Vicksburg weekly herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1868-1883, 1878-05-31

E4AAA4aE49 OF gM0 BFmfm,
The sncients believed that At Ina
point where mans rule and power oVes
the forces Of the world ended, thers
destiny began and If q shin va
wrecked at sea, or II acountrY was de.
vastated by On epidemic, as such catoS.
trophies we're clearly not brought about
by mans wishes or desires, tbev
thought that they could only be caussd
by some mysterious superhuman pow.
er who meddled With, and ruled over.
human affairs. We cannot certainly
be surprised that such should have
been the views and opinions of per.
sons who were ignorant of the fact that
q storm or al epidemic is but q natural
effect resulting from natural causes.
and that its occurrence is governed by
laws as certain and invariable &c that
of gravitation. In q country where
there were supposed TO be gods of the
sea aud gods OF the woods, rulers of the
wind aud deities OF the rivers.
there manifestly was but little
room which mans free will
could assert itself. But, now,
since we know that we have In
truth only to contend with natural
forces, and those, too, of q constant and
uniform character, We can by studying
their laws render them subserVlent 10
our wishes, and make them become
our ministers, instead of allowing
them 10 be our masters. The electric
current, which in the form Of light.
ming was once the fiery sword Of an.
CRY deity, has now become the willing
messenger Of man, and carries his
commands 10 the uttermost parts Of
the earth. Thus one Of the most mar.
velous and fearful instruments Of Des-
tiny, as 1t appeared to the inhabitants
Of Rome and Athens, some twenty
centuries ago, has in these later days
lost much OF lite terrible character and
to the great disgust Of Jupiter and the
other Lords of Olympus, little Nj. Dill
lettante at his scientific seances can
give you as much lightning as you
wish. The fancy and imagination are
more powerful and less subject
to the dictates Of reason, in
the night than they are In the day time;
the land of darkness may be considered
as their proper aud natural habitat
and like the bats, they are most busy
when the sun has left US. Ignorance ia
a land Of darkness, and when mOrtals
had not the remOtest idea Of what was
the cause or nature of an eclipse, and
when they knew "less than nothing"
about electricity, 1t Is hardly a matter
TO be wondered at that, as knowledge
had omitted TO furnish the universe for
them with facts and realities, they al
lowed Imagination 10 supply the de-
ticienCy with the first 6c,ions aud fan.
cies that presented themselves. The
world was 10 them a tabula rass, and
they wro'e upon ii whatever they
thought Il. Besides these two
causes OF faIalism, namely, the
existence OF evil and the tran.
scendant power and vastness OF the
universe as compared with man, there
is a third to which we may here refer,
and that Is the existence, or seeming
existence, 10 the world of what we are
pleased TO call "~chauce." Strictly
speaking, there is no such thing as
chance" for nothing takes place with
out there being some cause of its oc.
currence, although in many cases that
cause may, owing to its remoteness or
mi%nuteness, be concealed from our
view. Nevertheless, whenever al event
happens Of the cause OF which they are
entirely Ignorant, men are wont to as
sumo that 1t has come 10 pass without
being caused at all, or, as they term It,
by chance"