The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-07-14

whom no addresses his prayer can grant II II he
plrascs rcgar llrss NJ circumstances and non.
ditions but this Is conception unworthy Of
m enlightened understanding. To tho saw
age thcro Is no abiding chain of connoc-
ton between ono cvnut and another aud it
never enters his mind that In order TINT he
may have ruin, or sunshinc or food. when
tho course Of nature forbids II. tho history
Of tho universe must bo dnranged from begin
ming to end. His uod. like tho Turkish Sultan.
or the Russian Car. IL above all law. and cnn
de- Whatever his momentary pleasure may die
tate. But no Intelligent person among us sows
tarcs and expects To reap wheat. nor swallows
poison and trusts that God In his goodness will
muse 1t to produce any other result than sick
ness and DEATH Nor docs any ono acquainted
with the laws Of political economy hopo to at
tain wealth and prosperity through their viola
ton Yet such Ia the weakness and cowardicc
of even educated Christians that under the
pressure Of calamity they fall bnck upon the
savage's faith and yainly pray to God to be de-
livered from the consequences Of their own ig-
noranco or imprudence.
PfETY AND ARITHMETIC.
very good friend OF ours was once engaged
In business. which. for the purposes OF the
illustration. We will call the manufacture OF
printed calcoes. He was an upright honest man.
with his customers. He was also deeply re-
ligous. constant in his attendance Mt his
church. active in all its affairs and faithful
teacher in the Sunday school But he did not
succeed in making money. Competing manu.
facturers brought the price OF goods that cost
him to produce. say. eleven cents yard, down
to ten cents, and after struggling for several
years he retired from business with barely the
means Of paying his debts. OF course he had
the world to begin over again which. as he was
past the prime Of life was not a pleasant pros
poet Strangely. too he derived no comfort from
his religious convictions. " Here l am" he
said. " left poor after years Of labor. have
been strictly honest. / have manufactured
what everybody acknowledges to be excellent
prints have paid my workmen good wages
| have been devoted to the church and to the
cause Of religion; why did I not prosper"
And he could not explain the mystery till one
day he laid his sorrows before an irreverent
but philosophical acquaintance. who bluntly
told him: You fool. don't you see that II God
were to let you make money by selling ut ten
cents r yard goods that cost you eleven. he
would have to destroy the relations Of numbers
which have existed since the world began
This was a cruel shock to his notions OF Provi-
dcnce OF unlimited powers. but II told the truth.
In the business OF manufacturing prints. as in
all others personal pety cannot compensate
for the lack Of skill and good management and
prayers cannot reverse the rules Of arithmetic
sHfPwREcKs. RAILROAD ACCIDENTS AND FIRES
Precisely the same obstacle which prevented
the SUCCESS Of this manufacturer prevents the
interposition OF God in the thousands Of cases
occurring daily where men put up prayers 10
Him for help When the hull OF the Vile du
Havre was cut into below the water line and she
filed and went down with her precious freight
of human lives there was no answer made to the
cries Of the victims. The physical relations OF
iron to water. and ~ air tothc human lungs.
imperatvely demanded that when the vessel
was invaded by the waves she should
sink. and that when men and women were
submerged SO that they could not breathe.
they should die. There was no distinction
made between sailor and officer between priest
and layman. between saint and sinner. Those
that were strong enough and skiliul enough. or
were assisted by others sufficiently strong and
skilful. to keep themselves afoat until they were
picked up. were saved. and the rest persisted.
The disaster carried mourning into hundreds u
families. but it took place all the same. So the
bridge at Ashtabula fell. because. As it
was aiterward demonstrated. 1t had been con-
structed In disregard Of tho relations be-
tween the strength Of materials and the weight
II had TO carry. Innocent men. women and
children were crushed. and manglod. and
drowned and even burned to death. and God
did not interfere TO prevent it, Had no done so,
tho forces Of cohesion and gravtation must
have been suspended. the solar system plunged
into chaos. and the sun and all the planets
dssipa ed into thor primeval msts. So. too.
the CONGREGATIONS which devastated Chicago
and Boston could not have been averted by
special providontal Interpolation. except at tho
& ,yhioh fu al 81
kinds useful in social economy. Wood and coal
and other combustible matter burn invariably
in the same way. whether they are placed on
hearths and in furnaces. or whether they are
fashioned into the shape Of buildings filled
with goods.
SICKNESS AND DEATH.
The cases In which it is tho hardest to admit
this truth are those OF the sickness and death of
| persons near and dear to us. So much OBJ
security yet attends the workings Of disease and
the means Of counteracting it, that it is easy to
fancy God able, If he will to avert its fatal ter.
mination. The mother, hanging over her sick
babe cannot be made to believe that it, life may
not be spared If God would only give the word
| 1t seems heartess to tell her that the result de-
ponds upon physical laws which have been
established by tho very God to whom she
appeals. and who will firmly maintain
those laws. whatever individual suffering
may follow. family cannot see the head
upon which it depends for support taken
from It without thinking that Providence might
have spared him. From every bereavod and
afflicted soul tho cry bursts IA it did from th'
stricken Martha: Lord. If thou hadst beer
here my brother had not died" Yet death goes
on in its remorseoss path and no prayers stay
its march. There is no household which 1t doe.
not rob- no heart that has not BLEED under ii
stroke. Its terrible form looms through th'
veil that hides every other event Of the lutur
from our eyes. and though we can foresee moth
ing else Wa know that we shall certainly bccom
its prey, Is there any explanation of all THU
suffering and sorrow except that 1t is the resul
of laws which no supplications can alter an'
which no entreatles can arrest
SUPPOSED WORLDS or CHANCE
Amusing apoogues have boon written f.
children, depicting imaginary worlds. in who
chance and not law reigncd supreme, and show
ing the evil consequences Of the substitution
The brckayer is building wall, but instoa
of the bricks keeping their places in ohcdenc
To the attraction Of grayitaton they fly oil. som
! upward and some sidewise. Water at ono tim