And the development of our minds is as gradual as
the growth of our bodies. We gather our knowledge a thought, a fact, a
lesson at a time. We form our character, a line, a trace, a touch a day.
Society is subject to the same law. Churches and nations are collections
of individuals, each changing slowly, and must therefore themselves
change more slowly still. You cannot force the growth of a single plant
or animal at pleasure; still less can you force at will the advancement
or improvement of society. You may change a nation's laws and
institutions suddenly, but the change will be of no service, so long as
the minds of the people remain unchanged.
All the great beneficent changes of Nature are gradual. How slowly the
darkness of the night gives place to the morning dawn, and how slowly
the grey dawn of the morning brightens into noon! How slowly the cold of
winter gives place to the warmth of spring and summer. How slowly the
seed deposited in the ground springs up, putting forth first the blade,
then the ear, and then the full ripe corn in the ear. And how slowly we
grow up from babyhood to manhood, and how slowly we pass on from early
sprightly manhood, to the sobriety and wisdom of age. And how slowly the
nations advance in science, in arts, and in commerce; in religion, and
morals, and government.
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