This is a copy of the lecture given on Christmas Morning by Dr. James C. Jackson on Christmas morning, December 25, 1866 at “Liberty Hall” (wherever that is).   It’s more like a sermon from a protestant church than a lecture.  ~ CCJ

Transcription — “Christmas Morning Lecture” by Dr. James C. Jackson, “Liberty Hall,” Dec. 25th [1866?] — INCOMPLETE (ends mid-sentence on p.13)
[Page 1 — top right, partly clipped:] “Liberty Hall,” Dec 25th 6[—] [final year digit cut off at the page edge]

Christmas Morning Lecture.
By Dr. James C. Jackson.
Ladies and Gentlemen, —
I wish you all a “Merry Christmas.” — May you make new resolves, this morning; may you incorporate into your natures, more and more, each month and year of your lives, those principles which our Saviou[r] embodied, as an example to us, that by our living here we might be fitted for the life to come.
In this direction, permit me to offer a few suggestions to you. First, be brave. Real bravery unites in itself the possession of courage and faith. The brave man is he who does right because he has faith in the right. It is this which nerves him to courageous endeavor. Find out what is truth as best you may, according as you have opportunity; and when the truth has come to you, bind it about you as a warrior binds his belt, — as a woman binds her girdle. No matter what the con[se]-
[Page 2:] sequences may be to you, be faithful to this trust, as you hope for eternal life. Never falter. It may be that the test of your character shall be applied to you in this direction, particularly. Whether you shall be true or not in some little thing, may be the turning point in your life, — the question which shall decide for you whether God shall make you ruler over many things. You know the Saviour applied this test to His disciples. He told them that when the great trial-hour should come, for the adjustment of the honors and distinctions of mankind the test should be, whether those who had light responsibilities committed to their care, had been faithful to them, or not. “Well done good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over little things, — I will make thee ruler over great things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” Do not stand away from the truth. It is so easy for us to close up our hearts as if they were hermetically sealed; it is so easy to shut up our minds against truth, making all our inward nature like a darkened chamber, into which no streamlets of light from God’s face may enter. You may think it difficult to resist the spirit of God; but rest assured that that Spirit is as sensitive to criticism and reproach, as the most sensitive plant is to the touch.
[Page 3:] Keep you your hearts open, and may they be large, spacious, so that God can come into them, and fill them with His own eternal life. You cannot be brave in the higher and nobler sense of the word, and at the same time hesitate as to what shall be your alliance with the truth. It must be, not simply defensive, nor yet offensive, but it must be both defensive and offensive. If the truth is to stand by you, — and purify your life, making it gleam with light, making it resplendent with glory, then you must stand by the truth, and this, too, in all things. Falsity, insincerity, disingenuousness, treachery, cunning, worldly-shrewdness, disposition to get without rendering an equivalent, to receive without giving, to partake without bestowment, must be banished from you. Everything that “deceiveth and maketh a lie,” must be cast away. You must stand up in the presence of the All-Seeing, and feel that you are approved by Him in what you do. There must be no doubt, no hesitancy, no fear, no dark mistrust upon you. Your soul must be as pure as the light of day, your whole nature must be bare to the eyes of Him with whom you have to do, or else you cannot be so related related to growth as to justify the term, in its application to you, of real bravery. Now, I think, the enemy of our welfare, often seeks to hurt us, to mislead us, to do us serious and permanent damage, by infusing into us those elements of force which make us untrue to truth, and so, make us cowardly. It is philosophically true that “the wicked flee when no man —
[Page 4:] pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion.” No better prayer could we make this morning, than that which the old heathen prophet made, when he sat on the hills of Moab, — and viewed in the plains below him, the gathered armies of Israel, and though he had been sent to curse, was compelled to bless, and closed up his benediction by saying; — “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his.”
Be hearty in your life. An element of growth — of growth particularly in goodness, — is heartiness. I like the word. I like it much better than I do headiness. A head full of knowledge is a very desirable qualification, but in order that knowledge shall be power, to us, we must know how to put it to good use. To simply know what is right, with no spirit to do the right; is by no means a source of very great power. If it be so, it is power which is quite as likely to be destructive as constructive; and he is no benefactor of his race, who does nothing but to tear down and destroy. It is only those great forces underlying a growth of good works amongst men, that are desirable acquisitions to the human soul. To become the most learned man in the world, is of no moment, unless this learning is sanctified, and there is no way for its becoming so, except through affection. Who would know what is right, must also love what is right; he must understand
[Page 5:] it; he must have it under him, and around him, — bearing him up, and leading, guiding, and controlling him; he must love it as hidden treasure. Would’st thou be wise? Then search for wisdom. Would’st thou be true? Then search for truth. Wear it about thy neck as one wears a necklace. Let it be “strength to thy spirit and fatness to thy bones.” Be hearty, therefore. When you know what is right, turn your whole nature toward the right, affectionately. It is in this way, only, that the spirit of God works. I suppose it to be an actual fact that the Spirit of Eternal Wisdom never conveys knowledge to the human soul, without conveying love therefor. I cannot conceive how it can be otherwise. If God is love, then to become acquainted with the knowledge of God, we must also be made acquainted with His great affection for us; and as we have the Spirit to accept of the knowledge of God, and to be fitted for life thereby, we shall also love “whatsoever things are true and of good report.” It is because commensurate with the acquisition of knowledge is the spirit of love, that it has been said that “with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” Let your affections, then, grow, also, from this day. Love more, my friends, love that which is good, and true, and just, and honest. Love more, not simply principles, but persons; and, as the highest person of whom you can conceive, and therefore in whom you can trust, love God more. Is there any one
[Page 6:] in this house, who has not yet learned to love the Lord his God with his whole heart, and mind, and soul, and strength, and his neighbor as himself? I pray him, this morning to begin. Cultivate the spirit of love for God himself, and for everything that He has made, and for man as the chief of His workmanship here. Love mankind. Learn to be largely related to whatever in mankind is good and beautiful; learn to be forbearing and forgiving to all that is not good. Would you [pray?] the prayer which the Saviour put into the lips of His disciples, so that it shall rise like sweet incense before God’s throne, then, this morning, lift up your hearts earnestly to Him, and say, Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who have trespassed against us. Let this be the day in which all your wrongs shall be carried off into the wilderness; a day in which your chambers shall be clean swept and garnished, and you shall begin a new life; when old grudges, dislikes, hatreds, envys, hard-feelings, shall all be swept away from before you. Love your enemies. Learn henceforth to do good and not evil, and under any circumstances and all conditions in life, to give back blessings where cursings have been poured out upon you. This it is to make the faith and life of Jesus Christ your own. This it is to bring yourself into sympathy with God;
[Page 7:] to overlay your humanity with the divinest glory; to lift you up into the sphere of the Eternal; to take away the elements of death, and put into you the elements of life; to clothe you with such power that even deadly things shall not hurt you. You then can stand what comes with such firmness as to illustrate what the Apostle said; — “Stand fast to the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free.” Having put on the entire panoply of the Gospel, you are ready to fight the good fight good fight of faith; and when your work is done, whether it be sooner or later, you will be able, every one of you who accepts this philosophy of life, to say with Paul; “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me, (in the heavenlies) a crown of righteousness,” and of glory. We do not draw out our powers, in any direction as we might if we were to love more. Love makes the human soul comprehensive in its powers. Wherever you find love existing between two human beings, you will always find them far more competent to fulfill any and every relation in life, than they would be were they antagonistically related. The social force —
[Page 8:] is the uplifting force of the human soul; and the element which brings the social nature into vigorous growth, is the principle of love. Where, therefore, two persons love each other, they are as much more favorably related to success in life as one can think.
I would call upon all of you, this morning, who have social relations of whatever nature to sustain, who have husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, or friends, whom to love, to love them more than you have ever done before; show them your faith in redemption, and salvation, by loving them in spite of their unworthiness. Though you may be able to see things in their course which you do not like, — still, love them, — cling to them. Not because they happen to be your relatives, however, — that is no reason why you should love them; there is no obligation resting on you there, — but because of the intimacy which the relation begets; — because of the associations that are created and sustained by such relation. The relations necessarily arising from intimate and important associations make the basis of the obligations. The worst enemy that a human creature may have, may be his own father, and if it were right to hate any one, it would be to hate that father.
[Page 9:] But if conditions create necessary associations, thus bringing persons into intimate relations, it is unwise to allow such relations to exist on the ground of antagonism. If you must live together, and be as one outwardly, God requires that you should cultivate His spirit inwardly. You may not sustain the outward relation without cultivating the spirit of affection. And here let me say that a constant effort in this direction is scarcely ever fruitless. It is surprising, — really wonderful, — to see how many times this determination to forget all natural dislikes, prevails, until persons come really to be attached to each other, notwithstanding their differences. We are very apt to be particularly drawn towards persons who have the same general temperament as ours, who like the same things, have the same tastes; — whose tone of mind is the same, whose current of thought runs in the same general direction. Now this is not well; it is cultivating an exclusiveness which does not result in good. Cultivate friendly social relations with persons who sustain strong contrasts to yourself. Learn to love the man and woman who are unlike you. And particularly in families, should habits
[Page 10:] of intimacy be sustained between children who have contrasts in disposition. It is not uncommon to hear a woman say; — “John has always been my favorite brother, — he is so much like me.” Now this is exactly the reason why he should not be her favorite, — + — + — + — +. Do not cultivate all the time a one-sided nature. One-sided characters are as common as persons with two eyes. — This is not the way in which I have educated myself in God’s good providence. Wherever I have found a deficiency in my character, there I have directed my attention. — What has been done for me, can be done for you; I have gotten so that I can associate with all sorts of people; I can sustain friendly relations with persons who are as unlike me as can be. I used to stand away off, at a distance from persons whom I did not, at first sight, happen to like; but I have no difficulty, now, in taking a few steps, in going half way; and, if need be, the whole way, over where the parties are, — and oftentimes I find that I have gained much by so doing. To see a man whom I did not happen to like, was to make me run away from him. Now I go towards him; and I always find in him
[Page 11:] something to like, because I go hunting after something to like. I go amongst my fellow men, to find out things that I need to cultivate in my own nature, and in order to have a basis of sympathy between them and me. I meet persons who have an excess of some particular faculty wherein I am deficient, and I try to get a part of this surplus into my own nature, —
Do not lie supinely on your back, meditating whether the doctrine of election is true or not. Do not revolve the question in your mind, whether beef-steak is better than Graham-pudding. Go to work, and cultivate your bodies and souls with such light as you have at command, and more will come to you. Cultivate your bodies, make them more fit to be the habitations of immortal souls. Give your muscles a chance [struck] [chance to grow?], and become strong; — cultivate your lungs, — give the air free play down through the bronchial passages, into all their ramifications. There [˄ are] women in the house who have air-cells that haven’t been opened since the days of Abraham. — Girls grow up in this country, having eyes and seeing not, and having ears and hearing not. — + — + — + — +
[Page 12:] Cultivate your powers in every direction, in order that you may have the pleasure of doing more for mankind, and thereby loving more, for what is the use of love, if you cannot reach some human soul, and apply it in good deeds. Good tillage of the soul produces as large results, as good tillage of the earth. Lift yourselves up from this day onward; go into a hearty searching process, and see what are your faults. Turn your eyes right in, and see what dwelleth there. “If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out; If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off.” It is better for thee to enter into eternal life, maimed, than to have two hands to be cast into hell-fire. God wants character of you, and he will he will have it, or you must die. Let us, then, begin a new life to-day, each of us for himself and all for each, making the hours, and days that we shall stay together, sources of profit to us and to all; and let us, while we are merciless and unsparing in our criticisms each of himself, be kind and gentle, and forbearing in our criticisms of each other. If one has a debt against another let him forgive that debt, else there may be no just plea for forgiveness when the Judge
[Page 13:] shall search our souls, and bring to light every secret and hidden thing. It is only as we are willing to cover up the faults of our fellows, and spread the mantle of charity over their misdeeds, and hide them from searching eyes, that we can hope that in the great day of account, Christ will take the mantle of eternal love and hide all our mistakes from the eyes of the multitudes. When I think how much I shall wish to have covered up, — for I suppose I shall be just as open to the love of approbation as I am here, — when I think that I shall want Christ to spread the mantle of oblivion over my faults, I am taught my lesson how to forgive others. I pray that God may help me, and you to forgive, even as we would be forgiven; to take the imperfectly educated, the coarse, the igno[r]ant, the debased, with helping hand and lift them up; to so relate ourselves to humanity, that it shall have reason to bless the day that brought us to our work. And now may Christ, whom you will all want to forgive you by and by, teach you the great lesson of love whereby His life was guided, when working humanly, dying like a man,
[ends mid-sentence — closing page(s) not present]

How it fits
This is the strongest archival link yet to Doc AD and the Dansville chapter of Josephine’s life. The lecturer is James C. Jackson, M.D. — the same physician named on Josephine’s 1866 character delineation (Doc AD), founder of “Our Home on the Hillside,” the Dansville, NY water cure. The internal evidence pins it firmly to that institution: “Liberty Hall” is the cure’s lecture hall; the audience is addressed as residents of “this house”; and the hygienic-reform asides — exercise the muscles, open the lungs’ “air-cells,” and the wonderful jab about not debating “whether beef-steak is better than Graham-pudding” — are pure Jacksonian dietary doctrine (the Graham/hygienic-living world out of which his “Granula” cereal came). So this is a second 1866 Jackson/Dansville document, almost certainly heard by Josephine herself as a patient there.
Dating. The page-1 date reads “Dec 25th 6[—]” with the final digit clipped at the edge. The index (row 84) gives Dec 25, 1866, which fits the Doc AD year (Mar 13, 1866) — Josephine was at Our Home that year. I’d key it to 1866 but flag the clipped digit for confirmation from a fuller scan of the top-right corner.
What it is — and isn’t. It’s a manuscript copy of a public lecture, preserved in the family papers (per the index, found among Josephine’s effects). It is not family correspondence and contains no Cranston genealogical content — its value is contextual: it documents the intellectual and spiritual atmosphere Josephine absorbed at Dansville, in the words of the man whose institution shaped her. The hand looks like a careful copy; whether it’s Josephine’s own hand I can’t assert from the images (the script differs in some letterforms from her known letters, but copying hands often do) — I’ll flag that as open.
Why it matters beyond the archive — candidly. This is a genuinely substantial piece of Jackson’s thought, and parts of it are quietly remarkable for 1866: the sustained argument against surrounding yourself with like-minded people (“Cultivate friendly social relations with persons who sustain strong contrasts to yourself… Learn to love the man and woman who are unlike you”), and the self-deprecating personal testimony that he had to train himself out of standoffishness. There’s a clear through-line to the Doc AD delineation, which urged Josephine toward breadth, learning, and engagement. For your Civic Sage work, the “be brave / bind truth about you as a warrior binds his belt / be faithful in the little thing that is the turning point” opening is strikingly close in spirit to Decatur’s creed and your Courage-and-Consequence themes — worth noting as a resonance, not a connection.
One caution for presentation: like Doc AD, this sits in the 19th-century hygienic-reform/phrenology milieu. The content here is ethical-religious rather than pseudo-medical, so it’s less fraught than the phrenology of AD — but if you use it publicly, frame Jackson as the historical health-reform figure he was.