Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1873-08-07

titute of the sense of taste but we never
heard of any one who could neither see nor
feel. Such creature would be little if any
better off than a tree or sprig Of grass.
HOW DO WE KNOW. ''''s'"''''
We often hear people say that they know
that such and such a thing is so and so. Thus
we say that we know that we are living we
know that rock is hard, and ripe peach
soft; we say that we know there is such a
city as New York, and that there once lived
in this country great man by the name of
George Washington. Now it may be asked,
how do we know these things? If any one
will think about it for moment, it will be
discovered that the mode of acquiring knowl-
edge in some cases is quite different from
what it is in other cases. We know some
things because they have come under our
immediate observation. That is, we have
either seen or heard or felt or tasted or smell
ed them. If we had no eyes, we could not
tell that rose was red and lilly white /;
if we had no ears, we could not know that the
discharge of gun makes loud noise if we
had no sense of touch we could not know that
iron is hard and cotton soft if we were desti-
tute of the sense Of smell, we could not know
that rose smells sweet and skunk ofen-
sive if we had no sense of taste, we could not
know what is meant by the words bitter and
sweet. In this case all things would taste
alike, or rather there would be no taste in
anything.
1t is manifest that we gain our knowledge
of the external world by the aid Of one or all
of the FIVE senses. One of the ways by which
we know is by means of our senses.
We say that we know some things with
which our senses have very little, if anything
at all, to do. We say that we know that
George Washington once lived in this coun-
try-that he, as general, commanded the
American forces during the revolutionary
war. Now it is evident that we do not know
this fact in the same way that we know that
iron is hard. We never saw George Wash
ington there is perhaps, not human being on
earth that was at any battle fought by George
Washington. How then, do, we know that
there ever was such man as George Wash
ington? The only way that we could know
this and similar facts, is by being told by some
one that such was the case. Some one testi-
fed to US that George Washington once lived
in the State of Virginia, and that he was cho-
sen commander-in-chief of the American
forces during the revolutionary war. We
believe these facts just as firmly as if they had
come under our immediate observation. Of
the many things which we say that we know,
only very few are known to us by means Of
our senses. Testimony is to US the great
source of knowledge. One actual observation
extends over but very small section of this
world. Some of us never saw larger stream
of water than our fathers spring branch, yet
we know that on the west of America there is
the great Pacific ocean, which is eight thous-
and miles wide, and on the east of America
there is the Atlantic ocean, which is three
thousand miles wide Only few Of the
present inhabitants of America ever saw Eng
land, Ireland, or Scotland. The only way
that we know, and perhaps the only way that
most of ever will know, that any such coun-
tries do exist, is from the testimony Of others.
Either some one has told us about the exis-
tence of such places, or we have read in books
of their existence. Take away from any of
US all the knowledge that we have acquired
by testimony, and very little will be left
This, no doubt, is one reason why liar is 50
hated and despised in every country, and by
all kinds of people. Really, liar is very
dangerous creature. The information he
gives US is false, deceptive and dangerous.
By it we are liable to be misled and ruined.
Our minds are so constituted that when we
acquire knowledge either by means of our
senses or by the testimony Of other persons
we know that we do know what we have
learned. This is called consciousness. Were
this not the case, our knowledge would be Of
no use to US.
Is 1T NOT PROFANITY ?-"Swear not at
all!". A word to girls and young ladies':
You would not swear-the thought is hor-
rible-yet, you say, perhaps, such words as,
"Mercy w "Goodness!" "Gracious" King
dom !' and the like, in common conversation.
I have heard many such expressions fall trip
pingly from rosy lips.
Mercy, goodness, and grace are attributes
of God. In this view of the case, if it is not
profanity, it is very near to it, to use them as
expletives.
AT the very least these are idle words, and
idle words are sinful.
Let your conversation be simple, straight
forward, and free from anything which
threatens to break the third commandment.
DOG PARTNERsH1p.-Awr writer in Land and
Water testi6es that he long knew a pointer
and greyhound that formed a partnership, to
which the first contributed his power of scent,
and the other his swiftness of motion, as their
respective capital. Every few days they
would 20 out rabbit.hunting. The pointer
seeking the game, and indicating where it
was, while the greyhound would run it down;
They would then enjoy their game-dinner and
return to their several homes. The same
writer records similar arrangement entered
into between terrier and collie. He also
gives an account of dog that hunted both
sheep and rabbits, and, to guard against de-
lection and punishment, washed himself in
stream and wined his coat on the grass, be.