, 1876-11-27

sleeping inspiration. Homer would lave been
'an.n'Iis 'a had not some grand old nation cratilcd
nun mud poured Into his sou1 its ideas and
STATE that could rear such children as Ncstor and
l,htroclns md Achilles md Anch wo,ncn rs Pen
el9po and AndrnHacllo tn l,c tho study nnd I'M
pulse Of tho poet. Edmund burke and William
would hare been feeble, unknown mortais Ind
not mighty England surrounded them With its
Grcat cnvclopnlo',t Of language, and truth, ota
lnspiration. Thus what We cali our country lsH
until We haYc learned lcsaous Of II and have
under It's tntc1ngG passed from barbar1sm to
nannqo N sncs Is tho ideal Of that power called
L! the middle agca, when parrhmcnts wcro
costly. and scarce, eonccitcl monks were aecus-
toned to snse glorious classic OF Rome or
t3fcctc, aud, having widely blurred tho uld text,
10 cover all tho book ovGr With their own
EQUAL history d boita1nless theology. After
this fashion, to the ideal state described on somo
white parchment by the Alnlighty'h llantft these
palinpsost-incn hare come, and on these Divine
The wcak.tnindci would II permitted scratch
their names upon the statue Of a Minerva or an
Apollo. Man bchuldn tlLa dod.scnt Govern
ment, and Inns nearly always cried out, "CruclfY
Hence tho whole faee Of tho globe Is covered
now with the ruIns Of nations, Man would not
permit tlicm to bring liberty, and industry, mud
education, and hotns, and lsapplness hut he has
ta1 them for, tho support Of vice, er fasten
them TO tho chariot OF his ambition; md thus
one by ono OF theso Infinite bcncfactorB, these
creatures Of God, have been slnin, tllcse fabrirs
and serpent by day md tho lonely owl BY night.
Travellers, oven III tho New World, find that
hss9 't once gnRpy rase lived, lved n gtsat mar
TIC md 1nlrth Of children, but 70 which man as
n jnafrnvpr Th,1a n enutfOnrf tyhnrn
perhaps, as many millions Tired as now inhahit
II, WINS all lcaolatcd by ita own chiIilron. II Wns
handed over to solitude, and then to sayarcs
And now this continent co.nts forward again,
mny, Hs destroyer, will follow It, follow IL with
vice, will, sclflshness, With ignorance, with In
Justice, md to-day aud Tomorrow will attack
ila irncr and divine life: i certainly concs
mi impulse Of scloos-housc, aud rtinting-pr
and 1e,lr,ing, and Christianity, but 80 MIN, the
destroyer, c0mes with All awakening intellect
and intense passions, anu hence the struggle for
national life returns aB It caulo to the Axtces quo
yents ago.
History contains the picture OF great nation
TINT existed on The Southern coast,-a natlor,
powerful III the arts and in snornis, nuu over
mtldness a,,d peace, peaceful multitude, but
In one single bright day III September all his
lnpptnees sunk under the bntcl,crsnE sword Of
the Spania.l Thus ono by ono tic nations
WulGal uA}U uEcA 1QuuucA III tuG uAlIlV VI lltsut7
and progress, an1 happiness, luvc faded away
Into wrong, and dceadencc, and misery,
Tho human family has always moved through
tho centuries In two columns, marching only
States, law, literature, homo, church, mud peace:
It hreathcs out poetry md whispers love and
ttlls ulc soil, and makes feasts, und, as an old
pust says;, Wcaycs ~ mss,aes J., an io's
Moa'srs ~: WHO sing tie songs, AID liz pilgrims
vito utter tho prayers, and tho philosophers
who write down tho wisdom Of mahy genera
t!ons. But by tho time tho song Is sung, and
the prayers said, and tho Wisdom .wrlttoH, md
hot with injustice anl ambition, and y dosola-
tiou sets III with blood atld tears, nnd all that
rcmalnn IL few mArhle columns to mark tho
place where senate Or a temple nnco STOOD.
Pass 10 q secO,tl field 10 which the spoIler has
conc. From ruined State pass to ruined re-
ligtou. Does simple, truthful religion appcarl
Almost us aoon rs 1t announces tts adycnt tho
destroyers come Shouting. "Cruaiy y; away
with such q thing from tho earth" Not TINT
mum designs to innrk his putt. with ruin. Not
prufessedly an angel of death does hc descend,
hut what IL tho suine in result, ho comes with a
ruinous swoop, II not with malice, Mt least with
boundlcss gn0rnnce. In hands the simplo re-
llgIon OF jesus Which mado Palestine u vesti-
bile Of heaven, such that travellers wandering
over 1t to-day feel still that they are nearer 10
Tod thnn when upon any other ehore; tile sim
pie religion which once held itself all In tic Ser
and meat and wine and aroilin nil In its purple,
b{lken shell, this religion WIS transformed into
something, thut madc popes. and monks,
no mS py pylam1a sassqS asS rSets ns tue doES ao
mas as thu Egyptlanss embalmcd saerct!
men aud women almost by. millions f0r not be-.
holding with tho eye OF perfect adm!ration ull
reads the history oi tho Catholic times and tho
Protestant times ho cannot but conclude TINT
Christianity wis not 80 nlucl carried forward by
those parties as hurled barls. For 1900 Years,
situation WIS such that tho reader Ut tho record
must always be puzxlcd to know whether that
| period was not q grave OF Christianity rather
tllau Its childhood or cradle. So Injurious was
TINT between the orignul religion Of Jesus and
the itn,,ensc human perycralons Of IL MI inl-
tne,sc army OF tile unbelicylng has sprung up
who llnd In nuns propositions thu basls Of Mi.
laughter. Il is doubtful whether !n Christ
llitnsuii, in Ills ltle Or teachings, such Wild,
nockin}. iniidcllty could evnr have found the
| food Of u luxl,ruMt life. Christ was u simple,
vancing education won!d iuyc brought Him into a
more universal esteem; but what Christ wanted
| Of the power tO insult reason and provoke r1i-
cule tlu huu.ull mind supplied to tho uttcriost,
eelt lad tcn'lcrly Invited to Ills gt.eat feast.
we'll thts page ot history. For many centuries
pure religion hung cr0ridc'l between the two
thieves, wivkcdncss AID Ignorance.
You have now marked how man can play tho
part Of destroyer IN the State anu the Church.
| Nave on now ami lind la injured hu1ne. Tslc
! Divine theory must llnve BEEN this: A group
composed nf fathcr n,u mother md the dear
children, nll following tho laws of nlsnta, unt
nora. and physical life. Tie fanli'Ylwas large,
because their wants were to be simple, thelr IN
dustry, uniform, their happtncts mental, not
nenslal. There was to ba such 4 nsingfing u
labor uud sieep Of virtue us,tl wls.lonl, that tho
children wcro rltely doomed to die In sight OF
tho pareuts. Tie parenta wcrc to .pass away
peacefully wl,enM boautt&nl conrac had beun run.
II was not TO bc terrible death TINT should enter
tho home; but ,luai sleep 'yas 10 colne alNl the
hnly hooks were to say, !" lle slept VIII! bis fa'
| thcrs.h The hume wills TO lhuvo on with tho
augti, md industry, and morals Of the secotd
generation. 1hs great trees by the door and
The Vines o.. tho wull wcru TO bu perpetual, cast
Ing their shade and pert,,,no down upun tho
new household, when tl,n venerable parents had
"gone atu to hcayon." Such WAS, perhaps,
f},,, .1fvIrin ff.n1 hnr,R thrhly