The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1871-08-16

necessary Consequence, render their
possession strong, mentally; y;nei,her
is the possession Of the profound.
est learning a guarantee Of intel
lcctaaI power.
This IS tho true distinction be.
tween tie learned and the wise
man. Learning, or the accumuia-
tica OF material, IS mental en-
lsrgcment, that is. corpaience.-
Wisdom, as the developments Of
se!f:actiag vigor and power, is
mental grasp, that is, strength.
The wise man does not cultivate
his intellectual! being by merely
taking in and comparing ana
storing MP absolute facts; but by
dynamic efforts Of reason. Thought,
and phlIosophir deduction, he de.
vc!opes that strength Of mird, en-
abling him to grasp those greater
q1cSiinns 70 which facts are mere
stepping stones. Nature and the
empirical $ch"ol Of knowledge
come in as mere tools in his Eanl
to enable the exercise oipare rea.
son, intellectual thought. and the
dealing with questions cf moral
and spiritua! existence, which can
40 more be evolved from physical
knowledge than can the wondrous
deeds Of the athlete be found in Il
Lambert. But, even if this were
not SO, and mental corpN!cnce
we're really mental strength, and
il, to tug vt the mysteries Of na-
ture and find oHt and accumulate
knowledge, really made a man
stronger is it true t!ot to 10 this
with the Object Of reaching an rn-
attainahie end. is its proof? let
US sec. There are many persons
tngging at the mysteries Of na-
ture, to discover the secret Of per.
petuaI motion. Is this q proof Of
their strength Of mind? Cease
lessly do they study and toll to
wiring out OF nature what they
are convinced can be found in it.
You say, and l say, It's folly ; aud
how relentlcssly have yoa s.riven
to ridicule this folly: And yet, I
ask, is the man who tugs at tho
mysteries OF nature 10 explain his
religious Lelicfonc whit wiScrthan
they? Do you conceive that Dar-
win, Huxley, and this class Of
naturalisls generally, manifest any
greater strength Of mind in tug.
sing at the mysteries Of nature,
TO frd out the hiddon source Of
life, or demonstrate 4 material
God? Here the old saw comes
ir-"The young folks think the
old folks fools, but the old folks
know the young folks to be fools" !"
The perpetual motionist thinks
you and | are fools, to doubt that
he can discover his quest, even as
the mate:!a'ist thinks that the
Christian philosopher is i fool to
question his pursuit; but you and
| know that the perpetual mo-
ZIONIST Is fool to tug At tho ,nys-
teries Of nature in order to find
out what is impossible, even as
the Christian philosopher knows
that the scientist is q fool, who ~
toiinS, by the accumulation Of
knowledge, 10 discover the un-
movable. Nothing less than this,
in true philosophy, is the endeav-
or to ''cxpI:in and comprehend q
religious belief" Mental weak
ness alone prevents its evidence.
This is the preposterous position
assumed, by many learned men Of
the day. Swelling in their men
tai corpuiCce, repi-te with the &C.
cumula;ion Of all scientific know l..
edge, they venture to attack sub
jec,s which require for their treat
ment illirnilab!e mental strength.
They bid US accept their dic,a
upon topics witt, which their"ery
requirements disquu!ity them to
cope. They. tug at the mysteries
Of nature rs the Rosicrucians
toicd aftcrthe philosophers stone,
hoping to reach the origin Of life. or
attain that Ctopian absurd!ly, ex-
pressed by yoa in later issue:
when nlen strive to know, not
in the sense CT the passive accep-
tance Of crecds Or formulas
Thought out by others, bat each
thonght out ty themselves, then
will poverty. drunkenness, crime,
and most OF the diseases OF the
human race end
Do you wonder that to e Christ
ian philosopher such aim in knowi-
edge stands, al unutterabIe folly,
and that be, recognizing in man a
fallen and sinful nature, shall say
to him what you would % thc
perpetual mo;ionist: DO away
with gravity and its laws, and
you can obtain your quest; unit!
then your toll is weakness, not
strength" So he will say, ':to
away with a sinful nature and
moral weakness, until then your
toll is folly" r. W.
New Haven. Conn.
\ farmer who we,it to Texas 20 buy s
farm YES greal|y prejndiced against the