Addresses to Young Men Author:Henry Ward Beecher Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: SIX WARNINGS. The generation of the upright shall be blessed, wealth and riches shall be in his house. Ps. cxii. 2, 3. He that getteth riches, and not by r... more »ight, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at the end shall be a fool. Jer. xvii. II. WHEN justly obtained, and rationally used, riches are called a gift of God, an evidence of his favor, and a great reward. When gathered unjustly, and corruptly used, wealth is pronounced a canker, a rust, a fire, a curse. There is no contradiction, then, when the Bible persuades to industry, and integrity, by a promise of riches ; andthen dissuades from wealth, as a terrible thing, destroying soul and body. Blessings are vindictive to abusers, and kind to rightful users;—they serve us, or rule us. Fire warms our dwelling, or consumes it. Steam serves man, and also destroys him. Iron, in the plough, the sickle, the house, the ship, is indispensable. The dirk, the assassin's knife, the cruel sword and the spear, are iron also. The constitution of man, and of society, alike evinces the design of God. Both are made to be happier by the possession of riches ;—their full development and perfection are dependent, to i large extent, upon wealth. Without it, there can be neither books nor implements ; neither commerce nor arts, neither tov--ns nor cities. It is a folly to denounce that, a love of which God has placed in mm by a constitutional faculty ; that, with which he has associated high grades of happiness; that, which has motives touching every faculty of the mind. Wealth is an Artist : by its patronage men are encouraged to paint, to carve, to design, to build and adorn :—A Master-mechanic : and inspires man to invent, to discover, to apply, to forge, and to fashion:—A HusBandman : and under its influence men rear the flock,...« less