The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1882-07-27
VANITY OF vANlTIES,
a sermon by DIR. Talmasc. OF Brookly,

When book is placed in your hand
the first question You ask is, "Who wrot,
It Not all political astutencss ant
classic grace and unparalleled satire O
Junius' letters can satisfy you, becaus,
you d" not know who Junius was
whether John Horne Tookc or Bishoy
Butler or Edmund Burke. Mightiel
lhan a book always is the author of th;.
teSt? King Solomon. II seemed ~ j
the world exhausted itself on that man
1t %ore its brightest flowers into his gar.
land. 1t set its richest gems into hi.
coronct 1t pressed the rarest wine &c
his lip. 1t robcd him in the purest pur.
pie, and embroidery. 1t cleercd him
with the sweetest music in the land OF
harps. 1t greeted him with the gladdcst
laughter that ever leapcd from mirth's
| lip. 1t sprinkled his cheek with spray
from the brightest fountains. Royalty
ilau no dominion, wealth no luxury, gold
| no gutter, flowers no sweetness, sound no
melody, light no radiance, upholstery no
gorgcousncss, waters no CLEAN, bird no
plumage, prancing coursers no mcttlc,
architecture no grandeur: but il was all
his. Across the thick grass of the lawn,
fragrant will, tufls of campfire from
iih-geiii, fell the long shadows of trees
brought from, Eastern forests. Fish.
pools, fed by artificial channels that
brought the stream from hills far away.
were perpetually rutlled with fins, and
golden scales shot from water cave to
water cave with endless dive and swirl,
attracting the gaze Of foreign potentatcs.
Birds that had been brought from foreign
aviary glanced and iluttercd among tho
foliage and called TO their mates far be-
yond the sea. From tho royal stables
there came up the neighing of twelve
thousand horses standing in blankets of
Iyrlan purple, chewing their bits over
troughs OF gold, waiting for the Kings
order to be brought out in front of the
palace, when the official dignitarcs
would leap into the saddle for some
grand parade, or harnessed to the / 400
charlots Of the King the fiery chargers,
tril, would make the earth jnr with the
tramp Of hoofs and the thunder of wheels,
while within and without the palace YOU
could hot think of single luxury that
could be added or of a single gplendor
that could DO kindIed Down on the sea
the dry docks Of Econ. geber rang with
the hammers Of the shipwrights, who
were constructing larger vessels for n still
wider commerce, for ull lands and climcs
were to be robbed to make up Solomons
glory. No rest till his keeis shall cut
every sea, his axcmen hew every forest.
his archcrs strike every rare wing, his
fishermen whip every stream, his NOR
chants trade in every bazaar, his name
be honored by every tribe; and royalty
shall have no dominion, wealth no luxu-
ry, gold no glitter, song no melody, light
no radiance, waters no gleam, birds no
piumagc. prancing coursers no mctlle,
upholstery no gorgeousncss, architecture
no grandeur, but it was al his. "Well,"
you say, ''if there is any man happy lie
ought to be-" But | hear him coming
through the palace, and see his robe &C.
tually encrusted with jewels as he stands
III the front and looks out upon the vast
domain. What does he say? King
Solomon, great is your dominion, great
IS your honor, great is your Joy? No
While standing there amid all that
splendor tears start and his heart breaks
and he exclaims:
VANITY OF vANITIEs."
"All is vanity" What! Solomon not
happy yet? No; not happy.
learn from this sub ject, in the first
place, that official position will never
give solace to mans soul. | know
there have been very happy mon in high
positions, such as Wilbcriorce, rs Thco-
dore Frelinghuysen, rs Gov. Briggs, as
Prince Albert. But the joy camo not
from their elevated position; it came
from the Lord God Whom they tried to
serve. This man Solomon was King
thirty five years. All the pleasure that
comes from pelatial residence, from tho
fiattery OF foreign diplomatists, from
universal sycophancy gathered around
him. Fer long while his :hrone stood
firm and tue people were loyal, and yet
hear his awful sigh of disheartenmenL in
the words OF my text. How many peo.
pie in oil ages have made the same ex-
pertinent with the same failure! How
| could only get into this or that position
If could be Mayor, or a Governor
or q Senator, or President, should be
perfectly happy" Aud yet they have
gone on climbing from one position to
another, never finding the solace they
anticipated. Ask the men who have
gone through the political life of the
last forty years, in their old days, what
they think of the honors Of this world,
and they will tell you: "Ashes ashes !'
An old man told me, some time ago, that
he called at the White House, just efcre
the expiration of the second term of
President Jackson. lie sent q message
in; the President came not. He scnt O
second time and third time. After
! awhile the President came out in great
indignation and suid: "Gentlemcn, peo.
pie envy me in this White House, and
they long to get here, but tell you at
| the end Of tue second term l am glad to
get out Of it, for it is perfect hell :"
The honors and emolumcnts of this
world bring so many cares with them
that they bring also tortures and dsqui-
etude. Pharaoh tat on one of the high
est earthly emincnces, yet he is miscra-
BILE because there arc some people in his
realm that do not want any longer to
make bricks. The head of Edward |.
aches under his crown because the peo.
pie will not ray the taxes, and Llewellyn,
Prince of Wales, will not do him homage,
and Wallace will DC hero. Frederick
William III. of Prussia is miserable be.
cause France wants to take the Prussian
provinces. The world is not large
enough for Louis XIV. and William
III.
THE GHAsTLrEsT SUFFERING,
the most shriveling fear, the most rend.
ing jealousies, the most gigantic Dispute.
tude, have walked amid obsequious cour
tiers and been clothed in royal apparel
and sat on judgment seats of power
Honor, and truth and justice cannot ~
30 high up in authority as to be beyond
inc range uf human assault. the purt