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
Oh ingenuous young maid or man, if such you are,--if not, then let me
dream you such; seek you this beauty, complete perfection of a man, and
having this, go hold the Purse, the Office, or the Pen, as suits you
best; but out of that life, writing, voting, acting, living in all
forms, you shall pay men back for your culture, and in the scholar's
noble kind, and represent the higher facts of human thought. Will men
still say, "This Wrong is consecrated; it has stood for ages and shall
stand for ever!" Tell them, "No. A wrong, though old as Sin, is not now
sacred, nor shall it stand!" Will they say, "This Right can never be;
that excellence is lovely but impossible!" Show them the fact, who will
not hear the speech; the deed goes where the word fails, and life
enchants where rhetoric cannot persuade.
Past ages offer their instruction, much warning and a little guidance,
many a wreck along the shore of time, a beacon here and there. Far off
in the dim distance, present as possibilities, not actual as yet, future
generations, with broad and wishful eyes, look at the son of genius,
talent, educated skill, and seem to say, "A word for us; it will not be
forgot!" Truth and Beauty, God's twin daughters, eternal both, yet ever
young, wait there to offer each faithful man a budding branch, in their
hands budding, in his to blossom and mature its fruit, wherewith he sows
the field of time, gladdening the millions yet to come.
END OF VOL. III.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account