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CONVERSATION XXXI.

SPIRITUAL INTREPIDITY.

COURAGE AND PUSILLANIMITY.

Imprisonment of John the Baptist, from the Sacred Text. - Spiritual Restraint. - Moral Courage. - Power of Reproof. Connexion between Self-Indulgence and Cowardice. - Repentance. Emblem of Self-Indulgence. Spiritual Illumination.

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MR. ALCOTT. Imagine Jesus in Judæa, while I read the

Luke iii. 19.

IMPRISONMENT OF JOHN THE BAPTIST.

MATT. xiv. 5. MARK vi. 17-21, LUKE iii. 19.

Vulgar Æra, 27. Julian Period, 4740.
Judæa.

Concupis

cence.

But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,

had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her.

For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.

Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not:

For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

Mark vi. 17.

Mark vi. 18.

Mark vi. 19.

Mark vi. 29.

Matt. xiv. 5.

Vulgar Æra, 27. Julian Period, 4740.
Judæa.

And when he would have put put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.

MATT. iv. 12-18. MARK i. 14, 15. LUKE iv. 14, 15.

Mark i. 14.

Matt. iv. 12.

Luke iv. 14.

Mark i. 14.

Mark i. 15.

Luke iv. 14.

Luke iv. 15.
Matt. iv. 13.

Matt. iv. 14.

Matt. iv. 15.

Matt. iv. 16.

Matt. iv. 17.

Spiritual
Restraint.

was just.

Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee.

Now when Jesus heard that John was cast into prison, he departed,

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee,

preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God,

And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand repent ye, and believe the Gospel.

́and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.

And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:

That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim,

By the way of the sea,

Beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

The people which sat in darkness saw great light; And to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up.

From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

MR. ALCOTT. What interests you?
ELLEN. Í was interested in the words
"Herod feared John." It was because he
That was a feeling of reverence for good-

ness and God.

MR. ALCOTT. Do you "fear" a reprover?
EDWARD J. Herod feared the multitude.

*Ch. xxi. 26.

† John iv. 43.

Isai. ix. 1, 2.

Ø Mark i. 14.

ELLEN. Yes; because they thought John a prophet as he did. It was John's goodness that caused the fear. EDWARD J. I thought Herod was afraid the multitude would not let him hurt John.

MR. ALCOTT. Do any of you fear the multitude and on that account refrain from doing unjust things? (Some hands were held up.)

Moral Courage.

EDWARD C. It was wrong for Herod to lay hold of John, and bind him, and put him in prison.

MR. ALCOTT. Had John any fear of saying what he thought right, at any time?

ALL. No; never.

MR. ALCOTT. What makes a man stand up for the right all alone?

[blocks in formation]

CHARLES. I like John's open-heartedness; his telling his own opinion ; — his going straight forward. MR. ALCOTT. Are you always able to do that? CHARLES. Not always. Only Jesus Christ did it always.

SAMUEL T. I wondered that Herod put him in prison.

MR. ALCOTT.

Was it right in Herod to put John in

prison for showing him that he had done wrong? SAMUEL T. No.

Power of

MR. ALCOTT. When your father, or mothReproof. er, or Mr. Alcott reproves you, do you fall into a passion would you like to put your reprover in prison? All may answer that question. (There were many confessions here.)

LUCY. * I thought Herod put John into prison, to get him out of the way, so that he might not hear his reproof. But he did not like to kill him.

SUSAN. Herod feared John, because he thought him so much better than himself.

MR. ALCOTT. Do you fear people who are better than yourself? Should you like to do a naughty thing before your father?

SUSAN. NO; he would punish me.

GEORGE K. liked John for telling Herod he did wrong. It is wrong to hurt a good person; and so Herod was unjust. But John was right.

MR. ALCOTT.

to do?

Was John's right action an easy one

GEORGE K. It was easy for him, because he had done right so long.

MR. ALCOTT.

What was John's feeling.

GEORGE K. Courage moral courage.

--

MR. ALCOTT. Did you ever have any of this?

GEORGE K. I don't remember any instance; but I think I have the feeling.

AUGUSTINE. When Herod wanted to put John to death, he feared that the multitude would hurt himself would hurt his body and take away his power. For they believed in John. When a king thinks differently from his people, he must conceal what he thinks; or he should believe as they do.

Connexion between SelfIndulgence and

MR. ALCOTT. Was Herod afraid of Conscience as well as of the multitude and John? or had he drowned Conscience in

Cowardice. his appetites and passions? For Herod was given to appetite, and was passionate. These things almost always go together. Great love of bodily

* Lucy had been absent a long while. - REC.

indulgence produces selfishness; and selfishness produces hatred, and such passions. How many of you live in your flesh in your appetites and passions — in your bellies?

(A few held up hands.)

Who live in their angry passions, rather?

(The girls, and a few others.)

NATHAN. Eating too much makes you angry.

MR. ALCOTT. Herod's appetites and passions are connected in this story.

EDWARD J. I like good things to eat; but I do not think I eat too much.

MR. ALCOTT. That is not living in appetite. It is right to enjoy eating-indulgence is wrong.

Repentance.

SAMUEL R. I was interested in his preaching the kingdom of heaven. I did not know what it meant by its being "at hand.”

JOSIAH. It means that it was just time for Herod to repent for goodness to begin- and not a time to cast John into prison.

MR. ALCOTT. Did Jesus mean to tell Herod, or every body, to repent?

JOSIAH. He meant to tell every Spirit to repent. Bodies cannot repent.

Self-Indulgence.

MR ALCOTT. How many of you have gone out of your spirits, and have gone

down into the body too much? (Many held up hands.)

Will you tell me any instances?

JOSIAH. I pushed my brother down once.

Emblem of

MR. ALCOTT. What if I should take a

Self-Indulgence. little baby, and put it into a pig-sty, by the pig's trough, and say, in that is the food

for

you, and this is a fit place?

CHARLES. It would be an emblem of a spirit gone away into the body.

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