Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1870-08-12

living In an age Wnen tne purer
spirit of Christianity was hopelessly
imprisoned il the ritual, with which
it had become infested--when
priests carefully selected the ore in
stead of it's metal for the building
of their shrines-it is wonderful
how far old Chaucer saw beyond
these things. Even while he used
the dross for the frame of his
picture, the picture itself has
many tints of the reformed
faith which was to appear six gen
erations later. The old oxonian
hereto, and author of the ''Book of
Martyrs" John Fox wrote re
markable passage about this.
Il MARVEL" he says, "to consider
this, how that the bishops, con-
demnlng and abolishing all manner
Of English books and treatises
which might bring the people to
any light of knowledge, did vet au-
thorize the works of Chaucer to re-
main still, and to be occupied, who,
no doubt, saw in religion as much
almost as we do now. and uttereth
in his works no less, and seemeth
to be right Wickiivis or else
there was never any; and that all
his works almost, if they be thor
oughly advised, will testify (albeit
it be done in mirth and covertly J."
He also knew of certain persons
who, "by reading Chaucer's works,
were brought to the true knowledg"
of religion" A spiritual descen-
dart of the sixteenth century wor
thy, who bore his name, the late w.
j. Fox, wrote beautiful paraphrase
of Chaucer's last composition, writ
ten on his death bed, when he was
in great anguish" which was set to
music by Miss Flower, and is now
favorite hymn in several London
chapels. l yield to the temptation
to quote it here, as it will probably
be new to nearly all my readers:
''Britain's first poet,
Famous old Chaucer
Swan-like in dying,
Sung his last song.
When, at his heart strings,
Deaths hand was strong:
'Froni false crowds heeing,
Dwell with soothfastness;
Prize more than treasure
Hearts true and brave.
Truth to thine own heart
Thy soul shall save.
''Trust not to fortune;
Be not o'ermeddling;
Thankful receive, then,
Good that God gave.
Truth to thine own heart
Thy soul shall save.
earth is desert;
Thou art pilgrim;
Led by thy spirit,
Truth from God crave.
Truth to thine own heart
Thy, soul snall save.
;. z eDead through LONG ages,
Famous old Chaucer;
Still the monitiOn
Sounds from his grave
1T nth to thine own heart
Thy soul shall save"
One of the bravest and most elo
quent of American preachers-Oc-
tavius Frothingham-once uttered
a great discourse on 1.-The Creeds
of the Poets" He light have
called it the Greed of the Poets, for,
in all time, they have but one creed
substantially. When Wordsworth
heard Coledridge accused of atheism
he remarked tnat he had always
found Coleridge's atheism very
much like his (Wordsworth's)
Christianity. The poets stand on
the peaks of Humanity's mountain
range, and the same light it is that
shines from summit to summit
though purple on one, golden or
sllvern on another-the same light,
causing them to stand in the per-
spective of generations as the many
hued columns sustaining the dome
of azure beneath which true spirits
yer kneel and aspire NJ. D. Con-
way, in Harper's Magazine for Au-
gust.
The rule of factions is always
ephemeral.
Gladstone bet E15O on the wrong
horse at EPSON.
Chief JusticeChase will spend part
Of August at Gettysburg.
A truly civilized people will new
er brag of its culture and civiliza
ion.
Newman Hall has declined an offer