OUR SERMON.
In adopting this heading for a series of articles, which will be continued as occasion offers, we are very far from intending to startle our readers with a rush of theological disquisition. In proof of our sincerity, and as an earnest of the gist of our discourses, we have chosen as a standing text, or motto, the golden rule of “peace and goodwill to all men;†but while we leave intact the functions of the divine, it is our business, as we conceive it to be our duty, to sermonize on the morals of trade, the social relations of every-day life, and even the proprieties which enhance every species of domestic enjoyment.
A right understanding of the relative duties of master and man, or of employer and the employed, yields to no subject in importance; peculiar incidents, induced by a rapidly increasing population, the tendency of commercial wealth to accumulate in masses, and its employment under the familiar term “capital,†through the agency of individuals, in the construction of great works, constitutes, however, an era in the Building trade to which former periods bear no very strict analogy. In offering our humble opinions upon actuating causes and their effects, be the subject what it may, we will never lose sight of our text; we shall make use neither of angry words nor denunciations; peace is too lovely to our minds, and charity too imperative to be abandoned; we would dispel the darker and sterner passions, giving every brother full credit for good intentions, and assign occasional deviations from the path of right rather to misfortune than intention. Whatever the class of men addressed or dealt with, this, we are convinced, is the best and only true policy. It may be very well for any one to talk of their anger being aroused, or their indignation excited, and so on, and under such pleas to vent abuse, imprecate a thousand vengeances, and the like, but, depend upon it, fear is less to be relied on than love; we would win a child to our love, not deter it by frowns and coercion;—we would have a thousand friends rather than a single enemy.
Who has not heard of the tale of the traveller, upon whom the sun and wind essayed their power? These elements, as the fable puts it, were at issue as to which was superior, and agreed to rest the decision upon the effect they should produce upon the first wayfarer. Well, first the wind fell to work, and blew with all his might, to compel the subject of their experiment to throw off his cloak, but the more vehemently the man was assailed, the closer he wrapped the garment about him; in turn the sun made trial of his power, and genial warmth soon accomplished what the bluster of the ruder element had made more and more difficult. So in human policy the kindly glow excited by generous sentiments and actions will succeed where threats, force, and even punishments have failed. The human heart has no such obduracies but that charity will overcome them.
It is a part of our present purpose to refer to practical benevolence of this nature, and it will be found in an extract from theLeeds Mercury, given in another part of our paper, on the subject of the treatment of workpeople, by Sir John Guest, at Merthyr Tydvil, and the Messrs. Marshall, of Leeds. These, thank God, and for the honour of our country, are not solitary instances. These gentlemen stand not alone in the practice of that soundest principle of Christian political economy which instructs the rich to dispense of their abundance for the benefit of their poorer brethren. We have Master Builders in every department, proprietors of large works and establishments, whose names we could hold up to the admiration of their craft and country, but we will not do this violence to their unobtrusive merit, neither will we invite invidious comparisons by such selections; we would rather hold up these Christian duties for common emulation, and call upon all to “go and do likewise.â€
We open, then, our exhortations toMasters, because we know that the first impulse of benignant power must originate withthem; kindness from them may be likened to the sun in its influence, and most surely will it be returned with usurious interest “into their basket and their store.â€
Who ever saw the good father of a family putting firm faith in virtue and honour, and regulating his household by their dictates, failing to raise up virtuous, amiable, and honourable citizens? or, to put the case stronger, who ever knew the man that acted upon opposite principles succeed in sowing any thing but vice and discord? Depend upon it, then, the same principles and rules apply in business, from the overseer of the smallest undertaking to the governor of a nation. Fatherly solicitude for those under our care, or for whom we bear any responsibility, is as solemn and sacred a duty as the fulfilment of contracts or engagements; nay, it is the first of duties between man and man.
On the other hand, as to the workman,—fidelity—and more, the same generous kindness towards his master is required, as that he would receive; in fact, “to do unto others us you would be done by,†is the great and universal secret of social happiness.
It is with this view of relative duties that we deem it of as much importance to engage ourselves in giving good counsel to our craft, as in enlightening them on principles of science pertaining to their several callings; for of what avail will it be to a man to possess all the knowledge of his art, if his heart be corrupt, or continue under vicious influences? Away with, as dross, all the ability of the engineer, architect, master builder, or workman, ifthe manbe not endowed with moral excellence. What are beautiful designs, imposing structures, mechanical skill, or ingenious artifice in workmanship, without a mind and heart in harmony with the superior inspirations which virtue alone bestows? This, this indeed must come first as the base of the pyramid. In any other case the pyramid may be there, but it topples, leans, or lies on its side; the same inherent beauty may exist, but its position and action are superadded elements of deformity. Oh, how beautiful the human mind when lit up and guided by the impulses of virtue! how terrible and loathsome when passion and gaunt sensuality have their sway!
Guard, my beloved countrymen, against avarice, envy, malice; avoid contentions; be moderate in the desire of gain; repine not at another’s success in life, or the distinctions he may attain to; cast all rancorous suggestions far from your heart; contend not in any unholy spirit of craving competition;“live, and let live,†is a maxim which we conjure you at all times to observe.
In times of commercial depression, aggravate not your own or another’s suffering; these, like seasons of sickness and malady, must and will have their recurrences, and they will recur more frequently, and press more grievously, where brotherly love and charity, the great preventative and remedy of human ills, are neglected. Let none imagine it his privilege to be exempt from these obligations; let us not, because we see a neighbour unmindful of his duties in any of the multifarious walks of life, think ourselves justified in departing from our superior policy; neither must we judge and condemn; inflict, if you will, pains and penalties on yourself, but you have no right to do so on another.
Pardon us, good brothers of our building fraternity, and you who do us the favour to lend an ear to our counsellings, if we thus seek to engage your attention, and offer our well-meant importunings. Should your approving suffrages incite a continuance of our vocation, it will be our ambition to discuss the relative duties of the stations you respectively fill—master, apprentice, or workman; father, brother, son, or husband; neighbour or friend; and to do as we have now done, namely, try to improve each and all, and in doing so, promote, in some degree, the cause of human happiness.