to make the best use of what 
 knowledge you get. I want you to combine self-co •iknce 
 
 i 
 
H_%.i,=^ *i._*«isj,^^ 
 
 
 20 
 
 wIHi //;//;;/% ; to have a just son«o of the imperfection of 
 jour attainmonts ; Init. at the same tiu.o, of the vant amount 
 wlii.-l. you can, nevertheless, aecom|,Ii.Mh, if y„u call these 
 athumnents into active use. IW-Get -your arch erected. 
 Kai.so the necessary structure of ekTuentary knowled^ro. 
 Get hold o^rH,htjmn:,pk8, as the keystone, to unite, cni- 
 plete. and give striugth to the whole ; and then knock awny 
 the props; settle down upon your own bearings; learn to 
 become self-sunportmg; and you will find, that with your 
 increasmg trials will come enlarged ox,.erience, accumulate.! 
 wisdom, and consolidated strength. Bring your own powers 
 to the test ; and manly vigor, talent to pl;,n, and enerc^y to 
 execute, will soon be developed. Y..u will become ^suc- 
 cessful, and may become a meful and rnfluenlial man. 
 
 The Age requires Men possessing decision of character • 
 -Aien that will heartily say Yes, if convinced of the rhdit' 
 but wnen satisfied of the wrong, can as firmly say No. Finn- 
 ness IS a most valuable trait. Without it a man is not worth 
 a button, nor ever can be. Without it a man becomes a r^ood 
 natured nobody. The poverty-stricken possessor of but\.ne 
 Rohtary principle, that of obliging everybody under the sun 
 nierely for the asking. He is like the judge who invarinbW 
 decided according to the views of the closing speech. Havinrr 
 no mind of his own, such a man is a mere cypher, without 
 weight of character, and utterly destitute of influence. He 
 can never command th. .ess^ect or e.term of his fellow-men • 
 all that he ever w;iJ o.,^^ i^ ^ sort of patronizing pity' 
 Ihemanto be respected and admired, and who will carry 
 multitudes with him, whether right or wrong, is i.e wh. plants 
 his foot upon a spot, and keeps it there, no matter what may 
 oppose him ;~the very rage of opposition but gives new in- 
 spiration to his stability of purpose, and makes him see that 
 at he is ,.0 much the more a man. It is said of Washing.- 
 ton, that he was never known to desert a cause which he had 
 
 TW 
 
til 
 
 onco e'n})racu(l, or channo an opinion wiU(!li, f:om n full know- 
 ledgo of faots, ho hu'l deliboratuly forinud. In this rospect 
 Washington waj a mode*! ; ami his caroor tostifiof that tho. 3 
 is nothing lost by being firm. 
 
 Young Men, if you want to make the most of life, lot your 
 character be marked by decision. Yf u will effect an im- 
 mense saving of time, of labor and of trouble by being deci- 
 ded. Why, some people spend half their time in trying to 
 make up their mindn on matters that come before them, and 
 after all remain in that pitiable state of uncertainty, the most 
 wearing and unhappy of all states. They ( ontiimo to vacillate 
 and »,aver, and one half that they do brings thorn dissatisfac- 
 tion and vexation, because it is done without any fixedness of 
 purpose. My in"inds, learn to act in all your undertakings, 
 whether great r small, with decided firmness. After duj 
 consideration, make up your min^ about every thing that de- 
 mands your attention. Let your decisions bo like the laws of 
 the Modes and Persians — unalterable : but take care, first, 
 that they have proceeded from a sound head and good heart, 
 — je sure that they are right. 
 
 The Young IVTan for an Age like this, with its many ques- 
 tionable maxims, and still more questionable practices, must 
 leurn to take his stund upon the rock of riyht, — must resolve 
 io adhere, rigidly, unswervingly adhere, to the principles of 
 equity and truth. The world will tell you that this cannot 
 bo done always ; that to get on in life, you must not be over- 
 scrupulous ; that you must comply with, or at least counte- 
 nance, many little transactions that will iiot bear to be too 
 closely scrutinized ; that, in fact, you cannot be decidedly 
 correct in everything, and be safe. But is there no God who 
 controls the affairs of men ? Is not truth stronger than false- 
 hood, right safer than wrong ? Do we not see in our limited 
 views of the world, that tlie good as it struggles with !he evil 
 is ever advancing ; that like a licrcules, it is strangling one 
 
 w 
 
M M 
 
 w 
 
 lifter another of the scri)cnts that arc coiled around it, and 
 tramplmg^theni under its feet? Can you stand by the Truth 
 safe/i/ ? To bo sure you can. Temporary inconvenience you 
 may have to endure ; present loss you may sustain ; but in 
 the long run you are safe. Right will yet triumph over 
 wrong, good over evil; aye ! and the man who has faitlifullv 
 acted his part in the contest, will have the satisfaction Jf 
 knowing that he has aided the glorious triumph. And what 
 Ihougli you could not do it safely ! Better to risk any loss, 
 and make any sacrince,— far better to risk even life if neces- 
 su.y in standing boldly for the riglit, than to meet the reproof 
 of a guilty conscience, and the anger of a God, in yielding to 
 the wrong. At the critical moment in the battle of Waterloo 
 when every thing depended upon the steadiness of the British 
 nmks, courier after courier dashed into the presence of the 
 Duke of Wellington, announcing that unless the troops at an 
 nnportant point were inmiediately relieved or withdrawn, they 
 must soon yield to the impetuous onsets of the French. By 
 each of these the Duke sent back the same stern messaoo 
 -Stand firm I" - But we shall all perish," remonstrated tlie 
 oftcer. -Stand firm!" was the reply of the iron-hearted 
 chieftan. - You'll find us there," answered the other, as he 
 fiercely galloped away. And so he did. Every man of that 
 doomed brigade fell bravely figliting at his post-but Water- 
 loo was tvon / Safely ! They are only the faint-hearted and , 
 craven who speak of inexpediency and danger. -He that is 
 truly brave asks only, " Is it right ?" You may be threatened 
 with temporal suffering~with the disjjlcasuro^bfyour.-chi. , 
 ployers— with dismissal from your situation- with tlk^ with- 
 drawal of custoniers-with tlie alienation of friends^-with •' 
 all thmgs that are feared by the timid and selfish. Let sm% 
 answer ever be, - Is it riglit Y" Whatever sacrifices or suf - 
 fermgs it may involve, stand by the rujht. Though the world * 
 should assad you ; though friends should misunderstand you • ' 
 
 
 I 
 

 
 tliongh your firmness be mistaken for obstinacy, and your 
 faithfulness for conceit : tlioun;]i difFieultie.s sliouki thicken 
 around yuu ; though clouds should gather over you ; — take 
 your stand upon the rock of right ; plant your foot there, and 
 there remain, despite the tompost and the storm, looking with 
 calm, unfaltering eye on the angry billows, heedless of the 
 thunder's distant murmuring and the lightnino:'s nearer flash 
 — Stand upon the rigid, and stand firm. 
 
 o 
 
 Once more, the Age requires Men of Christian principles. 
 This, my friends, I adduce in conclusion, perhaps I should 
 have placed it at the very beginning. Doubtless it stands, 
 both in importance and in time, preeminently first. I have 
 pointed out a few traits of character which I think your -well- 
 being demands to be exercised and strengthened, especially in 
 this rapid and fitful Age ; but think not for one moment that 
 even these if cherished independently and alone, will ensure 
 your welfare. They will leave you short, infinitely short of 
 that high and ennobling place to which I would have you 
 aspire. To attain that place requires more than an adherence 
 to moral principles — more than the cultivation of virtuous 
 sentiments, it requires the development of all that comprises 
 that exalted character — the Christian. Well did the poet 
 
 smg, 
 
 " The Christian is the highest Btyle of man." 
 
 You will nevoff secure that position which the Almighty has 
 fitted you to occupy, until all your aspirations, all your desires, 
 and Itll yoitr efforts, are based upon, and influenced by, holy 
 Christian principles. You can never desire to make that 
 
 ' high object, the glory of God, your aim ; you can never have 
 #ie' wisdom or ability to carry out that desire, unless you 
 
 ■ possess that which the world dislikes, but every manly spirit 
 loves, ])urity auRilpic^ty of heart. W<»uld y^^n ])e prcipared to 
 
 %: 
 
 
-»t »> 
 
 -°--'-^*-'-ifiF- 
 
 24 
 
 run a noble rnce, worthy of the name of man ? Then you 
 will start with God for your Father, Christ for your Saviour, 
 the Spirit for your Guide, and Heaven for your Eternal 
 Home. 
 
 If you would 1)0 adipted to the requirements of the Age, 
 you must be a Christian, aye, a decided, active, zealous. 
 Christian. It is an age when all the powers of darkness 
 are mustering to do battle with the truth, and to crush the 
 good. The emissaries of Satan are active, errors and false 
 doctrines abound, lusts and vices rage. These, my friends, 
 are God's enemies and yours. He has a mighty work to 
 perform here, and He invites you to be His agents to perform 
 it. He calls upon you to be the Regenerators of the World, 
 to go forth in His strength and fearlessly oppose the evil, and 
 support the truth. He requires you to be faithful Witnesses 
 for him in a world of darkness, and to comir-once a life of 
 holiness now, which will be perfected in glory. Let it be 
 your highest aim to do a Christian's work upon earth. Let 
 it be your noblest aspiration to fit your soul for heaven. 
 Like the eagle in hi^ flight, who, strong in his mountain vigor, 
 keodless of the polting hail, defying the flashing fire, pierces 
 the thunder cloud and soars still onward and aloft ; till he 
 leaves the storm raging fiir beneath him, and floating in the 
 calm of the -:pper air, draws light fi-om the fountain of the 
 sun, and basks in his golden rays. So let it be with you. 
 .Be true to your God as the eagle to his aim ; and you will 
 breast successfully every opposing ill, you will pass througli 
 the dark clouds of trouble unimpeded and unhurt ; until, 
 stand '""• with the storm beneath your foet, you will enjoy the 
 heavenly calm of an approving conscience, and summer in 
 the blissful smile of the God whom ^ju adore. 
 
 ■ 
 
 k 
 
25 
 
 " Higher, higlier, ever higher- 
 Let thy watcliword be ' Aspire !' 
 
 Noble Christian youth ; 
 Whatsoe'er be God's behe^c, 
 Try to do that duty best 
 In the strength of truth. 
 
 " Let a just ambition lire 
 Every motive and desire, 
 
 God and man to serve ; 
 Man with zeal and honor due, 
 God with gratitude most true, 
 And all the spirits nerve ! 
 
 " From the perils deep and dire 
 Of temptation's sensual mire. 
 Keep thy chastened feet ; 
 Dread, and hate, and turn away 
 From the lure that leads astray :— 
 Satan's pleasure eheat ! 
 
 " And while thus a self-denyer, 
 Stand the stalworth self relyer, 
 
 Bravely battling on, 
 Though alone,— no soul alive 
 Ever stoutly dared to strive. 
 But saw the battle won ! 
 
 " Higher, then, and always higher ; 
 Let man's motto be ' Aspire ! ' 
 
 Whosoe'er he be : 
 Holv liver! happy dicr! 
 Eimh's poor best, and heaven's chou' 
 Are rcoorved fur tuke ! "