Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1869-08-11
New Ideas and their Enemies.

; New Ideas and their Enemies.
In the moral as in the materia
world, ali great births are preceded
by mighty convulsions. From th,
formation of the Globe itself, to tn,
evolution and development Of Con
tinents, and of the races that inhabit
them, the anology holds good.
The Biblical record, in describing
the condition Of things which preceded
the creation Of our world, tells us that
"the Earth was Dithout form and void
and darkness was upon the face OF the
deep"
But, when "the Spirit Of God moved
upon the fa:e Of the waters" the dark
ness fed chaos separated into visible
and tangible forms, and life and light
appeared where there had, previously
been nought but confusion, chill and
death.
How perfectly The moral and mental
condition of mankind resembled this
physical condition of the universe,
until the spirit of discovery and inven.
ton began to stir In each case there
were tremendous obstacles to over
come-the resistance of matter, the
perversity of the elements, and, in the
spiritual realm, the ignorance and
blindness of men.
From ignorance and blindness sprang
resistance to the truth, and the perse-
cution Of its advocates. The benefi-
cient Creator was resisted in Eden.
and Satan, and after the Fall of Adam.
the worshipper Abel was murdered at
the altar by Cain his brother.
The same lesson has been continued
throughout tho history of our race.
Not a step forward has been made !;
not an improvement introduced, that
has not been waylaid and combatted
by prejudice, or by jealous interests
that clung TO the old systems, in order
to profit by their imperfection,
/ We should know more of this strug-
gle between light and darkness as il
was waged, before the Christian Era,
were it not for the sad fact that the
pens of historians and poets have been
devoted chiefly to the glorifcation of
war, and not TO the annals of laoor.
"The history Of warfare, says an en-
hghtened philosopher, sis the history
OF mobiles who disdained any other
pursuit but the history of labor is
the real history of the people"
Discoverers and inventors sprang
almost entirely from the ranks Of the
people, and hence, at the very outset,
they encountered the determined hos
tility of the classes who considered
their monopolies of power and wealth
menaced by the fresh theories or facts
set forth. Jesus of Nazareth, preach.
ing the now doctrine Of salvation, was
reviled and cruciticd like common
fclonj and, startling as the consequon-
ces were 10 his oxccutioners, the spirit
that animated them continued TO work
and still works persecution, TO this
day. The forms Of its action are mod
itied, according TO the fashion of the
times, but its stupid ferocity and
malignity survive.
Guttenburg, the inventor Of our
modern system of printing, was driven
from his native Mayence by pcrsccu-
tian, and, when Faust the capitalist
assisted him in putting his grand idea
into form, the latter was denounced |
as having sold himself to the Evil
One, who was said 10 have borne him
away at last in a blaze OF fire and
birthstone. Tho sad truth is that
Faust wound up by robbing poor
Guttcuburg Of his apparatus, 10 order
TO reimburse his own advances, and
left the unfoi tunatc inventor to die in
The invention Of gunpowder was an
exception, in some degree, TO the
proposition We lay down, no doubt
because il placed augmented power in
the hands of the oppressor, aud facili-
tated the work of destruction. More.
over, it was easier TO make n grand
flourish about battles fought at re
specttul distances than about hand to.
hand combats, in the manly style Of
old. What modern days have justly
lidiculed rs fuss and feaihofs' found
welcome aid in "villianous sallpeter."
The superb courage requisite to kid a
man with rife that carries a bullet
with precision for the distance Of some
thousand PAGES, while the enemy has
nothing better than a shot-gu or a
that will not throw It's blum
iering missiles as many feet, was
equally delighted with the subsequent
made in firearms
Hence, there has been no prosecution
in these cases. Honors and rewards
we're layisbly bestowed, u