40 ritENCII OPINION course, the very reverse of that little and narrowing spirit ascribed to it by those who de, not know, or do not love it. It cannot be otherwise ; for are not those who cultivate it ever the followers of Him, whose sublime characteristic it was " that he pleased not himself?" In the,society of Christians, every mart does not so much look on his own things as on the things of others. Christians do not- make 'conversation a theatre for dispute or display. They consider it.as- a reciprocation of benignity ; a desire to draw out the talents of those who with more merit have less pretension. An in- terchange of sentiment between intellec- tual and highly principled persons con- fers both pleasure and benefit. To make it at once pleasant and profitable, there must be an accordance of principle, if not of opinion. The conversation will frequently have a tincture of religion, even when the topic under discussion is not religious. Topics purely secular are susceptible of this spirit and inpious
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