Not the Soul of the World, not the ever-flowing
voice of nature, but the articulate accents of practical
utility, should find thy ear ever ready. Keep always among
men, and consider what they like; for in the silence of thine
own breast will be heard the voices that make men "mad." Why
shouldst thou judge of the consciousness of others by thine
own? May not thine own soul have been made morbid, by retiring
too much within? If Jesus of Nazareth had not fasted and
prayed so much alone, the devil could never have tempted
him; if he had observed the public mind more patiently and
carefully, he would have waited till the time was ripe, and
the minds of men prepared for what he had to say. He would
thus have escaped the ignominious death, which so prematurely
cut short his "usefulness." Jewry would thus, gently, soberly,
and without disturbance, have been led to a better course.
'"Children of this generation!"--ye Festuses and Agrippas!--ye
are wiser, we grant, than "the children of light;" yet we
advise you to commend to a higher tribunal those whom much
learning, or much love, has made "mad.
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