Speeches, Addresses, and Occasional Sermons, Volume 3 (of 3)Parker, Theodore
Religion
Speeches, Addresses, and Occasional Sermons, Volume 3 (of 3)
Parker, Theodore
Sermons, American; Unitarianism
See some proofs of this. There are two ways of getting money; one is by
trade, the other is by political office. The pursuit of money, in one or
the other of these ways, is the only business reckoned entirely
"commendable" and "respectable." There are other callings which are very
noble in themselves, and deemed so by mankind; but here they are not
thought "commendable" and "respectable," and accordingly you very seldom
see young men, born in what is called "the most respectable class of
society," engaged in any thing except the pursuit of money by trade or
by office. There are exceptions; but the sons of "respectable men," so
called, seldom engage in the pursuit of any thing but money by trade or
office. This is the chief desire of a majority of the young men of
talent, ambition, and education. Even in colleges more respect is paid
to money than to genius. The purse is put before the pen. In the
churches, wealth is deemed better than goodness or piety. It names
towns and colleges; and he is thought the greatest benefactor of a
university who endows it with money, not with mind. In giving name to a
street in Boston, you call the wealthy end after a rich man, and only
the poor end after a man that was good and famous. Money controls the
churches. It draws veils of cotton over the pulpit window, to color "the
light that cometh from above." As yet the churches are not named after
men whose only virtue is metallic, but the recognized pillars of the
churches are all pillars of gold. Festus does not tremble before Paul,
but Paul before Festus. The pulpit looks down to the pews for its
gospel, not up to the eternal God. Is there a rich pro-slavery man in
the parish? The minister does not dare read a petition from an oppressed
slave asking God that his "unalienable rights" be given him. He does not
dare to ask alms for a fugitive. St. Peter is the old patron saint of
the Holy Catholic Church. St. Hunker is the new patron saint of the
churches of commerce, Catholic and Protestant.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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