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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.
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Untitled Article
latter rfrbcteSfc ; possibly u $ f 6 n thfe princij > li dn vrtiich tlte gifl de * ltel ^}* ff « lfitiiliii | ' ^ U ' dike—befo g ufeed td it . Wh £ n ^ jte&f ing of refinement and magnanimity , I had , pfet ^ M ^ , "betted endeavour to make * myself clearly understood . Thfe tegttMate purposes df feflnetaent are to rtib off asperities , t& frttbtltie e&tiberaneeg , to h&rmoniie the tiling : it touched into a
gi ^ tel whole df concordant beauty . But to do t his successfull y requires a high setise of truth and taste . When we rub doWn i * iftlgh edged , We tnust not obliterate characteristic outlines ; When Wte abate fcxttess , we must not reduce the tne&sure meet for expresfcl&ft , when we harmonize , it must bfe after the manner bf nature , in Which Cdhcofds do not preclude contrasts , nor unity , variety . Refinement , as it exists in social life , is little other than a moral
costhetie , substituting a fleeting appearance for an enduring reality . Have modulated voices any necessary connexion witn regulated tempers ? Are smiling fkces the inseparable concomitants of sunny hearts ? Are the honeyed tvords of praise the produtte of sincere admiration , or the caustic censure the conclusion
bf refledtive iudgmetit ? Is propriety of language and demeanour -ftlWliy ^ the index of purity of mind and conduct ? Is sentirrtent an efidehcfe of sensibility , 01 ^ etiquette of hospitality ? There are , happily , cases in which these questions can be answered in the affirmative , but they form the exceptions to general society , not the rule of it .
We are now , it is true , rarely shocked by rudeness ; but when are we charmed by earnestness , b y flashes of irrepressible feeling , those bright outbursts of unquencned humanity , which constitute , wh ^ h carried into action , magnanimity ; the daring courage which defies danger in behalf of faith , of friend , or forgiven foe \ the passive courage which endures serenely unto death , outlasting the
torture that racks the feeble body to make it false to the firm spirit ? All this , whether exhibited in the sectarian or the soldier , whether for a creed , a country , or a creature , however erroneous tn £ aim , 6 r insignific&nt the object—all these are instances of magnanimity , proving the hi g h and mighty things of which humanity is Salable ; the principles for which it , in many such cases , contended , may have been false , bat the principles which sustained it through these conflicts were true ; though its power was misajiplted , poweff Was still present , and of the highest order—the burning energy of innate power , which cultivation may increase ,
put cannot create . Tftie records of the past , which exhibit the exercise of human feelings and faculties , and are the real treasure of history , cheer U 3 oijward ; because , IF humari power has thus bulw&fked the false aM ( entiemsrftL whdt itfi ^ y tfe hot Vet hope frohi it , when acting u ^ e ^ cl ^ arer lights in the daiibe ^ f tmth f TrtitikT that ' intsuadd Hdrd \ rhW sn ^ er dS it k sttok ^ nY bteciii ^ e ftief Tfi ? d ft Wdfefl «^ d oh tmUiat Wf i ry fScWSViT t > e * to ^ Wls
Untitled Article
4 # 6 Pmt > & Orid the &&ph .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 1, 1835, page 490, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2647/page/54/
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