The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1869-07-21
Uses of knowledge.
BY THE REV. G. Il. BRAcKETT.


My people nre destroyed for lack ofknowl-
cdgc.-IIos. 4: ..
Man was originally creature of
wants, and when created was placed
in condition where everything re-
quisite to supply his varied wants was
stored away in the bosom of nature,
and in the constitution of his own be.
ing. Had he continued in q state of
innocence, his physical, intellectual,
and moral well, being must have been
secured by the continual acquisition
.As knowledge from these two sources,
&Hlcss his Maker should be pleased to
advance him to higher state of exis-
tence by means of q supernatural
revelation.
The effect of sin, however, was to
create new wants, beside introducing
innumerable evils curse was pro.
nounced upon the earth, as we'll as
upon the transgressor, and physical
and moral suffering was the judicial
consequence. The necessity of knowl-
edge must now be measured by mans
present wants and miseries, as fal.
len creature. We must take man as
iSS1e find him, individually and socially,
in his unnatural, abnormal, condition..
Viewing him with reference to his
present wants and sufferings, we shall
attempt to show that the lack of
knowledge is destruction of every in
terest of man. Let us verify this pro-
position by an appeal to facts. What
is mans present condition i? What
arc his wants and sufferings2
|. AS physical being, he needs
food, raiment and habitation, and
had he no other wants than those
which pertain to the body, then hav-
ing enough to eat, and comfortable
clothing and shelter, he ought to be
as contented as o fox in his hole, or a
pig in his pen an animal nature has
only animal wants, and when these are
satisfied, the end of life is answered.
1t is heart-rending reflection,
enough to make angels weep, that
millions of mankind have no loftier
purpose than this, and all the knowl-
edge they seem to desire is that which
brute instinct alone is sufficient to OBJ.
tain. If man has no higher end of
life, reason is altogether an unnecessa-
ry faculty. He has no need of truth,
but only such raw materials, as the
aRt and the bee, the OK and ass, in.
stSnctly seek to crafty their immedi.
ate wants.
But man is rational and social
being. AS God has made him, it is
criminal to be content with bare food
raiment and shelter-to be content
with that which satisfies dog or a
rabbit, when he has the means and
opportunities Of obtaining more.
2. AS an intellectual being, man has
corresponding wants. The very ma
ture Of the mental faculties, as Aris-
totle observed two thousand gyears
ayo, indicates that truth is the end
Intended by their Creator. If the
eye was mdae to see, and the ear to
Dlr, the mind was made to know.
1t has appetites which knowledge
alone nan satisfy life, which truth
alone oan nourish. There can be no
healthy development of our being
without the love, pursuit and possess
Ssion of truth, any more than without
20 relish for our food or an affection
for our species.
Is The relation which our Maker has
established between our nature and
tho external world, indicates the
source of that knowledge which meets
tho wants of the body and mind. The
material used contains all that mans
physical necessities require. There is
not an animal want for which the all.
wise and benefcent Creator has not
made suitable and ample provision.
Every appetite has its appropriate
Source Of qualification. The "earth
sis vast storehouse where everything is
treasured up, selected, and arranged
for his use,'--every variety of food
20 nourish him, boundless forests to
farnish material for his dwellings,,