greatness; and the dialect in which alone it can be intelligibly
uttered is not the dialect of my soul. It is a sort of
postponement of life; nothing quite is, but something different is
to be; we are to keep our eyes upon the indirect from the cradle to
the grave. We are to regulate our conduct not by desire, but by a
politic eye upon the future; and to value acts as they will bring
us money or good opinion; as they will bring us, in one word,
PROFIT. We must be what is called respectable, and offend no one
by our carriage; it will not do to make oneself conspicuous--who
knows? even in virtue? says the Christian parent! And we must be
what is called prudent and make money; not only because it is
pleasant to have money, but because that also is a part of
respectability, and we cannot hope to be received in society
without decent possessions. Received in society! as if that were
the kingdom of heaven! There is dear Mr. So-and-so;--look at him!-
-so much respected--so much looked up to--quite the Christian
merchant! And we must cut our conduct as strictly as possible
after the pattern of Mr. So-and-so; and lay our whole lives to make
money and be strictly decent. Besides these holy injunctions,
which form by far the greater part of a youth's training in our
Christian homes, there are at least two other doctrines. We are to
live just now as well as we can, but scrape at last into heaven,
where we shall be good. We are to worry through the week in a lay,
disreputable way, but, to make matters square, live a different
life on Sunday.

The train of thought we have been following gives us a key to all
these positions, without stepping aside to justify them on their
own ground. It is because we have been disgusted fifty times with
physical squalls, and fifty times torn between conflicting