The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1869-08-18
Mosaic.

Mosaic.
! awe mon, metinacs, in what
%Ve presumo,to be humility, com,
pare ourselves with leaves; but
we have.@sy'et no right to do SO,
The leaves may we'll scorn tho
comparison. We, who live for
ourselves; ;and neither know how
to,use nor keep the work Of past
time, may humbIy learn,-as from
the ant, ioresi ght, from tho leaf,
reverence. The power Of every
great people, as Of cvcry living
tree, depends on its not effacing,
but confirming and concluding,
nho labors. of ats ancestors. Look
ing back to tho history ofnations,
we may datc tho beginning OF
their ,hcaline from the moment
whenIthey ceased to bo rcvcront
lin heart, ;m,d accumulativo in
hand and brain from the moment
when the redundant fruit Of age
hid ia .thon the hollownoss OF
heart, ,whonec tho simplicities OF
custom ;ana shows Of tradition
had ,withered away. Had men
but guarded Che righteous laws,
and protected tho precious works
of thoir fathers, with half the in
dustry they have given to change
and to rsvage, they would not
now have been seeking yainly, in
smillenniu( Sasions and mechanic
scrvitudes, sthe accomplishment of
'the promise a,ade TO them SO long
ago: .As the says Of tree, 50
;are the days of my people, and
mine elect shall long enjoy the
work Of their !,ands they shall
mot labor in vain, nor bring forth
for trouble; for they arc tho seed
.ofitho blessed Of the Lord, and
their offspring with them
This lesson VIC have to take
from tho leafs life. Ono more we
may receive from its death. II
ever in autumn, pcnSivcness
falls upon us rs tho leaves diff.
by in their fading, may we no,
wisely look up in hope to their
mighty monuments 2 J. Behold
how fair, how far prolonged, in
arch and aisle, the avenues Of The
vaiIeysl the fringcs of tho hills
so stately, so eternal! the joy, of
man, tho comfort Of all living
creatures, the glory Of. tho earth,
they arc but tho monuments Of
those poor leaves that fit fuintly
past us to die. Let thom moi
pass, without our understanding
their last counsel and example !;
that we, also, carcIcss Of monu-
mont by the grave, may build it
in the world - monument BY
which mon may be taught to re-
member, not whore wo died, but
VIII orc wc lived"
a. "Christianity can at least, and
surely with no need Of argument,
affirm that it possesses q practical
worth and power superior to that
OF any othor systom. Tho idea Of
world-history, is not philosophy
but faith. 1t is an old doctr inc,
which yet, like tho forgetting Of
it, must over be now, that to dom
onstrato and promulgato q truth
is not to enforce it; to establish
it in tho heart and lifo Of man, to
set it by tho plowman in tho fur
row, with tho sailor on tho ocean,
with the artizan in the workshop,
by tho household fro, and in the
,brawling market place, it mist
have somo power OF laying its
hand on the instincts thatli0 docp
and half conscious in tho. bosom.
Tho religious instinct is perhaps
tho deepest and most powerful !. Of
all no agency will produce a
great impression, or effect n por-
manont lodgmcnt in tho world,
that admits not Of being leagucd
with it.; and it has now become
q pre- eminent duty Of tho race to
nni,e science and gonoral oduca-
tion with religion, it may bo ar
gued, that if tho race is really to
bestir itso|f to effect Its thorough
education, education, must come
under tho sanction and with tho
enforcement Of religion. Neither
must be left to stand alone. A
people with the religious instinct
strongly developed, yot oil uhen-
lightened by education, is like q
giant smittcn blind, that rushes
wildly on, impelled by somo re.
sistless force, but toward no dclin-
ito or noble goal an enlightened,
an educated nation, without re.
"iigion, Is like skeleton boariug a
Iamp,-it has light, but not forco.