Many， however， will be astonished at the fatal impulse thatdrags them thitherward. Nothing is more remarkable thanthe various deceptions by which guilt conceals itself fromthe perpetrator’s conscience， and oftenest， perhaps， by thesplendor of its garments. Statesmen， rulers， generals， andall men who act over an extensive sphere， are most liableto be deluded in this way； they commit wrong， devastation，and murder， on so grand a scale， that it impresses themas speculative rather than actual； but， in our procession，we find them linked in detestable conjunction with themeanest criminals， whose deeds have the vulgarity of pettydetails. Here， the effect of circumstance and accidentis done away， and a man finds his rank according to thespirit of his crime， in whatever shape it may have beendeveloped.
We have called the Evil； now let us call the Good. Thetrumpet’s brazen throat should pour heavenly music over theearth， and the herald’s voice go forth with the sweetness ofan angel’s accents， as if to summon each upright man to hisreward. But， how is this？ Do none answer to the call？ Notone： for the just， the pure， the true， and all who might mostworthily obey it， shrink sadly back， as most conscious oferror and imperfection. Then let the summons be to thosewhose pervading principle is Love. This classification willembrace all the truly good， and none in whose souls thereexists not something that may expand itself into a heaven，both of well-doing and felicity.
The first that presents himself is a man of wealth， whohas bequeathed the bulk of his property to a hospital；his ghost， methinks， would have a better right herethan his living body. But here they come， the genuinebenefactors of their race. Some have wandered about theearth， with pictures of bliss in their imagination， and withhearts that shrank sensitively from the idea of pain andwoe， yet have studied all varieties of misery that humannature can endure. The prison， the insane asylum， thesqualid chambers of the alms-house， the manufactorywhere the demon of machinery annihilates the humansoul， and the cotton-field where God’s image becomes abeast of burthen； to these， and every other scene whereman wrongs or neglects his brother， the apostles ofhumanity have penetrated. This missionary， black withIndia’s burning sunshine， shall give his arm to a palefacedbrother who has made himself familiar with theinfected alleys and loathsome haunts of vice， in one ofour own cities. The generous founder of a college shallbe the partner of a maiden lady， of narrow substance，one of whose good deeds it has been， to gather a littleschool of orphan children. If the mighty merchant whosebenefactions are reckoned by thousands of dollars， deemhimself worthy， let him join the procession with her whoselove has proved itself by watchings at the sick-bed， andall those lowly offices which bring her into actual contactwith disease and wretchedness. And with those whoseimpulses have guided them to benevolent actions， we willrank others， to whom Providence has assigned a differenttendency and different powers. Men who have spenttheir lives in generous and holy contemplation for thehuman race； those who， by a certain heavenliness of spirit，have purified the atmosphere around them， and thussupplied a medium in which good and high things maybe projected and performed， —give to these a lofty placeamong the benefactors of mankind， although no deed，such as the world calls deeds， may be recorded of them.
There are some individuals， of whom we cannot conceiveit proper that they should apply their hands to any earthlyinstrument， or work out any definite act； and others，perhaps not less high， to whom it is an essential attributeto labor， in body as well as spirit， for the welfare of theirbrethren. Thus， if we find a spiritual sage， whose unseen，inestimable influence has exalted the moral standard ofmankind， we will choose for his companion some poorlaborer， who has wrought for love in the potatoe-field of aneighbor poorer than himself.
We have summoned this various mulitude—and， to thecredit of our nature， it is a large one—on the principle ofLove. It is singular， nevertheless， to remark the shynessthat exists among many members of the present class， allof whom we might expect to recognize one another bythe free-masonry of mutual goodness， and to embrace likebrethren， giving God thanks for such various specimensof human excellence. But it is far otherwise. Each sectsurrounds its own righteousness with a hedge of thorns.
It is difficult for the good Christian to acknowledge thegood Pagan； almost impossible for the good Orthodoxto grasp the hand of the good Unitarian， leaving to theirCreator to settle the matters in dispute， and giving theirmutual efforts strongly and trustingly to whatever rightthing is too evident to be mistaken. Then again， thoughthe heart be large， yet the mind is often of such moderatedimensions as to be exclusively filled up with one idea.
