On this page
-
Text (2)
-
June 30, I860.] The Leader and Saturday ...
-
PAROCHIAL DISSENSIONS. SPHERE is nothing...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
The Hearth And Its Heroisms. It Has Been...
happiness Poor misguided individuals can find it nowhere , though theV # o far afield for it , into foreign places , venturing " even unto ' the uttermost parts of the earth , " as the Orientals phrase it - because happiness inhabits no place * but is a state of mind which , if a man find , he must find it in himself . A certain wilfulness is / after : all . an essential element of heroism . A man must have a way of his own , and a determination to have it at ' all risks . An example of this , we have been accustomed to recognise in our acquaintance , DEMETEitts . The education of modern times greatly increases the class to whinh he belongsthe race of individuals who live by their wits . We remember the time when a man who was reported to be living- by his wits
was the horror of decent shopkeepers ; nay , they would identify him without previous report . They would know him by his exterior deportment , his personal advantages— -which he was at pains to display , his style of dress—which was as carefully selected as a woman ' s , and his clever conversation ; , suspected in the same proportion in which it was attractive . Here was a man made up evidently for sale—an adventurer , with no particular pursuit , but ready for any that did not involve hard work , and might be accomplished , with a moderate amount of " brain in the hand , " as a modem sace has defined " cleverness" to be . Fifty years ago the trader would look on such a person with dread , and general society with contempt . Intellect , however , even in , . this low form of it , is now-a-davs respectable ; and its possessor may make a fair start in
life . But still it is surrounded with dangers ; the chief of which is the necessity-of taking- the initiative at every step . Demetrius had no recognised occupation , and had to make his work before his work could made him . His task was to do just what he liked , and compel others to pay for it , whether they liked it or not . Imagine a penniless man rising- in the mornimr . with his task before him ; and then think of the heroism required to support the position . Imagine such a man with a wife and family dependent on his exertions under such conditions , and the case of Demetkitts may be then faintly conceived . But hehad the necessary will , and resolved to succeed—and did . To bis credit , be it saidj that he likewise resolved to be honest , and also succeeded in being- that , notwithstanding- serious obstacles and
pressing-teniptations . His prosperity , therefore , was placed on a solid basis . Honest and diligent by the streilgth of will and the force of conscience , DEME * raitrs commenced _ every ^ norning with the faith that the proper labour of the day" and its remuneTation would be provided . It was in perfect sincerity that he demanded work , and , an if by a speM , it came —not always ,- however . -befoifi hope was well-nigh exhausted , and the despair of the evening foreshadowed only to-, morrow's trouble . On these occasions DE 3 fjethitts rose with the urgency , and sometimes became positively magnanimous . An inherent greatness shone out of the man ; and an energy that , was indomitable revealed itself . To detail the circumstances and plans by which his life was marked , would be to write a romance that might make three interesting- volumes—a task not to be attempted here . Suffice it if the sketch of the character be intelligible , and the heroism implied in it readily appreciable ; the reader ' s fancy may easily snpplv enough of probable incident to serve the pur-¦
pose of illustration . . '• . To have a way of one ' s own , and to make it respected , is the main secret of the heroic elTarWtWTiris ^ heTTTttrc ^ will . If genius be properly defined , as we have seen it defined , " a strong will determined in a certain direction , " something- like genius may be predicated of such character . An amount of native aptitude is indispensable ; a degree of capacity is required , without which the impulse to the character would be wanting-. It must be set going- ; and we should seek for the motive-spring- rather in nature than in education . It would be hard to teach a man heroism ; nature truly generates heroes , offspring ' , like the ancient Titans , both
of heaven and earth . Heroes are like poets in this respect . But , as Ben Jonson says even of Shakespeare 'himself , " a good poet's made as well as born . " Precept and example are good both for the bard and the brave , and both may be considerably improved by cultivation . What they are in the rough is one thing ; what they are when made good , or better , is another . Not in vain , therefore , will tlie matter have been discussed , if it lead to reflection nnd assiduous endeavour after a complete development . The whole difference between the lowest aptitude and the highest genius is ^ the result of conscious efforts , by which mere instinct is converted into intelligent art .
Before concluding this paper , it is expedient to gunrd against an abuse of the principle thut would find the heroic in the familiar which has grown into modern literature . That species of romance and drama which seeks its heroes among the criminal population is to bo avoided . It degrades the heroie without elevating the individuals or classes to whom it is applied . It is an offence to decency , to morality , nnd an outrage on the manners of the ape . The authors of these works have sometimes been influenced by feelings of benevolence . They have regarded the " Kcniups" of feelings of benevolence . They have regarded the " scamps of
society as . ilia ci-entures of the society ^ wliichthey iiifestod ; and their desire has been to implicate society in their crimes , that it might be shamed info a more merciful consideration of the outcasts that it hud produced . The effect , however , cannot hnvo fulfilled the expectation of the writers . It has confounded distinctions , browbeating respectability without reforming rascaldom . It goen far to destroy the faith in virtue , nnd reduce it and vice to the same level . Wo breathe < m atmosphoro of liypocriay and cunning ; and all that is noble in our being is discouraged . The moral ol fluoh works is nn apology for theft and violence , and no doubfc iuducoa criminality . The heroism of the prison und the gallows
is not the true heroism . This , for the most part * resides with those who would preserve a good name with adequate means ;—the patient and industrious middle-class , who are frequently poor , and dare not . appear to be so . Among them may the fiotionist profitably seek for genuine examples of the Heroism of the Hearth .
June 30, I860.] The Leader And Saturday ...
June 30 , I 860 . ] The Leader and Saturday Analyst . 611
Parochial Dissensions. Sphere Is Nothing...
PAROCHIAL DISSENSIONS . SPHERE is nothing so hot as religious zeal ; and it is both natural - " ¦ and logical that it should be so . A man ' s faith , the sheet anchor of his eternal hopes , should be of all things dearest to his heart . When he is a truly earnest man it will be so . He will suffer anything for his creed . In proportion to his nerve , or his physical Vigour , he will patiently undergo martyrdom , or die fighting for the cause . Nothing will so keenly hurt his feelings , or so quickly sting- him into passion , as a desecration of what he regards as sacred and holy . In such a cause he feels himself thrice armed in the possession of an approving- conscience . It is necessary to have a clear apprehension of these mainsprings of action , in order properly to appreciate the character of the religious-war which has rag-ed so long- and so fiercely in the parish of St . Georg-e '
s-in-the-East . When Sunday after Sunday we hear of the riots whicli take place in St . George ' s Church , of the interruptions to the service , of the hisses which greet the clergyman , and of the struggles to dispossess the choristers of their seats , we sire apt to regard the proceeding's simply as an ebullition of low ruffianism , instigated only by a love of mischief . If , however , we look at the matter calmly , by the light which recent judicial investigations have thrown upon it , it will be found that this war is really a religious one—a war of feeling- — -a contest in which the ruffismism exhibited is the result of a strong sense of duty however mistaken , on the one hand , and exasperated zeal oil the other . A -great-many charges for assaults committed in the church have been -investigated before the magistrates , but in very few cases has it been shown that the disturbances
have been created by persons who have had no feeling-in the matter . It is true that ' . a madman' and a few thoughtless boys have at times assisted in the disturbances , as it is the disposition of madmen and boys to do on all occasions ; but < in the . iii ' a-i . , the riots have been practically the audible protest of the congregation against the ceremonies introduced into the service . The best proof of tins is to be found in the fact that , on several of the most riotous Sundays , the congregation behaved with the greatest decency arid . propriety ,. so long as-the clergyman abstained trojn the practices of ultra-Puseyism . It was not until he intoned -sortie part of the -service , or bowed towards the East , or exhibited the cross upon his back , that they vented expressions of disapprobation . The dispute being narrowed to this simple issue , it just comes to this : that if the Rev . Bkyan King would cease to intone the service , discontinue his ¦ " genuflexions , preach in a black gown , and leave the altar undecorated , the disturbances in his church would immediately cease . ' ' . ¦ ' ' . ¦ ¦ . ; . ¦ . ¦ . ' .., '¦ - , »; It is , however , in vain to hope for concession on either side . Mr . King has had ample opportunity of ascertaining- the feeling of his congregation . He has seen that their riotousconduct has been in proportion to the provocation offered ; and he must ere this have t-arisfied himself that he has only to disi-ontiimo his'objectionable practices to restore peace . But iuMtendTTil ^ ffeniigconcifijiTiun , ne"has proceedtrd to increase the irritation by pushing his peculiar ceremonies to the very extreme ... We should be utterly wanting in-charity , and equally wanting in the capability to appreciate moral courage and conscientious resolution ,. if we were . to . ascribe , these exhibitions to pure obstinacy and dogged opposition . We see no reason to deny either to Mr . King or his congregation the merit of . sincerity and conviction in this matter . Nor are wo prepared to say thut the Rubric dots not sanction all which Mr . King has done . We may , on the one hand , wonder at the creed which regards show and ceremony as essential to Divine service , —or pity , on the other , the unpoetic ' al natures which see harm in a cross or a-bouquet of flowers . But such being the position of affairs , there is but one solution of the difficulty , and neither Mr . King nor his parishioners will have made the least sacrifice for the cause which they respectively uphold until they adopt this final and deceive course . It is either for Mr . King to retire from the position of pastor to a flock which rejects his ministrations ,, " or for his flock to gather themselves into the fold of some other shepherd . Englishmen who feel uncomfortable in the bosom of their Church have the example of Scotland before them . The Free Church , established in that country in the year 1843 , was tho immediate result of mi isolated dispute exactly similar to that which is now raging in Cannon Street . In Scotland it was not a question of doctrine or ol' ritual , but of patronage , which interfered with the free choice of the people . In the celebrated Auchterurder case , tho Heritor endeavoured to force an oljectiounble pastor upon the parishioners . They began by Hooking to the church to protest , as the parishioners of St . George's have protested , hv hooting , lHS 8 Tnif ; 'Md : TiiTerruptlan « K-. : 8 iielrwnK ; tlTeir-fury a ^ int » t-th » --iuiiii » Ujr who bad been forced upon them , Umt it . required u detachment ot soldiers to overawe them and keep the peace on the day of Ins induction . . Oii that very day the banner of revolution was unfurled in the Scottish Chinch * The battle ugiiiutit patronage was juiiglst hard in tlio Court of Session und in the Imperial Parliament , ju « t as the battle nuainst what is called PuseyjHiii has been loiitf lit in tlio EcclcHiaHlicul Courts hero ; but in tho end , when the bcoltiHh iionintrusionmts , us they were called , could obtain no rehel , they toote tho only muuly and straightforward course open to them—tney
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), June 30, 1860, page 11, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_30061860/page/11/
-