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Show Gentlemanliness of St. Paul. Tv. Herman J. Heuser, professor of 'x-fris. etc.. in St. Charles' seminary, 0 erbrook. Pa., has contributed a Valuable Valu-able paper in the Dolphin on "The Gen-'leI;i;inliness Gen-'leI;i;inliness of St Paul." The append--I extracts will without doubt interest our readers: - . .. t. Paul presents the characteristics 'f the true igentleman ae Thsckeray 8d Cardinal Newman have, each .n bi separate way, described him. Ne -ton's picture is indeed intended to outline rather .the gentleman f tne f w""d. the man of refinement and rdu- 'Mion. apart from any motives wbun ('bristianity urges upon him; but it ar-I'Hes ar-I'Hes to St. Paul, nevertheless ele at ing the instincts of secular nob lit to , , higher plane of religious P'nci e find in the life of the apostle s of the Gentiles an evidence of h.gh " an.l varied knowledge, a f earless ! sen e of fruth and right, as we 11 as th. t dri Hte appreciation of hat is due i P-rsonal character and social position ( ethers. 1 In order, to appreciate the real character char-acter of the apostle who styles himself 'the least," although he labored more than all the rest, we must, not forget his origin; He was a gentleman vby birth. His parents were - well-to-do citizens, not by purchase or residence, but by inheritance. According to Stra-bo's Stra-bo's account. Tarsus outranked even "Athens and Alexandria in point Of culture. cul-ture. That St. Paul soon became a notable feature and enjoyed the resspect of the educated classes in his own country is evident from many circumstances in his life. 'We always find him in what might be called select company, and we must suppose that there was a certain refinement in his manner which especially espe-cially fitted him to be that vessel of j election which, as God has destined, ! should carry the name of Christ before j the Gentiles and kings. Thus at one time he has as his traveling companion a foster brother of Herod, Tetrarch of Gaul. The princes and governors of the Asiatic provinces are rather friendly friend-ly inclined toward him, in spite of the accusation lodged against him. At Ephcsus we find the superintendent of the secretariate making a harangue to defend him" against the angry crowd. He is nearly always listened to with' respect re-spect when he undertakes to defend his rights, and except from his own nation, na-tion, the Jews, he receives, even when under accusation, every consideration due to a man in high station. One trait -Strikes us more than the rest, perhaps because it is characteristic character-istic of the American gentleman as distinguished from all other nationalities. nationali-ties. It is the principle well expressed by the dogmatic phrase, "Mind your own'business." The great saints in the church, who were also great organizers organ-izers have al ways made it a favorite rule of action. "We entreat you. that you, use your, endeavor to be cruiet, as that you attend to your own business." Further, St Paul puts the maxim, "Honesty is .the best policy" on a very , sound basis, when he enioins unon his people that no man overreach or deceive de-ceive his brother in business, "because the lxrd is the avenger of all things." St." Paul possessed the finer feelings characteristics of the true gentleman, but which do not at once strike us when we read his life in the acts or his words in the epistles. St. Jerome describes de-scribes him as combining gentleness and gravity in his outward manner. Nicepherous dVaws a charming picture of him, having before him, it seems, the celebrated image of St. Paul belonging to San Sylvestro. His face, his gait and motion bespoke that modesty which he preached to others. "Let your modesty be known to the whole world," he writes to the Philippians. And again: "Brethren, whatsoever things are amiable, whatsoever things are of good repute, if there be any virtue, vir-tue, if there be any praise of discipline, think on these things." His urbanity is apparent from the manner of salutations in the epistles which he writes. He says all sorts of kind things, remembering friends by the services they did him or to the brethren: yet he reminds them also that he has never "at any time used the speech of flattery." Though probably prob-ably better versed in the sacred scriptures scrip-tures than any,. of the other apostles, and having received his mission directly direct-ly from the Holy Ghost, he submits his gospel for approbation to St. Peter and the rest of the apostles, as he tells the Galations. His generosity is simply magnificent. He forgets all former injury in-jury and prejudice, all the agitation of the Jews against him, when there Is question of helping those in need. |
