Daily Richmond Whig

Work for the Clergy.

The people of this world may be divided into two great classes-good and bad. The latter are, and have always been, in the majority. At one period of the world's history there were only eight righteous souls, and one of these turned out to be no better than he should be. We presume there are more than eight guiltless persons in existence at the present time, and a very large number of worthy or estimable people, but, compared with those who have grievous "sins to answer for," they constitute a meagre minority of the population of the civilized world.

There are different degrees of moral deficiency. Some men are merely knavish; others are villainous. Some are, constitutionally, rascals, others are wantonly vile, or become so from defective training. It may be that the cerebral organization determines the moral characteristics of a man, as the disciples of Spurzheim have asserted; but whether it does or not, we all know that some men excite public contempt and disgust, whilst others win respect and esteem.

If all men were equally anxious to deserve the good opinion of their fellow-men, there would, perhaps, be less knavery and wickedness among mankind; but, unfortunately, there is a too prevalent ambition for the attainment of a bad pre-eminence, or at least a disregard for the consequences of a wrongful act which tends to the development of the repulsive traits of character so often observed in the present generation.

We have no doubt that a large proportion of unhappiness in this world is occasioned by a rejection of the moral code taught in the Scriptures. "Men profess to be Christians, but are practically infidels. How few practice the Golden Rule! Who has read, or if he has read, gives the slightest heed to the lessons of the "Sermon on the Mount"? Who hath charity "under the sun"? Who returneth good for evil, or believes that when a man is reviled he should not revile in return?

The clergy have a great work of reformation before them, and the sooner it is undertaken the better. During the past four years wickedness has greatly increased in the land, and a reaction should be inaugurated.