The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1880-06-02
MISCELLANY.
SUN SPOTS.

1t has been favorite employment of scien-
tific men for many years to form theories re-
garding tue spots on the sun, the why's and
the wherefores of their existence, and the
effects they have upon the atmosphere of the
earth. Among ordinary spectators on such
subjects we find pretty general impression
that these spots-which just now are unusu-
ally numerous--produce both cold weather
and hot, dry weather and wet, with all the
minor accidents of sickness and health, cy-
clones, forest fires and railroad and steamboat
catastrophes. Scientifically viewed, it would
be good thing to have these spots continu-
ed, they settle SO many problems in natural
philosophy. People do not venture, exactly,
to predict the end of the world, for that has
been done SO often-and failed-that it is bad
for mans reputation to indulge in that pas
time, but in regard to other mundane matters,
such as we have mentioned, the spots on the
sun are very convenient thing to fall back
upon, and safe, too, as any assertions can be
made without an authoritative contradiction
There is another singular coincidence at
this time, showing the intimate relationship
between thiaqsssas,nrsl aud moral There
are spots on the sun of Christianity which
have been re-discovered by we'll known lee
turer, who makes very handsome living by
going round the county and procaming the
fact. True, these spots have been long known
and deplored, but it was not known how
large and fatal they were until this explorer,
Ingersoll by name, turned the gigantic tele-
scope of his intellect upon them. Through
that remarkable Instrument they are found to
be larger than the sun itself there is, in fact,
no such thing left as Christianity it is Who'll
ly obliterated. There may be disquieting
fear among amateur astronomers that the ma
terial sun may be put out some day, but how
ever large the tpos may be at present, we
have convincing evidence that there is some
fire left. Not SO, however, with this other
sun, which was declared eighteen hundred
and odd years ago to be the light of the
world. The spots have obiterated it it has
wholly disappeared, and all that mankind can
do is to be as virtuous as possible without
any motive to live in neighborly charity with
out any model, and to die happy without any
hope. There are, seemingly, number of
paradoxes here, but they must not be allowed
to stand in the way of mans grand future
progress towards the ineffable bliss of Moth
ingness. He who is not satisfied that he is
himself the centre of creation, that the mill
lions of suns and planets reyolve around him,
had better look through Col. Ingersoll's tel
escope if that does not convince him, moth
ing will. A laughing, shouting crowd on a
Sabbath night laughing and shouting over
the neat way in which the orator demolished
God-who put out the sun, in fact, is suffic-
iently convincing Of the triumph Of the finite
over the infinite. There were times when
such man would have been seized and
dragged through a duck pond, or arraigned
for blasphemy, but these are the days of light
and knowledge, or philosophy and mental
progress
These new discoveries also teach us some
thing no man could have found out without
Col. Ingersoll's help that the better the
creed the worse the results. Christianity,
which is the sum of all the virtues is also
the sum of all the yilainies In its essence
1T contains love, charity, honesty, the forgive
Dtoo VI Obuoib, CFOu Jul oHShttCoy NUN, pa
thence in suffering, fidelity to all trusts, in-
dustry, temperance peace. The outcome Of
all these virtues, however, we find to be hat
red, revenge, lying, stealing, war, intemper-
ance, murder and all other sins, public and
private. The spots put out the sun, as we
have said, and none the less SO because there
is a paradox. We were not aware of the fact,
but we take it for granted, now, that Afghan
istan is a moral paradise, China the highest
type Of esthetic force, Africa the true land Of
Beulah, Turkey aresting place for the do
mestic virtues that King Theebaw isa wise
and humane prince, and the Khedive Of
Egypt a model statesman. We must go away
from home to find the realization of Inger-
soils dream of life as 1t should be found and
to see how completely the spots on the sun Of
Christianity have obiiterated that once-snp-
posed to be glorious luminary.
1t not being within the bounds of POSSIBLE
lty for Christendom entire to migrate to 9TH
er and more favored regions. perhaps it may
be possible, with Ingersoll's help, to patch up
this dilapidated moral system. He might give